Chapter Text
In her defense, Rumi had no idea that inheriting Jinu’s soul meant inheriting his pets, too.
So when the elevator doors to the HUNTR/X penthouse slid open with a soft ding and she stepped out, sipping her boba and laughing softly at Mira and Zoey’s playful bickering behind her, she was just as shocked as they were to see a hulking blue tiger seated in their living room, tiny bird perched atop his head.
A shriek (Zoey) sounded from behind her, followed by loud cursing (Mira) and the clattering of a plastic boba cup to the ground. Mira shouldered past her, already summoning her gok-do and assuming a defensive stance in front of her girls.
The sight of Mira, knees bent, shoulders tight, coiled and ready to attack, snapped Rumi out of her haze of disbelief. She rushed forward, stumbling in her haste to stand between Mira and the tiger.
“Wait wait wait–!” Rumi held her hands up placatingly, palms outstretched towards Mira like she was a wild animal Rumi was trying to soothe. Mira looked bewildered.
“Rumi, what are you doing?” She asked. Her eyes were still firmly fixed on the tiger, who just blinked slowly at her, one eye and then the other. “There’s a weird tiger– demon– thing in our house!”
Zoey had come to stand behind Mira’s shoulder at this point, peeking out with a mixture of suspicion and fascination from behind the gok-do that Mira still shielded her with.
“He’s not a demon!” Rumi said, before hesitating a little. “Okay, maybe he’s a demon, honestly I’m not sure, but he’s friendly, I swear.”
Mira still stared with open suspicion, tensing and taking a step forward when the tiger lumbered forward slowly. He greeted Rumi with a soft chuff and butted his head affectionately against her thigh. The bird squawked in annoyance at the movement, fluttering up to perch on Rumi’s shoulder instead. Rumi felt a small smile quirk at the edge of her mouth, despite the tense situation, as she reached a hand down to the tiger, ruffling the soft blue fur between his ears. He chuffed again, pressing his great head up into her hand and closing his eyes contentedly.
Mira lowered her gok-do, still not dismissing it entirely, and exchanged a baffled glance with Zoey. Zoey just shrugged, taking a careful step around Mira to peer closer at the tiger.
“So, uh, not to ask the obvious, but why do you have a secret giant blue demon tiger and a weird bird-with-a-hat as pets, and why have you never introduced them to us?” Zoey asked, hands on her hips. In truth, she looked more offended that Rumi had never told her there were animals in the HUNTR/X tower more so than she was upset about the obvious demonic nature of them.
“They’re not mine.” Rumi sighed, dropping her other hand now that Mira didn’t seem primed to cleave the tiger in two. Mira still glowered from behind Zoey like an angry guard dog, but made no moves to raise her spear or move forward again. “They’re– well, they were ,” she winced a little, eyes dropping for a moment, “Jinu’s.” At the mention of his name, the tiger and bird both perked up momentarily, before seemingly remembering Jinu’s absence and deflating again. The bird let out a sad trill, the tiger sighing and huffing as his ever-present goofy grin faded slightly.
The name made Zoey and Mira tense, just a little. Mira set her mouth into a thin line and Zoey clenched her jaw tightly. Rumi noticed, casting her gaze away and staring out the window instead. The silence stretched between them, a beat past awkward and tipping into downright uncomfortable territory. They were snapped out of it by the movement from the tiger, who had begun to pad forward, eyes fixed on Mira.
Mira tensed, ready to raise her weapon and defend herself, until she realized that the tiger was not looking at her, but rather past her. His eyes were fixated on a spot just behind her, and as she turned to look when the tiger brushed past her, Rumi realized it was her now-empty boba cup, dropped when Mira had summoned her gok-do and still laying on its side in a puddle of lavender liquid. Mira winced slightly at the sight, seemingly mourning the loss of her delicious taro boba she had only taken a few sips of before it was unjustly taken from her.
The tiger reached the fallen cup and slowly, methodically, lifted his paw, gently trying to stand the cup back upright. It fell back over once, twice, before he managed to right it, the cup wobbling precariously before settling. The tiger’s smile widened as he turned back to the girls, promptly brushing the cup with his tail and sending it tumbling over again. Immediately, he turned back, once again set on his task of sitting it back up.
At this point, Mira had completely dismissed her weapon, confused and in disbelief at the sight in front of her. Watching the tiger try (and fail) repeatedly to stand up the small plastic cup, eyes blank and smile wide, seemed to solidify Rumi’s words in her mind that he was, indeed, not a threat. Mira turned, unable to stop the exasperated (fond) huff from escaping her lips as she looked at the other two. Zoey’s eyes were wide and sparkling, hands covering her mouth like she was using every ounce of strength she had not to squeal and dive face first into the tiger’s fluffy blue fur. Rumi was just pinching her brow in between her fingers, eyes closed and sighing like a long-suffering mother who needed a day off. Even the bird on her shoulder seemed over it.
“Just–” Rumi huffed, striding over to snatch up the cup from where the tiger was still fixated on his task. He blinked slowly at her, grin vacant, a small dribble of drool escaping from the corner of his mouth. Rumi winced. Between the tiger spit and the sticky spilled drink, they’d definitely need to mop later. “He’ll keep doing that unless you stop him.”
She turned back to Mira and Zoey, smiling slightly at Zoey’s poorly contained enthusiasm as she bounced on the balls of her feet and flicked her eyes between Rumi and the tiger.
“Yes Zoey,” Rumi said with an affectionate eyeroll, “you can pet him.”
With an ear-splitting shriek that made Mira, Rumi, and the bird all wince, Zoey shot over to the tiger, flinging her arms around his neck and nuzzling into his fur. He chuffed happily, tail coming to curl around Zoey’s waist as she rubbed her cheek against his affectionately. His tail had dragged through the tea on the ground, smearing it onto Zoey’s shirt and staining the fabric purple, but she either didn’t notice or didn’t care.
