Work Text:
For weeks since the lightning round, Jax’s mind had been stuck on the maid dress he’d been unwillingly put into that day. There was something about the feeling of the frills and the flowiness of the dress that he loved.. for some odd reason. Not to mention the eyeliner that had come with the outfit— he couldn’t lie, he looked stunning with it on! But.. he was a dude.. he couldn’t just be wearing makeup around?! As nice as it felt, he knew he was supposed to be “the pinnacle of masculinity” in this circus. There would be nights where he put the dress back on, because anything they wore in adventures, Caine allowed them to keep them in their wardrobes. He would admire himself in the mirror for what felt like hours, he looked.. amazing, almost as if this was meant to be. He would do this at least two to four times in a week, and he was beginning to get tired of this being the only dress he had. He wanted to try something different! Something just as pretty but not as— for lack of a better word— pervy as the maid dress.
He was half sure this feeling would pass but… it didn’t. It stuck in his mind like tape to paper.
Tonight, the girls—and Zooble— were having a girls night in Zooble’s room! They had been discussing it all week, and the day finally came, they were all prepared for a night of what Jax assumed was just basic girl stuff; gossip, makeup, whatever other things girls like to chat about with each other.
Not that they could really talk about boys. The only dudes there were him, Kinger, and Caine; and if Jax knew anything, he knew that nobody was very fond of Caine, they didn’t favor being around him either—not surprising to say the least, and Kinger? He was very known for being crazy, and it’s not like there’s much to even say about him either.
But there was one consistent, nagging thought in his brain that just wouldn’t leave no matter what he did. What if I could be a girl? Would that be allowed here? He always wondered if it was possible, but he never really did much outside of that thought. Though he did catch himself daydreaming about being a girl. If only I could look pretty without feeling odd.. If I could wear makeup without anyone questioning. I like feeling pretty. But every time he found himself thinking these thoughts, he immediately shoved it down, despite how genuinely happy it made him.
It was starting to get irritating hearing the girls talk about their girls night, they sounded like they were gonna have so much fun. Normally this wouldn’t bother him, since he’s really only into anything just to see funny things happen, but there was something about their chatter he was envious of— the strange feeling of being left out. They hadn’t stopped talking about it, even after the adventure had ended— not that they had stopped talking about it during the adventure anyhow.
Curse these tall ears, they pick up just about everything.
He was quick to sneak off to his room, wanting to experiment again.
As soon as he closed his door, he melted, opening his drawer and pulling out an eyeliner brush. He sat in front of his vanity— which Caine had apparently put in everyone’s rooms— turned a brighter light on, and carefully applied it to his eyes. It was somewhat messy, but he was getting better at applying it day by day, and he was definitely getting better at replicating the exact look he had when he was first put into that.. dress.
When he finished, he stared into the mirror for quite a while, clearly daydreaming once more. He was very pleased with how it came out, admiring how he looked for a few moments longer. Within those moments, the girls had started their “girls only” event. He could hear them from the halls and honestly, he was getting irritated. They were loud, and he wasn’t too sure if they knew that. He definitely wasn’t envious of them all. With a sigh, he stood up from his vanity, and considered wiping off the makeup he had applied not too long ago. He stared at himself in the mirror more, before his thoughts scrambled and exploded. His chest was tight as he thought to himself, I could never be a girl. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever thought! What would Pomni think..? What would Ribbit have thought?! His thoughts continued to spiral before he realized he was crying and hyperventilating, his makeup now smudged. Stupidly, he wiped his face with his hand, smudging it more and getting it on his hand. He looked like such a mess, frowning harder at his reflection. He knew he looked like an idiot, and that was even more irritating. He rummaged through his drawer again, pulling out a makeup remover and forcefully scrubbing the makeup off his face. He stood back up and threw his mask back on, stepping out of his room— bombing their little party should make him feel better. He had his usual bounce in his step as he popped in Zooble’s doorframe, face full of mischief.
“Hey, ladies..! So, what’s this? Girls party?” Jax smirked wide, eyes scanning all of them.
“Oh [BOINK!] off, Jax. We’re trying to have a good time that doesn’t include you.” Zooble scoffed, flipping him off as they spoke.
