I want a fic where Zoey and Mira take care of Rumi on hand and foot soooo bad Iām literallly chomping at the bit!
It would start slow. Post canon. Somehow pre-Polytrix. One day, Rumi is complaining about taking care of her hair and Zoey asks if she can do it for her. Itās a pleasant experience, kind of hard for it not to be with the way Zoey massages her scalp and brushes her hair like sheās running her hands through silk.
Rumi had been complaining that time, so she wasnāt exactly expecting for Zoey to be impatiently waiting outside her door with a brush the next day when she woke up in the morning. Since when did Zoey get up when Rumi did? But whatever thatās not the point. Rumi had agreed for Zoey to take care of her hair for her, sure. Although she didnāt think that meant forever. But when she tried to renege on this accidental(?) kerfuffle, Zoeyās big, wet maknae eyes filled with dejection and hurt stop her in her tracks.
Really whatās so bad about just letting Zoey do her hair until sheās tired of it. Sheāll tire of it eventuallyā¦right?
Mira starts off in a similar way. Thereās a photoshoot where Rumi has to wear these really strappy heels and the stylist had helped her put them on before but at the end of the day, Seulgi-nim was off the clock and Rumi was veritably trapped. Zoey couldnāt really help either, as she wasnāt used to heels anymore than Rumi was (although she lucked out because her heels had only one clasp).
Mira, however, being the daughter of a chaebol and the groupās fashion icon, knew how to navigate the monstrosity trapping Rumi and meticulously maneuvered the straps to free her.
Again, Rumi thought nothing of it. Sheād asked her fellow hunter/group member for an assist, was rid of those toe pinching death traps, and comfortably back in her sneakers. So color Rumi fucking surprised when they get back to penthouse and Mira fully kneels to take off her shoes before shifting up onto the bench to take off her own.
But trying to get her to stop is impossible because according to Mira, āItās not fair Zoey gets to take care of you but you wonāt allow me to,ā which isā¦ which wasā¦ goddammit since when was she jealous (is jealous even the right word? It feelsā¦ apt. Anyway) about something like that. And Rumi knows that trying to offer up allowing Mira to ātake care ofā her hair too, would just be entreating on Zoey in a way that she would NOT appreciate. So, Rumi just sighs and resolves to just let it happen because clearly itās something she WANTS to do. For whatever reason. And she thinks again, sheāll get tired of it and move on to something else eventually. Like taking care of her is just a passing trend.
She couldnāt have been more fucking wrong. The both of them just raunch it up. Rumiās hand canāt touch a door knob because Zoey insists on running to every door to open it first, ushering Rumi (and technically Mira too) through before bringing up the end. The only time Zoey doesnāt get the door is if their security detail is with them and thatās only because itās literally their job to open doors for them, etc.
God forbid Rumi wants to press a button on the elevator. It took Mira slapping her hand away three or four times (so she could do it herself) before Rumi heaved a sigh and just let it go. It didnāt matter that Mira was carrying all of Zoeyās bags on her left and Rumiās bags on her right. Mira had decided pressing the elevator button was HER job now and both Zoey and Rumi just had to wait the 30-ish seconds it took for Mira to reconfigure her load to press the button.
Zoey and Mira were pretty evenly divided on their tasks and quite territorial over them too but one that they shared and probably coveted the most was feeding Rumi. Rumi didnāt know how it happened. Accepting food from the end of her group members chopsticks wasnāt unusual and often was a sign of how close they were but slowly Rumi stopped picking up her own chopsticks at all. Sheād just be done finishing a bite from Mira and Zoey would press in with another bite.
She tried (in vain) to determine what the actual hell was going on but then they would both whimper and pout like kicked puppies and she had to fold immediately.
What was the worst is that they, neither Zoey nor Mira would allow her to reciprocate in even the smallest of ways.
Rumi couldnāt brush Zoey or Miraās hair because that was Mira and Zoeyās job respectively. Same deal with the shoes. Opening doors, pressing elevator buttons, carrying bags, etc had already been delineated and she was always stepping on someone elseās toes.
