Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was something strange about the finality of this moment. After all these years, countless lifetimes spent watching over the world he’d protected, the last sands of his life were draining to the bottom of the hourglass.

And with it, regret.

His thoughts turned to the Collector, that ancient child from the stars. Powerful, mischievous, but still, a child, much like his own son. And now, trying with every ounce of their considerable strength to protect his realm from the intruder who dared use his bones and power against it.

A child tricked so their siblings could wreak havoc upon the titans, imprisoned for a crime that wasn’t theirs. All these years here, with him.

It was fate, perhaps, that they became so friendly with his own son, King. After all, that was all the Collector had wanted.

A friend.

The titan blew a breath through his nose. It had been he, in his righteous fury, who had imprisoned the Collector, dooming them to sit in the space between and watch, and whisper to the outside. And so, the Collector had whispered to the human, Phillip Wittebane, and been tricked.

And through this, his own son had been left without a father. Without any kin.

Well, that wasn’t quite right, was it?

The titan looked to this human, Luz Noceda, and found himself smiling beneath his skull. Luz amused him so, as did all her friends. Especially Eda, now there was a girl who knew how to party! And made sure to teach King all sorts of fun ways to get into trouble.

As a crazy aunt should—and she was, in the titan’s mind, at least, the crazy aunt of this strange, wonderful family his son had found and made for himself. If King felt she was his mother, that was fine, but the titan just couldn’t quite make that leap. Mentally, at least. Which made Luz …

Well, hadn’t King said it?

“I’m so happy I had you as a big sister.”

Had, then regained. And, now, lost again. That would hardly do.

And it wouldn’t, if his old pops had something to say about it—and he did, in fact, have much to say about it. Namely, because this was the greatest regret of all, in his ancient mind.

He hadn’t been there. But Eda had. So, too, had Luz.

Oh, and she was still talking. Heavens, she could just talk the algae off his bones when she got going. Which didn’t take a whole lot—gracious, just look at her go!

The titan chuckled. Well, who could blame her, really? In her mind, Luz was but a girl, a witch, who had fallen to the space between and now had a front-row seat to watch the world she so loved be destroyed by a madman.

But … well, he was a titan, for his sake. Who ever said he couldn’t change those things if he saw fit? In a way, he rather owed this human.

She’d been there for King when he hadn’t.

The titan took stock of his remaining power and did some quick math. Yes, this should be enough for a couple centuries. Ideal, considering her little witch girlfriend’s life would be about that length as well, and it would give a reasonable sum of years my son would have her, his surrogate sister, in his life.

A pity he couldn’t do a bit more, but, then again, that mother of hers probably wouldn’t appreciate her daughter becoming a full-blooded titan even if that was possible. And something told the titan that Camila Noceda might just find the means to reach into the afterlife and beat his bony ass, with or without magic.

So, with that decided, the titan offered Luz a winning smile and extended his hand to make his offer.

***

This was …

Weird. Yes, weird. Weird was a great way to describe this. In fact, if Luz still did some of those old fan vlogs, weird would definitely rank pretty darn high on her Top Ten Ways to Describe This Situation.

She felt so … so powerful. Luz could feel the titan’s strength, coursing through her veins. Every spell she cast had the potential to remake the very fabric of the world around her, every shield powerful enough to withstand the ferocity of the elements, and when her feet struck the ground, she could send seismic ripples through the earth. At that, a question came to mind: if she kicked off hard enough, could Luz cause an earthquake just by jumping?

And with it, several more. Quite a sobering line of thought, really. But a good one to have, here and now, so Luz didn’t deal with any unintended consequences.

It was here that she felt an arm around her in a tight embrace, and then a small ball of fur and bone latched onto her torso and clung tight.

Eda and King. Her first friends in the Demon Realm.

Luz wrapped the little titan in a hug, wincing as she felt his claws dig into her sides as he gripped her tighter still, unwilling to let go. “I’m here,” she said softly.

“You’re a dummy!” King said into her chest, a tremor in his voice. “You died, you big, dumb … dummy!”

“I’m sorry,” Luz muttered. She gave him a tight squeeze, then, with an awkward smile, she sat down on the grass with them and told them everything about her experience. Who she’d met, what they’d talked about. But to King …

She offered a smile and leaned in, cupping a still-clawed hand to her mouth to whisper that special message from father to sun in his ear.

The little titan blinked, then repeated, “I loaf you?” He beamed and kicked his feet, laughing. “Bread puns!”

The only words he’d ever hear from his father. But Luz could tell how much they meant to him.

She wrapped him in a hug and brushed the brim of her hat back so she could press her forehead against his skull, mindful of the newly-formed horns sprouting from her head. Those were a little awkward, now that she had the chance to stop and adjust to her new form. Come to think of it, when was this supposed to wear off?

Wait a minute, had the titan said? Luz could’e sworn he mentioned something about his life waning as Belos stole his magic, but whether this would wear off …

Yes. Yes, he’d mentioned something. Something that came to her only now, like a whisper on the wind.

Luz Noceda leapt to her feet and whirled around in search of him, her eyes wide. “What the heck do you mean a couple centuries or so?! How am I supposed to explain this to—you! You get back here!”

She heard the rumble of his merry chuckling through the earth beneath her feet—claws?—fading slowly into naught but memory.

The freaking jerk.

***

Half-titan (demi-titan???) or not, Luz learned rather quickly that nothing would spare her from her mother’s iron embrace. Well, at least her own newfound strength kept her ribs from cracking.

That’d been helpful when she found herself in a Camila-sized bearhug the likes of which had Eda and King howling with mirth, even as the rest of her friends watched and awaited their turn.

Though, it did serve as a great reminder to take care when she hugged her mother back so not to hurt her. Luz had, after all, just ripped Belos out of the heart of the titan. Once certain she wouldn’t break her mother in half, Luz patted her back and murmured, “I’m fine, mamá. He’s gone.”

Camila Noceda hugged her daughter tighter still, as though she were afraid Luz would disappear again if she let her grip slacken. “Oh, mija,” she said softly, her voice thick with emotion. She cradled her daughter’s head and exhaled a shuddering gasp. “Mija, you’re safe! Santo díos!”

The woman drew back to hold Luz at arms length, taking her in for a moment. Her smile fading slightly, Camila reached up to brush her fingers against one of Luz’s newly-formed horns. “Luz, what happened to you? Where did these … horns? Where did these horns come from?”

The hitch in her tone drew a wince. Luz knew that one well—it was her mother’s onset of panic tone. And considering everything they’d all just been through, who could really blame her?

Luz gave a sheepish smile and removed her now black hat. To think, a good witch dressed in black with twinkling stars in her cloak—what would Azura think? “The, uh, titan used the last of his life to help,” she said, glancing down at her claws. “And … this is a side effect of being given titan-strength magic, I guess.”

Camila made as though to say something, but hesitated. She was tired, her clothes covered in dirt from all the running and fighting since they’d come to the Demon Realm, and now, seeing Luz, it all seemed to hit her at once.

The change, heaviest of all.

Here came the fury. How dare the titan do this to her little girl—

Luz let out a yelp as she was pulled into another hug, tighter than ever before.

“Calla, mija,” she chided Luz. “You mean to tell me you can take on that monster in this form, but you can’t take one of your mamá’s hugs?”

Mija. No protests, just mija.

Tears welled in Luz’s eyes. She wrapped her mother in a hug and lifted her off her feet with a jubilant cry, spinning her about in defiance of her playful protests. She set her mother down on the ruins of Belos’ throne room and beamed at her.

