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“Ragatha deserves to get out there and meet someone good for her.” Zooble said it in a whisper, but to someone with rabbit ears, whispers were hardly missed.
It was both a blessing and a curse to have such long and well hearing ears. He got to overhear juicy conversations (and use them against people later), but he couldn’t tune out when someone was having another breakdown in the bathroom over being overworked. Today’s discussion was on his favorite dolly to tease, so he focused his attention on the conversation.
“She does! She dedicates so much time and energy to everyone here. I hope this guy treats her well.” Gangle’s hushed voice was full of love as she discussed Ragatha and Jax rolled his eyes in response.
He pretended to type away at his computer, making sure to add in a few clicks here and there to keep the usual noise going. He’s sure no one noticed, but it didn’t hurt to play the part.
“Well, has she done the thing?” Zooble asked, and that’s when the final voice of the water cooler trio popped in.
“What thing?” Kinger’s voice was unusually loud whenever he talked, and this secret conversation was no exception.
“Lower Kinger. But she double tucks her hair. She told me one night when we were out drinking.” Jax’s ears twitched at that, so he decided he should change actions, now pretending that he was organizing papers on his desk.
“That’s kinda cute…” Gangle trailed off, and Jax couldn’t help but scoff at the comment.
“I wonder how she realized that…” Kinger trailed off and Zooble was quick to answer.
“She said an ex-boyfriend had said something about it. That’s why she knows.” Zooble answered, and Jax rubbed his temples, now feeling annoyed with the conversation.
Jax pushed his chair back and stood up. His eyes scanned the room to find where the red head was. He found her standing next to Pomni’s desk, engaged in a conversation with the jester. Ragatha’s one arm was planted on the desk and the woman looked so happy with that smile as she talked with Pomni. Was she happy because of tonight?
‘It was just a dumb conversation’ he thought as he watched Ragatha tuck some of her back on one side. He reasoned that his head was hurting because of the lack of nicotine in his system. He pushed his chair into his desk harder than expected and left, deciding that he didn’t need to think on the weird feelings anymore.
He didn’t notice the familiar eye of Ragatha on him as he left.
//
Jax took a long drag of his cigarette in the designated smoking area as he ran through the conversation over and over. Double tuck of hair? Of course Ragatha does a dumb thing like that. Of course she’s dated another guy before who noticed these small things that she does. Plus, why was she even the big talk of the day? Why did it matter if little miss sunshine went on a date with some random guy?
He turned his cigarette over in his fingers as he leaned on the railing, letting out a heavy sigh. Why was he so worked up?
He was interrupted by a knock on the glass and turned to see the doll that’s been absorbing his thoughts.
“He- woah. Nasty scowl going on. Everything alright?” She went from cheery to concerned in a moment, and that was another reason to feel more irate. Why did she care so much?
“Yeah, dandy. What’s got you down here, doll face? You need me to look over something? Because you know my answer.” Jax called out as he put his cigarette out in the ashtray. He realized it was probably time to leave, so he started to move to the doors.
“No point in asking when I know the answer. But you slammed your chair kinda loudly. We were a little worried since you haven’t been that angry since you started.” He had now exited the area and was standing in the office fresh air with Ragatha. He leaned against the door as she stood just a few feet in front of him. He couldn't help but chuckle at the ‘we’ statement. She’s the only one who was ever concerned for him anymore.
“Frustrated since I can’t mess with you as much, I guess. It’s getting cold, there are no bugs to leave at your desk anymore.” Jax said nonchalantly and Ragatha gasped and moved forward to lightly smack Jax’s arm.
“If you do that, I’ll get Zooble to mess with your wallpaper again.” She giggled as she moved back and smiled up at Jax.
Jax felt his heart clench, and it came out before he could think.
“You’re going on a date? With who?” Ragatha’s face fell surprised as he finished his questions, then she began to blush.
“With um, Orb man from HR. I haven’t been out in a while, so I said sure.” She moved one of her hands up to her upper arm and began to rub the small area. Why was she getting nervous over this?
“So you don’t even know this guy and you said yes? You don’t know the weird habits he might have. What if he over drinks or eats with his mouth open?” He leaned forward and poked her forehead, and she swiped his hand away while pouting.
“Maybe I’m just a little lonely, okay? One date doesn’t hurt.” She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. “Even then, what’s it to you? Why do you care if I’m going out or not?”
“I just don’t want you to get your precious dolly heart broken by Mr. Big orbs down there. Or maybe I just want to hear about how bad it is when you come in tomorrow morning.” He stuck his tongue out and walked past her, giving a pat on her shoulder.
He heard her mumbling behind him, but he couldn’t hear what she had said over the ringing in his ears and his aching heart.
//
“So, how was your date?” Zooble asked the next morning at the water cooler, and Jax stood behind the corner, drinking his coffee.
“I, ah. It was good. Orb man was nice, but um, I don’t think I’ll be going on another date.” Ragatha’s voice was shaky, and Jax noted this as her ‘I don’t want to discuss this more’ tone. With a sigh, he took one more sip and began his walk around the corner. What a prince charming he was. He’d find a way to make Ragatha make it up to him.
“What’d I tell you, Rags? I warned you it was gonna be bad.” He moved close to Ragatha and leaned his arm on top of her head, which he noted she did not try to move like usual.
“I bet it was better than any date you’ve ever been on Jax. I’m sure everyone leaves in the first 5 minutes with you.” Zooble pointed their finger towards him and Jax grinned.
