Rio walked through the veil between worlds, tears staining her cheeks.
"She's not coming is she?" The voice of a young boy asked quietly.
"I'm sorry kiddo, not yet," Rio replied, quickly donning her more human appearance.
Nicky turned his head to look up at his adopted mother. "It's alright. I've waited a few hundred years, I can wait a few more," he said with a sad smile.
Rio's heart nearly broke all over again. To see Agatha's eyes staring back at her from Nicky's face with so much love stung like a slap to the face. Even more so after the woman herself had looked at her with so much hate only minutes before.
Rio dashed the tears from her eyes and gave herself a quick shake. 'Keep it together for the kid, Rio.'
"So, what are we doing today, Scratchy?" She skipped towards her son with her usual childlike excitement back in her face.
"Guess!" He replied with a smirk so like his mother's.
"Hmm, let me think," she said, although she could already see the wooden game board peaking out from behind his back. Now that she thought of it, the board looked scarily similar to Billy's road.
She pressed a finger to her chin in mock-thought. "Could it be death, death, life?"
"No, Ma!" Nicholas laughed.
"How about...things that go bump in the night?"
Crouching down before the boy, she slid her hands around his waist and ticked him.
"AHHHH STOP!" He shrieked in childlike joy. "Ma! It tickles!" He giggled.
Rio stopped tickling her son but kept her hand pressed against his waist. With a grin she lifted him into the air. "We're going to learn to fly!"
Nicky whooped and hollered as Rio swooped him through the air, her green magic keeping him safe despite him floating away from her hands. After a moment l, she brought him back into her grasp. She pulled him towards her and embraced him tightly, his face tucking into the hollow of her throat.
She placed two kisses to the crown of his head, breathing in deeply. He still smelled like a perfect blend of Agatha and petrichor - the smell of magic.
She took a moments to sink into the embrace, allowing herself just a moment to feel the pain from Agatha's words. Nicholas might not know what had happened, but his right embrace certainly helped to soothe the jagged edges of her heart.
"Do you really not know, Ma?"
Rio pulled back just far enough to see Nicky's face. "Of course I know, mi amor. You want to play my favourite game."
The young boy beamed at her, his teeth on full display. He leaned to grab the fallen game board off the floor, then presented it to his mother.
"Maybe by the time we finish Mama will have come back to us!" He said hopefully.
"Maybe so, Nicky, maybe so," she replied softly, even though she could still taste Agatha's reluctance on her lips.
"Do you want to be the blue coffin or the red, Ma?" Nicky asked as he pulled the game pieces from the box.
"You know well and good that I am the green coffin, Nicky," Rio chided.
Agatha's grin appeared on Nicky's face once more. "Well I had to try."
She placed a kiss on the crown of his head, then ruffled his hair with her hand. "You did, you little scamp."
She placed the game board on the floor and settled herself beside it. It really was her favourite game, but then again 'The Game of Death' was named after her.
Also feel free to join my Agatha/Rio discord! 18+ only please
Check out the Agathario Anonymous community on Discord – hang out with 17 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.