Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jax walked around his room, having memorized it ages ago, his eyes and teeth glowing like flashlights in the dark. They didn't light anywhere else up, and by this point, he wouldn't need to even have his eyes open. He couldn't see a single thing, but he knew where it all was like the palm of his hand. 

Despite ragatha, gangle, or even Pomni, he enjoyed the dark. It was a weird sort of comfort. 

There are all sorts of things that hide in the dark. Sure, most people think of evil things, but all sorts of evil things hide right in plain sight. Like Jax. He throws centipedes at ragatha, breaks gangles mask, he does everything in his power to make everyone else's life more miserable. An evil in plain sight. 

Or maybe that wasn't a good example. 

Maybe a better example would be a hell hole where you could die if you had a bad enough day. A hell hole where feeling any sort of emotion could cause you to hurt people you care about, or cause people you love to hurt you. 

Jax walked over to his closet, opening it, feeling with his foot for any stray objects that might hurt him. Walking in it, he closed the door behind him and with his foot felt a piece of metal. The exact piece of metal he was looking for. 

He picked it up, opening a small trapped door that he had made ages ago. 

The one place Caine knew nothing about. 

He fell into the hole, feeling only more darkness encompass him. 

It wasn't exactly right to say Caine knew nothing about it, more so that Caine couldn't get to it because he could never find it. 

He walked down what felt like a long hallway, walking past he could hear all sorts of things. He could hear ragatha humming a song he remembered but couldn't ever recall. 

Walking past Gangle's room, he could hear the chatting and talking of Gangle explaining her original characters while Pomni let out a few uh-huh ’s and Oh cool! ’s

Walking past the Kingers room he only ever heard quiet mumbling. 

Jax tried to not pay much attention to what Kinger was mumbling, his body always tensing up whenever he walked past his room. 

Finally, he found the exact spot he was looking for. A small room, 10x10 feet, about 8 feet tall, and the perfect space for someone looking for a quiet space. 

Quiet. 

He couldn't hear any of them anymore. Granted, he was still underneath Zooble’s room, but they didn't talk like anyone else did. They only ever played music, kicked things, or slept in there to his knowledge. He had heard that they did other things based on what others had said about their room, but he’d never visited. 

He picked up the shiny new key from his pocket and felt around on the wall until he found a shelf. On it was a small collection with keys, random knick-knacks, things he'd stolen from others for no reason. 

His own little collection. 

Hanging it up with everything else, he proceeds to fall to the ground– 

-right onto a bean bag. He sighed, closing his eyes. 

The dark has all sorts of hidden things in it. All types of hidden gems that most others will never find. He closed his eyes, content to fall asleep here without another thought. 

His room, the one others know to be his room, was more of a storage area. It held everything he could ever need, things for making pranks, but this? This was more like a room. It had things he somewhat cared about, things he would rather others not find. Even hobbies that exclude pranking people.

He would have gone insane long ago if it wasn't for this room. 

“God, what the h3%?” 

Jax froze up immediately upon hearing Zooble’s voice, and he held his breath. Through the small hallway, he could see a light coming near him. 

‘ Fuckfuckfuckfuck’ this was bad, very bad, eyes weren't supposed to be here, light wasn't supposed to be here. 

He did the only thing he could have thought of doing. 

He darted out to the hallway and tackled Zooble. He heard glass crashing as the light immediately dispersed, leaving him and Zooble in the dark. 

“Jesus f%#!” Zooble screamed through Jax's hand, muffled and terrified. “What the hell ja-” Jax shushed Zooble as best he could, before picking them both back up. He didn't dare say a word, it would be bad. “God it is you,” Zooble whispered with a huff.

They felt Jax's hand lightly pull them in a direction, and after a moment, decided they’d ask questions later. It felt wrong for him to be so quiet, especially with his big mouth. 

Quietly, he brought their hand to hold on to some sort of poll, as if telling them to just hang on to that, as if tying a dog to a stop sign to keep them running away. 

Zooble would ask questions later. For now, they were debating whether to punch Jax. 

There was a long amount of silence until the sound of a floorboard breaking got Zooble’s attention. Eventually, Jax tapped their shoulder and led them to a weird sort of unintentional ladder. Zooble walked up to it and found…

They found themselves in their own closet. Their spare parts, random music sheets, all of it was in. Zooble looked back down, now able to somewhat see Jax, to which he, still without a word, made a ‘ cut it out’ hand motion, or more specifically, was telling Zooble to ‘ not say a fucking word.’  

And with that, he closed his eyes and left back into the hall. 

Zooble left their closet, closing it, and staring for a long while. 

