Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“A what?” Pomni couldn't believe what she was hearing.

“That's right my little superstars! It's the holidays and we'll be spending every day of this month celebrating!”

Pomni heard the sound of clapping next to her. Kinger was overjoyed by the news that Pomni swore his hands were moving faster than 100 miles per minute, literally.

“Yay, I love this time of year!” Gangle quietly squealed behind her ribbon hands and lighty tiptoed in place from glee.

“What's going on?” Pomni leaned towards Ragatha who also had a sparkle in her eye at the news.

“Every year, Caine creates a month worth of holiday events for us to do,” she began, “It's one of the few things that Caine does that we genuinely look forward to.”

“And why wouldn't you be looking forward to such a joy filled month ahead of you?” The girls suddenly felt a pair of hands hold onto their shoulders, “A month of snowy, wintery wonderland fun! And tomorrow's event will be ballroom dancing!”

“Oh f!$@#.” Zooble mumbled, clearly not enthusiastic about this event like the others.

“I think I preferred the fire breathing dragon last week.” Jax was sharing the same amount of excitement as his multi-colored abstract companion.

“Is that so Jax?” Caine chimed, an idea clearly snaking its way into his mind, “Well in that case, I'll be sure to add a twist to the day.”

Jax felt Zooble give him the elbow of pain right into his ribs, “Should've shut your mouth.”

“But for now, I have left you all a variety of options of appropriate attire for the big day tomorrow.” With a snap, the red curtain behind him parted and revealed a giant room of dresses and outfits for a winter event.

The tent was soon filled with a high pitch squeal that was almost enough to explode your ear drums. Everyone had a flash of red and white dash across their eyes and straight into the dresses.

“That's the spirit, Gangle!” Caine applauded the ribbon girl who was already looking in the mirror with a puffy white dress, “Pick out your attire and meet me tomorrow outside the tent for your adventure. Have fun!”

With a spin and a click of his heel, Caine disappeared. Pomni was too stunned to even speak. She just faced a dragon not too long ago and now they're having a winter wonderland event? It seemed so random and out of place.

Before she knew it, Pomni was in the middle of the dressing room where the girls were running back and forth, throwing dresses above her head and gushing about how cute some of the shoes and accessories are.

“Oh, Pomni,” she heard Ragatha come running to her,” This would go lovely with you.”

Pomni eyed the dress the doll was showing off. It was winter themed just like all the others. It had a white high neck cut that slowly orbed into a periwinkle blue as your eyes looked down to the waist. The skirt was puffed up with multiple layers, decorated in periwinkle and white stripes. Topped with sparkles that looked like snow.

“Pretty…. I guess?” Pomni wasn't sure.

“It comes with some accessories!” A familiar squeaky voice popped behind them. Before Pomni knew it, it felt like her clothes were yanked off with a new outfit in its place.

“Wha-” Pomnis' vision was blocked by silver bells with snowflakes on them. She felt a ball-like creature shove her to the side before shouting in her ear.

“What you think, little lady?”

Pomni pulled the two bells from her sight and saw her reflection. She was in the same outfit Ragatha showed her, only this time with some add ons. She had white jacket that covered her shoulders, smoothed out on her upper arms before puffing out on her lower arms. A light blue collar was kow placed around her neck, so puffy and filled with ruffles it nearly covered her mouth. Her hat still looked the same, only white and blue now with snowflakes decorating the rim of her hat.

“It's…. Um….. nice. I guess I'll wear it tomorrow.” Pomni nervously agreed.

“Fantastic!” She heard the bubble assistant chime. Pomni felt her body flood with another gust of wind as her regular red and yellow jester outfit came back.

“How's this look?” Gangle came out of a changing room with a red puffy gown and a silver glittery bow tied around the waist.

“Try the bow on, it might compliment the look.” Zooble recommended. They wore a white tux they picked out. They didn't want to go all out like Caine devised her too. But he was willing to at least help Gangle with her outfit. She just loved trying on the gowns.

