Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jax hated Ragatha, and she hated to say she was proud of why. It had been established early that Ragatha was much stronger than she let on. Jax himself didn’t even have to cheat to get past her rank in no time. But Ragatha fought differently when on and off stage. She’d rarely go all out in a fight, if ever on stage, but if one of her friends needed help with an upcoming match and needed a challenge, you’d think she was a completely different person. She wasn’t the quickest by a long shot, but for her main points of attack, focusing on strength, she had some serious speed. That was just her hands. If she got you with her legs, it was about as elegant as getting hit by a freight train. Not to mention she was a major strategist if she was very unmatched.

She thinks she can pinpoint the moment Jax started to hate her. It was a couple days after Jax received his champion belt again. Zooble had been his last opponent to the top, and they were a beast that day, so it was apparent the only thing that had them losing was the overbearing amount of fouls Jax pulled out that day. It was a sloppy win, even for Jax. Zooble, of course, had been beyond aggravated and needed to let some steam off with a real match tired of fighting Jax.

Ragatha felt for her friend and decided to go all out that day just so they could properly let off steam. It wouldn’t be right not to give Zooble a fair fight when that’s all they wanted. So it was in the last 10 seconds of the third round they’d agreed to. Ragatha was parrying Zooble’s Maul. They could use it in multiple rounds, but Zooble liked to use it as a finishing move with how quick and powerful the blows were. They’d used it in their match with Jax, and it probably would’ve worked if Jax didn’t grapple and rabbit punch to get out of it. However, if you could get through the initial onslaught, there was a window of opportunity for a single second that a skilled boxer could cut through. Ragatha saw it; the opening was right in front of her, and she didn’t waste it. She pulled back her fist as far as she could, adjusting her grip, and pivoted her body to follow through and give as much force as she could. The uppercut smashed straight into Zooble’s jaw with a loud bang and sent them flying onto their backs. Leaving Ragatha standing alone when the bell rang, winning the last of the 3 rounds.

Kinger and Gangle cheered just enough for the room to hear, and Ragatha quickly went to help Zooble up. Apologizing to them even though they’d won the last 2 rounds. But instead of saying anything about that, Zooble started laughing uncontrollably and pointed somewhere off the ring, “Take some lessons, champ! That’s how a REAL fighter does it!”

Ragatha follows their finger to look directly at Jax. The last time she saw him, he was actively laughing at her getting punched in the gut. But now his face was in a hard frown, his teeth were clenched, and he was staring at her like she was a bug he just killed with his shoe. What did she do? Is what Ragatha ended up asking herself before he stormed out. It wasn’t until later that she realized it’s what she doesn’t do that makes him hate her so much.

The fact that there's a possibility Ragatha could climb to the top on skill alone, but she chooses not to even try, pissed him off more than she’d ever known. His jokes that had always been here and there became an onslaught of insults from there on. Much crueler and more pointed than before. He had a personal vendetta against her.

She hated that about him. Every mess up she made, every slip-up, or sloppy movement didn’t go without a comment from him. God forbid he happened to stay for a match; she let someone pass her. He wouldn’t leave her alone for hours or until his match.

But all the same, she brushed him off as best she could. At times, she couldn’t stand to even look at him, but somehow she felt for him. She knows she has a bleeding heart; it’s her best and worst quality. But they were all stuck here one way or another, and despite his cockiness, she’s sure he wanted to leave just as badly. Staying on top was obviously important enough to him that he’d do anything to stay there. Ragatha knows that’s because the best bet out of here is winning this whole thing. And she may not understand in detail why it upsets him so much that she decides to stay a rookie; she knows it goes much deeper than it’s "annoying,” like he always says.

With all that being said, she still wanted to knock his teeth in some days.

Jax had been on something for the last couple days. Ragatha wasn’t sure what triggered his nonsense; this time, she felt like pulling her hair out. Everywhere she went, he was there with some stupid comment. Honestly, she thinks this is her fault. The other day, he gave her a semi-genuine compliment, if “you actually seemed like a fighter today” counted as a compliment, and she thought to herself, "Wow, maybe this is a new start!” And like a damn monkey’s paw, the universe said, 'Yeah, a start of something alright.’ She was so close to losing it that she had to take a break from training with her new friend Pomni just to blow off some steam. Pomni offered a spar, and though the offer was sweet, she was still a genuine rookie rank, and when Ragatha’s angry, well… she’ll wait a bit until she gets a bit more experience under her belt to take up that offer.

A heavy impact echoes throughout an otherwise still room. An NPC dummy arm goes flying back to slam against the wall, the training pad still attached to the hand. It falls down, broken, and Ragatha doesn’t miss a beat, swerving back to her very abused punching bag that was already spilling sand from her brace knuckles. “There she is! I knew I’d find you moping in one of these old-ass training rooms. Seriously, Doll, I get wanting to go Rocky style, but you have to choose the nastiest gym to match it?”

Ragatha does her best to ignore him, but at the sound of his voice, the next punch to the bag sends it flying farther than before. He laughs at her obvious frustration with him, and she tries to remind herself. Jax is a jerk; nothing he says means anything anyway; it's just another way to make himself feel better, knowing he wouldn’t be where he was if it weren’t for his “tricks.”

