Hey guys, a little later than usual, but better late than never!
Here's the new chapter and some more issues with different lifestyles.
I hope you'll enjoy reading the soft Lumity beginnings!
Read you later x)

After merely an hour, Amity was already panting, sweating, and all in all, making a fool of herself. She had also discovered that one hour was nothing at all on a construction site or in an actual job. Luz was pulling nine or ten hours every single day, as she had told her, except Fridays where she had short days and on weekends.

It still seemed like a lot to Amity.

She was out in the sun, carrying solid stones around, and helping Luz break them to size if they were too big.

But she couldn't deny the exhilarating feeling of working, looking back at their progress after just an hour, and knowing she had done something worthwhile. It felt a lot better than studying, planning, or sitting around, waiting for summer to end.

And besides.

She was working alongside a very attractive girl.

Whenever she and Luz leaned over a stone together, or whenever Luz took a heavy load from her, they got so close that Amity could feel the warmth from Luz's sunbathed skin, and smell her wonderful scent.

It wasn't like any of the sickly-sweet perfumes she had grown up with, or the faint smell of alcohol, cigars, or that distinct smell of new and old at the same time. That very specific smell of cleanliness and at the same time, dusty and unbearable.

Luz smelled honest.

She smelled like dust and sweat and dirt and she could even make out a faint smell of something that smelled so foreign to her that she couldn't put a finger on it. It was dusty and kind of old in a good way, like… Like something that should evoke an emotion of home within her.

Working alongside together like this was nice, Amity found.

At times, they didn't need a lot of words, and other times they wouldn't shut up at all, giggling and talking like they didn't have enough time together.

Luz once again readjusted a stone while Amity got a new one, getting up and walking towards the pile of stones while feeling her stomach churning and her vision gaining black spots.

Nobody had told her she would get so damn hungry when working.

As she grabbed another solid stone, the heavy load pulling on her arms, the black spots only grew and she briefly feared collapsing, but breathed through and managed to walk back.

Blinking rapidly, she felt her balance shifting, though, probably the sun paired with hunger and thirst, while the stone pulled her towards the ground.

In an instant, an arm wrapped around her waist.

"Woah, Amity, you okay?!", Luz asked while the stone slipped from her hold, luckily missing both their feet but chipping a corner.

Feeling tears welling up in her eyes, Amity squinted her eyes, breathing through, before turning to Luz, willing her eyes to stay dry. They did as she ordered, yet the dizziness didn't fade, especially not when she realized Luz was holding her close.

"Y-Yeah, just thirsty, I guess.", Amity mumbled, trying to form words out of her suddenly very dry mouth, and Luz nodded.

"Come, we'll go inside and get you some water. You can have my lunch if you want to!", she offered, but before Amity could even do so much as protest, Luz insisted, "No, really. You probably need food right now."

Her stomach churned so much she couldn't even object.

"But-… But the stone, I-…", she tried while Luz already began walking, keeping a firm arm wrapped around her waist and keeping her upright against her.

"Don't worry about the stone. We've been breaking them the whole time already, remember? You're not in trouble.", the reassuring smile Luz sent her was more than enough to warm Amity's fast-beating heart, "Besides, you need to sit down first."

All the while, Amity couldn't really stop thinking about her side pressing into Luz's, her arms wrapped around her and pressing into her back, while she was so close, so close Amity thought she might faint in her scent.

They walked inside and Luz led her to the makeshift break room they had arranged for in one of the rooms that were done so far, sitting her down in a chair and handing her a big bottle of water, before rummaging around in a backpack that seemed very familiar to Amity.

"Drink, that bottle is yours now.", Luz assured her and Amity didn't lose any time unscrewing the bottle and gulping down a good amount before even trying to speak again. The faintness had passed and she was finally in a clear mindset again.

"Luz, really, you don't have to-", she began but before she could finish her sentence, Luz interrupted her with a triumphant cheer, before handing her an Azura-themed lunch box, grinning.

"These are Empanadas my mom made, I hope that's okay… I also have some Chipás, if you like that more."

Amity stopped, staring down at Luz who was kneeling in front of her, her mind still kind of dizzy from before.

"What-… What are those?", she asked and didn't miss the tiny smirk that played around Luz's lips, before she opened the lunch box to reveal a few buns and what seemed like steamed buns in bread form. They looked absolutely delicious.

