Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Gangle's day in the circus started as every day after day after day did.

She woke up in her red silk sheets, in her cozy black room. With a sigh, she forced herself to sit up, knowing that Caine would come and get her if she wasn't in the main area in time for his adventure of the day. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, her thin little ribbon legs, the first thick tears of the day rolling down her porcelain cheeks as she stared down at them.

But then she raised her head to look at her dresser, and a careful smile played on her mask as she saw that - as every day - a new comedy mask had appeared there. She walked over to it, holding it carefully as she looked down at it, before placing it on her face.

Immediately, she felt her mood shift. The melancholy dissipated, and her smile felt easier to maintain. She turned to her mirror, looking at her smiling reflection. Her mask would probably break during the day, but for now she felt good.

She skipped out of her room, making her way to the common area.

Zooble waved when they saw her, and Gangle smiled and waved back. Ragatha smiled at her too. Kinger was already in his pillow fort. Jax and Pomni weren't there yet.

Gangle sat down next to Zooble on the couch, where they showed her their drawings, sharing their sketch pad after Gangle had forgotten to bring her own this morning.

Eventually, Pomni and Jax entered the common area together, chatting. Gangle noticed how Ragatha narrowed her eyes at that, but even with her comedy mask she didn't want to get involved in this, so she wisely kept her eyes on her drawings.

"Hey fellas" Jax greeted with his usual lazy smirk. "Just to warn everyone; Pomni and I made a bet." He said.

Zooble groaned. "What the f[#&%] did he get you to agree to?"

"Actually, I bet that he can't stay nice to everyone for an entire day." Pomni explained.

"Oh... why the warning for that?" Ragatha asked.

"Because I have a reputation to uphold, Dollface." Jax grinned.

She narrowed her eyes at him again.

"Uh... what are you even betting for?" Gangle chimed in. "It's not like we have... money."

"No stakes. I know Ribbons, I think it's boring too." Jax said, crossing his arms as he smiled at her. "It's just about proving that I'm right and she's wrong."

Zooble huffed. "Yeah, right. You won't even last an hour."

He put a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "Oh Zoobie, you wound me."

"Good."

Before anyone else could say something, Caine popped out of nowhere. "Good morning, my miscellaneous mermaids!"

"Oh no, are we going on another underwater adventure?" Pomni asked, panic creeping into her voice.

Caine blinked. "What? No. What gave you that idea?"

"Uhh... the mermaid-"

"ANYWAY!" Caine interrupted her. "Today's adventure is... SURVIVE IN THE WRATHFUL WILDERNESS OF WORRISOME WOE!"

Everyone stared at him.

Kinger burst out of his pillow fort. "Did somebody say INSECT COLLECTION?!"

"Let's hop right to it!" Caine opened a portal that sucked all of them in before Zooble could even say as much as 'no'.

They tumbled out on the other side, landing in a large forest, filled with trees in all possible colors and the sounds of chirping, growling and the wind rustling through the large leaves above them. They all picked themselves up with groans.

Ragatha pat down her dress to remove imaginary dust, looking around herself to assess the situation.

"Okay... I guess we have to... survive."

"Great." Zooble said, picking up their scattered parts and reattaching them. "Do we even know for how long?"

They all looked at each other, none having an answer, because Caine didn't say anything.

"Maybe we should start by building shelter? Or something... that's what they do in documentaries." Pomni said.

"Wait... where's Kinger?" Gangle said.

That's when the others noticed that the chess piece was gone. They all shared worried glances, and Jax groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. "Oh, great. He probably saw a butterfly and ran off." He complained.

"We have to find him!" Ragatha exclaimed. "Let's split up, there's no telling what he could run into out there!"

"And what about what we could run into out there?" Jax asked, an eyebrow raised.

She glared at him. "We can all handle ourselves. Kinger..."

He didn't say anything, only for his bet, but he did smirk like he found what she said funny for some reason only known to him.

Ragatha frowned and shook her head. "We have to go look for him. Let's all go in different directions, and when someone finds him just holler to let the others know."

So that's what they did. Jax would never admit to being worried about anything, and he was probably better off alone anyway. Besides, it wasn't like anything that really mattered could happen to them.

The others did worry about it a bit as well, but like him it was silent. They all just wanted to find Kinger and get this over with.

Gangle really didn't like the thought of being alone, but she didn't want to be a bother.

She picked a direction and started walking. She called out to Kinger, hoping to hear his answer and praying that nothing else out here could hear her. It didn't matter that they couldn't be harmed in the long run, she still didn't want to meet a big beast hellbent on tearing into her ribbons like Jax. Making him vegan for the rest of that adventure was the best idea Zooble ever had.

Gangle was unsure if time was just passing faster in this forest because Caine got bored, or if she was really searching so long, but the sun began to set and the forest gradually became darker and darker, until she could hardly see the ground beneath her feet. She tried to keep her hands on the trees at all times to gain stability, but eventually what had to happen happened, and she tripped. Her ribbon foot caught on a tree root and she fell with a high-pitched shout.

She managed to catch herself with her hands before her mask could hit the ground and break, but the damage was already done elsewhere, as a sharp pain shot up her leg. She carefully turned around so she could sit up and take a look at her leg, muttering a quiet "ow, ow, ow..." the whole time. When she finally managed to sit up, she saw that her 'ankle' was twisted, literally. The ribbon was tied in a painful knot.

"S[#!%]..." She cursed, reaching out to touch her leg, only to wince in pain and pull away again. There was no way she would be able to stand up like that, let alone walk back.

"Uhm... hello? Is someone near? I-I need help! ...Guys! ... ...Caine?"

The ribbon character was unsure how long she called for help, but her panic ruined her sense of time anyway. Relief flooded her when she heard footsteps approach, so much so that it wasn't even lessened when it was Jax who came through the bushes.

"Oh, thank god! I-I twisted my ankle. Can you help me?" She asked, praying that the night was still part of his and Pomni's bet to be nice to everyone.

He frowned down at her, a hand on his hip. "How did you manage that?" He asked, gesturing vaguely towards her ankle.

"I tripped. Can you just bring me back to the others? I can't walk alone."

"Ribbons, I nearly broke my neck twice since I first heard your whining. I almost gave up, honestly." He said. "If I try to stumble back with your limping clumsy butt attached to me, we'll just both land on the forest floor."

She frowned, not really finding anything to say. She couldn't argue with that. "So... what then?"

"We'll have to stay here until the sun rises." Jax replied, crossing his arms.

Panic flooded her black eyes. "W-what? Stay out here? All alone?"

"I'm here."

"That only makes it scarier!"

He rolled his eyes. "Relax, I'm still in my 'nice' phase. I'm not gonna maul you. At least not today." He grinned, eyes twinkling mischievously.

"B-but... we don't even have shelter..." Gangle said, looking around worriedly, fiddling with her ribbon hands.

"It's not like it's raining. Don't be such a wuss." He replied, kneeling down in front of her. She instinctively flinched. He just raised an eye-ridge at her. "Don't get your ribbons in a twist, Crybaby. Not any more that you already have." He smirked, clearly amused by his own joke. "I'm just taking a look at your ankle."

"Uhm... I'm not sure if that's such a good idea."

"You'd rather it stays tangled up all night?" He asked, already moving to touch the knot.

Gangle quickly pulled her leg back, hissing in pain because she moved it. Her nervous smile stayed. "Please... don't."

His face made it abundantly obvious, even in this dark, how annoyed he was getting with Gangle. He reached out and snagged her comedy mask from her face, tossing it up in the air.

Now left with her tragedy mask, thick tears rolled down her porcelain cheeks as she stared up at her flying comedy mask. "Jax, no!" She cried.

She felt a tug at her leg, but she was so panicked about her mask, only a small hiss escaped her. The mask fell down again after reaching the apex of its flight, and Jax easily caught it.

Gangle stared at him, eyes wide and blinking when she realized that he didn't break it this time. When she saw his smug smirk, she got a bad feeling, but then she noticed that the pain in her ankle had dulled significantly. She looked down, realizing that the knot was undone.

"You..."

"You're welcome, Ribbons." He said, putting the mask back in place over her tragedy one.

The tears vanished, and Gangle blinked again, a smile creeping onto her face. "...Thank you, Jax!" She said, throwing her arms around his neck.

He cringed and pulled his arms up as if he didn't know what to do with them. "Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it. I'm just being nice to prove Pomni wrong, that's all."

She pulled back, still smiling at him. "Still, thank you. That was amazing!"

His smug smirk returned. "I know babe. That's just how I am."

The new petname brought a blush to her cheeks, and now Gangle was grateful for the darkness. "How did you know how to distract me?"

"This ain't the first time I had to do first aid without a narcotic." He replied, which only made her make a confused face at him. "Uh... were you a paramedic or something?"

He barked out a laugh at that. "HA! No." He said, wiping a laughing tear away. He smirked again. "You're not getting a character backstory out of me, Gangle. Now go to sleep, or don't, but be quiet, 'cause I'm going to." He said, laying down on the ground next to her and making himself as comfortable as he could on the forest floor.

Gangle sighed and laid down too. "Okay..."

She stared up at the artificial sky over her, seeing constellations through the canopy of leaves. Looking at the stars like this, it was almost... beautiful. If she forgot the potential for monsters out here, it was really peaceful, actually. And the pain in her leg was fading to a dull throbbing.

"...Jax?"

He groaned, obviously disgruntled because she talked again. "What?"

"Thanks again. It feels a lot better already."

"Told ya. You should listen to me more often, Ribbons."

She huffed, amused. "Yeah, right." She said. "Good night."

"Good night, don't let the forest creatures bite~" She could hear the smirk in his voice despite not looking at him.

"Jax!"

He laughed at her reaction. She had to giggle a bit as well.

~~~

Gangle woke up again with the first light of morning. She yawned and sat up, stretching her arms. She smiled as she looked around at the forest, looking much nicer in daylight, and with company. Speaking of which, she turned to see that Jax was still sleeping.

She had to giggle, and then nearly slapped herself for the thought, but... he looked kind of cute? An arm was tucked under his head as a pillow, his mouth was slightly open and his face was relaxed. He looked more peaceful than she had ever seen him. And did she see disheveled fur? Was Jax secretly a bit fluffy?

No, what was she thinking?! This is Jax she was thinking about! He's not cute! He's a menace!

She shook her head, gently tapping his arm. She felt bad about waking him, but she was sure he wanted to get back to the others so they could finish this adventure as soon as possible as well. Groaning a little, he opened his eyes, and gone was the relaxation, replaced with frustration. "What?"

"Uhm... the sun is up. We can go back again now." She replied.

He groaned again, but he got up without further protest, standing up and stretching after sleeping on the hard forest floor. He stood with his back to her, one arm raised above his head, and she couldn't help but stare. Stretching like that, she could see his shoulder blades move, and it looked... good?

"Take a picture, it lasts longer." He commented her staring, smoothing out his fur.

She blushed furiously when she realized that he had turned around again without her noticing. Now he was looking at her, one hand on his hip and that infuriating cocky smile on his face again. She chuckled nervously, averting her gaze.

He rolled his eyes, looking pissed again for some reason. "Come on, let's go."

She nodded and tried to stand up, wobbling on her leg. It was significantly better, but it still hurt. Every step she took nearly had her stumble. She felt Jax's impatient eyes on her and sighed in defeat.

"I don't think it'll work like that. Maybe if I lean on you while we walk I can- eep!"

She squealed when he suddenly picked her up, one arm around her back and the other beneath her knees, carrying her princess style. "I'm not gonna wait for you to limp back to the others."

"B-but-" She stuttered, blushing even harder.

"I'm way too tired for that, and my patience with you is running as thin as one of your ribbons." The rabbit said, his tone warning.

She shut up after that, giving in to her fate. She leaned her head against his shoulder, thinking that it admittedly was nice being carried like this, and not having to put any pressure on her bad leg. Even if he made it sound like he was pissed at her and just doing this for his own convenience, he was being surprisingly helpful for once.

"Thank you, Jax."

He pulled a face. "Gross. Stop thanking me."

"Stop doing nice things for me, then."

"I would, but unfortunately Caine counts one adventure as one day, even if more time passes within the adventure. And even sadder, he's the ruler we all go by, so technically speaking I still have to be nice to beat Pomni. But after this adventure I can break your mask for you, if you're still game." He looked at her with that insufferable teasing smirk again.

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. He was such an a[$$]. But compared to his normal rabid self, he was really, really tame right now, so this was her chance to have a civil conversation with him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Lay it on me, babe."

Again with that petname that made her blush. Gangle turned away, hoping that Jax didn't notice. "Why do you always break my comedy mask?"

He huffed. "Come on, Crybaby. You know why."

That made her look up at him, frowning. "No, I don't. I mean, I get it, you like being mean to me. But isn't it getting boring? And why do you always bother me more than the others?"

He rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, Ribbons, you disappoint me. I knew the others didn't get it, but I thought you of all people understand."

She furrowed her non-existent brows, getting frustrated by him. It was always easier to get angry with her comedy mask than her tragedy one. "Understand what? What do you mean?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You really don't get it, do you? I break that thing to free you."

She could only stare at him in shock at that, black eyes huge and mouth gaping. "You- you free me? By tormenting me?"

"No, the tormenting is just regular bullying." He snickered. "But breaking the mask is freeing. Because that thing doesn't make you happy, it just forces you to smile no matter how you feel."

Again, she could only stare, but anger was completely replaced by confusion. "I- ...what?"

"Just think about how you went crazy at Spudsy's, with your 'manic episode'" He said, cringing and actually shuddering like the memory made him deeply uncomfortable. "You were smiling the whole time, but you were miserable, and I couldn't even enjoy it, 'cause you made me miserable too. Which I'm still mad about, by the way."

"I'm sorry... but that wasn't my comedy mask, that was the plastic mask."

"Yeah." He huffed again, looking pissed. "The only difference being that it was made out of plastic. At the beginning of the day you were still relatively normal, but because the damn thing didn't break during the adventure like your comedy mask usually does, all those dark, nasty emotions inside you stayed right there instead of flooding out with your pathetic tears, and you let that out on everyone around you."

She frowned at that. She didn't really know how to feel, both about Jax apparently thinking a lot about her emotional state, and about him hitting the bullseye. She wouldn't have thought that he could read her like that, or that he would even care to. But she had to admit that he was right. Nothing had felt more freeing, more relieving, more cathartic than taking the mask off that day. Just being in her tragedy mask, and still... smiling.

"You... think the same would happen if I wore my comedy mask for too long?"

"Eh..." Jax frowned. "Maybe not that quickly. The manager power trip you got off to didn't help." He said.

Again, she blushed in embarrassment at the way he chose to phrase this. "I... didn't get off on it." She protested weakly.

"Sure you didn't, Ribbons." He replied patronizingly. "I don't know if the same would happen, but you'd still get insufferable after a while. I can only tolerate your comedy mask in small doses."

She frowned again. "Because you like me better when I'm sad?"

"I like you better when you're real, Ribbons. I hate fake happiness. I'd rather take your crying over a second Ragatha."

"Oh." She blinked. "Why... did you never say that?"

"'Cause I thought you knew. Didn't take you to be that stupid."

She pouted. "That's not very nice."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry." He apologized through gritted teeth. "I don't talk about stuff like that, and I never had the desire to let you know why I do what I do. I honestly don't care what you think. I'm just here to see funny things happen to people, and someone being that obviously fake is the least funny thing I can imagine."

Gangle frowned. "Well, I'm sorry that I'm not amusing to you that way, but I like being happy once in a while."

He groaned dramatically and threw his head back. "God, Gangle, do you not get it? The mask doesn't make you happy! It just plasters a smile on your face and calls it a day! You can smile with your tragedy mask too if that's so important to you."

"I-"

"Gangle." He interrupted her sharply, narrowing his eyes at her. "Yesterday you were in agony over your leg, scared of the forest, and also pretty scared of me, I think. And still you didn't stop smiling. Did you feel happy then?"

She frowned, or at least she thought she did. Was she really smiling the entire time? "No, I didn't." She admitted quietly.

He nodded. "Thought so. Then that smile was fake. Just painted on your face to pacify you."

Slowly, hesitantly, Gangle reached up and took her comedy mask off, looking down at the painted on smile, not knowing what to believe anymore. Was he right? What was she thinking? Jax and being right? But a lot of what he said resonated with her... but what if he was only messing with her again?

"There we go." He said, interrupting her thoughts. "I'd take Crybaby Gangle over a fake any day. Even if your whining does get annoying. At least it's actually who you are."

A hesitant smile played at her mouth beneath thick blue teardrops. "...And you like who I am?"

The rabbit cringed again. "Let's not exaggerate. I find you entertaining at best."

Gangle pouted, disappointed. She sighed. "...Let's say that you're right."

"I always am."

"Let's say that you're right this time." She repeated sharply at the interruption. "Can you... not break it every time? You know, pushing me, scaring me, hitting me in the face?" She felt like crying just talking about it, now that her mask was off. "I can just take it off, you know?"

"Hmm, not sure that you can, Ribbons. You'd never take it off voluntarily."

"I took the plastic mask off."

"When it was way too late."

"Then how about you remind me when you notice I'm getting weird?" She asked. His eyebrows shot up, clearly surprised by that idea, so she elaborated; "Since you seem to be paying such close attention... you could just tell me when I don't realize it's getting too much. Then I can take it off and put it away safely to take a breather, and when I feel better again, like I've let out my emotions enough or- or when I need the mask to pull myself together, I can put it back, uhm, back on again." She said, clearly getting more nervous the longer she talked.

He gave her a skeptical look. "...I don't know, Crybaby. I like you better when the mask is gone for good."

"Please?" She surprised herself with how soft her voice sounded. "You said yourself that my whining annoys you..." She sobbed.

Jax sighed dramatically. "If you don't listen to me when I 'gently remind you', I'm gonna break it." He said.

She had to giggle at the way he said it. "We'll have to talk about the details of the deal."

He huffed, but it sounded amused this time. "See? Told ya you could smile with the tragedy mask. And it's way more genuine than anything that thing puts on your face." He gave the comedy mask in her hands a dirty look.

"You... like my smile?"

"Didn't say that, Ribbons. Man, you really need to learn how to listen." He said in mock exasperation, shaking his head.

To her surprise, she had to giggle again, even though he mocked her. Maybe because it didn't feel malicious this time. He raised a confused eyebrow at her, but didn't say anything else.

"Uhm, can I put my mask in your pocket? I don't have anywhere to put it..."

He grinned. "Sure. If you trust me to give it back to you."

She frowned, feeling scared again, but she decided to take the risk this time, because she had a good feeling with him today. Maybe it was naive, but she wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, this one time. Who knows? Maybe he would surprise her, or rather, keep surprising her.

She put the mask in the front pocket of his pink overalls, surprised to find that it fit fully inside with ease, even though her face was bigger than the pocket. Did Jax have Hammer Space?

That would explain where he always got the stuff for his pranks so quickly, or even huge weapons. Out of curiousity, she pushed her hand deeper inside to see just how far it would go.

"Touching costs extra, babe." Jax said.

She widened her eyes and blushed again, quickly pulling her ribbon back. "S-sorry..."

He smirked at her. "Nah, it's fine. Who wouldn't want to get touchy with me? This body is peak masculinity."

She rolled her eyes, but she let him have that one, after she just embarrassed herself like that.

At least he stayed silent after that. The Ribbon character was grateful for that. She tested out moving her leg a little, but it still felt the same as this morning, and the movement brought the pain back. Gangle started sobbing quietly, and Jax's eyes snapped back to her again.

"What now? I didn't even say anything."

"Oh, n-no, it's not you, just.... my ankle, it- it still hurts, and you were saying all that stuff about being real and letting my emotions out, uhm, so I thought... it would be okay if I cried a little."

Jax let out a long, suffering sigh. "I did say that, didn't I?" He asked no one in particular. "Fine. Guess letting you cry would be the nice thing to do for once." He smirked, and she smiled back.

"Thank you."

"Ugh, seriously, stop thanking me!"

Gangle smiled through her tears, leaning her head against his shoulder again, sobbing and crying. Jax sighed and scowled. "Alright, alright, don't get my overalls wet, Crybaby..."

She hiccuped and wiped over her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

He only replied with a half-hearted "You better be" and let her cry in silence as he carried her.

It felt really nice. It was strange to think such a thing about Jax, but she felt safe like this. The thought of this behavior ending as soon as the adventure was over made her sad again, bringing her another wave of tears. She didn't want him to go back to pushing her as soon as they were back in the circus, and she found that she actually really enjoyed talking to him when he tried. Gangle knew that it was stupid, he was just trying to win a bet, but this showed that he could be nice when he wanted to.

More than that, he cared, even if he showed it in the most stupid, aggressive way that he could. But at least he paid attention to her? That shouldn't mean much after everything he did, but it did. Maybe she was too sentimental, but it made her happy for some reason.

And to think that she would have never found out about it if Kinger hadn't run off.

Gangle's eyes widened and she raised her head from his shoulder. "Oh my god, Kinger! Did you find him? Is he okay? I totally forgot to ask!"

Jax snickered. "Aww, did Ribbons forget about our dear ol' Kinger? Gotta say, that's kinda selfish." He said.

She frowned at that, knowing that he was right. She was so selfish. She hadn't even thought about Kinger being all alone out in that scary forest. She was a terrible friend. The others should hate her-

"Sheesh, relax, Crybaby. Ragatha won't tell you this, but it's okay to be selfish every now and then. Necessary, even. We all need to look out for ourselves." He interrupted her self-loathing thoughts. Gangle looked up at him, thick tears falling. "But... but we need to look out for each other, too. And- and I didn't do that for Kinger..."

He rolled his eyes. She was pretty sure that he didn't agree with her sentiment. "Yeah, well, you can't really look out for anyone if you don't take care of yourself first. It's like these oxygen masks in planes, where you have to put one on yourself before helping others. You can't help Kinger while you're stranded in the forest with a twisted ankle and crying your little porcelain heart out."

"I... guess that's true..." She said, pushing her little ribbon hands together. "But- but I didn't even ask about him!"

He rolled his eyes again. "If you wanna know, Kinger is fine. Zooble found him chasing a butterfly. Just like I said. He was safely returned to the others and we started building shelter when Ragatha started worrying because you weren't back yet, so, since I'm so nice, I offered to go look for you." He explained.

Gangle frowned. "And... they really sent you to look for me?"

He scowled down at her. "I found you, didn't I?"

"Yes, but-"

"And fixed your ankle, and stayed with you all night instead of going back to our shelter, and now I'm carrying you the whole way back because little miss clumsy couldn't watch her step, but screw Jax, right?"

She felt more tears well up in her eyes. "I... you're right... I'm being so ungrateful..." She sobbed. "I'm so sorry..."

He looked down at her, an eyebrow raised, as if he wasn't sure if she was making fun of him or not. Then he looked away again, sighing. "It's whatever." He grunted. "And Zooble went looking too. They didn't trust me to actually get you. None of them did, so you're not alone."

Gangle frowned, feeling her heart clench. He tried to act like he didn't care, but the bitterness in his voice was impossible not to notice. She reached her ribbon arm out to touch him, and he wanted to flinch away from her as he glared at her in disgust, but he couldn't get away while holding her. She put her ribbon on his shoulder, the touch soft and comforting.

"I'm sorry for not trusting you."

He avoided eye-contact. "Why? I never gave you a reason to trust me. Trusting me would be stupid."

Gangle chuckled a little. "It would be, wouldn't it?" She asked. "But you were great yesterday, Jax. And today too. And that's a Jax I would gladly trust." She smiled.

He huffed, plastering on his signature smile again. "Where would be the fun in that?"

She pouted. "I... I don't know. Maybe being mean really is the only way for you to entertain yourself. But if I'm honest, I think acting like that is a lot like my comedy mask. It's an act to put on a smile, but... it doesn't actually make you happy."

He widened his eyes, looking at her sharply, before scoffing. "You don't know what you're talking about. We're nothing alike."

She sighed. Even now, he still couldn't open up to her. What had she hoped for?

Jax kept carrying her in silence until they arrived at the shelter the others had made from sticks and leaves. Ragatha just came back with firewood in her arms that she had collected, widening her eye and sighing in relief when she saw them. "Oh thank god, you found her!"

At her exclamation, Pomni and Kinger came out of the leaf fort, looking just as relieved as she did. They all approached the pair, immediately checking over Gangle.

"Are you okay? We were so worried about you!" Ragatha said.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay... thank you." Gangle gave her a small smile.

"Then why were you gone all night?" Ragatha asked. Then she looked at Jax, still holding her, and raised an eyebrow. "And why are you carrying her?"

Jax gave her a near feral growl in response. Gangle flinched at the sound before turning back to the others. "I tripped yesterday, and twisted my ankle. It was too dark to go back when Jax found me. But- but he fixed my ankle and carried me here today." She smiled up at him.

"Wow... You're really taking our bet seriously, huh?" Pomni asked.

"I'm not going to lose to you." Jax replied with narrowed eyes, still clearly in a very bad mood. Pomni realized that and didn't reply, but she did give him a worried look.

"I'm sorry Gangle..." Kinger said. "That just happened because you went looking for me."

"Oh, it's alright, Kinger!" She quickly consoled him.

He blinked at her. "What's alright?"

She furrowed her brows and showed him a fond smile. "Oh... nothing, Kinger. Did you see pretty insects?"

"Oh, the prettiest! Do you want me to show you?"

"Sure!"

"They're in our shelter!"

"I didn't want them in there, but they're very important to Kinger, so..." Ragatha said, looking uncomfortable and rubbing the back of her neck.

Jax sighed. "Always the people pleaser, aren't you, dollface." He said, but it lacked any real bite. The rabbit only sounded tired of it today.

Ragatha scowled at him. "At least I care about people."

He rolled his eyes.

Gangle and Pomni both looked uncomfortable with the tension between them, while Kinger was oblivious to it as always. Gangle debated about saying something, but the moment was over when Zooble came to the clearing through the bushes.

"No sign of her..." They sighed, before looking up and widening their eyes, rushing over. "Gangle! There you are!"

Gangle smiled and waved, and Zooble frowned at Jax. "Why are you holding her?"

He plastered his huge smile back on and rolled his eyes. "What, that's how you greet me? No thank you for finding and saving Gangle, Jax? I was so wrong about you, Jax? You're my hero, Jax?"

Zooble narrowed their eyes at him and showed him a censored middlefinger. "F[%!<] you, Jax."

"I twisted my ankle in the dark." Gangle said, before this could escalate into a fight. "He's carrying me because walking hurts."

Zooble gave Jax a mistrustful look, then they took Gangle out of his arms. He rolled his eyes and raised his hands as if to surrender, before crossing his arms. Gangle didn't know why, but she felt sad at being removed from his arms. Maybe because of how everyone reacted to him with mistrust even though he really helped her. Of course, that mistrust was fully deserved, and Gangle was happy to see everyone looking out for her, but the one time he really only did his best to save her, it was sad to see.

It reminded her of home, in a way. Back when she was a kid, she had already been shy due to her undiagnosed depression. She spent most of her time alone in her room, didn't come out much. And the few times she did leave her room, her family reacted with shock or made fun of her by saying things like 'Look who honors us with her company!'. It made her want to hide even more. Sure, it was true that the surprise was warranted after she stayed inside most of the time, but shouldn't it be a pleasant surprise? Shouldn't they have treated it with positive reactions?

Gangle was kinda scared that these reactions now, no matter how much he earned them, would make him want to be kind even less than before.

"Wait a second..." Zooble said, looking down at her before looking up at Jax again with a scowl. "You already broke her comedy mask?!"

"Relax, I didn't break it. Here." He reached into his pocket and pulled it out.

"So you f[&%!]ing stole it." Zooble concluded.

Jax frowned. "No, I didn't."

"I gave it to him!" Gangle piped up.

"Oh, so you scared her into giving it to you. Like that makes it better."

"No, he didn't!" Gangle said, louder this time, to get everyone's attention. "I gave it to him because he has a pocket! I didn't feel like wearing it anymore!"

"Oh... why not?" Ragatha asked gently, all worried.

Gangle sighed. "Because yesterday was a lot... I twisted my ankle, and I was alone for a while, and it was- it was scary out there..." She sobbed. "I- I didn't feel like smiling. I wanted to let it... all out. That's why I took it off and gave it to him to keep it safe for me."

Everyone except Kinger stared at her like she was crazy for giving it to him of all people to keep it safe. These looks suddenly made her very self-conscious.

"It's not like she owes any of you an explanation, you know." Jax said, arms crossed and frowning. Gangle looked up at that, surprised. Did he just defend her? Everyone looked at him. He shrugged. "It's her mask, not yours."

"We're just protecting her, you a[$$]hole." Zooble said.

Jax's frown deepened. His fingers dug into his arms, the movement nearly imperceptible, but Gangle noticed it.

"None of your business if she takes it off or where she puts it, even if that's with the resident jerk. Kinda rude, to be honest."

"Guys." Gangle said. "Thank you for caring, but this time he really did nothing wrong." She said. She looked at him and smiled. "It may just be for the stupid bet, but he was really kind to me. That's why I felt okay giving him my mask. And after not wearing it for a while, I think I'm ready to put it on again."

She looked at Jax, still with a hopeful smile, holding her hand out. "Jax?"

Everyone turned to look at him. He frowned, glaring right back at every single person. A tense moment of silence as they all waited to see what he would do. He looked at Gangle one more time, then he sighed, rolled his eyes and gave her the mask. He didn't hold eye-contact as he gave it to her.

"You're lucky that the bet is still on."

"Uhm, the bet was for yesterday..." Pomni chimed in.

Jax turned to frown at her. "...We're going by Caine's clock. One adventure is one day." He said. Before she could reply again, he left them all standing there and crawled into the leaf fort.

"Oh! Do you want to see my insects, Jax?" Kinger asked, crawling in after the rabbit.

The others watched them go, then Zooble sighed and turned to look at Gangle, still in their arms. She was putting her comedy mask back on, smiling up at Zooble with a lighter air. Zooble frowned. "You okay?"

Gangle nodded. "Yeah... I think so!" She said. "Can we go in the fort too? I promised Kinger to take a look at the insects he collected."

Zooble kept looking at her for a moment, then they sighed and nodded. "Sure. Let's take a look."

