Chapter Text
It rained on their wedding day.
A complete torrential downpour. No storms or high winds. Just a soaking, cleansing rain.
Some say that means good luck.
Wanda and Agatha had left for the venue early that morning, clad in flannels and sweatpants for their hair and makeup.
The Maximoffs met them there, already buzzing around and snapping at the wedding planner.
All the flowers were perfectly arranged. The perfect colors for late summer.
The decorations were immaculate. The seating arrangements impeccable. The caterers were ahead of schedule. And their guests were already beginning to filter in while the classical band played lightly in the background.
It really was beautiful. Agatha would give Wanda that.
Everyone who attended would say it was the perfect wedding.
Agatha and Wanda took to opposite bridal suites. The Rio situation hadn’t been mentioned since that night, and she had made no attempt to contact Agatha.
Agatha poked her head out of the suite to watch Billy seat people. Press had just started to arrive in the other room.
She just felt off. The music was too loud, then too quiet. The lights were too bright. She was hungry, but couldn’t eat. She had sent her bridal party to the central lobby, needing a minute for herself.
This was normal; it was all normal, she kept telling herself. Everyone gets nervous before their wedding. She took a deep breath and looked in the mirror.
But Agatha didn’t recognize herself. 32 years in her skin, and the person staring back at her looked like a complete stranger. Her hair had too many curls. Her blush was too bright and her lipstick too red.
And her dress was too tight, like crazy tight. So tight she couldn’t breathe. Oh my god, I can’t breathe. Agatha felt her chest tightening as she tried to take in huge gulps of air. Her hands started to tremble, and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.
“Hello?” Lilia knocked on the door to the suite, not waiting for a response before entering. “How are we doing in here, my beautiful—oh.”
“Lilia, I can’t breathe,” Agatha said before collapsing to the floor. “You have to get it off of me! Get it off, Lilia!”
Lilia dropped to the floor beside Agatha, tearing at the buttons on the back of the dress.
“You’re having a panic attack.” Lilia started rubbing soothing circles on her back while she heaved.
Once she had the dress loosened, Lilia sat in front of Agatha, picking up one of her hands and placing it on her own chest.
“I need you to match my breathing, love. Slowly. Deep breaths. In and out.”
Once her breathing was under control, Agatha let herself do something she rarely did—break. Lilia held her while the big, ugly sobs wracked her body. She shook and wailed and grieved. And Lilia was there to dry her tears.
The two sat crumpled together on the floor.
“Don’t go through with it, Agatha,” Lilia finally whispered.
“I have to.”
“No, you don’t.”
“You don’t get it, Lil.” Agatha was working herself up again. “She threatened you guys. You’ll lose your job. She’ll probably blacklist you.”
“We’re grown-ups, we can handle a job search. I’ll outlive the cockroaches of the city, baby. I’m not scared of some Raggedy Ann Doll trust fund baby.”
“She threatened, Rio.” Agatha looked at Lilia with broken eyes. “I can’t put her through that.”
“Rio’s a big girl.” Lilia rubbed her arm. “Have you talked to her?”
“No, I think I fucked that all up anyway.”
“You don’t know that, Agatha.”
“Even if I didn’t, it’s a little late now, don’t you think?” Agatha gestured around to the wedding venue and her torn-open dress.
Lilia paused for a moment.
“No, I don’t.” She stood and gathered Agatha’s clothes from this morning. “Go get your girl, Harkness.”
“Lil, I really appreciate it, but it’s too late.”
“No, it’s not!” Lilia was already tearing the rest of Agatha’s dress off her. “Go now! I’ll hold down the fort here.”
“You’re joking? Agatha said, pulling up her sweatpants.
“I’ve never been more serious.” Lilia pulled Agatha out into the hallway, sneaking her through the kitchen and out the back door. How she knew the route, Agatha may never know.
Of course, it was still pouring rain. But she was only about 10 blocks away from Rio’s studio.
“Just be you, dear. Tell her the truth, and don’t hold back.”
Agatha nodded. “I don’t know how to begin to thank you.”
“Hire me as your secretary when you open your own firm.” Lilia smiled.
“You’ve got a deal.”
She couldn’t flag down a taxi to save her life. It was like everyone in the city had somewhere to be right at that exact moment.
After five minutes, she decided to run. Fuck it. Her hair was already ruined, and her makeup a mess. The nerves didn’t catch up with her until she was standing right outside her studio door.
