Chapter Text
The sky was bright and the cold wind biting as Amity finally emerged from the depths of the campus testing center. She raised an arm to shield her already aching eyes from the harsh sun, shifting the heavy weight of her backpack to one shoulder. It was quiet, nothing but the soft skittering of leaves skipping across the pavement to greet her. She huffed out a breath, tossing a long-empty drink can at the nearby trash. It bounced unceremoniously off the domed lid, clattering to the cement and rolling a few feet away. She stared at it for a long moment.
A loud, drawn out wolf-whistle cut through the air. Her sluggish eyes followed the sound to its source, landing on a young woman leaning out the window of an old, muddy 4Runner idling at the curb. A baggy, dark blue hoodie shielded her from the cold, and messy brown hair framed her sunkissed face.
“Well, what's a girl like me gotta do to get a purty gal like you into a hotrod like this?” she drawled, using one hand to pat the dusty, dented side of the car door and the other to pull down a pair of truly abhorrent, neon green sunglasses.
A laugh caught unexpectedly in Amity's throat, coming out in an undignified snort. She hissed a quiet, “Luz!”, quickly kneeling down to properly dispose of the can and ignoring the ominous popping of her knees.
She slid into the passenger seat, Luz grinning all the while as she twisted to put her schoolbag behind her.
“Did you get everything?” she asked, looking over the duffel bags and suitcases piled across the back seats.
“Yup!” Luz said, popping the ‘P’, “I tried to clean up a little too, but I think I scared your roommate."
“Which one?”
“Uh, kinda short, brown hair, cookie monster pj's? I don't think she was expecting to see a stranger sweeping the hallway,” she chuckled.
Amity hummed in recognition, “That's Bo. She should've known you'd be over, though, I texted the group chat about it last week.”
Luz shrugged in a “what can you do” gesture, the tips of her brown curls bunching up as the hood of her jacket raised and lowered. Amity shook her head, trying to clear the fog long enough to focus on the more important part of the other girl's explanation.
“You didn't have to clean. You're a guest,” she frowned.
Luz aimed a grin her way, “I wanted to. There's tough competition for the Awesomest Girlfriend Award this year. I gotta keep one up on them,” she poked at Amity's arm, who turned away with a pink flush to her cheeks.
“Oh!” Luz sat up, then turned to dig through the backseat, “I almost forgot. Because my awesome girlfriend was so awesomely mean this morning—” Amity scoffed lightly, “—and left me to take her midterms before the sun even rose, I figured I should pack this.”
She finally pulled the offending item free. It was a fuzzy white neck pillow made to look like a cat, a cute little head and front paws on one end and a tail between its back legs on the other. Amity gently took it from her hands, and it was just as soft as it looked.
“What did I do to deserve you,” she mumbled, the words coming out far too genuine to be passed off as their normal banter. After spending the past week getting four hours of sleep at most, she hadn’t been looking forward to the three hour drive back to their hometown, but of course, her girlfriend had thought of it all.
Luz just smiled, a soft thing only reserved for her, before handing over a throw blanket she dug from one of the duffle bags.
“Ready to go home?” she asked softly, shifting the car out of park.
Amity nodded.
Luz turned her attention to the road, thumbing the radio’s volume up slightly as the opening notes of Paramore's Decode drifted from the old speakers.
Amity breathed out a tired sigh, letting the cat pillow rest in her lap as she reached up for the small, crystalline earrings hanging from her ears. The ever-present tingle of illusion magic fell away as she pulled them out, and she could feel the scar at her jaw twitch as it was exposed. She had no idea how Luz could stand it for so long. She stole a glance to the other girl, catching her shifting in her seat with something beyond her usual restlessness.
Amity dropped her earrings in a cup holder, running her tongue over her fangs to dispel the last of the buzzing. She scrunched up her nose. Her mouth tasted like caffeinated death. She dug through the glovebox, past a mess of receipts she really needed to talk Luz into throwing away, before her fingers closed over the small, blue container she just knew was there.
“You know, I'm beginning to think you're only with me for my mints.”
“Got that right,” Amity said, popping a generous handful into her mouth.
