Chapter Text
The stone walls of the Bonesborough public library had never looked more intimidating. Luz pulled nervously on the sleeves of her multitrack uniform as she stared at the main entrance, where witches and demons filtered through in a steady stream of activity.
As much as she wanted to run away and lock herself in her room for the rest of eternity, she couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. Not to herself, and certainly not to Amity.
Amity deserved the truth.
Luz steeled herself to enter the library. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. After a moment, she opened her eyes and nodded to herself.
Let’s do this.
Luz made her way up the steps, and into the library. She walked past endless aisles of books, witches reading and working at long tables, and demons making hushed conversation. Once she reached the entrance of Amity’s secret hideout, she hesitated. Luz eyed the lever, it was the Otabin book from all those years ago, when she had first run into Amity in the library.
Luz had tried her hardest to befriend Amity. At the time, she was partly inspired by Azura and Hecates’ enemies to friends dynamic, as well as seeing Amity’s softer side when she read to the kids. But, looking back on it now, she couldn’t deny that there had always been something about the green-haired witch that drew her in.
Luz placed a hand on the spine of the book, and pulled. The doorway clicked, and slid open. Luz stepped inside, and it shut behind her with another soft click. It took her a second to locate Amity, because she was sleeping on a bean bag in the corner of the room. Amity was curled on her side, facing the door, her hands tucked under her head. Luz stared at her, and couldn’t help but notice how Amity’s tousled hair made her look cuter than usual.
It took Luz a good few minutes to snap out of her love-induced stupor, and finally walk over to Amity. She slowly kneeled down next to her friend, and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Ams,” Luz whispered. “Wake up.”
Amity stirred, mumbling incoherently under her breath. Luz bit back a fond smile and leaned onto her hands as Amity sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes. Once she noticed who had woken her, her eyes widened.
“Luz!?” She tried to stand, but couldn’t because her legs were numb. Instead, she flopped unceremoniously on her back. Luz suppressed a giggle. Amity sat up again, and scooted away from Luz to get some distance between them. “Wh- What are you doing here?”
Luz’s expression sobered. She looked down at her hands before meeting Amity’s eyes with a steady gaze.
“I want to apologize,” She cleared her throat before continuing. “For everything I’ve put you through this past week. You want to join the Emperor’s Coven, and I should’ve respected your decision from the get go, rather than try to change your mind.”
Amity was speechless. She hadn’t expected Luz to drop by at all, given how she stormed out of the room the last time they had an Azura book club meeting. The last time she’d seen her, Luz had tried to physically prevent her from turning in the application. What had changed?
“I never meant to make you feel like I thought any less of you, and your abilities as a witch. I was telling the truth when I told you that you’re one of the strongest witches I know,” Luz averted her gaze from Amity. “I was selfish. I didn’t consider your feelings at all.”
“Luz-” Amity started.
Luz turned back to Amity, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes.
“Amity, I am so sorry,” She dropped her head onto her knees. “I’ve been a horrible friend.”
Luz fell silent. Amity processed her words, turning them over in her head. While she appreciated her friend’s change of heart, and the apology that followed, she was still a bit confused as to why Luz’s attitude did a complete 180 in the span of a few hours. Amity tentatively placed a hand on Luz’s knee, making her look up.
“Luz,” Amity’s mouth was dry. “I won’t lie. What you said, and what you did… It really hurt me.”
Luz’s face crumpled, and it looked like she looked on the verge of bursting into tears. Amity quickly took her friend’s hands in her own and gave them a reassuring squeeze. That seemed to do the trick as Luz’s expression reverted back to something more subdued.
“After everything we’ve been through together, it felt like you didn’t trust me to take care of myself,” Amity managed a weak smile. “Normally, I find your concern for me endearing, but in this case I… I couldn’t stand it to be honest.”
Luz looked at Amity, the intensity of her gaze making the tips of her pointed ears turn red.
