Author's Note: I started writing this during the hiatus between season 1 and 2, and thus it is AU post season 1. Some aspects of season 2 were later integrated, but not all of them. So, for example, Hunter and Vee both eventually show up, but Hunter has a different backstory since Belos has a different backstory as well and Vee never impersonated Luz. This has already all been written and posted on AO3; I'm simply adding it to as well so more people can read and enjoy it. Also, before you jump down my throat, I am well aware at this point the glyphs shouldn't work in the Human Realm. It was an oversight and by the time I realized it, it was too deeply integrated into the plot. I hope you enjoy!


Camila rubbed her hands together in anticipation. The cake in front of her was the most delicious looking thing she had ever seen. She had spared no expense, gone to one of the most prestigious bakeries in Seattle. Never had she spent so much money on a dessert before, and her checkbook would be complaining for weeks or even months to come, she just knew it. But it would all be worth it.

The cake was emblazoned with a flag that had become very familiar to Camila in the last few weeks. It had three horizontal stripes on it, a pink one on top, a smaller lavender one in the middle, and a blue one at the bottom. It was the bisexual pride flag.

Camila had known that Luz was bisexual for some time. In all honesty, she'd probably known before Luz even did. The signs were subtle, though, and if Camila had not gone through a similar experience herself as a teenager discovering her own bisexuality, they probably would have flown over her head. She had said nothing, of course, because it was Luz's choice to decide the circumstances in which she came out of the closet.

But now that time was imminent. Luz had told her that she had something very, very important to tell her at dinner, and that could only mean one thing. After all, Camila had seen that very expression on Luz's face on her own in a mirror when she practiced how she would come out to her own parents. She shuddered at the very memory. She would rather die than react how her parents had.

Camila was going to be the most supportive mother that any member of the LGBT community ever had. It wasn't even open for debate. Her daughter liked girls and boys and that was awesome. It was who she was, and Camila would sooner rip her own heart out of her chest with her own bare hands than even hint otherwise.

"Mind if I ask who it's for?" the baker asked, sounding entirely blasé about the whole thing. That was one thing that Camila loved about living in Seattle. People were so chill about the LGBT community here. There were exceptions, of course – there always were and always would be – but it was still a huge, huge change from how things had been when she was a child.

"It's for my daughter," Camila explained. "I'm 99% certain she's coming out tonight, and I want to let her know that she's loved."

"That's so sweet!" the baker responded. "Too many people still have parents who aren't cool with it. Tell you what, it's 10% off, just to thank you for being such a good mother. Just don't tell my manager, okay? I could get in real trouble."

Camila wanted to object, but the cake was really expensive, and even 10% off made her financial situation look a fair bit better. "Thank you."

"No problem," the baker said, and put the cake in a box. "Keep on being awesome!"

In order to make sure that Luz would be as comfortable as possible for her coming out, Camila made her favorite meal: chivo guisado (stew with goat meat, onions, bitter oranges, garlic, tomatoes, bonnet peppers, and oregano) with a side of chenchén (cracked corn pilaf). But it didn't seem to help. While Luz was normally incredibly chatty, this time, they sat in awkward silence until the dinner ended.

"You said there was something you wanted to tell me?" Camila prompted.

"Um…yeah. I don't quite know how to start…"

Camila gave her daughter the most encouraging smile she could think of. "It's okay. You can take as long as you want…and if you feel you can't do it tonight, there's no rush."

"Thanks," Luz said, and then looked like she was lost in thought.

Well, in for a penny in for a pound. Camila didn't want to be the first to do it, but the truth was, Luz wasn't the only one who had been wanting to come out of the closet. "Would it help if I told you that I've been there too?"

Luz's eyes widened in shock and wonderment. "You have?"

Camila reached out and squeezed Luz's hand. "I have. And I wanted so badly to tell my own parents, just as you did." She sighed. "Unfortunately, they did not take it well. They thought I was making it up, that I was just imagining things."

Luz winced. "I guess that's why I never hear anything from your side of the family." That was indeed the case. The moment Camila had become financially independent, she had severed all contact with her parents and never looked back. "That's terrible. Did they…they try to have you committed?"

