I'm sorry for the slow update on We got you kid. I promise I've been working on it. Life has just been busy with kids sports and now my job has been bought by a new company and I have been super stressed about that.
I did take a small break then worked on a few one-shots but I have been working on Chapter 6 during my lunch breaks at work and the little free time I have when my kids are in bed. It's getting done a little at a time!
Just wanted to give an update and let everyone know I promise I haven't abandoned it.
Forgot I had this saved in drafts until my moot @eldergoblin started being active on Tumblr again tonight lol (IDK if I'm AO3ing this one or not, we'll see)
you'd come over, right?
Rumi should have seen this coming.
When she woke up with a headache and a sore throat the day before, she didn’t take it seriously. She pushed through time in the recording booth and choreography sessions, despite her voice being a little more rough than normal in the recording booth and how easily she got tired after a few run-throughs of their new song in the dance studio. Zoey asked several times if Rumi needed a break or if she preferred coming back later. Mira made Rumi take extra water breaks when she noticed she was dripping in sweat the way she does at the end of their session - not fifteen minutes in.
After their work was done for the day Mira took her place in the kitchen and Zoey kept Rumi pinned to the couch with cuddles. One plate of Mira’s heart-warming kimchi jjigae later, Mira and Zoey marched Rumi into one of their bathrooms to take a long, hot shower. They waited on the other side of the door for her, throwing Rumi into her cozy pajamas and wrestling her into their bed early.
They thought that a full night’s rest would help. Rumi, too, thought it would be enough to banish whatever ailment was bothering her, especially with Zoey and Mira weighted so nicely against her as she fell asleep.
When Rumi wakes in the dark with her head pounding, her throat sore, and her body aching and coated in sweat, Rumi realizes just how screwed she really is.
She tries to sit up, but her muscles are like gelatin and she collapses back into her pillow with a weak groan. It’s just enough movement and noise to wake only one of her girlfriends (the other sleeps like a rock).
“Hm? Ru?” Mira whispers, her voice thick with sleep. “Y’okay?”
Rumi tries to respond, but her throat is too sore to form words. She groans again and she’d be the first to admit that it sounds much more helpless than she’d like.
Whatever this is has put her flat on her back - something the demons they fight can’t typically manage to do.
“Rumi? Hey,” Mira says, her lack of response rousing her. She lifts her head a little more and moves closer. “You okay?”
Rumi groans softly again, wishing her voice would cooperate in telling Mira to go back to sleep. It still doesn’t, and Mira moves away to turn on the lamp at her bedside. In this light, Rumi can see just how concerned Mira is when she turns back to her, sliding a hand up to cup her face.
“Ru?-- Shit, you’re burning up,” Mira mutters. “I’ll grab the thermometer. Stay right here.”
It’s not like Rumi could move if she wanted to - she’s already tried that.
Mira kicks the covers off her legs, getting to her feet and padding into the bathroom. Rumi hears the click of the light switch and some rummaging.
It feels like an eternity before Mira returns, but in that time Rumi realizes she is too hot and too cold at the same time. Zoey’s body heat from where her head rests on her shoulder makes her feel like she’s boiling, and Mira’s absence on the other side makes her feel like she’s been stuck in a freezer. As comfy and cozy as Rumi is, her limbs are aching. Her head is thrumming - it sounds like someone is using the kick pedal on their drumset but on the inside of her skull.
Mira returns to Rumi’s side, turning on the thermometer in her hand with a faint beep. She sits beside Rumi again, leaning over her.
“Okay, open up, Ru,” Mira whispers. Rumi barely gets her jaw to cooperate, but Mira’s able to slip the end of the thermometer underneath her tongue. A few moments later, it beeps three times, and Mira pulls it out of her mouth to read it. “Shit, you’re almost up to 103,” she announces.
Rumi doesn’t know much about Fahrenheit except from Zoey. By some odd luck, one of them always gets sick when they tour in America, so most (if not all) of the thermometers in the penthouse are in Fahrenheit. Zoey has told Rumi and Mira repeatedly that a normal body temperature in Fahrenheit is 98-point-something degrees, and that after 104, they need to go to the hospital. That’s how she knows that 103 Fahrenheit is definitely not ideal.
