Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Prologue

“You’re such a problem child.”

It was a statement that couldn’t be denied because she was a problem child and she was damn proud of it. Of being the black sheep of her perfect little family.

“If only you could be more like your brother.”

That made her stop. She hated being compared to her brother because no matter what she did, it would never be enough.

“While your brother will be starting a family, you will be alone because you refuse to follow instructions. You want to embarrass us so badly that you never took the time to realize that you set yourself up for failure.”

She took it all in. Her face stoic as her father continued to berate her. She was so used to it by now that she became a master at tuning him out. She had decided a long time ago that if this was what it meant to be a family then she was perfectly fine with being alone. If they couldn’t accept her as she is then so be it.

***********

“Now remember class, your essays are due Friday and no, I will not accept them after that day.” Rumi announced to her students as the bell rang to signal the end of the class period. 

She had her purple hair in its signature long braid and was dressed in a white button up blouse that she had tucked into a khaki pencil skirt. Her legs were covered in stockings that complimented her skin tone and were paired with a pair of black pumps.

Rumi sat behind her desk as the students began to file out of the classroom to get to their next class while she started to get things in order for her free period when she felt a figure standing in front of her desk, looking up to see one of her students.

She was a tall brown skinned girl with black locs that were twisted into two petal buns behind her head. On her face were a pair of large black framed glasses that complimented her white longsleeve band tee and black jeans along with her black and white converse shoes and shoulder bag.

“Oh Quinn. Do you have a question about your essay?” Rumi asked with an easy smile.

“No Ms. Ryu, I’m turning in my essay.” Quinn answered as she placed said essay in front of her teacher.

Rumi raised a brow as she picked up the assignment. “Are you sure? You still have the rest of this week to work on it.”

“No need. I’m all done.” The girl answered with a shake of her head.

“Alright then, I’ll have this graded for you before the end of the week.” Rumi sent a beaming smile to the girl as she put away the essay.

“Thanks.” 

Quinn gave a smile of her own that didn’t reach her eyes. She turned to leave but before she could, Rumi called out to her. “Quinn?”

The girl stopped and hesitantly turned back to her teacher, the same smile still on her face. “Yes Ms. Ryu?”

Rumi studied the girl for a few seconds. She noticed how her eyes were dull and how she couldn’t hold eye contact for long. “Is everything alright?” Rumi’s voice was full of concern and it was evident on her face as well.

“Of course! Why wouldn’t things be?” The girl answered quickly. A little too quickly for Rumi’s liking. She narrowed her eyes at the girl as she eyed her some more causing Quinn to squirm under the woman’s gaze before a voice interrupted them.

“Rumiiiiii! What’s taking you so long!? It’s lunch tim- Oh you’re with a student!”

The two looked towards the door to see a short, dark-haired woman enter the room. She had her hair in two spacebuns in the back while the front was cut into bangs with a couple strands framing her face. She was wearing paint covered  blue overalls with one of the hooks undone that showed off an oversized white tee shirt that was also covered in paint. Finishing off the outfit were a pair of blue and white shoes that also had paint splatter on them.

“Sorry Miss Yoo, I was just leaving actually.” Quinn said as she turned and quickly left the room.

Rumi watched her leave the room with a sigh before turning to the other woman in the room who had a puzzled look on her face. “What was that about?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out myself, Zoey.” Rumi replied before getting up from her desk and grabbing her things.

“Hmmm, weird. Well anyway, food! Food! Food” Zoey chanted as the two made their way out of the classroom.

Rumi closed and locked the door to the room before the two of them made their way toward the teacher’s lounge.

Honmoon High was the best school in the city and it showed that in the latest and greatest technology and pristine appearance of it. The hallways of the school were packed with students going to either their next classes, the lunchroom, or just standing and talking at their lockers and as the two teachers walked through the halls, some of the students sent greetings their way that Zoey responded to with enthusiasm.

Rumi chuckled at her friend as they continued to make their way through the crowded hallway. Her laughter was short lived as her thoughts went back to her interaction she had with Quinn. She could tell that something was bothering the girl but she couldn’t exactly pinpoint what it was.

Rumi knew that Quinn had always had to deal with problems at school after she started her transition a couple of years ago but she hoped that whatever it was this time wasn’t related to that. She still remembered the day the girl told her that she was finally able to get her medication and how happy Quinn was to start taking it. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t realize that they had made it to the teacher’s lounge until a hand was being waved in her face.

“Earth to Rumi!” Rumi snapped back to reality to see the hand of a pink haired woman waving in front of her.

“Oh, Mira. Sorry I didn’t see you there.” Rumi said as her ears started to warm up.

“I don’t see how you could miss me. I stand out everywhere I go.” Mira crossed her arms and shifted her weight to her right leg.

Mira was right about her standing out wherever she went with her long pink hair. She had on a black long sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up that was paired with her usual black pants and black boots. Today, she had on her black framed glasses and spiked wristbands that Rumi was sure that Principal Bobby told her not to wear.

“Sorry, I just had something on my mind.” Rumi told her as they all moved to their regular table in the room.

Mira had already taken the time to take out and prepare their lunch for today which was each a cup of ramyeon. The three of them took their seats and waited for the food to finish.

“Does it have anything to do with that student you were talking to when I came to get you?” Zoey asked, then put her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her palm.

“What’s this about a student?” Mira’s brow rose as she eyed the purple haired woman.

“I was talking to Quinn before Zoey came. There’s something going on with her but she wouldn’t say.” Rumi answered. She crossed her arms and got that same thoughtful look on her face again.

“And you’re worried about her.” Mira finished what Rumi had left unsaid to which she gave a nod to.

“Oh! Why don’t we get her to paint out what’s bothering her?” Zoey offered up, enthusiasm clear on her face.

“Or I could just talk to her.” Mira countered as she took the lid off her cup of ramyeon, steam flowing out of it.

“No offense Mira, but you can be kind of pushy.” Rumi said. She had a look of uneasiness on her face at the thought of Mira pushing Quinn away even more.

Mira’s chopsticks full of noodles stopped midway to her mouth as a look of serious offense graced her face. “I’ll have you know that Quinn absolutely adores me.”

“You are kind of pushy though.” Zoey chimed up from behind her ramyeon.

The pink haired woman’s eyes shot over to her with even more offense if possible. “Shut up and eat your ramyeon.”

Rumi chuckled at her friends before her expression turned serious again. “I know you’re going to talk to her anyway, just please don’t push her to answer anything that she doesn't want to.” She looked at her friend with pleading eyes.

Mira immediately softened when she turned back to Rumi. She knew that her friends meant well and as much as she hated to admit it, she did have a habit to push things. “I promise won’t make her talk about anything she doesn’t want to.”

Rumi let a smile form on her face at the taller woman’s promise. Soon their conversation turned into idle chitchat as the three finished their lunch before heading back to their respective classes.

**********

Mira watched as her students took their seats at their assigned lab tables. Her eyes focused and always unreadable as she scanned the room until her eyes landed on Quinn.

She watched as the girl mindlessly twirled a pencil in her fingers, eyes locked onto the table but definitely somewhere far off. Mira could see a deep frown on her face as the world moved around her.

“Alright class,” Mira began after taking her eyes off of Quinn. “All of you have your worksheets for the chapter we went over last week. The only way you guys are going to get to do a lab on Friday is if everyone turns it in.”

That was all Mira needed to say before everyone pulled out their worksheets and textbooks and got to work. Well, almost everyone. Mira could see that Quinn was still lost in her own head.

“Quinn!” She called out, startling the girl back to reality, causing a few students to snicker. “Worksheets. Now!” Mira commanded with a menacing glare, causing them to stop and get back to work.

Her face softened when her eyes went back to Quinn. “Step outside the classroom with me please.” Mira jerked her head towards the door.

“O-okay.” Quinn stammured as she got off her stool and followed after Mira.

Mira closed the door behind them then walked farther from it to give themselves some privacy. Once they were a good distance away, she turned to the girl and observed her with eyes that gave nothing away causing Quinn to squirm for the second time today under another teacher’s gaze.

“So what’s up?” Mira suddenly asked as she turned away from the teen and leaned against the wall.

Quinn was used to Mira’s bluntness so she only let out a sigh and copied her teacher’s actions by leaning against the wall as well. “Nothing’s up. I’m just ready for this day to be over with.”

“Really? Because your body language is telling me something completely different.” Mira said without looking at the girl.

“I’m fine. There’s nothing you need to worry about.” Quinn said, trying to sound indifferent but her voice faltered towards the end of her sentence and Mira heard it.

“It’s that again, isn’t it?” Mira asked even though she knew what the answer was. “Why didn’t you tell Ms. Ryu what was wrong when she asked?” She turned her head to look at her.

“Because it’s stupid.” Quinn answered in frustration and threw her hands in the air.

“The way you feel about things that affect you is not stupid, Quinn.” Mira said softly. She felt her heart ache from the plight of the girl beside her.

Mira didn’t understand exactly what Quinn was going through, but she definitely understood what it was like to be looked at for being different. She knew that no matter how much you can try to be strong and hide things, sooner or later, they will come back up.

“I shouldn’t still be feeling like this.” Quinn's voice was low as she spoke with her eyes cast down to the floor. 

The sadness in her voice made Mira’s heart ache even more. She wanted so badly to tell her that everything would be okay and to reassure her that what she’s feeling will pass.

“Come on.” Mira said as she pushed herself off the wall.

“What? Where are we going?” Quinn asked, clear confusion in her voice.

“The only way to find out is to follow me.” Mira answered without sparing a look behind her.

Quinn stood there and watched her teacher’s back for a few seconds, still confused before quickly hurrying after her. The two of them quietly made their way through the halls, both with things occupying their minds but soon Mira stopped them in front of a classroom and Quinn’s brow rose.

“Why are we at Miss Yoo’s art room?” Quinn asked.

“Because you need an outlet for your emotions.” Mira replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I had an outlet.” Quinn's voice was low as she instinctively crossed her arms and looked away from Mira.

Mira didn’t miss how the girl tensed up but she decided not to push the subject. At least not yet anyway. She turned back to the door to the classroom then opened it and peeked her head inside.

Inside, she could see Zoey dancing around as music was playing while her students painted on a large canvas in the back. It was complete chaos but chaos that Zoey thrived in as evident by the beaming smile she could see on her friend’s face.

It didn’t take long for Zoey to feel eyes on her and she turned towards the door. If her smile could get any bigger, it would have when her eyes landed on Mira.

“Mira! Shouldn’t you be teaching your class right now?” The dark haired woman asked once she reached the door.

Mira grabbed Zoey’s wrist and pulled her into the hall. “We’re going to do your paint idea.” She said once she let go of Zoey’s wrist.

Zoey's smile somehow grew impossibly wider and her eyes went wide in excitement. She was practically vibrating at the thought of being able to help. “Omg yes! She’s going to love it! When are we starting?”

“Right now.” Mira said as she turned Zoey around to a very startled Quinn.

“Ahhh! You’re going to feel so much better after this!” Zoey exclaimed as she grabbed Quinn’s shoulders and shook her a little.

“Zoey! You’re going to scare her away if you keep shaking her.” Mira let out a chuckle.

“Sorry!” Zoey rubbed the back of the neck sheepishly once she let go of the girl. “I’ve been known to get carried away at times.”

Mira rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face then turned back to Quinn and gave her a gentle look. “Don’t worry about the rest of your classes today. Just worry about getting yourself good.”

Quinn eyed Mira for a moment before she asked what was on her mind. “Why are y’all doing this for me?”

“Because we care about you, silly.” Zoey answered cheerfully.

“But I’m not even in your class.”

“No but you are a student to both of my friends and if they want to help you then so do I! Now let’s get those feelings onto a canvas!” Zoey was pulling the girl into her classroom.

Quinn shared one last glance with Mira before the door closed behind her. Mira let out a sigh as she turned to go back to her class.

I hope that this helps her.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2

Mira wanted to be anywhere else but where she was at this moment. It wasn’t that she hated the mall, she honestly didn’t mind it at all. No, what Mira hated was watching all the people trying to hit on her friends. She wasn’t blind. She could see how attractive her two best friends were and knew what came with that but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Mira rolled her eyes behind her gold rimmed glasses as she watched one guy laugh a little too hard at something that Rumi said. From her table in the food court, she could see Rumi and Zoey in line for a food place and two guys trying to flirt with them. Mira wasn’t jealous, she just didn’t like strangers bothering her friends. Well that’s what she told herself anyway.

“What was that saying people say, ‘If looks could kill, you’ll be dead’?” Mira heard a voice say.

She turned her attention away from her friends to see Quinn standing next to her with a smirk on her face. In an instant, Mira's murderous gaze softened as she looked the girl up and down. Quinn had on a black hoodie and black sweats with her signature black and white converse. Mira could see bags under the girl’s eyes with her face devoid of its usual make up.

It’s one of those days.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Quinn.” Mira said as she crossed her arms and turned back to the line.

Quinn rolled her eyes with the smirk still on her face. “Please Ms. Hong, if you could, you would vaporize those guys right where they stood.”

“Whatever.” Mira sighed out before looking back to the girl with a raised brow. “Why weren’t you in class Thursday and Friday?”

Quinn smirk fell from her face at the question. It was her turn to cross her arms as broke eye contact with Mira. 

“I had things to take care of.” She answered in a quiet voice.

Mira eyed Quinn for a minute before she kicked out a chair across from her causing the girl to jump. “Sit.” She said in an assertive tone.

Quinn’s eyes shifted between Mira and the chair. Her first instinct was to immediately bolt out of the mall but a part of her still wanted to stay. To tell Mira what was going on with her.

“Quinn.” Mira said the girl’s name softly and with so much care that Quinn found herself walking to the chair.

Once she sat down, Quinn's eyes were focused on the table. She still couldn’t bring herself to look Mira in the eyes as she fidgeted with cuffs of her hoodie while they sat in silence.

Mira quietly observed the girl some more. It was times like this that she loved being able to read people so well because she saw the way that Quinn was playing with her sleeves, how she hadn't looked her in the eyes since she was asked why the teen wasn’t in school. She also noticed a yellowing bruise on the girl’s neck.

“So how’s your therapy going?” Mira asked. She kept her face neutral and her voice calm.

Quinn didn’t know what to expect when she sat down at the table but it definitely wasn’t that question. She raised her head with a curious look on her face, finally looking the older woman in the eyes and searched her face for a hint of what Mira was trying to get out of her.

“It’s fine.” She responded, breaking eye contact again.

“You haven’t been going.” Mira said bluntly and Quinn’s silence was enough of a confirmation for her. “What’s going on Quinn? You’ve been in your head all week and I know its been torture on you.”

“Why can’t you just leave me alone like everyone else?” The teen asked. There was no malice in her words, just pure curiosity. She didn’t understand why these three teachers are caring so much for just one student.

“I have my reasons, but you didn’t answer my question.” Mira crossed her arms over her chest.

Quinn didn’t get a chance to answer as a voice interrupted them.

“We’re back!”

They turned to see Rumi and Zoey walking back to the table with food in hand.

“Quinn? What are you doing here?” Rumi asked when she and Zoey got to the table and sat the food down.

“I was just leaving actually.” The girl said as she started to get up from the chair.

“You should stay and eat with us!” Zoey offered, causing her to stop.

Quinn looked at Zoey’s excited face then at Rumi’s confused one before finally landing on Mira’s unreadable face. She couldn’t see any judgement in Mira’s eyes, they just watched her. They held eye contact for a moment before Quinn turned away.

“Sorry Miss Yoo, I can’t stay. Ms. Ryu. Ms. Hong. I will see you both on Monday.” Quinn said her goodbyes to the trio then left the food court all the while Mira kept her eyes on the girl.

“What’s going on with her?” Rumi asked as she took her seat across from Mira and Zoey took the seat next to the pink haired woman.

“I’m trying to figure that out myself” Mira replied with her eyes still on Quinn’s retreating back. She turned back to her friends then raised a brow. “What was up with those guys?”

Later That Week

“Zoey you can not spatter paint inside of your classroom.” Rumi let out with a deep sigh.

“Come on Rumi, you can’t tell me that the students wouldn’t love that.” Zoey shot back, a cheeky smile on her face.

“They might love it but the people who have to clean up afterwards won’t.” Rumi responded with a laugh.

“But think of the children! Mira, tell her that it’s a good idea!” Zoey turned to the other woman with pleading eyes.

The three of them were currently sitting at their usual table inside of the teacher’s lounge on their lunch break. Rumi had been listening to Zoey talk about her plans for class while Mira sat deep in thought.

“Mira?” Zoey waved her hand in front of the taller woman, snapping her back to reality.

“What?” Mira asked as she was brought out of her thoughts.

“Are you okay? You’ve been spaced out since Saturday evening.” Rumi asked.

“Are you still thinking about those guys that were talking to us?” Zoey teased. The smirk on her face made Mira roll her eyes.

“Absolutely not.” Mira deadpanned. She then closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “It’s Quinn. I just don’t know how to help her.” 

Rumi and Zoey both gave her a sympathetic look. They could tell that Mira really wanted to help the girl, honestly they all did because they hated that Quinn was suffering in silence.

“Was she in class today?” Mira asked as she turned to Rumi.

“No, she hasn’t been here all week.” Rumi answered with a shake of her head.

Mira thought for a minute before she got up from the table. She knew one person who could probably help her.

“Where are you going?” Zoey asked.

“To talk to Bobby.” She replied before heading towards the door of the room. 

Rumi and Zoey shared a look as the same thought occurred to them before they got up and followed after the pink haired woman.

“What are you going to ask him?’ Zoey asked once they caught up to Mira.

“I’ll know by the time I get to his office.” Mira replied without breaking stride.

“Wait! Are you winging this, Mira?” Rumi raised a brow. “You can’t just barge into Bobby’s office without a plan!”

“I do have a plan and it’s to find out what’s going on with one of my students.” Mira countered. She didn’t break her pace as the three of them rounded a corner.

“Mira, that’s not a plan!” Rumi stressed.

“It’s better than doing nothing.” Mira argued back. “If you don’t like it, you don’t have to come.”

“I was thinking we could just go to her house.” Zoey suggested with a shrug.

Rumi rubbed her hands down her face then let out a sigh when the three of them came to a stop outside of Principal Bobby’s office. She loved her friends but she just wished they would be so rash.

“Look Mira, I understand that you’re worried about Quinn, we all are, but you can’t barge into Bobby’s office demanding information. And Zoey, we can not just go to her house without going through the proper channels.” Rumi explained to them. She could see the frustration on Mira’s face but soon her face softened and she let out a deep sigh.

“Fine, but I still have questions for him.” Mira sighed out as she crossed her arms and turned away from her.

Rumi turned her attention to Zoey who immediately put her hands up in surrender. “I know. I know.” Zoey relented.

Rumi sent a smile her way then turned back Mira. She didn’t get to see this part of Mira often, if at all, and it caused a warm feeling to spread in her chest. Rumi placed a hand on the taller woman’s arm.

“We'll get the answers that we’re looking for, I promise.” Rumi told her with a reassuring smile.

Mira’s body relaxed and she uncrossed her arms when she looked back at Rumi. She knew that the purple haired woman was right, she just couldn’t help herself when it came to Quinn. She could see so much of all three of them in the girl and just wanted to give her something that she never had. Mira gave Rumi a nod of her head and the three of them walked into Principal Bobby’s office.

“Ladies! To what do I owe the pleasure?” Bobby asked when he looked up from some papers in front of him.

Everybody at Honmoom High loved Principal Bobby, or just Bobby as he liked to be called. He was respected by his staff and loved by all the students and it was something he was very proud of. If asked who his favorite teachers were, Bobby would say that he had no favorites but the three women standing in front of him right now would always hold a special place in his heart.

“We had some questions for you about a student.” Mira stated.

Bobby leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers together. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they came to him. “And does that student happen to be named Quinn Flowers?” He asked with a knowing smirk.

“Damn he’s good.” Zoey said in surprise.

“That aside,” Mira began. “How did you know who we’re talking about?” She regarded the man with a curious look.

“Because I know you girls.” Bobby said, matter-of-factly. “Rumi,” he pointed to her. “You don’t like seeing someone feeling like they’re alone so you do everything in your power to make sure they know that someone is always there for them.”

“Zoey,” he turned to the youngest one of them. “You don’t like seeing people hiding who they really are because you know what that feels like. And Mira.”

Bobby turned to Mira, his gaze firm but understanding. “She reminds you of yourself doesn’t she? Someone who’s trying to find her place in a society that wants them to follow rules while trying to be themselves?” He asked her.

Mira stared back at him, her gaze unwavering under his critique. It was true that she did things her way regardless of what others thought of her. It’s the reason that she started dyeing her hair at such a young age. The same reason why she’s considered the black sheep of her family.

“We’re not here for me, we want to know about what’s going on with Quinn. She hasn’t been in school since Thursday of last week.” Mira’s voice was tense as she spoke. She hated when Bobby did this. She didn’t know how tense her body had also gotten until she felt herself relax when Rumi placed a comforting hand on her back.

MIra closed her eyes and let a breath out through her nose to release more of the tension in her. Her getting angry right now wouldn’t get them the answers that they needed nor would it help Quinn out. When she opened her eyes again, Mira's face was in its usual neutral one.

“Sorry Bobby.” Mira said. She felt Zoey grab her hand and give it a squeeze. Mira squeezed the girl’s hand back as a way to say that she was okay.

“We just really care about her and are worried about why she’s not in school.” Rumi explained while still rubbing soothing circles on the taller woman’s back.

“I know you all are. I am too.” Bobby said. “Truth be told, I don’t know all what’s going on with Miss Flowers but I do know that her current foster home is not a good one. I’ve been trying to get in touch with her foster father, Gwi-ma, since Monday.”

“Can’t we like, go to the agency and talk to them?” Zoey asked.

“I did. They’re supposed to be sending a social worker to the house to check on things soon.” Bobby answered with a shake of his head.

“So we just have to wait then?” Rumi asked.

She had stopped her hand movements and took her hand off of Mira’s back and Mira immediately missed the contact.

“Unfortunately, yes. I know it’s not ideal but currently my hands are tied.” Bobby replied. He too didn’t like waiting and not being able to do anything. He loved all his students but Quinn was a soft spot to him.

They were quiet for a beat as Bobby's words settled in them. All of them hated being powerless to do anything and knowing that they basically hit a dead end frustrated them. It was Mira that was the first to break the silence.

“Let us know when you get any information.” Mira said. She didn’t wait for Bobby to respond before turning and walking out of the office. Rumi watched her go then turned to Zoey who could only give her a shrug in response.

“She rarely shows this side of herself.” Bobby commented with a tiny smile on his face.

“Yeah, she always cared for Quinn in her own unique way.” Rumi said.

“You ladies get back to your classes. I promise I’ll let you all know if something comes up.” Bobby said to them with a bigger smile.

“Thanks Bobby.” Rumi said with her own smile.

The two of them waved bye to Bobby before leaving the office and heading back to their separate classroom. Once he was alone, he leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh. He didn’t show it to them, but he was also angry that he couldn’t do anything but wait.

***********

Quinn should have been sitting in her fourth period class right about now. She should be listening to Ms. Ryu teach about literature during some forgotten time period but instead she was at home studying her face in the bathroom mirror. She could see every flaw that her face held. Everything that was wrong with her and she hated it because no matter how hard she tried, she knew that she could never be seen like other girls her age because she was nothing but a mistake.

Her eyes landed on a black and blue bruise under her right eye. Quinn tentatively raised her fingers up to it and winced at the pain that touching it brought. In a couple of days, it would yellow like the one that was on her neck not too long ago. Quinn sighed as she picked up her concealer and started to cover up the bruise.

An hour later, Quinn walked out of her bathroom dressed in a long sleeve navy shirt and black pants. Her locs were pulled back into a ponytail and her face was sporting her usual amount of makeup. She made her way to her room and slipped on her all black converses then grabbed her school bag even though she had no intention of going to school.

She glanced at a duffel bag she had by her bedroom door. She bent down and opened the bag. Inside was some clothes, toiletries, make up, and other essentials that a person would need for running away.

Quinn sighed then closed the bag back before standing back up and slinging the duffle bag on to her shoulder. She had had enough of her foster family and the abuse that came with them. She gave the room one final look to see if anything was worth taking but all she found were more bad memories.

She walked out of the room and as she made her way to the front door, a voice made her freeze.

“Why aren’t you in school?”

Quinn felt fear grip her chest. She was hoping to get out of the house without running into Gwi-ma. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to try and get a handle on the fear that was creeping over her.

“I asked you a question.” His tone was low and dangerous.

Quinn forced herself to turn and face the man. The fear in her eyes was evident but so was anger and defiance. “Why does it matter? It’s not like you actually care if I go to school or not.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to like that?!” Gwi-ma challenged. 

He loomed over her with anger clear on his face but Quinn refused to back down this time. One way or another, Quinn was leaving this house. She glared up at Gwi-ma as her hand tightened on the strap of her duffle bag.

“You’re nothing but a disobedient, freak of a child!” Gwi-ma spat out.

Quinn flinched at the work freak. She hated that word and her foster family knew it. They would call her that every chance they could when they wanted to hurt her and it always worked.

“You won’t have to deal with me anymore.” Quinn said quietly.

“What was that!?” Gwi-ma stepped closer but still the girl didn’t back down.

“I said you won’t have to deal with me anymore, I’m leaving this hellhole!” Quinn said louder.

She could hear her heart beat thundering in her ears. There was no going back now that she said that she was leaving out loud. She didn’t know what would happen to her after she left this house but she knew in her heart that she could not stay here.

A wicked grin spread across Gwi-ma’s face. “You think you can survive out there by yourself? You’re stupider than I thought. Go ahead and leave, you’ll come crawling back here soon.”

