Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was warm almost unbearably so. Luz shifted in her sleeping bag, it felt wrong, it wasn't soft enough, and even with how warm she felt she felt the need to add blankets. Groaning, the girl sat up feeling sluggish as her mind jumped to a conclusion. She was sick, even though her throat wasn’t scratchy and her nose wasn’t stuffy she was sick she had to be.

“Stop moving, I'm trying to sleep!” King grumbled and rolled over onto his other side at the foot of Luz's sleeping bag. It bothered her that King was there. A soft scowl settled on her features before she shook her head, no king was a friend and she always loved when the little demon would demand cuddles and pets, why was she so upset with him being here now?

“King,” Luz took a deep breath before continuing, “ can you get Eda? I think I’m sick.” The girl sat up pulling her knees to her chest.

“Sick?” King was quick to jump up though he tried to play off his concern as annoyance. “Right of course you got sick I’ll be back with Eda.” He didn’t even stretch before taking off out of the room and down the stairs calling for the woman Luz had requested. 

Luz looked down at her sleeping bag and it felt wrong. The texture felt off and it wasn’t nearly as cushioned as it should have been, her body felt sore and that must have been the reason. Not even thinking, she began to search her room pulling out a few blankets and some articles of clothing she had stored away, and went back to her sleeping bag. Layering blankets and attempting to roll the shirts up almost as makeshift pillows. 

“Luz? What’s wrong kid?” Eda had pushed the door open but stopped before crossing the threshold. “Oh, King said you were sick, good to see he was wrong.” she leaned against the door frame before continuing, “So kid what type of nesting materials do you want?”

“Nesting materials?” Luz looked towards the owl lady. “Wait what do you mean I’m not sick. I feel sick. Like I’m running a fever and I feel all achy and tired and just uncomfortable.” 

“Wait, do humans not nest? Wait, is this your first heat? You should have had a few already you’re what? 14, 15?” Eda took a step into the room once she saw how confused Luz looked. “Look I’ll get you some pillows and blankets and have King go to the library to grab some books about this for you. I think one of your friends is an Omega, that flower girl, she probably could help explain it better.”

“Whoa wait back up what do you mean Omega? Like what are in those fanfiction tropes?” The girl stopped what she was doing and looked up at her mentor.

“Fanfiction? Don’t know what that is but seeing as how confused you are you’re gonna need to learn more about it and I may be your mentor kid but this is an area I’m not exactly well versed in. I’m not an omega so I never really took the time to learn too much about it. Just stay here. I'll be back with some nesting supplies”

True to her word The Owl Lady came back with a box full of blankets and pillows that were haphazardly stacked on top. “Here kid see if you like any of these.” she put the box down causing pillows to fall over. “I’ll give you some privacy and get you some food and something to drink. I know you haven’t eaten today yet and it’s already 11.” 

Luz looked over to the box and mess of pillows before closing the distance. Opening the box she pulled out what felt the softest and grimaced when her hands came into contact with scratchy wool. Not even sure of what she was doing, luz pushed some junk out of the way and began placing pillows down layering blankets on top, completely abandoning where her sleeping bag usually laid in favor for a corner of her room close to the window and somewhat tucked away due to how the roof slanted.

She must have been at it for a while because when Eda came back she had a plate piled with some of Luz’s favorite foods that she had found on the Isles. Griffin eggs, toast with scream jam, even a few sandwiches to the side. Even though it seemed like breakfast and lunch just put together on a plate Luz perked right up. “Wow Eda thanks, that looks really good.”

“Yeah don’t mention it, kid. When you’re done, call for hooty. I already told him you weren’t feeling good. He shouldn’t bother you too much but I did ask him to check in on you to see if you needed anything. I have another bounty I’m looking to cash in today.” Eda set down a jug of water and a glass next to the plate of food.

“Be safe- wait you’re going to go bounty hunting without me?” the human pouted moving away from the nest she made to sit down and eat. “That’s not fair.”

“Hey it’s not a big one don’t worry I just need to make sure we have some extra snails for groceries. I’ll be back before you know it.” The owl lady ruffled Luz’s hair before taking off, closing the door behind her.”

“Why did Eda send me to do this!” King began to climb up one of many shelves attempting to grab a book on the topics of heats.

“King?” Amity was restocking shelves and saw the small demon as she rounded a corner. “What are you looking for? I’ll grab it for you, just don’t climb the shelves.” Amity grabbed the demon and set him down.

“Gah I don’t have time for this and how dare you tell the king of demons what to do!” King crossed his arms, crumpling the paper in his hand. “Look, the human needs books on heats or whatever it’s her first one. So hurry up and help me! Or else you’ll feel my wrath!”

“Oh, umm book on heats right ok. Wait, you said it’s her first one?” Amity reached for a few books pulling two off the shelf. One looked like it was for children and the other looked like it was for young adults or teens.”Humans must present later than witches.”

“I don’t know, I just need them. Now give me!” the demon reached up.”I need to get back to the owl house.”

