#fuzzywriting

They hadn’t spoken since that gun adventure. While the other two teams who lost seemed to be closer in some way or another, Jax and Pomni couldn’t be farther apart.

Caine had taken notice, of course he had. He watched their friendship blossom from the suggestion box adventures, and continue to grow in the circus. But the gun adventure…why were they mad at each other for being the team that won?

Breakfast was quiet for the most part. Ragatha chatted with Kinger about ladybugs, Zooble and Gangle doodled on napkins. Pomni ate her food, taking in the moment’s peace. And then Jax walked in.

“Sleep in?”

Ragatha chirped. Jax was never late for a meal.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Raggy.”

If he could look tired in his cartoonish form, he certainly did. His ears drooped a bit and his smile, though still wide, seemed strained.

Jax had been acting like his normal self. Or what everyone saw to be his normal self. Bullying Gangle, jabbing at Zooble, writing off Kinger.

But Pomni knew there was more going on there, because against his wishes, she hadn’t stopped looking.

“You’ve got a staring problem, Pomni.”

She tensed. Looking down at her plate, waiting for him to walk past. She thought Jax lingered there behind her, just for a moment, but she may have been imagining it.

“Sooo,” Ragatha tried to break the awkward silence. “How’d you sleep, Pomni?”

Pomni ignored the fact that Ragatha had asked her earlier. She gratefully took the lifeline.

“Oh, just as okay as ever I guess?”

Ragatha smiled small, it was trying to be encouraging, maybe?

They had talked after the show, and while Pomni hadn’t gone into any details, she had told Ragatha about her and Jax getting into a bad fight.

For just a moment, the tension melted a bit, and tranquility refilled the space. Then Caine manifested in front of them.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“Hello my rambunctious racketeers!”

Caine’s voice rang out, cheery as always.

Bubble bobbed beside him, a wide smile on his face.

“I’ve been thinking,” he continued “That we need to resolve some tensions I’ve been noticing around here!”

The others exchanged nervous glances. Pomni clenched and unclenched her fist.

“Please don’t let this be about what I think it is.”

She whispered. Ragatha gave her shoulder a supportive squeeze, for once Pomni didn’t shrug it off.

“Jax and Pomni, you’ve been avoiding each other, why?”

Jax’s ear twitched. Pomni stiffened.

“That’s…not really your business, Caine.”

Pomni tried to play it cool. He’d move on, forget about it. Throw them into an adventure.

“You’re my guests, of course it’s my business!”

Zooble spoke up this time.

“No, Caine, it’s personal. And what does it matter? Jax is an _sshole to everyone here. You’ve never spoken up before.”

“If this adventure caused problems, I need to know! They were friends before, and left….not that.”

“Look, Caine, it’s not that deep. Pomni is just a horrible shot and severely lame. Nothin’ personal about it.”

Jax threw her a sideways smile. Pomni grit her teeth.

“Nothing personal my _ss.”

She muttered.

“See? Like that!”

Caine exclaimed as if the others couldn’t see it.

“I can read between the lines, and the way I see it,” His voice peaked, his pupils shrinking slightly, making him look a tad manic. “You two should just kiss and make up!”

“Ooh make out.”

Bubble cooed. Caine seemed to punctuate the sentiment with a snap.

Pomni suddenly felt herself moving. But not of her own volition.

“Wait, Caine, what are you-“

Jax started, but stopped, his ears suddenly straightening. His eyes still shot around the room, but he seemed to be stuck in place.

Pomni was in front of him now. Her eyes were wildly shooting between him and Caine. She was grabbing Jax’s waist. No- No- No- there was NO way he was making her do this.

She screamed in her head, willing her muscles to fight back, but it just made what she was doing feel like it was going in slow motion. And what she was doing was dipping Jax, she swept him off his feet, he felt limp in her arms, like he couldn’t physically stop himself from falling in her gravity.

His hand touched the back of her neck, she could feel just how tense it was. He wasn’t in control either.

His eyes were wide and blazing, staring at her. They were nose to nose. Pomni could hear the sound of the other circus goers protesting, trying to get Caine to stop, but her brain was a static mess, she couldn’t focus.

Then the worst thing happened. She kissed him. Swift and hard, like the climax of a romantic confession scene. She didn’t close her eyes, it seemed to be the one thing she had control over. Jax was also bug eyed, his pupils going from scribbly slits to giant endless black, covering most of the yellow.

Suddenly, Pomni regained control. Off balance and in shock, she dropped Jax to the floor, gasping.

“CAINE!” She barked, her face flushed in fury and embarrassment.

“WHAT THE F_CK?!?”

Jax shrieked, almost like he was finishing her thought.

“You can’t ignore that! Now the tension has been broken and the friendship can come back!”

“I thought you said you had NO control of our minds!?”

Pomni spat, her eyes still wildly flitting between him and Jax.

“I didn’t control your minds! I merely encouraged your bodies to forgive each other! Actions speak louder than words and all!”

Pomni felt sick. Caine didn’t understand. He had no grasp of the proper timing. He didn’t know how forgiveness and friendship worked…and how could he?

“Kiss and make up is NOT literal! And our minds are a PART of our bodies! They certainly stop us from KISSING each other!!”

“Drats. That’s boring. What about making out?”

Bubble said absently.

Pomni’s eye twitched. She finally looked at the others, who stood there in slack-jawed (for those with mouths) shock. Her face burned, mind reeling, heart thudding too hard against her digital chest.

She ran to her room, she couldn’t bear them staring at her. She felt like a spectacle.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pomni laid on her bed. She ran her finger over her lips. Her chest still distantly fluttering. Waves of embarrassment and anger washed over her.

Who was Caine to just force that to happen? To take away their agency, make them play some scene and then be expected to forget it? He was the ringmaster. An ultra-intelligent Ai with no real understanding of emotions having more than one layer.

Because while she was mad at Jax for what he said, how he acted, and how that adventure ended. She never hated him for it, even though he wanted her to. If anything, it made her care more. She was worried. He was worrying her. But Caine didn’t know that. He didn’t have that insight.

Pomni had hoped that the tension would be resolved by them. That she could get him to talk, to not just pretend everything was the same.

Maybe that was wishful thinking, it was pointless now. She groaned into her hands. How was she supposed to speak or even look at the other circus members after that? Never mind even being in the same room as Jax.

A soft knock came at her door.

“…Pomni?”

Ragatha’s voice was quiet, Pomni considered pretending to be asleep. Instead she opened her door.

“Hey…Rags.”

Ragatha walked in, and sat on one of the building blocks in the corner.

“So that was…terrible.”

Pomni couldn’t help a dry laugh.

“Yeah..no sh_t. Have you seen Caine pull a stunt like that before?”

“Like that? Definitely not.”

Pomni sighed long and ragged.

“Great. That’s great.”

She kicked her bed post in frustration. Ragatha held that sympathetic look in her eye. Her smile tight.

“Hey, at least you and Jax can bond over….hating Caine?”

She offered.

Pomni sat with a huff on her bed.

“I don’t hate Caine…I can’t because he’s- I mean you don’t hate your computer for deleting your save files, y’know? You just…curse out its existence.”

Ragatha chuckled softly.

“Bond over doing that, then.”

“I don’t think Jax will ever breathe in the same room as me again, much less bond with me. But it’s a nice thought.”

Ragatha wrung her hands, it was clear something was her mind.

“Hey, Ragatha…you okay?”

“Yeah! Sorry it’s just I…I didn’t realize he could do stuff like that. I should’ve guessed with the whole Vegan-Jax-Thing, but I didn’t give it much thought and just seeing it I-“

She paused, looking like she said too much.

“I’m sorry. You’re the one who went through that..not me.”

Pomni shook her head.

“Doesn’t make it any less of a frightening thought. Don’t apologize for feeling that…”

“Are you…going to talk to Jax? I mean I would go check on him but it’s more of-“

“Don’t worry, Rags, I get it. And yeah, I’m gonna talk to him. I kind of…have to now.”

Pomni grumbled. She very much was not looking forward to it.

Ragatha nodded, her sweet smile relaxing.

“Right, well, if you need me, I’m here. And don’t worry about the others, they’re all in the same boat on this. They won’t give either of you grief about that. It’s your business.”

Ragatha left, giving more reassurances as she went out the door. Pomni stood in the open doorway staring at the room across from hers.

Unable to come up with an excuse to put it off, Pomni went across the hall to Jax’s door.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pomni knocked on Jax’s door.

“Jax? You in there?”

No answer. Could mean he wasn’t there, but part of her knew better.

“Listen, I know that royally sucked but please don’t tell me you abstracted over that.”

Pomni heard him laugh, actually laugh.

“That’s awfully dark, Pomni.”

Pomni shrugged.

“Yeah, well, it’s been a sh_tty day.”

“I’m not letting you in.”

Pomni tried the handle, it wasn’t locked. Huh.

She flicked the light switch. Jax was laying sprawling in the middle of the floor. His room was very purple. She noticed keys hanging on the walls, a bowling ball in the corner, and the carrot-shaped rug Jax was laying on.

“Not a word.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re making that stupid face you make when you’re being stupid.”

Jax rolled onto his side, back towards her. His tail twitched a bit.

“Better than a carrot rug than a corn one, right?”

Pomni tried weakly.

She shut the door behind her. Better for it to be private anyway.

Jax sat up, finally fully looking her way. Looking right at her for the first time since they had their fight. Since he told her he didn’t care about her. About anyone. That he was here to cause pain, and nothing more.

Jax averted his eyes first.

“You really do have a staring problem. I hate when you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Stare at me, like you’re reading me. Like you’re trying to figure me out.”

“I’m not,” Pomni lied. It was a weak lie. “You told me to stop looking..”

Jax’s ears drooped.

“I know.”

The two stayed there in silence for a moment. Jax spoke first.

“You haven’t stopped though.”

“Yeah.”

Jax paused, but it didn’t take long for him to slip behind a mask.

“You know, you never denied that you were coming onto me.”

Pomni just rolled her eyes.

“Is THAT what you’ve been thinking about all this time? Kind of sad, Jax.”

Jax snickered. It was too easy, laughing around her. No matter how he tried to force away the care, she still made him laugh.

“I’ve been thinking about a lot of things. For your information. Totally not-you-related.”

