Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The resident "funny" character was getting less funny by the day. When his pranks weren't getting him enough laughs, they were getting downright mean.

Pomni noticed Jax was on a particularly mean streak when he started keeping a tally of all of the cruel and unusual ways he had broken Gangle's comedy mask, ranking them in tiers like an obnoxious YouTuber.

Sure Caine always had a new one fixed up in the next day or two, but it didn't make it any easier for the sentient mass of ribbons raw dogging what could only be described as Caine's attempt at bringing the complexities of mental illness to the Circus in tangible ways his computer coding could understand.

Jax continued on his mean streak, proudly throwing around chunks of broken porcelain with a hearty laugh as he made his victory laps after every successful prank. He reveled in the cries from Gangle day after day, week after week, until he got bored of her, that is. It seemed like no amount of dramatics was enough to keep the "prankster" entertained and Gangle had become numb to the inevitable crack.

"No," Pomni thought. "These aren't even funny pranks anymore. He's just a straight up bully."

She grimaced at the thought. "Why doesn't he treat me like that?" Wait. Was she serious? Did she really feel left out by his lack of mean spirited antics towards her?

She assumed as the newest member of the cast he was going easy on her, for one reason or another. Wether that was actually true or not, she found herself getting annoyed at the idea of him singling out the friends she had made in her short time at the circus more and more, and started finding herself wishing more of the mean spirited pranks had been for her. At least she knew she could handle them.

She had to be going crazy, who in their right mind would want to be bullied by a sadistic bunny with a knack for pushing people's buttons.

Then again, she never had good taste in men. At least, not that she could remember.

The adventure hadn't been particularly grueling that day, but Caine insisted that high stakes would make for great enrichment for the crew and Jax had been the first and only to succumb to an in game death this round. He was sure to be in a sour mood after it was over, and that put everyone on edge more than anything Caine could conjure.

Caine had heard about the magnificent computer game Minesweeper. Of course no one understood the rules, except for Kinger who somehow managed to save the day with logic only he could follow. Jax had completely ignored him and stepped directly on a mine. Boom. That was that. The rest of the game went by smoothly and everyone seemed to be able to breathe without him around, at least until it was time to head back.

Reluctantly, the cast made their way back to the circus, fearing Jax's wrath after what had to be an embarrassing death for him.

Gangle made a beeline for her room with Zooble, not wanting to risk running into the temperamental rabbit. He barely payed them mind, still [BLEEP]ed off by his untimely demise. He still didn't understand the rules. Not that he would've followed them anyways, but maybe, he thought, if he knew them he at least could've gotten someone else blown up. That would've been funny.

Pomni noticed his unusually sour mood and against better judgement decided to check in on him.

"Hey, Jax. Um, are you, like, are you doing okay?"

She was obviously nervous to approach him, wringing her hands and avoiding his gaze as she spoke. Outside of the usual torment on adventures they didn't interact much in the circus.

He looked confused for a moment and scoffed at her.

"Oh please, I couldn't be better. Doesn't everyone dream of getting blown to smithereens by a psychotic set of dentures?"

A bitter sarcasm rolled off his tongue as he gave her more of an answer than she expected. He still wore his Cheshire grin, but his eyes looked tired.

Still, Pomni found herself chuckling at his reply. She loved it when he insulted Caine. It reminded her of a common enemy, and it was always a good change of pace from hearing him degrade the other circus members that were actual people. Like hating Caine was one of the few things they could all agree on, even if it was left unspoken.

He raised an eyebrow at her laughter. He hadn't expected that response.

"Do ya think we can convince him to do a baking challenge and rot his teeth out with cavities? Give him a tooth ache with all the sugar the circus has to offer? Maybe we could get some peace and quiet around here for a day."

Pomni thought about it for a second before she got grossed out by her own dental hygiene. She hadn't thought about the lack of mundane self care activities since her arrival. She found herself missing the usually dreadfully monumental task of fighting herself to keep up with brushing them regularly.

Jax must've noticed her distaste, because he laughed and started to question what the look on her face was for.

"What, not much of a baker?"

She wasn't, but she also wasn't going to let him know that.

"Huh? No I just, I just realized I haven't brushed my teeth since I've been here."

She ran her tongue over her perfectly smooth digital teeth. At least they didn't feel like they were unclean.

"Geeze Pomni, that's disgusting. You trying to rot them out of your skull to get out of smalltalk with me? Or do you think that's why Caine keeps us around, so he can steal our pearly whites like some demented tooth fairy? Are you trying to sabotage him?"

Pomni shuddered at the thought, nauseated by the idea of the ringmaster parading around with the teeth of fallen cast members. Jax was pleased with her reaction, giving a small chuckle before walking away without word.

It was weird, but Pomni didn't hate that interaction. He could be nice. Ish. When he wanted to. Why couldn't he do this more often? 

Chapter Text

"Enough [BLEEP]ing around Jax, it's too early for this. Give Gangle her mask back." Zooble was in a mood, even by their usual standards.

Caine had abruptly woken everyone up extra early for an in house adventure.

Jax rolled his eyes and tossed the mask in their direction. Thankfully Zooble caught it before it had the chance to hit the ground and returned it to a grateful Gangle.

"Good morning my gargantuan gazelles! I hope you're all ready for a fine IN HOUSE adventure, suggested by one of you! We should really take a look at that suggestion box more often!"

Everyone raised their eyebrows at each other. Hopefully it wasn't another poaching episode, or bomb defusal. Pomni found herself nervously hopeful that whatever the mystery cast member had suggested would be relaxing, comparatively at least.

"Today's adventure, you'll be teaming up in pairs to dazzle me in the kitchen! Every team is responsible for making the most decadent desert the circus has ever seen!"

Wait, were they doing the baking thing Jax suggested?

"Oh God," Pomni thought to herself, "The last time I was in the kitchen I nearly burned it down."

Jax had his usual grin on his face, not looking away from the ringmaster as he finished up with the rules and told everyone to break off into teams.

Gangle and Zooble were a given. Should she try to team up with Ragatha? No, she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of the rag doll. She suspected she would be pretty high strung in the kitchen and didn't want to get in her way.

Kinger maybe? And leave Ragatha with Jax? Never mind.

Ragatha made her way over to Kinger while Pomni mulled over her options, leaving her without one.

"Well, well, well, looks like you're stuck with me, short stack. Aren't you the lucky one? Don't worry, I wont let you burn the place down."

She felt her cheeks flush as he said this, trying to laugh it off. "Oh come on, I'm not that helpless in the kitchen."

Her mind shot back to the one time she tried to cook in the circus since her arrival. She somehow managed to set a pan on fire after forgetting she was trying to boil water. Jax hadn't seen the aftermath, but he heard all about it when Ragatha begged Pomni to go to her next time she wanted to cook.

"Sure ya aren't. Then what are we making today Poms? Something sickly sweet? I still want to see if we can give Caine a toothache."

This caught her attention, her mind darting back to their last conversation. She chuckled as she thought about it. "So it was your idea?"

His ears twitched slightly, only noticed because Pomni watched them to avoid eye contact.

"Pfft. Please. As if. Someone else put it in there. But like I'd turn down the opportunity to try and shut Caine up for the afternoon."

He came off more defensive than he probably meant. He was a bad liar, but Pomni rolled with it. No use in [BLEEP]ing him off this early into the adventure.

Everyone found themselves transported back to the kitchen, which had magically been expanded to resemble something out of a competitive cooking show. Everyone had their own island to work at complete with its own oven, mini fridge and freezer, sink, and over head rack with any tools they could imagine needing hanging far out of reach of the jester.

"Great," she huffed. "Think there's a step stool around here somewhere?"

Jax laughed at her misfortune, but she didn't mind.

"Don't worry, I'll give you a boost!"

Without warning Jax swept her up and hoisted her right into the dangerously dangling display. With a scream, she dodged the cast iron skillets just to be conked in the head by a large ladle. Could've been worse.

Pomni found herself squirming in his grasp to get away, but it was no use.

"What's wrong Pom, don't like the view from up there?"

He was deceptively strong despite being so lanky. Or maybe her new body was really just that weak. She pushed the thought away as she tried to pry his fingers from around her waist, but it was no use. Every time she thought she was making progress he tightened his grip. She was at his mercy.

He cackled and as she looked around frantically she saw Zooble shoot a dirty look his way and Ragatha start over in a panic.

"JAX! Put her down, this isn't funny!" Ragatha always came to Pomni's rescue, even when she didn't want it. This time she wasn't complaining, though.

"Speak for yourself, Rags! We're having a grand ole time here! Aren't ya Poms? How's it feel to get a birds eye view? See any real competition out there?"

She might've found it funny if it weren't downright humiliating to be dangling in the air like a helpless cat for everyone to see. She felt her cheeks begin to flush again as she realized everyone was looking at her now.

Without thinking she grabbed the ladle that had smacked her upside the head and started whacking Jax in the head with it.

Zooble laughed and gave a nod of approval while Gangle tried to hide her giggles. Ragatha was shocked by Pomni's sudden outburst, and Kinger hadn't even noticed.

"HEY? OW! What gives, Pomni?! I'm just trying to give you an advantage!"

He was startled, but there was a humorous tone to his voice. He definitely didn't expect her to fight back. Maybe this adventure would be more fun than he expected, and maybe he had found himself his next target.

He ungraciously lowered her and dropped her to the ground. "Hope you got what ya need, cause I'm done trying to help." He snickered as she pushed herself up off the floor and huffed at him.

"Just for that, I'm not going to tell you all of the useful information I gathered up there. Now you'll never know how screwed we are against Kinger."

He shot his head back and laughed. She was one of the only ones that was bold enough to banter with him instead of just scolding or pleading with him to stop. He appreciated that about her.

Ragatha rushed over and offered Pomni a hand up, which she took awkwardly.

"Are you okay, Pomni? Do you want me to see if Caine will let you join our team instead?"

That was the last thing she wanted.

"Noo it's okay Ragatha, thanks though. I can handle Jax."

Ragatha gave a look of doubt and concern.

"Okay, if you say so. Just, let me know if you need anything. Alright?"

Pomni nodded and smiled as the rag doll made her way back to Kinger.

"Sooo..." She started, trying to work past the embarrassment of flailing in his arms as everyone watched. She'd push that one down as far as she could and try to never think of it again.

"What do you want to make? Do you think there's stuff to make like. Taffy? Or some kind of hard candy?"

Jax's ears shot up at this suggestion.

"Oh, now we're talking! I knew you liked my idea! Let's go see what abomination we can create."

His grin widened and Pomni felt herself give a feeble smile in return, afraid of what chaos she was condoning.

Everyone else's stations had flours, eggs, creams, all of the usual pastry ingredients. At least if they went with a taffy or hard candy they would stand out for having something unique.

Not that she was worried about winning, but it would definitely be a bonus.

"I don't know what's in taffy but we got some sugar, more sugar, corn syrup, food coloring, and flavoring. What do you think, peppermint or lemon?" Jax listed off ingredients like he knew what he was looking for.

She mulled it over for a second.

"Definitely lemon."

She imagined Caine's dentures puckering at the bitterness. She had to see it with her own eyes.

It seemed like the same thought crossed Jax's mind as he snickered and added it to his arsenal. He grabbed a sack of sugar and some corn syrup to go along side it and the pair made their way back to their station.

"So, do you actually know how to make this stuff? Or like, are you just guessing?"

Jax shrugged, not wanting to give an actual answer. He loved cooking shows back in the real world and had dabbled in the kitchen from time to time. Admittedly he had never made a hard candy before, but he loved those ASMR videos of people slicing the rods of sugar to reveal tiny pictures hidden inside. Maybe he could pull something like that off.

"Grab me a big pan, measuring cups, and the thermometer."

Pomni looked at him with her arms crossed.

"Oh. Right. I forgot you're useless."

She scoffed, almost insulted by his words.

"It's not MY fault Caine rigged it for tall people! This is discrimination!"

Jax shook his head and laughed as she defended herself. She tried so hard to come off as confident, but her tone was lacking. It lit a new fire inside of him as he realized how easy she would be to bait into banter.

"File a complaint with the ADA. Or OSHA. Whatever the circus equivalent is."

She snorted at the idea of Caine's adventures being OSHA approved. Maybe that could be a suggestion for another day.

Jax reached over her, standing directly against her back, leaving her pinned against the counter. She blushed and tried to ignore him pressed to her as he grabbed what he needed. He glanced down and saw the panic in her eyes and leaned in just a bit more. Just enough to make her squirm.

"God she's cute" he thought to himself. Wait, what? Did he really just think that? He's definitely been in the circus for too long if the pint size jester is what does it for him. He ignored the thought and shuffled back beside her to the stove and started measuring out the sugar.

Measuring out the sugar and syrup, he put a pan on high heat and added water to the mix. He gave it a quick stir and set the thermometer in the pan.

"Keep an eye on it and let me know when it hits 260°. Fahrenheit. Not Celsius. I'm gonna go see what kind of competition we're working with."

In other words, he was off to see what trouble he could get into.

"Um, okay yeah. I can do that."

Pomni doubted herself. She watched the thermometer skyrocket at first when Jax walked off, then start to slow down as the pan heated.

"Why can't he just keep messing with me and leave everyone else alone for the adventure?" Pomni couldn't believe she was actually asking herself that question. Why did she like it when he messed with her so much? His definition of pranks was just thinly veiled bullying at the expense of someone's humiliation. Did she want him to humiliate her?

The thought sent a chill down her spine. The idea of him leering over her, laughing at how pathetic she could be.

265°. Shit.

"Jaaaxxx!" She called out, rushing over to him before it got any hotter. She was afraid of it burning. She caught him as he made his way over to Gangle and Zooble's station just in the knick of time.

He sighed, disappointed that whatever antics were about to ensue were interrupted.

It was at 270° by the time he made it back. A little hotter than what he wanted. He added the flavoring oil, admittedly too much, and hoped it wouldn't affect the way the candy set. The temperature was still rising pretty fast so he decided he would stick around and make sure Pomni couldn't unintentionally sabotage them.

"Clear off the counter for me, we'll need as much room as possible."

Pomni scrambled to get everything out of the way, grabbing the measuring cups and tossing them aside in the sink. She went to put the ingredients back but realized they had came down from higher shelves. Ugh. No way was she getting Jax to help her again.

She decided she would simply climb the shelves to put the sugar back.

Only when she reached the top shelf, she accidentally grabbed a bag of flour instead. They both tumbled to the ground and with a loud POP and BANG she found herself covered head to toe in flour.

She hoped and prayed no one had heard her scream as she fell. The kitchen was pretty noisy so maybe she got lucky.

"Is, is everything okay in here?" Gangle rounded the corner and gasped, covered her mask with her ribbons.

"Oh no Pomni, what happened? Are you okay?!"

Just what the jester needed.

"Yeah, I think, yeah I'm okay. I uh. I couldn't reach and grabbed the flour instead of the shelf... Do you think anyone needed this?"

Gangle giggled at Pomni, at least this didn't let her sour her mood.

"Well uh, I was coming in here for flour, but oh! Look! There's another bag up there! No worries. Do you need a hand getting cleaned up?"

Gangle offered but Pomni didn't want to keep her from Zooble.

"No go ahead, you guys are on a time crunch. I've got this handled. Thanks though!"

Gangle nodded and stepped around the mass of flour and reached for the bag that was left and gave Pomni an awkward wave before walking off.

Pomni heard a sharp whistle and turned to see Jax leaning against the door way, his eyes lit up like a kid in the candy store.

"Jax! Aren't you - don't you - won't the candy burn if you're not watching it?!"

He was the last person she wanted to see like this.

"Don't worry, it's off the heat." He snickered as he looked her up and down.

"It needs to cool before we can do anything with it. I'm more interested in how you ended up looking like the ghost of kitchen past."

She never thought she would be so glad the flour was caked onto her. It meant he couldn't see how red her face was from embarrassment.

"I... I couldn't reach." She looked up at where the flour goes and it clicked for Jax. He almost looked concerned for a moment before the look was replaced by pure amusement. He didn't even have to do anything to embarrass her.

He held out his hand for the jester, she took it, not expecting him to immediately pull her to her feet. She squeaked as he yanked her up from the floor and he left out a small laugh as she stumbled to regain her balance.

She gave herself a big shake like a dog that just got a bath. Jax shielded his face with his hands as she sent plumes of flour around the pantry.

She was still a little pale, but that got most of it off. Good enough at least.

"Do you know if there's a broom or a vacuum around here somewhere?"

"Eh just leave it for Caine. He'll fix it when he resets the kitchen after the adventure. Besides the candy should be cool enough now."

Right. She forgot Caine could just do that. She shrugged and followed him back to their station. Zooble gave her a weird look and Gangle gave her a small smile, glad to see she recovered quickly.

Ragatha and Kinger were too busy focusing on the details of their desert. It looked like they had went with a cake, but Kinger insisted on giving it little bugs piped in icing around it. Only it looked like they didn't let the cake cool long enough before they started icing and the bugs were slowly sliding down the sides.

Pomni saw Jax reach for a pair of scissors and grab a mass of molten sugar from the counter. He had it poured flat on the surface to cool. As he grabbed one side of it he slid the scissors across it, cutting it into strips and forming a few piles.

"Each one will be a different color. Red, white, and black." She watched carefully as he used a toothpick to add coloring from the bottles, careful not to over do it.

She had never seen him so focused before.

"Go ahead and start kneading it. Careful, it's still hot so work fast."

She found herself for the first time thankful that she was forced to always wear thick gloves. It meant she couldn't feel much of the heat.

She cringed a little, imagining if this were the real world, how the fibers of her fabric would end up woven into the candy.

As the colors came together he instructed her to start rolling them out into ropes. She started with the black and stretched it into long canes. He asked her to make 2 of them, so she did. He had the red laid out in a flat, long slab and multiple thin strips of white.

He started to assemble them, layering the white over the red and encasing the black in a white layer of its own. As he started to roll it all together in a fat log, she realized it looked oddly familiar but she couldn't put her finger on why quite yet.

She let him take charge as he quickly rolled the log into a thinner cane, until it got to about an inch thick and a couple feet long. He looked around and grabbed a metal spatula and started slicing at the end.

The first couple pieces looked like weird blobs, but by the fourth of fifth it started looking like an actual image.

It was Caine. He made a candy Caine. Literally.

"Woah Jax, that's amazing! How did you know how to do that?" She sounded so excited. It was like music to his ears, hearing the jester praise him.

"I dunno. I used to watch those candy asmr videos and just kinda rolled with it. I didn't think it'd actually work. Thank God one of us is competent in the kitchen, or we would've really been screwed."

Pomni was amused by the idea of the bunny doom scrolling and watching ASMR candy videos. She admittedly knew exactly what he was talking about and found herself going down the rabbit hole watching them. She was surprised she didn't realize what he was trying to do sooner. She had been distracted all day.

As he finished cutting the last couple pieces he took a large one and handed it to her. "You want to do the honors?"

Her face lit up in a grin and she immediately grabbed it without thinking and plopped it into her mouth.

That's when she remembered what they had done.

Her eyes went wide before her entire face puckered. She was sure it would turn in on itself as she flapped her hands in bewilderment, trying to cope with the strong lemon flavor overtaking her senses.

She crunched the piece down, eager to get it out of her mouth but refusing to spit out their hard work. Flavors were hit or miss in the circus, but that was definitely lemon. No doubt about it.

Jax laughed so hard he brought tears to his eyes.

"Man, Pom, I didn't think you were stupid enough to fall for it! What an idiot!"

She felt herself start to blush again as he laughed at her.

"At least we know it'll be sour for Caine." She was trying to ignore him.

As everyone else finished their deserts and the timer went off, Caine reappeared with a flourish and eagerly announced the start of the judging process. He started with Gangle and Zooble. They had made some sort of flaky pastry with what looked like chocolate inside.

"Hmmm, not bad. A little plain, but the texture! Wow!"

Gangle seemed pleased by his critique, and Zooble was happy that Gangle was proud of what they had made.

Next was Ragatha and Kinger. Ragatha twiddled with her hair while she looked away, like she was embarrassed for what they had made. Admittedly the frosting sliding down the sides gave it an amateur look, but it still stood tall and looked good otherwise.

"Mmmm what it lacks in looks it makes up for in taste! Excellent job!

Next was Jax and Pomni. Caine's jaw went slack and his eyes looked like they would bulge out from whatever invisible force kept them in place.

"Is that - did you - ITS ME!" Caine stuttered over his words, obviously thrilled by their concoction. He carefully looked a piece over before throwing it into his mouth.

His smile was replaced by something akin to a grimace and his avatar glitched as his teeth looked like they wanted to collapse in on themselves. Jax had to struggle to keep a straight face while everyone looked on in horror.

"WOW! That sure is something!"

Caine recovered quickly and moved on like nothing happened. Jax's smile faltered and he huffed when the ring master bounced right back.

"Ugh, so much for that Poms. Did you see the look on his face though?"

She nodded and let out a small laugh. He was obviously disappointed in the reaction he got.

"I liked your face when you tried it more." He said it in a low tone, so no one else could hear.

Was that a compliment? She blushed and made eye contact with him. He scoffed when he realized he embarrassed her and rolled his eyes.

"Oh please. Don't get your pompoms in a twist. It's just funny watching you fail at everything you do."

Ouch. That one stung a little, but fair enough. She brushed it off and tuned into Caine, who was announcing the winners.

"And the winners of today's adventure is... JAX AND POMNI for their MAGNIFICENT candy portrayal of everyone's favorite ring leader!"

"Wait what? We won? But you literally glitched when you tried it!" Pomni didn't know why she was protesting. Maybe she didn't want Caine to feed into Jax's ego more than he already had.

"Hooway!" Jax cheered, completely recovered from his disappointment in Caine's reaction, or lack thereof.

Ragatha looked disappointed, but cheered for them regardless. Kinger and Gangle were happy for them, and Zooble seemed genuinely impressed. Everyone gathered around to try one for themselves.

All but Kinger spat them right back out.

"Oh my GOD are you trying to kill us?!" Zooble was offended by the strong taste of lemon that assaulted their senses. They didn't know there were even flavors that strong in the circus.

Jax laughed and Pomni shrugged, taking another one now that she knew what to expect. She actually kind of liked it. It was grounding, in a way.

Jax noticed her take another and gave one a try himself. His eye twitched and he spat it back out almost instantly.

"Christ Poms, are you a [BLEEP]ing masochist? How are you even eating that!"

Her eyes went wide and she shrugged, trying to laugh it off. That was the last thing she expected him to say.

Was that why she kept thinking about him humiliating her in front of everyone? Her heart skipped a beat and she felt sick to her stomach. No way she was into it. 

Chapter Text

Jax had spent the last few adventures after the kitchen competition getting burnt out. Caine always went hard with the horror when Halloween approached. It's not that he didn't love the guns, blood, and violence that came alongside the overused undead, but he grew tired of the carnival madhouse trope thrown in with it. As if the circus wasn't enough of a madhouse already.

He found his usual jokes and antics getting old. He knew everyone else was tired of it already. He had found himself growing bored and predictable. Even Gangle's cries had become sobs of routine and nothing else. No surprise or actual distress behind them.

Christ, how [BLEEP]ed was he to be disappointed that his cast mates weren't miserable enough?

Not that he ever truly wanted them to suffer.

The others had came to realize that quickly, though not quick enough. They knew it was just a sadistic mask he put on to keep them all away. Anything he could do to keep the memories of Ribbit and their closeness away.

Eventually everyone stopped trying and just went with it. It seemed to make him less vicious, so they took it as a win.

Jax hadn't found himself growing close to anyone since Ribbit's abstraction. He hadn't dared to let himself. It felt like a dishonor to their memory. Or what little of it he didnt push away, at least.

The first one to see through his mask, or rather not scold him or run away from it, was Pomni. She never acted like she saw through it, though he knew she did, but she wouldn't back down from it either. If he didn't know better he'd think she was amused by it.

Maybe amused wasn't the right word. Half the time she ended up speechless and flustered. He wasn't complaining, though.

She seemed to hate the upkick of horror adventures more than any of the others. Kinger didn't mind the dark atmosphere, and Ragatha stuck to Gangle and Zooble, who seemed to act like the body guard to the ladies. Minus Pomni, who kept herself glued to Jax.

It was weird, being someone's first choice for a team. He was convinced he would never get used to it. Pomni on the other hand acted like it was her mission to prove him wrong.

"God, she's such a brat." Brat. He stumbled at the thought. That was a good word for it. It's embarrassing how long it took him to realize how fitting of a word it was for her.

She never pushed too hard, though. She read through his mask like an open book and always knew when to back down, when to not piss him off more than he already was.

He needed a rage room. That was an understatement of the century.

Caine's latest adventure put them, you guessed it, in a demented circus fun house with zombie clowns. "Why why is it always clowns?"

When he expressed his disdain for clowns Pomni looked like he just kicked a puppy. "What the [BLEEP] was that look for?" He thought. He couldn't bring himself to ask in fear of the answer being something that would short circuit the pocket sized jester who looked like she was holding back tears.

He backpedaled. "Geeze Pomni, don't worry. You're a jester, not a clown. No big honking nose, see?" He put his finger on one of her pompoms and flicked it up at her missing feature for emphasis when she looked down to see what he was pointing at. That response seemed to be good enough for her.

"Right, no, I get it. Not much [BLEEP] appeal when it comes to this primary nightmare" she gestured vaguely to her blue and red body suit, looking like something straight out of a circus ring. Caine was really on theme with this one.

Jax rolled his eyes and ignored her, neither confirming or denying her statement. Pomni noticed this and smirked, walking quicker to be beside him. She nudged into him as they walked, throwing off his balance.

"What, did I leave you speechless?" She teased. She laughed at him when he looked confused, before he scoffed and made a quip about her not being tall enough for the ride.

It felt natural, bantering back and forth between each other. The others glanced back and forth among themselves before returning their eyes to the unlikely duo. Were they flirting in a demented fun house? Surrounded by Caine's killer zombie clowns?

Somewhere along the way they got separated from the others and ended up in a room of mirrors, each one distorting and warping their reflections. Pomni stood in front of one that made her look as tall as Jax. She called him over and laughed when his reflection shrank to smaller than the jester.

"Now who's not tall enough for the ride?" She let out a cackle and nudged into him again. It was funny watching the shrunken version of him stumble to get his balance.

Jax simply rolled his eyes again and scoffed. "You're getting pretty stiff, using my jokes against me. What, you worried you won't be as funny as your clown cousins?"

Pomni's face turned from the mirror and she scowled at him. She was cute when she was mad.

He grimaced at the thought. Really, this again? She's cute? He tried to ignore the thought and walk away with the jester following at his heels.

"God she really is like a little pup, following me everywhere I go. Does she think I'll protect her or something?" He would never dare to say it out loud, or admit to himself that he didn't actually mind.

His train of thought was interrupted by an otherworldly snarl and banging against the door that led into the mirror room. He whipped around and put his arm out in front of Pomni, shoving her behind as if him on instinct. Pomni was more taken back by his sudden protective outburst than the demonic clown trying to break down the door.

She looked around and saw a glass case on the wall. "BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" was written in all caps over the glass panel covering a metal box with an axe inside. If there were ever an emergency, this was it. Without thinking she barrelled over and broke the glass, reaching for the axe.

"CHRIST Pomni are you trying to give me a heart attack? As if our attacker isn't enough to worry about?!" As he shouted at her, out of more surprise than anything resembling anger, the door to the room burst open and the zombie clown gurgled as it lunged forward for the pair.

Before Jax could say anything else the jester darted out from behind and closed in on the zombie, axe in hand. She took a big swing and hit it in the shoulder, it lunged forward and clawed at her. She grimaced and pulled the axe back, panting as she slammed it into its head, careful not to miss this time. Then again. And again. And one more time for good measure.

By the time the zombie stopped twitching Pomni was trembling with a mix of fear and rage. She needed that more than she realized. Jax stared in horror and amusement at the little jester, covered in blood and sinew.

The amusement washed away from his face when she realized part of the blood was hers. Caine had made it so they could get hurt on this adventure. Because of course he [BLEEP]ing did.

"Are you okay Pomni?" Fear crept up in Jax's voice, he tried to push it back down and failed.

She nodded, just them realizing she was in fact bleeding.

"Huh." She looked at her arm where the gash was flowing. She hadn't seen anything that resembled an actual injury since her arrival. Only cartoonish renditions of death.

"It doesn't really hurt, I'm good, I think." She nodded and looked up at Jax. Any trace of fear or amusement was completely gone from his face. He looked [BLEEP]ed. She didn't understand why.

The rabbit quickly walked up to the jester, surprising her with his speed. She backed up until she felt herself pressed the the wall. He looked over her and she felt herself start to blush. She turned her gaze away before he could notice.

Not that it was of any use.

He grabbed her face and turned her to look him in the eyes. Baring his teeth, he looked like he would finish the job the clown started.

Her brain short circuited as she felt the warmth of his gloved hand holding her head in place. Firm enough that she couldn't move away, but gentle enough that it didn't hurt in the slightest.

"Are you [BLEEP]ing crazy?! You could've gotten yourself killed! What the [BLEEP] do you think you're doing?!"

Her mouth opened and closed itself again. She couldn't think of any witty comeback, not that it would be the time for it.

"I'm sorry." She hesitated. "I saw the axe and..."

"And WHAT?!" Jax interrupted her with a growl. She had never seen him this angry before.

"You thought you could be the hero and swoop in and save me? NEWSFLASH Pom, I don't need saving! How do you think I'd feel if you got yourself hurt, which you just did, or worse, KILLED trying to save me?"

There it was. He wasn't angry. He was worried. Scared [BLEEP]less by the idea of her getting hurt for him.

Jax's thoughts went a direction he didn't expect. "I should be the only one that can hurt her."

He shocked himself out of his rage and stammered back.

"I... I'm sorry. Just. Don't do that again. Okay?"

She nodded and he huffed as he walked away. Before he made it further than a few steps he turned on his heels and grabbed the axe from her arms, still shaking a bit, and leaning down to her eye level.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He spoke in a soft voice while his eyes darted from hers to her arm. She nodded sheepishly.

He kept eye contact as he moved in closer, now speaking in a stern voice barely above a whisper. "Do not do that again."

She nodded as quick as she could and gulped. Her heart was racing. Her mind was blank. Not from the fear of the zombie she just killed, or the odd sensation resembling pain shooting up her arm, but from how hot she thought that interaction was.

Maybe she should put herself in danger more often.

He hoped she would never put herself in danger again. It made him nauseous when he realized how scared he was at her getting hurt in ways he couldn't control and she didn't welcome.

