With the changing colors of the leaves also came the colder weather. As always, Camila was more than excited for the upcoming holidays. Halloween hadn't even passed and the smaller girl was already planning for Thanksgiving.
With only a few days left until Halloween, Camila and Lauren were busy with putting the finish touches on their house. Normani and Dinah had insisted that they come to their Halloween party. The two girls were notorious for completely covering the apartment in decorations and getting more than their share of noise complaints from the neighbors.
Currently, Camila was balancing on a chair on the front porch, reaching up to hang a string of pumpkin lights from the roof. Lauren was in the art studio as usual, slaving over a painting she'd been working on for over a week.
Wolf was perched on the edge of the porch, sticking near Camila as always. The smaller girl finally was able to plug in her string of lights, clapping her hands when the front of the house lit up. She moved onto the fake cobwebs, which she found surprisingly difficult to maneuver.
Meanwhile, Lauren had her painting playlist on full blast. There was a paintbrush tucked behind her ear and another in her mouth. Her white t-shirt was a mess of reds and yellows, and a streak of purple went unnoticed on her chin. She was so lost in her work that she didn't even realize what time it was.
Her current project was one of her favorites. The idea had been inspired by Camila (although she didn't know it). Lauren liked to think of it as the calm after the storm. She leaned in closer to her canvas and began adding in the smaller details onto the ocean, making sure to give extra attention to her shadows.
After a few minutes, Lauren paused and rubbed her arms. The room had gotten exceptionally cold. Scanning the room, she snatched an old flannel from the table and tossed it over her shoulders. Without another thought, she went back to work.
Only a few minutes later, though, she felt a thin trail of sweat forming on her upper lip. Fanning herself off, she tossed the flannel aside and turned her attention back to her painting.
An hour or so passed and Lauren found herself freezing cold once more. Shimmying back into the plaid flannel, she held her brush in her mouth and jogged across the hallway to check their thermostat. She was surprised when she saw that the temperature was completely normal.
But because she was Lauren, and sometimes she was a little too determined, she ignored the slight ache in her head and continued to work on her painting.
Some time passed, and now Camila stood on the sidewalk in front of their house, admiring her handiwork. It was just the right amount of scary and decorative. Even Wolf enjoyed batting around a balled up piece of caution tape.
Proud with her handiwork, Camila retrieved the old cat from the front porch and made her way inside. She kicked off her boots and tossed her jacket aside, making her way down the hallway.
The first thing she heard was Lauren sneezing. Raising an eyebrow, the smaller girl peered into the studio. Lauren's hands were practically covered in paint, and when she used one of her cloths to wipe her nose, she was met with a long streak of blue right above her lip. Camila tilted her head to the side.
"You sound sick," Camila noted, making Lauren jump at the sudden interruption. The smaller girl stood shyly in the doorway, her hair a windblown mess from how long she had been outside. Her cheeks were tinged red from the chilly fall weather, and Lauren couldn't help but smile.
"Not sick, just allergies," Lauren shrugged, sniffing and turning back to her canvas. "Hey, can you turn up the thermostat? I think there's a draft in here."
Camila furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at the thermostat behind her. Knowing better than to believe her wife, she walked over to the windows and felt around the edges. No draft whatsoever.
"I will make you soup," Camila nodded. Lauren turned around in confusion.
"But I'm not s-,"
"I will make you soup," Camila gave her a look, and Lauren knew arguing with her wasn't going to get her anywhere. Sighing, the green eyed girl just shook her head and turned back to her painting.
With a victorious smile, Camila made her way back down the hallway and into the kitchen. Wolf followed close behind, hopping onto his side of the counter. (Yes, he has a side of the counter.)
"Soup," Camila mumbled to herself, glancing at the cat on the counter. "Where do we keep the soup, Wolf?"
When she didn't get an answer, the smaller girl moved to the pantry, digging through the various food items. After the occurrence at the school, Dinah and Normani had gone grocery shopping for them. Camila could have sworn they had brought a few cans of soup over.
