Chapter Text
"This is perfect!" Sophia exclaimed, holding the heavy box tight against her chest and hurrying up the front sidewalk. "It is even prettier in person, Dan!"
Meanwhile, Daniela struggled to keep her grip on the boxes in her arms, craning her neck to see overtop of them. Her graduation robe hung down behind her and she managed to get her foot caught, nearly sending her flying forwards. Once she regained her balance, the hazel- eyed girl set the boxes down and brushed her hands off on her jeans.
"Remind me again why we decided to move on graduation day?" she asked, flinging her black cap off of her head and letting it land on the front yard.
Sophia simply laughed and shrugged, tilting her head to the side slightly.
"Did you really want to be there for Manon and Megan's graduation party?" the older girl raised an eyebrow, laughing when a look of realization spread across her girlfriend's face.
"Right," Daniela nodded, crinkling her nose at the older girl before taking a step back to study the small house. "God, this place looks even worse than it did on the website," Daniela grimaced.
"Hush," Sophia shook her head. "It is perfect," she said, just as she made her way up the wooden steps to the front door.
The taller girl gasped when one of the slabs cracked under her feet, and she quickly hopped to the side to avoid falling down the stairs.
"It just... needs a little love," Sophia nodded firmly, nudging the next stair cautiously.
This earned a laugh from Daniela, who moved forward to inspect the stairs.
"More like a lot of love," the dark haired girl teased, motioning to tell Sophia it was safe to go up the other stairs.
She tugged the key out of her pocket, turning it in the lock. After struggling with a stuck doorknob for a minute or two, they managed to open the front door.
Sophia immediately set her box down, hurrying to stand in the middle of the small room. A wide smile spread across her face and she turned back to Daniela, clapping her hands together.
"This is ours," she smiled, spinning around in a circle and looking around the room. "It is perfect," the older girl laughed, running forwards and pulling Daniela into a hug.
"You're perfect," Daniela laughed softly, pulling away from the hug and planting a quick kiss to her girlfriend's lips. "I wish I could say the same for the house," she added, walking over to the curtains and shaking the dust off of them.
It'd been nearly four years since Sophia had shown up at their apartment in New York, sporting the same worn white converse that she had kept with her ever since. Things had gone pretty smoothly for them since their spontaneous trip to Los Angeles. Sophia had continued improving at a slow pace, never failing to put a smile on her girlfriend's face.
Daniela was ecstatic to hear that she had been offered a job straight after she graduated. In her junior year of college she had interned with a graphic design company, who were so impressed with her work that they wanted her back in a permanent position as soon as she graduated.
Sophia was even more excited to find out that Toby had been offered the same position, meaning they'd still live close to Maia and her now-husband.
Their relationship never experienced the 'dry spells', as some people prefer to call them. They was still as excited to wake up next to each other each morning as they had been when they first started dating. No one could deny that the two shared a bond deeper than just the physical.
Daniela's thoughts were interrupted when she heard Sophia's footsteps reenter the house. She turned around just as Sophia managed to get the cage door open, allowing the old white cat to wander out into the foyer and immediately spread out in the sun.
"Lazy butt," Sophia mumbled, setting the crate aside and bending down to smooth out Wolf's fur.
Daniela couldn't help but smile, remembering the days when Wolf was only a tiny kitten that Sophia had protected so fiercely.
"C'mon, lazy butt numero dos," Daniela teased, nudging Sophia's shoulder. "The quicker we get these boxes inside the quicker we can unpack, and then the quicker we can redecorate, and then the quicker we c-,"
"Slow down there," Sophia laughed, standing up and following Daniela towards the door. "One step at a time," the older girl added, grabbing another box that they had crammed into the back of the car.
"I'm just excited to move in, that's all," Daniela shrugged, tediously carrying a stack of boxes on her hip, using her free hand to carefully open the front door.
"We are moving in," Sophia nodded curtly, brushing past Daniela and setting the box on the floor. "What does it look like we are doing?" The older girl stood up and crinkled her nose.