“Why are you ladies even bothering?” Jax was lazily sitting on a bean bag chair set near the closet, “This is just another of Caines annoying adventures, he'll snap your dresses and froo froo stuff away the next day.”

“It's one of the few adventures that doesn't involve a disaster or a monster. We just get to sit back and enjoy ourselves.” Ragatha answered as she looked through the closet near Jax. The purple bunny just scoffed at her statement. Sure, every year Caine did this exact same event for the sake of ‘holiday fun’. Whatever that meant. He probably just made up a date and time as some stupid excuse to see them play dress up.

Not that he didn't mind, it was nice to take a month off to just relax and do winter fun. It was the same every year. Caine creates the same events for them to do, same boring games, same snacks, and of course, the opening dance performance Caine had Ragatha and Kaufmo do every year as some sort of tradition. Wait a minute…….

Jax sat up and leaned forward to see the ragdoll still analysing the dresses before her.

“Hey Rags!” Jax called out. The red haired girl looked his way with her one working eye,"Are you still doing the dance ceremony this year?”

“Oh!” Ragathas body tensed for a moment. She clutched onto the dress in her hands for a split second as she wandered off into thought, “I've forgotten about that. I guess it's up to Caine…..” Ragatha had a hint of disappointment in her tone as she slowly let go of the dress she was looking at.

“Ceremony?” Pomni repeated in curiosity.

“Ragatha and Kaufmo always did this beautiful ballroom dance every year.” Gangle chimed as she came back out with a small silver bow on the side of her head, “The way they would glide across the floor like they were dancing on the clouds. It's so enchanting.”

“It's supposed to be some ceremony that officially starts the holiday month, or whatever.” Zooble fixed the bow on a swooning Gangle.

“Ragatha and Kaufmo always put on quite the performance,” Kinger came out with a red cape and a red Christmans hat that flopped to the side of his head, “Though, ever since his….. incident. I guess we'll just skip the opening ceremony this year.”

“What a shame, and I was looking forward to the same boring dance they do.” Jax leaned back into his bean bag chair only to be greeted with a glittery hat to the face.

“Kaufmo always preferred traditional dances.” Ragatha scoffed at the bunnies additude.

“Must've been a fun guy. You could've at least switched up the dance a bit so I wouldn't snooze off.” Jax threw the hat back only for the doll to duck and have it hit Kinger instead.

“Like you can do any better than him?” Ragatha claimed.

“Maybe I can, doll face.” Jax stood up on his feet, marched his way to her and looked straight in the eye and button, “I guarantee you I can come up with an opening performance that would at least not make a snore fest out of literal wooden mannequins who don't even have brains or sentients.”

“What a wonderful idea Jax my boy!” The last voice he wanted to hear cheered behind the angry man.

“What?” Jax turned around, almost smashing his face against a pair of teeth he swore he was about to yank out.

“I was worried for a moment that we would have to skip the opening ceremony this year, or worse, have our dearest Ragatha perform all by herself.” Caine popped in between the two, grabbed them by the shoulders before pushing their cheeks against his. Or whatever a pair of teeth cheeks are called. Jax was not liking the sparkles that were quite literally gleaming in the ring master's eyes, “Just imagine it! Kaufmo is no longer here to perform, leaving our poor doll all by herself and lonely. Only for our generous and kind hearted Jax the bunny to step up and save the ceremony!”

“Save?” Jax repeated in confusion.

“Generous?” Ragatha snorted.

“Kind hearted?” The rest of the gang tilted their heads in confusion. Jax pushed himself out of the craze teether grip and shook his head.

“Ok ok ok, I was just kidding. There's no way I would even fit the role as Ragathas dance partner.” Jax tried to find an excuse to leave this situation.

“Nonsense! Why, you even fit his old dance costume.” Caine clapped his hands and poof! Jax was now in a baggy red Christmas themed clown costume with the red nose as the cherry on top, “See?”

Jax could hear the whole tent chuckling and holding in their outburst of laughter. Not liking this one bit, he yanked off the nose and threw it across the room with all his might., Slamming it against Kinger's head, knocking him face down first.