He walks up closer to her and leans against the pole in front of her punching bag, so he’s directly in her view but just out of reach for a “stray” hit. "Damn, Dolly really did a number here, huh? You must be thinking real hard about someone.” She continues to ignore him, like he’s not there. So she doesn’t see the slight slint in his eyebrows with his shit-eating grin. "C'mon, who is it? Tell this old jack rabbit who’s bothering you. Maybe I’ll even beat 'em up for you if you ask nicely. That’s your thing, anyway. Too nice for your own good. As sweet as a ragdoll to hold at night!” He sighs like he’s swooning over her, and she hates this teasing the most, so her punches only get more aggressive.

His smile can’t get any wider, seeing how much he’s getting under her skin, only to go in for the kill. “Probably why you're as capable a fighter as one too.”

That’s it! Ragatha punches the bag, and it breaks completely in half, finally wiping that stupid grin off his face. She walks up to him and gets in his face like he so often does other’s, “You want to see how capable a fighter I am? Let’s go. Right here, right now! I know I’m a capable fighter. But as for you, I’d be surprised if you could hold your own for a single round without cheating.”

Despite the initial shock of her getting in his face for once, he smiles again, but it’s something much more bitter now. He purposely towers over her, getting inches from her face, and flicks a strand of yarn hair out of her face. ”You’re on. Lil’ Lady.”

She doesn’t know why him saying just her stage name like that pisses her off more, but she stays in his face for a second longer than she needs to, so of course he has to add, “Take a picture, sweetheart. It’ll last longer. Maybe I’ll even sign it for you!”

Her face deapans, and she scoffs, turning fast enough that her ponytail “accidentally” slaps him in the face. She hops in the ring in the middle of the room and is very satisfied to see that his face has turned back to pure annoyance. “Hop to it, Jack Rabbit. Don’t have all day!”

If Jax's teeth weren’t sharp, he’d be grinding them right now. Even her comebacks were pathetic. “Hop to it,” she says, as if that’s not something a literal Ragdoll would say when you hug it.

Moving into the ring, he re-wound his wraps before putting on his gloves. “Alright, what’s the game, toots?”

Ragatha crossed her arms, unimpressed, finishing setting up the timer. “Don’t call me toots.” He snickers. “1 round, 12 minutes. Basic rules. Whoever’s down more than 10 seconds or taps out by the end loses. You cheat at any time for any reason; it rounds over, and I win. Sounds good?”

He scoffs, “Don’t need to cheat to beat you, Doll.” He finishes putting on his gloves and walks over to her. “And what’s the prize?”

“Excuse me?” She raises an eyebrow.

“The prize, Dollface. C'mon, you don’t expect me to risk my reputation by fighting a little rookie without getting something out of it, do you?”

As much as she wants to argue, she really just wants to get to rocking his shit and knows he won’t let it go. With an exasperated sigh, she says, "Okay, fine. Whatever you want, okay?”

His crocodile grin comes back bigger than ever before, and he eyes her like a hungry dog eyes a piece of meat. “Anything? Are you sure about that, Ragatha?”

She doesn’t know if it's his look or the fact that he said her actual name for the first time in forever, but she hates to say she gets actual goose bumps for a moment before catching herself, backing away from him to bring herself back to the moment. “Yeah, whatever, Jax. But if I win, you have to leave me alone! No more teasing, no more jokes, no more insults! Unless we have to be together, we’re strangers, got it?”

Something in his expression changes for a moment; his smile dulls and his eyes search hers, and in return, her face softens. Wait. Did she just hurt his feelings? Whatever her face is, it changes Jax’s into a grimace, and he practically spits at her before turning around and saying, “Got it.”

She shakes whatever that was off and gets back in the zone. Why is every conversation with him like being on a rollercoaster? Oh, she better win, or he’s actually going to drive her insane.

Without further stalling, the fight starts. Ragatha still doesn’t trust that Jax won’t cheat, even if it makes him lose, so she goes for focusing on defense. Jax is one of the fastest out of them, so it’s not a bad strategy all together, but as soon as it’s apparent she’s playing the side of caution, his drive seems to go 10 fold. “I thought you were gonna teach me a lesson or some shit?” He says this between an onslaught of rapid punches and kicks. “Weren’t you the one that was going to show me how capable of a fighter you are?” He goes for a left hook, and she barely dodges jumping back. “Seems like you're running away again, like you always do.”

Ragatha grits her teeth and finally throws a jab and then a solid right cross back, just missing his head by an inch, physically feeling a gust of air go along his sweaty chin. “There we go! That’s my girl!”

“Not!” She throws another punch, landing straight in his block, and pulls back only to punch again, “Your!” knocking him back with a much stronger force, “Girl!”

He quickly gets back up and laughs, “Jeez Rags, coulda turned me down a little nicer. Break this poor bunny’s heart, why don’t ya?” She rolls her eyes but regrets letting him distract her because he’s back in her face in a moment, getting a shot straight to her right cheek, almost knocking her down. If Ragatha had anything going for her, it was her strong legs and steady stance, so despite the hard blow, she stayed up right. "Ooooh, that’s gotta hurt. Hope you don’t get a black button.”

She hated that she actually laughed at that, specifically after he just hit her in the face, but his own shock at her laughter left him wide-eyed and open. She was able to fake a jab, causing him to be the one to start dodging her punches and kicks. He was slowly backing up into a corner, and just as he went for an escape, he accidentally moved straight into a full-speed roundhouse, not only knocking him back but also hitting the back of his head on the solid mental poll of the ring.

“OH SHI-” is the only thing he hears other than a ringing in his head. He suddenly can’t remember why he’s fighting, but he knows he must be because his head is super sweaty. He goes to wipe it, and his hand is covered in red. He stares at it blankly for a moment and offers his hand to whoever is yelling his name right now, like a child showing a cool rock they found, and says, "Well, that’s not good.”