He saw Gangle whisper something in their ear— or what would be their ear if they had any. They seemed to relax a bit at whatever she whispered to them, and Gangle giggled a bit as she spoke.
They pulled him in, and as soon as they did, his limbs felt weighted— he felt really calm, for some odd reason. This feeling concerned him greatly, he couldn’t pull pranks when the room seemed to fatigue any male that entered the room. Thanks Caine.
“Urgh, what’s this? You got a candle lit or something?” Jax tried to jab at them, despite the high coursing through his body.
They all looked at him, seemingly amused. Everyone but Pomni giggled at their next words.
“Sorry, Jax! We had Caine put a spell that would fatigue any male purple bunnies that try coming in during our girls night!” Ragatha spoke, trying not to laugh as she did.
He was tired enough that his legs gave in, folding beneath him. Pomni had scooted over to him, being the only one truly willing to talk to him. He felt high-ish, leaning against Pomni as she tried apologizing for the predicament he’s unknowingly been pulled into.
He knew there was some kind of loophole through this, if you believed enough in it, it would work out. So what if he truly believed he was a girl? They did say male purple bunnies, after all.
He quietly, very quietly in his brain hoped. He believed as hard as he could.. and he could move properly again!
They all stared with disbelief as he sat up like nothing happened, like Caine had never even cast a spell.
“You all seem to forget there’s loopholes to a lotta things here! Ah- whatever!” He chuckled, looking even more ready to create more mischief than he originally intended.
“..How did you..?” Ragatha half muttered, her eye locked onto the tall bunny.
They all shared glances with each other, they had a feeling this would end poorly.
All of a sudden, Gangle perked up as if she had an idea. She quickly whispered it to Zooble, who telephoned it to Ragatha. At this point, Jax looked curious as to what they were whispering about, his hearing may have been immaculate, but he still can't hear a pin drop on a pile of hay.
It was sudden, more sudden than the bout of drowsiness he had felt when he first entered the room fully— Gangle had uncoiled her body and wrapped all around him, effectively holding him captive.
“Woah—Hey! What are you doing!?” Jax yelped out as she tightened her hold, but not enough to hurt.
Jax took a moment to look directly at the group of girls now sitting in front of him, looking like a bunch of kids on christmas day. Zooble had picked up several makeup items and a mirror, letting each of the girls take their pick. Pomni had a look of uncertainty on her face, she didn’t think he’d be too fond of it, and she sure didn’t want to irritate him.
She sat herself to the side, not wanting to interfere with their fun.
“Close your eyes!” Gangle giggled, it didn’t seem like her comedy mask would break easy at the moment. Jax squeezed their eyes shut, but then softened as they subconsciously realized they're putting makeup on them. Jax liked makeup.
♡
It took them around 15 minutes, but they had collectively managed to do his eyelashes, his nails, and a little bit of blush. As they worked on the finishing touches, his body was a lot more lax, he couldn’t stop looking in the mirror.
Internally, he was beaming. But on the outside, a blank, dilated stare. Was the person looking back at him the same person he was just a few minutes ago? He couldn’t tell anymore, he was just sure it felt amazing. The girls were confused by how calm he seemed, why wasn’t he crashing their party? Gangle had long since loosened her hold on him enough that he could just get up and ruin this entire night— The thing is.. he didn’t. He didn’t move, he didn’t even blink. He just sat there, and stared. He sat like this for what felt like hours, occasionally a wave of the hand to his face, trying to see if he was awake. It wasn’t long before he blinked back to ‘life’, a heat spreading throughout his body, turning his face pink.
“I think he likes it.” Zooble spoke with a chuckle.
“You.. might be right, Zooble.” Pomni mused.
He was panicking, how could he play this off? No one would believe anything he said in an attempt to justify his reaction. He didn’t notice his ears pin back, but he sure noticed that everyone was looking at him now.
They were all looking at him expectantly as an uncharacteristic grunt came from his throat, now he had to say something. After minutes of tense silence, he finally said something.
“I’m leaving.” He mumbled quietly.
As he shot up and rushed back to his room, he rubbed the makeup from his face as best as he could, nearly clawing at his face as he did so.
