Chapter 69: Family Dinner (The End)
A/N: Family Dinner~
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Rumi wakes up from her nap slowly. Or rather, she tries to. The moment her eyes start to finally flutter open and she registers the maniacally grinning face mere inches from her own, Rumi wakes up a HELL of a lot quicker, letting out an undignified yelp and jolting back.
She doesn't quite fall out of the bed, but she does groan as she comes to full consciousness, giving the owner of that maniacal grin an unimpressed look while drawing her hands down her own face to rub the last of the sleep away.
"Zoooeeey…"
"It's time to wake up, Unnie! Dinner is almost ready… Thanksgiving Dinner~"
Rumi huffs but can't quite hold back her smile as Zoey grabs her by the arm and tries her best to drag her out of the bed. It's rather silly, all things considered. After all, they're well into Spring now, approaching Summer at this point. Neither American Thanksgiving, nor the Korean version known as Chuseok, were anywhere near the current date.
That hadn't stopped Zoey though. She'd gotten this wild hair to celebrate American Thanksgiving with them all and hadn't stopped talking about the thought to anyone who would listen for weeks until they finally caved and made plans to go ahead with it.
To be fair, it wasn't like any of them were all that upset by the idea. Especially not Rumi. Sitting down for a homecooked dinner with all of her closest people… well, let's just say she hadn't hadn't been very difficult to convince.
Still, because today wasn't a real holiday anywhere else in the world except for their penthouse, Rumi had had some stuff to take care of that took her away from the tower in the morning. She'd just gotten back a couple hours ago, which was why she'd been napping until now. Now though… well, Zoey's exuberance really was infectious, wasn't it?
Finally giving up on holding back her smile as well as using her strength to make it impossible for Zoey to actually tug her along, Rumi sighs ruefully. Allowing herself to be dragged out of bed at long last, she even chuckles.
"Okay, okay, I'm up. I'm coming."
"Yaaaay! Gaja, gaja, gaja!"
Hugging her arm tightly, Zoey proceeds to drag Rumi out of the bedroom and down the hall… where the smell of fresh home cooking fills the half-demon's nostrils and makes her hum in appreciation.
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Mira liked to cook. She'd liked to cook ever since she found it to be one of the most effective forms of rebellion against her parents. Never mind that cooking was traditionally the woman's job, it still definitely wasn't what a rich girl should be doing. No, at a certain level of wealth, one expected 'the help' to do the cooking while you sat around looking pretty, like the doll your parents wanted you to be.
Yeah, fuck that. Mira had snuck cooking lessons from servants from as early of an age as she'd found out it would piss her parents off… and she got good at it too. Her crowning achievement was definitely the time she'd made the desserts for one of the parties her parents hosted.
That night, when she overheard one of the guests giving a compliment to her parents about how good the dessert was, asking who exactly had made it, Mira had risen from her chair and taken credit, announcing that she'd done the deed.
Some might have passed that off as a flight of fancy, if she hadn't gone on to describe the entire process of making the dish from start to finish, step by step. All knowledge that someone like her really shouldn't have had. Heh, best night of her childhood. Her parents had been both furious and humiliated.
… So yeah, Mira liked to cook. And that's why she didn't mind spending the past day in the penthouse kitchen, preparing the Korean Half of Zoey's American Thanksgiving Feast. Kimbap, homemade shrimp crackers, and homemade ramyeon are just a few of the dishes she's prepared for the upcoming dinner. She knows her and her girls' favorites, after all.
As Zoey drags Rumi down the hall, bouncing with every step while the other woman looks fondly amused, Mira gives them both a glance and a smirk.
"Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?"
Rumi huffs at her for a moment for that comment before smirking.
"You and I both know I'm more Elsa than Sleeping Beauty."
Heh, you know Rumi's reaction to seeing Frozen for the first time back during their training days made a LOT more sense now…
"Just hang out for a sec you two, almost done in here."
"Yes Chef! Understood, Chef!"
Mira meets Rumi's eyes as Zoey snaps off a lazy salute. In them, she sees the obvious question Rumi has for her. Has Zoey been doing the 'Yes Chef!' routine all day long? The answer, unsurprisingly, is yes and Mira very subtly nods in exasperated fondness as Rumi winces and shakes her head pityingly.
It's fine though. Zoey is everything Mira could ever have wanted in a best friend, bandmate, and lover. In fact, all of her found family is… just perfect. Mira wouldn't want any of them to change a damn thing.
