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(~ The day I met you, I needed somebody to talk to, someone I knew I could relate to ~)

Her mother was wrong. She wasn't a monster, she could be good. She will be good, she just needs someone to give her a chance. Someone that won't make her wish she was never born. Someone that will at least try to not run away. 

It was late, maybe she shouldn't have ran into the woods after her fight with her mother but anywhere is better than there…anywhere is better than near her. 

She ran without much thinking. Ran might be generous given her current state. She's bruised, bloody, and with a tear-stained face. A witch using physical violence instead of magic, because what if her ‘evil daughter’ kills her, it's pathetic when you think about it.

Looking around for the first time, she realized she wasn't alone. She can sense magic nearby. A pretty strong and steady source one at that. 

She hears branches crack under someone's feet.

“Show yourself! I can sense you are here! I’ve had a looong day and I´m not in the mood for some cat and mouse game!” Agatha shouts into the dark.

“Well, that's a shame,” starts someone in amused voice, “I was hoping to have a little fun this fine evening, but if you aren't up for it, then oh well”

Agatha can see her clearly now. It's a woman wearing a dark green cloak. Agatha doesn't recognise her, but the power she felt earlier is definitely coming from her. 

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” asks Agatha.

“I could ask you the same thing, but fine, I was just running errands nearby, heard someone else wondering around and wanted to see who killed the witch, like, 5 meters away from us. So, what have you done, my charming lady?” finished the woman with an annoying smile on her face.

“Well, it is none of your business, but I haven't killed her. If that's all, you can be on your merry way and leave me be.” 

“Now where's the fun in that? Sure, you haven't killed this one but one can smell death from you, Agatha. And wouldn't you like to be patched up? I can help with that.” 

Wait. How does she know my name? Does she know my mother? No, she would just drag me back, she wouldn't act like this

“How do you know me? And what is your name? Seems fair, doesn’t it?” 

The lady grins and skips over, puts her left hand behind her back and bows.

“Rio Vidal at your service, my lady.” and tippes her non-existent hat off. 

Rio Vidal

That doesn't ring any bell. Which is odd, considering her power. What's even more odd, is that she isn't hiding it at all, but she doesn't try to seem intimidating. If anything, Agatha would compare her to a kid looking for a new toy.

Maybe she is.

Maybe Agatha is supposed to be her new shiny toy, but if that's the case, then that woma- Rio is up for a surprise. 

“You didn't answer my first question, how do you know me?” Even if the woman didn't seem to show any malice, her knowing who Agatha is wasn´t exactly good for Agatha. Her reputation isn't one to long for exactly. 

“Let's just say I'm a fan. I've heard about you, about your powers, what it does to others.” 

“Hah, right, a fan. Okay, who sent you? I don't have the entire night for this” 

She raises an eyebrow slightly. “No one, I am not lying, Agatha, you just caught my attention. The offer to patch you up still stands, by the way.” she says the last part back with a grin on her face.

She wants to wipe that grin off her face. She wants to punch her in the face. She also wants to just accept the offer, consequences be damned. What’s the worst thing that can happen? She’ll just accidentally kill a stranger who offered help. And she apparently knows exactly who Agatha is, she knows the risk. 

“Fine, let’s say I believe this whole Oh I’m your fan thing, what do you want in exchange for helping me?” If her mother taught her anything useful, it’s that nothing in this world is ever free. 

“Nothing, view it as just satisfying the whims of a stranger. Nothing more, nothing less.” and starts slowly walking closer to Agatha.

Snorts “Yeah right, you’re just doing this out of the goodness of your heart. For me. Sure, I want to see where this goes” 

For the first time that night, Rio seems to have a genuine small slime, as if relishing in her victory in the conversation that just happened. 

“Ready? This should feel good, but if it’s too much just say, okay?” and gives her a knowing look. One that seems like she sees right through Agatha. 

“Pf, of course I’m ready. These scratched are nothing” 

And oh Agatha wasn’t ready

She wasn’t ready at all.

She’s not sure what she was expecting, green witches (is Rio one? let’s put this into “figure out later” space in head) handle healing magic differently. But this? She surely didn’t expect this. 

Rio was slowly but surely healing her wounds by touch, of all things.

When was the last time someone touched her so tenderly? Right, Elizabeth did. Before her mother found out and made sure Agatha knew she just gave her a reason to despise her daughter even more. 

For God’s sake she was practically caressing her face now. It felt, it felt good. She’d never admit it out loud, but Rio was so gentle with her. She could probably fall asleep like this. 

“Oh this is a bigger one, wanna talk about it?” Rio suddenly spoke up.

No I don’t. Was what she wanted to say and would have said normally. But something about the way she asked, as if she actually cared , made her say 

“It was just my mother again, she’s done worse.” 

Which turned out to be the wrong thing to say, because Rio’s face suddenly turned serious and she stopped the healing for a moment

“Well, fuck your mother then. No child deserves this from their mother” 

And oh how much Agatha wants to believe that. But she is rotten, isn’t she? She kills fellow witches, her so-called sisters, to gain more power. Maybe if she was better, she’d be able to control her powers. Maybe then her mother wouldn’t wish death upon her. 

She doesn’t answer. They stay in silence for a bit, Rio finishing her work and Agatha is just trying to convince herself she doesn’t enjoy it. She knows she does. She feels the pull that woman has on her. 

What is it about her? I know nothing about her. For all I know, she’ll try to have my head tomorrow 

But all the thoughts in her head are silenced when Rio suddenly stops. And, she realizes, she misses the warmth immediately. 

“I’m all done here. You can go back to brooding alone in the woods, if you want to.” 

“That’s not what I was doing.” 

She wants to say more. And Rio is looking at her like she knows Agatha will say more, but just needs to overcome her pride. 

“Thank you…Rio. You didn’t have to do that and I, well, I appreciate it.” She fights the urge to laugh at herself, is she going crazy? Did Rio put some spell on her while she was distracted by her touch? She knows the answer is no. Doesn’t mean she can admit that to herself without a problem. 

Rio flashes her with, as far as she can tell. uncharacteristically big smile. 

“You’re most welcome, my lady. I still have places to be, but I don’t doubt we’ll see each other again, Agatha Harkness.” 

And with that, she disappears back into the woods. 

She knew my full name. She knows who I am and still treated me like that. 

Agatha tries to not overthink that. She really does. But what did that woman even mean by that? “we’ll see each other again” How can she sound so sure? Was this really some sort of a long trap? 

No, no it wasn’t 

“AAAAAH why can’t I even go into a forest for a peaceful evening. Is that too much to ask for?!” she screams into the forest. 

When she went back home, she kept thinking about that woman. She was wondering if she was right and will see each other again. As much as she hated to admit it, she hoped they would. 

(~ Must’ve been faith, because that next year you were my roommate ~) 

Agatha was sitting on a wooden log, surrounded by corpses. It wasn’t her fault. She tried to warn them. She really did. Her powers can’t just stop when she wills them to. It’s as if something possessed her body and she had no control over it. She can feel the power flowing in, and she knows how good that makes her feel. However, that’s all she can do about it. It provides an otherworldly source of emotion she can hardly describe, that makes her long for more. 

When the power drain inevitably stops, it’s as if someone poured a bucket of iced water on her. She’s hit with the reality of what happened, she watched it happen, almost like an audience watching public execution.

 It thrills her while it’s happening, the same way the audience gathers and waits for the upcoming execution, gossiping about the crimes the one waiting for death committed. When it stops, she’s met with the grim reality of what happened. 

It’s like when the head finally drops and everyone is suddenly nauseous. They just watched someone die. Be murdered. And they gathered to watch it, planned it into their day as if it was the highlight of their day. 

And after it, she’s hit with the realization of how it’s going to happen again and again and again- because there’s no one who can teach her. Because, apparently, she was born evil. 

Much the same way the audience is going to gather again and again and again- because at least it’s not them. At least another evil has been purged from this word. 

“This time we can both agree that you killed those witches, right?” 

Oh, it’s her again. It’s been a while since they saw each other for the first time. Few months? No, almost a year now. For some reason, part of her is glad they’ve met again. The stranger gave her an odd sense of understanding the last time they’ve met and offered her kindness she’s not used to. 

“No, this time it clearly is me.” and snorts at that. “Lucky you, huh? Seeing me for me, after all, you are a, what did you call yourself?” gestures around with her hands as if looking for the right word. “Oh right! A fan , that’s what you called yourself.” 

She grins at that. “I am lucky indeed, but it also took us longer to meet again than I anticipated.” 

“Were you that eager to see me?” nevermind the fact Agatha was always secretly hoping to see her again when she entered the woods. 

“Of course.” She starts to make her way closer to Agatha. “Humor me, what happened here?” 

She’s now sitting next to Agatha on the log of wood. She left a gap between them, not wanting to push her boundaries more than she already has. 

“Same old, they were on a righteous journey to eliminate the big, bad Agatha Harkness.” she sights and says with detachment. “You know, I tried to warn them they’ll end up dead. They never listen. They think it’s some sort of an evil ploy on my part. Hah, if I’m so rotten and wicked, wouldn’t I just blast them the second I see them?” she shakes her head and goes silent. 

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you should be ashamed of that. You try, even though you don’t have to. There are people out there who will care to look underneath all the rumors.” 

“Hm, says the person who apparently is drawn to me because I kill people. Ironic, isn’t it?”

She shakes her head. “There are different kinds of murder, of dying, whatever angle you want to look at it from. You are interesting to me because of said rumors, but that doesn’t mean I am stupid enough to think rumors are all a person is.” 

She pauses and adds a bit more quietly “I’ve had my fair share of that, Agatha.” and looks right into her eyes as she says her name. Again, she feels as if she could see right through her and she can feel this tension between them. The atmosphere is heavy and she needs to get further away so she stands up, takes 2 steps to back out. 

“What are we doing here?” and god she must sound so tired.

“I don’t know. Chatting?” 

“Very funny.” says as she rolls her eyes. “This is the second time you’ve shown up, were nice to me for no reason and you expect me not to be suspicious? Please” and scoffs.

“Maybe I am interested just in your company” she stands up and takes a step towards Agatha. 

“Perhaps I just think you and I are alike.” She takes another step and they’re face to face now. 

Agatha wants to scream. She wants to slap that infuriating woman and be gone. She also wants to kiss her- wait, no she doesn’t. Put those thoughts away, definitely not a good time. She steps away from her, by doing so she feels the tension crack and since she can’t really do either of those things she wants her mouth just spits out- 

“Do you want to go back to the village with me? If for whatever reason you think we’re alike, we can have that conversation when I’m not covered in muck. How about that?” 

Rio looks like she just got candy. “Oh I thought you’d never ask, lead the way, my lady.” And offers her a flower she must have conjured. What kind of fool am I dealing with?  

🖤

They settled into a routine of sorts. During the day, they hardly saw each other. Agatha had responsibilities to deal with, her mother may hate her, but she still needs a successor, and Rio was doing…she’s still not really sure what she does. She called her a tourist once and that woman laughed as if it was the most hilarious joke she’s ever heard. 

In the evening, Rio would come around to Agatha’s place. Shortly after their second encounter, Agatha decided to move out. She had no reason to stay with her mother and now Rio would become an issue to hide from her mother, if they lived under the same roof. 

(“And why exactly can´t your mother see me?” she raised an eyebrow, amused, if anything.

“Well, she’ll either think I’m going to kill you, you’re trying to gain something from the Harkness family or that we’re committing a sin. So, it’s safe to say I don’t want to deal with that.” 

That seemed to somber her mood. “I could make her wish she was dead.” 

