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Chapter Text

Mira

Mira immediately narrowed her eyes in suspicion at the nervous smile Rumi gave her and Zoey when she entered the living room of their apartment after going on—yet another—date with Jinu.

“Hey you two,” Rumi greeted, her voice too high. “I have a favor to ask. For a good deed.”

Zoey and Mira exchanged a look, Zoey curious, Mira wary.

“Sure, Rumi,” Zoey said. “What is it?”

Rumi’s smile remained nervous. “Well, as we all know, the Saja Boys have been doing great at continuing to pretend to be human, even though they live on our plane full time now. But it turns out that without replenishing their energy in the demon realm, they can’t keep maintaining their human forms without help. But Jinu and I discovered that we hunters can help! Our hunter energy suppresses their demonic energy.”

Zoey slid an uncertain look at Mira before saying, “We definitely want to help them with that. The Saja boys have all kept their promise to be kind to humans since the golden Honmoon kept them here. We don’t want anything to give away their former identity as demons.”

Former identity. As though the fact that there were now trapped here somehow changed what they were. Though they had kept their promise, like Zoey said. So far, anyway. “And just what does this help look like?” Mira demanded, putting a hand on her hip.

Mira was not encouraged by the red that slowly climbed Rumi’s face as she stopped meeting Mira and Zoey’s eyes. “Oh, it’s not that big of a deal. They just . . . need to be close to us for a little bit on a regular basis.”

Mira narrowed her eyes again. “How close?”

“Skin to skin contact?” Rumi’s voice sounded like she was making it a question, but she rushed to add, “Just totally innocent touches though, I promise.”

Right. Mira believed her, but she imagined Rumi and Jinu did not discover this trick through innocent touches.

Rumi continued, “Jinu and I want to schedule bi-weekly movie nights between us and the Saja Boys to help them out. So for the movie we’ll just sit by them and hold their hands or something. That’s not too bad, right?”

Zoey’s eyes brightened as her cheeks turned red. “Sure, right, yeah. No big deal. We can totally do that, right, Mira?”

Mira’s lips pressed together. She’d promised not to kill the Saja Boys so long as they left humans alone—other than by making them obsessed with their music, but that was normal for a Kpop band. She had not agreed to help the demons. But both Zoey and Rumi looked so hopeful that she forced out, “Sure.”

It physically hurt even just to say the word.

~.~

Romance

“You’ve got be kidding me!” Abby yelled, holding his hands up to the light of their living room in their shared apartment, showing off the faint outlines of his pattern. “We think we have our new life here all set as the Saja Boys, and then this happens? What are we supposed to do?”

“Calm down,” Jinu said, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. “Rumi and I figured things out. We just need regular physical contact with the hunters for their energy to suppress our demonic energy. Rumi talked with the rest of Huntrix earlier, and they agreed to help.”

Romance perked up at that. Mira agreed to help? His Mira? Not that she was his in any way except inside his head . . . but still, he never would have thought that the beautifully volatile Mira would agree to help demons. Was it stupidly optimistic to hope that just maybe she wanted an excuse to see him? Probably, but he could pretend otherwise.

Mystery shrugged as he leaned back on the couch. “I’m good then. Zoey’s totally into me. She’ll probably be glad to hold my hand.”

Baby pointed a warning finger at him. “She and I have more in common. We’re both the rappers of our bands, so we’ll connect over that, and she’ll be way more into me than you soon.”

Mystery made a dismissive sound over Baby’s argument as Abby smirked. “Mira has been into me from the beginning. This will totally work out well.”

Romance tensed. “Mira wants to kill you just as much as she does the rest of us.” The burning urge to slay them all flashed in her eyes every time she saw them, no matter the smile she put on for any fans who might be watching. It was one of the hottest things Romance had ever seen. And did not help his fantasies about her trying to kill him, and then her attempts turning into a frantic make-out session between them instead. According to some of the books he was reading to relearn human behavior, that was totally possible. There was even a name for it: enemies to lovers. He and Mira totally had enemies to lovers energy.

“And Mira is into your abs, not into you,” Romance clarified. That was an important distinction.

Abby puffed out his chest as he gestured at his torso. “My abs are part of me. She can’t get the abs without the rest of me—and the abs alone are enough for anyone to want all of me, let alone everything else I bring.”

Which was what? His ego?

Mystery and Baby shared a look before Mystery said, “Whatever she feels, you two need to make it work, because Jinu won’t want anyone touching his girlfriend, and Zoey will be my and Baby’s anti-demon energy shield.”

Anti-demon energy shield. That was a long name. And not exactly what Romance wanted from Mira, but thing would have to start that way. And then hopefully evolve into more. “How will they be helping us?” Romance asked.

“We’ll have movie nights with them every other week, and we’ll share skin-to-skin contact with them during that time,” Jinu explained.

Romance swallowed heavily as he shivered at the thought of getting to touch Mira. He very much wanted an excuse to, though he knew she wouldn’t welcome his touch. She wouldn’t welcome any touch from a demon but . . . was it possible she would prefer Abby’s touch to his simply because of Abby’s abs? But Romance was more charming. Way more charming. He had to find a way to take advantage of this to get close to Mira. Especially before she got caught up in Abby’s one and only defining feature.

Chapter Text

Abby

Abby smirked when Huntrix walked into their apartment, his gaze on Mira. She gave him a murderous glare in return. It burned him up inside—but definitely not the way she undoubtedly hoped it would. Why was there something so alluring about the fact that she wanted to kill him but wouldn’t? Did he like the edge of danger she brought with her lethal good looks?

Mystery and Baby immediately went to Zoey, each of them taking one of her hands as they led her to a section of the couch while she blushed and giggled over whatever Baby was murmuring to her.

Idiots. They were flirting way too early. Except that was probably Abby’s jealousy speaking because Mira was now glaring at a wall as she crossed her arms over her chest, nonverbally screaming Do not touch me.

Romance took a step toward her, then hesitated, wavering uncertainly as he glanced at Jinu and then Abby, as though looking for direction on what to do next.

Jinu stepped up beside Rumi, putting an arm over her shoulders as he spoke to Huntrix. “Thank you so much for coming, all of you. We really appreciate your help with keeping us . . .”

“With helping you fake that you’re human?” Mira offered.

Rumi gave her a warning smile. “They were human and now they’re becoming human again. It’s not just about their looks, but about how they choose to act. Remember how we talked about this? And we’re supporting their efforts.”

Mira didn’t look impressed at Rumi’s little speech.

Romance stepped forward, his hand over his heart, a simpering smile on his face. “Like Jinu said, we’re so happy to have you ladies here. As you’ve seen, Mystery and Baby have claimed Zoey, and Rumi, of course, will help Jinu, so me and Abby will be with you.”

Abby bristled over Romance talking first. Abby had been hoping to create more intrigue around himself by dragging out smirking at Mira without talking, but now he felt like he was losing to Romance. He held his hand out to Mira. “If you would.”

She kept her arms crossed over her chest, her glare turning murderous. “Yeah, no. Not happening.”

Now it was Abby giving Jinu the uncertain look. Mira was here. Didn’t that mean she came to help? Or was she backing out of it?

He couldn’t have that, not when this was his best chance of getting close to her. He cocked a challenging eyebrow as he pulled his arm back. “Too afraid to take my hand? I get it. We are two powerful demons, after all.”

Zoey gave an awkward laugh to break the murderous silence now filling the room. “Haha, so funny! Like you don’t all know that Mira can take on ten demons by herself. She just wants a . . . less intimate touch.”

Mira turned a dark look on her friend—though it was far friendlier than the glares she’d given Abby and Romance. Which gave him a stupid sense of superiority, like those looks were just for them. Though he’d like it even better if it was just for him.

“I can talk for myself, Zoey,” Mira declared before sitting on a different section of the couch. She kept her arms over her chest, crossing one leg over the other. And exposing an unfair amount of thigh as her skirt rode up. If only Abby could find a way to expose his chest to entice her to want to be closer . . . but maybe he should save that for another time, when she wasn’t so on guard.

She leaned back, looking like a queen ordering around those beneath her as she declared, “I’m not touching either of you. You can both pick a visible spot above my waist to touch. If I don’t object, I won’t hit you.”

He swallowed. Why was this so sexy?

Romance sat down beside her first, and Abby quickly followed on the other side, reaching for her exposed arm. Except Romance placed his hand on her neck, which felt like way more of an intimate spot. Abby quickly followed, hoping no one had noticed he’d switched positions. It was possible. Zoey was quietly giggling again from something either Mystery or Baby had said, while Jinu and Rumi took their seats, pretending not to snuggle as they cuddled up next to each other, and Mira’s gaze was on the blank TV screen looking like she wished the movie was already over.

With everyone seated, Jinu started the movie and everyone went silent.

Only ten minutes passed before Abby felt stupid for getting so hot just by resting his hand against Mira’s neck. Yeah, that seemed more intimated than her arm, but he wasn’t really doing anything. Except he could feel how perfectly soft her skin was, and it was driving him mad not to stroke it. Especially since he wanted to drive her as crazy as she was driving him.

If only he could claim his feelings were so extreme just because of how her hunter energy was interacting with his, suppressing his demonic energy and visibly turning his skin back to normal. Except he didn’t have any interest in Rumi or Zoey when they were near him after they entered the apartment.

This was especially annoying when he knew she was attracted to his body. Sitting next to each other like this should be as difficult for her as it was for him. Instead she was probably contemplating whether she could find an excuse to run him through with her moon blade.

At least Romance was probably struggling more than he was. 

~.~

Romance

Romance’s lips jutted in a pout as Baby started feeding Zoey treats, arguing she didn’t have a free hand so she needed the help. And she was letting him. Romance wanted to feed Mira. From nearly the moment they’d met, he’d been struck by how sexy she was.

She was by far the fiercest of the hunters, and so walled off. But he wasn’t looking to break her walls down, he wanted to be inside them, allowed where so few were.

And he really, really wanted to place his lips where his hand was resting against her neck and taste her. Would she be sensitive there? So sensitive that she’d be overcome by his touch and resist the urge to stab him? If they were alone, he might be tempted to try.

Somehow, the movie ended without him catching a single word of it. He opened his mouth to thank Mira, but before he could, she was on her feet and out the door. His mouth still hung open, the words caught on his tongue. How had she moved so fast?

Zoey sounded overly cheerful as she said, “Mira did really well.”

“Better than I thought she would,” Rumi admitted. “She lasted the whole movie.”

Barely. But Romance wasn’t going to complain to the rest of Huntrix about that. And maybe they were right—this was a great first step. They just needed to keep it going, so he was grateful that they needed the hunters’ help.

Baby stroked Zoey’s hand as he told her, “You did well. You were perfect.”

“Totally perfect,” Mystery agreed, before adding, “For us.”

Romance had thought Zoey’s face was red before, but it turned an entirely different shade at their praise as she squeaked out a thanks for their words.

He didn’t need to see more of what he didn’t have—yet—so he gave the room in general a smile before leaving for his room.

