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bring me home and piss off your mom

Summary:

When Agatha’s mother needles her once again about her lack of love life, she snaps, telling her that in fact, she is bringing her fiancée. … except she’s completely single.
Rio volunteers to be her girlfriend (suspiciously eager) and Agatha can’t decline her roommate's proposition (it’s not like Agatha’s about to tell Rio that she’s been in love with her for years) and shenanigans ensue.

Basically Happiest Season meets But I'm a cheerleader meets the fake dating trope ig lol

Chapter 1

Notes:

i live for a good fake dating christmas movie trope sighhh there’s already so many out there but i still need more so ig i’ll write it.
this is vaguely inspired by a mishmash of happiest season, looking for her, and like other Christmas movies. Also I've given them a backstory of but i'm a cheerleader but if they were really useless lesbians lmao

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Agatha groaned into her pillow as the insistent buzzing of her phone woke her. Blindly, she picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Agatha, are you just getting up now? It’s almost 10!” 

“Good Morning to you too ma,” Agatha said sardonically, scowling, her mother’s sharp voice not what she wanted to hear. 

“I’m expecting you next week for Christmas,” her mother said. Internally groaning, Agatha rubbed her eyes, wanting anything but to go back to her mother’s house for the holidays. The austere wooden house in Salem held some of her darkest memories, the feeling of being trapped, and worst of all, her mother. 

“Do you finally have a man to bring home this year?” Evenora sneered. “You know I’d like to see grandchildren before I die. After all I’ve done for you, finding a man is the least you could do.”

Biting back a growl, Agatha pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache building as her mother continued nagging her. “There are plenty of men out there who would be willing to look past your … history. Maggie has a perfectly nice son who-”

“Mom,” Agatha cut her off, already fed up moments into talking with her mother. “No I don’t have a boyfriend because I’m a lesbian, as you love to forget.” Her mother paused, and Agatha could just see her mother’s disgusted face, the same face Evanora had worn when she had caught Agatha kissing Wanda all those years ago. 

After a moment, her mother continued as if Agatha had said nothing. “I’ll see you Saturday, goodb-”

“Wait!” Agatha interrupted her, sitting up in bed. Closing her eyes, she saw the way her mother’s face twisted in disdain, the words she had said, you are evil. And she didn’t want to return home, not this year, not to the old cold home full of memories that haunted her. 

“I, I’m bringing my girlfriend actually.” Agatha said, knowing it was a surefire way to not be obligated to return for the holidays. Nervously, Agatha waited for a response, and when none came, more words tumbled out of her. “She, uh, she’s actually not just my girlfriend, we’re engaged and I know you don’t approve so I guess we’ll just have to stay here for the holidays, so I’ll-”

“I’ll see you both Saturday then,” Evadora cut off her rambling, “Goodbye Agatha.” And with a click, the line went cold. 

 

Falling back onto her bed, Agatha blinked, speechless.

Then, shit. Oh shit. There was one small problem with her plan besides its complete and utter failure to get her uninvited. Agatha was well and truly single.

She buried her head in her pillow and screamed.  

 

~~

 

Rio was enjoying her morning coffee, humming to herself as she buttered a piece of toast when she heard muffled screaming coming from Agatha’s room. After a moment’s hesitation, (she couldn’t be sure if Agatha was screaming for unpleasant reasons after all) Rio decided she wanted to go in either way. With the way Rio had been yearning for her roommate for over a decade, she wouldn’t exactly be upset if she caught Agatha in the middle of something. 

Opening the door, Rio wasn’t sure what exactly was happening. Agatha was face down on her bed screaming into her pillow and unfortunately very much fully clothed.

“Sweetheart, you ok?” Rio approached her roommate, eyeing her bedhead and pjs. God why was she still so beautiful first thing in the morning? It wasn’t good for her heart.

“I’m fucked,” Agatha groaned, turning her head to make her words legible. 

“Is that what was going on here?” Rio teased. 

“Don’t be a smartass,” Agatha gave her a withering glare, “my mother expects me home for Christmas this year.”

“Just tell her no,” Rio said, sitting on the bed next to Agatha. “You really don’t have to go back there, I know how terrible she was to you.” 

“I tried.”

“And?”

“Well she was going on about me needing a man in my life and so… I told her I’d bring my girlfriend with me. To Christmas. And surprisingly she didn’t tell me not to come this year.”

“Wow,” Rio raised her eyebrows, silently freaking out. She had no fucking idea that Agatha was dating someone. God, she was such an idiot ! She should have asked Agatha out years ago, when they first met at that god awful camp, or when they had roomed together in college. Or practically any time she could have, and now Agatha was finally seeing someone else. “Well that’s good isn’t it, progress?”

“I suppose,” Agatha rubbed her forehead, stressed. 

“I uh, I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” Rio said, trying to sound nonchalant, and push down  the pang of heartbreak. “When did that happen?”

“It didn’t.” 

“Oh, good.” Rio breathed, relieved. She still had a chance. Maybe.

“Wait what?” Agatha said, turning to Rio, confused. “Not good! Not. good. Rio.”

“Right, right,” Rio said nervously. Her heart started racing as she chose her next words. No time like the present to shoot her shot, right? Mentally scolding herself to get herself together, Rio swallowed, trying to gather the words, the words she had wanted to say for 10 years, words that could ruin her life. 

“Uh, you know Agatha, I um … I could be your girlfriend,” Rio offered, her heart skipping a beat as it jumped to her throat. 

Agatha stared at her. Rio couldn’t mean what she thought she meant, could she? No, no, Rio didn’t like Agatha that way, she knew. 

“That-that could work.”

“It could?!” Rio breathed, hand practically shaking from nerves.

“Yes,” Agatha mulled over the idea. “Yes, that could work! We know each other well enough, we’re comfortable with each other and we’ve lived together for years.”

“That- yes!” Rio said, hardly believing what she was hearing. Agatha liked her? Agatha wanted to date her? Oh god, it’s happening, she thought, feeling slightly faint, it’s finally happening. 

“Are you really sure you want to spend this Christmas with my homophobic mother as my fake girlfriend?” Agatha said, not wanting to push Rio into anything she wasn’t entirely comfortable with, although Agatha didn’t see how Rio wouldn’t be comfortable with her given how close they were. Often, Agatha could almost forget that they weren’t together.

“Oh…. Yeah, I’ll be your fake girlfriend Agatha.” Rio’s smile faltered, her heart falling and shattering. She should have known it was too good to be true. “Uh, why don’t you get dressed, and we can start packing.” When Agatha opened her mouth to question what was wrong, Rio stood up, backing away from her bed. “When does she expect us?”

“Saturday… Listen Rio, if you’re not comfortable doing this, I understand, you don’t have to.”

“No,” Rio said, “I’m great, I’m peachy. I- I’m gonna finish breakfast.” As she left, she gave Agatha finger guns, leaving Agatha staring after her. Peachy? What was up with Rio?

She sighed, wishing that Rio had asked to be her real girlfriend. But she knew Rio wasn’t one for dating, in all the years they’d known each other, Rio had never once expressed interest in anyone, although Agatha knew she had dated in high school, that being the reason she had ended up in conversion camp senior year along with Agatha.

But by now Agatha had given up hope, if it was going to happen, it would have by now. She almost wished she did have a girlfriend, but she knew it would never be fair to whomever she dated. Agatha’s heart would forever belong to Rio. With all of Agatha’s shameless flirting, there was no way Rio hadn’t gotten the hint years ago. But maybe Agatha could get a taste of how she wished life could be this Christmas.

~~~~

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Rio buried her head in her hands, overthinking the conversation. That was a pretty clear rejection. Agatha had to know that Rio had been asking her to be her girlfriend. And Agatha had tactfully avoided flat out rejecting Rio while turning her down gently. It was… kind. Rio frowned. It was uncharacteristically kind of Agatha. But they had always had a soft spot for each other, bonding over homophobic parents, learning the other inside out. With only a glance, they could understand one another in a way no one else could. Rio sighed; it was exactly that bond that had kept her pinning for Agatha all these years.

And now she knew. Agatha didn’t feel the same way. It hurt in a silent type of way, the rejection making her feel cold.

‘Oh fuck,” Rio whispered. How was she going to pretend to be Agatha’s girlfriend now? Rio stared vacantly across the kitchen as she spiraled. This was … bad, she nodded, this was very bad. Agatha was now aware of Rio’s feelings for her that she did not share, and now they had to pretend to date for a week. 

Notes:

lmk if u liked ittt plz!! I'm not that great at writing, I'm more of a artist lol but i have been consumed by an obsession w agathario aubrey plaza and kathryn hahn so ..yeah
say hi to me on tumblr at @gaypalz

Chapter 2

Notes:

um ok so maybe I should have added angst to the tags before this lol, but dw there’s gonna be christmas fluff later! This is has more of their backstory, heavily inspired by But I’m A Cheerleader, and in case it isn’t clear the italics are flashbacks and True Directions is the name of the conversion camp.
The beginning of this ch is kinda sad, the angst snuck up on me I didn’t mean to write it lol

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

 

Pulling her suitcase from the back of the closet, Rio threw it on her bed, figuring she should start packing. She paused, realizing she had no idea what type of clothes to pack. She knew Agatha’s mother was running for governor of Massachusetts and had some holiday event Agatha had been bemoaning having to attend this year. Rifling through her closet, Rio found a long sleeved black dress and a matching black blazer. She slipped them into a garment bag, and pulled out a couple of more dressy outfits. If she was going to be miserable, she could be miserable in style. 

Sighing, Rio tried to be optimistic. At least she could take care of Agatha this year, she always hated when Agatha would come home to their apartment, silent and closed off again. Everytime Agatha visited her mother, it was as if she reverted to her high school self, scared with walls so high they seemed impenetrable. Rio would sit outside Agatha’s door at night, listening to the sound of Agatha’s muffled sobs and arguing with herself if she should go in. She always did in the end, holding her, stroking her hair. In the morning, Rio would leave before Agatha woke and they never spoke of those precious moments hidden in hurt and darkness. 

Rio remembered the few times she had met Agatha’s mother at conversion camp, “True Directions”. It was clear even then that all she had cared about was how Agatha’s sexuality would affect her reputation and political campaign. 

~~~

“When you come back home you better have this gay thing out of your system.” Evanora warned, “or you won’t be coming home.” Rio tried to catch Agatha’s eye, to offer her whatever comfort she could, but Agatha only stared at her feet. 

“Yes mother,” she replied softly. 

“This whole thing is bullshit,” she snapped, “I’m paying enough that I shouldn’t have to come down here every other week to hear how your deviance is somehow my fault.” Evanora got up, slamming the door on her way out of group family therapy. 

Rio winced at the sound, her eyes finding Agatha reacting similarly. They were the only two without parents at group therapy now, alone together. 

Rio wasn’t sure whether to be glad or upset that her parents were notably absent. Her father’s yelling still rang in her ears when she closed her eyes, the fear she’d felt haunting her nightmares. She was glad she didn’t have to face him again this summer. But Rio did miss her mami, she regretted all the times she’d shrugged her off to do other things. And now it was all gone, and Rio wasn’t sure if she’d ever get to spend another happy day with her parents.

~~~

Closing her eyes, Rio tried to banish the memories to the back of her mind. It was hard to think about Agatha’s mother without remembering her own mami. She knew they were nothing alike, but her mami’s silent rejection had hurt. Closing her eyes, Rio remembered the email her mami had sent, full of apology and begging for forgiveness, asking to see her daughter again; but she had ignored it, and 5 months later Rio had found out her mami had died of cancer. The only thing she inherited was her mami’s wedding ring, which had been in the family for generations, and she wore on a chain at all times now. 

It was hard, carrying that pain, but Agatha had held her through it. And in turn, Rio would soothe the constant sting of Agatha’s mother’s needling remarks and disapproving glares, keeping Agatha from disappearing back into her silent high school self. Rio’s heart still broke for herself as well as Agatha. They were so deeply intertwined that she felt as if her heart beat just for Agatha, and even though Agatha didn’t share her romantic feelings, nothing could change that.

Agatha’s voice called from their kitchen, “I thought you were going to finish breakfast?”

“I-I was,” she replied.

Knocking on the doorframe of Rio’s already half open door, Agatha leaned on the wall near the door. “You sure you’re ok?”

Clearing her throat, Rio nodded. “Yeah, just uh thinking about our parents and True Direction. Those good ol’ days,” she said sarcastically, chuckling. 

Concerned, Agatha stepped into the room, cupping Rio’s face in her hands. “Rio, I’m not sure if you should come with me. I don’t want you to have to face my mother, she can be so full of hate.”

“And that’s exactly why I’m not letting you go there alone this year. Plus she’s expecting a girlfriend.” Rio raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll call her, tell her you broke up with me,” Agatha said gently.

“You don’t want to do that.”

“You’re right,” Agatha replied, “but I’d do it for you.” Her earnest blue eyes gazed into Rio’s and after a moment she had to look away, heat gathering in her cheeks. 

“Don’t. I want to be there with you, and hey, I haven’t ever celebrated Christmas with you, it’ll be fun!”

“Okay,” Agatha agreed hesitantly, and a quiet settled between them.

“Now, I should probably finish breakfast,” Rio said, breaking the sudden stillness. 

“I.. may have finished it for you,” Agatha admitted sheepishly. It was just as well, Rio’s stomach was up in knots from the way Agatha was still caressing her face, standing oh so very close to her. 

“How dare,” Rio shook her head in mock offense, ignoring the warmth of the hands that held her face, and Agatha let out a small laugh, patting her cheek before moving away, off to pack her own suitcase. 

Rio stared after her for a moment; there was just something about Agatha, her smile, her laugh, that left Rio in awe. It felt as if her heart would seize up, physically hurting when she took in that laughing face. 

Maybe it was better now that she knew Agatha would never be hers. Maybe she could try to stop her gaze from lingering on the other woman, stop the way her heart ached for her touch. Maybe. But Rio doubted it.

~~~

In her own room, Agatha was considering screaming into her pillow again. She didn’t know how she was supposed to pretend to be with Rio. The woman was mesmerizing, stealing her breath every time Agatha looked at her. It was really quite unfair if you thought about it. She knew she was hopeless, way too far gone by now, but Agatha couldn’t find it in herself to care. 

As she threw clothes into her bed, Agatha pondered what to wear to her mother’s christmas party. Eventually, she decided on a dark crimson suit, with a black button up underneath. If it tempted Rio, just for a second, it would be worth it. 

She opened her suitcase, surprised to find it was full. Rifling through the clothes, Agatha quickly realized that it was in fact, not her suitcase but Rio's. Before she closed it, a postcard lying at the bottom of the suitcase caught her eye. Picking it up, she smiled; Rio had bought it on their last vacation- a trip to Toronto. She traced her finger absently over the skyline before flipping it over. 

Dear Agatha , it read.

I’ve always wanted to confess that … you….never…

Agatha frowned, most of the words were illegible; the ink had smudged. She could make out a few words in the card covered in lines of prose. What had Rio written, she wondered, and why hadn’t she given the card to her? Thinking back on it, Rio had spent a long time picking the postcard, long enough that it still lingered in Agatha’s memory. 

Still curious, she gently put the postcard atop the clothes, zipped it up, and lugged it across the hall to Rio. 

“Hey again, I think we switched suitcases when we got home last month.”

“Hm? Oh well that would explain where my favorite black shirt went.”

“And a good deal of my clothes too,” Agatha replied. 

“But it was empty?”

“Well you seem to have adopted part of my closet recently. I thought you were just borrowing my clothes though.” She gestured to Rio’s current outfit.

“Oops,” Rio said sheepishly, looking down to find she was indeed wearing Agatha’s purple shirt and sweater. “Sorry, I’ll give it back.”

“Don’t worry about it sweets,” Agatha chuckled, “it looks better on you anyways.” Not even bothering to argue with Agatha’s obvious lie, Rio just rolled her eyes. She emptied the partially packed suitcase onto her bed, handing it to Agatha in exchange for her full one. “I was thinking,” Agatha paused, “my mother’s expecting us this Saturday, we could go out tonight and leave tomorrow morning, get there Saturday evening. The drive’s only about four hours.”

“Sure,” Rio said, unzipping her full suitcase. “Where to?”

“How does ice skating sound?”

“Agatha, you know I can’t skate to save my life,” Rio protested.

“It’s never too late to learn.”

“You just want to see me fall on my butt,” Rio scoffed. 

“I would never,” Agatha said innocently, eyes wide, playfully placing her hand over her mouth as if shocked at the very notion.

“Sure you wouldn’t.” But after a moment of Agatha’s pleading eyes, Rio caved. “Fine.” And Agatha’s puppy dog eyes were instantly replaced by an amused smirk. “Don’t make me regret this!” Rio warned, wagging her finger, “or I’ll never go skating with you again!”

“Oh you will!” Agatha said cheerfully, “now I’ve got to pack for real!”

Rio shook her head, as Agatha closed the door behind her. There was no doubt in her mind that she’d both regret it and go skating again. She could never say no to Agatha. With a smile on her lips, she flipped the suitcase open. 

And her hands froze. Because lying atop her clothes was a postcard. The postcard. The one she’d written last month, confessing her love for Agatha, and which she had buried under her clothes, away from Agatha's sight. 

With trembling fingers, she picked it up, flipping it over. The ink was smudged, Rio let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She’d been writing it when Agatha had walked in her room in the AirBnB they’d rented. Panicking, Rio had put it in her suitcase to hide it from her. The ink must have smeared on her clothes, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. 

But even through the streaks of ink, Rio could make out enough. Some words were harder to distinguish than others, but she still remembered every word. 

Dear Agatha

I’ve always wanted to confess that …love you….never stopped… I met you … never love one else … yours forever….

There was no doubt that Agatha had seen the letter, and surely she had been able to read enough of it to tell it was a love confession. In a sudden fit of anger, Rio threw the card with all her might, glowering as it flew an unsatisfying couple feet before spiraling slowly to the ground. 

Grumbling, Rio picked it and only hesitated a moment before putting the card in the trash. Stupid heart, she scowled, and stupid feelings. 

Notes:

hope u liked it, kudos and comments are my sustenance lol
I promise I'll give u fluff next chapter when they go ice skating unless they don't let me bc sometimes the characters don't like my plans
Also I wrote this instead of working on a really big assignment but I got it done! Who needs sleep anyways lol
Again, say hi on tumblr lol @gaypalz

Chapter 3

Notes:

Okayy.. so IK I said this chapter was going to be fluffy Christmas vibes.. but um it's not I'm sorry. The next chapter WILL BE tho fr. I was just writing this chapter and realized it was going to be quite a bit longer than the other ones and I'd like to try to keep the lengths sort of consistent if I can, plus I wanted to post more and I'm not quite done with the second part of what was supposed to be chapter 3 but is now chapter 4!
And thank you so much to everyone who's commented on this, I'm literally so happy whenever I get a comment, I love reading them lol

TW (I wasn't sure if I should include these but I figured better safe than sorry):
1) Agatha has a panic attack
2)there's a flashback scene in here where Evanora is a terrible mother and homophobic, if you want to skip it, it's all in italics and you'll be able to understand the story ok without it.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“Why can’t I drive?” Rio pleaded and Agatha snorted. 

“Dear, you shouldn’t even be asking that, your track record speaks for itself.”

“That was once , Agatha! One stupid mailbox!”

“And the dog?”

“He didn’t even die,” Rio pouted as she pulled on her doc martens and fur lined leather jacket. “I barely hit him!”

“Gee, I bet that would really reassure Sparky's owner.”

“Hey,” Rio said pointing at Agatha in protest, “you thought it was funny.”

“That doesn’t change your driving skills,” Agatha smirked, donning her wool coat and scarf, bundling up against the snowy weather. “It’s almost dark out, the roads are icy, and there are deer, I’m not letting you drive me.” 

“Great to know I have your trust,” Rio drawled sarcastically. She waited until Agatha’s back was turned as she picked up her skates, before snatching the keys from the hook by the door, pocketing them. 

“In all things but this, baby,” Agatha shrugged, reaching for the empty hook. “Ok maybe not all things.” She raised her eyebrows, holding out her hand expectantly. 

