Rio
Rio clutched her head in hands, hunched over on her throne as this new sensation did not leave her. It was human, taking over her whole body as everything felt slow, moving was like a daze, and her eyelids were heavy again, begging her to close them. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in bed with her wife in her arms. She groaned, trying to shake out of it as she sat back, summoning the new magic. This magic was somehow colder than death, it wrapped her in ice as her existence grew, moving from the cottage and into the plane.
The realm was almost exactly the same as the living. Cites, farmhouses, suburban plans, even old villages and castles stretched across the land. Rio and Agatha had spent the last months dividing the land, moving the periods into their respective zones. In truth, Rio had moved the witches to their own place of Salem. Too many of the witches that didn’t move on were from Agatha’s hand, and both of them made sure to keep in the shadows when they passed through. Agatha didn’t frequent this place, there was a strange feeling, one that drowned them both in sorrow. Rio agreed to take over the domain, not allowing Agatha to reveal herself there. They both knew who it was, but speaking her name out loud felt like a curse.
She passed through with ease and witches backed into their homes, some holding onto each other as they stared at her shadow. They all knew who she was even in the shadows, and unfortunately they knew her wife. Rio moved on, going to a time in the early 1300s hundreds and allowing the soul to pass to the next life before she felt the strange tug on her eyes again. Her head was screaming, as if a soul was stuck inside, punching between her eyes to be let out. Once more, Rio realized it was human and oh did she bristle. With a heavy sigh, she allowed her form to dissolve, opening her eyes to the throne room. Agatha was beside her already, purple crackling around her as her eyes glowed a bright lavender. Rio watched for a moment, watching how easily her wife had transitioned over to being a ruler of a realm. She wasn’t a cosmic, no, Agatha was something else entirely. Her spirit witch powers flowed more freely, more powerful, extending her spiritual existence through realms– she was more powerful than the Scarlet Witch herself.
The room blurred for a moment, the throbbing persisting as her fingers clenched around the armrests, nails digging into the intricate roots and vines as she breathed through the mountain of irritation. She tuned into her wife’s presence again, finding it both a comfort and irritation. The power was beautiful, her face stoic and free of stress, but lavender soon faded, leaving behind only a crackle of purple around them. Her eyes opened, regarding Rio in those all too tender eyes– all too soft and concerned eyes. Rio glared back at her.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she snapped, her voice sharp, cutting even through the chill of the room.
Agatha tilted her head, tonguing her bottom lip, but otherwise remained unfazed by the venom in Rio’s tone. Then her arms crossed as she leaned in against the armrest of her throne closer to Rio. Her posture was casual but unyielding.
“Like what, my love?” her voice soft, before her own irritation grew, her darkened eyes betraying her casual demeanor. “Like I am worried about you? Because I am.”
Rio groaned, thumping her head back against the throne before two fingers pinched the bridge of her nose, “I don’t need your pity.”
Agatha moved, her steps quiet as she made her way in front of her before kneeling on the ground before her. She took Rio’s hands, squeezing them gently as she found deep brown eyes. Rio couldn’t look away, seeing the concern etched on Agatha’s face: a tight frown, her eyebrows furrowed, and the way her blue eyes glowed.
“It’s not pity, Rio. It’s love. And whether you like it or not, I am not going anywhere.”
Rio scoffed, refusing to meet her gaze now as a blush threatened to creep up on her. She wanted to lash out, truly she did, but only her wife could disarm her frustration. She wanted to ignore it, to shove the weak feeling so deep that it didn’t even matter anymore, and push Agatha away as she dealt with it. But when she looked into those oceans eyes again, they shattered the last of her defenses and the weight of her exhaustion finally took over. Rio sighed heavily, gripping her wife’s hands back as she slumped slightly.
She smiled slightly as warm lips pressed against her forehead and the voice was soft as ever, “You should lie down, my love. I will take care of today–”
“And if the witches–”
Agatha put a finger to her lips, “If you are up for it, I will let you know, but I think you should rest and if not lie down, then tend to your garden–”
Rio snapped, swiping her hands away from her wife, “ I am fine, Agatha. I am Lady Death. I don’t do days off or lying down–”
“And yet” Agatha yelled over her “you look like this .”
Rio’s jaw opened, in shock, her expression horrified as her wife stood over her now, her arms across her chest.
