ariel

She turned her hand once, then again, then once more. Perhaps testing whether changing the angle from which she viewed her hand would make the bite marks reappear, but they didn’t. Her hand had only small scars, practically impossible to notice from afar, and Zoey only saw them better when she brought her hand close enough to her face to identify the faint marks. She blinked a few times, incredulous, and then jumped in place as the thought of one of Rumi’s powers manifesting in her occurred to her.

Fast regeneration.

Rumi never stayed injured for too long; whenever she burned or cut herself cooking, the wounds healed in a matter of minutes. Okay, it had been a good forty-eight hours since Mira’s bites, but Zoey still remembered perfectly well that there were wounds in that area when she put the bandages on the night before. It wasn’t possible that she had healed overnight, right?

Right?

Zoey went to the nearest mirror to face the bite mark on her neck, and as soon as she was face to face with her own reflection, all she saw was a completely healed bite mark.

She gulped, a little nervous, but also quite amazed.

Wow. Everything healed.

Mira had apologized several times since the moment they put bandages on the bite marks, and Zoey had assured her again and again that everything was just fine, but Mira kept apologizing anyway. Zoey tried to reassure her girl, but it didn’t help much. Maybe now that they were healed she could forgive herself for what happened—at least Zoey hoped she would.

Perhaps Zoey was a little apprehensive about the implications of the healing—since it most likely meant that being bitten on a full moon would bring a predictable surprise on the next cycle—but she was more concerned with showing the scars to reassure Mira at the moment.

However, as soon as she went back into the room to tell Mira the news, she was bombarded with a question that sent shivers down her spine.

“Zo… How many times have you and Rumi— How many times has Rumi, um— How many times did you take her knot?”

Zoey blinked a few times, a little taken aback by the question, but certainly worried now. Uh oh. Maybe Zoey had gotten too carried away in that full moon cycle, but she couldn’t even find a shred of regret in herself. She would do it all again and again exactly the same way simply because she loved them too much to deny how good it had been to spend that full moon with them.

“Um. Well—” Zoey scratched the back of her neck, actually trying to count how many times she’d taken that knot, but nothing really came to mind. Three times? More than five? She wasn’t sure. But oh boy, she could hardly wait for the next time they’d be together. “A lot? I dunno for sure. Gosh, it didn’t even hurt. You were kinda right, her pheromones helped a lot, but I certainly didn’t have any trouble to, uh— fit it.”

Mira blushed a deep red and blinked a few times.

Zoey’s cheeks flushed a faint pink, a little embarrassed by her own honesty, but not at all regretful.

“You smelled her pheromones,” Mira stated, hands going to her hair and pulling at strands as her desperation grew. “Oh my god, you and Rumi had sex on the full moon, the same full moon I bit you— Zo, please tell me you’re up to date with your contraceptives.”

“I mean, yes, like, I have an IUD. I don’t take any pills though. Do you think human contraceptives work with Rumi? I mean… she’s a werewolf.”

Mira froze in place. Neither of them could really think of anything other than a pregnancy possibly happening even before their To-kki was born, and Zoey remembered well how quickly Mira’s belly had grown. One look in the direction of that baby bump was enough to be sure it was even bigger since the full moon two days ago.

Their baby had developed six months in a mere three months, and Zoey genuinely didn’t know what to think if she ended up pregnant at the same time as Mira, especially since their relationship was so recent.

Welp.

Blame on Zoey for spreading her legs for her wolf without thinking properly about the consequences after asking her to cum inside. But what could she do?! Rumi just messed with her too much for Zoey to care about anything other than milk her dry.

“We don’t have much to do right now, babes.” Zoey scratched the back of her neck, then moved a little closer to Mira to try and reassure her. “Try not to stress about it, okay? We’ll be fine. Maybe my IUD will actually work, maybe we’ll have another pup. Whatever happens, we’ll be fine, okay?”

Mira didn’t seem ready to believe Zoey. She still looked like she was clearly overthinking, but Zoey continued to hug and reassure her until Mira began to find some peace despite the clear worry about the imminent problem. If Rumi hadn’t managed to get Zoey pregnant this time, either the IUD was effective even though their partner was a werewolf, or Rumi wasn’t as fertile outside of her rut cycle. And if the second option proved correct, Mira imagined they would end up with a litter of half-werewolf pups in their house by the next rut now that Rumi had two mates to breed.

God help them.

Mira rolled her eyes, amused. She had anticipated that this would be quite common in her daily life, now that it was confirmed they were expecting a single baby.

Luckily, Yuna was already asleep, otherwise there would have been two big babies whimpering for Mira to hear.

“Are you really sure it’s just one? This ultrasound thing didn’t lie to you?” Rumi pouted, a huge, wobbly pout.

“Dear, it’s normal for humans to have only one baby, y’know?” Zoey smiled, understanding as always. She found it adorable how Rumi faithfully believed there were more pups in Mira’s belly.

