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The Underlying Unspoken (ao3 link)
The Miya household was, in a word, loud.
Laughter and muffled conversation could be heard from outside.
The second they stepped through the threshold, Atsumu seemed to switch gears, falling back into something well-worn and comfortable—and completely foreign to Kiyoomi.
"Kaa-san, 'm home!"
Somewhere distantly, a woman's voice came.
"Welcome home! Kitchen, darlin'."
Atusmu kicked off his shoes and hurried along barefoot, dropping his bags next to his discarded shoes. Kiyoomi watched him disappear into the house, leaving him somewhat lost. He didn't want to be rude and not greet his host, but he didn't want to be rude and leave a mess right at the entrance.
The conversation was reinvigorated inside the house, the accent he was so used to hearing getting thicker around the edges, like Atsumu was relaxing his vowels.
Kiyoomi shuffled off his shoes, tucking them neatly together and sliding them next to Atsumu's.
"Sakusa-kun! Who'd've thought," Osamu said a tad too loudly, startling Kiyoomi. "Where's Tsumu."
By the way he was leaning on the wall and the Sapporo in his hand, Kiyoomi thought Osamu was perhaps tipsy or lightly drunk.
"In the kitchen, I think."
"Well, drop that shit," he gestured to his bags. "Come on in. KAA-SAN!"
"KITCHEN!"
"TSUMU BROUGHT YA SOMETHIN'."
Kiyoomi felt his face warm realizing he was Atsumu's something. That was why they were visiting, but it didn't make his stomach swoop any less.
Kiyoomi realized that there were other voices aside from the twins and their mother, but they were out of sight.
He tried to distract himself from what felt like walking his own funeral procession. His eyes caught on the walls and the frames that filled them.
Ribbons and MSBY articles on best plays and a few select scandals starring the one Miya Atsumu. Kiyoomi thought it strange to frame those, but it seemed oddly fitting. The other frames were mostly of the twins growing up.
He could tell which one was Atsumu by his eyes and the dimple that showed up in his side smirk, which he apparently had since birth by the looks of it. Rambunctious and messy and warm, that's what those photos told Kiyoomi.
That summer had been sticky, the watermelons sweet and refreshing. That middle school tournament had been the one, the one that hooked Tsumu on volleyball. That festival had been boring for the kids, but Miya-san held her boys' shoulders like there was nothing possibly better to do, like she'd been looking forward to that one day off with her sons.
The walls told Kiyoomi of a family, a proper family. Messy and loving. It's beginning and progression and the expectation of continuation.
And then he was in the kitchen, the Miya-san before him noticeably older than the one on the walls, but still the loving mother with the kind smile and warm eyes.
Atsumu was leaning on the counter with a lazy smile, an it's-so-damn-good-to-be-home smile, turned toward her, his focus entirely on her and the questions she asked.
"What's Samu on about? Sayin' you brought me somethin'."
"I dunno, Kaa-san. Samu says alotta shit."
"Deliverin' one MSBY outside hitter," Osamu piped in. "Do I hafta do the rest for ya, Tsumu?"
"No, scrub. That'll be all."
Atsumu's eyes fell on Kiyoomi, who was standing oh-so awkwardly in the kitchen door of that well-worn, well-lived kitchen, and his smile widened, that stupid dimple making its appearance. They had practiced and scripted and memorized how they were going to do this.
Kaa-san, this is Sakusa Kiyoomi. You've met him at the last Christmas gala. We've been dating for sometime and I wanted to formally introduce him to you.
Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miya-san. Thank you for welcoming me into your home. Your son—
"Kaa-san, this is the love of my life. I believe you’ve met already."
Kiyoomi was drawing blanks.
"T-that's not w—" Kiyoomi fumbled. Readjusted. Refocused. Bowed. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miya-san. Thank you for welcoming me into your home. Your son is the idiot I'm in love with."
Miya-san looked between them for a second, the smile on her face spreading.
"I like 'im, Tsumu," she said brightly. "Please treat my idiot son kindly, he's gen'le like that."
"Kaa-san!"
Miya-san laughed. "Come on in, Sakusa-kun. You look stiff as a board standin' there."
Kiyoomi walked in, one leg out in front of the other. Atsumu chuckled, holding out his arms for Kiyoomi to walk into.
"There, Omi-Omi. The bandage's been ripped. Breathe," Atsumu said half-mockingly, running a soothing hand down his back.
Kiyoomi simply slumped into him, drained beyond belief. No screaming, no shouting, no think of the family. Just a smile and joke.
"You stayin' the weekend, Sakusa-kun?"
Kiyoomi stood up and turned toward Miya-san in the cage of Atsumu's arms. It felt so natural, like they had been in that kitchen before many times over, asking the same question, giving the same answer. "Yes, ma'am. If that's alright."
"'Course it's alright! Fair warnin', though, we're a rowdy bunch. You seem like the quiet type."
"He ain't so quiet when—"
Kiyoomi dug his heel sharply into Tsumu's foot.
"I'm sure that's no problem at all, Miya-san."
"So proper," Miya-san giggled, patting his cheek. It took all his self control not to make a face or pull away. "Cute."
"Kaa-san, Omi's too polite to say it or he really wants to suck up to ya, but either way, don’t touch his face. He's got a germ thing."
"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart," she said, yanking her hand further back.
"Can I go wash up, please?"
"Bathroom's the second door to the right," Atsumu said, pushing him toward the entrance.
Kiyoomi nearly had a heart attack as he heard Miya-san's fading voice ask Atsumu, "A germ thing? How'd you manage to even sleep with 'im?" Which was quickly followed by Atsumu's cackle.
It turned out that the other voices in the house were Sendai Frogs' Suna Rintarou and Red Falcons' Ojiro Aran. Kiyoomi knew that they had known the twins back in high-school, at least. They were part of Inarizaki's team back then.
"Samu's cooking ain't shit next to this," Suna said, immediately grabbing at an onigiri ball before Miya-san had finished setting the plate down.
"Don't fill up on balls alone, Rin," Miya-san scolded. "Dinner'll be done in a bit. Come and help, Samu."
"Yeah, Rin," Atsumu said, winding up for a joke, making sure his mother was out of earshot. Suna was already rolling his eyes. "If you're gonna fill up on balls, best it be Samu's not Ka—."
Osamu hit his brother upside the head as he passed on the way to the kitchen.
Atsumu just chuckled. "Since when are you fussy about fuckin' Rin?"
"I hope Baachan gets here just as you're saying some shit like that," Osamu said.
Ojiro chuckled, shaking his head at the scene, like it was something he was intimately familiar with.
He caught Kiyoomi staring at him and smirked. Kiyoomi felt more like a witness than a part of the group, but he'd never minded that. It seemed Ojiro wanted to remedy that.
"How'd Sakusa Kiyoomi end up with our Tsumu anyhow?"
"Hard to say," Kiyoomi shrugged. Atsumu perked up at the sound of his name.
"'Cause I'm a charmer, Aran. Easy as that."
Ojiro ignored him. "He's a slob—"
Yet surprisingly fastidious.
"—short fused—"
Passionate. Single focused.
"—obnoxious—"
No objections.
"—and far too cocky for his own good."
Charming.
"Do you even like me, Aran?" Atsumu whined, kicking the leg of Ojiro's chair.
Ojiro shushed him and regarded Kiyoomi, waiting for some form of explanation.
Kiyoomi thought about it for a moment. "He grows on you," he said finally.
Ojiro cracked a smile. "I think he's a keeper, Tsumu."
Dinner was unsurprisingly delicious. Osamu had clearly picked up his skills from his mother and the two of them working together did wonders.
Kiyoomi watched Atsumu throughout the meal, his uproarious laugh, his barely there table manners, how he made crude jokes just to get a reaction out of Ojiro, his easy banter with every member of the table. It was still his Atsumu, but something about him seemed unhampered, like being home dislodged something in him. Kiyoomi sat quietly beside him, endeared by the way Atsumu kept playing with his foot under the table.
"So," Miya-san said somewhat ceremoniously, taking over the conversations at the table. "Because this is Sakusa-kun's first dinner with us, it's time for embarrassin' stories. He must be briefed on all he's missed out."
Atsumu groaned, putting a hand over his face, but he still wore a smile.
"Being his teammate for a few years, I already know plenty, Miya-san."
"Thank you, Omi," Atsumu said, relieved.
"But I could stand to hear a few more."
The men around the table chuckled, gearing up for their tales of Atsumu's misfortunes. Atsumu held a hand to his chest, feigning offense.
"So this is what betrayal feels like."
The conversation around the table grew louder as the night went on. Laughter and fists pounding the table rattled out of the dining room, competing with the cicadas outside.
"Sakusa-kun, didja know the one with the bar an' the backflip already? It blew up on Twitter," Osamu said eagerly, leaning forward on the table. His cheeks were a splotchy red, his eyes almost as bright as Atsumu's. Kiyoomi couldn't have fought off the smile on his face if he'd wanted to.
"Yeah, I know that one. I took the video."
"Fuck, yeah," Suna said loudly, in drunken approval.
"Wait, are you serious?" Atsumu cut in.
"Atsumu, you had insisted that someone had to record you," Kiyoomi said, recalling how Atsumu had jostled his shoulder until he pulled out his phone. "You said, 'Omi, watch this, look.' And then, 'No wait, record it. Come on. Don't be a bitch'."
"Sounds like 'im," Osamu said.
"Then you stood on the bar—"
"I know—"
"You tried to do the back flip—"
"Yes, Omi—"
"—kicked the bartender in the jaw—"
"Omi—"
"—fell flat on your stomach, and looked up and asked, 'Did ya get it?'"
The table roared with laughter. Atsumu playfully shoved Kiyoomi.
"I mostly remember havin' a bruised everything the next day."
"The Jackals can no longer set foot in the establishment or until your contract is over."
"Sounds right," Suna chuckled. "We once got kicked out of an arcade 'cause of these two. I got it on video, too."
"Oi, it's Tsumu stories not twin stories," Osamu nudged Suna.
"Actually, I've got most of their fights on my phone," Suna lit up, like he'd just remembered.
"Do ya?" Miya-san asked, intrigued.
The twins went rigid. "NO."
"He's kiddin', Kaa-san."
"He's drunk."
Kiyoomi chuckled. He'd spent hours agonizing over how this weekend would go, how he had to show Miya-san that he was a good fit for Atsumu, put his best foot forward. He never realized that Atsumu had been serious when he told him to not worry.
The Miyas were drastically different from the Sakusas. They were teasing and loud, lively, present. It was an unspoken warmth Kiyoomi had never witnessed before. It was weirdly welcoming.
"Omi."
"Hm."
"Omiii."
"Shh." Omi's hand flew back at Atsumu, smacking him in the face, an undignified sound escaping his throat. "Quiet."
"Oi," Atsumu started to shake him.
"What. What," Omi turned on his back, squinting up at Atsumu.
"Mornin', hot stuff," Atsumu grinned.
"I'm going to strangle you."
"Save the foreplay for later, Omi. My gran gets here today, so get the fuck up."
That seemed to do the trick, because Omi's eyes widened before he was nearly sprinting out of bed.
"What time is it?" he asked, frantic.
"Ya still got time," Atsumu waved a hand dismissively.
"You are fully dressed, which inspires zero confidence," Omi said, turning to scramble through their bags.
"Fair," Atsumu muttered to himself.
He watched Omi stumble to the shower with his clothes precariously gripped in his hand, looking absolutely frazzled and adorable. Atsumu leaned back in bed with a satisfied sigh. It was so fucking good to be home. It was even better now that he got to bring Omi with him.
He hadn't been worried about his mother meeting Omi. At the gala she had told him that out of all his teammates, Omi was a perfect gentleman. Meian didn't count (Meian had a wife, Meian did his own taxes). She'd been impressed more by Omi's age than by his manners.
"He's your peer?," she'd asked him. "Not your senior?"
"Nah, Kaa-san, ya can't date him."
She'd giggled and smacked his arm. "Tsumu! That's not what I meant."
His gran, however, made him worry. To the point where he'd woken up early, helped Samu with breakfast, retouched the yard, and taken a shower, all the while feeling an itch in the palm of his hands that didn't let him sit still.
But there was no need to worry Omi with all of that until it was absolutely necessary. And Gran would be arriving in under an hour, so Atsumu thought it was necessary.
It wasn't that his gran was homophobic or anything. Thankfully. She adored Suna. The man was her third grandson, maybe even her favorite grandson. She was, though, scrutinizing.
And as much as Omi had been raised under a magnifying glass, he was unsettled by his gran's high standards for her grandsons.
It's not like it would matter, really. Omi was it for Atsumu, as prickly as the bastard was. It was as simple as that. Gran not approving would only mean annoying family reunions where Omi would get the perpetual stinky eye from the old woman. Nothing to worry about.
Atsumu's hands itched.
"Osamu, step up here," Gran pushed a stool beside her, handing the boy a peeler. "Atsumu, fetch me a bowl."
Whenever Gran looked after them, they always worked on projects together. Gran said they were surprises for their mom for when she got back from work. They would clean their rooms or tidy up the genkan or bake like they were doing now.
Atsumu dutifully handed her the bowl and cleared out the counter so she could work more comfortably.
"You boys are special, y'know?" Gran started as she mixed the dry ingredients together. "You're the reason yer mom smiles, the reason she tries, you’re her happiness."
Gran nodded firmly, like these were reasonable statements and not like she'd told them that they're the reason their world spins. Because they both knew, without ever having to say it, that their mom was their world. It was a natural fact.
"That's that," Gran said. And that was that. The rest went unsaid, but known. Decidedly, if she could help it, Gran would move a mountain and hang the stars for Atsumu and Osamu, if it meant their happiness. They were her greatest treasure, in a way that a daughter could never quite be. Their mom was happy through them and Gran would propel that happiness forward, as much as she could, however she could. And she did.
After his shower, Omi seemed far more composed. His eyes were still flitting around, and his hands were fidgeting, but he seemed to be reigning it in. Atsumu knew he could do this.
His palms were itchy.
"Tell 'im it won't be that bad, Samu."
Osamu was smirking like a dipshit, watching Omi pace.
"Why should I? Ya made Rin so nervous, he almost sat up straight," Samu said, crossing his arms.
"Yeah, but Rin's my friend, too. I was just fuckin' with 'im."