With a new chance at life in the human world, of course Romance had imagined what it would be like to get close to Mira. They worked in the same field, after all, and fans went crazy over seeing Huntrix and the Saja Boys together for anything.

But now that things had turned out this way . . . she would have to be close to both him and Abby. And with the Saja Boys needing regular physical contact with the hunters, it was possible the three women were the only women the Saja Boys could be with, because it wasn’t as though other women would be very understanding of them regularly cozying up to the incredibly hot women of Huntrix.

Which meant that if Romance and Abby were both going to be with someone, Mira would have to accept both of them. Except it would be a miracle to convince her to accept one demon as a romantic partner, let alone two.

Maybe this whole ‘close physical contact’ thing wasn’t as much as a blessing as it had seemed at first.

Chapter Text

Romance

Soon after the movie night, it ended up just Romance and Abby in the apartment—which was perfect. Romance approached his bandmate while he was in the kitchen, drinking a soda. One with the Saja Boys’ face on it, of course.

Romance leaned casually against the counter, trying to remember all the arguments he’d listed in his head for why Abby should back off. He wanted to handle this logically. “Hey, so, you like harassing Mira, right?”

Abby looked at him like he was deranged. “What?”

Maybe that wasn’t the best way to start, but his intent had been to point out that, unlike Romance, Abby did not have feelings for Mira.

“You like harassing Mira,” Romance repeated. “Like at the signing where the Saja Boys joined Huntrix. You didn’t really care about you signing stuff over her signing it, you just wanted to rile her up.”

Abby’s eyes narrowed, the can in his hands crinkling as his grip tightened. “Your point?”

“I want her.” He didn’t mince his words. Romance wanted to be upfront with what they both wanted from Mira—and then be clear about how that meant they should each interact with her going forward. Namely meaning Abby not getting in his way. “I want something real with her. I have since the second time we meet them. So could you—”

“And you assume I don’t?” Abby interrupted.

Romance’s hands twitched. Like Abby really thought of anyone but himself. Maybe he wanted Mira to desire him, but Romance wanted all of her. “You don’t treat her like you do.”

Abby’s eyes darkened as he smashed the soda can before throwing it in a bin. “You don’t know what I want. And how I treat her is none of your business. If you’re so afraid she won’t want you over me that you’d try to tell me to back off, let me ease your fears for you: no matter what, she’d choose me over you. You can’t do anything to stop it.”

Romance’s teeth ached, his fangs threatening to come out as the fingernails pressing into his hands became too sharp. Apparently, strong emotion could bring out their demonic side. “You are so arrogant! I bet Mira hates that about you. She probably wishes you were nothing more than a poster to look at so she never had to listen to you talk.”

Abby’s chin tilted arrogantly as he looked down his nose at Romance, emphasizing the height difference between them. “You have no idea what she wants or finds attractive. But I’m certain she wants a challenge, not some weak man simpering over her.”

He left the kitchen, making sure to bump against Romance with his shoulder as he left.

~.~

Abby

Inside his room, Abby threw himself on top of his bed. After his conversation with Romance, he couldn’t help indulging in his latest obsession. Watching videos of Mira.

Taking out his phone, he pulled up some clips. It didn’t matter what they were. Interviews. Her on stage, singing and dancing. Greeting her fans.

She was always so sexy and alluring on stage, and he wanted her to turn some of those looks on him. And how she looked with her fans . . . it was sweet. A totally different side of her that she didn’t show at other times. And he kind of wanted the care that she showed them turned on him too—sometimes, because he wanted all of her. Her fiery temper, her unbending spirit, her softness towards those she cared for.

He had a secret folder where he saved all of his favorite videos of her. Which he maybe watched too often, but there was a reason he called this an obsession.

Annoyed, he dropped the phone on the bed, folding his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. It wasn’t like him to get infatuated so easily. He wasn’t someone taken in through just a few moments, like Romance was.

Maybe it was because absorbing the hunters’ energy had weird side effects, except it seemed like everyone else was fine. Unless they were just pretending . . .

He waited until the others got home before cornering Baby in his room. Abby shut the door behind him so no one would overhear their conversation. “Hey, do you feel . . . differently about Zoey? Now that you’ve mixed her energy with yours or whatever?”

Baby regarded him with a deadpan expression. “No.”

Abby narrowed his eyes accusingly. “You were feeding her. Are you telling me that’s normal behavior for you?”

A secretive smile played at the corners of Baby’s lips, like he was enjoying remembering what he’d done to the Huntrix rapper. “I already thought Zoey was intriguing before. Her lyrics are great, and her rapping is amazing.” He hesitated. “I researched her before, looking for any weaknesses, since she was our enemy. I’m not upset that she’s not anymore, but, like I said, I thought she was interesting before ever touching her.”

That wasn’t helpful. Though would Baby really know if his interest had increased since the movie night? Maybe it just felt normal to think about her more after finally having an opportunity to be near her if he’d already wanted to get to know her more.

He went to find Mystery next, asking him the same question.

“Different?” Mystery repeated, as though it were a foreign word. “How?”

Abby shifted uncomfortably. He was not explaining what he meant by that. “Just . . . do you think about her more now?”

Mystery scowled. “Only about how Baby got too close to her. He acted like she was a pillow and a stuffed animal for half the movie. And I just found out he’s been texting her.”

Abby twitched. Baby was texting Zoey? But still seriously claimed that he wasn’t thinking about her differently? Well, maybe it really wasn’t differently, but it certainly had to be more, if he was texting her. Abby would bet his perfect set of abs that Baby hadn’t been texting her before then. And if Mystery was still bothered by Baby getting close to Zoey during the movie, clearly he was thinking about her—and probably more than he had been before the movie night.

Abby considered pushing, asking more questions about Mystery’s jealousy . . . but Mystery would probably make excuses, like saying he just wanted his anti-demon energy shield, or whatever he’d called her before, to like him best since he’d need her help for the rest of his life.

Besides, Mystery had basically affirmed that Abby was right about where his deep interest in Mira was coming from, right?

Chapter Text

Mira

Mira couldn’t help feeling on alert as she worked out in a training room owned by her music label for the use of their stars. And it wasn’t just because of Romance’s presence in the room. Who she was pretending like he wasn’t there. Any time he tried to catch her eyes, she stared straight ahead and the two times he looked like he might talk to her, she upped the volume of her music, giving her the excuse that she couldn’t hear anything over her earbuds. Not that she would feel the need to respond even without them, but they provided an excuse for her to at least pretend at politeness.

But the real reason for her alertness was that Huntrix had discovered that the Saja Boys weren’t the only demons trapped on this side when the Golden Honmoon set. And, from what they could tell, only the Saja Boys were interested in adapting to their new reality and learning to live as humans. The others were all dead set on killing the hunters in the hope that their deaths would lead to the Honmoon breaking apart.

Which Mira was pretty certain was wishful thinking on their part, but who had ever accused demons of being intelligent? And with them more determined than ever to kill the hunters, being alone—as in without Zoey and Rumi—made her the tiniest bit anxious, because she’d never fought demons alone before. Though she would probably be okay. Before, they’d had to worry about being overwhelmed by the number of demons coming through gaps in the Honmoon, but there were no gaps now. The number of demons on this plane couldn’t increase.

Though she discovered when Romance left that a sliver of her anxiety might have been from him trying to capture her attention. Thank goodness. Her shoulders relaxed and slight smile lit her face as she finished her run on the treadmill.

There had been four movie nights now, and he kept trying to thank her at the last one until her glares finally silenced him. She wasn’t interested in being thanked for helping demons to trick humans. Even if the Saja Boys hadn’t shown any signs of aggression yet.

Done with her workout, she changed and stepped outside into the dark night. Where she found Romance surrounded by multicolored demons covered in their signature patterns.

She froze, the first thought running through her mind that the Saja Boys were working with these guys and looking to lower Huntrix’s guard. Except, they were surrounding him. And they didn’t look happy.

“Traitor scum!” one of the demons yelled in a scratchy voice.

“You and the other stupid Saja Boys think you’re so much better than us now, with your pretty faces and your obnoxious singing.”

“They live in a building with a pool!” another demon accused, like that was some sort of crime. Except, Huntrix didn’t have a pool in their building, so the Saja Boys better not have one.

The thickest demon hissed at the rest. “None of that matters! It’s them working with the hunters, our greatest enemy, that makes the Saja Boys traitors, not the nice things that they have!”

A short demon grumbled that it didn’t help. Then, almost as if some sort of signal had been given, the demons lunged at Romance from all sides.

Mira tensed as he shifted to his demon form, a purple-tint and patterns appearing on his skin as he swiped at his attackers with his claws. It wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. So Mira guessed she was about to find out how she did fighting without Zoey and Rumi by her side.

Still, she groaned under breath, throwing up just a little in her throat that she was about to save a demon. But one who clearly wasn’t with the others, so she summoned her moon blade and rushed into the fray, slashing at the demons. Romance kept fighting, doing his best to stay out of her way.

Soon, it was just the two of them, staring at each other, his gaze stunned and awed, hers . . . hopefully annoyed. It should be annoyed. She was not grateful that she’d stopped him from getting any serious injuries. And if she was, it was only because Huntrix and the Saja Boys shared a lot of fans, so her fans would be upset if Romance was hurt and that impacted any appearances or concerts he had coming up.

“You saved me,” he whispered. “You . . . you didn’t have to. No one would have known you were here.”

Her glared appeared full force. “Don’t look so flattered. Those guys were more annoying than you, that’s all.” She let a warning enter her voice. “And I’m still watching you. If anyone is going to kill you, it will be me.”

Her words had the opposite effect of what she wanted as a slow, wide smile took over his face, delight shining in his eyes. “Watch me all you want, Mira. And do you hear that note of possessiveness in your voice? Are you claiming my life as yours?”

Her jaw dropped in outrage as she vanished her moon blade. “Possessive?” It was all she could get out at first. “You’re delusional! Are you sure one of those demons didn’t bash your skull in the wrong place?”

His smile didn’t shift as he lay a hand over his heart, giving her a half bow. “I will endeavor to ensure no one but you gets close enough to have the pleasure of killing me.”

“The pleasure?” she repeated. There was something wrong with this demon. Very, very wrong. “It’s not a pleasure.”

His smile turned angelic as he tilted his head to study her. “No? I thought you enjoyed killing demons. But that must just be demons you hate. Since you wouldn’t enjoy killing me, I guess I mean more to you than that.”

“Shut. Up.” See? It wasn’t worth it to save demons. They just mouthed off to you then, thinking they could say whatever they wanted because you gave them a tiny bit of help.

He suddenly looked bashful—except Mira was certain he was faking it—as he held out his hand. “I can’t be quiet just yet because . . .” He trailed off with a wince. “I expended a lot of energy just now, and I can’t make my patterns disappear.”

A long, deep silence stretched between them before Mira snatched his hand, glaring at him as she sarcastically asked, “Should I walk you home like this? Protect you along the way and make sure you get home safely?”

