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May twenty third was the best day of the year. Better than her birthday, better than Christmas, better than Chuseok, better than any other holiday she could even dream of or every other holiday in the whole world combined, Turtle Day was the simply the best day of the year, hands down.
It wasn't because of the non-existent parades (even though she'd tried to petition Burbank to have one back when she was in high school) or the sweet treats associated with day (even though she had made a habit of making cake pop turtles every Turtle Day Eve), but it was the best day of the year because of what she, Zoey Seong, did with it. It was what she made out of it, and Zoey was pretty dang good at making things.
Each year, it had to be bigger and better than the last. The first year she celebrated, the first year Zoey had even been aware that such a holiday existed, was back in Burbank pre-Huntrix. She had satisfied herself with an appropriately festive turtle sweatshirt and the plethora of turtle charms dangling off of her phone for that first celebration, and for the next, she had handed out temporary turtle tattoos on top of her outfit. The third year, her socials had been flooded with people GIF-ing turtles at her and sharing pictures of their pet turtles and tortoises after she did a live stream (Zoey incessantly quipping, "They are different!" had been meme'd for months afterward) as a promotional effect for the holiday. This year was going to be even bigger, even better.
Until she had gotten sick.
"I'm fine!" Zoey insisted, even as Mira tucked her into bed and Rumi frowned at the undoubtedly-lying thermometer in her hand.
"You're at thirty eight and a half," Rumi observed, a frown furrowing her brow.
"That means nothing to me! I use Fahrenheit!"
Rumi squinted at her as Mira snorted, still smoothing the duvet over Zoey's shoulders and effectively pressing her back into bed. "You have a fever," Mira deadpanned, but her hands were soft as she lingered over Zoey's shoulders.
Zoey's face scrunched up. "Okay, but like, is that like a high fever, or-"
"You need to rest," Rumi cut in, unyielding but not unkind as she sat on the edge of Zoey's mattress. Her gaze turned sympathetic, and Zoey closed her eyes and groaned despite the raw feeling in her throat, even as she snuggled up beneath the warm covers. "You'll feel better if you rest."
"But-"
"No buts," Mira said, and she sat on the other side of Zoey's bed, crossing her arms. "The more you rest, the quicker you recover."
"Yeah, but-" Zoey cut herself off with another groan. "I still need to make the cake pops, and hang the streamers, and-"
"You need to rest," Rumi said, Mira nodding in seamless agreement.
Zoey deflated, but she nonetheless snuggled up beneath her comforter as she sighed. "Do you want to take a nap?" Rumi asked.
"Maybe," Zoey yawned. "Probably."
"You want us to stay with you until you fall asleep?" Mira asked.
Zoey yawned again. "Obviously," she said, and her satisfied grin spread to her ears as Mira and Rumi laid down beside her.
When Zoey awoke, some hours had passed, as evidenced by the clock on her nightstand and the lack of light streaming in through the windows. Her head still felt filled with cotton, but she could breathe easier, and, stretching up, her body didn't ache half as much as it had before her girlfriends had ambushed her and forced her to rest. But those aforementioned girlfriends were nowhere to be seen in the bedroom, and Zoey's feet slipped into her slippers (aqua green, because she would have felt bad getting turtle slippers and then walking on said turtles) before she wrapped her blanket around her shoulders and padded into the hallway.
"Guys?" Zoey called out, poking her head into the other bedrooms in case they had gone to bed to sleep in Rumi's or Mira's room for the night, but their beds were also empty. She wandered down the hall to the living room and just began to hear the frantic whispers of her partners as she drew closer.
"You need to lift it higher!" Mira huffed.
"I'm already on the highest step, I literally cannot, you need to bring it lower!" Rumi insisted.
Despite herself, Zoey smiled at their familiar bickering, and as she entered the living room proper, her gaze snagged not on her girlfriends as she anticipated but the many decorations all around. From wall to wall, their apartment was completely covered in turtle paraphernalia, from the seaweed-green rug to the blue and aqua streamers twining together through the air, not to mention all of the many, many turtle plushies. From turtles the size of her palm to ones wider than her entire chest, their couch was a full turtle crèche, and Zoey couldn't stop the shriek of pure delight at the sight of all the plushies.
Then movement caught her eye, and Zoey lifted her gaze from the couch to her two girlfriends sheepishly looking at her from their position up on the ladders. Zoey's heart melted as Rumi's guilty look and Mira's oh-shit expression, and she pulled her blanket along as she rushed over to them. "What's all this?" Zoey chirped, doing her best to keep her focus on her girlfriends and not solely on the all of various turtle decorations that she was still taking in.
Rumi and Mira exchanged a glance between each other before sighing, their shoulders slumping in unison. "This was supposed to be a surprise," Rumi began, and then the oven began to sing that something was ready.
"Oh, shit, the cake-" Mira said, effortlessly descending the ladder and taking long, easy strides to the kitchen. "You were supposed to sleep through this part," Mira said as she breezed through Zoey's eyeline with a shrug.
Zoey's head began to spin with pure delight. "Is this all for me?" she squeaked, and even though she innately knew the answer, she nonetheless needed the confirmation that this was all for her, that they had taken the pains and care to do this for her, that-
"It is technically after midnight," Mira called from the kitchen as Rumi opened her mouth to answer. "If that helps."
