Chapter Text
(~ The day I met you, I needed somebody to talk to, someone I knew I could relate to ~)
Her mother was wrong. She wasn't a monster, she could be good. She will be good, she just needs someone to give her a chance. Someone that won't make her wish she was never born. Someone that will at least try to not run away.
It was late, maybe she shouldn't have ran into the woods after her fight with her mother but anywhere is better than there…anywhere is better than near her.
She ran without much thinking. Ran might be generous given her current state. She's bruised, bloody, and with a tear-stained face. A witch using physical violence instead of magic, because what if her ‘evil daughter’ kills her, it's pathetic when you think about it.
Looking around for the first time, she realized she wasn't alone. She can sense magic nearby. A pretty strong and steady source one at that.
She hears branches crack under someone's feet.
“Show yourself! I can sense you are here! I’ve had a looong day and I´m not in the mood for some cat and mouse game!” Agatha shouts into the dark.
“Well, that's a shame,” starts someone in amused voice, “I was hoping to have a little fun this fine evening, but if you aren't up for it, then oh well”
Agatha can see her clearly now. It's a woman wearing a dark green cloak. Agatha doesn't recognise her, but the power she felt earlier is definitely coming from her.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” asks Agatha.
“I could ask you the same thing, but fine, I was just running errands nearby, heard someone else wondering around and wanted to see who killed the witch, like, 5 meters away from us. So, what have you done, my charming lady?” finished the woman with an annoying smile on her face.
“Well, it is none of your business, but I haven't killed her. If that's all, you can be on your merry way and leave me be.”
“Now where's the fun in that? Sure, you haven't killed this one but one can smell death from you, Agatha. And wouldn't you like to be patched up? I can help with that.”
Wait. How does she know my name? Does she know my mother? No, she would just drag me back, she wouldn't act like this
“How do you know me? And what is your name? Seems fair, doesn’t it?”
The lady grins and skips over, puts her left hand behind her back and bows.
“Rio Vidal at your service, my lady.” and tippes her non-existent hat off.
Rio Vidal
That doesn't ring any bell. Which is odd, considering her power. What's even more odd, is that she isn't hiding it at all, but she doesn't try to seem intimidating. If anything, Agatha would compare her to a kid looking for a new toy.
Maybe she is.
Maybe Agatha is supposed to be her new shiny toy, but if that's the case, then that woma- Rio is up for a surprise.
“You didn't answer my first question, how do you know me?” Even if the woman didn't seem to show any malice, her knowing who Agatha is wasn´t exactly good for Agatha. Her reputation isn't one to long for exactly.
“Let's just say I'm a fan. I've heard about you, about your powers, what it does to others.”
“Hah, right, a fan. Okay, who sent you? I don't have the entire night for this”
She raises an eyebrow slightly. “No one, I am not lying, Agatha, you just caught my attention. The offer to patch you up still stands, by the way.” she says the last part back with a grin on her face.
She wants to wipe that grin off her face. She wants to punch her in the face. She also wants to just accept the offer, consequences be damned. What’s the worst thing that can happen? She’ll just accidentally kill a stranger who offered help. And she apparently knows exactly who Agatha is, she knows the risk.
“Fine, let’s say I believe this whole Oh I’m your fan thing, what do you want in exchange for helping me?” If her mother taught her anything useful, it’s that nothing in this world is ever free.
“Nothing, view it as just satisfying the whims of a stranger. Nothing more, nothing less.” and starts slowly walking closer to Agatha.
Snorts “Yeah right, you’re just doing this out of the goodness of your heart. For me. Sure, I want to see where this goes”
For the first time that night, Rio seems to have a genuine small slime, as if relishing in her victory in the conversation that just happened.
“Ready? This should feel good, but if it’s too much just say, okay?” and gives her a knowing look. One that seems like she sees right through Agatha.
“Pf, of course I’m ready. These scratched are nothing”
And oh Agatha wasn’t ready
She wasn’t ready at all.
She’s not sure what she was expecting, green witches (is Rio one? let’s put this into “figure out later” space in head) handle healing magic differently. But this? She surely didn’t expect this.
Rio was slowly but surely healing her wounds by touch, of all things.
When was the last time someone touched her so tenderly? Right, Elizabeth did. Before her mother found out and made sure Agatha knew she just gave her a reason to despise her daughter even more.
For God’s sake she was practically caressing her face now. It felt, it felt good. She’d never admit it out loud, but Rio was so gentle with her. She could probably fall asleep like this.
“Oh this is a bigger one, wanna talk about it?” Rio suddenly spoke up.
No I don’t. Was what she wanted to say and would have said normally. But something about the way she asked, as if she actually cared , made her say
“It was just my mother again, she’s done worse.”
