Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The bass blares through Rumi’s car speakers, making her car shake with every beat. Despite the quiet college town she found herself in, she didn’t bother to turn down the radio, seeing the many college age students milling around on the sidewalks and even at the storefronts that ran alongside the road. Her fingers drum anxiously against the steering wheel as she got ever closer to her destination, her free leg bouncing up and down at a similar speed to that of a golden retriever’s tail when it was excited. The band of the ring on her thumb clinks dully against the steering wheel, and she occasionally spins it around, a nervous habit of hers she hadn’t fully been able to kick quite yet.

Rumi’s teeth catch at her lower lip as she eases the car down a quiet side street a few blocks from the college campus, her eyes scanning mailboxes. Beside her in the passenger’s seat, her phone chimes, and a robotic voice comes out, startling her slightly as it says, ‘You’ve arrived at your destination.’

She brings the car to a gentle stop outside a house and scoops up her phone, double and even triple checking the address. Well, this is it. She thinks to herself as she kills the engine. The car goes silent, and as she sits in her car, staring at the house in front of her, she feels a wave of anxiety wash over her; she’d never been beyond the limits of her tiny countryside town, so being on the outskirts of the big city felt almost too surreal, and maybe even a bit terrifying, but Rumi would never admit that to anyone.

She exhales slowly, her cheeks puffing out as she hesitates to get out of the car. Will they even like me? What if they hate me? It’s not like I can go home. Not after the fight I had with Aunt Celine… Rumi pushes that thought from her mind. Celine didn’t get to ruin this experience for her; no one did.

With that in mind, Rumi gets out of the car and grabs a box from the backseat, her lavender colored braid whipping past her face at the sudden movement. Not that she had much, anyway. Celine didn’t let her grab a lot of her stuff, so it-

“Enough, Rumi.” Rumi murmurs aloud as she squares her shoulders, feigning a sense of confidence she knew she should feel, but doesn’t. She walks through the gate and up the steps of the modest-looking townhouse, her legs shaking slightly with every ascension. She sets the box down on the porch as she reaches it, and rings the doorbell.

Within seconds, the door swings open and out emerges what Rumi could describe as a golden retriever in human form.

“Hi, you must be Rumi! It’s so nice to finally meet you!” The girl says enthusiastically. Rumi’s rehearsed smile tightens in that familiar way as her eyebrows raise slightly.

“Oh, where are my manners? I’m Zoey.” The girl- Zoey, dammit Rumi- says as she steps aside, allowing Rumi to enter the house fully. Rumi carefully crosses the threshold, her eyes flickering around as she takes in the house.

The furniture was definitely different from what she expected: a full sofa with a loveseat pushed under the window, the tv mounted to the wall, which seemed terribly expensive and precarious, in Rumi’s opinion. Not that her opinion mattered, but-

“Here, let me show you to your room!” Zoey gasps suddenly, unknowingly snapping Rumi back to reality. Zoey disappears down the hall, and Rumi hurriedly catches up, the box bouncing uncomfortably in her arms. Zoey leads her up a staircase at the end of the hallway to a secondary floor. The colors here are a bit more muted and cohesive, the floors spotless, as if they’d been cleaned recently. Zoey pushes open the door a few feet from the stairs.

“This is your room! There’s a bathroom right next door, so no worries there.” Zoey says as she pushes the door open. Rumi steps inside, her eyes traveling over the room with interest as she sets the box on the floor.

The walls, once painted a baby blue, based on the poor paint job on the interior rim of the door, were now a creamy off-white, and the floor a warm wood tone. There was a queen sized metal bed frame pushed to one corner, with a brand new mattress with the plastic wrappings set carefully on it. A wide desk sat just under the window, and a dresser just beside it. A nightstand with a simple lamp stood beside the bed, and wall outlets dotted the baseboards. She could see a set of sliding doors, most likely the closet, on the wall closest to her, and when she peeked inside, she hummed appreciatively at the amount of space.

“Um, so… What’s your major?” Zoey asks after a long moment of silence. As Rumi glanced at Zoey, she got the distinct sense that the girl did everything she could to avoid long silences. Not that Rumi minded or anything, but-

“Oh, right. I haven’t settled on one yet.” Rumi says, and a beat later, she remembers she’s supposed to ask in return. “Uh, what about you?”

Zoey brightens instantly after Rumi returns the question, as if she’d silently been hoping Rumi would ask. “I’m actually a Music Production major. One of our roommates, Mira, is a double major in Fashion and Performing Arts. Our other roommate, Jade, is an Art major, and she’s super talented.” Zoey says, leaning into the doorjamb, one foot propped against her leg.

Rumi nods in understanding, falling silent again. It wasn’t that she didn't want to respond, she just didn’t know how. After a long silence, she asks, “Music Production, huh? Is it any fun?” Her voice cracks slightly as she speaks, but Zoey doesn’t comment on it, but instead, she nods enthusiastically.

“It’s really fun, I enjoy it a lot! Being able to create something that resonates with people is pretty amazing to me.” Zoey replies, her voice bright, almost too bright. But Rumi doesn’t mind, actually, she kind of enjoys how Zoey seemed to be a genuinely bright person.

The two settle into silence, but it’s not uncomfortable like Rumi had expected. “Oh, did you have more stuff to bring inside? I can help if you want.” Zoey says suddenly, breaking the silence and making Rumi jump slightly.

“Oh, no, it’s fine, I can grab the rest-” She tries to say, but Zoey waves a hand dismissively. “Please,” Zoey laughs, her eyes crinkling in the corners, as if she was genuinely amused as she turns to leave, “it’s fine. Besides, those stairs are absolutely killer after two back and forth trips.” Rumi follows the girl out of the room and back to her car that’s carefully parked on the side of the road.

{x-o-x-o}

After only a few trips back and forth from her car to her room, all of Rumi's boxes are nestled into Rumi's bedroom. Zoey huffs as she sits down on the floor with a pair of scissors to start opening boxes, her eyes bright in a way that reminded Rumi of a child at Christmas that was all too eager to open their presents.

Conversation between the two was flowing but slightly stilted as they worked. Rumi started with taking off the plastic on the bed, the scissors gliding through the material like it was cutting through paper. She managed to get the plastic off the top, but now, she couldn't seem to get it off the bottom.

"Hey, Zoey?" Rumi asks, a little breathless from climbing all the way across the mattress to try to lift it from the corner. Zoey's head pops up, her brown eyes immediately focusing on Rumi intently.

"What's up?" Zoey asks, already clambering to her feet to move closer to Rumi. "Oh, you need help, got it." Rumi nods gratefully, and her hands wrap around the bottom of the mattress to lift it once again. 

"Ready?" Zoey says, already in position to snatch the plastic out from under the bed as soon as Rumi lifted it. Rumi nods, and lifts the bed, her arms shaking slightly with the effort of holding up the mattress again after everything she'd already done today. Zoey, on the other hand, is lightning fast, hands anchoring into the plastic and giving it a few hard yanks before it comes loose and flutters to the floor like an abandoned piece of paper. "Drop it!" Zoey says triumphantly, and with a light thump as it bounces against the bedframe, Rumi lets go of the mattress, then flops onto it with a dramatic sigh.

"I hate new mattresses just because of that stupid filament." Rumi huffs, and Zoey snorts through her nose. "Me, too. When I moved in, Mira had to help me with the plastic, too. The only one of us that didn't ask for help was Jade." Zoey replies, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed. "Something about... artists being stronger than they look? I still don't really get it, to be honest."

"Hey, uh... thanks for helping me." Rumi murmurs quietly after the pair fall into silence. Zoey's eyebrows furrow with confusion as she stares at Rumi, who's now sitting up against the headboard of the bed. "Why are you thanking me? You needed help, and I wasn't doing anything."

"Well, yeah, but... you didn't have to." Rumi replies, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Zoey shakes her head slowly, and gently reaches over to rest her hand on Rumi's, her eyes staring intently into the taller girl's.

"You don't have to thank me for offering help when you needed it. That's what friends do for each other." Zoey says, her voice a mix of firm and gentleness that Rumi hadn't been expecting from the younger girl.

After Rumi's muscles stop screaming at her so much, she slides off the bed to continue unpacking. Just as she starts putting her clothes into her dresser, the front door downstairs slams shut, making her pause nervously to glance at Zoey, who just looks up toward Rumi's open bedroom door. "Mira, is that you?" Zoey calls out, her voice carrying down the hall. An incoherent shout back reaches them, and Zoey's face changes as she seemingly realizes who just came into the house.

A few moments later, a dark red haired girl with light brown eyes storms up the stairs, her eyes filled with something akin to frustration. She catches sight of Zoey first, and her eyes soften slightly before they pass over Rumi, as if the girl was sizing her up.

"Hey, Zo. Is this our new roomie?"? The girl asks, leaning into the doorjamb but not encroaching on Rumi's space without permission, which Rumi silently appreciated. Zoey nods excitedly, nearly bouncing on the floor like she's had too much caffeine and was on an energy-high.

"Yep! Rumi, this is Jade Cho, our resident artist. jade, this is Rumi...?" Zoey trails off, unsure of Rumi's family name (she totally forgot to ask, but now it felt awkward for her to do so.) Rumi straightens her spine and meets Jade's eyes evenly. "I'm Rumi, it's nice to meet you, Jade-ssi." Rumi says politely with a little wave and a rehearsed smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. 

"Oh, not you, too." Jade groans, her head falling back for a moment before snapping up again to meet Rumi's eyes again. "Please, just call me Jade. Koreans are so weird about their formality, I swear..." Rumi's eyebrows furrow in confusion before Zoey leans over.

"She's from America, like me, so the whole '-ssi' thing is still weird to her." Zoey whispers conspiratorially, as if she was spilling national secrets. Rumi's eyes widen slightly, and suddenly, she could see it in the way Jade held herself, like she was in a space she was unfamiliar with but was trying to get comfortable in. And her style was a lot different than hers or even Zoey's; a tight-fitted crop top that sat against her form like a second skin, straight, white washed jeans that were a little more than distressed, and the way her nearly maroon colored hair was wavy in that way that screamed 'I got up at five am to do my hair before morning classes' (Rumi wasn't jealous, she was just... admiring the dedication.)

"So, Rumi, what's your major?" Jade asks, leaning forward ever so slightly. Rumi doesn't know why, but she can't help the blush that rises to her cheeks. "I haven't decided, yet. Zoey told me you're an... art major?" Rumi says slowly, and jade nods, the corners up ticking as if she was suppressing a smile.

"Yeah, I am. It's cool or whatever." She says with a nonchalant shrug, but Rumi could see the way her posture relaxed a bit, as if the very topic of art was something she lived for. "Do you mind if I...?" Jade asks carefully, and motions to the room. It takes Rumi a moment to understand that the girl was asking for permission to enter, but when the question finally computes in Rumi's brain, she nods, and beckons the red-haired girl into the room.

Jade steps into the space, glancing around with mild intrigue, her eyes traveling over the mostly bare walls with an almost critical eye. Rumi tries to ignore it, but it seemed almost impossible. "No posters or anything?" Jade questions, and Rumi shakes her head.

"No, I... packed light." Rumi says finally, her voice softer than she'd intended. Jade's eyes soften almost imperceptibly, but Rumi notices, she always did. She'd learned to read every shift of emotion in the people around her, learned when to back off and be quiet as well as when to speak. She had to. because- No. Don't go there right now, Rumi. Rumi silently chided herself. Movement from Jade snapped her attention back to reality as the girl turns and leaves the room unceremoniously. Rumi glances at Zoey questioningly, but Zoey shrugs as they go back to work unpacking Rumi's meager items from the boxes.

Footsteps come back toward Rumi's room a few minutes later, and her eyes snap up to see Jade carrying an armful of things. She hesitates at the door, eyes on Rumi, who nods again, giving the girl permission to enter. Jade moves with purpose, dumping her things onto the bed before starting to sift through them. She glances between Rumi and the papers often, setting things into a couple different piles. Rumi felt like she was getting analyzed, and it made her face warm with each passing second, each glance her way from the American girl.

Finally, after a long silence, Jade moves again, holding a stack of papers as well as a few different fabrics as she lowers herself to the floor gracefully. "Here," Jade says, holding out the stack to Rumi. Rumi accepts the stack before slowly beginning to sift through it, her eyes widening. "For your walls." Jade continues. Rumi looks up from the papers. 

"You're giving me art?" Rumi asks in a soft, almost too vulnerable voice. Jade nods. "Yeah, why not? I've been holding onto those for far too long, and honestly, I think they suit you well." She says, her voice even, but Rumi knew it was more than that. It felt like more, anyway, like a peace offering, or a white flag being waved. Maybe it wasn't friendship, but it was something real. something she hadn't expected.

"Thank you... that's... really nice of you." Rumi says finally, and carefully sets the stack aside to look through later, once Zoey and Jade got bored of her.

{x-o-x-o}

A few hours later, Rumi, Jade and Zoey are in the living room watching some mindless anime that had bright colors and far too many innuendos, ceramic bowls of ramyeon nestled into laps and warming skin like a small heater. Rumi carefully blows on her ramyeon, the noodles dripping the soup back into her bowl as they hover just above the surface. Beside her, Zoey snortts as one of the characters on the screen makes a dumb joke that Rumi didn't totally get. Jade sat on the loveseat, claiming she hated sharing couch space when she was eating out of food thievery fear, which Rumi had begun to suspect was due to Zoey, who had already asked Rumi for several bites of her ramyeon.

Speaking of, Zoey was making that face at Rumi, like she was just about to ask for a bite of Rumi's. Her brown eyes were big and round, and she kept stealing glances at her out of the corner of her eye. Rumi felt a little guilty as she took the bite of ramyeon, like she was denying a puppy a treat. As the noodles touched her lips, Zoey visibly pouted, her lower lip jutting out just enough for it to be noticeable to Rumi and Jade.

"Rumi, you are basically edging Zoey." Jade laughs, having noticed Zoey's facial expression, too. Rumi nearly chokes on her noodles, coughing as she sets her bowl on the coffee table as she reaches for her water. She takes a long drink, her face flaming despite the coolness of the water against the heat in her mouth from the spice of the ramyeon.

Zoey, on the other hand, buries her face into her hands, her face and ears burning with embarrassment. "Oh my god, Jade!" Zoey groans, her words muffled into her hands.

"What, its true!" Jade laughs again, her own face reddening from what Rumi suspected was due to practically wheezing with laughter.

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is n-" Zoey's retort gets cut off by the opening and closing of the front door, most likely Mira, their other roommate. Rumi looks toward the entry way, prepared to greet and introduce herself to Mira, but what she sees makes her face burn and her eyes snap back to the TV.

"Rumi, what's- oh, god, Mira!" Zoey says, following Rumi's glance to Mira, whose currently making out with a pretty blonde girl. Mira pulls away from the girl, her eyes falling to Zoey, then Jade, and finally, Rumi. "Oh. I didn't know our new roomie was here." She says in a casual voice, but the blonde's face flushes, probably with embarrassment like Rumi's just did. 

"Mira! You're making a bad impression!" Zoey hisses as she gets up from the couch and moves toward the taller girl with purpose. "Sorry, Skylar, I'm stealing your girl for a minute." Zoey tells the blonde girl before trying to pull Mira toward the living room, but the blonde's face flushes further and she bites her lip as if she was suppressing a moan, and suddenly, Zoey's face splits into a shit-eating grin as she turns to Mira. 

"Really, Mira? Right here in the entryway?" She asks the pink-haired girl, and Mira shrugs. "She couldn't wait." Mira replies, lowering her voice to speak to Zoey without Rumi or Jade overhearing her.

"Mira, please stop fucking-" Mira's free hand claps to Zoey's mouth before she can finish her sentence, and her occupied hand discreetly slips from under the blonde girl's skirt. "Shut up, Zoey, or else I'll-" Mira stops speaking as she feels something wet against her palm, and her face contorts with disgust as she yanks her hand back from Zoey's mouth.

"Zoey, did you just... lick me?!" Mira says, her voice filled with a mix of exasperation, shock, and disgust as she wipes her hands on her jeans. Zoey just smirks and grabs Mira's hand and leads her to the living room, where Jade is actively suppressing a smile, and Rumi's face is bright red.

"Hey, I'm Mira." Mira says as she stands next to Rumi. Rumi looks up at the girl, and quickly averts her gaze as her face reddens impossibly further. "I'm Rumi." She says, her eyes on her bowl. Mira's eyebrows raise as a smirk curls her lips upward. 

"Rumi. Nice to meet you. I would shake your hand, but..." She says, and glances at the blonde still shaking in the entryway. "Anyway. I'll see you around." Mira says, before stepping back and grabbing Skylar's hand and leading her down the hallway. The soft 'click' of a door told the three girls that Mira had fully left., and at once, Jade and Zoey start snickering.

"I can't believe her..." Jade snorts, rolling her eyes. Zoey just shakes her head, chuckling with a mix of amusement and exasperation.

"I mean, come on. In the entryway? That's bold, even for Mira." Zoey giggles, and Rumi's head snaps up.

"She... does she do... that... often?" Rumi asks slowly, her face heating up again. Both Jade and Zoey nod, still snickering,

"Mira's kind of a player, if you know what I mean." Zoey says through near-wheezing laughter. Rumi's eyebrows furrow, then relax as her eyes go wide with understanding.

"Oh... OH! She... I feel like I shouldn't know that about my roommate..." Rumi mutters, her words muffled as she buries her face in her hands.

"Yeah, well... she has Skylar over a lot. She's Mira's current... um, plaything." Jade says, in the same condition as Zoey.

"Oh, god, please, stop." Rumi groans, sinking deeper into the couch, partially wishing she could unsee what she just saw. Zoey pats Rumi's knee playfully as she calms down enough to say, "Welcome home, Rumi."

{x-o-x-o}

The scent of ramyeon still lingers on her clothes as Zoey sits down on her bed, laptop in hand. She's just decided to settle on 'Vampire Diaries' for the millionth time when there's a knock on her door. "It's open!" She calls out cheerfully, and the door swings open and Mira slips inside before closing it again.

"So. The new girl." Mira says, her arms crossed over her chest. She was wearing an oversized shirt that hung on her frame just right, her hot pink hair pulled up into a ponytail, which didn't hide the red marks on her neck whatsoever. Zoey sighs and makes space for Mira on her bed silently, patting the space next to her. Mira crosses the room to sit on the bed, ignoring the pile of plushes at the end of the bed to focus on the younger girl. "Spill."

"Her name's Rumi. She seems kind of shy, introverted, maybe." Zoey says, leaning against the headboard as she observes Mira. Something about her had always put Zoey at ease, but she didn't even know what it was. Maybe it was her quiet confidence, her innate way to read Zoey like a book, or maybe it was because they'd been through some heavy shit since they became roommates. Whatever the reason was, though, she relaxed.

Mira's eyebrows raise behind the gold-wire rimmed glasses that sit delicately on her nose, as if she was waiting for more information from Zoey. There's a pause after Zoey finishes, and Mira looks at Zoey again. "And? What else?" She asks, but Zoey shrugs. "I don't know, Mira. She's closed off. Barely spoke. Can't get much information out of that." Zoey replies.

"You? Not being able to tease information out of someone with your charm?" Mira snorts, a half-smile rising to her lips that quickly fades when she sees Zoey's serious expression. "Wait, seriously? You couldn't get anything out of Rumi?"

Zoey nods, looking exasperated. "Look, I tried. I helped her unpack, I made ramyeon, which was my best attempt yet, by the way." Zoey says, and Mira rolls her eyes, but there's a tiny curling of her lips that gives away her amusement. "All I got is her name, and that she seems shy and closed off. Be happy I gave you anything after you scared off our last roommate." Zoey replies, a hint of teasing in her voice. She didn't mind Mira's inquiries into their roommates, not really, anyway. Mira had a quiet way about caring for people that never failed to make Zoey feel warm, like making coffee in the morning for everyone before she left, or buying their favorite snacks occasionally whenever she saw them.

"Man... I was hoping we'd get another extrovert like you so we'd be balanced out, since Jade and I are introverted, too-" Mira says, but she's cut off by Jade's voice as the red haired girl pushes into the room, immediately moving to flop into Zoey's desk chair.

"I'm not that introverted." She says with a sigh. Mira rolls her eyes, but there's quiet amusement in her eyes. 

"Riiight, because hiding in your room after major college functions isn't 'introverted'." Mira deadpans, then glances at the red head. "What do you think of Rumi? I kind of want to make a better impression on her than I did today." 

Jade's eyebrows furrow as she thinks, her foot tapping absently against the floor. "She's... quiet. Like, almost like she's scared to breathe too loud kind of quiet." Jade says finally, meeting Mira's eyes evenly. "Kind of like how we were when we first moved in, but somehow... worse." Mira sighs at that, her expression darkening for a moment.

"That's not great to hear." Mira murmurs, her voice soft. Both Jade and Zoey nod in agreement. They'd both separately noticed the tension lining Rumi's shoulders, the way she seemed to choose her words carefully, like if she said the wrong thing, she'd get screamed at or worse, iced out. They'd seen the way her thumb ring spun around her finger when a question was a bit too prying, the way she seemed to avoid talking about family when Zoey had asked if her family approved of her living away from home. 

Mira straightens, and heads to Zoey's door. "Guess we'll just have to take it slow with her." She says before swinging the door open and half-stepping out before turning to look at the two again. "By the way, Skylar's crashing here tonight." Zoey and Jade snort at the same time.

"Can she still walk?" Zoey asks teasingly, then dissolves into full on giggles as Mira flips her the bird before closing the door behind her, fully stepping out of Zoey's room now. 

"God, she's so easy to tease." Jade chuckles. Zoey nods in agreement, still giggling. "Way too easy."

They laugh for a bit longer before Jade moves to the bed. "Let me guess, 'Vampire Diaries' again?" Jade asks as she motions to Zoey's now-asleep laptop. Zoey nods. "You know me well. Wanna watch with me?" Before the question even out of Zoey's mouth, Jade's already settling under the blankets like it was the most normal thing in the world. 

"Ready whenever you are." Jade says, and Zoey chuckles softly before running her fingers over the drag-pad to wake up the laptop. She clicks play, and the introduction starts as she settles into the blankets, curling up next to Jade, her eyes already glued to the screen.

Chapter Text

Rumi couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned for hours as her body adjusted to being in a new, mildly terrifying space, so much so that even her usual relaxation methods didn’t work for her like they usually did, which wasn’t great. She tried reading. She tried reorganizing her space (as quietly as she could, anyway). She tried that one method that supposedly guaranteed instant sleep. But sleep remained elusive, like a mythological creature that was only whispered about.

And that’s how she got here, curled up on the couch under her favorite blanket she’d (thankfully) remembered to grab before she left her aunt’s place, back facing the rest of the room while she fought with her own body to get the rest she so desperately needed. 

Rumi sighs softly, tracing the fabric of the couch with her fingernails, trying to force her body into shut-down mode. She sits up and fluffs her pillow once, twice, again, before laying her head back down. The voices in her own brain were getting too loud, she knew that, but she didn’t necessarily have an outlet-

A thought strikes her then, and she quietly gets up, making her way down the hall on near-silent feet before ascending the stairs. She’d already figured out the second one from the top and the middle one groaned under her weight, so she carefully avoids those, not daring to make excess noise lest the others wake up. 