“I already tried to explain, sunshine. She won’t understand this anytime soon,” Mira whispered softly so only Zoey could hear. Given Rumi’s distraction, not even her good hearing would register anything said by either Zoey or Mira at that moment.

“This doesn’t make any sense.” Rumi mumbled exactly like an angry dog as she paced the room. “You’re so big, it can’t be just one.”

“Wow.” Mira’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Zoey wheezed.

“That’s really something to say to your pregnant wife, Rumi.”

Rumi swallowed hard upon seeing Mira visibly angry at what she’d said, though Rumi didn’t really understand the reason for so much irritation. It was a compliment! Rumi loved Mira’s baby bump, and she was getting more beautiful every day, her perfect mate.

“B-But! You are!” Rumi gestured rapidly as if that explained everything. “You have such a beautiful and big belly, and I thought there were more pups!”

Mira, though annoyed, understood why Rumi was so confused, so she simply put her own irritation aside to explain, “Human babies are born much bigger than you think, Rumi. You’ve seen pictures of Yuna when she was a newborn, luv. Our baby won’t be the same size as a werewolf pup, okay? My belly is normal. If there were more babies, it would be much bigger than this.”

“But— But—” Rumi continued stammering as she tried to say something, but nothing coherent came out.

Zoey couldn’t stop laughing; she tried to muffle the sounds with her hand so as not to annoy Mira or Rumi.

“But I tried so hard!”

Then Zoey couldn’t contain her laughter any longer.

Mira and Rumi turned to her with affectionate looks, and suddenly it didn’t matter what they had been arguing about before. Seeing Zoey truly laugh for the first time in days filled both their hearts with joy.

“She tried so hard, Mir.” Zoey placed her hands on her stomach, still laughing so hard that now only a hissing sound came out. “Oh my god, Rumi, you’re so sweet, dear. I love you. I’m sorry for laughing at you, but—”

Rumi didn’t care. If anything, she wanted Zoey to keep laughing.

“I really did. I spent my last rut breeding her.”

Zoey giggled a few times before stopping abruptly, eyes wide, mouth agape in surprise.

Then she remembered when Mira told her she was pregnant and all Zoey assumed was that Rumi was hiding her dick well with tape, maybe.

But she had showered with Rumi the day before.

She hadn’t stared much, she’d been a little shy since the moment Rumi accompanied her to the bathroom, but she would have noticed something the moment Rumi hugged her. If Zoey remembered correctly, all she felt was either a small dick or a big clit.

Rumi’s wolf form, on the other hand, had a very well-formed dick.

And if she had a rut—

Mira and Rumi—

Mira and Wolf Rumi—

“You—” Zoey’s eyes widened as she glanced from Mira to Rumi and then back to Mira. “She— The— The Wolf?!”

Mira blushed so deeply that her whole face turned incredibly red.

What a lovely way to start a conversation about their relationship, wasn’t it?

Mira blinked a few times to make sure she had heard everything correctly, but judging by Rumi’s innocent and sincere look, she could only believe that every word was very honest.

Zoey giggled at hearing such a lovely question; of course her puppy would believe in the Easter Bunny. So cute. She was busy reviewing her students’ tests and assignments, so she just continued working silently while listening to her sweet puppy talking to their Mira.

Yuna had been talking about Easter for days, it was one of her favorite holidays solely because she gets to eat lots of chocolate, and Mira strived to maintain family traditions even though her princess was already grown up.

Mira was aware that Yuna knew that the Easter Bunny was actually her Eomma. The child was old enough to understand that Mira worked hard to make her childhood magical every holiday, but she still played along with Mira simply because she loved those little moments with her Eomma.

That Easter, however, they had Rumi with them.

And apparently Yuna had told Rumi everything about Easter and the Easter Bunny—omitting the part that it doesn’t really exist.

So Rumi was staring at Mira with big, bright eyes, waiting for an answer on that ordinary Saturday night.

“Hun’... Um. Yeah. Yuna is getting chocolate eggs tomorrow, but—”

“Do I get a chocolate egg too?” She smiled, showing fangs as bright as her eyes.

“Luv, you know you can’t eat chocolate. I’ve already explained it to you. Chocolate can make you seriously ill and maybe even kill you—”

“Someone should have warned the werewolf hunters about that—”

“Rumi. I’m serious.” Rumi maintained her sheepish smile, but paid attention to everything Mira said next. “Chocolate isn’t good for you, luv. Canines can’t eat chocolate at all, and even if you’re not really like others wolves, I don’t want to find out firsthand if you’d end up being poisoned by chocolate or not, okay?”

Rumi’s expression fell, so sad, a pout growing larger on her lips, even trembling as she asked, “So the Easter Bunny won’t bring me chocolate?”

“Luv, the Easter Bunny doesn’t really exi—” Zoey put her hand over Mira’s mouth before she could finish speaking and ruin the Easter magic for Rumi.

