Two
Their uncomfortable silence was soon broken by someone at the door.
"That must be the pizza," Camila's face lit up immediately, and moved to stand up and fetch her purse, but Lauren waved her off.
"It's on me," she said, walking towards her suitcase to get her wallet. "Figure I can save you the unnecessary expense."
The younger brunette made a face at Lauren's remark as she walked towards the entrance hall.
Camila opened the door to a teenage boy, a hopeful expression on his face, holding out a box. He smiled widely when he came face to face to a beautiful woman. Behind her, Lauren was leaning against the living door frame; but the younger did not notice that she had followed.
"Pizza for a beautiful girl," The boy said with a smirk as he handed Camila the box. Lauren frowned as the younger one giggled, not used to her being flirty with anyone but herself. She knew that Camila probably flirted with a lot more people than her, and she didn't like the thought of that, somehow.
She moved to stand by Camila's side, wrapping an arm around the smaller girl's waist, gently pulling her into a sideways embrace.
"Thanks," Lauren told the boy, tone chipped, and handed him a few notes that would surely cover the cost. "Keep the change. Come on, wife."
Before either the pizza boy or Camila could respond, she shut the door. As soon as the boy's view was blocked, she let go of the other girl and walked into the kitchen, already fetching two plates from a cupboard by the time Camila had caught up.
She turned to see that Camila had seated herself on a stool, already shoving a slice of pizza into her mouth. She placed the plate before the girl and frowned.
"You're just going to eat that with your hands?" She questioned as she watched.
"How else are you supposed to eat pizza?" Camila wrinkled her nose adorably, then giggled. The other brunette kept quiet, as she usually used cutlery to cut up her pizza and eat it as a regular meal. Then again, she always made the pizzas herself.
She copied the other girl's actions and chewed on her own piece absentmindedly. By the time she was finished with her first, Camila was already halfway through her third.
"So, what was that at the door?" Camila finally asked, studying Lauren's face closely. Lauren coughed as she trained her eyes on the counter top, feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Well, you're my wife, apparently," The older one started hesitantly. "I found out today. I don't really know how it's possible... So I played along with it. At least until we find out what's going on; I have a reputation to hold up, you see."
"Yeah, God forbid I damage your reputation," Camila retorted sarcastically. "But we've been married for six months. Ally told me."
Lauren nodded, interested to hear what her 'wife' had found out. It was still a big mystery to the both of them, and every little piece of information was useful.
"What else?" She asked, moving away from the kitchen counter to find herself a piece of paper so she could note everything down. She didn't want to mess anything up at work by saying the wrong things or acting the wrong way.
They discussed everything they had seen and heard. Lauren could not help but giggle when Camila informed her that they had bought the restaurant, Da Giovanni, for Ally – there was no way that the younger one could have paid for it. Lauren shrugged it off. She had more money than she needed.
"The only question left is: how did we get here?" Lauren asked herself out loud.
This time it was Camila who shrugged.
------
After dinner, even though Lauren hardly called pizza dinner, they moved to the living room again.
Camila settled to watch tv, putting on a random show. Lauren, on the other hand, took out a book she had been reading and settled on the opposite end of her large couch. Every once in a while, she would glance up at the younger one; studying the girl over her book.
In all honesty, the girl was beautiful. She could not help but wonder what lived that loud, sassy exterior. Lauren thought to herself that she was lucky – surely she could have ended up being married to someone far worse. Of all waitresses, she liked Camila best.
Still there was one thing that truly bothered her – apart from having woken up being married to someone she hardly knew – were the words that were playing on repeat in her mind: the things Camila had yelled about her. Did the girl hate her that much? She could not ask. Lauren didn't know how to talk about anything other than business.
She soon focused back onto her book, becoming completely engrossed in it. It wasn't until Camila yawned rather largely and obnoxiously that she was shaken from her attention.
She glanced at the clock and decided that she would call it a night.
"Good night, Camila," She husked, oppressing a yawn herself. The other girl glanced up from the tv, scrambling off of the couch. She turned off the tv and made to follow Lauren upstairs.
