Chapter Text
"Miss Harkness, ten minutes." A woman with a headset and clipboard notified her at the dressing room door, closing it after.
"Can you do it any faster?" Agatha asked, turning to the makeup artist, who, in her opinion, was taking too long for someone earning two hundred dollars an hour to play with brushes and lipstick.
"Sorry, Miss Harkness." She apologized, finishing the translucent powder touch-up on the actress's face with a soft, full-bristled brush, taking off the plastic "bib" that protected the costume. "All set."
"Finally." The actress jumped out of the chair, stomping so hard on her way to the designated set of the day that the sound of her high heels echoed, not bothering to say ‘thank you’.
Agatha Harkness hated everything about the project, and more than anything, she hated her agent, Alice, who had landed her the role.
The actress was not an easy person to work with, and her reputation quickly spread throughout all of Hollywood. The way she treated staff, argued with directors and screenwriters when things didn't go her way, and gave sharp retorts to her co-stars. The fact was, no one wanted to hire Agatha Harkness.
So Alice, refusing to let go of Agatha's hand due to their years of friendship, came up with the stupidly brilliant idea of casting her in a much-anticipated, talked-about film in the hopes of cleaning her image; a Christmas lesbian romance with a happy and fulfilling ending for the mainstream audience.
The problem was, Agatha found everything incredibly irritating. She didn't like the story, the unrealistic idea of a Christmas romance with a happily ever after, the fact that she was spending the last month of the year locked on a film set, the director who seemed like a walking pride parade, the intern who followed her up and down, and above all, she hated with all her might her co-star, Rio Vidal.
Much of this hatred, although she would never admit it, stemmed from the fact that Rio had the lead role in the film, and Agatha was just her romantic interest.
"Written in the Stars" was actually a sequel. A few years ago, Rio had played a secondary character in a slapstick film about a woman who accompanies her girlfriend to her parents' house for Christmas, unaware that her partner wasn't out to the family. Or something like that; Agatha hadn't bothered to pay much attention. What happened was that the audience complained after the film, begging for the protagonist to end up with Rio's character instead of the lying girlfriend, and that sparked an idea in director Jennifer Kale’s mind to write a sequel where Rio Vidal’s character found love.
That love was played by none other than Agatha Harkness, and reality couldn't be more different. She couldn't stand Rio, and worse, the other woman knew it, always finding ways to provoke her with some joke or irritating act. She knew exactly how to get under Agatha’s skin like no one else could.
On top of that, Rio was a talented actress, which made Agatha even more displeased, reducing her arsenal of bad things to say about Rio. For now, she could settle for calling her co-worker annoying, stuck-up, pompous, and inconvenient.
In the plot, Rio's character is a doctor, and Agatha’s character is a businesswoman who despises Christmas and doesn’t believe in its magic. She ends up in a snow accident, spending the holiday season with the protagonist and falling in love in the process. In Agatha's view, it was a silly, pretentious script, and it certainly had nothing to do with the fact that she personally hated Christmas and New Years.
But Alice had worked hard to get Agatha accepted into the production, and she, despite her behavior, loved her career. So, she would endure in silence, even when they made her dye her hair blonde for the role.
Today’s scenes would be filmed at a Christmas party for the hospital staff that Agatha’s character insists on attending, unable to stand being confined to her hospital bed. She forces Rio’s character to take her. It would be a crucial moment for the story, as a secondary character flirts with the protagonist, and Agatha's character freaks out with jealousy, realizing her feelings are deeper than she thought.
"Everyone ready?" Jennifer asked, walking over to the director’s chair and sitting down.
"I’m ready." Rio said, and Agatha saw her for the first time that day, already irritated by the way she said the simple sentence, as if she were better than everyone else there. "And you, Agatha?" She asked with a mocking smile, never missing a chance to provoke.
"Always." Agatha replied curtly, exhausted from the entire situation, just wishing it would all end soon.