“We were forced to kiss like Barbie dolls an hour ago you don’t have to be coy, dumb-_ss.”

Jax’s face flushed magenta, even the tips of his ears glowed pink.

“Ugh, don’t remind me of that.”

Pomni sat beside him. She looked like she was trying to choose her words carefully.

“Did you…mean it? What you said?”

“About people not wanting a straight couple? I mean it’s never the popular choice, especially when they have a whole fruit basket to choose from and-“

“Jax.”

Pomni said pointedly. She wasn’t messing around. He could kick her out of his room. She came in uninvited, technically. He could make her feel bad for it. But…he didn’t have the energy for that. Not when she was so close to him and he felt so…see-through.

She made him feel vulnerable and he hated that. But he couldn’t hate her.

“Which part?”

He asked flatly.

“Not caring about us. About me. That part.”

Pomni managed to not break..but the words filled with venom had been sitting on her heart for weeks now, making her feel like she was drowning.

Jax hated seeing her glossy eyes up close, the way her lip quivered, the way she was fighting to not let him see her cry. She was so human.

“…I…I don’t…”

Words clogged up his throat, he was fighting between stomping them back down and expelling them all. Telling Pomni everything he had regretted since that stupid adventure and how much he hated the way she looked at him when he broke her heart. But nothing came.

Pomni stood abruptly. Like she was deciding she had to leave at this very moment or it would all fall apart.

“…I know you care. I know. You can say the opposite, you can pretend you’re above all of us. But I won’t pretend with you. You’re right. I didn’t stop looking. But Jax, I’m not going to apologize FOR you. You’re gonna have to come up with that yourself.”

Her back was to him but he could hear the tremble in her voice. The ache. He hated how it sounded. He hated how he hurt her.

“I just wanted to say…I’m sorry for Caine forcing us into that thing earlier. I know it was out of my control…but it was still..me.”

“Don’t worry about it. It won’t keep me up at night if it doesn’t keep you up at night.”

She looked at him now. Big eyes shiny and soft. Like she didn’t want to leave but she couldn’t stand to stay.

Just say sorry. Say it. Say sorry. Say something.

She looked down at him. He grabbed and held her one hand in both of his. Cradling it like it was precious.

He felt out of his depth. Out of control. Not because of Caine this time, but because he couldn’t let her spend one more second thinking she meant nothing to him.

He kissed her hand. So gentle it felt like desperation.

“I wouldn’t forget you. Not for a million years.”

He whispered. He didn’t look up, partially out of fear of what her face looked like, partially because staring at her hand in his made him feel alive.

Then, she pressed a kiss on his forehead, right between his ears.

“One day,” Pomni said. “We’re going to be okay again.”

“So kiss now, make up later?”

Jax joked weakly. Pomni playfully tugged his ear with her free hand, before letting go of him entirely.

“….Promise you won’t stop looking?”

“I promise.”

He slumped. Looking at the floor as she walked away. The door shut behind her, and he was alone again.

They weren’t good, not by a long shot. But, it wasn’t the end.

Joke’s on the jester, he was a tough egg to crack. Maybe he didn’t have to stay that way though.

She was real, and she was looking.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

To add fuel to the fire, Laufey’s Silver Lining and The Marías No One Noticed was big song inspo for this one.

Hope you enjoyed ^_^

Traveling with Gideon Coal, Kremy Lecroux had no regrets thus far, which was uncharted territory for him. The Genasi was funny that way.

He was used to employees and companions of the “Fair-weather” variety. Folks who would come, say they’d stick around, but suddenly run off when things got sticky. Kremy was admittedly a grudge-keeper, and so many years working for Garou had certainly given him a tougher hide.

That being said, Gideon had proved an exception to the rule. Kremy thought he had the genasi figured out; needed Kremy’s know how, employ, and free food to get back on his feet, then it was off to bigger and better things.

Kremy had expected it, prepared for it, it’s not like they were in the honeymoon phase. Plenty of Kremy’s schemes and cons had gone completely to shit, certifiably tits up. Despite it all Gideon had stayed. Hell or high water, and now it was time for Kremy to contend with something he hadn’t known in a long time; permanence.

They were stopped in an inn for the night. It was quaint, though the beds looked somewhat dubious. Kremy had been checking for bed bugs when he caught Gideon running his fingers through his hair.

He had been meaning to get Gideon a comb, or at least a haircut. Admittedly, their thin finances were put towards comfort. Kremy’s focus had been on a nice bed, or, well, a bed at all.

He watched as the genasi dug through his hair stubbornly, little tangled embers curling around his horns. While he was making some progress, Kremy could tell he was missing spots, rushing through.

“Gid, you’ll need to be more thorough and take it slower, you don’t want spots to end up matted.”

“Not all of us have claws man, it’s difficult.”

The genasi huffed, which elicited a laugh from Kremy.

“Well, some of us,” Kremy crossed over to the bed, propping himself behind Gideon. “Could just ask for help.”

“Awh, you don’t have to do that, man, it’s not a big deal I mean it’s always a mess of tangles anyhow-“

“An’ I won’t have it! As our contract dictates, I’m your employer, and as such, I get to make an executive decision.”

It was Gideon’s turn to laugh, he shook his head, but didn’t protest when Kremy began to gently run his claws through Gideon’s wild hair.

Gideon almost immediately winced as Kremy hit a snag. He tutted.

“Gideon Nathaniel Coal, don’t tell me you’re tender-headed.”

“Nah, I’m not! You know me I have a tough head.”

Kremy snorted.

“That I do know, but it wasn’t what I was asking.”

The two fell into a brief silence as Kremy continued to work at it, pausing whenever Gideon would wince or pull away.

“It’ll get easier, the more you work at it. Just gotta get those tangles out then it’ll be smooth sailing.”

“…hey boss?”

“Hm?”

“How’d you know my full name?”

“You signed your paperwork with it, middle name an’ all. Didn’t ask for that, but I appreciate you putting it out there.”

“Oh….”

Kremy carefully pulled some of the hair back from his horns, he smiled when he saw Gideon’s brows raise, like he was trying to look up at him.

“I didn’t mean to do that. Old habit…or well. Just a habit.”

“Worried you’d forget it?”

“…Yeah. Yeah I was.”

Kremy meant it in jest, but Gideon’s small voice chilled him.

He cleared his throat.

“Well, that’s a habit we need to break I’m afraid, names are a powerful thing. Full ones anyway, I think Gideon Coal works just fine.”

“I can agree to that. If ya promise not to forget the Nathaniel. I can’t…it’s important.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it. Now, I think we’re done.”

Gideon stood suddenly, causing Kremy to lose his balance and fall back on the bed. Gideon didn’t seem to notice as he ran to the mirror.

“I’ll be damned! How’d you manage that with just your claws?”

Kremy stood, brushing imaginary dust from his shirt.

“I’m a man of many talents, you should know that by now.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Kremy stood out on the balcony, he lit a cigarette with his lighter, one he rarely pulled out nowadays.

Gideon was fast asleep inside, meaning the evening chill was starting to settle in. But the gator had one more piece of business to finish before turning in himself.

In a snap of neon magic, a contract manifested in front of him.

He read it over, again and again.

Then he took his lighter, lighting the top corner. He watched the flames spread slowly. His contracts could easily be destroyed by his own magic, but this felt fitting.

The last remains of Gideon’s employment contract was where he penned his name. Kremy released the paper, as it smoldered and turned to ash on the wind.

Don’t need a piece of paper to remember your name. I won’t forget.

Kremy imagined Gideon Nathaniel Coal didn’t need a blood pact to stick around, the Genasi was funny that way.

“Good morning my beautiful bagel bandits!”

Caine’s voice rang out melodically, he was in a very good mood.

Everyone was sitting at the breakfast table, now looking at him expectantly. The meal had long been over, and they had been waiting for Caine to come in and throw them into an adventure.

Caine was proactive by default, so for him to be late to the uptake of his own game was certainly out of the norm. Jax could feel it, the questioning in the air. He was internally praying for Caine not to give anything away.

“Today you are getting a break from our adventures, for this evening is going to be one to remember! I have great things in the works!”

Caine clapped his hands together, before turning his gaze straight to Jax.

“Wink wink.”

He spoke aloud, because he had no eyelids and could not blink.

Well, ONE of them was going to have to preserve their cover. A grin spread across Jax’s face, mask in place.

“Don’t look at me, unless you’re planning on making it violent.”

He spoke smoothly, he definitely did NOT want violence, not tonight anyway. Caine blinked for a moment, like he was registering.

“Aaah, yes. The MOST violence. Like you wouldn’t believe! Wink wink. “

With that Caine dissipated, Jax was a tad surprised, did he actually read between the lines?

“He was being weird. That was weird right?”

Pomni asked, ever observant.

“Dunno, Caine’s always weird. You worried about the surprise violent adventure awaiting us, Pom-Pom?”

“I mean..kinda?”

She hadn’t caught on. Hehe. It was nice that Jax could still surprise her.

With that, the group made their way into their free day. Now Jax had work to do.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jax knew he had to be deliberate with who he spoke to first. Kinger was host, and they were always welcome in his pillow fort. Jax had double-checked anyway though.

Next, was Zooble. They were hard to convince, but if he managed to get them, the others would come too, because they knew Zooble wouldn’t let him lead them into a prank.

He knocked on their door.

“Caine, you said FREE day, that means no bullsh_t.”

Zooble’s voice called from inside.

“Not Caine, but I could sing you Daisy-bell again if you’d like.”

A very brief pause passed.

“What do you want, Jax?”

“We’re doing a team meeting! I need your help to grab the gang.”

“Like hell, I’m going to walk out there and it’s going to be some f_cking ridiculousness. I’m not in the mood, and I’m not going to help you pull the others in on something either.”

Hook. Line. And sinker.

“Why’d you think I’d ask you first? You’re my bull-safeguard! The others won’t trust me without you there to keep me in line. I have pure intentions, pinky swear it.”

Then, Zooble didn’t talk. They didn’t cuss him out or comment anything. The silence made Jax uncomfortable. The door opened.

Zooble looked him up and down, squinting, skeptical.

He raised his hands as if to show he had no means of messing around. No hand buzzers, sticks of dynamite, giant hammers, no cartoon shticks.