The bashful aura left him as he straightened to his full height, his grip on her hand tightening as his expression turned offended. “No, I’m walking you home.”

They entered another stare off before she muttered, “Whatever.” She didn’t know how long she needed to have contact with him for his demonic energy to be suppressed, and she certainly didn’t want to make a detour to the Saja Boys’ apartment.

Without another word, she dragged him in the direction of her home.

Thankfully, he was smart enough not to talk. But he did reach out to a flower bush when they passed one, plucking a blossom and gently twining it into her hair. All without saying a word. It was like a scene from a Kdrama, and Romance somehow pulled it off with such tenderness and sincerity that she couldn’t find it in herself to give in to the urge to rip the flower out.

Because it would be mean to the flower to do that, obviously. He’d just plucked it off the bush and now it was going to die. She could at least give it that much respect. And any heat she felt in her cheeks was left over from her workout fighting the demons, not Romance. Obviously.

Romance’s entire posture drooped when they reached Huntrix’s apartment building, his eyes staring up at it like it had stolen away the best ramyun he’d ever tasted, telling him he never got to have anymore ever again.

“Good night, Mira,” Romance said softly, letting his hand slide from hers without her having to tell him to let her go.

The atmosphere between them was too much for her, too wrong for her, so she didn’t say anything as she disappeared inside the building, fighting the urge to look back to see if he was staring after her.

~.~

Romance

Romance’s heart was still thumping with the memory of Mira’s hand in his when he reached his apartment. She’d kept hold of his hand the whole way to her home. He’d been certain she’d never take it in the first place, demanding he hold her wrist or something like that. But no.

And the sight of her with the flower he gave her in his hair? He wanted a painting of it. He would have taken a picture with his phone if he could have gotten away with it.

Not to mention her declaration about watching him and her being the one to kill him. For Mira, whether she acknowledged it or not, a declaration like that meant something.

Tonight was amazing. He’d been disappointed leaving the training room after not really having had a single interaction with Mira after being in the same room with for an hour. But it was so worth it in the end.

“What you smiling about?” Abby asked Romance on the way to his room. Abby looked him up and down. “Your workout couldn’t have been that good. You’re still as scrawny as ever.”

Romance didn’t bother correcting Abby that he wasn’t scrawny just because he wasn’t a musclebound idiot. He was in way too good a mood.

Smirking, Romance said, “There are way better ways to spend your time than lifting weights, you now?” And then he slipped inside his room.

~.~

Abby

Abby stood stiffly as he stared in frozen disbelief at Romance’s door. That smirk and his words . . . Something must have happened between Romance and Mira. He couldn’t imagine what might have happened that would make Romance smile like that, but he didn’t really care either.

Forget his stupid thought that whatever he felt around Mira might be manufactured by her energy mixing with his. Even if it was—though he didn’t deny thinking she was both hot and intriguing before then—their mixed energy was sticking around, wasn’t it? He’d need her for the rest of his life.

But how was he supposed to get close to her when she only seemed to grow more annoyed with his presence each and every movie night?

Chapter Text

Mira

Mira stalked through the streets, sticking to the shadows as much as possible, her gaze alert for anyone around her. There weren’t many people out this late, but she still didn’t want to be seen.

Zoey was now officially dating both Mystery and Baby. And it was nauseating. As was how adorable Rumi and Jinu were any time the couple was in the same room together. But Rumi and Zoey were both so happy that Mira couldn’t say anything. She was the only one not falling into a blissfully happy state with them now having demons stuck as part of their lives forever. And she had no one to talk to about how she felt.

So she was dealing with her feelings her own way—by going after the other demons still around all by herself. Let Zoey and Rumi live in their perfect little love land. Mira would focus on the fact that the world wasn’t entirely safe yet on her own.

A dark smirk curled her lips when she heard the high-pitched snickering of demons surrounding her. They were happy they’d found a hunter all on her own. They wouldn’t be for long.

Summoning her moon blade, it only took her minutes to wipe out the small force, though she still looked around carefully to make sure she hadn’t missed any. Some demons could be clever, and it would be stupid to let her guard down so one hiding until her blade was gone could strike her from behind.

She whirled around, her blade raised high, when a familiar voice demanded, “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

She glared at Abby, a glare that he matched as he leaned against a nearby building, his thick arms crossed over his chest. Which was not at all attractive with his stupid short sleeves showing off all his stupid muscles.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” she shot back, lifting her blade a little higher to emphasize that she was still holding it. “I could have killed you before realizing who you were.” Obviously it was a bad idea to surprise a hunter right after a fight while she was still armed.

“Why not kill me?” he challenged. “It’s just us here. No one will know you did it.”

She released a growl as she dropped her blade, letting its magic seep back into the Honmoon. “I can’t, because I promised Zoey and Rumi that I wouldn’t hurt any of you without just cause. And, unfortunately for me, I don’t think they would consider you being annoying just cause.” Though, to be fair, Mira found a lot of people annoying.

He pushed off the wall, his whole posture confrontational as he stepped toward her. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Doing what?” she asked, as if she wasn’t well aware what he meant.

His eyes narrowed. “You know what. Fighting demons all alone. Which brings me back to my first question: Are you trying to get yourself killed? Since when do you fight alone? The hunters fight in threes. That’s why there are three of you. It’s been like that from the very first hunters.”

She scoffed. “Don’t act like you have any right to question me. What I do with my time is none of your business.”

His arms tightened over his chest as he glared down at her. She glared right back.

Finally, he said, “If I catch you doing this again, I’m telling Rumi and Zoey.”

She threw back her head and laughed. That was his big threat? “You’ll tell on me? Ooo, I’m so scared. How terrible for my two best friends to find out I’m doing our duty.” She smirked. “How about we make a bet? You tell them what you saw, and I claim that it was a one off. Demons attacked me. Of course I had to fight by myself, and I didn’t tell them about it because I got away just fine, so why worry them? Who do you think they’ll believe, demon? You or me?”

Her smirk grew when he didn’t respond. They both knew the answer. Rumi and Zoey would think that Abby’s “concern” for Mira was sweet, but tell him that he’d misunderstood the situation. And tell Mira to be more careful about letting herself be alone where demons might attack.

Although . . . why was Abby having this conversation with her right now?

“Why do you even care?” Mira demanded. Then she realized the most likely reason—he needed her. She rolled her eyes, sarcasm coating her tone as she said, “Don’t worry, if anything happens to me, I’m sure your friends aren’t so possessive that they wouldn’t let Rumi and Zoey help you out with their hunter energy if you needed it.”

He tensed, his voice coming out tight as he said, “That’s not why I care. I wasn’t even thinking about that.”

“Then why?” she pressed.

She fought the urge to step back when he walked toward her. Not because she was intimidated of course, but because . . . because the stupid demon looked way too alluring with his chest practically bursting out of his button down shirt, and his annoyingly cool hair peaking out of his beanie, and his eyes intent on her like she was the only being in existence.

Every time his body was near hers it was annoying. How was she not supposed to look at those wide shoulders that were always close enough for her to pillow her head on during movie nights? Or how was she supposed to ignore his biceps that looked like he could bench press her all day when he always had them on display?

“It wouldn’t matter even if I told you,” Abby said, his voice dark as he stopped inches away from her. His challenging gaze was impossible to look away from. “Because, to you, I’m just a demon without any real emotions, right?”

Her hands curled into fists, a sharp retort on her tongue. But it wouldn’t leave her lips. Abby was angry. His entire posture made that obvious. But there was also pain hiding in his expression. And she knew a lot about hiding pain, with never once letting her family know how much their rejection of her hurt.

So instead of speaking, she spun on her heel and walked away.

Chapter Text

Mira

I hate this. I hate this. I hate this.

The words ran through Mira’s mind on repeat as she sat on the Saja Boys’ stupid couch for the who knew how many time. She’d stopped counting a while ago, because it was too depressing with no end in sight for this torture.

Like always, she sat stiffly on the couch with Romance, smelling obnoxiously good, on one side of her, and Abby, heat radiating from his body like he was a furnace, on the other, both their hands on her neck.

It was a struggle to pay more attention to the movie than the feel of them both next to her, touching her. And it had been difficult for a while.

Romance’s hand was smooth, and he always slide it onto her skin rather than placing it there, like he was caressing her. Which made it difficult not to wonder with it would feel like for him to caress her other places. And the callouses of Abby’s hand scratched pleasantly against her neck, threatening to send a shiver through her whenever he shifted. Again, the very worst part of her wanted to know what it would feel like for him to run those hands all over her.

Not to mention the other couples in the room. Jinu and Rumi didn’t even pretend like they weren’t snuggling anymore, and Baby had continued to feed Zoey every. Single. Movie. And now Mystery gave her drinks, like she was some infirm patient, or the two of them couldn’t let go of her for one second or they might die.

And it was a little hard not to note that Mira was the entire reason the movie nights still existed. Well, her, Romance, and Abby, but the other hunters and demons clearly didn’t need a bi-weekly movie night for an opportunity for skin contact to suppress the demons’ energy. Mira imagined Jinu, Mystery, and Baby all got plenty of hunter energy from their girlfriends at other times.

The moment the movie ended, just like every other night, Mira was out the door like a shot. But she didn’t want to go home either, not when Mira and Zoey wouldn’t be there for who knew how long. If they went home tonight.

So she stalked the streets. And smirked with pleasure when she found some demons. It really was so helpful that demons from all over the world who’d been on this side when the Honmoon set where congregating in Korea to go after the hunters.

As usual, it wasn’t difficult to take care of the ambush. Except, she ended the fight on a roof and as the last demon jumped out of the shadows at her from where he’d been hiding, she overbalanced when she swung her blade at him, ending him at the same time that she toppled off the building.

She cursed as she fell, dropping her weapon as she could hit the ground rolling. Thankfully, she’d only been one story up. But the impact was still too much on her right ankle, and she groaned as she stood on shaky feet. “This isn’t going to impact my dancing, is it?” she complained as she tested a few painful steps.

“Really?” an annoyed voice demanded. “That’s your big concern right now? Dancing?”

She bristled as her head snapped up, glaring when her gaze met Abby’s. “Are you stalking me now?” she demanded.

~.~

Abby

Stalking her. Like he was there because he was obsessed with her? Okay, so maybe he was a little obsessed with her, but not in a creepy way. He’d followed her because he was worried about her. Because she was being reckless. He just wanted to help her, to be there for her when she was pushing her best friends away and they didn’t even realize it.

And this was how she responded.

“You know what?” he said, stomping toward her. “I don’t even care what you think anymore.”

Bending down, he slipped his arms under her knees and back, picking her up bridal style.

“Hey!” she yelled, her arms waving in surprise. “Put me down!”

“So you can hobble home and make your ankle worse?” he retorted. “I don’t think so. Don’t you want to protect your body so you can dance well?” Sarcasm twisted his question. Sarcasm that she deserved. If she was so set on caring more about that than endangering herself, she should be thanking him.

“You think you can carry me all the way home?” she demanded before adding, “You think I’d let you carry me there?”