The last thing he hears is his name again as he knocks out.

He wakes up with a headache from hell and a towel over his eyes. Goddammit, he’s been in enough fights to know this means he's been knocked out. He tries to focus on what happened, but his brain feels foggy, and there’s a noise going on in the background that’s distracting him. He tries to ignore it, put his thoughts together, and slowly piece together what happened. He remembers getting into a fight with Ragatha and messing with her the whole time, because why else would he be there? But what else? The noise grew louder, and he realized it was a person but hoped they’d go away if he played dead.

He made her laugh. Holy shit he made her laugh, and not in an I’m going crazy kind of way. She was smiling. At him. Hmm.

Weird.

But of course she had to take advantage of that and knock him out just to win a bet. Oh yeah, they made that stupid bet. That he definitely lost. Ragatha’s words ring through his head, “like strangers.” Well, shit, this was...

The person blew their nose, and Jax realized they were crying and finally snapped, “Do you MIND? We’re all having a bad time here, lady; at least let me think in peace during mine.”

He heard a gasp, and the person suddenly took off his towel to look at him. Light quickly blinds his eyes, and it takes him a second to realize it’s Ragatha above him. She’s rambling so fast it’s bringing on another headache, and he takes a deep breath and says, "Ragatha, stop talking. I’m pretty sure I already have brain damage. I don't need more.”

He expects her to get mad or just roll her eyes, but instead she gets quiet and says a soft “Sorry.” He raises his eyebrow and looks at her, all the fight that was in her earlier completely drained. She won, but she looked miserable.

“What’s wrong with you?” He says she's sitting up, and her damn mother hen instincts must’ve kicked in because she’s instantly next to him to make sure he moves slowly, holding him as he moves up.

He looks at her hand on his chest, along with feeling the one on his back, holding him up like she just touched something dirty, and says, “I’m not thanking you. You did this. And if it weren’t for me, literally about to fall, and I might actually die if I tried. I would headbutt you for touching me right now.”

Ragatha's face deadpans. "Well, thanks for that, Jax.”

“Don’t mention it.” He says this, still looking at her hand.

“Hey. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to kick you that hard; well, I did, but I didn’t mean to kick you straight into a poll like that.” She tapered off, obviously embarrassed.

“Uh huh,” He said, rolling his eyes and reaching back to feel the back of his head. Jeez stitches. Well, at least it was Ragatha that did it, so it’d heal right. He once let Caine do it, and the scar it left looks like a fucked-up shoelace.

“I mean it! I know we don’t get along-”

“Understatement of the year, Dollface.”

“BUT- I don’t want to really hurt you, Jax. Believe it or not, we humans only got each other here. Fighting is fun and exciting, but it also leads to things like this. And I just hate it.” Her breath hitches. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Jax's eyes widen. Oh shit it was her crying. It was one thing when he made people cry; that was funny. But when people cried for him, it was just weird. He gets it, bleeding heart, mama bear, yada yada. Whatever, just crying for him is not his thing. “If you’re gonna cry for me, can you take it somewhere else? You’re making me so uncomfortable, I’d actually kinda wish that kick would’ve killed me.”

Ragatha’s jaw actually drops. “You’re actually crazy. You know that?”

He’s about to chew her out when he reaches for his stitches to scratch them, and she grabs his hand away like a kid caught in the cookie jar.

He glares at her, getting tired of all her "help,” and she gives him an equal glare back before a lightbulb pops in his head. She cautiously watches his expression change to excitement. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

He starts laughing like an evil cartoon villain: “You cheated. I won.”

"No, I didn-” Ragatha started but then thought about it. The way she kicked him even by accident was illegal, and the fact that he got so hurt was, no matter how you look at it, a loss for her. “That’s not fair!”

"Oh, I’m sure you’d know all about fair after you cracked my head open.” His cheshire grin was back on his face.

“Hey! Listen you-”

“No, no, no, sweetheart. The rules were that if there was any cheating for any reason, it was an automatic loss. Or are you only loyal to your word when it’s about me?” Jax knew the answer to that, so when she made an ugly grimace and conceded, he wasn’t surprised in the least.

“What do you want, Jax?”

“Hmm, let me think about it. Whatever I want is a big wish to grant. Gotta make it worthwhile.” He laughs. Eying her again like meat on a platter with a crocodile grin.

Ragatha squirms under his stare, causing him only more amusement. “You're the worst.”

“That’s my girl.”

Chapter Text

It’d been a week since Jax and Ragatha’s spar. Jax chuckled to himself, finally figuring out what he wanted but making her go through a couple days of agonizing wait for the 'horrible punishment' he had set up for her. He'd been dragging it out on purpose, just to watch her squirm. Y'know for funnizes. She should have known that promising 'anything' was a mistake. However, to be fair, he was pretty sure she was actually going slightly insane from his constant harassment that week. 

He was strangely obsessed with the way she’d literally shift in her spot when he’d move closer to her, eyes unmoving from hers, giving her a vexing grin. She was so stubborn and annoyed so easily, ready at any moment for a comeback to his jabs. Whether they were good or not was another thing. At least most of the time she wanted to, she had a habit of angrily ignoring his comments and puffing her cheeks until they were flush, trying not to look at him. There was something to how someone always so sickeningly sweet and kind, looking at him like she wanted to bash his teeth in, ignited a fire in him he had for no one else.