“Te amo, mamá,” Luz whispered softly.

Camila rose on tiptoe to kiss her on the cheek. “Te amo, dulce mija.” Then, she cast a conspiratorial look over her shoulder, and gave Luz a wink. “Creo que hay alguien más esperando impacientemente a su novia.”

Amity …

Madre de Díos, how would she take this? Was she even into tall fuzzy girls with horns, claws, and enough magical power to blow a hole in a giant titan-Belos?

Her mother, ever the perceptive one, read her worry right off her face and fixed her with a sly grin. “Go on,” she coaxed. “Don’t tell me you can beat an evil witch hunter but can’t face your own novia.”

Luz felt her cheeks burn, alight with such a fluster that her mother began to giggle. “Thanks, mamá,” she ground through gritted teeth—and fangs! Not that it did anything to make her mother stop. “Real helpful.”

She ducked out of her mother’s embrace before any further teasing could be sent her way, and set her hat back upon her head. Luz turned to her friends, offering a warm, tired smile as she took in their states—all of them bruised, dirtied, and battered, but safe. And Amity …

Amity … stared.

Like, really stared.

Those eyes of molten gold were wide, her mouth open just slightly. Still clad in her Hecate costume, Luz noticed her girlfriend’s hands twiddling and fiddling, both with fingers and the scuffed white sleeves that went with her outfit. Across her cheeks and nose, and the very tips of those pointed, elf-like ears, rosy hue colored her skin.

Which tracked, really. Amity was adorable like that, bouncing between utterly flirty to a lesbian disaster—oh, how she sputtered when Luz first introduced her to that one—as soon as she got a kiss on the cheek.

And, right about now, she looked like she was well on the path to one that would turn her entire face a rather beautiful shade of pink. Oh, why couldn’t Willow pull out her camera now? This was the perfect moment.

Although, Luz wasn’t quite sure why. Was it the change to her outfit? She’d have to find a mirror, but, personally, this costume did look kinda good in this … midnight? Yes. Midnight Azura, that’s what she was calling this one!

At that moment, Stringbean chose the chance to purr and float around her neck and shoulders, happily brushing against Luz’s cheek before taking her palisman and staff form. In the back of her mind, Luz translated this to “I’m tired, carry me!”

Luz caught her staff, smiling at her now resting palisman. It was odd, but kind of cute. Like a pet that was also a part of herself. Two in one.

Much like herself, actually.

Satisfied, Luz returned her gaze to her girlfriend and noticed, to her delight, that blush brightened. Something was up and she was here for it!

And as she made to greet Amity, she saw it—how her girlfriend stood a little straighter, how she sucked in a sharp breath and tried to suck in her lips to hide that smile.

It clicked.

Luz bit the inside of her cheek. This was too perfect. Usually, Amity was the one who acted super flirty and gave sly looks, and loved to tease Luz until she covered her face and babbled in rapid-fire Spanish. In private, of course. Luz, on the other hand, was more cuddly and wanting to wrap her affections around Amity like a big blanket.

This was her chance to turn the tables, and there was no shot she was going to screw this up!

She drew in a deep, deep breath and stepped closer, stopping inside arm’s length of Amity and setting the end of her staff down just past her girlfriend’s left leg. With a sly smirk and a half-lidded look, Luz purred, “Hola, batata.”

Oh, and the results were just to die for!

Amity’s blush intensified. Pink bloomed into a bright red, her efforts to hide that wonderful, flustered smile faltered as she tried to stammer out a reply, her voice hitched an octave higher than normal.

So Luz decided to lean down, bringing herself nose to nose with her girlfriend. “Qué pasa, hermosa? Something the matter?” she trilled.

Amity let out a squeak and looked down, rubbing at her forearm. Trying to hide her face without actually hiding her face.

Adorable.

That just wouldn’t do though! Luz didn’t just beat the tar out of Belos to let her girlfriend try to hide how blushy and squirmy she got when flustered—quite the opposite!

She had nothing but time to enjoy dating Amity, now. Time, a supportive mother, and, evidently, the titan had decided she should get a full-form makeover that turned her sweet potato into the most disastrous of lesbian disasters.

Barely withholding a delighted squeal, Luz bit her lip and cupped Amity’s chin with her clawed fingers, gently tilting her head up so their eyes met once again. Luz gave a hum and pushed her hat back with her staff, angling her head just slightly …

Amity’s knees bowed inward. She buried her face in Luz’s chest to hide herself and gripped the laughing titan-hybrid by the shoulders. Then, she beat a fist against Luz’s arm.

“—freaking tease!” Amity growled. “This is so not fair!”

Luz gave in and swept her girlfriend into a hug, spinning her around in the air. She set Amity back on her feet and beamed down at her, leaning in to steal a kiss. “It doesn’t bother you?” she asked, softly.

Amity shot her a quizzical look. “Wha—why in titan’s name would it—Luz, you’re tall! And fuzzy! And … and …” Her cheeks burned brighter.

“Aaaaaand?” Luz teased, unable to help herself.

Amity would’ve surely hidden her face if Luz didn’t hold her tight. So, instead, she just puffed her cheeks and whispered, “Your eyes are, um, gorgeous.”

And it was this which made the switch flip, and Luz found herself struggling not to blush and lower the brim of her witch’s hat to hide herself while butterflies fluttered in her chest.

So, instead, she just swept a laughing, sputtering Amity up again and peppered her cheeks with kisses. That’d teach her to turn a flirty-Luz moment into a blushy-Luz moment.

The little witch.

Chapter Text

Normal was … well, subjective, on the Boiling Isles. Especially given how Amity found herself dating a card-carrying member of the Weirdos Club.

“Weirdos stick together!” Luz would proclaim, with all the pride of a member of the former Emperor’s Coven. Then, she’d wink and lean in close, and grin that damn grin. “And you’re dating a weirdo, hermosa. So you’re a weirdo by proxy!”

That earned her a light swat. And then a kiss. The brat.

But truth be told, Amity loved being a weirdo with Luz and all their friends. Even Hooty—whatever the heck he was. When it came to Hooty, weird was a word that just barely scraped the surface of applicability.

Anyway.

As Amity walked the path through Bonesborough, dressed in her one of her casual black tops and burgundy pants, with an old pair of boots in lieu of her crescent moon shoes, she smiled as she thought about the first hours after they’d liberated the witches and demons of the Boiling Isles from the Archives. That brief time when, as everyone learned of the events that transpired and who had managed to befriend the Collector and, finally, defeat Belos that quite a number of them started thinking of Luz as some sort of savior figure.

This, fortunately, lasted right up until King decided to teach the Collector how to cause trouble without rearranging the cosmos—namely, by dashing up, snatching away Luz’s black witch’s hat and bolted before she could snatch it back.

Luz had turned to give chase too quickly, her claws dug into the ground and she face planted in front of the entire town.

“King!” she’d yelled, her grin belying any effort to sound angry. “Give me my hat back, you brat!”

But King had already hopped onto a star with the Collector, waving it back at her in open mockery. “It is my sacred duty as little brother to drive my big sister insane! Suffer, Luz the Former Human!” he’d cried as the troublemaking friends made their escape, with Luz giving chase on her staff.

Amity could only smile to herself and give her head a shake. Her girlfriend had power beyond most witches’ wildest dreams, but she was still that same old Luz.

Just more beautiful than before, somehow.

Up ahead, she could see the Owl House sitting alone on its solitary cliff’s edge. The windows had been replaced, the furniture returned and put in its place, and Hooty the House Demon had been returned to his rightful place.