“I will never come back to this house!” Quinn shouted at the man.

She turned away from him and marched towards the door. She felt a tight grip on her wrist before she reached the door. Turning, she came face to face with Gwi-ma’s angry glare.

“Nobody will ever accept you because you’re nothing but a mistake. A freak that shouldn’t be here.” Gwi-mai said.

Quinn glared at him. She knew that he just wanted to get under her skin one last time and she refused to give him the satisfaction. She looked down at the hand that was clutched around her wrist then back up at Gwi-ma's face.

“Let me go.” Quinn’s tone was low.

Gwi-ma glared at the teen for a moment before shoving her arm away. He turned his back to her and started to walk away. “Get the hell out of my house.”

Quinn glowered at the man’s back as he retreated farther into the house. She took a deep breath then turned and left the house. As she put more distance between herself and her now former foster home, Quinn felt tears start falling down her face but she didn’t stop. She just wiped her face and continued moving her legs, her destination unknown.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean she ran away from home?!” Mira yelled as she slammed her hands down on Bobby’s desk.

It had been five days since the girls had first talked to Bobby. He had finally heard back from the social worker after they did their wellness check on Quinn only to find out that she ran away from home and he immediately called the girls into his office and told them what he knew. As expected, Mira was pissed.

“Mira! We need you to calm down so Bobby can tell us more.” Rumi said, placing a comforting hand on Mira’s arm.

 Mira looked down at the hand on her then up to Rumi’s face. It was full of concern and worry but also had a hint of understanding. She closed her eyes then took a deep breath. Once she opened them again, she stood up straighter causing Rumi’s hand to fall off of her arm and cleared her throat.

“I’m sorry Bobby.” Mira apologized.

Bobby waved off her apology, knowing that her outburst only happened because of how much she cares for Quinn. “Apparently, Quinn ran away from home Friday afternoon and hasn’t been seen since.”

“And her foster family didn’t bother to tell anyone?" Zoey asked. She didn’t understand how some who decided to foster kids would just let one go missing.

“Unfortunately, her foster family are not good people and at seventeen years old, not a lot of people are willing to foster her.” Bobby frowned. He would love for Quinn to be fostered by a better family but there were a lot of factors working against her.

“Why don’t we foster her then?” Zoey asked like it was no big deal and all eyes in the room snapped over to her.

“Zoey, we can’t just foster a child. None of us are certified to be foster parents anyway.” Rumi answered her. She wasn’t exactly opposed to the idea but she didn’t know the first thing to do when it came to being a foster parent.

“Oh! I’m already certified!” Zoey said happily.

“Since when?!” Mira asked in pure shock.

“Hmmm, a while ago. I was bored one day and just decided to do something so I made a random wheel, spun it and that’s what it landed on.” Zoey explained with a shrug.

Rumi’s mouth fell open as she looked at her friend, unable to form words. Sometimes the younger woman would do things that left her utterly speechless and this was certainly one of those times.

“Fostering a child is a big responsibility ladies, you all need to think it over if you really want to do that. Besides, Quinn still needs to be found. Do any of you have an idea where she would go?” Bobby asked them.

None of them had a clue where Quinn could be right now. She had been gone from home for five days now so she really could be anywhere in the city.

“We can look for her after work guys.” Rumi offered to her friends when she saw the look of sadness on their faces.

Zoey gave a smile and nodded her head in acceptance. Rumi turned to Mira who still had a scowl on her face. She looked at the taller woman with comforting eyes and eventually got a nod from her.

With a warm smile, Rumi turned back to Bobby and addressed him, “When we find her, we’ll have a serious discussion about fostering her.”

“Well girls, let me know what you decide. Now back to your classes.” Bobby sent them on their way then picked up his phone to make some calls. Trying to get a head start on locating his missing student.

Later that day

“So are we really going to foster her?” Rumi asked Zoey and Mira.

The three of them were currently sitting in Mira’s car. They had spent the latter part of the day looking for Quinn but had come up empty handed and as night started to fall, they decided to call it a night. It was at this moment that Rumi asked them about fostering the teen.

“I sure hope we are.” Zoey answered from her spot in the back of the car.

“I’m very much not opposed to it myself.” Rumi said. “I just want to make sure that we’re all on the same page when it comes to it. It’s a huge responsibility. We will be adding a whole child to our daily lives and things will change for sure. It’s not going to be easy.”

“I know that we can do it though!” Zoey leaned forward so that her head was between the front seats. Rumi gave her a sincere smile then turned towards Mira who had yet to say anything.

Mira had her arms folded over the top of the steering wheel as she leaned against it with her eyes focused on something out of the windshield. Her face was in its usual untelling look.

“Mira?” Rumi said her name softly as she placed a hand on the taller woman’s arm. “Are we going to foster Quinn?”

Mira turned to her friends and nodded her head. “Of course we are.” She said it like it was fact.

“Great! We should let Bobby know that we’ll do it. Now all we need to do is find the girl.” Rumi said with a smile on her face.

“Woo! We’re going to be parents!” Zoey shouted in excitement as she threw her hands in the air.

**********

Mira, Zoey, and Rumi sat at their dining room table inside their shared house. It was a spacious, two story, four bedroom house that three were able to get, thanks in part to Rumi’s inheritance from her parents, live streams that Zoey would occasionally do, and the few dance classes Mira taught on the weekends.

The mood around the table was solemn as they ate from not being able to find Quinn. Mira had barely said much since this morning, speaking only when she was spoken to. Zoey’s disappointment at not finding Quinn was evident on her face while Rumi tried her best to hide it.

“We can look for her tomorrow evening.” Rumi was trying anything to cheer them up. Mira said nothing as she just moved her food around on the plate while Zoey gave a half hearted smile.

Rumi hated that Mira was closing herself off in worry. She turned to Mira and reached across the table to give her hand a squeeze. “We’ll find her.”

Mira looked into Rumi’s eyes before squeezing her hand back. Rumi gave her a tiny smile then pulled her hand away. Mira quietly started to eat her food as Zoey started shooting out places that could look for Quinn tomorrow.

“We can try to look for her uptown. There’s this skate park that the kids like to hang out at, she could be there.” Zoey threw it out as a suggestion.

“That’s a great starting point.” Rumi agreed.

Slowly, spirits started to rise around the table. In their hearts, they knew it wasn’t a matter of if they would find Quinn but when they did.

Before anybody could say another word, Zoey’s phone started ringing. She pulled it out to see Bobby’s name and picture filling the screen.

“Hi Bobby!” Zoey greeted him after she answered the phone and put it on speaker for the others to hear.

“Zoey! Are Mira and Rumi around?”

“Right here Bobby.” Rumi replied.

“Excellent! I found Quinn!” Bobby's voice said through the phone.

The three women looked at each other, eyes full of shock but also hope at knowing that they found Quinn. Even though they had only found out that the girl ran away from home today, she had been gone for almost a week.

Mira felt her body finally truthy and fully relaxed at Bobby’s words. They were a step closer to being able to help the troubled teen. As much as Mira tried to hide her fear of losing Quinn from her friends, she knew that Rumi at least could tell that she was hanging on by a thread.

“Where is she?!” Rumi asked in a rush. She stood up from her seat at the table and moved closer to Zoey and the phone.

“She’s currently being held at the police station.” Bobby answered with a deep sigh and immediately Mira’s body tensed back up.

“Why is she at the police station?!” Zoey practically screamed in shock.

“They said she was trespassing and because her foster family wants nothing to do with her, the police are waiting for someone from the agency to come get her.” He explained. “I’m on my way to the station myself.”

“We’ll-”

Rumi didn’t get a chance to say what they were going to do because the sound of Mira’s chair falling over interrupted her. Two sets of eyes turned to the taller woman as she made a beeline for the front.

“Mira! Where are you going?!” Rumi called after her only to be met with silence. Rumi let out a huff before running and grabbing Mira’s wrist and spun her around. “Where are you going?”

“Where do you think?! To get Quinn!” Her tone was angry as she glared at Rumi.

Rumi was taken aback by Mira’s actions but stood her ground. “You were just going to leave us? If you would just wait for one second, then you would see that I was about to tell Bobby we’ll meet him there.”

Mira’s glare faltered the longer Rumi held eye contact with her until she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. She knew that Rumi and Zoey wanted to see Quinn safe just as much as she did but her impulsiveness made her act without thinking. If she were to get to the police station without either one of them, there would be a very high chance that she would end up behind bars.

“I’m sorry for yelling at you like that.” Mira apologized when she opened her eyes again.

Rumi pulled the woman into a hug that was reciprocated with earnestness. “It’s okay. We’re going to get her together.” She released Mira then turned to where Zoey was at the table, watching the exchange in worry.

“We’re okay Zoey. Let’s go get her.” Rumi said with a smile before throwing on a hoodie.

Zoey nodded her head in determination then hung up her phone and followed after her two friends.

Not long later, the three women were walking into the police station with one thing on their minds, bring Quinn home. The station was small with a big receptionist desk right by the front door. There were seats pushed up against walls that were on both sides of them. They could see a few smaller desks behind the receptionist desk and at one of them sat Quinn with an officer filing out some paper work.

“How can I help you three ladies?” The officer at the receptionist desk asked as they approached. He was a short man with ivory skin and short black hair.

“We’re here for Quinn Flowers.” Mira answered. She leaned over to get another look at the girl but she couldn’t see Quinn clearly from how far away she was.

“Quinn Flowers? We don’t have one here by that name.” The man said as he typed on his computer.

“You picked her up for trespassing. As a matter-of-fact, she’s sitting right there.” Rumi pointed passed the man to where Quinn sat, not noticing the commotion up front.

The officer turned to where Rumi pointed then let out a grunt when he turned back around. “Oh that kid. Quinton Jackson. Are you three women from the agency or his legal guardian?”

A muscle in Mira’s jaw twitched. Hearing Quinn being deadname and misgendered angered her and it took everything in her power to bite her tongue. Lashing out would be the least productive thing right now.

“We’re Quinn’s teachers.” Rumi took the lead and Mira was thankful because she didn’t trust herself to speak.

“Sorry, we can only release him to either someone from the agency or his legal guardian.” The officer sat back in his chair.

Mira slammed her hands on the desk in anger causing everyone in the vicinity to jump and all eyes in the small building to look their way, including Quinn. “Her name is Quinn Flowers! Get it right!” The glare that she leveled at the officer would’ve put fear into a less smug person.

The officer smirked at her then leaned forward in his chair. “Are you threatening a police officer? That’s a quick way to end up in a cell.” Mira wanted to punch that smirk off of the man’s face.

“Okay! Let’s all just take a deep breath and try again!” Zoey said as she clapped her hands together to break the tension. 

“Tell your little hot head friend here, to control her outburst then.” The man didn’t break the stare down he had with Mira. He was enjoying this and the three of them knew it.

Mira was about to launch herself over the desk when she felt arms wrap around her midsection and pull her away from the desk. Her arms and legs flailed and kicked out as she was picked up and dragged outside the station.

“LET ME GO!” She yelled once they were outside and a reasonable distance from the front entrance.

“I need you to calm down first!” She heard a familiar voice say.

Bobby.

Mira stilled in the man’s arms as her chest heaved up and down. Once Bobby felt like they could now have a civil discussion, he placed her feet back on the ground and released her from his hold. If she wasn’t so pissed off, Mira would have been embarrassed at being manhandled by her principal.

“Mira, what did you think attacking a police officer would accomplish?” Bobby asked. He closed his eyes and brought his pointer finger and thumb up to this temple then shook his head.

“He purposely disrespected Quinn!” Mira crossed her arms and glared at Bobby. She wasn’t angry at him but at the moment her anger had no other target.

Bobby let out a sigh when he opened his eyes again and dropped his hand from his face. “Mira, I know you mean well and you’ve been under a lot of stress worrying about Quinn, but attacking that officer won’t do you any good. This isn’t like you, Mira. You normally have a great handle on your emotions.”

Mira was silent for a minute. She felt the anger in her slowly start to recede. She took a deep breath and soon the anger was something that she managed to get a handle on. It was still there inside her, just under the surface.

“I can’t help myself when it comes to Quinn.” Mira leaned against the building and tried to get her body to release the tension in her. “I just really want to help her.”

Bobby nodded in understanding. “Have you girls talked about fostering her?”

“We’re going to do it.” There was no hesitation from the pink haired woman.

"You know, it's a big responsibility to foster a child." Bobby reminded her. He wasn’t trying to discourage, he just wanted to make sure that she was ready for that responsibility.

"Yeah, but she needs us." Came Mira’s reply. She was so sure that this was the right thing for her to do.

He looked at her with eyes of understanding. It meant more to her than just helping someone out of a bad situation. It was also to prove that she could have her own family. He knew what Mira’s childhood was like and how her family turned their back on her when they couldn’t control her anymore.

"Alright, I'll let them know that you'll do it." Bobby gave her a smile as the two of them started to make their way back into the police station.

“Bobby?” Mira called his name.

“Hm.”

“If you ever pick me up like that again, I will send you to the hospital.” Mira said in a serious tone.

“Don’t give me a reason to do it again.” Bobby countered.

Mira could hear the smile on his face. She just rolled her eyes and walked into the station to see Zoey, Rumi and a lady that she didn’t know talking to the officer that she almost leaped at. Her anger flared again but she managed to keep it in check.

Her and Bobby stopped a few feet away from the group as the four of them continued to talk about Quinn's release to the woman that Mira figured was from the foster agency.

“If he is found on the property again, the owner will press charges.” Mira heard the man say. She clenched her hands into fist hard, her nails leaving crescent moons in her palms as her anger flared again.

“They won’t have to worry about that.” The woman said.

The officer looked up to see Mira glaring at him. The smirk that graced his face almost sent Mira over the edge. “Quinton Jackson! You’re free to go!” He yelled to the back.

Mira bit her lip to keep from tearing into the man. She felt Bobby place a hand on her back causing her to look down at him. He shook his head to tell her that it wasn’t worth it. Mira took a deep breath and unclenched her fist.

Quinn made her way to the front desk where her teachers, principal, and the lady from the agency were. “Why are my teachers here Mrs. Choi?” She asked the lady.

Mira turned her attention to the teen and worry grew in her chest. Quinn was in rough shape. Her usually neatly locs were mangled and her face sported new cuts and bruises. Her eyes had heavy bags under them and were dull.

“We’re here for you.” Rumi said softly. Her face held nothing but concern and relief at finding Quinn.

“Yeah! We’re going to be your foster parents now! You’re going to love your new house! It’s huge! And you’ll have your own room!” Zoey started to explain in excitement.

“Let’s give her a moment to breathe Zoey.” Bobby said with a chuckle. “Besides, we still have to talk to Mrs. Ko about you three fostering her.”

“You all want to foster me? Why? I’m just a random student in Ms. Ryu’s and Ms. Hong’s class. You don’t have to waste your time on me.” She said the last part in a quiet voice with her head down.

“You’re not a waste of time Quinn.” Mira was now standing in front of the teen. Her usual blank expression was gone. Replaced with a look of relief. “You are a person who deserves to be respected like everyone else.”

“We can talk about the possibility of the three of you fostering her tomorrow. It’s late so I need to get back to the receiving home.” Mrs. Choi said to them as she turned from the officer at the desk with a tight smile on her face. She did not like that man.

“A receiving home? What’s that?” Rumi asked.

“It’s where children who are between foster homes or ones waiting to be foster are housed until we can find a family for them.” The woman answered. She started to move towards the exit of the station. “Come on Quinn, let’s get you to bed.”

Quinn looked at the three teachers with sadness in her eyes before moving to follow after Mrs. Choi. Mira, Rumi, and Zoey all shared a look and quickly came to the same decision.

“Why don’t Quinn stay with us tonight?” Zoey asked as she turned to Quinn and Mrs. Choi.

They both stopped and turned to the three women, both with looks of shocks on their faces. Quinn looked back at Mrs. Choi then back to the three women. Nobody was sure what to do in this situation.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Mrs. Choi replied. There was some hesitation in her voice as she said that. Every problem that Quinn faced, Mrs. Choi knew that these three women had been standing behind her and trying to help from what Bobby told her.

“It’s just one night until we can officially foster her.” Zoey moved next to Quinn and gave her a small smile.

“I’m sure she would like to sleep in a bed and not be surrounded by other people.” Rumi added as she too moved to be on Quinn’s side, opposite Zoey.

“It’ll just be a few hours.” Mira walked up and stood behind the teen who turned and looked up to see Mira giving her a warm smile.

Quinn felt a warm sensation bloom in her chest and start to spear throughout her. Here were three people that had been fighting for her even when she didn’t want to fight herself telling Mrs. Choi that they wanted her in their life.

“I don’t know.” Mrs. Choi was battling with following protocol and trusting her gut and letting Quinn go with them.

Quinn could hear the uncertainty in the older woman’s voice. She could tell that if pushed, Mrs. Choi’s defenses would crumble. “I want to go with them.”

Her voice was firm and her chin was held high when she spoke. If they really were willing to take a chance on her, then she wasn’t going to fight them on it.

Mrs. Choi's willpower crumbled when she looked at Quinn. She would deal with whatever consequence came her way later. Right now, making sure that Quinn was okay mentally and physically was her priority and that meant letting her go with her teachers then so be it.

“Okay.” Mrs. Choi relented. “You can go with them. I’ll be over first thing in the morning to go over the paperwork with you all and to make sure that your home is suitable for fostering.”

“Yes!” Zoey jumped up and down with excitement while Rumi thanked Mrs. Choi with a beaming smile.

“Let’s get you home!” Zoey said as she turned to Quinn. She grabbed her hand before Quinn could realize what was happening and pulled her out of the police station.

“Zoey! Slow down!” Rumi called after her friend as she followed after them.

Mrs. Choi watched the three of them run out of the building with just the tiniest hit of a smile on her face before turning back to Mira who was still standing close to her. Mira’s face may have returned to its usual blank expression but Mrs. Choi could feel the aura of warmth coming off the taller woman and she knew immediately that she had made the right decision.

“I will have everything that you all will need to sign when I stop by. I have no doubt in my mind that you three will make great foster parents for Quinn.” She said to the pink haired woman.

Mira only nodded her head then started to walk out of the station herself. Before she reached the door, Bobby stopped her. “You girls are going to be exactly what she needs.” He said with a knowing smile.

“We’re just trying to help her anyway we can.” Mira watched as Zoey pulled Quinn to her car with Rumi close behind them.

“I have a feeling that she’s going to help you all as much as you’ll help her.” Bobby left her standing there as he headed back over to talk with Mrs. Choi.

Mira watched Bobby for a second before turning away and walking towards the car. She didn’t know what he meant with what he said but she figured it was just another one of his random quotes. She got to the car to hear Zoey excitedly telling Quinn about their house while the girl took it all in with wide eyes. 

**********

“Welcome home, Quinn!” Zoey shouted as the four of them walked into the house with a wide and toothy smile.

“Zoey, you’re going to scare the girl away.” Rumi chuckled as she closed the front door and followed them farther into the house.

Quinn stood between the great room and the kitchen and turned in a slow circle as she took in how huge the house was. Of all her foster homes, this one was definitely the biggest. She moved into the great room but stopped as two glowing yellow orbs appeared in the dark room causing some fear to pass through her and clutched her bags to her chest.

“What the hell is that?!” Quinn shrieked in fear.

Rumi let out a laugh before turning on a light that revealed a large animal with blue fur that had black stripes and yellow eyes. “It’s just my cat, Quinn.”

The cat in question was sprawled out on a large ottoman, looking up at Quinn without a single thought behind its eyes. “Why is it blue… And so derpy looking?” She asked with a raised brow as her fear started to ease.

“He’s is so derpy! That’s why we named him Derpy!” Zoey said as she ran over and started nuzzling into the large cat. Derpy eyes blinked out of sync as the right one closed and opened with the left one trailing a few seconds behind.

“Yeah, that fits. And he's blue because…” Quinn turned to Rumi and left the question hanging in the air.

Rumi had a thoughtful look on her face for a second. “Genetics I guess. I got him as a birthday gift from Jinu.” Rumi shrugged.

“You mean Mr. Saja from school?” Quinn asked to which Rumi nodded.

Mira walked over to the teen and gave her another once over. “Are you hungry? I can make you some food.”

“I just want a shower.” Quinn answered with a sigh. Truth be told, she was exhausted and just wanted to clean herself then crawl into bed.

“Well, how about I show you to your room?” Rumi motioned for the girl to follow after her as she headed back to the stairs by the front door. “Do you have a change of clean clothes in your bag or do you need to borrow some clothes until we can wash them?”

“I have some clean ones.” Quinn replied.

The two of them walked upstairs to a hallway, To the left was Rumi’s room and another, smaller hallway that led to Zoey’s room. To the right and farther down the hallway was a bathroom and Mira’s room. Passing Mira’s room, the hallway turned right and had the laundry room and what was now to be Quinn’s room.

Rumi took Quinn to her new room to let her settle in. There was a bed pushed up against the wall on the left, across from that was a tv stand with a flat screen tv on it. Across from where Rumi and Quinn stood in the doorway was a window that overlooked the front yard with a desk in front of it that had a black reading lamp on it and a black office chair in front of the desk. The walls of the room were white and bare.

“I’ll bring you a towel and wash cloth for your shower.” Rumi turned to leave when Quinn stopped her.

“Thank you.”

It was quiet but Rumi heard it all the same. She gave the girl a heartfelt smile. “No problem.”

A few minutes later, Quinn was standing in the bathroom looking at herself in the mirror as her shower heated up. She had her shirt off and was examining herself. From the fresh bruises and cuts that adorned her face along with the yellowing one under her right eye. Quinn’s eyes moved off her face in the mirror to her arms that were covered in scars. They were her shame that she kept hiding from the world; they were also a reminder that she would never be good enough.

Quinn traced one of the scars on her left arm with a finger. It was rough under her finger but emotionally, she felt numb to it. With a deep sigh, she stripped off the rest of her clothes then got into the hot shower.

Freshly showered and dressed in a long sleeve shirt and sweatpants, Quinn walked into her room and was ready to crawl into bed. She stopped when she noticed a plate on the desk. She walked over to see a sandwich and a drink. Quinn picked up the food and drink then made her way over to the bed. A small smile graced her face as she settled in the bed. She didn’t want to get her hopes up but if tonight was a prelude to what it would be like to live with her teachers then Quinn would be happy to stay here.

Chapter Text

“You have a lovely home.” Mrs. Choi commented.

She was currently sitting at Rumi’s dining table with Zoey next to her and Rumi across from Zoey. They were going over the paper work to make fostering Quinn official. Mrs. Choi was given a tour of the home by Rumi while Mira made food. Now Mira was sipping coffee while leaning against the breakfast bar that separated the kitchen from the dining area and watching the three of them as Zoey signed papers.

“Thank you! It was the only one that all three of us could agree on.” Rumi said with a light chuckle.

“I still think we should’ve gotten the one with the pond. Just think of all the turtles we could have had.” Zoey commented. She had tried really hard to get the other two to buy that house instead of this one.

“Zoey, that house wasn’t big enough for all of us.” Rumi rolled her eyes with a smile. They had this conversation many times before and as much as Rumi would love to let Zoey have her turtle pond, a two bedroom house would’ve done them no good.

“We could’ve made it work!” Zoey pouted.

Mira watched them over the rim of her coffee cup, just a hint of a smile on her face. Normally, she would egg Zoey on whenever this subject came up but they had more pressing matters to deal with.

 “Well regardless, this one is just perfect for Quinn to live.” Mrs. Choi interjected which got the other two women back on track.

“She’s going to love it here!” Zoey excitement was on full display at the thought of officially fostering Quinn. Honestly they all had excitement bubbling up inside of them, the other two were just able to contain it better while Zoey was known to wear her heart on her sleeve as evident by the huge smile on her face as she continued to sign documents.

As the three women continued on, Mira felt a presence behind her. She turned her head to see Quinn watching them from the entrance to their great room, a curious look upon her face.

“You can come join us if you would like.” Mira said as she turned back to her cup of coffee then took a sip.

The women at the table stopped what they were doing and looked up at Mira in confusion who simply nodded her head towards the great room. They turned to see Quinn standing there with a deer-in-headlights look on her face. Their eyes soften at the teen as soft smiles graced their faces.

“Good morning Quinn.” Rumi greeted her.

“Hi Quinn!” Zoey gave her an enthusiastic wave and a beaming smile.

This whole interaction was somewhat jarring for Quinn. She wasn’t used to being greeted like this while being at home. No, this wasn’t home yet as much as she wanted it to be and she really did want it to be. They could easily change their mind about having her here or Mrs. Choi could find something that would stop her from being fostered.

Quinn realized by now that good things don’t happen to her without consequences. There was no way that the universe was going to drop all this in her lap without asking for something in return and if this was what was being offered to her, then the universe definitely wanted something big in return. She just wasn’t sure she could pay that price. So Quinn was not going to call this home just yet.

“Quinn.” She heard one of them call her name. Coming out of her thoughts, she looked back at the table to see Mrs. Choi giving her a warm smile. “Please join us. I actually have some questions for you before we make everything official.”

Quinn hesitated for a second before walking to the table and taking the empty seat across from Mrs. Choi. As much as she wanted to stay here, there was a part of her that still held doubt that it would actually happen.

“How did you sleep?” Rumi asked her.

“Fine.” Came Quinn’s reply as she fiddled with the sleeves of her shirt and her eyes fell to her lap.

A bowl was placed in front of her causing her to look up and see Mira looking down at her. The woman’s face was neutral but soft as she studied the teen’s face. “Eat up.” Mira said then turned and went back to her spot at the breakfast bar.

Quinn looked down to the bowl in front of her to see it filled with steamed rice and beef. She was about to say that she wasn’t hungry but her stomach beat her mouth as it let out a loud rumble.

