Chapter Text
Chapter 1
The Price of Peace
There were…limits.
Sitting on the floor beside him, Ragatha's eyes had gone vacant, arms wrapped around her stuffing filled knees and pulling her body up to a dress-bound bell, disassociating. Gangle was on the ground with her mask pressed to the floor, crying quietly while Jax stepped on her ribbon body to keep her from uselessly attacking Caine. Zooble, on the other hand, was screaming. They'd started screaming almost three minutes ago.
Three minutes was a long time.
Gut squirming, Jax felt Gangle pull helplessly underneath his foot. He stepped off her, forward and onto her mask, which cracked underfoot, making her squeal and clutch at it, unable to even try with her face fallen apart.
“Hey! Caine!” Jax called.
The screaming stopped almost immediately, Zooble settling to helpless groaning as Caine dropped them from his jaws, scattering their parts. The toothed head turned slowly and Jax felt his courage quail. Still. “It's my turn.” He demanded evenly.
The ringmasters mismatched eyes fixed on the rabbit. Pomni, who'd been subconsciously standing a little behind Jax and Ragatha, tried to intervene, grabbing Jax's elbow and opening her mouth, but Jax didn't even look at her, eyes fixed on Caine as he reached back and shoved her away with a palm to the face.
“It's my turn.” Jax insisted again, jabbing a thumb to his own chest. “You've been paying attention to Zooble for like an hour!” He exaggerated. “What about me?? What am I, not good enough??” Jax held out his arms. “Come on! Shred me or burn me or something! It's my ***ing turn!”
The ringmaster stared, then one of his many arms reached out to pick Jax up like a doll. Jax reflexively held onto the fingers, starting to shake, as Caine lifted his up before his enormous jaws.
“Caine!” Pomni’s voice broke through shakily, and Jax half turned in Caine's grip, showing the jester his teeth.
“Shut up and let me do this!” He snarled back at her. Pomni shrank slightly.
Caine disappeared with him.
—
There were two kinds of Voids, they were starting to learn. One was the glitching white nothingness of the untamed world beyond the circus. The other was the cool black nothingness Caine had to create for them, to isolate them from the circus. Jax had begun to realize there was no spotlight making the cone of illumination; Caine had simply willed the light. Jax, laying flat on his back in the nothing after teleportation, made himself roll over and climb to his knees, scanning the blackness for Caine. He didn't see him. That sent his limbs trembling again, and Jax forced himself the rest of the way to his feet. He called the ringmasters name, loudly, voice cracking on the third try.
Caine appeared abruptly in front of him, those white teeth inches from Jax's face, enormous eyes fixed. Jax shouted and scrambled back, catching the smug, knowing look on Caine's eyes before realizing it had been a test of his response. Shit. He collected himself quickly, forcing a relaxed smile onto his face.
“Hey. There you are.” He said casually, crossing his arms. “What, I get a private session? Careful, they're going to think I'm your favorite.”
“You were my favorite.” Caine said matter of factly.
Jax blinked. “What, seriously?”
Caine nodded. “Of course. You couldn't tell?” He asked, tone blank and even. Jax was already learning not to like that tone. It meant Caine wasn't trying to impress him.
“But I'm not anymore?” Jax asked, trying to match his blank tone.
Caine stared. “Open your mouth.” He said evenly.
Protest rose and died on Jax's lips, remembering that Caine could force him. He didn't like the feel of the AI taking control of his character model. Hesitant, Jax slowly opened his jaws, watching Caine nervously. The ringmaster lifted his gloved hand and pushed two of his fingers into Jax's jaw up to the knuckles. In Jax's mind, he pictured the ‘dinner’ Caine had asked him on, how he'd been asked to reach around inside Caines mouth; he imagined Caine shoving his hand all the way down his throat, fishing through his soft no longer human guts– but Caine didn't push in any further. “Close your jaw.” He said softly, and the softness sounded dangerous in Jax's ear.
Pulse pounding, Jax slowly and delicately lowered his teeth to touch the ringmaster's fingers, tongue pulled carefully back and away from his digits.
“I said close them.”
Jax gave a quiet sound of stress but pressed his teeth a little closer, still not nearly hurting him. Caine leaned in. “Jax.” He said evenly. “If you don't bite my fingers all the way off, I'm going to bite off two of yours.”. He clicked his enormous white teeth illustratively. When Jax still hesitated, Caine shrugged and started to withdraw his hand, making panic bolt down Jax's gut and he clamped his teeth down in a terror, barely piercing the glove.
Caine went still, watching him, not showing any pain reaction as Jax bit down harder, looking more distressed than Caine as he struggled to make himself bite down to the ‘meat’. He gagged, body starting to reject the idea, and Caine grabbed him by the ears with his free hand to hold him still. “All the way.” He said, unsettlingly gentle. Jax gave a dry sob and ground his teeth against the plastic like framework inside Caine's model, struggling hard to break them. Finally he felt one give and he whined unconsciously as he gagged and ground at the other. When it came loose Caine pulled his hand away and Jax tried to spit out the fingers sitting in the back of his mouth, but Caine put his hand hand over his mouth, keeping hold of the ears. “Swallow.” He ordered flatly.