“We’ve gotta bring that down. I’ll be right back,” Mira mutters, kissing her forehead.
From that point, Rumi remembers only the smallest snippets. Her fever keeps her so muddled that she only manages to have sporadically clear thoughts and memories.
Rumi blinks once and Mira’s gone.
She blinks again and Mira is draping a freezing, wet towel on her forehead.
One more blink and Rumi has an icepack on her chest while Mira tries to get her to sit up and drink some water. Rumi’s too weak to move on her own and her throat is too swollen to swallow, so she refuses.
“Just a little,” Mira whispers, stroking her cheek with her thumb. “I know it hurts.”
Rumi doesn’t even know how long it’s been since she first woke up by the time she realizes Mira is dressed for the day. There’s a bit of light peeking through her curtains now. Rumi feels like she’s thoroughly sweating through her shirt.
Rumi doesn’t remember dropping her jaw just a little so Mira can trickle cold water into her mouth. Any relief granted from the water is erased by the pain that comes with swallowing.
Rumi blinks again and Zoey’s awake, stroking the hair at the top of her head and looking down at her.
“Hey, aegiya,” Zoey whispers. “Mira’s gone to make you a smoothie to cool you down. You’re still hanging around 102.”
A shiver creeps up on Rumi, shuddering through her body when it radiates from the icepack on her chest. She doesn’t understand how the thermometer could say she’s so warm when Rumi feels like she’s taken a trip to Antarctica.
“Cold?” Zoey asks. Rumi manages a small nod. “Here.” She drapes a thin blanket over Rumi’s chest and arms, just enough to keep the chill away. “We can’t have you too warm, but I don’t want you freezing.” She presses a soft kiss to Rumi’s forehead.
Rumi blinks again and Mira’s trying to get a spoonful of a peach and strawberry smoothie down her throat.
“Nae sarang, you need to eat something,” Mira tells her. “Please.”
Rumi opens her mouth just a little, letting Mira spoon the smoothie into her mouth. She waits for her to swallow before offering another - it still hurts, but it’s cold and tastes pretty good. Rumi can only stand to swallow six times before Mira lets up.
“Can we try some medication?” Zoey asks from her other side. “It will help with the fever.”
“No,” Rumi rasps, her voice breaking despite it finally allowing her to form words. “It hurts.”
“We’ll try later, okay?” she asks. Rumi nods.
“Get some rest, Ru,” Mira tells her. “We’ll be right here.”
Rumi closes her eyes, letting sleep overtake her.
A string of old memories run through Rumi’s dreams. She dreams of when she was younger, seeing flashes of herself and Celine during all the happy times they had together.
She sees herself held in Celine’s arms, her eyes drooping. Rumi was supposed to be asleep in her own bed, but found Celine when she just couldn’t manage to drift off. Her little feet hang off the side of Celine’s lap, but she doesn’t seem to mind that Rumi’s slowly falling asleep on her shoulder.
She watches Celine throw a big, fluffy towel over her head after her nightly bath. Celine teasingly wonders where Rumi went until a tuft of purple hair and her little nose poke out from underneath the towel. Rumi giggles when Celine gasps dramatically and starts rubbing her dry, telling Rumi that she’s snug as a bug in a rug.
She sees Celine teaching her some basic first aid when she was barely a teenager. Celine often used herself as an example for Rumi after she returned from her solo demon fights and coached Rumi through the basics so she’d have plenty of hands-on experience.
Rumi remembers Celine doing the same for her after her training sessions. Celine’s hands were always steady and careful, always just warm enough to soothe her deepest aches from sparring for two hours straight.
And then she sees her first hug with Celine after the Idol Awards. A not-quite-mother and a not-quite-daughter sharing a desperate, tight, relieving hug. Rumi doesn’t know how long it actually lasted, but in the moment it felt like they had been hugging for hours. They had tea afterwards and began some difficult conversations.
Things haven’t quite been the same since the Idol Awards, but Rumi knows it’s a work in progress. Celine is trying to be a better parental figure. Rumi is trying to be okay with everything after so long.
Rumi never knew her mother - she can’t remember ever being with her.