She was bodily dragged from the kitchen and trapped with Derpyās inordinate mass by Mira when she dared asked to help cook. She was similarly dismissed when she tried to help Zoey with washing the dishesā¦
She tried, she TRIED to just endure it. They would tire of whatever charade or trend or whatever the hell else this was eventually, but eventually stretched into months. A year. And everyone: Bobby, Celine, the Security Detail, Costuming, Stage Hands, Fans, the damn HONMOON for fucks sake noticed.
[insert funny Twitter thread that Iām not gonna makeā¢ļø about fans catching Zoemira not allowing Rumi to left a single finger to take care of herself]
Zoey and Mira share a glance and scamper off to the couch. Very rarely did Rumi use her slightly domineering leader voiceā¦
āWhat. The. Actual. Fuck?ā
They stare. They needed more than that to go on. What had they done? Mira had already cooked dinner. Zoey had cleaned up. The evening hair brushing was done. Maybe they were a little late for the nightly face washing but Rumiās insistent need to follow a schedule couldnāt be flaring up because of the ten additional minutes Zoemira had taken for themselves. In fact, they were just about to call Rumi over to the bathroom to begin before she demanded couch time. Not that they were complaining just confused.
āYou really donāt know?ā and at their blank look Rumi scrubs a calloused hand down her face.
āWhy do you keep taking care of me?ā Itās a horrible way to phrase it and when she hears it out loud, itās a crazy thing to gripe about but it WAS unsettling. She was unsettled.
āWhy canāt we?ā Mira asked and that was the crux of that matter, wasnāt it. Rumi had been just passively accepting (okay maybe not always passively but choosing her battles in hopes of winning the overall war of endurance but apparently her endurance ran out first too, damn) whatever folly this whole charade had been but she was starting to become reliant on Zoemira which was giving the codependence accusations some real bite.
āIāve been waiting for you guys to get tired of this orāI donāt know admit this was all some weird social experiment and stop. Not, not continue going for a whole year with no end in sight. Zoey, you donāt even set the table with three pairs of chopsticks anymore! Mira, I literally waited in an empty elevator for someone to press the button for me! This is a problem and I donāt even know why itās happening or continues to happen. And, andā¦.ā she peters off, losing steam but paces the length of the table in front of the couch before turning to pace in the other direction. She gets a solid three circuits in beforeā¦
Zoey snags Rumiās wrist and pulls her down between her and Mira. Between meaning half on either of their laps which causes Rumi to whine but Zoemiraās grips are firm and arenāt giving any wiggle room.
āWe want you to be spoiled,ā Zoey starts.
āPampered,ā Mira breathes
āNot ever lifting a finger,ā
āAnd to be fair, itās not like youāre the only one getting princess treatment.ā
āYouāre not the only one who gets their hand slapped away from door handles,ā
āOr elevator buttons,ā
āBut why?ā Rumi gasps out. Starting to feel overwhelmed and a little tag teamed by the warm breaths ghosting on either side of her neck.
And at that, Rumi pauses, āā¦love how?ā Although, itās sort of ambiguous, itās clear to both Zoey and Mira what she means.
āHowever you allow,ā Mira continues for them both. To which Rumi snorts. āAllow!? Ha! As if you wonāt pout or break out the puppy dog eyes at me if I so much as carry a grocery bag.ā
Rumiās right of course but she shouldāve expected the displeasure that rolls off of Mira (especially) and Zoey, at her words. She shouldāve expected to eat those words, quite literally.
Itās the first day in months that Rumi wakes up without Zoeyās presence at her door. She waits almost an hour but she doesnāt come and slowly realizes that the talk from yesterday has finally brought all of the previous yearās shenanigans to an endā¦ so why does she feel kind of sad about it? Rumiās fingers are more unpracticed than she remembers as she struggles to braid her hair.
And her schedules been thrown off too since she waited for Zoey to comeā¦
By the time, sheās washed her face (also by herself, which really shouldnāt be so absurd), and brushed her teeth. Breakfast is waiting for her to make it.
Miraās sitting on the couch reading a book and Zoeyās next to her but wholly consumed by her switch.
