The sun shone brightly over their heads as Amity and Luz made their way to the Owl House. It was their first day of the summer holidays, and the weather could not have been better. Birds chirped – some screamed obscenities – merrily in their wake, the only other sound other than their muffled footsteps. Amity’s hand was in Luz’s, squeezing tightly, partly because she wanted to hold her hand, but also because she was extremely nervous for the day.

It had been over a year since they defeated Belos. It had not been easy, and remnants of his regime still lingered and reared their ugly heads every now and then, but the Boiling Isles were finally starting to thrive under Empress Lilith’s rule. One of her first actions as Empress had been to offer Luz, one of the leaders of the rebellion, full access to any and all information that might help them create another portal to the Human Realm.

For weeks, the Owl House crew (The Owl Gang?) had scoured through every available book until the door was rebuilt once more. It was nowhere near as elegant as Eda’s old one had been but it got the job done. The first time they used it, after testing it wouldn’t immediately close in on itself, Amity had seen Luz and Eda disappear behind it, and spent most of the day afraid that Ms. Noceda might actually make Luz stay. Needless to say, the prospect of never seeing her girlfriend again was enough to churn her stomach something fierce. Willow had tried to cheer her up in her own way, but Amity found that the only thing that would calm her would be to see them back. Eda must have been one convincing witch because that same night Luz was allowed to return on the condition that she would visit her mother regularly and that she stayed relatively out of trouble, a promise she had somehow managed to uphold to an extent.

So she did. Going to Hexside during the week, Luz spent at least one day of the weekend over in the Human Realm. Sometimes Eda would come along, and Amity had the sneaking suspicion that the Owl Lady harbored a secret crush on Señora Noceda. She knew enough about having a crush on a member of the Noceda family to see the signs. Not that she’d ever tell Luz that, lest her girlfriend have a panic attack. So much had changed in the human’s life in a little over a year, and she probably needed some time for a change that drastic.

But for all the time that had passed, Amity had never crossed the threshold into the Human Realm. She had seen Luz off a few times and knew that Luz talked about her to her mother, but still, she had been too scared. Too scared to face a woman who, by every conceivable notion, was nothing if not caring and supportive of her entire family. Too scared to take that leap of faith. That ended today.

On this bright morning, Amity was finally accompanying Luz into the Human realm, where she would meet Camila Noceda. Seeing Amity’s apprehension, Luz had suggested they take a little detour into a local park to have a date beforehand, to calm her nerves. That definitely appealed to the lavender-haired witch, so she mustered every ounce of courage she could and accepted the invitation.

As they entered the Owl House – they greeted Hooty with tired smiles – Luz must have felt her grip tighten because she turned to Amity.

“Don’t worry, alright?” she said softly, drawing small circles with her thumb on the back of Amity’s hand. “We’ll have a nice date and then head over to my house. Mom is gonna love you.”

She nodded curtly. “I’ll have to see it to believe it,” she said evenly, still managing a small smile.

Luz chuckled but lowered her head sympathetically nonetheless. She knew how hard the topic of parents was to her. “I know, hermosa,” she said, making Amity blush. She loved Luz’s nicknames for her, and her own Spanish was getting better. At least, according to Luz. When she spoke the language, she felt rather like a babbling idiot, but she had been adamant to learn at least some of it to be prepared for this exact situation. Luz had cried ugly tears when Amity suggested she teach her; ‘the best gift she could possibly give her mother,’ she had called it. “Plus, Vee will be there and you love Vee, right?”

Vee had visited the Owl House a few times, and Amity had become rather fond of the basilisk as they bonded over their lives leading up to meeting their respective humans. Still, she could barely be considered an impressive buffer to Amity’s mental image of Señora Noceda.

“I love you more,” Amity said, the butterflies in her stomach barely calming down as she saw her girlfriend blush.