Jax must have, but he blocked from memory the feeling of Caine's fingers sliding down his gullet. He retched again, but when Caine wouldn't move his hand so he could puke he forced himself to swallow it down. Miserably.
Finally Caine let him go, and Jax bent half over, panting.
“Did you like that?’ Caine said evenly.
Jax shook his head frantically, unable to talk just yet.
“But you'd rather do that than I bite a piece off of you, hm?”
The tone. Jax froze, mind racing. What was he–
“It's almost as though you lied to me.” Caine said thoughtfully, cradling his wounded hand. “You don't want to be eaten at all. And what do we call dirty little rabbits who lie?” Caine pushed into Jax's space, making the rabbit recoil. “Liar, liar.” Caine whispered.
—
Jax appeared abruptly in the cafe, where the others had retreated after Caine left them alone. Pomni heard the pop and turned her head from where they were all huddled over the bar to see Jax staring at the floor with wide eyes. Before she could say anything he pitched forward and emptied his guts on the carpet, black glitch spreading out at his feet. Jax gasped for breath, looked over the mess he'd just vomited and swore, shoving his hand down his throat and wiggling his fingers against his tonsils until tears stood in his eyes and his gut booted again. There wasn't much, and certainly no fingers. He swore again shakily, wiping his face with the back of his hand, and staggered over to the bar to sit down heavily beside the others.
Nobody asked.
—
Kinger's turn.
Ragatha's turn.
Adventure Time again. (Dig yourself out of the shallow grave with your bare hands THE FIRST OUT IS THE WINNER)
Then dinner, from which ants erupted out of a cake and swarmed into Ragatha's hair and dress.
Then it was Jax's turn again, somehow, yanked right out of his bed by one of Caine's disembodied hands and thrown into a dining chair. Before he could get his bearings a leather strap whipped out from behind and wrapped around his waist, pinning him to the stiff back like a belt. Jax struggled against it but quickly looked up, seeing the dining table from Caine’s restaurant, the same one he'd been taken on the ‘dinner’ at when they were distracting Caine.
And there he was, sitting across from Jax. Staring at him.
Jax swallowed, eyes falling down to Caine's left hand, where he'd bitten off the fingers the day before. No one had noticed, at least not enough to say anything, and Jax had been a little relieved, thought the fact the fingers remained gone made his gut squirm.
Did he…did he actually…
Wordless, Caine picked up the knife from the table, just watching Jax recoil. He turned it in his hand mutely and shoved it into his own chest, watching Jax squirm as he sawed downward. Inside there was no bloody redness, just odd darkness. Caine set the knife back down on the table top with a metallic click, and Jax stared as the ringmaster reached his hands into the blackness inside his shell, grabbing something with a faint grimace and pulling. There was a meaty snap, and he pulled out a faintly glowing fleshy mass, throbbing, and Jax's gut turned when he identified the shape of a heart. Red and blue pulsed in the different ventricles, and Jax's stomach flipped when Caine slapped it down on the empty plate in the middle of the table and pushed it across to him.
“Eat.” He ordered flatly.
Jax shook his head, jaw clenched and shivering. A napkin appeared and tucked itself into the front of his overalls, and the knife and fork snapped into his hands. Jax held them, white knuckled, panting through his teeth. “Y-you know,” he tried “when somebody says eat your heart out they're not being literal.”
Caine didn't say anything, staring expectantly.
Jax whined. “L-look, I know I called you a liar but you are! So am I! I-is that what you want to hear? Is that what you wanted me to say?”
Nothing.
“I'm a liar. Okay??” Jax shouted, pressing forward against the belt. “I'm a dirty ****ing liar and a fake and a fraud just like everybody else! Just like you! Happy??”
Caine didn't even blink. Gut cold, Jax realized he wasnt dealing with the mask of a ringmaster: this was the AI god holding his place in the world with a typodont puppet.
“Eat.” Caine said evenly.
Bristling, Jax threw down the cutlery and grabbed the pulsing heart in his fist, squeezing it. He raised it to his teeth, opened wide, and took a fierce bite out of the side, eyes fixed on Caine. He chewed the mess as best he could manage and forced himself to swallow the coppery mess. It tasted like licking a battery, leaking some kind of thick blue and red nightmare that Jax wouldn't look at, not acknowledging it was running down from the corners of his mouth as he pulled the heart to his face with both hands and tore at it viciously, jealously, like a street dog, refusing to be outperformed by a god damned ai. If Caine could keep up the mask this long, so could he.
Chewing messily, he bit down on the pulsing thing inside, teeth jolting as he tore at whatever that glow was, grunting faintly at the electric jolt it sent down his body. Refusing to break, he swallowed it, gut turning, and opened his mouth wide to show Caine what he'd done. The remaining half a heart, no longer pulsing and glowing, he let fall from his hand to the tabletop, like it was worthless. The glowing fluid has settled to a dull, black sludge. Still meeting the ringmasters unrelenting gaze he forced a grin, giving a puff of breath to cover the shudder as the pulse in Caine's heart struggled in his gut like a goldfish. “That's all you got?” He asked, feigning relaxed. “Gotta say, Caine, these games are getting kind of repetitive.”