Which turned out to be the wrong thing to say, because Rio’s face suddenly turned serious and she stopped the healing for a moment
“Well, fuck your mother then. No child deserves this from their mother”
And oh how much Agatha wants to believe that. But she is rotten, isn’t she? She kills fellow witches, her so-called sisters, to gain more power. Maybe if she was better, she’d be able to control her powers. Maybe then her mother wouldn’t wish death upon her.
She doesn’t answer. They stay in silence for a bit, Rio finishing her work and Agatha is just trying to convince herself she doesn’t enjoy it. She knows she does. She feels the pull that woman has on her.
What is it about her? I know nothing about her. For all I know, she’ll try to have my head tomorrow
But all the thoughts in her head are silenced when Rio suddenly stops. And, she realizes, she misses the warmth immediately.
“I’m all done here. You can go back to brooding alone in the woods, if you want to.”
“That’s not what I was doing.”
She wants to say more. And Rio is looking at her like she knows Agatha will say more, but just needs to overcome her pride.
“Thank you…Rio. You didn’t have to do that and I, well, I appreciate it.” She fights the urge to laugh at herself, is she going crazy? Did Rio put some spell on her while she was distracted by her touch? She knows the answer is no. Doesn’t mean she can admit that to herself without a problem.
Rio flashes her with, as far as she can tell. uncharacteristically big smile.
“You’re most welcome, my lady. I still have places to be, but I don’t doubt we’ll see each other again, Agatha Harkness.”
And with that, she disappears back into the woods.
She knew my full name. She knows who I am and still treated me like that.
Agatha tries to not overthink that. She really does. But what did that woman even mean by that? “we’ll see each other again” How can she sound so sure? Was this really some sort of a long trap?
No, no it wasn’t
“AAAAAH why can’t I even go into a forest for a peaceful evening. Is that too much to ask for?!” she screams into the forest.
When she went back home, she kept thinking about that woman. She was wondering if she was right and will see each other again. As much as she hated to admit it, she hoped they would.
(~ Must’ve been faith, because that next year you were my roommate ~)
Agatha was sitting on a wooden log, surrounded by corpses. It wasn’t her fault. She tried to warn them. She really did. Her powers can’t just stop when she wills them to. It’s as if something possessed her body and she had no control over it. She can feel the power flowing in, and she knows how good that makes her feel. However, that’s all she can do about it. It provides an otherworldly source of emotion she can hardly describe, that makes her long for more.
When the power drain inevitably stops, it’s as if someone poured a bucket of iced water on her. She’s hit with the reality of what happened, she watched it happen, almost like an audience watching public execution.
It thrills her while it’s happening, the same way the audience gathers and waits for the upcoming execution, gossiping about the crimes the one waiting for death committed. When it stops, she’s met with the grim reality of what happened.
It’s like when the head finally drops and everyone is suddenly nauseous. They just watched someone die. Be murdered. And they gathered to watch it, planned it into their day as if it was the highlight of their day.
And after it, she’s hit with the realization of how it’s going to happen again and again and again- because there’s no one who can teach her. Because, apparently, she was born evil.
Much the same way the audience is going to gather again and again and again- because at least it’s not them. At least another evil has been purged from this word.
“This time we can both agree that you killed those witches, right?”
Oh, it’s her again. It’s been a while since they saw each other for the first time. Few months? No, almost a year now. For some reason, part of her is glad they’ve met again. The stranger gave her an odd sense of understanding the last time they’ve met and offered her kindness she’s not used to.
“No, this time it clearly is me.” and snorts at that. “Lucky you, huh? Seeing me for me, after all, you are a, what did you call yourself?” gestures around with her hands as if looking for the right word. “Oh right! A fan , that’s what you called yourself.”
She grins at that. “I am lucky indeed, but it also took us longer to meet again than I anticipated.”
“Were you that eager to see me?” nevermind the fact Agatha was always secretly hoping to see her again when she entered the woods.
“Of course.” She starts to make her way closer to Agatha. “Humor me, what happened here?”
She’s now sitting next to Agatha on the log of wood. She left a gap between them, not wanting to push her boundaries more than she already has.
“Same old, they were on a righteous journey to eliminate the big, bad Agatha Harkness.” she sights and says with detachment. “You know, I tried to warn them they’ll end up dead. They never listen. They think it’s some sort of an evil ploy on my part. Hah, if I’m so rotten and wicked, wouldn’t I just blast them the second I see them?” she shakes her head and goes silent.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you should be ashamed of that. You try, even though you don’t have to. There are people out there who will care to look underneath all the rumors.”
“Hm, says the person who apparently is drawn to me because I kill people. Ironic, isn’t it?”
