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“Can you get that thing away from me?” Jax had snapped, face scrunching in visible disgust.
Zooble raised a brow and pushed the corn an inch closer.
Jax stood up so fast, his limbs tangling in the motion, that his chair nearly tipped backward with a screech.
It caught on the edge of the barstool behind him, jerking to a stop, but not before the chaos of the movement had already rippled through the room and everyone just stared at him with surprised eyes.
“It’s just corn,” Zooble snorted.
Jax recoiled even further, as if the corn had suddenly sprouted legs and made a move toward him, his ears shooting upright in alarm. His expression contorted with such disgust that Pomni found herself openly staring.
Without really thinking about it, still watching him with curiosity, Pomni reached out, plucked the corn straight off the table, and took a bite.
The corn popped out of existence with a digital pop the second her teeth touched it
Jax sagged in visible relief, his ears drooping back against his head.
Zooble clicked their tongue and turned to Pomni.
“Shouldn’t have done that, Pomni,” they said flatly, though there wasn’t an ounce of real malice behind it. “Now we don’t have anything to bully this [BEEP] with.”
Jax dropped back into his seat with a grumble.
“Well,” he continued, as if nothing had happened, “as I was saying. You all take this place way too seriously.”
Zooble rolled their eyes. “You just took that corn earlier a bit too seriously, Jax.”
From Pomni’s angle at the bar, she caught Kinger nodding solemnly in agreement.
Jax leaned back, spreading his arms lazily.
“Oh please. That was just a bit,” Jax said, flicking his wrist dismissively as if that settled it.
Pomni let out a breathy laugh, tilting her head at him. “Sure didn’t seem like it.”
His eyes slid to her then, slow, deliberate, narrowing just slightly as he studied her expression.
“Oh yeah, Pomni? What do you know about bits?” he drawled. “You were scrambling earlier trying to do your job as president.”
“That’s because you were putting her on the spot, Jax!” Ragatha cut in immediately in Pomni’s defense.
“T-to be fair,” Gangle added quietly from beside her, fidgeting with her ribbons, “I didn’t want to blow up either.”
Jax reached over without warning and began patting Pomni’s head again, smug and unbothered.
Pomni shoved his hand away without even looking at him. “Quit it, Jax.”
Kinger suddenly straightened, eyes bright with inspiration. “I think Pomni should have really tapped into her golden improv skills there or had a bold monologue. Perhaps a musical number.”
Jax barked out a laugh, sharp and immediate. “She definitely does not have a single golden improv skill in her funny cartoon body, Kinger.”
Zooble lifted a brow at him. “And you’re the expert?”
Jax tilted his head back with exaggerated confidence. “I’ve been carrying the comedic integrity of this circus on my shoulders since day one.”
“Uh huh,sure.” Zooble replied flatly.
Jax gestured down his own lanky frame with a slow sweep of his hand. “I mean. Have you seen me?”
His elbow knocked lightly against Pomni’s head in the process, entirely on purpose.
Pomni crossed her arms, leaning back just slightly. “Oh yeah? Then let’s see you do a bit right now.”
“I’m not gonna cater to your whims like a dog, Pomni. You’re no longer the president of my country.”
“I mean,” she shot back without missing a beat, “you did say a position of power suited me.”
There was a twitch, almost imperceptible at the corner of his mouth before Jax recovered just as fast, his grin sliding back into place.
“Okay,” he drawled. “Let’s say I do a bit. Where’s the fun in that? Let’s get everyone involved. Then I’ll do it.”
“Deal,” Pomni said without hesitation.
“I never agreed to anything,” Zooble muttered, wiping down a glass on the table.
“Me too” Gangle said hesitantly, fiddling with the paper on her sketchbook.
“Oh! I want to join!” Kinger declared suddenly, lifting his drink with so much enthusiasm that it sloshed dangerously close to the rim.
Both Jax and Pomni flinched away in sync, leaning back to avoid getting splashed.
“Since we got everyone doing it,” Jax continued, ignoring Zooble and Gangle entirely, “I’ll decide what the bit is—”
“I-I said I didn’t want to...”
“Pretty sure I didn’t either.”
