This is a little something I was inspired to do back after Season2a finished up. It takes place sometime after the events of Eclipse Lake. And I must include a warning this time as there will be some graphic content in this chapter, which will include blood and gore among other macabre imagery. If that is not something you want to see in a story, then this is not for you.

Fairy Fresh & Baked with Love

The weather was practically perfect that day in Bonesborough. Demons and witches of all ages were out and about, making the most of the magnificent weather. Children were playing and couples were strolling through the streets or the park. Even people who did not go outside were enjoying the beautiful day. Luz Noceda, for one, was lounging on the floor of her room, basking in the sunlight that came through the window while she passed the time with writing.

Luz nibbled on the eraser of her pencil; her eyes focused on the notebook page before her. She was lazing on her sleeping bag, resting herself on her stomach with her lower legs up in the air. They slowly swung back and forth while she quietly pondered where to go with the Azura fanfic she was working on. After a few seconds she pulled the eraser away from her mouth and started to guide the pencil tip across the paper. Her neat handwriting slowly filled up line after line until she found herself stuck again, returning the eraser to its previous location between her teeth.

Her train of thought began moving again after a quick debate of how to proceed. She went to jot down the newly conjured addition to her story when her bedroom door suddenly burst open. Luz felt the tip of her pencil snapping as she jerked reflexively in response to the abrupt intrusion. After taking a moment to frown at the line that had jaggedly been scratched over the page, she looked up to find the one responsible to be Hooty.

"Hi Luz!" The ever-good-natured house demon squawked. "There's a special someone for you at the door!"

Letting out an excited gasp, Luz forgot all about her writing and hurried downstairs. As she approached the open front door a huge smile grew on her face. She found that her guest, as she expected, was her rival turned friend turned awesome girlfriend, Amity Blight. Her cotton-candy haired goddess stood before her with both hands hidden behind her back and a sparkle in her eyes.

"¡Buenas tardes, hermosa!" Luz greeted cheerfully. "What brings you here? Did you miss me?"

"Oh, terribly." Amity replied, smiling coyly. "I just had to come by and see you. I would have been here sooner, but I didn't want to show up both unannounced and empty-handed. So, I brought a little surprise for you."

"Aw, you didn't have to bring me anything!" Luz said, gazing lovingly at her novia. "What's the occasion?"

"Just a little something to celebrate your recovery from the common mold." Amity answered, her smile growing the tiniest amount. "Would you like to guess what I have for you?"

Luz nodded eagerly. "You bet I would! Let's see… is it… your newest Azura fanart?"

"No, that's not quite ready yet."

"Okay, then maybe it's… a new book?"

Amity shook her head, her lavender locks swaying alluringly. "Nope, try again. Here's a hint. It's something edible."

"Ooh, ooh, is it a box of chocolates for us to share?" Luz asked excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "That would be romantic!"

"Sorry, but it's not chocolates either. Not that you need the sugar, considering how sweet you are already." Amity told her with a giggle. "But it is something we can enjoy together. Any other guesses?"

"Uh-uh." Luz admitted with a quick shake of her head. "I give up. What did you bring for us?'

Taking a step closer to Luz, Amity moved her hands from behind her back to reveal her surprise. Luz's eyes lit up as she saw her girlfriend holding out a pie to her, only for her excitement to rapidly fade like the color from her own face. She felt her stomach churning as she realized it was a fairy pie. The sight of tiny limbs poking out of the crust made that very evident. It even seemed like one of them was still moving; twitching as if in terrible pain.

A small shudder passed through Luz as a single horrifying image flashed through her mind of the poor fairies being baked alive. Even if not for that gruesome fact, she still couldn't stomach the thought of eating something like… that. She had lucked out the last time and was able to take it back to the Owl House, simply letting Amity know later she had enjoyed every bite. Had she known that those words would come back to bite her however, she would have handled the situation differently.

Luz returned her focus to Amity, the look of pride on the young witch's face riddling her with guilt. She forced a smile while wracking her brain for a way to respond. Fortunately, she was saved by the sound of cute, little paws on the floorboards as King scrambled over on all fours to join them. He locked his eyes onto the baked good in Amity's hands, letting out an excited gasp.

"I thought I smelled something yummy! Is that what I think it is?!" he asked. "Because if it is, I want it!"

"Sorry King." Amity said, holding the pie up a little higher as the demon began hopping up to try and grab it from her hands. "But this is a special treat for just Luz and myself."

"Weh?" King replied, tilting his head with a questioning look in his eyes. "You do know that Luz won't be able to eat that, right?"

"Don't be ridiculous. There's no dairy in the recipe and she would have told me if she had any allergies the first time, I made her one."