He slammed his door, keeping himself from sinking down to the floor.
He stumbled over to his vanity, his pupils went from rectangles to scribbles. His chest was tight, and every possible negative thought ran laps in his mind. He couldn’t take it.
He tried pulling himself together, and began to wipe the makeup off with the makeup removal wipes in his drawer. As soon as he scrubbed it off, he clearly saw that he looked miserable. He stood up and clumsily dragged himself into his bed, flopping down and falling asleep almost instantly.
He woke up that morning—? Whatever time it was— and began to do his usual morning routine. Stretch out, clean himself a bit, and go through his wardrobe… He was surprised to find that his closet was stuffed with all sorts of girly clothes: poofy dresses, sparkly, flowy dresses, cute two piece outfits.. It felt like an adrenaline rush for him, immediately pulling everything out and mindfully laying them out properly. He quickly stood and stared at the options, how did this all get here..? Was all he thought. Well, it wouldn’t hurt to seize this opportunity. He shrugged, picking up a puffy, flowy dress. It had gorgeous, frilled accents on the corset and around the waist for decoration. It was the same pink as his overalls, but it was… cuter?
As soon as he put it on, he twirled and twisted his body around. She loved this feeling. The way the dress bounced with every movement, and the lovely decor on the dress. She quickly took the dress off and put it back as neatly as possible, pulling out a simpler outfit, it was a black, snug turtleneck with the same pink overalls, but this time with stylish jewel embellishments. She was hasty to throw it on, clipping a cute bow onto her ear. She stood and stared at the mirror in front of her, she looked… amazing. She suddenly felt a surge of confidence, not feeling too scared to go and let everyone see her for who she is. If they judged..? She could hopefully play it off. As she strutted out her room, she immediately felt self conscious, but there was no going back now. She reached the dining table, where everyone was already sitting; it wasn’t surprising that she was late today. All eyes were on her. She could feel it in her skin. They were staring. Her thoughts were conflicting hard. Why didn’t I do my makeup today?! I look so weird! But there was also: I should’ve just taken this all off and came out normal, like always. Both thoughts were very different from the other, but they warred to dominate her brain. She was quick to throw her usual facade of nonchalance on, sitting in her seat— albeit more proper than normal— and observing her usual behavior, despite the looks.
“What, jealous?” She winked at the group.
Kinger seemed confused, Ragatha looked like she had just gotten her hands shot off, Zooble didn’t seem to mind much, though it looked like she had several jabs brewing in her mind, Gangle looked surprised, but seemingly happy for her, and Pomni seemed.. mesmerized.
Ragatha was first to speak up, sounding as forced as ever, “..you look great, Jax!”
The name made her stomach turn, but.. the compliment felt weirdly nice, despite it being from Ragatha. She gave a simple nod in acknowledgment of her words, but then Pomni spoke up as well.
“I love the look, Jax. Is there an occasion? Or maybe something you wanna tell us..?” She asked, timid as usual, but her smile was warm as usual. She didn’t answer immediately, too drawn into the jester’s looks— as usual, but she thought up an answer.
“It’s..— I’m trying something new today, I think.” She whispered, now sounding much more timid than the jester was when she pointed out her outfit.
“I think you look nice. It’s really pretty.” Pomni’s smile got warmer somehow, it was getting her flustered.
It wasn’t very long before Caine showed up and sent them off on another adventure, but they had no clue it’d be like this.
♡
They were at a grand ball, everyone was dressed down in beautiful outfits for such an occasion, but what she didn’t expect was to be dressed as beautiful as the other ladies. Caine had caught on.
Jax had been pulled away from the group by Caine, pulling out the same name randomizer that they had used for Pomni.
“So, what’ll it be, my friend-turned-new-leaf?” Caine asked, holding out a pen and notepad for some odd reason.
Jax looked surprised, she didn’t know what she wanted for her name yet, but there was one that always came back to her every once in a while. Daisy. She liked the name Daisy. She had sung Daisy bell with Pomni months back.. it was a great memory.
“..Daisy.” She spoke, opening her eyes and staring right at Caine.