Of course, she was right, and soon the small brown eyed girl was heating up Chicken Noodle Soup. Next to it she was boiling another pot of water for tea. She knew Lauren liked tea, and tea made Lauren sleepy. And if Lauren was sick, she would rather her sleep than complain.
About ten minutes later, Camila found herself carrying a small tray into the art studio. A bowl of soup, a cup of green tea, and a few crackers were arranged nicely on a plate. Camila was proud of her creation.
"I made you soup. And tea," Camila said softly, knocking on the doorframe to alert Lauren of her presence. The green eyed girl looked up from her painting as Camila made her way in and set the tray down on the table. Camila noticed how her wife had pulled yet another flannel on, but was somehow still sweating.
"Do you have a fever?" Camila took a step forward and tried to feel Lauren's forehead, but her hand was lazily batted away.
"I'm fine," Lauren shook her head, glancing at the tray Camila had brought her. "Really."
"I made you soup," Camila reminded her. "And tea."
"I'm not really hungry right now, I told you," Lauren shrugged. Camila frowned slightly, her eyebrows stitching together as Lauren reached up to rub her eyes.
"Are you getting sick?" Camila asked, tilting her head to the side.
"No, Camila," Lauren's voice grew colder and the smaller girl bit her lip. "I'm fine. I told you. I'm just trying to get this fucking painting done." The girl sniffed and wiped her nose once again, turning back to the canvas in front of her.
Camila nodded softly to herself, leaving the tray on the table and padding out of the room. Becoming distracted by Wolf, who had gotten one of his toys stuck under the couch, Camila soon found herself involved in an intense game of keep away with the fluffy white cat.
It was only about ten minutes later, when she heard rushed footsteps in the hallway, that she forgot about her game and hurried to see what the commotion about.
She skidded to a stop in front of the bathroom just as Lauren lifted her head from the toilet, coughing and exhaling shakily.
"Here," Camila whispered, grabbing one of the hand towels from the sink and handing it to the girl. Lauren gently took it from her to wipe her mouth.
"I think I'm getting sick," Lauren's raspy voice filled the room. Camila rolled her eyes.
"No duh," the smaller girl shook her head and offered the girl her hand. Laughing softly, Lauren stood up and flushed the toilet, hugging her hands around her torso.
"You should lay down," Camila nodded, grabbing Lauren's hand and trying to lead her down the hallway. The green eyed girl paused though, glancing back at the studio.
"I need to finish..." Lauren mumbled and shook her head. "It was almost done."
"It can wait," Camila gave her a stern look, not taking no for an answer. Sighing in defeat, Lauren trailed behind Camila down the hallway.
Camila paused once they made it to the bedroom. Studying Lauren, she realized how much the older girl was shivering.
"Here," Camila said softly, stepping forwards and helping Lauren shed her flannels. She tossed them aside, peeling off Lauren's white t-shirt and balling it up to wipe the excess paint off of her face and hands.
She signaled for Lauren to stay where she was and disappeared into the closet. Moments later, the smaller girl reappeared with her blue New York hoodie and handed it to her wife.
"It is your favorite color, and it is super warm," Camila explained, earning a soft smile from the girl. She stood on her tiptoes to help Lauren pull the sweatshirt on.
"Here," Camila motioned for her to wait. She hurried over to the bed, pulling the blankets back and fluffing up the pillows before leaning them against the headboard. "Lay down."
"Camila, you really don't-,"
"Lo," Camila crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the girl. And so Lauren complied, partly because Camila meant business, but also partly because her protectiveness was adorably cute.
"Wait here," Camila nodded quickly before disappearing out of the room. Lauren had to admit, she was cold. Which is why she pulled the blankets over her legs once she laid back on the bed.
Camila reappeared a few minutes later with the same tray she had brought before. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she gave the girl leaning against the headboard a shy smile.
"I reheated it," she explained, carefully scooting back so she was facing Lauren. "You should try... to eat something," she bit her lip. Wolf hopped up onto the bed to inspect what was going on.
"Here," Camila gently held out the cup of tea, nodding towards Lauren hopefully. "It is the sleepy tea. The kind you like, remember?"
