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It was finally, finally peaceful. Agatha sprawled out on the cream upholstery of the sofa, a half-drunk glass of merlot in one hand and her phone loosely clasped in the other. The lights were dimmed, the warm hue of orange allowing her heart to beat at a rhythmic tempo. Some god-awful reality show murmured from the television in the background as she mindlessly scrolled through her inbox. A blanket, forest green and flecked with pinks and yellows tucked firmly around her legs, her obnoxiously large framed glasses perched at the end of her nose.
She would never say they were obnoxious, but Rio did.
Thankfully, she was Rio-free this evening.
Of course, there was no one - and she meant it literally - no one else in the world she would want to accompany her in the isolation that was cold, winter evenings, tucked away in her apartment. Her safe space. Their safe space.
But having the place to herself every once in a while, she could not deny, alleviated an itch within her that seemingly never wanted to leave. She was a solitary being and she always had been. That was why they worked so well together - she and Rio. Both were creatures of isolation, desperately seeking warmth and comfort without expectation. When they found each other, they never could look back, nor could they look elsewhere.
Which is why she found herself embracing their couch, alone and enjoying trash television that Rio would usually have flicked over to some mind-numbing documentary by now. Rio had gone out for drinks with an old friend from college who happened to be in town that weekend. It was rare for either of them to have social engagements outside of work, but she could not complain. She loved Rio, which was a far cry from any feeling she had ever had about anyone else she had become acquainted with before, but sometimes it was nice to let her heart have space. Even if for only a few hours.
Until her phone started buzzing in her hand. The sensation nearly made the glass of wine that she held pummel straight into the rattan rug beneath her.
She looked down and immediately sighed, although the quickening of her pulse reminded her of just how much she really did care for her partner. It was Rio’s name that flashed up on the screen, complete with a photo of the two of them that Agatha could have sworn she had definitely not set herself. She could not deny that the image of her, adorning a giddy grin as her head rested in the crook of Rio’s shoulder outside the Rockefeller Christmas tree from earlier that year, filled her with a warmth so poignant it highlighted an absence she had spent all evening trying to ignore.
Of course, immediate panic set in. Rio had been gone for several hours already, but it was certainly too early for her to be heading back to their apartment. Her wife had not seen Alice for nearly two years, and she knew both of them well enough to presume that the alcohol would be freely flowing, and next to no bar in the city would be left untouched by them. The only reason she would be calling was because something had happened, and unashamedly, it terrified Agatha.
“Rio?”
The line was quiet for several painful moments. All that was audible was a distant muffling, and the immediate sound of heavy bass in the distance mixed in with sirens and intermittent car horns.
“Rio?”
There was silence again. The only sound was Agatha’s own heartbeat quickening until a crackle of the phone line nearly did commit the rug’s fate of being stained forever.
“Agathaaaa!”
Jesus Christ .
Agatha exhaled at the sound of Rio’s voice, but her relief was short-lived when she registered the obtusely energetic, slurred tone ringing through her ears.
“... Are you ok?”
“Can you hear me? Oh my god, this city, I swear - the reception, it is shocking!” Agatha chose not to answer, in equal parts amusement and annoyance. “Hello? Agatha, it’s me!”
“I know who it is, you idiot.”
“Oh,” Rio sounded deflated. Agatha could see it now - the woman she had fallen for dropping her shoulders simultaneously in time with the frown appearing on her face. She had the puppy-dog look down to an absolute t. But, as quickly as her deflation sounded, her glee pushed it away. “I miss you!”
Agatha chuckled to herself. The childlike tone told her everything she needed to know.
She knew exactly why Rio was calling and she wished she could be annoyed about it, but hearing her wife act like a lovestruck teenager was too good of an opportunity to pass up on, even if the occasion only did surface when their separation was coupled with one too many alcoholic drinks.
“You saw me-” Agatha glanced down at the clock on her home screen, “- three hours ago. Rio, you saw me three hours ago! You cannot be serious.”
