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It had been an ordinary, lazy day with light snowfalls coming in throughout. What was far from usual was that a snowstorm was expected to start by the end of the afternoon. In other words: the world outside of the penthouse would cease to exist for the next few days. And in order to survive this ordeal, the girls stocked up on every necessity and resources they would need — not that they needed to prepare much, they already had most of what was necessary since Zoey's dad instilled in her daughter a need to be ready for anything; he was a prepper.
So, with that in mind, the girls had decided to spend most of this time together in the living room, marathoning some movies and k-dramas specifically chosen for the occasion. Zoey insisted they watched The Day After Tomorrow, Rumi wanted something romantic and suggested Business Proposal, and Mira veered for the classic Train to Busan. And since they would have time for all of them, and more, if they managed to keep Rumi from the studio long enough; their leader had been hard to wrangle into agreeing with a three days break over the snowstorm, and Zoey and Mira had hope she would keep her word about relaxing with them for once. Even if it wasn't at the bathhouse like they'd dream of since forever — and not because they both wanted to see Rumi naked, but because they wanted to see her finally taking real care of herself not because she's an idol or a Hunter but for herself. Because Honmoon knows their leader deserved it with all the work she put in everything she does.
Although they also wanted to see her naked.
Even if at this point, Zoey wavered in her certainty that Rumi wanted the same thing, and Mira had all but given up altogether when all physical contact dried up like an old well in a desert. It started small, with Rumi refusing to join sleepovers, then stopping Zoey when she tried to jump in her arms (which, both Mira and Zoey understood, it probably wasn't good for her back), but then it escalated to hugs, and now even holding hands sounded like a far away dream. It came to a point they were surprised when Rumi agreed to a movie night as she was spending more and more time in the studio.
"Do you think we did something?" Zoey had asked Mira one night some time ago after Rumi had refused an umpteenth hangout.
"No," Mira shook her head, watching the dark hallways where Rumi had disappeared mere minutes ago. "I think it's her."
At least that was the hope, because if they did do something, then… How could they make it better without her telling them? But if it was something going on with her, then maybe with time she would open up again or talk to them about it. It became a patience game. Something both girls were terrible at but would still play if it meant Rumi would come back to them.
It was barely past 6pm when the snowstorm started to finally gain traction outside. The girls were barely back when to the penthouse when it did, having left the studio behind so that Mira could start making food for diner. They'd bought many fresh ingredients for the occasion, so they could enjoy the deliciousness that was Mira's cooking. While Mira set up in the kitchen, Zoey and Rumi went to their respective bedrooms to shower and put on some comfortable clothes for the evening. And if Rumi had been acting strange all day, Zoey and Mira decided it was likely due to the weather.
With food on the table and everyone comfortable in the couch, they started their movie night with Mira's movie. It made sense knowing that if they watched it too late, Zoey would be unable to sleep the whole night, jumping at every sound around them and waking them up every five minutes to have them check on said sound with her. They learned that the hard way.
They ate in silence at first, enjoying the taste and feeling of fullness that came with the food. The hot plates also brought comfort to their hands in the often too hard to warm penthouse. Once they were done with the main food, they brought out snacks and popcorn and settled under some blankets. Rumi sat on one side of the couch, and the girls in the middle, sharing one blanket while Rumi had her own.
Wistful, Rumi's eyes often wandered to her friends. She wished she could be with them under the covers, wished she could feel the warms from both of her best friends against her side, but she knew better now. Only a few months ago, she woke up with her hoodie almost fully removed off of her, and her shirt riding up, after a sleep over. Her heart had stopped until she realized she had been the first to awaken, and after that, she had realized she needed to be more careful. And she had been, reducing contact, keeping to herself more, establishing more distance so there wouldn't be any more surprises.
And now… Now, she missed them. All the damn time.
And looking at them snuggling without her was killing her. Her heart clenched in her chest and crumpled like a can of soda under a heavy foot. But it was for the best. She knew it, because Celine told her. Because it would keep her safe. Because it would keep them safe.
So she watched from a distance, trying her hardest to focus on the movie, and missing the way Zoey and Mira would sometimes glance at her.
Wistful.
With the movie over, they all took a quick break to stretch and go to the bathroom. As it was often the case, Rumi was the first to come back, and when she did, she let herself fall on the couch unceremoniously face first in the girls' blanket. A groan escape her, and then she took a deep breath. The scent of both of them immediately hit her. Sandalwood and blackberries. She closed her eyes and closed her arms under her head, bringing more of the blanket to her face.
This was heavenly. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. Her hands clutched handfuls upon handfuls of the blankets and brought them closer, again and again, until very quickly, it formed a ball under her head, like a comfortable pillow protecting her from the harshness of the world. And with her eyes closed, it truly felt like they were enveloping her.
She felt safe.
And something else, deep in her core, familiar when it came to her best friends, that made her want to grind her hips down and—
"Hey, don't fall asleep on us now," Mira's flat voice came like a hammer to shatter her bubble. "Or at least not on top of our blankets."
There was no heat in the teasing words, and Rumi could hear her smirk as much as she could feel her own cheeks redden. She jumped up straight from the couch, hands flying to the hem of her hoodie to bring it further down on her, and looked at Mira. She had a smirk on her gorgeous lips, as predicted.
"Sorry! I, hum… I just settled down without thinking."
Rumi looked down until she heard a muffled laugh, Mira trying to hide it behind her freely closed hand, eyes crinkling and sparkling with amusement behind her golden glasses. She looked amazing before, and now she looked like an angel descended on Earth to torment Rumi's sanity. Rumi swallowed hard, eyes drinking in the vision of Mira giving her smile so freely it hurt, her laugh the bells of hope inside Rumi's heart. Trying to save face — and avoid pouting —, Rumi grabbed a pillow and threw it at Mira, hitting her square in the face. The surprised, undignified yelp, made Rumi laugh in turn before the pink-haired girl retaliated quickly.
It quickly devolved into a full blown pillow fight with the both of them laughing and screaming at each other to stop when they tumbled and fumbled to avoid an expertly thrown pillow.
"Zoey bomb!" suddenly came the most chaotic member of Huntr/x, throwing herself into the fray and hitting both Mira and Rumi like she would have with her shin-kals.
