Chapter Text
Luz was terrified.
And that was putting it lightly.
Amity was returning from her trip today, and Luz had been planning a romantic surprise to ask her to be her girlfriend officially.
She had help, of course. Her boss/mentor Eda and all of her friends had all come together to help her set up the perfect date to pop the question.
Willow’s dads had let Luz use their plant nursery, more specifically the gazebo within the nursery. It was the perfect atmosphere for their date, pretty and eloquent, with a touch of intentionality that she knew Amity would appreciate.
“And you’re sure that you aren’t girlfriends yet?” Hunter asked as he hung up a strand of string lights across the gazebo ceiling. “I mean, you two are always doing girlfriend things.”
“Yeah,” Gus added, carrying in a large vase of tulips. “You’ve been on like, a bajillion dates, and you’ve already kissed and everything!”
Luz went beet red and she coughed into her fist. “Well, we haven’t actually… kissed yet…”
“You haven’t?!” Willow nearly dropped the vase of flowers as she took it from Gus. She recovered and blinked at Luz incredulously. “But… you’ve been dating for weeks now.”
“I know, I know.” Luz sighed. “You don’t have to tell me that. I’ve just been hoping that it’ll come up naturally!”
“Well, scratch what I said about them already being girlfriends.” Hunter stage-whispered to Gus.
“Hunter, whispering like that doesn’t actually keep anyone from hearing you. You know that, right?” Willow patted the bottom of the ladder, looking up at him with lovingly exasperated eyes.
“I knew that!” Hunter scoffed, avoiding his girlfriend’s eyes.
“Uh-huh.”
Luz ignored her friends, much too preoccupied with the nervousness invading her entire body than the adorable banter between them. She turned to look out over the pond that the gazebo was built over.
The late afternoon sun was reflecting off of the sparkling water. Luz couldn’t help but wonder what it was going to look like in a few hours when it would begin to set. According to Eda’s intuition (her weather app), it was supposed to be a mostly clear night, allotting for a beautiful sunset and a perfect date.
That was if Luz didn’t pass out first.
She forced herself to take a deep breath. Then another. She reminded herself of what Hunter had said the other day. Amity was choosing to date Luz, she liked her for who she was, and she wouldn’t completely ditch her at the drop of a hat. That just wasn’t Amity.
“Hey, kid… You alright?” Eda’s gentle hand on Luz’s shoulder jarred her from her thoughts.
Luz exhaled through her nose, “Yeah, just nervous.” She rolled her shoulders, forcing the negative thoughts out of her mind. She gestured to the string lights and flowers. “Do you think it’ll be too much?”
Her mentor snorted, “Kid, this is the smallest grand gesture I’ve ever seen you do.”
“So…?”
“So, no. Obviously.”
Luz nodded, running a hand through her hair. “It’s just, well, the last time I did something like this - the last time I put my heart on the line like this - I got rejected pretty bad. And Amity is so cool and pretty, I don’t want to scare her away.”
“What do you mean ‘scare her away’?” Eda raised a skeptical brow.
“I just don’t want to be too much, you know? I’ve been trying to reel myself in, make sure that she doesn’t get tired of me.”
Eda frowned, “Luz if I could get my hands on the brats that broke your heart just for a few minutes-”
“Eda!”
“I’m serious,” The older woman sighed. “Listen, I get where you’re coming from, okay? Rejection is hard. But Amity wasn’t the one who treated you like that, and as difficult as it is, you just have to trust that she won’t be the same as those other people.”
Then Eda smiled at her, not her typical sarcastic grin, but a comforting, motherly smile that filled Luz with warmth. “Trust is hard, and people are harder. There’s nothing you can do to control how other people act; all you can do is make sure you’re the best version of yourself no matter how others treat you. But if Boots does break your heart…?”
Eda cracked her knuckles, eyes foggy and head somewhere far away, “Mama can handle a high schooler with an attitude problem, that’s all I’ll say.”
Luz snorted, rubbing at the tears brimming in her eyes with a palm. “Thanks, Eda.” She squeezed the older woman tight. It had been a long, rocky road since the first time that Luz and Eda had met, but it was safe to say that there was no one else on this entire planet Luz trusted more.
Eda smiled and reciprocated the hug. “Of course. You may be an annoying kid, but you’re my kid, and us weirdos have to stick together.”