Camila shook her head. "They would have, though, if I hadn't pretended that everything was okay. That I was…normal. I kept pretending all my life and it…started to become a habit. But then I met your father and…I couldn't keep lying to him. I had to tell him." She couldn't keep the smile off her face. "He believed me, Luz. For the first time, someone believed me. There were times when I didn't even believe it, when I thought that I was just confused."

"NO!" Luz shouted, her voice surprisingly loud. "You should never think that way, mami. It's as real as I am."

Camila couldn't help the torrent of joy that flowed through her upon hearing Luz say that. For so many years, she had been reluctant to tell her, out of terror that Luz would believe the propaganda about bisexuality and think that it meant that she wasn't or couldn't have been faithful to Eduardo. Nothing could be farther from the truth, of course. She had loved Eduardo with all her heart, and her heart could never belong to anyone else, man or woman. Staying in the closet had just been…easier. But it hadn't been better, and now that Luz had given her the courage to step out of it, she realized that having denied a part of herself for so long was a weight on her that she didn't even know it was there until it was lifted.

"Thank you, mija," Camila said, reaching out and stroking Luz's hair. "That means more to me than I can say."

Luz started bouncing in her chair. "Oh! That makes things so much easier. Wow, I don't mind telling you now that I was so stressed out. Like, I was terrified that you'd put me away somewhere or kick me out of the house."

Camila's eyes widened in horror. "Mija, I would never do that. Even if I didn't know what it was like to be in your shoes, I would never do that."

"Oh, I know that! But…you know…" Camila knew. She knew all too well that fear.

Luz pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. She looked like she was finding it utterly impossible to sit still, and while Camila sometimes found that annoying, right now, it was the most endearing thing she'd ever seen. "Okay, so now that you know, I got to show you pictures of Amity!"

Camila had heard a great deal about Amity Blight since Luz had come back from summer camp. She wondered if Luz knew how much she had talked about her. Amity, according to Luz, was the smartest and prettiest girl in all the dimensions (which was a strange, but very Luz-y way of putting it). There was no end to Amity's talents, it would seem. She was even a fan of the Good Witch Azura series. In other words, Luz was head over heels. The only question is whether or not she knew that. Luz had many great qualities; figuring out feelings, especially her own, was not one of them.

"Isn't she just the most amazing girl ever?" Luz said. She showed Camila a photograph of Luz with her arms around a brown-haired girl with eyes of the most peculiar shade of brown, wearing a white dress. Luz had somehow managed to cajole Amity into wearing costume pointy ears that made her look like an elf from the Lord of the Rings. Now if that wasn't a sign that Amity felt the same way about Luz, Camila didn't know what was.

Camila had been terrified throughout the summer that she had made a mistake in sending Luz to Reality Check Camp. She hadn't wanted Luz to stop being who she was, or become "normal." She just wanted her to learn to take some responsibility, to think before she acted, and to improve her social skills. What if Luz had come back hating her? Or, worse, what if she did stop being who she was and came back an unthinking drone?

But it turned out that her worries were completely unfounded. While Luz seemed completely transformed when she returned from camp, all of the changes were for the better. She was stronger, more confident, and happier. She couldn't stop talking about all the friends she had met at camp, like Gus, Willow, and, of course, Amity. It was a pity that they lived such a long way away. She made a mental note to see about trying to get Amity to visit Luz, perhaps over one of the breaks. Long distance relationships could fracture if there wasn't enough face to face contact, even just friendships.

Luz took a deep breath, looking incredibly nervous. "Well, now that I've got that out of the way, I guess I might as well tell you. I mean, compared to…that…it's not really a big deal…I hope. Amity is my girlfriend."

Camila let out a shriek of joy. "Oh, mija, that's fantastic! I figured you had a crush on her, but you actually asked her out and everything? Wow!"

Luz blushed. "Yeah. We've even kissed. And…um…we're kind of, like, madly in love? I mean, I'm madly in love with her. I hope she's that way about me! I'm just glad you're okay with it."

Camila was briefly confused. Luz had come out as bisexual. Why wouldn't that mean that the fact that she had a girlfriend was okay with her? But then again, people could be weird. And she supposed that just because a parent was tolerant of one's sexuality in the abstract didn't mean that they'd actually approve of it when that person really did have a girlfriend. "But of course, mija. Whatever makes you happy makes me happy."

