Work Text:
Raine has always been a night person. Being a coven head meant tedious and ridiculous amounts of work that often dragged them well into the evening. So it’s no surprise to them when they still can’t sleep regularly. Even after the stress of the Day of Unity is done with and everything is slowly being restored.
Raine sits in the kitchen of the refurbished Owl House. They sip from a small cup of tea as they look over some plans for rebuilding certain areas in Bonesborough. They and along with all the former coven leaders banned together to make things right.
But restoring and trying to recover destroyed cities is proving to be more than difficult.
They rub their neck and sigh into the dim light. There is so much to be done and not enough hours in the day.
The bard witch stares down at endless notes. Their mind gets buried in small reminders and plans. Raine almost packs up their binders and papers when they hear sniffling and the soft sound of feet walking into the kitchen. They bring their head up and look to the doorway, jumping a little when a weepy human teenager stands with her hands rubbing at her eyes.
“Luz?” Raine says softly, careful not to further upset the already troubled teen.
Luz looks up and widens her eyes. She walks back a few steps, bundling her hands in her oversized bad girl coven t-shirt. Her lip trembles as she opens her mouth. “Lo siento— I'm sorry. I didn’t know anyone was in here.”
“Oh, you don’t have to apologize. Are you..alright?” Raine asks slowly, awkwardly. It was never quite in their nature to be especially good with kids, especially crying ones. The BATs were young, but old enough to never really require a parental softness.
Luz stiffens. She hastily wipes at her face and nods. “I’m okay. I’m fine,” she reassures, but the waver in her voice calls out her lies. She puts on a thin smile. “You look busy. I’ll leave you alone. Goodnight, Raine.”
The witch frowns. It’s all too reminiscent of their Eda. So many times had the cursed witch turned to lie, turned to hide their true thoughts. That damaged them to the point of several years of separation. And Raine grew to know enough about the positive girl. Eda once stayed up, stressing over the ‘I don’t need help’ front Luz put up after returning from the human realm.
That was only a mere couple weeks ago.
Before they can even think of a thorough sentence, Raine stands up. “Tea always helps me when I don’t feel good. I’m pretty good at making it and it only takes a few minutes.”
The teenager stops walking. They watch her fiddle nervously with her hands before turning back to face them. She nods shortly, refusing to show her red and blotchy face.
“Um, tea sounds good,” Luz finally says quietly. Raine smiles gently. They push away their work and walk over to get everything they need. Luz sits herself at one of the chairs.
It’d usually be easier to make a basic tea, but the draining spell touches up the bard witch’s magic. They’ve been thoroughly reminded to use as little magic as possible until they’re fully healed from the fiasco.
The two stay quiet as the elder witch makes more tea. It’s a kind act toward the teenager, who Raine suspects isn’t quite ready to voice her feelings. They were a nervous teenager once too. Maybe not dealt such awful cards, but still. Being forced to spill thoughts isn’t comfortable.
They finish and set the cup down in front of the unusually solemn kid. Raine takes a seat across from her, waiting patiently for Luz to be the first one to speak.
Titan knows making her do anything is fruitless. She’s a stubborn one if they’ve ever known it.
She does so quietly, leaning forward a little in her chair. Her fingers lightly grasp the cup as she turns her head a little to face the witch. “This is good tea,” Luz says quietly. It makes Raine smile warmly.
Even in distress Luz manages to compliment. A sweet kid, indeed.
“Thanks. It’s a homemade remedy from my mom. She always told me a warm cup of tea can help any bad feeling,” Raine explains. They soften their gaze on Luz. Sensing the shift in conversation, Luz swallows anxiously.
“If you don’t mind me asking, is there a certain bad feeling that made you upset?”
The human lowers back. She removes her hands from the small cup and nervously fiddles with the hem of her shirt. Raine sits quietly, waiting for her to take her time. They’ve got all night. They could give her some patience and kindness. She deserves that after all she’s been through. All she’s done for them.
“Um,” Luz bites her lip and shakes her foot, a nervous habit Eda once told Raine that she looks out for so she knows if her kid is ever anxious, “a bad dream?”
“Mm,” Raine hums. They nod. No one is surprised the kids especially all have nightmares. Especially the young human. From Eda’s near petrification, to getting stuck in Belo’s mind (which Raine still feels awful about), to the Day of Unity, it’d be a shock if she didn’t.
“I feel silly. It’s just a dream,” Luz adds after a minute. She rubs her arm, almost sheepishly. Like she’s embarrassed for a completely natural reaction to the consistent trauma she faced.
“It’s not. Bad dreams are very normal. Do you get them often?” Raine asks. They cross their fingers they’re doing this right. Comforting a kid isn’t exactly their forte.
Luz thinks about her answer. She nods after a while. “A lot,” she pushes out slowly, “almost every night. I thought—I thought they were getting better. But they won’t go away.”
At this confession, Raine frowns. That's new information. Luz had spoken up about them in the beginning, but over the last few weeks she seemed to stop talking about them. They all assumed they had stopped.
“Have you told your mom?” Raine asks. They’re not sure which mom they’re asking about. But Luz doesn’t miss a beat. She shakes her head.
“No, I didn’t want to worry them.”
Them. Raine warms a little. It’s always striking how close Eda is with the kids she’s accidentally adopted along the way.
Speaking of Eda, she might be better at this.
“You should. This is something a witch shouldn’t be dealing with on their own. Especially someone of your age.”
Luz doesn’t respond to that. She simply nods.
Raine takes a quiet breath. They’re the adult right now and this kid clearly needs some help. They rack their brain for something to say. They just need to convince her to talk to Eda. She’d know how to comfort her daughter.