Hunter called down from his spot on the ladder, “Hey! If you two are done being all sweet or whatever, do you want to help us finish this up?”
Luz grinned at them, pulling away from her adopted mother, and shot her friends a thumbs up. “Heck, yeah! Let’s do this!”
***
An hour later, Luz and her friends had finished setting up the decorations, and it was safe to say, it may be one of Luz’s best grand gestures yet.
Or, at least, it’ll make the top ten, depending on Amity’s reaction.
The lightwashed wood was draped with string lights, setting the scene with soft lighting that added to the evening atmosphere perfectly. The thin curtains were pulled back to reveal a set of cushioned chairs overlooking the pond. Speaking of, the Park’s pond was reflecting the setting sun, dousing the entire surrounding area in warm shades of yellows and oranges.
In other words, everything was looking just right.
And that included Luz, who was out of her normal graphic tees and sweatshirts and had on a nice dark green sweater, dark wash jeans, and Converse.
Everything was ready, now she only had to wait.
***
Amity was trying (and failing) to not panic.
Just an hour ago she had received the most vaguely threatening text ever from the girl she liked, and she was handling it with so much grace.
“Ugh!” She growled as she bellyflopped onto her bed, faceplanting right into her pillows.
The twins stood just within the doorway to Amity’s bedroom; both of them too afraid to step any closer to their sister while she was in such a volatile state, and with such easy access to throw pillows.
Edric cleared his throat, “So, Mittens… You seem pretty preoccupied, should we go… or?”
Emira slapped his shoulder, “No Ed, look at her. She’s in distress, this is a classic sibling advice situation!”
“Aww, Ams, did you need some sibling advice?”
Amity’s muffled voice croaked from where she lay, still belly down on the bed. “What should I wear to go get broken up with?”
Although this may have been the worst day of her life, she at least had the satisfaction of silencing her brother and sister- a feat not so easily accomplished.
The quiet was broken with a surprised, “What?” from Edric, before Amity could feel the weight of two bodies shifting her bed.
A hand was placed on her back, “What do you mean, Amity?” Emira’s voice this time.
Amity said nothing, only rolling over and shoving her phone in their faces. On the screen was a series of text messages between Amity and Luz:
Today 10:13 AM
Me: Just got back home!
Me: I have to take a nap because I’m super tired, but do you still want to hang out later?
Today 11:42 AM
Me: Just woke up! Any ideas for tonight?
Today 1:02 PM
Me: Luz?
Me: Hello?
Today 4:38 PM
Batata amity!! sorry for the late reply!!
Batata i was superrr busy today, but im free now! did you still want to hang out??
Me: Yes, where did you want to meet up?
Batata: heres the address of where im at!
Batata: 3015 Bumblebee Way
Batata: i was thinking this would be the perfect place to talk
Batata: b there in an hour?
Me: Okay, I’ll see you there.
Me: What did you want to talk about?
Batata: nothing too crazy!! just our relationship and stuff
Me: Oh, okay.
Batata: see you in a bit!
Amity watched as their faces shifted while they read the texts. Her sibling’s mirrored expressions of confusion did nothing to stamp out the whirling anxiety building in her chest- if anything, it made it so much worse.
“Well, this isn’t as bad as it could be?” Edric supplied, a hopeful tinge to his voice.
Emira nodded, “Yeah, Mittens. Maybe she wants to talk about the good things in your relationship!”
“The good things…” Amity said, staring at the floor. “Is that why she’s been avoiding me for the past two days? Because she wants to talk about the good things?”
Emira sighed, glancing at Edric for support. He stared at her as if to say, Why do I have to do it? Or maybe, Do you see how close she is to hitting us with a pillow?
He cleared his throat, “Well, hey, not everything is always as it seems. Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding!” At seeing her expression stay blank, he added with a darker tone, “But if it's not, and you’re right, then let’s make her regret this decision for the rest of her life.”
“Dial it back Ed,” Emira cleared her throat. She rubbed her sister’s back comfortingly, “Ed’s not wrong though, let’s get you ready for tonight.”
Amity threw up her hands, “What do I even wear? What would you wear to go get rejected?”
Emira and Edric smirked at each other, then in sync said: “Leave that to us.”
