Gladly be The Icarus to your Certainty (Part 7)
Pairing: Rumi x Fem!Reader
Summary: What would happen if a different kind of demon found Rumi?
A dark-winged girl whose patterns glow black and silver, as if ink was running through her veins, who masters the path of shadows and who, for some reason, cannot stop thinking about some purple-haired hunter.
Warnings: cursing, violence, demons, shame, your usual.
a/n: long time no see but i'm back for now, hope you like this one!
âAlright, teamâ Bobby started. âI know everything is all Saja, Saja, Saja, but weâre gonna turn it into Huntrix, Huntrix, Huntrix! Yay! These fans slept on the sidewalk, overnightâ he added enthusiastically.Â
âHappy fans, happy Honmoon!â the three idols chanted.Â
The fans started making its way inside and thatâs when the whole Saja performance started, revealing themselves from their sleeping bags.Â
âItâs the Saja Boys!â the fans screamed.Â
âItâs an honor! Table, now!â Rumi could hear Bobby exclaim.Â
But something tugged at her when she saw the line spliting between the two tables, prompting her to announce they would be signing together and earning herself confused stares and comments from her fellow bandmates.Â
âWe need every fanâ she explained.Â
Jinu sat beside Rumi, his gaze fixed on the side of her head even if she wasnât going to grace him with her attention.Â
âI didnât think you liked sharing,â he stated, smirk evident in his voice.Â
âI love sharing,â Rumi answered.Â
His smile widened at that.Â
âThen care to share whatâs going on with you and sweet little Nixe?â he chuckled.Â
Rumi, who finished handling an autographed poster to a fan, turned to look at him, eyes narrowed.Â
âThatâs none of your business,â she said.Â
âOh, but it is my business, hunterâ he cooed, âshe is far more dangerous than she seemsâ.Â
âNot gonna talk to someone whoâs helping Gwi-Ma" she said.Â
Jinuâs demeanor changed a bit then, his features morphing into something more genuine.Â
âIâm helping myselfâ he started. âLook, if I help him, heâs promised to erase my memories, and those voices in my head will be goneâ.Â
âPatheticâ Rumi spatted. Â
âIâm pathetic? You canât even talk about your patternsâ he countered.Â
âYou want me to talk about my patterns? I hate them! Just like I hate all demonsâ she exploded.Â
âSay that to your rogue-demon lover girlâ he said, âbe careful with her, Rumiâ.Â
âExcuse me Mr. Jinu?â a younger fanâs voice interrupted them. âI made this for youâ.Â
âUh... for me?â he asks, grabbing a drawing of him as an angel.Â
For a moment heâs taken back to some years ago, when he met you and thought of you an angel, before discovering you were just like him, in a way, but he shook the memory off his mind just as quickly.Â
âMaybe listen to those voices instead of the ones in your headâ Rumi said, softer this time.Â
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Rumi took a moment to clear her thoughts, opting for an afternoon walk to burn some steam.Â
She always resorted to these ways when she felt like she needed to be left alone, Celine voice sounding clear on her head.Â
âOur faults and fears must never be seenâ.Â
She walked faster, trying hard to block the voice from haunting her further, just to find a different voice, her own, berating her for everything that came to mind.Â
âJinu might be a demon but heâs right, so is Nixeâ her thoughts spiraled.Â
Her breath slowed as her steps faltered, her hand traveling to her neck, where she could feel her patterns pulse achingly. Â
âYou thought she was special? That you were special?â a lower, far crueler voice spoke in her mind. âYou both deserve each other, donât you, Rumi? You ruin everythingâ.Â
She paused to hold her breath, then slowly retracting her steps, she went inside a secluded alleyway she had passed a few minutes ago.Â
She leaned against the wall, her head hung low as the sunset sky painted every shadow with a warm orange and pink glow.Â
She felt it more than heard it, the small huff of air around her, the way her skin prickled the same way it did when they almost turned the Honmoon gold.Â
And there you were, she felt the need to blink as if to make sure you were really there and not her mind playing tricks on her.Â
âIt seems like this is our thing now, huh?â you started. âLonely alleyways and panic attacksâ.Â
She glared at you when you started to get closer to her, making your step falter as you stopped moving altogether and raised your hands in a surrender motion.Â
âI donât know what your voices are telling you, but I assure you Rumi, I mean you no harmâ you said softly.Â
She didnât speak for a few seconds, making you doubt she would but then she cleared her throat, schooling her features to try and seem more relaxed.Â
âWho are you, Nixe?â she asked then.Â