She nudges her bedroom door open and grabs her laptop, charger, and her airpods from her desk where she’d left them before dinner with Zoey and Jade, and makes her way back downstairs, again avoiding the creaky stairs to the best of her ability.

Safely nestled into her blanket, she sits criss-cross and opens her laptop, balancing it on her knee carefully as she navigates to a web browser to open google docs. She reaches for her phone, which was balancing precariously close to the back of the couch cushion, dangling over the edge of the couch-void, and opens her airpod case to start some music. The first song that pops up when she turns on her playlist on spotify is one she didn’t recognize, but immediately vibed with. The sound was spacious, and kind of made her feel grounded in an odd sort of way. When she checks the title, she’s surprised. Honestly, she wasn’t the type to listen to k-pop, despite living in South Korea her whole life, but this song, Papillon, by a group called NMIXX, really spoke to her in a way she hadn’t expected.

Rumi sets her phone down and clicks through various documents until she comes across her folder titled ‘Private Works’. She clicks on it and opens the first document that pops up. Rumi’s knuckles crack loudly as she pops them, echoing in the space almost too loudly. Her body freezes as she takes out one of her earbuds to make sure no one had woken up, then relaxes a bit once she realizes Mira, Zoey and Jade must’ve been asleep. 

As soon as her fingers hit the keys, she gets lost in her work. Rumi had been writing for as long as she could remember, and it always helped settle her mind when she felt uneasy or untethered from reality. It was one of the only things she had left of her mother-

“No, we’re not going there. Not here, not now.” Rumi murmurs to herself, shaking herself from her thoughts, already starting to get re-absorbed with her work. The music flows through her, emphasizing the current scene she was writing; a montage of a high school senior who was living her best life, something Rumi didn’t necessarily relate to, but had wanted desperately for herself. Rumi imagines her own life portrayed in place of the character’s, and when she reads over it a few minutes later, she realizes she’d started writing from her point of view, like she was speaking through the character. With a sigh, she deletes the whole part and starts over, this time focusing on putting herself into her character’s shoes, imagining how certain events happen, how they’d feel about this or that, to really channel the character’s voice and experiences well. 

When she finally pauses for a moment, she checks her word count and audibly gasps. She’d written nearly four thousand words for this one part that she’d only really wanted to use a thousand to fifteen hundred words for. But as she read back, she can’t help but feel like she’d made the right choice to write so much, feeling like it fit the flow of the story she was carefully curating better than if she’d rushed it. 

{x-o-x-o}

Falling. Mira always woke up falling. Her heart slams in her chest painfully as she jerks awake, crashing into consciousness before she can even process what’s happening. She exhales shakily, and reaches to the part of the bed further from the wall, her body already searching for comfort, but she’s met with coldness. Mira sits up then, scoffing softly when she sees the note on her pillow. She snatches it up and simultaneously reaches for her gold wire-rimmed glasses, pushing them onto her face before reading the note. Sorry, I had a morning class I was about to be late for. Call me, Mir, I’m serious. -Skylar.

“Of course she fucking left while I was sleeping…” Mira mutters, and crumples the note up before tossing it toward her trashcan next to her desk, where it hits the rim and bounces back out. Mira sighs as she flops back against the bed, hand knotting into her hair as she contemplates what her life has come to.

Her parents had expected big things from her. As their only daughter, they’d expected her to be an upstanding citizen of the community, be the face of the company her father had worked so hard to build from the ground up. But when they found out about her relationship preferences, they shunned her just as quickly. They didn’t outright disown her, but they simply thought that her liking to kiss girls was a phase, or worse, a personal slight against them.

When Mira had entered college, she became a bit of a player, taking a girl out for a few weeks before dropping her before things got too serious. After a lifetime of being iced out, she couldn’t necessarily shake the habit of leaving when things got hard or too real for her, and who could blame her? After being treated by an outcast by her own family, who would be there to criticize her?

“Enough ruminating, Mira.” Mira murmurs to herself, and pushes herself up from her bed, her long legs stretching out as she stands. She fluffs her darker pink hair before picking up the crumpled note to throw it away.

A few minutes later, after she’s gotten changed and brushed out her hair, she silently walks downstairs, habitually avoiding the second to the top and middle stair. She wasn’t sure if Rumi, Zoey and Jade were awake yet, but she didn’t want to take chances. When she hits the bottom stair, her ears pick up the sound of frantic typing. Weird . She walks toward the source of the sound silently, curiosity gnawing at her.

When she pokes her head into the living room, she sees Rumi, her lavender hair pulled into a loose bun at the back of her neck as she’s doubled over her laptop. From here, Mira can tell Rumi had her earbuds in, most likely listening to music while she works on homework. But when Mira looks around the living room again, she realizes there isn’t a textbook in sight. Is… she writing? For fun? When Mira peers closer at the purple haired girl, she can immediately tell that Rumi had been staring at her screen for a long time, the tell tale red eyes and slow blinking enough confirmation for her. A single mug sits on the coffee table on one of those stupid coasters Mira had bought at Zoey’s request, steam long since dispersed, meaning Rumi had been up for a while.

Mira steps fully into the living room, subtly creeping closer, trying to get a look at whatever Rumi was hunched over. As soon as Mira steps into her line of sight, though, Rumi looks up, her face paling as she slams her laptop closed. One hand pulls her airpods out while the other turns off the music she must’ve been listening to.

“M-Mira! I didn’t… know you’d be awake this early…” Rumi stutters, her face now slowly turning crimson. Mira shrugs, her eyes wandering over the rest of the space before settling on Rumi's pillow that’s resting on the couch, then the blanket that pools haphazardly around her waist.

“Rumi, did you… sleep out here?” Mira asks carefully, one perfectly maintained eyebrow raising slightly, but Rumi can’t tell if she’s being judged or genuinely questioned. Rumi’s face fills with heat, her eyes flicking around the space, as if she were trying to avoid Mira’s gaze (she totally was). From the look in Rumi’s eyes alone, Mira had the creeping suspicion that Rumi hadn’t slept at all, and Mira wasn’t entirely sure whether to tell Rumi to go to bed or to leave her be and let her figure it out herself.

“W-what? No! No, no, no, I was just… um, relaxing.” Rumi wants to kick herself, and would if she could. Her inability to speak clearly always flared up when she was flustered or nervous, and as much as she hated it, this was one of those times. 

“Uh-huh…” Mira says, but doesn’t push further, making Rumi sigh with relief and flop back against the couch. She rubs her eyes hard, her vision blurring as she tries to press the sleep out of them. Mira moves to the kitchen, her footsteps soft against the hardwood floors as she decides to not press the issue, not wanting to cause conflict this early in the morning.

“You hungry?” Mira asks as she starts rooting around in the fridge, pulling out ingredients here and there. Rumi gets up and moves to the kitchen island, setting her phone down before she settles onto the chair.

“I’m honestly starving.” Rumi says, and Mira nods, as if she’d known all along.  Rumi fidgets with her phone for a moment before glancing at Mira, watching the taller girl chop vegetables and crack eggs like she’d been doing it for years. “Do you like cooking?” Rumi asks, breaking the silence. Mira shrugs.

“I don’t completely hate it.” She says slowly as she adds some cheese to the eggs she’s whisking. She offers the bag of cheese to Rumi. “Want some?” Rumi blushes and rolls up her sleeve, tentatively plunging her hand into the bag to grab a small bit of cheese before withdrawing her hand. 

“Thank you.” Rumi murmurs before putting the cheese into her mouth. Her eyes flutter shut as the taste of cheddar and pepper jack melt in her mouth. “I didn’t know stores sold shredded cheddar-pepper jack now.” She hums, but Mira laughs.

“They don’t, though, now that you mention it, they should.” Mira chuckles, turning to glance at Rumi before pouring the egg mixture into an oiled pan, creating a sizzling sound that instantly fills the kitchen with warmth and a sense of nostalgia that Rumi couldn’t quite place. “Jade, Zoey and I rotate grating blocks of the stuff by hand.” Rumi’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Really? That’s actually kind of cool.” Rumi says softly, but Mira just nods. A few minutes later, she shuts off the stove and starts plating the food, her movements practiced, like she’d done this a hundred times before. She slides the plate across the counter, and Rumi gasps. “Mira, this looks amazing!” Rumi gushes, her eyes widening significantly. Mira can’t help but giggle at the look on Rumi’s face, her expression comparable to that of a character from one of Zoey’s silly animes.

“Meh, I guess.” Mira shrugs, but secretly, she’s grateful for the compliment. The sound of chopsticks clinking against ceramic plates fill the air as the two of them eat in silence. Rumi had to admit, eating a meal with someone was nice. The only person she used to eat with was Celine-

Rumi physically shakes herself from her thoughts, her face paling slightly. Mira notices Rumi’s sudden change in demeanor, but she doesn’t comment on it, not sure if it was her place. Instead, she drizzles sriracha onto her eggs before giving them a good mix, coating every single piece in the spicy goodness before bringing a bite to her mouth.

“Guys! You’re eating without me!?” Rumi whips around at the sound of Zoey’s voice followed by Jade’s grumpy “Of course they are, Zo, they were awake before us.” The two girls file into the room sleepily, Zoey making a beeline for the fridge while Jade settles next to Rumi, her eyes still half-closed, like she was still waking up. Rumi can’t help but chuckle as she reaches over to fix a strand of Jade’s dark red hair that was only inches from getting into the girl’s mouth.

“You’ve got a… hair in your mouth.” Rumi chuckles as her fingers graze Jade’s cheek. Jade flinches away, and Rumi retracts her hand quickly, as if she’d been burned. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to…” Mira and Zoey’s attention snaps to Jade and Rumi, their eyes questioning.

“I… You guys eat without me.” Jade stammers before getting up abruptly and walking away, her pace harried as she disappears up the stairs. Jade’s bedroom door slams upstairs, making Rumi and Mira flinch at the same time.

“I didn’t mean to startle her…” Rumi murmurs, staring at where Jade had disappeared from sight. Mira sighs, wiping her hands onto a rag before following Jade up the stairs as guilt floods through Rumi’s chest.

“Jade’s just… sensitive. You didn’t do anything wrong, Rumi.” Zoey says after a few moments, her voice soft, which made Rumi’s attention turn to the younger girl. 

“But I-” Rumi tries to protest, but Zoey shakes her head quickly, setting the milk jug onto the counter heavily.

“Don’t do that to yourself right now. You were just trying to be nice and help her out. You told her she had a hair at her mouth. Her flinching away from you like that was not your fault.” Zoey says forcefully, her eyes meeting Rumi’s with a hint of steel that makes Rumi shrink back slightly. 

“Okay, if you say so…” Rumi replies softly, and Zoey’s eyes soften slightly.

“I wasn’t trying to be rude, Rumi. I just know Jade, and she’s probably already beating herself up over flinching away. We don’t need you to beat yourself up for potentially startling her.” Zoey hums, her voice softer now, as if trying to calm a nervous animal. Rumi nods slowly at Zoey’s words, but can’t help feeling like she’d somehow stepped on a landmine, and it would only be a matter of time before things blew up right in her face. 

{x-o-x-o}

“Jade? Open the door.” Mira’s voice says through the door. Jade’s hands shake as she unlocks the door, her heart racing just a bit too fast to be comfortable. Mita pushes into Jade’s room, giving it a cursory glance before she focuses on the red haired girl. 

“What the fuck was that?” Mira asks quietly, her voice filled with patience, which was rare for the taller girl. Jade’s eyes snap up to Mira’s, and Mira’s expression softens just a bit when she sees the fear and anxiety hiding behind them.

“Let me guess. Rumi touching your face without a warning was a trigger?” Mira questions gently, to which Jade nods once as she sinks onto her bed. Her thin fingers lace into her hair, her heart rate slowly coming down as she forces her body to calm down. 

“I didn’t even…” Jade chokes out, but Mira crosses the room to kneel in front of Jade. Mira’s hands gently guide Jade’s from her hair to rest against her own. “You don’t have to explain it to me, Jae.” Mira whispers, and the tension in Jade’s body slowly bleeds away.

“I didn’t mean to scare her. Or Zoey.” Jade murmurs a few moments later after the heavy silence has hung over the two for a bit too long to be comfortable. Mira tips Jade’s chin up gently with a few well-placed fingers under the girl’s jaw. “You do not have to apologize for your past.” Mira says softly, her eyes searching Jade’s.

“But-” Jade tries to weakly protest, but Mira’s not having it. “Nope. You do not have to apologize for the things that happened to you. You are a victim. That is not your fault.” Mira’s voice is strong with conviction, and it makes Jade deflate somewhat. 

Mira couldn’t exactly explain why, but she always felt protective of Jade. Maybe it was because they both shared the same weight of family expectations on their shoulders, or maybe it was because Mira saw herself in Jade. Whatever the reason, though, she found herself far more attuned to Jade’s moods and even her needs than Zoey was, which had led to some… interesting rumors around campus about the two of them.

Mira’s thumbs rub soothing circles into the top of Jade’s hands, and Jade’s body relaxes further, the tension finally leaving her shoulders. “I’m such a mess.” Jade chuckles humorlessly, her green-brown eyes fluttering shut for a moment. Mira can’t help but snort at the shorter girl, but even she couldn’t deny that Jade was a mess. 

“Yeah, you may be a mess, but at least you’re hot.” Mira says, a smile rising to her lips as Jade laughs for real this time, her eyes crinkling at the corners in that way that had started to make Mira’s heart beat just a bit faster. “Thanks, Mir. You know, you’re not too bad yourself.” jade says, her tone teasing. But Mira could tell she was being genuine, which made something twist in her chest slightly.

“You better now? I have class to get to.” Mira says, and Jade nods. Mira nods once, then bounces to give herself momentum to get up again. “Alright. Welp, I’ll see you later, then.” Mira replies, and heads to the door, but hesitates as her hand closes around the knob.

“Hey, you know Rumi isn’t a threat, right?” Mira asks quietly, half-turning to look at Jade over her shoulder. Jade nods again. “I know.” The younger girl replies, and Mira nods, satisfied for now. Her hand twists the knob, and then she’s gone, though the scent of her perfume still lingers in the air, something that’s floral and musky all wrapped up in one. Jade gets to her feet, and closes the door again, locking it before her back presses to it, her eyes fluttering shut again for a moment as something in her belly tightens uncomfortably.

{x-o-x-o}

Since their first semester rooming together, Jade had always been at least somewhat attracted to Mira, even if the dark pink haired girl was completely out of her league. She’d admired her no-nonsense attitude, and found the older girl’s dry humor soothing in a way she couldn’t ever really explain to other people. The way Mira quietly cared about the people had caught her attention before she’d even been able to recognize that she’d started falling for the older girl, and the way Mira looked at people when they were talking made Jade think that Mira was genuinely interested in what the other person had to say.

Her hands were covered in charcoal, and lines of the stuff adorned her sketchbook, which was carefully laid on her bed to keep everything as clean as possible (who knew charcoal stained like a bitch? She hadn’t, not when she first started using the medium) while she laid on her belly, legs absently kicking through the air. Her speaker sat at the head of her bed, playing some sort of lo-fi song, while her phone lay abandoned next to her on do not disturb, just like it always was whenever she started working on a new piece that she really wanted to concentrate on. 

Just as she starts running the charcoal on the page again, there’s a knock at her door; quiet, tentative, as if whoever was knocking was a bit nervous but still wanted to talk. Jade sighs as she drops the charcoal into its container and reaches for some wet wipes, which she kept on hand for situations like this.

“Give me a second!” Jade calls out, carefully wiping away the evidence of her charcoal usage before standing up and crossing the room to unlock her door and swing it open.

“Oh, Rumi!” Jade says, surprised. The lavender haired girl stands at the door, twisting her hands together nervously while avoiding Jade’s eye. “What can I do for you?” Jade asks, leaning against the doorjamb casually. 

“Right, um…” Rumi stutters, a blush rising to her cheeks as she looks away from Jade for a moment before focusing on her again. “I just… wanted to say I’m sorry for startling you earlier. I feel bad, and I didn’t mean to. I shouldn’t have gotten into your space like that.” Rumi’s voice is soft, but Jade can tell she was being genuine, which makes something unidentifiable flare up in her chest. 

“It’s all good, Rumi. I appreciate the apology, though.” Jade replies after a moment, her casual demeanor dropping slightly. Rumi nods slowly, and she steps back a bit, her warm brown eyes scanning Jade’s green-brown ones carefully before she nods again and makes to retreat.

“Do you want to come in?” Jade blurts quickly. As soon as the words are out of her mouth, she wants to snatch them back from the air, because what was she doing, inviting the girl who’d accidentally triggered her fight or flight response into her room, her sacred space that she almost never allowed anyone into? But there was something about the way that Rumi seemed genuinely remorseful that made Jade feel like maybe it was just a misunderstanding.

Rumi freezes mid-turn, then turns to look back at the red-haired girl, her eyes carefully trying to conceal the mild curiosity in them “Are you sure?” Rumi asks, stepping closer again. Jade nods and offers her a half-smile before stepping away from the door to let Rumi pass.

Rumi steps in, and is instantly shocked. She knew Jade was an art major thanks to Zoey telling her the day before, but it really hit her now, when she was absolutely surrounded by Jade’s work. Artwork covered almost every wall, pages fluttering against the paint through the open window. Sun filters in and makes the room feel warm and cozy, with string lights adorning the walls, intertwining with fake ivy vines that crawled up the walls and across the ceiling in haphazard patterns. Gauzy curtains hang from the rod and sway softly in the breeze, adding an ambiance to the room that felt almost magical.

“Your room is… nice.” Rumi says after a moment, and Jade’s face instantly brightens.

“Thank you. The vines were a pain in the ass to hang up. I had to get help from Mira.” Jade hums, sitting down on her bed. She pats the spot next to her, and after a moment, Rumi joins her, sitting a bit farther apart than she’d intended to. The pair fall into silence as Rumi looks around some more from her spot on the bed.

“I don’t blame you.” Jade says suddenly, breaking the silence. Rumi’s eyes snap to Jade’s, a silent question in them that Jade wasn’t sure she could answer just yet.

“But-” Jade’s careful hand on Rumi’s thigh makes her go quiet and her breath catch in her throat slightly.

“It’s not your fault.” Jade reiterates. Rumi nods slowly. “I just have a bit of trauma, that’s all. Don’t stress it.” Jade continues, and she pulls her hand away from Rumi’s thigh. Rumi’s about to say more when she catches sight of Jade’s sketchbook, a half-finished piece on the open page.

“Are you working on something?” Rumi asks curiously, and Jade follows her line of sight to her sketchbook, then nods.

“I am. Do you want to see?” Jade asks as she scoops up her sketchbook, She silently passes it to Rumi, their fingers grazing ever so slightly. Rumi stares in awe at the piece.

It was a self portrait in what looked like charcoal of Jade, and the likeness was like nothing Rumi had ever seen. The contours of her face, the sharp edges and soft curves are near exact to Jade herself.

“This is… it's beautiful.” Rumi breathes, her eyes wide. Jade’s face pinkens slightly, and she cards her fingers through her own hair to give her hands something to do instead of pick at her nails like usual.

“Thank you… I’m not vain, I swear. I just feel less badly about fucking up my own face.” Jade jokes, which makes Rumi smile.

“I don’t think anyone would blame you for being vain. You are really pretty.” Rumi says, and Jade’s face heats up again. She’d been complimented for her looks before, but the way Rumi said it, so matter-of-factly, as if it were obvious, made her heart flutter slightly with a feeling she couldn’t exactly identify. 

“You can chill in here if you want. I’m not doing anything today.” Jade says after a few minutes. Rumi nods, and settles across the end of the bed, her head resting against one of Jade’s humongous stuffed teddy bears. Jade flops onto her belly and turns the music back on, but at a lower volume, and resumes working on her piece.

The room is filled with comfortable silence for a while, and sometime later, Jade starts talking, mostly to herself, occasionally talking herself through a more complicated part of the work. It fills the room with a comfortable ambiance and makes the silence more bearable. 

“This part seems a bit off… what do you think, Rumi?” Jade says, but there isn’t a response, which makes Jade look over at the purple haired girl. Her face visibly softens when she sees Rumi, deep in sleep for the past who knew how long. Her lavender colored hair half-covers her face, and Jade carefully tucks it behind her ear before reaching over to cover the girl with a fluffy throw blanket. Sweet dreams, Rumi. Jade thinks to herself before resuming her work quietly, bathed in the silence and sunlight spilling into her room, partially wondering if this is what it felt like to belong somewhere, to have people around her that felt comfortable in her presence.

Chapter Text

The first day of classes arrives after a long week of settling in and bonding. Rumi can’t decide if she’s excited or nervous, and maybe that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Rumi and Jade had started spending a lot of time together, much more than she’d thought they would, considering Jade had that similar aura as Mira: unapproachable, a bit cold, and maybe a hint of standoffishness that Rumi couldn’t decide if it was attractive or not. The two of them would cook, or Rumi would watch Jade sketch away until her eyelids drooped and she conked the actual fuck out (Because sleep? In this economy? A luxury Rumi somehow couldn’t afford.) Zoey joined them occasionally, sitting on the counter, legs swinging like a child or working on some mysterious project on her laptop that no one got to see (Rumi respected Zoey’s privacy, even if she was a little curious.)

A knock on her bedroom door snaps Rumi back to the present, and she looks to the door as it creaks open to reveal a familiar shock of red hair. “Ru? You ready for classes?” Jade asks as she pokes her head into Rumi’s bedroom. Rumi nods as she crosses the room to shove her laptop and tablet into her backpack.

“Yeah, I’m ready.” Rumi replies in return, her voice even in that way that Jade could instantly tell the lavender haired girl was trying to convince herself she was. Jade pushes the door open farther, leaning into the doorjamb to give Rumi’s outfit a precursory glance. She looked good, Jade would admit, maybe a little too good, but honestly, where’s the harm in that? The younger girl was wearing a dark red cropped sweater with a pair of light blue jeans that were cuffed at the ankle. A classic bisexual move , Jade noted, and filed that information away for later. 

“I think Zoey has an early morning class like you, so she’ll probably go with you. I don’t have classes until 10, so it’d be a waste of gas to drive you myself.” Jade says, and Rumi’s expression drops just a tiny bit, enough for Jade to know she’d somehow upset the younger girl. Jade sighs softly. She had a feeling Rumi was sensitive to rejection, but this almost seemed… unhealthy.

“But, hey. We can still hang out after classes are over. You only have two today, right?” Jade asks, and Rumi nods, her lavender colored braid bobbing around in time with her head movements. 

“Yeah, I only have two classes today, so I’ll see you?” Rumi questions, and Jade nods, a relieved exhale leaving her. Zoey, bless her, comes out of her room, her wavy hair pulled up into a messy claw clip that stuck out around her head, her eyes still doused in sleep, like she’d just rolled out of bed. 

“Morning, Zoey.” Jade and Rumi say together, and Zoey groans. 

