Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It started off as a murder mystery adventure. 

Immediately, the mention of horror and a mansion brought war flashbacks to Pomni’s dreaded mind, but Caine had assured her that the person or people that “die” would just be pretending. Somehow, the ringmaster’s efforts did little to set her mind at ease.

Each of them had been handed invitations that assigned them their respective roles. The murderer could be anyone; it could be any of them or an NPC. Ragatha was ecstatic to get “the detective” role, Gangle was “the rich widow”, Kinger was “the chef”, and Zooble reluctantly agreed to play as well- they were “the butler”. Jax had refused to tell them his role. So that left Pomni with the honor of “guest”. 

“Um. Caine is this right-?” Pomni was cut off as Caine shoved everyone through the portal. Once on the other side, Pomni saw that all of them had been given clothing that matched their roles with a 1930-40s theme. Ragatha had the tweed jacket and cap, Kinger donned on a chef’s hat, Zooble sported a waistcoat, and Gangle and Pomni wore fancy dresses. Each of them had their own gimmicky prop from a folding fan to a whisk.

Pomni, given a polka dot clutch, couldn’t help but tug at her outfit. It was technically a cocktail dress, but keeping up with the jester gimmick, the dress was a bright, Harlequin outfit with her classic pom-poms adorning the front like buttons. It seemed unfitting for the environment. What kind of “guest” was she supposed to be?

Jax had flicked one of her pom-poms with a snicker before she had to smack his hand away. 

He had on a trenchcoat, still refusing to explain who he was, but Pomni only grew more defiant in her curiosity, keeping a close eye on him for clues. It was a mystery adventure after all.

They spawned onto a stone pathway as a gigantic mansion was generated before them. 

Seemingly miles away from an implied town, the building they appeared in front of was reminiscent of Mildenhall Manor with its Victorian gothic design. However, it was comparably grander with more rooms, a more rendered courtyard, and architecture that screamed old money. Shrubbery and trimmed trees lined the stone pathway and provided a nice, clean foliage around the home. Under the moonlight, the lively colors cooled down beneath shadows, barely discernible beyond unspecific shapes. The only spare light to be found was inside the mansion itself. Every single window was lit up with warm, unassuming lumination, beckoning the cast towards it for the start of their adventure.

“I guess we should ring the doorbell?” Gangle suggested, only to be shoved aside as Jax opened the door. It rang like a bell tower, echoing inside of the expanse of the mansion.

An NPC greeted them, claiming to be the host of the party. Dressed in a fancy suit, the wooden mannequin gestured excitedly, “Welcome to-!”

About to give its monologue, Jax strolled right on by and began to look around. Though, it continued its script, unperturbed as Jax disregarded the exposition to carelessly rifle through shelves and antiques.

“Jax!” Ragatha scolded, waving her magnifying glass around, “You're ruining the ambience!” 

“Oh, that's too- Say cheese, dollface!”

Suddenly, a bright, white flash had blinded everyone. All Pomni could see was white, and all she could hear was Jax’s laughter. As her vision slowly returned, the first thing that she recognized was Zooble strangling Jax with their pocket watch chain while he clutched an old-timey camera. 

She couldn't help but snort, amused by the rapid turn of events. By now, she's grown accustomed to Jax's impulse to defy whatever adventure Caine had presented, eager to test the limits of their simulated world or cheat his way into triggering something funny with the NPCs. His unpredictability was the one thing that she could count on here, ironically. 

So, it made it easier to handle the chaos when she laughed about it than flipped out, even if it was her cringey little snort-laugh. 

A noise that Jax seemed to notice. As he was released, he had looked at her, eyes big and round but unreadable, and Pomni couldn’t help but duck her head, expecting him to turn his attention toward her as his next object of mockery. Instead, he had gone back to shoving away Zooble.

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After, the rest of them had regathered to piece together their host’s original monologue, forming a rough narrative of today’s adventure. They were all either guests or servants at this mansion, serving the master of the home. The NPC didn’t have much going on beyond his scripted dialogue options and occasional clipping through furniture and walls – not Caine’s best work.

The event was a dinner party, thus Pomni and Gangle’s formal wear. Compared to their “guest”, Gangle, “the rich widow”, had adorned traditional widow's weeds with a veil to match. 

The group was escorted to the dining room. At the center of the room was the dining table, stretching long enough to seat twice as many people present and made of a dark wood that shone under the chandelier’s light. Intricate, floral patterns decorated their flatware with shiny, engraved utensils arranged neatly beside every set.

However, there was no dinner to be had at the dining table.

“Well, I’m the chef!” Kinger held up a spatula, “So, I’ll go to the kitchen to uh…”

“To cook?” Pomni asked.

He was silent for a moment, eyes glazing over and posture slouching forward, before straightening up, “To do kitchening! …Sorry Pomni, did you say something?” 

She smiled, giving a small amused hum, “Yeah, but I basically said the same thing.” 

And their chef had wandered off.

And he never asked the host where the kitchen was, so it’d probably be a while before they would see him again.

Still, Pomni remained steadfast, shaking her head before joining Ragatha who was getting a jumpstart on her investigation by getting to know the future potential suspects.

“I saw you put something in your pocket, Jax!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“W-what kind of rebuttal is that?” 

“Do you have any proof I put something in my pocket, detective?” 

“No-!”
“Then, I didn’t put anything in my pocket.” 

“Your hand is still in your pocket!”

“Nuh uh.” 

Pomni found herself facing a familiar sight. Whether it was Jax purposely getting a rise out of her, or Ragatha being quick to point a finger at him, Pomni had found that the two of them would often be at odds. For as much as Ragatha was a clear people pleaser, the rabbit in question seemed to have a talent for tipping the ragdoll off at a moment's notice. It seemed to go both ways with Jax often getting overly defensive under Ragatha’s scrutiny.

And lately, Pomni had found herself often playing the role of their begrudging mediator.

She waved a little to get their attention, approaching from the other side of the room, “Hey… Um. How do you know he didn’t just… Have his hand in there?”

Jax’s grin widened, feeling vindicated, “Yeah, Rags, how?” 

Ragatha jabbed a finger at his face, undeterred, “I saw him grab something!”

“Fine, Jax, can you empty your pockets?”

It’s not like this was a role Pomni was happily adopting. If anything, watching these two bicker like a couple of little kids could get exhausting. Still, sometimes it was just as simple as laying it out logically for them to quit it.

“You got a warrant?”

“JaAAax!”

“Seems like we’ll never know if I did or didn’t put a mystery item in my pocket, then.” 

Little kids.

Ragatha opened her mouth to argue back when Pomni placed a hand on her arm, “Hey, no one has been killed yet, right? Maybe you and I can revisit this later together when we get more ‘evidence’.” 

The other woman, after a moment, let out a sigh of surrender, shoulders relaxing, “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know why I got so worked up…” She turned to the rabbitoid, “Sorry about that, Jax.”

He blinked owlishly, taken aback, before rolling his eyes, “Whatever.”

“So, how are we supposed to have a dinner party with no dinner?” Gangle asked as they all stood around the dining room, cluelessly.

“Follow me as we begin the tour through my gigantic mansion!” Their host had suddenly announced, bumping into her as he went into the next room. He had walked into the wall at first, still doing a walking animation in place before gliding out of the doorway.

“I guess we’re going on a tour,” Zooble sighed.

“Through his gigantic mansion! Don’t forget that part,” Jax added.

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“Do you think that Caine ever reuses assets?” Pomni asked as they were all led into the next bedroom. It was expansive with a large king mattress, decorated with carved bed posts, a cushioned headboard, plush duvets, a velvet canopy draped around it, and several embroidered pillows. The carpet was spread corner to corner with a dark, floral pattern of reds and blacks, matching the rest of the furniture from the thick red curtains to the dark wood of the dressers and bed frames.

And it was the exact same as the last five bedrooms that they were just shown, down to the length of the melted wax on the candlesticks and the arrangement of the lipsticks on the vanity.

At first, it was an enchanting sight to behold the first time Pomni walked into the room as if she were actually visiting a real mansion. She couldn’t help but feel a bit fancy in her little dress, looking up at the glow of the chandelier and how it lit the room in a warm, dim light that made it feel almost real. However, by the fourth time that they had to listen to the host repeat, “The intricate wood carvings and vintage portraits add to the room's antique charm”, word-for-word, it had lost its glamour, and she remembered it was all simulated.

“Hey, where are you going?” Zooble asked Jax when they noticed him splitting away from the group. The host had opened the door to yet another bedroom, reciting its script, “...Victorian gothic bedroom. Truly, the design is the perfect fusion between dramatic and elegant-”

“I came here for murder, not a museum field trip,” He waved them off, walking the other direction, “Gonna look for the rooms they don’t want us to check out.”

“It’s just probably going to be invisible walls or something to throw you out of the map. At most, it’ll crash the story for a bit.”

“Hey, I’m a rabbit. We love our easter eggs!”

Pomni never imagined being jealous of Jax before until she watched him strut around the corner. Meanwhile, she was stuck listening to a lecture on interior decorating on a loop. 

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“And this is my study,” The host’s voice droned on, but by this point in the tour, everyone had zoned him out.

“So!” Ragatha turned to the others, “You guys looking forward to the mystery?”

“You mean where we all start getting killed, one-by-one?” Zooble asked, pessimistic about the whole thing. They mostly lagged around the back, fidgeting with their pocket watch the whole time.

“Yes!”

“Didn’t expect you to be the type to love this kind of thing, Ragatha,” Pomni said, looking around the study with mild interest. It was what was to be expected. At the head of the room was an oak desk with pens, quills, papers with random nonsense written on them, and even some knick knacks to decorate it. The wall was lined up with a collection of books, and a pixelated fireplace lit the room with a large framed painting of Caine above it.

“Oh, I love a good murder! I used to watch horror movies all the time,” In her excitement, Ragatha was pacing around the room with avid curiosity, peering through her magnifying glass, “And a mystery no less for us to solve. I didn’t do much exploring with the last horror adventure, so I’m excited. I’m sure we’ve already passed some clues during our tour, that’s why we’re following along in the first place. Maybe we’ll have to revisit these places later on to investigate or later find the bodies. Something like that - I don’t know, but I’m looking forward to it!”

“Hm,” Pomni smiled, fondly. She was like a little kid in a candy store. If the candy was corpses, “I’m glad.”

“What are you doing?” Gangle asked, also ignoring their host who was continuing to describe the origins of his desk, from the tree it was cut from to how it ended up in his office after the fact. It didn’t feel particularly relevant to the story.

“I’m looking for secret passages,” Ragatha explained, picking up the random desk accessories and opening drawers, “Maybe there’s a button or a passcode under one of these.”

“Do you think Caine would have put one of those here,” Gangle doubted, crouching behind the desk with her, “A lot of the stuff so far has felt kind of random.”

“We can’t leave any stone unturned,” Their detective insisted, hands feeling underneath the flattop, “Zooble, give us a hand, please?”

With a suffering sigh, they complied, half-heartedly poking and prodding at the items above the fireplace.

Pomni was occupying herself with the many books along the wall, reading their titles and occasionally picking one up to skim.

How to Cook a Butterfly Salad

A Million Ways to Have Fun in the West

Hungry Games: Ways to Play with Your Food

A Little Bit o’ Liquid Courage - A Hilarious Rabbit Romance

The Amazing Digital Memoir: Life of the Ringmaster Who You Love the Most

Zabyl i Vspomnil

Something to note was that Caine was the author of all of them, except for the last one, which was written by Bubble…

“See anything?”

“There’s a creepy bust statue of Caine in the corner.”

“Oh, is there maybe a button under his head?”

“Please, don’t make me touch it.”

One of the books Pomni found was titled simply, Super Duper Secret Passage Way If Pulled, and with a shrug, she did as instructed, not giving it much thought. Maybe there's a chapter that will give them a clue on how to find what Ragatha was looking for here. 

A click sounded as she pulled to remove it from the shelf as it didn't allow her to take it out, completely. Instead, it cranked something as the entire book shelf began to rotate like a revolving door around her. She gave a muted cry, releasing the book, but it was too late as her bugged-out eyes and general look of horror were silenced while she was transported behind the bookcase. The host looked over and waved at her, friendly. The shelf clicked back into place, replaced with an entirely different one but no less discernible from its previous. Silence followed while everyone else remained oblivious.

“Oh, there’s some letters in this drawer.”

“Ah, lemme see! It could be useful!”

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“Hey! Let me out!” Pomni banged on the shelf, trying to trigger the mechanism to return her, but it was dark where she was taken. And cramped, “Ragatha? Zooble? Guys? Hello??”

She started hollering and yelling out, but on the other side of the wall, her cries were muffled. The others began speaking over her unheard wailing, none the wiser.

“Anywho, let's move onto the next room, far away from this one and whatever may still be inside of here for the rest of the night!” 

“That is a weird thing to say, even for an NPC.”

Leaving her trapped and alone, she finally stopped yelling, feeling at a loss.

Within the confines of the wall, she barely had enough room to comfortably move around, squinting in the darkness. For the most part, she just had to blindly feel around to see where she was going, and the silence was deafening.

Amidst her wandering, a chill had begun to move up her spine when something that felt like a hand had gently started to brush against her arms. The chill had suddenly turned her blood ice cold, freezing her in place.

That’s when two hands had grabbed both of her arms, swiftly spinning her around to a towering figure, inches from her face.

“Boo.”

Pomni screamed and punched Jax in the face. 

Her assailant was sent falling backwards, landing awkwardly in the tight space with a grunt. He chuckled, thoroughly amused as he rubbed his injured face, “Dang, Pompom! Fight or flight really kicked in for you, huh? I thought for sure that you’d be the ‘run and hide’ type.” 

She had a selection of words on the tip of her tongue, words that would certainly be censored in this world, but her feral ravings were stopped in their tracks as she met Jax’s eyes. They glowed, a faint yellow light filling the darkness inside of the walls. It had her like a deer in headlights the way that she couldn’t help but stare.

“Woah… Your eyes…” 

“Gorgeous, am I right?” He teased, pushing himself to his feet and looming over her in the cramped space. It was tall enough to stand up straight but barely wide enough to face her completely.

She shook herself out of the trance, rolling her eyes, “I wouldn't go that far.” 

“Kinda rude, Pompom,” He replied in a sing-song voice, “And here I thought we were having a moment.”

She scoffed before coming to a realization, “So, uh, what are you doing back here?”

“Exploring,” Jax shrugged, nonchalantly, “You stuck?” 

She made a face, a mix of embarrassment and weariness, “...Yeah.” 

“Yeah.” 

“So…” With his eyes serving as their only source of vague light, it was hard for Pomni not to stare at his face in this situation, “What now?” 

“Why're you asking me?”

“Uh. I don't know… I thought that you would know how to get us out of here the way that you came from?

She was met with silence, much to her annoyance.

“Jax?”

Even as she scrutinized his expression, he continued his uncharacteristic quietness.

“...You don’t know how to get out of here, do you?”

His ear twitched, and Pomni couldn’t help but snicker as his face pulled into a frown, “Oh, I know, but what makes you think that I’m going to help you?”

“Jax,” She said in a sing-song, “Did you also fall for a trapdoor like me?”

“Please, you think I’d be as dumb as to fall for a clearly-placed and cliche trap in a murder mystery mansion?”

“Yeah!”

“Real mature, Pom,” He scoffed, turning on his heel and taking his light source with him.

“H-hey, where are you going!” She stumbled after him, grabbing along the wall for purchase, desperately, as his longer steps competed against her shorter, quicker ones.

“Gonna try and find the way out of here,” He replied, not even looking back to address her, “But you're more than welcome to stay put. I'm sure someone will notice you're gone… Eventually.” 

“Hey!” She hurried, feeling like they were traversing a maze with her only means of escape being purposefully difficult to keep up with. At one point, he had stopped in his tracks, causing her to practically crash into his back. 

“You stalking me, Pomni?” He cooed, his glowing eyes looking her up and down. 

Irritation boiled up inside of her as she gave a huff, “Fine. I'll go the other way!” 

“It's a dead end, but good luck.” 

She hesitated, attempting to look ahead of her new path but seeing absolutely nothing in the black void. It somehow felt foreboding, especially with a soon-to-be-murderer on the loose.

She gave a sigh and reluctantly turned around to Jax who was actually just waiting for her with his usually cheesy grin. 

“Dang, you really fell for that? I didn't even go that way yet.” 

Maybe the murder would be preferable.

“Y-you-! Whatever!”

Storming back off in the opposite direction, she was so caught up in her frustration that she ended up slamming face-first into a wall.

Wincing in pain, she crouched to the ground and held her face, “[BLOINK]! Jax!” 

He cackled.

It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place, only the rock was Jax and the hard place was a potentially violent death.

In the end, she was left chasing after the rabbit, nearly running into him again, before he stopped her with a hand on her forehead. He easily pushed her backwards as she swung blindly at the air.

“What?” He feigned sympathy, his stupid glowing eyes looking down at her before he turned to walk away, “Was there a dead end or something?”

She muttered to herself, a censor bar spawning over her mouth, as she begrudgingly followed. In the meantime, she kept her hands pressed to the walls, hoping for another secret bookshelf or a trigger or anything to escape. 

However, it was a big mansion, and the search for an exit was, for a while, unsuccessful. They fell into a brief silence. It made her antsy for something to occupy herself.

Also, generally, she was just curious. 

She couldn't help but let her eyes wander over Jax's trench coat and ask, “So, what kind of doctor are you supposed to be?"

“I never said I was a doctor,” He said, “But nice try, Pomeranian.”

She huffed, amused, “Fine, then, what are you? Some kind of undercover Superhero? A Supermodel?”

“My model is a rabbit, Pomni. Did you not know? Usually, the ears give it away.”

“Come on, just tell me what you're supposed to be,” She groaned dramatically, “The only thing left that I can think of is a pervert.”

“Oh, you wanna go there, Candyland?”

“‘Candyland’??” She clutched her red and blue skirt, indignant. 

“You're supposed to be one of those girls that jumps out of cakes, right? Caine got you in such a cute little number-”

“Alright, let's stop talking.”

“Pommy, I could just eat you right up-”

“Jax, shut up!”

He laughed, replacing the silence with something warmer.

“God, you’re so annoying.” 

“Oh?” He stopped, looking back at her and meeting her level. Pomni paused as he got down on one knee, grinning, “Then, why are you smiling?”

She sputtered, “I…”

And suddenly, a familiar click sounded around them, and the floor began to move. They struggled to stay upright as the entire wall next to them started to revolve, and a bright light hit their visions. Opening their eyes as the world came to a halt, they found themselves back in the study.

“Don’t worry,” Zooble drawled, accompanied by a surprised Ragatha and Gangle, “This is actually a completely separate yet identical room as the last one.”

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Soon, dinner was served, and it went normally- or as normally as digital dinners go. 

Kinger had somehow managed to cook a fully seasoned and stuffed turkey dinner with sides of mashed potatoes and artichokes, along with a cream pie dessert afterwards. The NPC whose name that they had forgotten already took a seat at the head of the table with everyone else joining at their designated spots. Zooble was handed a bottle of champagne, made to pour everyone a glass.

Pomni was seated between the host and Jax, across from Ragatha. She took a sip of her drink, briefly disappointed that it didn’t taste alcoholic at all. Similarly, Jax, having snatched the bottle from Zooble for keepsakes, downed his champagne in one go, making a sour face afterwards, “...Is this real?”

“Definitely not,” Pomni shook her head, frowning. He seemed satisfied with that answer and continued to drink some more.

Some light discussion was had, and it’s mildly comfortable as the room was filled with the scent of food and the sound of utensils clinking.

Ragatha was excited to show the others her little notepad, “I’ve already started taking notes on all of you guys for potential motives, but if you don’t mind, why don’t you tell me more about your characters?”

“Uh, well, I’m the ‘Rich Widow’,” Gangle began, lifting the sheer veil from her face to read her profile from a card, “My husband was… A business associate and best friend of the host until he betrayed him, and my dear beloved died, mysteriously after.”

“Hmm, oh! Maybe you have a vendetta against our host for what he did to your husband and plan to stab him when all the lights go off!” The ragdoll scribbled in her notes, tapping her foot as the gears turned.

“W-wha, no I didn’t,” the Widow stammered, clutching her pearls.

“Or maybe she killed her husband for his wealth and wants us to think otherwise, framing one of us, potentially!”

“I don’t like this adventure.”

Meanwhile, Pomni, passively listening with mild entertainment, took another sip of her drink. Having finished her glass, she looked over to Zooble, about to ask for another pour. Their butler, however, seemed to have lost interest in the roleplay, taking a nap in the corner.

So, Pomni looked to Jax in the hopes that he was feeling generous with the bottle that he snagged.

Jax who was being uncharacteristically silent.

He sat, shoulders sagged a bit, ears drooped slightly, and eyes glazed over. He swayed in his seat, hands on the table next to the abandoned bottle of champagne. At no point did he join in on the banter, prime for teasing either Ragatha who was getting deep into her character or Gangle who was currently being interrogated to high hell.

She glanced down at her empty glass and then at his, muttering quietly to herself, “Lightweight.”

Upon closer inspection, she realized that he must have also been drinking his own stash, noticing the reddish glaze on the bottom of his champagne flute.

Pomni was not surprised, but if anything, she was offended that he was hogging it for himself.

At least, it kept him subdued. Ragatha seemed like she was having fun, so let her. Maybe get him a water-

Then, Jax’s head slammed on the table. Everyone looked in his direction to see the rabbit out cold.

“Jax?” Gangle asked, poking him with her fork.

He didn’t respond. 

“Guess he’s the first murder,” Zooble announced as they rose from their spot, “Maybe this adventure will actually be okay.”

“Our first murder!” Ragatha shot up, eye sparkling and magnifying glass in hand.

“Murjer? Whaadmurjer?” Suddenly sitting up, their “dead” castmate bobbed his head with a slur in his voice, “I jus…” His head lolled downward before shooting back up again, “Took an nap… m’fine.” 

(Translation: Murder? What murder? I just took a nap. I am fine.)

Everyone stared.

“Immma… couch,” He muttered, slipping out of his chair and sliding to the ground, “Floor’s good….” 

(Translation: I am going to the couch. The floor is good.)

Zooble sighed, looking down at his tangled figure on the tile floor, “You’re drunk.” 

“Do you need help?” Pomni got up from her seat, half-way between kneeling at his side and standing respectfully next to him like Zooble. It was weird; she didn’t know how nice she should be with Jax.

“Wuh? Me? Drank? Halp? Noooooo… I done… I donch drink halp…” 

(Translation: What? Me? Drunk? Help? No, I do not drink ‘help’.)

“Ah, so he isn’t our first murder, technically…” Momentarily disheartened, Ragatha was quick to recover, “But he is our first murder attempt ! Did anyone else drink their champagne?”

Gangle raised her ribbon-hand, “I did, but it tasted like ginger ale.” 

Brows furrowed, Ragatha picked up her glass and Jax’s, sniffing one after the other, “Someone must have spiked his drink… But how is that possible if we all drank from the same bottle?”

“Well, I did notice that Jax’s drink was a different color at one point,” Pomni added, gesturing to the light red drops still left.

Excited, their detective held up her magnifying glass to analyze the mysterious hue change, “Our first clue!” 

“I’ll get him to the couch. I think he’s supposed to be dead,” Zooble said, grabbing the drunkard’s arms to drag him away.

“Oh! I’ll help!” Pomni finally got up from her awkward crouching position to grab his legs.

“Donch looch at me feet! That costsss money! I don’t shoe for free!” 

(Translation: Do not look at my feet! That cost money! I do not show for free!)

“What?”

“Ignore him. Let’s just get him in the sitting room or whatever.”

“Don’t go too far, guys! I still need to interrogate everyone for motives!”

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Pomni never understood the purpose of a “sitting room”.  As far as she knew, it was just a living room without a TV. There was only one couch and two armchairs, in between was a table decorated with a tea set and a familiar blue teapot in the center. 

“Don cook me, I tasted like roober,” Jax was muttering, facedown in the arm of the leather couch and posed uncomfortably. 

(Translation: Don’t cook me, I taste like rubber.)

His limbs flapped weakly, and his muffled voice came out uncharacteristically whiny. Combined with his already drunken state, Pomni let a laugh slip at the sight, rolling him onto his side with some effort, “What, like ‘wabbit stew’?” 

“You ARE gonna cook me!!!” He exclaimed, clutching his chest in shock before bursting out laughing at his own joke.

(Translation: You ARE going to cook me!)

Zooble rolled their eyes, “No. No one would ever want to eat you.” 

His laughter stopped immediately before he turned to scowl at them, “Why’du sayit like that ? You’re mean.”

(Translation: Why did you say it like that? You are mean.)

“What?” They squinted, incredulous, “You’re a jerk all the time !”

“Yeah, but ish funny.” 

(Translation: Yeah, but it is funny.)

“Little kids…” Pomni sighed, good-naturedly. She met Jax’s gaze for a second, seeing his petulant stare. He was pouting. She couldn’t help herself as another snort slipped out, causing her drunken castmate to ssnicke while his head rolled back on the couch arm.

“Oh, God. Don’t encourage him.”

“I’m not!”

“Sheee Zooobie? ‘M funnyyyyyy…” Jax slurred, hand clumsily fumbling for his front pocket, “...You guyz zee Anne?”

(Translation: See, Zooble? I am funny… Have you guys seen Anne?)

“Anne?”

Glass shattered, and Ragatha's scream could be heard from the other room. 

“Ohno! Anne!” With surprising agility, Jax flew off of the couch and back towards the scene of the crime with Zooble and Pomni rushing after him. 

(Translation: Oh no! Anne!)

Entering the once elaborate, fancy dining room, Ragatha could be found standing on the table, frantically waving her magnifying glass at Gangle, “GET IT! KILL IT!”

Gangle, on the other side, was also perched up on a spare dining chair, gripping the hem of her dress like a scared housewife, “WHAT?! NO!!! WHAT EVEN IS THAT?!” 

“ GET IT NOW !”

Meanwhile, Jax was lumbering over, legs twisting around each other as he made his way. He practically dropped to the ground, landing on his butt with a thud. 

“Jax! What are you-?”

Clumsily, he leaned forward from his seated position, hands capturing something on the floor as he cupped his palms around it and held it close to his chest. 

“JAAAXX!” Ragatha whined. 

“Stahp yelling!” He whined back, “You’re shcaring her! She’s just a baybee.” 

(Translation: Stop yelling! You are scaring her! She is just a baby.)

“WHAT?! THAT IS NOT A BABY!!” 

“Shuuush,” He waved off the screeching ragdoll, talking to his cupped hands, “Nap time for the baaaabyyyyy.” 

(Translation: Shush, nap time for the baby.)

Pomni followed behind as he drunkenly made his way back to the sitting room, a steady hand at his back while the other hovered in front of him, “Okay, buddy, let's stop running between rooms, okay?”

Zooble stayed behind to calm down the two hysterical women.

Somehow making it back to the couch in one piece, Jax continued mumbling into his hands, “Poor babbbeeeyy, did the mean gurlzz schjare you?” 

(Translation: Poor baby, did the mean girls scare you?)

Taking a tentative step towards his hunched figure, Pomni peered over to the “baby” in question. 

It was a centipede. 

Two inches wide and four inches long, it was colored a light shade of purple like Jax, settling down in his palms as he shielded it, protectively. 

She stared at the creature, and it stared back.

Immediately, she was in love.

“Is that Anne?” Pomni was cooing, trying to keep herself from squealing with awe, “And she was in your pocket, right?” 

“Maybe. You can’t proof that thow,” Jax mumbled, petulant, carefully putting Anne in an empty teacup before laying back down and covering his eyes with his arm, “Why’s me head dizzy?” 

(Translation: Maybe. You cannot prove that, though. Why is my head dizzy?)

“You’re drunk,” Zooble answered as he entered the room. 

“What?!” Jax sat up quickly, making Pomni flinch away from the sudden movement. He got visibly dizzy as a result.

(Translation: What?!)

“Calm down,” They paused, thoughtfully, making a face that Pomni had trouble reading, “You… didn’t know? Have you ever been drunk?” 

“Never! Oh god…” Jax began moaning, putting his head in his hands, “I dijn’twanna to ever…. Aim notch shuppposed too…”

(Translation: Never! Oh goodness… I did not ever want to… I am not supposed to…)

“Well…” They hesitated, expression softening to something akin to… Sympathy? Pity? “It doesn’t really count if you didn’t know. You were drugged.”

Jax whined, looking pathetic and uncomfortably vulnerable with the saddest frown on his face, “Yew done ged id , ‘m  gonna be just like zem - i didnjt wanna be like ‘em. I promished- oh god they were all rihh!” 

(Translation: You do not get it. I am going to be just like them - I did not want to be like them. I promised - Oh goodness gracious, they were all right!)

“Oh… Uh…” Zooble coughed, rubbing their arm, “I’m… mh.”

Pomni stepped in, slowly reaching over to place a hand on his shoulder, “I’m sure that’s not true…” 

“How’dju know? You don’t know…” He muttered, burying his face in the couch, “It's all over… I’d rather abstract right here and now.” 

(Translation: How do you know? You do not know… It is all over… I would rather abstract right here and now. ) 

Pomni’s already-white faced paled even more, hearing his sobering confession. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but something had clicked for Zooble, and something about it left them uncomfortable all around. All that she could tell was it had to do with being drunk, but was it really that upsetting? Or maybe it was just the “alcohol” making him more emotional than usual?

Vaguely, she remembered her first time getting drunk. It was not nearly this… Miserable.

She didn’t understand, looking to Zooble for an explanation, but their cast member had notably vacated the room at some point.

Pomni hummed quietly to hide her distress, having to reassure herself so that she could focus back on Jax. She didn’t even realize that she had started to pet his head, fingers running between short but soft fur. Without her usual gloves, she could notice that it was more like the material of stuffed animals than an actual rabbit. Thankfully, she knew better than to bury her face in it at least.

Oh, he was shaking.

“Hey, Jax,” She spoke quietly, kneeling at his side, “How… Did you find Anne?”

He sniffled, and she got a fleeting feeling of sadness from it. Still, she couldn’t tell if he was crying with his face still pressed into the leather, “I waz gonna prank the dolly, but now, I like Anne…”

(Translation: I was going to prank Ragatha, but now, I love Anne… She is my baby.)

“Oh?” She rubbed his back in big circles, encouraging, “Why did you name her ‘Anne’?” 

“I tought it would make Raggy mad… Ragatha… Raggedy Anne… Anne,” He laughed, “ish funny cuz she hatez centipedessss!” 

(Translation: I thought it would make Ragatha mad… Ragatha… Raggedy Anne… Anne. It is funny because she hates centipedes.)

“Yeah, she would hate that.” 

Pomni looked back down at the teacup containing Anne. She was wriggling slowly, filling the cup to the brim as she curled into a ball to fit. It made Pomni’s heart soar.

The fat, little centipede was truly a treasure.

She could see why Jax liked her. Carefully reaching out a hand and putting her finger in front of the bug to sniff like she would a dog, Pomni had found Anne didn't seem to mind her presence if her continued wiggling was anything to go by. Taking the win, she began gently stroking the length of the centipede with her finger.

