Chapter Text
Gwi-ma had been defeated a few weeks ago, and the new Honmoon shone strong as the intense iridescent colors filled the world.
Huntr/x had taken a much-needed hiatus after the fact. Rumi had, for once, been ok accepting rest and recovery instead of pushing herself forward.
It’s been so long since she’s been able to relax, always on edge, no matter what break she and the girls had on their schedules.
However, there was still this distinct pressure Rumi felt deep within her bones. Their Comeback album was coming out within a couple of months from now, and there was so much that still needed to be done.
Rumi may have decided to start working more on the new album instead of resting. She has already taken two weeks off! She’s gone to the bathhouse about seven times. (Courtesy of Zoey, who claims they needed to “make up for lost time.”) She wasn’t a workaholic like Mira claimed she was.
So she may have started looking over the business paperwork for the upcoming album and some details that Bobby had mentioned about fan support and potential statements for their later promotions.
Rumi had been in her room, having declined a shopping trip Mira and Zoey had wanted to go on.
They had both looked at her with a hint of sadness, but she waved them ahead to have fun and said she would join them later in their excursion.
Accept, later never came.
Rumi had completely focused on all the business proceedings and contracts and reviewed the many documents that needed her approval.
She had been so focused that she hadn’t even eaten lunch or dinner; the only thing she had eaten today was when Mira had made breakfast for the three of them.
That’s how Mira and Zoey had found her, not a couple of hours later. She stood in her room surrounded by paper and documents to sign, her desk, bed, and floor filled with various things.
Rumi hears some commotion in the hall but is too focused to properly give attention to it.
“Rumi?” A muffled sound comes off in the distance.
“Ruuuummmmmiiiiii!!!??” An even louder, less muffled sound comes.
She finally looks up as a knock on her door sparks her attention. She quickly looks up, having been startled by the noise. Moving her stiff joints and limbs, which have fallen asleep, she tries to shake out some of the soreness from staying in one place for so long.
She walks to the door and opens it, seeing both Mira and Rumi standing outside.
“Rumi! Hi! Are you ok?” Zoey speaks first and doesn’t hesitate before launching herself at the leader. While still slightly stunned at the interruption, Rumi hugs back tightly.
“Hi. Yes, I’m fine. How was shopping?” Rumi replies easily, moving a hand behind Zoey’s back as the other girl wraps her arms tightly around her.
“It was fun. It would have been better with you there. What have you been doing since we’ve been gone?” Mira speaks as she also leans forward to give Rumi a hug.
The touches are not new, but they have a level of newness. Now, with Rumi no longer having to hide from them, their friendship has increased in intimacy. Casual touches and hugs before have turned into a necessity. It all clicked together after everything came out with Rumi, her patterns, and her demon side.
Rumi had been holding back from them, pulling away, not showing her true self. Now, however, she could feel free to show them every part of her, and they would love her just as much, if not more.
“I’m sorry… I got a bit.. caught up. I had been meaning to meet up with you guys…” She trails off with a scratch to the back of her neck. Her joints pop a bit as she moves.
Mira looks back at her room and frowns as she sees a scattering of papers all over the room.
“Have you been… doing paperwork for Comeback, again?” Mira’s voice is quiet as she asks, but there’s a frown present.
Rumi stiffens a little. “Uuuum… maybe? Just a little…” Mira and Zoey chance a glance at each other, a silent conversation playing in their eyes.
“Rumi… we’re a bit… worried about you…” Zoey’s voice is gentle and kind, as she speaks, like she’s breaking bad news to Rumi.
“What? Why? I’m ok! I promise!” Rumi sputtered, her friend’s sudden interrogation sending her scrambling.
“Are you sure? You’ve started not taking breaks again… and have been neglecting going to the bathhouse.” Mira speaks slowly, watching Rumi closely as she does.
Rumi can feel her patterns change shade until they land on pinkish red; she’s a bit embarrassed now at her friends calling her out. “I promise I’m fine! I have just been reviewing all the business stuff for Comeback… it just… it has to be perfect.” Zoey and Mira share another look and a silent conversation.
“Rumi. We think you need to take a break. Like a longer break than usual.” Zoey starts to speak.
However, before Zoey can continue, Rumi’s stomach grumbles and growls. Not eating all day has finally caught up to her. She clutches her stomach in embarrassment as her friends look towards her with another wave of concern.
“Rumi… when was the last time you ate?” Mira starts slowly as she narrows her eyes at the other girl.
