Work Text:
It was a random thursday evening in the Noceda household
Camila was working at her desk, which occupied the small room between her and Luz’s rooms
She had been listening to music at first, but her playlist had long ran short and she was too concentrated to care, so she had dropped her headphones on the desk, and the only sounds she heard were the sound of her own typing and a couple muffled voices from Luz’s room
The chatter was coming from Luz and her girlfriend, Amity, who was staying at their home for the night
Camila didn’t know much about Amity, she knew she and Luz were classmates, that Amity came from a wealthier family and, as had been explained to her the first time Amity came over, that she was trans
But apart from that the girl was a total mystery, whenever she came over she and Luz went straight to Luz’s room and closed the door, Camila trusted them not to do anything bad, so she gave them privacy
In a bit over an hour, Camila had finished her work
She closed her laptop with a pleased smile and got up from her seat, stretching her back before walking out into the hallway
As she made her way to the staircase she heard a whine from behind Luz’s door
Her parental instinct kicked in and she stopped cold in her tracks, leaning in ever so slightly towards the door to hear the conversation
“I just… feel like im gonna be closeted forever…” shakily said Amity
“If it distresses you so much, you could talk to the school-”
“And have my parents find out!?” Amity interrupted
“...im sorry” Luz said softly
“No… its not your fault… don’t feel bad”
Camila pulled her head back away from the door
She didn’t know much about Amity’s home life, but from the sound of it it wasn't great
The fear and insecurity in her voice broke her heart, it was a feeling she was all too familiar with
With no time to think things through, she gave the door a gentle knock with the back of her finger and the conversation inside settled into silence for a few seconds as she heard Luz walking up to the door
“Hi…” Luz greeted as the door creaked open “...What's up?”
“Um… Could i get a word in with Amity real quick?” asked Camila
Luz looked taken aback for a second, but then gave Camila a nod and turned her face to Amity
“Ams? Mom wants to talk to you…”
Amity stood up and dragged her feet out into the hallway, closing the door behind her
“Is there a problem Ms. Noceda?” Amity asked nervously
“No, no, don't worry…” said Camila “...it’s just… i overheard a bit of your conversation”
Amity looked scared “...how much did you hear?”
“Just the last few sentences…” Camila said with a sigh, starting to walk towards her room, and gesturing for Amity to follow her
“So your parents aren’t very supportive, are they…” Camila started
“No…” Amity replied sadly
“...and this scares you, right?” she continued as she searched her drawers
“Yeah its just… hard to picture a bright future right now, y’know…” said Amity “...feels like i either keep it to myself forever or-” she stopped talking suddenly, not wanting to follow that train of thought
Camila pulled out a small wooden box, one she'd been keeping for decades now, filled with old memories from her late teens and college years
“I want you to see something…”
Camila handed Amity a picture from the box
Amity took the picture from her hands, still confused as to where this was going, and scanned it
It was old polaroid picture, taken in the 90s if the clothing was anything to go by
It showed a young dark skinned man, sitting on the roof of a car with a cigarette hanging from his mouth
But what stuck out to Amity were the eyes
Although the picture was grainy, she could see the eyes were identical to Luz’s
“Is this… Luz’s father?” Amity asked
Camila looked at her and let out a chuckle
“...that’s a picture of me, first year of college” she corrected
Amity looked down at the picture, and then turned her gaze to Camila, eyes beaming with recognition
“You’re…” her words trailed off
“Yeah…” Camila took a deep breath before speaking again “...my parents weren’t very supportive either, and just like you, that terrified me, I felt like…”
“...like you had nothing to rely on?”
“Exactly…so, for a while, i kept it a secret…” Camila explained “...and when I came out… it was rough… I lost some people, there was quite a bit of harassment… I won't get into details…”
Amity winced at this
“...but after all that… look at where i am…” Camila said, her gaze lost in the clouds outside the window “...i have a job, a house, a daughter… what i'm trying to say is… we don't just disappear after thirty” Camila placed a reassuring hand of Amity’s shoulder “If you find the right people, and you find the right place, it’s all gonna work out… and if i pulled that off back in the nineties, i'm sure you can do it now”
Amity looked at Camila, tears forming in her eyes, and gave her a tight hug “Thank you…” she said softly “...thank you so much…”
“It’s nothing…” replied Camila, gently stroking the back of Amity’s head “...just… telling you what i needed to hear back then…”
Amity slowly pulled back and steadied her breath “I’ll… talk to you later” she said, handing Camila’s picture back to her
Camila took the paper and smiled “Whenever you need.”