✨Holding Onto “Maybe’s”✨

Chapter: 1.

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For days Pomni had aimed to keep her distance from Jax. Their fight had left a sour taste in her mouth and a weighty tension in the air every time they stood in a shared space. Pomni had still been reeling from it all, even after speaking with Ragatha about it briefly beforehand. Nothing he said was adding up, especially not at the end of his speech.. clearly there was more.

Jax had seemed off since the “Guns” adventure; not saying much of anything unless it was necessary or to pipe up with a poorly timed joke; but he seemed to have been jumping back into his usual façade and it was hard for Pomni to just be okay with that. It was as if Jax had already moved on from it somehow.

To her, it felt like she had finally connected with someone.., had a constant by her side and vice versa. What has changed? Jax having hidden things from her before was fair. They were still growing their friendship; they still spoke of fears and comforts together, what-ifs and Maybe’s—conversations about anything and nothing at all together.

Who was she to tell a stupid joke to if there was no one like him to laugh obnoxiously at, then insult her for said bad joke? No one.

Ragatha was always sweet, yes. “Nice to everyone” one hundred percent, but never real. Never showed the bad and it hurt more than acknowledging the bad itself.

Gangle had shut herself off before Pomni could even finish asking to be someone for her to talk to; she severed that line before the hook met the water.

Gummigoo… An NPC who doesn’t even remember her. A friend she had seen poof right before her eyes. The first friend she had made in such an unfamiliar place…gone before she could find footing.

So many attempts, so many inconsistencies, and yet here Jax was… the only one to get her to crack a smile even when she was meant to be hurt by him. Nothing could make things go back to the way they were; she knew that. Even more now Pomni knew she needed more time to process and think things through. She needed to ground herself and that was hard to do with him being obnoxious, or the other characters snapping at him for an insulting joke on the doll, and her positive attitude.

With a slow turn and attempted quiet steps: Pomni made her way back to her room. This adventure had been draining enough. She could not handle their bickering on top of the tension and weight of something-not-right on her shoulders for much longer. She hardly noticed when someone had excused themselves from the argument and began walking with the jester on her trek to the hall lined wall to wall with bedroom doors.

"What? You gonna give me the silent treatment now?" Jax started, leaning down slightly with a comparatively aggravated expression, his smile crumbling at the corners. "Doctor Pomni, that looks like medical neglect to me." He added as his hand flicked at one of the bells that hung at the ends of her pointed hat.

The two came to a sudden halt just outside of their respective doors. Jax had a confident yet unsure gleam to his expression whereas Pomni held still for a moment, hesitating to turn and meet his eyes.

Pomni's brow furrowed in response, not out of anger or annoyance, and that surprised Jax more than anything. She looked like she had just seen roadkill... grief and guilt pulling at her tired eyes. The Jester was faintly trembling as she stepped back once, giving him the space she thought he wanted.

"Oh, come on. Are you really still upset about the other day? A bit sentimental, don't you think?" The rabbit rose to his regular height, yet still a bit slouched, leaning his weight on his left hip as his hands occupied themselves in fists.

"Well yeah.." Pomni nodded with a shrug as she avoided his eyes. She was not sure what to say or if he would even listen without twisting it around into some joke.

"God.. talk about being a party pooper. Stop with the melodrama and move on." Jax huffed an annoyed sigh and rolled his eyes. She did not buy the “It's just a joke” the several times he had attempted it before; so continuing that train felt futile. The damage was done and there was clearly no way of going back to “decent”. Even yet, he still felt the urge to try. And if that did not work then... at least she could hate him and go back to her usual self.

Pomni could see that he was doubling down and hard. She brushed one of her hair’s side strands out of her face and backed up, her hand resting against her neck as if it would help relieve the tension that had built up in it. Her lips parted for a moment, eyes darting back to meet his, then her mouth shut as she lowered her arm with a sigh.

Jax raised a brow and waved a hand in front of Pomni’s face to get her to focus on him again, earning nothing more than a side-eyed glance from her. The look did not hold any aggression or push back. If anything, she looked like she ever so wanted to run away.