She knew she looked rough, but also how was she going to come at Rio with “Hi, I left my fiancée and business partner of 14 years for you, also she might try to hunt you for sport. Wanna date?” And not seem totally insane.
Oh well.
She jogged up the three flights of stairs, hoping that Rio was alone today. She looked in her office window, and she wasn’t there, so she could only assume she was practicing in the main studio space. Agatha glanced through the window of the door, and sure enough, Rio was practicing solo choreography.
She took a deep breath and opened the door.
“I left her.”
“Jesus!” Rio jumped.
“Just now, at the altar, I left.” Agatha walked toward, shoes squeaking on the wood.
“Okay,” Rio said, still a little in shock.
“I know it’s fucked up, but I couldn’t do it. I just kept thinking about how in the passenger seat I felt in my own life.”
Rio nodded.
“And I couldn’t stop thinking about you, Rio. I would regret it every day of my life if we didn’t at least try. This could all crash and burn, and I’d never not be exactly where I am right now.”
Rio turned to walk out of the studio.
“Wait?” Agatha called after, genuinely baffled. “Where are you going?”
“Getting you a towel,” Rio called back.
“Rio, I don’t want a fucking towel. I want you to kiss me. I’m trying this new thing called saying what I want.”
“And I want you to stop dripping water on my wood floors.”
Fair enough. Rio brought the towel back to Agatha, and she dabbed her face before drying her hair and the rest of her body. Agatha took a step toward Rio, but she stopped her.
“When you left me here after your last lesson, that really sucked.” Rio started.
“I know, and I’m so—”
Rio stopped her. “No, let me finish.”
“Never make me feel like I’m in second place again. Communicate with me. Always tell me your wants and needs. And I think we’ll be off to a pretty good start, yeah?” Rio cracked her first smile, and Agatha’s heart flooded with relief.
“In the spirit of radical honesty,” Agatha treaded lightly. “Wanda has made a shit list of everyone I care about and threatened to come after them. I don’t know exactly what that would mean for you, but I assume she’s going to come after your studio.”
Rio pondered this for a moment before doing something Agatha didn’t expect—laughing. Like hard. Tears forming even.
“I’m sorry.” Rio tried to catch her breath. “It’s just, I literally have Tom Hanks in my favorite contacts. Try as she might, that demented Barbie really can’t do shit to me.”
Agatha let out a sigh of relief.
“What even was her name, Willow?” Rio joked before wrapping the towel around Agatha’s neck and pulling her close. “Don’t bring her up again.”
Rio finally connected their lips, soft at first, and then harder and harder. It was better than anything Agatha could have ever imagined.
Agatha’s hands slid around Rio’s waist, tugging her close, while Rio’s fingers threaded through her hair. She let out a soft moan when Rio’s body pressed against hers. She had missed the way she felt.
Agatha walked them backwards until Rio’s back hit the wall, a small gasp of air escaping her lips. Rio flipped their position almost immediately, lips leaving Agatha’s to trail up her neck. Agatha gripped Rio’s ass, pulling her against her.
“This is crazy.” Rio pulled back, gasping for air.
Agatha’s eyes were wild.
“You were literally supposed to be getting married like an hour ago.”
“Are you having second thoughts?” Agatha looked at her with concern.
“Not at all! It’s just important to me that I do this right with you. You’ve missed out on so much, and I want to make up for that.”
Agatha’s face softened.
“We can go on a date every day for the next year. We have the rest of our lives for you to show me what I’ve missed.”
“But.” Agatha picked up Rio’s hand and kissed her fingertips. “I need this. You. Right here. Right now.” Agatha’s breath got shaky. “Please? I think I’ve waited my whole life for this.”
“Okay.” Rio gave her a soft smile. “But you’re the star of the show tonight.”
Rio pulled her into the middle of the studio so she was surrounded by the mirrors.
“What does that mean?” Agatha asked, suddenly very aware of her reflection.
“That means.” Rio stepped behind her, dragging her hair to the side. “I want you to see how special you are, and your pleasure is my only concern.” She kissed Agatha’s neck.
“And I want you to watch everything I’m about to do to you.” Rio started to unbutton her flannel, slowly exposing more skin. “Give me pointers, tips.” Agatha nodded along dumbly.
“Tell me exactly how you like to be fucked,” Rio husked in her ear, teeth lightly scraping the lobe.