It had been a provocation, but still Jax jolted in surprise when Caine leaned forward over the table, grabbing Jax by the strap of his overalls and pulling him closer. The leather band Caine had used to strap him to the chair didn't budge and Jax gave a hitch of distress as his character model deformed, bracing his palms on the tabletop and pushing away.
“W-wait, what–” he got out, then Caine's tongue was dragged it up Jax's chest, throat, and face, licking off the (blood?) and making Jax cry out. “What the ****!” He complained, scrubbing at his face with his hands.
Instead of letting him go, the ringmaster crawled up onto the table, knees straddling his own ruined heart as he pushed Jax back against the seatback. Around them, the wooden makets that populated the restaurant went about their business as though nothing was wrong.
“C-caine?” Jax asked shakily, voice high. “Y-you’re kind of freaking me out right now…”
The hand missing fingers reached up and caught Jax’s ears, pulling his head up straight and getting a faint whimper out of him. The enormous teeth closed, leaving in close to Jax’s forcibly bared throat.
“Caine!” he squeaked, risking bringing his hands up between them and pressing back against Caine’s front teeth. They opened, and Jax tried to yank his hands back but that enormous red tongue pushed out between the eyes and licked Jax’s hand, wrapping around his wrist and dragging it into his mouth. Jax shuddered, trying to pull his hand back, but the jaws closed loosely around his forearm, making him go still. After a long moment Caine let his hand slide out from between his teeth, and Jax cradled it to his chest, eyes squeezing shut because he couldn’t look away. “What is wrong with you?” he puffed quietly, pulse pounding in his ears like a trapped bird.
-YOU TELL ME-
Caine hadnt said that. Jax hadnt seen the jaws move. The dull electric pulsing in his gut kicked up and he whimpered. The MC was staring at him darkly through the gap in his teeth. A dark, slow horror began at the base of Jax’s gut, climbing him and breaking like a tidal wave over his thoughts, scouring them away except for some odd black certainty that Caine Wanted Something from him, something of flesh….
(It's happening again–)
His vision started to go dark around the edges as his mind pulled back, hiding reflexively, and in the chair his body relaxed under Caine’s grip, letting his weight hang off his ears. After a moment Caine let go, and Jax slumped and nearly struck his head on the table before catching himself, sitting up at looking up at Caine with distant, empty eyes. Something in Caine’s expression quavered.
Then Jax was back in his room.
Back in his room…?
Blank, Jax lay in his bed and waited. He didn't (couldn’t) move, eyes on the door and pulse slow and heavy. When it eventually creaked open Jax stiffened, but the shape outlined in light was Pomni’s.
She flicked the lightswitch and called his name softly. “You awake?”. Jax blinked at the light, then slowly straightened, a casual smile and relaxed posture creeping over him. “Oh, hi Pom Pom.” he grinned.
Pomni hesitated. “It’s morning. The adventure starts in like ten minutes.” she said, then, more cautiously. “You doing okay?’
“Pft. Of course. Why wouldn't I be?” he grinned, standing and stretching elaborately before joining her by the door, letting her lead him off.
During the adventure briefing Jax stared at Caine, ears back, and said nothing.
—
Kinger’s turn.
Gangle’s turn.
Zooble’s turn.
Pomni’s turn. (“I'm fine.” she said reflexively as she returned, arms wrapped around her waist and eyes wide, posture rigid. Jax watched her warily for a moment, and black fluid began to leak out from under her hands. “R-ragatha, can I borrow your sewing kit??”)
Zooble’s turn.
Zooble’s turn.
Jax’s turn–
–”Wait–” Jax gasped, hands up in front of him immediately, surrendering. In front of him, in the black void, Caine froze, watching him.
Jax swallowed. “Wait.” he said again, trying to collect himself. His mouth tasted like sour copper. “I’ll do it.”
Caine blinked slowly, staring him down with that empty ‘I'm not going to bother controlling my puppet for you’ face. “Do what.” he said flatly.
Straightening, Jax smoothed his ears and swallowed again. “I’ll do what you want. Whatever you want. And you won't have to bother the others anymore, right?”
Blank. Jax couldn't read a thing off him. Girding himself, he reached out to him. “Give me your hand.” he said evenly.
There was a moment's delay, then Caine held his amputated hand out towards Jax, at mouth level. He took it gently in his hand instead, bending to kiss the open places where there used to be fingers on the glove. Caine was only staring at him. “It’s okay.” Jax whispered, nuzzling his face into Caine’s palm. “You can touch me. I’ll let you.”