"Nah— if you have something to say then say it, Short Stack. You've gone a while without really talking to me so yeah, the floor is all yours!" Jax pried with a smug smile and a squint in his eye as if he was looking for something to grab onto, leverage to further whatever it was he was doubling down on.

“Is—” Pomni paused, scoffing in disbelief. “Would it even be worth it? You…you aren't going to listen to me and I already know that you'll just find a reason to spin my words into a joke. You already did before I even said anything by calling me 'melodramatic', " she started, turning her head to fully face him. "I'm not trying to ignore you, Jax, I just don't know—" She cut herself off, exasperated.

The rabbit's confident face contorted into one of confusion. like a child who was accused of stealing a cookie and had been hiding the fact that they had. Fake.

"Ouch! So quick to think the worst of me. Proof again that we aren't friends!"

"What? I didn't even mention that— see? You're doing it again. Jax— it's like you want me to see you that way!" Her voice rose unconsciously, quickly holding her other arm to ground her. "I’m not falling for it and you keep trying to push and push— it's not going to work. If it's a reaction you want then I won't give it.. if it's space you need then just tell me— I’ll back up." Pomni practically begged as she took a step closer to him.

Jax took a surprised step back as he scanned over the jester before him. He wanted to retort, to say something back with wit and venom, but nothing could come out. She had caught him and his facade was slipping. He did not want space, he did not want the conversation to have gone this way, and it frustrated him more and more that he could not predict her.

"Dude— clingy much?"

Yuck.

Pomni shook her head and turned to walk away, off to anywhere but there, but stopped for a moment to reply. "Would you stop doing that? You act like you'd rather be anywhere else or listen to anything else but you talked to ME. You came to ME. Don't try to switch this around. Again." Her tone was more stern than she intended. Covering up her heavier emotions was never her forte but she did not want to give him more ammo. It felt impossible to do that and still be honest with him.

"You give yourself too much credit. You're not that good of an actor and that's coming from someone who is a fan of entertainment," Jax chided.

"Yeah—“ Pomni interrupted “You mentioned with your cringe a*s villain monologue a few days ago. How long did you practice that one in a mirror? It wasn't convincing and it wasn't compelling!" She snapped back. "Just drop the act, Jax, because I'm not buying it!"

The taller rabbit let the primary colored character before him say what she wanted to say. The floor was hers after all. However, her words felt like daggers stabbing at him from every angle.

After a few deep breaths to regulate Pomni raised a finger to Jax to indicate she was not done. "In no world could you, or anyone, convince me of that when I've seen you be real before."

"Clearly you're seeing things that just aren't there!" Jax started, stepping closer as an act of intimidation. "You said it yourself: I would spin whatever you say into a joke. Stop contradicting yourself, Pomni." Jax insisted, ignoring whatever movement had flashed in the corner of his eye.

"Says you! This whole conversation is contradictory! You, again, came to me and are somehow surprised I have something to say? Surprised I have feelings about something important? What do you even want from me, Jax?" Pomni stepped forward as well. She made sure to put her foot down this time. "I can't do this back and forth, Jax, I just can't—"

"Then don't!” Jax cut in “Take this as your chance to leave then! Go on! Ignore me, beat me up like you did last time we fought— I don't care! Just stop trying to convince yourself of something that's not there! You're just going to hurt yourself more..."

“Am I interrupting something?” A familiar voice boomed through the hall causing the duo’s attention to snap right to it. The look of surprise flashed across their features in response.

Jax was the first to adjust his posture, fixing the look on his face to rest in his usual smug smile. It made Pomni’s stomach churn as she watched him contort his features so fast. She held tighter to her arm as she looked up to the grinning jaws above her.

“Nothin’ important dentures, what’s up?” The purple rabbit responded with a quick flick of his ear, earning a grimace from Pomni that he ignored with a huff.

Caine had looked genuinely confused and worried that he may actually be intruding on a serious conversation; but he continued nonetheless. “Well— in that case..” He smiled through the worry in his voice. “I’ve noticed you two haven’t been as chipper as the last few times I've seen you and I wanted to make sure there was nothing too concerning happening. I wouldn't want two out of my six favorite humans having a hard time if I had something to do about it!” He batted lashes that did not exist mere seconds ago as he spoke.