King let out a single laugh and crossed his arms. "That's not what I meant, miss hug-thief. What I was saying is that Luz won't eat your yummy treat because she doesn't think it's yummy at all."

A scowl came to Amity's face and she strutted past the supercilious little furball. "I'll have you know that Luz enjoyed the fairy pie I made her before. She even told me the next day, and I quote, 'it was the best fairy pie I had ever eaten.' Isn't that right, Luz?"

"Um, yeah." Luz said with a nervous smile. "No doubts about it! Your baking is in a league of its own! Better than any other fairy pie I've ever had!"

"You've never eaten any fairies before!" King exclaimed, throwing his arms up in mild frustration. "You didn't even have a crumb of that pie! Eda and me ate it all!"

Amity was taken aback by King's statement. She almost didn't believe him, but he sounded far too sure of himself. Turning to Luz for an answer, Amity caught her girlfriend with an unquestionably guilty look on her face. There was no need to bother with asking; Amity could see what she needed to know in Luz's nervous eyes.

"You… didn't even try a single bite?" She asked, sounding hurt.

Unable to bring herself to say it, Luz merely shook her head in response. The guilt was making her stomach churn worse than the thought of eating the fairy pie. Seeing how upset Amity was worried Luz more than any of the perils she had endured so far on the Boiling Isles. To make things worse, she had absolutely no idea what to do or say in order to resolve the issue. A simple apology, no matter how sincere, didn't seem like enough.

After an incredibly awkward silence that felt like it lasted for far longer than it really did, Amity turned away from Luz. She looked down at the pie in her hands solemnly as she tried to process what she had just learned. It bothered her so much she didn't even know what to say to Luz next. Her gaze shifted over to King and she held out the baked good to the little demon in offering.

"Here, I don't want this to go to waste." She said sadly. "So, enjoy."

Not needing to be told twice, King happily accepted the pie from Amity. But just as he was about to scurry off, Luz impulsively snatched it away from him and stepped in front of her girlfriend. She looked at the pie briefly with a grimace and then scrounged up some courage as she blurted out something she sincerely hoped she wouldn't regret.

"It won't go to waste! I'll… I'll eat it with you!"

"Um, excuse you! She just gave that to me!" King protested, stamping his widdle foot down. "No take-backsies!"

"W-we can all share it then!" Luz replied, smiling nervously. "You'd be okay with that, right Am-Am?"

Amity let out a sigh. "Forcing yourself to eat it just because you don't want to hurt my feelings isn't any better than lying to me to spare my feelings. But at least this way you can say you've tried it once. So yes, I suppose I'd be okay with that."

Taking the pie back from Luz, Amity went into the kitchen. Luz fetched some plates from a cabinet while Amity pulled a large knife out along with some forks and set the pie down on the table. She held the knife out over it, poking the tip into the center. Then she sliced down into it, Luz wincing a little at the sight. There was a snapping sound from the blade cutting through what Luz could only imagine was the tiny bones of the fairies. Amity made a second cut, angling it as best she could to get an approximate third of the pie.

Luz watched in mild horror as Amity lifted the slice out of the pie tin. The knife had cut right through the bottom of one fairy's ribcage, the lower half within the slice she was about the be served. A length of tiny intestines fell out and dangled like cooked spaghetti as Amity set the pie slice onto a plate. She then stuck a fork into it before passing it to Luz, who took it very hesitantly. Luz stared at the food, trying to ignore the queasy feeling in her stomach at the thought of what she was about to do.

Turning the plate so she couldn't see the entrails anymore, Luz took the fork in hand. She went for a piece from the edge, trying to get as much pie crust as possible in hopes it would help her endure the first bite. But she was met with a gruesome surprise as she lifted the bite up. There in the opening she had made in the crust was the face of a fairy, with most of the skin removed by the fork's prongs.

Unable to hold back her disgust, Luz hastily set the plate back onto the table and stepped away. Out the corner of her eye she could see Amity frowning at her. Luz felt her guilt return and overwhelm the building nausea as she looked shamefully down at the floor. Amity took the plate and passed it down to King who threw the fork aside and proceeded to shove the entire slice into his mouth. As he began chewing noisily, Luz felt herself starting to gag and put a little distance between herself and him, averting her gaze the entire time he was eating.

King quickly finished devouring his treat and looked up at Amity with big, edacious eyes. "More!" He demanded.

"Of course." Amity replied, cutting the remaining pie in two and handing another piece to King. "It's nice to know that someone likes it." She grumbled, glancing at Luz.

"Oh, come on, it's King!" Luz said, almost defensively. "He eats out of the trash!"

Amity let out a shocked gasp. "Are you calling my cooking garbage?!"

"What? No! That's not what I meant!" Luz tried to hastily explain, waving her arms back and forth. "Just because I think it's gross doesn't mean it's garbage!"