He lifted her higher as he walked, emphasizing that he wasn’t exactly struggling with her in his arms. She might be tall for a woman, but she was still slender. And he was stronger than some human guy. “No, I’m not taking you home. I’m taking you to my home so I can wrap up your ankle. Then I’m calling a car to take you home.”

But only because he knew he was already pushing things a lot. Expecting her to allow him to take her home after he took care of ankle was beyond expecting too much.

“I don’t need your help,” Mira protested.

He stopped abruptly, putting her down as he crossed his arms over his chest and challenged, “Take ten steps without limping. Do that and I’ll leave right now.”

She glared at him, taking two trembling steps where she visibly fought off a wince. Then she stopped.

“Need a moment to catch your breath?” he couldn’t help taunting.

She glared. Which shouldn’t make him want to smirk in return but . . . he did it anyways. “Ready to accept my help yet? Or you could call Rumi and Zoey and let them know what you were doing and how you got hurt.”

Since this was the second time Abby had found Mira like this, the other two hunters would be more likely to believe him now if he told them what was going on.

“You’re not going to tell them anyway?” she asked sarcastically. “Wasn’t that your big threat last time?”

His smirk dropped as he studied her, his expression serious. “Let me help you and I won’t. This time.”

She looked away, crossing her arms over her chest. But rather than looking annoyed or challenging, as he had when he’d crossed his arms, she looked . . . vulnerable. Like she was trying to wall him off. If only he knew how to stop that.

His jaw nearly dropped when Mira turned to him the next moment, her eyes flashing as she said, “Are we going to your place or not?”

He clamped his mouth shut to stop himself from continuing to gape—and from saying anything that might get him stabbed—stepping forward to swing her into his arms again.

She felt . . . perfect there. Like she was meant for him to hold, even with the petulant look on her face as she refused to look at him. But when he passed under a streetlight, she couldn’t hide the blush on her cheeks. Though he tried very, very hard to hide the smirk that wanted to curl his lips as he tucked her closer against his chest.

He was perfectly happy to walk in silence like this with her all the way to his bedroom. At which point his brain short-circuited as he put her on his bed. Where she looked way, way too good. That was a place he wanted to see her a lot.

Clearing his throat, his gaze darted away as he mumbled, “I’ll be right back with some bandages.” And then he fled the room.

~.~

Romance

Romance opened Abby’s bedroom door, searching for him for—

All thoughts vanished from his mind as his gaze froze on Mira. Sitting on Abby’s bed. Something inside him shattered as pain curled inside his chest. Abby? Really? Why was she—

“I got hurt,” Mira growled, glaring at him.

Romance blinked. “I’m sorry . . . what did you say?”

Her glared deepened, and he finally noticed that she was clutching at one of her ankles. This time, she spoke slowly, like she was talking to an idiot. But in his defense, she’d nearly just figuratively stabbed her moon blade into his heart. “I got hurt. Abby is—supposedly—helping me.”

Abby showed up then, glaring at Romance as he pushed past him to get inside, a roll of bandages in his hand. Abby’s look instantly softened as he turned to Mira, holding up the bandages. “Sorry that took a while, I was looking up some videos on how to wrap this for you.”

Abby sat on the edge of the bed as Romance stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “How did you get hurt?” And why had Abby been around to see it? Unless she’d called him for help . . . but that didn’t seem likely. Actually, it seemed impossible. Why wasn’t it Zoey or Rumi helping her right now?

Neither Mira nor Abby answered.

Romance frowned as he leaned against the closed door. “What, you two were out on a secret date and—”

“It was demons!” Mira burst out. “I was ambushed by demons. Though they didn’t hurt me, I lost my balance when I was getting rid of the last one and got hurt. Abby was nearby and wouldn’t take no for an answer when I said I didn’t need help.”

“Because you did need help,” Abby shot back, glaring between the wrap and his phone, like he was doing something wrong but couldn’t figure out what.

But that wasn’t what stood out to Romance. Abby hadn’t backed down . . . so Mira had. Was that what it took to get close to her? Refusing to back down? Or maybe this was just a sign of how hurt she was. And she was hurt because she’d been alone.

“This is our fault,” Romance whispered. “We needed Huntrix here to suppress our demon energy, and Rumi and Zoey stayed. It’s our fault you were out alone tonight and got hurt.”

Mira raised her chin, her eyes gloriously arrogant. “I’m responsible for my own actions. I didn’t get hurt because of you.”

She sounded defensive. Like it really was because of him. And, as much as her didn’t want her to be in pain, to be in danger because she felt like she wanted to get away from him . . . he didn’t like her denying any sort of connection between them, any possibility that he could have that much of an effect on her.

It didn’t help that his mind kept replaying just how Abby might have gotten Mira here without her able to walk on her ankle. Like by carrying her. Stupid buff Abby. Not that Romance would have wanted her to walk on a hurt ankle but . . . had she enjoyed that at all? Being so close to all his muscles?

Romance couldn’t help crossing his arms over his chest, almost as if to check out his own muscles. He was lifting weights, trying to look more like Mira’s obvious ideal type, but he wasn’t Abby’s size, and he’d probably never be willing to lift enough to attain that size. So he lifted his own chin as he said, “What? Afraid to admit how under your skin I am, Beautiful?”

Whatever had shattered when he’d first spotted Mira on Abby’s bed came back twice as strong as pink rose to her cheeks. She was blushing. Because of him.

“No one is under my skin,” she growled between gritted teeth.

“No?” he questioned, padding softly toward her. “Then why do you run away from me the moment you can, like you’re afraid of what you might do if you stay?”

His face was inches from hers now, and the blush remained on her face, even as she glared at him. But her entire focus was on him. And she didn’t have an immediate comeback.

Abby cleared his throat, loudly, and Mira jumped—as if she’d forgotten the muscle head was there.

Romance moved back just a little, taking the time to smirk at Abby when Mira looked away. Abby glared back as he said, “You’re in the way.”

Romance held up his hands to demonstrate he wasn’t doing anything with them. “I’m barely within touching distance of either of you. How can I possibly be in the way?” His smirk remained. Maybe now Abby would acknowledge, at least to himself, that Romance had a chance with Mira. Because Abby was the one touching her, the one helping, yet all her attention had been for Romance.

~.~

Abby

“Well, you’re not helping either, are you?” Abby said. “So get out.” This was supposed to be his time with Mira. He was the one who’d literally swept Mira off her feet to help her. What business did Romance have butting into that?

“I’m not not helping,” Romance argued, his tone light and his posture saying he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Are you done yet?” Mira demanded, holding up her phone. “Because I’ve texted for a car and it’s going to be here soon.”

Abby shoved down a stab of disappointment as he went back to focusing on the directions on his phone to wrap her ankle. He’d wanted to spend more time with her. Especially alone. It was probably because of Romance that she was running off.

Well, because of Romance that she was wanted to run off now. He knew there was no chance of her doing something like staying the night—though when he’d been grabbing the bandages, it’d been impossible for him not to imagine what that might be like, after seeing her on his bed. Where she still looked far too perfect. But he’d hoped for more of a chance to talk to her. To really talk, without her just trying to push him away.

A few minutes later, both Abby and Romance were watching Mira disappear inside a car. Once she was out of sight, he punched Romance’s arm. “You didn’t have to come down with us.”

“I was worried about her too,” Romance argued, following Abby back inside.

Abby snorted. “Right. It was her you were worried about, not me and her getting closer.”

Romance smirked as he walked faster, getting to the elevator before Abby as he tossed over his shoulder, “I don’t think you’re the one who got closer to her tonight.” 

Chapter Text

Abby

“Abby, I want your autograph!”

“Abby, can I get your picture!”

“Abby, give me an autograph of your abs!”

The excited screams pushed in on Abby from all sides as he walked out of the studio, making it hard to think. Normally, he handled the attention well. But right now wasn’t normal.

He’d missed the last biweekly movie night because he’d had an interview that evening to discuss popstar workout routines. And it had been a week since then. The sunlight catching on his skin showed the barest hint of patterns along his bare forearms, and he could feel the press of his fangs against his lips as he gave the crowd a tight-lipped smile.

How was he supposed to get past them without revealing anything?

“Abby, talk to us!” someone yelled, though her high-pitch made it seem more like a scream.

“Sing for us!”

“Where’s your normal heart-stopping smile?”

He jumped when a hand touched his arm, certain for a moment that a fan must have snuck past the security keeping them from getting too close to the studio. Then he froze when he looked down and spotted who the hand belonged to. Mira.

Mira smiled brightly at the crowd. “You’ll have to forgive Abby for being absent-minded today. He didn’t sleep at all last night, working on a special project that the Saja Boys have been working on for their fans.”

Her words brought screams of excitement from the crowd as he relaxed. Mira would know how to handle this. And . . . she was handling this. For him.

He couldn’t help shifting closer to her, hoping she kept her hand on his arm. The feel was so soft and warm. And he’d missed her, not seeing her this past movie night. Even though she barely ever looked at him or spoke during those times, he still got to be close to her then. Though he wanted more. So much more.

He wanted to spend time alone with her. To talk with her. To get to know her better. For her to get to know him better. For her to want to get to know him better.

When the crowd’s noise died down a little, Mira gave him an almost playful smile. “In fact, he’s so absent-minded that he left the studio a little early. He forget that he’s not done for the day yet, so he’ll have to say goodbye for now.”

She waved to the crowd, and Abby followed her lead, waving to the still yelling fans as he gave them another careful, tight-lipped smile.

Once they were inside, the smile disappeared off Mira’s face as she walked at a clipped pace—but still with her hand on him. Of course he needed the skin contact with her right now, so he probably shouldn’t make anything more of her touch than that.

Her tone was no-nonsense as she said, “You need to learn how to handle the fans more deftly. I realize this was a stressful situation but—”

The next moment, he lost his mind. That was the only explanation he had for what he did next. Which was to—gently—push Mira into the nearest empty room, crowding close to her as he shut the door behind them, looked down into her eyes, and blurted, “I want to be with you.”

He didn’t know what made him say it, though he could think of plenty excuses. She refused to give him a chance to express what he wanted from her, from the two of them together, so he just had to come out and say it. He’d missed her a ridiculous amount after not getting his normally bi-weekly Mira fill. She’d just saved him on her own, without another member of Huntrix around to pressure her into it. He’d been wanting to talk to her about this, about them, from the moment he realized that living here was his permanent life now and that she was no longer his enemy.

She stared at him silently. But her gaze wasn’t full of disgust or anger, like he might have thought. She simply looked stunned.

So he pressed his advantage. “You’re kind in every interaction with your fans, even when they’re being obnoxious or you’re annoyed, and you have that little wrinkle between your eyebrows that says you’re fighting off a grimace. You’re dead serious about the safety of the people you love. I saw how carefully you watched over Rumi and Zoey before your really believed that Jinu, Mystery, and Baby wouldn’t hurt them. You’re the fiercest woman I’ve ever met and so insanely hot when you’re fighting, dancing, or singing. There’s just . . . so many reasons I want you.”

