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As much as he liked to pretend he was, Romance was incredibly bad at being a boyfriend. At least, in his mind. What was seen as loving and caring to others was perceived as overly clingy to him. What others saw as his beauty, he saw as the tiny imperfections. Smile lines, pimples, and hangnails he couldn’t quite peel off.
So when his boyfriend, Abby, started spending all of his time with someone else, Romance’s mind ran wild. Had Romance forgotten to do his makeup right? Was his hair too oily? Or maybe it was his behavior. The way he had been practically hogging Abby’s personal space ever since becoming human once again, maybe Abby had had enough?
Whatever it was, Romance would’ve been biting his nails had he not been worried about ruining his cuticles. Still, though, his anxiety was evident in anything he tried to do.
It started out small, really. Worried glances whenever Abby came home from hanging out with that black-haired girl from Huntr/x, to constantly asking the other members where Abby was. Of course, it was usually with the previously stated singer.
It was evident to the other members that something was stirring within their bandmates’ relationship.
As Romance strolled into the living room of their new penthouse haphazardly once again, he peered at the others. Mystery was reading some book on the couch, Baby leaning against his shoulder nonchalantly as he busied himself with whatever new video game he’d gotten on the TV. Jinu was out of sight, though the distant sound of a laptop being abused could be heard from the dining room.
“Guys? Have you seen Abby?” Romance asked wearily, his freshly plucked eyebrows furrowing in concern.
Without so much as glancing up from his book, Mystery muttered, “He went off with Zoey. Something about shopping together.”
Those four words made Romance’s heart stutter. Shopping? But that was Abby and his’ thing! The thought of his beloved boyfriend going out with that chipper hunter made him want to shatter into a million pieces and die.
“... Oh, okay.” Romance’s shoulders visibly sagged, something that Baby caught a glimpse of before nearly growling as a Royal Serpent killed his character.
Suddenly noticing that a conversation was taking place, Jinu looked up from his laptop. “Oh! Romance. I’m thinking about our comeback album. You’re great at fashion, right? Do you think you could help me out with our outfit ideas? The Hunteress’ manager turns out to be a lot nicer than I expected; he’s letting us have as much input as we want.”
Romance blinked for a moment, digesting those words before nodding glumly. “... Yeah, sure. Let me go grab my sketchpad.”
~~~
“... And then he goes and spends his time with that Huntr/x girl!? She’s cute, I get it, but how does he fall in love with that turtle girl so fast!?” Romance cried out, throwing his hands in the air. For the past half hour, he’d somehow gone from trying to figure out Baby’s color scheme to ranting about Abby.
Jinu let out a groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. He did not want to deal with this right now. He still had so much work to do. How do you even comfort someone with something you’ve never experienced? Jinu had a... Questionable relationship with Rumi, but he wouldn’t say they were dating by a long shot.
Then Baby piped up, saving Jinu from the potential frazzle. “So Abby told you he doesn’t love you anymore, but Zoey?”
“... No,” Romance muttered, head looking up to glare at Baby. “But why does it matter whether he’s said it or not? I’ve known him for centuries! He doesn’t have to say anything for me to know it or not..!”
“Romance, haven’t you done this often enough? I’m pretty sure you literally thought he was cheating on you with me when I introduced Abby to Minecraft!” Baby crossed his arms, casting a glare at the pink-headed man.
Hiking up his shoulders, Romance narrowed his eyes. “Baby, I’m allowed to be paranoid-”
“So you admit it. You’re just paranoid.”
“Baby, I’m two seconds away from breaking your neck,” Romance snapped. If he were still a demon, no doubt would his eyes be glowering and yellow.
“Romance, please,” Jinu sighed, exasperated. Placing a hand on Romance’s shoulder, he offered, “I’m going to visit Rumi later tonight for some promo tips-”
“You mean to flirt with your situationship,” Baby added.
Jinu blinked, resisting the urge to bark out a threat of his own. Instead, he simply coughed out, “... What I was trying to say is that if Abby’s at their apartment, maybe you can visit him. I doubt he’s... Making out with Zoey, or anything.”
Romance hesitated, resisting the urge to chew on his bottom lip. He didn’t want to cause a scar and make himself even more unattractive. “... I guess. But if he’s not there, I... I’m throwing out his protein powder and dumbbells!”
Baby scoffed, rolling his eyes. “If that’s all he’d get for cheating on you, then I’d cheat your ass off.”
