Chapter Text
As soon as they stepped into the store, the woman behind the counter raised both eyebrows, her expression caught somewhere between surprise and suspicion. Two girls so young wandering around at that hour of the night (on December 25th, no less) was already unusual. But what truly unsettled her was the mountain of items that began piling up on the counter… candy, decorations, bags upon bags that seemed endless.
Rumi watched the scene with mild confusion but didn’t interfere. She simply let Zoey grab everything she deemed necessary and toss it enthusiastically into the shopping basket Rumi was holding. Zoey moved with infectious energy, as if this little nocturnal expedition were the most natural thing in the world.
When Rumi set the basket down on the counter to pay, the mood shifted.
Zoey started patting her pockets clumsily, again and again, until her face twisted in realization.
She had forgotten her wallet. (supposedly)
The devastated expression that crossed her face was so genuine…so full of embarrassment, that Rumi had no other choice. Without saying a word, she pulled out her card (Celine’s, though she chose not to think too much about that) and paid for everything.
That was followed by hugs from Zoey and a flurry of improvised excuses and explanations meant to prevent the woman from calling the police over such abnormal behavior for two minors. (No, they weren’t running away together.) In the end, they managed to leave the store with bags in their hands and hearts still racing.
That was when Zoey, with dangerously casual ease, mentioned that she wanted to go to Rumi’s place.
Rumi frowned instantly. Her home was actually a hotel room in an upscale area. Zoey had no reason to know that, but still… a protective fury sparked in her chest as her thoughts sharpened.
“You shouldn’t ask things like that from strangers,” she scolded, her brow furrowed, even as they kept walking toward the hotel.
Zoey walked happily, carrying the bags as if nothing could possibly go wrong.
“But you’re not a stranger!” she replied simply, lifting her gaze, clearly impressed by the building towering in front of them. “You’re Rumi. You like walking around at night, you can see those weird lines on the ground, and you saved my life.”
She shrugged, as if they’d known each other forever.
Rumi pressed her own lips together.
“I mean… I’m not dangerous, but you can’t do this with just anyone,” she insisted, her tone tighter now. “Especially in the middle of the night. Aren’t you worried about what could happen to you?”
They passed through the hotel doors, the reception staff glancing at them sideways. One of the employees immediately recognized Rumi, stepping forward to open the way and call the elevator. She thanked him quietly, never taking her eyes off Zoey, irritation simmering beneath the surface.
“Yeah… I wouldn’t normally do this,” Zoey murmured as she rocked side to side inside the elevator, inspecting every detail before casually reaching toward the buttons. “But you make me feel safe, you know?”
Rumi had to gently smack her hand away before she pressed a random button.
“That’s not a real reason,” she replied, still wanting to argue as a flood of reprimands rushed through her mind.
How could her parents be so irresponsible? How could they let her leave with a stranger to a hotel? How hadn’t they noticed she was gone?
Rumi felt guilty for doing exactly what she would normally condemn. But Zoey had wanted to walk around even without her, and Rumi herself had given in, leading them both toward the hotel… even if it was only a matter of time.
Before what? Before Celine arrived? Before someone intervened and threw them back into their respective lives?
She wasn’t sure. She only knew that all the Christmas pressure was getting to her, and that the amount of socialization she’d had with Zoey had been the best part of the entire trip.
She convinced herself she was protecting her. That made it acceptable.
It wasn’t like she was kidnapping her, she reminded herself, exhaling softly as her mind settled just a bit.
The elevator doors opened, and Zoey nearly ran down the hallway, glancing back every so often to make sure Rumi was still there.
Of course she was.
“You really should be more careful,” Rumi sighed as she rummaged through her pocket until she found the room card. 515.
As soon as she opened the door, Zoey waited for Rumi to enter first before following her inside, this time with a bit more caution.
“You’re taking care of me. I don’t have any reason to be scared,” she insisted as she slipped off her shoes and left them by the entrance, mimicking each of Rumi’s movements.
