Work Text:
Zooble and Ragatha sat together by the digital lake together, watching the stars. She could feel her slow heartbeat as she breathed in the soft night air. It was moments like this that made her life in the circus bearable. Her friends, too. Pomni, Gangle, Kinger, and... Zooble.
They say here with her, when they could be anywhere else. They could be eating dinner with the others right now, yet... they were here... with her.
She felt guilty that she might be taking Zooble from their friends, but as she sat here next to them, watching the way the moonlight reflects off their pretty pink face with their relaxed expression, she knew that they wouldn't want her to think that.
They could always tell when she was spiraling, and when they did, they would always pull her out of it. They would remind her that they cared about her, that they wouldn't be going anytime soon.
She supposed that they enjoyed this time with her. They were both sitting up with their arms holding them up behind them, their fingers were brushing, and they were just watching the stars. They way they glistened and shimmered, and the occasional comet that would race across the sky.
Zooble would always tell her to make a wish. And she would. It was always the same. She wished for everyone to be happy. That's all she wanted. She wished she could be happy, too, and Zooble had been a big help with that. She would talk to them whenever the others weren't around. They would help her out every time, and then they would joke, laugh, draw, tease, whatever felt right. They would rant together about certain frustrations or opinions, and they were inseparable during that. They don't show it in public since Ragatha got concerned about Gangle feeling left out, or God forbid Jax starts to tease them about it.
They would jokingly call her pretty when they were alone. And Ragatha would do the same. She would point out the beautiful patterns on their skin, the intricate shades of blue and yellow. She would always tell them that they were her favorite shade of pink. Soft like a sunset.
They would always blush when she said that. It would always make her so happy. And it helped them feel better about their body too, she noticed, to be reminded that someone loves how she looks, even if others didn't like it (Jax).
She realized she was staring when they turned their head to look at her with curious eyes. She blinked in realization, but she didn't look away, giving them a soft smile.
Zooble noticed she was watching them, but she only seemed to realize when they looked at her back. She had always been more intimate with them than the others, something that they returned. They somehow felt closer to her, even though they didn't hang out as much as them and Gangle.
They stared into her eyes and slowly traced her button eye that shined gentle purple in this light. How did they get here? They weren't sure.
-----------------------------------------------------------
They didn't think much of Ragatha when they first arrived. They were a little too preoccupied by the fact that their body looked like a disembodied Lego set.
"W-whats happening? Where am I?! Why do I look like this?!" They panicked. And the first to step forward was Ragatha. Always the kind woman who would step up when a new person arrived. She walked up to them and tried to calm them down to the best of her abilities, but they were too afraid.
They ended up running from her at first until she found them in front of her room. They leaned against her door with their head in their hands as they tried to process what was going on. They were hoping no one would see them as they tried not to cry. They couldn't even remember their own name or any of their friend's names. They didnt even know what they were.
They heard soft tapping on the ground which they interpreted as footsteps from the doll girl they saw earlier. What was her name? They weren't sure.
They didn't look up when they heard something plop down beside them. 8 didn't want her to see them like this. Although, what would it matter? They were messed up anyway. And now they can never get out.
"I know..." The doll beside them started. "...it's... scary. Being stuck here with no way out. I went through it too. I was 30, and I had a job in real estate... it was a nice life, but not exactly a happy one."
Zooble silently listened and something she had said caught their attention. "Are you sure we can't escape? There has to be a way to. Have you tried?"
The doll sighed. "Trust me, I've tried. I've been here for the longest, besides Kinger, who's been here for a much longer time. I've seen a lot of folks here in my time, but no one has ever found an exit. I tried and tried so that I could get back to... whatever was left out there. I remember having someone to see. I gave him my necklace." She stared of into the distance, probably reminiscing.
They were about to ask something when she continued. "I'm sure that if I could made it this long here, you certainly could."
Zooble lowered their head and mumbled. "But You don't know anything about me..."
"I know I don't, but... I'm sure you couldn't have it any worse off than me. And I know you don't know anything about me either, but trust me, if even someone like me can make it here, I know that you can. You seem like a good kid." She said sincerely as she looked into their eyes. They were almost expecting pity, but they only found understanding. She had gone through the same thing and was trying to help them, even though she didn't even know them.
"Who did you need to see?" They asked quietly. They were a little worried that she wouldn't respond, but her smile faded a bit and she thought about it for a little bit before responding.
"I don't remember. I don't even remember what he looked like, can't even picture a face. But he meant a lot to me. And once you've met everyone here, and spent some time with them, you'll mean a lot to them too." She said with a smile. She got up and held out a hand to them.
They hesitated for a second before they took her hand and she helped them up. As they moved their limbs, they were yet again reminded of how messed up their body was, but they tried to ignore it as Ragatha held their hand as she led them down the hall to show them their room.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Zooble and Ragatha would spend a fair amount of time together after that. She got them through most of the hard times and they had been talking to Gangle more and more.
After a while, though, Zooble had stopped going on adventures, so they got to see her less often and they eventually drifted apart. But they still never forgot what she said to them. She was right that they would mean a lot to someone. They had Gangle, and Gangle had them. Ragatha had slowly gotten more overbearing in her positivity after a certain frog character abstracted who she was friends with and a clown named Kaufmo came to fill his place, and then Jax started messing with her.
Zooble knew why. it was because losing him had made her feel like she failed. She had always felt like she needed to take care of everyone, and once they lost someone, and Jax stopped talking to her and started bullying her, she thought that the only way to make people like her was being almost annoyingly nice. They didn't blame her. They knew it was traumatic to lose 2 friends who she felt responsible for, and it led her to beleive that she failed and the only thing left for her to do was make sure that everyone was happy, even at the expense of herself.