“She really is cute, Jax,” Pomni chirped, glancing up at the rabbit who was unresponsive, apart from the occasional moan and whimper. She frowned, looking down at his arm hanging off of the side. His hand laid limply on the ground, so she went to pick it up, setting it gently back on the couch cushion. However, she lingered, still grasping his wrist. Giving it a reassuring squeeze, she rubbed her thumb over it in what she had hoped was a soothing matter. It was an action from her past that she could fuzzily recollect, reminiscent of warmth and safety when she thought about it. She was nervous to look back up, though, out of fear that this was going too far. Physical comfort wasn’t exactly her forte, but given her lack of understanding of his distress, words and distractions could only go so far. At the very least, it hopefully reminded him of her presence, which hopefully, was not a bad thing?

His fingers twitched, and maybe her hand was sliding down his wrist to hold his.

“Jax?!”

Pomni practically threw herself backwards, landing haphazardly on the ground as Ragatha came rushing into the sitting room.

“Are you okay?” She was by Jax’s side in a second, concern etched into her features as she took off her hat, “Zooble told me what happened.”

Taking a seat on the floor next to Pomni who had begun to sit back up, she turned Jax’s body to face the ceiling. He groaned in protest, revealing his puffy eyes.

“Oh, you poor thing…” Ragatha sighed, grabbing a nearby tissue box and offering it to him.

Jax had actually reached over to accept it, blearily staring up ahead and accidentally knocking it out of her hands in the process.

“Dangit…” After a moment with his arm still stretched out, Jax muttered quietly, voice cracking, “Why du I run everythin I touch?”

(Translation: FUCK, WHY DO I RUIN EVERYTHING THAT I TOUCH??)

It made the room freeze, an awkward and pitiful feeling filling the air. Ragatha’s face pinched, sympathetically, but Pomni just felt like she was intruding, now, like she was seeing and hearing things not meant for her to have ever come across. As the other fretted over Jax, hand on his forehead, Pomni debated leaving her to it, considering the ragdoll the preferable choice in this situation.

Jax continued, “I want my mom… But not myyy mom.” 

(Translation: I want someone to love and comfort me like a mom, but my mom was never that for me. I crave that love that I never got from her. I miss the idea of a good mom.)

Pomni looked down, nodding glumly as she pulled her knees to her chest, but she didn’t say anything about it.

“I miss my horses,” Ragatha added with equal dejection, but the other two looked at her, feeling otherwise.

“Datsnot even remoterly shimulaier.” 

(Translation: That is not even remotely similar.) 

And while she had nodded in acknowledgement, she seemed less fluent in drunk-Jax-speak than Zooble and Pomni.

She offered him the tissues, again, and this time, he managed to snag one before turning away from them, curling up, slightly.

Then, their host was rushing into the room, “Oh my word! The journalist is dead!”

“Oooh, that's what he was…” 

“A journalist makes so much sense,” Pomni said, seeing the pieces come together before shaking her head, “So, I guess Jax really is ‘dead’ then.”

Soon, the rest of the cast was being called into the sitting room despite their objections. However, the script required it. 

“There’s a killer on the loose! Detective, please, you must help us get to the bottom of this!” He ran up to Ragatha, practically on his knees, whose eye lit up at the proposition.

“Um, what if we don’t…?” Gangle spoke up from the side. Zooble was disinterestedly leaning against the wall while Kinger was preoccupied with butterfly painting above Jax’s “corpse”.

“Well…”

There’s a loud cracking noise outside the window, a flash of light filling the room before it was plunged into darkness. Gangle screamed in the absence of light, which prompted Kinger to join in, shrieking even higher. 

“It’s not even raining outside - how is there lightning??” Zooble groaned, “Hang on, I’ll check the-”

However, the lights returned shortly after, revealing the fallen body of their host. He remained unmoving, laying on his side with both of his arms and one leg twisted behind his back.

Gangle screamed, again, clutching her pearls, “Is he dead?!”

A teacup went flying by her head, just barely missing her. She gasped, scandalized.

“STahp schreeeaming!” Jax flailed his limbs, throwing his head back, ”Ish not real!” He quickly regretted his decision, clutching his skull in pain as he doubled over, “Ohimmapuke….. no ‘m gud.”

(Translation: Stop screaming! It is not real! Oh, I am going to puke… No, I am good.)

After a moment of anticipation, he quietly relaxed back into the couch. 

Ragatha looked between the lump on the couch and their dead host, hat in hand. Conflict crossed her face, caught between her personal obligation to check on Jax’s well-being but also her desire to fulfill her detective role.

Pomni couldn’t help but feel sympathetic, recalling the other’s excitement back in the study. She was like a little girl on Christmas night, snooping through dead bodies like presents.

However, Jax couldn’t be left alone like this, could he?

“Hey, um, Ragatha?” She approached the older woman, “Since you're the detective, it doesn't really make sense for you to just hang around back here. If you're distracted, the adventure will take longer, so maybe I can stay here with Jax while you just focus on solving the murders. That way, we can get him to rest sooner. Split our focus?”

Ragatha beamed, slipping her hat back on and holding her notepad to her chest, “That's a great idea Pomni! I'll be sure to give it my all!” 

“Chzzy,” Jax mumbled.

(Translation: Cheesy.)

The Detective pretended not to hear him and got to work, “I bet I know what the murder weapon was, too!”

.

.

.

With the others wandering off afterwards, there was still the problem of the body. Since it was just Jax and Pomni left alone, that meant it was hers to deal with. She could have just left it as is, but NPC or not, it was creepy to just be in a room with a corpse.

And maybe dragging it away and shoving it into a closet like a sack of laundry was a bit morbid, but she had other things to worry about now.

Then, it was just the two of them. 

Silence, again. Jax wasn’t even moaning miserably anymore, just turned away from her in a lanky ball. She was left twiddling her thumbs, knees pulled up to her chest as she sat in front of the couch.

“So, um. Why do you hate alcohol?” Immediately, she regretted asking, feeling like the question was too invasive.

“Becash of nunya.”

(Translation: Heh.)

“N-nunya?” 

“Nunya business!” He sat up a bit, jabbing a finger at her face, “HA! Goteeeeem!” 

She supposed she deserved that. 

“Heyyyy Hey pompom~” He continued, mood shifting quickly as he kept trying to poke her face. Missing entirely, his hand dropped limply to the floor.

(Translation: Hey, hey, Pomni.)

She sighed, “Yeah?” 

“Do you… di you think… Um.” He snickered, head falling backwards, “i forgor.”

(Translation: Do you… Do you think… Um. I forgot.)

Pomni shook her head. Little kids.

“Oh!” He sat up, fully, like a lightbulb had appeared over his head, “Do you think they got nachos??” 

“Nachos?” She repeated, trying to get him to lay back down, but easily, he shoved her away. Staggering to his feet, he made his way back toward the kitchen, only to run into something and get sent falling backwards on his butt. Pomni ran up to him, looking back up at what invisible barrier had blocked his way like that.

A large sign from nowhere started to brightly flash in colorful lights above them, “All Dead Guests Must Now Remain in the Sitting Room!” Caine’s voice echoed the caption.

In the gothic atmosphere of the room, the sign was more reminiscent of Las Vegas lights, blinding Pomni as it practically screamed in her face. Jax remained on his back.

“Whuzda poy a shiddy room, nywayz?” He slurred from the floor, “Int just a livin room wthout TV??”

(Translation: What is the point of a Sitting Room, anyways? Is it not just a Living Room without a television?)

And Pomni honestly would have laughed at how he shared the sentiment about sitting rooms with her if she wasn’t visually impaired.

Eventually, the sign blinked away. Though, it was possible it would be triggered, once more, if Jax tried to leave, again.

Jax who got up and punched the wall with a sudden bout of aggression, “Caine! I knooooooow you're hiding! Come out here you little- you- AI NPC content farm licking-” He started to drunkenly rant and rave around them, hollering at the walls and ceiling as if Caine were present in the room, “-Trappin’ us! You think i dont kniw. But I KNOW.”

(Translation: Caine is bitch.)

But just as quickly, his anger shifted, “...YOu- You're hiding my nachos from me!!” 

Even in his drunken state, Pomni could recognize when he was being performative, covering up his true feelings now with gimmicks and jokes like usual.

Still, getting just a glimpse of his true fury was unsettling. She took him by the arm and guided him back to the couch, “H-hey, how about I get you those nachos, okay?” 

Whatever irritation was left quickly faded as he looked at her, pleasantly, like a little boy being offered a sweet treat. Only this little boy was a grown man, and his sweet treat was drunk nachos, “Oh thanks you Pomegranate… i love… nachos..  so cute. ..”

(Translation: Oh, thank you, Pomni. I love… Nachos… So cute…)

He gave her a pat on her cheek, making a light “pap” sound on her soft face.

And somehow, Pomni didn’t mind.

Maybe they could be considered even now for how she was petting him earlier.

He flopped onto the cushions, his ears spilling over the armrest, and Pomni gave him a thumbs up that he definitely couldn't see before she walked out of the room.

Re-entering the dining room, Pomni saw a singular maid attempting to clean the mess from Anne's visit. Mostly broken ceramic and some spilled digital food.

“Um… Hey uh…” She started, but the NPC only just stared at her. Her blank wooden face remained… blank. It was unsettling. Still, Pomni continued, “Uh… My uh- Can I order nachos? I didn't really get to eat earlier.” 

The maid's expressionless face remained expressionless before she returned to sweeping up spaghetti sauce.

With a sigh, Pomni decided to just figure it out on her own. Maybe she could find something else for that sad lump of a rabbit. Instead, what she found was Kinger staring blankly at an overflowing pot in the sink. 

She gently reached out for his shoulder, “Kinger…?” 

With speed she had no idea that he was capable of, he swung around towards her, a knife in his hand barely touching the hair on her bangs. Pomni jumped back in surprise, practically flying.

“Oh! Pomni! It's just you!” Cheerfully, Kinger put the knife down on the counter and turned back to her, “...You're not the murderer… Are you?” He asked, bending down to her eye level. His intense blue eyes were disconcerting, blinking one at a time.

“Uh, no… Hey, you're the Chef right?” 

Kinger looked down at his chef coat, “Oh! I guess so!” 

“Do you think you could whip up some nachos for me?” 

Perking up, Kinger turned around to open the oven door, taking out a plate of nachos.

Pomni paused.

However, Kinger was already gently pushing her out of the door before she could reply, “Hurry on now! I have to get dinner started!” 

“Kinger, we already had dinner.”

“Oh! Then I better clean up!”

The door swinging shut behind her, she remained a bit bewildered as she made her return. In the sitting room, she noticed Zooble sitting in a nearby chair, a kitchen knife in their back.

They briefly regarded her, arms crossed, “I got killed.”

“Aaaaand then I trew yer arm in the sink… and it gotch shtuck on the pip,” Jax rambled to Zooble, apparently in the middle of a story.

(Translation: And then, I threw your arm in the sink… And it got stuck on the pipe.)

“I know, Jax. I was there!” 

It was a comical sight for Pomni, resetting with a small smile and walking over to Jax. He finally noticed her presence, turning towards her with round eyes, “Nachos! You brought Pommy! My favorite!” 

He took the plate from her, slumping onto the couch and snickering at a joke he privately thought of in his head. Grabbing a handful of nachos, he unceremoniously shoved the whole thing in his mouth, fist fitting between his teeth. He pulled it out with a slurp, crunching chips loudly, after. Laughing to himself, Pomni and Zooble were cringing, meanwhile. He noticed their stares and held the plate to his chest, “Guhyeroun!”

(Translation: ???)

Pulling their head away from whatever that was, Zooble turned to Pomni, “Whatever, Pomni can you just go tell Ragatha that the killer-” 

“NO SPOILERS!” Spawning from thin air, Caine was suddenly in Zooble’s face, causing them to yell in alarm and flinch backwards. 

“Booooooo,” Jax jeered, throwing a handful of nachos at Caine, “Jempscers air cheap! No clash…” 

(Translation: Boo, jumpscares are cheap! No class…)

His nachos splat on the wall behind the Ringmaster, slowly sliding to the floor. Caine looked at the mess and back at Jax.

Turning to Zooble, he continued, “Zooble! Don't spoil the ending for your fellow castmates! It'll ruin the fun!” 

“I don't think Jax is having fun with the state he's in,” They gestured to the dead journalist who was currently testing the stretch of his cheese that was connected to a single tortilla chip, “Woah…. Is like in the cartoons…” 

(Translation: Woah… It is like the cartoons…)

“Well since Zooble and Jax are ‘dead’, can't they just… Leave?” Pomni suggested.

“What?! Of course not!” Caine bellowed, not understanding what an “inside voice” was, apparently, “Dead people can't leave!”

“Caaaaaaiiiine! Caine! Caine!” Jax called, waving a nacho and a grease-covered glove at him, “Um if you… Um… Ha! I forgort.” 

(Translation: Caine! Caine! Caine! Um, if you… Um… Ha! I forgot.)

He began to slide back down before shooting up in realization, “Imgonnapuke-!....” Pomni jumped up in alarm before Jax relaxed back in his seat, “No Imfine….” 

(Translation: I am going to puke-! …No, I am fine…)

Caine regarded him, briefly, “Anyway… No spoilers! And don’t worry, Jax is not actually drunk! This is a family-friendly show; he is only poisoned and exhibiting drunken symptoms!”

“Can’t you just… fix him?” Pomni asked.

“No.” Caine replied, not providing any further explanation.

“Well, why shouldn't I just ‘spoil it'?” Zooble grunted, exasperated, “It'll mean this stupid adventure-”

“Hey, Zooble,” Caine interrupted, suddenly inches from their face. It felt like the room was a little darker, and it was just the two of them for a moment, “Shut up.”

“W… What…”

“Don’t you see?” Voice uncharacteristically low, the Ringmaster continued, his lack of whimsy unnerving the human, “Everyone is participating. Ragatha is having fun. Jax is having fun. Everyone is having fun. Do you know how important that is?”

They swallowed, thickly, at a loss for words, “I…”

“If you try to ruin this for all of us, Zooble, I'll break your fucking limbs. All of them, even the ones in the Zooble Box.”

“Oh.”

Jax started laughing uncontrollably, and suddenly, they remembered there were other occupants in the room. Pomni was holding onto Jax’s arm and cradling Anne to her chest, trembling.

“Wow! Where did that come from?! Anyways~” Caine resumed his default persona, floating back into the air above them all, ”Zooble, this adventure is not stupid, I can assure you that! You would see that if you ever gave them a real shot!”

 Jax was laughing so hard, tears were forming in his eyes.

“Okay, my dearests! Better solve the mystery soon before you all die from getting murdered!” 

A cloud of confetti in the shape of Caine took his place, slowly floating to the carpet.

The sight gave Pomni a bad feeling. Instead, she put her focus on Jax. Not whatever horrifying thing that was. She gently returned Anne to her cup, petting her head with a finger. 

Jax had placed the plate of half-eaten nachos on the floor and was now beginning to doze off after his little laughing fit.

She felt her shoulders relax. Some rest would be good for him.

“Heeeeeeyyyy Pomnpomn….” Jax slurred, laid comfortably on his side with his cheek squished against the leather, “You…. your dress akmostsh…almostsh looks like.um… Whats her face…. Yeah… “ 

(Translation: Idk, man - something about her dress??)

“That's nice, Jax.”

Zooble buried their face in their hands, taking a deep breath. They exhaled, aggrieved and burnt-out, “I can’t believe I have to deal with this on top of Jax’s [BOING].”

Pomni hesitated, feeling strangely defensive, “Well, I mean, I know Jax can be pretty bad sometimes, but…”

“Trust me, I’ve known him longer,” They sounded bitter, the burden of the adventure and Caine’s recent outburst taking a toll on them, “This is just barely scratching the surface.”

“Well…” On one hand, he’s thrown Pomni out of a moving truck and been a snark most of the time, but she couldn’t help but notice something has changed overtime… Between her and Jax? Today especially showed her a different side of him that made it easier to sympathize with the rabbit, “He can’t help being drunk right now, but even before that, he and I had a decent time, you know, in the walls. I mean, he was still his usual self, but it could have been worse.”

“It probably will be soon.”

Pomni frowned, “...Is he really that bad?”

“Are you actually defending him? After knowing him for the shortest amount of time?” Zooble shot her a glare, and she tried not to take it personally.

“Well, no, I mean, well, I remember he and I got along enough at Spudsy’s. At least, we just had a brief exchange, but,” Where was she going with this? It just felt wrong not to speak up for him right now for some reason, “Um, well, I think he has his moments is what I’m saying.”

“Just because he isn’t actively tormenting you 24/7 doesn’t mean he’s a good person.”

“I just,” She tried to subtly dart her eyes toward Jax’s prone body between them, emphasizing, “I don’t know if calling him a bad person is accurate, Zooble.”

However, her discreet gestures didn’t seem to land with them as they grew increasingly exhausted, “What?”

“Isn't that a bit-” She motioned to him, sighing, “I mean he's right here.”

“Pomni, no one gives a [BLOINK] about what Jax thinks.”

She flinched.

Jax rolled over, curling in on himself.

An awkward silence was left, the air growing thick with tension.

So many emotions in the sitting room today.

“Sorry,” After a long pause, Zooble deflated, their brief anger dying down to cinders, “That was mean… To both of you.”

“It’s okay…” Pomni said.

“Iz ‘kay,” Jax grunted.

(Translation: It wasn't.) 

And for a while, nobody spoke.

It was uncomfortable.

Getting murdered would be more preferable than being in such a tense situation, but then, Pomni would end up back in this room. She wanted to hold Anne, again.

“Hey,” She looked up at Zooble who was speaking to her more calmly now if not awkwardly, “You think you could check and see how Ragatha is doing with solving the case?”

She faltered, feeling like she was getting kicked out, but nodded, agreeably, “Yeah, I'll be right back.”

.

.

.

Pomni had no idea where Ragatha could’ve been. Maybe she should have asked Zooble before heading down a random hallway, but that would’ve meant spending another moment trying to act like it wasn’t painfully tense in that room. Some space to clear their heads would do everyone some good.

Though, she hoped leaving Jax and Zooble alone would be okay. It didn’t seem like Jax was exactly happy when she left. She hoped he was okay. Both of them, actually.

“Pomni!” Her wandering thoughts were interrupted as she spotted Ragatha rushing toward her. She would’ve assumed the killer was chasing her if it weren’t for the big smile on her face, “Thank goodness you’re still alive! I have great news - I know who the killer is!”

“Oh? Oh! That’s great, Ragatha!” Now, we can leave!

“Let’s go to the sitting room!”

Nooo! “Okay.”

“But first, a stop at the kitchen!”

“...Okay?”

They turned back to where Pomni had come from, making their way to the others.

“So, let me explain to you my investigation findings,” Ragatha began, flipping through her notepad with confidence.

“Where’s Gangle-”

“Now, immediately upon arrival, I had already assumed everybody was a suspect before even any murders had occurred. That included you, the Journalist, the Rich Widow, the Butler, the Chef, and even the Host. Before dinner, we were given a tour, and for the most part, it was uneventful until…” Ragatha dug through her pocket, pulling out some envelopes, “I found these in the Host’s study. They’re letters he’s sent and received to and from the various people at this party, and let me tell you, he was not well-liked by any of us here. The Journalist was hounding him about some possible fraudulent deals in his business. The Rich Widow was accusing him of being the cause of her husband’s death. The Chef and the Butler were complaining about some late paychecks and salary inconsistencies. And even you were apparently a woman that he was attempting to court, incessantly.”

“Oh, right,” Pomni remembered briefly reading her character’s profile and being mildly disturbed at the potential love story she was supposed to play. Instead, she was… Hanging out with Jax the whole time, “I completely forgot about that.”

“That’s alright because I do not believe that you are the killer,” Ragatha reassured, pocketing the letters before she continued, “So then, dinner arrives, and we have our first murder: the Journalist. Out of all of them, the Host was most likely to have the greatest motive, right? Nope.”

“Right because, then, the Host got killed.”

“Exactly! So, who would be the most likely suspect?” Ragatha holds up a photo, “I found this hidden away in one of the employee quarters Apparently, before dinner, the Journalist was walking around, taking photos where he shouldn’t have been.”

“That sounds like him.”

“And one of those places was where the murderer didn’t want him to be,” She revealed the photo to be of a pair of hands… painting the inside of a champagne glass?

“Wait, what?”

“That is how Jax’s drink was poisoned. It wasn’t in his drink at all but his glass!” Ragatha practically squealed, exhilarated by this new information, “The killer coated the inside with a poison, clear with a pink hue, that was probably originally meant for the Host, but because they were caught by the Journalist in the act, they switched them so that it would kill the guy with evidence of their crime!”

“Wait, this is all actually…” Pomni was impressed. She honestly didn’t expect for Ragatha to go so deep on this mystery, assuming the whole thing would fall into chaos before Caine would just tell them the answer in the end.

“I know, right??” Ragatha cleared her throat, gearing up as they approached the kitchen, “So, the killer kills the Host the first chance that they get because that was their original plan, but after that, they’re not done because now? They have a taste for blood.”

“W-woah… I guess that’s why they killed Zooble, too, right?”

“Oh, Zooble died? Aw, poor Zooble,” She shook her head, moving on, “Then, it all adds up! Pomni, I believe that the killer is…”

Pushing open the door, Ragatha guided Pomni inside who accidentally stepped on something that cracked under her foot, “Oh…”

Looking down, there it was: Gangle's Comedy Mask on the floor.

“It’s Kinger!”

“Oh, hello.”

Caught red-handed, Kinger stood there with a knife stuck in between Gangle's ribcage of ribbons. Obviously, it didn't hurt with the blade waving around the gaps of her chest. Though, her dress was now ruined.

“Aw, man, I’m dead…” Gangle moaned miserably, looking remorsefully at the slices in her bodice, “Couldn’t you have solved the mystery sooner?”

“The Chef, after years of loyally serving the ungrateful Host, finally had enough and planned to kill him,” Ragatha continued, pointing a finger at him, “However, he had also gone crazy, especially after his first victim and was going to kill the rest of us in a matter of time!”

“Oh, yes, that sounds like me!”

“Wow… Great work, Ragatha-”

Several confetti cannons went off, and Pomni nearly jumped out of her skin.

“CONGRATULATIONS!” Caine’s voice bellowed as he reappeared above them, “Ragatha has solved the Mysterious Mystery of the Mystery Murders!”

The incredibly noisy celebrations continued as they went into the Sitting Room before eventually dying down so that Pomni could finally remove her hands from where her ears should be.

“Wah… show meny misheries….” Jax slurred, leaning on Zooble as they helped him off of the couch. 

(Translation: Why… So many mysteries…)

With a bounce in her step, Ragatha went up to them, wrapping an arm around Jax, “I got him, thanks.”

He pushed his hand in her face, weakly attempting to push her off, “Geh aweh…”

(Translation: Get away…)

He quickly gave up.

She gave him a placating pat on the back, “I'll leave you alone when you're in bed. Okay?” 

“...I like meh bed.”

(Translation: …I like my bed.)

“I-I’ll help, too!” The words tumbled out of Pomni’s mouth before she could even consider why or how, but Ragatha accepted it with a smile anyway.

However, their nice moment was cut short by a loud banging around them. Before they knew it, the dead body of their Host was sent shooting through the room, clipping through the walls and bouncing against random objects at dangerous velocities. They were all left ducking and crying out as it ragdolled to and from the small room with all those occupants.

“RUN!” Caine shouted, opening a portal as the NPC corpse slammed against some dishes and flopped around, violently.

.

.

.

After filing out of the portal in a panic, Ragatha and Pomni managed to eventually drag the sack of potatoes that was Jax back to his door. 

“Okay, Jax,” Ragatha propped him up on the wall, “Where's the key to your room?” 

“Mmmmh No,” He muttered, sliding to the floor in a heap  and shutting his eyes close. She sighed, trying to hoist him back up with a grunt, but he just went limp and flopped back down. 

(Translation: Mm, no.) 

“JaAAX!” Ragatha groaned, causing him to cover his ears and whine. 

“Stahp yelin at meeeeee!” His voice was thick, miserable like he was on the verge of tears.

(Translation: Stop yelling at me!) 

Forcing herself to take a breath, Ragatha crouched down to his level, “...Jax. Please, unlock your door so that we can get you to bed. You said that you like your bed, remember?” 

Preferring just to grunt in response, Jax curled in a ball, “Nu girlz allowed. Iz the rulez.” 

(Translation: No girls are allowed. it is the rules.) 

“I can take him if he’s going to be that much of a pain about it,” Zooble offered as they were on their way to their room. 

But that earned them a glare from Jax, “No. Yer mean.”

(Translation: No. You are mean.) 

Ragatha rubbed at her face with her hands, already worn out, "Fine. Then, you're sleeping on my floor, so I can keep an eye on you," Her expression softens, “You can’t be alone right now, Jax.”

"No, you'll just yell at meeee!"

(Translation: No, you will just yell at me!) 

"Then, what do you want to do?! I'm not letting you be alone right now!" 

"Sheee?! Yer yelling!" He exclaimed before clumsily gesturing to Pomni who ended up getting smacked in the head, "Pomniert can shtay withh me. She doesn't yelk at me... or think I'm a bad person... hate my guts..m act all fake."

(Translation: See? You are yelling! Pomni can stay with me. She doesn't yell at me… Or think I am a bad person… Hate my guts… Act all fake.) 

Pomni saw Ragatha flinch at the slurred comments, opening her mouth to protest, but ultimately closing it in the end.

Zooble spoke up, again, looking at Pomni, “Are you okay with him sleeping over?” 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” And even Pomni was surprised by her own lack of hesitation. 

Together, Zooble and Ragatha hoisted the drunk rabbit up from under his armpits, dragging him across the hall. Pomni unlocked the door for them, holding it open. 

Zooble squinted, looking around her room for what she realized was the first time, “Huh.”

And Pomni was anxious as to whether that was a good or bad “huh”.

The bright reds and blues contrasted to the point that it was a violent assault on the eyes. She didn't even like those colors that much, yet they continued to invade every aspect of her avatar and anything associated with it, including her bedroom. Red armchair, red floor, blue ceiling, blue stripes- she could go on.

If anything, she just hoped that they didn’t comment on the mirror in the corner covered with a red and blue sheet…

She was going to ask Caine for another spare cover for the vanity but never got around to it. Mostly, she just puts large enough objects in front of it or doesn't look at it at all. 

She debated if she should have tried to tidy up, but her thoughts were interrupted when Jax sat up, sudden and alert.

“I’mgonnapuke!” He grabbed one of Pomni’s spare jester caps laying around, shoving his face in it… Before putting it back down and relaxing back in Zooble and Ragatha’s hold, “”neberminI’m gud.” 

(Translation: I am going to puke! Nevermind, I am good.) 

“Where do you want him?” Ragatha asked, looking eager to be done in the most polite way possible. 

Pomni blinked and glanced around her tiny bedroom, “...Oh! Here’s fine!”

She gestured to the small arm chair in the corner. Jax made a winded sound like an old man deflating as Zooble and Ragatha dumped him on it.

“I hate velvet…” He murmured, sliding to the floor as if the material was incapable of holding him. 

(Translation: I hate velvet…)

“Jax…” Ragatha sighed, trying to help him back up. Zooble, however, was already making their exit. 

Pomni smiled, equally exasperated, at Ragatha, “Maybe just leave him on the floor… He seems to really like it.”

In a way, it was kind of funny. She couldn't help but laugh at the whole thing. 

Ragatha agreed, shaking her head with an amused smile. Gently, she set him on the floor. 

“Do you want me to stay?” She offered, quickly perking up, “We could make it a sleepover!” 

Pomni glanced back to Jax dozing on the floor, letting out an exhale of relief, “Nah, maybe tomorrow. I think it would be more fun in your room.” 

Ragatha beamed, nodding, “Oh! I’ll get everything prepared! Is it alright if we invite Gangle? It could be a girl’s night!” 

“Yeah. I’d like that.” 

“Yu both are so chzzy…” Jax mumbled with closed eyes, chuckling oddly, “raggy why’re… why’s your hair doin…? Shpinin…” 

(Translation: You both are so cheesy. Ragatha, why are…  Why is your hair doing… ???) 

Ragatha and Pomni stared at him as he went back to snoring. 

“Uh. Well… see you guys tomorrow!” Ragatha waved before closing the door behind her.

With a click, Pomni locked the door, taking in the quiet. 

“Heyyyy,” Jax slowly sat up, smiling goofily at her when she turned around, “Iz just you an me again!”

Jax cheered, throwing his fists in the air and leaving them there.

Pomni found herself giggling, “You good on the floor there? You want a pillow?”

“Aaaaaaand a blanket!” He added, lowering his arms to lean forward and grab at his feet, “Aaaand another blanket aaaand… more nachos.”

He snickered.

“...Okay I'm actually gonna puke now.” 

Soon, Pomni was grabbing for her wastebasket, helping Jax sit up. His ears drooped forward, so she had to hold them back as the glitchy, black liquid loudly and violently escaped his mouth. She rubbed his back with her free hand while he gagged and dry heaved.

After an eternity of barfing noises, it slowly came to a stop with an uneasy groan into the basket. Luckily for Pomni, everything in the bin had despawned almost instantly before she could even accidentally glance inside of it.

“Jax, you okay?” She asked, concerned as she was still rubbing circles on his back. 

“No,” He replied, his voice cracking, “I… I never wanted to be like this….” 

He pressed his forehead to the edge of the basket.

“I… I hate this, Pomni…” 

Her expression softened, “Do you want me to get you something? Water?” 

“No,” His tone was flat, still echoing in the bin, “You've done enough.” 

Pomni nodded. Perhaps, Jax was sobering up, “So, um. How are-” 

He resumed loudly vomiting into the wastebasket.

She flinched, going back to holding his ears and rubbing his back.

A moment of silence passed before he turned his head to look at her with that same silly grin, “You're so nicsshhh to me pomsssßs. and you do iiiit cuz you wanna. Not cush ish ur ‘role’.” 

(Translation: You are so nice to me, Pomni, and you do it because you want to and not because it is your “role”.)

She nodded, not quite understanding what he meant, “It's no problem, Jax.”

“Evry one… every one her… they're fake,” He sat up straighter, gesturing around as if the others were in the room with them, “Gangle’s maskin all the tim. Zooble locksh themshelves away- LIKE THEY THINK THEYRE BETTER THAN US!”

He was yelling, again, hollering at the door in hopes that his words would be heard from all the way in here. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be the case, and the rooms were soundproof.

He continued, “Kinger issssss… Well. Hes fine i gesh. And Ragatha- welk you how she is. But you…. You…”

He stared at her for a moment. Pomni blinked. It was that same wide-eyed stare that he gave her at the beginning of the adventure where she thought he was going to poke fun at her laugh, but instead, he didn’t. She was never great at reading faces accurately, try as she might, and it didn’t help that it was the face of a digital rabbit with two black rectangles for pupils. She couldn’t help but feel like they were always boring into her very being, sober or not.

