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After a long day of product shots, meetings, and a frustrating recording session, Rumi is glad to be back at the penthouse. Exhaustion hits her like a brick as she shuffles through the elevator door.
“I’m home.” Rumi calls out as she shucks off her shoes and jacket. “You guys would never believe the day I had-” She peaks into the living room, expecting to see familiar faces, but is met with a vacant couch.
That’s when she realizes the penthouse is oddly silent.
Rumi checks her phone to see if she had missed a text, or texts. She scrolls through social media notifications and past calls, landing on their group chat. The last message had been during her recording session letting them know she’d be late.
Zoey > you toooooooooootally got this!!!!!!!! we’ll be here! couch time is soooo soon!!!!!!!!!!! :3 💙
Mira > We’ll wait to order take out until you get back. You got this, tiger. 🩷
Rumi had responded with her own purple heart spam.
Now, standing in the empty living room, she frowns.
She's used to there being noise. Zoey’s high pitched laughter, yelps, or screams. Mira’s low drawl, humming, or chuckle. And on the off chance either of them are asleep, she’d find them on the couch with the TV playing.
But nothing is unheard of. Nothing is suspicious.
Rumi heads to Zoey’s bedroom door first. She presses an ear against the door, expecting maybe to hear her snoring from inside.
“Zoey?” She says, before opening the door a crack.
Zoey’s room is in its usual state of disarray. Plushies, pillows, and blankets are sprawled across her bed. Whenever they chose to sleep there, Mira would always make sure to stack them carefully around them so they could have a manageable amount of room to sleep with them. Rumi spots the three closest to her usual spot, right in front of some half flipped open journals, are the ones from their trip to the aquarium. Zoey’s turtle is propped up against Rumi’s bodylength oarfish. She could just see the small, betafish keychain Mira had bought perched on top of his head.
Rumi giggles at the sight, closing the door, moving to Mira’s. She doesn’t hear the usual metal music that Mira blasts when she’s choreographing, so she knocks. “Mira?”
Again, silence.
Rumi opens the door.
Mira’s room is neat, but lived in. Her bed is made, but Zoey’s influence speaks volumes with the few stuffed animals Rumi swears she’s seen on Zoey’s bed at one point. There are some hangers discarded on the bed, but that's not too out of her norm.
Mira’s desk is surprisingly cluttered, the biggest item being a large drawing pad. Without going in, Rumi can just barely see the various clothing sketches, colors, and patterns. She grins, making a note to buy her another soon. Maybe she could persuade her to do another art class in Italy during their next break.
Closing the door, Rumi heads to the only other place they could be, her room.
“Come on guys, where are you?” Rumi flings open the door, about to wrangle them when- “Derpy?!”
The giant spirit tiger blinks lazily at her from the bed, one eye then the next. Sussie sits on top of his head.
Rumi laughs. She scratches under his chin. He chuffs. “You wouldn’t happen to know where Zo and Mir are, would you?”
Derpy, majestically, says nothing.
Sussie however squawks, flapping to her balcony door and taps with his beak. Rumi hears a mutter, swearing, and-
“Crap!”
“Oh my god. Zoey!”
“Sorry! Sorry! I got it, nothing spilled!”
Rumi raises an eyebrow at the magpie, who just rolls his eyes and gestures.
She huffs a laugh, heading onto the balcony.
The sun is setting across Seoul in ripples of blue, pinks, and yellows. Squinting against the sun’s dying rays, Rumi finds them fretting near the table she recently purchased to have morning tea out here.
Mira is hunched over the table. Next to her, Zoey brushes dirt into her hand on the ground. With a triumphant shout, Zoey stands, dumping the dirt in front of Mira before nudging at her with an elbow. Mira in turn hip bumps her with a laugh. They're whispering, but Rumi can't tell what they're saying.
Rumi clears her throat, crossing her arms, “I didn’t expect to find you out here.” She says, and watches as they both stiffen immediately.
They whip around, hiding whatever they were doing behind their back. It takes everything in her power not to laugh.
“Rumi!” Zoey grins widely in the way she knows she’s caught. “I didn't hear you come in- Or I mean, come out! Of your room. When did you get back? Did recording go well?”
Rumi smiles. She’s always been charmed by Zoey’s chatter of all kinds. She shrugs, “Better now I’m done with it. I only expected to rerecord a few lines, but then they asked me to listen to the rough mix too.” She sighs, “It had some balance problems I still don't think we fixed, but that's a problem for later.”