Luz laughed, “It’s a good thing I stocked up on them, then. Wouldn't want you to get your fix of minty-freshness from some other woman.”
Amity scoffed lightheartedly, but let the conversation die out. The neckpillow was soft as she placed it over her head, and the blanket was pleasantly sun warmed across her legs. She let her eyes close, listening to the soft murmur of her girlfriend singing along to the quiet opening of Christina Perri’s A Thousand Years. The exhaustion she had been fighting the whole week finally sank its claws into her heavy limbs, and she was out like a light before they even made it to the interstate.
~~~~~
The return to consciousness was a slow thing. She’d blink open her eyes, look around to see the world streaking past along the twists of freeway before slipping back under the waves. It wasn’t until Luz drove through a certain, familiar turn that she raised her head fully. The road turned bumpy as the asphalt gave way to dirt, rattling the old frame of the car. Luz glanced her way, beaming brilliantly when she saw that she was awake.
“Buenos Días, Bella Durmiente,” Luz said, turning down the radio that was playing a song Amity couldn't remember the name of.
Amity grunted some sort of response, turning to watch the red maples and sweet birches with their bright, fall foliage.
They followed the winding dirt road through the forest and up a steady incline. Flocks of songbirds and crows took flight as the vehicle plowed onward, and Amity watched Luz eye them enviously. She shifted in her seat again.
“Almost there, mi vida,” Amity said after a yawn, placing a placating hand on the one resting on the gear shift.
Luz turned a tender smile her way. They continued on, the trees growing gradually thicker until it was impossible to see the slivers of blue sky between the trunks. Then, they gave way, revealing a large open clearing of scraggly grasses and wildflowers that dropped off a steep cliff to the Atlantic below. Off to the side, with red and orange trees as a glorious backdrop, stood a house. A tall, steep roof crowned the off-white stucco, and a giant, circular glass-stained window stared at them from the second floor. Chimes hung beside a wide, oak door, and a small, colorful pinwheel spun in the barren garden under the kitchen window. Standing right beside the old house like a sentry in the shadows, stood a tower made of stone, ending in a flat platform that had held numerous sleepovers and star-gazing nights between them and their friends.
Luz pulled the car next to the house, parking over a dirt patch devoid of grass and long since dedicated the unofficial driveway. She sprang out of the driver's seat, and before Amity could do more than untangle her legs from the throw blanket covering them, the other girl had pulled open the passenger door.
“M'lady,” she snorted in a nasally voice.
Amity made a face of exaggerated disgust, pushing her girlfriend away as she stepped out of the car. She covered her mouth as another yawn cracked her jaw, raising her other arm as she stretched out her sleep-addled muscles. Luz mirrored her a few feet away, twisting her back to a chorus of pops and crackles. Then, she reached under her dark blue hoodie and finally pulled off the thin, crystalline necklace that hid there.
With the faint sound of whooshing air, wings sprouted from Luz's back. A long sparrow's tail twitched near her ankles, and large reddish-brown primaries spread towards the sky as she stretched. She fluttered for a moment, settling her feathers and kicking up a breeze that lifted the dead leaves around them.
“Feel better?”
“Much,” Luz said, before turning her eyes to the distant horizon over the trees, “Well…”
Amity chuckled, opening the backseat to pull out their luggage, “Don't let me stop you.”
She slung a duffel bag over her shoulder, then turned back to the house. She froze. Luz was there, wings arched over her shoulders and intertwined hands under her chin as she gave quite possibly the biggest puppy-dog eyes the world had ever seen.
Amity could only pretend to resist so much.
“Alright, I'll go with you,” she sighed, smiling at Luz's excited cheer, “but let me at least drop these inside.”
Luz nodded so fast, it was a miracle she didn't give herself whiplash. She half skipped, half glided to the other side of the car, pulling out the last of the suitcases.
“Eda brought Hooty to visit Tia Lily, so we don't need to worry about feeding him or anything,” Luz commented, digging around in her pockets for the house key.
“Oh, thank Titan,” Amity said breathlessly, relaxing the muscles in her shoulders that had subconsciously tensed in anticipation of the nightmare bird's screeching.