But Rumi loves Celine like she’s her mom.
Celine was far from perfect - this they both agree on - but Rumi loves her. She was there when she had no one. She loved her and cared for her when no one else was there to do so.
She wishes she was here.
Rumi barely opens her eyes for a minute, seeing Mira pacing on the phone.
“She’s really out of it. It hurts her to swallow, her temperature is down to 102, and we got her to go back to sleep but she keeps muttering about her mom,” Mira says. “She won’t take any meds and it’s difficult to get her to eat or drink anything… I think she needs you… I know you’re not her mom, but you’re the closest thing she has, Celine.”
That’s all she catches before Zoey replaces the cold towel on her forehead, then she’s out like a light again.
Rumi thinks she’s dreaming again when she hears Celine’s voice.
“Rumi-ya.”
Rumi pulls her eyes open. When they focus, Celine is at her bedside, placing one of her palms against Rumi’s forehead. Rumi shivers - Celine’s hand feels cold, but she knows that she’s still too warm.
“You’re right, she’s still burning up,” Celine says over her shoulder. Mira and Zoey appear behind her. “What was her temperature?”
“She was at 101 just before you got here,” Zoey replies.
“She’s been incoherent for hours,” Mira adds.
When Rumi reaches over and grips one of Celine’s hands, she turns back to Rumi with a soft smile.
“There you are, Rumi-ya. You’re okay,” Celine whispers.
For a moment, Rumi is so out of it that she feels like she might have somehow telepathically communicated with Celine to get her to show up.
“You’re here.” Rumi’s voice is rough and her throat feels like sandpaper. The tears running down her face aren’t helping.
“Shh,” Celine whispers. “I brought soup. Rest.” She turns back to Mira and Zoey. “Do you still have that smoothie? It’ll be good while the soup heats up.”
“I’ll go grab it out of the freezer,” Mira says, then leaves the room.
“Zoey, can you get Rumi a dry t-shirt? This one is soaked,” Celine tells her. Zoey nods and starts rummaging through her drawers, but Celine turns back to Rumi. Her hand moves from Rumi’s forehead to wipe away the tears on Rumi’s face. “Don’t cry, Rumi-ya, it’s okay.”
“I missed you, eomma,” Rumi whispers. She doesn’t realize the words slip out of her mouth until Celine notices.
After the Idol Awards, Rumi started calling Celine her mom more openly… but she’s never called her eomma. That term had always been reserved for Mi-yeong.
But Mi-yeong isn’t here. Celine is. She’s always been there for her.
(Not always always, but they’re working on moving past that.)
And now Celine looks like she’s about to cry.
“I missed you, too, Rumi-ya,” she replies, ducking down to kiss Rumi’s forehead. “We’ll get you feeling better.”
Zoey shifts a few pillows behind Rumi to get her to sit upright, holding her to keep her there while Celine helps Rumi change shirts. Mira returns a minute later with the smoothie she made and a spoon, but leaves again to check on the soup.
“I need you to eat something, Ru,” Celine tells her, taking the smoothie from Mira and giving it a good stir. “We need to get you some medication so you can fight the fever, but we can’t do that if your throat hurts too much to swallow a pill, so… smoothie.”
Celine’s presence changes everything.
She convinces Rumi to eat Mira’s smoothie despite her throat still hurting. Celine convinces Rumi to eat her homemade samgyetang even though she has to spoon-feed it into her mouth.
Celine is the one that convinces Rumi to finally take some medication for her fever.
When Celine is finally satisfied she tells Rumi to take a nap (because her eyes were drooping anyways). Rumi is still so incoherent that she barely remembers asking Celine to get into her bed with her. She doesn’t remember asking, but she remembers laying her head on Celine’s shoulder like she used to on Celine’s couch.
“Get some rest, Rumi-ya,” Celine whispers into her hair. “I love you.”
“Love you too, eomma,” Rumi mutters, her eyelids falling closed.
Celine stays with Rumi. Mira and Zoey are still around, bringing her food, cold drinks, and more medication… but it’s Celine that is almost always with her. Celine makes sure she eats and drinks enough, makes sure she takes her medication, and makes sure she doesn’t sweat through her t-shirts.