“God, someone go back in time and tell me signing up for an eight am class wasn’t the way to go.” Zoey whines as she slips past Jade and into Rumi’s bedroom, collapsing into Rumi's desk chair. Rumi chuckles softly as she moves to her dresser to put her rings on. Zoey, for all her dramatics, knew getting up early would probably encourage her to go to bed at a decent hour, for once in her life.

“Come on, Zoey. We don’t want to be late on our first day.” Rumi says, nudging Zoey’s foot with her own, which makes Zoey let out a series of groans and whines that almost seemed pitiful to Rumi.

“But Rumi…” Zoey whines, but Rumi can’t help but chuckle at her roommate’s pouts.

“I will leave you here, Zoey.” Rumi threatens, eliciting a gasp from the black haired girl, who sits bolt upright. 

“You wouldn’t!” Zoey gasps, and Rumi shrugs casually.

“Who knows? Anyway, since you’re up, let’s go.” Rumi says, and unceremoniously slings her bag onto one shoulder as she leaves the room. Zoey scrambles up after Rumi, clomping down the stairs. Jade lowers herself to the top stair, watching the two of them disappear out of sight. 

Rumi and Zoey head down to the curb, where Rumi’s car is parked, and, after giving the road a careful glance, Rumi steps out onto the street to unlock her car. “It’s open, Zo.” Rumi says before she slides into the car. Zoey hops in a few seconds later, dumping her bag into the backseat like it had always belonged there.

“Your car is nice, Rumi-unnie.” Zoey says before she catches sight of the dashboard. “Stickers on your dashboard?” Rumi laughs at Zoey’s question, finding it amusing. 

“Oh, yeah. It was something my mom started with her car. I kind of kept the tradition going.” Rumi says lightly as she starts the car, but she feels that familiar twinge of heartache at the mere mention of her mother. 

“Your mom? That’s cute.” Zoey says softly, sensing the sensitivity of the subject in the way Rumi’s expression tightens uncomfortably, like even the mention of her mother was too close to shattering her. Rumi fiddles with the radio as her phone slowly, painstakingly connects to the little bluetooth piece, and once it finally does, Rumi puts on some soft, lo-fi music that instantly soothes Zoey.

“You have a good taste in music, Rumi. It’s very you.” Zoey hums softly as Rumi pulls the car away from the curb after shifting gears. “Thank you.” Rumi replies just as quietly, and then the two fall into silence.

The drive to campus isn’t necessarily long, but Rumi felt better about having her car in the event she had to make a quick escape from class when it got too overwhelming. Her hands drum at the steering wheel as she looks for a place to park, and when she finds one, she sighs with something akin to irritation. Having to haul ass to class wasn’t exactly on my list of things to do today. Rumi thinks to herself as she shuts off the car.

 Zoey sighs, her head falling back against the headrest before she sits up and opens the door. “Let’s go, Rumi.” Zoey says sweetly, and for some reason, Rumi follows her out of the car and to the back door to grab her bag.

“You ready, Zo?” Rumi asks, slinging her bag onto her shoulder again, and Zoey sighs. “Like I have a choice, Rumi.” The younger girl sighs, her shoulders curling in on herself slightly, like she was trying to make herself smaller, which concerned Rumi a bit, but she didn’t know how to bring it up without sounding pushy, so she didn’t.

The two start walking in silence as they head toward class, each step feeling a bit heavier than the last, and not in a good way. The closer they got to the music hall, the more Zoey seemed to shrink into herself, the dimmer her sparkle became. And that? That scared Rumi. Not because Zoey needed to tone herself down, but because the younger girl somehow seemed to do it unconsciously.

“Um, Rumi?” Zoey murmurs a few minutes later, making Rumi turn to the shorter girl, and realized with a start that she’d walked a few feet ahead while Zoey had come to a stop outside the music arts building.

“Yeah, Zoey?” Rumi asks softly, moving back toward her to close the distance between them a bit more.

“This is me. What time do you get out of class?”

“I’m not done with classes until 2, you?”

“Fuck. I’m not done until 4.” Zoey huffs, and Rumi’s face scrunches with sympathy and a hint of distaste, as if the older girl couldn’t imagine having to sit through basically an entire school day of classes.

“Ew, I’m sorry.” Rumi says, because that’s the only thing she can even think to say in this situation to make it feel even a bit better. “I can wait for you after my class is over-”

Zoey cuts Rumi off sharply, her eyes gone wide as saucers. “No, no, no! I couldn’t ask you to do that, I-”

“You didn’t ask. I’m offering.” Rumi cuts in, her eyes firm. “And besides, I could use the extra time to do some homework. Anyways, you should go inside before you get locked out of class or something. I’ll see you after classes are over, Zoey.” Rumi says, and unceremoniously walks toward the fine arts building. Zoey watches her go, her cheeks reddening and her heart fluttering like it was a bird trying to take flight. 

  {x-o-x-o}

The Baddest Bitches

Zoeybug sent at 8:19 am

so, we have to protect rumi at all costs

miraaaaa sent at 8:22 am

why, what did she do?

itsyagirlchojade sent at 8:24 am

i bet rumi said she’d wait for zoey two hours after her classes ended

Zoeybug sent at 8:27 am

jade youre a fucking psychic.

Jade chuckles softly and sets her phone down on the bed as Mira’s fingers card through her hair. The two had decided to watch a movie in Mira’s room, so Jade’s head was currently resting in Mira’s lap while the pink haired girl played with her hair absentmindedly.

“That feels really nice, Mir.” Jade hums softly, and Mira’s gaze is drawn downward to the younger girl, a smile teasing the corner of her lips.

“Does it?” Mira asks, and Jade nods, her head barely moving in her lap.

“It's soothing, and it's something my mom stopped doing after she remarried that asshat of a man.” Jade hums, her voice tightening slightly at the mention of her stepfather.

Mira’s own expression darkens at the mention of the man. Mira had only had the displeasure of meeting the man once, when Jade had moved into her dorm a couple years ago. He had been brash and abrasive, spewing homophobic rhetoric so often Mira had been surprised that Jade was so loud about her sexuality. And then… he’d hit Jade. As in a full on strike across the cheek that reverberated through the room and echoed down the residents hall so loud that everyone within a 10 foot vicinity stopped what they were doing to see what happened. Mira had seen red that day, and kicked Jade’s stepfather out on the spot.

Mira’s hands kept playing with Jade’s hair as she tried to keep herself from getting too lost in the rage that usually accompanied that particular memory, but Jade could feel the anger radiating off of the older girl like waves.

“Mira?” Jade asks softly, sitting up and turning to face Mira with a concerned expression on her face. 

“Sorry, Jae. You just… you didn’t deserve that. No one did, but especially not you.” Mira says softly, her hand raising slowly, carefully, to cup Jade’s cheek in the palm of her hand. Jade stilled as Mira’s hand raised, but she didn’t flinch away from her touch ( Progress , Mira thought to herself with internal satisfaction), but instead, the younger girl leaned into it.

“You’re the first person who stood up to him aside from me. And you didn’t even know me.” Jade murmurs softly as her eyes drift shut, her expression softening ever so slightly in that way that told Mira that Jade felt safe with her, even a bit, to drop the tough girl act she always fronted with.

“I didn’t have to know you. I just knew no one deserved to be treated like that.” Mira hums in response, her thumb slowly, gently, tracing Jade’s cheek, like she was trying to memorize the way it felt in her hand. Jade’s eyes open again, green-brown irises that Mira swore could see into souls and dredge up even the most haunting of memories, framed by a thick, dark fringe of lashes that curled upward in a way that would make most girls jealous. Jade’s lips part, just slightly, like she was breathing in air for the first time in a long time, and Mira had the distinct yet terrifying thought to lean forward and capture them with her own, to kiss away all the bad memories of her stepfather and her mother and all the things that had hurt her before-

“Mira…” Jade breathes softly, and Mira snaps back to reality with a soft hum.

“Yeah?” Mira asks softly, her brown eyes searching Jade’s as she instinctively leans in toward the younger girl a bit. Jade’s eyes track her movements, like a predator watching prey, sending shivers down Mira’s spine in a way that was both terrifying and thrilling at the same time. 

“You’re… really close…” Jade murmurs, silently giving Mira a decision to make. Either she could lean forward and take the kiss Jade was so willingly offering, or she could back off and pretend this whole thing hadn’t happened. But one thing about Mira? She wasn’t the type to just jump into the deep end without a plan. So she waited for a moment, running through the possible end results of a kiss.

“Mira… please, just make up-” Jade didn’t even get to finish her sentence before Mira’s lips were on hers.

And oh, god , it was truly unfair that Mira could kiss like this, because Jade suddenly felt entirely too inadequate to be the one experiencing this. Mira was soft in a way she hadn’t expected, and her lips, god, her lips tasted like cherries and a hint of vanilla from her chapstick. And the way their lips moved against each other, like they’d been doing this for months made something inside Jade’s chest cut loose, leaving her spinning out but fully grounded in the moment.

Before she even realized what was happening, Mira’s hands had slipped under her shirt, roaming higher and higher before pulling it off entirely. “Is this okay?" Mira asks, her voice raw, real in a way that made Jade’s heart stutter then kick into high gear. Jade nods, because as much as she knew she should stop Mira and pretend this didn’t happen, she wanted this , wanted to feel like she wasn’t completely broken for a moment.

So she nodded, not trusting her voice to carry her words in a way that didn’t scream desperate for touch. And Mira, bless her soul, understood Jade’s nod, the look in her eyes that silently pleaded for something, anything , and who was she to say no to someone who looked so ready to fall apart?

  {x-o-x-o}

Zoey was bored. Bored because Mira and Jade had stopped responding to her texts about an hour ago, and now she had to listen to a professor drone on and on about the importance of harmony layering in sheet music. And honestly? Zoey should’ve been paying attention, but every time she tried, her brain would loop back to Rumi’s words earlier this morning. You’re not asking, I’m offering , Rumi’d said, her expression firm and unyielding in that same way that Mira looked at her when she offered to help make dinner (to be fair, Zoey probably would’ve burned the house down if she cooked by herself, and Mira seemed to have a chaos radar specifically tuned in to Zoey.)

But still, the notion of being offered help surprised Zoey. She didn’t know how to handle it whatsoever, and found it a bit disorienting. Of course, that may have been due to-

“Miss Kim, please answer the question on the board.” Zoey’s head snaps up as her eyes scan the board for an inkling of what question she was supposed to be answering. All eyes turned to face her expectantly, which didn’t make her feel any better about already being put on the spot like this. 

“Uh, right. Um… fifths?” Zoey says after a moment, and the professor sighs but accepts her answer.

“Yes, thank you, Miss Kim. In the future, though, please keep your attention on the board and not whatever it is you’re doodling.” The professor says, making Zoey’s face redden with heat.

“Yes, sir.” She murmurs as all the eyes in the room slowly begin to face the board again. Her heart doesn’t stop thrumming in her chest, though, and she silently chastises herself for drifting so deeply into her own mind that she-

Stop it. Now is so not the time. Zoey thinks to herself as she starts taking notes again, her pencil scratching away at the paper like it always did. My studious Zoey , her mother called her. But she didn’t feel studious, not now. Because all she could think about was her message-less phone and her cold hands knotted together on the cold table in front of her. She glances down at her notebook and realizes she had , in fact, been doodling while she daydreamed earlier, and with a start, she realized why it looked so familiar.

Zoey wasn’t an artist like Jade by a long shot, but she did love sketching out things from time to time when her hands needed something relatively mindless to do. But this? This was different. It was like her hands had drawn exactly what she’d seen: the gentle firmness in Rumi’s eyes, the silent encouragement to Zoey to let herself take up space and not retreat into herself. The way her eyes softened just before she’d turned away to walk to her own class, a softness Zoey wasn’t exactly used to quite yet.

Zoey wakes up her laptop and opens KakaoTalk, the one app she had all her friends on, and starts a new message thread with Rumi.

Zoeybug sent at 2:30 pm

Thanks for waiting for me.

RumiKang17

you don't have to thank me for allowing you to have space to be, zoey.

and shouldn't you be paying attention?

Zoey almost laughed aloud. Because, really, why did Rumi care about whether or not Zoey was paying attention in a college class she may or may not even need for her transcript to graduate? Maybe that’s just the type of person Rumi was, and honestly, Zoey couldn’t blame her. Not really, anyway.

Zoey twirls her pencil between her fingers, her mind now totally unfocused on the material she should’ve been paying attention to but wasn’t (because, let’s be real, Zoey didn’t even like this class and was honestly considering dropping it just because she could). She lets out a soft sigh as she checks the time. Only ten minutes left? Shit, this class has flown by. But Zoey knew better than to count on the usual dismissal time. This particular professor was known to keep students past the ending time, and as much as Zoe kind of hated that fact, it added to her routine for the day, gave her something reliable to count on.

Ten minutes pass in aching slowness, and by the time four pm rolls around, she’s practically bouncing to leave, much like the rest of the students in the class. The professor must sense the barely contained energy in the room, because he dismisses everyone with a sigh and a wave of his hand.

“Miss Kim, can I see you after class, please?” The professor’s voice cuts through the din of students talking to each other to reach Zoey, who freezes in the middle of packing her things up. She can feel that familiar heat rising in her cheeks, and she manages to agree without her voice cracking, even with all the eyes on her from her classmates.

After the last student has left, the professor perches on the edge of his desk.

“Miss Kim-”

“It’s just Zoey, please, sir.” Zoey cuts in, and the professor’s eyebrow twitches upward, as if he were asking her if she wanted to continue to speak out of turn.

“ Zoey ,” He says forcefully as he stares her down. “You’ve been distracted today. Care to share?” He asks, but Zoey immediately shakes her head.

“No, that’s alright, I’m good.” Zoey replies, but the professor sighs and moves closer to her. Alarm bells start ringing in Zoey’s mind, and tension floods her body, quiet at first but getting progressively louder with each step he takes toward her. 

Just as he’s about to reach her, Rumi, thank god , pops her head into the room. “Hey, Zo, ready to go?” She asks innocently, and Zoey nods quickly. She’s out of her chair in a flash. 

“I’ll see you around, Professor Son.” Zoey says as she links her arm through Rumi’s and allows the older girl to get her out of the building. They walk in silence to Rumi’s car, but Zoey can feel the anger pouring off of the older girl.

“Rumi-” Zoey tries to say, but Rumi cuts her off sharply.

“Zoey, did he make you uncomfortable?” Rumi asks point blank as they both stand outside Rumi’s car. 

“W-What, no, its f-fine, I-”

“ Zoey . You can be honest with me.” Rumi’s voice, sharp yet kind, firm yet gentle, cuts through the spiraling in Zoey’s mind, cuts through the noise to reach her as she stands there. And suddenly, it didn’t matter to Zoey if Rumi wasn’t her best friend yet.

She tells Rumi everything.

And Rumi? Her hands clench tighter and tighter into fists, her posture becoming more aggressive yet protective in a way Zoey had never seen before. As she continues telling Rumi about the professor, she can practically hear the gears turning in Rumi’s head, hear the audible grinding of Rumi’s jaw as she speaks through clenched teeth. 

“Zoey, drop his class.” Rumi says after Zoey’d finished speaking. Zoey looks astonished for a moment before she realizes that Rumi was dead serious.

“But-” Zoey tries to stutter, but apparently, Rumi wasn’t having it.

“Please, Zoey, just drop his class.” And for some reason, something in Rumi’s voice makes Zoey listen. She pulls out her phone right there and calls up to the office that she signed up for her classes in. She steps away from Rumi to maintain some form of privacy, but as she drops and enrolls into a class she actually needs for her degree, she feels a sense of warmth spilling into her. Rumi looked out for me , Zoey thought to herself, her mind replaying images of Rumi’s distressed face in her mind. She saw what I was blatantly ignoring. And for some reason, that alone makes her chest tight with a feeling she couldn’t exactly identify.

{x-o-x-o}

Mira knew, by the time she woke up to her skin being flushed and warm, and the feeling of a body next to her, she knew she’d made a choice that could end very badly if she wasn’t careful.

Jade shifts beside her, her body curling right against Mira’s in a way that made her heart flutter for a moment before she remembered that Rumi and Zoey were due to be home at any minute.

Mira nudges Jade gently, and the younger girl yawns as she blinks sleep from her eyes. It takes Jade’s eyes a moment to focus on Mira, but when they do, she becomes entirely too aware of every place their bodies touched, every breath that ghosted across Jade’s neck from Mira’s slow, even exhales.

“Oh, fuck.” Is the first thing out of Jade’s mouth before she can even think.

“Yeah, that’s… what happened,” Mira hums, a dangerous sound that Jade now knew could turn into breathless whimpers and low whines within an instant.

“We…?”

“Yes, Jade. All the way.”

“...oh.” Oh? Really? Is that all I can say for myself? God, I sound pathetic. Jade chastises herself as she flops backward into Mira’s warm embrace again, vaguely thinking that for once, she hadn’t fled from her feelings and instead had faced them head on, even for a moment.

“Do you… regret it?” Mira asks a few minutes later, propping herself onto her elbow to look at Jade. Jade thinks about it for a moment, then shakes her head slowly.

“No. You?” Mira’s expression stays neutral as she thinks, her free hand tracing patterns onto Jade’s bare skin.

Did she regret it? Maybe a bit, because she hadn’t meant to fuck one of her roommates. Had she been wanting it? She couldn’t lie, she’d wanted to sleep with Jade for a while, but it went beyond that, she knew that. And that was dangerous, how easily Mira could admit that to herself. She’d been denying herself the ability to connect and get attached to people, especially people she could see herself in, but Jade? Jade had broken every rule in her book, shattered every wall she met when it came to Mira, and wormed her way into Mira’s heart without even asking. And that? She couldn’t regret that.

“No, I don’t.” Mira murmurs finally, and shifts closer to Jade, letting the blankets fall back over them as they get lost in each other again.

Chapter Text

Zoey could tell something had changed. She wasn’t oblivious like people thought she was, no, in fact, Zoey was very good at picking up on changes in the environments she frequented. And this? This wasn’t any different.

When Zoey and Rumi had returned home after Rumi told Zoey to drop that stupid class, Zoey could feel the difference. She noticed Jade and Mira being more… affectionate than usual, which surprised Zoey, especially since neither girl was really the type to initiate physical contact. She noticed the little glances when they both thought no one was watching, the moments where one of them would be staring blankly at the other, as if their mind was a million miles away from the present.

And, come on. Zoey would have to be fucking blind to miss the not-fully covered hickies on their necks. Zoey saw them. But she waited. Waited to collect more evidence before she even asked. 

Thank fucking god it’s Friday. Finally, Zoey thought to herself as she stretched out in bed, her limbs still warm from sleeping for nearly ten hours straight. She didn’t want to leave her nest of blankets and squishmallows, but her stomach was growling so loud, she was fairly certain Rumi could hear it through the wall. So she got up and pulled on an oversized hoodie she’d (totally accidentally) stole from Mira, and went downstairs, avoiding the creaky stairs to not wake anyone up. She didn’t expect anyone to be awake. Didn’t expect to see what she saw.

As Zoey moves from the hallway to the living room in near silence, she catches a sound reverberating from the kitchen, and immediately, she clocks the sound as a breathless, pleading whine. Zoey bites her lip and carefully peeks into the kitchen.

Mira was standing at the counter in a pair of black cotton shorts and a baggy sleep shirt, but that’s not what surprised Zoey. It was the fact Mira had Jade pinned against the counter, her hand dipped below Jade’s sweatpants while Jade clung to Mira, her hands knotted into Mira’s shirt as her head falls back to expose more of her neck to Mira. Jade’s lips part as she lets out a soft, needy moan that sends electricity running down Zoey’s spine and straight to her belly.

“M-mira, I’m… f-fuck ” Jade’s voice is soft, needy, begging , but it’s not what makes Zoey weak in the knees.  

“I know, Jae. You’re being such a good girl for me.” And oh, fuck , did those words go straight between Zoey’s thighs. 

Before Zoey decides to do something she can’t take back, she retreats upstairs to her room quickly, her face burning with heat as her stomach twists with something far too warm for comfort. Her hands shake slightly, but not from fear or anxiety. No, her hands were shaking from arousal , and she needed to get it under control now .

“Fuck… okay. Everything’s fine. Everything’s completely fine. Walking in on my roommates having sex in the kitchen is totally normal .” Zoey murmurs to herself as she paces around her bedroom, actively trying not to think about the way Mira’s name had sounded coming from Jade’s mouth like that, or how Mira had called her ‘good girl’ so easily (Zoey wasn’t jealous, totally not, most definitely not ).

Zoey knew something had changed between Mira and Jade. But she wasn’t expecting this. She wasn’t expecting to accidentally walk in on them, or to feel so affected by the sight of them together.

She could’ve blamed it on being pent up, on sexual energy that had absolutely nowhere to go, considering Zoey didn’t really do one night stands (kudos to Mira, who somehow managed to have one night stands all the time) and she hadn’t really had a moment alone to do… well, that . 

But even with that thought in mind, that she was just affected because she didn’t have an outlet, she still couldn’t shake the image of Mira’s hand slipped under the waistband of Jade’s sweatpants, doing who knew what (Zoey knew exactly what was happening, but she couldn’t even think about it without her knees growing weak). Zoey sat down heavily on her bed, her fingers slipping into her hair to knot at the base of her skull while she tried to think of a plan of action that was the least embarrassing as possible.

“Okay. I’ll just… pretend it didn’t happen. Yeah, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.” Zoey murmurs to herself, but the growing ache between her thighs and the fact her panties were currently sticking to her skin was not helping with that thought whatsoever.

Zoey whines softly to herself, her hands moving from her hair to grip her thighs, as if feeling her own skin could somehow convince herself that she totally didn’t just get turned on by Jade and Mira’s little sex-scapade in the kitchen. By now, her thighs are aching from keeping them so tightly clenched, and she’s torn between handling this herself, going back downstairs and joining them, and just flat out ignoring it. But a sudden ache from her thighs reminds her that she needs to choose now , before her body chooses for her.

With a soft whimper, Zoey stands up and locks her bedroom door, then returns to her bed, where she connects her headphones to her phone, her hands slowly trailing up and down her body before slipping right where she needs it most. But even with the music playing in her ears, she imagines Mira calling her a good girl, or being the one to make Jade a whimpering mess like that, distantly wondering how it feels to be cherished like that.

{x-o-x-o}

Mira had a feeling Zoey had picked up on what was going on between herself and Jade. She knew Zoey was incredibly perceptive when it came to the environment she was in and the people she was around, not to mention she was pretty sure she’d seen the younger girl staring straight at her neck (Jade’d been too careless and gave Mira a hickey. Not that she minded or anything, but still, kinda embarrassing).

Not that she and Jade were going to great lengths to hide it. The little glances, sitting almost too close, the physical affection… if someone knew how to read Mira right, they’d see through her careful mask.

Jade hadn’t specified what this was, what she and Mira were, which was fine with Mira. She didn’t really do serious relationships, and always dipped when things got too personal, too real for her liking. But this thing with Jade… friends with benefits or whatever people called it… she could almost feel herself wanting more. Wanting an actual relationship with her, and that? Scared her shitless .

Mira stirs the pot slowly, methodically, like she could get lost in it and forget about the crushing weight of her feelings. Her phone, which had been laid on the counter, chimes suddenly, and she sighs as she picks it up.