Agatha had seen some of Rio’s work and passed by her in the hallways of events and award shows, but she only truly met her at the first script reading. She didn’t dislike her at first, but during the break, she overheard Rio talking with Jennifer in the cafeteria, staying hidden by the door to listen.
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Jen?" Rio had asked, preparing her coffee. "Agatha Harkness is nothing but trouble."
"I know." The director admitted. "But she’s good as an actress, and Alice has helped me a lot in the past. I feel like I owe her. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. Agatha is desperate to not be forgotten."
She would never admit how that hit her, the tears that she didn’t allow to fall, knowing it was all true. If that was how Rio saw her without even talking or getting to know her properly, then so be it. Agatha would rise to the occasion.
It had been six torturous weeks since then.
"Action!" Jennifer’s voice echoed across the room, and the camera started rolling.
Agatha entered the secluded room, hyperventilating, pacing back and forth in desperation, sitting on the nearest couch and hiding her face in her hands, breathing deeply to calm down.
Rio entered right after with a concerned look, kneeling in front of her. "Hey, what happened? Are you okay?" She asked, touching Agatha’s arms as if searching for signs of what was wrong. "Feeling dizzy?"
Agatha lifted her face, forced tears already rolling down her cheeks, and Rio’s expression turned more serious, furrowing her brows and checking Agatha’s eyelids. "Can you talk?"
She promptly pushed Rio’s hands away, turning her face away from hers. "I can." She said with a choked voice and bitterness. "You can too, apparently, and quite a lot."
"You’re not making any sense." Rio said, getting up and trying to wrap her arms around Agatha. "I think you're confused. Come on, I’ll take you back to bed."
"I don’t want to!" Agatha exclaimed, standing up and moving away from Rio, who looked surprised. "Leave me alone! Why don’t you go back to your little girlfriend?"
"What?" Rio asked, confused, sitting on the couch.
"I saw you two talking." Agatha said, placing a hand over her chest and turning towards the fake window. "All night. She couldn’t take her eyes off you."
"The nurse? We’re just friends!" Rio exclaimed, still looking confused, her expression slowly changing.
Agatha couldn’t deny that Rio did it very well.
"That’s not how it looked." Agatha said with disdain, dripping jealousy in every word.
Rio stood up, walking slowly toward Agatha, who was partially turned away from her, placing a warm hand on her shoulder. "Why do you care so much about this?" She whispered loudly in Agatha’s ear.
Agatha fully turned to face Rio, and they exchanged a loaded look, both trying to convey the necessary tension with just their eyes. Agatha huffed in frustration, walking out with purpose, lightly bumping her shoulder against Rio’s, closing the door behind her, leaving the woman alone in the room.
"Cut!" Jennifer exclaimed, and the outside lights turned on. She smiled from ear to ear. "Amazing, girls."
Agatha accepted the compliment gracefully, even though it bothered her that it wasn’t directed at her alone.
"As you know, we have until January to deliver the film to post-production, and I’d really like us to finish the filming by New Year’s Eve." Jennifer began explaining to the crew. "Unfortunately, this means we’ll have to work during Christmas week."
A grumbling began immediately, and Jennifer raised her hand, trying to continue. "To ease the burden, I’ve worked with the producers to create a schedule so only essential workers will be around during that time. Those in secondary or outsourced roles will have time off, and none of us will work on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day."
To be honest, it didn’t make the slightest difference in Agatha’s life.
Since childhood, it had always been just her and her mother, Evanora, and a special occasion didn’t change their relationship except for the fact that once a year her mother pretended to be religious and forced her to attend Christmas Mass. Agatha wasn't sure if she'd ever received a gift on the occasion during her childhood and adolescence, and New Year's meant the day when Evanora felt most free to evaluate all the events of the past year and always verbalized how much of a failure her daughter had been, how bad her grades and behavior were, how much of a disappointment she was.