***
Luz smiled as she saw Amity’s pink sportscar pull up into the driveway. She ran one more hand through her hair, checked her breath, and straightened her sweater. “Amity! Hey! Glad you got here in time!”
Amity stepped out of the car, and for a moment Luz was speechless. The paler girl’s lavender hair looked freshly dyed, showing off her cheekbones and stunning makeup. Luz might not have known too much about makeup in general, but she could tell that Amity was going for a showstopping look. In the breeze, her black gown twisted around her legs, allowing Luz to see her scuffed-up combat boots, a far cry from the elegant look the rest of the outfit was creating.
Luz never thought she had seen anyone look so good in her entire life.
Boots crunching on gravel jarred Luz from her thoughts. Amity was standing right in front of her. Beautiful, stunning Amity, who, for some reason, looked pissed as hell. Luz cleared her throat, “H-hey Amity.”
“Hello, Luz,” Amity’s voice was cold, colder than Luz had heard it in a long time. It took her back to the first time they had met when Amity was still a bully.
Be brave, Luz. Be brave.
“Um, I thought you might like this spot,” She said, gesturing to the pond in front of them. “It’s on the water!”
“Yeah, I can see that.” She stated blankly, walking past Luz to the gazebo. “Let’s just get this over with, okay?”
Luz had to hold back a hurt gasp as the other girl shouldered past her. She swallowed, fighting the tears that threatened to leak. Quickly, she wiped them away, “Come on, Noceda. You got this.”
They sat on the cushioned seats that Luz had handpicked from Eda’s shop. From there, the view was especially stunning; the setting sun washing them in its warm rays. It was almost impossible not to feel relaxed in that moment.
Almost impossible, but Luz was always good at beating the odds.
Her foot tapped on the deck, her skittish energy becoming physical. She glanced at Amity out of the corner of her eye and saw that the other girl was avoiding her gaze, wringing her hands in her lap.
“So-” They both said at the same time, causing Luz to laugh and Amity to grimace.
“You can go first,” Amity conceded.
Luz nodded and took a steadying breath. “So, I wanted to talk with you about where this-” She gestured between the two of them. “-is going. I was afraid to bring this up to you because I didn’t know where your head was at, you know, being away and all.”
She cleared her throat, playing with the sleeves of her sweater. “I don’t want to make you hate me, I need you to know that before I go on.”
“Luz, just say it!” Amity’s voice cracked as she spoke, and Luz noticed with shock that her eyes were filling with tears. “Just say you don’t want to be with me, it’s okay.”
Horrified, Luz’s mouth hung wide open as Amity started to cry. She whispered a quiet, “What?”
“Don’t spare my feelings, Luz. I knew you were going to break up with me- I’m not stupid.” Amity stood as if to leave.
Luz’s voice suddenly came back to her, “Amity, wait!” She jumped to her feet and grabbed the other girl's hands. “I wasn’t going to break up with you! That’s like, the opposite of what I wanted to do.”
“Wait what?” Amity croaked, pulling her hands out of Luz’s grip to wipe at her watery eyes. “Then why have you been basically ignoring me since I left? I thought- well, I thought that you were trying to let me down easy.”
“No! No, I would never do that.” She frowned, shaking her head. “And… I wasn’t trying to ignore you, I just didn’t want you to get tired of me, so I was giving you space.”
Amity laughed weakly at that, “Space? You practically blocked my number.”
Luz groaned into her hands, “I’m an idiot, Ams. How did I not see how that would look?”
With a gentleness, Luz did not feel deserving of, the shorter girl pried Luz’s hands from her face and held them. “You’re not an idiot. You’re so smart, Luz. I guess… I just don’t understand what all this was about, if it wasn’t going to be you breaking up with me?”
Oh, right. She has no clue what’s happening right now.
Luz squeezed her hands, staring at the ground. “Uh, well, I was going to ask if you wanted to be my girlfriend.” She whispered the last few words, too afraid to say them normally.
For a few awful seconds, only silence permeated the air, and with each passing moment, Luz’s heart fell a little lower.
I was wrong after all, I knew it.
That was, until arms wrapped around her neck and squeezed her tight.
“Yes!” Amity squealed, her hands wrapping around the back of Luz’s head.
