"Have fun!" Lauren called as Camila hurried down the sidewalk. They'd been so caught up in tossing a toy back and forth with Wolf that morning that both girls didn't realize they were going to be late for work.
Just as Lauren went to start the car once more, she caught sight of someone running back towards the car. She grew confused when Camila motioned for her to roll down the window, tapping on the glass hurriedly.
"Are you going home?" Camila asked, out of breath. Lauren nodded, raising an incriminating eyebrow.
"Good," Camila nodded. She bit her lip to hide her excitement. "Look in the guest bedroom."
Before Lauren could even ask her wife what she meant, the smaller girl took off down the sidewalk and disappeared into the building. Lauren furrowed her eyebrows together, suddenly curious as to what Camila was talking about.
She hurried home, tossing her jacket aside by the door and startling Wolf when she accidentally pulled the door shut with a bit too much excitement. The cat sat up from his perch on the counter as Lauren headed down the hallway.
They had been so busy with the wedding the week before that they hadn't had time to pay much attention to their house. The only two rooms they occupied most of the time were the kitchen and the bedroom, so the two empty rooms at the end of the hallway had yet to be lived in.
Or so she thought.
Lauren was confused as soon as her fingers curled around the doorknob to the guest bedroom and she came face to face with a completely different room. Her breath caught in her throat and she allowed her eyes to scan her surroundings.
On the opposite side of the room sat a brand new easel, right in front of the large window that held the perfect view of their large backyard. On the adjacent walls, there were string lights and random pictures the girls had gathered over their time as a couple. Rows upon rows of shelves held all of her art supplies, organized neatly together.
Lauren couldn't find her words. When had this happened? The green eyed girl took a step forwards, allowing her eyes to scan over the various photos that had been hung on the walls.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of something pinned to her easel. Raising an eyebrow, the green eyed girl crossed the room and carefully took the lined paper into her hands.
Lo,
Please don't be mad.
When we got married, we both said we did not want to do anything big. But I had to do something. Because you deserve big things.
I do not know what I am supposed to say. Happy wedding? That sounds funny. But I am happy because we are married. I wish I could really show you how happy I am. I can not even put it into words, Lo. I love you.
So please do not be mad. I know how sometimes you do not like when the attention is on you. But I needed to do something. And you should not be mad, because I think this is like a present for me, too.
I wanted you to have somewhere that is all yours. You know? A space where you can paint amazing things and listen to your favorite songs as loud as you want.
And I like to watch you paint. It is one of my favorite things. You love it, and I love you. So it works out. I hope you like it.
I love you.
- Camila
Lauren couldn't help the dorky smile that spread across her face. There was just something so special about Camila. She couldn't explain it.
She folded up the note and tucked it in her pocket, making a mental note to never get rid of it. The green eyed girl slowly looked around the room once more. It fit her. Camila knew her too well. There was a blue tapestry hanging on the wall by the door and Lauren had a feeling the color wasn't just a coincidence.
Her eyes landed on her leather bag full of paint, which had been hung from one of the shelves. Without thinking twice, Lauren grabbed the bag and emptied its contents onto the large wooden table next to the easel.
In one hand she grabbed a tube of yellow paint. But her eyes also landed on a tube of blue. Before she even realized what she was doing, she was squeezing equal amounts of both onto a clean palette and mixing them together.
Moments later, the yellow and blue dissipated into a calming shade of green. With a paintbrush in one hand and her palette balanced on her hip, Lauren didn't think twice when she brought the brush to the white wall and got to work.
Lauren drew her bottom lip in between her teeth as her brush glided quickly against the wall. She began to hum softly, becoming lost in her own little world.
Her two favorite things in the world were Camila and art, she decided. But technically, Camila was art. Camila always seemed to work her way into every aspect of Lauren's life. And she didn't mind.
Once she was finished, she took a few steps back and admired her work. Holding her brush inbetween her teeth, Lauren used her free hand to retrieve her phone from the table and snap a picture of her creation. She immediately sent it to Camila.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Camila had a small child cradled in her arms. The little girl had fallen asleep in her lap during 'circle time', and according to her mother she hadn't slept a wink all night. Camila decided against waking her up, so now she sat in the back of the classroom with the sleeping girl in her arms while the other kids were out on the playground.
Just then, she felt a buzzing in her pocket. The small girl carefully freed one of her hands so she could check her phone. A wide smile immediately crossed her face when she saw the picture Lauren had sent her.
The outline of a large heart was slathered onto the plain white wall. Camila could tell Lauren had drawn it. The green eyed girl's hearts always came out slightly lopsided. She had complained about it to Camila before. In the middle of the heart, Lauren had carefully painted "KCC + LMJ" in her cursive handwriting.
Even though they were married now, little things like that still made Camila's heart flutter. She was constantly in a state of disbelief that Lauren was hers.
Lauren was in that same state of shock, at that exact same moment. She sat at the stool by her easel, taking in the room. Maybe she was overreacting, but she had always dreamed of having her own art studio as a child, and somehow Camila had just known. For her it was as if things had come full circle for them.
Her phone buzzed a few moments later and she smiled when a picture popped up on her screen and she was presented with yet another reason why she loved her wife.