“Ummm…” she trails off, trying to remember anything she’s put in her body… she hasn’t even drank water. (Though there is no way she is telling either of her friends that, as they continue to watch her with concern.
“Oh, you know… I ate… a while ago…” She averts her gaze so she’s not looking at either of them, her shoes look way more interesting now than they did moments ago.
Mira brings a hand up to grab hold of Rumi’s hand. “Come on, fearless leader. Let’s get you some food.”
Zoey grabs her other hand, so she has no choice but to follow.
As Mira makes food for the next thirty minutes, Zoey stays by her side and shows off everything they bought. The chatter feels nice and helps dissipate the weird tension that had arisen earlier.
Mira puts the food before her, “Careful, it’s hot.”
Rumi blows on the food and takes a careful bite. The moan she lets out at the pure delectable flavor has her closing her eyes and savoring each bite.
Zoey and Mira watch her with an expression devoid of emotion. Their intensity deepens as they keep watching Rumi eat, pupils dilated.
“This is amazing, Mira, thank you.” Rumi voices politely.
“Of course. You need some form of sustenance, and at least Zo and I can make sure you take care of yourself. Mira concludes.
Rumi hums as she continues to eat, and they move to the couch for her to finish the rest of her food. Mira sits on her right, as Zoey sits on her left. The following silence isn’t awkward but filled with content as she swallows every bite and continues her yummy food.
Zoey is the first to break the comfortable silence, the younger girl having moved over to where Rumi sits and draws a hand onto her shoulder and down her arm.
“Rumi, we wanted to talk to you about something.”
Alarm bells went off inside Rumi’s mind. Her body panicked at the sentence.
“It’s not anything bad! We have a question we wanted to ask.” Zoey is quick to reassure once she sees the panic clear on her face.
Rumi nods and lets out a shudder and a sigh. “Sorry, continue.”
“So… Bobby was telling us that there was a possibility to enjoy a cruise for LGBTQ+ only couples. He wanted to know if Mira and I wanted to be signed up. The cruise is in a couple of weeks.”
Rumi pauses and thinks for a moment. Her heart aches at the thought of her two best (and only) friends leaving her for however long the cruise is.
Her stomach flips again, knowing she’d probably isolate herself for the whole time. Still, she’d probably be able to get an astronomical amount of work done for Comeback. And her friends deserve to have fun and to relax.
Rumi finishes off the bite she had taken and speaks again. “I think you guys deserve to relax and have some fun. You have both been working so hard, and I’m so proud of you. You should definitely book it.”
Rumi pauses and begins taking her phone out. “Actually, I’ll text Bobby right now to book you guys immediately.”
Mira reaches a hand out and lays it on top of Rumi’s. “We weren’t finished.” She looks up at hearing the words and waits for either of her friends to continue.
“We want you to come with us. On the cruise.” Zoey says the words all at once, almost too fast for Rumi to decipher.
A beat passes as the words fully register in her ears. Once they do, they cause her to look down, frowning in confusion.
“But… I’m straight…”
Mira and Zoey both share another look. One that Rumi can’t decipher.
“That’s fine. We can pretend to be a throuple.” Mira’s voice is even, not giving away a single emotion.
Rumi, however, can feel butterflies erupt in her stomach, her heart nearly beating out of her chest.
“W-what?” That's all she can get out
“We could totally do it!” Zoey begins, her enthusiasm a bit jarring. “Then you would get to breathe and take a break, and we can all go on vacation!!!” Zoey’s eyes focus on her as her entire attention narrows to Rumi.
She’s grabbing the taller girl's hands and nearly straddling her lap. “Please, Rumi, please come with us… You deserve a break.” She breaks out the puppy dog eyes for good measure.
Rumi hesitates; she can never truly resist Zoey’s puppy eyes, but the request is more than she was expecting, and honestly, she felt… overwhelmed.
Sure, she’d love to go on vacation with her girls, but what about Comeback? What about all the things she would be putting off just for her enjoyment… What about her being a third wheel?
She hesitates and looks towards Mira for some sign or support. The pink-haired girl was staring at her with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her response, just as eager as Zoey was. It didn’t help that both her friends looked so hopeful.
“Guys, I don’t—” Rumi starts, but before she can get even more words out, there’s a sudden weight moving quickly, and without warning.
Zoey wraps her legs around Rumi’s waist and is now entirely in her lap. “Rumi, please! Please! Please! I’ll do anything, please?” Zoey is now begging and pleading with her.
‘Are her eyes watering?’
