A/N: So… this is it. The last chapter. Before we start, I want to thank you guys so much for taking the time to read this. It's been a great journey.

If anyone wants to add to the TVTropes page, I'll add a link for my Ao3 peeps, though the FF squad will have to suffer, since that site doesn't allow links. You'll just have to google it if you're reading there.

I don't currently have any plans to continue with this particular canon after this chapter, but if you guys want you can suggest ideas for things you wanted to see, but this fic didn't tackle, and I might consider a oneshot collection in the same universe. I'll see you at the bottom, please enjoy the closing Chapter of "On Earth and Boiling Isles."

With a final bidding of farewell to the occupants of the Owl House, the four teens stepped through the portal and found themselves in a familiar shack out in the middle of the woods on the outskirts of Gravesfield, Connecticut.

Luz looked around the place in awe, the key she'd used to open the door held tightly in her hand, before she put it around her neck and tucked it under her shirt. "Eda says that it opens up here because it's where the previous door was opened last in the Human Realm. So, if we open it somewhere else, that will be the new point."

Lucia nodded, "Let's leave it here for now. We'll have to talk to Mom about having a magic portal to the Demon realm inside our house later. When she's less likely to freak out about it."

"That makes sense." Vee agreed.

They hadn't been in the Human Realm for longer than a few moments before Lucia's and Amelia's phones went off, making them wince. Amelia in particular lingered behind as they made their way through the trees, reading through the messages her family had sent her since she'd been gone. "Girls? I'm going to have to let you face your mother alone, I need to go see my own parents as soon as we get to your house."

They really couldn't fault her for that, but Lucia did feel a little down. "I hope it goes well. I had wanted to be with you when you explained everything to them, but I need to be here for Luz and Vee."

"Don't worry about me. Focus on your own mom not killing you first." Amelia tried to joke, stuffing her phone back in her pocket as they continued their trek.

They made it through the woods in record time, not having to stumble around in the dark to get through it, until they found the stretch of road at the edge of the forest across the street from the Noceda Household. As soon as they were across the street and safely on the sidewalk, Amelia bolted away, waving over her shoulder and wishing them luck.

The three Nocedas turned to face their house, all happy to be home but dreading it all the same. Their mother's car was in the driveway, indicating she wasn't at work, so there wasn't any escaping this any longer.

Luz took the first step, then another, until she was racing across the lawn and up to her front door, calling for her Mamì, her voice cracking with unshed tears. Lucia trailed behind her, offering Vee a hand in support, the human and Changeling heading up the path to the front patio and into their home.

Luz tore through the door, and her mother who had been on the couch, hearing her cries, stood up as she came in, and the two rushed together. "¡Mamá, te extrañé tanto! ¡Siento mucho haber estado fuera tanto tiempo!" Luz sobbed against her mother's chest as they embraced.

Camila didn't hold back her own tears, openly weeping as she squeezed her daughter tightly. "estás en casa, estás en casa ¿Dónde has estado?"

Remembering the last time she'd seen her daughter's face, Camila pulled back and grabbed Luz by her cheeks, pinching and squeezing them. "Are you really Luz? Or is this another trick?"

"That's the real Luz," her daughter's voice answered, but it didn't come from Luz's mouth. Instead, Vee stood in the doorway by Lucia, "My Spanish was always really lousy."

Camila looked between the daughter in her arms and the doppelgänger at her door, then to her eldest beside her. "Lucia, mi hija, where have you been?! ¡Fuiste con tu novia a una fiesta y nunca volviste a casa!"

Lucia rubbed the back of her head, "It's a long story. Vee and I kinda went on an adventure to go get Luz back, and it took a bit longer than we expected. Didn't have any time to say anything before we left."

"Vee?" Camila question.

Vee raised her hand, "That's me. The Changeling."

Camila looked overwhelmed, looking between the three. "I'm so very confused by… everything. My daughter turned out to be missing, replaced by some kind of demonic, shapeshifting monster, my eldest vanishes, her girlfriend's parents called me when their daughter also didn't show up-"

"Sorry," Lucia interrupted sheepishly, "She was with us."

"We thought you eloped!" Camila cried, looking ready to tear her hair out. "Or you were dead, or maybe even you were also replaced by a demon and I hadn't even noticed."

"Wait, you thought we eloped?" Lucia asked, looking mortified, "Why in the world would you think I'd run off to get married, when the last time we talked about Amelia I wasn't sure if I 'love' loved her or not?"

"Because teenagers do stupid things, Mija!" Camila shouted, "You've always overcorrected, and I thought maybe that's what happened as a best case scenario."

Luz was trying not to have a laughing fit, knowing this was the absolute worst time to have one. Vee on the other hand was looking like she regretted walking in the door, and was wondering if it was too late to back out and return to the Demon Realm.

Lucia found herself pulled into a tight hug, her mother breaking down into tears once more. "I had to think that, or else I had to worry you were dead somewhere, or a monster got you. No calls, no texts, your girlfriend also missing? I just had to hold on to hope you were okay."

Lucia held her mother, rubbing her back, "Hey, hey. I'm alright. I'm in one piece, and I'm back home. Amelia too, she's going to see her parents now. We're both alive, and we even got Luz back."

Camila sniffled, and nodded. Lucia pulled away, then wrapped an arm around Vee's shoulder, making the Changeling stumble as she was brought closer. "I know you've technically met, but this is Vee. She's been here since Luz was supposed to come back from camp."