Rumi decided to drop the safety argument for now, until she noticed the room was empty.
Celine hadn’t returned. She probably hadn’t even noticed Rumi was gone…
A small ache tightened in her chest.
She shook her head, turned on the light, and heard Zoey’s amazed gasp.
“Oh my God… you’re rich. Look at this place!” she whistled, awestruck.
Rumi rolled her eyes. It was big, yes…but nothing extraordinary. Or was it?
Zoey restrained herself from running around, though Rumi noticed how alert her eyes were, aware of any possible presence.
“Um… and your mentor?” Zoey asked timidly, as if she knew she was stepping on delicate ground.
Smart girl.
“She’s at the party. I don’t think she’ll be back anytime soon,” Rumi replied with a shrug. “We can stay here until she gets back.”
“I see… so it’ll just be the two of us,” Zoey smiled before carrying the bags to the center of the living room and dumping everything onto the floor. “Which is great, by the way.”
Rumi surveyed everything they’d bought, marshmallows, chocolate, cookies, Christmas ornaments of various sizes, a simple plastic star, and two fuzzy hats.
She raised an eyebrow.
Zoey immediately began sorting everything with diligence, separating the edible from the decorative. Rumi watched her, fascinated by her concentration. The furrowed brow, her body leaning forward, eyes narrowed with dedication.
It was… cute.
Almost without thinking, she took a couple of steps forward and crouched down beside her to help.
She couldn’t remember ever playing like this with another child when she was little, but she wondered if this was what it felt like. Though she no longer really felt like a child herself.
For the first time that night, she stopped thinking about Celine. Stopped thinking about consequences.
She simply let herself drift.
A soft smile began to form on her face as she reached out to start sorting the shopping bags.
“What are these supposed to be?” she asked with a crooked smile, holding up a blue plastic package that hid its contents.
“They’re good brand chocolate bars! Well, I don’t know if they’re that good… but I like them!” Zoey leaned forward, nearly bumping foreheads with Rumi as she enthusiastically pointed to the product name on the wrapper.
“Isn’t that too much sugar?” Rumi asked, lips pursed slightly as she examined the package more closely. It looked like more sugar than necessary…like enough to induce a diabetic coma… and yet it was obvious Zoey loved it.
She knew chocolate, of course. Who didn’t? But she didn’t usually consume much sugar due to her training as a hunter.
She had to be strong, stay in shape, and processed sugar was nothing but empty calories.
“Not at all! Well… if you don’t think too hard about it.” Zoey shrugged with a slightly guilty but clearly amused expression. With some effort, she opened the package, revealing the creamy, solidified bar decorated with small embossed patterns.
But she didn’t eat it right away. Instead, she grabbed two more bags and opened them without hesitation.
A bag of marshmallows and a bag of cookies.
Both just as sweet as the chocolate bar…if not more.
Then, with surprising dexterity, she placed into Rumi’s hands a cookie, a marshmallow, a square of chocolate, and another cookie.
Rumi narrowed her eyes at the carefully assembled sugar bomb now sitting in her palms.
Unfortunately for her, Zoey’s glowing expression told her she’d probably end up trying at least one of those strange desserts.
“Do you have a microwave?” Zoey asked with a satisfied grin, lifting the improvised sweet sandwich like an offering to the heavens.
Rumi stood immediately and glanced toward the kitchen with seriousness. She thought there was one, though she had no idea how to use it without Celine.
“Yeah… do you want a plate?” she asked as she moved without waiting for an answer, looking for a few more things so they wouldn’t end up with crumbs everywhere, or worse, eating on the floor.
Chocolate could melt, right?
“Please, Rumi!” Zoey called cheerfully.
Rumi prepared two generously sized plates, listening closely as Zoey continued building more sweet sandwiches behind her. Without realizing it, a small smile formed on her lips.