“This wasn’t an easy decision for me to make,” Amity continued, after glancing away from Luz to compose herself. “I’d been considering it far before you suggested it at one of the rebellion meetings. But, at the end of the day, it just made the most sense for me to apply to the Emperor’s Coven rather than anywhere else. I wouldn’t lose my connection to other magic, I wouldn’t have to deal with my parents being thorns in my side, and I could contribute to the rebellion by providing everyone with the information we need to take down Belos.”
Luz ran a thumb over Amity’s knuckles, making her shiver involuntarily. Amity sighed.
“I know you’re worried about me, but you should know that I’m also worried about you.”
Luz’s eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.
“Wha-”
Amity raised a hand to stop Luz in her tracks. Luz’s mouth snapped shut and she let Amity finish.
“Luz, when we graduate, you’re going to become a covenless witch,” Amity’s expression turned serious. “Belos pardoned you all those years ago to save face because you had managed to escape from his grasp. But the moment he finds out you’ve become an official wild witch, he’ll come after you again. I’m sure of it.”
“I know,” Luz winced. “I’m definitely not looking forward to it.”
“And neither am I,” Amity sighed. “But I want you to promise me to be careful. No more spontaneous trips to the Market, late night visits, or general tomfoolery.”
“Okay,” Luz nodded. “I promise I’ll be more careful, but I want you to promise me the same.”
Amity paused. A thought crossed her mind, and a small smile made its way onto her face. She extended a hand toward Luz. She raised an eyebrow, and Luz’s eyes flashed with recognition. Luz grinned and clasped Amity’s hand firmly. Amity drew a spell circle over their conjoined hands, and they shook on it. As the magic faded, so did the troubled feelings Luz and Amity had been harboring for the last several days.
“The Everlasting Oath is sealed,” Amity murmured.
“And this time, under way better circumstances,” Luz joked.
Amity scoffed, but didn’t pull her hand away. She chose instead to tangle their fingers together.
“That’s a bit of a stretch, considering everything that led up to this.”
“True,” Luz admitted. “My bad.”
“It’s alright,” Amity gave her a weary smile. “At least we can finally put this mess behind us, and move forward.”
Luz’s breath hitched.
“Speaking of moving forward,” Luz swallowed the lump in her throat. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you… It’s the main reason I was so worried about you joining the coven.”
A line formed between Amity’s eyebrows, and she tilted her head quizzically.
“What is it?”
“I- I, um,” Luz looked away bashfully.
Amity smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“It’s okay, take your time.”
All that did was make Luz’s heart pound harder in her chest. She screwed her eyes shut, calling forth all her resolve. She took a deep breath, and opened her eyes, directly meeting Amity’s gaze.
“Te amo,” Luz said, her voice strong and steady.
There was a pause.
“Uh,” Amity gave her a confused look. “What was that?”
Luz’s blushed furiously, her own words finally catching up to her. She pulled away from Amity and buried her face into her hands.
“Ugh! I can’t believe I did it again!”
Something clicked in Amity’s brain. She remembered what Luz had said before passing out in the hallway- they were the same words she’d just uttered now. She had a strong feeling that whatever they meant, it was something serious.
“Luz,” Her throat felt impossibly dry. “Can you translate for me?”
Luz was silent. Amity considered asking again before Luz finally glanced up, and lowered her hands from her face. She looked incredibly nervous. More nervous than Amity had ever seen her before, far surpassing their first Grom.
“Amity,” Luz murmured. “I’m in love with you.”
Amity blinked.
And blinked again.
Then, the words finally hit her, like a shockwave reverberating throughout her entire body. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“It’s okay, take your time,” Luz parroted her own words back to her, making Amity flush in embarrassment.
“I- ah, um,” Amity fidgeted in her seated position, pulling uncomfortably on her collar. Was it hot in here all of a sudden? “I- I wasn’t expecting that.”
“I know,” Luz gave her a rueful look. “You don’t have to answer right away. And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way- I mean, you probably don’t… You could do so much better than me.”