“I’ll put these on my account.” King nor Eda had a great reputation in the library both being banned from checking out books and Luz didn’t have a library card so she couldn’t put it under her name. “ Just make sure that they’re returned on time. I don’t want to have to come searching for the books and pay a late fee.”

“Yeah yeah just give me!” The demon ran off as soon as he was handed the books. “You shall be spared when my reign of terror comes!”

“First heat… maybe I should get something for Luz, a blanket, or something like that.” The witch had been looking for a way to thank Luz properly for carrying her to the healer’s office after their grudgby match, and for getting her job back, and for helping defeat, Grom. There were a lot of things that Amity hadn’t properly thanked her for. After stocking shelves, Amity left the library earlier than usual letting Malphas know that she had to leave. 

She made her way to the market place hoping to find something Luz would like. That's when she heard Willow, “Amity, it’s good to see you. Did you have today off?” the plant track witch made her way to the other.

“I swear I saw you earlier at the library. Did you get off early?” Gus followed after Willow and gave a smile to their friend.

“Oh, I left early. Luz is. Well, I need to get something for her.” It wasn’t her place to tell others so Amity kept it vague for now.

“Is Luz alright? Is she sick?!” Gus summoned his scroll and began to make a list of things they should get for a sick human.

“No, she isn’t sick. King came in today and requested some books related to heats. Apparently, it’s her first one.” The purple-haired girl spoke softly not wanting to overshare to others that had no business hearing such things.

“Huh, humans present later than witches… Interesting.” The boy took note.

“We should get her some snacks and some blankets. Oh, Gus and I could keep her company. She’ll probably want someone to talk to about this.” Willow sent a message to her fathers letting them know she was going to be out for longer than intended to help a friend.

“Why just you two?” Amity glared daggers at the two. Jealousy and anger tugged at her chest causing her scent to sour slightly.

“Amity relax, we aren't going to do anything. I’m an omega and Gus is a beta. No offense but you’re an alpha. It's a really bad idea for you to be around her for more than like a minute.” Willow explained her gaze fixed to the ground as she sunk into herself. It was pure instinct that caused the girl to shrink in on herself.

“Yeah like Willow said we’ll just be there to help her out a bit. Get her water and stuff. You can come with us to drop stuff off. I'm sure Luz will be happy knowing that you got her something and came to check on her.” Gus stepped forward and sent out some calming pheromones.

Amity tensed slightly realizing what she was doing and took a breath. “Sorry I wasn’t thinking clearly.” She averted her gaze not wanting to glare at the two in front of her.

“Hey, it’s alright. Let's go get some snacks for her.” Gus stayed in between the two as they started to shop but by the time everything had been purchased the tension had settled. “Come on, let's go to the owl house.”

“I’m back!” King called out as he scampered into the house and up the stairs. Pushing his way into Luz’s room he saw that the human had already drunk quite a bit of water and was now curled up in her freshly made nest. “Jeez, you don’t look so good. Here these are some books that should help. I think.”  The demon placed them next to Luz and started to climb into the nest to cuddle the girl.

“Not now King, I want to be alone.” Luz grabbed the books and rolled over to face the wall as she lazily opened the first book.”I just want to figure this out, then we can spend time together later ok?”

“Oh.” King frowned and headed to the door. “Later then.” the demon made his way downstairs and for once found himself going to hooty. “Hey, where’s Eda?”

“Oh hello, King! Hoot Eda went out for a bounty, Hoot.” The house demon moved so his face was next to King. “Is there something you need? Hoot.”

“No just...I don’t get why Luz isn’t being cuddly with me… She always pets me and stuff but ever since this morning it’s like she's been upset with me.” the smaller demon sighed and lied down on the couch to take a nap.

“Don’t worry, Hoot. I’m sure she will be back to her old self in no time!” The house demon returned to his door to watch out for any danger as usual only to hear Luz groan. Hooty made his way to Luz’s window and pushed it open but stayed outside not wanting to be hit. “Luz? Are you alright? Hoot.”

“Ugh yeah just. It’s just like a fanfic trope and it's dumb I mean why is this a thing?! Humans don’t have this. I don't  get why witches do.”Luz groaned and tossed the books to the side and out of her nest. “This is embarrassing.” she buried her face into a pillow.

“Hoot.” he paused before speaking again, “Well maybe it’s because of how long you have been here. There’s no need to worry hoot. Everything will be ok, oh I see you need more water. I’ll be back! Hoot.” Hooty left the window cracked to allow a breeze in hoping it would help.

“At least it won’t be like those explicit fics” Luz sighed and sat up feeling the need to move some things in her room around pushing most things onto the other side of the room and away from her nest after Hooty left. “I need something else… but there aren’t any good blankets left.” She plopped back down on the nest and did her best to get comfortable.

 The house demon struggled trying to fill a pitcher with water and carry it in his beak but he stopped when he heard talking and returned to his door seeing three of Luz's friends walking up the path. “Oh, good hoot! Are you here to help out Luz?” 

“Oh hi, Hooty yeah we got a few things for Luz to help out with her first heat!” Gus smiled and walked up to the door as Hooty opened it.