“ What in the everliving f$@#-”

~~~

“Whoops,” Jax smiled as he tripped Gangle, making her, not only fall into a puddle but also breaking her mask into itsy-bitsy pieces. 

“...my comedy mask..” Gangle whispered as her mask broke again. “And it's covered in mud now too.” 

Jax smiled underneath the comfort of the only umbrella that anyone had in the circus. 

“Jax! Why did you-” ragatha cut herself off as he rolled her eyes, “never mind! Why do I bother asking? Here gangle, we can put it in my bag, and I'll help you fix it after the advent....” Ragatha's voice faded into the background as Jax zoned out, staring at the lake nearby. 

‘ Drown yourself in the digital lake’ he chuckled as he remembered Caine’s words. He had tried that once. Not specifically to kill himself, but morbid curiosity. He wanted to see if he could. If he would drown. 

He didn't. Instead, there was just a strong, heavy pressure around his full body, and when he breathed in the water, it only made him sink more and more till he reached the bottom of the lake. He was there for what felt like hours. 

“That” Caine had started to say when he found Jax thirty feet below sea level “will never happen again.”  

It wasn't fun by any means, he was coughing up mouthfuls of water afterward, and he could still remember how heavy and wheezy his breathing was. 

But it was freeing. Even if for only a moment he felt like he was truly alone, away from all eyes. 

In a way, he was, it had taken Caine nearly three hours to find him after all. 

He hasn't gone back to the lake since he then. 

Out of everyone in the circus, he was one of the few who didn't actually need an umbrella. If anything, he’d rather not even use it. But, of course, he wanted to be spiteful and kept it for himself. 

“Great idea Jax!” Caine yelled out, knocking him out of his trance, “Everyone can share umbrellas!” 

In Ragatha’s and Pomni’s hands, bright colorful umbrellas appeared, big enough to hold two people. Ragatha and kinger partnered up, Pomni and Gangle partnered up –’ of course they would’ Jax thought for a moment– and that left Zooble and him. 

Jax, however, out of pure spite, refused to let Zooble under the umbrella. 

“God, you’re such an a$$” Zooble scoffed and crossed their arms. “I should’ve just stayed inside today.” Their words were annoying. 

“If you hate me so much, why do you keep staring at me, hm?” Jax asked, a cocky smile plastered on his face, “I mean, aren't I just the worst? ” he asked, making Zooble glare at him, but it wasn't an annoyed glare. 

If Jax didn't know better, he’d say it was a look of curiosity. 

“Yeah, you are the worst.” They grabbed his arm, dragging him out to the woods. “Let's finish this stupid adventure already.”

The adventure was simple, find 24 small bugs and bring them back safely. Jax was suspecting that this adventure was mainly for Kinger, and everyone was going to bring back 4 bugs each. 

Jax smiled at the idea of ragatha getting freaked out by all sorts of bugs, even hoping she’d find a centipede. 

“So what the f%$k was that?” Zooble asked once they were far away from everyone else.

“What? The whole umbrella thing? C’mon, don't tell me you actually thought I’d share-” 

“No! Yesterday with that whole- cryptid f%^king thing-” “What? Yesterday you didn't even come out of your room. Seriously Zooble, I think you might be losing it.” 

“I'm not losing it. I know exactly what I saw.” 

A voice interrupted. “Saw what?” Caine asked, and Jax somehow kept himself from flinching. 

Jax faked a look of recognition. “Ohhh, I know what Zooble’s talking about,” he tilted his head with a smile. 

Jax watched Caine's face. After years of seeing the same face, he knew when Caine wanted answers, and he already knew that Caine knew something. But, Caine likely didn't know the extent of it. 

Or, Jax hoped he didn't. 

“I may or may not have found a new lovely way to prank Zooble,” his voice was almost sing-songy, before he let out an exaggerated sigh, “Oh, but sadly Zooble seems to have found it out. I barely even got to test it.” 

Caine stared Jax down, before accepting the answer. “Ah! So that's what that was! You digged!” 

Zooble froze as they realized what was happening. ‘ Caine doesn't know?’ they didn't think that was something physically possible. Caine thought that Jax dug a hole from his to theirs for a prank.  

Caine had no idea about the tunnels that lived underneath the circus, and if he did, apparently he couldn't see them. 

“Yeah, and it was f$^%ing stupid of him.” Zooble played along, pretending to be annoyed by it, only barely noticing the small hint of relief that came over Jax's face for a millisecond. 

“Ohh, so that's what you said,” Caine mumbled, “you know it's hard to read lips when you, my dear, have none! Ha!” 

Jax and Zooble immediately glanced at each other, as if a lightbulb went off in their brains. One brain cell and two dumbasses coming up with the same plan. 

“Well, I'll be off now! Have an a-mazing-ly fun time with finding those bugs!” with a snap of Caine’s fingers, he disappeared. 

~~~

Zooble nearly jumped as they saw two glowing eyes staring right back at them. “f@#k! Jax what the hell!” they yelped, very nearly throwing their arm right at Jax's face.

Jax felt like he had forgotten to speak for a moment, only giving a Cheshire smile towards Zooble. “Hey-a Zuzu!” he said as he turned the lamp next to his bed on. 

“Wha- what are you doing in the dark ? It's the afternoon. Why weren't you at the theme-” Jax threw a nearby pillow at Zooble, getting them to finally stop talking. 

“Zooble, you’re sounding a little…” Jax spun his finger near his head, otherwise saying that Zooble was going insane. 

“That's not funny.” they glared, shutting Jax's door shut with a glare. They walked towards him, but he turned the light off before Zooble could completely reach him. They only heard a slight shifting of the bed, before they realized Jax had left. They went quiet, listening for where he might be but he just couldn't find him.  

They felt something grab their arm, and it wasn't Jax. They nearly fell over as they tried to fight whatever it was, hearing a crashing noise as they did so– before the light was turned back on. 

Jax was still near the lamp with an amused smile on his face. 

Zooble had gotten caught on a small net thing that hung over Jax's bed, holding things for pranks, boxes, and other such things. 

“Awe, you knocked over my centipede jar,” he muses, fake disappointment on his face, and Zooble looking down at the ground. 

“Ugh! God what is wrong with you! You are just the worst.” Zooble did their best to get the centipedes off of themselves and held back the urge to strangle Jax. 

After a moment, Zooble contemplated leaving, just getting out of here and never talking to Jax again but…

They watched him out of the corner of their eyes as they went to leave.

That same, small, barely noticeable look of relief fell on his face again. “That,” they said as they pointed right at him, but the look was gone, already replaced by his typical grin, “I saw that look. You’re trying to make me leave aren't you?” 

Jax stared at Zooble, not letting his face move a single inch. “What look? This look?” he asked as he smiled at Zooble, annoying the hell out of them.

“No! That look of- of–” the lights were turned off, “that look of relief? I don't…know… could you turn the f%#king lights back on-” Jax grabbed hold of Zooble's arm. 

“Just stay quiet,” he whispered, his tone of voice almost completely different. 

~~~

“So. this is where you hide,” Zooble asked, but they couldn't see a single thing. 

“Sure, whatever,” Jax said, though it was obvious he wasn't used to talking here. He knew Caine could hear nearly everywhere the eyes were, but, after more prying, it turns out that no. it's not the eyes, but rather the “microphones.” the eyes being cameras, microphones being…microphones. 

So as long as they couldn't see Jax’s mouth, they couldn't try to tell what he was saying. 

“... it's quiet here,” Zooble said quietly, trying to break the silence, to which Jax just hummed back. “How did you find this place?” 

A pillow hit Zooble in the face. “Just did. Wasn't any big occasion.” Zooble wondered if Jax shrugged when he said that. If he had that smile on his face. 

Or maybe he didn't. Maybe his face was almost still, blank and relaxed, not bothering to emote because they couldn't see him. 

He sounded different now. Not completely different, but his voice was less…exaggerated. 

“Isn't it creepy?” Zooble asked as they felt the ground. It was rough, almost like old wood, “like, how he’s always watching?” 

Jax only laughed. “Do you really have to ask that mismatched?” 

“Oh shut it.” they huffed, though it didn't sound as offended as usual. “...how long have you known of this spot?” they asked, and Jax went quiet. 

“A while.” 

“How long is a while?”

“...a while.” 

Zooble huffed, realizing they were not getting questions out of him. “Wooow, what a straightforward answer.” “I know, I'm just so awesome like that.” 

There was silence again. Zooble didn't have as much of an appeal for this spot, but based on Jax's voice alone, they could tell this was a safe space. 

Almost. 

“We should go back. The others will wonder where we are.” Zooble said, standing up. 

“Do you even know your way back?” Jax asked. Quiet moment ruined, as Zooble could already feel the sass seeping through his voice. 

“ Yes , I know my way back. It's literally just a hallway–” Zooble walked face-first into a wall, and Jax let out a laugh. 

“What was that? Was that the sound of you being wrong?” Jax stood up and walked towards Zooble. 

“f$^k off,” they would’ve glared at him, but they had zero clue where anything was. They could feel as he grabbed their hand, and started to pull them away from the wall. 

“Wow, you weren't even close to where the hallway is.” Jax laughed, more amused this time, “You really are a lost cause huh Zuzu?” 

Zooble knew logically that Jax was insulting them, they even felt annoyed at the nickname, but they couldn't help but feel themself lose their voice as they felt the warmth of Jax's hand. 

“Go die.” they kicked his leg, which only got another laugh out of him. 

Chapter Text

Ragatha sees people. She likes to think she does anyway. She likes knowing how people feel, how they think, and what they care about. Jax and she have that in common but for separate reasons. 

Ragatha likes knowing how they feel so she can help them better. 

Jax likes knowing how they feel so he can control them better. 