“Let’s hear everyone’s best pick-up line,” Jax finished smoothly. He leaned closer to Pomni, grin widening. “But we all have to deliver it to the president.”
“What? No way!” Pomni laughed, shaking her head.
“He just likes [BEEP]ing with you,” Zooble said. “You don’t have to do it.”
Jax’s gaze stayed fixed on Pomni, steady and expectant.
There was a challenge there. Something that tugged at that old, reckless part of her—the part that used to wander abandoned buildings for the thrill of it.
“You know what?” she said. “Sure.”
Jax’s brows lifted and for a split second, his eyes seemed to spark at her agreeing, a flicker of interest sharpening behind the grin.
“You’re gonna regret that. Everyone takes a shot if they think the line wouldn’t work on them.”
“Everyone’s gonna want to take a shot with how embarrassing this is,” Zooble muttered. “We definitely need stupid sauce for this.”
“Who’s first?” Jax asked, already looking far too pleased with himself.
Kinger slammed his drink down with surprising force. “Oh me!”
Everyone blinked.
Kinger turned and bowed dramatically toward Pomni, one arm sweeping out with flourish.
“Are you a lightning bug?”
A pause followed. At first, it felt intentional like he was building suspense.
Then it stretched.
And stretched.
The silence tipped from dramatic to awkward as Kinger simply continued staring at Pomni, his gaze gradually going blank while his arm remained extended in mid-flourish.
Ragatha leaned forward, eyebrows knitting together. “Um… Kinger. You’re supposed to finish it with a punchline.”
Zooble snorted under their breath. Gangle let out a small, muffled giggle behind her hand.
Jax, meanwhile, burst out laughing, loud and unrestrained, doubling over enough that he had to brace himself against the bar to keep from sliding off his stool. He wiped at his eyes, still wheezing, and straightened just enough to look at Pomni with something wild and delighted in his grin.
Pomni laughed too, the sound slipping out of her before she could stop it.
In a sudden blur of movement, before she could even process what he was doing, Jax’s hands slid under her arms.
In one quick motion, he lifted her clean off her stool and swung her over the counter, setting her down on the other side of the bar where the drinks were mixed.
“Zooble, move. We need a better view of the President.”
“I’m supposed to be handing out drinks on my own adventure, you dumb[BEEP],” Zooble grumbled but they shifted anyway, pulling bottles out and placing them on the table. Their eyes lingered on Gangle’s giggling face for a second longer before finally moving to sit on Pomni's seat.
Pomni stood on the other side of the bar, awkwardly shifting her weight between her feet, fingers fidgeting against the edge of the counter.
Jax’s smirk deepened as he leaned both elbows on the bar, chin propped lazily in his hand, clearly enjoying her obvious discomfort.
Pomni caught the look and rolled her eyes at him, unimpressed.
Unexpectedly, Gangle raised her hand. “I- I think I’d wanna give it a try!”
She took a moment to steady herself, drawing in a small breath. “Uh. Uhm…”
“Ugh. Just spit it out, Ribbons—”
Zooble elbowed Jax square in the gut without even glancing at him.
He wheezed and folded in on himself, clutching his side, and Pomni had to bite down on her lip to keep from laughing at the look on his face.
Gangle cleared her throat, trying again.
“Uhh… Is your name Google?” she asked, the words tumbling out in a nervous rush. “Because you have everything I’ve been searching for.”
She attempted a wink after but ended up twitching and blinking both eyes instead.
Ragatha spoke immediately after, staring straight ahead at Gangle. “What’s Google?”
The bar went silent.
Jax slowly turned his head toward her. “Oh my god. I forgot you were from the stone age.”
“W-what? No I’m not!” Ragatha sputtered, sitting up straighter at the sound of Jax’s laughter. “I-I was always at the farm! I just never really got into anything techy while I was there. I-it’s something techy, isn’t it?” she added quickly, which only made Jax laugh harder.
Pomni bit her lip to keep herself from laughing before leaning over slightly to whisper to Ragatha, “It’s a search engine. You use it on a computer.”
Ragatha blinked. “Oh. I’ve only ever used Internet Explorer.”
Jax stared at her in disbelief. “You waited how long for pages to load?”