"Just try one. Oh, wait, the Empanadas aren't vegetarian, and uh, if you're allergic or can't eat gluten or something I don't know the specifics, but I'm lactose intolerant, so that's all made with vegan cheese."

Laughing, Amity waved her hand.

"Don't worry, I don't have allergies or anything else.", she tested a bite from the innocent-looking buns and hummed at the taste. It was a bread dough with cheese, as it tasted like and Amity was melting, "Wow, your mom made these?"

At that, Luz grimaced.

"Well, hers are much better than mine so I snuck hers instead and left her with my shitty ones. Do you like them?", she asked with a hopeful grin and Amity nodded enthusiastically, before taking an Empanada and biting into it, surprised to find meat and vegetables in the baked dough around it.

"Those are really good, but I can't take more than that, Luz. It's your lunch…", Luz tried to wave it off, but Amity glared at her, "Thank you, but that's enough, I can't possibly take more."

With a smile, Luz then shrugged, apparently content with Amity having eaten at least something, before sitting back on the ground, watching her enjoying Luz's food.

"Why didn't you say that you weren't feeling well?", she suddenly asked and Amity shrunk a little, before taking another few big gulps from the bottle, trying to avoid the answer, but when she put down her bottle, Luz was still staring at her expectantly.

"… Well… Because you were still feeling well, and… I didn't wanna be the rich kid."

Despite her embarrassment, Amity mustered an offended glare when Luz laughed loudly, so loudly the whole mansion had to have heard that.

"I've been working this kind of stuff for five years now, Amity. I'm trained in that. There is absolutely no shame in admitting you're hungry, thirsty, or need to get out of the sun for a moment.", she smiled, before leaning forward, putting her hand on Amity's knee, "Please don't hold back from meeting your needs, okay? No need to say anything, just go inside and get something to drink if you need it."

Amity managed a nod, then she shot a shy smile at Luz.

"Okay… Thank you."

Luz nodded, of course, she did, she would be understanding like that, then she placed the lunch box back in Amity's lap and got back up.

"I'll continue working for a bit and let you rest a little more. Just come outside when you're ready again.", lifting a finger, Luz warned her, "I don't expect you back out in the next ten minutes, so relax and rest up, let the dizziness fade first. Okay?"

Amity managed a nod, and as soon as Luz was out of the door, she remembered the very familiar and very obvious Azura merch. But Luz was already gone and she was left looking down at the box and her Azura backpack that she now realized was also Luz's. Another girl was reading her favorite book series.

Humming, Amity smiled to herself, before brushing over the box.

"Who knew she's a fan, too…", seriously, the coincidence was really big. What had been the chances?

Still smiling to herself, Amity leaned back in the chair and drank some more water, already feeling her fatigue, dizziness, and dry mouth fading, before getting back up and putting Luz's lunch box into her backpack.

She saw a sketchbook and another book in there, but going through other people's backpacks was wrong. Humming, she straightened back up and went past Luz's coworkers to get back outside where Luz had already carried over three more stones and managed to make the chipped one work effortlessly.

Looking up to her, she smiled, before getting up and waving out to the pattern they had come up with and the few new additions Luz had made.

"That look alright to you?", she asked and Amity coughed, before looking back at her.

"Luz, I really don't think my opinion is in any way qualified-"

Shaking her head, Luz stood next to her, put her hands on her shoulders, and pulled her into her side so they could both look at their work.

"Nobody here is specifically qualified to make a terrace like that. What's your artistic opinion on our work?", she explained and Amity furrowed her eyebrows, before feeling a smirk stretching her lips, looking over to the other girl smugly.

"I don't think you should be telling me that nobody here is qualified to do certain tasks.", she chuckled and Luz groaned, rolling her eyes.

"Dios mío, Blight, just look at it and tell me it's okay so we can continue.", she laughed and Amity felt herself laughing as well, feeling the Latina shaking against her with her laughter before she was released, making her way back to the front of their stones laid out, humming.

"Yes, it looks great. Need another stone?", she asked but Luz pounced, pointing at her.

"Til lunch break I'll be carrying and you'll be adjusting!", she commanded and Amity would've lied if she didn't feel relieved on behalf of her arms.