However, ignoring him was a new tactic that got old fast. If there was one thing Jax hated, it was being ignored. This little tatic had slowly started about 2 weeks ago. She wasn't always consistent, with him getting just enough under her skin to have her yelling his name by the end, like always. But then she really ampped it up. He’s not sure if she'd been doing that tai-chi and meditating mini-game she’s always suggesting for people to calm down, but for almost a week straight, the most she’d send was a second-long glare or a scoff without even looking at him.

Rude for one, but frankly unacceptable. No one ignored Jack Rabbit. Especially someone who was way below his league. She should be lucky he gives her attention at all! He’s not sure why this pissed him off so much, but watching her laugh and spar with everyone else—not that he wanted to spar with her anyway, while she’d barely give him the time of day—made his blood boil. She’s always going on about how the humans were a “team” and they only had each other to lean on, and he could come to her for anything. In fact, wasn't she the one to promise him with that damn "sweet as sugar' smile when he first realized he was stuck here, and she now ignores him? Call him a hypocrite, but he hated a liar. 

Well, he wasn’t going to let that slide. So he made her life hell until she literally ran away, and when he cornered her where she always went to hide, he finally got her to fight like he knew she could. And he was ready to fight until someone bled. He just didn’t think it would be him.

Lil Lady, his ass. Ladies did not talk or kick like they were trying to break a godamn tree in half. She was stronger than she let on, if the bruise the size of a baseball on the back of his head said anything. So though Jax enjoyed watching her jump in his presence, he wondered why, if she was so worried about what was coming, did she seem to be following him like a damn shadow? 

It wasn’t until today, when he was the last to join the characters in the gym, did it ever really matter to him. Ragatha was already there, probably the first one there, the goody-two-shoes. Started eyeing him like a damn hawk the second he started stretching before a training session. It was odd as hell, to say the least, but it’s not like he minded. He was used to being stared at. Just not by her. The strangest part is that it made him hyper-aware. Ai’s would swoon over him all the time from him just flexing, but this was Rags. What would a girl like her even be impressed with?

He had to backtrack in his own mind for that thought. ‘Oh God, not this shit again. What does that matter!? He did not now or ever care about what beat-em-up Barbie thought’ He decided to literally shake the thought off, yanking his head back and forth. But he bent his neck a little too far, pulling straight across the sore bruise and stitches, and let out a loud curse of pain when he felt a scab on the end pop open. It was that instant that everything clicked. She ran to him like he just got shot in the gut, nearly tripping on her way to get to him. She grabs his face carefully, but firm in her hands. “Jax! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Please tell me your alright.” She looks like she’s going to cry again, but her eyes are so genuine as she looks back at him after thoroughly assessing for any damage. So delcate with a warm touch, like he was made of porclien or some shit. 

He was frozen solid with his face in her hands as she looked for any signs of hurt. His brain has officially shortcircuited at this point. He really should knock her off or headbutt her like he said he would if she touched him again, but his brain is actually static at the moment. He's completely zoned out and locked in at the same time. She gives a light squeeze on one cheek; he knows she does this in a simple comforting gesture. She’d do it for anyone, but it still makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “Maybe you should rest today, yeah?”

In the simple sentence, everything comes back in an instant, and his features turn harsh enough for her to know she said something wrong. Well, at least in his eyes. So she let go of his face and stepped back. He stood up once again, towering over her, but she didn’t squirm this time, maybe because he actually looked angry that she had her guard up, ready to fight if she needed to. In a flash of thought, it made him realize that when she squirmed under him, it wasn’t because she was threatened by him. If he wasn't so pissed, he’d probably have an aneurysm trying to decode that thought. 

Why did she have to do stuff like this? He gets it; she feels it's her fault and all, but c'mon, no one was ever this nice to him. No way was she this damn caring. No one was. Everyone had a trick up their sleeve. He didn't need her babying him like his damn mom. Hell, his own mom didn’t care this much! Neither of his parents did, and it was for good reason, he told himself. He’s been fighting as long as he can remember. It’d been drilled into his brain that nothing was worth losing, especially to those below you. He always needed to win by any means necessary. His father made him finish his competition with a broken ankle when he was 10, and his ankle still can’t bend a certain way without spazzing. And you know what? He won his weight-class nationals the next year! Only idiots and weaklings didn’t believe the same. Which is why Ragatha had always angered him so much.

If you weren’t fighting to win, why fight at all? He did everything to keep his place, and he was proud, like he should be. Ragatha, on the other hand, purposely lost to keep her place. If she started trying right now, she could easily be top 20, and if she started from when she first got here, he wouldn’t doubt she’d be around top 10. She'd still have no shot against him, of course. Even when she worked out, it was on her legs. Something she wasn’t allowed to use outside of sparring or minigames. What was the point? She drove him insane just by being little miss empath. Her ‘I care more about others than myself’ act was nauseating, and worse of all, she had the gull to think he needed any of it.

“You think I’m that weak enough that a little cut will stop me from a fight? If you wanna be helpful, why don't you stand over there with your twin, punching bag?” Ragatha's face turned sour; she hated that nickname most of all, and he knew it from the way he saved it when he wanted to be really nasty. She thought she could make him look weak enough in a gym full of enemies. Yes, everyone who wanted his belt was his enemy. “I could rip out these stitches right now and still win the match.”