“Somebody’s starving.” Zoey laughed and Quinn could feel her face heat up.

Rumi rolled her eyes but there was still a smile on her face. “Don’t mind her. Just eat up and Mrs. Choi can ask her questions.” Her tone was soft and put Quinn at ease.

With a quick glance at the people at the table, Quinn's eyes went back to the bowl. She lifted the spoon from the bowl and brought the food on it to her mouth. There was a flavor explosion on her taste buds when the food hit them because this was the best food that she had ever had in her life. Her eyes slid shut as a low sound left her month. Never had she tasted food this good.

“It's so good, right?!”

Quinn’s eyes snapped open to see Rumi smirking at her and Zoey with a toothy smile looking at her. She felt her face heat up in pure embarrassment again because she did that in front of her possible foster parents.

“Mira is literally the world’s best cook!” Zoey looked over at the pink-haired woman in admiration.

“Damn right I am.” Mira smirked from behind her coffee cup. There were a few things that Mira took a lot of pride in. Her dance ability and her cooking ability were at the top of that list.

“Well anyways, I just have a few questions for you Quinn.” Mrs. Choi brought the attention back to her and Quinn. “But before I ask them, I just want to say that I am truly sorry that the system has failed you up until now. No child should have gone through what you did with the foster families that you had. The agency should have been better and we weren’t. I do think that we will get it right this time.”

Mrs. Choi had a sad look on her face as she looked at Quinn. The girl had suffered for the majority of her life and the people who were supposed to protect her and care for her had failed her over and over again. She wouldn’t blame Quinn if the teen told her that her apologies meant nothing to her.

“It’s okay. I just learned to deal with it. That’s just how my life goes.” Quinn said. Her eyes were cast down to her bowl as she moved the food around with her spoon.

Every single heart in the room besides Quinn’s broke at her statement. For a person as young as her to have such a hard life already absolutely gutted them.

“That’s not something that you should have had to get accustomed to, Quinn.” Rumi’s voice was soft and her eyes held nothing but concern and sympathy.

Quinn just shrugged her shoulders then took another bite of her food. As much as she hated the way that her life had gone, there wasn’t much she could do about it. She was only seventeen years old after all. 

“That’s not fair!” Zoey shouted as she stood from her chair with anger on her face. Quinn jumped in her chair from the unexpected noise by the small woman.

“Zoey, calm down.” Mira said. She placed her coffee cup down on the breakfast bar. There was a tenseness to her face that someone that didn’t know her would miss but Rumi and Zoey could both tell that Mira was angry.

“But Mira! She shouldn’t have had to go through that!” Zoey was pouting as she turned to the taller woman.

“No she shouldn’t have but there’s nothing we can do to change the past. We just have to make sure that her present and future is better.” Rumi’s voice was calm as she spoke.

“But-” Zoey started before she was cut off.

“No but’s. We know what we have to do and we’re going to do it to the best of our abilities, right ladies?” Rumi looked at each of her friends with eyes of determination.

Mira nodded her head while Zoey sat back down with a pout. She gave them a smile then turned back to Quinn. “Things will be better for you here, I promise you that.”

Quinn looked at her and in her heart, she wanted to believe what Rumi said was true but she knew that life wasn’t fair to her. Eventually, that promise would be broken and Quinn would be back at the receiving house. Probably until her eighteen birthday when she’ll age out of the system. But she didn’t voice any of that to the four women around her.

“Okay.” Quinn said instead. Rumi gave her a cheerful smile that she half heartily returned but she felt eyes on her from behind by Mira.

“Are you okay with answering my questions now?” Mrs. Choi asked. Quinn gave her a nod and it brought a smile to the older woman. “Great! My first question is simple, how are you feeling?”

Quinn looked up at Mrs. Choi. Curious eyes meeting concern ones. “I’m fine.” Her eyes fell back to her bowl.

“I see.” Mrs. Choi's eyes went to the papers in front of her. “What exactly happened at your previous foster home that made you run away?”

“Does it really matter at this point?” Quinn asked with a heavy sigh.

“Yes. If we want to press charges on Gwi-ma for child abuse, we need to know.” Mrs. Choi looked at Quinn with a serious look on her face.

“I don’t want to think about that man anymore and I rather not talk about the things that happened to me.” Quinn's eyes did not leave the bowl as she spoke. She could feel tears pricking at the corner of her eyes.

“It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready.” Rumi said.

Quinn looked up at her to see a tiny, reassuring smile on her teacher’s face. She wiped at her eyes then nodded her head in return.

“I’m sorry Quinn.” Mrs. Choi apologized. “I just have one last question for you. Do you want to stay here?”

“I have a say in the matter?” Quinn asked back.

“Yes you do.” Mrs. Choi answered. “After everything you’ve been through and how the agency has failed you repeatedly, you deserve the right to choose if this is where you will be staying.”

“We would love for you to stay here but if you don’t want to, we’ll help you find somewhere you feel comfortable.” Rumi stated. She went to hold the girl’s hand but paused halfway, unsure if Quinn was okay with it.

Quinn looked into Rumi’s and Zoey’s eyes and could see that they both wanted her to say yes. Rumi's eyes held something warm and comforting in them that Quinn craved more of while Zoey’s eyes had excitement in them. She never had a potential parent look at her with eyes like that when it came to fostering her. Quinn turned in her chair to look at Mira, who had been quiet throughout this whole interaction.

Mira's face wasn’t in its usual unreadable expression, it was softer. Behind her gold rimmed glasses, Mira eyes soft as well as she watched the teen. Her goal was to give Quinn a safe place to be herself but that all depended on the teen to want to be here.

Quinn turned back around to Mrs. Choi then nodded her head. “I want to stay here.” Her voice was strong as she said it but there was still a part of her that knew at some point, the universe would come and take what it was owed and her safe little world would come crumbling down.

Mrs. Choi smiled at Quinn. “Well, congratulations. You have officially been fostered by these three women.”

“Yes!” Zoey yelled as she jumped up from her chair. She wrapped Quinn in a tight hug, unaware of how tense the girl got at the contact. “You are going to love it here!”

Mira saw how tense Quinn was wrapped in Zoey arms so she made her way over to the two and placed a hand on the top of Zoey’s head and ruffled her hair. “You’re going to scare her away if you keep hugging her that tight ZoZo.”

“Hey! You’re messing up my hair!” Zoey released her hold on Quinn to try and fix her hair with a pout. A pout that Mira found so damn cute.

A light blush formed on Mira’s face before she tore her eyes off of the younger woman and schooled her features into a neutral expression. There was too much feeling in the room for Mira’s liking.

“Anyway, Quinn, welcome to your new home!” Rumi gave the girl another heartwarming smile.

“Thank you Ms. Ryu.” Quinn said when she finally relaxed from Zoey’s very unexpected hug.

“Please,” Rumi started with a chuckle. “You can just call us Rumi, Zoey, and Mira when we’re not at school. There’s no need for you to be so formal with us at home.” She got a hesitant nod from the teen.

“There’s just one more thing.” Mrs. Choi interrupted and all eyes turned to her. “You have missed a lot of classes this semester. I understand the reason why, which is why I’m giving you the rest of this week to settle into your new life but starting Monday, you need to start going back to school.”

“We’ll make sure that she’ll be there Monday morning.” Zoey said cheerfully. She had managed to somewhat get her hair back to normal and the pout was no longer on her face.

“Well, I believe my work is done here.” Mrs. Choi gathered up the paper work and her things then stood up. “I’ll get all of this filed away back at the agency. If any of you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Choi. I’ll walk you out.” Rumi said as she stood up and walked the older woman to the front door.

“I can’t believe it really happened! There’s so much that we can do for you now that you live with us!” Zoey was vibrating with excitement again. She was literally bouncing up and down next to Mira as a lot of ideas went through her head.

Mira rolled her eyes but there was a smile on her face. She knew that Zoey loved to be helpful to people but she could get carried away with her attempts to help. Mira placed her hands on Zoey’s shoulders to stop her from moving. “Let’s let her settle in first before we enact one of your fifty plans.”

“There’s only thirty-eight.” Zoey shot back. “I gotta go write these down before I forget!" She turned from the two people in front of her then bolted for the stairs.

Mira shook her head with a bigger smile as she watched her friend go. She then turned back to the table where Quinn was still sitting. Mira took the seat that Rumi had occupied not too long ago and watched as Quinn slowly moved the spoon around in her food.

“How are you really feeling?” Mira asked her, voice soft and calm.

Quinn gave a shrug but kept her eyes on her bowl. “Okay I guess. I mean this isn’t my first time being fostered after all.”

“I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about physically. You ran away from home for five days and when we found you, your face was covered in scratches and bruises. Are you in any pain?”

“Nothing that I haven’t dealt with before.” Quinn answered.

Mira didn’t like that answer. She flashed back to when she ran into Quinn at the mall and saw the bruise that was on the teen’s neck. There was no telling how many more bruises and scars Quinn was hiding. She wanted to push the subject more but remembered her promise to not push Quinn.

“Hmmm. I’ll bring you something for your scratches. In the meantime, finish up your food.” Mira got up from the table and made her way upstairs to her room. When she got there, Mira let out a breath of relief. They had done it. They had Quinn and she was safe now. 

**********

“Quinn, it's time to go.” Rumi said as she grabbed her bag and made her way out of her room. She was dressed in a long sleeve black dress that stopped just past her knees. Her legs were covered in black stockings and she had black pumps on her feet.

It was Monday morning and all four of them were getting ready to go to Honmoon High. Rumi, Mira, and Zoey had spent the last few days giving Quinn space to get accustomed to living with them in her own way. Zoey with some difficulty on her part.

As Rumi reached the stairs, Quinn walked out of her room dressed in a black hoodie and black pants with her converse on and her bag slung across her shoulder. Her locs were pulled back into two pigtails and her face sporting her usual make up. “I’m ready.” She said when she met Rumi at the top of the stairs.

Rumi gave the girl a quick once over. The scratches that were on her face were mostly healed and the ones that weren't were covered by her make up. Behind her large frame glasses, Quinn’s brown eyes weren’t as tired and empty as they once were that night they had found her at the police station. Rumi gave her a smile and a nod then descended down the stairs.

The two of them were met with Mira and Zoey waiting by the front door for them. Mira was dressed in her white sleeveless button down and black pants. On her face were her gold rimmed glasses. Zoey had on a flower print cardigan with a white shirt underneath it and a yellow bucket hat on her head.

“You two ready?” Mira asked them after she looked up from her phone. Her eyes lingered on Rumi just a tad longer than they should have.

“Yep!” Rumi answered for them.

Zoey, meanwhile, was slouching against the doorframe, eyes barely open as a yawn escaped from her. She loved her job teaching art but with her night owl tendencies, she hated how earlier she had to get up for it.

“Come on sleeping beauty, it’s time to go.” Mira turned to Zoey and pulled her out of the door to the car. “Mhmm. So sleepy…” Was the response she got in return.

Rumi closed and locked the door as her and Quinn followed them out. They took the spots in the car with Mira behind the wheel, Rumi in the passenger seat, Zoey asleep in the back behind Rumi, and Quinn behind Mira.

Later that day

Quinn was sitting in Mira’s class and was just a bit overwhelmed. She knew that after missing a week of school and word getting out that she had run away from home that she would be the talk of the whole school when she came back. She would catch the other students glances at her when they thought she wasn’t looking and she could hear their whispers. There were rumors that she got caught stealing from her foster family and had run away to avoid getting arrested. Those ones were tamed to the ones that said she got caught sleeping around. God, she hated school sometimes.

Quinn looked up from her from her worksheet just in time to see a girl look away from her. Quinn knew who the girl was. Stormie Williams. She was a brown skinned girl with her curly hair pulled into a large bun behind her head. Her curls were a honey blonde while the roots were their natural black. The girl was medium height and slim with a roundish face.

Quinn let out a deep sigh. She couldn’t wait for this day to end because having to deal with this in every class or even in between classes was exhausting.

Mira watched Quinn from her desk. She saw how the teen caught someone watching her and the look of exhaustion that crossed her face. Mira's eyes went back to Stormie who was once again looking at Quinn. Mira was about to call the girl out but the look that crossed her face gave Mira pause. It wasn’t judgement that she saw but something close to sympathy and worry.

Hmm interesting.

It wasn’t long before the bell rang and her students started to gather their stuff to go to their next classes. Mira waited until the class was almost emptied before she called out. “Quinn.”

Quinn stopped on her way to the door then turned to face Mira. She watched her teacher get up from her seat and walk around to the front of her desk. Quinn made her way over to the woman as the last of the students left.

Mira studied the teen for a second before she spoke. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. It’s not my first time dealing with things like this.” Quinn answered in a dejected voice.

“Do you want to spend the rest of today Miss Yoo’s class?” Mira asked her but Quinn shook her head no.

“I can make it through the rest of today, it’s just some stupid rumors.” Quinn sighed. The rumors did bother her but not as much as the staring did. She could never handle the staring from the other students well but she didn’t tell Mira that.

Mira could see the way Quinn’s body was tense and the exhaustion on the girl’s face. But if Quinn said that she could handle it then Mira would respect her decision. “Okay, just let one of us know if it becomes too much to handle.”

Quinn gave the pink haired woman a nod before turning and heading to her next class. She told herself that she could make it through the rest of today. All she had was a couple more classes then she would be headed home.

Home.

She still was having a hard time accepting that the place she was laying her head at night was a safe space for her. She wasn’t going home to yelling like she had in a previous foster home nor was she being told that staying in her room all day isn’t allowed.

Saturday, Quinn had spent the whole day just laying in bed. The only time anybody bothered her was when Rumi had first checked on her and when Mira had brought her food. They allowed her to just exist without expectations but there was still that part of her that was waiting for the rug to get pulled from under her.

It was only a matter of time or so she assumed.

Chapter Text

Quinn should be asleep. It was currently 3 in the morning and she was sitting at the foot of her bed.   It’s been just over a month since she moved in and got fostered by her teachers and she still felt like the universe was going to want something from her.

Rumi, Mira, and Zoey had been nothing but kind and understanding to her. Giving her space when she asked or if they could just feel that she needed it. Slowly the walls that she had built up started to fall down. Quinn started to spend more time with the three older women, sometimes having dinner with them, watching a movie with them, or just coexisting in the same room with them.

But there were nights like this when she couldn’t sleep because her mind was being too active. Quinn's thoughts were all over the place. From things like not being enough to doing too much or that Mira or Rumi was going to walk into her room and tell her to pack her things and get out.

With a sigh, Quinn got up from her bed and made her way to the door. She opened it only to be met with Derpy sitting right in front of her door.

“Holy shit!” The girl whisper yelled and jumped in surprise. Over a month living here and Quinn still hasn't gotten used to how quiet such a large animal could be. Rumi may have said that Derpy was a cat but Quinn didn’t believe he was a cat at all. If anything, this was a tiger that was sitting in front of her room.

“What are you doing out here Derpy?” Quinn placed a hand over her chest as her racing heartbeat started to slow down. The only response she got from the cat was an uneven blink and a tilt of his head. “Yeah, that’s what I expected you to say.” She rolled her eyes and let a tiny smile form on her face.

Derpy stood up on his paws and nuzzled into the teen’s legs. Quinn felt a warmth spread through her as the cat rubbed against her. “So much for getting a glass of water.” Quinn said to herself.

Quinn turned and went back to her bed with Derpy following behind her. She climbed into bed with the cat jumping in right behind her. Derpy curled around her with his head on her chest. It was a somewhat comforting weight to Quinn as she brought a hand up to pet Derpy on his head. As the cat purrs reached her ears, her racing mind started to calm. No longer was she thinking about one of them coming into her room to throw her out. Quinn didn’t know what the future held for her but right now, she was content with just letting things play out for the time being.

Two Days Later

Quinn was staring at herself in the mirror again. Her torso was bare save for the sports bra that she had on as her eyes examined her scars. Sometimes Quinn would find herself drawn to them when she was fresh out of a shower and her mind would go back to the nights that she gave herself the scars. Back when she was weaker.

She traced a relatively new scar that was on her forearm. The night that she gave it to herself came flooding back into her mind. She gave herself this one because of the bad bullying at school and at her foster home at the time. That night she was ready for it all to end but it didn’t. She was still here.

Quinn’s hand fell away from that scar while her eyes found another one. One that was much older than the others. The very first one that she ever gave herself. The first time that she ever marked her body. Back then she was a completely different person with a different name.

Quinn was so lost in her memories that she didn’t hear her name being called nor the bathroom door opening as Rumi entered.

“Quinn, are you ready to go? We’ve been-”

The sentence died on Rumi’s lips when her eyes landed on the girl. For the first time ever, Rumi saw the way Quinn’s arms and shoulders were littered with scars of different sizes. Her eyes traveled up from the girl’s wrist and along her forearms to her shoulders taking in every scar before finally reaching Quinn’s eyes. Eyes wide with surprise and fear.

A fear that Rumi knew all too well.

“I- um. I’m sorry. I was calling your name and you didn’t answer so I thought- I just- I’m sorry!” Rumi stuttered the sentence out before she slammed the door shut. She turned from the door and let out a deep breath as her mind was racing. Deep in her heart, Rumi knew that Quinn was hiding some like this with how she only saw the girl in long sleeves, she just didn’t know there would be so many.

“Rumi! What’s taking you two so long! We’re going to be late if we don’t leave right now!” Rumi heard Mira yell from downstairs. Upon seeing Quinn, she almost forgot the reason she came to get the girl in the first place. They were supposed to be on their way to school but that terrified look in Quinn’s face told her that the teen was not going anywhere at all today.

Rumi knew what she had to do because if there was anybody in this house that could relate to what Quinn was feeling at this moment, it was her so with another deep breath, Rumi walked down the stairs. When she got down to the foyer, she found a still half asleep Zoey leaning against the door and a frustrated Mira checking her phone.

When Mira heard someone enter the foyer she looked up to see Rumi. “It’s about time! Where’s Quinn? We need to leave right now if we don’t want to be late.”

“Quinn isn’t coming.” Rumi answered. Her voice was calm but tight as she pulled on the sleeve of her blouse.

“What’s wrong with Quinn? Is she sick?” Mira had worry in her voice as she asked Rumi the question. She went to move past the purple haired woman but Rumi placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

“She’s not sick.” Rumi replied to ease the taller woman’s fears about that. “Something happened when I went to get her but I’m going to handle it.”

“What happened?” Mira’s eyes narrowed at Rumi while she studied her face. Hearing that something was going on with Quinn and not being told what it was did not sit well with Mira. 

“Mira, I need you to trust me and let me handle it, please.” Rumi loved how protective of Quinn Mira was but right now, she needed her to trust her as she pleaded with the woman.

Mira looked into Rumi’s eyes that held pleading, concern, and something that she couldn’t quite put a finger on. With a sigh, Mira backed up. “Fine, but I want to be kept updated with what’s going on.”

“I promise.” Rumi told her with a smile.

After one final look into Rumi’s eyes, Mira turned and headed to the front door where she grabbed Zoey by the wrist and pulled her out the door with her. Rumi watched them leave before turning back to the stairs.

Okay Rumi! We got this!

Back in the bathroom, Quinn was panicking. She could barely make out whatever it was that Rumi had said to her as her heart was hammering in her chest. Nobody was supposed to see her scars. She had gotten careless from the comfort of the last month and now it was going to cost her because the universe had finally decided it was time to collect.

With fear planted in her chest, Quinn made her way out of the bathroom to go to her room. As she passed the banister that separated the landing from the ground floor, she could hear voices but the sound of her heart beating in her ears drowned out whatever they were saying.

Quinn made her way into her room and shut the door behind herself. Her chest was rapidly raising and falling as she raced over to her dresser and yanked open a drawer. She tossed clothes to the side as she searched for her comfort hoodie.

Soon her hand grabbed the well-worn fabric of the black hoodie. She pulled it out the drawer then quickly threw it over her torso. The hoodie was faded but soft with a few holes in the bottom of it but it brought a sense of calm to Quinn but it wasn’t enough. She felt the tears fall down her face as she made her way to her bed where Derpy was watching her.

Quinn buried her face into the soft fur of the big blue cat as a sob ran through her body while she felt the world that she was coming to love crumbling around her. She felt Derpy’s tail wrap around her as more tears fell.

A little while later, Quinn's tears stopped and she untangled herself from Derpy. She made her way over to her closet and pulled it open to reveal a black bag on the floor. Quinn grabbed it then took it over to her bed where she placed it down and unzipped it. Inside the bag were a few items of clothing.

Quinn didn’t come here with a lot of clothing but she still kept some packed away just in case things like this happened. She put a few more items into the bag then zipped it back up with the plan to be gone before any of them got back home. She glanced over to Derpy and was met with thoughtless eyes and an uneven blink. She sat down on her bed and snuggled into the giant cat. She would miss Derpy and how petting him grounded her when her thoughts got out of control.

A knock at her door made her jump as she felt the fear creep back in her chest.

They’re all supposed to be gone!

She felt the tears start to fall again.

“Quinn?” It was Rumi’s voice, soft and full of concern. “Can I come in please?”

Quinn opened her month to speak but only a sob came out.

“Quinn!?” Rumi’s voice was panic now at hearing the sob. “I’m coming in, okay?”

When she didn’t get a response, Rumi slowly opened the door to see Quinn in tears. She quickly made her way over to the teen and kneeled down in front of her. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.” Her voice was soft and low.

“No it’s not.” Quinn said in a tiny voice as she wiped at her tears.

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?” Rumi wanted to hug the girl but she didn’t know if that’s what Quinn wanted.

“You saw my scars! Who would someone like me around all the time? Making them uncomfortable whenever I walk into the room! I'm not going through that again!” Quinn shouted with eyes full of anger but also sadness.

Rumi’s face was full of confusion as she listened to Quinn. “You think we’re going to make you leave because of them? We would never do that Quinn.” 

“How do you know what Mira and Zoey would do?! They’ll hate me because I’m nothing but a freak!” Quinn stood up from the bed to put some distance between her and Rumi.

“Don’t you ever call yourself that!” Rumi stood up as well but stayed in her spot. “You are not a freak because of those scars Quinn! Yes they are a part of you but they don’t have to define who you are. You are stronger than them.”

Quinn was looking at Rumi as she spoke. Her tears were no longer falling but her eyes still had that scared look in them.

“And Mira and Zoey aren’t going to make you leave.” Rumi added in a calm and soothing voice.

“How do you know that they won’t?” Quinn’s voice was quiet and unsure as she fidgeted with the sleeves of her hoodie.

Rumi pushed up the sleeve of her own hoodie, having changed out of the outfit she was going to wear to work that day, to reveal her own arm covered in scars just like Quinn. “Because they haven’t made me leave.”

Quinn’s mouth parted as her eyes locked on to the purple haired woman’s arm. The scars were old and some were faint but they were there just like Quinn’s. The image of the perfect Rumi Ryu that she had in her mind crumbled. Now she was looking at someone just like her; someone that was in a low and dark place like she once was but had overcome it to be the woman standing in front of her right now.

“Quinn, I understand that you’re terrified right now,” Rumi’s voice was still in its soothing tone as she spoke, trying to keep Quinn calm. “But I promise you that you are safe and wanted here. None of us are going to hate you because of those scars.” She took a careful and slow step towards the girl.

Quinn looked away from Rumi because of how hard the words hit her. Could she really believe those words? Or would this be just like the last foster family that saw them and sent her back to the receiving house after two weeks of awkward looks and uncomfortable silences? Her mind was telling to just cut bait and run but her heart was telling her that it was okay to trust Rumi’s words.

When she looked back at all the times she interacted with them, all three women had been nothing but kind to her. Hell, they are currently letting her live with them with no strings attached. They’ve seen her at her worst and still accepted her.

“I know that you’ve been hurt by the people who were supposed to protect you, but we are not them. We want to give you everything that you need to be the best you.” Rumi was right in front of Quinn now. Her arms were spread open, showing herself unguard and accepting.

Quinn watched her with fear still in her eyes but a single shred of hope was in her heart so she grabbed it and held on to it like it was a life line because it was to her. In one swift movement, Quinn closed the remaining distance between them and all but tackled Rumi into a hug that she quickly returned as she wrapped her arms around the girl in a tight hug.

They stood there in their embrace for a minute before Quinn finally pulled away, wiping at her eyes under her glasses. “Sorry.” She said in a quiet voice.

Rumi gave her a soft and sweet smile. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.” They moved over to the bed where Derpy was still watching them, no thoughts behind his eyes. “You should’ve seen how bad I was when Mira and Zoey found out about my scars. I thought they were going to hate me for hiding them for as long as I did.” They sat on the bed side by side.

Quinn was quiet for a moment before she asked a question, “Can I ask you something personal?” She looked away from Rumi.

“Umm, sure.” Rumi answered with a raised brow. Curiosity all over her face.

“Are you ashamed of them?” Quinn kept her eyes on the end of her hoodie sleeves. This was a very personal question to ask someone in their situation and she immediately regretted asking it. The way Rumi was silent told her that she might have crossed a line and was about to take it back but Rumi finally spoke.

“Am I ashamed of them?” Rumi repeated the question as she got her thoughts together. “When I was younger, I was very ashamed of the things I did to my body and being raised by my aunt who told me to cover them up because ‘the world shouldn’t see my faults and flaws’ took a giant toll on me but with the help of Mira and Zoey, I managed to change the way I see myself and love the woman I see in the mirror now. I cover them up in public because some people can be rude about it and I rather not have to stop Mira from fighting everyone that is.”