Mira, not one to be distracted so easily, crossed her arms and turned to Rumi. She had the look on her face, the one where she raised an eyebrow and fixed her victim with a hard, unwavering stare. A look that said start talking, now.
Rumi couldn’t suppress the shutter that ran up her spine, not used to being the target of Mira’s no-nonsense glare.
(Normally it was reserved for Zoey, levelled at her at times like when she tried to pretend she hadn’t been the one to set the microwave on fire when she set her instant ramyeon to cook for 20 minutes instead of 2 .
Zoey always made up for it in the end, nuzzling up under Mira’s chin and peppering her cheeks with kisses until she gave a begrudgingly fond eyeroll or huff and turned faintly pink.)
Rumi grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. While Zoey could usually get herself out of trouble by snuggling up to Mira with the best puppy dog eyes she could make, Rumi wasn’t so sure that would work for her. If anything, her puppy dog eyes didn’t have nearly the same power as Zoey’s did.
Mira just kept her pinned with that heavy stare, looking deeply unimpressed by the menagerie of demon animals now present in her house. Rumi swallowed hard, hands clasped behind her back and rocking back on her heels, staring resolutely out the window.
“So, um…” she cleared her throat awkwardly, “these uh, these are my pets now. I guess.”
“Our pets!” Zoey piped up from her spot on the ground, voice slightly muffled by the tiger’s fur she was still pressed into.
“Our pets.” Rumi amended, shooting Zoey an affectionate glance. Zoey just grinned wolfishly back, always in the mood to push Mira’s buttons. Mira’s gaze was still steely, but a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth told Rumi she wasn’t all that mad. Rumi grinned again, real this time, and brought her hand to her shoulder, offering the bird a new perch. He considered it briefly, narrowing all six of his eyes, before seemingly approving and hopping on.
She took a few steps towards Mira, hand outstretched so the bird was eye-level. Mira raised her eyebrow again, she and the bird exchanging silent, unimpressed stares. After a moment, the bird ruffled his feathers and gave a soft squawk before fluttering from Rumi’s hand to the top of Mira’s head. Mira stiffened momentarily, looking like she might swat him off, but a soft coo from Zoey at the sight softened her shoulders as she resigned herself to her fate as a demon-bird post. Looking deeply satisfied with himself, the bird settled amongst her hair, rearranging a few pink strands into a more comfortable spot. Mira’s eye twitched, but she said nothing.
Rumi let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding, relieved that Zoey and Mira hadn’t lost their minds and turned the apartment into a warzone against the animals.
“So, these guys belonged to Jinu?” Zoey asked from her spot on the ground. The tiger had curled himself around her, head resting in her lap, seemingly asleep save for the flick of an ear at Jinu’s name. Zoey’s hands stroked his muzzle absentmindedly.
“Yeah,” Rumi said, kneeling down beside her to give the tiger a scratch behind his ears. He chuffed happily in his sleep and Rumi smiled. “At least, I guess they did? I’m not really sure, they sorta acted as his messengers when I was, uh… you know…” she trailed off awkwardly.
“Meeting with him behind our backs and canoodling with the enemy?” Mira finished coolly from behind her. Rumi winced, blush creeping up her neck and giving her patterns a pink glow.
“First of all, there was no canoodling–” Mira and Zoey both scoffed, but Rumi chose to ignore them, “–and second of all, I said I was sorry for that a million times!” Rumi crossed her arms, a little petulant at Mira’s jab. Sure, she knew it was wrong and, like, super uncool of her to meet up with their sworn enemy behind her friends’ backs, but it was the first time ever she’d been able to openly talk about her patterns and her half-demon heritage without shame or fear.
And she had liked his swoopy hair, sue her.
Mira scoffed again, but Rumi could hear the affection in it this time and let her shoulders relax. There may have been some weight and lingering insecurity in Mira’s words, but Rumi knew they were mostly just to tease her.
“Anyways,” Rumi said with a pointed glance at Mira, “I’m not sure if they were Jinu’s pets or companions or… employees, maybe?” The bird atop Mira’s head looked offended at the last suggestion. “But now that I, like, have his soul in me or my sword or… something, I guess they’re attached to me.”
“What are their names?” Zoey asked, still smiling and content with the great beast snoozing in her lap.
Rumi blinked.
“Um… Honestly? I’m not sure.” She huffed a laugh, scratching her head as she thought about it. “Jinu never told me their names, or much about them at all really. Only that he made the tiny hat for the tiger but the bird kept stealing it.” The bird still sat atop Mira’s head looked satisfied with himself at that one. “I know that they can use the Honmoon to teleport, and that they seem intelligent and capable of understanding human speech. Well,” she glanced at the tiger, who was now drooling and twitching his paws in his sleep, “the bird does, at least.”
Zoey shot Rumi a half-hearted glare, covering the tiger’s ears and cooing at him as if he was listening in any capacity. Rumi stuck her tongue out in response.
A strained chuckle came from Mira, like she had tried and failed to hold it in. Rumi turned back to her with a goofy grin. Mira still had her arms crossed, trying to look annoyed, but Rumi could see the softness and warmth in her gaze as she watched Zoey squish the tiger’s cheeks and squeal at the sight. The tiger just snoozed on, unbothered.
“C’mon, you know you kinda like them,” Rumi said, sidling up to Mira and nudging her with her elbow. Mira rolled her eyes, but didn’t deny it, opting to bump her shoulder against Rumi’s good-naturedly. Rumi felt her grin get bigger.
“Whatever, they do seem like they’re pretty harmless so I guess it’s fine. Plus now Zoey will stop begging for a cat.” She reached absentmindedly up to her head, offering her finger to the bird. He scrutinized the offered perch and stepped on tentatively. Mira brought him down to make eye contact. The bird held it, unwavering. “Honestly? This little dude is pretty sick, as much as I hate to admit it.”
The bird perked up, puffing out his tiny chest and preening his feathers, clearly pleased with Mira’s words.
