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It happened naturally. At least if you asked Rumi about how they ended up like this, that's what she would answer. It's not like she asked Jinu to come live with her in the penthouse as soon as they started a relationship. But one day she found his toothbrush with hers, the next it was a shirt or something else, and soon he was sleeping there every other night. Yeah, it happened in the most natural way possible, and she kind of liked it.
The Huntrix’s building had always been the place where she could be herself. Not an idol, not a hunter, just Rumi. And now with the addition of Jinu in their midst, she was relieved to say that the penthouse only became even more like a haven. It was good to have the people she loved the most close by, all in one place. The domesticity of her life behind these walls was so refreshing!
But one thing was bugging her, tho. She didn't know what exactly, but she had some theories. It was nothing big, but she noticed, after spending weeks living with Jinu basically everyday now, that he had the strange habit of cleaning after himself almost obsessively. There was one day when all four of them were eating lunch together, and almost immediately after their plates were empty Jinu just took everything to the sink and started washing the dishes (even though they had a dishwasher). Nothing to worry about, but she just never thought of him as someone who would be obsessed with cleaning this much.
A few more days passed before she noticed him doing something else that could be considered a bit strange about this new habit of his. She was still asleep in the early morning, but she could hear the faint sound of the vacuum cleaner in the living room. When she looked around her room she also noticed the absence of a certain someone that she could swear went to bed with her. But she knew that there were some nights where Jinu was plagued by nightmares (like all of them… Unfortunately it was something they were used to at this point), so she just assumed that he decided to use his cleaning obsession as a way to take his mind off of whatever he dreamed this time. She could ask him later, but for now she just wanted to go back to sleep.
After sleeping some more and eating a good breakfast, she finally had the chance to talk to Jinu properly. She found him in the living room playing with his tiger.
“Hey there!”
“Oh, hey Rumi. Good morning.” He smiled at her.
“How are you? Sleep well?” She approached slowly, giving Derpy a pet while she did.
“I’m fine, why?”
“Oh, nothing. Just heard you earlier using the vacuum cleaner and asked myself why you were up so early. Did you have any nightmares?”
At that his expression changed from confusion to understanding.
“Ah, that. No, no nightmares this time. Just… couldn't sleep anymore and I remembered that last night we left some mess here, so…” He trailed off, just gesturing vaguely around the room.
Rumi sits by his side on the couch now, relieved that nightmares were not the reason behind his morning cleaning spree.
“Hey, it was not a mess… just a few wrappers here and there. But, thanks! That's sweet of you.” She emphasized it with a kiss on his cheek, which resulted, as expected of her, in him blushing slightly. He was cute when he got shy.
“That was nothing, really. Just doing my job.” He took her hand in his and placed a soft kiss to her knuckles. It was almost enough to distract her from what he said. Almost.
“It's not your job. But if you like to clean, no problem. Just, try not to vacuum the place so early.”
“Oh, sorry about that.”
“It's okay.” She smiled at him and he smiled back. She always loved to see him smile. It was just right, in her opinion, that he finally got to be happy for once. It was just a bonus that she was the one to put that smile on his face.
More days went by without anything out of the ordinary happening. Idol life was going alright, there were no demons to hunt anymore, and relationships with her friends and her boyfriend were only getting better and better. So she was not expecting it when Jinu got really worried at seeing her doing the dishes after one movie night. The movie had ended and he was sleeping, so she had decided to clean things up. His cleaning habits were getting to her, she thought amused. He must have woken up and heard that she was in the kitchen, but for her life she couldn't understand why he was looking so worried.
“Rumi! You didn't need to do that. I was already going to do the dishes.”
“It's not a problem at all. I just felt like it. Also, it's just a few things, I’ll be done in a minute.” Ok, maybe he was a little too obsessed with this cleaning thing.
“But… it was my job. You shouldn't have to.” He approached like he wanted to take her place by the sink.
“Well, you're always cleaning things, so I wanted to do this for a change. Don't worry.”
“I’m not worried. I just… wanted to be useful.”
