Chapter 3: Welcome home.

A soft breeze was flowing through Amity's hair as they flew through the night sky. Surrounded by countless bright stars, she felt she could touch them, was she to reach out, while a dark sea of trees was beneath them. Beneath her and Luz.

Gus and Willow had left a while ago to get back home, so now it honestly felt like it was just the two of them in the world. And nothing mattered as everyone and everything was passing by beneath them, and they were soaring through the stars completely untethered and free. Alone together, in the most eternal moment of their lives.

Amity took a deep, content breath, like she just now realized how beautiful breathing could be, as her hands tightened a bit around Luz's waist and she leaned her head on her back. And even though her face was turning red and her stomach was screaming at her, she didn't pull away. She didn't stutter any awkward excuse. She just... stayed. Frozen in that moment and all its beauty.

While Luz felt like she was about to faint. Faint or die. Amity was leaning on her! Amity was leaning on her... Breathing a content sigh. Her eyes closed for a moment, as she tightened her hold around her waist. With her own face also blushing, Luz smiled fondly without taking her eyes off of her. She couldn't remember if she ever saw Amity like that. So serene, so... happy. And she was like that... with her.

Amity opened her eyes and hardly a second after their gazes met, they both looked away, their faces still bearing a red color and a smile.

A million thoughts and even more words that had been crossing their minds since the take-off, suddenly hit them all at once (the obvious matter louder than the rest), but still neither said a word. They simply looked at each other again. Clear happiness and gratitude tracing both their faces, almost as if they were looking in a mirror.

And then...

"Luz. We're here." Amity said, her gaze on the Owl House, that was sticking out amongst the trees, and the two landed in front of the front door.

"Eda! We're here!" Luz announced happily as they walked inside, only to see Eda passed out on the couch, with King also sleeping on her lap. Luz smiled at them, before turning to Amity "Okay. Since they're asleep now, let's just go upstairs and we'll fill them in tommorow. You must be tired too, right? Amity?"

"Oh! Yeah... I kind of am." Amity was a little absent-minded as Luz was speaking. She was looking around the house, as if it was the first time she'd ever been there, while at the same time... No, it was probably nothing. Maybe she just needed sleep...

So, the two girls made their way upstairs to the second spare room.

"So, here's your room. I know it's probably not much, but we could... spruce it up a little tommorow if you want. Put on some more fairy lights, a new desk..." Luz said as she opened the door to the room, which indeed didn't look like much. Much like Luz's room, it appeared that it used to be for storage, but now it had a couch, a bookself and a corner with blankets and pillows. "Well... I'm letting you rest now. Come tell me if you need anything."

Amity nodded, her face again turning a little red, just like Luz's, who had already started going to her room. While at the same time...

Do it now! You didn't do it on the way, do it now! "Luz?" Hearing her name, Luz stopped and turned to Amity, a strange look in her eyes. Nervous but also... hopeful. "I... wanted to talk to you about something. About... what I did the last time we met."

Luz made her way to her again, her heartbeat rising, but her expression unchanged.

"It... it happened because I wasn't thinking. Because it... it was another one of those times when I made something stupid and crazy around you and-" Amity suddenly stopped, seeing Luz's face change. She looked scared and hurt and ready to run away. No! No, no, no, no! "What I'm trying to say is, if you want, we can forget about it and move on, but if you don't-"

"I don't!"

...

...

The words left Luz's mouth on their own. They weren't loud but they still shook them both like an earthquake. And the silence that followed them was even louder.

Luz was holding Amity's hand in both hands, their gazes locked as if they hadn't seen each other in years. As if some kind of wall between them just got shattered.

And she smiled. "I don't... want to forget this, Amity."

"Me neither..." Now Amity smiled too, without another word, leaving a space for a different kind of silence to set in.

The kind that carried warmth and intimacy and just the right amount of awkwardness, and was broken before it started feeling too long.

"Hey. Would you maybe wanna... have a sleepover for tonight?" Amity answered Luz's question with an excited 'Yes' and the two went to her room, still holding hands.

That night Amity barely slept. She and Luz had stayed up 'till late, talking about anything and everything, and even though they eventually just fell asleep, she wasn't able to stay that way for more than a couple of hours. There was a constant, overwhelming feeling in her chest that just seemed to get stronger.

She wasn't at the Manor. She was at the Owl House. Her parents weren't there. Luz was.

It still didn't feel real. Or rather, especially now it didn't feel real. Now that she woke up close to Luz, in a house that had the forest and the ocean for view insead of a factory. Now that she was sitting alone in the kitchen with a cup of tea, staring wistfully outside.

"Oh, hey kid." Eda's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, for which she wasn't sure if she was grateful or not.

"Good morning, Eda." She said, giving a small, polite smile.

"You really took your time yesterday with that rescue mission. Did the warden give you a hard time?" The older witch asked, grabbing a cup of appleblood and sitting with her.

"You... could say that."

"So, how are you doing now? You settled in okay?"

Amity answered with a nod, but her smile slowly faded.

Eda knitted her eyebrows in concern, before speaking again. "Are you okay?"

She definitely didn't really look like it. "I... I was. I should be. And... I want to be. But..."

"But you're scared." Eda finished the sentence for her, making Amity lift her head again. "Look kid, I know what you're running from. I knew your mother since I was your age and man, can't say I blame you for being scared. It's not my place to tell you how you should feel about this, but from what I've seen and heard about you, you're one tough cookie and you're not alone anymore. If you want to talk about anything, if your mother dares to show her face here, if you ever need anything in general, we're all here for you. Okay?"

Amity's smile returned, not bigger, but definitely more sincere. "Okay... Thank you."

"Don't mention it. Oh, and one more thing." Eda raised her cup, waiting for a toast. "Welcome to the Owl House."

"Glad to be here." The two witches clinked their cups and then Amity's smile widened ever so slightly.

And as the first rays of the sun started appearing on the Isles, while they had their morning drinks, Amity started believing that indeed it'd be okay. And feeling again something she hadn't felt in a long time: At ease, at home.

Finally! And just in time for tommorow's episode! This one was kinda tricky, but I hope you liked the result. For now, I leave you and I will see you all soon with chapter 4 (and a lot of angst). Bye bye! Please leave a review and stay safe. :)