Chapter Text
The plan had been simple: after the show, movie night, popcorn, and the couch. Unwind after a long tour and enjoy each other’s company.
And yet...
“Mira! Stop toe-poking me!”
“Then stop hogging the blanket!”
“It doesn’t even fully cover my legs!” Zoey shot back as she pulled the blanket closer. “If you need so much of it, then go get your own!”
Rumi sighed exasperatedly as the movie was interrupted yet again by the bickering of the two women on either side of her.
“This is the only fleece blanket we have,” Mira punctuated her response by yanking the blanket back, “and I’m not settling for some paper-thin crap because you can’t share.”
"CAN'T SHARE?!" Zoey shouted incredulously, "You and Rumi have over three-fourths of it!"
"That's bec-"
"Enooouugghh" Rumi groaned, firmly cutting off the argument. Even if it was only temporary, her ears needed a break from the shouting. Who knew two beautiful singing voices could be so shrill?
Despite knowing the perils of taking sides, after a moment of silence and rubbing her temples, Rumi turned warily to Mira. "Zoey is right. Give up some of the blanket."
"HA!" Zoey cried out triumphantly as Mira glared stubbornly at Rumi, keeping an unrelenting grip on her end of the blanket.
"You should know why that's not fair." She said, glancing meaningfully down at Zoey.
Rumi raised a surprised brow. Was Mira seriously going to try that angle? "I'm sure I don't know what you're referring to."
"Who cares?" Zoey scoffed, still trying unsuccessfully to rip the blanket out of Mira's hands. "It's two to one, Mira. Give it up so we can finish the movie!"
Mira didn't budge, instead shifting her unyielding gaze to Zoey. "What Rumi is pretending not to have considered," she paused pointedly, "is that a person's height should determine how much of the blanket they get."
Eeeek... She really went there.
Rumi plugged her ears protectively, bracing for the storm that was surely due any second now. Mira crossed her arms the best she could while still holding the blanket, staring smugly at Zoey's reddening face.
"Y-You... I'm gonn... YOU AREN"T EVEN THAT MUCH TALLER THAN ME!" Zoey sputtered out, her voice piercing through Rumi's hands despite her best efforts.
"Really?" A twisted grin was spreading across Mira's face as she examined the shorter girl's body from top to bottom. "Because if I had to guess, you're what... 5'1?" Not even?" She snickered softly at Zoey's guilty expression. "If you like, we can always just compare by standing back to back."
Zoey scrunched up her nose in disdain, "Yeah, right, and you steal the blanket while I'm standing up. Fat chance."
Mira shrugged shamelessly, "Worth a shot."
"Uggghhh," Zoey redoubled her efforts in pulling the blanket closer, frustratedly. "Rummmiiii... she's not obeying the rules of our democracyyy..."
"Democracy?" Mira scoffed, easily holding her end of the blanket back from Zoey's renewed efforts, "This is survival of the fittest. There are no laws that can save you on the couch."
Zoey gawked at her as if she'd been slapped. "I can't believe you just said that." She whispered furiously, "The couch is hallowed ground."
Mira rolled her eyes at the other girl's dramatics. "Yeah, well, let the gods strike me down for my insolence. But first, stop tugging and sit still like a good little—WOAH!."
Not waiting to hear the rest of Mira's jab, Zoey lunged forward, grabbing as much fleece as her tiny hands could hold, and throwing her entire body weight back into one desperate yank. The sudden shift in momentum caught Mira completely off guard. Her smug expression dissolved into shock as she was pulled forward. "What the hell—"
She frantically tried to right herself, but the laws of physics had already taken over, and she went tumbling forward, crashing directly into Rumi.
"OOF!" Rumi gasped as the wind was knocked out of her, suddenly finding herself swished uncomfortably between her two bandmates. "Ger offf me!" Mira's muffled voice came from somewhere near Rumi's waist. She was twisted at an awkward angle, her face pressed into the couch cushion between Rumi's legs. The blanket (that both women still refused to let go of) was wrapped around her body like a cocoon, pinning her in place.
I'm trying!" Zoey protested, herself struggling to move via being crushed between Rumi's body and the couch's armrest.
Rumi tried sitting up to help free her, but that was proving impossible with Mira thrashing around at her legs and with Zoey clutching the blanket across Rumi's body like a seat belt. "Could you both just... stop moving for a second so I can—"
"She's still holding onto it!" Zoey accused, somehow managing to peek past Rumi's shoulder. "Even now she won't let go!"
"What am I supposed to do? Let you have it?" Mira shot back, her voice still slightly stifled by the cushions. "I'd sooner throw it out the window!"
Rumi squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to scream at the absurd circumstances she was in. This was supposed to be their night. After three months of touring, sleeping in cramped hotel rooms, and living out of suitcases, all she had wanted was to kick up her feet and relax with her partners and bandmates.