She picked up one of the plates and turned around, watching with a certain fascination as Zoey juggled an absurd number of cookies in her hands, practically performing tricks with them. It was… entertaining to watch.
“Here.” Rumi crouched down, extending the plate and placing it on the floor. Zoey smiled, snapping out of her focused trance, and with a bit of teamwork they managed to pile all the cookies onto the plate.
“You’ll see, when the chocolate and marshmallow melt together, it’s the most delicious thing you can eat on Christmas,” Zoey explained before suddenly jumping to her feet and rushing toward the kitchen.
Apparently, she knew exactly how to use the microwave.
Rumi heard a series of sharp beeps, and sooner than expected, the steady hum of the machine filled the room. She stood up, curious, only to find Zoey watching the plate spin inside the microwave.
It didn’t take long, but Rumi still felt a little silly staring at it going around until the cycle ended.
It was kind of hypnotic, though.
She saw Zoey about to grab the plate with her bare hands the moment it finished, and Rumi’s eyes went wide. She sprinted to grab an oven mitt she was sure she had seen somewhere.
How could Zoey be so careless?
Zoey laughed when she came back with the mitt, rolled her eyes, and gave her a light shove before stepping aside and offering her the honors.
“It can’t even be that hot, you know,” she commented.
Rumi was careful anyway. Within seconds, she maneuvered the plate cautiously and set it down on the kitchen counter, her gaze fixed on the dessert.
It looked cute.
She knew it was basically a direct invitation to diabetes… but it looked cute.
Zoey appeared at her side almost instantly.
“Look how beautiful they are!” she squealed happily, grabbing onto Rumi’s arm for a moment. “You know? Usually they melt too much or look kind of weird, but these…for some reason, they look… perfect.”
“They look fine,” Rumi admitted, reaching for one at the same time Zoey did.
The cookie was hot…much hotter than expected. Zoey let out a small yelp and dropped it immediately, shaking her hand and blowing on it a couple of times.
Rumi, on the other hand, barely felt anything. She assumed it was similar to her reaction to cold things… maybe it had something to do with her heritage. Whatever it was, it allowed her to hold the cookie without burning herself too badly.
She took a bite.
Heat flooded her mouth instantly, melting as she chewed. It was sweet. Too sweet. She let the sticky mixture cling to her teeth as she took a moment to think about the flavor.
All she could think about was sugar.
She swallowed, and when she came back to herself, she found Zoey watching her intently, waiting for her reaction.
“It’s… very sweet,” she said carefully. Panic immediately crept in when she saw Zoey’s expression falter, so she set the cookie aside and smiled. “B-But it’s not bad, I’m just not really a fan of-”
“That’s okay, maybe I can make you one with something else?” Zoey looked at her not with defeat, but with a furrowed brow, as if it were a challenge. Or as if it frustrated her not being able to please her.
“N-No, really, it’s not necessary and-”
“Seriously, it’s fine if I-!”
Rumi glanced around, feeling an imaginary pressure tighten in her chest. Unsure how to handle it, she fiddled with her hands until she remembered a forgotten package in her bedroom drawer.
“Sesame crackers. I think something savory in the middle of all the sweet would be great…don’t you think?” she said with a small smile, knowing it looked a bit crooked, but not really caring.
The anxiety on Zoey’s face melted away. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity, as if Rumi had suddenly grown a second head.
“Uh… if you’re sure, then yeah!”
So Rumi dashed off to her room to retrieve the package. Soon enough, they repeated the process with sesame crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate.
Zoey frowned and shuddered at the combination, but Rumi was determined to try it.
They prepared just one cookie to test it, and the moment Rumi took the first bite, her eyes lit up.
“It’s delicious,” she murmured, covering her lips with the palm of her hand.
Zoey pressed her lips together, clearly trying not to make a face of disgust.
“Are you absolutely sure that won’t leave you stuck in the bathroom for two hours afterward?” she asked in a high-pitched tone.