She still didn’t speak, and her gaze was still stunned but also . . . something. Not something negative. At least, he didn’t think so. Was it too optimistic for him to think she was flattered? Or curious about what maybe it would be like to be with him?

Regardless, he wasn’t going to push his luck. Taking a step back, so her hand barely still touched him, he said, “I know that’s not what you want from me, not right now. But I want a chance, Mira.”

His voice softened, a vulnerable note that he hated entering it as he added, “We have to be close anyway. Can’t you at least make an effort to really get to know me?”

Wanting to cover up his moment of weakness, he gave an almost smirk. “We both know you were attracted to me the first time we saw each other. Can’t you just pretend like I’m some guy with a skin condition who knows your secret about being a hunter?” He didn’t point out how much that should matter to her, that he was someone she could be with and not have to hide half of herself from. Not to mention that he was nearly as famous as her, so dating him wouldn’t come with a lot of the complications that dating some random guy off the street—who would never be worthy of her—would.

His heart nearly stopped when the look in her eyes became torn. That was good, right? Way, way better than this could have gone. But he didn’t know whether to keep pushing or back off now. Though he knew what he wanted to do. Push. Maybe showing her what it was like to kiss him would help change her mind . . . but he wasn’t stupid enough to kiss her without believing she wanted it.

So instead he—slowly and carefully—brushed her hair back over her shoulder. Her smooth, silky hair that he wanted to feel wrapped around his hand, brushing against his chest, his neck. All of it.

But he forced his hand back to his side as he softly said, “Just think about it. Okay?”

Her gaze dropped to her hand on his arm. Her voice as soft as his had been, she told him, “The next time your demon energy is giving you trouble . . . just call me, okay?”

He couldn’t help swaying toward her at those words. She hadn’t technically agreed to think about it . . . but he didn’t think she would be shy about telling him no way if she wasn’t willing to.

Now he just had to suffer the torture of her touch to suppress his demon while not doing any of the things to her that he so desperately wanted to. Especially when he thought he might not get stabbed for it.

Chapter Text

Abby

Abby tried not to be disappointed as the event went on and Mira continued to not look in his direction. The Saja Boys and Huntrix were at an interview together, and it was Abby’s first time seeing Mira since his confession, since the next movie night wasn’t for another two nights.

Once things wrapped up, Zoey and Rumi got caught up in talking with the producer along with the rest of the Saja Boys, but Mira seemed distracted by something farther back stage.

Abby frowned as he followed her. The frown turned into a growl when he realized there were demons waiting right outside the building, peeking through windows. The rest of Huntrix was right there, and Mira was still going to run off on her own to fight. Except, she wasn’t. Her stupid, reckless, potentially self-harming antics were over. At least, when he was around they were.

Marching to her side, he swept her up in his arms, the same way he had the night she hurt her ankle.

She gasped, her eyes going wide as they snapped to his. A flush covered her cheeks as she sputtered before demanding “What do you think you’re doing?”

He glared. “Stoping you from doing something stupid.”

“Doing my duty isn’t stupid,” she ground out.

“It is the way you’re trying to do it,” he argued back. She could be as annoyed as she wanted to be—he was at least as annoyed over her antics. “And because I care about you, I’m not going to let you run off and get yourself hurt when I have the power to stop it.”

~.~

Mira

His words stopped the arguments that wanted to flow from Mira’s mouth.

She didn’t know what to say, what to think. She’d been able to think of nothing but seeing the Saja Boys—or, more specifically, Abby—at today’s interview after Abby confessed his feelings to her. Though all she could think was that she didn’t want to talk to him. Not because she was angry, she just . . . He was confusing. Everything about him.

Especially how nice to felt to be held close to him like this, like she was precious to him. Even his glare was sexy, seeming to hold the same protectiveness of his arms that were stopping her from running off alone. She knew she was being reckless but . . . she didn’t know how to stop now, not when everything was so confusing. The only thing right now in her life that made sense was demon hunting. The other demons wanted to hurt people, so she would end them. Simple. Easy.

Her gaze dropped from Abby’s, not wanting to see any of his feelings there as she pushed against his chest. “Let me go,” she demanded. “Or they’ll get away or hurt some of our fans.”

“No.” He tightened his grip.

Her head shot up to demand he listen to her—but then suddenly Romance was there on the other side of her, cupping her face in his hand as his lips descended on hers.

She froze.

~.~

Romance

Everything inside Romance simultaneously stilled and panicked as he placed his lips over Mira’s.

He’d only had a split moment to react when he realized what was happening. That there were other demons nearby, the ones who wanted to hurt Huntrix, and that Mira seemed to be trying to run off without Rumi and Zoey to fight them.

Which made him think of her sitting in Abby’s bedroom after getting hurt fighting demons—alone. And that made him worried that it hadn’t been the one-time event she’d made it out to be.

So when she’d started struggling in Abby’s arms, trying to get away from him stopping her from leaving—in basically the most unfair way possible, why did he get to keep holding her?—Romance wanted to stop her any way he could. But physically helping Abby seemed like it would just make things more complicated.

So he’d gone to something he suspected would surprise her far more than fighting. He’d kissed her, hoping it wouldn’t make her hate him forever.

And when he moved his lips against the soft perfection of hers, he swore she responded, leaving him wondering if he was going to die of happiness right there and then.

But it only lasted for a split second before Abby ruined it.

“Hey!” he objected, his tone outraged as he pulled Mira away. Never mind being grateful to Romance for getting Mira to stop trying to run off on her own. The jerk.

Then his attention caught on the fact that Mira’s face was flushed pink, her gaze dazed, clearly affected by his kiss. Which made him really, really wish they were alone in that moment.

But they weren’t, emphasized by the sound of others walking toward them.

Mira’s gaze widened in panic as she scrambled out of Abby’s arms, not meeting either his or Abby’s gazes as she moved right past them, jerking her head toward the doors as she barked out, “Rumi, Zoey, we need to go. Now.”

Rumi’s and Zoey’s looks instantly turned serious as they hurried after Mira, with Jinu, Mystery, and Baby watching their girls go with concern.

Abby also watched Mira go with concern before turning a narrow-eyed look on Romance as he muttered, “Did you have to do that?”

Romance shrugged unrepentantly. “I helped you keep her here until the rest of Huntrix arrived. You kept her in place and I . . .” A smile danced at the corners of his mouth. “And I made her want to stay.” At least, he hoped that was how she’d been feeling, rather than her simply being too stunned to stab him in that moment. The look she’d worn when Abby pulled her away certainly didn’t say that she was upset.

Abby’s eyes narrowed further until they nearly disappeared. “You could have told me to do that.”

Romance’s smile turned into a smirk. “Absolutely not.”

“We both need her,” Abby reminded him.

“We do,” Romance agreed. “And I won’t get in your way. But I’m not stepping back for you either.”

Chapter Text

Mira

Mira walked slowly behind Rumi and Zoey, just being in the Saja Boys’ building heating up her skin.

How was she supposed to face Abby and Romance that movie night? More than that, how was she supposed to sit sandwiched between them for two hours with them touching her? It felt like an impossible challenge, after Abby’s confession that he wanted Mira to just view him like some handsome guy with a skin condition and Romance’s kiss. What had that even been about? If she were braver, she would confront him about it instead of wishing that some demon emergency would lead to them canceling the movie night.

Except then Romance or Abby might have a demon energy emergency like Abby had before, and who knows what might happen this time? At the rate she was going, she might end up in a relationship with one of them by accident.

“Mira?” Zoey looked back, her eyebrows pressed together in concern. “Are you okay?”

Rumi turned too, then gasped. “Your face is red! Are you getting sick?” She put her hand on Mira’s forehead.

Mira pulled away. “What? No, I’m fine. I—” No excuse came to mind. She was what? The truth was probably that she looked like she was blushing, but that was just . . . the heat of the building. Obviously. That was why she’d felt so hot since they’d arrived, not because she was nervous.

Looking away, she fanned herself with one hand. “It’s just a little hot in here, that’s all.”

“Hot?” Zoey repeated doubtfully, wrapping her arms around herself. “I was thinking the air conditioner was working overtime. If the boys’ apartment is like this, I’m going to have to ask for a blanket.”

Great. Of course Mira’s excuse would— No, not her excuse. It was the truth. “I’m bigger than you,” she argued. “I tolerate the cold better.”

Rumi quirked an eyebrow at her. “Tolerate the cold . . .? I thought you said you were hot.”

“Because I am.”

“Because you’re getting sick,” Rumi pushed. “Do you have any other symptoms? You should have said something. I know the help we’re giving the Saja Boys is important, and I really appreciate that you’re making it a priority, Mira, but your health comes first.”

“Yeah,” Zoey agreed. “We’re super proud of you, Mira, but we can help out Romance and Abby this time.”

An almost overpowering urge to repeatedly smack her head against the wall threatened to overcome Mira. It would be so easy to take the out. To say she’d caught a little cold, but by tomorrow after a good night’s rest she’d appear all better. Except she wasn’t a coward. And she’d have to face the pair of demons sometime. Might as well be tonight.

She waved an unconcerned hand as she pushed passed her bandmates. “I’m fine, I swear.” She could feel their gazes on her from behind, but ignored it. Except then she reached the apartment door first and she didn’t want to be the first one in.

Stepping aside, she pulled out her phone, pretending like she’d gotten a message she needed to check. So maybe she wasn’t at her bravest, but her bravest when not fighting demons often meant putting on a mean or cold face, and right now that would feel like . . . not the right move. She wasn’t mad at Romance or Abby. She just didn’t know what to do with either of them.

Rumi and Zoey went in ahead, both giving her one last look before greeting their guys. Mira followed behind, trying to look casual as she took way too much time closing the door behind her. But she could only take up so much time with that.

When she looked up, Romance and Abby were standing by their normal spots at the couch, staring at her. Admittedly, they normally stared at her when she first entered their apartment, but this time was different. Abby’s gaze was unreadable as he studied her, as though searching for something in her expression, while Romance looked equally afraid and hopeful.

The fear was easy enough to understand—he might be worried she was tempted to stab him after that kiss. But the hopeful? Hopeful of what?

Taking a fortifying breath, she made her way over, hoping Zoey and Rumi weren’t still paying attention to her.

“Hi,” she said quietly. Which, stupidly, made the heat in her face worse. But normally she didn’t speak a word during these movie nights. But not saying at least hi to a guy who’d confessed that he thought you were amazing and wanted to date you was really rude, right? And not saying hi to a guy who’d kissed you was definitely rude. Except maybe not when they did it without permission. Then it was probably perfectly okay to ignore them. Though it wasn’t as if she hadn’t enjoyed it.

The memory of that moment threatened to consume her, Abby’s warm arms holding her against his perfect chest while Romance’s soft lips caressed hers. Her face felt like it was on fire. If Zoey or Rumi saw, they’d definitely claim she was sick, making all this so much more awkward.

So she plopped down on the couch, learning forward in the hope that her hair would cover her face from her best friends’ sights.

