Chapter Text
Vee was trying to enjoy another nice cuddle session with her partner, but the incessant ringing wouldn’t stop. Eventually, she gave in and awoke from her slumber to check who it was that dared disturb her at this hour. She checked the time and it was well before she needed to be up to sneak back downstairs to keep suspicion off of them from Masha’s parents. Next, she checked who it was that was calling her and she jolted up when she read the caller ID. This caused Masha to also bolt awake, looking around in confusion at what just happened.
“Vee?” Masha asked, while rubbing the sleep out of their eyes. “What’s going on? Why are you up so early?”
Vee ignored her partner for now, opting to answer her phone before it went to voicemail. “Luz?! Is that really you?!”
“Hey sis!” Vee heard the familiar voice come from the other line. “Good news! We saved the Boiling Isles and made it back! I know it’s a little early, but I figured you’d want to know…also you have the only key that’s not currently locked inside the house.”
“Oh! Yeah! I’ll be right over!” Vee shouted, before hanging up, but not before Luz tried to ask her what she meant by “be right over.”
“What was that all about?” Masha asked, still not awake enough to fully process what they heard.
“Luz, Cam-mom, and her friends made it back!” Vee shouted. “Aaaaaaaand they’re locked out of the house, so I have to go! Like, right now!”
“OK, OK!” Masha tried to get Vee to calm down. “I’ll leave a note for my parents and get dressed, then we can go.”
“We?!?!” Vee raised an eyebrow.
“What, you think I wouldn’t want to come with you?” Masha smirked.
“Alright, alright,” Vee relented. “But they’re not going to be prepared to hide the fact that they’re witches, so be prepared for some jumpiness while I explain you know everything.”
“Of course, girl!” Masha waved their partner off. “I’m as cool as a cucumber!”
Vee shifted back into her day clothes and waited by the front door for Masha to get ready. Masha quickly got dressed and left a note for their parents, explaining that Vee had a family emergency and they decided to walk her home since it was still the middle of the night. Once they set the note in a place they knew their parents would look, they met Vee downstairs and the two headed out. Luckily, it was a short walk to the Noceda residence and soon enough, they made it into view of a group of people standing outside. Vee could make out her mom and sister, as well as their friends, and quickly ran up to greet them with Masha not far behind.
“SIS!” Vee shouted.
“VEE!” Luz met her sister midway and enveloped her in a giant hug. “Thank you for coming back on such short noti-DID YOU CALL ME SIS?!”
“Yeah,” Vee rubbed the back of her head. “I did some thinking and I really do see you as a sister, and Camila as a mom.” Vee turned to the older woman. “You don’t mind if I call you that, right?”
Camila started tearing up, before wrapping Vee in a hug. “I was hoping this day would come!”
“I’ll take that as a no.” Vee laughed as she was sandwiched between her mother and sister.
Ahem! The group turned to see Masha clearing their throat to get everyone’s attention.
“Oh! Hey uuuuuuuuhhh you!” Luz smiled awkwardly, before Amity walked up and whispered in her ear. “Masha! Yeah, Masha! I totally knew that cause we went to camp together, right?” Vee had told Luz about running into Masha, just without the details as to why. She had hoped Luz would have an idea on how to handle Vee’s camp friends, but with everything on Luz’s mind, she didn’t have time to come up with anything.
“Hey, Luz!” Masha smirked. “Don’t worry about it, Vee told me everything.”
“WHAT?!” Camila and the other kids all shouted.
“I couldn’t take lying to them anymore!” Vee insisted. “Masha came to ask why you were avoiding them and I just…I couldn’t stand to see them be sad because of me! I had to do something!”
“So, then…do they know about…” Luz tried to discreetly point at the witches’ ears.
“Yes, Luz, I know your friends and girlfriend are witches and that you were off fighting Belos in the demon realm,” Masha answered.
“Vee, I know they helped us with the rebus, but how do we know we can trust them?” Amity asked.
“Well, for starters, they deleted all the security footage Jacob had on me and Camila,” Vee explained. “He had it all still saved to the computer in the Historical Society, meaning he had real proof of me being a shapeshifter. If Masha wanted to turn me in, they could have used that to not be seen as crazy.”
“What if they copied it to another drive before deleting them?” Willow asked. “Again, not that we don’t trust you, Masha, we just-”
“No, no, I get it,” Masha insisted. “Humans don’t have a great track record of how we treated people we perceived as witches. Plus, you know, Jacob.”
“And I know they didn’t copy the files because I was there with them the whole time,” VEe explained. “I would have seen them do it.”
“Wait…Masha let you into an employee room of the place they work at?” Luz looked back and forth between Vee and Masha, before getting a giant, shit-eating grin on her face. “Oooooooooooooooooooh. I get it!”
“Hehe, yeah, shoulda known I couldn’t keep it hidden from you, sis.” Vee rubbed the back of her head. “I asked Masha out later that day. Turns out they had a crush on me since camp and that’s why it hit them so hard to see you ignore them after you made it back here the last time.”
