Chapter Text
The engine of the truck gurgles into silence as Amity shuts it off, stepping down from the cabin and walking around to the front. She gets a good view of the apartment complex. It’s a nice place, away from the busy streets and in a fairly decent neighborhood. Its views are nice, looking out to mountains and distant valleys. The fact that Eda was able to swing Luz such a good deal on the place really spoke to the older woman’s skills–and probably her knowledge of crime, too.
Luz steps around to join her, resting on the hood of the moving van. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”
Amity hums, “ Really nice, actually. I was thinking for what you were gonna be paying that I would have to worry about us.”
“Us?” Luz snorts, cocking an eyebrow and looking up at the tall woman. Amity looked down and felt her heart thump. Luz always looked so good like this. The signature purple beanie never left its perch atop her mop of hair, but Amity appreciated seeing the other woman in something other than her bomber jacket.
Today, Luz was wearing a blueish-purple and white striped, flowy, drop-shoulder shirt with the top few buttons left undone. She matched it with a pair of dark gray leggings and a pair of converse. Her jacket, while still with her, was draped over the back of the passenger seat in the truck. It was nice seeing the woman experiment with her style, especially when she looked so drop-dead gorgeous . Her brown eyes sparkled in the bright, warm light of the sun above them in a way that Amity was pretty sure that, if this was the last thing she ever saw, she’d be happy with it.
It probably took Amity a little while to respond, because she only gets pulled out of her thoughts after a quick nudge from Luz’s elbow. She shakes off the admiration of her friend– because they were just friends– and does her best to play it off, cooly. “Yeah, us. I’m your best friend, so I’m gonna be over all the time. And I’m helping you move in, and I’m probably staying the night. I wouldn’t want to have to be in a place that’s all sketchy.”
“You worry too much, Ames,” Luz laughs– Gods what Amity would do to hear more of that laugh–and starts to walk around to the back of the van. “C’mon, let’s get started. Pretty sure Eda said I had to be done by this evening. Or at least close to it.”
Amity nods and opens the back of the van. “Didn’t you say that Gus and Hunter might be stopping by to help out?”
“They said they would,” Luz groans, grabbing a few boxes in her arms with a grunt, “But neither of them are here and I told them to be here by now.”
They walk up to the building door, Luz struggling to balance the boxes in her arms while grabbing the badge to get into the building. As she’s flailing about trying to prop up the containers with a knee, Amity is grinning like an idiot. “So it’s just us then?”
The door pops open and Luz pumps a fist before quickly yelping and scrambling to catch the things she’s carrying before they fall. “Yep! But we’re a dream team, yeah?”
“Hell yeah,” Amity giggles, following Luz inside. Thankfully, they weren’t having to carry anything upstairs; Luz insisted that she had weak nerd arms, and even with the help of her friends there was no way some of the things she owned would be making it up even a floor. It was already enough trouble as is trying to get things out of her mother’s home and into the van.
Another struggle with another set of keys, but finally the two women make their way inside the apartment. It’s barren, save for a few old appliances in the very, very tiny kitchen. No furniture, nothing on the walls, a single bedroom and a single living room with a small balcony and a messy sliding glass door. The view outside is nice, and the rooms have a lot of light, but it’s still completely empty.
Luz is ecstatic, practically bouncing in place. She sets down the boxes she was carrying and steps out into the carpeted living room, spinning around to soak in the sight of her new home. And that’s when it hits her. She looks at Amity, beaming , and throws her arms around the other woman in a death-grip hug.
“This is my place!!” Luz squeals, letting Amity go to look around the room once more. Her brain is already running a million miles a minute, the empty rooms blank canvases for however she wanted her home– her home –to be. “Where do you think the best place for my Azura shrine is?”
The other woman bursts into laughter, doubling over. Luz joins in and god Amity needs every excuse she can to spend as many minutes of her days here as possible. The energy between the two of them was always easy. They could talk about basically anything–even with how horrendously gay Amity was–and the woman trusted Luz with her life. Spending time with her at her Mother’s place, while nice–Camila was a total sweetheart and a definitely preferred change of pace to her own mother–was always a little restrictive. More than that, she could tell that Luz was itching to move out, desperate to have her own space and see a little more of the world.