“Well if they’re gonna stay here, we have to give them names.” Zoey said, gently moving the tiger’s head off of her lap to stand up. She brushed her hands down her pants, a cloud of blue fur raining from them. Rumi winced a little. The floor would need a vacuum and a mop. “We can’t just keep referring to them as ‘tiger’ and ‘bird’.”
“I mean, we could.” Mira shrugged. She had brought her other hand up to stroke gently behind the bird’s head, and he leaned into it, all six eyes closed with contentment. Zoey gave a dramatic gasp.
“We can not.” She spun to glare at Mira, face twisted in mock-offense. “I will not stand for such disrespect of HUNTR/X’s newest members.”
Mira rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She knew it was a losing battle as well as Rumi did. Neither of them were able to deny Zoey anything, especially not when she turned her big shiny puppy dog eyes on them like she was doing now.
“What do you want to name them?” Mira asked instead.
Immediately, Zoey dropped the faux-pout and pathetic look and grinned, spinning to point at the tiger. He was still passed out cold, snoring away and blissfully unaware of the fact that his lower half was soaking in the remnants of Mira’s boba tea.
“His name is Derpy.” Zoey stated it like it was the most obvious fact in the world.
“Derpy? Really?” Mira scoffed. “What is this, 2010?”
“Look at him!” Zoey exclaimed, gesturing grandly at the tiger. “He encompasses the true meaning of ‘derpy’, we can’t just pass up this golden opportunity.” She pressed a hand over her heart, face turning solemn like she was making a vow. “‘To be cringe, is to be free’,” she said seriously. “Confucius said that.”
Knowing better than to try and argue, Mira rolled her eyes for the nth time that afternoon (seriously, Rumi was starting to worry they were gonna get stuck up there) and sighed either in agreement or defeat. Maybe both.
Zoey grinned smugly at her, knowing she had won, and Mira stuck her tongue out in response. Zoey stuck hers out back and Rumi barked out a laugh.
“Alright, alright, enough,” she laughed. “So the tiger is Derpy. What about the bird?”
Zoey turned to peer at the bird who now sat on Mira’s shoulder. She narrowed her eyes and rubbed her chin, appearing to be deep in thought. The bird shifted awkwardly, flicking his eyes back and forth.
“His name is Sussie!” Zoey snapped her fingers, looking pleased with herself. Rumi furrowed her brow.
“What in the world kind of name is ‘Sussie’?” She asked skeptically. Zoey crossed her arms, turning her nose up with a haughty sniff.
“It’s his name, that’s what it is.”
For his part, the newly dubbed Sussie didn’t seem all that bothered by the name choice, choosing instead to nip at one of the small silver hoops that dangled from Mira’s helix. She batted him away in annoyance, and he nipped at her finger, offended. Before she could retaliate, he quickly jumped off her shoulder and flew over to where Derpy now sat upright, seemingly awoken from his impromptu nap. He settled between his ears, staring smugly at Mira. She glared right back.
“Alright, fine,” Rumi said, holding her hands up in mock surrender. “Derpy the tiger and Sussie the bird it is.”
Zoey squealed excitedly, slinging one arm around Rumi’s neck and one around Mira’s. She tugged them in with surprising strength for her small form, and they nearly collided heads. Zoey either didn’t notice or didn’t care, reaching up to press her palms to each of their cheeks so that all three of their faces were squished together. Rumi’s arm instinctively wrapped around her waist, and she felt Mira’s arm do the same from the other side.
“Guys, we’re mothers.” She whispered reverently, eyes wide and shiny
“And we’re not even married yet,” Mira said dryly, the corner of her mouth turned up into a smile. Zoey and Rumi both laughed at that, though Rumi could feel a traitorous flush creeping up the back of her neck. She prayed her patterns weren’t glowing pink, a flashing neon sign that essentially said ‘I’m flustered and embarrassed, look at me!’.
Judging by the smirks she got from Mira and Zoey, she was pretty sure they had lit up like a Christmas tree.
“Uh, anyways,” Rumi cleared her throat, willing her patterns to dim and the heat in her cheeks to dissipate as she gently extracted herself from Zoey’s iron grip. “I guess we have two new members of HUNTR/X.” Zoey clapped excitedly, eyes shining, and Mira just smiled easily. Her arm was still wound around Zoey’s waist as if it belonged there, and Rumi throttled the small spike of jealousy she felt in the back of her mind. She turned instead to the mess of blue fur and sticky boba tea, which had now been tracked from the puddle in pawprints and tail swipes along the ground.
“Before we do anything else though, we need to clean the unfortunate remains of Mira’s boba tea.” Mira hung her head, sniffling dramatically, and Zoey patted her chest in solemn solidarity.
“Fly high, little boba tea. Fly high.” She whispered. The three girls managed to keep it together for exactly 2 seconds before they all dissolved into raucous laughter, falling over one another in their mirth.
“No seriously though,” Mira said, sobering up quickly. “I’m really fucking sad about my boba tea.”
“I’ll get you a new one.” Rumi and Zoey both chorused, whipping their heads around to stare at the other incredulously.
“No, I’ll get her a new one!” They said at the same time.
“No, I will!”
Mira just laughed at their antics, shaking her head while she went to retrieve the mop and vacuum.
Zoey flopped backwards on her bed with a groan. Loose sheets of paper fluttered off the mattress, disturbed by the sudden movement. A few notebooks slipped from the edge and clattered softly to the floor. Zoey groaned again, dragging a hand across her face in frustration.
Derpy sat patiently at the foot of her bed, watching her with his vacant stare. Zoey sat up, huffed and pouted to him.
“Derpy, this sucks. I’m supposed to be coming up with song ideas and lyrics for our comeback but my brain just won’t cooperate.” She whined, banging the palm of her hand against her temple like she could shake the ideas loose like water caught in her ear. Derpy tilted his head a little, tongue lolling out to the side and let out the odd, creaky groan he always made. Zoey sighed. “You get me Derpy, thanks.” Derpy creaked again, this time with a little chirrup sound. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me either, it’s like I’m going around in circles in my head and things are just getting stuck on… stuff.” Zoey cleared her throat awkwardly, feeling the tips of her ears heat up slightly.