Much to everyone’s … unease. Although the house would never truly be the same without him.

Titan help her for admitting that.

Today, they would be helping to clean all the graffiti off the walls. Apparently, the coven jerks had used magic-resistant paint, purely out of spite. The last time Luz had tried to remove it, her spell had rebounded and blasted her a good twenty feet down the path. So, they would just have to do this the old-fashioned way, as Eda put it.

Thus, the old boots rather than the new shoes her father had bought her.

“Hoot-hoot, Amity! Here to join in the fuuuuuuun?” Hooty greeted, emerging from his spot on the door to grin at her.

She affixed an uneasy smile to her face. Nothing would ever help her get acclimated to Hooty’s … Hooty-ness. “S-suuuuuure,” Amity replied with a hesitant thumbs up. “Mind if I come in?”

“One second!” Hooty looped his head in through the window, then called out in a rather shrill, singsong manner, “Hey Luuuuuuuuz! Your giiiiiiiirlfriend is heeeeeeeeeeeere!”

Amity heard a yelp and a bout of Eda’s raucous laughter, her smile turned warm and genuine as she heard the thumping of feet upon the wooden floor before the door was thrown open, and a blushing, sheepishly grinning titan-hybrid girlfriend greeted her. “H-Hey, Amity!”

The rosy blush which colored her girlfriend’s cheeks made Amity’s heart soar. For sure, Amity found herself biting her lip to hide a wobbly smile. She would forever miss Luz being shorter and, therefore, easier to pull in close and cuddle and whisper witch poetry in her ear until she couldn’t manage a sentence in English, but this new tall Luz paradigm had its own benefits, too. Namely, that she got swept up in hugs and peppered with kisses until she could only squirm. And it meant she got head pats.

Honestly, underrated.

That wasn’t to say Amity didn’t still play her Luz like a harp whenever she wanted to see those fuzzy cheeks aflame. It just meant instead of pulling Luz into a cuddle, she would simply claim her titan-hybrid girlfriend’s lap and lean in ‘till their noses touched, and count down from three.

Or, in this case, she could just raise on tiptoe to steal a kiss and whisper, “Hola, batata.”

Three … two … one, and there was that blush! Beautiful.

“Amityyyyyyyy!” Luz whined. “That’s not fair!”

Amity simply arched a brow as if to ask why she’d ever be so silly as to think any witch on the Boiling Isles would play fair, let alone her girlfriend when she wanted to see Luz squirm.

Especially so.

“Fair?” Amity teased, pecking Luz’s pouting lips. It should be illegal to be this cute. “Is this Eda Clawthorne’s student, savior of the Boiling Isles, complaining about her girlfriend teasing? Surely not!”

Luz’s blush deepened. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around Amity’s neck in a tight embrace, muttering in Spanish. But Amity could take a guess.

She’d pay for all this later. But she’d cross that bridge when she came to it.

“Hey, kiddo! Quit showing off your color changing and let your dang girlfriend in! We got work to do—and by we, I mean you kids, while I show your mom the joys of apple blood!”

Amity shared an uncertain look with Luz, their eyes wide as they considered the implications of Camila Noceda, all around great mom and cinnamon roll, drunk on apple blood home brewed by Eda freaking Clawthorne.

Ohhhhhhh, dear.

Amity gave Luz a quick hug and the pair hurried to the kitchen, where Eda stood, grinning over a rather large jug of apple blood, readying to pour a glass for a rather unsettled Camila.

Luz sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of the jug. “Eda,” she began, a pleading note to her voice. “Please don’t tell me you’re conning my mom into drinking your strongest batch.”

The infamous Owl Lady froze, her eyes flitted from Luz to Camila. Then, slowly, a grin spread across her face. “Okay!” she replied.

There was a beat of silence.

Luz narrowed her eyes. “Eda, you’re conning my mom into drinking your strongest batch, aren’t you?”

“Kiddo, you just told me not to tell you. Gonna need you to make up your mind.”

“Eda!”

“That’s my name—use it sparingly or I’ll steal your lunch money!” Eda made an odd gesture with the hook that had been affixed to her right wrist, and winked. “Seriously, though, kiddo. It’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m gonna have her matching me glass for glass, here, and we’re not going out into Bonesborough either.”

That was probably smart. Thinking back to their time in the human realm, Amity couldn’t recall ever having seen Camila drink anything with alcohol beyond an occasional glass of wine on a Friday night. And even then, only ever one.

Eda, on the other hand, could throw back apple blood like it was water.

But then, Eda let out a bark of laughter and waved them off. “Oh, let your mother live a little, kiddo! Heck, she was dealing with you ankle-biters for months in the human realm, plus helping us deal with talk, dark, and gruesome. Besides—” here, she set the jug down and fixed the pair with one of her crooked smiles ”—I was only half-kidding about you two and King doing all the work. Raine, your mom, and I did the west wall, and the two of us are gonna be cooking for the gang tonight. So, you get the south and east walls today, and we’ll deal with the northward wall whenever I can be bothered to care again.”

Amity’s ears perked. That was right! They’d talked about wanting to bring everyone in the friends group together for dinner, a rather charmingly mundane suggestion courtesy of Eda herself.

Well, that made more sense. Still … Camila and apple blood.

As if sensing her unease, Camila offered a shaky smile. “No te preocupes, mija. It’ll just be one glass.” She glanced at the jug as one might eye a growling dog. “Besides, your friends drank this, um, apple blood before, right? How bad can it be?”

Yes, they did drink apple blood. But Eda’s personal brew was what would be called hard apple blood on the Isles. And Eda liked hers with a good kick.

Or so Edric and Emira said after their hangovers wore off.

But if Camila was trying to go local—in her own, very careful way—who was Amity to stand in the way of her doing something? Well, something that wouldn’t actually hurt her, that is. Watching her nearly step outside and straight into acid rain had been so alarming she’d actually tackled her girlfriend’s mother the other day.

Titan, that had been an entire thing.

Amity took Luz by her fuzzy arm before the titan-hybrid could protest further. “C’mon, Luz,” she coaxed, tugging her along. “Let’s find King and Hunter—”

“He ran off with Willow to help with her dads’ garden,” Eda supplied. “King should be upstairs, though.”

The grin on the Owl Lady’s face confirmed Amity’s suspicion. Hunter, that traitor, had found an excuse to slip out of cleaning to go play gardener with his girlfriend.

Why, it was so infuriatingly sly of him, Amity could only be annoyed she hadn’t come up with an excuse like that herself. Damn.

“King, then,” she said, adapting in the face of this new information. “Let’s go make sure his royal titan-ness doesn’t think he’s gonna skip out on all this fun and leave his big sister and her girlfriend to deal with the mess, eh?”

Luz’s ears twitched. She shot Amity a grin, then dashed up the stairs. “King!” she called, laughter tinging her voice. “Get your fuzzy butt out here! Time to clean the walls!”

The sound of a distant “WEH” and tiny paws thumping against the wooden floor made Amity give her head a shake, a fond smile playing upon her lips.

She loved her weirdo, formerly human witch girlfriend, and all the other assorted weirdos that brought into her life.

And, for that reason, she dashed outside and around the house just in time to see King climbing out a window and move into perfect position so that when he blew a raspberry at Luz and dropped with a cry of “YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!” he fell right into Amity’s waiting arms.

All the easier to tickle his vulnerable belly and render him incapacitated as he succumbed to peals of laughter.

