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As the group returned from the, as Jax puts it, the most boring adventure ever, they all take the opportunity to relax while they can.
Jax stretches his body out. “Welp, I’m going to bed. See you losers later.” He waved as he excused himself. Nobody bothered to reply as they were all too tired.
Once Jax walks inside his room, he pulls out something from his pocket. He smuggled a bottle of stupid sauce from the adventure. While he saw the effect it had on Ragatha, he wanted to test it himself. He thought maybe Ragatha was way too weak to handle the effects. And that it can’t be that bad. Right?
Well it was time for him to experiment with it. He took the bottle and squeezed a bit of the sauce in his mouth. He groaned a bit from it tasting so bad.
Suddenly his mind was fuzzy and his body felt light. He had no care in the world and felt happy. Almost like he was totally drunk.
A few minutes passed and Pomni was walking down the hallway to her room. As she began to open the door, she heard a crash coming from Jax's room right across.
She got concerned and decided to go check on him. First she knocked. “Jax? Are you okay?” No response.
She tried opening the door and surprisingly, it was unlocked. “Jax?” She peered inside.
She saw Jax face down on the floor. “Jax!” She pushed the door open all the way and rushed over to him. She got down on her knees. “Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!” She frantically asked. All she got was a groan in response. “I'm going to turn you on your back.” She flipped him over and that's when she noticed.
Jax looked at her with hazy eyes and a smile on his face. “Pomniiiii!” He slurred.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “What’s wrong with you?” She then spotted the bottle of stupid sauce on the bed out of the corner of her eye. She stood up and immediately grabbed it. “Jax, where'd you get this?!” She yelled.
He simply giggled. “Wouldn't you like to know.”
“Did you sneak this in from the adventure?!”
“Maaaaybeeee!”
Pomni groaned in frustration. “You are not fit to be alone right now. C’mon, let’s get you in bed.” She attempted to pick Jax up from the floor, but with his balance being so far off, they eventually collapsed back down.
Pomni shrieked as she tumbled to the ground, with Jax landing on top of her. After rubbing her head from it slamming into the floor, she looked up and finally noticed Jax in her lap. Immediately she started blushing.
Jax also then raised his head. When he looked at her, his eyes were sparkling. He seemed enraptured by her appearance. While Pomni was just a stuttering mess, he was simply in awe with her looks. All he could do was stare at her. Meanwhile Pomni was too frozen to move. And it seems Jax took his opportunity.
He raised a hand and reached out to her face, cupping her cheek in his palm. She wanted to move, push him away, something. But she couldn’t. His touch felt weirdly gentle and soft. It felt nice. The only move she was able to do was lean into the touch as she closed her eyes. She placed her own hand against his.
Finally, Jax spoke. “...God you’re so beautiful.” He muttered.
Pomni could feel her heart racing, but she didn’t want this to end. She softly smiled at what Jax said. “I hope you actually mean that.” She whispered.
Realizing what just happened, her eyes snapped open. “Okay moving on!” She was trying to calm her heartbeat after that incident as she stood back up.
She tried again to pull him back up. Luckily Jax had good enough balance to somewhat stay on his feet. She had him sit on the bed. “Don’t move. I’m gonna check for pajamas to wear.” She spoke firmly then turned around.
A few moments passed and Jax suddenly started breaking down in tears. When Pomni heard him crying, she turned to face him again. “Jax, what’s wrong?”
He sniffed while tears streaked down his face. “D-Do you… h-hate me?” He squeezed out between cries.
Pomni became even more confused after hearing that. “What? No, of course not. Why do you say that?”
He started hiccuping as the tears kept flowing. “Everyone else does. Ragatha was right. I just f*ck everything up.”
Pomni started feeling pretty bad for him. She doesn’t know hardly anything about his past, but nobody with a conscience deserves to feel hated for the mistakes they made.
She placed a hand on his cheek and used her thumb to wipe away tears. “Hey, I know you made mistakes, but we all still care about you. You’re not alone Jax. At the very least, you have me.”
Jax sniffed again and leaned forward to pull Pomni into a hug. “Thank you, Pomni.”
She felt pretty startled by this, but then returned the hug. “You’re welcome.” She said smiling. It was nice seeing this side of Jax. Him being open and vulnerable. Even if it was because he’s under the influence of the stupid sauce. But even so, she was still happy to see it. She rubbed his back a little bit before letting go. “I think it’s about time you get some sleep.”
Jax nodded. “Yeah, I’m so tired.”
“Glad we’re in agreement. Let me get those pajamas.” She turned back to where she was before and pulled out a T-shirt and pajama shorts. She handed it to him and turned around while he changed. When he was done, she faced him again and helped him lay down and get comfortable.
Jax suddenly reached out and grabbed Pomni’s arm. “Can you stay in bed with me?” He pleaded.
Pomni immediately blushed. “I- what?” She stuttered. She assumed he wasn't hearing himself. “I-I guess?” That was the best response she could give. It's not that she didn’t want to, she was just stunned he asked her that. But she'll do it if that’s what he wants.
She crawled into his bed next to him and pulled the blanket over both of them. “Alright, well goodnight Jax.” She said awkwardly.
“Night Pomni…” He muttered.
Pomni sighed and closed her eyes. As she started to relax, she suddenly felt something touch her. Her eyes shot open as she jumped slightly.
She looked and saw Jax had draped his arm on her. She was about to say something, but noticed he already passed out.
