For Yuri Week 2018: Day 1: Magic - Witch AU
Names:
Isabel - Nyo!Spain
Chiara - Nyo!Romano
Alice - Nyo!England
It's not strange to find an old brass kettle brewing on the stove in Chiara's quaint little house at the edge of town. It's not strange to find the kitchen table littered with herbs and flowers and bugs and god knows what other ingredients Chiara wants to experiment with this time. It's not strange to find Apollo curled up on the windowsill, black fur glinting in the sunlight.
It is strange to not find Chiara anywhere near her bubbling mixture.
Isabel drops her patchwork satchel on the chair along with her equally patched-up hat, running a hand through her bangs as she looks around the kitchen. She walks up to the kettle and takes a whiff, catching hints of sunflowers, freshly mowed grass and something that smells distinctly of dirt. Scanning over the many tomes opened on the counter, she finds nothing that hints toward Chiara's mystery brew however.
After accidentally knocking over a stack of ancient parchment potion recipes, Isabel decides to move away from the kitchen after she's reorganized them on the counter. The living room is dark and Isabel opens the curtains, smiles at the sunflowers, then wonders where the hell her wife is.
Calling her name delivers no results and Isabel spends a moment standing in the bedroom, scratching in confusion. There are no notes, no paint splatters, no sprigs or leaves littering the floor because Chiara could be so caught up in her little plant adventures for her potions that she occasionally returns with a small forest in her hair and clothes.
It's worrisome and Isabel is about to set up a scrying ritual to find her wife when the front door slams open, bangs against the wall and Isabel can hear Chiara's cussing as she trips over the rug as always. Isabel doesn't hesitate a moment and dashes down the stairs and to the front door, pulling Chiara in a somewhat awkward hug because she is hopping around on one foot to pull off her boot.
"What the hell is your issue!" Chiara snaps, holding on desperately because Isabel is all that was keeping her precarious balance in check at the moment.
"I missed you! And you were just gone! I was worried!" Isabel reaches around Chiara to loosen her shoelaces and help take her boots off, tossing them into the corner with her own. She presses a kiss to Chiara's cheek while she's at it as well.
Chiara grumbles but turns her face so that Isabel can press her lips against hers and they make out for a good long while until something starts to smell suspicious and Chiara ducks out of Isabel's arms to save her concoction. Stepping up on the stepping stool, she stirs and sprinkles in something sweet-smelling that she retrieved from her pocket, the potion turning a light pink colour after Chiara murmurs a spell.
"So what's that supposed to be?" Isabel asks when Chiara steps back down.
Chiara purses her lips as she starts to reorganize the table for no reason but to have something to do, a steady blush rising up the back of her neck and colouring her cheeks. "Just a special order by the coven in the next town over."
"Alice's?"
"Yes." Chiara allows Isabel to lead her to the living room and falls down on the couch, grunting when Isabel settles on top of her, but pressing a kiss to her forehead nonetheless. "She wanted a potion that leads one to their fate, but that is such a finicky concept that I took some liberties with it."
"Such as?"
"It's supposed to lead one to the person their fated to be with."
"I thought you didn't believe in destiny?"
Chiara scoffs, reaching up to undo Isabel's bun so she can run her fingers through her hair. "I do not. But if Alice wants to fill her lonely heart with promises, who am I to say no."
Isabel hums, smiling as Chiara's hand moves from her hair to her cheek, gently tugging her forward so she can kiss her. Isabel obliges—how could she not?—and nips at Chiara's lips until she opens her mouth and she can slide her tongue against hers. Slowly breaking the kiss, trailing kisses down Chiara's neck before settling back down against her chest, she wonders, "But wouldn't you want to find out if we're destined together?"
Chiara flicks Isabel's forehead with a roll of her eyes. Isabel whines, but then Chiara is back to stroking her hair, so she supposes it's all right.
"I'm already in love with you, idiot. And if you're so daft as to believe that something as dumb as fate can interfere with that, then you married the wrong witch."
"I love you too!" Isabel chimes, pressing kisses to every bit of skin she can reach before digging her fingers in Chiara's side as a minor retaliation.
Bursting into laughter, Chiara squirms, trying to escape Isabel's tickling. When that doesn't help, so threatens to roll of the couch between gasps of breath and does just so when Isabel still doesn't give up. She hits the floor with an ooph, Chiara falling on top of her, and she doesn't hesitate to wrap her wife in a hug, giggling as Chiara continues to wriggle.
"I might actually try that potion now and find myself a new wife," Chiara grumbles once she has caught her breath. She slides away from Isabel, careful not to hit her head against the coffee table, but continues to sit on the rug as Isabel joins her.
She allows Isabel to make it up with more kissing however, which Isabel does as slowly and thoroughly as possible. For a moment she wonders if she could get away with undoing some of the buttons on Chiara's dress, but then Chiara breaks the kiss with a wet noise, brushing a thumb against her cheek with a small warning flashing in her eye. Isabel chuckles, but quickly presses one last chaste kiss against her lips before Chiara stands up and returns to the kitchen to finish her potion.
Isabel strolls in after her, settling at the kitchen table where Apollo joins her. He curls up on her lap, purring as Isabel absently strokes along his spine. Her attention is preoccupied by Chiara though, as she walks around the kitchen, throwing in dashes of herbs and flowers and dried beetles. She grabs her holm oak wand, muttering as she makes intricate gestures until she drops it somewhere in the mess on the counter. Observing critically with her hands on her hips, Isabel recognizes the expression on her face as the one she has whenever she knows something is missing, but can't quite figure out what ingredient is needed.
Then she snaps her fingers with a gasp and leans out the kitchen window. They have a line of rose bushes growing against that side of the kitchen and she cuts one off with a knife. On the counter she carefully arranges the crimson flower before she drops it in the kettle. It floats on the surface for a moment before it sinks in, creating a pure white foam before the brew settles in a smooth red.
"There," Chiara says after she turns off the stove, shooing Apollo off Isabel's lap and taking the perch for herself.
Isabel grins as she presses a kiss to her shoulder, tightening her arms around Chiara's waist with a content sigh. "Fate or not, you are the love of my life. I'm certain."
Chiara snorts, shifting just a little so she can pinch Isabel's cheek. "I'd better be."
"Am I yours?" Isabel tilts her head as Chiara gets up temporarily so she can turn around and sit on Isabel's lap facing her. Isabel's hands come to rest on her waist again, rubbing circles in a habit.
Chiara places her hands on Isabel's cheeks, squeezing before she leans in for a long, slow kiss. She kisses along Isabel's jaw before she whispers next to her ear, "I'll tie that red string around your pinkie myself to prove my love for you."
Originally posted on the 1st of September on AO3. Part of my catching up spree.