***

“I’m impressed he’s stayed so angry at me for five hours,” Amity mused, eying where the diminutive titan was wringing out his rag over a bucket. “How do you get him to forgive you so quickly, Luz?”

Luz hid a grin behind her claws. “Oh, I dunno, Amity,” she said, loud enough that King could hear. “Have you tried bribing him?”

“Well, I’ve offered him a home baked fairy pie, but I guess he’s not a fan of those.”

King’s tail twitched, but he didn’t turn.

The witches shared a look and a smile.

“Welllllllll, maybe he’s not in a fairy pie sort of mood. Have you thought about baking cookies?”

“I have, and I have my grandmother’s ginger snappers recipe that’s just to die for—but does King really strike you as a cookies kinda titan?”

Luz brought a claw to her lip and hummed as though in deep thought. “Well, when I upset him, I usually see if a few sugar crash cookies will do the trick. Although, he did get pretty excited for mamá’s peanut butter cookie recipe.”

Fuzzy ears twitched, but King didn’t turn. He was being a rather stubborn little guy.

Amity set her mouth in a thin line and rested her chin in her hand. “I suppose I could try that.” She fought to keep a sly smirk off her face as she caught King sneaking a look. “Considering we helped her bake that batch he liked so much.”

He let out a squeak and turned away, so much like the child who hoped not to be caught.

Too late.

She had him hooked, and Amity fully intended to reel him in.

So, with a sigh, she sidled up to Luz and leaned against her, silently coaxing her girlfriend to embrace her. Both for the effect and, simply, because she wanted a hug. “Oh, but he’s not talking to me, batata. He’s not even looking at me.” Amity could see Luz biting the inside of her cheek, and had to fight a laugh herself. “I suppose I could just make some for you and me, then maybe leave out the extras … hopefully Hooty doesn’t steal them—”

King latched onto her leg before she couldn’t even finish the thought. He looked up at her through those big yellow and red eyes of his, and fixed her with a stern glare. “Peanut butter cookies,” the little guy demanded. “And you don’t tickle me ever again.”

Amity bit her lip, failing to hide a smile.

Still, she did better than Luz. She just outright laughed.

“No tickling for a month,” Amity countered.

“Six months!”

“Two.”

“Four!”

“Three, and I’ll join Luz in reading stories during that time. When I’m visiting.” An important qualifier, in her opinion.

King narrowed his eyes. “Are you gonna do voices?”

Amity scoffed. “Well, if you’re gonna insult me and suggest I wouldn’t do voices, then story time is off the table.”

“Who’s insulting? Not me!” he cried, hugging tighter. “Luz, tell her!”

Luz managed to get her laughter under control long enough for Amity to notice the glint in her eyes. The glint of mischief and betrayal.

It was all the warning she had before Amity found herself caught in a double bearhug by her girlfriend and said girlfriend’s titan little brother. She let out a yelp and tried to wriggle free, laughing as she tried to poke and prod at Luz’s vulnerably ticklish sides. “You traitor!”

“Do the voices, batataaaaa!” Luz teased, planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek. “Poor little guy hasn’t heard you do them yet, I’ve had to tell him how you had all the kids at the library hanging on your every word!”

King chose that moment to fix her with the most piteous, soulful look. The kind the very kids in the library would give her when she told them that, sadly, story time was over as they tried to cajole one more out of her.

And he was pretty dang good at it.

“Okay, now you’re being—” Amity managed to avert her gaze, only to be caught by Luz, fixing her with a matching look, complete with a pouty lip.

Her heart panned.

“C-Come on, Luz. That’s cheating.”

“No, this is cheating.” Luz released Amity from her embrace so she could kneel down by King, and join her adopted little brother in giving her those big, shiny eyes together.

Okay. Yeah, this really was cheating.

Amity felt her cheeks heat. “Fiiiiine!” she cried, covering her face so she wouldn’t have to see them—and, more importantly, so they wouldn’t see the grin tugging at her lips. “You win!”

“Yes!” King leapt into Luz’s arms and both posed, victoriously. “Vengeance is mine!” He paused a beat, then looked at Amity and asked, “I still get cookies, though, right?”

“Yes, you get cookies.”

“Aaaaaand three months of no tickles?”

“Yes, as agreed upon.”

Naturally, Luz had to take the chance to lean in and grin. “Aaaaaaand?”

Amity wrinkled her nose. “What do you mean ‘aaaand?’ That’s all I agreed to, you goober.”

“Oh, I know. I just wanted to see if I could wheedle something out of it.” She winked and set King down on the ground. “But I’m sure I can come up with an idea or three.”

She’d pay for that. Oh, would Luz ever pay for that.

Amity would find a way. But for now, she’d allow Luz to think she’d scored a win in their continuous game of teasing and flirting.

It’d make her comeuppance all the more sweet.

The trio finished wringing out their rags, then dumped the water out behind the house. King, seemingly eager to endear himself and ensure Amity made him as many cookies as possible, offered to take the bucket and rags to the storage room.

“He’s got the power of a god, but still acts like a bratty little brother,” Luz muttered, smiling fondly.

Amity hip bumped her. “Could say the same about you, y’know. What’s that line from that one movie? ‘Phenomenal cosmic power …’” She reached up to smush her girlfriend’s cheeks and crooned, “All in a squishy cinnamon roll.”

She grinned at the heat she felt rising in Luz’s cheeks. Oh, she’d got her good.

“Um, well—hang on!” Luz’s ears twitched. A nervous smile spread across her cheeks. “I-I think I hear mamá calling! So, um, we’d better, uh—table setup!”

She turned and dashed off, leaving Amity to shake her head and laugh quietly to herself. Titan powers or not, Luz was still Luz and that would never change. Including her utter lack of any talent for lying.

Still, it probably was about that time anyway. Which meant that their friends would start trickling in, soon enough and it was time for her to help out moving that long table Eda showed.

A couple Abominations ought to do the trick. Plus, it gave her the chance to keep teasing Luz, only now with Camila and Eda’s input.

A sly smirk played upon her lips. Yeah, she had an idea or two for that.

“Oh, sorry, Mrs. Noceda!” she called, drawing their attention. “I didn’t quite hear you calling for us! Good thing Luz has those titan ears now.”

Camila and Eda shared confused looks. “Um …” Camila began.

“Dunno what you’re talking about, Boots.” Eda missed the way Luz waved her arms, trying to signal her. “No one called. Good timing, though. Whip up a couple of those Abominations, would ya?”

As she spoke, Camila noticed both the look in Amity’s eye and the way her daughter covered her face. The realization kicked in, as evident by the smile she shot her daughter. “Escondiéndote detrás de mamá, mija?” she teased.

Luz shot her a scandalized glare. “Mamá!”

Chapter Text

Dinner with the full compliment of friends and family—Odalia, mercifully, excluded—had never actually gotten together. Which was rather weird.

While her old “clique”—Camila’s term, not hers—sure got together and their parents all knew one another as wealthy titans of business and industry and their assorted heiresses, those always seemed more like they were rehearsed and put on with the express purpose of judging one another.

But this? Amity could really get used to.

There were Willow and Hunter, sitting together, occasionally sneaking glances and interlacing their fingers while they spoke with the Park dads. Hunter seemed a little nervous, but he was getting better at talking, based on what Willow had shared over Penstagram DMs the other day. Gus had proven to be quite a handful for his father with his penchant for distracting with an illusion so he could steal an extra slice of eye scream cake, though both seemed to be in good spirits about it. And why not? It was a party, after all.

