(A lil something tokeep you occupied while I write a new domestic!Camren one-shot.)
The past year was incredibly hard on Camila.
She was doing her best to keep her grades high, have social life, work at the grocery store to save up some money and eep a healthy relationship with Lauren.
On more occasion than one, the young Latina had breakdowns that would result in Dinah coming over and hugging her tightly.
But now, she knew all of her worries are over.
Well, kind of. She applied for college and although she was sure she's going to get it, she was still a bit nervous about it.
Diane picks her up on Saturday morning so they can go to the mall and buy some new summer clothes.
"Who are you texting? You've been on your phone like the whole day."
"Friend from work." Diane shrugs
"Okay, well they can fuck off because I can't decide which bikini to buy and I need your help."
Diane locks her phone and puts it into the back pocket. "Fine, but after this, we're getting chicken nuggets and then going back to your place."
Camila's eyes light up at the mention of chicken nuggets and she grins at her cousin. "Deal."
It's an hour later when they finally park in front of Camila's house, only to find that no one's home.
"Maybe you should put the bags in your room, uncle Ale will flip when he sees you've spent so much." Diane says as she puts the food on the table
"Good idea. I'll be right back, don't eat all of my food."
"Not making any promises." Diane shrugs as Camila walks upstairs
It's only a few moments when the older Latina hears her cousin screaming and smiles to herself before leaving the house.
On the upper floor of the house, Camila is hugging tightly her girlfriend.
"Holy fuck, I've missed you so fucking much." Camila mumbles into Lauren's neck
"I've missed you more. I swear, those past months have been killing me."
Although college wasn't that far away; with Camila's job and Lauren's job and studies, neither of the girls managed to get from their place to her girlfriend's place for almost two months.
"Are you done with classes?"
"Yeah, I have to go there to take a few more exams but I'm here for a week before going and then I'll spend a week and a half there and then I'm back here, officially."
"That's not too bad I guess." Camila pouts
"No, but guess what?"
"Hm?"
"Can you sit down?"
"Lauren, I swear if you break up with me – "
"I won't."
"—or tell me that you've cheated on me— "
"I barely had time to take a proper nap, when would I cheat on you?"
"Fine, so what is it?"
"Those past few months of me being away were really hard for us. Not only because we are romantically together but also because as best friends we've never been apart for so long. It hurt. It kept breaking my heart and it kept breaking your heart. That's over now. From now on, I promise I'm not gonna let you go for more than ten days."
"You can't promise that."
"I can." Lauren nodded
"How? Are you gonna kidnap me and keep me in your closet?"
"No, because half of my closet is Normani's stuff so there's no room for you."
"Rude."
Lauren let out a chuckle. "I know I can make that promise, because I am officially dating a college student."
Camila furrowed her brows in a confusion.
"What?"
"You got in!"
"Are you fucking with me now? I didn't get the mail and I swear if you—"
"I'm not fucking with you babe. I know a girl that helps the administration and she owed me a favor and I begged her to tell me if they accepted you."
"That's illegal."
"I know, but no one has to know." Lauren shrugs "I thought you'd be happy you got in?"
"Fuck, I'm so happy! I can't wait until I tell my parents and—oh shit, Diane's still waiting for me downstairs." Camila replies and turns around
"She left the moment you walked into this room."
"How do you know?"
"She texted me. She also took your chicken nuggets."
"Fuck that bitch."
"She just wanted to give us some space."
"Hey, guess what? I guess now I'm not just wearing merch when I put on your sweatshirt, I'm representing my college too."
Lauren smiled proudly at the girl in front of her. "Yes, you are."
It's as if summer only last a few seconds; one moment Lauren is unpacking her stuff and the next one they're packing Camila's stuff.
They're at Camila's place when her phone goes off.
"It's Diane." Camila informs her girlfriend
"Pick it up, see what she wants."
The younger girl nods before accepting the call. "Hello?"
Lauren watches as she talks to her cousin for a few moments.
"Hey, Diane asked if we want to join her in furniture shopping for her new place?"
"Well, I could use a break from packing. Beside, we still have two weeks left."
Camila rolls her eyes before speaking into the phone again. "You still there? Yeah, we'll be ready in fifteen minutes, see you then."
"Have you been at their new place?" Lauren questions
"No, have you?"
"Once, it's nice. Small, but cute."
"Like me." Camila adds
"Of course." Lauren laughs
"Hey, I was thinking..."
"Oh no, what now?"
"You said I got accepted into the dorm, but what if our rooms are like so far away? I don't want that."
"Camila, for the umpteenth time, I promise you that I'll somehow manage to make you my roommate. Normani said she'd be okay with switching with you, but I already asked them to put me with you."
"I just, ugh—are you sure we can't know until we get there?"
"Positive." Lauren nods
They spend the whole day going around random furniture stores, trying to find the best pieces of furniture for Diane's new place.
"This bed is so comfy. Oh my! Lauren, it feels like heaven." Camila exclaims as she jumps on one of the beds
"You said that about the last one too." Diane points out
"I know, this one is better though. And it looks prettier. You should take this one."
"I can't take anything by myself, Marco has to help me choose. We'll go together next week, but I wanted to see for myself first.
"Okay but we picked it all out, right? We can go and have some dinner now?"
"Good luck with buying food for her." Diane mumbles to Lauren who only laughs
And then, it's two weeks later and Camila and Lauren find themselves on their way to their college.
"Hey, do you mind if we go somewhere first?"
"Will it take long?"
"No, not really. I just have to do a favor for Keana."
"Sure, okay."
It doesn't take long before Lauren parks in front of a building complex that's not too far from college.
"Hey, wanna go with me or?"
Camila only shrugs before walking out of the car and following Lauren into the building. Lauren unlocks the entrance door with an unfamiliar key.
Camila tries to think if she's ever seen that certain keychain, but she can't remember. It'd be hard to forget a very fluffy bright pink keychain.
They climb their way up to the third floor and Lauren unlocks the door with the second key; Camila assumes the third one is from the post box.
The older Latina isn't sure what she was expecting, but this isn't it.
The apartment is tiny, very tiny. There's a bed pushed in the corner to her left and a little couch with a TV right next to; on her right there's a tiny dining table that's pushed to the wall, one chair on each side of it, two of them pressed between the wall and the table; she cathes a glimpse of two doors, assuming they lead to the bathroom and kitchen perhaps.
"I know it's not much, but, it's ours." Lauren mumbles
"Ours?"
"I've been saving money and our parents agreed to help us pay for it. It's tiny and the bathroom is really small and I don't think we will both fit into the kitchen at the same time but I promise, if you just give it chance—"
Camila tunes her out as she scans the room. It's tiny and if Camila had to stay there with anyone else, she'd feel trapped, but she doesn't. Not with Lauren. Her smile only grows bigger when she sees that there are Lauren's paintings on the wall and that the furniture is the one she chose, without even knowing it.
"I love it. It's so you and it's so me and it's so us and fuck Lauren—I just, I love you."
"So, you're not mad?"
"Mad? No, Lauren! Honestly, sharing a dorm with you would be amazing by itself, but this—this is a step forward in our relationship and I just love it. This is it."
"Welcome home, my love." Lauren whispers before kissing Camila's lips gently
"Lauren, this place may be a lot of things, but to me, home will always be a person, my home will always be you."
"Camz—"
"But you're right. This is my home now too, because you're here. That's all I need."
"You're my home too."
"Welcome home Lauren." Camila replies before connecting their lips again
"Now, how about we celebrate this by trying out that new bed?" Camils smirks
"I mean, we have to test if the walls are thick enough at one point, don't we?"