“Daisy? Well there’s your answer, do!” Caine replied with a singsongy tone, referencing the song.
“Be ready to get up on that stage and tell everyone the good news!” Caine laughed before sending her back into the ballroom with everyone else.
Everyone was having a fun time, but Caine just made this hard for her, she had to come out tonight?! In just a few minutes?!!? Not now. Not now, not now, not now.. I can’t do this now! She thought to herself. Suddenly the room felt cramped, her clothes felt too tight. She stared at her body, realizing she suddenly had curves, this would be great news if she didn’t just have that grand bombshell dropped on her by Caine. She needed to find a bathroom, quick.
As she rushed through the crowd, now hyperventilating, she bumped right into Pomni, staring at her like a deer in headlights. The jester’s face softened as she saw how distressed she looked.
“Hey, hey, calm down.” Pomni urged, fidgeting with her hands, not sure if she’d be too fond of touch at the moment.
Daisy gnawed on her inner cheek, her frown so deep she didn’t even try to mask. Pomni pulled her away onto a balcony she had found, choosing to embrace the tall bunny as best she could. Daisy curled into her arms, crouching down to the jester’s level.
“I have to tell everyone in a few minutes.” Daisy mumbled, anxiety evident in her voice. Her hands squeezed the fabric of Pomni’s dress.
“Tell everyone what?” Pomni sounded confused, even though it seemed pretty obvious, she wanted to be sure it was what she was thinking.
Her voice trembled as she replied, “I have to come out. I’m uh— transgender…” The last word came out small. Really small.
Pomni pulled away from the hug, which scared Daisy immensely, fearful of rejection, especially from Pomni. “That’s amazing! I’m really happy for you, Jax!— Do you still wanna be called Jax? Have you picked a name yet?— Either way, I’m really proud of you for finding the courage to express yourself, and I’m here to help you tell everyone if you need me.” Her smile.. it made her feel all fuzzy inside.
“Thank you, Pom-pom. And— yeah, I prefer to be called Daisy, if that’s not a problem.” Daisy had a small smile on her face at Pomni’s enthusiasm. Gosh, she was so supportive.
They heard commotion going on in the main area in front of the stage, it seemed it was time for the big announcement.
“Thank you, Pomni. For your support.” Daisy smiled brighter.
“Anytime, Daisy. C’mon, let’s get this done with so we can have more fun!” Pomni winked, if Daisy wasn’t gonna be her usual mischievous, then she’d fill the role for the moment.
As they stepped onto the stage, Daisy took hold of the mic, regaining all once-lost confidence.
“Everyone listen up! Our good friend has an announcement to make!” Pomni yelled into the microphone, holding Daisy’s wrist so she could reach the mic. Daisy smiled fondly at the gesture, before moving her hand back up towards herself.
“..I have a confession to make! I’m not Jax— I’m Daisy. I’d much rather you all.. call me a girl. Y’know how that goes.” Her speech got much more awkward as she realized how unnecessary it was for Caine to set all this up, but the people cheered for her nonetheless. Zooble and Gangle seemed happy for her, Kinger— despite being very in one ear and out his eyes, clapped for her when he spotted Ragatha doing the same.
She was overloaded with joy, placing the mic down and pulling Pomni into a tight hug, spinning her around.
The rest of the night was like a blur after that, they partied, got drinks, and soon, the adventure was over. Daisy decided to crash in Pomni’s room tonight, hung over as hell.
As they both stumbled into the room together, they both helped each other undress and remove any makeup or accessories they may have been wearing. They were both left in their base models by the time
they were done, nothing but the typical black sports bra and shorts. They flopped on Pomni’s bed, weaving their limbs together.
“Thank you again, Pom-pom. Tonight was a lot of fun.” Daisy smiled like she always did, except more lopsided.
“Anytime, Daisy..” Pomni mumbled back, a faint, tired smile gracing her lips.
In the moment, they leaned into each other for a quick, soft kiss. Before laying their heads back down, and falling asleep peacefully.
Daisy’s dreams were pleasant that night, and she didn’t have to hide in her room and look pretty by herself anymore. They all saw and accepted her for who she was. It couldn’t get any better than this.