#gbye

COME LAY YOUR EYES ON ME ⋆˚✿˖°

pairing: jax (tadc) x reader

synopsis: just when you think you have a free moment in the chaos of the circus, a certain purple bunny shows up wanting your attention

INSPIRED BY ATTENTION BY MALCOLM TODD!! come lay your eyes on me, pretty pretty pretty please?”

the circus lights flickered softly, casting the usual glitchy shadows across the room. you had found a quiet balcony, leaning against the railing as you let out a small sigh.

you were lost in your own thoughts, as you look over the digital hell you were confined to. you were so consumed in your own head, you didn't even notice the shadow in the corner of your eye, the familiar footsteps that never failed to find you.

"hey." a voice said, low and smooth, cutting through the quiet. You didn't even need to look to know who it was.

"you're late." you murmured sarcastically, your voice betraying a hint of amusement. jax has that way of showing up exactly when you were least prepared.

"i wanted to make sure you noticed me first." he hummed, leaning against the railing beside you. the proximity made your pulse spike. he was too close, close in that way that was just enough to make you aware of him and somehow entirely unthreatening.

"oh really? is that so?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

"mhmm, yep." he hummed, popping the 'p' as he tiled his head. "i figured..maybe you could spend just a second noticing me."

"you're ridiculous." you laughed softly, shaking your head as a smile tugged at your lips.

"and yet," he murmured, leaning fractionally closer. "it's totally working."

for a moment, everything else faded away. the flicking lights, the distant chaos, even the strange hum of the circus itself faded into nothing. it was just the two of you, standing in the quiet, stolen corner of the digital world.

you felt the beat creep up against your neck. "alright, fine. you've got my attention." you said softly, trying to sound casual when you were anything but.

jax's grin widen, triumphant but quiet like he'd won something you didn't know about. he leaned a little closer, his arm barely brushing past yours but enough for your skin to feel electric.

"i was hoping you'd say that." he admitted, his voice low and teasingly soft.

you glanced at him sideways, letting a playful smirk take over. "was that supposed to be subtle?"

"subtle?" he gasped, mock offense in his tone. "nah, i learned the art of honesty."

"you're impossible."

"and yet, you're exactly the reason i keep trying."

there was a moment of muted silence, heavy and electric. the world was still there, but somehow muted as if it knew to back off for you two. at some point, you realized you were holding your breath.

he leaned in even closer, the faintest tilt of hi head, just enough that your shoulder brushed his. your heart skipped, because that small touch carried the weight of everything he wasn't saying.

"just stay with me for a second, yeah?" he asked, almost a whisper.

"i can do that." you murmured, smiling softly.

for a few stolen minutes, you just stood there together, side by side. No chaos, no games, no interruptions. just jax, just you, and the quiet thrill of being noticed by someone who made you feel alive in a way the circus never could.

and when the lights flickered again, when the distant alarms started to hum louder, and when the chaos crept back into the world outside your corner, you didn't mind.

because in that moment, for that perfect heartbeat of time, jax had all of your attention and you had all of his.

!!warning!! this is very unedited. like, not beta'd, spur-of-the-moment mini writing sesh to get the brain juices flowing (i haven't written fanfiction in almost a month... and need to get back on that. so.)

update after writing: this turned out so much longer than i expected. sooooo i hid it under the... the hiding thing (words are hard after just sitting down and writing for upwards of half an hour) so folks coming across can just scroll past if they wish 🫡

"you've got such long, beautiful hair -- it'd be a shame not to take care of it."

"hn. sure. do what you'd like."

the night is a stationary thing; the world outside a shadow, or a memory, the moonlight drifts in on swallow-tail wings.

"mm... you really should do a hair mask once in a while, all this bleaching isn't good for your ends."

you run the ivory comb through her long, endless tresses, assessing her roots.

"and your roots really are starting to come back in."

tao hums, flipping a page in her book.

"and maybe tomorrow, we can try that cool twisty braid that's trending on insta."

"mm."

you run the comb through her hair a couple more times, taking care not to pull on the ends, gathering the strands into your palm before letting it fall slack.

tao flips another page. when your fingers go still, she leans back, letting her head drop into your lap, her eyes falling shut, a long breath seeping from her. a rare moment of unguarded trust. you prop your palms on the bed and let her rest.

like this, time dares to take a breath with you, slowing till the clock on the wall no longer remembers the hours, till the distant promise of sunrise is nothing more than a bygone dream. here, there's only you and her and the faint hint of tobacco, your breaths and hers, haunting the air like smoke.

"bed time," you say, reaching down to smooth a finger along her forehead. tao's eyes flutter open. she doesn't move, only stares up at you for a long moment before lifting her head, letting the book slip shut in her lap.

shes pushes up off the floor to lift the covers, waiting.

"you coming?"

you smile, crawling in, pressing close to the wall as tao shuffles in after you. the light clicks off and the night is no longer so static. it sways like the ocean's tide, hushed beneath a calm summer sky.

tao shifts, and you inch closer. she rests an arm around your waist, your face pressing into her chest.

"night." she says. her hair is a silver spill across the pillows.

you smile, letting your eyes fall shut.