“If you wanted to hold my hand, you could have just asked,” Rio teased. 

“Mmm, keys?” 

“But you already have the key to my heart, whatever more could you need?” She batted her eyes impishly. “C’mon,” Rio took Agatha’s hand in hers, leading her out of the apartment. Agatha opened her mouth to protest, but Rio cut her off, “Don’t worry, you can drive if it’s really that important. And yes, I do have the keys.”

“I’m afraid the key to my heart won’t turn on the car darling,” Agatha echoed Rio’s earlier teasing, interlacing their fingers. Rio smiled wryly, even if it did she wouldn’t be able to start the car.

The cold air hit them as they stepped outside the building, and Agatha put her and Rio’s hands in her warm pocket. “God I hate New York weather,” Agatha grumbled as they walked briskly to her car albeit slightly awkwardly. 

“I donno,” Rio replied, breathing in deeply. “The cold makes me feel alive.”

“You’re so weird.” Agatha shook her head, removing her hand from Rio’s as she walked around the car to the driver’s side.

“Well that’s why you love me,” Rio said as she opened the car door. 

“What’d you say?” Agatha asked from the driver’s seat, the wind having blown Rio’s words away outside. Rio paused for a moment, her tongue pushing against the side of her cheek. 

“Nothing.” Agatha didn’t love her, not in that way. The reminder stung, the cut of rejection still sharp.

For a second, Agatha frowned, looking like she was going to ask again, but she held her tongue, starting the car instead. Holding in a sigh, Agatha turned the heat on, occasionally glancing over at Rio as she drove. Rio read directions aloud from her phone as she navigated the streets. 

She could always tell when the other woman was brooding, although usually she knew the cause. Agatha’s brow furrowed, her own mind starting to wander. She already regretted taking Rio up on the offer of fake dating, not wanting Rio to have to face her mother’s disdain. 

But she knew it was more than simply wanting to protect Rio, if she was honest, Agatha knew that Rio would be alright, she was fierce in her own right, a force to be reckoned with. There was no doubt that Rio would be able to hold her own against her mother. 

No, what was harder to admit was that Agatha didn’t want Rio to see her cower, silent before her mother’s gaze. She felt herself shrinking at the thought of that disdain, and worse, at Rio seeing it. Seeing her weak and stupid. 

A ringing started to sound in her ears, and she tried to hear over it. No, it would- it would be ok, Agatha reassured herself, her vision narrowing on her hands. Vaguely, she noticed her knuckles turning white from her grip on the steering wheel. Maybe this year, it’d go better, having support with Rio posing as her girlfriend… girlfriend. 

Agatha froze. 

~~~

Agatha giggled, kissing Wanda, straddling her on the couch. 

“I. Like. you.” she said emphatically, kissing Wanda between each word, “so. so. much.” 

“Well I should hope so!” Wanda laughed, “we are dating after all.”

“Mmm,” she agreed, closing her eyes and leaning into her girlfriend. 

A sudden loud thud made her jerk away from Wanda, opening her eyes to find her mother’s shocked figure at the door with her purse dropped on the ground. Agatha scrambled off of Wanda, what was her mother doing home so soon?

“You,” Evenora growled, “how could you.”

“Mother! It’s not what it looks like! I’m not- It’s not…” Agatha stood, helplessly. Wanda shrunk into the couch as if she could hide from Mrs. Harkness’s fearsome scowl. 

“Get up Miss Maximoff,” Evanora snapped, and she quickly did as told.

“It really wasn’t anything, Mrs. Harkness, we were- we were just practicing!” Wanda offered up, her excuses falling short as Evenora strode over to them. 

“Leave,” she demanded

“No,” Agatha whispered, her voice trembling. Stepping behind her girlfriend, she squeezed her hand. “Please don’t leave me.”

“Leave her.” Wanda hesitated. “Leave her with me and I won’t tell your parents what an abomination you are.” Then, without a backward glance, Wanda all but ran out the door, leaving Agatha alone with her mother’s rage. 

Backing away, Agatha felt her hands go limp, wide eyed terror filling her.

“Mother, it was just practice like Wanda said, I swear it!”

“Enough deception!” Evanora hissed at her. “You have disgraced the Harkness name with your shameful behavior.”

“Please, I can be good,” she begged her mother, tears spilling down her face.

“No you can not,” her mother said, grabbing her arm with bruising force. Agatha stumbled as her mother dragged her down the hall, stopping at her room. “You are grounded the rest of senior year. You will stay in your room until you graduate. I will drive you to and from school. You will go nowhere else and you will not bring shame on me like this ever again,” Evanora threw Agatha into the room, slamming the door.

“Mother, no, mother please!” Agatha wailed, slumping against the door. “Please…I can be good.” 

~~~

“I think you were supposed to turn here?” Rio said, looking at the directions. “Agatha?” Rio was saying something, but her voice was distant and Agatha couldn’t make out her words.

“Hm?” Agatha hummed, high pitched before clearing her throat. Black dots danced in the edges of her vision, obscuring Rio. “What did you say?”

“You made a wrong turn,” Rio responded, surveying Agatha’s face. “I think maybe you should pull over,” she said, worried.

“I’m fine,” Agatha insisted, still frozen in place. 

“Pull over, Agatha” Rio repeated slowly. Grumbling, Agatha did as she said. “What’s wrong, you look like you’re about to panic.” Agatha swallowed, keenly aware of how accurate her words were. 

“I just-” she choked on her words, air seemingly in short supply.

“Hey, it’s ok,” Rio murmured, “take your time.” She reached out for Agatha’s hand, “can I hold your hand?”

“Yeah.” Rio took Agatha’s hand, rubbing her knuckles with her thumb. 

“Just breathe baby,” she whispered, traveling the lines on Agatha’s palms with her fingertips. “Breathe with me, in one.. two.. three… four.. Out one.. two.. three… four...” Rio continued counting methodically until Agatha matched her even breaths.  

Slowly, Agatha relaxed, focusing on the feeling of Rio’s touch, the gentle brush of warm skin. When her hearing calmed, she found her words, giving voice to some of her panic. 

“I was thinking… my mother,” Agatha sighed, “going home is always hard. When she… found out, it was bad,” she let out a mirthless chuckle. 

“Is that where you went?” Agatha nodded. 

“Do you want to tell me about it?”

“Yes,” Agatha paused, “just… not right now?”

“That’s ok,” Rio reassured her, rubbing her hand up and down Agatha’s arm. “Some other time.”

“Please just- don’t leave me Rio.”

“I’ll never leave you, Agatha, you know that,” she promised and Agatha nodded. “Can you look at me?” Agatha turned, meeting Rio’s eyes. “I swear. I will never leave you,” she repeated, her voice low, willing Agatha to know how true her words were. For as long as she lived, Rio would be in Agatha's life, in whatever way she would have her, even if it was just as a friend.

Agatha’s eyes shone with trust before she turned her head away, breaking the intimacy of the moment. 

“Also um, this morning, on the phone…I- I remembered I didn’t tell her I was bringing my girlfriend home.” At this, Rio raised an eyebrow, but let Agatha continue. “I mean I did, but she just didn’t say anything so I kept talking and… well I told her that I actually wasn’t just bringing a girlfriend but my fiancée.” 

“Oh.” 

“I’m sorry,” Agatha pulled her hand away, anxiously wringing her hands. “I guess I just forgot in the moment when I was telling you. You’ve already packed; I didn’t mean for you to be put in this position and-”

“It’s ok,” Rio said, “what’s the difference really? Girlfriend, fiancée, the only reason I’m going anyways is to be with you.” And she meant it, really. While the label of fiancée hurt more, carrying the promise of forever, the implications of marriage, all that she could not have, the cut in her heart was worth it if she could be there for Agatha. Her resolve was only strengthened by seeing Agatha so panicked. 

“You’re not … mad?” 

“Of course not,” Rio reassured her, and Agatha let out a breath of relief. “I’m going to be there for you this year. All this means is that I’ll have to propose.”

“Wait, what,” Agatha scoffed, “why are you the one proposing?” 

“You really think you’d be the one proposing?” 

“Obviously.” 

“Well I was the one who asked you to be my fake girlfriend, shouldn’t I be the one to propose?”

“No,” Agatha pursed her lips, “I’m pretty sure that means it’s my turn.”

“Not if I beat you to it,” Rio smirked, a plan already forming. 

“Don’t you dare propose right now,” Agatha said and Rio laughed.

“Of course not! It’s going to be the most fucking romantic thing you’ve ever experienced.” 

“Is it now?” 

“Well you’ll just have to wait and see darlin’,” Rio drawled in a terrible impression of a southern accent, grinning at her and Agatha just shook her head. “Now, are you feeling ok to drive?” she asked, her tone softer. 

“Yeah,” Agatha said, giving Rio’s hand a squeeze. “Thank you.”

"Always."

Notes:

Really hope you liked it, this chapter was kinda hard to write, I hate Evanora sm. Also I've never written a panic attack before so any constructive feedback is welcome!
But I PROMISE the next ch will be fluff and SO full of the feels
Comments give me validation and are always appreciated <3
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Chapter 4

Notes:

okayyy so here's the feels I promised!! I made myself cry a couple times w this chapter but like in a good way lol
Thanks to everyone whos interacted w this, your comments mean so much, so thank you! <3
also fyi if you haven’t watched But I'm a cheerleader, first go watch it, but the cocksucker is a gay bar there

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Parking near the rink, they walked to the skate rental shop. As they stepped into the shop, warmth flooded over them. 

“Ah, that’s nice,” Agatha hummed. She put her own skates down on a bench, walking up to the counter. “Size 7 ½ womens,” she said briskly to the boy working. 

“It’s size 8, Agatha,” Rio corrected. 

“You’re supposed to go a size down,” she responded, handing cash over as she picked up the skates.

“Huh, ok.”

“Sit down,” Agatha instructed, patting a bench. Rio did as she was told, taking off her docs. Kneeling in front of Rio, Agatha helped her put the first skate on. 

“Is there a special way to lace them or something?” Rio asked. 

“No.”

“What, you don’t trust me to lace my own skates then?”

“Maybe I just like being on my knees for you,” Agatha looked up at Rio, winking. 

“I- um,” Rio swallowed, certain her face was completely red. “That -ok.”

“Baby, I’m your girlfriend till new years,” she said, lacing the other skate. “I might as well start playing the part now. You know, for practice,” Agatha said in a low sultry voice as she traced her finger down Rio’s leg for a moment before standing. 

“I’m not sure it’s even possible for you to become more of a flirt than you already are,” Rio replied, suppressing the shimmer that ran down her spine at Agatha’s light touch. 

“I’ll take that as a challenge then.” Please don’t, Rio silently begged, not sure if she could survive it. Please do.  

Agatha drew her skates from the bag, sitting beside Rio to pull them on. 

“Want me to lace them?” Rio nudged her playfully. 

“As eager as you are,” Agatha smirked, “I think you’d better wait for me to help you before you stand.”

“Right, right,” Rio said, looking away. The way Agatha was so casually flirting like usual, was starting to take on a notable sting, as if Rio hadn’t confessed her feelings and been rejected. But Rio supposed she had been flirting with Agatha like normal, so she couldn’t blame the other woman for following her lead. Rio would rather have her heart slowly crushed with each remark then lose their dynamic and have their flirting become awkward silence, a wall built between them. 

She’d keep flirting, falling for Agatha again every moment, and eventually calluses would have to build on her heart. Right?

While she sat there, sulking, Agatha finished lacing her skates and stood, holding her hands out for Rio to hold. Taking the offered help, Rio balanced on the skates’ narrow blades. 

“Alright, just step like normal for now,” Agatha guided her, walking backwards. “The mats make it easier in here,” she said, holding the door with one hand, keeping the other for Rio. They came to the edge of the ice rink, Rio hesitated. 

“I’m.. not so sure about this Agatha.”

“You can do it,” she encouraged her. “Look, it's so much fun, I’ll show you. Hold the railing,” Agatha stepped onto the ice, slowly skating in a small circle before picking up speed. Smiling, Rio watched as Agatha glided around the mostly empty rink in a loop, the ends of her scarf flapping behind her. 

“See! It’s wonderful,” Agatha beamed, her cheeks and nose tinged red from the frosty air. “Join me?” She held her hands out to help Rio onto the ice. 

“Augh!” Rio yelped, falling forward as she lost her balance on the slippery ice and grasping onto Agatha’s arms. Agatha’s breath caught as her eyes fell to Rio’s lips, inches away. Glad the cold disguised her blush, she composed herself as she steadied Rio, putting some space between them again. 

“Ok, so you’re going to just try and walk like normal at first,” Agatha instructed, guiding Rio through the motions until she could hesitantly skate, even if she still held Agatha’s hand in a death grip. 

As Agatha directed Rio, she smiled to herself at the way Rio was beginning to skate, albeit clumsily. The warmth of Rio’s hands in hers chased away both the frigid air and the few snowflakes that swirled around them while it warmed her heart. 

“Agatha, look!” Rio exclaimed in delight as she skated. “I’m actually doing it!”

“I told you,” Agatha grinned. “Now, can you do it without holding onto me?” 

“Nope,” Rio instantly replied and Agatha snorted. 

“Yes you can,” she said, bringing them to a stop and reluctantly taking back her hands, leaving Rio trying to balance. And…she fell. 

“That wasn’t fair!” Rio glowered. “At least help me up.”

“I believe in you,” Agatha retorted, laughing. 

“Woww, you’re so mean,” Rio said, but she managed to get up just fine.

“You’ll be fine, just go slowly.”

“Right, slow.” Rio concentrated, starting by walking then pushing the ice with her skates. Agatha skated next to her, ready to catch her if she did fall again. Contrary to her words, Agatha did care if Rio got hurt. After a moment, Rio was going fast enough for her hair to flow out behind her and the cold air nipped at her nose and ears. It was exhilarating, gliding across the ice with Agatha. 

“It’s so cold!” Rio yelped as she skated past Agatha. 

“Here I thought that made you feel alive?” She called back.

“Yeah, well not when it’s so cold my ears hurt!” 

“Wait, I can help,” Agatha caught up with Rio, coming to a stop near the edge of the rink. 

“What are you going to do?” Rio laughed, “breath on my ears?” Rolling her eyes, Agatha pulled a hair tie from her pocket, gathering Rio’s thick hair to the back of her head. She arranged the brown hair to cover Rio’s rosy ears, twisting the hair into a low bun.

“There,” Agatha said, smoothing the hairs from Rio’s widow’s peak down, not realizing how close they were. “Better?”

“Yeah,” Rio breathed. Around them, the night had started to set in, the last lip of the golden sun almost gone over the horizon. “Thank you… for suggesting this.”

“Of course,” she whispered, her breath coming out in a wispy cloud. The rink was still, and Agatha noticed they were alone. She had the sudden urge to lean in, just a bit, to warm Rio’s cold lips with her own. Her gaze dropped to Rio’s mouth not for the first time that day. When her eyes met the Rio’s again, she saw the other woman watching her intently. 

“Agatha,” Rio sighed, with an expression that she couldn’t decipher. 

And all of a sudden, the way Rio looked at her terrified her. Turning her back on Rio, Agatha started skating away, breaking the spell that had held her there. 

“Race you one lap,” she yelled back over her shoulder, not seeing Rio’s slightly stunned expression. 

After a second, Rio followed her, picking up speed, slightly miffed at Agatha. Well, she thought, building calluses was never painless, and it seemed that that held true for hearts as well. Life wasn’t worth the living if you never even tried to live, she figured, deciding it was time to go for it. 

Time to put her plan into action. She untucked the chain from around her neck, clasping her mother’s ring in her palm. 

“Wait up!”

“It’s called a race for a reason dear!”

Grumbling, Rio skated as fast as she could, letting out a cackle as she passed Agatha. Then, she turned to look at the other woman, a gleeful smile spread across her face. Agatha began to say something, but Rio’s skate had seemingly gotten stuck on something. Pinwheeling her arms, Rio fell backwards once again. 

“Oww, fuck,” she groaned. 

“What did you even trip on,” Agatha asked, bewildered, looking around them, the rink now illuminated by the soft glow of street lamps. “It’s literally just smooth ice.” 

“Help me up?” Rio said, sitting up, the chill of the ice starting to bite through her jeans. 

“You can’t manage?” 

“No,” Rio pouted, holding a hand out for Agatha. “Pleasee?” Letting out a soft affectionate laugh, Agatha took the hand in her right hand. “Other hand,” Rio said. 

“Okay?” Agatha complied, confused, pulling her as she got to one knee. Agatha tugged on Rio’s hand again, trying to help her up completely, but instead Rio stayed on her knee, keeping Agatha’s hand firmly in her own. 

“What are you…” Agatha trailed off as Rio unclasped her necklace chain, holding her mother’s wedding ring in one hand and Agatha’s left hand in her other. “Rio,” she whispered, her heart swelling as she realized what the other woman was doing. 

“My dearest Agatha,” Rio cleared her throat. 

“I’ve always wanted to confess that since the moment I saw you, I’ve loved you. Well, to be perfectly frank, when I first saw you I thought you were a bit of a spoiled trouble maker,” she chuckled, “but I should have known then that I’d love you someday. I can’t pinpoint when the feeling started, I think instead of one moment, it was a million little moments, the way you smiled, the way you stood up for me, it was when you held me when I cried, when you slowly let down your walls and allowed me into your world.” Rio paused, looking up at Agatha as her blue eyes started to well with unshed tears. Blinking back her own tears, Rio continued. 

“I remember that night at the cocksucker when we danced, I looked in your eyes and I knew . I thought “ I love you ” for the very first time and I realized that it had snuck up on me.” She caressed Agatha’s hand with her thumb, adoration pouring into every word. 

“Since then I’ve never stopped loving you with all that I am. The day I met you was the best day of my life, I just didn’t know it at the time. Over the decade I’ve known you, I’ve come to realize that I will never love anyone else.” Rio let out a breath, letting the night settle for a moment, the words to sink in. Agatha covered her mouth with her right hand, holding back a sob.

“I would like nothing better than to be yours forever. Please my love, will you grant me the honor of becoming your wife?”

“Yes,” Agatha croaked, “Yes, Rio.” The tears broke free, slipping down her face and falling onto her scarf as she watched the other woman gently slip the silver and emerald ring onto her ring finger. Rio cradled Agatha’s hand in her own, pressing a kiss to her mother’s wedding ring that now adorned Agatha’s hand. “I love you, Rio,” Agatha sniffled, “I love you so much.” Finally letting Agatha help her to her feet, Rio hugged her, burying herself deep in the warm embrace. 

“I love you too,” she said fiercely, crying into Agatha’s hair. Closing her eyes, Rio allowed herself to pretend, to believe it was all real. 

Agatha held Rio as tight as she possibly could. She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing into Rio’s hair, god how she wished it was all true. When Rio said “ I love you” Agatha wished that Rio meant in the same way she did. 

Rio didn’t know how much time had passed when she let go of Agatha, but she knew her eyes were red from crying. 

“I know, um, it’s not a real proposal, and I know we’re just friends,” Rio said, her voice horse. “But I mean it, Agatha. There’s no one else I’d rather spend the rest of my life with.”

“Me neither,” Agatha breathed, trying to ignore the friends bit. 

“I meant every word.”

“I know,” Agatha sighed wistfully, if only Rio had meant them in the romantic sense. 

Removing her arms from around the other woman, she cradled Rio’s head in her freezing hands. Rio winced at the chill of her fingers, and Agatha moved to pull away but Rio placed her own cold hands over hers. 

“We should go… it’s late.”

“We should.” Neither of them moved. 

“Hey!” A shout broke the spell of golden street lamps and swirling snowflakes. “Hey, sorry but I really need to close up the shop!” The boy from the skate rental place called to them from the doorway. Agatha narrowed her eyes at him.

“Hey, amor,” she stopped Agatha as she opened her mouth to snap at the boy, “we really should go, we’re gonna get sick if we stay out here too much longer.”

“Alright,” Agatha agreed reluctantly, following Rio into the warm shop. Her fingers tingled as the warmth brought back feeling she hadn’t noticed leaving. 