“Youre… You. I knew i liked you when you first got here, and you just shtood there listin all the swear words you could think of…”

She wheezed, a small laugh. She could barely remember that despite that day being such a significant part of her life as it is today. In a way, it was almost endearing the way that he sounded so genuine about it.

“Be honest. Dod you say any slurs?” 

“No!” Okay, right, this was still Jax, “I would never!”

It was his turn to laugh, wheezy and carefree for someone who just spent the last 10 minutes puking, “See?! You're cute and funny!” 

Cute and funny.

Pomni froze.

Cute And Funny.

He was drunk.

Cute. And. Funny.

He probably just meant her player model.

Cute. Funny.

She doesn't actually look like this, and Jax wasn't actually a weirdly adorable, lanky rabbit thing. 

Funny and cute.

“Oh! Um…” She brushed off his comment, shrugging to hide the glow of her blush, “Thanks. I guess this avatar is nice-” 

“Notch ur avatar! Dummy!” Jax groaned as if he had just been explaining something to her for hours, “ You!f” 

He threw his arms up, snickering at her as he leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek. He gave a pleased hum before laying back down and falling asleep, once more.

Pomni was frozen. 

Cute and funny. Cute and funny. Cute and funny. Cute and funny. Cute and funny. Cute and funny-

With her mind on a sort of loop, she got to her feet, stiffly, going to turn off the light on the other side of the room.

In the pitch black of her bedroom, she took a moment to adjust her eyes to the darkness and to process her thoughts as well. She took several moments, in fact. 

Having memorized the layout of her bedroom, she stepped around what she assumed was Jax's general form and climbed into her bed. Laying on her back and going through the motions of tucking herseld into her sheets, she did all but close her eyes. Instead, she continued to lay there, eyes wide open and fingers intertwined and resting politely on her stomach. It was her default crisis position when the internals of his mind were screaming at her at night. 

 Slowly, her cheeks began to heat up, glowing a light pink in the darkness. 

So… Jax liked her . 

Right? He called her cute and funny , and he kissed her face, and everything else that he's admitted to tonight pointed to yes. 

Obviously, he couldn't have been in love with her, but a crush? Somehow, the revelation had excited her. Her heart was beating nearly out of her chest at this point, and her face was practically a bright pink night light at this point. She was practically kicking her legs as she smothered herself with a pillow. 

Did that mean that she liked him back?

Then suddenly, an arm had thrown itself around her waist, pulling her against Jax's body. 

Wait, what. 

“JAX?!” She all but screamed, nearly scrambling off of the mattress. 

He retracted his arm but with much less urgency than she was feeling right at the moment. 

…How did she not hear or sense his presence?! 

“oh f- freak. Im shorry i forgat. no touchinnng.” He chuckled, dazedly, booping the center of her face before scooting back as far as he could- basically pressed against the wall.

Watching him, she took a moment to collect herself, blinking rapidly and letting her poor heart slow to a less concerning rate. As she watched him curl practically into the wall, she gave a sigh, nerves relaxing with some reluctance. 

“It's... It's okay, Jax. It's…”

Okay if it's you .

This was her reality now, huh? She had a crush on Jax.

However, poison or not, he was still not himself right now, technically drunk. 

Whatever was going to happen between them would have to wait until tomorrow… 

She let her hands fall to her sides, preparing to roll over, but her hand had knocked into Jax's. 

“Oh-!” Instinctively, she pulled away, “Sorry, I-”

“Can hold it if you wantch,” He was still slurring a bit, but he inched his hand closer, brushing pinkies.

She thought about it, testing the waters as his hand touched hers. It didn’t feel particularly scary despite her thumping chest. She had hoped her palms weren’t sweaty through the gloves.

“...Yeah, okay.”

Their hands slid into each other, hers resting on top of his in a loose grip. She could hear him softly breathing into a snore. It took her longer to relax, admittedly. Still, she kept their hands locked together, not moving.

It gave her time to think… About her apparent feelings.

Had she liked Jax the whole time? He said he had always liked her since she first showed up, romantic or not. Personally, she never took the time to think about the others in that kind of light, especially upon her arrival. Her mind was on other things, like denying that she was trapped in a simulation with no escape, but that’s a mental spiral for another night.

Down the line? He was, well, Jax, and Jax was kind of a major jerk if not all of the time. Quick with a snarky comment and eager to cause chaos and torment them all for one reason or another. She always just assumed it was just him never taking anything serious around here.

Though weirdly enough, she started to have a similar way of thinking as of late.

Things were just funny around here. When they weren’t funny, they were scary, sad, and confusing. Funny was good. She laughed and smiled when she decided to view things as funny. She had good times and got along with the others more when she could just laugh things off when they weren’t life-threatening.

She was a jester after all.

It was a way to cope, but really, she meant it when she was looking at things from a new perspective. It helped. And Jax noticed, she realized.

Credit due, she never resorted to violence and nihilism the way that Jax chose to with his humor.

But lately, especially today, it was different. She could see herself smiling and enjoying herself around Jax in the future, and not just because he was drunk. It was more of a feeling, maybe.

Or maybe being called cute and funny just made her feel a certain type of way, and she was just that easy to reel in.

It was just as mind-boggling as it was thrilling.

God, she felt like a teenage girl geeking over a cute boy at school. Was she that basic?

Then again, not every girl gets to share a bed with that cute boy like it’s second nature. A cute boy with rabbit ears, cool glowing eyes, and a nice voice.

Pomni groaned quietly, scrubbing at her face with her free hand.

She was a mess.

It wasn’t before long that her panicked thoughts began to slow down, eyelids growing heavy. She was blinking, long and slow. However when she opened them back up, again, Jax was gone.

Chapter Text

“Jax…?”

“Eh? What?”

“Listen, about yesterday… Do you think that we could, y’know, talk… About it?”

“...Uh, what happened yesterday?”

.

.

.

So, that’s where things were at the moment.

Pomni knew he was lying.

But clearly, no one but Pomni wanted to talk about it. So, they just didn’t.

Except, Pomni really wanted to talk about it.

Did he mean all that he said that night? Or maybe it was just some half-thought, drunk attempt at a joke? A mean joke if so.

Who could she even talk to about this? At first, she thought about bringing it up at the sleepover the next night.

Ragatha’s room was nice. Nicer than Pomni’s at least.

The wallpaper was a flowery pink design that was easy on the eyes, and there were shelves full of books, yarn, and knitting needles, and even a pink rug that was soft to the touch. In the middle of the room was a vertical piano that Pomni sat at, her short legs dangling from the toy box that she used as a bench.

“Hey, so, guys, I have a question,” She faced away from them, hiding the pink glow of her cheeks, as she fidgeted with the piano keys, “Have you guys ever had… Crushes here? At the Circus? And I mean, any of you, like one of you two, or… The others…?”

“Oh?” She chanced a glance at Ragatha whose face slowly transformed into a deep shade of red as she started to smile like she was remembering a really funny joke, “Oh! I, uh- Well, sort of, yes, sometimes. I mean, before, sure, I do… Recall. At least...”

“Who told you-?” Gangle, sitting next to the ragdoll on her bed, brought a ribbon to her mouth as her eyes turned into circles, “Oh, wait, you said any of us? I-I mean, who told you about anyone having any crushes- Er, not me, that’s for sure!”

Wow.

Pomni turned back, positioning her hands to play the beginning of “Old MacDonald”. She didn’t remember how to read notes, but this song was moreso muscle memory for her, “So, I guess that kind of stuff is sort of out of the question around here?”

“Well, no, of course not,” Ragatha cleared her throat, absently combing her fingers through her hair, “It’s not like it’s against any rules. I mean, Kinger and Queenie were together! Others around here have dated, too.” 

She trailed off, leaving out the parts about what happened to those cast members afterwards- or who they were. Pomni couldn't help but find difficulty in picturing Jax dating anyone here.

“I also think you have to get used to certain things about each other here,” Gangle mumbled, hugging a pillow, “Like the new ways that we look, and then, if you do get together, it’s kind of a major commitment, isn’t it? It’s not like we can just avoid each other or move away if anything happens…”

“Yeah, I guess,” Pomni hadn’t thought about that part yet. Her hands faltered, hitting the wrong key, “Well… Well, what if we manage to escape? And then, we could, you know, date out there like normal?”

That sounded nice.

“...Of course, we could, Pom,” Ragatha had said softly, but when Pomni looked back, her smile didn’t meet her eyes.

Pomni shut the piano close. 

.

.

.

She couldn’t talk to them about her crush on Jax. For one, it was Jax, but also, the things that he said to her, the kiss on the cheek, holding hands in bed… He wasn’t fully himself, and she’d hate to put his business out in the open like that for everyone. He wouldn't have said that under normal circumstances… And still won’t.

So a few days pass by, and that’s just the way it is for a while. Everything is back to “normal”. 

Then, Caine comes and says that he has a “very special adventure”. Though every adventure was already “special” to Caine, yet still, whatever he had in store never failed to concern her. His regular adventures were intense enough as it is. 

Once more, he was hurriedly shoving everyone into the portal, even Zooble who was not happy about that.

Pomni blinked away the dark spots in her vision as everything came to, slowly.

It smelled like syrup.

They all found themselves transported in a white and pink hotel hallway, clearly a reused and repainted asset as one of the paintings had Orbsman in a tux with another Orbman as a bride.

Pomni looked down at her new outfit. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder ball gown, a voluminous skirt made of yellow silk and a red bodice decorated with blue ribbons and golden lace woven into patterns. Her classic cartoonish gloves were replaced with red and blue opera gloves that went up to her elbows, and her hair was tied in a half-up style and held together by a mini version of her jester hat as a headpiece.

Caine might have actually done a good job with this one.

Compared to the harlequin cocktail dress from the last adventure, she guessed that this was an improvement? It was nice not to have her legs out in the open, and the skirt had a fun swish whenever she turned.

She wondered if… It looked cute on her…

Pomni was in the middle of practicing her dress swishes, turning her hips left and right, repeatedly, so much so that Jax had to tap her face to bring her back to reality. She nearly squeaked in embarrassment, standing back up straight to attention as a gingerbread woman was hurrying their way. She stopped in front of them with a stern gum-drop glare.

“There you are!” She huffed, straightening her dress. Though, it was just layers of different-colored icing, adorned with sugar-coated chocolate gemstones, “Bridesmaids! Groomsmen! And Zooble! Go to your places - The bride and bride require your assistance!” 

Nobody moved, looking between each other in confusion. The cookie-duchess shook her head, oddly shaped to fit the design of her white-icing wimple, and groaned in frustration, “Must I do everything around here?!?!?”

With surprising strength for her flat, crumbly arms, she shoved Kinger, Ragatha, and Zooble in one room, and Pomni, Gangle, and Jax in the other. Gangle tripped at the entrance, nearly dropping her comedy mask as she caught it mid-air. 

Inside the suite, Pomni paused, looking at the bride and realizing it was Princess Loolilalu, or at least, her exact model. She seemed just the same as last time, except now, a sheer veil hung from her crown. She smiled, friendly, like they weren’t the ones who had presented her kingdom on a silver platter to the sugar-toothed Fudge Monster, last time, “Thank you all for coming to help me!” 

“You’re welcome, Your Highness!” Gangle chirped, approaching the other NPC stylists. She had on her own dress, a simple pink satin gown with puff sleeves, a sparkling white skirt, and an overskirt that gave her a little flounce whenever she moved. It also came with a matching bow on the back of her mask that was super cute.

And apparently, the outfit made her feel enthusiastic enough to play along with the adventure, fussing with Loolilalu’s fruit-slice hair.

Looking around the suite, it was to be expected of the Candy Canyon Kingdom’s princess’, a wide and spacious room with intricate candy and cookie decor. The loveseat looked like it was made of marshmallows and graham crackers, and the vanity might have been some kind of peppermint and taffy. Even the chandelier candles were just beeswax, filling the room with the scent of warm honey.

Would it be weird to have a snack on the furniture right now?

Pomni looked around and saw Jax snap off the corner piece of a table.

She also got the chance to take in his new outfit for the first time. It was a completely different look that she couldn’t help but feel her eyes be drawn to it, taking in the smallest of details. Still reminiscent of his usual color scheme, he was actually wearing a shirt for once, a pale pink dress shirt, adorned with a matching jabot and a brooch with a violet gem. It was layered on top by a vertical striped vest, colored a yellow-gold that camouflaged into his salmon cuffed tailcoat. The coat was lined with similar gold-colored buttons and detailing that depicted images of rabbits running across it. Instead of his usual overalls, he had on a pair of black side-striped pants with gold trimming that tucked into tall boots going up to his knees.

He looked so… Princely.

His ears were tied together by a pink ribbon to resemble a low ponytail, but they twitched as he popped white chocolate wood into his mouth. He quickly grew irritated by it, ripping off the ribbon as his ears resumed their upright position, “That was dumb.”

It was tempting.

The candy, she meant.

“Care for a drink, Miss?” A voice asked her, accent thick and tragically familiar.

She turned around.

Dressed in a butler’s waistcoat, he held up a tray with a bottle of syrup and a few multi-colored glasses. Even with the coat, he looked kind of weird without his little cowboy hat, like a part of him was missing. 

It was Gummigoo. 

No doubt another reused NPC from the Candy Canyon pack. She should have expected this much.

Still, she couldn’t help that dull ache in her chest, seeing him again so soon. Last that she saw him was during the Spudsy’s adventure as a regular customer while she was working cash. Back then, she had hoped that some deep part of his coding had still remembered her, and she could still have her friend back. But in the end, it was a bittersweet acceptance that she was never going to get him back the way that he used to be. It hurt, but that tiny Gummigoo-shaped hole in her heart would always be a reminder that he existed at least.

And she would have been fine with that if only she had been given a few adventures before she had to see him, again. To have some time to mourn. 

But Caine would never understand that human need, preferring to recycle assets and friends like a bunch of toys in a chest. She wished he didn’t, but then again, she wished for a lot of things around here.

“Uh... Miss?” Gummigoo’s voice snapped her out of her depressing pondering, shifting uncomfortably under her unfocused staring. Pomni shook her head, blinking rapidly at him.

“Oh, uh- Sorry… I was…” She stumbled over her words, looking at the tray still held up by his hand, “...Thinking about having a glass? Um… What year is it from?” 

“Sorry, ma’am, I'm not sure. I can't read,” He explained as a matter-of-fact, holding up the container for her. Upon closer inspection, it was a glass bottle of maple syrup with three “X's” on the label with a crossbone skull underneath.

Pomni swallowed, “I... I'll have a glass.” 

“Very well,” Gummigoo nodded and poured one for her, definitely proving to be syrup with the way its thick consistency piled into the cup. Pomni made a face.

“Oh!” Gangle brightened up, in the middle of trying to braid the orange peels on Loolilalu’s head, “Do you have any wine? I haven't had wine in forever!” 

“Sorry, we only have grape syrup.”

“Oh… Okay?”

Pomni took a sip, and at first, it felt like taking cough medicine. However, the effects were concerningly quick, already alleviating the troubled thoughts in her mind and numbing the tension in her body. This stuff was strong. She tipped her head, surprised but also satisfied in a way, and offered some to Gangle who accepted it with some reluctance.

Halfway through her glass, Pomni then noticed Gummigoo had begun to head for the door, “W-wait!”

It was funny, she thought, how seeing him here brought mostly pain but watching him leave was, in a way, worse.

“Could I try another one?” 

“Of course, Miss.”

Meanwhile Jax, on the other side of the room, was stuffing his face full of potato chips that he had somehow found. With the amount of sugar that he just ate, it was good to balance it out with some salt, “Gangle, you almost done there?” 

“Hm? Oh yeah! Almost,” She replied, applying what looked like some kind of pink sugar dip to the princess’ face.

Jax continued to not help and eat more chips, kicking off his boots and lounging on the loveseat. 

“Okay, done!”

Princess Loolilalu stood in front of the full-length mirror with a frame made of braided licorice. Her wedding dress was decorated with white frosting, sprinkles, and sugar flowers, colored more towards a cream shade that complimented her orange lollipop head. Even with her lopsided, swirly eyes and simplistic facial features, she still somehow managed to exude an aura of elegance. In short, she looked like a princess.

It was so cute.

“Wow,” Pomni gasped, somehow entranced by the way that the edible glitter made Loolilalu shimmer from every angle.

But for once, the usually chipper royal wasn’t smiling. She stared at her reflection, unreadable and unresponsive despite the praise going around the room from Gangle and the NPCs. She fidgeted with her gloves, looking away from her image.

She seemed sad.

“Your Royal Highness,” The cookie-duchess returned, entering the room with her nonexistent nose turned up as usual, “It’s almost time for the ceremony.”

“Oh,” The princess shifted, looking back to mess with her veil, “Everything is… Ready?”

The other woman smiled, self-confident, “Of course, Ma’am! Everything is perfect.”

“Right,” Pomni frowned, watching Loolilalu chew on her lip as she nodded, “Perfect.”

.

.

.

Pomni had been to a few weddings in her life and she had only been a bridesmaid once. And it was more of a “we need an even number for the bridal party; all you need to do is show up” type of situation.

This was a pretty similar case where all she had to do was walk down the aisle to her position and just wait for the other bridesmaids to arrive. 

The gingerbread woman walked to the front of the group and clapped her hands, crumbs dropping to the floor, as she put everyone in pairs: Gangle and Zooble, her and Kinger, and Jax and Ragatha. They all stood side-by-side, waiting for their cue, behind the closed doors of the church. Pomni glanced up at the stained glass image of Caine near the top of the chapel, grimacing at the implication.

Looking to the others for their reactions, she noticed something… Off.

Kinger, beside her, was swaying where he stood, staring off into the distance, which wasn’t wholly unusual on its own. He turned, looking like he just realized that she was there, and blinked one eye at a time, which, again, wasn't out-of-character.

“O-oh, helloooo, Pomni!” He hiccupped, incredibly amused with himself, “Have you… Have you tried the syrup? It is divineeee!”

He leaned forward until he had to use her head as support to hold his weight. She struggled, bracing his heavier body, “Yeah… How much did you have-?”

“Pomni!” Ragatha called behind, inching closer to the two of them, “Did you try the syrup? It was sooo much fun in the bridal suite! Everyone took shots!”

Unlike Gangle and Pomni whose outfits stayed true to their default avatar palettes, Ragatha was actually given a sea green ball gown, replacing her usual purple dress. It was a glimmering off-the-shoulder like Pomni’s with a pale, sheer overskirt and long sleeves that puffed on the upper half like Gangle’s. Under the light, the sparkling material of the dress revealed elaborate designs reminiscent of her trademark patchwork, and she also had cute, lavender button earrings and brooch and a pair of bright green slippers on her feet.

Altogether, the green of the dress with the red of her hair made her stand out, and it would have looked more majestic if not for the hazy expression on her face as she slurred clumsily at Pomni.

“Shots of syrup?” She asked.

“Shots of sooo much syrup!” Ragatha broke into giggles before leaning in to whisper, “Hey, I-I heard that the other bride is Princess Loolooland… Loolipop… Loolilalo… Lu…”

“...Princess Loolilalu?”

“Yesh, she’s shooo pwetty, Pommy!” The ragdoll looked stuck between breaking into tears and breaking into a rage, apparently overwhelmed by the princess’ beauty to such a degree, “Why can’t I marry her instead??”

“...Princess Loolilalu?” Pomni repeated in disbelief, looking at her three castmates. Kinger was still weighing down her shoulder, Ragatha was having her lovestruck episode, and Zooble…

They nodded their head side-to-side like they were listening to a song in their mind, meeting Pomni’s gaze and giving her a pair of finger-guns, “‘Sup?”

“Are all of you guys drunk-?”

However, harp music had drowned her out, playing a wedding tune as the ceremony had begun. The white-chocolate double doors were pulled open, revealing the inside of the church. Graham cracker pews were filled with a variety of wooden mannequins and random candy-themed NPCs. More stained glass candy made up the windows, depicting several images of Caine and occasionally Bubble doing various hobbies, and it lit the church in geometric rainbow patterns. Strawberry sour belts made up the carpet leading to the altar where the officiant was… A merged, twisted version of Gummigoo’s friends from the Candy Canyon adventure.

They shared a body, colored a gradient of red, yellow, orange, and purple gummy gelatin, with a stout lower half but long, gangly arms to hold a book. It wasn’t a Bible or a Koran as Caine’s face was clearly imprinted on the front of it. He… They… The two-headed crocodile officiant had replaced the previous cowboy hats with matching skull caps to go with their green robes and white stoles. All things considered, they seemed pretty unbothered by their new body/bodies.

Waiting at the end of the aisle next to them was the other bride: The Gloink Queen in the largest wedding veil that she’s ever seen.

And this was around the time that Pomni had begun to question where exactly her life went wrong.

“Jax!” Ragatha whispered loudly behind her as they walked down the aisle, “Stop trying to trip me!”

“I'm not doing anything,” Jax mumbled, just as petulant, “You just can't walk in heels.”

Pomni smiled and shook her head. Little kids…

Pair-by-pair, they each approached the altar, separating toward their respective sides behind their bride’s position. Pomni stood a place toward where Loolilalu would be once she arrived. She looked out toward the crowd in the pews, blank faces of mannequins in noble attire and various unnamed characters made of cookies and sugar. They did their idle sitting motions, cooing and sighing at the scene of… Romance that was to unfold before them. The soft harp music in the air began to build up, joined by multiple unseen musicians playing strings and brass. It all came to a crescendo as a body silhouetted at the entrance of the church arrived.  

Led by tumbling Gloinks who knocked into pews as they scattered candied rose petals behind them, Princess Loolilalu walked down the sour belts with a bouquet of lollipops clasped in her hands. Her veil was draped over her face as she made her way towards them, and sugar dust filled the air, glittering in the light of the stained glass. Everybody watched with bated digital breath, the scent of sweetness thick like syrup in the church.

However, Pomni didn’t share that same sentiment of love from the image before her, recalling the despondent look Loolilau wore back at the suite. She found her eyes wandering, turning from the cheerful audience to her companions on the altar.

The gummi-glomerate officiant smiled cluelessly, muttering to each other in hushed tones, “Aye, so when’s the wedding, amirite?”

“Uh, right now, Max.”

“Oh.”

Most of her castmates looked similarly content, clearly still riding the high of their syrup-induced stupors. Gangle even sniffled, dabbing at her mask as she was overcome with joy at the supposed fairy-tale in front of them. Only Ragatha seemed dissatisfied, lips a thin line and eye furrowed as she sent a glare toward the Gloink Queen whose face was admittedly difficult for Pomni to read.

She just couldn’t imagine this being a marriage that would last. If you marry a person, it should be the happiest day of your life, right? Pomni wouldn’t exactly consider herself a romantic, but she always imagined that, if she were to get married, it would be to someone that she’d be excited to spend the rest of her days with, someone who she could look forward to seeing everyday.

It was such a shame because the wedding was so pretty.

Her eyes finally settled on Jax, parallel to her place on the altar, because she realized that he had been staring at her for who knows how long at this point. She cocked her head, inquisitive. 

He quirked a brow at her, wide grin easing into something softer. 

And suddenly, the faceless NPCs and castmates around them faded into the background, leaving only the atmosphere of vibrant light, sweet smells, and wedding music. It was now an empty church with just Pomni and Jax whose eyes were boring into hers. For a fleeting moment, they didn't say anything, but they both had imagined something quite nice. 

But the sounds of screaming outside brought them back to reality as everyone paused the ceremony to look back at the entrance. Gingerbread people ran inside, hollering and screaming in panicked terror. 

“It's the FUDGE MONSTER!”

“HE FOUND US!”

“AHHHHHHHH!”

A large shadow could be seen passing by the stained glass windows, a rumbling voice shaking the very foundation of the church, “CANDY! Finally!!”

Then, a thick, brown goo-like substance began to spill through the doorway, filling the room with the heavy smell of dark chocolate. Fudge quickly began to flood the church, rising up the heights of their sat guests. A collective gasp sounded from them, speaking murmurs of distress, as he scanned his jawbreaker eyes across the room, cavernous jaw stretching wide as he licked at his candy corn teeth. The music screeched to a halt, replaced by the goopy noise of his blobbish body crawling inside. His form rose to its full height, reaching the ceiling of the church and draping everyone in fudge-scented darkness.

“PRINCESS!!”

Loolilalu nearly stumbled backwards, looking back at her soon-to-be wife for help. 

“ This is who you're begging me for protection from?!” The Gloink Queen exclaimed, eyeing the confectionary creature.

“You think you can take me?!” The fudge monster roared, deep and gurgling, as he charged at the wedding party, “I'll beat you and eat all the candy people here!”

Loolilalu looked panicked, turning to Pomni and the other cast members, “Please! You must help evacuate my people!”

Ragatha stumbled up to the princess, smiling goofily as she fumbled to grasp both of the other’s hands in hers. She leaned in, inches from Loolilalu’s confused expression, slurring her words, “Y-you bet we will, babeeeee! I will do whatever it takes. ”

Pomni could only watch as her cast members all drunkenly ran in different directions as they attempted to save the wedding. Kinger started to escort the guests, but somehow, he had ended up needing to be carried out instead. Zooble and Gangle, lacking any sense of urgency, bumbled around, cluelessly, amongst the chaos of screaming candy citizens and the roaring beasts. Ragatha was still schmoozing the princess. Thankfully, a lot of the NPCs managed to escape out of the doorway, unassisted. Jax was… Approaching the Fudge Monster and Gloink Queen…?!

Momentarily, she felt panic spike within her, rushing toward him as he caught their attention and started speaking. He stood before them, stance nonchalant as he gestured with a flippant hand. The noise and disarray around her made it difficult to hear what the three of them were saying, but her priority was saving Jax from whatever he was doing to provoke the giants. She was trying to squeeze between wooden mannequins and gloinks, her tiny body making it difficult and almost dangerous as the crowd was practically crushing her where she struggled.

She could still make out the brief glimpses of purple and tall rabbit ears in between the rushing bodies as she struggled to reach out for him to escape the claustrophobic mayhem around them.

“J-Jax!”

But just as fast as it began, the pandemonium came to a halt. The Gloink Queen and Fudge Monster were no longer growling in each other’s faces, and the crowd all slowed to watch what happened next.

And much to everyone's horror and disgust, the Gloink Queen and the fudge monster began to aggressively smash their faces together. 

The queen's lips dripped with the liquidy fudge while the fudge monster made various slurping noises as he licked the Gloink Queen's blue drool. Their mouths collided, sending small splashes of fudgey-drool in every direction. The air in the hall began to smell vaguely of spoilt milk and was beginning to smell strongly of spoilt milk.

Their lack of limbs did not stop the pair from trying to pin the other down, eventually rolling toward the door. They broke through the wall and continued their horror show outside. The slurping noises continued as the two collided over and over, laying down only to launch themselves forward. It was reminiscent of how sea lions fought for dominance. The wet slaps of The Gloink Queens slimy body onto the watery fudge sounded like a giant set of lips being licked and smacked over and over. An echoing light crunch echoed through the hall as The Gloink Queen began biting and licking the fudge monster’s jawbreaker eyeballs. She slurped her now pale blue drool and made a “ pop” with her lips as she released his eye, only to begin suckling on the other. As she continued, the rest of the fudge monster began to assemble, the drool and watery mixed parts began to pool at The Gloink Queen body, then it began to surround her, filling her back mouth with fudge. The fudge proceeded to leak from every crevice on her body, her long lips drooling from top to bottom with the watery-fudgy- substance. 

Pomni felt her stomach turn as the slamming, slapping, splashing, and slurping continued to echo and bounce around her soul and sanity. She glanced at Jax, wondering if he'd be laughing for causing this monstrosity. But Jax looked just as disgusted as she felt. 

“I think that's the weirdest thing that you've convinced the NPCs to do…” Kinger noted, covering the eyes of the Gloink in his hands. 

“You're telling me.” Jax muttered, watching the Gloink Queen and Fudge Monster roll around with his face plastered in disgust, “You think that's how whales do it?” 

“Jax!” Ragatha, momentarily pulled away from the princess, squealed, covering her ears, “Stop describing it!”  

Jax kept staring, neither entertained nor amused, “It's like a car accident, I can't look away.” 

Loolilalu, on the other hand, had approached the group with a renewed sense of relief and her previous joy, “Thank you, brave rabbit, for you have saved me from having to marry the Gloink Queen.”

Jax, however, still had his attention towards other matters as he continued to watch the mashing lips of horror going on in front of him.

“In order to save my people, my kingdom had struck a deal with the Gloinks for me to marry their queen in exchange for their protection from the Fudge Monster,” She explained to the half-attentive cast, “However, your efforts have somehow managed to kill two birds with one stone and saved us all. Now with the Gloink Queen having a partner, she will keep the Fudge Monster away from the Candy Canyon.” 

Pomni supposed that kind of made some sense.

Jax remained inattentive until Princess Loolilalu approached him, pressing her lips to his cheek. Pomni's jaw nearly fell to the floor, her pinwheel eyes dilating to dinner plates. She could hear Ragatha curse behind her, albeit censored.

In response, Jax jerked back from the princess, scrubbing his cheek with the back of his glove, “Don’t do that, again.”

Loolilalu smiled, covering her mouth with a giggle, “My apologies, I didn't realize you were shy.” 

Jax rolled his eyes - was he a little red?

“Whatever.”

Pomni frowned. Jax clearly didn't want to be kissed by her, yet instead of apologizing for the action, she apologized for not doing it in private?! She felt her heart pounding in her chest, irritation and indignation momentarily spreading through her body in a haze of simmering red. Clutching the skirt of her dress in a tight grip, she still managed to keep her mouth shut, jaw clenched painfully as she still maintained some sense to not blow up right there.

Was she jealous? Well, no, or maybe a little… But more importantly, she was filled with this protective urge that she didn’t ever expect to have over Jax of all people. So, she should focus on that instead, and that way, it’s not weird for her to get mad over some stupid kiss that Jax didn’t even want from the NPC. Not jealous…

God, she’s a mess.

Ragatha, on the other hand, was less subtle as Zooble had to hold her back from throwing herself at Loolilalu and Jax for who knows what. 

“Now, everyone!” The princess announced, clapping her hands together and sounding more performative, “Let's celebrate our new freedom in the reception hall!” 

.

.

.

As the ceremony came to an end, they were moved into the reception hall. Wall-mounted candles lined up all around the room, lighting up the space in warm colors to reflect the glowing interior of Princess Loolilalu's ballroom. It was a grand space with shiny cream floors and swirling orange patterns that clicked under Pomni's heels. An expansive, open space, the first floor was made up of the dance floor with NPCs already waltzing in circles, and a section for a long buffet table piled with platters of food. A wide staircase was centered at the other side of the room, leading up to the second floor where Nutcracker guards stood watch behind golden railings. You could see a tall window at the top of the stairs that watched out over the night sky of the Candy Canyon Kingdom.

