Chapter Text

Luz

Luz stepped back and took in the sight of the portal. It was a mess, made of parts that had previously been nothing more than unwanted junk cast to the side, but she thought that perhaps that made it perfect for the occasion. Sure, it wasn’t as glamorous as the previous door, but with that one destroyed, it was the best she could manage. After all, she had to get back somehow. And anyway, it made her more creative than Philip, who only used proper materials, because she made it with whatever she could find in the shed.

Yeah, creative.

“Looks good, kid,” Eda said from behind her.

“Thanks,” she replied, her voice wavering as she tried to pull together all the positivity she could.

“You nervous?” Eda prompted.

“It’s just, I’m not sure I’m ready to go back. I mean, I don’t want Mamá to think that I’m still missing and be worried about me, but…” she replied, drifting off into thought.

“Look, kid, it’s okay if you’re not ready. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“I know, it’s just– I can’t keep running away from it forever. What if the portal door collapses, or Mamá gets even more worried! I mean, camp should be over by now and she must be so scared–”

“Breathe, Luz. It’s okay. Come here,” Eda said as she motioned Luz to come in for a hug. “Why don’t you invite some of your friends over so you don’t have to go alone? Maybe bring bossy boots or something. King and I will make sure that the portal doesn’t collapse.”

“It’s just… This is my one chance to see my mom. But, yeah, that’s a good idea,” Luz responded tiredly. “I’ll go text them.”

…

Half an hour later, Gus hopped off his staff in front of the Owl House. He was the only one who had been free. Amity had gotten in trouble with her mom a fews days earlier, and Willow had plans with her dads. Gus looked ecstatic to be there. He had a bag stuffed to the brim with some of his favorite human treasures, and the biggest smile Luz had ever seen.

“Hey, Gus!” Luz exclaimed, calling him over to where she was by the portal door.

“I hope it’s raining today. Non boiling rain! The Human Realm! Rain!” he said excitedly, before trailing off into his thoughts.

Luz smiled. She had never seen him this happy, not even when she first gave him the nickname Gus or when he was co-announcer at Grom. At least if she had mixed feelings about going back, he was excited. Maybe she could be excited about that.

“Are you ready to experience the human realm for the first time?” Luz said dramatically. Gus’ eyes sparkled as he nodded in agreement. “I’ll let you do the honors,” she said, motioning to the door.

Gus reached out to the doorknob, turned it to the right, and pushed the door open. This was it, the moment of truth. Did she get it to work? The portal warbled for a second, then settled on that old shack in the woods. Luz felt her heart thump and her throat tighten a bit before plastering a smile back on her face.

“It worked!” Gus shouted, his voice filled with the joy of his dreams coming true. “Time for my first step to becoming ambassador to the Human Realm!”

Luz looked between Gus and the portal.

“It…worked.”