“What an odd way to invite me out, but no thanks, Zoobs. Flattered though, truly.” Jax winked at Zooble then moved his head low as they rolled their eyes and moved to converse with Pomni.
“Rags, you mind helping me with something? I heard there’s a large package in the mailroom, and they thought it’d be better to have us pick it up instead of delivering it. The audacity of not doing their job.” Ragatha gave him a look at the last line but nodded her head.
“We’ll be back guys, I’ll give you more details at lunch, okay?” Ragatha gave the group a warm smile as she waved goodbye to her friends and walked away with Jax.
The two began their way to the elevator and Ragatha kept up the small talk, discussing her new work load for the day and mentioning how she and Pomni had talked about the potential of sneaking out for lunch. Jax was half listening, more focused on the words Ragatha had said before about not going out again.
“Rags, I’m sure what you’re saying is interesting, and I definitely want to hear about your date, so would you want to stop by a bar after work?” Jax asked as they rode the elevator down to the first floor.
“Huh? Mr. Never wants to get drinks unless the boss is paying? You’re inviting me out?” Ragatha placed her hands on her hips as she looked up at him with a big grin.
”I’ll just retract my inv-“
“No, no! I just am surprised, but I would really like to Jax. Did you want it to be just us?” Ragatha asked, and Jax shrugged his shoulders as he met the doll’s gaze.
“Why? Ya hoping for some alone time with your favorite rabbit?” Jax moved around so he stood in front of Ragatha now and leaned down to meet her at her level.
“What would you think if I said yes?” Ragatha asked as she looked directly at Jax, catching him off guard as his eyes widened.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened right to a very familiar face for Ragatha, Orb man. She immediately took notice of the position and the man she went on the date with previously, and she felt herself turn a deeper shade of red. She pushed Jax out of the way, said a brisk good morning to Orb man, and walked out of the elevator as calm as she could.
Meanwhile, Jax turned around to face the Orb man, while thinking about Ragatha’s words. He couldn’t help but smirk as he walked past Orb man, giving a curt nod to the stranger as he followed after the rag doll. ‘In your face’ he mentally said to himself.
//
Ragatha was two beers in and a blushing, almost bumbling mess. She was talking about the date from the night before, and was complaining. Orb man was nice enough, and he was very mature, but he was too high-strung. He was a rule follower and while Ragatha liked playing by the rules, he seemed like the type to be too straight edged. Ragatha liked bending the rules, sometimes, to her advantage. At least she wasn’t as bad as the bunny in front of her. That’s the only way she could keep her moral high ground.
“-and he’s telling me this story about how his mother was an accountant. I don’t know if I want to be in the same profession as his mother. Does that mean some underlying issues?” Ragatha wondered as she took another swig of her drink.
“You would’ve been in for a long time of mommy issues, I think Rags. Would’ve led to some uncomfortable family dinners.” Jax joked and Ragatha eagerly nodded while laughing.
“That’s what I worried about! I don’t mind dating someone younger, but I don’t need to be seen as a motherly figure. I don’t want that um,” and Ragatha began to snap her fingers as she thought about it until it clicked. “- the Oedipus complex! Too complex for me. I just want to be able to go out like this.” Rags was smiling at him with her dumb warm smile and Jax assumed it was the beer leading her to feeling this way.
“Anything else you need to get off your chest about the date?”
“He didn’t have much of a personality. I don’t mind interacting with people like that but dating one? I want someone who at least can make me laugh, and doesn’t want to call me mommy.” Rags laid her head down on the table, letting out a humming noise.
“Hey Rags?” Jax felt oddly sentimental at this moment, but maybe it was because Ragatha would forget tomorrow morning. Or maybe because he was feeling a little warm eared from the drinks he’d also been having. He didn’t want to decide which one it was.
“Yeah Jax?”
“I know you’ll find someone like that one day.” He moved his hand to rub her hair and make it a bit of a mess. Her head popped up and instead of saying something back like usual, she began to push it down to normal.
“Th-thanks, I think I already have.” She whispered the second part and moved to push her hair back, using both hands to tuck both sides of her hair as she looked up at Jax with a small smile.
The double tuck and she was looking at Jax. Her face was a nice shade of red, and she looked at him like nothing else mattered at the moment. Was she serious? He felt his heart beat start to pick up, and he couldn’t believe his favorite doll was plucking his heart strings like this. Since when was he a bit sappy?
Should he act on it? She was drunk after all, and he wanted to talk to her when she was sober, not when she was two drinks in and complaining about a date. Plus, maybe his heart gets like this anytime a cute girl does something like this in front of him.
But maybe it didn’t hurt to know that his cute coworker was totally pining over him and that he had nothing to worry about. He didn’t have to talk to her until it all felt right, and he could figure out his own feelings.
“Alright Rags, you’ve had enough. I’ll go pay the bill then I’ll take you home, okay?” Jax checked and Ragatha eagerly nodded.
“Thanks Jax, what would I do without you?” She started taking quick sips to finish up her beer.
“Embarrass yourself on public transportation, probably. I’m saving you a life full of shame right now, dolly.” He winked at Ragatha, and she put down her drink to stick her tongue out at him.
As he went up to pay the bill for their drinks and appetizers, he kept thinking on the image of Ragatha doing that dumb double tuck. His first thought was that she’s too cute for her own good. The second was that he now had a whole new thing he could tease her about.