Moon Phases (Agatha Harkness X Fem!Reader)

Chapter XLII.

The boy was gone, having gotten what he wanted from the road, and now he was free. The lights above you flickered again, few remaining alive, a sign that your time was almost up.

Agatha looked at the place where Billy was as she leaned back, thinking of his question. "No, Billy. Sometimes... boys die."

You parted your lips but remained silent, feeling that those words were not just directed at Billy but also to herself.

Pieces fell into place in your mind, and now a clear picture formed that filled the blanks you had and answered almost all of your questions.

"Is this you forgiving Rio for taking Little Nicky?" You dared to ask; your voice was soft and empathic.

Agatha finally looked at you, surprised by your deduction. You were good with those things, but she did not remember you being that good.

"How did you find out?" She asked.

You offered her a weak smile, the topic as sensitive to you as it was to hers. Perhaps a little more, considering this was a talk about the relationship Agatha developed with Rio... who might have become your replacement if things had turned out differently.

"I did keep wondering what Rio had done to you to cause such rift... unexplained rift that didn't fully justify your feelings for one another."

Immediately, Agatha felt guilty.

"Sugar -" You did not let her finish.

"It's okay, Ags," you gave her a pained smile. "I mean, Nicky did look a lot like Rio while growing up... and I have come to peace with it. When I left you... I never made anything clear; expecting something from you would be wrong." You took a deep breath. "Considering who Rio is, it finally clicked that his passing divided you."

Agatha did not comment, unsure what to say. She could thank you for your understanding and passive forgiveness. She could try to justify Rio and Nicky... but she realized it would change nothing.

Things had been set in stone, and they could not be changed. What could be changed, though, was your chance to get out of this road and return to your free solitary life... to finally be free from the curse that seemed to follow Agatha and was affecting you.

"Okay, sugar. It's time for you to get what you want from the road and get out of here, " she said, changing the topic.

"But I have already gotten what I want," you explained, shocking her for the second time. She watched you move to sit right before her, taking her hand and holding it with both of yours. "What I wanted was for a chance to join you, Agatha. To truly help you find what you are looking for, not to watch you go alone while I stayed back, never to join you."

Agatha was once again speechless at your sweet confessions and unyielding loyalty to her. Even after all those centuries, even after all those times she walked away, you remained.

You did not lose faith in her. You didn't stop caring and worrying for her.

You never stopped regretting every time you turned down Agatha and lost the chance to join her.

She didn't know that, and a single tear escaped her left eye in that moment of revelation.

You moved one hand to wipe it away gently before it could roll down her cheek, and you offered her a sweet, comforting smile, beaming with light and love, unmatched by anything else... except for the look Nicky would give her when he was alive.

"I told you. I am with you until the end." You reminded her and squeezed her hand in reassurance.

Agatha used her free hand and cupped your cheek; every move was made with the utmost care, as if you would break into thousands of pieces with a wrong move.

"This might be the end, sugar." She admitted, slowly accepting that she was not going to survive the road the second time.

"Then I will be happy to know I made it so far with you. If it means dying, I don't mind as long as I am in your arms. "

Agatha was the first to pull you into a hug this time, her arms wrapping tightly around you. She was passively seeking comfort and also trying to control her emotions—her mind and her heart.

You returned the action without hesitation, squeezing her in your arms with all your might as if she would disappear into thin air if you dared to let her go.

You buried your neck into her thick curls, eyes closed, as you fought back tears. Both of you got emotional over the confession while accepting more and more that this could be the end... for both of you.

Another flickering light above you reminded you of the time that was left, but it was not your concern anymore.

Slowly, you pulled back but kept your hands interlocked, never letting the other truly go.

Agatha looked at you with care and chose to open up one last time. "You know... I am not ready to confront him yet." She confessed.

"Little Nicky?"

She nodded. "I... he was not meant to be born, Y/N... Rio gave us time, and I paid her back with the bodies of other witches I drained... and it all worked fine for 6 years, until the night... the night he asked me not to go after the witches... the night Rio had to take him back."

You squeezed her hands, seeing how misty her ears were becoming as she relieved those dark memories that overshadowed the good ones she had with him.

You could see it because you knew it was what Agatha did. Dark moments were the only things she truly remembered, consuming her heart and making her forget the good ones that existed at the same time.

So, you chose to change that.

"He was a brave boy, Agatha," you started, making her focus on you. "I can still remember how mesmerized he was when we told him we survived the Road... and how proud he was of that... of us..." Agatha let out a mix of weak chuckles and sobs while your heart ached with each beat as you remembered the sweet and innocent face of the boy you had come to love as your own. "And I remember how persistent he was to learn of the Ballad, wanting to go down that Road as well... and when we told him no, he just made up his own Ballad... and each time you would visit, you two would have finished another part of it. "

Agatha sniffed, and you swallowed a lump down your throat. Tears prickled at the edge of your eyes, threatening to escape and roll down your cheek.

Your breathing was difficult as you tried to keep down the sobs, the memories happy but also painful, a reminder of a brighter time in your life, a time that would never be able to be replaced.

"I remember," Agatha said weakly with a faint smile, your retelling reminding her of the sweet moments you were talking about.

"I don't think he will ever judge you, Ags. He loved you too much," you reassured her.

With shaking hands, Agatna pulled away from your grip and went to unclip her amulet—Evanora's brooch with the triple Goddess, a steady item in her wardrobe.

She slowly opened it, and from inside, she gently held a short patch of hair neatly tucked inside for safekeeping.

"I have kept it with me all this time... never to forget him, " Agatha confessed, placing the hair close to her heart. She wished deeply that she could feel and hear Nicholas' heartbeat one last time.

You could only watch as you wiped your tears with the back of your hand, the moment too precious and heavy to be interrupted. This was a deep point in your relationship and even deeper in Agatha's trauma with the loss of her son.

With teary eyes, Agatha was about to put the lock back into the brooch when she noticed something that she swore was never there before.

She placed the hair on the back and took out what seemed to be a dried-up seed or petal of a dandelion. It was so weak, small, and tiny, unable to ever grow.

As your eyes landed on it, something clicked inside your mind. Just as the lights flickered, you were left with only one.

"Agatha, the dandelion!" You exclaimed. "That's the key to this trial!"

[A/N] - Let me know if you want me, after the story ends, to write a chapter that will revolve around the past between Agatha, Little Nicky, and Reader.