Having Celine around makes Rumi feel like that four year-old girl again - the one that giggled while Celine dried her off after her bath. Everything feels lighter between them than it has in a long time.
Mira and Zoey handle Rumi’s hot baths to help with her body aches, and they sleep beside her at night to make sure she gets good sleep and doesn’t need anything in the middle of the night.
Two mornings later, Rumi’s fever finally breaks. She admits to not really remembering much of what happened the first day of her fever, but she’d wished for Celine in her dreams… and Celine showed up.
“I guess I should probably get going now that you’re feeling better,” Celine tells Rumi, her duffle bag packed at her feet.
“Do you have to?” Rumi asks quietly, sliding her legs over the edge of her bed and getting to her feet. “I, um… I miss you.”
Celine looks like she wants to smile, but the corners of her mouth return to a neutral position.
“I’m never too sure if you want me around after… everything,” Celine replies. “But… if you want I can be around more.”
“I’d like that,” Rumi says. Celine does smile then. “I really, really want that.”
Celine moves first, closing the gap between them and pulling her into a hug. Rumi wraps her arms around Celine, never wanting to let go. She buries her face in Celine’s shoulder, trying to keep herself from getting too emotional.
“I know you’re Mi-yeong’s… but I love you like you’re mine, Rumi-ya,” Celine whispers. That’s enough for Rumi to cling to her even more. “If you want me to be your eomma, I will… but I need you to say it again so it’s not just something you said in a fever-induced haze.”
Rumi very vaguely remembers what Celine’s talking about. For a moment she thinks that she dreamt calling Celine her eomma, but if Celine knows about it… then she must have said it out loud.
Rumi knows she meant it, even if she was pretty muddled during her fever.
“I love you, eomma,” Rumi mutters with a sniffle, clenching her eyes shut when her tears threaten to spill. “I’m glad you’re here.”
Celine holds her firmer. “I love you so much, Rumi-ya,” she replies. “I’ll be apologizing for everything that happened for the rest of my life, but I love you, Rumi. All of you.”
When they pull out of the hug, Celine takes Rumi’s face between her hands.
“No matter how big you get, you’re still my little girl,” Celine whispers, finally opening Rumi’s tearful floodgates.
They agree on brunch once a week - or FaceTime calls when HUNTR/X is on tour or otherwise occupied. They’ve got to start somewhere, after all.
When Rumi walks Celine out of the penthouse with Mira and Zoey at her side, she knows that they’ll figure this out, but for once… she feels like her family is complete.
Before huntrx got together when Zoey was still in Burbank she had/has scoliosis (bc that shit doesn’t go away) and had to get surgery bc of the degree of the curve. The surgery goes well and everything but after surgery the doctors make sure to give you some pretty strong meds (at least in America) to deal with the layers of shredded layers or tissue (skin,muscles,bone). I hc for this au that Zoey has always been into music and drawing but never got into writing lyrics or rapping herself. It after surgery she had to cut back on all physical activities so she started hyper focusing on writing lyrics and rapping/singing herself. Then when Celine found and scouted her via the honmoon Celine was told about it so she had a bit of a harder time during training with lung capacity and rebuilding strength but she started on a bit easier training before she officially moved to Korea to try to get her body back into a bit of shape.
I’d like to imagine that Zoey didn’t really mention this to the others until she had one of the yearly check ups and the girls accompanied her to the doctors and they checked over everything and whatnot and that’s how the other girls would figure out she had surgery.
Sometimes writing is like having an enormous lake in your head, and you want to get it out of your head and into a proper place for a lake so other people can come and go swimming and ride jet skis and stuff, except all you have to move the lake is a teaspoon. So you’re just sitting there frantically flinging water out of the lake with your teaspoon and telling people, “Guys, this lake is going to be so cool when it’s done,” but it will never be done. There is so much lake.
Sooo I finally wrote one of the one-shots that has been living in my notes for a bit. Don't worry! Im still working on We got you kid. I just like to post links to fics on here because I have found several good fics myself just by seeing them posted on here.
Here is the link if you would like to check it out.
2087
dailybridgerton
jbbartram-illu
pixelskylines
prguitarman
baratheonpilled
discoholicmusic