Slowly, Romance and Abby sat down on either side of her. “Hi,” Abby said just as quietly as she had. Despite keeping her gaze straight ahead, she could feel his gaze intent on her, almost like it had a physical weight to it. A pleasant weight.

“Hey,” Romance murmured from the other side. Also staring at her.

They weren’t going to do that the whole movie, were they?

She flinched when Abby reached for her neck like normal, and he froze. That felt way too awkward right now. Though what she was planning might not be any better.

But that didn’t stop her from holding up her hand on Abby’s side, her gaze frozen on the TV where Baby had just started a film that started off with an explosion.

Slowly, Abby took her hand, linking his fingers through hers before laying their hands on the couch between them. Romance hesitated before taking her other hand where it lay in her lap, keeping their hands there.

Then she sat frozen, like she was imitating a statue.

Partway through the movie, Abby leaned over, his hot breath brushing her ear as he squeezed her hand and whispered, “I like this.”

She did too, but she couldn’t make the words come. And she wasn’t sure she wanted to—but she didn’t want to take her hand away either. So she’d stay like this for the rest of the movie.

But she was still leaving as soon as it was done.

Chapter Text

Romance

Romance whipped off his shirt in the dressing room, his eyes on the clock. He didn’t have much time to get ready for the joint show the Saja Boys and Huntrix were putting on. Jinu had reamed him out for being late, but it wasn’t his fault—which he would explain later. There’d been a few demons hanging around outside, though Romance was pretty certain their planned targets were the Saja Boys rather than Huntrix, based on all the insults they’d hurled at him.

His excuse to Jinu would be that he’d been looking out for all of Huntrix, which the lead singer would happily accept. But the real reason was Romance wanted to make sure Mira didn’t run off on her own to handle them. So now he was late getting into his costume.

The door opened behind him. He withheld his sigh as he spun around shirtless. “Jinu, I told you—” His voice disappeared at the sight of Mira in the doorway. Staring at him. Or, more specifically, at his chest.

Heat rose to his cheeks as he glanced down, as though needing to verify for himself whatever she might be seeing. He’d continued working out, dedicated to his plan of better matching Mira’s seeming ideal physical type. He didn’t look like Abby by any means, but there was plenty of definition there. Definition that Mira was still staring at.

And had she just swallowed while staring at him like she wanted to eat him up?

His knees grew weak as his mind flashed to their one shared kiss, the phantom feel of her silky lips brushing against his. He gripped the back of the nearest chair tightly to stay upright. Dropping would not impress her. But what would? The terrible idea to wonder what Abby might do in this situation flashed through his mind, but he was not going to copy that muscle-bound idiot, because he had plenty to offer Mira all on his own.

Releasing the chair, he sauntered toward her, leaning against the wall beside the door in a way that showed off his chest. “Hey Beautiful, did you get lost on your way to somewhere else?”

Her eyes, disappointingly, rose to his at his words. Except maybe he should be happy about that. He wanted her to like him for more than just his looks, after all.

She scowled at him, but that did nothing to hide the adorable pink covering her cheeks. A blush he’d put there. Just by her looking at him. “I saw that everyone was ready but you and I . . .” She trailed off.

His lips curved in a sultry smile. “And you just couldn’t wait to see me?” Despite his teasing tone, his heart slammed against his ribs at the thought. She could have just asked the other Saja Boys where he was or why he was late. More than that, she could have told Zoey or Rumi to ask, bypassing dealing with any of the Saja Boys altogether. Yet, here she was.

Her chin tilted back, gorgeous arrogance entering her eyes as she said, “It’s not professional to cut it so close like this before a live show. A good senior mentors their juniors—and despite what any rumors might say, I am responsible.”

His heart fluttered, more gently this time. She could claim she was doing her duty as his senior all she wanted, but that meant she cared. She wouldn’t do that for some demon she looked down on. His gaze couldn’t help dropping to her lips. Did their brief kiss have anything to do with her desire to check on him? Her being here did put them alone for the first time since way back when he walked her home after she’d saved him . . .

She pulled back through the doorway, her gaze darting away. “Well, hurry, we—”

He snatched her arm before she could disappear. “I was fighting demons outside—making sure you didn’t.”

She froze, her eyes widening. “You what?”

He cleared his throat. He hadn’t planned to tell her about that. But he also hadn’t planned to suddenly be alone with her. Especially not with her ogling his chest. “There were a few demons outside the building when I got here. I didn’t . . . I didn’t want you trying to deal with them alone, so I took care of them.”

She frowned, pulling her arm out of his grip. “I have more experience fighting demons than you do. I’m better equipped for it. I’m made for it.”

“And I’m made for protecting the woman I care about.” The words came without thought. But now that they were there, he kept going.

Straightening from the wall, he pinned Mira with his gaze, resisting the urge to touch her, to pull her into the room and make this into a long conversation they didn’t have time for. “Mira, how I feel about you has been obvious since that first shared signing we did. I wasn’t messing with you as my enemy or flirting for fun, even then. I want you, Mira.”

Silence stretched between them. But she wasn’t glaring or frowning, which were very, very positive signs from her. Finally, she said, “Abby said he wants me too. That he’s serious about me.”

Romance tensed. How long ago did Abby bring this up with her? And why had that idiot confessed his feelings before Romance, who’d literally made a deal with Gwi-Ma to be an expert at romance? He pushed his fears of being inferior aside. It wasn’t Abby’s chest that Mira had just been ogling. And her eyes were still dipping down occasionally throughout their conversation, checking him out.

Slowly, as though testing out the words, he said, “I know that we both want you. And . . . we both need you. Not just because of your hunter energy, but you, Mira. A woman has to be pretty fierce to handle one demon, let alone two. And neither of us have ever met anyone as fierce as you.”

His gaze dropped to her lips again. The atmosphere was so close to a kiss-appropriate one. She was struggling with her attraction to him, he was confessing his feelings to her . . . But he wasn’t certain she’d forgive him if he made them late for the fans actively waiting for them right now. They only had minutes until they were supposed to be on stage.

Mira’s perfect lips parted. Closed. Parted again. “I . . . don’t know.”

Which was so much better than so many other things she could say. Than so many things she would have likely said just a couple weeks ago.

He took a step back, giving her space as he held up his hands in an innocent gesture. “I get that. Really, I do. But . . . I’m here, Mira. I’m right here. Don’t forget that, okay?”

She flinched when running came from down the hall. “Is he ready yet?” Zoey’s voice demanded.

Mira flushed all over again, deeper this time before she snapped, “Get ready, Romance, we’re going to be late because of you!” Then she slammed the door.

But that didn’t stop the smile from blooming on his face as he threw on his outfit for the performance.

Chapter Text

Mira

Mira swung her blade at an advancing demon. “Seriously?” she shouted to the horde coming at her. “How many of you are still on Earth?!” She knew there’d been gaps in the Honmoon before Huntrix achieved the Golden Honmoon, but who knew so many demons had been crossing through the gasps in the barrier? It had been months and more were still coming.

“Seriously is what I want to say to you!” a familiar voice snarled—as in actually snarled—as Abby threw himself at demons coming her way, his fangs visible. “You’re still fighting on your own?”

“It wasn’t on purpose this time,” she defended, striking two demons with her blade as she kicked another—and found Romance on that side, also fighting demons. Where had these two come from? “I was out with Zoey and Rumi, and they didn’t strike until I separated from them. Obviously, they were waiting for me to be alone.”

The other two were out on a double date, or whatever it was called when Zoey had two boyfriends, for dinner—but they’d gone with Mira to the bathhouse earlier for the three of them to spend time together.

They didn’t talk anymore after that, quickly dispatching the demons between the three of them. She turned, a reluctant thanks on her lips, because she might have been in trouble if they hadn’t shown up. The sight of them both tinged purple and covered in patterns stole the word from her lips.

She let out a mix between a groan and a growl as she pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “Why didn’t you idiots call me?”

Everyone had missed the last movie night. Both Huntrix and the Saja Boys had been busy with concerts and promos for an entire month, though Mira assumed Zoey and Rumi had made time to be with their guys even before tonight. And she’d thought about reaching out to Abby and Romance to see how they were holding up without hunter energy suppressing their demon energy . . . but it wasn’t her job to take care of them. It was on them to reach out. And when they hadn’t, she’d assumed that maybe their bodies had built up an abundance of hunter energy and they could go longer now.

And maybe they could have made it until the next movie night if not for the fight just now, but was it really a good idea for them to be so close to exposing their true forms? Who knew when something might come up where they had to access their demon energy?

“We didn’t want to bother you,” Romance said carefully. “We’re trying not to pressure you.”

Heat immediately rose to her face. Right. Because they’d both confessed feelings for her. To cover up her blush, she snapped, “There’s a difference between being gentlemen and being idiots. Risking exposing yourselves as demons falls into the ‘idiots’ category.”

Romance looked away, scratching the back of his head. Why did his stupid fangs poking out make him look unfairly adorable?

Abby met her gaze, his own challenging as he lifted his chin. “Fine, if we’re not supposed to worry about being gentlemen, come back to our apartment with us. It’ll be just us though.”

She scowled. “I already know that. The rest of the Saja Boys are with the rest of Huntrix.” She considered demanding that they go to her apartment instead . . . except if Zoey and Rumi came back while she was still giving the pair of demons skin-to-skin contact they would misunderstand and make something weird out of it. “Let’s just go before anyone sees either of you.”

They made it all the way to the apartment without incident, but as soon as they stepped inside, Romance sucked in a sharp breath before snatching Mira’s arm. “You’re hurt!”

“She’s what?” Abby demanded, spinning around.

Romance held up her arm and Abby came closer as Mira studied it before scoffing. “It’s a scratch. I didn’t even notice.”

“It might get infected,” Romance argued, pulling her along. “Who knows where those demons’ claws have been?”

He dragged her all the way to his room, guiding her to his bed with Abby following. Romance pulled antiseptic out of a drawer, pausing before applying it, his gaze catching hers, “It’s going to sting, okay?”

Her lips pressed together against a smile. “I’ve been smashed into buildings and the ground by demons. I think I can handle a little stinging.”

Abby scowled at that as he sat beside her, as though offended over past attacks Mira had suffered, but Romance didn’t say anything more as he treated her cut.

Once he finished, he hesitated. “What . . . what should we do now?”

Abby once again gave Mira a challenging look as he lounged back in the bed, putting his hands behind his head. “We’re already here, you have a TV in here, and Mira is the one who told us not to be gentlemen. So let’s just stay.”

Mira narrowed her eyes at him. Though she wasn’t worried about them doing anything. One, she didn’t think they were that kind of guys. Two, they were both well aware of the consequences of that. Not just from her, but from Zoey and Rumi too.

And she was stubborn enough to be pulled into Abby’s stupid game. She wasn’t going to back down and suggest they go to the living room. Besides, watching the movie like this would be harder for the two of them than for her . . . right?

Not letting her gaze leave his, she shifted to lay down next to him, cocking one eyebrow at him. “Fine. We can stay in here.”