“You guys are so cute,” the boy said. “I was supposed to close up an hour ago but then I saw the proposal and I just couldn’t!”

“Thanks… Bobby,” Agatha said, reading his name tag. 

“It’s Billy,” he laughed. 

“That’s what I said.”

“Did you say we were out there an hour after the proposal?” Rio said as she finished lacing her docs and pushed the skates across the counter. 

“Well, yeah, I really didn’t want to interrupt. That’s literally how I want to propose to my boyfriend someday,” Billy gushed, taking the skates. “Anyways, yeah I was supposed to close up almost an hour ago.” 

“Wow, no wonder I’m fucking freezing,” Rio said, rubbing her hands together. “Can’t believe we were out there so long!” she said, turning to Agatha as Billy disappeared into the back of the shop, shelving Rio’s skates. 

“I can,” Agatha smiled, her eyes crinkling, and Rio swore her heart skipped a beat at the sight. Agatha held out her ring hand between them, “you didn’t have to give me your mother’s ring, Rio. I know how much this means to you.”

“There’s no one else I’d rather have it,” Rio replied simply. She ran her finger over the emeralds in the ring, her heart overflowing. “Even if-” her voice faltered for a moment, “even if someday you get married, will you still wear it?”

“Every day,” Agatha promised, wishing yet again that it was all real, wishing that Rio meant it more than friends. Wishing that Rio wanted to marry her . But no, she couldn’t ask for more, Agatha would never be able to survive losing Rio, so she’d keep her feelings hidden under the guise of friendship, dancing as close to that line as she could afford to. 

Rio took Agatha’s hand in hers and together they walked out of the shop into the swirling snow.

Notes:

Does any of that confession sound familiar? 😏
I did some art of the proposal if anyone wants to see! link to my tumblr post of it!
Here's the ring, I thought the green and the vines were like perfect for themm: the ring

Also in the future would yall prefer short more frequent chapters like I've been doing or longer-ish ones? (I'm just curious, no promises either way)

Chapter 5

Notes:

why do I love making them miserable? idk I can't help it 😭 ngl I'm kinda nervous about when they finally get together and are happy lol I realized I've never written non angsty lmao (they'll be happy tho dw)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Rio held the postcard in her hands. She’d taken it from the trash before they’d gone skating, unable to let go, and now she was glad of it. Opening her drawer, she dug to the back, pulling out her diary and tearing a page from it. 

Grabbing a pen, Rio smoothed the page out, putting the postcard next to it and began to rewrite what she’d written on the postcard, lines she knew by heart and had recited only hours before. 

My dearest Agatha,

I’ve always wanted to confess that since the moment I saw you, I’ve loved you. Well, to be perfectly frank, when I first saw you I thought you were a bit of a spoiled trouble maker, but I should have known then that I’d love you someday. I can’t pinpoint when the feeling started, I think instead of one moment, it was a million little moments, the way you smiled, the way you stood up for me, it was when you held me when I cried, when you slowly let down your walls and allowed me into your world. I remember that night at the cocksucker when we danced, I looked in your eyes and I knew. I thought “I love you” for the very first time and I realized that it had snuck up on me. Since then I’ve never stopped loving you with all that I am. The day I met you was the best day of my life, I just didn’t know it at the time. Over the decade I’ve known you, I’ve come to realize that I will never love anyone else

Yours forever, 

Rio 🖤

She ended the letter with a heart as she had done on the postcard.

A tear fell onto the postcard and Rio hastily wiped it away, not wanting to further damage the already mostly illegible words. She swallowed away the rest of her tears, feeling overwhelmed. She had entertained a small hope that maybe if Agatha knew the depth of her feelings, if she knew that Rio’s offer of dating that morning wasn’t so off hand, that Rio had truly loved her for years that Agatha might just reciprocate. But it was fruitless. With a sigh, Rio folded the paper and after wavering for a moment, crossed her room and tucked both the paper and postcard into her suitcase. 

At the very least she didn’t have to wonder anymore. Rio tried to take comfort in the fact that she had finally confessed, that she’d been brave enough to tell Agatha how she really felt and she hadn’t lost her friend in the process.

It didn’t help much. 

~~~ 

Agatha sat at her desk, scrolling through her email and replying to some. But she couldn’t focus on work as she kept glancing at the ring every few seconds. Sitting back, she raised her left hand in front of her face, a grin splitting her face. Tilting her hand, she watched as the emeralds sparkled, reflecting the light. 

Rio hadn’t been lying, that proposal had been most fucking romatic thing she’d ever experienced. Granted, the bar hadn’t been set very high by Wanda, and anything the redhead may have done was tainted by her later betrayal. But still, even if Agatha had had a parade of lovers in the last decade, she doubted that any of them would have been able to top Rio’s proposal. 

Agatha sighed. Nothing would ever be as good as it was with Rio. She had long since accepted that Rio didn’t love her in the same way, but she still liked to pretend. Indulging herself, Agatha imagined a life with Rio. She wondered what kind of wedding Rio would want, obviously neither of their families would be there, but they’d invite their friends. Rio would probably enjoy holding the reception in a park and Agatha would fill the pavilion with flowers, specifically rio dipladenia- the flower that means love at first sight. Quite accurate for them both, if Rio’s proposal had been true.

Agatha had always imagined herself in a white suit and Rio… well Agatha supposed now she had the opportunity to ask the other woman what she’d wear to their hypothetical wedding without sounding strange. 

Powering off her laptop, Agatha knew that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on work anymore. She got up, pushing her desk chair in and getting ready for bed. After Agatha slipped on her pajamas, she hesitated before getting in bed. Her eye caught on the ring again, and her heart somersaulted as the way Rio’s hands had covered hers as she held the other woman’s face came to the forefront of her mind. Maybe she could say good night to Rio and hug her again. That wouldn’t be so strange. Right?

Nervously tracing her index finger along her lips, Agatha left her room, walking over to Rio’s door.

~~~

Staring at her reflection in the mirror, Rio brushed her teeth. Don’t cry, she reprimanded herself as she gargled and spit out water, putting her toothbrush away. Don’t cry again , she amended, taking in the redness that already surrounded her eyes and nose. 

Rio gripped the edge of the sink just facing herself in the mirror. For a second she rocked back and forth on her heels before spinning away to go to bed. 

Turning off the light, she slipped under her covers and let her mind drift back to the proposal. She had to be the most pathetic lesbian out here, proposing to the girl who’d rejected her only hours before. Still, Rio couldn’t bring herself to regret proposing, only that hadn’t had more time to prepare for it. The postcard hadn’t meant to be a proposal originally, but Rio had felt it was right. After all, Agatha had caught a glimpse of its contents earlier, it was only right she knew the entire confession. It had always been meant for her alone. 

Besides, Rio couldn’t let Agatha propose; she’d always wanted to be the one on one knee, holding her family’s ring passed down for generations. She’d thought about it before, of course, getting down on one knee, confessing her love in a grand gesture. In her mind, Agatha would accept, and they’d get married, maybe have a few kids even. 

Shaking her head, Rio tried to snap out of it. She knew full well that her delusional daydreams of dropping off their kids at school was insane and really wasn’t going to help her get over Agatha. Yet she knew that nothing would remove the other woman from her heart. Rio would never be able to forget how she’d yearned for Agatha for years and the way it crushed her spirit when Agatha had so clearly denied her love. In a way, it hurt more that Agatha had been so very gentle in her rejection, only making Rio love her more.

Tears started to dampen her pillow and Rio stopped holding them back. Reaching to her neck to hold her mother’s ring for comfort, Rio stopped when she felt the empty chain. No, of course, the ring was finally where it belonged with her heart. It was in its rightful place. But Rio only wished that she could be where she belonged, by Agatha’s side in her bed, pressed against her fianceé’s back, warm arms encircling her. 

The ache started in her chest; the loneliness of being so close to the woman she loved was ever present. It spread, clawing its way through her as she curled up into herself, eyes squeezed shut. She had to force herself to breath as she gripped her arms, trying to ease the all too familiar pain that had been made worse by the day’s events. 

A knock sounded at her bedroom door, and Rio tried to quiet her ragged breathing and swallow her tears. 

“Rio? Are you awake?” Yes , Rio wanted to say. Yes, I need you , but the words stuck in her throat. Instead, Rio lay there awake, unable to move or to cry for help until she heard Agatha’s footsteps leading her away. 

In a way, Rio figured it was just as well. Clearly, going home was already taking its toll on Agatha, and she didn’t need Rio falling apart on top of that. Regardless of the comfort Agatha offered being only across the hall, her kind smile and gentle touch, the way she would hold Rio until her sobs subsided, her afflictions leaving her, Rio couldn’t bring herself to call for the other woman. 

The only reason Rio was going with Agatha anyways was to support her, and Rio had resolved to do so in every way she could. She knew she needed to pull herself together so that Agatha could lean on her, but she was just so very tired. Maybe just tonight she could let herself fall and shatter and pick up the pieces in the morning before she had to face Agatha again. 

Still clutching her bare necklace, Rio let her tears roll down her face as she slipped into an restless sleep. 

~~~

Agatha waited at Rio’s door for a moment, but she didn’t hear a response. Resigned, she left, crawling into bed, feeling cold from the absence of the other woman. 

It didn’t make sense how one embrace, however long and deep, could make her feel like Rio had always meant to be in her arms. While she’d always loved Rio, Agatha had never been so keenly aware of her physical absence, wanting nothing more than to hold her tight. 

Wrapping her blankets tight around her to ward off the cold in a poor substitute for her fiancée, Agatha brought the cold metal of the ring to her mouth, kissing it once before holding it over her heart and drifting off to sleep.

Notes:

This is officially the LONGEST thing I've ever written like WTF? it's insane and it's honestly more insane that people actually like this lmao
And like I'm not even halfway done, (i think lol i don't really know, I'm writing as I go with a vague sense of plot) I can't believe I've actually like written this much so far and that I'm gonna keep writing it's so weird dude lol Honestly the comments have really kept me going bc I'm not a confident writer so thank you sm <3
Also I've never had so so much fun writing so this has been really cool :)

Chapter 6

Notes:

thank you to everyone who's interacting :) <3
It may take a bit longer for these next couple of chapters to be up bc of thanksgiving and also the amount of schoolwork I have over this break uh but who knows, I may procrastinate like I'm doing rn and post more lol

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Agatha threw her suitcase into the backseat, closing the car door and sliding into the driver’s seat. 

“You sure you have everything?” She asked Rio. 

“Sweetheart, for the fifth time, yes. Do you have everything?” Rio raised an eyebrow. 

‘I- I think so, why did I forget something?” Agatha turned to Rio, slightly panicked. 

“No. It was a joke babe.”

“Oh. Right.” Agatha took a steadying breath, turning on the car and pulling it out of the parking garage. 

“Do we have time for a gas station pit stop?” Rio asked hopefully and Agatha laughed. 

“Dear, do you think I don’t know you at all? Of course we do.”

“Yess,” Rio hissed, pumping her fist. “SUGARRR,” she cackled maniacally.  

“And you ask why I don’t let you drive,” Agatha shook her head mockingly. 

“It was one dog,” Rio said, exasperated. “You brought this up yesterday too, can’t you just let it go?”

“Oh darling,” Agatha turned to her for a split second, “I’m never letting that go.” She nodded to her ring finger, “and unfortunately for you, you’re stuck with me forever.”

“What a pity,” Rio gasped playfully. “I guess I’ll just have to live with it… As long as I get my snacks.”

“Am I not a snack enough for you?” Agatha said, pretending to be hurt, and Rio’s mouth fell open. 

“Oh my god! Agatha, that was terrible,” she said, fighting off a blush and lightly punching the other woman’s arm.

“Rio! Don’t punch me while I’m driving.”

“Fine,” she grumbled. Approximately five seconds later her fake brooding was interrupted by Agatha punching her back. 

“Hey! I thought you said no punching!”

“Oh that’s only for the driver,” Agatha batted her eyelashes innocently, “plus there was a punch buggy.” Rio craned her neck out the windows. 

“Liar,” she huffed. 

“Whatever you say dear,” Agatha replied, smirking and Rio’s smile returned. 

As Agatha parked in the gas station lot, Rio got out, waiting for Agatha to follow her. 

“Aren't you coming?”

“No, I think I’ll wait here,” she said, distracted, looking at something on her phone. “Just get me something I’ll like?”

“Sure,” Rio said, but she waited a second, scanning Agatha’s face in concern. 

“What are you waiting for?” Agatha snapped and Rio shut the car door a bit harder than necessary, entering the gas station. Soon enough, she brushed off Agatha’s disagreeable tone and stood in the candy aisle, deep in concentration. Hrmm, she narrowed her eyes. Twix or Kit Kats? Or maybe… both? Yes, both were good, she decided, grabbing one of each. 

By the time Rio made it to the counter, she had most of the candy aisle in her arms along with a couple sodas and a chocolate milk. As the cashier rang everything up, she glanced out the window to see Agatha on the phone, looking agitated. 

~~~

Agatha pinched the bridge of her nose as she talked to her mother. 

“Mhmm, yep mother. We’ll be there in four hours.”

“You better be. I’m having dinner catered, I can’t have you being late like always.”

“We’re on our way now; besides, I’m literally never late. And why is dinner catered?”

“Do you honestly ever listen, Agatha?” Evanora scolded. “I’m having some important guests over and I’d like you to make at the very least decent impression. Although that might be asking too much of you,” she sniffed. 

“We’ll be there in plenty of time for dinner, ma,” Agatha held back a groan at the news. “And you never told me about the dinner!”

“Or maybe you just don’t pay attention.” Agatha buried her face in her hands. 

“I’m pretty sure I would remember that-” she sighed, giving up, “you know what? Sorry, I’m sorry I didn't remember your dinner. We’ll be there and we’ll be presentable.”

“Good. I trust your friend can behave?”

“Yes ma, she’s not a wild animal.” Agatha rolled her eyes. She might have to limit Rio’s sugar intake on the trip for that promise to be completely true, but she wasn’t about to tell her mother that. “And um, she’s my fiancée, ma,” Agatha added hesitantly in a subdued tone, nervously picking at her nail beds. 

“I’ll see you and your friend soon.”

“...Okay,” Agatha said, quietly. “See you soon ma.” Evanor hung up. Agatha rested her head on the top of the steering wheel, her shoulders slumped. Apparently she’d read too much into her mother’s decision to let her come home. 

Agatha didn’t expect acceptance from her mother, but her pointed refusal to acknowledge her relationship, however fake it might be, still hurt. After all, Agatha knew it wasn’t really her relationship status her mother disapproved of but Agatha herself. She still remembered how she’d begged her mother not to send her to conversion camp. 

~~~

“I can be good.” It was always those four words Agatha found coming out of her mouth, pleading for her mother to love her, wanting nothing so desperately as her mother’s approval, her love. 

Evanora just shook her head, not even bothering with her daughter’s pleas. 

“Please mother, just one more chance,” Agatha begged, trying to open the car door only to find it locked. Fuck. She didn’t know what her mother had planned but whatever it was, Agatha found herself desperate to run away.

“You had your chance. I kept you even after seeing you with her .” Evadora practically spat the words. 

“And I’ve listened! I’ve stayed away from her and I did not break your rules!”

“Really?” Evadora’s voice came sickly sweet. “Well please, do explain this then.” She tossed a folded piece of paper at Agatha. Her stomach dropping, Agatha unfolded it, seeing her own handwriting facing her. She stared at the love note that she’d slipped into Wanda’s locker the day before, unfortunately signed with her name, complete with yesterday's date. Cold spread as she realized there was no way to weasel her way out of the situation. She gave one last helpless push on the locked car door. 

“How-how did you get this?” Agatha’s voice came out in a whisper. 

“Haven't you heard? It’s all around town by now!”

“What?”

“Mrs. Maximoff didn’t even have the decency to tell me herself. No, I had to find out from my secretary,” Her mother sneered. “Why don’t you call your little girlfriend?” A sick smile twisted on Evadora’s face, and she handed Agatha her phone. “Hear the news straight from the source.”

With shaking hands, Agatha did as her mother said, dialling Wanda. She picked up not even halfway into the first ring.

“I’m so sorry,” Wanda cried before Agatha could even ask what’d happened. “I didn’t know what to say! I didn’t mean to, honest !” 

“What. happened.” Agatha said, her voice low, anxiety’s black fingers gripping her stomach. 

“You… you haven't heard. Oh.” Wanda paused, and it seemed like an eternity passed before she spoke again. “I-I opened my locker, and your note fell out. I’m sorry,” Wanda started crying again and Agatha almost wished she could shake her, demanding to know what had happened and yell at her, asking why her mother had the note, why she was trapped here in the car. “Jen got it before I could stop her.”

“What did you do,” Agatha half sobbed, dreading the answer, hoping that her girlfriend wouldn’t have betrayed her, holding on to any hope desperately. 

“I t-told them that you were gay and you wouldn’t leave me alone,” Wanda’s words tumbled out in a rush and Agatha’s world stuttered to a halt. Distantly she could hear Wanda’s muffled apologies and tears. Evanora took the phone as it fell out of Agatha’s grasp, hanging up on the girl’s sobs. 

“I was right,” her mother said, vindicated. “You are unlovable. Even your futile attempt at your sense of twisted love was doomed. Wanda left you because you are nothing but evil. You keep saying you can be good, dear, but you don’t know what that means. You’ll learn though.”

“No… no please, no.” Evanora started the car, and Agatha practically threw herself against the door trying to get out. Eventually she stopped, realizing nothing and no one could save her. “Where are you taking me?" Agatha whispered pathetically, not wanting to hear the answer. 

“True Directions, it’s a camp where they’ll help you be good, since you can’t seem to manage it on your own.”

Agatha’s breath caught and she felt as if the words hit her, knocking the wind out of her. Her heart raced as they drove further and further from that terrible house in Salem that Agatha would do anything to get back to now. 

~~~

Agatha felt Rio’s hand tracing small circles in between her shoulder blades as she slumped over the steering wheel.

“Was it your mom?”

“Yeah,” Agatha cleared her throat, turning away to stare out the window. She couldn’t let Rio see her like this again so soon, all broken down. She knew it was irrational, Rio had long since seen her at her lowest and had never left, but her mother’s words had a way of lingering even a decade later. You are unlovable. The thought of Rio being so tender, so loving, made the fear of her leaving worse. She’d once thought her mother loved her, she’d thought Wanda loved her, but in the end Agatha had always been left alone. 

“What’d she say?” Rio asked, her voice gentle and Agatha bristled. 

“Nothing! Only that she’s having guests over for dinner so we need to be prepared.” Agatha could see Rio forcing back a retort at her abrasive tone. 

“Okay. Okay Agatha,” she said slowly instead. “You don’t need to be mad at me though, I’m not your mother.”

“I know,” Agatha sighed, sitting back in her seat. “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.”

“It’s ok, I just wanted to make sure you were ok.”

“I am, whenever you’re here,” Agatha said quietly. “She, well, she called you my friend . She just never listens to me.” Agatha picked at her nails again, her mind drifting to the past again.

“I’m sorry,” Rio said, taking Agatha’s hand and stilling her nervous movements. 

“Don’t,”  Agatha said, pushing her anxiety down beneath a smile. “I’m ok.”

“Sure,” Rio replied. Deciding to give Agatha a reprieve, she changed the subject, holding up several grocery bags. Agatha laughed, clearing her throat, glad for the distraction.

“Did you buy the entire store?”

“Nah, only one of every type of candy they had.” Rio grinned like a madwoman. “And I got you chocolate milk.”

“Chocolate milk is for children,” Agatha huffed, taking the offered drink. 

“Don’t pretend like you don’t love it,” Rio wagged her finger and Agatha rolled her eyes and begrudgingly conceded. 

Putting the car into drive, Agatha pulled out of the gas station, trying her best to leave her mother’s words behind, but the echoes stuck in her head. 