“Lady Death has bags under her eyes, she can barely keep herself steady even while sitting in a damn throne, and I am guessing your vision is blurring, sweetheart.”
“Fuck you,” Rio seethed through her teeth, her grip breaking the roots of the arm rests.
Agatha rolled her eyes, “Later, my love. You’re going to lie down, whether you like it or not. Don’t make me get Nicky to babysit you.”
Rio stood now, Lady Death flickering before her wife, but Agatha just smirked at her, keeping the gaze without flinching. She bared her own teeth, leaning forward enough where her breath grazed Rio’s ear.
“You’re cute when you do that, you know?”
Rio yelped as Agatha picked her up like she was nothing, an arm around her back and under her legs as she turned, hurrying out of the throne room as Rio froze. There was a beat of silence as Agatha carried her through the halls and into the foyer of the modern part of the home.
“Put me down!” she hissed.
“Fat chance, my love.”
Rio growled, her hand pushing weakly on Agatha’s shoulder, “I am a cosmic being, not a fucking damsel.”
Her wife only laughed at her, “Oh, my darling death, you are far from a damsel, but you wouldn’t deny your doting wife the pleasure of taking care of you, would you?”
“Agatha!” Rio groaned, but her cheeks revealed the warmth she felt from Agatha’s arms, her scent of herbs encasing her, and the quiet comfort she could not deny.
She crossed into the kitchen and into their living room where toys scattered the floor. With practiced ease, Agatha avoided the toys, navigating them until her wife sat them down on the couch, Rio still curled in her lap. Rio sat up, ready to dart into the shadows but her wife only held her firm. Purple washed over her and Lady Death was reduced to nothing but her sweat pants and Agatha’s sweatshirt. Her body instantly relaxed, ignoring every part of her that screamed to get up.
“Let me up!” she tried, but the crack in her voice betrayed her as well as she made no move too.
“You need rest, my love. Your body is already fighting to sleep. When you wake up, we will start figuring it out together.”
Rio moved her body down shakingenly, placing her head in her wife’s lap now. Blunt nails scratched her scalp as everything pulled on her eyelids to close.
“You’re so fucking annoying,” she grumbled.
Her wife laughed, pressing a kiss to her lips, “And yet, you married me anyway.”
Rio didn’t process what happened next. The world slowly faded as her body sagged into the cushions of the couch, falling into a pillow as the faint scent of lavender swallowed her whole. Her breathing slowed, a gentle pull that reminded her of when she lay dying by the portal, and when it stopped, she slipped into a warm darkness.
Rio awoke to a warm body trembling against her. She froze, blinking away the sleep that took her as she found Nicky curled into her, crying softly into her chest. She turned, Lady Death coming forth and her son was quick to grip onto the bones of her ribs as his crying slowly eased. Rio kissed his head, running her hands through his hair as she hummed softly, coaxing the pain away from him. He eventually stilled, moving up Rio’s body and tucking his head underneath her chin. Rio kissed his head again, lifting him into her arms as she paced the kitchen, waiting for him to let go. She didn’t speak, knowing just being in her arms was a comfort enough. Her movements were slow and graceful, as if the nap she took didn’t happen and she was back to being herself.
After minutes of pacing, Rio asked him, “Do you want to go to the greenhouse, Nicky?”
He nodded into her, still refusing to pull his head away.
Rio simply moved, her steps smooth as she made her way to the dining room and through the double glass doors that opened to the large greenhouse. The warm air hit them, wrapping around the coldness of Lady Death and her son as they made their way down the dirt path through the wild ivy, rose bushes, and a whole section of rio dipladenias. Purple and green laced through the green house. The smell of flowers wrapping around them, blending in the earthiness and sweetness that casted through the glass room. Nicky shifted, peaking out to stare at the beauty as they walked in silence. The only sound was of her son’s breath and the faraway trickle of water. They must have walked for hours, whether in circles or just simple crisscrossing through the maze, she didn’t know. Her son didn’t seem to mind, basking in the bond he shared with Death, that was until their peace was cut by someone clearing their throat. Rio turned slowly, finding her wife with her arms crossed staring down at them from her place on the steps above them.
The hem of her gown was now covered in dirt, her bare feet sinking into the soft mulch as her expression softened, “Lunch is ready, my loves.”
