kayr0ss

[kayr0ss]

Forty-Seven Steps

[Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, Sulemio, Fluff, Everything is OK!!, Miorine Works Out] AO3 Link

Summary: Suletta falls asleep, and Miorine starts working out… for some odd reason.

I.

This was ridiculous. 

Her arms were burning, her knees were shaking, and she wanted to cry (just a little bit) but it had to be done because when she wants something, she follows through. That’s just the way she was. 

“Stupid weights,” Miorine grumbled to herself. “Stupid simulated gravity on campus.”

There weren’t a lot of other students in the campus gym, much less in the odd hours that Miorine chose to frequent it. This was good, she hated unwanted attention. She took another deep breath, clapping her hands together and watching chalk powder puff out into the air. She set her feet apart and picked up her weights. One dumbbell in each hand—a whopping three pounds each. She’d work her way up; a girl had to start somewhere.

How Suletta made this look so easy was beyond her, but then again many things about Suletta were.

“One,” she grunted. “Two.” She took another rhythmic breath. “Three,” her pace began to slow. She was finding it more difficult to curl her arms fully, but one more—one more—“four.”

She let her arms go slack after the last rep, dropping the weights onto the rubber-padded floors. They were pastel purple and quite pleasant to look at, though their lack of wear-and-tear only proved that students preferred the corporation-sponsored gyms of their own houses. 

“Alright,” she huffed. “One more.” She set a timer for one minute, picked the dumbbells up, and curled her arms up to a forty-five degree angle. 

Through gritted teeth, she was determined to hold it.

——

II.

“W—what are you… doing?” 

Suletta couldn’t help her wide-eyed stare. Miorine looked like she was wrestling with her (recently purchased) sack of sandy loam soil. She kept a cool, even expression but was unmistakably struggling. She widened her stance, planting her feet firmly on the ground while she lowered to a squat. She seemed to be trying to straighten her back while lifting up the sack, and honestly it looked like she was going to lift it clean off the shelf when she lost balance and looked right about to fall—

“Miorine!”

—over.

It all happened so fast, but Suletta was faster. The sack fell to the greenhouse floor with a thick, muffled ‘thud’ and Miorine was about to follow suit, but not before Suletta was able to grab a handful of Miorine’s uniform—giving it a firm tug—the action of which tipped their balance to the opposite direction, back towards Suletta who side-stepped at just the right moment and prevented a collision with Miorine’s most recent tomato propagations. 

Imagine having to pick up all those leca balls!

Miorine had crashed backwards into Suletta—knocking the air out of Suletta’s lungs at the moment of impact. 

“M-Miorine-san? Are you okay?”

Miorine groaned, head falling backwards onto Suletta’s shoulder with closed eyes. “Are the plants okay?”

Suletta giggled. Of course, plants first. “Yes.”  A little timidly, she brought her arm forward, settling her palm over Miorine’s forearm. She felt Miorine lean backwards towards her, felt a small hand brush over her own. 

And then she was gone, stepping forward and away from Suletta’s space, but soon after she was turning to face her. Miorine’s hand was around Suletta’s wrist, pulling her towards the discarded sack. “Help me lift the sack.” 

Suletta smiled, “of course!”

—--

III.

“She really is at the gym!” 

“Told ya,” Nuno flipped over his stack of paperwork, doing a round of final checks. “What brings you here, Martin?”

“Paperwork that needs the president’s signing,” he waved a brown envelope towards Nuno. “Finished the purchase order for next week’s pop-up booth.”

“Marketing materials?”

“Yup,” Martin nodded. “For the printouts. You?”

“Liquidations of last week’s prototyping expenses.” Nuno looked towards Miorine.  She was on the stair climber, looking just about ready to pass out. “Apparently we gotta wait til she finishes her last round of forty seven steps.”

“That’s such an odd and arbitrary number,” Martin scratched his head in confusion. “You know she’s been exercising in her office now and again, it’s a bit out of nowhere but good on her.”

“Yeah,” Nuno agreed. “Maybe she’s been hanging out with Suletta too much.”

Martin laughed kindly. “Haven’t we all?”

—

IV.

Miorine slipped into the Earth House dormitories, considerate enough not to make too much noise and wake anyone. Her chosen work-out schedule meant late night returns,  but she found something peaceful in empty hallways at night—as if time was suspended in empty spaces meant for crowds.

The common area was dimly lit. It was cold, which means everyone had likely gone up to their rooms a while now, but the ambient light was enough for her to notice Suletta’s crumpled form, peacefully asleep on their worn-down sofa. Her face softened—more so than usual now that there was no one else to see. 

She waited up for her again. 

“Suletta,” Miorine said in a clipped voice. Someone else might have said it was cold, but Suletta knew better. “You’re going to get ill if you keep falling asleep down here.”

Suletta’s response was an unintelligible and nearly alien-sounding whine. It made Miorine smile a little, made her eyes soft and pitiful and tender.

Miorine sat by the edge of the couch. She brushed Suletta’s hair back. “Suletta?”

She got even less of a response this time: just a grunt. Miorine got up and walked towards one of the side-cabinets to reach for a blanket. 

(Which may or may not have been her idea to install, given Suletta’s sleeping habits.)

—

V.

“Whoa! You’re doing it!”

She couldn’t help the self-satisfied smirk, not after all the work she’d put into her lifting form. Suletta was on-standby, ready to assist at any moment, but Miorine knew at this point she’d manage. She hoisted the sack of loam soil from outside the greenhouse, took a few tentative steps towards her potting area, and dropped it onto the ground without so much as a sweat.

That was a lie. She sweated a lot, and she thought her knees were going to give, but still.

“Have you been working out so you can do more work in the green house?” Suletta looked over curiously. Miorine tried not to gape at how easily she had picked up the next sack, slung it over her shoulder, and casually walked into the greenhouse before slamming it down onto the sack she had just moved herself. 

“Somehow, yes, that’s one of them.”

“Well physical fitness is a great goal to have!” Suletta was nodding enthusiastically. “Maybe I can add having a gym-buddy to my bucket list. But that means you’re going to have to eat more, which means—“

“I don’t think I’m ready for the farm-fresh eggs,” Miorine shook her head. 

“But they’re so good!”

“You’ve been trying to convince me for the past six months, I’m not going to give in now.”

“Miorine-san!” Suletta whined. Adorably. “What’s life without having tried a cheese omelette?”

“Been okay so far for me, now let’s get the next sack.” She was hiding her smile.

Suletta grumbled, “have you rich people ever really lived.”

—

VI.

“Another five sets of forty-seven?” 

“Yup,” Miorine set down her gym-bag. She just finished with the dumbbells and was about to begin with the stair climber. It’s been almost two months since she started her oddly-timed exercise routines and by now the rest of Earth House had fallen into the rhythm. If there was anything that needed urgent signing, Martin or Aliya would drop by right before she started with the climber. Today it was Martin, with an unpleasantly thick ledger of documents. Miorine eyed them tiredly. “Are these our sponsorship proposals?”

“The ones from last Thursday, with the edits you suggested.” 

“Leave them here, I’ll look over them when I’m done.” 

“You sure?”

“Yes, thank you for the trouble.” Miorine looked at the time.  “I’ll probably be back late.”

“I’ll try to convince Suletta to turn in then,” he offered.

“Don’t bother,” Miorine shook her head. “You know how she is.”

He chuckled. She was right.

— VII.

The documents he left were definitely more than she could take on for one evening, and before she knew it, it was fifteen-minutes past two. Miorine almost never stayed up later than midnight, and it irked her to think about how groggy she would be in classes the following day. She walked briskly into the Earth House’s common area, mumbling about how she should have foregone her workout given how much needed to be reviewed for the sponsorship proposal. She felt around blindly for the light switch but stopped—freezing in place when she remembered that it was god-knows-what-time in the morning, and that, likely… 

Yes—there she was. 

Snoring lightly on the sofa, waiting for her to come back. Miorine would try and try to convince her not to, but she was starting to think that Suletta liked the way she woke her up whenever she returned. 

Suletta habitually fell asleep on the couch. And as she’d done whenever she’d catch her down here, Miorine sat at the edge of the couch, brushing back Suletta’s hair and allowing herself a moment to just… look. “Suletta,” she said softly. Not enough to wake her, just enough to satisfy her longing to say her name. 

It was cold down here, and their sofa wasn’t exactly made of luxury upholstery. Nervously, Miorine set down her bag. She got up, steadied her footing, and slid her arms behind Suletta’s neck and legs. With a deep breath, she hoisted her up as steadily as she could. Miorine trembled a little, and wobbled dangerously back and forth. But she did it! Soon enough they were steady, and she was taking tentative steps backwards. 

Suletta was in her arms, stirring now and again, but turning closer towards the warmth of Miorine’s chest, nuzzling into her neck. She felt herself flush fiercely up to her ears. 

No backing down now. 

Afterall, this is exactly what she’s been working out for all this time.

With a determined stride, she made her way up the forty-seven steps from the couch to Suletta’s bedroom, where she would finally—finally—tuck her in. 

--

fin

--

A/N: My very first Suletta and Miorine fic! The show is tearing my heart to pieces, so now I cope by bringing you fluff where nothing goes wrong and everything is okay. :-) Can Miorine really carry Suletta? Well in my fanfic world she can lmfaooooo I also know NOTHING about working out and I have 2% knowledge buff about plants c/o of my partner but that's it I'm sorry

#gundam witch from mercury #gundam the witch from mercury #sulemio #suletta mercury #miorine rembran #suletta x miorine #fluff #fanfic

[kayr0ss]

Omgggg thank you @peachyparu!!!!!!!! waaaaaaaaaaaa

botany knowledge

- Botany, by kayr0ss

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16167884?view_adult=true#main

#sob #diakko #great art #botany #flowers

[kayr0ss]

Years of Practice

[LWA, Diakko, Fluff, Domestic, Just a good time] AO3 Link

Summary: Akko walks in through the front door, and Diana finally gets it right.

I.

“Ocarina—Okay, Oh—Christ I’m doing terribly.”

“At what?”

Akko’s unannounced arrival gave her a start—she snapped the diary on her lap closed. “Nothing,” Diana said in a hurry, hoping that her effort to seem cool and composed didn’t come across as dismissive.

Akko kicked off her shoes. She left them strewn about by the doorway of the Blue Team’s dormitory and walked to sit beside Diana at her desk—but not before stopping, scratching her head, and then walking back to slip them on again. “Force of habit,” she explained.

“I figured,” Diana chuckled.

Akko grinned. “Back home I would have gotten a scolding.” She pulled out the chair next to Diana with an ear-splitting screech (while suggesting that Diana buy a set of ‘chair socks’ which were apparently very cute) and sat herself down. Akko came with an impressive stack of books—they made an equally impressive ‘thump’ on Diana’s desk. It would have kicked up some dust if she hadn’t kept everything impeccably clean.

(Did she spend half an hour tidying up her dormitory anticipating a visit from Akko? No. Not at all. Of course not.)

“So,” Diana began curiously, hiding away the diary she was reading from. Hopefully Akko hadn’t noticed. “Is it customary back home to take off your shoes before coming indoors?”

“Not everywhere but that’s how it was at my home,” Akko tilted her chair backwards. Diana raised an eyebrow. Akko pouted, then sighed—and then finally righted the chair and leaned forward.

Forward—and closer towards her. “Study time starts now?” Akko smiled.

Diana felt a light prickling of heat travel up her neck, knowing without a doubt that pink had tinged her cheeks by now. But it was okay.

“Yup.”

Akko was blushing too.

II.

Diana winced at the loud ‘thud’ of Akko’s bag.

She dropped it on the floor on her way into Cavendish Manor, lugging the rest of her luggage behind her.