There was a long hesitation, then Caine seemed to shiver, reaching his other hand up to cradle Jax’s face between them. Too aware of the thumbs, Jax flinched his eyes half closed and began to shake, hands reflexively resting lightly on Caine’s wrists. Fortunately the ringmaster didn't pry his eyes out again, gently feeling around his head and starting to scratch the base of his ears. Surprised, Jax had to brace his legs, eyes squeezing the rest of the way shut as those enormous jaws leaned in to nuzzle lightly against the side of his head, able to think only of them biting down again– Caine was shivering too. That surprised him. Hoping there wouldn’t be any repercussions, he made his hands soften, feeling up the ringmaster's arms to his shoulders, resting lightly there a moment. Caine’s arms slipped down and wrapped around Jax’ waist, pulling him tight against his chest.
A hug? Jax leaned cautiously into it, resting his chin on Caine's weirdly anatomically correct shoulders.
Caine sniffled. “I’m a good AI.” he said thickly, prompting.
Hesitantly Jax nodded. “Y-yeah. You’re a good AI.” he repeated, thinking that's what he wanted.
Caine shivered in his grasp, holding him a little tighter. “I make good games. And people like me.”
Jax swallowed. “You make really good games, big guy. And everybody loves you.” He felt Caine hitch, and something hot and wet hit his back. Was he crying???
“You love me.” Caine choked thickly.
“I love you.” Jax agreed immediately. “I love you. Everybody loves you.” he reached up to awkwardly pet the top of his head, not entirely sure how to do that. He just had…gums. Jax settled for petting the top behind the top hat, and felt Caine shudder and tighten around him.
That was the last thing Caine would say for the rest of the night. Jax pet his head, and murmured that everyone loved him, and he was good, and at some point Caine just…put him back in his room. Jax sat on the edge of his bed for awhile, waiting for the inevitable, but when no one came in he felt a rising sense of giddiness. He hadn't gotten tortured. He’d done it. He slept hard for the remaining hours.
—
No game.
No one's turn.
Giddy from fear and expectation, the players gathered in the main hall waiting for their day's fate, but Caine simply didn’t show up. When it seemed safe to they fled, hiding out in the cafe with its close walls and easily secured pleasures. No one ruined it with too many questions. Jax felt heady triumph, and ate cake (that did not turn into ants) in front of Ragatha, who still wasn't quite over it.
That night, Jax’s pulse was pounding before they even retreated to their rooms. He didn't bother laying down, standing awkwardly near the bed and glancing around the corners of the room.
“Caine?” He called softly, feeling a little absurd. “You listening?”
Nothing.
(Jax knew it was time to pay for tomorrow's good will.)
“Caine?” He tried again.
And there he was, hovering in Jax's room like a haunt, peering through teeth at him warily. There was an odd pause while both waited for the other to start the interaction, but before Caine could formulate and get out the boisterous sequence of “What can I do for you, my blossoming buttercup?” Jax stepped forward, startling him into retreating a few inches. Jax wrapped his arms around Caine's waist, squeezing him, the MCs hands hovering awkwardly away from his body.
“Uhh…Jax?” He asked nervously.
“Thank you.” Jax said quickly. “Thank you for not hurting us today. You're a good ringmaster, everybody loves you.”
It was too much at once, he could tell as soon as he felt Caine's suspicious hesitation.
“I didn't do anything today.” Caine said warily.
Jax swallowed. “I know. But you made a really good circus, and we finally had the time to enjoy it.”. He could feel Caine pulling away, and he tightened his hold, suddenly afraid. “You don't have to make us games! You can just come talk to us. Talk to us. Have you ever tried to talk to us?” Jax rushed in a panic.
Caine pulled his head back to stare at him, like Jax had just asked a question so absurd that there was no way to answer. Realizing he'd made an error, Jax reached up to catch his jaw, holding Caine's eyes on him. “Okay. Dumb question. Look. Look. No game tomorrow. Everybody's gonna gather, and when you'd normally bring us the game, just… just show up. Just show up. Okay?” Jax sniffed, only moderately aware of how fast his heart was pounding.
Caine looked blank. “So you can ambush me.”
“N-no. So we can talk. Just talk.” He said quickly. “M-maybe you can come up to the cafe and eat and just talk?”
Blank. Why was he being so difficult??
“The cafe.” Caine repeated
Jax nodded. “Yeah. The cafe.” He nuzzled Caine's jaw. “You show up and come to the cafe. I'll do whatever you want again. Did you like that?” He touched a needy kiss to Caine's mandible. “I can do other stuff, too. Do you want to **** me? You control everything, so I know you can, right?”
The tone and whole presentation was a little younger than Jax was now, and Caine tilted his head slightly, unsure what he was missing.
“...do you understand what I'm saying? ****Ing? ***?”. Confronted by his continued blankness, Jax tried making a crude hand gesture to illustrate.
“Can I hold you again?” Caine asked hesitantly, like a kid asking for an unearned sweet.
Jax's ears went flat. “I…yeah? I guess?” He said nervously. Except ‘cuddling’ wasn't a sufficient currency to buy good will for the whole crew for another day, was it?