When Agatha joined theater, much to her mother's dismay, who saw the environment as a place of perdition, the holiday season became synonymous with Secret Santa and gatherings with colleagues she didn’t feel comfortable enough to call friends, except for Alice.
After landing her first role in a movie and fully entering the glamorous world of Hollywood, the holidays were now spent at parties with celebrities whose names and faces Agatha couldn’t remember, ignoring Evanora’s calls, knowing that once again she would hear that she had been born evil and was a rotten fruit after her mother saw in the news that Agatha Harkness considered herself a out and proud lesbian actress, pouring glass after glass of champagne and kissing actresses, models, and singers she didn’t care about.
Now, at 37, Christmas and New Year's were just any other days to Agatha Harkness. The only difference was that during this time of year, people made the effort to pretend they were good and charitable, that they would be different once the clock struck midnight.
Bullshit.
That’s why, when December 23rd came, Agatha didn’t mind walking through the freezing air to get to the set, pulling her heavy coat tighter around herself and forcing a smile to greet the few crew members still around, subtly rolling her eyes at the Christmas lights and musics decorating the place.
What really bothered her, in fact, was the new intern she always caught out of the corner of her eye following her. A guy with light brown hair and hazel-green eyes, never more than five meters away, and always silent.
Agatha was no stranger to the uncomfortable behavior of many Hollywood men, but something about this situation bothered her in a different way. The guy always seemed to be doing his job, as if being near her was merely a coincidence, never said a word, nor came close enough to talk, and that made Agatha feel uneasy in a way that sent shivers down her spine. He had a different aura, as if he didn’t belong there.
But she convinced herself that he was just an intern starstruck by the opportunity to work on a million-dollar film, and she remembered all too well when she was in the same position.
When Agatha arrived on set that day, the exterior of the hospital, there he was again. He was standing next to Jennifer holding a clipboard, subtly trying to avoid looking directly at Agatha. Why on earth would a production intern be essential?
Agatha grunted as she remembered what the planned scene was for today. Her character was being discharged from the hospital after an argument with Rio and was about to leave, but the protagonist would follow her. Then came the big culmination of the romantic tension between the protagonists. The kiss.
Rio, as always, was already there in her medical costume with dark red scrubs and a second-skin coat underneath, standing in the middle of the fake snow, talking to the intimacy coordinator.
“Agatha!” Jen exclaimed. “Finally, we can start.”
The coordinator quickly approached the blonde, asking about what would be comfortable for her to do and insisting that the two rehearsed at least once before filming, even though Agatha claimed she was too good of an actress to need that.
Reluctantly, Agatha agreed, and Rio stood in front of her with a smirk. “You don’t have to pretend you weren’t dying to do this, Agatha.”
Agatha held back a roll of her eyes, pursing her lips in a slight pout. “Let’s just get this over with.”
“Wow... such a hurry,” Rio teased again, moving closer when the coordinator instructed Rio to hold her by the waist.
They tested out a few choreography options, and Agatha did everything she could to ignore the shocks running through her skin every time Rio’s warm hand touched her waist, arm, or back, attributing it to the discomfort of being so physically close to someone she couldn’t stand. Finally, they decided that the best way would be for Agatha to hold Rio’s face, while Rio would touch her back first and then moved her hands up to her wrists.
“Everyone in position,” Jennifer called, settling into her chair. “And… action!”
Agatha walked through the fake snow, pulling her coat tighter around herself, with her head down and her nose red from the tears welling in her eyes, holding her bag with all her belongings, ready to return to her solitary home right on Christmas day.
Rio hurried out of the hospital door, looking frantically around until she found Agatha, running toward her. “Wait!”
Agatha raised her head sadly and turned to face Rio, who stopped in front of her. “What? Let me go, please.”
“No.” Rio shook her head vehemently, tears in her eyes. “I can’t do this. I’ve already wasted too much of my life pretending I didn’t want the things I wanted the most. I’m in love with you.”
Agatha sighed loudly, raising her eyebrows in surprise.