It wasn't until Lauren had entered her bedroom and heard someone follow in, that the older girl turned around, facing a Camila that almost bumped into her.
"What are you doing?" Lauren asked her, raising an eyebrow.
"Going to bed?" Was the reply.
Lauren narrowed her eyes, unsure whether the girl was joking or not, but her face showed no smile or smirk.
"There's a guest bedroom upstairs."
With a quiet 'oh', Camila turned and left the room. Lauren watched her walk away, feeling somewhat uneasy at having been so blunt. What else was she supposed to do though? Invite her into her bed with her? No way. She hardly knew the girl.
Grumbling to herself, she slipped into her bathroom to get ready for bed. She brushed her teeth and changed out of her clothes, putting on an old band shirt and shorts, not wanting to sleep naked after the previous night's occurrence. She padded back into her room, pausing at the door momentarily to listen for Camila's rustling upstairs, but she heard none. She figured the girl was already in bed.
The photo frame on her bedside table caught her eye again and this time she made her way over to it, picking it up so she could view it closely. It portrayed a picture of her and the younger brunette. Lauren, being slightly taller, stood behind Camila as she had her arms wrapped around the girl. She was grinning at the camera somewhat proudly while the younger one looked as if she were genuinely laughing at something; both Camila's hand lain on Lauren's arms.
They looked happy.
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Camila woke up to an empty house. She hadn't set an alarm clock for the morning, so she slept until she was well-rested. She expected it not to be so late, but when she got downstairs and saw it was around noon, she realized she had slept longer than she thought. She didn't care much; she always slept in because she figured she would wake up when she was fully rested. She probably needed the hours. She hadn't fallen asleep until late at night anyway; tossing and turning in the overly large guest bed. The house was so insanely huge, it felt uncomfortable to Camila. She couldn't fathom how Lauren could live in such a house all by herself.
The brunette sauntered into the kitchen, yawning, and began searching the refrigerator for something breakfast/lunch-worthy. Finding a few eggs and a bag of cheese, she decided on baking herself an omelet. She placed the ingredients next to the stove, staring at the fancy baking plates for a little while. She herself had always used a gas stove, so the electrical furnace was foreign to her. She bit her bottom lip as she tested the stove by pressing on a few buttons. When she had it all sorted out, she opened the rest of the drawers and cupboards in search for a frying pan.
Little over half an hour later, she was enjoying her omelet.
When she finished, she did the dishes. She was sure that Lauren had this advanced dishwasher, but she preferred doing it by hand. Plus, it would kill some time. She had no idea what she should be doing, now that she didn't have a job. She frowned, wondering how it was ever possible that she had given up on her job willingly. This alternate universe in which they had woken up was a strange one indeed. She had to admit, she was extremely curious to know how she had met Lauren here and come to date and eventually marry her.
She wasn't fond of the older brunette, not ever since she had rejected any form of conversation with her when she served her.
How in hell did they get so far, then?
Camila was unsure if she liked the thought of being married to Lauren. She still had her doubts about the woman; her attitude was one that Camila couldn't really handle. The woman was just always so serious and business-oriented, handing out money as if it were nothing. She always treated the younger one as if she had no money at all, again by paying the pizza boy yesterday. And those little snide remarks; 'why would I ever stalk you?' and 'figure I can save you the unnecessary expense'. She snorted loudly; the nerve.
Not knowing what to do, she decided on exploring the house. She lived here now, didn't she? She should get accustomed to it, then. She started on the ground floor, going through every room.
The ground room consisted of the entrance hall which led to the living room. Next to the living room, there was the kitchen. She had already been in these rooms plenty of times, but she explored them either way, going through everything she could find. She was slightly in awe when she got to the living room and opened a closet to reveal a big ass surround system and stereo system. Sweet. She looked forward to dancing around the living room in her underwear while blasting her favourites through the house. She skipped the study.
She moved onto the next floor, which obviously was Lauren's floor now, since it had her bedroom, bathroom and changing room. She discovered that the older woman also had a small office on this floor, and Camila shook her head. Why in hell would she need an office at home?
The second floor, and last floor, was much alike the first floor; only it was impersonal. It was obviously an etage for guests, should there ever be guests to stay at the house. It was Camila's now.
