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Published:
2025-10-08
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2025-10-10
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2/2
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Harmless

Summary:

Celine tells herself that it's necessary.

And Rumi, 20+ years later, tells Mira and Zoey that it's fine.

Notes:

After putting down my whumptober #6 "medical restraints" sketch, I went on to write this (at midnight?!?) sooo... Somehow it's actually edited and finished unless the 10000 WIPS I've started since the last fic I posted (almost 2 years ago?!) let's gooo

Chapter 1: Fangs

Chapter Text

Being a parent – or the appointed substitute – comes with all sorts of challenges. Between diapers, teething and tantrums, nightmares, scraped knees and fevers, there are a million things to worry about. Very nearly everything feels like a threat to this helpless little soul that depends on you for their survival. 

Sure, Celine has faced crazy fans, stalkers and all kinds of threats at work. She's left the battlefield bloody and broken after fighting demons. But she was never genuinely scared out of her mind until Mi-yeong died and she held Rumi for the first time. A whole new type of fear settled in her that day and it hasn’t let up since. 

 

She swore to protect the infant with her life, but Celine never expected the extra challenges that come with raising a child who is half demon. It's a strange tightrope. She worries for Rumi constantly. But she's just as scared of her. Of what she might become. 

The older she gets, the more of Mi-yeong Celine sees in her. But there's something else, too, deep beneath the surface of the polite, joyful child. Something sharp and powerful. Something that needs to be hidden and pushed away before it gets too strong. 

 

This is for the best, Celine tells herself when she finally commits to take on this new challenge and books a flight to take them somewhere no one will recognise the Sunlight Sister or orphan in her charge. She drew up the NDA herself and, surprisingly, it’s not much of a challenge to find someone willing to fulfil her request. To pull out a child’s teeth without any medical necessity – Celine’s stomach churns at the thought of what people are willing to do if the price is right. At least in this case it does serve a purpose. 

 

Every time Celine brushes Rumi’s teeth, her fangs seem a little larger. Sharper. They came in after a particularly feverish and torturous teething period, and at first they looked like a regular, slightly extended set of canines. 

Until, inevitably, Celine tried to feed a cranky Rumi some kimbap for dinner and ended up with a deep, bloody cut on the pad of her thumb. (Rumi had been inconsolable.) 

 

Celine shudders to imagine what those fangs will grow into once Rumi starts school. What if she starts biting other children? Or when she's a hormonal teenager? There is no precedent for a half-demon child. She’s cute as a button now, but in ten years? There’s a chance her demon side may take over yet. And Celine doesn’t want to wait for hindsight. 

 

There's just no way around it. 

 

And it’s a harmless thing. Pulling out her fangs. 

 

This is for the best, Celine repeats as she holds the three-year-old tightly on her lap. With one hand, she pries her chin down to keep her mouth open. As the other restrains Rumi's arms to keep her still. 

It's cowardly that she can't even look. Rumi's big doe eyes are wide with fear, even after the rainbow sticker she earned for keeping still when the nice doctor pushed a long needle in her soft gums. 

She's trying to be good. Keeping her little fists pressed against her chest as her shoulders shake. Rumi doesn’t like the numb feeling in her jaw, but at the very least the doctor made sure she won’t feel a thing. 

 

Of course, Celine has tried to explain that this strange trip to the dentist is absolutely necessary, but Rumi is three and a half and reason isn't something she fully grasps just yet. It probably doesn't help that Celine is squeezing her eyes shut and trying her best to ignore Rumi so she won't take her and run. One look at the frightful tears pooling in her eyes and Celine won't be able to see this through. She knows a better parent would offer their toddler emotional support without having to repeatedly remind themselves that this is for the best. 

 

All Rumi can see are the pliers that aim for her slack mouth. And Celine feels her tense up and try to clamp her mouth shut again, but she’s no match for her caretaker. Demon or not. 

 

There’s some drilling and a lot of pulling and somehow it only gets worse once the first fang is out. Rumi sees the tooth in front of her and wails. Drowning Celine’s fingers in crocodile tears. 

 

“Just the other big one,” She instructs quickly. The bottom two are small and mostly dull; maybe it'll be alright to leave them. 

 

The doctor has to use so much force, pulling the fangs out, Rumi is almost pulled from Celine's tight grip. Do demon fangs come in baby teeth and adult ones too? Celine doesn't think she can stand to do this again if they grow back. She'll just have to muzzle the child until she's old enough to understand. 

 

“There we go”, the doctor’s accent is heavy as she drops the second fang on a small metal platter and Celine can finally let go of her charge’s jaw, exhaling. 

 

Rumi’s chest shakes with her cries and she pushes her tiny fists to her eyes, rubbing them red. 