It wasn’t like Derpy could talk (and to be honest Zoey wasn’t 100% sure he understood most of what they said), but she still found herself hesitating on voicing the thing that all of her thoughts kept gravitating towards. Two things, to be specific:
Rumi and Mira, her roommates, bandmates, and best friends. The two people she could rely on most in this world. The two people she knew had her back, no matter what, who wouldn’t hesitate to jump straight into the fire for her. Who loved her unconditionally and supported her each and every day.
The two people she had a fat fucking crush on.
And look, Zoey knew it was a really, really dumb idea to confess your feelings to the people your whole life was built around. The people who maybe probably most definitely didn’t feel the same way, and telling them “hey I’m in love with you just by the way” would maybe probably most definitely fuck up your entire relationship and ruin your life.
So she didn’t.
She laughed with them, snuggled up to them when she got the chance, kissed their cheeks and held their hands and teased them when they both jumped at the cheesy horror movies Zoey always picked when it was her turn to choose during movie night.
She did not, however, tell them she was in love with them.
Because she wasn’t.
It was just a crush, that’s all. A passing fancy that she knew would fade given enough time and be a faintly embarrassing memory.
(She’d been telling herself that for the past 2 years, but hey, who’s counting.)
So Zoey was stuck, surrounded by half-finished thoughts and snippets of song lyrics scribbled in colored pens, and scratched out by other colors. She’d get a good idea, a good start, the beginnings of a chorus about stepping into the new era of HUNTR/X, and before she knew it her page was covered in jumbled words and phrases with a suspicious amount of allusions to burning pink sunsets over soft violet meadows and bittersweet chocolate with a sweet caramel center.
It was infuriating.
Zoey glared at the mess of papers and pens scattered across her bed. Derpy had padded closer to lay his head by her side, one eye staring up at her, the other staring slightly past her. Zoey couldn’t help but giggle at the sight, snapping her fingers a few times in front of his face to try to get him to focus both eyes. It didn’t work.
Derpy had become Zoey’s near-constant shadow in the few weeks following him and Sussie’s arrival. While he alternated his time between Rumi and Zoey, Zoey knew that he spent more time with her. The thought made her a little smug. For his part, Sussie had naturally gravitated towards Mira, to no one’s surprise. They shared the same cool, aloof demeanor, and Zoey swore that Sussie read and analyzed Mira’s fashion magazines with her. She’d even caught Mira having a full conversation with him about the current state of the industry, despite his inability to respond.
(Mira had turned bright red and chased her out of the room, yelling something about “thinking out loud”.)
Zoey found herself increasingly grateful for Derpy’s presence. He was always someone to talk to, someone to voice ideas and rant and gossip to, always free of judgement. Not that Zoey thought he absorbed most of what she said. But still, it was nice to have someone to talk to.
“Okay, here’s what I’m gonna do,” she said, turning to Derpy fully. He did his best to look at her with rapt attention. “I’m gonna word-vomit all over this page about, you know… stuff, and hopefully that’ll get it unstuck from my head so I can focus on writing actual song lyrics. Not lovey-dovey sappy bullshit about my two best friends who would never—”
Derpy huffed loudly, almost a growl, cutting her off.
Zoey jumped, blinking at him. “Okay, I guess you do know what I’m saying most of the time. Noted.”
Derpy’s eyes had unfocused again, his usual dopey smile plastered back across his face. Zoey squinted at him, looking for that spark of intelligence she had just witnessed. She came up empty-handed.
Chuckling fondly (and a little confusedly) under her breath, Zoey turned back to the mess on her bed. She scooted towards the middle, sitting cross legged, and dragged the nearest notebook over to her. It was Hello Kitty themed, the cover plastered with images of the little white cat. Rumi had brought it back for her last week, saying she had seen it at the store and picked it up for her. Zoey had squealed in delight and launched herself into Rumi’s arms, clinging to her like a koala and pressing grateful kisses all over her face. Rumi had laughed, blushing and half-heartedly batting her away.
Zoey smiled now at the memory. Thinking there was no better notebook to write in, she flipped to a blank page and grabbed two pens, one pink and one purple.
If she was gonna get sappy, then she was gonna go all out.
She let her brain take over, writing down all the saccharine-sweet thoughts and lyrics she had on the lined paper.
She wrote about the first stars dotting the lilac sky at sunset, about breathless laughter and gentle singing and gentler hands, about the smell of lavender-scented shampoo and warm blankets tucked around her with care.
She wrote about billowing storm clouds, about cherry blossoms blooming in the spring and quiet murmuring late at night. About pink sparkly collars on fiercely protective guard dogs and voices that were harsh with others but soft with her.
She wrote until her hand ached, until the page was a mess of pink and purple words, front and back. Zoey had filled up every available inch, with words running up the sides and written in the margins between other lines. She blinked, leaning back from the sheet and shaking her cramped hand out. She hadn’t even realized she had written so much, that she had so much to say about Rumi and Mira.
But of course she did, they were Rumi and Mira, her best friends. The two most amazing people she knew, both wonderful and talented and beautiful and—
Zoey thought, not for the first time, that maybe her little crush wasn’t so little after all.
She grimaced, tearing the page clean out of her notebook and flopping back onto her pillows. She held it above her face, scrutinizing it in the soft lamplight of her room like there was a hidden message she was trying to find. Her eyes read the page over and over, front and back, jumping between the garbled stanzas and confusing lines, knowing instinctively where each one led and the sentiment it carried. Still, she couldn’t help but read and re-read it, like maybe the answers to her problems would jump out at her, or she could use something in it in one of their new songs.
Zoey doubted it, unless Mira and Rumi were looking for some of the gayest love songs of all time.