HaneulSky sent at 3:37 pm

you havent texted me back.

miraaaaa sent at 3:41 pm

didn’t think i needed to.

HaneulSky sent at 3:42

why not? we have something, right?

Mira bites her lip as her thumbs hover over the screen, deliberating on what to say. It’s not like she didn’t like Skylar, because Skylar was funny in that… not to sound stereotypical or anything, but Skylar was funny in that dumb blonde kind of way. But outside of that? Skylar didn’t really have a personality, and she agreed with everything Mira said, which, in hindsight? Total drag.

So she just sets her phone down and goes back to preparing dinner. Or, she would’ve, if Zoey hadn’t walked into the room, her eyes carefully avoiding Mira’s and her hands shoved into her hoodie. 

Mira raises a well-manicured brow at Zoey. “You okay?” Mira asks, cutting through the homey silence. Zoey visibly stiffens for a moment, her cheeks pinkening instantly as she swings the fridge open, sifting through it to grab a… chocolate milk carton (Mira didn’t fully understand Zoey’s obsession with chocolate milk, but she found it cute).

“Y-yeah, just peachy. Why?” Zoey asks as she struggles to stab the plastic straw through the little aluminum covered hole, still adamantly refusing to meet Mira’s eye. Mira sighs and takes the carton from Zoey’s hand to smoothly insert the straw, then hands the carton back to Zoey, their fingers brushing slightly. The feeling sends a wave of heat down Zoey’s neck, and she shifts uncomfortably for a moment as she sips at the chocolatey goodness coming from the carton.

“You’re acting weird, Zo.” Mira says plainly, and Zoey’s milk almost shoots out of her nose as she chokes on it.

“W-what? I’m… totally n-normal!” Zoey coughs, setting her drink onto the counter, her face flaming, whether it be from embarrassment or something else, Mira wasn’t entirely sure. She awkwardly pats Zoey on the back, trying to get the younger girl to stop choking, concern and amusement mixing together.

“Fucking hell, Zo, don’t die on me. It was just a question.” Mira chuckles as Zoey glares at Mira, her eyes blurry with post-choking tears.

“You’re such an asshole sometimes, Mira.” Zoey complains, but her voice doesn’t hold any sort of bite. Mira chuckles again as she moves to grab a paper towel to give to Zoey to wipe her face.

“Here you go, pretty girl.” Mira says, and Zoey’s breath hitches slightly at the nickname. Mira had always called Zoey ‘pretty girl’, but why did this time feel so different? Zoey didn’t know, and she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to know. 

“Thanks.” Zoey huffs as she snatches the paper towel from Mira’s grasp.

A few minutes later, the mess is cleaned up, and Mira’s resumed her cooking. Zoey’s hopped up on the counter at this point, watching Mira cook with interest, her legs swinging slightly. 

As Mira cooks, Zoey starts talking about turtles, her favorite animal ever , (and honestly, who wouldn’t love turtles) her words spilling out of her mouth in a near constant stream. Mira can’t help but smile softly at Zoey’s animated chatter, finding it adorable and soothing in a way she couldn’t explain. 

Instead of interrupting Zoey mid-turtle talk to ask Zoey to move so Mira could get to the spices, Mira just steps between Zoey’s legs, leaning around Zoey to get into the cabinet. 

And, holy ever-loving fuck . She heard Zoey’s sharp intake of breath, felt the way Zoey’s eyes tracked across her face and down her neck, felt Zoey’s stunted gasp brush across her neck.

And, for as much as she incited gay panic in others, Mira simply forgot how to function.

Zoey, on the other hand, couldn’t breathe. If she did, she’d inhale the scent of Mira’s perfume, and she’d truly be a goner then. Zoey’s mouth goes suddenly dry, her heart ramming up into the back of her throat as she tries to look anywhere but at the curve of Mira’s jaw, the pillar of Mira’s neck, the hollow of Mira’s throat, because god fucking dammit , Zoey was about thirty seconds from absolutely losing it.

Heat floods the space between Mira and Zoey, both of them now frozen in this extremely compromising position, with Mira basically caging Zoey in with her body. Zoey swears she can see Mira’s pulse speed up, but maybe it was her own eyes roving over the expanse of skin she’d somehow found herself subjected to (not that she was complaining, Mira was fucking hot).

Mira’s lips part slightly, and of course, Zoey’s eyes immediately move to them, and distantly, she wonders what Mira’s lips would taste like, if they’d be soft and sweet or savory or even bitter-

“Um… Mira?” Zoey breathes, and Mira’s eyes meet Zoey’s. An instant passes between them before Mira consciously steps back, though almost reluctantly, in Zoey’s opinion. Not that it mattered, but-

“You were… um, in the way.” Mira says as she shakes some of the seasoning into the pot, her hands shaking visibly (Zoey’s screaming internally, because why wouldn’t she be?) as she does so.

“Oh… right…” Zoey murmurs, a sense of disappointment filling her chest, replacing the warmth that had flooded the space between her and Mira.

Zoey sits in silence for the rest of the time Mira’s cooking, lost in thought, though her legs do still swing slightly.

It was just a fluke. A blip. Zoey tries to convince herself, but the warmth in her chest, the way Mira froze in front of her… Zoey was going to have a hard time sleeping tonight.

{x-o-x-o}

Rumi was sitting at her desk, fingers tapping away at her keyboard as she focused her attention on her super secret novel that no one knew about. Dinner had been hours ago, and while Rumi had appreciated Mira’s… attempt at making hotpot, she couldn’t exactly say it was… nutritious.

She pauses her writing for only a moment to take a sip of water when someone knocks on her bedroom door. 

“Come in.” She says without looking up, and whoever it was pushes into the room. Based on the way she immediately closes the door behind her, Rumi can tell its Jade, and she quickly shuts down her laptop before turning to face the red haired girl.

“Hey, Jae.” Rumi hums, a soft smile rising to her lips as she makes eye contact with Jade, but her eyes are drawn downward, to Jade’s neck, but she doesn't say anything.

Jade was kind of funny that way. She’d talk about things if she brought them up, but if someone else did, she’d completely clam up, something Rumi was intimately familiar with, since she also did the same thing. 

“Hey, Ru. How were classes this week? I know we didn’t get much time to spend together because of… um… classes.” Jade stutters, actually stutters , her hands lacing and unlacing from each other, as if the younger girl were nervous about something, but Rumi didn’t know what.

“Classes were fine, I suppose. What about you? I haven’t seen you around much. You have mostly evening classes, right?” Rumi questions, swinging her chair back and forth with her one foot on the floor. Jade nods to Rumi’s question, glancing down to avoid Rumi’s gaze, which was weird, because Jade? Not a gaze-avoider like Rumi was.

“Yeah, classes are… fine. Yep. Fine. Totally fine.” Truth be told, Jade had barely been paying attention in class lately, her mind fully spiraling as she daydreamed about her and Mira’s…escapades.

Jade didn’t know if she should tell Rumi about the secret hookups with Mira she’d been having, but she knew she felt kind of bad for not being there for Rumi during this first week of classes, even if they only had known each other for such a short period of time.

Now that Jade thought about it, she kind of got the same feelings in her chest when she thought of Mira, and even Zoey. That thought makes her pause. Woah. What? No way. I can’t like three people at the same time. That’s… no, right?  

Except, it seemed there was a way, one that was becoming all too glaringly obvious to Jade. She holds a conversation with Rumi for a bit longer before dashing out of the room with some excuse that she had schoolwork to do, leaving Rumi alone again, watching her bedroom door swing shut in a way that felt a bit too heavy to be comfortable.

{x-o-x-o}

Her long dark brown braid thumped against her back painfully as she ran through the smoke-filled hallways of the once beautiful countryside manor. She coughed once, twice, again, as she raced through the home as quickly as she could, her fourteen year old self’s legs carrying her toward almost certain death.

“ Eomma! ” She screamed, but her voice was devoured by the roaring of the flames that licked behind closed doors. “ Eomma, please! ”

Just as she was about to delve deeper into the house, a hand closed around her wrist, pulling her backward sharply, leading her away from the back of the house. When she turned to look, she nearly sobbed with relief. “ Eomma!” She gasped, and clung to her mother’s side. The older Korean woman smiled down at the younger girl, her eyes tired as she slowly led the girl toward the front door. Flames licked at their heels, searing the older woman’s feet as the pair stumbled through the house.

“ Come on, eomma, we’re almost at the door. ” The girl grunted, taking on more of her mother’s weight as they trudged along the hallway.

The older woman is just about to respond when she hears a horrible snapping sound, followed by a low creaking sound. She looks up, and barely has a moment to push the girl aside before the hot support beams of the ceiling drop on top of her, crushing her legs instantly with a sickening crunch. 

The girl is at her mother’s side in an instant, moving to pull the shirt off of her back before her mother stops her.

“ My little star. Please, go. ” The older woman said, her voice clear even despite the pain reverberating through her body. The girl’s eyes fill with tears, and she clings to her mother’s hand.

“ No, no, I won’t! I can’t lose you, eomma, I can’t- ” A set of strong arms wraps around the girl’s midsection, and there are shouts as firefighters start trying to lift the heavy wooden beams off of the older woman. The arms lift the girl away from her mother, carrying her outside the aflame house. She was sure the firefighter was talking to her, but she couldn’t hear it. Her gaze was intensely focused on the doorway, waiting for her mother to emerge.

A low groaning sound filled the air as she was sat down on a gurney, and to her absolute, abject horror, the whole house tilts for a moment, before collapsing in on itself. The girl watches the doorway, into the flame-licked darkness of the entryway, as her mother is buried under the flaming rubble.

“ EOMMA! ”

{x-o-x-o}

Mira woke to the most visceral, terrified scream in her life, and her body reacts on its own. She scrambles out of bed, nearly faceplanting because of her stupid socks slipping on the hardwood floor, and careens out of her room, barely reaching out to brace herself with the wall before she shoots off toward the horrifying source of the screams.

Mira had never heard a scream so full of terror and anguish before, and as she throws Rumi’s bedroom door open, her heart breaks at the sight.

Rumi’s body is coated in a glistening layer of sweat, her blankets tangled around her legs as she thrashes around, her breaths coming in short, panicked gasps that echo through the room painfully.

The sudden commotion and Rumi’s scream must’ve alerted Zoey and Jade, because they fly into the room behind Mira, twin gasps erupting from their throats as they witness the state of Rumi. 

Mira unfreezes first, and she quickly moves to Rumi’s bedside, climbing up next to the writhing girl as she lets out a string of heart-shattering whimpers that made even Mira tear up.

“Rumi? Rumi, come on, babes, its just a dream.” Mira says, her hands moving to hold Rumi’s shoulders to keep the lavender haired girl from moving so much.

Rumi’s eyes fly open, her pupils blown out with pure, unadulterated terror as a choked sob rips from her throat. Her hands claw at Mira’s desperately, as if the sensation of being held down was too much, too real . Her body starts trembling violently, almost uncontrollably, the tell-tale sign of a panic attack.

Mira winces as Rumi’s nails (God, they were sharp ) dig into her hands, but she doesn’t retract her hands from Rumi’s shoulders, only loosening her grip a bit to keep from sending the shorter girl into even more of a panic.

“Rumi, breathe , baby.” Mira murmurs, trying to draw Rumi’s attention to her face.

And, thank fuck , Rumi finally takes a full breath as her eyes (Mira knew now wasn’t the time, but holy fuck , Rumi’s eyes were beautiful, even like this). The entire room seems to exhale with relief slightly as Rumi follows Mira’s slow, even breathing. The entire time, the taller girl is whispering soft praises to her, encouraging to take her time as her hands gently massage Rumi’s shoulders to ease some of the tension.

Mira didn’t even notice when Zoey slipped out of the room, but suddenly, Zoey ( bless her goddamn soul ) comes back into the room, carrying a blanket, and slowly hands it off to Mira, who takes it without tearing her gaze away from Rumi.

“Rumi, this is a weighted blanket. Can I put it on you?” Mira asks softly, and after a long moment, Rumi nods. Mira hooks the blanket on Rumi’s shoulders, allowing the weight to settle on her back. Rumi sniffles and lets out another choked sob, and Mira’s hands slowly raise from Rumi’s shoulders to cup her cheeks gently into her palms.

“Shh, you’re okay. It was just a dream. I know it felt real, and maybe it was at one point, but you’re safe , you’re alive .” Mira says softly, and Rumi, the poor soul, almost instantly deflates, melting into Mira’s touch.

Jade and Zoey, who had been waiting patiently at the door, wanting to support Rumi but unsure of how without triggering her into a more severe panic attack, slowly, carefully , step further into the room as Rumi breaks down into sobs, clinging to Mira like a lifeline.

The three girls sit there for what feels like forever, offering Rumi silent support and comfort as she slowly comes back to herself. When she finally pulls away from Mira, her eyes are puffy, her lavender colored braid in absolute shambles, but her pupils aren’t blown out with fear, and her breathing has evened out aside from the occasional hiccup. The shaking has reduced to occasional tremors in her hands, but she doesn’t push the blanket off of her shoulders.

“Hey, mamas.” Mira whispers, her voice low and gentle to keep from startling Rumi again. “You want some water?” Rumi nods immediately, not trusting her voice quite yet. Mira nods and makes to get up, but a soft, panicked whine from Rumi makes Mira sit right back down.

“Okay, my bad, my bad.” Mira chuckles softly, her hands raised in surrender as Rumi all but nuzzles into Mira’s chest.

“I’ll get her some water.” Jade pipes up, and Mira nods, watching the younger girl disappear from sight before she starts gently rocking Rumi back and forth while humming softly, one hand running the length of her spine while the other gently massages Rumi’s neck to release some of the tension and get Rumi to relax again.

By the time Jade gets back with the water, Rumi has already started dozing off again in Mira’s arms. Mira nudges Rumi gently, not wanting to totally drag her from that sweet in between of reality and dreamland. “Ru, let’s get some water back in you, yeah?” Mira asks quietly a few moments later, and Rumi whines in return, but she pulls away to accept the water gratefully from Jade.

“I get nightmares, too. The cotton mouth goes hard.” Mira hums, and Rumi finally cracks a small, nearly imperceptible smile, which makes something in Mira’s chest catch loose.  

Zoey sits down on the floor a few feet away from Rumi’s bed, being respectful of Rumi’s space. “Do you want to talk about it?” Zoey asks gently, but Rumi immediately shakes her head.

“No!” She exclaims quickly, then winces at her tone. She clears her throat and tries again. “I mean, no, I’m okay. I’d honestly rather not.” Rumi replies, her voice softer, gentler than before. Zoey, Jade and Mira nod, but all three of them can tell that the nightmare was still bothering her in the way her eyes almost seemed to look past them, as if she were still seeing whatever nightmare her brain had conjured up.

“Do you want one of us to stay in here tonight? Or we could go lay on the couch and watch one of Zoey’s stupid animes?” Jade asks, and Zoey lets out an offended huff.

“Hey, my animes are not stupid!” Zoey pouts, crossing her arms over her chest and pooching out her bottom lip.

“Oh, look what you did, Jade You summoned the duck pout.” Mira laughs, and Jade snorts softly, but her lips curl at the corners despite herself.

The four of them make their way to the couch, and they let Rumi choose her spot while Jade and Zoey head into the kitchen to make some tea, with the vain hope it’ll make Rumi feel better.

Mira wraps Rumi up in the weighted blanket and lets her lean against her shoulder as she scrolls through various animes on Crunchyroll (thank god for streaming services, right?), occasionally pausing to comment on a few that looked too ‘fanservice’-esque. While Rumi didn’t speak, she chuckled at a few of Mira’s comments, finding them at least a little funny.

About an hour later, Rumi is out like a light, her eyes drooped shut not even a full episode in. But Mira, Jade and Zoey? They were wide awake now, and only slowly starting to grasp the depth of Rumi’s hardships. Only barely starting to grasp how much the lavender haired girl that had randomly wandered into their lives one day had really, truly been holding back.

Chapter Text

Mira’s body moves smoothly as the instructor calls out directions, her long pink hair swept up into a hasty ponytail that tickled her bare waist as she moves across the studio under the bright fluorescent lights.

For as long as she could remember, Mira had always danced. Ballet, jazz, contemporary, she ate it up, breathed it like it was the only thing that mattered to her. And for a long time, it was. Even now, she felt a call to it, a call she couldn’t escape, no matter how hard she tried.

“Mira, you have exceptional form, but you’re a bit tense today! Let’s loosen up, yeah?” The instructor, Ms. Han, called out across the room, her sharp eyes missing nothing. Mira nods in affirmation, and rolls out her shoulders during a short break between sets. She can hear several of the girls and even some of the boys whistling, and honestly, Mira couldn’t necessarily blame them. But her mind wasn’t focused on her peers, not really.

Ever since the night Rumi had woken up screaming, there was a noticeable shift in the way Mira, Zoey and Jade held themselves around Rumi, as if she were glass, as if one misinterpreted word could send the lavender haired girl spiraling. Mira could still hear the raw terror in Rumi’s voice, the fear in her eyes, and it broke her heart.

Mira sighs and shakes her head, reaching down next to her to grab her water bottle to take a drink. The marley under her feet was cool yet warm in a way that was comforting and isolating at the same time. Mirrors lined the wall furthest from the door, and adjacent to that was a built in barre that ran along the wall. 

Ms. Han claps her hands together, drawing everyone’s attention. “Alright, alright. I know everyone’s ready to go home, but we can run through the choreography once more, full out, or twice more but just marking it.” Several of Mira’s classmates groan, but everyone unanimously agrees to do it once full out. Ms. Han nods knowingly, and waves a hand, letting everyone move to their positions on the floor. 

Mira lets out a slow, even breath as she settles into position, her hands tightening her ponytail so it doesn’t come out as she’s dancing. The music starts, and she mentally counts the beats before she starts moving in perfect sync with her classmates.

Mira’s movements are languid yet precise, a controlled flow from years of dancing. She imagines herself on stage, performing in front of a crowd, and puts all her energy into making her performance believable. 

By the time the choreography is half over, Mira’s lungs are burning sharply, her breaths come in heavy pants, and her legs are on absolute fire. But she doesn’t give up, or give less energy. She pushes through the pain, almost welcoming it in an odd way. Pain means I’m improving. Pain means I’m getting better. She thinks to herself as she dips and shifts between her classmates.

The choreography ends with a solo part that hadn’t been assigned to anyone yet, but they all knew it in case Ms. Han decided it would go to them for the time being. “Mira, solo.” Ms. Han calls out, and Mira internally dies a little as she smoothly shifts to the center.

Her body already knew what to do; three pique turns moving to the left before a series of quick chaine turns, followed by a calypso to the floor in a left split, which of course, gave Mira far too much time to think. She finds her spot, and starts turning on instinct, her head whipping around again and again until she’s on the floor in the splits. She holds her position for a few more seconds before Ms. Han claps her hands together again.

“That was perfect! Alright, guys, get out of here. Enjoy your next couple of days off. I’ll see you on Wednesday.” Ms. Han says, officially signaling the end of class. Mira moves to grab her things, and heads toward the door. As she exits the dance studio, someone grabs her arm, effectively redirecting her momentum as she whirls around to face the person.

“What the hell, Mira?” Skylar says, her voice low. “I texted you, and you left me on fucking read. Like, do you even-”

“I didn’t respond because I had nothing to say, Sky.” Mira deadpans, her eyes meeting the shorter’s evenly. Skylar’s face reddens slightly as her jaw clenches.

“What, and I mean this so literally, the actual fuck , Mira? You said-”

“What I said doesn’t fucking matter, Sky.” Mira hisses, her patience visibly wearing thin. “You knew what I wanted when we first started whatever the fuck this is. You knew I didn’t want anything serious. So what are you doing, coming to my space to bother me, to pester me, to beg for my affection?” Skylar’s face falls, and Mira almost regrets what she said. 

“You… you were just using me?” Skylar whispers, and Mira sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. “You just wanted sex? Is that it? Really, Mira?” 

“Is that what you want to hear? That I just used you? Will that make it easier for you?” Mira asks, and Skylar shrinks away from the subtle hostility in her tone. “Fine. I used you, Skylar. I slept with you just because I could. And now? We’re done. It’s over. Happy?” 

Skylar scoffs, her eyes filling with tears slightly. “You can’t just-” But Mira isn’t having it.

“I can, and I did. This is what you wanted, right? For me to either take you out on a proper date or to put an end to whatever this was. So I ended it. Goodbye, Skylar.” Mira says before prying Skylar’s hand from her arm and moving toward the door.

{x-o-x-o}

Rumi could tell Mira was in a mood the moment the front door slammed shut, making the windows rattle in their boxes and the mug of tea that sat on the coffee table rumble.

“Mira?” Rumi calls out hesitantly, standing up and moving toward the kitchen, where she could hear Mira rooting around in the cabinets for something. When she gets into the room, she sighs softly, leaning against the doorjamb.

Mira looked a mess, with her long pink hair in a sloppy ponytail, her usually perfect makeup smudged around the eyes. But the biggest thing Rumi noticed was the way Mira’s hands shook as she pulled down a bottle of vodka from the cabinet. 

Rumi steps further into the kitchen, letting Mira take one shot before she snatches the bottle from Mira’s hands. “No more.” Rumi says, her voice gentle but firm as she puts the bottle back up in the cabinet. 

Mira doesn’t seem to notice, or she doesn’t really care as she slams the shot back, the bitterness of the alcohol running straight down her esophagus and burning it immediately. “I broke up with Skylar.” She says through a cough as she sets the shotglass back onto the counter. “Broke up, ended, whatever you want to call it.” 

Rumi raises an eyebrow as she crosses her arms over her chest, leaning against the opposite counter as she observes Mira for a moment. “Skylar? The girl you were-”

“Yes, that girl.” Mira cuts Rumi off with a glare that lacked its usual heat. “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this, honestly.”

“Better to let it out than let it consume you.” Rumi murmurs, and Mira’s eyes snap to the shorter girl, her eyes searching Rumi’s brown ones for an answer she wasn’t sure she was even ready for. “Can I ask why you ended things with her?” Rumi asks after a few beats of silence, her eyes full of genuine interest rather than judgement.

Mira sighs and, with a sound of mild impatience, she pulls her hair tie out to give her hands something to do while she talked. “I have a bad habit of running when things get too… real. Too messy, too… complicated.” Mira admits softly, her eyes on everything but Rumi, as if she were afraid of being too seen in this moment.

Rumi nods slowly, processing what Mira had said. “Do you know… why you run?” Rumi asks gently, her hand raising to rest on Mira’s arm before she thinks better of it and pulls back, letting her hand drop to her side awkwardly. Mira gives her a look of exasperation, biting her lip as she debates with herself to spill her darkest secrets with this girl she barely knew.

“My… parents. They didn’t really… show me a lot of affection growing up. Almost never, actually. And when they did, it was always… I dunno… emotionless? I guess?” Mira says finally. 

“Ah… I see.” Rumi murmurs in return, her expression now thoughtful. “Correct me if I’m wrong here, but… the thought of receiving love now, as an adult… it’s…overwhelming, right?”