Before Pomni could respond with an assurance Jax had already stepped forward and waved the ringmaster off. “Oh don't you fret Caine. Pom Pom and I were only joking around! Nothin’ to worry about.” He smiled wider; but the flick of his ear had caught Pomni’s attention… again.

“Wonderful! Well then! For good measure, I’ll be sure to whip up something so you two can joke around more!” Caine said with what sounded like sarcasm? Whatever it was, his tone did not match the words he spoke. Instead, it had reflected the mimicked brow raise his upper jaw had attempted to replicate.

Pomni shook her head and sighed as her eyes slid from Caine to her door. With a made-up mind: Pomni waved the two off and headed to her room. “That adventure was.. something. I'm getting some rest. Thank you, Caine.” She said, quietly and strained, as she reached her door.

“Why, of course Dear Pomni! Rest up! I have many things planned for the two of you in the morning” Caine called out to the Jester as she closed her door with one more dismissive wave. Jax had slipped away while Caine had catered his attention to the tired primary colored character, leaving the Ringmaster alone in the hall with a shudder.

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Big thanks to @lokear and Kero for editing this fic! ^^

Hope you all enjoy the first chapter. It’s one of the shorter chapters of the series so far but expect most of them to be about 3k words and up! New chapters soooooooon >:p

Chapter: 7.

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Despite being exhausted, Jax’s mind was still reeling a million miles per minute. He had gone back to his room, but it was all too quiet, too still, too empty. So, he made his way out of his room, and out for a walk. Maybe he would just sit for a bit? Clear his head?

After hesitating at the door for a moment, the rabbit finally opened it, closing it as quietly as he possibly could. Not because he was being considerate, but because he did not want to run into anyone. Jax took a short glance at Pomni’s closed bedroom door, but ultimately sighed and gave up any inkling of an idea about knocking on it.

He eventually reached the exit of the cartoon tarp that sheltered them all from the rest of the digital world, pulling it away and freezing when he poked his head through the curtain. Immediately, he spotted a figure sitting not far from the entrance to the tent.

Pomni.

—————

Now that the Jester had a moment, seemingly alone, she finally let herself cry and feel everything she had to hold down for others.

Quiet sobs and small, sharp gasps of air filled the vast area around her. She sat with her legs bent before her, bear at her side, and arms helplessly trying to brush away the pearl-sized tears from her eyes.

There really was no point. When Pomni starts crying, she cannot seem to find it in her to stop until she runs out.

Her head hung low for a moment, hands covering her face to hold back anything louder than a peep and to keep the floodgates from breaking. It did not take her long to lower her hands to her side, feeling the soft fur of the bear's head, and taking it into her arms.

She was not only crying over the last fight she had with Jax— she was also crying from the buildup of so many things she could not handle yet; so many things she had been forced to hold off on addressing. Everything moved so fast here…

There was no time to process the mirrored version of herself, or the friend she never really got the chance to keep, or the stress of aiming to build anything in this circus without the rug being pulled from under her. No time to process the bitter reality surrounding her.

If there was something the taller rabbit could do, it was to read a room. He did not make use of it most times for comedic reasons, but this was not the time for that.

As to not startle Pomni, he allowed the curtains to fall shut just loud enough to alert her of his presence. A barely audible swish as the tarp fell back into place.

The sound was already enough to cause her to slowly turn around. To her surprise, the source of the noise was…Jax?

Jax eventually approached her and carefully sat himself down beside her. He knew he did not like to be seen when he was a mess, so he granted her that little bit of privacy as he stared down at the ground.

Turning back to her original position, Pomni wiped whatever tears were left in her eyes, and took a deep breath in hope of regulating before possibly needing to manage another situation… just in case.

Sometimes words did more harm than good… but in Jax’s case? More often than not. So for now, he just sat beside her.

Confusion. That’s the only word Pomni could recognize when trying to assess her feelings. Maybe anger? Mostly confusion… Why did Jax sit next to her? Why is he here? And why was she okay with him just sitting there?

She didn’t want to break the silence— to speak up and make things worse like she seemed to have done. Pomni did not know what to do. So, she took another deep breath and slowly released the air from her lungs.

