It was another sleepless night for the former witch. Mirta didn't think she would ever be able to get used to Alfea. It was a much better place for her than Cloud Tower, but it was still incredibly strange. She kept her defenses up constantly, which didn't make her especially popular amongst the fairies, but it was better than being bullied by the older witches. Her roommate was sound asleep. Luc-no, not Lucy. Laura. That was her name. She was nice, and they were generally friendly with each other, but not especially close yet. Perhaps she would never get that close with someone again.

Mirta stood up, feeling sweaty and restless, and paced around the room, finally stopping to look out the window. If she looked hard enough, she could pretend she saw Cloud Tower, faintly illuminated by the half moon. She wasn't entirely sure which window on the tower belonged to her, but she could imagine Lucy standing by the window to look at the moon peeking through the ever-present clouds.

Suddenly, a tiny glow outside her window caught Mirta's eye. It was soon joined by other glows, which Mirta recognized as fireflies, and they flew into a formation, spelling out words.

"I miss you Mirta please come see me

Im sorry i was so mean

please forgive me

but you don't have to"

Mirta knew only one person who could control insects. And she missed her too. When the bugs left, Mirta took out her phone and began writing a text.

"I miss you too. When can I see you?"

She wouldn't be able to sleep now. She paced around the room, phone in hand, mulling over all the things that could go wrong. It could be some kind of prank, or a mean joke, or a spying attempt by the Trix, but maybe dealing with those would be worth it just to see Lucy's face, hear her voice again at something other than a school function. If it was something malevolent, then maybe the ensuing heartbreak would make her able to stop thinking about Lucy. Maybe she could just forget her.

This train of thought was interrupted by the chiming of her phone.

"Tomorrow, 3, at the Black Dahlia Cafe. Can you make it?"

Mirta tried to hold back a bit, tried to make it seem like she wasn't by her phone desperately waiting for a response the whole time, but it didn't work. She immediately typed:

"Yeah. See you there"

The rest of the night and day couldn't go by fast enough. Frequently Mirta found herself checking the clock, or looking to see if she got any new texts. Finally, finally classes ended and Mirta walked briskly to the cafe. She was a little bit early, but perhaps she could find a table–

"Mirta!"

Lucy was there already. Mirta approached cautiously, wary of traps. Lucy looked at her, not making a move, but as soon as Mirta sat down, she wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Oh Gods, Mirta, I missed you so much. I'm sure you hate me by now. I don't have any excuse for the things I did and you don't have to forgive me but I just really wanted to see you again."

Mirta apprehensively returned the hug and they held it until Lucy spotted the waitress. They ordered coffee, and looked at each other awkwardly.

"So…are things OK at Alfea? Are the fairies OK to you? They call you the right thing, right?"

"Most of them do now, but I've gotten used to them messing up every now and then. Even the headmistress does it sometimes, I think because Griffin was OK with it but it's really uncomfortable hearing her call me a witch in front of people, y'know?"

"Yeah…I heard she used to be a sorceress herself, but then she became a fairy. She changed…kind of like you're doing now. She became part of them"

"Lucy…"

"It's true! You're using different magic! Do you have Winx?"

"Um…"

"You do, don't you?"

"Well, the magic isn't that different" said Mirta, desperately trying to change the topic.

"Mirta…I don't care if you're a witch or a fairy or whatever. Just…please, don't become something you're not."

"But Lucy, it's who I am! Someone who can use both!"

"So you do have Winx?"

Mirta blushed "Yes, I do."

"Can I see it?"

Mirta's eyes widened in shock. "Why?"

"Because, well..you're beautiful and I bet you look great in it and I'm just really curious."

"Fine" she said. Muttering an incantation, she summoned a memory of the first time she transformed and projected it for Lucy to see. The taller witch was transfixed by the illusion, and she was making small sounds of amazement. Finally the images dissipated and Lucy was left staring at Mirta.

"I was right. You're beautiful."

Mirta tried to hide her blush behind her coffee cup, but failed horribly.

"Lucy…when will I be able to see you again? I don't want to have to go. I forgive you, I really do. I understand where you were coming from, y'know? I'm generally polite because I'm lucky enough to blend in with them. I understand why you don't like being around pure fairies, and I don't want you to hate me because I'm using fairy magic now."

"I don't hate you. I never hated you. I don't like fairies as a whole, and I don't trust them because of what they did to me, but I like you, OK? I love you. And it doesn't matter what kind of magic you use, as long as you don't forget where you came from. Don't forget me, OK?"

"Well, forgetting you would mean leaving you, and I don't plan on doing that."

Lucy leaned forward and kissed the other girl, and while hesitant, Mirta returned it. The two broke it off, and looked around to make sure no one saw, and then continued on to lighter conversational fare, holding hands under the table. Curfew drew near, and the two had to go.

"Mirta, can we do this again?"

"Of course, Lucy. I..I love you too."

And then the two parted ways, returning to their respective schools.