“Ow!” He mumbled on the floor, muffleing his voice.

“Caine! I-” Before Jax could even say anything, the ring leader happily handed Ragatha a beautiful slimming ball gown as he chimed.

“Of course, you may not have the same experience and skills as Kaufmo but I'm sure you'll do just fine Jax.” Caine claimed, causing a sudden sting to the bunnies chest.

“What?” He couldn't believe what he just heard.

“I said I'm sure you'll do just fine.” Caine repeated happily. Jax wagged his finger towards the red and black man as he opened his mouth to speak again.

“Not that, I mean the lack of experience. What is that supposed to mean?” Jax placed his fist on his hip, causing a small squeak from his outfit.

“Oh! Don't worry your head off about that. You just lack the experience, but with enough practice, why, you may even become better than Kaufmo himself in a few years.”

“Bet.” Jax mumbled under his breath. The sting in his chest only stung deeper when he heard Caine say that. Without hesitation, Jax grabbed the doll's hand and pulled her close to his side, “I know Rags and I can create a more entertaining performance than Kaufmo ever could. We might even keep those mannequins of yours awake for the whole performance. Instead of creating bland jokes and lifeless dances.”

“I'm sure you will, my dear narcissistic rabbit, now chop chop! The ceremony is tomorrow, so no time to waste!” And with that, he again was gone before you could even blink.

What did Jax just get himself into? He was just relaxing, enjoying the thought of the holiday month. And next thing he knows, he's in a dance room filled with mirror's everywhere he looked and a record player nearby.

“You don't have to do this Jax,” Ragathas voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She was at a shelf looking at the records and trying to choose one,,” I can come up with a performance by myself. Maybe a ballet? Or a-”

“What's the matter, dollface? Don't want me as your partner?” Jax teased, finally processing the situation he got in. Ragatha turned to look at him with a worried expression.

“It's not that, honest. I just didn't think you were into dancing, that's all.” She promised him.

“Well, I'm full of surprises, aren't I?” Jax leaned over her shoulder and looked at the records in her hands. The doll could feel his breath in her hair getting her a tad bit nervous.

“As long as you're so sure about it, then I guess I can show you the basic steps.” Ragatha flipped a switch on the wall between the record player and the shelf of records. Out of nowhere, the floor was decorated with what looked like shoe prints of different colours and dotted lines.

“Here, this one should be easy for you to learn.” Ragatha picked out a record and placed it on the player. As if by magic, Jax's clown outfit, that he really wants to rip to shreds by now, turned into a silver colour as Ragathas silver dress became a bit longer and puffed up the skirt.

“Looking good, can't say the same for myself.” Jax grumbled as he looked down at himself. Ragatha let out a small chuckle as she let the music start to play a calm and gentle melody.

“The outfits change depending on the music you chose.” She explained.

“Is that so?” Jax seemed intrigued at this new information. He was about to test it out until Ragatha grabbed onto his hand and held it firmly.

“Don't think I'm about to let you mess around when we have until tomorrow to come up with a dance.” She gave a light glare accompanied by a smile. Jax simply sighed in defeat and let the girl lead him to the middle of the dance floor.

She set her feet onto some footprints explaining these are for guiding the dance. Clearly annoying the tall bunny at how many rules dancing had, “I thought you said dancing is fun?”

“It is, when done right. Now…..” She held onto his free hand and wrapped it around her waist. This caused a bit of confusion on the bunny's side as she took a step closer to him, resting her free hand on his shoulder and holding his left hand with her right, “...... the steps are easy. Just step forward with your left foot, step to the side with your right foot. Then move your left foot together to your right foot, step backward with your right foot. Step to the side with your left foot so it is parallel to your right foot. Easy!

“Is that all?” Jax nearly felt himself yawn at this.

“It's a Waltz. It's a classic ballroom dance.” She explained as she pulled him back into the dance. Same moves, over and over and over again. Jax swore he just found the reason why Kaufmo would put everyone to sleep. He was practically dozing off and he was the one dancing.