~~~

Zooble feels like a lake sometimes. 

Stuck in their room all day, never moving, never growing connections, and living in their own little ecosystem. They survive off the drum set they keep in the corner of their room, the snacks they steal from the kitchen when it's late at night, and their own misery to keep them company. 

That is until they heard three annoying knocks. 

“f$#k off.” was all they replied. They figured it was Caine, as everyone had already gone off to do that stupid adventure. Or, they should’ve. 

“It's Ragatha! Uh- I need to talk to you.” 

Ragatha? Zooble stood up, opening the door only slightly. “What do you want? Aren't you supposed to be off on that stupid adventure?” 

Ragatha nervously laughed, “Well, I was but uh- I can't find Jax. Have you seen him?” 

Zooble narrowed their eyes at Ragatha, “if he’s gone, he probably wants to be left alone.” Jax wasn't the type to disappear unless he was planning a big prank. “Now can you leave?” 

“Oh- yeah, thanks anyway!” 

~~~

Cold. 

That would be how people describe Jax.

He's cold, and cruel, throwing crushing waves of realization as those around him try to deny the fact that there is no way out. 

This is all there is. 

A heavy, burdening weight of pressure. 

Just like the lake. 

Jax inhales the water around him, knowing he won't die, and he can feel the bottom of the lake with his hands, the algae clipping through his hands and face. 

The first time he tried to drown here, he was surprised to feel the crushing pressure. He had thought that Caine wouldn't have been able to recreate a feeling so lifelike. Now it feels more like an old friend, something to give him comfort. 

It's dark here. Not as dark as his room, but dark enough for his eyes to glow. It helps that it's night, the soft glow of the moon barely able to be seen through all the algae. 

The second time he tried to drown, he wasn't surprised to feel his throat try to close up, as his body automatically tried to cough up the water around him, knowing it wasn't something he should be able to do. He inhales again, reminding himself that it can't kill him. 

He likes to think when he's this deep in the water. It's partly the reason why he enjoys it here so much. It's far away from people, and although he knows Caine will find him eventually, it’ll take him a while. 

“Jax gets under my skin” This is something he hears a lot, something that brings a smile to his face every time he hears it, but he always wondered… What does that actually mean? Sure. he's under their skin, imagine someone literally under your skin. 

‘Ew. gross.’

Still. It's fun to think about. There's a lot of sayings like that. “Makes my skin crawl” “gives me goosebumps” “makes me want to rip my skin off” What is with this fascination of the skin? 

‘ Maybe it's something deeper.’ he thinks, ‘ deeper than the skin. The muscles and nerves, maybe the bones?’ after a moment, he shakes his head. ‘ No. not the bones.’  

“He gets on my nerves”  another phrase Jax knows very well. Maybe that's it. The nerves. It must be. The nerves send the signals to make your body tense up, the nerves are the ones that send adrenaline up your spine, and the nerves are the ones that activate your flight or fight. 

Organs are further back in the body than you think. If your appendix bursts, for example, you’ll feel it in your stomach, although they’re much further back. Or if your kidney fails, you'll feel it in your back. 

Jax doesn't know why he knows this. It's just an absolute fact he knows. Like how he knows it's not normal to be in a circus like this, or how it's not normal to be able to breathe underwater. Like how Pomni knows it's not normal for a bar to censor your words, or how Ragatha knows it's not normal to want to cause harm to people. 

Like how Jax knows it's never normal to go against your fight or flight.

Yet he does so. His flight or fight is merely a suggestion to him. Sometimes it's annoying. Annoying how much other people so willingly let themselves fall into their fight or flight. 

Unless he’s using it against them, for a prank of course– 

Something grabs him.

Something grabs his arm, and it almost hurts and something else wraps around his waist and seems to pull him up. ‘ This isn't Caine’ he thinks as he goes to punch whatever it is, but it's like a nightmare, he can't move fast enough and the water is slowing him down– 

He coughs as he reaches the surface, and finally manages to punch whatever it was that grabbed him. 

“Ow! What the f@$k a%#hole!” 

Zooble's grip only seemed to grow tighter on Jax, dragging him back to shore. 

The two were back on the sand which felt more like seashells than dirt. 

Jax was coughing up the fake water, and it was probably the first time Zooble had ever seen how truly sharp his teeth were. 

Zooble awkwardly pat Jax on the back as he continued to cough up both of his lungs. His breathing was wheezy, and he held himself up with both of his arms, shaking. He looked at Zooble, only moving his eyes as he out this mixture of a cough and a laugh. 

“Awe, Zuzu you do care,” he said, though it was more of a taunt. 

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Zooble asked, and for just a split moment, their faces seemed horrified, before hiding it with annoyance. “What, do you have some f%$king death wish? ” 

Jax tried to scoff, but it only made him cough more, his voice now feeling scratchy. He hated this part, he preferred being stuck under the water instead of dealing with the symptoms of the aftermath.  

“Oh please, you say that as if we can die,” he glared at Zooble, before snapping himself out of it and giving them his cocky smile. “Besides, don't tell me you wouldn't do it too. A nice quiet place away from everyone, isn't that why you found yourself there too?” 

‘He’s referencing that stupid place under the circus.’ Zooble thought to themselves. But instead of responding back with a snarky comment, or denial, they punched his shoulder. “No I went down there because I could f@$#king hear you. ” they huffed. “I thought we had rats down there,” they glanced at Jax, “ but I guess a rabbit is close enough to a rodent." 

Jax stared at Zooble, as it was as if he were an old computer with the way his mind was buffering. “You could hear me?” 

Zooble just sat next to Jax, and stared at the sky and how the fake digital clouds glitched through each other. “You hum sometimes. I don't think you realize it. It's quiet. Maybe I thought there was a jukebox down there.” 