Quinn brought her eyes up from her lap and placed them on Rumi. She found it hard to believe that the woman sitting next to her wasn’t the confident teacher that she knew. Maybe there was hope for her after all. The two of them sat in silence for a minute, both lost in their heads, until Rumi’s phone went off. They both jumped from the sudden noise before Rumi pulled her phone from her pocket to see a photo of Mira winking at her with her tongue out.

“It’s Mira.” Rumi said to Quinn with a nervous laugh. She answered the phone then brought it up to her ear. “Hi Mira.” She said into the phone.

“Rumi? Is Quinn okay?” Mira asked. Rumi could hear the slight panic in the woman’s voice that anybody who didn’t know her would miss.

Rumi looked over at the girl in question. Her eyes were red rimmed from crying but she looked better than how she was earlier. “She's going to be okay.” Rumi answered.

Mira felt a weight lift off of her shoulders at hearing that Quinn was okay. “What happened to her?”

“Umm,” Rumi’s eyes went back to Quinn. This wasn’t Rumi’s story to tell and she knew it. “I think it’s best if Quinn tells you herself.” Was what she settled on telling Mira.

“Okay… What are you hiding from me?” Mira asked.

“I’m not hiding anything Mira, this just isn’t something that I should tell.” Rumi defended herself, her voice sharp.

Mira was quiet for a moment. “Shit Rumi, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that to you.” She apologized.

“I know it’s because you’re worried about Quinn, I just need you to trust that I’m doing the right thing.” Rumi sighed out.

“I trust you.” Mira's voice was low, knowing that she messed up. She was going to have to make up for this.

“We’ll talk when you two get home, okay?” Rumi asked.

“Yeah, I'll see you then.” Mira answered.

They ended the call and Rumi let out another sigh. That was not how she was expecting that call to end. “This is all my fault.” She heard Quinn say, causing her to snap her head over to her.

“This is not your fault Quinn. Mira really cares about you and sometimes her feelings get in her way of rational thinking, especially when it comes to making sure that you are okay.” Rumi explained to her but Quinn still didn’t look convinced.

“But if I wasn't here, you two wouldn’t have gotten into a fight.” Quinn had her head down as her hands busied themselves with the cuffs of her hoodie.

“That wasn’t a fight. It was barely a disagreement. We’ll be fine by the time she and Zoey get back.” Rumi explained. Conversations like that weren't new to them, they had many of them before and would always forget about them after a couple of hours. Although Mira would try to make up for them every time even when Rumi said it was okay.

Quinn didn’t say anything else, deciding to cuddle into Derpy instead. A sense of calmness settled in her at the action. She came to the conclusion that the cat had to be magical.

“Quinn?” Rumi called out to the girl. There was an uncertainness in her voice that caused Quinn’s hand to pause mid stroke on the cat’s head.

“Y-yes?” Quinn didn’t look at Rumi, choosing to keep her eyes on the patterns of Derpy’s head.

“Do you want to tell them about your scars?” She asked. She knew that this would be a huge thing to have to tell two other people, especially after how Rumi found out so she wanted to make sure that Quinn was okay with it.

Quinn didn’t move for a while as her mind raced. Should she tell the others? Rumi was proof enough that the others would accept her too but telling someone about her scars was easier said than done. But a part of Quinn was tired of hiding this from them. She wanted to live free, well at least in her own home. With her mind made up, Quinn turned to face Rumi with assuredness in her eyes. “Yes.”

Rumi looked at her a bit surprised. She was expecting Quinn to be unsure and hesitant about this but the way that she answered her said that she had no doubt in her mind about this. “Okay,” Rumi said with a smile. “They’re going to accept you no matter what, I just want you to be sure that you’re ready.”

“I’m sure.” Was all Quinn needed to say to make Rumi believe her. Rumi gave her a bigger smile then bumped her shoulder into the girl, letting her know that she would be by her side.

**********

Mira was anxious. Even though Rumi had told her that Quinn was okay earlier, she still didn’t know what had happened this morning to cost both Quinn and Rumi to miss school. Add on the phone call that she had with Rumi afterwards, Mira felt like she wasn’t doing anything right. Maybe her father was right. Maybe she wasn’t fit to have a family. That thought made her chest ache in the worst way.

“Mira?”

The woman was so deep in her thoughts, that she forgot that there was someone else sitting next to her in the car. She turned to see Zoey watching her with worry. Zoey had been told about what happened this morning when she noticed that Rumi and Quinn weren't with them after she was fully awake and the way that Mira’s energy had been all day was affecting Zoey as well.

“Are you okay?” Zoey asked her, pushing her own feelings aside to make sure that her friend wasn’t about to spiral.

Mira felt herself getting lost in Zoey’s big brown eyes until she shook her head to refocus herself. “I’m fine.” Mira answered before getting out of the car.

Zoey watched her for a second, a slight hurt in her at being pretty much blown off. She got out of the car and followed the taller woman into the house. They were met with music coming from the kitchen causing them to pause in confusion. They slowly made their way into the kitchen to see Quinn and Rumi cooking at the stove. The most surprising thing was the fact that Rumi wasn’t wearing a hoodie while Quinn was in the house, just some sweatpants and a tee-shirt.

The night before they officially foster Quinn, Rumi had told Mira and Zoey that she would cover her scars up so that she didn’t have to deal with the chance that Quinn might either be rude about them or uncomfortable, but here she was laughing with the teen with them on full display.

“You guys look like you’re having fun.” Zoey said. There was a smile on her face as the two women in the kitchen turned to see Mira and Zoey.

“Hi girls!” Rumi said cheerfully. “We’re making tteokbokki!”

“Tteokbokki?! I love tteokbokki!” Zoey exclaimed as she dropped her things then rushed into the kitchen.

Mira stood rooted where she was while shock graced her face. Rumi noticed that she hadn't moved or said anything since they had walked in so she wiped her hands on a dish towel then made her way over to the taller woman.

“Hey you. I hope you’re hungry.” The smile on Rumi’s face was almost too much with all the emotions swirling around in her. Her eyes flickered down to Rumi’s arms then back to her eyes.

“You have your arms out.” Mira’s voice was low and soft like if she was too loud then Rumi would realize she didn’t have them covered.

Rumi looked down at her arms then back to Mira, her smile never wavering. “I know. You’ll all understand why while we have dinner.”

Twenty minutes later, the four of them were sitting at the dining room table with bowls of food in front of them. Zoey let out a hum of contentment as she ate while Mira’s eyes jumped between Rumi and Quinn.

“This is so good!” Zoey said around a mouth full of food.

“You think so?” Rumi asked, raising a brow. “Quinn said she never had it before and wanted to try it.”

“It's delicious! I could eat this all day!” Zoey did a little happy dance in her chair that brought a laugh out of Quinn and Rumi.

“What do you think, Mira? Quinn did most of the cooking.” Rumi turned to look at her with that same smile from before on her face. A warmth settled in Mira’s stomach from that smile, having finally gotten her emotions settled but there was still that part of her that had to know what was going on.

“Rumi, what happened this morning between you two? It’s been all I could think of today and after our phone call, I feel like I’m not doing something right with either of you.” Mira basically pleaded.

All the laughter at the table died out and the mood instantly changed, becoming tense. Rumi placed her chopsticks down and gave Mira a comforting look. “Mira, you haven’t done anything wrong. We’ll tell you what happened this morning but before we do, do you remember what I told you after you and Zoey found out about these?” She pointed at her arms causing everyone to look at them.

Mira remembered that day week all too well. The way that Rumi had cried and begged them not to leave her. She remembered how her heart broke into pieces as she watched one of her best friends panic and try to hide what she called her mistakes. Most importantly, she remembered all the anger that she felt when Rumi told her why she had hidden them from them for so long and the people that made her mark herself. Her jaw clinched and her eyes slid over to a nervous looking Quinn. Quinn who was fidgeting with the sleeves of her hoodie. Quinn, who hadn’t made eye contact with her since she got home.

Deep down, Mira knew that Quinn was probably hiding something like this but figured the girl’s body dysmorphia was the cause of her wearing long sleeves all the time, or that was the excuse that she told herself.

“Mira, do you remember what I said to you?” Rumi asked to bring Mira’s attention back to her.

“That no matter how much we want to, we can’t change the past, we can only make sure that we have a better future.” Mira repeated the words that Rumi said to her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then unclenched her jaw. Once she opened them again, Mira felt that she had better control over herself.

Rumi gave her another smile then turned to Quinn. “Are you ready Quinn?”

Quinn was nervous but still gave her a nod. She took a deep breath then pulled up one of her sleeves, revealing her scars. Zoey let out a gasp of surprise while Mira's face was unreadable. She felt so exposed as they looked at her.

“Oh Quinn.” Zoey cried out, wanting to hug the girl’s pain away.

Mira felt the same anger that she had when Rumi showed them her scars come back. She wanted to make whoever made Quinn do this to herself pay. Mira felt someone grab her hand and give it a squeeze. Looking to her hand, Mira saw Rumi’s hand in hers, grounding her.

Another deep breath.

“I’m so sorry that you had to go through this.” Zoey was crying.

“You guys aren’t going to make me leave?” Quinn asked in a quiet and unsure voice, looking between the three of the women.

“What?” Mira’s eyebrow practically shot to her hairline. “We’re not going to kick you out because of that, Quinn.”

“Yeah! Who’d kick a child out for having scars!?” Zoey asked, not believing anyone would be that heartless.

“One of my previous foster families did.” Quinn said as she pulled her sleeve back down.

“What?!” Zoey yelled.

“Quinn, we’re not them. We want you here no matter what happened to you in the past and nothing is going to change that.” Mira told the teen. She meant every word that she said.

“I told you Quinn, they wouldn’t kick you out because of those.” Rumi gave her a sweet and sincere smile that Quinn managed to return to her.

“Wait! You thought that we would do that to you?!” Zoey gave her an incredulous look.

“Zoey, please calm down.” Rumi rolled her eyes. “It’s a valid thought to have after it happened to you once before.” 

“I’m sorry.” Quinn apologized to them. She shrunk into her chair as she felt heat on her neck and face.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Mira pointed her chopsticks at Zoey. “That one there is just very expressive.” Mira lowered her chopsticks back to her bowl.

Soon, the atmosphere around the table was comfortable enough for them to dive into small talk and Quinn felt a weight lift off of her shoulders. They didn’t kick her out nor did they hate her for hiding her scars. Maybe she could get to the point of not hiding them at all with the help from the women around her. These scars were a part of her, yes but that didn’t mean that she had to face them by herself. She had people that she could trust.

Chapter Text

Mira watched as her students filed into class and took their seats. There was excitement in the air as they did because Mira was in her lab coat and she only put it on when the class was going to do a lab. A lab on a Monday meant that they’re going to be doing it all week long as well. Mira loved the feeling she got when looking into the happy faces of her students but she held that usual blank expression on her face.

Soon, all her students found their seats as the final bell rang. She stood at the front of the class, hands in the pockets of her black jeans. She had on a simple and plain tee-shirt and her aforementioned white lab coat with the sleeve rolled up to her elbows. Gone were her usual bracelets and rings on her wrists and fingers and her pink hair was pinned up and out of the way while her black framed glasses sat on her face. 

Her eyes swept over the students and she let a tiny smile grace her face. All of them were present today sans one. “Okay class,” Mira addressed them. “Today starts the beginning of our week-long lab, we’re going to use everything that we went over up until this point in class. You guys will be paired up and at the end of next week, you will have to work together to write up a report on your findings of each lab.” A groan erupted from the class upon hearing that they would have to write a report.

Mira just rolled her eyes before she started listing out the students who would be paired up. It didn’t take long for her to list out all the pairing but one. Her eyes moved to the one student who had yet to be paired, Stormie Williams. The brown skinned girl was looking back at her expectantly. “Stormie, your partner will be here momentarily.” The girl nodded her head before they all started to move to their partners.

“Alright class, your first lab is going to be pulling fingerprints off of those objects on your lab tables.” Mira instructed them. On the tables were various items, from beakers to empty cans. Mira moved around to the back of her desk then sat down in her chair. “You may begin.”

They dove into their lab as excited talking came out of all of them except for Stormie. Mira watched as the girl put on her latex gloves then picked up the beaker and started working. It wasn’t long before the classroom door opened and her missing student finally walked in. Mira and the whole class turned to see Quinn making her way to Mira’s desk, a note in hand.

“Quinn,” Mira greeted the girl as the teen placed the note on the desk. “How was your doctor’s appointment?’ She asked the question in a low voice so only the two of them could hear it.

“It was okay. The doctor said that everything is looking good.” Quinn answered in an equally low voice.

Mira nodded her head once and gave her a look that said that they would talk more about it later as the other students went back to their lab. She picked up the doctor’s note and filed it away. “We’re starting lab week today and I have you paired up with Stormie Williams."

The look Quinn gave Mira could have won the girl an Oscar with how shocked she looked. “Mir- Ms. Hong, is that a good idea?” She asked, her voice low so Stormie couldn’t hear.

“Yep, now get to your seat.” Mira gave her a smirk and a wave of her hand, dismissing the girl from her desk.

Quinn wanted to say more but the look she got from Mira silenced her. With a defeated sigh, Quinn turned away from the desk then made her way over to Stormie’s lab table where she took her seat next to the girl. Stormie looked over to her and gave her a smile.

Mira, why would you do this?!

“I like your make up.” Quinn heard Stormie say, causing her to pause from taking things out of her bag, unsure if she heard the girl correctly.

“I’m sorry?” Quinn looked at Stormie with a face full of confusion. Ever since Quinn had come back to school after she had run away from her previous foster home, there were students that would whisper behind her back or she would catch them staring at her. Stormie was one of the latter. Quinn would wonder what it was that made the other girl watch her whenever they were in class together.

“I said that I like your make up. That lipstick color suits you so well.” Stormie repeated herself. The lipstick in question was a rich-berry color. She still had that same smile on her face before turning back to the beaker in her hand.

“I- Thank you…” The confusion was clear in her voice. She barely exchanged words with Stormie in the past but here she was complementing her on her make up. Quinn shook her head to refocus herself. “Wait, what’s going on here?” She asked, brow raised as suspicion replaced confusion.

“I’m complementing how good your make up looks.” Stormie said with a chuckle and a teasing smile.

“No, I get that. I’m asking why you’re doing that.” Quinn corrected. This was the first time that Stormie had said more than two words to her and a part of her felt like it was a trick of some sort.

“Is it a crime to complement a pretty girl on her make up?”

Quinn’s brain short circuited and her mouth opened and closed several times before she was able to respond. She couldn’t remember the last time someone called her pretty, especially someone that she thought was the definition of pretty. “Okay, I am officially so confused right now.”

“Why are you confused?” Stormie asked her. She placed the beaker she had in her hands down and gave Quinn her full attention.

Quinn stared at the girl like she grew a second head. Why wouldn’t she be confused at the fact that a girl that barely spoke to her and she would catch watching her at times was calling her pretty and talking to her? Quinn felt like she walked into the twilight zone instead of her teacher’s classroom or maybe she was just dreaming. She looked to the front of the classroom and locked eyes with Mira, a silent conversation happening between the two of them.

Mira! What the hell is going on?!

Don’t know but I’m enjoying whatever it is.

Oh you’re enjoying watching me have a mental breakdown?!

You’re being entirely overdramatic. Mira rolled her eyes at Quinn.

I don’t think I’m being dramatic enough, actually! Quinn sent a glare to the older woman.

How about you just relax and see where this goes? Who knows, you might just make a friend. Now back to work!

Quinn wanted to scream. Of course Mira would be no help to her, she saw how the woman was when it came to things like this with Rumi and Zoey. She took a deep breath then turned to face an expecting Stormie. “I’m confused because you have barely said anything to me until today and you start by talking about my make up and calling me pretty. Now pair that with the fact that I catch you looking at me when you think I’m not looking, how am I not supposed to be confused?” Quinn had enough social awareness to lower her voice so none of the other students could hear her.

“Well when you put it like that, I sound like a creep.” Stormie said with a laugh. A laugh that sounded like honey to Quinn. Focus! “I never meant to make you uncomfortable, I just get lost in my head sometimes when I’m trying to figure something out.” Stormie explained.

“What is it that you were trying to figure out about me? Everyone already knows my whole life story in this school.” Quinn rolled her eyes. Ever since she came out, there was not one single thing that was said about her nor a secret that wasn’t exposed.

“I don’t care too much about those rumors. Besides, if I believe every rumor, then I would be a ‘man stealing bitch.’” It was Stormie’s turn to roll her eyes, the rumors about her weren’t as bad as the ones that Quinn had to deal with but boy were they so wrong. “I want to know who the real Quinn Flowers is. The one who decided one day to live as her true self.”

Quinn looked at her, not sure what to make of anything that the girl had just said to her. She had heard the rumors that involved Stormie like the one that said she was trying to get with Honmoon High’s star quarterback who was currently dating Quinn’s number one bully. “Why do you want to know anything about me now?”

“Because I think what you’re doing is pretty cool.” Stormie gave her a beaming smile.

“There is absolutely nothing cool about me.” Quinn let out a hollow laugh and looked away from her lab partner.

“That’s subjective. I think being your true self in a society that wants you to conform is the coolest thing a person can do and that’s someone I want to be friends with.” Stormie told her. Quinn just couldn’t believe that some like her would willingly want to be friends with her.

“Why would you want to be friends with me?” Quinn turned back to her and raised a brow. Before Stormie could answer, Quinn’s phone went off. She pulled it out of her bag to see a message from Mira. Quinn looked from the phone to her teacher but Mira wasn’t looking at her so she looked back to the phone and opened the message.

Mira🌸: Stop getting in your own way.

Mira what the hell?!

Quinn closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Fine, if Mira wanted her to get out of her own way then she can be the one to pick up the pieces for when this inevitably comes back to bite her. She opened her eyes and turned to Stormie with a careful and guarded look in her eyes.

“Is everything okay?” The girl asked her concern in her voice.

“We’re going to find out,” Quinn mumbled to herself first before speaking to Stormie. “What’s your end goal with this? Like why are you suddenly trying to become friends with me?”

“I would like to be friends with you. People have said all types of things about you, but how many of those people actually know you? I don’t think that fair.” Stormie answered as she turned back to the breaker in front of her.

“Let’s say that I believe that, what do I gain by telling you anything?” She questioned.

Stormie thought for a moment. She figured that Quinn wouldn’t willingly tell someone she didn’t know anything about herself without a good reason so there was only one thing to do. “What do you know about me?” She asked in return, a smile never leaving her face.

What did Quinn know about Stormie that wasn’t a rumor? The answer was not a thing and she would be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t just a bit curious. Stormie was an enigma when she came to this school. A girl who everyone knew of but nobody actually knew and here Quinn was with the opportunity to be the person who got to figure her out.

“You mean things that aren’t rumors? Nothing I guess.” Quinn replied with a shrug.

“So how about we do this, while we work on this lab, we take turns asking each other questions? I’ll even let you ask the first question.” Stormie offered.

Quinn thought over the offer. There was a chance that all of this could blow up in her face but there was also a chance that Stormie was actually trying to be a friend to her. She glanced to the front of the classroom one more time and locked eyes with Mira again who gave her just a single nod of encouragement.

Another deep breath.

“Okay fine.” She agreed.

Stormie gave her an excited smile.

I really hope I don’t regret this.

“What are you really trying to get out of this?” Quinn asked as her first question, deciding to get the most obvious and important question out of the way.

“Not beating around the bush I see.” Stormie let out a laugh. “Like I said before, I want to know the real Quinn Flowers and I want to be your friend.” She answered.

“But why?” Quinn questioned, still not sure why Stormie was doing any of this.

“Ah ah ah, it’s my turn to ask a question now.” Stormie reminded Quinn as she started working on the lab again.

Quinn wanted to argue but remembered that they agreed to take turns. With a sigh, she nodded her head for Stormie to ask her question.

“Why are you hesitant to believe what I’m telling you?” She asked.

Quinn gave her a deadpanned look like she couldn’t believe Stormie had the audacity to ask that question. “Well there’s only a handful of people in this school that can be trusted and none of them are the other students so excuse me if believing that you have my best interest at heart is hard for me to do.” There wasn’t much venom in her tone but it was still there.

“Yeah that’s fair enough.” Stormie conceded.

“Why are you trying so hard to make me your friend?” Quinn asked. The venom in her tone was gone and replaced with genuine curiosity.

Stormie paused in what she was doing then looked over to Quinn. There was something in the look that Quinn couldn’t quite place. “I always wanted to be friends with you, but you don’t make it easy to approach you. I know you said that you don’t think being yourself is cool but in a school full of people who're pretending so they can fit in, I rather get to know the people who’s choosing to be authentic.”

Quinn thought over what Stormie just told her. She could understand her line of reasoning in wanting to have people you could trust as your friend, but Quinn didn’t know if she could trust anybody. She was still learning to fully trust Mira, Rumi, and Zoey.

“Is it true that you broke Mei's nose last year?” Stormie asked her with a smirk on her face.

“What?! Of course it’s not.” Quinn gave her an incredulous look. “She got a nose job and thought it would be funny to tell people I broke it.”

“Ah damn, I was hoping that was true because someone needs to take her down a peg.” There was disappointment in Stormie’s voice.

Quinn gave the girl next to her a look. She didn’t know what to expect when she agreed to this back and forth but it definitely isn’t whatever this was. All this is showing her is that she knew nothing about Stormie; the girl really was a wild card to her. One thing that she did know was that they apparently both did not like Mei Kim.

“Speaking of Mei, are you really trying to steal away her boyfriend?” Quinn couldn’t help herself, she was more than curious about the rumors surrounding Stormie.

“God no! He’s not my type on account of him being, well a guy.” Stormie shuddered at the thought of dating Mei’s boyfriend. “I would rather remain celibate for the rest of my life than date a guy.”

The laugh that Quinn let out was loud and unguarded and caused the whole class to look over at their table but at this moment in time, she couldn’t bring herself to care. She carefully wiped at her eyes once she got her laughing under control then looked over at Stormie. The smile that she saw on her face caused a warm sensation to settle in Quinn’s chest. Maybe the universe decided it had tortured her enough and was finally throwing her a bone. Maybe. She still wasn’t going to trust Stormie that easily.

Quinn glanced up to where Mira was to see her watching her with an ‘I told you so’ smirk clear on her face. She rolled her eyes then went back to working on the lab and answering questions with Stormie.

Three weeks later

“We’re taking you shopping.”

Quinn looked up to Mira from where she sat on the couch with confusion on her face. Her plan was to spend the day at home watching movies but apparently the girls had other plans for her. “Huh?” Was all Quinn could think to say.

“You need more clothes and Zoey needs clothes that’s not covered in paint so we’re taking you shopping.” Mira explained to her. She actually wanted to take her shopping a while ago but figured it would be better to let Quinn get comfortable first.

Quinn knew that she came here with a small amount of clothing but she was getting by with them. Okay maybe she would like having more options but she didn’t want them spending unnecessary money on her, a thought she was about to voice out.

“It’s not unnecessary if it's something that you need and you really need more clothes.” Mira told her like she was reading the girl's mind. The corner of her lips rose at the stunned look on Quinn’s face. “Be outside in ten minutes.” She turned and left the still stunned teen watching her.

Exactly ten minutes later, the four of them were piled into Mira’s car, heading to a store. Nobody would tell Quinn what store they were going to, only that she wouldn’t have a problem finding clothes that fit. Being a trans woman meant that her options when it came to finding clothes in actual stores were slim so she had to rely on online shopping.

“So Quinn,” Zoey was smiling widely over to her as she spoke.” I heard you made a new friend in Mira’s class.” The teasing was clearing in her voice and caused Rumi to roll her eyes with a smile in the front seat.

“Oh my God!” Quinn groaned and slumped down in her seat. She and Stormie talked more following that Monday in class but she wouldn’t say that they were friends, they could maybe be considered acquaintances at best. “I can’t believe you told them Mira!”

“Do you really believe that she wouldn’t?” Rumi asked and Quinn just sighed, knowing for a fact that she didn’t.

“What’s she like? Is she nice? Oh we should invite her over for dinner!” Zoey was jumping in the seat from excitement.

“Slow down Zoey! Stormie and I are not friends. You can barely call us acquaintances.” Quinn tried to tamper down the excitement that the woman had. The thought of Stormie seeing Quinn outside of school terrified her but she didn’t know why.

“Then we have to make you two best friends!” Zoey was not going to be deterred in making a new friendship.

“Zoey.” Mira said her name in a warning tone. They locked eyes in the rearview mirror before Mira put her eyes back on the road. She agreed with Zoey that Quinn could use a friend her age, but Zoey’s plans have a habit of going overboard.

“But think of the play dates!” Zoey tried to argue back.

“Zoey, I’m seventeen! I don’t have play dates!” Quinn rolled her eyes.

Rumi turned to face the two of them in the back, a soft smile on her face. “Zoey, sweetie, you remember the last time you tried to get two people together?”

“How was I supposed to know that was Bobby’s ex?” Zoey asked in defence. She just thought that Bobby would enjoy hanging out with someone close in his age range. Turns out the person who she introduced him to was also the person who he had a very messy break up with.

“So maybe we don’t plan any play dates for Quinn, huh?” Rumi still had that soft smile on her face.

“Can we please not call them play dates?” Quinn sighed out. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. They were going to kill her from embarrassment.

“We’re here.” Quinn heard Mira announced as the car came to a stop.

“Oh thank God!” Quinn practically jumped out of the car, desperate to save herself from further embarrassment. She didn’t get far before she stopped, eyes locked on the sign above the clothing store. FashionPop. She swore to herself that she had heard of this store before but she couldn’t quite place it.

Rumi came and stood next to Quinn, hands on her hips and a smile on her face. She was very proud of herself for finding this store, one that was perfect for someone like Quinn. There was happiness radiating from the woman. “Let’s go inside!” She grabbed Quinn’s wrist and pulled her towards the entrance.