“Why didn’t you just unlock my door with your funny-key and drag me out?”

“I’m trying something new. Psyching you out.”

Jax replied coolly.

Zooble rolled their eyes.

“If you try anything, I will beat your cotton-tailed _ss.”

“I have no doubt.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

As he predicted, Ragatha and Gangle both were more willing to come for Zooble than Jax. He knew better than to take that personally..that was an issue he would address another day. There were lots of amends to make.

They all entered Kinger’s pillow fort, he was already sitting there, for some reason he had a magnifying glass.

“Wait a second,” Ragatha spoke up. “Where’s Pomni? You said this was a team meeting?”

“The meeting is about Pomni, so I couldn’t exactly invite her.”

Zooble raised their eyebrows.

“Oh. That’s what this is.”

They mused. Jax’s ear twitched.

“Jax, we all know you like Pomni, it’s kind of obvious. We were all surprised when Pomni said you weren’t dating.”

“Well, she’s right, we’re not. And me liking Pomni isn’t really what this is about..I mean it is in a way, but it’s not-“

“Just spill it, Bunny-Boy.”

Zooble curtly interrupted.

“Okay, Okay. Yesterday during the scavenger hunt, I made a plan with Caine, this evening, the adventure is a surprise for Pomni.”

“That explains the weirdness with him at breakfast this morning..”

Gangle said, she was absently doodling in her sketchpad.

“Wait, wait, wait- Is this what I think it is? Are you taking Pomni out on a date tonight? Like totally officially?”

Ragatha was looking at him intently now, clearly invested.

“I never said date.”

“You said it with your eyes!”

Kinger interjected.

The magenta flush returned to Jax’s face.

“ANYWAY. I wanted to tell you all…because obviously it’s an adventure and Caine will want to have us all there. I didn’t want you to be oblivious to what’s going on and mess it up.”

“You’re asking us to give you two space, because it’s a date?”

Ragatha smiled cheekily.

“YES! Yes, Raggy, it’s a DATE, I want to take Pomni on a DATE! I want to DATE her! Are you happy?!”

“I’m satisfied, yes.”

She replied, pleased with herself. Jax huffed an exasperated sigh.

“I really, really want it to go well, but I don’t know where to start. I gave Caine the plan, but I have no idea what I’ll do once I actually get there. And I still need to ask Pomni if she even wants to do a date.”

“Oh, she does.”

Zooble said plainly.

“But you should still ask her, for you know, the romance~”

Ragatha said with a flourish.

“And as for the date itself, just..be you. Pomni likes that for some reason.”

Gangle added, the bluntness caught everyone off guard. Jax actually laughed out loud. Even Gangle looked surprised at what she said.

“Sorry, that was very blunt. I meant it in a more…well, no that’s exactly how I meant it.”

“Psh, don’t apologize to me it doesn’t look good on you, sad-face.”

Gangle smiled meekly. Kinger held his magnifying glass up, causing lantern light to scatter and bounce on the pillow walls.

“You know,” he said. “If we’re going to make ourselves scarce, we should probably know where we’re going to begin with.”

Jax blinked. He completely forgot to mention where the date would be.

“We’re going to an aquarium.”

The group ooh-ed in unison.

“Like…a chill one?”

Gangle asked, clearly excited by the prospect.

“I told Caine he could have fun with it, so long as he kept it on the ground, lowkey, no scary monsters or crazy twists. Just relaxing.”

“That’s a lot of restraint on your part, you love a good bit of chaos and violence.”

Ragatha said, very matter of fact in tone.

“Who’s to say I won’t be the one bringing the chaos and violence with me, Raggy?”

“Pomni is really going to like that.”

Zooble spoke without sarcasm, and for some reason that made Jax feel fuzzy. They meant that.

“Well,” Kinger spoke lifting the pillow door out onto the floor of the circus. “You ought to get going, you’ve got a jester to ask out!”

Ragatha gave a little cheer. And Jax made a point of rolling his eyes and calling them cringe. But he couldn’t stop the real smile on his face.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Pomni had spent the morning in her bedroom, she slept an extra hour, and read one of Zooble’s circus magazines. It had Caine’s bizarre aesthetic, but the activity itself was mundane. She missed that.

A voice caught her attention. It was soft at first, but it was right outside, and she recognized it. Jax was singing.

“Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do~”

The smile on her face was immediate.

“I’m half-crazy, all for the love of you.”

Pomni swung her door open, Jax stood in front of her.

“Aw, man, I didn’t even get to the bicycle part yet, I love the bicycle part.”

Jax joked. Pomni didn’t waste a second, she hopped on him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a giant hug.

“What are you trying to do to me, huh?”

Jax was addicted to hearing the smile in her voice.

“I could ask you the same thing.”

He hugged her back, tightly.

“It’s not as good solo, I will admit.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not a critic.”

Jax chuckled, carefully setting her back to the floor.

“Is there a reason you’re singing outside my door, or did you just decide to be cute today?”

Jax’s ears turned pink, which did not help his case.

“Not cute. I am suave and handsome.”

“Two things can be true at once.”

Pomni didn’t miss a beat, she never did with Jax.

“I..wanted to ask you something. Or I guess, let you know about something that’s happening?”

Jax’s ears were twitching again.

“Okay, what’s up?”

“Tonight, Caine’s surprise adventure is a trip to an aquarium, I know that because I asked him for it, as a surprise for you.”

“For me?”

She repeated.

“It’s definitely not for Bubble.”

“You asked Caine to set up an adventure, just for me?”

“Well, everyone will be there…but you were the target audience. I mean come on, we couldn’t just go anywhere for our first date.”

Pomni stared at him, like really stared. Wide pinwheel eyes the size of saucers. Jax’s confidence wavered, maybe it was too forward, at the very least it was definitely presumptive.

“You didn’t ask me.”

He blinked.

“Huh?”

“On a date. You didn’t technically ask, so technically we’re not going on our first date. I only go with people that ask me.”

She wasn’t mad, Pomni was grinning. She was being coy. Jax loved her confident playful side.

“I mean…if you count the song I kinda did.”

“Try again, silly rabbit.”

“I can’t get past this, can I?”

“Never.”

Jax smiled, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He lowered down, bending so he was at eye level with her. Holding her hands in his, he looked her in the eyes.

“Pomni, will you go out on a date with me tonight?”

She smiled that wonderful smile that undid him.

“I would love to, Jax.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The digital evening had settled over the circus grounds, but the group wasn’t heading to their rooms. Their evening had only just begun.

“Let’s get aquariuming my studious starfishes and lovey-dovey-legumes!”

Caine snapped and their avatars changed as they walked through the portal.

Gangle was wearing a blue sweater with a seashell pattern and ankle length skirt. Ragatha had a gingham dress and a white turtleneck with a pearl necklace and her hair tied up.

Zooble got a fish charm in place of their shoulder part, and their antennae were now a unicorn-horn seashell and a wavy piece that was green like seaweed.

Kinger wore a dark green sweater with the words “Go fish!” In funny orange font.

Jax looked down at himself. He was wearing faded jeans, one knee was torn, and a seafoam-green shirt with a jellyfish on it. Sick.

The portal had them exit right onto a bridge, it looked to be be made out of sand, with towers like a sand castle. Little seashells lined the pathway, they could see the tall building, sea green in color. The aquarium. Or ‘The Amazing Aquatic Aquarium of Aqua-Fairing Animals’, as Caine had dubbed it.

Everyone was taking in their new attire and the scenery, but once Jax’s eyes landed on Pomni, they stayed there. She was admiring her own outfit.

A cropped, pastel button-up sweater, with knee length flared shorts. Her hat was gone, letting her hair fall freely, framing her face. Their eyes met, she grinned.

“You’ve got a staring problem, Jax.”

She winked at him. Jax could feel himself actively short circuiting.

“It’s just weird to see you in a not-clown outfit.”

“You’ve seen me in different clothes before. The Spudsy’s Uniform, the ones at the bar, me as the president….”

She paused for a moment and smiled, an evil smile.

“Come to think of it, did you suggest that adventure just to see me in a suit?”

Jax turned pink.

“Okay! Enough chit-chatting, we’ve got fish to see.”

He scooped Pomni under his arm and marched toward the aquarium, Pomni was laughing the whole way.

“We’re leaving folks! Don’t get eaten by sharks!”

Jax called over his shoulder, the automatic doors opening towards him.

“Have fun everyone!”

Pomni added between giggles.

“I believe you can fight those fish, Pomni!”

Kinger waved goodbye to her.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

As soon as they got inside, Pomni tried to fight her way out of Jax’s grasp, but he held firm.

“You know I want to actually be able to see the animals, right?”

“You lost leg privileges for that suit comment, sorry Pom.”

Jax tisked. Pomni only grinned.

“You’re lucky I only commented on the outfit and not the fact that you said a position of power would suit me.”

Jax then dropped her, as if to make a point.

“Sorry, I can’t hear you over all of the awesome marine life and sick vaporwave vibes going on in here.”

Pomni stood, brushing imaginary dust off and laughing.

“Lead the way, _sshole.”

Jax’s description of the interior was apt, the place was like if a vaporwave lofi mix was a building. The colors of everything had that slight hint of over-saturation that made it feel dreamy. Abstract art murals of different marine life decorated the walls between tanks. And the aroma inside was incredible, an ocean breeze with an underlying lavender smell and the smell of chlorine that elicited memories of water rides and pool games. Caine really outdid himself with this one.

The exhibits were of course the star of the show.

Tanks of jellyfish that glowed neon colors. Clownfish with actual clown makeup on their little fish faces. Polka-dotted manatees. Beta fishes as large as whales, iridescent fins flowing like ball gowns. Octopi that danced with each other, tentacle in tentacle doing a waltz.

The pair had made it to the second floor, and Jax saw the others down on the ground floor. Admiring the weird sea-slug-crab mixes in the touch pool. It was clear they had given Jax and Pomni the head start so they would have space. He would definitely be thanking them later.

Seeing Pomni’s face light up, or burst out laughing at Caine’s absurd made-up sea creatures, he would thank them and Caine a million times for that.

“You’re staring again.”

“I’m looking at the fish! You’re awfully full of yourself, Poms.”

