Chapter Text
The Circus had been abuzz with activity for the past few days. Caine did his best to keep everything running smoothly; on the first day, almost every room with any kind of function was operational, stretching his processing power thin. (He’d been told why this was problematic by Kinger almost immediately, which is why that wasn’t the case anymore.) He could barely contain his excitement.
Jax seemed to be doing well. She stuck with Pomni for most of the day, preferring to take things slow. She’d gotten used to her crutches easily. She was even using them expressively now, leaning back on them and grinning without a care in the world or lightly whacking Pomni’s feet with the tips of them in order to trip her footing before they both laughed about it.
Caine was very happy for them both. Even if he had to take time to collapse in the big chair in his office and shut down more often.
He’d almost forgotten to stop by Jax’s room. Jax hadn’t dared go inside yet. She slept in her tent, and spent most evenings there, too. This meant that Caine had ample time to implement something he’d been working on. He didn’t touch anything else. The Polaroids by her bed were left with their photos against the wall. The small table in the corner, with one chair pushed out further than the other two, stayed in place. The pink wallpaper and rug still contrasted the blue floor (which Caine learned through his online research meant something very specific… he wondered if that was somehow intentional through the code he’d written). It had taken some time for him to figure out how to remove the red X from the icon on Jax’s door, but he knew the act was worth it. Everything else was silent, still a monument to a dead person… except for a large wardrobe that now sat against the far wall. Caine left a small note inside before he left.
Afterwards, Caine went out to the main Circus to check in with the other humans. He and everyone else had gotten used to the dimmer lights quite well. Good. They were probably going to have to stay that way for a while. Kinger was downstairs, in the Aquarium, visiting his wife. Jax, Pomni, and Ragatha had gone off on their own somewhere. Gangle and Zooble were sitting together in the designated lounge area in silence. Caine floated above them, not wanting to disturb a private moment, before Zooble noticed him and waved him over.
“Hello there, chums!” Caine called out.
“Hey, Caine,” Zooble greeted back. “What’s up? You doing good?”
“Yes, yes, I’m doing fine, thank you. Just fixing up a few things and making sure everything else is in tip-top shape! How about you both? Is there anything I can do for you?”
“I’m alright. Haven’t seen Jax all day, though.”
Gangle shrugged, keeping quiet. Caine sat down on the same couch as them, a little ways away. He had a feeling a talk like this would be happening eventually.
“…Gangle?” He set his hat in his lap.
“I guess I’m just…” she stopped for a moment, hesitating before finding her voice again. “I-It’s hard to interact with him. Like we’re both pretending everything is normal. I know he’s trying, but…” she trailed off.
Zooble squeezed her shoulder. “But?”
“But I can’t just… forget like that. He’s been horrible to me. I’m glad he’s okay- we all are, but- I can’t-“
“Okay,” Caine stopped her once her voice started to break. He took her hands in his. “Nobody expects you to forgive him. I don’t think he does, either. I know I certainly didn’t. …My main concern is helping Jax heal, but I also want to help the rest of you as much as I can. If it gets to be too much, or if he ever gives you trouble, please let me know.”
Gangle nodded. “Thanks, Caine.”
“Anytime, my friend.”
——
Pomni and Jax had broken off from the group, as usual. They had fun together, just the two of them. Whenever Jax was tired, they would go rest. Whenever Pomni needed to talk, they talked. They’d done a pretty damn good job of taking care of one another. Pomni had felt something lift off her shoulders (though she still feared it could come back) and Jax had felt less and less like a hollow shell of a person.
Today, they were in a newer room apart from most of the main Circus, the room full of musical instruments. Pomni was sitting at the piano, practicing. Jax was sitting in a chair that Pomni had conjured for her, one that she could probably fall asleep in if she zoned out even a smidge more than she was now. Her eyes were closed, her ears drooped forward. The music soothed her deeply, made her drowsy. Her almost chronic exhaustion probably helped that along.
Pomni played a wrong chord. “Shit, sorry.”
Jax opened her good eye. “Don’t apologize,” she mumbled. “Can’t you just make that thing play itself, anyway?”
“There’s no fun in that.”