Quinn was used to Zoey being the one to pull everyone around, it was weird that Rumi was the one doing it now. Rumi entered the store, pulling Quinn behind her with Zoey and Mira trailing. The store was huge with clothes and people everywhere while music played over some speakers. It was almost oversimulating. There were colorful kids' clothes to the right of them while the left had young teens' clothes.

“Where do we start?” Zoey asked.

“Welcome to FashionPop! Do you girls need help finding anything?” They all turned to see a teen walking up to them with a practiced retail smile on her face that morphed into an actual smile once she saw Quinn. “Quinn? What are you doing here?”

Stormie walked up to the four of them, her smile wide from ear to ear. She had hoped that something would happen to make her day better, she just didn’t expect it to be Quinn and some teachers from her school.

“Stormie?” Mira brow rose behind her gold rimmed glasses. “You work here?” She knew that a lot of her students had part-time jobs, but the thought of running into one of them doing it never crossed her mind.

“I sure do! Look!” Stormie raised a lanyard that was around her neck. On it was a picture of her smiling from ear to ear and the words 'Assistant Manager’ under it.

“Woah! Assistant Manager at eighteen?!’ Rumi was surprised that someone as young as her had a title of that importance on their badge.

“Yeah! It helps that my parents own this store.” Stormie still had a beaming smile on her face. Even though some people think that she only got her position because this was her parent’s store, Stormie took her job seriously.

Quinn was speechless, not one single thought in her mind because of course the universe would think it would be funny to have them run into Stormie right after telling her foster parents that the girl wasn’t her friend. This was a sick joke at her expense.

“Oh is this your new friend from Mira’s class?” Zoey asked as pushed her way to the front of the four of them to stand right in front of Stormie.

Hearing the excitement in Zoey’s voice at the possibility to do whatever plan she had in her head, snapped Quinn back to reality. She had to stop whatever was about to happen, asap.

“NO!”

Four sets of eyes turned to Quinn with various looks of shock in them. Okay so maybe yelling no out loud wasn’t the best thing she could have done but it was effective enough. Now she just needed to come up with a good reason for yelling like a maniac.

“I mean, I'm sure that Stormie has other things to take care of. We don’t need to bother her.” Quinn stammured out. There was a nervous smile on her face.

A grin spread across Stormie’s face. “Nonsense,” she said, looking Quinn up and down. “It’ll be my absolute pleasure to help you find something.”

A sick fucking joke!

Quinn’s eyes darted over to Mira only to see a devilishly teasing smirk. She knew in her heart that she was going to die of embarrassment today.

Rumi could see the panic in the girl’s eyes and decided to take sympathy on her. She turned to Zoey and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Why don’t we go find you some paint free clothes?”

“But I have the perfect plan!” Zoey whined out, shoulders slumped.

“Come on you.” Rumi rolled her eyes and grabbed Zoey’s hand and pulled the younger woman farther into the store, away from the two teens.

Quinn let out a sigh of relief. She said a silent thank you to whatever deity decided to take pity on her but her relief didn’t last long once she put her eyes back on Mira and Stormie, both looking at her.

“So what kind of clothes are you looking for today?” Stormie's smile was sweet and innocent but there was something in her eyes that Quinn couldn’t quite place. Not malice or bad intent but a softness. A softness that was different from what she would see in her foster parents eyes.

“She needs everything.” Mira spoke up before Quinn could, causing both teens to look her way. She looked back at Quinn, brow raised, daring her to disagree but only got a huff in response.

Stormie's face was radiating glee. The one thing that she loved about her job was the opportunity to help people find their style and Stormie was looking at Quinn like she was a blank canvas. She was going to make this girl into her very own Basquiat painting.

“I know exactly where to start!” Stormie grabbed Quinn’s hand and pulled her through the store.

Mira followed after the two with a half smirk on her face. She had a lot to talk with Quinn about, like how she couldn’t tell that the girl leading her through the store was obviously crushing on her.

One hour later, Quinn was in a dressing room with a ton of clothes while Mira sat outside, scrolling on her phone. Stormie had taken her to a section of the store that held their trans women line and grabbed pretty much one of everything then pushed her into the dressing room while saying that she’ll be back with more.

With a shake of her head, she picked up one of the articles of clothing then held it to her body. It was a long sleeve emerald green sweater dress. Quinn changed out of her clothes and into her dress and a pair of black booties then looked herself over in the mirror. She wasn’t sure how she felt about seeing herself in it because if she was being honest, this would probably be something that she overlooked if she was doing her own shopping.

“How’s it going in there?” Quinn heard Mira’s voice come from the other side of the door.

“Umm- fine. I think.” Quinn stammered out. She took a deep breath then stepped out of the dressing room, causing Mira to look up from her phone and take in the girl’s outfit from head to toe.

“That looks good on you.” Mira said, a thoughtful look in her eyes.

“You really think so?” Quinn asked as she turned and twisted in the dress to look at herself more, still unsure if it was for her.

“We could ask your new girlfriend what she thinks.” Mira had a smirk on her face. She kept her mouth closed the whole time while Stormie was picking out clothes for Quinn but now Mira had free reign to tease her.

Quinn felt her face heat up and she almost stumbled coming out of her twirl. There was no way that she just heard Mira of all people say those words because that was something that Zoey would say. Hell she thought Rumi would say that before Mira. “Ask who?” Her voice came out in a higher pitch than usual.

“That girl definitely has a crush on you and you might have one on her as well.” Mira stated it like it was a fact that the whole world except Quinn knew.

Quinn was completely stunned by Mira as her mouth opened and closed several times before she was finally able to speak. “I- there’s- she-” Deep breath. “I do not have a crush on her.” She finally hissed out.

Mira leaned back in the chair, her smirk growing bigger. “You think you don’t because you’re too busy in your head waiting for the bottom to fall out. If you really didn’t like her, you wouldn’t have even given her the time of day that day in my class.”

The girl was silent because deep down she knew that Mira was right. Maybe not about Quinn having a crush on Stormie because she definitely did not have a crush on her. But she could be right about liking the girl as a friend at least. Still, she wasn’t ready to give Stormie the label of friend just yet.

“Woah, you look absolutely stunning in that.”

They turned to see Stormie walking into the dressing room area with more clothes in hand, eyes locked on Quinn.

“I told you so.” Mira said, the smirk still on her face. Quinn didn’t know if she was talking about the dress or about Stormie having a crush on her but for her own sanity, she decided to just go with it being about the dress.

“Do you not like it?” Stormie asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. She thought that Quinn would have liked the dress. She even picked one in a dark color for her.

Quinn vehemently shook her head while waving her hands. “No! I mean it’s not that I don’t like it, I just don’t know if it’s something I could pull off.” Was it hot in here or was it just her? She did not know.

“I think you’re pulling it off pretty well.” Stormie looked her up and down again, head tilted to the side while she considered something. “You could add some black and green striped knee high socks to it.”

Quinn locked eyes with Mira. What was that?!

I think that was her flirting with you.

Quinn’s eyes almost popped out of her head until she quickly schooled her face into a calmer expression before turning back to Stormie. “You think so?”

Smooth.

“Yeah!” The beaming smile was back. “We can add so more accessories that fit your vibe and that outfit will easily become one of your go to’s”

Quinn looked down at herself again and imaged the knee high socks and some of her jewelry with it. A small smile formed on her face. Maybe Stormie and Mira were right and she could pull off this outfit. She looked back up at the other two and nodded her head, her smile growing bigger.

After going through many more outfits, Mira, Stormie, and Quinn were standing at the checkout register. Rumi and Zoey had already checked out and went to find food while Quinn was still going through clothes. There was a mountain of clothes on the counter that a sales associate was going through and scanning. Quinn watched as the price on the register rose higher and higher with each scan, an uneasiness settling in her stomach. This was too much for Mira to spend on her.

“Mira,” Quinn called out, not taking her eyes off of the register. “I can’t let you spend this much money on me.”

Mira speared the register a nonchalant glance then looked at Quinn. “Don’t worry about it. You need these clothes.”

“But-” She went to argue back but Mira raised one hand and silenced her.

“You’re not going to make me change my mind.”

“Don’t worry about the final price. I’m going to let you guys use my discount.” Stormie added on and both women turned to look at her.

“Stormie, you have already done enough to help us. There’s no need for you to do that as well.” Mira tried to nicely refuse the offer but Stormie just shook her head.

“I can use it for friends and family so it’s no big deal.” She said.

Soon, the cashier finished ringing up every single item and Mira and Quinn watched as Stormie gave the girl her badge to scan. The price of the clothes dropped by half and Stormie turned to give them a heartfelt smile. Mira paid for their items, and along with Stormie’s help, grabbed their many bags and made their way out of the store and to the car where Rumi and Zoey stood waiting with a bag of food.

“Holy hell that’s a lot of stuff.” Zoey commented, eyes wide.

“And it’s all needed.” Mira said.

They loaded up the car before saying their good byes to Stormie then getting into the car to leave.

Chapter Text

Rumi was exhausted. Today had been a long day and she couldn’t wait to get home so she could shower and climb into bed. Her long day had all started earlier this morning when she woke up from a nightmare and was unable to go back to sleep. Nightmares weren’t a new thing for her, she had them off and on for as long as she could remember. But the one last night was probably the worst one in a while.

It had started off as a dream of her, Mira, and Zoey being world known K-pop stars and they were very good at it too but then it turned weird with them also being demon hunters and she hid from the other two her being half demon until she got exposed. The look of disgust Mira and Zoey had on their face was burned into her head that when she jolted awake, sleep was no longer an option. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw their faces so she was forced to stay up at 2am. Thankfully, as the day went on, the image of their disgusted faces started to fade from her memory. Now she was just left sleep deprived and totally wiped.

Rumi should have been packing up her stuff and heading to meet Mira, Zoey and Quinn in the parking lot to go home. Instead she was sitting at her desk with her head in her hands. If Celine could have seen her, she would have given her an earful about embarrassing the family. “You look like shit.” She heard someone say.

Rumi jolted up, eyes wide in surprise as she looked over to her open classroom door to see Jinu leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. She closed her eyes and let out a sigh as her body relaxed seeing that it was just Jinu at the door and not one of her students or Mira. “Thanks Jinu, you know exactly what a girl wants to hear.” She said, mockingly.

“That’s why they love me.” He had a smug grin on his face before he pushed off of the doorframe then walked into the room and up to Rumi’s desk. He studied her for a minute. There was a tiredness in her eyes and her hair wasn’t in its usual perfect long braid as it was coming loose. “What’s going on with you that has you looking like this?”

Usually, Rumi would correct Jinu on what women actually think about him but the exhaustion in her took the fight out of her. She leaned back in her chair and let out a deep sigh. Very few people had seen Rumi like this, she could count on one hand the number of people that did, and Jinu was one of them. “I had a nightmare and have been up since 2 this morning.”

“Oof, that sucks. What was the dream about?” Jinu asked. He leaned on the desk and Rumi could see the actual concern in his face but she just waved a hand, deciding not to share the dream. Jinu knew that she was set on not telling him so he decided to move on. “Well, how’s the new kid doing?”

Rumi looked up at him, brow raised. “You mean Quinn? She’s doing fine. Definitely better than before.”

Jinu nodded his head, a thoughtful look on his face. “Yeah, she seems much better in class as well.” He straightened back up and the smirk was his face. Rumi felt dread run through her. She knew that whenever he got that look on his face, she was about to have to deal with him saying something outlandish. “How are your girlfriends doing?” The teasing in his voice was loud and clear.

Rumi rolled her eyes, hard. She so wasn’t in the mood to deal Jinu’s shit today but the joy in his eyes told her that she wasn’t going to have a choice for now. “They are not my girlfriends.” She hissed.

She wasn’t opposed to dating either Mira or Zoey or even both of them. They’re both very beautiful, capable, kind, and smart women, anybody would be lucky enough to call them their girlfriends. A part of her wanted that person to be her but a bigger part of herself felt like it would be too risky to try. What if they did date but things just didn’t work out? Could they still remain friends or would things be too awkward? And now they have a whole teen to take care of, what would happen to Quinn if they split? There’s just too many factors at play for Rumi to justify dating her friends.

“Not your girlfriends yet.” Jinu wagged his finger at her. Talking to Rumi about her crush on her friends was his favorite thing in the world ever since he found out about it one drunken night many years ago.

Rumi had always been a lightweight when it came to drinking so Jinu wasn’t surprised when she was gone after just three glasses. She claimed that the drinks were stronger than what she was used to but Jinu would just shake his head every time Rumi would say that. That night, Jinu had learned a lot about the woman he considered a very close friend.

“Jiiiiinnnnnnuuuu!” Rumi slurred his name as she leaned on him, alcohol clinging to her breath.

“How much have you had to drink, Rumi?” He asked her as he held the woman up. She had all her weight on him as her legs were pretty much useless.

“I’ve only had this many!” Her words came out in slurry as she held up three fingers.

“Jesus Rumi, you’re such a lightweight! I guess it’s time to get you home to Mira and Zoey.” Jinu rolled his eyes as he pulled out his phone to get them an uber. He might not have been drunk like Rumi was but he was tipsy enough.

Upon hearing her friends’ names, Rumi looked at Jinu like she had hearts in her eyes. “Mira and Zoey? They’re so pretty!” Rumi looked around the bar as if trying to find anyone listening to them before leaning in closer to Jinu. “Can I tell you a secret? I love them.” She whispered into his ear.

Jinu rolled his eyes as he carried Rumi outside. “I know you love your friends, Rumi.” They stood on the curb and waited for their car to pull up.

“No!” Rumi shook her head vehemently. “I love them a lot. Both of them. They’re so pretty, and I get butterflies in my stomach every time I touch them.” There was a flush across her face and Jinu didn’t know if it was from the drinks or the fact that Rumi just told him she was in love with her two best friends.

“Rumi, are you telling me that you’re in love with your best friends?” Jinu looked at her with a raised brow.

“YEEEESSSSSS!” Rumi yelled in glee as their uber pulled up in front of them.

Jinu helped her into the car, knowing that come tomorrow, Rumi would have no recollection of what she just told him but he was going to make it his mission to remind her for the rest of his life of this night.

“The three of us getting together is not going to happen, Jinu.” Rumi sighed out as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Not being able to hold her liquor that night has haunted her in the form of her male best friend and she made a promise to never get that drunk again.

“I don’t see why you’re so against it. I mean it’s obvious to anybody who has eyes that there’s something between the three of you all.” Jinu crossed his arms and shifted his weight to his left leg.

A deep sigh. “I already told you why Jinu. Because if we don’t work out, then I lose the two people that mean the most to me in this whole world.” Rumi had a far off look in her eyes for a moment before she focused back on the man in front of her. “Plus, now we have Quinn to take care of, what would happen to her if we date then break up? That’s not something I’m willing to risk just for a slim chance of living out a dream.”

Jinu studied her for a moment. Were her concerns valid? Of course they were but she was also using them as an excuse to hide, especially the one about Quinn. “Rumi, you and I both know that you’re using Quinn as an excuse. You’re just afraid of someone actually loving you for who you are.”

Rumi stared at him, mouth slightly open. Jinu had said a lot of things to try and get her to date Mira and Zoey but this was the first time that he had said something like that to her. She didn’t know if she should be offended or not so she decided to settle on anger. She stood up, palms flat against her desk. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

Jinu matched her stance and leaned over the desk as well, smirking. “Don’t I though? I see how you look at them. How every touch lingers just a little too long. How you get jealous when other people are just a little too friendly with them. But I also see how you don’t allow yourself to feel their love in return. I see how you hold yourself back with that look of fear in your eyes.”

Rumi wanted to slap that overconfident smirk off of his face as she glared at him; however, deep down, she knew he was right. She did hold herself back from fully embracing her feelings for her two friends. But she had to. It’s the only way to not lose them over something stupid so they stared each other down in a stalemate.

“What’s going on here?”

They both turned to see Mira standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and a brow raised. To say that Mira was not the biggest fan of Jinu would have been an understatement. She didn’t outright hate the man but she also didn’t like him. She knew that him and Rumi had history together and she would never tell Rumi who she could be friends with, that wasn’t her place but Mira would never understand what Rumi saw in him.

“Ah, Mira! My favorite person in the world!” Jinu grinned as he straightened back up. He moved towards her with his arms opened like he was going for a hug.

“Save it, twink.” Mira said, causing Jinu to stop and his arms to drop. She glanced over to Rumi just as the other woman managed to school her features into a false look of normalcy and something in Mira flared to life, causing her to narrow her eyes and glare at Jinu.

Sweat formed on the man’s brow and he let out a nervous chuckle. The amount of times that Mira had given him this same exact look were too many to count but that didn’t stop it from sending a chill down his spine every single time. He put his hands up and took a step back. “Let’s all remain calm.”

Mira took a step into the room. “What did you do to her?” Her voice was low and dangerous.

Jinu took another step back. “Nothing! I swear!”

Mira nostrils flared and Jinu could have sworn that he saw smoke come out of them which would be fitting for who he called the dragon of Hanmoon High. She took four more steps towards Jinu, each step accompanied with a single word. “What. Did. You. Do?”

Mira was almost on him now but before she could get her hands on him, Rumi was standing in front of her. She placed her hands on the taller woman’s upper arms causing Mira to stop and look at her, her face going soft.

“It’s okay Mira. We’re just talking.” Rumi gave her a genuine smile. Her eyes went to where her hands were on Mira and lingered a little longer than they should. She could feel Mira’s tone muscles under her shirt that came from her dancing and boy did she want to run her hands over every part of her.

“Talking about what?” Mira’s voice brought Rumi out of her thoughts. She shook her head as a blush covered her face. Mira was definitely going to file that way for later.

“Oh, he was just reminding me of that night I got too drunk.” Rumi let out a nervous chuckle as she pulled her hands off of Mira.

Mira instantly missed the contact but kept her face neutral. She knew that there was more to it than just that but if Rumi didn’t want to tell her, she wasn’t going to push it. This time at least.

Jinu looked between the two women. He looked at the way Mira no longer had a murderous glare on her face the moment her eyes landed on Rumi. He looked at the way Rumi’s eyes lingered on Mira’s upper arms and how her fingers flexed on them before she let go. It was insane to him how pretty much everyone in this school could see the chemistry between them, Zoey included, but them.

“You know-” Jinu started to say before Mira’s murderous gaze was back on him. He put his hands back up. “On second thought, I think I should go.” He dropped his hands and gave the two women a wide berth as he made his way out the classroom door, Mira’s eyes on him the whole time.

“People are going to think that you don’t like him.” Rumi said with a chuckle.

Mira turned to look at her with a softness back in her eyes. She couldn’t see a blush on Rumi’s face anymore but that image was still clear in her mind. “They wouldn’t be wrong.”

“Mira.” Rumi sighed and rolled her eyes but there was a smile on her face.

Mira watched her friend for a moment. She had been guarded all day, but right now, Rumi had her walls down and Mira could see the exhaustion oozing from her. Her posture was a far cry from the perfect posture that she usually had, and her eyes weren't bright like usual. “Come on princess, let’s get Zoey and Quinn so we can go home.”

“You know I hate when you use that nickname.” Another eye roll. She did hate the name but there was a part of her that loved the way it sounded coming from the pink haired woman. Not that she would ever tell her that. Rumi went to her desk to grab her things before coming back to Mira, a tired smile on her face. “Let’s go.” The two of them left the room to head to Zoey’s art room.

Zoey’s Art room

Zoey’s classroom was empty, save for her as she was deep in concentration on a half finished painting in front of her. Paint covered her hands and her clothes were splattered with paint as well while there was a smug of paint on her cheek, just below her freckles. The painting that she was working on was one of her, Rumi, and Mira, and she had been working on it for months. She was determined to capture the beauty of her two friends.

She was so wrapped up in her painting that she didn’t notice the person looking at it over her shoulder. The figure cocked their head to the side as they watched Zoey move her paint brush along the top of the painting as she added color to the background. It wasn’t until the figure made a noise that Zoey realized that someone was there.

“Holy shit!” Zoey yelled, her paint brush went flying in the air. It sent paint splattering across the room before landing a ways away. “Damn it Baby! You scared the hell out of me!”

The man in question, Baby Saja, jumped back to avoid getting paint on him. He checked over his oversized pink sweater and yellow hat for any paint before looking back at Zoey who was wearing an angry expression on her face.

“You should wear a bell or something with how quiet you move!” Zoey had her hand on her chest as her heart felt like it was trying to jump out of it. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Once she finally got herself under control, she narrowed her eyes at Baby. “What are you doing here?”

He looked at her then shifted his eyes over to the painting she was working on. Zoey followed where his eyes went and a blush covered her face. She jumped in front of the painting to cover from his eyes. “You can’t look at this yet!”

Baby put his hands in his pants pocket then shifted his body weight to his left leg. Everybody knew that he was a man of very few words, talking only when he directed the band, so people had learned to read his body movements and facial expressions. He just raised a single questioning brow and Zoey’s resolve crumbled.

“Okay fine!” She relented with a sigh and stepped aside. “I’ve been trying to get this painting right for months now but I just can’t seem to get it. Do you know how hard it is to put Mira’s and Rumi’s beauty and sparkle into a painting?” She was pacing back and forth. She was figuratively pulling her hair out over it.

“And you’re probably going to ask, ‘Zoey, why do you need to capture Mira’s and Rumi’s beauty in the painting’ and to that I say, have you seen how beautiful they are?! They are the two most gorgeous women in the world and it would be a discredit to them to not show it in my painting! I get to look at them every single day, other people should have that same opportunity.” Zoey was rambling now, hands flying around in emphasis.

“They’re my muse and my curse at the same time! Do you know the last time I painted a turtle?! All I’ve been able to work on is this stupid painting because it's the best way I can show them how much I love and appreciate them! And I ask myself if it’s even worth it in the end. They probably won’t even like it anyway.” Zoey stopped in front of the painting. A part of her wanted to just toss the whole thing away but an even bigger part of her wanted to finish it and show them her hard work.

Baby came and stood next to her, hands still in his pockets. His eyes went from Zoey to the painting then back to Zoey. Her hair was disheveled and her usual energizer bunny like energy was gone. Baby raised another brow at her, a single question being asked.

What’s really going on?

Zoey let out a deep sigh. Mira and Rumi had always had a special place in her heart. They were her safe place, she could truly be herself with them. They didn’t make her tone herself down or make her feel like she was being too much and she loved that about them. She loved them. She loved them a lot. And at that moment she realized something.

Oh.

Oh shit!

She didn’t just love them, she was in love with them! Both of them! Was that even allowed?! Zoey thought to herself. How would she even tell them that she’s in love with both of them? Would they even feel the same way about her? They had already talked about their preferences when it came to dating long ago with Mira being a lesbian, Rumi being bisexual, and her being pansexual so her being a woman wasn’t going to be an issue. The issue being her herself.

Baby could see Zoey come to a realization and then immediately start to spiral. He placed his left hand on her shoulder then pulled out a sucker, he always carried them with him to give out to anyone who might need it. Zoey looked at him then to the sucker before reaching out and taking it. She unwrapped the candy then stuck it in her month. Zoey didn’t know how or why the sucker was able to make people feel grounded when Baby gave them out but at the moment, she didn’t care how they worked, she was just happy that they did.

He dropped his hand from her shoulder then gave her a smirk. Baby was surprised that it took her this long to realize what everyone else already knew or could easily figure out after spending a few minutes around the three of them. Dating wasn’t really his thing but he could understand why people did it and the way the three women acted towards each other was a prime example.

“What am I going to do?” Zoey groaned. If she was just in love with one of them, things would have been so much easier but of course her life could never be that simple.

Baby gave her a sympathetic look and a single shoulder shrug. He unfortunately didn’t have the answer for her.

“Ugh! Fuck my life!” Zoey threw her hands in the air and turned away from Baby to see Mira and Rumi standing just inside her classroom.

“Zoey Yoo. Why are you trying to get your life fucked?” Mira smirked as she walked farther into the room, a smile on her face. She nodded her head in greeting to Baby. As much as she disliked Jinu, she had no issues with Baby besides the fact that his last name was Saja.

He tilted his head back in greeting then turned to Zoey. He gave her a teasing smirk before throwing her the peace sign and leaving the room. He gave Rumi a wink as he passed by her.

“What’s going on Zoey?” Rumi asked as she too stepped more into the room.

“Hahah nothing at all!” Zoey’s voice was higher than usual and her eyes looked everywhere but at the two women in front of her. Mira raised a brow while Rumi folded her arms. “Is it time to go already? Quinn’s probably wondering where we are, we should get a move on!” She grabbed her bag then zoomed out of the room.

“Gt back here Zoey!” Mira called out after the smaller woman and hurried after her. Rumi shook her head at her friends with a smile on her face before cutting off the lights and following after them. God did she love those two idiots.

The three of them finally made it out of the school and into the parking lot to see Quinn waiting by the car talking to Stromie. They slowed their pace when they heard Quinn let out a boisterous laugh at some that Stormie had said. All three of them looked at each other with knowing smiles on their faces. Just acquaintances, my ass.

The three of them approached the teens with smiles still on their faces. “What’s so funny?” Rumi asked.

Quinn and Stormie looked at each other and snickered. “Nothing.” Quinn answered.

Mira looked between the two girls with a raised brow. “It’s nice to have inside jokes with your friends, isn't it?” She stressed the word friend, getting an eyeroll from Quinn.

“She’ll be calling me friend one day.” Stormie nudged the girl next to her in the side, a smile on her face.

“Maybe something else too.” Mira mumbled to the women next to her, getting a laugh from them.

“What was that, Mira?” Quinn asked.

“Nothing. Let’s head home.” Mira replied. Quinn eyed her for a second before turning to Stormie and saying goodbye to the girl. The four of them piled into the car and headed home with one of them internally freaking out.