-x-X-x-
Zoey giggles, not ignorant to the byplay between Rumi and Mira over her 'Yes Chef!' routine. But at the same time, she knows they love her all the same. Hopping up and perching herself on the back of their couch as she watches Mira work, Zoey kicks her feet back and forth, humming excitedly as Rumi takes a more normal seat and pulls out her phone to check on some things.
Obviously, she knew they were humoring her over this whole American Thanksgiving in the middle of Spring thing. Once upon a time, that realization would have hit right at the heart of her deepest insecurities and anxieties. But not anymore. Zoey knew better now.
For the first time in her life (if six years could be considered 'first time) Zoey had people who humored her because they wanted to humor her and because they wanted to acknowledge her, rather than out of duty or obligation. It wasn't like her parents, who after their divorce only had the bare minimum of time for her no matter which of them she was staying at.
And it wasn't like her friends back when she was younger, who had fallen away one after the other because she was either too clingy or simply couldn't be around enough to hold on to them thanks to constantly bouncing back and forth between America and Korea.
Back when she'd first been recruited into HUNTR/X, Zoey had been terrified about not being enough… or worse, being way too much for her new bandmates. Over the years though, she'd figured out how good of a thing she really had going here. Her girls liked her for who she was, rather than expecting her to be what everyone else thought she should be.
Bobby, Celine… even Jinu more recently, had all slotted into her heart as well along the way. They were everything to her and the best part was, Zoey knew she didn't have to worry about being good enough for them. Because she was. She was good enough. And she always would be.
Althoooough…
"Where are Bobby and Celine? If they don't show up soon, they're gonna be late!"
Both Mira and Rumi give her amused glances, though its Rumi who answers her.
"Relax Zo, Bobby just messaged saying they're on their way up. Besides, given they're bringing the American half of the feast, they can't really be late, now can they?"
Zoey puffs up her cheeks, preparing to tell Rumi all about how they can too still be late, but before she can say anything, the elevator pings, signaling Bobby and Celine's imminent arrival.
"Yay, there they are now!"
She hops down from her perch and skips over, practically vibrating in excitement.
-x-X-x-
As the elevator doors open, Bobby laughs when he finds Zoey literally hopping up and down right outside.
"Hey Zoey, gotta move back a little bit otherwise I can't get the cart out of the elevator."
"Oooh, so fancy! Sorry, sorry!"
Zoey backs off, letting Bobby push the kitchen cart they'd gotten from the Tower Cafeteria out into the penthouse proper. Celine follows him out of the elevator, looking quietly amused by Zoey's excitement even as her eyes dart around the area.
As he brings the food over, Bobby makes eye contact with Mira and throws her a salute.
"Where do you want it, ma'am?"
The self-appointed cook for the Korean Half of their Thanksgiving Feast snorts in amusement before pointing with a messy spatula over to the side.
"Put it between the kitchen island and the dining table so it's easy for us to get to."
Bobby nods and does as he's told, wheeling the cart over to the appointed space. The cart itself is pretty heavy at this point, laden down with all sorts of freshly cooked things. The biggest is definitely the American Style Turkey, but there's also stuffing, mashed potatoes, casseroles, and a full pumpkin pie to boot.
Mira had considered cooking the ENTIRE meal herself, but ultimately it was better this way. She could focus on making the things she knew how to make as perfectly as possible, while the kitchen staff downstairs could earn their paychecks by making the things she was unfamiliar with.
Ultimately, the smells of two different cultures of food brings a broad smile to Bobby's face while also lightening his heart, even as he gives a glance to Celine to make sure she's doing alright.
The older woman notices his glance immediately of course, looking back at him in fond exasperation. If they were alone, Bobby knows exactly what she would say to him. She's not some fragile glass figurine who's going to shatter the instant everything gets to be too much.
Still… tonight was going to be a big night for all of them. Bobby couldn't help but be a little worried about her, so he just shrugs apologetically and leaves it at that. Celine nods back, accepting the apology for over-worrying. Then, of course, she has to be Celine about things.
"I see that someone is late."
-x-X-x-
Everyone gives her looks as her words hang in the air, but Celine really doesn't feel like she's said anything wrong. It's not like she'd called Jinu 'the demon' or anything like that. She'd merely made an observation that he was the only one who hadn't arrived yet. Ergo, he was late.
Rumi huffs and shakes her head.
"Jinu isn't late, Mira isn't even ready to start moving food to the table yet."
"Actually, I just finished, so we are pretty much ready."