"That doesn't help me feel any better, Luz!"

"Hey, what's with all the noise in my kitchen?" Came the sound of Eda's voice, followed by the witch herself as she walked into the room. "You know how I feel about teen drama going on in my house!"

Both Luz and Amity looked away from each other, Amity crossing her arms and letting out a mildly offended huff. Eda sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She had woken up from her midday nap at the wrong time. A part of her just wanted to turn around and walk away, but she just knew if she didn't try to resolve the matter now then odds were that Luz would end up coming to her later on anyways.

"Alright, just why is Bossy Boots so upset? What did you do this time?" She asked of Luz.

"Luz apparently can judge my cooking skills without so much as a taste." Amity answered, picking up the remaining piece of pie and holding it out along with a fork. "Tell me Eda, do you think my pie is disgusting?"

Eda took the slice and prodded it with the fork. She got a bit and lifted it up to eye level to inspect it, quickly figuring out what the filling was made from. Setting the fork down onto the plate again, Eda looked at Amity with one eyebrow quirked.

"You made Luz a fairy pie? Kid, you do know she can't eat fairies, right?"

"Luz made it very clear that…" Amity began before trailing off. "Wait, did you say she can't eat fairies? Why can't she eat them? She would have told me if she had an allergy."

"It's not an allergy or anything like that." Eda began to explain. "Her stomach can't handle a lot of the things we eat here. Heck, her first couple of days with me were rough because there was a lot of trial and error with the different kinds of food that I tried to prepare for her. Thought she was gonna develop a phobia of eating with all the trouble she had trying to get through some of her meals."

"I… I had no idea." Amity said, rubbing her arm. "Luz… why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I didn't want to hurt your feelings!" Luz answered before letting her head hang a little. "But I guess I failed with that, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. But I can't say I wasn't inconsiderate myself." Amity admitted. "It never occurred to me that there could be things that would be dangerous for you to eat. It makes so much sense now that I think of it, there were so many times you shied away from the cafeteria food at school. I feel so stupid!"

"Don't say that! You aren't stupid, Amity! I'm stupid for not being honest with you!"

"Both of you were stupid for not communicating better with each other." Eda said. "Now wrap this up and apologize so we can move on already!"

Amity stepped closer to Luz and extended both arms, offering a hug. Luz closed the distance between them and embraced Amity as tightly as she could, even lifting her up a bit in the process. In addition, Luz started to nuzzle her cheek against Amity's to further express how sorry she was about her mistake. Caught off guard by both the force of the hug and the additional physical contact, Amity could only let herself be overcome by the display of affection from Luz.

By the time Luz finished with her apology, Amity had been left in a mild daze. After Luz released her from the embrace, Amity slumped down onto her knees, her lower legs splayed at an angle behind her. She wobbled a bit, a dreamy look in her eyes and an almost dopey smile on her face. Luz looked at her girlfriend with concern while Eda struggled to hold back a snicker at the display.

"Um, Am-Am? Are you okay?" Luz asked.

"Mmm-hmm." Amity replied with a weak nod. "Am-Am is very okay."

Eda couldn't hold it back any longer and let out a snort. She cackled a bit as Luz offered a hand to help Amity back up onto her feet. Amity reached up to hold her girlfriend's hand and shakily stood up. She steadied herself by leaning on Luz while she regained her composure. The two blushed and smiled at each other for a moment, separating reluctantly while Eda continued to watch them in amusement.

"Okay, now that you two are done with your little lover's spat, talk things out or whatever so you can avoid this sort of thing again." Eda instructed, turning to leave the kitchen. "I'll be in the living room, watching some Crystal Ball and enjoying this tasty snack. Let's go King, the love birds need some quality time."

She stepped out, eating a bite of her slice along the way. King followed, but only after securing the final piece of the fairy pie, courtesy of Amity. Once he had gone to join Eda on the couch, Amity returned her attention to Luz. A silence was forming between them, Amity struggling to think of something to say before it started to feel awkward. Her thoughts focused on her original intention when she came over and she took Luz's hand with both of her own.

"I'd still like to make something for you." She offered. "So, since the pie was not the best idea, what sort of food would you like?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I love pie!" Luz replied. "It's just that the pies back home are… different. I usually like ones with either blueberries or cherries in them. Oh, and sweet potatoes. That is my favorite."

"Wait… humans use fruit to bake their pies? Or vegetables?" Amity queried, mildly surprised. "Not meat?"

"Most of them, no. But some of them are. Just not to have for dessert. Those are things like chicken pot pies or a mincemeat pie… wait… I don't think those are actually made with meat." Luz said, trailing off as her mind switched subjects. "What the heck is in those things?"