 

“It's okay, Rumi, you're all done now,” Celine shifts her on her lap so she can finally look at Rumi. There's some blood on her lip and chin, but the dentist had assured her that she wouldn't need stitches and everything should heal just fine with a couple of antibiotics and a low dose of frequent pain killers. 

 

Rumi’s lashes are wet with tears and her cheeks glow pink. Pushing some stray hairs aside, Celine presses a kiss to the toddler's forehead. She feels oddly relieved. Is that right? Or should she feel guilty instead? She’s proud, too. 

 

“You were very brave,” Celine reassures, but her voice trembles – just a little. It’s over now, she reminds herself; this was the right thing to do. “I think this calls for a new teddy, don't you think? Would you like to pick one out before we head back to the hotel?” 

 

Her face jolts with the nod and Celine rubs a comforting hand over the child’s back, not sure what else to do. 

 

“Would you like to keep them?” The doctor asks breezily, like it’s nothing, and Celine is about to refuse the odd offer when Rumi holds out her hand. Her English is getting better, she notes and misses her opportunity to interrupt the exchange. The sharp fangs are already in Rumi's little hands – they look bigger now – and she clenches them tightly until- 

 

“Ow!’ Rumi cries out fresh tears and clamps down on the fangs. 

 

“Rumi!” Celine practically has to pry her fingers open to take the teeth away and inspect the small cut in her palm. “I'll take them, okay?” 

 

“Yes, keep them!” 

 

“Yes, yes, we’ll keep them.” 

 

Rumi gets a Power Ranger band-aid from the doctor and finally buries her face in Celine's shoulder. She's never sure how to offer comfort to her in the correct way, but Rumi seems to know what she needs. Celine will just keep her close for as long as possible and Rumi will forget what happened eventually. After the holes in her mouth heal. 

 

“Thank you, doctor.”

 

By the time they leave the shady dental practice, Rumi is ready to pass out. She doesn't nap anymore, but today is an exception, and Celine is all too happy to allow it. The rental car hums to a start and she shoots the sleeping toddler another look in the rear-view mirror. In her car seat, Rumi almost looks like nothing happened. Like there aren't two gaping holes where her canines should be. Celine will probably have to get her dentures for those. But she’ll be alright. She’ll get used to it. 

 

Hopefully, this was the last demon problem for now. 


Celine makes sure to grab a new Teddy and a couple of ice creams at the superstore before driving them back to the hotel. Another, stronger sense of relief washes over her as she puts distance between them and the dentist. It’s over now.

Chapter 2: Dentures

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Mira watches Zoey and Rumi like a hawk. 

 

The new choreo for Strange Feelin’ had them complaining all morning, but they aren’t doing half bad. Their movements are a little choppy here and there, but both of them have the majority of steps memorised already. 

Well practised in the art of motivation, Mira encourages them to keep going with plenty of flattery and a few vague allusions to an unknown reward. She knows they can pull it off. They just have to keep trying. 

 

Their white sneakers squeak to the beat of their new single and Zoey sinks to the gym floor as Rumi poses behind her. They both pivot to the back of their imaginary stage and salute to no one. 

 

“Looking good,” Mira muses with a smirk and Rumi beams at her when she turns back towards their lead visual. “Three, four, five-” 

 

Mouthing the lyrics, Zoey pushes her arms out and promptly feels her fist collide with something. Something solid and soft, something that makes a high-pitched strident sound. She gasps and turns towards her friend with a start. 

 

Rumi stops and almost trips over her own feet as she rubs her face. “Ow” 

 

“Oh, no! I’m so sorry, are you okay?” 

 

Hovering over her, Zoey is joined by Mira. They are mere inches away as both examine the damage – which isn't at all distracting of course, because Rumi is normal about her girlfriends. 

 

She nods and holds out her palm in a display of placid affirmation. Nothing broken. The hit hadn’t even been that hard – Zoey was dancing, not fighting, lucky for Rumi. 

 

“It’s fine-” Rumi’s voice sounds strangely muffled and she frowns at herself, pulling her face into a deep grimace as her tongue inspects her mouth with concern. 

 

“What’s wrong?” Mira leans in again, trying to inspect her face, and brushes a gentle fingertip over Rumi's hot cheek. Promptly, the latter opens her mouth and spits something in her hand, making Zoey screech and Mira pull back with an expression that is somewhere between grossed out and fascinated. “What the hell is that? Zoey, did you-” 

 

They’re silent for a moment, huddled together and staring at Rumi’s palm. Zoey leans into Rumi’s side to get a better look and her heart skips a beat at the sight. There’s no blood, but two white things attached to something pink and covered in spit. Her hand shakes a little as she reaches out. She stops just shy of touching what looks suspiciously like fucking teeth. 