"Okay, fair.", she merely agreed, kneeling down to spin a stone into place so it would fit better, earning an approving look by Luz when she was already carrying in the next one.

"Now it's better. You've just got the eye for that.", she complimented and a blush started adorning Amity's face, making her awkwardly giggle.

"Maybe I do… Thank you for letting me work with you, by the way.", she quietly said and Luz kneeled down next to her, catching her gaze.

"Of course.", she replied with a small smile, before tilting her head, "But why thank me? It's quite natural to work together."

Amity shrugged with a blush, before pulling the stone closer that Luz was kneeling on, not noticing that the girl let herself fall forward to be closer to her, carefully observing what she would say next.

"I don't know… I don't think it's natural for the workers, you know, to let me help. My parents always told me I would never be on the same level as people like you, they tried telling me I was 'better' than the working class.", she sighed, "But this feels good. Working like this, I mean, being allowed to help you out like this."

Luz chuckled and suddenly, Amity realized how much closer she was, falling back and sitting on another stone they had placed before, a rapid blush covering her cheeks.

"Hey, don't think too much about it. Your parents won't hear of this and you can do what you want. If you wanna help with the construction site, you do that. Who cares what class you were born into? All I care about is that you're happy.", when Amity looked up, she was surprised to find a blush covering Luz's cheeks, "I-I mean, that everyone's happy! If you're born wealthy but prefer to work with your hands that shouldn't be a shame!"

Laughing, Amity finally nodded and Luz rubbed the back of her head, before getting back up and awkwardly pointing back to the stone collection.

"I'm gonna-… Yeah.", she helpfully commented, while Amity smiled to herself, adjusting the stone Luz had brought. She wouldn't need to break it into shape, which was nice, but that also meant she would have to wait for Luz to bring the next one.

Looking up, Amity felt her mouth going dry.

In the sun, Luz's skin looked a lot darker than inside, curiously enough. It seemed to be the contrast. Her calves were well-toned and showed what they had when she leaned forward, balancing on the caps of her safety shoes, to grab another stone she saw fit for the next spot. Gulping, Amity's gaze drew higher, over her thighs and an admittedly nice butt, until she reached the hem of her work shorts. A bit of waistband from her underwear showed, and Amity felt her cheeks flaring up with a mad blush. Was Luz wearing boxershorts?

She was more caught up on the bit of skin flashing between her boxers and the shirt, though, her back coming into view with just a few inches, but it was enough to let her mouth water. Groaning, Amity tried looking away, but she couldn't, not when Luz turned around with a sizeable stone in her hands now.

Her arms were definitely well worked out. Her biceps were showing by the way the muscle pulled up when she lifted the stone, and by the way, her sleeve moved. Her lower arms were what pushed Amity over the edge in transforming into a spluttering mess. The muscles were all fairly visible, and she could see the strings playing under her skin, showing she had some hidden strength there.

Her face burning, Amity looked back down to the stones to her knees, but when she looked up again, it only became worse.

Luz's shoulders were well defined, as far as she could see through the shirt, but what caught her eyes especially was her shirt riding up a little because she was propping the stone up against her stomach to be able to carry it easier. The fabric bunched up and pulled to reveal the boxers again, as well as a flat, toned stomach and a little bit of smooth skin, and a beautiful brown color.

Her grin was so bright it almost blinded Luz, and her happy brown eyes sparkled so much she thought she had to faint. Blinking a few times, Amity gulped, then she moved to her hair with her gaze.

Well, what was visible of her hair. It was short and brown, as far as she could tell, and a little sweaty around her forehead, but the helmet sat tightly on her head and she couldn't see the exact cut.

Groaning, she focused back on her knees, just when Luz set down the stone.

"Hey, you okay?", she suddenly heard her ask, "You look a little red. Are you having a heat stroke?"

While Amity did feel like she could vomit from all the butterflies in her stomach, she was almost entirely sure it wasn't from the heat but rather from her overwhelming gayness.

"I-I'm fine!", she squeaked, but Luz wasn't convinced and shuffled closer. In an instant, Amity could also pick up her sweaty scent. Was it possible for people to smell good even while sweating?!

"Are you sure?", she asked and put a hand on Amity's shoulder. She felt like she could be fainting.

"A-Absolutely sure! L-Let's see the stone here, yes?", she asked and focused entirely on the task at hand, trying not to feel Luz's hand on her shoulder or question why her mouth had just gone from watery to dry within seconds.