“Oh! I only used that once to download Chrome.” Gangle said brightly.
“Same.” Zooble snorted.
“How do you rate it, President?” Jax asked, turning back to her and leaning against the bar, his eyes settling on Pomni again.
Pomni pretended to deliberate, tapping her finger against the counter like she was taking this very seriously.
“I’d say it would work. Points to Gangle.”
Gangle hid behind her sketchbook, giggling.
“Whaaaattt? No way!” Jax protested, slapping his hands down on the counter. “That was the lamest pick-up line ever. Ragatha couldn’t even grasp it before she started questioning her own time period.”
He pointed at Ragatha, continuing. “If you told her to look it up, she’d pull out a library card.”
Even though it was mean-spirited enough to earn Ragatha’s eye roll, Pomni couldn’t help laughing at his particular brand of humor. It was terrible and unnecessary. It was also, unfortunately, very funny.
“Uh huh,” Pomni said, still smiling. “And you think you can do any better?”
She added a small smirk and a playful lift of her brows.
Something flickered in Jax’s eyes at that, quick, bright, almost competitive.
His grin sharpened. “Oh, how dare you.”
Before he could add anything else, Kinger suddenly gasped.
“...Because you light up my day!” Kinger shouted.
Zooble raised their glass. “That was probably the punchline earlier.”
“Okay, but since you said it too late, Kinger,” Pomni said, lifting her own glass. “I’m gonna be taking a shot. So should everyone else.”
There was a brief moment of hesitation. Then, one by one, glasses were lifted around the bar.
Even Jax rolled his eyes but reached for his drink anyway.
“[BEEP] it,” Zooble said. “I’ll give it a try.”
They leaned casually on the bar, half-lidded eyes aimed toward Pomni.
“Hey,” they said, voice dipping lower. “There’s a lot of beautiful things out tonight. And I’m sitting right next to one of them.”
Pomni blinked, caught off guard.
“Don’t you mean in front?—never mind.” Pomni covered her mouth to hide her smile.
Jax caught on almost instantly, his grin sharpening as his eyes flicked to Pomni’s in quick understanding.
Jax then stage-whispered loudly, “Way to give yourself away, Zooble.”
His gaze flicked pointedly toward Gangle, who was flushing bright red and suddenly very interested in the surface of the bar.
“...I had no idea you found me that beautiful,” Jax added, placing a dramatic hand over his chest.
“Oh [BEEP] off, Jax,” Zooble muttered, very visibly blushing.
Pomni burst out laughing at Jax’s comment, the sound bright and unfiltered as she leaned forward against the counter.
Jax turned toward her with a smile of his own, quieter this time, almost sincere. For a brief second, his grin looked boyishly soft, something bright seeming to spark in his eyes at the sight of her laughing so openly at his joke.
“What do you rate that one, President?” he asked, leaning a little closer across the bar.
Pomni didn’t hesitate.
“Definitely would work on me if I were the one sitting beside Zooble right now.”
Zooble rolled their eyes, but both their faces, Gangle’s included, were still noticeably pink. Pomni hid a smile beneath her hand as she tried to clear her throat. “Okay, who’s next?”
“Well, you adjusted quick.” Jax raised an amused eyebrow at her, clearly entertained.
Pomni replied with an exaggerated little shrug, trying very hard to look unfazed despite the grin tugging at her mouth.
Ragatha suddenly leaned forward, eager. “Oh! Me! I’ve never really done this much though. I-I’ve only done or heard these kind of things way back when there were people around the farm—”
“Oh my god just get to it,” Jax grumbled.
Ragatha flushed deeper but cleared her throat, propping her elbow on the bar the way Zooble had earlier. She tried to look casual.
“C-come to the bar often?” she began, voice wobbling just slightly. “Because I’m trying to figure out how I’ve lived this long without noticing you.”
Pomni’s eyes widened a fraction before she broke into warm laughter. “That was actually really good!”
“It’s good,” Zooble admitted, “but it’s so cringe listening to that. Please don’t say it again.”
“It sounds like an actual pick-up line,” Gangle added earnestly, turning toward Ragatha with wide-eyed approval.
Ragatha laughed awkwardly, shoulders creeping up toward her ears.