Jax watched as Zooble seemed to almost let their thoughts flow. Like a river. 

He supposes that if Zooble was any body of water, it’d be a river. Not one of those calm stream ones, the ones you’d take your family to, but more like those big ones, the ones where the current is so strong that it's dangerous to even stand in two feet of the water. 

“I don't hum that loudly.” Jax said with a huff, “What, were you listening through the floorboards or something?” 

After a long silence of Zooble not responding, Jax's shoulders fell, and he let out a laugh, “you were listening through the floorboards! Ha! I didn't realize you were so desperate to hear me,” he teased, pretending to be flattered, knowing exactly the reaction he’d get from Zooble. 

“ Wha- No! God you- you’re so annoying. Could you shut up for three seconds?” they asked, shoving Jax as they stood up. 

“Alright, alright,” he said, also standing up, and started to walk next to Zooble. 

“..but you obviously like my voice–” Zooble nearly snapped before Jax held up a hand, “Uh-uh! It was three seconds, I gave you three seconds of peace. My gift to you” 

“Well, could you extend it 10 minutes?” 

“I said gift, not miracle, Zuzu.” Jax smiled, one ear lopsided. It caught Zooble off guard for just a moment, his ears are usually completely standing up. 

“Well f#%k me,” 

“No thanks, not my type,” Jax shoved Zooble, making them fall face first into a puddle. 

“OH F#%$K YOU–" Jax laughing cut them off. They stood up, getting ready to chase him but-

He was already gone. 

They huffed, wiping the mud off of themselves, and they glanced towards the circus. 

They wondered if anyone knew they were gone. 

Probably not.

Especially if it's Zooble. 

Chapter Text

Jax feels like an ocean in a storm. 

Waves aren’t crashing all around him, but he is the tsunami, he is the one causing the ships to sink, and he is the one causing people that torment. 

A controlled, crafted, storm. 

He can break gangles mask to distract her from the fact the new girl was the one who originally broke it, he can trip Ragatha to distract her from thinking about how to keep the peace from breaking. 

He knows exactly which way to throw the waves in order to push people in any direction. 

Except Zooble. 

Zooble is like a river. They go in whatever direction they want, and no matter how Jax throws the waves, no matter how many things he throws at them, they always seem to go their own direction, pushing, no, shoving those things away. 

It's refreshing. 

What's not refreshing is pulling several tiny shards of glass out of your body. 

He sits on the floor next to the broken body-sized mirror, pulling shards of glass out of his arms, sometimes his legs, and a few in his neck. He hadn't meant to get millions of annoying shards of glass under his skin, he just…

Had a moment, we’ll say. 

A small moment of frustration. Of staring into the mirror and seeing something that doesn't reflect who you are. He didn't even care that the lights were on, that Caine’s millions of eyes could see him. 

He doesn't realize tears are falling from his eyes as he pulls out another piece of glass from his arm, his body curling into himself as he does so. He doesn't let out a sound.

He’s using pliers and a piece of glass to claw and rip glass shards out of his skin, having to reopen his wounds as his skin tries to glue itself back shut. His mind feels almost shut off from the world around him, sounds feel further away, and everything is muffled in his head. 

Just like drowning. 

The sound of someone kicking the door twice alerted Jax. 

“Hey jack@ss, you missed the intro,” Zooble’s voice was muffled through the door. 

“Eh, didn't feel like going,” Jax's voice was stable, smooth, and clear. “Glad to hear you miss me though Zuzu ” Jax taunted Zooble with the nickname. Zooble went quiet. Jax looked back at the shattered mirror in front of him, seeing a broken version of himself in it. 

He hit the already shattered glass, but instead of breaking it more, the glass went right into his hand, making himself hiss in pain. He pulled his hand further towards himself. 

‘ And I had just gotten the glass out of that hand…’ he thinks to himself, mentally scolding himself for that. 

The door swings open behind him, clearly having been kicked open. 

“Jesus f#$k what in the everliving h3ll-” Zooble froze at the scene. They weren't expecting to see Jax sitting in a broken mirror with glass most noticeably in his head and arms. quickly walked towards Jax– “Don't!” Jax yelled out, before clearing his throat. “don't uh, there's glass.” 

“Yeah no sh$#t Sherlock,” Zooble scoffed, carefully making their way towards him, shoving the glass away with their foot. They don't need to worry about the glass, as unlike Jax’s rubbery skin, Zooble’s is more of a hard plastic. They sit next to him and Jax can feel their stare. 

“Shut it, Watson,” Jax huffed back with a laugh, looking away from Zooble’s general direction. He knew that if he looked at them he’d feel dizzy, or maybe that he’d see a look of disgust in Zooble’s eyes. 

He didn't want to see it. 

Usually, that's the exact reaction he’d try to get out of people, but right now he just wanted to be left alone. 

To be left to drown. 

“...that looks bad.” Zooble says, “Shouldn't we get Caine–” “No. no, we don't need Caine, I got it.” 

The two sat in silence, jax ripping the glass out of his arm as Zooble awkwardly looked around, trying to find something to do with their hands. “I’ll be right back,” Zooble said, standing up and walking away, “don't die while I'm gone.” 

Jax watched as Zooble left the room, not meeting their eyes. 

~~~ 

If you asked Zooble what body of water Jax reminded them of, they’d look at you like you were insane. “What the f$#k are you on about?” in their mind they would have thought that Jax was a tsunami. 

But now? that wouldn't be accurate. Not in the slightest. 

“You’d be a canal,” Zooble mumbled as they swept up the glass, mostly to themselves. 

“A what?” Jax turned to look at Zooble, ignoring the paint from his neck. 

“A canal. Like the body of water. That's what you would be.” zooble heard a snicker from behind them, and turned to glare at Jax who was sitting on his bed. “Oh don't even,” Zooble started, preemptively stopping Jax’s snarky comments. 

Canals were far too peaceful, quiet. They held secrets that only the water knew of in them, the quiet whisperings in the tunnels. Jax was the furthest thing from that. He held no one's secrets, and if he did he used them to his advantage. 