Pomni stood awkwardly on the second floor as the festivities began. She peered over the railing, down at the dancing characters and her castmates mingling. She saw Jax heading straight for the food. She, on the other hand, had lost her appetite. Possibly forever.

The same could have been said for the others who all seemed to be trying to drink to forget. Zooble and Gangle were chatting over glasses of syrup held loosely in their hands. Ragatha was downing more shots, looking longingly at Loolilalu sitting at the edge of the room who watched the party with a vacant smile. There was another throne next to the Princess’, empty and likely originally meant for the Gloink Queen, and the ragdoll was eyeing it with a shifty expression as she staggered around the dancefloor. Kinger was actually dancing with an NPC, doing what looked like the Chicken Dance, but Kinger also had no arms, so it was more like a wingless chicken. 

Pomni decided to wait on following their lead with the drinks. Instead, she stood at the top of the stairs, picking up her dress as she descended down the steps. Elegant music played, made up of strings, brass, and woodwind instruments, and she ducked her head from the crowd in front of her and instead focused on the pretty designs of her outfit. Absently, she reached up to brush a hand over her headpiece, like it might’ve been crooked or something. Anything to look busy and not self-conscious of her exposed shoulders or skinny arms.

 As she reached the bottom, she lifted her head back up, meeting Jax’s stare, again. It brought her back to the ceremony with music and sweetness in the air and…

 She headed straight for the corner of the room where he sat at a table, turning his focus to dissecting the low-poly piece of “meat” in front of him.

“This was some wedding…” Pomni fidgeted with her skirt as she took a seat next to him, chuckling awkwardly. 

“Uh… Yeah.” Jax muttered, semi-distracted as he poked at the “food” on his plate, “Is this still candy, or is it real food now?”

“I don't know. I think I've had my fill of chocolate for a while, though.”

“Tragic,” Jax shoveled a forkful into his mouth, sliding his glass toward her with his free hand, “Taste this.”

Without thinking too much of it, Pomni complied, taking a sip of his drink, “Oh, apple cider.”

“Aw, sweet,” He smirked, swiping his glass back from her hand, “Gee, can't believe you just drank from the same glass as me, Pom. Guess you don't care about germs.”

“W-what?” She sputtered, cheeks heating up, “You just asked me to- You didn't even drink from it yet…!”

Jax laughed, swirling his glass and sniffing it like it was some fancy wine. He watched her scowl at him and roll her eyes as he took a sip, not breaking eye contact. 

Pomni harrumphed, reaching across to grab his fork. Jax raised a brow at her, curious. She stabbed at the digital meat on his plate and shoved it between her lips, chewing and swallowing, triumphantly. It tasted like canned meat…

“Wow,” He scoffed, grinning crookedly at her audacity, “So, we're just sharing everything now?”

“Yep,” She popped the “p”, cheekily tapping her bottom lip with the fork, “Got a stick of gum that I can borrow? I'll give it back to you after chewing on it for a while.”

“Ha! Gross,” He plucked the fork back from her hand, scooping up something green into his mouth. He spoke, still chewing, “Not very becoming of a princess.”

“I'm not a princess,” She held his cider by the stem of the glass, watching the bubbles as she swirled it around.

“Pah, then, why are you dressed like one?”

“Hm, well, Caine…” She cleared her throat, turning away to hide her brightening blush, “Major improvement from ‘girl who jumps out of cakes’, right?”

“Can't say I won't miss that outfit,” He snickered, and she turned back to lightly smack his arm, “But! I suppose this one is pretty, uh…”

“Cute?” It just slipped from her mouth, immediately filling her with regret from the blatant hope that had pathetically colored her voice as she said it.

Pomni avoided his gaze, staring holes in the tablecloth instead. Why did she say that! 

“Maybe.”

She shot back up, nearly snapping her neck at that speed, and Jax's grin widened. 

And they didn't say too much after that, sitting in comfortable silence as they shared utensils and a glass. 

A couple of songs later, Pomni let out a sigh. The music was low and romantic, and if she looked up at the ceiling, the paintings up there depicted images of cherubs with Bubble's head as they peeked around clouds. It was nice in an odd, Digital Circus way.

Glancing at the dancefloor, she saw Gangle and Zooble leaning against each other, swaying slightly. It was partly to support each other's inebriated forms, but also, something sweeter. 

Loolilalu and Ragatha were slow-dancing, too. However, the latter's half-lidded expression and slight stumble made it clear that she was still drunk, so it was a good thing that Loolilalu was leading at least. It relieved Pomni to see the others doing well and enjoying themselves. It might have also helped that the princess was no longer interested in “the brave rabbit”. 

Some brave rabbit. Pomni knew… He was just a little bunny. Wouldn’t even show what happens when he holds his breath.

Then, her eyes wandered to Kinger, sitting alone at another table, and she couldn’t help but feel empathetic toward him. Her heart ached for the older man; all this romance around him, and he had no one to share it with. Pomni’s mind was filled with questions and concerns.

He and Queenie were married for how long? Was their wedding anything like this one? Did attending a wedding, even like this one, upset him at all? Pomni continued to watch him, unsure of how or if she should approach, when he suddenly slammed his face onto the table. She blinked in surprise, watching him remain in that pose for several seconds, before she realized that he had passed out from all the drinking tonight. So… Nevermind about all of that. Instead, she made a mental note to check on him throughout the night before turning her attention back to her table.

She took a sip of her drink, cringing, “Ugh… Sparkling water…”

Between the bustle and fun around them, Pomni couldn't help but let out a sigh, again, glancing at Jax and then to her hands on the tablecloth. 

“So, um…” She fiddled with her gloves, “About that night-”

“You wanna dance?” Jax's voice interrupted as another song began to play. He stood up, quickly, looking to the dancefloor and leaving Pomni staring at the back of his head.

Catching her off guard, she just nodded, dumbly, automatically reaching for his offered hand. Jax yanked her toward the floor, leaving Pomni stumbling over her heels. It's been a while since she's worn shoes like these, but thankfully, Jax had kept her from tripping and face-planting right there.

“Don’t go falling for me now, Pomni,” He grinned down at her with a click of his tongue, giving her a wink. Pomni rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she began to position herself. She should be more surprised at how easily she had accepted his offer, not even reluctant to let him put his hands on her while in this dress, but here they were, anyway.

Locking hands on one side, holding Pomni's dress up off of the floor, Jax rested his other hand on her hip while she put hers on his shoulder. He took the lead, taking a step forward and one back in time to the music's beat. His hands were warm in hers and where his fingers rested on her bodice, but it didn’t burn. Instead, it sent a tingly feeling up her spine that made her cheeks heat up.

Then, more steps forward, and Jax soon started to boldly pull her along the dance floor, guiding their movements to the rhythm. 

A Waltz. 

Pomni was doing a waltz.

With Jax - Jax who she thought was cute…

Jax who thought she was cute. 

And now, they’re dancing together.

She shut her eyes, aggressively shaking her head. Now wasn't the time to fangirl like some dork with her crush. She needed to focus on not stepping on his feet.

“What'cha thinkin about there, Jester?” The “Rabbity Thing” asked.

“Oh!” Pomni debated lying for a moment before settling on the truth, “It's just hard to believe that I'm doing a waltz with you.”

After all, at least one of them should be honest here.

Jax scoffed and picked her up by her hips and turned. For a moment, her legs dangled in the air, and she was weightless, head finally above other people’s for once. Though, she kept her eyes on Jax smirking up at her.

Then, he placed her back on the ground, much to her disappointment, “Yeah?” 

“Yeah. I didn't think this would be your type of scene.”

“And, what exactly is my type of scene?” 

“Hmmm,” Pomni pondered, letting Jax’s hands guide her around other couples with ease, “Okay, fine, then, how about you tell me more about yourself-”

Jax cut her off, lifting her arm above her head and spinning her like a top.

“Whoaoaoaoa!!”

She twirled over and over at a breakneck speed, rendering the world around her a dizzying blur of colors before she was mercifully released. Jax kept a grip on her as she stood on wobbling legs. 

“Ugh…” Pomni muttered, face turning three shades of green as her pupils bounced around her eyeballs.

He laughed at her expression, cheeky, “Geez, you get nauseous so easily. Have you gone a day without puking the black stuff?” 

“Shut up. Last time, you were the one vomit-”

Jax pushed Pomni away and pulled her back with one hand, raising her arm over her head and spinning her, once more. Pomni felt the room whirl, leaning her full weight on him when he finally stopped. Snickering, he was the only thing holding her up as her legs momentarily gave out from under her.

“You're a jerk...” She moaned, blinking rapidly and staggering to stand up straight in his arms. 

“You're just figuring this out now?” 

Pomni took a breath, collecting herself. Thankfully, they were able to get back into the groove of the song fairly easily, though she sent him a warning look that he simpered at, wordlessly.

Then, she accidentally stepped on his foot, earning a yelp from him, and Pomni found herself regaining her sense of humor. She snorted, looking back up at him, “Nah. Just reminding you.” 

Despite the pain in his foot, Jax couldn’t help but mirror her amusement, giving a small smile, “I love your cute, little snort-laugh.” 

Pomni faltered, staring up at Jax with warm cheeks, “...Cute?”

At the mention of that special word, Jax’s expression shifted as he turned his gaze elsewhere. Though, they continued dancing as he muttered, “Don't overthink it.” 

Pomni giggled, seeing through his attempt at nonchalance and recognizing his embarrassment. He was always quick to tease others but was apparently terrible at dealing with being the one teased.

“Maybe I will overthink it,” And now, she was the one grinning for once, “ You think I'm cute. Don't you?”

“You think you'll be cute if I dump you in the chocolate fountain?”

“I dunno. Will you still think I'm cute?” 

Jax huffed and shook his head, and Pomni couldn't help but have the biggest smile on her face. It was kind of funny the way that he often tried to uphold this unaffected jackass persona while simultaneously being this easy to one-up in a battle of wits. He was also really predictable when she knew that he would always try to do the least expected thing.

And then, Jax was lifting her again, hands on her hips squeezing slightly as he held her up in the air. They turned, and he set her back down. She smiled, letting him lead their waltz around the dance floor.

He was quiet for once, and Pomni couldn’t help the little piece of smugness in her, humming triumphantly at his supposed sign of defeat. And honestly, Jax looked really cute when he was pouting. Maybe she'd have to try and annoy him more often? 

The pair continued to glide across the floor, their steps perfectly in sync. 

“So, why the dance?” Pomni finally asked, breaking the silence.

They changed directions. 

Jax shrugged, “Why the questions? You a cop?” 

“Jax. Are you ever going to give me a real answer?” 

“To what?” 

“To any of my questions!” She quickly grew frustrated as Jax began to dance them in a circle.

He paused, switching directions, again, “Maybe.”

Pomni groaned, “You're hopeless.” 

“Aren't we all?”

Jax walked her forward, keeping a hold on her arm. Pomni spun out before he was pulling her  close and leaning his weight on her. His hand on her hip guided her towards the ground. Pomni had no idea what was happening until she looked at Jax’s focused expression. He was dipping her. Their faces centimeters apart, Pomni felt like her legs were jelly, all her weight had been given to Jax's arms. She swallowed as she felt her cheeks heat up. Jax smiled widely. He had won. 

The spotlight on them had disappeared and several NPCs had apparently joined their waltz earlier. Pomni wondered how she didn't notice them… And the spotlight for that matter! Pomni felt a little embarrassed, she had been in her own little world with Jax.

Pomni glanced around the room, everyone who wasn't dancing was just watching. 

The other humans stared at the pair with unblinking eyes before blinking three times all in sync. As if each of them were equally as shocked as the other. Pomni glanced at Jax to see his reaction, but he was already walking ahead of her to sit at “The Adventurer’s Table”, as the giant banner above it said. 

As Jax took a seat next to Kinger, Pomni pulled up the chair beside him until Ragatha had clumsily swooped in, taking the spot between her and the rabbit.

Turning to her, the ragdoll leaned in, whispering conspiratorially, “Is he… Is he bothering you?” 

Pomni quirked a brow, staring silently, before giving a sigh, “To be honest, I'm not sure…” 

She really wasn't.

For days now, Jax had been sending her mixed signals. Even before, she could never quite get him, and she was pretty sure that was intentional. He’d go from actively tormenting her to seeking her out just to make casual conversation with her, back and forth. Then, the murder mystery mansion adventure happened, and everything got more confusing.

He confessed to her, and she didn’t know what to do about it. On one hand, she felt like she got to know him more than she ever did before, but on the other, she just had even more questions that needed answers. But after that, it was like nothing had ever happened between them. He didn’t act differently, but that was the problem because things were different.

And now today? 

It’s been really, really nice.

From the ceremony, the food, and now the dance. Not only was he not avoiding her, but he was staying. He was letting it prolong, which meant the world to Pomni who felt like butterflies and sugar from head to toe.

So, how did Jax actually feel?

What if he just said all that when he was drunk because he was drunk. Maybe he simply thought he had a crush on her when it may have been the poison talking. He certainly refused to claim otherwise. 

As he got up to grab some more food, she had to make sure that he was out of ear shot before turning to Ragatha.

Surely, she would know something about him. Aside from Kinger, Ragatha knew Jax the longest. At this point, any info on him could help Pomni decode his inner machinations, even a little. 

“So. Um. Ragatha.”

“Hmmm?” The other hummed, sleepily; her good eye half-lidded. 

“You've known Jax for… A while, ” Pomni had to keep in mind that the last time that she tried to broach this topic, it had ended disappointingly. Still, Ragatha was nothing if not a people pleaser, “Was he always-?”

“A jerk?! A jack[BLOMP]? I dunnooooo,” Ragatha whined, too drunk for her own good.

So much for that.

Pomni sighed, again, “Do you know what his deal is with drinking? I thought that he'd be someone who would enjoy that type of thing.” 

Ragatha shook her head more than necessary, “Nahhh he's never been into da drinkings. I kinda get the ‘alcoholic parent… Or parentsssss vibe’. You know?”

Pomni nodded along. So, Jax could have had a difficult childhood. She supposed that made sense. A lot, actually.

“And why did he get to kiss Loolilalu, by the way??” Changing the topic, Ragatha leaned far back in her seat, gesturing flippantly to Pomni who pursed her lips.

“It’s… It didn’t mean anything.”

“Exactly!” She grew more animated, falling forward in her tipping chair to get in Pomni’s face, “So, what? He ‘saved the day’? She don’t need no man, okay?? She is a PRINCESS, an independent, funny, sweet-”

“Uh-huh…” Pomni continued to bob her head as they lost track of the plot. She leaned around, trying to make contact with Jax when she realized that his seat was still empty. Glancing around, she spotted him walking up the steps and towards the balcony.

Having gotten to this point, Pomni followed him, quickly only a few feet behind him. Ragatha could still be heard drunkenly raving some ways away.

She found him leaning over the stone railing, staring up at the sky. The stone balustrades had a rough and hard texture when she ran her hand over it, but something told her that there was probably some kind of soft, chewy filling on the inside. 

Then, she followed Jax’s gaze, taking in the digital night sky and becoming immediately stunned. Various shades of dark purple and blue acted as a contrasting backdrop to the colorful array of bright stars. The colors blended together like watercolor on a canvas, and the lights twinkled like something alive, all untouched by the smog of reality. Never did she imagine standing in the darkness could be so beautiful and full of life.

“I'm not sure who, but someone told Caine about all the different stars that exist,” Jax said, still looking up, “He worked on this ‘night sky generator’ for a week.”

He scoffed, his tone giving a hint of forced annoyance at the end.

Pomni pulled her eyes away from the sight to look at him instead.

“I… I can't argue with the results,” Pomni caught her breath, still mesmerized by the gorgeous clusters of multi-colored stars. The chill of the night didn't bother her as much as it swept by when Jax’s body provided enough cover from the breeze, “It's, uh… Like one of those supernova things, right?” 

“Not exactly- I think,” Jax said, glancing down at her for a moment. He wore a small grin, reaching over to shut her dropped jaw close, “Try not to think about it so much. Just enjoy the view.” 

As her teeth clacked together, Pomni jerked back, rolling her eyes at him with a smirk. Eventually, she gave a nod of compliance and tried to mirror Jax as she leaned against the railing with him, given with some difficulty due to her smaller stature. 

Still, she continued to stare up into the sky, not even feeling pressed to fill the silence with conversation. She wasn’t exactly the chatty type, but being left in quiet moments with others often left her feeling obligated to act interesting or engaging somehow.

Not here.

Here, the two of them just had to look up at the stars in a hush like it was a task to do. Pomni studied the sky, and she could have sworn that there was a constellation of Caine winking. However after rubbing her eyes, it vanished. 

Her pinwheels moved to another part of the sky, and she briefly wondered if this was an additional space to the map or just a singular image. Somehow, this all felt real enough that maybe the answer just didn’t matter.

Try not to think about it so much. Just enjoy the view.

Then, in the corner of her eye, she caught a light streaking towards them, and she put her hand on Jax's to get his attention.

“Jax! A shooting star!” Pomni exclaimed, pointing up at the soaring meteor and completely forgetting her surroundings. She'd never seen one in real life before! She'd always lived in areas with too much light pollution to see any- if there ever were any. 

She genuinely couldn't help herself, overcome with childish jubilation as she hopped in place. Shutting her eyes, she muttered lowly to herself as she made a wish.

Opening them back up, she saw that the sky was now filled with dozens of shooting stars. She gasped softly, leaning far over the railing as star after star moved across the sky like nothing that she’s ever seen before. Pomni never thought that she would witness something so beautiful.

She turned to Jax, “Isn't this-” 

He was looking down his arm and to her hand. On top of his hand.

For a moment, she forgot about the meteor shower, feeling her body freeze. Quickly, she was about to flinch away when Jax stopped her, intertwining their fingers in a firm grip.

Pomni soon became intensely aware of her avatar’s heart as she felt it beat faster in her chest. Gulping, she couldn’t tear her eyes from their connection, fidgeting self-consciously as, with her free hand, she brushed a loose strand behind her nonexistent ear.

 “So, uh…” Jax spoke, voice uncertain and wavering, “What did you wish for?”

His hand squeezed hers as if this could be his one and only time to do so. Pomni squeezed his hand back.

“I just. I want…  Honestly, I want more adventures, kinda like this,” Pomni answered, her cheeks warmed up slightly and eyes still glued to their interlocked fingers, “It was really nice dancing with you. And eating with you and talking to you…”

Jax’s free hand turned into a fist as he faked a cough into it, “Yeah it, uh- I guess it wasn't bad.” 

For as noncommittal as his statement was, it helped ease the tension in Pomni’s shoulders, letting her smile more easily. She leaned forward, trying to peek at the rabbit's face.

“What did you wish for?” She asked.

Jax's head whipped in her direction, “Can't tell you.”

Pomni frowned.

“Well, it won't come true if I say it out loud,” he sent her a wink, pointing a finger gun at her. 

Pomni frowned deeper, “Then, why did you make me say it?!” 

“I didn't make you!” Falling more effortlessly into teasing and banter, Jax laughed, throwing a nonchalant gesture, “You practically begged to tell me!”

“What?!” She exclaimed, squeaky but ready to argue back, when suddenly, the doors to the balcony flew open.

Both of them had quickly withdrawn their hands as Gangle screamed with flailing arms, “BOUQUET TOSS!!”

She hurried back inside as soon as she had arrived.

The two were then left in a shocked silence, Pomni more so as Jax rested a hand on his hip and, with a shrug, headed inside. The jester was left staring at her hand before following after. 

. 

. 

. 

However, the bouquet festivities were put on hold as the bunch of lollipops in question were nowhere to be found. 

Jax, inconspicuously, hung back near the bar, sipping a glass of cola.

Pomni, between the panicking staff and murmuring guests, pulled up a barstool beside him. Her feet still dangled next to his, but now, they were more eye-level (not quite but closer). She looked equal parts unsurprised and unimpressed, “Did you take it?”

Jax smiled, shrugging, “No. Taking it would imply I somehow have or had it in my possession.”

Pomni waited for him to finish his prolonged sip, noisily slurping on the ice at this point. She knew there was more to his little tricks- there always was, and this was no exception.

“I just moved it,” He smirked like he was the most clever little rabbit.

“Jax…” 

“What?” He shook his glass, watching the swishing of the melting ice, “It's not that bad. They'll find it, eventually. Probably.”

She opened her mouth to protest, debating whether or not this was worth arguing. In the end, she took the long list of Jax-related misconduct into account and decided that this was far from the worst thing that he's done. It really wasn't that bad; that is if she believed what he said. 

Disrupting her thoughts, Jax flicked her forehead, “Hey, I'm just having a little jest . I thought you'd be into that.” 

Pomni rubbed the spot that she was flicked at but didn't spare a reply. However, even her non-answer seemed to earn an amused smile from him.

She held back from beaming, cheeks glowing. The ruckus in the other room, though, shifted her focus. They both glanced back at the candy staff members rushing to and from, past the doorway. 

“What happens if they don't find it?” 

“They will. And if they don't… Well, this adventure will probably explode or something.” 

“...Could you show me where you moved it?” 

“Why? You gonna snitch?” 

“Nah,” She smirked at his challenging glare, “I want it.” 

“My, my, Pomila, are you suggesting we steal ?!” 

“No!”

Tilting his head, Jax couldn't help the disappointment on his face. 

Pomni broke into a grin, giving him a knowing look, “We're just going to be… Moving it.” 

His smile returned, wider than ever, “I like your thinking.”

Soon, he had her by the wrist, hurrying them up the grand staircase and ducking behind some candy servants.

Pomni felt a bit of a rush. They were slightly crouched as they moved quickly across the floor, and she had to pick up her skirt with her free hand to keep from tripping over it in her heels. Breathless giggles escaped her as he pulled her between clueless guards, hiding them behind the banisters and corners. 

She felt like they were two little kids doing something they weren't supposed to do, and Pomni had never really been the trouble-making type in the first place. It was fun. 

Jax was leading her back through the ceremony hall and then back to the hotel. The transitions between the scenes were a little disorienting, as they did not exactly blend together all that well. Each location's transition was just a large amount of motion blur in lieu of additional locations or loading screens. One step, they were in a chapel, and the next, a hotel. 

Entering the Gloink Queen's bridal suite, the first thing that Pomni noticed was the many shot glasses scattered around the space. They were already left around on tables, couches, the floor, any spare surface. The room was darker and had a spare Gloink bouncing around. Pomni opened the door to set the poor thing free.

Watching the small creature roll away, it reminded Pomni of a similarly round, little critter. 

“So, um…” She shuffled her feet, ducking her head as Jax looked for the bouquet, “Did you bring Anne?” 

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Jax stood back up, opening his jacket and revealing a hidden pocket. Scooping Anne out, he handed the centipede to Pomni.

The fat, little bug curled up in her hand, immediately filling Pomni with an intense fondness. 

“It's past her bedtime.” Jax explained, and the sentiment made Pomni's heart skip a beat because he really cared about Anne. 

She smiled and gently petted the sleeping centipede with her finger while Jax resumed rummaging around in a closet. He eventually pulled out, holding up the bouquet of lollipops.

Some had been chipped, but Pomni didn't think anyone would have a problem. She handed Anne back to Jax and took a pink and red loli. 

Jax, on the other hand, unhinged his jaw to shove a yellow and white one in his mouth. Chomping down on the loli, Jax pulled out the white stick that was once on it and began chewing. Creating a horrid crunching noise, the lollipop was clearly too large for the lagomorphe's mouth as he wasn't fully able to completely close his mouth. Pomni could hear every crunch and slurping noise Jax made. She couldn't help but cringe- which was a terrible idea. 

Jax immediately looked at her, Pomni paled and took a step back as Jax took a step closer.

“Whu, ” Jax asked, making a slurping noise as he prevented any drool from escaping his mouth. 

“You know what! Stop it!” Pomni cried, backing away further.

“Whush ong omni?” Jax asked, coming closer and closer.

“Jaaaax! Stop it!” Pomni cried, her back against the wall. 

Jax grinned and suddenly swallowed the definitely painful mess of partially crunched hard candy. He winced and leaned a hand over Pomni’s head.

Quickly re-collecting herself, she gave a relieved smile, “How was it?” 

Jax coughed and gagged, only managing to choke out a, “Worth it,” before hitting his chest and chugging down the first beverage that he saw. 

“How was that worth it?!”

“You look so cute when you're grossed out.” 

He stared down at her, his smile making her chest tight in a way that was exhilarating. He was looming over her. 

“Ha…” She swallowed, thickly. Her neck was starting to ache as she looked up at him. 

“So-”

“So-”

Pomni felt her cheeks heat up as she looked off. It was like they were both waiting for the other to do or say something specific.

“Y-you go first.” 

“...Do you still want the bouquet?” Jax asked, backing away. Clearly, his throat was in pain.

Pomni blinked, nodding absently, “S-sure, yeah.” 

He handed her the leftover lollipops, and as she turned them over in her hand and couldn't help but whine.

“You ate the only lemon one!” 

Jax gave her an incredulous look, “So? There's like a billion lemon candies everywhere!” 

“Yeah, but no lemon lollipops! And you didn't even savor it!” 

Jax rolled his eyes, exacerbated, “It’s just candy, kid.”

“I’m older than you!” Pomni stomped her foot with a huff, “I didn't even get to taste it…” 

Jax suddenly went still as Pomni fiddled with the rest of the bouquet. There was still orange, strawberry, and possibly bubblegum or cotton candy. It wasn't a big deal, she guessed, but lemon sounded really good right now.

Jax cleared his throat, grabbing Pomni's attention, “...Do you want to taste-”

That was when the gingerbread woman from earlier came bursting into the room.

“OH, THANK CAINE!” She cried, snatching the bouquet from Pomni, “You found it! Thank you! Thank you!” 

She didn't even give Pomni a chance to respond before quickly disappearing down the hall in a haste. 

After a beat of silence, Jax clicked his tongue, “Real mood killer, that one.”

“Yeah,” Pomni frowned. Now, she had no lollipops, “I mean, it would have been a cheesy line anyways.” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Jax's cheeks burned hot as he snapped his head away. 

Pomni, watching him, smirked as she walked around to meet his gaze. 

“Hey,” She teased. 

Jax looked the other way, arms crossed. 

“Jax~” 

“What,” He grunted through gritted teeth.

Pomni knew this was a little mean, but if anything, this was Jax's fault. He was a terrible influence on her. 

“I would have said yes, even if it was a really cheesy line.” She turned to leave, “We should head back before the others notice that we're gone.” 

“Why?”

“Well, to be honest, I'm a little worried about Kinger-”

“No. I mean. Why would you say ‘yes’?” 

Now, it was her turn to blush. She smiled awkwardly and faced him. 

God. 

He had the most adorable look on his face. His ears fell down by the back of his head, his face tilted downwards, but his large eyes looked right at her. He looked like a kicked puppy- or more accurately, a kicked bunny. 

Pomni tried to look away, but she couldn't bring herself to tear away from such an adorable sight. She held back a coo and instead forced herself to speak, “Because… Well. I want to.” 

“So…” He stepped closer, “Can I?”

“Can you- oh!” Pomni met him in the middle, “Y-yeah! Yes.” 

Jax nodded, unusually hesitant.

“Um…” Pomni stared up at him, fidgeting with her gloves. 

Jax looked down at all five feet of her, long neck craning down, “I don't mean… To be mean but…”

“Y-yeah!” Pomni hurried over to grab a nearby chair, knocked over from earlier drunken antics, and climbed on top of the seat, “H-hold on!”

Jax followed her and now stood an inch or two shorter than her for once. It was jarring to be able to see the top of his head without it being because he was laying next to her. 

Gulping, Jax, inch-by-inch, raised his hands, placing them on the sides of her face. Pomni wasn't sure if she should hold onto his hands or let them hang at her sides. Eventually, she settled for resting them on his shoulders. 

Jax took a deep breath, square pupils larger than ever as they bore into her pinwheels. She could only imagine how big her eyes were to him right now. 

“No going back after this…” 

“Do you want to go back?” 

“...No.” 

He opened and closed his mouth several times, like he was choking, and Pomni squirmed where she stood on the chair, unsure if he wanted her to make the first move. When he finally began to pull her face toward his, gently, Pomni nervously shut her eyes close, prompting Jax to do the same as their lips closed their distance. They pressed softly, like they were both afraid of breaking the other, and stood still against each other. With the slightest tremor, Jax moved his hand up into her neatly styled hair and behind her head. 

His mouth opened against hers, testing out how to best fit against each other. Pomni never thought that you could kiss in the digital world, not like this. It came with a series of thrilling and nerve-wracking sensations that she couldn't help but let her brain race a mile a minute, distractedly. 

They eventually pulled away to take a breath, and Jax smiled widely, a mix of flustered and elated, “N-not bad, kiddo.” 

Pomni scowled, panting slightly, “I'm, like, three years older than you!” 

“Are you now?” He said, laughing breathlessly as he helped her down from the chair, “You don't have the height to match it.” 

Pomni’s cheeks had to be red by now, “Sh-shut up!”

“Oof, ow. My feelings,” Jax replied flatly, his hand still holding onto hers. 

“Yeah. [BOINK] your feelings!” 

Jax faked a hurt expression, clutching his chest with his free hand. Pomni couldn't help but snort as the pair started their slow return to the reception.

.

.

.

“Gimmeeeeee shots! All around!” Ragatha slurred, leaning both her arms and upper body onto the bar.

Everyone cheered; their castmates lining up for their drinks and the NPCs mindlessly throwing their arms in the air.

“And, and, and just a, uh, soda for the rabbit!” Ragatha added, looking at Jax with a triumphant smile, “See, Jax!!!! I remememebered!”

Jax kept a neutral expression, but Pomni couldn't help but stare. They'd let go of each other's hands long ago, but the kiss was still at the forefront of her mind. Around the others, she could only opt for sticking close to him during the celebrations. 

However once the alcohol, or syrup, got involved, he seemed to have pulled away, somehow.  She was about to ask him if he was alright, but Ragatha handed her a shot. 

At first, she didn't plan on taking it, but it was like the glass itself was a Jax-deterrent as he quickly left her side without a second thought. Admittedly, that hurt. 

She missed his cute pout. 

Still, if he was gonna leave her so suddenly like that… 

Drinking the syrup did much to sate her anxieties about being left behind. 

As Pomni went to the bar to retrieve another shot (just one more couldn't hurt), she reassured herself that she and Jax could talk after a little liquid courage.

Of course, that's only if he was finally willing to have a conversation…

Then, that shot became two.

And when she tried to find Jax on the balcony and in the suite, again, he was nowhere to be found. Was he avoiding her? 

Two shots became three. 

And as she walked back and forth, she ended up taking a shot each time that she passed the bar. 

Several shots later, she finally stumbled back to the nearest stool at the bar as the current bartender left. Taking their place was, of course, Gummigoo in his waistcoat and no hat.

He was beginning to serve another customer, mixing syrups by tossing them in the air and catching them before shaking it again. 

Pomni took a breath, tripping over her heels, as the syrup suddenly hit her, fast and hard. She leaned on the bar and plopped in her seat, head feeling light and like it was spinning. Suddenly, the liquid courage was turning every emotion up to 100, including the agitation that she had been trying to push down, earlier.