Vee waved meekly, unsure what else to do with her hands. "Hi mom. Er, I mean, Camila."

Camila bit her lip, unsure how to process this information. "You're all going to have to explain everything to me. Now. Before I get even more confused."

The two nodded, Lucia pointing over to Luz, "Luz can start, I'm sure she'll fill in some gaps."

Luz pointed to herself, "Wait, me? You're gonna throw me under the bus right after I get home after almost six months?"

Lucia and Vee nodded at the same time, "Well, when you think about it, this is all your fault." Vee supplied helpfully.

"Dios mio..." Luz groaned.

The Noceda family all sat down together on the couch and pulled up chairs from the kitchen to have their discussion. Luz started her story, back at the start of Summer while she waited for her bus, and the owl who stole her book. How she chased him into the woods and found herself in an unfamiliar world.

She told of the Witch, Eda, and the adventures she went on. She talked about King, and Hooty, and Willow and Gus. She mentioned Amity a lot, though didn't go into all the details yet. Instead she focused on the events that had happened on her side of the door, and how she became trapped there, and her quest to get back.

This led to her explaining the past two months, with her deal with Hunter and the glyphs, and the Emperor's plans to bring the Isles to Earth, and her role in stopping it, up until Lucia walked in.

Then it was Lucia's turn to fill in the gaps, explaining how she'd been ambushed all those months ago while on her unknowing date with Amelia, and how Amelia had turned out to be a witch. She filled her mother in on all of the things they'd been doing behind her back, and flinched as Camila tightened her hands into fists and looked ready to ground her into next year. Her mother had never been one to hit her children, but she could practically feel La Chancla's sting, even though the flip flop lay across the room from them.

Next came how she learned about Vee, and what had happened there. The things she'd done that she wasn't proud of to get the truth about where Luz was, and how they figured out she was in the Demon Realm, and how the portal had opened again on Halloween night.

Vee took it from there, explaining her short role of infiltrating the family to take Luz's place, not out of malice, but because that's what Changelings did for survival. She didn't talk about her past. She didn't even mention where she got the name Vee from. But she made it clear that she loved her little family, enough that she would go get Luz herself if it meant making them happy, even if it cost her a place with them.

All caught up to Halloween, it was a much more hectic matter of explaining everything that went down on the Boiling Isles from then onward in a way where their mother didn't kill them all dead. They three awkwardly jumped through hoops, trying to minimize and downplay their own efforts in the fight against Belos and the toppling of his government. The three breathed a sigh of relief when they got through that explanation alive.

Now they sat, all caught up as Camila tried to digest it all. Their mother laid back against the couch, running through everything her children had told her with her hands over her eyes, and breathed a frustrated sigh. "It's a lot to take in, you three. All of this has been going on for months under my nose, and I didn't even notice?"

"It's kinda out there, Mamá, we can't exactly blame you for not figuring it out, especially since Vee and I were keeping secrets, and Luz wasn't even here to begin with." Lucia placated.

"To be fair, I did have cell service for the first two and a half months, but it's not like I did much more than text a bit sometimes." Luz added. "Not anything you'd have picked up on."

"You're a great Mom, Camila, don't stress too much about not knowing back then. You know now, and that's good enough for us." Vee finished.

"There's… still a little bit more," Luz admitted, shifting in her seat. "I asked Eda to come over tomorrow, along with King and Amity, so they could meet you. It'll be really important to me if you could stay home from work, because… Eda's very special to me. Like another Mom."

Camila peeked at her daughter through her fingers. "Is she now?"

Luz nodded anxiously, "Yeah. She took care of me the entire time I was there. She fed me, and clothed me. Made sure I had a place to sleep. She taught me a lot about magic, and how her world worked. And most importantly, she loved me. I- I even called her Mom before we left. I hope that's okay with you…"

Camila reached out and placed a hand upon her daughter, "Mija, it doesn't matter what I think. What matters is what you think and feel. This woman is important to you, so I'll respect that, and meet with her. As long as you aren't doing anything silly, like trying to set me up with this second Mamá of yours."

Luz reddened, "Whaaaat? Nooooo. I wouldn't do that. Anymore. Eda's got Raine. I mean, sure she's got two hands-"

"Mija," Camila spoke sharply, "No shipping real people, I've told you before."

"Sì, Mamá. No shipping." Luz sulked, then remembered one final thing, "Oh, also, Amity! I wanted to save her for last. I know I talked about her before, but it's also super important that you meet her tomorrow when Eda comes by!"

Lucia rolled her eyes as Luz bounced excitedly on her sofa cushion. Camila smiled at her daughter's energy, having gone a week, no, months, without it, she knew now to never take it for granted. "And why is that, Luz?"

"Amity Blight is my girlfriend!" Luz squealed excitedly, "Oh, I've been wanting to tell you that ever since it happened! I've been holding it in all day!"

Camila laughed, giving her daughter a hug, "I'm very happy for you, Luz. I'm so glad you got to tell me in person, too… but I already kinda knew."

Luz deflated in her mother's arms, "whaaa? How?!"

"Your videos made it to me, Mija. Even the ones about your 'Cotton candy haired goddess.'"

Luz blushed a deep crimson, and flailed out of her mother's arms. "Oh, those are so embarrassing! I knew I shouldn't have recorded them, I just really wanted to vent about it, and I wanted to tell you in person so it was perfect and now you got spoilers!"

"I look forward to meeting her tomorrow, Luz." Camila said softly, and pressed a kiss to her youngest's forehead.