At that, Nicky popped up. The color returned to his cheeks and the energy back. He practically leapt out of Rio’s arms and into her wife’s as he laughed. Agatha caught him with ease, faking a groan, “You’re getting too big for this, honey. I don’t know how mami can carry you that long.”
“That’s because mami is strong!”
The words stuck with Rio for the rest of the day, circling in her mind as she played with her son, her wife not allowing her to go back to work. She couldn’t shake it. She knew Nicky saw her as the stronger of the two, but hearing it out loud, especially after the fact that Death slept, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was going to let him down. It gnawed at her, the idea that Death could fatigue, but she felt fine now.
Perhaps, it was just this once.
The rest of the day was normal and her wife handled their duties with care and ease. Nicky was playing on the floor with his toy horses while Agatha and Rio cooked dinner together. Rio was lost in thought again, her mind still swirling with the fact that she slept and her son’s words. What if she wasn’t strong? What if his magic was the one draining her energy? Even now she felt something inside her draining her. From the counter, she eyed her son, laughing to himself as he made two black stallions fight with his magic. He was doing better, the periods of pain where she held him getting shorter, but she couldn’t help but wonder if it was doing something to her. Was she giving him her own strength and her own being to stop the pain? What would it mean if she didn’t stop? She stopped cutting the potatoes for a moment, gripping the marble hard as something else washed over her.
Agatha, ever attentive, wrapped her arms around her waist, kissing her cheek, “What’s on your mind, my love?”
Rio set the knife down, turning her back to their son as she refused to meet her wife’s gaze. She sighed heavily, feeling the way her body just wanted to lay down and sleep again. Agatha was in front of her, but she was blurry, her words muffled as black crept around the edges of her vision. She blinked through it, her wife coming back into focus. The blue in her wife’s irises was beautiful, and the light blue became foam that seemed to spider around the black center. She felt herself losing into them until the black snuck back and dragged her under the waves.
“Rio!” Agatha gasped, catching her wife as she slumped forward.
Agatha moved her grip under Rio’s arms, her wife’s head falling against her chest. She slowly lowered her to the floor, leaning her back against the cabinets.
“My love? Rio?” Agatha caressed her cheek, purple moving over Death, trying to find the source.
Her magic bounced back, burning her finger tips and she flinched back with a yelp.
“ Mami ?”
Agatha snapped her head around the counter, seeing Nicky coming towards them and clutching the horses to his chest.
“Nicky, stay in the living room, please!” she breathed out, turning her attention back to Rio. “ Mami’ s going to be alright. I just need to focus to help her.”
Agatha reached with her magic again, sparking at Rio’s stone figure. Finally, Rio snapped up, her head almost hitting Agatha’s as her eyes grew wide with a look Agatha had never seen before. Her hands trembled, her pupils blown as she pushed away from her. Agatha reached for her, cupping her cheeks gently, keeping her gaze until Rio stilled.
“Nicky,” she spoke calmly, her voice covering herself in a mask. “Can you go to your room, please? Mami needs some quiet until dinner is ready.”
“But–”
Agatha couldn’t stop herself as she snapped, “Now, Nicholas.”
They both listened as the patter of feet made their way to the steps. The moment he was out of earshot, Agatha let the mask fall. She crumbled, her fingers brushing Rio’s soft cheeks as she kissed her head repeatedly, tears falling from her eyes.
“Goddamnit, Rio, you can’t do this to me,” Agatha whispered, pressing kisses to her cheeks now.
Rio blinked, finding she was on the floor, her wife over her, her lips soft and her cheeks were wet. Agatha pulled away for Rio to see her tear-streaked face. She swallowed, hating that she scared her and probably Nicky as well.
“Don’t cry,” she said hoarsely, her hand weakly wiping the tears from her wife.
Agatha barked a laugh at her, “I’ll cry if I want to, sweetie.”
She pressed another kiss to her head as Rio smiled faintly before resting her head back and closing her eyes. She refused to meet her wife’s eyes as she said this, some part of her nervous about how Agatha would feel if she were to tie Nicky into this.
“Do you think Nicky is affecting me?” she whispered.
Agatha caressed her cheek, her voice was tender, absent of any malice, but Rio still cringed, “Why do you think that?”
She huffed, wondering if she had the strength to fight with her wife, “Maybe we should talk about this tonight, once Nicky is settled.”