 

A full body shudder passes through Zoey as she gasps and covers her mouth with both hands. Another beat passes and she screams at full volume: “Did I knock out your teeth?” 

 

“What the fuck, Zoey?” Mira stares at her with frightened awe. 

 

“What? No! Relax, my dentures just came loose. It’s fine. It happens." 

 

“Your…” 

 

“... dentures?” 

 

Both girls turn from her hand towards Rumi – who takes one of the fake teeth and tries to blindly push it back in place. They’re usually pretty secure; she can count on one hand how often they’ve come loose during a fight. But they also don’t last forever and it’s been a few years since she's gotten a new set. 

Rumi would've hoped for a less embarrassing moment for them to fall out, though. Preferably when her girlfriends aren't around. 

 

There are a million unspoken questions on Mira and Zoey’s faces. Thoughts racing as they each try to set them in order. It's sort of endearing. Mira is the first to recover as she clears her throat and forces her voice to stay even and semi-nonchalant. 

 

“Why the fuck do you have dentures, Rumi?” She sounds almost accusatory and Zoey nods repeatedly. 

 

“And how come you never told us? Were you embarrassed? It’s okay. You don’t have to be.” 

 

“Oh…” The second one clicks into place and Rumi runs her tongue across her top row of pearly whites. Her shoulders sink with relief. The dentures are a bit strange, still, but she really doesn’t like the way the empty spots feel. “You know… It’s kind of a… A demon thing?” 

 

Shrieking, Zoey grabs Rumi’s shoulders and violently shakes her for a moment, “Demons don’t have teeth?” 

 

Unblinking, Rumi stares at her. Zoey stares back. And Mira looks between the two. What a shocking revelation, after all these years. To think that the Saja boys, in all their hot glory… Like little old grandpas. 

 

“What? No! No, I just- When I was little, Celine took me to get my fangs removed after I accidentally bit her.” 

 

It’s been so long, Rumi barely even remembers anything about that day. But every so often she wonders what her fangs would have looked like now. Would people be scared if they saw them? Or would it have been fine; just a little odd. Unlike the rest of her teeth, a second set never developed. Probably because they were growing with her, unlike regular teeth. Negating the need for tooth exfoliation. 

Rumi still has her little baby-fangs stored away in a small box under her bed. It’s slowly collecting dust. But even if she never pulls the box out, Rumi can’t quite let go of them. There was a strange pull that kept her from throwing the teeth out. The only feasible explanation she’s come up with is a vague shrug and a mumbled demon-stuff. 

 

Visibly swallowing, Mira’s frown darkens and the tension surrounding her is palpable as her shoulders stiffen and fists flex. She’s not happy with the explanation. Rushing to placate her, Rumi takes one of Mira’s hands and strokes a thumb across the smooth skin. 

 

“It’s okay-” 

 

“She…” 

 

“Mira, it’s okay. You can’t even tell. See?” Rumi opens her mouth as proof, but Mira shakes her head and looks at their feet instead. 

 

“I don’t think that’s right.” 

 

Nodding slowly, Zoey pulls away just enough to look at Rumi properly. Her hands move to the edge of Rumi’s top and play with the hemline. “Your demon side is a part of you and Celine took a piece of that away… I mean, we knew she wanted you to hide the demon stuff and all that, but…?” 

 

Zoey looks at Mira for reassurance, who agrees with a grim nod. 

 

“Guys, you don’t understand! They might have become dangerous. I could have hurt someone else or myself.” 

 

“Did you?” Mira deadpans, icy eyes darting up and Rumi swallows. No. She’s never hurt anyone who wasn’t a demon. Ever. She couldn’t. “See?” 

 

“No. S-She meant well.” 

 

“I’m sure she did,” Zoey sneaks her way under Rumi’s arm to squeeze her tightly. “But that doesn’t mean it was right.” 

 

A strange sense of guilt tugs on Rumi, even though she knows she hasn’t done anything wrong. Things between her and Celine are still difficult, but she doesn’t want Mira and Zoey to be mad at her. At least not for something she’s never even considered to be an issue. Something that’s already gone and done at that. Something that is just part of Rumi now. It feels like they disapprove of her as much as Celine.  

 

Rumi shrivels a little under the intense looks of the girls and Mira’s eyes soften a mere heartbeat later. 

 

“It’s just so weird to think you’ve been missing two teeth all this time and we never knew…” Mira goggles at Rumi’s mouth. The shift in topic makes Rumi breathe again. Does Mira know? 