Surprise and maybe a hint of panic lit in his eyes before he gave her a pleased and almost tender smile. It was more than she could take, so she switched her gaze to the blank TV screen, where she found Romance staring at them both in disbelief.

“Oookaaay,” Romance said slowly, drawing out the word. “I guess I’ll just . . . pick a movie then.”

He put something with action on before carefully climbing into the bed on Mira’s other side. She kept her gaze trained on the TV as he slowly took her hand, while Abby shifted until his arm lay against hers.

As they settled in, rather than this feeling like another movie watching night, it felt more like a challenge. Laying together like this, who among the three of them would break first?

Chapter Text

Mira

Mira woke slowly, warm and comfortable. Until she realized there was a warm body snuggled up on either side of her.

Her eyes snapped open as she froze. She had not fallen asleep right in the middle of these two. Except . . . the last thing she remembered was laying in the middle of the bed as the movie played, Abby’s arm under her neck like a pillow as he claimed that was how he was getting his skin-to-skin contact with her, Romance cuddled up to her side with her hand in his.

It had been late. And she’d just fought. And then they’d stayed up even later for the movie. Of course she’d been tired. That part wasn’t surprising. But how had she been so comfortable as to fall asleep?!

A muscled arm was still under Mira’s neck, tucking her against a warm chest. Abby. Which meant Romance was behind her, spooning her back with an arm thrown over her waist. Someone had covered them with a blanket last night. So clearly at least one of the guys fell asleep after her, yet didn’t bother waking her up.

Her face flamed as she got up slowly, carefully disentangling herself from Abby and Romance and slipping out of the blanket. Good thing she was limber and graceful. She just never thought she’d utilize that skill with escaping a bed with two guys unnoticed.

She only made it onto the ground before a hand snatched her wrist. “Are you really going to sleep with us and run?” Abby asked, his voice husky with sleep. “That’s not very polite.”

She spun around, her wrist still in his, to snap at him. Except he’d sat up in bed, causing the blanket to fall and reveal his naked chest. The words died in her throat as her eyes widened, stuck on the sight of his rippling abs. Why was he shirtless?

Her mouth opened and closed several times, the heat in her face tripling before she finally got out, “All we did was sleep. Don’t act like we . . . like we . . .” She couldn’t even bring herself to say the words. So she ended up sounding like stuffy idiot by saying, “Like we engaged in anything deeper. It’s not rude to leave after taking a nap together.”

She finally managed to raise her gaze to his. Which only annoyed her more, because he was smirking at her, clearly pleased with where her gaze had been. He cocked one challenging eyebrow at her. “Exactly. We’re just sleeping. So it’s not like you need to be embarrassed or leave, right? Just get back in bed. It’s still dark out and too early to be up. Don’t you need your beauty rest to stay in good health? Think of the fans, Mira.”

She wanted to keep glaring into his eyes . . . but his stupid abs were still on display. Any woman who could be feet away from that perfection and not look was stronger than Mira.

Abby stretched—or pretended to—arching his back as his smirk grew. He was still holding on to her and pulled her closer. Which she didn’t manage to resist because she was too distracted. At least, she was until he lifted her hand toward his abs. Then she dug her heels in, an undignified, strangled sound escaping her as her gaze shot to his stupid smirk.

“Why just look when you can touch?” he teased. “It’s all yours if you want it.”

Romance saved her from responding—thank goodness, because she had no idea what she would have done—when he stirred and let out a little groan before holding out a hand toward her. “Come back to bed, Beautiful. It’s not time to get up yet.”

He blinked at her with half awake eyes, his hand still outstretched. And then his lip jutted out in the tiniest pout. “I need you.”

Those words with that face were not fair. And he didn’t need her, because they’d both shared plenty of skin contact with her during the movie and after. But she didn’t resist when Abby tugged again, climbing over him to get back in the middle of the bed.

Romance immediately snuggled into her, burying his face in her neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Abby slipped his arm under her pillow, turning on his side to box her in on that side. She flushed when he moved to share her pillow. And then her eyes burned with threatening tears when he kissed the top of her head. Soft. Tenderly.

She couldn’t remember feeling this cared for before. Her movements slow and hesitant, she raised one arm to slip her fingers into Romance’s hair, keeping him against her. He nearly purred at the touch as he nuzzled against her. Then she took Abby’s hand with her other, and felt him smile against her hair.

A few minutes passed before Romance, his breath brushing her neck murmured, “I like this. I want you to myself too, but I like this.”

Her mind jumped to that kiss they’d shared . . . and to how nice it might be to have another with him. And a first with Abby. But she pretended to be asleep so she didn’t have to respond.

Chapter Text

Romance

Romance looked over curiously when Mira’s hand in his went limp. And then he froze. Her eyes were closed. Was she . . .?

“Abby,” Romance whispered. If Mira was tired enough to fall asleep right now . . . One, that meant she had to trust Romance and Abby on some level. And deeply. Two, she was very, very tired.

“What?” Abby asked, his irritated voice low enough that it sounded like he was falling asleep too.

Romance picked up the remote and paused the movie before carefully sitting up, then pointing at Mira. Abby glanced over from where he lay beside her. His mouth fell open at the sight. “Is she . . .”

“Sleeping,” Romance finished, still talking in a whisper as he played with the remote. “And if she’s tired enough to fall asleep here . . . should we leave her like this?” He wanted the answer to be yes, but there was always the concern of how she might take waking up next to the two of them in the morning. But it wasn’t like they’d tricked her into this. She’d fallen asleep on her own. And it was Abby who suggested they watch the movie in here, so if she blamed anyone, it should be him.

Abby half sat up, blinking down at the sight of a sleeping Mira. Which made Romance twitch with the urge to cover her from the other demon’s sight. She was so adorable, with her hair splayed out around her, her lips soft in sleep. Why did that desperately make him want to kiss her again?

“She’s the one who fell asleep,” Abby said slowly. “That’s not our fault.”

“And she’s exhausted,” Romance added, his tone careful. Were they really doing this? They could rationalize all they wanted, but they both knew Mira would prefer that they wake her. At least, that’s what she would claim she preferred. But maybe she would get better sleep here, in Romance’s bed. She wouldn’t know unless she tried . . . and they didn’t know for certain that she hadn’t meant to fall asleep. It would be rude to wake her up if she was asleep on purpose. 

“Exactly,” Abby agreed. “So the only courteous thing to do is leave her where she is.”

Romance eyed Abby carefully. “Right. But she’s in my bed, so you can go to your own room now.”

Abby shot him a disbelieving look before sitting up to cross his arms over his chest. “Absolutely not. She’s only here because of me, remember? I invited her to the apartment, and I suggested we watch a movie here. If anyone should leave, it’s you.”

Romance scoffed. “I’m not leaving my own room.”

Abby shrugged. “Then I guess we’re both staying.”

They glared at each other for several moments, but Romance had known from the beginning that there was slim chance of Abby leaving.

“Fine,” Romance finally agreed, grabbing a blanket to drape over Mira since she was on top of the comforter.

Abby gave a satisfied nod before slipping off the bed and taking off his shirt.

“What are you doing?” Romance hissed.

Abby gave an unconcerned shrug. “I always sleep like this.”

Romance didn’t doubt that that was true . . . but he also didn’t doubt that Abby was hoping Mira would wake up and enjoy the view. Which Romance was sure she would, since she’d seemed to so thoroughly enjoy seeing him with his shirt off. But he would get cold if he slept without a shirt. So he grumbled under his breath as he joined Mira under the blanket.

Once his head hit the pillow, he realized that, facing her, he had the perfect view of her sleeping face. Especially since demons had superior night vision. It wasn’t creepy if he watched her until he fell sleep when she’d willingly come into his bedroom . . . right?

~.~

Abby

Abby stirred when he felt something shift over him—and immediately noticed that the warmth against his side from all night long was missing. His gaze snapped open to find Mira sneaking away from the bed. Literally. She was on her tip toes and everything.

Absolutely not. No way was he letting her just leave after she’d basically fallen asleep in his arms. She was still close enough to grab, and he sat up, snatching her wrist as he said,  “Are you really going to sleep with us and run?” His voice came out husky. He wasn’t a morning person. And here Mira was, forcing him to be awake way too early to keep her where she was supposed to be. “That’s not very polite.”

She spun around to face him, her eyes flashing. Until they landed on his bare chest. Her eyes widened, her mouth going slack, and he preened under the attention. If only he could find a way to be shirtless around her on a regular basis. She’d definitely crack after just a couple times.

Her mouth opened and closed as her face turned red. After several moments she finally blurted, “All we did was sleep. Don’t act like we . . . like we . . .” She paused, like she needed to gather her thoughts. Obviously because she could barely think while confronted with the sight of him shirtless. “Like we engaged in anything deeper. It’s not rude to leave after taking a nap.”

Her gaze finally rose to his, and he cocked a challenging eyebrow at her. “Exactly. We’re just sleeping. So it’s not like you need to be embarrassed or leave, right? Just get back in bed. It’s still dark out and too early to be up. Don’t you need your beauty rest to stay in good health? Think of the fans, Mira.” That was always one of her biggest priorities, right?

Her gaze dropped back to his chest. Being bare-chested around the woman he wanted was so good for his ego. He kept hold of her wrist with one hand, while raising the other high as he stretched, smirking over her attention. He gently pulled, and she came closer, as if in a trance. Up until he graciously lifted her hand to place it on his abs. Which her gaze was clearly screaming that she wanted to touch.

But it was probably a good thing that she fought him, refusing to come forward another step as a strangled gasp escaped her and she turned a glare on him. Because if she had given in to the urge she must feel to touch him, his lips would have been on hers five seconds later.

So, actually, it was a terrible thing that she’s stopped him. So he challenged her, “Why just look when you can touch? It’s all yours if you want it.” Not that he expected their relationship to jump right into something heavily physical once she admitted she wanted him, but why not make that clear from the beginning?

Romance ruined the moment by speaking up from behind Abby. “Come back to bed, Beautiful. It’s not time to get up yet.” He paused before adding in a pleading tone, “I need you.”

Mira’s glare—still in place from Abby trying to get her to simply do what she wanted to—wavered. And when Abby tugged her again, she didn’t resist, climbing over him to slip back in bed.

Something in him settled at how easily she came. Ignoring the way Romance snuggled into her other side, he slipped his arm under her pillow, turning onto his side to face her. Moving closer, his head slipped to her pillow and he bent to kiss the top of her head. And she didn’t move away.

He closed his eyes, content enough to soon drift back to sleep.

Chapter Text

Mira

Mira stalked down the street, swiping at the tears that shouldn’t be there. She should be over the family that didn’t want her. So over them. She had a better life now. And a better family, thanks to Rumi and Zoey. She shouldn’t care what they thought—but they also shouldn’t be reaching out to her, especially not over this. She already knew they didn’t approve of her. She already knew that nothing about who she was or what she chose to do was good enough for them.