“Oops!” Akko winced. “That was an accident. Okay—best case scenario nothing broke because I stuffed my iPad in a bag full of unfolded clothes, worst case scenario it’s split in half by now.”

“Best case scenario would have been for to set your bag down gently,” Diana shook her head, reaching downwards to help Akko with her belongings. The exuberant witch had become a regular visitor at the manor—Akko was glad to be able to vacation somewhere closer than home during short breaks, and Diana was more than happy to have her as company.

“Wow. I missed you too.” She stuck out her tongue teasingly. Then Akko smiled at her softly—more sincerely—as if she couldn’t resist the urge to soften at the sight of her. “It’s great to be back here.”

Hearing it made Diana’s heart race every time. Which was silly because Akko said it all the time, but still.

She pushed thoughts of lesser importance to the periphery of her consciousness. Akko was finally here, and there was something that Diana had been wanting to try. It made her nervous of course, because she wasn’t very sure if she was using it right, but the best way to learn is to try, or so practical application of magical theory said. Diana Cavendish did notshirk away from trying.

“O—” Diana gulped, willing herself to string together the words she had practiced more than a few times by now. “Ocra—”

“But sorry about that,” Akko gestured towards her dropped luggage. She was frustratingly oblivious to Diana’s attempts at a response. “We had a little table thing back home, and whenever we came inside it was there to put our things down on. Especially groceries! I take like, as many grocery bags from the car at a time as I—wait,” Akko shook her head, “Sorry, you were trying to say something!”

Diana swallowed thickly. “No, not at all, don't worry.”

“Ooo—O?” Akko pressed on. “You were saying something! But it like, took a minute before it registered in my brain.”

“I was just saying,” Diana nervously backed away from her intended message, “O—Overcast. The weather.” She cleared her throat. “Today was a great day for you to make the trip, what with the pleasant weather and all.”

“Huh,” Akko spun around to look outside. “Oh, wow.” Diana wasn’t wrong—the weather was overcast and mild. The sun, while prominent, was content to hide behind a light dusting of clouds. This time of the year, their expansive front lawn was a little overgrown, but Diana liked it better that way.

But Akko looked the loveliest of them all: standing at her doorway with the sun shining from behind her. Like a framed painting, but alive.

She looked down to see that Akko had taken her hand and was already pulling her outside with a smile.

III.

The click of the door unlocking let her know that Akko was back.

Diana was sitting cross-legged on Akko’s living room floor, a mix of magical and medical books covering every square inch of her low coffee table.

While she pursued further studies, Akko started a modest career in performance magic. She’s since moved into a charming little apartment in the county south of Wedinburgh, which was much nearer to Diana’s place of study than the manor was.

Serendipitously convenient.

Diana pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, looking towards Akko who was struggling with the door because it swung open outwards.

“I’ve got our dinner,” Akko called out. “And I wish that this freakin’ door,” she grunted, “was easier to open with your hands full.”

Diana stood to meet her by the entryway. “How much food did you get?”

“Enough.” Akko grinned. Diana reached out to help her with the paper bags.

“Meaning to say, plenty.”

“Maybe,” Akko chuckled. She began to take little containers out of the bag, checking their contents and putting some on the nearby dining table. “But spending is always worth it if it’s for food!”

“So you often say,” Diana smiled. She walked up to Akko, setting the rest of the food on the table. She bumped Akko’s shoulder with her own affectionately. “I missed you.”

“I was gone twenty minutes,” Akko giggled.

“I know.”

Akko nudged her shoulder back, reaching to her side to give Diana’s hand a squeeze. “Well, I’m back now.”

“Mhmm,” Diana hummed back. She paused. “Oak, uh—Oak-a—”

Akko blinked. “Huh?”

“Okay—nevermind.”

Akko stared up at her. “Oak?” She looked down at her dining table. “Honey, that’s maple. You helped me pick it.”

Diana groaned.

Akko pouted at her. Then she gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You are so weird yet cute.”

IV.

She was excited beyond words to finally be moving in with Akko—but she’d be glad when this was over. By Jennifer, if she had to rummage through another box of haphazardly-packed belongings one more time she’d—well… she’d do it. Because she loved her wife.

It made her giddy to remember that she had a wife now, and that it was exactly who she hoped all these years it would be: Akko. Akko, who had jogged out of their home to the hardware store down in the next block over to get a tape measure.

(She told her they had to measure furniture first, but to be fair, Akko’s ‘approximations by eye’ weren’t that far-off, notwithstanding the fact that they would have to saw two inches off the legs of their bedside table).

She sank into the cushions of their living room sofa (whose legs had chair socks), itching for a cold glass of juice. They had been staying together in Cavendish Manor in the weeks that led up to their wedding, and the week right after. Between all the rush and ceremony there was hardly any time to settle into the house they picked, half an hour from Wedinburgh. She liked its proximity to her former home—despite all the conflicted emotions her family evoked—and the privacy it afforded them.

Today, they finally moved in.

The final box was labeled ‘Photos and Mementos’ in Akko’s scrawled handwriting. Now that she was excited to do: hanging up snapshots of all the memories they’ve built that led to this moment. She’d pick a spacious wall; someplace with room to keep adding more.

She wanted to grow old with her in this home—she felt excited that she could.

The doorknob rattled and unlocked with a click. It swung inwards, they made it so because Akko had the habit of walking with her arms full.

“Dia?” her wife’s voice rang through the entryway, and Diana felt the stirring of her thoughts settle into contentment.

Akko plopped down a paper bag of supplies onto the desk they put by the doorway—just like they had in her home back in Japan.

She slipped off her shoes, setting them beside Diana’s on the shoe rack, because by now she had picked up the habit herself.

Akko looked towards the living room sofa, smiling as soon as she met Diana’s eyes. “Hey there.”

Without missing a beat, Diana smiled back. “Okaerinasai.”

Akko paused, surprised. Then her smile came back in full. “You said that so well.”

Diana blushed, remembering her silly diary full of words she wanted to tell Akko one day. ‘One day’ was finally here. “I’ve been practicing for a very long time now.”

“Really?” Akko’s smile grew warmer—tender.

“Yes.”

“Tadaima, Diana.”

They were finally home.

-

fin

-

A/N: A gift for the lovely veramoray - because u deserve cute fluffy things and I'd like to make them for you :-)

Thank you Pyro, ever reliable, for doing a great job beta-reading this and turning my blabbering writing readable. I also think this fic was initially inspire by a convo between me, my friend Rizze, and several buddies, though I can't remember for the life of me how!!

#Diakko #Dianakko #LWA #Little Witch Academia #diana cavendish #Akko Kagari #Fluff #domesticthriller

[kayr0ss]

A Little Less Sixteen Candles

[LWA, Diakko, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, College AU] AO3 Link

Sumamry: Diana's standing at the threshold of Akko's doorway and she really, really wants to kiss her.

--

“I had fun.”

Akko was bouncing on her toes. She was grinning up at Diana and she’d be lying if she said it wasn’t the most precious thing she’d seen all day. She played with the hem of her shirt while they stood at the threshold of her dormitory building, not ready to let Diana go quite yet.

“I did too,” Diana replied with a smile. She leaned against the doorframe, reaching forward to straighten the collar of Akko’s letterman jacket.

“Ah. Yes. Must look presentable within the comforts of my dormitory.”

Diana flushed, “force of habit.”

“You’re in the habit of fixing people’s collars?”

“No,” she laughed. Tender and all. “Just yours.”

It made Akko giggle. Diana liked that.

“Thanks again for coming to the fair with me.”

“Thank you for inviting me,” Diana countered. “Otherwise, I’d have missed out on the—what did you call it? The best hotdog stand you could find in England?”

“So far.” Akko held a finger up to her face in correction. “I’m actually surprised at how many hotdog stands I’ve visited in two years.”

Diana’s response was to swat away her hand by catching it in her own, intertwining their fingers as their hands fell to hang in the space between them. It still made her nervous whenever she tried to reach for her hands, but oh the way it made her feel—like a jolt of electricity that ran from her fingertips to the back of her neck, leaving a trail of warmth in its wake. It was nice, given how cold she’s been feeling walking in the snow. “I’m not surprised at all.”

Akko dropped her gaze to look at their hands, giving Diana’s a squeeze. “So… I’m guessing you have to head back?”

“I have to go over my revisions tonight, so I probably should.”

“Alright,” Akko relented.

Despite the farewells, no one let go.

Diana didn’t even move to turn away.

There were crickets singing overhead, and the distant sound of evening rush hour traffic. There was an air of expectation between them—anticipation.

Akko was the first one to move, pulling her closer by the hand and getting back up on her tiptoes. Enthralled, Diana let the breath she was holding come loose, eyes closing while she waited, wondering if Akko was going to go for the move they had danced around for so long but never committed to. The one she hasn’t been brave enough to make herself—at least, not yet.

Oh.

She got a kiss on the cheek.

Not was she was expecting, but still enough to make her smile.

“Take care on the way home, okay?” Akko said softly.

“Yeah,” Diana hummed, finally stepping back out of the way of the door.

When she turned her back to face the street, she heard the ‘thud’ of the door closing behind her, but not click of the lock. She didn’t move. Instead, she slumped back to lean against the door, hand coming up to brush the spot where Akko had kissed. It wasn’t the first time. She doubted it would be the last. But she hoped for more. Wanted more. And every moment in that silly fair downtown felt like a build up to something… magical.

Yet here she was, out on the street with the door behind her. She loved every bit of affection that Akko would share with her, but something tells her she let ‘magical’ slip away.

She wanted to kiss her.

She wanted to kiss kiss her.

She blew it, and she was going to have to wait, and that’s fine.

Diana straightened her back, hiking the strap of her messenger bag up her shoulder, ready for the walk back home. She could try again. Next time. Next time, for sure, she wouldn’t chicken out and reallyshow Akko how she felt.

She took a step forward, snow crunching under her feet, and stopped.

“To hell with it,” she muttered to herself, turning a hundred and eighty degrees and reaching for the doorknob.

It swung out of her reach, much to her surprise, and she had nearly stumbled forward but caught the edge of the door frame to steady herself.

“Diana—!” Akko was in full view, ready to head back out into the street.

Diana had a quick recovery from her stumble, reaching forward to cup Akko’s cheeks. No more next times—no more trying again. She leaned closer, closer, and found that Akko had pulled her by the collar to meet her halfway for clumsy, hurried kiss.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you,” she finally managed to stutter out. “All this time.”

“You just did, silly.” Akko wrapped her arms around Diana’s neck, swaying them back outside into the cold, snowy night.

“Can I do it again?”

“I’d be upset if you didn—”

She did.

-

fin

-

A/N: A gift for @nosiidam because that door scene from the fic Looks Like Home is a favorite and inspired it LMAO. Here's a fic based on a prompt that's almost as cute as u

The title is from Fall Out Boy's 'A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me' because it goes sHE SAID WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? KISS HER! KISS HER!

#Diakko #Dianakko #Fluff #Diana Cavendish #Akko Kagari #College AU #Little Witch Academia #Fanfic

[kayr0ss]

Grays

[LWA, Diakko, Married Fluff, Cute Domestic Shit] AO3 Link

“What is it?”

Akko was barely intelligible, toothbrush hanging out from the corner of her mouth. She blinked slowly, movements sluggish under the weight of drowsiness, and somehow she managed to yawn while brushing her teeth. Diana smiled. There it was—the little gifts of her marriage.

“You’re staring.” Akko squinted.

“I’ve been doing that every morning for the past twenty years or so.”

Akko laughed, playfully rolling her eyes while she reached for the faucet. “Twenty? Dear me, I might have to renew my subscription soon.”

“I don’t recall an identified date of expiry,” Diana played along, bumping her shoulder against Akko.

Akko grinned back. “Don’t ruin my excuse to marry you again.”