You stared at her, clearly taken aback. Then you stepped closer to her and sighed softly.Â
âLet me show you somethingâ you said softly, as if to not startle her.Â
She nodded and before she could even process it, she felt her body tingling as you grazed her hand, both of your bodies dematerializing into the late scrapes of sunset.Â
Rumi unconsciously tightened her hold on your hand as felt herself come to her senses and opened her eyes wide.Â
"I'm sorry" she rushed to say, dropping your hand like it burned her.Â
You just nodded at her, taking a deep breath.Â
"Okay, so" you started, looking more serious than you've ever been around her. "I need you to promise you won't summon your saingeom".Â
Rumi let out a huff that soon turned into something close to a frustrated laugh.Â
"Sure. If you promise we won't encounter any demon" she countered.Â
That made you sigh loudly.Â
"I mean it, Rumi" you said sternly. "I wouldn't put you in harm's way but I also won't jeopardize my community".Â
You didn't wait for her response, instead choosing to start walking ahead of her, giving Rumi time to mull over your words and realize she didn't even recognize the street you were now both walking.Â
"Okay, I promise" she said, already catching up to you. "Where the hell are we?" She asked, looking around.Â
"Grand Rapids, Michigan" you smiled at her as you turned to a secluded corner, knocking flat on drywall.Â
But to Rumi's surprise, what seemed like solid concrete slowly opened to the form of a door-like structure, making way for a shadowy figure, slightly obscured by the low lightning inside.Â
"Nixe? Is that you?" A surpised voice left the figure, that Rumi could now see more clearly as a woman in her late twenties.Â
"Last time I checked yeah, I was still me" you chuckled before being roughly dragged inside by a powerful arm, Rumi following closely behind before the door fell closed again.Â
"You fucking rogue" the woman said as she dropped a punch to your shoulder, immediately pulling you in for a hug.Â
"Okay, okay, let me breathe, geez" you complained, pulling apart from her and straightening your slightly tousled blouse.Â
"I'm Kang Rumi, it's so nice to meet you" Rumi said, bowing toward your friend.Â
"I know who you are, everyone knows. I want to know what are you doing here" she spatted.Â
"As nice as ever, Lee" you said patting her shoulder. "Don't mind her, Rumi, she might seem tough and cold but she'll warm up to you in no time" you joked, trying to ease the tension that started taking space in the small entrance.Â
"Just wanted to show this place around to a new friend, it's that so bad?" You told Emilee.Â
"As long as you take full responsibility over your human, all's good" she said dryly, turning her back on you both and unlocking another door.Â
Rumi's breath left her lungs all at once in a ragged gasp as both of you made your way through it, soft music playing in the background as the long corridor made way to a warmly lit lounge.Â
Her attention kept traveling wildly between the cozy decoration and the diverse patrons on sight but what caught her eye was the number of bodies with their patterns full on display.Â
"Don't get your panties in a twist" you told her. "No demon in here is controlled by anything other than our poor life choices" you joked, earning yourself a snort from the taller girl.Â
Rumi just stared at you for a second longer and then turned her attention back to the room, letting you guide her to a secluded table just out of the scrutiny of the lively crowd.Â
You ordered for both of you on the way there, as if you had been doing this dance way longer than you actually had, and as you waited for them you told her about Emilee, how you met her and how this small pub had always been her dream.Â
"A place where everyone gets to be their true self, no shame, no fear" you repeated what she had told you years ago.Â
And Rumi, for once, found herself wanting to believe in every bit Celine never told her.Â
When your drinks came, so did the chance of being spotted but instead of being the one getting all the attention, she was surprised to find that you must have been a regular here, for so many people to treat you like family.Â
"I'm gonna go greet some people real quick or they'll come beat my ass if they notice I'm here" you told her once your table was cleared of interruptions.Â
She just hummed in understanding as you retreated into the open room.Â
She told herself she was only looking because everyone else was.Â
The lounge was warm with amber lights that blurred the edges of expensive looking furniture. Glasses chimed. Low laughter drifted over the music. It was the kind of place where everyone pretended they hadn't looked in the mirror before leaving home.Â
