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The kaleidoscopic swirl and zoom is no longer unfamiliar or scary to Pomni. She’s not sure if this is all that risky, especially since Caine has made amends with them now.
Regardless, whatever the risk may be, she knows it’s worth it.
The plethora of eyes, hued blue green and purple, swirl together quickly in an almost dizzying frenzy.
And then, peace.
The scenery today is minimalistic, as it often is. Amidst the poorly buried sadness she feels that this is the only way they can meet now, there’s a slight sense of relief that he’s at peace.
As she steps into the reality of Jax’s mind, a starry blue night sky greets her. And on a bench below the singular lamp post, that familiar purple figure is turned away from her.
“Hey, stranger.”
The voice nearly catches him off-guard. Nearly.
“Back already, Pom? You can’t get enough, huh?” he asks smoothly, with that familiar, lazy grin etched onto his face. Pomni rolls her eyes playfully although she can see the sincere downward slope of his eyebrows.
“Yeah, yeah. Got room for one more?” she asks, unable to help the small smile that tugs at her lips.
“Lookie here, I do!” he says, scooting over slightly from the middle of the seat to make more room for her.
She doesn’t say anything. Not as she walks over, or as she takes a seat. Oftentimes, she doesn’t need to say anything – a mutual understanding.
When she does sit down, she sees the sharp dropoff a small distance ahead of the bench. Below it is another flat expanse of grass, and then the sea that stretches off into the distance.
“So,” from the corner of her eye, she sees Jax slump further into his position. “What’s up?”
Pomni doesn’t turn when she speaks, opting to continue staring at the way the blue of the water seems to almost morph into the blues of the sky – save for the stars that illuminate the surface, casting a gentle glow all throughout this world.
“Not much, to be honest. We just finished playing softball,” she sighs. “Properly, this time,” she adds that part with a slight chuckle.
“Oh yeah? Thought you weren’t big into sports.”
That makes her head turn to look at him properly. He’s already looking at her with an eyebrow raised.
“I’m more open to trying new things now, I guess. Now that there's a choice.”
As Jax seems to consider her point, she adds: “Plus, Caine ran right into a wall and left a huge dent. I hate to admit it made me chuckle a little.”
That gets a smile out of him. “Really, now? That’s pretty mean, Pomni,” he teases.
“Oh, please. You would’ve still been laughing if you saw it.”
He chuckles. “You can’t prove that.”
And the words hang heavily in the air.
He’s right, she can’t prove it.
The realization must be evident on her features because he sighs before nudging her shoulder.
“Hey. Don’t get all sad on me, now. I’m fine.”
She chooses to believe him. She trusts that he’d tell her if he weren’t okay.
Pomni sighs, copying his slight recline into the seat beneath them. “I did find something out that’s pretty interesting, though.” She smiles slightly at the memory of Ragatha telling her in hushed tones, fabric skin tinted an obvious red.
“Ooo, now we’re talking. What?”
“You know how Caine is open to requests now?”
“Mhm,” he hums curiously. “What? Zooble got that wish of theirs?” he asks with a chuckle.
Pomni doesn’t say anything, looking up at him without moving her head.
When Jax looks down at her, taking in her expression, his eyes widen.
“Oh my god,” he says incredulously. “Really?”
“You didn’t hear it from me.”
That makes him laugh out loud, head thrown back and an unguarded sound let out into the chilled night air.
“Oh, man. Now that makes me wish I was out there.”
“Of course it does,” Pomni says in an annoyed tone, but she can’t help the smile that creeps onto her face.
“Not in that way, perv,” he teases. Pomni laughs quietly.
They fall into a comfortable silence once more. Pomni doesn’t know when, but they’re now side by side, comfortably leaning into each other.
The quietness is something she’s still getting used to, even out in the circus. Her eyes eventually focus on the sky, which seems lower since they’re apparently at a high altitude. There are some fluffy looking clouds in the distance, she notices.
Words escape her thoughtlessly. “They always ask about you , y’know. Everyone.”
She feels the slight tense in the body she’s leaned into for a few seconds before a sigh escapes him, deflating but not fully.
“Yeah?”
“Mhm.”
“What do you tell them?”
She considers his question with a hum. “That you’re okay. Happy.”
With where her eyes are fixated, she doesn’t see the slight furrow of his eyebrows as he takes in her response.
“Uh huh, and how do they feel about that?”
Pomni recognizes the line of questioning and knows where his mind is going. A part of him, despite her reassurance on the few occasions he was brave enough to ask, believes they must all still resent him.
And that he deserves it.
She knows it’s not true though, and therefore answers him truthfully.
“They’re always relieved to hear it. You know they care about you.”
He lets out a heavy puff of air, still slightly tense. “I know.”
“...I do too,” she says. “Care about you, that is.”
He tenses again, but leans even further into her.
“I know.”
The words are clipped as if he cut himself off right before saying something else. His breathing picks up a little and Pomni catches on. He speaks again.
“I– uhm…”
“I know.”
Because she does know. Hard as it is for him to say.
Another silence stretches over the two, a little awkward and barely even a silence because there’s just so, so much to say.
But, all that isn’t necessary. Not right now.
Which is why she’s surprised when he’s the one to speak again.
“Did you, uh… tell anyone?”
It comes out so small that she almost doesn’t hear it. As if the words weren’t meant to come out at all, and that cadence makes Pomni sigh, turning her head to look at the absurd, lovely rabbit beside her.
She knows what he’s talking about. Obviously, she does. No other question of his would ever be asked with such conviction.
“What do you think?”
It doesn’t come out in a witty way – not that she had intended for it to, anyway. It’s asked with a sincerity and softness that makes his cheeks tinge that animated pink that he finds embarrassing.
Not that Pomni sees it, still looking into the distance as she wraps her arms around one of his, deepening their contact.
A few months ago, on one of her first visits when things were still especially tense between them, he asked her to ignore what she knew – the precarious situation that was his identity – until he was ready to reopen that door. That he wasn’t ready to talk about it.
And who was she to deny that request?
Either way, she would have never told anyone. Something that important can only be left up to him, and all that is up to her, is how to support that journey.
He deflates beside her.
“You wouldn’t.”
She shakes her head. “Nope.”
“...Thank you, Pomni.”
The use of her actual name tells her just how important her answer was to him.
“Of course.”
…
For the first time since her arrival, actual minutes pass by of just their breathing together. Their positions haven’t changed, save for Pomni’s legs which are now crossed on the bench.
“I really like this place,” she says quietly. Her eyes have moved upwards, now analyzing each star. As if it’s another piece of him she can take back with her – memory of what his perception of infinity is like.
As she says it, a shooting star appears, falling from whichever heavens lie beyond the seemingly endless blue – the first of the night.
He doesn’t reply to that exact statement with much more than a small smile that she doesn’t see, but he does speak.
“Thanks for coming to visit me, Pom.”
“Always.”