“Offering torture rather than killing her? How generous of you. But no, that would just leave more trouble for me” and rubs her temples. Why are they even talking about this?

“Fine, I’ll behave. Who else would I follow around and bother, hm?” she slowly unsheaths her dagger. “But, the offer always stands.” 

The dagger is suddenly propping Agatha’s chin up, making blood show. She can’t help and chuckle “I’ll keep that in mind.” and makes her lower the dagger, it slowly stopping just above her collar bone. 

“Good.” and suddenly Rio is leaning forward and kissing the spot where she drew blood to heal her. It takes everything in her to not let out a moan. 

“Well, see you later, roomie ” and leaves with shit-eating smirk on her face. 

When did I agree for her to stay with me? Maybe I wanted the place for myself) 

(~ We were best friends with nothing to lose ~)

“No! No stop it!”

“C'mon, Agatha! We both know you love it!” Both of them were laughing like maniacs, covered in blood, with Rio trying to trap Agatha in a hug.

“We are drenched in that asshole's blood! I am positive I don’t love this!” and tries to keep a serious face, but one look at Rio, who is now trying to remain serious as well, leads to her just bursting into laughter again. 

“Oh my god, have you seen the look on his face when he realized he fucked up! That was priceless!” 

Rio, to her credit, manages to stop howling to get an answer out “He..He was all like,” she clears her throat and speaks in a deeper voice, “Noooo, please spare me aaaah” and bursts back into laughter. “Like did he forget he was just going to stab you? I swear, the ego some of you humans have is incredible”

“ Some of you humans ? Right, I am sorry your eternal majesty, I forget you, unlike us lowly humans, come from Mars” it is meant to be a joke, but something about it makes Rio go quiet all of a sudden. “Um, you okay?” comes out more softly than Agatha wanted it to. 

She clears her throat again “Yes, all good, just…remembered there´s something I need to do. See you later?” She avoids eye contact, Agatha could push if she wanted to, but she also knows Rio will just disappear or straight up won't answer, if she doesn't want to speak. 

“Of course.” and forces a small smile on her face. Rio gives her one in return and leaves. 

🖤

“What are you doing these days? You´re always busy apparently.” 

If she could, she would set the room on fire with herself and her mother inside. It would still be better than these tea times she has to suffer through. 

“I told you, I usually just go out in the evening. Somewhere where I can be alone and unbothered.” It is a complete lie. The only stable thing about her evenings is Rio. Sometimes, they go out in the woods and spar. Sometimes they have quiet evening in their home. During those nights, the pull Agatha feels between them feels almost like it might just kill her, but she doesn't do anything about it. What she and Rio have is good, it's working and she´s not risking losing her only friend to something as stupid as feelings . 

She can't exactly tell her mother all that without getting burned at stake though, can she? 

Her mother sighs. “We both know that is not true, Agatha. Multiple people told me they saw you out and about in the dark. And you were not alone.”

Fuck, of course those spineless cowards saw me and ran back to Evanora. Of fucking course.

“Agatha, I raised you better than that-”

“Pf you barely raised me but go on” that earns her a pointed stare from her mother

“As I was saying, I raised you better than that. If you found yourself a man, you don't have to sneak away with him into the woods. I´m just glad that thing with Elizabeth was just you trying to be rebellious.”

Wait. What?

“What?” she can't believe her ears.

“Don´t play coy with me, what about a family dinner this evening, I would love to meet him. You even became less…murder-ry with him around, maybe there is hope for you after all.”

She almost snorts at that. If anything, Rio was very excited to help her take care of bodies. She didn't kill people less, it's just that she can dispose of them now. On second thought, less witches were approaching her and attacking her recently. Maybe the rumors were around long enough they became scared of her and didn't wish to be the hero who kills her? 

No, that´s not important now. “Mother, I truly don't know what you are talking about. I have no suitor to bring.” First truth of the evening. 

“Tsk, insolent as always. Tonight, I expect you and your man to show up here at 8pm. If not, I am personally coming over to meet him. I have had enough of your lies, Agatha. I thought that maybe he saved you, but clearly, you still have a long way to go.” 

“Fine, hope you´re happy to meet my non-existent partner. Later.” and storms out.

🖤

“I'm sorry you want me to do what now?” Rio is looking at her like she lost her mind, maybe she has.

“You can just pretend to be a man. We will create some illusion spell and you can be, I don´t know, Ralph!” she might be insane. 

“Riight, so we think Evanora just won't notice the man you dragged in is covered in an illusion spell? I know you're desperate, but think.” 

She's right. There's no way they can fake this. But she won't have peace if she doesn't find some random man. She could find one in town and play with his memories? That could work, potentially. 

“Why don't I just go with you as well, me. She will realize there is no suitor here and will leave you be. This situation exists just because you didn't want her to know about my existence.” That stops Agatha in her pacing around. 

“No. She will think you’re my lover and call the priest on me again.” She didn't realize what she said until she felt Rio´s eyes on her. Shit “Don´t look at me like that. She caught me once with a girl, brough the priest in and hated me even more since then. I don´t really care anymore.” 

After a beat of silence Agatha realizes that she actually has no idea how Rio feels about this. Maybe this will be the first thing she and her mother agree on. Agatha starts to feel worried when- 

“Can you stop giving me more reasons to hate your mother? When we met, I offered to torture her and I feel the need to remind you of that.” and Agatha can tell she really means it.

Of course she doesn't care. Rio might be the death of her one day.

“Once again, I appreciate the gesture, but it still would bring more trouble than it's worth.”

There is a brief moment of silence until Rio stands up, clasps her hands together and says “We are doing this. We are going to show up at that house, tell her you don't have a man that is fixing you or whatever bullshit that excuse for a woman believes in and we will shove in her face how happy you are living away from her, here with me. How does that sound?” She extends her hand towards Agatha, making her take the deal physically and verbally. 

She sights but takes the extended hand. They´re cold, like always. Her hands seem to be warm only when using healing magic. “I hope you are ready to face a hurricane. People call me insane, but my mother is on a whole other level.”  She can't help but smile, she knows Rio will drive her mother crazy, with a bit of luck she will suffer a heart attack.

“Oh I am aware that the Harkness women are crazy, unfortunately for your mother, I quite enjoy your company.” and raises their joined hands to kiss Agatha´s. 

Maybe I will die of a heart attack too, who knows.

🖤 

“Agatha, who is this?” Great, she's already pissed. 

“This, mother dearest, is Rio, my…roommate.” at that her mother raises an eyebrow, but before she could say anything, Rio cuts in. 

“Evening misses Harkness! I heard sooo much about you. I am Rio Vidal” and shook Evanora´s hands energetically. 

Agatha had to fight a snort at the overly enthusiastic voice Rio was doing. She thought she´ll make her hatred clear, but she decided to kill her with kindness. 

“Likewise, miss Vidal.” and shot Agatha a dirty look. She just made a slight shrug motion as if saying don't look at me, YOU wanted this. 

“No, no, no, none of that.” shook her head and gestured around with her hands. “Just Rio is fine, really.” and wow, if Agatha didn't know any better, she would have believed her this whole sweet as sugar act. 

Before her mother can take control of the conversation, Agatha jumps in. “As you see, mother, the information was wrong. There is no suitor, there is just Rio.”

“ Just Rio , oh, you wound me.” Agatha gives her a pointed stare but she seems to take it as a challenge. “I mean, we've lived together for 5 months now and she doesn't even call me her friend, can you believe this one?” She is going to kill her. 

“Ehm, right, so, there really is no one else? The late night outings? Your…change in behavior?”. And she asks it in such an obvious way it makes Agatha want to take up Rio´s offer. 

“Yes, that was also her. I am not exactly asking to be burned at stake, having someone else with me in the woods reduces the risk of me being careless and not noticing a search group.” A lie, sensible one, but a lie. They go there together when either of them wishes for a moment of peace, away from everyone, but not from each other. Or when they have a body to get rid of.

“I see…” she looks deep in thought and disappointed. Agatha can't help but feel a familiar sting. It still hurts. She knows, she knows she´ll never be good enough, hell, she will never be acceptable enough for her mother, but it still hurts. 

Rio probably noticed the shift in her mood and lightly touched her back. I am here, you´re not alone in this. She just shots her a grateful smile back. However, her mother also seems to catch this and furrows her brows. 

“So this is what it is. Really, Agatha? I thought you were over that rebellion of yours.” she’s not even trying to hide the disgust in her voice. 

That, however, makes Rio finally drop the act. Her face shows a similar level of disgust as Evanora’s now. “Well at least she’s not a sad excuse of a witch. You wish you were half as good as she is. But your fragile ego can’t handle that so you aimed your vitriol towards her. Isn’t that right, Evanora?” 

Each of her words sliced through the air, the last word being the last nail in the coffin. 

Evanora scoffs. “Cute, you’ve got yourself a guard dog? It’s a shame I’ve never even heard of you, you’re probably just latching onto Agatha because you’re so weak she won’t even take your powers. That must be it, mustn’t it? How else could a witch survive in her proximity for so long? Are you not even worthy of her killing you?” 

Rio wanted to shoot back but suddenly- 

“Enough.” It was said in a way that it left no room for opposition. “I don’t care what you say about me, mother ” saying that as if it was an insult. 

“But keep her out of your mouth. You’re not that stupid, you can feel the steady flow of power. This is just a pathetic attempt at trying to undermine me in any shape or form.” She takes a breath to regain her composure. 

“Rot in hell, I wish you the worst evening possible. I’ve had enough of this.” She glances at Rio who is beaming at her. There is a question in her look, she’s not sure what she’s planning, but gives her a nod. 

Rio takes a step towards Evanora, who almost flinches. She can’t see the look on Rio's face but she’s definitely glaring daggers. She leans in and speaks in a low voice. 

“No one really knows who I am if we meet before the right time, but oh trust me, I’ll enjoy every second of our last meeting.” and chuckles. “What Agatha said, hope the critters bite you and you never sleep peacefully at night. Until next time.” 

Is this a death threat? Probably. Did Agatha enjoy this? Most definitely. 

They leave, hand in hand. They burst out into laughter the second they get home. 

Home . Agatha Harkness has a home and a person to return to, who would have thought. 

(~ The night brought an energy and when it was just you and me - we were dancing on the kitchen counters, nothing about that moment mattered, we were, we were free ~)

If Rio asked, Agatha wouldn’t admit it, but the last 2 months were probably the best months of her life. Her mother no longer speaks to her, after that whole dinner incident and that’s the best she can hope for there. 

Her and Rio, well, she swears there’s something, but anytime they start toying with the line they shouldn’t cross, Rio pulls back, as if remembering something. She’d be lying if she said it wasn’t bothering her. If she’s just being delusional, she can handle a straightforward rejection. What she doesn’t understand is this tug and pull away thing they have going on. 

She decided she’s had enough after their second almost kiss this week. Well, she’s certain that’s what it was anyway. Like 90% certain. You get the point. She’s pretty convinced it’s not just her. 

So when Rio comes home that day- “What are we doing?” 

Rio just smirks “Chatting” Of course she’d echoe her own words. 

“Right, smarty pants, not this second. In general. You, me, living here. You coming and going. I still don’t know where you go during the day. It didn’t bother me- still doesn’t, not entirely. I just think we’ve been doing this long enough that you could trust me with that. I mean, you know me. There isn’t exactly much that would drive me away” she chuckles at that. 

Rio gives her a conflicted stare. She’s pushing her boundaries and knows it. But she also knows Rio seemed to need the final push to finally tell her. 

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, I do, it’s just…” 

“Just what? I’ve killed dozens and you’re in full support of that. I already know you’re crazy and I still keep you around.” she hopes it comes out as supportive, because this is as supportive as she can get. 