“And if you tell me that there’s even the slightest chance we could be together, I’ll fight for you, for us.”
Agatha mentally noted how cheesy that line was but remained in character.
Rio held Agatha’s left hand between hers. “I know you’ve been hurt a lot, but all I want is to prove to you that love can be good and that you can be happy again.”
Agatha swallowed hard, demonstrating a mix of emotions as she looked at Rio.
“So, what do you say?”
Agatha slowly placed her hands on Rio’s face as they had rehearsed and pressed their lips together, feeling the other woman’s hands immediately caressing her back. It was a technical kiss, like any other one she had done countless times before, but she tried to put the emotion the scene required into it, moving her lips against Rio’s and feeling Rio reciprocate when she grabbed her wrists, tilting her head closer as if intensifying the contact. Rio’s lips were warm and soft, and even without tongue, Agatha could feel the wet contact between their mouths.
The kiss ended, and Agatha pressed her forehead against Rio’s for a long time, their breath mingling in the cold air.
“Cut!” Jennifer exclaimed happily, clapping her hands. “Wow, that was amazing.”
Agatha looked into Rio’s eyes and quickly pulled away, startled by the intensity she found there. She glanced toward Jennifer, but the infamous intern caught her attention. He was looking at them with wide eyes and a small smile on his face. Agatha wasn’t sure what to think about it, but something told her it wasn’t malicious.
The producer laughed beside Jennifer. “Very realistic too, you both sighed so much I had to turn off my headphones.”
Agatha automatically felt her cheeks heating up. She heard a short chuckle and turned to Rio, who was covering her mouth with her hand. She couldn’t help but smile at the situation, regaining her composure when the woman sent her a wink.
Jennifer dismissed the crew for the day, informing them that they had to return on the 26th to re-record a few scenes and finalize the final ones—a montage of scenes where the two lived “happily ever after.”
On her way back to her trailer, Rio intercepted her.
“Hey, Agatha!” The blonde turned, annoyed, with no energy for any interaction with the other actress. “I was really impressed with you today.”
She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms and continuing to walk. “Oh, really? Why’s that?”
“Well, I thought you’d mess up on purpose so you could kiss me a few more times,” Rio said with a smile, and Agatha huffed, turning toward her, irritated.
“Listen here, Rio,” she began with disdain, pointing a finger at the woman, who looked surprised. “If that ever worked in the past, know that it won’t work with me. I’m a professional, and I take my job seriously.”
Her face was red, and Rio’s wide, hazel eyes looked at her with amusement, almost making her puff steam from her ears. Rio raised her hands in surrender to Agatha. “Sorry. I just wanted to joke around.”
“I thought I made it clear that your jokes are not welcome with me.”
Agatha started walking again, rolling her eyes when Rio called her back as soon as she reached the dressing room door.
“What are you doing tomorrow and the day after?” Rio asked. “Some of us from the crew won’t be able to spend time with our families, and we were thinking of having dinner together.”
“I’ll be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas by myself, thankful I won’t have to see your faces for at least two days,” Agatha replied, curtly, slamming the door in Rio’s face right after.
____
When Agatha left the dressing room after removing her makeup for the day and changing clothes, she locked the trailer door, sighing with the promise of pouring an entire bottle of wine and passing out on the couch, preferably not waking up until the 26th.
Until she spotted the intern again, staring at her and disguising it when the actress noticed, turning around and heading back to the set. Agatha was genuinely tired of the situation and decided to follow him with quick steps.
"Hey, you!" she called, and the boy quickened his pace, nearly running. "I can’t believe this," Agatha whispered, outraged by the absurdity of the situation, walking faster while adjusting the strap of her bag that was slipping off her shoulder.
He turned down one of the producer’s hallways, trying to shake her off, but Agatha was faster, catching the intern entering one of the rooms and blocking the door with her foot as she entered behind him.
Agatha only realized it was a trap when she heard the door slam behind her.