Agatha received an over-dramatic whine straight into her eardrum, causing her to shake her head in disbelief.
This woman would be the death of her.
“Andddddd?” Agatha was worried Rio would never even finish the word with the degree to which she let it slur. “Three hours is an exceedingly, exceedingly long time to be without you, my love.”
Rio’s words were so sincere that she wished she could stifle her laugh; it made her feel bad, knowing that Rio was clearly in a state and all Agatha had done at this point was offer mockery, but that was who she was, and Rio knew what she had signed up for. Or at least, Agatha hoped she did, especially after their nearly eight years of being together, and subsequent four years of marriage.
But she also knew just how awful Rio could be after a bit of liquid courage - it was certainly not the first time she had drunk-dialled her wife purely in search of hearing her voice, and when she put her mind to it, Rio could become annoyingly insistent on achieving her goals.
“You spend nearly eight hours every day away from me, Vidal. How is this any different?”
“Oof. We’re using surnames now? Ok … Harkness ,” Rio’s tone switched from innocence to venom, laced with a sultry threat that indicated that she was enjoying their - well, Rio’s - game of teasing far too much. “You better keep that up when I get home later, hm?”
Agatha felt her cheeks redden, and she was blissfully appreciative of the fact that she was alone. Moreover, she was extremely thankful that Rio could not get the satisfaction she so constantly craved in knowing that she had made her wife blush - she would keep this one to herself.
“Plus, that's a lie… You’re a liar! I see you at work, silly.”
Agatha could not help the groan that escaped her. “Please, don’t remind me.”
“What? You don’t like seeing me? At work? I don’t believe you…” Rio’s voice darkened once more, and Agatha immediately dreaded what nonsense she would spout next. “Your office desk that you can’t seem to stop taking me against really, really doesn’t believe you…”
Oh .
Agatha wanted to slam her own head against the coffee table - anything for some sweet relief from dealing with her abrasive wife who, much to her dismay, had a very good point to her words.
“Why don’t you love me!”
Her mind was taken away from her racing heartbeat and burning skin at the sound of Rio’s abrupt, mewling declaration.
This was going to be a long evening.
“Rio!” Her palm rested against her forehead, her fingers digging into her skin in the hope it would relieve even the smallest bit of tension that grew within her. Unfortunately for Agatha, patience was not her strong point.
Usually, Agatha would be the first to jump at the chance to dance their flirty dances, but knowing that Rio was not sober left an unpleasant taste in her mouth. It was not that it frustrated her, but knowing her wife was a certain level of intoxicated left her on edge - she could never take advantage of that.
“Is Alice with you right now?”
“Noooo!”
Ah, back to the whines of a child. Not that Agatha could dwell on it for too long, for Rio had just admitted she was alone. As much as Agatha pretended to be brazenly uninterested in the safety or concern of others, unfortunately, she was in love with Rio Vidal and that meant that the woman left her worried sick far too many times than she would care to admit.
“So you’re on your own? At some random bar? In the middle of New York City?”
Agatha’s frustration was clear, and she hoped Rio was too drunk to understand that it only came from a place of love. Even her wife did not get to see Agatha’s insecurities laid out so openly. Not all of the time, anyway.
“Noooo!”
Agatha sighed.
Sometimes she questioned why she, Agatha Harkness, powerful and respected CFO of one of the city’s finest fashion houses, had ended up cohabitating with a woman who could be entirely her opposite. Granted, Rio was esteemed within the company as a trusted designer and granted, she would command the attention of anybody who tried to step on her toes, but the other side of Rio… the side only Agatha got to see was anything but. She was naive, goofy and hell-bent on breaking down the walls of composure that Agatha herself had so tightly built. She did not hesitate to submit to Agatha as soon as she walked through their front door each night and she certainly did not stop her search in seeking even a glimpse of Agatha’s own ability to be immature.
However, she hardly ever succeeded.
“Alice is inside, stupid!”
Oh, she really was not letting the whining go.
