Work Text:
The knife hits the wooden board and the chopping sound is loud on the otherwise silent kitchen. The apples are cut into small pieces before being dumped into the boiling water, the smell of roasted meat wafts through the house and the gray-haired witch sings a soft tune under her breath.
The snow is piling up outside and the sun shines a lazy light through the window. In her stay at home robes, Lilia works on Yule dinner. Jen and Alice are out, buying presents. Agatha is begrudgingly in charge of the cookies and nowhere to be seen, avoiding her baking duty as much as she can while Rio is fixing last minute decorations, apparently the house needed more vines.
“Agatha.” The divination witch calls out, drying her hands on the towel that adorns her waist.
Surprisingly, the woman does appear, eyes dancing with malicious mischief and a smirk plastered on her face.
Lilia narrows her eyes. “What’s with that face?”
“Nothing.” She replies, smile widening.
The older witch lets out a disbelieving hum.
“I’m practically done here. I need you to start working on the ginger snaps.”
“They are done.” She fakes surprise, raising her eyebrows and parading around the counter to grab a hidden metal tray.
“When did you…?” Lilia mumbles, cutting herself off as she picks up a cookie and bites into it.
The divination witch had given Agatha a written step-by-step recipe, there was no way she could get it wrong, and yet she did. The dough was dry and chewy, sticking to every surface of her mouth and leaving a rough feeling in her throat after she swallowed it. It was hard as rock.
“This is awful.” She coughs out, still chewing on the lodged remains.
“Rio and I made them.”
“Clearly.” The older woman’s eyes widen and her face turns to the side, throwing the ruined dessert onto the flour-covered counter.
Light footsteps are heard and a small head of brown hair runs behind the marble. Lilia bends down and opens her arms, knowing the boy's movements by heart. He throws himself at her and she stands up with him on her hip.
“Mommy and I finished decorating, can you come see?” Nicky asks, playing with Lilia’s curls.
“Of course I can.” She bounces him and he laughs.
“Careful there Lilia, we wouldn’t want you to hurt your back.” Agatha jabs, smirking at her own joke.
The older witch throws her a warning glance.
“Can I have a cookie?” The boy stretches his hand and Lilia grabs it.
“Maybe later. Your brother is going to make another batch so your mothers don’t poison us all.” The divination witch makes her way to the hallway. “Where’s he by the way?” She asks the brunette following her.
“Out with his boyfriend.” Agatha says, her voice full of an amused chimbre that Lilia only understands when she enters the living room.
The fireplace is lit, the lights are dimmed and the ambience is cozy. The previous decorations are in place, the tree stands by the side with pines and dried orange ornaments, the Yule wreath is hanging in the chimney wall and the smell of cinnamon is in the air. Rio’s final touch was apparently placing a mistletoe on every door frame of the house
“Mommy said you are supposed to receive a kiss when you are under it, so I thought it would be nice to have more!” Nicky exclaims in the older woman’s hold, arms raised high and nearly hitting the branch hanging above them.
“Of course you did, my beautiful boy.” She presses a big kiss against his cheek and sets him down. “Why don’t you go get ready for dinner?”
She waits for him to nod and run upstairs before turning around to face the brunette, face closed off and lips pressed forward.
“I’m going to kill her.”
Agatha lets out a low chuckle. “I’d pay to see that.”
Rolling her eyes, Lilia calls out Rio.
Death has a way of sneaking up on people, and one of her favorite pastimes seems to be scaring the gray-haired witch and watching her jump every time.
“Yes, M’Lady.” She says, a smirk plastered on her face as Agatha snorts beside her.
“Explain.” The Sicilian grumbles.
Rio stretches forward, curving her back and standing inches from the gray-haired woman’s face. “Only after I receive my kiss.”
The divination witch glares at her for the implication, raising her eyebrows and placing her tongue on the roof of her mouth as her jaw moves sideways.
Her gaze settles on the brunette. “Are you going to let your wife flirt with me?”
Agatha nods decidedly, face turning serious. “That’s right, Rio.” She turns her attention to the entity. “I got here first, I have first kiss rights.”
“Not fair! I put the mistletoes up.” It’s clear as day that Agatha’s mannerisms are rubbing off on the black-haired woman.
“No need to fight then.” The brunette raises her hands and bows her head. “We can share.” Her fingers curl as she says, turning her head to look Lilia up and down.