She elbowed him. They were in front of a circular window, looking into a larger tank. Little see-through minnows swam past, the glow of the water shining through their scales.

“Thank you, for this.”

The neon light danced on her face as the water rippled.

“For what?”

“Jax….are you kidding?”

Jax’s ear twitched, it was clear he was unsure.

“Hey,” Pomni said softer now. “This whole evening has been…wonderful. Really. And I’m glad I’m spending it with you. I’m glad I’m on a date with you.”

Jax nodded, like he was processing. He held her hand tight, like he was afraid she’d disappear.

“I’m…I’m glad this isn’t a dream.”

“Are you saying you dream about me?”

Pomni smiled cheekily. Jax rolled his eyes and gave her a shove.

“Shut up, you dork.”

She giggled, that infectious laugh that drove him crazy. They watched the fish in silence for a moment, then Pomni spoke.

“So,” she looked up at him, a sparkle in her eye. “You want to make up for that Caine kiss? Redo our first kiss on our first date?”

“Do we have to do the dipping, I did not like the dipping.”

“Nah, I’ve got a better idea.”

She hopped up on a bench, hands on her hips, that beautiful, playful confidence radiating off her. She looked determined. Jax laughed, because she looked silly, totally not because he was nervous. No way.

“Are you serious about this?”

“One hundred percent, so serious.”

They were both smiling like idiots as Jax walked into her open arms, she pulled him in immediately. The kiss was soft and sweet. Nothing artificial or forced about it.

“Guys! There’s clownfish up here and- Oh!”

Pomni and Jax turned, Ragatha gave them an awkward smile.

“Glad to see it’s going well. I’ll redirect the group.”

She chuckled, giving them a little thumbs up before heading back down the hall. Jax called after her.

“You’re a star, Rags!”

“I know!”

She shouted back.

Pomni grinned at him, she looked devious.

“What..?”

“You just gave Ragatha positive reinforcement, like..genuinely without teasing. Are you sure you’re not Evil-NPC-Jax?”

“Ew, don’t even joke about that. And teasing is my love language! I’m a master at the art of balance. Very tasteful about it.”

“Uh-huh.”

Pomni jumped down from the bench, grabbing his hand again.

“Come on, I want to see what Caine’s take on sharks is.”

Jax smiled down at her.

“I’m right behind you, Pom-Pom.”

•••••••••••• The End ••••••••••••

Thank you all so much for the support on this, it has meant the world!! I had so much fun with this story, and I look forward to writing more in the future. For now I am definitely taking a break! I hope you enjoyed it ^_^

Jax was standing in the middle of the Circus. It was unusually empty. No sight of Caine, bubble, the other circus goers, not even an NPC.

The circus space had always been vast, empty in a liminal way, but without anyone around, it felt foreign.

Jax felt exposed, the uncanny valley feeling creeping through his bones. Where was everyone? Where was Pomni?

Jax wandered about, Zooble wasn’t on their usual spot on the couch, Kinger’s pillow fort was nowhere to be seen. What was going on?

Jax froze as he circled back to where he started.

The cellar was open.

He couldn’t stop himself from walking towards it. He had to see.

He braced himself, looking over the edge. It was…empty?

No neon eyes looking back up at him. No jagged silhouettes moving in the dark. Just pure black.

“What would you do if I abstracted tomorrow?”

The words made Jax jolt, the sudden break in the silence causing his heart to leap.

He turned around and saw Pomni, back towards him. Like she had been after the gun adventure.

Jax knew what he wanted to say. I wouldn’t know what to do. I’d stare at your door every time I leave my room. I would want you back more than anything.

Instead, he said

“I’d move on, and probably forget about you.”

Pomni turned towards him then. Her usually soft face, full of warmth, was a jagged mess of angry geometry. A black abyss, filled with neon spiraling eyes big and small.

“I understand.”

She said.

Jax jolted awake. Sweaty and shaking. He was on his floor, his comforter tangled around his legs.

Standing shakily, he walked towards the center of his room, and sat on the carrot carpet.

He laid down on it, curling up, facing the door. He ran his hands over the rug, he tried to time his breathing with the motion. Focusing his mind on the sensation, like he had done a million times before. But flashes of Pomni’s abstracted face, her sad voice, all those eyes.

Jax flipped onto his back and groaned into his hands.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jax hated circus nightmares. They were always so vivid. When everything around you is digital and fake-looking anyway, it’s hard to tell a nightmare from “real-life”.

He sighed, glancing up at the digital clock, dumb bunny ears poked out right above the clock-face reading 4:56 AM. Practically 5, which might as well have been 8 am. Perfectly reasonable hour to be awake.

Perfectly reasonable hour to check on Pomni…who was sort of his girlfriend now maybe? Not that he’d assume after one kiss (the Caine one doesn’t count) that they’d be dating, because he was chill and normal.

It had been a week since Caine initialized them “kissing and making up.” He doubted Caine actually had romance in mind for them. Jax and Pomni being tense and not speaking to each other probably wasn’t entertaining, so he wanted to “move their arc” along. Never mind that real life is much more complicated and can’t be put on fast-forward.

But, it happened anyway, the apologies, the forgiveness, the kiss.

Jax opened his door, and stared at Pomni’s. No giant red X’s. Good sign. Now he doesn’t even have to wake her up. He could just…not knock on her door and disrupt her sleep.

Jax knocked on the door. For a moment it was quiet, then shuffling. And before Jax could bolt, Pomni was in her open doorway.

Her drooping eyes squinted at him, her hair was a mess. If Jax wasn’t in such an existential dread pit he would’ve been teasing her bed head.

“..Jax..?”

She mumbled sleepily.

“Yep…that’s me. I meant to ding-dong-ditch you but you were too fast for me. Gonna have to make it up to you later.”

Jax whirled on his feet, hoping he could leave Pomni in the confusion, if he was lucky she would shrug it off as an odd dream. Jax, unfortunately, was a very unlucky rabbit.

Pomni grabbed his hand and pulled him back towards her. She didn’t say anything as she pulled him straight into her room.

“Pom, I don’t-“

“Just shut up, Jax, you’ve already woken me up.”

He sat on the very edge of the bed, as if fully committing to sitting there would cause a bomb to go off. Pomni carelessly flopped back into the mattress.

“Are you going to tell me what’s really going on, because if you genuinely woke me up way too many hours early for a prank I’m gonna be p_ssed.”

Pomni said, rolling onto her side so that she could still look at him while laying down. Always looking.

Jax didn’t want to talk about that nightmare. Not one bit. He didn’t want to remember that image of Pomni, all her softness and kindness sucked away and made distorted, monstrous. It made him feel sick.

“Not talking about it isn’t gonna help you..”

Pomni mumbled. As if she was reading his mind.

He looked at her, she was more awake now, still sleepy-looking, but alert.

“You a secret psychic or something?”

Pomni shrugged. Not a no.

“It’s…kind of embarrassing…and dumb-“

“Jax, you told me you were ding-dong-ditching me at 5 AM as your cover story. Nothing can top how dumb that is.”

Jax couldn’t help a little smile.

“Promise you won’t laugh?”

“Promise.”

Pomni lazily held up two fingers like she was taking an oath.

“I had…a nightmare. And you know how nightmares are in here, they’re not…fun. It wasn’t fun.”

Pomni didn’t say anything, Jax continued.

“It was…empty. The circus. I was the only one there, I looked everywhere, and then I noticed the cellar was open…you’ve only seen it once, so you may not remember. The big pit?”

Pomni nodded. Jax knew she probably hadn’t forgotten that. It was her first day in the circus and her first time witnessing an abstraction all at once. As far as first days here go she had to have had the sh_tiest one.

“Anyway..I was there, right? And I looked in, and there was no one. Nothing. Just dark…and then…”

He tensed up, his foot began tapping.

“..and then?”

“You were there. It was like…it was like after the gun adventure. Towards the end of our fight…when you asked me about what I would do if you…anyways it ended differently. I mean I said the same stupid thing, but you turned around to face me and you were….your face…it was terrible. And then I woke up and I just…I wanted to know you were okay, that’s all.”

Jax averted his eyes, focusing on the building blocks in the corner, the two sat in silence for a moment, before Pomni spoke.

“Thats not dumb or embarrassing.”

“You would say that.”

Pomni gave him a hard look.

“Of course I would, because it’s not.”

She sat up, and paused to think, like she was considering revealing a secret.

“You know…I was worried it would happen to you after that day too.”

Jax looked genuinely surprised.

“You were?”

“Yeah, it scared me, the way you talked. It didn’t sound like it was coming from someone with a clear head…no offense. And then when you disappeared at the award show…I was worried you wouldn’t reappear. That we’d find you and you’d be…gone.”

Jax nudged her with his leg.

“Sorry to disappoint, you’re stuck with me Pom-Pom.”

Pomni laughed, small and breathy.

“It’s not stuck if I’m with you willingly, dumb_ss.”

Jax’s face flushed magenta, the tips of his twitching ears glowing pink. With you.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“So…are you guys like a couple-couple or friends with benefits?”

The question caused Pomni to choke up on her pixelated cereal.

“Wh?! Zooble?! We all agreed we were going to be subtle!”

Ragatha exclaimed.

“I never promised that.”

Zooble shrugged, looking back at Pomni.

“So?”

“I think you established that we can’t…” Pomni struggled for a way to phrase it. “…Do that kind of thing here.”

Ragatha fiddled with the hem of her skirt.

“It’s just…we saw Jax leaving your room early this morning..so we were curious. Not that we want to press!-“

“I kinda want to press.”

Gangle interrupted Ragatha, causing Zooble to laugh.

“It wasn’t like that! Jax…couldn’t sleep. So we talked. That’s all.”

“Which is what I thought, I wouldn’t judge you either way of course! But you know…we did all kind of see you two before the stargazing adventure…when Caine…summoned you.”

“And being all over each other ever since then.”

Zooble added.

“Okay, we have not been all over each other.“

Pomni grumpily scooped another spoonful of cereal into her mouth. Her cheeks burning.

“So….are you a couple?”

Gangle asked.

“We…haven’t talked about that. We’re still just freshly friends again.”

“Friends who kiss.”

Ragatha pointed out.