“I swear to god, Vidal if I have to hold your hair back all night then I-”
“Ooh, yeah. You can do that! Only if we’re in bed though, or on the kitchen counter… that was fun last time.”
Agatha pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling deeply. It was essential, otherwise she would end up saying something she would regret.
“That is not what I meant and you know it.”
“Oh come off it, Harkness. I know you…” Rio’s voice deepened again, hushed and full of heat. “I know you want me. You can have it… all of it. Whenever you want, however you want.”
“Rio, I swear to god. I will do much worse than that if you carry on.”
She heard Rio gasp through the line. “Now you’re talking, sweetheart… I think you want-”
“Rio!”
She knew that Rio would understand from her tone, the fine line she was balancing on. She also knew that her wife would do anything to try and cross it, especially in her current state.
Agatha heard Rio groan in a frustrated response.
“Boo hoo,” Rio moped, her voice returning to its previous sulky tone. “You’re no fun.”
“Only when you’re having too much fun, sweetheart,” Agatha chimed back at her.
A comfortable silence settled between them. The noise of the television became a distant haze as Agatha honed in on Rio’s steady breathing, and the occasional hum of a tune from Rio’s mouth that she could not place, but it warmed her heart nonetheless. Knowing how carefree her wife was, so unapologetically herself - she was everything Agatha knew she herself could not be, and it left her in awe.
“Do you miss me?”
“Rio,” Agatha sighed, her tone exasperated. Of course, she was secretly smiling to herself. “Like I said before, it’s been three hours. Pull yourself together.”
Agatha knew that if Rio stood before her at that moment, she would have received the most over-dramatic look of shock, or rightfully so, a hard shove from her wife’s leg.
“Agaaaatha!” There it was - a voice dripping with feigning shock. “You don’t miss me? Your own wife? How dare you!”
“Go back to Alice, you haven’t seen her in years.”
“Meh,” Agatha could virtually picture Rio shrugging off the comment. “She went to get another drink, which I personally think was only so she could speak to the hot woman behind the bar…”
That comment piqued Agatha’s interest, and she was not unwise to know that Rio also knew it would. “Excuse me? Hot? ”
“Mmh, yeah. She’s got this long, flowing blonde hair… and her tattoos, wow. A whole sleeve-”
“Go back to Alice, now,” Agatha said abruptly with finality. Deep down, she knew there was nothing to be worried about, and Rio knew too, but if her wife was really that desperate to be commanded, then Agatha would happily play at her game. “And that does not mean with the ‘hot’ woman at the bar.”
A grumble sounded through the line, followed by an over-exasperated ‘ugh’ that caused Agatha to roll her eyes. “Okkk, Mom .”
Her elongation of ‘ok’ lasted one beat too long for Agatha to allow the rising jealousy within her to take hold. She could not even let her mind consider the term of endearment used otherwise she feared she would call up a taxi to bring Rio home to her immediately.
“Besides, blondes aren’t your type,” Agatha added, as if it were entirely a matter of fact. Of course, it was a matter of fact. Rio’s type did not include blonde bartenders with tattoo sleeves, and Rio did not get a say in the choice. It was entirely down to Agatha, just how Rio liked it.
“Aren’t they now?”
Rio’s retort was too quick for Agatha’s liking. Something was telling her that either Rio was sobering up, or she was definitely acting up to the fact that she was out, alone and without her trusted partner.
“Rio, your wife is sitting here, alone, waiting for you to return back to her. If you carry on like this, perhaps she won’t be so patient.”
She heard Rio laugh to herself, causing Agatha to shake her head in disbelief.
“So doooo you miss me then?”
“Rio!”
“Owh. Why won’t you say it? You make me sad!”
Agatha wished more than anything in the world that she could be face-to-face with Rio, wiping that pout away from her face with the use of her own lips, a pout that Agatha was certain she would currently be adorning.
“I’ll make you more than sad if you don’t let me finish this absolute piece of crap that I am trying to watch.”