"Cheater!" Mira declared with a groan.
"It's not my fault I'm so tale—"
Smack.
Rumi, as the leader, wasn't about to lose this fight so easily. She laughed at the outraged face Zoey made and her "not fair," before she dodged Mira's attack, only for Zoey to catch her in the stomach. They kept going long enough for them to finally end up in a heap of limbs on the floor where their coffee table used to be, sprawled on the rug with blankets and pillows haphazardly thrown around them. Their breath came in fast and in-between giggles when one of them groaned trying to lift a pillow.
"I think we lost to the couch," Mira deadpanned.
"It was its plan all along, to see us destroyed via pillow fight! I knew it!" Zoey exclaimed in triumph with another giggle. "It was a demon all along!"
Mira laughed along with their maknae, but Rumi couldn't help the shadow that came over her soft features. She took a deep breath and sat up to hide her downcast eyes and down-turned lips.There was an itch in her throat, and she opened her mouth to say something that would change everything. But then Celine's words came back at the forefront of her mind, and her own words died down on her tongue. She stood up to hide the way her throat bobbed when she swallowed the sound of her own voice. She put the table back to where it belonged to keep her hands busy and avoid the slight tremor she felt in her fingers. She could feel the odd looks the girls were giving her and the need to fill the loud silence.
"We still have more stuff to watch, we should get to it," she justified as she turned around to face Zoey and Mira. "Didn't you say your movie was on theme with the snowstorm, Zoey?"
Rumi look at their balcony where the white flakes accumulated high against the window.
"I… guess," Zoey blinked.
The silence became louder. Then, Mira.
"It's another one of those apocalypse movie, right?" she asked, knowing full well it was, her eyes boring holes into Rumi. Like she knew. Knew that Rumi was a liar, and a coward, and that something was wrong with her. But Rumi ignored it, taking solace into Zoey's droning on about apocalypse genre in cinema, and instead grabbed the remote to put the movie on and sit back on her side of the couch.
Alone.
But Mira knew.
The tension in the room was electric, and not the nice kind that made Zoey's skin buzz with excitement. No, it reminded her of her parents, of when it all started to go to shit. And she had no idea what to do to make it better, despite the numerous scenarios she ran in her head when she was younger to try to get her mom and dad back to where they used to be. The situation was too different, the weight heavier, almost like the world depended on this tension dissipating. And in a way it did, Zoey realized, because if they started fighting, then the Demons would win, the Honmoon would come apart, and the three of them…
She thought of the Sunlight Sisters and how Kimmy disappeared from the public eye and Celine's life when Mi-Yeong died. Would they drift apart in the same way if the tension stayed afloat between the three of them? She preferred to think nothing would ever break them apart. But that was what people did. They drifted all alone in the world with no way to truly understand each other. Or that was what she started to believe until she met Rumi and Mira. Then everything changed, and she hoped again, and now—
Mira's arm squeezed her closer to the taller woman, the warmth of her side seeping through the clothes. It was getting colder as the night progressed, but she didn't feel it with Mira's protection.
She glanced at Rumi who was watching the movie intently. She was bundled in her blanket and from time to time would rub her legs or arms when the wind outside or in the movie whistled stronger. She wished she could bring her closer to them, that she could close the distance that seeped between them like an insidious ichor. But she had no idea how. No idea if she had the strength to keep Rumi from drifting further.
A shiver ran through Rumi, clearly visible.
Mira groaned.
Zoey's eyes settled on her just in time to see her roll her eyes. "Just join us, Rumi," she told the stubborn woman.
Rumi's brown eyes widened in surprise.
"I— why would I…? I'm fine."
A scoff. "The ISS can see you shiver through the clouds."
"That's not—"
"Please?" Zoey pleaded then, joining forces with Mira, looking at Rumi with teary brown eyes. Rumi froze, and not because of the temperature. She worried her lip, before finally breaking under the pressure of Zoey's pout and Mira's glare. She approached them tentatively, like a scared cat where a few months ago it was just normal for them all to cuddle on the couch. Mira opened the blanket on her free side and Rumi slipped against her, stiff. Mira wrapped an arm around her and brought her closer, and slowly, Rumi started to relax and even leaned her head against the taller girl's shoulder. It made Zoey smile the smallest bit, but also wonder what could have happened that she became so cautious around them.
"Rumi?" she asked in the smallest voice, eyes focused on something far away so she wouldn't have to look at their leader when she asked her.
"Hm?"
"Did we— Is something—"
Clack.
The lights and the TV suddenly went out with no warning, cutting short all questioning Zoey had. The room was completely dark, no light from the city reaching them and the moon hidden behind clouds keeping any alternate light source out. Zoey blinked a few times, all she heard were Mira's breathing and a sigh of relief. With a confused frown, she took her phone out of her pocket to illuminate the room.
"What just happened?" Zoey asked.
"The lights went out," Mira deadpanned, while Rumi said it completely seriously. They exchanged a glance, a small smile on Rumi's lips contrasting Mira's smirk in a silent understanding. Zoey rolled her eyes at the answer, but couldn't help but feel her heart thump at the exchange and how adorable it had been.
"I guess the power grid couldn't sustain the demand," Zoey mumbled and stood up to go to the balcony. The snow reached her stomach now, and she could see the darkness in the city answer her theory. The only lights she could guess further in town were the hospital's. They probably had a generator in the building. She hoped smaller clinics had too, if they were open. She scanned the Honmoon in search of trouble, but the peaceful net shimmered steadily like it so often did.
"Do any of you remember the safety plan for the building?" Mira asked with the blanket around her shoulders — she always had been the coldest of them — as she stood next to Zoey, Rumi appearing in turn to her side.
"Well, it's not a fire, so we can stay here. But our heating system is electric, so we want to get to a small room without many windows and bundle up there. It would be a good time to have a cow," Rumi answered quietly.
"A cow?" Mira's eyes said more than enough about her skepticism.
"They emit a lot of heat," Rumi said like it was a perfectly normal thing to know and say. Mira decided to let it go there and then and looked at Zoey who was smiling, between laughter and simply happiness to learn a new random fact.
Mira sighed. "Then I guess we're using my bedroom."