"Look here, kid." She turned defensively, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but you can be sure that tomorrow morning you’ll be fired. You pest!"
She let go of him, even more furious because he didn’t seem shaken, a hint of humor in his brown-green eyes. "Do you know who you're dealing with? I’m an A-list actress, no matter what others say. And who do you think you are? Some intern." Agatha turned the badge hanging around his neck to read his name. "Agner? What kind of name is that? I want the name of the person who put you here, your career is over before it even started."
She stared at him in silence until the boy raised his hands as if asking for her to calm down. "I understand why you’re feeling this way. Can I explain myself?"
Agatha smirked and threw herself onto the couch, crossing her arms. "Go ahead, I’ll love to see you try."
"You weren’t lying, were you?" Agner sat down in front of her on a pouf. "When you told me you used to have a heart of stone."
Agatha’s eyes widened, a surge of uncontrollable anger building up. "What? Oh, you’re so fired."
"Calm down," he asked, taking a deep breath. "I was hoping to talk about this on another ocassion, but I feel like time is running out and I needed to speak with you."
She reclined on the couch, furrowing her brows. "What do you want? An autograph? A walk-on role?"
Agner shook his head. "It’s nothing like that." He took another deep breath, his leg bouncing anxiously. "Okay, here it is." The intern looked her straight in the eyes. "I’m a time traveler."
Agatha stared at him for two seconds before bursting into laughter so loud and long it made her stomach hurt. She wiped the tears from her eyes while the intern remained impassive. "A walk-on role, then. Sorry, kid, you’re just not cut out for acting." She grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
"You never knew your father and your mother, Evanora, doesn’t even know who he is," the intern said, and Agatha stopped in her tracks, her hand trembling on the doorknob. "Your first job was on a puppet's show about squirrels, and you used to cry in the bathroom between breaks, thinking you weren’t good enough."
Agatha turned toward him, her face flushed with a mix of emotions: anger, outrage, sadness, curiosity.
The intern continued, sensing his tactic had worked. "You have a birthmark on your left rib, and a tiny crescent moon tattoo on your back that you got when you were eighteen and had fifty bucks in your pocket. You can only sleep lying on your side and will never admit to anyone, but you snor-"
"Stop!" Agatha exclaimed, overwhelmed by emotion and feeling like she was in the middle of the most distasteful prank ever. "This doesn’t prove a thing about this madness; you could’ve found this on some crazy website that you young people use these days, that thing called Tic Tac."
"And you’d say that to any interviewer, Agatha?" He retorted, standing up. "I know this because you told me, in the future."
Agatha laughed without humor, disbelieving the situation. "And why would I tell you all this?"
He moved closer, face to face with Agatha, who realized they weren’t that different in height. "Agatha, look at me. Really look."
The blonde actress scanned his face. He looked so familiar, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint where the resemblance came from.
He decided to spare her from the mystery. "Agatha, I’m your son."
Agatha shook her head, refusing to delve any further into this insanity. "Look, congratulations, you almost convinced me."
She turned to the door and opened it.
"Once you told me that this Christmas would be the worst of your life," The intern said, and Agatha froze. "Tomorrow morning, your mother will send you a message that will hurt you and almost ruin your day. Maybe when that happens, you’ll believe it, mom."
Agatha turned back to him. "I’m not your mother," she said sharply. "I don’t even know who you are."
The actress walked out without looking back.
Agatha couldn’t sleep the entire night, tossing and turning in bed, staring at the ceiling, and replaying the events of the previous day in her mind like a movie.
It was 11:50 in the morning when Agatha checked her phone again. No messages from Evanora. She smiled triumphantly and muttered to herself, "Time traveler, my ass."
The moment she placed her phone face down on the table, it buzzed.
Agatha picked it up with trembling hands, her heart racing and her stomach sinking as the screen displayed a notification from her mother. She opened it, nearly breaking out in a cold sweat.
Mom: Good morning, Agatha.