Everything he did, all the mean comments and jabs, the pranks, she had never once told him to stop. He hadn't found that boundary yet. He's sure that when he did he would push it, like he inevitably did with everyone else regardless of his intentions.

"Oh my God JAX did you?! Pomni did he? Are you okay?!" Ragatha's shrill cries of concern shocked him back to the present, the ragdoll seeing the blood drip rhythmically at her side as she walked up and stopped beside Jax.

He snapped "Seriously Ragatha? You think I'd just attack her with an axe? You think I'm that [BLEEP]ed up? That it's my fault just like everything else?!"

He didn't mean to say it like that. Like he had to convince himself.

She did it to protect him, so wasn't it his fault again anyways? He didn't make eye contact with anyone as an awkward silence fell between them.

"God no, no, Ragatha it's okay." Pomni looked up at Jax, worried and trying to diffuse the situation. "If anything he saved me from myself."

The doll was confused by her answer, not sure what to think of it. Pomni continued, realizing she wasn't happy with her answer.

"One of those zombie clowns came at us and I panicked. I started swinging without thinking trying to uh. Take it down. It just scratched me in the process."

"Oh!" Ragatha looked embarrassed now. "Oh okay! That uh. Yeah that makes more sense. Sorry Pomni I..." She trailed off.

"It's okay, really." She finished the thought for her and looked back at Jax, who still had a white knuckle grip on the axe. It looked like any more accusations and half [BLEEP] apologies would set him over the edge to use it on himself.

"So, what do we need to do to finish this? Why does he always make the fun house ones so hard to finish? Didn't we like, get rid of all the zombies already?" Zooble spoke up, breaking the silence.

The answer was anyone's guess. Before they ran out of chances, the ring leader popped into place.

"Great job my festering friends! You reached the middle! Sorry it took me a big to get here, Bubble got us lost in the mirror maze."

Bubble spawned into the room, eyes spinning.

"Geeze boss it's not my fault bubbles don't have good depth perception."

With a wave of his cane a portal leading back to the circus opened. They all began to file in.

"Caine? You going to fix her up or what?" Jax pushed Pomni towards him, gesturing to her arm she held sheepishly in front of her.

"Oh my! Sorry Pomni! We can't have you bleeding all over the circus, now can we?" With a snap her arm was good as new, no tract there was ever an injury.

Jax was as pleased by this as she was. They headed back to the circus together, eager to get back. 

Chapter Text

Caine continued to ramp up the horror adventures. Pomni was thankful they all followed the same formula, it at least made them predictable enough that she knew what to expect by the 4th one.

In a bizarre turn of events, she found herself looking forward to them. Jax on the other hand looked like he was ready to throw himself to whatever beast Caine conjured next.

He was usually all for a good scream, but not when the fun came at Pomni's expense.

He knew she was always on edge regardless, but the horror adventures really took their toll on her. The jester screamed at every monster and jumpscare as if it were the first one every time.

And every time she did, Jax found himself jumping to her rescue. Just like she wanted. She giggled to herself when he would respond as if on instinct, pulling her behind him or sweeping her off her feet and into his arms to escape.

As far as she knew, he hadn't figured out that she was only doing it to get his attention. She was sure he would be amusingly annoyed with her when he did. She hoped, at least.

She found herself thinking back to the fun house, how hot it was when he had her backed against a wall, screaming at her to not be so reckless. Speaking barely above a whisper, demanding she never do that again.

Hot. She couldn't believe she thought that about the purple rabbit.

She remembered the flash of guilt that crossed his face at the time, too. How he looked like he was sorry for yelling at her, for pushing her away. She saw a side of him she didn't know existed. A side she didn't think the others believed in anymore.

The adventure they were currently on hadn't been anything out of hand, but Caine did put them in a labyrinth and whipped up a grotesque creature that made her digital skin crawl. He at least promised they couldn't get hurt in this one, so the stakes weren't too high.

As if on cue, as the creature barreled around the corner, Pomni screamed in surprise, making Jax jump around to see what was coming after them.

It was a centipede with baby doll legs and an eyeless doll head for a face. He hoped Ragatha would see it so he could hear her scream at the unholy abomination. Admittedly, it was bizarre enough to freak him out some, but of course he wasn't going to let it show.

"I didn't know you were that scared of bugs, Pom. I'll remember that one later."

She rolled her eyes at his empty threat and started to pick up her pace. With all of its legs it was faster than either of them expected. Jax took long strides and quickly caught the jester, snatching her up in his arms and running through the predictable maze towards the exit.

Pomni wouldn't admit it to him, but this was exactly where she wanted to be. Jax cradled her in his arms and she found herself hiding her face in his chest.

As she pressed against him, she felt him stiffen in surprise and adjust his grip, just enough for his fingers to curl possessively around her.

She could feel his digital heart beating out of his chest. He didn't realize it, but his teeth were grinding against themselves, chattering.

She noticed more rabbit like behaviors the bunny had than he would ever admit during the last few adventures. When he was scared or angry he grinded his teeth. When he was bored or annoyed he tapped his foot. And despite his best efforts his ears told more about his mood than his face ever could.

Does he burrow like a rabbit too? Pomni giggled at the thought of the large bunny burrowed under mountains of blankets and pillows.

She didn't mean to giggle and give herself away in such a dumb way. She was supposed to be scared in his arms, not giddy.

"What Pom, you think our imminent demise is funny? Should I leave you to fend on your own and save myself?"

Pretending his words hurt, she protested. "You wouldn't dare! Who would you harass if I were gone?"

She looked up at him with big puppy dog eyes.

"Jeez Pomni go easy on me, I'd never abandon the ASPCA's poster dog."

She snorted and cradled his face, looking at him as she broke out singing.

"In the arms of the angel, fly away from here"

Jax snorted and threaten to double over in laughter, caught off guard by her knowing exactly what he was thinking, coupled with her surprisingly angelic voice.

"Oh I'm an angel now huh? I knew you had it bad for me but I didn't think you were that obsessed!" He chuckled at her and she looked away, embarrassed for not thinking of the implications of being in his arms as she sang.

"Y'know, you're getting about as predictable as these B rated adventures." He lowered his head towards hers and spoke in a hushed voice.

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you were just desperate to be close to me."

[BLEEP]. Had he figured her out already? No way she'd be able to get away it's this again.

He shot behind a corner into a dead end hall and held his hand over her mouth as she tried to protest. The sound of hollow plastic legs dragged and clinked against the hard floor of the maze as the centidoll clamored past them.

He waited a few seconds after the sounds grew distant enough to be out of ear shot before he moved his hand away and put her down.

He leaned back against the wall across from her, crossing him arms and tilting his head as he looked her in the eyes.

"What are you going to do when Halloween passes and we don't have adventures with big scary monsters coming after you? You won't be able to pretend you're weak and helpless any more."

They both knew she was capable of handling herself. Well enough, at least.

Jax thought back to the image of her smashing in a clown skull with an axe. If she hadn't gotten hurt, it would've been the picture perfect scene. He didn't know she could be that angry, that brutal.

Before she could respond, there was a loud bang and scuttling of legs over the other side of the wall as the centidoll climbed its way into the alley.

Jax snatched Pomni up and bolted for the main path. This conversation would have to wait.

"I thought you said I wasn't weak and helpless, why are you still carrying me? You sure I'm the one looking for excuses?"

Jax grunted in disapproval and shoved her head back into his chest. She tried to protest and pull her head back to look at him.

"I thought this is what you wanted. Why the sudden change of heart?" Jax's hand was pressed firmly against her head, cradling her against his chest.

That shut her up. As they rounded another corner she knew the adventure would be over soon. This comfort would be over soon.

Despite the creature still after them, she found herself comforted in his arms. She missed human connection. She wasn't a touchy person, but the circus grew lonlier by the day.

She wanted genuine, human connection. Not just simulated by their avatars that had been generated seemingly at random by 1's and 0's.

When she was with Jax, it was the closest she felt to being human again in their digital prison.

The others quickly exited the maze from different paths, grouping together at the spot Caine would open the portal. Any moment now.

From the looks of Ragatha's frazzled locks she had come face to face with the centidoll. Jax loved how paranoid she looked, repeatedly turning around the check for it as they waited what felt like forever for the portal to open.

When it finally did she was the first to run though, everyone else filing behind her.

Zooble was the first to notice, looking at Jax as he still held Pomni in his arms. As soon as he realized they were watching he dropped her to the floor.

"OW! Jax what was that for!" Pomni exclaimed loudly.

The others turned their heads and saw him snicker and shrug.

"Pomni are you okay? Did he hurt you?" His ear twitched and his smile faltered for half a second as Ragatha rushed over the help Pomni up.

Pomni hesitated to take her hand and brushed herself off when she got back on her feet.

"No it's okay he didn't hurt me, I just wasn't expecting it."

Ragatha glared at the bunny. His teeth grinded together subconsciously. Pomni gave him a weak smile and he turned around, annoyed. She was sure it was at Ragatha for assuming he had hurt her again.

That was always her conclusion. It never really bothered him until she had accused him of going after her with an axe like some crazed lunatic. He felt bittersweet about this. It meant the mask he wore was believable, but did his cast mates really think he was that sadistic and psychotic? Surely Pomni didn't.

She was the only one that treated him like a person. He hadn't expected it from the jester when she first arrived. He assumed she would just be another toy for him to play with. Another part of the routine bullying he claimed was his way of keeping people away.

But she liked it.

She instigated it.

Did she like him?

Jax felt his cheeks get hot as he walked away to the kitchen. Bubble had promised them a meal after the days adventure and the crew knew better than to turn down Bubble's cuisine in fear of angering the ring leader.

The others followed in suit, dreading the idea of what under flavored, over cooked monstrosity had been whipped up for them.

Pomni sped past everyone to catch up to Jax, judging him as she did. He still had an angry look on his face when she smiled up at him. When he saw how earnest he grin was his features softened. All it took from her was one look to reassure him that everything was okay.

They sat down next to each other and waited for Bubble to bring out the food. Pomni had gotten used to this routine.

Feeling bored and playful, she nudged Jax's leg under the table with her own. His ears perked up and he shot a look at her that she couldn't entirely read.

They flirted all the time, but never obviously where the others could see. Still, he welcomed it. She was a pretty anti PDA kind of person that typically didn't like being touched.

That's what he thought, at least. If he had learned anything about the jester it's that she was clingy. He found her pouting more than once over him pulling away from her.

He still couldn't believe the performance she had put on during the last couple adventures. He knew she was playing it up for him, but the giggle today while they were being chased confirmed his suspicious.

He wrapped his leg around hers and held it in place under the table. This seemed to satisfy her.

The others paid them no attention, used to their weird behavior around each other now. They were just glad that when he was focused on her he wasn't harassing the rest of them.

They worried for her, knowing how he liked to push everyone's boundaries. But so far it seemed like she could hold her own against his antics.

Kinger looked at the duo sitting side by side, if he has a mouth he would've smiled.

"It's nice to see you making a friend, Jax. I know it's been hard since Ribbit-."

Everyone froze and looked at Kinger like he had a death wish. He didn't finish whatever thought he had.

The neutral expression on Jax's face was replaced with what Pomni first thought was rage, until she saw the tears start to well in his eyes.

No one took a breath. The silence was beyond awkward.

If looks could kill, Kinger would be a dead man.

Without saying anything Jax got up from the table, shoving himself away from it and throwing the chair back in place.

He looked back at Kinger before he stormed out.

"Don't say their [BLEEP]ing name to me again. Got it?"

His hands were curled into tight fists, his body rigid as he held his ears straight up. Pomni only ever saw him get like this when others had reminisced on his past with the long since abstracted character.

Dinner went by awkwardly. Bubble was disappointed that Jax didn't finish his dinner, but Ragatha placated him with an extra helping and compliments to offset it.

After dinner Pomni figured she would go check on Jax. She nervously made her way to his room, worried about his wellbeing.

It was fun when she pissed him off. She knew she wasn't pushing any real boundaries, it was all in good fun.

But it seemed like tonight Kinger had crossed a line. Pomni didn't know much about Ribbit, and she respected that. It wasn't her place to push. But she felt like it was her place to check in on him.

She knocked softly at the door, afraid of surprising him. She heard him grumble as he got up.

"I swear to God Ragatha I will put centipedes in your room for the next month straight if you don't-"

He stopped mid sentence when he opened the door.

"Oh. It's you." His posture relaxed and he looked exhausted.

"I um, I just, I wanted to check on you."

Jax sighed and poked his head out the door, looking both directions before grabbing the jesters wrist and pulling her into his bedroom.

"If you tell anyone about this." He gave her a warning.

She nodded softly. She knew better, and that he was saying it mostly for his peace of mind.

His gaze was cast towards the floor. He didn't want to make eye contact with her. But before she had the chance to look around his room, he pulled her into a hug.

This time she stiffened in surprise, not expecting him to reach out for physical comfort like that. It wasn't usually his style.

She got past the surprise quickly and wrapped herself around him in return. He was holding onto her like she was the only thing that mattered and he was afraid of losing her too.

After a long while Pomni pulled herself back a few inches, far enough to see his face. He was still avoiding her gaze.

"Um, do you, want to talk about it?" She was scared to ask but she tested the waters regardless.

He hissed under his breath. "What is there to talk about?"

She gave him a moment. His teeth were still chattering.

"How everyone seems to think all I'm capable of is hurting you?"

She thought back to Ragatha's words. He was going to ignore the frog in the room and circle back to that instead. That was okay too.

"As if you're not the one manipulating me?" His voice was steady now. There was no trace of any real hurt behind it.

Pomni blinked. That is what she was doing, wasn't it.

She felt a blush creep up her face and she felt sick to her stomach.

"Jax I'm, I didn't, I'm sorry. You're right." She stuttered, not knowing the right thing to say. The last thing she wanted was to use or hurt him.

He didn't expect her to admit it so quickly. She didn't expect him to chuckle in response.

"What, did you really think you were that good of an actor, that you wouldn't get caught?"

She didn't. She hoped for the opposite.

"What do you even get out of that? Are you that desperate to be in my arms?" She shuffled awkwardly and looked away.

"Oh my God, Pom, you're pathetic."

Pathetic. There was that word again.

Her heart skipped a beat when the word left his lips. Her breath caught in her throat. She clenched her fists, trying to ignore the way it made her feel.

"You never did tell me what was so funny earlier, while I was running for our lives."

Of course he would bring that up. She had nearly forgotten.

"You um, don't really want to know."

She knew he did but telling him was the last thing she wanted. She was worried it'd actually offend him, in his already sour mood.

"Oh no I definitely do, anything that can crack you up at a time like that sounds like it would be music to my ears. Let me hear it."

She took in a shaky breath. "Well," she started.

"I was just, thinking. About our avatars and stuff. And how you're a bunny, and do some bunny things, and I was wondering."

She was stalling.

"Spit it out already."

"Do you burrow?"

Jax wrinkled his brow at the question before bursting out laughing.

"You're so weird! We were running for our lives and all you can think about is what I do in bed? God you're perverted!"

Her face was redder than a tomato now. She hadn't expected him to make fun of her for it.

He moved aside, revealing a mass of pillows and blankets on his bed she had yet to notice.

Oh my God. He totally did.

Her face lit up and it was Jax's turn to blush, seeing how happy his answer made her. She had never pointed out any of his rabbit mannerisms until now, and he always appreciated that. But he welcomed the distraction from their previous topic.

He plopped down on the bed and motioned for her to follow. Before she could sit, he grabbed her and pulled her into the mass.

It was dim on the inside, but not entirely dark. She had expected it to be stuffier under all of the blankets. Her eyes adjusted and she could see Jax avoiding her gaze, clicking his teeth together as he was trying to hide how embarrassing this was for him.

Pomni wasn't going to let him ignore her. She scooted closer to him, facing him directly. He finally made eye contact with her and thought he was going to glitch when he saw how happy she was.

"Thank you Jax"

"Don't mention it. Seriously. If you ever do I'll hide those centipede dolls around your room and make Caine put us in an adventure where you have to wear a dress."

She shuddered at the thought. She was more of a suit kind of person.

"Why, so you can save the damsel in distress again? Do I make you feel like a big strong bunny?" She flexed her nonexistent muscles as she said this and got a little laugh out of Jax.

"Oh please, like you'd complain with all the 'saving' you've needed lately." He did air quotes around "saving", emphasizing yet again how she had overplayed her fear in the recent adventures to get him to protect her.

"I'm sorry... About that. I really am. I do feel bad." She apologized again with a lump in her throat. She wouldn't have cared if he hadn't already been upset when she followed him to his room.

Jax didn't want her to feel bad. Not because of that, at least.

"Eh it's whatever. Next time you want to climb in my arms just ask, will you? That, or try harder not to get caught. You need to work on your poker face."

She gave him a tiny smile as he said this.

She looks so cute in the dim light under his makeshift burrow. He wished he could burrow into her instead. He tried to ignore those thoughts, until he finally relented.

"God Pom, do you know how hard you make it for me?"

She was surprised at his sudden confession.

"By it do you mean you?" She blurted out without thinking. Oops.

His ears twitched and he almost had a smirk on his face.

"Well now that ya mention it."

Pomni's eyes went wide.

Jax laughed in her face.

"Ha! Can't you ever get your mind out of the gutter? Has that been your game this entire time, push my buttons until I can't take it anymore?"

If anyone was pushing buttons she thought, it was him.

"Oh come on Jax as if you don't try to fluster me on purpose! You're just as guilty as I am!"

He leaned in close and tilted his head, his brow furrowing in fake confusion.

"Am I? And just what buttons have I been pushing?"

She turned her head away from him, but he grabbed her face again and made her keep eye contact.

She could feel the warmth of his hand through the glove again. It was soft, but not as soft as his fur, she found herself thinking. Jax seemed to notice her disappointment and brought his hand to his teeth, pulling the glove off finger by finger.

Pomni's heart caught in her throat. That was way hotter than she wanted to let on.

As he pulled the gloves off she noticed something new. He had claws. Not the longest, but long enough. And sharp, from the looks of it.

He grabbed her face again, this time she let the warmth of her embarrassment wash over her. His soft hand holding her in place with the slight pressure from his claws pressing into her cheek. It was just the two of them, what did she have to be embarrassed about?

"Let's try this again." He spoke low and slow, savoring each syllable.

"What buttons have I been pushing?"

He genuinely wanted to know if he had done something that went to far, but it looked like the jester was going to short circuit at any moment.

"Do you not want this? Do you not want me?" His voice wavered when he said that last part.

Chapter Text

Pomni's digital heart threatened to jump out of her chest.

Did Jax really just ask if she wanted him?

Her mouth gaped open and the rabbit could feel the heat of her cheeks against his palm.

His usually snide demeanor and constant torrent of jokes was absent. He was asking in earnest.

It seemed like he was impatient for a response, too.

"Well?" He tightened his hand around her face, pressing his sharp claws further into her cheek. Nowhere near hard enough to leave any sort of mark, but the sharpness of it made her stutter.

"[BLEEP] Jax you, you can't just ask me, not like that." She tried to look away but every time she did he would adjust her face accordingly.

"Why, because I'm being too nice? How should I ask, then?" He huffed in amusement. She was trying to think of ways to deny his accusations. Why did she want to?

She was afraid it would all be a joke to him. Logically she knows it's not, but the fear still crept it's way up into the back of her mind.

He sighed, able to tell she was scared to be honest with him. He loosened his grip slightly and felt the jester push herself into his hand, as if disappointed by it. How could he deny her.

He leaned in until he was just a couple inches away from her face, looking down at her lips. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Pom, tell me what you want. You have to tell me." He sounded like he was pleading with her, just as scared of the answer as she was.

"I, I," her voice was barely above a whisper. She looked down to his lips.

"I want you."

It felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest. He smirked and closed the space between them. She was pulled into his lap and pressed against him. One hand against her back, the other still firm against her face. He didn't take his eyes off her lips the entire time.

"Is that why you keep manipulating me into man handling you? Because you're scared to admit how much you want me? How much you need me?"

She was scared at how accurate he was. For someone that had no idea how to handle human emotions, he was reading her like an open book. That was supposed to be her thing.

Without another word, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. He was so gentle, as if he were afraid he would break her. It wasn't enough. Pomni met his kiss with a ferocity she didn't know she had.

He was surprised, she could feel him holding back a grin as he matched her, kissing like his life depended on it. He dug his claws into her cheek harder than he meant, and heard a pitiful moan escape her lips.

He couldn't help himself when he responded with one of his own, deepening their kiss as he bit her lower lip. She whimpered as a chill went down her spine. She couldn't believe how badly she wanted him.

Without meaning to she rocked herself against him, grinding into his lap. He shifted his arms until they were both on her hips, wrapping his hands around them and digging his claws in, drawing another moan out of her.

He continued to kiss her as he let his hands help guide her body over his. He had never wanted anything in his life as badly as he wanted her in this moment.

When he pulled his lips away from her, she cried out softly in protest. She didn't want it to end. He didn't either.

Before either of them could say or do anything else, another knock came at the door.

"Jax?" This time it was actually Ragatha. Of course it was [BLEEP]ing Ragatha.

"If you ignore her will she go away?" Pomni spoke as quietly as she could, not wanting to be caught in his room.

Another knock came at the door.

He slid the jester off of his lap and crawled out from the burrow of blankets on his bed, leaving her there.

She was still breathing heavy, thinking about how right his lips felt pressed to hers. She raised a hand to her face and traced her fingers over where his claws had been, disappointed by the lack of a mark.

Jax snatched the door open as Ragatha knocked a third time, just enough to make eye contact with her.

"Oh! Um, hi, Jax. I just, I wanted to check on you. Are you um, doing okay?" This would be one of the times she was overbearing.

She didn't know how to sit with discomfort. She always felt the need to fix everything, everyone. When he first got to the circus he appreciated her checking in on him, but lately it felt like an insult. Like she infantalized him and saw her as his mother, trying to protect him from his bad feelings.

He wished she would just let people be upset sometimes.

"Just peachy. Now scram." He sounded completely [BLEEP]ed.

"Oh, okay, if you're sure. But, have you seen Pomni? She didn't answer when I knocked on her door and she left right after you."

His ears twitched.

"You think I'm her keeper or something?"

Ragatha got embarrassed by this, realizing of course not, why would be know where the jester was, just because they spent time together on adventures.

"Right. Sorry. Well, goodnight Jax. Let me know if y-" she got cut off by the slamming of his door.

Pomni poked her head out from the bundle of blankets, she looked adorable wrapped up in them.

"Is she gone?" She still spoke in a whisper.

Jax nodded and dragged his feet back to the bed. He flopped down on his back and she climbed the rest of the way out of his blanket burrow. She sat beside him and looked down at his face.

His eyes were closed and he was grinding his teeth again. She frowned and put her hand against his face this time, nearly making him jump at the sudden contact.

He didn't protest it for long, putting his hand over hers. Still ungloved, she realized she didn't even know if she could take her own off.

She broke eye contact with him as she raised her other hand and looked at it. Her hand left his face and she grasped her glove, hesitating to pull it off as if removing it would unravel her existence.

After a moment she ripped it off like a bandaid to reveal shockingly normal hands. They were small compared to her deceptively large and cartoonish gloves. Her nails were short and adorned in red and blue to match her jumper. Of course they were.

She smiled and put her hand back on Jax's cheek, the other going on his chest this time while she leaned over him.

She couldn't help herself as she gently caressed his face, shocked by just how soft he really was.

She had felt his fur against her, but she had never felt him against her bare hands. He seemed to like it as much as her.

He let his eyes close as her hands continued to explore. She brought one up to his ears, carefully stroking them, scared he would spook.

She gave him a light scratch behind his ears. Holy [BLEEP] that had to be the softest spot yet. He let out a sound, somewhere between a hum and a purr. She watched his jaw relax as his teeth stopped chattering.

He was so cute like this. She had never seen this gentle and vulnerable side of him before. She underestimated how much she would like it. Of course, she still wouldn't complain about him being rough with her.

The thought made her breath hitch. He noticed it and smirked. "Stupid rabbit hearing" she thought. She can't get away with anything.

"Thinking about how you're gonna come onto me again, Poms?"

She rolled her eyes and started petting him again. He shrugged and let his eyelids close.

This time he pulled her down onto him, pressing her head into his chest and pulling her close. She welcomed it and snuggled into him.

It didn't take long before the both of them nodded off in each other's embrace, ignoring the circus and every one in it.

Neither of them had slept that good in their lives.

Chapter Text

Jax woke up first. He was shocked by what he saw, the small jester curled up on his chest where he left her the night before. She had stayed with him all night.

He carefully swept her hair out of her face and admired how peaceful she looked laying there. He was scared if he moved too quick or breathed too hard he would wake her up.

Still asleep, she adjusted and nuzzled into him, wrapping her arms tighter around his waist. It felt so natural to have her there.

It wasn't much longer before Pomni began to wake up on her own. Jax had his eyes closed and was letting himself relax while she kept sleeping.

He felt her tense against him as she processed where she was. He hoped she wouldn't freak out or regret what they had shared between them.

As quickly as she froze she relaxed again, looking up at Jax with bright eyes bed head. He had never felt content like this in the circus before.

For a moment, he could push past his fears and insecurities. He was safe with her. He could let his mask slip.

It didn't matter if it lasted forever or if it only lasted another moment. He was thankful to Pomni for accepting him with all of his antics and aggressions.

"Do y'think we can skip breakfast?" Pomni's voice was sleepy, she yawned and rubbed her eyes before curling back against the bunny.

She didn't know she could get sleep like that in the circus. No tossing and turning, no nightmares, no existential dread. Just comfort and safety.

Had he slept okay? What if she snored? Did she try to hog the blankets?

That last one admittedly wasn't a problem. She thought about his burrow and tried to guess how many blankets were involved in its creation. She remembered seeing at least 8 or 9 different fabrics, not counting all of the pillows and their respective cases.

"Look at you Poms, one night in bed with a bad boy and you're already trying to skip class? Tsk. We can't have that, what will the others think when they realize we're playing hookie together?"

Would it matter what the others think? Would they assume they were off somewhere together? Or would they blame Jax, accusing him of getting in a fight with the jester and pusher her away to sulk. She frowned.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He put his hand beneath her chin and gently turned her towards him. His voice was uncharacteristically soft with concern.

"Oh c'mon Pom, with both know you don't exactly fit the bad boy stereotype."

She giggled and shook her head like she was trying to shake her thoughts away.

"Speak for yourself, I'm a total heartbreaker. All the ladies love me."

Jax pretended to be annoyed by her words. "Then what does that make me?"

Pomni mulled it over for a moment before speaking.

"An exception." She planted a small kiss on his cheek as she said this.

She loved how soft his fur felt against her face. She wanted to bury herself in it. She loved the deep purple hue that crept across it when he blushed.

She put her hand against his flushed cheek to feel its warmth and smiled. It was interesting to think of anything in the digital world having a temperature, but somehow he did.

She never realized how cold she ran until she started getting closer to Jax. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about the heat he radiated since he had gotten close enough to trap her against a wall back in the fun house. She found herself remembering that often.

He could tell she was thinking about something again. She had a far away look in her eyes while she absent mindedly rubbed her thumb over his face.

"Pomni for your thoughts?"

She blinked.

"Like. Instead of penny?"

It was so stupid it circled back to almost being funny.

"Yeah, that's what I said."

She tried to hold back a giggle. He raised his brow to press the question.

"I was just uh. Thinking about that one adventure."

The last 5 adventures crossed Jax's mind. Every time she had cried for him to rescue her.

"Only one?" He almost sounded disappointed.

"Yeah, the fun house." She hesitated to say it, not wanting to freak him out or remind her of her injury she got protecting him that day.

He frowned and his brow furrowed. He remember that alright. How he had completely lost his cool and made himself look like an idiot yelling at her.

"What about it?" He snapped.

"Just, about how you..." She found herself interrupted.

"Look I'm sorry okay? I lost my cool. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I was a [BLEEP]hole." He snapped, trying not to let his emotions get the best of him.

She was surprised by his straight forward apology. She almost wished someone else was there to witness it, no one would believe her otherwise.

"Thats uh, not how I remember it." She looked away from him. She could feel her cheeks flushing as they betrayed her.

He noticed. Of course he noticed. His ears perked up and his tone changed from one of anger to curiosity.

"Oh? Well how do you remember it then?"

She was too embarrassed to say.

He sighed and grabbed her face again. He would never get tired of watching her eyes go wide and hearing her breath hitch when he did. He let his claws press into her just enough to let her feel how sharp they were.

She locked eyes with him and her face burned. He couldn't make her admit it, she would abstract on the spot from embarrassment.

"I don't want to ask you again." His usual grin was missing. There was still a playfulness to his voice, but he sounded far more serious than before.

She squirmed and tried to avert her gaze. He tightened his grip as she did and quickly turned her to continue facing him.

"Well, I..." She hesitated and chose her words carefully as she spoke.

"I remember you were scared when I got hurt."

Jax clenched his teeth. She was off to a great start.

"And, I remember how hot it was when you yelled at me for being so stupid." Her voice trailed off, if not for his giant ears he doubted he would've understood more than the first couple words.

He still played dumb.

"Sorry, it was what?" A smirk crossed his face.

She shook her head, refusing to repeat herself.

"I already told you not to make me ask twice." She shivered at his words as he spoke in a hushed voice. He knew exactly what to say.

"You are, I mean, you were, it was hot." She looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She didn't dare look away this time as she stumbled over her words.

He looked satisfied with himself, and with her answer.

They found themselves interrupted by a knock at the door for a second time.

Jax rolled his eyes and got out of bed, putting his gloves back on as he stood up.

"Come out in a couple minutes when no one is around. I trust you won't touch anything you're not supposed to while I'm gone." He spoke just loud enough for Pomni to hear them and went to the door.

A second knock came alongside Ragatha's voice. "Jax, breakfast has been ready for a bit now. Are you going to join us? And have you seen Pomni? No one's seen her still."

He opened the door and she stumbled back as he stepped out and swiftly shut the door behind him.

Pomni could hear them through the door just enough to hear the frustration in Jax's voice.

"Christ Rags how many times do we have to go over this? I don't keep tabs on her."

Their voices faded and all she could hear was her heart beat in the otherwise silent room. She looked around and took in her surroundings fully for the first time.

His bed was in the middle of the room. Across from it a TV stand with a dusty knock off gaming console with 2 controllers and games that didn't infringe upon previously copy written titles, crafted by Caine no doubt. It looked like it hadn't been used it years.

One side of the room had a desk with a couple books and journals scattered across it. She wondered if they were his or if they were journals he had stolen from the others. Somehow he didn't strike her as the type to write about his feelings.