Two Days Later

Mira was packing up her stuff for the day when a knock at her door got her attention.

“Knock knock.” Bobby said as he rapped twice on the opened door before stepping inside. “I just wanted to swing by before you left for the day to check up on you.”

Mira stopped what she was doing and eyed Bobby for a moment, trying to figure out his motives. “Everything is good Bobby.” She said cautiously.

“That’s good to hear,” He moved farther into the room to stand next to Mira at her desk. “We haven’t had a real chance to talk since you welcomed Quinn into your home. I just want to make sure that you girls aren’t having any problems.”

Mira relaxed her body. “We’re doing good Bobby. The beginning was a little rough but everything is going better now. I think Quinn is finally starting to feel at home.”

“That’s great! I’m glad that she’s somewhere where she’ll be safe.” Bobby nodded his head at her. “How are you feeling though?”

“I’m fine Bobby.” Mira answered him, her eyes moving to look at her desk.

“Mira.” He crossed his arms.

“Bobby, I told you that I’m fine.” Mira copied him by crossing her own arms then she glared at him.

“What’s wrong Mira?” He uncrossed his arms and gave her a look of understanding.

“What’s wrong is that I’m telling you that I’m fine but you think I’m lying.” Anger was radiating off of her.

“Mira, I’ve known you for a very long time. You think I can’t tell when you’re holding something in?” Bobby leveled her with a knowing gaze.

Mira went quiet because Bobby was right. She was hiding something. She’s been hiding it for years at this point and she was content to keep hiding it. So what if she was in love with both of her best friends, nobody had to know except her. It wouldn’t be fair to date one of them while hiding her feelings for the other nor could she tell both of them without making things awkward. Mira went a long time pushing down her feelings but seeing them be so motherly to Quinn had made them come back tenfold.

“What’s going on Mira?” Bobby asked her again, voice full of concern.

“It’s nothing to worry about, Bobby.” Mira answered quietly.

“Mira, I told you before that it’s not good to hold things in like this. You need to talk about these things.” Bobby let out a sigh. He had had this conversation with Mira hundreds of times.

“There’s nothing I can do about my problem so there’s no reason for me to talk about it.” Mira turned from Bobby and started back packing up her stuff.

Bobby gave her soft eyes. He knew that he wasn’t going to get anymore out of her at this moment in time. “Okay Mira, just remember that you don’t have to hold everything in. You have two people very close to you that will always want to help you.”

Mira kept her eyes on her bag as Bobby left her in the classroom. How can they help me when they’re the reason that I’m like this? Mira let out a sigh before closing her bag and leaving the classroom to head home.

Chapter Text

The house was dark and quiet except for a light coming from the kitchen. Even Zoey, the night owl that she is, was asleep. The only person awake at 3am was Mira or so she thought. She wasn’t new to sleepless nights, especially when her mind wouldn’t stop overthinking, so when she found herself in the kitchen making tea, she wasn’t surprised. No, what surprised her was Quinn walking into the kitchen looking like she hadn't even been to bed yet. They both stopped and looked at each other.

“What ‘cha doing?” Quinn asked as she stepped into the kitchen.

“Making tea. Want some?” Mira asked as she turned back to the cabinet while the kettle on the stove boiled.

“Umm, sure.” Quinn answered then took a seat at the breakfast bar. Mira gave a quick nod then pulled two mugs from the cabinet in front of her. She then got two bags of chamomile tea from another cabinet, setting the bags in the mugs then turning to face Quinn.

“Can’t sleep either, huh?” Mira raised a brow and gave the girl a half smirk.

“Yeah, it happens sometimes. I’m just glad that this time it’s happening on a weekend.” She replied, a tired sigh falling from her.

“What’s keeping you from sleeping?” The pink haired woman asked.

“If I tell you, you have to promise not to make a big deal out of it.” Quinn told her.

Mira eyed her for a moment. That was a loaded statement when it came to Quinn because there could be a number of reasons for her to say that. “That depends on what it is you say to me.”

“It’s not anything bad. I just know how you and the others are when it comes to a certain someone.” Quinn rolled her eyes. She had not gotten a single break from them whenever Stormie’s name was brought up.

Mira's face broke out into a wide grin. “Oh, your girlfriend is on your mind, I see.”

Before Quinn could respond, the kettle went off. Mira cut the stove off then poured the hot water into both mugs and brought them over to the breakfast bar where Quinn was sitting. She took a seat next to the girl with the smuggest smirk on her face.

“I’m so gonna regret this, aren't I?” Quinn asked.

Mira’s smirk dropped from her face and she looked at Quinn seriously. “Does it bother you when we make those jokes?”

Quinn thought for a moment. In all honesty, she didn’t mind the jokes about her “relationship” with Stormie, she knew it was all in good fun. She shook her head. “Not really, I just really need some advice I guess.”

Mira gave her a leveled gaze. “What kind of advice do you need?”

Quinn let out a sigh and hoped that she wasn’t going to regret what she was about to say. “You’re good at reading people, right?”

“I’m the best at it.” Mira said as she nodded her head, listening attentively.

“Okay, what do you see when you read Stormie?” Quinn asked her. She cupped her hands around her mug and let the warmth from it seep into her.

Mira’s brow rose and a tiny smirk appeared on her face. She had a feeling that Quinn wasn’t going to be able to hold out for long when it came to Stormie because as much as the teen didn’t want to admit it, she was opening herself up to Stormie. Mira took a sip of her tea before she answered. “Stormie. She’s a very confident, friendly girl. Everything that she does when it comes to you is genuine, either because she likes you, which I’m certain is true, or she just really wants to be your friend. I think that she really does have your best interest at heart.”

Quinn sat and thought for a minute as she processed that information. It was hard for her to accept that someone truly wanted to be friends with her, especially someone like Stormie. “But why does she want to be friends with me?”

Mira shrugged her shoulders. “Only she can answer that question. Are you finally going to call her your friend?” The smirk that she gave Quinn made the girl roll her eyes.

“Please don’t make this bigger than it actually is.” Quinn sighed out.

“Oh but it is a big thing, Miss “She’s barely an acquaintance”,” she did air quotes around the nickname, a smirk still on her face. “Tell me, what changed from that to you asking me for advice about possibly making a new friend?”

Quinn sighed again then took a sip of her tea to get her thoughts together. She had found herself being drawn to Stormie the more time she spent with the other girl. There was something that filled her chest whenever she heard Stormie laugh because of her. She had tried so hard to keep her at a distance but that girl was persistent when it came to breaking down Quinn’s walls. “I don’t know. I get this feeling inside of me when she’s around that makes me happy I guess but I’m still unsure if it’s a good idea for me to allow her in all the way.”

This girl has a crush and doesn’t even know it. Mira gave Quinn a soft smile. “There are people out there that will hurt you just for the fun of it, but Stormie isn’t one of those types of people. I can’t tell you who to make friends with, that’s all up to you, but I will say that Stormie would probably be the best choice as a first real friend.”

“I guess I’ll think about it some more,” Quinn said, hands back around the mug. She stared at the tea before a thought entered her mind causing her to turn back to the woman next to her. “Why are you up anyway?”

Mira’s face fell into its usual stoic expression. Gone was her smug smirk from being reminded of why she was up at this time. She had enjoyed the distraction that Quinn had brought her, however brief it was. “I just wanted tea.”

“At three in the morning, Mira?” Quinn raised a brow at her.

“There’s no regulations on tea time.” Mira took a sip of her tea.

Quinn turned her full body to face the pink haired woman. Mira was good at disguising her body language to people who weren’t close to her. Quinn wasn’t able to figure out all of Mira’s secrets but she had been around the woman enough to pick up some of her tells. Tells like the way her grip on the mug had gotten tighter or the way she would look away from Quinn every so often now. Mira was hiding something and Quinn was sure of it.

“Does what’s keeping you up have anything to do with Rumi and Zoey?” Quinn asked her out right.

Mira choked on her tea. She coughed and hit herself on the chest trying to clear her airway. When she finally managed to get herself under control, she turned to face Quinn. “Why would me making tea have anything to do with them?”

Quinn shrugged. “All three of you have been acting a little weird since we left school Friday. I thought you guys might have gotten into a fight or something.”

Mira was so wrapped up in her own mind that she didn’t notice that Rumi and Zoey had been acting off as well. More importantly, she didn’t notice that the way they had been acting was affecting Quinn. “No, we didn’t get into a fight. I don’t know what’s going on with the other two, I just had a lot on my mind lately. I’m sorry we made you feel like you had to walk on egg shells.”

“It’s okay. I just figured you all would eventually work out whatever was going on.” Quinn said. In all honesty, her possible friendship with Stormie wasn’t the only thing keeping her up. She was worried that things were going to fall apart around her if they were fighting but her fears were put to bed now.

Mira eyed her for a second. “You’re lying.” It was stated like it was a fact.

“What?” Quinn was caught by surprise at being called out.

“You forget that I’m the best when it comes to reading people? You pull on your sleeves when you’re either uncomfortable with something or when you’re lying. Listen Quinn, you don’t have to worry about anything happening to you if Rumi, Zoey, and I argue. Trust us to work through our shit, okay?” Mira explained to her.

Quinn gave her a nod then sipped her tea. She was so used to her foster parents that would fight and make her life hard because of it that she just assumed it would be the same here which wasn’t fair to them. They had been nothing but kind and understanding to her. They’d give her space when she needed to work out her stuff, it was only fair that she gave them that same courtesy. The two of them finished their tea then made their way upstairs to their separate rooms, to try and get some sleep before the other two woke up.

Monday, Honmoon Cafeteria

Honmoon High cafeteria was huge and full of the best of everything. This was where Mira found herself during her lunch period for cafeteria duty. She hated cafeteria duty but not because of the students or the noise that they made, which was a lot. She hated it because of who she had to do it with.

“We can’t keep meeting like this.” A voice said and Mira’s face was instantly full of annoyance. She turned to her left to see one of Honmoon’s world history teachers, Romance Saja, leaning against a pillar that she was standing next to.

Mira closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Remember that there’s children around. She opened her eyes but the annoyance was still on her face. “I’d rather we didn’t meet at all.”

“Oh Mira, your words wound me.” Romance closed his eyes and brought the back of his right hand to his forehead. He always had a flair for the dramatics.

Better than me actually wounding you. Mira rolled her eyes.

“Mira, are you bullying my little brother?” Another voice said that caused her to turn to her right and see the coach of Honmoon High’s football team, Abby Saja, beside her.

Oh my god! Just kill me now!

The two people that she hated more than Jinu had her boxed in with no buffer from Rumi or Zoey. Either she was going to die or both of them were going to. Bobby had to be punishing her for something to make her have to do cafeteria duty with these two.

“Do you two have to be next to me for your duty?” Mira asked through gritted teeth .

“Well this is just where the most beauty in the cafeteria is.” Romance answered with a smile.

“You’re barking up the wrong tree.” Mira quickly said, a slight look of disgust on  her face.

“I told you Romance, she prefers someone with breath stealing abs.” Abby flexed his abs and sent a cheeky grin to Romance.

Mira wanted to barf. She needed to get away from the two of them before she could do something that would cause her her job.

“Nonsense, we both know that Mira is a woman with refined taste.” Romance raised a brow at her and got the heaviest sigh out of her. “Oh come on Mira, lighten up and have a little fun.”

“I can’t have fun because murder is considered a crime unfortunately.” Mira said in a serious tone. Abby and Romance looked at her then at each other then back at her, before bursting out laughing but Mira’s expression did not change one bit.

“Oh Mira! You’re so funny.” Romance managed to say after getting himself together.

“Yeah, you should be a stand up comedian.” Abby added on. He nudged her in the side with his elbow.

“I’m just a riot.” Mira deadpanned. Maybe I could get off on an insanity plea because they’re going to drive me nuts.

“Ms. Hong!” The voice of a student called out and caused the three of them to turn and see Stormie walking up to them.

The girl gave all of them a smile before her face turned serious causing Mira to immediately get into teacher mode. “Ms. Hong, I have a question for you.” Stormie said.

“What’s the problem?” Abby asked.

“It’s lady business that I don’t think you two would want to hear about.” Stormie turned to him with a smile that showed innocence but Mira saw through it.

“Oh I see,” Abby turned to Romance and locked eyes with him. “I think I see some students that need our help on the other side of the cafeteria.” The two of them said goodbye to Mira and Stormie before all but sprinting away from them.

Mira watched them leave, a faint smile playing at her lips until she remembered the girl standing in front of her. Her face turned serious when she turned back to Stormie. “What do you need to ask me?”

“Oh nothing.” Stormie smiled at Mira like she didn’t just embarrass two teachers.

Mira narrowed her eyes at the girl. She knew that smile to Abby was full of shit but she just didn’t know why. “Then why did you say that you did?”

“Because I could see that those two were bothering you and thought that you could use some help before everybody in this cafeteria witnessed a crime.” Stormie walked over and leaned against the pillar that Romance had abandoned.

Mira was staring wide eyed at Stormie. She was impressed with the girl as evident by the sly smirk that formed on her face. “You’re pretty good. Maybe a little too good.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Stormie gave her a knowing smile but then it fell from her face as she turned serious. There was something that had been bothering her for most of the day. “I actually do have a question for you.”

Mira raised a brow and crossed her arms. “Oh yeah? Shoot.”

“Is something going on with Quinn? She’s been acting kind of weird all morning towards me.” Stormie asked her.

“Weird in what way?” Mira instinctively became cautious when Quinn was brought up. She knew that Stormie wouldn’t do anything to hurt Quinn but Mira just couldn’t help it.

“It’s like whenever I talk to her, she wants to say something to me but she keeps holding herself back from doing it. I’m just wondering if I did something to upset her.” Stormie said. She had her eyes cast down to the floor as her voice came out so unsure of herself.

Mira was caught by surprise at the way Stormie sounded because she was so used to her always sounding so bold and confident. Damn this crush is almost as bad as mine. Mira placed her hand on Stormie’s shoulder, causing her to look up at her. “Quinn is fine. Well, as fine as she can be when it comes to you. I’m sure whatever it is that she has to tell you isn’t anything bad, she just has to work through some things within herself first.”

Mira could see a flash of hope cross Stormie’s face and it gripped at her chest. I hope these two end up better than me. Quinn deserves some like her. She gave Stormie a genuine smile before dropping her hand from her shoulder. “Just give her time.”

Stormie gave her a nod just as the bell to end lunch rang. “See you in class, Ms. Hong!” She said as she bounded off to her next class with just a bit more pep in her step.

Mira watched her go, a small smile still on her lips before the reality of her own love life hit her again. Her heart ached when she thought of Rumi and Zoey and the fact that she couldn’t be with them. With a heavy sigh, Mira began the walk back to her classroom, hoping that the day would end quickly.

Chapter Text

“I want to go to my next therapy appointment.” Quinn said to her three foster parents. It was Monday evening and she had found the three of them on the couch, Zoey was leaning against Mira with her legs across Rumi. She lost the amount of times she found either two or all of them laying across each other since she moved in so she was pretty much unfazed at seeing them like this.

The three of them shared a look before they turned to Quinn with questioning eyes. Rumi was the first one to speak. “What brought this on all of a sudden?” None of them were opposed to Quinn going back to her appointments in fact, they all talked about ways to bring up the subject to her. For her to come to them and say that she wanted to go on her own made everything a lot easier.

Quinn knew that she should have been going back to her appointments a while ago, honestly she wanted to go a month ago but was scared that she had missed too many. It was her anxiety of actually befriending Stormie today that had finally pushed her into deciding that it was time. “I set out to do one thing today and I couldn’t do it because I would freak out on the inside every time I tried to. I want to know why.”

Mira thought back on the conversation that she had with Stormie in the cafeteria today and made the connection of what Quinn wanted to do. She felt a swell of pride inside of her to see that Quinn was taking the initiative to not only attempt to make a friend but to also want to work on the thing that’s keeping her from doing it.

“What was it that you wanted to do today?” Zoey asked.

Quinn let a sigh fall from her. She should have expected one of them to ask that question. She could lie but that felt like it would defeat the purpose of why she even decided to go back to therapy anyway. “Just don’t make a big deal out of this when I tell you.”

“You know that they’re going to do it anyway.” Mira commented, a smirk on her face.

Rumi looked at Mira with a raised brow. “How do you know?”

“Just watch, princess.” Was all Mira said which earned a glare from Rumi because of the nickname she used.

“I wanted to ask Stormie for her number but every time that I tried to, I would start to freak out about it. A part of myself would start saying it’s a bad idea or that it’s going to blow up in my face.” Quinn told them. Her mind had always been her own worst enemy.

The squeal that Zoey let out could have shattered eardrums because of how loud it was. She leaped off the top of Mira and Rumi and was in front of Quinn in half a second. Zoey took Quinn’s hands in her own, jumping up and down in excitement. “Oh my gosh!! It’s happening!!”

Quinn locked eyes with Mira, a silent plea for help in her eyes. Mira rolled her eyes, her smirk getting bigger, before getting up off of the couch. She stood next to Zoey and placed a hand on the very excited woman’s shoulder. “Let’s ease up on her, my little pookie bear.” Mira said, using the nickname that she knew would get a reaction out of Zoey.

“Mira! I’m not little!” Zoey pouted. She dropped Quinn’s hands and crossed her arms. She didn’t hate when Mira called her pookie bear but she did hate when she put little in front of it.

Fuck she so adorable when she makes that face! Mira took a second to compose herself before she spoke again. “I told you.” She said to Quinn.

“Anyways,” Rumi said to get them back on the topic at hand. “I’m glad that you’re doing something about it. When is your next appointment scheduled to happen?”

“Wednesday. After school.” Quinn answered.

Rumi could see that there was something more that she wanted to say. So with a warm smile, she came and stood next to Quinn and tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. Rumi felt her tense up under her hand before her body relaxed again. “Is there more that you wanted to tell us?”

“Dr. Han wants to meet you all as well.” Quinn told them. There was a shyness in her voice as she told them, not sure how Mira in particular would take that news.

“Oh? We can make that happen!” Rumi said with a smile then turned to Mira. “Can’t we Tinker Bell?”

Mira brow twitched. She glared at the other woman who only gave her a look that said payback. “Yes we can.” Mira gritted out.

“Great!” Rumi clapped her hands together with a smile on her face.

Quinn raised a brow at Mira. “Okay, why Tinker Bell?”

“Back in college, people found out that Mira had a Tinker Bell obsession when she was a child and they couldn’t fathom someone like her liking Tinker Bell even as a child so they started calling her Tinker Bell.” Rumi explained to her, that smile still on her face.

“Isn’t it just adorable for her?” Zoey asked.

“It’s something alright. Honestly, I thought you would’ve been watching something like unsolved murders.” Quinn said to Mira.

“Who’s to say I didn’t?” Mira deadpanned.

“Fair enough.” Quinn said with a shake of her head.

Wednesday, Dr. Han’s Office

“Miss Flowers, it’s been a while since our last meeting.” Dr. Han said. He was an older Korean man with black framed glasses and a warm smile for the teen. “How have you been doing?”

“Yeah, it’s only been five months, but who’s counting?” Quinn said with a laugh. She definitely wasn’t.

“Five months and four days.” Dr. Han corrected.

“I guess you were counting then.” Quinn let out a sigh. It was her decision to start going back to her appointments so it was only right that she tell him everything that happened since the last visit. “Honestly, it was a rough couple of months after I stopped coming. My previous foster home was becoming too much for me so I ran away. A few days later, I was detained for trespassing. I was expecting to go to a receiving home that night, not for three of my teachers to walk through the door and say that they’ll be fostering me now.”

Dr. Han nodded his head along as Quinn told him everything, taking a moment to write some things down. “What has living with your current guardians been like?”

Quinn thought back on her time living with them so far and she could honestly say that it had been pretty decent. There still was part of her that was waiting for it all to fall apart like it always does but that voice was the smallest it had ever been in her life. “It’s been good so far. They respect me as a human being and give me the space I need when my feelings become too much. It’s like I’m actually wanted.”

That last part was something that she never said out loud but the thought had been in her head for a minute and honestly, it kind of scared her.

“That’s good. It looks like you finally found the place that’s right for you.” Dr. Han commented, writing more things down.

“It sucks that it took this long for me to find it.” Quinn rolled her eyes.

“Time moves at its own pace. There’s no rushing it or prolonging it.” Dr. Han said.

“So you said.” Quinn shot back.

“Tell me how school has been going.” He said to her and this was where Quinn’s anxiety spiked. This was the main reason that she was here but that didn’t stop her pulse from quickening.

“School is going okay. I might have made a new friend. Maybe. I don’t know.” She threw her hands up in frustration. “She wants to be my friend but there’s this part of me that thinks it would be a very bad idea to befriend her. She’s been nothing but kind to me and I can’t do the same to her.”

“It is because you are afraid of being hurt. I ask you this question, you are able to accept that your guardians won’t hurt you, to a certain extent, why can’t you accept that this girl could be just like them?” Dr. Han asked her.

“Because there’s a chance that she could just be getting close to me to hurt me.” She answered it was hard for her to believe that. Stormie had been nothing but nice to her ever since that day Mira paired them up as lab partners.

Dr. Han placed his pen down and studied Quinn. His ability to look at someone and figure out all their insecurities to tee always freaked Quinn out for some reason. “Anxiety can make us think that the worst thing will always happen and can make us miss out on a good thing. I can tell that you want to befriend this girl because she is still occupying your mind but this fear and anxiety that is inside of you will ruin your life. How do your guardians feel about this young lady?”

The night that Quinn had tea with Mira and Mira saying that Stormie would be the perfect first friend for her came back into her mind. The little jokes that they would make about Stormie and her and how they would forever be by each other’s side if Quinn would just give Stormie the opportunity to be a friend to her also flashed in her mind. Safe to say that they like her. “They like her, I guess.”

“Do you think they would like someone that’s plotting to hurt you? I would like to think that your guardians have a good judge of character.” Dr. Han picked his pen back up and wrote down some more things in his notebook. He could tell that there was a battle happening inside of Quinn, one of wanting to keep herself safe but also wanting to make a friend. She just needed a push in the right direction.

Quinn let out a sigh. She knew that Dr. Han was right about them because all she had seen from them were them looking out for her wellbeing. The truth of the matter was that she was using her anxiety as an excuse to protect herself because all she had received in her life before moving in with her teachers was pain. They have shown her that her life could be more than that now; she just had to be open to accepting their kindness. The same kindness that Stormie was showing her.

“Don’t let anxiety make you miss out on the brighter things life has to offer. You are stronger than it. When you come back for your next appointment, I want to hear all about your new friend.” Dr. Han smiled at her. It was his way of saying that her “homework” was to befriend Stormie.

“Rodger, Doc.” Quinn rolled her eyes.

“Now, how about you introduce me to the people that are fostering you?” Dr. Han stood up from his chair and adjusted his jacket. The smile that he had on his face made the crows feet around his eyes more pronounced as he made his way over to the door of the office with Quinn following right after him.

The scene outside in the waiting room was nothing but pure chaos. There was yelling as Mira was being held back by Rumi while Zoey stood between her and a man she was arguing with. This was a terrible start for her guardians and Quinn just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. Dr. Han stared wide-eyed at the scene in front of him before moving his eye over to Quinn who just put her head in her hands and shook it.

“I believe that that is enough of all that.” Dr. Han said to the group of bickering adults. He barely raised his voice but all four of them stopped arguing and looked over to the doctor and Quinn standing there. He had a tight lip smile while Quinn was dying of embarrassment.

“Hey Quinn,” Zoey said, an innocent smile on her face. “How’d your session go?” She currently had a finger jabbed into the man’s chest while her other hand was on Mira’s chest, pushing her back.

“You guys…” Quinn sighed out. She just wanted them to make a good impression on Dr. Han, not whatever this was.

“Hey we didn’t start this!” Mira pulled herself free from the hold that Rumi had on her when she realized that the other woman’s grip on her loosened then jammed a finger at the guy she was arguing with. “This jack- this guy, was being a jerk and rude when he didn’t get what he wanted.”

“No you just don’t know how to mind your own damn business!” The man yelled at her. He looked down at Zoey’s finger on his chest  then swatted her hand away from him. “Get your hands off of me!”

“Hey!” Zoey brought her hand to her chest and covered it while glaring at the man.

“You were being rude!” Rumi argued back.

“How about we all calm down and start from the beginning?” Dr. Han said as he crossed his arms.

Earlier

“Oh! Look at how cute this turtle is!” Zoey turned her phone to show Mira the video on her phone. The three of them were currently sitting next to each other in the waiting room of Quinn’s therapist office with Mira in the middle. Zoey was able to rest her head on Mira’s shoulder from how the taller woman was slouching in her chair. Mira had noticed that Zoey had been a lot more touchy lately, not that she minded of course but it definitely wasn’t subtle to the trained eye.

“It’s adorable.” Mira commented. She saw and learned so many facts about turtles thanks to Zoey that she could probably identify one out in the wild and be hundred percent correct about what kind it was, not that she minded. She loved it when Zoey and Rumi would info dump on topics that were currently occupying their minds.

“It’s called a black-bellied slider, or a D’Orbigny’s slider, and they can be found in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. They can live up to a hundred years in captivity and the females of the species are larger than the males.” Mira smiled as Zoey started listing off facts about the turtle. She loved seeing the way Zoey’s face lit up as she talked about them.

A laugh from her left caused her to look over and see Rumi talking to a guy that was sitting next to her. The frown that formed on her face was instant. A part of her felt bad about the way her feelings were manifesting because Rumi wasn’t hers, and even if she was, Mira wasn’t going to tell her who she could and couldn’t talk to but everyone knew that Rumi was too nice for her own good.