“We just want you to take a break! Please come with us!” Zoey finishes her rant and stares at Rumi with nothing but pure pleading in her now definitely watering eyes.
“Oh, Rumi, you’re going to make Zoey cry. You don’t want to make her cry now, do you?” Mira’s voice rings through her ears, and Rumi can’t believe she’s being ganged up on. Mira doesn’t stop there and moves forward, so she’s flanking Rumi. The side currently not being occupied by a lap full of Zoey.
Mira’s lips brush against her ear. “You’re going to make both of us cry, Rumi. Come with us.”
A sound of protest leaves her lips at her friends surrounding her, overwhelming her with their words and touch.
“You guys are ganging up on me!” As she says it, she can’t help but feel the heat rise to her cheeks. It’s not often that her friends tag team the other, but it always leaves Rumi feeling a bit breathless when it does happen.
Zoey keeps her gaze, forcing her to stare into her wide, beautiful eyes. Mira chuckles next to her. “So what if we are? Please say yes.”
Mira asking her is the final straw; she can’t say no to both of them when they have this sweet look of affection and love in both of their eyes. How could Rumi say no?
“Ok… I’ll go with you guys.”
The squeal Zoey lets out is near deafening, but only for a moment, and she contains it and instead throws her arms around Rumi’s neck, rocking against her body.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Zoey says on repeat, not stopping as Rumi is consumed by the younger girl, every part of her senses filled with Zoey’s touch and smell.
Feeling left out, Mira presses her lips to the side of Rumi’s cheek. Heat blossoms at the feather-light touch.
“Thank you, Rumi. We promise you’ll have a good time.” Mira’s voice is so low and soft as she speaks.
“I’m sure it’ll be fun.” Rumi can offer with a weak smile, still inundated with a lap full of Zoey and the reminder of Mira’s lips pressed against her skin.
What was she getting herself into?
——
That question remained true and even more so as the cruise continued to get closer. Rumi had been so overwhelmed by her friends' pestering and begging that she couldn’t even think of saying no. Now. However, she has no idea what to think now that the cruise is just a few days away.
And she’s supposed to be in a relationship with Mira and Zoey???
‘Fake relationship.’ She reminds herself bitterly.
Rumi pauses as every anxiety and unsure thought begins to surface. Zoey and Mira have been together for a few months, and their relationship is still new.
She remembers the day they told her they were together and how happy she was for them. There was a sort of heartache and lingering hurt when they told her, but she couldn’t quite place why.
Regardless of her weird reservations, she had made sure to take them out to celebrate how happy she was for them. Her two friends were the light of her life, and Rumi would die before she dimmed their brightness.
However, she couldn’t help but feel guilty that she was encroaching on their perfect vacation.
How could they genuinely enjoy being a couple when Rumi always tagged along?
How could they do a couple of things, kiss, or go on dates, if she were there trailing behind them like a lost puppy?
She pauses. They did ask (beg) for her to come along… they didn’t give her a chance to say no. She begins to chew on her lip as she sighs deeply.
She has many things to do before they all leave for the cruise, some being her personal packing and others having to do with Comeback. All of which was giving Rumi significantly high levels of anxiety and stress.
Bobby had assured her he would handle the ins and outs of their socials and any proceedings until she returned. Still, she felt the apprehension alight her skin.
She had never been on a cruise before. With hunters training and being an idol, that held all her attention, it was never a thought.
Mira was the only one of the three who had been on a cruise before and knew what to expect. Her family took her on one when she was just a teen, before everything went bad.
Mira’s family is rich. Beyond rich, and they wanted people to know that. So, the one time they decided to go on a very high-end cruise, they brought Mira and her brother. However, it was also the main time Mira had felt so against her family. Tired of the way they treated her with cruel words and ill attention.
It wasn’t long after the cruise event that Mira was kicked out, leaving her to fend for herself for over a year before she became a part of Huntrix. In a way… the three coming together saved all of them.
Zoey had been torn between two worlds. Her American side was always supposed to be “bubbly,” always supposed to be fun (according to her peers). Her Korean side was supposed to be quiet, respectful, appreciative, and so adept at all the ins and outs of her parents' wishes (according to her parents). Her parents had been fighting for as long as she could remember. Her mom and dad had tried to hide the faults in their relationship. Zoey still heard it all.
Once she got a little older, she could see the holes and gaps in how her parents treated each other, and to her, that was normal. She played the role of the only daughter well, being whatever help her parents needed her to be. Whatever part that anyone needed her to be. But that’s all it ever was, a part to play and nothing more.