On the wall with the door there was a dresser and full length mirror. Pomni caught her reflection in it and made an effort to straighten out her bed head, thankful no one else had seen her wake up in such a state.

She looked around the walls. There were a couple generic motivational posters that seemed ironic, considering who's room they were in. The only other decor was a large cork board, covered in keys. Did he have keys to every room on the circus?

She remembered hearing him joke about having keys to everyone's room in the past, but she wrote it off as nothing more than his attempt to get under her skin. She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

She figured it had been long enough since Jax and Ragatha made their way to breakfast. She cracked his door open as quietly as she could and peaked around. The hallway was clear. She darted out and shut the door as fast as she could manage and dashed down the hallway, away from his door.

When she got to the table she found everyone else settled in and eating. Jax didn't look like he made much progress on his plate, but she noticed a plate with pancakes and bacon already made up for her. It was a far cry from the bacon she remembered, but it had a pleasant digital crunch that made up for its lack of flavor.

"Pomni, there you are!" Ragatha exclaimed in a shrill cry, loud enough to make the jester jump. "We were getting worried about you! No one saw you since you left last night, and then you were late, we weren't sure what to think."

Pomni hoped she wouldn't finish the sentence. "Sorry about that. I went back to my room and I guess I was more tired than I realized, I passed out as soon as I laid down." She was a horrible liar, unable to even convince herself.

"Oh, uh, that's okay, really. That's good. Did you uh, get enough sleep? Are you feeling better?" Ragatha didn't sound like she was fully convinced, but she just rolled with it.

"Yeah, actually. I don't think I've slept that good since I've gotten here."

Jax had a small smirk flash across his face. No one else noticed but Pomni.

He was the only one that knew what she really meant, and he wanted to keep it that way.

He wanted to keep her all for himself.

Chapter Text

The crew, minus Pomni, was excited for a break from Caine's endless torrent of horror based adventures. Not because she was looking for an excuse to jump into Jax's arms, but because this time she found herself as the actual damsel in distress.

This had to be Jax's idea.

Locked away in a tower in a remote corner of a thick forest, she sat restlessly in front of a singular window, the only way in or out. She fidgited with the uncomfortable outfit she found herself wearing.

In her typical primary scheme, she was wearing a floor length gown. The bodice was simple, split red and blue with yellow pompoms like her usual outfit. The puffy short sleeves were striped red and blue, and a thin layer of fabric covered her arms, one in each color. There were yellow scalloped frills around her neck, wrists, and the bottom of the dress. One half of the bottom was red, the other blue, with yellow breaking up the center.

It fell just above her usual yellow shoes. At least Caine didn't put her in some ridiculous glass slippers.

She found her jester hat transformed, stretched to impossible lengths. She wasn't sure how long it was, but she knew it was heavy. She threatened to keel over under its weight as it dragged behind her.

The outfit felt vaguely familiar. She might've recognized it if it were in purple. She looked around for ways to entertain herself.

Caine hadn't put much effort into keeping her entertained while she was trapped. She was probably an afterthought introduced to new assets he got too last to update.

There was a single frying pan on her bed in the middle of the otherwise plain room and a handful of paints with brushes, but no canvas. She wasn't bored enough to start painting the walls, yet.

She walked back over to the window and sat herself in it. The sound of simulated bird song was relaxing. A fake breeze brushed past her. She wondered how long the calm would last.

What were the others up to? Were they looking for her, or were they distracted? Maybe there was a monster they had to fight to get to her, or a puzzle to find her location.

She would be here a while.

Ragatha and Gangle did alright with puzzles, but that was usually her thing. Jax definitely wouldn't be solving any, and Kinger was hit or miss. Maybe the forest was dim enough to do him some favors.

After some time she noticed a strange rustling in the bushes, paired with angry grunts and the sound of something hacking through them.

As the sound got closer, she recognized the purple ears poking out from the foliage. It was Jax.

She smiled wide and waited for him to notice the tower in front of him.

With a stumble, he fell through the last line of bushes in his way and quickly caught himself. The first thing that Pomni noticed was that he had a costume change of his own.

Pomni's mouth dropped as he stood up and stretched. He was wearing light brown pants with dark brown leather boots that went up to his mid calves. There was a pink vest that matched his usual overalls with a white under shirt. He had a leather belt with a small satchel, too. He kept one hand on the bag and the other wielded a sword that he had been using to get through the dense forest.

He took in his surroundings, there was a sizeable clearing that had been obscured by a cliff and tall trees. Now that he was out of the overgrowth he saw a field of soft grass and flowers, a waterfall that flowed into a river. At the fields center stood a tower, nearly as tall as the waterfall itself.

He looked up the tower and perked up when he saw Pomni. A big grin spread across his face.

She could already feel herself blushing. He was the last person she wanted to see her in a dress. But she didn't think Gangle or Ragatha fussing over her would be any better.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes!" Jax called up the tower, circling around it for a way in.

"How's a guy supposed to rescue his princess when there's no door?"

His princess. Her heart fluttered when she processed what he said.

"I, uh, I don't think there's a way in!"

No duh.

"Sure there is, you got a window dontcha?"

Yeah, but no rope. She looked around the room to double check for anything that could help him climb up. She went to curse as she tripped over the elongated tails of her hat when she had an idea.

"Look out! I'm throwing something down for you to climb!"

Jax took a couple steps back and watched the jester gather up a bundle of red and blue fabric in her arms. She threw it out the window and watched it tumble gracefully until it collided with the grass below.

He wrapped his hands around the hat and started to pull himself up. Pomni was glad she had only thrown one side down, the weight of the side still in the tower helped offset the weight of Jax climbing up. It wasn't bad, but she wasn't entirely convinced he wouldn't just pull her out of the tower.

But he didn't. It took him a few moments before he made his way to the window. He grabbed the ledge and pulled himself into the tower, nearly falling to the floor as he did.

He huffed as he stood back up. "Man Pom, you really know how to give a guy a workout."

He looked like he wanted to say something else but was cut short when he saw the entirety of her outfit. She was gorgeous.

"I know what you're going to say, and just, don't okay?" She sounded defensive, like she was waiting for him to make fun of her.

He thought about it for a moment, but he couldn't bring himself to. Not when she looked that cute in a dress.

"Yeah? And what am I gonna say?" He stepped closer to her and she avoided looking at him. Partially because she was embarrassed by her own outfit, and partially because of how good he looked in his own.

"You're going to tell me I look like more of a clown than usual. That I should stick to jumpsuits and burn this God awful dress."

"Naw, Pom, I think you're just projecting."

Jax hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her the entire time.

"You shouldn't be so mean to yourself."

"That's pretty rich coming from you." Pomni laughed, hearing those words come out of his mouth.

"I was going to say," he paused and looked her up and down. "I'm glad I found you first."

She ignored him oogling at her, trying not to let herself get embarrassed by the attention.

"So, what are we supposed to do now? Are you like, rescuing me?"

She had been left in the dark, locked away in the tower separate from the others when they had gotten their objectives for the adventure. Hopefully Jax had been paying attention for once.

"Who knows. Whaddya say we blow everyone off and enjoy our time in an isolated tower located in a remote corner of the woods?" He waggled his eyebrows at her as he said this.

"Oh so now you're the one that wants to play hookie? Trying to reestablish your title as the resident bad boy?"

"I didn't know I had competition." He walked close to her and grabbed the tails of her hat, pulling her in with them.

"I didn't think you'd actually tell Caine to turn me into a princess in the next adventure." Pomni was annoyed as she said this.

"I didn't, we just lucked out. Don't you feel pretty, all dolled up for me, though?"

Pomni pouted and crossed her arms. Jax was getting unbearably close to her. She looked at him nervously and saw he didn't his usual smile stretching across his face. He looked serious, instead. Almost angry.

Did she do something the [BLEEP] him off already? Or was this just his intimidating default?

He scoffed at her and tapped his foot like he was waiting for something.

"Well? What are we going to have to do to drill it in that thick skull of yours?" He poked her forehead as he said this.

"I don't like to repeat myself."

Pomni gulped. She forgot what he even said at this point, only thinking about how close he was getting to her. She took a couple step back and looked away.

"S-sorry... I don't, uh, remember the question."

He took a large step and closed the gap between them. It shocked her and she tried to move further away, only to trip on the ridiculous tails of her hat again. She wanted to curse those stupid things.

Lucky for her, Jax was quick as a rabbit and swooped in to catch her. His arms hooked around her waist and he let her dip backwards before he slowly lifted her to his face.

"Don't you feel pretty, all dolled up for me?" He had a hunger in his eyes, like he was ready to devour her at a moments notice.

She could feel a blush creeping up her face again. She hadn't ever really thought of herself as pretty, especially not in the circus.

"Um, n-not, not really." Her voice was quiet, it almost sounded sad. Like she was afraid her form was a disappointment to the rabbit she found herself falling fast and hard for.

"Excuse me?" Jax was in disbelief. His ears dropped and he looked like he was ready to strangle anyone that had had told or made the jester she was anything but perfection.

"I just, I don't, I never thought of myself like that, is all." She tried to speak coherently but found herself failing miserably. Tears began to swell in her eyes and threaten her vision.

Jax carried her to the bed and sat her down, kneeling before her. "Well that won't do, will it?"

Her breath caught in her throat as he whispered to her. He took her hand in his and pressed a firm kiss to it. She could feel herself blushing hotter than before.

A single tear spilled over. Jax took his gloves off and used his thumb to gently wipe it away from her face. She tried to nuzzle into him for comfort, but he pulled away from her before she could. She whined in protest.

Jax responded with a noise of his own, scoffing at her. It was almost as though he was holding back a laugh. Was he laughing at her for crying?

"Pomni, I want you to tell you the moment I make you uncomfortable. Do you understand?"

She hadn't heard him sound that serious before. There was no indication that he was playing or trying to be deceitful. Since when did he care if he made someone uncomfortable?

She nodded. She wasn't sure she entirely did, but she understood that whatever he was planning he wouldn't do if she didn't want him to. Was he really that worried about her comfort? She was so confused by his mixed signals.

"You're too beautiful to cry like that." Was there a way she should be crying?

He pressed another kiss to her hand.

"You're stunning."

And another to her wrist.

"Mesmerizing."

Then her forearm.

"Perfection."

He was holding her like she was made of paper thin glass, like the wrong move would shatter her into a million tiny pieces.

She gasped and slowly let out her breath, trying not to cry again.

"I want you to tell me how pretty you are." His grip on her arm tightened. He was making direct eye contact with her now, reading every microscopic shift to her expression she made.

She couldn't get the words out. Her voice was stuck in her throat.

Jax hummed with impatience. He wouldn't wait forever, and he already made it clear he wasn't one to repeat himself.

"Are you going to be good and listen, or am I going to have to make you?"

Make her? Her eyes went wide. She didn't know what that entailed, but she was sure she wanted to find out.

"I-I dunno, what's in it for me? Why would I want to listen to someone like you?"

She tried to be bold and flirt back, hoping it was enough to derail him from making her say those humiliating words. Why was it so hard to compliment herself? Was it because she didn't believe it? Or because she didn't believe him?

"Someone like me? Because I thought you knew better." He stood up from his knees and pressed his palm to her face.

"Now do I have to repeat myself? Again?"

"No, it's okay, I just-"

He dug his claws into her cheeks. Like before it wasn't enough to mark her, but enough to remind her that he could. She flinched slightly at the sudden sharpness, but didn't tell him to stop or pull away. She trusted him.

"That's not what I told you to say."

She tried to look away and found him leaning down to bring his face closer to hers, to the point that nearly anywhere she looked he was all she could make out.

"I- I'm p-pretty." She choked the words out, barely a whisper.

"That's better." The pressure of his claws lessened against her face. He tilted his head down and kissed her, gently.

"Now try again, so I can actually hear you this time." He spoke softer than before.

She shivered and took in a deep breath. With only a little more confidence, she said "I'm pretty."

This time he caressed her face with his hand and gave her a kiss on the forehead before standing back up.

"I want you to tell me you're beautiful."

He brushed her hair away from her face.

She blushed harder and hesitated.

He placed a finger under her chin, and with a claw raised it to make sure she looked at him.

"Well?"

She knew there was no getting around this.

"I'm... Beautiful." She paused between her words but she spoke clearly this time, even if it still wasn't very loud. He caressed her again and leaned in to give her another kiss, this time to her cheek.

This was humiliating, making her compliment herself between his gentle kisses and firm grip. He spoke with such determination, like it was his only purpose in life to show her how perfect she was. Her heart was beating so fast she was sure it would stop at any moment.

"Jax, I-" she cut herself off and didn't finish whatever she was going to say. She didn't think she even knew what she was going to.

Jax removed his hand from her face. "Do I need to stop? Are you okay?"

Her eyes went wide. She didn't want him to stop, but she didn't want to say it out loud. She shook her head quickly, probably coming across more desperate than she meant to. "No I'm okay, I just-"

He put a finger to her lips. She didn't need to explain herself. He knew she was humiliated by this, and that's exactly the what he was going for.

He wanted her to feel ashamed of herself. Ashamed for ever thinking that she wasn't beautiful, that she wasn't worthy of praise.

He wanted to praise her, the only one to praise her. He wanted to be the one to show her how perfect she was. He couldn't remember wanting anything as much as he wanted her.

"I need you, Pomni." His voice was barely a whisper, he moved his hand away from her lips to caress her and brought his face down to her neck, kissing her between his words.

"I need you to know how perfect you are."

He could feel her freeze as he did, the vibrations of her voice against his lips as she spoke.

"I- I'm not, Jax. I'm just-"

He didn't let her finish her sentence. This time she was interrupted with a bite against her neck. It was so sudden, she let out something between a yelp and a moan.

He needed to hear that sound again.

"You're what?" He hissed against her neck.

Before she could answer he sank his teeth into her again, this time she cried out "I'm perfect!" with a desperate whimper.

He sucked gently at her tender skin where he had bit before pulling away and kissing her.

She tried to follow him with her lips as he pulled away. Her face was beet red. If she was kissing him, at least he wouldn't be able to see it.

He had other plans though.

Or at least he did until he heard a familiar voice from the bottom of the tower.

His ear twitched.

"OH FOR [BLEEP]s SAKE". He was starting to see an obnoxious pattern forming here.

"We'll finish this later." That was both a threat and a promise.

"Pompunzel, Pompunzel, let down your long, uh, hair?"

Kinger shouted up at the window. When Jax and Pomni looked outside he was there with Ragatha and Gangle. Zooble had sat this one out.

"Oh thank God, this is the third tower we've tried! Jax, why didn't you come tell us you found Pomni so we could go home?"

He looked over and smirked at Pomni. "Gee, I wonder why?"

She was still flustered. Her face was less red, but she looked like she was a million miles away, trying to process everything. Somehow that amused Jax even more. He liked the idea of her being overwhelmed by him.

"Well Pompunzel" he mocked, "Ready to go home?"

She nodded gingerly and tossed one side of her hat out of the tower. Jax lowered himself first, making sure he would be there to catch her if anything went wrong.

She left one side in the tower, she wasn't much heavier than the hat itself, and Caine never seemed to fully understand physics so she wasn't worried. She started to slide down and made it a little over halfway before she side left in the tower started to slip out.

When she was there quarters of the way, the rest tumbled down with her. Luckily Jax had called it and was there waiting to recuse her.

"Uh, thanks, Jax." She tried to be normal in front of the others. She was so awkward. At least that wasn't abnormal for her.

Everyone together again, the portal opened for them to return to the circus.

Pomni was optimistically afraid of what Jax would do the next time they were alone.

Chapter Text

"Well there you all are! You all almost upset Bubble, dinners getting cold!"

Caine greeted everyone as they returned to the circus and ushered them to the table. Zooble had already been waiting, fidgeting with their bend and snap parts out of boredom. Who knows how long they had been there.

Bubble sulked in the corner until he saw the table was filled in with its usual dinner guests.

"I hope you're all hungry!"

At Bubble's prompt, with a twirl of his staff Caine manifested a meal in front of them. Turkey legs and ale. How fitting.

Kinger clapped in amusement, never tiring of the AI's party tricks.

"To celebrate saving Princess Pomni from the tower and stopping the bandit Jax from absconding with the royal jewels, you all deserve a treat!"

Bandit Jax? Royal jewels? Pomni missed out on more than she realized. She thought about his "bandit" outfit and quickly pushed the image away and grabbed her tankard.

She grimaced as she took a sip. It sure was ale, all right. She was never much of an alcohol person, but it wasn't like there were any other options at the moment.

"Let's hear 3 cheers for Princess Pomni!" Jax perked up as Caine raised his glass.

Pomni buried her face in her hands. This was the worst possible scenario. Jax cheered the loudest out of all of them.

When everyone was done cheering, they took a swig and started eating. Jax chugged half of his ale in one elongated gulp before digging his teeth into his turkey legs like a rabid dog.

Like he had done to Pomni. She got annoyed at herself for thinking about it again.

Between bites everyone started talking about their favorite parts of the adventure. Usually gone by now, Caine had lingered around and was floating at the end of the table. He was holding his teeth up in his hands, legs kicking behind him. He looked like a school girl gossiping at a sleepover.

"I really liked that we had horses!" Ragatha loved anything with horses. That was a given.

"I liked the castle! The ivy growing on the walls was home to a variety of insects!"

Pomni wasn't expecting that kind of answer from Kinger. She wondered if the ringmaster programed in insects on his adventures just for him, he was always finding some, it had to be intentional.

"I really liked our outfits!" Gangle squealed. "I wish you were there to see them Zooble, I actually got to wear armor!"

Zooble perked up at this. "Oh wow, really? That's actually kinda cool. You'll have to draw it for me."

Gangle's comedy mask, still in tact for what felt like a record length of time, blushed at the idea. "Ah, um, sure! I can do that later! I can draw everyone else's outfits if you want, too. Pomni had the cutest dress on! And Ragatha looked so royal!"

Zooble nodded and somehow took a bite, despite missing a mouth. Pomni tried to ignore the cartoon circus logic.

"I liked that I got a sword!" Jax laughed and ripped another chunk from his turkey leg. He slammed it down and finished his ale.

"Hey Caine, can't we get more of this sweet ale for saving the princess? We worked hard today! That adventure really was a doozie."

He snickered at the oblivious ringmaster who was elated by all of the positive feedback. He had heard from everyone but Pomni.

"What about you, Pomni? Did you have fun being the princess?" Caine ignored Jax's request, searching for more praise.

Her posture straightened and she grabbed her ale, finishing it off to buy herself some time.

"Oh yeah uh, it was great. I really, uh, liked wearing something different for a change." Caine was too excited to notice the strain in her voice while she lied.

Well, it wasn't totally a lie. She did have a great time during the adventure. And she guessed she could blame it partially on the outfit.

"Yeah Caine, you should give us more things to wear. At least let us wear the stuff you've put us in on adventures, would ya? What's the point of having dressers and mirrors if we don't get to use 'em?"

Everyone blinked and turned to look at Jax. They expected that from Gangle or Ragatha, but not him.

Zooble raised an eye. "You really liked Pomni in that dress huh?"

His teeth clicked.

"What?! Ha! Yeah right! You should've seen Ragatha's face when she saw her! Redder than her hair! Geez Rags, could you be any more obvious? Hey Poms, you better watch out. I think the ragdoll has the hots for you."

That was the Jax they expected.

Pomni rolled her eyes and Ragatha tried to deny it, but was interrupted.

"GREAT idea Jax! I'll get started on that!"

Zooble piped up again. "You going to give us a refill, or what?"

"Oh Zooble, how could I resist your requests?"

With another flick of his cane, a wooden keg appeared at the end of the table. "Go wild!" After this, he disappeared, likely to go work on his new project.

It felt weird for everyone to be in such a good mood. Was this what it was like before, with Jax? Pomni found herself letting her guard down and having fun with everyone else. Another drink in her, and she was starting to feel buzzed.

She didn't mind the feeling, but she would never get used to it in the digital world. She could tell Jax was getting tipsy himself. He was on his third, now.

Branching off of the outfit suggestion, Gangle was excitingly going over ideas she had drawn out to dress Zooble in. She was hoping Ragatha could help her make something for them. The ragdoll was happy to be involved.

Kinger sat by with a content expression, sipping on his ale slowly. He was still on his first glass. He just seemed to enjoy the chatter from everyone getting along.

Pomni hadn't realized that while she had zoned out listening to the others, there was an admirer watching her. Jax fixed his eyes on her and ignored everyone else. He watched her like she was his prey.

He couldn't stop thinking about the pitiful sounds she made for him. About how embarrassed she was to admit she's pretty. She looked just as pretty out of the dress as in. If anything he preferred it, the long hat and dense layers got in his way.

After refilling her ale for what she determined would be her last drink she looked over and caught Jax staring at her. He gave her a wink and took another sip from his cup.

She got embarrassed when she realized he had been watching her. At least her face was already flushed from the drinks. She finished hers up fairly quickly, not paying much attention to the chatter anymore.

She let out a fake yawn and excused herself from the table.

"I think it's my bedtime. Who knew being a princess was so exhausting. Goodnight, everyone."

Everyone else said goodnight and waved and the jester got up. She stumbled a bit as she struggled to push out her chair.

"Geez Pom, can't hold your booze?" Jax teased her. "Here, let me help you to your room."

Jax put his arm around her and ignored the looks he got.

"Um, Pomni, if you'd rather, I could take you to your room. I think I'm gonna go to bed soon too." Ragatha swooped in to play the hero again.

"What, you jealous I'm spending time with Pomni again instead of you? Its fine, Rags. She doesn't care. Right Pomni?" He snapped at Ragatha, like she had implied he would do something to hurt her again.

"Oh, uh, I don't. No thanks, that's okay Ragatha, really. I'm good. I don't mind Jax walking with me. I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight."

"Yeah." Ragatha sounded defeated. "That's okay. Goodnight Pomni."

She hated how disappointed the ragdoll sounded when she turned her down, but she hated how she always implied Jax was bad for her even more. Even when she didn't say it, you could tell that's what she meant. Pomni wished she would trust her to make her own judgement calls.

Jax and Pomni got to her room quickly. The door was still locked from the day before, but she was sure she had a key somewhere. Maybe it got left in Jax's room. When she couldn't produce it after a few seconds, Jax reached into the impossibly deep pocket of his overalls and pulled out a key that unexpectedly fit the lock.

"Wait, you meant it when you said you have a key to everyone's room, didn't you?"

"Of course Pompom, why would I lie to you?" He smirked at her and put the key back in his pocket for safe keeping. They stumbled into her room and she kicked her shoes off. Jax locked the door behind them and looked around. This wasn't his first time in her room, but the first time he had been invited.

He looked around at the harsh colors that matched her outfit. Caine really liked to stay on theme. Jax was thankful he hadn't started that until after he joined the circus. Maybe they could suggest decorating mechanics next.

In the center of the room was a round bed with a tall canopy over it. The curtains draped dramatically over each other. She didn't have as many pillows and blankets. Jax would have to fix that.

Pomni sat down and sighed, flopping back into the bed. She almost forgot the bunny was still in her room.

"God, today was-" she stopped herself when she remembered him standing there.

"Was what? You gonna finish that thought?" He walked over to the bed and stood above her.

"Uh, just, it was, today was a lot. That's all."

His smile dropped at the corners.

"Was it too much?" He was quiet, like he was afraid of the answer.

"No, no I don't think it was. It was, well, different? But I don't think it was too much. You weren't too much." She comforted him at the expense of her dignity. She found herself getting embarrassed at the thought of him demanding she compliment herself again.

"Good. I need you to know that you can tell me if I go too far. I expect you to. I can't enjoy it if I don't you don't."

He sounded serious again. He leaned over her and propped himself up on one arm, the other brought up her face.

"I need you to know how perfect you are."

Her eyes grew wide and Jax found himself getting lost in them. She was all he could think about. All he wanted.

"Pomni, you're so beautiful." He leaned in and kissed her with more force than he meant. She welcomed it and matched him, though.

He gently moaned into her mouth as she gave his lower lip a gentle bite. She couldn't believe how hot the sound was.

"Jax I," she pulled back from him just enough to speak. He moved back in response, not wanting to do anything she didn't.

"Thank you."

He smiled at her. A soft, genuine smile. His eyes closed and he pressed his forehead to hers.

"You're ssooo beautiful." He sounded like a broken record, his words starting to slur as he dragged them out. He had joked the jester couldn't hold her booze, but he was one to talk.

"Maybe. I might be. I think you're drunk though."

"Both can be true." He huffed and laid down on top of her.

She was trapped underneath him. Admittedly this wasn't the worst place to be.

She smiled and let out a content sigh. Jax had buried his face in the crook of her neck and nestled in. She brought her hand up to scratch behind his ears, putting the other on his back. He hummed softly in approval.

"I love seeing you humiliate yourself for me." He was barely audible, his voice muffled as he spoke into her. It sent chills down her spine and she was stunned at what he said.

He liked humiliating her? She didn't know if it stung or if it was hot. He'd probably make fun of her for that too. She realized it was a viscous cycle where no matter what he got what he wanted.

Was that what he meant when he told her to tell him when he went too far? Because he didn't want to cross any boundaries with her? Was it that obvious that she was into his teasing? This was all new territory, she assumed for both of them.

Still, his words of reassurance and praise made up for it. She had a feeling she would be getting used to the compliments one way or another soon enough.

She was nearly asleep when the rabbit raised his head. "Pomni, you mean so much to me. I need you." He pressed his hand back to her face.

"Please," his voice was strained. "Don't let me push you away."

She could feel a lump in her throat. He sounded so pitiful, so scared of losing her.

"You won't, I promise." She could barely choke the words out. His shoulders shuddered as he took a deep breath, like he was holding back tears. She pulled him closer to her and rubbed his back.

The two of them stayed like that until they fell asleep in each other's arms for the second night in a row.

Chapter Text

It had been a couple days since Caine announced his last adventure. Still riding the high of the praise it got him, he was working hard on his next update for the circus. It would come along side a new adventure that focused on teamwork and really tested how well the cast knew each other.

Everyone enjoyed the brief intermission to the punctual consistency his adventures offered. They wondered if the pause would mean higher budget graphics and more intensive world building, or if he put all of his artificial intelligence into creating custom wardrobes.

Without much going on, Pomni found herself lounging in the common areas more. Occasionally Jax would join her until he got tired of listening to Ragatha go on about horse breeds or Gangle try to remember whatever manga she had read in the real world who knows how long ago. Kinger used the time to relax in his fort, and Zooble merely listened and nodded along as people spoke at them.

Even Pomni grew bored of the chatter after some time. Jax had already slinked away a while ago, she she excused herself and was off to find him. She checked her room first, just in case he was lounging in there. He told her that her bed was comfier than his, but it was lacking in the blanket department. It didn't hurt to look.

Confirming he wasn't there, she knocked on his door and waited for an answer. As she was about to give up, he opened it and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up."

He yawned and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her into his room. Without saying anything he led her to his bed and shoved her onto it with more force than he needed.

"Oomf!" She collided with the bed and bounced against it. "What gives, I said I was sorry!" He didn't care.

He flopped onto the bed beside her, looking like he was still half asleep. Rolling onto his side, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close.

Her head pressed into his chest, he hummed in satisfaction and a smile crept up his face.

"Make it up to me then." His voice was groggy with sleep. She didn't even know where to begin to make it up to him.

She pouted and pulled back. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Dunno."

He shoved her head back into his chest and nuzzled into her. He loved to rub his chin over her head when she was against him. She wondered if it was another bunny thing. She vaguely remembered some information about rabbits scenting things like cats did.

Either way, she thought it was cute. It was sappy and he would kill anyone that found out. She was happy to die with his secret.

"Go on a date with me?" The words tumbled out of Jax's mouth after a brief silence, shocking both of them.

A date? Were they dating?

They had been growing close, but there were no official words for what they were. Even friends was used loosely.

"A date? As in, like, uh, a date, date?"

"Well I don't mean the fruit, I'll tell ya that much." Jax sounded disappointed that she hadn't immediately accepted.

"Um, where would we go? Do you have somewhere in mind?" She was starting to blush at the idea of having an actual date with just the two of them. No one to knock at the door or interrupt them in an adventure.

He let go of her and gave a big stretch before getting up. He walked over to the wall that had a large cork board adorned with keys and pulled a few down, seeming to think carefully before grabbing each one.

"Choose one." He held three keys out in front of her.

One was golden and swirly, she wasn't sure how it would function as a key.

Another was a blueish silver with jagged edges.

The third was a shockingly plain brass key.

"Is there a wrong answer?" She wanted to make sure she chose right.

"Nah, no tricks. Just choose one. They're all good, I promise."

She thought about it carefully as she inched her hand towards the impossibly swirled key. Curiosity over took her and she had to see what door it went to.

"Good choice. Here, don't lose it."

He handed her the key and turned to hang the others up. She hoped she would get to see their respective doors another time.

"You ready?" He was standing in front of his door now, tapping his foot while he waited. He was really impatient today.

Or maybe he was just excited. Pomni wondered if he had been waiting to ask her on a date for long. He was the type to stew on things for a while and let himself suffer as his brain went after disasterous scenario after scenario.

She nodded and ran up to him, stopping in front of him. She looked up with a smile on her face. "Ready." She confirmed.

He opened the door and walked out first. Making sure no one was around to see her leave, he motioned for her to join him in the hallway. He started walking in the opposite direction of where everyone was.

It was nice, wandering the circus halls alone. It felt like they had the whole place to themselves. There wasn't even a hint of the others chatter echoing, they had gone far enough that they were in a remote area of the circus Pomni had never seen before.

Jax began to lead her down winding paths that branched off into new hallways. She found herself getting dizzy trying to map them all in her mind. How was Jax able to remember where he was going?

The hallway began to narrow as the spiral tightened in on itself until it ended with a large door. The door was curled impossibly, Pomni's mind couldn't wrap around how it worked.

"You got the key?" She forgot she had it gripped in her hand the entire time. She handed it to Jax and watched it slide into a lock and turn. It seemed anticlimactic for something so bizarre.

"After you, m'lady." Jax pretended to tip his hat and bowed, gesturing for her to go ahead of him. She giggled and cringed, imagining him as a stereotypical gamer dude sporting a neckbeard and fedora. That would haunt her.

Luckily, she didn't have long to think about it before she was mesmerized by the sight in front of her. They had been transported into an other worldly garden, with flowers larger than life and ornate statues and gates sectioning off each of the unique species.

The place hovered in twilight, a soft purple glow from the artificial sunset cast itself over the landscape of rolling hills that stretched into the horizon. Stars were just beginning to wake up in the dimming sky. A simulated breeze blew the saccharine scent of pollen and nectar across the land.