A knock at her door startled her, and she bolted upright. She shoved the piece of paper hastily under her pillows and desperately tried to look nonchalant as the door opened a moment later and Rumi poked her head in.
“Zoey?” She called, looking over to where Zoey sat, the absolute picture of nonchalance, surrounded by a sea of pens and paper and notebooks. “You doing okay in here?”
“Yeah, totally, I’m totally doing totally fine!” Zoey chirped, hoping her voice didn’t sound as strained to Rumi as it did to her. Why was she saying ‘totally’ so much?
Judging by the look on her face, it most definitely had.
“Are you sure?” Rumi asked, stepping fully into the room and walking over to her bed. Zoey felt a bead of sweat drip down the back of her neck. “You’ve been holed up in here all afternoon, when was the last time you took a break? It’s past dinner time.”
Zoey blinked at that, glancing out the window of her balcony doors. Sure enough, the sky outside was dark, the city illuminated by neon signs and glowing lights.
“Oh,” Zoey laughed a little breathlessly, “I didn’t even realize how long I’d been in here. I’m sorry.”
Rumi’s face softened into an affectionate smile that made Zoey’s heart squeeze. “Don’t apologize, Zo, I know how caught up you get in your writing and I just wanted to make sure that you remember to eat and take care of yourself.” Rumi carefully stacked a few loose papers on top of a notebook and set it to the side, clearing a space so she could sit on the edge of the bed next to Zoey. Derpy chuffed in greeting, and Rumi rubbed his ears with a small smile.
“Thanks Rums, I never have to worry about working myself into the ground with you here.” Zoey said, nudging Rumi with her foot. Rumi rolled her eyes and laughed.
“God forbid someone take care of you, huh?” She teased, digging her fingers into the crook of Zoey’s knee and making her shriek with laughter. Zoey tried to crawl away, but Rumi grabbed one of her ankles and pulled her back. Her hands came up to attack her sides, tickling her mercilessly as Zoey gasped with laughter and cried for mercy. Rumi let up after a moment, breathless with laughter herself as she let Zoey catch her breath. Derpy had scrambled away in the chaos to avoid being hit with a flailing limb.
“That was so uncool, Rumi.” Zoey panted, face flushed red and heart rate spiked. “You know how ticklish I am.”
“Exactly,” Rumi gave her a shit-eating grin until Zoey whacked her in the face, pushing it away playfully. Rumi laughed again, grabbing Zoey’s hands and pulling her back upright. She didn’t let go immediately, and Zoey let herself pretend the flush in her cheeks was still just from laughing. She had all but forgotten the incriminating piece of paper hidden beneath her pillow, but it shoved its way back to the forefront of her mind after a moment.
She opened her mouth to try and make some excuse to get them out of her room, but luckily, Rumi beat her to it.
“C’mon, Mira is making sundubu-jjigae for dinner.” Rumi stood from the bed, offering Zoey a hand up.
“I thought you said it was past dinner time?” Zoey said, raising an eyebrow in mock suspicion.
“It is,” Rumi laughed, “but we weren’t gonna eat without you. Plus, we got super caught up watching some trashy new K-drama and lost track of time.”
Zoey snorted at Rumi’s sheepish grin. “Of course you did. I don’t care how much she tries to deny it, Mira loves that shit.”
“Oh 100%.” Rumi responded easily. “She acts like she isn’t interested in it, but she suspiciously could remember every single character’s name after, like, two episodes.”
Zoey grinned, filing that information away in a mental folder labelled “Things to Tease Mira About”.
“So, are you coming, or…?” Rumi looked at her expectantly, and Zoey realized she still had her hand out, waiting for her to take it.
“Oh! Sorry,” Zoey said. “Give me like five minutes to clean all this up, and I’ll be out in a jiffy.”
“‘Out in a jiffy’? What are you, 80?” Rumi teased. Zoey crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out.
“Fine, maybe I won’t come out for dinner after all.” Her rumbling stomach called her bluff, but Rumi chose to laugh and ignore it instead.
“Alright, alright, I’m sorry.” She said, hands raised in mock surrender. “I’ll go tell Mira you’re cleaning up after Hurricane Zoey and you’ll be out in a few.” With that, Rumi turned to leave, chuckling under her breath at her own joke, as if she hadn’t called Zoey’s messes Hurricane Zoey a million times before. Zoey rolled her eyes at her retreating back and waited for the door to click shut.
She held her breath and counted to 10 just in case Rumi had forgotten something and came busting back in. When there was no sign of movement or returning footsteps, she dove under her pillow to retrieve the incriminating paper. She’d rip it up and flush it down the toilet, or carefully burn it next time she was home alone.
Whatever it took, she knew Rumi and Mira couldn’t find out what she’d written about them. On top of it being embarrassingly sappy and lovesick, Zoey was sure it would ruin everything, implode their relationship and wreck her life. The group would disband, Zoey would have to move back home, and—
She stopped the spiral before it consumed her.
She shoved her hand under her stack of pillows, feeling around for the sheet and coming up empty-handed.
Zoey frowned, moving the pillows completely to look.
No paper.
Zoey fought the panic rising in her throat, looking around frantically for it.
Maybe it fell off the bed when Rumi attacked me? Zoey thought, snatching her phone to use the flashlight. Yeah, that must be it. It just fell, that’s all. She leaned down over the side of her bed, dangling upside down, and swept her flashlight underneath it. She saw countless hair ties, a few empty water bottles, an oversized shirt of Mira’s that she had sworn she hadn’t taken, and one of Rumi’s socks.
And no paper.
If Zoey was panicked before, she was nuclear now.
She tore her bed apart, throwing the pillows off and pulling back the sheets. She checked every sheet of paper on the bed, shook out every notebook and even lifted the mattress, just in case.
Zoey whipped her head around in a frenzy, eyes scanning the contents of her room desperately, and that’s when she saw it.