Ragatha didn't pay much attention to his expression as she started to explain the more complex moves, releasing her hand from his shoulder and letting him release her waist as she still held his left hand. She had him twirl her around a couple times, and before she could pull herself back to him, she had a good taste of the floor and nearly got the air knocked out of her.

“JAX!” She snapped her angry gaze at him. The bunny simply chuckled with his toothy grin.

“Whoops, was getting so boring I lost my footing.” He laughed. Ragatha rolled her eye as she got back on her feet.

“Are you gonna take this seriously or not?” She scolded him like a child. Jax didn't even flinch. Oh how he loved seeing that anger gleam in her eye and her hair messing up and decorating her face.

“Yeah yeah, whatever you want.” Jax went back into position, gently placing his right hand back on her waist and holding her right hand with his left.

“Thank you.” Ragatha sighed, even though she was fully expecting more pranks along the way.

And boy was she right. Not even two minutes in and he didn't even bother to catch her when she dipped down. Stepping aside when she tried twirling into his arms, making her lose footing and fall. Or Jaxs favourite, tripping her so she fell flat on her face.

“Well doll, you were right, this was fun. You think we have our routine yet?” Jax joked to an aggravated doll. She was harshly putting away all the records she tried playing, all music to dances the bunny refused to learn.

“This was a mistake,” she sighed. Her anger slowly drowned into disappointment, “I shouldn't have made you do something you clearly didn't want to do. I'll tell Caine it didn't work out and I'll do the performance alone.”

“Giving up already?” Jax wasn't asking but stating as he noticed the girl's sad expression. Something about this situation didn't seem fair.

Ragatha wanted to stick with the rules and do things step by step, but that wasn't Jax's way of working. He didn't like rules, he didn't like being told what to do in general. Why would he? He was his own man and didn't need some stupid teeth freak telling him he wasn't as good as some clown. And he didn't need to be told what was the right way of dancing by a doll.

“Look, it's not your fault,” Ragatha started to slowly put away the records, “It's just, I look forward to this every year. It's one of the few times I get to have fun in this place. When I can enjoy myself with something that brings me joy. I might have been a bit too hard on you about it, sorry.”

So that's what it was. She was so focused on making this perfect because it was the only time she got to experience joy. Which is fairly rare in this digital hell. The only thing that brought the bunny joy was when things were unpredictable and incalculable.

Ragatha finished putting away the records, and she made her way to the door. She only got to open it around 5 inches before it was slammed shut.

“Now wait a second, Rags!” Jax slammed the palm of his hand on the door causing her to jump back a bit, “You're sorry for wanting to have fun? You should be sorry for trying to make me like Mr clown face, do I look like him?”

Ragatha eyed Jax from head to toe when he asked.

“Ignore the outfit.” Jax said plainly, his eye's half lidded from how unamused he was, “The point is, I took this position to prove I'm a better fit to be your partner. Not a replacement.”

“Jax I……. “ Ragatha was at a loss of words for a moment.

“Look, I know I'm not the easiest to get along with, but I prefer to do things my way.” Jax continued his explaininon. He placed a grip onto Ragatha's shoulder and pushed her back to where the record player was, “So suck it up doll face. Caine expects a performance tomorrow, and with heaven and hell as your witness, you're gonna have the best time of your life doing so.”

“But you said it was boring.” The doll felt him release her shoulders and start digging into the records.

“And you're really gonna listen to a know it all jack @$$? Besides, I'm sure we can find something that'll fit my style.” Jax was basically making it rain records as he grabbed and tossed them in the air. Completely ignoring the ones that were labelled ballroom. 

Waltz (Ballroom)

Nope!

Tango (Ballroom)

Still no.

Viennese Waltz (Ballroom)

Waltz (Smooth)

Viennese Waltz (Smooth)

Good god, how many waltz are there?

Foxtrot (Ballroom) Quickstep (Ballroom)

Nope, nope, and nope.