Luz leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on Amity’s lips, which ended much too soon, and grabbed the magic key from where it hung near the fireplace. The key, much like the new door, was not as ornate as the old one. It was silver, with three jagged teeth and a single small rock on the handle. It did the trick, however, as a large rectangle materialized out of thin air in front of them and the door swung open.

On the other side, Amity saw bright sunlight seeping through the copses of trees nearby, casting elongated shadows on the grass below. A soft breeze rustled some fallen leaves, and a small creature – a squirrel, Luz had called it – bounded up to them and stared at Amity.

“Ready?” she heard Luz say from beside her.

“Ready.”

Together, they stepped through the portal and into the Human Realm. Luz clicked the key once more and the door disappeared. Amity looked ahead of them, down a path that she knew led to the Noceda residence, and shuddered. She could have claimed it was from cold because the breeze had picked up a little, but she was with Luz. Her human would never shame her for being weak. Hell, she would say that being nervous was not weakness, and merely normal. Amity disagreed, but there was just no saying no to Luz…

The human in question squeezed her hand and gestured to another path to their right with her head. Wordlessly, she urged Amity to follow her, and Amity did. In her right hand, the one not being crushed by Amity’s, Luz held a basket that Amity had been adamantly prohibited from looking into. They began walking slowly down a much narrower trail that veered north. On either side, a few shrubs gave way to tall grass, the landscape a little more unkempt while they ventured further into the woods. They walked silently, neither knowing what to say until they reached their destination.

Luz had led them to a secluded clearing, about five minutes away from Luz’s home. A few oak trees lined the open space without making it feel closed off, and Amity could just make out the edges of civilization through the trunks of the farthest ones. Distantly, she could hear the faint revving of a car engine, which Luz had had to explain to Amity one night as they talked about the many differences between their worlds. Luz dug into the basket and retrieved the first item from it: a blanket.

She set it down on the grass, the fabric big enough that they had enough place to sit comfortably with their legs spread out. Amity kneeled in silence as her girlfriend rummaged through the basket and took out more items. There were various pastries wrapped in napkins, two glasses, and a bottle of apple blood, non-alcoholic. Once their picnic was finally set up, Luz sighed and looked back at Amity with a triumphant smile.

“We haven’t had a proper date in a while,” she explained, shrugging. “What with exams and me going back here all the time…” she trailed off, looking down at her lap.

Amity reached out and took one of Luz’s hands in hers. “It’s perfect,” she said softly. “I missed hanging out just the two of us.”

Luz took the bottle and poured the apple blood into the glasses. She offered one to Amity, who took it gratefully, and raised her own.

“To hanging out,” she said sheepishly.

“I thought you couldn’t drink this stuff.”

The human shrugged. “I can drink a little bit without having a stomach bug,” she said, waving a dismissive hand in the air. “And I know how much you love this stuff in the morning.”

Amity blushed because, yes, she did love to have a glass of apple blood in the mornings, but it warmed her heart that Luz knew her so intimately to have gone to such lengths. She had truly lucked out in the girlfriend department. Her own glass raised, she said, “to hanging out.”

They drank their apple blood and began munching on some of the pastries, trying each other’s until both their faces were covered with crumbs and they had a good laugh about looking like those dorks they periodically made fun of in Luz’s favorite romantic comedies. She had introduced Amity to the human magic of movies and Amity had been hooked from the get-go. Who knew humans were capable of such ingenious methods of entertainment that involved zero magical prowess?

“So,” Luz asked after finishing the fourth jelly tart and glancing at Amity. “How are you liking the Human Realm?”

“It’s beautiful,” the witch said truthfully. Aside from the ever-present dread of meeting her girlfriend’s mother, she had been having nothing but a splendid time in this secluded part of the forest. “I’m just worried…”

“You’re worried my mom won’t approve of you?” Luz supplied after she trailed off, and Amity nodded solemnly. She found herself staring down at her lap, and only partly registered Luz’s hand on her shoulder. “I’m telling you, my mom is the coolest. And she knows I love you so, so much, she’s kinda tired of me mentioning you at dinner, probably.”