She stood up and walked over to the fridge. "I knew this was coming, so I bought a cake, special for this occasion! It's chocolate, your favorite kind! Don't expect this to be a regular occurrence, though," she added. The last thing she wanted to do was make a habit of this. The dentist visits alone would bankrupt her.

Luz looked surprised. "I…didn't think they didn't had cakes for telling your parents about the Boiling Isles." Camila took the unfamiliar term in stride. Of course teenagers had their own slang about coming out of the closet. Why wouldn't they?

"Well, maybe not specifically that," Camila conceded, "but I think that I came pretty darn close!" With a flourish, she took the box out of the fridge and opened it to reveal the dessert that she knew that Luz would love.

Except…she didn't. She was staring at the cake with an expression of puzzlement, mixed with horror on her face. The blood drained out of Camila's face. Had she screwed up? Oh, God, what if Luz identified as pansexual and she had gotten entirely the wrong flag painted on her cake? She played through her memories of the entire conversation and she realized with a start that at no point during it had anyone mentioned bisexuality at all. It was true! She had screwed up!

"Mija, I'm so sorry!" she said, her voice distraught. "Oh, Luz, I just went and assumed. Are you pan? Or something else? I'll get the cake returned and buy you a new one, I swear. Just don't be mad at me. I promise, I'm trying my best."

"Mami," Luz said slowly and carefully, "what do you think that we've been talking about here?"

Camila blinked. "We've…been talking about you coming out as bisexual. Have…we not?"

Luz banged her head against the table. "Oh, God, I'm so embarrassed right now. Of course you weren't there. It's the classic fanfic trope – one dialogue, two conversations. I mean, you're right – I am bisexual. But that's not what I was talking about. And now I have to do the whole damn thing again." She took a deep breath to steel herself. "Okay. I never went to camp, mami."

The bottom dropped out of Camila's stomach. It made so much sense now. The Reality Check Camp promised to make children normal and teach them to think inside the box. Luz must have thought it was a conversion camp. She thought her own mother sent her to a conversion camp!

And the worst part about it was that she might have been right, for all Luz knew. She didn't exactly do an in depth investigation into the place before she sent Luz there. And they had sent her letters, letters that Luz could not have sent herself, letters that said that that she was having a great time learning about…mortgages, and balancing checkbooks, and how the hell did she think that was something that Luz would EVER say?! Oh, God, she was going to pass out right there and then if she didn't take some deep, calming breaths.

"Luz, Luz, cariño, I swear, I didn't know!" Camila said. Luz just looked bewildered. "I would never want you to change who you were for me. To hide that part of you…no. I'm glad you didn't go."

"Wait…you're acting like you sent me to a conversion camp. Did you send me to a conversion camp?"

"I don't know," Camila admitted. "It wouldn't have been on purpose. But, in retrospect, the place seems really sketchy now. Still…what have you been doing instead? Mija, have you been living on the streets? Or in a shelter? Is that where you met Amity?"

An idea appeared to occur to Luz. "It might be easier if I just show you." Luz took out her phone and showed her photo after photo of what she'd been doing with her summer. At first, it looked like she'd been maybe working at a Renaissance fair or something similar. But the people there weren't dressed anywhere close to other Renaissance fairs that she'd seen. In fact, some of them didn't even look like people. A lot of them didn't, now that she thought about it. And the animals…they weren't even remotely human. Either Luz had gotten really, really good at Photoshop or something else was going on here.

"This is the Boiling Isles," Luz said, her voice now bright and chirpy, as if she was a saleswoman trying to pitch something. Which, Camila realized, she essentially was – this must have been the speech that Luz had expected to give tonight. "A land of magic, wonder, and enchantment." She flipped to a photograph of a hideous looking giant leech and Camila recoiled. "Also, this stuff. Yeah…maybe not the best look for the place."

She hesitated, and Camila nodded for her to go on, trying to look encouraging. "Well, I ended up in there kind of by accident. It's an alternate dimension with magic – real magic, mami. I decided to stay there and learn magic. They thought that humans couldn't do magic, but I proved them wrong! And, well, a lot of stuff happened, like overthrowing an evil tyrant, and fighting a horrible fear monster, and… falling in love." Well, yes. Luz practically glowed when she said Amity's name, after all.