Already hovering a little above the ground (Jax was certain he'd be chest high if he ever stood flat footed by him) Caine lifted another few feet up, catching Jax around the waist and lifting him too. The man gave a squeak of protest but quickly pulled his legs up to cling to the ringmaster, not liking how the ceiling of his bedroom lifted to allow Caine to float nearly ten feet in the air, Jax dangling precariously. When Jax tried to wrap his legs reflexively around Caine's waist Caine shifted back to make a seat of his lap, sitting in air and cradling the rabbit, who didn't seem terribly fond of the heights. Jax hid his face in Caine's shoulder as the ringmaster seemed to consider him, the grip around his waist softening as the damaged hand came up to absently trace the strap of Jax's overalls. It made Jax shut his eyes, expecting Caine to unfasten the metal button from its catch, but his hand slid right past it and lightly touched his hip, drifting slowly back up his spine and ribs, quiet and unbreathing, giving Jax few cues as the hand reached the back of his neck. Instead of the controlling grip Jax expected Caine began petting his ears again, slow and steady, jaws pressed alongside Jax's. Like he was listening to him breathe.
Caine nuzzled him lightly. “You love me.” He prompted, voice quiet.
Jax responded, well trained in ways Caine wouldn't understand but could empathize with if he could. “I love you.” He repeated softly.
“Again.”
“I love you.” Jax murmured obediently, somewhat soothed to be given a job, something to exchange for his favor. “I love you. I love you, Caine.” He nuzzled into his chest, curling against him and resting against the man's chest in a childish sleeping posture, putting on his ‘sleepy good boy’ act in the hope of avoiding suspicion of manipulation. “I'm yours and I love you…”
Caine's arms crept slowly around Jax's waist again, pulling him tight and resting his jaw on the top of the rabbit's head. “You're mine.” Caine repeated delicately.
Jax took it as an indication to elaborate. “I'm yours. All yours.” He breathed, pressing to him. “All of me. You love me?” He prompted, pushing him to play along too, and reaching up to lightly trace his fingers down Caine's jaw.
Caine, seeming to pick up on the exchange, nodded. “ I love you. I love you and you're mine.”
Jax gave a pretty little sigh and lifted his chin, pressing his collar close to Caine's teeth and giving a shiver to go with it. He shifted, grinding his rump against Caine's lap again just to see, but Caine didn't seem to notice. “...lay down in bed with me?” He offered innocently, toying with Caine's tie.
Caine's head, unattached by a neck, rotated to look down at him. He said nothing, but after a moment Jax realized he'd begun to lower them, and the MC shifted him to his arms to a bridal carry, laying Jax down gently on the bed like a child. Leaning into it, Jax reached for him and pulled him down to lay beside him, the MC bouncing slightly on the mattress, weightless. Jax pressed him flat, and climbed on top of him, laying across his chest to pin him. (Jax was going to be in control this time. It wouldn't be so bad, if he was the one choosing to manipulate Caine. It wasn't the same as things being taken from him.)
(Jax was in control this time. It was going to be okay.)
Jax slept, and had bad dreams.
—
Caine was still there. In the morning, Jax lay frozen over the man's chest, still trapped by arms around his waist, those big cartoon eyes staring at him. Oh God, what was he doing here??? Jax forced a smile across his face, relaxing and telling himself this was his idea and he was keeping everyone safe.
Oh fuck, he'd told Caine to come with him this morning. He'd been desperately trying to redirect the man, get him away from the fixation, and hadn't actually thought it through. Now, in the morning with time moving fast, Jax would have to face the reality of standing next to Caine in front of everyone else, when he was keeping Caine calm with one mask and the others distant with another. If he acted like his ‘usual self' in front of Caine the man would feel cornered and panic, and if he acted like…well, this… in front of the others… well they'd know, wouldn't they. Theyd know what Jax was. What kind of person.
He felt Caine tense slightly under him, and realized he'd been staring up at him like a trapped rabbit for ten seconds. He forced a smile and relaxed, shifting his body to innocently press a thigh to Caine's flat groin. (What else was he supposed to do? Did Caine even have a god damned erogenous zone??)) “Morning, big guy” He purred, stretching up to nuzzle his jaw. “Did you sleep good?”
“I don't sleep.” Caine said immediately.
…So he'd just been staring at him all night. Great. Jax sat up and stretched for Caine's benefit. He didn't know what time it was, and glanced over his shoulder consideringly. “Everybody else up already?” He asked lightly, testing.
Caine shook his head. “Kinger's still in his fort, and Zooble's trying on arms.”
Holy shit, he was watching all of them all the time.
“What's Pomni doing?” He asked, still testing.
Caine paused. “Talking about Ragatha's sewing kit.”
“Sewing kit? Why?”
Caine just stared at him.
Oh. Right.
“So it's just the girls out there right now?”
Caine nodded, looking oddly nervous. Jax was keeping his smile on, and reached out to take Caine's hand, which the MC just stared at like it was a toad. “Come on. Let's get this over with…”
—
Keep fucking smiling. That's it. He felt like he was dragging a balloon down the hall, Caine just floating and not following on his own, making Jax pull him by his hand. As the girls came into sight Jax quailed and dropped his ‘subservient’ smile to his ‘idgaf’ one as they came into the hall, meaning Ragatha and Pomni saw Jax with his shit eating grin towing a lock jawed ringmaster behind him. Ragatha startled and jumped to her feet.