Amity’s jaw dropped.
“Wh- What?!” She stuttered.
Was Luz serious? Did she not have any inkling of an idea of how head over heels she was for her?
“I’m just a dorky human,” Luz averted her gaze away from Amity. “And we’ve been friends for such a long time, so I get it if it’d make things weird. I just hope we can stay-”
“Luz,” Amity grabbed her by the collar, and pulled her in. Luz squeaked as their noses were almost touching. “You’re it for me too,” She whispered.
Luz let out an audible gasp, making Amity chuckle. Amity dropped her hands and leaned back, allowing Luz to fully digest her words. As she watched a sense of realization overcome Luz’s features, she couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.
“Y- You,” Luz pointed to Amity, and then to herself. “M- me?!”
Amity nodded, her eyes shining with unbridled delight.
“Wow,” Luz shook her head in disbelief. “Just… wow.”
Amity never wanted to kiss her more in that moment.
But she managed to hold herself back.
For now.
“I’m not exactly sure when my feelings for you started,” Amity began. “I think it was sometime between our first training session at the Knee, and your first day at Hexside.”
Luz was suddenly struck by a memory from years ago, popping her head out of a locker and watching Amity have what seemed to be an early mid-life crisis.”
“So you two go to the same school now! That doesn’t change anything!”
Luz smiled at the recollection. Amity continued.
“You were my first crush,” The tips of her ears pinked again, and this time Luz noticed. “And my last.”
“Why?” Luz asked. Even though she felt like she was on cloud nine right now, her deeply-entrenched insecurities born from her experiences in the human realm still managed to rear their ugly heads. “Why me?”
Amity took both of Luz’s hands in her own. And if they were kind of sweaty, Luz didn’t say anything.
“How could I not have fallen for you?” Amity bit her lip. “Luz, from the moment I met you, you managed to turn my world upside down. You challenged everything I thought was right, from how I should act to what I personally believed to be true. And when I tried to avoid you, or shut you out, you never gave up… You believed in me,” Amity gave Luz a warm smile. “And most importantly, you were unapologetically yourself. Kind, sweet, reckless at times, but always with good intentions. You gave me the courage I needed to embrace who I am, and not what my parents tried to shape me to be.”
Luz’s eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Amity leaned in closer to her, and rested their foreheads together.
“You mean everything to me.”
Luz let out a choked sob, and wrapped her arms around Amity, pulling her into an embrace. Her hands gripped the back of Amity’s uniform tightly. She buried her face in the crook of Amity’s neck, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“How in the Isles am I supposed to top that?” She croaked.
Amity let out a dry huff of laughter. She rested her head against Luz’s shoulder. She had never felt more content.
“That’s your problem, not mine.”
Luz didn’t respond.
So, they continued holding each other.
Amity didn’t know how much time had elapsed, but eventually, Luz pulled away from her. She wiped her face clean of tears, and slapped her hands to her cheeks.
“Okay, my turn.”
Amity raised an eyebrow at her teasingly, a newfound confidence surging forth within her.
“Well?” She ran a hand through her tousled hair. “I’m waiting.”
Luz watched Amity fix her hair for a few seconds before regaining her focus. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth, but she managed to pull herself together. The words fell out of her mouth before she could think.
“It’s your eyes.”
Amity tilted her head, eyebrows scrunched together adorably.
“My eyes?”
“They’re beautiful,” A deep blush blossomed over Luz’s cheeks, and Amity felt her face heat up at the admission. “Not as beautiful as you of course.”
Warmth radiated from Amity’s chest, and spread over her body.
“Your eyes were the first thing about you I noticed when we first met,” Luz took Amity’s hand in hers, and laced their fingers together. “Back in the human realm, there’s no shade of eye color that comes anything close to it. And they’re what made me realize I was falling for you.”
Luz ran a thumb over Amity’s knuckles, sending shivers down her spine.