She shakes her head. “There are different kinds of murder, of dying, whatever angle you want to look at it from. You are interesting to me because of said rumors, but that doesn’t mean I am stupid enough to think rumors are all a person is.”
She pauses and adds a bit more quietly “I’ve had my fair share of that, Agatha.” and looks right into her eyes as she says her name. Again, she feels as if she could see right through her and she can feel this tension between them. The atmosphere is heavy and she needs to get further away so she stands up, takes 2 steps to back out.
“What are we doing here?” and god she must sound so tired.
“I don’t know. Chatting?”
“Very funny.” says as she rolls her eyes. “This is the second time you’ve shown up, were nice to me for no reason and you expect me not to be suspicious? Please” and scoffs.
“Maybe I am interested just in your company” she stands up and takes a step towards Agatha.
“Perhaps I just think you and I are alike.” She takes another step and they’re face to face now.
Agatha wants to scream. She wants to slap that infuriating woman and be gone. She also wants to kiss her- wait, no she doesn’t. Put those thoughts away, definitely not a good time. She steps away from her, by doing so she feels the tension crack and since she can’t really do either of those things she wants her mouth just spits out-
“Do you want to go back to the village with me? If for whatever reason you think we’re alike, we can have that conversation when I’m not covered in muck. How about that?”
Rio looks like she just got candy. “Oh I thought you’d never ask, lead the way, my lady.” And offers her a flower she must have conjured. What kind of fool am I dealing with?
🖤
They settled into a routine of sorts. During the day, they hardly saw each other. Agatha had responsibilities to deal with, her mother may hate her, but she still needs a successor, and Rio was doing…she’s still not really sure what she does. She called her a tourist once and that woman laughed as if it was the most hilarious joke she’s ever heard.
In the evening, Rio would come around to Agatha’s place. Shortly after their second encounter, Agatha decided to move out. She had no reason to stay with her mother and now Rio would become an issue to hide from her mother, if they lived under the same roof.
(“And why exactly can´t your mother see me?” she raised an eyebrow, amused, if anything.
“Well, she’ll either think I’m going to kill you, you’re trying to gain something from the Harkness family or that we’re committing a sin. So, it’s safe to say I don’t want to deal with that.”
That seemed to somber her mood. “I could make her wish she was dead.”
“Offering torture rather than killing her? How generous of you. But no, that would just leave more trouble for me” and rubs her temples. Why are they even talking about this?
“Fine, I’ll behave. Who else would I follow around and bother, hm?” she slowly unsheaths her dagger. “But, the offer always stands.”
The dagger is suddenly propping Agatha’s chin up, making blood show. She can’t help and chuckle “I’ll keep that in mind.” and makes her lower the dagger, it slowly stopping just above her collar bone.
“Good.” and suddenly Rio is leaning forward and kissing the spot where she drew blood to heal her. It takes everything in her to not let out a moan.
“Well, see you later, roomie ” and leaves with shit-eating smirk on her face.
When did I agree for her to stay with me? Maybe I wanted the place for myself)
(~ We were best friends with nothing to lose ~)
“No! No stop it!”
“C'mon, Agatha! We both know you love it!” Both of them were laughing like maniacs, covered in blood, with Rio trying to trap Agatha in a hug.
“We are drenched in that asshole's blood! I am positive I don’t love this!” and tries to keep a serious face, but one look at Rio, who is now trying to remain serious as well, leads to her just bursting into laughter again.
“Oh my god, have you seen the look on his face when he realized he fucked up! That was priceless!”
Rio, to her credit, manages to stop howling to get an answer out “He..He was all like,” she clears her throat and speaks in a deeper voice, “Noooo, please spare me aaaah” and bursts back into laughter. “Like did he forget he was just going to stab you? I swear, the ego some of you humans have is incredible”
“ Some of you humans ? Right, I am sorry your eternal majesty, I forget you, unlike us lowly humans, come from Mars” it is meant to be a joke, but something about it makes Rio go quiet all of a sudden. “Um, you okay?” comes out more softly than Agatha wanted it to.
She clears her throat again “Yes, all good, just…remembered there´s something I need to do. See you later?” She avoids eye contact, Agatha could push if she wanted to, but she also knows Rio will just disappear or straight up won't answer, if she doesn't want to speak.
“Of course.” and forces a small smile on her face. Rio gives her one in return and leaves.
🖤
“What are you doing these days? You´re always busy apparently.”
If she could, she would set the room on fire with herself and her mother inside. It would still be better than these tea times she has to suffer through.