“Fine, fine, but why a canal?” he asked, leaning forward as he sat criss-crossed even though it caused pain in his body. 

“Because,” Zooble paused for a moment, and looked at Jax. “Canals are fake bodies of water, you’re the fakest person I know,” they huffed. 

Jax's brain lagged before he let out a surprised laugh, “awe, Zuzu you hurt me.” he said as he brought a hand up to his chest, mocking Zooble. “Or maybe you’re pulling a ragatha and thinking I could be different?” he taunted once more.

He didn't expect Zooble to laugh at that. He froze as they did so. “No! God no, that's stupid. You’re an a$$hole, that's just a fact of life,” they sat next to him, “but that doesn't mean you’re the most honest either.” 

“Neither are you.” Jax pointed out, his arms leaning on his legs, head resting in his hands. The two stared at each other, waiting for the other to break. And like always, Jax didn't break. 

“Are you ever gonna get that glass out of your neck?” Zooble asked, and Jax sat straighter. 

“I dunno, I've grown emotionally attached to it,” he joked, picking up a bigger piece of glass, and using it to look at his own neck once more. It was in there somewhat deep, a spell of dizziness always falling on him when he tried to pull it out. 

“Oh yeah? What’d you name it?” Zooble asked, using their lobster claw to push Jax's head up so they could look at it better. Jax wasn't used to Zooble joking back, nor the surprisingly careful touch from them. 

“Uh…” he glanced at his shelf, which had been rearranged for the third time since the lake incident. “Centipede…jr….” he said, before clearing his throat. “Centipede jr the third actually, in fact, I think his father is jabbed in my left arm somewhere,” Jax jokes, regaining his bearings. 

Zooble snorted, “you’re ridiculous.” they said, picking up the pliers with their hands. “How's your head?” they asked, motioning to the small pieces of glass that had gotten in Jax's forehead. 

“Well, no one’s complained yet,” he answered with a straight face. Jax found delight as he watched Zooble go from confused, to experiencing every stage of grief all at once. 

Zooble punched Jax’s good shoulder, “f$#k off I hate you.” They, despite their frustration, used the pliers to carefully grab the piece of glass. 

Jax couldn't reply as he let out a hiss, biting his tongue

Zooble flinched but continued to slowly remove the piece of glass. “...better?” 

Jax reached up, feeling as the spot on his neck seemed to seal itself closed instantly. From what he could feel, there wasn't much glass left behind, which was good enough for him as he was sick of dealing with this.

 He looked up at Zooble, “I knew you cared mix match–” “That's enough outta you,” Zooble huffed as they put their hand over his mouth. 

~~~

Jax has grown used to Zooble’s presence. When he’s in the dark catacombs under the circus, he almost expects to hear the quiet breathing or silent steps of Zooble climbing down the ladder to join him, the shuffling of a bean bag, and the small thumps when they run into a wall. 

Sometimes he’d find himself going to their room late at night just to bother them. 

He's grown used to having these silent conversations where neither says anything, but they can give over large pieces of information based on the smallest sounds. 

The comfort of having someone so close to you, of hearing their breathing, of simply existing in the comfort of someone else. 

A comfort Jax can’t afford to keep.

Chapter Text

An adventure gone wrong. 

That's how Zooble would describe the situation they're in. Actually, they’d describe it as ‘a sh%#ty situation,’ but close enough. 

It wasn't one of Caine’s adventures either. For the first time in however long they’ve been in this circus, they decided to go exploring. 

Of course, the circus has the circus tent, the digital lake, the carnival, and the woods that surround the place in its entirety. They had already seen everything else a hundred times over, but other than the bug-hunting adventure, they hadn't been there much. 

The woods had a different vibe than the rest of the circus, it wasn't animated. It was almost like one of those 360 trails you’d find on Google. The few things you could interact with looked to be cut out of a newspaper or a magazine. 

Like the Clift Zooble found themselves in. 

Late at night, alone, and completely screwed, with only the barely audible noise of music coming from the headphones a few feet away from them. 

A shitty situation.

~~~

Jax found himself feeling bored. 

It was probably around 3 am in the morning, and usually, he’d be coming up with pranks for the next day but… it just wasn't doing it for him. He wanted someone to bother, to annoy someone. 

He found himself in the catacombs, as Zooble “ lovingly” called them, due to the nature of its existence. He waited there, listening. 

Silence. 

At one point in time, he would have found this silence comforting. The comforting silence of the lake, the silence of a place that only he used to know about but it wasn't the silence he was seeking. 

He wondered if it would be better to use his time to bother Ragatha, Gangle, maybe Kinger, or Pomni. 

Yet he kept finding himself at Zooble’s door. He eventually got a key out of his pocket and opened their door. 

There was a drum set in the corner, a messy colorful bed on the other side of the room, and most of all, he noticed that Zooble’s headphones were missing. 

‘ Bingo’ he thought to himself. ‘Must be on a walk.’  

He left Zooble’s room, turning off the light as he did so. 

Time for his own little adventure. 

~~~

Twenty-seven hours. That's the longest Zooble’s ever been able to disappear from sight. 

They had been at the carnival section of this cursed circus, right in daylight. However, they found that if they only hid within the stuffed animals, they’d be able to stay right out of sight. Not even Caine could find them. 

They could have stayed hidden for longer, but Zooble had gotten “bored” of staying in one place. 

No one had asked where they were back then. Not the moment they got in, not the day after, not a word. Most of the circusgoers thought they had simply stayed in their room all day.

They remember walking into the circus at nearly two in the morning, and immediately getting water drenched all over them, buckets falling onto their head. 

The sounds of laughing alerted them that someone was watching. “God, what took you so long Zuzu?”

The words rang through their head, and they let out an annoyed groan. “What the f$%k do you want?” they took the bucket off their head, finding the source of the laughter, “Can’t you leave me alone for two goddam seconds?” 

“Where's the fun in that?” he gave his signature grin. He started to walk backwards, before turning and running. 

“Oh no, you f%#king don't!” Zooble threw the bucket off their head. “Get back here you poor excuse of a rabbit!” 

~~~

Zooble stared up at the night sky, feeling a burning pain in their head. They were used to having their limbs ripped off their body. That wasn't the part that hurt. 

Their head felt like it had been crushed a million times over, fading in and out of consciousness. 

