Listened to this song, couldn't get the idea out of my head.

Gonna be a three-shot between my main three TOH pairings, ordered according to which verse of the song I feel corresponds to each couple best, so first up is Raeda. And yes, this is all one song, and I'm gonna quote a verse each chapter.

"I'm a piano out of tune
I'm a poorly strung guitar
I tend to be the one to sing the sad song at the bar
I'm a joke lost in the ebb and flow of conversation
I'm a weekend trip that's nothing like your dream vacation.

But I feel like more with you.
I feel like more with you."

—"More With You", MALINDA

Relationships were messy.

Eda knew they were complicated things, whether romantic or platonic or familial or whatever else was possible. She'd had her fair share in every category that had gone in every possible direction she could think of. But none of them had ever quite struck her the way Raine had, and the fact that their relationship had ended because of them joining a coven and her dealing with her curse alone, it… it left a bad taste in her mouth. A brief reunion followed by Raine lying to her hadn't done much to wash that taste away.

And now… now things were different again.

The Day of Unity had come and gone and left its mark on the world as Emperor Belos/Phillip Wittebane was forcefully removed from it. Both worlds, human and demon, had suffered as a result of the Day of Unity, and now they were forever intertwined. Thankfully things had been going well with the rebuilding and the adjusting of humans to the magic of the Isles and the demons and witches adjusting to human technology.

Which is what brought her to where she was now. A karaoke bar that had been opened up after the Day of Unity by an enterprising human and a former member of the Bard Coven. Eda liked going there if only to hear people make fools of themselves. It was also a good place to get herself some privacy these days. Her house had never been more full than it was now—herself, King, Luz, Luz's mother Camila, Luz's basilisk adopted sister Vee, Hooty, and Hunter all called the Owl House home. Not to mention all of Luz's friends and her girlfriend and Hunter's teammates who tended to come and go as they pleased.

She liked it. It was lively.

But something felt like it was missing.

And her thoughts went right back to Raine as she wondered how they would like living in a house like that—one so full of people when they were so introspective. They'd probably hate it, she mused as she kicked her feet back and leaned against the couch in the little room she was supposed to be singing in. She'd never really been much of a singer, which was part of why serenades had been more Raine's move in their relationship. Hell, it was how they'd asked her to Grom, much to her annoyance since she'd had a plan to ask them first.

She could still hear Lilith laughing her ass off at her expression.

With a sigh, she threw her head back and stared at the ceiling. Little lights dotted it, lights that would change colors if a button on the wall was pushed and someone wanted that extra bit of flair for their tone-deaf performance. At least, that was how Luz had put it. Eda liked the idea, especially since she'd brought Lilith and Camila here once and all three of them had ended up laughing at each other's attempts to sing.

"Raine would hate it here."

"Mind explaining that to me?"

She shot upright at the sound of their voice and her eyes widened.

The very object of her thoughts, the person she believed even now was the love of her life, was standing there in the doorway, leaning against it and smirking like they'd just caught her. She pursed her lips.

"Explaining what?"

"Why I would hate it here?"

"All the people who think they can sing when they can't? Thought they'd offend your delicate bard ears."

Raine let out a snort and Eda felt herself melt a little.

"True, but these rooms are pretty good if you want a place to just think."

"How'd you know I was here?"

"I didn't. This is just the same room I usually go to, and Amber is working the counter right now."

"Aw, Amber. Such a sweet girl. She still calls me Mama Eda."

"Gee, I can't imagine why."

Raine closed the door behind them and came to sit next to her.

"We also… haven't really had a chance to talk. Since…"

"You've been busy. Restructuring a governmental system after the collapse of a monarchy can't be easy."

"It isn't. It really isn't. Especially since we had to oust Terra and she had more experience than the rest of us."

"Crazy plant lady had to go. If you need a new coven head, I got one for you. Granted, she's fourteen, unsure of herself, and she's still trying to figure out how she feels about one of my kids, but she's a powerhouse with skill."

"We're just using Terra's second in command, but I'll definitely suggest Willow once she's old enough. I know what that girl can do."

They were dancing around the subject now.

"So… what did you wanna talk about?" Raine took a deep breath and sighed.

"…honestly… I wanna give us another chance. I know so much went wrong with us, between the curse and the covens and just… everything, but… I've been in love with you since we were at Hexside together. Maybe even since that whole HECK thing. That's over thirty years of our lives that I've loved you, and if it hasn't gone away by now, I don't think it ever will. A-and now that things have settled down, maybe…"

"Yes."

"I'm not going to make you agree to anything, I just wanna know—wait, did you say yes?"

"Yeah, I did. But you should know things aren't the same as they used to be. For one thing, my house is a lot more… full."

"I know. And I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. Slowly. And one at a time."

"We have all the time in the world, Rainestorm."

She stood up.

"Now, should I embarrass myself on the machine or do you wanna give it a try?"

"I say duet."

"Then let's do it." She pronounced it like 'duet' and Raine let out a good-natured groan.

"That was a bad one."

"You know you love it."

"I do. I really do. But I'm picking the song."

Eda nodded and Raine picked up the song selection book.

They had to pick a good one for their first date back together, after all.

Raeda AU with karaoke bar?

In all seriousness, I only picked a Japanese-style karaoke bar because it's a fun setting and I've watched the first couple seasons of Aggretsuko enough to know it's a great place to angst. And scream heavy metal. Not that there's much angst here.

And to be clear, they hashed out the whole "lying about brainwashing" thing shortly after the Day of Unity happened. It's just been a while and I wanted to write them being cute.

So long and thanks for all the fish!