Lucia checked her phone, and stood up to the surprise of everyone in the room, "I know I just got back. I know, you probably have a lot of grounding to hand out, but now that you're all caught up, I'm going to head to Amelia's. I'm sure she's having a hard time explaining everything alone to her own parents as it is, and she wasn't even there for everything."

Camila looked torn, but eventually gave a nod of approval. "I understand. Be back by dinner, though. I don't want you out after dark."

Lucia gave her a thumbs up, "I'll have to explain to them that yes, their daughter is telling the truth, and no, we didn't get hitched at some small town chapel two cities over, or something. Wonder which one they'll believe."

Lucia opened the door, and paused, turning back to her mother. "And Mom? I figured it out. That thing we talked about together, about Amelia? I told her I loved her."

Camila took in the absolutely smitten grin on her eldest's face, "I'm very proud of you, cariño. Go get your girl, okay?"

Lucia nodded, "Love you, Mamá, I'll see you at dinner time."

The door shut behind her, and it was just Camila, Luz and Vee. Luz breathed out a sigh, then also stood up, earning a worried look from her mother. "Don't worry, Mamá, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to pop into the shower, and find a change of clothes. I feel like I've been wearing this hoodie ever since I left!"

Camila couldn't find a reason to say no to that, and soon it was just her and Vee.

The two sat together in awkward silence, neither sure what to say to the other. Vee made an effort not to look at Camila, not quite feeling welcome in what used to be her home now that her cover was blown and Luz had returned.

Camila was the first to break the silence. "Thank you."

Vee's head perked up, and she looked the woman in the eye. "What?"

"Thank you. When you left, I was afraid of you. You were a demon who looked like my Luz, but you told me you'd bring her back. I didn't believe you. Then Lucia vanished, and for two whole weeks I wondered if you had taken her, too. Instead, you brought them both back to me, just like you promised." Camila patted the seat beside her, gesturing for the changeling to sit with her.

Vee hesitated, but stood from her chair, one they'd pulled from the kitchen table into the living room at the start of their tale, and sat beside the woman who used to be her mother. "I just did what I thought was right. What I thought would make you happy."

Vee flinched when Camila touched her, raking her fingers through her hair gently. After a moment she leaned into the touch and closed her eyes, knowing that if she were a kitten she'd be purring right about now.

"What do you plan on doing now?" Camila asked softly. "Luz is back, surely you don't plan to keep running around looking like her?"

Vee opened her mouth, but had trouble finding her words. "I don't know." She admitted.

"This morning I was prepared to stay on the Isles. But Lucia and Luz insisted I come with them. Told me I'm their sister, no matter what. I- I feel the same way. I love them very much."

Camila hummed, "You mentioned before, that as a Changeling, you don't have a name or life other than the ones you take? But when Lucia found you out, you started to experiment a little more with your own likes and dislikes when I wasn't around, right?"

Vee nodded, "Yeah. It was pretty new for me. I mean, I can find things I like to do when I was being someone else, kids are expected to grow and change and get new hobbies, but I'm usually not encouraged to do whatever I want. Just what fits in line with who I'm supposed to be."

"So, if you're happy with coming up with your own likes and dislikes, your own personality, have you thought about being your own person for once? No impersonations, just… Vee?" Camila asked carefully, aware she was talking to an unfamiliar demon, who's culture she might be insulting.

Vee just sat in silence, because honestly? The thought had never crossed her mind before. Changeling's needed love to survive, and stole it from others through their impersonations. However, she'd found a family that gave her love even knowing that. As far as she knew, she was the first, the only Changeling, to do so. She didn't have to look like Luz anymore if she didn't want to. Luz and Lucia would love her either way.

Vee leaned against Camila, resting her head on her shoulder, "I think I might like that."

"Then you should do it, Mija."

Vee blinked, and looked at Camila, realization hitting her when she realized she knew the meaning of that word. She gave a shaky nod and smile, and with some mild caution slid her arms around her mother's waist, hugging her close and snuggling her tight.

Lucia popped her head into the house a little later into the day, having returned from Amelia's house. Her parents had taken the news… well. Or as well as any normal person could. They'd already had Amelia come out of the closet about being a lesbian two years before, so it wasn't a new concept to them, but coming out as a different species from another dimension was a very different thing.

All in all, it had taken a few spells for them to believe it. Amelia pulled them off with expert ease, her bile sack still full from their morning on the Boiling Isles. After talking it all over some more, they'd settled on taking a day trip there next weekend, but they'd take it slow. Amelia mentioned her birth parents, but didn't want to have to introduce both pairs so quickly after her human family had only just learned about magic and witches.

Odalia and Alador had been enough to freak Amelia out, and she'd had months to cope with the concept of magic and witchcraft. She didn't want to throw her parents to the wolves on their first outing.

Once they'd been convinced Amelia was in fact a witch, and not a married runaway, and that no, Lucia had not tried to kidnap her, and seriously, drop the marriage thing, please, Lucia had felt comfortable enough to come home for the night. She didn't want to intrude on her girlfriend's family reunion any longer than necessary.

She'd come home to find the living room empty, minus her mother who was calmly doing another needlepoint project, as if her daughters hadn't shown up at her door after missing for two weeks earlier this morning.

Glancing around the house, looking for signs that this might be some elaborate prank, Lucia decided to bite, "okay, where is everyone?"

"Your sister is in her room, getting dressed, after taking the longest shower of her life." Camila responded, setting her needlepoint aside. "And Vee is in your room, picking through some of your old clothes."