Luz seemed to hesitate for another moment, before deducting that if Amity wasn't swaying or sweating too much or too little, she would let her be and believe her.

"Okay, so, I think we'll need to break this one to size a little bit, so we can place a larger one here again.", she slowly began and Amity nodded eagerly, wanting to reach for the stone so she could pick it up, but Luz was faster than her, carrying it over to the edge where they had hammer and chisel ready.

"Nu-uh, remember our deal!", she called and Amity seemingly groaned, before following her.

"Okay, I'll hold the stone.", she gave in and Luz nodded, victoriously.

"There we go.", she split the stone along an edge and tried getting it into form, while mustering Amity's hands. She had rather small hands, and very small wrists, even if she was arguably fit and stronger than she would have anticipated.

She had to take the smallest size of gloves they had, which Luz found adorable, but she had shown she could put in the work where it was needed. Even if her back must be hurting by now. Sneaking a glance, Luz couldn't find any traces of exhaustion or pain in her face, but she also noticed how pretty that girl was. She wasn't even wearing make-up, was she?

Pulling up an eyebrow, Luz went back to work, not visibly shaking her head to herself.

Just because she couldn't recognize make-up didn't mean Amity wasn't wearing some. She had to be wearing some, as the daughter of some rich CEOs, right?

Immediately, Luz wanted to slap herself.

Now, look at her, spouting nonsense like prejudices against the rich. The rich that were giving her and her company a job, at that.

Grumbling, she split the stone a little bit more, before propping herself up on it, causing another squeak from Amity and shortly panicking if she trapped one of her fingers by accident, then she looked up.

"Alright, ten more after this one and then we'll go have lunch."

Amity readily nodded at that, before Luz got up and took the stone with her, getting back to the place they last stopped and tilting her head.
"Where would you put it?", she asked and Amity shrugged.

"I don't-", she began but interrupted herself as soon as Luz bent down, "Actually, don't put it there. Put it here."

Grinning, Luz followed her commands before setting the stone down and spinning it to Amity's wishes. As soon as she had dared speaking up, she had quite the eye for this, Luz noticed.

Just like that, the ten stones were placed quickly, quicker than they had anticipated, and they both straightened up.

"Perfect! Lunch!", Luz called and Amity followed her, feeling her grumbling stomach despite having some of Luz's lunch earlier, so she pondered for a moment. A glance on her watch made her frown.

"Does anyone else have lunch yet?", she asked and Luz stopped, turning back to her and taking a look at Amity's watch that she stretched out for the other girl to see. Grimacing, Luz leaned back.

"Actually, no. Only in an hour. But I'm hungry!", she complained and Amity grinned.

"Come on, we'll get lunch in the city.", she offered, pulling out her car keys. Luz merely tilted her head at that.

"But-… Half an hour of lunchtime isn't enough time to go there, have lunch, and be back for work.", she slowly voiced her concerns, making Amity wave her off.

"You're in a meeting with the customer or something. Come on, we'll get lunch for everyone.", she smiled and Luz didn't really want to argue with that.

"Wait, you wouldn't take this off my hours?", she asked as she caught up with Amity, who took the long way around the house instead of going through.

"My parents are paying for these hours, or not? And they put me on the project management board, which means I decide your hours within reason. And I say getting lunch with me is working time for you."

Luz laughed, shaking her head incredulously, her longer legs having caught up with Amity in no time.

"Wait, waitwait, you're really telling me-", she began and Amity laughed.

"Yes! Now pat down your clothes, the car is kind of cleaned.", she did the same as she said it, stomping her feet and patting down the dust she had collected on her pants around her knees and shins.

"Okay but you won't tell Eda or Lilith?", Luz asked and Amity almost rolled her eyes at that, looking at her with a smile.

"Of course not.", she unlocked the car and got in, Luz following her suit. Within a moment, she noticed what she hadn't when she had been outside, too focused on Amity and her conversation.

"O-Oh fuck. Wait. This is a really fancy car.", she noted with a small voice and Amity immediately noticed her hunching, trying to touch as little as possible. Sighing, she nodded.

"My parents insist I drive the cars of their friends. I'd rather have a smaller car for university, but they don't want me to and I'm not allowed to take public transportation."