“It’s good that you’re here. She needs more water but I can’t take it to her.” The house demon led the way to the kitchen where in the sink sat a pitcher filled with water. “I don’t have hands.” He lamented.

“Don’t worry Hooty we’ll take this up to her.” Willow had amity carry the bag that she had so she was able to carry up the water. “Luz, can we come in?” she called from the bedroom door.

“Willow?” Luz sat up. “Yeah come in!” she smiled as she thought of her friends. They cared enough about her to check on her however they found out it didn't matter she just wanted them to be around.

“We brought some water and snacks and blankets!” Willow pushed open the door and walked in closely followed by Gus and then Amity. “Oh I like your nest, it looks nice.” She sat down next to the bedding and poured Luz a glass of water while Gus unpacked the blankets they had gotten her.

“Yeah if you want we can hang out with you too. I don’t have heats but whenever Willow goes into heat we usually just hang out and play hex em hold em.” Gus pulled out a deck and placed it down next to the blankets that Luz was already pulling into her nest.

“You guys are the best. Thank you. I won't lie I’m really glad you’re here but it's… I don’t know, kind of embarrassing? I mean weird too, humans don’t have stuff like this. It’s like a fanfiction trope.” She sat near the edge of her nest and grabbed the glass of water Willow offered.

“Wait humans don’t have heats? What about omegas do you at least have omegas and alphas? What about betas?” Gus being Gus pulled out a notepad and prepared to take notes on anything related to the human world.

“Not now Gus.” Amity sat down between him and Willow. “Here, you should eat.” she presented some food to Luz scooting a bit closer.

“Amity. You shouldn’t be so close.” Willow warned only to get a small growl in return. Not from Amity but from Luz who was quick to apologize. 

“I”m sorry I don’t know what that was about or even how I growled? Humans don’t growl. ¿Qué estoy haciendo?” Pulling her knees to her chest and setting the glass down Luz didn’t look up at her friends as guilt bubbled in her chest.

“No Luz it’s ok really this is new to you all of this is new. It just really isn’t a good idea for an alpha to be around when you’re in heat.” Willow spoke softly and calmly trying to soothe her friend.

“Why though? I mean from what I read it’s not like Amity would… you know. It’s only when we’re older right?” The thought of it made all of them a bit uncomfortable all for different reasons.

“I. I should go. Willow will explain it all, don't worry. “ Amity forced herself to stand and head for the door even when Luz asked her to wait for a bit, to stay for just a bit longer. She made her way out of the omega’s room and headed straight for the door needing to leave and get some fresh air before she did anything embarrassing.

Seeing Amity leave even when she asked her to stay hurt Luz in a way she hadn’t expected as she let out a whine. “Hey, it’s ok. We’re still here, you aren’t alone. Willow reached out to her friend then stopped not wanting to breach the safety that a nest represents. “Luz, is it ok if I come into your nest? Just to give you a hug I promise I won’t do anything to make you feel uncomfortable.” Willow released calming pheromones out of habit as did Gus.

“Y-yeah that’s ok.” Luz gave permission and started to notice that things smelled different. Pine and some sort of citrus. Then she realized it was Willow and that comforted her as her friend carefully climbed into her nest and gently hugged her. Luz didn’t even think as she buried her face into the crook of Willow’s neck the smell of pine and citrus helping her relax. “Thank you. I needed this.” She stayed hugging Willow.

“When you have friends, sometimes it helps to have them or at least their scent around. Helps to remind you that you’re safe and cared for.” Gus explained as he moved a bit closer but not into the nest since Luz didn’t say he could yet. “Usually it’s omega friends but sometimes Willow likes when I hug her during her heats. It’s like a sleepover!” The boy explained as he moved a few things to the side so nothing got knocked over.

“You can come in too. Sorry, this is all so new.” Luz sighed, removing her face from her friend’s neck. And shifting so Gus could climb in with them.

“It’s ok. Don’t apologize, it's probably really weird to experience if you haven’t even heard of this stuff before.” Gus offered a smile as all three of them moved to get comfortable and lie down. “Okay, so first things first. Everyone has a different scent and emotions can affect the scent.” drawing a circle an illusion came into view. It was one of those emotions charts: a smiling face above happy, a frowning face above sad, and so on and so on.

There was a lot to learn but her friends were there to explain it all, and for that Luz was grateful. “Okay wait so if like all that umm mature stuff only happens when you’re like 17 or 18 why couldn’t Amity stay?” She looked to Gus who was on her right.

“I’m not really sure. My dad says it’s just to be safe? Even if you’re not having those feelings sometimes cuddling can still lead to being marked. It happened to his cousin or at least he says so but I don’t know for sure.” the boy explained and shifted a bit causing his scent to be a bit stronger since he was closer. He smelled like strawberries and some type of tea, it was calming just like Willow.

“Weird… Oh wait, what do I smell like?” Luz sat up and looked down at her friends who had been comfortable in their snuggle pile. The two lightly tugged on Luz’s shirt to get her to lay back down and rest. “Right, sorry but I’m curious what I smell like?”

