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After the Favorite Character Awards Show ended, everyone went back to the digital circus. While the rest went to go to their rooms, Ragatha and Pomni stayed behind. The two glanced at each other nervously before speaking. Right as Pomni opened her mouth to speak, her eyes caught on Jax. She watched silently as the purple bunny walked slowly out of view.
Pomni frowned sadly, her brows furrowing. At the Favorite Character Awards Show, Jax hadn't looked at Pomni the entire time. At least from her knowledge. Pomni thought back to the argument they had before the show. How Jax seemed to try so hard to push her away. Pomni knew deep down that Jax didn't mean anything he had spat at her. But she couldn't get Jax to admit it, as much as she wanted to.
It's funny how when she first arrived at the digital circus, she didn't care much for Jax due to his personality. But the more she and Jax hung out, the more she felt at ease around him. Pretty soon, Jax started opening up to her. It wasn't much, but Pomni was surprised when Jax started talking to her more. It caught her off guard, but it made her intrigued. And today, when the two were on a team together, she thought maybe she was finally starting to get along with Jax. But by the end of their fun, everything went downhill.
But that didn't convince Pomni that Jax didn't care about her. In fact, it made her want to talk to him more. She wanted to help him, but she didn't know the best way to do so.
"Um, Pomni?", Ragatha asked with a concerned voice, bringing Pomni back to the present.
Pomni blinked before turning to Ragatha. "Oh, um sorry! I uh..."
Ragatha chuckled softly. "It's fine, don't worry. So... you wanted to talk, right?"
Pomni looked down at the ground, swallowing a small lump in her throat. "Yeah, I did. I just... wanted to say sorry."
Ragatha's eye and button eye widened. "What? Why are you apologizing?"
"I'm sorry if I made you feel... I don't know. Like I made you feel upset. I... really did like your softball suggestion. Well, I'm not a huge fan of sports or anything, but I know you were just trying to make everyone happy. So, I'm sorry for making you feel bad", Pomni explained with a soft voice.
Ragatha waved her hands out in front of her defensively. "No, Pomni you don't have to apologize for that. I... I actually wanted to apologize to you."
Pomni looked up at her with a raised brow. "Why?"
Ragatha sighed, crossing her arms like she was hugging herself. "I realize that I've been trying too hard to... get on your good side. I always try to make everyone happy, even Jax. I just... I just want you to feel at home, that's all. But I've been a little too optimistic. So, sorry for that."
Pomni pursed her lips in thought. Then she took Ragatha's hand in hers. "It's okay, really. I'm glad someone around here is trying, you know. To be happy. It might be a little overkill, but I know you're trying your best. I think this circus needs more optimistic people like you."
Ragatha blinked as she stared at Pomni. Then she smiled warmly. "Thank you, Pomni. I was worried that I might have... pushed you away with my attempt to make you happy."
Pomni nodded, then glanced at where she watched Jax walk away earlier. The jester sighed, closing her eyes.
"Jax was wrong", Pomni said, mostly to herself.
Ragatha brushed some of her red yarn hair out of her face. "About what?"
Pomni turned back to Ragatha. "He was wrong about... everyone. Earlier, he called you the cheerful one, but you're not always as cheerful as we all think, are you?"
"Well... no I suppose not", Ragatha confirmed.
"And he called Zooble the grumpy one, but they're actually chill at times. He called Gangle the sad one, but earlier she was shooting at us with a crazy smile. And after I uh... shot her and broke her happy mask, she was still smiling underneath. He called Kinger the crazy one, but he's actually pretty sane in the dark, so I've learned on one of our earlier adventures", Pomni added.
"Yeah, Kinger was sane. When we lost all of our hearts, he told me some helpful advice about relationships. I didn't know Kinger could be so wise", Ragatha commented in thought.
Pomni looked at the ragdoll with curiosity. "What did he say? About relationships?"
"Well, he said that relationships are two-sided. That giving space doesn't mean giving up on them", Ragatha answered, recalling the talk she had with Kinger.
Pomni then thought of Jax. He had told her to stop looking for anything more to him. After today, Pomni did want to give him space, but she also wanted to make sure he was okay. Jax claimed that they we never friends, but Pomni didn't fully believe it.
"I... need to talk to Jax", Pomni said quietly.
Ragatha's face shifted into an uncomfortable expression. "Are you sure you want to talk to him? He's not really the best person to talk to when he's in a bad mood."
Pomni nodded, offering a small smile filled with determination. "I'm sure. We... fought earlier. And I need to talk to him. To make sure he's okay."
Ragatha didn't want Pomni and Jax to be around each other, but she didn't have the heart to say it. She knew Pomni wanted to get Jax to open up to her. Ragatha knew all too well what it was like, trying to get Jax to open up. It hadn't ended well.