Luz held the door open for her, and they unceremoniously dropped their bags by the faded, red couch in the living room. The other girl didn't waste another second to dash back out into the yard. Amity followed at a more moderate pace, sparing a second to run a hand over the wooden crest of the couch, worn smooth from years of use.
Luz was waiting for her outside, tail twitching restlessly. She beamed at Amity.
“There’s this really messed up stand of white pine I want to show you,” she said, turning around to let her girlfriend climb onto her back, “the trunks are so twisted, and the branches are all… you just gotta see it.”
Amity settled her arms around Luz's neck, knitting her fingers together at her collarbone and leaning her head on her shoulder, “Well, what're we waiting for?”
Luz crouched and threw a blinding grin her way that was just the least bit smug, “You better hold on tight, then, spidermonkey.”
Amity groaned, burying her face into Luz's hoodie that muffled her complaint, “That's the last time I let you listen to the Twilight soundtrack in the car.”
Luz laughed loudly, spreading her wings wide. With two powerful downstrokes, they were airborne.
There was nothing quite like the sensation of flying, she could see why her girlfriend was so addicted to it. Feeling weightless, suspended between heaven and earth, was intoxicating. She closed her eyes, letting the cold wind whip away her hair and her worries.
She had missed flying with Luz. Her lingering tiredness melted away in place of shared laughter and looks. They soared above the brilliant sea of reds, browns, and greens, and explored twisted branches of pine, during which Luz had misplaced her hand directly in a leaking wound of sap and spent no less than ten minutes chasing Amity through the wooden maze to wipe the sticky substance on her shirt.
They returned to the house hours later, breathless and smiling as the sun kissed the crowns of the trees behind them. Luz knelt to deposit her safely on the ground, but Amity still staggered until she could find her footing. They locked eyes for a long, silent moment, before breaking into half-delirious giggles, pushing against each other as they stumbled through the door.
Luz fell bonelessly on the couch, letting one wing drop to the patterned rug. Amity snorted, running her hand through the messy brown curls spilling over the upholstery before she made her way to the kitchen. A note was waiting for her on the counter. Curious, she picked it up, scanning over the messy scrawl that no doubt belonged to Eda, all but confirmed with the rough doodle of the eccentric woman winking in the corner.
“PIZZA'S IN THE FRIDGE, DON’T DO ANYTHING I WOULD DO.”
Amity scoffed, rolling her eyes lightheartedly. Pulling open the old fridge door littered with enough coupons, lists, and drawings that it was a struggle to remember what its original color was, confirmed that the note rang true. There was a fresh pizza, from one of those bake-at-home places, stacked with pepperoni, sausage, and olives. She hummed to herself as she turned the oven on to preheat.
“Whatcha makin’?” Luz asked from the living room, a second before she slid into the kitchen with socked feet, wings half outstretched to keep her balance.
Amity handed over the note, and she watched the other girl's expression soften as she read. Then, she perked up, feathers puffing out slightly as if she just remembered something.
She skated to the pantry and started rifling through it, explaining, “I went shopping last week, y'know, for mints, and I got to thinking, ‘what would be the best way to end the first day of break?’” She breathed a soft aha! and pulled out a small grocery bag, holding it up high, “Pumpkin cookies!”
She grinned broadly, but Amity could see the hesitant flick of her tail. She stepped forward, rising to her tiptoes to press a kiss to the corner of her girlfriend's mouth.
“That sounds wonderful,” she said earnestly, basking in the soft, answering smile that she received.
Luz leaned down to steal a quick, chaste kiss before setting the bag on the table, struggling against the tight knot in the plastic handles. Amity turned to grab some mixing bowls from the old cabinets, and no sooner had she set the dishes on the old wooden countertop than had Luz let out a sudden, high pitched yelp.
Amity paused, then slowly spun on her heel. There, sitting in front of a pile of ingredients spilling from a torn shopping bag, was an almost equally torn bag of flour. A cloud of white still drifted through the air, settling like snow on once brown curls and falling down the front of a once blue hoodie.
Luz stared down at her hands, looking for all the world like she was plotting the intricate demise of the ruined bag. Amity couldn’t hold in her mirth, and those wide brown eyes slid from the table to her own.