“Kind of like books and… hmm fire bee honey.” It took them a moment for Gus to pinpoint but after he said so Willow agreed. “To be honest your scent isn’t that strong yet. Must be because you’re just presenting too.” Gus reached out of the nest for water. “But you’re still running a bit of a fever so you have to stay hydrated.”

“I drank a lot already. I'm fine for now.” Luz shifted snuggling into her friends. “I’m just kind of tired right now. That and I still have a lot of questions.” She heard the glass being placed next to the nest and felt Gus settle down again next to her.

“Rest for now when you wake up we can tell you more. We’ll stay as long as we can.” Willow reassured her and snuggled closer staying quiet until she heard soft snores. “Do you think Luz growled earlier because I was suggesting that Amity should leave or do you think she growled just at the idea of her leaving?” The plant witch spoke softly as to not disturb their sleeping friend. 

“I don’t know. I mean they’ve been pretty close even when Amity was kinda mean. Maybe she likes her.” Gus shrugged and drew a circle in the air making an illusion on the ceiling of random animals and stick figures as a way to entertain himself while they waited for Luz to wake up. “I mean maybe she likes her scent. You like Boscha’s scent even though she’s mean. You don’t like her so it could just be like that.”

“Maybe you’re right.”

Amity found herself back at the market looking at the items vendors had to offer before she felt a hand placed on each of her shoulders. “MIttens. Surprising to see you here.” Edric spoke first and lifted his hand off of her shoulder taking a set forward to stand at her side.

“Especially since you are supposed to be at work right now.” Emira moved to Amity’s right side and grinned down at her baby sister before looking to her twin.

“Why do you two always show up out of nowhere?” Amity took a breath to calm her nerves as she pushed her hair out of her face.

“Well, we wanted to visit our baby sister at work.” Ed rested his arm on her head, Em simply nodded. 

“You can imagine our surprise when we couldn’t find you anywhere only for your boss to say you left early,” Em spoke in a slightly teasing tone. “I wonder what could cause you to leave work early.”

“Shopping isn’t something you’d skip your responsibilities for. So why are you here, Mittens?” Ed questioned, a grin tugging at his lips as the youngest of the three pushed his arm off of her head.

“A friend needed me to get something. Would you two just leave me alone now?” Amity’s ears twitched slightly in frustration as she pulled away from her siblings and towards another stall.

“Riiight a ‘friend’.” Edric teased both he and his twin following along. “So what did they need?” he picks up a trinket from a display table looking it over as he waits for a response.

“None of your business.” Amity kept her eyes focused on looking for an item, any item, that stuck out to her. She hears her brother set the trinket down as her sister blocks her way.

“Let me guess. Is it for your cruush?” Emira leaned down slightly, smirking much like she and Ed did when they had a prank in mind.

“A crush? Please don’t be ridiculous.” Amity flushed and walked around her sister only for Ed to get in her way. “Seriously stop it. This is just getting annoying.” Crossing her arms across her chest she looked up at her brother who simply smiled down at her.

“We already know you like her Mittens.” The twins hummed out and matched her stance, arms crossed over their chest.

“I don’t like Luz! Stop saying things like that.” Her eyes widened in realization as heat spread across her cheeks. Her siblings just leaned down and grinned.

“Never said a name. You must really have Luz on your mind.” The twins each took one of Amity’s hands and dragged her along. “We are going to help you get a courting gift!.” The two weren't even trying to be quiet about it. A few witches and demons looked over to the commotion as Amity was pulled along.

“I hate you both so much.” The youngest huffed out. Embarrassed and annoyed, she looked over what was being sold as her siblings kept close, picking up random items and asking if Luz would like it. After a few stalls, the twins stopped teasing her as much and genuinely were trying to help find a nice gift.

Luz was woken up to something cool being pressed against her forehead groaning as she tried to push whatever it was away. “Hey, stop you have a fever we’re trying to cool you down.” It sounded like Gus but his voice was softer. It sounded like he was trying to keep from waking someone up. 

Slowly opening her eyes Luz can see why it’s darker a lot darker in the room. Not quite night but the sun looked like it was preparing to set. Soft even breathing could be heard at her side sitting up and looking over she sees Willow peacefully sleeping curled up close. “What time is it? I don’t want you guys to get in trouble.” Cramping muscles and heat, unbearable heat, was all she felt at the time.

“Don’t worry. We messaged our dads Willow left earlier to pick up some overnight bags for us.” Gus offered water to his friend and continued to talk as Luz drank. “You’ll probably have to take a bath soon to help you cool off a bit and so you can change into something more comfortable. Here eat a bit now that you're sitting up.”

“Wow. You really know what you’re doing huh?” Luz finished her drink in a few gulps before starting on what looked to be dried fruits. “God it feels like a heater is on in here.” The girl accepted a damp cloth placed on the back of her neck as she shifted to face the beta.

“Like I said, I help Willow out sometimes.” The boy smiled and poured another glass of water for luz to drink. “It’s easy for people in heat to forget to take care of themselves so friends and family help a lot.” A yawn caused both him and Luz to look over at Willow who was slowly waking up and rolling to face the two.