Still, she couldn't lose her cool. Not in front of Gummigoo. He may have not been a real person, but the memories and friendship that she created with him, no matter how brief, were what made him real. She begged her rationale to find some hope that he still had her, somewhere, in the depths of his programming. 

“Um. Hi! My name's Pomni,” She held out her hand out for the gator to shake… But he didn’t, “I'm one of the bridesmaids for Princess Loolilalu.”

He nodded his head, leaving her to awkwardly drop her hand, “Evenin’, what can I get for you?”

“Um. By any chance, have we met before?” It was desperate, she knows, but they had to have this talk at some point, “You look familiar.”

“‘Course,” He said, watering the seed of hope in Pomni’s chest, “I met you in the princess’ dressin’ room.”

“No, no before that,” She insisted. He had to listen to her, hear what she had to say, and she would do the same. 

He stared at her, looking her up and down, “Sorry, miss, I grew up in a small town with my ma’. We didn't get out much.”

She felt cold, no longer warmed by the alcohol in her system or the kiss on her lips. She felt rejected. 

“Now, miss, if you aren't going to order anything, I'll have to ask you to move aside for other guests.” 

Pomni felt her chin wobble, sniffling. Why? Was it even him at all? Or a copy? Did the two of them even matter? The things that he said to her? That she did with him? 

He said that she was cute and funny… 

“Cherry syrup.”

“Right away!” 

Downing the shot, Pomni embraced the dizziness in her vision and the muffled quality of her hearing. She wondered if the different flavors had different speeds… Or whatever.

Jax would say to try not to think about it and make fun of her height or something. 

Her brain felt buzzy. 

.

.

.

“Heyyyy, hey, Gum… Gummy buddy!” Her speech was a jumble of words, spilling from her mouth as thick and slow as the syrup, “I… I wanna lemoooom. Lemon shyrup.”

Beside her was an increasing collection of empty glasses on the sticky counter. She pointed a finger at a bottle on the top shelf, accidentally spilling a glass of something that smelled like peppermint, 

“Oh [BONK], I'msosorry!” 

In the middle of wiping down the sticky surface of the bar, Gummigoo paused, and for a fleeting moment, Pomni thought that he'd just up and leave without a second thought. The very idea clenched at her chest. 

“Miss,” Her name was Pomni . She told him this already, “How do you know my name?”

She fumbled, unable to put together a sensical explanation, “I'm a bridesmaid! I know mostsh of the staff names!”

She gave herself points for the amazing on-the-spot lie. 

“Of course, ma’am,” Gummigoo smiled politely before waving for someone to clean the broken glass on the floor.

“Lemme get uh… Lemme get some lemon syurp-” She felt hysterical, but all she could do was think about that sticky taste of artificial fruits, “You… um. What elsh do you do here?” 

Gummigoo poured another cup of for her, “Not much.”

“Have- Have you evr… Are you sure I don't look familiar?” Her smile was tight, and she hoped that she didn't look insane at the very least. 

He stared back at her, and against all logic, she thought that she had somehow overwritten Caine's code and jogged his memory back. She sat up, eyes growing wide. 

“I apologize, Miss, but I don't think I've seen you before.” 

There was the sound of something breaking, and it took a moment for her to realize that it was an NPC sweeping up glass and not her heart cracking in her chest. She tried to hang onto her dignity, “How can you not remember me?!”

Tried.

“I took yous to the circus!! And the CAINE made you into confetti!! That [ERROR]! I thought we were friends, Jax!” She cried, hot tears distorting her vision as she slammed her hands on the bar, “I tried to help you!” 

Gummigoo jerked back, setting down the glass that he was buffing. More than not being noticed, being seen as something to avoid was like a second stab to her chest. 

What was wrong with her?

“Don't mind her, she doesn't know her limit.”

Out of nowhere, Jax’s voice came from behind her. She sniffled, scrubbing at her eyes as she turned to his figure coming into focus. He spoke calmly, unaffected by the chaos of the party around them. She thinks she hears the others talk about finding party poppers or something.

“Go make yourself useful and get that water, butler.” 

“Of course, sir.”

“Don't call me ‘sir’.”  

“Of course, what shall I call you?” 

“...Lord Awesome.” 

“Of course, Lord Awesome.”

Maybe Pomni should feel relieved to finally see Jax after missing him for the past hour or so, but instead, all she could feel was irritation. Was he trying to be funny? When she was freaking out over him, over Gummigoo, over all of this making her feel like she was losing her mind? What the hell was he doing?!

“Is there anything else I can get you, Lord Awesome?” Gummigoo asked, ignoring Pomni’s glare, which only furthered her ire. The alcohol was starting to work like fuel to the kindling in her chest, but also, her brain wasn’t working like it usually was. She was so confused.

“Hm.” 

Pomni yanked Jax's arm to pull his ear to her level, “Waht are you doin’?!” 

Jax shoved her off, staring down at her with disgust before waving Gummigoo off. Pomni flinched under his glare before realizing Gummigoo was retreating.

“Wai-!” She cried out, only for Jax to cover her mouth. On the other side of the room, Kinger pulled a party popper, a noisy horn sounding as confetti filled the air.

And with that, Gummigoo was gone. Again. 

Fresh tears blurred her vision, again, but less of despair like before and instead more of anger. Pomni turned to Jax, shoving him away, “Whatz your problem?! Huh?!” 

Uncharacteristically, Jax looked unamused, “You've had enough.” 

“Why do you care, huh?!” Pomni marched up to him, craning her neck to glare at his big, disappointed eyes. To think, just earlier this night, this position had led to a much sweeter moment. Now, all she wanted to do was shake him around like a chew toy between her teeth.

“Because I'm the only one of us that bothered to stay sober! And I can't until everyone gets to the end,” He crossed his arms, frustrated, “And I've already gotta deal with the others getting buzzed or wasted. I don't want someone who can barely walk on top of that!”

“I don’t need to be taken care of! I’m a grown woman!”

“Then, act like it. Breaking things and yelling at NPCs is only fun when it’s not because you’re being an angry drunk. It’s not attractive!”

Pomni pouted, speaking lowly as she stared at the floor, “You said I was cute. I thought you liked me.” 

“Well, I don't right now,” Jax’s voice was cold, combatting the blaze going wild in her body.

Pomni's eyes went wide. Had she stooped so low that even Jax found her behavior distasteful? This was the same guy who threw Ragatha in the deep fryer! 

Jax sighed, and while she avoided his gaze, she heard the exhaustion in his voice, clear as day, “What are you doing?” 

She frowned harder as tears started to stream down her cheeks. How pathetic and pitiful she must look… Risking getting blackout drunk over an NPC that may not even be capable of remembering her. Why did she allow herself to do this? Jax hated her. That's for sure- not that she cared. She thought so anyway, but she still blurted out, “Do you still think I'm cute?” 

He stared at her and blinked, “I think you're drunk.”

…It was funny, wasn’t it?

For once, Jax was the one that was pissed off at everyone’s antics. He rarely got this mad. He’s been exhausted and annoyed but never straight-up angry. Was it because he always tried to piss everyone else off? It was like a taste of his own medicine to see him lose his humor over something as silly as a drunk jester making a fool of herself.

It started off like a choking noise as she chuckled through the tears. As her eyes dried up, she was finally able to see Jax’s scowl, and with the way that her head was spinning, and with the way that this world was just pure nonsense…

Pomni giggled, “You’re mAAAAAaaaad~”

He rolled his eyes, grunting, “No.” 

She laughed, cheesing at the twitch in his ears, as she went to lean back awkwardly on a bar stool. 

“What?” Pomni teased, poking his chest as she righted herself, “Dish it out? But can't take it~?” 

“Wha-?” Jax asked, brushing Pomni’s finger off his chest like she was dirty or something, “What are you even talking about?”

Pomni pouted. Their lips have touched - she should be able to poke his chest, “Oh, but that candy lady can kiss you?”

“Again. What?” 

Pomni groaned, squirming, “What?! What?! You ! You called me cute! Kissed my cheek! And then we kissed! And then you let her kiss your cheek!” 

Jax looked away, ears pinning against the top of his head, “I have no idea what you're talking-”

“LIAR!” Pomni yelled, poking Jax's chest again.

Jax grabbed her hand, “Stop that.”

She scowled, probably looking unthreatening with big, round eyes and a drunken flush to her features.

“Whatsh wrong with you?!” She slurred.

Jax blinked, clenched his fists, “You know what? I don't need to deal with this.”

He was leaving.

“N-no wait-!” Pomni started, only for Jax to suddenly grab her. He picked her up like she weighed three grapes, and suddenly, the world was a blur of movement until she was finally settled over his shoulder, “Jax?!”

He disregarded her protests, walking off while he carried her away.

“Hey, Princess,” Jax greeted, and Pomni turned her head, and, sure enough, he was speaking to the candy woman. Petulant jealousy colored her cheeks as she glared at the oblivious NPC.

That was when Jax had spun around, spinning her around as she was still captive over his shoulder, and he walked them through the portal.

With a growl, Pomni punched at Jax's back as she felt her face grow red hot. She was not in need of rescue! This was embarrassing enough! 

“Puch me down!!!” She shrieked, kicking and flailing.

Jax remained unresponsive to her struggling and shouts of anger. His silence only further stoked her fury. 

“STOP ignoring me!”

They arrived at the main area of the Tent as Jax threw Pomni onto the nearest couch. She bounced a couple of times on impact, arms and legs still flailing. All the motion was making her feel unwell, adding to her bad mood. 

He grumbled, incoherently. Even when he’s talking to her, he isn’t talking.

“Whuts your problem?!” Pomni sat up with some effort, grabbing onto the backrest of the couch for support.

“ My problem?” Jax said, arms crossed tightly, “Right now, it's you. You're so drunk; you can barely stand.” 

“Show whatch?!”

“...I can barely understand you.”

“Shaddup! Jusht because you had sh[PLONK]y alcoholic parents- or parentch doesntch mean you can project yer issshues on me!” Pomni said, hands on her hips as if victorious. 

Jax rubbed his face, “I have no idea what you're even talking about.” 

“Yer ‘isyew’ with alcohol-”

“Pomni.” 

“Shaddup when im talchin!”

Jax's face remained stoic, though his voice was strained, “You don't know what you're talking about.” 

“Oh, yeah?! Then, why don't youuuu tell me!” 

“I don't owe you that.” 

Pomni paused… He was right. Guess he didn't.

She looked at the floor and saw her reflection on the polished tile floor of the circus. She was no longer dressed in her beautiful gown, her hair no longer up and styled. Just regular ol’ Pomni: the fool with a nauseous expression on her face. 

She looked at Jax again… What had she been saying? They were just dancing not too long ago, and then kissing, it was so nice… 

But maybe it was all for naught. For as much as they can kiss, joke, and be nice to each other sometimes, maybe that's all they could ever be. 

Maybe her crush will always just stay a crush. 

She reached for his hand, only for him to move away.

“Enough, Pomni,” Jax groaned, wearily, “Just… Enough.” 

By this point in the night, Pomni swore that her heart was just a bunch of pieces floating around in her chest cavity. Jax sent her a glare before turning away, muttering to himself as he walked off. It wasn’t funny.

Her anger was just cinders now, cooling down quickly under his cold indifference. The red of her anger and the pink of her drunken blush had quickly paled into a stark white as fear gripped her. 

It was the same insistence that encouraged her to care for him when he was drunk off of poison. It was unconditional, not expecting anything back in return. No kisses, no hand holding, no personal talks. She just wanted to be kind to him, again.

Pomni stumbled to run after him, grabbing a hold of his arm despite his protest and the room spinning around her, “Jax-! Wai-waid, I'm sharry…” 

Her voice was a slur of words that she struggled to discipline into something coherent and sincere. Looking up at him, she nearly pulled her hand back at the look of displeasure on his face. At least, that’s what it felt like to her.

At this point, her eyes were aching from all the tears, stinging badly as her cheeks regained their pink. 

“Th-rhat was really, really, really mean of me to say…” Her words blurted out of her mouth before she could even think about them, “I didn’t- I didn't mean it!” 

He looked down at her, and Pomni wished that she was better at reading him. Still, she didn’t mind taking in the cute features of his furrowed brow expression and the rare moment when his trademark grin was just a thin line.

Finally, he gave a long sigh, swooping down to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder, again, “You're lucky you're cute.”

Pomni gasped, squirming in his arms as he walked them down the hall, “No! Jax! I can walk!”

It was less of a drunken fight-or-flight exchange and more of a weak struggle before they arrived at Pomni's room. She only could tell because she was staring at the grinning face of Jax’s avatar on his door. At the sound of her door unlocking, she craned her neck to look back at him, “Way- Wait, how'dju geh meh key?”

However, the only answer that she received was getting tossed across the room and onto her mattress. She was quickly tangled in the sheets in her tipsy stupor, lifting her head towards the faint glow of Jax’s teeth and eyes in the dark. He was smiling, again, and wickedly so at her.

“I'm going to make so much fun of you tomorrow.”

Then, he shut the door. 

A moment of silence filled the empty room.

Pomni made a face.

Detangling herself from the cursed bedsheets, she forced her body to move off the bed, her rubbery cartoon body thumping pathetically to the floor. She willed her arms to lift herself up, pushing with effort. One foot up and then the other, Pomni swung her arms to balance herself as she managed to stand upright, leaning her weight forward, lifting one foot and moving it in front of her to catch herself. This process was repeated until she got to the door, putting most of her weight on it.

However, she slowly began sliding to the floor. With a groan, she was tempted by the feeling of the floor for her increasingly-limp body. She managed to catch herself on the door handle and pull her body back up in the end.

Swinging it open, she started marching with purpose to Jax's door, frantically trying to turn the locked knob. 

“JaaaaAAAAX!” Pomni yelled, pounding her fist on the door at different angles, and before she knew it, the door suddenly swung open as a blur of purple yanked  her inside.

Jax's grip on her wrist was tight but quickly loosened. Pomni rubbed at it as she attempted to look around the pitch black of his room, but all she could make out was the pair of glowing yellow eyes staring at her. 

“What?” 

Glowing, yellow teeth had appeared under the eyes, and Pomni was mesmerized…

She reached out to touch the creature in front of her with both hands. The room may have been dark and cold, but the warm, yellow glow was a needed comfort in this place. Removing her glove with her teeth, she placed her bare hand back on his face.

“Jax!” She exclaimed, full of drunken fondness, “Jusht the bun... I wanted!” 

“I just dropped you off in your room,” He spoke evenly, only slightly annoyed this time like he was talking down to a kid. It was funny to see, “What?” 

“Jax. Jaxyyy. Jax…” Leaning forward, Pomni grabbed onto his arms to stabilize herself, “Lemme stay in your room.” 

The bright yellows of his eyes went wide and round as he was caught off guard, “Wh-what?!” 

“Yoiuuu when youuu were drunk-”

“Poisoned.” 

“Shut [BOOP]!” Pomni yelled, poking Jax's chest, “You shelpt in my bed!” 

Jax was looking away, so Pomni grabbed his overalls, “And you called me cute! Admit it! And- And I kno that you and I migh’ nah ever, ever be anyting, but I say dat we call it evenn, a-and after this… We- we can pretend that we never happened… ‘Kay?” 

Bright yellow eyes stared at her, difficult to read…

Then, she found herself being picked up and tossed across the room for the third time that night, and thankfully, she landed somewhere soft this time, too. Admittedly, this time was the scariest, considering the pitch black abyss quality of his room. With a shriek, her face planted in what felt like a pile of blankets and pillows. Feeling around the plush area with her ungloved hand, it was just various soft objects into a pile from sheets to plushes to more pillows.

And then, Pomni felt Jax’s hand push her onto the mattress, and her face went hot, her pink blush giving her own light within the darkness. Jax noticed, and she saw him give a small smile.

However, she was still focusing on his hand pushing her into his bed, “W-wait-” 

But then, he draped a blanket over her, tossing the thick thing onto her face.

“Take the stupid bed,” He said, grabbing a different blanket and a spare pillow before he disappeared into the dark. 

Pomni laid on her side, collecting herself as she was staring at the tiny amount of light peeking from under Jax's door. Besides that, the room was pure black.

She took a breath, "J-jax?” 

Pomni tried sitting up, attempting to make out anything (shape, object, etc.) in the room.

Jax’s eyes blinked open from the floor, looking like the Chesire Cat, causing Pomni to nearly jump back before calming herself. She rolled onto her stomach and reached her hand out toward his head. Under her ungloved hand, she could feel his fur, thinking that it was softer than anything she'd ever felt.

She yawned, “Thank you, Jax…” 

“Yeah. Well. Whatever,” Jax muttered, the glow of his eyes staring at her for a while before he closed them back shut. 

Pomni couldn't help but smile, “You know… I was thinkin’.... You're pretty cute too…”

Chapter Text

Pomni thought that she had died that night.

When she woke up, her brain was threatening to punch out of her skull that even her thoughts were hurting her. Meanwhile, a night’s worth of candy and syrup were threatening to make their return in the form of a mysterious black bile. The room was also somehow spinning, even with her eyes clamped shut.

Several minutes, or maybe ten hours, of pretending to still be asleep later, she squinted one eye open to her blurry bedroom. Immediately, she closed it shut, willing herself back to sleep.

More time, or maybe no time at all, passed when she suddenly shot up (followed by immediate regret), clutching an unfamiliar blanket draped over her legs.

She had no idea whose room this was.

Both eyes reluctantly opened to scan the bedroom that wasn’t hers, but all that she could make out in the darkness was a single lumpy silhouette… She thinks.

Blindly but as carefully as she could, she felt around, finding a bedside table where she, in silent, frantic desperation, searched for a light switch or some kind of lamp. Hell, even a flashlight would do. In her quest, she ended up accidentally knocking something over with a thud.

Groaning, she painfully rolled out of the comfort of this mysterious bed to pick it up. She swung her legs over with a grunt as her body protested before dropping both feet to the floor. However instead of the stability of floorboards or carpet, they ended up trampling something else.

She gave a big jump as she heard Jax shout in pain.

“[BONK] [BLOINK] [POP]!” Pomni released a stream of censored swears as she crashed to the ground. The pain in her head amplified tenfold at the same time that her nausea made her feel both lightweight and heavy in all of the wrong places. She faceplanted, limbs askew as she muttered into the ground after a full minute, “I'm sorry, Jax…” 

But Jax didn't reply. Maybe she killed him.

How did she even end up in his room?

Slowly at first but vague memories had soon begun to flash across her strained mind, albeit blurry. She saw ballgowns, heard harps, and smelled… Ugh, syrup.

Suddenly, a hand had her by the ankle, dragging her across the pitch black abyss of a room. She groaned in protest, not enjoying the abrupt movement as it disturbed her already-upset stomach. Weakly, she pleaded, “Ner…”

As a door swung open, attacking her senses with the noisy brightness of the Circus, she found herself tossed outside, landing ungracefully on her butt. She cried out as hangover symptoms were cruelly amplified and the shock of being kicked out was too sudden for her mind to fully comprehend.

Rough and snappy, the various pains and discomfort traveling throughout her entire body had her lashing out, “H-hey!”

However, her pain-fueled glare died at the sight of Jax’s exhausted expression. Still, she felt sick.

“Ah…” She cringed, “Um, I’m sorry.”

Jax avoided her gaze, though her eyes could barely manage to squint in his direction as the bright lights around them threatened to implode her brain, “You don’t even know what you’re apologizing for.”

Not even taking the opportunity to poke fun at her misery, he crossed his arms and leaned against his doorway, uncharacteristically silent and cold. It spread through the hall like a thick fog, choking them both as they struggled to say anything else.

Pomni took a breath, albeit wheezy as it jostled her already-delicate body still on the floor, “I- I meant: I’m sorry for getting so messed up last night. I barely remember what happened.”

With some effort, she shakily pushed herself into a sitting position. She slouched, legs crossed clumsily, and rested her head between them. Absently, she fiddled with the pom-poms on her avatar, squeezing and fidgeting.

Even looking away, she could hear Jax’s smirk, “Really? You don't remember crying in my arms~?” 

She flinched, pushing her head down even more when she noticed the pink glow of her cheeks, “That… That didn't happen…!”

She winced from a pounding throb in her head, regretting raising her voice. God, she wished that she was dead right now. Whether it was to escape the nauseating hangover or the embarrassment of this situation, she didn't know.

Jax chuckled above her, sounding closer as he crouched down to her level, “C'mon. I know a place to help with the consequences of your actions.”

He tapped her arm, and she grunted, curling up tighter, “But I’m comfy hereee…”

“Nooo,” Jax mimicked her whine, arms under her pits as he lugged her to her feet. She let out a drawn-out moan, staggering as he pushed her forward.

.

.

.

Who the hell put hangovers in this stupid place? Who programmed hangovers?!

As Jax led Pomni around the Tent, it was a long and silent walk. She never realized how huge this place exactly was until now. She never realized until she was left struggling with Jax’s long-legged strides. Trying to jog to keep up only made her feel like hurling as the swaying and bouncing jostled her stomach around.

Internally, she swore to herself. If she ever finds out who had coded this, she'd strangle them herself.

Rubbing her temples, she looked at Jax, comparing his casual, low-effort steps to her shorter, unsteady stumbling. His posture was relaxed, hand resting comfortably on his hip while his free hand swung back and forth. Just the gesture itself would be enough to make Pomni’s gut do somersaults, but it was more okay just to watch.

With a heavy sigh, she let her shoulders relax, continuing to stare. It looked the same as it always did. There were no physical changes, but it felt different. Why did it feel so different?! 

Pomni pinched her cheeks to snap herself out of her thoughts. It was just a hand! She wasn't in middle school; hand holding wasn't a big deal. 

Without even thinking, she reached over and grabbed it before Jax quickly snatched it away. Stopping in the middle of the hall, he looked around and crossed his arms, walking ahead faster.

Pomni paled, somehow.

What happened last night? 

In awkward, painful silence, he eventually led them to the end of a hallway, knocking on one of the doors a few times before taking out a strange blue key. He got down on one knee and unlocked it with a loud click. 

“This is one of my favorites,” Jax said, smirking as he turned and faced Pomni, “Ya gotta walk backwards.” 

He didn't explain further as he faced the hallway and strode backwards straight through the door. 

She blinked, pressing her hand on the door. It was solid. Trying to yank it open, she was met with a punching glove that clocked her square in the middle of her face. Falling backwards, her head was spinning a mile a minute, and the pain in her head spread throughout her skull. She had to swallow down bile, trying to collect herself as she laid prone on the ground until the world stood still, again.

“Ouhhhh, [BLOINK].”

Jax’s shadow casted over her as he leaned above her still form, giving her a brief reprieve from the jarring light of the Tent. He grinned, smug, “You kinda deserve that, you know.” 

Pomni screwed her face into a scowl, unamused as her stomach settled, “You could have warned me.”

His smile grew,“I could have. But I didn’t.”

Pomni covered her face with her hands and remained unmoving, hoping that the spinning feeling would soon vanish. But her hopes quickly vanished as Jax grabbed her by her jester cap, her entire head remaining glued to it somehow, and yanked her towards the door. 

“Euh..”

She didn't even get to remove her hands before she felt her body stiffen as it pressed against the door. It was like she was being flattened as the pressure built up for only a second, but to her, it felt like forever, until she finally burst through the other side- landing on her face as he released her. 

“Jax…”

“Sorry,” Jax chuckled and pulled her up by her hat, “Just look at you, though. How could I not?” 

She grunted.

.

.

.

“For two.” 

Pomni finally opened her eyes to an NPC waitress dressed in a pleated, light blue waitress uniform. The dress ended right above her wooden, mannequin knees, and she rolled up to them in skates.

“Right this way, honeys,” She greeted, obnoxiously chewing her gum as loud as possible despite not having a visible mouth.

Grabbing a couple of menus from the host stand, she rolled between tables and other NPCs as they all swerved around each other.

The two of them were seated in a booth at the back of the diner. Pomni slid inside across from Jax, her feet dangling while his were firmly planted on the floor.  Menus, utensils, and two cups of coffee were placed in front of them as their waitress rolled off towards the kitchen. 

Pomni hesitated before unrolling her fork and knife, placing the cloth napkin across her lap. The scent of eggs and bacon in the air somehow didn't make her stomach recoil, but instead, she felt like she could maybe swallow a bite or two. And thankfully, the back of the diner wasn't so bright on her sensitive eyes, and the noises of the kitchen, the radio, and NPC chatter was minimal. Neatly, she set down her utensils, wrapping her hands around her warm mug and breathing in the scent of coffee beans. 

Meanwhile, Jax stretched out on his side of the booth, grabbing his coffee and tossing half of its contents onto the floor. A wobbly busser that was clearly still learning to skate passed by, and unable to stop, he slipped right on the spill. The tray in his hands and the waters on top of it flew into the air, landing all on his collapsed form in a painful and wet heap. 

The waitress from earlier rolled towards him, “Billy! What have I told you about bothering the guests?”

“I-I-I’m sorry-!” He started to explain, clumsily rising to his feet.

“Oh!” Pomni spoke up, sheepishly raising her hand, “Actually it- it was my fault.”

Jax raised a brow at her as she continued.

“Yeah! I, uh… Spilled my friend's coffee… On the floor… On purpose.” 

The waitress muttered, dismissively, grabbing the busser by his arms and skating away. Pomni let out a sigh of relief, slumping in her seat. 

“Why're you being so nice to ‘em?”

She looked up at Jax. He was busy loading his half-empty cup with the mini creamers and every color packet of sugar. He stirred his drink until his black coffee turned a pale tan. 

“Because it's nice.”

“Yeah, but it's funnier not to be.”

“It hurts their feelings.”

“Uh, their feelings are just pre-programmed dialogue responses, Pomster. Don't waste your breath on ‘em.”

Pomni's face screwed up. It was also partly due to how disturbed she was by his sugar overload. Especially since last night's syrups were still lingering on her tongue, Pomni stuck with her plain, unaltered caffeine. 

“I don't know. It just makes me feel bad to be so mean, even if they're not real,” Focusing on the clinking of his spoon against ceramic as he stirred, she gave another sigh, “Why are you like this?”

Jax's ears perked up, “Do I need a reason?”

She met his stare, seeing his default grin smoothed out into a thin line. He was lacking his usual humor, speaking seriously as he attempted to keep his expression unreadable. 

However, it didn't exactly work with his adorably large peepers.

She snorted to herself, and his neutral facade split into a frown, “What's so funny?”

Pomni couldn't help but chuckle. For someone who was such an avid tease and snark, he rarely seemed to be able to take it as much as he dished it. Not only that but he looked so cute when he was annoyed sometimes.

“You, mostly,” She answered, sipping hot, unsweetened coffee. 

Jax grumbled in response, slurping his sugary concoction. Though, he made a face as soon he swallowed and reached for more little creamers.

When Pomni continued to stare, smiling at his fallen ears and pouty expression, he mumbled some more, lifting his menu up to hide his face. 

Even with the comical throbbing inside her skull, Pomni couldn't help but grin before giving the menu a look herself. The two of them fell into a brief silence, blending into the white noise of the diner. 

Most of the text on the menu was gibberish, but the images looked alright if a bit uncanny and digital. 

Pomni hadn't had steak tips in forever, and the thought somehow didn't make her sick. 

Mentally, she made a note to herself, what to order and how to order it. She recited her answer in her head, looking over her choices one more time before shutting the menu close and setting it to the side. 

Not too long after, their waitress returned, the sound of roller skates following. Pomni sat up. 

“One of everything.” 

Right about to place her order, Pomni stopped, lips parted as she quirked a brow. 

“Of course,” Without skipping a beat, the waitress proceeded to jot down the entire menu into a notepad that she pulled from her pocket. The paper unfurled all the way past their feet as her wooden hand scribbled a mile a minute. Still writing, she regarded the jester, “And for you?”

Pomni blinked, thrown off of her personal script. Of course, Jax decided to order one of everything. Was he expecting her to share? Could he even eat all of that, or did he have something else in mind? And she supposed this digital diner was just okay with this type of request?

“Um,” She fumbled, eyes scrambling over the menu, again, like she forgot every food to have ever existed, “E-eggs and toast, please… And, sorry, steak- steak tips! If you have it, I mean. If not, that's fine…”

“Was that steak or steak tips?”

“Steak tips,” She coughed, cringing as Jax gave her a cheeky look.

“We also have a Two-for-One for Bottomless Mimosas-”

“No, THANK YOU!” 

God, please no. The awkwardness was piling up. She was taking too long to order, they brought up alcohol in front of Jax, and now, she was being rude to the NPC waitress. 

Her face was hot, and was she sweating? Her gloves felt clammy. Damn it, Jax. 

After reciting their orders (listing every menu item plus Pomni's), their waitress nodded without further ceremony and rolled off to the kitchen with their menus.

Pomni gave a pained groan, burying her face in her arms. She only picked her head back up when she heard Jax’s snickering, sending a glare his way.

“That was so embarrassing…!” She practically screamed into her arms, muffling it and preventing further humiliation. 

“That was funny.”

“I'm so awkward. I felt so bad.”

“I could tell.”

“Leave me aloneeee!”

She could cry. That sucked.

It was another minute of wallowing before Jax took mercy on her and reached over to ruffle her hat.

“There, there,” She could hear his smug grin without even looking at him, “That was only one of the most awkward things that I've ever seen.”

It was several minutes of quietly mourning her pride while Jax patted her head.

Before they knew it, their waitress had returned, arms lined with plates and plates stacked on top of each other. The warm scent of breakfast food hit them, a mix of sweet and savory as she approached them with piles of french toast and a pound of bacon. In one smooth motion, they slid down her arms and onto the table with a clatter. Sticking a hand underneath the table, the NPC pulled, causing it to expand between the two of them. The stacked plates spread out with the new available space, arranged neatly across the surface.

Jax immediately dug into a stack of blueberry pancakes, stabbing into 4-in-a-row and shoveling it into his mouth.

Pomni looked at her plate: medium-cooked steak tips with grilled onions and mushrooms on top, sunny-side up eggs, and white toast with butter glistening on top of each diagonal slice. Her pupils grew to the size of her yolks at the sight, a sense of familiarity hitting her.

It had looked different from Caine's normal attempts at food, like he had spent a lot more time rendering it. Instead of simple pixels and polygons, it had more texture, more lighting, more shading, as if she were looking at real food. She poked the egg with a fork and allowed the yolk to flow out, smoothly. Her mouth began to water as her stomach was no longer concerned with any previous nausea.

Picking up her knife and fork, she cut off a piece of her eggs and steak, meticulously loading up her toast with them, before creating a mini-sandwich out of her meal. She held them carefully in her hand, dipping into the spilled egg yolk on her plate before taking a bite from the corner.

On the other side of the table, Pomni observed Jax and his meal. Instead of combining the different elements on his plate like she did, he picked up a fried egg with his fork and forced the whole thing into his mouth. Then, he would take a bite of pancake, and before chewing, he'd take a bite of a piece of bacon or sausage.

