“Are you sure you remembered everything?” Agatha is chewing on a thumbnail as she watches Rio sift through Nicky’s bag, her anxiety clearly written in the tapping of her foot on the wooden floor in their living room and her furrowed eyebrows.
Rio and Nicky respond affirmatively at the same time, the former zipping up the large pocket before holding the bag up so that Nicky can put his arms through the straps.
“I promise, mama,” he answers, nodding resolutely.
“Toothbrush? Toothpaste? Underwear? Socks?”
“Check, check, check, and-” Rio pauses for a moment, opening the backpack again to pull out a pair of Super Mario Brothers themed socks, “check. Great choice, Nicky.”
She replaces the socks and zips the bag closed again. He smiles up at her, to which she smiles back and musses up his hair. It’s growing long again, and her heart swells at how nice it is to see him looking like himself. Rio looks back up at her wife and raises an eyebrow, waiting for any questions.
“Are you sure you really want to go?” Agatha bends down and holds out her hand for Nicky to grab. Rio’s hand drops to her side as he walks toward his other mom and she places both of her hands in her pockets as she watches them. “If you’re not ready, we can wait. We’re way more fun than Aunt Jen and Alice, anyway.”
She pulls him closer to her and tickles his sides, which elicits a squeal from him along with his protests for her to stop. He breaks free of her grasp and moves to stand in front of Rio to prevent any further tickling.
“Aunt Alice said she would let me play one of her guitars,” he says, shifting from one foot to the other in excitement. Agatha and Rio both gasp in awe at that, despite the fact he has told them this three separate times over the past couple days.
“You’re gonna come back a rockstar, huh?” Agatha asks and Nicky nods his head, mimicking a few strums on an air guitar.
The doorbell rings then, and he bolts for the door, not allowing either of his moms time to catch up before he throws the door open to reveal Jennifer standing on their doorstep. He throws his arms around her middle, his momentum nearly throwing her off balance, but she’s able to save herself and returns his hug.
“Hi Nicky,” Jennifer greets him as she pats his back a few times. “Are you ready to have the best sleepover ever?”
He nods his head aggressively as Rio and Agatha come up to the door, the former offering a wave to their friend.
“Thanks again for offering to have him over at your house,” Rio says, lifting an arm to put around her wife’s shoulders. “He’s really excited.”
“We’re happy to have him. Alice is out grabbing dinner right now while I pick up our guest of honor,” Jennifer replies, lifting a hand and placing it on Nicky’s head.
Agatha remains quiet as Rio and Jennifer talk, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Rio. She looks at her wife, who’s looking at Nicky, her lips in a thin straight line. Rio gives her shoulder a light squeeze, which seems to break the spell Agatha is under and she looks up at Rio while a light blush spreads across her cheeks.
Agatha clears her throat and looks to Jennifer. “Yeah, thanks for taking him.”
“We’re gonna miss him, but we know he’s gonna have a lot of fun.” Rio lowers her arm and bends down to be at Nicky’s level. “Be good, okay?”
Nicky nods and releases Jennifer to throw his arms around Rio, squeezing her before letting her go and wrapping his arms just as tightly around Agatha. She returns his hug, and for a moment it looks like she’s not going to let him go. He manages to wiggle free and turns around to run down the path to where Jennifer’s car is parked.
“Hey!” Rio calls out, waiting for him to turn around before she raises both eyebrows at him. “Forgetting something?”
He heaves a big sigh and runs back toward them, waits for Agatha to bend over so he can give her a kiss on the cheek before he tells them both that he loves them. Satisfied, Rio nods her head and he turns back around to run toward Jennifer’s car again.
“If you need anything, we’re a call away,” Rio says, opening her arms to pull Jennifer into a hug.
“We’re gonna have a great time. I’ll take a bunch of pics for you,” Jen says when she pulls away. “Back for noon tomorrow, right?”
Rio nods her head in confirmation.
Agatha has gone silent again, but she accepts an awkward hug from their friend nonetheless. They say their goodbyes and Jennifer turns around to follow Nicky. They both watch as they load into the car, offering waves as the vehicle backs out of the driveway and heads north down their street.
When they walk back into the house, Agatha immediately heads toward the large window in the living room, watching the street even though Jennifer’s car is beyond where they’re able to watch anymore. Rio watches her stare out the window in silence for a few seconds, arms crossed and holding her elbows.