“Baby, those are inside thoughts,” Mystery butted in softly, finally perking up from his book. Baby’s eye twitched at being treated like a child, but he couldn’t quite argue. His comments were a little out of pocket. Just a little.
~~~
“And welcome back to another episode of “Play Games With Us”!” The host announced, spittle flying as he shouted the show’s title. Yes, everybody got it. No, he didn’t care if they did. “On today’s joint episode of the Saja Boys and Huntr/x, we see which Saja Boy knows each Huntr/x member the best! Previously, Jinu proved to know Rumi quite well! Do I smell some offscreen relationships?”
Rumi cracked an awkward smile, waving at the audience. “Ha, ha... We just talk about business a lot! That’s all!”
“Sure is!” The host cooed, “And up next, we have Huntr/x’s very own maknae, Zoey! Who will know her the most? Will Zoestery prevail, or do we have a secret admirer on our hands? First question! What... Is Zoey’s favorite animal?”
Romance blinked, staying comfortably in his seat. He knew little to nothing about Zoey, and he didn’t plan on it. Maybe in the future, but he was still adjusting to this humanhood that had been bestowed upon him.
To his surprise, however, Abby slammed his fist down on the button, nearly cracking it into two little alarms. “Turtles!”
“Correct! That was a fast response, wasn’t it, Abby?”
Abby blinked before showing a bashful smile. “Oh, please! She loved turtles! Even her fans know that!”
“Are you a fan, perhaps?”
Zoey, who was trying to hold back her laughter, snorted out, “Oh, come on! Leave that poor beast alone! Next question, please!”
“Oh, alright...” The host sighed, shuffling his notecards. “Aha, next question! How did Zoey meet Rumi and Mira?”
Romance continued to sit there, having little to no clue of what the answer could possibly be. Shock flooded through him as Abby once again slammed down on the button. Seriously, how strong was that button to withstand all of this abuse?
“I know this! Okay, uhm...” Abby flapped his hands in excitement, realizing that he was the only one who knew remotely anything about Zoey. “After she moved here with- uh-” He stuttered, either too excited or too nervous. Either way, the fanservice was undeniable. “She moved here and went to the Sunlight Sisters’ reunion concert! She didn’t have the money to go in, so she stayed outside the arena and then met Rumi. Then Rumi introduced her to—”
“See!?” Romance cried out as he practically shoved the phone into Jinu’s face. “Why else would he know all this if he’s not cheating on me!?”
Jinu stared blankly at Romance’s phone as the video proceeded into a fanedit of Zoey and Abby with sparkles and other magical effects. “... Didn’t we do that game show, like, yesterday? How did people make fanedits already...”
Before he could ponder anymore, the click of the elevator marked the two’s arrival at the top of Huntr/x’s apartment.
As the doors slid open with a smooth shhh, both Jinu and Romance tumbled into the living room. Rumi stood there, notebook already and hand and a grin that told of something else planned. “Jinu, hey! I was thinking-” Expression faltering, she nearly immediately shifted gears. “I mean.. Uh... Romance! I didn’t know you were joining us!”
Romance let out a huff, crossing his arms. He was not in the mood to speak with a hunter. Jinu sighed, rolling his eyes at his bandmate’s stubbornness. “He wants to visit Abby. Are Abby and Zoey back yet?”
“Oh, yeah,” Rumi nodded, gesturing to the hallway at her left. “They returned a few hours ago... I don’t know what they’re doing. I’ve learned it’s better to leave them alone; they can get... Chaotic. One time I walked in on them-”
Eye twitching, Romance stomped off in the general direction that Rumi had pointed. It wasn’t too hard to figure out which door to go to, as the door was painted a deep emerald green with the name “Zoey” scribbled on it in about fifty different fonts. Something also seemed to relate to the door to a wizard, but Romance either didn’t understand or know the reference. Plus, Abby’s cackling mixed with a high-pitched squeal would have been evidence enough.
Romance was full-on reader to smash the door down when he felt a strict hand grab his shoulder. “What are you doing? You look like you’re about to murder my girlfriend.”
Romance stuttered, face flushing. “Girl... Friend?” Snapping back into reality, he near-shouted, “W-well, she’s a sorry excuse of a girlfriend! She’s in there cheating on you with my boyfriend!”
Mira blinked, her empty expression faltering. “What? She’s not...” Worry flickered across her dark brown eyes. “... Do you think she is?”
“If Zoey’s your girlfriend! She’s been spending all of her time with my boyfriend! Abby’s in there, squeaking like a man given air for the first time! I don’t- just go away!” Romance stamped his foot onto the ground, practically seething. He didn’t have time for Mira.