Clearly, Pomni’s way of eating was the correct way, she thought to herself when he sent her an incredulous glance.

Her strangely higher-quality meal - graphically speaking. It reminded herself of the glorified anime-type foods that she'd see in the higher budget animes. Caine had really stepped up his game for this area. No wonder Jax enjoyed coming here.

“Do you come here often?” 

Jax paused, eyes wide and mouth full.

She smiled, a tight and thin line.

Was he still mad?

No, that wouldn’t make sense - he had brought her here… 

Jax swallowed his food and took a sip of his creamer with a side of coffee, “Is that a come-on?” 

She sighed, “Nevermind.”

Pomni shoveled some hash browns with ketchup into her mouth, chewing slowly and staring at her rippling reflection in her black coffee  as she was prepared for another day of Jax not taking her seriously.

“Well, I guess I do. Food’s good.” 

She felt something like relief over such a simple response, “I think that may be the first time you answered a question directly.” 

He muttered, pettish, into his “coffee”, “Don’t overthink it.”

“Are you gonna eat all of this or can I have some?” Pomni asked, gesturing to the buffet of various diner-styled foods. Jax shrugged and began to quickly cut up his pancakes while trying his damndest to appear angry. Pomni suppressed a giggle before helping herself to some french toast.

“How’s the hangover?” Jax asked after a while in diner ambience, grabbing another plate of pancakes. This time it was chocolate with whipped cream and more chocolate syrup drizzled on top. Pomni stared at the sweet monstrosity between them, unwilling to stomach that with or without a hangover. 

“It’s fine, but after yesterday, how can you still stand all that sugar?” 

“Diner food always helps after a night of heavy drinking.”

He didn't elaborate. 

“So…” She could tell that he was already anticipating it, ears drooping, “Can we talk about what happened…?”

Jax groaned, glaring at the chocolate chips on his plate, “Why do you want to talk about everything all the time? Can’t things just happen?” 

“But why-?” 

“But why not??” Jax challenged, meeting her with a defiant gaze, “Sometimes, things don’t need a reason!” 

He stabbed at his pancakes with his fork, making a loud clink against the plate. Pomni flinched, which caught Jax’s eye and had him quickly turning away. His ears fully drooped, mumbling a quick, “Sorry.”

Pomni willed her body to relax, lowering her shoulders and offering a reassuring smile, “It’s… Okay to just not know.” 

After a moment, Jax could lift his head back up, sitting up straight, again. He lacked his usual snark for a second, responding with a layered, “Yeah…” 

Pomni rested her hand on an open spot on the table, palm up as she offered it to him. Jax stared, eyes big and wide and lips pursed and thin. He raised his hand, rubbing the back of his head. 

“...Are you sure you wanna…” He tried to convey what he meant with a gesture, a twist of his expression, and an incoherent noise from his mouth, “ With me ?”

His ears were loose and floppy like a long-eared dog, and the way he moved away made them fall behind his head. Combined with the pinkish hue his face was turning, he looked a lot like a kicked bunny. Large, black pupils blinked at her hand with surprising vulnerability. 

Pomni held her breath.

Was he finally…? 

She smiled with her teeth, a laugh escaping her from the burst of anticipation, “I’m sure.” 

“I haven't really…” He mumbled quietly that she had to lean forward to really understand, “Been like this with anyone before…”

“Same…”

She watched his hand lower from the back of his hand, reaching for her upturned one. 

“Hey, what are you guys doing?” Caine asked from his seat next to Pomni.

The jester to his side let out a shriek of surprise, jumping out of her seat like a cat. She landed outside of the booth, crashing onto the floor in a heap.

“Caine,” Usually the chaotic sight would bring a smile to Jax’s face, but their ringmaster’s disruption made a digital vein pop in his head. He rubbed his temples with a tired sigh, looking weary for a passing moment, before he forced back his trademark smile, “I’m assuming you don’t want to just hang out?” 

“Not today, Jax!” The AI exclaimed, floating above the booth. 

“You shouldn’t do that in a diner,” Jax said, clicking his tongue, “It’s bad manners.”

“You’re right!” Reversing his motion, Caine ended up violently knocking Pomni over as she tried to climb back inside. She groaned, splayed out on the floor.

“Pomni!” Caine gasped, “You can’t lay on the floor in a diner! It’s bad manners!”

He snapped his fingers, spawning Pomni next to Jax. Instinctively, she grabbed his hand, shocked by the sudden action. Jax’s body stuttered, his face going pink once more and gaze lowering to the tabletop.

He squeezed her hand back. 

“So!” Caine got settled across from them, fingers interlocked on top of the table’s surface, “What brings you back to this old adventure? On a scale of one to fifty-three how would you rate this adventure? Would you recommend this adventure to others? How likely would you to-” 

“Caine.” Jax let go of Pomni, raising his hand up. Caine paused mid-sentence, “Let us answer before asking the next one, yeah?” 

Surprisingly, he managed to slow down, sitting properly in his seat and smoothing out his already-perfect suit. It was kind of funny to see the dynamic between ringmaster and cast member switch as Caine sat down like a little kid with their parents.

“Thank you for the reminder, Jax!” He continued, leaning forward with his elbows on the table, “So… What did you like?” 

They watched as his pupils grew in size, shining with actual sparkles glittering around his eyeballs. 

Jax took it in stride, shrugging as he shoveled some waffles into his mouth, “Food's good. It's chill here, not too crazy. And the staff are fun to harass.” 

Caine nodded rapidly as if mentally taking notes before turning to Pomni, his eyes somehow growing larger than hers. 

Pomni glanced sideways at Jax before regarding Caine with a gentle smile, “It's a good change of pace. It's relaxing.” 

He hummed, intrigued as he stroked under his jaw.

She went on, “Not every adventure needs to be non-stop fun with challenges or games or- or chaos! You know…?” 

Caine did not know, looking at Jax who only shrugged as he focused on the breakfast instead.

“It’s a good date spot for us, I think,” She confessed, quietly. Jax shot her a look, making a cutting motion as he gestured to their ringmaster.

Pomni frowned. 

“Oh, I see,” Caine cupped his jaw, intrigued, “You like romantic adventures!”

“Well, no, not exactly,” She tried to explain. However, Jax spoke up next.

“It’s not like that ,” He waved a hand, “We’re just- Just having fun.”

“I can do fun! I love fun!”

“Jax,” Pomni tried to catch her boyfriend/not-boyfriend’s attention, “What do you mean? I thought we were just deciding…”

“No, I’m just saying that,” He took a breath, struggling to formulate words as if the very action was draining the life from him, “Putting labels like that so early on when we’ve never even officially gone on a date is…”

“Is…?” Pomni’s heart dropped. She was annoyed that he was being indecisive just when they were getting somewhere. She was sad that he wasn’t sharing her enthusiasm for them. She was angry that he seemed almost embarrassed about the whole thing, “Maybe we need to talk about it some more.”

“No, ugh,” Jax buried his face in his hands, “No more talking, god-”

With a snap of his fingers, Pomni was back across from Jax, next to Caine. It was unnerving whenever his green and blues were inches from her face like that, unblinking and eager. Alive yet somehow dead inside. He shifted his gaze between the two of them, then the food on the table, then the two of them, then the food, then the two of them.

He gave another snap, “I got it!” 

Pomni felt her digital blood run cold, “Caine…” 

“Pomni!” Caine replied happily before grabbing one of Pomni's shoulders and then one of Jax’s.

Pomni shut her eyes as Caine shoved the two of them through another portal, bracing for the unfamiliar sensations of digital travel. 

.

.

.

Landing on her butt, she slowly opened them back up as the scent of sugar hit her senses. It made her a little uneasy so soon after her hangover, but thankfully, it was less syrup and more other candies and soda. 

They were back in the “Candy Canyon Kingdom” adventure with some clear changes. 

She didn't remember a large purple lake on the outskirts of the castle, yet here, she found herself in the middle of it. Various sour candy smells filled the air, accompanied by a constant but faint “fizzing” from the carbonated lake around them. 

“Ugh…” Jax groaned from under her, and Pomni had realized that he had broken her fall when they landed, currently face down on the boat.

“Get off…” He grunted, muffled. 

She yelped as Jax started to move, knocking her backwards and causing her to hit her head on one of the hard candy seats of the boat. 

Pomni rubbed her head as Jax began to stand. 

“Wait, Jax, don't-!” She warned as the boat started to sway. She gripped the edge of vessel, teeth clenched and eyes like dinner plates as they rocked precariously. Catching Jax's eye, Pomni felt immediate regret as a smirk spread across his face. He stood up, legs spread as he proceeded to violently shift his weight back and forth and jostle the boat to the point of nearly tipping over. The loud splashes of the soda lake came dangerously close to Pomni's face as she held on for dear life, “Jax! Please!” 

He wheezed at her cries until he started to lose balance, the boat leaning just a bit too far to one side. 

“Ah sh-” 

With a loud splash, Jax had fallen overboard, submerged in cold, sticky, carbonated goodness. It was cola-flavored. 

“Jax?!” Pomni gasped, leaning over the edge as she squinted for a pair of bunny ears “undersoda”.

Much to her relief, Jax came up shortly after, breaching the surface with a mouthful of cola that he squirted at Pomni. 

“Jaaaaaax!” She groaned, scrubbing at her face, furiously. He made a face at her as he grabbed the sides of the boat and managed to hoist himself. Pomni, again, clung to the sides as he tilted the vessel enough for her to get on. Being a digital lake, when Jax got back on the boat, he was dry as a bone and free from a sugar-sticky coat of fur. 

Once seated and the boat had stopped swaying, Pomni couldn't help but huff a laugh. Jax had that adorable pout on his face when his chaos didn't go his way, more specifically when his pranks backfired on himself. 

“What are you laughing at?” He grumbled.

“You,” She giggled, “Serves you right.”

Jax rolled his eyes, acting like a smile wasn't beginning to creep in as he watched her snickering figure. Despite the momentary submersion and mischief, she still found it funny enough to be swinging her legs and looking at him with sparkly reds and blues. He shook his head and finally let out a matching laugh. 

“So…” He eventually said, looking around the boat, “You think there's an objective here or something?”

Pomni followed his gaze and spotted a cotton candy parasol, picking it up, “All I found was this.”

On his side, Jax found a licorice picnic basket underneath his seat, going to dig around inside. Between more food and drinks was a paper pamphlet, flowery and scented sweetly. Upon reading the cover, his face turned a matching shade of pink. Briefly, she wondered if that happened a lot, or just coincidentally whenever she was around him.

“What's it say?” 

Refusing eye contact, he handed it over to her. 

Pomni read it aloud, brows raising. Jax made incoherent noises across from her. 

Unfolding it open, it revealed a step-by-step guide on what was described as “A Victorious Venetian Venture for Valentines”, otherwise known as, “The perfect romantic boat ride…”

Included on the pamphlet was a bullet list in cursive font, decorated with drawings of hearts and Pomni and Jax sitting on the boat:

• Provide relaxing ambience in form of romantic serenades

• Hold hands

• Whisper Sweet Nothings in each other's hearing receptacles

• Read super duper romantic poem

• Kiss on the mouths

Pomni blinked.

Was this a date?  

She looked up at Jax who was fully hiding his face in his hands. Steam was practically coming from his ears, and she couldn't help but giggle, earning herself a glare from the pink-faced lagomorph. 

“Well, better get started then,” She said, taking it surprisingly well as she held out the pamphlet for him to take. Jax's shade of pink was darkening by the second as he glared at the paper in her hand as if it offended him. 

Cute. 

“You can't be serious…” He groaned, rubbing his face with his hands, “Well, how are we supposed to have the ‘romantic serenades-”

From thin air, Caine’s voice was singing to them a rendition of some Italian song, or at least, his interpretation of Italian and a non-copyright version of the song.

He was nowhere to be seen, but his voice filled the background as boisterous and enthusiastic as ever. And nonsensical.

“Relaxing ambience,” Jax scoffed.

“How else are we supposed to finish the adventure?” Pomni teased. Besides, they were kind of sort of… A couple, now, right? This was as normal as it could get for them. 

Jax frowned- adorably, she might add- and snatched the pamphlet from her hand before she could pull away.

“Fine,” He muttered through gritted teeth, “G'head. Whisper the stupid Sweet Nothings or whatever…”

“Oh, uh,” Pomni could see her own cheeks glowing from the corner of her eyes, “W-what?”

She guessed that this was a mutual activity, wasn’t it? 

“[SQUEAK], um…” Pomni trailed off, her own face going pinkish as she tried to meet Jax’s eyes. He looked away. Discouraged, she felt herself going redder, nearly giggling from the nerves in her body, as she whispered quietly,  “You're… You're really cute.”

Jax grunted, clearly uncomfortable. It made Pomni deflate a little. 

Right. Jax didn't exactly enjoy being called cute like she did. 

Still, she kept on, fumbling for recovery, “You're really smart and funny…” She spoke up more clearly, sitting up with fidgeting fingers, “I, uh… Really enjoy talking to you.”

Jax gripped the pamphlet in his hands, wrinkling it as he stared at it as if to set it on fire.

Pomni cleared her throat as the silence stretched on longer than she’d like, prolonging her embarrassment.

“Um… ‘Sweet Nothings’, haha,” She joked in an attempt to break the tension. It was enough to earn Jax’s attention, making eye contact with her, again. His pupils grew as he straightened out the paper in his lap.

“...God… Um…” He was stammering, teeth clenched as he rubbed his face, again, with his free hand, “This is so stupid…”

“Well, if you don’t want to do that,” Pomni furrowed her brows, “Maybe, instead, you can tell me what you meant back at the diner?”

Jax swallowed a groan but remained unresponsive otherwise.

“Look, I did my thing, so now, you gotta do the poem…” She mumbled, eyes sad and cheeks puffed up, indignantly, “Please?”

A moment later, Jax gave a long-suffering sigh, and for a second, she worried that he was gonna leave her hanging and dive into the lake, “‘My Cotton Candy Love and Sweetheart’… Brett Strotman…”

Her parasol suddenly burst open, but the shade was nice, so she rested the staff on her shoulder, wordlessly urging Jax to continue.

He took a breath, smoothing out his features,

“ Your love is like cotton candy

Sweet and soft to my heart

Love that melts my heart and soul like cotton candy

A cotton candy heart that's sweet like sugar

Cotton candy of your love that's sweet like you, my love

My cotton candy love that's sweet to my heart

You are my cotton candy love

My cotton candy sweetheart that my heart desires

Love and romance poem ” 

Pomni smiled. It was so cavity-inducing sweet and silly, “See? That wasn't so bad!” 

Jax grumbled, “It's dumb and cheesy.” 

“I like dumb and cheesy,” Pomni replied, “That's why I like you .”

 “You- you- you-” He tripped over his words, bringing out a giggle from her.

Having gone through most of the list, that just left the kiss. Of course, the blushing bunny is probably not going to want to commit to that if he gave the poem-reading such flack.

Jax leaned over and grabbed her face, pulling her close. Pomni’s cotton candy parasol fell into the soda, dissolving away, and Caine was hitting a long note somewhere around them. Her heart fell somewhere in the boat, and she forgot to breathe because all she was thinking about was his lips pressing into hers.

When you think of beautiful things, you imagine things like clear blue water, singing birds in the sky, curves on pretty women, and chiseled jawlines on handsome men. You’re not imagining a soda lake sparkling and fizzing around you with colors like brown garnet, cinnamon bark, and little chipmunks. You’re not imagining an AI serenading you and your… Jax as you sit on a boat on that lake. You’re not imagining rubberhose arms, bunny ears, and jester hats.

But it still felt like a pretty beautiful moment. 

Jax had his eyes closed, and his thumbs were pressed into her cheeks, and if he pushed enough, the blushes would squeak under his touch. It was bizarre and silly. It was cute and funny. It was the realest thing in a digital world.

Pomni closed her eyes, lips parting to move in sync with his. 

“CONGRATULATIONS!” Caine said calmly, appearing on the bow of the boat all of the sudden.

Pomni screamed, shooting up with her and Jax’s foreheads bonked together as she stood. The sudden motion led to Pomni losing her footing and falling into the soda below them. She braced herself for the moment that she would be dunked in the depths of cola, carbonation burning all of her senses in a very not fun way. She shut her eyes; she never had soda in her eyes before, and she wasn't going to start now. 

However, she soon realized that she wasn't sinking.

In fact, her head never went under the soda. She re-opened her eyes as Jax burst into laughter. Pomni let her limbs relax, realization hitting her…

“Buoyant! Your head is buoyant!” Jax exclaimed. He pushed her head down with one finger, causing her to sink slightly before shooting back up like a beach ball in a swimming pool. 

Caine floated above the pair as Jax continued pressing Pomni’s head under the soda and watching her pop right back. The rabbit looked infinitely amused like a little kid and his favorite toy. She tried to swat Jax's hand or grab it, but he kept pulling away at the last second. 

“Hmmmm…” Their ringmaster hummed to himself, “Well, time for the next adventure!” 

“Wait wha-” Pomni said before Jax pushed her under the soda again. When she came back up, she was coughing up some soda and gasping for air. 

Jax thought it was funny until a small whirlpool was beginning to form underneath the boat. Pomni tried her best to swim away while Jax shrugged and dove right in. He wrapped his arms around her and gave a strangely comforting squeeze.

“Don't fight it!” He exclaimed, taking a breath as the two entered the center of the whirlpool and were then sucked underneath the soda. 

.

.

.

Once more, Pomni and Jax were sent crashing onto the ground. This time, however, Pomni was the first to land, breaking Jax’s fall instead. She had fallen on her back with her limbs splayed out, and as she attempted to push herself up to her feet, she was crushed beneath the sudden weight of one (1) rabbitoid.

Opening her eyes, she found herself face-to-face with Jax, inches from each other with his arms and legs caged around her. 

Jax coughed as he got off of her, unbothered as he brushed himself off.

No moment of awkward, suggestive pose for her, it seemed.

Her cheeks went red, quickly.

What was she thinking?! Did she want that?!

Pomni shook her head, lightly smacking her cheeks to snap herself out of that thinking.

Smek smek smek smek

She had only stopped when she heard Jax chuckling, looking up at his outstretched hand.

It made her chest warm.

As Pomni moved to take it, he pulled away at the last second, wearing a cheeky smirk.  

It made a vein pop.

“Sorry- force of habit,” He said, sheepish, before he held out his hand, again. Pomni sighed, shaking her head, as she reached out to grab it.

Jax pulled away at the last second.

“Jax.” 

He snickered, “Okay, okay. For real this time.” 

She stared up at his offered hand, eyes narrowed up at him.

He grinned down at her, watching her extend her hand towards his. Pomni could tell by his expression that he wanted to pull away, one more time, but was actually restraining himself.

It was about small wins when it came to Jax.

Pomni grabbed his hand, Jax finally pulled her to her feet. 

“I thought about pulling your arm too hard and letting go, so you'd trip,” He confessed.

“Well… I’m proud of you for restraining yourself,” Pomni replied, squeezing his hand. He smiled.

Eventually, they were able to take a look around the place. 

The atmosphere was uneasy, an invisible organ playing eerie music from somewhere within the building. With sconces along the walls filling the old-fashioned interior with dim lighting, they did very little to brighten the mood when they were draped in thick cobwebs. Despite the spacious rooms and wide doorways with curtains pulled open, Pomni found herself sticking close to Jax. Dark wooden walls lined with unsettling portraits and antiquated furniture followed them down the carpeted hallway, leading to a familiar room. 

“Huh. It's the haunted house again.”

Pomni felt her dread grow, fiddling with a pom-pom in her free hand, “I hated that adventure…” 

Dissimilarly nonchalant, Jax sighed, rolling his shoulders, “Same. It was so boring.” 

“Oh yeah, you guys got the pacifist door, right?” Briefly, Pomni wondered what it would have been like if she went through that door with them. Or maybe if Jax went through the scary door with her instead.

Jax grumbled, dissatisfied  by his tamer experience during that adventure, “Yeah.”

With an amused twitch of her mouth, Pomni remembered Jax being tied up and gagged with some rope while Ragatha pulled him along on a wagon.

“What did you do to deserve that anyway?” 

Jax released her hand to cross his arms, “Probably causing you to go through the scary door.” 

“Not throwing Gangle’s comedy mask or anything like that?” 

He shrugged, “It would have broken on its own anyways.”

“So, why break it?” 

“It's funny.” 

“Is it?” 

“ Yes .”

“But is it worth the hassle of getting Ragatha to lecture you all the time?” She challenged, mirroring his crossed arms.

His face split into a grin, looking off into the distance like reminiscing something, “Pissing her off is half the fun.”

“...” Pomni couldn’t help the bitter taste in her mouth from that. She looked at him sideways, posture stiff, “Why? Do you… Do you like getting her attention?” 

“What do you mean?” He seemed to not notice, resting a hand on his hip, “Like making her angry? I like making everyone angry.” 

“Yeah… But…”

She hoped that she was wrong, but she also hated that she hoped that…

Then, she was hit with another thought. Has Jax had crushes on other cast members before? Has he dated them? What about before the Circus, in the real world? Did he have someone out there, waiting for him to kiss him and hold his hand and laugh at each other’s dumb jokes? It wouldn’t be out of the question; Pomni herself has had a crush or two in the past.

Still, the very idea made her heart hurt and her face hot.

“Is there a reason you piss off Ragatha in particular?”

Catching on, Jax snapped his head towards her, face aghast as he physically recoiled, “Heck no! Ugh.”

He did a full-body shudder, shaking his head, profusely.

“It's not like that, don't make it weird!” 

Good.

Or well, not good , but… She couldn’t help but feel childish satisfaction at how much his answer pleased her. That was her hand to hold, thank you.

Pomni let her shoulders relax, grabbing hold of him, “Good. She's too old for you, anyways.”

"Whatever,” He groaned, still a bit green at the gills, “Don't even put those ideas in my head.”

“Are you afraid of,” She held back a laugh, “Getting cooties?”

“EW,” He stomped away, fists at his sides, “That’s disgusting!”

Pomni was a little disappointed Jax wasn't making a cute face this time. The temptation of teasing him further was strong, but her conscience begged otherwise. She didn’t want to actually upset him.

Mischievous laughter echoed around the room, catching her attention and sending shivers up her spine. Before them, dark green ectoplasm started to gather from thin air in front of them, condensing together to form a vague figure with bared teeth, unblinking eyes, and an unsettling darkness about it.

Last time, Pomni had screamed so badly that her eyes had popped from their sockets, leading to her situation that adventure. This time, she swallowed a shriek, gripping Jax’s arm like a vice to keep herself from running.

“Ouch.”

“S-sorry!”

“Welcome back, adventurers!” A familiar, squeaky voice greeted them as the corporeal figure transformed into something more family-friendly. From a dark green to a light teal, human-like eyes changed to something more cartoonish and circular, and his body turned rounder and friendlier like he was physically smoothed-out.

She jumped behind Jax, regardless, who only laughed at her reaction.

“Relax, Pommy, it's just the weird little freak from the thing,” He shushed, waving a hand at Ghostly. Pomni recalled Jax vacuuming him up at the start of the Mildenhall Manor adventure before he could explain the exposition.

“Oh…” She felt like a little kid, stepping nervously out from behind him, “Hi there.”

It wasn’t so much the little ghost that freaked her out but everything that came after. The majority of it was running from that angel-demon-ghost-murderer guy and getting possessed by him and freaking out throughout the whole thing. The only saving grace was the talk that she had with Kinger, and as much as that part meant to her, it’d be all too soon if she had to go through any of that, again.

“Welcome to the new spooky, scary, creepy, haunted movie theater!”

“Oh, [BOINK],” Pomni cried out, a frustrated groan escaping her mouth.

“Ha,” Jax said, mildly amused as he regarded her dramatics.

“Yes, you will get a choice between an assortment of terrifying, sinister, and blood-curdling films!” Ghostly continued, enthusiastically, but the room was somehow getting darker, “In front of you will be a variety of doors,” The wall behind him suddenly stretched across as several doors morphed into the wood, all identical and foreboding, “And mind your choice, each one will lead you to the most immersive movie-watching experience yet. The chill of spirits will crawl up your spines, the stench of blood will fill your nostrils until it is all you can smell, and the horrors you’ll witness will truly stick with you for years to come!”

“You’ve got to be-” Pomni practically flailed her arms around, exasperated, “Wh-what?! Are you KIDDING me??”

“Jeez, Caine’s really makin’ it hard for me to woo this girl while she’s having a panic attack,” It was an off-handed comment from Jax with little-to-no indignation in his tone, but it caught Ghostly’s attention anyway.

The little ghost thought for a moment, tapping his transparent chin with his little nub of a hand, “Oh! So, you want a romantic drama? Nothing is scarier than commitment! I got just the thing - follow meeeeeeeee!”

One of the many doors behind them suddenly transformed from the standard, dark hardwood to something more flowery and reminiscent of a furniture catalog. Their host floated through it before it swung open for the couple.

Jax led the way, stopping right in front as he turned back to her with a hand on his hip and his trademark smile. His other hand was held out to her, no tricks or pranks in mind, and he gave her a wink, “Don't worry, girly. Your man will protect you.” 

Pomni laughed, and it was like a sigh of relief as some of the tension was alleviated from her body, “What man?” 

Jax clutched his imaginary pearls, “How dare you!” 

She giggled some more as they walked through the doorway, Ghostly’s glowing body lighting the way into what revealed to be a relatively normal home theater with comfortable recliner chairs, cup holders, rotating mini tables, heated seats, and plenty of leg room.

“Oh! The middle seats are always the best!” Jax exclaimed, hurrying up the steps before stopping himself. He cleared his throat, shrugging his shoulders as he spoke coolly, “I mean- So I've heard.” 

Pomni shook her head, amused, with a roll of her eyes, as Jax quickly dragged her to the seats at the very center of the theater.

As they took their seats, recliners lifting up, Jax pulled up the arm rest between the two of them to spread his legs, obnoxiously. Pomni kicked his leg out of her space, and Jax kicked her back, purposely leaning into her area. In retaliation, she repositioned herself, leaning back against her other armrest, to kick at him with both feet, but Jax mirrored her actions before pinning her lap down with his longer legs.

“I win~” He sang.

Now playing:

A Fault in Our Stars 

Pomni made a face.

Leaning into Jax’s side, she whispered, “I don't think you'll like this movie.” 

“Is this about the one and the dying one?” 

“You just described at least twenty movies. Probably a hundred books.”

“Meh.”

“But no, they're both the dying ones.”

“Oh, no, it's that kind of movie,” Jax moaned as the film began with the main character’s narration, resting his head on top of hers, “I'm gonna nap.” 

Pomni rolled her eyes, “Hang on, I think the seats lean baAAACK!” 

The seat snapped backwards, creating what was basically a bed for the two of them to lie in, making Pomni’s cheeks glow a soft pink.

“This feels familiar,” Jax commented.

Pomni scrambled to fix the seats, sighing in relief and trying to smooth her bangs down as they righted themselves. 

She turned back to Jax and smiled awkwardly, only to see his eyes glued to the screen, tilting back and shoving boring popcorn into his mouth (clearly not napping), “This movie is dumb.” 

A couple hours later…

Unmistakably, tears filled Jax’s eyes, threatening to spill down his cheeks in big, fat streaks.

Scooting closer, Pomni smiled, soft and understanding. 

Taking a big swig of his slushie, he wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand. Stuffily, he muttered, “Not a word.”

“About what?” 

Jax pulled her a little closer, “This movie's dumb…”

“I know.” 

After a couple of beats, Jax rested his head on her own, “I hate that this movie got me.”

“Jax-” Pomni started, but he raised a hand.

“I- give me a minute.” 

She nodded. For a couple of minutes, Jax drank up some of her soda and took a couple of breaths. He scrubbed at his eyes, straightening up, “Okay! Let's move on! Caine?!” 

The AI in question spawned in the seat next to them, “Hello! How was the movie? Sorry that I couldn’t provide one of my own original pieces. All I had were slashers and psychological horror! But far be it for me to deny a special request!”

Jax seemed to be in a hurry, nodding with a roll of his eyes, “Yes, yeah, whatever, it was fan-freakin-tastic. Can we go back to the Tent now?” 

Caine let out a gasp, cupping his face in theatrical shock, “B-but why?! Have you not enjoyed the dates that I planned for the two of you?” 

“The boat was bad.” 

“Pretty bad.”

He froze for a moment, and Pomni nearly felt bad for him. He was just an AI; he didn't understand romance (or whatever she and Jax were doing). She wasn't sure that he was even capable of it. Then again, she didn't particularly like said AI, given the Hell that he put her through, constantly. 

Pomni grit her teeth, “ We'd like to go back to the Tent, Caine.” 

He went on, wagging a finger at them, “Now, I know that the two of you just love being at the Circus-”

“Not what we said.”

He shook his head, “B-But you still have forty-eight more dates!” 

“ Forty-Eight?! ” The two of them exclaimed, nearly falling over themselves.

“I know, right?” Caine batted his lashes, kicking his legs, “When the two of you said that your relationship wasn’t doing well-”

“Neither of us said that!”

“And that it was because you hadn’t gone on any real dates, I had decided to pack a variety of dates of all kinds just for the two of you in order to save your relationship!”

“It doesn’t need saving.”

“Your wonderful and glorious ringmaster planned such a wonderful evening for you two! Don't you want to see them?!”

“No.”

Their wonderful and glorious ringmaster pouted, and it wasn’t as cute coming from him .

“Caine. We don't want to go on that many dates!” Pomni tried to be firm, “L-look, we… Appreciate the effort. But- w-we're still like… Getting to know each other!”

Jax shook his head in agreement,  “Yeah. That's a lot of lame dates.” 

“So, there are so many dates that you want fewer but longer ones instead?”

“No!”

“No!”

“And you want the dates to be more exciting and fresh, huh?”

“Yes.”

“No!” Pomni exclaimed, but Jax had already beaten her. 

“I know just the thing!” Caine said, snapping his fingers and opening another portal. This time, he allowed them to walk through instead of fall or swim. 

,

,

,

“A coffee shop?”

Pomni was surprised, hit with the familiar scent of coffee beans and toasted sandwiches. Looking around, she found herself seated at a table across from Jax, a laptop opened in front of her. It displayed a blank document titled “Screenplay” with the only recent changes in the history being the font sizes and style. Jax had his own tablet that he picked up, scrolling through its contents with a critical glare.

“This is dumb,” He exited out of whatever notes app that he had open, downloading some tile matching game instead.

She continued to look around, seeing wooden mannequins in aprons behind the counter. The menu listed a variety of drinks, or at least, that’s what she assumed were drinks. Skimming the menu for anything appealing, Pomni read over the names and felt more and more uncomfortable with the possible ideas Caine had over what was considered actually edible for humans:

Sugary Nightmare, On the Rocks (now with Real Rocks), Coffee Cola, Ragatha’s Eyeball, Latte Loca, “Syrup.”, spiders, Caine's Caine-tactular Coffee (does not contain Caine), “Milk?”, “Irish” Coffee, and Green Tea.

Pomni avoided even glancing at the food side of the menu.