She took a deep breath in. This was surreal. Even by the standards of the circus.

She stood there for a moment, staring in awe. Each of the trees and flowers branched out in impossible spirals similar to the key and hallway that hid its door. She wondered if she would start to swirl into the foliage herself if she became too mesmerized by it.

"Jax this is, thank you, it's incredible. How did you even find this place?" Her eyes sparkled, reflecting the distant stars. Jax had trouble not staring. She practically glowed in the evening light. Jax found himself mesmerized by her.

"Just got lucky, I guess. I used to do everything I could to keep myself busy and spent a lot of time wandering. You can find some pretty cool things sticking your nose where it doesn't belong around here."

"Are there other rooms like this?" She broke eye contact with him to look around the dazzling wonderland. She wondered if this is what Alice felt like when she found herself down the rabbit hole.

"Like this? No. But there are a lot of unique places here. It's not all bad and scary. Although, for every good room I found there were another 5 hazards waiting for me."

She didn't even want to know.

"Come on, this isn't the best part."

Jax took her hand and lead her somewhere distant, beyond what she could see on the horizon. Luckily, circus mechanics meant they didn't have to walk very far.

She found them coming up on what she could only assume was supposed to be a willow tree. Jax reached up and parted the branches for her to climb under.

Stepping beneath the branches, she was met with a clearing around the trunk, filled with tiny shimmering petals glowing impossibly iridescent in the light that was scattered between the limbs swaying in the breeze.

Jax ducked down and followed her. A gasp was stuck in Pomni's throat as she took in her surroundings, afraid if she blinked it would disappear.

Jax walked over to the base of the tree and sat, leaning against it.

"C'mere." He raised a finger and gestured for her to join him.

As she went to sit beside him he pulled her into his lap instead. With her back to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her stomach and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Thank you." He mumbled into her.

"Uh, for what?" It surprised Pomni to hear those words come from him. Especially unprompted.

"For reminding me. What it's like to care. That this place isn't all so bad. I forgot it can actually be kind of, well, nice." He spoke earnestly. His usual sarcastic walls were completely down.

Pomni didn't know what to say, so she stayed quiet and let him continue.

"I don't know how I made it this long without you." His voice sounded desperate, he tightened his grip around her.

"I've never needed anything as much as I need you." He barely spoke above a whisper now, his breath tickling her as he spoke.

Her heart beat threatened to drown out the sound of his confession. Is this what it was? A confession?

"I've been here a while, Pom. Long enough to know you cant let yourself get close. Not without getting hurt."

She frowned. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him. She understood that's not how things worked here, though.

"You're worth whatever pain I have to endure. I would do all of this over just to see you again." He pressed his lips to the side of her neck as he said this. She didn't try to stifle the gentle moan that escaped her lips as he did. She leaned back further into him.

When she first arrived, the jester found herself terrified at the thought of getting hurt. Like any pain would threaten to erase her digital existence.

Now she remembered how sharp his claws felt against her, how his teeth had sank into her imitated flesh, how warm her was pressed into her. It made her feel so human to experience that with him.

"Jax, I want to experience the circus with you. The good and bad. Everything it has. As long as it's with you." The words were music to his ears. He nuzzled into her and pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

"I get that there's a lot about this place I don't know. I don't understand. But I want to try. You make me want to try. You make it all worth it." It felt awkward to open up to him like this, but she needed him to hear her.

"Jax, if I'm going to get hurt here I need you to be the one to hurt me." Her voice was quiet, wavering as she spoke. She meant every word, but she couldn't believe she was admitting it out loud.

Not that long ago she had seen him as nothing more than a two dimensional bully with no substance to him. Now she knew how wrong she was. He was still a bully, but he cared more than he wanted to admit.

It was Jax's turn to stare in disbelief. His jaw dropped and he looked at her like she was a masterpiece, discovered long after it's creators prime. He had no idea the little jester would reciprocate his intense feelings, not like this.

"Do you trust me, Pomni?" She nodded and turned, just enough to catch a glimpse of his eyes. He looked hungry. Desperate.

"I need you to know I will never hurt you in ways you don't deserve. Ways you don't ask for." Her breath hitched as she listened to him.

He sounded so sweet, telling her she deserved pain.

She thought she had finally lost her mind, finding it attractive. She wondered what he would make her ask, thinking back to how he had forced her to repeat her praises to him.

"I don't think I know how to ask. I've never been good at asking for things I want. But I think I want you to teach me. To make me."

She could feel a smirk spread across his face as it was still buried into her. With one arm still wrapped around her waist, he slid the other down to her thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze. She tensed as he did, not expecting to feel his hand wrap around her.

"What do you want, Pomni? What do you need?"

Her voice shook as she spoke, hardly loud enough to be coherent. "I want you, Jax. I need you. I need you to make me yours."

"You already are." He pressed another kiss into the side of her head and rested his chin against her, nuzzling her again. It was definitely a rabbit thing, she determined.

The two of them sat in comfortable silence as they watched the glow of the twilight sky fade away. The stars began to shine brighter and the iridescent flowers continued to twinkle.

As the night crept in, they decided it would be dinner time soon and they would probably be missed. Pomni turned around on Jax's lap to straddle him, holding his face in her hands as she planted a soft kiss to his lips.

"Thank you Jax. I didn't know how much I needed this. How much I needed you."

"Of course, Poms." He kissed her back and helped her to her feet. They walked back to the door hand in hand, ready to face whatever the circus would throw their way together.

Chapter Text

Today was the day Caine would introduce his newest update to the circus, finally giving them autonomy over their outfits. He did say this of course would come with limitations, their usual clothes had to be worn during adventures unless he had something else made up for them, but they could choose freely during their down time. Everyone was excited and antsy to have the option regardless.

They were less excited and more at unease waiting for the adventure that went along with his update to start. He was very hush hush about it, which was unusual for him.

He promised it would begin after breakfast ushered them all to eat quickly. With everyone present and plates nearly empty, he began his announcement.

"Good morning my philosophical fillies!" This one got a giggle from Ragatha.

"I'm sure you're all very excited for the new wardrobe update coming out today, and I thought what better way to welcome it than with an in house fashion show!"

Gangle's comedy mask perked up at this and Ragatha seemed just as interested. Pomni felt her stomach twist, afraid that meant another overwhelming dress.

"But there's a twist! Working in pairs, you'll have until the end of the day to design outfits for your partners! Don't worry about the sewing, as long as you can describe it to me I'll make your dreams a reality! Now then, go choose your partners! You have 5 minutes, and if you haven't decided by then I'll decide for you!"

Gangle squealed and clapped her ribbons together, bouncing beside Zooble. "Zooble did you hear that? Will you be on my team? I already have so many ideas for you!"

Zooble tried to play cool. "Uh, yeah, of course. I'm sure I'll love whatever you make." Gangle grabbed their claw and dragged her to her bedroom to get started on designs.

Ragatha glanced over at Pomni and saw Jax making a beeline for her. "Nevermind" she said under her breath.

"Ragatha, do you want to be on my team?" Kinger approached the ragdoll and asked her gently. He was like a father figure to everyone in the circus, and despite his peculiarities she was always happy to work with him. He had his moments where he really shined in the dark. They decided to go work in his pillow fort to make things easy.

That just left Jax and Pomni. She stared up at him, the gears of her mind already turning.

"Do you think we'll get to keep whatever we make for each other?"

"Who knows, I'll just settle for anything other than these dumb overalls digging into my shoulders all day." Jax stretched and leaned down.

"What about you?"

She shook her head. "Other than not wanting to end up in another princess dress, I don't think I really care."

Jax smirked. She had a feeling she made a mistake saying that out loud, like she had just given him some questionable ideas.

"Do you wanna work together, or separate? Want it to be a total surprise?"

"I don't know, can you make it that long without me? How will you survive?" Pomni teased Jax, though she questioned if she could make it herself. The two had nearly been inseperable.

"We both know it's not me we have to worry about." Jax winked at her and put his hands in his pockets as he took a step towards his room. "Good luck Poms, I'll be thinking about you. See ya soon."

He'll be thinking about her. Of course he would. That's the whole point. She still found herself swooning at his attempt to be romantic.

She shrugged it off and went back to her room to work. She sat at the little red desk in the corner and pulled out a notebook. Other than some scribbles it had been left unused.

She wasn't much of a fashionista and found herself wishing for Gangle's help. She was sure they had already came up with multiple outfits for all of them, so she wouldn't have any trouble thinking one up for Zooble.

Zooble didn't seem like the type to be into this sort of thing, but they usually found ways to surprise her so she was sure anything could happen.

She found herself worried for Ragatha, unable to imagine Kinger with a sense of style. She knew Kinger on the other hand would be just fine.

And Jax? She shuddered at the thought of what he would put her through. Would he use what she said against her and put her in another dress in front of everyone? Heat spread across her darkening cheeks as she thought of the humiliation he could put her though.

She sighed and tried to push the thought away. She had work to do. What would the bunny like? She got to work scribbling in her notebook.

In Jax's room, he sat tapping his foot impatiently, holding his head up with an arm leaned onto his desk. He had pulled out a new notebook for this. The rest of the cast didn't know it, but he spent some time doodling when he was bored. Nothing serious like Gangle.

She had seen one of his notebooks fall out of this pocket one time, landing on a page filled with sketches he had made of various NPCs from their adventures. He threatened to break her comedy mask every day for a year if she told anyone, so she swore she would take that information to her abstracted grave. Ever since then she would try to include him when she showed off her drawings like she was trying to convince him there was nothing to be embarrassed about but he always brushed her off.

He started sketching Pomni with ease. Her soft, round features made it easy for him. He got caught up in drawing the way her hair framed her face, the pinwheels of her eyes, the permanent blush on her cheeks. Before he knew it he had wasted half an hour just on a portrait of her.

[BLEEP]. This was going to be harder than he thought. He wondered how Pomni was holding up. Was she daring any better or was she just as stumped as he was?

First he drew her in some shorts and a tank top. Too plain. Then a suit that resembled the one she wore during their suggestion box adventures. Not original enough. He sketched her in a slim cocktail dress. He liked it more than he should but decided against it, remembering her words.

Page after page he struggled to come up with a design. Then he remembered what she had said about herself in the real world. She had worked an office job for a while and seemed out thrills in abandoned places. He wondered how she dressed to go exploring.

That gave him an idea. Something lose fit, since she constantly complained about how tight her body suit was, especially around her neck and waist. He knew she hated the yellow shoes too, so he thought of what would be more fitting. He was finally getting somewhere.

Pomni on the other hand was completely frozen with indecision. She groaned in frustration and pulled at her hair. So far she had doodled a little Jax face smiling up at her.

She thought about what she'd want to see him in and found herself drawing a blank. Why was this so hard? She had to stop overthinking it.

She sat up straight, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She decided she would keep in simple and comfy. Nothing fancy or extravagent.

Maybe a hoodie? That was a good idea. She could steal it from him later. And some baggy pants? That would work. Easy enough. She penciled on the finer details and wrote out some ideas for color schemes.

Caine had summoned the cast to the dressing room of a runway stage in a remote corner of the circus one by one. Everyone was met with a creepy mannequin version of their team mate and made to describe their outfits to Caine in detail. He nodded as he took notes and digitally manifested their designs, letting them correct any parts that didn't match their ideas.

As each person finished, they made their way to sit where the simulated audience would be later and waited for the next person. By the time they were all finished everyone was vibrating with excitement, talking about their designs for each other without giving it away to everyone else.

Everyone but Jax and Pomni. Neither of them had any idea what the other had in store for them.

Caine spring forward on the stage. "Welcome to the Amazing Digital Fashion Show, everyone! Thank you all for being here! Now that everyone has an outfit waiting for them, it's time to try them on! Let start with hmmm. Zooble! Let's start with you!"

Gangle squealed and gave them a big smile as they were brought back to the dressing room. A moment later they came out sporting a laid back outfit that resembled 90's street wear. It was loose fitting and androgynous, suiting them well. Gangle hid her blushing mask behind her ribbons and tried not to giggle in excitement seeing Zooble wear one of their designs for the first time.

The loose fitting pants gave Zooble a more defined figure, still not humanoid but more normal compared to what they were used to. They felt more at home in Gangle's outfit than any parts Caine had made for them during their time at the circus.

After they awkwardly strutted down the runway and gave a sheepish turn, they rejoined everyone in the crowd.

Next it was Gangle's turn. She jumped up and practically ran to try on her outfit. She came back sporting a dark pleated skirt with red suspenders that matched her ribbons, clipped to the skirt with tiny comedy masks and red ribbon draped around her waist. She had a short sleeve cropped top with a heart shaped window where her chest would be, with ruffled short sleeves. She had long socks and ribbon tied behind her mask like a giant hair bow. She looked adorable.

Zooble blushed seeing Gangle bounce confidentiality down the runway. She gave a big twirl and her skirt poofed out. She finished her catwalk with a cute pose and ran back to sit with Zooble. No one took Zooble as the type to have a soft spot for girly girls, but then again they say opposites attract. Whoever they is.

Next was Jax and Pomni. Jax went first. Pomni could feel her digital heart beating in her chest. She was already embarrassed by how plain her outfit for him was compared to what Gangle and Zooble had made for each other. She was worried he wouldn't like it.

In no time at all, he sauntered down the runway, ears held high and smile stretched across his face. His hands were in the pockets of a two toned pink hoodie that had his face on it, matching his grin. Two overall straps hung down past his waist and his baggy pants were a dark, muted purple with patches that matched the colors of the hoodie.

Pomni couldn't look away. She was so happy with how it looked on him, better than she imagined. He looked laid back and comfortable. Exactly what she was going for.

He made his way back to his seat and gave Pomni a wink. It was her turn. Her knees shaked as she made her way back to the dressing room. She would find out soon enough just what he had in store for her.

She couldn't believe her eyes. It wasn't a dress. It was actually better than she could've imagined. He had given her a pair of baggy pants, half red and half plblue to match her usual color scheme. There were holes in them and a pair of fishnets underneath. Normally she would hate fishnets, but they added a grungey feel to the outfit and she liked that they made her feel less exposed under the baggy low rise pants.

Her shirt was a grey crop top with a low neck line. There was also a sport bra underneath. Practical. The shird had Caine, Bubble, and a bumble bee on it. She found a black choker with a matching bracelet added to the outfit. In place of her normal jester hat was a red and blue beanie with a yellow pom pom. There was a button that matched her pinwheel eyes and another that sported Jax's face. They both had the same idea. Her shoes were a simple converse style.

She couldn't believe how comfortable she felt in the outfit. She wondered if she would wear something like this in the real word. She could see herself exploring buildings in it for sure.

She started out nervous at the start of the runway, but walked naturally by the time she made it to the end. She gave a little wave before taking her seat.

Everyone was shocked at how seriously Jax had taken the contest. Pomni's outfit was really cool and she seemed to like it. Jax was pleased with himself.

Next was Kinger and Ragatha. With the weight of her own reveal off her chest, Pomni found herself anxiously awaiting Ragatha's reveal. She came out first.

Pomni's jaw dropped with the rest of the cast when she revealed herself on stage. Kinger's eyes lit up and he looked so proud of her.

She was wearing long black gloves and a sleek black dress that was floor length. One side had a slit it it that gave it an asymmetrical design. It had a low V neck and the top was adorned in gold glitter that faded out as it reached her waist line. The hem of the dress was sewn with golden thread, glistening in the spotlights. The bottom of it had an embroidered needle and spool of thread with a butterfly trailing above it. She looked incredible.

Her rosy cheeks blushed brighter as she made her way down the runway she gave a curtsey and sat back down next to Kinger, all eyes still on her.

It was finally Kinger's turn. Ending the fashion show, he came out with a dramatic swoop. Ragatha had given him his usual cloak, but with more elegance. It opened up to look like moth wings and faded from a pink to a dark purple with glitter to match her dress. Everyone gasped as he practically floated down stage. On the bottom of the cloak were eyes scattered through the black. It made everyone that knew her think of Queenie. It was a bittersweet tribute to her love. His usually fluffy collar was poofed out like a fluffy moth.

Kinger looked so happy. Ragatha had gone above and beyond with his design, and it showed. They were undoubtedly the winning team of the show. Kinger gave one last twirl as he returned to his seat.

Caine reappeared back on stage clapping manically.

"Absolutely incredible show tonight, you all did excellent! Of course, not all of you can be winners though! That title goes to Ragatha and Kinger! Let's hear a round of applause for the elegant duo!"

Everyone clapped for them, even Jax. He was admittedly freaked out by Kigners cloak, but he wouldn't admit it. The eyes of abstraction staring into him as he shuddered.

"As promised everyone, you can all now access an entire wardrobe of everything you've ever worn, including tonight ensables! The dressing room will also remain unlocked, so if you ever want to put together new outfits feel free to give it a visit."

Gangle practically bounced in her seat and Ragatha was clapping with a new excitement. Caine had really outdone himself with this one.

"Alright, that does it for tonight's adventure! Now go explore your wardrobes!"

He disappeared in a flash as the crew began to talk among themselves.

"Oh my God Ragatha you're stunning! Kinger, how did you come up with that!"

"Oh, please, it's not that big of a deal. I just thought, what would a sophisticated horse girl in high society like to wear?" He hit the nail on the head with that one.

"But Ragatha, she really outdid herself. Just look at me! I look like a big moth! I just know Queenie would love it if she could see it. Thank you, Ragatha." Shockingly coherent and sincere, Kinger was greatful for what she had made him.

"Way to not [BLEEP] it up Jax, Pomni actually looks really cool." Zooble looked at the pair. They matched shockingly well.

"Well I couldn't have her running around looking like a clown all the time, could I?" He joked to deflect.

"Did you guys make your outfits to match? You look really good together!" Gangle didn't realize the implications for what she had said.

Pomni blushed and stuttered in her response. "Oh, uh, n-no actually! Jax didn't want to spoil anything so we worked on them alone."

"Oh wow, that's really impressive! You both look great" Ragatha complimented them, happy to see everyone excited for their outfits.

"Pfft no way, are you guys that obsessed with each other that you're accidentally matching now?" Zooble snorted and Jax rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, Zoobs. That's rich coming from you. I didn't know you were so into anime girls, I mean, just look at Gangle! She looks like something straight out of one of her mangas, talk about fan service!"

Pomni was secretly thankful for his banter to distract her from Zooble's lighthearted accusations. Gangle blushed and Zooble ignored him while he laughed at his own jokes.

"And look at you, you look like you came right out of a 90s shoujo. You two were made for each other!" That last part almost sounded like a compliment.

They all hung out for a while and talked about their designs until it was time for bed, everyone hopeful they would be greeted with pajamas.

Chapter Text

Stretching out of bed, Pomni was disappointed that she had spent the night alone but couldn't remember sleeping that well on her own since her arrival.

The new wardrobe update had given her some comfy pajamas that helped more than she imagined. A plain pair of long shorts and a baggy t-shirt that nearly covered them, sporting a red and blue swirly tie dye pattern. Maybe she could convince Caine to throw together a slumber party adventure for everyone. She wouldn't hate that.

She didn't bother getting dressed before going to breakfast, and when she arrived it seemed like everyone else had the same idea. She was early, so far only Ragatha, Gangle, and Kinger were there but they all greeted the jester with a smile.

"Good morning Pomni! How'd you sleep? Your pj's look so comfy!" Ragatha was the first to greet her. She was wearing a plain blue slip that had patches like her usual dress with fuzzy slippers. It was simple and stylish. Pomni bet it was soft too.

"I uh, slept really good actually. I didn't know how much I needed out of that costume. How'd you sleep?"

"Great! That's wonderful. I slept pretty good too. I think Caine really went all out for us with the new update."

Gangle had on a baggy t-shirt that went all the way down to her ribboned knees. It had a little doodle of Zooble on it. Pomni tried not to giggle at her.

"Me too! I can't believe he actually gave me clothes too, he usually doesn't give me any on adventures, I think my ribbons stump him." Their comedy mask frowned before smiling again.

"Jax really knew what he was doing with that suggestion! I don't think I've ever actually liked anything he's came up with. You must be a good influence on him, Pomni." Gangle chuckled as Pomni tried not to blush.

"Oh, uh, well, I don't know about that." She was being bashful, trying not to take credit for anything she didn't mean to do.

"No no, she's right, Pomni. Jax has been a whole different rabbit since you two started becoming friends." Kinger spoke up and took a sip of coffee. His striped nightgown looked like something a victorian child would wear. He had a matching cap that went with it.

"Was he really... That bad?" She hesitated as the words left her mouth, like she was scared of the answer.

Gangle looked down and stayed quiet. Ragatha finally spoke up. "Well, I mean, he was never great. I don't think he's ever not been an [BLEEP]hole." It was weird hearing her try to curse.

"But he's not as bitter anymore. Like, I can actually believe he's trying to make a joke and not just hurt us for the fun of it. It's kinda refreshing." Gangle nodded in agreement before Kinger spoke up again.

"He took Ribbit's abstraction really hard. It wasn't easy for any of us, but none of us knew them like Jax did. I haven't seen him this happy since before it happened. The two of them were thicker than thieves."

There was that name again Ribbit. No one ever talked about them, especially around Jax. She would never get used to hearing Kinger take anything seriously. It didn't happen often, but she knew how sentimental he could get. He was the only one that could openly talk about abstraction and those the circus had lost.

What did that say about Pomni? Is Jax just reminded of Ribbit, and that's why he keeps her around? Or does he feel the need to protect her because of that, like she's next on the chopping block? She started to overthink and make herself insecure. What made her so special?

Before she could spiral any further she heard a tired voice from around the corner. "Sup losers?" Jax walked up to the table and sat down next to Pomni. Everyone was deathly quiet, afraid he'd heard what they had said about him.

"Morning Jax! Did you sleep good in your new pajamas?" Ragatha was the first to break the silence.

Jax yawned again shrugged. He was wearing a pair of fuzzy pajama pants, covered in little Caine faces and Bubble. He was still wearing the hoodie Pomni designed for him. She didn't say it out loud but that made her really happy.

"As good as you can in this [BLEEP] scape. What's on the menu?" He looked around the table and grabbed himself a cup of coffee and some plain toast. He liked the way it crunched.

There was still an awkward silence that fell over everyone as he started nibbling at his food. Luckily it was interrupted by Zooble, who wore pajama pants of their own that looked like it was made out of a retro arcade carpet.

"Zooble! Hi! Good morning!" Gangle perked up when she saw them. "Your pants are really cool!"

"Huh? Yeah I guess so. Caine gave me a lot of weird clothes. Half of them look like something straight from a bowling alley." They grumbled, but didn't expect anything else from the ringmaster.

"Maybe I can help make you some things you'll like more since Caine said we could use the dressing room any time!" Gangle tried not to sound too excited at the prospect of having her own fashion model to dress up. Pomni thought it was endearing, how close the unlikely couple was. They always seemed to have each other's backs.

"Do you guys think we could convince Caine to throw a slumber party for us? Like, as an adventure?" Pomni didn't know why she liked that idea so much. As far as she knew she had never even attended a slumber party in the real world. What do you even do at them? Eat pizza and gossip? It just seemed like the kind of low stakes light hearted bonding the cast could use.

"Ha, really Poms? A slumber party? What, are we in highschool? Gonna play truth or dare and spin the bottle, see who chickens out first?" Jax snorted at the thought of them all sitting around in their pajamas as an adventure. Then he looked at Pomni in her oversized T-shirt thought about her messy hair in the mornings. He looked away and refused to admit that maybe it wasn't the worst idea. He just didn't like the thought of anyone else getting to see her that way.

"Oh that actually sounds really fun! We could all play party games and have snacks and stay up watching movies together!" Ragatha was excited at the idea of another easy adventure. The others nodded in agreement. They'd have to ask Caine later.

"Goooood morning my voluptuous vipers!" Caine appeared out of nowhere and made Pomni jump. She was never a fan of how loud he was but it was nearly unbearable this early in the morning.

"Don't you all look snazzy in your new clothes! I'm glad to see you putting that update to use! Speaking of update, it took a lot out of me! It'll be a couple days before our next adventure, but you can bet it'll be a doozy! Try not to lose your minds in the meantime, I expect to see all of you there! Yes, especially you Zooble!"

Before they could protest, as quickly as he appeared Caine blinked out of existence. That would never not be weird.

"Wow, sounds like we have some time off. Do we uh, want to spend it together?" Ragatha was shy to ask, but figured it couldn't hurt. Everyone had been getting along so well and she just didn't want it to end.

Just as expected though, Jax snorted and turned her down. "Sorry ragdoll, short stack is with me. She begged me to help her with the rest of her outfits so she doesn't keep running around looking like a dork."

"I did? Oh! Uh y-yeah! I did! Sure!" Pomni tried to play along.

"Pomni, you don't have to enable him you know. Blink twice if you need help." Zooble was ready to call Jax out on his bullshit, but didn't sound as grumpy as usual. They figured if Pomni didn't want to deal with Jax, she wouldn't.

Before she could blink she felt the rabbit swoop in behind her and put his fingers on her face, prying her eyes open.

"Zoobs, you wound me! Does this look like the face of some poor tormented soul?" Jax pretended to be hurt by their words. In response Zooble just rolled their eyes. Pomni barely had time to process what happened before he pulled away and playfully smacked her back, shoving her forward enough to knock her drink into her clean pajamas.

"Oops. Sorry Pom. Do you think that'll stain?" As he said it the wet spot magically disappeared, leaving now trace.

"Neat! Guess we can rot in these all we want and we won't stink! C'mon, let's go see what else we can try to ruin." Jax grabbed her hand and pulled her towards her room before she could protest. On her way out she gave everyone an awkward wave, getting waves and thumbs up in response. If she didn't know and better shed say even Ragatha was trying to hide a giggle at the jesters expense.

"You can let go Jax! I'm following you!" She wasn't sure why she told him to, she liked the firm grip he had around her wrist, practically dragging her along.

"Nah, I don't trust you not to get lost." They walked right past her room and ended up in his.

"So, uh, not that I'm complaining, but what are we actually doing today?"

He walked over to the cork board of keys as she sat down onto his bed.

"I remembered an old room I found I think you'll like. Catch." He threw the key at her and she nearly dropped it, fumbling it in her hands a few times until she managed to get a solid grip.

It looked like it was made of concrete, with specks of rocks and tiny cracks meandering through it. It looks strangely industrial.

"What's this one to?" Her eyes lit up at the prospect of another date wondering the circus.

"No guesses? You'll see soon enough. Go change and meet me back here in 5." He shoved her out of the door and got himself ready for their adventure. Not knowing what else to wear or wanting to waste time indecisively sifting through his new wardrobe, he put on the pants Pomni had designed for him. They'd be good enough for the adventure.

After changing he waited outside his door, tapping his foot pretending to be impatient. It wasn't more than another minute before Pomni came out. She had the same idea, and Jax's jaw nearly dropped seeing her in the outfit he made for her again. She looked so cool, and he couldn't help but fixate on the way the clothes fell on her.

She fidgeted with the bracelet around her wrist. She was oddly comforted by the jewelry, it gave her hands something to mess with while she was nervous.

"You ready?" He composed himself quickly.

"Yup, let's hop to it."

Jax groaned at the rabbit pun, but they both knew he loved it. It was time for their second date.

Chapter Text

Pomni kept her fist tight around the concrete key. It felt cool in her hand like a building after dawn. Jax had taken them further into the circus than she knew existed, this time solid walls loomed above them, forming a labyrinth that resembled a city of it's own. It was impressive that he didn't get them lost, and even more impressive that it seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction. How did Caine even have the space to program all of this?

After a few more turns, he playfully bowed and gestured to the door. "After you."

Pomni reached out with the key and turned the lock. With a small click, the heavy concrete door began to slowly open into the room. Pomni looked back at Jax to calm her nerves. Without words he seemed to understand exactly what she needed. He grabbed her hand and led them to their next spot of entertainment.

It took Pomni a moment for her eyes to adjust. It was dim, but not so dark that she couldn't make everything out. Looking around, she found them standing on a roof in the middle of a city. There were no twinkling stars in the sky like in the last room he had shown her, but the haze of the simulated city lights were believable enough as light pollution that she could convince herself it was just another night in the city.

"Wow Jax, this feels so, normal."

"We're only getting started, Pom. What do you say we explore?"

Her heart skipped a beat. Explore? Like she had done in the real world? She wondered if the atmosphere of the abandoned buildings she frequented could be replicated in the digital world. Lost in thought, Jax pulled her back with a joke.

"Sorry I couldn't find a camera, your adoring fans will have to miss out on this one."

She couldn't believe he remembered that about her. Admittedly, it embarrassed her. She had posted a few videos of the places she frequented but never with commentary and never gaining any views beyond her own rewatches during particularly grueling shifts at the office.

"Oh don't worry, I think you're the only one that would call themselves a fan of me." She grinned at him and continued to look around.

"Do you know the way in?"

He shrugged and left her to find it, not wanting to spoil her fun. She began to circle the roof, looking at her feet for any doors leading in. On the far side opposite of them there was a latch that was unlocked. Bingo.

"Over here! Can you help me with it?" She was too weak to lift the heavy door on her own. Seemingly with ease, Jax pulled it open.

The scent of stale air and dust lurched forward to greet them. They were already off to a good start. Pomni took a deep breath in and made her way down the ladder into the darkness of the building that waited to swallow them whole. She nearly tripped as her foot hit concrete.

"I know you said no camera, but you didn't think ahead and bring a flashlight, did you?"

"Whaddya take me for, an amateur?" He lowered himself into the building and reached into his pants. The pockets seemed to follow the same impossible cartoon logic as his overalls. He pulled out a flashlight and clicked it on, shining it around the room.

They were in a dusty attic space. There were a few boxes in one corner, but it otherwise remained empty. Across from them was a door already cracked open, leading to the next room. Pomni took the flashlight from Jax and led the way.

It was admittedly really boring. There was nothing special about the building other than the occasional groan and creak under their weight. It made Pomni stop and listen close every time, as if she was listening for a security guard to run from.

Jax was lasered in on her the entire time. She was so focused, so invested. Was she like this when she explored in the real world? He desperately wanted to find out.

Pomni mentally mapped the building as they went along, becoming immersed in the mundanity of it all. She wanted to make sure she remembered the way back if there wasn't another exit. Finding herself creeping slowly down the narrow halls and peering around corners for security cameras, she almost forgot they were in the circus.

She had never explored with anyone else, though. Her mind wandered back to Jax, she figured he had already explored this place if he thought she would like it. He was doing this entirely for her. She realized as she took note of the different corridors and their features it was no different than Jax exploring the circus in his spare time.