She had recently discovered that Rumi was as innocent as a child when it came to holidays and traditions. She believed anything Yuna told her, even if that thing was as silly as the Easter Bunny.

“Of course he’ll bring you chocolate eggs, dear. I’m sure he’ll remember to bring a special one for canines because you’re such a good puppy.”

Rumi’s smile was bright and full of fangs again, and she went over to Zoey to lick her cheek and rub her nose against her neck.

While Rumi hugged her, Mira narrowed her eyes at Zoey, and Zoey simply blew her a kiss in response.

━━━━━━━━━━

Mira wasn’t mad at Zoey for long. They managed to distract Rumi and convinced her to sleep with Yuna so it would be easier for the Easter Bunny to bring their chocolate eggs to the right place—which led to another conversation about her not being able to hunt the Easter Bunny and needing to sleep properly on Yuna’s rug, without leaving the room. Then, instead of enjoying the night sleeping and resting, Zoey dragged Mira downstairs to prepare a chocolate egg recipe for dogs just to make Rumi happy.

Mira had molds at home because the previous year she and Yuna had enjoyed making Easter eggs at home, but Zoey had to leave the house to buy the ingredients and hopefully find some pretty packaging, or she would have to spend hours improvising with her coloring skills and decorating one at home.

It was a fun night for them, and Zoey didn’t even join Mira in bed after Rumi’s Easter egg was ready. Instead, she got up to make bunny footprints around the house using flour and drawing two cute little paws side by side using her fingers, imitating bunny steps, creating a path that went from Yuna’s bedroom door to the kitchen, and she was almost regretting that idea halfway up the stairs when Mira appeared at the top, tying her hair back and ready to join her.

“You better come to bed with me as soon as we finish this,” Mira whispered as she picked up some flour and spread it on the next flight of stairs.

Zoey gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled. “I owe you like twelve hours of cuddles and kisses, I promise I’ll pamper you soon.”

“Um. You better.”

Zoey found it adorable how she still blushed as if they were still at the beginning of their relationship, so simply cute.

━━━━━━━━━━

Rumi woke up as soon as the sun rose and ran around the room looking for chocolate eggs or the scent of a rabbit, but found neither. She went to the bed and licked Yuna’s face until the little girl pushed her head away and murmured, “Mama, let me sleep.”

“But pup! It’s morning already! I want to know if the Easter Bunny brought our chocolates!” Rumi gently nudged Yuna’s body with her head, and the little girl groaned loudly and began rubbing her sleepy eyes.

“He probably left the chocolate eggs in the kitchen or the living room, Mama. You have to look for them.” Yuna was too sleepy to care about that at the moment; she knew perfectly well that her Eomma would leave the chocolate eggs downstairs, so she tried to guide Rumi’s attention elsewhere, but she realized that Rumi wouldn’t leave without her when she opened one eye and saw her Mama with a wide grin staring at her right by her side. “Ugh. Fine. I’m coming.”

Rumi skipped around the room and went to the door when Yuna sat on the bed.

As soon as she opened the door, she was met with several rabbit footprints, and she jumped up in place and let out an euphoric shout, calling for Yuna and gesturing to the floor.

She carefully left the room so as not to step on the rabbit’s footprints and went to her room to call her mates and tell them that they were right and that the Easter Bunny had really appeared to Yuna. Yuna then took advantage of the distraction to lie back down on the bed and sleep for another five minutes.

It wasn’t the time for anyone to wake up on a Sunday, seriously. If she’d known her mother would do this, she wouldn’t have even mentioned Easter, but now the damage was done and she wouldn’t be able to sleep anymore.

Maybe she could nap in the afternoon after lunch and some good pieces of chocolate, though.

At that moment, Rumi didn’t let anyone in the house sleep as she kept shouting and jumping, pointing out all the places she found bunny footprints while running around the house until she found the Easter egg made especially for her.

“Why can Mama eat chocolate before breakfast and I can’t?” a sleepy Yuna asked her sleepy mothers as the three of them watched a purple puppy lying on the floor wagging her tail while eating her Easter egg.

“Are you a werewolf?” Mira asked, too sleepy to think of anything else.

“Fine. Got it.” Yuna rested her head on Mira’s shoulder and closed her eyes; all she wanted was to doze off a little longer.

They were on the couch, Zoey almost snoring against the cushions, Mira had one eye open and the other closed, so simply exhausted after that hectic night that she just wanted to sleep for the rest of the day, but Rumi wouldn’t allow it, of course.

But she was happy, so it was worth it.

Right next to the jar, Mira placed some bills along with some coins, and she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes as she looked at her wife.

Rumi had been swearing a lot in front of Yuna ever since she learned to use swear words, and Mira wanted to avoid it so that Rumi wouldn't end up talking like that even outside the house, or worse, inside the house when their nieces and nephews were visiting. Yuna is old enough to understand that she shouldn't swear, but the younger ones would probably repeat everything they would learn and say it in the middle of breakfast as if it were a good morning wish.