"Then humans do eat pies made with meat." Amity observed. "Does that mean if I made one for you, you would try it? That is… if I didn't use the whole fairy but just the meat?"

"You mean like a fairy pot pie?" Luz asked, tilting her head a bit. "I guess I could try that."

Amity's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly at Luz. She gave her a quick hug and went to leave the kitchen, telling Luz she would be back soon. Luz saw her to the front door and watched as she began hurrying towards Bonesborough. Once Amity was out of sight, Luz went to join Eda and King on the couch.

The moment she sat down, King crawled into her lap and curled up. He let out a yawn and closed his eyes, snoring almost instantly. Luz smiled softly and stroked the fur on his back while he snoozed. Eda was lounging with both feet propped onto the coffee table. She was searching for something to watch on the crystal ball, flipping through the channels. All she found on at the time was either a rerun or just plain dreck in her opinion, so she shut if off again and dropped the remote onto the couch.

"What exactly is your girlfriend off doing anyways?" Eda asked, shifting her body down a bit more to get more comfortable. "Seemed like she was in a much better mood."

"We talked a little bit and agreed to try a different approach." Luz explained, continuing to pet King. "She thinks I would be able to eat a fairy pie more easily if the meat were all chopped up. So, we're making one that way."

"Huh, that's not a bad idea." Eda commented. "You humans can be pretty squeamish, after all. I doubt you'd be able to chomp down on a whole fairy, even if it wouldn't make you wretch. Good for you, still wanting to try it after all that fuss you caused. Maybe she'll give you a smooch if you praise her cooking."

"Eda!" Luz exclaimed, wincing as King stirred in her lap. He didn't wake and she let out a silent sigh before glaring a bit at Eda. "That isn't why I'm doing it!"

"Relax, Luz. I'm only teasing." Eda replied, holding back a snicker. "Besides, if anything you owe her a little sugar after how you upset her today."

Luz's face went pink. "Eda!"

The Owl Lady cackled at her student's reaction. Luz simply pouted and focused on continuing to pet King, who once again roused from his nap briefly. With a bit of effort, Eda stifled her laughter and got up from her seat. She scooped up King from Luz's lap, much to the human's dislike and nestled him in her arms. After both she and Luz took a moment to adore him as he snuggled closer to his adopted mother, Eda started for the front door.

"Well, I think I'll head out for a bit so you and Boots can have your quality time without any interference. But keep in mind that Hooty is still here and I'm gonna make it his business to interfere with you two if you start getting too lovey-dovey while I'm gone." She told Luz, opening the door and looking to the house demon on the other side. "You got that, Hooty? If Luz and her girlfriend start fooling around, make it awkward."

"Making things awkward is my specialty!" Hooty happily squawked.

"We're not going to do anything like that!" Luz insisted, her face going a bit pink again. "All we're going to do is make a fairy pie!"

"Please, Luz. I was a teenager once too. I know what sort of things can go on with dating and romance at your age." Eda replied with a knowing smirk. "But, getting back to the subject of fairy pie, you better follow through and try it this time. Fairies are pricey. Boots must be spending a good number of snails on you."

"You really think so?"

"Kid, she could easily buy a fancy meal at an expensive restaurant with the amount she's spending on fairies." Eda stated confidently. "That's not the kind of thing someone will do for just anyone. Keep that in mind. You wouldn't want to disappoint your girlfriend again, right?"

Luz shook her head, looking down at her feet. There was still a little bit of guilt lingering from earlier and she could feel it start to well up again. She hoped going through with the new idea would be enough to fully compensate for her mistake. But seeing how happy Amity had been with the arrangement had been a good sign and Luz was confident things were going to work out fine in the end.

Eda went to leave, off to restock on her elixir and possibly take another crack at bounty hunting too. Now that she had managed to get better control of her harpy form, she expected she would have an easier time and be less likely to get ripped off by a certain demon at the bounty booth. Still cradling King in her arms, she shifted forms and took flight, Luz seeing her off just as she had done with Amity.

Now with almost everyone else out of the house, Luz returned to her room while she awaited her girlfriend's return. She picked back up the writing again and tried to recall where she had been going with her story before Hooty had interrupted her. After reading through some of it, she got her creative flow back and steadily filled the page, line after line as the minutes ticked away.

Eventually, Luz found a good spot to stop for the time being and she went back downstairs. Since Amity had yet to return, Luz opted to clean up the kitchen a bit in preparation for their baking session. She started with wiping down the counter and tabletops and then took care of some dishes in the sink. After they were clean, she got out some things she thought would be necessary for preparing the pie, neatly setting them onto the counter.