“I told you, I usually just go out in the evening. Somewhere where I can be alone and unbothered.” It is a complete lie. The only stable thing about her evenings is Rio. Sometimes, they go out in the woods and spar. Sometimes they have quiet evening in their home. During those nights, the pull Agatha feels between them feels almost like it might just kill her, but she doesn't do anything about it. What she and Rio have is good, it's working and she´s not risking losing her only friend to something as stupid as feelings .
She can't exactly tell her mother all that without getting burned at stake though, can she?
Her mother sighs. “We both know that is not true, Agatha. Multiple people told me they saw you out and about in the dark. And you were not alone.”
Fuck, of course those spineless cowards saw me and ran back to Evanora. Of fucking course.
“Agatha, I raised you better than that-”
“Pf you barely raised me but go on” that earns her a pointed stare from her mother
“As I was saying, I raised you better than that. If you found yourself a man, you don't have to sneak away with him into the woods. I´m just glad that thing with Elizabeth was just you trying to be rebellious.”
Wait. What?
“What?” she can't believe her ears.
“Don´t play coy with me, what about a family dinner this evening, I would love to meet him. You even became less…murder-ry with him around, maybe there is hope for you after all.”
She almost snorts at that. If anything, Rio was very excited to help her take care of bodies. She didn't kill people less, it's just that she can dispose of them now. On second thought, less witches were approaching her and attacking her recently. Maybe the rumors were around long enough they became scared of her and didn't wish to be the hero who kills her?
No, that´s not important now. “Mother, I truly don't know what you are talking about. I have no suitor to bring.” First truth of the evening.
“Tsk, insolent as always. Tonight, I expect you and your man to show up here at 8pm. If not, I am personally coming over to meet him. I have had enough of your lies, Agatha. I thought that maybe he saved you, but clearly, you still have a long way to go.”
“Fine, hope you´re happy to meet my non-existent partner. Later.” and storms out.
🖤
“I'm sorry you want me to do what now?” Rio is looking at her like she lost her mind, maybe she has.
“You can just pretend to be a man. We will create some illusion spell and you can be, I don´t know, Ralph!” she might be insane.
“Riight, so we think Evanora just won't notice the man you dragged in is covered in an illusion spell? I know you're desperate, but think.”
She's right. There's no way they can fake this. But she won't have peace if she doesn't find some random man. She could find one in town and play with his memories? That could work, potentially.
“Why don't I just go with you as well, me. She will realize there is no suitor here and will leave you be. This situation exists just because you didn't want her to know about my existence.” That stops Agatha in her pacing around.
“No. She will think you’re my lover and call the priest on me again.” She didn't realize what she said until she felt Rio´s eyes on her. Shit “Don´t look at me like that. She caught me once with a girl, brough the priest in and hated me even more since then. I don´t really care anymore.”
After a beat of silence Agatha realizes that she actually has no idea how Rio feels about this. Maybe this will be the first thing she and her mother agree on. Agatha starts to feel worried when-
“Can you stop giving me more reasons to hate your mother? When we met, I offered to torture her and I feel the need to remind you of that.” and Agatha can tell she really means it.
Of course she doesn't care. Rio might be the death of her one day.
“Once again, I appreciate the gesture, but it still would bring more trouble than it's worth.”
There is a brief moment of silence until Rio stands up, clasps her hands together and says “We are doing this. We are going to show up at that house, tell her you don't have a man that is fixing you or whatever bullshit that excuse for a woman believes in and we will shove in her face how happy you are living away from her, here with me. How does that sound?” She extends her hand towards Agatha, making her take the deal physically and verbally.
She sights but takes the extended hand. They´re cold, like always. Her hands seem to be warm only when using healing magic. “I hope you are ready to face a hurricane. People call me insane, but my mother is on a whole other level.” She can't help but smile, she knows Rio will drive her mother crazy, with a bit of luck she will suffer a heart attack.
“Oh I am aware that the Harkness women are crazy, unfortunately for your mother, I quite enjoy your company.” and raises their joined hands to kiss Agatha´s.
Maybe I will die of a heart attack too, who knows.
🖤
“Agatha, who is this?” Great, she's already pissed.
“This, mother dearest, is Rio, my…roommate.” at that her mother raises an eyebrow, but before she could say anything, Rio cuts in.
“Evening misses Harkness! I heard sooo much about you. I am Rio Vidal” and shook Evanora´s hands energetically.
Agatha had to fight a snort at the overly enthusiastic voice Rio was doing. She thought she´ll make her hatred clear, but she decided to kill her with kindness.
“Likewise, miss Vidal.” and shot Agatha a dirty look. She just made a slight shrug motion as if saying don't look at me, YOU wanted this.