Samu shook his head, about to be the most stubborn bastard alive—
"You'll be fine, Sakusa-kun," he said easily. "'S long as Baachan thinks this prick is yer reason for breathin'."
Omi stopped pacing, arms slacking at his sides. "I'm fucked."
"Omi!"
Samu could only laugh. Bastard.
Lunch was ready when they heard Gran arrive. Omi was in high stress, becoming increasingly fussy. He had already pulled on a disposable mask and was carrying his hand sanitizer in his pocket. At the sound of the door opening, Atsumu watched Omi reflexively squeeze more sanitizer into his palm.
Omi had insisted that they'd have something to say with his mother, some preamble to, "Hey, this is my boyfriend." Atsumu had gone along with it to soothe his nerves, but he'd known he'd throw their script out the window immediately. With his gran there was no preparation.
"Just be yourself. Trust me."
Omi had straightened in his chair then, nodding.
"I can do that."
He didn't look so confident now. Their mom was trying to distract Omi in the kitchen, helping her set up for lunch. Atsumu was clearing the dining table as they heard Gran's shuffling in the genkan.
Gran was led in by Rin, holding onto his arm for the simple joy she got out of it. Atsumu could sense the steel bar lodged in Omi's spine from across the room.
"Baachan! How was the ride over?" Samu wandered over, scooping her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, squeezing tightly.
"It was fine. Rintarou still remembers how to drive," she chuckled.
"I didn't even crash that time, Baachan," Rin said in his defense.
"Coulda fooled me. Now, where's my grandson?" Gran asked, pulling away from Samu.
Atsumu stepped in, swinging her around once. "Baachan!"
She giggled in his ear, patting his shoulder. "Put me down before ya kill me."
"Ya ain't delicate," Atsumu said, setting her down. He turned to find his mom leaning against the kitchen door watching Omi look somehow more of an awkward fuck in the hallway.
This time, Atsumu stuck to the script. Springing surprises on Gran hardly ever went well. "Baachan, this is Sakusa Kiyoomi. We've been datin' for a while and I wanted him to meet ya."
Omi bowed deeply. Atsumu resisted the urge to bonk him in the head.
"Why? Are ya planning on marrying him?" Gran asked, her eyes following Omi as he stood straight again.
"Baachan."
"Hush, I'm messing with ya."
"It's an honor to meet you, Aoki-san," Omi said firmly. The side of his mouth was probably twitching. Omi had learned to fidget comfortably in front of people without them ever noticing.
"Could ya," Gran mimicked a pinching and pulling down motion. "I feel like I know ya."
Omi pulled down his mask, still keeping his distance. His face was controlled and calm.
Gran's eyes widened. "Tsumu, have ya lost yer mind!" She smacked him upside the head. He heard Samu snickering from the kitchen. "He's yer teammate!"
"And roommate!" Samu supplied from the other room.
His gran proceeded to berate him, going on about how he was risking his career and his homelife and what the hell were you thinking and do you realize how reckless that is, but gran could talk his ear off all she wanted. He had already thought of that, had already weighed his options, had already calculated the magnitude of how this could fuck him up. He'd tortured himself before settling in his feelings, he'd done the work.
And he knew it was the right choice. He knew it as his fingers knew how to flex for a set and he knew it when he turned to see Omi's shoulders relax and a soft smile reach his eyes.
"And you, young man, must be just as insane," Gran turned her reprimands on Omi.
Omi startled slightly at being addressed by her.
"I guess I am," he said. His smile didn't fade.
Gran grinned in turn. "Good."
And that was that.
* * *
"Omi-Omi," Atsumu poked at his thigh with his foot. Kiyoomi was sweeping their common area and Atsumu always planted himself on the small couch "for the view."
"What."
"I was thinking of visiting my ma for a weekend. Y'know, before the season starts up again."
"Sounds nice. Lift your feet up."
Atsumu pulled his legs into the couch, crossing them under him. Kiyoomi leaned over, crouching to get under the couch.
"I was wonderin' if you'd like to come. Like, home with me."
Kiyoomi stopped sweeping to look at Atsumu.
"You sure?" The last time Kiyoomi had his parents over for dinner, they had almost made Atsumu bust a valve in his tolerance gauge with their prodding and condescension. The whole meet-the-parents thing wasn't their strong suit.
Tsumu leaned up to catch his lips, dragging him down to sit on the couch. He pulled away with a smile.
"Yes, I'm fucking sure, Omi."
He gave Tsumu a skeptical look.
"Kaa-san already met ya, wanted to scoop ya up all for herself, and Samu'll be there. Ya might have to worry about Baachan, but it'll be nothing like dinner."
"Right," his heart started to pick up. He could feel the disaster incoming. Tsumu kissed him again, chuckling into it.
"Don't start," he said against his lips. "You'll get fussy."
Kiyoomi scrunched his nose, pulling away, hands pushing at Tsumu's thighs.
"I don't get fussy," Kiyoomi said stubbornly, leaning into Atsumu's hand as he played with his curls.
"Sure ya do. It's cute, but it's shit for yer nerves." He tugged lightly at his hair. "They'll love you, ya bully me and keep me in line. They'll be swooning."
Kiyoomi couldn't help his snort. Atsumu lit up at the sound. "Sure, alright. I'd love to meet them."
And that was that.
#haikyuu fanfiction#sakuatsu#ao3fic#the underlying unspoken#haikyuu!!#miya atsumu#sakusa kiyoomi#writing#fanfiction#complete version#3.5k words#bicsbec
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The Most Mundane Slice-of-Life Date Ever (ao3 link)
Luz had been planning this for months. Well not this particular date under these particular circumstances, but a date with Amity. Any date with Amity.
Planning was a big word, too. It was more like daydreaming. She had a list she went through in her head of different dates.
Bowling, brunch, a movie, a picnic, the beach, roller skating, going for ice cream or milkshakes like in those old teen romance movies, or going to a bookstore, or—
"Luz? Hey, hello, where are you?" Hunter waved a hand in front of her face. She swatted it away.
"I'm right here."
He raised an eyebrow. "Right. Stop thinking about Blight for two seconds and focus. What can we get Camila?"
Luz scrunched her nose at that. "Just call her Mom already, sounds weird when you use her name."
Hunter blushed at the suggestion. "That's—that'd be disrespectful."
"You calling her Mom would be better than getting her something," Vee said from the cutting board. "Or we could make her dinner, like a nice one."
They were already making dinner, but it was just because it was their turn to cook that week. Gus and Amity had cleaned the common areas and Willow had been hanging up the laundry. Mamá would find the house spotless once she got back from work.
"If that's the case, Hunter should stick to peeling and cutting, and only what we hand you," Luz said, pointing a spoon in his direction. Last time he and Gus had been left in the kitchen alone, they'd created an abomination, the affront to nature kind not the magic kind.
Hunter shrugged. "It wasn't that terrible."
"Glad you could digest it," Luz shot back. "Now, el cumple de Mamá."
"I think it should be a small thing," Vee said, bringing Luz the diced potatoes and pumpkin for the beans. "We're already a handful, don't wanna stress her out more than necessary."
"Right, so dinner, maybe game night? Or a movie. And cake."
"No ghouls?"
"No ghouls, Hunter. She doesn't need one to follow her around the whole day, telling her how many years she's got left."
He raised his hands defensively. "It helps you appreciate your remaining days, that's all I'm saying."
"It is effective," Vee agreed. "But it might give Mom a heart attack, so no."
"Thank you, I like my mothers alive," Luz said playfully. But the phrase only made her think of Eda. Her stomach swooped anxiously, an itching desperation crawling down her nerves. She could only hope that Eda was okay. That King was okay.
She ran a hand down her face, trying to ground herself. It was easy to spiral. Her friends were safe. She was with Mamá. They were doing everything they could to get back. These things were enough.
They're not, but they have to be.
"That smells good," Amity's voice snapped her back. She looked back to see Amity smiling at her from the entrance to the kitchen.
"Thanks," Luz brightened."It still needs like 20 or 30 minutes so las viandas can soften."
"Sounds good, I'll tell the others."
She watched Amity walk away, getting excited all over again. After dinner she was gonna ask her out. Mamá had already okayed an outing as long as Luz kept her up to date on their location. Easy enough.
"Are they becoming less gross to watch or am I getting used to it?" Hunter asked Vee.
"Hey! We have toned it down a lot," Luz said defensively.
"You're getting used to it," Vee told him. "It's the eyes, Luz. It's impressive, really."
"Bah, you two just hate love."
Vee and Hunter shared a look. She flipped them both off. It wasn't as satisfying when they were still learning human gestures, especially learning the difference between the ones that you only use with friends and the ones you definitely shouldn't use outside of those circles.
"This one means 'screw you' and it's a 'between us' one," she explained, mostly to Hunter. Vee had started to get the hang of them faster since she had her summer camp friends. They'd been slowly reconnecting after Vee got her new face.
"Got it," he said dutifully. "Well, screw you, too. We're the ones that have to put up with it."
"How tragic for you, I have a girlfriend and we like each other."
"It gets obnoxious. You're flaunting."
"Cry me a river. Just tell Willow already."
Hunter's eyes widened. "Lower your voice."
"Tell Willow already," she whispered, smug as all hell.
"Tell me what?" Willow entered through the backdoor with a basket full of laundry, setting it on the table.
Hunter's face was red, Luz wasn't sure if he was blushing or angry at her, his posture stiff and awkward.
"That's my bad," Luz covered easily. "The guys wanted to surprise you with a Flyer Derby match. They've been trying to find a good spot where you could play without worrying about being seen."
Willow brightened immediately. "Aw, that's really sweet. I miss playing, just tell me when."
"S-sure thing," Hunter gritted out, only slightly less stiff.
She smiled at him, picking up the basket and heading into the living room to fold.
"I hate you," he turned to Luz.
"You're welcome."
Flapjack chirped from Hunter's pocket, wiggling out and perching on his shoulder.
"But she—Flap! Fine. Thank you, Luz."
"What was that? Did it sound like he meant it to you, Vee?"
"No, not really," Vee said, playing along easily.
He looked between the two of them, murder in his eyes. He took a breath, relaxing. "Thank you for not telling Willow, Luz."
"Nah, don't worry, bro. That's for you to do," she shrugged, ready to stop teasing him. "I, unlike you, am a sucker for romance."
"Yeah, okay," Hunter chuckled.
After dinner had been served and Mamá told them about her day, Vee and Gus headed over to the Swap to play Mariano Go-Kart as Hunter and Willow watched, transfixed by the tiny people in their little cars. They all sucked terribly at the game, always looking at the wrong split screen when playing. At least they always had a good laugh about it.
Luz thought about buying more controllers so they could all play instead of taking turns. She'd never needed more than two before.
She leaned behind the couch, next to Amity, watching as Vee fell off the map, pulled up by a turtle in a cloud.
"Oh, I thought that was me! Ha!" Gus laughed, even though he was in 10th place.
"This game is weird," Amity commented. "Where does the Snaggleback get that long hook?"
"I…actually don't know, it's probably something crazy, though," Luz said. The Mariano Siblings lore always was a little unhinged. "Hey, can I steal you away for a bit?"
"Uh, sure," Amity smiled. "Where are we going?"
"Just out front. It's a little more quiet," Luz said, taking her hand.
"Okay."
They sat down on the front steps of the house, lit mostly by the lamp above the entrance and the streetlights. The night was cool, the first wisps of autumn chilling the air. Amity sat close to Luz looking for warmth as her hands were enveloped in her abomination mittens, but they weren't quite right. The color had begun to change the more time they spent in the Human Realm. It wasn't less magical, Vee could assure them of that, but it was less of their world, more of this one. That by itself made Amity and Willow especially more homesick.
Luz took her hand, slime mitten and all. This was exactly why she wanted to take Amity out on a date. Something totally normal to balance out the insane.
"I've been thinking a lot lately," Luz started.
"You always are," Amity pointed out good-naturedly.
"Right," Luz smiled. "But I was thinking more about us. I had promised you a date when all of this was over and, if I recall correctly, you seemed eager for a tour of the Human Realm when we were looking for, y'know, uh, Philip's diary, so, uh…"
"Yeah?" Amity was smiling, encouraging Luz with her little speech.
"I know that things are still crazy, even though it doesn't feel that way. I mean, you're stuck here and I'll do everything I can to get you guys back, but we don't know how long that'll take and what I'm trying to say is: this is the new normal, for the foreseeable future at least."
"Uh-huh."
"You can totally say no if it's too weird or too soon or you're not in the right headspace for it, but would you wanna go on that date?"
Amity kissed her cheek. "You're so silly. Of course I would."
"Oh, okay," Luz relaxed, she hadn't realized how tense she was. This was Amity after all, she didn't need to be so nervous. "When?"
"You're the one asking, you should know," Amity said with a playful smirk. "I don't have school or extracurriculars or anything. I'm free whenever."
"Right, right." As it turned out, enrolling kids without birth certificates or any kind of documentation into a human school was insanely difficult. Especially if they had pointy ears and didn't grasp human social cues.
"We could go this weekend or tomorrow after I get back from school," Luz suggested.
"Sure," Amity leaned into her, hugging her arm. "Anything in mind?"
"Uh, y'know, just the most mundane slice-of-life date ever."
"Right," Amity giggled, dispelling her mittens and lacing her fingers with Luz's. "I can't wait."
Luz blushed, really wanting to kiss Amity. Properly kiss her. She'd been trying to work up the courage ever since the Day of Unity, but she always chickened out. The crowded house and her mother hovering in the background didn't help either.
But she could try right then, ask Amity or lean in or—
The door slammed open.
"Luz. Luz! I beat your high score!" Gus announced excitedly, ramming a steel bar down Luz's spine.
So, this is how Hunter must've felt.
"Ooh, am I interrupting something?"
"Nope!" Luz stood quickly, almost dragging Amity with her. "We were just heading inside. Wait—" Gus' words registered. "How did you beat my high score?"
He hadn't. He was reading the scale backwards; it was the lowest score. Luz didn't have the heart to tell him.
It was always hard to concentrate at school. Before the Demon Realm, her mind wandered during class, spacing out and daydreaming about fictional worlds. She had tried to pay attention but it never stuck. Only two subjects were interesting enough, English and biology; one for the stories and one for her taxidermy projects.