“Good morning.” Willow smiled and moved a bit so she could easily talk to the other two. “So how do you feel? Need anything?” The girl reaches out of the nest and grabs her glasses, sliding them on before looking at Luz.

“Um, I don't know. I mean it feels like there’s a heater in the room. I’m kind of achy too like I ran a bunch or something.” Luz sighed and set down the snack Gus had given her. “I’m tired but not if that makes any sense.”

“A bath should help you cool down a bit and maybe help your muscles relax. I’ll get the bath ready for you.” Willow climbed out of the nest and headed for the door looking back before crossing the threshold. “Oh, and Eda came back about an hour ago. She brought some more blankets and said she bought more food if you’re hungry.” with that the girl left the room and headed down the hall to the bathroom.

“If you’re ok with it we can replace the top layer of the nest but I don’t think we have to yet. You haven’t been sweating too much but for sure we should change out some of the blankets.” Gus offered her another glass of water. “Oh and before Willow and I leave tomorrow we can scent something for you so you’re more comfortable if you want. I mean we’re kind of a pack so it might help.”

“Pack?” Luz raised a brow and took another large gulp of water. As Agustus explained it packs could be family, friend groups, or a sort of mix. A person could be in more than one pack but usually, any given person will be in two to three packs at most. “There’s still a lot I have to learn huh? I thought this would be easier for me to get the hang of.” Letting out a sigh she climbed out of the nest to stretch and pick out some new clothes.

“There’s a lot usually you just are kinda raised into and it doesn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary.” Augustus started to clean up some of the snack wrappers as he got out of the nest needing to stretch his legs as well.

“Luz bath is ready for you. Just yell if you need us.” Willow came back into the room and carefully got back in the nest to wait for her.

 A quick ‘thanks’ and Luz left the room and happily went to the bathroom wasting no time and stepping into the tub.  After her bath, she ran into King in the hall. “Hey, king. Sorry about earlier. Do you wanna join Willow, Gus, and me? We aren’t doing anything fun but I’ll give you belly rubs.”

“Yes! Come on, humans hurry up, let's go!” King ran ahead to Luz’s room, nearly diving into the nest but stopping himself. “Um, Eda told me about nests a bit ago… Can I get in? I’ll be careful.” The demon looked up at his friend who was just a few steps behind him

“Yeah, you can get in. Thanks for asking buddy.”Luz stepped into the nest with King and started to pet the demon with a smile plastered on her face. “I was really worried about this but I think I can handle this. How long do these last again?”

“Oh, usually just a bit over a week.”

“What now?”

Chapter Text

“Luz! You have a visitor.” Hooty pushed the window wide open. Augustus and Willow had left earlier that morning making sure to leave lots of water and snacks in reach. The house demon smiled as he noticed the care her friends had put into the gesture before he headed back to his door.

“Who is it?” Luz stretched, laying much like a starfish in her nest. After Gus and Willow had to leave the girl had noticed how big she really had made the nest and took advantage of it. “Hooty?” The demon was already back at his door and her attention was turned to the soft knock at her bedroom door. “Oh umm come in” She sat up and crossed her legs, still staying in her nest.

The door was pushed open and her favorite purple-haired friend stepped in. “Hey.” Amity took a breath and closed her eyes for a moment. “It’s um nice in here mind if I sit down?” She opened her eyes and continued to speak. “I won’t touch your nest of course. I know it’s important.”

“Yeah, you can sit.” Luz gave a soft smile and gestured to a clearing near the nest. “What do you have? It looks pretty.” the girl pointed to the small box in Amity’s hands. The box was a dark blue velvet, a decorative ribbon neatly and diligently tied into a bow holding the box tightly closed. 

“Oh um it's for you… I just wanted to get you something.” She couldn’t look at Luz and occupied herself by glancing out the window after sitting down. She extended her hand holding the gift out to Luz so the other girl would take it. “It smells like Willow and Agustus were here.” Amity couldn’t help but feel jealous. Yes, she was surrounded by Luz’s scent but smelling the other two when they weren’t here meant they scented something for the omega in front of her. They scented something because she wanted them there but Amity’s scent was nowhere near Luz and it was wrong. 

“Oh thank you.” Luz happily took the box and started to undo the ribbon. “Willow and Gus scented a blanket for me so I don’t feel alone. Oh, do you want to scent something?” She placed the gift down and moved to grab a clean blanket. “Here. We’re friends I’d like if your scent is in my nest too.” She got back into her nest and patted the space next to her. “You can come in, I don't mind.” Luz went back to opening the gift as Amity carefully climbed into her nest.

“Thanks. I promise I won’t mess it up.” Amity smiled and started to scent the blanket Luz picked out. Letting off a soft purr when she finished and gave it to Luz who had finally opened the box. “You like it?”

“It’s so cute. I love it.” inside the case was an Azura charm that had been written about in the fifth Good Witch Azura book. It was the same charm that Hecate gave Azura to prove her loyalty and devotion to the witch. “Where did you even find this?! It must have been so hard to find. Wait, how much was this, you didn’t spend too much on this did you?” Luz took the pendant in her hands, her fingers tracing the star and moon engraved into the metal.

