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On the way to building a portal back to the human realm, Luz makes a decision about her future.
It feels like a lifetime ago now, when Luz had been handed a log of Palistrom wood and said she wanted to wait. That it was hard to picture her future without seeing her mom.
Now, Stringbean lays curled around her shoulders, her awesome girlfriend curled up next to her in a bundle of (surprisingly comfortable, if a bit itchy) hay and straw from Eda’s nest. Willow, Gus, and Hunter are nearby in their own makeshift nest, never wanting to be far from each other after everything that’s happened. Luz knows when they wake, she’s going to be the first thing they all want to see.
She guesses literally dying —no matter how temporary—might end up having that effect on someone.
From downstairs she can hear her mom talking with Eda and Raine and the rest of the parents of their little squad. At one point or another she catches each one practically showering her mom in praise and thanks for housing and feeding their kids for so long. Luz can’t say she blames them, after all she heard Mamá give the same thanks to Eda the second she thought Luz was out of earshot.
Plus, her mom is awesome. She deserves the praise.
Luz smiles, a little tired (exhausted, really), but content. Happy. Happier than she thinks she’s felt in a long time.
She still isn’t sure what her future holds. How can she be? Between the Day of Unity and today, Luz feels like her whole life has been flipped, turned upside down and inside out at least a hundred times over. And now, after everything is over and done, she can’t do magic anymore. Not like she used to.
She has Stringbean of course, and she knows that little power noodle of a palisman packs a punch, but she also knows that Palisman magic is different to Titan magic is different to Witches magic. She had been there first hand when Eda and Lilith lost their magic, and saw how much they struggled—how much they were limited—even with Owlbert and Socks by their side. She doesn’t know if she’ll be able to continue at Hexside.
(She saved the Boiling Isles, she is Not getting bumped down to the Baby Class, no thank you.)
She isn’t sure what her future holds. Isn’t sure if she’ll ever be able to do magic like she used to again. She isn’t sure about a lot of things. She isn’t even sure what she’s going to have for breakfast today what with the Owl House still practically empty and all, but she is sure of one thing.
A long time ago, Luz thought she had to pick and choose. That picking one thing would mean giving up another. Human or witch. Earth or the Boiling Isles. But now, surrounded by love and uncertainty, Luz knows. No matter what the future holds, she wants these people—the people who she loves, and who love her— in it. Each and every single one of them.
She can’t imagine a future without it.
She talks about her plan to Amity first.
After Willow and Gus go home with their families, and while Hunter’s occupied introducing Mamá to Darius and Eberwolf, Luz gently pulls Amity aside and tells her that there’s something she wants to talk to her about. Like Amity said, no more secrets.
“What is it?” Amity asks, gentle, hopelessly tender concern in her voice that makes Luz’s heart ache.
Luz reaches out to hold Amity’s hand, feels the comforting touch of Amity's skin against her own, and the pressure that threatened to squeeze her throat closed—keeping her thoughts inside—fades.
A deep breath, and she begins.
“I’ve been thinking. About what’s going to happen when we make another portal. And—and I love the Boiling Isles, and the demon realm!”
And you , she doesn’t say. Not yet, at least. She feels it deep in her heart in ways she’s not ready to verbalize. Can’t figure out how to put into words yet. Maybe one day when she does she can write them into a poem or a song. Something lavish and dramatic that encapsulates the depths of what she feels when she thinks of Amity.
“Luz...?” Amity asks, jolting Luz into a realization that she’s gone silent, letting herself get sidetracked from the matter at hand.
“I think I’m going back to the human realm,” she admits, gently rubbing her thumb against the back of Amity’s hand to ease the tension the admission brings. “Not—forever. Not like that. But, my glyphs don’t work anymore, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to study at Hexside with you guys without them! And until Stringbean and I figure something out I...”
Luz hears her voice trail off as she loses the words she wants to say. She knows—she knows—by Amity’s own admission no less, that Amity doesn’t hate her. That she could never hate her. But still, the part of her that spent the past few months buried beneath a mountain of guilt, and spent years before that crushed by the loneliness that came before Luz had ever met Amity, is still afraid of rejection. And might always be afraid.