“It’s not just that. It’s…” a sigh “I really care about you, in a way I haven’t cared about anyone before. It’s weird. I- This isn’t how it should be for me.” She sits down on their couch and looks at the ground. 

Agatha gives her a moment to gather her thoughts, but she can feel her heart picking up speed. In a way I haven’t cared about anyone before. That’s good, that must be good, right? 

“When I leave during the day, I leave to do my job. My job also led me to you and made me a fan.” There’s amusement in her voice, thinking back to their first encounter. It feels like forever ago, even if it’s been just over a year and half. 

After she takes a longer pause, she decides to prod her a bit. “Right…and what exactly is your job? You never really…talk about it.” 

“Before I say it, please promise you won’t curse me out and will at least listen to me.” She’s begging her. Her voice is impossibly vulnerable and it catches Agatha completely off guard. 

“Of course, as you said, I’ve had my fair share of rumors. I wouldn’t do the same to anyone else. Well, maybe I would but not to you.” and tries to give her a reassuring smile. 

“Right. I am Death.” That’s all she says. And now just stares at Agatha.

“Um, is this some sort of angsty spiral of you feeling bad or…?” she’s really lost for words here and Rio has the audacity to just roll her eyes at her. 

With detachment in her voice she answers “No, I mean it literally. I am Death. I collect souls of those who’ve died and guide them into the afterlife.” 

Agatha stares at her. What the fuck. Death? How on earth did you manage to be fucking housemates with Death? Wait. Does she even believe this? It does make sense, the first two times they met was when a corpse was nearby. Her random comments. The threat to her mother-

Oh god she’s falling in love with Death. 

“That’s um…wow. I’m not really sure what to say.” And she isn’t. She has about thousands thoughts in her head, none of which she can bring herself to voice. Does this make Rio even hotte- Stop . 

Rio- Death - just sits awkwardly on the couch. “Yeah so…I can go if you want me to.” 

Agatha’s brain starts to work again. “Don’t-“ she says too fast, she clears her throat and tries again. “I mean, don’t, I…I want you to stay.” she knows she has to swallow her pride here, she can’t risk Rio believing she detests her now. 

“You are taking this better than I expected, I’ll give you that.” 

“Wait, I thought you never told anyone this, why would you expect me to react badly?” 

Rio gives her a deadpan stare. “Most people would freak out if they found out that they’ve been playing house with Death for almost a year.” Bitterly, she adds “Much less a witch, that must have heard nasty things about Death.” 

That is true. Death, depending on the speaker, is oftentimes described as this bloodthirsty entity that always wants more. More life taken, more destruction, more souls for them. Her I guess . 

“That’s true, but you also know me. And I know you. I’m not going to pretend the last months of my life didn’t happen and come at you with pitchforks.” She should say something more, right? “Sorry for asking, but how does the whole ‘Death’ thing work, you do seem like a green witch. Really powerful one, but nothing gives ‘old as time’ vibe”. 

“Is this your way of saying I look good for my age?” she’s teasing her, that’s a good sign. 

“Short answer is that I can conceal it. The only time you’d really feel the full extent of my powers is if we ever were taking a stroll in my realm. Or if I just decided to unveil it.” 

Interesting. Come to think of it, Rio rarely used her powers around Agatha. Just healing magic and during a worse fight she’d send the opponent flying. Agatha always assumed she did it to not hit Agatha by accident and sign her death warrant. Hold on, I can’t hurt her. I can’t accidentally kill her. 

Her epiphany must show on her face because it gets Rio questioning her. “You’ve just realized something.” It’s not a question, it’s a statement.

“Did the reality of me being Death finally sink in?” 

“I can’t kill you.” She. Can’t. Kill. Her. 

“No, you can’t…why are we talking about killing me?” She still doesn’t get it and is further confused by the glee spreading on Agatha’s face.

“I can’t kill you! Rio, I can’t kill you by accident! Do you know how worried I was whenever we thought that maybe you’ll blast me and my powers kick in? But you’re Death I can’t do that!" She's laughing like a maniac now. 

A warm smile spreads across Rio’s face and finally relaxes. “You can’t, I’m afraid you’re stuck with me forever. I meant it, you know. The whole I’m your fan thing.” 

The way she’s looking at Agatha makes her stomach turn. She shouldn’t be this open- this vulnerable. Not for Agatha.

“Oh really? Do tell, how did I catch the attention of Death?” she might be playing it off as a joke, but she wants to know. It doesn’t seem to make sense to her. 

“Well firstly, you gave me quite a lot of souls to claim. The souls give me power, to a certain extent. There were people in the past who tried to catch my attention by sacrificing people, but it’s always done so brutishly.” She scrunches her nose in disgust at that. 

“But you? Oh Agatha, you didn’t even mean to, yet you killed them to gain their power. Isn’t that delicious? Others may hate and fear you for it, but to me? It’s nothing but beautiful. You’re a survivor, you’re another being that will never be completely accepted by others, just like me. How could I not be intrigued by you?” 

She won’t cry. In this life, she was never loved or accepted by her peers. It was because death followed her everywhere. It seems fitting that Death , no, she’s not just Death , she’s Rio , isn’t she? It makes sense that Rio would be the one to accept and embrace her. What others despise about her, Rio views it as something to cherish. 

She closes the gap between them and embraces Rio in a bone crushing hug. They’ve cuddled, during bad nights when Agatha’s nightmares wouldn’t go away and Rio wasn’t asleep, but they’ve never acknowledged that before. This feels more intimate, more meaningful. It feels like a hug of acceptance, one that allows them to finally see each other without walls between them. 

After a long moment she pulls away. “Thank you for trusting me with this.” She tries to keep her voice as even as possible. 

“Thamk you for being you.” This time, Rio cradles her face and kisses her on her forehead. 

She could spend forever like this 

(~ We were running through the towns that gave us stories we could never make up, we were, we were free. We never saw it coming ~) 

“This has to be a trap right? Why on earth would my mother invite me to her coven’s meeting?” 

“Firstly, would you be so kind and would you stop with the pacing around? And don’t you mean your coven? You’re still technically part of it, they never banished you.” 

She barks out a laugh. “They banished me in all the ways that mattered, just not officially.” She listens to Rio and stops pacing. Now she’s standing in their living room, torn between fleeing the country and marching to her mother’s house this very second. 

Very slowly Rio starts “Maybe, with all the trials happening she realized she actually cares about her one daughter?” which earned her a deadpan glance from Agatha.

“Right, that has the same chances of happening as me becoming a nun tomorrow so let’s try again.” Honestly, what could she want from her? They haven’t spoken in months. She thought she was finally clear of her. 

“Fine, you want a real answer? She probably realized it’s better to have a strong witch like you on her side during these times rather than on a side that might anonymously tip her off.” The last part is said pointedly. It might be because that’s exactly what Agatha suggested they should do once the witches trials because a game of who can point fingers the fastest. 

That could be true. Her mother is many things, coward is one of them. She fears death ( hah) more than she hates her. At least she hopes so. 

Rio is closing the distance between them and when she’s close enough, she starts to brush through her hair with her fingers. “It’s tomorrow, right?” Agatha just hums in confirmation. She can’t bring herself to do more. “For now, let’s say you’ll go. I’ll be lurking close enough to either give your mother an earful or to collect the bodies if your patience finally wears thin, what do you say?” 

This is one of the changes since Rio’s reveal of her true identity. She became much sweeter and seeks out physical touch more. The thing that was holding her back was fear of Agatha hating the real her, but she’s still holding back. Agatha can’t blame her, she is too. Both of them are circling around each other, both of them afraid to cross some invisible lines they’ve drawn, because once they cross them, there will be no turning back. 

Agatha leans even more into her touch. “You’re probably right. I have nothing to lose here, do I?” She thinks about it for a moment and then “You don’t have to wait nearby, just maybe go check up on what’s happening if I’m out suspiciously long or if you notice I’m sending you gifts.” 

Rio nods and starts braiding her hair. “Okay, if that’s what you want, my lady.” She can hear her smile through that nickname. 

“How many times have I told you to stop calling me that?” But it has no bite to it, the affection is bleeding through it. 

“Oh we both know you love it.” and flashes her a cheeky smile. 

Yeah, she loved it. 

🖤

Agatha didn’t like where this was going. She met up with her mother, who told her the coven is already waiting for them in the forest. Apparently, there is some protection ritual they wanted to perform, but they need the entire coven for it. Rio was right, they probably just need her for her powers. Nothing more, nothing less and nothing to fear.

The walk is long and feels even longer since her mother refuses to speak with her. Not like she cares anyway . “So, mother dearest, how have you been? It’s been 6 months, give or take?” 

“This doesn’t change anything. Don’t you think I haven’t noticed your recent behavior. I know you’ve been killing witches that came across you.” 

Here goes a shot at peaceful conversation. “Maybe if they didn’t try to kill me, I wouldn’t have killed them. I keep telling you I can’t control the power.” And she really can’t, the reason she was killing recently was because she was trying to learn control over it. With Rio, they thought this was the most sensible option. If she succeeds, good for her and the unlucky victim. If she doesn’t, Rio gets a gift. 

That doesn’t seem to satisfy her mother though. “Still with the same excuses? Let me guess, that woman helps you?” Woman is said with such hatered that she is almost petty enough to leave right now, fuck their little ritual, it’s not like she needs it. 

“For your information, yes, Rio has been very helpful.” The rest of the journey is spent in silence. Both of them trying to make a point, trying to show the other they care less. 

“Agh we’re finally here.” The words leave her mouth and her hands are suddenly bined. “What is this? What is happening?”

“We’re just doing something we should have done a long time ago.” says one of the other witches. 

Oh

This is the night I die. Killed by her own coven. Is that it? 

Oh Rio will be so pissed when she collects my body. 

Huh, I didn’t even get to finally stop being a coward around her. I guess cowardness runs in the family. 

She’s moved to a stake. Are they going to burn her? No, they wouldn’t need an entire coven for this. Maybe they just want to watch with their own eyes as the infamous Agatha Harkness meets her end. She can’t blame them, not really. She always knew this. 

Her mother starts speaking. “Are you a witch?”

“Yes, I am a witch.” What even is the point of this? 

“Yet you have betrayed your coven.” 

“I have not!” 

“You stole knowledge above your age and station. You practiced the darkest of magic.” Is this how she’s playing it? Sure, makes sense. 

“I did not break your rules, they simply bend to my powers.” She’s not lying, not really. But suddenly the rest of the covens starts chanting.

Oh no, not like this. 

“No, I cannot control it. I- Help me, please! “ she starts looking around until her gaze lands back on her mother again. “Mother!” she starts chanting too. Oh that familiar sting is here again. 

“No!” and suddenly they’re blasting her with some unknown spell. She yells, it hurts. 

Oh man it hurts.

Until it doesn’t.

She can feel it, her powers are slowly coming in and are starting to take over. In a moment, they’re all going to be dead. She warned them. But it didn’t matter. It never matters, did it? 

The flow of power coming in as so addicting, for a moment, it makes her completely forget why she’s on that cloud nine. She sees her mothers face as the reality sinks in. 

Her mother flies up and blasts Agatha as well. She breaks free of her binds. She kills the rest of the coven, they were completely dried by her. It’s just her and her mother now. 

“Please, I can be good.” her voice wavers. She really means it, she can be good. She just needs someone to help her. 

“No you cannot.” To her surprise, Evanora’s voice breaks on the last word. It doesn’t do much to soften the blow though. And just like that, her mother is trying to kill her. Again . 

She just gave her a chance. They could have tried to find a way. She could have just walked away and let her be. But no, she had to try to kill her only daughter again. 