A wet spot, right on the edge of her bed. Right by her pillows, to be exact. Right by the same spot she had hidden the accursed sheet of paper in.
Hands shaking slightly, she reached out and touched the damp spot. It was slimy, a little warm, and most definitely fresh.
Drool.
It was Derpy’s drool.
Zoey’s mind immediately flashed back to her conversation with Rumi the day they had found the animals in their apartment:
“So Jinu used them to send messages to you?” She had asked, looking curiously at Derpy.
“Yeah,” Rumi laughed, patting the tiger fondly on the head. “To be honest, it was kinda gross. He would give Derpy the letters to hold in his mouth, and they were always so slobbery and wet when I got them.”
Zoey had laughed, wrinkling her nose at the thought of the giant goofy tiger dropping a spit-soaked letter at her feet.
Fuck.
Fuck fuck fuck.
Zoey had a sinking feeling she knew exactly where that piece of paper had gone.
“You stupid cat!” She hissed, leaping to her feet and racing over to the door. She yanked it open, causing it to bang into her bedroom wall and make a few of the framed pictures hanging there wobble precariously. Not bothering to check if they were okay, Zoey tore down the hallway to the kitchen. She rounded the corner, mouth open to yell, scream, cry, anything to get their attention on her and hopefully away from the giant blue tiger that had most definitely stolen what was basically a love confession from her room. As she rounded the corner however, she skidded to a halt, mouth still open, but now in wordless horror.
There in the kitchen was Mira, humming softly to herself while she stirred the pot of stew on the stove. She was dressed in one of Rumi’s hoodies and her fuzzy pink bunny slippers, the ones she swore she didn’t like and only wore because her other ones had a hole in them.
And sitting next to her, tongue lolling out of his mouth, was Derpy. Zoey could see the stark white paper on his tongue, covered in pink and purple ink. Frozen to the spot, Zoey watched helplessly as Mira glanced down at him.
“What’s up, dude?” She asked, turning to Derpy. Derpy just blinked at her, opening his mouth wider and sticking his tongue out a little more. “Whatcha got there? Is that a…” Mira blinked a few times, straightening her glasses to look at what Derpy had. “Is that like… a message or something for me?” Derpy’s smile got wider, and he snorted out of his nose in affirmation.
Mira’s face twisted into mild horror as she realized she was going to have to take the drool-soaked paper from the tiger’s mouth. “Uh, okay, I guess I’ll just…” Hesitantly, Mira reached down and grabbed the paper gingerly between her pointer finger and thumb. She held it up and away from her like it was some kind of dead creature she had found in the basement.
Zoey was barely paying attention now, too busy running through possible scenarios in her head. Maybe she could pretend she hadn’t been the one to write that? Or say that it was Opposite Day? Or maybe she could just dive headfirst out the window and parkour down the building, changing her name and running away to start a new life as a travelling magician?
Or you could just tell her how you feel, a little voice piped up inside her head. Zoey promptly smothered it.
In creating increasingly insane escape plans, Zoey had tuned out Mira’s reaction from the kitchen. With a start, she realized she was speaking and immediately snapped to attention.
“ —not really sure what I’m supposed to do with this. I mean, I can’t even read it. Your spit smeared all the ink. Something about,” she squinted, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her clean hand, “meadows and… singing and… sparkles, maybe? That can’t be right.”
The relief that swept through Zoey made her knees buckle. Mira couldn’t read it. Derpy’s spit had smeared the ink until it was illegible, save for a few words, just a bunch of blobs of pink and purple.
“You really need to figure out a better system for delivering letters, bud.” Mira said, tossing the spit-soaked paper back into Derpy’s open mouth. He chewed, swallowed, and let out a loud burp. Mira wrinkled her nose. “Gross.”
Zoey felt light-headed with relief, now kneeling on the ground halfway around the corner to the kitchen after her knees had given out. She took a few deep, steadying breaths, getting her heartrate under control and giving her face a chance to cool down before she stepped fully into the kitchen. She felt her pounding pulse begin to slow, and she wiped her sweaty palms on her sweatpants, preparing to stand up and come around the bend with a bright smile and joke, when she looked up and saw—
Derpy.
Still seated next to Mira’s feet, who had since turned back to her cooking after washing her hands. But he wasn’t looking at Mira anymore. No, he had turned his head, wide orange eyes fixed directly on Zoey. His smile seemed to widen, and Zoey watched in horror as he began to shift to his feet.
No, no no no no no. Don’t you dare do it you stupid furball! She thought frantically, hoping by some miracle she had suddenly developed a telepathic link with Derpy and he could hear her begging him not to draw attention to her. Luck was not on her side though, and Derpy rose to his feet and lifted one giant paw, nudging it against Mira’s leg without breaking eye contact.
Mira sighed, a little annoyed now by the second interruption. “What do you want now? I’m kinda bus—” She cut herself off, blinking owlishly as she looked at where Derpy was awkwardly gesturing with his paw. “Um… Zo? Whatcha doing over there?”
Zoey, still awkwardly crouched around the corner, face bright red and noticeably sweaty, wished in that moment for death. She shot to her feet instantly, pasting on a wide smile with far too many teeth.
“Nothing!” She said, voice higher pitched than usual. “You know, just uh— looking for my lost contact on the ground!”
Genius.
Mira stared at her for a second, one eyebrow raised suspiciously. “Okay, but you don’t wear contacts, Zoey. Or glasses. You’re always bragging about your perfect 20/20 vision.”
Zoey’s smile froze on her face.
Fuck.
“Did I say contact?” Zoey’s laugh was desperate and a little maniacal. “I-I meant thumbtack! Yeah, I was bringing some to my room to hang up those Polaroids we took last week and I dropped one out here. Just trying to find it so no one steps on it!” Zoey dropped back to her knees, patting the ground dramatically and frantically for a second before: “Found it!” She said, holding her thumb and forefinger together as she picked up the invisible tack. “Ouch, still sharp, glad I got it!” She threw in for good measure, pretending to poke herself with it. She slipped the “thumbtack” into her pocket and scrambled back upright. “Anyways, now that that’s taken care of, what’s for dinner? Rumi said something about sundubu-jjigae.”
