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Goal: become a better girlfriend, Amity wrote in her journal, then paused. To Luz or for Luz? She wrestled with the preposition for a moment before deciding to just underline her heading and continue. Obstacles: Mother is the worst and disapproves of our love. Stigma against same-sex and interracial relationships in human realm(?). Luz is a human, imposing a cultural gap between us. Hm. The first two would probably be difficult to do anything meaningful about, she decided, circling the third item on her list. Strengths: Powerful mutual friends. Inexhaustible well of determination. Really good at magic. She tapped her pen on the paper, the inklings of a plan beginning to form; she circled the word ‘Mother,’ then added under ‘Strengths’: Extensive magical library.
Mother was a member of the Oracle Coven, after all, and Amity knew better than anyone the way the abilities of that coven could be used to establish a mental connection. It was a dusty few hours scouring the family’s collection, but at the end she had found in one stodgy-looking tome a sort of cryptically-written spell which promised to put you in a partner’s head, whatever that meant. There was even a convenient reversal spell on the next page! Amity beamed with delight. Not even any fine print! Usually this would be the sort of thing that if she or Luz or one of their friends got into, they’d have no end of trouble trying to figure out how to undo the mess they’d gotten into.
***
That Friday night (carefully chosen as both Eda and King were out of town for the weekend), Amity brought her purloined tome (now lovingly wiped clean of dust) to the Owl House, and there explained her plan to Luz. “That, uh, sounds great, Amity, but, uh, what does it do?”
“I, um, don’t know. I mean, I can read it - every witch worth their salt can speak passable Ancient Titanic - but I haven’t studied Oracle magic since I was eleven, so…” Amity trailed off. “I’m sorry - I was so excited - I didn’t even think -”
“You sure you’re not already in my head, Amity?” Luz laughed - a sound that still put a blush in Amity’s cheeks. “That sounds like something I’d say. Anyway, you can reverse it, right? So let’s try it.”
“I, um.” Amity’s blush somehow only deepened, this time at the easy trust her girlfriend demonstrated. “Okay. Okay, let’s do this.” She took a deep breath, then continued. “You sit here, facing me, and place your hand on my temple, and I put mine on yours, then…” She began reciting the Ancient Titanic, pleased to discover her tongue still remembered the sharp tones and diacriticals of the complex language.
A consuming flash of white later, and Amity pulled herself back up to a seated position. “Oh no,” she said in Luz’s familiar, adorable voice, looking down at her own body. Her hands flashed up to her soft, round ears, triggering a gasp.
This seemed to rouse Luz. “Oh. Oh, wow, I am cute.”
Amity giggled. “Leave it to you to take this so lightly.”
“I mean, this isn’t my first bodyswap rodeo: it was a whole thing with me and Eda and King for a day. Besides: I’d feel bad, but I know you’ve got a pretty nice view, too.” Luz waggled one fine, dark eyebrow at her from her own face.
“You’re incorrigible,” Amity reminded her, smiling gently. “Unfortunately, now that I’m kind of over the initial shock, I don’t really feel any different, or any particular insight into what it means to be Luz Noceda. I mean, ten fingers, ten toes, two –” Amity’s new complexion drained until it was as pale as her old one. “Luz…put your hand back on my temple.” She recited the counterspell. Nothing happened. Just as she had feared. “But no bile sac. Which means I can’t cast the spell to switch us back.”
“Okay, then I’ll do it.” Luz looked down at the pages. “What, um, does it say?”
Amity pinched her nose (Luz’s nose? Titan, this was confusing.). “Right, so we just have to teach you Ancient Titanic - a task which took me most of my childhood - preferably by Monday, when we’re due back in class.”
“Well, not all of Ancient Titanic. Just enough to read the spell,” Luz added reassuringly.
“Enough to read the spell perfectly,” Amity emphasized. “Getting a spell like this wrong…” She shuddered. “Well, let’s just say I hope you didn’t have any important plans.”
“Well, I did,” Luz teased, and Amity’s heart flip-flopped in despair before Luz continued, “but since those plans were ‘spend time with my girlfriend,’ I don’t think you have anything to worry about. C’mon, I’ll get you some spare pajamas,” she added, whereupon the immense awkwardness that they had gotten into dawned on them.
Amity clicked into analytical mode and quickly reached a conclusion. “So, I see two paths forward. Either we spend the next two days awkwardly struggling with discretion and curiosity until we give in in a haze of poorly concealed desire and hormones - which, honestly, is kind of on brand, given the start of our relationship - or we just go ahead and rip off the poultice. And. Well.” Her eyes flicked down to the hem of her own tunic, resting on the curve of her own hip.
“Okay, you’ve convinced me,” Luz shrugged, and pulled the tunic over her head.
“What? Seriously?” Amity flailed even as Luz tried to make unfamiliar hands stretch to unclasp her bra. (It was so weird watching her own face contort into the pattern that Luz’s features took when she was struggling or concentrating.) “I, um, thought for sure we’d have to waste at least a whole day not making any useful progress and nervously blushing before spending every possible minute before school starts cramming Ancient Titanic, and even then we’d probably have to spend a solid four periods pretending to be each other until we could finally get enough time to read the counter-ritual over lunch, which would be a disaster because I have a quiz Monday morning, and frankly, Abominations is not your best subject, Luz. Not, I mean, that I would be any better at your varied coursework.”
“Sounds like you put a lot of thought into that,” Luz said with a chuckle. “But, uh, were you going to, uh…?” She gestured with one conspicuously bare arm at, well, Luz’s body, pausing before starting to roll down her leggings.
Amity crimsoned and hurriedly pulled Luz’s hoodie and tank top off in one go. Inexhaustible well of determination, she reminded herself, and unzipped Luz’s shorts, sliding them down and off as well, taking Luz’s panties (Amity felt a full anime nosebleed on the way) down at the same time. “This was definitely not how I imagined us…doing anything like this.” And then they were both. Well. She looked down. Not that different from a female witch, really, in the abstract. But so very – Luz. Very unlike her own body - blemishes in places she didn’t expect, smooth skin instead of grudgby scars, a whole different color palette - it was honestly a little dizzying.
“We should probably get dressed, right?” Luz said, finally, cutting through the tumult in Amity’s brain. “If nothing else, I’m getting a little chilly?” She tacked on a little giggle, sounding foreign in Amity’s voice, and shrugged, sending just a hint of bounce to borrowed nipples stiff with cold. “Buuuut hey, on the bright side, now we’re over the weirdness hump, right?” She winked and flashed two pale finger-guns at Amity.
“Somehow, I doubt that,” Amity replied, tone dry but with obvious notes of pleasure. “But then,” she pressed a quick kiss to her own lips, “I wouldn’t want it any other way.” She grinned, feeling Luz’s dimples form in her cheeks. “So, about those pajamas?...”
“Dios mio,” Luz breathed, fingertips brushing her borrowed lips. “That’s the note we’re going to bed on, I guess. But this isn’t over, Amity,” she continued, tossing the other girl a nightgown. “I’ve read - nay, I’ve written! - too much fanfiction to think this ends here!”
“Hmm,” Amity pretended to think. “What about the trope where one study partner provides some positive reinforcement for the other?”
“Girl, I may not know any Ancient Titanic yet, but you are finally speaking my language.” Luz coughed. “Speaking of tropes - I don’t mean to presume, but there is only one bed…”
“Yes, of course, Luz.” Amity grinned fondly. “Wouldn’t want it any other way.”