“My first winter in the Boiling Isles, Willow caught me staring at you while we were doing homework at the Owl House. All of the lights were out because there was a lighting storm, and only candles lit the room. The way the fire reflected in your eyes… I was mesmerized,” Luz smiled to herself. “I’d probably been gawking at you for five minutes until Willow tapped me on the shoulder and asked me if I was enjoying the view.”
Amity laughed, and Luz’s smile widened.
“What did you say to her?” Amity asked.
“Honestly, I don’t even remember,” Luz ran a hand through her hair, messing it up even more. Amity’s fingers twitched as she held back the urge to fix her lopsided curls. “I probably stammered, fumbled for what to say, and then replied with something that made zero sense.”
Amity hummed.
“So, nothing out of the ordinary then.”
“Hey!” Luz gave Amity a playful shove, and Amity pushed back.
“What? I’m not wrong am I?”
Luz pouted.
“Let me finish!”
Amity rolled her eyes in mock annoyance.
“If you insist,” Her tone had a teasing lilt to it, which didn’t go unnoticed by Luz.
“Anyway,” Luz continued. “From then on, my feelings for you only grew. It was like they’d been waiting under the surface for me to realize how much I cared about you, and how it was different than what I felt around our other friends. And once I had my epiphany, they just kind of… exploded.”
Amity narrowed her eyes.
“Wait, is that why-”
Luz nodded.
“Yeah, and even though I apologized to you for it back then, I’m still not sorry for torching the mountain of love letters people stuffed in your locker for Witch Endearment Day.”
Amity shook her head, never losing the easy smile she wore on her face. Then her eyes took on a different edge, one Luz hadn’t seen before.
“I didn’t mind,” She leaned into Luz and whispered in her ear. “I really liked it.”
Luz felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up, and bit her tongue.
“M- Me too!” She squeaked.
Amity was delighted. Finally, years of Luz single handedly turning her brain into mush, and now she could finally return the favor tenfold.
Luz coughed and tried to compose herself. It was much harder now that she was hyper aware of Amity's index finger tracing patterns on the palm of her hand. She considered biting her tongue again, this time on purpose, but relented.
“You’re the first person that shared the same interest in Azura. I know that might not seem like a big deal, since the books have millions of fans, but back home I was belittled and mocked for loving fantasy stories. I was told to focus on reality, and to stop dreaming. So when I saw your collection of the series, for the first time in years, I didn’t feel quite so alone anymore.”
Amity’s eyes softened. She scooted closer to Luz and brushed the bangs out of her eyes before taking her hand again.
“Once I got to know you, the real you, I was smitten,” Luz tucked a loose strand of Amity’s hair behind her ear. As she brushed a finger against the tip of her ear, she saw it twitch. “You’re selfless. You care deeply for the people around you, and you’ll do anything to protect them, even if it’s at your own expense. And when you mess up, you do your best to make amends,” Luz cupped a hand over Amity’s cheek, stroking it gently with her thumb. “Doing the right thing isn’t always easy. But you’ve proven time and time again that it can be done.”
Amity placed her hand over Luz’s and looked into her eyes.
“Lo eres todo para mí,” Luz murmured. “And my life in the Boiling Isles wouldn’t be the same without you in it.”
This time, Amity didn’t need a translation.
It was clear that they were very much on the same page.
So, she leaned in and kissed Luz with everything she had. And Luz kissed her back. Her lips were warm, and Amity hummed happily as they exchanged soft kisses.
Luz was the first to break away, gasping for air. Then a mischievous smile overtook her face and she pushed Amity to the floor. Amity yelped as Luz peppered sloppy kisses all over her face. Amity laughed, and told her to stop, but neither made a move to do so.
It was only when Luz blew a raspberry on her collarbone that Amity finally pushed her off.
“Luz!” Her face was tomato-red.
Luz grinned cheekily at her.
“Too much?”
Amity shook her head.
“Never,” She sat up and pushed Luz to the floor. “But it’s my turn now.”