Notes:

say it with me yall, FUCK U EVANORA and wanda (but like not actually just in this fic)
Also I just love the idea of Rio being absolutely addicted to sugar and I just ran w it lol
feel free to say hi on tumblr @gaypalz

Chapter 7

Notes:

Thank you so much to everyone who's commented! They rly give me my motivation to keep writing <3
Also sorryyy this took a while uh I was a bit burnt out and finals are coming up (UGH) and I have way too much work I've been procrastinating bc agathario has completely taken over my life it's not even a joke 😭😭😭
anywho I edited this a couple times and I still don't rly like this chapter but I gotta just move on ig 🤷‍♀️

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

“So,” Agatha began as she drove them along the highway, not quite sure how to ask, “we should probably talk.”

“Aren’t we already talking?” Rio asked through a mouthful of Swedish fish, a bit confused. 

“No, I mean about a cover story. We have the engagement story down,” Agatha blushed, “but if anyone asks, we need a story of how and when we started dating, also are we planning on kids, have we planned the wedding… What are we wearing to the wedding? You know, just things like that,” Agatha said, trying to sound nonchalant, as if she hadn’t been truly wondering all of these things herself last night. 

“Uh,” Rio poked her tongue to the side of her mouth in thought. “Ok, um well do you have any ideas? Since you brought it up.”

“Maybe we just realized that we were better as more than friends?” Agatha suggested. 

“No,” Rio scoffed, “I’m way more romantic than that. Lets see,” she hummed, “the night of your college graduation, I took you stargazing and packed us a picnic and asked you to be my girlfriend under the stars.”

“Wow… that does sound very romantic,” Agatha said, slightly stunned. 

“I know,” Rio smirked. It’d been her plan that night, but she’d gotten the flu and had to stay in bed. She’d ended up staying in their tiny apartment, eating the picnic she’d packed and crying on the floor instead of attending Agatha’s graduation ceremony. All of the courage Rio had mustered up to ask Agatha out that night had vanished and she’d taken it as a sign. Apparently she should have listened because it turned out to be right. 

“Unfortunately, that won’t work, though. We can’t have dated any longer than four years, so two years after graduation.”

“And why’s that?” Rio pouted, opening a pack of oreos. 

“Well… Wanda will be there and um I may have slept with her that year at Christmas,” Agatha mumbled, resolutely keeping her eyes on the road, regretting the words as soon as they left her lips. It had been a mistake, sure a fun one, but a mistake nonetheless. Both of them had been half drunk, with Agatha needing desperately to be away from her mother for at least the night, finding an easy solution in Wanda’s bed. 

“What. You- you never told me that?!” Rio sat up straight, a gummy worm forgotten, halfway to her mouth. 

“It’s not like we were really dating so I didn’t really have to, did I?”

“No.. I suppose not,” Rio grumbled.

“Are you jealous?” Agatha ribbed and Rio’s frown deepened. 

“I’m your fiancée,” she shot back, “I think I have the right.” Rio scowled, the taste of sugar turning sour in her stomach. She ate another gummy worm anyway. Agatha knew that she’d loved her since the summer they’d met yet she still teased her with sleeping with her ex? Sure, Rio knew Agatha was a bitch sometimes and honestly, she found it kinda hot, but she’d never purposefully turned that side on Rio before. Rio had never realized how much power Agatha had to hurt her simply because she’d never thought Agatha would. 

“I suppose you do,” Agatha laughed, oblivious to Rio’s inner turmoil. 

“Uh so we started dating four years ago then,” Rio said, forcing her feelings behind a smile. “I asked you out.”

“If you insist, darling.”

“I do, actually.”

“That’s fine.”

“Great,” Rio huffed. 

“Are you… ok?” Agatha asked tentatively, taken aback at Rio’s sudden hostility. 

“Yeah, just uh, didn’t get much sleep,” she replied, looking down at her hands, remembering her tears from last night that she could feel returning. Don’t fucking cry now , Rio thought, annoyed at herself. 

“Me neither,” Agatha said. 

“Should you be driving then?” Rio teased, trying to lighten the mood that she’d brought down. 

“Hey! It’s been an hour and we’re not dead yet, so I’d say I’m doing pretty well.”

“Real low bar there Agatha.”

“Alright, well if you want me to raise it, I haven’t hit a dog yet!”

“Nooo,” Rio groaned. “Ugh ok, what else did you say? Kids?” she asked, changing the topic. 

“Yeah,” Agatha said, letting her. “I uh, I thought that was probably a conversation we would have had if we were, you know, actually engaged.” 

“Well I’ve always wanted a kid.”

“Really?” Agatha was a bit surprised. “Huh… I guess I could see that.”

“I’ve actually been thinking about maybe having a kid in the next five years.”

“Wait, are you serious?”

“Yeah,” Rio bit her lip nervously. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about it for a while, I just wasn’t sure how to bring it up. I wasn’t sure how you’d react. I mean, I’ve always loved children, and I really wanted one of my own. I think I’m at a place in life that I’m ready for it. Might have to get a house though, our apartment’s a bit small. Do you want kids?”

“I guess,” Agatha said, still slightly reeling from Rio’s plans. “If that’s what you want, I’d be ok.”

“So that’s a no then,” Rio raised an eyebrow, biting off a piece of a candy cane. 

“Not exactly, just with the way my mother was, I’m not sure how good of a mother I could be. I just-” her voice broke, “I don’t want to be like her, I don’t want to mess up my kid the way she did to me.”

“Agatha, you know that would never happen, right?”

“I’m not so sure, Rio. I don’t know the first thing about being a good mother, I wouldn’t know what to do.”

“I know you’ve never told me much about her or what she did to you,” Rio said gently. “But can you imagine treating your own child the way she treated you?”

“... no,” Agatha admitted, bothered by how easy it was to know that. She’d never even consider doing the things her mother had done to her to any child, much less her own. Why, Agatha wondered, why hadn’t she been good enough for her mother to feel the same way about her?

“See,” Rio said softly, touching Agatha’s shoulder. “Besides, you know you wouldn’t have to go through it alone, I’d help you.”

“Maybe,” Agatha conceded. Maybe if they were engaged, she’d entertain the idea of becoming a mother, especially since Rio seemed to want to be one, and was actually planning for a kid. “Um, but Rio, if you do seriously want kids, I’d love to be their cool Aunt Agatha.” 

“Would you stay with me? If I wanted to move into a bigger place and have kids?” Rio took her hand back, fidgeting with a box of nerds. 

“Of course, I could never live without you,” Agatha replied instantly. “And I want to help.”

“You wouldn’t lose me if you said no, I don’t want to pressure you into well- I suppose essentially coparenting if you didn’t feel comfortable with that.”

“I-” Agatha paused, relieved by Rio’s assurance, “I think I’d be okay, but I’d have to think about it. I wasn’t really expecting the conversation to go like this.” She chuckled. “I thought we’d just be speaking in hypotheticals, but here we are, planning for kids. Um and how many were you thinking?”

“Just one,” Rio smiled. 

“Oh thank goodness,” Agatha let out a sigh, “I’m not sure I could deal with more than that. I think it’d be adorable though, a little kiddo running around with your smile. I think I could come around to that.”

“That’s good; and for the record, I think you’d be an amazing mother or aunt,” Rio shrugged, “Whatever my kiddo wants to call you.”

Agatha tried to imagine it, a little child running around their house with Rio’s smile, calling her mother. It frightened her, but oddly she found herself drawn to the idea. 

“I think I’d really like that, Rio.” Smiling, Rio turned to gaze at Agatha as she drove, Twix bar forgotten in her hand. Agatha may not reciprocate her feelings, but she’d still have her forever. Maybe her daydreams weren’t so delusional. Sure it might get hard at times, raising a child with her best friend whom she was in love with, but Rio would juggle anything if it meant keeping Agatha in her life. It didn’t matter if she could, she’d find a way. 

“Why are you staring?” Agatha asked, slightly self conscious. “Is there something on my face?”

“No, just thinking ‘bout the future.” 

“Speaking of which,” Agatha cleared her throat, “wedding plans. Well- not the actual future, just hypothetical.” The reminder caused Rio’s smile to slip for a second before she could recover it.

“Right, I guess I’ve always pictured maybe like a small wedding outside in a park?”

“Ha!” Agatha let out a bark of laughter. 

“What’s so funny?” Rio cocked her head. 

“Nothing, just that’s exactly what I thought you’d say.”

“Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever told you that before though?”

“I guess I just know you well enough to guess accurately.” Agatha grinned. 

“That’s not much of a surprise though.”

“I suppose not. What I’m not sure about though, is what you’d want to wear?”

“Oh, amore,” Rio’s eyes lit up, “I’d wear the most extravagant black lace dress with the longest vail you’ve ever seen. It’d be exquisite .” 

“I bet it would be,” Agatha said, picturing the way the lace would fall against Rio’s body. “Would you design it?”

“I’ve already started.” Rio grinned sheepishly. “It’s been a pet project for a few years.”

“A few years! My god Rio, I need to see what you’ve done when we get back home.”

“I haven’t done much work on it, but sure.”

“I guess you got sick of sewing all white dresses at work?” Agatha snorted. 

“Just a bit,” Rio laughed. Well it was true she loved sewing the flowy white gowns for her clients, Rio sometimes got a bit bored of making the same basic dress over and over again. “You didn’t say what you would wear?”

“A white suit,” Agatha replied definitely. Raising an eyebrow, Rio let out a low whistle. 

“You’d look really fucking hot in that,” she blurted out before she could stop herself.

“Oh baby, I know ,” Agatha purred, relishing the blush that dusted Rio’s cheeks. “Honestly, I wanted to wear one at my wedding before I even knew I was a lesbian just because I knew it would piss off my mother.” Rio snorted, amused. 

“Speaking of the devil, I’m not sure how she’ll behave,” Agatha sighed. “Best I can guess is she’ll either do her best to completely ignore it or she’ll attempt to take over our wedding plans.”

“Well if she tries to interfere, we can just tell we broke up. We’ll have to tell her before next year anyways.”

Agatha paused at that. She hadn’t stopped to think of that, having to tell her mother that she’d broken things off with her fiancée the next year. It wasn’t like she could ask Rio to pretend to be her wife next christmas… could she? 

“Unless you were planning on continuing this charade?” Rio asked, reading Agatha’s expression plain as day. She’d obviously not thought too far ahead. Rio slowly stripped the chocolate off a kitkat, thinking. There was no way Agatha would ask her to pretend to be her wife, knowing Rio had been madly in love with her for years. Rio was confident Agatha wouldn’t do something like that to her. 

“Maybe we could?” Agatha asked, hopefully. “It’s not like she’d ever know.” She glanced over at Rio, taking in the other woman’s wide eyes and parted lips, knowing instantly she’d said the wrong thing. “Sorry, I-I didn’t mean that.” Agatha bit her lip. Was the thought of pretending to be her wife really so repulsive to Rio? Why would it make her so very upset?

“I said I’d be there for you, Agatha,” Rio automatically answered, doing her best to keep her voice from wavering. “If you really need me there next year, I’ll come.” Slightly sick at her own words, Rio knew she’d do anything Agatha asked. Agatha would never ask Rio for something this hard unless she really needed it, and Rio would be there, no matter how much the masquerade of marriage would hurt her. Maybe she could, maybe this year wouldn’t be so bad, maybe once the raw sting of rejection had faded to a dull ache she could pretend to be Agatha’s wife

“Nevermind,” Agatha muttered, flustered, “I shouldn’t have asked.” Echoes of shouts reverberated in her mind. You are unlovable, you are nothing! No, she mentally shook herself, no . Rio loved her, just not romantically. Rio loved her… she was just repulsed at the thought of being Agatha’s wife. Her mother wasn’t right, she couldn’t be. Where her mother had hurt her time and time again, Rio had loved her, holding the pieces of her together tightly in her arms. Still the fear crept in, thumping in time with her heart.

What IF, what IF, what IF? What if Rio left her too? What if she couldn’t be good enough to make her stay?

“No,” Rio cleared her throat, “I’ll be there.” Cramming a fistful of sour patch kids in her mouth, she stopped herself from talking more. When she’d promised Agatha she’d never leave her, Rio meant it with every fiber of her being.

“Lets… let’s just cross that bridge when we come to it,” Agatha said quietly. “I don’t want you to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“Sure,” Rio mumbled through the mouthful of candy. Staring out the window, Rio made a valiant but futile effort to focus on the overwhelming sourness of the candy instead of the bitterness seeping into her heart.

Notes:

yes Rio’s a wedding dress designer or whatever bc why not and I want to design and sew my wedding dress someday andd I love to design and sew fancy dresses
If anyone has any knowledge on that typa career I’d love information to more accurately portray it :)
Also yes I am setting up for a potential sequel fic where they have Nicky that I probably won’t write but honestly who knows, the more I think about it the more I want to write it now
Also yes ik I keep putting it in that Rio’s a terrible driver and hit sparky I’m sorry I just find it rly funny 😭 I promise it will be relevant later

And like if ya'll have any headcanons or like ideas/suggestions for plot/content PLEASE lol I'm a bittt stuck and it might take me a while for future chapters
I'm just so tired XP

Chapter 8

Notes:

guess who's FINALLY backkk
Finals are OVER (thank God!) and I'm going to try and start writing again more! Might take me a while to get back into the swing of things lol but I'm not abandoning it, dw!
Also I'm so sorry ik it's been over a month since I updated 😭😭
Thank you for all your lovely comments on the last chapter <3

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Agatha sighed, slowing the car as she drove through the winding roads of Salem. The houses that flanked the street were ones she’d seen a thousand times, had passed every day on her way to school. She pulled over, parking the car on the side of the street. 

“Is this it?” Rio asked, motioning to the house they were parked next to. 

“No, it’s um, still a block away, I just,” her voice trembled slightly, “I need a second.”

“Okay,” Rio replied gently, taking in Agatha’s slightly unraveled demeanor. “Can I do anything?”

“No, I’m fine.” Agatha turned to Rio. “I’m sorry, about earlier. I shouldn’t have asked you that. You’re already doing so much by being here now, it wasn’t fair of me to ask for more-”

“Agatha, it’s ok,” Rio said. “I forgive you, let’s move on from that. Right now, we don’t need to focus on me, you’re the one who’s about to face your mother, not me.” She took Agatha’s hand in hers, squeezing it. “All I want right now is to help you.” And it was true. Obviously, Agatha was overwhelmed and hadn’t thought of Rio’s feeling in that moment but now realized the toll this would take on Rio. Although her words had hurt earlier, she apologized, and that was all that mattered. That was all Rio would let herself focus on. 

“Thank you,” Agatha murmured in relief. 

“We’re a team,” Rio said, tracing the ring on Agatha’s finger. “And for this week, we’re engaged. What’s yours is mine and mine is yours, amor, that includes blessings and burdens alike.”

“Right,” Agatha took a deep breath. “I can do this, I’ve done it every year.”

“That’s the spirit! And I’ll be there to kick Evanora’s ass if she tries anything.” 

“Oh god, I’m not sure if I want to see that or not,” Agatha snorted. 

“Trust me, you do,” Rio grinned, glad she’d successfully raised Agatha’s spirits. “Now, you ready to go that last block?”