“Don’t worry about that, I wanted to get it for you.” Amity scooted closer and she couldn’t help herself. Luz was just so cute and she smelled so nice. She could drown in the smell, in fact, she was doing so now it was the only reason she wasn’t a blushing mess while giving her the courting gift. “Do you accept?”

“Accept? I mean you said it was a gift right and it would be rude for me not to take it especially after all you went through to get it for me. Thank you!” Luz threw her arms around the other girl causing them both to fall further into the nest. Luz just laughed softly as they fell burying her face into Amity’s shoulder. The other girl smelled nice. It was comforting, fresh, a hint of something sweet like fruit or flowers but she couldn’t quite pin it down.

“Really?” Amity smiled and wrapped her arms around Luz and rubbed her cheek against Luz’s before she really processed the rest of what the girl said. “Wait- you know what this is right?” she pulled away slightly to look at Luz who was now whining at the loss of touch.

“What do you mean? It’s just a gift, right? I mean it’s not my birthday but I give my friend’s gifts sometimes when it isn’t their birthday.” Luz looked up and instantly froze. She hadn't noticed just how nice Amitly’s eyes looked before. They were golden and almost seemed to shine but that was pulled away from her when Amity sat up completely untangling herself from the hug. “Hey what's wrong? Did I do something wrong?” They were cuddling. It was nice so why was Amity moving away?

“It’s ok, it's just… I guess I forgot you don’t know these things.” Amity picked up the ribbon that had been discarded to the side. “When gifts have a ribbon that’s golden or yellow it’s um. It’s a.“ The alpha’s voice tapered off at the end and came off as a low mumble.

“I’m sorry, could you say that again? You got quiet at the end.” Luz placed a hand on Amity’s shoulder.

“Courting gift. If it has a ribbon, like this it’s a courting gift.” Amity didn’t dare breathe terrified Luz would shoot her down as soon as she realized what the gift was. “If you say no then I get it. I was really mean and such a jerk. I mean no reason you should say yes to this it-” she stopped as arms wrapped around her.

“Relax. I won't lie. I’m not completely sure what courting is but is it? Like dating? Are you asking me out?” Luz was trying to comfort the other but couldn’t help the smile that made its way to her face. “Because if you’re asking me out, I’d like that.” 

“Really?” Amity moved causing Luz to let go and frown from the loss of contact.

“Yes, really now could you stop pulling away like that?” Her arms wrapped around the girl again and her face found its place on her shoulder.

“Oh thank Titan” Amity let out a breathy laugh and wrapped her arms around Luz happily nuzzling the girl rubbing her scent all over her. Happy purr rumbling in her chest as she moved for them to lay down. “I was worried,” Amity admitted as she rested her cheek against the top of Luz’s head. The other girl had her face buried in the crook of her neck no doubt to take in more of her scent. It caused pride to swell in the alpha’s chest, not only was she courting the omega but the omega loved her scent. It was perfect. Almost perfect.

“Luz! I want cuddles too!” King had pushed open the door and scurried right over to the nest taking time to climb into it and pushing his way under one of Luz’s arms laying on both of the girls. “Geez I’m tired Eda and I had to run this scam basically I had to distract people and she would pickpocket them.” The demon sighed and closed his eyes, falling asleep seconds after. Amity let out a growl only to stop at the sound of Luz laughing.

“Sorry, but he is cute so what can you do?” The smile makes Amity calm down. “I think we’ll be stuck here for a while. He can be grumpy if you wake him up.” Luz Noceda could make anything sound okay. Maybe this was Perfect.

Amity wasn’t sure how much time had passed but she was woken up to the smell of pine and citrus was the first thing she noticed then a hint of strawberries. “So. a courting gift?” Looking over Amity could see Willow sitting outside of the nest holding the golden-colored ribbon.

“Won’t lie when we saw you here we were a bit worried.” Augustus was preparing a cool washcloth for Luz as he spoke. “But Hooty said he was keeping an eye on you two and that you two are dating now.” The boy smiled and reached into the nest to place the damp washcloth across Luz’s forehead.

Still, asleep Luz’s brow furrowed as she turned her head away from the cool cloth causing it to fall off of her forehead as she buried her face in the crook of amity’s neck. With a soft sigh of contentment Luz’s face relaxed as she got comfortable again.

“Aww, you two are so cuddly already.” Willow teased slightly as Amity flushed up to her ears. 

“When did you two get here?” Amity was quick to change the subject. Shifting a bit she looked to the window seeing that the sky was a pinkish-orange, the sun close to setting. That means she and Luz had been asleep for a few hours.

“Oh about 30 minutes ago? But we just got in the room a few minutes ago, Eda had us help out a bit with a few things, otherwise, we would have been in here sooner.” Gus explained as he settled the cloth against the back of Luz’s neck.

A soft grumble turned the attention to the now awake omega. “ ‘s cold.” Luz removed the cloth from her neck and looked over to see her two best friends. She smiled. “Oh hey Gus, hey Willow.” Amity, Amity was laying right next to her arms around her waist the thought brought more heat to her face. “H-hey Amity… How long was I asleep? I umm wasn’t too heavy right? Sorry about that.” Luz moved now sitting up she busied herself with the glass of water Willow offered her.