“Is it too late to tell him that he’s not allowed to leave the house until he’s 18?” Agatha finally asks after a moment. Though it’s said as a joke, Rio has a sneaking suspicion she’s only half kidding. Rio uncrosses her arms and takes Agatha’s hand to pull her away from the bay window, toward the couch. She sits down first before pulling her into her lap and wrapping her arms around her waist. Agatha takes the opportunity to sink into her, head resting on Rio’s shoulder and face pressing into the side of her neck.
“I don’t know that he would get the best education if he never left the house,” Rio points out, one hand moving to rub Agatha’s back.
“We have friends who could fill in the gaps.”
“Imagine the nonsense Lilia would put into that kid’s head. Do you really want that?” She asks, to which Agatha groans in response. “I don’t want to let him out of our sight any more than you do, but it’ll be good for us. And for Nicky.”
The past few years, it’s felt like if they spent too long focusing on anything other than their son, then something bad would happen. This - one night of Nicky sleeping over at Jen and Alice’s house - is a step forward for them, and a necessary one at that. They can’t spend their entire lives waiting for the other shoe to drop. At least, that’s what their therapists have agreed on.
“I hate psychology. Total crackpot science.”
“Yeah, but I don’t mind getting to spend the night alone with you. When was the last time that happened?”
Agatha hums in agreement at that. Her head lifts and she meets her eyes with a mischievous smile. “Maybe you have a point.”
Rio grins back at her, the hand on Agatha’s back moving to hold her cheek. Her thumb starts to slowly stroke her cheek while her eyes lower to look at her lips.
“I knew you’d come to see things my way.” She leans forward and presses a kiss to her lips, thumb moving to stroke along her jaw. When she pulls away, she keeps their faces close together.
“What did you want to do first?” Agatha’s voice is soft, breath hot against Rio’s lips.
Instead of answering, Rio just grins again and leans forward to reconnect their lips.
---
Despite their best efforts to make the most out of having the house to themselves for the night, Rio and Agatha end up falling asleep before 8 pm. They order a pizza after making out on the couch for a while and settle in to watch a movie that neither of them really has any interest in. The movie is only on for half an hour before both of them are lulled to sleep. Around midnight, Rio wakes up to an entirely new movie playing. She carefully moves Agatha so as to not wake her from her sleep, stretches, and collects the pizza box from the coffee table to put away the leftovers. Once that’s done, she returns to the couch and leads a still half-asleep Agatha upstairs to bed. They take a few minutes to brush their teeth and change into pajamas, a giggle passing between them when they separately choose matching white tank tops. Both shirts belong to Rio, but this is something she’s come to accept in the four years they’ve been married (five in July). When they settle into their bed, Agatha in Rio’s arms, it doesn't take long for them to both fall back asleep.
The first thing Rio notes when she next wakes up is that Agatha is no longer in her arms. She shifts onto her back and stretches her arms above her head, a long groan escaping her lips as she does so. She opens one eye and looks toward the alarm clock on her bedside table. 3:24 am. Agatha must have gotten up to go to the bathroom.
Rio turns onto her side again and closes her eyes, pulling the blanket above her shoulders to protect herself from the loss of warmth due to her wife’s absence. She’s on the precipice of falling back asleep when she hears a thud coming from the bathroom attached to their bedroom, followed by Agatha swearing. The tone of her voice has Rio out of bed before her brain can really catch up to what is going on, heart beating hard in her chest. Agatha must be able to hear her approaching the door because Rio hears the lock click just as she’s lifting her hand to the handle. She reroutes and instead knocks lightly on the door three times.
“Agatha? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, I just dropped my phone. You can go back to bed.” Her voice is muffled through the door, but Rio still hears the edge in it.
“Are you sure? I’m here if you need anything,” she tries again, hopes that she’ll hear the door unlock. Instead, she hears Agatha let out a frustrated breath.
“Rio, I’m fine,” she all but barks and that lets Rio knows that this is a losing battle. “Go back to bed.”
Her heart is beating too fast to even think of such a thing, but she knows she isn’t getting anywhere from across the door. She takes a calming breath and nods even though Agatha can’t see it.
“Okay. I’ll be out here if you need me. I love you,” she replies, waiting until she hears Agatha’s soft ‘I love you, too’ before she retreats to the bed.
