Dornie

Watching Them

cross posted with the Hollstein collection

Laura had her headphones in and was staring intently at her computer screen. As Carmilla watched, every now and then she would type something out quickly and the comment would nearly immediately appear on the screen.

"What are you up to, Cupcake?" Carmilla asked, making her presence known.

"Dorothy's doing another live-cast and I wanted to be there for moral support. SHe's got another black eye and it seems like nothing at her sorority is the way that she had expected it to be. Of course she's just going ahead and jumping into the middle of it all again." Laura says with a shake of her head as Connie appears with an ice pack.

"That kind of reminds me of a trouble maker that I know. It's no wonder that the two of you get along so well." Carmilla teases lightly.

"Well, Dorothy's roommate isn't a vampire, so I've got a few advantages that she doesn't." Laura grins up at her girlfriend. "Connie's too sweet to be much good in a fight I'd bet. Even though you're human now, you're still a centuries old badass and not to be counted out."

"That I am, but from what you've told me about her, Dor is more than capable of taking care of herself and at least a few of her friends have good heads on their shoulders."

"Would you like me to catch you up on everything that's been going on in Dorothy-land?" Laura asked as Dorothy signed off.

"Tell me all about it." Carmilla replied, more so she could listen to Laura ramble than because she cared at all.

Laura spoke passionately about almost everything that she cared enough about to talk about. The only reason that Carmilla could find to listen was because she truly loved to listen. Just Laura's voice was lovely enough to make the extra listening so much more than worth the effort.

-----//////-----

"Hey Laura! Dorothy's livecasting again if you want to get in on it!" Carmilla yelled as Laura came in from one class or another. She had seen the notification pop up on the laptop that she had been watching The Originals on.

"Awesome!" Laura hopped into the bed beside of her and dragged the laptop into her lap, moving it to where Carmilla could watch the stream as well.

"Hey guys, it's Connie here for Dorothy. She is out of commision for the moment, down at the Student Health Center while Anne and the other higher-ups try to figure out how to deal with this predicament. I'm not even quite sure of how to feel about it myself. Ever

"What happened to Dorothy?!" Carmilla asked aloud as Laura typed the question out.

"Well, she found out that the douchecanoe twins, Rochefort and Miller, had a drive with a of students' nudes on them, including my own, and she demanded them back. When they refused, she went all Dorothy on them... and it didn't go well for her. I just wish that she had told us where she was going and what she intended to do. We might have been able to do something to stop her."

Cookiemonster:  You know Dorothy. Once she's set her mind to doing something it's really quite impossible to stop her.

.

.

.

Will she be okay?

"Last I saw of her it was a split lip, mild concussion, broken nose, and a dislocated shoulder. I've already started stocking up on ice, a sling, and enough Advil to keep a horse in check." Connie said and Carmilla could tell just how much she cared and was worried about her.

"Is there a chance that this blue eyed one has feelings for your Dorothy?" Carmilla asked Laura as Connie bickered with some of the other Inseps about the merits of Dorot

"Uhm, they're kind of together and they're kind of not. I'm not very sure anymore. They had kissed and been very couple-y until Monty dropped by to beg Connie's forgiveness and all of the drama with the MST started. They definitely both have feelings for one another though." Laura says with a soft smile.

"It can't ever be easy can it?" Carmilla asked, smiling softly at Laura's eyes through her lashes. At some point her head had come to rest on the former vampire's shoulder as though it had always been meant to be there. She had noticed it a bit more after becoming a human again. It seemed that her Creampuff had begun to find Carmilla's new heartbeat comforting.

"Somehow I feel like it wouldn't be as good if you didn't have to work for it." Laura said into her shirt.

"I guess that I can kind of understand that. It's not so simple as grabbing the girl you love and running away for Paris, is it?" Carmilla said in a voice that Laura could barely hear.

"It's still frustrating to see two people that we've come to care about struggle to find one another when all of the rest of us can see it so clearly. Can you believe that some of the others didn't actually ship it? When will they realize that I'm always right, Carm?" Laura asked petulantly, her bottom lip poking out.

"I'm not even going to touch that one, Sweetcheeks. Just know that I think that you're

adorable." Carmilla chuckled softly, and returned her attention to the livecast.

"They'll work it out eventually." Laura says and Carmilla feels as though it's more to convince herself than anyone else.

-----/////-----

The next time that she sees a livecast alert on Laura's laptop, her girlfriend isn't home. Curiosity gets the better of her and she resolves to watch without commenting, so as not to mislead anyone.

Dorothy's face is battered and her posture, body language and expressions betray her exhaustion and pain. Carmilla has to give the girl props for trying her best to be jovial for Connie's sake. Carmilla has the sneaking suspicion that Connie isn't buying it either, though. She seems to be much too intelligent for that to get by her.

Carmilla can see that they balance out well. Connie doesn't let Dorothy get away with much and Dorothy can pull a smile out of Connie even when it seems like Connie has no smiles left inside of her. They put one another at ease and can be honest with one another without fear of retribution. Carmilla, of all people, understands why that is one of the most important aspects of any relationship. It makes her smile to see two people so young and so well matched finally falling together.

Before she had actually processed what she was doing, Carmilla's fingers were moving across the keyboard.

Cookiemonster: You've got a great (girl)friend in Connie there, Ms.Castlemore. Don't take her for granted. We were all really worried about you there for a minute. None so much as Connie though. - Laura's Carmilla

Dorothy's eyes shot up in surprise.

"Noted and understood. The two of us have been needing to sit down and talk for a while. I owe you a shovel talk. Thank you for the advice. You might just be as wise and all-knowing as Laura said that you were." Dorothy flashes that grin that did nothing to reassure Carmilla, before signing off.

Carmilla closed the laptop to begin to ponder how she was going to explain to Laura what had just happened.