The wait came to an end a couple minutes later when the front door opened and Amity announced her return. Luz met her at the entrance to the kitchen, noting that she was carrying a decent sized cardboard box with handles. It almost looked like the sort of thing she had seen some people carrying pets around in, like kittens or ferrets. There were even small holes near the top for air, which had Luz a little confused for a moment. But then it occurred to her just what it was that her girlfriend was carrying.

"Is that… um, the fairies we'll be baking into a pie?" She asked hesitantly.

Amity nodded, holding up the box proudly. "Yes, it is. I got a dozen of them. All nice and plump too!"

"And there are holes in the box, because?"

"For air, of course. They still need to breathe, silly!"

"I was afraid you would say something like that." Luz admitted, eyes warily returning to the box. "So, then does that mean that we have to… to… you know?"

"Have to what?" Amity asked, tilting her head slightly. "Do you mean butcher them? How else would we get the meat?"

"They can't just do it at the store?" Luz asked in return, wincing a bit.

"Unfortunately, they cannot. Or they should not, to be precise. Fairy meat spoils very quickly, so it's always better to kill the fairies before cutting them up if you don't plan to cook them alive."

Luz paled a bit at how casually Amity had mentioned the grisly task. Amity picked up on Luz's discomfort, her expression becoming one of concern. She set the box onto the counter and then clasped her hands in front of herself, letting her gaze fall to the floor.

"You're having second thoughts, aren't you?" She asked sadly.

"No! I mean, yeah, I am not crazy about the whole butchering thing, but I'm not backing out!" Luz stated firmly. "We're still going to make and share that pie, but… I just can't… kill a fairy."

"Don't worry about it." Amity replied, stepping closer and cupping Luz's face with her hand. "I wasn't going to ask you to do that anyway. You leave the filling to me and you can prepare the crust. Sound good?"

"Uh-huh." Luz answered with a little nod. "Thanks Amity, you really are awesome."

"And don't you forget it." Amity told her with a wink. "Now let's wash our hands and get to work!"

After they each took a couple minutes to wash up, Luz and Amity started on making the pie. Luz was a little disappointed to learn that many of the things she had set out were not going to be needed after all. They would only need the pie tin, the mixing bowl, and the rolling pin; Amity had brought her own tools from home to use. She placed a canvas roll-up bag onto the counter and unfolded it, revealing a set of over a dozen pieces that seemed more like dissection tools than cooking utensils in Luz's eyes.

Amity opened the box and began removing the fairies, laying them down gently onto the counter in a row. Luz looked at the little creatures with pity. Seeing them all laying there, sound asleep, not even the slightest bit aware their lives were about to end. Her eyes went to the kit that Amity had brought again and shuddered. She was suddenly much more grateful she had been given the task of making the pie crust. It would be a great way to distract herself.

Once Amity had finished taking the fairies out of the box, she also took out some other things she had gotten for the pie. Luz turned her attention away from the fairies, noticing Amity was holding a vial of beige colored powder. She held out for Luz, who accepted it with a knowing look.

"Ooh, this is that stuff for instant dough, isn't it?" She asked. "Just add water, right?"

"You guessed it." Amity replied. "I'm going to need a little time to get the meat ready, so you can take your time with the crust."

"Kay!"

Luz took the stopper out of the vial and poured the powder onto the counter. She went to the sink, turning the cold water on and filling a measuring cup up halfway. Then she added that to the powder and started mixing it up until it had formed into a blob of dough. A giggle escaped her as she began to knead the dough, an idea forming in her mind. Since she had the time, she decided she could have a little fun and play with the dough until the crust was needed.

While she started to fool around, Amity was setting to work. She had her hair tied back into a ponytail and was looking around the kitchen for something. After checking inside a few drawers, she gave up her search and turned to Luz.

"Does Eda have an apron that I could borrow?" She asked. "I forgot to grab one when I went back home earlier."

"Eda doesn't really wear aprons." Luz answered. "But there should be one somewhere around here. Lemme check."

She set aside the dough and washed her hands again before leaving the kitchen. A little more than a minute later, she returned. There was an amused look on her face for some reason, but Amity was more interested in the folded piece of fabric in Luz's hands.

"Found it!" She declared, unfurling the apron. "This was in a trash slug that Eda found a while back. Don't worry, I washed it a dozen times to make sure it was clean. I was planning to wear it for you, but this is good too. May I?"

Amity giggled, blushed, and nodded. She spread her arms out to make it easier for Luz, who first put the loop over her head. Then she stepped closer and went to hug Amity, tying the straps of the apron behind her girlfriend's back. Another giggle escaped Amity, Luz joining in as she finished and stepped back.

"That is a cute look for you." Luz commented.

"Thank you." Amity replied, her blush still tinting her cheeks pink. She looked down at the apron and noticed something was written on the front. "What does that say?" She mused aloud, squinting her eyes as she read upside down. "Kiss the cook?"