“Friends who kissed once. ONLY once, because the Caine one doesn’t count. You three are way too invested in this.”

“Well of course we are! You’re our friend.”

Ragatha said, pouring herself more tea.

“Plus, I get to make fun of Jax for constantly fumbling with you. That rabbit is so lovesick it’s making him an idiot.”

If Zooble had a mouth they’d definitely be grinning.

“Well, now you know, not really a couple, just a couple of people trying to figure stuff out, and definitely NOT having s_x!”

“Who’s having s_x?”

Jax’s voice made Pomni practically jump out of her chair.

“HEY-JAX-GOOD-MORNING-SLEEP-OKAY?!?”

Pomni shouted way too fast.

“Uh…sure? Back to my first question though, did Zooble finally crack the code?”

His questioning was obviously directed to poke fun at Zooble, but he was oblivious to the fact that he was making Pomni want to dig a hole under the table. She was now a shade of red not yet discovered on the color wheel. Zooble snorted. These idiots.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, Bunny-Boy?”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It was an in-house adventure today, the first one since the gun adventure, instead of hunting each other down, they were all on a scavenger hunt. The problem was, Caine wouldn’t tell them what they were looking for.

“You’ll know it when you see it!”

He beamed.

That could mean it was horrific, completely nonsensical, or unusually mundane. Or maybe even all three at once, it was Caine after all.

So instead they were all milling about together, Ragatha was making an effort to notice anything out of place, but with all the random assets the circus already has sitting around it was hard to discern what would be out of the ordinary for the extraordinary.

Kinger was also searching, but his version of searching was lifting every object he could and asking “This?” to Caine. Who replied “Nope!” every time. Neither had lost steam yet.

Pomni looked around, Jax had been with her. They were half-searching, but it was sort of like when the teacher was gone for the day and left a movie and a word scramble for the sub to give out. Were you really going to commit to that word scramble? Probably not.

Jax had suddenly disappeared though. With Pomni poking fun at her “lackluster looking skills” one minute, out of sight the next.

She wasn’t worried, not really. More annoyed than anything, she had hoped to talk with Jax while they were alone.

Zooble, Ragatha, and Gangle planted seeds in Pomni’s head. What were they really? Did Pomni want to be more? Did he?

Jax hadn’t even wanted to acknowledge Pomni as a friend weeks ago…much less a girlfriend. But things had changed. They were mending, she didn’t want to mess that up by scaring him off. Would it scare him off?

Pomni sighed, frustrated.

“Where did you run off to, rabbit?”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Jax had narrowly avoided Pomni, who was now searching for him. He definitely was not the scavenger hunt prize, at least, he hoped not.

Caine was hovering near the stage, out in the open, which was not ideal, because if the others saw him chatting up Caine there would be questions.

Anyone having a one-on-one with Caine was unusual, the only ones in the circus who ever seemed to genuinely converse with him were Zooble and Bubble. Most of the others steered clear unless he was addressing the group.

Jax couldn’t say he was any different, because most adventures were so draining it was hard to take more of Caine’s nonsense after completing them.

His ears quirked at the sound of steps receding, peeking from behind a primary colored wall he could see Pomni was with Ragatha and Kinger now, they were heading to the hallway. Out of eyesight of Caine, perfect.

He sighed, now the really not fun part.

Jax strolled up to him, holding a nonchalant mask. Caine just saw Jax, the sly rubber hose rabbit with a penchant for violent cartoon chaos. Not a total mess who felt in over his head because he had never dreamed of doing something like this for anybody before. Nope. He was cool.

“Heyyyy, Caine?”

He dragged the ‘hey’ way too long. So cool.

“Hello there, Jax! Have you found

T H E P R I Z E ™️? I’m not giving out hints!”

“Yeah, I’m not here for that. Listen,”

Jax sighed, his foot thumping like crazy.

“I was wanting to…ask for a favor?”

Caine’s eyes seemed to sparkle at the very idea.

“A favor! Why Jax, my funny bunny you need something from me?”

“Keep your voice down! And…yeah, I mean you’re kind of the only way anyone can do anything interesting around here.”

“Thank you! So what can I do you for?”

Caine’s top jaw arched like eyebrows, he was enjoying this way too much. Guess people didn’t willingly call upon him often.

“I want to…I want to set up an adventure…for me and Pomni.”

Caine was already vibrating with excitement. He was always zero to a hundred in the blink of an eye.

“Jax, are you asking ME to make you and Pomni a DATE?”

“I said adventure! And….yeah. Yeah I am.”

Caine did a little flip in the air, buzzing.

“Oh my, my, my! I’ve never done a date adventure before! This is untapped territory! So many ideas!”

“Well, lay em’ on me.”

Jax hoped he would know which one Pomni would pick.

“You two go to a cabin resort in the middle of winter, and then get snowed in with little to no contact with the town at the base of the mountain! You slowly go insane as the spirits of the previous cabin owner and his family that he murdered torment you both! Then you try to murder Pomni with an axe!”

“As fun as an axe chase would be, that’s…The Shining. And it is definitely NOT a romance.”

“Really?”

Caine seemed genuinely surprised. Which was concerning.

“How about we just…steer clear of movie plots. It doesn’t need to be convoluted just…something simple, we can experience together.”

Jax rubbed his arm. He really did have it bad, didn’t he.

“Hm, underwater shark surfing?”

“Yeah, no.”

“Hiking to find and catch evidence of a wild yeti?”

“That…actually sounds cool. But not really a date. Keep it in your pocket though.”

“Perhaps, you can tell me what you consider a date?”

Jax groaned, that’s what he was afraid of. Caine’s grasp of everything was so…absurd. But Jax’s grasp of romance was probably worse.

There was plenty Pomni didn’t like, which could narrow it down. She didn’t like sports, not a fan of horror, she wasn’t outdoorsy.

Now, what did Pomni like? Normal-not-Jester clothes, Australians, relaxing adventures, the stars, exploring and Jax…right?

“Just…follow my directions. Absolutely NO horrific surprises. We’re going to make it the best first date this circus has ever seen.”

If Jax could get it all planned out, and keep Caine from making it crazy, the only piece left was asking Pomni. No pressure.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

One more part after this one! I initially intended for it to be one long epilogue but I wanted to give the date space.

Thank you for reading!!

Last part

It was a chilly spring morning, dew still shimmered on the grass and birds sung overhead.

Gricko, Frost, and Hootsie were camped in a peaceful clearing. The lush green leaves scattering speckled sunlight over their tents.

The three had made a strange-looking group of travelers for sure, but Gricko couldn’t imagine not traveling with his new Tabaxi companion nowadays.

It had been almost a year since they first met, and Frost helped Gricko out of the hunter’s snare in the jungle.

A strange meeting matched for a strange pair, and Gricko wouldn’t have it any other way.

It took a while for Morning Frost to warm (or his approximation of warm) up to Gricko and Hootsie. He very much was not natured like a goblin, but Gricko didn’t mind that. After all, his Mum always says learning what makes someone unique is half the fun! And so far it’d proven to be true.

Gricko had met Tabaxi here and there, but he didn’t grow up with them, and it was usually a passing exchange.

Frost had said he wasn’t really like most Tabaxi. Whether that had been positive or negative in the tiger’s eyes was hard to discern. Regardless, his insistence on this fact was undermined by his terribly cat-like habits.

Sure, maybe not every tabaxi can read minds, but Frost’s curiosity was certainly reminiscent of an old adage. Granted, it hadn’t killed him, thank the spirits.

Gricko remembered the soup Frost spilled on his green robes when the goblin gasped in pure glee at the sight of him lapping at the bowl. The adorable look of confusion that followed when Gricko explained the outburst hadn’t helped his case.

Then the first time Frost hugged Gricko of his own accord. Up until that point, Gricko had initiated most contact between the pair, Frost wasn’t a touchy person. But after a particularly long day of travel, he kneeled down to meet Gricko’s eyes and asked if they could ‘embrace’.

And when they did, he purred. Gricko tried his best, he really did. He had heard the purring snores from Frost’s tent when he went to sleep. He had managed not to say anything about it, however when he could hear and feel the gentle purring up close, he was weak-willed.

And to think! Frosty apologized for it. Gricko couldn’t grasp why he was so reluctant to embrace these aspects of himself. They were pure nature, and sure, Frost was a civilized folk and not a wild animal, but these things were all him.

Gricko had said as much, and Frost, like he does with most things, pondered it deeply. In the morning he told Gricko he had meditated on the thought, and would allow himself to not fight such things as much.

“Perhaps your primal spirits gave me guidance as well.”

He had said, and it made Gricko’s chest warm, that pride that came from fondness.

And from that point forward, Frost did seem less rigid. Now make no mistake, he was still Morning Frost, all cool composure and logic. But, his stature relaxed, his tail would sway easily and more often. Gricko found he was quite expressive with his ears too.

He wondered just how many aspects of himself his friend was micromanaging at all times. It had to be exhausting.

With each passing day, Frost was more comfortable, and Gricko could tell he was more himself too.

He revealed to Gricko that he carried balls of yarn in his pack.

“To play with?”

“Well, sometimes just to hold and ponder. But chewing on them can be a cathartic release.”

So, sitting in their camp in the clearing, Gricko wasn’t surprised to see a flick of a tail or twitch of a whisker. This was all Frost.

But he was a tad surprised when he caught Frost kneading at his wool blanket. Claws working it with soft clks when they’d get hooked in the thick material. By all the spirits, Morning Frost the tabaxi sorcerer was making biscuits, and it took everything Gricko had not to immediately rave about it.

He didn’t want to embarrass his friend after all, so instead he watched the scene with a smile out of the corner of his eye while he carved. A robed tiger, cresting stripes set on a happy cat face. Frost began to purr.

It started at dinner. Kremy had cooked up a Carlfish Courtbouillon, and it was great as always. But the lizardfolk had only picked a bit at his helping.

Gideon had certainly caught it. Kremy turning in a bit early wasn’t unusual, but not finishing supper? That was.

Gideon knew the two of them were not matched in appetite, he could border on bottomless pit some days, comparatively speaking Kremy ate like a mouse. Regardless, the lack in appetite was noticed. The krew as a whole didn’t press him on it, he seemed tired, so they let him be.

