Take Me Home | Camia x Amparo
For @sunrisenfool using the prompt 5. Throwing their arms around the other person’s neck, hugging them close before kissing them passionately on the lips from the 50 Kisses Prompts.
In which, after an emergency trip to Venterre, Camia finds herself missing Vesuvia, but more importantly, Amparo.
Title: Take Me Home by The Staves 1.5k words
When she was younger, Camia hated Vesuvia. Hated the memories she had of it; the people she knew lived there. She thought she would never go back, at least as long as she could help it. But Vesuvia itself had other plans for her.
Her family, the one she had chosen, loved Vesuvia. Alec’s face would always light up when she was younger and Jamil announced Vesuvia as their next stop, and eventually, she asked to stay. Jamil too, enjoyed visiting Vesuvia, as much as he tolerated Lucio, he would have traveled anywhere to visit his Valeriy. Even Leon warmed up to the city after a long while, shaking off their own fears and distrust of people and cities to go back to it voluntarily. But Camia never quite felt the same.
Until she fell in love. Twice. And then Vesuvia became a city she enjoyed, a city she could walk freely without fear of her past, where she could be her own person.
As Camia crossed the Zephyr Bay, watching the city come clearly into view, she thought about how nervous she had been the first time she left Venterre with Jamil to visit Vesuvia. How terrified she had been that she wouldn’t be able to leave.
It was funny now, she thought, that she almost didn’t want to leave ever again. That she had felt homesick for the city while in Venterre for the week. Well, it was the city, her family, and Amparo that she had missed. Mostly Amparo.
The only reason she had left Vesuvia was to visit Jamil’s uncle, Feliciano, as he was getting older and had been fighting illnesses off and on for a few years. When Jamil had received a letter from his aunt Annalisa explaining that Feliciano was sick again, Jamil and Camia had packed up to visit him, afraid that they wouldn’t get many more chances.
Still, Camia might not have left in the first place, if Amparo hadn’t assured her that she would be fine. Camia couldn’t help the paranoia that came from leaving her behind, both her and Alec, to be fair, couldn’t help that some part of her was convinced she would come back, and they would be sick, hurt, or worse—and even the thought of that made her not want to go.
But Amparo had held her face in her hands and told her to go. That she, and Alec, would be fine. She was a little sad that Camia would be missing one of her performances, but as she said, there would always be another. Camia had kissed her goodbye with tears in her eyes but a smile on her face, and a promise to return as soon as she could.
And as luck, and Vesuvia itself would have it, she left Venterre earlier than intended. Feliciano had been overjoyed to see her and Jamil, though he spent most of the time insisting that he was fine, chastising his older sister for worrying them in the first place.
“You know how Lisa is, caro, she thinks I’m on my death bed!”
Jamil and Camia shared an amused look. Annalisa could be dramatic, but he had been sick for a while. And it was only D’Oria nature to be concerned about their family.
Nevertheless, they spent a few days by his side, reminiscing over the past, talking about their futures. Camia had brought her violin, her first one, the one he gave her, and played it for him. It was very old by now, and she had been a little nervous over traveling with it, but the way Feliciano grinned when he saw her pull it out was worth it.
She and Jamil played music for him, singing songs they had made up when they were younger, or that the D’Oria would sing for events, and even when Jamil left, visiting with Feliciano’s wife Elizabeth, Camia continued to play. Hours seemed to pass in moments, Feliciano singing in a rasping voice along with her, commenting on her playing, how talented she had always been.
“Are you happy, cara?” Feliciano asked, when she had finished playing for him. “You always seemed to hold the weight of the world on your shoulders, even when you were so small, but it seems that’s lifted somewhat. Are you happy?”
Camia paused, resting her violin in her lap. “Yes, Zio. I am.”
He smiled, reaching out to take her hand in his. She rubbed her thumb over his skin, wrinkled from years and years of hard work in the vineyards. Eyes sparkling with mischief, creased at the sides, he squeezed her hand. “I’m still waiting for you to have your own D’Oria wedding, you know. I won’t be able to rest until then.”
She laughed at that, feeling warm tears rise to her eyes. “Decorations and everything?”
“Decorations and everything.”
Camia left two days later, after saying quick hellos to a few other family members. Jamil decided to stay behind just a few days more, to speak with his grandfather. (Camia suspected he had his own plans for a wedding that he wanted to discuss with Eugenio.)
As the boat docked in Vesuvia, Camia suddenly remembered that it was the night of Amparo’s performance, and she might be able to see it after all. Not even taking the time to stop by the shop and drop off her traveling bag or violin case, Camia made her way through the streets that she now knew better than she thought she ever would to the Vesuvian Opera and Ballet, to Amparo.
She didn’t have the same thread of magic connecting them like Leon could do, but Camia still felt like there was something in her soul that pulled her to Amparo over the space between them. It was what allowed her to enter the theatre at the exact moment Amparo walked on the stage, miraculously not missing a note of her performance.
Camia supposed she was allowed a few good things in life, and this, watching Amparo sing in a full theatre, looking absolutely radiant and sounding heavenly, was one of them. She was alive, she was thriving, and she was beautiful, and Camia couldn’t take her eyes off of her. She had heard Amparo practice the song she was singing, but it didn’t quite compare to hearing it here, in the theatre, voice resonating around her.
The few days away had been enough for Camia to miss her terribly. She missed the sound of her laughter, the light in her eyes, and the feeling of her skin under Camia’s fingers. That paranoia of something going wrong while she was gone never completely left, but the homesickness was more persistent.
For a moment, when the spotlight seemed to shine brighter, Camia thought back to Feliciano’s request of giving her a D’Oria wedding before he did pass, and she could see it. She could see the decorations, hundreds of flowers hung all over the dining hall, see Jamil in the sword ceremony, and see Amparo there, next to her. It almost made Camia cry to imagine, a foreign kind of happiness that she never thought she would get to know. But she did know it, with Amparo.
Once the performance was over, Camia made her way backstage. At this point, the stage crew knew her well enough to let her back to Amparo’s dressing room and she went, still holding her traveling bag and violin case over her shoulder. She knocked on the door twice and waited to hear Amparo’s cheerful but distracted “come in” before entering.
Her dressing room was a bit of organized chaos, as she was still in the process of removing her outfit, but it made Camia feel at ease to be back in her space, only a few steps between them instead of miles. She shut the door behind her and watched Amparo’s face in the mirror as she finally looked up and met Camia’s eyes.
With a loud gasp Amparo stood and turned, facing Camia, a wide smile on her face. Before either of them had said anything, she ran to throw her arms around Camia, hugging her close.
“Ampi,” Camia started, but Amparo kissed her, and she was happy to kiss her back; it felt like her heart was full again.
When they finally pulled apart, they stayed close, Amparo’s arms still around Camia’s shoulders, Camia’s hands on Amparo’s hips.
“What are you doing back? Is everything alright? How was Feliciano?”
Camia laughed, rubbing small circles with her thumbs over Amparo’s hips. “He’s fine. Insisted we were making a big deal out of nothing, and I came back early. I was able to see your performance after all.”
“I did say there would be others, but still, I am glad you’re back.”
“I’m glad to be back.” Camia kissed her again, softly. “I missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” Amparo replied. “I need to finish getting changed but, perhaps in a minute, I think I need this more.”
As Camia held Amparo close to her chest, feeling their hearts beat together, pressing her lips to her forehead, she smiled, thinking back to Feliciano. Thought of a D’Oria wedding aside, she was happy. She felt like she was finally home, that most of the weight she had carried all of her life was gone.
She was in love, and she was happy.




