āMiraās whereās breakfast?ā
āIām sure you can heat something up from the fridge.ā
And Rumi nods slowly. This was what she wantedā¦ right? But Rumiās kitchen ability has always been sort of disastrous so she settles for cup ramen and a mug of coffee from the idling pot. Luckily, eating with chopsticks required a whole lot less dexterity than braiding her hair so she doesnāt struggle nearly as much, but her hand does low-key cramp.
Zoey and Mira stare veritable holes into her head while she eats, which she pretends to not notice for a while. Itās one thing to leave Rumi to her own devices where they canāt see her. But to suffer the indignity of letting her feed herself when they delighted in doing it for her was a harder pill for them to swallow than expected. By the time Rumi pointedly cleared her throat three times and made direct eye contact, a second time, Mira and Zoey returned to their book and switch respectively.
They had a low stakes radio show scheduled for the day and so shortly after Rumi cleaned up her mess from breakfast it was time to go. Rumi had incorrectly expected that Zoemira would stop their charade with each other too but no. Mira laced up Zoeyās shoes and helped her put her jacket on and accordingly (as theyād done for months) Zoey returned the favor for Mira. Rumi, caught up watching them, haphazardly stuck her feet into some pre-laced shoes and threw her jacket over her arm which was met with disapproving looks but Zoemira remained silent on the matter.
This continued for two whole days before Rumi folded. She had her hard won autonomy back but her schedule was thrown off and she was suddenly hit with a bout of skin hunger so severe she couldnāt stomach it.
She asks Zoey and Mira back to the couch āI give up.ā
āWhat?ā Mira teases, āyou like being taken care of that much?ā
Rumi grumbles under her breath.
āWe canāt hear youuuuu!ā Zoey taunts, āDerpyās snoring too loud.ā Which he was but that didnāt make Rumi want to grumble any louder.
She does anyway, āI was wrongā¦ā
Rumi huffs, āWhat else do you want me to say?ā
Mira taps one teasing finger on her chin, āHow about, āplease take care of me againāā¦Zoey what do you think?ā
āHmm, Donāt forget, āIāll never take you guys for granted againā,ā she ponders a moment longer, āOh how about, āI deserve to be taken care ofā too. Just to make sure we cover all of our bases.ā
āOh I know! We should each get a kiss. I mean, it wasnāt like Rumi was the only one suffering these last two days. Did you see the way she put on her shoes?ā
āShe didnāt even wear her jacket.ā
āāHow she fed herselfāā they both collectively shutter.
Rumi, who had been watching the back and forth and was for all intents and purposes still in groveling mode, growled lowly at their last quips.
Zoemira share a look and as one, pull Rumi back onto their laps reminiscent of two days prior. āWell letās hear it,ā Mira says.
Rumi repeats back the essence of what they said, although not entirely verbatim.
āAnd my kiss?ā asks Zoey
At this, Rumi stills, āwhere?ā
And Rumiās treacherous eyes slip down to Zoeyās mouth instead of a perfectly platonic place (AN: honestly platonic had been the real charade that Rumi had upended between them but I digress) like her cheek but Zoey caught where her gaze landed and met her lips with a whispered, āGood choice.ā
Mira made an impatient noise beside the two of them and Zoey begrudgingly released Rumiās bottom lip for Mira to recatch in her own.
āLook at that,ā Zoey couldnāt help but get out one more quip, ābalance restored,ā
AN: Zoemira definitely plotted against Rumi from the very beginning. I saw a post (tag the author if you know who Iām talking about) that was asking what Huntrixās love languages would be and Iām officially changing my answer. I totally think that Rumi would receive love via acts of service the best because theyāre the most obvious and sheās too materially wealthy for gifts to really do anything for her. And while she likes quality time too it wouldnāt be sufficient enough for her to see that Zoemira had romanticā¢ļø feelings for her because Huntrix is incredibly insular, mostly together anyway, and Rumiās canonically dense. But sheās gonna have to figure something else out for giving love because Zoemira ARE very territorial over their acts of service. Clearly. Lmaoo
