Chapter Text
A few months later.
Pomni was a nervous wreck.
“How do I look?”
Ragatha was in her room helping her get ready, while Pomni was facing the mirror evaluating her outfit. She was wearing a button-down shirt that matched the colors of her jumpsuit: yellow sleeves, half of it blue, and half of it red, except all in pastel colors. She complemented it with a purple bow tie that was slightly loose around her neck since she hadn’t buttoned her shirt all the way to the top.
“You look amazing! Seriously, it’ll knock him off his feet.”
Although circus members were now able to change their outfits, most of them kept their original getup more often than not. They kind of all agreed that it made the times they do wear different outfits more special and unique.
Like today.
“Thanks, Rags.”
“You don’t have to thank me. Itwas fun to get you ready like this.”
Pomni turned around from the mirror and hugged her.
“Thank you for everything, in general. For letting me always count on you and for always having my back.”
Ragatha, crybaby that she was, couldn’t contain the tears. “Of course, Pomni,” she said as she hugged her back.
As they let go of each other, Ragatha said she would be heading to her room and to let her know if Pomni needed anything. Pomni appreciated having time to be alone with her thoughts for a while.
And her thoughts took her back to that fateful day months ago.
————
“Welcome home.”
She couldn’t stop the happy tears from streaming down her face. Jax hugged her back ferociously, and she could feel that he was also crying.
After what felt like both a lifetime and just a moment, they let go of each other.
“Wow.” It was all she could say, really.
“What can I say? I’m just that competent.” He had a smug look on his face as he said that.
“Can I go grab the others?” She started to get up to go get everyone. They needed to know Jax was back. That was until she felt one of his hands around her wrist.
“Yeah, sure, but first…” and he pulled her down for a kiss.
Pomni had dreamed of this moment for so long, but at first she wasn’t sure how to react. She wanted to give him space, to make sure he didn’t think she would only care about him if he was willing to be with her, but she guessed he had other plans.
She quickly gave into the kiss, closing her eyes and grabbing his face. She was desperate for water in the desert, and he was her oasis that had been a mirage for so long, finally in front of her.
She didn’t know for how long they embraced each other, but, by the time they were done, her jester hat was gone, and they were laying down on a pile of blankets.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while now,” hestarted.
“Tell me about it. I had literal dreams.”
“Dreaming about me, Pom?”
“Yes, all the time.”
“Always knew you were a freak.”
She couldn’t even be mad at him for that. She was just so deliriously happy he could call her whatever he wanted, and she would just nod along and probably kiss him again.
“So, how did you get back? Like, what was that final push?”
He gave her the softest smile she had ever seen. It weirdly reminded her of a puppy, and she wanted to protect him at all costs.
“I finally believe I deserve to live and to be happy. You know I’ve been working on it for the past few months, but I guess today my brain finally accepted it as the truth.”
She loved him so much.
“That you are, you stupid bunny. I love you so, so much.” She placed her forehead against his.
“I know, and—“ He gulped, looking her directly in the eyes. “I—I love you too.”
————
It was the happiest day of her life, inside or outside the circus. To see him back in the circus, finally able to enjoy this new life they’ve made out here. To be able to love his friends freely and to be loved back, all while having her at his side.
And to be able to express himself finally. Jax was probably the one whohad changed his permanent avatar the most. On top of his abstraction scars (those never went away), he decided to pierce the top of his ears with these tiny hoops. He also ditched the gloves to be able to flash his nails more, asking Ragatha for help with their design. Pomni’s favorite detail was the choker with a tiny pink bow that kind of looked like a bowtie. He hadn’t told others about what it meant, but Pomni knew, and that’s all that mattered.
He also got the overalls to be shorter, around mid-thigh.
“I know you love these sexy legs, Pom.” She couldn’t say he was wrong. She also loved when he felt like adding some eyeliner; it absolutely made her weak in the knees.
God, she was such a simp for her partner. They had talked about how saying they were dating felt a bit… unserious? After one of them dove into the other’s mind and saw his biggest insecurities and helped him out of a major depressive episode. There was just this understanding that they were together, through thick and thin.
Which is kind of what today was about.
Pomni headed out from her room to find Jax waiting for her right outside the door.
