Mira hates baby talk between couples. She finds it nauseating to watch two teenagers or, worse, grown adults speak to one another in such an infantile way. “Grow up,” she says every time she’s forced to watch two people coo at each other before swapping spit. “That’s fucking disgusting.”
Rumi, on the other hand, finds baby talk kinda funny in general, while it’s a bit more complicated for Zoey, at least when it comes to how people speak to her. If she’s feeling sick and in need of taking care of, she’s fine with it, but elsewise, she’s not a huge fan of it for reasons related to being infantilized due to her disability and status as the maknae. Neither of them mind watching other people use it with each other, though. Not like Mira does.
When the three of them get together, though, something shifts.
Zoey becomes a little more open to general baby talk from them, because she knows they respect her and are just playing around. Rumi and her are the only ones who participate in it, though, mostly just to tease one another, and maybe get Mira a little riled up. She rolls her eyes whenever they do it, shaking her head affectionately. She will admit that it’s much less gross watching them do it than anyone else, but she’s pretty sure that’s just the love goggles at play.
One day, though, Mira wakes up with a pretty bad period migraine and some nasty cramps. Her girlfriends are doting on her, being super sweet and affectionate towards her. They lay her across them, her head cradled in Zoey’s lap and legs draped over Rumi’s. Zoey massages her temples, while Rumi massages her sides.
She’d be in heaven right now if the period symptoms weren’t making her feel like hell.
It’s when she groans after an awful cramp that it slips out.
“Aw,” Zoey coos out, kissing her forehead. “Poor Mimi.”
“You want us to get you more Midol, sweetie?” Rumi asks, sickeningly saccharine in tone.
Something happens then. She expects to feel irritated. Her girlfriends know she hates that shit. She can tell they know because they freeze, before they both cringe.
Instead, she feels something softer settle in her chest. She’s not sure what to call it, but it makes her bottom lip jut out without her consciously telling it to. “Yeah,” Mira says, in a voice equally as childish and sweet as the ones they’d just spoken to her in. “Please, Ruru? Zozo?”
The panic on their faces melts away, and they smile adoringly. “Of course, darling,” Rumi responds in the same tone as before.
“Anything you need, baby,” Zoey moves her hair out of her face.
They both get up, making sure to each leave a pillow underneath her in place of their laps, and move in a flurry to get her everything she needs.
While they’re gone, she reflects on what just happened.
Okay, she concludes, maybe it’s not so bad. Maybe I like being babied a bit.
She watches them move about their apartment, her two wonderful girls who love taking care of her. Mira loves them more than anything else on this planet, in this universe.
As long as it’s Rumi and Zoey, of course. Everyone else is still gross when they do it.