But in the early morning, when it came time for Gideon to wake Kremy up for his watch shift, he knew something was up before he even opened the tent.

The odd squeaky wheezes gave him away, and the noises caused Gideon to whip the tent flap open in a panic (though he wouldn’t admit that element, it was the bodyguard in him, definitely not the ironic husband).

Kremy pulled his cover up over him, a little angry hiss as the cool air filled the tent space. But still being mostly asleep, he didn’t have the energy to fight Gideon’s prying arms to get a better look at him. Though he had plenty vocal protests left in him despite his lacking lung capacity.

“Gid, I’m fine, just give me a minute!”

“You don’t sound fine, man, you sound weird! Like ya gargled a bunch of marbles or somethin’!”

Kremy had always prided himself on having a robust immune system. That being said, he was looking a bit pitiful. He was shivering, and while he was physically incapable of running a fever, he definitely looked peaked.

He was breathing short through his open maw. Every once in a while he’d sneeze or make a weird clicking cough. They’d be so quick sometimes they almost seemed like hiccups. His eyes were bleary, whether from the evident weather he was under or from being tired, the Genasi couldn’t tell. It occurred to Gideon he hadn’t ever seen Kremy sick. And, well, it freaked him out. To the point that he woke up Gricko, much to Kremy’s chagrin.

“Well, he’s sick.”

“Yeah I know that Gricko! That’s obvious, but what’s wrong?”

The goblin was still half-asleep, but he knew a checkup was in order, even if it ended up not being serious, it would ease Gideon’s mind.

“Kremy, I’m gonna have to get in your personal space a bit, lad.”

“You started at the tent door.”

Kremy wheezed.

Gideon couldn’t help a small chuckle.

“Well hey, he’s still alive enough to snark atcha’ that’s something.”

“For Baron’s sake, Gid I already told ya I’m not dying.”

Gricko wasn’t phased, he sat down beside Kremy’s bedroll.

“Gid, can you help him sit up?”

Gideon nodded, shifting so that he was sat behind him, allowing the gator to lean back on him to stay upright. As soon as Kremy felt the heat from Gideon’s skin he was glued there.

Gricko carefully lifted Kremy’s head, tilting it, looking over his snout, his eyes, even took a look at his tail, picking it up and dropping it with a soft thump.

“So, good news and bad news. Bad news is, he definitely has a ‘res-spat-tory’ sickness. Good news is, while these symptoms aren’t fun, he’s right! He isn’t dying.”

“See?”

Kremy said flatly. Another odd clicking cough followed, which only caused Gideon’s brow to furrow.

“Look, if he started to rapidly lose weight, or if his joints started to swell, eyes sinking in, frothing around the eyes, nostrils, mouth, those sorts. We’d have trouble. But the way I sees it, he doesn’t have it major. Just needs some rest and relaxamacation is’all.”

Gideon nodded, albeit reluctantly.

“So, what do we do?”

“Don’t worry big red! We’ve got a fantastic Druid,” Gricko gestured to himself. “And a crafty swamp warlock in our crew! We can all look after Kremy. I’ve seen plenty of reptilian beasties come out the other side perfectly fine!”

Kremy shook his head.

“And how exactly do we go about that when we’re on the move?”

Gideon and Gricko exchanged a look.

“Um…we won’t be.”

“Won’t be what?”

“On the move. Not until you’re better, at least.”

“What?! Gricko we can’t-“

Kremy tried to stand up, but Gideon yanked him back down.

“Do not test me Gideon Nathaniel Coal!”

He growled, but Gideon held firm.

“Come on, Krem, I don’t know much but I know you can’t just go on business as usual, even if it is just a lizard-head-cold.”

“He’s right, Kremy, if you force yourself you could end up on the worse end of things! It’s best to rest, get some magical-medicinal care, let it run its course!”

Kremy was very clearly not pleased. But as annoyed as he was, he knew the Goblin was right. He had seen lizardfolk on the “worse end of things” as Gricko put it, and it looked absolutely miserable. Not that this situation was a party.

With a silent acknowledgment (or as silent as it could be given the weird breathing and occasional click or sneeze) from the gator, Gricko clapped his hands.

“Great! I can give the lads and Twig the skinny, and we’ll go from there! Be back in a bananya split!”

With that, Gricko scrambled out of the tent.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“You gotta let Gricko and the others help, I know you like doing the cooking, running the ship, but your job right now is to relax.”

Kremy watched him, he was brushing out his fiery hair, which was still in a tussle from the night before.

“Gid. I don’t want to be fussed over.”

Gideon snorted, which was not the response Kremy was looking for.

“What’s funny?”

Gideon sat beside him, a cheeky grin on his face.

“Oh, nothing, man, it’s just…you’re constantly talking about how it’d be nice to be taken care of, cooked for, and all that.”

Kremy huffed.

“I know I say that. I just don’t want the entire crew standing on my tail actin’ like I’m helpless.”

“Give us some credit, Krem. We know you are perfectly capable, strong, all that ominous jazz. But, we also know you’re a stubborn hardass who won’t let people know when things are getting at you.”

Kremy couldn’t really argue with that. Gideon stroked his arm, which caused shivers to go down his cool scales, but not in a bad way.

“If you’re really worried about it, I’ll make sure they’re not overbearing. But, I’m not gonna stop them from taking good and proper care of you. Cause’ you know…you deserve it.”

Kremy let out another funny-sounding breath, his eyes searching for a corner in a circular tent.

When Gideon walked outside, the crew were gathered around a now reignited campfire.

Twig was buzzing about getting tinder, but she stopped dropping all the sticks when she saw Gideon.

“Gideon! Good morning!! How are you?-“ She gasped mid-sentence. “Wait! How’s Kremy?! Gricko said he’s definitely not dying but we should still be wary of things taking a turn or something and we’ve been brainstorming a good meal to make for him!”

“Woah! Slow down there, Twigsy!! One thing at a time, I still haven’t had my bean-milk, alright?”

Twig deflated slightly, but she perked up at the mention of her signature hot drink.

“Oh! Well I can whip that up no problem. But just my first question first- you and Kremy, are you both good?”

Gideon chuckled.

“I’m good, Kremy’s good, he’s just tired and breathing a bit funny.”

Twig nodded, accepting this, before zipping off to make some Feywild coffee.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Gideon approached the fire, Torbek, Gricko and Frost were deep in the food debate.

“I have dried soup, it’s literally made for such an occasion.”

“Anything Torbek tries will be full of hairrrr, so he won’t be much help.”

“While a broth is the right direction, I don’t think your soup-by-the-foot is….any good, at all.”

Frost sighed.

“I suppose pemmican is also off the table?”

“I’m vetoing that one for sure.”

Gideon spoke as he took his spot.

“Kremy’s apron is attuned to him! So we have limited supplies! I mean my Bananyas are literal magic, but they’re not a full meal. We need something a bit more sub-stand-tional.”

“Substantial.”

Frost corrected.

“Point is,” Gricko continued. “Just goodberries, as good as they are, won’t cut it.”

“Have y’all just…asked Twigsy to set out the inn? She has a full stocked kitchen and she’d be able to whip all sorts of things up in ten seconds flat.”

The trio awkwardly looked around.

“Really? I got there before even Frosty?”

Gideon seemed genuinely shocked.

Frost’s tail flicked, slightly annoyed.

“Admittedly, I didn’t consider that. But it seems the most logical option. After all, if it is going to be a bit before we move again, it might be worthwhile to have a more permanent and comfortable place for Kremy while he recuperates.”

“What does Kremy have to do with chimpkins?”

Gricko asked.

“Hm?”

“‘Coop’-erates? Ey?”

Gricko elbowed Frost’s knee, a bright smile on his face.

“Ah, that’s..funny, Gricko.”

Torbek shook his head.

“Not your bessst.”

Gideon didn’t have to do a whole lot of convincing for Twig to set up the inn. She was immediately abuzz with the idea of slumber parties and game nights. The crew made sure to keep her on track though, creating a separate space for their sick ringleader.

Kremy was not about to pass up on an actual bed, and was quickly ushered inside by Twig who was chattering about his blanket and pillow preferences.

As soon as Kremy was swept away by Twig, Gricko pulled Gideon aside.

“What’s happening, Little Green?”

“Okay, so I know we’re all gonna pitch in for a good hearty get-better meal, but I think you’ll be the most help getting Kremy better. Have you ever heard of a behavioral fever?”

“Can’t say I have.”

“Basically, when reptiles get sick, they don’t run fevers, right? But fevers are necessary to fight off diseases, the raising body heat makes the body a hostile place for germs and such. Well reptiles can replicate that by basking and raising their temperature!”

“So this stuff is your engineering, huh?”

Gricko smiled.

“You know it, big red!”

“So should I ask twig to make sure there’s a fire going in Krem’s room?”

“Oh? I figured you’d have it covered just…being there and all?”

“What do you mean?”

Gricko quirked an eyebrow, looking Gideon up and down like he was missing something.

The goblin just chuckled.

“Nothing.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

When they were done packing up the campsite, they headed inside.

Twig was running around with Pigtunia and Hootsie, and came to a stop when she saw them.

“Kremy’s upstairs in his room! I also got some ready for you guys since you’ll sleep too, you know? And the kitchen is all clean so we can get the cooking going! But first, Bean-Milk!”

She gestured to steaming mugs on the counter, Gideon whistled, happily taking a mug for himself.

“How is Mr. Kremyy?”

Torbek drawled, wringing his hands.

“Well, he’s pretty sick, like Gricko said- but not dying sick, so that’s good? He’s breathing real funny and he sounds kinda squeaky? Like the inn door.”

“Well, Twig, I know you have an extensive tea-cabinet from prior…”

Gricko shot a nervous look at Hootsie, who seemed none the wiser.

“…events involving orc transformation and lots of nakedness.”

Twig shuddered at the memory. Quickly shifting back to chipper.

“I do! It’s all alphabetical and such! I have my own honey bee farm too! And lots of cremes and sugars!”

Gricko nodded.

“Well, well, we happen to have an EXPERT tea brewer in our party, Twig. Frosty here knows his way around any teapot, no matter how short or stout!”

“Oooh! Well there’s so many fun teas to choose from, Frost! I even have Beezle-Leaf tea!”

