Chapter Text
No matter how hard he tried, Jax could not go to sleep. Or relax at all. The hallucinations he’s been having were driving him crazy. And he didn’t know how to make them stop. He couldn’t get them to go away. He ended up staying awake all night. And he was absolutely exhausted. His eyes were strained with bags under them and he was running on adrenaline at this point.
He sat on the edge of the bed, staring out into the distance. He rapidly tapped his foot. He was hanging onto his sanity by a thread.
The doorbell echoed in the room, startling Jax out of his daze. He cautiously stood up and opened the door just a crack.
He saw Pomni on the other side. She smiled and waved at him. “Hi Jax. Are you doing okay?”
“I’m fine. Do you want something?” He said matter of factly.
“No. I just wanted to check on you. You wanna join us for breakfast?”
He paused before answering. “Nah, I’m good. See ya.” He quickly slammed the door, startling the jester.
Pomni grew increasingly concerned about Jax. He was acting stranger than usual. She decided to go check on him after breakfast.
She went downstairs to join the group. They all sat around and chatted while they ate their food. Once Pomni was done, she excused herself and went back to Jax’s room.
She walked to the door and knocked. “Jax? Are you there?”
A few seconds later, the door cracked open. “Pomni? Why are you here?” He asked hesitantly.
“I wanted to check on you. I’m getting really worried.” To that, Jax had no response and looked down. “Can I come in?”
Jax thought for a moment. “Okay.” He opened the door wider and let her in. He was feeling desperate at this point.
As soon as she was inside, Jax immediately slammed the door and locked it, startling her a bit. When she turned around, she noticed how awful he looked. Even his fur was matted. “Jax, what happened to you?” She asked gently.
He faced her, his eyes strained. “I-I don’t know. I keep seeing things.” He admitted.
“You mean hallucinations?” Jax nodded. “I’m not sure how to help. I can maybe stay with you and keep you grounded.” She offered.
Jax looked a bit weary, but ultimately agreed. “Okay. Thanks Pomni.”
The jester smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the bed. They each sat down on the bed. Pomni soothingly rubbed his hand. “Let me know when you start seeing something.”
Jax nodded in response. Suddenly when he looked at her, he saw Ribbit’s figure again. He flinched back and had a panicked look on his face.
Pomni’s expression dropped. “You see something?” He frantically nodded. “Okay. It’s okay. It’s not real. Take deep breaths.” Unfortunately, her words weren’t getting through as Jax starts hyperventilating. He tightly shut his eyes and gripped the sides of his head. Without thinking, Pomni leaned over and pulled him into a hug. “You’re okay, Jax. Just breathe.”
His body stiffened at the sudden physical contact. He closed his eyes again and attempted to focus on his breathing. It was shaky at first, but gradually steadied. His heart rate finally went down. When he finally opened his eyes, the figure was gone. Jax let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” He said under his breath.
“Of course.” Pomni smiled up at him. She soon released him. “You should try to rest. You look exhausted.” She said as she takes notice of his eyebags, strained eyes that look red, and matted fur. She felt very bad for him and wished she could do more for him.
Jax rubbed the back of his head. “I don’t know. I haven’t been able to sleep cause of this.”
“I can stay here if you want.”
He was completely taken off guard and physically pulled back. “I-I-I don’t know about that. Are you sure that’s a good idea? Maybe I should-” As he rambled and stood up, Pomni grabbed his hand. Jax flinched slightly and looked at her.
Pomni smiled in return. “It’s alright.”
While this reminded him of that moment he had with Ribbit, Jax was too tired to worry about that. So he relented and agreed. He sighed. “Okay.” He sat back down.
He pulled back the blanket and crawled under. Once comfortable, he covered himself. Pomni stood at the bedside. “I’ll grab a chair and just sit nearby.” She walked towards a corner of the room that had three chairs and a small round table. She grabbed one and positioned it a foot away from the bed.
But before she got settled, Jax called out. “Wait.” Pomni froze and looked at him. “You can sit next to me. I don’t care.” Pomni thought she saw him blushing, but maybe she imagined it. Regardless, she smiled and pulled the chair closer to the bedside. She sat down, directly facing him.
A little shy at first, Jax asks her a question. “Pomni? Do you…hate me?”
Pomni felt a bit surprised by this. “No, of course not. I mean, what you said definitely hurt. But I don’t hate you for it.”
After everything, Jax didn’t understand how Pomni could feel this way. He began tearing up. “But, I was horrible to you. Why do you still care?” As he spoke, he started breaking down into tears. “You’re not supposed to care!” He choked back a sob. “Why?”
Pomni felt her chest aching. She never thought Jax felt so lowly of himself. He always acted so confident. But she supposed that was just part of the mask he had up. After all, he was the funny one. She reached out for his hand. “Jax. You made mistakes, but you can do better. You’re not some irredeemable villain. You’re still human. It’s not too late to change.” She gently rubbed her thumb over the top of his hand.
Jax stared for a moment and sniffed. He smiled slightly. “Thanks Pomni.”
She lightly chuckled. “You’re welcome. Now get some sleep. I won’t go anywhere.”
Jax nodded. Though he still just layed there with his eyes open. So to help him relax, he and Pomni talked. Although nothing specific. Just whatever they could think of. Eventually Jax finally started to relax as his eyes felt heavier. And the whole time, Pomni held his hand and never let go. As she continued to rub the back of his hand, he soon let his eyes droop close and quickly fell asleep.
After making sure he’d stay asleep, Pomni gently let go of his hand, letting his arm dangle off the edge of the bed. And so she just sat there, staring longingly at him. Hopefully Jax starts to feel better once he rests a bit. Until then, she’ll remain here by his side.