It was the smallest of the three they had since Mira liked cramped spaces. It was far from it, of course, and bigger than what they had at the temple during their training, but at least it wasn't as big as her old room at her parents'.
"Mira, you're moving the snacks and water, Zoey and I are on blankets and pillows duty. Be efficient, before the temperature drops in the apartment," their leader organized, kicking them into gear.
They were quick and efficient, grabbing everything they would need to be comfortable during the night. Zoey even started building a blanket fort that Mira finished so the roof was high enough for her to be comfortable.
"What do we do for light?" Mira asked while Rumi was grabbing more blankets from her room. Zoey thought for a second. "Oh, I have some fairy lights. They use a battery, so they'll still work."
And with that, their empire was erected and decently lit.
Only Mira's phone was left on to save on battery life, and it was left ignored in their blanket kingdom. Somewhere. It vibrated a few times but went unheard.
"Uno!" Zoey exclaimed triumphantly, hand raised to present the last card she held. She was so close to winning, she could taste it. And win she did, making Rumi and Mira groan. "That's twelve victory for me, one for Mira and zero for Rumi! Want to go for another one?"
"Absolutely not," Rumi said, then let herself fall on her back, arms open like a starfish. She looked at the fairy lights, then at her bandmates. Under the soft low light they looked like stars in human form, glowing warmly in the cold night. And here she was, lowly mortal, wishing she could reach for them and touch them and make them hers. But they were so far away, she could never even approach them. Not as long as she had her patterns. Tainted, unworthy of their souls.
"Come one Rums!" Zoey insisted, and Mira smirked.
"Yeah, come on. Don't be a sore loser, Princess."
Rumi squinted at Mira and that stupid nickname that she loved to use so much when she wanted to rile her up. It was a clear provocation, and she was not falling for it. "No."
"Rumiiii!" Zoey insisted, her fingers reaching for her waist, fingers light against her side. Rumi wiggled away, knowing full well what that menace was trying to do.
"Hey, no tickling! Not since you almost broke Mira's nose."
"It was hot," Mira commented offhandedly and Zoey giggled. She scooted closer to Rumi with a threatening glint in her eyes.
"There is no rules in the dark," Zoey countered and jumped on Rumi. All the air was knocked from her lungs and she groaned. Meanwhile, Zoey straddled her and started attacking Rumi with her devilish fingers. Rumi tried to resist, to swat her hands away to no avail. Zoey was agile, only second to Mira. Whom decided to join the war on Rumi by approaching sneakily behind her and grabbing her wrists to pin them above her head. She barely registered the compromising position, otherwise, she would have flushed like never before.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Rumi complained and tried to twist away from them and their freakishly strong grips — in her hands for Mira and in her hips for Zoey. "Come on, no!"
The first tickles, she managed to keep a straight face, but then the laugh started to bubble from her exposed ribs. Her hoodie started to ride up without her noticing, too busy fighting for her life and dignity — mainly the last one. It barely exposed a strip of skin.
"Z— Zo! Stop! Please!" she managed between harsh breath.
"Beg for it."
"Never," she declared as strongly as she could with her breath so short.
And that's when the devilish glint of Zoey's eyes turned into an outright evil grin. Slowly, her hands slipped down to Rumi exposed skin. It was almost nothing, just a small strip, but it was enough for Zoey. Rumi's heart stuttered to a stop and then an explosion when the fingers started to move up under her hoodie, butterflies waking up in her stomach and flowers blooming between her legs. Her breath itched in a whimper as fascination took over Zoey's features, and Mira's breath shuddered just watching.
Zoey's eyes grew heavy with want when her hands hiked up the hoodie slowly, deliberately, giving Rumi time to protest if she didn't want it. But she must have, because her back arched, just enough to chase more pressure from the hands, but also to roll her hips the smallest bit, looking for something without knowing it.
"Beg," Zoey offered, and all Rumi did was shake her head, not trusting her voice.
So Zoey kept going, her body leaning closer as she progressed and the pad of her thumbs reached — Oh no. No, no, nonono! Rumi realized suddenly where the hands were heading, and panic froze her brain and body. She needed to do something. Stop it all.
Luckily, Zoey must have noticed the shift in Rumi, because he hands stopped their progression and retreated with caution. Mira immediately let go of her hands.
"Is something wrong?" the taller girl asked.
With her hands now free, Rumi immediately brought down her hoodie, covering her stomach once again, feeling immediate relief flood through her veins like warm liquid. This had been a close call. Too close. Her patterns— the thought petered out when she noticed the concern in Zoey and Mira's eyes. She still hadn't answered the question.
"Rumi…?" Zoey pressed gently to try and get an answer, but not so much she would force her to say anything. Rumi swallowed around the knot forming in her throat.
"I… Yes, sorry, I just— too many tickles. You know how it is." She slipped away from under Zoey and stood up in a corner of their blanket fort, hugging herself. She looked at both girls, at Mira's raised eyebrow, at Zoey's worried lips, and guilt snaked its way in her heart and spread line vines coiling around a tree trunk. "It's nothing, really."
"You don't have to lie to us, Rumi," Mira said flatly, annoyed at being so blatantly lied to. "You can tell us it's none of our business, if you want to, but don't lie to us."
Words started to work their way up her throat before she could keep them in. They were second nature at this point, thrown around every time her girls got closer to the truth. And they kept coming closer, bit by bit, and maybe they would figure it out soon.
"I'm not lying!" she lied with desperation. Like a wounded animal trying to find a way out.
Mira looked hurt for a second, before her gaze steeled and she stood up to leave their fort; the door to the bathroom opened outside of their shelter, and slammed shut. Zoey stood up in turn, and took a tentative step towards Rumi. She stepped back. "Did we hurt you?"
"What? No! Of course not!"
"Then what happened? You can tell us anything, you know that right?" Zoey took another step forward, brows knitted together as she tried to understand what was going on. And seeing those brown eyes, so open, so ready to listen whatever Rumi had to say… She wanted to tell the truth. She really did. And maybe she should, maybe it was the only solution if she didn't want that distance between the three of them to settle forever, if she wanted more of what was happening just moments ago.
Her mouth opened. "Zoey, I—"
Bzzzt. Bzzzzt.