“Awwww,” Zoey shoots her an empathetic look. Her fingers twitch as if she's ready to swoop Rumi into one of her bear hugs, but she doesn't, making whatever's behind her far more interesting.
“I’m glad you made it out alive.” Mira says, drawing Rumi’s attention away. She’s half-leaning against the table, trying to seem non-chalant. Rumi used to fall for it, the way she masks her true feelings under the guise of flippancy.
Cute, Rumi thinks as she notices a light flush across Mira's face. They both are.
“Right.” Rumi says, “So what have you guys been doing?”
“Nothing!” Zoey says, cheerfully. She starts whistling.
“Nothing.” Mira says at the same time, looking at her nails.
Rumi just stares at them. She locks onto Mira first, who meets her gaze unwaveringly. After a few seconds, Rumi relents. Mira has always had a good poker face.
So she sets her sights onto her next victim. She tries to meet Zoey’s eyes, but the other is looking anywhere but at Rumi. She's fidgeting with her hands now behind her back. Her eyes dart to Rumi's, before glancing away, then back again.
Rumi raises her eyebrow.
A few seconds pass.
Rumi sees Zoey take a shallow breath in.
“Don’t do it.” Mira says.
Zoey whimpers, shuffling in place.
Rumi just keeps waiting.
Zoey glances up.
Rumi pulls out the big guns. She juts her lip out and pouts, giving her softest, “Zoey?”
“Augh! I can’t do this! Put those big eyes away!” Zoey cries, as Rumi grins.
Zoey takes in a deep breath before rushing out, “Wegotyouflowers.” Then wipes her forehead of imaginary sweat, gasping, “Oh my god. Whew! I thought I was gonna combust there. Sorry!”
“I think you did.” Mira sighs. There’s a fond, knowing smile on her lips. She turns to Rumi, rolling her eyes, “You played dirty.”
Rumi winks with a similar smile as she walks towards them. “Flowers?"
They move to show her the table.
Instead of what she expected, a giant bouquet of flowers, she’s met with a tray of tiny, plastic cups of dirt. Rumi recognizes them immediately. She was the one who recommended them to Zoey, after all. Seed planters.
Rumi blinks, “What…?”
“We got some sprouts we thought you’d like,” Mira says, “ones you didn’t have already.”
“Which was hard. Like wow I didn't realize how many plants you had.” Zoey huffs. “Like save some for us to give you!”
“Then…” Rumi looks between the both of them.
“We had Celine help us.” Mira coughs. “She sent some from Jeju island.”
“Jeju island,” Rumi whispers as she feels her heart swell. She puts a hand to her mouth. A heat crawls up her neck and sits behind her eyes. She blinks back tears. “Guys, I-”
“Happy anniversary, Rumi.” Zoey cheek presses against Rumi’s shoulder. She hugs her as Rumi wraps an arm around her shoulders.
“Happy anniversary.” Mira agrees pressing into Rumi’s other side. She plants a chaste kiss on the top of her head. Rumi brings her closer, circling her arm around her waist. She can practically hear their hearts beating as one, and if she focuses hard enough, the cool vibrations of the Honmoon’s waves wash over them.
They stay like that, holding each other, warm and content.
Until their words sink in, and Rumi has to break the silence, “Which anniversary is it?”
The other two stiffen.
Mira hums, “Our three months." She offers, slowly.
“Three months since…” Rumi racks her brain. The closest thing she can remember is the Idol Awards chaos, “Since I exposed my patterns? You got me plants for that?”
“Oh my god,” Zoey whispers. “She doesn't know.”
“No…” Mira drawls. She turns around to meet Rumi’s eyes. She puts her hands on Rumi’s cheeks. They’re warm, and a part of Rumi wishes she could melt into them if she wasn't completely missing something.“Three months since we began dating.”
Rumi blinks. “We’ve been dating?” Her voice is getting higher. “For three months?”
They stare at her. Zoey is slack jawed while Mira has closed her eyes. Her face scrunches up, and Rumi's only seen it when she's trying not to explode from the sheer stupidity of the situation.
“After the Idol Awards,” Mira finally says through gritted teeth. “Do you remember what we said to each other?”
“I forgive you.” Rumi nods.
“And…?”
“... I love you?”
“And?”
“We're going to the bath house?” Rumi hesitates. “Did you say anything else?”
“We told you we want to be with you, forever,” Mira says.
“That could mean anything,” Rumi says.