She lays back down on her side, facing away from the bathroom and toward the alarm clock again. She watches the minutes go by slowly, incapable of sleep even if she wanted to. It’s 3:34 am when she hears the sink running in the bathroom, followed quickly by the lock clicking again and the door opening. She does her best to keep her breathing calm to not raise suspicion. The bed dips behind her and the sheets shift as Agatha gets back into bed, scooching closer. She almost thinks she’s gotten away with it until Agatha speaks up.
“I know you’re awake, idiot. You’d be snoring if you were asleep.”
Rio scoffs at that, rolling onto her back before alternating to her other side so that she can face Agatha. The light in their bedroom is dim, solely illuminated by the moon coming in through the skylight, but it doesn’t take much for Rio to be able to see the puffiness in Agatha's eyes. She’s been crying.
“I don’t snore,” Rio says, opting to not comment on Agatha’s face. If she wants to talk, she will.
“You do. It’s a wonder I ever get any sleep.” Agatha follows this up by mock-snoring, obnoxiously loud enough that Rio reaches out to push her shoulder despite her smile.
“Well, you obviously don’t mind it, considering you stuck around,” Rio says. She lifts her arm to rest her head on her hand, looking down at Agatha.
“Your pros outweigh your cons.” She pouts her lips like she’s considering something in her mind. “For now.”
Rio rolls her eyes and rolls onto her back again. She holds her arm out and allows Agatha to move closer and rest her head on her chest, arm lowering to rest on her back. Rio’s free hand moves to rest underneath her head on the pillow. They lay like this in silence for a moment, Rio rubbing slow circles on Agatha’s back. Agatha is nervously playing with the hem of Rio’s tank top - she knows that she wants to say something, so Rio gives her the space to put the words together in her mind before she speaks.
“I had a nightmare,” Agatha finally says. She doesn’t look up and keeps her eyes focused on where she’s fiddling with Rio’s shirt. “About Nicky.”
Rio takes a second before she answers, continuing to rub soothing circles on Agatha’s back.
“What happened?”
“Same thing as always.”
Rio nods her head, eyes focused on the skylight above them. For years, since Rio and Agatha first found themselves across a large desk from a pediatric oncologist, Agatha has been plagued by the same recurring nightmare. She and Nicky are having a picnic, laying on their backs and cloud gazing. Agatha closes her eyes and the next they open in her nightmare, Nicky is laying next to her, not breathing, and she can’t seem to wake him up. No amount of yelling his name and shaking his body can wake him and when she calls for help, no one can hear her. The first time she’d had this dream, she’d woken up breathing heavily and sweating profusely. Rio had spent half an hour sitting with her as she brought herself back to reality, and she’d really only felt better when they’d gone into Nicky’s bedroom and Agatha had been able to see his chest rising and falling with his breaths. Over the years since that first time, Agatha has become slowly desensitized to the nightmare, although every so often Rio will wake to Agatha’s hard breathing, body shaking with the excess fear from the nightmare. Rio does her best to support her when this happens, reminding her to breathe and holding her hands as Agatha returns to reality. Since Nicky has gone into remission, the nightmares have all but stopped.
“I’m sorry, baby,” Rio consoles her, pausing her hand from rubbing circles to tighten her arm around Agatha. She knows there isn’t much that she can say when these nightmares reappear; she can tell Agatha they’re not real until she’s blue in the face, but the fear behind the nightmare is. So, when they decide to rear their ugly head, Rio does her best to listen and support. She can’t prevent the bad dreams, but she can hold Agatha tightly as she recovers from them, a quiet, steadying reassurance in a sea of anxiety. “Did you go into the bathroom to call him?”
Agatha doesn’t respond for a couple of seconds and Rio loosens her arm to continue rubbing soothing circles on her back.
“Yes,” she slowly admits, and Rio can hear the shame in her voice. “But I decided not to. I didn’t want to wake him up this early in the morning. He needs his sleep.”
“We could call Jen,” Rio offers, head tilting down so she can look at Agatha. It’s way too early in the morning and she knows that Jen would kill her, but if that’s what it takes to make Agatha feel better, then so be it.
Agatha tilts her head up and seems to consider this for a second before she shakes her head.
“No, we don’t need to. In a few hours, he’ll be up and we can check on him then.” She doesn’t sound entirely confident on this. “I appreciate you offering to piss off Jen to make me happy, though.”
“Agatha, I would walk to Jen and Alice’s house across town and bang on their door until they answered to let me check on Nicky if you asked me to,” she says, an equal mixture of earnest and joking. This elicits a small smile from Agatha, and it takes everything in Rio to not pump her fist in the air in triumph.
