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"You sure you don't want anyone to stay and help?" Vee asks one last time before she and Masha finally leave.
"No no, you kids get on home," Luz shakes her head and her younger sister rolls her eyes. Her human form has aged but to Luz, Vee Noceda will always be her younger sister. "Seriously, there's not a lot left to do, just a few dishes. You guys already helped out plenty. Did you see Willow taking out those trash bags? We've got a bet going on if it's gonna be her or Hunter doing the threshold carry whenever they finally tie the knot." The aforementioned couple had left just a few minutes prior to their shared apartment.
Masha's dark eyes twinkle in amusement, "I'm definitely on Team Willow," they snicker, their gap toothed smile on full display. "Did you see his face when she lifted those bad boys? He wants to be lifted by those arms."
Vee rolls her eyes again but this time it is adoration in them rather than exasperation. "I keep telling them it's Team Hunter," Vee argues firmly but playfully. They've clearly had this debate many times before. It makes sense, out of everyone in their friend group, Willow and Hunter would definitely be the first to marry. There's no one to compete with in the first place. Masha and Vee never planned on marrying even if they planned on their relationship lasting a lifetime. Luz squandered her chance to marry Amity a year. "She deserves to be picked up on their big day, she's Willow! Luz, tell them I'm right!"
"Sorry, sis, I'm being a neutral party," Luz holds her hands up as a barrier of defense between what has become an ongoing debate for the couple. I'm totally Team Hunter, though. She deserves to be picked up like a princess. Hunter definitely knows this.
"Coward," Vee sticks out her tongue. "¡Mamá, ya nos vamos!"
Luz makes a noise of suspicion at the lack of response, "she's probably in the kitchen trying to do the dishes after I told her not to do them." Oh how the turn tables. "But seriously, you guys get home before it gets too late."
Vee sighs in amusement, "oh she's definitely in there. Make sure Mamá is staying out of trouble."
"Bye Vee, bye Masha!"
Luz's eyes linger on the couple through a crack in the blinds as they walk to Masha's car, hand-in-hand. They're laughing, Vee's face warm and yellow eyes full of love. Luz can't see Masha's face from where she stands, but she is sure that they have an expression that matches. Undoubtedly and overwhelmingly happy. Luz closes the blinds, ignoring the feeling of dark feeling of envy in her chest.
When she returns to the kitchen, it's as she expected.
Luz raises an eyebrow, unamused. "Mamá," Mamá jumps, looking at her daughter sheepishly as she sets down the sponge. "The birthday girl isn't supposed to be doing dishes!" Indignantly, she points at the dinner table where Mamá's evening tea rests and the Noceda matriarch takes the walk of shame to it. Me tienes loca, Ma. With a harumph that is more amused than annoyed, Luz takes her place at the kitchen sink. "It really isn't even that much left, that's why I told everyone else they could just head back home."
"I was just trying to help," Mamá protests with a small smile. "You kids were so sweet to throw me a party for my birthday. I had no idea you were planning it."
"It wouldn't have been a surprise if you knew," Luz laughs with a teasing lilt. "Honestly, I was worried Vee would accidentally spill the beans. Masha really came in clutch to make sure she wouldn't say anything." It took a bit of sneaking around but the payoff was spectacular, even if not all of the members of their friend group could make it.
"It would have just been nice if everyone could have made it," Mamá sounds wistful and Luz knows that her mother is looking at an old photo. "Amity and Gus called me earlier to say happy birthday." They were the only members of their group of friends that had been unable to come in person for the surprise birthday bash they had planned to throw. School kept the both of them from coming. Amity, on the other hand, is pursuing her Master's . Engineering is where she found her foothold in Human Realm academics. Before they graduated high school, Amity had confided in her that in reminded her of her father. "It isn't quite the same as abomination engineering but I think it'll make me feel closer to him."
Luz feels her mouth twitch as she scrubs a particularly hard piece of on a plate. "Yeah, it's sucks about Gus' exams. And Willow told me Amity is doing an internship right now! Isn't that cool?"
Instead, Mamá replies, "it's hard to believe you broke up, you both seemed very happy." It was no surprise to her mother that Luz didn't take the traditional route of university after she, Amity, Willow and Vee graduated high school. If anything, what was more surprising what that Gus didn't graduate with them. "I just want to get the full human high school experience, so I'm just gonna take my time with this." Luz, on the other hand, had her fill of Human Realm academics. So she used up the money saved from her part-time job to buy a van to travel around the country, Amity by her side. "I thought it wouldn't be long before you were announcing you were engaged. I joked with my coworkers that for all I knew you both were planning to elope if you happened to pass through Vegas."