“Cleaned up nice, clownface.”
She could say the same about him. He was wearing a white button-down shirt under the overalls with a yellow tie with blue and red stars on it. She could tell he had spent extra time getting the eyeliner just the way she loved the most, but Pomni always thought he could be wearing a potato sack, and she would still want to strip it off of him.
“Same to you, bunny boy. Shall we?” She extended her hand to him, and he took it.
They walked in silence through the circus. It was around dinnertime, and their friends were eating as they headed out of the tent. Pomni could see all of them giving her the thumbs up in the most inconspicuous way possible.
“Why are they being weird?” Jax asked. “We go out for dinner, like, at least once a week.”
“Who knows, it’s not like any of us areparticularly well-adjusted.” She gave a little panic laugh.
“Huh, sure. Whatever you say, weirdo.”
“Yup, I’m a creep. I’m a weirdo.”
“Ugh, please stop.”
She had successfully deflected from their friends being the most precious but most obvious cheerleaders in the universe.
They walked outside the tent to a table set next to the lake. Pomni had asked Caine to set up the table with a couple of candles but also away from the moon, as she knew she couldn’t face the moon’s smug face while she did this. She was a pile of nerves as it was.
Jax pulled Pomni’s chair for her, and he knew she liked this sort of gesture. Their food appeared on their plates as they finished the course before, and they were talking about everything and anything.
“… and then, Kinger looks at me and goes ‘Bugs Bunny is a bunny but not a bug.’” Jax was imitating Kinger’s voice and mannerisms as he did this, sendingPomni intoa fit of laughter.
As the laughing died down, Pomni grabbed Jax’s hand across the table.
“So, hmm, I wanted to talk to you about something,” Pomni started awkwardly.
“Bored with me already, Pom? Can we at least get a breakup romp?”
“I want—what?! No, I don’t want to—Jax, please, I—”
She stopped her panicky rant when she saw him snickering, holding his free hand against his mouth.
“Asshole.”
“You bring me out here for this romantic candle-lit dinner, hold my hand, and tell me you have something to chat about. You’re either breaking up with me or dying. Since I’m fully confident in my relationship skills… what’s your diagnosis, Pomni? Deadly in love with me? Bunny psychosis? Nymphomania? Can’t really blame you for that last one.” He winked at her.
“Oh my God, you’re unbelievable.”
“Unbelievably attractive?”
Pomni groaned and let go of his hand. She reached for her pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. She opened it in front of him.
“I don’t think marriage is really a thing here,” she said, startingher speech that she had been memorizing for days. “But everyday I’m with you is a day I’m thankful to be alive. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so, Jax, would you wear these with me? To represent our commitment to each other, for the rest of our lives?” She opened the box, and inside were two identical gold bands.
“Well, this is awkward.” He pulled out a box from his overall pouch, and as he opened it, Pomni could see two identical gold bands staring back at her.
Mouth agape, she stared at the box and then at him, who was blushing furiously while giving her a smirk. “So, what do you say, PomPom? Wanna start the rest of our lives?”
She quite literally climbed on top of the table and tackled him, chair and all, to the ground, peppering his face with kisses.
“I asked first.”
“I asked second.”
“You’re insufferable.”
“You love me.”
“I guess I do.” She took the box he was holding from him, grabbed one of the rings, and put it around her finger. “Happy?”
“Extremely.” Jax moved to grab her box from her hand and putone of the rings on. “For the record, I love you too.”
“What are we doing with the other rings?” she asked, laying her head on his chest, drawing little hearts on him with her finger.
“I think it’d be cool and cute if we made them into necklaces.”
“I like that.”
“So,” he began, liftinghis head to look her in the eyes. “How did you organize all of this?”
“Hmm… everyone knew about it. I’ve been prepping this for a while.” She shrugged as she said that.
“Those jerks. They never told me we had the same idea.”
“I think they’re probably laughing at us right now. It also explains why they were being dumb when we left.”
“God, I wanted to strangle them. Dumbasses.”
“Be nice to our friends.” She lightly slapped his chest.
“Fine, fine, whatever. Anyways, I’m done talking about them.” He looked at her with a grin of someone up to no good. “Can we go home and celebrate now?”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.”