"Yeah," Lauren laughed softly, finding Camila extremely endearing. She took the mug from the smaller girl's hands and held it in her own.
"I also brought this," Camila explained as Lauren began to sip at her tea. She held out a damp cloth, pointing to Lauren's forehead. "This is supposed to help, right?"
In any other situation, with any other person, Lauren would refuse to be taken care of like this. Showing weakness wasn't really her thing. She didn't like burdening people.
But with Camila, it was different. It always had been. Camila never treated her with annoyance or impatience. Camila never treated her like a burden. Camila treated her like someone she loved, and made it clear that she genuinely cared about the girl. Maybe even more than herself. Which is why Lauren didn't protest when the smaller girl scooted forward and gently laid the cloth across her forehead.
"Is there anything else you need?" Camila asked, tilting her head to the side. "Water? Juice? More crackers? If I call Dinah maybe she could go to t-,"
"I'm fine, Camila," Lauren laughed softly, shaking her head. "You've taken good enough care of me."
"I think we have applesauce. Or... or yogurt, or-,"
"Just come lay with me," Lauren said quietly, setting her mug on the nightstand and scooting over to make room for the girl. Camila could tell simply by the rawness of the girl's voice that she was sick.
"I made you something!" Camila exclaimed, scrambling to grab her phone from the nightstand before joining Lauren under the covers.
As she attempted to snuggle up next to the girl, she was taken by surprise when Lauren scooted even further away from her.
"I don't want you getting sick," Lauren explained, shifting her position slightly. Camila furrowed her eyebrows together and shook her head.
"I do not care," she nodded firmly, reaching out and pulling Lauren closer. She could tell Lauren was cold by the way she was hugging the hoodie tightly to her chest, but it was opposite in contrast to the way she felt. Camila could practically feel the heat radiating off of the girl.
"I learned a song on the piano. Maia helped me," Camila explained, tapping through her phone until she pulled up a video. Holding her phone hesitantly, she bit her lip before handing it to Lauren. "It is not good, but..."
"I'm sure it's great," Lauren laughed, coughing a few times before composing herself.
Her lips spread into a loving smile when she pressed play and a nervous Camila appeared on the screen, lent forwards and balancing the camera on a stack of books behind the piano. Her hair was in a messy braid that Lauren had done the night before, and a few pieces of hair stuck out here and there, falling down in front of her face.
In the video, the small girl took a deep breath, glancing at the camera once more before placing her fingers on the keys. She mumbled something to herself, biting her bottom lip in concentration before pressing the first note.
From then on, it was easy to see that Camila became more comfortable. She nodded each time she hit a note, which Lauren found adorable. The green eyed girl was taken by surprise when the girl in the video took a deep breath and began singing.
"I gave you all I had,
and nothing less I promise.
Love me and don't look back,
I want you with me on this road to the sky.
We'll be shining every night, I promise you.
Just me and you.
Oh I promise you."
The girl lingered for a few moments after hitting the last note, taking a deep breath before glancing up at the camera with a shy smile. She leaned forward to turn off the camera, ending the video.
Lauren couldn't wipe the affectionate smile off her face as she turned to look at the small girl next to her. Embarrassed, Camila had buried her face into Lauren's neck.
"I didn't know you could sing," Lauren said softly, reaching out to run her fingers through her wife's hair. Camila bit her lip and looked up.
"Maia made me," she admitted, shaking her head. "The song had words. It did not sound good unless we used them."
"You know I love you, right?" Lauren whispered, realizing just how much she adored the smaller girl in front of her. "You know I'd do anything for you?"
"I..." Camila's face grew red and she resorted to hiding in Lauren's shoulder once again, making the older girl laugh.
"You know that, Camila?" Lauren asked again, nudging her shoulder slightly. Camila just giggled and nodded her head.
"But not as much as I love you."
--
a/n: just a cute little fluffy chapter (for the certain anon who's requested something like this since yellow, haha)
ily all and have a wonderful day. be nice to yourselves.
- lena (lenajfc on twitter, tendermoonlight on tumblr)