Agatha’s fingers lingered for a moment. She could picture her wife’s lips pressing into a thin line before her hands were more firm on her cheeks, “Okay, but you’re laying down while I finish dinner.”
“But–”
“Rio,” Agatha snapped, her tone firm and layered with ice and worry. “You fucking passed out on me. This isn’t a negotiation. You are doing as I say from now on and that’s final.”
She groaned, nodding reluctantly, “Fine, only because you’re scary when you’re worried.”
Agatha huffed at her, picking her up bridal-style with ease, “Wow, so you’re saying I can scare Lady Death?”
“ Only like this. Don’t let it go to your head, mi amor ,” Rio shot back as Agatha set her on the couch for the second time that day.
Agatha’s magic wrapped around her once more, a weighted blanket placed on her as her wife adjusted the pillows before kneeling beside her. Rio cupped her cheek, her thump moving along strong cheekbone before leaning forward. Agatha met her half way, her kiss soft and tender, a silent promise to take care of her.
“Rest, my love. I will call Nicky down once everything is done.”
Rio felt herself melt into the blankets, allowing Agatha’s warm purple to hold her while she cooked. She stared at the tv for a moment, before her magic turned it on and played a documentary on the ocean. It was just something, she barely paid attention to the narrator, having been in existence before the whales and sharks they showed. She let her mind wander a little more, thinking of this plane and how everything was still so connected to the land of the living. The moments she was human and dying, was peaceful, but this, what this was, was something painful, torturous even. Death looked back at her wife, her magic finishing the uncut potatoes as she stirred whatever was in the crockpot. She huffed out, wondering if she was sick, then it would only last a couple days.
“ Mami? ” a small voice echoed from the doorway.
Rio snapped her head over, finding her son with tears down his face and clutching his stuffed rabbit tightly. He wasn’t supposed to be out of his room, but how could she refuse him?
“Come here, mijo. ”
Nicky hesitated for a moment before running over, diving into Rio’s arms. She smiled, pulling his trembling body into her as she breathed in his scent of earth and decay. She felt for his magic and found it was starting to settle. It was powerful like hers, but also touched with something else entirely different. She could feel Agatha’s magic in him and everything in her turned cold. She glanced down at him, her eyebrows creased as her mind went back to her wife– her succubus witch… the fight they would have tonight was going to be deadly.
“You’re not leaving are you?” Nicky pushed her out of her thoughts.
Her heart clenched as she forced him to look at her, “What? No, Nicky. I am right here.”
“But something is wrong,” he accused her. “Mama doesn’t cry unless something is really bad and she was crying. What did you do to her?”
Rio inhaled sharply at his words, feeling them cut deeper than she thought she should let them, but she also couldn’t hide her surprise at his words, “What? Mijo, I haven’t done anything to hurt Mama.”
She cupped his face, forcing her son to look her in the eye.
“I scared her, but never on purpose. I would never hurt you or Mama on purpose.”
“Liar!” Nicky pushed out of her grip, standing before her.
Rio’s heart leapt as something dark swirled behind her eyes, she could feel it. The anger and irritation rising as Lady Death practically begged to be let out of her cage to teach her son some respect. Her eyebrow raised as she sat up, the fatigue and tiredness forgotten as her white orbs flashed at him.
“Nicholas,” she warned, her voice dripping with ice.
Her son only seemed to freeze for a moment, watching as the plants in the room curled away from them, the temperature dropping as Lady Death came apparent before him. Her head tilted as she straightened, staring down at the young boy.
“You are lying,” Nicky glared up at her, his eyes meeting the piercing orbs without a sliver of fear. It was Agatha in those stubborn eyes and for a moment she softened until the venom came again. “You are hurting us, and now you’re going to leave us again! You don’t care about me!”
The words slammed into her deeply, sinking into her very veins. Rio’s fingers curled, containing the sparks as pain, guilt, and anger started to brew.
“Don’t you ever say that! I kept my promise to you. I came back when I could and I have been here ever since! I care about you more than you ever understand, little one–”
“No, you don’t,” Nicky yelled, stepping away from her as she stood. Tears pooled at his eyes, but he refused to let them run. “You don’t love me. You don’t love Mama–”
“Nicholas Scratch,” Lady Death stepped forward, the temperature of the room now plummeting as the plants fully recoiled, blackening at Lady Death’s presence. “Don’t you dare say that to me. I am your mother. Your Mama and I created you from scratch. You will not put words in my mouth and you will not disrespect me. Don’t you dare say I don’t love you or your Mama.”