“No, no, no, none of that.” shook her head and gestured around with her hands. “Just Rio is fine, really.” and wow, if Agatha didn't know any better, she would have believed her this whole sweet as sugar act.
Before her mother can take control of the conversation, Agatha jumps in. “As you see, mother, the information was wrong. There is no suitor, there is just Rio.”
“ Just Rio , oh, you wound me.” Agatha gives her a pointed stare but she seems to take it as a challenge. “I mean, we've lived together for 5 months now and she doesn't even call me her friend, can you believe this one?” She is going to kill her.
“Ehm, right, so, there really is no one else? The late night outings? Your…change in behavior?”. And she asks it in such an obvious way it makes Agatha want to take up Rio´s offer.
“Yes, that was also her. I am not exactly asking to be burned at stake, having someone else with me in the woods reduces the risk of me being careless and not noticing a search group.” A lie, sensible one, but a lie. They go there together when either of them wishes for a moment of peace, away from everyone, but not from each other. Or when they have a body to get rid of.
“I see…” she looks deep in thought and disappointed. Agatha can't help but feel a familiar sting. It still hurts. She knows, she knows she´ll never be good enough, hell, she will never be acceptable enough for her mother, but it still hurts.
Rio probably noticed the shift in her mood and lightly touched her back. I am here, you´re not alone in this. She just shots her a grateful smile back. However, her mother also seems to catch this and furrows her brows.
“So this is what it is. Really, Agatha? I thought you were over that rebellion of yours.” she’s not even trying to hide the disgust in her voice.
That, however, makes Rio finally drop the act. Her face shows a similar level of disgust as Evanora’s now. “Well at least she’s not a sad excuse of a witch. You wish you were half as good as she is. But your fragile ego can’t handle that so you aimed your vitriol towards her. Isn’t that right, Evanora?”
Each of her words sliced through the air, the last word being the last nail in the coffin.
Evanora scoffs. “Cute, you’ve got yourself a guard dog? It’s a shame I’ve never even heard of you, you’re probably just latching onto Agatha because you’re so weak she won’t even take your powers. That must be it, mustn’t it? How else could a witch survive in her proximity for so long? Are you not even worthy of her killing you?”
Rio wanted to shoot back but suddenly-
“Enough.” It was said in a way that it left no room for opposition. “I don’t care what you say about me, mother ” saying that as if it was an insult.
“But keep her out of your mouth. You’re not that stupid, you can feel the steady flow of power. This is just a pathetic attempt at trying to undermine me in any shape or form.” She takes a breath to regain her composure.
“Rot in hell, I wish you the worst evening possible. I’ve had enough of this.” She glances at Rio who is beaming at her. There is a question in her look, she’s not sure what she’s planning, but gives her a nod.
Rio takes a step towards Evanora, who almost flinches. She can’t see the look on Rio's face but she’s definitely glaring daggers. She leans in and speaks in a low voice.
“No one really knows who I am if we meet before the right time, but oh trust me, I’ll enjoy every second of our last meeting.” and chuckles. “What Agatha said, hope the critters bite you and you never sleep peacefully at night. Until next time.”
Is this a death threat? Probably. Did Agatha enjoy this? Most definitely.
They leave, hand in hand. They burst out into laughter the second they get home.
Home . Agatha Harkness has a home and a person to return to, who would have thought.
(~ The night brought an energy and when it was just you and me - we were dancing on the kitchen counters, nothing about that moment mattered, we were, we were free ~)
If Rio asked, Agatha wouldn’t admit it, but the last 2 months were probably the best months of her life. Her mother no longer speaks to her, after that whole dinner incident and that’s the best she can hope for there.
Her and Rio, well, she swears there’s something, but anytime they start toying with the line they shouldn’t cross, Rio pulls back, as if remembering something. She’d be lying if she said it wasn’t bothering her. If she’s just being delusional, she can handle a straightforward rejection. What she doesn’t understand is this tug and pull away thing they have going on.
She decided she’s had enough after their second almost kiss this week. Well, she’s certain that’s what it was anyway. Like 90% certain. You get the point. She’s pretty convinced it’s not just her.
So when Rio comes home that day- “What are we doing?”
Rio just smirks “Chatting” Of course she’d echoe her own words.
“Right, smarty pants, not this second. In general. You, me, living here. You coming and going. I still don’t know where you go during the day. It didn’t bother me- still doesn’t, not entirely. I just think we’ve been doing this long enough that you could trust me with that. I mean, you know me. There isn’t exactly much that would drive me away” she chuckles at that.
Rio gives her a conflicted stare. She’s pushing her boundaries and knows it. But she also knows Rio seemed to need the final push to finally tell her.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, I do, it’s just…”
“Just what? I’ve killed dozens and you’re in full support of that. I already know you’re crazy and I still keep you around.” she hopes it comes out as supportive, because this is as supportive as she can get.