Something about the way she perceived the circus had shifted from having that realization. Something she wasn't ready to put into words yet. She was thankful she had the rabbit to help her acclimate to her new life.

As they made their way down more floors, the hallways full of office cubicles shifted into studio like living spaces. Each one was just slightly larger than their normal rooms, with just enough space to accommodate a small shower and kitchen. Pomni shuddered.

"Hey Poms, is this what your last place was like? Slave away crunching numbers all day and then drag yourself like a zombie to your studio apartment the size of a clown car?"

"You have no idea. Something like that." Her voice fell flat.

"Wow, really? That's the saddest thing I've ever heard." Jax mocked her, but he almost felt bad knowing that probably wasn't far off from the truth. Had she started playing the game in hopes of curing her clinical boredom? We're her nights of trespassing in abandoned buildings not fulfilling enough?

Pomni tried not to dwell on it. She walked into one of the empty rooms. It was plain and sterile, but genuinely not bad. It made her laugh to think of Caine running an apartment complex like a slumlord, overcharging tenants and letting the place fall apart around them. That sounded about right.

"Throw up a few posters and get some lights in here and it wouldn't be too bad." She bounced onto the small bed as she said that, shining the light around the room.

"Sure, if you're a hamster." Jax playfully scoffed at her.

"Says the bunny that would sleep in a literal burrow a tenth of the size." Pomni laughed at the mental image of Jax crammed into a tiny burrow, popping his head out covered in dirt.

"You wound me, Pompom. I'll have you know I'd take great pride in building a burrow, the biggest burrow you'd ever see. Bigger than this, that's for sure." He stepped closer to her and gestured to the kitchen-dining-living-bed room space.

"Whatcha think a place like this goes for? 6, 700?"

Pomni snorted. He had been in the circus a while.

"Oh God no! When's the last time you paid rent? I was paying 1300 for a place nearly half the size!"

"Holy [BLEEP] Poms no wonder you were so desperate to leave your life behind. That's just sad. Maybe the circus isn't so bad. Don't give Caine any ideas about making us pay rent. I bet whatever servers are running this joint don't come cheap."

Pomni snorted at the mental image of landlord Caine again.

"Maybe I'll convince him to give you a solo adventure where you get a normal job and have to pay bills. That'd be his scariest work yet." Pomni cackled and pictured the bunny in his fast food uniform, flipping burgers and having his wages garnished by the overbearing landlord.

"Oh please, you wouldn't survive without me. We both know you're too pathetic to make it on your own. 10 minutes into my first shift and you'd be sitting at my door like a dog waiting for it's owner to come home."

"Ouch, words hurt you know." She feigned distress and crossed her arms, pouting.

"Don't start acting like you're not into all of a sudden. We both know you're not that good of a liar."

She rolled her eyes. "They say every accusation is a confession."

"Oh yeah? And what exactly am I confessing?" Jax stood in front of her at the end of the bed. He leaned down so he was eye level with her.

"Only that you're hopelessly in looovvveee with me." She giggled and drew out the word.

"Don't flatter yourself, PomPom. Now who's confessing?" He put his hand over her face and paused for a moment before shoving her onto the bed.

"Hey! Rude!"

Jax climbed on top of her and held her hands in place above her head. Her face immediately blushed and she found herself at a loss of words.

"Is it rude because I'm being too nice?" He spoke softly and leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss into her forehead.

"Y-yes! Wait, no, no! Ugh, RUDE!" She was so flustered by his sudden display of affection. She could barely form a sentence. It felt like her brain has short circuited and her cheeks flushed harder as she made a fool of herself.

Jax simply chuckled and let go of her. He flopped down directly on top of her pretended to start snoring.

"Jax! Hey! You're heavy, move!" He wasn't, but she still wanted to give him a hard time. She playfully slapped at his shoulder and tried to push him off of her. She knew it would be no use but it was still fun to try.

"Sorry Pom. Can't hear ya. I'm asleep." He spoke between snores, trying not to break out into laughter himself.

Another 30 seconds of squirming under him like a crushed bug and she sighed and admitted defeat.

"Thank you Jax."

"For crushing you? Any time."

She rolled her eyes. "No I mean, for this, for bringing me here. I needed this. I- I needed you."

She felt Jax tense at her actual confession. She needed him. The words felt heavy on his chest and he wondered if that's how Pomni felt beneath him. It was a comforting weight.

"Yeah, of course. I mean, I figured you'd like it. It's no big deal." He tried to play cool.

"I mean it though. I'm still so new and so scared of everything in the circus. It's loud and confusing an overstimulating. And I didn't know this side of it existed. I didn't know this side of you existed. Thank you for showing me."

It was the rabbit's turn to blush. He stayed silent and let her keep speaking.

"Not to get all existential, but if I had to spend the rest of my life here, I'm glad I'd get to spend it with you. I didn't know anywhere in the circus could feel so normal. So human. I- I do miss my old life, yeah, but I think I'd miss you even more. Like, if I have to be here anyways, I want to make the most out of it, make a new normal. I'm just happy that we like. Get to spend time like this together. The circus is just something new for me to explore, and I get to do work with uh. Someone I care about. It's a little unconventional, sure, but I guess it could be worse. You could be an actual [BLEEP]hole."

Jax hummed and thought about what she said. His arms wrapped around her. He had noticed it too, how mundane she made the circus. It was a welcome change of pace from the chaos.

He sat up beside her and put a hand against her face, this time caressing her as he started into her pinwheel eyes.

"[BLEEP] Pom, you can't just say that." He barely hissed the words out, voice wavering as he hoped she would see through him like she always had.

"Why not? Because it's true? Or because you wish it wasn't?"

He grimaced. That was the last thing he wanted. He absentmindedly put more pressure against her face. He could feel the heat of her blush through his gloves. That would never get old.

"God no. I haven't heard something so real in the years I've spent in this fake [BLEEP]. I just. I don't get how you can be so casual about it. About this."

"Does it scare you?"

He hesitated.

"Yeah."

"Me too."

She nuzzled into the hand still on her face and yawned. They had been exploring for a while and sitting on the bed made her realize how much she wanted to curl up in Jax's.

"Ready to go?" He stood up and held his hand out. Pomni smiled as she took it and led them back to the hole they climbed into.

"Can I, is it okay if I sleep with you tonight?" Pomni sounded shy, she was nervous to ask.

"Like I'd give you any other choice."

She smiled and grabbed his hand as they made it back to the circus, not caring if anyone saw. He seemed to think the same thing and squeezed hers in return. It was a welcomed change for the both of them.

Chapter Text

The brief intermission from adventures was nice, everyone needed it. Caine summoned the cast after breakfast to meet in the main area of the circus and asked them to be in their uniforms.

Putting the jester outfit back on made Pomni feel stifled. It was stiff and tight in all the wrong places but the others didn't seem to mind theirs as much so she didn't mention it. She was just glad it wasnt permanent anymore.

Caine had spent the last few days programing them an adventure that he claimed would be a real doozie. He mentioned something about autumn activities, Pomni wondered if he kept track of the seasons in the real world or if he just had an idea of the major holidays humans involved themselves in.

"My grandiose grouse, today you'll make your way through the intricate corridors of the corn maze and enjoy carving pumpkins at the pumpkin patch!"

At the mention of the "c" word Jax froze like a deer in headlights. Pomni remembered how much he had freaked out during softball and at the bar when he saw it. Would he be okay?

She looked up at him and saw him gulp. She thought about grabbing his hand to reassure him, but didn't want to push her luck when she saw him straining to press his nails into his palms through the gloves. She would let him go to her.

"Now all of you make sure to have fun today! You have no idea how hard it is to program an entire field of corn! Those kernals really know how to jump away from you!"

Caine opened a portal for them and shoved them through. Jax was immediately on edge, eyes not looking up from the ground beneath his feet. Pomni looked around for him and thought about Caine mentioning a pumpkin patch.

"This should be fun! Do you think there are any maps for us?" Ragatha sounded as optimistic as ever. She felt at home in the farm adjacent setting and looked around for animals. There didn't seem to be any, which was admittedly disappointing.

"I dunno, ugh I hate mazes." Zooble groaned and looked bored already. Gangle was excited for it though which guaranteed they would join her.

"Hey, there's the pumpkin patch Caine mentioned. Hey, Jax, do you want to go carve pumpkins with me while the others go figure out the maze?" Pomni wanted to make this adventure as painless for him as possible.

He didn't say anything and just gave a small shrug. Like if he made his presence known the corn would punish him for it.

"You guys go have fun, we're uh, we're gonna go carve pumpkins."

"Okay, be careful! We'll see you both soon!" Ragatha waved the two of them off as they made their way to the pumpkin patch. Once she saw everyone had entered the maze she offered Jax her hand. He loosened the fist his hand was still balled into and gently took hers.

She walked ahead and let him follow her, keeping his eyes on her shoes in front of him. She brought them to the pumpkin patch and sat him down so the corn maze was completely out of view. There were pumpkins in all sizes scattered around, stacked precariously on bales of hay. Some were bigger than her, nearly as big as Jax even. She couldn't imagine carving one that big. How many pies could it make?

"Want me to go choose us some pumpkins? If we get to carve them it means you get to stab something."

That seemed to get his attention. He gave her an awkward smile and nodded, but hesitated to let go of her hand. She gave it a first squeeze before she broke away from him.

Pomni looked around for the perfect pumpkins. She settled on one that was oblong, oval in shape. It was longer than it was tall. She rolled it back to where they were sitting and went to find another one. There was one the size of her head that was perfectly round. Good enough, she thought. She rolled that one back too, unable to carry them on her own.

There were already tools waiting for them, knives and spoons at their disposal.

Jax took a deep breath and held the large carving knife in both hands. He dramatically screamed out as he slammed it down into the top of his round pumpkin with a heavy crack.

"Holy [BLEEP] Jax remind me not to get on your bad side." Pomni giggled at his dramatics. He needed it.

He didn't say anything, just shrugged again and gave her a little smirk as he slide the knife around the top of the pumpkin, making a hole to get the insides out of.

Pomni had a harder time with her pumpkin. Jax had made it look so easy, and she was reminded how much she hated her jester avatar. She was quick and nimble but her strength was clearly lacking.

By the time she had managed to carve an awkward hole out of the top of her pumpkin Jax had already ripped half of the guts out of his, not worrying about the mess he made all over himself. She figured between the cool slimy feeling of the pumpkin guts and the artificial pumpkin scent that came along with it, it would be a good distraction to help ground Jax.

The two worked in silence for a while aside from the occasional grunts of frustration as they struggled with their pumpkins. Neither knew what the other was making.

Some time passed and Pomni stood up and looked at her pumpkin. It was missing something. She looked around the pumpkin patch for something to finish it. There was an area of gourds that didn't match the rest. One was thin and long, resembling an overgrown zucchini. She giggled to herself and took it back to where she was working.

Painstakingly, she split it down the middle long ways and stuck each half into either side of her pumpkin. She nodded in approval and smiled, proud of her creation.

Jax looked like he was finishing up with his too. "Wanna reveal them at the same time?" He broke his silence and questioned her design choices from what he could see. She perked up at the question and agreed.

"On the count of 3?"

"One... Two... Three!"

They spun their pumpkins around at the same time and both spit out laughing

"It's me!"

They laughed even harder as they shouted their realizations in unison.

"Oh my God Jax it looks just like me that's scary good!"

He had managed to carve her face into the pumpkin and even used other tools to scrape away the layers, making her blushed cheeks and pinwheel eyes stand out from the rest that remained uncarved around it.

"Is that supposed to be me?"

Hers had a crooked smile and the lopsided ears threatened to fall off.

"We can't all be the next Van Gogh you know!" She acted like his words offended her as they were interrupted.

"Oh my God could you two be any more obsessed with each other? What, is this a Hallmark movie?"

Pomni jumped straight up like a cat, not expecting anyone. Zooble led the way with Gangle as the crew headed over to the pumpkin patch, finished with the maze.

"Oh! Wow! Um, hi! You guys uh, finished that pretty quick." Pomni was embarrassed at Zooble calling the duo out again. Jax was already in a mood and chose to ignore them.

"Yeah, Caine's mazes are usually pretty lack luster. This one has a bunch of left turns in it, it felt like we were going in circles."

As the group reunited a portal opened, but there was no rush to go through for anyone that wasn't Jax. As soon as he saw it he jumped up and stormed through without saying a word.

"I'm uh, gonna go check on him. Are you guys gonna hang out?"

"Go ahead, I think so. Gangle and I were excited for pumpkins. Yours turned out really cute by the way, I really like the ears!"

Pomni smiled at Ragatha's compliment and waved as she hopped through the portal to find her rabbit. He was long since gone. She figured he would be in his room, but she had to get out of the jester costume first. She quickly changed back into her pajamas and sped off to his room.

She knocked quietly, worried she'd scare him. "Jax? It's just me. The others are staying back to hang out in the pumpkin patch for a bit. Can I come in?"

She heard a muffled "yes" that sounded like it came from across the room. She opened the door and couldn't find the rabbit anywhere. She realized he was in his makeshift burrow.

Parting the blankets to the entrance and poking her head in, she gave him a small smile. "How you holding up? Or uh, don't answer that. Dumb question. Obviously bad."

He didn't mind the dumb questions or her presence, but he wanted to sit with her.

"Shut up." He didn't mean to come off so aggressive when he spoke to her. It threw her off for a moment.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry, did I-" before she was finished she was interrupted.

"I said shut up." Speaking in nearly a growl, grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into his blanket burrow and threw his arms around her. He just wanted to sit in her comfortable silence and forget about the nauseating smell of the corn maze. Pomni understood immediately and hugged him in return, rubbing his back gently.

He pictured the kernals of corn. Even in their husks he couldn't bear it, knowing the small clustered kernals threatened to burst out at the seams like the undulating eyes as they ripped apart -

He stopped himself mid thought. He hadn't explicitly thought about the visceral sight in a long time. He shuddered and Pomni noticed, wrapping tighter around him but staying quiet.

They stayed like that for some time before Jax finally spoke, choosing his words carefully.

"It's like, each piece is threatening to come to life. Like eggs of a parasite waiting to hatch, or eyes waiting to spring open and consume you. It's just. It's wrong." He choked on his words, struggling to get the last few out.

Pomni had a feeling this had to do more with abstraction than actual corn. She wasn't going to push him to say anything he wasn't ready for. Being this vulnerable was already a humiliating feat for him and she wasn't going to rub salt in the wound.

She wasn't opposed to lemon juice, though.

"Hey Jax. Aren't you like, a bunny?"

He sniffled and sat up, pulling away to look at her with a confused expression on his face.

"Poms I know I'm the one having the breakdown right now, but are you losing it? Do we need a see n' say to jumpstart that brain of yours?"

She was happy to hear him teasing her.

"Well I just mean, you're a bunny. And you burrow. You know. Like, in a hole. Doesn't it just seem like, I don't know, some kind of divine punishment or something?"

He blinked at her and looked like he wanted to hurl.

"What the [BLEEP] is wrong with you, oh my God."

"Oh, [BLEEP] [BLEEP] [BLEEP] Sorry Jax I don't - I didn't - I just thought it was y'know, ironic [BLEEP] I'm so sorry I didn't mean to make it-."

Jax put his hand over her mouth and chuckled. She was backpedaling hard and it distracted him well enough.

"Jesus Pom, take away the one comfort I have in this place why don't you? You that sick of me already?"

She shook her head furiously in disagreement, eyes wide with regret.

"Oh I get it, you want to be my only comfort then, huh? Greedy much?" Jax could tell she genuinely felt bad when her face started turning red, yellow, blue.

"It's fine short stack, it is pretty funny now that you mention it. You can breathe." Jax took his hand away from her mouth.

She didn't even realize she was holding her breath as she gasped for air she didn't need. As he moved his hand away she leap forward and wrapped herself around him in a tight hug, burying her face in his chest as an apology.

"Maybe I should take notes from Ragatha on the whole comforting people thing." Pomni was glad he couldn't see the embarrassment on her face.

"Oh God please don't, the last thing we need is two of her running around nagging people."

Pomni thought about it, a second overbearing Ragatha checking in and nit picking every questionable decision and playing damage control. She knew it came from a good place but there was no denying it got overwhelming.

She took a deep breath in and nuzzled into Jax. He smiled at her affection and flopped back onto the bed with her. She was practically on top of him. Closing her eyes, Jax followed her lead and finally started to feel calm enough to let himself relax.

The two of them quickly fell asleep in each other's arms and spent the whole night like that, neither of them bothered by bad dreams as they slept.

Chapter Text

Jax had been tense since the maze adventure. He felt stupid freezing up in front of everyone and having to be bailed out by Pomni. No one else cared, but they could tell he was in a mood when he snatched Gangle's comedy mask from her for the first time in a couple weeks. It felt long overdue, he thought.

She had already been in a sour mood and was whining about how she had art block and couldn't draw her manga protagonist sexy enough or something and he was tired of it. He figured it wasn't like the mask was doing her any good at the moment anyways.

"What's wrong ribbons, don't tortured artists make the best work? I'm just trying to do you a favor!" He held the mask out of her reach, dangling it precariously between two fingers.

"Come on Jax, [BLEEP] off already. No one wants to play your dumb games." Zooble glared at him and watched Gangle struggle to stay calm.

"Jax please! I don't want to break it again! Caine's been too busy to fix it! You were being so nice, what gives?!" Gangle cried out, desperately trying to grasp at her comedy mask as tears flowed down her remaining face.

Jax frowned and dropped it, annoyed at being seen as anything other than obnoxiously funny and playfully antagonistic at best. The joke wasn't funny anymore. The mask fumbled in Gangle's ribbons several times before she successfully caught it, barely able to avoid it shattering. She sighed in relief and fixed it in place before returning to her spot doodling beside Zooble.

Maybe he could hassle Kinger for some centipedes to ditch in Ragatha's pillow cases or find somewhere to go blow off some steam. He was [BLEEP]ed off and his attempt at entertainment didn't help. He wasn't in the mood for his usual antics. He was just in a mood.

He found himself wandering the circus aimlessly. He had a couple random keys in his pocket but he couldn't be bothered with remembering what they were to. As he walked his mind wondered to Pomni. What would she be doing right now? He hated how much he missed her.

After breakfast she had said goodbye to everyone and told them she was going for a walk. He wasn't used to her openly exploring the circus alone. He questioned if she was starting to get more comfortable with her new surroundings, feeling bold enough to venture out by herself. It was nice to think of her as more confident.

Despite her constant worrying and anxious demeanor she never failed to match his energy. That's what he loved about her. She was funny and kind and thoughtful, but also sassy and cool and quick witted.

Jax groaned, annoyed at how sappy he was being. There was also a twinge of guilt he tried to keep buried away, like he didn't deserve her company. Like he wasn't good enough for her friendship. Like he was betraying the friend he failed.

It was still hard for him to think of anyone as his friend. He had sworn he would never let anyone get that close again. Yet there was the jester, spending most of her time with him and laughing at all of his bad jokes. She hadn't been in the circus that long yet she had already grown so close to him.

It still wasn't close enough for Jax. When he had gotten over the initial fear of letting anyone know him and of being vulnerable he found himself craving her attention constantly. She was the only one that understood. Sometimes she acted like she made it her mission to understand him.

She would get so focused, look at him with so much intent, it was like she could see through any mask he dared to put up. Like he was the only thing in her world. If she wasn't focused on him, it shouldn't matter. He felt so selfish, and he loved it. He questioned if he loved her.

The question made him blink a couple times and stop in his tracks. Did he love her? The two of them had become close and found a new normal in each others company, that was undeniable. And they had both confessed to each other in no certain terms back in the abandoned building they explored together.

Jax thought back to the sight of her under him, blushing in the glow of the dim digital city lights that peeked through the windows. No matter how often he gazed at her face, he couldn't get used to how much he never wanted to look away. He was mesmerized by her pinwheel eyes.

But was it love? He hadn't entertained the idea of love, even before the circus. Sure he had a couple casual flings, but it was never anything beyond that. He shrugged off the question kept walking.

He got bored of the corridors quickly enough and had the idea to step outside the tent. There wasn't much on the grounds outside of a pretend lake and some trees nearby, but sometimes it was nice to look at the artificial sky. As long as you didn't accidentally make eye contact with the sun or moon. Especially the moon.

Jax shuddered thinking about the last time he had encountered her, asking if he enjoyed her night, or more importantly if Caine enjoyed it. She always asked about Caine. It made his skin crawl to imagine an AI programming something to be obsessed with him. Maybe he should ask for some tips.

That was a messed up thought. He still chuckled at it though, if only it were that easy. He decided that he'd just have to try harder. It wasn't fair if he were the only one stuck constantly pining for the other. He needed Pomni to love him, to need him more than he needed her. He wanted to be her everything.

The digital sun shone down on the circus grounds. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Caine hadn't coded any weather patterns, and that was probably for the best. Knowing him he'd send everyone out in the middle of a hurricane to test how lifelike it was. Maybe Jax could suggest an episode where they chase tornados. He pictures Gangle's ribbons getting swept up in the twister and laughed. That was definitely going in the suggestion box.

He was so wrapped up in thought that he didn't notice he wasn't alone. There was a handful of trees that looked like something a toddler would draw sitting in front of a glass still lake. Under it, Pomni sat and stared out at the water, just as oblivious of his presence as he was of hers.

She had found herself more tired of the circus than usual. She felt cooped up and claustrophobic in the tent despite its seemingly endless space. Stepping outside helped, giving her a break from the oversaturated corridors that assaulted her vision. She was sure her head would start throbbing if she had to sit in there for another minute.

Jax stopped as he approached the tree and saw her. He smiled softly and stood there for a moment, not wanting to interrupt her. He started at her longer than he meant to. At some point Pomni got the uncanny feeling that she wasn'talone, and it wasn't just the sun that kept her company.

She glanced around and saw Jax. Her eyes went wide as they caught each others gaze and his face went red. How long had he been watching her?

"Jesus Christ Jax do I have to put a bell on you? Are you some kind of stalker now?"

He laughed and walked over to sit next to her.

"Oh please Poms don't flatter yourself. If I were your stalker I'd be pretty bored."

"So why'd you get embarrassed when I caught you staring at me then? Didn't want me to see you admiring my otherworldly beauty?" She batted her eye lashes, dragging out her words in a sickly sweet tone he couldn't help but chuckle at.

"Embarrassed? Me? Ha! As if. We both know that's your thing."

Pomni rolled her eyes and leaned against him, looking back out at the lake.

"I was just thinking about you."

Jax's ears perked up. Maybe getting the jester to obsess over him would be easier than he thought. Ugh, was he really still stuck on that thought, though?

"Of course you were, why wouldn't you be?"

"Of course, because obviously I'm completely and utterly obsessed with your every move."

"Jeez, now who's the stalker Pompom?"

They quipped back and forth before falling into another comfortable silence. It was broken by a deep breath from Pomni. She found herself content as his side staring out at the calm lake.

Jax closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the tree. The who of them relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. Before long, they had fallen asleep on each other.

"Hey guys, they're over here! Jax, Pomni, there you are we were-" Their slumber was interrupted by the sound of Ragatha shouting for the others, who stopped herself when she saw Pomni leaned against Jax, sleeping peacefully.

Pomni jumped awake with a scream, which in turn woke Jax up who started cursing and pushed the jester off of him. The last thing he wanted was for them to think he'd gone soft.

"Uh, sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to! We were just, Caine wanted to send us on an adventure earlier but we didn't know where you guys were and he said a scavenger hunt would probably make for a better adventure so he could have time to work out some bugs! But then we looked everywhere and we still didn't find you and then we came out here and there you are! Found you! Yup!" Ragatha rambled on as the others met her under the tree with Jax and Pomni.

"Jesus there you two are, Caine made us search the entire circus for you. Pomni you actually almost had us worried there for a minute, we thought Jax had kidnapped you and started to torture you or something." Zooble crossed their arms and gave Jax a suspicious look and waited for him to take the bait.

"No, um, he actually uh, he just found me out here and sat down because he was tired from looking all over for me. That's all." Jax and Zooble both laughed at Pomni's pathetic attempt at an excuse before Jax glared at them for laughing at his Pomni.

"Congrats, adventures over. Now scram." Jax pushed past Zooble and made his way back to the entrance. Zooble gave Ragatha and Pomni a questioning look. Ragatha averted her eyes, still embarrassed by finding the two of them like that, and Pomni just shrugged.

They made their way back into the circus and found themselves met by Caine. "Excellent work you exuberant eels! Who know Jax and Pomni would be so good at hiding!"

Gangle and Zooble snickered between each other and [BLEEP]ed Jax off more, joking about how they hid away to get time by themselves. That was so not what happened. Besides, they go off on their own all the time. Why did it only matter now?

Caine went on about how his next adventure was buggier than he realized and until then to keep each other occupied and not go crazy from boredom while he fixed it up the next couple days. When he finally left, Jax had more than enough excitement and darted back to his room.

"I'm uh, gonna go check on him. Sorry. I'll see you guys later." Pomni left awkwardly, knowing there was no hiding how close she was to the rabbit anymore. They couldn't pretend forever.

Chapter Text

"Jax?" Pomni didn't wait for a response before letting herself into his room. He was laying flat on his bed, blankets scattered around the floor. She frowned seeing his burrow thrown everywhere and picked out her favorite blanket from the pile, a huge and soft purple one. Almost as soft as Jax.

Throwing it over her shoulders, she in turn threw herself on the bed and sat in Jax's lap. He glanced up at her with a defeated look in his eyes.

"What's wrong, funny bunny?" He rolled his head onto it's side to avoid eye contact. This time it was her turn to caress his face, gently turning him to look at her.

Her eyes were wide with concern. He could see himself frowning in the reflection of her gaze, sighing in defeat. She hadn't said anything else, but he knew she wanted some kind of an answer. Even if he didn't have a clear one. It was only fair he held himself to the same standards he held her.

"Nothing. I don't know. I'm just. In a mood. Have been all day." He didn't want to admit that he was so caught up in his head about being seen as weak by the others and struggling with the guilt that went along side feeling like he was replacing the first person that actually meant something to him.

"Eh, me too. We can be in a mood together." That answer was good enough for Pomni, she knew he still had a long way to go before he would be comfortable really opening up to her. Just letting her see him vulnerable was enough for now.

She laid her head down on his chest and wrapped her arms around him, laying with her full weight on top of him. She was like a weighted blanket, and Jax welcomed the pressure.

He nuzzled his chin against her head and she giggled. "Being with you helps, though."

Jax felt a surge go through him. Being with him, she said. He didn't think before he spoke.

"Do you want to? Be with me, that is. Not just here like this, but actually be with me?"

Pomni sat up and looked at him with a neutral expression. Her face began to heat up as a blush spread over her cheeks.

"L-like, as in, be with you, with you? As your, uh, girlfriend?" She could barely squeak the last word out.

Without changing his expression, he looked up at her and nodded. He was trying to be calm, but as soon as the words left his mouth he could feel the regret and anxiety set in. She was going to think this was stupid. He was so desperate for the concrete proof he needed to confirm how she felt. He knew, or he at least suspected, but he wouldn't believe it until he heard it from her.

She hesitated, and he noticed. "Forget it Pom, sorry, didn't mean to make things weird." He tried to back pedal and she looked hurt.

"No! Wait, I mean, yes! Yes I do want to. To be yours. Your girlfriend, that is. I just didn't know if you uh. Actually liked me like that, or if you were just keeping me around to entertain yourself. Because well not that I mind being your entertainment, I just uh, want to be on the same page. Y'know? I really like you. And I really hope you like me too."

It was Jax's turn for his eyes to go wide. He started at her and his smirk grew as she kept rambling.

"What's not to like about a girl that's so obsessed with me she chased me to my room to straddle me?"

Pomni's face felt like it was on fire and she tried to protest. She didn't make it very far before Jax laughed and pulled her into a kiss.

"So then. I'm your girlfriend. Like, I'm actually dating you, we are dating." Pomni's inability to form a coherent sentence cured Jax's sour mood enough to replace his half smirk with a full smile.

"You're my girlfriend." He echoed, agreeing with her. "Mine." He followed with, his voice deep with a possessiveness she hadn't heard from him before.

"Yours? You own me now?"

"Yup. You signed the contract when you admitted you like being my entertainment."

She had said that, hadn't she? She hoped he would make her regret those words. He seemed to have the same idea, putting a hand on the back of her head and pulling her into kiss.

They had kissed before, but hearing the rabbit call her his made it so much more intense to the jester. She had confirmation that he wanted her, not just as some plaything, but as his. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

She deepened the kiss, barely giving them enough time to catch a breath between them as their lips pressed against each other. Was it even possible for him to be into her that much? She had fallen head over heels and found herself thinking about him nearly constantly. She thought it wasn't fair, being so obsessed with someone and not even knowing if they felt remotely the same.

She let out a faint moan as he bit into her lower lip, she could feel his breath as he scoffed in amusement. He loved the small sounds she made for him. She ignored her embarrassment and bit him back, just enough for him to feel it.

His lips trailed away from her mouth as he planted quick, firm kisses on her cheeks, making her giggle. He lowered himself to her neck, kissing the whole way. She loved the way he nestled into the crook of her neck, pressing his lips into her, nipping gently at her skin with his teeth.

He gradually increased how hard he bit into her, barely a nibble at first, working into a full bite, kissing and gently suckling at the skin after each one. He let out a moan of his own as he sank his teeth into her. He didn't care of it left a mark. He hoped it did. She cried out at the pain but didn't protest, the sound driving him crazy. He needed her.

"I still expect you to tell me the moment I do anything you don't even remotely like. Do you understand?" He pulled away and looked her in the eyes without a hint of amusement on his face.

Pomni breathed heavy and looked at him, nodding shyly.

"Do you understand? I asked you a question, I expect an answer."

"Y-yes, I do, I understand." Her voice caught in her throat as a she shivered. She loved when he demanded a response from her.

The way he reassured her that even though he was in control she could stop it at a moments notice was enough to ease her mind of any insecurities and doubts she had about him. About being close to him. She knew she was safe with him.

She let that feeling of safety and warmth wash over her as he put his hands on her hips. She was still on top of him and could feel how badly he wanted her. She could feel the way he throbbed against her as she let herself glide over him, grinding their bodies together. She found herself annoyed at their clothes, but didnt want to stop to remove them yet.

He let out another groan and used his hands to help guide her hips. She could feel his claws threatening to dig their way through his gloves. She took her hands and put them on top of his, holding them for a moment. Pulling them up to her lips, she kissed the back of each hand before pulling his gloves off and guiding them back to her hips.