They were in the bathroom, going through the motions of just another morning of many they’ve had together—and of many more to come. Diana found comfort in this routine: Akko would tap her toothbrush twice along the edge of the sink to get the water out, then she’d stretch another time to rouse her bones. She often wore a worn-out tee too small for anything other than sleeping, and the roughly thirty seconds that her arms spent stretching overhead exposed a portion of her midriff.

And since Diana was a woman of routine it was only prudent that she indulged herself with an appreciative look. As she had done so. For the past twenty years.

Today, however, was a little different from the countless mornings they’ve shared before. Yes, she was staring, and while Akko was always wonderful to look at there was something else. Something small yet endearing, something which she wasn’t sure how Akko would take to if she found out about it.

She played with the hem of her nightgown, brushing back an unruly bundle of brown behind Akko’s ear.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Diana hummed. “Well, maybe something?”

“Is it a bad something?”

“Not at all!”

Akko placed a hand on her hip, “are feathers popping out of my hair again?”

“No—wait—what do you mean again?”

“Nothing never mind,” Akko quickly pursed her lips, trying not to laugh.

Now, Diana was pretty sure that Akko wouldn’t mind this new observation, but she still wanted to go about it as tactfully as she could.

“What is it?” Akko whined, lips beginning to pout in impatience.

Diana ran her hand along Akko’s hair wondrously. “There are grays in your hair.”

Just two or three strands, barely visible but there. She wondered why it fascinated her so—why the discovery of it fit so snugly in the embrace of how their cluttered bathroom felt like home.

Her (admittedly dramatic) line of thinking was disrupted by a fit of giggles. Akko’s giggles.

“What’s funny?” Diana blinked, arms coming down to circle her waist.

“Nothing,” her smile was bright.

Diana chuckled back. “No sigh of disdain at the inevitable passage of time and aging?”

“I kinda like it,” Akko admitted.

“Do you?”

“Mhm.”

Akko went up to her tiptoes, bare against the cold tile of their bathroom floor, and gave Diana a quick kiss on her nose. Then another on her lips.

“Dia?” Akko was whispering. “We did it.”

“Hmm?” Diana hummed against the crown of Akko’s head, holding her.

“We’re growing old together.”

-

fin

-

Notes: Was going through my emails for the work day but my hand slipped and I finished a one shot I started before instead. Happy new year!

#Diakko #Dianakko #Diana Cavendish #Akko Kagara #LWA #Little Witch Academia #Fluff #daughter #marry

[kayr0ss]

Cutting Fruit

[LWA, Diakko, Fluff, pre-relationship, sick fic] AO3 Link

--

Diana catches a cold, and Akko gives her apples by the bedside.

--

“There’s no need to do that, you know.”

Akko huffed, side-eyeing Diana. “You’re not the boss of me, you can’t tell me what to do.”

There was no bite in Akko’s voice though, and Diana laughed quietly. “I’ve never seen someone peel apples with such aggression.”

“And I’ve never seen someone come down with a cold so fast. You were out there for three minutes, Diana, how did you get this sick?”

“I think it’s because it rained right after a sunny afternoon.” She tried to sit up, but was held firmly in-place by Akko, who leaned forward to press down on her shoulder. She tutted, shook her head, and gave Diana a look stern enough to make her settle back down onto her pillow.

“Besides, I’m not doing it because I have to.” Akko’s sentence was punctuated by the sound of a knife grazing the edge of an apple, cleanly removing the peel. “You don’t like the peel, right?”

“You remember?”

“Mhm!” Akko grinned.

“I see.” Diana hummed to herself, settling back into the quiet. “But you forget every other due date for our essays?”

There was a light punch to her shoulder, and a vague threat that she could “cut these fruits herself, then!” But they laughed together, and it was enough to fight off the pitiful feeling of a clogged nose and heavy eyelids. Akko picked up the knife and continued anyway, moving slowly and deliberately. It was relaxing to hear, the repetitive sound of the knife’s clean cuts. It looked like Akko did it often back home.

Diana blinked up towards the ceiling of her room, trying to ignore the fact that her eyes stung. It was unfortunate to come down with a cold right when Akko was visiting the Manor, but she was caught in the rain at the tail end of her afternoon horseback ride. The sniffles started just as dinner was served.

She insisted that Akko stay away at risk of infection, but her request went in one ear and out the other.

Instead, Akko asked Anna where they kept the fruits.

“We could always ask someone from the kitchen to help you with that,” Diana offered.

“Nope!”

“No?”

“It isn’t the same.”

“How so?”

“Kaa-san did this for me whenever I wasn’t feeling well,” Akko explained. She was cutting the apple into quarters now, which she would later cut into eighths. She had never seen Akko do anything so carefully before—her movements were dexterous. Graceful, even. “Back home, it’s kind of like, uh… like a labor of love.”

“How so?”

“It’s not just the fruit,” Akko started, “but the fact that she cut them for me.” Then she looked away, and Diana wasn’t sure but was that embarrassment on her face? It was cute. She tried to hide her smile, not wanting to make Akko self-conscious.

Akko paused for a minute, mulling over her words. She looked a little red under the collar, but her eyes were so very sincere. “It was her way of showing me her care, you know? Her feelings.”

“I see.” Diana watched as Akko settled the plate of sliced apples on her nightstand, clinking against the glass of water that she’d probably need to finish soon.

Much to her amusement, it was Akko who took the first bite. She happily listened while the other witch began to tell her about home, wondering if the sweetness at the tip of her tongue was because of the fruit, the sound of Akko’s voice, the warmth that was buzzing at the center of her stomach, or all of them at once.

--

Diana woke up to the sound of her door creaking open.

Everything was heavy and she could barely move. Her lamp was still on, and the furious rain that soaked her earlier that evening had mellowed down into a light shower. Diana tried to orient herself, blinking through bleary eyes, and found that Akko had fallen asleep at her bedside. She snickered. She was drooling.

“How are you feeling, Lady Diana?”

Ah, so it was Anna who came to check on her. She mumbled something unintelligible in response, gently reaching out to run her fingers along a mop of unruly brown hair. She doubted she was comfortable in that position, but hated the thought of having her leave her side. A silly thought—a selfish one—but her head was pounding and everything felt horrible and Akko felt like the only thing that could make anything better for her at this moment.

“Anna?” she whispered, careful not to wake Akko.

“Yes, Lady Diana?”

She brushed aside a lock of hair covering Akko’s eyes, noticing that somewhere along the evening, their fingers had reached out for one another’s and entangled themselves.

“Will you teach me how to cut fruit?”

-

fin

-

A/N: When my mom brings me cut fruit esp when I didn't even ask and she just thought I'd like some I experience A Lot of Feelings ok I just Feel Things ok guys also a gift to @nosiidam i would cut fruit for u

Consider joining a Diakko server by my friend: https://discord.gg/4tr2xDRDbg

#Diakko #Diana Cavendish #Akko Kagari #Little Witch Academia #Dianakko

[kayr0ss]

Hello! This isn’t really an ask and I’m sorry for any inconvenience! I'm Jays, and I've been a biiiiiig fan of your Diakko stories. It's quite late now but I really wanna express my love for your works! Botany is easily my all-time favorite even after my first or umpteenth time reading it because I really feel that speaking in flowers is totally Diana's way to convey her love. Such a hopeless romantic awww. And oh boy, how my heart swells whenever I reread Non-Verbal Communication and Rejected... And don't even get me started on Français and In Appropriate Language; those are gOLD, I'll tell you! The way you lead the stories and portrait the characters feel so natural, like, not even a single detail seems out of place. Maybe that's just how I feel, though, but I just loveeee your writing so so much, honest!

Which leads to my humble request for your permission! I'm Vietnamese and here in we have many Diakko fans, too. So I'm wondering if you would allow me to translate some of your Diakko stories and share them with some fellow fans. My translations are purely for entertainment purposes and I'll definitely credit you properly. I've been posting translations on my wattpad account and wordpress blog; I can always give you the links should you want me to. Translating fanfictions and doujinshi is my slow-burn solo project over the years, and I would very appreciate it if you let me add your stories to this collection. And I will also understand if you prefer not to as well!

Regardless, I will always look forward to your next stories, especially now that I just found you on AO3. Feel free share your thoughts on this matter anytime!

Have a great day!

P/s: You can also find me under the name guiltisgone at FFN (u/5591455) or wattpad (user/guiltisgone) or @guiltisgoneforgood

Hello! We've already spoken in DMs but I did say I'd answer this ask as well - and I've shared thanks so much it's crazy to hear that a few fics I wrote are going to be translated to a whole ass other language wow thank you. Hope you're doing great - and I think it's so cool that you do these things to make fandom content more accessible to your community. Right on, friend!

#Diakko #Fanfic

[kayr0ss]

Happy Monday! Have a fantastic week bestie 😘💖

-❤ anon

HI ANON SORRY I NEVER ANSWER BUT THANK U FOR DROPPING THE ENCOURAGING WEEKEND/WEEK GREETINGS i promise i see each of them and smile, see look:

Any way have a great time!

[kayr0ss]

In Verse

[LWA, Diakko, Fluff, Grief, Emotional, Happy, Marriage, Family, Old Age, Letting Go] AO3 Link | Gift for @tanuki-pyon

“Mom, you can take it easy.”

Sara’s voice was light, carried softly by the summer breeze that rustled the leaves and bushes. It used to be much easier to make this hike, but it also used to be easier to read the paper and make her tea. Diana wasn’t going to complain—not when she’d managed to ride the tides of time so well. Akko wouldn’t complain either, she was sure. In her humble opinion her wife had aged the most gracefully of them all.

She missed her.

The flagstones were old and worn. There was a stubborn growth of grass in the cracks in between, and little flowers. Red ones. They spattered the meadow like freckles, alive and magical in a way so similar to Akko’s laughter.

She missed that too.

The star of this afternoon’s show was another fifteen steps away. That was a lot when you were eighty, but Sara supported her firmly by the arm and brought her closer to their destination one patient step at a time.

“Your eyes are the same color as the flowers,” Diana hummed.

“And Kaa-san’s,” Sara grinned at her. Even her daughter was beginning to show grays in her hair. “Which totally makes sense. Shiny magic around the meadow and all.”

Diana laughed.

They finally arrived at the smooth, stone bench perched at the end of the pathway. It was a few paces from the base of a tall Sakura tree, shining vibrantly pink in a sea of oak, willow, and beech. The fact that it acclimated to Great Britain’s climate was a dendrological phenomenon that she couldn't find the energy to examine—after all, one could quite literally just say it was “magic.”

Because it was.

“Hello there,” Diana spoke softly. Her fingers ghosted over the cool band around her ring finger. She silently admired the deep brown hue of the bark, the way that the branches splayed outwards and upwards with confidence and grace. The leaves crowned it beautifully—she liked that it was in full bloom at this time of the year.

It was a monument that captured everything that Akko was at her prime. It was like watching her spread her arms out towards her adoring audience back when she was still performing.

“We have dried plums, orange juice, and ramen,” Diana began to list off. “And yes, I bought it from the that place you like. It’s still open—so don’t get huffy on authenticity on us.” Sara laughed while preparing their simple picnic spread from the basket. This was their routine, year after year since Akko’s peaceful passing: just the two of them on a short walk into the woods within the Cavendish estate carrying Akko’s favorite food.

Sara arranged each dish on a checkered cloth that was spread between them on the bench. There were two of each dish, but before eating they would light incense at the roots of the tree. They sat in silence for a moment while the smoke rose and wafted through the leaves—higher, and higher until they couldn’t see it anymore.

Diana wondered if it reached her wife, wherever she was. She hoped it carried their thoughts... their laughter.

Their love.