“Someone used that on you before, didn’t they?” Pomni asked, giggling. “So you weren’t just always at the farm after all!”
Ragatha’s face burned. “I-well, m-maybe once—”
“That means it doesn’t count!” Jax cut in. “It’s plagiarism, is what it is.”
Zooble snorted. “Everything that’s been said here is incredibly cringe-inducing and unoriginal. That’s been the only decent pick-up line so far.”
Jax rolled his eyes, but Ragatha was clearly pleased with herself, giggling into her hands.
“Aaaaaannddd that leaves the ultimate bit expert,” Pomni said, planting her hands on her hips. She leaned down slightly over the bar, peering up at him through her lashes in exaggerated challenge.
For just a second, she caught it, Jax’s face coloring faintly, his ears shooting rigidly upright like twin antennae locking onto a signal.
His reaction was immediate. He shoved a hand against her face and pushed her back just enough to create space, standing up smoothly from his stool.
“Course I am,” he said coolly, smoothing down his button-up shirt before loosening his tie another inch. “I’ll be the bartender for this.”
He adjusted his posture, rolling his shoulders once. The smirk returned, sharper now, practiced.
He stood to his full height, slow and deliberate.
Even with the bar between them, Jax leaned in close, still managing to tower over her from across the counter. The space between them shrank to something deliberate, something charged. They weren’t touching, not quite but they were close enough that she could feel the shift in the air.
Pomni’s smile faltered just a fraction.
He picked up his glass, turning it idly between his fingers as he stepped closer. His eyes never left hers.
He set the glass down in front of her with a soft clink.
“You know,” he said quietly, leaning just enough that his shadow fell over the counter, “it’s cute watching you play president.”
His fingers brushed the edge of her tie, not tugging, just grazing and deliberate.
“And I don’t usually serve anything this strong.”
Pomni could feel her face heat up a bit in embarrassment and her breath hitched as his gaze lifted back to hers, his eyes flicking to her mouth for a split second.
“But,” he added smoothly, voice low and steady, “I think I can handle you.”
And for one dangerous second, she forgot this was supposed to be a joke.
“President.” he finished lightly, the smirk returning just enough to make it look like he hadn’t meant every word.
“Oh my god, get a room.” Zooble muttered flatly, though there was a faint edge of amusement under it.
Beside them, Gangle had lifted her ribbons up over her face in scandalized horror but the strands parted just enough for one wide eye to peek through, watching the two of them with unmistakable curiosity and a very visible blush spreading across her mask.
Ragatha wasn’t any better; she wore the same stunned, flustered expression, her hands hovering near her mouth while her face flamed bright red.
But Jax didn’t pull away. He stayed right there in her space, still wearing that smug expression like he thought he’d landed the final blow and something about it made her move without thinking.
Pomni’s hand slid up and caught his tie, fingers curling into the fabric before she gave it a firm tug.
Jax let out a startled yelp as he lost balance, his long limbs folding awkwardly as he stumbled forward into a crouch against the bar, one hand bracing on the counter right in front of her.
The shift in angle changed everything. One of his knees had hit the floor in the stumble, the other bent awkwardly as he braced himself against the bar.
He wasn’t fully down but he was low enough that the difference was undeniable. Now he was the one half-kneeling, bent forward and she was the one looking down at him.
Pomni didn’t smile and she leaned in just slightly, still holding his tie, her eyes lowering into a half-lidded stare.
“You think you can handle me?”
She let the silence sit for half a breath before adding, her voice soft but steady, her gaze dragging slowly over him and the unexpectedly subdued look on his face
“This is a much better look on you.”
Jax’s face went so red so fast. It was impressive, really. His ears shot rigid, his mouth parting as if he had something sharp to say but couldn’t get a word out and for once, he was completely speechless.
Zooble let out a low whistle. “Well. She’s definitely the one eating you up”
Before anyone’s stunned expressions could fully register what had just happened, Caine appeared in front of them in a burst of noise, his voice booming over the room.
“I’m bored! Let’s go to the next adventure!”
Zooble shot upright in disbelief. “Just when it was getting good.” They turned sharply toward Caine. “You’re not even a part of—”