Agatha let out an audible groan, Rio’s words clearly making an impact. Her fingers trailed up and down the valley between Agatha’s breasts, slowly stroking the skin.
“Take it off, touch my tits.” Agatha was squirming.
Rio did just as she was told, tugging the fabric off of Agatha’s arms and letting it pool at their feet.
She kissed and licked along Agatha’s shoulders and the top of her back, slowly dragging her nails up the sensitive skin of her sides. Agatha could feel her nipples tightening under the cool air and Rio’s attention.
“Rio, you’re teasing.” Agatha wiggled in her arms. “Please touch me.”
“Not teasing.” Rio’s firm hands were running up and down the soft flesh of Agatha’s abdomen. “Just appreciating.”
Agatha looked into the mirror directly ahead of her, and Rio’s eyes bore into hers, watching every reaction.
“God, you’re gorgeous.”
Agatha watched as a flush crept up her chest, still wobbly under the weight of praise.
Rio’s hands traveled upward, fingers teasing the underside of her breasts, taking them into her hands and roughly kneading the sensitive flesh, fingers stroking over Agatha’s hardened nipples before lightly pinching and pulling them between her thumb and forefinger.
The sensation of Rio’s warm, skilled hands was too much for Agatha. Her head lolled back, resting on Rio’s shoulder.
“Fuck, Rio,” she groaned.
“What’s next, baby?”
“Everywhere,” Agatha moaned. “I need you everywhere.”
Rio gave a cocky smirk before moving them closer to the main mirror with the bar. She dropped to her knees behind Agatha. Her fingers hooked into the waistband of Agatha’s sweats.
“Can I take these off?” She kissed Agatha’s hips, looking for permission in the mirror.
Agatha nodded enthusiastically, her own fingers working their way into Rio’s hair.
She watched as Rio pulled the fabric down her legs, carefully helping her step out before tossing it to the side. Rio bent down, kissing up Agatha’s shins, her knees, her thighs.
Agatha looked at her reflection in the mirror, hair mussed, chest flushed and heaving. Her eyes traveled further down, where her bush was wild and poking out from the sides of her underwear, a damp patch forming in the middle.
Rio must have noticed as well because her eyes darkened and she bit her lower lip. She rose on her knees, dragging her hands up Agatha’s thighs, before taking one away to cup Agatha. Agatha’s hand immediately tightened in Rio’s hair, and they both moaned in tandem. Agatha could feel herself pulsing in Rio’s hand.
“Can I take these off, please?” Rio’s voice was gravely and gone.
Agatha nodded with a whimper, and finally, she was completely bare before Rio. Rio, who looked up at her like she was the most beautiful creature in the world. Rio, who also looked like she wanted to bury her face between Agatha’s thighs until she was a dripping, trembling mess.
Rio finally stood. Agatha could feel the soft linen of her pants press against her ass. She watched as Rio’s hands teased her waist, gripping her hips, fingers lightly trailing through soft curls. Agatha mewled, not so silently begging Rio for more.
“Talk to me,” Rio teased, fingers getting closer to where Agatha needed her the most. “Tell me what you need.”
Still feeling bashful, Agatha continued to moan and squirm.
Rio let one hand travel up to Agatha’s throat, not to put pressure there, but to make sure she was looking head-on. Her other hand settled between Agatha’s legs, fingers spreading her pink, soaked cunt wide open.
“Look how pretty your pussy is, baby,” Rio groaned into her ear.
That broke Agatha. She pitched forward, grabbing the bar in front of her.
“God, Rio, please fuck me!” Agatha babbled. “I need you inside me.”
Rio took the opportunity to move Agatha’s legs further apart, her back arching in response. She grabbed the flesh of Agatha’s ass, spreading it before kissing up her back until she reached her ear.
“Remember eyes right here,” she said to Agatha’s reflection.
Rio brought one finger up to Agatha’s entrance before sinking in. Both let out broken whimpers. She watched as Agatha’s mouth slowly parted and her brows scrunched together.
Rio fucked her a few times, feeling her walls clamp around her.
“You’re so fucking wet,” Rio whined.
“More,” Agatha husked. “I need more.”
Rio pulled out completely, smirking when she heard Agatha whine at the emptiness. She stroked two fingers through her folds before sheathing herself back in. The sudden fullness caused Agatha to surge her hips backward and ride Rio.
She used her thigh to help fuck Agatha harder. The scene in the mirror was glorious. Agatha panting and chasing her orgasm, her tits bouncing with every thrust. Rio not so subtly humping against her ass. Sighs, groans, and the sounds of slick against skin filled the room.