A gloved hand reached back, and her instincts flinched her body forward to stop him, worry in her eyes. But her glare returns harder at the sight of a scoff and a quick "pathetic." She should've known he wasn't really going to do it. He’d already been suspended from fights until now, and you can’t go into the ring with an open wound. He was just messing with her again, but over his own health was a new one. By now, everyone in the gym had stopped and looked at them. Pomni was looking worried and ready to jump in. Gangle and Zooble were on the edge of their seats, waiting for Ragatha to hit Jax again. When they found out she cracked his head open even by accident, they seemed genuinely upset not to see it happen live. 

Which was concerning on Ragatha’s side of things, but she wasn't giving a show today. She wasn’t playing anyone's game, especially Jax. “Listen, Dollface, if you wanna play nurse so badly, I know there’s a pretty little outfit for that in the prop closet.” Ragatha scoffed. Ah, yes, the casual sexism a classic for her from Jax. He never cared about anyone’s personal details, but when he wanted to piss someone off, she swore he had a list of insults ready to go from every conversion he'd had. He moved in again, obviously trying to taunt her into hitting him. “I know hard work is foreign to your little rookie brain, but you think I really got where I am by dumb luck?”

He was so ready to watch her lose it again, break down, and maybe even shed some tears. She was trying to keep an even face, but he could see the slight flush of embarrassment the more he talked. Red was a good color on her, and he’d have to find a snappy way of saying that if this last comment didn’t work. Jax watched her gitty; he was completely focused on her, ready for a swing or kick. He’d been itching for round two, and the last one was way too short.

Ragatha was furious. He’d been worrying/messing with her all week while she patiently waited for this stupid prize he ‘won.’ Now he was trying to embarrass her in front of everyone? No way. For once, this was ending the way she wanted! Ragatha had always wanted to say something to knock him down to size; she’d tried before but always fumbled her words or they were alone, which only ended in another snide remark. But the way he ended things left a perfect opening—a set-up she’d dream about.

Here goes nothing. Her face turns into her best condicending smile, and she watches him raise a puzzled eyebrow before she starts to laugh in his face and says, “Well duh, Jack Rabbit” she emphasizes his name with a pinch and shake of his cheek, “Everyone knows that! Dumb luck and cheating it’s practically in your playbook! How about you do us a favor and tell us something we don’t know?”

Did he hear right? There is no way that just came from Ragatha; can Zooble posses people now? Her laugh was one thing, but when it’s followed by Gangle and a booming Zooble, he is suddenly very aware of what she just did. He backs up and looks around the gym. Pomni is trying to hide her giggles, and even Kinger is present enough for once to have an amused smile. Jax suddenly feels hot and sweaty and catches his face in the gym mirror, flushed and embarrassed like a damn school girl. He tries to tell everyone to shut up, but when Zooble points out his blush, laughs start all over again.

He hasn’t laughed this badly in years, and he swore it’d never happen again. So why, of all people, was the fight club's biggest sweetheart making him look like a damn clown? He tried to quickly make up a comeback, but his words fell flat on his tongue. His eyes were scattered around the room. Who would he even say it to? Jeez, is this what he does to people? Is that why they're all laughing like they've been holding it for years? All of it just made him more angry, and he felt his thoughts slowly centering on the one person who started it, who was even able to do it when everyone else had at least tried and failed before.

Ragatha was completely unaware of Jax’s building focus; she was still giggling a little but started to feel bad at how everyone kind of ganged up on him. Yeah, he deserved it, but she didn’t think it’d go on this long, and Jax seemed like he was in real distress. She thought of calling out to them or him when he turned around to face her head. His eyes were so intense on her, and he was obviously trying to intimidate her, but his face betrayed his thoughts. She hadn’t gotten a really good look at him before this, and wow, it was something.

The flush covered most of his ears, his whole face, and a little down his neck. He was sweating big droplets, even though he didn’t work out, and though she could tell he was furious, his expression couldn’t hide his nervousness. He looks so self-conscious right now; it’s an expression she's never seen on him. She didn’t even think he could make it. Almost vulnerable. Despite a rabbit body being so human, He looked normal. For once, not pretending to be better than anyone but just as flawed as the rest of them. Able to get embarrassed and tongue-tied. For once, she felt a real connection to him as another person, even though she didn't want to. She had to admit that with his rabbit ears to the side and the blush covering his face, he actually looked kind of “cute.”

Even Ragatha knew her mistake the moment it came out of her mouth. It was less than a whisper, but she guessed those rabbit ears weren't just for show because his ears shot up, his eyes wide, and his whole body went rigid. He was suddenly standing way too close for her comfort, and she took a step back, squirming under his stare once again. His face turned into an unreadable expression, and she felt like she needed to apologize despite how uncomfortable she was, so she forced herself to take a breath and look into his eyes but couldn’t get any other words out than a soft “Jax-.” 

“THAT’S IT!” He yelled, throwing up his arms in outrage, making her jump at least half a foot in the air. He turned back around to the other characters. “F*#& ALL OF YOU! I’M OUT!” He said loud enough that it sounded like a mic was going off, “AND YOU!” Jax turns to point a finger in Ragatha’s face and says, "You're coming with me!”

Before Ragatha can even have the chance to refuse, he has her live up to her name by tossing her over his shoulder like a ragdoll, holding her legs from letting her escape as he quickly strides away. She starts screaming to put her down and beats her fist at his long back. Letting out an embarrassing yelp when this only makes him quickly drop her lower down his back before adjusting his grip on her legs again as she now has to grip on to his waist not to fall. The other characters are silent now, and they watch them get further away until they turn the corner. Pomni feels an ache in her dropped jaw and is about to ask if they should go after them before Zooble calls out, “50 bucks; he’s dead by the morning.” 