He adjusted and firmly grabbed at her waist, letting his claws press into her sides. It didn't hurt, but she enjoyed the pressure against her skin. His hands were so soft and the claws so sharp, the way those sensations rivaled each other was like electricity coursing through her.

She leaned down to kiss Jax again and gasped as she continued to grind into him. He had begun to move his hips too, pressing himself against her with more force. She could barely stand it anymore.

"Jax, please." She hesitated to say the rest.

"Please what, Poms? What do you want me to do?"

"Please [BLEEP] me." The sudden censor threw her off, she froze for a moment. "Oh for [BLEEP]s sake I can [BLEEP] him but I can't say it?"

Jax laughed at her and made her laugh in return. He reset the mood for them, teasing her.

"Gosh Pomni, you don't have to be so vulgar about it. You could ask nicely you know."

He dug his claws into her waist and listened to her whimper for him.

"Please, Jax, make love to me."

His ears were stiffer than his cock. Of all the ways she could've asked, she was there on top of him, begging him to make love to her. And he got to hear every desperate sound she made to convince him.

"How can I say no when you ask so sweetly?" He hissed under his breath, trying to keep his composure.

"Help me with your clothes, Pom."

She nodded and shifted off of his lap, sitting beside him. She started unbuttoning her jumpsuit with shaky hands. He leaned up and helped her, giving her another kiss on the forehead before he slipped her sleeves down over her arms.

"Lay back."

She did as she was told and laid down, lifting herself up from the mattress with her legs so he could pull her clothes off of her the rest of the way. He pulled his hoodie off and threw their clothes behind them.

Unbuttoning his pants, he spread Pomni's legs and brought his face between them. He put his arms under her legs and rested his hands on her thighs, pulling her close. He started with small kisses down her inner thighs as he moved his hands softly over her in reassurance.

She couldn't help herself from making more sounds while he kissed between her legs. Just like he had done to her neck, he gave it a small nip before putting more pressure behind it. He dug his teeth into her thigh and she cried out for him. He couldn't help himself as he moaned in response and left another bite.

He worked his way further down her legs, stopping before he reached her pussy. He let out a breath he had been holding and looked up at Pomni.

"This is what you want?" He wasn't asking to embarrass her this time, but to make sure she was comfortable before he continued.

"Yes, please Jax." She knew if she didn't give a vocal response he would stop. Her own voice surprised her at how desperate she sounded. The last thing she wanted was for him to stop. Her chest burned with desire. She was squirming, trying to bring herself closer to him as he stopped for consent. He held her still in place and refused to let her.

He grinned and started kissing her again, moving back and forth between her thighs before giving her gentle kisses working down her pussy. He brushed his tongue along her as soft as he could and she gasped out in surprise. It was so warm and firm. She melted under him.

She didn't think Jax would be so focused on her with the way he acted. She expected him to simply climb on top and have sex with her to satisfy himself or make her do all the work while he laid back. She almost wished that's what he had done, instead of making her the center of attention. She felt embarrassed and put her hands on his head, running her fingers through his fur to comfort herself.

He continued to explore her with his tongue, focusing on her clit as he gently sucked it between his lips and flicked his tongue over it. Her breathing grew deep and shaky. She hadn't realized it, but at some point she had gripped her hands around his ears. He didn't mind. The tighter she gripped, the more intensely he suckled and licked at her clit.

His ears were sensitive and he loved the attention. Her hands felt so small and secure wrapped around them. She was dripping, her pussy tensing as he sped up with his tongue. Her body began to tremble.

"Jax, I- I think I'm gonna-" he held onto her legs tighter and continued. The feeling of his claws pressing into her thighs sent her over the edge, the sudden sharp pain mixing with the pleasure of his tongue.

She could feel her orgasm build up, hands tight around his ears as the pleasure spilled over. She cried out desperate moans and shouted his name, pressing herself into him as she thrusted her hips for more. Her ears were ringing and she could barely think. She had no idea an orgasm could be that satisfying.

She let her grip loosen on his ears. "S-sorry, I didn't mean-" before she could finish Jax cut her off.

"Don't apologize. You're perfection."

Even if she had wanted to continue whatever she was apologizing for, she froze hearing that. He brought himself up onto his knees and knelt between her legs. Sliding his hands into his pants, he pulled out his cock, stroking it in front of her.

The entire time Pomni didn't break eye contact with him. She was still turned on and waiting for him to satisfy himself next.

"Do you still want me to make love to you?" He spoke softly as his breath hitched while he masturbated himself.

"God, yes please. Please make love to me, Jax." Her begging was enough to convince him.

He brought his cock to her and gently pressed the tip against her entrance. He took a sharp breath and began to slowly work his way into her, making sure not to rush it.

She was more than horny enough to take him, but he wanted to savor the moment as he pushed into her for the first time. She arched back and moaned as she finally felt him slip inside, struggling not to curse but not wanting to set off another censor.

"Oh God, Pom. You feel so good around me." He began to thrust himself into her and in response she began to grind her hips, trying to feel every inch of him inside of her.

He let himself lean over her and kissed her as they had sex, taking in every gasp and moan she made pressed against his lips. She brought her hands up to his face and held him as they made love.

He began to pick up his pace and the two moaned in ecstacy. Pomni wrapped her legs around him, pulling him in as close as she could.

"Jax, please, I want you to finish for me. I need to feel you inside of me." Her hands moved away from his face wrapped around his torso. She couldn't help herself as she dug her fingers into him, grasping at whatever she could as he used her.

She felt his cock twitch inside of her as he got closer. He brought one of his hands to her face and the other her hip, letting his claws dig in again. He could feel her tense around him as he did and the feeling was enough to push him to orgasm.

"Pomni, I'm cumming." He gasped quickly before pressing his lips back into her, using her mouth to stifle his moans of pleasure. She moaned with him as he thrust deeply into her one last time before carefully pulling himself out. His cum spilled out around his cock and onto his bed as he did.

"Thank you, Pomni." His words shook as he spoke between breaths. "You did amazing, you're so perfect." He put a hand back against her face and gave her another tender kiss as he praised her. She had barely done anything, if anything he should be the one being praised.

"Thank you too, Jax. That was incredible. I- I didn't know..." She stopped mid sentence and looked away.

"Hm? Know what?" Jax wasn't going to let her not finishing that thought.

"I didn't know it would be like that. That it would um. Be that good."

"What, did you think I'd be a disappointment in bed? You wound me."

"No not that! I just mean, well, um, in general. I didn't know it would feel that nice."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Wait, Poms, are you telling me that you're a virgin?"

"Well not anymore!" She squeaked in her defense.

Jax felt something akin to pride warm his chest. He was happy that he had giving her a good first experience. He thought about his first time and how awkward it had unintentionally been. He wanted to make sure she was comfortable and satisfied no matter what.

He rubbed his thumb over her cheek and looked at her lovingly. "You're just full of surprises today. And we'll. Me, of course."

She rolled her eyes at his stupid joke and closed her eyes, letting herself press into his hand on her cheek. She felt so close to him and so content.

He gave her a quick kiss before standing up. "Let me grab something and let's get you cleaned up." She nodded and watched him grab a towel from his wardrobe, likely added for a future beach adventure. Thankfully they had already established the clothes would automatically clean themselves when the day reset. Hopefully the bed would too.

The two of them cleaned up and put minimal clothes back on. Pomni stole his hoodie, not wanting to wear her jumpsuit again and ruin the mood. He slipped on a pair of sleep pants and laid down, motioning for her to join him on his chest.

She was happy to oblige. They settled in and got comfortable, ready to relax for the evening. It wasn't long before they had drifted off back to sleep, exhausted from enjoying each other's company.

Chapter Text

Waking up to the sound of soft snoring, Pomni was disoriented. She had slept through the night and was dead to the world. Jax looked like he was sleeping just as hard. Hopefully he would be in a better mood today.

Caine had mentioned having more bugs to work out of his next adventure, so there wouldn't be one for at least another couple days. He had been giving them more breaks lately and morale around the circus seemed to improve.

Between the downtime after adventures and lack of harassment from the local funny guy, things had been going smoothly. It was a fry cry from the constant screams between bouts of sadistic laughter compared to her arrival.

Pomni found herself wondering if she even wanted to get out still, thinking back to her life before. Lonely, isolated, repetitive. She would've done anything to free herself during her first month at the circus, anything to prove her other cellmates wrong. Now she was indifferent to the thought of escape.

Seems like it would be an existential day for her. Maybe she could convince Jax to show her another room somewhere in the tent, or they could see what the others were up to and all hang out. She felt bad for ditching them so much lately. She was just so excited to see a part of the circus that wasn't terrifying with someone she could trust.

Jax stirred beside her and reached over to pull her into a hug. He was clingy when he was sleepy. He was just clingy in general. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and snuggled into him.

"I think I'm gonna go to breakfast and see what everyone's up to soon."

Jax groaned. "Already? Ughhh okay. I'm gonna sleep some more. You really know how to wear a guy out Poms, you know that?"

She blushed and rolled her eyes at his dumb jokes. At least it sounded like he was feeling better though.

She got up and put Jax's hoodie on, deciding she would stop by her room to throw on some shorts instead of torturing herself with her jester costume again. She was keeping the hoodie though.

After getting pants on she made her way to breakfast and waved to greet everyone.

"Good morning Pomni! I was hoping you'd join us!" Ragatha was the first to greet her as usual.

Pomni grabbed some fruit and toast, not having much of an appetite but wanting the company. Ragatha made the assumption that something was on her mind and began to pry.

"We haven't hung out in a bit, are you uh, doing okay Pomni?"

Pomni stared and looked up from her orange she had been struggling to peel.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm good. Just, taking some time to myself y'know?"

"That's good. I was starting to get worried there with Jax hounding you so much."

Hounding her? That was on way to put it, though it didn't seem like a fair observation.

"Jax has been showing me around the circus some, I think it's been helping actually. It's less intimidating when I know what's around."

Ragatha hummed before Zooble chimed in.

"There's something I never thought I'd see, Jax actually helping someone. I don't know what you did to the real Jax or how you got an imposter to replace him, but I don't think I'm complaining."

Gangle nodded in agreement. "I think he's actually been kinda nice lately. P-please don't tell him I said that!"

Pomni giggled a little and assured Gangle her lips were sealed.

Ragatha scoffed under her breath and seemed unable to stop fidgeting while the others spoke. Even Kinger chimed in on the topic of Jax's sudden change in attitude, how it reminded him of the rabbit's demeanor when he first arrived. Had Pomni really made that big of a difference in such little time?

"It's gotta be too good to be true." Zooble had never known Jax as anything but an [BLEEP]hole.

"Just, be careful, okay?" Ragatha hesitated to speak.

Pomni raised her brow. "Careful?" She was hoping for Ragatha to elaborate.

"It's just, I know you want to see the best in him, but you're still really new here, and he's still Jax. So be careful, okay? You don't know what he's capable of."

What was Ragatha accusing him of exactly? It felt unfair that he wasn't even there to defend himself or tell her to shut up. Pomni wanted him to, at least.

"What he's capable of?" Pomni echoed back, a little dumbfounded. She believed Ragatha didn't know what he was capable of either, thinking back to how much he had helped her during her time in the circus.

"I just think he can be a lot, you know? He's not... The nicest guy." She hesitated.

Pomni understood there was a lot she didn't know about him and the things the cast had been through before her arrival. As far as she knew, he had really gone downhill after losing someone close to him. She tried not to take Ragatha's words personally.

"I just don't want to see you end up like Ribbit. That's all."

The words hung in the air and everyone glanced at each other, as if in fear Jax had heard and would be there to reprimand them at a moments notice.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Pomni's tone fell flat. She didn't mean to sound defensive, but it was hard not to when Ragatha's concern came across as a thinly veiled accusation.

"Well, I, uh" she began to stutter. "I just mean, well, we all know how close they were. And we saw what happened."

Now Pomni was getting annoyed. Ragatha wasn't even trying to hide it anymore.

"Actually, we don't all know. Not all of us were here." If Ragatha was going to throw out a bombshell like that the least she could do is back herself up and provide some context.

"Right, you're right. I'm sorry Pomni, just forget I said anything." Ragatha tried to downplay her concern, realizing she had upset the jester.

"No, Ragatha, I don't think I will."

The ragdoll blinked, not expecting Pomni's short response.

"I think that if you're going to sit here and tell me he's responsible for Ribbit abstracting you should stop beating around the bush and just come out and say it."

"That's uh- that's not what I meant!" Ragatha tried to defend herself, wringing her hands together.

Everyone else was tense, not wanting to get between them. They all knew Ragatha cared, probably too much, about the rest of the cast. She didn't always show it the best way. It was hard not to see her as overbearing or condescending when she questioned their choices or acted like she knew better, was better. She held herself on an impossibly high pedestal.

Pomni stared at her and didn't break her silence. This wasn't how she wanted breakfast to go.

"I just mean, well, they were really close. For a while. And then one day they weren't, and then next thing we know Ribbit is gone and Jax hasn't said a nice word since. When you do the math..."

"Do the math? When you're missing half of the equation? What does it add up to, Ragatha? Someone traumatized by losing the only person they felt comfortable with in this [BLEEP] show and having trouble coping with it?" Pomni swallowed hard and continued.

"I get that he's a [BLEEP]. I get that I'm still new here. I didn't know him before he lost Ribbit, and I don't want to act like I'm going to excuse his actions towards all of you because I have no doubt that he's taken his jokes too far. But I know he cared about them. More than you pretend to, thats for sure. And I know it's not fair that you're sitting here blaming him behind his back, as if he doesn't blame himself enough already. You don't get to tell me to be careful because you think you know what's best for me. You think you know me? You don't. You think you know him? You don't. So don't sit here and pretend you're looking out for me because you don't like the guy. If you think I'm making a mistake, it's mine to make."

Before Ragatha could respond Pomni got up from the table and stormed off.

"Pomni, wait! I'm sorry!" Ragatha went to follow her and was interrupted by Zooble.

"I think she needs a minute, Ragatha. I know you're trying to look out for her, but that was a little unfair."

Ragatha nodded and sat back down, hanging her head in shame. There was no way Pomni would want to be her friend after that.

Chapter Text

Jax figured he had moped in bed long enough. To be fair, he wasn't actually moping like usual, he just couldn't remember being so comfortable. It would've been perfect if Pomni had stayed and slept in with him, but he knew he couldn't logically keep her all to himself. Knowing he could actually call her his gave him the confidence boost and reassurance he needed when she left for breakfast.

He laid flat on his bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking back to Pomni beneath him. She had looked and sounded so beautiful. So perfect. He didn't care if he was being sappy, he earned it. There was still a voice nagging him in the back of his mind, but he was proud of himself for opening up to her.

He rolled over and saw her jester hat on his bed in her place. She had forgotten it. He reached out to it and hugged it close, taking a deep breath in. He let himself hum in content. It had been a long time since he felt safe enough to let himself lay out like that. He had kept himself safely tucked away in a makeshift burrow for so long.

It made him feel like Kinger sometimes, hiding in the dark like he had been shunned by the light. He had a feeling Kinger would approve of his burrows if he ever found out about them.

Jax decided he was bored and wanted the other's company for once. He got up and searched for his hoodie, remembering Pomni had stollen it. He laughed, thinking that had been her goal when she made it for him all along.

He flicked through his wardrobe and decided on a baggy t-shirt and some joggers. The wardrobe update was still his favorite idea yet.

He hugged Pomni's hat to himself one last time before leaving it back in her spot on the bed and headed to breakfast.

"Morning losers, you all miss me?"

He was met with an awkwardly silent table, void of Pomni. He tried not to worry about it. Maybe she had stepped out for a moment or got distracted after leaving his room and was late. No one would make eye contact with him as he looked around.

"Geez, did Bubble bomb a new recipe today or something?"

He grabbed his usual toast and some coffee, leaning back in his chair as he crunched away.

"Good morning Jax, you just missed Pomni! How'd you sleep?" Kinger finally broke the silence when he realized the rabbit was there.

His ear twitched, disappointed that he had missed her. "Like a baby" he said between bites.

Zooble started up a conversation with Gangle, asking about her latest sketches. She was always working on something. Kinger listened as he sipped his black coffee and Ragatha looked wildly uncomfortable.

"What's the matter, doll face? Someone [BLEEP] in your Cheerios?"

Her face went red and tears began to form in her eye.

"Geez sorry, touchy subject." He wasn't sure what he had done to strike a nerve so early. It might've been a new record. He would've been proud of it if he were actually trying.

Annoyed, Ragatha shot up from the table. As she walked away Jax could hear her under her breath. "I don't know what she sees in you."

His ears shot straight up, stiffening as he felt his teeth grind against each other. "'Scuse me? Care to say that again and share with the rest of class?"

Ragatha spun around on her heel. "I said I don't know what she sees in you!" She was shouting. "You may have everyone else fooled, but I know who you are! I know what you do to people!"

Jax let out a laugh in disbelief. "And just what do I do?"

"You get them close so they think they know you, they trust you, and then you push them away like they don't matter! Just like you did to Ribbit!"

Jax froze. He could feel a lump forming in his throat, his eyes widened in disbelief. Had she really just said that?

She had implied that before, but had never explicitly said it out loud. There was a sharp venom to her words.

Before he could scream at her, Zooble spoke up.

"Ragatha, I think you need to take a breath. You know that's not fair."

Ragatha scoffed and crossed her arms.

"So what, it's only fair when he's the mean one? I say one thing and suddenly I'm the bad guy?"

"You know that's not what-" before Zooble could finish Jax stood up, his chair falling to the ground behind him. Everyone was in fear of what he'd do next, but they knew for once he wasn't in the wrong.

He walked over to the ragdoll and looked down on her, standing nearly chest to chest. His heart pounded in his ears and he breathed heavily.

He didn't say a word, only glared. She trembled, knowing she had taken it too far. No matter how mad she was, she knew it wasn't his fault for what happened to Ribbit. She couldn't blame that on him, but she just had.

Kinger gently stood up and walked up to the two of them, putting a hand on Ragatha's shoulder, waiting for one of them to speak. Neither of them did.

Jax broke the tension and stomped away.

Before he turned and shot off, Ragatha swore she could see tears forming in his eyes. She didn't think he was capable of crying over anything, of caring about anyone that much.

Panic filled his chest. Had Ragatha told Pomni it was his fault? Is that why she wasn't there, because she couldn't stand the sight of him? He thought about finding her, about making sure she knew the truth, but then he thought back to his friend.

The nagging voice in the back of his mind spoke up. It told him Ragatha was right, and he had known that all along and the rest of them did too. That he wasn't worthy of Pomni and he would push her away and drive her to the same fate as Ribbit.

He breathed harder and tried to compose himself, tried to reassure himself that he couldn't have known. None of them could have.

He didn't expect everyone to magically be buddy buddy with him just because he toned down his usual antics, but he didn't expect that either. Even Zooble had came to his defense.

Tears threatened his vision as he sped down the hall. He didn't know where he was going, just that it had to be away from everyone else.

He thought about the keys in his pockets. He pulled out one that had a lotus design on the end. It hadn't used it since long before the jester arrived, but he never went anywhere without it.

He kept walking until he came to a plain, unsuspecting door. Sliding the key in, he made sure no one was around to see him as he opened it and rushed inside.

He was met with a dark evening sky lit with stars and rolling fields freckled with ponds. The simulated sound of frogs chirping filled the air. Fake fireflies danced over the landscape and twinkled with the stars like they were trying to communicate with their long lost friends. Is that why Jax was there?

He walked further into the room and let himself collapse at the bank of one of the ponds. On his hands and knees, he brought himself to the edge of the water.

His ears were pinned straight back. His pupils danced in a scattered frenzy. His smile was nonexistent. Tears started to flow down his face as he remembered the last time he had been in that room. It was just before their abstraction. Just before he lost his only real friend in the circus.

He wished he could go back, could see the warning signs and do something different. Do anything to stop it from happening. But he didn't. He just wrote them off as having a hard time with adjusting to their new life and went about business as usual.

He would never forgive himself for failing Ribbit, and now he had confirmation the others wouldn't either. He was terrified he would fail Pomni the same way. He began to sob loudly, praying he would abstract next.

Only abstraction never came. He cried and cried until his digital lungs burned and his mind felt like static. He found himself numb to the world, unable to bring himself back to the present.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he let himself fall asleep in front of the pond, lulled by frog songs. If he had it his way he would let himself rot there forever.

Chapter Text

Pomni couldn't believe the nerve of Ragatha. Realistically she knew she was just worried about Pomni getting hurt, but she had gone about voicing her concern in the absolute wrong way.

She hoped Jax was still in his room and would miss breakfast. That was the last thing he needed to deal with and she doubted Ragatha would keep her mouth shut it she saw him right now.

She decided she needed some time to herself to cool off before she joined Jax again. She didn't want to make it his problem when he hadn't done anything wrong.

The thing that frustrated Pomni the most about Ragatha was the way she tried to do damage control before there was any damage. She always tried so hard to stay on everyone's good side that when she had an issue no matter how small it snowballed until she couldn't handle it and made it everyone else's problem.

On the flip side, Pomni did deeply appreciate how caring she was. It was hard for her to show it, but Ragatha's regular check ins helped her feel like an important part of the circus. She didn't think it was good for Ragatha to put everyone else's wellbeing on her shoulders when she was neglecting herself, but they all had to cope some how. She hoped the ragdoll would stop being so hard on herself. And on Jax.

She wondered if Ragatha actually felt like Ribbit abstracting was his fault or if she was just scared of seeing someone else get close to him. Pomni also wondered if she was jealous that they had grown so close instead of her.

Pomni never mentioned it, but there were multiple times she had caught Ragatha staring longingly at her when she thought the jester wasn't looking, the way she blushed when she saw Pomni in a dress. She wondered if part of her overcompensation was to try and get on her good side to get her away from Jax.

It might've been more successful if she hadn't been treating Pomni like her kid. Pomni hated being treated like a child, and that was only amplified by the size of her ridiculous avatar. It hadn't been much better in the real world, being short there too. She appreciated that Jax never talked down to her except for in the literal sense. He treated her like an adult capable of making her own decisions and respected them.

She felt disrespected. It took her a minute to find the word for it. She knew that later she would have to talk to Ragatha about it. They were both owed an apology, but she wouldn't get anywhere having a heart to heart with her right now.

Instead she went back to her room and laid down. She could feel her eyes well up with tears and thought it was so stupid. She didn't want to cry over that. Not when she had just spent the night before so close to Jax.

He had made her feel so safe and wanted. He made her feel loved. She knew this was a side of him none of the others knew existed, and she was thankful for all the ways he had helped her feel normal.

He helped her see that she doesn't have to take everything so seriously and remember that at the end of the day they're all just part of a game. As long as they played, they'd be relatively fine.

She thought about the side of Jax that knew it was more than a game, that there were people he actually affected. His antics were often degrading and harsh, but never truly malicious. He had cared so deeply about someone and was hurt because of it.

He was so scared it was his fault that he refused to let anyone else get close in fear of hurting them too. He excused it and told himself that however much they hated him, he'd rather be hated than see them abstract.

Pomni knew Ragatha was well within her right to worry. Jax had worn that mask for so long that she couldn't truly blame her for hating him. She just didn't think it was fair to want Pomni to hate him too.

"Ugh! This is such stupid [BLEEP]ing bull[BLEEP]!" Pomni yelled in frustration and rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in a pillow to scream.

She pulled the hood over her head and tugged it over her face. It made her giggle when she remembered it had ears on it. She had though about Jax's ears getting cold.

She hugged herself and took in a breath to sigh deeply. She thought about napping but figured she would just have weird dreams so she got up to get dressed and get her mind off of everything.

She grabbed the shirt Jax had designed for her and threw on some sweatpants. Giving Jax his hoodie back would be a good enough excuse to see him, not that she needed one.

She left her room and knocked on his door, expecting him to still be asleep. When she didn't get an answer she let herself in and was disappointed he wasn't there. She saw her hat in his bed where she usually laid. She wondered where it went.

She picked it up and swapped it's place with his hoodie before heading back to her room to put it away. He had probably gone to breakfast and that was the last place she wanted to be.

Not wanting to wander the circus or join the others, she relented and decided a nap would be worth whatever weird dreams came her way. She was exhausted, emotionally and physically.

By the time she woke up, several hours had passed and no one had disturbed her. She thought it was odd that Jax hadn't even sought her out but figured he was just hanging out with the others or in his room.

She got out of bed and gathered the courage she needed to rejoin everyone after her argument with Ragatha. She felt awkward but relieved when she was met with a wave by Gangle. It looked like Ragatha was nowhere to be seen, but neither was Jax.

"Hey, you doing alright?" Zooble checked in on Pomni, glad to see her out of her room.

"Yeah, I think I just needed to cool off for a minute. I'm sorry about this morning, I just-."

Zooble interrupted her. "Nah, don't worry about it. Really. You aren't the one that should be apologizing."

Pomni frowned. At least she got confirmation that she wasn't over reacting.

"Have you seen Jax today?"

Zooble and Gangle gave each other a look.

"What is it?"

"Well uh, he didn't go find you after breakfast?" Gangle twisted her ribbons.

"No, did something happen?"

Neither of them wanted to say it.

"He probably just needs some alone time. Ragatha kind of, well, she snapped at him too." Zooble hesitated when they spoke, choosing their words carefully.

Pomni sighed. Of course she did. Still, it wasn't like Jax to just wander off and sulk because of an argument. He fought with people all the time.

"Was it bad?" Pomni was admittedly worried.

"She might have um, told him th-that Ribbit was his fault." Gangle mumbled under her breath, afraid to say it out loud.

Pomni's code ran cold. Did she hear that right?

"She did what?" Pomni spoke through gritted teeth.

Zooble sighed. "She kind of told him that she doesn't get what you see in him and then went off. I don't know, I didn't think he even did anything to deserve it this time."

"And you haven't seen him since then?" The both shook their heads at the question.

"I'll see you guys later." Pomni got up quickly, followed by Zooble and Gangle's gaze as she sped down the hall.

She had finally calmed down some only for the fire to be reignited with gasoline. She wanted to tear Ragatha a new one but knew finding Jax was more important.

She started with his room, not even bothering to knock. He still wasn't there. She tried to see if any keys she recognized were missing. They were all in place and his hoodie still sat at the edge of the bed. He hadn't been there all day.

Pomni continued her search in their usual places, checking outside and the hallways he tended to lurk around. She began trying doors left and right, hoping to find an unlocked one.

She didn't know how many doors she had tried. Nearly every one had been locked, and the ones that weren't were empty or half complete. She sighed and prepared for disappointment in front of the plain wooden door.

She turned the handle and heard a click. At least that meant it was unlocked. As she opened it she took a breath in, amazed by the landscape she was greeted with.

She felt guilty taking a moment to soak in her surroundings before continuing to look for Jax. She thought that is was beautifully surreal. As her eyes scanned the fields unfolding in front of her, she noticed in the distance a small purple figure collapsed in front of a pond.

"Jax?" She said his name quietly at first and started to make her way towards the figure.

"Jax!" She called out louder when she could confirm with her eyes that it was him. When he didn't respond or move she broke into a sprint.

As she approached him she saw he was just sleeping. Thank God. She didn't know what else she expected, but her mind wasn't thinking straight.

She knelt down beside him and gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"Jax? It's okay, it's just Pomni, it's just me."

He bolted awake at her touch, jumping back at the unexpected contact.

She slowly moved her hands up so he could see them and see her face clearly.

"It's okay Jax, it's just me. I'm here." She repeated herself.

He looked like hell. His face was flushed and his fur was stained with tears. He sniffled and began to cry again when he realized who was in front of him.

He sobbed and lurched forward, embracing Pomni like she was the only thing that mattered.

"Pomni I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me it's all my fault." Jax sobbed, gasping between words.

She had never seen him this upset. His whole body trembled in her arms and he was frantic to hold onto her.

"Shhhh, hey, it's okay. Jax it's okay you didn't do anything wrong." She rubbed his back as she tried to comfort him, her words being drowned out by his sobs.

"I-its my fault, Ribbit, they, it's my fault they're gone." He could barely breath as he pushed the words from his throat.

"Jax. I want you to look at me." Pomni spoke in a soft voice but was firm with him. She cupped her hands on either side of his face and he pulled back enough to look at her, fear and shame in his eyes.

"What happened to Ribbit is not your fault. You can't blame yourself for something everyone else did. None of you knew, and even if you did, there's no way you could've stopped it. It wasn't your fault Jax."

He shuddered at her words. He didn't believe her but it still came as a relief to hear someone say it out loud. She pressed a light kiss to his forehead and wrapped her arms around him again.

He sobbed against her until he fell back asleep, exhausted from all of the emotions he had kept repressed since he lost his friend.

No longer focused on calming him down, Pomni's mind shot back to Ragatha. At first she had tried to be sympathetic and understanding, but she had lost all sympathy when she learned what the ragdoll said to Jax. If she had blood, she was sure it would be boiling.

She decided this place was too beautiful to let it be ruined by Ragatha. She looked around and really admired the landscape. The low light from the stars reflected off of the ponds and fireflies danced across the horizon.

One flitted in from of her and landed on Jax's ear, blinking before getting scared off by a twitch. She gave him a gentle scratch behind the ears and felt him nuzzle into her. He would be okay. She'd make sure of it.

She let him rest and listened to the frogs chirping around them. It felt bizarre to hear something that sounded so real, but she doubted Caine took in the time to even program the frogs beyond their croaks. Still, she'd give him a pass for that one.

She thought back to Jax and Ribbit. Had they spent time together here? She wondered if this place was special to them. She was hopeful that Jax would be able to tell her for himself.

A small sniffle came from Jax and he slowly sat himself up, avoiding eye contact with Pomni. She rubbed his back again.

"Are you ready to go back, bun? We can go back to your room and rebuild that burrow, how's that sound?" She gave him a small smile and he nodded.

Helping each other up, they made their way back to Jax's room. He hadn't said anything the entire walk back, but had made sure to relock the door and put the lotus key Pomni had never seen until now back in his pocket.

Pomni started by sorting out the pillows and blankets that were still thrown around the floor. She built up the sides with pillows first, then the blankets, letting Jax hand her whatever he wanted next.

It wasn't long before he had another burrow built on his bed. It wasnt as pristine as the ones he had time to practice, but it would do.

Pomni climbed in and held the blanket door open for him, offering her hand. He took it and climbed in with her.

"Sorry, I think it's a little smaller than usual."

Jax shrugged, he didn't mind.

"At least that means you'll have to stay close, I think we could both use some snuggles."