“Jax, you're over half way through.” Ragatha was trying to gather all the records he was throwing and organised them back.

“Latin?” Jax finally made it to the bottom of the shelf.

Cha Cha (Latin)

Samba (Latin)

Rumba (Latin)

Paso Doble (Latin)

Jive (Latin)

This sounded interesting.

“Kaufmo and I were never able to do those.” Ragatha took a record and placed it into the player. The footsteps behind them were now all over the place. She cringed at all the memories she had of trying and failimg these dance moves with her old partner. The amount of falling, tripping, slamming, she prayed she would never do a dance like that again.

God ignored her prayers. She felt her ball gown get ripped off and replaced with a dark blue dress with white horizontal stripes at the bottom. The sleeves left her neck and shoulders bare, with what looked like a cape tightly wrapped around her chest and back with snowflake patterns. To finish the look, there was a red rose in her hair holding it up in a ponytail. She gasped and turned around to see Jax holding up a book that showed them what to do with their arms. The guy seemed to have to keep one arm out and the other near his chest while the lady twirled her dress. Ragatha took notice of the record he put on. An instrumental version of a song named Feliz Navidad. And lastly, she saw that Jax was overjoyed that he no longer had the clown outfit on. But instead a pair of black pants with a red fabric belt and a white shirt.

Honestly, that happy face about the outfit change was what convinced the doll to do the dance. As long as he was happy.

Ok, we got this, she thought. Readying herself, she placed her left hand into his right, and her right hand onto his shoulder. Letting him wrap his left arm around her. Organised as it should be.

The music began calm and gentle as always. A sweet melody of a violin filled the room. Slowly, the two followed the footsteps below them. Carefully following them and making sure they did as they were guided to.

She braced herself when the slow beginning was coming to an end. There was a small beat of silence, with the two just standing there with straight and perfect posture. Before she knew it, she felt the grip around her waist tighten, pulling her much closer to her partner's chest. This was not part of the dance, nore was the fact that he just pulled the two of them in the opposite direction the footsteps were telling them to. Or the fact he was skipping along to the beat making her skip with him.

“Jax?” Ragatha felt him push himself away from her. Still holding her hand. He spun her around before pulling her in for a tight embrace again. Only to pull away again after a few more skips and have her spin him. And In a span of a few seconds, she was in his tight embrace once more as she tried to skip along with him.

Now she knew what he was doing. He was never gonna do it the old fashion way, was he? Well, might as well give his way a shot.

They covered over half the dance floor within just 50 seconds of the song. The skipping and spinning definitely helped with the speed.

The beat to the song toned down a bit, and Jax let go of his partner suddenly. Ragatha felt herself keep moving forward from the speed they were going. She was able to catch her balance again and stop without tripping. She felt her hair fall onto her face and her shoulders. She turned around to see the bunny had snatched her flower and was playfully dangling it over her head.

Knowing exactly what he was doing, Ragatha jumped up to grab it only for him to take a step back each time she tried. Usually, this would annoy the hey out of the doll. But this time, it felt different. The more Jax pulled the flower out of her reach, the more she wanted to jump for it.

They kept this routine up for 12 seconds before Jax put out his foot to trip her. Only this time, he ducked down in time to grab her waist and sweep her off her feet by picking her up in a spin. Just in time with the speeding music. The second the music took a silent beat, so did the dancers and struck a pose. Jax dipped her down with his right arm as far as he could with the flower still high in the air with his left hand. Seeing this as an opportunity, Ragatha swung back up and tried to grab her rose. Causing the couple to spin when the silent beat of the music was over.

As if on cue, the music came to another silent beat and the dancers struck a similar pose. This time, the rag doll had her arm around the bunny's waist, dipping him down and reaching for her flower. Curse his long arms for still keeping it out of her reach.

