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Darkness had settled upon Silas University and the grounds were silent and still, students having retreated into their dorms for the night. The sky was cloudless and the stars were clear and bright. Carmilla sat by the window and gazed upwards as Laura worked at her computer. She rose and glided to Laura's chair. "Can I take you somewhere?" she sighed, leaning down and loosely hugging her around the shoulders.
Laura felt her heart jump at the sudden appearance behind her. She looked back with a soft chuckle and rubbed Carmilla's arm. "Sure, I could use a break. Where?"
Carmilla went to the closet and pulled out a duffel bag. "You'll need to bring some blankets and pillows. And dress warm." She pulled the covers off of Laura's bed and stuffed them along with two pillows into the bag.
"How cryptic." Nonetheless, Laura pulled on some extra layers.
Carmilla handed the bag to her, then opened the window and climbed onto the ledge, turning around to face the room. She smirked at Laura's surprised face and held out her hand. Laura glanced past where she was perched. "This seems a tad dangerous."
"Do you trust me?" Carmilla gazed steadily into Laura's eyes. Laura felt her chest swell with excitement, nerves, admiration… Dad had always taught her to be smart and not trust anyone blindly, but for heaven's sake, he never taught her what to do when a being with superhuman strength and agility asked you to leap out of a window with her. A being with superhuman strength and agility that you felt really, really, strongly about. She pulled the bag's strap over her head and took her hand.
With a pleased smile, Carmilla turned her back to Laura. "Get on." Laura wrapped her arms around the girl's neck and Carmilla pulled Laura's legs up and around her waist. She effortlessly maneuvered out of the window and began scaling the wall. "Hold on tight."
Trying her best not to look down, Laura locked her ankles together and held herself close to Carmilla. That last part wasn't so bad. But her heart was currently pounding so hard that the vampire could probably feel it on her back. Thankfully, the building was only four stories high, and they made it to the roof quickly. It was flat and concrete, with big metal machines here and there that were probably for the ventilation system. Carmilla let her down, and Laura noticed something else. "Isn't that a door over there? Couldn't we have gotten here from the stairwell?"
"Yeah, I know." Carmilla smirked fiendishly. "I just wanted to see what you would do."
Laura yelped and bunched her fists up. "Carm!! I could've fallen and died! I don't know if you recall, but humans don't take falling from buildings well!"
Carmilla looked at her, and her eyes were suddenly solemn. "I could never fathom putting you in any real danger." She took Laura's hand tentatively. "You know that, right?"
She looked at their hands with a half grin, then back to Carmilla. "Yeah. But you're still a jerk." She wrapped her arm around her and the grin turned into a full smile. Carmilla looked at her with relief. Whenever Laura smiled, it felt like this awful world was better. Carmilla couldn't help but smile too.
They put out the blankets and pillows and laid down on their backs, taking in the full view of the stars. "They're so bright tonight," Laura said, shifting close to Carmilla. It was pretty cold, and her vampire-ness wasn't helping her keep warm. But she really didn't notice as Carmilla unloaded her knowledge from thousands of astronomy books and regaled her with the stories of her favorite constellations.
Carmilla turned her head and took a long look at her, then rolled over onto her side and kissed her, resting her hand on Laura's upper waist. "There are so many things I want to say to you," she murmured against Laura's lips. "But they're all so, so cliché."
Laura brushed the hair out of Carmilla's face and giggled. "Why don't you write me a sonnet?" They shared a smiling kiss.
"In my centuries of existence, I've never felt the way I feel about you." Carmilla's voice lilted as she looked at Laura tenderly. And it was true. Ell was her first love, but this felt so incredibly different. She wasn't afraid. Laura knew what she was, and loved it. Carmilla had thought that impossible.
Laura looked into her eyes as her heart felt ready to burst. She rolled onto her side as well, and they held each other close, eyes closed, resting their foreheads together and bumping noses affectionately. Their love was one that not even the stars could outshine.