After the Demon Realm? Her attention had never been more all over the place. How could she go to school when King was in the hands of a terrifying little god and she could only hope Eda was some semblance of alright? How could she go to school when all her fantasies and nightmares were real?
At least today she was distracted for a different reason.
She couldn't wait to go home and get ready for her date with Amity. She was excited to be able to look forward to something for once. She had stayed up late planning their date, laying out the schedule to make sure they had time for everything.
"For next week, I want you to bring in a paragraph. Work in a prompt that could lead to a grander story. It could even be a single sentence," the teacher was saying as the class came to an end. Luz absently scribbled down the reminder as most of her classmates began to pack their things. "We'll work on story structure next week, so you'll need your paragraph to expand upon. Please don't plagiarize! And do it yourself, don't ask a classmate; it'll be easier if it comes from you."
The school bell rang and half the class was already on their feet and out the door. Luz packed her things, eager to head out.
"Luz, do you have a minute?" her teacher, Ms. M, said as she passed her desk. Luz stopped, unsure if she was in trouble or not. Her teachers barely talked to her if it wasn't to say she was doing poorly in class or needed to apply herself more. "I heard that last semester you were distracted in class, but from what I've seen this semester, you've been…well, depressed, frankly. Has everything been okay at home?"
"Yeah, everything's fine, Ms. M," Luz said, confused but trying to be reassuring. Her teachers had never expressed concern for her specifically, just concern for her grades.
"Okay, that's good to hear. You have seemed a little brighter these last few days, still distracted, though," she smiled like she was in on a joke with Luz. Luz was waiting for the Your grades have been slipping or aren't looking so good. "That was all, just worried. Just know that you can come to me if something isn't okay at home. I don't want to keep you, you can head on out. You seemed excited." Weird. She was a relatively new teacher, maybe she didn't know Luz's reputation yet.
"Alright, thanks, miss."
Luz thought about the interaction on the bus ride home. It was a little comforting; it was a sign of change, that she'd changed. Nothing much around her had indicated that time had passed, that she'd been in the Demon Realm at all (except for its actual residents currently living in her house). Her teachers resented her past disruptions, her classmates were just that, classmates; even Bosha had held longer conversations with Luz.
It'd usually been the case that she didn't give much weight to what her teachers thought, unless it worried Mamá as well. But Ms. M taking notice felt nice, a recognition she had never craved before. The approval of a teacher.
Eda.
Eda was more than a teacher or mentor or guide to the Demon Realm. But her approval had always felt like earning an A-plus. Her first banned poster, her first wild glyph, her first heist; Eda’s eyes shone with pride after each one. Eda loved teaching her and caring after her, and Luz loved being under Eda’s wing. She missed her.
She was at her stop.
"Hey, what's that look? Everything okay?" Willow asked as she came into the house. Gus' air mattress was still out, Willow and him huddled in the blankets. Hunter still had his nest of pillows and comforters on the couch. The explosions from the TV paused, what sounded like a Flare Strikes movie binge. They must've had a very late morning. The scene alone was enough to brighten up Luz a little.
"Just, uh, missing Eda," she sighed, dropping her bag against the mattress and slumping across Willow's lap. Willow was always a calming presence, being able to soothe her frayed nerves with a giggle and an encouraging pat.
"Aw, I'm sure she misses you, too," Willow said with a reassuring squeeze. "We're all missing family, but we're not alone at least. And your mom is awesome."
"Yeah," Gus said with a half smile. "We're gonna see them again, one way or another. It's unlike us to just quit."
They looked up at Hunter, waiting for him to say something.
"What? I'm starting to like it here, I'm not exactly eager to—"
Gus and Willow smacked at his feet.
"I mean, of course we're gonna get home," he said like it was obvious. "We're getting you guys back to your families, yes, obviously. Just sayin' it's not a crime to like it here. After all, Luz liked the Demon Realm."
"Yeah, that's fair," Luz sighed. "Just wish we'd have a big break or something, or just got lucky for once."
"It'll be fine," Willow patted her head. "Hey, isn't today your big date with Amity?"
Willow was an awesome friend, always knowing exactly what to say to course correct Luz's spiral.
She immediately perked up. "Yes, it is. I have to go get ready," Luz said, crawling out of the air mattress.
She found the door to her room (or their room, given that it was being shared with Vee, Willow, and Amity) closed. Luz knocked, lesson learned a few weeks ago.
"Come in."
She opened the door and was yanked in by the arm. There were two Amitys in the room, the one clinging to her arm in her pajamas, looking a little disheveled and anxious, and the other with her arms out in a very cute yellow day dress.
"Willow, I need your opinion before Luz gets home. Do you thin—" the anxious Amity finally looked over at Luz. This was her sweet potato.
Vee shifted back with a smirk.
"Luz!"
"You are so friggin' cute!" Luz pulled her into a hug, making her giggle.
"I'm still in here!" Vee said, fake grossed out, walking towards the door. "Wear the dress, Amity. Luz's eyes sparkled when she saw it, okay? Sparkled."
Luz felt her face heat up.
"It was very pretty!" Luz said defensively.
Amity was blushing.
"Okay, I'm out. Have fun on the date," Vee said, closing the door behind her.
"I'm guessing you need the room," Amity said, moving to pull out her box of clothes from under the bed. Storage was becoming an increasing nightmare; when at home, they usually just wore whatever fit, but Willow and Amity had separate boxes for going-out clothes and underwear.
"Yeah, I'll just change real quick."
Amity pulled out the dress she'd been looking for. "Okay, I'll be downstairs."
She kissed Luz's cheek on her way out, her lips like a spark that left a soft, wild thrumming under Luz's skin and stomach warm.
Luz got ready in a flash, grabbing her phone, the tote she'd prepared the night before, and her spare keys, all while smiling. She couldn't really stop. She rushed downstairs to find Willow spinning a laughing Amity as Vee and the boys voiced their approval of her outfit.
"Es que mira, they're a matching set," Vee said when she saw Luz by the stairs. Luz had picked out her nicest graphic tee layered with a violet flannel and denim straight pants; the colors, she now realized, went nicely with Amity's dress and hair.
"Give us a twirl!" Gus bounced from his slightly deflated mattress and conjured an Illusion Gus next to Luz, taking her hand and spinning her, too. Luz felt her smile grow to the point it was a little painful. She hadn't really smiled in a long time.
As Gus' illusion dispelled, Luz felt something melt away from her chest. Like a weight that had been dragging her heart through rocks. She felt lighter, the laughter and voices of her friends dusting her off and chipping away at the debris.
They were doing everything they could, not just to get back, but to be normal kids. And for once, it felt like enough.
"Bueno, hermosa, we should get going," Luz said, extending her hand out to Amity. She was already blushing, linking her arm with Luz's.
"Have fun on your date," Willow called.
"Bring her back by ten," Gus said in a silly voice, like a dad in a movie.
"Of course, sir," Amity played along, hand to her chest in sincerity.
"Remember what Mom said," Hunter's voice followed them to the door. "Location on!"
"Chill out! I'm on it," Luz called back, pulling out her phone. She first texted Mamá, letting her know they'd gone out and sent her a live pin that would last a couple of hours.
"Okay, ready?" She asked putting away her phone as Amity closed the door behind them. Luz heard a small sniffle and stopped cold. "Amity?"
"Yeah, sorry," she looked up, her nose red and eyes a little watery. "It's just—" She took a steading breath.
"What's wrong?" Luz brought a hand to her cheek, wiping away a stray tear.
"It's just nice, y'know? For a second there it felt like being back home. Ed and Em were—are a lot like that. Whenever one of them went on a date it was always a big fuss. The teasing and hyping up and all that…I always thought they'd do the same with me."
"Oh," Luz smiled, easily imagining Ed and Em's banter and cooing over their little sister. "I'm sure they still will, when you tell them all about your date with your awesome girlfriend." Luz nudged her playfully with her elbow, getting a smile from Amity.
"Yeah," she agreed, linking their arms again and starting down the sidewalk. "I'm sure they will. By the way, did I hear that right? Did Hunter call Camila 'Mom'?"
"He did, didn't he? She's gonna be so excited."
"Think she hasn't heard him?"
"I think he's practicing."
"Cute," Amity said and immediately scrunched up her nose. "Never thought I'd say that about the Golden Guard."
Luz laughed. "Well, I think it's safe to say that he's hardly the Golden Guard anymore. He's more like a—"
"Dorky older brother?"
Luz tapped her nose. "That's what it is."
"I already have one of those, you can keep this one," Amity joked; Luz giggled.
"Yeah, okay. I think Mom likes him anyway. It works out."
"So, what are we doing? For the date, I mean."
"I would say it's a surprise, but I really wanna tell you," Luz said brightly. She could tell her face was gonna hurt after today. "Okay, so, first I thought about doing like a thousand things, but I realized we only had an afternoon and I really wanted it to be perfect. I promised no monsters and no duels so the movie theater was out, they only show scary stuff in the fall. Next I thought—"
"Luz," Amity shook her arm impatiently, amused by her girlfriend's rambling.
"Okay, okay. Big clichés, so first we're going for milkshakes."
"Like smilksnakes?"
"But without snake straws."
Amity nodded, maybe a little disappointed. Luz knew how it felt to have something so familiar become incredibly foreign because of a few letters. She remembered how Amity lit up at the mention of rugby, but increasingly lost her enthusiasm as she saw a match progress.
"Where's the scarab? Where's the peril?" Amity had asked. Luz didn't want to imagine the severity of her disappointment if Amity had actively liked grudgby.
But Amity remained excited. "And then?"
"Up to you. We could go to the bookstore or—"
"Bookstore."
Luz chuckled. "Okay, bookstore. And last, Gravesfield Park. How's that sound?"
"Perfect," Amity sighed, leaning on Luz's shoulder.
"Perfect," Luz smiled, kissing the top of her head.
Luz had stumbled her way through the Demon Realm, making mistakes and offenses she had no idea about, with no one that could stop her overexcitement in time. She was glad she could be there for her friends as they navigated through the Human Realm. An odd fumble in the Demon Realm just meant someone that was slightly weirder than the rest, nothing too out of the ordinary. In the Human Realm, they would stick out like a sore thumb, like Eda had, calling a lot of attention to themselves.
"Just follow my lead," Luz said reassuringly as they sat down in a window booth. She scanned the QR code on the table with her phone. "Here, this is the menu. If you have any questions, let me know."
Amity had a lot of questions. It was a fun challenge trying to help Amity figure out the flavors.
"Milk chocolate is the same as chocosmilk, only a little sweeter."
"Ooh, how about a banana split?"
"It's very much not a public dismemberment of a banana."
Amity sat back defeated. "The Human Realm is so mild."
"Yes, it is." Thankfully.
A waitress approached them. "You girls ready to order or do you need more time?"
Luz looked over to Amity, who seemed uncertain. "A little more time, please."
"Sure." The waitress moved over to another booth, unfazed.
"Look, this one's kinda like Ghoul Aid, but a little less awful. And boba is like boiled firebee eggs."
"Got it. I think we can order now," Amity said, handing Luz her phone back. "Do you know what you're getting?"
"Yeah, Papi took me here once, the day after we finished moving. He'd ordered pistachio and I ordered mint," Luz smiled at the memory. "I took a sip from his drink by accident and made a face, he couldn't stop laughing. So I always kinda get pistachio now."
Amity took her hand, interlacing their fingers. "That's really cute."
The waitress came around eventually, happy to interrupt their conversation.
"Ready to order, girls?"
"Yes, I'll have a pistachio milkshake, please."
"And you?"
"Um, a mint milkshake."
"Mint. Okay, anything else?"
"No, that's all, I think," Luz smiled pleasantly. "Thanks."
"Yep." The waitress walked away unceremoniously.
"Is it me, or is she rude?" Amity asked in a hushed voice.
"Nah, she just has to deal with people all day. We're tipping big before we leave. It's rude otherwise."
"Is that human etiquette?"
"I guess so."
"What else is considered polite?"
"Oh, that all depends on context and even then, it's easier to point out what's rude."
Amity listened with rapt attention as Luz began to list things she knew to be rude and different quirks in human etiquette. Luz thought that perhaps Amity didn't like the Human Realm like she liked the Demon Realm, but she seemed to like learning about it. Or maybe hear Luz talk about it.
They'd somehow ended up talking about the spork as the superior utensil, when the waitress brought up their order.
Luz thanked her and slid Amity her milkshake.
"Oh, I see," Amity said, inspecting her glass.
"Hm? Oh, the color, yeah."
"Does it taste much different?"
"Wanna try?" She offered her a straw. Amity took a sniff of her own drink and tried it. Her face revealed nothing. She waited for the taste to wash out and leaned over to try Luz's.
"Oh, these are both something," Amity said nodding, clearly fighting to keep her face pleasant and making Luz burst out laughing. "Yeah, I don't know how you drink that. I'll stick with the mint."
Amity chuckled at Luz's laugh, then let out a cute little snort and started laughing in earnest, Luz's laugh too contagious.
"Ay, batata," Luz managed after calming down. "So, are they much different?"
Amity stuck her tongue out at her playfully, sending them into another fit of giggles. Luz could've kissed her there, her cheeks pink from laughing, golden eyes bright as she looked at her. But she didn't, it had to be perfect. She had a plan. And they were having fun, conversation was easy, laughter bubbling at the surface.
They finished their drinks with jokes and silly antics in-between, like showing Amity "human magic."
"Check it out," Luz said, holding her straw over the crinkled paper straw wrap she'd carefully extracted. Amity's gaze was focused, her curiosity getting the better of her skepticism. Luz dripped over a couple of melted milkshake drops onto the paper, making it expand rapidly; she'd always loved that trick when she was a kid. Amity's eyes widened as the paper worm slowly halted its stretch.
"Is it alive?"
"Nah, it's just magic," Luz wiggled her fingers for emphasis. "Paper absorbs water, so it expands when it's all squished together like that."
"That's hardly magic," Amity said with a raised eyebrow.
"But you were amazed, weren’t you?" Luz said, wiping the table and tucking the tip under the napkin holder. She held out her hand for Amity. "Come on, we got places to be."
