Camila flipped a pancake that was cooking in the pan before going back to making Gabe's lunch for school quickly. It was times like these she wished she had an extra hand again. Sam usually helped her in the mornings, so it use to be less hectic for her. But now she had to do this on her own, and sometimes she struggled.
Gabe ran into the kitchen, sporting purple fairy wings with a matching tutu and blue jeans underneath. "How do I look?" Gabe grinned. "Do I look lovely?" he did a little spin.
Camila looked away from the peanut butter and jelly sandwich she was making and smiled at the adorable outfit, chuckling at Gabriel's word choice. "You definitely look lovely. You gonna wear that to school?" she asked as she went back to making the sandwich.
Gabe nodded. "Yup!" he exclaimed as he suddenly scrunched up his nose. "Mommy, what's that smell?"
Camila hummed before raising an eyebrow and looking at Gabe with a confused look. "What?" she questioned before she smelled something burning and cursed to herself. "Shit!" she exclaimed as she dropped the sandwich and rushed to pick up the burnt pancake, dropping the pancake to the floor and hissing when it burned her fingers.
The pancake wasn't completely cooked, so pancake batter was splattered on the floor and in some of the bottom cabinets.
Gabe stuck out his tongue and made a disgusted noise. "You made a mess." He pointed out.
Camila put her hands in her face and groaned. "I know." She mumbled.
Gabe walked to where the napkins were and grabbed a bunch of napkins and started wiping the cabinets. "Maybe ring lady should come and make us breakfast." He said casually.
Camila was picking up the dropped peanut butter and jelly sandwich when Gabe said that. Her eyes widened and dropped the sandwich again, blinking. "What?"
"Ring lady...she can come, right? She's your girlfriend." Gabe smiled smugly.
"Uh..." Camila stammered as she bent down to pick up the sandwich and walked to the trash can and tossed it in. "I don't know." She said softly. "She might be busy."
"Well call her on your cell phone!" Gabe exclaimed.
Camila chewed on her lip. "I don't know, Gabriel." she said as she started to help Gabe clean up the pancake mess on the floor.
"Why not?" he pouted. "I want her to teach me how to play with the lions."
Camila chuckled. "In your wildest dreams, bud. I'm not letting you near them."
"But they don't do anything!" he exclaimed. "I can be a ring person too!"
Camila chuckled and looked at Gabe before kissing his cheek. "We'll see." She said as she got up and went to throw away the pancake.
It was silent for a few seconds before she heard Gabe leave the room. Camila nodded, relieved Gabe didn't keep insisting.
Camila hummed to an old song playing on her record player as she attempted to make some pancakes again. Camila could easily admit she wasn't the best cook out there, but she had to try when she had a four year old to feed.
"Hello, yes, are you the ring lady?" Camila heard Gabe. Camila chuckled and shook her head, Gabe had such a wacky imagination. But she was glad for that (mostly because he could spend hours playing on his own without disturbing her as she wrote).
"You need to come and make breakfast for us. My mommy keeps burning the pancakes. And...between you and me...I don't like how she makes my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."
Camila rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Hey, I try." She mumbled as she flipped a pancake that had almost burned on her.
Camila heard Gabe continue to talk, surprised he was able to keep up his fake conversation for so long.
"Of course my mommy says it's okay for you to come."
Camila raised an eyebrow. "Gabe, who are you talking to?" she decided to ask.
"Give me a second, my mommy needs to speak with me." She heard Gabe say as he walked in with her phone in his ear. "I'm talking to ring lady, do you need help cleaning up another burned pancake?"
Camila's eyes widened as she snatched the phone and saw that Gabe called Lauren. She shouldn't have put 'Ring Lady' in her contacts as a joke...
"Gabe! You're not supposed to make calls!" she scorned.
"But I'm hungry and you keep burning the pancakes!" Gabe argued.
Camila heard laughing from the phone and blushed as she put her phone to her ear. "I'm sorry, he's been reading since he was three. I never knew his intelligence would come and bite me in the butt one day." She chuckled.
Lauren's giggles had subsided and hummed. "I take it you aren't a very good cook?" she asked.
Camila felt her face turn red. "Shut up." she mumbled.