Mira’s head shoots up, her eyes wide with something akin to shock. “How did you-”

Rumi cuts Mira off, a bittersweet smile on her face. “You and I are alike in that way, I think. Fear of being loved, fear of being alone.” And, suddenly, everything makes sense to Mira. The way she actively sought out affection, but once she had it, she shied away from it. The one night stands, the situationships, then running when it got too real, too raw .

“I hate you.” Mira mutters under her breath, but there’s no bite to her voice. “I hate that you just read me like a book.”

Rumi shrugs, grabbing the shot glass from the counter and bringing it to the sink to wash. “Like I said, we’re a lot alike in that way.” Rumi says evasively, rolling up the sleeves of her sweatshirt as she starts washing the glass.

Mira snorts softly as Rumi shuts off the water and sets the glass in the drying rack, her hands moving to run over her sweatpant-clad thighs. “Yeah, okay.” Mira murmurs. Rumi shoots Mira a half-smile, her mouth opening to respond before she’s interrupted by an incoming call on her phone.

Rumi sighs and pulls her phone out of her pocket, and freezes when she sees the caller ID. Celine? Now?

Rumi glances between her phone and Mira, making up a lame excuse before she runs upstairs to the safety of her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

{x-o-x-o}

Celine had always done a superb job at making Rumi feel small, insignificant. Like she was the problem, like she didn’t deserve love and affection. Hearing her aunt’s voice for the first time in almost a month felt surreal, like she was stuck back in her fourteen year old self’ body again.

“Hi, Aunt Celine.” Rumi says into the phone, her voice soft, timid.

“Rumi Mae Kang, why the hell haven’t you called me?” Celine’s voice, low, cold, dangerous echoes through the phone along with the sound of something being hit hard. Rumi flinches at the sound, her nose filling with the phantom scent of alcohol on Celine’s breath despite their distance.

“I… I was still settling-” Rumi starts, but a scoff from Celine silences her immediately.

“I don’t give a fuck about your excuses, Rumi. You should’ve called.” Celine snarls through the phone, her voice tightening with anger. “Anyway. I need fifty bucks.”

Rumi’s eyebrows knit together. “What? No, I don’t have that kind of-”

“Figure it out, Rumi. I don’t care how you get it.” Rumi’s throat tightens painfully, and she can feel herself cracking under the pressure of Celine’s demand.

“Aunt Celine-”

“God, Rumi, you’re so ungrateful! I did everything for you, clothed you, housed you after your mother died and this is how you repay me? By refusing to give me money when I need it?” Celine yells, her words slurring slightly. 

Rumi bites her lip, torn between hanging up on Celine and facing her wrath later or caving in and sending Celine fifty dollars now just to appease her. 

As if the gods were looking after her, a knock comes at Rumi’s door, and she exhales softly with relief. “Aunt Celine, I have to go. I’ll call you back later.” Rumi says, and hangs up the phone before hearing Celine’s reply. She knew she’d pay for it later, but for now, it felt like a win. 

Rumi composes herself before swinging the door open to see Mira standing there. “Oh. Mira.” Rumi says, surprise in her expression. 

Mira glances at Rumi, to her fisted hands, and nods knowingly. “Family troubles?” Mira asks casually, but it's not a question. Rumi nods shortly as she pockets her phone.

“You could say that.” Rumi replies coolly, leaning against the doorway. “Was there something you wanted, or…?”

Mira shakes herself visibly. “Yeah, right. So, Jade, Zoey and I were gonna watch a movie, wanna join? Zoey and Jade still have to shower, but-”

“Sure. I’d like to.” Rumi says, cutting Mira off with a half-forced smile. Mira nods slowly before stepping away from Rumi’s door. 

“Half an hour. Don’t be late.” She says before walking down the hall to her own room. Rumi lets her door shut before moving to flop onto her bed with a heavy sigh. No matter how hard she tried to shake it, she could still feel the weight of Celine’s words pressing against her ribs, her shoulders, shoving so deeply into her mind that she partially wished she could rip it out of her brain and toss it aside forever.

But Celine was the last thing Rumi had left of her mother, so who was she to cast her aside like that?

{x-o-x-o}

Zoey could feel a certain sort of tension as she flopped onto the couch next to Mira, her legs gently dropping into the older girl’s lap as she scrolled through streaming services on the TV. Jade sat on the opposite couch, and Rumi hadn’t come down to the living room yet.

“So… what are we in the mood for?” Zoey asks after a long minute of silence. Mira shrugs as Jade picks up her phone to check some of the movies that had come out recently.

“We could watch Turning Red again.” Jade says after a moment, and Zoey’s eyes instantly brighten.

“Oh my god, yes, we should watch Turning Red!” Zoey gasps, and cues up the movie as Rumi comes downstairs, her posture hunched in a way that looked like she was trying to be invisible. “Hey, Rumi!” Zoey says brightly as she sets the remote down.

Rumi smiles wanly as she carefully sits down next to Jade, her eyes slightly red rimmed, as if she’d been crying. Zoey wants to ask if she’s okay, but the intro sequence starts, and she completely forgets.

As the movie goes on, Jade, Zoey and Mira exchange worried glances. They had never seen Rumi so… withdrawn before, like she was willing herself to take up as little space as possible, and it concerned them. About halfway through the movie, Jade shifts closer to Rumi, letting her arm press against Rumi’s as she casually leans forward slightly.

Rumi’s breath catches in her throat as Jade’s warmth spills through the arm of her sweatshirt, seeping deeply into her skin. It shocked her how instantly she felt comfortable with the touch, how easily she let herself fall into it. But what surprised her more was the way her body instantly craved more of it.

Just as the credits roll, Zoey gets a text on her phone. “Hey, guys? Roman just invited us to a party. It starts in an hour.” She says as she reads over the message.

“A party, huh?” Mira hums nonchalantly, though the glimmer in her eyes betrays her excitement.

“Well, I’m in. I haven’t been to a party in ages.” Jade says, standing up from her spot next to Rumi.

“If Jade’s going, I’m going.” Zoey agrees, standing up. “Rumi, what about you?”

Rumi fidgets with her hands, shifting uncomfortably. She had never been to a party before, and while she wanted to go, she knew she didn’t have anything to wear to it. “Um… I think I’ll pass. I don’t have anything to wear, anyway.” She says finally, and Mira snorts.

“We can find you something, if you really want to go.” Mira hums as she stands up as well. “Besides, you only go to college once.” Mira extends a hand to Rumi, a very obvious invitation to let Mira, Zoey and Jade show her what a party feels like, even if it's just this once. Rumi hesitates, biting her lip thoughtfully before taking Mira’s hand.

“Oh, hell yes. Let’s go get ready! Mira, you should probably help Rumi, since you're a fashion major.” Zoey says as she tugs Jade up the stairs. The two disappear into their separate rooms, and Mira turns to Rumi.

“Ready?” She asks softly, and after a slight pause, Rumi nods. 

“Yeah. Let’s do this.”

{x-o-x-o}

After about an hour of Mira sifting through Rumi’s closet to find suitable clothes for her to wear to a party, Rumi descends the stairs, avoiding the creaky ones as usual. Her hands smooth over her skirt for the millionth time as she reaches the bottom step. Jade and Zoey, who had been putting on their shoes at the door (because of course all their shoes were piled by the front door, even Rumi’s), look up at the sound of Rumi’s weight hitting the floor, and their jaws drop.

Rumi wasn’t wearing anything too crazy; a black tank top that laced up the sides (thanks to Mira letting her borrow it) and a dark plum skirt that hugged her hips, with a little slit at the side of her left thigh. Black fishnet leggings clung to her legs, and they were stuffed into a pair of black Doc Martens (her favorite shoe, by far).

Her long lilac hair was down mostly, with a few braids scattered throughout. Each braid was adorned by little silver charms, some that looked like stars, others like moons. Her makeup, which she did so infrequently that Mira had to do it for her, was dark and smoky, her eyeshadow done in black and browns while a black eyeliner wing elongated her eyes to make them look sharper, fiercer than she actually felt. She had on some silver jewelry that worked well with her outfit, like a few silver bangles on each wrist and a couple borrowed pieces from Mira.

Jade is the first to recover, her jaw audibly snapping shut. “Holy… Rumi, you look… wow .” Jade says, words failing her for once as she tries to articulate just how sinful Rumi looked.

“Rumi… that look… is absolutely criminal .” Zoey agrees, her voice soft in a reverent kind of way that made something in Rumi’s chest feel warm and her face flush pink.

“You think so? Mira dressed me, so…” Rumi trails off, her eyes flickering between Zoey and Jade, then to Mira, who had come down the stairs behind her. Zoey, Jade and Mira all nod at the same time.

“You look hot, Ru.” Mira murmurs from behind Mira. The nickname wasn’t uncommon to Rumi, but the way Mira said it? God , she made it sound like a prayer, and that? That sent Rumi’s stomach into a tight knot, like she was being worshipped, and she didn’t know what to do with that feeling.

As she gets closer to Zoey and Jade, she gets a chance to look at the two of them clearer. Jade was in this short, emerald green silk dress that made her legs look entirely too long (which made Rumi’s heart flutter unexpectedly) with her hair in bouncy, dark red curls that hung to her waist, and Zoey wore a white cropped front tie shirt with a light blue and white pencil miniskirt, much like Rumi’s own plum skirt, with light, shimmery blue eyeshadow that complimented her skintone beautifully. Zoey’s hair was pulled back into a sleek but spiky claw clip style that Rumi knew she could never pull off with her thick hair.

“Oh, hey, Ru, come here. There’s one last thing.” Mira says, and moves next to Rumi, holding a brown perfume bottle. She spritzes it on Rumi’s pulse points and her wrists. Instantly, Rumi’s surrounded by the scent of honey, chocolate, roses, what she could only describe as amber, and something else that screamed sex appeal that she couldn’t quite name.

“Woah, Mira’s pulling out the big guns.” Zoey says, nodding approvingly to Mira. “‘Invite Only Amber’ is such a Rumi scent.” Rumi’s eyebrows furrow with confusion.

“‘Invite Only Amber’? What’s that?” Rumi asks, and Mira chuckles, setting the perfume bottle down onto the entryway table, making a mental note to grab it when they come back before Zoey stole it from her.

"It's just the name of the perfume, Rumi, relax.” Mira says, and Rumi nods, but she doesn’t look entirely convinced. Before she can say more, though, Jade grabs her hand, pulling her toward the door. 

“Come on, come on, come on! We’re going to miss the party!” Jade says, pulling a bewildered laugh from Rumi as she follows Jade to the door. 

By the time they get to the address that the party is being hosted at, there are already tons of college aged people milling around, some sporting bottles of soju, others of cocktails that Rumi could only assume were being made by the host. Zoey,  ever the social butterfly, zips away to find Roman (whoever he was) to thank him for the invite while Mira, Rumi and Jade milled around, occasionally saying hi to classmates as they passed. 

The bass from the speakers filled Rumi’s chest, her heart seemingly thrumming in time with the music, and while she didn’t feel totally at ease, she relaxed a little. That didn’t last long, however, as Rumi stepped into the kitchen behind Mira and Jade. Dozens of eyes were on the three of them in an instant, and Rumi had half a mind to turn around and go home. Jade stopped her, though, by pushing a drink into Rumi’s hands. “It’s just coke, no alcohol, I promise.” Jade says into Rumi’s ear, her hand rested on her shoulder gently to steady the both of them.

Despite what Jade had said, Rumi still took a cautionary sniff before taking a sip of the fizzy soda, and she relaxes further when she realizes it really was just soda. Jade nods in solidarity, raising her own cup to Rumi before taking a sip.

The four of them circle back up in the living room, where the bass was the strongest. And, despite her initial uneasiness, Rumi can feel herself getting more comfortable, more used to the (mildly) controlled chaos that was Roman’s party. About an hour into the party, Rumi’s giggling and laughing at stupid jokes Jade and Zoey kept cracking, her cheeks hurting from smiling so much.

Rumi stumbles into the kitchen again, ready to take a moment away from everything to clear her head when she feels hands wrapping around her wrist, pulling her back. She turns around to see a man, maybe a few years older than herself, his hair perfectly styled and his button up shirt somehow still clean.

“I haven’t seen you around here before. Are you new?” He asks, his voice smooth and confident. Rumi shakes her head, offering him a tight smile.

“No, not new. I live around here and attend the college nearby.” She says, being intentionally vague. The man’s grip tightens ever so slightly, enough for Rumi to wince slightly.

“Oh, yeah? Well, I’m Jinu Park. I’m the current head of the college’s frat. What’s your name, pretty girl?”

“I’m-” Rumi starts, but a hand wrapping around her waist makes her stop speaking. 

“She’s with me. Back off, Jinu.” A low, familiar voice says. Rumi doesn’t even have to turn her head to know it was Jade standing next to her, her arm wrapped around her waist possessively. Rumi’s face flushes as Jade shifts closer to her, her fingers digging into her skin just slightly, enough to suggest she and Rumi were an item. Jinu scowls at Jade, and lets go of Rumi’s wrist, muttering as he walks away. 

“God, men like that have no fucking respect.” Jade mutters, then glances down at Rumi. “You good, Ru?” Rumi nods, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for the save.” Rumi says, and makes to step away, but Jade just tightens her grip on Rumi’s waist, her hand sliding a bit lower, to her hip, and squeezes gently. 

“Why don’t you stay with me for now, yeah? Don’t want other guys or girls thinking you’re available to be hit on.” Jade says casually, but the words make Rumi blush hard at the implications of them. She nods, and lets Jade pull her back into the party, red and purples and blues flashing together in her mind to create a kaleidoscope of colors in her mind.

Chapter Text

As time went on, and autumn gave way to winter, Rumi could feel a subtle shift in the apartment. It wasn’t noticeable at first, but now, she could look back and say she arguably was at least a little bit of a different person than before, and it was all thanks to Mira, Zoey and Jade.

She could see why the trio worked so well, with Mira’s bold, outspoken aura, Jade’s quiet but sexy sort of confidence, and Zoey’s laid back yet somehow ridiculously hyper energy. It had only been a month since Rumi had moved in, (Rumi totally wasn’t counting, not at all, because that would be quite ludicrous), yet, somehow, she felt more at ease than she ever had since the day she lost her mother.

And it wasn’t just their personalities Rumi had found comfort in. No, Rumi had started to gravitate toward Mira when she needed a moment to process. She sought out Jade when she wanted casual (yet somehow oddly intimate) affection, and she constantly found herself near Zoey when she was feeling a bit down or when the thoughts in her mind got too loud. She could feel the way the three of them were trying to make her feel included, like little coffee runs, grocery shopping… and Rumi couldn’t lie and say it didn’t help her feel less like she was invading the space they’d carefully curated.

Rumi’s curled up on the couch, a book in hand, when she gets a notification on her phone. She sighs and picks up the phone, instantly navigating to her messaging app to see a notification from Jinu.

Jinu_Plays_Games sent at 11:17 AM

Yo, what are you and your scary guard dogs doing rn?

Rumi almost laughs aloud at Jinu’s message. Jinu, who had hit on her at that guy Roman’s party, had become one of her fastest friends. He’d DM’ed her the day after the party with a full apology and a plead for forgiveness. Rumi had begrudgingly forgave him, and then they started talking all the time. At first it was gradual, but soon, it spiraled into trauma-dumping, which, of course, bonded them for life. Even now, though, nearly a full month after the party, she can still remember, clear as day, the way Jade's hand had slid onto her waist so easily, as if it belonged there. Her face burns slightly as her train of thought starts to spiral past that, imagining what it would’ve felt like if her hands had slid any higher or lower-

Rumi visibly shakes herself. Woah, not cool. Jade’s… already got something going on. I think. To be perfectly honest, Rumi didn’t know if Jade was single or not, and she wasn’t sure if she should ask. Though, now that she thought about it, she did see those hickies on Jade’s neck, so-

Focus, Ru. Rumi’s thumbs hesitate over the screen as she deliberates responding, then she sighs and types out a quick message. 

RuRuKang sent at 11:20 AM

idk what the others are doing, but i’m reading. why?

Jinu_Plays_Games sent at 11:23 AM

bored. wanna come over and watch me beat abby’s ass at mario kart?

RuRuKang sent at 11:25 AM

mf, i am trying to catch up on class work.

Jinu_Plays_Games sent at 11:27 AM

you can catch up any other day. i bet you haven’t moved from that couch in three hours.

RuRuKang sent at 11:30 AM

omg is this how you got abby to date you? by being a whiny bitch?

Jinu_Plays_Games sent at 11:34 AM

wow, rums, going straight for the kneecaps, i see :(  

Jinu_Plays_Games sent at 11:38 AM

fine, don’t come over, see if i care.

Rumi chuckles softly, and sets her phone into her lap. Rather, she tries to, but just then, she gets a friend request, then another, and a third shortly after as Mira walks into the room, holding an armfull of textbooks. Rumi waves, acknowledging Mira before focusing back on her phone screen.

“Oh, by the way, Ru,” Mira starts, cutting through the comfortable silence and drawing Rumi’s attention (her heart totally didn’t flutter at the nickname, nope, not at all). “Zoey, Jade and I sent you friend requests on Instagram. Hope it's not a big deal or whatever.” Mira says, and Rumi’s eyebrows smooth out.

“Oh, yeah. I was just about to-” Rumi says, but Mira cuts her off quickly.

“You don’t have to accept them. We just have pictures to post from our recent outing the other day, and we wanted to tag you.” Rumi ‘ahh’s in understanding, and accepts the requests a moment later. Out of the corner of her eye, Rumi watches Mira’s phone light up, and she notices the way Mira’s eyes seem to soften a bit, as if she were expecting Rumi to deny the request.

The two settle into a comfortable silence again, Rumi scrolling through Instagram now, her book forgotten, and Mira flips through her textbook, taking notes every few minutes.

Rumi can’t help but steal glances at the taller girl, her eyes drinking in the details of Mira’s face in short bursts, like the way her eyebrows knit together when she’s focused, or how the tips of her ears shift every few seconds in a way that reminds Rumi of a cat. 

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Mira says some time later, making Rumi jump slightly. Her face flushes instantly, and she tears her eyes away from Mira, not realizing she’d been staring so hard.

“Sorry. I wasn’t trying to be weird, I just-”

“I don’t mind.” Mira cuts Rumi off, a half-smile rising to the taller girl’s lips. Rumi’s face flushes brighter, and she buries her face in her hands and mumbles something incoherent.

Mira’s lips twitch upward as she sets her textbook aside, shifting soundlessly toward Rumi to whisper in her ear. “What was that, pretty girl ?” Mira whispers in Rumi’s ear, her breath, which smelled of spearmint gum (Mira’s absolute favorite gum ever), ghosting Rumi’s skin gently.

Rumi swore her heart had stopped beating the moment she felt Mira’s breath on her skin, and shivers run down her spine while a pool of warmth spills into her belly. A soft, nearly indiscernible sound escapes her lips, but Mira being Mira, she catches it. Did Rumi just…?

Rumi peeks through her fingers and nearly lets out another sound for Mira to tease her about when she realizes just how close Mira was. If Rumi or Mira leaned any further forward, the tips of their noses would brush, and Rumi? Rumi would probably spontaneously combust if Mira was that close. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask Mira to move back as their eyes lock.  

Unbidden, Rumi’s gaze flicks down to Mira’s lips for a split second, making Mira smirk slightly as a soft chuckle leaves her lips. The sound drags Rumi’s eyes back up to Mira’s. ‘M-Mira…” Rumi whispers softly, her hands moving to cover her mouth. “You’re… really close…”

That only makes Mira smirk wider as she leans in that much more, one hand raising to pull Rumi’s away from her face. “Is that a problem, pretty girl?” Rumi’s brain is seconds away from short circuiting (because, if she were to be honest, Mira’s closeness plus the nicknames were doing absolutely atrocious things to her body), and her eyes keep flickering down to Mira’s lips before coming back up to her eyes.

Mira lets it continue for a few more moments before gently, carefully, tucking a strand of Rumi’s soft, lilac colored hair behind her ear. The action makes Rumi shiver and her eyes flutter shut for a split second, then snap open again to meet Mira’s eyes again, holding her gaze.

“Uh… am I interrupting something?” Rumi jumps as Zoey’s voice cuts through the tension, and she all but springs away from Mira, her face aflame now.

“Z-Zoey! I didn’t… um, know you were h-home!” Rumi gasps as Zoey, and now Jade, cross the space to sit on the opposite couch. 

“Oh, yeah, we’ve been home all day. Classes got cancelled. Something about a freak storm coming in from the… honestly, I wasn’t paying attention.” Zoey replies, leaning against Jade as the two of them stare at Rumi and Mira. “But you two… sheesh. You could cut the tension with a fucking credit card.”

Rumi’s gaze flicks to Jade, who’s nonchalantly scrolling on her phone, but Rumi notices the way Jade’s grip tightens almost imperceptibly at Zoey’s words, as if the red head was… jealous .

Mira shoots Zoey and Jade a glare, but it lacks its usual heat. “Guys, lay off.” Mira says, her voice low and full of warning. Zoey and Jade immediately drop their teasings, which Rumi silently appreciates.

“Well, I’m just gonna… go study.” Rumi says after a tense moment. She scoops up her phone and her book and makes for the stairs, not looking back.

{x-o-x-o}

Rumi paced around her room, hands knotted into her hair as her mind spun out in several different directions. She was overthinking everything again, she knew, but who wouldn’t?

What the fuck was that? Mira… Jade… I’m so confused.

And that she was. She could still feel Jade’s hands on her waist from that night at the party, and at the same time, she could feel Mira’s breath on her neck. Both phantom sensations made her shiver, then go wide eyed with realization. Oh… oh no…

She knew exactly what this was. She’d experienced it before, back in high school, with her one female friend she had. Rumi was developing a crush. But not just one. Two . And that scared her.

She didn’t hear the knock on her door, or hear it creak open, too lost in thought to process external sounds. It wasn’t until she felt arms around her waist, gentle, hesitant, that she was pulled out of her thoughts. Rumi gasps softly, and glances down to see yellow sleeves. Zoey . 

Zoey’s face presses into Rumi’s back gently, her arms an anchor among her spiraling thoughts. Rumi’s body relaxes into Zoey’s touch, finding comfort in it rather than the need to pull away.

“You okay?” Zoey asks softly, her voice sending gentle vibrations to Rumi’s ribcage. Rumi nods, not trusting her voice right now. Zoey, being the gentle person she is, slowly releases Rumi, stepping to her side and coming into view.

“It’s okay not to be okay, you know?” Zoey says gently, her hand raising to rest on Rumi’s shoulder lightly before guiding Rumi to sit down. “Tell me about it.” 

Rumi glances at Zoey dubiously, and Zoey gives her an encouraging smile in return. Rumi lets out a slow exhale as she straightens her spine. “I think… I’m developing a crush.” She says finally, and for some reason, it felt… good to talk about it, even a little bit.

Zoey nods sagely, as if she had known all along. “Honestly, who doesn’t? Mira and Jade are total smoke-shows.” Zoey hums, tucking a leg under her, the other bending at the knee as she brings it to her chest.

Rumi nods in agreement, flopping backward onto her bed, so fast that she doesn’t catch Zoey’s slightly jealous expression. “I just… I don’t get it.” Rumi groans, pulling a pillow over her face to hide her blush.