"If you insist!" Luz chirped, a playful look in her eyes.

She stepped up to Amity again and gave her a peck on the cheek. With a blush and a giggle, Amity returned the favor and then they went back to work. Luz resumed kneading the dough, getting it ready for the rolling pin. At the very moment she went to start flattening it, a sound caught her attention. Then she heard it again, it was the sound of something snapping. Turning her attention away from her work, Luz checked for the source of the noise and was met with a shocking sight.

Amity was breaking the necks of the fairies. One by one, she was lifting the unconscious little demons up and just breaking their necks with a firm twist of their heads. She was happily humming while she did it too, adding to Luz's horror. Just before Amity could end another little fairy life, Luz looked back to the dough and did her best to keep her focus on it as she started rolling it flat.

The seconds went by agonizingly slow for Luz, having to struggle to ignore the sound of fairy necks being broken. When Amity finally finished the task, Luz let out a soft sigh of relief. And then she made the mistake of looking over at Amity again, just in time to see her girlfriend taking one of the tools out of her kit. It was like a scalpel, only with a barb coming off the back of the tip, and Amity was moving to press it to the belly of a fairy.

Luz had no idea why, but she couldn't make herself look away from the scene. It was a quick little cut, a line of violet colored blood appearing afterwards. Amity turned the blade around and dipped it into the incision, using the barb to hook the fairy's innards and pull them out. She took out a pair of scissors with fine, bent tips and used them to snip the tissue free of the fairy's abdominal cavity. From there, Amity also removed the kidneys and what Luz assumed was a liver.

"Could you make an ice glyph for me, Luz?" Amity asked, looking up from her work. "I want to make sure I preserve these so I can use them later."

"What for?" Luz asked in return, praying she wouldn't regret doing so.

"I'd like to use them to make fairy-bread." Amity told her, beginning the disembowelment of the next fairy. "It would be a shame to let them go to waste just because they aren't in the pie."

"Oh… sure… I totally get it." Luz replied, forcing a smile. "I just need a minute."

She washed her hands while Amity continued with her work. Another string of fairy intestines was piled onto the first, followed by the other organs afterwards. Luz began to feel queasy, looking away and making the requested glyph for Amity. As she set the glyph onto the counter, she got a perky 'thank you' from Amity, who was working on the next fairy. The pile continued to grow over the next few minutes while Luz kept kneading the dough, taking far longer than was necessary simply to keep her eyes off what Amity was doing.

Amity picked up another of the tools from her set, what looked like a pair of shears with short, narrow blades. She positioned them at the bottom of a fairy's ribcage and started to cut through the bones one by one, a very audible snapping noise sounding each time. Luz cursed herself for her morbid curiosity and she dared to peek and saw her girlfriend extracting the lungs and heart. The lungs were set onto the pile of other organs while the heart was placed aside for the start of a new pile.

The sound of Amity cutting open the ribcages of the other fairies continued. Luz started to hum to try and drown out the unsettling noise. To her relief, Amity joined in with her and she was so grateful she had chosen the song from the Azura movie's closing credits. She wasn't sure if Amity just wanted to hum along because she loved it too, or if she was aware of Luz's discomfort, but either way it was enough to make the difference Luz needed.

After she finished emptying the thoraxes of the fairies, Amity set down her tools and collected the pile of mixed organs. She placed them onto the ice glyph and tapped it, encasing them in a craggy chunk of ice. Then she hurried to wrap it in some parchment and then stowed it into the ice box. Next, she returned to the counter where her tools were and took out a short cleaver.

"I'm going to need a cutting board for the next step."

Luz went to the island in the kitchen and opened the cupboards. She picked up an old slab of wood which Eda used as a cutting board. Amity accepted it and placed it onto the counter, laying a fairy corpse onto it and lifting her cleaver. With a swift motion, Amity brought the blade down and lopped the head off the fairy. The sight made Luz flinch and she shut her eyes instinctively.

Amity noticed Luz's reaction and tried to finish up her task quickly. She felt bad that she couldn't do anything about the sound of the cleaver, a tiny pang of guilt stabbing her when she saw Luz cover her ears. When she lopped off the final fairy's head, she set the cleaver down and went to tap Luz on the shoulder, stopping when she realized she had fairy blood all over her hands. So instead, she got her girlfriend's attention by giving her a peck on the cheek.

The feel of the chaste kiss gave Luz a tiny start and brought a blush to her face. She opened her eyes and lowered her hands, finding Amity giving her an apologetic look, accompanied with her own blush. They stood in silence for the next few seconds, Amity feeling very hesitant after how Luz was acting. And when she considered what the next step would be….