“The balance is perfect. It probably lowers the sugar a bit and won’t send me into a diabetic coma,” Rumi replied pointedly.
“What?!”
“Here, try it… it’s better.” Rumi offered her half of the cookie.
Zoey stared at it in horror, but eventually gave in with a defeated huff. She took a bite, her face twisting for a moment as she shut her eyes and chewed very, very fast.
Still, she didn’t spit it out or gag. She just swallowed… and licked her lips.
“The flavor is… weird,” she admitted, taking another small bite.
Rumi smiled, feeling strangely happy that she kept eating it. It felt good. Somehow, it felt really good…
“Can I make more like this?” she asked, noticing her smile widen.
Zoey nodded enthusiastically. After all, despite Rumi’s horrible taste, she didn’t seem annoyed, just delighted to be able to please her.
“Of course! Go ahead, make as many as you want!”
Rumi focused on preparing more of those sweet-and-savory contrast cookies. There was something oddly satisfying about the repetitive motion of assembling them…cracker, chocolate, marshmallow, cracker. Over and over again. A silly, almost childish joy bloomed in her chest as she made more and more, until she finally ran out of marshmallows and little chocolate squares. Then she carefully arranged everything on the plate and put it in the microwave, with Zoey at her side helping her set the right time.
While they waited, so they wouldn’t just stare at the plate spinning again, Rumi noticed Zoey grabbing the other plate (the one with the sweet cookies) and heading eagerly toward the huge television in the living room.
“Wow… it even has a CD player. That’s impressive,” Zoey whispered as she hurried to grab the remote and turn on the screen. “Did you know there’s a party on today where a lot of super famous artists are going to be?”
She said it with genuine excitement, almost reverence.
For Rumi, on the other hand, the words felt like a bucket of cold water.
“Uh… yeah… I think so,” she replied quietly. She clenched her teeth and glanced sideways at the microwave, as if she needed to confirm it hadn’t finished yet. Her hands began to fidget in her lap again, a nervous habit she knew all too well.
Zoey flipped through the channels until she found the broadcast of the gala. A reporter spoke at lightning speed, in a language Rumi didn’t understand. The irritation returned immediately, along with that uncomfortable sense of inferiority for not knowing what was being said. It bothered her far more than she would ever admit out loud.
She counted to ten in her head, slowly, before turning away and heading back to the kitchen.
“Celine, from the Sunlight Sisters, is going to show up. She won’t sing… but if I manage to see her on camera, I’ll take it as a Christmas gift,” Zoey sighed distractedly, practically drooling in front of the TV.
Rumi wrinkled her nose but didn’t comment.
“The gala is just incredible, you know? The decorations, the people… I bet the food is amazing!” Zoey clasped her hands excitedly before grabbing a cookie and stuffing it whole into her mouth.
“It’s not that great,” Rumi murmured when she heard the microwave beep. She quickened her pace, ignoring the little sounds of frustration Zoey let out.
“The performances are great and… Celine makes up for how much they talk,” Zoey added more quietly. Rumi could tell she was slightly annoyed by the comment, but she knew she wouldn’t change her mind even if she tried.
“Celine is fine. The party isn’t,” Rumi replied, frowning as she opened the microwave and pulled out the plate. “I don’t know why anyone would bother flying that long just to attend an event like that.”
“It’s okay if you don’t like it… but can I leave it on?” Zoey asked, far more gently than Rumi expected.
It wasn’t that she was completely against the event. It just… didn’t appeal to her.
And it wasn’t like watching it caused her physical pain.
“You can leave it on. It’s fine,” she said at last, her tone calmer.
Zoey hummed along to a few of the performances that followed, until suddenly she turned her attention back to Rumi.
“I think we’re forgetting a very important tradition,” she said thoughtfully, resting a hand on her chin.
Rumi brought one of her cookies to her mouth, watching her with confusion.