Mira’s expression softened slightly. As much as she wanted to calm Romance down, she hardly knew the guy. Better to let him discover everything for himself. “... Fine. But I’m here if you need to talk.”
With a grumble under his breath, Romance mumbled something incoherent before prying the door open. It was a good thing Zoey hardly ever locked her room.
Opening the door, Romance was met with quite the sight. Zoey and Abby were on top of Zoey’s bed, glitter thrown everywhere. In the ceiling, the curtains, the plushies... Did Romance feel some in his buttcrack? Abby was folding something in his hands, smiling as he copied Zoey. The two were also wearing fake fairy wings, for some reason.
But, of course, his instincts had to act up. “You stay away from my boyfriend, you bastard!”
A squeal of shock was emitted from the girl on the bed, head popping up to meet with Romance. Glitter seemed to have gotten to her, as well, as a pink shine was evident in her bangs and across her face, along with what Romance could only assume was glue.
“Hey, don’t call my girlfriend a-” Mira snarled, backing Romance up into the room before seeing the catastrophe with her own eyes. “Wha- Zoey! I told you no more glitter on the bed!”
Zoey stared at Mira for a moment before her bottom lip began to quiver. “B-but Mira! I was showing Abby how to make slime earlier!”
As if on command, Mira immediately went over to cup Zoey’s face. “And that’s lovely, Sweetheart. But seriously, you’re going to be breathing this stuff into your thirties.”
“Ahh, a worthy cause of lung cancer,” Zoey sighed in relief, glad her plan had worked. Mira always fell for her puppy-dog act. Her eyes then flickered to Romance, who looked ready to bang his head against the wall. “Can I help you? Something about me being a bastard to your boyfriend?”
Romance blubbered, jaw opening and dropping as broken words stumbled past his lips. He seriously thought Zoey was some wicked mistress, but instead... She was just having fun? It was unbelievable.
Mira smirked, glancing back at Zoey. “He thought Abby was cheating on him with you.”
Zoey blinked, eyes widening beyond the cosmos. Abby’s face did a similar motion as they both gasped out, “What!?”
“Romance!” Abby huffed, looking at his confused boyfriend. “Come on, I’ve told you not to worry about me! Zoey was showing me some of this modern era’s lovely tools!”
“Yeah!” Zoey stumbled out, holding up a piece of paper folded into shaped fourths. “I’m like 96.67 percent sure Abby has ADHD, too, so I’ve been showing him some stuff I use to calm myself! He made some glittery slime, too!”
“Even one for you!” Abby added on, holding up his hands. In it was a clear container filled with some slushing substance, pink and filled with white heart-shaped beads. “Zoey and I bought all kinds of decorations earlier today!”
“So... You weren’t...” Romance felt tears in his eyes as he poked the ugly jiggle. It wobbled, and the texture made him want to collectively hurl, scream, and cry, but Abby made it for him. Therefore, he’d cook it in a stew and swallow it to show his appreciation. “Oh, Abby! My sweet, dumb pile of muscles! I’m so sorry that I thought you were cheating on me!”
“It’s all good!” Abby chirped, “You’ll just owe me in extra cuddles.”
Romance nodded as Zoey squealed excitedly. “Oh my God! Abby, we should totally have a double date!”
Abby stared at Zoey in confusion before pumping his fists in the air as well. “Adventure! I agree!”
~~~
“And... Welcome back to your favorite show, Play Games With Us! Now, we didn’t get to do this last time, but now it’s time for the Saja Boys to be the questionees! Will Zoey know just as much about Abby? Will Rumi finally admit her and Jinu’s affairs!? Who knows! First up is... Abby!”
As Abby situated himself in the Questioning Throne™, Romance sat to the sidelines with a knowing smile. Zoey was definitely going to crush this, and he wasn’t upset now. Abby and Zoey had confirmed their relationship was purely platonic, and Romance was happy. He knew Abby could be a bit too brash for some, but Zoey was equally as chaotic. Despite how many times Romance had to pick them up like they were in a heist, he appreciated what Zoey was doing for Abby. Even if it meant they went through hyperfixations together. It was currently some toy called Legos.
Of course, he’d expressed his original thoughts to Abby. Abby had confirmed he’d try to give Romance some more attention, including constantly talking about Romance’s beauty. That last part was uncalled for, but Romance appreciated it.
It was good to look in a mirror, and instead of fixating on himself or what he was doing wrong, he could fixate on what Abby loved.