Agatha can’t help it and part of her doesn’t even want to fight it. She knows the outcome is inevitable and if her mother thinks she’s evil? Let her think that. Maybe she spent too long in a never ending cycle of guilt and for what? For approval of her mother she’ll never get? Well, fuck that. She feels the last bits of power leave her mothers body. And then she falls on the ground. Agatha goes to her and takes her amulet. 

Looking around, the heaviness of the moment finally sinks in. Her mother planned to murder her today. She blamed her for betraying her own coven, yet she planned to kill her own daughter that’s part of her coven . What does that say about her? 

The rest of them died such a wasteful death. It was for nothing, they just got dragged into a family feud. At least Rio will get her bodies, that’s something. 

Rio 

She’ll be here any moment now. 

Oh 

Oh right 

One of her only regrets was not telling her how she felt. Feels pathetic now that she’s still standing. 

“I’m sorry” She’s here.

“What for?” 

“This, you didn’t deserve this.” She sounds so awfully sincere. 

“Maybe I didn’t, maybe I did. Does it really matter? She’s dead now, you can make sure she has the worst ride to the lowest depths of hell possible.” It comes out forced, maybe she’s not so above it all. 

Rio lets out a sight and gestures to Agatha to come closer. She obliges. Rio envelops her into a hug. 

“Just know that what you are is beautiful, okay? Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” She might melt on the spot. 

“Careful, I might think you like me.” But she just burrows her head further into Rio, bathing in her presence. 

“With all these bodies, how could I not?” She knows Rio means it as a joke. But at the moment, it’s almost enough to make her crumble. Her own mother tried to kill her for her powers, yet this woman adores her for them. It’s so easy for Rio to love her that it scares Agatha. 

She pulls back from the hug to look at Rio. She’s covered in the moonlight, she’s clearly worried about her right now, but that worry is slowly starting to ease away as she looks at Agatha and can't contain her smile. 

She really loves her .

She gently touches Rio’s face and tugs her hair away. They’re both looking into each other's eyes, Agatha glances down, for confirmation, and Rio gives her an eager nod. 

She finally kisses her. It’s a slow and gentle kiss. They’re both trying to convey the months of their unresolved feelings into this. It almost feels like her lifeline. 

Maybe the only certainty in her life is death. She’s always followed by it. But maybe, being followed by Death isn’t so bad. She could live like this. 

Chapter Text

(~ We didn’t know just what it meant yet. October passed and I fell for you~) 

It’s been 2 months since that night. Despite everything, this might be the happiest Agatha’s ever been. Scratch that, it is the happiest she’s ever been, there is no doubt about it. 

She gets nightmares about the night when she killed her coven. When she killed her own mother. It still feels ironic to her, her mother probably wished she killed her when she was born, yet in the end it was Agatha who ended up killing her. Agatha even tried to spare her, but her mother refused. Thanks to Rio’s insight, Agatha knows Evanora will burn in hell forever. It doesn't provide as much comfort as she hoped it would. 

Rio

It's almost unbelievable how one person can change so many things in someone's life. After their first kiss, another dam broke between them, just like when she found out about Rio’s identity. Neither of them hold back much of their affection now and they are more together than apart. 

They still haven't said those 3 words. Agatha knows how she feels, she knew before she even finally worked up the courage to take the first step. She's pretty sure Rio is, once again, letting her set the pace. Why? That she doesn't know, her guess is, because unlike Rio, she is still a mortal - sure, one that will live longer than regular humans can begin to imagine, but she's still a human. 

Rio on the other hand? She watched civilizations fall, she doesn't even know if Death can love like humans can. Well, most witches wouldn't believe I can love anyone but myself, maybe we really are match made in hell.

Despite that, she thinks she knows how Rio feels. She'd be a fool to believe otherwise. That woman can't keep her hands off her. She even makes her breakfast in the morning. 

After the fateful night, some things changed about how Agatha views herself as well. What is the point of constantly feeling guilty over things she can't control? She tried, she tried to find someone who understands her power to teach her, but she failed. Why go against nature? All that matters is that she can't hurt the one she cares about. Isn't that enough? 

There is always going to be at least 1 person who really knows her, who knows her core and cares about more than the facade of a covenless, merciless, witch-killer she is slowly building. There is truth to it, part of her loves the power she gains, she loves the dynamic her and Rio have going on for them. Agatha kills the bodies and gets her power, Rio gets her bodies. She'd never pin herself as romantic, but she supposes it's just one of the changes Rio managed to evoke in her. 

In a sing-songy voice she suddenly hears “Darling, I am hoooome.” There she is . 

“Welcome back.” she pulls her in by her shirt fabric and kisses her. 

“Aw, missed me?” Rio teases between kisses.

“Shut up, you are back an hour earlier than usual, you must have rushed through the bodies to get back.” They're both like moths to the flame, maybe they’ll ruin each other one day, but neither of them seems to care.

Agatha definitely doesn't care when she feels Rio trace kisses slowly down her throat, ending in the middle of her collar bone. She never should have admitted she’s sensitive there . 

“You were saying?” Oh how she hates that confident smirk. 

“As much as I’d love to continue, we agreed to switch places today. If we continue like this, we will give some witch hunters a show.” It's true, the witch trials aren't getting any better. They are burning more women who aren't even witches in the first place and there are too many people who would love to make Agatha's life harder. 

Rio separates from her, but keeps one of her hands on her forearm. Nodding, she says “We’ll go when the night falls, there will be more patrols, but at least we won't have to answer questions about where we are going.” She pressed her arm before letting go.

We can make this work .

(~ Everyday was a masterpiece the night brought an energy thank god for the night that we~) 

“Go, go, go!” They were running from some random woman shouting about how they stole her vegetables. “I told you this is stupid!” Agatha said between breaths.

“It's fun, isn't it?” Rio was also catching her breath, if she was doing so to spare Agatha´s dignity or if even Death got tired from running, she didn't know.

“Well, there are numerous other fun things we could be doing instead of stealing some grandma's veggies, why did you even want to do that?” 

“I like a change of pace here and there.” she leans forward, now standing right in front of her. “Besides, you love this. You love me dragging you into whatever and making your life less dull.” It's supposed to be a teasing line, she's expected to say something like Oh do I? and carry on. But the You love me goes through her entire body like a lighting bolt. 

She still hasn't said it. Some days, she thinks they’ll just pretend feelings are below them. They don't need to speak, not when their actions say enough. And oh they do . Rio treats her like the only thing on this planet that deserves attention. If she was unsure in the beginning, if Rio could even reciprocate her feelings, she's definitely sure she can now. 

There were times when she thought Rio was finally going to say it. That her patience found its limit and she was no longer going to let Agatha set the pace. But then she always catches  herself and changes the topic. She swears she almost said it once between painted breaths when Agatha was leaving lingering kisses all over her body. But she hasn't and at this point, it feels like they're playing a game of chicken. 

“Something on your mind?” Right, she got stuck in her own head. 

“Nothing! I’m peachy!” 

That earns her unimpressed eyebrow raise. “Peachy?” 

“Let's just go back, I think I’ve had enough of this today.” The way she said it makes it clear she doesn't want Rio to push the topic and she doesn’t. At least not for now. 

🖤

“I know this might be a stupid question given how long I’ve known about it now, but how exactly does you being Death work? You have your quirks, but you seem normal enough.” 

It was just a random Saturday afternoon, but she's been wondering more about this ever since that night. Both of them were just carrying on with their lives together, but Agatha wasn't sure if this isn’t just temporary. What if after a while Rio will have to go back to her realm? Maybe there will be too many bodies for her to be able to be here with her. 

“You might have to be a bit more specific, sweetheart.” 

Right “Okay, well, were you always Death? I mean the you I see in front of me right now.” 

“Yes and no. The physical me came later, at first I was more of a…concept? I was watching humans slowly grow and with that I think I started to mimic them. The memory is very blurry for me. I conjured a physical form after…millenia, humans were very slow in the beginning. I didn't care for them. I still don’t, not really. They became interesting but it's almost like watching an ant hill.” 

“The me as a living being is still the same at its core, but I went through a lot of growth. As I said, I started to mimic humans and I didn´t mean just appearance vise. I didn't use to make many trips up here, but then things changed.” That last part caught her attention. 

“What changed?” Although she might have an idea.

“You.” Agatha doesn’t understand how she can say this with such calmness, looking right at her. She doesn't drop her gaze when she continues. “You were interesting. When bodies start to follow a person, I usually notice them. Sometimes I’d even keep a closer eye on them out of convenience. But you, Agatha, oh you caught me off guard.” 

She snorts at that. “ I caught you off guard? If I remember correctly, our first and second interaction was initiated by you . I was the one caught off guard.” 

“Maybe, but how do you think I felt when suddenly a human witch made me feel like she could understand me. Believing that maybe, she’d see me the way I could see her. I told you before, that I care for you the way I haven't cared for anyone before. At first, I was curious, obsessed with finding out more about you, thinking I’ll eventually lose interest and carry on. The exact opposite happened instead.” She takes a deep breath, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. 

“Agatha you- the more I got to know you, the more I understood why I was drawn to you in the first place. Sure, you give me plenty of bodies and don’t mind going out of your way to give me even more. But it's more than that, you are so incredible. Your mother was, no offense to you, a piece of shit and look at you! Thriving in a new town, finally accepting your powers. The year between our first and second encounter, I kept my eye on you. I saw how you lingered whenever you killed someone, as if hoping I´d show up. You had the right idea without even knowing who I was. I tried to keep my distance, I didn't think it was fair to you, to befriend you while pretending I'm just an average witch, but I couldn't stay away.” 

By now Agatha was sure that she must be just a puddle on the ground because how can she say all that and expect her to carry on? But apparently, Rio wasn't done yet. 

“I think knowing you was the final piece of a puzzle to create me. Me as in Rio Vidal, not me as in Death. As far as I can tell, you’re the only human worth caring for.” 

Rio was wiping tears away from her face, she's not certain when she started crying, but apparently she was. She also doesn't know when Rio closed the gap between them, all she knows is that Rio is holding her in her arms as if she was the single most precious thing on this planet. Considering the speech she just witnessed, that might be exactly what she is to Rio. 

She couldn’t just say “I love you” like a normal person, she had to have this long explanation about how Agatha is the only thing she cares about.  

Agatha clears her throat and wipes the new tears that formed. It's now or never.

“I love you.” 

Rio blinked. Agatha physically shook her head as if to forcibly wake up her brain back into function. 

“I love you. Oh god, I love you more than I thought I could love someone. I knew it before I even finally kissed you that day. I think part of me knew how this would end the second we started our weird little arrangement of living together.” She's laughing now, she opened up a bottle of all her stuffed emotions and finally let them be heard. 

“I love the way you say my name, I love the way you kiss me, I love the way your nails feel on my back, I love the way you laugh, I love how excited you get whenever we plan some murder. I just, I really am in love with you, Rio.” 

Oh she might throw up.

For the first time since they've met, Rio is completely speechless. She keeps opening her mouth and closing it. The nerve she has. She had that entire speech and Agatha’s love confession is what is too much? Please. 

“Cat got your tongue?” She can't help it. This is a rare opportunity for her. She doesn’t need to hear the words back, she just heard them in overly dramatic Rio w-

“I love you too, Agatha Harkness.”

Oh

Oh

“Say it again”

She leans forward and whispers in her ear “I am in love with you, Agatha.”

It sends shivers down her spine.

“Again.” It's like a drug. 

“I-” Kiss on her temple. 

“love-” Kiss on her jaw.

“you.” Kiss on her neck.  