But Luz has learned a thing or two about being brave since she first came to the demon realm. And when she feels Amity squeeze her hand and looks up to see her face—smiling so tenderly, eyes shining with understanding and that same feeling that Luz can’t begin to put words to—that she remembers.
“I want you in my life,” she says at last, relishing in the way Amity’s face brightens even further at her words. “I want all of you in my life. Wherever that ends up being. I don’t want to give up anything.”
Luz can feel the smile breaking out onto her face as she talks, putting words to a future she’s only begun to imagine. One where she can see both of her families every day. Where she can be Luz the Human, Luz the Witch, and Luz the Weirdo all at once. Where she can accept and embrace every single part of her no matter what realm she’s in.
When the words stop spilling from her mouth, her head is pressed against Amity’s, their foreheads touching. “I think I know who I am here, already,” she says, honestly. This world is where she found herself. Where she felt allowed to find herself. “But I don’t think I’ve figured it out there yet. I think I owe it to myself to give it a shot.”
Amity raises her free hand to cup the side of Luz’s face, always so gentle when she touches her. “I kind of always thought that was the plan,” Amity says with a little laugh as her smile turns sheepish. “Back before... well, everything, all you wanted to do was get back home to your mom. I know we never really figured out the particulars of everything and what we’d do when you got there, but I never thought you’d want to give that up.”
“I know you’ll figure it out,” Amity continues, brushing her thumb against Luz’s cheek. “Just like I know you’ll figure out how to do magic again. And just like I know that you’ll always be my awesome girlfriend.”
Luz laughs, letting her head lean in to Amity’s touch. “So does this mean you’re okay with being long distance?”
“Only if you don’t stay away too long.”
“From you?” Luz asks, a cheeky smile stretching across her face. “I could never.”
“Good,” Amity nods. “I love you.”
Luz watches as the weight of the admission washes over Amity, lighting her face up in a bright red blush that Luz loves. Has always loved. Could never not love because it’s Amity. Because it’s the girl she loves. That feeling that she can’t put it into words because those are the words.
“I love you, too,” she says, nervous and certain, and hurries to lean forward to kiss Amity’s lips and prove her words are true.
Next, Luz tells her mom. She’s worried—of course she is—but it’s easier to prove that she isn’t trying to punish herself or give up the things that make her happy with Amity holding her hand the whole time.
After that, she and Mamá sit down and tell Eda and King. It’s hard, there’s no avoiding that, especially after she spent months worrying every single day over whether or not she would get to see them again. This time, though, there’s no question about it—she’s going to see them again. She’s going to see them on weekends, over school breaks, and on late nights when she just misses them. She’s going to come back and rebuild the Isles with them. She’s going to be here for birthdays, and holidays, and Spanish lessons with King.
She’s going to show them the human realm, too. She’s going to show them her home, introduce them to Vee, take them to the beach—everything. The whole shebang. She’s going to be a part of their lives, and they’re going to be a part of hers. None of them would have it any other way.
(Even Mamá promises that they’re welcome any time they’d like. They’re family, after all.)
Then she tells her friends, and it’s easier than it was to tell the others. For all their worrying about their families the last few months, her friends all still love the human realm, and love the memories they made there together. Just like Luz loves the ones they made in the demon realm.
They love her. And whatever world Luz is a part of, her friends are a part of it too.
It takes two days for them to get all the pieces needed for a new portal, and they’re going to be ready to put it together first thing in the morning.
It’s probably for a good thing that it didn’t take too long to get everything. Luz knows that her mom’s really trying her best to like this place, but she’s also like 85% sure that Mamá will have a meltdown if she sees any more of what demon realm food looks like.
(Luz can’t really blame her for that one. For all she loves about the Boiling Isles, she is so happy that her diet no longer mostly consists of gryphon eggs.)
Her friends all manage to get the OK to spend the night at the Owl House before she goes home, something Luz is incredibly grateful for. It’s crowded with all of them huddled up in her and King’s room (soon to be just King’s, a thought that makes her heart ache with bittersweet longing), but it’s also warm and filled with laughter and love and memories. She wouldn’t trade those for anything.