~~~

Chapter Text

Eventually, Caine came to pick them up again, declaring the adventure to be over and bringing them back to the Tent. Gangle was pretty surprised when Jax picked her up again before Zooble could, showing them an annoying smirk as he walked through the portal with the ribbon woman. Gangle wasn't sure if he wanted to help her, or just get on Zooble's nerves. Or maybe both.

"Congratulations, my Super Survivors! You did it!" Caine exclaimed.

"I'll be in my room." Zooble said, voice tired as they walked away.

Caine's jaw dropped. "But- but Zooble! You haven't even gotten your celebratory feast for this amazing adventure that had no flaws!"

"F[&$!] off."

Caine gasped, holding his cane close to his chest. "Zooble!"

Bubble floated out of his tophat. "They've been a bad [@!")?'$§#/*^%&]"

Caine looked at him with big eyes after the long, long censor sound. "I regret creating you."

He shook his head as if to remove any thoughts of swearing, before turning back to the other characters. "What about you? Surely you won't say no to a feast by Caine! I promise, this time Bubble had no hand in the creation of this meal!"

"My hands were elsewhere." Bubble hummed.

Caine stared at him, then his eyes went back and forth in confusion. "Bubble, you don't have hands."

"Uhm, I would like something to eat." Ragatha said with a smile. "But you should fix Gangle first. She got hurt during the adventure."

"Hoo-wee!" His eyes expanded and jumped out as he looked at Gangle. "We can't have you running around like that! But fear not, it'll all be okay again in a jiffy!" He snapped his fingers, and Gangle's ankle immediately felt better.

She smiled and went to stand on her own legs again, still holding onto Jax without thinking about it as she tested putting weight on her leg. She looked up at Caine, smile still in place as she beamed. "It's all better now! Thank you!"

"You're welcome, my satiny sister! Now on to the feast!"

A big table appeared, a digital feast arranged on it. Everyone took a seat and started digging in. They technically didn't need to eat, but the simulated taste was still nice, and they didn't eat anything in their adventure because they were pretty sure that Caine put poisonous berries everywhere to make it more 'interesting'.

Jax got up early, raising his arms in a stretch again. "Alright, I'm gonna hit the hay." He announced. Then he put a hand on his hip and smirked at the group. "By the way, Pomni, I won."

She looked up at him with raised brows, then she smiled. "Oh, uh, yeah, I guess you did. Congratulations, Jax. You were actually pretty great."

His smirk dropped and he looked annoyed again. "...Ugh, this is no fun if you're happy for me."

"Should I... not be?" She asked, raising one eyebrow and tilting her head to the side.

He just stared at her, then he grabbed her plate and tossed it away, with the food on it.

Pomni frowned at him. "Very mature. You know that Caine can just make new food, right?"

He turned around to leave, a bounce to his step. "Any minor inconvenience makes my day, Pomni!" He said.

She sighed and shook her head. "Aaand he's back to his usual self."

Ragatha smiled at her and pat her on the back. "Don't beat yourself up about it. He didn't cause trouble for an entire adventure, all thanks to you!" She looked in the direction he was walking off to, scowling as she watched him strut away confidently. "You can't really expect more from him." She said.

Gangle watched him go as well. The thought of him going back to normal made her sad, despite her happy mask. Maybe he was right about that. Maybe it really was just a painted on smile, and nothing more. Or maybe it helped her stabilize her emotions, but the mask alone wasn't enough to truly make her happy, and when used too much it actively started to work against her.

But being with Jax during that adventure had made her happy. And she didn't want that to end. She wanted to be his friend, and ideally, for everyone to get along. That would make enduring this digital hell so much easier.

She looked at how his hand was on his back as he disappeared around the corner at the end of the huge open room, where the hall to the character rooms began. Pushing her chair back to stand up, she made a decision.

"Gangle? Are you okay?" Ragatha asked.

"Huh? Y-yeah, I'm just done. It was tasty." She said, giving them a shy smile and a wave as she left. The others looked confused, but didn't say anything and just waved back.

She followed Jax, making her way to his room and stopping in front of his door. The picture of his smiling face greeted her, and for the first time she thought that the smile on the door looked cute. She shook her head to shake that thought away and raised a curled ribbon to knock.

She heard shuffling from the room, and a moment later Jax opened the door, frowning down at her. He looked mildly surprised to see her there, but mostly annoyed. He narrowed his eyes at her. "Can I help you?"

She became shy again under his indifferent stare. She quickly averted her gaze and looked down. "Uhm... I- I wanted to say thanks again, for... for your help today."

He narrowed his eyes even more. "You do know I just helped to win the bet, right?"

"Yeah, I know..." She said, pushing her ribbons together. "But still, I... I liked that. And you helped me out even though it inconvenienced you. L-like you said, you went looking for me, and stayed all night and slept on the hard forest floor and then you carried me all the way back and now you have back pain because of me."

His brows shot up, then he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "My back is fine. You weigh nothin', Ribbons."

She frowned. "I know... but you still had to hold your arms up for a long time to carry me! And you slept with me on the roots." She blushed a little as she realized her phrasing, hoping he didn't notice. She looked up and saw his smirk and knew that he definitely did.

He leaned against the doorframe, arms still crossed, large grin on his face and an eyebrow raised. "I slept with you on the roots." He repeated.

Gangle blushed furiously and started hitting his chest. "You know what I meant!!!"

He chuckled and grabbed her ribbon wrists to stop her, holding her at bay easily. "Damn, Ribbons, your comedy mask makes you aggressive. See, that's exactly why I think I need to break it."

She widened her eyes, but instead of breaking it like she feared, he just snatched it away and ran into his room with it.

"Jax!!!" She cried, following him in and reaching for her mask, which he held up, just out of reach. He smirked as she jumped to get it, but he was just too tall.

"Go on, you almost got it. Oops, out of reach again. Come on, don't give up now!" He snickered. Gangle's face showed a frustrated pout. "Jax, please!"

"Hey, there's the magic word." He said, giving it back to her.

She just stared, blinking in surprise as he held it out to her, free hand tucked into his pant pocket. He was leaning back slighlty, in that relaxed pose he often adapted. She showed him a weary frown, thinking that there had to be a trap as she hesitantly reached out to take her mask. It slipped from his hand into hers and she put it back on her face.

She frowned at him. "Why did you give it back?"

He shrugged and smiled. "All you had to do was say please, Crybaby."

She narrowed her eyes. "That never stopped you before."

He leaned down casually to be at eye-level with her, still smiling. "Maybe I got sick from being nice for too long."

She had to surpress a giggle at that.

Jax leaned back again and raised his arms in a shrug. "Or maybe I just think this is funny right now. I'm fine with anything as long as funny things happen."

"Heh... yeah." She smiled.

It was silent for a moment, and Jax sat down on his bed, the matress dipping under his weight. Gangle looked up, seeing how he stretched once more. She frowned. "Your back does hurt."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I stretch all the time, Crybaby. Doesn't mean anything. Besides, why do you care?"

"I told you why I care." Feeling emboldened, she sat down next to him on his bed and he cringed. She ignored that. "It's my fault, and I wanna help you."

He frowned and crossed his arms. "I literally bully you, Gangle. And you want to help me because, what, one nice day? Because of a bet, at that?"

She looked back at him, trying to look determined. "Y-yeah." She fought hard to hold eye-contact. "I guess I'm just a better person than you."

Jax stared back at her for a moment, and Gangle started to worry, but then he started laughing. She panicked a little at that, but he just laughed and wiped a tear away. "Oh, Ribbons, you say that like it'd be hard."

She raised her hands to her mouth and giggled. "Yeah... I guess it isn't."

He sighed and leaned back on his hands, turning his head to look at her, his expression... relaxed. Gangle liked that smile, she decided.

"Alright, I'm game. How do you wanna help?" He asked.

She pushed her hands together again. "Uhm... I thought I could massage you."

His eyebrows shot up. "For real?"

She showed him a shy smile and nodded.

A large smile spread on his face and he chuckled. "Fine then. If you're into that." He said, laying down on his belly.

Gangle blushed. "Don't say it like that..." She crawled over to him and sat down over his hips.

She unbuckled the straps of his overalls to get better access to his back, and could practically hear his smirk.

"If you wanted to get me out of my overalls you could have just-"

"Jax." She interrupted him sternly. "I'm doing something nice for you. Don't tease me."

"You like it when I tease you, though!"

"Maybe sometimes, but not now!"

"Aha! So you do like it!"

She sighed and closed her eyes. "Just shut up and relax."

He snickered and put his face down again, using his arms as pillows. "You're the boss."

"Good." She said, still giving him a wary look, as if waiting for him to say something again or move. When he didn't, she sighed in relief and started pushing her ribbons down on his back, softly massaging him.

Gangle couldn't lie to herself, she really liked doing this.

Just being close to someone like this was nice already, and then Jax also had that soft, smooth fur. She could even feel lean muscles underneath his fur, and they were tense after today's adventure. Gangle found all the knots and worked right on kneading them out. Her ribbon arms could be surprisingly strong when she put pressure on a specific spot, and judging by how he didn't complain, Gangle was pretty sure that she wasn't being too rough.

In fact, Jax even started purring at one point.

Gangle wanted to squeal, it was so cute! She managed to hold back, knowing that Jax was most likely unaware of making the sound, and if he realized he would immediately stop, which she wanted to avoid at all costs. It sounded so adorable, she could swoon.

She reached a particularly hard knot and worked on removing it, and one of Jax's legs started twitching, his foot thumping against the mattress as if he was an actual rabbit. "Ugh, right there..." He said, sounding almost pained, but Gangle knew better. He was clearly enjoying this.

"Heh, I guess I'm pretty good at this..." She said, a small smile on her face.

She had him so relaxed, he didn't even disagree or make a joke about her. He was putty in her hands - or in her ribbons. The thought made her giddy.

"What, is a massage all it took to tame Jax in the end?" She giggled.

"Do not ruin this now..." He warned, but the tone lacked all threatening qualities.

"I wouldn't dream of it. This is as calm as I've ever seen you!"

"Yeah, yeah. Have your fun while it lasts, Crybaby."

"I am. Did you know that you can purr?"

"What?" Jax suddenly pushed himself up, eyes wide. Gangle sighed in disappointment. Dammit. She knew she shouldn't have said anything.

He turned to look at her over his shoulder, glaring. "I did not."

"You didn't know or you didn't purr?" She teased.

"I- of course not! I didn't purr! I don't purr!"

"Then what did I hear?" She raised a ribbon to her mouth to fruitlessly try and hide another giggle. Jax sat up fully now, face red and expression irritated. It looked funny, honestly. "How would I know? You don't even have ears! You could have heard anything!"

She tapped the bottom of her mask, looking up as if she was contemplating that, still smiling. "Hmm... No, I'm pretty sure that sound came from you."

He growled and she kept laughing at him until he started pushing her off the bed and out of his room. "Alright, you've had enough fun."

"Aww, come on, I was just joking! Can't handle a little joke?" She kept teasing.

"I can, but oh, you know, it's soo late, and we wouldn't want to oversleep and miss the theme song tomorrow, now would we?"

"Heh, sure."

He pushed her out the door, and she turned right back around. "You know, Jax, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're embarrassed."

He scowled down at her, but there was nervousness in his eyes as he waved it off. "Pssht. Me? Embarrassed? I think you're projecting, Crybaby."

"Really?" She folded her hands behind her back and leaned in closer in an unusal display of confidence. But she did feel confident. She didn't know if it was due to Jax not being a jerk for the longest consecutive time she could remember, or maybe because she had taken a break from her comedy mask during the day.

Whatever it was, she smirked at him now. "So it wouldn't bother you if I told the others?"

He glared harder for a moment, then a sly smile came back. She didn't like that smile. It spelled trouble.

He crossed his arms and leaned in closer as well, making the distance between them even smaller. "Oh, not at all. If you're so eager to tell them all that you gave me a backrub that good." He said. Gangle's eyes widened and she blinked. He huffed, clearly amused. "Thought so."

She frowned. "Maybe I'll tell them anyway. I wonder who of us would be more embarrassed about that. Maybe I'll blackmail you." She showed him a teasing smirk again, hoping to convey that it was just that; teasing.

As much as he would deserve it, she didn't even know what she would blackmail him for. Sure, she could make him be nice to her, but if he didn't want to be, he'd give zero f[#%$] about the purring thing and just be mean to her anyway, and even worse than before. Besides, she kind of hoped that this dynamic between them could stay, and if it would she didn't even need blackmail material.

He leaned back again and leaned against the doorframe, and to her relief he was still smiling. "Heh. Who knew you'd have it in you, Gangle?" He asked, sounding almost proud.

She shrugged. "I learned from the best."

"Finally something I can agree with. I am the best." He grinned.

"The best at being a pest!"

"See, this is why I like you better when you're sad. You're not as confident."

"You still didn't break it."

"That would have been hard, with you sitting on me."

"You aren't breaking it now, either."

"Don't tempt me, Ribbons."

She was tempting him right now, very much on purpose. She was more confident, sure, but she also wanted to see if he would do it or not. If he was still in, regarding the deal they made earlier. She needed to know if he was serious about that or if he had just said it because the bet didn't allow him to say the truth, that he was gonna break Gangle's mask again as soon as he won.

But he didn't. He just kept grinning that insufferable, cocky, self-satisfied grin that he always wore. "You should leave before I change my mind about not breaking it."

Her smile widened almost imperceptibly, filled with warmth. At least tonight, he kept his promise. Maybe that was just the good mood she had put him in, but it gave her hope. Maybe she could really befriend him, and find the soft core beneath the exterior of the trouble-maker, bad boy, edgelord archetype, just like the nerdy main character girl in her animes would.

"Okay. Better not test my luck, hehe."

"Yeah."

Sensing that the conversation was over, she awkwardly turned away to return to her own room. She waved a little as she walked away. "Good night, Jax."

He raised his hand to return the wave by wiggling his fingers. "Night, babe."

She quickly turned back to hide her blushing face. Was that petname going to be permanent now? She didn't exactly dislike it, but it confused her. Did he mean that in a romantic way, or was he just mocking her? Gangle didn't like either of those answers, so she hoped it was just cutesie and platonic.

She entered her room and closed the door behind her, sighing, a smile still on her face as she reached up to take off her comedy mask and look down at it, smile staying even without it. This had been the first adventure in a long while that the mask survived until she went to bed.