“You’re brave. Stupid, but brave.” Agatha lays her head back on Rio’s chest. “Jen would tear your head off for disrupting her beauty sleep.”
“And Alice would stab me for pissing off her wife,” Rio acknowledges, pressing a kiss to the crown of Agatha’s head before she rests her head back on her pillow again. “All worth it for you, my love.”
They settle into silence again, Rio returning to her stargazing through their skylight and Agatha continuing to play with the hem of Rio’s tank top. Rio knows that her wife is still pulling together her thoughts, and she waits patiently. She appreciates the thought that Agatha puts into her words when they’re having a meaningful conversation. It hasn’t always been like this - early on in their relationship, they’d both been quick triggers, not thinking before speaking, feelings hurt by expressing thoughts and fears haphazardly. It’s taken time and hard work, and they both slip up on occasion, but they work through it. Agatha has always had a sharp, biting tongue, and Rio appreciates the work Agatha puts in to dull it in order to not cut her.
Rio looks down again when Agatha lifts her head, placing her hand on Rio’s chest so that she can rest her chin on it. Their eyes meet, and Rio gives her a reassuring smile. That seems to give Agatha the confidence to speak again.
“How do you do it?”
“How do I do what?”
“How do you not let this stuff get to you?” There’s no accusation in Agatha’s voice, only curiosity, like somehow Rio holds the secret to all of life’s curiosities, which appears to include the cure for anxiety in Agatha’s mind. “Aren’t you scared?”
Rio purses her lips as she thinks of how best to answer this question. She can recount whatever her therapist has told her recently, borrowing words she only half believes most of the time, but she doesn’t think that will help right now. Agatha doesn’t need $150 per hour sentiments from her wife, she needs to know she’s not alone. So Rio settles on complete honesty.
“I’m scared shitless most of the time. Sometimes, I feel like I’m going to throw up when I get a phone call that I’m not expecting. My stomach fills with dread and I have to lean against a table or a chair just to catch my breath,” she answers honestly, swallowing when she feels a lump start to build in her throat. “The other day when you called me at work and I missed it, I thought I was going to flip because you didn’t answer when I called you back a few minutes later.”
Agatha’s lips curl down into a frown at the memory. “Nicky was using my phone to watch a video. I didn’t see you called until he was done.”
“I know. and ultimately it ended up being totally fine,” she reassures her, lifting her hand from Agatha’s back to brush her hair out of her face. Rio rests her hand on Agatha’s cheek and in turn, Agatha tilts her head to rest against Rio’s hand. “But when stuff like that happens, I just… I don’t know. I take deep breaths. Try to remember that we’re okay. That Nicky is okay. A lot of the time, I call you, even just to ask you how your day is going. It makes me feel better, hearing you talk about whatever’s going on.”
She can see tears starting to form again in Agatha’s eyes, uses her thumb to wipe them away before they can fall. She has to take a shuddering breath herself before she can continue.
“So I guess… I don’t know. It does get to me, more than I’d like to admit. But I know that I can talk to you and feel less alone in it all. And I hope you know that you can talk to me, too, when you need it.”
Agatha lays her head back down on Rio’s chest when she finishes speaking, so Rio moves her hand back to Agatha’s back. She doesn’t speak, but Rio can feel her uneven breathing and her tank top grow wet against her chest. Rio lays her head back and keeps rubbing circles on her back, letting Agatha catch her breath.
“I’m so scared to lose him, Rio.” Her voice is small and watery, and the sadness in her tone makes more tears spring to Rio’s eyes.
“I am, too. But he’s doing so good. God knows you can’t keep that boy down. He gets it from his mom.”
Agatha wraps her arms tightly around Rio and squeezes. Rio returns the gesture, holding onto her just as tightly until Agatha’s arms finally loosen and her breathing is even again.
“Thank you.” Agatha’s voice sounds tired and when Rio looks up at the clock again, it’s after 4 in the morning.
They lay in silence for another moment before Agatha speaks up again.
“Will you rub my back until I fall asleep?”
Rio continues her soothing movements, leaning down to kiss the top of her head again.
“Always.”