Mira's phone had been thrown around during their battle, and now laid right between them. Rumi noticed the way Zoey's eyes stayed on her a second longer before closing briefly. A deep breath. She looked down, then back up.
"It's Celine."
A cold shiver ran up Rumi's spine. Did she know, somehow? Did she develop super-hearing through the Honmoon?
"I should… I need to answer." She crouched and grabbed the phone, putting it on speaker. "Hello, Celine."
"Thank the Honmoon you're alright," Celine said, some shuffling coming through the speakers. "I've been trying to call you for the past hour. I heard about the blackout, I wasn't sure there would still be signal with the blackout in Seoul."
"Yes, the news said the infrastructures were fine, it's just an overload. It should be back in a few hours," Rumi explained quickly, her eyes drifting to the number of missed calls at the top left of the screen.
"That's good. How are you girls?" Celine asked, voice softer.
"We're… we're fine." Rumi glanced at Zoey, who still looked worriedly at Rumi. She took a shaky breath. "Actually, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Of course." Rumi put the phone back to normal, then promptly exited the room to the hallway with an apologetic gaze given to Zoey. She closed the door softly. It was cold out there, Rumi immediately missing the bedroom, the temperature dropping as there was no heat anymore to fight the lower temperature seeping through the glass windows. "Talk to me, Rumi," Celine pressed.
"I just…" She took a deep breath, and when it came out it formed a small white cloud in front of her trembling mouth. Mira's disappointment and anger and Zoey's worry and fear flashed in her mind. "I think I should tell them the truth."
A sigh came from the other side of the phone. "Rumi, we already—"
"I know. I know…" She expected the refusal, but she still worried her lips as she thought about it, about the many points she could make and how Celine would dismiss them. They'd practiced this dance many times. But this was different. She was so tired of lying, and feeling so guilty all the time. "But I—"
"Rumi. They wouldn't understand. You know it. Until the Honmoon is sealed, you must stay hidden."
Something bubbled inside Rumi, and she closed her eyes. "Yes, Celine," she answered, voice subdued. What was she to do, when Celine was the one who guided her for so long, took care of her, and taught her everything she knew? Rules and rituals ingrained in her since childhood. Scathing against her heart. Burning all hope she had besides the one at the end of the tunnel, a light amongst the darkness. Celine had to know better than her. Otherwise, everything she ever knew would have been a lie.
And she was tired of lies. Wasn't it better to know? To untangle everything and see where the truth laid in the end?
They said their goodbye, and to Rumi, it felt like the same as the distant howling of the wind beyond the windows; it was a world away from her, too normal to truly resonate with her, too estranged with her desires.
Did Celine know better?
Her arm fell limp next to her. Her feet took her to the bay window. The world was still dark outside. Zoey's words came back at the forefront of her mind.
The rules didn't apply in the dark.
As soon as the door closed behind Rumi, Zoey looked down at her own hands; they were still warm from the skin she'd touched under Rumi's hoodie. Simply thinking about it, about the contact, about the way she arched against her palms, their bodies meeting in a burning roll of the hips, made her core coil around itself like paper at the contact of dousing flames. And the thing was, she was so certain Rumi had felt the same! Her pupils were blown wide. She moved for more contact. So what could have spooked her so much? Was it her? Was she the problem, did she misinterpret everything? And now Rumi was talking about it to Celine, and her life was over, and—
Her spiral was cut short when Mira's hand fell on her shoulder. Her eyes focused back to reality, and she quickly noticed the clear brown eyes with their flakes of gold and tenderness.
"Back with me?" Mira asked quietly.
Zoey nodded quickly. "Yes, sorry, I was just…"
"Spiraling?" Her eyebrows shot up.
"In my head, but yes, that too," Zoey huffed with a small, shy smile. It quickly dropped when she remembered what she was thinking about seconds ago. "Do you think we went too far?"
Mira considered the question for a second. "I don't think so. She was lying about the why she froze, not about us going too far."
She had seen it, the moment Rumi froze, noticed how her eyes went wide, and suddenly, there were no more sounds, no whimpers, no heavy breathing, no movement, nothing. It had been scary, and in the moment Mira did wonder if they went too far. But then the lie? Mira scoffed, remembering the moment.
"Do you think she will tell us what it was?" a very insecure Zoey asked, and Mira wrapped her arms around her. Zoey rested her head against Mira, and she rested her chin on top of Zoey's head, swaying slightly and rubbing her back.
"Maybe. But we can't force her."
Zoey groaned in frustration at that. "But what if she likes being tied up and interrogated?"
Mira huffed a small laugh, low, a rumble in her chest that sent shivers through Zoey. She brought Mira closer, her hands now fists in the soft clothes. "That might be something we explore at a later date."
"You're no fun." Zoey couldn't believe they decided to wait on Rumi for anything to happen between them. She took a deep breath of Mira's scent and let go of her. She examined the pink-haired woman and noticed the red-rims under her slightly puffy eyes. "You look like hell."
"Jeez, thanks, Zo."
"Sorry! I just mean… are you gonna be okay?" Zoey asked apologetically. Mira looked away, adjusted her glasses. She hated being lied to, hated that one of the people who she was closest to didn't trust her. It hurt like a bitch, and the worst part probably was that she still couldn't let go of Rumi, of her feelings for her and her stupid big brown eyes and even bigger heart. Because she knew there had to be a reason behind the lies. It wasn't just to rile her up. But it still hurt just the same.
"I will. I just needed to let it out a bit."
Zoey nodded, understanding all too well. And just as their conversation came to a halt, the door to the hallway opened and Rumi appeared in the room once again.
When she entered their little blanket fort, Rumi was relieved to feel the warmth seep back in her cold bones. And then dread at seeing Zoey and Mira's gaze on her. Especially Mira's. She noticed she had cried and guilt settled back deep within her chest, alongside the fear she felt right now. She worried her lip between her teeth and gestured for Zoey and Mira to sit down. She followed suit.
"I need to tell you guys something."
At their curious glances, she tried not to let the nerves take over. She made her decision, now she just needed to be brave enough to go through with it. That was the hard part. So to give her some courage, she grabbed Mira and Zoey's hands and intertwined their fingers.
They must have felt how nervous she was, because their eyes quickly went from curiosity to support and that irresistible kindness and care.