“Happy birthday, Kaa-san!” Sara clapped her hands together with a bow.

Diana smiled at the tree fondly.

“Happy birthday, my dear.”

--

Today was a beautiful day to receive a poem.

“I never knew you were a writer.”

She had her eyebrow quirked in judgment, looking down at the wrinkled parchment held out for her to take. The judgement was a jest, of course. Akko could see right through it—as if the small crack of a smile at the edge of her lips wasn’t indication enough.

The paper had a verse scrawled on it (and a fascinating draft in Akko’s native Japanese tucked in the corner of the page).

‘The world is small and lovely— When seen from such a view I can’t imagine doing it— With anyone but you.’

Akko was grinning so brightly that she didn’t have the heart to comment on uneven meter. The sentiment warmed her heart enough in itself—even more so the fact that it was Akko who made it. “Do you like it?”

She loved it. “Maybe a little bit.”

“Mou, Diana!” Akko huffed, crossing her arms. “So hard to please!”

But Diana smiled softly, taking Akko’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze to let her know that—yes, she loved it. She just didn’t know how to say so.

She’d learn how one day. Akko was always better at words than she was. But for now, she’d pull Akko to the cafeteria to make the most of the precious few minutes they had for lunch.

She’d keep that wrinkled piece of parchment for years.

--

The weather was always cooperative when they came to visit.

“Is it true that she started a communist uprising among the kitchen staff?”

“And where did you hear that?” Diana raised an eyebrow.

“From the kitchen staff,” Sara deadpanned. “When I was in school several decades ago.”

“If you’re so sure, then why are you asking?”

“Because neither of you confirmed it!” she whined, sounding so much like her mother.

Diana winked, pouring her daughter another glass of juice. “I feel like the mystery adds to the charm of the story, doesn’t it? I will neither confirm nor deny it. It’s up to you.”

“But isn’t that why they have better working conditions now? I don’t get why Kaa-san wouldn’t want to be credited for the betterment of fae and goblin working conditions at Luna Nova.”

“I think that perhaps your mother,” Diana started pointedly, “despite her success, didn’t feel like encouraging her daughter to pick up ‘starting revolts’ as a solution to problems.”

“’Despite her success’ huh?” Sara grinned triumphantly. “So after all these years you finally let it slip.”

Sara’s laughter was musical. Contagious. Soon she was laughing too; it was a skill that Sara seemed to have inherited from Akko flawlessly. Diana sighed, “You’re both always so good at that.”

“At what?”

“Making me feel better.”

--

It was another one of those ‘bad’ days.

Akko called them ‘No-No Days’ just to tease a smile out of her, but sometimes joking and jests weren’t enough. And on those days, Akko knew better than poke at her and let her have her space.

But today, she slipped a sneaky little note into Diana’s pocket while they walked back from the library—one she rolled open while they sat silently on her dormitory’s couch.

"I think you have such pretty eyes— But why are they so dour? Whatever weight is bearing down— Let’s turn from 'yours' to 'ours.'"

By the last line of the verse, she was flooded with relief.

It was a slow easing of pressure from behind her eyes and in her chest, it came along with the feeling that she could breathe again. Quite literally, too, given that her nose had cleared up (having been clogged from crying.) Akko wasn’t looking at her though—she was just leaning back with her eyes closed, holding Diana’s hand while rubbing circles at its back with her thumb. It was repetitive. Reassuring.

“You don’t have to talk about it now,” Akko mumbled. “Whatever it is that’s bothering you, I meant. But I’m here if you want to. And I’m here even if you don’t.”

Emotional and grateful, Diana lifted their hands to kiss tenderly at Akko’s knuckles.

She loved her so much.

She still wasn’t very good with words—but she hoped that Akko could feel it.

--

“So when she proposed,” Sara began, picking off at the dried plums they brought with them to woods, “did she write you another one of those poems?”

Diana hummed. She looked at the jar of plums, covered in sticky sweet syrup. They were wrinkled pits that looked nothing like the kind of food she thought Akko would have been into, but here she was: sharing plums with Sara who picked up Akko’s sweet tooth herself. “I don’t think she did, actually. And the question of who proposed to who is still up for debate.”

“Really, mum?” The younger witch laughed. “After all these years you’re still not letting that go? As far as I know, Kaa-san dropped on her knees first.”

“On a whim, after running out of the restaurant we were having dinner in—leaving me bewildered for all of fifteen minutes, mind you—and coming back with a ring she brought from the store across the street.”

“That sounds just like her,” Sara shook her head.

“I, on the other hand,” Diana said carefully, “had my ring ready for a whole month by that point. Had it in my pocket for every dinner we had since I bought it. I guess… I kept waiting for the perfect moment.”

“Well, she gaveyou the perfect moment.”

Not for the first time that afternoon, Diana looked up at the bright pink leaves that kept them shielded from the sun. They rustled in the wind peacefully.

“She often did.” Diana smiled fondly. “Another poem I did get from her was from when were newly married.”

--

“Akko?”

She wasn’t there. That was odd. It was still too early for her to be up, and Diana knew that Akko’s morning disposition wasn’t the best, so where could she have gone? She flung her arm to the side on instinct, longing for the fading traces of warmth still lingering under the covers. There was a note.

“Honey?” Diana called out softly. She could smell breakfast wafting in from the kitchen. She chuckled, “Married for all of three days and you’re leaving me to wake up alone already?”

“Mmgetting food mmready!” came a muffled yell from beyond their opened door. It sounded very much like she was eating it too.

Diana sank back into their sheets in contemplation. Should she get up? Should she rest her eyes a little more? It was a Saturday anyway, perhaps a little more rest would—

“Hi.”

The object of her affection popped around the side of their doorway. She looked silly—head tilted sideways and hovering on its own.

“Hey.” Diana smiled back lazily.

“Made us breakfast.”

“I hope you didn’t eat all of it before I even got out of bed.”

“Mou!” Akko pouted. “I tried to surprise you. It’s rare that I wake up before you, you know!”

Diana pulled her covers up, still feeling groggy. “I’m very excited to try it then.”

“Now get up, sleeping beauty!” Akko was dashing away to the kitchen once more, footsteps fading into muffled thuds on their carpeted dark wood floors.

She read Akko’s note another time.

‘In every day that I wake up— And see I’m not alone I tell myself, “it’s not a dream”— “Good morning,” “Welcome home.”

--

“No way.” Sara shook her head, glass of orange juice stalling halfway up. “Kaa-san burnt the whole meal?”

“She wasn’t always the awe-inspiring cook you knew her to be.”

“I find that hard to believe,” her daughter said firmly. “Like—with all the roast porchettaand her take on Aunt Sucy’s adobo? By Jennifer mum, did you see how wonderfully glazed she gets that sauce? And when she pours it over the rice!”

Diana was laughing by now. “And you wonder why I have medication for hypertension.”

“Fair.”

“You know, she only got better when you were born.”

Sara leaned forward, hands bunching up on her lap. Even now, a full-grown adult, she kept the habits that grew so dear to Diana. The mess of her light brown hair, the curious red eyes. She was so proud of her. And know that even though she was gone now, Akko was there to see her grow and bloom into who she was now… there wasn’t much more to ask for, Diana thought.

“She wanted to get you started on helping her with kitchen chores as early as you could talk,” Diana chuckled.

“Is this why we have so many pictures of me as a baby holding weird ingredients?”

Diana nodded.

“Mum! You let me hold a whole chicken.”

“I tried to talk her out of that one.”

“An entire chicken!”

--

A strong and sudden ‘thud’ nearly made Diana jump in her seat.

“By the Nine, Akko.” Diana secured the sleeping bundle in her arms. “You’re going to wake her.”

“Sorry!” Akko grinned, patting the top of a stack of books she’d unloaded onto the kitchen table.

“Cookbooks?”

“Mhm!” Akko nodded. “I’ve got Japanese, American—and English recipes too, unfortunately.”

“Unfortunately?”

“Nothing, honey.” Akko walked over to the couch where Diana was seated. “How is the little lady?”

“Asleep.” Diana punctuated. “And I’d very much like to keep it that way.”

“Giving you trouble again, huh?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.” She reassured. “I’m pretty sure that we can get a chef to handle culinary affairs for our household. You don’t need to worry about—”

“Hmm, nope!” Akko whispered, settling down to lay down on her lap and careful not to jostle Sara’s sleeping form. “I had the best lunch bentos as a kid.”

“I remember you telling me this.”

“Kaa-san always amazed me. I’d go to school and tell everyone what I was having for lunch and that my mom made it because it was just so, so good.”

Diana grinned. “If mom’s katsudon is any benchmark for judgement, I can understand why you seem so spoiled with good food.”

“Exactly!” Akko beamed. “Oh—sorry. Yes. Quiet. But I want to do this for her.” She softly reached up to brush against the blankets around Sara. “I want her to say, “Kaa-san made me this!” and to always like the food at home. I want to send her to school with bento boxes that she’ll miss when she eventually needs to settle for the endless potatoes in Luna Nova.”

They both snickered.

Akko carefully sat up to lean on Diana’s shoulder, looking down at their peacefully sleeping daughter.

“So I’m going to be such a good cook. And I think I’m getting a little better at improv poetry.”

“Really now?” Diana hummed.

Akko nodded.

“Her little eyes are mine, Her lovely laugh is yours Can’t wait until she’s old enough To handle kitchen chores.”

Their snickering rose into laugher—and then groaning, because Sara woke up with the most enthusiastic of cries.

--

“The potatoes really were lame though, mum.”

“I never disagreed. But we needed to make do with what we had.”

“Honorable Cavendish Translation mode, I hated it too?”

Their food and drinks had run low by now. The slow creep of darkness was starting, but they stayed to watch as the sky turned pink, orange, and blue. The wind was almost musical.

“I miss her.” Sara began quietly.

“As do I,” Diana fetched a little note from her purse. “Always.”

“But I’m so happy with what she’s left us.”

“For me—that would be you.” Diana reached over to hold her hand. They both looked up towards the tree. “And I’d never ask for anything more.”

“I love you, mum.”

“And I love you.” She brushed her thumb over the tattered edges of the notes—they were beginning to thin along the folds.

“Do you think you want to read it already?”

“I think I’m ready to now, yes.” Diana let her go to hold the note with both hands. “I’ve been… hanging on to it for far too long.”

It was the last one.

The final verse that Akko had left her—one she’s never had the heart to open. It meant letting go. It meant… that she’d never have another poem to look forward to.

But over time her grief had refined itself into longing, and the longing mellowed into the bittersweet taste of love that endures. Now all that was left was love.

Besides, today was a beautiful day to receive a poem.

"Lean softly on our daughter— Don’t worry over me. My darling, lay your grief to rest— It’s time we both be free."

--

end

--

A/N: A gift to my buddy tanuki! I hope you enjoy this - we've been talking about this for a while now and it's nice to get out it out there. I also truly believe there is beauty in letting go of grief and holding onto love. Thank you @nosiidam for beta-reading this!

Consider joining a Diakko server by my friend: https://discord.gg/4tr2xDRDbg

#Diakko #Little Witch Academia #Diana Cavendish #Akko Kagari #Fanfic #Dianakko

[kayr0ss]

There was a scene in the fic (read old posts, ask what fic I’ll throw you in my salad) where Amity felt happy when she noticed Luz wearing her jacket, but @kayr0ss  forgot to write about Luz stealing Am’s jacket so I’ll draw it.