“Don't panic!” Jax called. “Were just coming to sit down. Nobody panic.” He flashed a broad grin, trying to communicate that it was Time For Best Behavior, but Ragatha was the only one who picked up on anything at all. Pomni looked at where Jax was still holding Caine’s hand and blinked, getting a teeth bared flash from Jax as he pulled Caine to the row of building blocks they were sitting on and yanked him down to sit on the empty one. “Stay.” He said, pushing Caine down firmly, and when he let go the man didn't float. Just…sat there with his hands in his lap, jaw closed over his eyes. Jax put a hand on his shoulder to make sure.
Ragatha looked between them, flustered. “Jax! Caine! What… what brings you down here? …early?” She wrung her cotton hands. “The game doesn't usually start for…a little while…” Jax read the unhappy pleading tone. (Don't extend our torture!)
“Caine agreed not to do a game today.” Jax said carefully, grinning, belied by the rigidity of his frame. “Instead, he's gonna come up to the cafe with us and just have a nice conversation, where nobody gets mad and nobody gets their eyes pulled out through their noses.”
Caine hadn't moved an inch.
“And you guys, well, you're going to help here. Right?” He said, voice edged sharply. “Everybody plays nice? And help me keep a ****ing eye on Zooble.” He shot a look towards the hall of rooms. “And we -might- be able to have a nice day.”
Though none were using the same frame of reference, Ragatha caught on first, putting on her brightest fake smile. Mission ‘Appease the Beast' was on. “Sure! That sounds like a great idea!” She sat on her heels beside Caine, smiling sunnily at him and putting a hand on his knee. “Caine, do you want to walk to the cafe with us? Pomni can go tell the others that we are taking a day off.” Ragatha shot Pomni a sharp look.
Realizing that might be her best use (and shamefully willing to get out of the line of fire) Pomni nodded. “Sounds good. Yeah, I'll go tell Zooble and stuff and then I'll…come meet you.”
She didn't know what to make of it as she scuttled off, looking over her shoulder to see Jax and Ragatha each holding one of Caine's hands and coaxing him, the man just…floating like a balloon.
(Will-less. Empty. Lost.)
—
They'd gotten Caine seated awkwardly at the end of the bar. He looked like he had no idea what to do with his hands or legs, holding the head of his cane awkwardly, unknowingly making the smiles on their faces even brighter to compensate for the subconscious threat the fidgeting with his cane implied. Ragatha had picked up on it fairly quickly, tag teaming with Jax with bright, interesting conversation and questions, keeping Caine's attention moving between them in a way that interrupted any chance of escalation. It was a routine they'd done before in the past, before Zooble and Gangle showed up and Kinger would sometimes shut down like a lamp. Ragatha was better at doing what she was told than figuring it out herself, and she recoiled frequently at the way Jax would lean in too close, bat his eyes, use that sick baby voice to manipulate the man. He hadn't done it since Gangle appeared, triangulating instead, and while Ragatha had known it was wrong it had removed the focus from her just the same, and she'd been able to relax, aside from the guilt.
And here Jax was again, almost -flirting-, batting his eyelashes a little too much and touching Caine's arm or thigh every minute or two. And the voice, just a little higher than it had to be. But Caine seemed to….like it? Listen to it?
“Here, this one was my favorite.” Jax was saying, setting the mug of hot cocoa down in front of Caine, next to the chocolate cake Ragatha had selected. Maybe it was the word ‘favorite’. As Jax sat, he brushed his hip against Caine's shoulder and spread his knees so they touched his, just barely.
Three slices of thick chocolate cake, three mugs of cocoa. Horrible.
Ragatha took a bite first, giving a slightly exaggerated sound of pleasure. “These are really good.” She said encouragingly. “How did you get the flavor right?”
Caine didn't answer, watching her cautiously. Jax sipped the cocoa but kept his eyes on Caine.
“I never see you eat.” He said, leaning forward just a little bit. Jax picked up his fork and, imitating a girl he'd seen in a movie, speared a piece off his cake and put it between his teeth, giving an almost filthy little moan as he chewed and swallowed. Both Caine and Ragatha were staring at him, but likely for different reasons, and the inexplicable revulsion rolling in Ragatha's gut almost showed on her face. Why was he doing that? Why was he like that? If Jax noticed her discomfort he said nothing, instead spearing off another piece and leaning close to Caine, smirking faintly as he held it in front of his jaws. “Go ahead. Try a bite. It's good, we promise.”
Caine didn't budge. He stared out a fixed width aperture between his teeth, a mode Ragatha associated most with sudden manic breaks, and when Jax pushed the fork a little closer to him the man recoiled slightly.
“Oh, what.“ Jax snorted. “You can force feed me and I can't feed you? Or does it have to be meat?”
Ragatha gave him a strange look but Caine drew himself up a little. He reached into his own mouth and picked up his eyes like a pair of pool balls, putting them down on the table, then leaned forward and (imitating Jax to an uncomfortable degree, remapping his body gestures to his own) pulled the piece of cake off the fork. He didn't chew, though, doing some maneuver with his tongue and the food disappearing from inside his permanently opened oral cavity. Jax just smirked. “Good.” He said cheerfully, sitting back into his own place.
