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The air was warm in the Noceda household, with the familiar humidity of a late summer's night; the stillness was broken by a whoosh of cold air carried by someone walking past briskly, enough to wake Amity Blight up from her slumber. Rubbing her half-closed eyes, she slowly sat up and looked to her right. Willow was sprawled out on the pull-out bed and knocked out cold, as per usual, which elicited a quiet chuckle out of Amity. After everything that had happened between them, from controlling parents to toxic and manipulative 'friends', it was nice to see her childhood best friend sleeping next to her again; it reminded her of the many sleepovers they had together as young kids, where they'd overdose on non-alcoholic Apple Blood, stay up until ungodly hours of the morning, and watch corny Boiling Isles teen romance movies. While the idea of falling in love with a strong, hunky man didn't really resonate with the youngest Blight for a reason she wouldn't understand until later, she still had fun laughing at the cheesy dialogue and re-enacting scenes in all their imperfect glory. Her conscience nibbled away at her, remembering how quickly things turned sour once her mom found out that Willow was a late bloomer. But that was then, she thought, and this is now. All she can do at this point is keep moving forward, especially now that they're so far from home.
Turning to her left, she was met with an empty bed that was normally occupied by Luz Noceda, her "awesome" girlfriend, Vee's tail flopping down in front of her face from the top bunk. Confused, Amity grabbed a flashlight from the nightstand and turned it on, noticing still-damp tear stains on the carpet forming a trail which led out of the door and down the hallway. She quickly remembered that Luz had been slowly developing a heavy sense of guilt for everything that lead up to this point; destroying the portal, arguing with her mom, accidentally helping a witch-hunter fulfil his mass genocide plan, and, most recently, getting her friends stranded in a world completely alien to them and being separated from her found family with no current way of returning. Worriedly, she got up from the bed and followed the trail as it snaked downstairs and out of the back door.
Luz lay on the damp grass, staring up at the clear, starry sky above her as the colors danced, forming a spectacle that soothed the mind; something she desperately needed right now. The white noise of the suburban air sang a natural lullaby to her, which was immediately interrupted by a concerned yet loving voice echoing from across the backyard.
"Luz?" Amity called out, a hint of quietness still present in her voice. "Luz? Are you out here?" A soft sigh was all she could muster in response. Amity frowned in sadness, and strolled over to Luz, getting closer until she was practically standing over her.
"Hey."
"Hey..."
She looked at the patch of grass to her left, and then back at her girlfriend. "Is it okay if I sit here?"
Luz nodded wearily, and so Amity slowly popped herself down onto the grass. "I thought you'd gone missing," she said with a hint of levity in her soft-spoken voice, trying to make a little joke to ease the mood, "is everything okay?"
No response. Luz was still reluctant to open up to others; that's what caused a lot of her problems, after all. Nevertheless, Amity persisted. She knew Luz like the back of her hand, and was certain she'd give in eventually. "What are you doing out here so late?"
Without a word, Luz pointed up at the sky, Amity naturally looking upwards in response.
"Looking at the stars, huh?" She decided to join her on the ground, and lay down next to her. Luz looked to her right, and slightly blushed at the sight, before nodding her head slowly.
"They really are pretty, aren't they?" Amity continued. "You never told me the Human Realm was this beautiful."
Finally, Luz felt comfortable enough to talk, the usual chipper and bright tones in her voice absent in favor of a soft, monotonous one. "Well, why did you think I wanted to show you around?"
The couple giggled quietly, Amity unable to help herself from smiling, before the silence returned. "That isn't the only reason you're out here, is it?"
Defeated, Luz began to admit the truth, before quickly regretting it and chickening out. "No."
"Then, what's wrong? You can always tell me anything - you know that, right?"
"I don't know... I guess I just couldn't sleep."
Amity was silent in response. The real reason was much deeper than that, and she wasn't about to sit idly by and let Luz bottle up her emotions once again. Uncomfortable with the sudden serenity, she finally decided to open up about her troubles, leading with a pained sigh.
"Okay, okay." she began, voice trembling quietly. "It's just-- I've been trying so, so hard to make another working portal, but it's basically impossible without Titan's Blood... why do I keep pretending that everything's gonna be okay, that we're gonna make it back to the Demon Realm? It's hopeless."
"Luz..." Amity tried to interject, the pit in her stomach suddenly filling with a dreadful sense of emptiness.
"And, and, so many innocent people could be in danger again, and it's all my fault." Tears were now beginning to leak from her eyes, her breaths becoming sharper and unsteady. "Who knows what the Collector is doing to the Boiling Isles? Who knows if Eda and King are okay? I need to get back as soon as I can, so I can fix all this. I NEED to fix all this." Luz buried her head in her hands, trying to hide from the pain. Amity felt her own tear ducts welling up; it physically pained her to see Luz so dejected and lifeless. But her own pain wasn't the priority right now.
"Please, listen to me." Amity reached out and slipped her hand under Luz's, slowly caressing her thumb with hers. "None of this is your fault. You need to remember that, no matter what happens."
"B-but it is!" she sobbed. "You're all stuck here, maybe even for good! You, and Willow, and Gus, and Hunter, you're all alone. You don't deserve any of this... you should be back with your families."
Amity immediately cut her off. "Luz. We're not alone, not by a longshot. This past month has been crazy, sure, but it's also been some of the most fun I've ever had in my life." She sat up, pulling her girlfriend up alongside her and gazing at her warmly. "If all this never happened, we would never have gotten to spend so much time together and make all these new memories."
Luz dropped her hands from in front of her face, visibly moved by the sentiments and returning the warm glance, looking into Amity's eyes.
"You, Camilla, and Vee... you've all done so much to make us feel comfortable here, and we've noticed every single time." Amity continued, gently bringing her hand up to Luz's cheek. "Don't ever feel like you're not worth it, or not deserving of love, because you are. You deserve all the love in the world - or, at least, as much as I can give you." Her face involuntarily turned its signature bright red, reminding her of the time Luz teased her for it. She'd affectionately nicknamed it her 'tomato face', and as much as Amity was embarrassed by it, she still secretly loved the gesture. Luz noticed, her mouth forming the faintest of wry smiles. "Ami..."
She kept stammering. "I guess what I'm trying to say is..."
"I love you, Luz."
Three simple words, yet they made a monumental impact. Amity's inner monologue ran wild with the energy of a swarm of firebees. 'Why did I say that? Why did I say that? Was it too soon?' it echoed. Deja vu.
Luz felt the empty feeling in her body disappear upon hearing the phrase out loud. She'd known it - she'd always known it for the longest time, ever since Amity saved her from the rogue Abomaton at Blight Industries, and especially after she kissed her on the cheek outside her house. Despite all this, hearing her favorite sweet potato finally say it out loud meant so much more than she could have ever believed.
"I... I love you too, Amity."
And in that moment, everything was okay. All her troubles floated away into the night; there was no Collector, no Belos, no Day of Unity or separation from her Owl crew, only her and Amity here together. As she was pulled into a kiss, she briefly felt like herself again. Even if it was only temporary, it was enough for her. Pulling away and looking into each other's eyes lovingly, Luz's phone broke the silence. She glanced down at the screen: 3:39 A.M.
"We should probably get some sleep." Amity conceded, getting back to her feet and helping Luz up.
"Yeah." Luz replied, smiling warmly. "I could definitely use some right now."