Instead of replying, the divination witch rolls her eyes and heads back to the kitchen, ignoring the other woman.
“Lilia!” Agatha exclaims. “You can’t ignore a mistletoe, there will be consequences.”
“Take them down.” Is the only response the brunette gets to her statement.
“She's right, you know?” Rio cranes her neck, trying to see the disappearing figure walking down the hallway. “Trust me, I’m a green witch.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Lilia dismisses them with a flourish of her hand, her back to the other two.
The cook hadn’t noticed, but the delicious smell wafting through the house had turned sour. Tendrils of smoke dance in front of her eyes and the gray-haired woman quickens her pace on her way to the kitchen.
As soon as she steps inside, the fire alarm goes off, alerting her to a possible fire as black fumes billow from the oven.
“Shit.” Lilia hurries to snatch the glove on the counter.
Batting the smoke away from her face, she manages to grab the scalding tray that holds the now burned bread. The crisp surface has turned hard and black, the intricate patterns disappeared on the stewed dough and flames are blazing on top of it. Lilia ignores the approaching footsteps and throws the hot baking sheet onto the benchtop, knocking the cookies over and almost burning her hand in the process.
When the knocked utensils settle down on the floor, water starts pouring down into the kitchen, the ceiling sprinklers doing their intended job and in the process soaking all the food and the divination witch standing in the middle of the room.
The gray-haired woman takes a deep breath, running her fingers over her wet eyelids before opening them and coming face to face with the dry couple watching her from afar, shielded by the roof of the hallway and giving her an ‘I told you so’ look.
She doesn’t acknowledge their expressions as she passes them, only murmurs ‘call Alice and ask her to bring food’ on her way to the stairs.
Wasting her entire morning on now inedible food wasn’t in her plans and she hoped Alice and Jen could make a decent enough Yule dinner with street food. Hopefully Billy would bake them some cookies.
The teenager was with his boyfriend, and although Eddie had been invited to the festivities, he wouldn’t be able to make it. His family was going out of town today in anticipation of Christmas, they were going to visit his grandparents. When Teen got home, he would make them dessert if Lilia asked, he’s always been a sweet boy.
As the gray-haired woman strips off her dripping clothes, she hears the door open downstairs, she sorts through her clothes as Alice’s voice echoes through the house.
“What the fuck happened?” The protection witch’s hands fly up, the gift bags rumbling together.
There are puddles on the floor, the cooked feast is wet and the counter is covered in flour and pans, Rio is grabbing a mop and Agatha is crouched down. For those two to be cleaning, Lilia must be livid.
Before the couple can answer, they are interrupted by the sound of the last member arriving.
“I’m home.” Teen shouts from the doorway, unaware that most of the residents are in the kitchen.
“Great.” Agatha drops the cookies she was collecting and stands up. “Just in time to clean up this mess.” She slams her hands together, cleaning the crumbles from her fingers before tossing her hair back.
A gasp is heard as Billy joins them in the kitchen, his hand coming to rest on his chest.
“What happened?”
“We don’t know.” Alice and Jen both answer at the same time.
Three heads turn to the married couple, questioning glares.
“It was Lilia!” Agatha defends herself and Jen lets out an disbelieving hum. “It's Rio’s fault.” The brunette is quick to place the blame, pointing at her wife.
The potions witch narrows her eyes and gives her an unimpressed look, turning her attention to the black-haired woman. The green witch lets out a scoff and smiles, shaking her head at the brunette.
“It’s just some bad luck mistle magic.”
“Some what?” Teen asks, confused.
“Y´know, it’s what happens when you don’t kiss under a mistletoe. It’s just a string of bad luck.” Rio looks at them and shrugs.
“That doesn’t exist.” Jen says matter-of-factly.
“Yes, it does.” Agatha contradicts her.
“No, it doesn’t.” The one in pink leans forward, voice hardening.
The purple witch had a way of getting under Jen’s skin faster than usual, and she wasn’t a very patient woman already.
“Yeah, well. Rio’s magic is different!” The brunette exclaims, dismissing her with a triumphant smile.
“Wait, wait.” Alice holds up her hands, interrupting their bickering. “What do you mean by different?”
“I just told you.” The green witch snickers at her and drops the mop.
Now that they were here, she wasn’t going to clean shit.
“So what you are telling us is that Lilia will suffer until she kisses you?” The protection witch asks.