Wearily, she let out a deep exhale, “How long do you think this is gonna last?”

“Until Caine gets bored-” Jax’s face was suddenly caved in by a small object. The object popped out of his face and landed on the floor with a loud clatter, revealed to be a golf ball.

Pomni’s jaw dropped, turning from the item on the ground to the dazed Jax with a golf ball-shaped crater in his face. His head slammed forward onto the table top. Pomni jerked back, pulling her laptop away before it fell to the floor before realizing that the thing didn’t matter and tossing it behind her. 

She got to her feet, helping Jax sit up as he swayed back and forth. HIs pupils turned to swirls as little specs and stars orbited his ears.

Concerned, she quickly ran to the counter, shoving aside an NPC in line, “Ice! Um! Uh- I need an ice pack!”

“Oh, we don’t serve that here. However, we do offer a cup of spiders if-”

Pomni groaned, slapping a hand over her face before an arm came from behind her and leaned onto the counter.

“Relax, Pomert. I'm fine,” Jax spoke smoothly, a band aid now adorning the middle of his face.

“Oh,” For a moment, Pomni somehow had forgotten that they were in a digital world and not a coffee shop back home.

Since she was still standing at the cashier, she gave the menu another look before addressing the barista, “Um. I'll just have a Green Tea.” 

Jax removed his hand from the counter and rested his arm on Pomni's head, leaning his weight forward. Pomni grunted in annoyance, attempting to swat him off of her. She was ignored in favor of stroking a long non-existent beard on his face.

“...I'll have…” He tapped his chin, giving it genuine thought, “Every drink blended together and then poured into a cup.”

“Ew.”

“No, you.”

Pomni rolled her eyes just as another golf ball hit Jax in the side of the head. 

“Ouch-” Jax grimaced, glaring in the direction of where the ball came from. A comical bump grew where he was hit.

She snickered a bit at his cross-eyed expression. When he sent her a half-hearted glare, she raised her hands up in surrender, “It’s not real, right?”

He huffed, rolling up an imaginary sleeve as he marched towards the offending NPC. Pomni sighed softly, following after him as they abandoned their drinks. Jax’s drink was a ridiculously tall cup filled to the brim with various liquids and solids of every color imaginable. Pomni’s was a mug that was overflowing with a mysterious green foam that glowed, alarmingly bright.

Stepping out of the cafe, she had expected for them to be on some generic and unrendered city street or just the end of the map, but instead, Pomni found herself in the middle of a mini-golf course.

She squinted at the sunlight, which strangely stared at her without its normal smile… It just felt wrong. Then again, when did it ever feel right?

Once her vision had adjusted, the first thing that she spotted was Jax pelting the NPC from earlier with golf balls. He had a bucket of them in his arms, winding his arm back and bombarding the mannequin in a flat cap, one after the other. It stepped back with every hit, thwacked up and down with them. If it were real, it’d probably be very painful.

Pomni snickered at the sight and walked over. Jax rolled his eyes at her, “You gonna tell me to stop?” 

She mimicked his expression before grabbing a ball of her own. She threw, aiming for the same mannequin but missed, entirely, as it landed in the water behind it.

Her face burned while Jax’s laugh mocked her, and with his guard down, she had another ball in her hand, eyeing him before pulling her arm back.

Just then, a giant shadow had blocked the sun behind them.

“Hi there, kiddos!” 

Before them stood a seven foot tall golf ball with black rubberhose limbs. His gloves were white- seemingly gold… And his face was reminiscent of a smaller version of Caine’s bared gums and teeth with eyes that stared straight ahead as if physically incapable of moving his pupils.

Not Caine’s best work.

Unnerved, Pomni slowly raised her hand and waved back, “H-hi…” 

“Welcome to your coffee-mini-golf-dinner-beach-bbq-date-to-the-extreme!” The thing exclaimed. 

Pomni nodded along while Jax was quick to abandon the interaction, walking off to attack more NPCs with a golf club in hand. She, however, wanted an explanation for what “coffee-mini-golf-dinner-beach-bbq-date-to-the-extreme” meant.

“Um. Wha-” She started, only for a plastic club to be shoved into her hands. 

“Okay, have fun!” The NPC waddled away into the middle of another one of the golf holes, upsetting some other golfers.

Looking down at the golf club in her hands, she furrowed her brows, trying and failing to make sense of yet another one of Caine’s antics.

Also, who was that?

When she couldn’t come up with anything, she let out a deep breath, deciding to look for Jax instead.

.

.

.

After some time, Pomni had started to put together the bits and pieces.

Each hole had its own unique theme, a date of its own for the two of them to experience in a sort of speedrunning kind of way.

The previous one was an underwater theme in which Pomni had to spend way too much time trying to get the ball into a conch shell. Still adorning her jester hat in a scuba suit, she spent the majority of the time evading angry octopi and getting stuck in coral reefs. Jax, meanwhile, was more concerned with scaring the fish and Pomni by leading the sharks towards them instead.

That nameless NPC from earlier also continued to show up in all his golf-headed glory, making special appearances and offering swinging tips. Even during this hole, he had a snorkel, attempting to communicate through charades and morse code.

However after the farmers market date and cooking classes date, she could admit to getting the hang of things.

Currently, her and Jax were on a bowling date where the golf ball was replaced with, well, a bowling ball, and they had to use a club to hit it to get… A strike? At the moment, Pomni was swinging with all she had on an immovable candlepin at only 4.5” in diameter.

Jax sat nearby, eating a hotdog and laughing at her, “Ha!”

She glared at him, taking a break from her efforts to sit next to him and steal a sip of his soda. They were gonna be stuck at this hole for a while.

Taking a swig, she made a face, “Ugh, Jax, again?”

Expecting some cola or something lemon-lime flavored, she has had enough soda with Jax to recognize the taste of every drink in the soda fountain mixed together in one cup. He snickered.

“It’s funny.”

She shook her head, reaching for his nachos before he pulled them away from her reach, “Hang on, now, you know the rule, right?”

Pomni rolled her eyes, nodding, “If you order fully-loaded nachos to share, one person can't just eat all the fully-loaded nachos, leaving the other person with just chips.”

“With like nothing on ‘em but a little bit of cheese.”

“And maybe one little nugget of meat.”

He nodded, seriously, “And that’s not me, okay? That’s the rule of the restaurant here.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Okay, good,” He brought the basket back within arm’s reach.

Looking around, the two of them could take in the various NPC’s also struggling with getting their bowling balls in with their golf clubs. They pointed and laughed at them like they also weren’t in the same boat.

“I don’t think the size of the bowling ball is the key.”

“Hang on, let them try.”

“Pfft, maybe they need to put up the bumpers.”

“Heh, yeah, and the little dinosaur-looking ramp they use for kids.”

“Do… Do we need to get a strike to pass, or is just, like, one pin enough?”

“Dunno. I think we should just go down the alley and kick em down.”

“You would say that.”

“...”

“What?”

“I’m thinking… Your head is very bowling ball-shaped.”

“Jax. No.”

“Why not??”

“You can’t throw me like a bowling ball.”

“I’ll put up the bumpers.”

“No.”

“You never let me do anything fun.”

.

.

.

“Okay, this is definitely one of my favorite dates so far,” Jax’s face was gleeful like a child on Christmas, which was contradictory to the nature of the current hole that they were playing.

Within a pottery studio, the two of them were, at first, reluctant to be forced to create their own vases, cups, and plates, for the sake of romance. However once the element of golf was included, it had eventually led to the date becoming more of a rage room instead.

Pomni was currently lining up a collection of misshapen cups and swinging on each one after the other. The smashing noise was music to her ears in a way.

Jax, on the other side of the room, began tossing vases into the air and hitting them with his club like a baseball bat, shards flying everywhere.

Despite the violence, the two of them couldn’t help but laugh out loud like a couple of mischievous kids as they smashed the room to pieces. Pomni looked up at him and his ear-to-ear smile with an intense fondness, even as he moved onto smashing windows with random ceramics and cackling. 

Clearing her throat, she approached him, stepping over broken plates, “Jax-?”

She barely dodged the golf club swung in her direction. Jax paused, club hidden behind his back as he offered a sheepish look, “Whoops, sorry about that, Pom-Pom.”

“It’s fine,” She couldn’t bring herself to mind, stepping up to him and mirroring his position. The two of them grinned and giggled breathlessly at each other, probably more at ease than they’ve ever been at the Circus. Any longer and Pomni would probably start twirling her hair and blinking her lashes at him, “I’m having a good time.”

“Yeah, me too,” He picked up a broken piece of a bowl, giving it a good toss across the room to watch it shatter into more pieces onto the floor, “Heh, nice.”

“I guess that,” Like a cat, she gingerly swiped a busted teacup onto the ground, “We kind of have to give a bit of credit to Caine.”

“No way, pidg,” Jax brought his club above his head, swinging down on a pile of large shards with satisfaction, “That’s all you and me, right there.”

“Yeah…”

Amongst the chaos of splintered porcelain, Pomni was nothing but softness.

“Can… So… What are we?”

And like that, the joyous smashing had stopped. Club raised above his head, again, Jax lowered it, almost defeated, as he turned to face her with a less-than enthused expression. Pomni frowned.

“Seriously, Jax… What is it that we’re doing here?”

“We were smashing the heck out of this dumb pottery studio,” He mumbled, pushing colorful porcelain around as he avoided eye contact.

“Yeah, but as friends or…?” She willed him to look at her, leaning down to meet his gaze as he purposely focused on the smashed plates at his feet.

“Or what?” He brought a hand up to massage his brows, like the whole thing stressed him out.

“Jax,” Pomni chided, and she could tell that tone was not the right one to take with him.

“What? Pomni?” He ground out between clenched teeth as his ears wilted like dying flowers, golf club digging into shards on the floor.

She clicked her tongue, putting hers down, “We can’t just keep running around this conversation forever. I need to know how you feel about us.”

“I like us,” He hissed out, and to Pomni, it felt as if it pained him to even admit such a thing. Her frown deepened into a scowl as frustration built up inside of her. She started to push where she knew she shouldn't have.

“And we haven’t even talked about the drinking thing,” She stepped closer, forcing him to look down to her, “I know that you have problems with it, so I want to know-”

"We were just having a good time,” His grin was hysterical as he threw his hands up, exasperated, “Why are you trying to ruin a good thing?"

It was an unbearable stretch of silence. 

Somewhere in the room, a stray golf ball rolled into the mouth of a half-broken vase, sounding a bell that rang every time they finished a hole. A golf ball body hobbled into the room, unaware of the tension. 

“Congratulations!” The unnamed character cheered, throwing confetti and more golf balls into the air, “You can now move onto the next hole!”

Pomni and Jax stared each other down, the pressure between the two of them uncomfortable. However, given the chance to escape the discomfort, Jax was the first one out the door, leaving Pomni behind in a sea of shattered pieces.

End chapter?

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.

.

The next couple of holes gave the two of them time to cool down, hitting golf balls into NPC’s, again and again, so that they could just, for a while, pretend that their argument had never happened. At this point, they had lost track of how many “dates” they’ve been on, but bonding over their mutual irritation for Caine made it all the more easier to digest.

By the time that they came to their next date, the tension was left on the backburner in favor of just focusing on surviving what was to come.

Pomni blindly stumbled into the dark hallway. She reached forward and felt for the door, accidentally pushing it open. She fell facefirst onto the hard sticky floor. 

Groaning, she was soon met with colorful flashing lights and loud music blocking out any other noises. It made it hard to even hear her own thoughts when all she could notice was the painfully noisy bass bumping. As she forced herself to her feet, she immediately bumped into an NPC, a wooden mannequin covered head-to-toe in glowsticks.

“S-sorry!” She shouted above the song and commotion, backing up and bumping into another character blowing out of a whistle into her face, “Sorry!” 

Booming beat drops and flickering strobes continued to assault her senses while faceless bodies shoved against her, unnecessarily, and the air was thick.

Pomni tried to peek over the crowd to find a spot to make some space for herself, for the smallest bit of providence, but she couldn't see above the heads of anyone on the dancefloor. She felt so small, and there was no room for her here, it was too loud, and hot, and she couldn't breath and- 

Then, there was a hand on her shoulder. At first flinching at the contact, she turned with wide, deer-in-the-headlight eyes to see Jax standing behind her. He held up a couple pairs of earplugs, stuffing a couple into his rabbit ears while offering her the other two.

Pomni felt like she could cry as the rest of the world faded around her and only became just the two of them and their earplugs, putting hers on. Overcome with gratitude, she wrapped her arms around the skinny bunny man, squeezing him tightly. Jax stiffened in her hold, awkwardly patting her shoulder. It seemed the discomfort with the crowd and club scene wasn’t for him either.

Putting an arm around her, he led her in a direction that she didn't bother to notice. They came up to a bar area further away from the hustle and bustle of the dancing, though still fairly noisy. Pomni was approaching when Jax grabbed her by her hips from behind and lifted her onto a barstool. 

Taking a deep breath, Pomni rested her arms on the bartop and dropped her head on top of them. She really didn't want to be here. The bartender placed a large glass of water in front of her, which she was quick to gulp down.

Shutting her eyes, the world became just a bit more tolerable with just the cold glass in her hands to cool her down.

She took another breath, things coming into focus.

And then opened her eyes, turning to smile at Jax, “Thanks.” 

He nodded, face neutral as he said something, but the earplugs prevented her from hearing him too well.

Pomni bobbed her head, mirroring his motions, before looking up at the bar menu. Admittedly, she could use a drink. Just a bit to ease her stress of the situation, a little social lubricant to help her loosen up.

She briefly glanced back at Jax who, sitting next to her, was sipping on what she assumed was some kind of a mocktail.

With a grunt, she clenched her fists. She was a grown woman, and Jax was a grown man. She didn't need his permission . What was wrong with her? If he refused to have an adult conversation about what was wrong, then fine! 

Pomni held up two fingers to the bartender, “Two shots.”

She could notice Jax raising a brow at her from the corner of her eye but said nothing else. He continued sipping his drink, watching as she downed the two shots of syrup- clearly reused from the wedding adventure. The effect of the “alcohol” was immediate just like before.

 It was enough to give Pomni the courage that she needed, turning to Jax, solemnly, “We should talk.” 

He met her stare in disagreement, “We really shouldn't.” 

“Jax,” She frowned, “You need to talk to me. About what we are- what do you want-?” 

“No. We don't,” He grounded out, eyes downcast and voice strained with contained rage. 

She rubbed at her temples. She was gonna need another drink, “Jax.”

“Pomni,” He imitated her, making a face.

The immaturity only irked her further, “Jax.”

The lack of humor in her tone made it nearly impossible for Jax to avoid the conversation with a stupid joke, and she could tell that that upset him. She hated when he was upset.

Face twisting into a scowl, Jax slammed a fist into the bar with a loud bang that shifted the glasses on the counter. It was just club music and looping audio of indistinct conversation filling the silence afterwards.

Then slowly, Jax slid off of his stool, walking off in another direction.

Left alone again, Pomni gave a long groan, rubbing her face.

How was she ever going to have an adult conversation with Jax of all people? Maybe this was just a bad place to have such a talk… The blasting music, the people, the alcohol, and the smell . Pomni didn't want to think about it anymore. 

She let her shoulders drop, taking a small sip of her drink. After this was finally over, she was going to take a long and well-deserved nap. 

Accepting her situation alone, Pomni became lost in her own thoughts and nearly missed the yellow glove tapping on the counter in front of her. Looking up the arm at the connected rabbitoid, she saw Jax gesture with his thumb towards the exit of the bar. The sight left Pomni cringing, internally.

Caine sure loved to reuse assets, including her least favorite: the exit door. From the bright red design to the bold white text, it was undeniably the same exit that drove Kaufmo to madness and eventually abstraction. Pomni chugged the rest of her water and followed Jax towards the door. He even held it open for her. She eyed him up and down suspiciously, but his expression was unreadable, like his mind was seemingly somewhere else entirely. 

Once outside, Jax strode ahead of her, plopping down on the curb immediately. His ears drooped as he dropped his face in his hands. And he sat there.

Pomni, reluctantly, took a seat next to him and pulled out her earplugs. She could still hear the muffled thumps from the music inside, but the cooler digital air was easier to take in now. 

“You okay?” She asked, quiet and gentle.

Hugging his legs, Jax buried his face in his knees, muttering, “Gimmeaminut.”

Understanding, Pomni nodded and looked ahead at the unrendered exterior of the club, a few empty buildings with darkened windows and store signs with no text. Even up in the sky, little thought was given to the plain darkness and faceless full moon slapped in the middle of it.

A few minutes passed before Jax let out an exhale, relaxing his legs and pulling out his earplugs, “Okay.”

“Are you okay…?”

“I'll be okay later.” 

“Okay?” 

“Okay.” 

Pomni snickered, “Okay.” 

Jax smiled, “Okay.” 

They proceeded to do that for a solid ten minutes after. 

Afterwards, Pomni broke the streak, “...Are you mad that I drank some syrup?” 

Jax went tense, looking at one of the empty storefronts, “I, uh… I don't know.” 

A sigh escaped him like he was deflating, leaning backwards.

“It's complicated.”

Pomni nodded, “You wanna talk about it?” 

“Yes… No… Maybe- just not now,” Jax struggled for words, shifting around and resting his arms on his knees, “I'm… I'm not ready to talk about it… With anyone .”

He looked at her from his peripherals toward the end, and the smallest effort was enough to soften Pomni’s expression.

“That's alright…” She scooted closer, “But you know I'm always ready to listen.”

After a moment, Jax turned to her and smiled, a gentler version of his usual grin, “How? Your avatar doesn't have any ears.” 

It earned a chuckle and a light punch in the arm, “Shut up.” 

“Make me,” He teased, leaning in close to her face.

It was so cliché.

But Pomni wasn’t the type to truly care about whether something was overdone or not, so she made him shut up.

Cupping his cheeks, the corners of her mouth pulled up into a slight smile, a faint glow of pink appearing on her face. She watched as Jax’s pupils shrank and dilated, staring into hers. Her smile grew. She loved messing with him. He made it too easy, sometimes. 

Not something fueled by alcoholic commotion or coerced by their Ringmaster, this kiss was something that was fully theirs, and it was nice.

As Pomni pulled away, Jax tried to pull her back in. 

“Jax-” 

“No talking…” He groaned, annoyed, but Pomni remained resolute. They could just kiss the night away as tempting as they sounded. Okay, maybe just a little longer… Pomni breathed and kept her lips to his, just gor a while longer.

Pomni moved back, hand on his arm, “Jax. We need to really have a conversation.” 

With a glower, he pulled away, “About?”

“What are you looking for?” Pomni started, hands trying to convey her unspoken thoughts.

Jax gave another groan, “I dunno. Why's it matter?” 

“It matters to me!” Pomni climbed to her feet, impassioned. Her voice filled the empty street.

Like he was pained, Jax held his head in his hands and laid down on the sidewalks. Pomni watched, unamused. 

“Jax. You're a grown man, get up.” 

“I'm a grown man. I’ll choose when I get up.” 

She huffed, twisting the ends of her hat like pigtails, “What is wrong with you?! Why won't you just tell me if you like me?!” 

From the ground, he paused, looking up at her with genuine confusion, “Huh? Of course, I like you.” 

Pomni faltered, pink cheeks glowing brighter, “I-I know. But you don't say it! And… I don't know what we are!” 

“Why's it matter?” 

“It just does!” Her voice pitched. She hated this, feeling unsure about where she stood with him all the time. Was this some kind of fling? Or a serious relationship? She just- Were they even dating?!

He was staring at her, again, like he didn’t understand, and she felt crazy. He sighed (she didn’t like that he’s been doing that a lot, lately) and slowly got to his feet.

“But it doesn't matter. Nothing matters here, Pom,” He tried to explain it to her slowly, like a matter of fact, “So, can't we just… Have fun?”

It didn't matter to him. 

Nothing mattered to him. 

Did she even matter to him?

Pomni chuckled, humorlessly. Of course not. He was Jax . She was an idiot for even thinking that he would care. 

She let go of her tails, staring into the void of the sky, “Let’s just get these stupid dates over with.”

And Jax smiled at her as if the two of them were in agreement, as if everything was fine now. She couldn't leave it at that; she couldn't let him think that things would just go back to normal…

“And after this…” The words were sour and bitter on her tongue, “Let's just go back to how it was before we started… This thing.” 

That seemed to click for him. Jax looked taken aback, but he was quick to mask any vulnerability with anger. Stuffing his hands in his pocket when he got up, he grunted out, “Fine. Whatever.”

Whatever, indeed. 

Chapter Text

Pomni opened the door herself this time, stepping back into the club with earplugs shoved in. Jax shoved past her and straight for the bar, but she wasn’t surprised one bit.

Instead, she forced herself to look elsewhere, spotting a booth on the other side of the room. Inside, she felt a familiar dread, recognizing Gummigoo.

She just couldn’t catch a break, could she?

Looking back at Jax, she could see him chatting with some NPC. She had a pretty shade of purple-pink “skin” with a slim, humanoid figure. With long, blonde hair, and a red dress with a slit up the side, she sized up to be twice as tall as Pomni with much more… Enhanced chest assets.

What the hell was Caine thinking? She thought the Circus was for all ages!

Ignoring the spark of jealousy, she opted to sit across from Gummigoo instead.

“Uh…” He still had no idea who she was, “Evening, Miss. Can I help you-?”

“Why is he like this?!” Pomni shouted, motioning animatedly, “One minute, he's adorable and dorky, and the next, he's- he's a jerk!” 

“Ah,” He nodded like he understood, “Boy troubles?” 

Her anger simmered down, “You could say that, again…” 

“So, what's the issue?”

“He won't talk to me.”

“Oh well, what do you want to talk about? Is it important?”

“No… I mean, yes!” She fidgeted with her pom-poms, “I just want to know where I stand with him!” 

Pomni gestured towards Jax’s direction, “I just want him to… To just…” 

“Well, maybe you have to first ask yourself if he’s even worth all the trouble.”

Pomni grimaced, hating having to even consider such a thing, but if the two of them were just going to go back and forth on the issue, then maybe…

She turned to look longingly at Jax, feeling lost for a moment.

He was sitting at the bar, sipping some water, but she noticed that he seemed off. His leg was bouncing as he leaned back in his seat, his usual grin looking more plastic than ever. His eyes darted around, a look that she recognized, as if he was aching for an exit.

And all Pomni wanted to do was help him find it.

She turned to Gummigoo, smiling softly, “I think I better help him.”

Hurrying away, she left Gummigoo to tip his drink in her direction, “Suppose that answers that question.”

She approached Jax, overhearing him still speaking to the lady NPC from earlier.

“It’s fine,” He said, voice strained. Though, it was hard to tell with the loud voices and booming music. Maybe she was just intruding.

“Come on~” The NPC purred, and Pomni’s jaw twitched, “You haven't got a girlfriend, do you?”

“Just back off, weirdo,” Jax spat, scooting away from her in his seat.

The woman huffed, and up closer, she was much bigger than puny little Pomni, “That's no way to talk to a lady.” 

“Maybe you should act like one, then,” He took another sip of his drink, uninterested.

The woman made some kind of scoffing noise before a sultry smile returned to her face, “You’re cute when you talk down to me~” 

Suddenly, Pomni felt something take over her, finding herself marching between the woman and her castmate, “B-back off!” 

She bared sharp teeth like an angry chihuahua, glaring daggers up at the NPC who seemed shocked that Pomni even dared speak to her. Pomni's hands made fists, staring back at the snake as she got to her feet. The woman scoffed, mocking her, “Why should I? A tiny, little girl like you couldn't be his girlfriend, right~?”

For just a moment, Pomni faltered, biting her lip, “Maybe I am! What are you gonna do about it-? H-hussy!” 

She heard Jax snort from behind her, but she stayed on target, shoulders raised while she stood on the tips of her toes. 

“Hussy?!” The NPC gasped.

“Y-yeah!” Pomni was never the most assertive or aggressive type, but for Jax? “You hussy!” 

The hussy glared at her for a moment, and Pomni worried that she was gonna get punched until the woman swiped her drink off of the bar and dumped it all over Pomni’s head. She froze, cold and sticky drink covering her jester outfit as embarrassment creeped up on her. Face burning hot enough to make the syrup on her sizzle, she felt her rage boiling until Jax reached over and threw his own drink at the NPC. Digital makeup melting, she opened her mouth to shriek when Jax threw the glass itself at her, knocking her down.

“I don't think I'll ever really understand you, Pomni,” He said after a beat.

Sighing, he leaned on the bar while the hussy phased through the floor and out of the map. Pomni wanted to reply, but no words came from her throat. She grabbed a napkin out of habit as most of the drink thrown onto her had already slid onto the ground, frictionlessly.

Climbing onto the barstool next to Jax, the bumping of the club faded into the background, and the two of them just sat there for a while.

“Um, so,” Jax stared at his hands on the counter, “Girlfriend?” 

Pomni exhaled, wearily, “Look, I just said that to help. That doesn't mean things- Whatever this is or was-”

“No- It's not that I just- It’s-” Jax tripped over his words, discouraged, “I… just don't wanna say the wrong thing…”

“Well by avoiding that, you ended up doing it,” She fiddled with the napkin in her hands.

“Look…” His ears drooped, staring a hole into his drink, “I. Um…”

She took a breath, “Jax. If we're going to do this, I need you to be able to have a real discussion with me about our relationship. I’m… I don’t want us to just be a fling if we’re going to be anything at all, you know? Don’t you feel the same way?” 

“Wait, Pomni, I-” It was like a physical wall stood in his way, but he was barely pushing, “Maybe?” 

“Not ‘maybe’, Jax!” Pomni hid her face behind her hands, feelings hurt, “I need a definite answer: you say you like me, but do you want to be with me? Like, seriously?? Do you want to be my boyfriend? Are we exclusive?!”

He looked taken aback, barely able to take in each question after the other, “I… I do-” 

“That's great, Jax!”

Caine’s giant dentures of a head spawned between the two of them, eyes sparkling with excitement. Pomni had to grip onto the edge of the bar to prevent her fall, face stretched into a look of wide-eyed, mid-gasp shock. 

Looking at him,, she realized the sudden quiet of the club around them, seeing the entire building was now completely empty. Lights still absently flashed on a barren dancefloor, but the music was cut off, and discarded cups and bottles littered tables and bars, abandoned. Creepy.

The two of them slid off of their barstools as Caine began to delete the rest of the map around them, asset by asset, until they were left standing in an endless white void. The only thing left was the floor for them to stand on, but Pomni was far from feeling grateful at the moment.

“Where are we going now ?” She grunted, shoulders heavy and brows furrowed.

“What ‘date’ are we on anyways?” Jax asked next to her, arms crossed and foot tapping, “That one didn’t even have anything to do with golfing.”

The couple - The pair looked up at their ringmaster, equally aggrieved. 

Still unaffected by the clear misery in the atmosphere, Caine shrugged, jovial as ever, “No idea! Anyways, your next date is-”

“Caine!” Pomni couldn’t take this anymore, yanking on the tails of her cap.

“Yes, my dear jester?”  

She glared, humor absent as he met her gaze with big, twinkling eyes, “We don't wanna go on anymore dates, right now!” 

Befuddled, Caine floated down closer to their level, though he kept enough height that they still had to crane their necks up at him. Jax scowled, equally disgruntled (his ear twitched with irritation, and any other time, Pomni would have gushed over how cute that was), “This has gone on long enough.”

Nodding, Caine took in their dissatisfaction, humming in thought as if trying to decipher their words, “You're right! It's time for the final love quest for my favorite love birds!” 

He spun upwards in the sky, finger pointed in the air as an orchestra accompanied him.

“Wait-”

.

.

.

Crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs, Pomni groaned, having fallen through yet another portal. Blinking the spots away from her vision, she quickly recognized the design of the bridal suite, recalling the taffy-crafted vanity in the corner and the honey-scented chandelier hanging from the ceiling. However the candy-themed mods seemed to have been removed, leaving the room in a more classic style with silk instead of sugar, colored with pastel reds and blues. A large and decadently-decorated vanity stood in front of her, carved lightly with flowers along the brim of the mirror. Soft pinks and light blues dusted it, similarly to the rest of the other elegantly-designed furniture around the room, and it all made the plain, dark woods of her bedroom look like burnt trash.

Wobbling to her feet, Pomni centered herself awkwardly on a pair of white high heels. She looked down as she took a seat onto the nearest chair, lifting her skirt up to see the elevated white slippers, like Minnie Mouse shoes with a bow and everything.

Wait.

Where did these shoes come from?

When did she wear a skirt?

Pomni took in her whole outfit for the first time, blood running cold at the sight.

With an ungodly amount of layers and frills that she was drowning in them, ruffles adorned her from head-to-toe like some kind of tissue box, and releasing her skirt to fall over her legs, it somehow grew bigger in size, oversized sleeves poofing out to make her look like some kind of mini-cupcake. Sparkles glared under the light whenever she moved as the most bleached color in the world blended in with her already-white complexion. The veil on her head gave her height somehow like an oversized, itchy piece of tulle dragging 10 feet behind her.

A wedding dress.

“Oh, God… CAINE!!” Pomni screamed angrily at the ceiling as if he was floating right above her, met with no response.

She wanted to pull her hair out, leaning her hands on the vanity and looking at herself in the mirror. She could never get used to seeing her reflection, oversized head and flat features with sickly white skin, but something about drowning in tackiness and more white brought out the jarring colors of red, blue, and pink on her face, making her so… Unsettling. Uncute… 

She could cry. What kind of sick joke was this? Was Caine trying to punish her? 

Her stomach was doing somersaults, and she somehow got even paler if that was even possible.

And things only grew worse as she heard familiar voices approaching the door. 

“It's only been a day and he's reusing the wedding? We were just here yesterday!” She heard Zooble exclaim, exasperated.

“Yeah. But it was fun though, right?” Gangle asked, voice growing louder as they got closer.

“Um… Yeah, I guess.” 

Pomni then watched the doorknob jiggle and turn, frozen where she stood as the doro was pushed open.

“W-wait, don't come in-” She shrieked, stumbling towards the door with one hand lifting her gaudy dress to keep from tripping. She still did.

All Pomni could do was stare up at her other cast members, swallowing thickly as everyone looked at her with varying levels of bewilderment and scrutiny. Their formal wear also resembled their outfits from the previous wedding adventure, recolored and repurposed to fit the theme of this current one.

Gangle broke the silence with a single, “Oh.”

Somehow, Pomni doubted any reaction would have made her feel better anyway.

“So,” Zooble crossed their arms, darting their eyes elsewhere as they used a nonchalant tone, “Caine is making you get married?”

“I, uh, yeah…” She said, lamely, looking down at the irritating frills of the dress in her fists, “He thought it would be a good idea…”

Trailing off, Pomni assumed that the others would accept it as that, writing it off as yet another nonsensical Caine antic.

“With who?” Zooble asked. 

The curiosity in their cool tone surprised her. With a defeated sigh, she started to explain, avoiding their eyes as she did, “I have a feeling…” 

“Oh, Pomni!” Kinger pushed his way inside, interrupting her as his hand held onto hers, “You look wonderful! Whose wedding is it?” 