"You're right," Daniela sighed, rolling her eyes playfully. "As always," she added, moving forwards and wrapping her arms around Sophia's waist from behind.
The other girl giggled, reaching up and tugging on her beanie.
"Are you planning on wearing that thing all summer again?" Daniela asked, looking up at the beanie.
Sophia furrowed her eyebrows and turned around. "Of course," she nodded, a shy smile on her face. "I dunno, I just like it," the older girl shrugged, reaching up to smooth out her hair. "It feels weird to not wear it."
"Goofball," Daniela muttered teasingly, causing Sophia to crinkle up her nose.
"You love me," the older girl huffed dramatically, crossing her arms and marching back outside.
Daniela rolled her eyes half-heartedly. "Tell me something I don't know!" she called after her, before jogging to catch up to the older girl.
Sophia just laughed softly, helping Daniela retrieve the last of their boxes from the back of her car.
"That's it...?" Daniela raised her eyebrows, eyeing the stack of boxes they had piled into the middle of the room. "I didn't realize how little we brought."
"We left the furniture at the apartment," Sophia noted, nudging one of the boxes with her foot. "You got the mattress delivered here, right?" she asked, venturing down the small hallway and peering into all of the rooms.
"Yeah," Daniela nodded, jogging after her and watching as she disappeared into the bedroom.
Sure enough, the mattress had already been placed on the bed frame that had come with the house.
"This is ours," Sophia repeated what she had said earlier, almost in disbelief. "It is all ours and it is only ours," she smiled, turning around and placing her hand on Daniela's shoulders. "I could get used to this."
"Me too," Daniela laughed, setting her hands on Sophia's hips and planting a quick kiss on her cheek. "Are you hungry?"
"Yes," Sophia nodded once. "I did not know how boring graduation was," she laughed softly, smoothing out the black satin of Daniela's gown.
"Yeah, but did you see Manon trip?" Daniela smirked, causing both of them to burst into laughter.
"Her face turned red," Sophia noted, covering her mouth to try and hide her own amusement.
Daniela just rolled her eyes playfully and tugged her phone out of her pocket, heading back into the kitchen.
Soon enough, both girls sat in the middle of the foyer, a box of pizza open between them.
Wolf sauntered over to the couple, sniffing Sophia's arm cautiously before rubbing up against the girl.
"He only loves me when I have food," Sophia mumbled, picking off a small piece of her crust and tossing it in his direction.
Daniela laughed softly.
"I love this," Sophia sighed, setting her plate down and lying back on the floor so she could stare up at the ceiling. "This is perfect."
"Goofball," Daniela muttered jokingly as she got up to throw away their trash.
Sophia hummed in defiance, giggling when Wolf padded over and stuck his nose in her face.
The girls found themselves in bed only a short while later. Both of them were exhausted from the long day, due to waking up early for the graduation ceremonies and then moving into their new home. The minute Sophia's arms snaked up the sleeves of Daniela's sweater, sleep had washed over both of the girls.
Or so they thought.
Daniela was confused when she felt someone squeezing her hand, drawing her out of her slumber. Slightly worried, she wiped her eyes and hummed some sort of questioning sound.
Sophia sat cross legged in front of her, squeezing her hand once more.
"I can not sleep," the older girl whispered, running her fingers through her dark brown hair.
Daniela immediately became concerned, knowing Sophia's old sleeping habits all too well.
"You didn't have a nightmare... did you?" Daniela asked tediously.
She was instantly relieved when Sophia laughed and shook her head.
"You are gonna laugh at me," Sophia mumbled bashfully, turning her head to hide her smile.
Daniela couldn't help but laugh at the adorable gesture, running her thumb over the back of Sophia's hand.
"I laugh at you anyway," Daniela teased, sitting up and smoothing out her hair. "Why are you still up?"
"I am too excited," the older girl giggled, hiding her face in her hands. "This is... this is our house. It is all ours. It is crazy, Dan," she whispered, awe laced in her words.
Daniela couldn't help but smile.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of voices from the other room. Both girls immediately froze, looking at one another with wide eyes.