Luz giggled as Amity repeated what she had done to her earlier. But instead of blowing a raspberry, Amity finished her display of affection by embracing Luz and resting her head on her chest. Luz returned the gesture by wrapping one arm around Amity’s waist and using her free hand to stroke her hair.
They stayed like that for a long time.
---- ---- ----
“Do you think they figured it out?”
“Hmm?” Gus looked up from his frutterburger and scrunched his eyebrows together.
“Amity and Luz,” Willow waved a hand in the air. “The fact that they’re in love with each other.”
Gus’ eyes widened and he hurriedly swallowed his food before responding.
“I would hope so. Yesterday was their weekly book club meeting, right?”
Willow nodded.
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t put it past Luz to skip and avoid Amity instead.”
Gus shook his head.
“Nah, she’s never missed one of their book club sessions,” He tapped a finger to his chin. “Although what she did yesterday was pretty out there, even for her.”
Willow snorted.
“You’re not wrong,” She rested her head on her propped up hand. “I’m surprised those two haven’t driven me up a wall yet. Watching them dance around each other for years has been frustrating, to say the least.”
“Agreed.”
Willow narrowed her eyes.
“You only caught on last year!”
Gus raised his hands defensively.
“Hey! I thought they were just gals being pals.”
Willow gave him an incredulous look.
“Gus, they’ve gone to Grom together the past three years and are basically attached at the hip. Amity never fails to go red whenever Luz does anything remotely sweet. And remember when Luz torched all of the letters people gave Amity for Witch Endearment Day?”
Gus chuckled.
“How could I forget? It was my idea!”
Willow gaped at him.
“It was?!” She tried to swat him on the head but he leaned out of the way. “Gus!”
“What?” Gus shrugged. “Trust me, it was much better than the alternative Luz had planned.”
Before Willow could ask for more details, a familiar voice cut through the air.
“Hey guys!”
Willow and Gus swiveled their heads to see Luz walking over to their table, lunch tray in hand. They waved in greeting, and Luz sat down next to Willow.
“What are we talking about?” Luz asked as she began to dig into her meal.
“Your less than pleased reaction when Amity was flooded by admirers for your first Witch Endearment Day,” Willow shot her smug look.
Luz choked on her food, and Gus slapped his hand on her back in an effort to help her breathe. After a few prolonged seconds of coughing and gasping, Luz pulled herself together.
“I still think we should’ve gone with my idea Gus.”
Gus raised an eyebrow.
“I don’t think Amity would’ve appreciated us booby trapping her locker. It probably would’ve backfired and ended up covering her with griffon feathers and glue instead of whoever tried to give her a letter.”
“Gus is right, and if that had happened I would’ve come after you both,” Amity said as she sat down next to him and set her lunch tray on the table.
Willow and Gus exchanged a nervous look. Had Luz and Amity made up? Or would they have to play peacekeepers for the rest of the lunch period?
Luz was unfazed by Amity’s threat.
“Amity, I think you would’ve looked adorable,” Her eyes lit up. “Oh my god! You would’ve made the cutest little pollito!”
Amity flushed.
“I don’t know what that is!” Luz laughed. “And I would’ve looked like a fool!”
Luz continued to tease Amity, and reached across the table so that they were holding hands. Willow and Gus exchanged another look. After a moment, Willow extended a hand to Gus.
“You owe me 50 snails Porter.”
Gus groaned and began digging into his pocket to pay his end of the bet.
“Dang it! I thought it would’ve taken them longer to figure it out!”
Luz and Amity turned towards their friends. While Luz simply gave them a weird look, Amity narrowed her eyes at Willow and Gus.
“I cannot believe you bet on our relationship.”
Luz hummed, and then nodded her head.
“I can.”
“Consider it payback for us tolerating your nonsense,” Willow accepted the snails from Gus and tucked them away in her bag. She laced her fingers together. “Now, tell me everything.”