Her heart was racing. She wondered if Jax actually liked her this much. Part of her really hoped so.
The thought made her smile. Pomni leaned in and gently kissed his forehead. She closed her eyes again and soon drifted off.
The next morning arrived sooner than expected. Jax groaned as he started to wake up. “Ugggh my head…” He mumbled.
His eyes fluttered open and was met with Pomni sleeping next to him.
Jax immediately pulled his arm back and sat up. His cheeks turned red and his heart pounded in his chest.
“That dumb stupid sauce. Hope I didn't look like an idiot.” He muttered to himself.
He continued staring at Pomni. He sighed and stood up. He pulled the blanket back over her and left the room.
He strolled down the hall and met up with everyone else for breakfast. “Morning losers!” He said with his arms behind his head.
“Morning Jax!” Kinger said while waving.
As he went to grab his food, Zooble peered over and narrowed their eyes. “What made you decide to actually show up for breakfast? You never show up.”
“I still get hungry once in a while. Why, were you waiting for me Zoobie?” He teased.
Zooble rolled their eyes. “As if. Whatever, just don’t bother us.” They walked away carrying their food.
His smile dropped a bit. He went ahead and got food for him and Pomni. Without saying anything else, he carried both back to his room.
When he entered, Pomni was sitting on the edge of the bed. She rubbed her eyes and smiled. “Oh, morning Jax. Are you feeling better?”
He chuckled. “I’m just fine, Pomni. You worry too much.” He walked up to her and gave her the food he got. “Here you are, my damsel.”
Pomni giggled and took it from him. “Oh such a gentleman.” She teased.
“Hey, I know how to treat a lady. I’m not evil.” He boasted.
Pomni smiled softly. “But seriously, thank you for bringing me breakfast.”
“Don’t read too much into it. I was already getting food for myself and you were sleeping in my room.” He tried playing it off.
“Mhm. Whatever you say, Jax.” She knew he was lying but didn’t want to argue this early in the morning.
They started eating breakfast in silence. Pomni wondered if she should address the events of last night. Jax most likely doesn’t remember anything. Maybe she should ask about his past? She wasn’t sure anymore.
Pomni looked over at the wall next to the bed. There were a bunch of pictures sprawled out on it. But only one was showing. A picture of Jax, Ribbit, and Kaufmo. She raised an eyebrow and finally decided to ask about it.
“Hey Jax, what are those pictures?”
He glanced at the wall then looked down. “Nothing really. Doesn't matter.”
Pomni highly doubted that. “Are those your friends?” She pressed on.
Jax shrugged. “Yeah. So what?”
“They abstracted, right? What happened?”
He scowled while still looking down. “I don't wanna talk about this. Just drop it, Pomni.”
“I-I just want to help. Tell me what's wrong. Please, Jax.” She pleaded.
“Stop it. I don’t need your help.” He growled.
“That’s a lie and you know it.” She quickly called him out.
Jax started getting worked up. His heart rate was getting higher. “Pomni, stop.” He gripped tightly onto his pajama pants.
“No! Why won't you let me help you?!” She yelled.
His breathing was shaky and getting quicker. “I… I’m…” He muttered. The words sounded pained.
Pomni suddenly got concerned. “Jax?”
He wasn’t listening. His ears were ringing as his vision got blurry. “I-I can't breathe.” That was all he could get out. He clutched his chest as he began hyperventilating.
Pomni immediately got down from the bed to where he was on the floor. “Hey, it's okay. You're okay.”
But Jax wasn’t responding. His mind was on a downward spiral.
Not knowing what else to do, Pomni leaned in and hugged him. “It's okay, Jax. I’m here. Just take deep breaths and focus on my voice.”
He shut his eyes and took in shaky deep breaths. It soon got easier and his heartbeat slowed down. Finally he was calming down.
“Feeling better now?” Pomni asked.
“Y-Yeah.” He replied after letting out a deep breath.
She felt safe letting him go now and leaned back. “I’m sorry, Jax. I didn’t mean to pressure you. I just want to know why you keep pushing me away.”
Jax started to feel bad about this. He sighed and finally relented. “Alright, fine. I’ll tell you everything.”
He went on to explain how close he was to Ribbit. She was his bestest friend and they did everything together. Until they had an argument that caused a rift between them. They didn’t talk for a while until Jax decided to go to her room to apologize. But by the time he entered the room, she had already abstracted. Later on, Caine eventually found her and put her in the cellar. And he never saw her again.
After he finished telling the story, there was a bit of silence between them. Pomni didn’t really know what to say. But now she understood why Jax acts the way he does. “Jax, I’m sorry you went through that. It must’ve been hard.” All he could do was nod. “But it’s not your fault. I’m sure Ribbit wouldn’t want you blaming yourself like this.”
“I don’t know.” He said quietly and lowered his head.
Pomni scooted closer to him and put her hand on top of his. “You don’t have to go through this alone. I’m always here for you.”
Jax blushed a bit. “I…” He was rendered speechless.
Pomni couldn’t help but giggle slightly. “It’s okay, you don’t need to say anything.” She got even closer and leaned against him.
Jax blushed even more and smiled. “J-Jeez Pom, you’re clingy today.” He said anxiously.
“Nah, you’re just such a lovable bunny.”
He scoffed in response. “Yeah, yeah.” But secretly, his tail was wagging.