Wiping her eyes once more, Pomni looked to Jax with a confused and concerned expression, trying to get a scope of how he may be doing or to find some clue as to why he was here. She examined his face, following his gaze to the ground below them for a moment.

“You…okay?” She broke her own promise not to speak up, but she never said anything about a whisper. The jester’s voice was no louder than a small gust of wind, the weight in her shoulders reminding her of the possible regret she may feel soon.

Asking him if he was okay was… stupid. She was the one crying. If anything, Pomni should have asked “Why are you even here?” or “What do you want..?”

But noooo. Why did she feel so inclined to make sure he was alright? Why was her first thought, “Maybe he is hurting too..”?

Without looking up, Jax responded softly as if he might wake Caine, who would certainly ruin this rare moment of peace.

“Are you?” He deflected, not wanting to give her a good answer… yet again. Jax huffed quietly through his teeth, digging his paw at some rock wedged in the dirt. Maybe he could find another rock, a loose one, to turn over in his palm and keep his nerves to a minimum. At the very least though, this was stopping him from picking at his hands.

“Came out for some fresh air. Didn’t know you were here…”

The jester shrugged and glanced from the floor to Jax before letting her sight rest on his absentminded digging.

The air felt lighter but stung at her digital lungs. Every breath felt strained as she thought of an answer. She wanted to tell him the truth. To prove to him that she was willing— but on the other hand, she did not know what to trust. Who is to say whether or not he even cared…

Pomni brushed the tips of her fingers through the short fur of the bear in her arms in contemplation. She wanted to leave the bear in her room but… that would have meant going down the corridor at the same time as Jax and Ragatha.

But was it… okay now? Was this not weird? This constant back and forth that left Pomni with little ground to stand on?

Acting against her better judgment, Pomni breathed a sigh and responded. "No. I wouldn't have been able to sleep..."

Her voice broke slightly, pinching herself for that slip up. After a pause, she hesitantly continued in hopes to get something back. His reply to her initial, yet regretted, question was still left unanswered.

"Are you… okay?" She repeated, keeping her eyes down.

“I always am,” Jax responded, with a less-than-real, happy tone, but he tried to be convincing.

“As for sleep… those nightmares still bugging ya?” The rabbit asked, sounding uncharacteristically… genuine? He did not mean to sound like a creep— but it was not exactly a secret whenever his room was directly across from hers and how waking with a start seemed to be her usual. Then again, hearing unbodied screams was not entirely unusual in the circus itself either. He was going out on a limb here.

Embarrassment slowly flushed over the jester’s face. Pomni turned her gaze away from Jax's hand and to the right. She focused on the fireflies and grass forming waves from a distance as a gust of wind glided over them, the night sky still in view.

“Guess it’s not hard to be riddled with 'em in this place,” Jax added, lifting his head to look outwardly on the circus grounds.

"Yeah… doesn't really make the idea of sleeping all too inviting." Pomni looked to Jax, then quickly down to his hand again to hold off on eye contact. She did not want to add pressure or intensity.

"Do… you get them too?" She sheepishly questioned.

“Pretty sure we all do. Some are just a little more open to speak up about them than others. Think it’s more common with newcomers though.” The rabbit responded ruefully.

Pomni seemed to take Jax’s reply as him agreeing. That it was a struggle he had to deal with, but he just was not open to sharing. She could respect that. Her goal was not to pry. Really, she was just glad he was even saying this much.

Maybe it made it easier to admit something when you separated yourself from it entirely.

“Not that we really have to sleep anyway. I almost miss being able to sleep because I needed to. Added some necessity to it all I guess.” Jax added, the corner of his mouth tugging down in a slight grimace at the thought.

Pomni’s eyes slid slowly from his face to her shoes. Her brows upturned and her heart tightened. She understood that… Missing the small things we needed to do— the necessity behind it. The purpose of doing anything.

It was easy to feel like everything was meaningless here.

With her free hand, Pomni rested it atop the small bear's head and brushed her thumb against the soft fur. "I… can relate," she whispered. "It doesn't help when, even if you did sleep, you'd wake up to the same… meaningless thing in the morning." Pomni paused as she turned the bear to face her, her eyes softening in return.

