Chapter Text
Everything was fine and dandy after the whole Idol Awards fiasco. Rumi has had several discussions with the girls regarding her ancestral background. The difficult conversations happened gradually, one night at a time. Mira and Zoey would listen attentively before voicing out their own opinions, and perspective of the situation. It was healthy for the three of them… and Bobby. Rumi understood how she had hurt the three of them by not trusting that they would fight for her, and with her.
Bobby mostly tried to keep up with the whole Honmoon saga, and the demon hunters tale. Part of him still believed this was a prank being played by his girls. They love pranks after all. But their solemn faces told him this was no laughing matter at all. So, Bobby with his chest out and full confidence, would do anything to support his girls.
The four of them had to understand where Rumi’s marks originated without jumping into the gun that all demons are bad. There was a lot of unlearning to do for Zoey and Mira. Even for Rumi, whenever she would shrink away when the two of them would stare at her patterns for too long. But they were adjusting perfectly, despite the slow pace.
But the problem arrived several months later when Rumi suddenly woke up flushed, sweating, and feeling… incredibly, incredibly aroused.
“Rumi, are you alright?”
Mira’s low voice cut through the silence. Rumi was trying to eat her cereal when she dropped her spoon due to the overwhelming dizziness that washed over her. She shook her head.
“I don’t feel well. I feel like I’m coming down with a fever.”
Zoey reached out and touched her forehead. She winced. “Yeah, you’re definitely not okay, Ruru.”
“You should lay down and rest, Rumi. We’ll make some egg soup for you.” Mira frowned before moving away from the kitchen counter. She started preparing the ingredients. Being the “problem” child of her family, Mira often found herself in the kitchen trying to “chop” away her frustrations and anger. Thus, came the chef-like side of her to which Rumi and Zoey has been very very thankful. Mira’s dishes were healing.
Mira gestured at Zoey. “Zo, you should help Rumi settle down. She needs to change her clothes as well. It’s getting drenched with her sweat.”
“I’m fine.” Rumi tried standing up before her legs failed her. Before she faceplanted onto the floor, Zoey was able to catch her. In a smooth motion, Zoey gently swept Rumi into a bridal carry. She smiled gently at their leader. Rumi can’t help but feel so charmed by Zoey. She knew Zoey was strong and agile due to the nature of her weapon, but this… strong?
A beat. Not from her heart. But from down there.
“Woah. Your patterns just pulsed!” Zoey stared at Rumi’s arms with wide eyes. True enough, Rumi’s patterns lit up once, illuminating the room with a purple-ish light. Rumi noticed Mira frowning from the side.
“Rumi… I thought there were no secrets between us anymore?”
“I’m not hiding anything, Mira!” Rumi growled in frustration. “I could not understand why this is happening, too. Please believe me.”
Zoey looked at Rumi with sad eyes before shaking her head at Mira. Silently telling her that this conversation should be continued on a better day, when everyone is at perfect health. Slowly, she carried Rumi to her room. She lowered her to the king-size bed. Zoey went further to fluff up the pillows and arrange Rumi’s plushies.
“Alright, Ruru. What do you want to wear? Sweatpants and shirt or tank tops and shorts?” Zoey walked to her closet, attempting to find a comfortable outfit Rumi could change into.
“I think I need to wear tank tops for now. I feel so hot…” Rumi’s voice gradually lost its power as she noticed, for the first time that morning, that Zoey was wearing shorts. Like… short shorts. Incredibly short. Zoey has often worn pajamas or onesies. This is the first time she has seen her sleep with shorts on. It was such a surprise for Rumi to witness the long expanse of her fair and toned legs. Her eyes trailed from the back of her ankles up to her calves, then to her thighs, and eventually, the soft curve of her behind.
Blink. Blink. Blink, blink, blink.
“Rumi?!” Zoey quickly turned around as the light from Rumi’s pattern started illuminating the room in fast intervals. Almost like a disco light being turned on. She quickly rushed towards Rumi, cupping her face and accidentally straddling the latter’s thighs. “What’s wrong? Oh my God, something’s wrong. MIRA!”
Rumi wanted to say something, but she just kept stuttering. Her mind is overwhelmed by the physical reactions her body is currently feeling at Zoey’s proximity, at the sight of her bare legs, and and…
Zoey isn’t wearing any bra.
She has no bra.
Yeah, why would she? They just went to sleep for the night and just woke up.
Of course, she has no bra.
Blink-Blink. Blink-Blink. Blinkblinkblinkblink.
“Oh my God, RUMI!”
Mira’s voice was the last thing she heard before Rumi’s vision turned dark.
“I knew this would happen someday.”
“What do you mean this would happen, someday?!”
“Unnie, you should have told us sooner. Not just with the demon parts of Rumi but also, this!”
“Yeah, would you girls have handled it well when you found out she was part 'demon’? And not just any demon, a succubus at that?”
Rumi’s eyes opened suddenly, despite the grogginess she had felt. Her vision adjusted to the bright light. On her right, there was her aunt whom she had not seen for months since the confrontation, since the last night she broke down at her, since the last time she allowed Celine to control her. On her left were her girls, Zoey and Mira.
“What are you doing here?” Her husky voice cut through the tension between her friends and Celine’s ice-cold stare. They all flinched at her voice. Her two bandmates immediately checked her physical health. Meanwhile, Celine stared at her with sorrow.
“They called me.” Celine started. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see me at all.”
“I’m still not sure if I want you here, Auntie.”