Luz's eyes were wide as saucers when the engine sprang to life, a certain roar sounding when Amity put it in drive. Of course, it was automatic, what else had she been expecting.

"This-… This is more than-… This is a really fancy car.", she repeated and Amity looked over to her. Luz seemed kind of shocked to sit in such a car.

"Uh-… Are you okay?", she carefully asked, driving down the private road up to the mansion and Luz gulped.

"I-… I've never been in a Porsche before, really. And-… I never dreamed of it. It's-… Not something that would be in the range of the possible for me.", she slowly explained and Amity furrowed her eyebrows.

"It's-… Just a car, though.", she remarked and Luz barked out a laugh.

"I'm not sure if you're joking.", she said back and something in her voice had changed. Immediately, Amity felt as if she had done something wrong.

"Oh… Uhm… What's so different about it, then?", and tried to sound as genuine as she could. Luz cast her an incredulous side glance, before realizing that Amity really didn't know.

"… Such an expensive car is not a luxury my family or I could ever afford.", she found the sensible words as a response to this and tried relaxing a little bit, rubbing her palms on her pants, "It's-… Not a thing for me to just casually sit in a Porsche. Not even Lilith or Eda make enough money to own one and they own the whole company I work for."

Amity felt stupid. She actually felt so dumb and ignorant for not seeing that.

"Ah-… Okay. Makes sense, sorry. Sometimes I, uh-…", grimacing, she awkwardly cut herself off and shook her head, more to herself than to Luz, to make herself stop talking. As if to show herself that her point was already ignorant before she had even made it.

"No, it's okay. We come from very different upbringings.", Luz said and suddenly giggled, "The difference is basically that I know how much a stick of butter costs and you don't."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Amity looked over to her newfound friend.

"A stick of butter?", she asked and Luz lifted her eyebrows at her, "How much does it cost?"

"Take a guess.", Luz challenged and Amity grumbled, looking around to make sure there was nobody on the road when she turned onto the city route.

"I don't know, I'm not into the butter stock market right now.", she huffed and Luz laughed loudly.

"Just guess at it! It can't be that hard, come on.", she teased and Amity rolled her eyes.

"I don't know! Ten dollars?!", she asked and Luz's laughter only became louder, "Too much? Too little?! Help me out here, I've never been to a supermarket!"

Finally wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes, Luz relented.

"See, that's exactly what I mean! Because you've always had butter, and never had to buy it, you never cared how much it costs. But when I moved out, I sometimes had to decide between butter or bread.", Luz explained and Amity's head whipped to her, the car doing a short jerk when she stared at her.

"Decide between butter and bread? What kinda logic is this?", she asked and Luz shrugged.

"As an apprentice, you don't exactly live off of much. I wanted to move out quickly, though, because I knew my mom was financially struggling to keep me with her. So, I moved into a tiny room outside the city, with a toilet in the corner and just a curtain to separate it from my bed.", chuckling, Luz shook her head, "Sometimes, money got so short that I had to decide between the butter to cook with or bread for breakfast, but without butter."

Amity remained quiet for a second or two while processing this, then she furrowed her eyebrows.

"You're kidding me.", she finally said and Luz shook her head, the laughter gone from her voice.

"I'm actually not. The first year was hard until I was bumped up to second-year income. By now I can live fairly well, and don't have to decide between butter and bread anymore, but I don't lie if I say I haven't had snacks or soda in a long while, because it's too expensive and I prefer having a whole meal instead of a bag of chips, now that I can afford a meal, at least."

Somehow, Amity couldn't wrap her head around this.

Luz had so little, she had to decide between two items and take the one she felt she could have more of?

This was so unusual to her. Frowning, she looked over to Luz again.

"You're actually serious.", she said and Luz nodded.

"And now guess again how much a stick of butter costs. Because believe me, I know exactly how much what brand costs, after having to do the math on what else I could buy if the butter was chipped off my money.", a certain giggle had found its way back into her words and Amity wouldn't ever admit she was glad about that.

"I don't know, Luz. I've never bought a stick of butter.", she finally said and Luz chuckled.

"Then let's go to a supermarket and educate you a little, hm?", she suggested and Amity couldn't help but smile at that. Maybe Luz could still teach her a thing or two that weren't related to construction.

"Okay, deal."

Let me know what you think!