"Guess that's why I keep trying to find meaning…" she spoke so softly, almost a mumble, mostly to herself.

Pomni was liking the more gothic topic of meaning and life's necessity they were on. It felt real. No fake banter or small talk like how the nearly never-changing weather was here. Especially with him. Real moments felt so scarce.

Jax, however, felt different. He hummed noncommittally in reply, not wanting to get too heavy at the moment. They already had a long day filled with way more emotion than he could want, so… topic change it is.

“You never did tell me why you liked that bear so much. The thing’s falling apart.” The rabbit prodded, his voice lifting to a more cheerful, albeit weak, tone. Jax removed his itching paw from that poor rock he had been digging at, crossing his arms over the top of his knees instead.

He did finally turn his eyes up to Pomni, knowing full well she had wiped the tears he knew would leave a pool of guilt in his gut. He put on a cheesy smile, wanting to ease up the mood, even slightly.

Understanding and respecting the assignment, Pomni moved on.

Her soft gaze left the bear before her and turned upward to meet Jax's. It stayed soft and consistent, but to anyone who looked closely enough, they would see the snuffed coals of yearning that pulled at her own heartstrings.

"I dunno," Pomni responded, her eyes slowly dragging back to the bear and hesitantly breaking away from Jax's. Her face lit up a slight red from embarrassment as she seriously thought about why she had such a fondness for such an ugly bear.

The unnamed bear, his torn nose, and loose eyeballs. It did not even matter to her what the bear looked like, really. It was simply the fact that it was there.

She could not admit that to Jax with a full chest though. She was already embarrassed with herself for latching onto the poor thing like a toddler… She was twenty-five— she did not need something so silly to keep herself together.

"It's— silly. You wouldn't wanna know." she finished, her eyes darting to a tree in the distance.

“Well, I did say earlier today that if I asked, I wanna know.” Jax pointed out as he shrugged one shoulder. The rabbit rubbed his pointer and thumb together on one hand, if not to just keep himself busy, possibly to rub off the specks of dirt that collected on his glove from the rock.

He may have had an issue with staying in one place too long; like something was going to happen if he did.

“Or maybe it’s just something I can tease you about later. Wanna take a gamble, Pom Pom?” The taller of them continued, poking light fun at the one beside him.

"Well— now I don't wanna tell you." The colorful jester looked back at him with a smug-ish smile. "Why would I give you ammo?" She played into the bit, taking the chance to study Jax and see how he was holding up, and failing miserably at being sneaky. Her big ol' eyes, searching and waiting, hid nothing.

The purple rabbit noticed her staring alright, but he did not point it out. Not for now at least. He wanted to keep the playful banter going… he much preferred it over fighting about if he was going to allow her a window into his mind or not.

“What? You’re acting like I never have genuine moments. Plus— out of alllll the things I tease you about, is this really the worst one?” Jax nudged her lightly with his elbow against her arm. It was barely a touch, really. His smile widened, filling more of the blank space on his face, but it did not reach his eyes.

Deadpan, Pomni nodded. "Well— probably? Why would I risk that?" She chuckled at his nudge, her shoulders easing up from losing tension she didn't know was there.

Of course, she was not going to argue about whether he had genuine moments or not, because it meant a lot to her when they did have those moments. Maybe she was just sentimental to a fault.

Another shrug. “You might like it. I know how much you like being sappy. There’s probably some real reason you like that thing so much, and I’m curious.” Jax started playfully, earning a squint from the woman beside him.

Jax could not claim that he was an avid plushie owner, even in his human life of what he could remember. That was more Gangle’s thing…maybe more figures than plushies, but his point still stood. “Figured you would want one that didn’t look like it flew into a ceiling fan and survived.”

"Well… there is—" Pomni started, looking away, she took a deep breath of courage, and tried to speak as though it was not that deep— even when it truly was. Everything about her was.

"I guess it just happened to be there when I needed it. It was comforting when I didn't have… comfort." She set the bear down on her lap, holding it with just one hand by its paw while her other hand rubbed her cheek.