Mira just stared at her, eyes flicking between her face, her former hiding spot, the pocket she had pretended to put the non-existent thumbtack into. Zoey kept her smile plastered on firmly, hoping Mira couldn’t see the bead of sweat she could feel dripping down the side of her face.
Mercifully, Mira just snorted and turned back to the pot simmering away on the stove, but Zoey didn’t miss the suspicion lingering in her gaze.
“Yeah, I was too tired to make anything complicated so I figured this was something easy we could all agree on.”
Zoey discretely wiped her forehead and palms before steadying herself with a deep breath and padding into the kitchen properly. She shot a glare at Derpy as she passed. His stare was as vacant and unfocused as usual, but Zoey swore she saw a hint of disappointment in the slight way his whiskers drooped and his shoulders sagged. She brushed it off, chalking it up to her frayed nerves.
“It smells really good.” Zoey said, coming to stand next to Mira at the stove. She fought the urge to lay her head on her shoulder like she normally would, still a little on edge from her close call. To her surprise though, Mira seemed to notice. She glanced at her sideways, quirking her mouth to the side in a small frown, but said nothing. Before Zoey could analyze the reaction, Mira was speaking again.
“Thanks, I think it’s almost done. Here, taste,” she said, reaching for a spoon and dipping it into the fragrant, simmering broth. She blew on it a few times before cupping her hand under the spoon and bringing it to Zoey’s mouth. Zoey opened her mouth obediently, smiling and closing her eyes with a pleased hum as the rich, spicy flavor flooded her tongue and tickled the inside of her nose.
“Delicious.” Zoey sighed contentedly. Her eyes fluttered open a moment later and she jumped a little when she saw Mira still staring at her with an undecipherable look on her face. “Uhh, everything okay, Mir?” She asked, smiling awkwardly. Mira blinked a few times, shaking her head the tiniest bit like she had been lost in thought.
“Sorry, zoned out there for a second.” Mira said. “Glad you like the soup.” She smirked, but Zoey could still see a little bit of whatever weird expression she had been wearing lingering on her face. Zoey nudged her in the side, grinning cheekily at her.
“You know, once we’re old and gray and retire from making music, maybe you can become a world famous chef.” She said. Mira scoffed and rolled her eyes, but to Zoey’s pleasure the strange look had been replaced with fond exasperation.
Zoey’s earlier panic had been momentarily erased, replaced with the need to tease Mira and make her smile.
“I’m serious!” She said, leaning dramatically into her side and making Mira grunt with the effort to keep them both upright. “I can see it now; you, old and wrinkly but wearing a chef hat and a white coat, barking orders at your kitchen like Gordon Ramsey. ‘This chicken is fucking RAW!’” Zoey shouted in a bad British accent.
Mira laughed whole-heartedly at that, winding her arm around Zoey’s waist as she stood them back upright. Zoey’s breath caught, not just at the contact but at the sight of Mira laughing so genuinely. Her pink hair glowed gently in the light of the kitchen, and she tilted her head back as she kept laughing. Zoey felt her mouth go dry at the sight of smooth, pale skin on display, and it took everything in her power not to lean in right then and there and run her tongue along the column of her throat.
Jesus Zoey, get it together you fucking horndog, Zoey mentally chided herself. Mira had begun to calm down, still chuckling a little as she swiped away a tear from her eye.
“I have no idea why that made me laugh so hard,” Mira chuckled again. “I just imagined Gordon Ramsey with your space buns and it killed me.” Zoey laughed at that too, resting her forehead on Mira’s shoulder as her shoulders shook lightly with mirth. Mira’s arm stayed snugly around her waist, Zoey noticed. She didn’t dare move or say anything that would draw attention to it, wanting to preserve the contact for as long as possible.
To her dismay, Mira unwound her arm from her waist a few moments later. She must have noticed Zoey’s subtle pout, because she rolled her eyes fondly and poked at her ribs, making her giggle. “Don’t pout, I can’t plate up the stew with only one hand.”
Zoey stuck her tongue out, cheeks going a little red at having been caught, and Mira just laughed again. “Go call Rumi, you goof. It’s way past dinner time and I know we’re all starving.” As if on cue, Zoey’s stomach rumbled and she smiled sheepishly, patting her belly.
“Yeah, I guess we are.” She said, making her way to the hallway and poking her head around the corner to call for Rumi. A handful of seconds passed before Zoey heard the sound of a door closing and the padding of socked feet coming steadily closer. Rumi came around the corner, smiling softly at Zoey and then over at Mira.
“Mmm, smells so good, Mir.” She brushed past Zoey, their shoulders grazing, and Zoey internally seethed at the way her heart jumped at the contact. She turned instead to follow Rumi to the table, where Mira had placed out three dishes full of the steaming sundubu-jjigae with spoons and chopsticks to eat it with. Zoey settled into her spot while Rumi and Mira did the same, before all three of them tucked into the meal.
“Hey, have any of you noticed Derpy acting kinda weird today?” Mira asked. She paused, then added, “Weirder than usual, I mean.”
“Wha’ ‘o you mean?” Rumi asked around a mouthful of tofu. Mira gave her a mildly stern glare, and Rumi swallowed before speaking again. “What do you mean?”
“I dunno, the past few days he’s just been so… determined.” Mira said with a shrug. “I have no clue what he’s determined about, but he’s deadset on whatever it is. He tried to give me a note today, but it was totally illegible from being in his mouth.”
Zoey choked on the spoon of soup she was eating, coughing hard and pounding her chest. Mira and Rumi turned to her in surprise and concern.
“You okay, Zo?” Rumi asked, leaning over to pat her gently on the back.
