Chapter Text
“Hey Mom. I’m back.”
Luz loved her mom.
After every day at Gravesfield High where she endured the taunts and jeers of her classmates, she could always look forward to the end of the day when she could spend time with her mom.
Through the long months after her dad passed, Luz could always cry on her mom’s shoulder.
When she nearly got run over by a distracted driver, she had her mom there to curse him out.
When she lost her first tooth, she had her mom there to put it in a little treasure chest.
Her mom was her rock—the only thing she could count on in the Human Realm.
So why was it so hard for her to come back home?
If any random person had asked Luz, the answer would be simple: Luz had nothing but her mom. And as much as she loved Camila, there were only so many lonely minutes she could drag herself through.
But when Camila asked Luz, Luz’s throat closed nearly over.
Mom, it’s not you. It never was.
How was Luz supposed to tell her mom that there was only so much she could do? Her mom was no witch. She couldn’t magically create friends for Luz instead of bullies, or understanding teachers instead of menacing ones, or a girlfriend or boyfriend instead of nobody.
Leaving the Human Realm was so easy when all Luz had to look forward to was summer camp. Really, what else was she going to choose? Three months of camp with people she knew would bully or exclude her like everyone else did, or three months with people who appreciated her for who she was.
But leaving was impossible now that there was no summer camp—only Camila. And nobody saw her for who she was more than her mom. Even if Luz didn’t think her mom appreciated it.
Luz made her choice the first time—she would run away and live out her “witch fantasy,” as Camila had said. Luz thought it was for the best—nobody in the Human Realm would care to see her missing for a bit, and it’s not like she would be able to affect things in the Demon Realm.
At least, until she did. Until she helped Philip—no, Belos meet the Collector, the same Collector that helped him nearly kill everyone and who was no doubt wreaking havoc on the poor islanders. The same Collector that was hurting Eda and King and Hooty while she was sitting in her mom’s house enjoying a meal.
No more. She would make the right choice this time. No matter what it brought for her. No matter how hard it was to make. It would be worth it if it meant the witches and demons she loved were safe. No, this time, Luz was going to stay in the Human Realm. For good.
She just didn’t know how she was going to tell everyone that.
Luz took her time with eating dinner, her mind preoccupied with worries. As most of her friends left with Camila to see where they would be sleeping, Luz sighed and tried to finish the rest of her chicken soup. She glanced up from her food to the other end of the table, where her partner-in-wallowing was doing the inverse of her. Luz smiled softly when she saw Hunter scarfing down his third bowl of chicken soup.
“You must be hungry,” Luz commented.
“Are you kidding?” Hunter exclaimed. “This food must be divinely inspired. The Titan himself must have spoken to your mother. The Emperor’s Coven never had anything even a millionth as good!”
Luz chuckled. “Do you want to finish mine? I’m not really feeling the hunger demon right now.”
Hunter shook his head in the midst of pouring soup down his throat. “As blasphemous as it is to say this, even I cannot stomach any more of this heavenly soup. Besides, we’ve all had a long day. It’s best for our collective preparedness if you remain nutritionally vigilant.”
Luz rolled her eyes. “Are you sure you didn’t swallow a thesaurus with all that soup?”
“What’s a thesaurus?”
“Never mind,” Luz laughed. “Well…I’m glad to see that at least you’re not too down, Hunter.”
Hunter frowned, which Luz laughed at when she saw his soup mustache and the noodles clinging to his face. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to tell you something, Luz.”
That sounded ominous, but half the things Hunter said sounded ominous, so Luz disregarded that. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah,” Hunter fiddled with his fingers. "Just…thanks for not telling them that I’m…you know…"
“A grimwalker?” Luz finished his sentence.
“Shhh!” Hunter whispered loudly, alarm flashing through his eyes. “Don’t say it so loud!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Luz put up her hands. “I’ll keep it quiet. Are you…going to tell them eventually?
Hunter froze. “Uh…yes?” he said unconvincingly. “Look, I—I don’t know. I feel like…like a—”
“Like a freak?” Luz guessed.
Hunter nodded.