She finally opens her eyes to look at Rio. It almost brings tears back into her eyes. She's looking at her with so much unrestrained love. And it's paired with that infuriating smirk of hers.

Agatha finally goes and kisses her. It starts slowly, almost feeling like their first kiss again. Until she hears Rio let out a whimper. That makes her deepen the kiss and she doesn't pull away until she has to. 

“Agatha, please…” She doesn´t need to be told twice. Not his time. 

(~ Hold on tight, we’re falling~) 

1697

She’s sitting on their couch when Rio comes home. 

“You cheeky little witch.” 

“What?” Agatha says in higher octave, in mock confusion, turning her head towards the door. 

“Don’t you play coy with me.” She’s trying to remain stoic and serious, but Agatha saw the slight quirk of her mouth. 

“Who, me?” and gasps dramatically, looking around their living room as if Rio could be speaking to anyone else. 

She clicks her mouth and starts to make her way to the back of their couch. “Someone just arranged leftover bodies to form a heart. Any chance you know how that happened?” 

Maybe she snuck out in the morning extra early to deal with an annoying coven that’s been getting on her nerves lately. 

She raises her hands in fake surprise. “You don’t say, what a miracle they died in such a way!” 

“You’re impossible, you know that?” The serious facade finally cracked and she’s now smiling at her. 

“Don’t pretend like you weren’t over the moon when you saw it.” Something in Rio’s eyes shifts. She leans over the couch so she can whisper directly into Agatha’s ear. 

“Maybe, I would have preferred watching you deal with them. Maybe I also wanted to get my share of…fun.” 

“There’s always going to be a next time, hm? We’ve got all the time in the world.” 

And Agatha really hopes that’s true. 

(~ Hold on tight, we’re falling~) 

1700  

“Miss Agatha, a pleasure.” He says as he firmly shakes her hand. 

“I know you’ve already said you’re not interested, but it must be lonely living her in this huge house, alone.” Right .

She forces, what she hopes is, a pleasant smile on her face. “Sir-“ the man interrupts “Just Edward is fine.” As if .

“Right, Edward , as I said, as much as your offer flatters me, I’m afraid I cannot imagine sharing this house with anyone else. You see, my late husband Ralph, loved this house. I still hold a space in my heart for him, I’m afraid it would be unfair to such a fine gentleman such as yourself.” 

Maybe she should just blast him and be done with him. They weren’t in this town for very long, it’d be annoying having to move already, but if this drags out for too long, she might just do it. 

“I completely understand, it is one of the things I find highly admirable about you.” This is the third time we met, you know quite literally nothing. 

“Listen, pal, I really am not interested.” Why is he so interested anyway, does he want to kill her in her sleep and gain the property? How unoriginal. 

“I don’t think you understand the opportunity I’m giving you here.” Still trying to make it seem like he's the knight in shining armor.

“For the last time, I-” she got cut off by the front door being burst open.

“Honey, I'm ba-aack.” She doesn’t notice the company of Edgar (Or was it Edwin, Edward? Who cares.), too preoccupied with taking her cloak off.  “Ugh, you wouldn't believe how stubborn some of the lingering souls were today. Also had to deal with ghost and you know how I feel about them. Also-”

Agatha pointedly cleared her throat to stop Rio from speaking more. She glances back at Agatha, finally noticing there is a man in their house. A very awkward silence settles in the room. 

“As you can see, my friend here keeps me company and likes to make up stories to cheer me up. There truly is no need for your generosity.” There is no way they're getting away with this. 

He almost seems surprised by the fact he got addressed again. “Of-of course, I see I was…wrong. Please excuse me.” He hurriedly puts his jacket on and stumbles towards the door. “Farewell.” Aaaand he's gone.

“So…” Rio looks back at the retreating man and back to Agatha. “What was that?”

“Ugh, some guy that wanted to marry me. Because oh I must be just so lonely now without my late husband .” Rio snorts at that. 

“Well, you're welcome for making him run away. We both know you’re not the marrying kind.” Isn't she? 

She just raises an eyebrow at her. “You know very well he'll talk after your little entrance.”

Rio shrugs at that and gives her the grin she knows very well. “Corpses can't speak. Look at me, making a man leave you alone and giving us evening plans all in one go! Maybe I am a good wife material.” 

“In your dreams, Vidal.” Maybe one day.

(~ Hold on tight, we’re falling~) 

1724

Time is a funny thing. It's been over 30 years since their first meeting, Rio looks the same as ever, Agatha only slightly older. She has a hard time believing this is her life now. She hoped they could keep this going for a few years, she never dared to hope they could make it past 10 years, let alone 30. 

She was certain Rio was going to get bored of her eventually, she thought she was just a step on her journey. She hated it, but she decided to embrace it anyway. It's been 30 years now and they’ve set into a very comfortable rhythm. 

They move places every 3 years, unless some unforeseen circumstances make them leave sooner. It's easy to sever ties with the locals and to avoid much suspicion as 2 seemingly single women traveling and living alone. It's an easy life, but it's enough.

Lately, Agatha started to play around with the idea of proposing to Rio. It's a sticky situation. The rational part of her brain knows she’ll say yes, they’ve been living like a married couple for the past 3 decades now. However, there is also the not so rational part of her brain, which believes Rio will laugh at the idea. 

Part of her understands this fear, because she's contemplating asking for Death's hand in marriage. Another part of her just wants to bash her head into a wall and ask with whatever item she finds that slightly resembles a ring. 

There is also the issue of getting the ring itself. If she shows up anywhere wanting to buy one, it may give her unwanted attention. She could always just steal some nice ring from one of their victims, but that doesn't feel right. 

Her best bet is just buying the ring and lying her way through it. Whom is this for? Me of course, you see, it's about to be our anniversary and he said he wants to make me feel special. Oh, aren’t I one lucky gal? 

🖤

2 weeks later she finally goes to town to buy a ring. She leaves the house around 10am, knowing she should have at least a few hours before Rio decides she's done for the day. 

She is somewhat lost as to what kind of ring Rio would appreciate, she hardly wears anything on her hands since it's “impractical”, so she just has to go based on a gut feeling here. 

She is lucky that the town they're currently staying in is one of the bigger ones. There are at least 3 shops she can try her luck in. 

The first one is a failure. The rings are too big and even Agatha agrees about how “impractical” they seem. There was a simple one she considered for a second, but eventually decided it's just too simple. 

The second one was almost it, she found a golden ring that looked like it was supposed to imitate branches. It most likely wasn't considered a wedding/engagement ring, but she doesn't really care about that. Unfortunately, the shop owner not so politely told her the ring is already reserved by his good friend and he doesn't have another one. 

This next shop is smaller than the previous one and part of her is already planning to scan the town for another shop, but then one pair catches her eyes. It’s a matching pair of golden rings, there is a small gem in the middle of each one - green in one, purple in second. You´ve got to be kidding me . She looks closer at them, the metal that holds the stones is shaped into 2 intertwined branches. It is very similar to the one she tried to buy before, but it's more detailed. 

She has to take them, doesn’t she? The fact it even has their colors almost feels like mockery. “Excuse me, is it possible to engrave something on the back of the gems?”

🖤

“Will you finally tell me where we’re going?”

“For the 8th time, I won’t.” Agatha can’t see it through the blindfold she put on Rio, but she practically feels the eye roll.

“You know if I wasn’t who I am, I’d be certain you’re leading me somewhere nice and quiet to murder me.” 

“As if I ever put so much care into that without you by my side.” 

The place they’re currently staying in is near a beach. Agatha wanted to make the proposal at least a bit special, but couldn’t think of anything. They not really have their special place, their place is wherever the other one happens to be. 

She thought about finding some place in the woods, the forest seemed to be significant for many of their moments together, but decided against it, because she didn’t want to have another memory of theirs created between the trees. 

She decided on this spot a couple of days ago. She was looking for a specific mineral that is often found near the sea, when she realized the beach could be a nice change of pace for them. They would still have their quiet moment if they went here during the night. 

Even better, she found out there is a little cave hidden from the sight - it was the perfect secure spot she could even light up without drawing much suspicion, as far as she knows no one guards these parts.  

“Is that…is that sound of the water? Was I kind of right and we’re here to drown me?” Agatha sometimes believes Rio will die if she doesn’t find a way to get on her nerves at least a little bit. 

“You wound me, drowning witches is so last decades. I’d be more creative than that.” 

She huffs. “If you say so.” 

She leads her to the cave. She lights the torches she prepared, so they can actually see each other. 

You can do this. It’s not that hard. Just a simple question, really. 

“We’re not moving anymore, can I take the blindfold off?” Right. Instead of answering she takes it off herself. 

“Um,” she glaces around “what exactly is this?” She seems nervous. Was this any other time Agatha would be delighted by that. 

“I’ve been thinking for a while now about us.” She straightens up, takes a breath to get her thoughts in order and looks right at Rio, who’s now donning a look of curiosity and perhaps excitement.

“We work, I still can’t fully believe just how well we work, but we do. I love you and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.” This is a lot harder than she expected. “I want to spend my mornings waking up to you. I want to spend my dinners arguing with you about if whatever you prepared is edible. I want you to be there when life gets too much. I want to be there when your job gets too heavy.” 

Rio’s eyes are getting glazy now. Agatha tries to ignore that, so she manages to finish her little speech.

“I don’t think I can imagine my life without you anymore. I know, that we can’t really get married and I don’t even know if it’s something that has any value to you. Personally, I realized I would be delighted to be able to call you my wife.” 

She reaches into her pocket for the ring with the purple stone. She gets on one knee and finally asks. 

“Rio Vidal, would you marry me?” She lets out a little laugh at that, she feels like a fool. 

Rio places her hands on Agatha’s cheeks and pulls her up for a kiss. “How could I ever say no to that, my lady?”

Agatha slips the ring on Rio’s finger. “I like it.” She flexes her fingers and expects. 

“I’m glad, because I got us a matching pair. Also, you might want to look on the back side of the stone.” Green for Agatha, purple for Rio. It only felt fitting. 

Rio slides the ring of to take a look at it and snorts. “You can’t be serious, for a loyal fan ? What’s on yours?” 

“I thought it’s only fair to let you get your revenge.” 

“Good, because I’m getting you for my lady then.” 

“Fine, my wife. ” 

Rio grins at that. “Wait, take yours out, I need to put it on for you.” and makes a grabby gesture with her hands. 

She takes the other one out and passes it to Rio, who inspects it for a second and then nods approvingly. 

“It wouldn’t be fair to leave you without a little speech of my own, would it?” It’s almost mischievous the way she says it, but Agatha wouldn’t have it any other way. She smiles and nods as if to say go ahead .

“I will admit, I thought about this as well. It doesn’t really mean anything, it’s just a title, just another way to call what we have. Being just us was enough for me, it was more than I ever expected anyway. I thought I’ll just guide the souls, watch people die, return to my humble abode and start again. You made me feel alive and you still do. Maybe, it is just a title that doesn’t mean anything, but I’ll be delighted to call you my wife . After all, you made Death’s heart beat for you, how could I not want that?” 

“So, Agatha Harkness, will you be my wife?” 

Agatha rolls her watery eyes. “Of course.” And kisses her again. 

“Just so we’re clear, we are skipping the whole ceremony thing, right? I’m not sure how we’d pull that of without starting a manhunt.” It’s not like she cares, she can call Rio her wife , that’s all that matters. 

“Oh definitely. With the power bestowed to me by me, I pronounce us a wife and wife. Till death do us part.” 

“You think you’re sooo clever.” There’s no bite to it, she feels like she might burst from happiness. 

“And you still married me.” That cheeky idiot.