But Ragatha gave in, sighing quietly. Then she smiled at Pomni. "Just... try not to push his limits, okay?"
Pomni smiled a bit wider. Then she hugged Ragatha. The ragdoll stilled as the jester wrapped her arms around her, but she quickly returned the hug. After they pulled away, Pomni waved as she started to walk away.
"Goodnight, Ragatha", the jester said.
Ragatha waved back. "Goodnight, Pomni."
Soon, Pomni turned all the way around and headed for Jax's room. They needed to talk.
-------------------------------------------------------
Pomni stood outside of Jax's bedroom, rethinking her decisions. She just stared at the photo on Jax's door. She was worried that as soon as she knocked on the door, Jax would immediately shout at her to go away. Or maybe he wouldn't say anything at all and completely ignore her.
Pomni inhaled deeply, closing her eyes. Gaining all of her courage, she finally knocked on the door three times.
"Um, Jax? You in there?", Pomni asked a bit quietly.
She waited for an answer. A few moments passed in silence. Pomni tried again. "If you are in there, I just... wanted to make sure you were okay after today."
More silence followed afterwards. Pomni waited for Jax to say anything, even if he told her to go away. Still, there was no answer.
Pomni fiddled with her hands on her stomach. "Listen, I know you want me to stay away from you. You want me to hate you. But... I can't hate you. You try so hard to act like a horrible person so everyone here could hate you. You're doing it to keep everyone safe, right? Or maybe you're doing it so you won't get heartbroken again."
Pomni, already knowing Jax wouldn't answer, sighed before going on. "I... I know about Ribbit. I saw his door when we got shot by Zooble. During the star-gazing adventure, I asked you if you had any friends. When Ragatha said not anymore, you looked so upset. I've never seen you that upset before. I assume Ribbit was your friend from before, but I could be wrong."
Pomni stepped closer to the door, pressing a hand to Jax's photo. "You saw him abstract, didn't you? Is that why you close yourself off from everyone else? Why you... closed yourself off from me? Because we were getting along just fine before I hugged you. That's when you started... lashing out on me. You started acting like your horrible self again. We were having fun together, and that made you scared, didn't it?"
Again, no answer came through. Pomni kept her hand on the door and leaned forward to press her forehead against the door.
"Jax... no matter what you say to me or what you do... I will never hate you. I know you want to shut me away, but I won't let you. I... care about you, Jax. I know it sounds cringe, but I don't care. It's the truth", Pomni spoke softly.
Pomni waited a few seconds, already knowing that she wouldn't get an answer. She sighed out of her nose and leaned away from the door, turning to walk back to her room. She did what she wanted to do. She just wanted to let Jax know that she still cared after today. Maybe she could try to talk to him tomorrow...
Suddenly, the door swiftly opened. Pomni turned around and saw Jax standing before her.
Jax's ears were down slightly as he stared at Pomni with a blank expression. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either. In fact, he had no mouth in the moment. He just stared at Pomni with his blank yellow eyes.
Pomni stood still, waiting for Jax to say something. It felt like an eternity as the two stared at each other silently.
Finally, Jax's ear twitched slightly. "Let's go to your room", he said quietly.
Pomni blinked. It wasn't the response that she was expecting, but at least Jax was finally speaking to her. So, she just nodded as an answer. Jax nodded once and went to Pomni's room, with the jester following behind him. When they entered her room, Jax just stood there, his back to Pomni.
Pomni rubbed her hand along her arm, glancing around her room. "Um, Jax?"
Jax stayed silent. The only movement that Pomni could see was the motion of his shoulders as he breathed quietly and contently.
Pomni's lips twisted a bit uncomfortably. She closed her eyes tightly. "Jax, are you oka-"
She didn't have the time to react before Jax wrapped his long arms around her small body. He had to bend down to Pomni's height to hug her better. The purple bunny closed his eyes as he held Pomni close to him, as if worried that she'd abstract right then and there. His brows furrowed as his lips frowned.
Pomni stilled in Jax's hold. Of all things, she had not expected him to hug her. And this time, he wasn't pushing her away. Pomni hugged Jax back, her hands on the back of Jax's head.
They stayed in their comfortable hug for a long while, neither wanting to let go. Both wished to stay in this moment for as long as they could.
Finally, Jax pulled away from the jester and looked into her red and blue eyes. He looked at her with a soft expression.
"Pomni, I...", Jax tried to speak, but his voice got caught in his throat.
Pomni slowly moved her hand to hold Jax's face, half expecting him to immediately pull away. But instead, he leaned into her touch.
"Jax...", Pomni started to say.
But she was soon cut off by Jax's shaky voice. "Pomni... I'm sorry. For today. I've never... been so close to someone for so long. Ribbit was the last real friend I had. And after he... well, I didn't want to get attached to someone ever again. What's the point of having any friends if they just abstract in the end anyway."
