Chapter Text
The bed was empty when Charlotte woke up.
She sat up, scanning the room automatically for any signs of her girlfriend, then dropped back onto the pillow with a sigh.
Right, she has that early meeting today.
It felt like she always had one these days. Not that Engfa hasn’t always been a workaholic, and Char understood it, she really did, but it would be nice to wake up in her arms more often. Especially since, lately, she often also fell asleep alone, as Engfa only slipped into bed, once Char had already drifted off to sleep.
She rolled onto her side and tugged the sheets closer, but it was pointless anyway. There’s no way she could fall back asleep now.
With a quiet groan she pushed herself off the bed and shuffled toward the kitchen, the soft sound of her slippers the only thing echoing throught the empty space.
There was a note on the table.
Good morning, beautiful. Make sure you eat something, I left something in the fridge. I’ll call you when I can - E
Charlotte smiled to herself. Oh, Engfa, always worrying about her eating habits.
She opened the fridge and found some cut fruits, all her favourites. Charlotte felt a pang of guilt over it - if Engfa made this, it meant she must’ve woken up even earlier than she needed to.
Still, she couldn’t help the warmth blooming in her chest. As always, Engfa took care of her, silently, without needing to be asked for it.
Charlotte sat down by the counter with the plate, checking her phone.
Engfa sent her a selfie from the car, and she immediately zeroed in on her shirt. There was definitely one button too many undone, the collar loose enough to feel intentional.
Someone was feeling brave today.
At least the picture she posted on twitter was from a different angle, covering more, which meant one less thing for Charlotte to worry about.
Her group chat was silent when she opened it, but she sent a text, seeing some of them online. I have no work today, if anyone wants to go out.
Sonya’s reply was almost instant, Sorry, Char, I have a shooting today. But the weekend for sure!
Always busy, Charlotte mused. Sonya was well on her way to becoming a workaholic herself, but fortunately she had someone by her side who seemed more than willing to remind her when it was time to relax..
Sure, I have time, Heidi replied next, Meena soon following with a. Me too.
They settled on a time, and once the conversation quieted down, Charlotte opened the shared schedule she kept with Engfa. She knew her girlfriend was double-booked that day, though the exact times had slipped her mind.
Meeting with the screenwriter for Murder in the kitchen, alright, the 8 in the morning meeting was already underway.
The next entry at 12: she had a promotion for a new brand. Right, she remembered that. Then she spotted the note. That wasn’t there before.
“W/ Veena” it said.
Charlotte raised her eyebrows. Engfa conveniently forgot to mention that detail.
Veena had been on Charlotte’s mind rather often lately. Too often, if she was being honest, but she was a constant thorn in her heel.
Not that there was anything wrong with the woman, she was kind and actually pleasant company, but that was exactly the problem; she was always around Engfa!
Logically, Charlotte knew it shouldn’t bother her. Engfa worked with lots of different people, they both did, and close working relationships were a usual occurrence. But Veena clearly took a particular liking to her girlfriend, and Engfa, although not openly encouraging, also wasn’t exactly pushing her away.
Though it definitely reassured her, and gave her some proper smugness, whenever she stumbled across online comparisons, where fans pointed out how differently Engfa treated the two of them in public.
But working on the same show, playing a couple, it worried Charlotte. That was exactly the way most couples she knew started.
And despite everything, despite the persistent way Engfa loved and cared for her, Charlotte couldn’t shake the doubt and worry that lingered at the back of her mind, of just how close Veena and Engfa were. Or how close they wanted to be.
She ignored it for now, but tucked the information in the back of her mind.
She’ll definitely question her girlfriend on it later.
Around 10 o’clock, Charlotte was comfortably curled on the couch, sipping coffee and absentmindedly scrolling through her socials.
Twitter was always a mess, full of both fans’ encouragement and doubt, while Tiktok comments were definitely something she had wisely learned to avoid altogether.
She was just checking Freen’s latest post (another couple shoot with Becky, as though the two of them weren’t even trying to keep it a secret anymore), when her phone rang.
“Good morning,” she answered cheerfully.
“Morning, love.” Engfa’s voice was warm and smooth on the other side of the line. “Did you just wake up?”
“No, I’ve been awake for some time now,” she replied, making herself more comfortable on the couch.
“Breakfast?” was all Engfa asked.
Charlotte rolled her eyes with a smile, though a smile tugged at her lips, “I ate, don’t worry.”
“Good, good.” Engfa said, followed by a short moment of silence and a soft grunt that sounded like she was stretching. “I just finished with my meeting, it all went well. We’ll probably start fittings soon. They’re trying to move production along a little faster than expected.”
Charlotte bit back the first comment that came to her mind, and opted for the adjusted version. “Was the whole team there?” she asked in what she hoped was a completely natural tone. “Or just you?”
“Veena and the director were there as well,” Engfa replied easily.
There Charlotte got her answer.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. “You’ve got some time now, right?” she asked. “Want to come over for lunch?”
She already had some ideas what to cook, and well, if they didn’t dilly-dally, they might have time for something else as well…
“Sorry,” was Engfa’s disappointing reply. “I’m meeting with Faye, I need her advice on something.”
Advice? Charlotte raised her brows. “Advice?” she echoed her thoughts out loud. “Is everything alright?”
“Of course,” Engfa answered quickly, though to Charlotte she sounded somewhat distant, distracted by something around her. “Don’t worry about it.”
There were some voices drifting through the phone. Charlotte couldn’t discern much, but that was definitely a female voice behind. And it didn’t sound like Faye.
“Char, I’m so sorry,” Engfa returned on the line. “I have to go now, but make sure you eat a proper lunch, alright? I’ll be back for dinner.”
Charlotte tried her best to not sound too disappointed, “Yeah, alright, I’ll see you later.”
“I love you,” Engfa said.
“Love you too,” Charlotte replied before the call ended, and only in the afterquiet, alone in her home, did she realise she entirely forgot to ask about the promotional event.