#omg #lumity #sob #in #tears #It's BEAUTIFUL

[kayr0ss]

Oh my god this is amazing brb sobbing thaNK YOU T_T <3

Redraw some scenes (not continuous) from that fic which-is-a-gift-of-mine (I love bragging about it okay?!), but I change a little and add more dialogues so it can be extra cheezy, hope @kayr0ss wouldn’t mind this. I won’t draw the eyes’ paint, without color it looks ridiculous, like: ; _ ;

#lumity #luz noceda #amity blight #toh #BRB CRYING #so good #SO SOFT #HUHUHUUHHUHU

[kayr0ss]

Corrective Lenses

[TOH, Lumity, Glasses, Established Relationship, the Library, Soft Fluff] AO3

Luz gets glasses and Amity likes how it looks on her a little too much. Luz is just happy to see her as she is.

--

The sight of it made Amity go through seven different emotions at once.

She wouldn’t be able to name them all because the only thought swimming in her silly, smitten head was Luz, and a charming pair of wire-framed glasses, and the way that her nose scrunched up now and again while she was trying to get used to the weight of them.

“They even got the little squiggles on the bark,” Luz whispered in wonder. It snapped Amity out of her daze, reorienting to her to here-and-now.Right. Bonesborough Library. Art Section. Luz was inspecting every nook and cranny with brand-new-eyes, so to speak. Eda had picked up on the fact that Luz squinted every time she had to read or watch something on her phone. A quick trip to a contact from the Healing Coven had confirmed her suspicions: Luz needed glasses.

Amity would never wish poor eyesight on anyone, but was it so bad to be thanking the Titan for treating to her to a view this good? Luz scrunched her face again. Then she adjusted the spectacles up the bridge of her nose.

Oh Titan, she really had it bad.

“I mean how do they even do that! They carved that into wood like, inversely.” Luz chattered on.

Amity looked at the print in question: it was the black-and-white image of a little stream with a tree hanging over it. The details were exquisite—every leaf was discernable on the branches, there was depth in the texture of the bark and shrubbery. The riverbank had a dusting of grass along the edges, with feathery blades that tapered upwards. Luz’s admiration was warranted: the fact that someone had enough dexterity and vision to carve this on a block of wood, backwards, before pressing it unto parchment for printing was an artistic wonder.

The art was great, but Amity needed to be honest: the best part of this little excursion was seeing Luz experience these details for the first time. She walked around the space with purpose, running her fingers against the aged stone bricks that lined the room. She took the time to look at the carved wooden borders of the walls, clearly lit by bright, warm lamps. Luz even looked up to admire the high-vaulted ceiling: there was a small gasp of awe (and Amity will never forget the sound of it). She was always an excitable girl, never staying still, always in motion. But this Luz was a little different. Her gaze lingered, hungry and ready to commit the smallest detail of every item in the display to memory.

It was a lovely thing to watch.

“And what are you looking at, Miss Blight?” Luz raised a suspicious eyebrow, turning around to face her.

Amity blushed, caught red-handed. She smiled despite the heat that reached the tip of her ears, threading her fingers with Luz’s and smiling. “Admiring the art.”

Luz flushed red. “C’mon. That’s not fair. How am I supposed to recover from that?”

“Am I not allowed to compliment my girlfriend?”

“When did you get so smooth?”

Amity chuckled nervously, confidence receding. “It’s taking every shred of self-control I have not to run away and scream behind the bookshelves.”

“Don’t.” Luz pouted. Oh no. Why was she pouting? It was making her stomach feel silly. “I’d miss you.”

Amity froze for all of two seconds—and then Luz was shooting her a shit-eating grin. She shoved her entire hand onto Luz’s face, pushing her away while doing her best to muffle the sputtering laughter that threatened to spill from her girlfriend while they goofed around in the library.

“Quiet!” Amity chided—but Luz knew it was an act from the smile on her face. “Library Zone.”

Luz relented, bringing her voice back down into a whisper. “Fine, fine. I don’t want to be the reason you lose your job here a second time.”

Amity narrowed her eyes. “Too soon.”

“But if I help you get it back—again—will I get another kiss?”

“If you survive whatever I’d put you through if you make me lose it, again.”

They giggled among themselves. But the moment passed and settled to a comfortable silence.

Luz was done admiring the art by now. Her eyes were found a new target: they wandering around Amity’s face. She almost wanted to shrink away in self-consciousness, but something about Luz felt safe. Amity stayed still, content with admiring how well the glasses complimented Luz’s profile.

“Your eyelashes are so pretty.” Luz whispered, so full of sincerity it made her chest hurt. “And you… you have freckles.”

Amity chuckled.

“I can see every strand of your hair!” Luz brought her hand up, brushing her fingers through Amity’s haphazardly cut bangs. “Your roots are showing.”

Her hair was something of a sore spot. It reminded of her everything she tried to be, and everything she decided to break away from. But the way that Luz was combing through it softly felt less like scrutiny and more like reverence.

“I think you’d look good in any color you’d pick for it.” She said it like it was the surest thing in the world. Luz traced her fingers along the edge of her ears, curiously inspecting her earrings—driving the butterflies in her stomach absolutely mad. Amity let her, though. Vulnerability didn’t feel so wrong when it was for Luz.

Then she brought her brown eyes back to Amity’s own. “Your eyes aren’t just gold,” she said in soft wonder. “They’ve got specks of brown, if you look close enough in the light.” Luz leaned in closer.

Amity doesn’t remember the last time that someone looked at her just as she was. It was a vivid realization: the idea that she didn’t have to try so hard anymore—that she didn’t have to prove anything to anyone just so she could be seen.

“I can see so clearly now!” Luz grinned at her, tucking a tuft of purple hair behind Amity’s ear.

“Yeah,” Amity smiled. She wondered if Luz even knew how much this meant to her. “Me too.”

-

fin

-

A/N: For veramoray. No beta we run into the fire screaming.

2 thoughts: it is not its easy to crush on a pretty girl with glasses (rather it very much is), secondly I am emotionally invested in Amity realizing that her worth is not tied to her utility and that people can love her just being herself thank u *goes to sleep* | also yes I will write glasses-themed fics for every ship i like

#Lumity #Luz Noceda #Amity Blight #The Owl House #TOH #Fluff #Fanfic

[kayr0ss]

The Winning Goal

[TOH, Lumity, Grudgby, Jock Amity, Cheerleader Luz, Fluff, Established Relationship] AO3 Link

Where Amity tries her best in a Grudgby game but Luz is in a cheerleader uniform and breaks her a little.

--

Two words: Grudgby Day.

Hexside’s field was drowned in a cacophony of shrill screams and over-enthusiastic cheering. Luz was soaking up every bit of it.Gus was yelling! Willow was yelling! Even the professors were yelling!The energy was intoxicating and the thrill of attending her first inter-school Grudgby match was enough to make her feel dizzy. It didn’t help that she was particularly invested in this match—her stomach was doing flips just thinking about a certain significant other running around on the field with face-paint and that uniform and—

“G-L-A!” Clap clap. “N-and-D-and-U-and-S!”

Luz squinted to at the students on the opposite stands who so rudely interrupted her high-definition visualization of Amity in sportswear.

“What is that?” Gus whined. “It’s hurting my flag’s feelings!”

The stadium echoed with thunderous drumming: Glandus was going all out, having brought their own organized pep squad. Sure, Hexside was loud, but there was something both fascinating and intimidating about how freakishly organized they were.

“I’m not gonna lie,” Willow elbowed Gus, trying her best to yell above the noise. “It’s kinda cool!”

“I know!” Gus nodded enthusiastically, craning his neck to take a look at Glandus’ two drummers and cheer dance group. Somewhere in the group was Angmar, positioned behind a drum. He narrowed his eyes. “I kinda hate it.”

Luz whipped her head to stare at them. “You mean we don’thave our own official pep squad?”

“Pep squad?” Gus raised an eyebrow. “Is this another one of those carbonated fizzy hell-drinks?”

“Sodas?”

“Yeah! Painful water.”

“I—” Luz groaned. “No—it’s like a team, but for cheering.”

“Like what Glandus is doing?” Willow interjected.

“Yeah!” Luz nodded enthusiastically. Admittedly it was of some concern to see that their drums looked to be… alive? Never mind. She’s seen odder things at this point. They had cool chants and funky little dance moves that the audience could copy, and unfortunately Willow was right: It was kind of cool.

But Luz could do better.

She checked the panel by the scoreboard: twenty-five minutes until game time.

Luz grinned. “I have an idea.”

“I am so concerned.” Willow deadpanned, locking eyes with Gus. “And yet somehow, so here for it.”

--

Edric held on to those pompoms like he was born for them.

“You don’t understand Em, I’ve waited all my life for an excuse to be this extra.”

“I don’t know Ed,” Emira flashed a smile, both mischievous and sweet. She twirled in the uniforms they had conjured for their rag-tag team of cheerleaders, pleased with how well it suited her. “You’ve always been this extra.”

“Gotta say sis, the uniform colors are really working with your hair.” He winked. “Oh! You think it’s working for my look too?”

“Edric, we’re twins.”

“Well! I—”

“Now this is what I call a dream team!” Luz grinned, interrupting their banter while rushing into their designated spot by the bottom bleachers. “You guys do not want to know what I went through to get Principal Bump to approve us, but we’re in the clear and ready for roll call! Ed and Em, Gus, and I will be upfront doing cute little cheer dances while Skara—thank you for joining by the way, I didn’t see that coming at all—will handle the big, scary drum.” She leaned in closer to Skara. “Is it… like, actually alive?”

“If it weren’t it wouldn’t scream when I hit it.”

“I kind of regret asking.” Luz gave herself a light slap on the cheeks. “Okay! Willow is on manager duty because she has the braincell.”

“I do?”

Skara sighed, pointing towards the other. “Yes, you do. Well maybe Emira has one too. I, however, have too much school pride to let this train-wreck run off tempo.”

Ed and Em smiled. “We’re just here to cause problems!”

“Well,” Luz giggled awkwardly, “no matter the intention what’s important is that we’ve all come together for one purpose.”

“Friendship?” Willow offered hopefully.

“Problems!” Edric grinned. Emira winked, “and cute uniforms.”

“No.” Luz squinted, pointing at the opposite team. “Destroying them. And cheering for my awesome girlfriend and her team!”

“Those are two purposes.” Willow pointed out.

Gus squinted. “So this whole thing is… competitive competitiveness?”

“Yup!”

“Wow.” Gus raised his flag. “You humans are like, reallybad at getting along.”

--

“It’s not a big deal, it’s not a big deal, be casual, Blight!” Amity paced around the locker room, playing with the tips of her purple hair and rubbing it along her cheeks. “Just another game! With you back as captain of the Banshees. With your girlfriend watching. With your girlfriend watching!”

Boscha rolled her eyes. “Your face is like, so red that I can’t even see the face-paint anymore.”

“I think it’s adorable!” Amelia shot her a thumbs up.

“Adorable isn’t what’s going to win this game, Blight.”

Amity set her jaw. “Well neither is that attitude, Boscha.”

Amiela groaned, squeezing into the space between the two. “Do not make me bring out your giant Get-Along shirt, I swear to Titan—”

The screeching scream of the bell cut their argument short. The locker room’s door slammed open, and Amity almost had to cover her ears to keep the crowd’s cheering from giving her whiplash.

“Give it up for our home team, the Banshees!”

The applause was roaring and thunderous. She was no stranger to crowds, but the chaos of a Grudgby match was probably her favorite kind. Her mother might have had a stranglehold over her schooling but getting into this sport was the one thing about Hexside she chose for herself—something she enjoyed just for the thrill of it. She couldn’t believe she almost gave up on that. If it weren’t for Luz… well, a lot of things would be different for her right now.

“This is King Clawthrone and boy am I glad to be here to commentate on such a spectacle of violence and bloodshed! I mean—wait, what do you mean I can’t say that on air!?”