“Absolutely not,” Agatha replied, starting the car and driving down the road. 

~~~

Agatha brushed a clump of snow off the heavy door knocker and raised it before putting it back silently. 

“Ok, um before we go in, we’ll just, um we’ll say hi and I’ll introduce you, and we’ll go get unpacked.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Rio said, taking Agatha’s hand, interlacing their fingers. “May I?” She raised her hand to the doorbell, waiting for Agatha’s approval to press it. 

“No, use the door knocker, ma thinks it’s classier.”

“Ooookayy then,” Rio stretched out the word and rolled her eyes but let the metal fall against itself a couple times. 

After a few moments, the door creaked open to reveal Evanora. 

“Hello, ma,” Agatha greeted her, annoyed at the way her voice shrunk, hiding in her throat. 

“Shoes off,” Evanora responded, letting them into the house. “I don’t want snow and mud all over my carpets.” Her eyes flickered to Rio as she entered, and after a calculated gaze, Evanora let a smile fill her face. 

“I’m so glad to see you again, Agatha dear,” she said, pulling her into a limp hug. Stiffly, Agatha returned her mother’s embrace, not able to remember the last time she’d received any physical affection from her. “That’s enough now,” Evanora cleared her throat, pulling away to look at her. “Did you bring concealer?” she pursed her lips, an eyebrow raised as she inspected Agatha’s face. “You’re looking a bi-

“Hello,” Rio interrupted before Evanora could insult Agatha. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Harkness,” Rio politely lied after removing her shoes, holding out her hand to shake. After a brief moment of hesitation, Evanora took it with a small smile.

“Call me Evanora. And you are…?” 

“The fiancée. Rio, Rio Vidal.”

“Mmm, I see.” Evanora nodded. “Well, I’m sorry for my daughter’s atrocious manners, she really should have introduced you the second you came in. 

“Sorry ma,” Agatha sighed, bringing their suitcases inside and placing her shoes next to Rio’s by the door. 

“Now, tell me, why do you look so familiar?” Evanora tapped her chin in thought. 

“Oh, well I’ve been Agatha’s roommate since college-”

“I’ve never met Agatha’s roommate.”

“Yes, well we met ten years ago before that. I remember you from group therapy at True Directions,” Rio cleared her throat trying to hide the fury that she felt, being in the presence of Evanora after all this time. Still, they’d have to spend the week together, so Rio made a valiant effort to hide the anger at meeting Agatha’s mother, though was only spurred on by her memories of those dreadful sessions, the way Evanora had hurt the woman she loved so dearly. 

“Oh… well then,” Evanora said, looking distinctly uncomfortable and Rio inwardly reveled in it. “I’m glad we have a chance to start over.” Evanora smiled. 

“Sure, we can do that,” Rio warily agreed. 

“Good, well then,” Evanora clasped her hands. “Now, why don’t you girls follow me?” 

“Right,” Agatha picked up their suitcases. “My room’s that way,” she said, tilting her head in the direction Evanora was leading them.

“I can carry my suitcase,” Rio offered, taking it. As they walked down the hallway, Rio stopped to look at photos that lined the walls. Joining Rio, Agatha paused to see which ones she was observing. 

There were portrait photos of their family, only a few had Agatha’s father in them, he’d died when she was little. The rest were of Agatha, one taken every year, k through 12, always poised and perfect, a smile on her face and in a dress her mother had chosen. When she reached high school, Agatha frowned, noticing a couple of extra photos. They were of her and Ralph, her last ditch effort of hetrosexuality in highschool. Obviously, it hadn’t worked, but she cringed at the reminder all the same. 

“Ma, I didn’t know you still had these photos?”

“Oh those,” Evanora said, turning around. “I was just going through old photos dear, you were just so happy and innocent back then.” She shrugged, careless. “I thought you might need a reminder of that.” 

Resolutely staring at the wall, anywhere but Evanora, the familiar heat of silent injustice rose within Agatha. While her mother seemed to be toning down her scorn for Agatha in front of her fiancée, barbed comments still poked through the facade, designed to cut into her, to diminish her. 

Turning away, as if she hadn’t just belittled her daughter, Evanora gestured to the closed door to Agatha’s room that lay in front of them. “Now Agatha, why don’t you get unpacked while I show Rio to the guest room?” she said in a tone that made it clear that it was anything but a suggestion. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Agatha forced her gaze not to waver under the familiar pressure, not in front of Rio at the very least. 

“She’s my fiancée, ma,” Agatha said quietly. 

“I know dear, I’m not senile,” Evanora chuckled derisively. Agatha opened and closed her mouth, unable to protest again.

“What Agatha means is that I’ll stay in her room with her,” Rio cut in firmly, stepping in front of Agatha, an arm almost held out in front of her, protectively. 

“I don’t think so,” Evanora said, unamused as she straightened, raising her chin to look down upon Rio. 

“I’m sure you know what the word fiancée means,” Rio replied coolly, matching Evanora’s stance. “And don’t forget, you invited me .” 

“I may have let you in my house, but you are under my roof and Agatha is still my daughter.” Evanora retorted, her tone chilly. “I welcomed you out of courtesy for her, but I suggest you do not test my patience.” 

“I’m not trying to test anything,” Rio said, putting her hands up in an attempt to placate Evanora. “I just think you should extend that courtesy and respect your daughter’s relationship.” From her tone, one could mistake Rio for calm, but Agatha recognized the flint in her eyes, just about ready to ignite. 

“I don’t need you to tell me how to treat my daughter. It’s quite a pity that camp didn’t work,” Evanara cast a scornful gaze first at Rio, then over her shoulder at her daughter. “For either of you.”

Shrinking behind Rio, Agatha looked away from her mother, her nails digging into the palms of her hands. It was one thing for her mother to aim her words at her, but Rio had done nothing to merit such hate, she didn’t deserve the vitriol her mother contained. Rio was good and kind and Agatha needed to defend her, needed to protest somehow, to scream that it was her, not Rio that should bear the brunt of that hate, it was Agatha , not Rio that had earned it. But the words died in her throat as soon as she looked at her mother. 

Instead Rio spoke again, her words a weapon and her body a shield, safeguarding Agatha. 

“You know, I wonder how voters would react to knowing that their democrat governor sent her own daughter to conversion camp,” Rio twisted her lips. “It’d be quite the scandal if that somehow got out.”

“Are you blackmailing me?” Evanora scoffed. 

“I wouldn’t dream of blackmailing my future mother in law ,” Rio said innocently and Evanora narrowed her eyes. 

“Just this once Miss Vidal,” Evanora warned, waving her hand to dismiss them. “Both of you, get dressed for dinner. Lilia Caldaru is coming over, you know how to behave, Agatha.”

“Y-yes ma,” Agatha whispered. Evanora opened her mouth for a moment, as if to scold Agatha for mumbling, but seemed to rethink it as she sniffed and walked away. 

 

When Evanora finally turned the corner out of her sight, Rio let her scowl out, gritting her teeth and seething. It was a pity that camp didn’t work, how dare she. Clearly, Evanora didn’t regret her actions in the slightest, didn’t regret the way she’d treated Agatha. As Agatha opened her door, Rio barely registered entering her room. 

“I can’t believe you did that,” Agatha closed the door, leaning against it as her voice broke through Rio’s rage. “I’ve never seen anyone stand up to her like that.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause a fight,” Rio winced as her outrage faded, realizing she might have gone overboard with her protectiveness. 

“No, I’m not mad,” Agatha assured her, “I guess I haven't seen someone stand up to her like that.”

“I came here to support you, and I’m not going to let her hurt you,” Rio said firmly. “Not in any way.”

“I’ve never had that,” Agatha admitted quietly. The slight tremors in her voice sent fractures down Rio’s heart. 

“Well you better get used to it amor, because I promised you, I’m not going anywhere.”

Notes:

that took a whilee to write but it's finally done, phew! I just hope yall like this chapter more than I do lol
There are some future chapters I'm looking forward to writing thooo I just gotta get through some other scenes first lol This fic is turning out to be a LOT longer than I originally planned. It was supposed to be relatively short but um it's looking more like 20+ chapters from my plot SO. yeah. we're gonna be here for a while and by the time Christmas comes in this fic it may be March irl
Also thank u guys for ur ideas on the last chapter, I'm def incorporating some of them! (btw ideas are welcome now and anytime in the future, no promises I'll actually use them but I'd LOVE to hear them lol)
And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year yalll!!

Chapter 9

Notes:

Wow um this was fast, I didn't expect to actually be done w this so soon lol It's not my best work but I feel like it's ok ig and I wanted to get it out today as a Christmas gift for yall lol
(i stayed up to like 3 am bc i wanted to get this out for Christmas lmao I'm tired now)

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Focusing on her surroundings instead of her anger, Rio looked around Agatha’s room in an attempt to ground herself.

“Well, um, this is my room.” Agatha gestured around them at the desk, bookshelf, dresser, and queen bed practically covered in stuffed animals. 

“Wow,” Rio grinned, the weight of the moment sliding off her shoulders fully. Twirling around, she took it all in, the nature posters, several Buffy posters and many other posters and photos that lined the walls. “I can just see little Agatha in here.” 

“Don’t judge,” Agatha leaned against the closed door, crossing her arms and blushing, “I haven’t redecorated since like middle school.”

“I’m not judging, I love it.” Rio grinned, walking closer to inspect the posters on her wall. “I see you were a big fan of Buffy even back then.”

“Oh yes,” she smirked, “I had the biggest crush on Faith in highschool.”

“Hm, I never got to the season she’s in.”

“I’ve failed you.” Agatha shook her head in mock disappointment. “We’re watching the whole show from the beginning as soon as we get home.” 

“Alright,” Rio said, walking over to the bed. “Agatha, how did you even sleep here with so many stuffed animals?” She snorted, sitting on the bed and picking one up, petting a soft stuffed rabbit. 

“I… don’t really know,” Agatha laughed. “That one’s my favorite actually.”

“Really?” Rio paused to inspect the rabbit closer, taking in the white fur with brown patches, noticing how the fur wore thin in some areas. “It does look well loved.”

“Yeah.” Agatha shrugged and sat down next to Rio, gently taking the stuffed animal.

“Does it have a name?” 

“Señor Scratchy…” she paused. “My dad named it for me. He used to give me stuffed animals all the time.” Agatha’s eyes crinkled as she recalled how he’d seem more excited than her whenever she’d open the gift and the funny voices he’d make for each one. Out of the few memories she still had of him, those were the most precious to her. 

“When he got sick, he got one for each christmas and birthday so I’d have a present to open every year until I graduated.” She waved around them at the small mountain of stuffed animals. “But this one… this was the last present he ever gave me in person, so it’s just extra special to me I suppose.”

“That’s really sweet,” Rio said, her voice and face gentle, touched that Agatha was sharing the information with her. Agatha had rarely spoken of her mother and practically never mentioned her father in all the time they’d known each other. “Why didn’t you take Señor Scraty with you to college?”

“I was embarrassed that I still had stuffed animals,” Agatha admitted sheepishly, fiddling with Scratchy’s floppy and slightly chewed on ears. “I was nervous you wouldn’t think I was cool.”

“I would never,” Rio lay her hand over Agatha’s on Scratchy. 

“Well, I know that now! I brought him up to our apartment a few years ago but I must have left him here last Christmas. I was really upset, but I wasn’t going back here.”

“Hmm yes, I think I noticed you cuddling me a bit tighter last year when you got back,” Rio teased.

“What can I say, I missed Scratchy.” Agatha shrugged.

“And here I thought it was because of me,” Rio pouted. 

“Oh sweetheart,” Agatha patted her cheek, “I’m sorry but Scratchy here is just more charming than you.” 

“You wound me,” Rio gasped, falling backwards onto the bed, hand dramatically pressed over her heart. 

“You’ll survive.” Agatha smirked, standing and pulling Rio to her feet.”We should get changed,” she said, checking her watch, “Lilia should be here soon.”

“How fancy do we need to dress?” Rio asked, laying her suitcase on the bed and opening it.

“Oh, just like a bit dressy,” Agatha came to stand next to her, picking out some clothes for Rio. “Here,” she said, handing Rio black slacks and a silky green button down. “This should be good, it’s only Lilia after all.”

“I know you've told me about her before, but remind me why she's coming over…?” Rio let her words trail off in question as she took the clothes.

“She’s a backer of my mother’s campaign. Ma hates her but she’s been her main funder for years so she has to play nice. Lilia’s wonderful though, she practically raised me the year my mother started campaigning for mayor,” Agatha said with a fond smile.

At all her mother’s stuffy events where Agatha had been shoved into a dress approved by Evanora and forced to smile, Lillia had always been especially kind to her and she’d been the first person Agatha had told about her feelings for Wanda. When Agatha had been outted, she’d been very vocally supportive, forcing her mother to at least not grimace in front of Lilia whenever Agatha’s sexuality was mentioned, even if it didn't stop her from sending Agatha away to True Direction. 

Ruffling through her own suitcase, Agatha let herself breathe, forcing herself to shrug off the sting of her mother's words, carefully reconstructing walls that had fallen over the year since she'd seen Evanora. Eventually, she pulled out a similar outfit to Rio’s, only with a purple shirt. 

“I’ll just go change in the bathroom,” Rio said, hooking her thumb toward the door. “I think I saw it on our way here.” As Rio made to leave the room, Agatha stopped her, a hand catching her wrist.

“Don’t you think that’d be odd? You just insisted we share my room and we don’t change in the same room?” Agatha smirked.

“I, I suppose,” Rio stuttered, Agatha’s hand firm grip on her wrist temporarily causing her brain to malfunction. “I’ll just turn around then.” 

“I don’t mind,” Agatha quipped, “but I’ll turn around if you’d like.” Rio gaped for a second as Agatha faced the wall and started to undress, pulling her shirt off. After a moment Rio averted her eyes and turned to face the other wall, blushing furiously. 

Slipping off her comfortable jeans, Agatha stepped into dark gray slacks, trying not to turn her head, not to think of Rio, so close. 

“Can I turn yet?” Agatha asked. 

“I'm decent,” Rio replied, as they turned to face one another. Sure, they'd shared a room for years in college and had always lived in close proximity, but this… this felt different. This carried a different tone, and the weight of fiancée, real or fake, charged the air between them all the same. Agatha’s incessant flirting didn't help either, and Rio let her eyes fall to Agatha's collarbone where she'd left several buttons open. 

“You missed a button,” Rio said, stepping forward, inches away from Agatha, her eyes still trained on Agatha’s shirt. 

“Did I?”

“Yes,” she murmured, bringing her hands up to fasten the buttons, leaving only the top undone. “There.” 

Tracing from Agatha’s neck to her mouth and finally to her blue eyes, Rio stared at the woman she loved. Was it better, she idly wondered, her fingers tightening around the collar of Agatha’s button up, to have this glimpse of everything she’d wanted, knowing it was fake, or to never have had it at all? 

Agatha’s breath hitched as she gaped at Rio, seeing the way Rio stared at her lips. There was no way Agatha was imagining it. Rio wanted to kiss her, she was sure of it. Yet as her jumbled thoughts settled on that conclusion, Rio stepped back.

Instinctively, Agatha’s hands shot out to hold her wrists in place. Rio quirked an eyebrow in question. 

“I just…” Agatha trailed off, unsure what to say or what she even felt. “I think, no I want to-”

The sound of the doorbell ringing cut her off, accompanied by Evanora’s footsteps as she passed Agatha’s door.

“Agatha! Door now!” 

“That’ll be Lilia,” Agatha mumbled, disconcerted.

“I thought you said your mother hated the doorbell?”

“Lillia likes to annoy her. I- we should go,” Agatha said, releasing Rio’s wrists and stepping around her to leave the room. 

For a moment, Rio stood there in a daze, stuck on where Agatha’s presence lingered, so very close to her that if she’d just leaned forward… 

But no, Rio shook her head. Agatha didn’t love Rio, didn’t want her like that, so she hurried out of the room, closing the door on her feelings as she went to meet Lilia. 

Notes:

They're starting to be less useless idiots lmao
It'll take them a sec but they're getting there, slowly but surelyy
MERRY CHRISTMASSSS

Chapter 10

Notes:

heyy um sorry this took forever. I've been plotting and stuff and I've also just not really felt up to doing much lately bc ugh life is hard. But I finally got this finished! Think this is my longest chapter so far thooo!
idk I just worked pretty hard on this chapter and I can't tell if it's good or utter trash (feel free to lmk lol) but the story must go on so I'm just posting it ig

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Brushing off the intensity with Rio, Agatha walked down the hallway and saw Lilia, who was handing her coat off to Evanora.

“Agatha, darling, how are you?” Lilia exclaimed, opening her arms wide and pulling Agatha into a warm hug. Glancing over Lilia’s shoulder, Agatha noticed Rio joining them, a look of annoyance barely concealed on her face. 

“I’m well! And you?” Agatha asked, stepping back as Lilia patted her cheek with a motherly smile.

“Oh, same as ever.” Lilia paused, as Rio joined them in the entryway. “And who is this ?”

“Agatha’s roommate,” Evanora supplied before either of them could speak. 

“Roommate.. and my fiancée,” Agatha grinned, the excitement at being able to introduce Rio as such to Lilia not diminished by her mother. Even though the news was false, she was still introducing the two most important people in her life to one another, the love of her life and the woman who was practically her mother.

“A fiancée,” Lilia exclaimed, her mouth falling open in shock and delight. “And do you have a name?” 

“Rio Vidal,” Rio chuckled as she held her hand out to shake Lilia’s, but she bypassed Rio’s hand to pull her into a hug. Pausing for a moment,  Rio wondered why the older woman seemed so familiar. Was it something about her face … or maybe her name.. Lilia, Rio racked her brain. Hmm. 

“So. You're the famous Rio!” Lilia exclaimed,  “I’ve heard so much about you for years, it’s wonderful to finally meet you.”

“All good things?” Rio joked. 

“Nothing but, dear.” Lilia waved her hand. “Agatha here has pinned for you for the longest time, I’m glad the two of you’ve finally gotten together.” At that, Rio shot Agatha a puzzled glance. 

“She has?”

“Oh yes indeed, every time I see her it’s Rio this and Rio that! I’ve been telling her to conf-”

“Shall we eat?” Agatha cut Lilia off, trying, and failing to inconspicuously avoid Rio’s stare that she could just feel burning into her. “I don’t know about you but I’m quite hungry.”

“Marvelous idea,” Evanora agreed, leading them into the dining room. “I’ve had a special vegetarian meal catered for us all.”

“How kind,” Lilia said, then turning to Agatha, she wagged her finger. “Don’t think that’ll get you out of giving me all the details darling. I want to hear all about this.” 

“Of course.” Agatha smiled, moving to follow her into the other room, but Rio’s hand on her shoulder stilled her.

“You’ve been pinning for me?” She asked, an eyebrow raised. 

“I-no- can we talk about this later?” Agatha stuttered, wishing Lilia hadn’t mentioned it but she knew it could have been far worse. There were few people Agatha’s walls fell around, and it wasn’t like she could have spoken to Rio about how she was desperately in love with her. 

Lilia was more of a mother to her than Evanora at times and she’d told Lilia all about Rio, everything from the way Rio’s eyes crinkled when she smiled to how Agatha wanted to spend every moment of their lives together. 

Hesitantly, Rio let her hand fall from Agatha’s shoulder, her eyes searching and confused. What had Lilia meant? Surely there was no way Agatha had ever pined for her? 

Her heart stuttered as she absorbed the possibility that Agatha had felt the same once, had felt the same pull that tied Rio’s heart to Agatha, and that in her cowardness to confess her feelings, Rio had missed the overlapping window of their feelings. The cliched right person, wrong time. But Rio simply couldn’t accept that explanation, it’d feel quite too cruel. 

No, there had to be another explanation, one that wouldn’t rip out her heart and destroy the barely healing pieces. And even if it did… well, Rio was already miserable, it couldn’t get much worse. Could it?

“Alright Agatha, but you’re not getting out of this either,” Rio warned, determined to get a proper explanation later, before turning to follow Lilia into the dining room.

“Great,” Agatha mumbled, resting her head against the wall in the entryway, inwardly groaning. How was she going to explain this to Rio, how could she, without admitting her feelings, without telling Rio she loved her and blowing their whole friendship to shit? Agatha’s mind raced, she had until the end of dinner at the very least to come up with an plausible excuse. 

Forcing herself to take a deep breath, Agatha joined them a second later in the dining room where Evanora was uncovering steaming plates of pasta and various side dishes. 

“Agatha, how nice of you to join us!” Evanora snarked, and Agatha swore she saw Lilia roll her eyes.

“Sorry ma,” Agatha swallowed a sigh as she sat next to Rio, across from Lilia and Evanora. Under the table, Rio found Agatha’s hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze before reaching for the bread basket, helping herself to a piece of garlic bread before passing it to Evanora. 

“So Agatha,” Lilia began, “I do need to hear all the details but first, let me see the ring.” Agatha held it up, showing off the emeralds in the leaf engraved band, her smile reappearing as she looked at it again. 

While the promise the ring would normally carry didn’t apply to her and Rio, the ring was still everything she’d ever wanted. Of course, Agatha would have loved for it to hold a future of marriage but it was still a physical token of their friendship and the love, one sidedly platonic, she and Rio held for each other.

“It’s beautiful.” Lilia turned to Rio. “I take it you were the one who proposed?” 

“Indeed I was,” Rio replied, taking Agatha’s hand, her gaze falling on her mother’s ring before meeting Agatha’s eyes. “Yesterday evening.” 

“Just yesterday? No wonder I hadn’t heard about this!” 

“But Agatha, when I called you yesterday morning you said you were engaged?” Evanora asked, helping herself to salad and passing it to Rio. 

“Oh, was that yesterday?” Agatha said, looking at Rio as if surprised, hoping no one could hear her heart beating out of her chest. “I could have sworn you just proposed yesterday, but I suppose that must have been Thursday!” 

“Yeah! Thursday, right!” Rio agreed, far too enthusiastically to be convincing, and Agatha mentally face palmed. Rio was far from the best liar, and with improvisation it appeared she was downright horrific. 

“Friday was just a blur,” Agatha said quickly. “We were just so happy, I suppose we forgot what day it was.”

“Really?” Evanora narrowed her eyes first at Rio, then Agatha. “One would think you would remember the day you proposed. After all, it is supposed to be special.”

“Oh, Evanora, leave them alone,” Lilia laughed with a hint of steel in her voice. “Time flies when you’re young and in love.” At that, Evanora forced a smile and Agatha relaxed slightly, grateful to Lilia. 

“I suppose so,” Evanora conceded. 

“So, tell me how this–” Lilia motioned between Agatha and Rio “ –happened.”

“Well,” Agatha started, “I made her go ice skating with me.”

“My first time,” Rio added.

“I taught her how to skate, she fell more than a few times,” Agatha said with a teasing grin directed at her (fake) fiancée. “And then the last time she fell, she got on one knee, and I tried to help her up but then she pulled out a ring and-” Agatha was cut off by the sound of Evanora coughing.

“Sorry, something was in my throat,” she said, subtly giving Agatha a glare. “Dear, you should have some pasta, it’ll get cold.”

“Oh, um alright ma,” Agatha said, her voice tightening as she took the dish, doing what her ma said before passing the dish to Rio. 

“Then I can continue,” Rio smiled sourly at Evanora, thwarting her attempt to shut Agatha up. “I’m not too hungry. Anyways, I had the ring and I told her how much I loved her and I asked for the privilege of becoming her wife. She said yes.”

“I presumed,” LIlia chuckled.

“But, I’ll have you know, I fell on purpose.”

“Sure,” Agatha sarcastically said. 

“I did, it was planned!” Rio protested, laughing. “I’d say I’m pretty good at skating now.”

“You’re not half bad,” Agatha conceded, taking another bite of pasta before looking across the table at Lilia. “It was very romantic.”

“I’m so glad Agatha has you. It’s good to know she has someone who’ll care for her,” Lilia said, not at all being subtle in the look she was pointedly directing at Evanora.

“Besides her mother,” Evanora added with the same false nicety. “Who, you know, just kept her alive and kicking for almost two decades and just wants what’s best for her!” 

“Yes, well that is what every mother should want,” Lilia replied, spearing pasta. 

“Speaking of mothers, how did your parents react to this. . . wonderful news?” Evanora asked Rio. 

“Oh, I’m um, not in contact with them anymore,” Rio muttered stiffly, taking a large bite of pasta in an excuse to stop talking. 

“What a shame,” Evanora shook her head. “Children really do need their parents to guide them, or you never know what could happen!” Agatha gritted her teeth, angry at how Evanora’s words made Rio slump, shoveling pasta around on her plate. 

“Sometimes separation is for the best,” Lilia remarked. “But Rio, how did you ever get this one to tell you how she felt?” she asked, changing the topic, and Agatha shot her a grateful look, even if she worried Rio would read into Lilia’s words again.

“Well, I eventually worked up the courage to ask her on a date, we had a picnic and ended up stargazing and I asked her to be my girlfriend. That’s it really,” Rio replied, straightening, and Agatha let out a breath of relief at how well Rio had lied this time

“Honestly, we’ve known each other for so long, and we already acted like we were dating most of the time,” Agatha said with a laugh.

“Now that I’ve heard before,” Lilia said, a twinkle in her eyes. “Still, a year is a short time to start dating and get engaged.”

“Oh, we started dating four y-” 

“Months! Ago,” Agatha cut in, realizing the flaw in the backstory they’d agreed on in the car. While she wouldn’t have mentioned Evanora if she was engaged, let alone if she was dating Rio, Agatha most certainly would have told Lilia. Not to mention that she’d confided her feelings for Rio to Lilia years ago, and had spent almost every Christmas bemoaning the one sided nature of said feelings.

“Right,” Rio nodded slowly, “four months ago?” 

“I know it’s a short time to get engaged after starting to date, but we’ve known each other for almost a decade now,” Agatha said, scrambling to cover for Rio’s obvious confusion, shooting her a glance that she hoped told Rio to follow her lead, desperately hoping that Rio’s improvisation skills would miraculously improve. “But like I said, it felt like we were dating for most of it.” 

And she had forgotten, at times, that they weren’t together, that the affection Agatha held for the other woman wasn’t reciprocated. She would turn to Rio, smitten with every detail of her, caught off guard by something simple, the way Rio would pronounce a word, tie her hair out of her face. There was nothing she could do to help from falling more in love with every movement Rio made. 

So Agatha would lean toward the other woman, ready to kiss her or murmur how much she loved her. Yet she’d always caught herself before she could ruin their friendship. 

But now. . . just this Christmas, Agatha could indulge her fantasy, could allow herself to show her unbridled affection and Rio would dismiss it as part of the act. 

Agatha could be reckless in her love for once. 

“It has. I used to forget we weren’t dating before I asked her out,” Rio said honestly, echoing Agatha’s thoughts. “We’ve always been close.” She stabbed pasta noodles on her fork. “Agatha’s my person,” Rio added before taking a mouthful of pasta, and Agatha looked down at her own plate, trying not to show how the words affected her. It was almost unnerving how Rio had echoed Agatha’s thoughts, how well she acted as if she loved Agatha and for a moment Agatha wondered if Rio wasn’t just acting, if that almost kiss in the bedroom was more than a fluke.

“I’m afraid Agatha’s never been adept at relationships,” Evanora sighed. “I remember back in highschool she was with that nice Ralph boy. It’s a shame it didn’t work out.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Lilia countered on Agatha’s behalf. “She managed to get engaged just fine, and I think Rio here’s quite the upgrade, wouldn’t you agree Evanora?”

“Mmm quite,” Evanora forced out, and Agatha tried to hide a smirk. Whenever Lilia was around, she went to bat for her, keeping her ma in line as one of the few people who Evanora couldn’t upset. Though Agatha had never told Lilia about being sent to True Directions –Evanora had seen to that– she’d noticed how Agatha’s ma disregarded her long before she’d confided in Lilia.

“Well, I think it’s about time for you two to get your happy ending. I’ll tell you, I’ve been rooting for the both of you over the years, I’m glad I’ve gotten to finally meet you, Rio.” 

“It’s great to meet you too, Lilia,” Rio smiled genuinely, helping herself to some more salad. “You know, Agatha’s spoken a lot about you too, but I don’t think she’s ever mentioned what you do?”

“Well I have a clothing line, Lilia’s Lapels, but I started out with-”

“Lilia’s Leggings!” Rio interrupted, her mouth falling open. “You’re that Lilia! You’re Lilia Calderou, how did I not realize?” RIo shook her head, awe etched in her expression.

“I take it you’ve heard of me?” Lilia asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Are you kidding?” Rio breathed, “you’re the reason I was interested in fashion design! I read an article about how you started Lilia’s leggings and how you broke into the industry with your designs. You’re a legend,” she gushed.

“Thank you dear,” Lilia said, a pleased smile curling across her face. 

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me who she was,” Rio said, turning to Agatha. 

“Well I’m sorry, you never mentioned how much of an inspiration she was to you!” 

“And I’m disappointed you never told me Rio here was a. .  .” Lilia turned to Rio in interest. 

“Wedding dress designer,” Rio supplied. 

“I didn’t know it was relevant information,” Agatha huffed, taking a sip of her water, avoiding their affronted stares and making the mistake of letting her gaze land on her mother. Evanora gripped her silverware tightly, and Agatha froze slightly under her heavy disapproval, feeling cut down to a child again in an instant. Yet she could tell amongst her mother’s disgust as there was an undercurrent of satisfaction at how well the dinner with Lilia was going.

Rio laughed at Agatha, turning back to Lila, listening to her as the older woman launched into a spiel about her career in fashion, enraptured. She peppered her with questions, and eventually the conversation flipped back to Rio’s job and she pulled out her phone to show Lilia dresses she’d designed, explaining every facet of them, as well as some suits Alice had tailored. They’d gone into business together, both Rio and Alice were adept at dresses, but Alice was remarkable at tailoring suits, so they’d ended up offering both services. 

A small smile played at Agatha’s lips as Rio spoke, engrossed in conversation with Lilia, starstruck. It seemed she hadn’t needed to worry, Lilia and Rio were getting on splendidly. And so far the dinner was going just as well… Agatha risked another glance at her mother, trying to gauge her mood again.

It wasn’t just Lilia Rio was trying to make a good impression on, after all, she was meeting Agatha’s mother for the first- well the first official time. As far as Agatha could tell, Evanora was pleased, perhaps with Rio. Or at least she desperately hoped her mother was. But it was always hard to tell with her. Evanora’s temper could appear out of seemingly nothing and Agatha would bear the brunt of it. 

“Agatha?” Rio nudged her, an amused smile curling her lips. “You still with us?”

“Oh sorry,” she flushed, her attention snapping back to the conversation. “What were you saying?” 

“Evanora was telling me about the wonderful Christmas market you all have here. It sounds just delightful,” Rio said, addressing Evanora. 

“Yes well, it’s small but we’re proud of it,” Evanora replied. “You really should see it, we’d take you but I’m afraid Agatha and I will be busy shopping tomorrow. Not much time for sightseeing.”

“We will?” Agatha asked. 

“You didn’t expect your old mother to prepare for her famous Christmas eve party by herself, now did you?” Evanora scolded.

“Oh, of course not, ma.”

“You know,” Lilia drawled, “I’m quite free tomorrow and I’d love nothing more than to take you around town, if you’d be up for that Rio?” 

“I’d love that,” Rio perked up, grinning. 

“Excellent! Agatha can give you my number and we can figure out the details later.” Lilia clasped her hands in front of her.

“How lovely,” Evanora said. “I may be a bit biased as the mayor, but I’m sure you’ll love it. Now that it seems we’ve finished dinner, maybe have a light dessert?” 

“I don’t know if I could eat anything else,” Lilia said. 

“I don’t think Agatha’s finished with her dinner though?” Rio pointed out with a bit of an awkward chuckle, looking over at Agatha’s barely touched pasta. 

“Oh she never eats much,” Evanora said, waving her hand dismissively. “Skinny as a bird this one.” Rio looked as if she wanted to protest, but Agatha lay a hand on her arm. 

“I’m really not hungry,” she murmured and Rio’s lips pursed, but Agatha wasn’t lying. The leftover excitement of seeing Lilia again had turned from nerves to a pit in her stomach, only amplified by her mother’s periodic sharp stares and barbed comments with hooks designed to sink into her flesh. 

“Alright,” Rio conceded gently. Across the table, Lilia stood, pushing her chair in.

“It was wonderful to see you again Agatha, and to meet you, Rio. Don’t be a stranger, either of you. And Agatha we’ve still got catching up to do,” Lilia smiled warmly at her. “And Evanora, speaking with you was. . . just lovely as it always is” Lilia continued diplomatically, as she walked to the door. “Thank you for having me.”

“Of course, Lilia. You’re welcome anytime,” Evanora lied with a smile, handing Lillia her luxurious coat.  

“Goodbye, Agatha, and I’ll see you tomorrow, Rio dear!” Lilia waved, stepping out into the blustering wind and snow. 

“Bye Lilia,” Agatha closed the door behind Lilia, pausing a moment before turning and taking in her mother’s expression. Evanora appeared pleased, as Agatha had expected, a vaguely smug smile curling her lips. It wasn’t surprising, given how the dinner with Lilia was the most peaceful one in recent memory. While usually these dinners consisted mostly of snide comments passed between them, Rio had provided a buffer, leaving an atmosphere of tentative peace. 

But in a way, how well the evening had played out only further tangled the knot of dread in her stomach. 

Good times with Evanora never lasted.

Notes:

hahaa sooo what do ya'll thinkk? I'm sorry for the ending..
Comments are my motivation lol Even if I don't reply for a while just know I love each and every one ssm <3

Chapter 11

Notes:

ok, just like remember this will have a happy ending ok? They'll end up together and Evanora will receive her comeuppance.
Also uh so reminder of the timeline ig? Basically chapters 1-5 were set on Friday and now chapters 6-12 are Saturday. So this has all happened in the span of 2 days so far.

And I totally didn't realize it but we hit double digits last chapterrr!!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Sprawling out on Agatha’s bed, Rio stared at the ceiling. 

“I can’t believe I just had dinner with Lilia Calderu,” she said. “And I can’t believe you never told me you know her!” 

“I did tell you,” Agatha protested, opening a dresser drawer to pull out a pair of pajamas: flannel pants and a soft old college t-shirt. “You just never made the connection.”

“Well I didn’t think your … almost mother was her !”

“Almost mother?” Agatha snorted. “You know, I think she might be my godmother actually. You should ask her tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, WHAT?” Rio spluttered. “My future godmother in law is Lilia Calderu. I think I might pass out.” 

“Don’t faint in those clothes, it wouldn’t be comfortable, at least change first,” Agatha teased. 

“I need a moment,” Rio said, raising her arm and giving Agatha the middle finger. “I’m still in awe. I was not properly prepared for meeting my hero.”

“Careful, I might think you’re marrying me for my godmother.”

“Oh I am,” Rio deadpanned and Agatha just shook her head, slipping into the comfortable green flannel pants.

“Wait, what am I going to wear?” Rio gasped, sitting up.

“Seriously?”

“What if she thinks my fashion sense is terrible?” 

“Rio, sweets, you look good in anything,” Agatha assured her. “And Lilia is not going to judge you. She definitely likes you.”

“Good,” Rio sighed, lying down and sinking back onto the bed, picking up Señor Scratchy, patting his head. “Oh, but Agatha, I could have sworn we agreed that we’d say we started dating four years ago?” 

“We did, but I forgot, I would have told Lilia if we’d been dating for that long, and I didn’t obviously, so … four months,” Agatha explained. 

“Ah I see,” Rio said, a look entering her eyes that made Agatha distinctly uncomfortable remembering Rio’s promise to bring up Lilia’s comment about Agatha pining for her. 

Picking up her phone, Agatha texted Rio Lilia’s number before Rio could say whatever it was she was thinking of. Telling Rio who’s contact it was when she raised an eyebrow at the numbers very successfully distracted her and Agatha allowed herself an exhale of relief as Rio quickly set to work crafting a message. 

“Hey Lilia, this is Rio… nono, Hi Lilia, this is Rio,” Rio mumbled, formatting a text, her tongue poking the side of her mouth and Agatha leaned against the dresser, a smile creeping across her face. “Agatha gave me your number.. No she’ll know that duh.” Rio rolled her eyes, pausing as they caught on Agatha’s grin. “What?” she huffed, a crinkle appearing between her eyebrows. 

“Nothing,” Agatha said, turning towards the dresser so Rio couldn’t see the wave of affection overcoming her. Even after folding and tucking away her clothes, when Agatha faced Rio again, she couldn’t hide the love in her eyes. How was it possible, she wondered, –not for the first time– for her to feel so very much for anyone? There was nothing Agatha desired more than Rio, to hold her face in her hands and to whisper her love, to gaze upon the other woman until she went blind from her beauty. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Rio demanded, narrowing her eyes playfully. 

“Like what?” Agatha asked innocently, half lying down on her bed next to Rio, taking Señor Scratchy from her. 

“Like-” Rio waved her now free hand around Agatha’s face and made the mistake of dragging her fingertips down Agatha’s face. As Rio’s index finger reached her bottom lip, Agatha caught its tip in her mouth, teeth snipping around her finger gently. 

“Hey!” Rio yelped, pulling her finger back, cradling it in her other hand. 

“Gotcha.” Agatha smirked as Rio pouted. 

“Not nice. Are you ok lil guy?” Rio addressed her finger and Agatha snorted, about to tease Rio when the woman raised her index finger to her own mouth, kissing it, leaving a glimmer of Agatha’s spit shining on Rio’s lips. “Are you ok?” Rio asked and Agatha realized she’d made a slight choked noise. 

“I’m fine!” She smiled too wide, determined to hide the gay panic. Lying down completely, Agatha stared at the ceiling, her hands in a deathgrip around Señor Scratchy. 

“Agatha…” Rio rolled on her side to face her, and the warmth of her breath hit the side of Agatha’s neck. “Sometimes, you look at me and I- I just wonder…” Rio trailed off, leaving her words hanging in the inches between them, staring at Agatha’s suddenly still face while Agatha stared resolutely at the chipped white ceiling paint. 

Carefully–slowly–Rio traced the profile of Agatha’s nose with her index finger, pausing when she reached her lips again. Agatha’s throat bobbed and Rio’s eyes jumped to the movement before returning to where her finger brushed the other woman’s skin. 

“This…” Rio pulled back. “This is a bad idea, Agatha.”

“What is?” She whispered, already missing the featherlight touch. “We’re not doing anything.”

“But we are, you can’t say this is nothing. We need to talk,” Rio said, her stare not waning, and Agatha raised Señor Scratchy to cover her face, hiding behind the stuffed rabbit. “Agatha, the things Lilia said-”

“About her business?” Agatha interrupted. “I know, it’s very interesting, isn’t it? I think-”

“You know what I mean, Agatha,” Rio stopped her. “Can we please just talk about it?” 

“I-” Agatha stuttered, her brain scattered, trying to come up with a way out of the conversation. “I’m going to get a glass of water. Do you want one?” 

“No,” Rio said dryly. “I’ll be here when you decide to stop deflecting.”

 

Slipping out of the room, Agatha closed the door behind her, shutting Rio in with her jumbled thoughts. Could Agatha really have feelings for her? But no, she had clearly rejected Rio. Maybe Agatha returned her feelings but was simply scared, scared of ruining their relationship, scared that it would go south and she’d lose Rio. 

After all, one thing Rio knew about Agatha was that she didn’t handle large feelings well and she was terrified of people leaving her- her panic attack yesterday in the car had only more clearly reminded Rio that. In all the years Rio had known her, Agatha had only shared snippets of her history with Wanda, but she knew the woman had done something to her, something that left Agatha terrified that those who claimed to love her would abandon her. 

Perhaps … perhaps Agatha loved her back. For a moment Rio let herself hope, to dream of Agatha coming back and confessing her love, to tell Rio that she did desire to be her wife, that she’d wear Rio’s ring as a wedding ring and not just as a token of their friendship, that Rio would finally have a use for that black dress she’d been sewing for years, all while envisioning walking down the aisle to Agatha.  

Maybe the love she carried for Agatha would finally have a home.