“Aww, that’s cute!” Luz and Amity swooned at the same time. “Wait…oh…oh no. Masha I’m
so
sorry! I never should have just blown you off like that! Vee and I really should have figured something out so I didn’t just ghost you! I-”
“Luz, seriously, it’s fine!” Masha cut her off. “Did it suck? Absolutely. But it worked out in the end. Vee’s my girlfriend now and at the end of the day, that’s what matters.”
“Ay mis niñas are all grown up and both have partners!” Camila started crying, reminding Vee that she was there.
“MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!” Vee protested. “Stop! You’re embarrassing me in front of my cool partner!”
“Sorry, mija, but you wanted me to be your mom and that’s part of the territory!” Camila laughed, while Vee buried her face in her hands.
“So I guess that means you approve of our relationship?” Masha asked with a smirk.
“Of course, dear.” Camila smiled at the goth enby. “You seem like a sweet…uh…person? Sorry, this whole gender thing is new to me.”
“That’s alright, Mrs. Noceda, I appreciate that you’re trying!” Masha smiled. “That’s all I could ask for.”
“Well, you’re welcome over here anytime you’d like.” Camila smiled back. “Speaking of, we’re all just standing around! Come on, let’s get inside!”
The group all followed Camila inside, one by one slipping into the house and plopping down in their familiar spots. Masha hung back and watched, as they have never been over with this many people at the same time before, and just decided to wait to see what their girlfriend would do. Luz, Amity, Hunter, and Willow were all crammed on the couch, while Gus and Vee plopped on the floor. Masha decided to just sit down on the other side of Vee, not knowing the boy well enough to hop in between them. Vee smiled at her partner as her sister and friends all made small talk around them.
“Well, I know it’s kinda the middle of the night, but we all got a lot of sleep after everything we’d been through,” Camila explained to Vee and Masha. “So with none of us being tired, I’m going to make us an early breakfast. You two are welcome to go back to bed if you’d like, or you can join us. Your choice.”
“I think all this excitement has made it impossible for me to get any more sleep,” Vee stated. “I’ll join you for breakfast. What about you, babe?”
“Breakfast sounds nice,” Masha agreed. “I don’t think I’m getting any more sleep either, but once it’s not the middle of the night, I should call my parents and let them know I might be staying here a bit longer.”
“Cariño…” Camila looked at Masha with soft eyes. “What did you tell your parents, exactly?”
“Oh, I didn’t want to wake them up,” Masha explained. “I just left them a note saying Vee had a family emergency and I wanted to walk her home since it was so late. But once they wake up, I’ll need to call and let them know I just ended up staying and not to worry about where I’m at.”
“I appreciate you not telling them about Vee and the others,” Camila sighed. “But you really shouldn’t have just run off without actually talking to them.”
“Nah, it’s fine, Mrs. Noceda.” Masha waved off the older woman. “They’re used to my crazy antics by now.”
“I’m not sure whether I should be impressed or worried.” Camila rubbed her temples with her index finger and thumb.
“Sounds like you should be impressed to me!” Everyone whipped their heads towards to door at the sound of a new voice.
“EDA?!” Luz shot up and ran over to her mentor/other mother figure. “What are you doing here?!”
“What, you thought you could get rid of me that easily?!” Eda ruffled Luz’s hair. “I ain’t goin’ anywhere, kiddo.”
Luz laughed at the older witch’s antics. “No, I mean why are you in my house?”
“Yes Eda,” Camila chimed in with a smirk. “What are you doing in my house?”
“Wow, such a warm welcome!” Eda smirked back. “Makes a gal really feel welcomed.”
After staring at each other for a few more seconds, Eda and Camila busted out laughing.
“Of course you’re welcome here!” Camila said, after recovering. “I was just about to start breakfast, come help me in the kitchen.”
“Great!” Eda shouted while following the other woman. “I brought apple blood!”
“Eda!” Camila said sternly.
“What, I have the non-alcoholic stuff too!”
Camila sighed and rubbed her temples. “What am I ever going to do with you?”
“I can think of several things.” Eda smirked before getting smacked on the head by Camila.
The group just shrugged as they heard Camila muttering something in Spanish as Eda laughed. They all went back to chatting with each other as the two older women went into the kitchen to start preparing dinner. Everyone began asking Masha more questions to get to know them better. The couple filled in their friends on what mischief the two got up to at camp as Luz and the witches traded their fair share of trouble, mostly courtesy of the human girl. Vee winced at all the near death experiences her sister had gotten into and nearly had a heart attack when told about the time she actually did die.
“YOU WHAT?!” The other witches joined in shouting.
“Oh, did I uh, not mention that part?” Luz rubbed the back of her head.
“Luz, you can’t just say things like that without a warning!” Willow said with concern while she tried to calm down a hyperventilating Amity.
“Luz…died…and…I…but…she…alive…my girlfriend…almost…” Amity started choking out.