--

Luz sucked in a dramatic breath, jaw hanging open while Hexside’s varsity team jogged out the lockers and into the field. Amity was impossible to miss. Her purple hair looked a little disheveled from warming up, and the Grudgby uniform looked way too cool on her for Luz’s own sanity. But the winner was that little frown of concentration. Make no mistake, she loved it when Amity’s eyes went soft and sappy every time she saw her but—this? It was sharp, determined, and looked absolutely ready to destroy and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t into it.

“Knock knock?” there was a tap to her temple. Edric was grinning at her. “As an older brother I feel morally obligated to call you out for ogling our baby sister.”

“And you broke formation!” Gus pointed his flag. “C’mon, cheerleading cap. We have a duty and obligation to be as loud and obnoxious as can be!”

“You’re right.” Luz nodded in determination, flushing red from the neck upwards. “One more time, everyone!”

Skara took that as her cue to count down.

--

“I see you’ve met our screamers,” the captain of the Glandus team shot Amity a sickly-sweet grin. That would explain the odd team that Glandus brought along with their crowd. “I’m Bria. It’s good manners to introduce yourself to someone before utterly destroying them, right?”

Boscha stepped forward to size her up, but not before Amity’s intervention. “Not worth it.”

“You’ve gone soft, Blight.”

“No she hasn’t!” Amelia defended. She leaned in to whisper to Amity. “For the record I love your character development.”

The referee whistled to break them apart, urging each team to fall into formation. The ball toss was up, Boscha took her spot in the center and stood ready to wrestle for first possession.

--

The game was coming along fast.

Amity hopped over a bundle of vines coming up to grab the ball from her. Steady, steady. Breathe! This was easy. She’s fought the Golden Guard and won. She narrowly dodged a fireball, the edge of her uniform coming out singed from the close contact. She drew a circle in the air, summoning a gigantic abomination arm to catapult her over a barricade of rocks that Bria had attempted to stop her with. The arm dissolved and the crowd cheered as she surfed above a tidal wave of purple goo.

“Too easy.” She grit her teeth, narrowing her eyes at Bria who was in hot pursuit. “I have a bone to pick with you for bullying Gus, and a girlfriend to impress.”

“A girlfriend?” Bria smiled, barely breaking a sweat while she sprinted behind Amity over platforms of rock. “Let’s see how cool she’ll think you are after total—utter—defeat!”

A tendril of anxiety squeezed at Amity’s chest and for a split second she faltered, ruining her landing.

“That’s gotta hurt!” she heard King wince on-air. He was right, it did, but she still had possession of the ball and she had no intention of giving them any ground. Bria approached her with predatory eyes.

“I seem to have found a sore spot.” She pouted. “Worried about what your silly little girlfriend will think if you don’t do well enough?”

Amity pursed her lips, pressing forward with a wave of purple fire on her feet. “Shut up!”

Bria and her team were too focused on picking at Amity that they didn’t see Amelia slip through their defenses on the side. The two made eye contact, nodding to each other—

“I’m open!” Amelia yelled, and Amity was happy to oblige, throwing the ball at her teammate in last-minute turn.

It was another two steps until Amelia was within reach of the goal, but Boscha had helpfully tackled the other Glandus girl who tried to get in her way.

“Goal, Hexside!” King happily announced. The Hexside crowd erupted into cheers. “Assist of the match goes to Amity Blight who actually knows teamwork now, with a winning score from Amelia, weh!”

There was the sharp snap of drums and clapping, and Amity whirled her head to the side to find the adorable image of Luz, Gus, and her boneheaded siblings dancing to another made-up cheer. She felt her face blush while she continued to run, movement brought about by her initial momentum. Luz was grinning.

And so, so beautiful.

“Amity!”

That goal was an absolute winner. ‘Hyped’ was an understatement. She could do all things through the power of the Titan and the image of Luz in a cheerleader uniform which strengthens her, and—

“Amity!”

Was someone in the field calling out her name? It didn’t really register, because Luz was in a cute little skirt and cheering for her and waving at her direction and—why was Luz shouting with a worried frown? And why were Ed and Em gesturing for her to sto—

Thud.

--

“Did she just—” Emira groaned, face-palming.

“Run into the goal post?” Ed hummed. “Yes.”

“Is she going to be okay?” Luz wailed. “She’s unconscious!”

Willow squinted down into the field with an eyebrow raised. “She’ll be fine.”

Gus had a hand to his hip while poking Luz with the end of his flag. “That was a hundred percent your fault.”

--

“Play has been resumed!” King yelled into his little microphone, crawling up to stand on the scoring table. “There seems to have been a mishap involving the goal post and the young captain of the Banshees, but both teams are up and running!”

Eda smirked at King in satisfaction. She nudged Principal Bump who sat in the announcer’s booth next her. “Wanna place bets?”

“No, Edalyn, this institution is above such frivolities.”

“I’m placing thirty snails on Glandus.”

“How could you—have you no school pride?” He seethed. “I’ll have you know I placed a whopping hundred and fifty snails on the Banshees! You own sister is coaching them and yet—”

She laughed. “I double booked and placed sixty on Hexside just to spite ya, old man.”

--

“We will operate the Pincer and Grill maneuver,” Lilith instructed. “Boscha and Amelia will pinch their front scorer when they make the rush for our goal, and Amity will bring up the heat with purple fire down the center. Is it clear?”

“Got it,” Amity blinked. “Pretty Girl maneuver, sparks flying down the center of the field.”

Amelia squinted at her. “You need to get some water.”

“Are you unwell?” Lilith prodded.

“Yup! No worries. I’m good.” She squeaked, suddenly nervous. “A hundred percent motivated. Or a little too motivated. Is there such a thing? Wow I’m probably talking too much.”

Boscha grunted. She pointed over her shoulder towards the newly-minted Hexside cheerleaders.

Lilith sighed. “I see. I will confer with Hootsifer about this new development after the match. Are you sure you’re feeling up to playing today, Amity?”

She shook her head to focus. “I’m okay. I got this.”

--

Amity was so completely out of it.

Luz frowned, shoulder drooping because Amity had nearly set herself on fire and fell short in the last minute of their attempted maneuver.

The clock was counting down and Hexside was down by one.

“Something’s wrong.” Emira rubbed at her chin. “I know Mittens can do better than this.” She squinted at Bria. “I don’t like the vibe of that other girl.”

“Bria’s trouble.” Gus squinted his eyes. “And the team needs us now more than ever, right?”

Gus was right. Luz straightened her back and turned to the crowd. She took a deep breath. “Let’s go, one more time!”

--

“Get your head in the game,” Amity mumbled to herself. It was a quote she overheard from Luz a little while back, a steady reminder from a sage human philosopher named Troy Bolton who was a wizard of sporting endeavors. She hated to admit it, but Bria’s taunting has been picking on wounds that haven’t healed yet.

She knows that Luz wasn’t that kind of person. King had done a great job of reminding her of that back in Eclipse Lake. But the thought of being watched by someone whose opinion she actually cared about, the pressure that it brought back…

It was terrifying and so sickly familiar.

There was no use beating herself up over the failed Pincer and Grill run—but she did anyway. She was doing so well until the last minute. Amity had caught Luz being lifted by Ed and Em, her hands holding two, odd and colorful puffs of foil. It sent butterflies to her stomach and filled her with warmth.

And then it was quickly followed by lead, heavy and weighing her down after another round of Bria’s taunting words.

She had to focus. The next play was starting.

Boscha grabbed possession as soon as the toss was up, and Amity sprinted forward to her post. She needed a clean and quick goal. She trusted her teammates with keeping the other people out of the way, and her only job was to move forward as fast as she could. She jumped in the air, letting herself fall back down a little and summoning two abomination arms with a single, elastic band of goo in the middle. Steady. Steady. From the corner of her eye, she saw Boscha launch the ball to her direction. She grabbed it and tucked herself in, ready to sling-shot herself forward on the band.

“Can you imagine the look of disappointment on that pretty girl’s face if you missed this one?” Bria heckled from down below.

She didn’t want to imagine it—but the image flashed across her head. It came with a pang of pain, reminding her of the Grom monster taking the form of Luz and the subsequent rejection. Her moment of hesitation messed up her trajectory, and her sling-shot maneuver was compromised as she bounced, putting her right in the direction of a pillar of rock shooting from the ground—

--

“Amity!” Luz yelled, hopping down from the cheerleader’s bleachers to run towards the edge of the barricade.

Bria had launched a pillar of rock right at Amity mid-air, hitting her square in the side and sending her flying towards the Hexside portion of the field. She hit the dirt with a thud, sliding forward until the soft mat of the barricade cushioned her. The ball was called ‘out’ and their maneuver had been blocked.

“Time out!” Lilith growled from the Bench. She pointed at Bria. “That one plays dirty!”

The audience grew quiet. Edric and Emira were trailing behind her, seething.

“Amity, are you okay?”

Luz had jumped over the barrier. Amity felt a soft hand cup her face, and another pull her up by the arm to keep her steady.

“You’re hurt.”

“M’fine,” she blinked away the dizziness, and as her vision returned she could see that Luz was fussing over her, inspecting every joint and limb for signs of injury. “I broke the fall, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Amity nodded her agreement. “I’m sorry I—I’ve been messing up a little during the game."

She was feeling many, many emotions at once but was happy see Luz’s worried expression melt into relief, and then something fierce and resolute. Luz had (gently) slapped her on either side of her face, squishing her cheeks together. “Amity Blight, what are you?”

“I—”

“What. Are. You?”

She felt herself flush. “A—An awesome girlfriend.”

“Yes.” Luz reaffirmed, cleaning away a patch of dirt on her cheek with her thumb. “You are. I don’t mind if you’re messing up. Is that what’s been bothering you?”

Amity looked a little hesitant to share. Emira was being held back by Lilith by the waist, right about ready to maul Bria on the spot. Edric was egging her on. Her worries began to fizzle away like the bubbles in those drinks that Luz liked to have, disappearing into nothing but afterthoughts. She looked up to the bleachers—Willow and Gus were grinning at her, despite it all.

“Yeah,” she admitted in a small voice.

To her surprise, Luz grabbed her by the front of her uniform and—

She—

Oh my Titan—

She kissed her. Right there. On the field. In her cute little skirt.

They pulled apart, both red as tomatoes. Luz looked ready to burst. “I don’t even care if you lose! But I know that you won’t—because you’re the coolest, classiest, and smartest witch I have ever damn known and I lowkey still can’t believe you’re my girlfriend! You’re… amazing. You always will be, Amity.” Luz looked to the side, shyly. “Just because… you’re you.”

“Oh.” Amity managed to squeak out. From this angle she could see that Luz had stolen her varsity jacket and was wearing it over her uniform. The sight of it… did things to her stomach. “Wow.”

“So—Yeah.” Luz finally relinquished her stranglehold on Amity’s front, blushing nervously. “Go get ‘em, tiger?”

Amity stood there, stupefied. She tried to think but decided that she did way too much of that already and grabbed Luz by the collar to kiss her back.

“I—” Luz looked dazed.

“That was to acknowledge receipt… of your kiss! Earlier. Thank you.” Amity fiddled with her hair. Her ears were probably steaming now. She looked down to her hands, clutching onto the cloth of Luz’s top. “For reminding me.”

“I always will, if you need.” Luz smiled.

Amity smiled back, then set her jaw.

She turned on her heel to resume the game. Boscha and Amelia had jogged over to check on her, but she grabbed them by the arms and dragged them back into the field.

She was Amity Blight. Captain of the Hexside Banshees. Luz’s girlfriend no matter what.

“We’re winning this match.”

---

The Banshees scored their next goal within thirty-eight seconds flat. Amity had developed a suit of armor against Bria’s taunting, and every move she made on the field was with deadly precision. Boscha’s defense was impenetrable, with Amelia always one step ahead of the enemy. This newfound synergy absolutely destroyed the Glandus Grudgby team.

