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Everything around Pomni was quiet; she assumed everyone else was having lunch in the cafe or something.
Ever since Caine came back to the circus, life had actually been quite nice and calm. The gang spent their days relaxing and playing games, just enjoying their delightfully stagnant lives.
There was one issue though, she thought, as she passed the large tent by the stage.
Jax
Though it hurt, Pomni liked to come in and visit his abstracted form sometimes. She wasn’t sure if he could see or hear her, but it gave her peace to think he could.
In the circus's silence, she could hear her footsteps echo on the cold tile floor as she strolled toward the tent.
She reached out her red-gloved hand to pull back the fabric to enter.
Her eyes adjusted to the darkness inside. Darkness specifically designed to keep the abstra… Jax calm.
In the corner sat the jagged, black, eye-covered, abstracted mass. His vibrant, glowing eyes were closed and calm. The body slowly rising and falling gave the appearance of breathing.
Biting her lip, Pomni hesitantly approached.
She got down on her knees, her chest tightening as tears welled up in her eyes.
Maybe if I…
She thought, recalling the moments before Zooble and the others had pulled her away the first time.
With horror, she remembered the sensation of glitches infesting her body, making even the simplest task of breathing difficult.
Despite her better judgement, she thrust her arms around the thing that used to be Jax.
Hugging him felt like sinking into numb radio static, feeling the mass shift beneath her grasp.
She hugged him tighter, feeling her tears burn her cheeks.
“I miss you,” she whispered, voice cracking through tears, “I really miss you.”
But suddenly, the shifting got more rapid, more violent.
Pomni was about to pull away when a burst of white light pouring from Jax’s abstracted form blinded her.
All of a sudden, the numb, jagged edges of the abstraction softened, became more solid, warmer, more…
Her breath hitched.
She pulled back, blinking away her temporary blindness only to find herself suddenly looking at that dumb purple asshole that she missed so much. He was curled into himself, hugging his knees, head lowered, ears flopped over his face.
“…Jax?”
He gradually raised his head until his gaze met hers. His yellow eyes, dull under the dim light, widened, pupils shrinking.
He let a single breath escape his mouth before lunging at Pomni in a hug.
She could feel his body quivering, shoulders shaking. He buried his head into her chest, squeezing her harder, letting the tears roll down his face.
She clung to him tightly, as if terrified of losing him again
Between sniffles from both of them, Jax broke the silence.
“How did you do that?” he whispered.
“I… um… hugged you?” Pomni stuttered, “But to be honest, I think some of that was you...”
Jax’s small smile melted into something more melancholy.
“I… I don’t deserve to come back. They’ll never forgive me.”
“Jax…”
“You saw everything I did,” he continued in a stern voice, “If someone here deserves to stay abstracted, it’s me. I made their lives here so much harder than they needed to be just beca…”
“I forgave you.” Pomni interrupted softly, gently running her hand over his head.
Jax’s breathing halted for a moment as he lifted his head to look Pomni in the eye
“But I…”
“I know you regret what you did, and in time… they’ll see that too.”
Jax sniffled again.
“You just need to show them what you showed me. I promise, everything will be okay.”
She let him fall back in her arms, gingerly stroking his back.
After a comfortable silence between the two, Pomni finally spoke up.
“Were you… conscious for all this time?”
“Eh… kinda,” Jax responded quietly, “it felt like I was sitting in a dark room for the most part. But I know you visited me… somehow I could like… sense your presence.”
“It was the least I could do.” Pomni said, a slight smile forming on her lips.
Jax paused before continuing,
“How long was I… you know…”
Pomni paused before responding, “A couple of months,”
Jax sighed, before Pomni continued.
“You know… a lot has changed in the circus since you’ve been gone. Caine… he came back and gave us control over the circus. We weren’t sure if we wanted to trust him again… but I think we all came around. We’ve expanded the place too! And we can…create whatever we want now, and it’s actually kinda nice and… hmph!”
Pomni felt a warm flush of red spread across her face as she felt Jax’s lips touch her own.
Thoughts erupted in her head, her stomach doing a flip inside her torso.
Holy crap, he kissed me…
His hand reached behind her neck, the other resting on the side of her cheek.
Suddenly, Pomni’s thoughts didn’t seem so loud. She let herself melt into his touch.
Returning the favor, she brought her hands to the sides of his face, keeping him from pulling away.
He let his gloved hand wander down to the small of her waist.
She felt his other hand pull the jester hat off her head, allowing him to tangle his hands in her hair as the kiss deepened.
Pomni could feel the tears still falling from his face, but this time, she was sure it wasn’t from sadness.
Jax pulled away just enough so he could speak.
“You know… we probably shouldn’t have done that.”
Pomni chuckled, “Yeah? Well, you should see Gangle and Zooble.”
“Wait, what?” He said, suddenly taken aback.
“Nothing,” she smiled, not doing well at holding back her laughter as she pulled him in for another kiss.
She grabbed the straps of Jax’s overalls, pulling the two of them to the ground.
The force broke their lips apart as they laughed at the commotion.
Pomni turned her head to look at Jax, who she found was staring back at her, leaning on his hand.
A soft smile appeared on his face, lids half closed.
“Hey, Pom Pom?”
“Mm?”
“You look really beautiful right now.”
Pomni sat up a little, butterflies circling in her stomach, the familiar flush returning to her cheeks.
“...if you squint.” He added, winking. The signature Jax cockiness making a return.
“Says the purple bunny.” Pomni joked back, lightly punching his arm.
“Whaaaaat? I’m just kidding.”
Jax paused.
“But that first part was serious… I love you, Pomni,” he said, cupping her face in his hand.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“I love you too,” Pomni said, smiling.
Lowering her eyelids, she continued, “besides… Did I ever tell you that I have a thing for tall guys?”
Jax flashed his signature smile.
“Come on, let’s go find the others.” Pomni said, holding out her hand to him.
He took the offer and slowly made his way to his feet.
They looked at each other for a moment, a hint of red arising on both their faces. Then Pomni took Jax’s arm, and the two of them walked out of the tent, almost like nothing had changed.
But it had, and this time… for the better.