They wonder if anyone would find them. ‘ Probably not.’ they thought, ‘ maybe in the morning.’

~~~

“Jax?” 

Jax turned to find Ragatha as he crawled out of the digital lake. “ What. ” his voice was strained, uncharacteristically frustrated.  

“...nothing, just- why were you in the um. The lake?” Ragatha asked, watching as he stood up. He walked past her without a second thought. 

“Have you seen Zooble?” he asked, “they took one of my keys and I can't find them,” he lied, not wanting to admit that he was concerned about Zooble. He knew they likely weren't in the lake, but he had searched there again anyway, for what was probably the 10th time already. 

“That doesn't explain why you were in the lake,” Ragatha retorted, not believing Jax for even a second. 

“Maybe they threw it in the lake,” he said bluntly, not bothering to smile. “Just go back and do whatever you do,” he huffed. 

“You seem in a rush,” Ragatha grabbed his arm, “What aren't you telling me–” “ Let go, ”

Jax pulled away, shoving Ragatha off him, making her fall. He hadn't met to shove her as hard as he did, the sudden contact had made his skin feel like millions of needles impaled him. “either help me find Zooble or leave.” 

Ragatha stared at him like he had grown an extra head, confused and unsure. “I… I'm going back to the tent,” she said, not hurt exactly, but clearly unnerved. 

“Fine,” he said, before turning away. 

~~~ 

“‘If Ragatha was a body of water, she’d be a pond,” 

Jax had told Zooble this once –maybe a day or two before Zooble disappeared– while in the catacombs of the circus. He had mumbled this quietly into the beanbag. Zooble turned to Jax, or, where they thought Jax was. “Do you always do that?” they asked, “like, assigning bodies of water to people?” 

“Well not always, that’d be a waste of time.” 

“Like sitting in a dark room under the circus doing absolutely nothing?” Zooble asked, their tone almost playful. Jax couldn't help but smile. 

“Nah, we’re being so productive right now, see?” Jax threw something at Zooble, and they caught it. They couldn't tell what it was, but it was small, made of some sort of plastic. 

“Actually I can't,” Zooble huffed, not bothering to hide their smile. They handed the object back to Jax. “Are your eyes closed?” 

Zooble could feel as Jax paused, before he pulled away, seemingly putting the object somewhere else. 

“Why do you ask?” 

“Your eyes and mouth usually glow like a f%$king lightsaber” Zooble answered, standing up, one hand on the wall as they reached over, searching for Jax. They found his face, but they felt some sort of fabric over his mouth. “What is that?” 

Jax huffed, “Yeah, a mask or whatever, can't let Caine see right?” 

Zooble paused, before punching Jax's arm. “you’re weird you know that?”  

~~~

Jax walked through the forest, walking through the paths over and over again. It had been 30 minutes, and he had given up on the lake and the carnival, as well as the circus tent. 

In retrospect, this world is both bigger and smaller than anyone would think. Sure, you could walk around it and explore it for days, but it would just be the same stuff, carnival, lake, tent, and then what? 

‘ Maybe that's why Zooble’s in the woods.’ they had to be here. There was nowhere else because it was too small here. 

This hell hole is like a puddle. Not small, maybe goes to your ankles, but compared to the earth? It's practically nothing.

‘ Ironic,’ Jax thought to himself, ‘ that everyone else are oceans, lakes, and rivers, and yet I can only associate this place with a puddle.’  

He tripped over something and proceeded to fall nearly thirty or forty feet into a ditch of some sort. “Oh f#$k me,” he groaned. He stayed there for a moment, before picking himself up. He wasn't injured too badly, he had protected his head, and besides a few sore spots on his legs and back, he was fine. 

He looked back up to the hill he had fallen from, only to see a yellow glove. He didn't lose any of his gloves, which only meant… 

“Oh, Zuzu~!” Jax yelled out in a sing-song voice, hoping to hear Zooble say something back. He climbed up some of the hill, seeing that the hand seemed to be struggling to climb up the hill. 

He huffed, still holding the arm. It looked almost wrong, it was practically limp. He poked the hand of it, hesitantly. 

It twitched. 

Jax let out a sigh of relief. The hand seemed to struggle as it went to point at something. He slid down the hill and followed it to… a rock. 

“Alright, is this some sort of prank? Because if so you suck at it,” he joked, ignoring the way his muscles tensed up, the way he felt his skin crawl. Something was wrong and he knew it. He walked towards it and could hear some sort of wind.

No… that wasn't wind, it was more…whispery. Wheezy even. 

~~~ 

Zooble could barely hear, and with the dirt in their eyes, they couldn't see either. 

But, they did feel as if a weight was lifted off their chest. 

“Hey there Zuzu.” It was Jax. No, of course , it was Jax. 

“H–hey there jack#@ss,” Zooble coughed. Jax used his foot to kick a smaller, but decently sized rock underneath the rock that had been crushing Zooble. Once he was sure it wouldn't fall on Zooble, he pulled them out, carefully, as if afraid he’d hurt Zooble. 

‘ Unrealistic,’ Zooble thought to themselves. Jax wouldn't care about hurting them or not. He wouldn't. 

“Didya miss me?” Jax asked, sitting Zooble up. Zooble tried to answer but was only able to get out more coughing. Jax pat Zooble’s back, letting them rest their head on his shoulder. “Yeah, I know you did,” his voice wasn't as teasing this time. It was quieter, just above a whisper. 

They sat there together in silence, the only thing making any noticeable sounds were Zooble’s coughing and wheezing. 

Zooble had been missing their arm, obviously, and their purple leg, which was infinitely more stable than their golden one.

“Maybe you should stop getting yourself lost,” Jax chuckled, before playfully putting a finger to Zooble’s forehead, “you’re already confused enough as is.” 

Zooble could only manage a lighthearted glare, “Go screw yourself, a#@hole,” Zooble weakly pushed Jax’s hand away, and they felt as his shoulders seemed to relax. Zooble was okay. 

“Eh, I don't particularly feel like it,” he chuckled. He picked up Zooble’s arm, which was on the ground. He then had Zooble wrap their only good arm around his shoulders. “C’mon, up we go,” With one hand on their back he picked them up.

“‘M leg,” Zooble looked around, but couldn't find it anywhere. 

“We’ll find it later,” Jax said, already looking up the hill, “for now let's just focus on you not dying on us.” 

Chapter Text

5

 No one noticed as Zooble, for once, decided to join whatever weird adventure Caine had set up. Or, no one other than Jax, who knew that Zooble should probably be resting. 

Zooble had hidden their injuries from the others, not that they’d notice. The others had no reason to think they had been hurt in the first place. 