Rumi shoots Mira a betrayed look, but the taller woman just shrugs. Celine smirks, appreciative of Mira's blunt 'tell it like it is' attitude. Especially since it wasn't directed at her for once.
"Oh! Then it's time to call Jinu over! Derpy!"
Celine can only sigh as Zoey races over to where the massive blue tiger is curled up on the floor… specifically, curled up on the floor right in the spot where she'd tried and failed to hold Jinu prisoner with the Honmoon all those months ago.
She swore that the Spirit Guardian slept there on purpose just to mess with her, especially because the entire Honmoon had been Rainbow for so long now that there should be no reason for that particular spot to have any significance to it at this point.
Grabbing Derpy by his face and scratching his big furry cheeks, Zoey lifts the sleeping tiger's head up as he tiredly blinks open his eyes.
"Derpy! Go get Jinu, boy! Pretty please with a cherry on top!"
Letting out a titanic yawn, Derpy lifts himself up… and then promptly sinks through the floor to pop over to Jinu's apartment and grab the ensouled demon.
For a brief moment, Celine almost wants to say something before Jinu arrives… but a glance from Bobby makes it clear he expects her to wait until they're all together before she speaks. Ugh.
-x-X-x-
Jinu laughs as Derpy latches onto his arm and tugs at him.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming!"
He'd honestly just been lounging about anyways… sending some messages on a few of his burner accounts that Rumi and the girls didn't know about. His demon bot network might have been dismantled, but Jinu himself was still fighting the good fight! Polytrix Plus forever!
Still, he carefully logs himself out of that account and switches back to his official one before tucking his phone away. Only then does he finally let Derpy drag him through the Honmoon, where they both appear in the penthouse at the top of the HUNTR/X skyscraper a second later.
"Yay! You did so good, Derpy! Yes you did!"
As Zoey glomps Derpy and begins to cuddle and praise him, Jinu is met with a hug and kiss from Rumi. He chuckles as he returns the hug and the kiss, even as the smell of well cooked food hits his nose.
"Mm, it all smells so delicious. Still not really sure about this 'American Thanksgiving' thing, but if it means food that smells this good, I suppose I can't complain."
"That's the spirit! Now help us move everything to the table, you big strong demon boy!"
Zoey's enthusiasm and eagerness are so infectious that Jinu can't help but laugh as he does as he's told. With his demon strength, he's able to move the entire turkey to the center of the table all by himself.
From there they continue until the large dining table, which already replaced the old one because Zoey deemed it too small and lightweight, is laden with different kinds of food. Some of it Jinu recognizes, some of it he doesn't. But it all manages to look incredibly tasty regardless.
Soon enough, they're all sitting down around the table. Just as they're settling in, however, Bobby and Celine take one another's hands, Bobby giving Celine an encouraging smile and nod as she clears her throat.
"Everyone… we have an announcement to make."
Silence falls for a moment and Celine hesitates… before clearing her throat a second time.
"Ahem… I am pregnant. Bobby is the father, obviously. That is all."
Chuckling at the barebones announcement, Bobby nods along as he sweeps his gaze across all of them.
"Rumi, Mira, Zoey… you three are all going to be big sisters soon. And Jinu… Celine and I have talked about it and we want you to be the baby's godfather."
Celine looks like she's bitten into something sour at that, but she doesn't try to deny what he's saying. Meanwhile… the girls finally manage to drag their jaws up off of the floor and react.
"WHAAAAAAAAT?!"
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!"
"Damn Celine, didn't know you still had it in you."
As pandemonium erupts, Jinu just sits back in his chair and smiles widely… more appreciative than ever of his second chance.
-x-X-x-
A/N: And that's how this story ends, everyone.
Thank you very much for reading along all this way. This story, which was born of my obsession with KPDH after seeing it back near the beginning of September, would never have made it across the finish line without all of your amazing feedback and support.
As for what comes next, there won't be a new daily Free Write any time soon. I was supposed to take a break after The Unyielding Stag ended, but instead I got obsessed with Second Chances and wound up making it a daily update story haha. I'm going to take a break from Free Writes for at least the rest of the year and do some gaming (starting Dispatch finally!)
However, there will be a new Story Poll starting up in the old Silver Eyes Slot that this story technically occupied these past couple months. It will be a DxD fic that features a Pureblood Devil OC and a concept I think I'll have a lot of fun with, so keep an eye out for Chapter 1 in the upcoming weeks and be sure to give me feedback when it finally comes out.
For now, feel free to shoot me one last comment if you enjoyed the story, would love to hear from all of you!