~~~

Knuckles white, Agatha gripped the kitchen counter, her throat actually dry- not just a lie. But she didn’t reach for a glass of water just yet. 

It wasn’t that she was unused to physical affection from Rio, but the way she had caressed her face, the context of the word fiancée– Agatha felt her stomach churn from anxiety. She’d liked it too much, far far too much and she’d just been about ready to risk it all, to part her lips and take Rio’s finger in her mouth, to turn her head and close the few inches between them. 

But no, no. 

Agatha flexed her hands against the cold tile surface. No. Rio was too precious, Agatha couldn’t risk losing her. People Agatha loved had a habit of leaving her and there was only one common variable. 

Her. 

Somehow, Agatha screwed up every relationship in her life seemingly without trying. She didn’t know what she did wrong, why she could never be good enough, firstly why she could never make her mother love her, and then when she thought she’d finally found someone who did love her, Wanda had betrayed her without a second thought. 

The pattern was obvious. 

Of course, Agatha knew that it wasn’t her fault she had a dead father, a mother who hated her, and a shitty high school girlfriend. But still– she’d rather not take her chances with this. Miraculously, Rio had stuck around for a decade now, weathering through her emotional walls and panic attacks, she’d seen Agatha for who she was and she stayed . There was no way Agatha could survive it when Rio inevitably left her too.

Opening the cabinet and reaching for a glass cup, Agatha focused on breathing. She needed to be calm if she was going to lie. 

Rio was going out of her way to support Agatha, pretending to be her fake fiancée and the least she could do for Rio now was to not make this situation awkward by announcing her feelings for her. Besides, even with the almost kiss and …whatever that just was, there was no way Rio liked her back. Even if she did, Agatha knew she couldn’t hold the same volume of love Agatha held for her. Agatha wasn’t someone people should love like that. Shakily, Agatha filled the glass, justifying the lie to herself.

~~~

Rio sat, fiddling with her hands, when Agatha reentered the room, glass clutched in her white knuckled hands. 

“Agatha?” 

“Well-” Agatha leaned against the door, staring at the wall. “Lilia thinks I like you, you know, roommates and all that,” she tried weakly and was met with a disbelieving stare. “I’ve just told her so much about you, she always teases me about you. That’s really it.” Agatha shrugged.

“Why are you lying?” Rio whispered. 

“I’m not.”

“I know you, I’m not stupid,” Rio’s voice came out harsher and Agatha flinched. “Sorry,” Rio sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Just- please tell me? I can handle the truth, Agatha.” 

“Fine,” Agatha huffed, her fingers suddenly feeling weak and she struggled to keep her hold on the glass. “I,” her heart raced,”I, well I did like you. Romantically.” God , there wasn’t enough oxygen in the room. 

“You… liked me?”

“... I loved you and I’m sorry, I know that makes this all so much more awkward, with the whole fiancée thing, and I understand if you want to leave, and you can, I’ll like find an uber or something and-” 

“You mean you don’t have feelings for me anymore?” Rio cut off Agatha’s panicked ramblings in a timid voice. 

“I’m sorry,” Agatha repeated, her fingers feeling weaker. The silence felt heavy, pushing down on her. Her fingers trembled, and she tried to tighten her grasp on the slipping glass. 

She left the words on her tongue. 

 

I’m sorry I’m a coward, sorry that I’m too scared to tell you how I still feel. I’m sorry for telling you I love loved you, for making this awkward for you.

 

Rio sat there, silent and Agatha wished she’d just say something . But Rio was quiet, and when Agatha finally mustered the courage to drag her focus from the wall to her face, Rio was vacantly staring at the wall herself. 

“You know what, I’m- I’m not really thirsty, I’ll just pour this out,” Agatha said, suddenly desperate to be anywhere but here, with Rio. Her eyes still on Rio, Agatha turned too quickly, not looking where she was going. 

The glass shattered as she moved to open the door, her hand smashing it against the wall, pressing jagged edges into her palm. 

“Fuck!” Agatha yelped, kneeling, to pick up the broken glass, water making the pieces slippery. 

“Agatha, don’t!” Rio exclaimed, rushing to her side, placing her hands over Agatha’s busy ones, stilling them. 

“No, I can,” Agatha muttered, her hand full of pieces of broken glass. 

“You’re bleeding.” And Agatha paused, blinking as she finally noticed a large cut running down her palm. 

“I’m fine-”

“No, you’re not,” Rio said firmly. “Let go of the glass, Agatha.” And she obeyed, the pieces clinking to the ground. “Shit, your hand!” 

Agatha looked down, the sting only registering as she saw the larger cut was now accompanied by smaller cuts from the glass she’d picked up. 

“We need to get that washed out, there could be glass in there.”

“But,” Agatha looked helpless at the broken glass on the floor, “I need to clean it up.”

“I’ll do that. It’s just a glass,” Rio said gently, hand on Agatha’s shoulder. “It’s replaceable. Do you have a first aid kit anywhere here?”

“Down the hall, in the main bathroom.”

“Ok,” Rio paused, concerned. “Can I take care of your hand before I clean up the glass?”

“No, no, I can do it,” Agatha replied hastily, hating herself for rejecting Rio’s offer. But she couldn’t feel Rio’s care and gentle touch now- not after she’d just lied to her, to the woman she loved. 

“Alright.” Rio watched, still kneeling, as Agatha stood, fleeing her bedroom, leaving Rio alone with her thoughts again. 