Out of the corner of her eye, Amity noticed her older brother and sister, struggling not to let their “we’re totally listening” faces crack as Darius lectured them for some trick they’d pulled in her dad’s lab. Which was it again? Oh right, the exploding Abomination goop.

Emira snorted. Darius rounded on her, his hair writhing and green Abomination eyes opening to fix her with a heated glare.

Bad move. And dad didn’t look too interested in saving her. He seemed oddly at ease with having someone put in the effort for him.

“Edalyn,” Lilith’s scolding tone drew her attention to her left, where the Clawthorne sisters and Camila sat together. “Don’t you think it’s about time to have dear Camila slow down?”

Specifically, to the now empty glass sitting near Camila’s hand, and how eager Eda was to fill it with—oh dear Titan, was she still giving her homemade apple blood?

Sure enough, Eda had seen fit to open another jug and pour Camila a tall glass of her homemade brew. Eda’s eyes danced with delight as the human woman giggled, her brown cheeks flushed a deep red, as she took up the glass and began drinking again.

Amity opted to let Raine help Lilith in managing that little situation, lest she draw too much attention and spoil Luz’s mood fretting about her mother.

It meant she could sit here and just enjoy this moment, as she had since Belos died. Titan, just the thought of that nutjob still made her shiver.

And then sparked raw fury in her chest as she looked down at Luz’s clawed hand. Specifically, the thought of how she had to die to get them.

It had been … difficult to come to terms with that. It still was, even with Luz here, sitting next to her, holding hands. And having heard how King and Eda lost control …

How would Amity have reacted?

This time, it was Luz who pulled her out of her thoughts with a well-timed kiss on the cheek. “Snail for your thoughts, hermosa?” she asked in a whisper.

Amity angled her head to lean against Luz. “Just thinking,” she muttered back. “Happy we’re all here after everything. Happy you’re here, with me, after Belos …”

She trailed off, unable to finish the statement, instead squeezing Luz’s hand tighter.

Luz pressed another kiss into her cheek, only barely missing the corner of her mouth. “I’m glad to be here with you, Amity.” She brushed her thumb claw across Amity’s knuckle, drawing a shiver and a flutter of butterflies in her breast. “And I’m not leaving.” Her smile was like the glow of the summer sun in the human realm, unspoken were the words Amity could read in her girlfriend’s eyes.

Not this time.

Amity released a breath she’d been holding and leaned in to share a quick kiss to thank her. The reassurance helped set that lingering anxiety more at ease.

She was lucky to have the chance to be here and enjoy this. Dinner surrounded by her friends, family, and girlfriend. Each and every one of them, a weirdo, herself included.

And damned if she didn’t love the biggest weirdo of them all to bits.

Y’know. If they didn’t count Hooty.

***

The only reason Amity wasn’t the one palming her face and aiming a glower at the scene before her was because that role was currently taken by one Luz Noceda.

“Eda,” Luz groaned. “I thought you said you weren’t going to make my mom go glass for glass with you!”

“I didn’t!” Eda protested, her grin unabated, even as she gently took the human woman’s arm to help steady her as she rose from where they’d let her rest while cleanup had been underway. “But I gotta say, Cam, you sure did get into the swing of things after that first one! Told ya this stuff was good, didn’t I?”

Camila snorted a laugh. Which, honestly, was about the most coherent response she’d managed over the course of the past hour, so Amity counted that as a mild improvement. Then, she made as though to reply to her daughter and fell into a fit of giggles.

Eda had to brace to accommodate her sudden wobbling.

Awesome.

Unfortunately for Eda, Raine had gone home to rest up. They’d mentioned something about a meeting with Principal Bump to discuss the future of Hexside and how, perhaps, they could offer more varied paths as the witches looked to get out from under Belos’s shadow and return to their roots, or continue on the coven paths under a different form rather than one so restrictive as it had been. Which left Eda and Camila to be the proverbial adults in the room.

And now they were down to Eda, meaning there were no adults within a three mile radius.

In the back of her mind, an idea took root. If things play out the right way … Amity stole a glance at her fretting girlfriend, a sly smile tugging at her lips. Try to wheedle extra concessions out of me will you? This can work out in my favor.

But first, they had to address Camila’s state. Oh, titan, was she hugging Eda now?

Yes. Yes, she was.

Eda actually looked surprised. “Hahaaaa—I get it. Your mom’s the ‘I love you’ kinda drunk, Luz.” She tried to nudge Camila off—gently, of course—but found her grip surprisingly tight. “C’mon, Cam. Loosen up the old grip so I can help you find a place to conk out for the night. You don’t want to do that on the floor, trust me.”

Camila beamed up at Eda and turned to stand before her, sliding her hand up to cup the Owl Lady’s cheek. “Edaaaaa, tienes unos ojos preciosos!” she crooned, her face flushed a deep pink.

Amity’s jaw dropped. Her Spanish might well sit at barely a kindergarten level, but she could make a guess based on tone alone and come to the conclusion that she’d just watched Camila Noceda flirt with one of the most notorious wild girls on the Boiling Isles.

And if there was any need to confirm, Luz’s reaction did that job quite nicely.

“Mamá!” Luz cried.

Eda, for her part, blinked owlishly. Her gaze flitted between Camila and the girls. For once, she actually looked entirely off her game. “Uhhh …” She affixed a crooked, almost pained smile upon her face. “Okay, yeah, I definitely should’ve cut you off before that last one. Or maybe the one before that …”

A thoroughly drunken Camila didn’t much care for when she should’ve stopped drinking, though. She, apparently, found herself so enamored with Eda that she drew closer, murmuring in Spanish in such a low purr that it made Eda’s cheeks heat. Which was a feat in and of itself, given she understood less than any of the kids.

“Yeahhhhh, okay.” Eda put her hook hand to Camila’s lips to head off what promised to be a clumsy attempt at a kiss upon her cheek. “I’m gonna have to be the responsible one, and I hate that it’s literally my fault.”

“You think?!” Luz demanded. “You got my mom drunk!”

“Once again, kiddo! Let her live a little! Besides—” She ducked another attempted kiss, her eyes wide. “Hold that thought, Luz. Let’s get you to bed, Cam. You need to sleep this off and this sure as heck ain’t happening unless Rainstorm is vibing with poly—and we get confirmation this isn’t the alcohol talking.”

As she spoke, Eda steered Camila toward the stairs, coaxing her along with rather surprising patience, given some of her past antics. When they reached the top, she seemed to sway, suddenly, to account for Camila staggering, but kept them both upright in an impressive display of balance.

“You two, behave,” Eda called in sotto voice. “Don’t do anything Raine wouldn’t do. Boots, mind your time. Still don’t want anyone going through town too late at night. Yes, that is an implied invitation to stay rather than run home, so don’t be a dummy or—ack! Easy on the grip, Cam!”

Amity gave a slight smile and bow of her head in assent. Beneath her occasionally prickly nature and alleged disdain for anything “sweet”, Eda herself was a sweetheart.

Just ask Raine. Or King.

Or Luz.

The titan-hybrid palmed her face, dragging her clawed fingers down her cheeks as she let out the exact sort of groan one might expect any child to give upon realizing a parent still possessed anything resembling inclinations of a romantic or sexual persuasion. Or worse, both.

Had Amity taken more after the twins, she might’ve taken the chance to tease Luz into oblivion for it. But she liked to think she had some standards. Which is why, instead, Amity led her piteously groaning girlfriend over to Eda’s couch and opted to help take her mind off this terrible reality and redirect it toward areas she felt more productive.