As she went to sleep and pulled the red silk covers up to her chin, Gangle decided that this had been a very good day after day after day.

~~~

Chapter Text

Gangle woke up happy already.

She had a feeling that today was going to be a good day after day after day. Maybe that was just the comedy mask talking, but waking up with it just gave her so much energy! That's something she rarely experienced even before coming to the circus.

And hey! Jax had been nice to her even after he'd officially won the bet! Sure, he had teased her, but he hadn't broken her mask! Just stole it for a short period of time! That was managable! Maybe even... a little bit funny, if she was honest.

Not that she would tell him - he didn't need validation for his behavior. In fact, that was the last thing he should get. But still, as long as it was this harmless, Gangle could quietly find it funny.

She walked out of her room with a skip in her step, meeting Ragatha in the hallway as she was just leaving her room as well. Gangle showed her a bright smile. "Good morning, Ragatha!"

"Oh! Good morning, Gangle!" She replied with a smile of her own as she fell into step next to her. "You're in a good mood today!"

Gangle shrugged. "I guess I just slept well."

"That's nice to hear." Ragatha nodded. "Do you feel ready for today's adventure?"

"As much as I can, probably!" She giggled.

They reached the common area, where the others were already there, chatting and waiting for breakfast. Zooble was making pancakes it seemed, Pomni had been banned from helping, Jax was currently making fun of her face, which was blackened after however terribly wrong her cooking went, and Kinger was making... chowder? Zooble gave him suspicious looks now and then.

"Good morning!" Gangle called out.

"Morning..." Pomni said, wiping over her face with a white handkerchief.

Kinger gave a cheerful wave, Zooble looked away from their pancakes for a second to say "Hey", and Jax smiled and gave Gangle a two-fingered salute in greeting. Ragatha narrowed her eye as she looked between them, as if she was confused that he even acknowledged her.

He even got up and pulled the chair out for Gangle! She smiled all happy and- oh, nope, he pulled the chair right out from under her and she fell on her behind. Okay, that was normal.

He laughed like crazy while she glared up at him.

"Jax!"

"Oh, come on! You should have seen that coming!" He taunted her. "Not my fault that you fell for the oldest trick in the book, little miss clumsy."

She gaped up at him. "I wasn't clumsy! That was your fault!"

"Excuses, excuses." He tutted, before holding out his hand to help her up. She gave his hand a suspicious look, then him. He rolled his eyes, huge smile still in place. "Come on, I don't bite babe." He said.

Ragatha widened her eye at that, and looked at Pomni, who was raising an eyebrow at the two. Zooble and Kinger seemingly hadn't heard them from where they were cooking, but the two girls shared a confused look.

Gangle sighed and took his hand, and he actually pulled her to her feet. But instead of letting go of her hand, he pulled her closer and his smile turned dangerous. "Or do I?"

She widened her eyes and just pulled back in time to not get bitten by his huge sharp teeth. That started a chase, as Gangle ran away and Jax follwed her around the common area, laughing all the while. To everyone's surprise, as the commotion now got the attention of Zooble and Kinger too, Gangle was laughing with him.

"Jax!!! Ah!" She squealed when he almost got her and she had to jump away. "Whyyyyy!"

"Maybe I got a taste for the critically endangered red ribbon rhinocerus!" He exclaimed, finally grabbing her hand and biting down on her arm, but it couldn't have been too hard, because she was still laughing. He pulled away with an annoyed look. "Well, it's no fun if you're into it. This is supposed to hurt, Ribbons, so if you could work with me here."

She hid her giggles behind her hands. "You weren't even biting hard! Are you going easy on me? Did you have fun with me yesterday, is that it? And now the big bad bully is going soft?"

Maybe that was just wishful thinking, but if he warmed up to Pomni in such a short time, why should it be so unbelievable that he could warm up to Gangle as well?

Instead of falling for her taunt, he replied with a teasing smirk. "Oh, you want me to bite harder? Figures, I always knew you're a freak."

She blushed furiously. "I- No- I didn't- that's not what I meant!"

Jax shrugged and walked back towards the table and the kitchen, winking at Gangle as he went. "Sure it isn't, babe."

Neither Gangle nor Jax noticed the confused, suspicious glances they got from everyone except for Kinger, who wouldn't notice if anything was different from usual.

Jax stopped at the kitchen, obnoxiously close to Zooble, and leaned down to look at the first plate of pancakes. "Who's that for?"

They scowled at him and pulled the plate away. "That one's for Pomni, so back off."

"Not a chance. If it's for Pomni, that means it isn't poisoned." He grinned and removed their arm, the one keeping the plate away, and tossed it away to buy himself the seconds he needed to snatch the pancakes.

"Ugh, you're a f[&%!]ing a[$$]hole!" They shouted as they went to get their arm back.

Jax laughed a little as he sat down at the table. "Haha, surprise." He said dryly.

Zooble put their arm back on and walked over to him. "You're right, it's not a surprise at all, Jax. Enjoy your un-poisoned pancakes."

Jax gave them a suspicious glare before shrugging and drizzling honey on his pancakes. "Worth the risk."

Zooble narrowed their eyes at him before going back to make more pancakes for the others. Gangle sat down next to him, feeling emboldened to try something.

"You know, if you were nicer to the others, you wouldn't have to worry about your food being poisoned."

"Wow, so people have to be nice to not be assassinated?" He asked.

"No, but-"

"So being alive is a privilege now, huh?"

"N-no! Of course not!"

"And you're gatekeeping that privilege from me, because you're the powerful white manager?"

"I- ...what?"

When she looked up at him, she found him wearing a s[#!%]-eating grin, leaning his cheek on his hand, elbow on the table and turned to her. "Wow, Gangle. Managing the local McDonald's changed you."

She stared at him for a moment, blinking as he started to laugh at her. She pouted. "You're just messing with me." She stated, crossing her arms.

"Wow, you're so quick-witted!" He laughed. He smiled at her again. "Relax, Ribbons. I'm just having fun. And what fun would life be if I didn't have to worry about a little poison now and then?"

She sighed and shook her head. "You're hopeless."

"Am I? I'm the happiest person in the circus!" He exclaimed, putting a fork full of pancake in his mouth, licking the honey of his lips after he swallowed. "And I have pancakes."

Gangle rolled her eyes.

The rest of breakfast was pretty uneventful, until Caine showed up to announce today's adventure. At first it seemed like it was going to be a fun day, a relatively chill adventure that surprised everyone, as Caine just sent them to the carnival on the grounds. At first they were just walking around, playing some games at the booths, going on some rides, the most dangerous part of the adventure seemed to be Jax's pranks.

But of course, it was never that easy with Caine, as was made obvious when the atmosphere of the carnival darkened noticably and they started being chased around by zombies and horror clowns. The fun was over after that - now the adventure consisted of running away, screaming, hiding and trying to defend themselves against the creatures hunting them.

Well, the fun continued for Jax, who got to let out all his destructive tendencies in this adventure. And for once Gangle was kind of glad about these tendencies. Sure, his loud screams of glee lured all kinds of creatures to them, but he also killed every d[§?!] zombie and clown that he attracted. He'd gotten a baseball bat from somewhere, and he was using it to happily bash in heads and turn limbs into red mush.

Specks of blood splashed onto his face, a stark contrast against his purple fur. His smile was manic. Gangle was terrified, and at the same time happy that he was here to do this. And if she was really honest with herself, deep down she found that anime-like, blood-smeared grin a tiny bit attractive. Just a teeny tiny bit. Because it reminded her of her animes, that was all.

Right after he killed the last of the clowns attacking them at the moment, he jumped back behind the wall the others were hiding behind. He wiped brain matter off of his bat, ignoring the disgusted looks he got from Zooble and Ragatha, and Pomni's vomiting. "Best adventure ever."

Pomni looked up from the puddle of black goo that had just come out of her mouth, eye twitching. "Best adventure?" She repeated incredulously. "This adventure is awful! It's easily in the top five of awful adventures!"

"Ahhh, come on Pom Pom." He waved it off with a grin. "At least this is exciting!"

"Too exciting!" Ragatha said, petting Kinger's back to calm him, because he was shaking like a leaf. "Just look at Kinger!"

Jax narrowed his eyes at him as he watched the jittering. "Eh, the old man is always shaking, Rags. Doesn't have to be fear."

They all looked at Kinger, and he suddenly screamed, making everyone wince. They stared at him and he blinked, one eye at a time.

"...What???" Pomni asked.

"I thought there was a zombie, but then I remembered that Jax killed them all." He looked down at the bloody baseball bat and nodded to himself. "That one looks dead."

"See? He's doing fine." Jax grinned, turning back to the half torn down wall they were hiding behind and looking out through what was left of a former window. "We need to get the shotguns from the shooting gallery." He said.

"Why, so you can shoot us? Not happening." Zooble said, crossing their arms.

Jax turned back to frown at them. "Uh, no? To shoot the zombies? And the clowns?"

"You have your bat, isn't that enough?" Ragatha asked, sounding desperate. "What do you need a shotgun for?"

"Because it's fun?!" He replied, throwing his arms out dramatically. "Besides, they have more than one shotgun, so you'd get weapons too! Maybe if you can defend yourselves, you'll stop whining!" He said, smirking cruelly.

"Maybe he's right." Gangle said, surprising everyone. "We need to be active! We won't get anywhere just sitting here! Not in this adventure, or in life..." She whined, mask sinking down. "But- everything is fine! We're doing great! And with guns we'd do better!" She smiled widely, pumping her little ribbon fist in a 'let's go' motion.

The others looked at her in worry, and Jax frowned in disgust. "You're not getting anywhere near a gun while you're like this."

"H-huh? Why not." Her voice fell flat, and for a moment she thought she saw something uncomfortable flash in Jax's eyes before he adopted his frown again.

"Because the smile is getting manic, Crybaby. Take the mask off and we'll talk about getting you a gun." He said, turning back to the window to look out at the situation. "And one for Kinger. I've been told he's pretty good with those, heh." He flashed a smile at Pomni.

"Shut up, Jax." Zooble said. "The last thing Gangle needs is to take off her comedy mask. She's scared enough as it is."

"Exactly." Jax agreed. "Crybaby is scared either way, because she's a pathetic little weakling. Wouldn't it be better if she can let her fear out? Or do you want her to smile and play strong for you? Pretty selfish Zooble, I gotta say."

Zooble growled. "You-"

"It's okay" Gangle interrupted them with a soft smile, the comedy mask off already.

Zooble frowned at her, torn between anger at Jax and worry for Gangle. "...Are you sure?"

Gangle nodded. "I wanna try something new..."

"There! That's the sad sack Ribbons we know and love!" Jax said, clearly happy with her decision. He would have probably just broken the mask if she hadn't taken it off herself. Ragatha and Zooble gave him dirty looks, and Gangle shrunk a bit under the insults, only to get confused about how she felt when he said 'love'. Does that mean he loves when she's herself, or just that he likes her better when she's sad, like he said in Spudsy's?

He held his hand out to her and wiggled his fingers as if he wanted her to give him something. "Come on, hand it over, I'll keep it safe. And then we'll get those shotguns!" He grinned, and he honestly looked genuinely excited instead of his usual smug mask of a smile.

"Uhm, maybe it's better if I take that..." Ragatha said, taking the mask from her before Jax could. The rabbit scowled at her, but the doll concentrated on giving Gangle her best reassuring smile. Still, the glare aimed at the side of her head didn't go unnoticed by the notorious people-pleaser. "I'll keep it safe, I promise. So you don't have to worry about it... accidentally breaking while you go get your guns." She said, turning to scowl back at Jax, very obvious about what she thought about the accidental part of that statement.

Jax grunted. "Suit yourself. Everyone who wants a gun comes with me." He said, standing up. Gangle, who still thought she'd feel safer with a weapon, also stood up. The fear she felt before was more prominent now, but she also felt more relaxed now that the strained smile was off. Crying didn't help, or made her feel any safer, sure, but it did take some weight off.

"Uhm, I'm coming with you guys. Just to make sure everything's okay." Pomni said, also getting up, and taking Kinger's hand to take him with them. She turned back to Zooble and Ragatha. "You guys are staying here? Just to make sure we'll find you later."

"Yeah. I'd rather not be anywhere near Jax with a shotgun." Zooble stated.

"I'd better stay here too." Ragatha agreed. "None of us should be alone in this adventure, right? Zooble and I are gonna wait here for you guys, and, uh, keep our hiding place safe! Go team!"

Jax rolled his eyes in the most over-dramatic way. "Yeah, go team. Literally. Let's go."

He led the way out of their hiding place, baseball bat in hand, the others nervously trailing behind. Gangle looked around at the abandoned carnival rides and empty booths that were so lively earlier today, but now the only NPC's left were some corpses lying around for the AestethicTM. The sky above them was a bloody red, and there was an inexplicable chill in the air around them.

Pomni was nervously fidgeting, constantly looking around for zombies or clowns that could jump out and attack them at any moment, seeming both paranoid about attacks and vexed about the lack of a theme. Really, zombies or horror clowns, but not both. Why couldn't Caine just decide? Maybe that shouldn't bother her as much, but it only made her even more p[!$$]ed about this adventure.

Kinger seemed to be relatively calm, and he only got distracted once when he wanted to go duck fishing at one of the booths. They had to explain to him that the booth wasn't operating anymore and he got sad, so Gangle suggested that he just takes one of the little rubber ducks with him if he found it so cute.

Gangle herself was trying to stay calm as well, if only to prove to Jax that he was wrong about her. She could be cool and tough too, she knew she could. Even though she was pathetic... and so useless... but if she pulled herself together, maybe... oh, but who was she kidding? She couldn't pull herself together without her comedy mask, it was the only thing that...

"Snap out of it, Ribbons." Jax took her out of her thoughts, eyes trained ahead, grip on the bat firm. "I need you to stay sharp, not whatever this is." He gestured vaguely to her face.

She frowned and balled her fists. "You're the one who wanted me to take off my comedy mask!" She reminded him.

"Uh huh. And I'm still not satisfied with what you are. Doesn't that make you mad?"

"Well- yes!"

"Good! I can work with anger." He said, smiling and shoving the bat into her hands, pushing her. Her eyes widened as she landed against a horror clown that made a horrible screech upon contact. Gangle screamed as well, wildly hitting the thing with the baseball bat Jax had unceremoniously forced her to take.

Her eyes were closed and she just hit and hit and hit, screaming all the while, until someone put a careful hand on her shoulder. She still kept hitting the clown, ignoring the hand that tried to stop her, because there was absolutely no good reason for her to stop right now!

"Gangle-"

Splash, splash, splash-

The blood and brains splashed with each hit, but she didn't even register it-

"Gangle! It's dead! You can stop now!"

She opened her eyes, surprised as she looked down and saw, yes, the horror clown was dead. Definitely. Its body was beaten into a bloody pulp by her.

She turned to look at Pomni, who had been the one trying to tell her that with a worried frown. Then she heard Jax laughing and turned to him as he approached her.

"That was awesome! Great work, Ribbons!" He said, taking the sides of her mask in his hands to shake it a little, in an almost affectionate way, as he leaned down to be at eye-level, smiling. "You're awesome."

She blinked up at him. "I- I am?"

"Are you kidding? Have you seen what you did to that clown?" He started laughing again as he let go of her, standing back up to his full height. "I haven't seen something that amazing in a while. That's definitely something I can work with in the zombie apocalypse."

He pet her on the shoulder as he walked on past her, and Gangle couldn't help but smile a little. Pomni still gave her a worried look. "Are you okay? That was pretty..." She frowned down at the dead clown and quickly looked away again.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm okay." Gangle said, sounding like she herself was surprised. She smiled again. "Yeah! I'm okay! That was... cathartic! Worrisome, but... cathartic!"

Pomni smiled back, an eyebrow raised. "Okay then... as long as you're feeling good, it's fine. Not like we have to worry about not hurting a horror clown chasing us, after all..." She chuckled nervously.

Gangle chuckled as well. "Probably not."

"Hey, ladies!" Jax called from farther ahead, cupping his hands around his mouth as he interrupted their conversation. "Speed it up, or else me and Kinger get all the shotguns to ourselves!"

"I've had a shotgun once." Kinger added helpfully.

Jax rolled his eyes. "You don't say."

Kinger blinked. "...I've had a shotgun once."

Pomni sighed. "Let's go. I don't want to be out here any longer than we have to."

Gangle nodded and they jogged over to the boys to continue their journey to the shooting gallery. She kept holding on to the baseball bat, but Jax seemed to be pretty relaxed without it anyway. The bunny had his hands in his pockets, slightly leaned back as he walked, just like when he was strolling through the Tent on any normal day.

She frowned. "How are you so relaxed while we're in danger?"

He showed her his typical easy-going smile. "Easy. We're not in danger."

"But the zombies-"

"-Are just NPC's programmed by Caine for our amusement. None of this is real, Ribbons. Not the zombies, not the clowns, and definitely not the danger."

"Well... that might be true, but... it's still scary!"

"Eh." He shrugged. "Even if it was scary, that'd be better than boredom." He smiled at her again. There was still blood on his face. "A little fear goes a long way to make you feel alive."

"Uh huh." Pomni droned. "Then why did you run away from Kaufmo?"

"That was real." He shrugged. "And you ran away too, Pom Pom."

She frowned, but stayed silent, because he was right, and she was still ashamed about that.

"Aww, come on Pom, no one blames you for that. Except maybe Ragatha..." He looked upwards as if in thought, smirking.

Pomni sighed, hunching in on herself as she walked. "...Do you actually think she's still mad?"

He raised an eyebrow at her as he sensed that she was seriously worried about that. He sighed. "Who knows. Not like she'd tell you if she was mad. She only ever shows sunshine and rainbows." He said, an annoyed look on his face as he waved his hands around.

Gangle frowned. "I like how positive she is..." She said.

Pomni gave her a strange look. Gangle looked away. She knew what that look meant. She had told the jester that it was hard to tell if Ragatha was genuine sometimes, and that this bothered her. And that was true, but it was also true that she appreciated her positivity, and right now she felt like she had to defend her.

Jax rolled his eyes. "Positivity means nothing if you can't trust it."

No one said anything to that. But the uncomfortable, tense silence didn't last for long.

Jax smiled again as soon as he spotted the shooting gallery. "Now we're getting somewhere! Take a look at these beauties!"

He rushed towards the booth and picked up one of the shotguns, smirking down at it. "Come to papa..." The others followed him, and Jax quickly tossed a gun at each of them. "Hey Kinger! Think fast!"

The gun hit his face and fell to the ground, but he reacted delayed and only screamed; "AH!" after the gun had long since landed on the floor in front of him. "Oh." He bent down and picked it up. The others caught their guns, albeit nervously fidgeting with them at first.

Jax smirked as he turned back to the carnival, pumping his shotgun once. "Alright, let's hunt some zombies."

"Look Pomni, I have more than two shots this time." Kinger said, excitedly showing her his shotgun after he had picked it up and taken a look at it.

She smiled at him. "You remember that?"

He tilted his head. "Remember what?"

"The... the mystery manor? When you had a shotgun before."

"Oh! The french angel!"

"F-french?"

"Ughhhh" Jax groaned, throwing his head back. "Enough of hoo ha spouting nonsense! We get to hear that every day! You know what we can't do every day? Kill zombies!"

"Uhm... Maybe we should go back to Ragatha and Zooble first?" Gangle piped up.

Jax turned to her with a feral grin that made her wince. "Great idea, Ribbons!" He exclaimed. Gangle didn't know why, but hearing him say that her idea was good only made her more afraid. That couldn't mean anything good, could it?

He raised his shotgun to aim, one eye closed, grin still in place, just like on his poaching adventure. "Do you think I can hit Raggy's button eye with this thing?"

She widened her eyes and Pomni frowned. "Uh... please don't try it?"

"Don't be so lame, Pom Pom!" He said, already running.

The jester sighed. "Let's follow him so we can stop him from doing anything bad..."

Gangle nodded and they ran after him.

Then Pomni ran back, took Kinger's hand and ran after Jax and Gangle again.

~~~

They met some more zombies on the way back to their hideout, and Jax was having the time of his life blasting their brains out. Though, the others had to admit to themselves, they had fun as well. It was pretty cool, actually, getting to shoot these things. Even Kinger seemed happy, and to Pomni's surprise he was still just as good at aiming as he had been in the dark. Jax and Gangle were pretty impressed.

Before they knew it, all of them were laughing, caution thrown to the wind now that they had guns. And being in a group like that made everything less scary as well, or at least that's how Gangle felt. Maybe this adventure wasn't so bad in the end, even though it had a rough start.

When they finally reached the hideout, Ragatha gave them a worried look and Zooble frowned. "Can you be a little bit louder? I don't think that every clown heard you yet." They hissed.

"Sure I can, Zoobie." Jax said, turning around and cupping his hands around his mouth. "Hey! Horror clowns! Zombies! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"Motherf[%!<]er" Zooble growled.

He laughed and turned back to them. "Relax. We killed most of 'em, anyway. And if any are still out there to get us, we'll shoot them too." He raised his shotgun again, aiming suspiciously at Ragatha's face. Pomni carefully pushed the barrel down.

"We still don't want to lure them to us, idiot." Zooble said.

He scoffed. "Maybe you don't. To me that sounds like a pleasant afternoon."

"Of course it does, because you're a violent psychopath."

"Aww, now I'm so terribly hurt." He tutted, putting a hand on his chest in mock hurt.

The two kept on arguing, and Gangle watched them with a worried look on her face. That was typical for them, of course, but without her comedy mask she couldn't help it. She never liked fights, especially not with her tragedy mask. Listening to her friends fighting always made her feel so small and helpless, like there was nothing she could do to help them or stop their fighting. Gangle had always felt like she was too quiet, even in real life, and raised voices only made that feeling stronger.

It wasn't even a big deal to them, the two got sassy like that and insulted each other every day. Zooble was more than capable of taking care of themselves, and to Jax, this was probably amusing. It was best to just let them fight it out until one of them got bored.

As they did just that, distracting the others, Gangle was the only one who started to tune them out. She looked away for a moment, just in time to see the horror clown creeping towards them, getting faster and faster until he was almost-

"JAX, LOOK OUT!"

She raised her shotgun to shoot the thing, shooting its head clean off.

She raised her shotgun to shoot the thing, shooting its head clean off.

The others widened their eyes and turned around, staring at the clown that Gangle had just killed. Then Jax started laughing again, holding a hand against his forehead. "Ohhh, this is just too good." He said.

That laughter made her nervous again as she lowered her shotgun. "Uh... what is?"

"You are!" He said, walking over to her. She winced as if she expected him to maul her, but he just picked her up by her waist and spun her around. She squealed in surprise when he picked her up, but then she giggled.

He put her down again, smirking at her, a hand on his hip. "This is the coolest I can remember you ever being, and all without that stupid mask to pacify you." He said. "And would you look at that! Even giggling without the thing! Looks like I was right about that, huh..." He asked, sauntering off. He picked up his gun again and went back to the others.

Gangle raised a ribbon to touch her face, as if she hadn't even realized that she had been giggling. Her smile widened, because she really felt happy, all without her comedy mask.

Zooble walked over to her, arms crossed. They had an eyebrow raised, looking over at Jax. "Okay... What was that?"

"Huh?"

"Like, is he messing with you or something? Because if he is, I'll beat his a[$$] for you." They said, emphasizing the promise by pounding their fist into their claw.

"O-oh, no, it's fine." Gangle quickly assured. She smiled. "But... thanks. For looking out for me."

Zooble didn't have a mouth, but the way their eyes softened told Gangle that they were smiling. "Always. If you ever have a problem, you can come to me." They said. They frowned at Jax again. "And if you change your mind about the beating, or if he does anything to bother you..."

Gangle giggled. "Yeah, you'll be the first to know."

Zooble nodded. "Good." They walked back to Pomni and Ragatha.

Gangle really couldn't blame them for being confused. But that conversation just now made her realize another thing; Jax had kept being nice to her, and only to her. Was it because of the mask? Because she had taken it off like he suggested? Was he really that bothered by the thing? But why? Why would he care so much?

Was it really because he believed the mask to make her fake? She wasn't fake... was she?

She got melancholic, thinking about how things could have been like that from the beginning. Would that have solved all her problems? No, but it would have been nice to see this side of Jax earlier, to have him as a friend here instead of as another problem.

What if he'd stop being kind? What if things went back to how they were? She didn't think that she could take that. Things were so good right now, obviously that was all going to fall apart again soon! Nothing good ever lasted for Gangle! And things were going to be twice as bad after she got a taste of how nice Jax could be! For his standards, at least. Even funny... he made her laugh... why would he do that? Was Zooble right? Was this all just a trap?!

She sobbed a little, and realized that she was spiraling. She walked over to Ragatha, hunched over, making herself smaller than she was, and timidly pulled at the sleeve of her dress. "Uhm, Ragatha? Can I get my comedy mask back?"

"Of course!" Ragatha replied, a bright smile on her face as she handed the mask back. "There you go! Kept it nice and clean for you!"

Gangle smiled through her thick tears. "Thank you..."

She took the mask and put it back on, feeling a bit lighter.

Ragatha nodded. "You're welcome!"

The ribbon character felt better already. She always panicked so fast with her tragedy mask on. Gangle was probably just overthinking this. Maybe Jax was just nicer now because he was changing for the better. Though that still didn't explain why he was nice only to her... well, her and Pomni.

Maybe she could ask Pomni for her opinion. She was still curious. And a little bit insecure.

All because of that stupid rabbit. She frowned as she watched him, laughing about something that Pomni had said. Why was it that he always managed to get a reaction out of her, no matter what he did? Why did she think about him so often? And why did he have to be so obsessed with her of all people? Whether that was in bullying her or paying attention to her moods, apparently.

Stupid, stupid rabbit.

~~~

Caine declared the adventure over after they killed all the zombies and horror clowns, bringing them back to the Tent and congratulating them on surving the Carnival Apocalypse.

"Good work, my zombie killing clown murderers!" He said. "And one of you was especially zombie killing and clown murdering!"

A huge golden medal for 'The Mostest Zombies And Horror Clowns Killed' appeared out of thin air. "And the grand prize goes to... Jax! Congratulations, my best boy bunny!"

Zooble rolled their eyes. "Surprise."

Jax grinned as he took the medal, bowing theatrically. "Oh, thank you, thank you! Glad you enjoyed the show, folks, the next ones are tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that! Now with more violence than ever!"

"That's what I like to hear!" Caine said.

"Ugh, Caine, being rewarded for his violent tendencies is the last thing Jax needed!" Ragatha said. She looked exasperated.

Like she was worried about him. Like she just wanted what's best for him. Like he was her responsibility or something, when in reality she just wanted him to be like her. It made him sick. Jax tried to push down the disgusted expression on his face. He was not going to let her ruin this. With his typical smug smile, he turned to Caine.

"So, what's this good for? Do I get a wish for winning, or what?"

"No!" Caine replied cheerfully. "This medal is good for nothing but asserting your superiority over your peers!"

"Pshh" Jax scoffed and waved it off. "As if I need a medal for that..." He walked off to his room, spinning the medal around his finger as he left.

Zooble narrowed their eyes. "Did you have to boost his ego like that?"

"Well, at least he enthusiastically takes part in all of my adventures, UNLIKE SOMEONE!" Caine screamed, pupils dilating.

Zooble sighed and shook their head, leaving to go back to their room as well.

Ragatha did the same, and Kinger was already crawling into his pillow fort. When Pomni left, Gangle took the chance to stop her.

"Uhm, hey, I... I wondered if I could ask you something?"

"Oh, uh, sure. What is it?" Pomni asked.

Gangle pushed her ribbon hands together, looking down at the floor. "Well... you get along pretty well with Jax, don't you?"

"Uhm, yeah, I guess I do." Pomni said, smiling. She chuckled. "Honestly, it surprised me just as much as anyone. But he's not that bad once you get to know him." She said. She looked up at her. "But you're getting along with him pretty well too lately, aren't you?"

"I... I think so..." Gangle said, furrowing her brow in concern, still worried about it all being fake. "I'm just not sure... why." She admitted. "Do you know why he's so nice lately?"

"Oh... hm." Pomni rubbed the back of her head. "I'm not sure... but it started after the bet, right? Maybe he just realized that he enjoys your company?"

"Well, why does he like you?"

"Hmm..." The jester frowned, looking down in thought. "I... I think it's because I'm real. Not that you guys aren't! But the way he reacts to Ragatha makes me think that the main reason he doesn't like her is that he thinks she's fake. Like what you said about not knowing if she's genuine or not." She said, looking uncomfortable. "I don't know why, but for some reason he thinks I'm being real. And he appreciates that in a person, I think. Did that help?"

Gangle had a far away look in her eyes. She nodded. "Yeah... yeah, that helped. Thanks Pomni." She said.

"I like you better when you're real, Ribbons. I hate fake happiness. I'd rather take your crying over a second Ragatha."

That's basically what Jax already told her, wasn't it? And what she suspected earlier, but... she just didn't think that he was that serious about that. It was hard for her to believe, that he liked her so much more if he perceived her as someone who's real.

"Okay. Good." Pomni said, her smile perpetually worried. "But, you shouldn't let him get to you. Jax is just... Jax. Don't worry so much about why he does what he does, he's just..." She sighed. "He's just in it for the funny things. You know how he is... don't take him too seriously."

"Yeah... I know how he is... that's why this is so strange..." She said, hugging herself. "I've known him for a long time and... This is new. I just thought I'd ask you for a fresh perspective, you know? He seemed to like you pretty quickly..."

Pomni raised an eyebrow. "Do you... want him to like you?"

Gangle widened her eyes. "What?? I- I- I mean- of course! I want everyone to like me! Hahaha!" She said.

"Gangle you're... blushing."

"I'm not! Hahahaha!"

"But-"

"Pshhh, oh Pomni! Silly!" She waved her off.

"Gangle!"

They both turned to the hallway leading to the character rooms, from where Jax was shouting. "Either take off the comedy mask, or just stop talking! I'm not listening to your manic episode! Some of us want to sleep!"

"Leave her alone, jacka[$$]" Zooble yelled.

"Ugh... oh god... I think I have to throw up..."

"What, can't take an insult now?"

"No, it's just... your voice makes me sick..."

Pomni sighed. "Well, I'm gonna go to bed now. That adventure was pretty exhausting."

"Y-yeah, me too. Good night, Pomni."

"Good night, Gangle."

They went back to their rooms for the night, and Gangle sighed as she closed the door behind her. She leaned back against it, thinking about all the intense emotions she had been feeling today. There was happiness, a happiness that didn't feel stifling, but also panic, worry and intense fear. She even felt cool today.

So why did she have to be sad even though nothing bad happened for once? Was she just unable to be happy? Or undeserving of it? Did any of her friends even like her?

She knew that was the depression speaking but... it always felt so real.

Hah. Jax would like that.

Or maybe not. She didn't really understand him lately. She probably never understood him. He wasn't exactly the easiest person.

But he was happy, at least outwardly. He was an a[$$], but he was happy. Gangle didn't want to be like that, but... maybe she could take a few pages from his book, the ones that didn't hurt anyone. And beating up that clown he had pushed her into had felt so freeing... just letting her anger out. That had been one of his few good ideas, as it turned out.

She remembered the catharsis she had felt when she beat the clown, and the catharsis she felt when she threw away her plastic mask and just ran onto the street, letting her tears fall freely.

She thought of how happy Jax looked whenever he broke her mask, like it was the most hilarious thing ever.

She took off her comedy mask and stared down at it. It would respawn by tomorrow anyway.

And she still had the baseball bat. She'd gotten a lot better at batting, thanks to Ragatha.

She grabbed the bat in one hand, and tossed her mask up with the other.

It shattered upon impact when Gangle swung. And the sound of porcelain breaking was beautiful. It was clear and pure like a bell, at least to her ears, in that singular moment.

Her chest was heaving as she looked down at the shards on the polished black floor of her room, contrasting against the gold lines running through the black.

There was no need to clean it up, the shards would disappear as soon as her new mask appeared. And even if not, she was too tired, too mentally drained to clean up anything right now. Just like the good old times in real life. She dropped the bat and walked over to her bed, falling down face first and screaming into her pillow, having no idea what she even screamed for.

She heard the door to her room open, but she didn't turn.

The door closed, and someone took some steps into her room, careful to avoid the porcelain shards. "Damn, Crybaby... you don't even need me to break it anymore."

She sobbed. "Go away." She said into her pillow.

But of course, he didn't listen. Jax never listened.

Instead, he walked over to her, casually leaning against the wall next to her bed, his arms crossed. Gangle sighed and turned her head slightly to squint her eyes at him. "What do you want"

"Was on my way to drop off some centipedes in Ragatha's room when I heard the commotion you were making. Quite dramatic, aren't'cha?" He smirked.

"What's new" She groaned.

"Woah, what's with the long face?" The smile stayed, and he tilted his head to the side playfully. "I thought you had fun today?"

"I did..." She admitted.

"Then why the breakdown that would make any teenage girl jealous?"

She sighed and sat up in bed, crossing her legs and hugging her pillow. She frowned, before looking up at him. "Why are you being nice to me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What, should I not be? I was right, wasn't I? You like when I'm mean to you."

"I don't." She said firmly. "I'm just confused... is this part of a prank? Are you trying to confuse me? Are you going to hurt me again tomorrow?"

"Where's the fun in just telling you?"

Her lips began to shake, and more thick tears dropped out of her pitch black eyes. Jax frowned at her. His fingers twitched against his biceps. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I'm just nicer to you because you're not as fake as you used to be."

Gangle sniffled. "I was never fake... the comedy mask just helped..."

He scoffed. "Yeah, it helps, alright." He glared at the shards. He shook his head and looked back at her again. "So what, you're sad because you don't know my intentions? Congrats, now you know what I hate so much about people being fake. They can be nice to you for the longest time, but one day you find out what you really mean to them." He looked away again, fingers digging into his arms, gritting his teeth.

Gangle frowned as she looked at the movement, worry settling over her face. "Then... can you please just tell me?"

"Tell you what?" He sounded annoyed.

"Why you're nice to me? If you understand why I'm upset, then please just tell me what you're planning..."

He let out a loud sigh and rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "Nothing, Gangle. I just liked you today. You beat a clown to a bloody pulp and you shot a bunch of zombies, and I enjoy violence and gore. It's not that hard to figure it out." He said.

"I'm not like Ragatha. I might be a jerk, but at least you always know what you're dealing with." The rabbit leaned down to be at eye-level with her, one of his arms still leaned against the wall. Gangle felt heat creep up into her cheeks at the proximity between their faces. His expression was so... bored, but at the same time laser-focused on her. It was hard to describe, but the look in his eyes was both cutting and uninterested.

"So if I'm being nice to you, for whatever reason, you know that it's honest. It might be due to a head injury or getting into contact with stupid sauce, but it's honest. And if I want to be mean to you, I'll let you know. You'll definitely know."

She swallowed. "Yeah... you make it obvious."

He smirked again. "Good. Glad to see we understand each other."

He stood up straight again, like he hadn't just been extremely close to her, and moved away again. "Good night, Ribbons." He sauntered out of her room, and stopped once more at the door.

"By the way... nice work with your mask. Couldn't have done it better myself." He smiled, giving her a chef's kiss as if to praise her for the shards. Then he left.

And Gangle was left sitting on her bed, hugging her pillow to her chest and staring at the door long after he left through it.

"...Good night, Jaxxy."

~~~

Chapter Text

Today, Gangle was the first in the lounge. Well, aside from Kinger of course, who practically lived in his pillow fort, but he hadn't emerged from it yet, so she was alone in the common area.

She was sitting on the couch, her red sketchbook in her lap, a lead pencil and a red pencil with her. The others started to trickle in as well one after the other, and Kinger crawled out of his pillow fort. Today Ragatha was making breakfast, and she took Pomni with her to show her some things about cooking, even though no one, including Pomni, thought that was a good idea.