“I had a weaker moment.” But she’s looking at their joined hands which now don their rings. 

“Of course.” And puts a kiss on Agatha’s hand.

(~ Hold on tight, we’re falling~) 

Agatha thinks they’ve entered a honeymoon phase. She’s not sure if she can call it that, because there wasn’t an actual wedding and they’ve been together for so long it shouldn’t even make a difference. 

Rio got the ring engraved the next day and true to her word, it says “to my lady” on the back now. Apparently, the shop owner thought it was very sweet that Rio’s husband called her “his lady”. 

It’s been what, 3 weeks? And they’ve taken to testing the limits of what they can do together in public without getting much attention. Sometimes she wonders which one of them is going to snap first whenever they get called sisters. We don’t even look alike. But it’s still the better alternative. 

“Morning.” Ah

”Oh look who’s finally awake.” In place of answer Rio just buries her head further into Agatha’s shoulder. Agatha often jokes about how if people knew that Lady Death loves to cuddle, they maybe wouldn’t fear death as much. Rio’s answer to that was a threat last time she brought it up.

She feels a kiss on her shoulder. “Someone in a good mood this morning?” 

“What can I say, you function well as the little spoon.” She rolls over so she can give Agatha space to turn and properly look at her, but keeps her arm on her waist. 

“Any plans for today?” 

“No, I think I’ll just do a bit of wandering around while you’re gone, but no grand plans.” And it’s true, life has been quiet lately. It’s like even the universe itself decided to give them a break.

“In that case, I have a proposal.” And there’s that glint in her eyes.

“Do you?”

”The world won't end if I just…postpone a bit of my duties for a day. I propose we spend the day in bed. The furthest I’m willing to go is to our kitchen, but that’s were I draw the line.”

”I don’t see how I can argue with that.” 

She was right, she really can get used to this. 

(~ Hold on tight, we’re falling~) 

1736

They were having a dinner when suddenly-

“Have you ever thought about having a child?” What

She chokes on her drink. “I’m sorry, what?”

Rio just chuckles at her reaction, it’s probably exactly how she wanted her to react. “I mean, the other day when that kid got lost and you helped him find his parent, you almost looked longingly at them when you saw the whole family.”

That’s true, she just didn’t expect that Rio was paying so much attention or that she would even notice it. 

“I’m not sure. I think I’d like to have a child, but I also don’t think I’d be a good mother. I mean, I don’t exactly have an example to go by. Not to mention you don’t have one either.”

Agatha wants to believe she’d be a better mother than her own ever was, at the very least she wouldn’t make her hypothetical child feel like a monster for simply being powerful and loving someone. But that isn’t a very high bar to beat and she doesn’t have any other source to go by.

She shrugged at that. ”Well you know what to not-do. I think you turned out functional enough on your own.” That gets a chuckle out of her. 

“How romantic. I’ve always wanted to be viewed as functional enough . Besides, is that even something you’d be interested in?” That seems to surprise her. 

“You’d want me to raise the child with you?” 

Now that Agatha doesn’t understand at all. “Um, who else? Did you think I’d just…what? Go to a random man, tell him to get me pregnant and play family with him?” 

“Well, I don’t really know, I just didn’t think you’d want your child being raised near me.” Okay there is definitely something she’s missing if the vulnerable look is anything to go by. 

“Why would you even think that? I mean, we’re married, who else would I possibly do this with?” 

She’s playing with her fingers now, she really is nervous about this. But why.

“I know we’ve talked about this and that you don’t really care about me being who I am, I just assumed that, I don’t know, you wouldn’t want your child near that.” She’s pretty quiet by the end of the sentence. Huh, she must have thought about this for a while now. Does she expect me to just wake up one day and realize I’m making a huge mistake?

“Firstly, you’re you and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Secondly, you still didn’t answer the question. Is it something you’d be interested in?” 

“Maybe.” There’s a brief pause. “Yeah, I think so. If it was with you, I think it is something I’d want to do.” 

Agatha nods at that. “It’s a shame there isn’t a spell for that, you know.”

”Actually, there is one.” And for the second time today all Agatha can say is-

“What?” She really has a way with words today.

”Essentially, it is a spell that really can get you pregnant. Depending on how the spell is cast, it can lead to the one helping with the spell being essentially the other parent. Do not ask me how it works.” Huh

”So what you’re saying is, we genuinely could have a baby?”

”In theory, yes.”

”Is that even allowed? Can you do that?” 

“As far as I know, yes. I didn’t exactly get a briefing about what I can and cannot do. The rule generally is that I am allowed to do it if I am able to do it.” Interesting

”We could, you know, think about it. Now that both of us know it’s an option and how the other one feels. There’s no rush.”

And she sincerely means it. If the years she spent with Rio taught her anything it’s that they have all the time they want. 

(~Now I’m falling in love with the eyes I’ve looked into a million times now I, I believe~) 

1740

”Are you sure about this?” They’ve been over this at least a thousand times now. 

“Yes, my love.” She kissed her hands in hopes to ease her worries. 

“Just making sure.” She rolls her eyes at that.

”For the last time, I love you. There is no other person I’d be willing to raise a child with. Don’t even open your mouth, I don’t care about your little job, if anything I’ll be delighted if they happen to be more like you. Can we proceed with the spell now?” Her nervousness can be heard even through the unnecessary level of amusement she put in her voice. Who wouldn’t be worried? But she doesn't for it to seem like she’s worried because of Rio. 

It seems to get through her thick skull, finally. She nods. “Of course, my lady.” and adds a wink for good measure.

Oh god 

🖤

After about 3,5 months she starts showing. Rio became very adamant on how they should lay low and Agatha agreed. They don't know if Agatha’s magic could affect their baby in some negative way and they don’t want to risk it. If push comes to shove, Rio will just make them wish they were dead. 

They also discussed the logistics of where they wish to stay. The house they’re currently staying in has one spare room, which they agreed could be turned into a kids room. They’ve been in this town for just about a year, so they could stay here until the child is about 3. 

It’s a bit longer than their usual stay time, but they think it’ll do the baby good. Besides, they’ll need to stay in one place for longer now, the fact that they don’t care about having a permanent home doesn’t mean a child won’t be bothered by moving every few years. 

Another tricky part will be all the decorating. They want to do it themselves, or at least as much as they’re capable of doing. The town they chose is a bit secluded, so they could reduce the potential feuds with those who want to seek some revenge on Agatha and “her companion”. The downside to this is, that it’s also harder to come by some high quality furniture, which isn’t owned by some shopkeeper, who knows most of his customers. It’s safe to say that Rio will have to play Ralph once in a while. 

They also agreed to go to the doctors with it. It’s not much and they don’t understand it fully, but it still gives them better odds. 

(“I’m not saying I don’t agree, but you’ll need a fake husband. Are just going to take some random single guy and control him whenever we need to and then make him die from some illness?” That would work, but Agatha had something else in mind.

She can’t help the grin that appears on her face. ”No, you’re going to be the husband.” 

For a second, she looks at Agatha as if she lost her mind, but then it clicks. “You know, this is the second time you asked this.” 

“Hah, it’s been a while since my mother thought I had a secret suitor. Last time you were right and it wouldn’t work. Now? They won’t have a clue, Ralph .”

She scrunches her nose at that. “Why did you have to come up with Ralph once and stick to it, it’s not a name befitting my standards.”

Snort “Oh I am sorry, would you prefer Ralph I, the guiding light of the dead or is that too much?”

”You know that’s not what I meant but fine. Is it safe to assume you came up with a fake name for yourself?” 

“I am Agnes O’Connor, of course.” and gives her a mock curtsy. 

She makes a face of disgust. “You mean that makes me Ralph O’Connor? What have I done to you?” Props to her for making her delivery as flat as possible. 

“Your name could’ve been Rutherford, I think Ralph is fine.” Rio just dramatically sights at that. 

“Look at me, Death forced into the role of some guy named Ralph O’Conner, how low have I fallen.” As she finishes saying that, she dips her head backwards with one of her hands resting on her forehead. 

Agatha just pats her on her shoulders. “You’ll survive.”

And so the happy married O’Conner couple was born.)

Whatever comes, they’ll figure it out. They always do. 

During month 5 she feels the first kick. “Rio! Oh my god I felt it! I felt a kick!”

”Really?” She rushed over immediately. 

“Yeah, I think someone wanted to finally catch our attention.” and lets out a little chuckle. 

“Well, good, he’ll be just like his mama then.” And pokes her with her finger.

”Right, because I’m the attention seeking one in this relationship.” She ignores how the word ‘mama’ being used in reference to her makes her feel. There will be plenty of time to get used to it. 

It’s month 7 when they have the name conversation. 

“Do you have some names in mind already?” She does. She still isn’t settled on it, but there’s at least an idea. 

“I was thinking Nicholas if it’s a boy, Nicole if it’s a girl.” She tilts her head. “What about you?” 

“I have thought about it, but no names really came into my mind. Ultimately, I think I just want to give you the choice.” After a bit of thinking she added. “I like those names, Nicholas or Nicole Harkness has a nice ring to it.” 

Right, that. 

She thought about it and she doesn’t want to give them her last name. They don’t deserve the reputation that is associated with that name unless they wish to. When they’ll be old enough and decide they want to share her last name, she’ll of course let them, but until then, she doesn’t want to put them through it.

The logical choice would be Vidal, after Rio. However, Agatha isn’t sure if she would want that. Rio came up with her name simply because she needed one, she doesn't have any sort of attachment to it. Well there’s that and also the fact she’d probably protest just because. 

So the last option is coming up with a random last name. Their made up last name O’Conner is out of the question, it might be a name that blends in, but she’s not so cruel to name her own child like that. 

“About that, I don’t want them to be named Harkness. I don’t think they deserve to deal with what that name carries in the witch world without having a choice in that. I know we won’t be able to hide their existence fully, but we can try our best.” 

“I see…Personally, I think they’ll be proud to carry on your name one day, but I respect your choice. Did you already come up with a different one you’ll use?” and as if remembering their last made up name. “It won’t be O’Conner, right? Because if you say O’Conner I might have to fight you.” 

She laughs at that. “No, it really won’t be that.” Rio lets out an exaggerated sigh of relief, which earns her an eye roll. “I considered your name, but I got a feeling you wouldn’t really want that.” and looks at her for confirmation. 

“You’d be right about that. The name is as made up as it gets. And if they don’t get to have your name, I don’t think they should have mine either.” As she expected. 

“Yeah, I thought so.” She hesitates for a moment, but decides there isn’t a reason to wait. “I thought about Scratch. I think it has a nice witchy ring to it, doesn’t it?” 

Rio ponders the name for a minute before nodding in approval. “See? That is a usable name.” and she’s back to teasing her about this.

”For the last time, Ralph O’Conner isn’t that bad! And you could’ve come up with a better one.” She feels like she’s repeating the same tale over and over again given how many times they talked about this.

”I simply listened to my lady, my lady.” 

🖤

She’s due any day now. If she thought that Rio treated her as if she was made of glass in the previous months, it paled in comparison to how she acted the last few days. She was basically suffocating her with how much she worried. 

“Listen, as much I appreciate this-“ gesturing wildly at Rio “I also appreciate a room to breathe.”

”I know, I just- I know this pregnancy is a bit different and that we found the best doctor we could, but you know how it goes.” she gets quiet for a moment, pondering if she should continue or not. Agatha gives her a gentle squeeze. 

“I just don’t think I have it in me to collect your body, that’s all. I would try to go against it, knowing damn well I can’t do anything about it.”

Her heart broke a bit after hearing that. It’s something she tries to not think about. They have centuries of time ahead of them, but it would be foolish to believe they have eternity left, even if it feels like that sometimes. 