There was something that tickles Amity’s brain at the realization that Luz’s home will inevitably end up like one big, exploded version of her room back at her mother’s place. She shakes it off and smiles at her friend. “I’m really proud of you, Luz. This is a new chapter for you,” she says, voice full of sincerity.
Luz sighs and grins, tucking letting her arms fall to her sides. “I don’t think I could’ve done it without you. You really did help me figure a lot of shit out.”
Amity smiles and takes a step forwards, crossing into the carpet. “Don’t mention it. You helped me a lot too, and…” She trails off for a moment. Her eyes drift up from the floor, scanning over the sight of Luz who was still clearly bursting with that bubbly energy she had in spades. Amity could never get enough of her personality. She briefly stares at her lips; She wanted nothing more than to kiss her right now. To cement the reality that Luz is finally stepping into this new chapter of her life, despite how scary it may be, despite the challenges of living on her own and facing her fears with just one kiss. A part of the woman’s brain entertains the thought of even living with her, just for a second, and the thought makes her heart swell and slam into her ribcage.
Her eyes finally move on and look upwards to catch Luz’s gaze. She’s staring right back at her, and Amity nearly chokes when she sees that Luz is blushing .
Was she blushing? She was totally blushing–from embarrassment, probably. Embarrassment over what? No clue, but it was probably embarrassment. Maybe she was just afraid she seemed childish, never mind that they’d been friends for years and Amity has seen her be far, far more “cringeworthy.”
Amity blinks a few times and quickly jumps her eyes to the bridge of Luz’s nose–the place she always looks when she wants to make eye contact when she knows she can’t. Luz breaks out into a smile and sheepishly hides her hands behind her back. “Thanks, Ames. It…it really means a lot coming from you.”
Her heart needed to stop trying to break out of her chest, but damn if this woman didn’t make her swoon. “Of course, I mean it.” There’s a beat of silence, before Amity awkwardly lifts her arms up, hoping that Luz gets the idea of what she’s trying to do. Thankfully, she does, throwing her arms around the taller woman’s frame and tucking her head under her chin. Amity sighs contently and takes a few deep breaths, hoping to keep the blood from rushing to her face while hoping that Luz can’t hear her heart racing.
Ultimately, her efforts went to waste the moment they separated from the hug. Neither of them broke contact fully, Luz’s arms opting instead to drape themselves over Amity’s shoulders. The other woman’s arms are held firmly around the other woman’s waist, and Luz was looking right up at her with an expression that Amity couldn’t read. All of it made her face practically burst into flames, and Luz was just as red.
They stood like that for a moment, both entirely unsure of how to proceed–or if they even really wanted to. Did they want to? Amity knew for sure she could die happily like this. As much as she wanted the awkwardness to end, she didn’t really want to let go of Luz. She could stay like this for the rest of time, and it’d be enough.
“We–uh–probably left the…The van open,” Luz stutters with a forced laugh. “We should probably–”
“Yeah!” Amity interrupts, cringing for a moment at her own volume, “Yeah. Yeah, we should go–”
“Go get the rest of–”
“The rest of your stuff, yep!”
They separate far too soon, even if Amity has zero clue how long they were standinglike that. Luz props the door open, and they return to the van in painful silence. Their banter only resumes after they grab another load of Luz’s things from the back. As quickly as the air had gotten strange, it was easy again, the two chatting back and forth about Luz’s plans for layouts, things she’d need to buy–all sorts of stuff about the fact that Luz now had her own home.
“Are you really gonna hang up your cosplays on the walls?” Amity laughs, knowing full well she’d do the same. It won’t stop her from giving Luz a hard time.
“Well duh!” Luz says incredulously, “How else are people gonna know I’m awesome ?”
Between several dozen boxes, a few awkward bits of furniture, and a bitch of a bedframe they had to move down through the hall (there was a lot of swearing involved), the sun was finally starting to set. While still very sparse, the apartment felt like it could at least sustain human life now. The rest of her things were either still put away, would have to be moved later, or she’d have to buy them. The joys of adulthood.
After ordering a pizza–what else do you get for someone after they’ve helped you move–Luz flops down onto the floor with Amity. The two women sit with their knees crossed, directly across from each other, the tips of their shoes barely touching. Amity takes another deep breath, hoping that her face doesn’t heat up too much. Luz, despite looking far more tired than she had when the day had started, still looked as bubbly as she always did–not to mention just as pretty.
“Thanks again, Ams,” Luz sighs, her smile earnest. “This is…It’s wild .”