Zooble looked pretty skeptic as they sat down on the couch next to Gangle, before turning to her. "Hey."

"Hey." Gangle returned the greeting, eyes still focused on her drawing.

Zooble leaned in closer. "What are you drawing?"

Gangle blushed and shielded her sketchbook as if on instinct. Again, Zooble's eyes softened, clearly endeared by their friend's antics. They sighed. "You don't have to show me."

"But you have to show me!"

Before Gangle could react, a long purple limb reached over the couch and snatched the book away. The ribbon character widened her eyes, her blush intensifying tenfold. Oh no, he was the last person who should see this!

"Jax, no!" She shouted, climbing over the back of the couch to try and reach the sketchbook, but Jax was holding it out of reach as he walked away, relaxed as can be. Oh, why did he have to be so tall!

The rabbit looked at the open page, whistling as if impressed, but that could be to mock her. "Wow, Ribbons... What a master piece!"

"Leave her alone, you d[!+<]!" Zooble jumped up to take the sketchbook away, being a lot closer in height to Jax than Gangle was, but he just ran away from them, laughing.

"No, seriously, Zoobie! This is good! And the image she chose... simply handsome as can be."

Gangle wanted to sink into the floor and die. She wanted to abstract right here.

"Give it back to her. Right now." Zooble threatened, their eyes clearly saying that they were not tolerating any bulls[#!%] today.

Jax snickered, obviously amused by their anger instead of intimidated, but he still walked back over to Gangle. "Why, of course. How else would she make more of this art?"

He held the book out to her, and she looked up at him, narrowing her eyes as she carefully took it. He just kept smiling at her, almost innocently, but she knew better. So why did he just give it back? Had he not seen the page she had been working on?

She looked down at the open page, and, yep, that was definitely what she had just been drawing. Jax, in the adventure yesterday, an attractive smirk on his bloodstained face. She had even made multiple poses, one with the shotgun, one with the baseball bat casually resting over his shoulder. Some close-ups of his face with different lighting, different expressions, smirks and serious looks. But she only made those because it was such a good artistic image! She had to draw him like this! It just looked objectively good!

Jax leaned in closer to her, until his mouth was right next to the edge of her mask, where her ears would be if she had them. She could feel the ghost of his breath on her face, and it made her shiver, in a pleasant way for once.

"Already obsessed with me, Gangle?" He whispered. The way he said her name was... different. He'd never said her name like this before. She blushed deeper and he chuckled as he pulled away. "That's okay." Jax said, in a louder voice now, winking at her. "Who wouldn't be? And that drawing? Really good. You perfectly captured the subject's incredible beauty."

He walked away, snickering. He seemed happy, and Gangle was just relieved he didn't show anyone what he saw. Grateful even, because he whispered instead of loudly making fun of her for making drawings of him, ones looking so attractive at that. He could have easily embarrassed her, loudly proclaiming to everyone that she was obsessed with him.

He usually would have done exactly that, that was more his style, but today he didn't.

Zooble gave him an annoyed look as he walked away, arms crossed. "Was that supposed to be sarcasm?"

"Uh, probably..." Gangle mumbled.

They heard an explosion from the kitchen, a flame rising on the stove behind Pomni and Ragatha, leaving them both with black faces, and Jax laughing his a[$$] off.

Zooble sighed. "Let's see if breakfast is salvageable..."

Gangle chuckled. "Yeah, let's do that."

~~~

Zooble's breakfast was relatively peaceful.

Of course, Jax was being a b[!%<#] like usual, trying to rile them up, but they really didn't care. Nothing he said could truly insult them, at least not on a good day, and today they felt pretty calm. And of course, Kinger was spouting his usual nonsense during breakfast, but that was normal. Zooble was more than used to it, and could just tune it out by now to eat in peace.

That is, until Caine popped up right next to their head, appearing out of thin air and screaming: "ADVENTURE!"

They jumped in their seat, eyes wide. "F[&?<]!"

Jax immediately started laughing at them, hitting his fist on the table as if this was the most hilarious thing ever.

Zooble glared at him as he wiped a laughing tear from his eye. "It's not that funny, d[!&+]head."

"Oh, I disagree." Jax said, grinning. "Caine, that was your best entrance by far."

"Oh! I'm glad you liked it! I worked hard on it!" Caine said, which was obviously a lie. He literally just appeared and screamed 'adventure'.

Zooble narrowed their eyes at Jax. "Yeah. You know what would be even better? Next time you appear next to Jax, and you're wearing a corn costume."

"Would... would that be good?" Caine asked, putting a hand on his lower jaw and looking at the others, clearly confused.

Jax rolled his eyes. "Oh please, as if that would scare me."

"We'll see about that." Zooble replied, and for a split second Jax actually looked pissed.

"ANYWAY!" Caine chimed in again, splaying his arms out to his sides. "ADVENTURE! NOW! GO! GO! GO!" He opened a portal that sucked them all in, ripping them all away from the breakfast table. They screamed as they flew off without any further information about today's adventure.

They landed on top of each other, all of them groaning as they got their bearings and helped each other up, except for Jax, who pushed Ragatha once more. She glared at him as he dusted his overalls off, taking Kinger's offered hand to get up for real this time.

They were somewhere outside, the sun shining bright. In front of them was a huge, colorful and ridiculous obstacle course. Everyone except for Kinger narrowed their eyes at the many constructions they were facing, and Gangle looked more concerned than annoyed like the rest. Bright letters appeared in the air above them, spelling; MR. CAINE'S CASTLE!

"Okay." Zooble put a hand on their hip, gesturing at the obstacle course with their clawed hand. "That's just a blatant rip-off."

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" Caine replied with a loud, forced laugh. "This is a COMPLETELY ORIGINAL ADVENTURE! Now, hop to it, my quivering quesadillas! There's an obstacle course to complete if you want to win!"

"I don't." Zooble said flatly.

"Great, less competition." Jax said with a shrug and a smile as he started walking towards the first obstacle.

“Ah, ah, ah!” Caine stopped him, wagging a finger at him obnoxiously. “This is a team effort, Jax! Only as a team can you reach the castle and beat Mr. Caine!”

Jax groaned and threw his head back dramatically before he kept walking.

"Let's just give it our best, okay? The faster we're done, the faster we'll be back in the Tent!" Ragatha tried to encourage the Mix'N'Match character as she also passed them to get to the course.

Zooble sighed. "Fine... let's get this over with."

"Maybe it'll be fun?" Gangle said with a careful smile.

"Yeah. Sure. Why the f[?</] not."

~~~

The obstacle course was ridiculously hard from the very first moment, just like a certain inspiration Caine probably took for this particular adventure. And just like in that particular inspiration, there were tons of people trying to get through it, some even in big mascot costumes. The masses of NPC's only made the obstacle courses harder, and more annoying for some of the players.

Zooble was complaining and swearing like a sailor, falling apart more than once while trying to get through the course, and Ragatha was huffing and panting in exhaustion while she kept spouting positive motivations and stuff like: "Go team!"

Eventually they came to a point where there was a gorge they had to get past by using the climbing aids spread over the wall that was on one side of the gorge. NPC's were already trying to climb past it, some doing fairly well, and others falling into the water below and getting disqualified, but all of them were obviously struggling.

Jax took one look at the obstacle and decided that it wasn't for him. Looking upwards, he saw some vertical poles above the obstacle, lamps attached to them, probably in case they'd take until nightfall to get past this. Jax didn't plan to let it come to that.

"Alright Gangle, grab that pole up there and we can swing past this with you." He said.

Everyone stared at him.

"Are you f[§%^]ing stupid?" Zooble asked.

"Why? It's a solid plan!" Jax said, throwing his arms to the sides to emphasize his point.

"Jax!" Ragatha said in that exasperated voice, as if she was still surprised and disappointed by him. "I can't believe I have to say that, but we won't use Gangle as a liana!"

"Wow. I can't believe how small-minded some of you are." Jax said, adopting that disappointed tone as well, only to rile her up. He put an arm around Gangle's shoulders and pulled her closer. "What if Gangle wants to be a liana? She can't be a liana? Who are you to tell her what she can and can't be? Maybe she identifies as a liana, have you ever thought about that? I expected better from all of you. I thought you're supposed to be the supportive ones."

"Uh... what?" Gangle blinked.

"He's just spouting nonsense like usual. Ignore him." Zooble said.

Jax scoffed loudly. He and Zooble got into another argument, with Ragatha and Pomni occasionally chiming in, while Kinger intensely stared at the colored climbing blocks on the wall next to them. Gangle frowned at the chaos. Like this, they weren't ever going to get past the gorge.

She looked at the wall, and just like Jax, she didn't like what she saw. She looked down at her finger-less ribbon hands and wondered how she was supposed to climb that. Or how Zooble would climb it with their claw and their leg that merely ended in a spiral, or Ragatha with her plush hands and joined fingers, and her plush feet that wouldn't give her any good foothold. Kinger didn't even have legs, and Pomni... some of those climbing stones were far away from each other, and the jester was definitely too short to reach them.

Ironically, the only person she was sure would be able to make that climb was Jax, who was the one to propose that ridiculous plan.

She looked up at the poles the rabbitoid had pointed out, judging if she could even reach them. They weren't too high up. If someone lifted her up, and she stretched her spirals, she would probably be able to reach it. She tested how far she even could stretch, and thought about how far she'd be able to swing. It could work, theoretically, that is if she could support the others' weight. There was only one way to find out, she supposed.

She turned around to look at the others again. "Uhm, I think this might actually work." She said. They all stopped fighting, obviously surprised to hear that from her. They stared with wide eyes. Except for Jax, who smirked, clearly feeling like he'd just won.

"That's my girl!" He said, leaving the others behind to approach her and the ledge.

Gangle quickly turned her mask away again, because she did not just blush when he said that. That's my girl. Not only did he sound happy and proud, but he called her his girl. Was that just a manipulation tactic, or did he mean that? And more importantly, why did she care? Did she want him to mean that? What did that say about her?

He reached her and picked her up to help her reach higher, smiling up at her. "Okay, you ready?" He asked.

She looked down at him again, thinking about her answer, but she didn't even get to respond.

"Jax, no!" Ragatha said. "We're not doing this!"

"Hey, she agreed to it! She's an adult, you can't tell her what to do!" Jax replied with a scowl.

"Neither can you, d[!"#]head." Zooble growled.

"I didn't! I just suggested a plan, while all of you were being useless like usual."

"Listen here, you little-"

"Guys!" Gangle interrupted them. "I... I think I want to try it. I don't think I can climb on that wall. And... honestly, I think you can't climb on it, either..." She said the last part quietly, a bit ashamed. She didn't mean to offend anyone or to insult their capabilities, but Gangle had to be honest here. She didn't want anyone to fall into the water and be disqualified.

Ragatha sighed, looking down at her hands, probably coming to the same realization as Gangle. She looked up at her again, her eye worried. "That's... a valid concern." The ragdoll admitted. "But... are you sure you want to do this? It seems..."

"Dangerous." Pomni finished her sentence.

"Yeah." Ragatha said, looking away. "That. We don't want you to get hurt."

Jax groaned dramatically and put Gangle down again. "Just how often do I have to tell you guys? We can't get hurt! We can barely feel any pain here, you should know that with how often I throw bowling balls at you." He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, clearly forgetting – or purposefully ignoring – the incident with Gangle's twisted ankle a few days ago.

Whatever the case, he still followed it up with a good point; "I mean, in that candy kingdom you and Kinger had like a dozen knives stuck in your heads and barely even noticed."

Ragatha sighed and rubbed her forehead. "You know exactly that we're a lot more durable than Gangle is. Besides, we can still feel discomfort here, and stretching her body like that would definitely cause some."

"Oh, you think she's so fragile, don't you Raggy. Maybe you need to be a little rougher with her so she can toughen up."

"Oh, you mean like you're doing?" She asked, clearly sarcastically, hands on her hips and scowling at him as she leaned forward slightly.

He obviously didn't care about her aggressive posture, smiling proudly. "Yep."

"Well, I'm sorry that not all of us are inconsiderate jerks who are ready to use Gangle!"

"Aww, apology accepted, Dollface." Jax said, putting a hand on his chest like he was truly touched. That only riled her up more, making her go red in the face with anger. "You- you're unbelievable! You're so selfish! How can you be so indifferent to how this plan of yours would affect Gangle?"

"She said yes to it, voluntarily! It's not like I'm forcing her!"

"No, you're just pressuring her!"

"GUYS!"

They all winced when Gangle shouted really loudly this time. She frowned at them all, angered. "This is the third time I have to stop you from arguing! I've said I want to give this a try, so please just trust me on this one! If it doesn't work we can still figure out something else, but I wanna try! So let's just do this, okay?"

Again, everyone stared at her, before they looked away, seeming embarrassed about being called out. And Jax still smirked, again, something like pride twinkling in his eyes, right next to the obvious schadenfreude.

"Hey, if Gangle says she can do it, she can do it, right?" Pomni spoke up again, walking towards her. "I believe in her."

Gangle gave her a soft smile. "Thank you, Pomni."

The jester smiled back. "Maybe I can start? I'm probably the most lightweight."

"Sure. Let's try."

Jax picked her up again, and Gangle stretched to reach the pole, wrapping one of her arms around it securely. After Pomni awkwardly struggled to take a hold of Gangle's legs, Jax rolled his eyes and lifted her up, too.

"Hey!"

"I'm just helping, short stuff, relax."

"You could have warned me." She grumbled, but reached for Gangle's legs again now that she was higher up. She took them, and when Jax let go of her they carefully tested how Gangle took the weight, which still worked easily with Pomni.

She did a few test swings, and when she had enough momentum, she swung forward, let go of the pole she had held onto, and grabbed the next. Both women were releasing a relieved breath they hadn't realised they had been holding when they were safe, taking a short moment to breathe before Gangle repeated the maneuver, again and again until Pomni was on the over side of the gorge, letting go of Gangle and landing without any trace of grace, but safely.

She raised her arm to show the others a thumbs up when she heard Ragatha gasp and call her name, though she looked a little dizzy. Gangle smiled when she saw that her friend was fine. It had worked. It had actually worked! She'd done it!

She turned around to get back again, much faster without the added weight. "Who wants next?" She asked excitedly.

Ragatha frowned and rubbed the back of her neck, but stepped forward. "I guess I'll go next..."

The doll was a lot taller than Pomni, but she still asked Kinger for help to get up. Gangle repeated the process, and again, it worked. Ragatha ended up on the other side, making a plush and elegant landing thanks to her plush body.

Zooble went next, nearly falling to pieces upon landing, had Pomni and Ragatha not caught them. Still, they looked rather glad that this was over.

"You still doing good, Ribbons?" Jax asked when Gangle came back again.

She smiled at his consideration and nodded. "Yep! I'm actually doing pretty fine!"

"Told ya." He said. He gave Kinger a little push forward. "Your turn, gramps."

"I'm on it!" He said excitedly, taking Gangle's legs like he had seen the others do before. "Okay! Ready when you are, Gangle!"

"Okay, hold on tight!" She said, swinging on.

But, unfortunately, only Kinger's hands swung with her. His chess piece body stayed on the ground. Gangle blinked as she looked down at herself and only saw the hands, looking back at Kinger.

He blinked back at her. "Are we already going?" He shouted.

She swung back, looking at him sadly. Jax sighed and went past him to get to Gangle. "Welp, guess Kinger is staying here."

"Jax! We can't leave him here!" Gangle protested, frowning down at him.

"Why not? It's not like he's particularly useful."

"He is! He can get things that are far away! And even if he wasn't useful, he's our friend! We're a team, and we're not leaving him alone!"

He sighed again, pinching the spot between his eyes. "I get it. But even if we want to take him with us, that obviously doesn't work. So what now?"

She showed him a nervous smile, like she wanted something from him. He didn't like that look at all.

"What?"

"Well, you could hold him..."

"Are you kidding me?"

"I know you can! You always pick up ridiculously large objects!" She said.

"Of course I can, but why would I?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Yeah! Why would he!" Kinger agreed enthusiastically, probably unaware what they discussed.

"Uhm... do it for me?" She asked. He looked entirely unimpressed. "You'll, uh... get another backrub?"

His face split into an excited grin. "Deal!" He walked over to Kinger to pick him up with one arm. "Come 'ere, your majesty, you're getting the royal carrying treatment.”

Kinger held onto him as Jax picked him up. "My knight!"

Jax huffed in amusement, using his free hand to take Gangle's ribbon legs, wrapping them around his hand a few times for good measure, seeing as he only had one hand to hold up both himself and a giant chess piece. He gave her legs a tug to test if it was secure, then he said: "Okay Ribbons, we're good to go."

"Alright! Hold on tight, boys!" She said, swinging away from the ledge.

To his credit, Jax didn't drop Kinger. The chess piece meanwhile squealed happily each time Gangle swung. When Gangle reached the apex of her last swing, Jax let go of her and landed in a crouch. He stood up with a cocky smile and dusted himself off, putting Kinger down.

"That was a great flight! My preferred mode of travel!" He said.

"Honestly I'm just surprised Jax didn't drop you." Zooble said.

Jax gave them his sweetest smile in response, a hand on his chest. "Oh Zoobie, you wound me. I would never!" He said, because he absolutely would and everyone knew it. They rolled their eyes. "Yeah, sure."

"Still, I'm glad you didn't... this time!" Ragatha said.

"Whatever." Jax rolled his eyes and turned his back to them to look at Gangle, still hanging by the overhead pole. "Come on Gangle, speed it up! We wanna be the first team at the castle!"

"Do we even have a time limit...?" Pomni wondered out loud.

"O-okay! Someone catch me!" She said, swinging again and letting go of the pole.

She landed bridal style in Jax's arms, and he spun around to keep from falling over, grinning. "Alright, let's keep going! Go team, right, Dollface?" He smirked at her as he set Gangle down.

"Uhm... yeah..." She said, because she wasn't sure if he was going to add more to that or if the mocking tone of voice was all.

They continued on.

~~~

A while later, they came to an obstacle consisting of multiple blocks with diagonal surfaces left and right of the path they would have to use to jump over the water beneath them. Gangle frowned as she looked at the obstacle that seemed manageable to everyone, but not to her. The swinging earlier hadn't hurt her, but it had stretched her out a bit, and she couldn't really bounce like she'd have to in order to properly jump. She said as much to the others.

Jax cracked his neck as he walked over to the start of the obstacle. "Well, then you're lucky that your bestest friend in the world is a rabbit."

Before she could correct him on that "best friend" thing, he was already carrying her piggy back. She widened her eyes, and he took a running start, making a huge jump that had her screaming. "JAAAAAX!"

He was laughing like he had the time of his life as he jumped from block to block with ease. Gangle was clinging to him for dear life, keeping her eyes closed the whole time. She kept holding on to him even after they landed on the other side, needing a moment to realize they stopped moving. "You okay up there, babe?"

She slowly blinked her eyes open. "Huh?...O-oh... yeah, I- I think so... just a little spooked, is all..." She said.

"Cool. Can you stop choking me, then?"

She widened her eyes as she realized just how tight her arms were wrapped around his neck. Gangle immediately let go of him, falling backwards and landing on her tailbone-ribbon. "Ow..." She said, rubbing her behind. She looked up at him with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry..."

"Nah, 's fine. Maybe I'd be mad if there was any strength in your little noodle arms." He taunted, smirking down at her as he held out a hand to help her up. She scowled, but took his hand. "Thanks..." She murmured. "But did you have to go so fast?"

"Uhm, yeah? You kind of have to use momentum or else you fall?" He said, raising a brow at her. She looked away, feeling stupid for asking that now. "...Right. But warn me next time."

He smirked as he leaned down to be at eye-level. "Oh, there's gonna be a next time?"

She blushed furiously. "W-we're at an obstacle course! So! Maybe!"

He chuckled and wiped a tear away as he straightened. "Oh Ribbons, you're so easy to fluster."

Just then Ragatha arrived with them after having finished the obstacle, huffing in exhaustion. "Wow... that was harder than it looked like..."

"I just make it look easy." Jax said with a shrug and a smug smile.

Ragatha narrowed her eye at him. "You're literally a rabbit, as you pointed out."

"Don't be jealous. All our avatars have their own strengths, Dollface. I'm good at jumping, and you're good at being thrown at walls." He smirked as he pointed at her.

"Charming, Jax."

"As always."

They continued bantering until every character had passed the obstacle, and Gangle watched the back and forth with big round eyes. As she listened to their bickering, she couldn't help but wonder why they especially always seemed to be butting heads. Aside from Gangle herself, Jax mostly loved to get a reaction out of Ragatha, and somehow it seemed more... personal, than when he annoyed the others.

"Okay, that's enough, you two." Pomni went between them. "Let's finish this adventure already."

They scowled at each other, but for once neither of them disagreed. The adventure was relatively easy compared to what Caine usually did, and pretty chill, but it was dragging on for a long while. They all just wanted to go back home by now.

Ragatha took a deep, centering breath. Then she smiled at Pomni. "You're right. I don't know what got into me for a moment there!"

Jax rolled his eyes behind her back, and Pomni gave her a sympathetic smile. "It's totally fine, but let's get this over with, okay? You can bicker all you want when we're back in the Tent." She said, moving on to the next obstacle, the others starting to follow.

"I don't want to bicker!" Ragatha exclaimed. "He wants to- I'm a peaceful person!"

Jax snorted a laugh as he walked past her to follow Pomni as well.

"What? What are you laughing about?! I am peaceful!"

"A little too peaceful for my taste."

"Better than always bringing out the worst in people!"

"Guys!" Pomni snapped at them. "What did I just say?"

Ragatha looked down sheepishly. "...I'm sorry, Pomni. He- no, I shouldn't blame others..." She said. She forced a smile again. "Let's just keep going and all give it our best!"

Again, Jax rolled his eyes, though he kept comments to himself now. Gangle frowned.

It really felt personal.

~~~

Chapter Text

They eventually reached the castle, where they had to fight Mr. Caine as their final boss, who was just Caine with a fake mustache. His lackeys were Bubble with a fake mustache and a Bubble clone called 'La Buble', with a silent L. Of course, they lost. The game was completely in his favor. Afterwards they got to return to the Tent, at least.

Jax was pretty pissed about losing, and Zooble was just done with this s[#!+] like always. They immediately left to get to their room, and Jax was close behind them.

"Welp, I'd say it was a pleasure, but that'd be a lie!" He waved to the others, grinning and leaving. The others stayed to eat the feast Bubble and La Buble had prepared for them, then Pomni and Ragatha stayed in the lounge to hang out. Kinger disappeared into his pillow fort, and Gangle went to the characters' rooms.

She had a skip in her step as she walked, a smile on her face. Her comedy mask had stayed on the whole day, and this time it hadn't started to feel suffocating. Not even Jax had said anything. And they'd had fun today, at least in her opinion. She felt pretty good, after helping everyone pass the gorge and the climbing wall.

She stopped in front of Jax's room, raising a curled ribbon to knock. He opened his door, looking confused at first that anyone would come to his room, but smirking when he saw that it was her. "'Sup Ribbons?"

"Heya Jaxxy!" She greeted, and he let out a clearly amused huff at that nickname.

"Jaxxy? Really?"

She shrugged. "I think it's cute!"

"Oh? Am I cute?" He asked, grinning and resting one of his arms against the doorframe, leaning down to be at her eye-level.

She blushed, but her smile stayed on. "Well, you're a little bit cuter when I call you Jaxxy, at least." She said.

He huffed and leaned fully against the frame, crossing his arms. "Whatever you say, babe. So, what do you want?"

"I still owe you a backrub, I think." She said. She looked sheepish. "You know, for carrying Kinger and all. Do you wanna come to my room?"

"Sure. If you're so eager to have me in there." He chuckled and pushed himself off of the frame, closing the door behind him and strutting down the hallway, Gangle close behind him.

Her room was really pretty, if you asked her. Her bed was big, black and red, with a canopy of red curtains draped at the head of the bed. The floor and the walls were a shiny black with fine golden lines, and her black lamps were made in an elegant japanese style. Her dark brown furniture was also held in japanese style, but it was more simplistic, and it made the room feel comfortable.

Of course, Jax wasn't surprised; this wasn't the first time he was in her room, probably. He had keys to everyone's rooms, and Gangle knew for a fact that he had used the key to hers multiple times already. After all, that's how he knew about the figurine thing... and how he got his hands on the blue sketchbook...

"You okay there, Ribbons?" Jax asked, strolling over to her bed and dropping down on it.

Gangle shook her head, shaking herself out of her embarrassed thoughts. "Y-yeah!" She said, walking over to him and positioning herself above his hips like last time.

He used his arms as a pillow, his face hidden. "That sounded a little too enthusiastic. Have you been wearing your mask for too long, Crybaby?"

"Well, you didn't say anything about taking it off, did you?" She asked rhetorically, sounding proud. She unbuttoned his overalls again, this time without commentary, and got to work.

"Eh, today it wasn't as annoying, and you needed the energy for the obstacle course. Maybe the thing is actually bearable when you're really happy and not just pretending."

"Then make me happy more often." She smiled cheekily, even though he couldn't see her.

"Nah. Not my style."

"Well, it's what you did the last few days. I had fun like that. Did you have fun?"

He was silent for a moment, and she was starting to worry. But then he purred again. "...Maybe a little. Breaking your mask every day was getting boring, anyway."

She giggled.

Jax sighed, clearly relaxed, but it sounded weary too. He was silent for a moment, before speaking; "...Why are you being nice to me, Gangle?"

She was taken aback by the question. She knew why he was asking it, and it was a good question. Just not one she thought he was asking himself.

"Well... because you've been nice too for the last few days, and I'm hoping that it'll stay that way." She explained with a small smile.

Another quiet moment. "...Is that really worth the trouble?"

"Mhh, I don't think it's trouble. It isn't that hard to be nice to you when you put in an effort to be decent."

"But what do you get out of that?"

"A friend."

"Why would you want to be my friend? I'm a jerk."

"Heh... yeah. But... I think that you're more than that, Jax. You have good sides, you're just... hiding them, for whatever reason..."

"Pff... didn't take you for an optimist, Gangle."

"That's the comedy mask, I guess!" She beamed. "Hey... apropos you being a jerk... can I ask you something?"

He frowned into the pillow. "Not sure if I like how that line of questioning is starting, but go ahead anyway."

"Why do you always argue with Ragatha?"

"Because it's fun to rile her up, duh."

"Okay, but... it seems kind of... personal?"

She could feel his back tense up under her ribbons. That had to mean that she was at least somewhat right, didn't it? And also that he didn't like that she observed it. She tensed in response to his reaction, waiting for what he'd say next.

To her surprise, he sat up. "Well, this has been fun Ribbons, but I think I gotta go."

