She Keeps Me Warm

7

She was used to waking up in strange places. She's slept at her desk many a time before and woke up to a stapler somehow wedged between her butt and her chair. She's slept in her car. She's slept in her bathroom. She can sleep anywhere. She's used to it. What she isn't used to is the smell of breakfast being prepared.

"Good morning, sleepy head." Laura greeted Carmilla brightly as the brunette peered around the corner before edging into the kitchen.

"You're cooking...in the morning." She noted.

"Yeah. It's called breakfast. Have you never had a home cooked breakfast before?" Laura asked as she pulled her bacon out of the oven.

"My mother could barely boil a pot of water, let alone cook me anything edible for breakfast. I would do it myself but I'm too lazy to make anything that isn't a bowl of cereal."

"Cute." Laura giggled, facing away from her guest as she continued to prepare their meal.

Carmilla frowned, afraid. Completely and utterly afraid. Her fingers squeezed at her thighs as she sat at the table at high alert. Was this a trap? Was she planning to poison her? Did she need to call her insurance company? "You just said cute...to me. You."

"Yeeeaahhh....so?"

"It's just strange. Thought you hated me." Carmilla shrugged.

"Ha, yeah, about that," Laura finished plating, humming as she brought it over and sat it in front of Carmilla's worried face. "I'm sorry waffles with you're not so bad bacon and ...no name strawberries."

"Mm. My food usually only says eat me." Carmilla chuckled.

"Not in my house they don't." Laura sat next to her, grabbing the syrup bottle and focusing on drenching her waffles. "Look, there was a time where I was sure I hated you, and, yes, you make me want to hit you in the face with a very sturdy stuffed animal; but you also tried to make up for it yesterday before the storm. Trying is something that means a lot to me. So, maybe I don't hate you as much as I thought I did. Maybe I even kind of-"

"Um, are you planning on eating the waffle or just floating on it in a river of maple syrup?" The brunette took a bite of her of her own waffles.

Peering down at the extensive amount of syrup on her plate, Laura just grabbed a fork and dove in. The Hollis waffle recipe never fails. "The seryp enhanses da flavor."

What more could anyone say? The waffles were delicious. If her mother could cook like this, Carmilla would've probably been a pretty chubby kid growing up. All she wants now is more of Laura's waffles now that she had scarfed down her own. What else can this tiny little human cook? Where has this been all her life?

"Do you want to help me do the dishes, or did you also not learn that as well?" She grinned as she took the plates over to the sink.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny, Hollis." Carmilla rolled her eyes as she joined the blonde in collecting the dirty dishes.

They began in an oddly comfortable silence. Carmilla washed while Laura rinsed and dried. Carmilla was in her head a bit, wondering how exactly to tell Laura what she was supposed to tell her in the first place. The contract was a conversation much needed if anything more were to go on between them. But how could she tell Laura anything after spending the night in her room in her bed?

Okay, technically I wasn't in her bed. I was on her spare air mattress beside her bed in her room with her, but it's close enough.

"Hey? You okay? If you wash that plastic cup anymore, it's going to melt from the friction." Laura gently pulled the cup from her hands, rinsing it. "What're you thinking about?"