Finally, a huff of a laugh escaped the other girl, shaking loose a drizzle of fine, white powder. She pinched a little of the flour with the tips of her fingers and flicked it towards her girlfriend. Amity shrieked, ducking out of the way, and right into the way of a second puff of flour.
Luz laughed fully now, and Amity was seconds away from throwing a handful of flour that probably wouldn't make a difference on Luz's clothes.
“Wait, wait!” Luz pleaded, extending white dusted wings to shield the flour from Amity's scheming fingers, “We need to save it for the cookies.”
Amity folded her arms, looking down her nose as best she could at the other girl, “Fine, but only because I have more class than to stoop to your level.”
Luz stuck her tongue out, but Amity pointedly ignored her, turning to put the pizza in the now preheated oven. She brought over the mixing bowls, chuckling as Luz held the flour away from her. She let her girlfriend deal with the dry ingredients, fetching the milk and eggs from the fridge to mix with the can of pumpkin the other girl had bought.
Before they knew it, a fresh pizza sat cooling on the table and Luz was busy folding chocolate chips into a dark orange batter. Amity watched fondly as the other girl concentrated on the mixing bowl, wings twitching absently over her shoulders. She slid a greased baking sheet in front of her, and Luz slowed to a stop, turning bright eyes her way like she'd just hung the moon in the sky. Amity chuckled at her overdramatic antics, but a blush had already made its home high on her cheekbones. She turned away.
Flour dusted lips pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, just above the thin, pale scar that rested there.
“Thanks, cariño,” Luz said, already scooping batter onto the sheet, “we'll put these bad boys into the oven, and then finally dig into dinner.”
Amity nodded, clearing her throat to dislodge the sudden lump threatening her airway. She busied herself with fishing through the mess of utensils that Eda had somehow managed to shove into a single drawer for a pizza cutter.
Luz was humming to herself, tail flicking to a silent beat as she made short work of the cookies. The oven released a wave of hot air as she pulled the door open, slipping the baking sheet inside and setting the timer. Amity was still fruitless in her search, and Luz watched her fondly for a few seconds.
Finally, she reached over her girlfriend's head and opened one of the tall cabinets. Her fingers quickly closed around a wide, plastic handle, and with a triumphant grin, she held the pizza cutter right where Amity could see it.
Amity opened her mouth, then closed it. She looked between the other girl and the open cabinet before throwing up her hands, “I shouldn't be surprised.”
“You really shouldn't," Luz laughed, skating back to the table.
Amity's defeated attitude couldn't last more than a second in the light of such a personification of sunshine. She smiled after her girlfriend, bumping the drawer closed behind her. Spoons and ladles crashed together with the sound of metal on metal, but she couldn't bring herself to care about the untidiness. She'd leave that to Eda.
Luz waited impatiently for Amity to join her, drumming her fingertips on the table in front of a freshly cut pizza. Amity carefully picked up a slice, relishing as the cheese stretched and snapped without dropping a single olive. Her girlfriend held out her own slice, and it took her a second to realize what she wanted to do. They bumped their pieces together in a toast, Luz whispering a soft "Clink” as they touched. A light laugh was her reward, before they both occupied themselves with eating.
The pizza tasted just as good as it smelled. Savory meats exploded with flavor, and the melty cheese was still hot. Amity hummed, closing her eyes.
“Hey,” Luz said around a mouthful, and Amity looked her way curiously. She brought a hand to her cheek, “You got some flour riiiiiggght there.”
Amity snorted, letting her flour covered girlfriend wipe the small bit of powder that her own kiss had left on her skin. Luz grinned brightly, reaching for another slice. Amity could only smile fondly in return, focusing back on her food and enjoying as the mouthwatering scent of the pizza danced with the sweet, warm scent of the cookies baking in the oven. Unconsciously, her hand found the other girl’s, fingers tangling together in a way they always knew.
“Hey,” Luz said again, and Amity tilted an ear her way as she scrutinized the pizza for the best next piece. Her girlfriend darted forward, catching her wide eyed as she pressed a sweet, loving kiss to her lips. It was over far too soon, but the soft, tender look Luz was giving her made it almost worth it.
“Welcome home.”