Her parents divorced when she was sixteen, so she had to choose who she would live with and what path she would take. Choices are hard for Zoey, difficult when she’s the one who has to make them. She spent so much of her life figuring out what other people wanted for her… it didn’t even occur to her that her wants and wishes were also important.
Rumi sighs in contemplation as she takes all of this in. She’s known all her girls' stories from long nights of talking and spending time together. They opened up by themselves as they healed their combat wounds and bandaged each other up (Rumi bandaged the others, but they could never help her for fear of seeing her patterns).
She continues to bite her lips, probably going to give herself a cut if she doesn’t stop. But she can’t help but stare at her open (but empty) suitcase that sits squarely on her bed. Anxiety eating at her stomach.
For some reason, she had been procrastinating packing and getting ready, even with the trip being only a few days away.
She had read over all of the cruise procedures and the contract before they decided to embark on the ship. It is an LGBTQ+ couples only cruise, intended for people who are queer. It was also for higher-end celebrities. The cruise line had an extraordinary reputation for keeping who was coming on the cruise on the down low. No one had to be super overt about security or any paparazzi. All the staff members also sign multiple NDAs.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t some worry about their plan. What if someone finds them being all “couply?” She could see the headline now:
“HUNTR/X CAUGHT WRAPPED AROUND EACH OTHER: IS THIS SOMETHING MORE?”
Thankfully, while the dating rumors and shipping are always present, it hasn’t been overwhelming. Some people are #Zoemira or #rumira or #zoerumi or all three with #polytrix.
But regardless, they all had to be more careful when out in public, careful with their words. Fans would be… brutal if they knew Zo and Mir were dating.
Rumi sighed deeply and decided to lie on her bed instead of packing. There were so many things and little time to do them.
She stays lying down.
A knock on her door has her looking up, momentarily stopping her mopping in despair. She begins to get up off her bed and go to her door.
“Hey,” she says easily, seeing Mira and Zoey standing and smiling at her.
“Rumi!” Zoey is quick to step into her space and pull her into a hug. It’s quicker than Rumi would want, just a quick press together before releasing and stepping back. It makes her miss the warmth the second it’s gone.
“How are you? We haven’t seen you today! Are you packed yet?” Zoey begins to speak in her traditional Zoey way, fast and excited.
Rumi blinks and steps back, allowing her friends to enter her space. She releases a deep sigh and groans.
“Noooo, I haven’t even started! I don’t know why I have such a block with this.” She bites her lip again. It’s not a complete lie, but she is also struggling with packing and thinking about the trip.
“All I’ve accomplished is pulling out my suitcase…” Rumi flops on the bed and lies down hard.
“Why is this so complicated?” Her voice is barely audible due to the muffling of the comforter. The bed dips on one side as she feels one of her friends sitting down next to her.
She feels a hand come up to play with her hair, gently over the long strands tucked away in her braid.
“Would… you want us to pack for you?” Zoey's soft and sweet voice comes. She continues to move her gentle touches over Rumi’s arms and then her back, using her nails to glide over the smooth skin.
Rumi looks up, tilting her head to look at Zoey. “Would… would that be too much to ask?” Rumi’s voice is uncertain; she still wasn’t used to being able to rely on her friends for things such as this. Not long ago, she would never even think of asking her friends to pack for her; they couldn’t.
She had gotten dozens upon dozens of cute outfits over the years, none of which she could wear for fear of her patterns being on display. Now she had so much of everything that would be great for a cruise, but no idea of what she would even want to consider packing.
The way Zoey’s eyes light up is like magic. “No! Not at all! Right Mir???”
Mira comes into Rumi’s line of sight. “Let us handle this for you; you deserve to chill for a bit. And if this helps you, we would love to pack and organize.” Mira says softly. She sits beside Rumi’s legs and places a soft hand on her back. Comforting in the warmth.
“Please?” All Rumi can get out are pitiful eyes, shining through as she asks for help, feeling so insecure.
Zoey’s resounding squeal makes her jump, and then she has a lap full of the hyperactive girl.
Zoey’s arms go around her, burrowing her face into Rumi’s neck. “Thank you! We won’t let you down!!! We’re going to make you look so good!”
Zoey jumps off her and stands quickly, suddenly an intense look overtakes her face.
“Mira! We have a mission to do!” Zoey dashes off to Rumi’s giant closet and drawers and begins rifling through them all.
“Don’t worry, Captain, you’re in good hands.” Mira stares at Rumi as her lips turn into a smirk that screams… mischief?
What did she get herself into?