Lucia cocked her head, "My old clothes? She wouldn't even fit in any of them, she's too short."

Her mother just gave her a small, mysterious smile and a shake of her head, which did not encourage Lucia to drop it. However, Luz chose this time to come out of her room, looking clean, and incredibly relaxed, as well as amazingly wrinkled on her hands and feet from the water.

"I forgot how amazing showers on Earth feel," She murmured dreamily, "The water stays warm for more than two minutes, and we have exfoliating body wash. I feel like a princess after living in a hut in the woods all these months."

"And here you always went on about that place like it was a second home," Lucia snarked.

"It is! But without magic, it really is just a shack in the woods. Not exactly a place of luxury. You should know, you slept in a storage closet!" Luz stuck her tongue out at her sister.

Luz seemed to make the same realization that Lucia had when she glanced around the living room and noticed one absent sibling. "Mom? Where's Vee? You didn't like, exorcise her, or something, did you?"

"Does that work with actual demons?" Camila asked, earning only a shrug from her two children.

"No, it doesn't, and I'm right behind you, sis." Vee's voice sounded down the hall, and everyone turned to look at her.

The first thing they noticed was that she'd gone through a growth spurt in the short time since they'd last seen her, standing just a few short inches under Lucia's height, and a good few ones above Luz. Her hair had changed as well, being a bit longer than it had when she'd posed as Luz, and a little more shaggy. She wore one of Lucia's old blue and white striped shirts, and a pair of her black skinny jeans that had been just too skinny for Lucia's legs to be comfortable.

The Changeling stood before them, her own person, not as Luz, or Lucia, but as someone who would fit right in as another sibling.

Luz's eyes lit up at the sight of her, and she ambushed Vee in a hug, "Big sister! I have a big sister!"

"What am I? Chopped liver?" Lucia asked with forced anger as she too approached Vee, sizing her new look up.

However, Luz stopped her hug, prying away from Vee and looking up at her curiously. Vee just cocked a brow back down at her, and then Luz did something incredibly inappropriate and reached out to touch Vee's chest.

"Whoa, Luz!" Lucia gasped out, "I know you're excited to see her, but that's no way to greet a Changeling with a new body!"

But Luz still kept her hands on Vee, feeling them up. "Brother… You're not a sister, you're a brother!" Luz squealed again, going back to her vice grip hug as Vee nodded in confirmation.

"I'm a little of both," He admitted. "I can be whoever I want to be now, and right now, I wanna be a brother. Tomorrow, maybe a sister? Or maybe just a sibling, who knows?"

He patted Luz's head, ruffling her hair like Lucia used to do when he looked like Luz. Luz bounced against him excitedly, "Tell me more, tell me more! Genderfluid big sibling! Do you have a new backstory? Something we can tell everyone?"

He looked off into the distance for a moment, then answered, "Well, I'm sixteen, I was born at the tail end of summer, August twenty-first, I have an awesome Mom, who's a single parent, and two amazing sisters who I love very much."

"Oh, and… I'm thinking of changing my name." He added, "Something that's my own, that'll fit no matter what gender I want to be on a given day. What do you guys think of Luca?"

The squeeze Luz gave him was all the answer he needed. He turned to Lucia for her thoughts. Lucia crossed her arms, running her tongue over her teeth as she thought about it long and hard. "Honestly, I think it's a bit derivative, not to mention Italian, but whatever floats your boat, Luca."

With that, Lucia joined the hug, and Camila joined them. "You look very handsome, Luca," She complimented.

"Just like my Mom, right?" Luca grinned, looking so very much like Luz and Lucia in that moment.

"Just like your Mamá, yes."

The Noceda family had settled in, Luca taking the spare bunk in Luz's room, with his little sister happy to share. Together, the two stayed up late into the night talking about girls, or more specifically girls they liked.

"Is it weird if I ask Clara out on a date sometime?" Luca asked from the bottom bunk, staring up at the mattress above him.

"Clara?" Luz peeked down to get a look at her brother, setting aside the Azura book Lucia had got for her birthday, "like, cheerleader Clara? Who I asked out almost a year ago, Clara? That one?"

Luca nodded slowly, his nerves getting to him. Luz could see that, Luca not exactly steeling his expression, and gave a shrug. "I guess it's a little weird, but if you like her, go for it! I'll totally have your back!"

He gave a sigh of relief, "Thanks Luz. She was really nice to me when I was pretending to be you. I guess I gotta get to know her on my own now, though, but it's a start. I hope she likes me."

"What's not to like?" Luz asked, genuinely. "You're cute, you're smart, and you don't have the baggage of liking Young Adult Fantasy novels to hold you back!"

"Thanks, sis."

"No problem, hermano."

True to their word, when they arose in the morning, both Luz and Luca being early birds despite the late night of sleep, Luca asked to be called by different pronouns, her form looking just a smidge more feminine than she had the day before. With access to the portal, Luca no longer had to worry about access to magic to transform, even the stuff like sex or gender. Luca twirled around the house, still experimenting with her newfound height from the day before, and adjusting to her body after her quick changes this morning.

The Noceda family wasn't halfway through breakfast when a knock came on their door. Amelia wasn't expected, still catching up with her folks, so that only left one option. Eda had arrived.

Luz flew to the door, almost literally despite not having her staff. She'd left Hecate in Eda's care for the day, until her mother could be caught up on everything, but now she could see her Palisman after a day apart.