That did manage to quirk Amity’s lips upward in the barest hint of a smile, and she shook her head. “I know it’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” Luz corrected, shaking her head. Above them, a few birds sang (no obscenities this time) as the sun reached its apex and the shade they had once enjoyed had all but vanished. “After… Odalia, it’s normal to have these doubts. Just…” She sighed. “Know that I’ll be there with you, every step of the way.”

“How did I get the most awesome girlfriend in both realms?” Amity said. She would probably never get tired of referring to Luz, even mentally, as her girlfriend.

“I ask myself that every day,” Luz replied smoothly, and Amity was sure the color of her face now resembled the jelly that had previously hung from Luz’s lower lip after eating the tarts.

They transitioned their conversation to more mundane things like what they would do this summer, and what movie they should watch on their next movie night date. After jumping up and remembering something, Luz had declared that it would have to be something called ‘About Time’, which did not sound as exciting as she was making it out to be, but Amity agreed. It was incredibly astounding to Amity just how easy it all felt when she was around Luz. All her life, she had struggled to find a place in the crazy world her mother had built for her, and always came out worse for wear. She’d had to sacrifice friendships, sleep, and her own happiness to appease Odalia and never really got the fruits of her own labor.

But when she was with Luz, nothing was expected of her other than being there for her human, an expectation she was more than happy to meet. Luz never asked her for better grades or more attention than she could give at any given moment, or pick and choose her friend group meticulously. She could just be… Amity.

It was sort of freeing, in a way, to think of herself as her own person after being a Blight for so long. Maybe she could even be a Noceda in the future… No, it was way too soon to be thinking that way. But was it? They had been dating for almost two years now, and had discussed the possibility of spending their lives together, but would Luz want to marry her? Suddenly, her mind was filled with astonishingly beautiful scenes of an aisle filled with her loved ones, her white dress flowing gracefully, and Luz’s smile shining brightly from the altar.

Before her thoughts could devolve further into this never-ending spiral, which happened quite often now that she had enough time to think about her own life and future, Luz’s voice pulled her from her reverie. She was ever grateful that her blush had diminished by now.

“We should probably get going now,” she said, standing up and offering Amity her hand. She accepted it and stood up, drawing a circle in midair and summoning a small abomination to clear up after them. It packed everything neatly into the basket, and Luz, pecking Amity on the cheek as thank you, held it under her free arm.

They began their walk back in silence once more. Despite the nervousness, Amity now felt much better about the meeting, if only because Luz had reassured her so many times over the past year and a half that she was decidedly not a failure. Slowly but surely, she was getting the point. Just as they were getting to the original clearing, where the door usually opened, the sun above seemed to dim considerably. She looked up in horror as the sky, once so clear and shining, became overcast in a matter of seconds.

“It’s gonna rain,” Luz commented nonchalantly, as if that wasn’t a terrifying prospect on its own.

Opting for actions over words, Amity yanked Luz forward as they hurried down the path that led to her home.

“Wait up, Amity,” Luz was saying, though her tone was not worried in the slightest. In fact, Amity could swear she heard her chuckle as she dragged her human through the outskirts of the residential area and nearing the porch of Luz’s house. She had seen pictures of the place from Luz’s visits, and she was relieved beyond measure to have reached it before any precipitation found them. “Amy, it’s fine.”

“It’s not fine, Luz,” she exclaimed frantically, pulling her further beneath the safety of the roof as the first droplets began to fall. She heaved a sigh of relief, watching the dark clouds completely covered the sun and the downpour fell almost instantaneously.

“Amity…” Luz said, struggling to keep a giggle in as Amity ogled at her because, honestly…

Rolling her eyes good-naturedly, Luz let go of Amity’s hand, set down the basket on the porch, and stepped back into the rain before the witch could stop her.