“You good?” Jax had been leaning on some of the colorful boxes, head in his hands. He didn't even realize that he had asked Zooble for a few moments. “you look like sh%t,” he looked away from Zooble. 

“Don't I always?” they asked back, and Jax snickers. 

“No worse than a trainwreck,” he mumbled back. 

No one seemed to notice their conversation, it was just white noise to the others at best. But, if they looked closely, in between the thin blue lines, they’d find two peaceful coves, the sounds of water hitting the sand on the shore. 

The two half-heartedly tried to listen as Caine explained the next adventure, voice loud enough to break eardrums. Still, neither cared enough to truly focus. 

Zooble couldn't help but have their gaze continue to fall onto Jax, no matter how much they tried, their eyes always landed on him. His posture was relaxed, and it was only now that Zooble realized how much tension he usually held in day-to-day life. 

They couldn't blame him, they had the same tension. 

“Does he ever stop talking?” Jax asked, voice seeping with sarcasm. 

“Haven't you heard? He only ever stops talking when his beloved moon’s around,” Zooble replied back, bringing their hands together, mocking Caine. 

Jax let out a small snort, before quickly covering it up by clearing his throat. For a split moment he had found himself just… enjoying the moment with Zooble. He tried to take it back, but Zooble had already caught him. 

“What was that? Was that a genuine laugh for once?” Zooble asked, moving closer to get a better look at Jax’s face. 

“No– no, you’re just imagining things,” Jax said, standing up straighter. He waved Zooble off, but they weren't going to let go of this for a moment. 

“I think you’re full of sh%t,” Zooble poked Jax's shoulder, “admit it, I'm funny,” they said as they poked him again. 

Jax tried to shrug Zooble off, but it didn't work, they just kept poking him, “god you’re the worst.” 

“What is it you usually say?” Zooble asked, before leaning on the colorful box Jax had been on, resting their head in their mix-matched hands, “You love me.” 

Jax froze for a moment, before letting out another laugh, covering his face as he did so. “You can't– you can't just throw my own words back at me, that's not fair!” he playfully punched Zooble’s shoulder, just needing some outlet to get this strange fluttering feeling out of his chest. 

“Were you guys even paying attention?” Ragatha asked, breaking the bubble that Jax and Zooble had so easily found themselves in. 

“Yep,” Jax started, slipping back into his typical persona like the flip of a switch, “something about a loudmouth butting into other people's business?” 

Zooble punched Jax’s shoulder, making him jokingly raise his hands defensively, “What? I'm right!” 

~~~

The adventure was vacationed-themed , whatever that means. 

The group were all on some sort of cruise ship, ocean surrounding every corner of this place. Jax looked overboard, almost surprised to see that the water could actually move. 

“Looks like someone passed their physics class,” Jax mumbled under his breath. The boat even moved with the current, forcing everyone to sway back and forth.

Caine's voice rang out from above, “You bet I did!” Caine’s hands were on his hips, looking proud of himself. “Now, for your first task,” Caine snapped his fingers and appeared were mops and buckets. “Have fun!” 

“Wha-” Ragatha sighed, bringing a hand to her head, “this wasn't what we meant by vacation. ” she huffed.

~~~

“Could you at least help?” Zooble asked with a huff, nudging Jax with the mop handle. 

“Nah, it's funnier to watch you all suffer,” Jax jokes, leaning back, dangerously close to falling into the water. One wrong move and he’d definitely fall in. 

“Oh f$#k you too,” Zooble huffed, before walking away. 

Jax playfully tilted his head, “You know you love me,” he shouted back in his sing-song tone, hand over his heart.

Jax watched comfortably from his spot, not moving an inch to help any of them. He looked behind himself, seeing the ocean's water. It wasn't like the lake, it wasn't murky, it was just dark. He wondered what would happen if he fell into it. 

Logically, he’d be fine. He’s a strong enough swimmer, and the boat isn't moving as of currently, just rocking back and forth. If he did fall, the most likely thing is that he would be able to swim back up and grab the rope nearby to pull himself back onto the ship. 

He knew that wouldn't happen. He knew that a majority of the situations he created in his head would never happen. 

And yet he creates these backup plans anyway. Prepared for the worst scenario in every situation. 

He turned his gaze back to everyone, resting his head in his hands, elbows on his knees. His eyes landed on Zooble, who was on the other side of the ship, mopping, their typical annoyed expression on their face. 

His mind couldn't help but think back to when Zooble found him covered in the broken glass. more specifically when they had used their claw to tilt his head up, the way their fingers hand, for just a few moments, grazed his neck, specifically around the spot where the glass had been stuck in. 

He couldn't help but think about the moments of quiet, down in the catacombs, hidden away from everyone, just their own space. Together. 

“Hello? Earth to Jax?” Jax got broken out of his thoughts by no one other than Ragatha. 

“Heya raggedy ann, what can I do for you?” he asked, leaning back onto his hands, crossing his legs, “actually don't answer that, I don't care,” his voice held its usual sass, and he pretended to look at his nails, which were just his gloves. 

Ragatha didn't say anything, and, surprisingly, sat next to Jax. She was clearly more cautious about falling into the water, not to mention that on a normal occasion, she wouldn't have even attempted to do this. 

‘ What does she want? ’ Jax thought to himself, watching Ragatha carefully. 

“So…” Ragatha started a little awkwardly. “You planning to prank Zooble or something?” 

something about her voice told Jax that she didn't actually think that. 

“Yep, why doya ask rags?” he tilted his head, slightly mocking Ragatha’s curiosity. 

“You’ve been staring at them for the past 20 minutes.” 

Ragathas words were blunt as she pointed at him. The air was tense, Ragatha trying to get Jax to admit something, while Jax was determined to not give her whatever it was that she wanted.

“Zoned out while thinking of how to torment them,” Jax shrugs, looking away from Ragatha, ignoring the way his skin started to feel warm, or how for just a moment he felt like she was staring into his soul. 

“Okay…well, I'll be off then,” Ragatha said, turning away from Jax.

“Like overboard?” Jax snickered. 

“As in off to clean ,” she huffed, walking away from Jax. 

~~~ 

“Ah f$#k.” 

Zooble was sitting on their bed, staring at the ground as they once again contemplated their life choices. Ragatha awkwardly patted their back, unsure of how else to help. 

“Well— I'm sure it's not that bad, right?” Ragatha asked, letting out a nervous laugh. Even Ragatha knew it was bad. 

“It is that bad, have you met him? The guys a complete a@#hole! Got i hate his stupid face so much—” 

~~~ 

The sky was dark, nearly pitch black, the only light coming from the cruise and the stars. There was only a new moon, which shed no light, making everything feel so, so much darker.  