“Heh. Been there,” Luz sighed. “They won’t care, Hunter. I promise you. All that means is that…well, I don’t know what that means biologically, but I know who you are. We all know who you are. You’re the person who left the Emperor’s Coven, who didn’t turn Flapjack over to Belos, who came to rescue me even when that meant standing up to Belos. You saved me from Inner and Outer Belos. Everyone knows that.”
“You told them what happened in the Emp—in Belos’s mind?” Hunter shouted, alarmed.
“Well, just the ‘Belos is a human and also going to kill everyone’ stuff. I didn’t say anything about your…past. Just that you saved me from him,” Luz said. Hunter flushed red. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Hunter.”
“I know! I…I know. I was just…paranoid. I’m sorry,” Hunter muttered.
“Don’t apologize,” Luz said. “It’s okay.”
“But it’s not!” Hunter said. “They’re all going to hate me when they find out that I’m a clone of someone who was a witch hunter!”
“Why?” Luz challenged.
“Because…because…agh! I don’t know! People are weird!”
Luz reached over the table to put a hand on Hunter’s shoulder. “Sometimes I wish we were still enemies so I could slap some sense into you.”
“...Thanks?”
Luz rolled her eyes, hand unwavering from holding Hunter gently. “What I’m saying is that all that matters is who you are now. And you’re not just rocks, or soil, or…well, whatever it is you’re made of. Who you are is the Hunter that willingly stood up to Belos just to save me. Who led us all here and saved us from the Collector. Saved us from my mistakes, at least…”
“Belos’s mistakes,” Hunter interrupted, placing a hand over Luz’s. “It’s not your fault the Day of Unity happened. It’s Belos’s fault. Only his.”
“We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for me,” Luz countered, a tinge of sadness lingering in her voice.
“You don’t know that. Belos had over three hundred years until the Day of Unity, and from what you told me, he already knew where the Collector was when you met him, right? What, do you really think he wouldn’t have been able to reach the Collector for three hundred years?” Hunter scoffed. “Nonsense.”
Luz sighed, looking away from Hunter. “Maybe…”
“No maybes,” Hunter said. “We have enough maybes waiting for us back in the Demon Realm. Let’s have at least one assurance here.”
“Yeah…” Luz muttered. She abruptly took her hand away from Hunter and stood up. “I think…I think I’m going to go to bed. Been a long day, you know? Heh. I’ll see you tomorrow, Hunter.”
Without waiting for Hunter’s response, she took her unfinished bowl to the trash can, silently praying to the Titan that her mother wouldn’t be offended if Luz threw away the remaining soup. Luz put the bowl in the sink and began scraping it under the running faucet. After she finished cleaning it and dried it, she turned around and saw Hunter enter the kitchen with his three empty bowls of soup—which Luz had to admit was kind of a funny sight.
“Here, let me take some of that,” Luz offered.
Hunter shook his head. “It’s alright. I got it. See you tomorrow, Luz.”
Luz nodded, tapping him on the back of the shoulder gently before heading upstairs.
At least tomorrow was assured for them, Luz thought.
“Luz. Luz!”
“Five more minutes, Eda,” Luz yawned.
“Luz, don’t make me resort to desperate measures.”
“King,” Luz whined sleepily, “just wait a little bit.”
“Luuuz, I’ve been trapped in a cat body—”
“NOO!” Luz screamed. Her vision was blurry as she got up. “Oh, it’s just Amity. Hi Amity,” Luz said drowsily. “I’m going back to sleep now.”
Amity forcefully grabbed Luz and dragged her up. “No! I didn’t start acting like a human-cat just for you to go back to sleep.”
“Heh. Human-cats,” Luz muttered. “Amity, why do you even care if I get upppp? Can I just go back to sleep?”
“Well, I would say something sappy, like ‘I want to spend time with my awesome girlfriend’—which is true—but the real reason is…really dumb. Can you…can you help me fight my breakfast?”
Luz finally woke up when she heard that. “What do you mean? This is the Human Realm, Amity.”
“Yeah, but,” Amity gulped, “your mom made a breakfast demon.”
Luz burst out laughing. “Amity, are you sure Belos didn’t knock a few screws loose up there?” she asked, tapping Amity’s head as she stood up properly. “My mom doesn’t make breakfast demons.”