“LUZ!” she shrieked. But Luz was not screaming. She wasn’t even writhing in pain. She just stood there, getting positively soaked from head to toe, but smiling widely.

“Rain doesn’t boil in the Human Realm, Amity,” she said, opening her arms wide and twirling in place. “C’mon, join me.”

Eyes wide and still skeptical, she reached out and tested the waters, literally. She put a hand under the rain and was shocked to realize it was rather cool. Chuckling, Luz grabbed her hand and pulled her into the rain. She felt the cold water trickling down her back, soaking her lavender hair, but she did not care. She leaned forward and took Luz’s face in her hands, pressing their lips together in a passionate kiss, only breaking it to come up for air.

“Wow… rain,” Luz said through her daze, and Amity was horrified to recognize the reference as her girlfriend smirked.

She was about to retort when another voice, muffled by the slapping of the rain on the pavement and the roof, made itself known. “You guys gonna come in or are you going to be all mushy a bit longer?”

Luz and Amity broke apart almost at once as the form of Vee Noceda (Camila had legally adopted her after Eda helped them get falsified papers) smiled at them both from the open door. Ever since she had permanently moved to the Human Realm, Vee had undergone a few physical changes, not the least of which being that she stopped impersonating Luz. She was still about the same height as them, with shoulder-length straight brown hair, which was streaked with blue highlights on either side of her face. Her skin was lighter than Luz’s now, but definitely not as pale as Amity’s, and she had beautiful brown eyes. Amity could safely say Vee had become a very pretty girl, a sentiment Luz shared.

Vee wore a yellow sundress with a blue jacket over it, with white shoes that had been heavily scribbled on, either by Luz or Vee, Amity could not tell. They stepped back under the relative safety of the roof. Luz launched herself at Vee with such force that the girl almost tumbled backward.

“Hey, Vee,” Luz said, breaking the embrace. “How’s mom been?”

Vee smiled as she hugged Amity as well. It had been a while since the basilisk had last visited the Demon Realm, but Amity had indeed missed the girl.

“She’s good, she was just finishing up lunch,” the girl said, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder at where Amity could only presume the kitchen to be. “Mamá! Luz y Amity llegaron.”

“I’ll be there in a minute,” came Camila’s response from behind the kitchen door.

Luz dropped off the basket by the door, but not before reaching in and retrieving one last item. She held out a pack of Hexas Hold’em cards to Vee, who squealed with glee.

“Oh, Luz, thank you!” she said, taking the pack and swallowing the top one whole. “I know I don’t really need magic much, but they’re really tasty, y’know?”

Amity blinked. “I’ll take your word for it,” she said.

They made their way to the table in the dining room, which Vee had already set up for four, and took their seats. Luz and Amity sat on one side, moving their chairs a few inches closer to each other and holding hands beneath the cloth, while Vee took her place in front of them. The three of them talked about their respective schools, during which Vee let slip that she might have a little crush Sophia, the cute girl she'd met the previous summer at camp. Luz encouraged her to go for it already, squeezing Amity’s hand and drawing small circles on the back of her hand. Amity seconded her girlfriend’s advice, which made Vee flush an even deeper red.

Before they could tease her about it, Camila Noceda opened the door and walked in, holding a platter of what looked like half-moon-shaped delicacies, their round edges pinched at regular intervals. They smelled delicious, whatever they were.

“Mom!” Luz exclaimed, jumping up from the table and, after setting the platter safely on the table, hugging her.

“I missed you too, mija,” Camila said, returning the embrace and kissing the top of Luz’s head. “You know we saw each other a few days ago, right?”

“I know,” Luz said as they broke apart, grinning sheepishly back at Amity, whose eyes were trained steadfastly on Camila Noceda.

The veterinarian wore a plaid jacket over a white shirt, jeans, and comfortable-looking sneakers. Her brown hair was pulled up in a half bun and her kind eyes rested on Amity.

“You must be the Amity I’ve heard so much about,” she said softly, stepping forward.