Old Gravesfield was still a walkable town square, with old family shops and newer establishments lining the sidewalks. The roads were narrow, originally built for carriages instead of modern cars, and the pavement was an old mix of its original cobblestone and repaired patches of cement with imprinted brickwork. Luz had never really appreciated the curiosities that Old Gravesfield had offered her, but now she saw the town with new eyes, and saw its potential for answers on a way back to the Demon Realm, Hunter's Golden Guard sigil being the most taunting and infuriating.
But this time she was walking down the sidewalk with her girlfriend, on their way to the quaint bookshop in the town square. No monsters, no mysteries, no deadly duels, no questing for answers. Only showing her girlfriend around the town she'd partially grown up in.
"Where is it that Mrs. Noceda works?" Amity asked as she looked around the shops, occasionally nudging Luz when they passed a place where Eda was banned.
"In the new part of town, it's less cramped over there, but there's more car traffic," Luz said, stopping at the entrance of the bookshop. "Here we are."
"Surprised Eda isn't banned from here, too," Amity said inspecting the sign. It read Hoot's Books, a little owl with glasses as its mascot.
"She'd first have to step inside," Luz said good-humoredly, opening the door for Amity.
The shop smelled old, like the smell came from the building itself having existed a long time, a little dull, a little humid, all shrouded in an unshakable layer of dust.
Amity started pulling on Luz's arm urgently. "Oh, it smells like, it smells like—"
"The Forbidden Stacks."
"—the Forbidden Stacks."
Amity's eyes were bright, a little part of home in a sea of unknown territory. The bookstore had been the better option.
"Wow, I had a stupid big crush on you back then," Luz said, recalling the day and her stomach-turning nervousness around Amity.
"So did I," Amity said, her cheeks turning red. "I could've phrased it better, about being stupid and all that, but being around you sorta short-circuited my brain."
"Hm, can relate," Luz said playfully, kissing Amity's cheek.
Amity eagerly perused the shelves, dragging Luz along by the hand. There were no titles she could possibly recognize, but she still seemed to be searching for something.
"Do you think they carry the Azura spin offs?"
"Oh, maybe," Luz said with a start, eyes scanning the genre labels. "It could be a special order, too. They're not super popular."
"Why not?"
Luz shrugged. "People don't know how to recognize good literature."
"Someone there?" A voice came from the aisle over. He peeked his head around the side of the shelves. He was surprisingly young, but had a tired look that aged him. "Hello there. Let me know if I can do anything for you or if you have any questions."
"Yes, do you carry the Good Witch Azura's spin off series?" Amity perked up.
The guy wrinkled his nose like he was thinking about it. "Doesn't ring a bell. Let me check the system."
He made his way over to the counter, booting up a computer that had seen better days. Amity looked back at Luz.
"Do I follow him or…?"
"Yeah. If they don't have it, he'll probably ask if you want to place an order," Luz said. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, it's fine. I got this." Amity seemed determined to conquer this aspect of the Human Realm by herself. Books were something she would know, magical or not. Luz smiled as she watched Amity walk up to the counter, her stoic Blight-in-control mask in place.
While Amity waited, Luz went down the aisles, skimming over the title and waiting for something to catch her eye. She'd always been pulled into the fantasy section before, but was now being pulled into the history shelves. Gravesfield near the Deadwardian Era, witch hunts and hunters; she'd gotten so used to research that she naturally gravitated toward anything remotely connected to returning to the Demon Realm. Stories of tricksters and deals gone wrong, crossroads and alluring fiddles. They couldn't afford to pass anything up.
She scanned the shelves, an odd assortment of old books that seemed to have sat there since their first printing and newer books, editions she realized were brand new and the clerk had been shelving, a cart with more copies by Luz's side. She'd already read some of these books from the library, but the titles that caught her eye made their way into her hands. Gravesfield's Witch Hunters,The Witches of Gravesfield: Suspect and Trialed, Witch Hunter General Wittebane: the Legend and Disappearance.
Luz stopped in her tracks. She scanned the back of that one more carefully than the others. Caleb Wittebane, Witch Hunter General, and younger brother Philip… it was Belos. And a brother. Caleb. Belos had called Hunter that name when they were in the Titan's head. They'd lived in Gravesfield. Luz's heart was racing, hope soaring through the roof.
It was a break. Something. It wasn't a way back to the Demon Realm, but it was evidence of…sanity. Philip Wittebane, a guy with a paper trail, an actual person, not a boogeyman or specter haunting the shadows of her nightmares. A guy that vanished in the 1600s. Something tangible.
Amity appeared beside her with a bounce in her step. "Gary said I can pick up the order next week," she announced excitedly. "Next week!"
Luz jumped, startled, but couldn't help but smile. "That sounds great. Can't wait to read something other than old newspapers and fake apothecary manuscripts."
"Find anything interesting?"
"Not terribly," she handed over her small pile, still searching the shelves.
"Wittebane?" Amity murmured, flipping opened the book for its summary. A shock of cold dread ran through Luz. She'd been distracted, she hadn't realized what she'd handed over.
Luz felt frozen to the ground, waiting for Amity's judgment to come.
"Philip was a witch hunter? Look, he had an older brother too. Was he trying to get back to him with the portal door?" She seemed to be musing to herself. "Or maybe they got lost together. But his journal never mentions his brother. Huh."
She looked but from the book to find Luz petrified and looking guilty of something.
"What's wrong?"
"N–nothing, I just, um—" But there was nothing to give her away. The book wouldn't say that Philip was Emperor Belos, it wouldn't say that Luz had taught Philip the light glyph, it wouldn't say her friends had been living with the monster that had enthusiastically aided Belos in meeting the current reigning terror of the Boiling Isles, it would say nothing beyond the story of the brothers Wittebane and their sudden disappearance. Anything else was trapped in Luz's conscience, edging to get out and confess, but finding every excuse not to.
Not the first week, they were all terrified; not the second week, they were buried in research, not this week, it had been good and Luz had never heard Hunter laugh that hard before; not that week, Gus had a bout of homesickness; not this week, they'd been plagued with nightmares. Next week, next week, next week…
"Did you know?" There was no accusation in her voice, but Luz flinched anyway. "Did the Echo Mouse show you a page or…?"
"Um…okay," she took a calming breath, the guilt that had been coiling in her chest released. She was not about to lie. "Okay, okay. I did know, but it's a little more complicated than that."
"Okay," Amity said easily. She really had no idea how terribly it'd been weighing on Luz. And that was the point, Luz's best kept secret. Her self-loathing and guilt.
"I can explain it better once we get back and I'll explain everything, too. I just—I want us to enjoy this date."
"Hey, yeah," Amity ran a soothing hand across her shoulders. "Of course, don't worry about it." She kissed her cheek. "Unless there's reason to be worried." The words tilted into a question, verification of Luz's well-being.
"No, no," Luz said, a little tired, a little relieved. "Or at least, I don't think so."
I certainly hope not.
"So," Amity nudged her good-naturedly. "How about we pick something more date-like instead of research we're always doing?"
"Yeah, that sounds good," Luz said, trying a smile. "I am going to take these home, though." She pointed to the pile.
"I know," Amity said, not unkindly. "Come on, batata."
No questing for answers.
They continued to browse through the shop, picking up titles and avoiding plots that sounded a tad too familiar. Slice-of-life, mundane, peaceful, boring. Boring would be great right now.
Amity had suggested they pick a book to read together, something new, a clean slate. Luz loved the idea. As anxious as she was to get back to the Demon Realm, having something that was theirs from their time in the Human Realm was charming. Not that it wouldn't be laced with anxiety and the uncertainty of being able to return to the Demon Realm, the beginnings of their relationship was tainted with a similar anxiety. But there was a devastating sense of calm in Gravesfield, they weren't being hunted, they didn't have to dismantle an empire, everything was…quiet. Like still water. Anticipating a disturbance that usually never came.
Luz was happy to give Amity however many moments of reprieve from that anxiety as she could manage, even if it meant shouldering it by herself for a while.
Amity settled on a contemporary YA that had come out a few years ago. Luz had never deigned to pick it because of its lack of fantastical elements, but now it seemed like the most compelling storyline she'd come across. A sweet coming-of-age story, growing pains only experienced through harmless school shenanigans and misunderstandings. Peaceful and boring.
They checked out with their little pile of books and a reminder that they'll receive a phone call when the Azura books arrive. Luz tucked them away in her tote and led the way to Gravesfield Park.
The sun was only beginning to set, but the street lights flickered on, most of them thankfully working. Amity huddled closer as the evening cool settled around them. The walk was placid, everything it needed to be. Peaceful and boring.
Gravesfield Park was tragically close to the Historical Society, something that felt like the closest the universe will ever get to saying, Screw you specifically, Luz Noceda. But Gracefield Park was one of the few decent spots for a date, so it was something she was willing to put up with.
She pulled out a thick blanket from the tote and laid it under the fading shadow of a tree, strategically blocking the old building. She kicked a few leaves off and wiped away the grass blades as best she could, using the weight of the books to pin down one of the corners and sitting adjacent to it. She propped herself against the tree and patted the spot beside her.
Amity sat down, hugging Luz's arm and leaning on her shoulder. "So, is this a picnic?"
"Sure," Luz said with a shrug. "It's whatever you want it to be really. Wouldn't call it a picnic 'cause I didn't bring much food. But it's definitely picnic adjacent. It's…a quiet moment. With the best girlfriend in the world."
Amity kissed her cheek, that soft spark still there. "That's really sweet. I've loved today. It's a nice break from everything."
"Yeah," Luz agreed with a slow nod. The day was bleeding out of her, a soft wave of exhaustion washing over her. The night before planning, school, walking from place to place. It was nice to sit down for a while and just talk. "So, what do you think of the Human Realm?"
"It's just as strange as I thought it would be, a lot less," she paused looking for the word, her hand gesturing almost as if to aid her along, "violent? Dying seems a lot harder to achieve casually."
That made Luz laugh. "I mean, sure. The weather is less likely to pummel you to death, rainbows are a trick of the light, and the bees aren't on fire. Danger in the Human Realm is more intentional, I guess. Depending on where you are."
"It's a change of pace," Amity said.
"Definitely," Luz nodded. "That it definitely is."
"I like how you talk about it. Your home. You do make it seem less strange."
"Only because I know the Demon Realm," Luz smiled softly. "It's made me see home with new eyes. It's fun, finding the right words, the closest possible equivalent to it so my world seems more approachable. I want you guys to have fun when you can. New normal and all that."
"I like this new normal," Amity said with a sigh. "As much as I miss Em and Ed and Dad, I know I'm gonna see them again. That's not even a question. So I try not to feel guilty for liking it here. For enjoying the quiet. And your mom had a point, we should get to be kids. I don't want to feel bad about it."
Luz realized Amity was good at keeping secrets, too. Silent things they didn't share with each other, even though they understood it, felt the same compulsion to keep it to themselves. They all had their burdens and they still struggled to share the load. Selfish and possessive.
But then they had moments like this, where sharing was easier, where they realized the load would be lighter if they shared more often. Fleeting exceptions to their silent rule, but exceptions that were never ignored.
Luz took her hand and brought their interlaced fingers to her lips. "I really, really get that, hermosa." She wished she could do more, never realizing she did enough.
Amity brought her other hand to Luz's cheek, turning her head and leaning her forehead against hers. "I know."
Her thumb was soft against Luz's cheek, a gentle caress that coaxed her forward. Luz couldn't stop the grin that spread on her lips.
"You're so much better at this than I am," she whispered.
That seemed to startle Amity, pulling away a little to look at her. "W-what do you mean?"
"No, no, that was really smooth," she said quickly, blushing, her head finally catching up with what almost happened.
"I mean, it was," Amity was blushing, too. "I'd been trying to kiss you all day."
"Amity," Luz was laughing. "We've got to stop doing this. I've been trying to kiss you since we got here. To the Human Realm, I mean. I had a whole plan and everything and you just stumbled into the perfect moment like it was nothing."
Amity was laughing, too. "Wait, wait, what was the plan?"
"Okay, so, Gravefield Park has these fairy lights that come on an hour after the street lights, so I was waiting for them so I could give this big romantic speech about making the best out of a crummy situation and you making that easier and yada, yada—"
"No, not yada, yada. I wanna hear that speech."
"You'll get it later. Anyway, I was still figuring out how to transition from the speech to the kiss and then you just," Luz gestured uselessly, "you just nail it. No effort."
"Luz, my heart was hammering out of my chest," Amity said gravely. "I would not say, 'no effort.'"
"Okay, okay," Luz said with a shake of her head, steeling her nerves. "Can I kiss you?" She felt her face warm at the question, which felt silly since she was the one asking. And even sillier was that Amity, smooth as she had been, was blushing, too. They both laughed at themselves. Why was this so nerve-racking?
"Yes, oh, my Titan. Yes," Amity said, leaning against her forehead again, her hand returning to her cheek. This time, Luz took the lead, understanding why Amity's heart was hammering out of her chest. It was absurd. "You okay?" Amity whispered.
"Yeah, this is just terrifying," Luz said in a breathless chuckle.
"It's just me," Amity said gently. And she was right. It was just Amity. Her wonderful, patient girlfriend. The girl she laughed with, fought against and alongside, the girl that made butterflies flutter in her stomach and blush like she was sunburned. It was just Amity.
Amity, who gave her courage and support, who drove her forward and made her rest. Amity.
Luz leaned forward gently, her heart pounding in her ears. And just like that she was kissing her again, her stomach fluttering alive. Amity's lips were soft and a little wet, warm and electrifying.
Luz had no idea what to do with her hands this time so she just held on to the hand she was already clasping. She was also running out of breath, so she pulled back softly, breaking the kiss.
"How do people do this for a long time?" She wondered out loud, not really meaning to say it.
Amity giggled. "I think they just breathe on each other."
"Weird. Didn't expect a learning curve, or rather, I thought it would be different."
"It's not bad, though," Amity said with a shrug.
"Yeah, you're right," she said, her face heating up again.
"Luz?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I kiss you?"
"Hm, let me think about it," she said, making Amity laugh before she leaned in again. This time it was a little braver, her lips moving against hers once. Luz tried it, to see how it felt. It was weird but not unpleasant. Like it took a little getting used to. Amity pulled away, leaving Luz a little dizzy. She wasn't sure if it was the not-wanting-to-breathe-on-Amity thing or something else. She just knew they were both red-faced.