“Ooh, is that a threat, Harkness? Don’t tease me now…”
“Right, I’m going to hang up. Text me when you’re on your way back so I know when to change the locks.”
“Agathaaaa!”
“I’m hanging up…” Agatha’s words sang through the phone - her enjoyment in regaining power over the conversation, and her wife, was all too evident.
“Wait!” Rio called through the line. Contrary to Rio’s apparent beliefs, of course, Agatha would listen to her and of course, Agatha would never hang up. “Do you love me?”
Agatha couldn’t help but sigh once more. It felt like it was all she had been capable of doing on this phone call. “Are you serious right now?”
“Yes, Agatha. I am seriously serious!”
Agatha took a large gulp of her wine in an attempt to suppress her amusement. “Rio, I am not doing this right now.”
Perhaps she did enjoy pushing the woman’s buttons, a little too much.
“But do you love me!”
She purposefully did not respond immediately, enjoying the momentary thought of Rio stewing over a question that had such an outrageously obvious answer. “I’m going to go now, Rio. Text me-”
“Huhhh! You hesitated!” Rio gasped. If they had been face-to-face right now, Agatha was sure that Rio would have been feigning actual tears. “Oh my god, you hesitated! You don’t love me!”
This time, Agatha did not attempt to stifle her chuckle, but it went amiss as Rio started rambling nonsensical words through the line. She spoke so quickly, that it was impossible to comprehend half of what she was saying.
“Why won’t you love me!”
Agatha remained silent, mostly to contain her laughter.
“I'm alone, out here, and I just want to call my wife and speak with her and-”
“Rio-” Agatha cut in with a tone so melodic she knew it would patronise the woman at the end of the line.
“Owhh. I hate this, you seriously… you! You don’t want to-”
“Rio-” Agatha was firmer in her words, but to no avail, Rio continued to splutter out her anger.
“All you think is that-”
“Rio!”
“Yeah?” Her wife’s rambling ceased, replaced by a hopeful sincerity upon hearing Agatha’s raised voice. Clearly, Agatha had finally managed to break her out from the spiralling monologue of gibberish that had begun spouting from her mouth.
Agatha wished that Rio was with her, in front of her, anywhere near her. All she wanted was to cup her hands against Rio’s cheeks, to gently trace the outline of her jaw and wipe away a loose lock of her dark hair.
“I love you.”
Agatha’s words were endearing, final and so, so soft.
“Oh,” Rio giggled through the phone, and Agatha could have sworn that, at that moment, it was the only noise she wanted to hear for the rest of her life. Yes, it could get annoying and yes, she was drunk, but oh how gorgeous of a human was she to be so blatantly abashed in her receiving of Agatha’s affections, even after all these years. “Are you sure?”
Agatha’s laugh was not held back that time around. She could not believe that this was the woman she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with. And she could not believe, even more so, that it had turned out to be one of the best decisions she had ever made.
“I am married to you, Rio,” Agatha’s tone was deadpanned - as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. “Do you see me going around marrying every person I meet?”
“No…” Rio’s voice had quietened to such a degree that it almost concerned Agatha. “You’re too busy shoving them out of the way, most of the time.”
Agatha chuckled softly. “And do you see me doing that to you?”
“Well-”
“No. Don’t answer that, Vidal,” Agatha warned, rolling her eyes once more. “I love you. And, I hate everybody else. What is so hard to understand about that?”
Rio didn’t respond, only letting out a long sigh. Agatha knew that the sigh was an answer in itself; it was an answer of acceptance and sweet-relief from any further backchat.
The silence that followed was brief, yet a momentary relief for Agatha as she sat, thinking of the woman who would soon be returning home to her. For all her quirks and outbursts over the tiniest, most insignificant problems, Agatha would truly never change it for the world.
“I love you, too,” Rio said, her voice nearly a whisper now. Agatha could not help but roll her eyes upon hearing a giddy ‘teehee’ escape her wife’s mouth.
“Can I go now… please?” Agatha asked.