Luz unlocked the door and opened it, greeting the two witches on the other side. Eda held two staffs, one in either hand, while Amity held King in her arms, both of them looking all the more adorable for it.

Eda took one look at how excited Luz was to see her and said, "Well, I know you're not the other one, only Luz would be this excited to see a crone of a witch. Oh, and me, of course." She snorted at her own joke, elbowing Amity who didn't appreciate being called such names.

Luz held the door open for them as they wandered inside, Amity absolutely fascinated by the layout and design of a human home, taking in everything from the pictures on the walls to the carpet on the floor. Luz was feeling oddly ignored, so leaned in close and whispered huskily, "No morning kiss, cariño?"

Amity blushed, but smiled, and was about to lean in when King wiggled in her arms. "I don't know what that word means, but I could use a kiss right on my noggin! I missed you so much, Luz!"

Luz laughed as King continued to wiggle in Amity's grasp, and she took him, scooping him up like a baby in her arms and planted a bit wet kiss to his bony head. "It's only been a day, my wittle Prince, did you really miss me that much?"

"I know I did," Amity mumbled out in an attempt to flirt, and Luz's heart skipped a beat despite it not being a great line. Finishing what she started, she offered her lips to Amity, who planted a chaste kiss on them in greeting.

"Come on, let me introduce you," Luz said, setting King down and putting her hands to her mouth. "MA! LUCIA! LUCA! THEY'RE HERE!"

Amity cringed, wishing she'd covered her ears, and wondering who Luca was. Luz hadn't mentioned a Luca before.

Luz led them into the kitchen, where her family awaited, and presented her witch mentor and girlfriend with all the pizazz one could expect from Luz, pocket confetti included. "Meet the fam, other fam!"

It's good to see you guys again," Luca waved, earning a confused look from the witches and demon. "I'm the Changeling, Vee? I've decided to go by Luca now. It was a whole thing, you had to be here."

"Gee, you leave a day and everything is different," Eda grumbled, handing Luz her staff. Luz giggled as Hecate slithered off the staff and coiled around her shoulders, pressing little snake kisses to her cheek with her forked tongue.

"Mom, this is Eda, the Owl Lady. The ferocious King of Demons, King, and Amity, the prettiest girl on the Boiling Isles, and my girlfriend!" Luz then presented her flying snake, "Also, this is Hecate, my Palisman. I carved her from magic wood, and now our souls are bonded for life, or something!"

Camila gulped as she looked at yet another pet Luz had brought home, this time another reptile. "She's not going to… bite anyone, right? Like the last batch of snakes?"

"No! Hecate is a good girl, aren't you?" Luz cooed. Her mother wasn't convinced, seeing as her daughter had named her Palisman after the villainess of the first Azura book, even if she'd made a heel-turn in the second novel. Camila may not have that much of an interest in fantasy, but she'd dealt with Luz's shipping charts enough to know at least that much about the Azura series.

She did her best to ignore it for now, and instead smiled at her guests, "We're just eating breakfast, if you'd like to join us?"

Amity was about to turn her down, after all, they'd eaten breakfast themselves just before leaving the Owl House, but she found she was alone in her endeavor as King and Eda took their seats at the table. "Free food is the best food." Eda said, licking her lips.

Amity just rolled her eyes and took her own offered seat beside Luz.

Camila remained wary around Eda. She could smell a troublemaker a mile away, after all. It didn't help that the woman's idea of trying to win Camila over was to not-so-subtly flirt with her, much to Lucia's embarrassment, Luca's bemusement, and Luz's thankful ignorance. King on the other hand was an adorable baby who was welcome to cuddle in her arms and take a mid morning nap whenever he wanted. His tales of woe over finding his father had melted Camila's poor, motherly heart, and she wished him the best of luck when he returned to his realm.

Amity was a harder nut for Camila to crack. She was quiet, reserved, very polite, and clearly on edge because she desperately wanted her girlfriend's mom to like her. Camila gave her a gentle smile and did her best to get the Blight girl to engage in conversation with anyone who wasn't Luz at the table.

Eventually though Amity opened up through her conversations with Luz, and that's where Camila got her. As soon as she asked Amity anything about her youngest daughter, Amity was all too happy to talk, and eventually opened up to subjects that didn't surround how soft Luz's hair was, or how she smelled like thornberries.

Eda gave her a thankful look when Camila got Amity to talk about her schooling instead, mouthing "She's got it bad," to her student's mother. Camila couldn't help but agree, but she'd been young and in love too, and it warmed her heart to know Luz found someone as crazy about her as Amity was.

With the topic of schooling brought up, Luz and Eda exchanged a glance. They'd arranged this meeting in the first place to try and convince Camila to let Luz attend Hexside, and under the table, Luz fingered her pamphlet. "Mamá?"

"Yes, Luz?" Camila asked patiently, knowing the other shoe was about to drop, even if she wasn't sure what it was going to be about. She wasn't oblivious to the fact her daughter set up this meeting because she wanted something.

"I told you yesterday that I went to Hexside with Gus, Willow, and Amity, and well… I still want to keep going." Luz took the pamphlet and slid it over to her mother. "I know, it's a lot to ask, but it operates under normal school hours, so I'd only be gone the same amount of time as regular school anyways."

"It would give her time to socialize with her peers, including me," Amity added. "I'm the top student of the Abomination track, Willow is the top of the plant track, and Gus, while not the best in his class, is in the top three, just below my older brother and sister. She'll be in good company, with good students. And her girlfriend, of course."