~~~

Using a few tissues, Rio placed them over the wet glass, then used the damp paper to wipe up the small shards of glass. When all the shards were collected in a tissue and her hands no longer had a task to occupy them, Rio felt the weight of what had transpired hit her.

Agatha’s words rang loud in her mind. I’m sorry , she’d said, and Rio could hear the unspoken words. 

 

I’m sorry I don’t still love you, that you love me. Sorry that we didn’t love each other at the same time.

 

It had been the right person and wrong time. 

When, she wondered, had Agatha loved her? The summer they met? In college, in their tiny one bedroom apartment? When they’d moved to New York six years ago? And for how long had Agatha liked, no, loved , her romantically?  

Since that first summer they’d met at conversion camp, Rio had carried love for the other woman that only grew with every passing year. She’d thought it impossible, that it never waned, but here she was. 

What if she hadn’t gotten sick on the night of Agatha’s graduation? If she’d asked her out then, would they be together now? Would she have walked down the aisle in that black dress by now? 

Rio let herself slump against the wall next to the doorframe, not caring that the spilled water dampened the legs of her black slacks. Scenarios played out in her head, a thousand different moments when she’d been too cowardly to confess her feelings changed, a version where she’d been brave enough, a timeline where they’d had the timing right, where Agatha said yes. Yes to a first date, yes to a proposal, and then finally , I do. 

Tears slipped down her face and fell, leaving dark green splotches on her silky button up. She’d long since accepted that she’d never stop falling every time she looked into Agatha’s piercing ocean blue eyes, that the overwhelming wave drawing her to Agatha would drown her over and over and over again. 

When Agatha had so gently turned her down yesterday morning, Rio’d thought her heart had broken, but she’d been prepared, expecting it. She hadn’t dared hope Agatha loved her in the same way. 

When Rio had flipped open the suitcase, the postcard she’d written sitting on top of her clothes, the knowledge Agatha had read what was legible of it had only broken her further.

When Rio had been down one knee, slipping her mother’s ring onto Agatha’s ring finger, she’d felt hairline fractures run through her heart, but seeing the ring on her finger had started healing her. 

But now… knowing there had been a chance, that Agatha had loved her in the same way ripped out her heart and Rio wasn’t sure it’d ever fully heal. 

Maybe she should leave, give herself a respite from the woman she loved, at least until the end of the holidays. Rio was tempted to pull out her phone and look up uber prices… but no. 

Rio hadn’t come here to leave, she was here to support Agatha, to protect her from her mother. Scrubbing at her face, rubbing her tears away, Rio sniffled, scolding herself. Agatha already had enough to deal with here, the last thing she needed was Rio falling apart. So Rio hugged herself, curling up against the wall.  

Rio slowed her breathing, tears subsiding and eventually her chest stopped heaving in silent sobs. She just hoped Agatha hadn’t heard her breakdown.

Frowning, Rio paused at the thought. Where was Agatha? Surely the cuts wouldn’t take that long to bandage? Worried, Rio got to her feet, checking her eyes in the mirror to ensure Agatha wouldn’t notice she’d been crying. Picking up the tissue with the broken glass to throw out, Rio left to go find Agatha.

Notes:

I'M SORRY this is what happens when I write when I'm depressed ig
Also like them not being able to communicate? ME like if someone likes me, I need them to literally spell it out for me bc like I swear if I was Agatha I'd be completely convinced that Rio was just being friendly smh
ok but like I hope I wrote this clearly enough so yall can tell what's actually going on w their feelings bc they're messyyy 😭

Chapter 12

Notes:

ok I actually lowkey felt bad leaving yall with that ending so here's the next chapter, I rly hope yall like it bc I wrote literally sm today so I could post this asap lol

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

In the bathroom, Agatha washed off her cuts, small glass shards joining the tinted water as it swirled down the drain. Distantly, she knew it hurt, but her mind was stuck on Rio’s face. Her vacant stare- the grief in her eyes as Agatha had apologized. 

Had Rio been hoping for Agatha to love her? Did Rio really return Agatha’s affections? Just a few days ago, Agatha would have scoffed if someone had told her Rio loved her, but now… her mind lingered on the almost kiss in the bedroom, Rio’s touch caressing her face. 

No, she shook herself, absentmindedly drying her hand. It wasn’t worth it to try- Rio was too precious, Agatha wouldn’t survive her leaving too. No, she thought, a relationship wasn’t worth messing up what they shared. 

But that look on Rio’s face– it worried Agatha in a way she didn’t like, her stomach twisting and shoulders feeling heavy. She couldn’t tell if Rio had been mad or angry or disgusted... or if she’d broken her heart. 

 

“Shit,” Agatha mumbled, as she noticed the white towel was now stained with blood. Sighing, she opened the closet, grabbing the first aid kit. Hesitating for a moment, Agatha left the bathroom, intent on returning to her room. All she wanted was to return to Rio, to make sure that look on her face was gone, replace it with a smile or at least be there. And even though she’d lied to Rio and rejected her care earlier, Agatha still craved the comfort Rio offered and she just longed for Rio’s gentle touch as she bandaged her hand. 

Walking down the hallway, Agatha winced as blood beaded on her hand, the crimson splotches on the towel growing. As she passed the living room, she saw Evanora reading in an armchair. Her mother looked up and Agatha quickened her pace, passing the doorway. 

“Agatha?” She internally groaned.

“Yes ma?”

“Come here.” Agatha swallowed, her feet heavy as they brought her further from the bedroom, away from Rio, and back to the living room doorway. “Sit down,” Evanora instructed, gesturing to the chair next to her, and Agatha obeyed silently, waiting while her mother read. Agatha wondered if her mother had even noticed the bloody towel and first aid kit she was holding.

“So,” Evanora started after a few minutes, folding the page down in her book and setting it aside. “Rio, she’s … ” her mother paused, her face thoughtful, “passable,” Agatha relaxed, “at conversation at least. Make sure to coach her on what to talk about with Lilia. I can’t exactly have her running her mouth about where you two met with election season just around the corner, and especially around Lilia.”

“Y-yes ma,” Agatha stuttered, surprised at the approval. 

“If you’re going to bring disgrace on this house, at least ensure it will help my campaign,” Evanora said, her upper lip curled. 

“Right,” Agatha said, training her eyes on the wall, blinking. 

“What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, just um,” Agatha held up her hand wrapped in the towel, “I was getting some water and uh I broke the glass.”  Evanora shook her head, clicking her tongue. 

“You’re getting that towel stained. Give it to me, I’ll put it in the wash,” Evanora said, standing and walking away, leaving Agatha confused in the living room. Her mother had said Rio was “passable”, that had to count for something , right? Maybe she’d come around, maybe if Evanora just saw how wonderful Rio was, she’d approve of Agatha just this once. Maybe she could be good. 

Entering the room, towel left in the laundry room, Evanora broke Agatha out of her ruminations. 

“Did you clean up the broken glass?” she asked briskly.

“Rio’s doing that.”

“Good, give me your hand,” she said, and Agatha instinctively obeyed. “I didn’t raise you to be so clumsy. How did you even cut yourself like this?” Evanora muttered.

“I told you, I was-”

“Hush,” Evanora said, opening the first aid kit and taking a wipe to clean the cuts, concentrating on Agatha’s hand. For a moment, she just stared at her mother, the care Evanora took in wiping each cut off unfamiliar to her. 

“I um I already…” Agatha started to tell her mother she’d already washed her hand off, but stopped. 

“Already what?” her mother asked and Agatha just shook her head, not wanting the care in her mother’s actions to disappear. 

As long as Agatha could remember, her mother had been the type to tell her to buck up and deal with any pain, if not ignore Agatha’s cries altogether. Her father was the one to tend to her, scoping her up and kissing her scrapes. Yet as she thought, a picture formed, a faint memory of how things used to be, before he’d died. Evanora had loved her as a young child. And Agatha still didn’t know what she’d done to lose that love. If she could just be good enough again…

She winced as the cuts stung from the sterile wipe. 

“I um I just didn’t expect you to approve of Rio,” Agatha said and Evanora snorted. 

“Approve? Oh dear, don’t mistake me allowing Rio into this house, more than I should have, as approval . I will never accept, much less approve of this.” Of you , her disdainful look said, and Agatha wilted slightly. 

“The only good thing to come of this is that she gets on well with Lilia,” Evanora frowned, covering the smaller cuts in bandaids.

“If you'd just give her a chance,” Agatha pleaded, “Rio’s wonderful, ma.” 

“Anyone who'd love you clearly isn't of sound mind,” Evanora snapped, unwrapping a larger bandaid, holding Agatha’s hand steady in hers, the tender action at odds with her hatred, and Agatha wished her mother still loved her.

“...Father loved me,” she replied quietly and Evanora’s hands stilled, the band aid half stuck to Agatha's palm, above the largest cut. “I know he did, he used to tell me every night.” At that, Evanora’s jaw clenched, and her grip on Agatha’s hand tightening until it started to hurt. “You used to tell me that too,” she continued in a whisper, frightened by the dark look in her mother's eyes and the pain in her hand but able to stop the words from slipping out. 

“Your father,” Evanora’s nails dug into the skin near the cut, “loved you,” blood welled up, “too much,” red started to seep through the smaller bandaids, “for his own good.” 

“What?” Agatha’s voice broke. 

“You are nothing.” Venom filled her mother’s voice. “You were never worth his love,” she paused, “the things you’ve caused– you’ve brought me nothing but destruction, child,” Evanora shook her head and released her death grip on Agatha’s hand. 

“Goodnight Agatha,” she said, collecting herself and standing. “Make sure to throw away the trash.” Evanora gestured to the bandaid wrappers. 

“No, what did you mean?” Agatha asked desperately as Evanora left the room leaving her head swirling. “What…what have I caused?”

For a while she sat there, staring blankly ahead, everything fading to the background, the blood that pooled from the cut on her palm congealing and the sting of the other cuts waning. The words rung in her ears, played on repeat in her mind. 

What had she done? Racking her mind, Agatha tried to remember, trying to think of what her mother blamed her for. Her father had always loved her and to her knowledge, he’d gotten sick and passed away before she’d turned seven. Surely his death hadn’t been her fault? Agatha already knew she wasn’t good enough, that she’d never really deserve Rio’s love, but surely, surely , someone getting sick couldn't be her fault?

~~~

Rio walked from the kitchen towards the bathroom, wondering if Agatha was still there. Pausing, she peeked her head into the living room, and saw Agatha sitting in an armchair in the corner, vacantly staring ahead of her.

“Agatha love?” She murmured, approaching her and Agatha’s head snapped up, blinking as if she was disorientated. “Are you alright?”

“I– of course,” Agatha replied, but her voice cracked in her attempt to sound normal, and Rio’s brow creased in worry. 

“Can I look at your hand?” Rio asked cautiously, and when Agatha nodded, she knelt by the chair, taking Agatha’s hand in her own. Covering the cut with the bandaid, Rio smoothed down the edges, looking up at Agatha. “Did- did something happen?” She asked hesitantly.

“Let’s go to bed?” Agatha responded, and Rio nodded, standing, keeping Agatha’s hand in hers as they walked down the hallway to the bedroom. 

When they reached their room, Agatha slipped into bed, curling up under the blankets, holding Señor Scratchy tight against her chest. Gazing at Agatha, Rio felt her heart break again. Something had happened, she was sure, something more than their conversation, but she didn’t know what. The woman she loved was hurting and she felt helpless. 

“Can you turn off the light?” Agatha asked. 

“Yeah, let me just get my pjs,” Rio replied, kneeling and unzipping her suitcase. Pulling her clothes out, she saw the postcard she’d buried under them. The sight of it made her chest tight and Rio quickly shut the suitcase. Slowly, she took in a deep breath- she couldn’t cry now, not in front of Agatha, not in the state she was in. Remember, she squeezed her eyes shut, remember Agatha’s dealing with her mother and pretending to be engaged to the woman she used to love who currently loves her.

Choking back a semi hysterical laugh at the situation they were in, Rio changed into her pjs, one of Agatha’s old college shirts and flannel pants. 

Darkness shrouded the room as she flicked the switch and cautiously walked over to the bed. 

“Ow shit,” Rio muttered, wincing as her knee hit the edge of the bed and she heard a muffled snort of laughter from Agatha. Well, she figured, at least it had gotten a laugh out of Agatha. Joining her under the covers, Rio let her fingers gently comb through Agatha’s long dark hair. 

“Were you laughing at me?”

“At you? Never,” Agatha responded and Rio could hear the smile in her voice. Agatha rolled over, facing Rio though she could only make out the vague outline of her face in the dark. 

“Agatha… What happened?”

“My mother,” Agatha let out another laugh, though this one was bitter. “She just doesn’t approve of me, I suppose.” 

“Why do you come back here every year?” 

“She’s my mother.” Agatha sighed, the air tickling Rio’s face. “I don’t know… I guess I just hope maybe she’ll accept me someday? Is that stupid to hope for?” She asked, voice small.

“No, no, of course it isn’t Agatha,” Rio assured her. “But she just hurts you so much, I’ve held you every year while you cry after seeing her, and it just makes me so mad. Sometimes holding on hurts us more than it helps.”

Pulling back, Agatha scowled. “What are you saying? That I should just cut ties with my mother? I’m not heartless. I know you stopped talking with your parents, but I’m not you, I couldn’t do that, Rio.” 

“Did you- did you just insinuate that I’m heartless?”

“No! I’m sorry–”

“It wasn’t my choice to cut ties with them, you know that,” Rio continued, hurt. “And the only reason Evanora didn’t disown you at the end of camp like my parents did was because you played straight and I didn’t. If I pretended like conversion camp worked, my parents would have taken me back.”

“I’m sorry,” Agatha murmured again, reaching out, and to Rio’s embarrassment, wiped a tear from her cheek that Rio hadn’t noticed escaping. “I didn’t mean to imply that at all. I remember the nights you cried like this over them. I’m sorry, I was thoughtless, my love. Forgive me?”

“Of course,” Rio responded, blinking back her tears, ashamed she’d let herself fall apart in front of Agatha. “I just hate seeing you hurt when it could be avoided.”

“And I feel the same about you,” Agatha said, brushing her hand over Rio’s cheek. “But she’s my mother, I can’t not come home.” 

“You could,” Rio retorted and Agatha huffed, frustrated. 

“Didn’t you listen to anything I said?”

“Did you hear anything I said?” Rio gritted her teeth. 

“I-” Agatha took a deep breath, “- let’s just go to sleep?”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

Rolling onto her back, Rio stared at the ceiling, a hand tugging at the bare necklace chain. Ironic, she thought, that she was finally where she belonged, by Agatha’s side, where she had longed to be just last night while crying. The ring was on her love’s finger, and she was only inches from her, but she felt so very far away. And– damn it– here she was, crying again. 

With the hand not clutching the necklace, Rio rubbed at her eyes, trying not to let Agatha notice the tears. She was successful– she thought– until she sniffled, loudly. Agatha turned toward her, and Rio winced. 

“Here,” Agatha muttered, a scowl in her voice, taking Rio’s hand from the necklace and intertwining her fingers with her own left hand.

“What are you…?”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice how you used to hold the ring whenever you were upset. Plus you keep holding the necklace even when it’s gone. I just.. I thought maybe holding the ring might help?” Agatha said hesitantly and Rio smiled, sniffing. 

Taking their interlaced hands, Rio took Agatha’s hand to her mouth, kissing her ring finger. 

“Thank you, mi amor,” she whispered. 

“Yeah, well I can’t sleep if you’re crying.” Agatha huffed, covering for her softness, and Rio scoffed. 

“Don’t pretend like you’re not just as soft inside.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Amor, you’re literally cuddling a stuffed bunny and I noticed that you stole my flannel pjs.”

“I thought you weren’t going to make fun of me for the bunny,” Agatha pouted, yawning and closing her eyes as sleep started to overtake her. 

“I’m not poking fun, I just think it’s cute.”

“I’m not cute,” Agatha grumbled, scrunching up her nose in annoyance and Rio had to hold back a laugh, because– though it was dark– she’d never looked more adorable, curled up in Rio’s pjs around a stuffed rabbit, hand clutching Rio’s just as tightly as Rio held hers. 

“And the pjs?”

“You-” Agatha yawned, making adorable sleepy noises, “stole all my clothes I packed for Toronto for like a month.” She snuggled closer to Rio, head tucked against her shoulder, her hair tickling Rio’s face. 

“Revenge then?” Rio asked amused, yawning herself as she closed her eyes.

“Mmm,” Agatha murmured against Rio’s neck. “Plus you smell good and your pjs smell like you.”

“You- you smelled my pjs?” Rio choked out, very much awake now, but there was no response. “Agatha?” She’d fallen asleep on top of Rio.

“Fuck,” Rio whispered, shaking her head. “Agatha, you're driving me crazy, I love you so much, it’s not fair.” Kissing Agatha’s hand again and resting it over her heart, Rio closed her eyes, letting the warmth from Agatha slowly drag her into sleep.

Notes:

heyy so like at least that ended happilyish right??
Also I made myself yawn literally sm writing them yawning lmao, I can't stop now, maybe I'm just tired af

posting this in the middle of the grammys and yayyy chappell wonnn

uh but I literally have none of the next chapter written yet- a first for me, (bc I wanted to put this ch out asap, bc like originally ch 11 and 12 were supposed to be one chapter but it got too long lol) I've always had at least part of the next chapter written before posting so uh it might take a bit longer for the next coupla chapters, sorry in advanced

Chapter 13

Notes:

heyy so uh guess what im alive, sorry this took me literally forever, I swear life hates me or more like 2025. I swear like why. just why.
uh but I'm almosttt done w school (YAY) but not quite yet.
in other news I'm now a legal adult so that's scary omg but I got a tattoo tho which is sickkk

i reallly hoped yall like this (not my finest ch but it's decent I hope) and that everyone hasn't forgotten this exists 😭 i think it is my longest ch yet?

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Agatha snuggled deeper into her bed, not wanting to get up. The blankets engulfed her in a pleasant warmth as hazy morning consciousness creeped up on her. Unwillingly, Agatha cracked her eyes open to find herself half on top of Rio, the warmth radiating not from the blankets, but Rio’s arms. Selfishly, she didn’t move, snuggling closer, and letting her head rest upon Rio’s chest, their legs tangled together. 

Sunlight slowly creeped in from the small crack in her curtains eventually reaching her eyes, and Agatha groaned, finally blinking fully awake. She gazed at Rio’s sleeping face for a moment, a smile brought to her lips by Rio’s messy brown hair and the half snores. Tucking a few strands of Rio’s brown hair behind her ear –not that it did much to improve the state of her bed head– Agatha reached over her to check the time on her phone, 9 am. 

Internally, Agatha debated whether she should get up or not. On one hand, it was much too early to get up when she didn’t have to, Rio was so very warm under her, and Agatha was extremely comfy. What reason did she have to get out of bed?

The answer came as the previous day’s memories slowly came back to her while she closed her eyes, cuddling Rio and trying to go back to sleep. Fuck . She’d confessed to Rio and Rio had just sat, silent and Agatha had fucked it up even more by breaking that glass. And then her mother had– no Agatha couldn’t think of that now. 

Rio stirred slightly under her and Agatha stiffened, her previously relaxation replaced by tension running through her limbs. They’d been in this position before, both being cuddlers and having fallen asleep next to each other enough times. But that was before, when Rio didn’t think that Agatha loved  had loved her. What if Rio woke up to find Agatha on top of her? What would she think? 

Nothing, Agatha told herself firmly, willing her heart to stop its anxious rhythm. Rio wouldn’t think anything of it, wouldn’t be disgusted. Still– Agatha shuddered at the thought of her flinching away, disgust flirting across her face, at Rio looking at her in the same way Wanda and her friends had after Wanda had lied and outed her.  

Guilt crept in at likening Rio to them, to thinking she’d hurt Agatha in the same way. But the panicked sensation twisting her stomach refused to leave no matter how hard she tried to reason with it. So, Agatha inched out of Rio’s embrace and out of bed, careful not to wake her sleeping fianceé. 

Goosebumps traced up her arms as the warmth from Rio’s embrace quickly dissipated in the winter morning air. With a slight shiver, Agatha closed the gap in the curtains, so Rio wouldn’t wake before Agatha grabbed a sweatshirt and slipped it on. Sitting on top of the covers next to Rio, Agatha pressed a kiss to Señor Scratchy’s white and brown speckled forehead before tucking him into Rio’s prone arms and pulled the blanket up around Rio’s shoulders.

Hugging her knees to her chest, memories from the day before flooded her brain. Agatha studied Rio’s peaceful sleeping face, only now realizing that she’d been crying yesterday, and not just when they’d fallen asleep. Though Agatha had been out of it when Rio had found her in the living room, she’d passively noticed red rimming Rio’s doe brown eyes.

Agatha had been the cause of that, the reason Rio had been crying then and again, in bed, when Agatha had practically accused her of being heartless. 

Oh God, what was wrong with her? Agatha pressed her hands against her face. Why couldn’t she stop herself from hurting Rio? Eventually Rio would realize that Agatha didn’t deserve her and she’d leave, leave like Wanda did, like everyone did. 

No , Agatha told herself, she could be good, she had to be good enough to keep Rio. Just– no more crying, no more hurting her, and certainly , no more confessions of love. After all, she’d managed to not drive Rio off for ten years. Surely she could manage a few more, she needed to.

Squeezing her eyes shut and hugging her knees tighter, Agatha rocked back and forth, trying to make herself breath but somehow only succeeding in the opposite. Next to her, Rio turned, kicking off part of the covers, and Agatha froze, terrified she’d woken Rio. Not waiting to further disturb Rio, Agatha scrambled off her bed, tucked the covers back around the sleeping woman, and hurried out of her room. 