Amity gulped and stood up, offering the woman a hand to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Señora Noceda,” she said with practiced civility, almost wincing as the woman blinked and glanced at Luz, who sighed and shrugged.

“Uh, you can call me Camila, dear,” said Señora Noc– Camila. “C’mere.” Without preamble, Luz’s mother had wrapped her strong arms around Amity and hugged her. Amity went stiff as a board for a moment before relaxing and melting into the embrace.

“Sorry, I’m… a little nervous,” she said softly.

Camila held her at arms’ length and nodded. “There’s no need for that, mija,” she said with all the motherly love Amity had scarcely felt in her life. “I’m happy my Luz found such a wonderful girl that loves her very much.”

“Moom,” whined Luz, blushing. She then turned to Amity and grinned. “Told you, mom’s cool.”

Camila smiled at her daughter before clapping her hands. “¿Quién tiene hambre?” she asked.

The four of them took their seats and the Nocedas began to dig into the strange food. Amity took one of them into her plate and examined it.

“Uh, what is it?” Amity asked Luz curiously, who blinked.

“Oh, right, you’ve never had empanadas,” she said, slapping her forehead. “They’re this Latin American dish that’s just… the best. I don’t wanna spoil it for you. Try them, these have meat in them.”

Amity shrugged and took a bite, imitating her girlfriend. It was soft and mushy, and perhaps a little too hot for her liking, but the taste was delicious. She said as much to Camila, who smiled gratefully.

“I’m glad you like them, Amity. Vee here helped me with the stuffing.”

Vee beamed at her adoptive mother and they spent the rest of lunch in companionable silence, only broken every now and then by Vee’s comments about Sophia. Amity eyed Camila warily, still a little afraid the matriarch might change her mind and kick her out. No such hostility came, however, as they finished lunch and Luz set out to help Vee clean up.

Camila offered to help but was waved away by Luz, who was only too happy to help her adoptive sister. So that left Amity sitting at the couch beside Camila, who simply smiled kindly at her.

“So, you’re probably really nervous about all this,” Camila said with a knowing glint in her eye, and Amity had never wanted the ground to open up and swallow her more. Alas, those things did not happen in the Human Realm, so she merely nodded.

“Maybe a little,” she said, downplaying just how much she’d fretted over this exact day for months. She had gone through three separate diaries in the past year, mostly because of entries of her dates with Luz and her ramblings about how strange it would be when she finally crossed the literal threshold into her girlfriend’s home realm. “I know you won’t, like, kick me out or anything. But Luz telling me about how great you are probably did not help my nerves.” She chuckled a little, feeling a small weight lifting off her shoulders as she was finally able to put at least some of her feelings into words. The rest, well… they’d have to wait.

“I know meeting a partner’s parents can be intimidating,” said Camila, reaching over and patting Amity’s hand, “but just know that you are always welcome here if you want to. No pressure, of course. I know you and Luz might sleep in the same bed at the Owl House.” She pursed her lips and frowned ever so slightly, probably biting back some choice words she wanted to say about their sleeping arrangements. “You’ll have to sleep separately if you ever stay here, at least for now, but…” She trailed off, giving Amity’s hand a gentle squeeze, and Amity released a breath she did not know she had been holding.

In truth, Amity had all but moved into the Owl House at this point, as she barely spent a few nights a month at the twins’ apartment. As mortified as she was about Camila knowing that they shared a room, let alone a bed, the invitation was met with a rather unexpected warm feeling in her stomach. That simple gesture of reaching out to her and letting her make the decision, to put the ball in her court, was everything to Amity. She nodded and smiled broadly at the woman sitting beside her.

“I’d… really like that, Camila,” she said, her voice uncharacteristically small, though a touch of pink still graced her cheeks at Camila’s comment.

A bright flash of light came from just outside the window, followed by a deep rumble a few seconds later that shook the house slightly. Large droplets raced each other down the closed window pane, creating swirling patterns on the glass. It was only after another thunderclap boomed overhead and Amity’s grip tightened that she realized she was still holding Camila’s hand. She let go and sighed.