After Rumi stared at her in doubt for a long time since Mira had placed the money and the jar on the table, Mira uncrossed her arms and, pointing to the money first, began to explain.

"This is your allowance, and this is a swear jar. Every time you swear, you owe a coin to the swear jar. And every fucking time you tear your clothes to shift into a wolf, you owe a bill. Understood?" Mira may have added the second rule at that very instant when she remembered all the clothes Rumi had been destroying lately.

Rumi paused to think about the instructions her mate had given her, all quite clear to her, of course. She knew what swear words were and she knew what money was, so it was easy to fit the information into a little box in her mind.

"Understood?" Mira spoke again, a little more sharply this time.

"I— I understand!" Rumi stammered and bobbed her head up and down rapidly, always so frightened whenever her mate raised her voice an octave.

But Mira smiled at it the next instant, and that reassured her. "Good puppy."

Rumi bounced on her heels at the praise, but she paused to think about the rules again, and about what Mira had done. She ended up scratching her head remembering everything Mira had said.

Reluctantly, she called out to Mira. "Jagiya?"

"Yes?"

Rumi glanced around the kitchen, unsure if she should even say that or if the rules only applied to Rumi herself, but it wouldn't hurt to try. Maybe she would even earn more praises if she showed she understood the rules correctly, right?

She hesitated a little before whispering, "...You owe a coin to the swear jar."

Mira raised an eyebrow doubtfully as the silence settled between them, wondering why Rumi thought she should put a coin in the swear jar when Mira remembered she'd let slip a swear word while lecturing Rumi about not swearing.

Oh well.

She blushed as she reached into her pockets for a coin and found none, and Rumi subtly pushed one of her coins toward her mate on the counter while whispering, "Here, I'll lend you one."

"Okay. Thank you. Sorry for cursing." Mira put the coin inside the jar, still a little embarrassed by what she had done, but Rumi didn't seem to mind much at the moment.

Mira thought Rumi seemed to be enjoying the situation, actually.

/////////////////////////

Rumi was still thinking about the new rule when she went to Mira to clarify a doubt.

"Jagiya?"

"Yes, hun'?" Mira put down her book as she saw Rumi approach with the swear jar in hands and a confused look.

"If I swear while we're having sex, do I put the coin afterward or do I have to stop touching you to—?"

"Don't you fucking stop!"

Rumi paused for a moment to process the new information about the rule, assuming she should only put the new coins after sex.

But then she remembered that Mira had swore again.

And she opened the lid of the swear jar and extended one of her coins to Mira.

"...You have to put a coin again, jagiya."

Mira blushed as red as a tomato, her cheeks, ears, and nose completely red as she took the coin from Rumi's hand and threw it into the jar.

And if she threw her book at Rumi's head while she closed the jar with an amused smile on her lips, Rumi didn't say anything about it—she was busy laughing at her mate's antics.

Zoey took her hand and led her to their room. Every now and then she looked back just to make sure Rumi was there—even though she could feel her hand in hers, she wanted to see her close. So, she walked slowly to the bedroom, where she imagined she would find Mira sleeping in the middle of the bed, or perhaps reading while waiting for her, but what they saw there when they arrived was even more adorable than they expected.

Mira had taken Yuna to their room, and the two were sleeping peacefully, together in bed, enveloped in that barrier of sheets, pillows, and clothes. Zoey saw Mira doing one of those that morning, when Zoey had made the bed after she woke up, but the moment Mira saw the folded clothes and the pillows put away, she just threw everything back on the bed and went back to arranging everything the way she wanted.

Zoey noticed that Rumi also thought it was adorable; her tail wagged even more now.

“There’s room for us if you stay close to Mira and I close to Yuna,” Zoey suggested with a small smile. Rumi couldn’t take her eyes off the bed; the idea of sleeping in a nest with her whole pack made her immensely happy, and she was about to take the first step towards them when she remembered that she hadn’t showered in days. “What’s wrong, dear?”

“Hmm... I need a shower,” Rumi admitted, then raised one arm and sniffed herself to see if there wasn’t an option to wait until the next day, but if she got into bed smelling like that, Mira probably would throw her off the balcony.

“Uhh…” Zoey tugged her own shirt close to her nose when she remembered that she’d spent the last minutes clinging to Rumi and, well, she needed a shower and a change of clothes too. “Yeah, me too…”

Rumi’s tail stopped in place, a shiver running down her spine as Zoey gave her a giddy look followed by a smirk before whispering, “We better take a shower then, puppy.”

She closed the bedroom door with a soft click to avoid waking Mira and Yuna, and quickly pulled Rumi along toward the bathroom at the end of the hall, and all Rumi could do was whisper, “Yes, mate,” in response.

"Nuh uh."

"Pleeease." Rumi whined a little too loudly. Beside her, Zoey instantly burst into laughter, always so engrossed in their silly moments.