“But it’s shaped like an egg!” Amity panicked. “Egg-shaped things in the Demon Realm are notorious for being demons in disguise!”
“Amity,” Luz facepalmed, “it’s shaped like an egg because it’s an egg.”
“...Oh.”
“Yeah.”
Amity looked Luz in the eyes. “Well…that was…”
“Embarrassing?” Luz smiled. She pulled Amity into her arms, bumping foreheads with her. “Don’t be afraid, batata. We don’t have demons in the Human Realm. Just normal ol’ bad guys shaped like…guys. Not eggs.”
“...Is it bad that I was actually scared there,” Amity mumbled, pulling Luz in for a full hug.
“...To be fair, on my first day in the Demon Realm, I got tricked into helping King find a Burger Queen crown, so I’m not really one to laugh. Even if that was incredibly funny.”
Amity laughed, squeezing Luz. “Well I’m glad I helped you laugh, at least.”
Luz sighed, pulling away from Amity. “You always make me laugh, Amity.” Amity blushed a color so red that Luz couldn’t even describe it. Maybe she’d have to find that thesaurus Hunter swallowed.
“Well, now that I know my breakfast demon isn’t going to eat me…breakfast?” Amity asked, offering her hand to Luz.
Luz smiled softly. “Yeah, breakfast. Let’s hold off on the hand-holding until my mom knows I’m bisexual, though.”
Amity frowned. “Bi…sexual?”
Luz frowned. “I always forget you guys don’t have that in the Demon Realm.”
“Have what?” Amity frowned.
Luz chuckled. “You’re going to think this is really stupid—because it is—but people in the Human Realm treat others worse based on their sexuality.”
Amity frowned harder. “What is a…sexuality?”
“You know how you like girls?” Luz asked. Amity nodded. “Yeah, it’s like that. Some people in the Human Realm—well, thankfully not most people here, but a lot of people nonetheless—treat girls worse if they like girls or boys worse if they like boys.”
“But…that doesn’t make any sense? Isn’t that normal?”
Luz sighed. “Yes, but people are idiots. And mean.”
“Glad to see humans aren’t any better than us witches,” Amity muttered sarcastically. “At least you guys don’t get tricked into letting a human-hunter lead you.”
Luz frowned. Don’t think about Belos. “Yeah,” Luz sighed. “Anyway, I don’t think my mom will care that I like girls—well, girl, specifically my awesome girlfriend.” Amity blushed. “But still, usually in the Human Realm when someone isn’t ‘straight,’ they usually ‘come out’ to others. As for the word ‘bisexual,’ it means I’m attracted to girls and boys.”
“Huh. Interesting,” Amity nodded. “What would I be called then?”
“If you’re a girl and you only like girls, people call that a lesbian,” Luz explained. “The word ‘gay’ also works for anyone who likes only their own gender, but lesbian is specific to girls.”
“This is…very confusing,” Amity admitted. “I like that word though. Less bean.”
“Lesbian,” Luz corrected, laughing slightly.
“Yes, that,” Amity said. “It sounds so…mysterious. And historical. And actually this reminds me that during the Hecktacious Period…” Amity rambled while Luz listened, mystified that someone as cute and amazing as Amity wanted to date Luz of all people.
You’re going to have to break up with her, she reminded herself. Luz forced those thoughts out. For now, she would be happy. She had the assurance that Amity was here, and was safe, and that was all that mattered.
“...and in the Deadwardian Era, it was hypothesized to be more common that—I lost you, didn’t I?” Amity finally noticed.
“Maybe a little,” Luz chuckled. “Come on, let’s eat breakfast. My mom is probably wondering where we’ve been. Then we can tell my mom about us. And then you can give me your historical rant. You’re always cute when you ramble.”
Amity blushed a deep shade of red as she started walking to the door. “You’re amazing, Luz.”
I’m really not, Luz thought. If only she knew what I’ve done.