[My Girl - 11:58] i love you lo
[My Girl - 11:58] so much
Attached was a picture Camila had taken with the front camera. Her hair was tousled from her beanie, which she had used as a pillow under the small girl's head, which rested on her shoulder. Camila had her lips curled in a soft smile and her big brown eyes filled with adoration.
In that moment, Lauren realized that nothing was as beautiful as being in love with someone who looks like love itself.
[Lolo - 12:01] Ethereal.
[Lolo - 12:02] That's what you are.
Lauren locked her phone, sliding it back into her pocket and taking another long look at the room. When her eyes landed back on the easel, she gained an idea.
--
Camila hurried out to the car once she passed the sleeping girl off to her mother. Work had been relatively calm that day and she had nearly fallen asleep herself. Though that didn't stop her from smiling widely when she saw Lauren's car parked out front, waiting for her.
Camila grew confused when the moment she got in the car, Lauren was already starting the engine and pulling out of the parking lot. She furrowed her eyebrows together, unable to read the expression on her wife's face.
"Lo?" Camila tilted her head to the side. She had expected something completely different when she saw Lauren. She wanted to know what the girl thought of her present. But instead, she saw something in the girl's eyes that she hadn't seen much of in a while. Nervousness.
"I, uh..." Lauren stumbled over her words and Camila had to hold back her smile due to how cute the girl was when she didn't know what to say. "I have a surprise for you... kinda," Lauren bit her lip and glanced over at the girl in the passenger seat.
"Is it bad?" Camila asked. A lot of the surprises she had encountered in her lifetime had been anything but good. But when Lauren quickly shook her head, Camila calmed down slightly.
"Just trust me," Lauren laughed softly. She reached over, lacing their fingers together, which made Camila relax. She trusted Lauren with every fiber of her being.
"I do," Camila nodded. "Is it a-?"
"No questions," Lauren giggled and held up a finger to quiet the girl. "You'll see," she nodded softly, her voice growing quieter. She was somewhat nervous, even though deep down she knew she didn't have to be.
Camila remained quiet for the rest of the ride while absentmindedly playing with Lauren's fingers. Once they got back to the house, she immediately greeted Wolf at the door, cradling him in her arms and cuddling him in the crook of her neck.
"C'mon," Lauren laughed, tossing her jacket aside. "I need your help with something."
Camila grew confused, setting Wolf back down. She didn't argue, though. The smaller girl followed Lauren down the hallway and into the guest bedroom. She couldn't help but smile when she saw their initials painted on the wall.
"I love it, by the way," Lauren whispered, pulling Camila over to the easel. "It's perfect. Absolutely perfect." She leaned in, planting a soft kiss on the smaller girl's lips.
Before Camila even had a chance to reply, Lauren was suddenly moving across the room and rearranging her supplies. Camila watched as Lauren took her wooden stool and moved it in front of the easel. "I wanna paint you," she whispered shyly.
"Me?" Camila felt her cheeks flush red. Lauren nodded softly and reached out to take Camila's hand.
"Is that okay?" she asked quietly. Camila quickly nodded and gave her wife a soft smile. God, she was in love.
"Awesome," Lauren laughed in relief, squeezing her hand and leading the brown eyed girl over to the stool by the window. "You can just... sit," she shrugged softly. Camila couldn't help but giggle at how nervous Lauren appeared to be.
The room was hot, so without even thinking about it, Camila shed her leggings. She was wearing one of Lauren's sweaters that was big on her, and it came down to the middle of her thighs anyway. Tossing the leggings aside, the small girl climbed onto the stool and somehow managed to sit cross legged.
"Here," Lauren whispered, still nervous. She was comfortable around Camila, obviously. But she was worried that she wouldn't be able to capture the girl's beauty the way it deserved to be captured. She moved forward, brushing Camila's hair out of her face and giving the girl a soft smile.
"You really like it?" Camila asked once Lauren smoothed out her sweater and began gathering her paints together. She took the time to study the studio once more, happy with the way it had turned out.
"Of course I do. I love it," Lauren nodded. She pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail before setting a clean canvas on her easel. She took a few steps back, studying Camila intently. This caused the smaller girl to giggle, becoming bashful under her wife's watchful eye.
"How am I supposed to do this?" Lauren laughed, shaking her head. "You're already a work of art."
Camila's cheeks turned red and she looked away shyly. There was nothing in the world that could ever lessen the effects of Lauren's words on her. Nothing.
"I'll try my best," Lauren concluded, causing Camila to laugh softly. The green eyed girl moved back over to her easel.
Camila loved watching Lauren paint. It was as if the moment Lauren took the brush in her hand, she became a different person. There was a whole new level of confidence present in her when she painted, Camila realized.
She watched as the green eyed girl furrowed her eyebrows in concentration, bringing the brush to the canvas and beginning to paint in small, light strokes. Camila could sit there forever, she decided. Watching Lauren exist was her favorite pastime.
And she was perfectly fine with that.
--
a/n: i might as well tell you to enjoy this while it lasts...
- lena (lenajfc on twitter, tendermoonlight on tumblr)