Amity hums and drags a finger around the carpet. Her eyes are still locked onto the bridge of Luz’s nose. “I mean, you are living on your own for the first time. I imagine it’d be intense. You’ve got a lot ahead of you, you know.”
For a brief moment, Amity thinks she sees Luz’s cheeks turn pink. “Thanks to you.”
“I just helped you move in, I didn’t do all the hard work.”
Luz shakes her head. A hand lifts the ever-present beanie off of her head, letting free long, messy curls of dark-colored hair. Amity feels herself choke on her own breath at the sight. The shorter woman places her beanie on a finger, twirling it around as she speaks, “It’s not just that. You’ve helped me in so many ways, Amity.” There's a pause. “You…Really did help me become a better person. You’ve helped me face my fears, you’ve always been by my side. I think you’re a big part of the reason I even had the motivation to get a place of my own. You’ve been the best friend I could ever ask for and so much more and I’m just…I’m really grateful.”
Amity’s heart pounds and swells, butterflies take off her stomach, and she can’t help but smile as she looks to the floor. “I’m glad you think so.”
“Not to mention that you’ve always been there to support me, that you’ve always understood me better than anyone. Willow and Gus are cool but you just…You read my mind, I swear.” Luz trails off for a moment and laughs quietly under her breath. “Not to mention that you’ve helped me keep my cool, you’ve helped me through some rough times, you’ve always been quick to help me see things from another perspective. You’re really special.”
The tall woman is a special shade of red that Luz swore only Amity could turn. After taking a breath to steady herself, and taking the time to subtly check that she wasn’t dreaming, Amity speaks. “That’s what good friends do.”
Another beat of silence follows and Luz’s gaze drifts away to the corner of the room, out across the balcony. Amity lets go of a breath she didn’t know she was holding, nervously tugging at the edge of her dress. The lacey fabric dances between her fingers and the softness helps to take her mind off the deafening quiet.
Luz sucks in a breath, and murmurs, “It’s what people who are more than friends do, too.”
Wait.
What?
A moment flashes where Amity considers asking her if she heard that right. Because she didn’t say that, did she? But her eyes scan over Luz. She’s bright red and can barely look in Amity’s general direction. One of her hands is doing its best to hide her face and she’s got an expression that the other woman can’t quite make out. Fear? Sadness? Something like that. Amity may not be the best at reading people, but even she could put the pieces together here.
She leans forwards and props her head up on a hand, smirking slightly. Her voice is doing its best to be flirty. “Y’know, people who are more than just friends do other things, too.”
Luz nearly chokes, coughing as her eyes blow wide. She’s redder than Amity has ever seen her before, and is sputtering all over the place trying to get words out. It’s adorable, and it causes Amity’s face to warm up a little bit at the sight.
“What?!” Luz finally blurts out, “I–They—Yeah, I guess they do?” Her voice lilts up and turns it into a question, and oh god she’s too cute when she’s this flustered. “L-Like what?”
“Well,” Amity’s smirk gives way to a sheepish smile. She’s confident…ish. She could be getting played with, she could be entirely misreading this. But she trusts Luz. Luz wouldn’t play games with her. Luz wouldn’t have said something like that if she wasn’t at least a little into Amity. Her fear was gone, mostly, but even then what she was about to do was making her a little nervous. “I know that people who are more than friends usually kiss.”
Luz sits bolt upright and does her best to smile, nodding and humming some sort of affirmative. Amity scoots a little closer, as close as she can get, and leans in a little further. Her eyes dart between the other woman’s eyes and lips, and every now and then she can catch a glimpse of Luz doing the same. Yet, Amity moves in slowly, carefully, the doubt in the back of her mind giving Luz plenty of time to push her away or to say no.
But it never comes. Instead, they get closer, close enough that Luz has to look up slightly to meet Amity’s gaze. Close enough that Amity can feel her breath. She swallows as much confidence as he can muster, and lets her eyes drift shut.
Their lips press together and it’s everything Amity could’ve dreamed of and more. Her lips are soft and warm, and they send tingles rushing all across Amity’s body. She doesn’t know how long it lasts, she just knows that it’s over way too soon. She pulls away to a dazed Luz, bearing a smile she can’t even try to control. It makes the other woman’s heart flutter again, and then it clicks that she totally just kissed her.