“Heh. Yeah, I guess not, huh? …When did you start to learn?”
“Oh, y’know… about two months ago. Caine’s been helping me.”
“Oof. Sounds loud and crazy.”
“He’s… enthusiastic. He’s a good teacher, though.”
Jax hummed. When Pomni started to play again, she recognized the tune almost immediately.
Daisy Bell. Their song. Jax closed her eyes, relaxing into its nostalgic comfort. Pomni’s rendition was simple and soft, almost bittersweet. After a moment, she began to sing quietly alongside it. Her voice was beautiful. Jax found herself drawn to it again, like before. She wanted to hear it every day for the rest of her life.
Woah, when did I get so sappy?
When the song was over, she opened her eyes and smiled. “Sentimental today, aren’t you, Pom?”
Pomni smiled back. “It’s the only song I can play without messing up.”
“Really?” Jax sat up. “How many others do you know?”
“Like… three? But they’re all classical ones, so…”
“Yeah, they don’t teach you the good stuff until you get good. …Guess I never got that far.”
“…Maybe you could give me a hand, then?”
Jax stared for a moment, eyes going wide, then chuckled. She stood up slowly, choosing to ignore the crutches leaning up against the side of her chair. She could manage a few steps.
“I guess I could give it a shot. If you really wanna learn from the master, that is.”
“I thought you only knew two songs.”
“Yeah, but I can play chords better than that.”
Jax did, in fact, manage the few steps to the piano, but not without grabbing onto every surface she could get support from. Once she sat down on the bench next to Pomni, she leaned back, acting like that was the easiest and most impressive thing she’d ever done. When she got the smallest of smiles out of her, she internally pumped her fists and congratulated herself.
It took her a minute to find her footing (she hadn’t truly played in years), but once she did, playing felt like second nature. She played a few random chords. She smirked when she noticed how impressed Pomni looked.
“It’s all about hand placement,” Jax explained, echoing the few words she remembered from her teacher. “Once you figure out how different keys and chords work, you can pretty much play anything you want.”
“Two songs, in your case.”
“I got busy.”
Pomni laughed. What a wonderful sound.
“So…” Jax asked, “what do you wanna learn?”
“Oh, uh… I guess I didn’t think that far ahead.”
“Hm. How about this: what kind of music do you like?”
“…It’s kind of embarrassing.”
“Nah. Go on, what is it?”
Pomni shrugged. “I like a lot of older music. I never really listened to pop. I don’t get it, I guess? I mean, I get it, but- agh. Why is it so hard to explain?”
“Yeah, that’s fair. You said ‘older’. How old? Like… 70’s?”
“80’s, mostly.”
“Okay, first off, that’s not embarrassing. I don’t care who you are, 80’s music is fucking awesome. Second, wanna know what I listened to?”
“Oh God, what?”
Jax looked around to make sure she wasn’t being listened in on, then took a deep breath. She had her hands off the keys, folded together, index fingers and thumbs pointing at Pomni for emphasis.
“Kpop.”
She stared at Pomni, who stared back in disbelief, until they both cracked up.
“Oh my God, you’re not joking.”
“No, I’m not! That’s what makes it funnier!”
They both fell into a laughing fit. Jax was such a cringe teenager. She could probably do a couple of the dances still, if prompted. And bribed. And it had to be a damn good bribe.
“Man,” she continued, once they were done giggling like idiots, “I used to get in so much trouble smuggling posters and CDs and shit into my room.”
“Did you ever go to concerts?”
“Hell no! I didn’t have a job!”
“…Then how’d you get the other stuff?”
“I… may have shoplifted. A lot.”
“Of course. …You ever get caught?”
Jax smirked. “Nope.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“What? You think so little of me.”
Pomni lightly bumped her elbow. She chuckled.
“Okay, so… 80’s, huh? I think I’ve got a few good songs for that.”
“I thought we were doing Kpop.” Pomni had a certain smugness to her voice when she said it.
“Shut up.”
Jax played a few notes, and Pomni copied her. Slowly but surely, one line at a time, they both learned a full song. And then another, and another… they spent the whole day sitting at that piano.
It sounded beautiful, more so than either of them could put into words.