Eda winked at Luz, then took over, "And the Principal, Bump, absolutely loves her. She's one of his star students. Does that old, grumpy Bumpy proud."

"Luz is a smart cookie, like her lovely mother," Eda shot another wink in Camila's direction, earning an eye roll, "even if she doesn't get the best grades, but because she was new to magic, Bump lets her take all the subjects, so she's a part of all nine tracks they offer and isn't even the worst in any of them."

Not exactly the way Luz would have phrased it, but it would do. Eda opened her mouth to continue, but another voice added her own opinion.

"I've personally attended Hexside, Mom, and I can assure you it's easily the safest of the schools on the Boiling Isles, with some of the best curriculum. Sure, St. Epiderm gets better test scores, but they're not that much better, and it's absolutely got a better social structure than Glandus. Bump is also not an easy guy to make happy, so if Luz really is a student he sees promise in, he'll help her go the distance," Luca gave her own two cents in Luz's favor, flashing her sister a thumbs up to show she had her back.

"It makes her happy, Ma," Lucia added, speaking on Luz's behalf. "If you'd seen her there, in her element, around the people she loves and who love her just as much back, you'd understand. This isn't just about the school, it's about Luz having a place she feels she belongs in the world, even if it's not our world."

Camila still seemed unsure. While the idea of Luz visiting the Owl House had been on the table, Camila not wanting her daughter to be forced to part ways with all her new friends, the idea of her spending half her days in a place called the Demon Realm was still a bit overkill for her liking.

Luz could see the conflict on her mother's face, and leaned across the table, hands cupped together as if she were begging, "please, Mamá. I love going to school there. I have real friends, just like you wanted, and for the first time ever I know what I really want to do with my life."

Camila hummed thoughtfully, "and what is that, cariño?"

"I want to teach!" Luz spoke with conviction. "I mentioned I was teaching Eda and Amity and Hunter how to do glyphs, but that's a magic I found all on my own. Mostly. I'm the only person on the Isles who's rediscovered them since ancient times, and I'm good at them. I want to become a professor, teaching everyone how to do them someday, and I need to know more about magic before I can discover new ways to use glyphs."

The name Hunter rang a few bells in Camila's mind, "Wait, didn't you say Hunter was the Emperor? The new one? You taught him?"

Eda laughed, "Yeah, she invited him in on our lessons while he was still on the other side, too. He actually can't do magic the normal way, so glyphs are all he's got. When you think about it, Luz over here already has experience as the mentor and tutor to the most politically powerful person on the Titan. That's probably the biggest 'in' someone can get for a teaching position."

"Please, Mamá?" Luz pleaded, giving her puppy dog eyes.

Camila sighed, "I'll think about it."

"But-"

"I said I'll think about it, Luz," Camila repeated sternly, not wanting to get into an argument in front of their guests. She calmed herself down, and tried speaking to her daughter with a cooler head, "I just got you back, Mija. I'm still processing half of what you all told me yesterday. I have a new child to take care of, on top of the knowledge of an entire new world that lies beyond a magical door you found in the woods! Give me time, and you'll have your answer in a few days."

Luz nodded, knowing that was the best she was going to get, and gave Eda a look to know she shouldn't push either.

Instead, they switched topics, Eda showing off her "extensive" knowledge of the human world to impress Camila, and only getting about ten percent of it right. Beside Amity, Luz shook her head or nodded to let her girlfriend know what exactly to believe, and while it was pretty horrible, it was funny to see her Mom try to keep a straight face and not offend Eda when she got something blatantly wrong, like how she knew that humans shrunk down other humans to be tiny, so they'd fit in their sad, reflective boxes.

Lucia excused herself partly through breakfast, which was rapidly turning into brunch, to go get Amelia. The two returned a few hours later, drinks in hand from the local Burger Queen and a new crown for King to add to his growing collection.

Eventually, they had to call it quits, the witches heading back to the Owl House, King reluctantly in tow, having tried to blend in with a few of Luz's stuffed animals in the hopes of being left behind. The portal door had been relocated to the entryway of the house, in front of a hall closet that was sparingly used for coats and shoes and the like, though Camila gave clear instructions that anyone on the other side was to knock and wait for a response before coming inside. This was still her home, after all, and she didn't want people she'd only known for a day galavanting around like they owned the place whenever they wanted.

Amity and Luz parted with another chaste kiss, neither wanting it to linger too long in front of Camila and face that embarrassment. "I'll see you soon?" Luz asked hopefully.

"As often as I can," Amity assured her.

Eda slipped a Camila a piece of parchment with her scroll's number on it, telling her if she needed anything, to call her. Camila did her best to not crumple it up in front of the witch, and ignored the eyebrow wiggle she'd been given. Done with her business in the human realm, Eda turned to Luz, and gave her a parting hug.

"Bye, Mom. I hope I get to visit again soon," Luz spoke softly.

Eda smirked, and assured the girl, "I'm sure I can… persuade your Mama, one way or another, Kiddo. Don't worry."

Soon it was just the Noceda's and the Bane girl together again.

"They seemed… nice." Camila summarized her complex feelings for the people she'd just spent the morning hosting. "I do wish Eda wouldn't be such a flirt. Didn't you say she had someone back home, Luz?"

Luz nodded, confused over what flirting she must have missed, and Lucia, parroting Luz from two weeks ago raised the pitch of her voice in a poor imitation of her sister, "But she's got two hands, Mamá!"