Performing a life she wasn't even sure was hers anymore.Â
She forced herself to focus on something, anything else, before the voices started growing louder in her head.Â
It wasn't hard when her eyes found your back once again, her gaze training on every detail with calculating precision.Â
Black trousers, cream silk shirt with the sleeves pushed to your elbows, silver patterns catching the light every time you laughed.Â
Rumi took a sip of her drink, the taste sharper than she'd expected.Â
She'd planned on disliking you.Â
She had reasons. Perfectly good ones.Â
You were a demon, for fuck's sake.Â
Yet she had just watched how you spent five minutes talking to the elderly pianist near the stage while everyone else ignored him.Â
She only averted her gaze once you started making your way back, keeping your promise not to keep her waiting for long.Â
"Nice atmosphere, right?" you asked, opting to sit next to Rumi instead of choosing your previous seat.Â
She hummed again, pretending to be uninterested but seeing you so careless, so free, it ignited something deep inside Rumi.Â
Something she wasn't strong enough to name just yet.Â
"You know, Gwi-ma should have just sent you instead of the Saja Boys" she didn't know where that came from but it was too late to back down now. "You would've been way more convincing".Â
You laughed at that and she swore she felt actual goosebumps at the sound.Â
"Oh, believe me, he tried" your voice lowering just enough to feign the conspiracy, your face coming close to her ear so she could hear you above the music still in the background, "but he's no fit to tame me".Â
Her breath hitched for the smallest bit, and if you weren't so focused on her you would've missed it but you couldn't tear your eyes away from her even if you tried.Â
And she seemed to be fighting the same battle.Â
As if on cue, Emilee called out to you, breaking the moment between the two of you.Â
You let out a shaky breath, watching as Rumi's throat tightened as she swallowed slowly.Â
"Come on, I should get you back before it gets late" you told Rumi before getting up yourself to meet whatever remark Lee had to make before letting you leave.Â
You teleported Rumi as close as you could to the penthouse, choosing a darkly lit alleyway in her neighborhood to land but when she turned around to thank you properly, you were nowhere to be seen.Â
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Later that night, Rumi was going over the songâs lyrics.Â
âTime to put you in your place âcause youâre rotten within...â she sighed. âWhen your patterns start to show it makes the hatred wanna grow out of my...âÂ
She crossed out the lyrics.Â
âWhen your patterns start to show, I see the pain that lies below...âÂ
She looked at the card, patting the tigerâs head.Â
âCalm down, Iâm not gonna meet herâ.Â
A loud knock on her door startled her.Â
âRumi?â Miraâs voice came from the other side.Â
âUh... You gotta get outta hereâ Rumi told the giant blue cat. âCome onâ.Â
âI can hear you in thereâ Mira said, making Rumi panic.Â
âUh, yeah. Uh, give me a minuteâ she drew a sharp inhale as she saw the demonic animal disappear.Â
She then put the paper in the trash can only for it to fall, and went to open the door.Â
âUh... what are you doing?â Mira asked, perched by the door.Â
âUhm, nothing. Just, uh...â Rumi trailed off. âDid you wanna come in?â she asked.Â
âI mean, if you want me to come in, I can come inâ she blurted. âI heard you singing. You sound goodâ.Â
Rumi stared ahead, fiddling nervously with her fingers.Â
âYeah, who wouldâve thought? Those tonics actually work,â she half joked.Â
Mira then noticed the crumpled paper on the floor and she stretched to hold it.Â
âSo... Why are you changing our lyrics?â she inquired.Â
âOh, I just... Do you really think this is the right song to beat Gwi-Ma? Itâs so hateful...â Rumi answered.Â
Mira shot her a weird look.Â
âYeah, because we hate him and we hate demonsâ she snorted.Â
âNo, I know...â Rumi trailed off.Â
âOkay, whatâs up with you?â Mira exploded. âI could swear, the other day, you were talking to a demonâ.Â
âI...â Rumi started but Mira was not having it.Â
âLook, Iâm pretty good at reading people. Actually, Iâm kind of an expert at it, and I just canât shake this feeling that youâre keeping something from meâ she said, her gaze turning troubled.Â
âMira, Iâm not keeping anything from you. I promiseâ Rumi tried to soothe her.Â
But deep down, guilt was eating her from the inside.Â
âSorry. I sound nuts. I guess these demons are just getting to me.â Mira stated. âI canât wait until every one of them is destroyed and sent back to suffer with Gwi-Ma for eternity. Right, Rumi?â.Â
Rumi glanced at her, fear creeping up her chest.Â
âYeah. Eternal suffering. Sounds fun.â she muttered.Â