“I’m fine!” Zoey gasped out, giving them a weak thumbs up as she blinked away tears. “Just went down the wrong way.” She coughed again, clearing her throat and taking a few sips of her soda to clear away the burn. “All good, see?” She bared her teeth in what felt like more of a grimace than a grin.
Rumi still looked a little concerned, but Mira was staring at her with that same searching look Zoey had seen earlier, eyebrow raised again. Zoey resolutely avoided eye contact, choosing to stare at her soup like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
“So, Derpy acting weird?” She prompted. Anything to get the conversation away from her and get Mira’s piercing gaze off of her. Mira held it for a few beats longer before relenting and settling back in her seat.
“Yeah, I dunno, maybe it’s just him being his freaky self. It just seems like a different kind of freaky than usual.” Mira mused.
Rumi shrugged. “Honestly, who knows? I still don’t know anything about him and Sussie really, even though they're my– our,” Rumi corrected herself before Zoey was halfway through opening her mouth. She closed it and grinned at her, “pets. Come to think of it though, Sussie has also been acting weird. I’ve caught him more than once tweeting quietly in Derpy’s ear like he was telling him a secret, and the other day he was trying to mix up our laundry.”
“I mean, they’re demons. Maybe it has something to do with that.” Zoey said, trying to subtly steer the conversation away from the animals’ strange behaviors before Mira brought up the note again. “We probably won’t ever figure out what they do most of the time.”
“I guess.” Rumi mumbled, contemplating the bowl of soup in front of her. “Anyways, I know it’s late, but would you guys be up for watching a movie?”
Zoey immediately perked up. An impromptu movie night with her girls? She couldn’t think of anything she’d rather do, especially when she knew they’d all end up in a big cuddle pile.
“Sounds good to me.” Mira said with a shrug and a smirk.
“Yes!” Zoey squealed, bouncing in her seat. “What should we watch?”
The three of them finished their meals, arguing over what kind of movie to watch. Zoey wanted to watch the 2002 Spider-Man movie with Tobey Maguire, but Rumi and Mira quickly vetoed another superhero movie, much to Zoey’s chagrin. Zoey pouted while Rumi and Mira debated if they should watch something new or an old comfort movie. Zoey opened her mouth to point out that Spider-Man was a comfort movie (for her, at least), but Mira silenced her with an unimpressed stare.
Finally they settled on an old Disney movie they had all seen a million times and could probably recite. They kept up their lighthearted bickering as they piled onto the couch, arguing over which one to watch. Zoey wanted to watch The Lion King, but Mira immediately shut her down. She knew she’d end up having to comfort Zoey and Rumi when they inevitably started crying over Mufasa’s death, and she didn’t want snot and tears all over her new teddy bear hoodie.
Mira suggested Dumbo, but Rumi shuttered and refused, saying that the pink elephant scene had traumatized her as a kid and still scared her to this day.
Eventually they came across one they could all agree on as Mira scrolled lazily through their streaming services, and she pressed play on The Emperor's New Groove. Zoey and Rumi quickly made themselves comfortable with Mira in the middle of them.
Zoey curled into Mira’s side, dragging her arm to rest around her shoulders and pulling it close to play with her fingers. Her head was partially pressed to Mira’s chest, and she could vaguely hear the slow, steady thumping of Mira’s heart. It was grounding and oddly comforting. Rumi turned to the side and slung her legs over Mira’s and into Zoey’s space so that they tangled together. One of Rumi’s calves was trapped between Zoey’s thighs, and her other ankle rested gently on her knee. Mira instinctively wrapped her free arm around Rumi’s thigh, and Zoey swore she heard Rumi let out a little squeak when Mira started drawing little circles on the inside of her knee.
“It’s ticklish…” she grumbled when Zoey grinned teasingly at her, but her patterns slightly glowing a soft pink color gave her away. Zoey grinned wider, and ducked when Rumi flung a pillow at her face. Mira just chuckled, the sound reverberating through both of their bodies. She grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch, large enough to cover all three of them, and spread it out over their laps.
The opening scene of the movie began, and their playful bickering was forgotten. The living room became a collection of breathy giggles and soft whispers in between the sounds of the movie playing. It was warm, intimate, and Zoey felt her eyelids begin to droop before long. She snuggled in closer to Mira who, as if sensing her sleepiness, began to card her fingers softly through her hair. A gentle sigh escaped Zoey, but she was too warm and sleepy to care. She attempted to keep her eyes open and pay attention to the movie, but it was a battle she was quickly losing.
Between the feel of Mira’s hand in her hair and the warmth of Rumi’s legs tangled with hers, and the sound of Mira’s breathing and Rumi’s soft snores, her senses dulled even more. Sleep beckoned her like a long-lost friend, and she let herself sink into its comforting embrace. She heard Mira murmur something in her ear, but before she could figure out what it was, the tide of slumber completely overtook her and swept her out to sea.
The three of them stayed like that, Mira lasting a little longer, keeping a watchful eye on her girls to make sure their slumbers were gentle and easy. She felt the tug of sleep pull at her too, just as the movie reached the part where jaguars chased Kuzco through the jungle. Her eyes were just beginning to close when she saw a faint blue glow from the other side of the apartment.
Cracking open one eye, she saw Derpy peering at them from around the couch, Sussie perched atop his head. She snorted softly, closing her eyes again. “I don’t know what you two are up to, but save it for tomorrow. It’s time to go to bed.” She mumbled. She shifted slightly, careful not to disturb Rumi and Zoey, and sank further back into the couch. The warmth pressed against her on both sides was soothing, familiar and comforting and safe.
As usual, neither Derpy nor Sussie replied to her. But as she began to sink into the warm void of sleep, she vaguely registered the sound of shuffling paws, and the feeling of another blanket being draped over them to protect them from the fall chill that drifted in through an open window. Too tired, too close to the precipice of sleep to open her eyes, Mira just smiled faintly.
The last thing she registered was the sound of the television clicking off and a soft chuff, before she tumbled headfirst into the gentle cradle of sleep.