Lauren chuckled. "Well, I think your son is absolutely adorable." She said. "And I do feel bad for the little guy...he just wants some pancakes." She said with a giggle.
Camila rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm trying. But I keep burning them. I'm not a good cook."
"I can tell. If you want, I can head over there. Poor kid's got to eat, Cabello." Lauren offered.
Camila chewed on her lip. "I'm sure you're busy and all...you only have a week left. I'm sure it's getting intense."
"I don't mind. Besides, Gabe seems like an amusing kid to have breakfast with." Lauren paused. "Unless you don't want me to meet him, then I completely understand." Lauren mumbled.
Camila smiled softly. "If you can make it here in 10 minutes, you're more than welcome to cook for me. I'd love to be treated like a princess."
"Mommy?" Gabe poked Camila's leg.
Camila ignored him as she listened to Lauren with a smile.
"Mommyyyy!" Gabe poked Camila's leg again.
"Gabriel, give me a sec." Camila told him as she patted his head gently.
"But the pancakes are—"
Camila moved away from Gabe. "Wait, what did you say?" she said into the phone before blushing. "Oh...well, when I drop Gabe off from school." She mumbled sheepishly.
"Mommy!" Gabe whined as he shook her leg. "The house is gonna go on fire."
Camila raised an eyebrow. "What—"she said as she turned to see the pan she was cooking the pancakes with engulfed in black smoke. "DAMN IT!" she said as she dropped the phone and rushed to turn off the stove. She grabbed a rag and grabbed the pan and threw it into the sink.
Gabe picked up the phone. "Ring lady?" he asked. "Can you get here soon? Maybe with some sunflowers? I think my mom needs some. She burned the pancakes again."
____________________________
"You are a life saver." Camila mumbled as she took a sip of her tea and sighing as she leaned against the counter, watching as Lauren easily cooked breakfast for the three. "Honestly, how do you do it? I can barely cook noodles."
Lauren chuckled as she turned to Camila, flipping a pancake without looking just to show off. "Well, some people can do math, others can write," she winked at Camila. "And I, well, can cook really well. Especially with electric stoves." She chuckled, shaking her head. "Life on the road can't be only consisting of fast-food. It gets tiring." Lauren told her. "Besides, I like to cook." She shrugged.
Camila hummed. "Well it smells delicious here." She said as she glanced at Gabe chowing down his pancakes. His face was sticky in some parts with maple syrup and even had some pieces of pancake in his hair (Camila had no idea how it got there).
Camila giggled. "Are you enjoying those pancakes, Gabe?" she asked.
Gabe hummed and nodded excitedly as he stuffed more pieces of cut-up pancake in his mouth, maple syrup dribbling down his chin.
Camila scrunched up her nose. "Children are not very clean."
"Yeah, well, neither are you." Lauren said softly.
Camila raised an eyebrow. "What—"Camila gasped when she felt pancake batter be smeared across her cheek. "You monster! I just showered this morning!"
Lauren smirked as she sucked on her finger that she used to dirty Camila. "Maybe you can take another shower." She suggested.
Camila rolled her eyes.
"With me." Lauren clarified, smirking even more.
Camila felt her cheeks turn pink and hummed. "Oh."
"Oh." Lauren repeated, winking at the girl before putting another cooked pancake on the stack. Lauren turned off the stove and kissed Camila's cheek before picking up the plate filled with pancakes and placing it on the table, Gabe's eyes lighting up as he saw more pancakes to devour.
"You should live here. So you can make me more pancakes." Gabe told her with a grin as he grabbed another pancake with his sticky fingers and plopped it down on his plate, spilling some of the overflow of sticky maple syrup.
Lauren chuckled as she sat down in front of Gabe. "Oh, so you want me to be your own personal chef?" she asked, grabbing two pancakes and pouring syrup on them.
"And mommy's." Gabe added.
Lauren smiled. "Doesn't sound like such a bad plan. But we need to talk business here, Gabriel." Lauren informed him, feigning a serious voice as she leaned forward and rolled up the sleeves of her red flannel. "What'd you got to offer me?"
Gabe rolled up his pancake like a taco and bit into it, looking at Lauren with a serious look despite the sticky face and fingers contradicting him. "Okay, here's my offer. It's super nice." He nodded.
