AN: I literally just realized I've been spelling Boscha's name wrong this entire time. I've updated previous chapters to put the right spelling in, and I apologize for any confusion.
This chapter took quite a while longer than others, because I wanted a decent finale for all of you. Enjoy!
As it turns out, Luz's hair smells like lemons. Amity resists the urge to bury her face in it.
She's adorable when she's asleep. Too adorable. Amity genuinely cannot stand staring at her perfect adorable face for any longer.
The rain has subsided, so she sits on the windowsill and looks out across the Boiling Isles. Luz spent maybe an hour telling Amity about the human world. Apparently, it's much less dangerous, and has pathetically weak weather events. Rainbows in her world are harmless and pretty, rather than the kind that turn you inside out when you look at them.
And nobody cares about magic.
Luz is supposed to be at a camp to train her to be normal. Just thinking about people willing to beat any individuality out of children, especially the incredible ones like Luz, makes Amity want to go to the human world (she doesn't care how) and punch a few of the humans.
Luz insists that there are plenty of nice humans. Her mother, apparently, is very nice, and concerned for Luz's safety and well-being. Her daughter's well-being, not her own social standing. Must be nice.
According to Luz, Camila is always considerate. A nurse, which is something like a nonmagical healer subordinate to other healers with more experience. Gives hugs that break ribs. Likes to cook when she has the time. Sometimes she preserves fresh food for weeks for when she came off a long shift and doesn't have the time or energy to cook.
Ninety percent of what Luz has told her about the human world still makes no sense. Her mother at least seems like a good person. One who would be more welcoming to their relationship than Amity's own –
No, she is not going to think about that. Luz is still all blind and dumb, and Amity is still shy and incoherent, and none of that is happening.
…
"Enjoy spending time with your friends?" Emira asks in a voice far too deliberately innocent to mean anything other than some prank.
"It was fine," Amity says, doing her best to walk away. Edric blocks the stairway, grinning to show all his teeth.
"But how did it go with Luz? Did you confess?" Edric asks, making a heart with his hands in the air.
"No. I did not confess, because there is nothing to confess," Amity says, frowning at him. She'll kill both of them when she has time.
"Sorry about the explosions!" Emira calls after her as Amity forcibly clears the stairway with a summoned Abomination. "You need to go with a grand romantic gesture!"
Amity flops down across her bed. Grand romantic gesture.
She wouldn't confess with some grandiose and mortally embarrassing scheme to save her life.
On the other hand, Luz would probably think that writing her name in the ribcage of the Titan or something is ludicrously romantic.
She can work with this. It just needs to be grand and romantic, while requiring a minimum of embarrassing weird stuff.
With Luz around, somehow everything gets all embarrassing and weird. Unfortunately.
After two hours of coming up with increasingly ludicrous plans, Amity gives up. She crosses out "shave message into back of wild animal", "rearrange stars to spell message", and "tell Luz to her face how hopelessly in love I am" and incinerates the list.
What would Azura do?
For once, Azura might be helpful. In the fourth book, her love Asmodeus was trapped by a volcano. Azura wanted to save him, even if that meant the villain got away, but Asmodeus told her to leave him and save the world.
Asmodeus told Azura to leave him, regardless of the pain that would cause him, because he loved her more than life itself.
Nothing is grander and more romantic than letting someone go.
Of course, Azura managed to save Asmodeus and stop the villain, so it's kind of a moot point.
The point is still there.
Probably.
She has a lot of research to do.
…
She tracks down Luz in the library three days later. The idiot got utterly lost in the Fantasy section and is wandering aimlessly through the passageways, carrying a stack of books taller than her head.
"Maybe I came out this way – wait, is that Good Witch Azura 6?"
"Hi, Luz," Amity says. She is not going to back out of this now.
"Hi, Amity! Do you know where the exit is?" Luz asks. "I saw a cool book, and then there was another cool book, and I have no idea where I am now."
"It's two bookshelves in an empty room," Amity says. "I have no idea how you got lost in here."
"Neither do I!" Luz says. "I did find some nice books, though. Want to start the sixth Good Witch Azura together? You can read Azura, since you do her voice best."
"Actually, I have something for you," Amity says, trying to force her voice to stop shaking. "Maybe you can put the books down for a minute."
Luz tries to bend over, teeters, and ends up in a heap with the books. Amity helps Luz up, barely blushing when the human girl grabs her hand.
"Luz, I was, just, you know, casually looking through a spellbook – I mean, obviously I wasn't deliberately searching for anything like this –"
Amity stops herself from rambling. If she keeps getting distracted, she'll lose her nerve.
"I found this spell."
She shoves the scroll into Luz's hand. Luz opens it and frowns at the runes.
"What does it do?"
"It's a spell that can open a portal between the human realm and the Boiling Isles. But the portal only lets one person through it, in either direction, and then closes and the spell can't be used again."
Amity is not going to cry about this. She is too strong to cry over being separated from Luz forever. Even if she cried her heart out when Azura left Asmodeus. This is reality, and in reality Luz is not going to see her be sad. Because she's happy for Luz, no matter what. And Luz deserves to be back among her own kind.