A few days later, Luca sat in the back of the family car, staring forlornly out the window as he had for the past few minutes. The car was parked, ready for his departure from it, but he needed a few moments longer to gather the courage he needed.

It wasn't that long a drive from Gravesfield to New Haven, less than half an hour. It had felt so much longer walking this path on foot, so many months before.

In the Driver's seat, Camila clenched the steering wheel. "You don't have to do this today, Hijo, if you're not ready." Beside her, in the passenger seat, Lucia gave a nod, while beside Luca, Luz placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He considered it. Just asking them to drive off, go home, and not look back. He wasn't ready. He never would be. That was the problem. "No, I'm fine."

A lie, but one he needed to tell himself as much as he needed them to believe it.

Opening the car door, he took a slow step out, and shivered as he felt the cold November wind blast against his face. Luca bid a quiet farewell, and his family nodded, telling him to take all the time he needed, they'd be here when he was done.

He clutched a bouquet of white flowers in his hands as he made his way, stepping on the wet grass until he made it to his destination. A set of three simple gravestones, none sticking out in the field of them that made up the graveyard, but the mere sight of them was like a cold knife in his heart.

This was where they buried his family. Where they had almost buried him less than a year ago.

He stood for a moment, swaying at a weakness in his knees. He opened his mouth and through chapped lips he spoke, "Hi Mom, hi Dad… it's me, Victor."

He choked, already feeling the swell of emotions he'd been holding back bursting at the seams. "I- I go by Luca, now. I found a new home. A new family. But I didn't forget you."

He bent over the graves, and split the bouquet among them, placing four of the dozen on each. "I wanted to come and see you. And thank you for being my parents. For loving me so much."

He laid the last of the flowers on the last grave, the one that was supposed to be his, Victor's. "I wasn't the real Victor, but I'm sure you're with him now, wherever you are. Tell him I'm grateful. Tell him I'm sorry about what happened to him."

Luca traced a finger over the cool surface of the headstone that had been made for him. An empty tomb, but the child it was made for no less dead, and hopefully resting peacefully.

Turning to address his parent's graves once more, he swallowed, "I'm not going to pretend to be anyone else anymore. I'm going to grow up, and be the best me I can be. And I'm going to remember you, and honor you, and all the other parents I've loved and who loved me, no matter how much it hurts. You don't deserve to be forgotten. None of you do."

Luca lowered himself to the dirt, and sat down between the graves, "Do you mind if I stay for a while? Just a bit longer?"

The silence remained as his answer, and he let the tears flow. He didn't stop them this time. They deserved every last one, and he'd deny them no longer.

The next week flew by as the family adapted to having another member to fill in the gaps. Their old kitchen table had a permanent spot filled in the fourth seat that had long remained empty since Camila's husband had passed on. Recipes were adjusted to both include more food, and make adjustments for Luca's own likes and dislikes, a novelty they were still getting used to. Old clothing was passed down from eldest to the new middle child, and Luca's belongs, things they could call their own, increased by the day, with half of Luz's desk covered in Luca's new belongings.

The Noceda's adapted quickly, and took care of their own. Before long, the whole house had been transformed, signs that it was Luca's home now too filled it. The cork board by the garage door had their new school schedule pinned to it, another lunch pail joined the counter beside Luz and Lucia's in the kitchen, and another pair of shoes laid in the entryway by the front door.

But it had now been a week since the Noceda siblings had returned from the Demon Realm, and now that everyone had settled in and adapted to a new family member, it was time that they all returned to their normal, everyday lives. Meaning it was time to go back to high school.

Lucia and Amelia walked hand in hand around school once more like they owned the place. There hadn't been any demons sighted or sensed by Luca since their return, but they knew it was only a matter of time before one ended up finding their way from the Isles, and started sniffing out Amelia as the only beacon of magic around. Lucia tried to focus on that, rather than the gossip that had been meeting their ears since they arrived that morning.

Rumors about where the two had been the past few weeks had spread, and much to Lucia's embarrassment, the one where they had run off to elope had been the most prominent, with them being back at school being surmised as their parents finding them and having the marriage annulled.

"Does the idea make you that flustered?" Amelia teased, pulling her girlfriend close.

Lucia, not one to be one upped, pressed a kiss to Amelia's lips, letting them linger just long enough to be a tease, "you say that now, but we'll see who's a wreck when I actually ask, hm?"

"God, you two really need a room," Winona groaned as she passed them in the hallways. "Your behavior only makes the rumors worse, you know?

Lucia just threw an arm over Amelia's shoulder, and flipped the gloomy plant girl off as they made their way to their classes.

Meanwhile, Luca approached a familiar cheerleader, feeling hot under the collar, but surprisingly confident."Uh, hey? Clara, right?"

Clara turned to face them, looking Luca up and down and not disliking what she saw. "Yeah? And who are you? You seem… familiar. Have we met before?"

"In a way, I'm sure," Luca answered vaguely with a smile. "You might know my sisters, Lucia and Luz?"

Clara nodded, "I've seen them around, yeah."

Her face turned downward, "Haven't seen Luz recently, though. She kinda just vanished the same time her sister did, but she never came back. There were supposedly bear sightings a few months back, some people thought maybe she got caught by it or something. That's not true is it?"

"She transferred, actually." Luca clarified quickly, "We switched schools, really. Hence why I'm here now. I think she'll do a lot better at my alma mater, it's more suited for the creative types, like herself."