Namely, all the ways Amity could make her squeak like one of her beloved otters.

Amity slid into Luz’s lap with a languid grin and tilted her head up with a gentle hand so their eyes met, and fixed her with a heated look. “Since we have the living room to ourselves,” she purred. “Let’s have a little talk about you selling me out earlier, batata.”

That she could turn Luz’s adorable, fuzzy cheeks a deep red with a look and a few words was just everything. And the fact that she could make her shiver with a kiss?

All the reason she needed to blow straight past a ‘reasonable hour’ to go home in favor of sharing sweet kisses with her girlfriend, her fingers running through the dark curls of her tresses as Luz wrapped her arms around Amity’s neck.

A flit of her tongue across Luz’s lips drew a keening moan and arching of her back as she parted them, and Amity turned her head to deepen the kiss.

“Get the message, Noceda?” Amity whispered as they parted.

Gasping for breath, Luz returned her question with a broad grin. “I’ve never been the best student,” she replied. “Might need a bit more to help it sink—eep!”

Let it never be said Amity wasn’t the sort of tutor who wouldn’t ensure her lessons sank in.

Chapter Text

A shifting beneath her nudged Amity out of her slumber, she let out a slight groan, and nestled into the warmth of her girlfriend’s chest.

She and Luz had enjoyed what the former human referred to as “díos, the first and best makeout session of my life!” and ended up settling in to cuddle in her makeshift bedroom afterward. Amity recalled Eda poking her head in to check on them, giving a thumbs up and a playful-but-also-serious reminder to continue not doing anything Raine wouldn’t do, adding that “oh, that sloppy makeout downstairs is fair game, by the by.”

Her cheeks burned at the memory of the Owl Lady’s laughter as she ducked behind the door just in time to avoid a double-pillow barrage courtesy of the blushing girlfriends.

Damn smug Owl Lady and her damn smartass comments.

Amity pushed that to the side so she could enjoy this moment to the fullest. This sort of thing, a seemingly mundane moment where she could just wake up in her sleeping girlfriend’s arms and listen in content to the steady beating of her heart—something she couldn’t imagine having if she were still under her mother’s thumb

Good riddance to her. Wherever she’d gone, Amity figured that if she ever saw Odalia again, it’d be far too soon.

Knowing her, Odalia would’ve started in on how the family would be affected by her dating a titan-hybrid—then done an immediate one-eighty upon realizing that might actually help their reputation in the wake of their Abomitons being used for Belos’s scheme, and tried to act as though she were a hundredth of the mother Camila actually was.

Simmer down, Amity, she chided herself. Just enjoy this. Eventually, you’re gonna have to go back to school, and then you’ll have to find a way to work your schedule around the need for cuddles.

It was this which jarred Amity’s thoughts out of half-asleep cuddles mode and into considering while cuddles mode. The cuddles helped with the consideration part of the equation.

Her golden eyes snapped open, Amity furrowed her brows. They’d never really talked about the future, beyond a general want to share one another’s together. And the past several days had been a whirlwind of making repairs, cleaning up, and, generally, everyone on the Isles just being glad they could hold their friends and loved ones again. But, eventually, they’d have to go back to school.

Whatever was left of it. To say nothing of what would happen to the entire coven system and education program now that all the machinations Belos had put the witches through had been made known.

Come to think of it …

Now, Amity frowned as she tilted her head up to regard Luz. She bit her lip. They’d never really spoken about her plans after defeating Belos. It was always just ahead, off in the distant future. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it.

Well, they’d come to it. Even if Amity felt as though they’d all just …

Avoided actually crossing the bridge.

Maybe it just might be best if they did so sooner rather than later. So long as soon came after Amity had gotten her fill of cuddles.

Which would surely be any moment now.

Any moment.

…

Amity blew a sharp breath through her nose and rolled onto her back so she could aim a flat glare at the ceiling. “Titan, curse me,” she muttered under her breath.

Why did she have to be the one to have this come to mind?

And why did her need for cuddles have to equal her want to make sure everything was planned and addressed so it wouldn’t blow up in their faces for once?

The same reason she’d tried to get Principal Bump to let her set up and organize an actual Student Council at Hexside, of course. Amity liked things to be organized, have a certain order, and there were still little bits of disorder and randomness that made her uneasy—though, time spent dating and befriending Luz had certainly helped with some of it!

But those bits that nagged at her? Amity just couldn’t abide.

Carefully, she slipped out of Luz’s makeshift bed of cushions and blankets so she might make her way to downstairs. The problem with thinking while enjoying cuddles was that Luz had a tendency to insist upon kisses.

Kissing Luz tended to be incredibly distracting.

Enough so that the thought to sneak back to bed was happily supplied by a treacherous corner—really, about a third—of her mind when she’d only made it halfway down the stairs. A notion Amity put on hold with a shake of her head.

She padded to the kitchen, where she was quite surprised to find Camila seated at the table, her head in her hands and a mug of warm coffee nearby. Human coffee, Amity noted. And if that wasn’t shocking enough after seeing her state last night, Eda was there too, leaning against the counter with a mug of apple blood in her hand and a smile as wicked as the gleam in her eyes.

“Morning, Boots!” Eda greeted. “Where’s the other lovebird?”

“Still sleeping,” came her answer, a fond smile playing upon her lips. Amity glanced toward the cabinet. “What kind of teas do you have, Eda?”

“Uhhhh … I think just Cam’s stuff. Cam?”

Camila nodded into her arms, but didn’t speak.

Okay, now that was definitely odd. Amity shot Eda a questioning look, gesturing toward the dejected woman.

“Thanks, Cam.” Eda grinned again and put a finger to her lips, mouthing “Embarrassed about last night. I told her.”

Oh.

Oh, poor Camila. Everything made sense now.

Amity sucked in her lips to hide a smile, nodding her thanks as she set about making herself a cup of tea, the same way she had in the human realm. It was relaxing, oddly enough. Those months they’d spent in the Nocedas’ house were some of the best Amity could remember, despite the circumstances that led to them.

Time spent with her best friends and girlfriend she’d always treasure.

And it was this calmness which helped Amity think through the little conundrum currently plaguing her thoughts. Already, she could just envision Boscha trying to sidle up to Luz in hopes that she might form a new “in” crowd so they could run the school. Not to mention, Principal Bump, although he’d probably be more interested in figuring out how to teach glyph-based magic with her guidance.

Actually, that one wasn’t a half-bad idea. Luz could make for a heck of a teacher someday.

Maybe I could sweet talk her into some one-on-one lessons …

Eda flicked water at her nose. “Get your mind outta whatever gutter it’s in, Boots,” she teased.

Amity let out an indignant squawk. “Ex-excuse you! My mind is in no gutter!”

“Uh-huh. That’s why you were blushing so red I could make breakfast on your face, I’m sure.” Eda’s maddeningly smug grin only grew in the face of Amity’s indignant glare. She leaned against the counter, idly swirling her mug of apple blood. “So, what’s got you so lost in thought? Aside from Luz’s eyes, I mean.”

Sucking in a sharp breath through her nose, Amity summoned the will to let that one go. Protesting would only encourage her. And the fact that she wasn’t entirely wrong certainly didn’t help matters either.

So, ceding the point to the Owl Lady, Amity drummed her fingers on the counter top while she waited for the water to finish boiling. “I started thinking about, y’know … school. What are we going to do about that now that Belos is gone and wild magic isn’t even … well, bad.” She glanced at Camila, unsure how to broach the next point. “And what Luz would do now that she’s …”

Camila raised her head, blinking owlishly before squinting slightly. “Lo siento, Amity. The sunlight is just bothering me this morning.”