Rio’s magic suffocated the room, the tv cracking behind them as she loomed over him. He didn’t back down, no– it was Agatha’s stubbornness mirroring back at her. She watched as Nicky stomped his foot, throwing his rabbit down as he met Lady Death’s eyes without fear.
“You’re going to leave us! I just know it! Stop lying,” he screamed at her, smoke spilling out from his mouth from the cold.
Rio’s hands trembled as it cut her ever deeper. She didn’t know what she was doing as she grew taller, the shadows stretching around the both of them as her eyes flashed down at him.
“How dare you…” Rio’s voice was unrecognizable, deep and guttural. It wasn’t her own; it was the echo of Lady Death, a force more ancient and dangerous than anything Nicky could ever understand. She stood, towering over her son, her body trembling with rage.
“You think you know what I’ve sacrificed? The very balance I went against for you and your Mama. You think I don’t know what it means to be here? I fought like hell to get you. Don’t you dare try to say I will leave you! You don’t know anything, Nicholas.”
Her eyes flashed with an eerie glow, the whites gone completely, replaced by the inhuman, terrifying depth of Lady Death’s magic. The air crackled with power, suffocating everything in its proximity. “I’ve never abandoned you. I stayed, even when it tore me apart. Even when every instinct told me to run. And you– you stand there accusing me of leaving you?”
Nicky started to crack under her power, his eyes darting away from her as a slight tremble became present. He didn’t respond as Death revealed her full glory to him. She bent down to him, two fingers on his chin forcing him to look up at her.
“ Never question my love for you, mijo. I would topple entire worlds for you, kill thousands of souls without a second thought, and rip apart our own world if that means you and Agatha were the last two standing. But you will also show me the respect I deserve as your mother and Lady Death.”
Nicky moved his head out from her fingers, defiance heavy in his eyes as he ignored his tears, “I don’t care! I know what you will do–”
As he spoke Rio couldn’t stop herself, “Oh you little–”
From the kitchen, Agatha felt the temperature drop, the flair of Lady Death’s presence in the home, but she didn’t move at first, her mind preoccupied with Rio’s words. She couldn’t stop her head from turning, connecting the way Rio was this morning up till now with Nicky. Each time had been right after their son had gone to her for comfort, but she knew Rio wouldn’t stop on her account, not if those cries rang out.
The darkening of the room caught her attention as the mixer powered off, the lights in the kitchen dimming as well. She turned, wondering what got her wife in such a state from merely sitting on the couch, but her hearing finally caught what was actually happening.
“I don’t care!” Nicky’s angry voice echoed through the home. “I know what you will do! You will leave us! You’re a liar! Liar, liar!”
Agatha whipped around, finding Rio standing up tall, her Lady Death form hovering over their son as the tie between them was full of anger and hurt, and her heart twisted. Without hesitation, she stormed into the room, her presence only known to her wife who seemed to ease up on the shadows only slightly.
“Enough! Both of you!” she yelled, freezing the two in the middle.
Agatha took in the room, the broken tv and the withered and dead plants before her gaze landed on their son. He was a child, a child who’s eyes never left the cold sockets of Death with defiance and hurt. For a moment, Agatha wondered how this was going to go down when he was a teenager. She would have two teenagers on her hands when he turned, and she knew if Nicky kept acting like Rio, the fights would get magical. She turned to her wife, seeing she was holding herself back as much as she could, but with a cosmic entity as a mother, she had already expected some challenges.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing!” she yelled, stepping towards them.
She watched as neither backed down, refusing to be the first one to look away. Rio would win, she was sure of it and she would make sure she would, “You!”
Agatha grabbed at Nicky’s hand, pulling him to face her, “ You never speak to your Mami like that, do you hear me? She is your mother and has sacrificed so much for the both of us. Never say that she doesn’t love us. Where did that even come from? Mm?”
Nicky didn’t respond, staring at her with fear.
“Nicholas Scratch Harkness-Vidal, answer me!”
“I don’t know,” he cried. “It’s just that she is sick. And she never stayed with us on the other plane. She always left and then she didn’t come until months later. Mama, I don’t want her to leave, please.”