“We don’t have to do everything, you know?” Rumi added slowly, covering her mouth with her hand as she chewed. “I liked the cookies.”
Zoey nodded, but then her brow furrowed with unexpected seriousness. “I mean, yeah… but I also bought a lot of decorations, and it would be a shame not to use them.” She pointed at the pile of things they had bought.
Well…technically, that Rumi had bought.
(Celine, really.)
“And where do you want to use them?” Rumi asked, tilting her head. She finished swallowing and felt a slight tension when she saw Zoey grin widely before dragging over a large potted plant.
Rumi frowned.
“You’re not going to hang things on the plant, are you?”
It was a question, yes… but the tone sounded dangerously close to a threat. Zoey noticed immediately.
“Don’t worry,” she smiled reassuringly. “I won’t hurt the leaves!”
She turned to grab a few random ornaments and carefully placed them inside the pot, resting them on the soil.
“See?”
Rumi blinked slowly, processing the scene.
Like this… the plant wouldn’t look decorated at all…
But they also weren’t damaging anything.
Carefully, she stepped closer and picked up one of the colorful ornaments. She placed it near one corner of the pot.
In silence, the two of them kept arranging the decorations, creating small improvised patterns. When they finished, they both smiled.
“And done! What do you think?” Zoey leaned in close enough that their shoulders brushed.
Rumi could see it clearly. It was the same plant as always. No lights, no snowflakes. And yet… it looked different.
Not better…just different.
And that was enough. It made her smile a little more.
“It’s fine… it actually looks pretty good.” She felt a gentle shove against her shoulder and looked up to find Zoey wearing an almost smug expression.
“Come on! You have to like it more than the TV show, at least.”
Zoey nudged her again. Rumi frowned and lightly punched her arm, just hard enough to make her squeal with laughter.
“I definitely like it more than that event,” Rumi said, rubbing the hand she had used to hit her before discreetly grabbing another cookie. She didn’t care that her hands had been in the dirt. It probably wouldn’t matter.
Zoey huffed.
“And I can’t believe you don’t like it,” she said in a high-pitched, exaggeratedly wounded tone.
“It’s empty entertainment,” Rumi replied honestly. “Most of them are just pretending to be happy… whether they’re singing or watching others sing.”
“That’s fair… I think I get it,” Zoey said, watching her closely.
Rumi hesitated.
She didn’t think Zoey really understood.
“Do you?”
Zoey didn’t answer. Instead, she dragged the decorated plant next to the television and crouched behind it. Several concerning noises followed, and Zoey had to stand on her tiptoes to reach the cables.
Finally-
“There!” she smiled when the screen went black, Western letters floating over it.
Rumi narrowed her eyes, confused.
Zoey pouted when she realized and unzipped her jacket. She pulled out a pristine CD inside a clear case.
“Look… if Celine herself doesn’t convince you, nothing will!”
Rumi stared at her in disbelief as Zoey carefully inserted the disc and grabbed the remote. She pressed a button.
The volume blasted suddenly, making Rumi flinch. Zoey lowered it… just a little.
“You’ll see why being an idol is so amazing,” she said confidently.
Rumi had no hope. But she wasn’t going to stop her.
The video started with somewhat questionable quality. It was clearly homemade…
And yet, Rumi watched.
Her chest tightened the moment they appeared on screen.
There was Celine, standing in the center, flanked by her mother and the third member of the group. They stood so close together it was impossible to think of them as separate. A knot slowly formed in Rumi’s throat. She had never had the courage to ask Celine about the other woman, about the full story. She only knew fragments… how her own existence had ended up taking Celine away from her mother, and her from her father… how, even so, Celine had chosen to take care of her out of the deep love she had once felt for that woman.
It was a story that always made her skin prickle, that pushed her thoughts into dark, quiet places where guilt became heavy and constant.
But this time… this time was different.