The rabbit’s smile fell slightly, albeit momentarily, while he listened to her speak. But before she could notice, he plastered it back on. He made a mental note of her words, his guilt making a reappearance knowing he was the reason she even needed comfort right now in the first place.

"I don't care what it looks like— it was just there. I almost left it behind at— uh…" Pomni moved her hand from her cheek and brought her knees back up to her chest, eyes staying focused on anything but Jax. "Yeah— who knew? Maybe I needed it later and... guess I did." She tried to save face with a smile and turned away to avoid facing what she would not be ready to.

A sorry excuse for a laugh, more like a scoff, left the rabbit’s throat. “Guess that says more about you than the bear, huh? Bet you like those hairless cats too.”

Pomni finally turned to Jax again and winced. "They’re not very cute, conventionally. But yeah, I wouldn't mind having one." She nodded, being very quick to move on from the bear topic so she could not risk a dip in vibe more than she had caused already. "Would you?"

Jax thought for a moment before he responded.

“Nah, probably not. A regular cat maybe, but not a hairless one. They require more care than a fluffy one, honestly. I don’t want to have to slather my beloved naked mole rat in coconut oil after washing the dirt out of the skin wrinkles.”

A chuckle bubbled from her throat and quickly turned into a laugh. Pomni quickly reached up to cover her mouth before taking a breath to calm down. "That's fair," she agreed, "but if it was handed to me, I'd do what needs done, y'know?"

In reality, Pomni would love and take care of any animal that fell into her lap. Pet stores hated to see her coming. She looked back at Jax and her smile returned. "Do you even like cats? I always thought of you as a dog person," she said with a hum.

“Eh… Dogs are a lot of energy, but cats keep you on your toes and keep things interesting.” Jax finally decided to lean back his body weight on his hands behind him and stretch his legs out in a V ahead of him, seemingly relaxing some with the topic change. Jax could talk about something as simple as pet preferences without having to place a new brick on his walls.

“And you know how much I like to keep things interesting,” Jax said to her with a playful wink and a tilt of his head, his ears flopping to one side.

What a flip her digital heart did. It was unexpected and unnecessary. Her pupils widened before she had the chance to look off and up to the sky. Even in such low poly, it was still fairly pretty and oh so good of a distraction.

"Yeah, yeah— always something new with you around. Never a dull moment," she said in genuine agreement, skipping over his tease that sounded… playfully sarcastic.

Jax could not help but snicker. It was always so easy to get a reaction out of her. “Mmyeah. Better than lounging around and having an existential crisis, y’know? More fun too.”

He took the opportunity while Pomni was looking in every other direction except at him to look at her. Jax knew she could likely see him but… she could probably pass it off for just trying to hold the eye contact that was not there. The glow of the Moon cast such soft shadows on her otherwise bright colors, muted them in a way that was easier on the eyes and… very pretty.

“Aaaaanyway, I’m sure Doll Face could fix up the bear. Being a doll herself and all.” The rabbit trailed off while waving a singular hand dismissively in the air.

Pomni’s gaze trickled down to the bear and from the night sky as she lifted it to brush a thumb against its imperfections. She thought about his words and nodded in agreement. He was such a breath of fresh air to her. Lighting up a mood when she had no clue how much light was needed.

Pomni flashed an appreciative smile to Jax for a moment, then swiftly gazed back down to the bear before her. She agreed— the bear definitely needed a little love. Curse the carnie for mishandling the poor thing.

"Yeah… wouldn't want the poor guy's eye to fall off." She hummed before continuing. "I dunno— I sorta like the messy look. Feels like him." She smiled lightly to punctuate her statement.

“Sure that’s him, but do you think he likes being broken?” He started, his eyes begrudgingly falling away from her face and down to the bear as well. Upon realizing how odd that may have sounded, he clarified quickly.

“Y’know, maybe he’d appreciate it if his eye wasn’t held on by a thread… literally.” He… definitely rushed that answer out a little faster than needed and mentally thunked himself in the head for it. He may have been projecting onto that ratty, stuffed thing more than he would like to admit.

"Oh, for sure." Pomni tilted the bear to face Jax so he could get a better look if he wanted. "But I think even after getting his eye and crooked nose fixed, he will still look a little silly, and that's cute," she said with a small chuckle.