“I know I was an… asshole. I have done terrible things just for you to reject the parts of you that needed acknowledgement. And I see that now… after months of reflection.” Celine sighed. “I do not ask to be let into your life if it’s not what you wish, Rumi. But if you give me the chance, I would like to prove to you that I took you in not because you were simply your mother’s child. But because I adored and loved you.”
Rumi’s lips flattened. Not sure what to say. Thankfully, Zoey offered water to which she drank while organizing her thoughts.
“Auntie, to cut you off from my life will be a great pain and heartbreak for me. You hold the only pieces of memory my mother had when she was alive. And my father, too. And I did see you as my mother, Auntie.” Rumi looked down at her hand. “I need to know I could trust you again. That you won’t manipulate me into hating the parts that my father has given me. That you accept me wholeheartedly. Only then could I forgive you, Auntie.”
Celine nodded slowly. “I could start by telling you of your ancestry?”
“That would be great.”
Celine sighed with relief before looking over at Mira and Zoey. “You have to understand that this is the part where both of you need to… open your mind, and widen your horizons. All three of you are… young, per se. But three of you are of age now. So, please… donotmakethisawkward.”
“What was that last part?” Mira asked again. Rumi’s eyes furrowed in confusion. Zoey was starting to realize where this was going.
“Rumi’s father is a… succubus. Which is why he was able to charm her mother so well. It was mutual and reciprocal, for he was a special type of succubus.” Celine fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable.
“Wait, succubus? Like… the sex demon?” Mira cut in.
“Yes, the sex demon.”
“But I haven’t had anything like that…” Rumi defended herself. She shrank and softly whispered, “I haven’t kissed anyone, too.”
“Which is expected of you, Rumi,” Celine frowned. “He was the kind of succubus who chooses a target, and only when the target has fallen in love with him could he eat the life force of the individual. They have intercourse, then the target’s soul is up for the taking. But your father was so enamored of your mother that he refused to eat her, and he also refused to look for another target. Your mother’s words about the situation were, “he could not bear to touch anyone else but me.”
“That sounds romantic,” Zoey intervened before Mira shushed her.
“It was. Until the demons found out that he was associating himself with a hunter. So they ordered him to kill Rumi’s mother. He refused, so he was thrown into the fire by Gwi Ma. Your mother never saw him again. And she was pregnant with you, too.”
“Did I take her life force?” Rumi cut in. She could not bear to hear more, knowing it may have led to the revelation that Rumi was the reason why her mother passed away. Celine smiled gently before cupping her face.
“No, my sweet. You did not take her life force. She gave it to you.” Celine caressed her cheek with her thumb. “Your mother knew you would grow up to be half-human, and half-succubus. And your father’s genes were a bit too strong. It was most likely that you would be eating your partner’s life forces once you fell in love, and she did not want that for you. So she gave you her soul so you may have a little more of humanity than of a demon.”
“But I still killed her…”
“She chose peace in the afterlife. Your mother has fallen into such a state of depression after your father was killed by his fellow demons. She has always told us she wanted to follow him, and it hurt us to see her like that. It was like your father still took her life force despite it being intact inside of her. We feared that after your birth, she might continue to behave in such a way despite the multiple therapies she had. Ultimately, when she had her moment of clarity, she decided this was the best way. So, she could live in you.”
“Is that why you could not look at me for the longest time when I bore my father’s marks? You knew the extent of how much it has affected my mother?” Rumi looked deep into Celine’s eyes. One that bore of sorrows, and of silent storms. There was a lone tear that fell down from her left eye.
“I loved her too, Rumi. My heart was hers for the taking, but she kept following him even when he was gone.” Celine said softly.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too, Rumi. For making you feel you have to hide a part of yourself because I bear resentment for your father. I see now where I have gone wrong.”
There was silence after Rumi nodded. From her peripheral vision, she saw Mira and Zoey fidgeting on her left. Clearly, they were disturbed and uncomfortable with the intensity of the conversation. Rumi chuckled softly, not used to her pillars of strength for the last months looking so awkward. She reached out and her their hands together.
Blink. Blink. Blink.
“Ugh.” Celine groaned as she facepalmed. “This is the most awkward part of my entire life.”
“Yeah, whatever that is. You have to tell us because Rumi’s been cosplaying as a disco ball since earlier.” Mira pointed it out as Rumi started sweating again, and experiencing hot flushes.
“For a short version, Rumi has chosen you as her “targets.” Celine dropped the bomb. She muttered under her breath. “I knew she liked girls early on but two at once? Jesus, Rumi.”
“I’m sorry, what was that?” Zoey asked again for clarification. Her face looked so comically confused.
Celine stared at the three of them before throwing her hands up in the air. “Rumi fancies you thus, you are her “targets” as a succubus. You two won’t die because the effect of Rumi’s mother transferring her humanity to Rumi’s soul is taming the succubus within her. So, upon investigation for years, the only eating Rumi will be doing is taking your sexual appetite.”
Silence.
A little more.
The three of them look at Celine with flushed faces and minds running a hundred miles per minute.
Celine groaned at the three whose brains short-circuited because of the revelation. She fixed her handbag and kissed Rumi’s temple gently. “I’ll get going now and you three… do whatever you need to do. But Rumi, you’re half-demon. You need to eat in order to survive. Call me when something comes up.”
She briskly walked out of the apartment. Rumi has a hunch she felt that it was because of what was about to go down… whatever conversation or lack thereof.
“So, about that eating thing…” Zoey, ever the one most uncomfortable with silence, started.
BLINK. BLINK. BLINK.