Agatha relaxed partially, meeting his height as she pulled him into a hug and picked him up, “She is not going to leave. Mami loves us both very much and one day, when you are older, you will understand, but for now, you will need to apologize to your Mami. We will talk later about the consequences of tonight, understand?”
He sniffled, nodding into the crook of her neck as warmth encircled him. He clung tighter to his Mama, never wanting to imagine a time when any of them were ever apart, and yet something else festered with him as he realized he hurt his Mami, and with that weight, Nicky pulled away from Agatha turning to Lady Death with his arms reaching out to her. Rio didn’t hesitate, holding him tight as he clung to her bones shoving his head underneath her chin.
Agatha’s sharp eyes focused on Death, another anger overcoming her, “What the hell was that? How could you let it get this far? And this form, Rio!”
Rio flinched underneath her wife’s anger but listened nonetheless.
“You promised me to never use it against him! He’s a child–”
Rio spoke softly, Lady Death receding back as the plants slowly stretched their limbs, “He’s my child, Agatha. There shouldn’t be a question for him to be scared of me no matter the form.”
Agatha’s eyes narrowed as she processed Rio’s words, her mind racing.
“He’s a child, Rio,” she repeated, her voice tense with frustration. “And he’s scared of you. You can’t just wield Lady Death like that when he’s already struggling with everything. He’s not like us. He doesn’t understand the weight of what you carry.”
Rio’s gaze softened as she held Nicky tighter, feeling his small frame tremble against her. She could sense the guilt emanating from him, the way he clung to her as if her presence alone could erase all the fear and confusion that had built up inside him. But Rio knew Agatha was right. She had crossed a line, and the fear in Nicky’s eyes was something she couldn’t ignore.
“I didn’t mean to frighten him,” Rio said quietly, her voice strained. “I was just… trying to get him to understand.”
Agatha took a step closer, her expression softening as she saw the weight of the situation settle on her wife.
“I know you didn’t. But sometimes, too much power is dangerous, especially when it comes to him. You taught me that,” Agatha gave her soft nudge. “He’s not ready to face Lady Death, not yet. Not in that way.”
Nicky pulled back slightly from Rio, his eyes still wide with fear, but there was a quiet sadness behind them. He didn't fully understand what was happening, but he knew that something had shifted between him and his mami . He reached up, hesitantly touching Rio’s cold cheek.
“ Mami ... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I was just scared,” he pleaded.
Rio’s heart ached as she looked down at him, her hands trembling as she brushed the hair from his face, “I know, mijo . I know you were scared. I’ll never leave you. I’m sorry for making you think that.”
Agatha watched the exchange, her chest tightening as she saw Rio’s vulnerability—the side of her that was always buried deep under the power and strength of Lady Death. Yet, Rio always looked at him with a gaze that she shared for no one else, not even for her wife. This gaze was meant for their son alone, and it was so full of love and hope. The shadows crept back into her wife as Nicky leaned into her, nuzzling into the bones of Death until the human form came back and wrapped their son in whatever warmth death could carry. She studied her wife further, still seeing the human exhaustion exhume from her. It wrapped around the family tightly as Rio even struggled to hold their son up.
Fear settled hard into the family as they sat at dinner, Nicky refusing to leave his mami as they ate in silence. He had become exhausted from the fight and Rio once more was fighting the strange feeling in her from taking over. She couldn’t wrap her thoughts around it and the thought of more rest only angered her. She held it though, letting Nicky to become her sole attention as she fed him as if he were a baby, but to her, it was showing him that she loved him. She hated that he ever dared to think differently.
When dinner finished, Agatha kissed their son’s head, nodding for Rio to take him to his chambers. She walked slowly, humming her ancient lullaby to him as the empty corridor echoed with her steps and voice. Her magic lined it with lavender and protective runes as she made their way to his chambers. The whole time he nuzzled into her, as his warmth was spewing his apologies over and over again for their fight.
“Mami,” his little voice echoed the moment they stepped inside, Rio’s magic moving his toys onto the shelves before sitting him in bed with her.
“What is it, mijo ?” she asked softly, expecting him to bring up the fight.
“Why do the wolves call me ‘the young prince,’” he asked while rubbing his eyes.