“Um. Mine… I think?” 

He gasped, grabbing his eyeballs and popping them off, “It's bad luck to see the bride!” He turned towards the others, blindly, “Cover your eyes! Quickly!” 

She snorted, “Kinger, that rule is only for the groom.” 

“Oh. Right!” Kinger said, popping his eyes back in, “How silly of me to forget.” 

He turned back around, taking in her new appearance.

“Oh! Pomni, you look so beautiful! Who are you marrying?” 

With the rest of the cast piled inside of her little bridal suite, the process of elimination made it pretty obvious who it was. Surrendering, Pomni sighed, “I think Jax. Caine seems to think we're madly in love and has been making us go on ‘dates’ all day… It's been awful.” 

Gangle held a ribbon to her mouth as if she heard something horrifying, “Oh, sorry, Pomni, that sounds awful! I don’t even think I could handle one date with him.”

And even though Pomni could rationalize her words, she couldn’t help but get defensive, giving a small scowl, “He's not that bad…” 

“If you say so,” Zooble muttered.

It was hard to put it into words without sounding probably wrong and maybe a bit insensitive, but she couldn’t help the feeling in her chest that amped her up in defense of him. It was like back during the murder mystery adventure when Zooble insulted Jax, before, and she protested then, too.

She stared at the ground, hoping to burn a hole into the spot. He wasn't that bad. He just… He was just… Jax. 

Ragatha, who had been staring bug-eyed but otherwise unreadable since they came in, finally spoke up, “Well, we may as well make the best of the situation!” 

Pomni cringed, fidgeting with the big, garish bow covering her whole torso. 

“Someone should be with the groom in his suite, right? Kinger?” Ragatha continued, taking charge, “Zooble and Gangle, do you think you guys could check out the area? It'll be better if we just play along so that we can get a clearer idea of what Caine has in store for this… Wedding .”

She had to force the last word out with some effort, face tight like she was stepping into a dirty puddle.

Deciding to go along, the others separated, leaving Pomni with just Ragatha who gave her a reassuring smile, “Less overwhelming now, right?” 

The bride-to-be let her posture relax, nodding, “Thanks. This- today- everything has been a lot.”

With a nod, Ragatha led her to the vanity, standing behind her as she took the veil from her head and tossed it aside, “Let's do your makeup; it'll be fun!” 

It was odd to see herself in the mirror without her jester cap or anything else on her head for once, so she shifted her gaze, landing onto Ragatha who’s stiff expression caught her attention.

“Hey. So, um…” She began, “Whatever is going on between you and Jax…”

Pomni was all too quick to interrupt, “Ah! Well we're still figuring that out, you know?”

She turned around to face Ragatha, a jumbled explanation of the past days’ events on the tip of her tongue, but the latter’s rigid expression had softened, just enough to still imitate her usual friendly smile.

Yet the tension remained, so Pomni turned back to the vanity, ignoring her own cartoonishly beet red face.

Ragatha hummed, quietly unmoved as she picked up a hair brush.

“Listen, I know how Jax is. And trust me: I've known him for a long time…” She said, brushing through Pomni’s short hair, as the jester braced herself, “He's not as tough as he likes to pretend he is. I know that he and I have had our differences, and we’re probably not going to get any better any time soon…”

Her voice was heavy with more unsaid, packed with regret and a history Pomni has yet to know.

“I've… I've seen him hurt before. I don't think- I know , he can't take that again.” 

The bristles moved slower through her hair as she continued, “You asked me a few days ago if I've ever had a crush on someone- or if I knew anyone who had. Romantic relationships here are complicated. They're complicated from the get-go.” 

Pomni nodded carefully, putting together the pieces. Knowing the relationship with Ragatha and Jax and taking into account the other’s general impression of him, it was… Different to hear this kind of take on him. It was both a relief and something bewildering as she was unsure how to take in the fact that… Ragatha was trying to tell Pomni not to hurt Jax. This was certainly a first… 

“I guess, what I'm trying to say is: Be careful with him, okay? He's a lot more sensitive than you think.”

Pomni settled on smiling, the two of them reaching an understanding through their reflections, “I know-” 

HHHHHOOOOONNNNNKKKKKKK! 

A loud horn sounded, flooding the room with noise that sent the two of them flailing. The hairbrush struck Pomni in the head. Ragatha fell to the floor. 

Their ears were still ringing when they heard an exasperated, “Oh. My. God.”

Collecting themselves, the two of them turned to see Jax stepping out from behind a rack of wedding dresses. The usually purple hue of his face was now colored with a deep red, and his tall ears were pressed back against his skull. His trademark grin was strained as he gripped an airhorn in one of his hands while the other was balled up into a fist at his side. 

“Will you just,” He hissed through clenched teeth, covering his face behind his fists, “Shut uppppp??”

“Jax?!” Pomni nearly shrieked, shielding her body from him, as if pretend wedding traditions suddenly mattered.

“Weren't you just with-? Why are you…??”

“Why is everyone in this Circus all so touchy-feely?” He practically screamed into his hands, bent over and vibrating with energy, “It's so cringey !”

Quickly recovering from her minor tinnitus, Ragatha gave an annoyed huff, “You're supposed to be in the other suite, Jax-”

“ You're cringey!” He straightened out to jab a finger at the ragdoll who sputtered in response, climbing to her feet. 

“What did I do?!”

“You're putting all these cringe ideas in her head about me behind my back,” He resumed his heated posture, hands balled up at his sides and a petulant tone in his voice, “That I'm some kind of soft baby bunny when I'm a grown man!”

He gave an ill-timed stomp of his foot, and Pomni had to slap a hand over her mouth to hide the snort.

“I was trying to help,” Ragatha groaned, picking up the hairbrush from the ground, “Because I care-”

“Nuh-uh.”

“W-wha- yeah-huh!”

Pomni couldn't stop herself from laughing anymore, breaking out into a sudden cackle at the behavior.

“Don't worry, Jax,” She giggled as she tried to catch her breath, “I'm well aware of how much of a man you are.” 

He stared at her, grinning widely after a beat. Ragatha, on the other hand, had a look of disgust. Pomni frowned, trying to decipher their reactions before realizing what her words could have implied. She tensed up, climbing to her feet and shoving Jax out of the room as he snickered at her deep blush. He did little to help, digging his heels in as he poked fun at her expense.

“Okay, bad luck to see the bride before! Bye now, see you later!” She eventually managed to shove him out the door, slamming it in his grinning face. She could hear his laughter fading with the distance as he walked away.

Pressing her back against the door, Pomni was left face-to-face with Ragatha who (to say she looked uncomfortable would be an understatement) looked physically ill.

Still, she smiled at Pomni, clearing her throat as she gestured back to the vanity. Tripping over her dress, again, Pomni did a small walk of shame back and sat down, obediently. Her skirt poofed up, layers fluffing up around her like a wall of tackiness.

“How about we also look at some of the other dresses later, also?”

“Yeah, that’d be nice…”

Eventually, Ragatha, make-up palette in hand, started to give some color to Pomni’s face, helping her from washing out in her dress.

She worked in a mildly comfortable silence for a while before restarted their conversation, “So, uh… Marriage?” 

Pomni deflated, “Caine's idea, I assure you.” 

“I wonder if he'll indulge us in a divorce adventure.”

Unable to stop herself, Pomni snorted, startling Ragatha for a split second before she continued.

“I can picture it, you know? Caine as the judge, and oh, I'd be your lawyer!” Whether she was more excited for the idea of Jax and Pomni splitting up, or just getting to pretend to be Pomni’s attorney, was up in the air. 

“I doubt it'll be necessary,” She replied, naturally, “It's all just pretend, plus I don't think Jax will even go along with the wedding thing.”

The idea of having a wedding here with someone she just started dating just made her feel light-headed and nauseous. 

Marriage. 

While she could see it MUCH further down the line with Jax, it was way too soon for even that kind of conversation! She can barely get him to kinda agree to be her boyfriend! Now suddenly, they were engaged?!

She wanted to hide her face in her hands, but Ragatha was still doing her makeup.

.

.

.

Before she knew it, Pomni was standing at the ceremony hall doors. The familiar sound of harps sounded behind the double doors, and an organ began to play the start of “Here Comes the Bride” as two Gloinks held the ends of her veil while two more knocked opened the door.

Finally freed from that garish excuse of a dress, Ragatha and she had somehow found something more flattering. Instead of a pure white, it was a shade of ivory to compliment her already white skin. She was fitted in a much simpler design, an over-the-shoulder gown that didn’t drag along the floor or drown her in all its poofy layers. She was accessorized with a pair of more-bearable heels and her nails were painted a red and blue to match her eyes. A clip held her veil over her face, pinned to her hair tied up in a loose bun that let curled strands frame her round face, nicely.

The hall had been nearly stuffed with every NPC she had met so far; Gummigoo Max, Chad, Orbsman, even that hussy from earlier in the club. The Gloink Queen and the Fudge Monster were even watching from outside the windows on the left.

Anxiously, Pomni tightened her grip on the bouquet in her hands, soft purple and pink roses that smelled like mulch. Somehow, it comforted her.

Looking down the aisle, Pomni noticed Ragatha at the very end at the altar, trying to forcefully fix Jax’s tie while Kinger held his arms back. Even from where Pomni was standing- a good twenty feet away, she could hear their whisper-yelling.

“It’s not even a real wedding!” Jax hissed, “Back off!” 

“Then, it doesn't matter if I just fix this ,” Ragatha spat back at him, “You should look nice for her!”

“ You should look nice for her! It's a wedding, Ragatha- do something with your godforsaken hair.” 

“How. Dare. You.”

Pomni cleared her throat, loud enough to signal to the faceless musicians to play on. It brought the attention to her as she made her way toward them. However, she found herself slightly shriveling beneath what felt like hundreds of eyes.

Just one foot in front of the other. It's not a real wedding, she thought to herself. 

Ragatha smiled brightly at her before returning to her place on the altar as the Maid of Honor. Jax roughly shoved Kinger away, ripping off his necktie with a pointed look at Ragatha who scowled at him, but the groom didn't seem to notice.

He only paid mind to Pomni. 

Maybe it was just the fact that she was physically getting closer to him, but she could have sworn that his pupils were getting bigger as she approached. Maybe it was Pomni’s own eyes dilating actually.

In this digital world, doing something as simple and innocent as looking into someone’s eyes could get you possessed by evil spirits in terrifying haunted houses. Except, she was staring into Jax’s eyes, dark pupils that bored into her, but it was unlike Mildenhall’s. It wasn’t rings of black and white attempting to crawl into her mind and puppet her body with rows of teeth intent on causing harm. It was large, square eyes that have looked at her that way, time and again. She was brought back to the last wedding where soft music filled the chapel, the air smelled sweet, and they were, for a moment, the only ones up at the altar. Among the chaos of fudge monsters and mindless wooden mannequins, there was that reminder, again. That piece of reality, that small moment where everything was just a little less of a prison.

It was Jax.

He didn’t offer verbal reassurances -that wasn’t his strongsuit, but he would hold her and keep her grounded with his hands on her. It was easier to come back down to digital Earth, at least.

He stared into her eyes for a moment longer as she finally arrived at the steps of the altar. The faceless entities around the pews soon didn't matter to Pomni; the man in front of her was all she cared about. 

As she got to the steps, Jax offered her his hand. Placing her own where it belonged, she offered Jax a reassuring squeeze as they turned to look at the officiant. It was another wooden mannequin with a priest's stole and a red fedora.

“Ladies and gentlem-”

Jax cackled and wiped an imaginary tear from his eye as Disappearing Guy… Disappeared, “I love that guy.”

Pomni couldn’t help the quirk of her lips, shaking her head. Without an officiant, there’s no wedding. Looks like she got worked up for nothing- 

“Oh! I can do it!” Kinger spoke up, taking the place between the bride and groom.

God dammit.  

“Ladies, gentlemen, and Zoobles of the jury,” Their new officiant began, gesturing to the room. 

“Oh, boy,” Jax mumbled loud enough for just her to hear as they giggled between each other.

“I come before you today to unite these two souls, Jaxiplier and Pomilia, in digital matrimony,” Kinger began, head tilted up and eyes narrowed at something above the pews.

Pomni followed his gaze, noticing Caine and Bubble holding up cue cards, floating near the ceiling. Caine scribbled hurriedly while Bubble held the cards in his mouth for Kinger to read.

“...Would the heppy coople like to ex-caged…” He squinted, “Vews?”

Everyone on the altar could see Caine was now fighting Bubble for the pen.

Pomni decided to show their ringmaster mercy, humoring it all.

“Uh… Sure,” Pomni smiled before turning to Jax, “I vow to…”

She trailed off, unable to come up with anything.

“Nice,” Jax grinned wide at her as she choked up, face pink and hands fidgeting.

“You go first.”

“Sure thing, babe,” He played along, the two of them holding their hands between them, “I vow to never throw you out of a moving truck ever again.” 

Pomni had no doubt that he would break this vow.

Yet, he continued, “And… when this is over…” He cleared his throat, face growing warm as he rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles, “We can talk about that thing you've been dying to talk about.” 

Her heart softened, seeing his usual smug facade break for a moment. He looked away, mumbling to her, while his ears twitched. Something about the format of a promise like that made it feel real… Guess wedding vows actually were worth something. 

Squeezing his hand, she nodded, “I vow… To also not throw you out of a moving truck.”

Jax snorted.

“And to get to the point quickly in our talk.” 

“What are they talking about?” Pomni heard Gangle whisper.

The audience cooed.

“Those were beautiful,” Kinger said in awe, blinking one eye at a time, “Anyways! Do you, Pommiplier, take Jaxon-” 

“That's- no one is named either of those things here.”

“...To be your lawfully digital wife?”

“Uh… yeah?” Jax answered, Kinger’s face inches from his as he addressed Pomni. Then, he swung to face Pomni, inches from hers.

“And do, you, um… Pomni? Take Jaxtoy-” “Not my name.” “-to be your digitally lawfully wedding bride?” 

“Uh… I do?”

“Oh! That's good,” The bride and groom in question glanced at each other, questioningly, “Oh! And with the power vested in me by all fifty-two United States, I now pronounce you: husband and wife! You may kiss the bride.” 

It was all so fast, but Jax shrugged, and Pomni barely blinked before he was moving his hand to her back and pulling her close. He threw back her veil from her face, and without missing a beat, Pomni’s hands were cupping his cheeks. Their eyes met, a million things said but also nothing needed to be spoken at all, and they were so close that she could see her pupils dilate in the reflection of his big, dark squares.

And as cheesy as it was, her breath was stolen right from her just then.

It was an orchestrated event, put together by an Artificial Intelligence whose idea of romance was speedrunning every romantic trope in one day, and by this point, Pomni and Jax have kissed plenty of times that they knew how to tilt their faces and where to meet in the middle with their height differences. Still, she couldn’t not feel the electricity each time their lips met. Even as the audience in front of them erupted into applause, Jax and Pomni were still entranced with each other as they slowly pulled away from each other. Catching their breath, the world trickled back into focus around them as the cheers replaced the violins playing in her head.

Pomni stood up straight, remembering where she was, but in doing so, she ended up bonking her forehead into Jax’s. Her “husband” clutched at his injured face while she did the same, cheeks burning red hot like a pepper.

With reluctance, she looked around. Zooble and Gangle were both cringing, but it seemed moreso from the kiss than the head bonking at least. Slightly less horrifying maybe, Pomni thought with a sheepish smile.

At this point, their business was out in the open, and they just got “married” in front of the entire digital world. So, she let Jax take her hand as the two of them descended back down the aisle.

Rice pelted them left and right from random NPCs, and Pomni reeled her arm back and chucked her bouquet in a random direction. Gangle caught it with her face, Comedy mask splitting in half as the flowers landed in her hands. Zooble caught her before she could get further hurt.

“Sorry!!”

“Come on, let's blow off the reception!” Jax smirked, leaning down to speak into her ear. He tugged her down the aisle, and Pomni laughed out loud. She let him lead the way as the two of them ran down the hall and back to the hotel lobby. Pomni had to clutch onto the bell of her dress, careful not to trip over it. The commotion of the wedding faded into the distance where they finally found solace in a random supply closet.

They shut the door behind them, leaving the two in complete darkness. The married couple waited until their giggles quieted into even breathing as the rush of it all was soothed by each other’s company.

“Jax-” Pomni started, but Jax had gently put his hand over her mouth, shushing her.

“...I think they went that way?” Gangle’s voice was muffled, light footsteps approaching.

In the dark, Pomni only had Jax’s bright glowing eyes and the small crack beneath the door to illuminate her surroundings. She stared into the soft yellow lights above her… And bit his hand before quickly covering Jax’s mouth with her own to muffle his yelp.

It was rushed, the small space heavy with their breathing and their hearts still bursting with emotions that they’ve yet to put words to.

Mostly a blind endeavor, they were only able to navigate the darkness with what they could recall of each other from their past kisses. She knew how close Jax’s face was to hers, remembering how he would always bend down to meet her gaze. Jax’s hands were quick to find her jax, cupping her face with both hands to guide her to him. Pomni had memorized the fit of his tux that, when she trailed her hand up his lapel, she knew where to grasp it to bring him toward her. However most importantly, they knew exactly how their lips shaped against each other’s and took full advantage of that.

Pomni grunted as a mop handle drove its way into her ribs, whispering loudly, “[JINGLE] that hurt!”

“Oh, sorry- ow!” Jax whispered, equally loudly.

The closet filled with the noise of various objects being knocked over, clattering against each other, and before it could hit the ground with a terrible clatter that the entire venue would hear, she caught them just barely.

“Crud…” Jax uttered as the voices of their fellow humans returned.

“Did you guys hear that?”

“Does it matter? Why are we even looking for them?” 

“Oh! Uh. Well. I'm just worried… About Pomni!” 

“Pomni can handle herself. Let's just go to the reception.” 

“Okay, you're right. I'm sure it's fine.”

The voices trailed off, once more.

They sighed in relief.

Then, the door opened, and they both were frozen, caught tangled in each other with eyes equally big and round like a couple of deers in headlights..

“Oh! Hi, guys!” Kinger greeted, waving at them both, “Have you seen Ragatha and Zooble? I seem to have lost them.”

“Um… They went that way…” Pomni squeaked, pointing where she had heard the voices leave.

“Ah! Thank you!” Kinger looked that way, slamming the door and sliding off, “Wait for me guys!” 

Again, the pair sighed in relief.

“So, uh…” Jax cleared his throat, tone unsure, “Marriage…”

“Pretend marriage,” Pomni corrected.

“Right. Right. So, uh… Hypothetically, could you ever, um…” Clearer than ever, she could see his eyes shift away when he spoke, betrayed as their bright glow flashed his emotions for the entire closet to see, “See yourself getting married one day?”

“One day,” She mused, “You?”

“Yeah. I mean, samesies,” He groaned, “I mean: same.” 

She couldn’t hold back her giggle, teasing, “Okay, samesies.”

He gave her a weak glare, and any longer, his face would probably start glowing pink, too, “So, uh… I was thinking- back there and um. Maybe we can go into it more when this adventure is over- but I… I wouldn't mind - I mean I wouldn't dislike -” Jax groaned, again, “This is why I didn't wanna talk about this yet.” 

Pomni chuckled as he was endeared from his efforts, nonetheless, “I think I understand what you're trying to say. But I'll let you get it out.” 

He took a breath, leaning back against the door and sliding down a bit, “I… I want us to be a couple . I would like that a lot. You, being my girlfriend…. or whatever- not whatever- I mean-!” 

He let himself melt to the floor like a purple puddle.

With nothing but warmth and patience in her heart, she met him on the ground, wrapping her arms around him, “Come ‘ere, big guy.” 

Jax let out a breath, saying nothing. They sat there in an indiscernible silence, Jax’s knees pulled to his chest with Pomni resting her head on his arm as her arms draped around his shoulders. She kneeled close to his side as he knocked his forehead harmlessly against hers.

“I would love to be your girlfriend.” 

She broke the silence, and Jax made a noise that she had never heard from him before, some kind of squeak? A little honk, maybe.

“Does…” He mumbled into his arms, ears flat on his head, “Does that mean we, you know, do boyfriend-girlfriend junk?”

“Yeah,” Pomni giggled, “We get to hold hands and all that romantic junk, exclusively with just each other.”

“Like… Talking?”

“Yep, like talking about our feelings .”

“Like talking trash about the others when they annoy me?”

“Like talking trash, cuddling, hanging out together, fighting to the death, etc.”

“Like making out?”

“Like making out.”

Pomni shook her head and gently felt around, looking for Jax's face hidden in his arms. Carefully, she pulled him towards her, and without instruction, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. 

“Hey. Pom.” He spoke between kisses, the smacking of their mouths filling the closet and electrifying their soft affection into something hotter.

“Mhm?” 

“I think… I really like you.” 

Pomni’s lips curved against his, kissing him, again and again, “I really like you, too.”

A soft knock at the door interrupted them, once more, “Um… Pomni? Jax? Are you guys in there?” 

Jax lamented, disgruntled, “Yeah. What do you want, Ribbons?” 

“Oh, um! The NPCs want you guys to cut the cake.”

“Cake?” Pomni perked up, pulling away just an inch that they could still return to their activities at a moment’s notice.

“Cake sounds good,” Jax nodded, surrendering to their gluttony before pushing the door open.

Gangle stepped back as the closet swung open, revealing their resident husband and wife intertwined with each other on the floor. Her eyes were two round ovals, thin mouth squiggled as a blush colored her mask. With a squeak, she ran back to the reception, “I'm sorry!”

Unbothered, Jax chuckled, positioned over Pomni with his arms and legs caging her underneath him, “She's weird.” 

She stared up at him, wondering if he just didn’t notice or care about that. Without ceremony, he got to his feet before offering Pomni his hand. 

She took it, and Jax didn't even seem like he wanted to pull away at the last second… Again.

The two made their way to the party in their honor, having not let go of each other just yet.

“I wonder what flavor the cake will be,” Pomni hums, holding onto Jax’s arm.

“Oh, I already know,” Jax took his time, matching his wife’s pace instead of his usual long-legged stride, “Caine asked me earlier what your favorite flavor is.” 

Pomni raised a brow. She definitely never told Jax what her favorite flavor was,

“...What did you say?” 

“It's a surprise~”

Pomni shuddered, imagining just a conglomerate of every single cake flavor smushed together and slathered with a Jackson Pollock of frosting.

Arm in arm, the two eventually arrived at the reception hall where all the NPC burst into uniform applause. Pomni grinned for the crowd but cringed on the inside, gritting her teeth and lowering her voice as she leaned up to her husband, “Jax. I wanna leave.” 

Jax grinned, his voice also lowered, “Me too, let's steal the cake and drop it on Ragatha.”

“No.” 

“Fine. Gangle then.”

“Okay.” 

“Really?”

“Of course not!” Pomni scolded, her voice still lowered as a cake was rolled in front of them by Kinger. It was a tall, multi-tiered cake with sugar flowers and tiny rabbit and hamster figurines at the top.

Jax picked up the cake knife from the table, nudging Pomni to put her hand on his. Gently, the two brought the knife down, making the first slice as they cut smoothly into frosting and spongy-

“CONGRATULATIONS!” Caine announced calmly, jumping out of the cake in a cacophony of horns and confetti poppers.

Pomni screamed, jumping back. Meanwhile, Jax remained unaffected, smirking as their wedding cake exploded in a mess of vanilla and buttercream all over them and their guests.

“You're now married!” Their ringmaster hollered, waving his arms around, animatedly, “I've saved your relationship!”

Jax’s trademark smile split his face in half, taking in his caked bride, “You got something right about…” He gestured to her entire being, “ There. ”

She made a noise of dissatisfaction, taking in her ruined dress as she was covered head-to-toe.

“Aw! Come ‘ere!” Her husband smirked, hand around her waist as he pulled her close, “I'll help you out~” 

Pomni went so red and hot that the cake was probably sizzling on her face as Jax licked her cheek.

She shoved at his face, squealing loud, “JAX!”

“Aw, I'm sorry, did it hurt? Lemme kiss it better~” He pressed his lips to the center of her face before licking off more frosting in the process.

She burst into flustered laughter, pushing at him as he refused to release her from his grasp. Her whole body was probably a tomato, highlighted by her white dress, as she whispered loudly to him, “Jax! Not here-!”

Eventually, he showed her mercy, wiping his mouth, “Okay, okay.”

Caine, meanwhile, stared at the couple, again, and snapped his fingers. The cake mess vanished from the reception, leaving the newly-weds spic and span. Guess they were crossing the line over “family-friendly”.

Unashamed, Jax shrugged it off, walking toward an empty table with Pomni trailing behind him. They were soon joined by their castmates. The others, each expression more incredulous and stunned than the last, looked at the two of them in extended silence.

The attention left Pomni twiddling her thumbs, staring at the table cloth instead, “Um.”

“How long have you two been dating?!” Gangle burst out, gripping the edge of the table.

Pomni flinched while Jax rested an elbow on the tabletop, dropping his chin in his hand

“Hm,” His expression was as smug as ever, “Why should we tell you?”

She smiled, rolling her eyes, before slipping a hand under the table. She found his, interlocking fingers. 

“Come on, just answer a question for once.” Zooble said, crossing his arms.

“Okay, Zoobie~ Just for you, I'll tell,” Jax leaned back in his chair, “We just started dating today.” 

“What? No way,” Zooble looked unamused, “Really? Somehow, I find that hard to believe the way that you two have been lately.” 

“Really,” Pomni reassured, smiling awkwardly, “W-wait, what did you mean by that…?”

“Pomni taking care of Jax when he got drunk.”

“Dancing together during the last adventure.”

“Jax taking care of Pomni when she got drunk.”

“Spending the night in each other’s rooms.”

“Just willingly spending your free time with Jax at all had to mean something.”

“Hey!”

Jax huffed, straightening up when Pomni squeezed his hand, comfortingly. He resorted to pouting instead.

“Oh. And this uh…” He said, gesturing vaguely to… Everything.

“Caine's idea,” She finished, “All Caine.”

Gangle seemed a little disappointed by that answer, but she didn't say much. 

“Yeah. He got a little carried away. He made us go on all these dates, claiming he was ‘fixing’ our relationship,” Pomni tried to explain, “I guess… It helped?” 

She glanced at Jax for assurance, but the rabbit just shrugged. He didn't know either.

“Welp, this pretend wedding was fun,” Her “husband” got up, stretching from his seat before shedding off his jacket, “Can't wait to not do it again for many years.”

“Yes, it's a good thing I've been ordained. That way you won’t have to keep doing this over and over. Otherwise-” Kinger said, only for his head to be grabbed by Jax as he was pulled to his “feet”.

“YOU'RE WHAT?!” His voice must have echoed across the Circus coding itself. Pomni flinched, alarmed by the panic in his voice. He still wore his class smile, unnervingly enough, pupils shrinking upon hearing this news.

“Ordained!” Kinger repeated, “See, I had these friends in college-” 

“S-so, you actually married me and Pomni?!” 

Pomni felt the digital blood drain from her digital face as she connected the digital dots.

“I did what?” He asked, hands dropping to his sides.

Her apparently legit-husband started to shake their actual wedding officiant by the head, back and forth, “Don't you act all crazy again! You're not getting out of this, old man!” 

Pomni ran up to him, grabbing at Kinger's robe and helping Jax shake him as newly weds, “Why didn't you tell us you're actually ordained?! Wh-why?! Unpronounce us!” 

“I-I'm w-ha-a-at?” Their castmate was violently jostled back and forth, eyeballs flying off in different directions. 

“TIME FOR THE HONEYMOON!” Caine interrupted, snapping his fingers.

“Wa-wait wait wait!” Pomni shrieked, only for a portal to open below them. And weirdly, Kinger stayed floating as the now-married couple fell through the dimensional tear. 

.

.

.

Eyes adjusting to the familiar bright lights of the Tent, it felt like it’s been days since she was just here, struggling not to puke under its glaring visual noise. The fact that it had been only hours of dating was somehow hard to comprehend, like she and Jax had lived 20 lifetimes in a day.

Pomni squinted, blinking until the primary colors of the residential hall came into focus.

“Congratulations on your marriage, my sweet funnybunny couple!” Caine exclaimed.

Still reeling from their marriage revelation, Jax massaged his temples, sinking backwards onto the hallway floor. Pomni took pity on her “husband”, sighing wearily, “Caine… Can you just… Go away?” 

“Sure!” Their ringmaster was perfectly happy leaving the newlyweds to their own devices, vanishing without missing a beat.

“Jax,” Pomni said after a moment to take in their situation. She made no effort to hide her exhaustion.

His ears stuck up first, then the rest of his head followed, “ What? ”

Brushing off his clear annoyance, she opened the door to her room and motioned for him to follow. The lagomorph groaned as he forced himself to his feet,  trudging into the red and blue nightmare.  

Taking a seat, she beckoned over to join her on her bed. He obeyed with little complaint, relief spreading across his face when she grabbed him to shift his head onto her lap with a small yelp.

It was difficult to hide the warmth on his cheeks from this position, “...Is-is this okay?”

Pomni nearly cooed, seeing him in such a vulnerable position left him at a loss. He couldn’t run or hide because he didn’t want to, but he had no idea what to do with what he was left with then.

His pupils were blown out, dark eyes so big that it was like staring into a black void, but it left her feeling absolutely warm inside. She gently placed a hand on his cheek, “Of course.” 

His cocky grin melted off of his face, mouth a thin line as his eyes shut closed. He leaned into her palm, a quiet breath leaving him, “Thanks.”

She nodded, carding her fingers through the short fur on top of his head. It was soft.

She watched her husband hum in content, smiling softly. 

God, he was cute.

“Aren’t you freaking out about this?” He asked, knitting his brows with his eyes still closed, “That’s kind of your thing, isn’t it?”

“Don’t think about it too hard,” She replied, cheeky.

Jax barked out a laugh, taken off guard.

Gloved hand petting him, Pomni watched him relax as she rubbed him behind an ear, pressing her lips together when she saw his foot twitch.

  So cute…

They stayed like that for a while, Jax’s weight resting comfortably in Pomni’s lap as she caressed his scalp in repetitive strokes. If Pomni had to choose, this was better than any of the other dates they’ve been on so far.

“You wanna get a divorce?” 

She quirked a brow at his sudden inquiry, staring into his eyes filled with mirth and fondness.

“And then…” He continued, “Just go on, like… A normal date?”

Who knew a divorce could be so romantic?

“I’d like ‘normal’ for a change. Maybe…” She held his face between her hands, bent down to meet his gaze, “We could go back to the diner? Share a stack of pancakes?”

Another grin adorned his face, again, smaller in size and softer at the edges, “All the pancakes.”

Normal.

Where they weren't a strange jester thing and a giant anthropomorphic purple rabbit. 

Just a normal man and woman. On a date.

“Normal like…” She leaned in closer until their faces were inches apart, “Like boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“Only if I get to be the boyfriend.”

Pomni laughed, “Deal!”