The crowd was going crazy, and King’s unbiased coverage of the game was so completely biased by the last few minutes that Bump had to replace him.

Shortly after King was returned because Bump was even more partial to Hexside.

It was Amity who took the latest goal home, summoning a giant abomination arm holding a racket-shaped weapon. She learned the move from a video that Eda showed her from the Human Realm—they liked to play a silly game called tennis where all they did was hit balls. It was apparently Luz’s favorite.

“That’s our Mittens!” Ed did a perfect backflip. On a bench.

“Ed, I love her just as much as you do but you’re about to burst an artery."

Luz had her hands in her hair. “Did she—just do a magical forehand slice? Dios mio, as if I didn’t already like this girl.”

Gus sniffled, wiping his tears with his flag. “I believe in your believing ball game.”

--

“We finally have you back!” Boscha grinned, standing in position for the final toss. They had just enough time for one last play. The teams were at a tie.

It was zero hour.

“Nervous?” Bria taunted.

“Not really,” Amity smiled back. She looked over at Luz. “If we win—I get to gloat over you. If we lose, might suck for a little bit.”

Luz caught her eye and gave her a little wave.

“Either way, she’ll have my back.”

Bria frowned at that. Amity crouched forward, hands on the ground, ready to barrel through the Glandus team’s defense with nothing to lose and everything to gain. The referee blew on the whistle and the ball was up in the air.

She could barely hear the crowd. It was tunnel vision. The ball. The goal. She ran forward, knowing that Amelia and Boscha would follow-through no matter what. What was important was that she did her part and plant her feet firmly at her position for their play. Bria came at her with tremors on the ground, spikes coming up to impale her at every step. But she was faster—her head was clearer now. She covered the ground in abomination goo, using it to change her trajectory at each vibration of disturbance that Bria caused. She found her footing twenty yards from the goal posts, and right on cue the ball was coming right at her. Vines shot up to grab it from the air—but Amelia’s own plant magic hijacked the growth into yielding. Amity summoned an abomination, mirroring her pitcher’s stance as soon as the ball got caught in its mass.

She pulled back, winding up for the winning throw, with the abomination following suit.

Time seems to have slowed down, with the whole stadium growing quiet.

There were only seconds left to spare.

Amity took a deep breath and launched the ball in a storm of purple fire.

Everything came crashing back down—time, the absolute chaos of the crowd on their feet, screaming, yelling, cheering. Glandus scampering to chase after a pitch they all knew they weren’t fast enough to stop.

But Amity wasn’t even looking at the ball anymore.

She trained her eyes towards the bleachers, looking for a mop of brown hair.

There, she thought. She saw Luz’s eyes brighten as soon as they met her own golden ones. Right there, in the middle of the crowd.

Luz smiled at her.

Amity grinned back, pumping her fist up in the air.

That smile was everything that she wanted to win.

“Goal!”

-

fin

-

A/N: Not beta read we jump in screaming. Hello yes self indulgent fluff because I saw @sssjusts 's Lumity comics (particularly the Jock Amity ones) and those sold on me like hotcakes thank you my friend for ur service please accept my humble fanfic gift offering!!

#Lumity #The Owl House #Luz Noceda #Amity Blight #Edric Blight #Emira Blight #King #Fluff #Gus Porter #Willow Park #Jock Amity #Cheerleader Luz #Fanfic

[kayr0ss]

The weekend passed within the blink of an eye 🤯 Have a nice week ❤

-❤ anon

Thank you again, anon! I hope your week is going well too!!! Weekend time

#waaaa #yay

[kayr0ss]

A Cup of Coffee

[TOH, Lumity, Coffee, Fluff, Established Relationship] AO3 Link

Luz introduces Amity to the human wonder that is coffee; Amity's just happy to be around her. || Fluff, They're Being Cute in the Kitchen, Sharing a Cup of Coffee

--

“So it’s a potion.”

“A potion?” Luz gasped dramatically. “This is a work of art. An example of human genius, it’s—it’s one of life’s miracles!” She threw up her hands in a gesture of emphasis. “It also helps me get out of trouble when I do something stupid in the morning and Mami’s about to give me the good ‘ol chancla.”

Amity gave the small glass of dark liquid a scrutinizing look. It sat steaming on Eda’s kitchen table, looking dreadfully dark. “Beans which have been roasted, ground, and can be methodically brewed in different ways which determine the potency of its effects. Causes wakefulness, alertness, and the jitters with a dash of anxiety when consumed excessively.”

“I can’t believe you’ve managed to make coffee sound so boring.”

“It’s a potion.”

Luz indignantly held a finger up. “You’re cute, but I respectfully disagree.”

“Luz!”

“Potions—” Luz dragged with emphasis, “—are boring and always have a fifty percent chance of blowing up—”

“Only the ones you make.”

“—but this? This rich aroma, when mixed with the perfect amount of sugar and cream? La neta, it’s heaven!”

Amity laughed; a small bubbling sound coming from the smile hidden behind her hand. To say that she was reluctant to give it a try was an understatement—but did she ever really stand a chance? Luz was so animated, so charming in her impassioned speech on the gastronomical wonders brought about by this mysterious human potion called ‘coffee’ that she was once again reminded of just how far she had fallen for her.

“Are you even listening, Miss Blight?” Luz crossed her arms, eyes squinting.

“Always,” came Amity’s effortless reply. Then she blinked, flustered at her own sappiness, “I mean—”

But they’ve been girlfriends for quite a while now. It was okay to be sappy!

“—yes,” she committed, brushing back her hair behind her ear with a sheepish smile and all. “Always am.”

Luz beamed, holding the cup forward for her to take. She blew on it, careful not to spill any while Amity gently took the glass. “Careful!” Luz whispered, “it’s hot.”

“Mhm,” Amity nodded. The cup was warm, but the way that their hands brushed in a brief moment of contact was another source of warmth altogether. Still hits different. Every time. She took a small, hesitant sip and—

“Eugh!” she sputtered, wincing.

“Aaaand that’s a no,” Luz laughed apologetically. “It’s okay if it’s not your cup of tea.”

“Perhaps not.” Amity held it back for Luz to take.

“Get it?” Luz grinned, winking. “Cause it’s a cup of coffee.”

“You’re impossible.”

“No, I’m Luz.”

“I—” Amity sighed. “Never mind. Thanks for letting me try though? More for you.”

“Ah!” Luz facepalmed, groaning. “Lo siento, I can’t believe I forgot the sugar and cream!”

Amity was about to ask what she meant but couldn’t find a window of inquiry because Luz was fast at work the very next second. She was rummaging through Eda’s cupboards, face wrinkled in an (adorable) look of concentration. Amity leaned on her arm against the table, content to sit in silence while catching the bottles that Luz kept haphazardly throwing into the air behind her with a flick of her wrist. A few minutes and several floating bottles (“Can you at least set them down on the table?” “No!”) later, Luz was once again presenting her with a fresh cup of coffee. It was lighter than her first attempt, and the aroma was sweeter and milder. It was actually… inviting?

“This is it!” Luz exclaimed, a mischievous glint in her smile. “The perfect cup of coffee for the perfect pretty girl.”

“Do you plan to flatter me into liking your strange human beverage?” Amity laughed.

“Is it working?”

She blushed. “Maybe a little.”

Luz smiled. “But first—quality control!”

Amity watched as she blew away the steam and leaned in closer so that the cup was right in between them. Luz lifted the cup to take a small sip for herself, closing her eyes to savor it. She hummed in satisfaction, nodding. And then she took another.

“That hits the spot.”

“Satisfied?” Amity asked.

“One more taste!” Luz grinned. “For safe measure.”

Luz took a full gulp of it this time, tilting the cup upwards and towards herself. Amity watched with no small amount of amusement as Luz recovered. She had a moustache of foam along her upper lip from the froth of the milk, and she—

She—

Amity really wanted to—

“Wanna try it again?” Luz looked up.

There was a short pause.

“Yes.”

And then Amity was kissing her.

Luz was frozen for moment, but then leaned into the small space in between them almost automatically, careful not to jostle the cup between her hands. It was short, sweet, with hints of vanilla that mixed perfectly with the heavy cream.

They pulled apart in a fit of blushing and silly little grins.

“You know what,” Amity giggled. “I think I kind of like it.”

-

A/N: We just finished watching TOH and I can't stop thinking about these two here we gooooooooooo

#The Owl House #TOH #Fanfic #Lumity #Luz Noceda #Amity Blight #Fluff #Coffee

[kayr0ss]

Hands that Remember Chapter 2 [AO3]

[Horizon Zero Dawn, Elisabet Sobeck Lives, Found Family, Mother-Daughter Feelings, GAIA is recovering, Ereloy]

Summary: Aloy saw the recordings, felt their grief over the death of their culture - the loss of their identity. Ted Faro had blown away the light meant to guide humanity through darkness - but she was willing to risk it all to take it back. To bring APOLLO back.  It wasn't the first time that the world asked her for a miracle, but it bargained with a miracle of its own: This time - she didn't have to do it alone.

[Wherein Elisabet Sobeck returns, GAIA is recovering, Erend is done waiting around, and Aloy discovers a family she's never had before to help lift the weight of the world off her shoulders.]

Chapter 2: Re-Calibration

CHAPTER 2

--

It was such an odd thing to feel dirt again.

When was the last time she felt sediment and rock between her fingertips? A thousand years ago—quite literally. She’d forgotten the feel of it squeezing underneath the overhang of her nails, the discomfort of a pebble pressing on her heel within her shoe.

Little things. Living things.

GAIA Prime and all the other bunkers she had to oversee were exactly that: bunkers. Giant boxes of metal sealed from the world and its mounds of dust, dirt, and rock. But this disconnection wasn’t new: it’s been around since before she was locked away and working on Zero Dawn. It was there even back in Miriam, in FAS—even as far back as Stanford. So much time spent rushing towards the next breakthrough that she never had the time to stop and smell the flowers before they all burned away.

It was hard to wrap her head around the idea that flowers were back—blooming again somewhere out there. But for now she’d settle for the desert sand, riddled with weeds and other small signs of life.

She wondered what Erend might be thinking, seeing her run her fingers along the ground like a toddler. Eager to feel—to learn, no, relearn about a world she was only getting her bearings on. She caught a small blade of grass between her fingers. It’s alive, it’s all… alive again, she stared in wonder at the small miracle of live in her hand. Her return to consciousness was a violent experience. This was a nice change of pace.

The rest of the vanguard gave her and Erend privacy to talk, running errands in the nearby encampment and leaving them in the shade of an open tent. God knows she needed the space. She had questions—so many questions and while Erend tried his best to get her up to speed it seemed like there was always more. His rushed explanation was a disaster. Machines, cultists—whatever the fuck else was out there—and Aloy.

He said he’d try again and break it down slowly this time, sticking to what he knew and leaving the rest ‘to Aloy.’

‘Aloy’ sounded like a big shot. Someone important. Erend spoke about her with both familiarity and fondness—like how the other Alphas sounded when talking about one another. Whatever tangent he flew into—about what they had to fight off and how he believed it was related to herself and the other ‘Old Ones’—it always came back to Aloy. There was an unwavering faith he had in her that she could recognize: the feeling that they’ve fought together, bled together.

Endured something terrible together.

She remembered how he looked a little hurt earlier. “You’re Aloy’s mother, aren’t you?” He said it almost reverently, but unfortunately the answer was a very strong “no.” It must have been a misunderstanding—why would he think that?

“Got some boar roasting in camp.” Erend’s voice carried above the sound of his heavy footsteps. He walked closer, seating himself on a rock across her. “You feelin’ better?”

“I think so,” she admitted. “Alive. Which is better than the alternative when it comes to emerging from cryosleep if you ask me.”