“Apple blood hangovers,” Eda agreed with a knowing nod. “Tons of fun.”

Muttering something that Amity didn’t quite catch, Camila sighed. “Now that Luz is what? Half-titan? A witch?” she asked, huffing a laugh.

Amity gave a hesitant nod.

Camila seemed to sag in her chair. Her gaze fell to the mug of coffee, which she began to turn counter clockwise with gentle nudges of her thumb and forefinger. She made as though to speak, but hesitated and shook her head.

This had clearly been weighing on her mind, too.

The Dominican woman blew a breath through her nose. “I’ve gone back and forth on this for the past several days,” she admitted. “I spent all that time wanting her home, after I realized it had been Vee staying with me instead of her. And having her home again, with you all, made me feel whole again, but …”

Here, Camila cast a look around Eda’s kitchen, her gaze lingering upon Eda, then Amity in turn. Enough that Amity felt the blush returning to her cheeks.

“This place is strange, to me,” Camila admitted. “And terrifying, in places. But I see why she loves it so, and I can see why it hurt her when she thought she’d have to leave it behind after Belos was defeated.”

Amity’s thoughts rammed headlong into a concrete wall. “Wait, what?”

Camila winced. “She … didn’t tell you that. I, um, stopped her and convinced her to rethink it.” She ducked her head. “It was my fault she was going to anyway. I’d made her promise me she’d stay with me because I was afraid I’d lose her.”

Before Amity could speak up again, Eda held up her hook to forestall any response. “Don’t argue it, kid. My mom would’ve said the same—heck, Lily would’ve wanted an Everlasting Oath from me to make sure.” She pushed herself off the counter and walked over to Camila’s side, carefully resting the base of her hook upon Camila’s shoulder in support. “Guessing you saw something to change your mind enough that you wanted to change hers, Cam. Don’t look at me like that, you’re as easy to read as Luz—little brat never learned how to hold a poker face worth a damn.”

The way Camila hunched her shoulders hinted that was a comment she’d heard before—or one along those lines.

“Putting aside how she’s changed since borrowing the titan’s magic,” she said slowly, as if choosing her words with great deliberation and care. “Luz found herself here in ways she never did back home, and I recognize that. Even if she hadn’t changed physically, I couldn’t take her from here. At most, I think I’d have liked her to graduate from a human high school with Vee.” Camila stopped turning her mug about, instead brushing her thumb against the handle. “We could’ve found a way to let her visit. On weekends and vacation days.”

As she spoke, Amity let her own imagination craft what might well have been had the titan’s gift not made Luz half-titan. Would they take day trips to see one another? Could she slip away on holidays to meet Luz at the bus stop or the ice cream parlor? Could they celebrate a joint Samhain-Halloween between the Owl House and the Noceda household, all of them hopping between worlds throughout the night?

She could envision herself at Luz’s graduation, beaming as she watched her girlfriend throw her silly square-topped hat into the air alongside Vee. Or spend a Saturday afternoon in the bleachers watching them play softball.

A hint of a pang shot through her heart. Amity would have rather enjoyed that herself.

Camila then sat back in her chair and took a long sip of coffee. Then, she sighed. “Luz struggled to fit in back home. Even after meeting you all, she was most at home when she came home from school to be with all of you. And now?” She gave her head a shake. “Luz is my daughter, and I will always love her. But I can’t send her to school like this. Vee, at least, can disguise herself convincingly. I don’t know if Luz could …”

She trailed off, leaving unsaid a question of whether Luz could manage an illusion convincing enough. Not to mention whether an illusion would be enough.

Vee could shift her entire form, hiding her tail, scales, fangs, and fins. Luz, at most, would have to cast an illusion to hide her claws, fangs, and fur.

But they would still be there. How would she explain it if she left scratches in a door because she gripped it too hard? Or if she kicked a ball and it impaled itself on a claw that didn’t seem to exist?

Titan, what if she shedded?

If human teenagers and teachers pushed Luz to the outskirts of the proverbial pack as they knew her then, Amity could just imagine how they might react if they should notice such inexplicable oddities. Let alone if the illusion should falter …

And, again, that was assuming Luz could weave and maintain an illusion that complex longterm.

“So,” Eda cut in, dragging out the word. “That’s one of the things Cam and I have been talking about off and on the past couple days. And, honestly, one of the reasons I coaxed you to drink a little. Oh, it wasn’t that bad! You loosened up and relaxed just fine—and now I know you were a heck of a flirt with that late husband of yours.”

“I … am so sorry about that,” Camila muttered, her face alight with fluster.

“Eh, don’t worry about it. You conked out as soon as you hit the mattress, and I’ve dealt with worse. Way worse.” Eda shivered at whatever memory happened to come to mind. “We’ll laugh about it later—or I will, at least. Anyway, about Luz and school.” Here, her playful smile faded. In its place, the sort of seriousness Amity had only learned Eda possessed in the lead up to the Day of Unity. “I think I’ve made my opinion known that I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea of sending her somewhere she might get mistreated because of how she looks. But that’s up to you and her to decide.”

Behind her, Amity heard the teapot’s whistling, signaling that the water had risen to a boi. She turned to attend to it, her own thoughts on whatever new complications might await them at Hexside, surprisingly, less troubled than before.

If anything, those prospects seemed more like a bit of typical school drama when compared against what might well await Luz back in Gravesfield. A notion that might’ve made Amity feel better, had she been the sort of girlfriend to think in terms of what might immediately benefit her alone.

Instead, though, Amity felt her heart sinking. Yes, she’d be happy if Luz stayed and lived in Bonesborough and continued going to Hexside full-time. Why shouldn’t she be? But Camila …

She bit her lip. Those months spent in the Noceda household made Amity look at Camila almost as a surrogate mother. A loving, caring figure she never really had. And while Gravesfield and the human realm at large were strange, they had a certain charm to them.

The odd sound of a sort of shuffling, scraping step made her turn to see a half-asleep Luz dragging herself into the kitchen. The demi-titan mumbled a good morning in Spanish before performing what could only be considered a flop-hug across her mother’s shoulders.

Camila breathed a laugh. “Díos, did you not sleep, mija?”

“Sí! Pero …” Luz cast a bleary-eyed glance at Amity, her lips tugging into a rather silly smile as her cheeks glowed with fluster. She turned to bury her face in her mother’s shoulder, adding, “Nos acostamos tarde.”

“Uh-huh.” Now, it was Camila who had that gleam in her eyes. “Necessitamos tener unable charla, mija?”

Luz drew back, fixing her mother with a glare. “Mamá,” she said slowly. “I can translate what you said to Eda last night.”

Camila’s face went beet red.

Eda threw back her head and let out a bark of laughter. “Oh, I gotta hear this!” She pulled up a chair so she could sit right beside Camila, her grin positively sharklike. “Lay it on me, kid. Let’s hear it.”

“Mija …” Camila said, a warning edge to her tone.

Luz, her cheeks still aflame, held fast. “Mutually assured destruction, mamá. If I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.”

There truly was something impressive about how the pair eyed one another with almost the same look. One part fluster, one part daring the other to make a move. Almost as if there was some silent diplomatic effort going on right before Amity’s very eyes.

Then, Camila nodded and patted Luz’s hand. “Yo aprecio sue te lo guardes para ti.”