Her happy expression fell when he got up and walked to the door. "No, wait! We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to!"

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "We're not gonna talk about it either way. But it's late. You held up your end of the deal, so now it's time for me to go."

"Well... you could stay. We could have a pajama party!" She smiled.

He raised an eyebrow at her like he thought that she was kidding. When she just kept smiling, he smiled as well, shaking his head. "Just like old times, huh..." He mumbled.

She cocked her head to the side. "Did you do pajama parties here before?"

"Yeah, I guess I did." He said, walking back to her and sitting down on the bed next to her. Apparently, he wasn't going to elaborate on that. "So, what did'cha have in mind? Or did you just want to stare at my handsome smile all night?" He asked, forming his hand to a finger gun and holding it underneath his chin as he smiled at her.

She giggled again. "No... actually, I haven't thought about that... I didn't think you'd say yes..."

He put his hands behind him on the bed, leaning back and looking up in thought. "Hm... I have an idea. Just stay here, I'll be back in a minute."

He showed her a smirk that scared her, but before she could ask, the rabbit ran out of her room. Gangle just awkwardly sat on her bed, pushing her hands together as she waited for him to return. A few minutes later, he came back again, wearing his hunting outfit from the Poacher's Paradise adventure, a few more outfits from adventures in his hands.

She frowned and panicked. "Are you going to shoot me again?!"

"Nah" Jax said, putting down the outfits and picking up his gun, which didn't calm Gangle at all. "Just thought maybe you want a model for your drawings."

Her eyes widened and her expression immediately brightened, her demeanor shifting to that of an excited puppy within seconds. "Really?! You'd let me draw you?!"

He huffed in amusement. "You're drawing me whether I consent to it or not, Ribbons~" He sung. She blushed and looked away, which only made him laugh. "The best I can do for myself is make sure I look good in your little sketchbook. That means style and poses."

He stood slightly with his back to her, looking at her over his shoulder with an attractive grin, the gun casually resting over his other shoulder. "Okay, ready when you are, babe."

Gangle squealed, actually squealed, barely able to contain her huge smile. She got her sketchbook - the red one, the safe one - and her pencils, and got to work. She was clearly having fun, smiling brightly as she sketched at the speed of light, mumbling ideas to herself. When she was done with her drawing she showed him, and he actually seemed to like it. Of course he did, it was a picture of himself, but he also complimented her on how good it turned out.

Then he changed into the clothes he wore at Zooble's bar adventure, which Gangle liked a lot. These clothes suited him, and made him an even better looking model for her art. Not that she would say that out loud, because that would be mortifying. But she thought it, with a little giggle. After every outfit change she showed him her work, and they laughed and chatted and he was actually posing for her! She couldn't believe her luck!

"Maybe you could put on the maid dress ne-"

"No." He shut her down with a glare. "Don't bring that thing up ever again."

"But you looked so cute and pretty-"

"Gangle." His tone was warning, but also strained, like he felt more than just annoyance or embarrassment. His fists were clenched at his sides. "Stop it. I don't look cute or pretty. Never say that again, you understand me?"

His eyes were hard, his glare harsher than it ever was when he was mean to her before.

She hadn't understood why he was so upset at the softball game, and she didn't understand it now, but it was obvious just how much this bothered him, so she nodded. She didn't want to ruin this. "Got it."

"Good." He said, changing back to his overalls. "That's probably enough drawings for one night. Any ideas on what to do now?"

"Uhm... I'm not sure. The only pajama parties I ever was on were when I was a child, so I don't know what we could do... what did you do on your pajama parties here?"

He let himself fall backwards onto her bed now that he was back in his overalls, frowning at the ceiling. He let out a long sigh. "...I'd play video games, do some roughhousing, braid Raggy's hair..." He said.

Gangle blinked. "You did pajama parties with Ragatha?"

"Yep." He looked tired.

"And you two roughhoused?"

"No, that was with another person there."

"Who?"

"They abstracted before you arrived here."

Her eyes widened, then her expression turned into a sad frown. "O-oh... I'm so sorry, Jax..."

He frowned at her. "What are you sorry for? I just said it happened before you were even here."

"No, not sorry as in I apologize, just, I feel sorry for you."

He sat up again, an annoyed scowl on his face. "Please tell me what part about my personality made you think that I want your pity, so I can change it immediately."

She furrowed her brows, feeling even sadder now. She put one of her hands on his, using the other hand to take off her comedy mask. Maybe to feel closer to her emotional side, maybe to show him sincerity while they talked about vulnerability.

"It has nothing to do with pity, Jax..." She said, her voice instantly less stable. "It's just... empathy. You lost someone, and I feel bad with you, because I don't want my friends to feel bad."

"Sounds terrible." He said dryly.

"Surely you feel empathy too?"

"Hm, no. I think I'm vaccinated."

She huffed. That was an obvious lie. Gangle was sure that Jax cared a lot more than he wanted to. But she was also sure that he didn't want to hear that, especially not right now. She wanted to get them back on track with more fun topics.

"So... you can braid?"

He huffed, but this time it was in smug amusement. "Duh. It's not that hard."

"Yeah, but not every boy can do that, surprisingly... as a kid I thought everyone can just instinctively braid." Gangle smiled awkwardly. She reached up to the ribbon making up her neck. She sighed miserably. "I wish I still had hair, like Ragatha and Pomni..."

"Why? Seems like a hassle." Jax commented.

"Yeah, sometimes it was... but it made me feel pretty." The ribbon character smiled sadly. "I'd like to feel pretty again..."

He frowned at her, and it was quiet for a moment. She couldn't tell if he was judging her or just thinking about something. She was too caught up in her depressed thoughts about her circus body anyway. Maybe she should put her happy mask back on...

"Do you have any extra ribbons?"

Gangle blinked at the question that was so out of the blue, turning to look at him. "Huh?"

"You know, ribbons like your body. Or do you have any that look similar?"

"Uhm... yeah..." She got up and walked over to her dresser, opening one of the drawers. She took out a bunch of red ribbons Caine had equipped her room with for reasons only he knew. Apparently, Jax had an idea of what to do with them too.

He took the ribbons out of her hands, then he maneuvered her to sit down on her bed, him sitting down behind her, legs crossed. He started fumbling with the ribbon that was her neck and spine, and the extra ribbons she had given him. She frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"You wanted to know what I did on slumber parties, and I told you; braiding."

"B-but... I don't even have hair..." She pushed her hands together, feeling thick tears on her cheeks. She could practically hear his eyeroll.

"Ribbons, you're literally made out of ribbons. I've got enough to work with here."

"Do you really think so?"

"If you hold still."

He started putting more ribbons into his work, one after the other, creating something behind her mask that she was dying to see. He was concentrated as he worked, so Gangle stayed silent, afraid that she would only bother him. The suspense was killing her, but she sat still.

Eventually, finally, he had put all ribbons to use and pulled his hands away with a satisfied smile. "Alright. Take a look."

She got up and walked over to her mirror, gasping at her reflection.

What he had done was less a braid, and more like a big, multi-layered bow at the back of her head. It was voluminous and symmetrical and so pretty. It was the cutest Gangle had looked since, well... since arriving here. She couldn't believe that this could be done with these ribbons.

"And? What do ya think?" Jax asked, appearing behind her in the mirror, hands on his hips and a smile on his face, clearly proud of himself.

She turned around and hugged him tightly. "It's wonderful! Thank you, Jax!"

He was surprised at first, but then he hugged back. "You're welcome, Pretty."

Her face warmed at the new nickname. She nuzzled her mask into his chest, both to hide her blush and to seek closeness. And in turn, she didn't tell him that she could hear him purring again.

So adorable.

"Alright, alright, that's enough." He said, breaking away from the hug. "You're getting all sappy with me."

She giggled. "Sorry." She turned back to the mirror. She brought her hands up to the bow, turning her face this way and that way to get a look from all sides, the smile on her face ever present. "Wow... you're so good at this!"

"Ha, I know babe. I'm good at everything!"

Gangle didn't correct him, too enamored with her reflection to pay much mind to his gigantic ego. Besides, she thought he deserved to feel proud. It looked so cute!

"Let's see what costumes you have in your wardrobe, maybe something fits the bow." Jax said. "Definitely not the manager outfit..." He opened her wardrobe and Gangle turned to look at him. She was just about to scold him about privacy and about asking before looking through people's stuff, but she was stopped by his excited gasp.

"No way..." He said, taking out something from the bottom of the wardrobe. He looked up at her with a big smile. "Is that a karaoke machine?"

"Oh, yeah..." She walked over to him, her smile smaller now, but not any less genuine. "Caine gave it to me because he thought it fit into the whole theater theme..."

"And you never thought to mention that?!" He asked, immediately going to plug it in. "Does it work?"

Gangle frowned and pushed her ribbon hands together. "I didn't think anyone would care... I- honestly, I don't really like karaoke... and yes, it works. But it only has songs from before the 90's, because that's all that's in Caine's data."

He laughed. "Pffr, you're definitely going to sing with me."

She widened her eyes. "What??? No, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"Say no a few more dozen times, maybe then I still won't care." He said with a carefree smile, still starting up the karaoke machine.

"Jax! I don't want to sing!"

"Oh come on, Ribbons! Until now we only did things you like! You got to draw my greek god-like body, and I braided your ribbons for you! It's about time we do something I like!"

She looked away at that, frowning awkwardly. Even though she suspected that he also had fun while she was drawing him, he was right about it being an activity for her, and they'd done it for hours. Maybe Gangle could get over her mortification about singing in front of another person. Who knows, maybe she'd even have fun, even though she was sure that he'd make fun of her. Sighing, she walked over to him and took the microphone he held out to her with a smirk.

"Fine. But just one song."

~~~

When Ragatha woke up, she actually felt well rested. That was a privilege, as it didn't always happen for her, even though they technically didn't need to sleep. She sat up with a yawn and a stretch, smoothing out her nightgown as she got out of bed, ready to greet the day with a smile, something she strived to do every day. If one had a positive attitude, the people around them would be more positive as well. Unless the people in question included a certain trouble-making purple cartoon rabbit, but she didn't want to think about that this early in the morning.

She got dressed in her patchy blue dress and left her room to get to the common area, passing some of the other character's rooms in the hall. The doll stopped when she heard music, from... Gangle's room?

Ragatha raised an eyebrow as she turned to look at the door. Pomni and Zooble left their rooms as well at that moment, exchanging tired greetings. When they noticed her standing around in the hall, they looked confused as well and approached, hearing the music too.

"Is Gangle... singing?" Zooble asked.

"Wait, there's another voice..." Pomni frowned. "...I think that's Jax."

Zooble looked skeptic, and Ragatha looked worried. She took a step forward and knocked. "Gangle?"

No answer, just the music. The doll looked at the other two. Zooble shrugged.

"Hey guys."

They all winced at Kinger's sudden appearance right behind them.

"F[@</]!" Zooble yelled.

Kinger just kept staring at nothing. "What'cha doooing."

"We, uh... we were wondering why there's music coming from Gangle's room." Pomni explained. Kinger blinked and finally his eyes focused. "Well, why don't you just ask her?"

"That's a good question." Ragatha said, frowning as she reached for the door knob, deciding to enter.

The sight that greeted them was a peculiar one. It was indeed Jax who was with Gangle, but instead of tormenting her, he was... singing karaoke with her?

"Oh, I wanna dance with somebody!
I wanna feel the heat with somebody!
Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody!"

They were both belting the lyrics, quite enthusiastically, yet to notice that they had an audience. They leaned closer together, grinning at each other as they sang into their microphones.

"With somebody who loves me!
Oh, I wanna dance with somebod- AH!"

The scream was only Gangle, as she realized that they were being watched. Jax cringed, his free hand shooting up to his ear. "Ugh, geez, Gangle, keep it down, will you? This avatar comes with rabbit hearing."

"O-oh, sorry..." She said. She turned to the others, waving sheepishly. "H-hey guys... did we wake you?"

"No... it's morning, Gangle." Ragatha said with a worried frown.

"Morning? No, that... that would mean we did karaoke for hours." Gangle turned to look at Jax. The bunny gave her his best charming smile as he leaned down to her eye-level, a hand on his chest.

"Time sure seems to fly when you're spending it with someone as funny and good-looking as me, doesn't it Ribbons?"

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. Then her face lit up and she rushed to the others. "Oh! Oh! Guys! Look at what Jax did with my ribbons!"

Gangle gave a little twirl, standing before them with a big smile again. "Isn't it pretty?"

"Wow! Looks awesome!" Pomni smiled back, giving her two thumbs up, and Kinger nodded along. "Very pretty!" He said.

Ragatha was smiling too, but her smile was tight, and there was something behind her eyes. "Totally! So... Jax did that for you?" She looked at him.

He smiled back at her, and again it was obvious something was behind that smile, this time petty. "Yep. Just like old times, huh Raggy?"

She frowned and took a breath. Then she smiled at him, softer this time. "Glad to see you're... feeling better again, Jax. Really."

He looked caught off guard. His pupils widened for a moment, his trademark smile slipped away. But as fast as the look appeared on his face, it was gone again. He shook his head, scowling. Not even necessarily scowling at Ragatha, just at... something.

"...Whatever. I'm off waiting for Caine."

He walked away, a perpetual scowl on his face. Gangle and Pomni looked worried as they watched. Zooble looked annoyed at his behavior. Kinger gave him a cheery wave, as if he wasn't going to follow after him in a minute to see the adventure.

And Ragatha just looked... sad.

She turned to the others with a nervous smile. "Well, we should probably go as well! Caine doesn't like to be left waiting!"

She started walking down the hall again, her skirt swishing side to side through the movement of her hips with every hurried step she took.

The others shared a worried look before following her to the lounge.

~~~

Chapter Text

Today's mission was to win the Olympic Winter Games for the creatively named Amazing Digital Circus nation. As location for their adventure, Caine sent them to a surprisingly nice looking winter resort, surrounded by snow covered mountains and various areas for the different disciplines they'd have to compete in.

He told them to, quote; "Have fun, give your best and watch out for the horde of blood-thirsty penguins!"

There were other teams staying at the resort as well, of course; like the team representing the Evil Big Top nation, consisting of the Evil Big Tops, unsurprisingly. Then there was the Mannequin nation, which had Dr. Football, Disappearing Guy and more. And the Candy Kingdom nation, with Princess Loolilalu, Chad, Max, and Gummigoo, who made Pomni go all sad wet cat mode again. Though this time she stayed calm when she greeted him, deciding to just be normal and make the most of the time here instead of mourning the loss of his memory. That didn't go so well last time. A repeat would only serve to depress her.

They all got rooms in the resort, getting to spend some free time there at first and arrive before they'd have to compete in the disciplines.

Ragatha and Kinger were currently building a snowman, and Pomni and Zooble were just cold. When Jax came out of the resort to join them, Gangle's happy mask was sticking out of his overalls' front pocket.

Zooble frowned at him. "Did you seriously take away her mask again?"

"First of all; what do you mean again? She gave it to me that time. And secondly; no. That is her." He said.

The mask lifted itself up a little, smiling at the others, and a red ribbon came out of the overall to show them a friendly wave. Everyone stared at them.

"Uhh... what?" Pomni asked what everyone was thinking.

Jax frowned down at the ribbon character in clear annoyance and gestured at her. "This creature was cold, so it crawled into my overalls to keep warm."

"I'm made just out of ribbons! I get cold easily!" She protested.

"And Zooble is made just out of eye-cancer, but do you see them in my overalls?" He asked her with a scowl.

Zooble scowled as well, at that mental image. "Ew."

"Right back at you, toy box." Jax said with a smirk.

"Oh, but Gangle in there is okay?" Pomni asked with a knowing smile of her own.

Jax smiled and gestured to his body. "Not really, but can you blame her? Who wouldn't want to get into my overalls?"

Gangle blushed furiously. "J-Jax! I just wanted to get warm!!!"

"Because you find me so hot?" He asked with a wink.

She blushed even more and buried her face in the pocket. "Don't say such things!"

He only started laughing at her. He got a devious smirk then, leaning down to scoop up some snow. Gangle widened her eyes when she saw that. "Jax? What are you doing? AH!"

She squealed when he dropped the snow into his pocket, and with that into her. Jax laughed even louder now, bringing a hand to his forehead as he doubled over with his uncontrollable laughter. Gangle kept crying about the cold, slithering out of the pocket and shaking the snow off of her. "Whyyyy!" She wailed.

"Honestly, you should have seen that one coming, Ribbons." Jax said, wiping a laughing tear away. "The fact that you didn't is worrying."

She pouted, then she bent down to scoop up some snow and form it into a ball, throwing it right at his face while he was busy laughing at her. The laughter stopped when the snowball collided with his face, turning it into a wide-eyed look of surprise that had Gangle giggling like crazy. It morphed into an evil smirk again that immediately exchanged her laughter for a terrified look.

"Oh, you've done it now, Crybaby!" He exclaimed, before he started chasing her around with snow. Gangle was screaming the entire time.

The others watched them with confusion and apprehension.

"So... is this just normal now?" Ragatha asked.

"I don't know... but if they're both happy that's an improvement, I think?" Pomni offered, before a snowball hit her right in the face.

"What are you guys waiting for?! A formal invitation to this war?" Jax asked, grinning maniacally. Pomni frowned and picked up snow as well. "You're on!"

~~~

"Welcome one and all, to the Olympic Winter Games!" Caine shouted into his microphone from his announcer's booth. "We have many fun games prepared for today, and a lot of sports enthusiastic maniacs ready to compete for the honor of their nation!" He put a hand on his chest, touched. "But only one can win! Well, six can win, because we have six disciplines. But! Only one can win in each of thoses! The stakes are high!"

"Higher than Ragatha on Stupid Sauce!" Bubble chimed in.

Ragatha widened her eyes. "Wha- why did you have to mention that?!"

But Caine ignored her; "Right you are, Bubble!"

She groaned and pulled at her hair. Jax chuckled and she frowned at him.

"We've got a lot to do and a horde of killer penguins out there trying to ruin our plans, so let's get right into it!" Caine continued.

"Uhm, could you maybe get into more detail about those penguins-" Pomni raised her hand, but Caine immediately shut her down; "Let's start with curling! Introducing our first competitor; for the team of the Amazing Digital Circus nation, we have Pomni!"

"I- what? I don't know how to play curling!" She protested.

"Then you better learn it, because the losers get caught by the killer penguins!"

"What?!"

Jax cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled; "You got this, Pom-Pom!"

She was teleported over to the curling rink, still wide-eyed and with no clue what was happening. She glared at him and showed him a censored middlefinger that only made him laugh again.

Of course, the contester representing the Candy Kingdom had to be Gummigoo, which only distracted her even more. That, paired with her inability to play the game, and the killer penguins attacking the players in the middle of it, led to an abyssmal performance on Pomni's part, bringing their team a total of zero medals.

They were off to a great start.

~~~

Gangle went back into the resort after her horrifying discipline. No penguins appeared, thank god, but she had to do ski jumping, and she was terrified the entire time. And also screaming the entire time, while Caine encouraged her to 'just go through with it!'.

She landed in a heap of ribbons and snow, but for some reason - probably that Caine had no idea about ski jumping - she won the silver medal, anyway.

"Your landing wasn't great, but you got pretty far! Not to mention that you get points for style!" The AI had said as he wrote down her results with a flourish.

Her landing couldn't be qualified as a landing at all, and she couldn't say anything about her style, because she had kept her eyes closed the entire time, but Gangle just accepted the win and left. She needed a hot bath and some hot cocoa in the resort to warm up again now.

First she went to her assigned room for that bath; her ribbons relaxed as they sunk into the water. She smiled as she felt her body warm up again, getting comfortable in the tub.

Afterwards she went down to the lobby to get that hot cocoa and find a seat in front of the fire. But someone else was there already; to her surprise, she found Evil Jax wrapped up in a blanket. When he saw her, he showed her a nervous smile and a little wave.

Right, the Evil Big Tops were here too, this time with an all new, all confident and all cold Gangle. Her doppelganger, who had a red mask and white ribbons, had competed against her in the ski jumping contest, sneering at her when she fell on her face.

Her comedy mask had miraculously survived the fall, thanks to the soft snow, but Evil Gangle took it away from her after her landing. Gangle had panicked as she stared up at her counterpart, desperately reaching for her mask, pleading with her doppelganger to give it back.

She'd broken it.

Her crystal tears froze on her cheeks as she watched, astounded, how the shards fell to the ground. They'd made no sound as they landed in the snow, but Evil Gangle's cruel laughter had rung loud in the silence.

She had leaned down to her, and told her in a smug whisper; "Something as pathetic as you doesn't deserve to feel happy."

At least Caine remembered to give her an evil clone this time, right?

But Evil Jax didn't seem bad like the others, and he wasn't scary at all, unlike his normal self, so Gangle returned the wave and the smile and sat down in an armchair with her cup of hot cocoa. Evil Jax nuzzled further into his blanket, looking way cuter than her Jax would ever want to.

"How did your ski jumping go?" He asked her in his timid little voice.

Honestly, she was surprised that he even addressed her. "Oh, it went good. I won silver. Somehow." She laughed nervously.

"Oh, congratulations!" He said happily, no trace of snark. "You should be proud of yourself!"

She smiled back, raising an eyebrow a little. "Thanks... but honestly, I don't know what I was doing. I think Caine was just making up rules in the end..."

"Still, you won silver! That's great!" He said. Then he looked away and chuckled, a self-deprecating kind of chuckle. "I placed last in speed skating... even a tiny little gloink from the Gloink Nation reached the goal before me..."

"Oh... I'm sorry. But I'm sure you did your best." Gangle tried to cheer him up.

EJ hugged the blanket tighter around himself. "I did. But my best is just never enough, is it? All my friends keep telling me... well, I call them my friends, but they usually only call me a nuisance." Again, that chuckle.

Gangle frowned and reached out a ribbon hand to put on his shoulder. "Hey, I'm sure they don't mean that... they're just... really special." She said, in a clearly negative way. "But you shouldn't let that get you down! Just because they're always mean doesn't mean that really has something to do with you, you know? A-and it's okay not to be good at ice skating..."

He huffed and showed her a small smile. "Thank you... you're much kinder than my Gangle."

She thought back to the two halves of her comedy mask lying in the snow and frowned. "I noticed..."

His head was low between his shoulders, like he wanted to make himself smaller than he was. Easier said than done, given how tall he was. He stared into the fire. "You know who's really good at ice skating?"

"Who?" She asked.

"Your Jax." He said. "He got gold."

"Oh!" She perked up at that, but then quickly tried to calm her excitement. She didn't want to make him feel even worse. "Well... that probably wasn't his first time on the ice, so don't feel bad. No one gets it in their first try."

He chuckled again. "See, that's the thing. It was his first time. I know that because we're the same. When I asked him how he was so good during warm-up, he told me he just doesn't think about falling. That he's just doing it. Then he tried to behead me with his skates."

That sounded like Jax, alright.

Evil Jax sighed. "I wish I could be like him... not the mean part, but... his confidence is admirable." He smiled sadly. "I just wish I was more like that."

Gangle frowned. "...Yeah... I understand that... Evil Gangle is kind of... cruel... but she's confident. She's so sure of herself, and she carries herself with a sort of elegance, like she know's she's great. Just for once I want to feel like that, too."

He turned his smile to her. "They're kind of similar, aren't they? Your Jax and my Gangle."

"Huh. Yeah. Kind of." Gangle agreed.

"I wish they would like us."

It was out of the blue. But Gangle wasn't surprised by the statement at all, because it mirrored her thoughts.

"Me too." She echoed.

They looked at each other. He was soft and scared and sweet, all the things that her Jax wasn't. But... if she ignored all that, if she just swapped pink and purple in her eyes, she could almost pretend that it was him looking at her like that. Like she was someone great.

And for some reason that thought made her heart flutter.

She wrapped her ribbon tighter around his hand. He looked down at their joined hands, blushing. His little bunny ears twitched in the most adorable way, and his eyes looked nervous. "Uhm... Gangle...?" He chuckled nervously.

She blushed as well and pulled her hand back. "Are you... uhm... do you want to go somewhere else, EJ? We could spend some time together until the other disciplines are over."