Gangle pitches in, “Pssh, please. You see that look on his face? 70 bucks they f#&(. ”

“Jesus, Gangle. That’s nasty. Unlike you, Ragatha is in class.” Zooble cringes. “You’re on.”

Suddenly Able pops out of thin air, like the sound of money summoning him from deep in the code of the fight club. He manifested directly in front of Pomni, making her trip back straight on her butt, and she's beginning to think that she is warming up to Caine the longer she's even around other Ai's. “Do I hear a bet? I know my player more than anyone else, and I can guarantee that he is upset enough to use this little deal of theirs to make all his problems hers and all of yours."

"Wait, hold on, how do you know that?" Pomni interrupts.

Able turns his card head around without his body and, in a more robotic voice than usual, says, "Oh dear, I know lots of things." An errie glare without a source light flashes across his card, "Lots of things..."

He quickly turns back to Zooble and Gangle and says, "ANYWAY, I don’t know much about human feelings. However, I do know Jax is horrible at them! Word of the wise, starlights, go for broke!”

Pomni stands there stunned, watching Zooble consider the point and Gangle curse out a censor for not thinking the same. Was this really happening? Where are they seriously gambling on their friends like this? “Guys betting on each other's everyday lives doesn’t seem ethical.”

The other characters look at each other and echo, “Welcome to the fight club.”

Chapter Text

“What the hell is wrong with you? Jax, put me down now!” Ragatha had been yelling at him non-stop since he took her over his shoulder from the gym going God knows where. "Jax, are you even listening to me? Let me go!”

She’s settled, just kicking her legs, as she is now less over his shoulder and more being swinged by her legs upside down, and the more she struggles, the more he lowers her. Ragatha, on her part, has yelled every threat over her shoulder, but with him practically running, she’s mostly just trying to keep from getting a concussion from being shaken and hit around like a sack of potatoes.

She notices a familiar hallway giving up halfway through and just trying to balance herself. Her hand slides through the thick hair on the back of his leg, and she hears him grunt. Her constant care for others overwhelms her by saying “sorry” and soothing the area lightly with her fingers, forgetting for a moment she was angry.

But she instantly regrets it because as soon as she pressed her fingers through the fur and pressed soothing circles where she scratched, he stopped still knocking the air out of her with the sudden movement and straightened his back. All the hair on his body pricked up like a porcupine, and he repositioned her so her waist was back over his shoulder and looked at her straight from that position, eyes dark and an unreadable face. “NEVER do that again, Ragatha.” This more shocks her than anything, so she nods out of politeness, unsure what to say with him looking this intense inches away.

He looks at her a little longer, and she could swear he almost moves closer, but then his eyes quickly dart around, and as if he finds what he’s suspected, his eyes go harsh. She follows them to one of the many cameras in the fight club. The only place that didn’t have them were the rooms. 

Wait. She looked around and noticed they were on suite floors. The big purple jerk took the stairs, she thought, so he could purposely bump her head around. Which, to be fair, was probably a big reason as well, but the stairs were also one of the only areas not bypassed by a key. Some places you had to be a certain rank or start a minigame first to enter, but stairs could also be used for training, so they were free access for anyone. Which also meant bypassing certain locks.

He wasn’t taking her to the champions suite, was he? Only new and past Champions were allowed in there! This was against the rules! She looked at a door the size of the hall, covered in plush red and outlined with gold. "Hey, hey, hey! I can’t go in there, you know that!”

“So?” He says, waving his hand, and the door opens. 

"Jax, let me go. I could lose my minigame privileges, and oooooh, you get a cheese fountain!?” 

Ragatha temporarily stops trying to kick a dent into his chest and eyes the room five times the size of hers. Everything top-notch C&A brand. There’s a table just full of food, all diet-specific; he must be on a protein load right now from the look of it. It all looks and smells amazing. Every water is bubbling, and he has a huge sofa and TV for himself, and there is not a speck of dust anywhere. "Woah,” Ragatha says in pure wonder.

“Sweet, right?” He says all the pride puffing straight from his chest, but he is still moving forward, keeping Ragatha in the corner of his eye. It’s been a while since he’s seen her genuinely this excited. He forgot how she practically glows when she’s happy like this. Maybe he’ll let her stay after his business is done. If she begs, “Oh right, begging!”

“Huh?” Ragatha snaps out of it, and she’s brought what’s clearly the bedroom of the suit; his clothes are all around, and there’s trash on the floor. She sees a huge circular satin sheet-covered bed, and he’s getting closer to it, and danger sirens start going off in her head. Her mind starts to race. Beg? What does that mean? And what does that have to do with his room? With his bed!?

Her face explodes into red as he tosses her on the bed and moves to tower over her. He wouldn’t…? No, this is Jax. Her mind is going a mile a minute, and she doesn't know how to process anything, as this seems like the exact scene from one of her ahem, spicer books. Where the protagonist is cornered by the monster and taken into the night.

His eyebrow hitches, and he laughs, "Wow, you look like the little white lamb caught by the big bad wolf. Well, too bad after that little stunt today you’re going to regret what I have in store for you. I’m going to make you scream.”

He leans closer to her, and her body reacts before she can think logically about it; she screams like a girl in a horror movie and kicks Jax straight in the face, sending him flying back into his dresser. “F#CK!”