Amity jumps back, ready to apologize in case she completely misread everything that had been happening up until this point. A comforting hand squeezes her own, and she sees Luz beaming at her, cheeks flushed and eyes utterly sparkling.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for so long,” Luz whispers.
Tension finally leaves Amity’s body, chased by relief and a bright laugh. Her hand drifts up to cup Luz’s cheek, caressing it with her thumb. “Sorry I stole the chance to do it first then.”
Luz snorts and covers her mouth, before putting her arms around Amity’s shoulders and sort of hauling herself into the tall woman’s lap. It’s a little awkward given the angle–and the fact that Luz is really short–but they make it work. “So, what I’m hearing is that you owe me the opportunity to do it first.”
A blissful giggle fills Luz’s ears and Amity grins at her, blushing. “Go ahead then.”
Luz leans forwards and her eyes drift shut, and they kiss again. It’s longer than last time, sweeter, and their bodies are pulled closer as it lingers. Amity’s heart slams into her ribcage and warmth spreads across her entire self. Still, despite it lasting way longer than the first one, it’s over way too soon. Their foreheads rest together and they catch their breath, while the cogs in Amity’s head turn.
“I should be the one thanking you,” she says. Luz moves back a little, clearly confused.
“I mean…You didn’t get the place, did you?” she chuckles, and Amity shakes her head.
“No, I didn’t. But you’ve helped me become a better person. I sucked when I met you. I was hanging around assholes and was blinded by my mother's influence. I didn’t know who I was or who I wanted to be, let alone what I even valued . I was just told to value power and bargains and deals and ruthlessness and never questioned it. But I’ve learned that I value honesty. And Friendship. I value selflessness and courage and bravery…”
The woman takes a moment to look Luz over with the most adoring gaze she’s ever received, tucking one of the long bits of hair that framed her face behind her ear.
“I value people who do the right thing just because. Who are nice to people despite how people receive them. I value people who try and understand and learn from the people around them, especially when they don’t understand something themselves. And I only learned that I value all of those wonderful things because some dork who likes Azura decided she wanted to be my friend. You’re so many incredible things, Luz, and you’ve helped me grow so much. So thank you.”
There are tears pricking the corners of Luz’s eyes, and a few of them manage to roll down a little before Amity wipes them away. She buries her face into Amity’s chest, gripping her dress and sighing. The “you’re sweet” is muffled, but Amity can make it out just well enough. She wraps the woman up in her arms and holds her tight, the two enjoying the warmth and the much-needed physical contact. As they relax with each other, they get interrupted by the pizza being delivered. The only acceptable interruption.
The two women set the box on the floor with them and help themselves, leaning into each other as they watch some random video on Amity’s phone. Luz shuffles a bit to look at the other.
“Do you wanna move in with me?”
Amity coughs for a moment, trying to prevent herself from choking. After a moment she gives Luz an incredulous look. “Isn’t your lease just for you?”
“Do you really think Eda would swing me a deal on this place while also being a stickler about me having one other person living with me?”
Eda was a bit of a wildcard, the woman was probably a criminal in a past life…Or maybe even her current one, she was always alluding to some pretty crazy stories. It made enough sense that if she was getting Luz an apartment at a bargain, she wouldn’t care for one extra tenant. But even then…
“Well…Do you want me to live with you?”
“Would I have offered if I didn’t?”
Amity drums her fingers nervously and stares at the floor. “I mean, no but…Well…What are we?”
The last part is so quiet it was almost inaudible. Luz shifts slightly and turned, before leaning back to put herself across Amity’s lap, looking right up at her. They both blush and Luz reaches a hand up to twirl some of the woman’s faded green hair around her finger. “Well, I think I want to be more than just friends.”
It was Amity’s turn to be the flustered one. Her lips curl into a shamelessly goofy grin as she feels her heart swell. Leaning down, she plants another kiss on Luz’s lips, and sighs. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
Luz hums and grins back up at her. “You taste like pizza.”
“What a romantic way to say that we’re girlfriends now!”
The woman in Amity’s lap laughs and pulls her down for another kiss. It lingers, its sweet, her lips are warm and soft and Amity never wants to go another day without a kiss from her girlfriend(!) ever again.
“Yeah. We’re girlfriends. And they live with each other, typically, so will you move in with me?”
Amity smiles and flicks Luz’s forehead, “Yeah, I will.”