where the wolves lie

celine knows that whoever those strings lead to must be the third hunter, and they start to follow them until they reach the airport just in time to see-

meanwhile zoey was convinced she had no soulmate for the longest time, until suddenly, on the plane to korea, she notices two lines appearing on her (“I HAVE TWO?!” she shouts aloud, causing the other passengers on the plane to get angry). when they land and she follows her red strings until she sees them.

two girls with technicolor hair being trailed by “CELINE FROM THE SUNLIGHT SISTERS?!”

and

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IM JOINING A KPOP GROUP I DIDNT EVEN AUDITION WTH”

they try and research the demon type, but theyre not finding much, especially with what little look rumi got of it, and with what little effect the bite/sting seems to be having.

it takes them a week of monitoring the bite/sting, before eventually they give up on that giving them any clues other than the fact it did that to her to begin with.

another week later, they’re going through a book full of different portraits for different types of demons before rumi finally spots one that looks like the one that got her

zoey looks it up while mira is looking over her shoulder, and they read its entry and freeze. rumi is in the other room, getting snacks.

turns out the demons bite/sting works just like cupids arrows. whoever gets bitten/stung is supposed to fall madly in love with the first person they see. rumi saw both of them at the same time. so she should have been falling all over them. acting crazy and obsessed with them

but the thing is, rumi hasnt been acting any differently since it happened. and the only thing that could mean is-

rumi comes into the room. “oh, did you guys find something?”

zoemira: *slowly nod*

rumi comes over and reads the entry. shes surprised. “oh! i guess it’s good i ran into you guys first!” they think shes confessing her feelings, but instead she turns and grins, and says “it must not count for you two because i saw both of you at the same time!”

mira sputters. “b-but we saw bobby yesterday, and you weren’t any different towards him!”

“well, i guess you guys completely nullified the effect then! thanks for that!” and she pats their back and walks away

zoemiras jaws are on the floor. they’re going through the five stages of grief and several states of euphoria all at once.

it takes another two days for it to click in rumis brain. when it does, theyre in the kitchen making food together, and she just stops and, like she’s just getting a joke now and not realizing that she’s in love w her two best friends, shouts “oh! i think it didnt work because im actually in love with both of you already! so you guys did actually help me after all by keeping me from seeing someone i wasnt in love w first!” and then nonchalantly continues making food.

zoey and mira stare at her as though shes lost her mind.

Celine : No, not really.

Rumi: Why? What happened?

Celine: I have a headache that comes and goes

*Zoey bursts into the room.*

Zoey: GUESS WHAT—

karbubu and sharbubu for my brithday

zoey and her lamp tattoo, lamp stamp if you will

Edit is is by https://www.tumblr.com/kinschi/791976659686473728/the-girls-in-suits-because-i-said-so?source=share

@kinschi

Meanwhile Zoey…

Then theres Bobby! 😊

She’s doesn’t want to, especially as an angry preteen who didn’t even want to be at the stuffy weddings her parents forced her to go to. She hates being crowded with every other young girl girl into a tight circle, she doesn’t like it when they all squeal and dive, and she really doesn’t want to dance with whichever old man catches the garter.

(And she is simply not old or ready enough to confront the fact that she’d be expected to marry someone chosen for her, whether she wanted to or not)

And then she’s older, she helped save the world, and she’s with Rumi and Zoey in a way she never thought she would be. So wholly and completely happy that it scares her sometimes. That she can love and be loved back.

It’s in the middle of their current hiatus when Huntr/x is invited to an industry wedding. None of them know either the bride or groom, but it’s really just an excuse to promote their newest album. Mira, as always, couldn’t care less. But she gets to hold tight onto Zoey’s waist in group photos, and stole a slow dance with Rumi, and both of them made a point to subtly match their outfits to hers. All three of them flush with dance and drinks and the contact high of touch, holding onto each other as much as they’re allowed.

She’s not surprised when the bouquet toss happens, and it lands in her hands. She’s not even surprised when her first instinct is to look for Rumi and Zoey, because she already knows and has known for a long time that finding them will always be her first priority in any situation.

But she is surprised when Rumi flushes bright red, and Zoey’s eyes sparkle as she giggles equal parts embarrassed and mischievous. The tightness in her chest when Mira remembers that they are hers as she is theirs, and suddenly the concept of forever isn’t as scary and suffocating as she thought it would be-

And for the very first time, Mira… considers.

edit:

because i wanna share it here too 🥺