“It’s not just that. It’s…” a sigh “I really care about you, in a way I haven’t cared about anyone before. It’s weird. I- This isn’t how it should be for me.” She sits down on their couch and looks at the ground.
Agatha gives her a moment to gather her thoughts, but she can feel her heart picking up speed. In a way I haven’t cared about anyone before. That’s good, that must be good, right?
“When I leave during the day, I leave to do my job. My job also led me to you and made me a fan.” There’s amusement in her voice, thinking back to their first encounter. It feels like forever ago, even if it’s been just over a year and half.
After she takes a longer pause, she decides to prod her a bit. “Right…and what exactly is your job? You never really…talk about it.”
“Before I say it, please promise you won’t curse me out and will at least listen to me.” She’s begging her. Her voice is impossibly vulnerable and it catches Agatha completely off guard.
“Of course, as you said, I’ve had my fair share of rumors. I wouldn’t do the same to anyone else. Well, maybe I would but not to you.” and tries to give her a reassuring smile.
“Right. I am Death.” That’s all she says. And now just stares at Agatha.
“Um, is this some sort of angsty spiral of you feeling bad or…?” she’s really lost for words here and Rio has the audacity to just roll her eyes at her.
With detachment in her voice she answers “No, I mean it literally. I am Death. I collect souls of those who’ve died and guide them into the afterlife.”
Agatha stares at her. What the fuck. Death? How on earth did you manage to be fucking housemates with Death? Wait. Does she even believe this? It does make sense, the first two times they met was when a corpse was nearby. Her random comments. The threat to her mother-
Oh god she’s falling in love with Death.
“That’s um…wow. I’m not really sure what to say.” And she isn’t. She has about thousands thoughts in her head, none of which she can bring herself to voice. Does this make Rio even hotte- Stop .
Rio- Death - just sits awkwardly on the couch. “Yeah so…I can go if you want me to.”
Agatha’s brain starts to work again. “Don’t-“ she says too fast, she clears her throat and tries again. “I mean, don’t, I…I want you to stay.” she knows she has to swallow her pride here, she can’t risk Rio believing she detests her now.
“You are taking this better than I expected, I’ll give you that.”
“Wait, I thought you never told anyone this, why would you expect me to react badly?”
Rio gives her a deadpan stare. “Most people would freak out if they found out that they’ve been playing house with Death for almost a year.” Bitterly, she adds “Much less a witch, that must have heard nasty things about Death.”
That is true. Death, depending on the speaker, is oftentimes described as this bloodthirsty entity that always wants more. More life taken, more destruction, more souls for them. Her I guess .
“That’s true, but you also know me. And I know you. I’m not going to pretend the last months of my life didn’t happen and come at you with pitchforks.” She should say something more, right? “Sorry for asking, but how does the whole ‘Death’ thing work, you do seem like a green witch. Really powerful one, but nothing gives ‘old as time’ vibe”.
“Is this your way of saying I look good for my age?” she’s teasing her, that’s a good sign.
“Short answer is that I can conceal it. The only time you’d really feel the full extent of my powers is if we ever were taking a stroll in my realm. Or if I just decided to unveil it.”
Interesting. Come to think of it, Rio rarely used her powers around Agatha. Just healing magic and during a worse fight she’d send the opponent flying. Agatha always assumed she did it to not hit Agatha by accident and sign her death warrant. Hold on, I can’t hurt her. I can’t accidentally kill her.
Her epiphany must show on her face because it gets Rio questioning her. “You’ve just realized something.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement.
“Did the reality of me being Death finally sink in?”
“I can’t kill you.” She. Can’t. Kill. Her.
“No, you can’t…why are we talking about killing me?” She still doesn’t get it and is further confused by the glee spreading on Agatha’s face.
“I can’t kill you! Rio, I can’t kill you by accident! Do you know how worried I was whenever we thought that maybe you’ll blast me and my powers kick in? But you’re Death I can’t do that!" She's laughing like a maniac now.
A warm smile spreads across Rio’s face and finally relaxes. “You can’t, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me forever. I meant it, you know. The whole I’m your fan thing.”
The way she’s looking at Agatha makes her stomach turn. She shouldn’t be this open- this vulnerable. Not for Agatha.
“Oh really? Do tell, how did I catch the attention of Death?” she might be playing it off as a joke, but she wants to know. It doesn’t seem to make sense to her.
“Well firstly, you gave me quite a lot of souls to claim. The souls give me power, to a certain extent. There were people in the past who tried to catch my attention by sacrificing people, but it’s always done so brutishly.” She scrunches her nose in disgust at that.