“Breathe, girl!” Willow insisted. “In and out, like this.” She demonstrated the breathing technique that she had taught Gus.
Eventually, Amity calmed down and turned back to Luz. The two stared at each other before she jumped forward and grabbed her girlfriend in a hug. Luz, not expecting the sudden hug, ended up losing her balance as the two went tumbling to the floor. Amity got up and started laughing, which caused Luz to start laughing too. They stared at each other with warm smiles for a second, before Amity punched Luz in the arm.
“Don’t ever scare me like that again, you dummy!” Amity laughed.
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on dying again any time soon!” Luz laughed back.
“You better not, or I’ll bring you back to life a second time just so I can kill you myself!” Amity insisted.
“So, could I check out the demon realm sometime?” Masha asked.
“I don’t know…” Vee apprehensively replied. “I…don’t exactly have a good experience with that place. I think I’m planning on living in the human realm permanently.
“Hey, that’s OK, Vee!” Luz answered. “Mom and I worked things out, I’m going to be finishing high school here in the human realm, then she’ll let me go to college in the demon realm. Then after that, I’ll figure out where I want to live. But we have a permanent portal now, you can live here and just come visit whenever you’re ready! And no matter which realm I end up in, I’ll always come visit my family in the other realm.”
“That’s great, Luz!” Vee cheered. “I…want to try again, when I’m ready. It would be nice to get to go somewhere where I can go around in my basilisk form without worry. And I don’t want to keep Masha from experiencing a realm they’re excited about.”
“I definitely don’t want to rush you,” Masha answered. “We’ll go whenever you’re ready. I didn’t even know the demon realm existed until a few days ago, I can wait a little while longer to actually check it out. Besides, I have the best, most beautiful demon right here!” Masha kissed Vee on the cheek, causing the basilisk to blush.
“Hey, what about coming to Grom?!” Luz suggested.
“You mean prom?” Masha asked.
“Nope!” Luz smiled and for a second Masha thought she wasn’t going to elaborate. "It's kinda like prom, but in addition to dancing, the Grom Royalty has to fight Grom."
"You fight…the dance?" Masha raised an eyebrow.
"Grom is also a creature," Luz continued. "Grom is short for Grometheus the Fear Bringer. It takes the form of your worst fears while you fight it."
"And the staff just lets you fight it?!" Masha shouted. "That's hardcore!"
"It's also scarier than I thought." Luz rubbed the back of her head.
"Wait, you were Grom Queen last year?!" Masha asked.
"Actually, I was," Amity jumped in. "But I was worried about my greatest fear being revealed, so Luz offered to take my place."
"Aww, that's sweet!" Masha sighed.
"Yeah…that really didn't help." Amity smirked.
"Ya lost me," Masha responded.
"See, my biggest fear was rejection and…" Amity looked over at Luz.
"Wait…Amity, are you saying I was the one you wanted to ask to Grom?!" Luz looked over at Amity wide eyed.
"Of course it was you!" Amity responded. "It's always been you, Luz!"
"Wow…I…wow…" was all Luz could say.
"Aww, you're cute when you're flustered." Amity giggled and kissed Luz's cheek. "Honestly, I was always a flustered mess myself back then, I'm surprised you missed it."
"I had a lot on my mind back then," Luz insisted. "Between Eda's curse and lying to my mom, I didn't really have time to notice the signs. It wasn't till you came to save me at your parents' presentation that I also started noticing you in that way."
Amity blushed and put her hands in head. "I still can't believe I called you 'my Luz!'"
"STOP THAT'S ADORABLE!" Masha interrupted. "You two are goals, really!"
"They're also insufferable!" Willow chimed in. "Amity saying she was a flustered mess was an understatement. She was practically broadcasting how much of a gay mess she was for Luz back then!"
"WILLOOOOOOOW!" Amity groaned.
"Speaking of gay messes," Luz chimed in. "Heeeey Hunter, don't think I haven't noticed how you've been acting around a certain someone!"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Hunter blushed while glaring daggers at Luz.
"Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh." Luz nodded. "So you're not constantly stealing glances at a certain pla-mph wimph" Hunter covered Luz's mouth with his hand causing her to muffle her last words.
"HEY! GROSS!" Hunter pulled his hand away due to Luz licking it. "You're the worst!"
"Aww, come on, Hunter, you can tell us!" Willow chimed in. "We're your friends and just want to help!"
"Yeah, Hunter," Amity joined in with a teasing voice. "We just went to help!" She smirked.
Hunter glared daggers back at the lavender haired witch. "Shut. Up."
"Make me, Blondie." She glared back.
Luz was starting to worry the two would actually start something and prepared to intervene, before-
"BREAKFAST IS READY!" They heard Eda shout from the kitchen.
"You got lucky this time, Blight." Hunter continued glaring.
"Whatever you say, Hunter." Amity rolled her eyes as the group all went to the kitchen to enjoy their well deserved breakfast.