Luz is still frowning slightly at the parchment.
"Is it going to work for me?" she asks. "I mean, I'm human."
"The magic is in the words themselves, not the user," Amity recites from her textbook. "Spell scrolls can be operated by anyone."
"I know exactly what I'm going to do with this," Luz says, grinning from ear to ear. "Thank you so much for finding this for me, Amity!"
Before Amity can try to deflect the compliment, Luz kisses her.
It's quick. Odd. And not in the circumstances she expected.
Is kissing just a human way to say goodbye?
Either way, Luz has just made everything harder.
Amity tries to walk out the door. She does. She knows that watching Luz leave will be horrible. But her feet plant themselves in front of the door. She sinks down, hugs her knees with her hands, and tries to memorize everything about Luz.
The scuffs on the sides of her shoes. The spot at the shoulder where her hoodie is starting to wear out, but she's never going to throw it away since her mother got it for her and she loves it. Each strand of her messy short hair. Her eyes that are focused on squinting at the parchment as she reads the unintelligible words, but are still shining with joy.
The portal opens and Amity breaks down into sobs, covering her mouth with her hands so Luz can't hear her.
Luz seems to be taking her time leaving. She extends one hand through the shimmery white curtain, then pauses and sticks her entire face in. She stays in that position for a long time, like she's waiting for something.
Why can't she just leave and make everything easier?
Amity's vision is too blurry from tears to see exactly what Luz is doing, but she's stepping away from the portal, holding hands with someone through it.
Amity dries her face on her sleeve and looks at a woman.
She's a few inches taller than Luz. Looks more professional, in a blue uniform, hair tied back into a bun. But they have the same round eyes.
"Mija, what is this place?" the woman asks.
"It's the library!" Luz says cheerfully. "It's super cool here; I'll show you the section with the magic books some time. But the important thing is that you're here now. And I'm sorry for lying and all that, but look how amazing it is here! It's much better than getting evicted, right?"
"Dios mío, Luz, this place is incredible," the woman breathes, peering at the books circling around the library in midair. "You're still in so much trouble, though."
"I know, Mama," Luz says, then pulls Camila by the hand towards the door. "This is my friend Amity!"
Amity stands up hastily as they approach and begins composing some dignified greetings in her head. Her brain freezes up when Luz kisses her cheek, and she just sticks her hand out and tries to remember her name.
"It's nice to meet you, Amity," Camila says, trying to pry her hand out of Luz's grip. "You're a witch, like Luz said?"
Amity still doesn't trust her mouth to move, so she nods and hopes that she doesn't cry again.
Nothing is more pathetic than crying from happiness.
Even if Luz didn't leave her.
…
Amity packs her bag, because it's really only a matter of time before her parents find out about the humans. Emira has promised to make excuses to them, even if she says she can't promise that they won't track her down eventually.
For now, she summons an Abomination under her window to cushion her fall and takes off running into the night.
The Owl House's windows are still brightly lit. Amity walks to the door, which opens immediately.
"Luz, your friend Amity is here! Hoot hoot!"
"Amity!" Luz squeals, picking Amity up by the waist and swinging her around. Again. She's going to have to get used to that.
"Cariña, you're always welcome here, but it's the middle of the night," Camila says from her position on the one chair that isn't broken.
"It's just that – my parents aren't very happy about any friends that they don't pick out, and I figure it's only a matter of time before they find out about you," Amity says, putting her bag down by the front door.
"We accept you here no matter what," Camila says, smiling. She gets up to give Amity a hug.
Amity still isn't used to the hug thing. Luz likes to hug people, and Camila likes to hug people, and apparently most humans like to hug people, but it always feels weird to be that close to somebody else.
"Fine, great, Luz has a friend and I have another mouth to feed," Eda grumbles, but she's grinning.
"This girl is starving!" Camila snaps. "Edalyn, go find some food for her. She's part of the family now."
Eda rolls her eyes in disbelief, and Amity expects her to ignore Camila, but she gets up, grumbling about her old bones, and trudges into the kitchen.
"Hey! Pillow, come back!" King demands, stomping after her. A muffled crash issues from the kitchen.
"I'll go make sure they don't kill each other," Camila says, rushing into the kitchen at a louder crashing sound.
"I'm so happy!" Luz says, settling for draping herself over Amity's neck rather than continuing to spin her. "I have everyone I need at the Owl House. Eda, my mom, my girlfriend –"
"Does 'girlfriend' mean something different in the human world?" Amity interjects.
"Yes. Obviously it just means that we're platonic friends with nothing else going on," Luz says, then leans in to plant a kiss on Amity's nose that makes her turn scarlet. "Yes, it means girlfriend, you idiot."
"Really? I'm the idiot here now?" Amity says, laughing when Luz pokes her in the ribs.
Luz is right.
This is everyone Amity needs.
Translations of the Spanish:
"Mija": shortened from "mi hija" or "my daughter". Term of endearment.
"Dios mío": My God.
"Cariña": dear or darling.