Pomni moved her other hand to cup Jax's face. She rubbed small circles against his cheeks. "Jax, it's okay..."
But Jax wasn't done, for he had more to say. "But when you came here, I... I don't know what happened. I didn't care about you at first, but... after some time, I really... liked having you around. And you just... you get me unlike anyone else. I hadn't meant to tell you so much about myself, but I did anyway because it's so easy to talk to you. I'm... sorry for pushing you away. Really I am but... you shouldn't care for me."
Pomni didn't like that. She stared intently in Jax's eyes. "That's too bad, because I care about you, whether you like or not."
Jax shuddered shakily. "Please... just stop. Stop looking. Stop looking for anything more to me. I'm just a horrible person who makes everyone suffer, that's it."
Pomni shook her head, taking a slightly shaky breath. "I'll keep looking. No matter what, I'm going to keep looking. Because I know deep down you care. I know because I feel it, even now."
Gaining some courage, Pomni brought Jax's face closer to hers until their foreheads were touching. "Even if you really were a horrible person, I would still care for you."
Jax stilled, staring in Pomni's eyes. Then his eyes darted all around her face, his pupils shrinking. He thought he had been going crazy earlier, but now he could confirm that Pomni was quite amazing to look at.
When they sang Daisy Bell, at first it was to tease Zooble. But halfway into the short song, they started to get into it. As they sang, Jax couldn't help but notice how beautiful and stunning Pomni was. And her singing was just... wow.
Jax blinked then. He reached his hands out to hold Pomni's face.
"Pomni, can I tell you something?", he asked quietly.
"Anything", Pomni said softly.
Jax's lips twisted as he sighed. "You look so beautiful. I know this isn't what you look like in the real world, but you still look stunning."
Pomni's face turned pink. "I uh... I wasn't expecting that but... thanks", she stuttered.
"Can I kiss you?", Jax asked in a soft and husky voice.
Pomni felt like she was on fire. Had Jax really just said that to her?
"Sorry, you wanna wha?", Pomni asked shyly.
Jax let a small smile form on his lips. "I want to kiss you, Pomni. Is that... I mean would that be okay?" As he spoke, his face started to slowly turn pink, contrasting his purple skin.
Pomni's chest heated up. "I... don't know how to kiss?"
Jax leaned in so close that Pomni close feel his gentle breath against her face.
"I do", Jax whispered tenderly.
Jax fluttered his eyes closed and gently pressed his lips against Pomni's. Pomni muffled a surprised sound when their lips touched. But soon she started melting into the kiss, her eyes falling closed. They held each other's faces as they shared a slow and soft kiss.
When they pulled away, Pomni panted slightly, her face flushed completely.
Jax, worried that he made the wrong choice, averted his eyes away from Pomni. "Uh, sorry. I just... maybe I shouldn't have done that. Listen, I'll never do that again-"
"No!", Pomni exclaimed.
Jax blinked at her with a raised brow. Pomni, not realizing how loud she was, cleared her throat. "I mean, no it was great. The kiss was, I mean. I liked it. It was nice for my first kiss."
Jax sighed, his face falling slightly. "I saw you and Ragatha sitting together at that stupid award show", he decided to say.
Pomni's eyes widened. "You looked at me?'
Jax nodded. "Yes. I felt bad the whole show. I thought maybe I had ruined the one good thing I had. Having you for a friend."
Pomni huffed a quiet chuckle. "Friend? So that kiss was friendly?"
Jax grinned, his pupils growing with humor. "It can be if you want."
Pomni smiled, shaking her head. "I think we should be more than friends. Just a suggestion."
"Sounds like a fun adventure suggestion", Jax joked.
Pomni laughed sweetly. "I mean it."
Jax's grin shifted into a genuine and sweet smile. "I know you do."
Pomni then leaned in again, pressing her lips against Jax's lips. Jax hummed as he kissed her back. Pomni made a small noise as they kissed.
They pulled away again, looking at each other in the eye.
Jax rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, uh, can we keep this a secret? I really don't want the others to know that I have a soft spot for you."
Pomni rolled her eyes fondly, crossing her arms. "If that will make you happy."
Jax wrapped his arms around Pomin's waist, pulling her close to him. "During times like this, we can love each other as much as we want. We can only act like this here. Deal?"
"Deal", Pomni agreed, kissing Jax's forehead.
Jax hummed. "Good", he whispered softly.
Then, they kissed once more. Pomni wrapped her arms around Jax's neck as he bent down for her to reach.
As they kissed, Jax didn't care what happened after this. Because even if Pomni were to abstract, nothing could ever change his love for Pomni. He knew deep down he'd never forget about her, long after she was gone. And now he knew that Pomni would remember him if he abstracted.
Jax was just happy that he had someone close again. Guess the digital circus wouldn't be so bad from now on.