"No." Mira continued hugging Zoey, indifferent to Rumi's whines.

"I don't mind, Mir. You can sleep in the middle." Zoey offered and gently stroked her pink hair. She couldn't deny that she loved sleeping in the middle; being hugged by the two of them was the highlight of her nights, but she didn't see any downside to having Mira in the middle.

Mira, on the other hand, saw a downside. "I do mind, Zoey. I know this one, she just wants to grope me."

"Oh." Zoey's mind stopped working for a brief moment as she understood Rumi's intentions with that seemingly innocent request, which turned out to be quite different. Rumi propped herself up on her elbow and stared at Mira with a sad look.

"I miss holding your boob! Just tonight, come on!" Mira remained indifferent to her requests, now merely hid her face in the crook of Zoey's neck and waved her hand disinterestedly.

"No. My boobs are sore." Mira whispered against Zoey's neck, and that sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"Unfair."

"You'll survive."

Rumi accepted defeat with a long sigh and settled beside Zoey, gently embracing her waist and running her fingers along Zoey's tank top for a few seconds before an idea popped into her head.

"Zoey, can I—"

"Don't even finish it, Rumi." Mira warned her instantly; she didn't even need any hint to know what her wife intended with that question.

Zoey giggled and tried to stay quiet so as not to disturb the two hotties hugging her. Zoey couldn't deny that the request was quite appealing, but she stopped herself from accepting, at least not yet, but maybe some other day.

You see, she'd worked with children for years, of course she recognized a dessert made by a child, and of course Zoey knew how sad the child would be if someone refused to eat that dessert, even if it didn’t look edible.

Mira put her hand in front of her nose to avoid smelling that thing. She was willing to hurt Yuna and Rumi's feelings if necessary; she wouldn't put even a measly spoonful of it in her mouth.

"Heh..." Zoey chuckled nervously, and then began to scratch her head. "Hmm. I-It looks delicious, um, jelly, right?"

"It was the only dessert we managed to make," Rumi replied with a proud smile on her face.

Yuna stared at the three women through the gaps between the row of chairs, waiting to see if any of them would try the dessert they had made.

"We're already full—" Mira began to plead for herself and Zoey, wanting to avoid having to eat it at all costs, but Zoey's voice came out faster than she could finish the sentence.

"Um, just a little, yes? I bet it's delicious, but I've already eaten so much," Zoey let out another nervous squeak as she shifted on the stool and took the spoon and cup from Rumi's hand.

The problem wasn't just the jelly. The consistency was perfect, they made it right, really, it was shiny and everything else. The problem was what was inside, on top of, and around the jelly.

It was pink, probably strawberry flavored, and had broccoli inside, covered with spaghetti, marinara sauce, mashed potatoes, sausage, olives, a sandwich, pickles, and strawberries.

Mira refused, without even thinking twice. Nope. She wasn't eating that even if they paid her. She felt like throwing up just from the smell.

Yuna only refrained from whimpering because she saw Zoey willing to try her creation, a dessert made especially for that special dinner.

Zoey had a disgusted expression the whole time, but she closed her eyes and held her breath as she began to eat. She needed to please Yuna. She wanted to be part of that family and therefore had to make their child happy, even if it meant food poisoning.

"Wow, chef My Melody," Zoey managed to smile, though with tears in her eyes, after finishing a portion of the dessert. "It's deli-cious!"

Mira grimaced, noticing Zoey about to vomit at any moment.

"Rumi, why don't you and Yuna bring Zoey some water, please? I'll take her to the bathroom real quick, I think she needs to pee."

Mira held Zoey by the forearm and patted her back reassuredly, feeling sorry for her. Poor Zoey.

"You didn't need to eat that," Mira whispered when they were already far enough away from the children responsible for that special dessert.

And as soon as Zoey bent over the toilet, she began to vomit.

She held up a shaky thumb toward Mira as she threw everything up.

Welp. Things she did for love.

Kang Mira, daughter of Aphrodite

Don't get her wrong, she loves her cousins ​​and it's good to have fun with them. She also likes feeding Wonbin baby food and holding him in her arms. Yuna can't stop thinking that soon she'll have a little brother and she'll have to learn how to play with him and hold him, so little cousin Wonbin is the best training option!

But Yuna feels jealous every time Rumi and Mira have to share attention with them. Especially Rumi. It's not nice to see her cousins ​​calling her "Aunt." Yuna has been calling her by her name and trying to gather some courage to use a title she thinks Rumi will like, but she's not sure if she should. It's strange. Rumi was just her werewolf friend a few months ago, and now Rumi is her mother's wife and their best friend! Yuna wanted to call her "Mama" as easily as her cousins ​​called her "Aunt." But it had been a little difficult, she wouldn't lie. Every time she was about to succeed, Yuna chickened out and ended up calling her by her name again.