When the small beat was over and music started again, Ragatha pulled Jax back up and tried to reach again, making them spin once more. Too bad for her, Jax took control once more and when the music came to another silent beat, the doll found herself in a different pose. Her back was pushed against his chest and his right arm was locked in place around her waist. Firmly holding her where he wanted her, where she belonged. To her left, she felt his fingers entwine with hers with the flower still in hand.

When the music began again, he pulled her back into the skipping, only this time, Ragatha was actually keeping up. She smiled as she skipped along with him, spinning and laughing at how much fun this fast pace dance was. In just a span of 15 seconds, they had to at least have spun around the room twice. 

She felt him let her go and she went along with the momentum this time. She put out her arms and let herself spin to the beat. She loved how her dresses bloomed when she did. She looked back at Jax who seemed to try to do it her way for once. Looking down at the footsteps and trying to do what they told him to. Quick steps to the right and left, one foot over the other as fast as possible. All while keeping his arms in the position the book told him to.

Ragatha looked down as well and tried to mimic the moves. Grabbing onto her skirt and giving it a twirl just like the book told her. She had to admit, not only was this dance fun, but the colours in their outfits were mesmerising. The way they circled around like her dress wanted to hypnotise any audience they would have. This was fun once you got the hang of it.

Sensing a change in the music, the two looked at one another, still keeping their distance. When the music sped up a bit, Jax placed the flower between his teeth and let himself slide across the floor on his knees, meeting his partner halfway. He stretched out his arm towards her, awaiting just for her.

The violin came to a silent beat letting the sounds of quick drums fill the room for a minute before the violin came back.

Ragatha laughed at his gentleman gesture before tapping her feet and spinning towards him. Letting him take her hand into his.

The violin again came to a silent beat letting the drums take over a sec and coming back.

As the music played its playful nature, Jax pulled Ragatha down and scooped her up like a princess as he jumped back on his feet.

He happily spun around to the beat causing the doll to not only laugh but cling her arms around his neck so she didn't fall.

Jax suddenly tossed her up and let her fall but not before he grabbed her waist again, letting her land safely on her feet.

They resumed their original position, her hand on his shoulder, his around her waist. And their free hands locked together. Only this time, Ragatha didn't mind how tightly and close he was as they skipped across the dance floor once more.

As the music began to slow down, the two took this as a cue to do so as well. They slowed down the skipping and simply took fast steps until the music finally came to a calming end.

For the last few seconds, Ragatha noticed Jax had pulled them to Waltz like she did when they first began. She gave a light chuckle, something Jax didn't know he wanted to hear until now. With the very last melodies, the bunny slowly dipped the doll enough for the two to see them selves in the mirror wall.

He had to admit, she looked beautiful wrapped in his arms. His arm fit perfectly around her waist and their hands locked with one another ever so wonderfully. Like she and him were created for this specific pose.

He was so lost in thought that the sound of clapping behind them was nothing but background noise. He didn't even bother to bask in the compliments the ring leader was showering them with. Or the surprised comments from his circus gang. Or Kinger blowing into a tissue at how beautiful he found the performance.

Nothing at that moment mattered besides him pulling the doll back to her feet and keeping her wrapped in his embrace as she blushed from all the positive attention. She lightly nudged her head against his arm to hide her blushing face from the gang. Cute, real cute. Maybe this month will be the most relaxing and enjoyable month in……. who knows how long.

Next Day

“I BLAME JAAAAAAX!” Zooble shouted in terror. Jax really regretted saying he preferes the dragon over the ball. Caine insisted a man eating jack in the box monster was a holiday favorite in the human world. If only it wasn't cornering them all at the ball room, chewing on Zoobles leg.

Chapter Text

How did it end like this? It started off so well. They were celebrating the holidays in the tent, Caine had finally gotten the hang of human feelings and started listening to their needs and wants. The world was growing, the digital world they wanted to desperately leave once was now growing into a beautiful wonderland. To the point where they almost never wanted to leave. Key word, almost.