Zoey shrugs, shaking off the jealousy. There’s no reason for me to be jealous, its not like I want to sleep with Rumi. Or Mira. Or Jade. Actually, yeah, I totally don’t want to sleep with any of them- “Feelings are complicated, Ru.” Zoey says.

And, oh god . Rumi had heard that nickname from Mira, but from Zoey? It sounded softer, like a barely whispered prayer that sends heat crawling down her spine. And she simply didn’t know what to do with that feeling at all. 

{x-o-x-o}

Zoey and Rumi end up talking until the late hours of the night, sustained by the takeout Mira had (thankfully) ordered and sent up with Zoey on one of her many trips down to the kitchen.

By the time they’re both giggling incoherently, its nearly midnight. Rumi warrants a glance outside and gasps. “Holy shit… Zoey, look!” Rumi jumps out of bed and rushes to the window, pressing her nose against the glass like she was a child. Zoey follows Rumi curiously, and gasps, too.

The entire street below had been coated in a steadily thickening layer of snow, and it continues to drift past Rumi’s window in slow, lazy arcs. “Wow… so pretty…” Zoey murmurs, then her eyes widen again before she grabs her phone and shoves it into her pocket. “Come on, come on, come on!” Zoey says, grabbing and pulling Rumi’s hand toward the door. Rumi chuckles and follows, not sure what the younger girl has planned, but she can’t deny that she’s very willing to find out.

Zoey leads Rumi to Jade’s door first and knocks softly, but there isn’t a response. Zoey knocks a bit louder, and when there’s no response, she peeks her head into the room to find it empty. “They must both be in Mira’s room.” Zoey mutters before leading Rumi further down the hall to Mira’s room.

Zoey raps her knuckles against the wood, and a few minutes later, Mira appears at the door, looking flushed and smelling like something that Rumi couldn’t quite place. Mira stares at Zoey and Rumi a bit impatiently, one hand on the doorknob, the other gripping the inside of the doorjamb, though Zoey has a creeping suspicion-

“What, Zo? I’m a bit busy.” Mira says, and Zoey snickers softly before responding.

“It’s snowing outside.” Zoey says simply, and Mira’s eyes widen a bit. 

“You’re fucking lying.” She gasps before crossing the space to peer out the window, where she gasps and lets out a soft squeal, something Mira almost never did unless she was extremely excited about something. 

“We were going to head outside-”

“I’ll be right there. Give me a second to… finish up what I’m doing.” Mira says, her eyes betraying her as they flicker to the wall next to her door, confirming Zoey’s suspicions.

“Uh huh. Come out when you’re done. And, please, make sure to wash your hands.” Zoey says with a shit-eating grin that makes Mira roll her eyes and slam the door in their faces.

{x-o-x-o}

Zoey and Rumi stare at the white expanse of their driveway, their cars coated in a thick layer of snow. “Woah…” Rumi gasps before she carefully makes her way down the stairs, glad she was wearing her winter boots, but not sure if they’d help much if there was ice. Zoey, being Zoey, barrels down the stairs behind Rumi, and scoops up a huge handful of snow, laughing as the cold bites into her fingertips.

“Zoey, no!” Rumi laughs as Zoey lobs the ill-formed snowball toward her. Rumi dodges the snowball with a shriek of laughter.

SPLAT! Both Rumi and Zoey turn woodenly toward the door, where the snowball clings to Mira’s skin. Mira stares at the two girls before letting Jade follow her out and into the yard, where Mira scoops up a perfect amount of snow to compact into a snowball. With surprising speed and accuracy, she lobs the snowball at Zoey, who shrieks as it busts against the back of her head and melts against her warm skin. 

And, suddenly, the four girls erupt into a snowball fight, lobbing half-formed snowballs at each other, laughing uncontrollably when the snow hits their mark. 

Eventually, they calm down, and Rumi flops over into the snow, grateful for her long black jacket protecting her skin as she starts making a snow angel. Mira and Zoey flop down on the other sides of her, with Jade on Mira’s left.

“Man… I don’t think I’ve laughed like that in fucking forever…” Jade says, her voice carrying just enough to reach Rumi and Zoey. 

After a while, the four of them head back inside, but not before taking pictures of their snow angels. They shed their coats at the door, leaving them in a  pile for the time being. “I’ll get started on some hot cocoa. Rumi, you want to help me?” Zoey says, and Rumi nods as she slips her feet into her slippers to warm up her numb toes.

“Sure, I’d like that.” Rumi says as she follows Zoey into the kitchen. Zoey’s already grabbing down a pot. Rumi moves to grab the milk from the fridge while Zoey grabs the rest of the ingredients for hot chocolate.

Zoey moves with a sort of practiced ease Rumi had only seen from Mira, leaving her standing there watching Zoey. After a moment, she hops up onto the counter, watching Zoey work. 

There was something different about Zoey that Rumi couldn’t place. Maybe it was the lack of tension in her shoulders, maybe it was all in Rumi’s head, but in the low lighting of the kitchen, Rumi found Zoey beautiful. Not in a weird, creepy way, but in a way that slowly soaks into her chest and settles somewhere between her sternum and her ribs.

But, more than that, there was the utterly consuming feeling of wanting to surround her in a smothering hug, wrap her up and keep her safe that Rumi had never felt before. She mentally dismisses the feeling, flagging it as a concerned and caring friend action. But it keeps creeping back in, clinging to the corners of her mind.

Rumi snaps out of her thoughts as Zoey steps between her legs to hug her, her arms winding around Rumi’s waist as if they had always belonged there. Rumi’s breath catches in her throat for a moment before she gently begins running her hands through Zoey’s hair. After a moment, she starts undoing Zoey’s space buns, her fingers moving deftly and gently to avoid pulling on the shorter girl’s hair too much. Zoey’s hair cascades down to the middle of her back, and the shorter girl lets out a soft hum of relief or pleasure, Rumi isn’t quite sure. What she is sure of, though, is the feeling of warmth that begins pooling in her belly at the sound. 

Zoey had to be honest, feeling how gentle and caring Rumi was being… it did something to her, something she wasn’t expecting. Her knees grew weak as Rumi’s fingers carded through her hair, her eyes fluttering shut as she reveled in the contact. Her grasp on Rumi’s waist tightens ever so slightly, enough for Rumi to notice without being painful. A soft sound, something between a whimper and a sigh, rips out of her throat, unbidden, and despite her face flushing slightly, she makes no move to pull away.

And how could she, when Rumi was letting down her walls, even a little bit? How was Zoey supposed to remember that Rumi was crushing on Jade and Mira, the same way she was, when Rumi was right here , giving her the gentle affection she’d convinced herself she wasn’t allowed to have? 

Zoey didn’t know the answer. But, for once, she felt she didn’t need to. And that felt okay, for now. Even as she felt the seeds of affection for Rumi being planted in her heart, it was okay.

{x-o-x-o}

Zoey’s hot chocolate made Rumi feel entirely too sleepy. But as soon as her head hit the pillow, she felt wide awake, nerve endings all tingly in that way that was familiar. Rumi tries everything: putting on her favorite podcast, some soft music, even going as far as to do some stretches. Nada. So she does the one thing she probably shouldn’t.

She opens a private message with Zoey. Her thumbs tap at her screen for a moment before she sends the message, not really expecting a response.

RuRuKang sent at 2:29 AM

hey, are you still up?

Zoeybug sent at 2:31 AM

yeah, why? can’t sleep?

RuRuKang sent at 2:33 AM

not really.

Zoey doesn’t respond, which makes Rumi think she’s fallen asleep, but only a moment later, she hears a knock at her door. Rumi’s eyebrows furrow as she gets up and crosses the room to open the door.

“Oh, Zoey…” Rumi breathes quietly. Her eyes wander down Zoey’s frame, taking in her pajamas. Zoey was in a white tank top and a pair of black cotton shorts, leaving her arms and legs bare.

“You said you couldn’t sleep, so…” Zoey says softly drawing Rumi’s eyes back up to Zoey’s. Rumi’s face flushes slightly, but she nods, stepping to the side to let Zoey in.

Zoey steps in, her eyes scanning everything. Rumi had put up some of the artwork that Jade had given her, so the walls didn’t look totally bare anymore. The blankets on Rumi’s bed, soft and white, contrasted with the black sheets.

Wordlessly, the two climb into Rumi’s bed, with Rumi scooting closer to the wall so Zoey could have the side closest to the door. Rumi curls up, her back facing the wall so she could look at Zoey, but Zoey herself seemed to have other plans.

“What are you doing?” Zoey murmurs quietly in the dim lighting of the room. Rumi’s eyebrows furrow slightly as she shifts slightly.

“Um… facing you?” Zoey’s lips turn down at the corners slightly. 

“But we’re trying to cuddle.” Zoey pouts slightly. “Unless you don’t want to, that’s cool, too.” 

Rumi shakes her head quickly, ignoring the way her chest ached at Zoey’s words. “No, no, we can… cuddle.” She says after a moment, and slowly flips onto her other side. Zoey hums softly with delight and her hand snakes around Rumi’s waist, while the other tucks into the curve of Rumi’s neck. Zoey’s front presses right against her back, and Rumi swears she can feel Zoey’s heartbeat through her shirt.

“Is this okay?” Zoey asks after a moment, her voice quiet, as if she were scared that if she spoke too loudly, it would shatter the moment into a thousand tiny shards. Rumi considers her question momentarily as her fingers naturally intertwine with Zoey’s, then shivers slightly as Zoey’s fingers brush across the exposed skin from her shirt riding up. 

“Yeah… this is okay.” Rumi murmurs, pulling Zoey closer slightly. Some time passes, but neither girl is asleep, wrapped up in their own thoughts. Rumi sighs softly and shifts around, facing Zoey again. Zoey’s eyes open, staring at Rumi through half-lidded eyes, her face flushed slightly and her lips gently parted, and something in Rumi’s brain stops working.

“Ru?”

“Yeah?” Rumi whispers back, her voice low and rough around the edges in a way that sends heat spilling between Zoey’s legs. A soft sound that’s suspiciously like a moan fills the space between them, and Zoey’s hand, now resting on Rumi’s opposite hip, tightens slightly. The tension in the room skyrockets as both girls suddenly start battling their own desires. 

Rumi’s hand raises, her fingers shaking slightly, to cup Zoey’s cheek into her hand, her touch soft, gentle, hesitant . The way her hand gently caresses Zoey’s cheek, like she’s made of glass and any sudden movement could shatter her, sends the part of Zoey’s brain that overthinks everything into non-existence.

Zoey lets out a quiet whimper, and instantly, Rumi’s eyes darken. “God, Zoey…” Rumi breathes, her thumb tracing across Zoey’s bottom lip. “Don’t make that sound…”

Zoey whines again, softer yet more insistent as her thighs press together. “Please, Ru… just kiss me.” Zoey begs quietly, her voice filled with desperation, need . And that’s all it took, really.

Rumi leans closer, tipping Zoey’s jaw up slightly with her fingers, and their lips meet in a soft, quiet kiss. God, she tastes like strawberries and chocolate. Rumi hums softly into the kiss, letting her lips move languidly against Zoey’s, who doesn’t seem to appreciate her slow drive.

Zoey whines softly again, her hands slipping under Rumi’s shirt, fingers drinking in her skin hurriedly, as if her touch was enough for Rumi to understand how badly she needed this, needed her .

“Rumi… please… please, I need more…” Zoey moans softly against Rumi’s lips as heat pools quicker and quicker between her legs, so much so that Rumi can feel it radiating through her clothes.

 Rumi pulls back a bit, scanning Zoey’s flushed face, her disheveled hair, and suddenly, it's crystal clear in her mind how utterly desperate Zoey is. And, honestly, who was Rumi to deny such a request?

Chapter Text

Rumi’s hands slowly ease under Zoey’s shirt, her fingers tracing the younger girl’s bare skin gently. Zoey lets out a shaky exhale against Rumi’s lips as her muscles tremble under Rumi’s feather-light touch. 

“Jesus, Ru…” Zoey breathes, her head tipping backward as she swallows a soft moan. Rumi has to bite back her own moan, because god , the breathlessness in Zoey’s voice? Sent absolute shivers down Rumi’s spine to settle between her legs.

“Zoey…” Rumi murmurs, her lips trailing down Zoey’s jaw to her neck in a fiery path that made Zoey feel like every nerve ending was a live wire waiting to be prodded. Rumi’s hands press more insistently against Zoey’s belly, her fingers tracing higher and higher toward Zoey’s ribs with each circle. “Can I take your shirt off?”

**{x-o-x-o}**

Zoey swears she short-circuits, her brain struggling to process the innocent-enough question. Zoey knew she had a thing for consent and found it hella sexy, but Rumi asking her while looking at her like that? It was criminal, and wasn’t helping her be any less needy right now, which she didn’t necessarily hate. She blinks at Rumi for a split second before the gentle tracing of Rumi’s fingers against her ribs brings her back to the moment. “ Please , Rumi…” Zoey whines, and, carefully, Rumi removes Zoey’s shirt, her eyes on Zoey’s the entire time, giving the younger girl a chance to back out before they got too deep into this, into this moment with each other.

But Zoey holds eye contact, her expression a mix of determination and desperation, like she’s silently begging Rumi to pick up the pace. But Rumi keeps her pace slow, intentional , which is so Rumi in that way that makes Zoey’s chest hurt as affection spills into her chest. All at once, the fabric of Zoey’s shirt slips up over her head, and Zoey shivers as the air makes contact with her bare skin. Rumi’s eyes drop slowly, carving a path of heat down Zoey’s body that she swears she can feel physically before her hands raise to tenderly take Zoey’s breasts into her hands.  A soft gasp rips out of Zoey’s throat, unbidden, as Rumi’s thumbs brush over her nipples, the buds hardening under the sudden touch. Zoey’s hands grip Rumi’s thighs harshly, nails digging into skin deep enough to make Rumi inhale sharply, her expression darkening just that much more. Rumi’s eyes catch Zoey’s and holds her gaze as she lowers her head to take one of Zoey’s peaked buds into her mouth, her tongue gently swirling it around almost reverently, in a way Zoey was wholly unused to. 

At the same time, Rumi slowly pushes Zoey down until her back meets the bed and Rumi’s straddling her hips, one hand on the breast her mouth isn’t on, the other gently massaging at Zoey’s hip. Zoey gasps as her back arches up into Rumi’s touch, her fingers instinctively twisting into Rumi’s lavender colored locks.

“Ru… fuck …” Zoey moans softly, the first real sound Rumi had been able to elicit from the younger girl. Rumi smirks against her skin, and pulls her mouth away from Zoey for a moment to change sides. “Rumi….” Zoey whines, this time a bit louder than before, her hands gently pulling on Rumi’s hair, making her moan against Zoey. The vibration from Rumi’s moan crawls down the length of Zoey’s spine to burrow between her legs, and her thighs press together tightly.

Rumi continues her deliberate assault on Zoey’s breasts, her tongue and hands working in unfairly perfect tandem to make Zoey shake. After a few minutes, Rumi finally releases Zoey’s breasts, her fingers tracing over Zoey’s abs for a moment before trailing down to the waistband of her shorts at a leisurely pace that almost certainly drives Zoey insane. 

Rumi’s eyes meet Zoey’s again, and for a moment, they’re suspended in time as they memorize each other in this moment. Then the waistband of Zoey’s shorts snaps against her skin, making her yelp softly as Rumi’s thigh slots between Zoey’s in one smooth motion.

And, oh, sweet baby jesus, was Rumi’s thigh built. Zoey could feel the tension in her leg as her muscles tightened, could feel each ridge of her thigh muscle, and that did something to Zoey. Her hips instinctively started circling against Rumi’s thigh, her hands shifting from Rumi’s hair to her shoulders and back, her nails catching on Rumi’s skin as her body moves on its own to get some kind of friction.

“Please, Rumi… please, please, please… ” Zoey moans, her voice breathless, ragged as she begs for something, anything , to ease at least some of her arousal. 

The pad of Rumi’s thumb and the side of her index finger on Zoey’s chin pull her eyes to meet Rumi’s again, and Zoey lets out a barely contained moan at the look in Rumi’s eyes. “Tell me what you want.” Rumi whispers, their lips brushing with every other word. Zoey whimpers quietly at Rumi’s dominant yet gentle tone, her eyes glazing over slightly.

“Rumi… please… don’t make me say it…” Zoey murmurs, her voice full of need. Rumi chuckles as she pulls her thigh away from Zoey’s warmth, making the younger girl whine softly in protest. Rumi fidgets with the waistband of Zoey’s shorts, keeping her eyes on her.

“Can I-”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Rumi , yes , you can take them off!” Zoey huffs, impatience and need blending together to make her snap slightly. Rumi pauses for a moment, and just when Zoey thinks she’s ruined the mood, the older girl leans down toward her ear.

“Patience, pretty girl, or else I might just deny you again and again until you’re sobbing.” Fuck . Zoey has to bite her lip to keep from moaning at the thought. She didn’t really care at the moment how she got fucked, all she knew is that she needed some sort of stimulation immediately . She props herself up on her elbows, her eyes trained on Rumi’s, silently begging the older girl to just cave already. 

Rumi smirks and finally, finally , eases Zoey’s shorts down, with Zoey lifting her hips at the right moment, and discards them somewhere over the side of the bed, her eyes intently focused on the mess of arousal between the shorter girl’s legs. “Jesus, Zo… all for me?” Rumi murmurs, shifting her body slightly to snake a hand between Zoey’s thighs, her fingers teasing her folds apart to gather some of Zoey’s arousal on her fingertips.

Zoey gasps, her hips rising to meet Rumi’s fingers as her head falls back. She could already feel just how close she was, and Rumi was already touching her in just the way she needed it-

“Easy, Zoey. Breathe, pretty girl.” Rumi reminds Zoey, bringing her back to the present. Zoey nods and takes a conscious breath just as Rumi’s fingers start circling her sensitive clit.

Zoey cries out softly, her voice broken and ragged. “Rumi!” She moans, her eyes rolling back slightly before snapping to Rumi’s again. The lavender haired girl can’t help but chuckle.

“Good girl, keep your eyes on me, baby.” Rumi praises, making Zoey’s vision skip for a moment. She felt like she was thirty seconds from peaking, but she was trying to hold out for Rumi.

Rumi could tell that Zoey was close, too, so she slips a single finger into Zoey’s core, curling her finger inside her tentatively. She didn’t know if Zoey was a virgin or not, and she didn’t want to hurt her. 

“Rumi, please… more…” Zoey begs, tears in her eyes. She could feel that sweet relief getting ever closer, and she was starting to get desperate. “Please, I can take more, please, Ru, just give me more-!”

Zoey doesn’t even get to finish her sentence before Rumi slips an additional finger into her core, making Zoey’s inner walls clench tightly. A broken, desperate moan fills the air between them as Rumi sets a fast, yet somehow still gentle pace.

Rumi whispers soft praises into Zoey’s ear as her fingers thrust in and out of Zoey’s core, filling the room with heavy pants, increasingly broken moans, and the obscene sounds Zoey’s wetness was making around Rumi’s fingers. Her face burned with heat, but she couldn’t find it in herself to really care. All she knew is that Rumi was being so gentle with her, so patient and sweet that it was almost overwhelming in an entirely good way-

Rumi’s thumb rising to press against Zoey’s clit jerks her back to the present again, and her body jolts for a moment, not expecting the contact, but the surprise is already melting into pleasure. Zoey starts shamelessly grinding against Rumi’s fingers, her breathing becoming more erratic as the seconds tick by and she gets closer and closer to her release.

With every curl and thrust of Rumi’s fingers, Zoey inches closer to the edge, until Rumi curls her fingers just right to find that spot that makes her see stars. 

Zoey nearly screams as her release rushes up to meet her, her back arching off the bed slightly as her walls clench around Rumi’s fingers tightly. For a moment, Zoey’s hearing goes out, and she can’t hear Rumi as the older girl whispers praises to her. But she can feel Rumi working her through her release, can still feel her fingers thrusting and curling and-

All at once, Zoey’s body sags against the bed, her body trembling with aftershocks, and Rumi eases her fingers from Zoey slowly, carefully. After a moment, Rumi snuggles up next to Zoey, who’s still collecting her breath and trying to get her heart to slow down in her ears.

“Jesus, Ru…” Zoey says through a sharp exhale. “I did not think you had that in you.”

Rumi laughs, resting her head on Zoey’s shoulder. “Yeah… I can see why.”  She hums softly. She can feel her own arousal clinging to her panties, but she didn’t want to make Zoey rush or feel uncomfortable.

Zoey glances at Rumi, then her gaze flickers down to Rumi’s thighs, which have unconsciously pressed themselves together, and a knowing smile crosses her face as Zoey shifts to be straddling the taller girl’s hips.

“I have to return the favor.” Zoey murmurs, her own hands slipping under Rumi’s shirt.

***{x-o-x-o}***

Dawn comes slowly, gray light casting into Mira’s room through the sheer-ish curtains, landing right in her eye. Mira grumbles softly as she shifts, her body curling around Jade’s like it had a dozen times in the last two months. She didn’t know when this became habit, waking up to Jade’s warmth, but she couldn’t bring herself to regret it. 

Mira tucks the blanket tighter against Jade before she climbs over her to get out of bed, her limbs still a bit uncoordinated from just waking up. She grabs some clothes from her closet and pulls them onto her frame, concealing the worst of the hickies Jade had left on her skin before grabbing her phone and stumbling downstairs. 

She walks into the kitchen to see Rumi and Zoey quietly talking, with the older of the two sitting on the counter, her legs swinging slightly as she listens to Zoey talk animatedly. As Mira watched the two of them, she could tell something shifted, like they were more comfortable with each other.

But it was more than that. It was something in the way Rumi was almost… glowing, her eyes trailing over Zoey’s body in a way that felt a bit too intimate to be friendly. Zoey was no better, her hand resting on Rumi’s thigh, occasionally squeezing it as she held Rumi’s gaze, something she could almost never do before without blushing like crazy.

Mira steps fully into the kitchen, clearing her throat. Both girls turn to face Mira as she moves to the fridge, their expressions a mix of guilt and something Mira couldn’t quite place. 

“Morning, Mir.” Zoey hums, moving to give the taller girl a back hug, her arms wrapping around Mira’s waist gently but firmly. Mira taps Zoey’s hand a few times before pulling away as she starts pulling out ingredients for chocolate chip waffles.

As she works on making the batter, she notices Rumi and Zoey exchanging looks, both girls’ eyelids lowering slightly as their gazes shift. Mira’s eyes narrow imperceptibly, but she doesn’t say anything yet. She needed more evidence-

Almost as if the gods were on Mira’s side, Rumi turns her head slightly, exposing a hickey on her neck that Mira never would've seen organically. She audibly gasps and crosses the space to gently tip Rumi’s jaw up.

“Mira-?” Rumi breathes, trying to force her body not to react to Mira’s touch in the same way it had reacted to Zoey’s, but it’s futile. Her body arches into Mira slightly as Mira inspects the hickey on her neck, her thumb pressing against Rumi’s jaw firmly but not painfully. 