Lauren nodded, stifling a laugh as she waited for him to speak.
Camila watched with a smile as Gabe and Lauren talked.
"I will share with you all my toys," he lifted up one of his tiny fingers as Gabe started to list his "offers" to Lauren.
"You can color four pages from my coloring book a week," he lifted up another tiny and sticky finger.
"You can sleep with mommy." Camila choked on her tea at the word and Lauren covered her mouth to hold back her laugh. "On her bed. But only when I'm not." He continued with a nod as he lifted a third finger. "And mommy will pay you a whole dollar a day." He offered. "Take it or leave it!"
Lauren looked at Gabe with a smile, trying not to laugh. "It is a very enticing offer." Lauren told him. "However, I can't say yes because I kind of run a circus and it needs me."
Gabe pouted. "Can't someone else take care of it?" he asked.
Lauren shook her head and sighed. "Afraid not, kiddo."
Camila smiled sadly, realizing Lauren only had a little over a week left before she left.
Camila wished Lauren could stay. She liked the idea of Lauren cooking breakfast for them in the mornings and trying to calm her down as she tried to get Gabe ready for school while Gabe ran around like the hyperactive child he was. It was a nice thing to picture. But it was only a picture in her mind, never a moment to actually capture.
"Camz, sit down and eat some pancakes." Camila broke out of her thoughts and looked at Lauren who was looking at her. "What's going on in that mind of yours?" Lauren asked.
Camila smiled as she sat down next to Lauren. "Just thinking about how nice it would be to have mornings like this every day. With you." She told Lauren.
"And me?" Gabe spoke up, pointing to himself while syrup dripped down to his lap as he held the pancake-folded taco.
Camila chuckled. "Definitely you."
Lauren rested her chin on Camila's shoulder. "It's a nice idea." She whispered. "Do you really see us like that? All domestic and cheesy?" she asked with a chuckle.
Camila hummed and nodded. "The moment you stepped into the door with sunflowers for me and greeted my son with a hug and complimented his fairy wings and purple tutu...I pictured it clearly." She smiled.
Lauren chuckled. "Well his outfit is inspiring." Lauren mused.
Camila rolled her eyes playfully before turning to Lauren and kissing her cheek. "I love you, moon." She murmured as she kissed Lauren's cheek again.
Lauren smiled. "I love you too, sun." she replied with a chuckle.
"And I don't get a kiss?" Gabe pouted as he finished his pancake.
Camila giggled and turned to Gabe. "With that sticky face and fingers, it'll have to wait." She said as Gabe smiled proudly.
Camila chuckled and waited for Gabe to finish eating before getting up and putting the dishes in the sink. "Next time, you're wearing a bathing suit when you eat anything with syrup. Your practically drowning in it, Gabriel." She said as she picked the boy up, holding Gabe a few inches away from her.
Gabe giggled as Camila walked to the bathroom. "Thank you for the pancakes, ring lady!" he exclaimed as he blew a very theatrical kiss to Lauren who laughed and shook her head.
Camila gave Gabe a quick shower before letting him change into some new clothes, managing to find some green fairy wings. He rushed back to the kitchen where Lauren was cleaning up and Camila pouted.
"Hey, I could've cleaned up. You didn't have to do that." Camila said as she kissed Lauren's cheek.
Lauren smiled softly. "It's more than okay." Lauren said softly. "I got his lunch ready too, it's on the table."
Camila looked at the table and hugged Lauren. "You are perfect." She mumbled as Lauren giggled.
"I try."
"Do I still look lovely, ring lady?" Gabe spoke up as he swung his backpack around.
Lauren looked over at Gabe and chuckled. "Absolutely. I think I might like the green wings more." She told him.
Gabe smiled. "I got them because they're like your eyes!"
Lauren chuckled. "Smooth, kid, smooth." She nodded.
Camila smiled at the interaction before checking the time and groaning. "We're almost late." She said as she rushed Gabe to the door. Camila pecked Lauren's lips. "Give me 10 minutes, I will be right back." She assured her.