Jax stayed outside, sitting on the edge of the ship. The icy wind sent chills down his back, and he wondered, just for a moment, if anyone else could feel it too. 

He wondered how deep the ocean went. He wondered if it was deep enough to lose himself in. 

He sat down at the edge of the boat, looking into the water. He got off the edge of the boat, and looked around, seeing if anyone was watching him. 

Footsteps. 

Jax listened, trying to tell whose footsteps they belonged to.

“Hey.” 

~~~

“–God I hate his stupid face so much.” 

“Okay— okay, well, maybe it’ll go away?” Ragatha offered, making Zooble glare at her, “ooor maybe not. Well–” 

~~~

Zooble got up and sat next to Jax —who was still standing— not looking at him, only looking into the water. 

“Hey,” Jax answered back, his shoulders relaxing a little. He would hold off on his midnight drowning until they left—

Zooble jumped into the water, and Jax ran over, looking overboard, to see Zooble looking back up at him. 

“Jesus Christ,” Jax laughed, resting his head on the railing. 

“You wouldn't be that lucky!” Zooble yelled back, the cold water, seemingly waking themselves up, “f$#k it's cold here,” they were shivering, treading in place. 

“Is it now?” Jax asked, a little amused. “Poor you, making decisions without thinking it through,” he laughed at Zooble.

Before Zooble could respond, Jax had jumped in after them, splashing Zooble. “God you’re an a#@hole,” they laughed quietly to themselves, watching as Jax came back up, breaking through the water. 

“f$#k it is cold,” the cold was almost numbing, and it felt freeing. It felt real , the icy burn on his skin, the way his body shivered. 

“Oh boo-hoo, you made your grave now lay in it,” Zooble splashed Jax, and he used one arm to cover his face and attempted to use his other arm to splash Zooble. He sank under the water somewhat but managed to keep his head above sea level. 

“Ack!” Zooble ducked under the water, stopping themselves from getting splashed. 

“Oh that's cheating,” Jax laughed.

~~~ 

“Well–” 

“Ragatha,” Zooble interrupted, “its— I don't know, it's comforting kinda. It's stupid because I hate him, but I— when no one else is around, it's like I can read his mind, and he can read mine and… I don't know. Maybe I'm just insane. 

~~~

“Oh, that's cheating!”

Jax had laughed, before letting himself sink underneath the water with Zooble. Just by Zooble’s eyes, he could tell that they were smiling, they punched his shoulder, and their movements slowed down by the water. 

Jax laughed, not a sliver of fear for drowning, which they definitely should be. Looking around, he noticed how deep the ocean was around them. If you were deep enough, you wouldn't be able to tell up from down, you’d be completely lost. 

It was almost comforting. Just the two of them, completely alone. He noticed Zooble staring at him, and he vaguely motioned back up to the boat. 

Zooble snapped out of their trance and nodded.

~~~

“So what are you gonna do?” Ragatha asked, and Zooble stood up, swaying side to side. The boat was never still, and Zooble almost started to get used to it. The small dorm room looked like any cruise housing did. Too neat, and too clean. 

“I don't know, maybe I'll just pray that it’ll go away…” 

~~~

After coughing up both of their lungs, the two sat on the deck. Jax could still taste the salt water on his tongue, even as he coughed up the rest of the water. 

Zooble pat Jax’s back, “I forgot you have the memory of a goldfish,” they chuckled. “I thought that you would’ve remembered to, ya know, not inhale water this time?” 

“Oh shuddup, you love me,” he rolled his eyes.

Zoobles voice was more playful, even a bit quieter. “Oh, I love you? You were the one staring at me for twenty minutes straight,” Zooble punched Jax’s shoulder, and Jax let out a laugh. 

“I was just thinking of ways to torment you,” Jax replied confidently, one hand over his heart.

“Oh really now?” Zooble asked, and their voice was lower now, slow and Jax wondered for a split moment if there were footsteps— something he knew wasn't true. “Like how?” they asked. 

He leaned into Zooble, so he could hear them better, quieting his own voice. “Eh, maybe steal one of your extra arms, put a bucket of water over your door, maybe use your toothbrush to clean the floor,” he whispered, his voice playful, and Zooble let out a quiet laugh. 

“I don't have a toothbrush, dumb$#ss,” they whispered, leaning in a little more. 

“Darn, there's one fantastic idea down the drain,” Jax whispered back, the space between them nearly non-existent. Just one little move. 

Zooble moved forward again and—

Their heads bonked together, a very soft, though accidental headbutt. The two sat in silence for a moment, before the two burst out laughing.

“Jesus what was that,” Zooble said out of embarrassment, more aimed at themselves. 

Jax playfully nudged Zooble with his shoulder, “I don't know Zuzu, you tell me” he teased. His face held a comfortable warmth, one he wasn't completely willing to ignore this time. 

Zooble huffed, and playfully shoved Jax back with their own shoulder, “Oh shut up, like you weren't leaning in just as much,” they looked away as their face grew warmer. 

“Awe, c’mon Zuzu, don't hide away,” he challenged Zooble. Zooble rolled their eyes, before looking at Jax. “C’monnn, or, are you maybe scared ?” he taunted. 

Zooble huffed, before looking Jax dead in the eyes, blush still very apparent, “there, happy—?” Jax brought one hand to Zooble’s face and leaned in. He kissed Zooble where their lips would be. When he pulled away, he looked at the ground. 

“There, that better?” Jax asked, almost a little mockingly, but Zooble could see the blush on Jax’s face as clear as day. 

“I don't know,” Zooble said, before bringing a hand to Jax’s face, “maybe we should try again just to make sure.” 

Jax smiled more, and leaned into Zooble more—

“Is there someone out here?” Ragatha’s voice rang out. 

Jax and Zooble immediately pushed each other away and stood up. 

“Oh—” Ragatha looked between the two of them, “what are you two doing?” 

Jax quickly started talking, “Well, I tripped Zooble,” “into the f$#king ocean ,” “to which they dragged me with them,” “and I was just about to murder him.” 

“Uh…” Ragatha looked between the two of them. “Okay…? Just— okay. I'm going back to bed.” she sighed, walking away. 

The two could hear as the door closed, and the two couldn't help but laugh a little at the situation, it was all so ridiculous. 

Just two peaceful oceans, mixing together…

"you're still annoying as f@$k," 

"you still love me" 

"yeah. i do,"