Rumi indeed straightened up, her eyes crinkling at the edges at her smile warmed. "Happy Turtle Day, Zoey!" Rumi said, still brandishing her half of the streamers as she posed beside the ladder. "We figured if you can't go out and bring turtles to everyone else, we could bring the turtles to you." Rumi's expression flickered nervously for a moment, and then she rushed to continue, "Mira's been working on the cake pops, and I found some turtle activities for us later, like coloring pages and crafts, and we decorated the apartment together, and yes, these are all for you to keep, and-" Rumi cut herself off with a sheepish grin.
Zoey's heart surged in her chest, and she wrapped her arms around herself, burrowing deeper into her blanket as heat pricked at her eyes. "You guys really did this all for me?" she asked, her voice smaller than she anticipated it would be.
"Duh," Mira said, her voice warm as she entered the living room once more and leaned against the wall. "With some help from Bobby in regards to getting us everything on time, but every last detail was pre-determined and approved by us." Another nonchalant shrug of her shoulders, as though it wasn't that big of a big deal. "Did you know they make turtle-themed energy drinks? They're not half bad."
"Bobby says feel better, by the way!" Rumi was quick to add. "He also dropped off a bunch of stuff to help you feel better, too."
Zoey sniffled, wiping at her eyes with the hem of her sleeve as her eyes watered. "This is the best Turtle Day ever!" she cried, holding herself tight as she tried to convey the entirety of her gratitude with words alone. Rumi's and Mira's faces melted, and both of her girlfriends rushed to her side as Zoey continued to smile through her tears. "I just-" Zoey hiccuped. "-love you guys so much!"
Rumi let out a tender laugh, and Mira kissed the crown of Zoey's head, undoubtedly to hide the smile Zoey knew even without looking was there. "We love you too," Rumi said, pressing the words along with a soft kiss to her cheek as Mira hummed in agreement.
"And we know you were really disappointed about not getting to have the turtle extravaganza you'd planned," Mira added.
"This is going to be even better!" Zoey insisted, still wiping tears away. She opened her mouth to continue to sing their praises when her stomach rumbled, and Zoey ended up letting out a sheepish noise instead. "Do we have any food?" she asked.
Her girlfriends exchanged another look before twin impish grins appeared on their faces. "We have a lot of food," Mira said, moving to pull Zoey along toward the kitchen. "Most of it is for tomorrow, but I think we can spare a little for a snack now."
"What'd you get?" Zoey asked, allowing herself to be pulled along.
Mira looked to Rumi for permission to spill the beans, and Zoey's grin widened when Rumi nodded. "We have turtle waffles for breakfast, to start us off," Mira said. "And a side fruit salad composed of fruits turtles like to eat." Zoey began to buzz at a rate that would have been alarming to anyone who wasn't acquainted with her overflowing energy, even when sick. "Basically, the entire menu tomorrow is turtle themed."
"We even got turtle buns for dessert," Rumi added. "The-
"The matcha brioche ones?" Zoey squealed, vigorously tilting her head side to side in delight as her girlfriends nodded. "I've always wanted to try those!"
"There are, somehow, a variety of turtle buns," Mira said. "The matcha brioche ones, mi ku buns, melon pan-" Mira cut herself off with a shrug. "We found a lot of options."
"But we should probably give you the juk Bobby brought over first," Rumi said. When Zoey's nose wrinkled, she continued, "We need to make sure your stomach can handle it!"
"I know, I know," Zoey sighed as she took her usual seat. She didn't bother protesting as Rumi and Mira assembled some food for her, not the least because her head was starting to spin again, and she took a sip out of her water bottle that she'd left on the counter earlier. She watched as Rumi and Mira worked in perfect unison to take care of her, and Zoey internalized that feeling of warmth in her chest as she pulled her blanket even tighter around her shoulders. "Thank you," she said as they slid the food in front of her, admittedly in her favorite bowl, which was, of course, a ceramic turtle with a removable shell for a lid. As she stirred the juk around, Zoey squinted at her girlfriends. "Have either of you eaten recently?" she asked accusingly.
"Well-"
"No?"
Zoey gave them a look before jerking her chin. "I know Bobby brought plenty, make yourself some bowls and come sit," she ordered, and she allowed herself a grin as Rumi and Mira snapped into action before taking a big bite. "Ah, that's hot!" she hissed, but she still went back for another bite. It felt like the heat of the porridge was burning away all the mucus in her chest, and she certainly didn't mind that, even if the imagery was left much to be desired.
Soon enough, Rumi and Mira were seated beside her, and all three of them were eating together in a comfortable silence. Zoey didn't bother to hide her glances at her girlfriends between bites, her smile growing wider and wider with each bite. "Thank you guys," Zoey said when she was half through her bowl. "Seriously, this means- this means so much to me." Tears threatened again, but Zoey swallowed them down with another bite.
"We know," Mira said casually, her ankle hooking Zoey's as her shin pressed against her in a motion almost reminiscent of a cat's tail.
"You deserve it," Rumi said, and she slid her arm into the crook of Zoey's elbow.
Zoey rolled her eyes happily, but she allowed the tension in her body to ebb away between her girlfriends. "Do all the turtles in the living room come with names?" she asked, almost shyly.
"Nope," Mira said. "They're all yours to name."
Zoey grinned, and she snuggled deeper into her blanket. "Best Turtle Day ever," she said softly to herself, "and it's not even over yet!"
Because Zoey was good at making the most out of things, and Rumi and Mira were already the best thing that had ever happened to her. And adding turtles into the mix? She couldn't be happier.
She couldn't be happier.