They’d had an unspoken agreement that she didn’t talk about them and they didn’t bother her. But now, in her father’s words, she’d gone too far. Fans of Huntrix and the Saja Boys continued to push Miromabby, writing fan fiction and drawing fan art about them. And when Mira started being pleasant toward Romance and Abby in public—more than the polite facade she’d been putting on to not cause problems for Huntrix—rumors started flying that there really was something going on between them. And the idea of Mira in a relationship with two guys was just too much shame for her family to bear.

Which was all she’d ever been to them. The shameful daughter who didn’t fit the mold like her brother. Who didn’t understand her proper role as a daughter from a prestigious family.

And Rumi and Zoey weren’t at their apartment for her to turn to, because they were off on some date at an amusement park where they and their boyfriends were disguising their identities to have a normal date. Mira knew they would come if she called. She wouldn’t even have to say she needed them. If all she said was that her father called, Rumi would demand to know if they should come back and Zoey would ask if she needed to buy snacks for them to eat as they talked about all the ways her family sucked.

But she didn’t want to take them away from their fun. And . . . with them all out together, Abby and Romance should be at their apartment alone. Which was where she was at now.

She stared up at the skyscraper, almost as tall as the tower housing Huntrix’s apartment, her heart thumping in her chest. Coming here meant something. She knew that. Which made this scary, because it would be cruel to let them in and then back off—as if she hadn’t already let them in. Allowing Abby to take care of her when she hurt her ankle. Letting Romance kiss her without stabbing him for it—or even objecting to it. Falling asleep between them.

And she wanted to be there. She didn’t necessarily want to tell them about what happened, about her conversation with her father. But she wanted to see them. To be with them.

Charging through the doors before she lost her nerve, she rode the elevator up to their floor. And then she was knocking on their door.

Abby answered, surprise flashing in his eyes before they lit up. “Mira. You bored with Zoey and Rumi busy today?”

“Mira?” Romance said from deeper in the apartment. “Mira’s here?”

She pushed past Abby into the apartment. He lifted an eyebrow at her as he shut the door. “Yeah, sure, come in, why don’t you?”

Mira spun to face him, her face heating as even as she tossed her head back, an arrogant tilt to her chin as she gestured to his body. “You told me that’s all yours, if I want it. Doesn’t that mean I get to come here whenever I feel like it?”

His mouth dropped open as Romance stepped beside him. “Um . . . what did Abby tell you?”

Abby flushed as he rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “None of your business.” He turned back with a concerned frown. “But you’re acting . . . different. Everything okay?”

Her hands clenched at her sides. Why did this feel so vulnerable? They’d both been clear about their feelings. She knew they wouldn’t reject her.

“I want you to distract me,” she said. “That’s why I’m here.” Which was true, in a way.

Romance hesitated. “Okay. Do you want to watch a movie or—”

“No,” she interrupted. On the outside, she was perfectly cool. Perfectly collected. There was no sign of her racing heart—though her face was burning up, so she was probably blushing. But she didn’t let that stop her from gripping Romance’s shirt and pulling him to her. “That’s not what I meant.”

And then her lips were on his. He made a surprised, strangled sound against her before his arms wound around her back, one of his hands slipping into her hair as he pulled her close, immediately giving into the kiss. Because he’d meant every word he’d said to her. She knew that. She knew it. But something in her still eased as his lips moved against hers, light and teasing.

Then Abby was behind her, his hands going to her hips as his hot breath brushed her ear. “You want to be distracted? Then how’s this?” His lips dropped to her neck, kissing and gently sucking until she shivered against Romance.

Time blurred for her as they touched her, teased her, loved her. She couldn’t say whether it had been five minutes or fifteen when Romance pulled back with a gasp, his breathing heavy as he took her hands, which had been wrapped around his head, in his own hands, gazing into her eyes uncertainly.

At his actions, Abby stilled, resting his chin against her shoulder.

“Mira . . . I need to know what this means to you,” Romance said. “That this means something to you. Because . . . because it means everything to me.”

Her heart squeezed painfully, seeing her own insecurities mirrored back at her. Right. She needed to be braver than this—more direct than this. Which was easier than she might have thought. Then again, she’d never had a problem with being blunt.

Cupping his face in her hands, she gave him a gentle kiss before saying, “I never would have come here if it didn’t mean anything.”

His face lit up at that, but she released him to turn toward Abby, who backed up just enough to let her face him, his gaze serious.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, rising up on her toes. He made her come to him, not bending down to help her bridge the difference between their heights. She couldn’t help thinking it was him being petty because Romance had gotten three kisses now, whereas Abby hadn’t gotten any. But there was something adorable about that.

Her lips brushed against his, lightly, teasing, as his hands went to her hips again. When she went to pull away, he yanked her closer, his mouth moving against hers as he deepened the kiss.

She was breathless when he pulled away, her hands gripping his neck to keep her legs from giving out. But she still managed to tell him, “Your abs are mine.”

He chuckled, his eyes glowing with pleasure. “Of course they are.”

She twisted in his arms enough to point at Romance behind her. “And you shirtless is also mine.”

He grinned, stepping behind her as he slipped his arms around her waist and brushed a kiss against her cheek. “Whatever you say, Beautiful.”

Chapter Text

Romance

Romance was not excited that Mira hurt her hand while dancing and needed to rest it. He wasn’t. But he maybe squirmed with a little eagerness as she sat down to eat the lunch he’d made her for their date.

“Can I feed you?” he blurted once she was sitting.

Her gaze went to his, her eyes wide before she glanced around the apartment, almost as if someone might have witnessed his question. But he’d made absolute certain they would be the only ones in the apartment for their date. If he wasn’t going to share Mira dates with Abby—because he and Abby agreed that they weren’t going to share her quite that much, unlike what Zoey did with her guys—he certainly wasn’t going to let anyone else from the band be around to get in his way.

“Your hand is hurt,” he pointed out, his gaze dropping to the wrap around her wrist and part of her hand. “You’re supposed to be resting it.”

She lifted one eyebrow at him. “You hear I’m hurt and your first response is to want to feed me?”

He paused, heat rising to his cheeks before he admitted, “I’ve wanted to ever since Baby fed Zoey at the first movie night.”

Her eyes lit up with amusement—and a touch of softness. That was his girlfriend. All harsh sarcasm on the outside, all sweet tenderness on the inside.

“Fine,” she agreed. “You can feed me. But I’m managing my own drink. Baby and Mystery doing that for Zoey is just weird.”

Romance nearly floated off his chair—but the next ten minutes proved a lot more torturous than he ever could have expected. When Baby fed Zoey, she giggled and blushed and pretended to watch whatever movie was on the screen.

But Mira’s full attention was on Romance. There was no giggling, just her gaze, always so intent, always so full of meaning, even if she was hiding what that meaning was, perfectly on his. For. Every. Single. Bite. And how was he not supposed to get turned on over his girlfriend giving him such undivided attention? Each bite he fed her made him warmer until he was swallowing hard, his gaze overly focused on her lips as they parted around the next bite.

The softest smirk touched her lips. “Having trouble, Romance? I thought this was what you wanted.”

His gaze shot to hers. “No, no trouble.” Except his voice squeaked. He winced. If only he had the power to go back in time just a couple seconds. He cleared his throat before summoning a seductive smile. “I’m just enjoying taking care of my girlfriend.”

But if he didn’t get closer to her within the next few minutes, he was going to combust. When she only had one more bite left, his gaze focused on her lips again as he murmured, “Won’t you let me distract you from your pain for the rest of our date? I can make you forget all about that sprain.”

She smirked tauntingly. Sexily. Did she have any idea what that look did to him? “You’re underestimating my pain  tolerance, Romance. I’m just fine.”

He nearly cried at that response, his gaze full of woe when it met hers again. “Then will you distract me from my worry for my girlfriend? I hate it when she gets hurt.”

This time, he got a real smile. A beautiful, precious smile just for him. “Well, I can’t let my boyfriend drown in worry, can I?”

Boyfriend. He loved it when she called him that. But he loved it even more when she cupped his cheek with her unbandaged hand, bringing his lips to hers.

~.~

Abby

“I can manage brushing my hair,” Mira argued.

Abby snorted as he ran the brush in his hands through another strand of her hair. “I’ve seen what it takes to brush your hair.” And he was maybe a little obsessed with watching her do it. There was just something so . . . feminine when she did it. “It’s so long and thick that you use both hands, and right now you can’t use your dominant hand. So, actually, you do need help.”

“Rumi or Zoey would be happy to help,” she argued. “You brought me dinner since I had lunch with Romance, but you don’t have to stay.”

There were so many wrong things with her words just now.

One, who cared that her roommates would be happy to help her? He, her boyfriend, was right there and ecstatic to help her. Guaranteed he was more excited about doing this for Mira than either of her friends would be. Her hair was so silky—and he was definitely looking forward to have it spill all over his bare chest. As in that night, if he could help it. Not through them metaphorically sleeping together. They were still taking their relationship slow, after all. Just literally sleeping. If he could convince Mira to let him stay.

Two, of course he’d wanted a date with Mira since Romance had one. They wouldn’t usually have dates with her on the same day, and Romance’s date was planned before Mira got hurt, but he’d been so smug when Abby returned to the apartment that Abby couldn’t stand it. He wouldn’t ask Mira what happened—but he certainly hoped he’d get to be even more smug the next time he saw Romance.

Three, no one said anything about him having to stay. He wanted to.

“You still need me,” he argued. “And don’t you want me to know how to take care of your hair so I can do it after a late concert when you’re too tired to take care of yourself?”

Her amused eyes met his in the mirror. “You want to take care of my hair?”

Since it let him be this close to her? Yes, absolutely. Especially if he could rub it in Romance’s face. Except then Romance would probably want to do it to, so Abby wanted it to be a little secret between him and Mira. Or maybe him, Mira, and the rest of Huntrix. If she wanted to brag to the other two about what a sweet boyfriend he was to her, he was totally good with that.

She was still waiting for an answer, so he told her, “I’m a thoughtful boyfriend like that. And if you need help with washing or undressing right now . . .” He smirked. “I’m totally willing to give you as much time as you need to take care of you.”

Her voice turned deadpan as she said, “Yeah, no. I’ve got it covered.”

He gave her a flirty smile through the mirror. “Just trying to make your life easier, Mira. I promise I wouldn’t take advantage of the situation—much, anyway.”

An adorable smile played at the corners of her mouth that was almost as good as making her laugh, and he internally fist pumped. And since she was in a good mood right now . . .

He cleared his throat. “I should stay tonight—with you. Just in case you need anything in the middle of the night.”

She lifted one eyebrow. “What, you think I’ll need help with pain medicine? I need my throat more than my hands for that.”

“Your bandage could come undone in the middle of the night,” he argued. “And you need two hands to fix it. You’ll be helpless.”

She pressed her lips together to hide a small, and he swooped down to kiss her cheek before whispering in her ear, “Come on, Mira, let me take care of you.”

She paused, her cheeks turning pink before she muttered, “Fine. Just this once.”

It absolutely would not be just this once. But he’d let her think that for now.