Mira spared a quick glance at the man. He had pale skin and shaggy blonde hair with a thin framed body and she could see a sleeve of tattoo going up his left arm. Mira was a believer that a person’s appearance doesn’t equate to who they are as a person, but she could tell that from the vibes he was giving off, this man was going to be a problem.

“So are you here to see Dr. Han too?” The man asked Rumi. The smile that he had on his face made Mira want to vomit.

“No, we’re here as support for a friend of ours.” Rumi answered, a polite smile on her face.

Rumi…

“Oh that’s nice of you to come with them. Not only are you very beautiful, but you also have a kind heart. That’s very rare in a woman these days.” He said and leaned a little closer to Rumi, causing her to shift closer to Mira.

That’s rich.

“Well, I am one of her legal guardians so it's only right that I’m here for her. Plus, Dr. Han wanted to meet us too.” Rumi let out an uncomfortable laugh.

“I bet that’s hard work being a legal guardian for someone that has to come here. Why don’t you let me take you out so you can feel appreciated for that hard work that you do?” He looked her up and down like she was nothing more than a piece of meat. It made her skin crawl and flooded Mira with anger.

“That’s very kind of you but I’m going to have to decline.” Rumi answered. She shifted even closer to Mira.

“Come on. I don’t bite, unless you want me to.” The man winked at her and Mira’s anger reached a boiling point.

“She said that she’s good!” Mira barked out at him causing both girls around her to jump in surprise.

Three sets of eyes landed on her. Two in shock and one filled with irritation. She was never one to back down from confrontation, so she stared back at the man. Daring him to challenge her.

“How about you mind your business!” He spat back at her, irritation getting replaced with anger.

“She is my business! Now back off!” Mira shot back. There was a reason that people called her the guard dog of Rumi and Zoey. The two of them didn’t know how to properly tell a stranger to back off. She sure as hell did though.

“What are you, her girlfriend or something?!” He stood up and loomed over them.

Mira felt like she was just slapped across her face. The man had no idea how badly she wanted that statement to be true but she pushed that feeling aside as more anger coursed through her. She rose from her chair to look him eye to eye. “It doesn’t matter what she is to me, she told you she wasn’t interested so take the goddamn hint and fuck off!”

“How about you make me!” The man challenged her and the wicked grin that spread on her face sent a shiver down Rumi’s spine.

If there was one thing that Rumi was going to take to her grave, it was the way she felt when Mira would get like this. It was almost like she was possessive of her and it made something warm settle in her core. With them being here for Quinn however, forced her to try and get a handle on the situation so when she saw Mira’s hand twitch, Rumi knew it was time to step in. She grabbed Mira’s wrist and pulled her back.

“How about I do us all a favor and shut you up!?” Mira struggled in Rumi’s hold as she tried to get at the man.

“Zoey! Help me!” Rumi said while she grabbed Mira’s other arm.

Zoey scrambled out of her chair and put herself between Mira and the guy. “Let’s not cause bodily injury to people in public places!”

“Maybe you should listen to her before you get hurt!” The man said.

“Can you stop provoking her!?” Zoey turned to him with a glare. “This is your fault anyway!”

“Maybe if that bitch knew how to mind her own business, she wouldn’t be about to get slapped right now!” He yelled at them.

“I’ll show you a bitch!” Mira broke free from Rumi’s grasp and took a step closer to the man but before she could do anything, Rumi grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back.

“Mira! No!” Rumi said.

“She’s not a bitch! You’re just a jerk who doesn’t know how to take no for an answer!” Zoey jabbed the man in his chest with her finger. She absolutely hated confrontation but she hated people disrespecting her friends even more.

Present time

“I see.” Dr. Han said to the four of them. He had gotten them all to settle down and explain to him how his waiting room almost turned into a fight pit before he and Quinn found them. He turned to the man who still had a glare on his face as he eyed Mira. Dr. Ham shook his head. “Daniel, why don’t you go wait in my office for our session to begin. We will have a lot to discuss.”

Daniel sent one last glare at them before getting up and walking into Dr. Han’s office. Once he was fully out of the waiting room, Dr. Han turned to the three women and offered them a smile. “I apologize for Daniel. We’re working on his people skills.”

Rumi stood up and gave Dr. Han a bow. “Please forgive us for our actions. It was unbecoming of us.”

“Oh right!” Zoey stood from her chair and also gave Dr. Han a bow. “Sorry!”

“Mira!” Rumi whispered to the taller woman. Mira rolled her eyes before standing from her chair and bowing herself. Rumi elbowed her in the side.

“I’m sorry.” Mira grunted out around the pain in her side.

“It’s quite alright ladies.” Dr. Han said as he motioned for them to stand back up. They straightened up and gave him and Quinn awkward smiles. Rumi was kicking herself for letting things get that out of control. She usually was the level headed one of the three of them and was able to keep Mira calm but the guy had made her so uncomfortable that a part of her had wanted Mira to get her hands on him.

Dr. Han walked up to the three of them, hands clasped behind his back as he looked them over. “So you three Quinn’s new foster parents, hmm? I have you all to thank for getting her to come back to her appointments.”

“She actually came to us and said that she wanted to start coming back.” Rumi corrected him.

“Ah but you see, it was because you all gave her a safe space to figure some things out that she settled on coming back.” Dr. Han countered with a warm smile on his face.

“Oh, I mean that was always our goal for her. Give her a safe space and let her come out of her shell.” Zoey said.

“I see that you three want to be great foster parents to Quinn but each of you have something that will keep you from doing that. To give her your best, you must confront your worst.” He eyed each of them. Quinn stood back, knowing what Dr. Han was doing.

“There’s nothing holding us back from giving Quinn what she needs.” Rumi said.

Dr. Han pointed at her. “You throw yourself into your work to avoid facing your problems.”

“I- I do not!” Rumi crossed her arms in front of herself. She wasn’t avoiding her problems, she just wanted to make sure that her students were prepared. Besides, there were no problems for her to avoid anyway. She looked to her left where Zoey and Mira stood. Yep, no problems at all.

Dr. Han turned to Zoey. “You have a deep need to please people no matter what it costs you to do it.”

“I’m not a people pleaser!” She turned to Mira and Rumi. “You guys would tell me if I was right?!”

“And you.” Dr. Han turned to Mira and looked her up and down.

“Don’t even think about Doc.” Mira glared at him. Her secrets were hers alone.

“You’re just like Quinn when she first came here,” He spared a glance to the teen behind him. “You’re very careful of the people you let get close to you. Yes, you two will be good for each other.” Mira clenched her fist at her sides until she felt Rumi grab her arm. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as the tension eased out of her.

Dr. Han turned to Quinn. “I’m looking forward to our next session. Remember what we talked about today.” With a wave of his hand, he left the four of them in the waiting room as he made his way back to his office. The four of them watched him leave, each in their own thoughts at being called out with just a look.

“So do you guys think that I’m a people pleaser? I mean I can change that if you all want me to.” Zoey broke the spell that Dr. Han had on them.

“Can we go home now?” Quinn asked with a roll of her eyes. Today had been a long day and therapy had given her a lot to think about and she could tell that her guardians had a lot to work through.

Two Days Later

Okay Quinn, you can do this! Just ask her for her number, that way you can decide when to text her. Easy peasy!

That was what she was telling herself but here she was with sweaty palms and her heart beating out of her chest. Her anxiety was yelling at her again that she shouldn’t do this and she was close to listening to it. She’ll just explain to Dr. Han that it wasn’t meant to be for her to befriend Stormie. Yep, that’s exactly what she’ll do. With her mind made up, Quinn walked into Mira’s class just to see Stormie’s smiling face sitting at their lab table. The smile that the other girl gave her shattered her whole new plan.

That smile. It felt like it held the sun in it when pointed to Quinn. This was a feeling that she wasn’t used to as it brought a sense of calmness to her anxiety.  Warm brown eyes met confused brown ones and Quinn felt like it was just her and Stormie in the room. Then it hit her. Nobody who wanted to hurt her would be trying so hard to be her friend. They wouldn’t be smiling at her with such a warm and comforting smile.

“Quinn, you wanna take your seat so I can start class?” Mira’s voice broke her out of the trance that Stormie’s smile put her in. Quinn turned to her as she felt her face heat up while some of the class snickered to Mira, her face unreadable but her eyes watching her. Observing.

“Sorry.” Quinn mumbled out before moving to her table and taking her seat next to Stormie. Stormie gave her a curious look but said nothing, choosing to continue to let her figure out whatever it was she needed to like Mira had suggested.

Class went by without accident as the bell rang. Students began to pack up their bags to head to the next class, Stormie included it before Quinn stopped her.

“Um Stormie.” Her voice was full of nervousness as she spoke. Her eyes met Stormie’s before she dropped them.

“What’s up Quinn?” She had a small smile on her face as she swung her bag over her shoulder. On the surface, Stormie was cool and calm while inside she was jumping with excitement. The number of times that Quinn had initiated a conversation with her could be counted on one hand, this one included.

Quinn’s anxiety was back in full force now so she took a deep breath to try and ground herself. She took a quick glance back at Stormie to see her leaning against the table, attempting to look relaxed. “I, umm, I- fuck, why is this so hard!” She mumbled and Stormie let out a laugh that filled Quinn’s chest with warmth.

Mira watched the two of them from her desk, her face giving nothing away. She again felt a swell of pride in her as she watched Quinn try to overcome her anxiety and make a friend. A part of her wanted to say something to reassure the girl that she was making the right decision but she decided that this was something Quinn had to do on her own.

“It’s okay, Quinn,” Stormie said when her laughter stopped. “Just take your time, I’m not going anywhere.” She gave Quinn a bigger, warmer smile that helped put her at ease.

Quinn took a deep sigh then pulled out her phone. She opened up her contacts and pressed the plus sign to add a new contact. Without another word, she offered the phone to Stormie who was staring at it wide-eyed before a huge grin broke out across her face. She grabbed the phone out of Quinn’s hand and quickly put her information in it then gave it back to her.

Quinn looked down at the phone to see Stormie’s number but not her name. In the field where someone would put their name, Stormie had put the storm emoji and a black heart. Of course Stormie wouldn’t put her name like a normal person. No, she just had to put something different because she was different. Different from everything that Quinn had known. Quinn looked back up at Stormie and was almost blinded by the beaming smile on the other girl’s face.

“I- I’ll text you later.” Quinn stammered out.

“I’ll hold you to that!” Stormie said before her eyes went to the smart watch on her wrist to check the time. “Shit, I gotta get to the other side of the school before I’m late! I’ll talk to you later!” She waved goodbye to Quinn and Mira before hurrying out of the classroom.

Quinn stood there with her phone still in her hand and Stormie’s contact still on the screen. She stared at it until she felt Mira walk up beside her. Quinn looked only to see Mira’s smiling face looking back at her and she let out an audible groan. “Don’t make this bigger than it already is.”

“I’m not the one you have to worry about. It’s the other two when they find out. Mira said to her. The smile on her face turned into something serious after a second. “I’m proud of you though. You managed to overcome your anxiety and get a girl’s number.”

Quinn’s heart skipped a beat at Mira’s words. She couldn’t remember the last time that she heard those words come from an adult and were aimed at her. Hell, she was pretty sure that this was the first time it had ever happened. There was a whirlwind of emotions that coursed through her as the words replayed in her head. Someone was proud of her for doing something that normal people did basically everyday.

“Are you okay, Quinn?” Mira asked her, worried clear in her voice.

“I’m fine.” Quinn answered.

“Then why are you crying?” Mira stepped closer to her.

Crying? Quinn was so in her head from what Mira said that she didn’t even notice that tears had fallen from her eyes. She wiped at her face, smearing her makeup in the process but the tears kept falling.

“Fuck.” Quinn let the word slip out as she tried to stop the tears. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Mira through teary eyes.

“It’s okay. Let’s go see Bobby.” With a comforting smile, Mira led Quinn out of the classroom and to the one person that she knew would be able to help her.

Chapter Text

“Hey Rumi, have you seen Mira?” Zoey asked as she walked into Rumi’s room.

“No, I haven’t seen her since dinner.” Rumi answered. She had just finished taking down her braid when Zoey came to her. Zoey had seen Rumi with her hair down so many times before but every time she did, Zoey couldn’t help being mesmerized by its length. She would find herself daydreaming of running her hands through it or even grabbing a hand full and pulling on it.

Zoey shook her head to clear her head as something hot settled in her stomach. She couldn’t let herself be distracted with thoughts of what sounds she could get out of Rumi. She was here for a reason. “Has she seemed off since we left the school today?”

Now that she thought about it, Mira had been quieter than she usually was. Quinn as well. The two of them barely said a single word to each other all evening and it had Rumi worried that something bad happened between them in class today. “She’s been quiet since school let out. Quinn as well. You don’t think something happened between them today, do you?”

“Maybe,” Zoey responded, a thoughtful look on her face. “I just don’t know what it could be about. Can you help me find her?”

“Sure.” Rumi got up from the chair in front of her vanity and made her way over to where Zoey stood. Rumi gave her a comforting smile that Zoey returned. The two of them made their way over to Mira’s room first to check if the woman was in there. They knocked on her bedroom door but got no answer so they made their way downstairs to check the den, living room, and dining room– coming up empty handed each time.

“Where could she be?” Zoey asked in frustration.

Rumi let out a huff . She too felt the same frustration that Zoey was feeling. There were only so many rooms in this house that Mira could be in. Then it hit her. What if she wasn’t in the house? “I know where she is!” She grabbed Zoey’s hand and led her to the French double doors that led to the backyard.

Unlocked! I knew it!

Rumi pulled open one of the doors to see Mira sitting by their firepit, deep in thought.

“There you are Mira!” Zoey exclaimed as she moved passed Rumi. She faltered in her steps when Mira looked up at her. Mira’s face told Zoey that something was definitely wrong. “Hey, what’s the matter?”

“What are you two doing out here?” Mira deflected.

“We’re looking for you.” Rumi said as she came over and sat next to Mira. “What’s going on? You’ve been quiet since school let out. Quinn too. Did something happen between you two?”

“Yeah, we’re worried about you.” Zoey said as she took a seat on Mira’s other side.

Mira thought about lying to them about what happened between her and Quinn, but they deserve to know too. She let out a deep sigh. “I made Quinn cry today.”

“Why would you do that?!” Zoey couldn’t believe what she was hearing. After everything that Quinn had been through, why would Mira do anything that would make Quinn cry.

“Zoey, give her a chance to explain. I’m sure there’s a perfectly good reason she did.” Rumi said to Zoey. Zoey was about to argue back but the look Rumi gave her told her that that wasn’t a good idea. With a sigh, Zoey crossed her arms and pouted but said nothing. Rumi turned her attention to Mira and gave her a nod to start.

“I didn’t do it on purpose. I told her that I was proud of her for overcoming her anxiety and getting Stormie’s number. Next thing I know, she had tears running down her face.” Mira explained to them.

“She got Stormie’s number!?” Zoey was bouncing with excitement next to Mira. She no longer had a pout on her face; replacing it with a wide grin. “Do you think she texted her yet? We should totally go ask her!”

“We’re not doing that Zoey!” Rumi leveled her with a gaze. “We’re here for Mira, remember?”

Zoey rubbed the back of her head in a sheepishly manner. Her mind always prioritizes Quinn whenever she gets brought up. It’s like she gets all motherly and wants the best for the teen that everybody else takes a backseat in her mind. “Sorry.”

“Why did she start crying?” Rumi asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe she never had an adult say those words to her before.” Mira guessed. That thought broke her heart but seeing how the girl reacted, Mira knew that was the truth. It had been eating at her all day.

“That’s probably the saddest thing I ever heard. Also, who wouldn’t be proud of Quinn? She overcame so much just to be herself.” Zoey said.

“What about this situation is really eating at you?” Rumi asked. Mira may have been the best when it came to reading people, but Rumi knew when either one of her girls were dealing with very complicated emotions.

“I know how Quinn is feeling right now. To finally hear someone you respect say that they’re proud of you after going your whole life without it causes all kinds of emotions to go through you. You guys know what my childhood was like. My parents would rather lose their fortune than to tell me that they’re proud of me and honestly, I would rather not hear it from them anyway. But that’s besides the point. That moment in my classroom, I didn’t see Quinn standing in front of me, I saw a sixteen year old me.” Mira’s voice was soft as she spoke. It was like if she talked too loud, their little bubble would burst. She rarely thought about her parents but her moment with Quinn today had reminded her of the coldness they always made her feel.

“MIIIIRRRRRAAA!!!!”

“Oof!” Mira had the breath knocked out of her as Zoey crushed her in a full body hug, causing the two of them to collapse on top of Rumi.

“Hey!” Rumi called out from up under them. She didn’t understand how Mira survived at the bottom of all their cuddle piles with the way she was being crushed right now.

“I take back what I said. This was the saddest thing I ever heard!” Zoey said with tears on her face.

“Zoey! If you don’t let me up, we’re going to suffocate and/or crush Rumi!” Mira said. She didn’t want to lose the contact she was sharing with the other two but she knew that Rumi was suffering with the two of them on top of her.

“I would really like to not die tonight.” Came Rumi’s muffled voice.

Zoey released Mira from the hug and sat up, letting Mira pick herself up and helping Rumi sit up. “How do you handle being on the bottom of the pile all the time?” Rumi asked Mira. She felt like her insides were compressed.

“You learn to get used to it.” Mira answered.

“I don’t think I would live long enough to get used to it,” Rumi responded back. She rubbed her ribcage as some pain shot through from where Mira’s elbow was jammed in it. “Anyways, how are you feeling? You two had similar childhoods in the aspect of not getting the proper love that a child should.”

“Rumi, we all had shitty childhoods. Why do you think that the three of us gravitated to her like we did?” Mira let out another sigh. She didn’t plan on opening herself up like this tonight but something about what happened with Quinn today had her ready to spill everything. Well, almost everything.

“My childhood wasn’t that bad.” Zoey insisted.

“Zoey, you’re just as fucked up as the rest of us.” Mira had a tiny smile on her face. They had this conversation before, way before the thought of Quinn coming to live with them ever entered their minds. Zoey’s childhood might not have been as bad as hers and Rumi’s but being a child of divorce parents and feeling like you don’t belong to either side of your family can still fuck someone up. Especially someone like Zoey.

“You still haven’t answered my question.” Rumi said. She gently grabbed Mira’s chin and turned her head to face her. Their faces were inches from each other. When had they gotten so close? Rumi could feel Mira’s breath ghosting against her face. Were her eyes just on her lips? She had to have imagined that because there was no way that Mira was looking at her lips.

“I’m fine.” Mira quickly said before she bolted up from her spot between Rumi and Zoey. She could feel the blush that was for sure covering her face. What the fuck was that?! Was she really about to kiss Rumi? Mira had to get out of here.

Zoey watched everything that just happened between the two people that she was in love with. They were so close to kissing right in front of her and she was feeling many emotions about it. Emotions that she would have to figure out later. Were they dating and just didn’t tell her? No, they wouldn’t do that to her. Besides, when would they have time to get together? Things were getting too awkward for Zoey’s liking so she said the first thing that came to mind.

“We should go to the bathhouse tomorrow!” Zoey shouted out. Two sets of eyes turned to her. She looked between Rumi and Mira, her heart hammering in her chest. “I mean, it’s been a long week for all of us. We can use some relaxation.” She let out an awkward laugh.

“I don’t know.” Rumi started to say before Mira interrupted her.

“Sure Zoey.” Rumi's eyes shot over to Mira who just gave her a shrug in return. Did she agree to Zoey’s idea of going to the bathhouse out of panic? Who knows.

“Yes!” Zoey jumped up from her seat then pulled Mira into a hug. She might have pulled the bathhouse out of her ass but she wasn’t going to turn down spending the day with them there. She let go of Mira then skipped her way into the house.

Mira watched her go before she felt Rumi come and stand next to her. “She sure is something.” She heard Rumi say. 

Mira nodded her head. “But we love her anyway.”

The two of them made their way into the house after Zoey, not once did they make eye contact again that night.

The Next Day

Quinn was sitting at the breakfast bar with her phone in front of her. She had been up for the past two hours trying to work up the courage to send a text. Every time she would type something, she would quickly delete it. It shouldn’t be this hard to talk to a single person. She could feel the device mocking her as the empty text chat stared back at her.

“You good kid?” Quinn looked up to see Mira, Rumi, and Zoey walking into the kitchen.

“No! I’m freaking out!” Quinn stressed. She ran her hands through her locs. The universal sign of being on the verge of a freak out.

“What’s got you on the verge of a panic attack?” Rumi asked her.

“Trying to send Stormie a text!” Quinn flopped her head down on the breakfast bar.

Mira rolled her eyes with a tiny smile on her face. So dramatic.

Rumi let out a laugh at Quinn’s antics while Zoey let out a squeal. “Ahhh! I remember my first time texting someone I had a crush on. He ended up ghosting me the next day.”

Oh sweetheart… Rumi gave Zoey a look like her heart was broken for her. Meanwhile, Mira had murder on her mind.

Quinn’s head shot up at what Zoey said. “I do not have a crush on Stormie! I don’t even really know her that well.”  Her three guardians each shared a look with each other. This girl was either in denial or was blind to what a crush was.

“What’s wrong with a simple ‘Hey’” Mira asked with a shrug of her shoulder. Teenagers can make things so complicated for no reason. Never mind the fact that she’s about to go to a bathhouse and sit naked with the two women that she’s been in love with since high school but won’t tell them. Yeah teenagers are the problem.

“I say ‘Hey’ and then what? What am I supposed to say after that? The conversation is gonna be so dry!” Quinn explained to her.

Teenagers really are a problem. “Or maybe she responds with something that you can piggyback off of?” Mira countered with.

“You never know until you text her.” Rumi added.

“I have an idea! Why don’t you come with us to the bathhouse so you can relax and come up with a text to send her.” Zoey said to her.

“I’m gonna have to pass on that offer.”  Quinn told her quickly. She dropped eye contact with her, choosing instead to focus on her phone. She didn’t talk to them about her body dysphoria so she couldn’t be upset at Zoey for making the suggestion.

“Oh come on! It’ll be so funny and relaxing! I bet you’re all kinds of tense.” Zoey insisted.

Quinn kept her eyes on her phone. Zoey meant well, she always means well. She just picked the things that Quinn had the biggest problem overcoming. Going to a bathhouse wasn’t something that Quinn was ready for, honestly she didn’t know if she would ever be ready for that.

“Zoey, we’re not going to push her to do something that she’s not comfortable with. She has her reasons for not wanting to go.” Rumi said. She placed a hand on Zoey’s shoulder, causing the younger woman to look up at her. 

Zoey looked between Rumi and Quinn before it clicked for her. “Oh! I’m sorry Quinn, I didn’t mean to upset you! I see you as just one of the girls like Mira and Rumi. Not to say that everything that you've been through doesn’t matter because it totally does! I just-”

“Okay Zoey, it’s time for us to go!” Rumi said as she pulled Zoey out of the kitchen and towards the front door.

The kitchen was quiet as Mira and Quinn were left alone. It was Mira that was the first of the two to speak. “You know she means well.”

Quinn looked up at her. She could see that Mira was studying her but she wasn’t sure what her guardian was looking for. “I know she does. I never told you guys about my body dysphoria so she wouldn’t know that a place like the bathhouse isn’t something that I plan on going to anytime soon.” 

Mira nodded her head at Quinn’s response. “How are you feeling after what happened yesterday?”

There was a slight hesitation in her voice that Quinn had never heard before. It was almost like she was nervous. “I’m okay. I just never heard someone say those words to me before.”

“Yeah, we figured that was the case last night,” Mira said. She came and stood in front of Quinn on the opposite side of the breakfast bar. This girl had been through so much in her life and Mira could relate to a lot of it. That damn doctor was right about them being alike. “I want you to know that the three of us are very proud of everything that you accomplished so far and of the woman that you are growing into.”

Quinn could feel the tears forming in her eyes. She wanted so badly to tell Mira that they had nothing to be proud of her for but she knew that Mira wouldn’t allow her to do such a thing. She still didn’t know why these three were fighting so hard for her. Doing things like this. What did she do to deserve any of this? She was a nobody. Quinn spent a lot of late nights wondering what was making them fight so hard for her.

“Before I go,” Mira said as she picked up Quinn’s phone and unlocked it to the blank text chat with Stormie. She quickly typed a message then sent it before Quinn could register what was happening. Mira placed the phone back down. “Here you go.”

“Wait! What did you send her?!” Quinn panicked as she snatched the phone back up. The message was short and simple.

Quinn: Hey. It’s Quinn.

Quinn looked at Mira in wide eyed shock. “Why did you do that?!”

“Because you would’ve spent all day trying to figure out what to text her.” Mira answered.

“What if she texts back?!” Quinn was grasping at straws.

“Then you’ll be doing this thing called ‘having a conversation’.” Mira turned and started to leave the kitchen when Quinn’s phone went off.

Quinn looked down at the phone then back up to Mira’s retreating back. “Oh my god she texted back!”

“Good luck!” Mira called out then she was out of the house. A smirk plastered on her face.

Quinn started at her phone. Okay, Quinn! Deep breaths! You can do this! She’s just a regular girl just like everyone else! She picked up the device and opened the notification.

⛈️🖤: OMG Quinn!! I wasn’t expecting you to text me so soon!! Not that I’m complaining of course 

She reread the text message twice. Maybe she was reading into it but it seemed like Stormie was waiting for Quinn to text her after she got her number. Although Quinn did say that she would text her later. She could spend all day trying to figure out if Stormie was waiting for her to text but right now, Stormie was waiting on a response from Quinn. Before she could overthink it so more, Quinn sent a text.

Quinn: I hope I’m not bothering you

Stormie's response was instant.