Now here they are, the holidays are back but here they are. Inside what she assumed to be an ice cave because of the cold gust of wind hitting her. Accompanied by the icey feel beneath her feet. Who knows how long she was in here for, but one thing was a fact. She was in unspeakable pain. She had done what she swore she would never do. Fall into a spiral of her own thoughts. She had ventured off into a forest in her head all by herself. She had no choice but to do so. She had to escape this cruel world as fast as she could. And the deeper she went into this forest of thoughts, the darker and thicker it became. So dark that it blocked her vision and so thick she got lost. There was no way out now. She was stuck in her own thoughts.

Her vision through her one eye was blurry with multiple colours flashing before her. She couldn't see anything but strikes of purple and green. The more seconds she spent looking at them, the deeper she could feel herself fall into a panic. It was too much for the doll. She had to shut her eye tight to prevent herself from falling deeper in thought. She had to preserve the last ounce of humanity she still had in her. She couldn't give up now, she had to fight it to keep it from taking over her mind.

As she tried to fight this, she felt a hand pull her in tighter. A hand that belonged to someone who was in the same predicament as her. God he must be in so much pain as well. The grip on her back tightens within every second proving her thought to be true. He was clutching onto her in agony just like she was gripping onto his hand in pain. Was he also losing his vision like she was? Was he further in than she? Was he gonna go first and leave her? She didn't know what was worse, him leaving her alone first, or her leaving him to deal with the heartbreak of a loss first. She was already heartbroken after seeing the others go insane. She didn't want more pain to be added and see him go too. But she also didn't want to leave him alone heartbroken either.

No, stop that! She can't go further into that dark forest in her mind. She had to get out, now. And find a way to bring back all of her friends. The more she tried to calm down, the tighter her grip on his hand became. She felt a sudden shot of pain across her back, causing her to yelp and jolt her head into his neck. The bunny must've taken notice for she felt both his hands slide to her upper back. Gently rubbing where she felt the pain.

That's when she realised, she must've been further into her abstraction than he was. He was more aware and seemed more composed than her. No, no, no, she couldn't just leave him alone to face this cold digital world that used to be a wonderland. Just the thought drowned her in sorrow. She wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him impossibly close so he knew she didn't want to leave him. She had to be strong, she had to come back for him. She felt a string of cold liquid stream down her cheek. Huh, she didn't even know that was possible here. But here she was, letting more out of her eye and even the button eye. She buried her face into the crook of his neck in both pain and sorrow. She nuzzled and burrowed into it until her face was no longer visible to anyone that may be watching.

She needed his familiar touch so badly. And she can tell he needed hers at this moment. The pressure on her back increased as she felt one hand slowly press against the back of her head. Pushing her to face up a bit and feel him rest his head against hers. She felt his fingers gently tangle themselves in her hair, careful to not cause anymore pain. She felt a great pressure leave her chest when he did. He was still here with her, holding her tight and refusing to release her from his embrace.

Her breathing became a bit steady when his other hand rubbed her back before making its way to her arm. Slowly sliding to where one of her hands had a death grip on his back. He gently got her to release him and twine her fingers with his.

This was nice, she thought. She slowly let herself relax enough to feel herself sink into his touch. Before she knew it, she released her other hand from his back before softly placing it onto the back of his shoulder. Finally feeling a bit more relaxed, she felt her head slide down from his neck until it rested on his chest. She loved the feeling of his hand lightly tugging at her yarned hair. This felt more than right, this felt tender, delicate, it was perfect.

Her heart sank when she felt him suddenly let go of her hair and started to get up.

“Wait…..” her voice was as broken as the rest of her partially abstract body. She gripped onto his hand as if it was the last thing she'll ever hold.

“Just one last dance.” She heard him mumble with a glitch in his tone. Barely letting his words come out auditable.

He hated the sound of his voice right now. It wasn't charming or even soothing enough for her ears. At least, not to him. She seemed to relax again when she heard him. He can't blame her for being so scared. The dark glitchy texture had taken over half her body. Covering the side where her one good eye was. She probably couldn't see a thing, and even if she could, it was probably a mess. Like his vision. He could already feel it crawling over half his face, luckily he still could see with the other half.