—-
Rio is already awake when it starts to rain outside. She hears the soft taps of raindrops hitting the skylight above the bed and looks up, lifting her head to rest it on her hand as she watches the window slowly become covered in rain. She hears a sigh to her right, feels the bed shift, and she can’t help the soft smile that comes across her face when she turns to look at Agatha asleep next to her. Her eyes trace the features of Agatha’s face while she sleeps, the serenity of her expression. Her lips are parted a touch and Rio’s eyes travel down to watch her chest rise and fall with even breaths. Rio’s thankful for a lot in her life these days - a job she loves, a healthy and loving family, good friends - and mornings like this make her feel like she’s won the lottery, no matter how many of them she’s had. It’s comforting to know that the hard nights can’t stop the soft mornings from arriving.
“It’s creepy to stare at people when they’re sleeping, y’know.” Agatha’s voice breaks Rio out of her reverie.
“Who says I’m staring? You haven’t even opened your eyes yet,” Rio responds.
One blue eye opens, makes eye contact, and promptly shuts. “You’re always staring. Creep.”
Rio barely holds in a laugh, chin jutting out in her faux outrage despite the fact Agatha’s eyes are closed. “Wow, name-calling when I’m all that stands between you and having to make your own pot of coffee…” She trails off, shaking her head. It’s a bluff, and not a very good one. She’s been making Agatha coffee every morning for as long as they’ve lived together, but it’s fun to threaten it either way. She sits up in bed and lifts the covers off of herself, and just as she’s about to stand up, a hand reaches out and pulls her back down. Arms wrap around her to hold her down, Rio’s back pressed to Agatha’s front. She does her best to stifle a giggle. “Let me go.”
“Not until you say you’re making me coffee.”
“After being called a creep? In your dreams.”
“Please, my love, won’t you please, please make me coffee?” Agatha playfully begs. Her breath tickles against the back of Rio’s neck.
Rio hums in thought, as if there’s a world in which she doesn’t go downstairs and do exactly as she’s asked. “What do I get out of this arrangement?”
“Eternal gratefulness and my utmost love and devotion.” A kiss is pressed against the back of her neck before the arms holding her down are retracted, allowing for Rio to sit up in bed again. “And I won’t make fun of those stupid shorts for at least 20 minutes.”
“Nicky got me these,” Rio defends, frowning as she looks down at the Minecraft-branded sleep shorts she’d received at Christmas. They match a pair that he owns and are honestly her most comfortable sleep shorts.
“And you look like a dork wearing them,” Agatha sighs out. By her tone, Rio can tell that she’s on the edge of falling back asleep. Rio turns around to watch Agatha pull a pillow tightly into her arms, head turning to face the opposite direction. “Now go make me coffee to remind me why I keep you around.”
Rio stands up from the bed and pulls the blanket up over Agatha’s shoulders, places a soft kiss against her hair. She doesn’t even make it across the room before she hears soft snoring behind her coming from the bed.
An hour later, Rio is standing in front of the counter next to the stove when she hears the creaking of footsteps coming down the stairs. She’s half reading a recipe from her phone, half humming along to a song on the radio as she eyes measurements of flour into a large bowl in front of her. She places the measuring cup down and moves over to the coffee pot, pouring some into a prepped cup that she’s had waiting since the coffee finished brewing. She had figured it would be awhile before Agatha actually came downstairs and hadn’t wanted her cup to be cold by the time she rolled out of bed.
Coffee poured, she returns to her task of making breakfast and finishes measuring out dry ingredients just as one arm wraps around her waist, another hand landing on her hip. Agatha’s front presses against Rio’s back and she feels a pair of lips against the back of her neck. She lets out a happy sigh, leaning her body back against Agatha’s.
“Is this part of my reward for making you coffee?” Rio asks, pausing in her work to place one hand over the one on her stomach.
“Mhm.” She feels the hum of Agatha’s lips against her skin and closes her eyes, lost in the cozy feeling. Between Agatha’s warm body behind her, the soft music playing on the radio, and the soft sound of rain falling outside, Rio thinks this is the height of domestic bliss. She thinks that if heaven is real and she’s earned her spot, she’ll end up back here in this moment.
A grumble leaves her lips when they’re interrupted by the oven beeping, signaling that it has preheated. Rio opens her eyes and pats on Agatha’s hands to move from her stomach. She reaches for the tray of potatoes she’d prepared earlier and uses a mitt to place them into the oven. When she turns back to her wife, she’s holding her coffee mug in two hands, holding it up to her face and inhaling the scent with her eyes closed. Rio takes a mental picture of this, the relaxation on Agatha’s face, her hair in a messy ponytail. She’s wearing one of Rio’s green flannels and it hangs loosely on her. Rio is once again struck by how completely lucky she is; it makes her heart beat heavily in her chest.