Jax nearly responded with “You know what else is cute?” just to keep the banter going in that direction, but he held his tongue in that regard. “Whatever you say, Pom Pom. You’d even say a blob fish was cute.”

"Well… maybe—" The colorful jester shrugged and gazed up at Jax with a small laugh. "They’re cute when they’re in the water like they should be. Otherwise, it’s sorta just sad," Pomni added with a bit of worry tugging at her brow.

Now that she was finally looking back at him, habitually, she surveyed his face before returning solid eye contact. "But you wanna know what's not cute?" She started with relaxed eyes.

Peering down at himself, he squinted at Pomni, his grin stretching ever so slightly wider. “Sounds like a loaded question, but I’ll bite. What isn’t cute?”

“The Lamprey. It’s got these—” Pomni shivered and broke eye contact, looking forward to the sky as her hands attempted to show what it looked like. “Teeth— just… rows and rows… like that Angel Kinger and I had to fight.” Pomni shivered once again, her hands resting on the bear's head.

“Just terrifying,” she added with a small laugh, returning her sights to him.

“I didn’t have the pleasure of seeing whatever angel you’re talking about… instead I got tied up and got to suffer through girl talk…” He rolled his eyes, flipping his hands up in the air with sarcastic, dramatic flair. “But I’ll take your word for it on the uh… toothy fish.”

To Pomni, girl talk did not sound so bad. A bit of normalcy is...nice. Especially here. But Jax did not seem to be much of a fan; always on the hunt for something to fight.

"Ooh, yeah— I don't think you would have really enjoyed the route Kinger and I went down either," Pomni attempted to reassure Jax.

Shaking her head, Pomni leaned back on the grass and watched the sky. "Hopefully Caine lets us do more suggestion box adventures. Maybe you can finally get your dream adventure of… I dunno, whatever it is you hunt for," she said with a small chuckle. To anyone else, it would have come off as a scoff.

“Meh. Bet if we got stuck together we could’ve handled it.” He started, his eyes following Pomni as she fell back on the grass. “As for the suggestion box adventures, it doesn’t seem like Caine is too keen on it. Plus, everyone else’s suggestions sucked.”

Pomni peered at Jax with a soft smile when he mentioned how they could have handled that adventure at the Mildenhalls’… the idea was sweet, but at the end of the day, Pomni was glad she got the chance to connect with Kinger.

"True… if anything, he might just go full force on his own adventures. In all honesty, I just wish he'd take our interests in mind." Pomni shrugged. "And…" she started with a small laugh, "not all of them were bad. I mean— the more mundane stuff was nice." Pomni grazed the tips of her fingers over the bear's fur as she thought to herself for a moment.

She enjoyed adventure and adrenaline plenty, but some time to recover and connect was something she enjoyed as well.

“I guess so. But if we need reprieve we can just hide in our rooms. Zooble does it a lot.” Jax did finally decide to lie down as well, a small huff escaping through his teeth as his back hit the low-poly grass. He, of course, left some room for Jesus between them.

“Then again, Caine can do the whole snap summon thing, but y’know. It’s not really much of an adventure if there’s no adventure.”

The jester’s pinwheel eyes followed him for a moment, lingering a bit longer than necessary before looking back at the sky. "Good thing you guys are around. You make things bearable," she complimented with a light smile.

Yes, everyone in the Circus made things a bit easier to handle now that she has had the chance to get to know them; but they have their own issues too. Things she hopes she can work through with them. Jax being a prime example…

Time with him around just passes by so quickly. It feels so light, so easy. Except for recently… She often found herself wondering what she had done to make him push her away. Was it even her?

She glanced back over to Jax then closed her eyes, trying to relax while setting her train of thought back on track. Support meant a lot… and Kinger's words echoed through her mind as the thoughts came and went.

Why is he here, like this, when he did not want her around just the other day? Even just a few hours ago...

The emphasis Pomni put on you had Jax looking back up at the sky. He knew that she was referring to all of them but… even out here they were not alone. The Moon was staring right back down at both of them… but he supposed he should thank her for the light she was providing.