As Luz explained her summer in much greater detail, Camila's first reaction was that Luz had suffered a psychotic break. And in all honesty, she could understand why. It was bad enough that her parents, who had never made much secret of the fact that they didn't love Camila, had refused to accept her. If Luz had thought her own mother, who had always loved her, wanted to "fix" her…well, that would have been enough to send anyone over the edge.

And yet, that did not fit the facts here. If Luz had indeed gone to camp and suffered a break from reality, she would not have been in any fit state to manufacture these photographs. Indeed, these photographs would not have been able to be manufactured using the equipment that the Reality Check Camp would have had available to them, much less equipment Luz could have found at a homeless shelter. It was, strange as it may seem, more logical for them to be real than fake.

But there was a surefire way to prove it, Camila realized. "Mija, you said you could do magic. Can you show me?"

Luz smacked herself on the forehead lightly. "Of course! Oh, man, I didn't even think of that. Of course I should have opened up with that. It would have made the rest so much easier to swallow." She removed a sheet of paper and a pen from her pocket and drew an elaborate glyph that resembled something that she had once seen in a book about Kabbalah. "Abracadabra! I don't actually have to say magic words, but magic words are cool, so I'm saying it anyway."

She tapped the paper and it glowed. And then a spherical ball of light emerged from it and floated into the air. It was…a miracle. It was the most beautiful thing that Camila had ever seen in her life. Her daughter had done that. Her daughter could do magic.

"So…what do you think?" Luz said, her voice really quiet.

"What do I think?" Camila said. "Mija, that's the coolest thing I have ever seen! You're a real witch, just like you always dreamed of!"

Luz nodded slowly. "I mean, what do you think about the whole thing? I want to go back. Aside from you…there's nothing here for me. Nothing at all. Everyone hates me. I have friends there. My mom – mentor!" Camila's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing; that was clearly a conversation for another time. "And Amity."

Camila walked over back towards the table. She reached out and squeezed Luz's hands tightly. "I believe you. I really do. You are a witch, and you can do magic, and you traveled to an alternate dimension. It's true." Luz breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, cariño. I'm so happy for you! I knew this is what you always wanted. I just…thought you could never get it. I've never been so happy to be wrong."

She crossed her arms and put a stern expression on her face. Eduardo had always been better at balancing the good parent/bad parent equation than she was. She always seemed to go a tad overboard in the bad parent side, which is why she wanted to do the good parent stuff first. "But I cannot ignore the fact that you lied to me about your whereabouts for months, and placed yourself in mortal danger repeatedly. So you are grounded for a month."

Luz looked aghast. "A whole month? But, mami, I would have told you! I was just…too afraid. I was terrified that you'd force me to leave and never return. And I couldn't…couldn't do that."

"I understand that there are many extenuating circumstances involved here," Camila conceded. "That's why it's only a month and not much, much longer. This is nonnegotiable, cariño. You cannot make me change my mind."

"So…when the month is over, I can go back to the Boiling Isles?" Luz asked hopefully.

"Yes and no," Camila said. "Your schooling on Earth is still very important, and I will not allow you to abandon it. However, you can still visit on breaks and holidays, and go to school there over the summer. And your friends can come here if they like on their school breaks." A smirk formed on her face. "After all, I'd quite like to meet this new girlfriend of yours."

Luz blushed a very impressive shade of scarlet. "Okay, but be nice to her!"

"Aren't I always?" Camila said, a tad offended that Luz would think that she would be anything else.

"Her parents are…kind of like yours," Luz explained. "Except a lot worse. They don't love her. She's not going to be used to parents being nice." Camila was glad that Luz told her that. She would be sure to be extra gentle with Amity when she showed up.

Luz stood up and walked over to Camila. She spread her arms out. "Hug?"

"As if you even need to ask," Camila said, and hugged her Luz, the first human witch ever. She always knew that Luz would end up doing something extraordinary one day. It turned out that she had vastly underestimated her daughter. "Te quiero, mami."

"Te quiero, mija."

"So is that cake still on the table?" Luz asked hopefully. "After all, I did come out tonight. Twice!"

"Of course, Luz," Camila said, and she ruffled her daughter's hair playfully. "You can have as much as you'd like…mi bruja."