Jax nodded and crawled up close to Pomni, grabbing her in his arms and spooning her. He wrapped himself around her and buried his face into her back, taking a deep breath in. She could hear him hum softly behind her.

For the first time since this morning he could let himself breathe. It wasn't long before the two of them drifted off to sleep again, both ready to forget the disaster of a day they had.

Chapter Text

The previous day had flown by quickly, between the relentless sense of dread and back to back naps Pomni had barely thought about her tense interactions with Ragatha. She was too focused on keeping Jax from spiraling.

Jax appreciated the jester's efforts. He was too upset to even think about pushing her away or denying the comfort she offered. It made him feel weak, but he couldn't imagine feeling any other way at the moment.

Ragatha's words had reopened a wound he thought had been long since cauterized. He had spent countless nights agonizing over the loss of his friend, his one confidant in the circus. And now Ragatha was trying to take away the first person he found himself growing close to.

He wondered if it was to punish him for failing Ribbit, or if it was because she was jealous, or simply because she didn't like him. Either way, it was fair enough. He didn't expect any of them to like him, he wanted to be hated, but it still hit hard to be accused of pushing Ribbit to abstraction.

Pomni could tell he was starting to overthink again. His teeth started to grind against each other and he tapped his foot. She reached up and ran her hand along his ears in comfort.

"If it'd help, you can talk about it." Pomni's voice was laced with concern.

He didn't know what would help at this point, but he figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

"I still feel like I failed them. I knew they were having a hard time and I still pushed. I pushed their boundaries and ignored them when they told me my jokes weren't funny. I blew them off when they came to me for help. And when I did finally notice and try to help it was too late. They told me they didn't want to listen, that I couldn't change anything."

"Was that your first time seeing someone abstract?"

Jax nodded, tears spilling down his cheeks.

"How could you have known, then? It sounded like you couldn't have, and that they didn't want your help even when you tried. You can't blame yourself because someone didn't want to be helped."

Pomni brushed her thumbs over his cheek to wipe away the tears.

Jax made a small sound in agreement, he wasn't convinced though. Surely if he had paid closer attention, had been more serious, hadn't tried so hard to be funny, he would still have his friend.

"Jax?" His teeth were chattering at that point. He forced them still just long enough for him to make eye contact with Pomni.

"I'm sorry." He wasn't sure what Pomni was apologizing for.

"You didn't do anything though."

"I know, but I'm sorry that you're hurting right now. I know I can't convince you otherwise, but I just want you to hear it. It wasn't your fault that Ribbit abstracted."

He lowered his head and half nodded. He needed to hear those words more than he realized.

"If you're okay, if not it can wait, I think I want to go have a talk with Ragatha."

His ears tensed at the mention of her name. Pomni ran her fingers along them again, helping him release some of the tension.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Go ahead."

Pomni gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and pressed her forehead to his.

"It's going to be okay, I'll be right back. Keep the burrow warm for me while I'm gone."

Pomni snuck out of his room and went off to the main area everyone hung out. Zooble, Gangle, and Kinger were all accounted for but Ragatha was still missing from the picture.

"Hey guys, have you seen Ragatha?"

Gangle gave Pomni a look and shrugged.

"I think she's still in her room, she didn't come to breakfast. You doing okay?" Zooble chimed in.

"Thanks, I'll start there. And yeah, I'm good. I just need to talk to her."

Zooble gave a nod as if to say fair enough and good luck but stayed quiet.

Making her way to Ragatha's room, the icon of the ragdoll stared down at her from the door. Pomni took a deep breath and calmed herself. She knew that she had to have this talk but didn't want to make things worse between them. That wouldn't be fair to anyone. She gave a solid knock.

"Um, coming! Just a second! Hold on!"

She could hear Ragatha scrambling to the door. She froze when she opened it and looked down to see Pomni staring at her with a neutral expression. She was afraid of what would come next.

"Can we talk?" Pomni cut right to the chase. She didn't want to waste anyone's time with smalltalk.

Ragatha barely nodded and motioned for Pomni to step inside her room. Pomni followed and took another deep breath.

"Okay. First of all, I just want to ask that you give me a second to talk and say everything. Is that okay?"

Ragatha nodded again, clearly afraid.

"I want to start by saying I'm sorry. I haven't been spending a lot of time with everyone and don't want you to think that's your fault when it's not. I know it's easy to get lonely and feel left out here. And I'm sorry for snapping at you the way I did. I know you're just trying to help. I want to say thank you, too. You're always checking in on me. I do appreciate it, even if I have a hard time showing it."

This was going a million times better than what Ragatha had imagined. She never received praise for being there for others. She didn't expect it, but it was nice to hear regardless.

"Now that being said, I really don't appreciate the way you talked to me about Jax this morning."

There's what she was waiting for. She let Pomni continue.

"I think that sometimes you go too far trying to comfort people. It's like you're trying to do damage control for something that didn't happen yet. I know you don't mean to but it comes off as really condescending and overbearing. I felt really disrespected, like a child being scolded by their mother. But I'm not a child, and you're not my mother. So stop acting like yours. You don't need to baby me all the time." Pomni avoided eye contact while she spoke, nervously wringing her hands.

"I know I'm new here and kind of clueless about the whole circus thing, but I'm still an adult capable of making my own decisions and making my own mistakes. So I would appreciate it if you let me make them."

She paused for a moment. "I- I think that's it if you want to say something."

"I'm sorry Pomni." Ragatha's voice trembled as she held back tears.

"I didn't mean to treat you like a kid. I had no idea you felt that way."

Ragatha could hear her digital heart pounding in her ears. The last thing she wanted was to act like an overbearing mother. She thought back to hers, how she had never been trusted to make her own decisions or been talked down to for seemingly nothing. She had promised herself she would never be like that, yet here she was treating the people that were supposed to be her friends the way her mother treated her.

"I shouldn't have said those things to you. I don't know why I did. I think I'm just scared of seeing you get hurt, you know? Jax has been really terrible to us for a long time and you deserve better than that." You deserve me, she wanted to add.

"That's fair. But the way you said it wasn't. I know I see a part of Jax that he doesn't show to the others, but he's not all bad. I don't want to come to his defense and try to downplay how he's treated you, but do you really think he's a bad person?" Pomni responded.

Ragatha thought about it for a minute. She had never asked herself that question. Did she think Jax was evil?

"Well, no. I guess not."

"You're always so worried about how everyone feels, worried they'll get hurt, so you go and tell Jax it was his fault he lost the one person he got close to?" So Pomni did know about the argument with him after she left. That made Ragatha feel worse.

"Did you ever think he pushed everyone away because he was worried of what would happen if he got close again? That he was scared of watching another person he cared about abstract while he's forced helplessly to watch?"

Ragatha was quiet. She admittedly hadn't. She hadn't been close to anyone in the circus the way Jax had been to Ribbit. She was too wrapped up in trying to figure out what she did wrong to make him mad in the first place or why he hated her to realize that it was never about her. He certainly had a reason to hate her now.

"I'm just saying, it can't be easy to lose someone you trust in this place. And I want to trust you Ragatha, but you're making it really hard when you act like you don't trust me."

"You're right, Pomni. I'm sorry. I didn't even mean what I said to Jax, I was just so annoyed and wanted him to hurt like he's hurt all of us over and over again."

"Has he ever taken things that far?"

"Well, uh, no. I don't think so." Ragatha couldn't remember him actively being malicious or saying something just for the sake of bringing them actual harm. Annoyance and mild distress, sure. But there were lines even he wouldn't cross.

She thought about the worst thing he had done to her, putting centipedes in her pillows or throwing her into a fryer. Comparing that to what she said, she realized she had really overstepped. The fryer hadn't even hurt, she just glitched out in it for a few seconds.

"Do you think I could go apologize to him?" She had to get the weight off her chest, and that was the only thing she could think would help ease it.

"Honestly? I think you need to give him some space. He's pretty [BLEEP]ed up over this. And I appreciate you having this conversation with me, but I want to make it explicitly clear that I am still upset with you and that what you did isn't okay."

Ragatha nodded, that was fair enough.

Pomni lowered her voice and made direct eye contact, speaking confidently. "If you ever pull something like this again, I'll be the one putting centipedes in everything you own until you're begging Caine to send you to the cellar. Got it?"

Ragatha was surprised by Pomni's sudden threat. Her tone was flat with a sharpness to it she hadn't heard before. She wasn't sure if she meant it or not. It came out so aggressively. "Uh, yeah, yes I got it."

"Good. Thanks, Ragatha. I'll see you around."

Pomni spun on her heels and left Ragatha's room before she could say another word.

She had surprised herself with how calm she stayed and how she had said everything she needed to without breaking down. It was emotionally exhausting.

She decided it was time to go back to Jax's room and at least let him know things are okay and the ragdoll felt bad for what she had said.

She gave his door a gentle knock before letting herself back in. He hadn't moved from the burrow since she left. She crawled back into it and saw Jax laying with his back to the entrance. She climbed beside him and spooned as much of him as she could, considering their height difference.

"How'd it go?" Jax spoke up after a few moments.

"As good as it could've, I guess. I told her she's acting like her mother and that if she said anything like that to you again I'd make her wish she'd abstract."

Jax flipped around, his face frozen with some mix of amusement and horror.

"You did not, holy [BLEEP] Poms."

Pomni shrugged.

"I literally told her that she's acting like an overbearing mother treating me like a child and if she pulled anything like this again I would put centipedes in everything she owns until she begs for abstraction. She did say she's sorry, by the way."

Jax blinked at her in bewilderment. No one had ever stood up for him like that.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side." Jax found himself smiling for the first time in days.

Pomni rolled flat on her back and sprawled out, staring at the various patterns built into the makeshift burrow.

"Do you think I went too far?" She admittedly felt bad.

"No, I think she needed to hear it and it's been a long time coming. I just can't believe it came from you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Pomni found the energy to ask.

"Just that you don't come across as the overprotective boyfriend type."

Pomni snorted and looked over to see a smirk back on Jax's face. She was glad to hear him joking.

"Well if I don't stand up for my lady's honor who will?"

"Oh, so you're defending my honor now? How noble of you." Jax scooted closer to her and took her hand in his paw.

"My hero!" He batted his eyelashes and planted a kiss to her hand. She laughed again and he ate it up. He loved making her giggle like that.

He felt lighter knowing that Pomni had still accepted him, even after finding out more about Ribbit. He still blamed himself, and he would carry the weight of knowing at least one other thought he did too.

Everything started to feel less funny. Jax didn't know how much more he could laugh.

Chapter Text

Caine had let his captive audience go too long without an adventure. He had enlisted one of them to help work out the bugs before everyone else could enjoy his masterpiece, but that wouldn't be very stimulating for the rest of them. He was worried they'd be at each other's throats by now without his enrichment.

Kinger had spent most of his morning with the ringmaster. Doing what, he couldn't recall, but he remembered he had been excited about bugs.

Breakfast had been mostly normal, save for Ragatha's deafening silence at the table. Zooble was questioning if Kinger had mistook bugs in the programing for real bugs, but he could neither confirm or deny anything.

Jax was pleasantly amused by the conversation, finding himself unable to imagine the chess piece being even remotely competent at coding. He admittedly was excited to see what Caine had in store. The adventures needed a redemption after the last one and he needed a distraction.

He shivered at the thought of the corn maze. He had almost forgotten about it with all of the other drama he had been dragged into. He had dragged Pomni into? Ragatha had dragged them into, he decided.

He could really use some mindless NPC's to whip into shape and vent his frustrations on. Hopefully today would give him the opportunity.

Like clockwork, Caine swirled into the room and greeted everyone with jazz hands.

"Well hello there my incarcerated invertebrates! I hope you're all well rested, because today's adventure is going to be a doozy! And everyone can thank their good old pal Kinger here for helping me work out some bugs! I think you're all really going to enjoy this one, it was a labor of love!"

Kinger blushed, hiding behind his hand and giving Caine a friendly wave. It was weird for everyone to witness. They were definitely worried about what they had to look forward to if Kinger really had lent a hand in its creation.

With a swift wave of his staff, Caine opened a portal for everyone to file into.

As their surroundings manifested around them, they found themselves in a gymnasium with a wide variety of workout equipment.

Pomni looked down and groaned. She was wearing basketball shorts and a white tank top that was almost embarrassingly large on her, and had sweatbands around her head and wrists.

She looked up and was relieved to see it wasn't just her. Even Gangle gotten an outfit. It seemed like the wardrobe update had helped Caine figure out how to render clothes for her ribbons. The only thing that differed from outfit to outfit was the color of their sweatbands.

"Today I'd like to introduce you to your new personal trainers! You'll each be assigned a workout buddy and get each other in shape! You're really going to feel the burn today!"

Feel the burn? Now Pomni was really worried.

"Alright maggots, line up!" A harsh voice came from seemingly nowhere. Without questioning, everyone formed an awkward line and waited. Coming out of the doors she assumed led to a locker room, Pomni saw the last thing she ever expected.

First a giant beetle taller than her walked out. It was followed by an ant, a snail, a bee, a stick bug, and finally a centipede. They were all larger than life, sporting a different color of sweatbands that matched the circus members.

"Today were going to get your lazy bones whipped into shape. I hope you're ready to break a sweat!"

Caine had literally worked out some bugs. As they stepped into the gym they stood in front of the character their colors matched and flexed. It was bizarre to see bugs with muscles like gym bros that never skipped a day and downed pre workout like their lives depended on it.

In front of Pomni was the ant, one of the smaller bugs. Jax got the stick bug that matched his height. Zooble was left with the snail and Gangle got the bee. Kinger's partner was the beetle that had addressed everyone and that just left one person.

Ragatha had gotten the centipede. It towered over her, nearly double her height with massive mandibles and beady eyes. She looked like she was using every ounce of her will power not to scream and vomit on the spot. The centipede demanded she not avert her eyes as it flexed it's dozens of buff legs. Admittedly it was a bizarre sight but Pomni found herself enjoying Ragatha's discomfort too much to care.

She gave Jax a nudge with her elbow and pointed to the ragdoll, trying not to laugh.

"Looks like Caine already beat me to it."

Jax was caught off guard, not expecting her to be the type to laugh at someone's misfortune. Ragatha had really [BLEEP]ed her off.

Before they could chat they were taken away by their partner's to the different corners of the gym.

Ragatha had been put on a treadmill. She was struggling to keep up the pace with the unfair advantage the centipede's extra limbs gave it.

Zooble was doing yoga with the snail that was stretching it's eyestalks to impossible heights and Gangle was struggling to do curl ups with the bee.

Kinger's beetle seemed friendly with him, like they had been buddies for a while. He was busy helping spot for the beetle while he was lifting weights.

Jax was doing some warmup stretches with the stick bug, it was amusing to watch them go back and forth. Their long limbs flailing around was almost enough to make Pomni laugh. They made a good unlikely duo.

She was distracted by her own bug, the ant that still managed to look over her. "So pipsqueak, you think you got what it takes to be as strong as an ant?"

"Uhhh, maybe?" She questioned.

"Not with that attitude! Just because you're tiny doesn't mean you can't be mighty! Just you wait, I'll have you lifting 50 times your own weight like me in no time!"

Pomni vaguely remembered hearing that fact once, that ants were capable of carrying ridiculous weight compared to their own bodies. She couldn't imagine what that meant for the giant ant in front of her.

The ant started small, giving her a 5 pound dumbbell to work with. She could lift it with ease. After enough reps she was given 10 pounds. Still not bad. When she moved up to 15 she could feel her arms start to get tired.

"Come on, is that really all you can handle? That's just sad! Kick it up a notch and show me what you got!"

Forcing a 20 pound dumbbell on her, Pomni struggled to curl her arm upwards. She huffed in frustration, this digital body was ridiculous.

She kept going and tried to distract herself with the others. Jax was at a pull up bar, raising himself over it with ease. No fair.

She looked over at Ragatha and saw her barely able to keep up with the treadmill. It looked like one wrong step and she would be flung off into the open arms of her trainer. Pomni snickered as she imagined the scream that would follow. She hoped she tripped, just a little.

Did that make her a bad person? She felt guilty again and decided to just focus on counting. If she was bad for setting boundaries and sticking up for her partner she was willing to accept it that. She had accepted Jax, after all.

Jax was getting bored of pull ups quickly, but his stick bug trainer insisted that he needed to work out those thin, spindly arms. Rabbits were good at jumping, sure, but they were lacking in the upper body strength department. Clearly he could use all the help he could get to climb.

He hoisted himself up to the bar and let his chin rest on it for a moment. Looking over to Pomni, he noticed her struggling with the dumbbells. He would totally make fun of her for that later. He noticed her eyes were staring off into the distance. He followed her gaze and realized she was watching Ragatha, snickering to herself.

When he saw the ragdoll running for her life in front of her worst nightmare he immediately knew why Pomni was laughing. He imagined she was thinking the same thing as he was, picturing her trip. Maybe he could sneak away from his trainer long enough to mess with her. She deserved it, after all.

The idea of tripping Ragatha was overshadowed by fear of Pomni being disappointed in him for picking a fight, even if Ragatha deserved it. He found himself thinking against it and would just hope for a miracle.

By the end of the workout session everyone had been pushed past their limits, yet their bug buddies still demanded more of them. Thankfully before they could insist kicking things up a notch for the third time, Caine stepped in to end their torment.

"Alright you sweat stains, let's go get cleaned up! Make sure you let me know how your buddies did on the way out, if you enjoyed this we can make it a regular occurrence! It is important for humans to stay active, after all!"

"Just one problem with that Caine, we aren't all human." Zooble gestured vaguely to the mix matched crowd around them. Pomni was the closest any of them got to human, and even that seemed debatable at times.

"Hmm, good point Zooble! I won't keep that in mind!" As quickly as they had been brought into the adventure, they were pushed out.

Free from their overambitious workout buddies, the cast found themselves able to breath at last.

"Oh my God muscles I didn't even know I have hurt!" Gangle cried and stretched their ribbons out in an attempt to loosen up.

"You're telling me, I didn't even know half of my joints could do that." Zooble mused, flexing their limbs until they let out a satisfying "pop."

"Oh please, it wasn't that bad. Right Ragatha?" Jax nudged Ragatha and she jumped, still imagining the horrific mass of muscles and legs right behind her.

She stayed quiet and shrugged. Jax, in his defense, was trying to include her as his way of saying "no hard feelings." There of course were, but he was trying not to dwell on it for Pomni's sake. She said she would take care of it, and she had.

Pomni looked absolutely exhausted. If the weights didn't tire her out, the constant screams of encouragement and motivation had. She needed a dark, quiet burrow to hide in.

She gave Jax's fur behind his ear a gentle tug and motioned for him to follow. He understood immediately and didn't hesitate. No one asked questions when they went off together this time. They had come to expect it.

Pomni turned around on her way out and caught Ragatha staring. Her face quickly flushed and she tried to look away, but it was too late. Pomni had definitely seen her.

Trying to brush it off, Pomni grabbed Jax's hand and led them back to his room. She definitely needed time away from everyone else after that.

As she closed the door behind her, she quickly stepped out of her jumpsuit and stole one of Jax's oversized tshirts to get comfy.

"Just make yourself right at home, why don't you. Not like I was going to wear that or anything." Jax laughed as he watched her change and climb right into the bed in one fluid motion.

"You snooze you lose, are you going to snuggle with me or am I going to have to drag you in by the ears?"

"Geez, someone's impatient today." Jax pretended to be exhausted with Pomni's demands, but he was enjoying this blunt, aggressive side to her.

He was convinced he was just overthinking, but he couldn't help but wonder if it meant she was comfortable enough with him to show him that side of her.

Watching her find a role in her new world was mesmerizing. Every day she found a new way to surprise him and every day he found himself falling harder for her.

He hadn't imagined taking comfort in the anxious jester that was scared of her own shadow, but she had turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to the circus. She surprised everyone with her resilience and cautious optimism.

She had managed to do what Jax had thought was impossible and reminded him that he was still a human. That he was worthy of love.

"Ugh. I'm sorry, Jax." Pomni groaned and put her hands over her face, pulling at her exaggerated eyes in frustration. She couldn't get the fearful expression on Ragatha's face out of her head.

"It's okay Pom, we can't all be strong and sexy. The world needs chumps like you to make guys like me look better in comparison." Jax joked to lighten the mood. He figured she would bring up whatever was bothering her if she wanted to.

"Oh so you're just keeping me around to look good, huh? Wow, I feel so special." She rolled her eyes and pretended Jax's words wounded her, dramatically bringing her hand to her forehead and throwing her head against the bed like she had collapsed.

"Oh you're special alright. C'mere!" Jax dove towards her and scooped her up in his arms.

It had been so sudden, she squeaked in shock and latched onto him. He laughed at her and nuzzled his chin against her head and coveredk her forehead and cheeks with kisses while she giggled and squirmed in his arms.

After the onslaught of kisses subsided she took in a deep breath and laid her head against his chest, still cradled in his arms. Even with her eyes closed she could feel Jax looking at her. She tried to guess his expression but was still shocked when she opened her eyes.

He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He wore a smile, not just a smirk or a sly grin, but a genuine smile. He looked like he had never seen something so beautiful in his life. Like all he ever wanted was someone he cared about grinning and laughing in his arms. He started to blush as he realized she was reading his face like an open book.

"Aw, what's wrong bun? Did you get embarrassed cause the cute girl in your bed caught you checking her out?" Pomni pressed her hand to his burning cheeks as she teased him. He only went redder.

"Oh shut up, don't make it weird. God forbid a guy stares longingly at the woman he loves."

His ears went stiff and he looked away a little too quick. He hadn't meant to say that last part. He was sure Pomni would freak out at his sudden declaration.

Instead she grinned and pressed her head back into him. "Aww, my love bun. Now who's making it weird? I love you too."

Jax officially short circuited. She had reciprocated his feelings and nothing else in the digital or real world mattered as much as she did. There in his arms, the rest of the circus seemed like an after thought.

With the chaos of the last couple days fading into the background, the two of them spent the evening relaxing in each other's company. Pomni wished they could spend every evening like this. She was slowly building a new routine she hoped they both could get used to.

Chapter Text

Skipping breakfast for some alone time, Pomni had spent her morning in her own room while Jax joined the others. He didn't think much of it. She had been spending so much time with him that she hadn't gotten any time to herself. Not that either of them were complaining, but she was feeling too existential to enjoy any company.

Pomni couldn't get the look of longing and hurt on Ragatha's face out of her mind. Every time she closed her eyes she could see the way the doll hid her face in shame when Pomni had caught her. Why did it bother Pomni so much?

She knew Ragatha was jealous, but she couldn't understand why. She had just as much of an opportunity to become her friend as Jax and the others did. It's not like Pomni was all that close to the others, either.

The ragdoll was overly protective of the jester and it annoyed Pomni to no end. She didn't need protecting when they were all in the same messed up position. She needed a friend, not a mom.

It had been a little more quiet the last couple days without Ragatha's constant check ins and not so subtle reminders when she didn't approve of something. Pomni knew it was just because she had told her she needed to stop acting like her mother.

She replayed the conversation in her head over and over, not convinced that she had handled it well.

"If you ever pull something like this again, I'll be the one putting centipedes in everything you own until you're begging Caine to send you to the cellar."

The words played on repeat in her head. She felt her chest burning with anger every time she remembered them. She had meant every word, and that's what bothered her the most.

She didn't want to hate Ragatha. She didn't want to hate anyone in the circus she was trapped with. In her defense, it wasn't her fault that Ragatha was so hateable. Her superiority complex and imposter syndrome made for an impossibly frustrating dynamic.

Pomni rolled over, shoving her face in a pillow to scream. It didn't make her feel better. She could feel angry tears welling up in her eyes the more she thought about her frustrations. She tried to take a deep breath and push them away, but it was no use.

Finally she relented and let the tears spill. She wrapped herself around her pillow and began to sob. She pulled it as close to her as she could and cried louder, letting it muffle her screams. Her arms trembled as she gripped it tightly.

She didn't even care if anyone heard at this point. She just needed to let it out. She had been through such a whirlwind of emotions in the last week alone, it was all she knew to do in an attempt to cope.

While Pomni was having a breakdown, Jax had been playing nice at breakfast. Nice by his standards, at least. He wasn't overly friendly or talkative, but he didn't try to put anything in someone's food or break Gangle's mask, he hadn't even made a dumb joke when Zooble mentioned something painfully obvious about their situation.

The only time he perked up was when he was asked about Pomni.

"Earth to Jax? Did Pomni already manage to break you? I figured it'd be the other way around but she keeps surprising us, huh?" Zooble joked, but they were being half serious. It was bizarre seeing the rabbit tone down his antics while Pomni took up the role of the jaded loner.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" He shot them a dirty look.

"Nothing, God, don't get your ears in a twist. It's just weird seeing you on your best behavior is all."

"You miss being bullied already? I'm happy to play the part and start being a nuisance again if that's what you really want." He winked at Zooble, only to be met with the dramatic rolling of eyes.

"Um, please don't, and don't get mad at me for saying this but, uh, it's actually kinda nice. Y'know? I think we could all use a peaceful breakfast." Gangle spoke up and took her chances with annoying him. She figured at the very least he would leave her mask alone. It had been a while since it broke because of him and not just because of her own clumsiness. Jax found it was just as funny when she fumbled it herself.

Jax's eyes darted to Ragatha who had been picking at her pancakes, half hiding behind Kinger who was oblivious to the tension radiating from her. For once Jax hadn't been the one causing problems. And honestly? It was a nice change of pace.

He did relish in the fact that Ragatha was still shaking in her boots at the sight of him. He didn't have to do anything, she knew she was in the wrong and felt bad. That gave him a sense of satisfaction. She still hadn't given him an apology but he wouldn't hold that against her. He wasn't expecting one.

What he would hold against her was the way she made Pomni feel. It wasn't fair that she had fumbled her chance to make the jester like her. He just beat her to it. She was the one that took it out on everyone because she didn't get her way.

Pomni didn't deserve that. She didn't deserve to feel belittled or misunderstood. He knew she had a hard time being taken seriously. He hadn't taken her seriously at first either, until he realized how hard she worked to get anyone to see her as something other than a clown or a child. He was frustrated enough as a rabbit, he could only imagine her own struggles.

He wondered if Pomni knew Ragatha was a lesbian. He wondered if he was even supposed to know, but he suspected that was part of why she was so bent out of shape over everything. She didn't actively hide it and wouldn't deny it if someone asked, but he had only heard her discussing her sexuality with Zooble in passing.

Did Ragatha have a crush on Pomni? Maybe that's was why she was so quick to jump to Pomni's defense and try to play the hero. Obviously that wasn't want Pomni wanted, or she wouldn't have ended up with an [BLEEP]hole like him.

He thought about Pomni's quick wit and playful personality. When she got comfortable with someone, she was like a whole different person full of life and joy and laughter. The total opposite of the quiet, trembling mess that entered the circus.

She didn't need protecting like a damsel in distress, she could easily take care of herself. What she needed was someone that saw the confident side of her and didn't make her question her own choices. She was a grown woman fully capable of making a decision.

Pomni came to the decision that she was never leaving her room ever again. She couldn't show her face in the circus. She had convinced herself that she was an evil villain and nobody would want to be friends with her after the way she spoke to Ragatha. She felt even worse because she knew if she hadn't stepped up no one would have came to Jax's defense. That was at least to be expected with the way he pushed everyone as far from him as possible, but he didn't deserve what Ragatha had said.

She refused to apologize. If she wouldn't apologize, then there was nothing to feel bad about. But that didn't stop her from crying even harder. Her throat by this point was scratchy, it hurt to try and make any sort of coherent noise. She was surprised there were still tears left.

She got up out of bed and looked at herself in the mirror. She didn't realize that she was still wearing Jax's oversized shirt from the night before. She was thankful the clothes cleaned themselves, because it had been covered completely in tears.

She brought the shirt up to her face and wiped the rest of her tears as they fell and took in a deep breath, her lungs filling with the familiar scent of the rabbit. She calmed down for a moment, imagining him holding her close, but when she thought about how much Ragatha's words affected him she thought about how long he had held onto the pain of losing his closest friend. It wasn't fair.

Nothing in the circus was fair. Caine's adventures had been more bearable as he began to take feedback and criticism, but it didn't make up for how jarring it was when you're being hunted by killer clowns, baby doll centipedes, or worked out by massive muscular bugs.

Caine said he was worried about the well being of his players and tried to take care of them like humans only to put them in the most outlandish scenarios physically impossible in the real world. It seemed counterproductive.

Pomni found she almost missed being productive. She didn't miss the isolation and repetition of her old life, especially not her job, but she missed that she knew what to expect and didn't live on edge. She thought back to how lonely she had been and how it was still easier than to care about people and their feelings. She felt like Jax would understand.

She groaned and laid back down on her bed to continue crying. It would be a long, tearful day. She hoped no one took note of her absence at breakfast. She would hate trying to come up with a lie as to why she missed it if they asked.

Knowing breakfast would be done soon, she got over her decision to never leave her room ever again and decided to throw on some sweatpants and sneak out of the tent for more alone time in case anyone tried to check on her in there.

Sneaking around the corners as quietly as she could, she made her way outside. She found herself under the tree she had fallen asleep beneath with Jax. The one Ragatha had found them lying under together, Pomni had nearly forgotten. She shuddered to think about the doll catching them asleep on each other, especially with how they had still been keeping their friendship to themselves. It was an uncomfortable situation for everyone.

Pomni wished she could shut her brain off and stop overthinking all of their interactions. She wished Ragatha had taken her seriously instead of all of the times she coddled her in an adventure and questioned her decisions.

Nobody had taken Pomni serious in real life, why would they now that she's a literal jester? It felt like an insult to her very existence. It was almost laughable that the only one that respected her in a meaningful way was the prankster rabbit everyone warned her not to pay attention to.

She found herself hoping they would stop paying attention to her instead. She didn't want to be the new one. She didn't want to be the anxious one. She didn't want to be the funny one. She didn't want to be anything.

She paused at that thought, nearly scaring herself with it. She corrected herself. She wanted to be Jax's. If none of this mattered, if it was all a game, why couldn't she play it her way? Why couldn't she let herself be happy?

Chapter Text

By the time Jax realized the day was almost over he still hadn't seen any sign of Pomni. He was worried but tried not to freak himself out. People need their space sometimes, it was no big deal.

He kept repeating that to himself until he believed it. He had be saying it all day and showed no signs of stopping any time soon. Nothing but the jester herself could convince him that she hadn't mulled it over and decided he was detestable, a lost cause unworthy of love or friendship.

His inner turmoil put him in a sour mood and when everyone broke off to do their own things after breakfast he was happy to go back to hide in his burrow and pout.

