You took him from me.
“Agatha ?” Rio says softly, her voice trembling as Agatha’s hands cup her face. They stood alone in the dimly lit room, the air heavy with unspoken memories, the closest they’d been in years.
“ Mm?” hums Agatha, focused on Rio’s lips and ready to succumb to her past love, ready to kiss her .
“That boy isn’t yours.”
That’s when Agatha’s hands dropped to her side, her eyes watering. Rio knew very well that it wasn’t the time to mention that if she wanted to have this kiss, but she also witnessed how much Agatha was in distress when Teen got hurt. And she couldn’t let her have this delusion, because it would mean that Agatha will relive her grief all over again, a pain that would consume her once more.
With tears slowly getting down her cheeks, Agatha broke the silence “ What if he is??”
Agatha gets more and more agitated, talking faster and faster not giving herself the chance to catch a breath “I mean Nicholas would be 15 too, and that boy, that boy is around that age! And this sigil!! It has to mean something! What if I put the sigil on him to protect him, and I forgot? That’s how sigils work, Rio!” Her heart clung desperately to the idea as if believing it hard enough would bring Nicholas back. She needed it to be true because living in a world without him was unbearable. Rio is heartbroken, she wants to reason with Agatha before she starts to get too much hope.
“ Oh my heart, everything does not have to mean something. You know he’s gone.” Agatha’s sadness is turning to anger, she pushes Rio’s hands away and starts throwing her own hands at her screaming, and shouting “Yes!! He’s gone!! Because of you!! You took Nicholas !! You took my baby away!” Agatha punches into Rio’s stomach until exhaustion overtakes her until her heart is so heavy that she falls to her knees on the floor, caught back by Rio, who gets to her level and puts her lover’s head on her chest.
“My heart, I know it has been easier for you to blame me. But he got hurt. He needed to go. It was my job to take him. It’s what I do. It doesn’t mean I wanted to. He was like my son.”
“He was our son.” Agatha muffles. She is calming down in Rio’s arms who is holding her, rocking her back and forth. Nobody knows this side of Agatha, the vicious and cruel witch. Agatha was everything but cruel. She had been given up on by her coven, who called her a monster and tried to murder her for her power when she was just a teen. She grew up alone and became one of the most powerful witches in the world, and then she lost her son, her most precious treasure. And when she lost Nicholas, Agatha lost everything: Rio, the love of her life, and her reason. She tried to bring him back by giving her soul to the Darkhold and by walking the Road. These two gave her more power but Nicholas was still lost. So when Agatha met Wanda, a young witch who brought her dead husband back to life, and created her kids from nothing, she found hope again. But it only led to her being trapped in her own mind for three years and the loss of her powers and the dark hold. Agatha had nothing in her possession anymore. It is not surprising that Agatha does not trust anybody, thought Rio to herself.
As Rio was stroking Agatha's hair, and humming songs to her, Agatha’s breathing got steadier and steadier until, from the exhaustion she fell into a slumber in her ex girlfriend's arms, the place where she always felt safer.
flashback - 10 years ago
In the garden of what looked like a perfectly normal house (some may even call it a mansion), giggles could be heard. A five-year-old boy was being chased by his mom “Nicholas! It’s bedtime now!” As she screamed that, purple powers left her hands making the little boy float in the air, and traveled back in his mom's arms. Agatha grabbed Nicholas in her loving arms and threw a 'don’t you dare to do that again to me' look at the young boy who was chuckling in his mother's arms. As she walks him back to his room, she finds on her path Rio, who gave a kiss on Agatha’s mouth and one on Nicholas’ forehead “Goodnight goblin”, she whispered to him. Agatha tucked her son in, and after many inquiries for a story she caved in “Did you know, my sweet boy, that witches can walk the Road, a secret path that gives them what they desire most? What do you want the most in life, Nicholas?” “To have purple powers like you Mommy!”
“Silly boy. Your magic is way more beautiful than mine, sweet angel, you can bring back life. THIS is powerful.”
“And you Mommy, what do you want the most?” Agatha paused, a teasing smile forming. ‘For you to sleep!’ she exclaimed, tickling him and finally kissing the boy goodnight. As she closed the door softly and walked down the stairs to meet Rio on the couch, she thought to herself that there was nothing that she wanted more than what she already had. Rio pulled her out of her thoughts, leaping onto Agatha's lap with a playful grin, her magic crackling in the air as she pinned Agatha to the couch. “Caught you,” Rio teased, mischief in her eyes, knowing Agatha would reverse the spell in seconds. “Don’t even think about it my darling” warned Agatha, but Rio didn’t listen, pushing her luck a little further, As expected, Agatha swiftly reversed the spell, pinning Rio to the couch and positioning herself on top, their bodies aligned in a familiar, intimate dance of power. She then got her face closer to Rio, building up the tension, biting her lips. Rio tried to kiss Agatha but this latest moved her head back, teasing her girlfriend a little more "I don't think you deserve a kiss, my darling. Or anything else tonight." "I do!" yelled Rio back, but Agatha shook her head at this answer "Uh, uh, that's not how you're going to advocate for yourself, my darling."
But Agatha was only dreaming (or remembering?) and as she awoke, the warmth of Rio’s arms faded. The laughter of her son dissolved into silence, and the weight of reality returned. Nicholas was gone. Rio was not the same person anymore.
Agatha stood abruptly, the vulnerability in her eyes vanishing in an instant, Rio did not have the time to register what was happening before Agatha’s cold, sharp voice cut through the air, her arrogant tone back “We have to find the next trial. I’m not going to spend the night here, I have a life as opposed to others.” She couldn’t afford to be vulnerable, not now. Not again. So she did what she always did—she rebuilt her walls, brick by brick until there was nothing but arrogance and distance between them.
“Agatha—” “No, don’t.” Rio began, but Agatha cut her off sharply. It would be lying to say that that tone did not affect Rio. “I’m so..” “Don’t speak my darling. I do not have time for that right now” Agatha finally said leaving her and walking back to the fire pit. With that iconic ‘I’m Agatha Harkness and I fear nothing’ walk. But all that Rio could think was how Agatha called her: “My darling”. After all, maybe everything wasn’t lost.