Just then, it got brighter above their heads and they looked up to see the fairy lights that were strewn overhead to poles and streetlights.
"Oh," Amity said with a little awe. It was mood lighting. Luz's plan would've been perfect, if she had followed through. But this was also perfect. It was clumsy and awkward and theirs. She wouldn't trade it for the smoothest pickup line or suave move. This was their perfect.
They got home just as the sun had finished setting, the sky an odd blue, the lightest residue of purple and orange scratching the horizon. Vee and Gus could be heard in the dining room, laughing, probably playing Hexes Hold'em by the sound of it. Hunter was passed out on the couch, his feet resting on Mamá's lap as she watched the news; Willow had stopped behind the couch to watch the TV too, her original destination seemingly forgotten.
It was Mamá and Willow who greeted them.
"Hey, how was the date?" Mamá asked casually.
They both turned red, suddenly bashful. One usually got to go home to gush about a date and it's small wonderful moments to one's respective household, but their current arrangement didn't allow that. A small oversight in Luz's planning.
"Oh, well," Luz started flushing more than she thought possible, "I thought it went well." She swung her arms back and forth, trying to release her nervous energy.
Mamá seemed to realize the mistake in her question a little late.
"I thought it was perfect," Amity managed in a casual tone, but her face was pink.
"Oh, that's lovely!" Mamá said, recovering.
There was a beat of silence, and it was the closest thing to actual Human Realm magic. A silent understanding, a still race.
Almost at the same time they blurted out:
"Dibs on Willow!"
"I get Vee!"
They laughed and raced toward their confidants, Amity dragging Willow up the stairs and Luz barging into the dining room, ready to gush about their date, a small semblance of different households for just a moment. A different type of normalcy.
The house felt lighter than it had in weeks, different corners alive with laughter and giggles and uh-huh, then whats. Luz's face did hurt from all the smiling. Then she got to the part in the bookstore and remembered the titles and her promise to explain everything. So she did.
She brought Gus and Vee up to her room and knocked.
Willow opened the door. "Luz, not now. Amity's getting to the good part."
"It'll have to wait," she said, determined to finally get this out. "I have to tell you guys something."
It felt like finally letting go of a long held breath, like releasing a terrible nagging knot in her back. It felt like stepping out from under a ridiculous weight, your feet skimming the surface of the floor.
She told them. About Philip and the glyph and the Emperor's mind and the Collector and how they found that Philip had a brother, a man with the title of Witch Hunter General.
Gus gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
"I was wondering when you'd be ready to talk," he said with a sympathetic look. "You and Hunter have been killing yourselves with this, keeping it quiet."
"You knew?"
He shrugged. "I got a good look at that monster's noggin, it was really twisted in there. You know it's not your fault, right?"
"I-I don't," Luz said, defeated. "I don't know that. If I hadn't—"
"He would've found someone else," a voice came from the door. Hunter. "We've talked about this, Luz. You know he would've found someone else to trick. That's just how he was."
Gus nodded. "It's true."
Their words didn't do much to ease Luz's conscience, but it did help to hear that they didn't blame her. She had friends that loved her and trusted her, trust that had been earned through the same kind of kindness that had her tricked. Of course they wouldn't blame her for it.
"We'll always have your back, Luz," Willow said with a confident smile. "Just like you have ours. Now get out." She started pushing them out of the room. "Amity wasn't done."
Amity giggled at that, helping clear out the room.
"Done with what?" Hunter seemed disoriented, like he'd started to wake up just then.
"Ooh, stay. Amity will fill you in on their date," Willow said, pulling his sleeve.
"Nope!" Luz yanked him out of the room. "My brother, I get to tell him!"
"Yes! I'm in the sibling squad!" Gus jumped on Hunter's shoulders.
"Tell me how she tells you later!" Willow called before closing the door.
"Ooh, double agent. You got it, Willow!"
Luz couldn't help laughing, feeling as light as she ever had since returning home. She hadn't realized how she'd underestimated her friends. How unfair she'd been to them.
As they sat down at the table and Gus a Vee filled Hunter in on the details and Luz handed him the books they'd bought, she made a silent promise. One last promise. A promise to never doubt the people in her life, to trust them as they trusted her. To be fair to them.
One last promise.
#lumity#toh fanfic#the owl house#the most mudane slice of life date ever#human realm shenanigans#ao3 fic#8.4k words#complete version#this took me forever on my phone#im still figuring out how to format the rest of them#writing#fanfiction#bicsbec
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Ok so, I've resorted to having a list of the fics here, which will be edited as fics are uploaded and such, with links to the posts (and the posts themselves have links to ao3 if that's up and about, i know it currently is running btw)
So I'll just sort it by fandom and edit as the other posts are added, which will take me a minute. Cool, ok
Haikyuu!!
Home (iwaoi, 700 words)
Late Night Rain (daisuga, 837 words)
(Un)certain Footing (asanoya, 1,056 words)
Check Point (kuroken, 742 words)
The Underlying Unspoken (sakuatsu, 3.5k words)
The Owl House
From The Noceda House series:
The Noceda House (6.7k words)
Chapter 1: Illusions of Home
Chapter 2: Abominable Anxieties
Chapter 3: Buried Burdens
Chapter 4: Demons and Dreams
Chapter 5: Ordinary Promises
The Most Mundane Slice-of-Life Date Ever (lumity, 8.4k words)
Natural Melodies (raeda, 22k words)
Prologue: you'd be a mess without me
Chapter 1: don't tell me not to worry
Chapter 2: a witch's dance
Chapter 3: settling bones
Chapter 4: places to rest
Chapter 5: encore
#fanfiction#writing#bicsbec#fic list#haikyuu!!#the owl house#iwaoi#daisuga#asanoya#kuroken#sakuatsu#lumity#raeda
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With ao3 being down and this ddos thing, I've been debating if I should upload complete fics up here, just so there's always access to them.
Most aren't terribly long and I could break the ones that are down into different posts. I'm still thinking on how to format it, but that's just cause I like things neat.
Thankfully I still have a copy of then, some are slightly edited for typing errors and such but it's small stuff. I think I'll be doing that soon. See ya then!
#fanfiction#ao3#bicsbec#toh fanfic#vld fanfic#haikyuu fanfiction#i think most of those are complete tho#ill check#that one hp one i wrote at the start#i dont hate it its a character study of neville#this is gonna be a pain to do from my phone
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I never did post the rest of Natural Melodies 's chapters, but the story is completed so y'all can check it out and read in a single sitting.
I did, however, finish the first one-shot from The Noceda House fic and I'm pretty excited about it. It's a little longer than I thought, but we already know I'm terrible at estimating so!
I happily bring you The Most Mudane Slice-of-life Date Ever, a lumity centric fic about that date Luz promised Amity, taking place in the Human Realm as they make the best out of a crummy situation.
There's a snippet under the cut of this post.
I'd also like to soft launch the next fic I'm working on, which is Gus-centric. Exciting stuff, I'm really looking forward to it. Until next time! (I'll be posting the raeda chaps soon)
Luz had been planning this for months. Well not this particular date under these particular circumstances, but a date with Amity. Any date with Amity.
Planning was a big word, too. It was more like daydreaming. She had a list she went through in her head of different dates.
Bowling, brunch, a movie, a picnic, the beach, roller skating, going for ice cream or milkshakes like in those old teen romance movies, or going to a bookstore, or—
"Luz? Hey, hello, where are you?" Hunter waved a hand in front of her face. She swatted it away.
"I'm right here."
He raised an eyebrow. "Right. Stop thinking about Blight for two seconds and focus. What can we get Camila?"
Luz scrunched her nose at that. "Just call her Mom already, sounds weird when you use her name."
Hunter blushed at the suggestion. "That's—that'd be disrespectful."
"You calling her Mom would be better than getting her something," Vee said from the cutting board. "Or we could make her dinner, like a nice one."
They were already making dinner, but it was just because it was their turn to cook that week. Gus and Amity had cleaned the common areas and Willow had been hanging up the laundry. Mamá would find the house spotless once she got back from work.
"If that's the case, Hunter should stick to peeling and cutting, and only what we hand you," Luz said, pointing a spoon in his direction. Last time he and Gus had been left in the kitchen alone, they'd created an abomination, the affront to nature kind not the magic kind.
Hunter shrugged. "It wasn't that terrible."
"Glad you could digest it," Luz shot back. "Now, el cumple de Mamá."
"I think it should be a small thing," Vee said, bringing Luz the diced potatoes and pumpkin for the beans. "We're already a handful, don't wanna stress her out more than necessary."
"Right, so dinner, maybe game night? Or a movie. And cake."
"No ghouls?"
"No ghouls, Hunter. She doesn't need one to follow her around the whole day, telling her how many years she's got left."
He raised his hands defensively. "It helps you appreciate your remaining days, that's all I'm saying."
"It is effective," Vee agreed. "But it might give Mom a heart attack, so no."
"Thank you, I like my mothers alive," Luz said playfully. But the phrase only made her think of Eda. Her stomach swooped anxiously, an itching desperation crawling down her nerves. She could only hope that Eda was okay. That King was okay.
She ran a hand down her face, trying to ground herself. It was easy to spiral. Her friends were safe. She was with Mamá. They were doing everything they could to get back. These things were enough.
They're not, but they have to be.
#the owl house#lumity#raeda#luz noceda#amity blight#gus porter#natural melodies#the noceda house#the most mudane slice-of-life date ever#fanfiction#writing#ao3fic#bicsbec
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Natural Melodies (AO3 link)
Prologue: you'd be a mess without me
Their tea had gone cold. Which was unsurprising, really. Having warm tea as they sat in their rocker on their porch had always been more of a nice idea than an achievable practice.
Raine liked the quiet contemplation that mornings brought, the distant sound of beasts rustling through the woods, the charmed snow, the particular atmosphere that was characteristic of the Knee, raw magic. Primal and untamed.
Raine huffed, looking down at the cold liquid, frustrated with themself. It reminded them of Eda. Of course, it did. Maybe that's why they drifted back to the Knee after their break up, drifted back even after—they shook their head, scattering those thoughts.
She was magic as the Titan intended, unrestrained and unregulated.
Raine never really regretted sealing away their magic, they'd never been interested in anything other than Bard magic, but now it was a little silly. Covens and regulation seemed like the stupidest idea a witch could ever conceive.
That's probably why no witch actually conceived it, they thought bitterly.
They shook their head, whistling to warm their tea. Not that they really minded the cold.
Ever since they were young, the cold had been a close companion to Raine. Growing up on the Knee did that, being fascinated by Bard magic did that, being St. Epiderm's IFWOT mascot did that.
Raine had grown fond of it.
They had always liked how the air shifted around them when they serenaded the Titan in private little concerts they held on their way home from school. It was a habit they had kept in adulthood, warming up in the mornings before heading out to their Coven duties.
Raine set their tea down and summoned their violin, playing a few scales, gentle ebbs of magic dispersing into the air. The atmosphere still shifted around them, an old friend with a familiar embrace.
Moving back to the Knee had seemed like the most natural thing to do when they'd broken up. It felt appropriate to be enveloped by that familiar cold as they propelled through their life, their coven, their music, and further away from her.
Cold was what Raine had needed.
As the echoes of their violin faded among the branches and the air shifted back into that unforgiving, bracing cold, Raine couldn't fathom another second in the cold.
Flashes of limp limbs and cold skin and unseeing eyes took over their senses. Impotence and dread. A pang of warm guilt.
Drifting back to the Knee had been an impulse. A search for normalcy after a long waking nightmare. It had been a mistake, unthinking and isolating.
Raine was tired of the cold. They looked down to find the cup of tea had stopped steaming.
They threw it out and headed back inside with a sigh.
Brief look into Natural Melodies, the RaEda fic I've been working on! This weekend I'll be uploading the final chap, but will likely continue with a few one shots here and there
#toh#the owl house#raeda#raine whispers#eda clawthorne#ao3fic#writing#fanfiction#bicsbec#Natural Melodies
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I'm almost too scared to look at the last time I posted for real on this page. But IM BACK aaand I have a nearly completed fic to show for it. And yes, it's the raeda fic! I'm so excited for this thing. I've been working on it almost since I finished The Noceda House and it truly kicked my ass. I rewrote it like two or three times, revised it endlessly, and have been posting it to ao3 since the day of the finale (before i had seen it). But that's enough out of me, here's the link!
I'll be uploading little snippets of the chapters, as usual, but here's the premise:
Canon divergence, taking place after the presumed events of Watching and Dreaming, Raine and Eda make their way towards each other again as they search for normalcy and things settle down around them. Domesticity follows.
This is my "all the fluff" fic that had mentioned ages ago. I wanted it to be about mostly them, but I realized I can't write Eda’s character without her role as a mother and it would only make sense to write about how Raine was integrated into that family.
Hope you guys enjoy!
#the owl house#toh#raeda#raine whispers#eda clawthorne#old people falling in love is my thing#fanfiction#writing#ao3fic#bicsbec#Natural Melodies#The Noceda House
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lumity shippers vs raeda shippers after the newest episode
#this is my proof of life/announcement that ive finally seen the ep#also i uploaded the first three chaps of the raeda fic#please be patient with me i got a month left of school and a competition coming up#toh spoilers#raeda#lumity
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The Underlying Unspoken (SakuAtsu one-shot)
The Miya household was, in a word, loud.
Laughter and muffled conversation could be heard from outside.
The second they stepped through the threshold, Atsumu seemed to switch gears, falling back into something well-worn and comfortable—and completely foreign to Kiyoomi.
"Kaa-san, 'm home!"
Somewhere distantly, a woman's voice came.
"Welcome home! Kitchen, darlin'."
Atusmu kicked off his shoes and hurried along barefoot, dropping his bags next to his discarded shoes. Kiyoomi watched him disappear into the house, leaving him somewhat lost. He didn't want to be rude and not greet his host, but he didn't want to be rude and leave a mess right at the entrance.
The conversation was reinvigorated inside the house, the accent he was so used to hearing getting thicker around the edges, like Atsumu was relaxing his vowels.
Kiyoomi shuffled off his shoes, tucking them neatly together and sliding them next to Atsumu's.
"Sakusa-kun! Who'd've thought," Osamu said a tad too loudly, startling Kiyoomi. "Where's Tsumu."