They considered it when they passed through Nevada. Amity, ears red and all, stopped the fanciful idea before it took flight. She wanted to get married with their friends, their family, present. Luz supposes in a twisted way, Amity unknowingly saved them both from even more heartbreak.
"Come on, Mamá," Luz scoff sounds shaky even to her. "We weren't that impulsive. Besides, she didn't like living on the road. She wanted to settle down somewhere and I..." Luz recalls the hurt in Amity's gold eyes the night they broke things off. How she begged for some sort of stability, to settle down somewhere instead of going on wild goose chases from place to place for where a pocket between their respective realms could be found. The abnormality of Gravity Falls had just caught Luz's eyes first. That and the fact a Stan Pines resided there, scamming tourists with made up cryptids.
A name Luz recalled from Eda's tales of her adventures in the Human Realm. Oregon was certainly no coincidental choice, even if she told her family and friends ー save for Amity ー otherwise.
They traveled from Connecticut to Oregon, among many other places. Florida was simply Amity's last straw.
"Aren't you tired of this, Luz?" Amity asked tiredly. "We do this every time. We think we've found something only to be disappointed when we learn it's a scam or local legends. I'm tired of getting my hopes up." She looked Luz squarely in the eyes, gold and brown eyes looking at each other in a standstill. "I think it's time we except that," Amity paused to take a break. "That at least for now, we aren't going to return to the Demon Realm. Everyone else has already made peace with that, we should too."
"We've been close in the past!" Luz argued fervently. "That time in Gravity Fallsー"
"I don't know what we saw in Oregon but it was nothing that had to do with the Demon Realm," Amity hugged herself, looking at her cup bitterly. "I... I miss the Demon Realm, Luz. I miss my dad, I miss Ed and Em waking me up with dumb pranks. My dad was finally starting to get to know us, he wasn't a perfect dad by any means but Titan he was trying. I would give up my magic to see them again. But no amount of wishing is going to bring them back to me or me to them, I'm making peace with that now." Tears were welling in her eyes but a small smile spread across Amity's face. "But even if it's hard, I know I can get through this because I have you here and we have the family we made here. This isn't the realm I grew up in, but it's one I'm happy to grow old end with you. I know I might be asking a lot of you but please, I just want this to be enough for us. Let's make this home."
It was then Amity stood up from where she sat, lowering herself in front of Luz, a ring made of abomination goo in her palms. "Please."
It wasn't a proposal Luz could accept.
Hence why, after the breakup, Amity made it a point to move to Berkeley, California after transferring schools. It's in a busy and bustling city, it has a superior engineering program and most important of all, it is far far away from the instability Luz offered.
"I want to focus on my Youtube career," Luz finally finishes. Her channel is really starting to take off, exploring the country and visiting strange and unique hotels, theme parks and occasionally dabbling in strange local legends in the states she visits. "Isn't it strange? We always thought writing would be the career I'd go with after high school but apparently Youtube was was my actual calling!"
Mamá sounds wistful as she replies, "have you both stayed in contact since then? It would be nice if you could at least be friends."
"Yes, Mamá, we're still friends," Luz sets down the plate, the residue refused to come off. "The split was something mutual that we both agreed on. We wanted different things and honestly, we're better off as friends in the long run."
Friends working through the better part of a breakup for the past year.
A friend she seldom talks beyond simple 'hi, how are you?'s.
This is why the news of Amity's internship had come to her by way of Willow the last time they talked.
It's for the best, Luz releases a quiet breath. Even it it means jeopardizing her relationship with the love of her life, she'll get them home to the Demon Realm. She'll see Eda and King again. She'll gladly hug Hooty all the while.
"So where is my baby heading to after Connecticut?" Luz is thankful Mamá finally changes the subject. Perhaps her answers were all satisfactory or perhaps she realized her daughter didn't want to continue talking about the one she let go.
"Phoenix, actually," Luz answers with as much cheer as she can muster. "My viewers have been begging me to finally cover the Phoneix Lights so I'm finally gonna give it a look. I'm gonna even get a wig and dress up like the guy from the 'Aliens' meme." Aliens are by far the biggest long shot Luz can take when it comes to possible slips between realms, but it is one Luz is willing to test even if it means bracing the hot Arizonan sun.