She had never seen Celine perform with the Sunlight Sisters.
The Sunlight Sisters spoke to the audience, and every phrase, no matter how small or insignificant, provoked an exaggerated, overflowing reaction. The screams were deafening, filled with an emotion so pure that Rumi struggled to process it. Beside her, Zoey bounced in place, letting out muffled noises every time Celine spoke, as if she physically couldn’t contain herself.
The way Celine and the others smiled at the crowd hurt Rumi’s chest. It wasn’t the forced smile she had seen at the gala, the one that looked pasted on. No. This felt genuine. Real. Celine even let out a small laugh on stage… something incredibly rare these days.
Rumi brought a hand to the center of her chest without realizing it.
She didn’t feel bad.
Maybe… just a little moved.
And then, the performance began. The real performance.
They were dazzling. There was no other word for it. Every movement was precise, polished down to the smallest detail. Every verse flowed into the next with an almost unreal smoothness. The song wasn’t bad at all… in fact, it was beautiful.
Rumi knew it. She had heard it before, live, sung by Celine alone. But this was different. There was no background noise here, no distractions…just a unified harmony that sounded even better than the memory she carried. Celine looked… beautiful. Not just because of how she looked, but because of how she sang, how she moved and how she smiled.
Her voice was ten times more captivating paired with that sincere expression.
Rumi realized she was smiling.
Then, another voice joined the Sunlight Sisters’ singing.
Zoey.
Her singing was a little messy, but her voice was sweet and clear. She started singing and jumping, clenching her fist near her lips as if holding an invisible microphone. When she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Rumi was watching, she simply winked at her, confident.
Rumi let out a small, almost incredulous laugh.
The song was energetic, vibrant, and Zoey didn’t hesitate to turn the volume up. She’d probably end up with a headache later… but at that moment, she couldn’t care less.
Rumi’s chest tightened again as she watched the audience jumping in euphoria. Zoey was doing it beside her. Celine was doing it on the screen.
This… this was something she could actually enjoy.
Warm gazes, cheers of encouragement, signs filled with hearts and messages of support (some over-the-top, others clumsy, but all sincere) flooded the scene. It was too much.
Rumi looked away from the television for a moment and turned to Zoey.
The girl was jumping and dancing beside her, singing at the top of her lungs… She knew the lyrics perfectly, flawless and fluid, even the fast parts. She spun with energy, with a happiness so obvious it was contagious.
And then Rumi felt it.
That impulse.
She knew the lyrics too.
She took a few tentative steps toward Zoey. At first, her lips only mouthed the words silently, almost shyly, while a new wave of cheers echoed through the room. She heard a small gasp… Zoey had noticed her.
Rumi’s fist rose near her lips again. She shrank back and shook her head quickly.
But Zoey didn’t retreat.
She stepped closer with complete ease and offered her hand again, looking at her with a disarming tenderness, as if there were no problem at all with her joining in.
And Rumi started to sing.
She really did.
Not as loudly as Zoey at first, but she felt it in her whole body, the ease with which the words flowed from her throat, the vibration resonating through the room, fitting perfectly with the video still playing.
She noticed that Zoey had stopped singing.
When she turned her head, she found her staring at her. There was a faint blush on her face, an expression that made Rumi feel… Flattered.
It was the same look Zoey had when she bragged about her strength, when she watched her with admiration, when Rumi had saved her at the park.
She smiled and allowed herself to wink back at her playfully.
Zoey lowered her chin, grinned widely, and without warning, launched an attack. They both started jumping and moving together, singing the final verses and choruses with all the energy they had left.
Rumi’s eyes darted from Zoey to the audience, from the audience to the Sunlight Sisters.
She felt her body fill with an unfamiliar rush of adrenaline… a surge she hadn’t known she was capable of feeling over something like this.
When the song ended, they were both panting. They let themselves fall onto the floor, surrounded by decorations and food remnants, laughing without realizing it.