He showed her a shy smile. "I'd like that."

~~~

Not even ten minutes later, Gangle was in a dark supply room filled with extra pillows, fresh bedsheets and cleaning supplies for the resort, leaning against Jax's evil doppelganger, making out like teenagers.

She really had no idea what had gotten into her. One moment they were talking normally, and the next she was pulling him in here, hellbent on using this chance.

Because that's what this was, wasn't it? A chance she would maybe never get again. To kiss him. Well, not him, but the closest thing a pathetic little crybaby like her would ever get.

Because this Jax was too nice to say no to her. And that sounded really bad, but it was the truth. Her Jax had no trouble reminding her of what a freak she was, and if he knew that even a small part of her wanted him... he would never let her live this down.

She couldn't even understand it herself. Why was she doing this? Just for fun? Just to make some of the drawings in her blue sketchbook reality?

To be clear, Jax wasn't the only one in that book. Pretty much everyone except for Kinger had made it in, an honor none of them would probably want if they knew about the book. Though she had to admit, Ragatha and Jax were the ones who had been honored the most.

Ragatha was just pretty, that was a fact. Sure, she was a doll, but dolls were supposed to be pretty. And she was nice and gentle and so pretty, how couldn't Gangle draw her? She even made drawings of Ragatha with herself, and if the doll ever found them, or found out about the figurine thing, Gangle was sure she would abstract right then and there.

It was unfortunate that Jax of all people knew about both of those things. As for him...

So what, she was a furry. Many people were in today's time! Gangle would bet that many people on the internet would find Jax attractive if he was a character in some show. He was pretty, too. That smirk was so handsome. He walked around without a shirt. He had that confident swagger when he walked that looked like everything was easy to him. And... oh god, he was a hot twink. There, she thought it. He was a pretty, lovely twink.

Even his teasing made her blush on the days he didn't overdo it, because of course he was acting like the bad boy archetype the main character of one of her slice of life animes would fall for.

And to make it worse he was even was starting to be nice to her lately, as if this really was the plot of an anime. Of course, the similarities were flimsy, and making that kind of connection was just her way of trying to cope with the situation of the Amazing Digital Circus. She wasn't the main character, Jax wasn't the antihero, and he would surely laugh at her for making that comparison. That was just the hopeless romantic in her speaking, anyway.

But she still felt like they'd reached a turning point in their relationship, and she was happy about that, really. He was nice company like this, and she could always need more nice things around her. Not to mention that his advice about her comedy mask had actually been good.

At least, when he was around. She still felt vulnerable after her clone had broken the mask, but maybe that was because she was all alone. None of her friends there to cheer her up, each of them split up to compete in their own disciplines. Just that distorted mirror image, telling her how worthless she was. And with those thick tears in her eyes, mask cold from the snow she had face-planted into, Gangle had believed every word, silver medal or not.

She had liked hearing someone with Jax's face say that she should be proud of herself.

Too much, if the clone she had pinned against the wall was any indication. It was just the start of their tentative friendship, and already she was here, in this weird as f[*#$] situation. If the real Jax saw her like this, he would be so weirded out by her. He'd immediately go back to bullying her, and this time she would probably deserve it...

But she just couldn't help it when he was so cute, and at the same time looked so much like him... Just without the handsome smile, even though it could turn annoying at times. But even that had turned endearing after a while.... Curse him for getting closer to her! That was cruel!

She leaned into EJ, seeking his touch.

Gangle just needed to feel close to him right now, feeling his soft chest fur against her ribbons. Feeling his warm lips against her porcelain mask, so gentle. Her eyes closed so she could pretend. Pretend that someone real liked her.

Not just pitied her, like Pomni. Or felt responsible for her, like Zooble and Ragatha.

Really liked her.

"Mh... Jax..." She hummed into the kiss.

If Evil Jax noticed her slip up, he didn't comment on it. She missed the sarcastic, teasing comments. She missed the spice, the tingle of adrenaline as the blood rushed to her cheeks, reminding her that this was real.

Because it wasn't real. The boy she was kissing wasn't real. Just a Jax model with swapped colors. Just a figment of Caine's imagination.

And she was holding onto it like it was a real person who cared for her.

But no one cared for her.

Not in the real world, and not here.

"Awww, look at how desperate you are to get me in that closet~"

Both Gangle and Evil Jax stopped kissing, looking up with wide eyes as they heard voices outside. The one that answered the taunt was an all too familiar growl.

"Shut up."

"Why so grumpy, loverboy? Are you sad that you have to make do with me because the sweet one wouldn't even look at you with her a[$$]?"

Gangle furrowed her brows. What?

The door opened and light came in briefly before it was shoved closed again, and then one of the two who had entered was shoved roughly against a wall, making the shelves rattle. "I said shut up." Jax growled.

"Mhh, make me." Evil Gangle purred. "Be the man that your clone can't be."

Gangle felt Evil Jax's ears droop.

"That can be arranged..."

Gangle didn't know if she should make her presence known or pray that neither of them ever found out that she was here, for they would surely tie her ribbons in knots if they knew that she caught them.

But as she heard them kissing, the choice was taken from her; one of them switched on the light. Then all four saw each other. Wide-eyed, all of them in precarious positions.

Evil Gangle pinned to the wall by Jax. Evil Jax pinned to the wall by Gangle.

The silence was deafening.

Gangle ignored the clones by now, her eyes glued to Jax's and vice versa. His pupils had shrunk to the size of pinpricks as he stared at her.

Eventually, Evil Gangle clicked her tongue, her white ribbon hands still on Jax's chest. "Well, this is awkward."

She pushed Jax off of her, moving over to the door. "Cottontail, move your a[$$]. We're not staying for this s[#!%]show."

"B-but I was actually having fun with Gangle..." He said, but he still moved to follow her.

Evil Gangle started laughing, almost maniacally. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you actually just talk back to me? Did you really grow some new balls, or are they still securely in my purse?" She somehow managed to make a three-shaped smile look cruel.

Evil Jax blushed, looking quite distressed. He lowered his head in submission and quickly walked over to her. "Still in your purse, ma'am..." He mumbled.

“That's what I thought.” She grinned cruelly, looking down at him like he was nothing but her pet. She smacked him on the a[$$] for good measure, and he yelped, rushing out of the room in embarrassment. Evil Gangle took one last look at their original counterparts. "Have fun sorting that out, you pathetic little losers." She gave them a condescending wave and left.

Gangle and Jax kept staring at each other for a long moment, mortified, waiting for each other's reactions.

He was going to tear her to pieces any second now, she was sure.

But instead he straightened up, turned around and rushed out of the room, slamming the door on the way out. Gangle blinked.

The woman took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts, only now noticing that she was shaking. This had gone so bad so quickly. One moment she was having fun with a cute bunny boy, and the next moment it was a nightmare come true.

Was he going to tell the others? No, Jax knew she'd tell them that he did the same thing then. He had just as much reason to keep this secret as she did. But was he going to be mad? Was he going to get back at her for making out with his clone?

She hesitantly stepped out of the room. She looked around herself, all paranoid, as if she expected him to jump out and do something to her, or for any of the others to walk around the corner and catch her doing... nothing, because the spicy part was over already, but what if they saw how nervous she was and started asking questions and figured out what she'd done?

She came back to the lobby where she had sat earlier, with Evil Jax, finding his real counterpart now, sipping on hot cocoa just like she had. He had a distant look in his eyes, the fire reflecting in them, making them look empty. Like he was deep in thought, or maybe not thinking at all.

He was calmly sipping his hot cocoa, the fingers of his free hand drumming a rhythm on the armrest. He looked... so unlike Jax that it worried Gangle. She approached him with a careful frown, still afraid of his reaction to what he'd seen.

"Jax?" She asked timidly.

He turned to look at her, and slowly, calmly, his expression morphed into a perfect smile. Easily. That ease made it terrifying.

"Oh, hey Ribbons. Didn't see you there. Did ya just finish up with your ski jumping?"

She blinked, trying to process what he said.

Oh.

Were they just going to ignore that?

Thank god.

She smiled and nodded, sitting down in the empty armchair next to his, the same one she had occupied earlier. "Yeah, I did. I won silver! Can you believe that?"

~~~

At the award ceremony they heard how it went for the rest of their team.

Zooble was actually pretty good at snowboarding, but then their evil counterpart, Bazooble, crashed into them, leaving them both a mass of broken parts snowballing down the hill. Jax really wished he would have seen that. It sounded awesome! In any case, it cost their team another chance at a medal.

Ragatha got bronze at alpine skiing for reaching the goal safely, something Max from the Candy Kingdom didn't manage, ending in another large snowball that crushed many of the opponents on its way down. But not Ragatha; the doll had managed to dodge, albeit with panicked eyes, coming in third in the race.

And Kinger, somehow, won gold for them at the bobsleigh race. None of the others had seen that, so none of them knew how he did it. Not even he knew, evidently, seeing as when they asked him, he replied with; "I participated in a bobsleigh race?"

The winners were honored on the podium in a nice ceremony, though Pomni kept looking over her shoulder in fear that the penguins who had torn her apart would return.

"Wow, silver! Good work, Gangle!" Ragatha complimented her.

"Thank you! You too!" Gangle replied with a shy smile, trying to mask how empty she felt inside. She didn't deserve that medal.

"Aww, and what about me, Dollface?" Jax strutted over to them, the band of his gold medal on his finger as he twirled it around lazily. "I won gold for our team!"

She frowned and crossed her arms, but with a sigh, she said; "You did... that was good work, Jax. Congrats on your win."

"Why, thank you, Dollface!" He said, putting a hand on his chest. Then he grinned at her. "Congratulations on your third place, as well~"

She smiled. "Thank you! I'm very proud of it!"

He leaned back with a raised eyebrow and a cringe, because that was supposed to put emphasis on how much better he was than her, but she just took the compliment for what it was and left. There was a happy pep in her step that made Jax want to throw up.

When all the medals were given away and Caine was bored, he declared the Amazing Digital Circus nation to be the overall winner of the Olympic Winter Games, ignoring Zooble's protests that there was no such thing as an overall winner, and brought them back to the Tent.

Gangle was too emotionally exhausted to stay in the common area with the others like usually. Even though they had silently agreed to pretend like the thing in the supply closet had never happened, it weighed on her heavily. And the depressing thoughts she'd had earlier about no one loving her didn't help either. She just wanted to sleep, and maybe weep into her pillow a little.

But sleep wouldn't come.

No matter how long she tried to drift away, her thoughts stayed wide awake and loud, running in circles in her head like a horse on a carousel.

Her tears wouldn't dry, either. She turned her head to look at her dresser, where there was still no new comedy mask. And there wouldn't be one until morning.

With a sigh, she understood that she wasn't going to fall asleep like this. She stood up, walking over to the door, opening it quietly and slipping out into the hall.

Gangle didn't know what she wanted to do. Maybe just go on a walk over the grounds, or get something to drink from the kitchen. But in the end her feet led her to Jax's door.

It was because of the embarrassing kissing thing that she was still awake, and as much as she wanted to ignore it, Gangle knew they had to talk about it at least once to get it out of her head. She had to make sure that nothing was going to be weird between them.

She raised her hand to knock.

There was a short break, the shuffling of steps, and then the door was opened by a sleepy bunny. He had exchanged the overalls for shorts in the same pink and a black tanktop, probably more comfortable to sleep in than his usual attire would be. He gave her an annoyed look, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What do you want?"

"U-uhm..." She looked down at the floor instead of at him, as if the carpet was the most interesting thing she'd seen in a while, nervously pushing her hands together. "I... think we need to talk, Jax. About the supply closet."

He plastered on an easy-going smile, leaning against the doorframe, seemingly totally unbothered. "There's nothing to talk about, Ribbons."

She frowned. "But there is... a-and I'm worried that things won't be the same after this..."

Tears started falling from her eyes, and Jax let out an exasperated groan, looking down the hall to make sure no one else was up before he pulled her into his room. He closed the door and switched on the light, sitting down on the bed with her.

"Listen Crybaby, nothing changes because this didn't mean anything." He explained with a scowl. "Those were NPC's, Gangle. Mindless little programs for us to play with and have our fun with. That's what we did, nothing more."

"B-but... they... looked like us?"

He rolled his eyes. "So what? They're literally our opposites!" He said, poking her ribbons with an accusatory finger and narrowed eyes. "The only reason I bothered with your clone is because she is nothing like you."

She held back the audible sob that wanted to escape. She already knew that she was undesirable. So that was no surprise. And still it hurt to hear it.

He crossed his arms and looked away, huffy. "That's why you made out with that wimp, isn't it? 'Cause he's everything I'm not. He's sweet and nice and weak. And obviously submissive and breedable, which should be just your type." He gave her a judgmental look.

Gangle blushed and looked away. "Y-yeah, I kissed him because he's your opposite." She lied.

"See? Then there's nothing to talk about. We both just made out with NPC's because we haven't gotten action in years, nothing more." He said, still stubbornly looking at the opposite wall.

She nodded. "Mh."

"Good." He said, standing up. "Glad that we agree. Now that that's settled, let's promise to never talk about that ever again." He frowned at her. "Because I swear Ribbons, if you tell any of the others, I will take you down with me."

She nodded hurriedly, making a motion like zipping her porcelain lips shut.

He escorted her to his door, obviously in a hurry to get her out of his room and go back to sleep. Gangle stopped before he could push her out fully, turning to look up at him one more time.

"Did you think she's pretty?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Evil Gangle. You kissed her, so... you had to find her at least a little pretty, right?"

Jax narrowed his eyes at her, crossing his arms tightly. "I don't know, Gangle. Did you think that Evil Jax is handsome when you shoved your tongue down his throat?"

She blushed at his choice of words. She looked down again, deciding to be honest, no matter how much more embarrassing she would make this conversation by saying what she was about to say. "Very."

His eyebrows shot up, pupils dilating.

She felt her heart beat faster in the silence.

"...She looks okay for circus standards." He said. "Not like we have much to choose from."

"Oh..." She pushed her ribbon hands together. "Well, there would have been Evil Ragatha, or Evil Pomni, you seemed to get along with her-"

"She's prettier than both of them." He interrupted her.

Gangle looked up, eyes wide, a pink blush on her porcelain face. "Oh..." She swallowed hard. "But... she's just ribbons. And Evil Ragatha and Evil Pomni have real bodies, and look like women..." She said sadly.

"So what?” He scowled. “In my opinion Evil Gangle is still prettier, and my opinion is the only one that matters, so." He looked away from her and shrugged.

Gangle didn't look away. She kept her wide eyes fixated on him, noticing his own cheeks darken. His expression turned irritated when he looked back at her.

He narrowed his eyes in something akin to disgust again, like he couldn't stand looking at her when she made that face at him. "Go to sleep, Gangle." Then he closed the door.

Gangle felt a soft smile on her face as she turned away from the smiling face shown on his door. She went back to her own room, feeling a little bit better as she went to bed again.

Jax had taken some of her worry from her. It meant nothing. They were still friends as before.

It had meant nothing.

~~~

Chapter Text

"So, you just cross it right before you jump through, and that's really all there is to it! It's best to cross the rope at the wrist, then you have more room to jump through!"

Ragatha was going through the hopeless task of teaching Pomni the easiest of rope-skipping tricks. The little jester had gotten herself tied up more than once already, falling onto her face in increasingly entertaining ways, but of course Ragatha and her endless optimism told her to keep on trying, because surely she was going to get it!

Jax didn't even have to intervene, this was a sure-fire success without him trying to make it worse. He could just sit here on the couch and watch them all day, doubled over laughing and only laughing harder when Pomni and Ragatha shot him glares before continuing with their lesson. Really, the only thing making this better would be...

"Hey! Why don't you take Gangle as your jumping rope! Maybe that'll work better!" He suggested. They frowned at him again, clearly unamused.

Gangle, who was sitting right next to him, drawing something, didn't seem to like the idea either. "Uh... I don't know how that would help..." She said.

"Just ignore him. That's what I do." Zooble chimed in, sitting on the armchair with a magazine.

"Oh Zoobie, as if you could ignore me for long..." Jax said with a smirk.

They rolled their eyes and turned the page.

"Did somebody say... Zooble?" Caine asked as he slithered into the room like a snake.

Zooble put their magazine down and frowned, closing their eyes. "Oh god..."

He jumped up from his position on the floor to float like usual, arms and legs spread, eyes wide. "Wonderful! For I, Caine, have just the thing for you!"

They looked up at him with narrowed eyes. "Is it an adventure?"

"IT'S AN ADVENTURE!"

"Of course it is."

"I have decided to pay more attention to what makes you" Multiple large hands appeared, all pointing at Zooble, making them flinch, "happy! So I went through the logs of the, admittedly not that many, adventures you have participated in to check what made your dopamine levels rise!" He finished, taking out a big book out of nowhere and flipping through it, reading glasses appearing over his huge eyeballs.

One of Zooble's eyes was twitching. "You're monitoring our dopamine levels?"

"Oh Zooble, don't be ridiculous." He waved the idea off. "I'm monitoring all of your brain functions! HA HA HA!"

They narrowed their eyes at him with thinly veiled hatred, but fortunately for everyone, Caine wasn't very good at picking up on social cues, so he ignored the look they were giving him and went back to looking through his book.

"Here it says that one of the times you were the happiest was when Jax had a panic attack in a maid dress!"

Jax made a surprised, agitated face, his ears standing up straight in alarm. "What?"

"Did you say that he had a panic attack...?" Pomni asked, a worried eyebrow raised.

"According to his brain functions, yes!" Caine said cheerfully. He flipped through the pages. "Abnormally high heart rate, hyperventilation, DiGiTaL SwEaTiNg, and the famous scribble pupils! That's a picture perfect panic attack in my book!" He said.

"I can confirm that." The book said with a deep voice, opening and closing like it was talking. Everyone stared at it.

Caine gave the book an affectionate little slap on the back. "There you have it, folks. Anyway-"

"W-wait, I think we should talk about Jax going through a panic attack-" Pomni said.

"ANYWAY!" Caine repeated, louder. "That's why today's adventure is... Working in a Maid Cafe! That means maid dresses for everyone!"

Zooble pinched the spot between their eyes with their claw, clearly exasperated. "Caine, that is so not what would make me happy."

"I like the idea..." Gangle said with a shy smile. "I've always wanted to work in a Maid Cafe, but I never had the chance to in the real world... I never even got to visit one, even though they're so cute!"

Zooble sighed. "Fine... then we're doing that."

"Yeah, this could be fun!" Ragatha chimed in. "Wearing cute dresses and making sweet desserts! We can probably eat some in our break, too! I think that's a great idea, Caine!"

"No, no, no!" Jax intervened, eyes wide, eyebrows furrowed in boiling rage as he swept his arms outwards to emphasize his insistent no. "We are not doing that! Or at least, I'm not! You had your fun putting me in that thing once, you're not going to get me to wear it again!"

"Oh, come on Jax, where is your teamspirit?" Caine asked.

"Yeah Jax, where's your team spirit?" Zooble teased, leaning their cheek against their hand, elbow propped on the armrest.

Jax glared at them, fuming.

"Uhm, guys? Aren't we forgetting the part where Caine said the dress caused a panic attack?" Pomni tried again.

"He loves causing panic in others." Zooble said with narrowed eyes.

Jax huffed. "Fine. You want to play Maid Cafe? Then I'll be one of the customers. Problem solved." He said defiantly.

"No can do, Jax." Caine said. "If it takes you in a maid dress to finally make Zooble enjoy an adventure, then that's what we're doing! Because, quite frankly, if I don't get praise from Zooble soon, I will lose my grip on reality." His voice became quieter and higher in the end, and he glitched once, twice, then settled again, though his mismatched eyes still kept a thousand yard stare.

The characters all stared up at him in fear. Caine, as silly and goofy as he could appear at times, was the only thing holding this circus, their entire world, together. And unfortunately he was very, very unstable, especially as of late. No one wanted to give him any more reason to be insecure. Everyone except for Jax gave Zooble a meaningful look.

They rolled their eyes. "I think the cafe is a great idea too." They said, mostly to stabilize the AI. "Gangle seems to like it, and that already makes me happy, so."

Caine beamed at them. "Really??? I'll write that down!" He swapped the book out for another one. This one was just as large, but the cover was neon pink plush, and it was decorated with many colorful pins in geometric shapes. The cover read: "zOoBLe aND i"

Zooble narrowed their eyes at the book like it had offended them. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me..."

Caine finished writing in the book, then he let it disappear and opened a portal with a snap of his fingers. "Let's get this adventure started, then! Wait, where's Kinger?" He looked around for the chess piece.

"He's probably in his pillow fort again. I'm going to get him." Pomni said, rushing off.

Gangle watched her go with a smile, excited to get going. Finally an adventure she was looking forward to! She'll look so cute in her maid dress!

But as she looked over at Jax, her mood soured. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, and he was gritting his teeth, his expression beyond annoyed. She furrowed her brow, about to go over to him and talk to him, but Zooble put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't let him get you down. You're clearly excited for this adventure, so try to enjoy it, alright?" They said.

Gangle smiled at them and nodded. "Yeah, I will."

Pomni came back with Kinger, and they all got ushered through the portal by an increasingly impatient Caine, excited to get this new Zooble-approved adventure started.

The cafe they ended up in on the other side was practically a dream come true for Gangle. The floor looked like white chocolate, and the walls were a light pastel pink, adorned with cute anime figures and Hello Kitty characters here and there.

The chairs were white and pink as well, with bows and all cutesie, standing around brown tables. Large flower pots and greenery spread throughout the cafe brought some more color to the room, and there was a sweets bar made of natural wood, the whole area a bit darker, looking quite cozy. The floor switched to milk chocolate around the sweets bar, and the walls changed to a diamond pattern of dark brown, light brown and cream. Shelves behind the bar were filled with colorful bottles of syrups and other drink ingredients that looked incredibly sweet. The pink door in the corner probably led to the kitchen.

The desserts on display in the glass case looked absolutely delicious, made from soft cake, glazed chocolate, shiny red strawberries and fluffy looking whipped cream that would made anyone's mouth water.

And the best part? As soon as they stepped through that portal, they were all clad in maid dresses. Gangle squealed happily.

Ragatha gave a little twirl, clearly feeling pretty in the ruffled skirt of her dress, a smile on her face. Pomni seemed to be indifferent to her dress, just giving it a look of confusion, and Zooble was clearly annoyed that they were forced to wear it.

Kinger looked down at himself with a blush on his cheeks, daintily lifting his skirt. "I feel like the prettiest princess." He said cheerfully.

"You are!" Ragatha agreed.

Jax, meanwhile, scowled down at the chocolate floor like it was the one who killed his grandma. His fists were clenched again, the white gloves straining under the pressure. His face was beet red, and his pupils started to turn into scribbles again. Gangle could practically hear how he grit his teeth.

"Don't you think you're being over-dramatic, Jax?" Zooble asked, crossing their arms and frowning. "I don't like wearing this either, but your reaction is overkill."

He turned his heated glare at them, but it seemed more exasperated than intimidating. He pointed an accusing finger at the abstract character. "Oh, that is rich! You of all people-" He groaned and cut himself off, turning away from the others.

He crossed his arms, fingers drumming on his biceps in a nervous rhythm. "Whatever. Let's just get this stupid adventure over with."

There was an awkward silence, but Ragatha didn't let it stand for long. With a nervous smile and a 'let's do this!' gesture of her arm, she said; "That's the spirit...!"

He rolled his eyes, but didn't offer any of the usual sarcastic and/or insulting commentary that would have followed such a blatant display of acting overly positive in spite of the current mood. He just hugged himself tighter.

Pomni frowned in concern. "Uhm, maybe Jax can work in the kitchen, so not that many people see him? Would that be better?"

He was silent for a moment. He still stood with his back to them, so no one saw his expression, but then he said; "...Marginally."

Pomni nodded. "Okay... okay, good." She said. She rubbed the back of her neck, seeming nervous. "I'd go with you, but I don't think I should be let anywhere near a kitchen..."

"I can go on kitchen duty!" Gangle offered. "I'd love to prepare the sweets!"

And she'd also like to stay near Jax. Zooble told her to enjoy the adventure, but she still worried. Well, there was no reason she couldn't do both.

"That's good, because you'll be preparing them alone. Let's go, Ribbons." Jax said, moving to the pink door that led to the kitchen.

Gangle sighed and followed him.

~~~

Soon the first customers and the first orders came in. Gangle had a blast preparing them, and Jax was sitting in a corner in the kitchen, sulking. One leg was pulled up to his chest, the other stretched out in front of him, a perpetual frown on his face as his fingers kept drumming against his arm.

Gangle didn't like confrontations, not even with her comedy mask, and she was well aware that she wasn't good at talking about emotions, so she hadn't said anything yet. She had hoped maybe he'd just tell her what's wrong eventually, if she gave him enough space, but that was foolish. There was no one as emotionally constipated as that man.

Besides, the more customers there were, the more stressful preparing the orders became for her. "Uhm, Jax? I could really use some help here!" She said with a nervous little giggle.

"Then ask Zooble to help you, since they're so interested in making adventures you like." He replied, his tone bitter.

"Everyone else is out there serving and entertaining the guests!" Gangle countered in a high-pitched voice.

They could hear the others from beyond the kitchen, chanting; "Go Kinger! Go Kinger! Go Kinger!" Then the whole cafe erupted into cheers.

Jax huffed, digging his fingers into his arms. "Well, glad that they're enjoying themselves." He said. Even his sarcasm sounded bitter.

"Jax, please!" Gangle pleaded, sounding desperate. "I just can't fix all of these desserts on my own! I need you!"

He still made no move to help her, just rolling his eyes. "How hard can it be?"

"Jax! You wanted kitchen duty!"

"I just wanted to stay where no one can see me."

"I can see you! And I'm seeing an a[$$]hole right now!"

"Big deal. Like that isn't the norm." He rolled his eyes again.

Gangle groaned. She turned away from her hastily prepared desserts to go over to him, pulling harshly on his ears. The rabbit widened his eyes and cringed in pain as she pulled him towards the counter.

"Ow, ow, ow! What's gotten into you, Ribbons?!"

"I'll tell you what'll get into you, and that's called work morale!" She said, pointing at the ingredients on the counter. "You're decorating the pancakes! No buts!"

He growled at her. "Or what?"

"Or I'll ask Ragatha to switch duty with you! She was excited to make the desserts, unlike you! Then you can go out there where every NPC can see you and serve them sweets and entertain them in your dress! Is that what you want?"

Jax's eyes and his pupils widened. He quietly turned to the pancake and started decorating it. Gangle watched him for a moment, to make sure he was actually doing what she asked him to. When he did, she turned back to her own work with a huff.

They worked in silence for a while. The threat seemed to have worked wonders on Jax. Which brought Gangle back to her original concerns, and now she was frustrated enough to just ask him about it instead of waiting for him to feel comfortable enough to open up, which would never happen if she didn't do anything.

"So, why is the maid dress such a big deal?" She asked.

He narrowed his eyes. "Screw you."

The ribbon woman sighed. "If you would just open up about it maybe I could help."

"I doubt that."

"Why not try it?"

"Ribbons, I would rather let Zooble into my overalls like a baby kangaroo than talk about this." Jax hissed.

Gangle widened her eyes at that mental image. She quickly shook it away, knitting her brows in concern. "What are you afraid of?"

That seemed to strike a nerve. He tensed up, fists clenching on top of the counter, pupils shrinking. He scowled in disgust. "I am not scared. It's the opposite. I just man up and get through this adventure without pouring my little heart out to you."

She frowned. "That's not... Jax, if something bothers you, you shouldn't just 'man up'... we should talk about it and take care of the problem."

"Yeah, well, this problem can't be taken care of!" He said, turning to her with a manic, angry grin. "So why don't you just drop it and leave me alone!"

She put her hand on his, and he flinched at the contact.

"Jax... the smile is getting manic." She said with a soft, worried voice.

The grin slowly dropped, and again, his pupils became huge.

"Please... I just want to understand you. And help you, if I can. You helped with my comedy mask. Now I want to help you with your mask."

He smiled again, and it was eerie how quickly he could go from a distressed, panicked look to this. It made her wonder just how often he had to do that.

"There is nothing beneath my mask, Ribbons. I already told you, what you see is what you get. Nothing more to me than that. So stop. Looking."

He turned back to cutting up strawberries, glaring down at them.

Gangle reached up, taking off her comedy mask and putting it on the counter. She looked at him. Tears were already building in the corners of her pitch black eyes. Showing him that she was willing to be real with him. Showing him vulnerability, and honesty, rather than just promising it.

"Jax... I can tell that you're scared."

"I am not scared-"

"And that's okay. I don't know why you're scared, but it's okay to be."

He scoffed. "Of course you would say that." He said it like an insult.

It pierced Gangle's heart, but she didn't let it deter her. "I promise you I'll try my best to get you out of that dress, but you have to be honest with me."

He shook his head, exasperated, and turned away. He rubbed at his eyes. Then he looked down at his shaking hands, and at the ruffled black and white skirt poofing around him.

He turned back to her, scowling. "Fine. But on my conditions." He said. He pointed his finger at her. "You don't make it a big deal. You don't look at me differently or treat me differently when I tell you. You won't tell me how 'brave' I am or what an 'inspiration' I am." He said around airquotes. Gangle raised a brow at that, but didn't interrupt him.

"It'd be best if you just forget that this is a thing the moment after I told you. Got it?"