“Who gave this to you?” Mira says, her voice low and filled with something Rumi recognized as jealousy. But that doesn’t make sense, why would she be jealous -

“I did.” Zoey says, and Mira’s gaze cuts to Zoey, her eyes widening slightly as Rumi bites her lip to keep her sounds from bubbling up her throat and creating an even more awkward situation. 

“You did?” Mira asks softly, and Zoey nods. “I did.” She confirms again. Rumi’s hand rises to try to gently remove Mira’s fingers from her chin, but Mira’s grip tightens slightly, pulling a soft, almost silent whine from Rumi’s throat. 

Mira’s eyes flicker to Rumi again, holding the younger girl’s gaze for a moment before Mira consciously lets go of Rumi. She grabs a bowl of strawberries and heads back up to her room without another word, leaving the waffle batter on the counter.

Rumi and Zoey watch her leave, only glancing at each other when the sound of Mira’s door closing filters down the stairs.

“So…” Rumi murmurs, her voice tight and laced with confusion and a hint of arousal.

“That was super weird.” Zoey says, her eyebrows knit with confusion. Because what she’d seen on Mira’s face wasn’t pride or impression, like Zoey had expected. No, it was pure jealousy. 

And Zoey didn’t know what to do with that.

**{x-o-x-o}**

Jade’s hands knotted into Mira’s hair, her breath coming and going in desperate pants as Mira’s mouth took her higher and higher. She wouldn’t lie, she hadn’t expected to be woken up by Mira’s fingers creeping closer and closer to her warmth, but she couldn’t be mad about it, either.

“Fuck, Mir…” Jade moans softly, her voice barely loud enough for Mira to hear from her spot between her thighs. Mira’s hands gripped her thighs tightly, keeping the red-head from gaining any extra friction, which only made Jade even wetter than before.  Mira’s mind was absolutely spinning out, even as her tongue swirled expertly around Jade’s most sensitive spot. She could still see the hickey on Rumi’s neck, the way Zoey seemed to take pride in it, and it made her… jealous. Which was crazy, because she’d never been the type to be jealous before-

“Mira, please…” Jade moans suddenly, the sharpness in her voice yanking Mira back to the present as guilt floods through her. Here she was, fucking her best friend while not being able to stop thinking about Rumi and Zoey-

Mira guides a single finger into Jade’s core, curling it as soon as the extremity was fully sheathed inside her, eliciting a long, low moan from Jade as her back arches into Mira slightly. 

“Mira… fuck… I’m so… close….” Jade pants, her chest rising and falling quickly as she nears her peak. Mira digs her nails into Jade’s thighs as her finger thrusts in and out of her and her tongue twists around her sensitive bundle of nerves. She can feel the way Jade’s walls flutter around her finger, and she knows the younger girl only has a few more seconds before she peaks.

Just as Mira curls her finger once more, Jade bites her lip, hard, as she peaks, her vision going white for a moment as she rides out the waves of pleasure Mira was giving her.

***{x-o-x-o}***

A few minutes later, the two are snuggled up next to each other, with Mira feeding Jade strawberries every so often, knowing the red-head was still coming down from her post-release haze. Her fingers run through Jade’s silky red strands, her mind a million miles away from the moment.

“So… can I ask what that was all about?” Jade asks around a bite of strawberry, her eyes searching Mira’s in the cool gray light spilling in from the window. Mira’s eyes met hers as she takes a bite of the strawberry herself, her eyes filled with confusion.

Mira hands Jade the rest of the strawberry silently, contemplating on how to even breach the subject. “Well… Rumi and Zoey slept together.” Mira says finally, and Jade nearly chokes on the bite.

“W-what?! How do you know?” Jade asks after taking a drink of water (thank god Mira had the foresight to leave a cold water bottle on her nightstand for Jade) to calm the coughing fit.

“I saw a hickey on Rumi’s neck.” Mira replies simply, but something in her voice makes Jade pause and search the older girl’s expression closely. Jade could see the way Mira’s eyes turned downward just a bit, the way her lips tightened almost imperceptibly, and it suddenly dawned on her.

“You’re jealous.” Jade whispers, and Mira’s expression visibly tightens, confirming Jade’s thoughts. “You’re jealous and you don’t know how to deal.”

Mira groans loudly, flopping back onto the bed as her hands tangle into her hair. “I shouldn’t be, though. It’s not like I want to sleep with them-” Mira starts, then cuts herself off as a horrible sense of realization crashes over her. Oh, god. Mira did want to sleep with Rumi and Zoey. 

“Oh, fuck.” Mira curses, and Jade cackles loudly, her head falling back against Mira’s shoulder.

“Oh my god! You’re so fucking oblivious to your own feelings!” Jade nearly howls, a hand rising to wipe tears from her eyes. “It took you fucking long enough.”

Mira’s gaze is sharp as it cuts to Jade, her eyebrows furrowing slightly, as if she were insulted. “And I suppose you had your feelings figured out weeks ago?” Mira teases, not expecting a response.

Heat floods Jade’s cheeks as she abruptly stops laughing, her face turning away from Mira’s. She mumbles something incoherent under her breath, and Mira prods her side gently with a finger. “Oh, come on, just tell me.” Mira groans, and Jade huffs.

“Fine. I said I’ve been wanting both of them for a while, too. Them and you.” Mira’s eyebrows pull together as Jade’s face reddens further with a blush, her eyes trained on her hands now knotted together into her lap.

“You want… all three of us? At the same time? You… feel the same way?” Mira asks slowly, trying to comprehend the bomb that was just dropped on her. Jade nods once, her eyes never straying to Mira.

“I know I shouldn’t. I know I’m wrong for wanting more than one person-” Mira cups Jade’s cheek into her palm, gently angling Jade’s face toward hers just in time to wipe away the tear that had started rolling down her cheek with the pad of her thumb. 

“I don't think you’re wrong.” Mira whispers, her eyes softening just a bit as she holds Jade’s gaze steadily. “If I did, I think that’d be a little hypocritical, considering we’re kind of in the same boat, here.”

The joke seems to land, as Jade’s shoulders loosen, as if letting go of the fear of being physically retaliated against for speaking her mind. “You… don’t?” Jade asks softly, her eyes watery. Mira shakes her head again.

“I don’t.” Mira confirms. Jade lets out a shaky breath she didn’t know she was holding as her body visibly relaxes back into Mira’s.

“So… what do we do?” Jade asks a few minutes later, her voice low, almost as if she were afraid someone was listening in on their conversation through the door. Mira thinks for a moment, her fingers tapping along Jade’s thigh, unknowingly sending shivers down the younger girl’s spine, her eyes darkening ever so slightly as arousal flares up inside her again despite her recent release.

Jade covers Mira’s hand with her own, interlacing their fingers together. Mira glances at her, offering her a soft smile before pulling Jade down next to her.

“We… take it one day at a time.” She murmurs finally as her eyes drink in the small details of Jade’s face. She’d always loved Jade’s freckles, and constantly told Jade they looked like little clusters of stars dusting her cheekbones, and right now, in the dim, gray light spilling into the room from the overcast, snowy world beyond the window, she felt that was true more than ever before. 

Her fingers raise to trace Jade’s freckles gently, her fingers barely grazing her skin. Jade’s cheeks flush as she realizes what Mira’s doing, her lips curling into a half-smile. “Let me guess.” She says, a flustered grin on her face. “Constellations?”

Mira nods once, not even daring to speak lest she shatter the moment with her voice. 

The two sat there for a long moment, the air charged and heavy in a way that felt both relieving and terrifying, both girls now wrapped up in their thoughts of how to continue spending casual time with Rumi and Zoey now that Mira and Jade both knew they had feelings for their two oblivious housemates.

Chapter Text

Rumi didn’t know how to act anymore. 

Like… how did she even get into this particular situation?

She couldn’t answer. She didn’t even know if she wanted to. All she knew is that she was here, in this moment, and she couldn’t find the will to pull away and break it.

Earlier that day…

Jade and Mira had been acting differently toward Zoey and Rumi. Rumi could tell. Zoey could tell. 

Anytime Rumi and Zoey walked into a room, Jade and Mira’s faces would turn toward them, as if they’d both been waiting for herself and Zoey to just appear. They started sitting closer, lingering touches that lasted a moment longer than necessity, seeking either one of them out when they were home. Rumi had been studying in her room half a dozen times with her earbuds in, and would turn around to find Mira or Jade curled up on her bed, with the seemingly permanent addition to Zoey, who had become a ‘Rumi-Bed-Frequenter’, thanks to their… intimate moment a few weeks before. 

And today was absolutely no different. Except… it was. Rumi pulls on a black crop top and a pair of sweatpants that hung just right on her hips before pulling her hair back into a braided ponytail even though she knew she’d whack herself in the face with it if everything went according to her plan. 

Rumi had realized a few days after her… moment with Zoey that she barely knew Mira. She knew Mira was a double major in Performing Arts and Fashion, and that her favorite ramyeon was spiky buldak, and that she liked going on a morning run before classes started for the day (she totally caught Mira doing it once and it just stuck in her brain.)

But today, she was going to do something she wasn’t sure would push boundaries with Mira, or make the older girl retract from her further. She tugs on her chunky white sneakers, her fingers shaking slightly. She was nervous, understandably so. She was setting herself up for total embarrassment, and was taking a leap of faith that Mira wouldn’t totally destroy her. 

Rumi grabs her bag from the back of her chair and, with one last glance in the mirror, she steps out into the hallway, her bedroom door clicking softly as it closes behind her. 

{x-o-x-o}

Mira’s in the dance studio, sweat dripping down her body, when there’s a knock on the door. Mira glances at the door before wiping her face with her towel and moving to it, her gait slow and unhurried. Her eyes widen slightly as she pulls the door open, surprise written across her expression. 

“Rumi?” Mira asks, her voice pitching upward slightly as she stares at the shorter girl. Rumi’s dressed in a black crop top and these sweatpants that hug her hips in that way that made her stomach spin slightly. Rumi’s long lavender colored hair was pulled back into a long, thick ponytail that swung to her mid back (Jesus, Mira hadn’t realized just how much hair Rumi had) in silky smooth strands that were almost begging Mira to wrap her hands around- 

“Um… I noticed you weren’t home…” Rumi says softly, her hand rising to rub against the back of her neck as a faint blush rises to her cheeks. “I was just… checking on you… and maybe seeing if I could join?” Almost as soon as the words were out of Rumi’s mouth, she wanted to snatch them back, fear of rejection making her heart palpitate uncomfortably. But there was no taking it back now, especially not after-

“You… want to dance… with me?” Mira asks slowly, her eyebrows furrowing with confusion. She hadn’t expected Rumi to even ask, let alone volunteer for it, but she couldn’t deny the little bit of warmth that spilled into her chest at the idea of seeing Rumi dancing. 

“If you’re okay with that.” Rumi says quickly, her voice holding a slight edge of something like panic. “I mean, I don't want to intrude, and I understand if you want me to go-”

“Sure.” The word, the single word, extinguishes the flame of embarrassment in Rumi’s chest for a moment. She wasn’t expecting Mira to say yes, but she also didn’t want to seem rude, so she forces her body to move forward, following Mira into the studio. 

{x-o-x-o}

Sweat beads at Rumi’s forehead as she takes a breather. The warm up Mira had her doing was absolutely brutal, even with it being a modified version for Rumi’s untrained body. She was slowly starting to gain a newfound respect for Mira, for the way she was barely even sweating at this point. 

Rumi huffs and tightens her ponytail, her hair sticking to the back of her neck uncomfortably. But she wasn’t going to complain. She’d asked to dance with Mira, to see her world, even a tiny bit, and she knew this warm-up (no matter how much it was already killing her body) was just the tip of the iceberg.

“You okay, Ru?” Mira asks as Rumi straightens up, her hands resting on her hips. Her gaze travels to the pink haired girl, where her words dry up in her throat.

Rumi had gotten a look at Mira’s outfit when she came in: black cotton shorts that only fell to her mid-thighs, a loose white cotton t-shirt that barely hid the delicate shoulders Rumi knew were underneath. Mira’s pink hair was pulled up into a messy bun/ponytail mix that convinced Rumi that the taller girl had, in fact, been in the dance studio for hours already. 

“I’m… fine.” Rumi manages to say, her attention snapping back to reality. Mira raises an eyebrow, but if she notices the staring Rumi had been doing, she doesn’t mention it.

“Okay, well, I’m going to teach you a basic routine-” Mira starts, but Rumi’s face instantly forms a pout, something Mira had almost never seen before but needed to see more of immediately. For now, though, Mira lets out a soft chuckle, her arms crossing over her chest as she glances at Rumi. 

“What? You don’t necessarily have the skills to dance to one of the choreographies I’m working on right now-”

“Please?” The single word was almost enough to fully shatter Mira’s composure. As it was, she could already feel herself caving into Rumi’s desires, which she wasn’t really trying to stop by any stretch of the imagination. Mira sighs before relenting.

“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.” Mira says, and moves to her phone to pull up a song she’d started choreographing a while back but had never fully finished. 

The house inspired reggaeton beats of Daya’s ‘First Time’ fills the studio, and Rumi’s eyes widen slightly. She hadn’t expected Mira to know songs like this, and the thought that she did make her heart stutter against her ribs.

“I feel my heartbeat, beat, just stop then it's speeding up

You make my blood rush in like waves with a single touch

We’re layin’ skin-to-skin, but I can’t pull you close enough

So voracious, take me to places.”

The lyrics weren’t necessarily explicit, but Rumi could almost feel Mira gauging her reaction to them, could feel Mira’s eyes sweeping over Rumi’s body for any sign of discomfort. But Rumi just swayed slightly to the beat, trying to envision what kind of choreography Mira had come up with.

When Rumi doesn’t react, Mira breathes a soft sigh of relief and pauses the song. “Hey, I’m going to show you what the choreography will look like at the end. More or less, anyway. So just watch me, okay?” Mira says, and Rumi nods, stepping back slightly to give Mira space. Mira hands Rumi her phone, the weight settling into her bones a bit. “Give me a count down from five, okay?”

Rumi nods, and lets Mira prepare herself before starting to count. “Five… four… three… two… music’s on.” Rumi says as she taps the screen with her thumb. She didn’t know what she expected, but she definitely knew her jaw shouldn’t have immediately dropped.

Mira’s body moved like water, flowy, as if her feet were barely kissing the floor. Of course, this choreography was rooted in hip hop, but Mira brought a sort of grace to it that made it look effortless. And with Mira’s dark pink hair floating around her face and neck, swirling in the air, Rumi could honestly say that if she didn’t know better, she’d say Mira was flying.

Mira’s focus was getting ruined by the little sounds coming from Rumi’s mouth. They were soft sounds, like a little gasp or hum, but they echoed in Mira’s mind, spiraling into thoughts she knew would make even the most experienced person blush. When Mira spares Rumi a glance, she nearly stumbles but recovers smooth enough to not raise suspicions. 

God, she’s fucking beautiful. Mira thinks as she tries to cling to her focus. By the time the choreography is finished, her face is flushed, but not from physical exertion. Rumi claps loudly, walking to stop in front of her. “You dance… beautifully.” Rumi murmurs, her eyes trained on Mira’s face, which splits into a soft grin.

“Thanks, Ru.” She says coolly, but internally, she’s freaking out, wondering if Rumi even knows how much that compliment had meant to her, how she’d wanted to hear it from her own parents for so long, but never got the validation she had been seeking.

“Let’s get started, yeah?”

{x-o-x-o}

Rumi’s body felt like it was on fire. Every nerve ending blazed as she moved, trying to follow along to the music, her eyes on Mira’s form in the mirror. She didn’t know how Mira had made the choreography look so effortless, and she felt like she’d been misled but how easy the choreography had looked.

She steps out on her right foot, her arms shooting to her left side, but as she makes to step forward, her ankle tweaks slightly. Before she can even catch herself, Rumi starts falling to the floor, her weight toppling forward. She stretches her arms out to catch herself with her hands, but the impact never comes. 

Strong hands grip her shoulders, supporting her weight for a moment. Rumi glances up to see Mira, her face full of panic as they both go down.

With a dull thud, they hit the floor, Mira breaking Rumi’s fall with her body and letting out an ‘oof!’ as her back meets the floor, then a sharper, louder exhale as Rumi’s weight collapses on top of her ribs. When Rumi opens her eyes, she freezes, a blush rising to her face.

She’d landed on top of Mira, sure, because Mira had broken her fall with her own body. But that’s not what made her blush. It was their proximity, their faces mere inches apart. Without her permission, Rumi’s eyes drift down to Mira’s lips before snapping back up to her eyes, and, not for the first time, Rumi wonders what Mira’s lips taste like. The thought makes Rumi’s face flame hotter.

“Are you okay, Ru?” Mira asks in a low, breathless voice that totally doesn’t make Rumi forget how to breathe (totally not, because that would be quite ridiculous-)

Rumi nods quickly, her face growing impossibly warmer. Mira breathes a soft sigh of relief, her lips parting slightly. Rumi’s eyes move down to Mira’s lips again, her teeth catching on her own lower lip as she bites back the urge to lean down and kiss Mira. 

Mira, being Mira, notices the look in Rumi’s eyes, and her lips curl into a soft, slight smirk that seems to weaken whatever resolve Rumi was holding onto.

“Mira…” Rumi breathes, her voice unsteady as she fights to maintain her composure and not look at Mira’s lips. (She was totally failing, by the way. She couldn’t seem to stop looking at Mira’s lips.)

Mira’s smirk grows slightly wider to hide the way her own breath stalls in her chest at the sound of Rumi so breathless. It was doing things to her brain, altering it in a way she wasn’t sure she could ever truly come back from. Not that she wanted to, she’d admitted she wanted Zoey and Rumi and Jade-

So Mira waits patiently, her hands naturally finding Rumi’s hips, holding her gently but firmly. Her fingers run along the exposed skin of Rumi’s waist, her fingers cold against Rumi’s almost entirely too warm body. That seemed to be the wrong thing to do, though, because suddenly, she feels Rumi shaking slightly, the younger girl’s face pressing right into the crook of Mira’s neck. Rumi’s warm breath ghosts across Mira’s skin, making her shiver slightly and something in her chest light up in a way she wasn’t quite accustomed to.

“Rumi…?” Mira asks gently, her hold on Rumi’s hips tightening just a bit more. The sound that slips between Rumi’s lips makes Mira’s own self control nearly snap in two.

Did she just fucking moan in my ear? Mira knew the answer to that, could feel her body reacting to the sound automatically despite being in a technically public space. Mira bites back a soft groan in response to Rumi’s sound, but a nearly inaudible whine leaves her throat, unbidden.

“Rumi… we can’t. Not here…” Mira murmurs, but she makes no move to loosen her grip on Rumi’s hips. No, in fact, her hands tighten just that much more, drawing a quiet whimper from the lavender haired girl. She’s not really aware of what she’s saying, her mind looping that soft moan that rose from the depths of Rumi’s throat at her touch over and over again, like a MP3 player stuck on repeat. 

“Mira…” The sound of her name on Rumi’s lips like that, all desperate and needy and whiny does little to help with Mira’s self control, and this time, the low groan rips from the back of her throat right next to Rumi’s ear. 

“Don’t… do that…” Mira says, her voice rough, making Rumi’s shaking intensify. Distantly, Mira wonders if this was what Rumi had wanted when she suddenly showed up at the studio, to catch Mira’s attention and make her deliberate between taking her right here and now or waiting until the pair were alone and not in a public space. She forcibly lets Rumi go, and the younger girl sits up immediately, unintentionally straddling Mira’s waist, which does not help at all.

Rumi realizes it at the same time as Mira, and she lets out a flustered gasp before standing up quickly, her face flaming with heat.

“U-um… I’m gonna… go.” Rumi stutters before scooping up her phone and keys and booking it out the door, leaving Mira laying on the floor wondering how the fuck this had gotten so complicated. 

{x-o-x-o}

Rumi flops onto Jade’s bed, her head falling into Zoey’s lap dramatically. She can still feel the sensation of Mira’s hands on her hips, and it both simultaneously makes her shiver and the space between her legs slicken with arousal.

“God, I just wanted to show her that I’m interested-” Rumi groans, covering her face with her now sleeve covered hands, her face flaming as she recounts the events of earlier.

“Yeah, I think you did. Moaning in her ear? Come on, Ru, get it together!” Zoey teases, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to Rumi’s forehead, the only part of her face that was still exposed. Jade glances away as Zoey kisses Rumi’s forehead, her eyes flashing with something akin to jealousy, but Zoey wasn’t totally sure. 

“I couldn’t help it! She was holding my hips so gently but firmly-” Rumi groans again, uncovering her face to glare up at Zoey, only to fall silent as Zoey presses a gentle kiss against her lips. 

They hadn’t talked about what they were after they had sex, but honestly? Rumi liked Zoey, liked being around her. She made Rumi feel warm and safe and loved, just like Mira and Jade did. Rumi’s lips automatically move in time with Zoey’s, but she pulls away a second later.

“Zoey, you weren’t there. You didn’t hear the way she groaned into my ear.” That seems to catch Jade’s attention, because she sits up suddenly, her sketchbook abandoned in her lap momentarily. 

“How did it sound, the groan?” Jade asks, her eyes sparkling like she knew something Rumi and Zoey didn’t. Rumi thinks for a moment, then blushes again before trying to replicate the sound. 

Jade’s eyes widen slightly. Rumi had somehow captured Mira’s vocal tone exactly, and replicated a groan she herself had heard over a dozen times coming from Mira’s mouth. The sound makes her body react on its own, not distinguishing the sound of Rumi’s voice as hers instead of Mira’s.

“Oh, you two were fighting demons in that studio.” Jade says, her voice a bit rough around the edges as she fights to keep her body from reacting too visibly. Rumi whines loudly, flopping her head back into Zoey’s lap as her face grows hotter.

“It’s literally not even fair how attractive the three-” Rumi clamps a hand to her mouth, her eyes wide with something- fear, maybe?

Jade raises an eyebrow slightly, her expression unreadable. She had a feeling she knew exactly what Rumi was about to say, but she didn’t want to pry, knowing how Rumi got about her feelings. Just as she opens her mouth to speak, Rumi’s phone starts ringing.

Rumi picks up her phone and answers it without checking the caller ID, expecting it to be Mira. But the voice on the other end of the phone makes her heart plummet in her chest.

“Little girl, I hope you know that hanging up on me is never acceptable. I raised you better than that.” Celine’s voice is cold and sharp, stabbing through the haze she’d been riding since she left the dance studio.

“I-” Rumi starts, but Celine cuts her off.

“I don’t give a fuck about your excuses, Rumi. Where’s my fucking money?” Rumi’s body feels like its numb, her hands barely working as she puts Celine on speaker to transfer fifty dollars to Celine. 

‘I’m sending it now, Aunt Celine-” Rumi says, and hears Celine’s phone ping on the other end of the call. There’s a sharp scoff. 

“Fifty dollars? Really, Rumi? That’s all you have to give?” Celine deadpans. Rumi silently curses at herself as she quickly takes the phone off of speaker, but its too late; both Jade and Zoey are looking at Rumi with varying emotions before settling on anger.

“Aunt Celine, I-”

“Send me everything you have.”