Ragatha stared. Jax pointedly began to eat his own cake, and Caine systematically copied him, taking measured bites with no apparent pleasure. Jax raised the stakes by taking a slow sip from his cocoa. Caine watched him from where his eyes were set on the table, then picked up the mug and imitated him.
Cocoa poured out from between Caine's teeth, spilling down the breast and back of his jacket and making him jolt, pitching his head down and covering his teeth with his hands. Ragatha immediately began shaking, expecting retribution for the humiliation, but Jax just laughed, not cruelly, grabbing his napkin and wiping the cocoa off of Caine's jacket.
“Maybe not the cocoa then. I'll finish it.” He said, as Ragatha took her napkin and helped tidy up too.
Caine snapped his fingers to remove the stain, then reached for his eyes to put them back in his head. Jax, in a move that made Ragatha nearly panic, picked them up instead and began twirling them in his hand, like walnuts. Caine swayed slightly and Jax stopped, still holding the eyes, tucking them against his chest. “Come on then.” He murmured. “Open your mouth.” He picked up Caine fork and speared another bite of cake. Ragatha watched nervously as Caine slowly opened his jaw a crack and let Jax put the fork between them.
—
Kinger got to hide in his pillow fort, Zooble and Gangle got to hide together in Zooble's room, why did Pomni have to go back and face Caine? Well, because Jax and Ragatha were doing it alone, and it wouldn't be fair to leave them to it …. Still, Pomni took her time as she made her way up to the cafe.
When she walked in, the three of them were clustered at the end of the bar top, Caine in the middle. On his left Ragatha looked like a kid in over their head, and on the right Jax was pressed almost completely against Caine's side, grinning and making soft small talk in an odd voice, guiding a forkful of chocolate Cake into Caine's jaws. At the sound of the door opening both of them snapped to look at her. Ragatha perked and cheerfully greeted her, beckoning her over, while Jax looked like a deer in headlights a half moment before pulling back from Caine, his grin shifting to the more familiar shit-eating variety, body posture aloof and disinterested as he tossed a pair of eyeballs onto the table. Caine's hand snatched them up and shoved them back into his law, lifting the upper mandible to peer at Pomni.
“Pom Pom! Hey, get over here, tell us the story about what happened to the grocery store you used to work for.” Jax grinned.
Pomni wrinkled her nose, sitting down beside Ragatha. “You mean when they shut down for six weeks?”
“Yeah! The gross thing with the meat department.”
It wasn't a story to be told over food, but Pomni hesitantly agreed.
—
“This is your fault!” Ragatha wailed, falling out of the portal in her haste and frantically slapping at her body to get rid of the bugs. Roaches, rats, maggots, a mold growth creeping the perimeter of the store; she still wasn't 100 percent clear on what COVID had been but the tale of what happened to Pomni's former workplace during the 'shutdown" had clearly made an impact on Caine.
While Ragatha frantically tried to beat the imaginary roaches out her dress Pomni scowled, hitching as her gut rebelled. “How was I supposed to know he'd do that?? Jax is the one who said to tell him, anyway!”
Kinger, seemingly unfazed, murmured “That was a lot of roaches.”
Jax came through the portal laughing. “Did you guys see that??? His head just EXPLODED when I hit it! There were brains EVERYWHERE!” He called excitedly, having spent the last hour caving in the heads of zombie workers crawling with mold. Zooble came through next, Gangle wrapped around her waist after the first time a single rat managed to drag the ribbon away. Whatever heads had not been cleaved by Jax had been caved in by Zooble, who was panting and still twitching while Jax hopped around chattering about the game.
Pomni bent over and put her hands on her knees. She'd emptied her stomach twice in the rotting grocery store, and was swallowing down the third. How had Caine gotten the smell just right??? She should have known yesterday's reprieve was temporary.
“Great job, my conquering heroes!” Caine's voice came loudly from above them. “You dispatched those evil mold people handily! You deserve a great big meal as a reward!”
There was groans all around, and Jax lifted his face up to Caine. “You're joining us, right?” he asked sharply.
Caine blinked at him. “I…guess?” He said, looking confused. Zooble swore at Jax under their breath.
It was exactly as awkward as it should have been. The table Caine had laid for them contained food they'd seen in the grocery store, sending Ragatha to the verge of tears.
“Eat up! You know you must have worked up quite an appetite!” Caine said, shooting Pomni an inexplicable black look.
Pomni bristled. “I'm not eating that.” She said firmly, face screwed up.
Caine turned to stare at her, and she refused to quail. Meanwhile, Jax turned to look at the table, thoughtfully scooping up a dead rat crawling with maggots. He lifted it to his face to sniff, then tentatively licked its foot. It didn't taste like anything. He opened his mouth and made himself bite.
No taste. Because how could any of them know what a dead rat tasted like?
“Oh, God **** it, Jax.” Zooble muttered, causing Caine to glance away from Pomni. Jax crossed back to Caine, holding the bitten rat out in front of him.