“It’s all going to be alright. You have your healing magic, remember? I won’t lie and say I’m not worried either, but this is the best it gets in terms of safety.” And she believed that. Rio can heal her as long as whatever happens to her isn’t fatal. They’re going to be alright, they must be. If not, Agatha herself will find a way to crawl back on Earth and make it work. 

-

“Sweetheart, it’s alright, just breathe, okay? Deep breaths.” Rio is holding her hand, her voice grounding her. Thank god she can be excluded out of the illusion spell, she doesn’t think she could deal with Ralph right now. 

Get it together. You’ve faced worse, you can bring a human onto this world. 

The doctor chimes in “That’s right, just push a little more, you’re almost there.” 

She holds onto Rio as if she was her only lifeline and maybe she is. She pushes, her fingers digging into Rio’s hand and the bed. When she looks at her, she just sees the encouraging look on her face. “Amazing, just keep going like this, you’re both doing amazing.” she almost wants to ask ‘ What is he doing’ but doesn’t have it in her. 

After excruciating pain and a time that feels like an eternity, she hears a child crying. Her child, no, their child. 

“Congratulations” the doctor smiles at them both “it’s a boy. Do you have a name?”

He’s beautiful. Any last doubts Agatha had disappeared the moment she saw him. She swears she can already tell he has Rio’s eyes. When she looks at Rio, she knows they’re both in the same boat, she’s looking at the boy with such wonder in her eyes, probably still having a trouble believing it’s real. 

“Yeah, we do” It’s said in wobbly voice, looking at him. “His name is Nicholas.” And she glances back to Rio, who just gives her a nod of support. 

“Perfect, would you like to hold him?” She somehow forgot that’s an option. 

“Yes, of course.” and moves in bed so she can hold him propreply. “There we go.” and he passes him to Agatha. “I’ll give you both a moment alone.” She barely registres the doctor leaving the room, her full focus is on her baby boy.

“Hi, my baby. You’re so beautiful” She can’t help it anymore and lets herself cry. She feels Rio rubbing her back in circular motion for support. “Look at him, isn’t he perfect?” 

“He is.” Her voice is filled with relief and joy. “Nicky, say hi to your mama and mommy.” She points to Rio at the end. “And you, don’t be shy, say hi to our son as well.” Our son, oh how it fills her with happiness. 

Rio shoots them a brilliant smile. “Hi Nicky, you’re just like your mother, do you know that?” she shakes his little hand gently and lets out a quiet laugh.

“I think he has your eyes.” As if to check, she looks at Rio and back to Nicholas, she really can see the resembles. 

Rio moves her hand back to rest on Agatha’s arm and gently rubs her. “I think I’ll believe your word for now.” 

She was right, they made it work. 

🖤

The first few days were rough. Both of them were out of their element and were just trying to do their best. Nicky had a tendency to wake them up in the middle of the night and they would take turns rocking him back to sleep. Rio was a bit hesitant in the beginning, afraid she’ll do something wrong, but she managed to beat that fear.

Days turned into weeks and they managed to find a resemblance of a schedule. Agatha would mostly take care of him before noon, when they were home alone. Whenever Rio decided to call it a day and come back, they’d switch so Agatha would also have a moment of peace. 

Sometimes Rio would just pop in randomly throughout the day, as if she didn’t want to stay away for too long. The evenings when Nicholas fell asleep were mostly reserved to them alone. 

Weeks turned into months and he slowly started to sleep less and be more aware of what was going on around him. He liked whenever they’d play with magic, he must have been drawn to the colors it produced. He was also a fan of shiny gems, when Rio noticed that she started to bring him some. 

When he was 11 months old, he took his first steps. Agatha was just in the kitchen preparing a meal for him, Rio was playing with him in the living room when she started calling her name. 

“Agatha come here, quickly!” She rushed over, scared that something was wrong. Instead, she saw their little boy taking hesitant tiny steps while holding onto Rio for support. 

“Oh wow, look at you little man!” She laughed in delight and looked at Rio. “Can you believe this?” She shook her head. “Absolutely not, I still think he’s a small baby we just brought home.” He collapsed back into a sitting position. Agatha went over to pick him up. 

“Before we know it, we’ll have you talking to us.” She brought him up to give him a kiss on his forehead. “Isn’t that righ, mommy?” Rio stood up from the floor and came over, giving both of them a kiss. 

“That’s right, we’ll blink and he’ll be commanding us just like his mama.” And gave Nicky a look, as if they were in on a secret together. Maybe they were, because Nicky giggled at Rio’s face. 

“See? Even he can’t take you seriously. He’s wise since such a young age.”

”Or maybe it just shows he has an amazing sense of humor, hm?” Agatha makes a show of snorting at that. She wonders how long this will last. 

-

His first words happened on a quiet Sunday morning when he was 13 months old. 

Rio was feeding him his breakfast, when Agatha walked into the room.

”Mama!” 

Without thinking Rio nodded and verified his statement. “That’s right, that’s your mama.” 

The realization hit them both at the same time. They looked at each other, neither of them really knowing what to say. 

Nicky just laughed and clapped screaming “Mama! Mama!” again. 

He called me his mama for the first time. She came over to them, and laughed out loud. “You are so smart, aren’t you? I’m your mama, that’s right.” And gave him a kiss on his head while standing over him. She could see Rio smiling at her, spoon with food still in her hand. 

Finally speaking up Rio says “I suppose our days of quiet are officially over now.”

”I guess they are.”

And they wouldn’t have it any other way

🖤

They lived inside their own happy bubble until Nicky was 2 years old. Some relatives from a coven she killed managed to track her down. The problem was, they surprised her while she was playing outside with Nicky, 

“I don’t believe my eyes” said one of them, she couldn’t recognize who they were. “Agatha Harkness really is playing house. When I heard about the rumors of you lying low, I thought they were spread by you to do even more harm, but they were actually true.” 

Nicky tucked her leg, clearly nervous “Mama, who are these people?” She has to get this over with, but she needs to get him away from here, she doesn’t want him to see whatever is about to happen, he’s too young and precious for that. 

“Don’t worry, these are just some old friends of your mama. Why don’t you go home and wait for me to come back while I catch up with them, hm?” They were just a few meters behind their house, he can make it back with no problem. 

Thankfully, he nodded and did as she told him. He looked back, as if reconsidering his options, but ultimately ran home. 

“ Mama? You cannot be serious!” Ugh, she really isn’t in the mood for this. 

“Listen, if it were any other way, I’d just let you walk away, but you’ve seen my son. Just know that you brought this on yourselves.” 

“Hah, you’re arrogant just as they say. As I see it, there’s five of us and just one of you. This isn’t even a fair fight.” Jesus, do they still not know any better? Shouldn’t they know they’re screwed either way?

”You’re right, it isn’t fair, you guys stand no chance, but it was your choice.” 

“Enough of this!” It’s just as easy as she remembers. Oh Rio will be happy about this, it’s been a while since I brought her bodies.

They blast her with their magic, they are chanting some spell, but it doesn’t matter. She just starts siphoning their power and they’ll be dead in a second. 

“No leave my mama alone!” No, what is he doing here?

She sees a faint light come from his fingertips. Oh no, this is bad. He can’t control it and it starts just randomly bursting magic. It’s purple, like my powers, but it seems darker. Could this be Rio’s influence? 

The bodies of the witches that attacked her drop to the ground. “It’s okay Nicky, your mama is okay!” Shit, she can’t get closer and risk him hitting her-

Oh, she might hurt him. Fuck, fuck, fuck. 

He isn’t listening to her anymore, distressed about the sudden powers waking up. She remembers Rio once told her that she always keeps an eye on her. Here’s to hoping she meant it seriously and not as a joke. 

“Rio! Help, please, help me!” And she must have meant it becuase suddenly Rio appeared next to her, looking around, scanning for danger. 

“It’s Nicky- His powers just kicked in and I’m scared that I-“ she couldn’t even say it. “I’m scared that I will-“ understanding doomed on Rio’s face. She started to maker her way towards him. 

“Nicky, it’s me, mommy! It’s alright, everyone is fine. Can you hear me?” It didnt seem to get through him, she continued to draw closer to him. She got him within her reach and hugged him, all the while he kept sending small blasts around him. 

“It’s alright, I’ve got you now, you don’t have to be scared anymore. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, okay?” she kept mumbling to him and it worked. Slowly he calmed down and a silence settled over them. 

Rio looked at Agatha, wanting to check if she’s unhurt. Agatha just nodded back at her. “Thank you, I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t shown up.” 

“Mama, are you okay? I though they were hurting you!” he rushed over and gave her a hug, which she immediately returned. “Don’t worry, I am okay. Are you? That must have been scary for you, I’m so sorry” and placed a kiss on his head. 

“I am okay, just…what was that? I couldn’t control what was happening. It-It kept going.” She understood that feeling very well.

”Shhh, it’s alright. That were your powers kicking in, don’t worry, me and your mommy will help you with them. Let’s go home for now and talk about it a bit later, hm?” He hugged her tighter. 

“Okay, I’m just glad you’re okay.” 

“Me too, Nicky, me too.” 

Later that day, Rio went to put Nicholas to sleep, while Agatha waited on a couch for her. 

“He’s asleep.” Which Agatha acknowledged with a hum. Rio made over way over and took a seat next to Agatha. She knew she’ll open up when she’s ready, so she was offered her her hand and rubbed circles with her thumb. 

Not even a minute later Agatha broke. She started sobbing and Rio didn’t hesitate to pull her into a hug, Agatha hold onto her for her life. 

“It’s okay, just let it all out.” She was now moving her hand on her back in a smoothing motion. 

“I- I almost-“ she couldn’t speak through her sobs, so she just let it all out. When her sobs subsided she tried again. “Rio, I could’ve killed him today I don’t-“ 

“I know,” she could feel her nodding, not letting go of her. “We weren’t prepared, but now we know, okay? We’ll find a way to make sure this never happens again, we’ll figure it out, we always do.” She says it like a mantra, as if saying it would make it happen. 

Agatha just mumbled back a weak “Okay.” There wasn’t much else to say. 

They have to find a solution to this. This must never happen again. If she ever hurt him like that, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself. She promised herself she would be a good mother. She doesn’t plan on breaking that. She can’t. 

🖤

1745

The plan they came up with was simple but it was working. Rio would help Nicholas control his power, so they wouldn’t go haywire again. They still weren’t sure if he inherited Agatha’s powers, but having Rio teach him was safe either way. 

They explained to him why he has to be careful with his powers and told him to never fire his magic in direction of his mama. They couldn’t really give him the real explanation, so they watered it down to that Agatha can’t control her powers and would automatically hurt him without meaning to. 

It’s true, but “hurt him” was a severe understatement. Agatha even started to seek out witches again, trying to learn how to control her powers but failed miserably. This takes me back .

It wasn’t optimal, but it was working. 

Nicky is 5 years old now. He learned to control his powers and lost control only once more. 

All three of them went to a nearby lake for a swim. 

“Ha! Look mama, mommy, have you seen the huge splash I made?” He loved going to the water, he could spend hours here. 

He’s so carefree. “Yes, we’ve seen it.” 

“It almost reached us over here!” 

“Will you come to the water with me? I want to go bit further and you never let me go alone.” At that Agatha looks expectedly at Rio who whispers low enough so only Agatga can hear her. “If you don’t join us in about 5 minutes I’m teaching him he can aim those splashes at you .” 

“You wouldn’t dare!” to which Rio just raises one eyebrow practically saying try me .

“I’m coming.” she finally says loud enough for Nicky to hear. 