Rumi swears she’s gone deaf as white noise fills her ears. “What?” She breathes, her face paling at the thought of giving Celine everything she’d saved up doing summer jobs and working weekends at her town’s one restaurant.

“You heard me. Send it all, or come get the rest of your shit from my house.” Rumi could barely breathe, her jaw slack as tears well up in her eyes.

“Aunt Celine, I can’t just-”

“Rumi. Mae. Kang. Send over the rest of your money, or I’m burning your shit-” A hand rips the phone out of Rumi’s, and she looks up sharply to see Jade hanging up the call abruptly. She stares, open-mouthed for a moment, shock and surprise drawn into her facial expressions.

“W-why…” Rumi says before Zoey cuts her off.

“She doesn’t get to talk to you like that. Ever. You’re a grown ass woman, and yet she still treats you like a child. Well, not anymore.” Zoey says firmly, her voice leaving no room for argument. 

“But-”

“No, Rumi. Never. Do you hear me? You don’t owe her anything. Just because she raised you or whatever, you don’t owe her anything anymore.” Jade says just as firmly, her jaw set. 

Rumi stares at the two of them for a moment, her eyes wide before the tears start up. And what wonderful timing Mira has, because she walks through Jade’s bedroom door at that moment, freezing when she catches sight of Rumi’s tears.

Mira glances at Jade and Zoey questioningly, and Zoey taps her phone, silently communicating that she was about to send a text message to Mira. Mira nods and moves to the bed, sitting silently beside Rumi, rubbing her back gently to soothe the younger girl. 

The message comes in a few minutes later, and Mira pulls her phone out of her pocket to read the long message Zoey had sent. When she’s done reading, she glances at Jade and Zoey once more, her eyes filled with sympathy before she pulls Rumi into a bear hug.

“It’s okay, Ru. You don’t owe her anything.” Mira murmurs as Rumi’s body melts into Mira’s. She can’t help but be taken back to that night when Rumi woke up screaming from a nightmare. Watching one of the women she loved fall apart like this was absolutely devastating, but she knew she couldn’t take on other’s’ pain for them.

Rumi’s body presses against Mira’s tightly, as if Mira’s body on hers was the only thing keeping her grounded. As one fluid unit, Jade, Zoey and Mira shift Rumi to be in the middle of them, each of them having their hands on various parts of her body.

And, somehow, feeling all three of them around her, touching her, felt like a gentle reminder: I’m here, I’ve got you. And Rumi?

She simply didn’t know what to do with that.

Chapter Text

Jade didn’t remember when things had started shifting, when she’d started letting people get close enough to see glimpses of the real her under the tough girl mask she wore like armor. But… somehow? She’d started letting Mira, Zoey and Rumi get closer, let them break down her walls slowly. It wasn’t perfect, but she felt like she wasn’t fully hiding herself anymore.

Of course, there was Mira. Her best friend, her rock who had seen her at her worst after her mother married that asshole of a man she refused to call her stepfather. She’d seen the darkness that had consumed her being, held her for hours when Jade had returned from the hospital after an accidental overdose (she was sleep deprived and took too much of her medication on accident), had stood up to the man her mom had married just because he’d hit her.

Then there was Zoey. The one person she could listen to for hours and never get bored. Jade could remember weeks at a time when she and Zoey would debate about everything from ethics to which cheese was the best. And that’s just how Zoey was; she was always there, willing to give Jade space when she needed it, but always present regardless. 

And then… there was Rumi. A sort of quiet energy that had slowly started infiltrating her life until she couldn’t remember what it had been like before. Rumi was different from Mira and Zoey, glaringly so if you knew all three girls well enough. Rumi moved like she knew exactly what she wanted, even if she didn’t, really, and her presence was soothing in a way Jade hadn’t realized she’d been missing. 

Jade’s eyes flutter open, feeling heavy yet light at the same time. She glances at the window, seeing the weak sunlight spilling into the room, and then at her clock. Shit… 7:30 am already? To be quite honest, Jade couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept this long. Between her constant and nearly crippling inability to sleep during normal hours of the night and the stress she’s been under to get her shit together, she hasn’t really had a chance to think about sleeping.

She goes to sit up, but an arm locked around her waist holds her down. With a sigh, she shifts onto her back, turning her head with the expectation to see Mira, like usual, but freezes when she sees a shock of black hair and micro bangs. Zoey…?

She rewinds her memory quickly to last night, her breath stalling in her chest as she tries to remember what had happened. She remembered Rumi’s aunt calling… and they talked a lot about a bunch of nonsense, really, but it had made Rumi feel better. Her memories grow fuzzy around the edges to when she assumes she’d passed out, her body curling around someone’s, whether it was Mira, Rumi or Zoey’s, she wasn’t sure. 

Oh, thank God. I don’t think I’d be able to handle Rumi or Zoey – or both for that matter – naked in my bed right now. It’s too early in the morning for that shit. Jade lets out an unintentional hum of contentment, her body instinctively curling into Zoey’s again. It’s not lost on her that she was actively seeking physical affection while her friends (because that’s what they were, really) were still asleep.

She lays there for another long moment, then shifts her head again, only to find Rumi’s peaceful face near her own. She blushes instantly, her face heating up as she freezes in place.

Jade couldn’t deny just how pretty Rumi looked in the morning light, her features softened just enough to be relaxed. Her long lilac braid curls around her neck, tickling against Jade’s arm slightly, making goosebumps rise to her skin all over her body.

Jade carefully reaches out, her fingers tucking a loose strand of hair behind Rumi’s ear with tender gentleness, as if Rumi was fragile, something precious. And honestly? She was. Not in that way that she couldn’t carry herself, because Jade knew she could. But in that quiet, subtle way that only came with a sense of belonging, of knowing exactly where she fit. And besides, she was precious to Jade.

Jade’s fingers coil gently around Rumi’s ear, her movements deliberately gentle and smooth to keep from waking her, before they travel to trace the contours of her face. 

God, it wasn’t fair that Rumi could be so… effortlessly gorgeous. It was slightly off putting, honestly, in a good way. As if her features themselves were carved from the finest marble by the gods themselves. And yet, somehow, she looked so soft in a way that continues to catch Jade off-guard, even though they’d been roommates for months now. 

Jade carefully, slowly disentangles herself from the nest of limbs and blankets and makes her way to the door, her footsteps quiet to make sure the three girls stay asleep. She pauses at the door to look back at her bed, and to her quiet surprise, Rumi and Zoey had moved closer together, curling up where Jade had been only moments earlier, and Mira’s long arm draped over both girls’ waists. Jade has half a mind to snap a picture, but ultimately slips out of the room unnoticed. 

 {x-o-x-o}

Zoey pads into the kitchen a few hours later, long after everyone else has gotten up for the day, looking peaceful with her eyes half opened and her wavy hair in a messy ponytail. Rumi glances up at Zoey, smiling softly, before returning to her coffee, while Jade and Mira, who were locked in a heated debate (from the sounds of it, Zoey could ascertain that it was something about which season was objectively better.) barely look up at her from their place at the counter.

“I’m just saying, spring is better because everything’s in bloom.” Jade says, her hands splayed out on the kitchen counter. Mira rolls her eyes as Zoey takes a seat next to Rumi, leaning her head onto the cool surface as she listens to the debate. 

“Spring is when all the bees come out. And pollen. Allergy central. Autumn is better because of all the oranges and yellows and golds, plus it's not as hot as the spring.” Mira points out smoothly. Zoey hums softly at that. Her allergies went crazy in the spring, so much so that she was almost constantly hopped up on claritin, which made her feel sluggish. 

Jade shoots Zoey a withering look, something that looks like a mix of exasperation and pleading. “Sure, allergies are a lot more common in the spring, but seasonal depression starts in autumn.” Jade replies, her voice sounding almost… amused?

Rumi glances between the two girls, then offers her opinion. “Personally, autumn is better. It's sweater weather, plus ‘Twilight’ always does re-runs on all the streaming services..” Zoey shoots upright at that, her eyes practically sparkling.

“Yes, ‘Twilight’ is one of those things I looked forward to. Plus, pumpkin spice lattes.” Zoey agrees. Jade huffs, throwing her hands into the air, though she doesn’t look upset, if Zoey had to say so.

“Fine, autumn is objectively better.” She concedes, but the corners of her lips upturn slightly as she turns away to gather ingredients for waffles.

Rumi’s phone pings with an incoming call, and Rumi’s heart drops slightly. SHe couldn’t handle it if it were Celine. Not now, not after she’d just come down from the emotional high that was yesterday-

“Ru, it’s Jinu.” Mira says, her tone slightly clipped, as if she were biting on a sour lemon. Rumi exhales slowly, her heart beat coming back down as she picks up the call. 

“Hello?” Rumi says into the phone, then puts it on speaker.

“Hey, Rums. Are you around your girlfriends?” Rumi almost instantly blushes at that, and takes the call off of speaker as Jade, Mira and Zoey shoot amused looks at each other and Rumi from their places in the room as Rumi presses the phone against her ear.

“Jinu, they’re not- no. What? Uh… maybe? I can ask, sure. Give me a second.” Rumi pulls the phone away from her ear, covering the speaker with her hand.

“Jinu says there’s a club opening tonight over in Itaewon, and it’s free admission for opening night-” Rumi starts, but Zoey cuts her off midsentence.

“Of course, we want to go! It’s winter break and we have nothing better to do!” Zoey says excitedly, now fully awake and practically bouncing in her seat. Mira glances at Jade, and the two have a silent exchange with their eyes, one that Rumi nor Zoey could quite follow along with.

After a long moment, they seem to come to an agreement, and Mira gives Rumi a thumbs up. “We’ll go, too. Make it a roomies outing.” Mira hums casually, her fingers lazily tracing the marbling of the countertop.

Rumi nods and puts the phone back to her ear. “They said okay. Uh-huh. Wait, what’s the dresscode? O-oh… Right… sounds good. Mmhm. I’ll relay that message. Okay. Yeah, bye.” Rumi ends the call and sets her phone back onto the counter, her face warming slightly.

“Sooo… what’s the dresscode?” Jade asks, leaning against the counter with interest. Rumi shifts slightly, her eyes dropping to her phone to avoid their gazes.

“Um… he said… ‘cunty’...” Rumi murmurs, blushing so hard that even her ears turn red.

Mira raises a perfectly manicured brow before nodding slowly. “Yeah. Okay. I can work with that. Alright.” Without another word, Mira stands up and rinses her coffee mug in the sink before popping it into the empty dishwasher before leaving the room.

“I don’t own anything ‘cunty’...” Rumi mutters as she mentally goes through her closet. Jade chuckles knowingly. 

“I have a feeling that won’t matter.” Jade says, then checks the time. “Shit, I’m late for a hair appointment. I’ll be back in a few hours to get ready.” 

“Wait, wha-” Zoey starts to complain, but Jade’s already zipped out of the room, heading for the stairs, leaving Zoey and Rumi alone in the kitchen.

“I should probably go do some shopping, then.” Zoey mutters under her breath after a moment of silence. She stands, too, and heads out of the room.

Rumi groans softly, and rests her forehead on the counter. What the hell.

 {x-o-x-o}

A few hours later, Mira paws through Rumi’s closet, her eyes scanning fabrics like it was second nature to her. She pulls out a few promising pieces of Rumi’s clothes, setting them into piles on Rumi’s bed as the younger girl sits at her desk, fidgeting with her speaker thats currently emitting something from her Spotify playlist. Rumi glances at the piles, her brows furrowing with confusion as she tries to make sense of Mira’s organizational system.

“Mira?”

“Hmm?”

“What are you doing?” Rumi asks quietly. Mira turns to Rumi, her eyes scanning over Rumi’s figure slowly.

“Figuring out if we have to go shopping. Stand up.” Rumi doesn’t know why, maybe it's the tone of Mira’s voice, or maybe it’s the way Mira’s eyes trail over her body, but she stands up from her chair uncertainly.

“Come here?” Mira says, but the way her voice lifts at the end suggests it’s a question. Either way, Rumi moves toward Mira until she’s only about a foot and a half away. 

Mira circles Rumi slowly, her eyebrows furrowed. “Can you take your sweater off?”

“Uh…” Rumi pulls the neck of her hoodie from her neck to check if she was wearing a shirt (because, lets be honest, she’d been wearing the hoodie for so long that she’d genuinely forgotten if she was or not), and glances at Mira. “I’m only wearing a bra-”

“That’s fine.” Mira cuts Rumi off and waves her hand dismissively. “I need to see your body anyway, to figure out how different fabrics cling to you.”

Rumi blushes slightly as she slowly pulls her hoodie up. Mira nearly chokes on air but covers it up as a cough as she catches sight of Rumi’s well defined abs (No, Mira totally wasn’t checking Rumi out, no, not in the slightest.) “This okay?” Rumi questions softly, and Mira nods, keeping her eyes off of Rumi’s abs.

Mira goes back to circling Rumi for a few silent minutes, her fingers brushing against Rumi’s spine or waist every so often before she walks over to the piles of clothes, sifting through them slowly.

After another few minutes, Mira decides on something, and hands Rumi a bundle of fabric. “Try these.”

Rumi takes the clothes, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. “What, here?”

Mira’s expression deadpans as she stares at Rumi. “Yes. I won’t look, I swear.”

Rumi shoots Mira a withering look and motions for Mira to turn around. Mira sighs softly and turns around, crossing her arms over her chest as she waits. Behind her, she can hear fabric rustling, and Mira’s mind starts wandering into dangerous territory, her mind producing images of that silky smooth skin, those abs she’d, until now, only caught small glimpses of, and how fucking badly she kust wanted to trace them with her fingertips-

“Mira?” The sound of Rumi’s soft, shy voice snaps Mira back to reality, and she turns her head to look at Rum, and promptly gets the air snatched from her lungs as her brain stops computing.

Oh... my holy fucking god.

Rumi looked… honestly, in Mira’s opinion, there wasn’t a word to describe how atrociously sinful Rumi looked. She was wearing a lace-y black cropped bustier top that left her waist bare, and this dark red, mid-waisted miniskirt that made Rumi’s long legs look impossibly longer. Paired with her lilac colored hair… Mira was sure she was seeing a goddess personified, and if she didn’t have any sort of restraint, she’d probably be kneeling in front of Rumi right now-

“Mir?” Mira’s eyes snap up to Rumi’s, her eyes still wide. 

“Rumi, you look…”

“Fuck, Ru…” A voice says from the doorway, and both girls turn to see Zoey stood there. Mira, being as observant as she is, immediately clocks the way Zoey’s eyes darken with pure, unadulterated want as they wander over Rumi’s frame.

“You look like a sin wrapped in lace.” Zoey says finally as her eyes finally meet Rumi’s, her voice low in that way that tells Rumi that Zoey is barely holding onto her composure, that she wants nothing more to push Rumi down onto the bed and do the most unholy things with her body-

Instantly, Rumi feels her face heat up, and she quickly turns away to hide the flush crawling up her neck and onto her cheeks. “Is that a good thing?”

“That is a great thing.” Mira affirms, though she finds herself having difficulty keeping her eyes on Rumi’s face and not trailing down the younger girl’s body. Tonight is going to be a long night. 

 {x-o-x-o}

The club was pulsing with flashing lights and bass throbbed through the room so much so that Rumi could feel it in her chest, thumping in time with her heartbeat in a way that almost seemed to awaken some part of her that she’d been unaware of until now. Her arm, looped through Zoey’s as she followed Mira into the smoky darkness, was covered in some sort of sprayable glitter (Rumi had been opposed at first, but Zoey had convinced her to put it on after she said it would make her shimmer like Edward Cullen, and, come on, what girl didn’t want to sparkle like Edward?) that glinted under the lights.

Mira, again, had done her makeup, and instead of looking like someone she didn’t recognize, Rumi felt like her facial features had been enhanced, with contour gently shaping her jaw and cheekbones, eyeliner drawn to a point so sharp it could cut diamonds over a brown and black smoky eye that screamed sex appeal, and blush that gave her face the softness it needed. Before they’d left the house, Mira had lined Rumi and Zoey up in her room, sifting through perfumes before spritzing each one of them with a different scent. Mira had told them what scent it was, but Rumi couldn’t remember it now, to be quite honest. She’d forgotten it after thirty seconds when Mira had dabbed on something smelled smoky and spicy and sweet all in one.

And their outfits weren’t helping whatsoever, either. Zoey was wearing a borderline illegal black form-fitting mini dress that clung to Zoey’s curves like a second skin (Rumi totally wasn’t mentally thirsting, no, totally not, that would be absolutely ridiculous-). And Mira. God, Mira knew how to dress for the female gaze. She was wearing this impossibly tight black miniskirt that rested just above her hips paired with a tiny, black crop top that was basically a bikini top and put Mira’s midsection on display in a way that made Rumi want to go feral. Of course, Mira always dripped with sex appeal, but this was a whole new level of sex appeal-

They were distracting. They were doing entirely too much and entirely not enough. Rumi couldn’t decide if she was just that down bad or if they genuinely looked hot enough for her to be gay panicking about, not that she was complaining, because, hello? Her friends were objectively hot.

When they get up to the bar, Rumi scans the crush of dancing college aged students and young adults, looking for Jade, who she hadn’t seen since that morning. When she doesn’t immediately spot her, she turns toward Mira and Zoey and almost short-circuts for the umpteenth time, because holy shit-

“Have either of you heard from Jade? She said she had a hair appointment earlier, and-” Rumi says loudly to be heard over the music, but she realizes Zoey and Mira are staring at someone, jaws slack and eyes dark, their hands barely grazing the drinks they’d ordered. Rumi’s brows furrow, and she follows their gaze, only for her brain to immediately shut down.

“Oh, holy fuck-”

Across the club, just walking in from outside, is Jade, their fiery haired Jade, except this Jade had her red locks dyed to a stunning dark blue that complimented the dark blue of her skin-tight silk dress perfectly. Even from here, Rumi could see the gold jewelry glinting at Jade’s neck, wrists, fingers and even her ears, and somehow, that made her even more unearthly.

Jade must feel their eyes on her, because they lock gazes from across the club, and Jade’s lips split into a smile that's both playful and a teasing smirk, and how dare she-

“Did you guys just have aneurysms?” Zoey asks breathlessly, almost too quietly for either of them to catch, but they both do, of course they do.

“I think I’m seeing a goddess walking amongst mortals.” Rumi murmurs, her voice full of awe and a hint of desire.

“A goddess? No, Jade looks more like the devil wrapped in dark blue silk.” Mira replies, her voice tighter than usual.

“We’re so fucked, aren’t we?” Rumi asks, and as if they’re sharing a brain, Mira and Zoey both nod at the same time.

“Entirely. Wholly.”

“Great.”

“Yep.” Zoey hums, and reaches behind her blindly, her hand securing around the shot glass. She turns her head to slam the shot back, the alcohol burning as it runs down her throat before she sets the glass back down and grabs two more, one for Mira and one for Rumi.

Both girls take the shots into their hand, and, as one, tip them back into their mouths, downing them in one go while wincing as the alcohol burns a path down their throats.

“Zoey, what was that?” Rumi says, coughing slightly as she sets the glass down on the bar.

“That, dear Rumi, was vodka. And you just took it without a chaser.” Zoey says, mildly proud.

“Jade is the chaser.” Rumi replies mindlessly. Mira and Zoey both gasp, their heads snapping to Rumi as the implications of her words hit Rumi. “Wait, I didn’t mean it like that-”

“Oh, you totally did!” Mira chuckles, her familiar smirk spreading across her lips. “You’re head over heels.”

“Am not! I just… appreciate a girl who can clean up well.” Rumi says indignantly, her cheeks pinkening slightly.

“Whatever. I’ll say it, Jade looks hot as actual fuck. Like, who gave her the right to-” Zoey cuts herself off as Jade finally makes it over to them.

Jade wouldn’t ever admit it, but when she’d walked into the club and locked eyes with her roommates, she was punched in the ribs by how absolutely unearthly Rumi, Zoey and Mira looked. She’d seen the lace on Rumi’s skin, the cutouts of Zoey’s dress and the line of Mira’s spine thanks to that absolutely heinous crop top, and immediately, her mind went straight to the gutter, imagining what it would be like to take those atrociously sinful clothes off of them-

“Hey.” Jade says as she reaches the three girls. Rumi waves slightly, having partially snapped from her reverie, while Zoey wordlessly hands Jade a shotglass, her eyes still glued to Jade’s silk-clad body. Mira makes a strangled sort of sound, one that Jade knew intimately at this point.

“Hi. You look… wow.” Rumi says quietly, with a sort of reverence that nearly takes Jade’s breath away a second time. “You look stunning, seriously. Dark blue is… definitely your color.”

Jade fights back a rising blush as she glances at their outfits for the fifth or sixth time, she didn’t know anymore. All Jade knew was that lace top Rumi was working wonders for her assets, the form-fitted black dress that clung to Zoey’s body highlighting every curve, and that miniskirt that was entirely too short on Mira’s long legs-

They were doing too much. Simply put, Jade’s brain was overwhelmed, refusing to compute that the three girls in front of her are the girls she has a raging crush on.

Just then, a more sensual song comes on, and Mira takes Zoey’s hand, who takes Rumi’s, who takes Jade’s, linking them together as Mira drags Zoey out to the dance floor.

“I just can’t leave you alone

Can we get even closer, babe?

Get closer.”

The club lights above them pulse in an array of purple, red, blue and pinks as Rumi and Zoey dance together, leaving Mira and Jade together. The bass thrums through her body, leaving her head feeling light and her body lighter as she lets loose, her hips swaying and hair floating around her in a dazzling display of shining dark blue.

{x-o-x-o}

“Jesus, Mir…” Jade’s voice is breathless, her head falling back against Mira’s shoulder, leaving her neck exposed as Mira’s firm hands hold her hips gently. A pair of lips start drifting up and down her neck, soft and gentle in that way that makes her head spin with arousal and a soft moan slip past her lips.

She arches into the touch, her mind and body entirely too lost in pleasure to react any other way. Her hand reaches up to tangle into hair, and her fingers are met with silky smooth hair, curled to perfection. Some part of her knew exactly who this was, who was kissing her neck, but she needed to be sure, to know this wasn’t a dream, so she gently fists and tugs on her hair.

“Jae… fuck…” Rumi moans next to her ear, her voice tight with arousal so thick it makes the already hot space between her thighs even hotter.

Rumi and Mira… And then she feels the third pair of hands, the ones that are running up and down her thighs, gently and carefully easing her dress up bit by bit until her arousal slick thighs are exposed to the cold air of one of the bedrooms in the apartment, Jade wasn’t quite sure.

“God, Jae… you’re fucking soaked…” Zoey murmurs, running a finger along the innermost part of Jade’s thigh, but not where she clearly needs most. 

Jade had never felt so completely overwhelmed, so desperate for hands to be on her bare skin, for lips and nails to mark her body, in her entire life. Her body was already begging for release, pleading for a momentary lapse of sexual tension that it was almost painful.

“Please…” Jade whimpers, her voice already ragged as her eyes flutter shut, losing herself in the moment, letting herself fall into the pleasure that Mira, Rumi and Zoey are giving her for the moment.

“Please keep going.”