 

Tentatively, she reaches out a hand and brushes her fingers over Rumi’s chin. Then her lips. Heeding the unspoken command, Rumi opens her mouth and watches - nearly crosseyed - as Mira inspects the teeth. The fervor of her gaze drowns out the thoughts that had begun to swirl in her mind. “You really can’t tell at all…” 

 

The air smells like jasmine and tonka beans and something unmistakably her as Mira leans in. Rumi very nearly swoons. It’s so easy for Mira to drown out her thoughts.
They’ve been close for years and she still hasn't gotten used to the lightheaded feeling that comes with it. Of course, it doesn't exactly help that Zoey's arms are still wrapped around Rumi and her fingertips are running up and down the small patch of exposed skin between her cropped top and pair of workout leggings. 

 

Rumi's body is faster than her mind and her hand is in Mira's hair seconds before their lips meet. It's tender and sweet and gentle, but the taller woman doesn’t hesitate to guide Rumi’s mouth open so she can slip in some tongue. The tip drags across Rumi's teeth and it feels a bit awkward. But that’s fine. She can deal with awkward. And then Mira pulls away so abruptly that Rumi would have stumbled after her if not for Zoey's nuzzle. 

 

A small laugh escapes Mira as she smirks. “They feel pretty real.” 

 

“Were you….-” 

 

“Me too,” Zoey exclaims and unwraps herself from the other girl to grab her face with both hands. 

 

This time, Rumi is prepared for her girlfriend and parts her lips unprompted, allowing Zoey inside. One of her hands has slipped to Mira’s nape and the other rests on Zoey’s hip. They're warm and solid against her. 

 

“Satisfied?” She sighs after. 

 

“Well, I might have to test this a few more times, not sure I could feel anything,” Zoey winks and Rumi feels an unexpected giggle bubble up in her. Leave it to Zoey to defuse any last bout of apprehension. 

 

“After practice,” Mira notes. “And after you've told us what else Celine did to hide your demon side...” 

 

“Noth-” 

 

“After practice.” She repeats firmly, but the kiss Mira presses to Rumi’s cheek is entirely soft. 

 

Rumi lets out a long sigh. She looks at both her girls and expertly finds the adoration in the mixed emotions that linger in their eyes. It’s okay. They’re not mad. It’s another weight off her mind. 

 

Still, something gnaws at Rumi. Has ever since she's been old enough to wonder about kissing. Something that’s been in the back of her mind every time she’s gotten close to Zoey or Mira and thought about telling them; before she inevitably pushed the thought away. 

 

“C-Can I ask? Do you guys think it's gross…?” Her eyes find a line of rubber burn on the floor and she follows it to Mira’s shoes before looking up at her girlfriends again. 

 

“Gross?” Mira echoes, confusion evident. 

 

“No way!” 

 

Zoey’s woody white peach mixes with Mira’s spicy floral as they crowd her again. Rumi has half a mind to wonder if she should stop smelling them when the tightness in her chest is replaced by their arms and hands and she lets out another long breath. She'll get dizzy at the tides of relief at some point. It keeps washing over her whenever her instincts tell her to pull away and she chooses to open up instead. 

 

“Nothing about you could ever be gross,” Mira’s voice is muffled by Rumi’s shoulder and her breath tickles a little. Not enough for Rumi to squirm away, though. She'll never be the first to pull from a hug with them. Ever. 

 

“Nothing!” 

 

"Okay… I trust you.” 

 

“Good.” 

 

It's easy to believe Mira and Zoey when they look at her like that. A smile spreads across her face, and Zoey leans in to pepper wet kisses across Rumi's cheeks, effectively turning the smile into a bright giggle. Mira chuckles fondly and leans in to kiss Zoey’s cheek for good measure – briefly squishing her between them. 

 

If Rumi was nearly overwhelmed with love before, she definitely is at the sight in front of her. Mira and Zoey share a smile and a gentle kiss and Rumi counts her lucky stars. How is she ever going to deserve them? 

 

When the trio can finally bear to pull away, Rumi points at her dentures with a wide grin and declares: “By the way, I can whistle through the holes! You wanna see?” 

 

“YES,” Mira and Zoey shout in unison. 

 

They’ll talk about the rest some other time. In bed, maybe. When they’re warm and safe and have all the time in the world to unravel the past, present and future. 

Notes:

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE COMMENTS, I don't think I've ever gotten reactions to a fic that fast (absolute dopamine rush wow)

This isn't too deep, cause I wanted to keep it all short and sweet, but I hope y'all like the second chapter as well and enjoyed my little de-fanging fic! Next time you're at the dentist you can think about polytrix while you wait for the doctor to finish up haha

EDIT: I did a little follow up sketch that's not actually compliant with this, but oh well, it's my whumptober day 15 drawing @sabeedraws on tumblr if you wanna see :>