By the way he was leaning on the wall and the Sapporo in his hand, Kiyoomi thought Osamu was perhaps tipsy or lightly drunk.
"In the kitchen, I think."
"Well, drop that shit," he gestured to his bags. "Come on in. KAA-SAN!"
"KITCHEN!"
"TSUMU BROUGHT YA SOMETHIN'."
Kiyoomi felt his face warm realizing he was Atsumu's something. That was why they were visiting, but it didn't make his stomach swoop any less.
Kiyoomi realized that there were other voices aside from the twins and their mother, but they were out of sight.
He tried to distract himself from what felt like walking his own funeral procession. His eyes caught on the walls and the frames that filled them.
Ribbons and MSBY articles on best plays and a few select scandals starring the one Miya Atsumu. Kiyoomi thought it strange to frame those, but it seemed oddly fitting. The other frames were mostly of the twins growing up.
He could tell which one was Atsumu by his eyes and the dimple that showed up in his side smirk, which he apparently had since birth by the looks of it. Rambunctious and messy and warm, that's what those photos told Kiyoomi.
That summer had been sticky, the watermelons sweet and refreshing. That middle school tournament had been the one, the one that hooked Tsumu on volleyball. That festival had been boring for the kids, but Miya-san held her boys' shoulders like there was nothing possibly better to do, like she'd been looking forward to that one day off with her sons.
The walls told Kiyoomi of a family, a proper family. Messy and loving. It's beginning and progression and the expectation of continuation.
And then he was in the kitchen, the Miya-san before him noticeably older than the one on the walls, but still the loving mother with the kind smile and warm eyes.
Atsumu was leaning on the counter with a lazy smile, an it's-so-damn-good-to-be-home smile, turned toward her, his focus entirely on her and the questions she asked.
"What's Samu on about? Sayin' you brought me somethin'."
"I dunno, Kaa-san. Samu says alotta shit."
"Deliverin' one MSBY outside hitter," Osamu piped in. "Do I hafta do the rest for ya, Tsumu?"
"No, scrub. That'll be all."
Atsumu's eyes fell on Kiyoomi, who was standing oh-so awkwardly in the kitchen door of that well-worn, well-lived kitchen, and his smile widened, that stupid dimple making its appearance. They had practiced and scripted and memorized how they were going to do this.
Atsumu would say: Kaa-san, this is Sakusa Kiyoomi. You've met him at the last Christmas gala. We've been dating for sometime and I wanted to formally introduce him to you.
Kiyoomi would say: Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Miya-san. Thank you for welcoming me into your home. Your son—
"Kaa-san, this is the love of my life. I believe you’ve met already."
Kiyoomi was drawing blanks.
A one-shot where Kiyoomi meets Atsumu's mother and grandmother. Atsumu is subject to teasing by his brother and friends. Domestic Miyas ensue.
#haikyuu!!#sakusa kiyoomi#miya atsumu#miya osamu#suna rintarou#ojiro aran#fanfiction#writing#ao3fic#sakuastu#3570k words#bicsbec
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Check Point
A brief kuroken one-shot (AO3 link)
Kenma was streaming again. Not that it was a problem. Tetsurou was only concerned with Kenma's lack of self preservation.
He would hole himself up in his office, streaming for hours on end, forgetting to eat or drink water or sleep. Tetsurou wasn't in the habit of interrupting his streams, but he had long since silently vowed to check on Kenma when he exceeded the twelve hour mark of not exiting the room. Check points, they called them.
This morning, Tetsurou was fairly certain Kenma had never made it to bed. He glanced at the timer on his watch in the mirror, his fingers stopping their work on his tie to focus on the numbers. 11:56:08.
Kenma sometimes did that, set the timer himself. Tetsurou smiled in the mirror.
He made his way over to Kenma's office, knocking first. No response.
"Kenma, check point."
He could hear faint chimes coming from inside, he recognized them as sounds the chat sometimes made.
"Kenma?"
Still nothing. Tetsurou risked a peek inside and his heart stuttered.
Kenma had fallen asleep on stream, their cat, Mikasa, was curled up on the back of his neck, lifting her head to sniff at the camera. It was honestly the cutest sight in the world.
The chat was flying past on screen, the stream had switched to a screen saver, the corner where Kenma's feed usually appeared was covered by a pink nose. Tetsurou smirked at the onslaught of hearts and coos shown on the screen as he picked up the calico.
Kenma stirred a little, but didn't wake.
"Kenma?" Tetsuro shook him gently. "Check point, pause the stream or something."
Mikasa squirmed in his arm, leaping to the floor. She circled his legs once and exited the office; it was time for breakfast.
Kenma blinked awake, looking disoriented. He sat up quickly and winced.
"Ow," he mumbled, rubbing at his neck. "Kuro, I'm streaming."
"No, you were sleeping." Tetsurou did a quick scan of the area, picking up empty wrappers and suspicious looking bottles. His wrist began to beep then. "And that's twelve hours."
"Got it," he sighed, rubbing at his eye. He signed off with an apology and a shake of his head.
He shuffled out of the room, looking dead on his feet. Tetsurou was close at his heels, picking up all the trash he could manage in one trip. Tetsurou threw it out in the kitchen, finally going to feed Mikasa as well.
When he turned, Kenma was sitting at the dining table, with his head down.
"Oi."
Kenma only grumbled.
"What were you shaking your head at, you don't close streams like that."
"The chat was asking questions."
"About what?"
Kenma looked up, his eyes squinting at Tetsurou's neck.
"Your tie is ridiculous."
Tetsurou laughed at that.
"They’re volleyballs, it’s great," he chuckled, looking down at his tie.
"Dork."
"Nerd."
Kenma smiled sleepily. "The chat was asking about your dorky tie. I refused to be held accountable for your questionable fashion sense."
Tetsurou shrugged. "I like what I like. I'm heading out, I've got a meeting with the Alders' PR manager."
"Have fun."
"Go to bed."
Kenma nodded, watching as Mikasa swished her tail back and forth as she ate.
Kuro had been overworking himself recently. He often forgot how to separate home from work. It was like he never left the office. He'd have spreadsheets laid out on the coffee table, calling sponsors and balancing budgets. Mikasa would often fall asleep on top of the sheets, that being the only reason Kuro stopped working at all.
One evening Kenma was laying on the couch, playing on his POP; he'd been feeling nostalgic. Kuro was sitting on the floor, leaned against the couch, running through some numbers. Kenma glanced over and nudged his head with his foot.
"Yeah?" Kuro leaned his head back, closing his eyes.
"Check point."
Kuro's head turned toward him, a smile spreading on his lips. "Yeah, okay."
He stood up and started to crawl on top of Kenma.
"Wait, no—that's not what I meant."
"Too late," Kuro sighed, burrowing under Kenma's chin. Kenma huffed, settling the handheld on top of Kuro's head.
It was easy to fall asleep like that, POP slipping from his hand, eyes drooping, Kuro's slow breaths lulling him to sleep as well. Life was hectic enough as it was, being a respite for each other only made sense. Easy check points to rest.
#haikyuu!!#kuroo tetsurou#kozume kenma#the cat is named after the volleball brand#it is kuroo's doing#FLUFF#domestic fluff#no plot here#ao3fic#writing#fanfiction#742 words#bicsbec
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Upcoming!
I finished writing the chapters I had planned for The Noceda House, which is super cool. I’ve thought about turning it into a series, mostly to add to Human Realm dynamics and all that. They would be one-shots, but I don’t think any kind of order would be necessary to read them; The Noceda House would definitely be the first part tho.
Right now, however, I’m working on a Raeda fic, which is mostly fluff because they deserve it and I love them. I’ve discovered about myself that I can’t write about old people falling in love without including flashbacks, so get ready for some of that.
After I’m done there, I’ll probably turn Stay a Little Longer into a series, too. Same energy as TNH, one-shots here and there. My corivan brainrot is returning and I really want to write about Coran teaching Kolivan how to play Monsters & Mana. This is really for me, but that’s fine.
Last thing ya’ll should know! I started my semester, so updates will be slower. I have readings and practice after classes, so I’m usually really drained by the end of the day. Weekends will probably be when I’ll usually update, but we’ll have to see.
#TOH#The Noceda House#raeda#VLD#stay a little longer#corivan#old people falling in love is my THING#my trademark if you will#upcoming#oneshots#ao3 fics#writing#fanfiction#bicsbec
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The Noceda House
Chapter 5: Ordinary Promises
The first night back home didn’t feel like coming home. Yeah, mamá was there, her room, her bed, everything was where it should be. But she wasn’t.
Luz was itching to go back to the cabin, burst through the door, will it to lead her to the Demon Realm. King was in trouble, Eda could be dead, the Boiling Isles were at the mercy of…well, Luz wasn’t exactly sure what The Collector was, but he seemed dangerous. Almost like a kid with a loaded gun, and Luz had no idea when or if he would pull the trigger.
Her mother’s fussing was a haze to her. Only at dinner did she fully come to terms with being back, fully back.
She was exhausted, but her mind was all over the place. She got up from her makeshift cot on the floor and silently side-stepped Amity’s mattress.
It felt like it had been ages since the last time she had crawled out to the roof to sit beside the dormer window. The roof tiles were wet and cold, the night air dense with the cool humidity of the passed rain. It was strange how easily it all became familiar to her again, like each passing second erased the Demon Realm, the things she’d gotten used to becoming undone.
Luz knew she couldn’t do magic here; she wasn’t even a little bit tempted to try. She thought that watching her glyph pathetically crumble would do her in, be the drop that broke the dam she kept trying to hold back. How was she going to fix this mess?
She heard a soft scuffle beside her and when she turned to look, she found Amity peering out the window. Relief washed over her face when she saw Luz.
“Can’t sleep, hermosa?”
“Not really,” Amity said with a weak smile. “It’s been a crazy day.”
“Yeah… Wanna come sit?”
Amity clambered over the windowsill a little clumsily, her foot slipping slightly over the tiles. Luz steadied her with her hand, pulling Amity over to sit next to her. Amity readjusted herself, like she was trying to find the driest way to sit.
It was cute.
She nudged Luz with her elbow, Luz only turning to give her a questioning look.
“Can’t sleep either?”
Luz smiled tiredly and shook her head, leaning against Amity. She picked up Amity’s hand and began to trace her fingers, following the shape of each bone between her fingers. It was nice to be able to have Amity this close, especially after the day they’d had. Her side was warm and comforting; she relaxed, her exhaustion hitting her all at once. Amity was a reminder that it had all been real and it was still worth fighting for.
Luz would make this right.
“Y’know, sweet potato, I’m grateful for ya,” Luz slurred through her drowsiness.
“Yeah?”
Luz nodded, her eyes drooping.
“I’m grateful for you, too,” Amity said softly, her thumb tracing circles against the back of Luz’s hand.
“Hm, you’re really pretty…” and brilliant and kind and brave and…
…Luz couldn’t quite remember how she ended curled up in her blankets the next morning.
Luz felt like time was zooming past her and dragging by slowly all at the same time. She couldn’t find the answer fast enough. Time was running out.
And yet, everything seemed fine. Time could pass at whatever pace it wanted. The lack of urgency that surrounded her was maddening.
It was getting harder to mask her anxiety around her mom. Harder to pretend she was glad to be back, like she wasn’t itching to get back to the Demon Realm.
She was starting to get paranoid, jumpy around mamá. And mamá was noticing.
“Luz, is something on your mind?”
All this time, Luz had never thought of her silence as lying. But now, avoiding this question would be a blatant lie and she didn’t have the heart for it. “Uh, yeah… You could say that.”
Mami gave her a knowing look, prompting Luz to continue.
“Ma, you have to promise to hear me out first.”
That alone evidently made her mother apprehensive, but she nodded.
“I don’t want to break my promise, but I can’t just stay here when the Demon Realm is in trouble. I have to go back; I can’t just abandon Eda and King. They’re family, too. I know that if you just met them, you’d understand, but—”
Her mom placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I hear you. I can tell these aren’t the whims of the you I thought I knew. But, mija, you are fourteen, you’re my baby. I can’t just let you march into something so dangerous.” The way her mom was talking made Luz think that she had done a poor job of hiding her true feelings about being home. “I’m sure Eda would want you to be safe, too… I don’t want you to break your promise, either. But I understand that you feel you have to do this. Just—give them a chance to get to you first. Give yourself a chance to be fourteen. You don’t have to carry the world on your shoulders, mi cielo.”
Tears were streaming down Luz’s cheeks. Never before had she felt so seen by her mother or so guilty for being so see-through. Her mom wrapped her arms tightly around her, her warmth and squeeze reassuring and wonderfully familiar. Luz wondered how much she had unintentionally hurt her mom without having said a single word; almost as if reading her thoughts, mamá tightened her arms around her hiccupping shoulders.
“Shh, none of that. Tranquila, mi amor. I’ve got you.”
“Gracias, mami.”
Time pools. That was their biggest lead. It was barely that, if they were honest, but any other record that talked about witches kidnapping or making people disappear from Gravesfield never mentioned how it had happened. And it’s not like they knew how many of those were actually legitimate. Only Philip Wittebane’s. It wasn’t much to go on.
“Hey, Gus?” Luz called from the floor. Gus was on the windowsill of her room, watching for Hunter to return.
“Yeah?”
“Where’d you find your treasures?”
“They usually were washed up by the shore, why?”
“Just wonderin’.”
There it was again, water. Hunter had been on to something.
“You never just wonder,” Amity said, poking her cheek. “What’re you thinking?”
“That our way back might be a swim away, we’d just have to find the right spot.”
“How would we do that?” Willow asked from the bed, looking up from her book on human flora.
“Ding-ding-ding, that’s the million-dollar question,” Luz sighed.
“I think Hunter’s words would be get lucky,” Gus said. “But if giraffes could do it all the time, why can’t we?”
Luz sat up, her head snapping to the window. “What do you mean by that?”
“That’s why they got banished. They creeped around too much in the Human Realm, just slithering around.”
“Do you think they’ve got a nose for it?”
“If they did, they don’t have one anymore,” Vee’s voice came from the room’s threshold. Luz looked over. “I couldn’t smell any magic on them when we went to the zoo. By the way, Mom said laundry’s done. It’s your turn to hang it up.”
“Yeah, be there in a second, just—back up,” Luz said, her head was spinning. “Giraffes have magic?”