“A string of bad luck, indeed.” Jen murmurs under her breath.
“The both of us.” Agatha answers, hands resting inside her robe. “If she doesn’t, the magic will probably only last the day.”
“Probably!?” Alice questions, concerned for the older woman.
The upcoming response is cut short by a loud crash. They group exchange glances and, expecting the worst, rushes out of the kitchen.
“Nicky?” Agatha calls out, worried for her son.
“In here, mama.” He answers back.
The brunette turns the corner and the boy bumps into her legs, holding into her thigh. She runs her nails through his hair and he seems fine, the noise hadn’t come from him.
Looking up, she comes face to face with the adorned living room. The hanging decorations and twinkling lights are tangled, crossing over each other, the tree has fallen over one of the couches and several branches are scattered around. There are numerous pines on the floor.
The gray-haired witch stands in the middle, staring at the mess with an ornament in her hand.
Rio’s cackle rings out across the room. Lilia is snapped out of her trance, head turning to the group by the door, murder clear in her eyes as the brunette joins her wife in laughter. She opens her mouth and closes it when she spots the little boy, pressing her lips into a hard line.
The protection witch grimaces at the messed up space.
“Are you okay?” She asks.
“Yes.” The answer is given through gritted teeth.
Teen, Alice and Jen take a step back at the expression on the older woman’s face.
“Come here, Nicky.” Rio crouches down, a teasing smirk on her face as her son falls into her arms. “You are going to be Aunt Lilia’s babysitter for the day.”
The gray-haired woman huffs and the green witch motions her forward, placing the boy in Lilia’s lap as she settles on the couch and watching as he immediately curls into her neck.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea-” Agatha intervenes.
“As if I’d let anything happen to my baby.” Lilia cuts her off, wrapping her arms around the boy and squeezing him, Nicholas' presence instantly easing her anger.
Absorbed in the child’s laughter, Lilia misses the fond smiles that cross the couple’s face.
“Yeah, I’m not taking any chances.” The potions witch raises her hands, shouting ‘good luck, Lilia’ over her shoulder as she dramatically leaves the room.
“I’ll get her.” Alice points behind her, turning on her heels and following her girlfriend.
Silence briefly falls over the room as Lilia watches them go, annoyed by the implication that she’s some kind of bad omen.
“Teen.” The divination witch calls, stopping Billy in his attempt to sneak out behind her back.
“Yes?” He answers cautiously.
“Would you mind making the ginger snaps?”
The older woman can see his thought process as his gaze shifts from her to Agatha and back again, and she smirks before answering.
“Don’t worry, they’ll clean everything up before you start baking and throw those horrible cookies away.”
“Lilia!” Agatha protests, practically stomping her feet.
It doesn’t take more than a raised eyebrow from the older woman for the brunette to roll her eyes and head to the kitchen. Rio doesn’t put up a fight, tongue pressed against her cheek and a smirk on her face, she watches as her wife does as she’s told, turning to eye Lilia up and down before following the purple witch.
A smug smile grows on the teenager’s face and he bows his head in reverence to the divination witch, she just snorts as he walks away without another word.
“Do you want to help your brother?” She looks down at the boy in her arms.
“No.” Nicholas mumbles against her collarbone.
He’s about to fall asleep, she can tell.
Running her fingers through his brown locks, she pulls him tighter to her body and begins to hum softly. There is plenty of time for him to take a nap while they wait for dinner.
“Aunt Lilia?” He calls in a small voice.
“Yes, baby?” She relaxes on the sofa and the boy snuggles closer.
“When are we going to eat?” The woman laughs at his question.
He was a bottomless pit just like his mother.
“Soon, baby.” She tells him.
It doesn’t take long for the boy to fall into slumber, his light weight comforting the witch and the shared warmth making her eyelids drop. As much as she tells herself that she’s just closing her eyes for a few seconds, it takes only that for sleep to engulf her as well.
The other residents of the house spend the rest of the afternoon on their assigned duties. Alice and Jen finish wrapping the newly purchased gifts and the married couple clean up the mess they indirectly made so Teen can get to work on the cookies.
It's practically nighttime when someone enters the living room again.
“I still can’t believe we aren’t eating home-cooked food for Yule because of those two.” The protection witch complains, her voice dropping mid-sentence when she sees the older woman dozing on the couch with the boy.
“They need to get a grip.” Jen huffs, china clattering in her hand.