~~~

The wooden kitchen floor was cold beneath her bare feet as Agatha padded to the fridge, pulling out yogurt and granola. Shivering, she looked out the frost covered windows to the snowy weather. Moving to check the temperature on her phone, Agatha silently cursed, finding her pocket empty, realizing she’d left it on the night table. She’d just have to check the forecast later. 

As Agatha assembled her breakfast, her mind wandered back to last night. Had Rio thought her weird for stealing her pajamas? No, she dismissed the idea, they’d borrowed each other’s clothes plenty of times… but maybe now that Rio knew that at some point Agatha loved her… Agatha cringed. Was it strange? Would it change their friendship? 

Her stomach twisted as she stared despondently into her bowl, her appetite gone, drowned by her worries. Staring at the bowl, Agatha tried to remember why she needed to eat, woodenly swallowing spoonfuls of yoghurt. 

Thick in her throat, Agatha almost coughed as something emerged from the hazy memory of sleepiness. After Rio had teased her about stealing her clothes- hadn’t she said something? Yes- as Agatha had been on the verge of sleep, Rio had murmured words quietly into her hair so softly, Agatha couldn’t be sure if she’d even said anything. Desperately racking her brain for the words she knew were important, what Rio had murmured came back to her. 

Was it a dream?

Rio had said she loved her.

 

~~~

 

Rio turned, burying her head in her pillow, blindly reaching her hand around for covers before realizing they were already tucked tight around her. Smiling, she curled up, sighing contentedly. Gradually consciousness caught up with her, dragging her from the depths of her peaceful slumber. Sitting up, Rio frowned, casting her eyes around, confused for a moment at her unfamiliar surroundings and the stuffed rabbit clutched in her hands. 

Slowly, Rio realized where she was. Feeling the bed beside her, the sheets cold to the touch. Agatha must have gotten up a while ago. Rio frowned, wishing Agatha had stayed in bed with her, wanting selfishly to wake up to her face. But then Rio remembered the blankets around her– she had the unfortunate habit of kicking them off and couldn’t remember the last morning she woke up with covers warming her.

Agatha must had tucked the covers around Rio and nestled Señor Scratchy in her arms when she’d had gotten out of bed. Rio shook her head at the stupidly sappy smile that bloomed across her face at the simple gesture. 

“I’m never getting over her,” she murmured against Señor Scratchy’s fur, flopping back onto the bed. “She’s so sweet, isn’t she?” Rio held Señor Scratchy up. “She doesn’t say it but she really does care about me, you know? It’s nice to finally spend Christmas with her but ugh,” Rio groaned, “I just wish it wasn’t here with Evanora. Speaking of which, I better go make sure she’s not alone with Agatha.”

Getting up and tucking Señor Scratchy under the covers, Rio changed into a warm outfit, topping it off with a thick red flannel. Grabbing her and Agatha’s phones, she wandered out of the bedroom, hoping she’d encounter Agatha before Evanora. 

Walking around, Rio found the kitchen– and Agatha. 

“Morning Agatha,” Rio said in a raspy voice full of sleep.

“Good morning sleepyhead,” Agatha replied, pulling Rio into a hug. 

“Mmmmm,” Rio hummed, sinking into Agatha, resting her head on her shoulder. “Did you put the covers on me?”

“I did.”

“Thank you,” Rio murmured, leaning back and brushing Agatha’s hair behind her ear, kissing her forehead. “I’d rather have had you next to me, but I suppose Señor Scratchy was nice.”

“Well, if you’d woken up earlier…” Agatha said, smirking suddenly regretting not waiting in bed next to Rio. Inwardly Agatha bemoaned the way she’d let her stupid fears stop her from watching Rio wake up, from being the first thing Rio saw when she opened her eyes, from being able to pretend, for the short week she had, that Rio was actually her fianceé.

“Ablabahblah,” Rio jabbered nonsensically, sleepily pressing her finger against Agatha’s mouth. “Hush, it’s almost Christmas, we don’t have work. It’s a crime to get up early.”

“Oh is it?” Agatha snorted.

“It is,” Rio huffed, pulling Agatha’s phone out of her pocket and handing it to her. “And maybe if you hadn’t gotten up so early, you wouldn’t’ve forgotten your phone.”

“Thanks, sweets,” Agatha said, ignoring the playful jab.

“So, breakfast?” Rio prompted, and Agatha motioned to the food out from her own breakfast.

“Yogurt ok?” she asked, and, when Rio nodded, Agatha got out another bowl and spoon. While her back was turned, Agatha spoke, trying to keep her tone casual. “Oh, by the way, Rio, I almost forgot to ask but what was it you said last night?”

“When?”

“You said something right as I was falling asleep?” Agatha asked, biting her lip. “Something important?”

“I- uh I don’t remember,” Rio stuttered, her eyes wide, glad Agatha wasn’t facing her or she was sure her face would reveal her lie. “You were sleep talking though.”

“Oh.” Agatha turned, a smile plastered to hide the way her heart had dropped. “Hope I didn’t say anything embarrassing.”

“Hmm, well I recall a bit,” Rio said with a teasing grin and Agatha froze, suddenly terrified she had said something like oh, maybe a confession of love? “You said, Rio, you're always right, I don’t know why I ever disagree with you.” Rio smirked. 

“Very funny,” Agatha said dryly, hiding her relief, lightly hitting Rio’s arm in annoyance as she passed her the utensils. As Rio assembled her own breakfast, Agatha sat beside her. 

So. She’d dreamed Rio saying she loved her. That was normal. That was completely fine. Agatha was not freaking out, her face was not red. Was this whole situation really messing with her so much that she couldn’t tell reality from her dreams anymore? Agatha sighed; she should have known better than to hope.

“Earth to Agatha?” Agatha blinked, realizing she’d been staring at Rio.

“Sorry, what were you saying?” 

“I texted Lilia, she said we’ll meet before lunch at the Christmas market?”

“Oh yeah, sounds good,” Agatha murmured, her mind still stuck on the dream. 

“Are you ok?” Rio asked hesitantly, enveloping Agatha’s cold hands in her own.

“Mhmm, just tired.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened with Evanora now?”

“I-” Agatha tensed, looking around. “Not here. She’s still home.” 

“Alright.” Rio nodded, taking another spoonful of yoghurt. The crunch of the granola filled the quiet kitchen and Agatha scooched her chair closer to Rio, leaning on her resting her head against Rio’s shoulder. Bringing her other hand up, Rio ran her fingers through Agatha’s thick dark hair. Letting out a small humm of contentment, Agatha closed her eyes. The click of the heating was the only other sound in the house, and Agatha let herself relax into Rio’s touch. 

“Agatha?” Rio murmured.

“Yes?” 

“You know how last night, you said I could leave?” Rio said hesitantly and Agatha’s eyes flew open, her world coming to a halt. She’d uttered those words in panic, not wanting Rio to feel trapped with her, trapped with Agatha’s unwanted affection. Bracing her shoulders, Agatha prepared for the inevitable. 

“I remember,” she replied, willing her voice not to betray her thoughts. You said you wouldn’t leave me, you promised, the voices inside her shouted, the child unwanted by her mother, the teenager abandoned by her girlfriend.  

“I think–” Rio paused, considering her words “-- I know you didn’t like the idea last night, but couldn’t we both just go home?”

“We just got here last night, Rio.” Agatha scoffed. Then, her voice sincere, she said, “you can leave though. I don’t want you to feel like you have to stay.” Every fiber of her tried to stop her but the words came out anyways.

She needed to let Rio leave, Agatha wouldn’t have her here unwillingly, no matter how desperate she was for her. Knowing and giving Rio a way to desert her was the right thing to do, Agatha told herself. 

Rio’d grow sick of her eventually and maybe the day’d come sooner than she’d hoped, but Agatha knew with sickening certainty that she couldn’t stop it. And if that day happened to come today because she’d made the offer- well it was better than being abandoned outright.

“Of course not,” Rio said, confused. “Agatha, I promised you I’m never going to leave you and I meant it. I’m not going to let you stay here with her,” Rio spat the word, “without me.” 

“Oh.” Agatha said. “You’re really not going to leave?” she blinked, fighting against the hope bubbling within her. 

“Never, Agatha, never,” Rio replied earnestly, her hands returning to their motions, running through Agatha’s hair, twirling pieces around her fingers. “I love you.”

“I know,” she whispered, twisting the ring. 

“But, really, I think we should leave. This place obviously isn't healthy for you and-” Agatha shook her head. 

“No, Rio. We talked about this before and I told you no.” 

“Fine,” Rio said shortly, gently nudging Agatha off of her. She huffed, offended that Rio would push her off just for disagreeing, until she saw Rio had finished her breakfast and had gotten up to wash her bowl. 

As Rio shut off the water, Agatha spoke. “I shouldn’t have let you come with me.” Rio opened her mouth to disagree, but Agatha shushed her, continuing. “You're not used to this, love. And I'm glad you're not, but this is my life, and I don't need you telling me how to live it.” 

Rio bit her tongue, forcing herself to pause before she spoke. “Ok, Agatha. You're right,” she sighed. 

“I am? I mean yes, I am.” 

“I can’t tell you what to do, and god knows it’s useless to try,” Rio snorted, drying her hands. “But you shouldn’t be used to being treated badly by your mother or anyone else. Please Agatha, don’t ask me just to stand by, don’t ask me not to at least try to protect you?”

“I- I suppose that wouldn’t be fair to you,” Agatha conceded begrudgingly. “But maybe I don’t want you to fight for me all the time, maybe I just need you to be here to listen and hold me… or whatever,” she tacked on, tugging on the sleeves of her sweatshirt, suddenly feeling vulnerable. Rio’s eyes softened, and she walked around the table, hugging her against her chest and resting her chin atop Agatha’s head.

“Of course amor, I’ll hold you whenever you need me,” she whispered, kissing Agatha’s forehead. “But I also can’t just stand there and watch her hurt you, because I love you.”

For a while, they stayed like that, Agatha sitting, leaning against Rio as she stood, running her fingers through Agatha’s long locks, murmuring I love you’s. Warm in each other’s arms, they watched the snow swirled outside the frosted kitchen window panes. 

Agatha wished desperately that it hadn’t been a dream, that Rio meant it in the way she did. The more she thought of it, the more certain Agatha was that Rio had said those words, had whispered her love in the dead of night when she’d thought Agatha was asleep. Was Rio ashamed of her? Or maybe… maybe Rio was like Agatha, sure that her feelings were unreciprocated. After all, Agatha had flat out told her she didn’t have feelings for her anymore. No, but even if Rio felt the same way, her feelings would pass eventually. Agatha couldn’t let herself be greedy, couldn’t chase Rio away.

Still, almost against her will, Agatha found her mouth opening to ask Rio again, to ask her if she loved her. 

“Rio-”

Bringggg They both startled as Rio’s phone interrupted her. 

“Sorry,” Rio muttered, “just ignore it.” Agatha hesitated, her bout of courage -or was it stupidity- disappeared. 

“It's alright Rio,” Agatha said dismissively, shrugging out of Rio's arms.

“No, you were saying something,” Rio said over the ringing. 

“Just answer,” Agatha insisted, half annoyed, half relieved. Rolling her eyes, Rio pulled her phone out.

“Hey Alice.”

“Hey,” she replied shortly.

“Is something wrong?” 

“Uh yeah, I've been waiting for you for like an hour?”

“what?”

“Umm brunch?” Alice said.

“Oh shit,” Rio facepalmed, groaning and Agatha snorted. 

“You didn't tell her you were going?” Agatha whispered, amused. 

“No, I forgot to tell her,” Rio hissed. 

“Tell me what?” Alice asked curiosity tinting her voice. 

“It’s a long story,” Rio hedged, knowing Alice would never let her live it down.

“Is it?” Agatha scoffed, and Rio glared at her as she continued, smirking. “Just tell her we got engaged and you’re spending Christmas with me in Salem.”

“WHAT” Alice shrieked, “no fucking way Rio, you actually told her-” Scrambling to find the volume button, Rio turned it down just in time to avoid humiliation. 

“I’m just gonna take this in private,” Rio said flustered and hooked her thumb in the direction of Agatha’s bedroom. 

“Alright,” Agatha sighed, disappointed to miss out on what she was sure would be a very amusing conversation. “Well don’t forget to tell her to water my plant.” Rio nodded, but Agatha pinned her with a stare. “Seriously, Rio. I spent too much effort to let it die now.”

“Got it,” Rio said with an awkward thumbs up, disappearing into the hallway. 

“Are you alone now?” came Alice’s amused voice.

“Mhmm.”

“She still doesn’t know that plant is fake?”

“No,” Rio groaned, checking over her shoulder to make sure Agatha was out of earshot.

“God you are going to be in the dog house when she finds out,” Alice chuckled. 

“I know, I’ve meant to tell her but she’s so proud of keeping it alive. She waters it every day,” Rio said desperately. 

“It’s been a year, you’ve had plenty of chances to tell her,” Alice scoffed and Rio hung her head. ”Just make sure she finds out after the wedding.”

“Well.. about that,” Rio hedged as she shut the door to Agatha’s room behind her. “There’s not going to be a wedding.”

“What do you- wait first off when did you get engaged because it better have just happened because WHY did you not tell me about this.”

“It’s not a real engagement,” Rio blurted. “I- she- it’s not, we’re just pretending to be engaged so that- so that… I don’t know.”

“No,” Alice groaned, dismayed, “I thought you two finally got together. I’m sorry Rio. You mean you didn’t tell her how you feel, that you’ve loved her for- how long has it been- a decade?”

“No, I did!” Rio protested. “That’s actually how this all started, I actually asked Agatha to be my girlfriend- well I more offered to be her girlfriend really.”

“And how exactly does that lead to a fake engagement?”

“Well Agatha told her mother that she was bringing home her girlfriend, and so I offered to be her girlfriend. But…” Rio sighed, “she turned me down. She was really nice about it though, she pretended that I’d offered to be her fake girlfriend instead.”

“Rio,” Alice said hesitantly, “are you sure she knew you were being serious?”

“I- I was,” Rio stuttered, mind reeling. Thinking back, the whole conversation did seem a bit odd. “Oh fuck did she? She- no- I don’t- oh shit I don’t know she did.” 

“Only you two,” Alice said and Rio could just see her shaking her head, exasperated. “Well hang up and go tell Agatha you love her, you fool!” Rio’s body almost obeyed instinctively, and she had the door halfway open before she stopped, closing it again and sitting back on Agatha’s bed. 

“Nope, I already did, multiple times. It was pretty clear, Alice.”

“Uh Huh, sure.”

“Listen, she saw part of the postcard I never gave her and when I proposed I basically told her what I wrote from the post card like I fell in love with her and… yeah,” Rio sighed. “She never said she felt the same.” 

“Wait, firstly- you proposed. For a fake engagement.”

“Uh yeah?” Rio huffed defensively. “She basically asked me to.”

“Of course Agatha did,” Alice muttered, sounding pissed off.

“I um, I proposed while we were ice skating and I gave her my mother’s ring.”

“You did?”

“I asked her to wear it even if she gets married,” Rio mumbled. “I don’t see how she couldn’t know I love her.”

“Oh, Rio…that’s… I’m sorry.” 

“God, you don’t need to sound so sorry for me,” Rio replied, feeling almost insulted.

“I think I do actually,” Alice said. “Still, I feel like she might not know.”

“You really think so?”

“I think you’re a shit communicator.”

“Oh wow, ok,” Rio scoffed, “thanks so much.”

“Don’t even try to disagree.”

“Alright, fine. But even if she somehow doesn’t know… she doesn’t love me like that.”

“Have you even seen the way Agatha looks at you?”

“No, Alice,” Rio said quietly. “I, uh, last night we talked and she said she used to love me romantically. You know, as in she doesn’t love me like that anymore.” She tried to let out a laugh, but it ended up sounding more like a sob. Closing her eyes, she swallowed, wiping at her eyes. 

“I'm sorry, I just could have sworn… I'm sorry,” Alice repeated sounding lost. “But Rio, are you ok being there? You can always come back for Christmas with me like usual.”

“No,” Rio replied resolutely. “Agatha needs me here, you know how her mother is.”

“I really don't,” Alice said. “Agatha doesn't talk much about herself, well, to anyone but you I suppose.” 

“Well, she's the one who took Agatha to True Directions and she hasn't changed much since then.”

“Yikes,” Alice grimaced. “I understand, but still Rio, take care of yourself, you worry me sometimes with how you are around her.”

“What?” Rio bristled, “Why?”

“You have no self preservation when it comes to her,” Alice sighed, “I don’t think I need to remind you of when she had that date-”

“Mhmm yeah, thanks Alice, I remember,” Rio snapped. “Listen, I should go, I'm going shopping with- oh my god, I forgot to tell you- Lilia Calderu.”

“... you're fucking with me,” came Alice's unbelieving response. 

“Nope,” Rio said cheerfully, smirking at Alice's shock. “She's Agatha’s- wait-” she cut herself off at the sound of a wooden creak from outside the door.

“Uh, Alice I'm going to have to call you later, ok?” Rio whispered.

“Wait you can’t just-” Alice sighed. “Just please take care of yourself, ok?”

“Whatever you say.” Rio hung up, doing her best to tiptoe to the door, wincing at the loud creaks she made. Flinging open the door, she found the hallway deserted. 

Had it just been her imagination? Rio wondered, her nails tapping anxiously against the doorframe.

Notes:

literally tysm for your nice comments last ch like I read those so many times, they made me so happy, u have no idea
no promises on how long the next one will take but let's all hope it's not 3 months again. (I'M SORRY)
also hehe sorry abt the end (not rly) I'm also like so curious abt what u guys think is gonna happenn bc like I have plans but also they're subject to change if anyone has ideas I like lmao
oh and say hi to me on insta at sg_derseetang (like literally please I'd love to chat abt anything) I post art stuff, mostly aaa fanart tbh lol (I have a few new fanarts that imma post soon and honestly that's mainly what I've been doing instead of writing)