Jax was holding his face in his hands and groaning while Ragatha huddled to the back of the bed, holding up a pillow as if it were a weapon. “Stay back, you pervert! I’ll kill you with this! And make it look like an accident!”

Jax spits out blood, and Ragatha would normally be concerned if he hadn’t driven her partly insane already by all today’s antics. “Whose exactly a pervert here? The girl is screaming like a princess while kicking me harder than I’ve ever been in the face over with whatever is in your sick little head. Or the person that didn’t actually do anything.” He rubbed his face and gave her a hard glare. “News flash, sweetheart, can’t be a damsel in distress while also sending me flying like an actual monster.”

Ragatha huffed and crawled toward the edge of the bed and pointed at him with the pillow, “Me? The monster? You’re the one who threw me over your shoulder and carried me to your BED and said you were going to make me scream like, like, like some animal!”

Jax lets out a groan louder than her yell with what she’d say was the eye roll of the century. Really, she thinks his eyes actually went to the back of his head for a second. “I was talking about the bet you stupid boar!”

"Boar!?"

"Yeah, boar hits like a train, stubborn as a bull, dirty-minded little pig?”

“SHUT UP JAX!” Ragatha was angrily blushing, now sensing her mistake but not in the mood to be the bigger person. Maybe she needed to stop reading vampire novels, but it’s not like she was going to tell him that.

“But you know, Ragatha, it’s interesting that such a strong girl like you wants to be taken over by a big bad man.” Ragatha scoffed hard in disgust, and he moved forward again, brushing a loose lock behind her ear and pushing her buttons further as he teases her, “If you wanted someone to ravage you in the night, you only should’ve asked.”

In Ragatha’s seething anger, she doesn’t even try to hide the hate in her voice as she leans closer to him. "Sure, Jax. Give me his number if you find him. It might even make you less of a whining little baby seeing what a real man looks like.”

Even Ragatha is shocked by what just came out, but she keeps a hard glare at him, and he keeps his until a dark chuckle escapes him and he smiles at her like a manic. She crosses her arms to show she’s not impressed. He turns around, and she wonders what he’s up to before a kick lands straight to her face, knocking her back.

Her teeth clatter when she hits the floor and she gets up. “Are you insane!?”

"Oh, I’m sorry, Dolly! Is it suddenly not okay to kick people in the face out of nowhere because it’s you?” He does a couple stretches as he moves closer to her, and Ragatha kicks aside some of the clothes on the ground for room, getting ready in perfect fighting stance. It’s not the ideal place for a fight, but she was just as much of the fight club as anyone else, and the best way to let off some steam was a flurry of fists and kicks, and the way they were both past the boiling point, it’s a wonder the sprinklers hadn’t gone off.

There’s not a second after he reaches her; he throws a jab, and she avoids it, and he quickly pivots and goes for a hook to the head. She blocks it with a smirk and a huff of a laugh. He frowns, and where his fist is still hard against his block, he opens his hand and yanks at a handful of her hair. “HEY!” Ragatha calls out, but he won’t let up laughing his ass off at her squirming to get out of his freakishly long fingered grasp. Seriously, he’s got to have half of her scalp. 

But his height advantage and grip on her head gave him leverage to shake her around like a child trying to get the last quarter from his piggy bank. ”Not so tough now, are you little lady?”

He was obviously having fun shaking her around, and in her annoyance, she spots his arm moved directly in front of her face, and she does something so childish and low that only Jax could ever make her do so. She jumps forward and takes a large lick out of his furry, sweaty arm, and he snaps back, tossing her like she just stabbed him. His face is completely flabergasted looking at her like she lost her mind. “Did you LICK me? What are you, 5!?”

"Worked, didn’t it?” She said laughing, and he just stood staring at her in awe, but before he could make further sense of anything, she kicked him hard enough in the shin that he went down to grab it in pain.

She took the opportunity to jump over him, showing off her parkour minigame skills, and book it for the door. She turns back to stick her tongue out at him, and he physically growls; that’s a new one she quickly notes as he chases her. Ragatha’s almost at the door, jumping over the couch, but her giddiness comes too early as something hits her on the back, knocking her down granting her a face full of high end carpet.

“What the?” Ragatha sits up from landing on her face to see what hit her; it was a folded piece of cloth, and when she opened it up, it had a picture of him winking and shirtless with his stage name on the bottom. Her face turns to disgust and she looks at him smugly holding a t-shirt gun, humming happily to himself. 

“Is this supposed to be merchandise? Who in there right mind would want this?” Ragatha asks incredulously. 

Jax smirks, “I’ll have you know all my fans love this shirt. Tell you what you can keep it; it’d look good on you! Nice sleek black, so it goes well with anything. Or nothing at all.” He winks at her before firing another shirt directly at her face.

"Ugh, will you stop that?" She throws one of his 5 million fancy bubbly waters at him, which he easily dodges. She completely forgets leaving as she starts circling the room with him throwing all of his stupid champion perks at him and him dodging and taunting her the whole time.

“Will you-” She throws a bubbling water, “stay,” then a candle piece too nice for him to appreciate, "still,” and finally part of the couch cushion. He’s laughing at her the whole time, only making her more angry. When she grabs something and watches him freeze, like she just reached in and grabbed his heart straight from his chest or something. She looks down at her hand and feels the hard metal in her hand. It’s a champion belt, but an old one. They redesigned the code for it years ago, so it doesn’t even look like this on any posters anymore.