Snow is falling lazily outside. The couple had shed their heavy coats and are now dressed in simple, tidy clothes. The potions witch begins to set the table while Alice uprights the fallen tree, grimacing at the crumbled front and the small green leaves scattered on the floor.
“Honestly, I thought they would have more initiative than to put Lilia under a silly spell.” The one in pink says, turning to face her girlfriend.
“I don’t think I’ll ever understand how their minds work.” Alice replies, frowning.
“I know for a fact they don’t have the brain capacity to act like normal people.” Jen walks over to the other witch, placing her arms around her shoulders and feeling hands on her waist.
“It’s a good thing we are not as stubborn as them.” Alice says with a smile, leaning in to kiss the other woman as she hums in agreement.
The peck is sweet, and short lived.
“Ugh, get a room you two.” Agatha says, face closing off in disgust as she stalks across the room with a broom in hand.
“You’re just pissed because your little plan didn’t work out and now you have to clean it all up.” The blood witch responds in retaliation.
“Alice, I used to like you, but you are spending too much time with Jen.” The brunette jabs, tossing her hair back and sweeping the floor.
“And that is called envy.” The one in pink says, smiling in her girlfriend's arms. “Why do you need her? Is Rio not doing her job well enough?”
The only response she receives is a hate filled glare.
“I’ll have you know I do my job more than perfectly.” The oldest woman walks into the room.
She pauses in the doorway, head lolling to the side as she takes in the two on the couch, posture softeng at the sight.
“Oh, you two are down bad.” Alice chuckles, a smirk forming on Jen’s face.
The married couple is not amused. Agatha sucks in her cheeks, narrowing her eyes as Rio throws her a fake mocking grimace.
“I will have you know-” The brunette starts loudly, only to be interrupted by the gray-haired woman.
“Can you guys keep it down? You’ll wake up Nicholas.” Her voice sounds rough from sleep.
The way Agatha and Rio stiffen is comical, Alice has to hold back her laughter.
“Is dinner ready?” She asks, looking up at them.
“The table is set.” Jen replies.
“The ginger snaps are in the oven.” The black-haired woman states.
“Let's eat then.” The divination witch stands up with the boy in her arms.
She calls him awake, running her palm over his forehead as the others grab the food. It isn’t long before they’re sitting together, the bakery bread between them and the last-minute ordered meat on the side. The cookies are placed in a neat pile and everyone chats, sharing what they hope for in the upcoming year and planning the rituals they’ll perform later to celebrate the changing of seasons.
Surprisingly, the spell doesn't act up while they are eating, almost as if it senses the calm atmosphere is rare in the house and shouldn’t be interrupted.
Even though Lilia’s homemade food would have been better, they still enjoy the meal immensely. Nicholas kicks his little feet under the table, wedged between his mothers and talking excitedly with his older brother about comic books, Agatha having to remind him to eat.
This is the second time they spend the holiday as a coven and, just like the year before, they separate from the boys. Billy promises to look after Nicky so they can do their customs together by the bonfire.
The women grab their heavy coats to head out into their snow-covered backyard, Alice and Jen leading the way while the other three bid the children good night and wait for them to make their way upstairs.
“Let’s go then.” The brunette claps her hands when they disappear, turning to usher the gray-haired woman beside her out.
Lilia barely takes two steps. Her foot tangles on one of the forgotten twinkle lights, one minute she’s facing the ground and the next her fall is being broken by a body. She opens her eyes and comes face to face with the purple witch beneath her, the woman’s features contorted in pain.
“Agatha!” She gasps.
“Ugh, Lilia.” The brunette groans. “I was only trying to-”
She’s cut off when Lilia’s lips meet hers, the kiss is short and pressed hard against her mouth. Agatha chases after the older woman when she pulls away, her eyes widening as she realizes what the divination witch has done.
She can hear her wife’s cackle in the background, laughing at her reaction, and can only watch as the gray-haired woman stands up, marching up to death herself and placing a kiss to shut her up. Much like her own, it doesn’t last long and leaves the entity wanting more, staring at Lilia as a smirk forms on her face, eyes shining with mischief.
“There.” The divination witch says simply, putting on her coat while striding outside.
Agatha props up on her elbows and stares speechless at the gray-haired woman’s retreating back.
“We’ll settle this later.” Rio shouts, craning her neck to observe her go.
“I’m sure we will.” Lilia answers back.