“Beezles have leaves?”

Frost tilted his head curiously.

“Where do you think they keep their secrets?”

With that ominous note, Twig led Frost to the tea cupboard.

“Frost will have the warm cuppa for Kremy covered, I was searching in my pack, and I actually have some overripe bananyas that’ll be perfect for Twig’s banana bread! So it’ll be magically healing for the body AND soul.”

Gricko nodded proudly.

“What will Torbek’s job be?”

“Torbek! You and Gricko can get some fresh honeycomb from my bee farm!“

Twig called from across the room.

“Ehh…Torbek has had a lot of close calls with bees…are they friendly?”

“Don’t worry Torbek, I’m sure they’re as sweet as can bee.”

Frost said, a wry smile on his face.

Twig burst into a fit of giggles. The rest of them found it more funny how amused she was with Frost’s pun.

“Well, Torbek will help however he can, he trusts Twig and Gricko.”

The bugbear smiled meekly.

“Great! Gricko is good with beasties and Torbek is good at getting things from small spaces! And honeycombs are like hundreds of little small spaces! So it works out perfect!”

Twig was clearly pleased with herself.

“And Frosty’ll do the tea, you’ll do bananya bread, Torbek and Gricko will get the honey and Fix’ns. Where do you want me, Twigsy?”

Twig pushed up her glasses and fixed a hard stare at Gideon.

“You, have the hardest, most difficultiest, most toughest job of all, Gideon. You- have to make sure Kremy stays upstairs during all of it.”

Gricko gasped at the not-that-dramatic reveal.

“Wait, that’s it? That’s no problem!”

Twig shook her head.

“Look, you know Kremy on a lover-lobster-coupled-dudes level-“

“Well, okay I don’t-“

“But I,” twig continued, ignoring him. “Know him in the kitchens. We Electrum Chef-d together. That forges something fierce, Gideon. And I know that that sick alligator will be drawn to this kitchen as soon as he hears me turn a knob on the stove! But you gotta keep him away! He needs rest! No matter how the kitchen calls him! You have to promise me Gid!! Promise me!! For Kremy!!!”

Twig shook Gideon’s broad frame by his suspenders.

“Okay! Okay! I promise! I’ll keep him put! Jeez Twigsy did you get into the Bean Milk this morning?”

“Nah, I prefer cocoa.”

Twig beamed up at him.

With all their jobs divvied out, it was time to get to work.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Gideon walked up the stairs, slowly, mostly because Hootsie was weaving in and out of his legs, trying to be the first to Kremy.

“Sorry, honey, but you can’t go pouncing on Kremy like you usually do, gotta be a bit more careful.”

The owlbear tilted her head, large golden eyes staring up at him, seeming to process what he was saying. She hooted softly, and followed him up the stairs at a steadier pace. She really was a smart girl. Gideon knocked on the door.

“It’s me, Kremy! Oh, Hootsie’s here too.”

He winked down at Hootsie, who’s little stubby tail immediately began wagging.

“Well now, that’s all I needed to hear, come on in.”

Gideon chuckled, opening the door and stepping aside to let their niece in.

“After you, little lady.”

Hootsie’s claws tapped quickly on the hardwood approaching the side of Kremy’s bed.

The room itself was cozy, walls covered in little trinket shelves and framed artwork depicting swampy scenery with an ethereal quality. In the corner an armchair covered in throw blankets and pillows sat, it even had a small footrest with matching trimming.

And then of course, was the bed, sturdy dark wood with a plush mattress. A pillowy quilt and crotchet comforter acted as the spread. The quilt caught Gideon’s eye, as it had patches with floral designs, but looking closer, the forms of unicorns stood out. Like it was enchanted with illusion magic.

Kremy was scratching Hootsie behind the ears, who was happily trilling. The alligator looked equally pleased giving her attention. Gideon watched the scene, sitting down on the bed’s edge. When Kremy coughed, her demeanor instantly changed, pressing her paw down on his lap, setting him with a concerned expression.

“Don’t worry, sweetpea, I’ll be alright. Just not at 100%.”

She accepted this reassurance, giving Kremy a little nip before pattering out of the room.

“I’m gonna have to ask Twigsy where she got this quilt, I keep staring at it.”

“I think she said some old wizard gave it to her in exchange for a room? She was chatting about it, but if I’m honest words were in one ear out the other as soon as my head touched a pillow.”

“I can see why she picked this one for you, though.”

Gideon gestured to the shifting patches. The unicorns turning to sprawling wildflowers and then back to unicorns. Kremy smiled softly.

“Yeah, reminds me of Meemaw. She loved quilting almost as much as cooking. Course’ I didn’t have the patience for it, I learned to patch up my coveralls but that’s about it. We didn’t have a lot of fine fabrics to work with of course, most of it was scraps other folks in the neighborhood didn’t want. But she managed to make it something beautiful every time. It was her own kind of magic.”

Gideon certainly knew more about Kremy’s past than the rest of the crew, but even then, he preferred to keep things close to his chest. So when Kremy spoke about these things, Gideon listened like they were the most fantastical stories in the entirety of the realm. And in a way, they were.

“She sounds like a lovely lady, Krem.”

“Oh yeah, she was. I think she would’ve loved you.”

Gideon was quiet for a moment, that was high praise. He knew the regard Kremy held the matrons of his family in.

“You know this morning I thought you were choking on something.”

Kremy looked surprised.

“Really? I was breathing hard, isn’t that the opposite of choking?”

“Well, sure man, technically, but the way it sounded was so weird and strained? You know you were- er, still are- all wheezy and squeaky. I hadn’t heard that before it kinda freaked me out.”

“I still can’t believe you woke up Gricko.”

“Come on! You know I had to, I mean like it or not he IS the resident expert on these things. Besides, at the time I didn’t know what was happening!”

Kremy laughed a little at that, Gideon stared at him offended.

“What’s funny?!”

“It’s weird to see you worried over me the way I worry over you.”

Gideon flushed a bit, the embers in his hair growing brighter.

“Ah…I’m hardly as helpful as you in these situations. I mean you could at least make me a bowl of soup, I’m just sittin’ here.”

“You told me to give you some credit, so I am, if you hadn’t gotten Gricko and forced me to not ignore this, I probably woulda ended up worse. Because you’re right, I am a hardass.”

Gideon snorted.

“Honesty don’t suit you, Kremy.”

Kremy swatted at him lazily with his tail.

“Oh shut up. Point is…you keep me warm when I’m cold, you back me up even when we both know I’m in over my head, and you’re chatting with me right now so I don’t go down and try to make brunch for myself.”

“Hehe, not much gets past you.”

“That, and Twigsy bless her brownie heart, is incredibly loud.”

“Now that you mentioned it, have you been warm enough up here? Like hot- not just warm? Gricko mentioned something about heat being important for getting over this.”

Kremy blinked, taken aback.

“Oh! Um…well the temperature is fine. I’m not shivering like I was outside. I got the quilt and the throw, so it’s comfortable.“

“But is it like, fever temperature? Gricko said you needed to bask? I’ll be honest I’m not sure how it all works but I reckon regardless you need to be on the hotter side of things.”

Kremy looked at him, the gator was hardly the domestic type, but even he couldn’t help being endeared. Maybe because it was Gideon, it came easy.

“That’s true. For lizardfolk heat is generally the best medicine. My brother stayed by the furnace when he had the sniffles. An extra blanket probably wouldn’t hurt…”

Gideon thought on that for a moment, when it suddenly clicked into place, hitting him at once.

“I’m the blanket!”

“…come again?”

“Gricko was telling me all this stuff because I’m made of fire! You said it yourself, man, I heat you up when you’re cold. You need me to make you hot!”

“Okay well maybe don’t…phrase it like that.”

“What do you mean?”

Kremy grimaced.

“Never mind. Are you okay with that? Staying in here? I mean I don’t think you can catch this from me, but I don’t want to push it. This bed can fit two, but I doubt there’ll be wiggle room with the both of us.”

“Well I mean, logistically speaking the closer the better, right? Besides, the gang specifically assigned me up here, I don’t think they’d do that if they thought I could catch it from ya.”

“Stands to reason…”

Kremy trailed off, seemingly deep in thought. Before making up his mind.

“Alright, let me make room for you.”

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Of the two of them, Twig did not expect to be patching up Gricko’s bee stings.

“You had no trouble, Torbek?”

Torbek shook his head.

“Gricko drew them all away…Torbek was able to get a lot.”

“My bee was a bit rusty…I put too much emphasis on the bizzz and not enough on the rzzzz.”

Gricko lamented. Twig only shook her head.

“My bees are always so friendly! You must’ve really made ‘em mad, Gricko.”

With his stings magically healed up, the goblin flexed his arms a bit, before jumping down from the counter.

“Nothing a bit of bananya mush can’t fix! But I do think I’ll need to stay inside, they’ll certainly hold a grudge.”

Gricko shuddered.

“It’s a miracle he doesn’t smell like bananas everyday.”

Frost entered the room with arms full of strong-smelling jars. The herbal earthy fragrance permeated the air.

“Frosty are you making Kremy a cup of tea for every day of the Equivalent-Of-January?”

Frost’s tail flicked.

“Rooting around in the cabinet my nose was a bit scrambled. I picked the standouts so I could analyze them further. That being said, I could smell the bananyas from across the inn.”

“Well I hope you like the bananya smell because it’s gonna get even smellier on account of the baking.”

Twig tied her apron tight, as if to punctuate her point.

“Speaking of which, Gricko I need those ripe bananyas now please and thank you.”

Gricko excitedly pulled the browning bananyas out of his pack.

“Ta-dah!”

Twig took the bunch, which was about as big as her body, flittering over to the counter and setting it with the other ingredients.

“Now! Can you prepare the chili ingredients? Chopping and whatnot?”

“Chili?”

“Yeah! Savory and sweet you know? It’s not my famous beef stew, but Kremy likes something with a good kick. Our breakfast is a brunch now anyhow!”

“I may not be the Electrum Chef, but I can meal-prep as the rich mums on click-clock say.”

Gricko dragged a stool over to the counter. Torbek swayed awkwardly on his feet.

“What should Torbek do?”

“You can help me, Torbek.”

Frost called, he was now at the oak coffee table, the jars of tea leaves set out in front of him.