Rio reached around Agatha with her other hand to rub her clit. Two fingers with soft, slow circles at first until she found the spot that turned Agatha into a whiny mess.
“Right there, please,” Agatha begged.
“You wanna come?” Rio tightened the circles on her clit, speeding up.
“Please let me come.” Agatha let out a desperate, filthy moan, continuing to bounce on Rio’s fingers.
Rio could feel her clamping down on her fingers, taking her in deeper, the pads of her fingertips brushing against that rough spot that made Agatha’s hips jerk. She knew she was close.
“You’ve been such a good girl, come for me.” Rio slammed into her with a particularly deep, well-timed thrust.
Agatha came apart in her arms. Her body went taut, and her hips spasmed while little moans and Rio’s name slipped past her lips. Rio slowly pulled out of her and held her close until her legs felt less boneless.
She turned, looping her arms around Rio’s neck and searching for her lips. Rio stuck her fingers in her and Agatha’s mouths so her taste could dance on both of their tongues.
“That was…” Agatha couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face, which in turn made Rio smile.
“Incredible, life-changing, the best you ever had?” Rio offered up multiple suggestions.
“Alright, don’t get too cocky,” Agatha smirked.
But it was. No one had ever taken the time to learn Agatha’s body and give her exactly what she needed. And she couldn’t wait to return the favor.
Agatha dropped to her knees in front of Rio.
“Hey, tonight is about you,” Rio said. And she had to be certifiably insane to turn down a gorgeous, naked woman on her knees for her.
Agatha looked up at Rio before pulling her pants and underwear down her thighs.
“If you think that me giving you head won’t get me off, you’re not as smart as I thought, Vidal.”
She eagerly leaned forward, licking a languid strip through Rio, moaning at her taste.
It would become her favorite flavor.
The aftermath was exactly what you would expect from someone who left their millionaire spouse at the altar with the press waiting in the next room.
Agatha learned that what Lilia meant by "holding down the fort" was faking a heart attack before coming clean and telling Wanda that she had left.
Splashy, sensationalized headlines were painted to make Agatha look like the bad guy. Wonder who could have afforded to do that. The only perk of a 24-hour news cycle was that it was quickly buried by whatever atrocity was happening the next day.
Agatha lost her job almost immediately, along with Lilia, Jen, Alice, and Billy. Wanda and the Maximoffs tried their best to keep the firm afloat, but much to their surprise, it turns out you actually need competent and skilled employees to run an architecture firm. Eventually, they dissolved, and because of the goodwill Agatha had built up in the community over the years, most of the clientele returned to Agatha.
It was overwhelming at first. She was able to retain Lilia, Jen, Alice, and Billy, and they worked out of Lilia’s loft for a few months. But Lilia had started doing tarot card readings to supplement income, and it was really fuckin hard to close on contracts with suits when Lilia was two feet away telling a blubbering 20-year-old in Tevas that she needed to work on her emotions because a picture of a cup on a card was upside down.
But Rio, sweet, perfect Rio, gladly let Agatha set up shop in her studio for a few months until she could purchase the space above Two Left Feet. However, no one tells you how distracting it is when your hot dancer girlfriend is practicing choreography in little to no clothing in the next room.
Agatha bought a third-floor walk-up just a few blocks away from Rio’s studio. She needed to learn how to be on her own. And it was crazy how her two-bedroom apartment with noisy neighbors and a leaky faucet felt more like home than any place she had ever been. She loved leaving her sketches scattered over the dining room table and dancing to her favorite high school records in the kitchen. She loved cooking for Rio and making out on her Facebook marketplace couch. She loved how the early morning sun peeked through the blinds in her bedroom and shone on Rio’s hair when she stayed over.
As for Wanda, Agatha had heard she was dating a model/influencer and was at a different yacht party every weekend. And Agatha truly hoped she was happy. There was no ill will on her end, just a desire to close that chapter of her life.
For the first time ever, Agatha didn’t feel like she needed a plan. She was doing work she was passionate about and surrounded by people who loved and supported her. She could go with the flow. She could breathe.
Agatha had never wanted much more in life than a safe place to call home. She knew the mechanics—she had built them for people for the past decade. But Agatha was quickly learning that it wasn’t about the location, materials, or amenities. No. Home was what existed in between those four walls, and Rio was feeling more and more like home every day.