"You can tell us anything," Zoey echoed like earlier. Mira nodded decisively.
"Whatever it is, we're here for you or something."
That was so her, it made Rumi smile just enough to soften her features under the soft fairy lights. She knew exactly where to start now.
"I'm sorry I lied." She looked down in shame, worried eyes falling onto their two pair of hands. "I've been… it's been going on for a while, actually."
Mira's fingers tightened against Rumi's, both because she was sad she had been right, but also to tell Rumi she appreciated her coming clean. It was grounding, giving Rumi more courage than ever. Zoey rubbed her knuckles and it sealed the deal. There was no going back.
"I was told not to tell you the truth by Celine, but I guess… lying became easier than even thinking of telling you the truth along the way. So I kept playing pretend, and for so long it felt like it would work. That if I buried my guilt enough, my lies and the reality of the situation would just go away."
"That's not how lies work, Rumi," Mira whispered, sad for her friend that she had had to feel that way. "The truth never goes away." Rumi acknowledged it with a squeeze of her hand.
"The hope was that it would. But even if it did… it would still leave the lies. And I care more about you two than I do Celine's rules. So…"
She took a deep breath.
Shaky.
Terrified.
And she told them everything.
Outside, there was a lull in the storm. The snowflakes fell slowly again, swaying in the air to the muffled silence. It was a practiced dance, and yet it was so new to the freshly-formed snow. It danced in the dark, the night sky its heavenly backdrop. It danced from the clouds to the ground. It danced, danced, danced, and fell, fell, fell, and finally, it landed amongst friends.
Silence.
Zoey's hand left hers, and her arm fell limply at her side. The lies, the truth, whichever, had caught up to her and her friends it seemed, she thought as she looked at her abandoned hand. Only for the warm embrace of Zoey to immediately replace the loss. Rumi blinked once, twice, then closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Zoey's waist, her nose nuzzling her shoulder when tears threatened to spill from her burning eyes.
"Rumi… thank you for finally telling us."
A hand joined Zoey's on her back, warm enough she could feel it through her hoodie. Mira's lips found the crown of her head. Her forehead fell against the top of Rumi's head afterward. She could feel the conflicting emotions within the pink-haired woman, and she knew she had many questions, and would probably hold the lying against her for some time, but she also knew they'd be from the small gestures.
Mira's arms took both Rumi and Zoey in against her, and they both leaned against her in their embrace. Rumi breathed in deeply, the sandalwood and blackberry smell grounding her. Zoey rubbed gentle circles against her back and Rumi nuzzled closer before she turned her head so Mira's chin was right against her temple. The three of them staying like that long enough for their scents to mix together in something familiar, something comforting that existed before Rumi started to isolate so much.
"So… your mom fucked a demon, huh? Can't say I blame her, you sure look hot as hell."
"Zoey!" Rumi straightened up, skin flushed with pink from the tip of her ears to her chest, and the top of her head immediately met Mira's chin. Both of them yelped in pain, holding the hurt part of their bodies as they separated from each other.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Zoey exclaimed with remorse and worries, before a huff of laughter reached her ears. Mira's laughter. Quickly followed by Rumi who was still rubbing the site of contact at the top of her head. "Okay, you guys definitely have a concussion."
Rumi shook her head. "No, no, it's just… I'm surprised this didn't happen more often."
"Yeah, and what you said was funny," Mira added. Rumi sent her a skeptical glance, and the dazzling smirk that was sent her way had her look away. Directly at Zoey whose worries eased a little at the small exchange, and was now smiling so fondly that Rumi's heart jumped at the sweet sight.
Zoey looked so pretty: her hair fell freely around her face in loose black curls, and her skin glowed softly under the fairy lights, complimenting the constellations of freckles which dotted her nose and cheeks. Her eyes glinted in a way Rumi had seen before — when Zoey thought she wasn't looking — and it was so full of something Rumi had been so scared to name she could barely stand to look at them; but her heart knew better and jumped in her chest, almost breaking her ribs with joy. She maintained eye contact, lost in those dark pearls, until movement further down caught her attention. Her eyes fell to Zoey's lips.
When her eyes came back up to Zoey's, her fondness now shared the stars of the deep brown eyes with something more akin to hunger.
This too she had seen before and been scared to name.
But tonight, she felt brave: she wanted to name those feelings so they could thrive. So she could thrive. No more lies, no more shame, no more fear. Trust, acceptance, courage. All found in a love that she never expected to happen but did anyway.
So, her hand found Zoey's cheek. "Your joke wasn't funny," she said tenderly, her eyes in hers, and saw Zoey about to protest. She cut her off with her lips, a fleeting kiss that lasted but a second and kept going in the breath they shared afterwards. "But I love you for it."
The blush on Zoey's face was instant, as was the large smile. She leaned to the side to look at Mira. "She said she loves me, did you hear!"
"I did," Mira answered with a smirk.
"Wait, did you mean love me as a friend or a—"
Rumi rolled her eyes and leaned forward again to kiss her, longer this time. It started slow, lips moving in tandem, a dance like snowflakes in the wind, so natural it felt magical. Her lips tasted of berries and something uniquely her that she wanted to chase further. She tilted her head, bit her lip to find answers in tongues she had no knowledge of but was willing to learn, and Zoey opened her mouth to allow it. Their tongues met, and a whimper escaped Zoey at Rumi's eagerness. It was followed by a groan from Rumi when she felt a hand on her face and another on her waist demanding her attention. Her kiss with Zoey ended with a few more pecks before she looked at Mira who had moved closer to her and rose an eyebrow expectantly.
"Don't tell me this is all only for Zoey," she said coolly but Rumi could hear the pout behind the bravado. She laughed, charmed, and shook her head.
"No, it's you too. I love you." And it was sweet on the tongue and easy on the heart to say this simple truth. Her eyes searched Mira's, and she found the answers in the almond bright brown eyes almost immediately.
Rumi still took the time to commit her to memory, in this very moment, when she told her she loved her. The soft glow of her hair against the yellow light of the fort was gorgeous, giving her a pink halo on one side before the fuzziness of the shadows caught up, giving the illusion that her eyes were two colors: one deep brown, the other almost gold. Her plush lips were so inviting, too, pink with chapstick applied earlier in the night.
