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Gangle couldn’t bear to open her mouth right now.
It was her fault, really… she had seen it online years ago, and had dismissed the idea immediately. It’s weird, weirder than usual for her, awful, strange, embarrassing, even. So horrid, she had forgotten she had even seen it.
But with everything going on in the circus recently, Gangle couldn’t help but think about it. Even when she went on adventures, the thoughts and comforting scenarios persisted, calming her.
She had to get a cage.
Yeah. Of fucking course she wanted a cage! The only thing making her feel less nauseated about the idea was that she wasn’t enticed in… that way by it. Not really. Just the confinement, the closeness, the feeling of safety gained from being locked away. She could decorate it, draw in it, hell, maybe she could even sleep in it!
If she were allowed to do all that stuff in here, anyway.
“Gangle?” Zooble questioned, nudging Gangle’s grilled cheese, lying untouched on Gangle’s plate. “You okay?”
The woman flinched, electricity coursing through her ribbons as she stammered. Her eyes darted around the room, her face flushed.
“Uhm—yeah! Sorry, j—just a bit preoccupied, I suppose…”
Zooble tilted their head, eyeing their girlfriend as she stumbled over her words. Sighing, their shoulders slumped, all while they took in the adorable blubbering view.
“I was—what are you doing?”
They chuckled, taking another sip of their coffee before speaking up, “You don’t have to tell me, I just want to make sure you’re, y’know, okay and all that stuff,” their voice soft, inviting — it nearly sickens the other.
“I’ve just been thinking.”
There’s a beat, Gangle’s gaze downcast as Zooble fiddles with their fingers — their shoulders going rigid.
“…about what?” They asked.
Gangle sighed shakily and began fidgeting with her ribbons. Her body was heavy and nervous, and her mouth seemed to trip over itself, a flood of words rushing out. Her ribbons coiled as her body tensed horribly.
“I think I want a cage.”
Zooble blinks and eases backward. Gangle’s lower lip is quivering.
“I don’t—what?”
“I… want a cage,” she replies, her voice tiny, “I do better in areas of… smallness, confinement, I think.”
Another wave of silence washes over the two, Zooble still staring in shock? Horror? Disgust? Hell, Gangle should be grateful that—
“And you would feel calmer if
you could rest in a cage…” Zooble trailed off, their gaze piercing through her, “Like a… pet?”
The woman across the table froze, “Yeah, in a way, but I don’t know if I wanna be one though, not like that, just wanna feel… safe, and the thought of…”
Gangle’s eyes widened, her ribbons clasping both of her cheeks as she cooed quietly. Her words slurred and mumbled, swirling around her ever-mangled mind. The air burned her lungs as she inhaled. 1… 2… 3…
Zooble squeezed her hand, rubbing their thumb over the fabric, “Look, I want you to feel safe, and if this helps you with that? What the h%$!#.”
Gangle hummed and nodded, letting out a meek whimper of gratitude.
“I’ve heard weirder, trust me,” they whispered, leaning in to peck her cheek. Though the most they could do was tap the side of her porcelain.
But it made her giggle, at least.
“You, uh, ready?” Zooble murmurs, their hands hovering over the lock. Gangle nods tentatively in response, her ribbons twirling and knotting around each other.
The cage opens with a light click, the metal rubbing against Zooble’s plastic as they slide the gate open carefully. Gangle’s heart thumped loudly against her chest, her head far too loud for her tangled mind. Her eyes wandered around the enclosure, her ribboned knees brushing over the blankets as she cooed quietly. Her little hums and squeaks echo throughout the metal chamber.
“You like it?” Zooble hummed, their fingers tickling her back. Gangle nods, crawling further into the cage. More pillows and blankets decorate the sides, topped off with a large, soft bear.
“I wanted to put some lights up, but I wasn’t sure if that was something you wanted, since you already, uhm—OOF!”
Gangle launches herself into Zooble’s arms, melting in their embrace — Zooble flinching at the contact. They stiffened, cursing their material and their social ineptitude. Though even through their awkward graces and clunky bones, they still felt their body relax, letting their cheek press up against Gangle’s.
It hurts when she pulls away.
“‘Kay, feelin’ a bit… tired now,” she mumbles.
Zooble’s gaze softens, playing with the end of Gangle’s ribbons, “You need your binkie?”
Gangle blushed hard, her face flooding with an all too familiar fuzz as she babbled — shaking her head. The other nods as they peel away, shuffling out of the cage before…
“Wait—” Gangle begins, “is… is the lock good enough?”
Zooble stills, the former delightful fluff that surrounded their mind had now dissipated, leaving behind a barren reality. They had remembered some other more adult concepts coming into Gangle’s mind before, even when she was ‘teetering’ about like this… but no matter how many times they’re reminded of who she is, it doesn’t make it ever hurt any less.
The torn silk ends, the glazed look, the sharp, heavy breaths that accompanied her slurred words — Zooble sighs their chest tightening as they stiffened, all the indicators of the woman’s usual… regression? Reversion? Whatever it was called.
Still, they clenched one of their fists, then unclenched it, trying to stimulate something within them, something to say, something to say to a half-child who’s been made so scared to sleep that she needs a damn crate. A crate they asked for, decorated, and was now crouched in front of.
“No, Gangle, no—no one’s getting in, okay?” They assured her. “There’s a lock on the door… and on the cage.”
Gangle eyed the latch, the metal had been colored differently from the rest of the pen. The fuchsia clashed dreadfully with the powder pink shade the rest of the cage sported, though it did make it easier to spot. She couldn’t decipher whether Caine had done it purposefully or not.
She smiled, nuzzling her face deep into the blankets below. Her partner watched happily as they shuffled out and locked the cage shut.
Gangle, now, could let her mind slip into the fuzziness. The persistent ache within her bones ceases for the night.