She made her way back downstairs and opened the door to Lauren's study, her eyes trailing over the bar and cabinets in awe. She saw a large collection of bottles of liquor of all sorts and smiled. She would think that her now-wife could appreciate some of the finer alcohol in the world. She did, too. She poured herself a glass from a random bottle she grabbed from the shelves, not thinking of a reason why not to.
It wasn't until she turned around that she noticed the grand piano. And guitars.
Holy shit, was everything she could think. She giggled to herself, remembering how she had reprimanded the older woman for cursing out loud, but she could not help it. She loved music. Then she remembered that Lauren was a big shot in the music industry, and she facepalmed herself. How would it ever be possible that Lauren wasn't a musician herself of some sort? Or owned music instruments at home?
She stepped closer, finishing her drink in a few gulps and disposed herself of the glass, her now free hands trailing over the piano's smooth surface carefully. She had always wanted to play, but she never was able to afford it. She did, on the other hand, manage to teach herself how to play the guitar.
Taking a seat on the small bench, she started pressing some random keys, trying to figure out how to play a song. She kept herself busy with it for a long while, proud when after a while, she was able to play 'twinke twinkle little star'. She figured she should start with something basic.
Her eyes fell back on the guitars in the corner, studying them closely as she took them from the guitar stand.
They both felt pretty smooth, one being a black acoustic guitar and the other one a white electric guitar. She smiled, they were beautiful. She took the acoustic guitar with her and carried it to the piano stool, taking a seat. She placed the guitar on her lap.
It had been a while, but as she started playing a few chords, it came back to her quickly. She soon picked up one of her favourite songs and started singing.
------
Lauren unlocked her front door, exhausted from her day at work, and entered the empty living room. She frowned to herself, wondering where the younger girl could be; she had left the house pretty early this morning, contemplating on whether to leave a not or not. She had decided against it, not wanting to weird the other one out.
She placed her suitcase in the usual spot and let her eyes roam over the room. Nothing seemed out of place. As she walked towards the stairs, she heard music coming from her study; the strumming of a guitar and soft singing.
She snuck closer, and stood in the door frame silently – the door had been wide open – and smiled to herself as she saw Camila sitting with her back towards the door. The girl was solely focused on the instrument in her hands.
Lauren held her breath as she listened, the singing picking up again. She didn't recognize the song, but it sounded amazing.
Camila's voice was unique. Soft and shrill at the same time; the older woman didn't know how that was possible, but it carried her away. Once she got over the shock of the other brunette sounding so lovely, she payed close attention to what the girl was singing.
This is my lovesong to you, let every woman know I'm yours
So you can fall asleep each night, babe, and know I'm dreaming of you more
You're always hoping that we make it
You always want to keep my gaze
But you're the only one I see, love, and that's the one thing that won't change.
I'll never stop trying, I'll never stop watching as you leave
I'll never stop losing my breath, every time I see you looking back at me
I will never stop holding your hand, I'll never stop opening your door
I'll never stop choosing you, babe, I'll never get used to you
The singing and strumming suddenly stopped when Camila messed up a chord, silently scolding herself for messing up. Lauren was shaken from her daze, not realizing that her jaw had been hanging open in amazement.
"Oh, I didn't realize you were home," Camila had turned around and spotted the older woman right away, her face turning bright red in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. It's just been a while since I've played and I couldn't resist..."
"It's more than okay," Lauren reassured her. She watched as the other brunette set the guitar back into its place. "I would like to hear more sometime."
She was sincere and she hoped that Camila could tell. She was simply amazed by the younger girl, not having anticipated that she was so talented. She remembered how she felt just now, having held her breath and fluttering in her stomach. If she could only listen to Camila sing every moment of her day, she didn't think she'd ever have a bad day.
"Have you had dinner already?" Lauren askedkindly as they left the study, closing the door behind her.
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hey, I didn't introduce myself yet. I'm Ana. Thank you for reading this and feedback is more than welcome, I applaud it. It feeds my muse. Thank you. This was also posted on the 5H fanfiction tumblr a while ago; I'm one and the same person. Thanks again