“You’re staring again.” Agatha’s eyes open and she doesn’t hide her smirk as she takes a sip from her mug. “I should start charging you.”
“I’d be broke within a day, but I’d be happy,” Rio says, shrugging a shoulder. Her wife is hot, sue her. She turns back to the mixing bowl on the counter and starts measuring out wet ingredients. She hears footsteps behind her, followed by the sound of one of the stools at the island sliding on the floor.
“Yeah, well, as soon as those pancakes touch the pan, you better focus up. The last thing we need is you burning down the kitchen.”
“I’ve only almost started a fire in here-” she pauses, fingers counting off instances as she remembers them, “-four times. That’s not a crime.”
“You’re only counting times you’ve almost started a fire in this kitchen. Don’t forget when the fire department showed up at our last place three nights in a row.”
“Flambéing is a lot harder than it looks.”
“All I can do is pray that our son doesn’t get your questionable cooking skills.”
Rio turns and gives Agatha a look over her shoulder, unamused by her accusations. “I’m a great cook and Nicky will be too.” She returns to her task and mixes the wet ingredients with the dry, stirring until she’s happy with the consistency. She moves over to the stove and turns on one of the front burners, placing a pan over the small flame.
She loses herself in the motion of making pancakes, pouring dollops of batter onto the greased pan, doing her best to make every cake the same size. She horribly burns her first attempt, but the second comes out perfect. When she turns to show it to Agatha, she catches her staring, head in one hand. Rio lowers the spatula and points an accusatory finger.
“Now who’s the creep?”
Agatha shrugs a shoulder in response. “I’m staring at those ugly shorts.”
Rio rolls her eyes, flipping her off before she returns to making pancakes.
“You love ‘em, you’re just too proud to admit it,” she says and Agatha laughs in response. Rio focuses back on making their breakfast and it doesn’t take long before there’s a stack of pancakes for the two of them. She checks the timer and sees there’s still some time left before the potatoes are finished. She lifts the plate with the pancakes and places it on the island behind her before turning back to the stove and collecting dishes to place in the sink. She can get started on cleaning them before the potatoes are finished.
She turns the sink on and runs water over the mixing bowl to thin out the batter stuck to the sides.
“I can do the dishes. You did all this cooking.” Agatha moves to stand at her side, bumping her hip with her own to indicate for her to move. Rio stands her ground, shaking her head.
“I’m happy to do it, I’m the one who made the mess,” Rio says with a shrug. Before she can grab the sponge, Agatha snags it and holds it out of her reach.
“Move it, Vidal.”
Rio sighs, turns off the faucet, wipes her wet hands on a dish towel before she turns to fully face Agatha. Rio gives her a long look, lips in a straight line.
“Why are you fighting me over this? You hate doing the dishes.”
“Why are you fighting me? You cooked, I’ll clean.”
Rio huffs out a breath, working to control her annoyance. She doesn’t understand why Agatha has decided she wants to die on this hill right now.
“Just give me the sponge, you’re acting like a child.” Her tone isn’t entirely dissimilar from how it sounds when Nicky is doing something he shouldn’t and Rio has to chastise him. Agatha proves Rio correct further by, instead of handing over the sponge like an adult, electing to use her body weight to shove Rio out of her way so that she can stand in front of the sink. Satisfied with herself, Agatha turns the faucet on and wets the sponge, shooting a satisfied smirk in Rio’s direction before she sets to washing the collection of dishes in the sink.
Rio’s tongue presses into the side of her cheek and for a moment, she considers letting her pettiness get the best of her. She knows that if it came to it, she’d win a battle of strength over Agatha. The logical part of her brain, though, screams that she doesn’t need to wrestle with her wife over something as trivial as a few dirty dishes, no matter how much she wants to. She elects to take this moment to refill her mug with more coffee before pulling a stool over to sit beside Agatha at the sink while she works.
She rests her elbow on the counter, watching Agatha’s side profile. She takes a long sip from her mug before she speaks.
“Is there a reason why you body checked me over the dishes, or did you wake up with a new passion for household chores?” She deadpans. She raises an eyebrow when Agatha pauses and looks at her sideways.
“Just wanted to help you out, God forbid.” Agatha’s lips purse when Rio lets out a scoff.