“Here.” He said blankly. “Bite.”
Caine just stared at him. The others went silent, expecting something awful was about to happen. When the ringmaster didn't move Jax took the liberty and reached out, taking Caine's eyes out of his mouth and shoving the rat in instead. He cradled the eyes against his chest and gently pushed the jaws closed. “Good boy.” He said, patting the top of his head.
The tent glitched. Caine and the table both vanished without a word.
—
“What did you do??” Ragatha demanded.
With the threat gone Jax’s body was starting to dump the held adrenaline, making him shake. He forced a broad smile, giving a good imitation of calm. “I just got you guys a half day off. Come on, give me some credit.”
“What if he's mad at us when he gets back?” Gangle asked nervously.
“Then I'll fix it! Jeeze, what do you guys want from me??” He passed a shaky hand over his ears. “I’m gonna go get some sleep while I can. Keep an eye on each other.”
Ragatha started. “Jax, we shouldn't split up! Who knows what–”
“I said I'll handle it!” Jax snapped, going to his room.
—
(In his room, Jax doubled over and put his hands on his knees, shaking violently. His breath came in pants as he tried to stay calm, but after a moment he fell forward into his hands and knees and braced shakily on the floor, hyperventilating. Eventually he just lay down on his side and shook, eyes blank and terrorized.
(Worthless nothing horrible filthy–)
...
…
…
…”Don't tell your mother–”)
—
Pomni did nothing special. All day. Caine knew because he watched her.
(Technically he watched everyone, but Pomni received special attention. Jax had shoved him away when she'd walked in. Jax had bitten a rat and shoved one in his mouth to prevent her from having to. Why did she get any special consideration?)
Jealousy was not a concept Caine was familiar with.
—
Bright smile, flicker of tail; Jax sat up from his bed when Caine came in, seemingly happy to see him. Caine watched through his teeth as Jax crawled to the edge of the bed, giving a flirtatious little flutter, and held a hand out to Caine. Caine, helpless, floated across to him. Jax caught his wrist and dragged him onto the bed. (If he couldn't control the outcome, Jax could control the event)
Caine hitched, refusing to exhibit weight on Jax even as the man wrapped his ankles around his waist, pulling him down tight against his body. “C'mere.” Jax puffed, dragging his nails lightly down Caine's back and shifting his hips up against his, giving a pretty little whimper. He ground against him with a low whine, and he felt Caine shiver at the sound. Oh, he liked noise? Caine wanted to hear him?
“Caine–” he panted, pressing to him, nuzzling his face to his collar. He whimpered and shivered, shifting his hips in a near simulacrum of sex that Caine couldn't quite appreciate but made something buzz in his code, making him feel confused and dizzy, hesitantly moving his hips with Jax. The rabbit squealed, clutching him encouragingly and helping get him into some kind of rhythm. His pretty whimpers made Caine's thoughts shut down. “Please–” Jax whined shakily, lying, good at pretending to be something he's not. A hand found its way to Caine's jaws, pulling him down to press the arch of teeth against his rubbery shoulder. Caine resisted, pulling his head back, but he certainly didn't resist hard. He could hear Jax panting and puffing, the rhythmic movement of him, the way his hands pulled at Caine needily. Needing him. Caine burned to be needed. “Please-” Jax puffed again, holding the teeth down against his skin. “Caine… make me yours…”
Jax felt the jaws open slightly and whimpered, pressing down to put a slice of his shoulder between the incisors. It was the closest he could think of to sex, head swimming slightly with early endorphins, needing Caine to be happy with him so he could feel safe. He felt the jaws twitch and squeaked, pressing him down. Shivering, Caine gave in and bit down.
Jax screamed. He clawed Caine's coat, thighs tight around the man's thin waist, body shaking, and in the room across the way Pomni sat up with a frown, able to hear something like struggling and then the scream– Jax shuddered, body trapped by the frame of Caine's teeth, pain scattering his thoughts as thoroughly as pleasure. His scream broke off with a ragged groan as Caine shakily let go with his teeth.
He'd moved them.
Pomni shifting had made Caine jolt, grabbing Jax and vanishing to his office with him, like a child hiding his toy. There wasn't a bed, and Jax collapsed shaking and panting on the cold marble floor, eyes looking glazed. The ringmaster pulled back, and Jax, holding his lapels and clinging, half climbed onto his lap, ears flat and nuzzling his head frantically under Caine's jaw. He'd been good, that meant Caine was happy with him, right? That meant he was safe? He deserved a reward? Caine's demeanor seemed to soften and he collected Jax up in his arms, the rabbit's head hiding under his lower jaw plate and shivering.
Caine didn't have a word for what he felt, starting to pet Jax's head and ears slowly, feeling the trembling little body start to relax in his arms.
“I did good?” Jax puffed, in that high voice nobody but Zooble would recognize for a pacifying child's voice.
Caine swallowed. “You did good. Very good.”. He managed dryly.
Jax shuddered and relaxed, going slack in his lap and leaning all his weight on Caine's chest in relief. Caine pet him while little aftershocks and trembles shook Jax's back.
—