"Sorry, Luz. I should have warned you what I was going to do." She said softly. "Um, so for the next step, I will be getting the meat off the bones. And… I need to clean the fairy skulls too."

"Clean them?" Luz questioned, her eyes slowly widening as she realized what it meant. She paled a bit and took a step back, a nervous smile coming to her face. "Well, you get started on that. I'll be right back, I just realized that I forgot to… go to the bathroom!"

She turned on her heel and started to leave. Before she could finish the first step, she felt something grip her shoulder. Amity had summoned her abomination goo in the shape of a hand and was gently turning her around. Luz was grateful to see that Amity didn't look mad, despite having caught onto her. But she could still tell that her attempt hadn't pleased her girlfriend either.

"Sorry, I kinda panicked." She lamely explained. "Please don't be mad."

"It's okay. But, please remember how we promised to be honest earlier."

Luz nodded and slowly took in a breath. "Am-Am, I don't want to watch you clean fairy skulls. May I be excused?"

"Of course. But before you go, you should try one of the fairy hearts. They are so tasty!"

Amity picked one of them up and tossed it into her mouth. She then grabbed another and held it out for Luz. When she didn't take it, Amity stepped closer and tried to hold it up to feed it to her. Luz responded by stepping back and clapping her hands over her mouth, much like a child who didn't want to take her medicine. After that, Amity gave up and ate the heart herself, pushing it through her lips and happily chewing.

"Alright, but you don't know what you're missing. They're little bursts of flavor."

She picked up a few more and ate them all at once. Luz shuddered as she saw her girlfriend consume the little organs no differently than gumdrops. And as much as she didn't want to look, she couldn't help but watch the sight with morbid fascination. Amity finished her little snack and took another tool out from her kit. A thin, short probe that ended in a set of tiny, pointy prongs.

"You definitely won't want to be here for this part. I'm going to remove their eyes. Go wait in the living room for now and I'll join you when the pie is in the oven."

There was no hesitation as Luz complied. She had already been on the move when Amity had mentioned the eye removal. Her hasty departure from the kitchen almost made Amity feel bad again, but Amity had expected it would happen. If she were to be honest with herself, she was starting to find Luz's squeamish side a bit cute.

Luz settled onto the couch and started looking for something to watch on the crystal ball. She found a game show where eight teams competed to clear obstacle courses and answer history questions for prizes. The host, a massive stone head with red gems for eyes, was explaining the layout of a temple that the final team would need to enter to find an artifact and then escape to win.

The show quickly sucked Luz in, commanding her attention. Luz became absorbed in watching the contestants as they rushed into the temple and dodged booby traps. They worked together to solve puzzles and move from room to room in search of their quarry. Just as they finally found the artifact, they were jumped by a temple guardian. A gasp escaped Luz's lips and she got down on her knees so she could move her face closer to the crystal ball and watch what happened next with baited breath.

She was so focused on the crystal ball that she was unaware of Amity calling her name. Amity tried again and after no response, poked her head out of the kitchen to see what her girlfriend was doing. A tiny frown came to her face when she saw Luz practically pressing her face against the crystal ball and she twirled her finger, conjuring an orb of light. The orb flew over to Luz and got between her and the ball, snapping her attention away from the show.

"Hello! Your girlfriend is talking to you!" Amity told her with a trace of attitude. "I need another ice glyph, please."

"What for?" Luz asked, getting up and walking over to Amity. "Also, sorry for ignoring you."

"It's fine. As for the glyph… well…" Amity trailed off, wincing a little. "Maybe it's better you don't know."

"Say no more. Just a sec."

Luz retrieved her notepad and pen and returned to Amity. She drew an ice glyph and tore the page out of the notepad, holding it out to Amity. When she reached out to take it, Luz noticed that Amity's hands were coated with purple stains. There were also some tiny stains on the apron as well, which Luz wouldn't have thought twice about if not for the fact she knew it was fairy blood. And as horrifying as the idea was, she found the sight oddly beautiful.

Amity took the glyph and went back into the kitchen. Luz kept her eyes on her, still a bit entranced. Her gaze quickly shifted when she spotted something on the counter that made her eyes go wide. She rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the bottle, a panicked look coming to her face.

"Oh no, please tell me you didn't use Eda's apple blood. She will be so mad!"

"Don't worry, I wouldn't do that. That apple blood is something I picked up when I got the fairies. It is for cooking purposes only."

"That's a relief. Eda would have baked me into a pie if she thought I let you use her apple blood without permission." Luz said, letting out a little sigh.

She went to set the bottle back onto the counter and caught sight of something disturbing. A pile of bones, all of which still had tiny bits of purple meat on them. Luz took a step back and looked away, returning her gaze to her girlfriend who headed to the icebox with a bundle wrapped in parchment.