“Y ese fue una gran charla. Lo cual sucedió totalmente.”

“Acuerdo.”

Eda frowned. “I have no idea what either of you two just said, but something tells me I’m not getting the goods.”

Luz released her hug and gave her teacher one of her brightest smiles, then turned and spun like a dancer before sidling up to Amity and engulfing the shorter witch in a tight embrace.

And leaned against her.

“Luz!” Amity protested with a laugh. “I have tea in my hands, you goof!”

“Mhmm. Smells good, sweet potato. Gimme a sip.”

“Just pour your own! I made a pot!”

“But yours is sweeter!”

“How?” Amity squinted at her, fighting against a smile. “How is this specific cup of tea sweeter than one you could pour and sweeten to your liking?”

Almost as soon as the question left her mouth, Amity knew exactly how Luz would reply. And she didn’t disappoint.

Luz grinned and planted a kiss upon her lips. Then stole a sip while she stood on tiptoe, stunned and blushing. The damn trickster. “Cuz it’s yours!” she trilled.

Amity sucked in a sharp breath. She could feel her face and ears burning, not helped in the slightest by Eda’s snickering at her expense. The young witch covered her face with the aid of her wide-brimmed sleeve and said, “You’re such a dork.”

“Te amo también, batata!” Luz leaned down and pecked the top of her head, then turned to make herself a cup of tea. “You all seem like you’re wide awake and talking about something important. Qué pasa?”

“School talk, kiddo,” Eda replied with a nod toward the seat opposite Camila and herself. “Pop a squat. This needs to happen sooner rather than later.”

The demi-titan hummed, curious, no doubt, at what that might mean. Finished making herself a cup of tea and then took Amity’s hand, interlacing their fingers careful of her own claws, and padded over to join the pair of women at the table.

Camila and Eda seemed to share a look. One that Amity noticed had an almost shared parental element to it. Perhaps understandable, given all Eda had been through with her over the span of a few short months.

As they took their seats, Camila took a deep sip of her coffee as if to ready herself. “Eda and I have been talking these past few days, Luz,” she began. “Trying to figure out what to do once the portal door is rebuilt and … And the more I think about it, the more it becomes more clear.” She shifted in her seat, her discomfort plain for all to see. “Despite the ache it leaves in me.”

Luz leaned forward in her seat. Perhaps unwittingly, she let go of Amity’s hand. “Mamá, qué sucede?”

Eda laid a hand upon her shoulder. “Your mom and I started talking about this … well, a couple days ago. I know that basilisk—Vee, I think?—is standing in for you two, but your mom can’t be with her grandmother for too long or it might cause problems at work. So.” She drew in a deep breath. “Lily and I are going to work on making a new door. A stable one, this time. And while talking about what I thought that would take in terms of materials and time, one thing led to another.”

“And where exactly did that lead?” Luz asked, her brow arching.

“Hey! There’s no need to take that tone,” Eda chided her. “The thing about all that is … well, kiddo—”

Camila laid a hand atop Eda’s, silencing her with the mere act. Amity couldn’t help but raise her brows, intrigued.

There might not be anything purely romantic there without the influence of hard apple blood, but the two seemed to have managed to foster a close friendship in the time they’d known one another. One Amity would daresay formed thanks in no small part to how Eda had served both as teacher and a surrogate mother while Luz was trying to find a way home.

Not to mention, ensuring her daughter stayed alive and had a roof over her head, human-friendly food to eat, and someone who might watch over her if anything would’ve happened to Eda on the Day of Unity. Just as Camila herself had done when the Bonesborough kids were trapped on Earth.

The Hispanic woman let out a sigh, her shoulders sagging, briefly, before she forced herself to sit up in her chair. “Mija, the months I had you and your friends at home were wonderful,” she said, her eyes seeming to take on a misty sheen. “And as much as this place can be … scary, for me. I can see that it’s been good for you. Better than that camp ever would’ve been,” the last, she said in a grumble that Amity felt might have been meant more for someone else. Perhaps whomever had suggested the camp in the first place.

A sore spot, Amity knew. But, oddly enough, one she almost felt she should thank someone for putting in Camila’s head.

After all, she might not have ever met Luz if not for her wandering into the Demon Realm when she should’ve been leaving for camp.

“Mom,” Luz said hesitantly. “You’re starting to scare me. What’s wrong?”

Camila shook her head. “Nothing, mija. Nothing.” She gave a strained smile, though, that seemed to bely her own words. And, then, in a move that told Amity just how alike mother and daughter were, Camila did something neither she nor Eda could’ve expected.

She lied.

“I was just talking to Eda about what she knew about the programs at Hexside. Whether there would be any change now that that Belos was gone and Wild Magic wouldn’t be outlawed.” She gave a slight laugh. Only half forced. “But I’m sure you’ll be the one who might have to tutor other Witches in that.”

Luz’s eyes lit up. She let out a jubilant cry and leapt—yes, actually leapt!—across the table and tackled her in a hug and rapid-fire Spanish that Amity couldn’t begin to decipher if she tried.

Camila held her daughter close, burying her face in Luz’s flowing hair as that strained smile seemed to relax into one of contentment and acceptance. Like she’d come to terms with this, slowly, and then all at once.

But as Luz drew back, there was a slight shift in her posture. “But, what about you?” she asked.

That smile faltered, slightly. “I’ll … visit on weekends,” Camila replied. “I still have work and Vee seems to want to finish high school, but we’ll come visit on weekends. Maybe … maybe we can figure something out for you and your friends, too.”

Amity shifted just enough that she could see that bright smile fading from Luz’s features. The realization was starting to hit. After months apart, then together again, this would mean she wouldn’t be home with her mother every night. With Vee, who’d become her adopted twin in all but blood—or at least Amity assumed, she wasn’t quite sure how basilisk transformations worked.

Her lower lip trembled. “Is it because of this?” she asked in a small voice, gesturing toward her claws, her fangs. “Because I’m …”

Camila pulled her back into a hug. “You will always be my daughter,” she said in a tone that spoke of incomparable resolve. “But …” The Hispanic woman held her daughter at length and gave her a sad smile. “I don’t know how Gravesfield High would react to a demi-titan, mija. And as much as I want you to get a diploma, I’d rather you be happy.” Here, her shoulders sagged slightly. “It’ll be hard, but we’ll have the portal. And with Gus’s help, maybe …”

Luz hugged her as tight as she could, minding her newfound strength. “I’ll study illusions harder,” she promised. “So we can all go to Vee’s softball games or out to dinner or to the movies again. I promise.”

“Bíen.” Camile then fixed Luz with an expectant look. “And don’t think this means I won’t have a talk with this Principal Bump, mija. Even if you’re going to school here, I’m still getting your report card.”

Amity couldn’t help herself. She snorted a laugh into her hand at the sheepish smile that her girlfriend gave as she tried to think of a way to weasel out of yet another unexpected situation. One that Eda leapt into with surprising delight at the chance to tag-team this with Camila.

Titan help Luz. By allowing both mother figures to meet, she’d played herself.

Which, honestly, was as adorable as it was entertaining.

And now, her thoughts returned to that original train of thought. How this would all work, once Hexside’s repairs had been finished. How other students would treat her, how the teachers would interact with the literal savior of the Isles—oh, titan, not savior. Saviors, they’d been saying. Luz and King for fighting Belos alongside Eda, and Gus, Hunter, Willow, and herself for their actions in the Archives.

Amity drew in a deep breath through her nose, eying her tea. I’m gonna need a lot more of this to help me figure this one out.