“Sorry about being weird about it all,” she said apologetically. “I just… didn’t have the best family life growing up. I mean, I had my siblings, who were a pain but were generally nice. But my parents…” she trailed off, rubbing her arm absently.

Over the past year and a half of dating, Luz had encouraged her to talk about her feelings more, and she was still getting used to saying exactly what she thought. She had never understood Luz’s ability to just express herself freely without fear or shame, but having spent a single afternoon in her home had dispelled any doubts she’d had about her girlfriend’s carefree lifestyle. She would probably never be able to wear her heart on her sleeve as Luz did but damn it, she would try.

Absently, Amity noticed that Luz and Vee had disappeared into the kitchen and had been there a while, which either meant they were catching up or were conspicuously letting her have a moment with their mother. Either way, Amity was grateful for their temporary absence.

Camila shook her head, like Amity knew she would, and smiled. “Luz told me a little about it,” she said simply, nodding. “And I know there’s no replacing the years of…” Once more, she frowned, choosing her words carefully, “neglect and abuse you suffered. But I hope, as does Luz of course, that both Eda and I can support you in any way we can. Again, no pressure, but our door is always open.”

Amity heard someone sniffle, and it took her a moment to realize it had been her. In yet another shocking moment, she let herself cry in front of Camila. Had it been her mother, Odalia would have scoffed and wiped the tears off her face forcefully, repeating their age-old mantra, ‘Blights are strong.’ Camila, however, seemed almost hesitant. She opened her arms slowly, glancing down at Amity with a question in her eyes, and Amity realized she was asking for permission to hug her. Not only was she offering comfort, but she was giving her an out should she not want it.

She felt more tears fall freely from her eyes and she nodded and leaned forward into the embrace. Camila’s hug, much like Luz’s, was warm and caring, but there was a certain quality she could not quite put her finger on that she had never felt her entire life. It was like her entire being was being sung a lullaby and she was slowly drifting into the most peaceful sleep of her life. Except she was wide awake and acutely aware of just how long she had been bottling up these emotions. She did not know how long they hugged for – it might have been hours or days, for all she knew – but she was pulled out of her reverie when Luz’s concerned voice came from somewhere to her right.

“Amity, what’s wrong?”

Amity looked up at her girlfriend and tried to form words that would reassure her but none came. She was saved once again by Camila, who simply smiled at her daughter. “It’s okay, mi amor,” she said softly, running a comforting hand over Amity’s lavender hair. “She just had to get it out.”

Amity felt Luz’s weight drop on the couch on her other side, and she was vaguely aware of Vee taking the loveseat nearest her mother. She turned to Luz and smiled weakly. Her girlfriend simply grinned and embraced Amity tightly, kissing the top of her head, which made her blush even through her tears.

“Sorry I’m such a mess,” she whispered.

“Yeah, but you’re my mess,” Luz said lightly, giggling. “And I love you for that.”

Vee made a retching noise and the tension that had permeated the room seemed to dissipate in a flash, followed almost immediately by a literal flash of lightning. The three girls laughed as Camila sat back on the couch. They laughed for a good five minutes, barely able to stop as one of them would look at the others and just break down in fits of giggles.

When they had somehow calmed down enough to remain serious for more than five seconds, Luz turned to Amity and leaned forward, taking her by surprise as she kissed her in front of her mother and sister, the latter making yet another vulgar noise. It was a very chaste and tender kiss, but Amity’s face flushed red as they broke apart and Luz’s face shone so brightly she was doing her name justice.

With a small, albeit playful grimace, Amity turned to Camila. “I promise that was the first time we’ve kissed,” she joked, making the older woman laugh; and the rest with her.

All in all, while Amity’s head still played games on her, she was finally starting to realize just how lucky she had been upon meeting Luz. She would not have traded this family for the world.