She nodded. "Got it."

He turned away from her so he wouldn't have to look her in the eyes as he said it, and took a deep breath. "It wasn't a panic attack."

She tilted her head and frowned, then she understood what he meant. "But Caine said-"

"Caine doesn't know anything about humans!" He exclaimed. "He wouldn't be able to distinguish a psychosis from being hungry! I know better than him."

"Then what was it?" She asked.

A short pause. Jax looked... ashamed. It wasn't a good look on him, Gangle decided.

"Gender dysphoria."

It took a second before the words hit her. Her eyes widened.

"I'm trans." He added quickly.

Gangle blinked. "Oh..."

He cringed and glared at her. "There! Now you know it! Jax isn't a real man! So you can go ahead and call me a freak so we can get it over with!"

She frowned, hurt that he would think she would do that. "I'd never say that! A-and you are a real man! Did... did someone call you a freak before, because of that?"

"None of your business." He growled. "But I certainly feel like a freak in this dress." He said, gesturing down at the dress Gangle had thought to look quite flattering on him. "It even has a boob window. A boob window! As if I need more reminders that I have those in the real world!" The rabbit almost screeched, eyes getting scribbly again.

His chest was rising and falling as he started hyperventilating again. He touched the heart cutout. "But my chest is flat here. My chest is flat. Whatever sucked my brain into this headset realized that I'm a man and gave me a male avatar, and then you and Zooble had to go and ruin it by putting me in a dress." He spit the word like venom.

She raised her hands to her mouth. "Oh god... Jax, I- I'm so sorry!" Thick tears fell from her eyes. "That wasn't my- I didn't mean to- if I had known, I would have voted over something else!"

He huffed. "Why are you sorry? You wanted to embarrass me and you succeeded."

"Embarrass you, not give you dysphoria!" Gangle emphasized. "T-that's not at all what I wanted! No one should ever have to feel like that, including you! You- you're mean, but- but that is cruel!" She wailed, drowning in guilt.

He sighed. "I'm cruel too, Gangle." He said.

Her lip was quivering. "...Sometimes." She admitted. "But I don't want to be cruel, purposeful or otherwise. And that's just a line I don't want to cross."

He threw his head back and groaned. "God, I just told you not to treat me differently, Ribbons! You're doing a really bad job at that!"

"I'm not-" She protested with a hiccup. "I still would have embarrassed you to get back at you, just with something else."

He furrowed his brows, leaning against the counter and glaring down at it. There was pain in his eyes. Gangle frowned and put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched away from the touch, and she widened her eyes.

He had never done that before. It concerned her, but she just took her hand back.

"Jax, this changes nothing between us. You're still the same man you were before. The same jerk. The same Jax." She tried to reassure him.

He only huffed in response. Gangle gave him a hesitant smile.

"Well, one thing did change."

He turned to look at her, tired.

"I feel grateful that you trusted me enough to tell me."

Jax stared at her for a long moment, then he looked down again and sighed. "Just don't tell the others."

She nodded. "Alright. They'd understand, but I won't say anything. It's your decision when you'll tell them, or if."

"I won't." He grunted. He glared at her. "I told you. Now can you get me out of this humiliating thing?"

Gangle frowned, determination overtaking her face like Jax had never seen on her tragedy mask. "I'm on it! You can count on me!"

She walked out of the kitchen, purpose in her steps. She made a beeline towards Zooble.

They looked up when they saw her approach. "Oh, hey Gangle. Had enough of Jax?"

"No. I, uh, wanted to talk to you about the dresses." She said. "I think you should tell Caine to get Jax out of the dress."

Zooble raised an eyebrow at her. They looked her up at down. "Why? Is he not giving your comedy mask back if you don't make me?"

Oh, right. She had forgot it in the kitchen. She shook her head. "No, nothing like that, don't worry. Though I know why you would think that... but he hasn't broken or stolen my mask at all lately." She said.

"Then... why?" Zooble asked, clearly confused.

Gangle sighed. "Because I'm worried about him. The dress is really making him uncomfortable. Really, really uncomfortable, I mean. He's not very helpful like this."

"Then make him switch shifts with Ragatha or something."

"No, Zooble, listen-" She reached out to them. "I can't tell you the details, but the dress just isn't good for him, okay? It's more than just annoying or embarrassing him, Zooble." She frowned in obvious worry. "I don't want him to be upset like that. I don't want anyone to be upset like that. Can you please talk to Caine?" She pleaded, clasping her ribbons together in front of herself.

Zooble looked at her for a moment, brows furrowed in concern for her. They sighed. "Fine. For you. Not for him."

Gangle smiled. "That's more than good enough for me." She said, taking their hand. "Thank you, Zooble. You're the best."

Their eyes softened in a smile. "Don't thank me yet, I have no idea if Caine will even listen to me." They said.

"Oh, I- I'm sure he will. This whole thing is his attempt at making you happy, after all..."

They sighed again. "Yeah... I'll see what I can do."

The abstract character walked away in search of their ringmaster, and Gangle returned to the kitchen to check on Jax. Unsurprisingly, he hadn't kept working on the desserts, going back to sitting in a corner and sulking, hugging his knees close to his chest.

Still flat, he reminded himself.

"I talked to Zooble, and they're going to try and convince Caine." She told him.

He looked up at her, eyes wide in surprise. "...For real?"

"Yeah..." Gangle nodded. She put her comedy mask back on and gave him a small smile. "You'd be surprised how far being nice to people can get you in every day life."

He huffed. "Being nice just to get something isn't really my style."

"What about being nice for the sake of being nice?"

"That's no fun."

She sighed. "Well, I did something nice for you, so... can you help me now?" She asked, turning back to the desserts.

He didn't reply, which made her think that he would just ignore her, but then he stood next to her. "Alright, I guess I owe you. But I have no idea what to do, so you'll have to instruct me." He said. Gangle smiled, positively surprised. "Of course! I'll gladly help you!"

She pushed a plate of omurice omelettes towards him that she had finished earlier. "Start by doing a ketchup painting on this! But make it something cute! And after that I need you to melt some chocolate for me."

He gave her a two-fingered salute and took the ketchup bottle, twirling it around like a revolver. "You got it, boss."

Gangle giggled at that, clearly happy.

A few minutes passed and they worked next to each other, Jax occasionally asking for what to do next or Gangle giving him tips. He proudly showed her his omelette artwork, and she blushed when she saw that it was a little doodle of her smiling mask, surrounded by flowers and stars. "That cute enough for you?"

Her blush deepened. "Depends... do you think I'm cute?"

"Did I put you on the omelette or not?"

She giggled again. "I guess you did."

"Yeah, I did." He said, moving to melt the chocolate.

When he was done with that too, a little pop sound came and Jax's outfit changed; the maid dress disappeared and was replaced with an anime-like butler outfit. His pupils went wide and he blinked, looking down at himself. A big smile spread over his face.

"There we go! You really did it, Ribbons!"

She smiled and clapped excitedly. "Yay! And you still look just as cute as before!"

He rolled his eyes, but the smile stayed. He looked down at the counter, silent for a moment. "...Thank you, Gangle. Really."

"You're welcome." She replied, happy for him. She could practically see as the weight lifted from his shoulders and relief flooded him, feeling so much more at ease in more male looking clothes. Gangle just wished he'd feel confident enough to know that he's a man no matter what he wore. She put a hand on his shoulder. "No one should have to feel like this about themselves. But I just want you to know that you're always a man, dress or no dress."

He rolled his eyes again, this time without the smile. "Sure, whatever. I know that. I'm the pinnacle of masculinity, after all. I just don't like how it feels to wear a dress, now drop it."

She furrowed her brows and nodded. "Alright. But I think you should say thanks to Zooble as well." She said. His expression soured immediately. Gangle chuckled. "I know, that's the last thing you want to do, but it's thanks to them that you're-"

"It's thanks to them I was in the dress to begin with." He hissed.

Gangle gave him a sad look. "...That was the fault of us both." She said. "And I made it up to you. Zooble did the same."

"As if they did that for me..." He mumbled, frowning down at the white chocolate he was chopping now.

"That's... true. They did it for me." Gangle admitted. Then her face brightened, as if a lightbulb appeared over her head. She smirked. "And I thought you would thank them for me. But I guess Zooble one-upped you there."

He groaned. "That manipulation tactic is so lame, Crybaby..."

"But is it working?"

"No."

"Come on. Please? It would make me happy."

He looked away from the chocolate to look at her again, and in the moment he hadn't looked, she had taken off her comedy mask. Now she had her hands folded under her chin in a pleading position, looking at him with the biggest, wettest, most obnoxiously adorable puppy eyes he had ever seen. He narrowed his eyes in disgust. A low growl came from his chest.

"Ughhhh, fine, but stop looking at me like that." He said, putting the knife down and leaving the kitchen.

Gangle cheered, put her mask back on and followed him to make sure he would really thank them. He had a confident stride, and immediately started flirting with the guests he passed as they got excited when they spotted him. He winked at this one, threw a charming kiss at that one, and made at least one customer swoon.

Gangle was enamored with the display, happy to have the usual Jax back now that he felt better. But at the same time, she was inexplicably angry that this attention wasn't directed at her. Realizing what she was thinking there, she widened her eyes and blushed like a tomato.

They reached Zooble, who had also switched to a butler suit, feeling more comfortable in it too. Zooble had asked everyone if they wanted to wear something else as well, and only Pomni had taken them up on the offer.

Kinger had stared at them with wide blood-shot eyes and said; "You can pry my pretty princess dress from my cold dead hands." In an emotionless voice.

Zooble had quickly backed away after that.

Now Jax approached them, tapping them on their shoulder as they placed plates on a table. They turned around, frowning and groaning when they saw Jax. Clearly they were just as unhappy to see him as he was to be here. He could at least have some fun with this, he decided, smiling at them. They crossed their arms and glared at him.

"What?"

"Thank you for getting me out of that dress." He said.

They widened their eyes a little, confused and suspicious.

"You really helped me out there." He continued happily.

They narrowed their eyes. "...Why are you doing that?"

"Doing what? Thanking you for doing something nice for me?" He asked innocently. "Man, Zooble, I thought that's pretty self-explanatory. You must be more socially awkward than I thought." He raised his arms in a shrug.

"I didn't do it for you."

"Of course not." He agreed, giving them a cheshire grin. "But you still did it. You're such a good friend, Zoobie."

He didn't even sound sarcastic. At this point he just had fun confusing them.

"...Whatever. Glad to see you aren't panicking anymore. Does that mean you can actually work now?"

"'Course I can, Zoobie. We can't leave all the cooking and baking to poor little Gangle, now can we?" He asked, turning around to grin at the ribbon woman.

"Uh, yeah. Let's go back to the kitchen." Gangle agreed with a smile. "Good work, Jaxxy!"

He frowned at her as he passed her. "Don't talk to me like I'm a child." He said.

Gangle was about to follow him, but Zooble stopped her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Wait! You made him say thanks?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah. So don't be surprised, he's not suddenly decent." She chuckled and rubbed the back of her ribbon neck. "He just did it for me. Still, I'm proud of him!"

She turned and left, leaving Zooble standing there, staring.

He did it for her? What the h[€//] was that supposed to mean?

~~~

They finished the work day, and everyone was relieved when they got to close the cafe. Even though it was mostly fun, it was also exhausting. For everyone except for Kinger, who mourned the loss of his dress, until he forgot that he ever wore it and started talking about... white marbles? No one really knew what that meant, but he said they look beautiful when they flutter around.

To finish the day they got a feast made of the dishes they had made and served in the cafe all day, stuff that Caine had apparently snatched away from Gangle and Jax when they weren't looking. The bunny frowned. "That's where the desserts went?!"

"Oh... that explains a lot." Gangle mumbled.

"And you thought I'm stealing them!" Jax pointed an accusing finger at Ragatha, who looked away. "Oh no, don't you ignore me now!"

Caine floated over to Zooble, looking at them with big eyes, clutching his cane close to his chest. "A-and... how did you like my adventure, Zooble?"

Everyone stared at them, their looks urging them to be nice. Only Jax looked amused by the spotlight put on them, knowing how much they hated it, and Kinger was moving his hands like they were a butterfly.

Zooble sighed, and honestly said; "I liked it. It was pretty relaxing compared to your other adventures, and I liked to see that everyone had fun."

"But did you have fun?" He asked, eyes becoming even bigger.

"...Yes." That wasn't the entire truth. Entertaining the guests was only annoying Zooble, but watching their friends perform was funny, seeing how they let loose and enjoyed themselves. Serving the tables was just boring, until guests would ask Zooble to stay because they wanted to 'talk with their maid' or play games or even hug them, which they shut down quickly and firmly. But Caine was insecure enough as it is, and they all unfortunately depended on him.

He floated upwards into a backflip and cheered. "Yes! I knew it!"

The group released a collective sigh of relief.

"Then go ahead, take a seat!" He said cheerfully, gesturing to the table. "Enjoy the treats lovingly prepared by our Maid Gangle and Maid Jax!"

Jax scowled at him. They all sat down, and everyone had to agree that the desserts were delicious. Especially Ragatha, who was known for her sweet tooth, couldn't stop praising the treats. After dinner they hung out for a while as usual, then everyone went to bed.

But before Gangle went to sleep, she knocked on Jax's door. He looked annoyed when he opened it, even though she knew that was just a facade by now.

"What now?" He asked.

"Can I come in? I wanted to talk."

"Is it important? I was gonna sleep."

"Yes. Well, no. But I just wanted to talk about what you told me in the kitchen." She whispered the last part, wanting to respect his wish to keep it secret.

He groaned and pushed her inside, closing the door behind himself and locking it. He looked hurt. "I thought we agreed to not make a big deal out of me being trans." He said through gritted teeth. He clenched his fists at his sides. "I knew I shouldn't have told you."

"No! No!" She said, raising her ribbons to placate him. "That you're trans doesn't change anything. Not about how I view you or... anything. The thing I wanted to talk about wasn't that, not really. Just... the fact that you trusted me enough to tell me meant a lot to me." She smiled shyly.

He still looked suspicious of her.

"I'm just glad that you felt comfortable enough with me. That's all."

He stared for a moment, then he huffed. "Fine."

"Yeah... I guess I should leave now." She said, moving to leave his room. But she stopped and turned back, surprising him by throwing her arms around his waist in a hug, face buried in his chest. "Thank you for being my friend, Jax."

The rabbit's eyes were wide and empty, arms raised up as if he didn't know what to do with them. Then, as the realization settled in that this was a hug, Gangle was hugging him, he slowly lowered his arms to return the hug, not quite sure what to make of it.

Friend.

Gangle saw him as her friend. The idea terrified him. It made his heart clench painfully. But at the same time, a small part of him that he would never admit existed, a part he wished he could brutally murder, was happy at the affection and validation.

He didn't need this. He didn't need friends. He didn't need other people.

But then why did this feel so nice?

Was he just too weak? Too soft? Too sensitive, deep inside, under the layers of a[$$]hole he used to protect himself, to grow into the archetype he had chosen for himself to detach himself?

He still couldn't find it in himself to want it to stop at the moment.

He sighed and closed his eyes, resting his chin atop her mask. "Pajama party?"

Gangle smiled, nuzzling into his chest. "Pajama party."

~~~

Chapter Text

Again, they didn't even sleep on their pajama party.

Jax had braided Gangle's ribbons again, and then he had played video games, sitting on the floor in front of his bed, her sitting on the bed behind him and drawing. She showed him her progress whenever he was in between levels, and he offered feedback, with his usual level of sarcasm, but without the usual level of malice. While he was in the levels she fed him chips when he called on her help, and she had to giggle at how clearly concentrated he was.

Without them noticing, morning came, and with it, there was a knock on Jax's door, eventually. "Get up, you're going to miss the theme song. If I have to be there, you do too." Zooble's voice. "Also, is Gangle in there with you? She isn't answering her door."

"I'm here!" Gangle called out, putting down her sketchbook and going to open the locked door. "Good morning! We lost sight of the time again!"

Zooble raised a skeptical eyebrow, looking past her and into the room at Jax, eyes focused on the gameplay.

"Mornin' Zoobie! You look like you slept well!" His voice was dripping with obviously false happiness meant to tease them.

They narrowed their eyes at him. "You haven't even looked at me."

"Sorry, can't! Middle of the level! Gangle, chip me!"

The ribbon character went back to the bag of chips on the bed and chipped him with a little giggle. Then she looked at the screen, her eyes wide and her mouth a perfect little circle as she sat down next to him, suddenly just as fixated on the TV as he was. "Ohhh, you're almost at the final boss!" She said, crossing her legs.

"This is what I've worked for, Ribbons. You're about to witness greatness."

She squealed happily. "I can't wait for the final cutscene! I'm just sad that it's ending..."

"This is a game made by Caine, it's not like the story was very riveting. But the gameplay is decent." He shrugged.

"Ohh, I liked the story! In some places it really tugged at my heartstrings..."

"Of course it did, because you're a sappy Crybaby."

"N-not at all!"

Zooble cleared their throat. "Guys. If you want breakfast before the theme song-"

"No we don't, leave us alone" Jax said, narrowing his eyes at the screen. "We don't even need to eat, and we can't stop right before the boss fight. Now shoo."

Their eye twitched in anger. "Shoo? You did not just shoo me."

"Zooble, I just want you to know that if I wasn't playing a video game right now, I still wouldn't look at you. You're just too ugly."

"A[$$]hole."

"Uhm, we're going to join you guys later, okay?" Gangle said with a shy smile. "It won't take long. Just tell the others we're on our way."

Zooble looked at her for a moment, worry in their eyes, then gave one last frown to the rabbit. Sighing, they turned away and left.

The others were already in the middle of the tent, waiting for a breakfast that was being cooked by Bubble today. He had his chef's hat on, humming a happy tune as he flew out of the kitchen. "Good morning, Zooble! Have you f[§<€]ed tonight?"

Zooble narrowed their eyes at him. "How would I have?"

"Mmmaybe you wouldn't be in such a bad mood always if you f[*%&]ed!"

Zooble frowned at him. "...Yeah, thanks."

"Always happy to help!" He sang, floating back into the kitchen.

The abstract character rolled their eyes and joined the others at the table.

"Uhm... that was something." Ragatha said. "Where's Gangle and Jax? Did you find them?"

"Yep." They replied, brows still furrowed. "They had another pajama party. Now they're gaming. Said they'll join us after they beat the boss."

"Oh." Ragatha said, smiling like she was happy for them, but her lips twitched in poorly concealed discomfort. "They're gaming? Ha... That's good! It's good that he's sharing that again! With someone..."

Her hands were on her lap, grabbing folds of her dress, and her teeth were gritted under her smile. Zooble and Pomni shared a worried, confused look.

"Uhm... is he not supposed to play video games with Gangle...?" Pomni asked.

"What? No, of course! He can play video games with whoever he wants!" She laughed cheerfully. Too cheerfully. "I'm just surprised, is all! He hasn't done that in... years." Her smile turned sad. Ragatha took a deep breath, then tried to smile again. "I'm glad, really. I just hope that he's honest with her about their friendship."

"Yeah... I'm worried about that, too." Zooble added.

"What are you worried about?" Kinger asked, having been completely silent until now, tilting his head to the side. He had one of Bubble's pots on his head. "If they're having fun together that's good, isn't it?"

Zooble sighed. "If this was anyone else we're talking about, yes. But we're talking about Jax here. He might just be playing with her for a prank, or even only because he's bored right now."

"Hmm..." Kinger hummed, looking down at the table. "I don't think he would do that."

"You don't even remember most of his pranks..." Zooble said sadly, shaking their head.

"But I remember the sweet boy he was when he arrived here." Kinger said, leaving everyone wide-eyed with his surprising moment of lucidity. "Of course, he's not that boy anymore... he's a young man now, and this place wasn't good for his character, but deep down he's still the same person. There are lines he won't cross. I know him." He said confidently.

Everyone stared at him in silence.

"...He's a young man now?" Pomni asked, furrowing her brow in deep concern, feeling her gut clench at the implications of his words. She noticed that Ragatha looked uncomfortable and sad. She thought her one eye that wasn't a button looked a little bit wet, even.

Then Jax and Gangle came strolling in. "What's up fellas?" Jax asked.

They all turned to them, faces still strained. Kinger took off the pot and looked down at it. "Oh. Bubble can't make spaghetti without this."

"Uhh..." Pomni looked at him with a frown, then turned back to Jax. "We were just talking about... Spaghetti!" She lied.

Ragatha and Zooble gave her exasperated looks for the bad lie, and she looked back at them like; Well why didn't you help me then?!

Because all of them definitely agreed that they could not tell those two what they had talked about just now. Pomni didn't want Jax to feel bad about how they talked about him, Zooble didn't want to worry Gangle, and Ragatha just didn't want a confrontation at all.

Now both Gangle and Jax were raising an eyebrow at Pomni, clearly not buying it.

"Uhm... spaghetti?" Gangle asked.

"Yep!" Pomni replied, way too enthusiastically, but she had chosen this story and now she had to stick with it. She laughed nervously and waved it off. "I don't know why Bubble would make spaghetti for breakfast, either! That's what we were discussing!"

"We were?" Kinger asked, leaning over the table to look at her.

"Yeah, Kinger." Ragatha said with a smile, putting a hand on his arm. "That's why you wanted to give back the pot, remember?"

Before anyone else could say something about that topic, or doubt it, Caine appeared above them. "Good morning, my superstars! Who is ready for an adventure?!"

Zooble frowned up at their ringmaster. "We haven't even eaten yet."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to miss our totally real spaghetti." Jax said, arms crossed and a s[#!%]-eating grin on his face as he turned to look at Zooble and the girls again.

"Spaghetti?! Why would you eat spaghetti when you can dine like the gods?!" Caine screamed. Everyone stared at him, so he calmed his tense posture, putting a hand on his lower jaw. "I mean... I don't know if the gods eat spaghetti too. But they eat their spaghetti from nicer plates!"

"I clean every plate myself." Bubble said as he came out of the kitchen.

Pomni cringed. "With a sponge and water and soap, right? Not your..." She gestured vaguely towards his tongue.

Bubble stared into nothingness for a moment, unblinking. "I am soap and water."

Pomni looked like a sad wet cat at that.

"Enough of this!" Caine interrupted, popping Bubble with his cane. "Time for today's adventure!" He snapped his fingers, and everyone got a large piece of paper with their names on it, and a punch of colored pencils on the floor in the middle of them.

"Oh! Are we drawing?" Gangle asked excitedly.

"Indeed! Today's adventure is... Godhood!"

"That explains the fine dining." Zooble drawled, an eyebrow raised.

"What are you talking about, Zooble?" Caine shook his head. "Anyway! Today, you all are a pantheon of gods, going about your godly duties and making sure your human followers are happy! Maybe then you can understand how hard my job is." He pouted.

Zooble frowned, narrowing their eyes at him. "...Do you think you're our god?"

"Well, you said that, not me, but I feel flattered by your assessment, Zooble!" Caine blushed. "Before our adventure begins, you all must decide what role you want to fill in the pantheon! That's why you've got these sheets of paper! Write yourself a title and draw yourself some godly attire, and snap! I'll make it appear! You don't have to worry about making it look good, I'll do that! No artistic talent required whatsoever! The only thing you need is imagination! You've got ten minutes to let your creative juices flow!"

"Mhhh, don't spill your juices, or Daddy Bubble will have to clean up after you nasty [§!%€#]es!" Bubble said, spawning out of his tophat again.

Caine sighed and put a hand on his upper jaw as if he was rubbing his temples. "Bubble, you are so cringe sometimes." With that they both disappeared.

"Wow! A creative challenge!" Ragatha said, smiling down at her still empty sheet of paper. "That'll be fun! I wonder what I should make my role..."

"Oh! I know!" Jax said with an excited smile, raising his hand like he was in school. "Goddess of being annoying! Goddess of ugly pool noodle hair! Oh! Oh! Goddess of fake positivity!"

"That's enough suggestions, Jax..." Ragatha hissed through her teeth, turning away.

They all turned to their own sheets, starting to work in quiet.

Gangle went over to the couch, taking a pen with her. She sat down criss-cross-applesauce, holding the empty paper in front of her, imagining all she could put on it. There was a small smile on her face as she tapped the pen against her chin, thinking about what she should do with this creative freedom Caine had unexpectedly given them today. Maybe he was running out of ideas, but he'd never admit that by taking an idea from the suggestion box. Still, this was a nice compromise. Gangle could work with that.

First things first; she needed to decide what kind of goddess she wanted to be. She needed to know before she could start on her design, after all.

But that's when the first troubles came up.

What should she make herself?

Of course, the first thought that came to her was something with art. That was her thing, right? But... she wasn't very good at it... sure, she liked art, she loved drawing, but making herself the goddess of it seemed very self-absorbed to her. She knew it was just a silly game, but still, she didn't deserve that title, not even in jest... Her drawings weren't that good, anyway. God of art was better for someone like Zooble, someone actually talented.

But... what did that leave her with? Drawing was the only thing she was even a little bit good at... She could just choose something she liked instead of something she was good at, but that thought only depressed her for some reason. Was there really nothing Gangle was the best at?

"Why the long face, Pretty?" Jax asked as he leaned over the back of the couch, looking down at her empty piece of paper, eyes feeling judgmental as always. "Huh. And here I thought you'd already be done. The others are still in the brainstorming phase, but I expected you to be scribbling away oh so enthusiastically."

Gangle frowned down at her name on the paper. "I... don't know what to choose. I've got nothing." She said.

He raised a disgusted eyebrow at her. "Ugh, seriously? You can think of like, a hundred OC's to draw, but not a single thing to draw yourself wearing?"

"It's not the outfit... it's the 'goddess of' part." She said, hunching in on herself, becoming smaller. "I mean... what am I good for usually? I fail at everything already, I don't want to fail on an astronomical scale..." She sobbed.

She just now remembered that she hadn't stopped at her room this morning to pick up her new comedy mask. She hadn't even realized all night, but she felt it like a punch to the gut now.

Jax actually cringed at her. "You're so lame."

"I know..." She sniffled.

He reached his hand out to her and wiggled his fingers as if he wanted her to give him something. "Come on, gimme that, I'll make something up."

Thick tears shook on her mask as she clutched the paper close to her chest. "Y-you'll just make me something embarrassing..."

He scowled at her. "More embarrassing than your self-pity right now? I don't think that's possible." He said. She winced, because... he was right.

He sighed and rolled his eyes, holding out the paper with his name on it. "Here, as a sign of trust. You'll get to do mine. Surely you'll have an easier time figuring out something for someone as amazing and flawless as me." He said, a cocky smile on his face and his hand on his chest.

Gangle stared up at him, hesitantly taking the paper and looking down at it. It read 'JAX', so it wasn't stolen from one of the others. She looked up at him again. "You'll really let me do yours?" She asked.