Zoey was smiling, satisfied, and Rumi felt something warm bloom in her chest.
It was almost ethereal. Something new.
“You sing amazingly!” Zoey bumped her shoulder lightly before settling on her back, staring up at the ceiling.
“Not really…” Rumi huffed.
“Oh my God, you’re one of those people who say ‘it’s nothing’ after doing something that deserves a damn award,” Zoey replied, covering her face with one arm, still smiling.
Rumi couldn’t help but blush.
“Well… you did great too,” she said, leaning slightly toward her. She wanted to see her like that again. More of that energy. More of that voice. More.
It had to be the same feeling people had at Sunlight Sisters concerts. That contagious emotion, that fullness.
If it was possible to create something like that… something genuine for others…
Maybe being an idol wasn’t so bad. Maybe she wouldn’t hate her future so much.
“That’s what’s beautiful about being an idol,” Zoey said, sitting up to look at her more seriously. “Giving your good energy, your hours of effort and talent, just to make people happy. There are awful days, days when you feel stuck in a box… then I get home, put on one of their performances, and I don’t feel so alone anymore. It’s like everything gets better.”
She pointed at the small CD booklet.
Rumi nodded slowly. She thought she understood. Those moments when nothing else mattered.
“I’d love to be able to give that back someday,” Zoey continued, hugging herself slightly. “I have so many ideas… I think I could do it.”
“What about freestyle and K-pop?” Rumi asked with a shy smile.
Zoey’s eyes lit up.
“You get it!” she exclaimed, rolling over until she bumped into Rumi’s arm.
Rumi tensed slightly… but didn’t move away.
They stayed there, catching their breath, while the snow fell quietly on the other side of the window.
“You were right… maybe shows aren’t so bad,” Rumi admitted softly, letting the back of her head rest gently against the cold floor. She closed her eyes for a moment and, for the first time in a long while, allowed her body to fully relax.
Beside her, Zoey let out a brief, satisfied laugh, still breathing a little hard from singing and jumping nonstop.
“You have a really nice voice,” she said casually. “I’d love to hear you sing Adele songs… even if your English is terrible.”
Rumi reacted almost without thinking. She lifted her hand and lightly smacked the top of Zoey’s head.
“Quiet,” she warned, trying to sound intimidating.
The smile that slipped out betrayed her completely.
Zoey stuck out her tongue without a hint of guilt, and barely a second later, they both let out a soft, sincere laugh, the kind that doesn’t need explaining.
Rumi stared at the ceiling as the laughter slowly faded. Something in her chest remained warm, steady, like a quiet ember. It wasn’t euphoria. It wasn’t fear. It was… comfort. A strange, new feeling.
This felt good.
She still didn’t fully understand Christmas. She didn’t understand why people clung so tightly to those dates, to the lights or decorated trees. But being there, with Zoey…making absurdly sweet desserts, decorating crooked potted plants, and singing Sunlight Sisters songs at the top of their lungs without worrying about looking ridiculous…
That, she understood.
It felt good. So good she almost forgot about the outside world.
The sound of the door flying open shattered the moment completely and both of them sat up at once.
Celine appeared in the doorway, breathing hard, whether from the cold rushing in from outside or from having arrived in too much of a hurry. Her hair was messy, strands stuck to her forehead, and her slightly smudged makeup gave her a strangely human look, far from the flawless image Rumi was used to seeing.
For a second, Celine seemed not to understand what she was seeing.
Then her eyes landed on Zoey.
Zoey, for her part, froze completely. Her eyes widened as she silently compared the real person standing in front of her to the image she had seen on screens so many times. Her breath caught in her chest, as if she feared that any movement might break the scene.
Rumi noticed everything.
And still, she smiled. As if she truly hadn’t done anything wrong.
She got up slightly, took a step toward Celine, and lowering her voice, asked with a shyness she rarely allowed herself….
“Can we keep her?”