It looks like the ones Kinger used to own. She rubs a thumb over the old logo. It was calmer then. Less fighters. Less code. Things weren’t all money hungry and all for one. Jax still got this by cheating for sure, but it’s probably the one the least. He only started getting so obsessed with staying on top once he won his first championship.

When he got this belt, he was different. This whole place was different. But he always said he hated that, so why have this here? Why not get rid of it like he did his old costumes and anything that reminded of him back when he wasn’t the raining champ? What made this so important?

Ragatha noticed him approaching her from the corner of her eye as she continued looking over the date belt. They were fighting a moment ago but almost like it’s natural thing with him things changed in an instant. Childish anger snuffed out in a moment of somberness she and him were clearly not prepared for. She feels hollow looking at it in a way she can’t explain. “I remember when you got this. First one right?”

Jax nods slowly as if he says something stupid; now she’ll rip it to shreds. Ragatha thinks she should know better of her, but does he really? Yes, they’ve known each other for yeats, but how close are they actually? He watches her as she stares hard at the belt, running her fingers over where the peels are curved like someone had run soothing circles into the old leather until it couldn’t hold up anymore. “It really has been years hasn’t it?”

Everything in the fight club is constantly updated, but a few things. And they were hard to find. Her favorite gym being one of them. Run down and beat down from years of use. If things weren’t specifically asked to be kept the same, they’d change whether they liked it or not.

Old and torn never fit into the aesthetic of the fight club. She looks out the window, and like always, the sky was always dark with a glitter of stars mathematically spaced apart to create the most perfectly even night sky. Things that aged in general didn’t fit in a digital world. So having something old was a luxury I couldn’t understand. 

“What did you forget?” He asks what should be sarcastic, but when she looks at him, he has a serious face.

“Yeah, a little bit.” She chuckles sadly but hands it to him, and she sees him physically calm a bit.

“We’ll fuck.” He says securely, putting on the belt, flopping on the huge chair next to her, and picking up the remote angrily. “Then we’ll never figure a way out if here. Kinger and Gangle’s lost it in seven different ways to heaven, and Zooble doesn’t even know what they're fighting for anymore. You’re supposed to be the one holding on to hope or whatever. You gonna let me down too?” Her eyes shoot up to him, but he doesn’t have a readable expression. He’s looking at the TV but also a million miles away. If she hadn’t just seen his mouth move, she would’ve thought she heard something. She knows that look, and for a second time today, in what seemed like forever with him, he looks so human.

And then it clicks why he has this and why she has her nasty gym. They’re the only proof in this entire place that time has passed by. That things are changing; they are moving forward. Moving towards what? Who the hell knows? But even if it’s stupid, worn out, and gross, it’s something to hold on to that’s real. That reminds them they're humans, and there’s a world out there waiting for them to get out. One she promised him and everyone else she’d stay by their side until they figured out how to get there. And right now she’s letting him down.

She straightens her back and stands right in front of him, and he raises his brow but says nothing. “Hey, you know what I learned today?”

"No, but I figure from the girl's power stance you're going to tell me.” Jax said, sighing.

“You’re a real piece of work.”

"Wooow, figure that one out all by yourself, huh? Took you long enough. Now move my show’s on.” He said shooing her to the side.

“Cocky, conceded, disrespectful, a notorious cheater, pigheaded, sloppy, lazy." She starts pacing back and forth. “Annoying, ungrateful-”

“Devilishly handsome,” He pipes into her ranting, but this only causes her to focus straight on him. 

“DELIOUSINAL, stubborn as a mule and twice as dumb! Like seriously, were you dropped on your head as a baby or born stupid?” His eye twitches at that one, and she smirks, only causing him to get more annoyed.

“You done, yet?”

“No.” She smiles sweetly. “I also realized I’m better than you! No one even likes you! Hell, I don’t even like you!”

“That’s it!” He’s foot slams on the floor, and he moves to get up, but she kicks him back in his seat, leaning her whole body pressure where her foot meets his chest, and he growls at her again.

She throws a punch so hard next to head her brace knuckles sink into the high-quality martial arts and wood and leans forward until she’s inches above his face, completely locking him in place with her body, so the best he can do is struggle and snarl at her, which she gives 100% back.

“But as much as you infuriate me!” She says, grabbing his face with her other hand and shoveling it back, and for a moment he thinks he’s actually driven her insane enough to murder. Which is pretty impressive considering it’s Ragatha and hey not the worst way to go. But then her face then softens, and she lightly brushes an old scar on his chin, once again making his hair stand up. “If there’s anything you can count on in this circus, it’s that we humans stick together. And I will always have your back. Got it?"

She’s looking at him with her stupid button eye and her warm brown one that always piss him off, and they still should. But the firm promise of her words is in them as she waits for him to respond, creating a flood of relief in his chest; he didn't realize needed to be released until that moment. Suddenly his mouth feels full of cotton, and he doesn’t like the space he’s in, but he nods a “got it,” none the less.

“Good!” Ragatha smiles her stupid brighter than the sun and yanks her fist out of the furniture using her leg that was trapping his chest to knock him and the entire couch over and walk backwards back into a fighting stance. “Now get off your ass. Fighting never stops here, you know that! C’mon Jack Rabbit, I’m not done with you yet.”

She motions for him to come over with a fire in her eyes that gets him out of his stupor and sends his blood straight to boil. That fire that kept them all going. This is what it’s all about; this he liked! Jax wipes off the dust of his ruined chair, and his smile splits devilishly. “That’s my girl!”