Instead, she was currently trapped, with someone's knee burrowing into her ribs and an elbow in her collarbone, in between two women trying to tear each other apart for a piece of fabric.
"Alright, that's enough," Rumi announced, her authority as unofficial leader of the group cutting through the other two's continued bickering. "Everyone freeze. Right now."
Thankfully, the command in her voice was enough to make both girls stop struggling, though the blanket was still being pulled taut.
"This is ridiculous," Rumi continued, trying to maintain her command even without being able to move an inch. "You are two grown women fighting over a blanket. Am I the only one who sees how insane this is?"
Neither woman answered, although Rumi suspected that was more from embarrassment than from stubbornness. (hopefully)
"I don't care who started it," Rumi said, hoping to prevent any finger-pointing. "But it ends here. And now, we're going to untangle ourselves and solve this like adults."
"But—" Zoey began.
"No buts," Rumi cut her off. "Both of you, at the same time, let go of the blanket."
There was a moment of tense silence, both girls united for once in their detest for Rumi's instructions. However, slowly, reluctantly, both of them loosened their death grips on the fleece blanket. Rumi breathed a small sigh of relief.
If there had ever been a time for a revolt, it would've been right then.
The process of untangling themselves, while much easier now that they weren't being strangled by a piece of cloth, was still an awkward process. There was a lot of "ow, that's my hair," and "move your leg," and "whose hand is that?" But eventually, they were freed from their prison of limbs and textiles.
The blanket now sat unclaimed on the coffee table in front of them, practically begging for someone to take it for themselves.
"You planning to stretch it out?" Mira asked sarcastically while squirming in her sweater, which, in the confusion, had somehow been wrapped halfway around her body.
"Yeah," Zoey continued, watching Rumi shrewdly, "You cooking up a plan to make us all fix under this thing?"
Rumi didn't answer, only giving her a self-satisfied smirk as she rose from the couch and gathered up the blanket in her arms before either girl could protest.
"Hey now!" Mira shot up as Rumi began walking away. "Where do you think you're going with that?"
Rumi shrugged, still smiling in spite of Mira's suspicion, "I'm going to take you up on your suggestion, Mira."
"You're going to throw it out the window?!" Zoey panickly asked, now standing alongside Mira as they watched Rumi striding across the room with their precious blanket. Mira narrowed her eyes as she tracked Rumi's movements. "Don't even think about it. Not unless you want to be sleeping on the couch for a week."
Rumi rolled her eyes amusedly at them as she stepped in front of a closet. "Not quite. But you were partially right. If we can't all use it, no one can." Swinging the door open, she unceremoniously tossed the blanket inside, much to the other's horror. But before either could protest, Rumi had already shut the door behind her, now carrying...
"Nooooooo" both Zoey and Mira groaned in unison upon seeing what was in Rumi's arms.
"That thing is so ugly!" Zoey bemoaned, "It probably has fleas or something."
Despite their reactions, Rumi was clearly undeterred as she held up the crocheted abomination. The blanket was made up of countless pieces of yarn, all different colors, and sewn together haphazardly with no regard for pattern or consistency. Pieces were hanging off everywhere you looked, massive patches of cloth were missing, and whatever spine held it together was clearly crumbling. However...
"It's the only blanket we have that can cover all of us." Rumi presented proudly, ignoring the looks of horror she was getting. "And I doubt we'll end up fighting over it."
Mira scowled defiantly. "There is no way I'm touching that thing."
"Samsies." Zoey agreed, crossing her arms.
Hmmmmmm...
"Alright then." Rumi conceded, not bothering to try and convince them, instead dejectedly wrapping the enormous blanket around her shoulders and approaching the couch, both women giving her a wide berth. "I'll just have to watch the rest of the movie all by myself then."
Mira scoffed as Rumi sat down, "Seriously? You think you can guilt-trip us?" She shook her head, looking at Zoey for backup.
"I'm not doing anything." Rumi insisted innocently. "Y'all don't have to keep me company if you don't want to."
"Yeah, totally you're not doing anything." Mira smirked knowingly, "You're perfectly happy to watch Moana again, all by yourself."
Rumi shrugged. "Again, you don't have to stay if you want to.
"Yeah, well, in that case, I'm pretty sure we've still got some ramen in the fridge. Wanna have a late dinner, Zoey?"
...
Mira turned to look at the black-haired girl. "Zoey?"
...
15 minutes later
Rumi wasn't that interested in the movie. They had mostly chosen it because Zoey had insisted, even though she had already seen it, by her count, fifty-seven times. Yet she had been smiling contently ever since it had resumed, for on either side of her, under this ugly blanket, were the two people who she cared about more than anyone in the whole world. Even though it had taken a while to sort out, and she had had to use some underhanded tactics to get them here, this had been what Rumi had envisioned for tonight, just them together, relaxing during a short break in their busy lives. Existing in harmony-
"Zoey, poke me again, and you're going to be watching this with a swollen eye."