That made her stop the washing. Something about the way he said it didn't sit right with her.
“You don't need to be useful.” She turned to look directly at him.
“I don't want to be a dead weight around here. To do the dishes or the laundry is the least I could do, really.”
Well, that just wouldn't do.
“Hey, come here.” She washed her hands and beckoned him towards the kitchen island.
“You're not a dead weight. Who told you so?”
“No one. But it's quite obvious. You and the girls are always working so hard and I don't really have anything else to do. I just take space in your own home being useless.”
“For you to take space here it would mean that I don't want you here. And you couldn't be more wrong about it. I love having you here with us. Also, how can you be useless? You don't need to do anything to earn your place here, or whatever.”
He looked uncertain about it still. She knew how he had some doubts about his self worth and she hated whoever made him think so low about himself (damn you Gwi Ma).
“You're too good for me. What did I ever do to deserve you?”
She took his hands in hers and looked into his sorrowful eyes.
“It's not about deserving. I love you for being who you are, and not for what you do.”
He gave a self deprecating laugh before saying anything else.
“You would be the first one to see anything of worth in someone like me. I made so many mistakes! For centuries I never did anything good and selfless.”
One of her hands came to rest on his face, turning it slightly in her direction again after he dropped it to look at their hands while talking.
“I know. But I also know that that is not all that you are. And I’ll repeat it to you until you believe in it too. I don't want you to think that my love for you comes with a price tag! I love you because even after everything you’ve done, you still have a good heart and now you're letting it guide you, not your past mistakes.”
There are a few tears gathering in the corner of Jinu's eyes and she's fairly certain that there are some on her own too.
“You may have given me your soul, but I gave you my heart!”
And that does it. The tears start to fall freely and soon enough she’s cradling his head to her shoulder while he cries. She can feel his hands holding her tightly as if he's afraid she's gonna disappear at any moment. Her own tears fall into his hair as she rubs his back soothingly.
They all have some deep wounds that are just now starting to scar, so it's understandable that some might bleed all over again before healing completely.
After a few minutes he lifts his head from where it rested on Rumi's shoulder, which is now a mess because of all the tears. She, in turn, holds his face in both her hands and brings him closer to place a soft kiss on his forehead, which gets her a tentative laugh from him. Quick, but sweet nonetheless.
“Hey, if you really like to clean the place, that's okay. Just don't feel pressured to do it.” She says trying to lighten the mood.
“Actually it's quite relaxing. Almost peaceful.” Jinu offers as an answer.
“That’s good! Never really thought about cleaning in this way.” She thinks for a moment before saying something that's been on her mind since she noticed his cleaning habits.
“You know, I was thinking that maybe we should make a cleaning schedule. Me and the girls never had it before. Our lives are so full of schedules, we didn't want to feel so constricted inside of our own home. But now that it's not only the three of us, maybe it would be good.”
He considers this idea, looking calmer now, though a little puzzled by how this would work.
“What about all the constricted feelings you just mentioned?”
“I don't think that's gonna be a problem. And also, it can help you be a little less obsessed with cleaning.”
“I’m not obsessed!” He pouts.
Her look is enough to communicate what she thinks about it. And he knows denial will not work now.
“Fine! Maybe just a little.” He concedes.
She laughs at how offended he sounds about the whole thing. But at least he's more relaxed now.
After a few minutes of idle chatting now that the mood is not that opressive anymore, she decides to go finish the dishes so they can finally go to sleep. Jinu accompanies her towards the sink, but different from his first reaction when he caught her here, he decides to hug her from behind while she finishes to rinse the last plates and cups, humming some song.
Rumi knows that the conversation they had this night will not be the last time they end up touching this topic. And she knows that he also knows that. The root of the real problem runs too deep to be cut in just one night. But they have time and they have each other. That's just how they are and she wouldn't have it any other way. Their flaws, fears and traumas just fit together, in a way. She knew what she was getting into when she decided to start a relationship with a 400 years old traumatized demon. But at least she can reassure him anytime he needs that he doesn't have to carry the burden of his fears alone.
Not anymore.