Rio laughed at his sweet innocence, “Because you are. You are my son. The son of Lady Death and one day you will join in the responsibilities of what me and your mother do. You will be titled the Prince of Death.”
He stared up at her with curiosity, “And what about Mama?”
She laughed, “Mijo, she is the great Agatha Harkness. She doesn’t need another name for beings to know who she is. Now, you should sleep. Tomorrow is movie night on the magic box.”
Nicky peered up at her, “You broke the magic box.”
Rio blinked at him, a color creeping up on her cheeks as she tucked the covers around him before making the rabbit appear in his arms, “Yes, well Mama will fix it.”
Seeming content with her answer, he nuzzled into the green blankets of his bed. She smiled, brushing his hair away from his eyes and placing a longing kiss on his cheek.
“Te amo,mijo,” she whispered in his ear.
“I love you too, mami, ” he replied, falling to sleep with ease.
Rio smiled down at her son, placing one last kiss before magicking back to the kitchen where her wife was already pouring them both a glass of wine. The wine wouldn’t do anything for her, but it was a comfort they both needed for now. Agatha took her hand, her expression stoic, but Rio saw through her. Her shoulders were tense, her lips set, and she had that unsettled look with the conversation they were about to have. Her wife pushed her to sit down first before climbing into her lap and straddling it. Rio raised her eyebrow at her, shocked this was how they were going to talk.
Agatha set their glasses down, sitting back in her wife’s lap as she took a breath, “Ok. We are going to sit here, and talk. You won’t be running away from this, Rio, and neither will I.”
Rio allowed her words to sink but refused her gaze. She kept her gaze on the steady rise and fall of her wife’s bare chest, watching the beautiful pale skin underneath the black low cut tank. It was– well– a welcomed distraction Rio decided as she let the words continue to sink their claws in.
“Rio, you have never lost control like that before.”
There it was and it stung hard. She swallowed, her fingers tapping around her wife’s thighs as her eyes bored into her. She let the silence drift on until it was longer than it ever was before. A warm hand cupped her cheek, forcing her gaze to meet bright blues.
“My love, please. I know you losing control like that has to be connected to you passing out and sleeping? Please, my love. Tell me I can’t lose you in death. We are already dead,” Agatha started, tears in her eyes. “You can’t die again.”
Rio was quick to wipe them, “No, we can’t die again, my love. Please, do not think of that. You are stuck with me for eternity.”
They both hummed a soft laugh as some tension left Agatha’s shoulders, “And Nicky, what did you mean that he is affecting you?”
Rio took a breath, “Lately, after I have settled him with my full form, it seems I get faint or tired. I had calmed Nicky last night before bed and we were in the greenhouse before I passed out in the kitchen…my love, please hear me. What if he is siphoning my strength for his own as his powers settle?”
Agatha’s eyes widened at the suggestion, but she had already drawn to that conclusion too. There was nothing else that would suggest Rio reacting the way she was. She had barely left their home with Agatha to do their job, scared of leaving their son for too long and even before. Rio didn’t particularly like leaving him when they did grace themselves in the plane physically. But hearing it finally confirm her fears again, it brought out an anger she wasn’t ready to show.
“So, he is siphoning from you? Like what I used to do to witches when we were alive?”
Rio shook her head, “It’s different. It feels like he is taking but at the same time not. There’s something, Agatha. I just can’t figure it out for now, but I will. You are not going to lose me again, my love. No matter, I promise you will not lose either of us, and I will kill worlds, dimensions, entire universes before I allow anything to take you or Nicky away from me.”
Agatha rested her forehead against her wife’s, allowing the words to settle. From what she had learned, Rio had leveled a whole plane of existence in her grief for her. Rio’s love was more fierce than she could comprehend and she knew they would figure it out. They just needed time and Nicky needed to be patient.
She couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, speaking her thoughts aloud, “Some parents of the year we are: a serial killer and the embodiment of Death giving our child these abilities.”
Rio chuckled, her fingers absentmindedly tracing calming and love sigils on her wife’s thighs as she eased more into her touch, “Well, we got the love part down.” She sighed as her wife caressed her jaw. “We need to talk to Nicky. See what he is feeling when he is attached to me and hear what it does for him, but your son needs more patience.”
Agatha scoffed, “ My son? He is a spitting image of you, my love. What? I carried him for nine months and he came out looking like you. Tell me how that is fair?”