It wasn't fair that her cousins, who had only seen Rumi a few times, were already calling her "Aunt."

And it wasn't fair that she had to share Rumi's attention either.

That's crap actually.

Yuna crossed her arms and pouted throughout breakfast for the second day in a row. Rumi was standing beside the table, near Mira. In her arms, Wonbin held a toy and babbled while being rocked. Mira was eating peacefully and occasionally feeding Rumi too. The other cousins ​​were almost finished eating and wouldn't stop talking to Rumi.

Jiyeon was the first to finish breakfast, and she left the table to run over to Rumi. She chatted a bit with Wonbin and then started trying to get Rumi's attention too, asking if they were going to play in the snow or watch a movie now.

"What do you want to do, sweetie?" Mira asked, and Yuna narrowed her eyes a little more.

"Yeah, you guys decide," Rumi replied with a big smile, her fangs more normal in size for a human.

"I want a horsy ride!" Jiyeon smiled adorably and stretched her arms towards Rumi. "Up!"

"Aren't you too old for uppies?" Mira teased, pinching the little girl's cheek. Jiyeon just stuck her tongue out at her aunt and continued stretching her arms towards Rumi.

"Okay, okay, wait a second," Rumi kissed Wonbin's hair and handed him to Mira. She was ready to give her niece some uppies when Yuna crossed the table in a fraction of a second and grabbed Rumi's shirt, staring intently at Jiyeon.

"Pup? What's wrong?" Rumi shifted her focus, leaving her niece waiting and turning to her daughter. Yuna clung to her shirt, her eyes glistening with angry tears, her cheeks flushed.

"You're my Mama, I want uppies.”

"Holy shit," Mira's eyes widened the moment she saw Zoey approaching the table. Obviously, she hadn't slept a wink all night, and Mira immediately pulled her close, cupped her face with one hand while analyzing her girlfriend's dark circles. "Tonight I'm going to tie you to the bed."

"Uuuh sexy."

"So you can sleep, asshole," Mira flicked her forehead, and the scolding began.

The girls' hiatus has been quite relaxing. They finally managed to get closer to Rumi, loving her more each day, getting to know a new side–all comfortable and quite clingy–of her. No regrets in the end. But Zoey has been relaxing a little too much—and has forgotten that she needs to sleep.

Staying up all night playing video games, watching anime, planning outings, anything—except sleeping. Mira started complaining after the second night, and Zoey went back to sleeping properly, but one unsupervised night, one night Mira believed in "I'll play a single match and then I'll go to bed!", one night Mira fell asleep first, and there was the result: her stupid girlfriend turned into a zombie!

Zoey grumbled that she didn't need to sleep because coffee exists in this century. Mira narrowed her eyes and grunted audibly, her gaze fixed on Zoey's cynical face, ready to pounce on her and pull her ear, but they both fell incredibly quiet when they heard a yawn, and there she was—Rumi.

Her hair was loose and wavy, trailing on the floor, she was so sleepy, wearing only a sweatshirt over her pajama top, and the short shorts she'd slept in offered a great view of her thighs. Mira and Zoey stared, gosh, they stared too much. The patterns on their best friend's skin had been driving them crazy, making them drool, desire. Yearn. They wanted to touch them, kiss them. They wanted her so badly.

"Hi Rumi," they both said in unison.

"Good morning!" Zoey shouted, strangely wide awake. Mira rolled her eyes at her girlfriend's quick change of expression, but she couldn't judge her. They were both madly in love with Rumi, nothing new. Anything to get Rumi's attention is more than valid, especially in the morning—those soft grunts, the yawns, the face crumpled by the pillow, the half-closed eyes, the sleepy voice, the fucking patterns they could see, those not covered by pajamas. Everything caught their attention, everything made their eyes turn into hearts, any tiny movement from Rumi left them both in a state of total adoration. A goddess being admired by two completely...

"Good morning, girls," Rumi smiled, then gently caressed Zoey's cheek and Mira's shoulder.

...pathetic women.

Zoey and Mira's faces flushed from the simple contact, nervousness gnawing at them, suddenly they even forgot how to speak.

The divide-and-conquer plan failed in the first week. A smile from Rumi caught Zoey off guard and sent her back to her room with a flushed face and her heart pounding. Mira tried to play it cool, approaching in a more nonchalant way, she would flirt directly, already had everything planned in her mind, but ended up sweating the moment Rumi opened the bedroom door in all her glory, with that confident look, her patterns exposed, leaned against the doorframe. Her posture, her smile, her perfume, the way she approached. Mira looked away, immediately blushing, and failed miserably.

Mira and Zoey were already considering just writing a sign that said "wanna be our third?", because clearly writing a little note like two teenagers would was an infinitely safer option than trying to communicate like adults!

So they tried the second plan. Calling her on dates that Zoey meticulously planned and Mira managed to muster the courage to ask Rumi out. But something must have gone wrong, and Rumi always ended their outings saying how happy she was to spend time with her best friends.