Lauren hummed and nodded. "I'll be waiting." She smirked before kissing Camila's cheek and chuckling as Camila rushed to the front door, yelling at Gabe to put his shoes on because he couldn't go to school barefoot as much as he wanted to.
Lauren leaned against the counter and let out a deep breath before smiling softly.
These kinds of mornings wouldn't be so bad to have. As long as she woke up with the sun shining next to her.
_________________________
Camila groaned as she tangled her legs with Lauren's. "See, sex right now would've been ten times greater if I didn't have half of Gabe's train collection stabbing my back right now." she mumbled in Lauren's neck.
Lauren chuckled as she ran her fingers through Camila's hair. "I don't mind. But you really do need to clean up around here."
Camila lifted up her head.
"I did clean."
Lauren felt her face turn red. "O-oh. I meant it needs some very light tidying. It's practically spotless here." She stammered.
Camila chuckled and rested her head on the pillow. "It's okay, I know it's a fucking mess. I have a four year old, though. I get leeway." She said as kicked a few toys off the bed. "I was just really horny and you didn't even give me time to push them off the bed."
Lauren hummed and smirked. "Yeah..." she said proudly.
Camila giggled and pushed Lauren playfully. "Shut up."
Lauren smiled and kissed Camila's lips gently. "I honestly don't mind, though." She assured the girl. "This kind of life doesn't feel like it'd be a bad one."
Camila hummed at the kiss before tilting her head. "What do you mean?"
"I want messy mornings with you. Every day, for a really long time." Lauren whispered.
Camila smiled softly. "You do?"
"Yeah. It'd be a good life, Cabello." Lauren chuckled as she sat up. "But, you know, circus duties." She frowned slightly.
Camila chewed on her lip. "You honestly can't hand it over to anyone else in the circus? Like, Ashley or maybe Selena or Normani?"
Lauren shook her head. "Only Jaureguis have run the circus."
Camila hummed. "Well it's always nice to switch things up." she said softly. "You don't need to follow this legacy."
Lauren chuckled bitterly. "Trust me, I have to. No one wanted me to run it in the first place because I was a woman and only Jauregui men were able to take care of it. I fuck it up and I only prove their thoughts even more. I don't want to disappoint my dad either, he really believed I could do it."
"But don't you see how much it's destroying you?" Camila questioned as she sat up. "You don't have a life as long as the circus comes in between. You are so much more than a stupid legacy. You told me you wanted to be a veterinarian. You can still do that. You can pass it down to someone else and leave it behind you." Camila told her as she grabbed Lauren's hand. "You can have a life with me...longer than a few days or weeks. We can even take Mufasa and all the animals with us. We'll open a sanctuary and it'll be perfect." She chuckled. "I want a life with you, Lauren. But most of all, I want to see you happy with your life and be in control of how you live it."
Lauren looked at Camila and squeezed her hand before kissing Camila's cheek. "Believe me, Camz, I want that too. I want it so bad. But there are just some things in your life you don't have control of. I've accepted my fate, and this is it." She shrugged.
Camila frowned and sighed. "I guess so."
Lauren caressed Camila's cheek. "I love you." She whispered. "That's something I definitely have control of. My feelings for you are the one thing I have a hold of, and I'm not letting go."
Camila smiled softly before kissing Lauren's lips gently. She wasn't content with that answer one bit, but she'd have to accept it for the time being. But she wasn't giving up on Lauren or her happiness.
If you love someone, then their happiness becomes the most important thing to you. And even if Camila had cut a piece of her own happiness off and give it to Lauren, she'd do it. Because all she wanted right now was to see the full moon in Lauren again.
So I figured I owed you guys some fluff because, well, this has been hardcore angst for the most part. I can't say there won't be an end to the angst...but at least you have this chapter to fall back on in terms of cuteness.
I'm slowly getting out of my writing slump. I started school last week, I was taking five classes but I dropped one because it was literally the most boring thing in the universe. It was a photography class and I love photography but the professor was kind of boring (not to mention really old). So now I'm taking four which is still a lot but I'll survive. I actually have creative writing class in about an hour and half lol
Here's my social media:
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Twitter: @jenniferdontpls
Never hesitate to message me about anything, I'm really nice and I reply fairly quickly.
Until next time you wonderful humans,
Jennifer