“No, No, don’t worry you weren’t heavy. I fell asleep too. I think we were out for a few hours. Not too sure to be honest.” Amity sat up as well nervously crossing her legs as she became very interested in her own hands.

“Right… well Luz you should take a bath, you have a fever again.” Willow cut through the awkwardness. “We have some clean blankets so we can replace the top layer of the nest too.” the other omega patted a small stack of blankets that sat between her and Gus.

“Bath yeah I’m gonna go do that! I’ll be back.” Luz hopped out of the nest grabbed some clothes and headed out of the room. 

“So… did you kiss her?” Gus grinned, turning his attention to Amity. 

“What?” The alpha squeaked out. “I umm I mean no we didn’t kiss or anything…” Amity smoothed down her hair and tried her best to ease the flush on her cheeks. “We just… you know hugged and cuddled and I guess fell asleep.”

“Wait, she did accept the courting gift right?” Gus asked, looking a bit worried before his curiosity got the best of him. “ Wait, do humans have courting gifts?”

“Not the time.” Willow sighed. “Plus obviously Luz accepted. I mean I’m surprised it took this long for Amity to get her a courting gift if I’m being honest.

“What do you mean obviously? And what do you mean it took me this long it's not like I liked her for long… okay maybe I have but that’s not the point.” Amity busied herself with replacing the top layer of the nest

“You’re kidding right?” Willow crossed her arms. “She talks about you all the time plus Gus and I knew about the Grom note you weren’t subtle Luz is just… optimistically friendly.”

“She’s dense. Very dense.” Gus just went right to the point.

“How did you know about the Grom letter?!” Amity’s gaze shot to the two witches outside of the nest.

“One you nearly had a panic attack snatching the note from her hands. Two you left the note torn upright on the ground. Which is littering and bad for the environment by the way.” The plant track witch scolded lightly.

“I didn’t think I was that obvious… and sorry about the note.” The alpha sighed softly, pushing hair from her face.

“Plus you always blush around Luz. Like always.” Gus added on after a moment of pause.

“Okay point taken!” Amity spoke quickly and was a bit panicked. 

“Relax, it's okay.” Willow smiled. “Plus everything is perfect. You and Luz are together now. You’re part of the pack. And Luz’s heat should be over in a few days.” She set the old blankets to the side so they could be picked up easily to be washed later. The three witches tidied the room a bit while waiting for Luz to return.

Eda had brought snacks pausing slightly once she noticed the youngest Blight child and the not very well hidden ribbon tucked under some bedding. “So… Did she accept the gift?” The older witch raised a brow as she set the plates of random snacks down. 

“What?” Amity didn’t dare look in The Owl Lady’s direction, heat still settled in her cheeks. 

“That’s a yes.” Gus grinned, grabbing a sandwich from one of the plates.

“Finally!” Eda let out a short laugh. “Kid talks about you all the time, always has a cheesy smile when she does too. Ah, to be young again. Just don’t do anything, too, crazy.” The older witch teased turning to leave the room, taking a still sleeping King with her as she left.

“See, told you.” Willow let out a satisfied hum as she grabbed a few apple slices.

“Yeah, guess you were right.” Amity breathed out pushing her hair from her face at this point just trying to distract herself from the shyness and embarrassment that simmered in her chest.

“Relax, it sounds like Eda approves. Plus, Luz is your girlfriend now. Win-win.” Willow nudged her friend softly. A creek from the door pulled their attention to Luz who looked thankfully more relaxed and less flush. “Feel better?”

“Yeah, I needed that for sure. Sorry, Ami, I was probably all gross and sweaty.” Luz sat down and reached out for some food.

“No, don't worry about it, you weren’t.” Amity was quick to respond before changing the subject. “So umm I replaced some of the blankets in the nest. I hope it's alright but I figured fresh blankets would be nice.” 

Luz looked over the nest and saw that the blankets were neatly tucked over the edges of the nest. It looked tidier than she had originally made it but it was undoubtedly Amity’s handiwork. That fact made her heart swell and a smile graces her features. “It looks nice. Thank you.” She scooted closer, legs touching, as the four of them snacked on what Eda brought them. “You know. This is actually really nice, not the fever, and sweating, and stuff but all of us just hanging out. And the nest, won’t lie. I didn't see the appeal of it at first but it’s pretty comfy.”

“We can do this more then. I mean all of us hanging out.” Amity offered a smile, golden eyes meeting Luz’s brown ones.

“Well, I mean maybe cuddling too.” The human softly added and looked down at the food. “I mean if you’re okay with that I mean like platonic cuddling to and well- I’m talking too much.” Luz sucked in some air heat rising to her face yet again.

“Platonic cuddling is the best! Count me in!” Gus chimed in only for Willow to elbow him. “Ow, what was that for?”

“They’re having a moment,” Willow whispered to the boy.