So they were really considering the "looking for a third" sign they could put on Rumi's mailbox.

Now they stared at Rumi as she walked through the kitchen and began preparing breakfast. Zoey's eyes were fixed on her body, analyzing every tiny detail, taking advantage of the divine sight before her mere eyes. She had already memorized every curve of Rumi's body just from staring at her so much, but her loose hair gave her an absurd charm—it increased the attraction. Like a magnet. Calling to her, begging to be touched. Zoey wanted to sink her fingers into those silky strands, smell them, caress them, comb them, braid them. Maybe pull it too.

Mira gave Zoey a light tap on the ear, enough to make her look away from Rumi, but too weak to hurt her. Zoey frowned, staring at her girlfriend doubtfully.

"Huh?"

"You're drooling," Mira whispered, rolling her eyes playfully. Zoey wiped her chin and the corners of her mouth, trying to clean the area, but found no trace of saliva on her skin.

"Am not!"

Mira didn't have time to explain that she was referring to the gesture figuratively— Rumi was already close to them before she could say anything.

"What are the plans for today?" Rumi asked casually, taking her place at the table, a plate of toast ready and a cup of tea served. She started eating under the dumbfounded gaze of her friends, noticing them staring at her with silly smiles.

Rumi held her cup to sip the hot tea, winking at her friends, and Zoey let out a nervous giggle, which gradually worsened, becoming increasingly sharper as she stopped to look at Rumi's hand.

Oh.

Oh.

Zoey sat straighter in her chair, suddenly the nervousness giving way to that new sensation bubbling inside her, and she nudged her girlfriend to get her attention too.

But Mira couldn't make out anything in her girlfriend's unreadable gaze, so breakfast continued regardless of what Zoey wanted to say. Sooner or later Mira would notice. She was wearing glasses; it wasn't possible she wouldn't see it.

Rumi was discussing the possibility of them going to the mall together; she needed to update her wardrobe now that she wasn't so worried about hiding her patterns, and just the idea of ​​seeing Rumi wearing more revealing clothes made the couple break out in a cold sweat. They were practically at Rumi's mercy just seeing her waist and legs on display; getting used to her arms and shoulders being exposed would certainly bring a wave of agitated feelings to both of them.

Mira had already finished breakfast, agreeing with Rumi's idea and stating that she and Zoey would be more than happy to accompany her to buy new clothes; and then Rumi began to clear the table.

That's when Mira saw it.

On her right hand. Just two nails incredibly shorter than the others. The index and middle fingers. Mira's eyes widened at the notice, glancing sideways at Zoey and seeing her nod slowly in agreement.

Their minds wandered far away. They weren't proud of what they thought about their best friend. But they couldn't help it either.

Ryu Rumi would be the death of them both.

/////////////////////

Mira and Zoey survived the shopping trip, it only took a little self-control for them not to comment on the fact that now all of Rumi's nails were short. They focused more on enjoying the outing and helping their best friend with her shopping bags, complimenting her on every new outfit Rumi chose.

Once back at the penthouse, Zoey pulled Mira into the room and began to bring up her suspicions, wondering if Rumi had just broken her nails and then cut the others, or if Rumi was dating someone and hadn't told them, but they dismissed the possibility because there was no way that could be true, right? They saw Rumi enter the room the night before with the same pajamas they saw her wearing in the morning, and Rumi would certainly tell them if she was dating someone... right?

Right?

"Plus, I highly doubt she's a top," Zoey added, immediately covering her mouth with her hands. "I feel awful for speculating about Rumi's sex life."

"What sex life? She doesn't have one. And I agree, she has pillow princess energy—jeez, what's wrong with me? What are we talking about?"

"I feel like a virgin teenager," Zoey grumbled, throwing herself onto the bed with a loud groan. 

The image of Rumi touching herself wouldn't leave their head.

"We're both virgin teenagers, then," Mira pinched the bridge of her nose, equally feeling ridiculous about what was going through her mind at that moment. "But can we really ignore the possibility of her dating someone else? I mean, it's not entirely impossible, right?"

"I refuse!" Zoey shouted suddenly, startling Mira. "She's our girlfriend, she just doesn't know it yet. I won't accept her dating someone else, it's cheating."

"So what other reason do you think she'd have for—" Zoey didn't even let her finish speaking.

"She used those fingers to fuck me last night, that's why."

Mira rolled her eyes, but a laugh escaped her the next moment. Zoey was now going crazy with the possibility of Rumi dating someone other than them, and she would die if she didn't find out the reason for those short nails at that exact moment.

Their dinner was rather weird. Zoey and Mira had that doubt hammering in their minds so hard that they barely paid attention to the musical Rumi had chosen for them to watch that night, some animatic playing on the TV with a man in a ship, his foot tied to the mast while talking to a mermaid or whatever, they couldn't really pay much attention to it when they couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of Rumi cheating on them.