Mira tilted her head when all Rumi did was look at her, and that's when she leaned closer, one arm wrapping around Mira to bring their bodies together, and kissed her. Now hungry with desire, the kiss heated up rapidly. It deepened, and they couldn't tell who actually moaned into it first. It fanned the flames inside both of them, and if Rumi could see, she'd know Zoey wasn't immune to it either.
Her glassy eyes drank in their passion and, unable to stay away, she leaned in and kissed Rumi's neck under her ear, one of the only spot available to her right now.
This time, she knew exactly she was the one moaning at the nip. It elicited a smirk from Mira who muffled the sound when she leaned closer, tongue still in Rumi's mouth, and pushed Rumi against the numerous pillows on the floor atop the just as numerous blankets. She could have straddled her right there and then, but instead, she slipped on Rumi's left so that Zoey could have enough space to join them. Zoey kissed Mira's shoulder in thanks and settled on top of Rumi to no ones surprise.
She leaned down, so that her lips were next to Rumi's ear shell.
"We've waiting so long for this, Rumi. We love you so much," Zoey admitted casually, and Mira broke the kiss briefly to agree. Rumi could barely believe her ears.
"We really do. We love you, Rumi."
Rumi could have cried at their declaration, her heart about ready to explode with how many feelings she had, but her mind was busy with something else. Zoey's teeth grabbed some of Rumi's sensitive skin and sucked on it, while her hands risked venturing under the hoodie once again. This time, there was no protest, only the shiver running down Rumi's spine and her loud moans against Mira's lips at Zoey's sucking. She bucked her hips under her, looking for some friction but found no purchase. A frustrated groan escape her lips, especially when Zoey teased the neck skin right above Rumi's hoodie.
"I think she wants us to take that off," Zoey hummed.
Mira and her worked in tandem to free Rumi from the hoodie and her shirt got caught into it too. The ambient air hit her skin as Zoey and Mira gawked at Rumi and her patterns. Despite the revelation earlier, it hit them for the first time that it was true, and that it had nothing to do with evil and everything to do with love.
"Guys…?" Rumi asked as she started to feel self-conscious, her arms coming up to try and hide her purpleing patterns. Back to reality, the girls both moved together. They gently pried away Rumi's arms and peppered her skin with kisses. Lighter than words, heavier in meaning. A gasp escaped Rumi, and her patterns slowly turned pinker with every time their lips touched the jagged edges, as if their acceptance seeped into her skin and took out the years of poisons instilled into her.
"You're perfect," Mira said with a loving, tender smile, her hands on Rumi's cheeks now and bringing her in for a kiss on her forehead, then her swollen lips. Her hands slipped to her shoulders, resting on what Rumi once thought were marks of her shame, her wrongness. But how could they be when Mira held them so lovingly.
"So pretty," Zoey agreed and came up to kiss Rumi's lips in turn, albeit briefly as she quickly turned to her collarbone to follow along one of her patterns with her tongue. It turned a golden pink wherever she touched and turned back to a darker pink after she was through. "And only we get to see all of it."
Mira groaned in ascent. She wanted Rumi to be theirs, no one else.
It elicited a needy whimper in Rumi, surprising even herself that the possessiveness would do anything to her, but her lower abdomen twisted like a hard coil and her heart hammered away in her chest. It was strange, but reassuring, to know they wanted her so badly. To know that not only she was loved, but her patterns too.
Something Mira showed further when it was her turn to mark Rumi on the other side of her neck and her hand slipped towards the hem of Rumi's pajama pants following the warmth of one of them. She almost jumped from the surprise, but quickly relaxed when Mira settled her hand against her abs.
"Tell me if it gets too much, pretty girl," Mira murmured against her lips.
"I just… I want to take it slow," she said and Mira hummed, before Rumi pouted. "Plus, you two are still fully clothed."
Mira huffed a laugh where Zoey giggled against her shoulder. "Okay, yeah, that's fair I think."
"Easy to remedy," Mira smirked and quickly brought her hoodie up, only for it to get caught on her glasses. She groaned in frustration, Zoey laughing more openly now while Rumi tried to help her and muffle her laugh at the same time. A very red and pouty Mira came out of the garment. "Stop laughing, it got caught in my glasses! It's not my fault!"
"You were— You tried to be— so smooth," Zoey struggled to say fully before she collapsed, her face hidden against Rumi's collarbone. She patted the back of her head while sending an apologetic smile at Mira.
"Sorry, it was just so cute."
Mira glared at the both of them and refused to answer anything, simply putting her glasses away for now along with her top. "Your turn, Zoey."
The still laughing younger girl managed to sit up and take off her top smoothly like a manwha protagonist, alongside her short, leaving her in a bra and boxer. "See, not that hard," she said with a shit eating grin Rumi barely noticed. What she did notice were the vast plains of freckles on Zoey's shoulders and on the top of her chest, and her back, and Rumi already knew it was there, but it felt so different now. She wanted to kiss each and every one of them, and do it some more with her tongue, leaving her marks to form red and blue and purple galaxies for those stars.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up and she leaned up to kiss Zoey's shoulder, then her neck, and finally her teeth scrapped her earlobe. It cut her laughter short, the sound choked out. This made Mira smirk instead of pout, and they were back on track, except this time both women's focus were on Zoey.
Rumi's hands quickly joined the kisses on Zoey's skin, her fingertips flying to her waist and then abdomen.
"Cat got your tongue?" Mira teased. Zoey was about to answer, but by then, the pink-haired woman was towering over her on her knees to grab her by the chin. She arched an eyebrow, awaiting a clever answer and all she got was a whimper. "I guess something will," she said before her lips found Zoey's.
Rumi's arousal immediately skyrocketed upon seeing the two women she loved kiss, feeling the heat between Zoey's legs against her straddled legs, not far from her core actually. Maybe if she moved just the smallest bit… one of her leg went up, the other down, and now her thigh was right against Zoey's covered wetness. She bit her lip at the sensation, and Zoey's moan was swallowed by Mira's tongue. The raven-haired girl rolled her hips, and Rumi's hands encouraged it by guiding her and adjusting her position some more.