“Good, good.” He crossed his arms. “Not hungry?”

Elisabet shook her head. “I don’t think I can taste anything yet.” She really hoped this side-effect was temporary.

“Well, let’s get you some soup. That’ll help.”

How she was feeling was a can of worms she didn’t want to open quite yet. Her body was on edge, the hairs along her arms standing in attention while she could feel the pace of her heart jog above average. It almost made her wince, the self-awareness of expecting a panic attack at any moment, but if her system had decided to be useful before shutting off completely later on, she was going to make the goddamn most of it.

Deep breaths.

She needed to take deep, long breaths. This was nothing but a jacked-up sympathetic nervous system stress response—there was no real danger. Just hypothetical fear. She needed to relax. She needed to think.

Orientation would be a good start—what, when, and where. And then she needed a plan. Something. Anything to do other than wander aimlessly like a fucking relic out of time. “You okay?”

It almost made her snap. He was asking if she was okay? She looked up, a smart quip loaded at the tip of her tongue but then—he looked so earnest, so concerned. An expression like that didn’t belong on a soldier.

“Not really, no.” She admitted.

“Huh.” Erend sat hunched over with his chin on one hand, looking comically close to that old statue of a thinking man if not for the wider breadth of his knees. He cleared his throat. “So…”

Despite the situation, she chuckled. “I’m glad to see that the most awkward of conversation starters evolved itself back into common use.”

The reference likely flew over his head, but he smiled while rubbing at the back of his neck almost shyly. He seemed… kinder than a hundred pounds of armor and a warhammer would seem like.

“I mean what am I even supposed to say?” He shrugged. “I uh, hit things with my hammer. You—and this predicament—are not things I’m gonna hit with my hammer.”

“That’s reassuring,” Elisabet deadpanned.

“You sure you aren’t Aloy’s mother?” Erend cracked her a lopsided grin.

Elisabet rubbed at her temple. “I think I’d know if I was. Is it wishful thinking to hope you guys have any ibuprofen?”

She had been pointedly ignoring his assertions that she was anyone’s mother. There were more pressing concerns to address, foremost of which was the distinct lack of technology. She’s only been up and about for a few hours but it was enough to notice the rudimentary tools and structures, along with the fact that Erend seemed to be the only other person with access to technology similar to hers.

“I’d check if we do, if I had any idea of what that is.”

“Where are we?”

“The furthest west I’ve ever been, honestly.” Erend shrugged. “I’m not familiar with these lands. We generally call it The Forbidden West—but there isn’t much else we know. Just more… sand, and dust. I’ve heard stories of trees that grew on sand, at the border of an endless lake. Never been there to see it myself.” He paused thoughtfully. “I uh, made a short trek back east from where I found you. About an hour or a little more.”

Elisabet stayed quiet, willing herself not to ask the question prickling at the tip of her tongue.

“Was that your home?” Erend asked quietly. “Where I found you. With the tall, pointed trees and the old stone structure.”

“Pines,” she supplied. “The trees, I meant. I thought you would know this by now.”

He grunted. “I’m a captain. Pretty good darned captain too, but no tree expert.”

“No, no.” She shook her head. “Sorry, I meant you as in people, in general. The kinds of trees and animals, our history and technology—we tried to pass that on.”

Something wasn’t right—a feeling that’s been weighing on her since her awakening.

Erend and the vanguard were outfitted with plate armor and looked to have no means of transportation other than by foot. They had waterskins instead of thermal containers and their basic camping supplies were made of fibers and tanned leather. Nevermind real-time mapping and wireless communication. ‘Battle-ready’ wasn’t exactly what came to mind, and she’d have paid to hear Herres’ take on 31st century military technology. She might have even chuckled, had the implication not been so dire. Something had definitely gone wrong.

“Is the nearby encampment allied with you?”

“It was established by the Carja military as a way station, under the Sundom’s jurisdiction.” Erend beckoned her nearer, shuffling towards the side to leave space on the large, slated rock he was sitting on. “Ever since the Battle at the Spire, the Sun King’s been allowing expeditions towards the west—Aloy’s got a hunch that something is going on over there and you could guess that most of everyone listens to her these days. Whether she likes it or not.”

Carja. Sundom. Factions and nations, most likely?

“Just a minute.” He fumbled a little with his focus, looking up and awkwardly moving his hands in thin air. His frustration was noticeable in the deep set of his brows. “Aloy’s done this before—a map, on scrolls of light. She could share it with me while it, uh, did its floaty thing.”

“Do you have the map open?” Elisabet tapped her focus, hearing the small digital beam alert her of its activity. Technology was a familiar comfort—something to ground her. She whistled lowly while running a system check on the piece of hardware, trying not to wince at the fact that the date read January 14, 3041. The 31st fucking century. Safe to say it’s still working way past warranty declarations. “I think I got it.”

“How did you—its telling me that an external device accessed my display?”

“Hacking it,” she smiled. “This is more or less my area of expertise.”

“Right,” Erend nodded. “So we’re right over here.” He pointed towards a small glowing indicator.

“Outskirts of Carson City.” She had said it so softly it surprised her. She never pegged herself as particularly sentimental but being so close to home… after everything.

“And this,” he moved to the east. “Is the Sundom, and to its eastern border is the Nora’s Sacred Lands.”

Elisabet let herself have a moment of evaluation, eyes moving around the map to absorb as much information as she could. The satellite image let her know that the area’s topography reverted to pre-Faro Plague days: desert and canyons. Forested mountains covered the range to the east, but the northern range where she recalled Yellowstone was seemed erratically cold and glacial.

Information was a valuable resource she was lacking in.

“I need to get to the most developed settlement,” she muttered to herself. “Acclimate to customs and culture before finding a means to find and access ZD bunkers.”

“Bunkers?” Erend blinked.

“I assume that camps similar to this one are interspersed between the border of the Sundom and our location? At distances accessible by foot?”

“Yes, but—”

“I have to account for hostility along the road.” She crossed her arms. “And resources for supplies. What currency do you trade with?”

“Look,” Erend’s tone was firm. “We are going to take care of hostility and resources, because we’re going with you.”

“I—”

“You need to slow down,” Erend rose to his feet. “We don’t even know for sure if you’re okay after getting thawed out a thousand years later.”

“I need to figure out what happened to Zero Dawn. Find GAIA, and then—”

“Elisabet,” his voice was softer again, big and heavy hands settling on her shoulders. “We have time.”

Time? Of course they didn’t! There were a million things left to do and only two weeks until—

“The world isn’t ending anymore.”

--

He’d finally convinced her to sit down and get something to eat and it wasn’t damn easy. Elisabet was back to the makeshift planning table even before swallowing down her last bite and by the forge it was driving Erend just a little bit crazy.

“This is where we’re headed.”

Erend marked his own map, one that was tangible and inked on parchment instead of light. More reliable, if you asked him. Didn’t flicker in and out of sight—and didn’t make him look like a total jackass in front of his vanguard, waving his fingers around something they couldn’t see.

It was nearing sundown. The vanguard packed up ahead of time; they were leaving at the break of dawn. Erend split the party in two—one was to continue the expedition towards the Western Threshold, and the other, with Erend, was to hurry back to Meridian discreetly. It was a plan forged into metal: Erend needed to talk to Avad, while Elisabet seemed particularly interested in the Spire once he mentioned it.

“Utah and Colorado,” Elisabet whispered in wonder, tapping her focus on likely projecting a light-based rendering of them map on top of his own. “The staging areas for Zero Dawn.”

Erend looked at her with curiosity. “S’that what they used to be called? Before… before the whole thing—”

“Ended?” She punctuated, sensing his discomfort. But then she gave him a slight smile—it was different from Aloy’s. Wiser and wearier. “Though that’d be wrong. We’re still here, somehow.”

He smirked. “Don’t look so surprised. Didn’t you have somethin’ to do with that?”

“I’m just one of many,” she looked back towards the map. Didn’t look ready to talk about that, it seemed. “So what have we got?”

“We’re not in a hurry. We can take the traders’ path on the way back.” He pointed along a red, snaking line etched on the surface of the parchment. It was well-lit, well-guarded, and easy to traverse with enough camps in-between to restock and rest. He tapped twice on a marker at the end of route: it was a black, soaring tower. The good ‘ol Spire.

“That’d take us too long.” Elisabet shook her head. “We could go through these passes through the ridges. Cut straight through and save both time and resources.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“And time—”

“—is something you have now.” Erend stood his ground, arms crossed. “As I keep reiterating to you.”

“I’ve noticed.” Elisabet set her jaw. Then she sighed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I’m still getting used to—” she waved a hand over the map “—this.”

“You mean not being the one in charge?” Erend grinned.

“I didn’t really ask for that,” she smiled back kindly. “But old habits die hard.”

“The long way to Meridian it is, then.”

--

Sobeck Journal, 1-14-41

We did it.

Even this barren desert looks beautiful. Can’t shake the feeling that I don’t deserve to see it all though.

Not without the rest of ZD. Without the rest of you.

I’m going to forego writing about how I feel because I don’t even know where to begin digging up that can of shit. Exhaustion was always an effective sleeping pill back in the day: now that I’ve got time to think when I lay down everything is so loud. Given the state of things I doubt they’d invented melatonin pills yet either, but who am I to complain? Alive is still better than dead.

Off to sleep now. Something’s wrong with APOLLO. More things to figure out tomorrow.

After all these years, I still don’t get to rest.

--

[“—someone— … —back to see—“]

“Great timing as usual.” Aloy hissed under her breath. The strider she was on was nearly worn down. She was an hour’s ride away from the forest’s edge—right where the sands of the Barrens began. That’s what she was going to call them anyway: “the Barrens.” Those prissy cartographers up in the mesa have no idea just how large the West was. It wasn’t all sand and tumbleweed: there were forests so different from the Jewel and the Sacred Lands that she didn’t know how to begin describing them! And the lake… the biggest she’s ever seen. A body of water so large it must have cloaked the world’s entirety. She’s seen it on the spherical maps stored in her focus—a depth of blue so imposing she couldn’t even wrap her head around it. The air was different along the lake’s edge—salty and crisp. Both beautiful and foreign and so very unforgiving.

She gently stroked the side of the strider’s neck. She didn’t want to wear him down completely—best to leave enough so that he could carry on and survive another day. Herds of broadheads often wandered around the Barrens anyway, although not found as often as in Meridian and to the East.

She’s been getting scrambled messages from Erend for the better part of a day now. He sounded panicked. He hated using his focus but there was apparently something important enough for him to try. It seemed desperately urgent and the only thing she could make of his messages was that she needed to go back.

Chasing after GAIA and whatever was left of APOLLO was going to have to wait.

Her strider whinnied—Aloy hummed a small apology she hoped it could understand. If she found a charger it’d be better—she could ride through evening on a mount strong enough to discourage smaller machines from engaging them. By next evening she could rest by the ranch.

Aloy bit her lip, a soft feeling of longing at her gut. That’s what Elisabet called it in her journals anyway—Sobeck Ranch. A small speck of life, trees, and flowers on the eastern edge of the Barrens. A small place to rest before another two days’ ride to Meridian.

She remembers how freeing it felt to tell Rost about her misadventures so far. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to take a few minutes for Elisabet and do the same.

She urged the strider to run a little faster, wind whipping at her hair and the tassels of her armor. “Just a bit more, big guy. Just a little more.”

-

A/N: Thank you once again to Tototops for beta-reading this chapter!

It's been a hot minute but here we go with chapter 2!

#Horizon Zero Dawn #HZD #Fanfic #Elisabet Sobeck #Aloy #Erend Vanguardsman #Erend #Ereloy #Found Family #HZD GAIA #Elisabet is Mom #Brb i'll cry #Aloy x Erend

[kayr0ss]

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