Luz swayed, completely taken off guard by the girl’s sudden affection. Then, with a joyous laugh, she spun her around, lifting her up off of her feet. When she set Amity down, the pair just looked at one another; Luz with her brown puppy dog eyes, and Amity with her soft golden ones.
“Wow, this did not go like I thought it would.” Amity giggled.
The taller girl groaned, burying her head in her now girlfriend’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry I made you feel like I was going to break things off with you.”
Amity ran a hand through Luz’s hair, “I’m not mad at you, Luz. It was just a huge case of misunderstanding, and neither of us talked about it. I'm sorry that I was so rude to you when I first got here, I was just terrified.”
Luz pulled back with a snort, “Yeah, I suppose one singular conversation could have cleared all this up, huh?”
Amity smirked, “Yeah, maybe.” She looked out over the water, “This was a really sweet thing to do Luz. I’ve never had someone ask me to be their girlfriend before, but even if I had, I doubt it would have been as incredible as this is.”
Luz stared at her with soft, adoring eyes. I guess this does make it onto Luz’s Top Ten Best Grand Gestures after all. “Well, I did have some help!”
“I’m sure you did,” Amity said, turning back to look Luz over. “Hmm…”
“Hmmm, what?”
A blush started to flood her cheeks. “I was just thinking.”
“What were you thinking about?” Luz persisted.
“About how badly I want to kiss you,” Amity mumbled, staring up at her with more vulnerability than Luz had ever seen in the other girl.
“Um- you can, I mean-” Luz was stuttering, she knew that. But it was like her brain couldn’t function under the fact that Amity Blight wanted to kiss her! And was her girlfriend!! “You can kiss me if you want!”
Amity giggled, pulling Luz down for easier access, and kissed her.
Luz hadn’t kissed many people in her life, but even with her limited experience, she was sure that this kiss was special. Fireworks shot through her nervous system, and tingles ran from her legs to her hands - it felt like she was on fire, in a good way. The best way.
After a couple of seconds in blind shock, Luz began to kiss Amity back. She placed her hands on the other girl's hips and pulled her closer, smiling against her lips. Amity hummed, pleased, and let her fingers wind through Luz’s hair.
It could’ve been 20 seconds, 20 minutes, or 20 hours, and Luz wouldn’t have cared. At that moment, the sun could have exploded and caused the entire earth to go up in flames, and she would have died happy.
Because Amity freaking Blight was her girlfriend now.
After a few more moments, Amity hummed and pulled back, causing their lips to break apart with a ‘pop’.
As soon as they were gone, Luz missed her lips, but she had to admit her girlfriend's face was not a bad replacement.
“So…” Luz grinned, leaning down to plant a kiss on Amity’s perfect nose. “What now?”
Amity glanced behind her, at the beautiful scene that her oblivious girlfriend had crafted for the two of them, and could’ve squealed again. A smile made its way across her face, “I guess we could watch the sunset together? I want to enjoy this moment to the fullest.”
“Sounds good to me,” Luz led them back to the loveseat and sat down. Amity leaned into her, resting her head on her girlfriend’s shoulder, and Luz reciprocated. They watched, birds chirping and fireflies blinking, as the glowing sun fell beneath the waters.
“I guess I should probably tell Ed and Em that I didn’t get broken up with,” Amity laughed suddenly.
Luz turned to face her, “Oh shit, please tell them to not slash my tires.”
The purple-haired girl smirked, lifting her chin, “What I do or do not tell the twins is entirely dependent on what your answer to my next question is.”
“Alright,” Brown eyes narrowed suspiciously, “What’s your question?”
“Do you want to go out to dinner with me, as girlfriends?”
“I would love to!” Luz giggled, pulling Amity close.
“Perfect,” Amity sighed, leaning into the other girl once more. “Then I suppose I’ll call off the hounds.”
“My car and I will be forever thankful,” Luz snickered.
They sat there, relaxing in each other’s presence, until the sun completely dipped under the waves. Though Luz felt a flicker of disappointment over the moment ending, she was more excited for this next chapter in their lives. They were girlfriends! This meant more dates and kisses and cuddles!
But more than anything, Luz (and Amity) knew that it meant they could talk to each other. They had both been through a lot, and that could create hardships for their relationship going forward, but they had passed their first test it seemed. And now, they were ready for anything.
After all, they knew they could fix whatever came their way - together.