“Well, they definitely had magic,” Gus said. “They must’ve messed with their senses so they couldn’t come back to the Demon Realm.”
Luz shook her head with a laugh. “That’s the most bonkers thing I’ve ever heard.”
She felt their eyes collectively shift to her, raised eyebrows and skeptical looks. “Okay, maybe not ever, but it’s up there.”
Until they could come up with a better plan, getting lucky was their best bet.
Luz slowly came to terms with her lack of control over their situation. They still had too many questions, with too many unreliable answers. They still missed home. Luz still worried about King and Eda.
Everything was backwards and guilt came bearing down on her constantly. But her friends were good at sharing burdens and even better at pulling Luz away from spirals. They all had reasons to be fixating on going home, reasons to not keep calm, reasons to not be kids.
But she had a new promise to keep.
She would try her best to be just that—a kid. Not just for her mom, but for her own sake, too.
#toh#the owl house#The Noceda House#luz noceda#amity blight#camila noceda#toh vee#willow park#gus porter#hunter toh#final chapter#post-season 2#ao3fic#fanfiction#writing#1418k words#the whole fic is 6718k words#bicsbec
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The Noceda House
Chapter 4: Demons and Dreams
Usually, when Hunter didn’t go to sleep it was by accident. He’d be too caught up reading a book on wild magic or dealing with his duties as the Golden Guard or Coven Head. Ever since they’d been stuck in the Human Realm, Hunter avoided sleep.
He was convinced his dreams were haunted. They were filled with gaunt, sickly silhouettes covered in putrid sludge; figures that trapped him, consuming him in their creeping ooze, drowning him. He always woke up with the savage need to breathe. So, yeah, Hunter avoided sleep.
He told himself it was a good thing he wasn’t sleeping. He’d pick up Luz’s research as she slumped against Amity, too exhausted to keep her eyes open anymore. It wasn’t much progress, but it was better than doing nothing. Mostly, they just found themselves bouncing theorizes off of each other. The ways to get back they kept returning to were always the same four:
Build another portal.
Wait for Eda to build a portal.
Find how magic leaks into the Human Realm.
Get lucky.
Things weren’t looking great so to speak.
Optimism wasn’t Hunter’s strong suit, but luckily it was Luz’s.
“We just have to keep looking,” Luz said every time they hit a dead end. Hunter was too impressed by her tenacity to be annoyed.
“Maybe you should take a break,” Amity said, gently taking the book clutched in Luz’s hands. “Your mom had said something about going shopping later today. We should put this stuff away soon anyway.”
“Okay, yeah,” Luz sighed, rubbing at her eyes with the heel of her palm.
They climbed into a metal contraption similar to a carriage and zoomed into the town of Gravesfield. A few buildings caught Hunter’s eye, making him do a double take to make sure he’d seen correctly. They were already too far for him to tell with any certainty, but he was sure he had seen something from the Demon Realm. He peered out of the metal carriage, trying to see if he could spot it again, but the new parts of the town had nothing. It bothered him, like a forgotten word on the tip of his tongue.
His dreams were changing.
They were these flashes of violence, just a feeling, a burning urge. Rage held back. A punch that was never released. It burned his lungs, tensed his shoulders. What consumed him became him.
Something was bubbling inside him, rising—
And he fell off the couch.
His head was spinning, trying to catch his breath, tears stinging his eyes.
“Hunter? Are you okay, man?” It was Gus. It seemed he was just waking up, rubbing at his eye.
Hunter took a second to find his voice. “Ye-yeah. It was just a nightmare. Just a nightmare.”
Gus looked more alert now. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really,” he said, running a hand through his hair, trying to shake off the cold that was spreading across his chest. “Um, not now. Thanks, though.”
“Okay,” Gus nodded. “I’m here if you need anything.”
“Yeah.” Hunter stood and grabbed his boots from beside the couch. “I just need some fresh air.”
Gus settled back into his inflatable bed, sleep finding him easily enough. That never ceased to fascinate Hunter.
If he wasn’t going to be able to sleep, he might as well get some answers.
He stepped outside, pulling on his hoodie, and looking over to find Willow running through her morning routine. He might as well tell someone he was going out.
“Morning, Captain,” he said, which almost got him his head whipped off.
Don’t sneak up on the captain, noted.
He quickly figured out that going into Gravesfield led him to more questions than answers. In the town square, he spotted the extremely familiar Golden Guard sigil. More than once. It was the town’s seal.
His sigil, it came from the Human Realm. The idea created a bizarre dissonance in his head. Belos was from the Human Realm, he’d created the Golden Guards. It made sense.
But why would he bring it to the Demon Realm? He hated witches, why make Grimwalkers wear the seal of his hometown?
It became a habit to walk to town after really bad dreams. He’d sit in the town square and stare at the statue that was right in the middle. Belos’s words resonated in his head as he looked at one of the petrified men: Out of all the Grimwalkers, you look the most like him.
Hunter couldn’t help but wonder how much of what Belos remembered from his Human Realm was still around, even after all those centuries. He wondered if his “uncle” had ever sat where he was, walked the same roads; he wondered, even, if he was staring at Belos and him. It wouldn’t have surprised him if he was. But he didn’t think he’d get that many answers from just staring.
“I was thinking of checking out the Gravesfield Historical Society today,” Luz said, tapping a finger on Hunter’s page to get his attention. “I heard they changed the curator again.”
Hunter watched as she packed up the books into her bag, slowly clearing out the dining table. “Belos didn’t have a portal back then,” he mused. He knew it was out of nowhere, but it had been nagging at him.
“Yeah, I know.”
“How’d he get here—there? You had his journal, right? Didn’t he ever say?”
“Well, he said he’d emerged in Eclipse Lake. Because of the Titan blood mixing with the water.”
“Right, wait—is that how you knew to go there?”
“I never went there.”
Hunter waved a dismissive hand. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah, okay. Yes. But I can’t imagine from where in the Human Realm he might’ve disappeared…”
“It had to be a lake, no? Or near water, right? Some sort of geographical proximity.”
“Since when does magic work like that?”
“Gee, I don’t know. Care to explain how you helped Wittebane in the Deadwardian Era?”
Luz’s eyes lit up. “The time pools!”
Hunter couldn’t help but wrinkle up his nose. “Those aren’t real.”
“Yeah, and the sky isn’t blue, and this is all just one long, terrible dream,” Luz said, leveling him a look and crossing her arms.
“Okay, sure. Let’s say they’re real—”
“They are.”
“—how are we going to find one? They never appear in the same place twice. And they’re windows to time, not realms.”
“You got a better idea?”
Hunter slumped against his chair with nothing more to say. He didn’t have a better idea. As ridiculous as it was, this was the best they’d come up with.
How was their best bet a wild Selkidomus chase?
They were going to a zoo, whatever that meant. What he knew for sure was that Gus was very excited about it. Hunter was happy for him, to some extent. As happy as he could feel these days.
Something was wrong with him. He could sometimes feel a burning sensation at his extremities, bubbling up towards his chest. It was an itch he couldn’t scratch, it was raging magic waiting to be unleashed. It was scary. He felt out of control, like he was walking a thin line, so close to tipping over the edge.
Sometimes, when Flapjack was in his wooden form, the overbearing thought of just…cracking him open invaded his mind.
Maybe it’ll soothe you. Doesn’t that sound nice?
His dreams were seeping into his reality. And Willow noticed.
“Hunter, are you sure you’re okay?” she asked once they’d gotten back from the zoo. The outing had gone without incident, Hunter’s discomfort mostly under control.
The question was simple enough, but the tone of her concern broke something inside of him. She was worried about him; she really shouldn’t be. Tears stinged his eyes, his chest feeling hollow.
He wasn’t even sure where to start.
“Back there at the zoo, before the aquarium… Your eyes had changed color, like a bright green. I’m pretty sure they’d never done that before,” Willow said.
Cold dread washed over him. It can’t be. There was an uproar in his head.
“I-I don’t know what’s happening to me, Willow,” he said, hiding his face in his hands. He was too scared to try and hide his distress. There was too much inside his head, voices fighting to be heard.
“We’ll figure it out,” Willow said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “We’ll figure it all out.”
“What if—” Hunter shook his head, the thought too scary to actually say.
“What if what?”
He looked up. Willow wasn’t looking at him with fear or pity. Her look was of resolve, conviction; like she knew there was a solution, even if Hunter didn’t believe it himself.
“What if I end up like…him? What if I hurt Flapjack?”
“You won’t. You’re not him, Hunter.” She was so sure of it. “We’ve got your back.”
Hunter gave himself the luxury of believing her, even if it was for just a moment.
“Thanks, Captain.”
#toh#hunter toh#hunter the golden guard#gus porter#luz noceda#amity blight#willow park#the owl house#The Noceda House#ao3fic#fanfiction#writing#1508k words#bicsbec
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The Noceda House
Chapter 3: Buried Burdens
Willow Park was very much not okay. Nothing had been okay for quite a few days. The Human Realm was confusing and disorienting, it turned her senses upside down. The plants were different, the air had weird metal, grimy consistency, some of the food tasted unnatural. It made her dizzy.
But she would put on a brave face, keep her discomfort under wraps, so at least one of them kept calm, diffusing Luz’s wired anxiety and Gus’s panic attacks. Hunter and Amity were clearly going through their own things, but they weren’t erratic.
She missed her dads, worried if they were okay. It came at her in waves, usually at night when everything was quiet and all she could hear were Vee’s soft whistles as she breathed through her nose. Home was somehow a doorway away and universes apart. Home was gone. Home had to become something else if she was going to make it through this.
Willow tried to look for some degree of normalcy, something to keep her grounded. She ran through her morning routine, which felt nice, but there was nothing normal about it. The paths she ran down were different, the vines she used as battle ropes were more rigid than the ones in the Demon Realm. Sure, they presented a challenge, but not one Willow wanted to be reminded of every morning.
“Morning, Captain,” Hunter said, almost getting his head whipped off, ducking just in time.
“Oh, Hunter.” Willow relaxed, spelling the vines away. “My bad.”
Hunter exhaled, straightening again. “All good. Holding up okay?”
“Uh, yeah. Well enough, I guess,” Willow shrugged. She noticed Hunter had bothered to put on his boots. They usually refrained from wearing anything from home. Luz had told them their clothes would stand out too much. Mrs. Noceda had taken them shopping for human clothes early on, one of Gus’s illusions over their ears to not draw attention.
Hunter’s ears looked normal now, so Gus probably didn’t know he was outside.
Willow raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. “Going somewhere?”
Hunter blushed, looking away. “Yes,” he said, his tone determined. “And it would be really cool if you didn’t tell the others.”
“Were you trying to sneak out just now? ‘Cause if you were, you suck at it.”
“I know how to sneak out,” Hunter said defensively. “I just—needed someone to know I had gone out…in case anything happened.”
“You think I’m going to let you go alone?”
“It’s nothing dangerous,” he said quickly. “It’s just precaution. I saw something when we were in town last week. I wanted to check it out for myself, that’s all.”
Willow wasn’t convinced. “You shouldn’t go out with your ears like that. You know what happened to Vee.”
Hunter offered her a smile, pulling up his hoodie. “Problem solved.”
Willow sighed. “Just—be careful.”
“You got it, Captain.”
After a few days of helping Luz research magic in the Human Realm, the trail seemed to run cold. Most of it was superstition or unhelpful to their cause.
Yes, fairies were real, but exactly how did they get here?
Luz obsessively revised every legitimate resource they got their hands on, refusing to leave a stone left unturned, terrified of overlooking anything. Amity had to pull her away at times, remind her that these things take time. Luz was showing a terrible pattern of burdening herself with guilt and responsibility, as if it were her fault they were stuck in the Human Realm.
Willow was determined to make her take a day off, so she suggested as much. They would go to a zoo. Gus had called them zoological gardens once, the word garden had always caught Willow’s attention.
Seeing Gus smile so much was a relief, it made everything worth it. She knew this was why she kept her anxieties to herself, burying them. So when Gus smiled he didn’t have to worry about anything else, when Luz and Amity laughed they didn’t have to think twice about it, so Hunter wouldn’t lose anymore sleep than he already did; her friends could just be, and that was more than enough for Willow. She realized they were becoming the home she needed, and with that she knew she could make it.
“Try to stick together,” Mrs. Noceda was saying, “don’t wander off alone.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Amity said eagerly, holding fast to Luz’s hand.
“You’ll stick with us, right, Hunter?” Gus asked looking over at the older boy. Hunter was transfixed holding his inanimate palisman, Flapjack, running a thumb over his wooden chest. “Hunter?”
“Hm?” he looked up, startled.
“Do you want to stick with us?”
“Oh. Yeah, of course.”
Gus smiled and turned his attention to the exhibition map. Willow nudged Hunter.
“Are you okay?”
“Yep,” Hunter said, storing Flapjack away safely. “I just…miss having him around.”
They tried to keep their palismen safe from human eyes, which meant keeping them inanimate for long periods of time. Willow missed Clover, too; but she never looked at her like that.
Hunter offered her a smile and his eyes flashed green. He blinked and they were back to their particular red shade.
Something was wrong…
Gus was practically leaping as he dragged Willow to the aquarium exhibition, leaving Luz and Amity in the dust. Hunter followed close behind them. The creatures swimming around were weird, their bodies small and delicate looking, with just one pair of eyes.
Gus’s eyes were wide with wonder, but they were still searching.
“They’re not here,” Gus said, looking around.
“Who?” Willow asked, looking over her shoulder.
“The giraffes!”
“Luz might know where they keep them,” Hunter suggested.
“Yeah, but I don’t want to interrupt her date with Amity.”
“I’m sure she won’t mind, Gus,” Willow assured him.
Luz, in fact, had not minded the interruption, but she gave Gus a funny look.
“Why were you looking for giraffes in the aquarium?”
“Because they’re aquatic, duh.”
“Gus, I promise you they are not.”
Luz led them to the giraffe exhibit and giggled as she saw Gus gape at the huge animals.
“Giraffes have BODIES? It’s not just the long necks? What lie have I been living?”
“Why wouldn’t they have bodies?” Luz asked, looking alarmed.
“They’re troublemakers that hang out in lakes,” Gus said, looking like he was reevaluating everything he knew. “They—they dip their heads and snake around over the surface. They don’t have bodies!”