Rio chomped her teeth at her as she thought thoughtfully, “Well, he does look mainly like me, except for that wild hair, but he is also all you, my love: no patience, stubborn to the end, defiant, and you know that glare you give some times– yes that one!”
Agatha rolled her eyes, pulling away from her wife, but Rio pulled her in closer, her lips centimeters from hers, “It’s all you, my love.”
Rio placed a soft kiss on her lips, making Agatha smile into it, “Okay, we will talk to him together.”
“Tag teaming a child? My, Harkness, have you fallen.”
Agatha faked a gasp, “Says Lady Death losing a screaming match to one.”
She hummed at her wife’s mockery, pulling her closer until their noses were brushing slightly together, “If you put it like that, then I guess we are both losing to a tiny tyrant.”
Her lips brushed Agatha’s as she smiled, the familiar warmth of her wife melting away the stress of the past few days. Agatha’s eyes softened, the tension in her posture easing as Rio’s hand rested lightly on the small of her back, pulling her closer. She closed the distance, kissing Rio’s lips again, but this time it was with more intent, letting the soft pressure between them speak a language only they could understand. When they finally broke apart, Agatha rested her forehead again against her love’s.
“You’re right, my love,” she murmured. “We need patience with him too. I think we both need to remind ourselves he is still a child.”
“Yeah, a child who looks like he’s plotting for power and is always three steps ahead every time he pouts,” Rio replied with a soft chuckle. “Just like his Mama.”
Agatha hummed, “Mm, well I taught the kid everything he needs to know, what can I say?”
They both laughed at that, their lips pressing together with more fever before her wife pulled away, “And you, my love, will you stop trying to act like you are fine? I can see the exhaustion painted on you.”
Agatha’s voice was gentle but firm, her hand softly cupping Rio’s cheek as she held her gaze, “I know you’re trying to protect me, trying to shield me from everything, but you’re not alone in this. You never were.”
Her thumb stroked across Rio’s skin, her eyes searching her wife’s face for signs of the exhaustion Rio had so carefully hidden. Rio closed her eyes briefly, sighing as she let the warmth of Agatha’s touch soothe the tension in her body. She knew her wife could see right through her– knew that trying to mask her weariness from Agatha was a losing battle.
“I am fine right now, but this change is difficult for me. I am not used to feeling so weak, my love,” she said softly, her gaze back on Agatha’s chest. “I will try to stop hiding, I will promise you that.”
“Try is all I need to hear, my love,” her wife replied, her lips latching back to hers.
Rio hummed, pulling her wife against her chest as her arms wrapped around her neck. She smirked, her tongue pressing against Agatha’s lips until she was allowed in tasting the lingering hint of wine. She chased after it, her tongue dominating her wife’s mouth as Agatha moaned softly into her. She laughed into her, making her pull away.
“I love you, my darling death,” Agatha murmured against her lips.
Rio smiled, “I love you more, my purple witch.”
Their lips latched together, this time speaking a language only souls could decipher. It was smooth, soft, and demanding. Her wife hummed into it, her hands back on her cheeks before a tongue slipping into her mouth. Their tongues tangled slowly, writing their own slow devotion to each other as it gradually became something faster. Rio’s senses were consumed by Agatha’s, her love, the lingering of wine and dinner, and the taste of power of her witch. It eased her heart, her mind as she pulled her wife closer before moving her kisses to her neck, mapping out the skin she tasted a hundred times over. Her wife had other plans though, pulling away and placing a finger to her lips. A knowing smirk sparked her features as her magic guided a wine glass into her hand. She took a small sip before the magic took it back to the glass table next to them, but two fingers were holding Rio’s chin firmly. Their lips matched and slowly, Rio drank the warm liquid from her wife’s mouth, feeling the slight buzz before it disappeared thanks to her power. A few drops of wine dripped from her chin as she pulled her wife closer.
Rio pulled away once the wine was gone from their mouths, “May I, m’lady?”
Agatha chuckled, “It has been a while.”
She smirked, her magic moving them to their chambers on the center of the bed. Agatha stayed straddled in Rio’s lap, their bare skin against each other’s and it made Agatha scowl, “Way to take half the fun out of it, sweetheart.”
Rio hummed, “Let’s just say I am eager and absolutely in love with you.”