“Umm yeah, we can do this. More. I’m not against cuddling.” Amity blushed lightly and tentatively reached for Luz’s hand threading their fingers together. “After you eat a bit more though, ok?”

“Ok.”

Plates empty and set to the side Gus was first to leave the room he came back wearing pajamas Willow was next. “Are you going to stay the night too?” Gus was packing his clothes away in his bag.

“Oh, I probably shouldn’t actually.” Amity let out a sigh. “My parents would be mad,” She summoned her scroll in her free hand to check the time only to see a few messages from her siblings.

4:42 pm

Em: How are things going? 

6:40 pm

Ed: It’s been forever, Mittens. What’s going on? Need us to cover for you tonight?

8:02 pm

Em: We’re covering you for tonight but you owe us. We wanna hear about how your date went when you get back home tomorrow.

Ed: You better be safe Mittens if you got eaten by something I don’t think we could cover for you forever.

“Oh. I understand.” Luz gave a soft smile. “Just get home safe ok?” She gave Amity a hug, careful to not knock the scroll out of the other girl’s hand.

“Actually. I can stay.” Dismissing her scroll Amity returned the impromptu hug.

“Wait really?” Luz leaned back pulling away from the hug. “Are you sure? I don’t want you to get in trouble.” The human pushed a few stray hairs behind the Alpha’s ear. She couldn’t help but smile, noticing how the witch’s ear twitched.

“I’m sure.” That smile made Amity’s heart flutter. “The twins are covering for me.” The creaking of the bedroom door pulled her out of the moment as Willow returned now ready for bed. 

“Amity is staying the night too.” Gus filled in the other omega. 

“Oh?” Willow held a skeptical look. “Are you sure that’s the best idea? Your parents are… quite strict.” Willow sat down placing her things in her bag.

“The twins are covering for me.” 

“I’ll get you some clothes to sleep in.” Luz was on her feet and across the room in a matter of seconds. Digging through a chest she pulled out a bad girl coven shirt and a pair of otter shorts. “Here these should fit.” She smiled brightly as she passed the clothes to the alpha.

“Oh, thanks.” Amity headed out of the room to change.

“So what happened before we got here?” Willow turned her full attention to Luz. “Did you kiss?”

“Hey, you stole my question!” Gus moved closer. “But seriously tell us!”

“What?” Cheeks tinted, Luz moved to climb into her nest. “We just took a nap seriously that’s all.”

“Really? That’s all?” Gus made his way to the nest followed by Willow.

“Well it took this long for you two to start dating so I guess it makes sense.” Willow sat comfortably.

“What do you mean it took this long?” Luz let out a huff of air as she reached for her notebook and began drawing light glyphs. A few orbs of light now floating in the room, giving off a soft glow by the time Amity returned to the room.

She closed the door before setting her clothes down next to Willow and Gus’s bags. “Is there going to be enough room in your nest for all of us?” Amity stood outside the nest.

“Funny from what Gus and I saw, we thought you’d be okay with cuddling. There’s enough room as long as you’re okay with being close.” Willow teased softly

“Yeah come on we’ll even let you two snuggle together.” Gus joined in.

“I get enough teasing from the twins, not you two now.” Amity flushed as she climbed into the nest.

“Just a bit” Willow smiled as they all settled in. Amity and Luz were in the middle of the nest, Willow against the wall, and Gus on the other side of the nest. 

Gus reached for a crystal ball that Eda had left for them. “Let’s watch something, any requests?” Gus scrolled through their options. 

“Oh let’s watch a Great Witch Azura movie.” Luz rolled onto her side to get comfortable. Soon a movie was picked, a circle was drawn and the crystal ball was floating above the nest to give all of them a good view. “Oh sweet, this one is the best.” Absentmindedly the omega snuggled into Amity. The smell of spring and rain, calming and comforting. Luz rested her head on Amity’s shoulder, a hum of contentment slowly turning into a purr.

Amity shifted one of her arms, wrapping under and around Luz. It felt natural; it was perfect even with Gus and Willow there. Soft purrs from Luz lasted for a while as they all watched the movie slowly they tapered off as eyelids grew heavy. Fingers combed through her hair and the rumble under her suggested Amity was telling her something but Luz didn’t catch it as she fell asleep soft smile resting on her features.

“I didn’t know she could purr,” Gus spoke softly not wanting to wake the human. 

“She growled at us before, makes sense that she can purr.” Willow yawned and shifted a bit before closing her eyes.

“I guess you’re right.” Gus reached for the crystal ball tracing a small circle in the air allowing it to fall into his hands he turned it off and placed it outside of the nest. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Amity spoke barely above a whisper, her fingers still brushing through Luz’s hair. Her hair was unbelievably soft, how had she not noticed before? The alpha slowly pulled her hand away not wanting to move too quickly and risk waking the other.

“Te amo” Luz spoke softly in her sleep, pressing her face into the crook of amity’s neck.

Amity wasn’t sure what that meant but the fact it was from Luz was all she needed to know. Smiling she closed her eyes listening to the soft steady breaths she soon fell asleep as well. Luz snuggled close to her and their friends at their respective sides. Luz Noceda really could make anything and everything perfect.