“Mira started calling you pet names like tiger since then.” Zoey points out. “She never does that to anyone she doesn't love.”
Mira sputters.
“She does that to you?” Rumi says, confused.
“Exactly,” Zoey says, which causes Rumi to think back.
That night after the Idol Awards, the three of them had curled up on Rumi's bed, limbs wrapped around each other as they cuddled close. She remembers a hand drawing invisible hearts on her stomach, and chaste kisses on her cheek, but when she woke up, everything still felt the same, so she had chalked it up to her imagination.
But then the following weeks spoke volumes. Their continued, lingering touches. Their new night ritual of choosing which bed to all sleep in. The way Zoey always cooed at Derpy saying, “You're our big baby. Yes you are!”
More kisses on her cheek that she never thought about too long, but made her heart flutter. More touches. More moments together, soft and warm and safe.
Everything clicks into place.
“Oh,” Rumi whispers. “Oh my god. We've been dating for three months.”
Mira leans her forehead on Rumi's shoulder. “You're going to be the death of me.”
“Why did you guys say anything!” Rumi gestures, frantically, as if it helps. “We haven't even kiss kissed or gone on dates?”
Mira wheezes, “Kiss kissed?”
Rumi's face is hot, “You know what I meant!”
Zoey releases Rumi’s waist, using a hand to drag Rumi's face down to meet her eyes. Her eyebrows furrow as she searches Rumi's eyes.
“We wanted to go at your pace. Especially with the way everything happened. We wanted you to feel comfortable.” Zoey says before frowning. Her hand drops, making Rumi almost whine in protest, to fidgets with her sleeve. “But we probably should've been more clear.”
Zoey rubs her arms, “Also, uh, we don't have to date if it makes you freaked out! Sorry, I guess I totally misread the room if you didn't want it. Mira had actually mentioned doing something bolder, but we both agreed you seem so happy… We didn't want to ruin anything by pushing you. ”
Rumi's heart squeezes at the thought of them being so patient.
“You didn't ruin anything.” Rumi says immediately, grasping both of their hands. “Neither of you did. I’m just in shock. Like I knew I’m everyone's type-”
Mira rolls her eyes while Zoey giggles. Their shoulders leak tension, and it makes Rumi relax too. She sucks in a breath; adrenaline makes her fingers tingle.
“But I'm… I’m happy- ecstatic actually! That both of you want me after everything we've been through. That we could be together, like this.” Rumi grins wide. Her face is hot again. She sniffs, attempting to keep tears at bay just for a moment more. “I want to be with you, too, if you'll keep having me.”
Zoey launches at her and Rumi laughs with her as she's swung around.
“You scared me!” Zoey cries, and tears gather at Rumi's own eyes. She punches Rumi's shoulder. “I thought I was going to have to beg after everything. Jerk.”
“Oblivious jerk.” Mira says, wiping her eyes from under her glasses. Rumi's heart melts and she reaches out to re-adjust them. Mira blinks surprised, then her face softens into a smile.
“Oblivious, hot jerk.” Zoey mumbles into Rumi's shoulder where she’s situated herself again.
Rumi laughs, “Alright, let this jerk make it up to you, okay?”
“How are you- Oh!” Zoey squeaks as Rumi kisses the side of her mouth. She covers her face. “Unfair!”
Rumi smirks, turning to Mira. “And you.” She murmurs leaning in and kissing hers too. Not quite on the mouth, but just enough.
When she pulls back, she can’t help but laugh at their matching bright red faces. “It's just a little kiss! No need to be embarrassed.”
“I'm not embarrassed.” Mira snaps, grabbing Rumi's wrist. “We're going inside.”
“Huh?” Rumi giggles as Zoey tugs on her other arm. “To do what?”
“Kiss you properly, silly.” Zoey says, then chants, “Gaja! Gaja! Gaja!”
Rumi sputters. She lets herself be pushed, “-But what about the sprouts?”
“Tomorrow. The sprouts can wait.” Mira says. She leans in, breath hot against Rumi's ear. “Tonight, you're ours.”
Rumi shivers.
And with that Rumi is shoved inside, the door sliding closed with a click.
Tomorrow, Rumi wakes up, with love in her heart. She'll look at her girls, hold them close, and fall back asleep. Tomorrow, she’ll wake up again and remember that Celine had known of her relationship even before she did. And she'll be mortified, but it's worth it because she has two loving girlfriends. Her girls.
But tonight, she’s their girl.