His room felt empty without Pomni. He wanted to tell her it was her fault he was in such a poor mood, demand she make him feel better, that he should be rewarded for being on his best behavior.

Despite Pomni's absence, the thought of her consumed him. He thought about how affectionate she was in private. The way she nuzzled into his fur when they hugged, how she teased her fingers into the tufts behind his ears to pet him. It was a favorite spot for them both.

Jax huffed like an impatient child and momentarily left his burrow to hunt down his hoodie. It wasn't in his wardrobe or mixed in with the mess of blankets. Maybe Pomni still had it. He decided to go check. It was as good of an excuse as any to pester her. It wasn't his fault she kept stealing the things he wanted to wear.

He stepped across the hall and gave Pomni's door a courtesy knock, only waiting a few moments before opening it himself. His ears drooped as he noticed she wasn't there. Her usually well lit, overstimulating room was dim. He looked around to see if she had his hoodie and found it next to her pillows.

Her normally tidy bed was a complete mess. The blankets were balled up and his hoodie was mixed into them, pillows thrown around. He wondered if she couldn't sleep and decided to go find some company other than his to cure her boredom. He found himself getting jealous of the fake scenarios he was making up.

Jax decided it was time to look for her. If nothing else, to soothe his own nerves. He checked all of the common areas, still void of anyone else. Everyone was off doing their own things in their rooms. The silence made it seem like the circus was shutting in on itself with Pomni's absence.

The circus had seemed so lighter, so much more bearable since her arrival. Not just for Jax, but everyone else too. Her arrival came hand in hand with Kaufmo's abstraction and she was a much needed distraction. She was more than that, warming up and becoming their friend quickly. She even managed to befriend the resident [BLEEP]hole, much to everyone's surprise.

No one was more surprised than Jax when he found himself thinking that the circus had something to offer him. Figures, he scoffed. He could only get a chick when she's literally trapped with him.

As he ran out of spaces to look indoors he decided to shit his focus outward. He thought back to the nap they shared under the artificial trees outside the tent. That'd be a good place to look. As he approached he found the jester curled up at it's base snoring. She wore a small frown on her face and her brows were furrowed, even in her sleep. The sight made Jax's heart ache.

He knelt down and caressed her face, brushing her hair out of the way and whispering to wake her.

"Pom? Why don't we get you do bed, huh?"

She made an incoherent noise and rolled over in protest. Jax made the executive decision to sweep her up in his arms as gingerly as he could and take her back to her room. She woke up enough to realize it was him and immediately pressed herself to his chest.

Jax couldn't help himself, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and letting his chin nuzzle against it. It felt so right to have her in his arms where she felt safe. He let out a hum in content. All of his previous worries from the day disappeared.

Carrying her through the circus, he had nearly made it back to her bedroom without being seen. She had already fallen back asleep against him, he was sure she'd never get over the embarrassment of being caught snoring in his arms like that.

Their luck wouldn't last much longer, as he saw a figure standing in the hallway entrance. Of course out of everyone he could've ran into, it had to be Ragatha. She froze in her tracks, her mouth falling open. She didn't dare speak but she couldn't believe what she saw.

Her eyes locked in place on Jax. On the jester in his arms, curled up into him. Jax met her silence with a glare and pulled Pomni in closer, as if to drive the point. If looks could kill, she'd have been eviscerated on the spot. It was a look that said more than he ever could with the entirety of the English language at his disposal.

She was the one that disrespected Pomni. She was the one that pushed her away. That hurt her. She was the reason Pomni had hidden from everyone in shame and refused company.

Tears began to well up in Ragatha's eye. She couldn't believe she ran into them. The way Jax held Pomni like she was the most precious thing he had ever laid eyes on. It was like he was protecting her from the ragdoll. It made her throat hurt and her chest heavy.

Before Jax had the pleasure of seeing her cry, she spun and ran off to her room as quickly as she could. Good. Jax didn't want to deal with her and it was satisfying seeing her run from the consequences of her actions.

He tried to shake it off and opened Pomni's door. He was focused on helping her at the moment. She was all he cared about. Making his way over to the bed and carefully laying her down, he accidentally woke her. she whined when he let go of her and realized she was back in her room.

"Nooo, I wanna burrow." Her voice was quiet and raspy, hoarse from how much she had screamed earlier. Crying had taken so much out of her. She crawled back against Jax and held onto him like he was her only lifeline.

"Please bun?" She sounded like she was going to cry again.

"Of course PomPom, c'mon." Jax wrapped his arms back around her and lifted her from the bed. She sounded so defeated, he couldn't imagine saying no to her in that pitiful state.

Crossing the hall to his room, he brought her into the burrow of blankets on his bed. He climbed in behind her and spooned her. She turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his waist as he curled around her.

One hand on the small of her back, the other cradling her head, Pomni felt like she could breathe for the first time all day. She was coherent enough now to recognize the warmth radiating off of Jax. She slipped her hands under his hoodie to feel his fur, gathering it in tufts between her fingers. She should've gone to him in the first place.

As soon as she felt him run his hand up and down her back she began to cry again. She was so tired of crying. As her tears welled up, the fabric of Jax's hoodie soaked them in. He realized she was crying as he felt the warm dampness start to stick to him.

"You're okay Pom, let it out. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." He reassured her as best as he could.

She clung to him and started to cry harder. She didn't even know why she was crying this time, just that she couldn't help it. Her body trembled as she tried to hold back the sobs. It was no use as Jax began to pet her and run his fingers through her hair. That was the final straw.

Pomni was used to crying. She cried all the time in her small, sad apartment. She hadn't had the time to cry in the circus, her sadness had been replaced with confusion and fear. It felt bizarre to be comforted by Jax while she was so vulnerable. It only made her cry harder. Months worth of tears were spilling out at once.

The rage Jax had felt towards Ragatha a moment before was replaced entirely by his worry for Pomni. His heart ached as she cried into him. She felt so small and so fragile in his arms, all he could do was pull her closer and let her work through her tears. He knew there was no use in stopping them.

He wondered if she had been crying all day. He pictured her crying into his hoodie. He felt a twinge of guilt at the thought, it almost bringing him satisfaction to think of her being so dependant on him, so desperate for his comfort. He would do anything for her. Anything to make her feel better.

It took another 20 minutes of tears before Pomni began to calm down. Her breath hitched as she tried to take a deep breath in. Jax was still rubbing her back, waiting for her tears to subside. She felt completely exhausted, physically and mentally.

She pulled her head away from Jax's chest and sniffled, wiping the last of her tears away. Jax looked down at her with a worried expression on his face and gave her a small smile.

"I'm sorry." Her voice came out barely louder than a whisper. She felt horrible for crying on Jax for so long. She knew it'd be fine in a matter of minutes, but she could see the huge stains on his hoodie where the tears had soaked through.

"Don't apologize. You didn't do anything wrong." Jax was firm with his words but spoke gently to her.

"But I, I think I'm a bad person."

Jax scoffed. She was worried about being a bad person? It was almost humorous.

"Yup." Jax leaned into it. "There's no doubt about it, you're the worst. Absolutely terrible. No wonder you're so obsessed with me." He gave her a kiss on the forehead, his tone one of obviously mockery. He didn't want her accidentally taking him seriously.

She huffed and turned her face downwards into the bed so most of it was hidden. Jax pulled his hand away from her back and made her look at him. Her eyes were framed with dark circles. They started straight through him. She looked so distant.

"Pom, I promise you're not a bad person. No one there thinks that."

"But Ragahta-" Jax cut her off.

"But Ragatha nothing. She upset you, you told her, and she has to live with it. She's just having a fit because she's jealous. Let her have it."

"But I don't regret what I said." She was quiet and she avoided eye contact.

That's what this was about? Telling her she'd make her miserable?

"So, you don't regret standing up for yourself and for someone you care about?"

"Didn't I take it too far?"

"Poms, look at who you're talking to. I'm the KING of taking things too far. You think this is the first time someone made her cry? Even Gangle called her out at one point. And now look, they're still buddy buddy, right? It's going to be okay, seriously."

Jax had a point. Pomni nodded. Logically she knew this, but she couldn't help the emotional whiplash from the last couple days. She was thankful she had Jax there to bring her back to reality.

"I guess. Thank you. I think I needed to hear that."

"Anytime PomPom, I'm always happy to deliver hard truths."

Pomni took in a deep breath and tried to let her body relax. She didn't realize how much tension she had been holding. Her jaw, her shoulder, she chest, it all ached.

"C'mere, you wanted burrow time so let's enjoy it, yeah?" Jax pulled her back into him, noticing her tension. He felt her ease up a bit more against him. She was glad her face was back against his chest. The hoodie still hadn't dried though.

He felt the dampness against him and it made him cringe this time, it was cold and wet now. He moved Pomni away enough to sit up, she looked like she wanted to protest.

"Give me a sec, will you? I don't think you want your face buried in something cold and wet, do you?" She shook her head and watched him pull the jacket off over his head. It made her blush for some reason.

Jax noticed and chose not to say anything. He loved it though, and would hold onto that memory for a while. He laid back down flat on his back and pulled her onto him. She had never laid on him shirtless before. He was so warm and so soft against her. She nuzzled into him again and absentmindedly ran her fingers across her fur until she drifted off. It wasn't long before Jax followed her into a deep, dreamless slumber.

Chapter Text

Ragatha found herself having a difficult time coping with the changing dynamics in the circus. She wasn't upset at Pomni for her words, what the jester said hurt, there was no denying that. But it was something she needed to hear. She had spent a long time trying to protect everyone from their feelings so she could project her own onto them.

If they weren't upset, she wouldn't lose anyone else. She felt like she was already losing Pomni and she more than anything wanted to blame Jax.

She wanted to tell him that she saw through his act, that he was just getting close to her so he could have someone else to be bitter towards and mistreat like the rest of them. That he was just trying to corrupt her.

But she couldn't do that. She saw how he looked at Pomni. How he actually made an effort to treat the others like humans for once and stopped pretending that none of it mattered. He looked at her like he caught a glimpse through the coding of their digital prison and saw her for who she truly is.

And Ragatha couldn't. She had to accept that. She didn't know how to exist next to Pomni without protecting her, but she didn't know how to protect her without coming across as over protective and judgemental. She knew exactly where it came from.

She had seen the jester as someone she could take under her wing and bond with. She felt lonely. She couldn't understand why Jax would prefer this, would actively push people away to seek it out. She couldn't imagine anything hurting enough to drive her to that kind of isolation.

Unable to get the mental image of Jax carrying Pomni to bed out of her mind, she tried to focus on herself. Her yarn was all knotted, jumping in every direction off of her head. She would have to spend a good amount of time untangling it.

With every knot undone she let herself relax a little bit more, reminding herself that she matters, she is loved, she is important. She would say these things to herself as often as she needed to and found her little mantras helping her stay grounded.

By the time she was finally done she realized she was late to breakfast. She hoped no one noticed and more than anything hoped they wouldn't ask. She was the last one to the table like she expected, greeted with an eager wave from Gangle and less enthusiastic but regardless welcoming wave from Zooble.

Saying good morning to Kinger, she looked in Pomni and Jax's direction. Jax was talking about something Ragatha couldn't be bothered to pick up on. She was more focused on the jester. Pomni looked tired but tried to give an awkward half smile to Ragatha when she noticed her looking before looking back down at her plate.

She appreciated that Pomni made an effort, even if it looked like it put her in physical pain. It gave her some hope that the two of them would be okay if she remembered to give Pomni her space let the jester come to her when she was ready.

While Ragatha was coming up with a master strategy, she failed to notice Caine materialize before her.

"Oh my babbling bumble bees, your next grand adventure awaits! It's no surprise you've gotten quite close these last few months, but how well do you really know your circus mates? You'll find out today when you have to defend them in court! Let no dirty secret go unaired, it's time to get to the bottom of who done it!"

"Who did what, exactly?" Zooble was already annoyed at the adventure. It sounded needlessly complicated.

"No, no, Zooble. Who done it. You should really start paying attention."

"No Caine I mean what are we trying to figure out who did?"

"Yes! That's the spirit!"

They were getting nowhere.

Before anyone else could interrupt they found themselves transported to an ominously large court room. Kinger resided at the podium wearing a curly white wig like something you'd see out of a historic biography.

Zooble and Gangle were in the stand with a bunch of NPC's making up the jury. Ragatha found herself in the position of a lawyer. She looked to the stand to see who she was defending.

It was Pomni. She literally had to come to the jester's defense. Great. That was sure to do wonders for their friendship.

On the opposite side of the courtroom was the plaintiff. Jax. He was represented by Orbsman, the charismatic bubble man from Spudsy's.

Jax was in a wheel chair with one leg and both of his arms propped straight out in full casts. He wore a neck brace, supporting his head. One of his ears was wrapped in gauze.

"I knew ya were a wife beater Pom! Just look at me! Oh woe is me, the pain, the agony!" Jax's theatrics drew hushed gasps from the jury of NPC's. Gangle covered her mask with her ribbons and Zooble rolled their eyes as usual.

"That's not fair! How do you even know it was me?! You're always picking a fight with someone! It could've been any one of us in this room!" Pomni screamed back at him full of anger, her teeth were sharp and ragged, but there was a playful edge to her voice. She was trying to hold back laughter.

Zooble and Gangle gave each other a weird look, maybe the adventure would be interesting after all. If Pomni didn't beat up Jax who did? Most of them were secretly wishing it had been themselves. They decided to play into it and see how the mock trial would go.

In Ragatha's hands there was a binder filled with paperwork. Most of the forms were blank or said confidential in bold red letters , but there was a page with three bullet points lined out for her.

• Prove Innocence
• Insurance Fraud
• Divorce?

Divorce? We're Jax and Pomni seriously married in this twisted fantasy of Caine's? Ragatha was already fed up. Not knowing the whole case or what rules the court went by was going to make this impossible for her to win.

"Your honor, I am here today to represent my client Mr. The Rabbit in the court of law against Pomni XDDCC with her counsel Ragatha Dollface."

Ragatha scoffed at her undignified surname. She had to come up with a game plan.

"Uh, you're honor, can we have a recess?" Ragatha tried to get a moment to prepare.

"Well I don't see how playing outside would help us here Ragatha, but we can after we're done if you'd like." Judge Kinger completely misunderstood her.

"What? No! No that's not what I mea-" Before she could finish clarifying she was interrupted.

"As I said before we were so rudely interrupted by the defendants council asking for playtime, my client has suffered immense physical and emotional damages at the hands of the defendant!"

Orbsman spoke in an authoritative and theatrical tone. He gestured to Jax as he emphasized the words "suffering" and "damage."

Ragatha went red in the face as he continued to purposely misunderstand her. She huffed and sifted through her notes for anything else that wasn't just a vague list. Tucked between two pages stuck together was a photograph. She knew exactly how she was going to win this case.

"I demand the defendant pay five million in damages, plus an additional two for emotional distress and court fees for a total of seven million and serve life in prison for attempted murder on the night of the Amazing Digital Fashion Show!" Orbsman made his plea. Up next he would offer the court his evidence.

Jax was wheeled up to the stand opposite of Pomni, Orbsman going up between them to prove Pomni's guilt.

"Mrs.XDDCC, would you mind telling the court you're relationship status with my client?"

Pomni's bold attitude was flatted by a single question.

"Well, uh, we're, that's my wife!" She stuttered, keeping Jax's bit running.

Ragatha's jaw dropped. She didn't expect that to strike a nerve. Whatever. She would win the case and it would make up for everything else.

Jax snorted as Orbsman continued his line of questioning.

"And would you say you spend a lot of time with your wife?"

"Um, I guess?" Pomni couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of Jax being referred to as her wife in an official capacity.

"Some would say too much time, wouldn't they."

Pomni glanced at her council.

"Some would, I suppose." Her tone was completely neutral, lacking it's humorous tone from before.

"Objection!" Ragatha called out. She didn't know why, she just wanted the questions to stop. Why did they have to ask so many personal questions that she did not want to know the answer to.

"On what grounds, Ragatha?" Kinger looked at her puzzled.

"Uhh, the council is trying to paint a negative picture of my client without any actual evidence." Ragatha blurted out the first thing she could think of. Kinger mulled it over.

"Overruled! We haven't made it to the evidence yet. You'll get your chance in a moment to share your counterclaim."

This was not going great for Ragatha. And how did Kinger know so mucha bout the judicial process? She just had to tough it out until it was her turn to submit the evidence she had stashed away to the court.

"Anyways, Mrs.XDDCC, where were you the night of the amazing digital fashion show?"

That adventure was forever ago. She couldn't be expected to remember that.

"In my room? I think? And then at the show obviously." Pomni didn't sound convinced.

"And were you alone in your room?"

"Yes?"

"So in other words, you have no alibi to confirm your whereabouts that evening, the night my client was brutally attacked. I see. No further questions your honor."

Judge Kinger motioned for Ragatha to begin her line of questioning.

"So, um, Jax." It was her turn to question the plaintiff. It was awkward addressing him, he stared at her with a blank expression and waited for the questions.

"Exactly how did your injuries happen?"

"She beat me, I tell ya! Didn't you hear my lawyer? She's a violent husband! I was just in my room getting ready and she sabotaged me!" Jax feigned a desperate tone, pretending he was gravely injured. The NPC's kept eating it up.

"And when did you say it happened?"

"The night of the fashion show, obviously. Jeez, Rags keep up."

Ragatha looked down at her notes. They weren't helpful. She groaned and tried to think of another question.

"So how would you describe your relationship with your council? Are you and your lawyer close?"

"Eh? Sure I guess, why not."

"That's what I thought. And do you have any witnesses to back up your whereabouts the night of the fashion show when the accident was supposed to have taken place?"

"Nope."

"I see. So no one witnessed this supposed injury that happened during an adventure, and you and your lawyer are good friends."

"Hey, don't you put words in my mouth! I never said we were good friends!" Jax protested, trying not to let Ragatha get the upper hand. He wanted to see the look on her face when she lost.

"Your honor, my client has a counter claim and is asking for everything in the divorce."

Gasps rang out from the jury.

"Divorce?!" Jax spat the word out like he was actually offended.

"You can't divorce me and take my things!"

"So, are you saying you don't want to separate from my client that injured you, but you want to take seven million dollars from her? Interesting."

Orbsman tried to come up with a counter argument but found himself unprepared. Ragatha continued.

"Would you say you're close to anyone else in the circus?"

"No. Duh."

"Would you go as far as saying you are often mean to them?"

"Of course, it's funny."

"So my client was right to say you're always picking a fight. How do we know someone else wasn't responsible for those injuries? You have no alibi, no witnesses, no evidence to back you up."

The jury nodded along, eating up the dramatics. Gangle and Zooble were pleasantly entertained, listening to everyone come up with nonsense on the spot. It want often everyone was on the same page.

"Your honor, I would like to submit a piece of evidence to the court." She pulled the photograph out of her binder and handed it to Kinger.

He gasped as he examined it.

The photo showed Orbsman with who appeared to be Jax. They were in a compromising position, Orbsman pressed against a barn with Jax leaning in like he was about to kiss him. If they had looked closer they'd have noticed the pink splotches peaking out through the purple "fur" where Evil Jax had been painted for the photograph.

"This here is physical evidence that proves the plaintiff is faking everything and cheating! You can see this was taken in the corn maze, long after the fashion show. And look, he's not wearing any of his casts!"

"Wow, this is undeniable evidence. Great work, Ragatha!"

"What? Seriously! This is a set up I tell you! A setup!"

Pomni laughed from her stand, she was glad she didn't have to come up with anything else on the spot. She hated improv.

"Well if that's the case, I say the defendant is innocent! Jax, you are to give all of your possessions to Pomni in the divorce. And as for the insurance fraud, we'll let you go with a warning this time but don't do it again, okay? Well done Ragatha! You saved the day!"

As Kinger slammed his gavel Caine reappeared, clapping enthusiastically.

"Excellent work everyone! Ragatha, you did a fantastic job with that plot twist!"

"What was the point of the jury? We didn't even get to do anything." Zooble felt like that was a waste of their time. It had been funny to see Jax lose, though.

"Why Zooble, it's not a fair trial if there's no jury!"

They didn't question Caine's logic. There was no point in pressing the matter.

Ragatha was pleased that the adventure hadn't gone worse. It didn't make much sense, but it was a silly break from the recent high tension. She still thought about the way Pomni responded to being asked if anyone thought she was too close to Jax.

She didn't mean to make it that obvious, but it was too late for that. At least she had talked to them, kind of, and wasn't shunned or scolded.

She was happy with that progress. It would do, for now.

Chapter Text

After the courtroom scene everyone got a good laugh at how absurd the whole ordeal was. Caine was beaming with pride, his artificial intelligence satisfied with the confirmation that his adventure was a hit.

"So Jax didn't get beat up at all for that adventure? That seems like a waist of a plotline. Hey, Caine!" The ringmaster perked up at Zooble's mention of his name.

"Next time Jax needs to be in a cast let us draw straws to see who gets to be the one to put him in it."

Jax pretended to take offense, acting like an arrow had dramatically been shot through his heart.

"Now Zooble, you know I can't condone player on player violence." Everyone paused for a moment, all eyes on Caine.

"Oh who am I kidding, of course I can! Great idea Zooble, next time you'll all draw straws to decide who puts Jax in a cast!"

Pomni snorted, laughing along side with Gangle and Zooble. Even Ragatha had a hard time not smiling at the joke.

"I think Pomni should get to, Jax is her wife after all!" Kinger sounded so genuine as he spoke, not realizing what he were suggesting.

"Y'know what, that's fair. She does put up with him more than the rest of us. God knows why. Maybe you are a maniac Pomni." Zooble agreed with Kinger.

"Yeah, that's right! You all better keep your hands off my old lady, I'm unstable!" Pomni looked like she was going to double over laughing, balling her hand in a fist to shake, pretending to threaten everyone. She was barely able to get to words out between giggles.

"You heard my crazy husband people, she's the only one allowed to man handle me!" Jax crossed his arms, a smug smirk on his face.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Zooble teased Jax.

"Oh please, wouldn't you like to know? If you're so curious go read one of Gangle's fanfics, I'm sure there's one about me in there somewhere. Whip up any zesty lemons lately, Ribbons?"

Gangle's mask blushed bright red and she turned away, trying to hide it.

"Jax! No! I haven't- I don't write that! Stop being weird!"

Jax laughed at how embarrassed he made Gangle. She absolutely did write fanfiction about him, and the rest of them. He didn't care. If anything he found it flattering.

It had been too long since everyone in the circus had been able to laugh with each other like that. Especially after the last few days the air felt lighter. Even Ragatha had to admit, it was nice to see everyone joking.

"Gotta hand it to ya Rags, I didn't know you had it in you. That whole photo thing was a pretty good plot twist. You better hope I don't get a good lawyer next time." Jax hadn't expected her to win the case with what was essentially blackmail material. He shuddered to think of what else Caine used their clones for.

"Uh, thank you Jax, I think." Ragatha was surprised and confused at his sudden compliment. It wasn't like him and she felt she didn't deserve it.

"Who do you think will be on trial next?" Gangle asked, half hoping Caine would take the hint and eventually give them another adventure like it.

"Oh definitely Pomni again. You know people like that never change. It'll only be a matter of time before I'm in a body bag and she's behind bars."

"Jesus Jax! What do you take me for, some kind of serial killer? And here I thought I was your devoted husband!"

"Who said you can't be both? I don't know what you do in your free time!"

The two bickered like an old married couple.

"Yeah I can see why they needed the divorce before the wedding even happened." Zooble spoke in a hushed voice to Gangle, making her giggle.

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm a trophy wife over here! Any of you would be lucky to have me!" Jax pretended to be offended again.

"C'mon Poms, I know when I'm not wanted. Let's blow this popsicle stand!" Jax grabbed her wrist and pulled her away.

Deciding not to fight it, she gave everyone an awkward wave. "Later, guys." They all waved back.

Taking long strides, Pomni had to nearly run to keep up with Jax. He wasn't in a rush to get away, he just liked seeing the jester scramble to keep up with him.

She tripped over her own two feet and Jax laughed at her.

"Still falling for me, huh? You're lucky I'm here to sweep you off your feet." In one smooth motion, Jax lifted Pomni and cradled her in his arms.

She giggled and wrapped around him, instantly snuggling up to him.

"You're so cheesy."

"Good thing you don't lack toes and taller ants"

Pomni's brain glitched. "Huh?"

"Y'know, when you can't have milk and stuff."

"Lactose intolerance?"

"That's what I said!"

"Well don't let Caine hear you say it! The last thing he needs is an idea for giant toeless ants running around!"

"Kinger would love it."

Pomni sighed, trying to push the imagine of more giant bugs running around out of her head. The workout program had been enough. "Yeah, he would."

Reaching his room, Jax opened the door and paused.

"Allow me to carry you over the threshold, as a newly divorced couple."

He carried her through the entrance and immediately dropped her, turning to shut the door behind them.

"Ow! Hey what gives!" Pomni crossed her arms and huffed at the sudden betrayal.

"I said we were divorced, didn't I? I'm not gonna carry my ex husband to bed, that's just weird."

From the floor Pomni looked up at Jax who was leaning halfway down to be on her level. She frowned, deciding on revenge.

Lunging forward, she pulled Jax down to the floor with her by his overall straps. He let out a scream of surprise and flopped down on top of her. She admittedly didn't think it through. He let his body go limp and put her full weight on him.

"Ugh Jax! You're heavy, get up!"

"It's not my fault you're so weak, you better hope you can get a refund from that trainer of yours." Jax propped himself up, sitting on top of her.

Now pinned under the rabbit, her eyes went wide. Jax didn't hesitate to call out her embarrassment.

"What's the matter Pom? Caught yourself in a compromising position? Or was this your plan all along?"

Jax brought his hand up to her face and brushed his thumb against her cheek. She was blushing and tried to look away.

"Don't do that." His voice was flat.

"Huh? Do what?" Her gaze fixed back in place on him.

"Don't look away. Pay attention to me." She was surprised by his request. He said it without humor in his voice.

"Oh someone's needy today, aren't you bun?" She got a kick out of watching his ears perk up at being called bun.

"I'm not needy. I just like the attention."

"I dunno, sounds pretty needy to me." Testing her luck, Pomni rolled her eyes and looked at the ceiling above him.

Jax huffed.

"What I need, Pomni, is for you to shut up and look at me."

Her vision stayed fixed on the ceiling. She tried to keep a straight face and ignore him. He went from just brushing his thumb against her cheek to grabbing her face. He turned her head so she would look at him. She turned her eyes again.

Jax frowned. She saw it in her peripheral and nearly gave in. She wanted to see how far she could go. They took turns going back and forth, Pomni moving her eyes and Jax shifting her head along with them.

The angrier he got the more Pomni wanted to giggle. She watched his teeth start to grind against themselves. She watched his ears twitch. She watched the fur rise and fall on his chest and he breathed heavier.

She did everything but make eye contact, and it was driving Jax insane. Why wouldn't she just look at him. Every time she averted her eyes Jax let his hand tighten against her face.

He leaned in close to her until he was the only thing in her vision. She still tried to avoid him.

"I don't know what game you think you're playing, but we both know you aren't winning this."

"No? Can't handling losing to me twice in one day?" She finally looked at him with a smile on her face and giggled.

His ear twitched again. He still wasn't smiling. He was staring back at himself through her large pinwheel eyes beneath him. He pulled back just enough to see the rest of her face.

Pomni watched his eyes shift lower, he was looking at her lips. Before he could do anything about it she closed the distance between them and kissed him.

He kissed her back briefly and pulled away, surprise written on his face.

"I didn't say you could do that." Jax blinked, but the corner of his mouth betrayed him as it rose into a smirk.

"Well you didn't say I couldn't, either."

She leaned in for another kiss. This time he turned his head away at the last moment, her lips brushing against the soft fur of his cheek. She huffed.

"Rude!"

"I'm the rude one now? That's rich coming from you!"

Pomni tried to kiss him again, and she was met with the same response. He turned his head to the other side and she kissed his other cheek.

"Jaaaax!" She whined.

Now it was his turn to ignore her.

"Jax look at me!" She was pouting. He still didn't budge.

"Please Jax it's not fair! I thought you wanted attention!"

His smirk grew into a smile.

She tried to grab his overall straps again and pull him into her. This time he steadied himself and refused to budge. It was hard for him not to laugh at how much she was struggling.

It didn't take long for her to give up and go back to pleading.

"Please look at me Jax." She sounded so sad. She wasn't, she just wanted to pull at his heartstrings. It wasn't going to work.

"Please Jax I need you."

The way Pomni was begging for his attention lit a fire in him. This was exactly what he wanted. He knew they were just playing, but it didn't matter. She was asking for him.

"Please I just want to kiss you." Her voice was so soft, so sweet.

"Please kiss me." He nearly caved at her request.

"Please, Jax." she barely brushed the words past her lips.

He leaned in close to her, putting a hand back against her face. Pomni closed her eyes and leaned in, waiting for the kiss. Before their lips met, Jax paused.

"You're so pathetic." He laughed in her face.

Her eyes shot open. Her mouth dropped. She looked up at him and felt her cheeks burn.

"Wh-what?" She stuttered, not expecting him to insult her.

"Sitting there begging for me like that, it's pathetic. Here I thought I was the needy one." He looked so smug, like this was what he knew would happen all along.

She hated how much she liked being called pathetic.

"I'm not! I just wanted you to kiss me."

"Wanted? So you don't anymore? Okay, that's fine." Jax shrugged and stood up. Pomni was dumbfounded.

"No wait Jax that's not what I meant!" She scrambled onto her feet and threw herself against him.

"I do, I promise! Please Jax?"

He laughed at how she clung to him. He felt her tuck herself closer to him as he did.

"Oh Pom, I didn't know you were so desperate."

He knelt down to her and she took a step back. They were face to face again.

Finally he relented, pressing their lips together again. He could feel the warmth radiating off of Pomni's red cheeks.

When they pulled away she looked like she just had a life changing experience. Jax couldn't help but smile at her bewildered look. She made sure things never got boring.

Without warning he scooped Pomni up and brought her to bed, playfully tossing her in the makeshift burrow. The two of them giggled as he climbed in after her. Satisfied with the attention she gave him, he laid his head on her chest, closing his eyes as he listened to her pounding heartbeat.

She reached up and scratched behind his ears where she knew he enjoyed it. He let out a soft hum and smiled as he nuzzled into her.

The two of them stayed like that until they were fast asleep, continuing the recent ritual they had started. Neither wanted to sleep alone anymore. Not then they had this, had each other.