It was not often that Agatha Harkness said the word ‘please’, and she certainly did not say it to the average person, but Rio was not the average person. She was her person.
She absolutely did not want to end the call, but she felt awful knowing that Rio was supposed to be catching up with an old friend that evening rather than catching up with the woman she shared a bed with every night.
“You can… watch your crappy show, or whatever, I guess,” her words were heavy with her own sigh, but Agatha knew all too well it was purely for show. Bless her, Rio was trying, but she could never be as good at it as Agatha was. “But!”
Agatha could only offer a quiet, “Mmhm?” through the line as she took one more sip from the glass of wine in her hand.
“Promise you’ll wait up for me?”
The innocence and hope behind Rio’s words were enough to untangle Agatha right then and there. All she wanted was to have her in her arms, safe and at home. Usually, she would offer a sarcastic quip, or entirely ignore the request at all, but not tonight. Not whilst Rio was making her heart swoon in a manner that would have disgusted Agatha only several years ago.
“Of course,” Agatha whispered.
After a further two-minute-long battle of backs and forths, Rio finally agreed to hang up the call. Agatha would not admit to it, no matter how many times she had actually threatened to end their conversation, but she did not have the heart to be the one to press that awful, red button at the bottom of her screen.
Returning to the solitude she had before their phone call was anticlimactic, to say the least. It was gut-wrenching if she was being entirely plain with herself, but the freshly poured wine she nursed and the new episode of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills that had begun playing were enough to keep her mind afloat and concerns for her wife at bay.
It was past midnight when Agatha heard the click of their front door open. To any stranger, it was a noise inconceivable to their ears, but Agatha had trained her senses to hone in on the slightest movement at that door. It stemmed from years of secretly waiting for Rio to return home - be it from work, from the shops, or from her nightly runs around the park that Agatha begged her not to go on, claiming it was the world she didn’t trust, not Rio. But her wife was quick to remind her, every time, that they happened to live in one of the nicest and safest neighbourhoods that the city had to offer.
She would not admit it to Rio, but she had become engrossed in her television show, so much so that she had been none the wiser to the two hours that had passed since their earlier phone call. It was just past midnight and as soon as she heard the front door shut - softly, even by Rio’s standards - it dawned on her just how tired she was. That was until an offensive clatter rang out from the hallway behind where she sat. Thankfully, her wine glass was empty and safely perched upon the coffee table.
Along with the sudden clatter, came Rio’s exasperated voice, clearly attempting at - and miserably failing - to be quiet. “Fuck! Sorry! Sorry!”
Agatha could not help the grin that formed across her face, shaking her head in disbelief.
Of course, Rio would give an FBI agent a run for their money in how stealthily she opened the door, just for her to trip over the pair of shoes that Agatha knew her wife had left there, in the way, earlier that evening.
An equally loud bang of a set of keys against china caused Agatha to grimace. She sat up, eyes watching expectantly for Rio to finally appear in the doorway of the kitchen that was positioned several steps away from the sofa.
“Are you trying to wake up the entire building?” Agatha’s tone was light, her smirk evident as Rio came into view.
The woman was a picture, as easy on the eye as when she had left, although her wide-leg jeans were now creased, and the white shirt hidden underneath her blazer evidently had some sort of drink spilt down it. Rio’s hair was tousled, her loose curls starting to flatten, and her eyes were darker than usual - a clear indication she had, in fact, been drinking. Not that Agatha needed any convincing, based on the state she was in during their conversation earlier that night.
Rio rolled her eyes, catching Agatha’s gaze. They looked at each other intently, silent for several moments, until a grin spread across Rio’s face. “You waited up,” she said warmly, exhaling a deep breath. “Sorry… someone left a pair of shoes in the way.”
Agatha raised her brow, watching as her wife filled herself a glass of water before bouncing over to the sofa.
“I wonder who that could have been…” Agatha replied with mock surprise, watching her steadfastly.