“Whatever you say, short stack,” the rabbit playfully deflected. Pomni rolled her eyes and laughed loosely. "Whatever you say Bugs,” she teased back.

There he was again. Making it bearable.

Jax mirrored Pomni’s expression when she rolled her eyes. Shaking his head softly, he sat back up from the ground with a huff. Pomni’s eyes darted towards Jax as he rose. She figured he was just going to call it a night— so she sat up as well to say goodbye properly.

“I think we’ve been out here long enough. We’re gonna start getting digital mosquito bites. C’mon, shorty.” Jax actually did offer her his hand again when he stood, twiddling his fingers tauntingly.

The jester tilted her head in confusion. Digital mosquito bites… terrible, but a good point nonetheless. She looked up to him fully, having now sat up completely herself, and was surprised by his hand having been extended to her.

Pomni's pupils widened while her brows upturned in confusion. But, with a smile slowly stretching across her face, Pomni took his hand into her own and rose from the floor, bear tucked away in her free arm.

"Come up with something more clever, Jax. You can only joke about my height so many times before it grows old,” she teased, her smug look returning.

After having a momentary internal debate with himself, he eventually decided to slip his fingers through hers. It was a loose hold, both to offer the opportunity for Pomni to let go and also the fact that he was not totally solid in that decision.

Jax being Jax, brushed it off as casually as he could and started them walking back inside the Big Top Tent. “Mm, I dunno. I find it funny every time.”

Pomni’s gaze slowly fell to their now intertwined hands. It made her heart swell… but it also ripped at her insides and threatened her head with violent spins. Trying to avoid making it too obvious, she shot her eyes back up and forced a hold on her smug smirk.

"Then you gotta get a new sense of humor," she sniped back, tightening her grip ever so lightly as she walked side by side with him.

She decided to think about how much this does and will hurt later. Right now… she just wanted to enjoy whatever ounce she could get.

If the rabbit did not know better he would have let out a sigh of relief that Pomni reaffirmed the hold. Their arms swung slightly as they walked back to their respective rooms.

“My humor is just fine, thank you very much.” Jax retorted.

Pomni gave him a gentle nudge with her elbow, holding on just the smallest bit tighter.

"It's hit or miss," she agreed with a small hum.

—————

Now that they were in the hall full of doors decorated with many characters' faces, Pomni's smile wavered. She looked down at their hands in hopes of remembering it as its own mental photo before looking at her door.

It felt so soon… with so much unsaid…

"So," she started with a hum, "guess I’ll see you later?" Attempting to keep her tone fairly upbeat, she looked back up to Jax with a smile that held so much weight behind it.

She lightly brushed her thumb against his hand before letting go. She was worried it would hurt too much if Jax was the one to do it...again.

Jax’s eyes briefly wandered down to their parting hands, the corner of his smile faltering the tiniest bit. He hesitated before he spoke again, which he beat himself up for.

“You know it. And uh…” He cleared his throat, letting his hand fall limp back at his side. “And I’m right across the hall if your nightmares keep bugging you.” The taller man sheepishly offered with that same practiced nonchalance he hoped no one could see through.

Of course, Pomni looked up and searched his face, noticing the falter in one side of his smile. Did it hurt too? With every word he spoke her smile grew wider and softer.

Jax's offer nearly brought tears to her eyes; but she would not let them show until after he closed his door for good.

Before Pomni could probably overthink his response for an unreasonable amount of time, he pivoted to face the flat wood with his cartoony face displayed blatantly on the front.

“Well, goodnight.”

With that, he turned the door handle in his hand and disappeared into the dark of his room with a soft click behind him.

"Goodnight…" Pomni whispered, now standing in the hall alone.

…Almost. That stupid bear was still there with her too.

Wiping her eyes, Pomni turned to her door and entered. Her tired eyes were wide with confusion and conflict. Plopping down on her bed Pomni pulled the bear closer as her eyes screwed shut hoping for a dreamless night.

She would worry about this in the morning.

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Big thanks to @lokear for editing this chapter!

Sorry for another late upload! Life keeps us busy sometimes <:p

Keep an eye out for the comic strips that come with this chapter!