Chapter Text
Gangle’s pov
Day 1 of Jax’s affliction, right after Jax consumed the potion.
Gangle was glaring at the wall next to her, sniffling occasionally. The day had been one disaster after another. They were in a dungeon of a fantasy adventure and her comedy mask had shattered at the very start. (Thanks to one particular rabbit.) Then the humans accidentally got split up into two groups, and she was unfortunately in the same group as said rabbit. And once they all learned there were potions in this adventure, that same rabbit made it his mission to become even more of a nuisance!
Ragatha had managed to wrestle away a bottle labeled "Potion of Invisibility” from Jax, only for him to find a similar bottle and down most of the contents. Ragatha hadn’t been nearby, keeping both herself and the invisibility potion far from Jax, so Gangle was the first person he saw after drinking it. Before Gangle could even ask what Jax had drunk, he'd locked eyes on her and tackled her. Gangle’s startled shriek had caused Ragatha to rush back, only for the ragdoll to find Jax draped over Gangle while warbling sweet words and the ribbony woman looking absolutely befuddled. Turns out, Jax had consumed a love potion.
In the end, it was almost easier to navigate the adventure with Jax in his impaired state. So long as he was allowed to hang on to Gangle, he was happy to follow along with just about anything. But he wasn’t any help with the puzzles or challenges they found. Which is how Gangle found herself here, sat on the floor next to Jax, glaring at the wall like it had wronged her. They’d gotten stuck on a puzzle that wouldn’t let them progress and Ragatha had sheepishly asked Gangle to stay behind with Jax while she went to investigate. Gangle had said yes, what else could she have said with Jax’s slack form hanging off her, but she’d been silently unhappy about it.
Jax had long since slumped down to sitting on the floor and had dragged Gangle down with him, his arms slung around her middle and his head resting on her shoulder. Gangle had her knees up to her chest and her arm crossed over her knees, like she was trying to close herself off from the rest of the world. She couldn’t help but think bitterly. He’s acting the complete opposite of his normal self, and I’m still stuck in the role of his damn toy! I wished he'd taken a potion that makes him forget that I exist! She gave an annoyed huff as she stewed in her own frustration.
“Whazza matter?" Jax slurred at her. Gangle jumped a little. His mental awareness and ability to talk had been on a steady decline since drinking the potion, so she hadn’t realized he was aware enough to notice her mood.
She didn’t feel like explaining her frustration with his constant attention, so she just mumbled. “My comedy mask is broken.” It was as good an excuse as any.
Jax sluggishly nuzzled his cheek against the side of her mask in an attempt at comfort. “Izz okaaay.” He cooed drunkenly.
“You broke it.” Gangle muttered, turning her head even more away from him. Jax stopped nuzzling and was quiet for a while. She wasn’t facing him, so she had no idea what his expression was and found herself too uneasy to check. So she just continued to glare at the wall.
After a long pause. Jax sheepishly murmured. “Don’t like it.” Gangle was surprised to hear him continue the conversation at all. She made a curious noise and Jax continued. “Don’t like mask. Bad mask. Izz not real.” His words slurred together, but we’re still coherent enough.
Gangle gave a tired sigh. “W-well I still need it. At least sometimes… I think…” She trailed off, trying to find the right words. “I sometimes feel- oh, why am I telling you any of this? You’re just going to go back to hating me once this wears off!” She cut herself off and grumbled to herself.
Jax still heard it and made a very offended sound. “Nuh uh! I don’t hate you! I looooove you!” He drawled, and Gangle could hear the lopsided grin in his voice.
“For now.” Gangle quipped, not giving his words any weight. She’d gotten used to his cheesy confessions already.
“Foreve’!!” Jax exclaimed happily! “I love you foreve’~” he purred, pressing his nose against her back where her shoulder blades would be.
“Sure got a funny way of showing it.” She grumbled against her knees.
Jax made a hurt whine from behind her and nudged her shoulder with his chin. “Izz true.” He insisted meekly. “I love you alwayzz.” He muttered it against her shoulder so earnestly.
Gangle felt her resolve to stay mad about the situation wane. She peeked back at Jax and saw him gazing back at her reverently. His mouth still pressed against the back of her shoulder and his wide eyes sparkled as he peered up at her. Despite everything, he did look cute like this. A cooing smile fought its way onto her face and she had to stifle a giggle at just how adorably silly he looked.
Jax seemed to perk up at her reaction. “You belief?” He asked excitedly.
Gangle quickly covered up her laugh with a cough, not wanting to get the bunny’s hopes up. “*Ahem* Not *cough* not unless you can say that sober.” She said, trying to let him down gently.
“I caaaaaan’t!!” He whinged loudly. “Sobe’ Jax izza coward!!”
That made Gangle sputter out a laugh. She tried to cover her month with both hands, but her shoulders still shook with mirth. Thankfully, Jax didn’t seem offended by her reaction. In fact, he pulled her in closer and tried to crane his neck around to see her face.
“See! See! Real happy! No mask!” He insisted proudly. Despite the state they were in, that made Gangle smile bashfully.
Gangle was able to compose herself by the time Ragatha returns. The doll helped the pair up, and if she noticed Gangle’s slight blush, she was nice enough to keep it to herself. As they continued on, Jax’s impaired observations of her happiness made her feel, well, happy. … For about 5 minutes. Then reality slowly seeped back in.
Memories of Jax past cruelty and the obvious knowledge Jax, when sober and in his right mind, was someone who chose to hurt others crept back into her mind. Her smile fell away as she understood Jax’s current words and actions would change nothing once he was back to normal. If he even remembered any of this, he might act worse to make up for his time acting sappy. Suddenly the feeling of his hand holding hers and his leaning into her felt cloying and suffocating, like a heavy burden she couldn’t escape.
Jax didn’t seem to notice this time, his impairment worsening as time went on. When they next stopped, he swayed into Gangle again with a swooning murmur. “I love you alwayzz~” He purred. The words gave Gangle no comfort.