He lightly rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand to assure her he was still there. He watched as her shoulders relaxed at his touch. She must've been so scared, not being able to see. Maybe that was a good thing, she didn't need to see the millions of eye's that were on them right now. He carefully pulled her up to her feet and wrapped an arm over her shoulder, one hand still in hers.

He guided her across the floor that used to be the grounds. Destroyed, cold, dark, with not even the moon or sun to illuminate them. His only source of light were the glitching eyes that watched as he took his doll into the tent. He did not need an audience to witness their misery.

Once inside the tent, he pulled her closer, letting rest her tired head on his chest. Her hands were trembling from fear, in fact her mind seemed to be clouded with fear. She couldn't seem to figure out what to do next. Knowing she was lost, he held onto both her hands and placed them near her head. Letting them rest on him as if he was a pillow. This seemed to do the trick as her body was no longer tense. He watched as worry seemed to melt away from her body. She gave a light nuzzle as he wrapped both arms around her waist. Locking them together so she didn't go anywhere without him. Not even if she fully abstracted. The only place she was going was where he was going.

There was no sound in the air. Not a tweet from the artificial birds or a tune from nowhere like the theme song the god like deity would put on. Man, he never thought he would miss that chaotic horror show. With silence in the air, he gently swayed side to side. He didn't want to go too fast and risk her falling on her face. That might trigger the horrible glitch to spread faster. As time went on, they slowly found themselves swaying to music that only they could hear.

She felt her candy heart calm itself and her mind seemed to clear up. All her focus melted into the moment, feeling her feet take small steps behind his. She wrapped her arms around his neck like a ribbon to a gift. She felt his head inch closer to hers resulting in some warmth in her cheeks. She caught her breath when she felt a small kiss plant itself on her forehead before his head rested on hers.

The moment was tender, delicate, perfect. She felt a flutter in her chest as he led the way across the dance floor. It was nice to be the one with no control for once. Everyday she was the one everyone looked to for help. She was the one with motherly advice that would help everyone get through the day without an abstraction. She had to maintain control of herself and others emotions. But it was moments like this when she didn't mind having someone else take control. She was allowed to let it all out with no worries for anyone being disturbed.

He didn't mind this either. He is always going with the flow and didn't care much for control. Except when it was for his own joy. He sees an opportunity and makes sure to make it go his way to please himself. And moments like this is when he was more than happy to take control. As long as it meant he could see her rest and in peace. And boy did he want that more than anything right now. Her face seems peaceful, or at least what half that wasn't abstracted. He didn't mind, he looked no better anyways. And there was never a day when she didn't look her best.

The two continued their gentle dance with no signs of stopping for a break. It was like they were completely alone in this world, no one here or there to interrupt the delicate moment. Just him happily guiding her, holding her and softly kissing her hair. She was all his to enjoy. A sweet gental doll safely wrapped in his arms. The same lovely rag dolly who was wishing his worries away.

The more time they spent in each other's arms, the more it felt like the pain was easing. He could've swore he saw the black substance shrink back from her face. He gave a soft smile at this. And he could tell she had a smile as well with just the light nuzzle she gave under his chin. The inky black and horrible glitching texture slowly faded back to the red, softer texture he loved so much. He couldn't help it, he burrowed his face into her rosy hair that he thought he wouldn't feel again. Soft, warm, and comforting, all for him to enjoy. He felt her hand slide its way up his neck, making sure the rough glitch wasn't there anymore. The single soft hand travelled up to the base of his ears, petting them gently, almost as if she was smoothing them out. Luckily, he didn't feel any rough edges of glitching where her touch was. Just warmth and love. With her simple touch, he felt his teeth start to chatter, creating a purr into her hair.

Hmm, maybe this wasn't gonna end horribly after all.

CRASH

A sudden loud noise echoed across the tent. This had undone so much he was desperately trying to do. Because the last thing he felt was the woman in his arms running off in fright, as a surge of anger filled him to the brim.