Chapter Text
Rio couldn’t stop staring at Agatha Harkness. She had only known the woman for a few hours, but she already knew that they would meet each other again soon, and that Rio would count down the seconds until that moment. Hopefully – most likely – it wouldn’t take too long, judging by the way Agatha was acting. It was only a matter of time before she killed again, and when she did, Rio would be right there.
She wanted to stick around a little longer even now, but she could already feel the pull of other souls departing all over the universe, demanding her attention. Still, she hesitated for as long as she could, and even considered asking Agatha to kill somebody else, just so she would have an excuse to linger a while longer.
In any other situation she might have, but the younger witch had just killed not just her own mother but also their entire coven, and that would probably take some time to emotionally work through before she could return to her violent ways. Rio didn’t want to pressure her into moving on quicker than she would have otherwise.
Agatha didn’t exactly look upset or anything like that, but Rio sensed that there was something going on within her, hidden behind all of that manic laughter and joy. Rio could tell, even barely knowing Agatha, that she needed a moment to herself to process, even if this was an overall good development. Rio was willing to give her that space, but she would be back, and she was sure that Agatha was looking forward to that reunion just as much as she was.
The pull to other corpses kept growing stronger, but Rio resisted it a little while longer so she could stay next to Agatha. They were both sitting on a fallen-over tree and just talking to each other, about whatever came to mind. When Rio told Agatha that she had a beautiful smile after making some silly joke, she blushed prettily and smiled even wider.
Rio had to fight the urge to just lean over and kiss Agatha more and more with every moment they spent next to each other, but she knew that she shouldn’t rush things. Hopefully, there would be more than enough time for all of that the next time they met. For now, they just talked, and barely even let their hands brush against each other, tempting them both to reach out further and actually twist their fingers together.
Hours passed this way, with nothing but the most hesitant of touches between them, and Rio had never been this happy to be anywhere. She had seen entire civilisations rise and fall without paying them much mind, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop staring at Agatha Harkness. She had never met anyone quite this fascinating before, or anybody she wanted to be around or know this much.
Maybe the best part was just how funny and witty Agatha was, in a truly refreshing way that Rio had never experienced before. She also didn’t seem afraid, or even remotely intimidated or disturbed, by Rio’s identity and job. Rio had never met anybody who knew who – and what – she was and didn’t act at least a little terrified by it, so this was a surprisingly refreshing change of pace. She wanted more of it, almost desperately so.
When Rio tore her eyes away from Agatha for a moment to look around the clearing they were sitting in, she saw that it was suddenly covered in so many wildflowers that they hid the previously dead and muddy ground from view entirely. She must have lost control of her magic, too distracted by Agatha Harkness to pay attention to their surroundings.
Agatha didn’t seem to have noticed either, probably because she was still in shock. Rio hoped that the flowers would cheer her up once she noticed, especially because she knew that she wouldn’t be able to do it herself. Agatha’s kills had bought them some time together, but it was a turbulent time in the world and the newly dead were already calling out for her again, letting her know that she had a few minutes left in this clearing at most. It was a strangely heart-wrenching realisation.
They were still talking – already sharing secrets they had never told anybody else – and Rio really didn’t want to end the conversation already. She had only just met Agatha, and she already knew that she would always choose spending more time with her over nearly everything else. It was definitely going to cause issues in the future, though Rio didn’t really mind that at all.
But, for now, she had to get back to her work. She felt a bit bad about abandoning Agatha this way, even if she wasn’t fully catatonic anymore, but there was nothing to be done about it, and Rio had already stayed far longer than she should have. Even now, she lingered, refusing to leave completely even if she was only drawing out the inevitable for a few more seconds.
Rio had already cut her path to the next fatality, and still she looked over her shoulder, taking one last look at Agatha, and quickly – almost like an afterthought, though there was more to it than that – telling her that she would wait for her next kill, and see her again as soon as it happened.