You’re the most ungrateful person I’ve ever met in my entire life. I raised you, fed you, gave you a roof over your head, and yet you love to complain about me.
But I could’ve been a much worse mother, so you better be thankful for everything I did for you.
All this, just for you to grow up into an unhappy person who doesn’t even have the decency to pick up the phone and message her own mother to arrange coming home for Christmas. Beauty and talent only last so long—even though you don’t have much of either—and when this little pretend life of yours in Hollywood falls apart, it’s me you’ll have to come running back to.
You’re a horrible person, Agatha, beyond saving. I should’ve killed you the moment you left my body; it would’ve saved me so much grief. And let’s not even start on how you’re nearly 40 and still shamelessly sleeping with women instead of finding a husband.
May Jesus bless you this holiday season.
Agatha sat down on the couch, tears streaming down her face, her heart heavy in her chest. Her mother’s insults played on a loop in her mind, along with what the intern had told her the day before.
It couldn’t be true. It had to be some kind of scheme between the two of them.
But would Evanora really go to such lengths to hurt her? Would she plan all this with an accomplice when her mere typed words were already enough to make Agatha feel like she’d hit rock bottom?
She curled up on the couch, feeling smaller and lonelier than ever, and stayed there, motionless and crying silently, until the doorbell rang.
Agatha quickly got up, desperate to see another human being, even if it was just the mailman. When she opened the door, Agner, the intern, stood on the other side.
He looked at the state she was in with a sorrowful expression. "I figured she’d have sent you the message by now."
"Who are you?" Agatha asked, suddenly breathless. Her head was spinning, and she collapsed back onto the couch, hyperventilating.
"I’ve already told you." He said, and she noticed he was offering her a glass of water—from her own kitchen. Agatha downed it in one gulp, wondering how he already knew his way around her house. The intern sat beside her on the couch. "Mom, look at me."
Agatha looked deep into his eyes and felt completely dizzy. There was a weight on her chest she couldn’t ignore as she stared at the boy in front of her. An undeniable certainty that he was hers—a feeling so instinctive it could make a mother pick her child out of a crowd of millions. She knew, deep in her bones, that this boy had come from her, that the blood rushing through his veins was the same as hers.
She threw herself into his arms, and he hugged her tightly as she sobbed uncontrollably. "Oh my God! I’m so sorry!" she cried, holding him close. "I’m sorry, I’m sorry."
"It’s okay," He replied, his voice trembling with emotion. "I understand how hard it must be for you to process this. I barely understand it myself."
Agatha cupped his face in her hands, finally recognizing the shape of his eyes, cheeks, and mouth,features she saw in her own reflection every day. "How? How did this happen?"
"I don’t know." He shook his head. "I just wished for it really hard, and when I woke up, there I was. A Christmas miracle."
Agatha’s jaw dropped. "Wait. Who’s your father? Because unless I’ve been brainwashed into renouncing my sexuality, I don’t see how this could’ve happened. Unless we have another case of immaculate conception on December 25."
He laughed out loud. "The miracle of in vitro fertilization."
Agatha sighed in relief. "So, am I a spinster? Or did someone actually put up with me long enough to be your other mom?" He opened his mouth to answer. "Wait, don’t tell me. Can you tell me? Or will it upset the balance of the universe? And what was I thinking, naming you Agner?"
"First of all, I have no idea what the rules are for all this. And the name’s fake—I didn’t want you to suspect anything until I figured out what to do."
"What’s your real name?" she asked, even though the answer was already clear to her.
"The one you always said you’d give a son if you ever had one."
"Nicholas" they said in unison, and Agatha pulled him into another hug, rocking him in her arms.
"Wait." Agatha pulled back. "You said this was going to be the worst Christmas of my life, that it almost ruined my day. What changed? What happened to make it better?"
Nicholas opened his mouth, visibly pondering what to say. "Well…this is the complicated part."
Agatha frowned, confused. Before she could say another word, there were two loud knocks at the door.