“Would you like to tell me what it was about?” They ask.
Luz nods. Okay, that was a good thing to ask. They silently pump a fist. They’re not half-bad at this.
“Eda. And me,” Luz squints down at the half-empty cup, “I have this dream a lot. I’m always back at the conformitorium watching Eda get petrified. And before I can stop it—I’m, um..I get petrified. It’s like I can still feel it happening.”
Luz begins to shake her foot more rapidly. She hugs herself. “And I wake up right when it’s almost done.”
Oh. Oh.
Raine sighs. It’s too much for a kid. Too much for anyone, really. They tense when Luz begins to sniffle again. A tiny cry, a rough attempt at suppressing it, releases from the girl. “I’m always scared for Eda. I don’t like seeing her hurt.”
Raine gets up and moves to sit beside her. They hesitate before doing the thing they know comforts Luz. They wrap their arms around her, tugging her close and whispering what they assume is comforting words.
“Cmon, Eda is okay. It might make you feel better if you see her. I know it helps me,” they say gently. Luz nods silently. She stands up and begins a slow walk upstairs with a gentle guiding hand from Raine on her back.
She pauses at Eda’s door, anxiously looking at it and her hands. Raine stands beside her and nods over to it. “She would want to know if you don’t feel well. It’s okay. You know she won’t mind.”
Eda never minds when her kids need her. She’s the most gentle around them.
Luz makes her way into the room only to find Eda wide awake. The older witch looks up in surprise to find her partner and her kid standing in the doorway. She furrows her brows when Luz refuses to meet her eyes. She glances at Raine who nods down to the kid with a sad sort of smile.
They mouth ‘nightmare’ . Eda doesn’t need any more information.
“C’mere, kiddo,” she announces softly. She extends out her arm and ignites a strangled sob from Luz. She nearly trips over her own feet getting to the nest. Luz is quickly tugged down into Eda’s lap.
Raine sits beside them, using one gentle hand to lay on Eda’s shoulder. She looks back at them with heartbroken eyes. She’s had to comfort her kid so many times in the last few months that it’s unfair. A girl her age shouldn’t have to experience so much pain.
“Luz, can you tell me what your dream was about?” Eda asks. She tenderly strokes Luz’s soft curls. The girl nods, wrapping her fist in Eda’s loose shirt.
“You–you we’re getting pe–petrified. And I was too and I could–couldn’t stop it. I felt it, Eda. I felt it and it wouldn’t stop. ”
“Oh honey,” Eda murmurs, “you’re safe. You’re okay. And I won’t let anyone hurt you like that again.“
She would say it’s just a dream but it wasn’t. It’s a harsh reality. They both almost got petrified and if it’s anything similar to what Eda felt, Luz must be absolutely terrified to feel it all over again.
“It keeps happening.”
“The dream?” Eda asks. Luz nods. “I’m sorry, kiddo. You know you can come to me at any time. Nightmares are scary. It’s nice to have someone to talk to about them.”
Eda casts a spare look at Raine. They are her confidant when it comes to her own nightmares. The bad witch gives them a little smile.
“Whenever I have nightmares I always talk to Eda,” Raine speaks up. “Talking through them makes me feel better. It’s not a bad thing to want comfort.”
“Mhm. I talk to Lily or Raine. We’re here to support you, Luz. You went through some scary stuff. Let us help you with it, okay?” Eda squeezes her tighter, “you don’t always have to be brave on your own.”
“I feel dumb.“
“Don’t. You’re only fifteen, kid. Let us adults help you. We want to. We care about you so much, and I don’t want you dealing with this on your own,” Eda continues.
“Okay. I’m sorry,” she sniffles.
“Ugh. One day I’m going to teach you that you don’t always have to apologize because apologizing is for chumps,” the older witch says to her witchling. Her words are teasing. She feels Luz giggle a little.
“ – Sometimes apologizing is good,” Raine raises their eyebrow and shakes their head disapproving at their girlfriend. Eda simply snickers. “In the right circumstances, of course.”
“Which is not now. But promise me you’ll tell me about your bad dreams from now on?” Eda asks. She pulls away a little to get a look at her child’s exhausted face. Luz nods.
“Promise.”
“Good. I’m too tired for more sappy stuff. And you look like you got dragged by a griffin. You need your sleep, kiddo. You staying in here tonight?”
“If you don’t mind..” Luz says quietly. Eda smiles.
“You know I don’t. Just don’t kick me like Whispers does.”
“I don’t kick!” Raine frowns.
“Lies. Cmon, lay down,” Eda gets comfortable again and Luz adjusts so she lays her head on Eda’s chest. She sighs comfortably.
Raine rolls their eyes and takes their spot on the other side.
Within a few minutes, Luz falls back asleep. Eda looks to her partner. “It's like Luz magic whenever she lays next to me. She falls asleep fast.”
“You’re so soft, Calamity.”
Eda kicks Raine gently. “Tell anyone about this I’ll have your head. I can’t lead the best bad girl coven otherwise.”
“No. But you can lead the best family. ”
“That was disgustingly cheesy, Rainstorm. How much of Azura has Luz gotten you to read?” Eda scoffs, but doesn’t address the blush on her cheeks.
“Just the first few chapters.”
“Gross. You’re as bad as her.”
Raine laughs. They push themselves up to kiss Eda’s cheek. “Too bad you love us too much.”
“I admit to nothing.“
“Okay ‘bad girl’. Goodnight.”
Eda rolls her eyes fondly. “Goodnight, Raine.” She turns and presses a kiss to Luz’s head. “Goodnight, kiddo.”
As the midnight skies stretch over the home, there isn’t a soul awake. Just the hushed and sleeping people of a tightly bonded family.