Clara breathed a little sigh of relief, "Good. I'm actually a little sad to hear that she's gone, though. She'd really changed in the past few months…"

Not wanting to linger on Luz, but also pleased that how they'd behaved had endeared Clara, Luca pressed forward, "Hey, look, I know I'm the new kid, but I actually wanted to see if you'd like to hang out sometime, maybe?"

Clara blinked at the boldness of the newcomer, but shrugged anyway, "Sure, that could be fun. I know it might seem a bit hipsterish, but I love hitting up the record store they have in town and listening to the stuff there, if you'd like to join me after school?"

Luca grinned, already thinking of all the Weird Al they could listen to on vinyl, "I'd love to. I'll see you there."

It wasn't a date, but it was a start, and Luca walked to class with a skip in their step, ready to face the boring challenges that trigonometry were bound to bombard them with with a smile.

On the Boiling Isles, Luz returned for her first day back to her classes at Hexside in a while, but she wasn't worried about how far she was going to be behind. Instead, she focused on all the new things she was bound to learn, with her friends by her side.

It had taken a little while to convince her Mom this was the best course for her, but she'd worn the woman down eventually. Principal Hal had been sad to see her go, with how much things had apparently improved for her in the last few months, but she had no clue what he was talking about anyway. She was free to attend Hexside, and as long as she was back before dinner every night, she could hang around as much as she wanted with her friends.

She swung Hecate's staff over her shoulder and breathed in an excited breath, happy to feel magic in the air again. She greeted everyone she passed in good cheer, even including Boscha, who only rolled all three eyes at her as she passed.

She greeted Gus and Willow with a wave on the way to her locker, and was mildly surprised to find Amity waiting for her there, leaning against the locker beside Luz's own and looking way too cool for school.

"Hermosa, has anyone told you you look ravishing today? You'd better watch yourself around the lockers, they just might want to eat you up." Luz teased, batting her eyelashes.

Amity smiled, then leaned in for a kiss, savoring the flavor of Luz's lips, "Funny, you're the one who tastes delicious," She flirted back.

"Guys, we are literally right here." Willow reminded them.

"I think I'm gonna hurl." Gus whined, then made exaggerated barfing noises, making Willow burst into a giggle fit.

The couple just shook their heads at their friend's antics, and leaned in for another kiss. "Te amo, Amity."

"Te amo, Luz."

A/N: I want to take this time to thank you all so much for your support for this story as I've posted it. I'm always such an anxious person, that every time I'd go back to edit a chapter, I'd end up editing basically the entire fic over again to make sure it was up to snuff, and the feedback has been wonderful throughout.

I've never written for a genderfluid character, so if you have any recommendations for improvements to how I present Luca, let me know. I tried to have a different scene for all of their pronouns as the days went by, but it's a lot to cram all into one chapter.

Regrets? I have a few

But then again

Too few to mention-

Eh, I'll mention them anyway. Things I wish I had changed in the fic… one major one is the Bane parents. I saw a lot of early comments wanting them to appear more later in the fic, and wish I had even thought of making them legit characters. But that would mean coming up with names, appearances, dialogue, scenes, and the fic was so close to done when I posted chapter 1 it seemed like a lot of work for characters so minor, in a story already overstuffed with characters. I was close to burn out already, which is also one of the reasons Belos' flashbackstory suffered as much as it did. That was literally the last scene I wrote for this fic, by the way, and with how short it got cut, it shows my level of burnout.

Creepy Luz/Vee/Luca as a Changeling is another minor regret. I love their original backstory I invented. I put a lot of thought into it, with one of the only changes from conception to end was giving their past life the name Victor to fill in for Vee. It also fits as a male variation of Victoria(a name I hope canon Vee adopts, so she's not just a number anymore), another often used name for Pilot Luz in fics that don't use Luca(which, as stated in the fic, is actually Italian), and acts as foreshadowing for their ending. Them getting with Clara is based off of Pilot Amity's design as well, another bit of foreshadowing since Vee fell so hard.

But I did wrestle a lot with changing them from a Changeling into their canon Basilisk self after Vee's debut episode. It wouldn't actually change all that much in the story. It could have worked, but I'd have to rewrite basically every scene with Vee in it, all the way back starting with chapter 8. Ultimately, the Vee in this fic and the one in canon aren't that different in personality, so I've made my peace with it. We all got an interesting plot out of it anyway, with her mostly being the same character, so it's all good.

I also regret the limited POV in a lot of the earlier scenes. Because I didn't want to go through the effort of giving Amelia's parents actual characterization, I couldn't do a lot of scenes focused on her in her own home, alone. Same with Vee when she was still creepy Luz, hence why most of their infatuation with Clara is offscreen interactions. By the time I could focus on Vee/Luca properly, revealed to be a Changeling, the school sections were basically done and the plot was ramping up, so Clara got a bit part with a token romance at the end. That in itself is a regret, but also one less character I have to fill in scenes for, so it lessened my load.

Even with those? I think this is easily my best fic. I've read and reread it so many times during the editing, and can say with confidence that I liked the story I came up with so much, I wish someone else had written it so I could enjoy it that way instead. I'm content with what I have, despite the above flaws.

I always appreciate comments, especially now that the fic has come to a close. I plan on taking a bit of a break, but eventually I'll come back, maybe with some one shots, maybe with a fic just as long as this one. I have loads of ideas, after all! No, seriously, I have a mountain of them and it kills me how many of them will have to fall to the wayside due to how many I'll never get around to doing. I hope to see you all soon, Love you!