“They’ve always looked like this, Gus,” Luz said. “They live in savannahs and stuff, not that many big bodies of water.”
“I need to sit down,” Gus said, holding onto Willow’s sleeve. She giggled.
“Okay, Gus. Take it easy.”
Willow felt bad for laughing, but she loved how familiar this kind of distress was. It wasn’t Gus worried about whether he’d ever see his dad again or if their magic could run out. It was Gus fussing over something silly, yet another misconception he had of the Human Realm. He seemed stressed now, but soon enough he would be bouncing around again, delighted to have learned something new. Willow had missed that.
After Gus came to terms with this newfound information, Luz suggested that they visit the carousel the zoo had. Gus lit up at the new word.
It turned out to be a circular machine that spined, ornate and colorful, that had short necked giraffe statues with poles running through their backs. It was mesmerizing and disturbing. Luz told them it was a fun game for children.
The Human Realm truly was bizarre.
#toh#willow park#luz noceda#amity blight#gus porter#hunter toh#the owl house#The Noceda House#i think i've neglected to say this is up on ao3#ao3fic#writing#fanfiction#1251k words#bicsbec
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The Noceda House
Chapter 2: Abominable Anxieties
Amity couldn’t sleep the first night in Luz’s room. Her head was buzzing with too many thoughts. Her mom, The Collector, the covens, almost losing Luz. They kept looping in her head.
Her mother’s indifference, cold and calculated, was unnerving. She never realized the extent her business mindset reached. How had she not noticed before? Her mom had always run a tight ship, ruled her family with a strict fist, imposed social relations as she deemed them an appropriate image for the family. But this was too far, insanely far.
The Collector was…he made her nervous. He seemed like a kid, but his aura was ancient. There was also something about his ease of power that was unnatural, dangerously unfamiliar. Amity was dreading having to face him again. She really didn’t want to think about what would happen then.
She wondered what happened to the covens, if The Collector had them trapped in some sort of sick game. She worried about her dad and Ed and Em. She hoped her dad had gotten away safely, that despite everything, her family was safe.
Amity had never entertained the idea of losing Luz, not like she almost did. She thought she could bear losing her to the Human Realm, but she never saw it in a near future. Looking back to find Luz ready to be a damn martyr wasn’t something she was ready for. She didn’t have the words for the all-encompassing fear that gripped her at the sight.
She turned on the air mattress, a plastic rectangle that’s name didn’t make much sense to her, to look over at Luz’s spot on the floor. She had insisted on Willow and Vee taking the bed, saying she was used to sleeping on the floor in the Owl House. Amity had wanted to be as close as possible to Luz, too scared to stray too far.
But Luz was gone, just a bundle of blankets in her place. Amity’s heart leapt to her throat, as she sat up and scanned the room frantically. She noticed the window was open and made her way over to look outside. Much to her relief, Luz was sitting on the roof beside the window, looking tired but alert.
“Can’t sleep, hermosa?” she asked with a soft smile. Amity tried her best to return it.
“Not really,” Amity said in a low voice, trying not to wake the others. “It’s been a crazy day.”
“Yeah… Wanna come sit?”
Amity nearly slipped as she climbed out onto the roof, Luz catching her with a steady hand and leading Amity to sit beside her.
The roof was cold and wet, which was upsetting in contrast with how warm it was inside. Amity nudged Luz with her elbow to get her attention.
Luz scrunched her nose in that cute way she sometimes did instead of verbalizing a question.
“Can’t sleep either?”
Luz sighed and shook her head, leaning it against Amity’s shoulder. She scooped up Amity’s hand and began to play with her fingers. Amity let her, cherishing the warmth of her hands, the confirmation that Luz was alive and well. They stayed in comfortable silence, looking over at the neighboring houses, until Luz spoke up.
“Y’know, sweet potato, I’m grateful for ya,” Luz slurred, sounding like she was already falling asleep.
“Yeah?” Amity felt her face warm despite the cold air.
She felt Luz nod, her head movement slow and heavy.
“I’m grateful for you, too,” Amity said earnestly, tracing gentle circles against the back of Luz’s hand.
“Hm, you’re really pretty…”
She noticed how heavy Luz felt against her and realized she’d fallen asleep mid-sentence. Amity smiled. She loved how sappy Luz could be. How her sweetness was always present, even when she was practically unconscious or high with the common mold.
Amity spelled one of her Abominations to carry Luz back inside where it was warm and dry. Luz didn’t even stir. Amity reached across from her mattress and took her hand, her fingers close to her pulse, watching her breaths come and go.
Amity didn’t sleep that first night in Luz’s room. Her thoughts were busy with memories of her goofy, wonderful girlfriend. Her thumb ran soft circles on the back of Luz’s hand, willing Luz to realizing how much she was cherished by Amity and her friends, hoping she realized she wasn’t alone in this mess.
Amity saw the sun come up and the room be engulfed in a layer of blue light. It changed to Luz’s room in the Owl House. Gus must be up.
Amity had taken up the habit of writing down her thoughts, like she had with her diary (only these pages didn’t talk back). It kept her sane, keeping log of their days in the Human Realm.
She’d skipped on the first few days, the adjustment too messy to sort out into words. At first, she wrote down lists of things they’d done that day, but her writing quickly turned to rambles about the things that worried her.
Today Willow paced the front of the house, leaving strange flowers with each step. She did this until Mrs. Noceda left for work and stormed into the house mumbling something about giraffes. It was weird to see Willow with much conviction and confidence, I guess I’m still getting used to the real her. She was probably the calmest of all of us.
Hunter hasn’t talked much, even with Gus or Willow. Luz is frantic to get back to the Demon Realm. And me? I’m just trying to not be so nervous around Mrs. Noceda.
She insists on me calling her Camila, but that’s way too weird. She seemed delighted to meet me, but I’m terrified of leaving a bad impression. Mrs. Noceda is very nice, though. I wish I wasn’t so jumpy.
“Watcha got there?” Willow asked over her shoulder, peering at her writing. Amity stiffened, snapping her little notebook shut.
“Nothing!” she said quickly. Willow jumped back and Amity took a breath, relaxing. “Sorry, it’s just a little something to keep my mind busy. I don’t want to worry about the things I can’t do anything about.”
“That’s smart,” Willow said with a smile. “Mrs. Noceda told me to come fetch you for dinner. Do you know where Hunter is? I have to look for him, too.”
“I thought he was with you.”
“Hm, he must’ve gone out again,” Willow said thoughtfully. She looked out the living room window, her eyes searching. “Well, thanks anyway.”
Amity wandered into the dinning room and saw that no one had come down yet. She peered into the kitchen to find Mrs. Noceda turning off the stove. Her stomach twisted in an unpleasant way, hesitating to step inside. She took a breath and steeled herself.
“Is there anything I can help you with, Mrs. Noceda?”
“Oh, please, Camila is fine,” she insisted again. “You don’t have to be so formal just because you’re Luz’s girlfriend.”
Amity blushed, still flustered at the idea of calling a grown-up something other than a title or sir or ma’am. Her parents had done a great job of drilling that into her mannerisms.
Mrs. Noceda waved her off, not unkindly. “Go, sit, sit. Don’t worry yourself, it’s Vee and Luz’s turn to help me.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
At dinner, Gus kept looking excitedly between Luz and her mom, like he was silently willing something to happen.
Luz shook her head with a smile and cleared her throat.
“Mamá, I wanted to ask you if we could go to the zoo tomorrow,” Luz said. “Gus has always wanted to see giraffes.”
There they were again. Giraffes.
“That sounds like a nice idea,” Mrs. Noceda agreed. “I’m sure you kids have been wanting to see more of Gravesfield.”
Hunter shifted in his seat, looking somewhat uncomfortable, but one else seemed to notice.
“We’ll leave early tomorrow, try and avoid the crowds,” Mrs. Noceda said with a kind smile at Gus.
Gus brightened. “Thank you, Mrs. Noceda!”
Amity wasn’t sure if she’d seen Gus smile like that since they’d arrived. It was nice.
#toh#amity blight#luz noceda#gus porter#willow park#hunter toh#camila noceda#the owl house#The Noceda House#post-season 2#season 2 spoilers#kinda? idk#fanfiction#writing#1349k words#bicsbec
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The Noceda House
Chapter 1: Illusions of Home
As much as Human Rain was better than Boiling Rain, Gus realized that it wasn’t just not boiling, it was cold. Even as they stepped into Mrs. Noceda’s living room, he was still shivering. The only warmth he felt, if it could be called that, was Hunter’s hand on his shoulder.
Mrs. Noceda ushered them inside, instructing Vee to fetch the towels. Mrs. Noceda was all over them, trying to do too many things at the same time. Disinfecting scratches, asking questions, rushing to turn off the fire before it burned the food in the kitchen. They were instructed to sit and wait. To shower and eat dinner. To get some rest.
Gus was only half listening to all the commotion.
What was going to happen back home? How was his dad? How were they getting back? Tears prickled at his eyes again. He didn’t want to be thinking these things, but there was this overwhelming sense of doom. Like it was all over. Like there might be nothing to go back to. Like home was gone.
“Hey,” Hunter shook his shoulder. Gus looked up from his hands, where his nails had been digging into his thighs. “You’re getting that look.”
Gus frowned at that, but Hunter just held up a finger, breathing in and counting up. Gus followed his lead as they let out a breath and Hunter’s fingers counted back again.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Hunter said with a reassuring squeeze. “I think it’s your turn to shower.”
Willow was walking down the hall, looking a lot better than before. She smiled at Gus and nodded toward the bathroom.
The warmth of the shower seeped into his bones, his cold skin contrasting sharply with the humidity around him. There, his tears mixed with the water, so he couldn’t feel them. But he knew they were there. His chest hiccupped as he leaned against the cold tiles. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there, letting the water warm his body and wash away the horrible feeling that had nestled in his chest.
He felt a little better after the shower, but just barely.
The food in the Human Realm was…odd. Some of the flavors made his mouth water, somehow different from the food at home. It wasn’t terrible, but the meat didn’t sit well in his stomach.
The table was mostly quiet, even Mrs. Noceda had run out of things to say.
“Why don't you girls head up to Luz’s room? Get some rest. I’ll make up the couch for the boys.”
“Do we have enough air mattresses?” Luz asked. “The couch isn’t big enough for them.”
“You can share,” Mrs. Noceda said, not noticing how red Amity’s face got. It almost made Gus smile. Almost. “We can make do for now.”
“Right,” Luz said at her plate, trying to hide her blush.
“Tomorrow will look better,” Mrs. Noceda said, reaching out to hold her daughter’s hand. The sight tugged at Gus’s heart. He really wanted to hug his dad right now.
He didn’t think he’d be getting a good night’s sleep anytime soon.
Gus woke up in his bed. His bed.
Home.
Everything was in order. His scroll on his nightstand, his treasures were in their place on his dresser, Emmiline was in her staff form leaning against his bedframe, the sun was shining. He was home.
Gus rushed to his window, leaning on the ledge—that his hands went through. He fell forward, losing his balance, but caught himself.
It was an illusion.
He heard a distant scream, like it was coming from above.
“Luz! ¡Luz, mija! What is all this!?”
It was Mrs. Noceda.
Gus had to calm down, he didn’t want to scare the human to death. Luz would never forgive him.
Hunter stood beside him, Gus hadn’t heard his steps coming. He was looking out the illusion’s window, his expression unreadable.
Hunter sighed. “Looks pretty ding-dang convincing.” He nudged Gus with his elbow, a small smile on his lips.
“Thanks,” Gus said, his tone somehow defeated. “I need to dispel it.”
“Could you, um, leave it a few more minutes?”
“Yeah…okay. Just a few more.”
“Thanks.”
Life in the Human Realm, he began to realize, was really fast paced. The first days were general chaos in the Noceda house, too many people suddenly together in a small space. Then, as they learned to live around each other, the days just started speeding by.
Hunter seemed more reserved than usual, Amity was a ball of nerves, and Willow…Willow seemed her usual self. Luz acted different under her mother’s watch, acted like she wasn’t eager to get back home—to the Demon Realm. Every time Mrs. Noceda left for work, Luz would hurry to her room and pull out all her research from under her bed. Sightings of Eda in Gravesfield, newspaper clippings, old books from the library, anything that had any connection to magic. Gus didn’t think Luz was getting any sleep either.
It was driving everyone a little crazy, being cooped up in the same rooms for days on end.
“Okay!” Willow announced one day, barging into Luz’s room, scaring her half to death. “We’re getting out of here today.”
“I think that’s what we’ve been trying to do all this time,” Gus said from Luz’s bed. He’d been reading a report on how Eda had gotten banned from a French restaurant.
“No, I mean out of the house,” Willow said, stepping over Luz to sit on her bed.
“What are we supposed to do?”
“Get some fresh air?” Willow suggested. “We’re in the Human Realm, Gus. Live a little.”
The Human Realm. She was right! This was supposed to be exciting. Gus had always wanted to come here. But it didn’t feel right.
It felt like they were suffocating without the guarantee of magic. It was scary. It was like breathing without air. He had no idea how they were still doing it, but each breath felt like their last.
He never thought he’d be scared of the Human Realm, of getting stuck there. He thought of how Luz had decided to stay in the Demon Realm. She never seemed scared, but she always had the option to go back home. But that was before the portal had been destroyed. She was frantic to find a way over the moment her safety net had been removed.
It was a matter of security. And Gus got it. He really wanted to feel that security right now.
“Hey,” Willow nudged him out of his thoughts. “We could try to find some giraffes.”
Gus immediately lit up at that. “Titan, you’re right! Luz! Where can we find them?”
Luz rubbed at her eye, leaning her head back against the side of her bed. “The zoo, probably.”
“Can we go? Please?”
Luz checked the time on her phone. “They’re closing soon. We could go with Mami tomorrow. I’ll ask tonight.”
It was a little disappointing, but it was something. Gus thought that this was probably the first time he’d smiled since they got stranded in the Human Realm.
Tomorrow. Yeah, okay. That worked.
#toh#the owl house#The Noceda House#gus porter#hunter toh#willow park#amity blight#luz noceda#camila noceda#post-season 2#season 2 spoilers#fanfiction#writing#1190k words#bicsbec
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