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Rumi had had a long day to say the least. Her, Mira, and Zoey had spent all day on their new music video but it just wasn't coming out the way they wanted.
The moves.
The timing.
The visuals.
They were all wrong.
It was stressing Rumi out. A lot. She was supposed to be the leader. She was supposed to know what she was doing. But no matter what suggestion she threw out, nothing seemed to fit. She had to figure something out. Anything. She couldn't disappoint her fans. She couldn't disappoint her girlfriends. She just couldn't. Not again.
Rumi sat down on her bed, staring down at the recording from earlier. Their moves weren't synchronized and they didn't match the song. She looked down at the patterns littering her skin…maybe she just wasn't meant to be a hunter. She was part demon for fucks sake. She obviously wasn't meant for this.
Rumi scratched at the skin on her arms, wishing she could tear off the patterns that haunted her. Why couldn't she be normal.
______________
They only had 3 days left to finish recording this music video and it had to be perfect. No matter what.
Rumi wore a long sleeve white shirt and black sweatpants, mainly to cover up the scratches left on her skin. But also to cover her patterns. Her girlfriends knew about them now, and they constantly reassured her they didn't change what they thought of her but Rumi just didn't believe them. How could she? She was a demon, just like her father. She could never be a good hunter.
The negative thoughts continued to spiral as the three girls practiced. Rumi couldn't focus. She kept tripping over her feet, missing cues and singing off key.
Her head felt fuzzy.
“Are you alright?” asked Mira. “You seem off.”
“Yeah, you know you can tell us anything, right?” added Zoey.
“Im fine.” insisted Rumi. “Just frustrated.”
“Im gonna take five.” she mumbled before walking off.
Once she was out of sight, Rumi ran to her dressing room. Her head felt even fuzzier, her body didn't feel like her own. It was too big. The world was too big.
Age regression was a coping mechanism Rumi had used for years but she never told her girlfriends about it. They would judge her for sure. She was lucky enough they let a demon like her be their girlfriend in the first place.
Tears were running down her face long before she ever noticed them.
She had to stay big. She couldn't slip. Not now. She was running out of time to make the perfect music video.
But no matter how much she tried to push away the small thoughts, they continued to flood her brain. She wanted her paci..and her stuffed tiger. She wanted to change into pjs, curl up in her bed, and watch cartoons. But she couldnt…she had to stay big. She needed to sing.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
“Rumi?”
It was Zoey.
She had to do something. Say something. But all she could do was cry. The words evaporated before she even got the chance to think of how to say them.
“Rumi, come on… we just want to help.”
Mira.
She tried her hardest to respond, to think of something to say. But nothing came out aside from her sobs.
The door opened with a small click and the two girls slowly entered the room.
The sight must’ve been pathetic. Rumi was sitting there on the floor, knees against her chest with mascara running down her face.
Zoey was the first to speak, kneeling down in front of Rumi. “Something is clearly wrong and you need to tell us what or we won't be able to help you, Rumi”
Rumi knew she should be able to trust them. They loved her, right? They wouldn't throw her out just because she was a little…would they?
More tears broke free at the thought and she just shook her head. She couldn't risk it.
“Cant..” she sniffled pathetically
“Gonna hate me.”
“Rumi, we can't help if you refuse to let us.” Mira whsipered. “And we could never hate you.”
She joined the other two girls on the floor, gently handing Rumi an apple juice box from the mini fridge.
Usually, they were to prevent feeling sick while performing, but she thought it might cheer up the purple haired girl.
Rumi accepted the juice box carefully and the two girls watched as she struggled to take the straw out of the plastic.
“Let me help” offered Mira, taking the straw from the girl's hand.
“F’ank you…” she mumbled
Mira then helped Rumi put the straw in the juice box with a soft smile on her face. “You’re welcome, kiddo”
Rumi froze at the use of the nickname.
‘You're feeling little, aren't you?”