“But you? Oh Agatha, you didn’t even mean to, yet you killed them to gain their power. Isn’t that delicious? Others may hate and fear you for it, but to me? It’s nothing but beautiful. You’re a survivor, you’re another being that will never be completely accepted by others, just like me. How could I not be intrigued by you?”
She won’t cry. In this life, she was never loved or accepted by her peers. It was because death followed her everywhere. It seems fitting that Death , no, she’s not just Death , she’s Rio , isn’t she? It makes sense that Rio would be the one to accept and embrace her. What others despise about her, Rio views it as something to cherish.
She closes the gap between them and embraces Rio in a bone crushing hug. They’ve cuddled, during bad nights when Agatha’s nightmares wouldn’t go away and Rio wasn’t asleep, but they’ve never acknowledged that before. This feels more intimate, more meaningful. It feels like a hug of acceptance, one that allows them to finally see each other without walls between them.
After a long moment she pulls away. “Thank you for trusting me with this.” She tries to keep her voice as even as possible.
“Thamk you for being you.” This time, Rio cradles her face and kisses her on her forehead.
She could spend forever like this
(~ We were running through the towns that gave us stories we could never make up, we were, we were free. We never saw it coming ~)
“This has to be a trap right? Why on earth would my mother invite me to her coven’s meeting?”
“Firstly, would you be so kind and would you stop with the pacing around? And don’t you mean your coven? You’re still technically part of it, they never banished you.”
She barks out a laugh. “They banished me in all the ways that mattered, just not officially.” She listens to Rio and stops pacing. Now she’s standing in their living room, torn between fleeing the country and marching to her mother’s house this very second.
Very slowly Rio starts “Maybe, with all the trials happening she realized she actually cares about her one daughter?” which earned her a deadpan glance from Agatha.
“Right, that has the same chances of happening as me becoming a nun tomorrow so let’s try again.” Honestly, what could she want from her? They haven’t spoken in months. She thought she was finally clear of her.
“Fine, you want a real answer? She probably realized it’s better to have a strong witch like you on her side during these times rather than on a side that might anonymously tip her off.” The last part is said pointedly. It might be because that’s exactly what Agatha suggested they should do once the witches trials because a game of who can point fingers the fastest.
That could be true. Her mother is many things, coward is one of them. She fears death ( hah) more than she hates her. At least she hopes so.
Rio is closing the distance between them and when she’s close enough, she starts to brush through her hair with her fingers. “It’s tomorrow, right?” Agatha just hums in confirmation. She can’t bring herself to do more. “For now, let’s say you’ll go. I’ll be lurking close enough to either give your mother an earful or to collect the bodies if your patience finally wears thin, what do you say?”
This is one of the changes since Rio’s reveal of her true identity. She became much sweeter and seeks out physical touch more. The thing that was holding her back was fear of Agatha hating the real her, but she’s still holding back. Agatha can’t blame her, she is too. Both of them are circling around each other, both of them afraid to cross some invisible lines they’ve drawn, because once they cross them, there will be no turning back.
Agatha leans even more into her touch. “You’re probably right. I have nothing to lose here, do I?” She thinks about it for a moment and then “You don’t have to wait nearby, just maybe go check up on what’s happening if I’m out suspiciously long or if you notice I’m sending you gifts.”
Rio nods and starts braiding her hair. “Okay, if that’s what you want, my lady.” She can hear her smile through that nickname.
“How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?” But it has no bite to it, the affection is bleeding through it.
“Oh we both know you love it.” and flashes her a cheeky smile.
Yeah, she loved it.
🖤
Agatha didn’t like where this was going. She met up with her mother, who told her the coven is already waiting for them in the forest. Apparently, there is some protection ritual they wanted to perform, but they need the entire coven for it. Rio was right, they probably just need her for her powers. Nothing more, nothing less and nothing to fear.
The walk is long and feels even longer since her mother refuses to speak with her. Not like she cares anyway . “So, mother dearest, how have you been? It’s been 6 months, give or take?”
“This doesn’t change anything. Don’t you think I haven’t noticed your recent behavior. I know you’ve been killing witches that came across you.”
Here goes a shot at peaceful conversation. “Maybe if they didn’t try to kill me, I wouldn’t have killed them. I keep telling you I can’t control the power.” And she really can’t, the reason she was killing recently was because she was trying to learn control over it. With Rio, they thought this was the most sensible option. If she succeeds, good for her and the unlucky victim. If she doesn’t, Rio gets a gift.
That doesn’t seem to satisfy her mother though. “Still with the same excuses? Let me guess, that woman helps you?” Woman is said with such hatered that she is almost petty enough to leave right now, fuck their little ritual, it’s not like she needs it.