She practically jumped on Agatha, shoving her forward so that Rio could steal her position, back against the arm of the seat, and her legs stretched out at an angle against the floor. Rio snaked her arm around Agatha’s waist and pulled her closer so that her head rested just about Rio’s chest.
Agatha had learned over the years not to protest these weird invasions of her private space - though only with Rio.
Rio clearly had chosen to ignore her wife’s sarcastic quip, instead, she rested a hand against the side of Agatha’s head and leant forward to place a quick kiss on her temple. “Hi,” she said, her familiar grin returning to her features.
“Hey,” she whispered with a soft smile, time seemingly stopping just for the two of them in that single moment, before turning back and reaching for the television remote that had been kicked to the other end of the sofa. She leaned back into Rio’s chest and clicked a button on the remote so that the television show would continue. “You smell like the floor of the clubs I used to go to in college.”
“Wow, thanks, Harkness. You always have such a way with words,” Rio replied, turning her attention to the television and watching it for several moments with a grimace. “You’re watching this? Really?”
Agatha turned to face her, a brief look of mock disgust on her face before she swatted her arm at Rio’s shoulder. She could have ignored Rio, and she also could have decided to ignore the woman after playfully hitting her, but of course, the temptation to go one step further was too much for Agatha. She turned her body fully, lifting a finger against Rio’s lip and forcefully quietening her. Rio’s eyes widened in anticipation, eliciting a satisfied grin from Agatha. She knew Rio wanted her to do more - to graze her finger against her chin, to force it into Rio’s mouth, to demand Rio take it. This was exactly why she did nothing apart from dig her nail into her wife’s puckered, rouging skin before forcibly retracting her hand away.
Rio nearly let out a whine in disappointment.
“Shut up,” Agatha said, turning back to focus on the television. “How was Alice?”
Rio groaned in response, then shook off her disappointment. She began absentmindedly fiddling with a loose lock of Agatha’s hair that had strayed from the messy updo she wore, and Agatha could not help but lean back a little further against her wife, her touch immediately creating a calmness she had been void of all evening.
“Good, although she lost another job earlier in the year… I feel for her. She means no harm but nothing seems to work in her favour.”
Agatha hummed in response. Frankly, as much as she loved Rio, and by extension the people in Rio’s life who loved her, she really was not bothered enough to offer any sort of sympathy, especially when she knew that Rio’s friend would never take any of their advice, considering their numerous past failed attempts. “You seem… more sober than earlier.”
Agatha felt a jab in her back. Granted, her teasing tone had earned her that one.
She felt Rio shrug her shoulders. “Nothing a bit of water couldn’t fix.”
“I’ll remind you of that in the morning when you’re kicking me out of bed to get the painkillers, hm?”
“Whatever,” Rio muttered. They settled into a comfortable silence, as Rio continued to play with Agatha’s loose locks. “There is definitely a better cure for hangovers though… one that would benefit you as much as it would me. Are you going to treat me, Harkness? Seeing as I am apparently so ‘sober’ for you?”
Agatha felt a familiar chill run down her spine at hearing Rio’s words whispered into her ear accompanied by her wife’s hand snaking its way around her neck, clasping at her throat briefly - she could not control the soft whine that left her mouth.
She knew Rio would be wearing a satisfied grin - she didn’t need to turn around and look at her. Before Rio’s hand completely left her throat, Agatha was sure to trap it with her own. She squeezed Rio’s palm, softly at first, letting her grip tighten around Agatha’s throat, both quiet but their shaky breaths loud. Agatha felt Rio’s other hand begin to wander down her back until it curved around her hip, gripping at her thigh with vigour. Rio thought it was game on and she was ready to pounce upon her wife, until abruptly, Agatha growled and twisted her own hand so Rio’s knuckles were crushed under her newfound dominance.
“Owh!”
Agatha could not help the laugh that escaped her as she listened to Rio squeal. She lifted her head, Rio’s disappointment displayed in full view, as she began to shake her head in disbelief. “That is for the blonde woman that my wife called ‘hot’ earlier.”