Rumi occasionally paused the musical to give relevant explanations about its mythology, and in those moments Mira and Zoey would devote all their attention to her, unable to do anything other than admire her like the two pathetic servants of their goddess. Rumi was amused by their reactions, always with bright eyes and eager to listen to whatever she had to say. Cute, even.

Rumi was constantly paying attention to her friends' movements, attentive to every little detail that indicated that they were changing around her, becoming more and more giddy in her presence each day. She had already heard them talking about her a few mornings before she'd arrive in the kitchen. She'd decided to wait. Wait for them. She wanted to let them take their time to ask her out, she waited for the day one of them would flirt directly or even confess their feelings, but until then all Rumi received was exactly what was happening in front of her that night.

Eyes gleaming with admiration, faces flushed, trembling hands clutching their own clothes, stammering whenever they tried to answer her. Rumi found their attempts at subtly flirting quite amusing, and whenever she showed the slightest interest in listening, their desperation became crystal clear.

"And then the sirens guided him to Scylla, because the only way for him to escape is through the Sea of ​​Monsters, known as the Bermuda Triangle to mortals, got it?" Rumi pointed to the screen with an excited smile, already noticing her friends' nervous glances in her direction, but this time they weren't staring directly at her. Instead, they preferred to stare at her hands.

Rumi noticed that they had been quite fixated on her hands since the morning. And if they continued to stare foolishly at her, it wasn't Rumi's fault for wanting to provoke them after so many days watching her friends' failed attempts. 

"Did you understand anything, or did you find my hands more interesting?" Rumi asked, a smirk on her face. 

Zoey and Mira suddenly snapped back to reality, their eyes wide and cheeks flushed, waving their hands in front of their faces and trying to prove they were paying attention to the musical by reciting their favorite scenes, the two speaking together, at the same time, one voice overlapping the other, forcing Rumi to pause the Scylla animatic to give attention to her favorite spectacle: Mira and Zoey in complete despair.

"And then they cut their nails—their TAILS... and dinner was sushi," Mira said, her nervous eyes darting around the room, shifting focus between the TV and Rumi and then she stared at the rug and the ceiling and–

"And then Theseus told the mermaid that she has short nails, I MEAN, that she wouldn't fool him because his wife knew they had a son and—" Zoey stumbled even more than Mira, and the two were now even more flushed than before. Rumi hadn't even thought that was possible.

"Okay, I guess you were paying partial attention, then. His name is Odysseus, by the way," Zoey and Mira froze and felt a shiver down their spines when Rumi rested the TV remote on her chin and smirked again. "Can I press play again, or do you have something to tell me?"

They swallowed hard this time. Rumi could see their desperation from there. She was amused by the speed at which they bobbed their heads up and down.

"Nothing to say? Okay then," Rumi bit her lower lip in a smile, and there were the girls' wide, fixed gazes, staring at her as if Rumi were the only thing that existed in the room. Cute.

Maybe Rumi should stop waiting for them to take the initiative and start taking matters into her own hands.

They were working so hard to prepare their dinner; Rumi could forget her own tiredness to help them, shower them with kisses, and thank them for being so amazing to their family.

But as soon as she reached the kitchen, Rumi felt a twitch in her eye.

Pressed against the counter, Zoey had her legs wrapped around Mira's thigh, one hand firmly on Mira's nape and the other caressing her cheek. Mira's hands were equally occupied, one gripping Zoey's waist and the other holding her thigh. Oh well. It seems the two of them are very preoccupied with the pots on the stove while they're making out.

Rumi cleared her throat, drawing their attention instantly. Mira caught Zoey's lower lip between her teeth as she pulled away from the kiss, and Zoey let out a soft moan.

"Hi, darling." Mira smiled, charming as always. "Are the children asleep?"

Rumi rolled her eyes and ignored what that term of endearment caused in her heart. "Yes, they're asleep. And you two seem very busy."

"Sorry Rums, a rule is a rule," Zoey said, pointing upwards. Rumi followed the direction, finding a mistletoe hanging in the cabinet.

Rumi narrowed her eyes.

"You're the one who put that there," Rumi accused. Zoey blinked a few times and placed a hand over her chest, completely offended. "Can you two get back to focusing on dinner?"

"Why don't you come here and join us instead of pretending to be worried about the food, hm?" Mira offered, intensifying the pressure of her thigh against Zoey's core, making her whine in surprise. "Come on, darling, the alarm will go off as soon as we need to get back to paying attention to the food. We still have time for a quickie."

Rumi crossed her arms and stared at the two of them completely disinterested. Zoey raised an eyebrow and giggled, finding it adorable how her wife tried to pretend she wasn't craving a little attention, but the patterns spread across her body betrayed her the moment those shades of pink and gold shone.

Mira and Zoey exchanged a suggestive look, well aware that it was up to them to break that irritated pout.

A task they accepted with a smile on their faces.

art by @lucy391