"Wait, you didn't need the ice glyph for the bones?" Luz asked.

"No, those will be fine as long as they are kept chilled." Amity explained. "I used the glyph to freeze the brains."

"Of course." Luz said, forcing a smile. "More ingredients for the fairy bread, right?"

"For gelatin actually." Amity told her, stowing away the new bundle. "And I can use the bones to make cookies for you. I'll do that later today and bring them to you tomorrow. Maybe you can try the gelatin too?"

"Uh…. Polite pass." Luz replied. "Not that I don't appreciate the offer, but… I don't think I'm ready to try literal brain food yet."

Amity smiled at her understandingly and said no more. She ushered Luz back out of the kitchen and returned to her work. Luz returned to her show, finding a new episode had started. By the time the teams started the first of the obstacles, Amity joined her. The pie was in the oven and she had cleaned up, leaving them with nothing but time together while they waited.

They spent the rest of the hour enjoying the show, although Amity was not quite as invested in it as Luz. She simply enjoyed her girlfriend's company, sitting close and cozy to Luz's side. Eventually the howl of the kitchen timer drew her away so she could take out the pie and let it cool. Amity called Luz into the kitchen, beaming with excitement.

After allowing the pie to cool for ten minutes, Amity cut a sliver for Luz. She held it gingerly in one hand and kept the other below it, to catch any bits that could fall off. Luz hesitated, dealing with mixed feelings at the sight. While having Amity try to hand feed her was nice, she still had her doubts about the food. Although it did look far more appealing than the first fairy pie.

Luz took a deep breath and leaned forward, opening her mouth. She let the very tip of the slice pass her lips before closing her jaws, taking the tiniest of bites. Amity shook her head, not satisfied.

"You won't get much flavor with a nibble like that, Luz." She stated firmly. "You can spit it out if you really don't like it. Come on, big bite now. 'Ahhh'."

"Ahh…" Luz repeated, allowing Amity to feed her again. She took a larger bite and chewed slowly, cooing as she discovered a new and very pleasant flavor. "This is really good! It's kinda like crab meat."

"Crab? Humans eat crabs?" Amity questioned with slight alarm. "Are they really safe to eat or are humans able to digest sulfur easily?"

"Safe to eat." Luz answered, taking the rest of the slice from Amity for another bite. "There's no sulfur."

"That's good to know." Amity replied, cutting a slice for herself. She started to eat, but not with as much zeal as Luz. "It's a shame you can only eat it like this. It's still delicious, but the texture is just not the same without the fairies' bones and organs. But I guess the important thing is that you like it."

"I love it!" Luz chirped, finishing her slice. "More please!"

Amity cut Luz another piece, a larger one. Luz scarfed it down noisily, making Amity giggle. She and Luz polished off the pie, Amity pleased to see Luz eating slightly more than half of it herself. They then took a little more time to enjoy a little more crystal ball, letting the food settle in their stomachs before Amity reluctantly had to head home. Luz saw her to the door where they hugged each other and Amity got a little surprise when Luz also kissed her hand.

"Hasta mañana, hermosa."

"Same to you." Amity giggled. "That does mean goodbye, right?"

"See you tomorrow, beautiful." Luz clarified with a giggle in return. "We should do this again. It was fun cooking with you. You know, even if I didn't do a lot."

"You did plenty. But next time, you're welcome to take the lead and make something special for me."

"Well, since you brought it up, I happen to be pretty good at making griffin egg omelets. What do you say to having me make you breakfast sometime?"

"I'd say it's a date." Amity replied happily.

She turned to leave, looking over her shoulder at Luz as she walked away. They exchanged a small wave and Luz watched until Amity vanished into the trees before going back inside. Just before she could close the door however, she heard someone clearing their throat and noticed Hooty looking at her somewhat disapprovingly.

"So, I didn't want to say anything while your girlfriend was here, but I'm kinda upset that I'm the only one who didn't get any pie." He said a little grumpily. "I mean, there were two of them for hoot's sake!"

"Aw, sorry about that Hooty." Luz said consolingly. "I know, how about I get you one of the frozen voles that Eda has in the icebox? It can be our little secret."

"Oh boy! You're the best, Luz!" Hooty squawked, perking up instantly.

Luz went back into the kitchen and opened the icebox in search of the promised snack for Hooty. As she started to reach inside, she discovered the bundles Amity had put in there earlier had been left behind. She picked them up, wincing a little as she recalled what they contained. Not wasting a second, she hurried to the front door and past Hooty.

"Sorry again Hooty, but I'll need to get you that vole when I get back." She explained in a hurry as she rushed in the direction her girlfriend had gone. "Amity! Amity wait up! You… ugh.. you forgot your fairy guts!"

The end.