“Oh my god, Agatha, it was a joke-”
Rio was unable to finish her sentence, distracted by her wife. Agatha had smoothly turned her entire body, laying herself against Rio’s chest with one hand resting against the quick beat of her wife’s heart. Their faces were inches from each other. Agatha looked into Rio’s eyes with a menacing glare as a disastrous smirk etched across her features. She watched her wife take a deep breath with anticipation, and oh , did Agatha enjoy seeing the woman unravel before her.
Agatha slowly inched closer to Rio’s face, their breaths intermingled with one another. She could practically taste the alcohol that Rio had consumed, but that was all she was going to allow herself. Instead of doing what Rio wanted; what she hoped and anticipated, Agatha did entirely the opposite, firmly placing her palm across Rio’s mouth, hiding that infuriating smirk that caused her chest to flutter.
“You…” Agatha breathed, her face still nearing Rio’s as their eyes practically touched, “...Vidal,” she let her palm push more pressure against Rio’s mouth, pushing her own body off Rio’s chest as her legs wrapped around either side of her wife’s hips, “...Are not-”, Agatha watched intently as Rio’s entire body began to pulsate in time with her heavy breathing, “- getting-” Agatha caressed her free hand down the side of Rio’s face, “-anything from me.”
As quickly as her hand had pressed against Rio’s face, she lifted it to uncover a deep scowl of discontent. The satisfaction it instilled in Agatha was immeasurable.
“That is not fair! Oh my god, you are such a-”
Before Rio could finish, the two women’s attention was taken away from one another as they heard the unmistakable sound of a door opening, across the room and down the hallway.
“Oh, I am so going to kill you, Vidal,” Agatha snarled as she threw her legs from Rio’s waist and pushed herself against the other end of the sofa. Agatha turned her body, attempting to regain her own heavy breaths as she twisted to face the kitchen, waiting expectantly.
Rio grimaced, her body sinking into her own shoulders as she muttered a genuine, quick apology.
“Mama?” A voice sounded from the corner of the living area. Standing in the doorway of the corridor that Rio had previously stumbled down was a small boy, wearing blue pyjamas with green dinosaurs printed on them, clutching at a worn, well-loved toy rabbit. “Mami?”
Agatha shot Rio an intense glare, before laying her eyes on their son and allowing a soft smile to spread across her face. She got up, leaving Rio to silently pray that she would in fact make it out alive that night, and moved across the living room and through to the kitchen, her arms outstretched as she crouched down before the small child.
“Hey baby,” she muttered softly, running her hand through his unruly bed hair. He looked concerned, and definitely still half-asleep, his eyes had not fully opened yet and his toy rabbit was clutched firmly into the crook of his neck. Agatha felt a familiar aching tug within her chest; she couldn’t resist gently scooping the child up into her arms, beginning to softly sway her body as he instinctively curled his head against her shoulder. “Are you ok?”
She did not receive a response, only a soft groan that vibrated across her front, causing the ache in her chest to harden. “Nicky?” she murmured a little louder, shooting a glance towards her wife who was watching them both intently from the living area. “Did you have a bad dream again?”
Nicky proceeded to shake his head against his mother’s chest, before finally lifting it up to reveal his disgruntled face. “Big noise… scared me.”
Rio didn’t think she could sink any lower into the couch, but she tried just as hard as she tried to hide the curl of her lips when she received yet another threatening stare from Agatha.
Agatha bounced Nicky gently against her hip as a frown appeared on his face before he hid it once more in the crook of her shoulder. “That was only your Mami, Nicky. She was being very, very naughty.”
Agatha wanted to slap the shit-eating grin from Rio’s face, but both became distracted by the sweet melody of Nicky’s giggle.
The familiar flutter within Agatha’s chest reminded her of that very same giggle she had heard from Rio earlier that evening. It truly was her favourite noise and she hoped that one day, she would leave this earth with that being the last sound to ever swim through her ears.
“I heard Mami scream… Was that because she was naughty?”