“Deter all you want. I have-“ Rio pauses, glances at the oven timer to see when the potatoes will be done, “-seven minutes until I need to get up. So, I’ll just sit here and wait.” She finishes by taking another sip of coffee from her mug.
To her credit, Agatha does ignore Rio’s staring for a good while. They stay there like that, Agatha washing dishes and Rio staring at her with nearly unblinking eyes, for almost half the time left on the oven. Rio almost feels like she’s going to lose this standoff, but just as she is about to give in, Agatha lets out a loud huff of breath and throws the sponge into the soapy bath on the right side of the sink. She angrily turns off the faucet and places her hands on the edge of the sink. Rio can see her knuckles turn white, she’s gripping it so hard.
“I just felt like-“ Agatha cuts herself off, eyes squeezing shut. Rio watches her take a grounding breath and slowly, her hands start to release the sink from her lethal grip. “It felt like… I don’t know. I wake you up in the middle of the night, you console me. I fall back asleep, I wake up to you making this nice breakfast. And then you even start to do the fucking dishes.”
Agatha lifts her hands from the edge of the counter and grabs the dish cloth, drying her hands. When they’re dry, she continues to play with the edges of the cloth.
“I felt like a piece of shit, so I acted like one.”
Agatha opens her eyes and tilts her head to the side so that she’s able to look at Rio from the corner of them. Before Rio can say anything, she’s interrupted by the timer blaring from the oven. She raises a finger to indicate for Agatha to hold where she is. Rio gets up from her stool and dons the oven mitt again, opening the oven and removing the sheet of potatoes. She sets it on the oven and shuts off the appliance, takes off the oven mitt and places it next to the hot pan.
When she’s done, she returns to Agatha by the kitchen sink, ignoring the stool she’d been sitting on and instead leaning her side against the edge of the counter. She reaches her hands out to place them over Agatha’s still fiddling ones. She takes the dish towel and places it down on the counter before she maneuvers Agatha to turn so that she’s facing Rio. She raises a hand and places it under Agatha’s chin when she refuses to meet her eyes.
“I didn’t do all of that to make you feel like a piece of shit. Actually, the goal was pretty much the opposite,” Rio says, trying to keep lighthearted in the hopes that it keeps Agatha’s mood from dampening again. “I’m sorry to have missed the mark.”
“Don’t apologize, you didn’t miss anything. You do so much for me, you deserve something back.”
Not for the first time in their marriage, Rio curses Agatha’s mom for teaching her that love is a transactional thing. So many of their arguments boil down to this and just once, Rio would like to throttle Evanora Harkness. That would unfortunately require either time travel or necromancy, neither of which Rio is capable of. For now, she’ll have to continue to put in the work to remind Agatha that what she does is out of love, not score keeping. The effort is more than worth the reward of being loved by Agatha.
“I don’t need you to do anything back,” Rio assures her, nose curling in distaste at the last word. “I hold you in the middle of the night and I make you breakfast because I love you, simple as that. I want to do nice things for you when you’re sad. It’s not some elaborate scheme to get one over on you, I just want to see you smile.”
It’s a little heavy emotionally for a cozy Sunday morning, but she hopes that Agatha can see the earnestness in her expression. Agatha weighs her words for a long moment, lips pursed before the corners of her lips uptick ever so slightly. It’s small, but it’s enough for a broad grin to spread across Rio’s face.
“I guess,” Agatha starts, trying her best to keep her growing smile at bay. “I’ll wash dishes and you can dry and put them away.”
“Agatha Harkness, ever the compromiser,” Rio gushes, placing a hand over her heart. She receives a smack on her shoulder, which just makes her laugh in response. When Agatha goes to hit her again, Rio grabs her wrist and holds it, lifting her hand up to kiss her palm. “That sounds very fair. I accept your terms.”
“It’s a pleasure doing business. Now, let’s eat before everything’s cold.”
Rio releases Agatha’s wrist and steps aside so that she can pull out two plates for them. She watches Agatha go about setting up their plates at the island, grabbing condiments from the fridge, even grabbing Rio’s mug from where she’d left it on the counter so that it’s now placed next to her plate. Rio feels that swelling in her chest again, can’t help the wide smile on her face, even when Agatha calls her a creep again and pulls her away from the sink to fix her own plate. All she can think as she sits down for breakfast across from her wife is that there’s never been a luckier person in the entire world.