A look of realization crossed Zoey's face as she realized what was happening.
The question just earned her more tears from Rumi as she realized this wasn't her secret anymore.
They knew.
But instead of being met with anger, or disappointment, she felt..safe? Her eyes opened as she felt her girlfriends' arms wrap around her. Were they not mad? Did they still like her?
“Hey, look at me.” Mira's voice pushed through her thoughts like a lighthouse shining through the fog. Rumi listened, lifting her head slightly so she could make eye contact. “There you are. You're ok.”
“Can you tell us how old you are?”
Rumi thought about the question for a minute. She attempted to hide her face in her knees as she held up four fingers, embarrassed about her response.
“Oh, you're just a small little thing, huh?” Mira said softly. “How about we worry about practice tomorrow. We can get Bobby to deal with it if we can't get the music video out in time.” She paused. “And nobody will be mad at you.” she added, already knowing what kind of thoughts would be clouding the little’s mind.
It was all Rumi could do to respond with a quiet nod. She did want to go home.
Once the three girls were back home, Mira carried Rumi into her room while Zoey went to the kitchen to grab some much needed snacks for the younger girl.
“Do you have any gear, little one?” she asked, sitting Rumi down on the bed. She was met with a nod and Rumi pointed to a small purple box under her bed.
Upon opening said box, Mira was met with a couple onesies, a purple pacifier decorated with gems and beads spelling out the words “little star”, a sippy cup and a tiger plushie.
Rumi whined, making grabby hands towards the tiger as soon as she saw it.
“This your friend?” asked Mira, to which she was met with another nod.
“Does your friend have a name?” she asked as she handed the small plush to the little.
“Dewpy” the little mumbled.
“Derpy?” Mira laughed softly. “That's a good name, little one. Now how about we get you changed into one of these onesies? Does that sound good?”
“Mhm!”
While changing her into the onesie, MIra noticed the scratches covering Rumi's arms. “No more of that, ok love?” she said, softly running her fingers along them.
Rumi wanted to cry all over again…but she was quickly comforted by a soft kiss against her forehead. “I'm not mad, and you aren't in trouble.” she said, once again knowing just how to comfort the mentally younger girl. “Just come to me instead when you feel like scratching, ok?”
Rumi just nodded in response, hugging her tiger closely.
By the time she was changed and comfortable, Zoey had returned with a plate of peanut butter crackers and apple slices cut up into bite sized pieces, which Rumi happily ate.
Afterwards, Mira positioned the little in front of her and started undoing her braided hair in order to replace them with two looser ones, a lot easier for her to sleep with.
“Guppies?” Rumi asked, looking up at Zoey.
“You wanna watch bubble guppies, little one?”
“Yes p’ease”
“I think I can make that happen” she laughed, already flipping through their streaming app.
Mira scooped the small girl into her lap, offering her the pacifier she had found earlier.
Rumi just silently opened her mouth in response.
The older girl gently slipped the pacifier between the littles lips with a soft smile. “Theres our sweet girl.”
The little giggled softly, clearly amused by the affection.
A few more bubble guppies episodes later and it was clear Rumi was exhausted. The poor little couldn’t go five minutes without yawning. “I think it's somebody’s bed time,” said Zoey.
That earned a whine from Rumi
“Noooo…m’not sleepy…”
Mira laughed, "you're the sleepiest little one I've ever seen, it's definitely bed time.”
“Cuddle..?”
“Of course we can cuddle, little one”
The three girls all climbed under the covers, the two older girls on either side of the smaller one. And Rumi yawned for what must've been the 15th time, causing her paci to fall from her mouth.
Mira gently lifted the plastic back to the littles lips before she could cause a fuss about it.
And after about 10 minutes, all that could be heard was Rumi's soft snores as she slept, cuddling her tiger with her pacifier bobbing gently in her mouth. She was safe, surrounded by the two people who loved her more than anything.