It was Rio’s turn to shoot Agatha a look, her brows raised and her smirk still evident.
Agatha’s cheeks briefly reddened as she considered how on earth she could wrangle her way out of this one. Nicky was, unfortunately for her lack of patience, going through a stage of asking incessant questions about anything and everything.
Instead of responding immediately, Agatha readjusted her hold of the boy in her arms before carrying him over to the living room with practised ease. She felt Rio’s hand against her back, guiding her as she settled herself against the sofa.
“You’ll have to ask your Mami about that one, kiddo.”
The tiredness in Nicky’s eyes quickly dissipated when he saw Rio sitting next to them. Instead, it was replaced by a widening stare as a large grin spread across his face.
“Mami!” Nicky squealed as he spread out his arms, reaching for the woman sitting next to him and Agatha. He practically toppled on top of Rio, but her arms were ready and waiting for his embrace. “Why are you being naughty?”
Nicky’s face formed into a pout that Agatha recognised to be identical to her wife’s own childlike expressions. Both she and Rio shared a look of fondness with one another, their earlier tension quickly disappearing as they united in adoration of their son.
Rio shrugged her shoulders, letting Nicky stand up in her lap as he placed both hands on her shoulders. His look of disapproval made her want to laugh - he had a knack for acting way beyond his years sometimes, something Rio was sure he had adopted from his Mama.
“You tell me, kiddo. Mama’s just being annoying again… you know how she is, huh?”
Nicky giggled again as he crouched down, moving to sit in Rio’s lap. “Yeah, she is silly,” he agreed nonchalantly, his voice uncharacteristically deepening in tandem with his head briefly shaking in disbelief. Agatha could virtually hear him tutting at her.
Agatha scoffed. Of course, her son would act like a sixty-year-old man when it suited him, and of course, he would always side with Rio.
“Excuse me, Mister!” Agatha’s hand found Nicky’s neck, as she began to tickle him. Chaos erupted from the boy as he squealed, kicked and thrashed in response as Rio tried to avoid being whacked in the nose.
When Agatha finally relented, Nicky exhaled, looking up at both of his mothers with red cheeks and a breathless laugh.
“You know, Nicky, I would strongly, strongly advise that you wake Mami up tomorrow morning, as early as you please. You have my full permission, just this once.” Agatha spoke as if it were an inside secret, just between them. She chose to ignore the shove of Rio’s foot against her hip.
“Really?” Nicky’s eyes lit up.
”Mmhm,” Agatha replied. “Just this once. But, you are not allowed to wake me up, only Mami. That is very important.”
“Ok!”
“Hey,” Rio tried to interrupt, but it was evident Nicky’s mind was already made up. “That’s not fair…”
“But you're naughty!”
The laughter of their son instantly softened Rio’s features. Agatha knew that all hell would break loose in only a matter of hours when Nicky inevitably erupted through their bedroom door before the sun had even had a chance to rise, but knowing she would be winning the endless battle that she and her wife had committed to was entirely worth it.
”On one condition, Mister…” Nicky looked up at Agatha, listening astutely. “You go back to bed now… it is way past your bedtime. It is way past my bedtime, and it is certainly way past Mami’s bedtime, hm?”
Nicky grinned, nodding in agreement at Agatha’s final joke. “Ok, Mama. Will you tuck me in?”
Agatha nodded. “Of course, I’ll meet you there, baby. Go on. I need to sort out your Mami first.”
As Nicky gleefully pressed a kiss against Rio’s cheek before sauntering out of the room, Agatha turned to face her wife. She knew that the grin she wore would anger Rio, and the satisfaction it brought her was immeasurable.
“I hate you!” Rio seethed through gritted teeth.
Agatha smirked as she stood up from the sofa, leaning down so she was inches from Rio’s face once more. She placed one hand on Rio’s shoulder for support, whilst the other moved to her face, flicking two of her fingers under Rio’s chin menacingly. Their eyes locked together, both daring the other to give in to the tension burning between them.
“No, you don’t. You love me.”