“Dear Diary. All I ever wanted was to be good at something. To be around people who liked that something. When I found the Demon Realm, I thought that was it. I had finally found that something, and those people. I was finally someone more than just the dummy in the principal’s office. B-But I messed up too much. I helped Belos meet the Collector, I gave Belos the portal, I put everyone in danger. Mama says I need to learn from my mistakes. So I know what I have to do now,” Luz whispered. Wiping a tear from her eyes, she shut down her computer.
Luz put her computer on the table and yawned, stretching to release the tension. It had been a long day—starting with her realization that it wasn’t just Amity who thought their breakfast was demonic. That was hard to explain to Mama.
Not as hard as this, though.
Luz clenched her fist. “I can do this,” she whispered to herself. “I…I have to do this.” She carefully opened and closed the door, trying not to disturb her sleeping friends. Thankfully, her Mama’s door was open already. Camila looked extremely tired, scrolling sleepily on her phone while in bed. Her eyes shifted to the open door.
“Luz?” Camila yawned.
“Mama…can we talk for a minute?”
“Okay,” Camila said sleepily. “Come in,” she nodded, patting the space next to her. “What do you want to talk about? If it’s about the breakfast ‘demons,’ then tell your friends—”
“No, no, it’s not that!” Luz interrupted.
“Oh. Is it about your girlfriend? The pink-haired one? I must say, you’ve had better luck dating in high school than I have—”
“Mom,” Luz sighed. “No, it’s not that either. Just…Mom, why aren’t you mad at me?”
Camila sighed. “Oh, baby, come here.”
Luz tried to stop the inevitable tears as she sidled up to Camila. “It’s just…I left you, Mama. I know I shouldn’t have, but—”
“Shh, baby, it’s okay,” Camila comforted. “I’ve…been terrified, sure, but right now I’m just happy that you’re safe. Believe it or not, I do understand what it’s like to want to run away.”
“I’m so sorry, Mom,” Luz whispered. “I…I messed up so much in the Demon Realm. You were right. I was just trying to live out my witch fantasy. I should have never left.”
Camila kissed Luz on the forehead. “Hey, baby, don’t worry about the past so much, okay? All that matters is that you came home. Everything is okay now.”
“But it’s not, mom,” Luz said pleadingly. “It’s my fault my friends are trapped here. It’s my fault that everyone in the Demon Realm is in danger. King, Eda, Hooty…I wanted you to meet them so badly, Mama. But I keep messing up."
“Hey, like I said, everyone makes mistakes. What matters is that you learn from them.”
Luz nodded, sniffling softly. “I…I have, Mom. I’m never leaving again. I’m staying in the Human Realm.”
Camila frowned. Luz could see the gears turning in her head. “Luz…as happy as I am that you’re here, don’t get me wrong, what about your friends? Your girlfriend? Your…Eda and King?”
“I’ll…I’ll just have to live without them,” Luz muttered. “I don’t deserve that.”
“Deserve what, Luz?” Camila asked, confused.
“I…I don’t deserve good people like them. Not when I’ve ruined their lives so badly.”
“Luz!” Camila said with alarm. “Everyone makes mistakes, remember? Yes, you might have messed up. But that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to be happy, to have good people in your life like your friends.”
“But—”
“No, no buts. Luz, you are the most wonderful person I know. You’re the most wonderful daughter anyone could have wished for. I’m glad that you came home, cariño. But you don’t need to punish yourself like this.”
“Mom, I’m not punishing myself! I don’t want to do this, but I can’t be trusted with going back to the Demon Realm. Not after what I’ve done.”
“Luz,” Camila sighed. “I…I know making friends was difficult for you here. And even though I’ve been terrified and unsure of what the future holds, I can see how much you’ve grown. I…don’t know if you ‘should’ stay here or not, but why worry about it now, mija? At least get some rest tonight. We can think about making this decision later.”
Luz nodded, wiping a tear from her eye and hugging Camila.
“Good idea,” she whispered. Don’t think about this now.
Camila gave Luz a soft smile, hugging her back. “Now why don’t you go get some sleep?”
Luz nodded again, not looking up at Camila. “Mom…is it okay if I sleep here tonight?”
“Of course, baby,” Camila smiled at Luz, holding her close. “I love you, honey.”
“I love you too, Mom.”