They knew that they should talk to her, and it was very clear that she needed help before it became too much for her, but they didn't know how. That was one of the things they envied about her, her ability to care about people so easily. She could get people to open up in 2 minutes and be able to make them feel better. That was a skill that Zooble needed right about now as they watched Ragatha profusely apologize after she bumped into Gangle by accident on the way to her room to do who-knows-what.
They saw Gangle and Ragatha exchange a few words before she left though, and then Gangle came up to them and asked if they wanted to draw with her in her room. They agreed.
But when they got there, they saw Ragatha already drawing in Gangle's room. They were confused.
"Umm, did you invite her?" They asked.
"Well, Ragatha has always been a nice help when she helps me repair my comedy mask. She told me she likes to draw, so I thought it would be nice to invite her." Gangle admitted shyly.
Ragatha patted the spot beside her and Zooble sat. She showed them one of her designs, an amphibian superpredator that she came up with. She seemed really proud of it, and they liked the stripes and spots on its legs and body. They told her so. She looked really proud of their compliment, and Zooble realized that she rarely got those, if she ever did. She was constantly put through so much, but never got appreciation for the things she did on the daily to help people. She was constantly torn up, antagonized by Kaufmo, targeted by Jax, and they themself had began ignoring her because it was awkward. She didn't deserve that.
-----------------------------------------------------
After that, Zooble and Ragatha had began spending more time together along with Gangle. They would make art together and paint and make up new designs. Ragatha had an affinity for animals. She loved making new ones, and her designs were always intricate and unique. Zooble would help her color them, since she didn't know a whole lot on how to blend colors or patterns.
After a few weeks, and with Pomni's arrival, Zooble and Ragatha started hanging out outside of that time as well. After the gun game, Zooble had stopped by Ragatha's room for the stupid sauce they asked for. She was polite and found it humorous that they were actually being serious when they asked her that.
"Pff- hahaha! You were being serious?" She asked cheerfully.
They chuckled. "Well, duh, why wouldn't I want to try the thing that got you higher than the sun?"
Ragatha laughed. "I guess that's fair. Just be careful, cause it makes one a little... awkward."
"Yeah? 'Why are you such a grunch' kind of awkward?" They teased with a smug tone.
"Oh, stop it!" Ragatha laughed. "Don't bring that up!" She gave them a nudge on the shoulder as she laughed.
They chuckled with her. She really was beautiful, especially when she laughed. They loved the sound of her laugh. It was always so cheerful, and it was the times when she felt peaceful and unbothered by the circus. It always had a way of making them relax and feel like they could laugh too, and it was one of the things they loved about her.
They had began walking around the lake at night together and talking about things in the circus, whatever adventure Caine sent them on, and their opinions on random things and their circus mates.
It was during this time that they had began to feel a certain way about her. A way that was different from how she felt about the others. When they would hold hands, they would blush and get nervous, and when they weren't holding hands, they wanted to grab her hand and kiss her. They didn't know what it was. They hadn't really thought of her that way before besides thinking that she was very very pretty, and they loved every part of her. Okay- maybe they knew where it came from.
But they didn't know if Ragatha felt the same way about them, and they doubted she did. They looked like a kindergarten project smashed together with play dough. She would never be attracted to them outside of a friend. At least, not unless by some sort of miracle that Ragatha is someone who can find at least one attractive quality in them. But it still wouldn't compare to how wonderful she is, and she deserved better than them.
They had began sitting together rather than walking. They would sit back on their arms and point out constellations while they talked about the events of the day. They would always move their hand a little closer each time until their fingers were brushing over hers. They thought that she would pull away, but she never did. She was fine with it, surprisingly. They would have their usual talking that would dissolve into them just watching the stars silently until they got tired and either fell asleep together or decided it was getting late and went back to their rooms. The former was becoming more frequent, not that they mind.
--------------------------------------------------
And... oh right. That's where they were right now. Staring into her eyes. While she stared back into theirs. They felt the air around them had changed. They wanted to lean in and kiss her, which might be wierd without a mouth, but they still wanted to. But they doubted she would reciprocate, even if right now she looked like she would.
They knew that if they did it, it would change everything. Even if she reciprocated, they didn't know exactly what these feelings were. If she didn't, which was likely, she would push them away. It could possibly ruin their friendship.
They would be awkward around each other, she would take steps to avoid them, they would drift apart again. And this time, it would be irreversible. And then Gangle will be sad about it, since they were becoming such a trio. And Ragatha would go back to being lonely and trying to please everyone too much. They had made a lot more progress on that, and to see it flush down the drain would add salt to the wound. Everything would be...
Wait.
They had been so distracted by their own thoughts to realize that Ragatha had pressed her mouth to their forehead.
They blushed bright red, as they failed to come up with any words as she stared into their eyes softly. But before they could respond, she leaned on their shoulder and tucked her head under their chin.
They were shocked for a moment.
'Maybe words aren't necessary.'
They put their arm around her and grabbed her hand with their other hand. They looked down at her red hair. She really was beautiful. They could hear her heartbeat against the arm that they had around her. They always liked listening to her heartbeat. It was peaceful and slow, and calming to listen to. And it always helped them pick up on whether or not she was okay with something.
They weren't sure if this solidified a relationship, but they were sure that she would tell them later. But as Ragatha slowly blinked her eyes closed and they could hear her breathing slow as she fell asleep, they thought.
Yeah... they were sure she felt the same way.