Sophia's first instinct was to bury herself under the blankets, while Daniela quickly hopped off of the bed and grabbed the bedside lamp.
"What are you doing?" Sophia hissed, peering out from underneath the covers.
Daniela held up a finger to signal for her to be quiet, before slowly slipping out into the hallway.
The older girl gasped, rolling off of the bed and quickly scurrying to catch up with Daniela. She clung onto the younger girl's arm as she peered out from the hallway.
"What the hell?" Daniela mumbled.
Her fear was quickly replaced with confusion when she saw Wolf perched on top of the fireplace mantle, looking just as surprised as they were.
"How'd you manage to do that?" Daniela laughed, shaking her head and setting the lamp down.
Sophia watched as Daniela approached the fireplace, picking up the small battery operated radio and studying it in her hands.
"He wanted music," Sophia giggled, slipping out from her hiding spot and joining Daniela on the other side of the room.
The hazel- eyed girl just laughed, experimentally flipping through the stations out of curiosity.
"Recognize this one?" Daniela asked in surprise, turning up the radio so Sophia could hear the song.
The older girl listened for a moment before a wide smile spread across her face.
"Dance with me," Daniela giggled, reaching out and grabbing Sophia's hand.
The older girl laughed, practically tripping into Daniela's arms when the girl pulled her towards her.
---
Screen falling off the door; door hanging off the hinges
My feet are still sore; my back is on the fringes
We tore up the walls; we slept on couches
We lifted this house, we lifted this house
----
"I love you," Sophia giggled breathlessly, allowing Daniela to grab her hand and spin her around. The younger girl just smiled, leaning in to quickly steal a kiss.
----
Fire-crackers in the east; my car parked south
Your hands on my cheeks; your shoulder in my mouth
I was up against the wall on the west mezzanine
We rattle this town, we rattle this scene
Oh, Anna Sun!
Oh, Anna Sun!
----
Both girls sang at the top of their lungs, causing Wolf to tilt his head to the side questioningly. Daniela laughed, lifting Sophia up and spinning her around in the dim moonlight-lit room.
----
What do you know? This house is falling apart
What can I say? This house is falling apart
We got no money, but we got heart
We're gonna rattle this ghost town
This house is falling apart!
Screen falling off the door; door hanging off the hinges
My feet are still sore; my back is on the fringes
We were up against the wall on the west mezzanine
We rattle this town, we rattle this scene
Oh, Anna Sun!
Oh, Anna Sun!
What do you know? This house is falling apart
What can I say? This house is falling apart
We got no money, but we got heart
We're gonna rattle this ghost town
This house is falling apart!
---
The song ended and both girls caught their breath through their incessant laughter. Sophia
reached up, giggling and connecting her lips with Daniela's.
She felt the younger girl smiling into the kiss, and squealed when she was practically swept off of her feet and into Daniela's arms.
"Let's go to bed, goofball," Daniela laughed, planting a kiss on her girlfriend's forehead. Sophia hummed in acknowledgement, throwing her arms around Daniela's shoulders and allowing the younger girl to carry her into the bedroom. Both girls collapsed on the bed in laughter.
"I love you too," Daniela whispered breathlessly, rolling over on her side and cupping the back of Sophia's neck to bring in her for a kiss. Sophia hummed happily, reaching out and running her fingers across Daniela's jawline before she pulled the younger girl down on the bed, curling up in her side.
"I love us," Sophia giggled, causing Daniela to smile softly.
"Here's to us then, goofball," Daniela whispered, pulling the blankets back over them for the second time that night.
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A/N: There you have it—the first chapter of the final book! I just posted an announcement earlier, and now we already have two chapters published! Haha, I realized I really need to get started since this story has 50+ chapters. YES, FIFTY PLUS CHAPTERS! This story isn't going to let go of its readers easily, so I hope you'll stick with it and stay with the characters too!
As always, Let me know your thoughts. I always love reading your thoughts! don't shy away!!
All the love and appreciation go to the original author, Txrches!
if I missed any names that should've been changed, please leave a note or comment on that part, okay? Thanks, guys! I appreciate you all!!