For a moment, Agatha just watches them play together. Nicky is pointing to the direction he wants to go and Rio is intently listening to him and following his wishes. 

She hears something snap behind her. She focuses and realizes someone is there. There are at least 5 people hidden. Fuck . She looks back at them both, unaware of the inner storm Agatha is having. 

She could probably just got towards the intruders, but if they are smart enough they’d overpower her. Besides, they haven’t attacked yet, maybe they just want to observe today. Observing today implies action who knows when, which is even worse than right now. 

Before she has the chance to make up her mind, they reveal themselves, they saw she noticed them and probably decided it’s better to take action first. That’s okay, she can handle this. She just needs Nicholas to stay where he is, but he’s with Rio so unless there is another group hiding nearby, they should be okay. 

One of them throws a knife at her. She dodges and shouts back “What? No introduction about why you want me dead?” In lieu of an answer she gets another dagger thrown at her. Well that’s not good .

She glaces back towards the water and Rio meets her gaze. Okay, she knows now. She will keep Nicky safe, it’ll be okay. 

The group starts zeroing in on her. She just creates a big protection dome around herself. They have magic, she can feel it, why aren’t they using it? She can’t afford to think about it and sends a wave powerful enough to knock them all over. 

Wait. She estimated there were 5 people before, but something doesn’t feel right. She thought there’s five of them because it seemed that way, but they were covered in shadow. She’s sure now that the energy she feels from them is lower than it was before. Which must mean- 

She whips her head around to look into the water. Rio is fighting 3 hooded figures and Nicky is hiding behind a nearby stone. Fuck me.

She tries to move to help them, but suddenly some sort of magical rope binds her feet. Right, she forgot about the people she just knocked out. 

She tries to blast them away, but can’t properly aim at them. Suddenly chanting starts. Finally . In a moment, she’s hit with magic and she screams in agony, but it’s okay, it’s going to be over soon. She doesn’t see how Rio is holding up, but she knows she’ll be fine. When her powers kick in she looks towards the water again. 

She doesn’t see Nicky, he’s probably hiding somewhere. She sees only Rio and- something is wrong. She looks distressed like she wants to shout something. Maybe she is shouting but Agatha can’t hear her. 

Another source of magic hits her, maybe one of people who were fighting Rio before tried her luck here. The ones who attacked her dropped and she can finally hear her surroundings. 

“No, please stop! Agatha!” What is Rio talking about? They’re all safe, why would she stop? Besides, Rio knows she can’t stop. 

She realizes the magic feels different, less stable. She turns around to look at her attacker. 

Nicky. 

No, no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening, how is this happening? He was there- behind the rock he was fine- No, she didn’t seem him when she looked last time, she just assumed he stayed there and managed to hide better. 

She looks at Rio begging her to help somehow. They both know she can’t. Rio looks as defeated as Agatha feels. This can’t be. No, he can’t die, not like this. She tries to stop, she puts all will she has into stopping but she can’t. She never could. She feels tears rolling down her face, suddenly it stops and she hears his body drop. 

She immediately rushes over, Rio just few steps behind. 

“Nicky? Nicky! Please, don’t do this to me, please.” She’s holding his body, he’s still breathing but she can see it, she knows what her powers do. 

“Mama?” he asks weakly. Agatha forces down her sobs. “Yes, it’s me baby, don’t worry, everything is going to be okay.” She holds him tightly, there has to be a way. 

“Mama, mommy, I’m so tired.” 

“It’s okay, you’re just going to take a nap and it’s going to be alright, don’t worry.” She’s stroking his hair while she says it between her own sobs.

“Agatha…” Rio starts gently.

“Don’t, please, don’t take him.” She knows this is pointless, but how could she not? “Don’t take my son away from me, please.” 

Rio takes a step towards them. “Please, don’t do this.” She repeats, she knows it’s pointless. 

“Please, don’t make this harder than it already is.” She finally hears how broken Rio sounds as well. Of course, he isn’t just Agatha’s son, he’s her son too.

“Is that mommy? Is she going to read me a bedtime story today?” he’s curling up further into Agatha. 

Agatha tries one last weak “Please.”

Rio shakes her head and says to her “I am so, so sorry.” and then more loudly says to Nicky “Yeah, I’m going to tell you story while we go to my work, how does that sound?” 

“Really? But you always say I can’t go there. But I’m too sleepy, I don’t want to be too tired to enjoy it.”

“Don’t worry,” Agatha hears Rio’s voice break. “we’ll spend there enough time, you can take a nap and we’ll have all the fun when you’re ready.” 

“Okay.” Rio starts to walk away when he stops her “Wait, I haven’t said goodnight to mama yet. Goodnight, mama, I love you!” 

“Love you too, Nicky, please never forget that.” And leaves a last kiss on his forehead. 

And then she watches Rio leave. 

She breaks into sobs again. How could she let this happen? How could she do this? Her baby boy. She just wanted to be a better mother than her own mother was and this is how she did? Succeeding in the one thing her own mother so desperately wanted to do but failed - killing her own child.

The past years really were too good to be true. 

-

The next week, she spends mostly on an autopilot. She can’t talk about it. She can’t think about it. Unfortunately, she can’t stop her brain from dreaming about it. 

Whenever she wakes up in the night, Rio is there to hold her. She tells her sweet nothings until she falls back asleep, exhausted from the crying. 

She knows Rio must be crushed by this too, but she’s too hurt to care. She knows she’s being a shitty partner, but she tells herself she’ll make up for it later. 

Another week goes by and it doesn’t get much better. She can’t get over the guilt, over the what ifs, over how they could’ve done things differently. She knows it doesn’t matter, but she can’t stop. It’s a vicious cycle. 

During week 3, she finally talks with Rio about what happened, asking her to fill in the gaps she didn’t understand.

“You were right, I was fighting there alone and told him to hide. He was there, until suddenly he wasn’t. I looked around and saw him being close to you. I think that’s when you looked at me, I tried to shout at him to go away, but it was too late.” She takes a deep breath, steading herself. 

“I couldn’t hear him clearly, but I’m pretty sure he was saying leave mama… he probably wanted to try and protect you, but his aim wasn’t good and hit you instead of whoever he was aiming at.” 

Agatha guessed something like that happened, but hearing it makes it much worse. She’s crying again, great. She almost feels like it’s the only thing she did in the days since, 

“I’m so fucking sorry Rio, I-“ she can’t say it again. 

“I know, I know you are. I’m sorry too.” She understands the apology, but she also knows it's an unnecessary one. Rio wouldn’t be forced to take their child if Agatha hadn’t killed him. It’s Agatha’s fault. There’s no one else to blame but her. 

-

She can’t get the images of the incident out of her head. She either sees Nicky, as she’s siphoning his powers away or she sees Rio slowly disappearing with him. Her grief turns to anger, she starts to snap at Rio, angry at her even though she knows she’s just trying to help. 

She knows she crossed a line during one of her anger trips when she blames Rio for taking him away. She just looks at her with clear betrayal in her face and leaves. She thought she has done it and managed to drive even Rio away, but she’s back the next day.

Agatha wants to apologize, but she can’t. She knows Rio loved him as much as she did, but putting the blame onto someone else felt good. Unconsciously, her resentment towards Rio started to cumulate. She knew she shouldn’t do this, but it was much easier than facing the reality. 

She starts thinking about stealing the darkhold from Rio. She doesn’t know much about it, they talked about it vaguely, but she knows Rio is supposed to be a guardian of that book. And if there is any book she could find a spell in to get her son back, it would be that one. She thinks she could get Rio to lent it to her for a day, she just wouldn't know Agatha will then run away with it. 

Maybe Rio would be okay with going with her, trying to find a way to bring him back, but Agatha can’t do it. Anytime she looks at Rio she sees what they almost had and she sees her taking him away. Besides, who else is there to blame for it? 

-

“Cmon, I know you can lend it to me for just a day. You’ll give it to me when you come back and you can then take it back with you the next day.” Please just say yes.

”Agatha, that book doesn’t hold the answers you think it does. Don’t you think I would have just told you otherwise?” And she sounds so tired. 

“I don’t know, would you?” she aims to hurt her, they both know it. “You took my son away from me so who knows if you’d even share a way to bring him back.” Every words feels like a very carefully aimed dagger.

She sees Rio working her jaw, clearly annoyed and done with this. “Fine, I’ll bring it when I come back today and tomorrow I’ll take it back. Happy?”

“Mhm.” She decides to add “Thank you.” which surprises Rio, who just mumbles a small “You’re welcome.” and leaves.

Okay, time to get everything she needs ready for her leave tonight.

-

When Rio comes back and hands the book over, she gives Agatha a warning which she completely tunes out. She can feel the power of the book, just holding it. It’s almost as if it was calling her name, begging her to read it and discover all the secrets it holds.

When she opens it, she realizes she severely underestimated how much knowledge the book holds. This will give her something to do in the upcoming decades. 

“I’ll go make us dinner, okay?” she just nods, she knows this is their last dinner together and she can’t let herself think about it. She has a good reason, one day, Rio might understand why she can’t stay here. Why she can’t stay with her. 

The evening passes mostly in silence, only occasionally filled with some small talk about what they heard about happening recently.

When they go to bed, Rio expects her to join her. Even through her worst days, when she was screaming at her about how much she hates her, Agatha always claimed into bed next to her. She couldn’t deny herself the comfort her wife’s arms held. 

Tonight, she won’t do it any other way. She climbs into bed and lets herself be held. However this time, it just makes her feel melancholic. This is the last time they’ll ever lay like this. And it’s her free choice, she’s going to walk away from this. 

In the middle of the night, when she believes Rio is asleep she gets up. She can’t give her a proper goodbye, she might back out. And this way it’ll feel less like a goodbye, it’s more like a “we’ll get back to this in few decades” type of thing. 

She started to reach for the front door when someone stops her in her tracks. “Really, Agatha? You’re just going to run away like this?” and this is the angriest she ever heard her. 

“I have to. I can’t stay like this.” Finally, not a lie. 

“We can work on this together, grieving takes time, right?” She sounds the desperation in her voice. “But this? You leaving doesn't solve anything.” She’s wrong, she must be. Any other option is even worse, so this must be it. 

“Like you know anything about that. Your whole reason for existence is taking dead souls away, what do you know about grief?” She practically spits it out. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. I just can’t leave with someone that is a walking reminder of my son dying.” 

“Fine then, at least leave the darkhold behind. You looked into it, you saw the madness it contains. It won’t solve this for you, Agatha.” 

“I don’t care. There must be an answer somewhere. And what if it is full of madness, one can make sense of it. That’s enough for me.” 

“At least look at me. Look me in the eyes and tell me you hate me and that’s why you’re leaving.” She can’t do that, maybe on a different night, she would be able to do it, but today she feels especially tired. 

“What happened to ‘ I want you to be there when life gets too much. I want to be there when your job gets too heavy’. What happened to that, Agatha?.” 

She can’t believe Rio still remembers those words she said to her. They were said during a simpler time, she was wrong. 

She takes another step towards the door, still not looking back at Rio she says. “I do hate you, I hate that you took my son away. I hate that you turned me into this. Maybe our paths will cross again someday.” I love you, I’m sorry. 

And she’s gone. She found a spell that can hide her location and makes her untraceable , hopefully the spell will also work on R- Death . 

She’s alone again. Maybe, it was fate, maybe she was always supposed to be alone and her relationship with Death was just a huge mistake, after all, it was quite absurd, wasn’t it? Mortal and personification of Death, they were foolish to believe they could make it work. 

And Agatha was foolish enough that she got used to it and believed in it, believed in them. She believed their little fantasy for far too long.