Luz is also, unsurprisingly, an absolute bundle of nerves by the time everyone falls asleep. She can feel herself practically vibrating out of her skin with restless energy, and so, carefully—not wanting to wake the others—she sneaks her way out up to the roof.
She’s always loved the sky in the demon realm. Like most things on the Boiling Isles, it’s not quite the same as the sky back home. But it’s not quite not the same either. The stars are different, for starters. There’s not a single constellation shared between realms. But the stars still hang overhead, illuminating the night just the same.
Staring up at the sky, Luz wonders. She knows the Collector’s up there now, back home in the stars. Luz doesn’t have the slightest idea of what it’s like up there, but she knows he’s going to do his best trying to grow up. Just like her. She hopes he’ll be okay.
Luz hopes she’ll be okay too.
She’s jolted from her stargazing by the sound of footsteps joining her on the roof. When she looks up, she’s not all that surprised to see Hunter there with her.
“Can’t sleep?” she asks, cracking a smile and scooting over to make room for him to sit.
Hunter’s quiet and more than a little bit awkward when he takes his seat next to her, but his face is an open book, same as always. She knows him well enough by now to know somethings on his mind, and knows that he wants to tell her something. So she stays patient, leans her head on his shoulder and waits.
She isn’t sure how many minutes pass before Hunter manages to find the words, and she feels content and safe enough in his presence that she catches herself nodding off more than once before he speaks. “It’s going to be weird. Not seeing you every day,” he says at last, his voice a hushed tone. “Not living together, after all those months.”
Luz looks up at him. She watches him awkwardly play with the long strand of hair drooping in front of his eyes, and she smiles. “Aww, you saying you’re gonna miss me?” she jokes.
“Shut up,” Hunter huffs—all bark, no bite—and gives her a gentle shove as she laughs. She’s going to miss him too.
“You know, I’m sure you’d be welcome to come live with us if you wanted,” she says. “Mamá loves you. She’d be happy to have you. We all would.”
Hunter sniffles, and his eyes go all watery at that. Luz does him a courtesy in looking away. She isn’t worried about overstepping in her offer, and isn’t worried about making him feel embarrassed. They’ve seen each other cry more than enough times for that to be an issue. She knows he cries more when he’s happy—when he feels loved—than when he’s sad. He isn’t used to good feelings and gets overwhelmed by them.
She knows all that. She just needs him to know he’ll always have a home if he wants one. He’s family now.
“Yeah I—I know,” he says, his voice cracked and a little broken, but still strong. Just like Hunter. “Camilla... already told me I could stay with you. If I wanted.”
Luz isn’t surprised by that. Her mom has a soft spot for Hunter that only got bigger and bigger the more he opened up—the more he found himself. “But you’re staying here,” she concludes, and Hunter nods his confirmation.
“How come?” she asks, voice and heart free of any judgement about his decision.
Hunter’s face scrunches up, the way it does whenever he tries to put words to his big feelings. “I really loved living with you guys. I think I really started to—to figure out who I was when I was there. Who 'Hunter' was.” he says, looking straight ahead into the night.
Luz is reminded of the night she first met him—without the mask—talking on a rooftop in Latissa. Something that feels like a lifetime ago now.
At least you have your future figured out now.
At least you can figure out your own.
“I never got to do that here,” he continues. “I always had to... to be something else when I was here. Someone else. And I want—I want to bring the person who I found out I was in the human realm back here, you know? To make things right.”
Hunter looks at her expectantly, like there was ever any doubt she wouldn’t understand. She does know. She does understand. She’s doing the same thing.
She laughs because it’s funny—even though it makes Hunter’s face twist in confusion. It’s incredible how similar they are. How they always have been. They’re cut from the same cloth for sure. Souls woven from the same thread. Even when they’re heading in opposite directions towards the same destination, she knows they’ll make it there together.
“C’mere you goof,” Luz giggles. She wipes away a tear from her eye and pulls Hunter in for a hug.
Their arms wrap tight around each other. She feels her heart beat in time with his, and feels ready to walk through the portal tomorrow.
To walk towards the future.