“For your information, yes, Rio has been very helpful.” The rest of the journey is spent in silence. Both of them trying to make a point, trying to show the other they care less.
“Agh we’re finally here.” The words leave her mouth and her hands are suddenly bined. “What is this? What is happening?”
“We’re just doing something we should have done a long time ago.” says one of the other witches.
Oh
This is the night I die. Killed by her own coven. Is that it?
Oh Rio will be so pissed when she collects my body.
Huh, I didn’t even get to finally stop being a coward around her. I guess cowardness runs in the family.
She’s moved to a stake. Are they going to burn her? No, they wouldn’t need an entire coven for this. Maybe they just want to watch with their own eyes as the infamous Agatha Harkness meets her end. She can’t blame them, not really. She always knew this.
Her mother starts speaking. “Are you a witch?”
“Yes, I am a witch.” What even is the point of this?
“Yet you have betrayed your coven.”
“I have not!”
“You stole knowledge above your age and station. You practiced the darkest of magic.” Is this how she’s playing it? Sure, makes sense.
“I did not break your rules, they simply bend to my powers.” She’s not lying, not really. But suddenly the rest of the covens starts chanting.
Oh no, not like this.
“No, I cannot control it. I- Help me, please! “ she starts looking around until her gaze lands back on her mother again. “Mother!” she starts chanting too. Oh that familiar sting is here again.
“No!” and suddenly they’re blasting her with some unknown spell. She yells, it hurts.
Oh man it hurts.
Until it doesn’t.
She can feel it, her powers are slowly coming in and are starting to take over. In a moment, they’re all going to be dead. She warned them. But it didn’t matter. It never matters, did it?
The flow of power coming in as so addicting, for a moment, it makes her completely forget why she’s on that cloud nine. She sees her mothers face as the reality sinks in.
Her mother flies up and blasts Agatha as well. She breaks free of her binds. She kills the rest of the coven, they were completely dried by her. It’s just her and her mother now.
“Please, I can be good.” her voice wavers. She really means it, she can be good. She just needs someone to help her.
“No you cannot.” To her surprise, Evanora’s voice breaks on the last word. It doesn’t do much to soften the blow though. And just like that, her mother is trying to kill her. Again .
She just gave her a chance. They could have tried to find a way. She could have just walked away and let her be. But no, she had to try to kill her only daughter again.
Agatha can’t help it and part of her doesn’t even want to fight it. She knows the outcome is inevitable and if her mother thinks she’s evil? Let her think that. Maybe she spent too long in a never ending cycle of guilt and for what? For approval of her mother she’ll never get? Well, fuck that. She feels the last bits of power leave her mothers body. And then she falls on the ground. Agatha goes to her and takes her amulet.
Looking around, the heaviness of the moment finally sinks in. Her mother planned to murder her today. She blamed her for betraying her own coven, yet she planned to kill her own daughter that’s part of her coven . What does that say about her?
The rest of them died such a wasteful death. It was for nothing, they just got dragged into a family feud. At least Rio will get her bodies, that’s something.
Rio
She’ll be here any moment now.
Oh
Oh right
One of her only regrets was not telling her how she felt. Feels pathetic now that she’s still standing.
“I’m sorry” She’s here.
“What for?”
“This, you didn’t deserve this.” She sounds so awfully sincere.
“Maybe I didn’t, maybe I did. Does it really matter? She’s dead now, you can make sure she has the worst ride to the lowest depths of hell possible.” It comes out forced, maybe she’s not so above it all.
Rio lets out a sight and gestures to Agatha to come closer. She obliges. Rio envelops her into a hug.
“Just know that what you are is beautiful, okay? Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” She might melt on the spot.
“Careful, I might think you like me.” But she just burrows her head further into Rio, bathing in her presence.
“With all these bodies, how could I not?” She knows Rio means it as a joke. But at the moment, it’s almost enough to make her crumble. Her own mother tried to kill her for her powers, yet this woman adores her for them. It’s so easy for Rio to love her that it scares Agatha.
She pulls back from the hug to look at Rio. She’s covered in the moonlight, she’s clearly worried about her right now, but that worry is slowly starting to ease away as she looks at Agatha and can't contain her smile.
She really loves her .
She gently touches Rio’s face and tugs her hair away. They’re both looking into each other's eyes, Agatha glances down, for confirmation, and Rio gives her an eager nod.
She finally kisses her. It’s a slow and gentle kiss. They’re both trying to convey the months of their unresolved feelings into this. It almost feels like her lifeline.
Maybe the only certainty in her life is death. She’s always followed by it. But maybe, being followed by Death isn’t so bad. She could live like this.