Who Am I Without Him? (Laurmani)

fourteen.

A/N: I forgot how much I love writing I should really get back to this. I'm sorry for the hella late update, I hope you enjoy.

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OMNISCIENT POV

The pair crossed the street, shoulders bumping as they glided the short distance to their apartment. The breeze had picked up in the already chilly weather, whipping past the two as they huddled together trying to escape the cold. Once they'd gotten in the building, the two separated with a puff of air from Lauren, Normani shrugged it off thinking it was a reflex of getting into' a warmer area.

"You know," Normani started, receiving a small hum of acknowledgement from the green-eyed woman who was struggling with removing her jacket, "I actually had a good time. Thank you for that."

"I did too and you don't have to thank me. Thanks-" Lauren shrugged, blushing as the dark skinned beauty ran her arms across her shoulders and swiped the jacket she'd spent the last three minutes trying to remove, off in one motion, "It's almost 5 PM, what do you have planned for the rest of today?"

"Nothing really, I'm just gonna lie down for a bit. I'm kind of tired," Normani smiled, placing the jacket in the other woman's hands then clearing her throat once those green eyes didn't leave hers after over a minute.

"Sorry-" Lauren shook her head and looked away for a moment before casting her eyes back on the Texan, "Okay, have a good nap, Mani."

The older woman said her thanks and made her way back to her little sanctuary with the green-eyed woman eying her as she walked away.

The rest of the night went like it normally did, Normani emerged from her "oasis" at around 7 and proceeded to help Lauren prepare dinner. Once the two had eaten and the dishes were washed and put away, the Texan went back to her room for the night. Feeling a little "down in the dumps," Lauren again wondered if her efforts were in vain, but the thought of the other woman's smile seemed to pull her back again.

"I'm not giving up that easily," She mumbled to herself, searching the television guide for something to occupy her constantly moving mind.

.

The next day was Monday and Lauren thought of what she could do to keep building her relationship back up with Normani. Then it came to her, a simple walk. They could walk through and do a little sightseeing . So that evening they had dinner a bit earlier than usual so she asked.

"Now that it's a little warmer out and since it's still a bit early, I was thinking of maybe taking a walk.  It could be just around the neighborhood or maybe through Times Square. When we've gotten dinner cleaned up, would you maybe like to join me?"

And to her delight, Normani's stoic expression turned into a grin, "Yeah, that'd be nice. I've actually read that taking a walk after dinner is a good way to get your metabolism going."

So after they'd finished dinner and washed the dishes together, they took a short walk around the neighborhood, neither wanting to walk too much further. It was a bit warmer than usual and although they were both a bit troubled and had a lot on their minds, the short walk had helped them put those troubles aside and at the end of the walk Normani thanked Lauren for inviting her along and expressed how she'd wanted to do it again sometime.

The next day came and more changes were made. At breakfast, Lauren had mentioned how there would be a marathon of their favorite 90s TV show, All That, that evening and for the first time, Normani asked to join her which Lauren agreed to quickly. The next few weeks went by and a few more things would change.

More and more, Normani would spend time with the green-eyed woman watching TV or just talking. They went on their short walk 3 days out of the week and even went out to lunch twice a week. Lauren of course, kept up her secret visits at Ass R Us on the weekends and although she  enjoyed watching Normani work, she realized that while they were rebuilding their friendship, she still had no clue if the Texan was interested in anything more.