⛈️🖤: Not at all. Just getting ready for work.

Quinn: Oh I can text you later

⛈️🖤: You’re fine. I would much rather talk to you anyway. 😉

Quinn could feel heat spreading up her neck as she read the text message. If this was anybody else, Quinn would’ve called them a liar for saying something  like that but this was Stormie she was talking to. All Stromie wanted to do was talk to her.

Quinn: Right. Of course.

Come on Quinn! Ask her something! 

Quinn: What’s it like working at your job?

Oh my god I’m so bad at this! Quinn let a sigh fall from her lips as she looked at the text that she just sent. What teenager wants to spend their time talking about their job? She wished that she wasn’t so bad at talking to people.

⛈️🖤: It’s okay.

⛈️🖤: Some of the other associates think I only got my position because its my parents business but a few are cool. I enjoy what I do for the most part.

Quinn found it hard to believe that people didn’t like Stormie. However, this sounded more like jealousy on Stormie’s coworkers' part. She could see how someone could think that Stormie was only assistant manager because of her parents but they way Stormie had picked out clothes for her on that day told Quinn that she did care for and take pride in her job. Another text from Stormie brought Quinn out of her thoughts.

⛈️🖤: Speaking of I see you’ve been wearing some of the clothes I helped you get but not some of the shirts. Do you not like them?

Quinn knew what shirts she was talking about. She had yet to wear any of the short sleeve ones to school. Maybe one day she’ll get the courage to wear them one day but she was a long way from doing that.

Quinn: Its not that I don’t like them… I just did some things to myself that I’m not proud of that’s keeping me from wearing them for now…

This was one reason why she wanted to tell Mira that there was nothing for them to be proud of her for. How could Quinn accept that others were proud of her when she couldn’t even be proud of herself.

⛈️🖤: Shit! I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have ask. It’s none of my business what you wear.

Quinn: It’s okay.

Quinn: I’m learning to live with what I did to myself

Quinn: One day I will be able to wear them without a care in the world

⛈️🖤: Well I hope that you’re able to get to that point.

⛈️🖤: And I hope that I’m there to see it.

Quinn stared at her phone. She had just told Stormie about one of her biggest secrets and she wasn’t judging her for it. Stormie wanted to see her become comfortable in her skin. Stormie really wanted to be her friend.

Quinn: You really want to be my friend?

⛈️🖤: I do.

⛈️🖤: If that’s okay with you…

Was that okay with her? Could she see Stormie being in her life past this? Did she want her to be?

Quinn: Okay

⛈️🖤: Okay?

Quinn: I’m going to give this friendship thing a try

⛈️🖤: 🎉

⛈️🖤: You won’t regret this!!

I sure hope I don’t. Quinn let out a deep breath. It felt like a weight was being lifted off of her shoulders. She had finally made her first friend. Now what the fuck does she do with a friend?

Quinn: I’m going to say something very embarrassing…

Quinn: Don’t you dare laugh at me!!

⛈️🖤: Are you about to tell me that I’m your first friend??

Quinn: …

⛈️🖤: OMG!!

⛈️🖤: I am!!

⛈️🖤: I’m honored to be your first friend!!!

Honored? Someone felt honored to be friends with her. Just like yesterday, Quinn felt a swirl of emotions inside her. She didn’t know what made Stormie feel honored to be her friend but a part of her just didn’t care to figure it out. She just got herself a friend. Maybe she could see why Mira and the others were proud of her.

Chapter Text

Mira was going to be fine. This wasn’t the first time that she had come to the bathhouse with Rumi and Zoey, more so with the latter. She would be totally fine soaking next to her friends. It’s no different than when they cuddle on the couch watching a movie. Okay so they weren’t naked when they were watching movies but still, it’s the same principle. Everything would be fine. Totally fine.

Mira sank lower into the water, closed her eyes, and let out a sigh. Why did she have to fall in love with both of her best friends? Why couldn't it be just any other woman? Why them two? The sound of the water being disturbed broke her out of her thoughts and she opened her eyes to see Zoey lowering herself into the hot water.

“Ahhh!” Zoey closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief as the water started to help her tense muscles relax. She might have suggested that they came here on a whim last night but she really did need this. Who knew trying to sort through your feelings for your two best friends could be so stressful.

Mira watched Zoey for a second as the shorter of the two women relaxed. Mira's eyes went from Zoey’s towel wrapped hair, down to her adorable face that held her very kissable lips, to her also very kissable collarbones, before finally stopping at her chest that was just below the water’s surface. Mira knew that her face was covered in a full blush as she stared at Zoey.

“We do not come here enough.” Zoey rested the back of her head on the edge of the tub, giving Mira a clear view of her neck. Mira’s mouth started to water as the thought of her mouth on her friend’s neck entered her mind. Heat settled in her core as her mind started to go into overdrive.

“Yeah…” Mira managed to get out. Normally she had more control over her urges, today they were just too much for her. How long had it been since she last got laid?

“You’re right, Zoey. We don’t come here enough.” The two of them looked up to see Rumi standing at the edge of the tub with a towel wrapped around her. Being the taller of the three, Mira was known to have legs for days but she always thought that Rumi’s legs were one of her underrated features. They were long and slender but held a hidden power in them and Mira would be lying if she said that she never imagined them wrapped around her. God was she being a complete pervert.

“We should come here at least once a month!” Zoey suggested, voice laced with excitement.

Absolutely not!

“Maybe.” Rumi replied then she dropped her towel and Mira’s brain felt like it was hit with a factory reset. Rumi’s chest wasn’t the biggest that Mira had seen but its size was perfect for her frame. At least Mira thought so. Rumi’s body was far from being blemish free but to Mira, it was a work of art. Something that could rival one of Zoey’s paintings.

Rumi lowered herself into the water and let out a sigh just like Zoey had done. She could feel her worries start to drift away as the hot water started to work its magic. Maybe Zoey was right about coming here once a month.

Mira should have been in heaven at having both Rumi and Zoey naked just feet away from her but the heat in her core was reminding her that it’s been ignored for far too long. She should have just stayed home because she was far from being relaxed. In fact, she was pent up with so much sexual frustration that relaxation would have to come later for her when she was alone. 

“It’s been so long since we came here that I forgot how good this feels.” Rumi leaned her head back on the edge of the tub, giving Mira a clear view of her slender neck. Mira licked her lips. She was being so pathetic right now but she just couldn’t help herself as she started to imagine what it would be like to run her tongue along the length of Rumi’s neck. What sounds she could make come out of Rumi’s mouth. How she would make Zoey squirm under her with just her fingers.

“That’s why we should come back once a month!” Zoey suggested again. She turned to Mira hoping that she would back her up. “Do you agree, Mira?” Zoey got no response. 

“Mira?” She tried again. Nothing.

“Mira!” Zoey shouted and splashed the taller woman with water.

“Huh?!” Mira blinked when the water hit her face. She was so lost in her fantasies that she completely forgot that she was sitting in a giant tub with her two best friends.

“Are you okay? You’ve been spaced out since we left the house this morning.” Rumi asked her with concern in her voice.

“Y-yeah.” Mira stammered out. Get a fucking grip! “Just got something on my mind.” She dropped her eyes down to the water.

“Are you still thinking about what happened yesterday between you and Quinn?” Zoey asked her.

No, I’m thinking about how I could have you screaming my name right now. “It’s just hard to believe that no one would be proud of all she accomplished so far.” Mira lied. She felt it was better to tell this lie than to admit to them that she was thinking about making this room of the bathhouse bare witness to her sinful thoughts.

“It’s not fair to her that people can’t see how amazing she is.” Zoey said. It irked her how Quinn had been treated up until she moved in with them.

“It’s their fucking lost then.” Mira spat. Being reminded of what Quinn had been through had effectively replaced whatever else she was feeling and thinking. Mira hated that people looked passed everything Quinn had to fight through to live as herself just so they could spew out their bigoted crap. The anger she was feeling on the inside must have shown on her face because before she realized it, Rumi had moved closer to her until their shoulders touched. Mira looked up to see Rumi studying her.

“You know that we’re proud of you too, right?” Rumi asked her.

Mira froze. She had no idea why Rumi just said that. She also had no idea why she felt like a weight was being lifted off of her shoulders. Mira knew that they were proud of her without words but hearing it made everything feel all too real.

“Rumi’s right,” Zoey moved closer as well, a small smile on her face. “You have overcome a lot to be the badass Mira that we know and love.”

Mira looked between her two friends. The two people who held her heart and didn’t even know it. Fuck! She didn’t deserve them being proud of her because if they knew how she really felt about them, they would think she was selfish or maybe even disgusting. She could hear her father’s words echoing in her head. Words she hadn’t heard in a long time.

You’ll never have a family of your own! A problem child that never grew up!

She felt Rumi bump her shoulder again as Zoey laced their hands together under the water. No, her father was wrong. Mira had a family of her own. It might not be in the way that she wanted but she had two people that loved her faults and all. They didn’t make her follow stupid rules or try to get her to fix her language. She could almost be her complete self with them.

“Thanks.” Mira said to them. Her voice was full of emotion and without another word, Rumi and Zoey wrapped Mira in a hug. If given a hundred guesses of how today’s trip to the bathhouse would have gone, Mira would never guess that it would end up with the three of them hugging while naked. This would only happen in her fantasies. But all things must come to an end as Rumi and Zoey pulled away from Mira, she could have sworn Rumi and Zoey had full face blushes.

One week later

“Mira, I need you to promise me that you’ll be on your best behavior.” Rumi pleaded as she walked into the living room. There she found Quinn laughing at something on her phone, probably a text from Stormie, and Mira, who was currently looking at her with a raised manicured brow.

“And why do I need to make that promise?” Mira asked her. 

Rumi got that unnatural, weird smile on her face as she stepped closer to Mira. It took Mira a second before she remembered what was happening today. They had to take Derpy to get groomed and that meant one thing. Oh no!

“You have got to be kidding me.” Mira sighed as her head fell back on the couch. It was the weekend, she shouldn’t have to deal with who she was about to see.

“It’s going to be okay Mira. We just have to get Derpy to the groomers at the pet store then you can be free.” Rumi bargained with her.

“Getting Derpy groomed isn’t the problem and you know it. It’s who I have to deal with to get him to the groomers.” Mira stood up from the couch in a huff, causing Quinn to look up from her phone.

“What’s going on here?” Quinn asked with confusion all over her face as she looked between Rumi and Mira.

“Mira’s just being overly dramatic is all.” Rumi gave Quinn a normal smile then turned back to Mira. “Are you going to be on your best behavior?”

“I am not being overly dramatic! You know damn well how Jinu likes to get under my skin!” Mira answered her. Getting on Mira’s nerves was like a game to Jinu and it made Mira want to cause the man physical harm.

“He does not like getting under your skin. He’s just an acquired taste.” Rumi was trying her best to keep Mira calm.

“I’m pretty sure that getting under Mira’s skin is Mr. Saja’s favorite pastime.” Quinn said with a laugh.

“See?!” Mira gestured a hand in Quinn’s direction.

“You’re not helping!” Rumi gritted out to Quinn who gave her a shrug before going back to her phone. Rumi turned back to Mira with pleading in her eyes. She just needed to get Mira agree to not kill Jinu for a few hours. “Please Mira, for me?” She put on her best puppy eyes and stuck out her bottom lip and Mira’s defenses crumbled. Mira could never say no when Rumi and Zoey pulled out that face.

“Fine! But if he makes one remark that I don’t like, all bets are off!” Mira warned.

“You know that’s not fair Mira.” Rumi argued.

“Take it or leave it.” Mira stood firm.

“Ugh fine! I’ll take what I can get.” Rumi let out a sigh. She knew that this was the best she was going to get from Mira. It was going to have to do.

“Stormie bets that Mira won’t last an hour. I said she won’t last thirty minutes.” Quinn said with a smile on her face.

“I’m so happy that you and your girlfriend can make bets on if I commit first degree murder in sixty minutes or less.” Mira mocked. Quinn rolled her eyes at Mira’s girlfriend remark but she still had a smile on her face.

“Quinn, can we not provoke Mira please?” Rumi asked. It seemed like everyday Quinn was becoming more and more like Mira. It would have been heartwarming if it wasn’t at the cost of her mental health.

“It was Stormie that started it.” Quinn said, turning the phone so they could see the message thread.

“What did Stormie start?” Zoey asked as she walked into the living room.

“She made a bet with me about how long until Mira tries to kill Mr. Saja. She says an hour. I said thirty minutes.” Quinn answered as she turned the phone back to face her.

“Oh Jinu’s coming over? It must be time to take Derpy to the groomers.” Zoey moved over to where Derpy sat lounging on the floor. She gave him a pat on the head then gave Mira a mischievous grin. “I give her five minutes.”

“Zoey!” Rumi shouted. All three of them were going to stress her out.

“Should I come back or…” A voice said from the living room entrance. Four sets of eyes turned to see Jinu leaning against the frame of the threshold, a smirk gracing his face.

“Let’s just get this over with.” Mira said with a sigh. She walked passed Jinu on her way to the front door. Her glare at the man was met with an almost mocking grin but he was smart enough to not say a word to her.

Jinu waited until Mira was out the front door before turning back to the people in the living room. "What are the chances that she only treats me this way because she secretly has a huge crush on me and doesn't know how to tell me?" He waggled his eyebrows as he had a cheeky grin on his face.

"Absolutely none." Rumi deadpanned, causing Quinn to laugh. "Now grab Derpy so we can head out. Let’s go Zoey.” The two of them followed Mira to the car, leaving Jinu alone with Quinn and Derpy.

“Are you coming with us?” Jinu asked her as he pulled out a bag of treats causing Derpy to pop his head up.

“No Mr. Saja, I have some math homework I need to do.” Quinn gave him a look to let him know exactly how she felt at being given homework over the weekend from him.

“Ah yeah well it’s gonna help you in the future. Maybe.” Jinu kneeled down and opened the bag of treats, pulling one out. “By the way, we’re not in school so you can just call me Jinu.”

“I won’t hold my breath on using calculus in my future job. Why do they need you to take Derpy to the groomers?” She asked him as she watched Derpy raise up on all four legs and walk over to Jinu.

“He’s too big to fit in Mira’s car for one,” Jinu answered as he fed Derpy a treat. “And for two, I might have made a bet with Rumi with the stipulation being I would take Derpy to all check ups and grooming appointments if I lost.” He pulled another treat out of the bag and gave it to Derpy.

“What was the bet?” Quinn asked.

“I bet her that I could out eat Zoey in an eating contest.” Jinu said as he stood back up.

“You were destined to fail that bet.” Quinn said with a laugh.

“Hey, I gave her a run for her money in the beginning. I still don’t know how she packed so much food in such a small frame.” He defended himself. Jinu pulled another treat out of the bag and started to back his way to the front door, Derpy following along with his eyes locked on the treat. “Tell Stormie that she better have her homework done by Monday!” Jinu said before he was out of the door. Quinn watched him go before looking back at her phone and sending Jinu’s message to Stormie.

Quinn: Jinu said to make sure that you have your homework done by Monday 😅

⛈️🖤: 🙄

⛈️🖤: Who still gives out homework over the weekend?!

Quinn: That’s what I’m saying!

Quinn: Calculus is not my best subject at all

⛈️🖤: Do you want to work on it together?

⛈️🖤: I’m pretty good at calculus. I just forget to do my homework some times 🙃

⛈️🖤: There’s this café that I like that we can go to.

Quinn stared at her phone, unsure if she had just been asked out on a date or not. She wasn’t sure what she should do nor was she sure why she wanted to say yes. Quinn wished that her guardians were still here so they could tell her what to say. Before she could even think of something to say back, another message came through.

⛈️🖤: Or we could work on it over facetime if that works better for you.

Quinn let out a sigh of relief, she could do facetime. Facetime was easy, it gave her a way out if she needed it.

Quinn: I can do facetime

Quinn: Give me a second to get my stuff ready

⛈️🖤: KK

Quinn stared at her phone for a second longer before finally getting up and going to her room to get out her calculus homework. She still couldn’t figure out why a part of her wanted to say yes to going to the café with Stormie. She did tell the girl that she would try out being friends with her and to Quinn’s credit, she had been trying. They've been messaging daily, even having lunch together at school. That had gotten them some weird looks but Stormie made such to not let Quinn dwell on that. Quinn just didn’t know if hanging out with Stormie somewhere public was a step she was ready for.

Maybe one day. Quinn thought to herself as she started her facetime call with Stormie.

The Pet Store

Mira was perfectly capable of going an hour and not committing murder as evidenced by the fact that Jinu was still standing and breathing. She didn’t know how long that would last though with the way that Jinu was so close to Rumi. Mira hated how jealous she got when it came to Rumi and Zoey. It wasn’t fair to her friends that she couldn’t tell them how she felt. She’d just deal with her jealousy if it meant keeping her family together. But that didn’t mean she had to stand here and watch Jinu and Rumi flirt. She rolled her eyes at seeing Jinu laugh at something that Rumi said before deciding that she had seen enough. Mira turned away from the two of them and went to find Zoey, knowing there would be only one place where she would be.

Mira made her way over to where the store held their turtle tanks to see Zoey with her face almost pressed to the glass. Inside the tank were a few Musk turtles and the way Zoey was looking at them made Mira’s heart flutter. She took a few minutes to watch as Zoey moved from tank to tank looking at the turtles, saying some facts to whoever just so happened to be close enough to her. Mira didn’t think it was possible to fall more in love with Zoey but here she was falling deeper and harder.

Even though she was in love with both Rumi and Zoey, Mira loved them for different reasons. She loved Rumi for the way that she always cared for them and how she always knew what they needed when things overwhelmed them. She loved Zoey because of how she always managed to get a smile or laugh out of her even when she didn’t want to and how she always managed to see the brighter side of life. There were many other things that she loved about them. She just loved everything about them and it hurt her so much that she couldn’t have them. With a sigh, Mira made her way over to the tank that Zoey was at.

“Mira!” Zoey turned to her with the biggest smile on her face that Mira had ever seen. “Did you know that musk turtles are the most common pet turtles because of how easy they are to maintain? And even though they’re aquatic, they’re not very strong swimmers?” Mira’s heart fluttered again. She was doomed in the worst way.

“Maybe we can talk Rumi into letting us take one home.” Mira said. She didn’t know what made her say that. No that was a lie, she did know. Zoey’s smiling face. She wanted to do anything she could to keep Zoey smiling. Mira may show the world a stoic exterior but deep down she was nothing but a lover girl for Rumi and Zoey.

The excitement that graced Zoey’s face sent Mira to the moon. “Can we?! I know just the place to put one!”

“Of course you do.” Mira said with a smile on her face. “Let’s go-” Mira didn’t get to finish her sentence because of a loud crash.

“What was that?” Zoey asked Mira.

“Maybe Rumi finally came to her senses and threw Jinu into a shelf.” Mira said with a shrug. One could only hope.

“In your dreams.” Zoey laughed and bumped Mira with her elbow. “Let’s go check it out.” Before Mira could say anything, Zoey grabbed her hand and pulled her into the direction of where the noise came from.

As they rounded a corner to see cans of dog food scattered across the floor from a display and a few of the pet shop workers chasing a black bird. It was chaos as one worker slipped on a can and went careening into another display of cat food, sending that display crashing to the floor as well. In an almost mocking gesture, the bird flew around the downed worker. Mira swore that she could hear it laughing.

“Someone get that bird!” Another worker yelled.

“Holy shit.” Mira said as a fit of giggles started to erupt out of her. Mira loved to see chaos unfold when it had nothing to do with her.

“That’s a magpie! They’re known to have very complex social behaviors.” Zoey said as she watched the bird weave between the hands of workers trying to grab it.

Mira watched as a worker chased after the bird and was close to catching it before it made an abrupt turn, sending the worker into the last display of canned food. That was all it took to send her into a laughing fit. Zoey looked at her and smiled. She always liked to see Mira when she was carefree and unguarded because it was so rare for her. It made her love her even more.

All the laughing from Mira stopped however when the bird decided to land on her shoulder. Mira glanced over at the bird who gave her a devious sideeye. Zoey turned to Mira and the bird and gave her a huge smile. “I think it likes you!”

“We’re so sorry about all of this!” A worker said as they came up to them. “That bird has been a menace since it got here.”

Mira surveyed the scene in front of her again. There was canned food everywhere and several workers were picking themselves up off of the floor. A menace was an understatement to her. But there was something about this magpie that she liked. It was chaos on wings and Mira loved chaos as evidenced by the two people she was in love with.

 “That is it! I want that bird out of this store now!” A loud voice could be heard. Everybody looked up to see a man storming down the destroyed aisle with anger clear on his face. He reached them and jabbed a finger at said bird. “Ever since it got here, it’s done nothing but cause me money in damages and lost goods! THis was the final straw! I don’t care where it goes, I want it gone!”

Zoey looked at Mira and Mira knew what she was going to say from the look she was giving her. “Oh no! There’s no way that Rumi is going to let us take this bird home with us!” Mira shook her head vehemently. As much as she didn’t hate the idea of taking the bird, she knew that Rumi would not allow it.

“Pretty please! We’ll never know if we don’t ask her! Besides, who knows what they’ll do to the bird if we don’t take it!” Zoey pleaded. The bird moved from Mira’s shoulder to perch on top of her head instead. “He even likes you!”

“I’m sorry but we cannot, in good conscience, sell this bird to you.” The worker that came up to them said.

“Why not?!” Zoey asked them, a frown on her face when she turned to them.

“Well, like my manager said, this bird has been nothing but trouble since we got it. We can’t allow you to take such a problematic animal home.” The worker rubbed the back of their neck, looking anywhere but at the two women.

“If they want to take the damn bird, let them! As long as it’s out of my store and they know they can’t bring it back here when it destroys their house, I don’t care!” The manager shouted before he started to bark orders at the other workers to start cleaning up the aisle.

Zoey turned to Mira and was vibrating with excitement. In her mind, there was nothing stopping them from taking the bird home with them. “There’s no way that we’re going to be able to take this bird home.” Mira told her.

“Come on! Pretty please.” Zoey put on her best pouting face as she pleaded with Mira again. It didn’t help that the bird went from Mira’s head to the top of Zoey’s bucket hat and Mira could have sworn it started pouting too. For the second time today, Mira felt her defenses get absolutely pummeled.

Mira closed her eyes and let out a sigh. “Fine.” She opened her eyes to see Zoey jump in the air with excitement causing the bird to fly off her head and land back on Mira’s shoulder and she could have sworn that it smirked at her when it did. She would have to deal with Rumi later. Right now, the smile that Zoey was sending her way made whatever she had to face worth it. The bird made a noise and Mira glared at it. “I don’t want to hear anything from you.”

“Yes!” Zoey threw her hands in the air.

One hour later, Zoey, Mira, and Sussie, name courtesy of Zoey of course, stood outside by the car waiting as Rumi, Jinu, and Derpy made their way out of the store. Rumi raised a brow at her two friends as she approached them. “Mira, why is there a bird perched on your shoulder right now?”

“His name is Sussie and we brought him!” Zoey answered as she read through a booklet about magpies. She knew most of the information that it was telling her but it was nice to get a refresher.

“What do you mean you brought him?!” Rumi looked at them like they were speaking another language. She was used to Zoey making impulse purchases but Mira normally was able to keep the youngest of them in check.

“That’s that thing you do when you give someone money in exchange for goods.” Jinu said. He had a shit eating grin on his face as he watched the scene in front of him.

“Shut it Jinu!” Rumi yelled at him before turning back to Mira. “How did you two end up buying a bird?”

“They were going to get rid of him because he was causing them problems.” Mira answered. Jinu noted how Mira didn’t look Rumi in the eyes.

“So you decided to buy the bird that was causing them trouble?!” Rumi threw her hands up. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Who buys an animal that’s known to cause problems?

“Don’t blame me!” Mira said before pointing a finger over at Zoey. “You’re not able to say no to that face she makes when she wants something either!” Rumi shook her head at them and let out a sigh. They were going to be the death of her.

“He really likes Mira! And I’ve never seen her bond with an animal like she has with Sussie. He hasn’t left her shoulder since we were told we can take him home.” Zoey told her.

Rumi couldn’t remember the last time Mira let an animal touch her for a long period of time. She didn’t even allow that with Derpy and Mira was right. Rumi could never say no to Zoey when she pouted. She might have used the pout on Mira earlier today, but Zoey was a pro at using the face to get things that she wanted so she couldn’t really hold that against Mira.

“If he destroys my house, you two are paying for the damages.” Rumi relented with a sigh.

Zoey let out a squeal and pulled Rumi into a hug. “Our family’s getting bigger!” She yelled after she released Rumi and Mira rolled her eyes but her face held a smile as Zoey came over and started to pet Sussie on the head.

“I think it’s cute that you and your girlfriends are adopting these troubled youths together.” Jinu whispered into Rumi’s ear.

“It’s not too late for me to allow Mira to kill you, you know?” Rumi told him before pushing him away and walking over to where Mira and Zoey were.

Jinu watched them before he felt Derpy rub his head against his hand. Jinu looked down at the cat before kneeling down closer to him. “Don’t worry boy, I’ll get her to come around eventually.”

It wasn’t long before the six of them were walking into the house to see Quinn eating at the breakfast bar with her phone propped up in front of her, a voice coming from it. Quinn looked up from the phone and her jaw dropped open.

“Why is there a bird on your shoulder Mira?” Quinn asked.

“What?” They heard Stormie say from the phone. Quinn picked up the phone and flipped the camera around to show Stormie the scene in front of her.

“It’s a long story.” Mira said with a sigh.

“I can’t wait to hear it.” Quinn said while Stormie laughed at what she was seeing. Quinn came to learn that life at the Ryu household was anything but normal.