With more friction came more moans, redder cheeks and breast, and Rumi wondered was it would feel like to taste the nipples she could see straining against the fabric of her bra. One of her guiding hands went up and started to try and undo the offending clothing item, fumbling with it until Mira took pity or simply noticed and decided to do it for her with the expertise of someone used to it. Something Rumi definitely didn't want to think about right now, so she shelved it for later. Instead, she brought the bra straps down with her teeth and hand and got rid of it, and by the Honmoon, Zoey was gorgeous.
Her breasts were round, and generous enough there was some weight in them Rumi quickly realized when she brought a needy hand to one of them, her thumb rubbing the light brown nipple. She swallowed hard when she noticed Zoey's slick broke containment against her pajama leg at the simple contact. She felt her own pool against her own underwear.
"Fuck, you're so hot…" Rumi whispered, bringing her lips closer to her tits so she could mark the sensitive skin before she licked at it.
This time, Zoey threw her head back and an obscene moan rang loud and clear in the room, quickly followed by another when Mira grazed her skin with her teeth and started sucking on it, leaving a mark on her neck. Working in tandem, both Rumi and Mira brought Zoey arousal up, Rumi feeling that progress intimately through her ruined pajama pants. It was uncomfortable, and at this point she was done with wearing any form of clothing. She played with the edge of Zoey's underwear and kissed Mira's shoulder to get her attention, pointing at it.
"Think we can get rid of it?"
A smirk. "Absolutely. Zoey, darling?"
Zoey nodded enthusiastically once she realized what was happening, eyes glassy and voice rough from her wanton moans. "Yep, let me just—"
She quickly realized the situation she was in, and in frustration summoned a shin-kal and cut off both sides of the boxer. Rumi laughed and shook her head. "You didn't need to do that." But the truth was she actually approved; she didn't want to lose the closeness with her girls. And it gave her the privilege to watch the cloth fall off and reveal how damp it was.
She wished she could taste Zoey.
"Yes, and now it's your turn!"
Rumi opened her eyes wide, looking at her favorite pajama pants. "Wait!"
An evil laugh came from the horny machine on top of her. But before it went further, Mira stopped Zoey and disengaged both Rumi and Zoey, leaving cold air next to them. Maybe she should just cut off her clothes, actually. "Come on, Zoey." She helped the woman stand up, and she managed to stay on her legs long enough for them both to help Rumi take off the rest of her pajamas. It was far from sexy, but it was tender, and the giggles they shared when one of them almost lost their balance was like the warm glow of embers in the morning, a promise of the fire to come.
And did it ignite brightly when it was Rumi's turn to help Zoey with Mira's clothes. Not that she needed any help, but they offered it willingly, their hands delicate with the comfortable underwear Mira wore on her toned body.
"If I had known I'd have better prepare myself," she bemoaned.
Zoey moved her eyebrows seductively, mockingly so. "There's always next time, right, Rumi?"
And that sentence, a fact simply stated by Zoey, hit Rumi like a ton of bricks, because she hadn't thought this far, hadn't thought that they'd want a next time at all, actually. But Zoey, and Mira too, if her answer was anything to go by.
Something cracked inside her chest.
"Tease me again and there won't be a next time." There was no heat in those words, instead simply the shadow of a smirk. And then worry. "Oh shit, Rumi? Are you okay, I didn't mean it."
Confused, Rumi looked at both Zoey and Mira and noticed they were blurry. She brought her hands to her cheeks and felt the trails of tears stain the skin under them. She was crying. Why was she crying?
"I— I'm sorry," she said, a bit lost as to what was happening. "I don't know why—"
"Rumi, don't apologize," Mira said quickly, while Zoey brought her down so she would sit between the both of them. With them bracketing her, Rumi was warm despite the lack of clothes.
"Yeah, sex can be a very vulnerable moment," Zoey sat her chin on top of Rumi's shoulder to look at her, taking the time to rub away the tears as they appeared. "Why don't you tell us what's going on in that noggin of yours?"
Mira mouthed a "really?" but let Rumi express herself, her hand on her back to rub soothing circles on her naked skin.
"I don't know," she said slowly, "truly, I don't, you were just saying— Zoey said next time, and you agreed, Mira, and I don't know. It just— with everything, with how nice you've been, how understanding, I just— I thought you'd hate me."
It was hard to follow Rumi's train of thought for the girls, even for Rumi, but they managed after years of knowing her, and now suddenly understanding what she had to go through lying to them for so long, being told and trained to kill demons, and oh Honmoon, how didn't she cry earlier? Zoey wondered.
"But you— you still want me? After everything?"
"Duh!" Zoey let escape before thinking, but no one was surprised, so she forged on. "Don't get me wrong, you lying was bad, but, you're still you. And I love you. And I'd choose you every time," she whispered tenderly, and kissed the corner of Rumi's mouth with the same love she'd shown her for the past eight years.
"I can't say it didn't hurt, because it did. But, I get where you're coming from," Mira added pensively. "You were scared. And you still told us. Maybe a bit late, but you still did. And that counts for something." She paused, her eyes still on Rumi as a blush crept up her face since she wasn't done. "And yeah, turn out I'm in love with you, so. I can give you just a little more grace."
Zoey snorted at that, but Rumi didn't hear it. Instead she heard the echo of their words unfurling the tight fist she kept on her emotions. And maybe it wasn't fully open, but it was enough to let their emotions and their care sip in, enough for Rumi to realize she was more than her patterns and the voice meant to bring the Golden Honmoon.
She took Mira's hand in hers, and kissed it sweetly, then her lips. Then, she turned to the other woman, her precious Zoey, finding her cheek with her free fingers to caress before her lips found hers.
"Thank you. Now I think I'd like to go back to what we were doing before," she whispered between them with a shy smile, eyes still red, but heart fuller than ever before.
"Are you sure?" Mira hesitated, the voice of reason who always looked after her girls. "We don't have to."
"But I want to. Plus…" Rumi started and then mumbled something impossible to understand, face redder than a tomato and tips of her ears burning hotter than a furnace. Mira and Zoey frowned and leaned closer.
"What was that?" Zoey asked with a tilt of the head.
Rumi repeated her mumble with more mumbles.