“Torbek isn’t a teaaa drinkerrrr, I’m more of a spiller.”

“Ooo~ like the hot gos, Torbek?”

Gricko said flourishing his fingers.

“Well the drink is usually hot when Torbek spills it on himself…it never makes it to his mouthhhh.”

“Exactly my point. You have a less biased perspective, I drink tea all the time. I think you could give me some insight. If nothing else, I wouldn’t mind some company while I try and decide.”

The tabaxi shrugged sheepishly, and Torbek smiled a little.

“Awh well that’s all you had to saaayyy!”

The bugbear’s long strides brought him to Frost’s side in seconds, he elected to sit on the floor so they were eye level.

The mid-morning was slowly shifting to noon, and the inn at the end of the road was full of sweet smells and fresh air. Hootsie trotted downstairs and took her place on the rug by the fireplace, listening to her family work on their feel-better brunch.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It’s no different than being in a tent together, at least that’s what Kremy was trying to tell himself. Gideon was busy fiddling with his boots, because sick or not, Kremy would not be having any shoes in the bed.

Every once in a while a cough would come unbidden, and Gideon would glance (without any subtlety) back at him.

“Gid, I haven’t gotten the plague since you turned your back to me.”

Gideon rolled his eyes as he got into bed.

“I’m just checking. You could get fey cursed to suddenly have consumption or somethin’.”

Kremy whipped around and knocked on the wooden headboard.

“Gid! Don’t tempt them! Jinxes are real here! Damn!”

Gideon laughed heartily, leaning back beside him.

“It’s hard to take you yellin’ seriously when your voice is so squeaky, man.”

Kremy grumbled.

“I’m about’a uninvite you from this comfy-ass bed.”

“Uninvite me? It was my idea!”

“But I gave you my permission.”

Kremy crossed his arms.

“Yeah yeah, get over here, sorry-scales.”

Gideon wrapped his arm around Kremy, dragging him close.

Kremy’s resolve was all but melted away as soon as the warmth hit his scales.

They laid like that, quiet for a moment. Kremy shifted slightly, his gaze met Gideon’s and he laughed nervously.

“A bit anti-climatic, ain’t it?”

Gideon shrugged.

“Well I wasn’t it expecting some instant-magic-cure to happen, but I will say this quilt is absolutely going to be hard to leave behind when we go back to camping.”

“You’re telling me.”

Kremy’s head rested on Gideon’s shoulder, and as soon as their eye contact broke, Gideon smirked.

“You know…this is the longest you’ve gone bare-faced in the entire time I’ve known you.”

Kremy gasped, mortified. Gideon’s plan was already in full motion.

“Gid, Gid! Let me go to my pack, Gid!”

Kremy helplessly smacked his shoulder, but Gideon’s arms stayed put.

“Your pack is downstairs, sorry man!”

The Genasi kept him close, Kremy could hear the shit-eating grin in his voice, which only pissed him off more.

“Damnit Gid! Why the hell would you mention that then!?”

The lizardfolk’s struggle slowed, breathing hard into Gideon’s chest.

“Shit that took it out of me.”

Kremy wheezed.

“All part of my master plan.”

Kremy stared daggers at him, or his shoulder, at least.

“Traitor…back stabbed by my own husband…the nerve.”

Kremy mumbled, Gideon just chuckled. His fingers mindlessly running over the scutes and scales on the back of the gator’s head. The repeated motion only contributed more to the heavy sleepiness setting in.

As his partner’s breathing slowed, Gideon couldn’t help feeling a bit tired himself. It had been a very long morning, for better or worse.

Maybe it was the sunlight muffled by the curtains, the smell of baking sweets downstairs, the distant chatter of their friends, or maybe it was just the feeling of Kremy’s cool scales on his skin, the rough edges of his scutes under hand, that put Gideon to sleep.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Kremy was roused by the sound of wood creaking and the smell of spices.

He yawned, blinking slowly, stretching as best he could still wrapped in Gideon’s arms. Who was fast asleep.

“Psst, hey, hey Gid. I think it’s finally brunch time.”

Kremy shook his shoulder and Gideon stirred slightly but didn’t wake, Kremy just sighed with a smile. Adjusting slightly, he moved Gideon’s head to his lap, the embers in his hair twisting around his horns. He brushed a few sparking stray hairs from his face, the Genasi snored softly, dead to the world. Sitting up, Kremy patiently waited as the sounds of his friends and clinking dish-ware drew closer.

“Don’t drop anything!”

“I wasn’t planning on it!”

“Torbek, make sure Hootsie doesn’t rush them.”

“Careful! wait!-“

The door swung open, Torbek was holding a very antsy Hootsie aloft, Twig and Gricko both had trays, and Frost was carrying a large teapot.

Kremy held a finger to his mouth, nodding towards Gideon.

Gricko snickered.

“I think the roles are meant to be reversed here.”

He whispered.

Twig flittered in place.

“I’m gonna drop this if I don’t put it down!”

She carefully sat it down on the bedside table. Like flipping a switch, Gideon immediately perked up.

“Kremy, why didn’t you wake me up, man?”

Kremy scoffed incredulously.

“You sleep like a damn rock, Gid, Trust me, I tried!”

Gideon sat up, stretching himself with a yawn.

“Little Green I’m guessing that one’s mine?”

“You betcha!”

Gricko handed it off, and Gideon was already digging in.

Frost was busy pouring tea, but Kremy didn’t take his eyes off the spread.

A bowl of chili, bananya bread drizzled with honey, and multiple jams on the side to choose from.

“You outdid yourselves with this.”

“High praise, Mr. Electrum chef.”

“Well relax he hasn’t eaten it yet Gricko!”

Twig landed on the bed with a fluff, Gricko hoisting himself up beside her.

Torbek sat Hootsie on the bed and she immediately spun in a circle before loafing beside her Papa.

“The tea is Beezle-Leaf, with some notes of Cherries berry.”

Frost explained, handing the full teacup to Kremy.

“It’s more~”

Gricko added.

“Well, now I’m very curious.”

Kremy lifted his tea cup and sipped.

The taste was reminiscent of Beezleberry, but with more earthy notes, and a bit of a spiced twist. The aftertaste was the “more” of the Cherries Berry.

“This is surprisingly tame all things considered.”

“Yeah, diluting it down to tea really tames the eldritch beast coursing through every Beezle hivemind. Just be warned they like to leave messages at the bottom of the teacup, best to ignore them.”

Twig spoke casually, as if noting the weather.

“Right…well, it’s delicious, thank you Frosty.”

“You’re welcome, Torbek helped me pick, he convinced me to mix two tea flavors though I was reluctant.”

“Heheh hey! Look at Torbek getting Frost to live on the wild side!”

Gideon was already halfway through his chili, it was truly amazing how quickly he could eat.

The meal was arguably the best thing Kremy had in a while that he hadn’t cooked himself, though he was his own critic.

The chili was strong and hearty, the bananya bread, while magically healing, was also just delightfully sweet.

And in eating the bread, Kremy found his voice was starting to come back to him. He wasn’t all the way there, but sitting there he felt warm inside and out.

Twig had elected to just bring more chairs in the room rather than have them eat their own helpings downstairs.

Hootsie enjoyed a bowl of unseasoned beef and vegetables, even getting a piece of honeycomb as a treat.

They ate, laughed and talked, and by the time Frost was downstairs helping Twig with the dishes, it was late afternoon.

Gideon helped bring dishes down, and the sight of Twig’s porcelain teacups in his large hands was a tad humorous. Before heading upstairs, he rummaged through Kremy’s pack.

Grabbing what he came for, he made his way back upstairs.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Kremy was flipping through one of Twig’s many books. It was written in Draconic, and he felt compelled to read some lines out loud, just for the sake of tasting familiar words in his mouth again.

The whole day had an odd nostalgic quality. Being sick in bed with quilts and storybook, he almost smelled his Meemaw’s perfume in the air.

But it was quickly overcome by the smell of a forest fire, which felt just as much like home.

“Hey man, I brought you something. Or well- two somethings, I guess three from a certain point of view-“

“The technical number doesn’t matter unless it’s Frost, Gid.”

“Right! Right- uh first,” Gideon pulled out Kremy’s compact and lip liner.

Kremy’s smile widened as he took the mirror in his hands.

“Alright, I take back calling you a traitor and a back-stabber, you’re back in my good graces.”

“Phew, thank the gods. I thought our marriage would never recover.

Gideon nudged him playfully and Kremy laughed. They both ignored the fluttering in their chest at the words “our marriage”.

Kremy sat the compact in his lap, leaving his mustache not drawn for the moment.

“And what’s the second/third from a certain point of view thing?”

“So glad you asked!”

Gideon beamed at him and whipped the plush from behind his back. It was the Almiraj plushie he won for Kremy at the Witchlight Carnival. It felt like years ago, but in reality it had been less than a month.

Kremy wasted no time taking the unicorn rabbit.

“Twigsy knows how to wash it without it getting hurt, so don’t worry about germs.”

“Thank you, Gid, really.“

Gideon rubbed his neck.

“Awh, you know. Figured you could use a buddy who doesn’t snore so loud.”

Kremy chuckled.

“I’m assuming Miss Toadspring has a room ready for you, then?”

“If I want it, yeah…”

Kremy let that statement sit without comment, despite really, really wanting elaboration. Instead, he went about applying his mustache.

“There ya go! Nice and pencil thin!”

“You know it.”

Kremy shut his compact and put it on the side table.

“What book did Twigsy pick out for ya?”

“It’s a fairytale collection, it’s all in Draconic though, which is nice.”

“No shit man! That’s awesome. You should read me something.”

Kremy smiled, a bit bewildered.

“You…don’t know Draconic, Gid.”

“Well…yeah, true. I dunno I just think it sounds cool when you speak it. You could be reading a landscaping brochure, but it’d still sound badass.”

“Hehe, I don’t know about all that, but sure, I’ll read you one. How about the Bullywug Prince? It was my favorite as a hatchling.”

“That sets a high bar, now I’ve got to hear it.”

Gideon assumed his spot beside Kremy, holding the Almiraj plushie so that he could read. And Gideon was right, even though he couldn’t understand, he hung onto every word.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••