"Wh—"
"I'm still really horny and wet!" she shouted. If anything, it was worse than before now that she could finally see Zoey and Mira truly meant what they said. And maybe they would have laughed if it wasn't so hot to see Rumi express her desires this way, all shy and ready for more. If it didn't ignite something deep in Mira's core, low in Zoey's abdomen.
Zoey was the first one to move and push her lips to Rumi's. The lavender-haired woman melted in the kiss, her eyes fluttering close. It was slow, Zoey coaxing her on her laps. She held her close, the most precious treasure in her eyes, and let her fingers roam the expanse of skin, finding Mira's hand on Rumi's hip. The taller woman had closed the distance with her two lovers and put herself behind Rumi, one hand on her hip, the other against her stomach, while her lips ghosted over her back and shoulders, leaving small kisses, until she found her neck once again.
To Rumi, it was a whirlwind of sensations, from the caress on her patterned skin, her skin raising like an electric current went through between them, to the lips on her own. She rasped their names to encourage them further, and their touch became stronger, grips tighter, and teeth joined their kisses.
Zoey sucked on Rumi's bottom lip and was rewarded with a deep growl followed by Rumi's tongue darting between her lips. She took it in easily, tasting and feeling more of her, swallowing her moan when Mira cupped her breast and massaged it.
Sharp breaths came together when Rumi started her own explorations. She hadn't forgotten the way Zoey's wetness felt, nor what happened when she played with her nipples ever so slightly. And now she was doing it with purpose, mimicking what Mira did to her subconsciously, rolling the nipple between her fingertips firmly enough they shared a moan and a whimper between their lips. Mira smirked against Rumi's shoulder and bit down on it enough to leave a slight mark. She released a breathy groan and looked at Mira's teasing smirk.
"Do you want more?" Mira asked her girl.
"I think our girl is ready. I can feel how slick and warm she is, you're gonna love it," Zoey murmured on the other side of Rumi's head. Mira leaned and gave Zoey a rewarding kiss.
"You've done so good, Zo. Now, Rumi?"
Rumi swallowed hard, rested her forehead against Zoey's, pupils blown wide from everything. "Please Mir'," she pleaded, and Mira complied happily. The slender, gracious hand followed the trail of Rumi's abs, dancing along the edges and ridges the muscles formed, only to dip lower to a different kind of trail. It lead her to the valley between her thighs, her torso shaking with the sharp breath it elicited into her, adding to the slick that escaped the folds to drown the supple skin.
"You were right Zo', she's so wet for us," Mira confirmed without even having to dip a finger closer.
"Hm, how about I help. Rumi, can I?" Zoey asked and all Rumi could do was nod before Zoey latched onto her breast with a happy hum. Even with the warning, the wet contact of her tongue surprised Rumi. She gasped, and then moaned wantonly when Mira took that opportunity to slip between her folds.
She assembled some of Rumi's wetness with two fingers, brought them to herself to taste. "Delicious, like I thought."
Then, Mira offered her lips to Zoey. "For a taste," she said like it was some delicacy that needed a special way to eat it so you would taste all the subtleties. And maybe it was. Rumi's aroused brain had no idea right now, all she saw was the way Zoey kissed Mira, sucked on her bottom lip, and dipped her tongue in her mouth.
The erotic sigh lasted until their breath were too shallow to continue. Not that they forgot Rumi, Mira's finger finding her folds again and settling between them to gently rub her clit, while Zoey kept a hand on her breast.
Rumi's moans were the room's symphony, still at its slow opening, in the muffled silence of the storm.
"My turn," Zoey said with want.
And soon enough, Rumi found herself on her back again, with Mira behind her being the one playing with her breasts this time, and Zoey lying between her legs. Kisses along the inside of her thighs were followed by Zoey's tongue against her cunt, following the line that led to her clit. Rumi shook and moaned above her, held in place by Mira's legs and her hands on her tits.
"It's even better from the source," she commented as she took in the heady scent of Rumi's wetness. It was almost as delicious as when she tasted it on Mira's lips, but also very different.
She wanted more.
Her tongue dipped between the open folds and gathered as much as this ambrosia as possible before she reached her clit, pressed on it with the flat of her tongue and got to work. The feeling of Zoey's tongue against her spread throughout her whole body from her core with each movement, shockwaves taking her over like earthquakes and aftershock, reinforced by Mira's voice behind her. She could feel the rumble from the taller girl against her back, her breath against her skin, and her expert fingers playing with her breasts.
It added to the host of sensation, to the build up in her core.
It was incredible, and so different than when she touched herself. She felt ready to skyrocket but also much more grounded by their presence. There was something in them being here with her, in the way their fingers sunk down in her flesh, how their hungers resonated with her own. They were giving her so much. And she hoped she could give them the same in return.
But for now, they were all about her, and Rumi couldn't even try to contain her voice when Zoey sunk two fingers inside of her. She clenched onto them, felt them move slowly, and even if she had had her own fingers down there before, Zoey made her feel full in a way she herself never could. The satisfied chuckle against her clit sent her higher just as much at that point. Her legs shook, enough to be noticed.
"You're doing such a good job, pretty girl," Mira encouraged her. A hum of approval reverberated from Zoey, whose eyes found Rumi's from her position, and twinkled with pride at the lewd sound she managed to extract from her, the squelching of her wetness loud from her fingers pressing in deeper with each stroke, and the sucking on her clit like she never needed air to begin with. "Your voice is amazing when you lose control. I can't wait to hear more of it."
And she did, as Rumi reached her snapping point, her core coiling in waves after waves with Zoey's rhythm, until it couldn't go back anymore, until she reached her point of no return, that high coming in and crashing down on her, snapping wildly — when finally her toe curled and her thighs closed and her back arched and her eyes shut and her head fell back against Mira's shoulder in ecstasy.
In the wake of her orgasm, she left many nails trails in Mira's arms, holding onto her while the pleasure seeped everywhere into her muscles to evaporate slowly, leaving only a peace and happiness she never felt before.
And just like that, the silence in the room returned over the erratic breaths the three girls shared, over the kisses and sweet nothing they exchanged.
They shared many more in the night, until their bodies crashed, and they were nothing more than a tangle of limbs and giggles and happy smiles. Every sins, every lie, every secrets in the dark washing away from them as they talked some more, became more.
And found peace in the silence of the night.