He shrugged, still grinning. "Sure, why not. Not like any of this matters, anyway. Now gimme yours. I'll make you cool for a change, promise." He raised a hand and two fingers, one eye closed. "Scout's honor."

She looked down at her empty paper again. She couldn't think of something anyway, and doing this for someone else instead of herself would take the pressure off of her to get it right. She could just be creative and have fun with this task.

With a sigh, she handed him her paper. "Okay... fine."

He snatched it away from her with a feral smirk, grinning down at the paper like he planned to do terrible things to it. Gangle would have paled if her mask wasn't white china already.

"Great choice! You won't regret it, Ribbons!"

She already regretted it. She sighed again and looked down at her new character sheet.

So. What should she make Jax? She could make him something embarrassing for a change, to get back at him for all the pranks. But thinking back to the last time she did something like that... Maybe she shouldn't try a repeat of that, given how wrong it went. That fiasco had been more than enough embarrassment, even for someone like Jax. Especially since he'd been better lately. And if he really gave her something cool, she'd feel bad for giving him something lame.

Okay, so she'd do something cool, trusting that he would do the same. But what? Maybe she should go about this through the look of real world mythologies?

What were Jax's best qualities? In her opinion, probably his confidence, and that he was funny. Pretty strong too, but that was most likely due to their cartoon physics. Everything that was in here was their minds, so him being confident about everything he did and having internalized that nothing mattered translated to all the cool abilities he displayed. It was just like he had told Evil Jax before the ice skating race; he didn't think about consequences or what he could and couldn't do, he just did.

Jax was a prankster, most obviously. That reminded her of gods like Loki, for example. A trickster. And he enjoyed violence a lot, at least in here, so something like Ares?

She tapped the pen against her chin again, her earlier enthusiasm recovered. How about the god of war and mischief? That sounded nice! She was sure he would like it, and it was a unique combination she didn't think she heard before.

With a smile on her face again, she started writing Jax, God of War and Mischief, and started sketching an outfit for him. First a rough sketch of Jax, and then she added some greek style armor. A breast plate, that leather-skirt-thing soldiers used to wear, and sword and shield. To give some of that trickster element, she added a small pair of wings to his high sandals, just like Hermes was often depicted wearing. And lastly, a classical helmet that left only his face uncovered, with a fur plume on top. She drew his ears sticking out at the bottom of the helmet above his neck, and put an attractive, mischievous smirk on his face.

And then she got to coloring! The breast-plate was bronze, the helmet was golden, the plume red and the sword he was lazily spinning around his hand with such easy-going confidence was silver. Everything was coming together.

Before she knew it, the time was up. The papers disappeared from everyone's hands, leading to some complaints from the others. Fortunately, Gangle had just been able to finish her drawing. She'd focused really hard after she got a boost of motivation.

"There we go! Now we're ready to enter the world of gods!" Caine said, hastily ushering them through the portal.

On the other side, they ended up in something that was clearly inspired by Mount Olympus. Palace, check. Ivory pillars and gold statues, check. Lush greenery and big pretty fountains, check. And situated on the top of a mountain amidst clouds, check.

Not that anyone was complaining, this one actually looked pretty good.

"Wow... you really outdid yourself, Caine!" Ragatha said, looking around with a big smile.

"Ooooh... look at all the pretty butterflies!" Kinger said, eyes drifting off.

"...I have to admit, it's not that bad." Zooble said with a shrug.

Again, Caine blushed. "Oh, you... I knew you love my adventures!"

No one had said that, but no one said anything to correct him either. He needed that, and they needed more adventures like this, where they got some autonomy. Of course, it hadn't even really started yet, but at least the scenery was nice already.

"Alrighty! Let's get to revealing what you all decided to be!"

He made them step forward one by one, announcing their title and changing their outfits with a snap of his fingers.

Ragatha had helped Kinger out, and so his usual robe was exchanged for one looking like rainbow butterfly wings, and he was the god of... insect collections. He had insisted on that.

Ragatha herself had decided on none of Jax's helpful suggestions, becoming the goddess of happiness, fairness and horses instead. With the role came a big, soft yellow dress, almost a ballgown while still looking light and airy like a summer dress. It had cute ruffles and a subtle sunflower pattern.

Pomni was the goddess of empathy and friendship now, because, in her words, everyone always came to her for those talks. Jax made a joke about her choosing the most My Little Pony thing she possibly could have, saying that she wanted a unicorn horn after all. That hadn't made it into her outfit, which was just a stylish, comfortable looking pantsuit, because that's what she did feel the most comfortable in for some reason.

Zooble became the god of freedom, after their paper had repeatedly deleted their original chosen title, the god of not giving a f[@#?]. Again, Jax couldn't resist making fun of them, this time by sarcastically asking why they didn't make themselves the god of beauty. They just wore a baggy coat hiding most of their body. Clearly, they had put a lot of thought into this.

And then it was Gangle's turn. She sighed as she stepped forward, throwing a pout in Jax's direction. "You better made me something cool..."

"Wait, you let him take your paper?" Zooble asked, eyes wide.

"Relax, Mix'N'Match." Jax said. "She got my paper in turn."

They frowned at him. "Yeah, but only because you know that she's too kind-hearted to use this against you. What did you do?"

"Wait and see." He gestured to the middle of the room where everyone else had been revealed. Caine was already waiting.

Gangle stepped over to him, closing her eyes as she awaited Caine's narration.

"I present to you... Gangle, Goddess of Creativity and Talent, Patron of the Arts!"

She opened her eyes again in sheer surprise at what she heard. She looked down at herself after Caine's snap, and found herself in a dress that looked like something an ancient greek princess might wear. It was a light lavender color, cinched at the waist to give her the illusion of a figure. There was a green laurel wreath resting on top of her mask like a crown, and a sketchbook appeared in one of her hands, a pencil in the other.

She blinked as she took everything in. The others were staring at her, too.

"Wow... that's actually pretty nice, Jax." Ragatha said, showing him a careful smile.

He put a hand on his chest and smiled as well, eyes closed. "I am nice."

"Not... usually. But this time!"

"You..." Gangle started, walking back to the group. She frowned up at him. "Why would you make me that?"

"Because it's the most fitting." He crossed his arms and frowned at her. "But you'd never say that yourself. You'd be all like," He raised his hands and talked in a high, whiny voice in his best mockery of a Gangle impression. "Ohhh, no, I'm no artist, waaaah! Let Zooble have that, I'm so untalented and pitiable! Waaah!"

She blushed, because those had been pretty much her thoughts, except for the exaggerated crying. But that was his creative liberty, she supposed.

"So that's why I had to take your paper away from you. Because if anyone here should get that title, it's you, and I wasn't in the mood to hear you insulting yourself today. That's still my job." Jax said, looking unamused and pointing a thumb at himself.

"But... but it's true!" She protested weakly.

Zooble sighed. "As much as I hate to say it, Jax is right."

"HA!" Jax laughed. "Never thought I'd live to see the day."

They side-eyed him before concentrating on Gangle again. "You are an artist, a d[@%+] good one. You deserve that title more than anyone else here."

Gangle smiled shyly. "You really think so?" She looked at everyone, and they all nodded. "Well then... I guess it's okay!"

"It's more than okay, it was my idea after all." Jax said with a smug smile, strutting towards the middle of the room. "Okay, my turn. Oh, and Gangle?"

"Yes?"

"If you gave me something lame, then may god have mercy on you, because I won't."

She widened her eyes. She just hoped he'd like it.

"Very well then..." Caine said, gesturing towards the rabbit dramatically. "I give you Jax, God of War and Mischief!"

He snapped his fingers, and then Jax stood there in the detailed armor Gangle had drawn for him. He looked down at himself with a big smile, taking a look at his armor and taking the sword, spinning it around. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Congrats Gangle, you didn't screw this up!" He said.

She smiled shyly. "I guess I'm pretty good at this, huh?"

Jax smirked at her, a handsome glint in his eye as he spun the sword just like in her drawing. "Now don't get cocky, Ribbons."

"Hehe!"

"Now that our pantheon is complete, let's get into the adventure!" Caine announced excitedly. "You're all going to get duties based on your chosen roles! Take care of your little humans, don't let them go extinct, and most importantly, have fun, my crazy chalupas!"

"We'll see about the extinction." Jax said with a smile.

Caine disappeared, they all got lists with tasks on ancient-looking papyrus rolls, and they split up. Gangle went her own way with a smile on her face and a spring in her step.

And she still didn't have her comedy mask.

~~~

This whole godhood thing was a lot like the Sims, Gangle realized. She could just part the clouds to look down at the "earth" that Caine had crafted below, full of tiny little humans going about their day in a ripoff of ancient greece. Someone even almost drowned in a pool and Gangle saved them, and now they and their family were making her a sacrifice.

Right now she was watching over the construction of a temple. As the patron goddess of the arts, that fell right into her duties. She watched as the stone masons constructed pillars and slanted roofs, high stone walls and polished marble floors. Statues of herself and her friends were build all over the gardens, as well as stone murals over the entrances and the walls.

When the building itself was done, painters created pictures of their gods, and seamstresses weaved tapestries, all depicting the 'heroic deeds' their gods had done in their mythology. Like Kinger shooting a terrifyingly large head thing with a shotgun. Or Ragatha's victory over the Evil Big Tops through her 'homerun'. Or Jax literally any time he had started to throw hands with an NPC in any adventure in the past. The humans seemed to like that.

To spice up their mythology, Caine seemed to even have added mythical creatures. One tapestry showed the fight between abstracted Kaufmo and the Gloink Queen. That one was quite distasteful, in Gangle's opinion, so she forbade the humans from hanging it on the temple walls. She was sure the others would agree, this was a temple for all of them after all.

"Hey, did you save the guy I threw in the pool?" Gangle turned away from watching the humans. Jax approached, clearly annoyed, throwing his arms up in dramatic exasperation. "What do you think why I took away the ladder?!"

She sighed and turned back to overseeing the building efforts. "Sorry, I didn't know that was you." She said.

He threw his hands up immediately again, looking at her like she was stupid. "Who else would it have been?!"

Gangle giggled. "I thought he just fell in there!"

Jax scoffed and crossed his arms. "Yeah, sure. As if anything funny would get done without me. I have to do all the heavy lifting around here!"

She giggled again, and he sat down next to her, looking through the clouds with her.

"So, you're just watching them build us a temple. How interesting." He said dryly. "If you take constructive criticism, less statues of Zooble. You don't want to scare away our worshippers."

She rolled her eyes. "And replace them with more statues of you?"

"Hey, that's an idea." He grinned. He put his thumb and pointer finger under his chin, cartoony sparkles appearing next to his smile. "Who wouldn't want to see more of me?"

She smiled and pushed a ribbon against his face to push it away. "I wouldn't mind seeing less, actually."

He turned away and smiled. "Pssh, you don't mean that."

A comfortable silence settled between them, but Gangle quickly looked back down at her humans when she realized how long she was just looking at his smile. A smile that looked real for a change. Soft. Not like a show he put on, not like the character he played.

And then she realized just how long he was smiling at her like that.

"So... what have you been up to, aside from throwing that guy in the pool." She asked.

Back was the practiced grin. "Bold of you to assume that he's the only guy I threw in a pool."

"Jax!"

"What? Everyone who ever played the Sims did that at least once!"

Against her better judgment, she chuckled. "So you noticed the similarities too?"

"It's not like it's subtle." He said. "But aside from that, I made the most of the role you gave me. Mischievously caused a misunderstanding between two leaders that led to a genocide. Oopsie." Jax smirked, pushing a finger against his cheek, making it look squishy and cuter than it should. Gangle shook her head at the thought.

"What? You're the one who made me a war god."

"Yeah, yeah, that one's on me." She rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I'm sure my war will have some pretty epic battles the muses will sing about or something. Then your followers will have plenty of new scenes to paint. I make history, and you memorize it." He said, pointing at her chest.

She full on laughed about that. One corner of his smile rose, his eye crinkling with mirth. "Amazing."

Gangle stopped laughing, blinking at him. "Uh... what is?"

"You laughing without your comedy mask. Music to my ears."

She looked away, smiling shyly, a blush on her face. "Oh, uh... thank you. Hehe. You're cute, Jaxxy." She said.

"Oh, I definitely am." He said, getting up again. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat for longer, but there's a war to fight and millions to kill. Not that humanity would need my help for that, but I'd really enjoy watching." There was a feral grin on his face as he unsheathed his sword, spinning it. She chuckled and rolled her eyes, and he winked at her. "Later, Pretty."

Gangle raised a ribbon hand to wave. "Later, Jaxxy."

She looked down at her little humans, working away at their temple. Maybe... one more statue. One of Jax and Gangle together. Apparently, if he was to be trusted, the God of War and the Goddess of Art were working closely together, after all.

Of course, the God of Mischief was never to be trusted.

But Gangle didn't mind the stretch if it meant she got a statue of them holding hands.

~~~

Chapter Text

The adventure was actually pretty cool. Gangle had apparently inspired many artists, and she had used her godly powers to create a school for arts and crafts, where everyone could go to study. Those who had a lot of talent were called 'the ones blessed by Gangle', which flustered her a lot. That was just too much praise.

Kinger had a blast too, creating swarm after swarm of insects and letting them fly, sitting mostly in the garden of their little palace and watching them with big eyes, an aura of peace surrounding him. He didn't even bother checking in on the Sims humans, but no one bothered him about that. He was clearly happy, and so they left him alone in his little world, where memories were clearer. Brighter. More colorful.

Even Zooble liked this one; as deity of freedom, they didn't really have any duties they had to fulfill, so they just chilled for most of the adventure.

When their day of duties was over, Caine appeared again, snapping a portal to the Tent into existence.

"See how much easier and nicer life can be when followers just listen to the entity watching them? That entity knows what they're doing and only wants the best for them!" He huffed.

"I don't think Jax had anything good for these humans in mind." Pomni commented with a frown. "He kept throwing my followers into the pool and pulling the ladder up."

"Well, they should have had enough friends to pull them out!" He protested. He crossed his arms and shook his head. "That wasn't very friendship is magic if you ask me."

"No one asked you." Zooble said.

"Remember the lesson here, friends!" Caine interrupted their conversation. "It doesn't matter that Jax threw people into pools! He was their god, so he could throw them wherever he wanted to! That's how it works! But only if the people he throws into pools don't constantly complain about being thrown into pools and criticise how he throws them into pools and ask for suggestion box adventures instead!"

He was getting quite heated at the end of his rant, and everyone stared up at him with wide eyes. That was... not even trying to be a tiny bit subtle, and it was a very unsettling message.

Caine straightened up a little when he realized that he had gotten more intense, trying to play it cool, tugging at his lapels and clearing his throat. "Anyway, we all learned a valuable lesson about how a society works today, and how to make that society a pleasurable experience for everyone. Right?"

"That's definitely not the take-away here." Zooble narrowed their eyes at him, crossing their arms. "You're sounding psychotic, Caine. Jax is an a[$$]hole, but the guys he threw into pools today were just low-quality NPC's. You're talking about us here, about real people, and you're asking us to just let you toy with us like a child burning ants with a magnifying glass!"

Caine looked down at them, blinking. "Whatever makes you think I was talking about you, Zooble? Now that's just ridiculous!" He laughed, way too loud.

"Sure..." Zooble grumbled, turning away and limping back to their room.

Caine watched them go away with big eyes, nervously pushing his pointer fingers together. He turned to the others. "Do you think they liked the adventure?"

"Uhm... sure they did, Caine." Ragatha said with her typically strained smile. "It's just... what you just said was a little... much, don't you think? I can imagine that your words just now upset them." She explained.

"All of us, I'd say." Pomni said with a frown.

"Wha- but it's true!" Caine said. "How not-fun would this adventure have been if the humans had given you clapback for your great ideas?!"

"But those were NPC's. We're real." Ragatha said, feeling in her voice, trying to reason with him. Jax rolled his eyes. Like reasoning with Caine ever worked. Like they were still real.

"We're not toys, Caine." Pomni said.

"Of course you aren't! You're my humans, and it's my job to take care of you and keep you happy! But if I can't do that..." The AI clutched his cane close to his chest, and started to glitch out.

"Woah, woah, woah! You are taking care of us!" Ragatha quickly tried to console him, smiling again. "But it's okay to accept our input in taking care of us! We're not children, and we know pretty well what's best for us and what we need! So... let us help you help us!"

The glitching slowed down, and then stopped, though Caine still looked just as insecure as before. "Help me... help you?" He repeated.

She nodded and hummed in approval.

"Yeah... I mean, you allowed us to decide what gods we wanted to be today, and that made us pretty happy." Pomni agreed with a smile and a shrug. "And that was your idea, wasn't it? So... don't throw us into pools, and let us have more control over what we're doing."

Jax rolled his eyes again and turned to leave. He couldn't listen to another second of them consoling the unstable AI. He would forget this conversation by tomorrow anyway and do what he wanted again. They were his toys. It sucked, but denying it didn't make it any less real. At least Jax accepted the circus for what it was and made the best out of the situation.

He went back to his room, looking into his wardrobe and finding the armor already there with all the other costumes Caine had ever given him for an adventure. Maybe Gangle would like to draw him in this. Well, she already did, he supposed, but still, it always looked better with a reference. That's what she said, at least. Maybe she just liked getting him to pose for her, but he didn't judge. Who wouldn't want the chance to ogle him?

Speaking of the devil, there was a knock at his door, and Jax was sure he knew who it was.

Sure enough, Gangle was smiling up at him when he opened the door. He smirked down at her. "What, already started to miss me?"

She giggled and swiftly invited herself in. "I didn't feel like being alone. I asked Zooble if they wanted to hang out, but they said they wouldn't be good company right now. I wanted to cheer them up, but I think they don't want to worry me." She said, clearly concerned.

Jax huffed. "What, so I'm second choice? I'm hurt, Ribbons."

She rolled her eyes. "Sure you are. So... do you want to hang out?"

"Actually, I'm going to go hang with Ragatha." He said.

She stared at him. He stared back at her. She blinked. He rolled his eyes.

"I'm kidding. Of course I want to hang out, not like there's much more to do around here. And you just happen to be my favorite plaything right now." He grinned.

Gangle frowned. "You sound like Caine."

"Please, that was my schtick long before he started." He joked, sitting down on his bed and petting the space next to him, an invitation she took.

"Can I look through your wardrobe for outfits I haven't drawn you in yet?" She asked, smiling again. Maybe she was going to ignore what he said, or maybe she had figured out that it wasn't true. Either way, Jax just nodded and leaned back against his headboard, hands interlaced behind his head.

"Sure, go ahead. Your little armor has been added already."

She went over to his wardrobe, happily going through the outfits. Jax closed his eyes, listening to her quiet humming as she looked through her options. He opened them again when he heard her soft gasp.

Gangle turned to him, holding something in her hands that he usually stored in the bottom of his wardrobe, where she must have found it now. Right, he hadn't really thought about her seeing it. Not like it mattered anyway, but Gangle looked at it with big, sparkly eyes.

"Is that a ukulele? Can you play?" She asked, excited awe in her voice.

"Yes, and yes." He said, taking the ukulele right out of her hands and grinning down at it. "I know. I'm full of surprises."

Gangle smiled and sat down on the bed next to him, her legs crossed. "Why have I never heard you play?"

He scoffed. "Because I don't play for losers." He joked, absentmindedly strumming the ukulele. "Not anymore, at least."

Her face turned a little sad at that. "Why not?"

He smirked and gave her a stupid little side eye. "So you admit that you're a loser?"

"I can't change your mind about that anyway..." She sighed. "Can you still play for me? Maybe? Please?"

He sighed wistfully and put the ukulele on the bed next to him. "As much as I like hearing you beg, I don't think I will."

"Don't say that..." She blushed.

"It's not my fault your mind's in the gutter."

"Come on, please? I sang karaoke for you!"

"You had fun."

"And you'll have fun playing for me!"

"Why would I?"

He turned to look at her, and- oh god, the puppy eyes again. Cute little sparkles danced in her eyes. Usually they were empty black voids, but now? She really wanted this, huh?

Jax sighed and took the ukulele back on his lap, and Gangle squealed with joy, clapping excitedly. He rolled his eyes. "Just, be quiet, will you? I don't like interruptions when I play."

She smiled and nodded so fast he thought even her tragedy mask would fall off.

He closed his eyes and exhaled a small breath, his fingers finding the strings like they always did. Then he just started playing the first thing that came to mind.

His fingers danced over the strings, lightly, barely touching from what Gangle could see. She stared in awe, because this was real, live music she got to hear, in the circus. It made her giddy, even though it seemed like something so simple. But it wasn't, because it wasn't something they could take for granted here. Anything real was to be cherished in a place like this.

And it sounded beautiful. It was an upbeat tune that immediately made her mood better.

Then he started to sing.

"Everybody else is dumb-"

Okay, yeah, of course he'd sing something like that. She wasn't familiar with the song but-

"-except you"

Oh.

"You make my heart go boom, boom boom
You, know what to do
You make my heart go boom, boom boom"

The music became even more energetic, and Gangle could feel her cold porcelain face heat up. That was a feat Jax managed to achieve more and more often lately.

"Give me just a little piece of what you got
Give me just a little piece of youuu
'Cause everybody else is dumb, except you
You make my heart go boom, boom boom"

There was a smile on his face as he played, mischievous and excited and real, the kind of smile she wanted to see more often. He was really enjoying this. He was having fun. So why wasn't he playing in front of the others anymore? It was such a shame. Gangle was sure they'd love this too. Both the music, and seeing a more real side of Jax, a relaxed side of him that didn't need a sharp tongue to be happy.

"You're a picture perfect masterpiece
With all your little imperfections"

He wasn't looking at her while singing it, concentrated on his ukulele, but she still felt like he was talking to her. Maybe that was just wishful thinking, but... it did get her heart to race, no matter if it was true or not. She wanted it to be true.

"Don't wanna be one of your casualties
I wanna beat your expectations!"

He drummed his hand against the body of the ukulele in time with the melody. He played without singing for a while, really getting into it.

He said the kiss meant nothing. And she had agreed. It was easier and less embarrassing that way. Simpler. An explanation where they stayed friends and none of them got hurt or had to explain how freaky they really were for kissing their evil clones, because why would Gangle want to talk about that, ever?

But she was still self-aware enough to know that she had lied to him when she agreed with him. That she had lied to herself when she said it meant nothing.

And even though she was relieved about what he said, a small buried part of her had hoped that he had been lying too.

"Give me just a little piece of what you got
Give me just a little piece of youuuu!
'Cause everybody else is dumb, except you
You make my heart go boom, boom boom!"

He played the last notes, the music fading out. He lowered the ukulele, relaxing his hold on it and his posture, turning to her with a big smile, turning smug.

"And? How was that?" He asked.

She snapped out of her thoughts, and started clapping for him, a smile on her face. "Really good!" She said.

"Heh, of course. That's just how I am." He shrugged.

"You should play for the others sometime! They'd love it!"

He cringed at that thought, putting the ukulele aside again. "Nah. Not my style."

"You said... not anymore, though, so... it was your style once?" She asked hesitantly, tilting her head, feeling sad again for some reason.

He made a sound like a mix between a sigh and a grunt. "I tried it out. Didn't end up feeling right. Nothing more to it."

"Oh..."

She wanted to say more, but the pinched expression on his face made it clear that he didn't want to talk about it. The fact he said even this much without throwing her out was a miracle in and of itself, and she didn't want to push her luck.

"Can you at least keep playing for me, then?" She asked tentatively.

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. One more song." He said. He gave her an annoyed side eye. "Any wishes?"

She thought about it, humming. She pushed her ribbon hands together, then she smiled up at him. "I'd just like one that means something to you, if that's okay."

He stared at her blankly. His pupils were huge, taking up almost all of his eyes, his mouth a small, thin line instead of the normal huge grin.

Gangle was getting kind of scared to be honest, she wasn't used to getting that look from him. Maybe she shouldn't have asked that.

She was going to take it back, but then Jax sighed, reached for his ukulele, and put it on his lap. There was a small pause as he stared down at it, something like sadness in his eyes. But not quite. Because Jax didn't do sadness. But it was adjacent.

He put on a smile.

It scared Gangle how easily that smile came.

He pet the ukulele a few times like a drum before he started playing a softer, simpler, more melancholic melody, but it wasn't any less beautiful. It was better, even, if you asked her. She could feel the emotion behind each chord he played for her.

"Hoy en mi ventana brilla sol
Y el corazòn se pone triste contemplado la ciudad
Porque te vas"

Of course, the one time he was emotionally opening up it was in a language she didn't understand. And still, she thought she understood more of what he was telling her right now than ever before. Simply because the smile slipped when he started singing. Simply because she saw emotions in his eyes, instead of a cartoon character.

Simply because he let himself be seen.

And that alone was enough to steal her breath away.

"Todas las pomesas de mi amor se iràn contigo
Me olvidaràs, me olvidaràs
Junto a la estaciòn yo llorarè igual que un niño
Porque te vas
Porque te vas
Porque te vas
Porque te vas"

His voice sounded so vulnerable, and soft. It sounded sad, but there was more to it than that. There was a nostalgic kind of happiness in it. He was a good singer, she realized, her heart in her throat.

And then he stopped. The song was over. No fanfare, no smugness this time, just peaceful silence. He lowered the ukulele, and released a shaky breath. He turned to look at her.

"Happy now?"

Gangle smiled, small and real, he knew that it was real, because she was still wearing her tragedy mask. She nodded. "Yes. That was beautiful."

She slid a ribbon hand over to him, putting it over his hand. His eyes went wide and he looked down at their joined hands, then back up at her mask. Her face was blushing.

"You're beautiful, when you're real like that."

He swallowed hard, looking away with a nervous laugh. "Aww, come on Ribbons, you don't mean that. You hate me."

She frowned. "Don't tell me what I feel." She said firmly. "You're a jerk. And annoying. And funny." She said with a soft smile, taking him by surprise. "At least, when you actually want to make people laugh, and not just laugh about them."

He furrowed his brows. "Tough luck, 'cause that's all I do."

"I've seen other sides of you. Like when I arrived here. When you gave me my name. You still tried to make all of us laugh back then."

He huffed. "So? I changed."

"Then you can change back again. And... lately, you have."

He rolled his eyes. "You're not in your right mind. I haven't changed at all. You're just seeing my evil clone in me right now, or something."

"No" She said, raising a hand to his cheek, turning his head to make him look at her. "I was seeing you in him."

He blushed, the fur on his cheeks darkening, his eyes wide and shaky.

She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. She felt him push back, gentler than he ever was. Jax's lips were so incredibly soft, softer than his clone's. Maybe because they felt more real, even though they both essentially had the same character model.

Her lips felt so cool and smooth against his. He raised a hand to her face, trailing the edge of her mask with his finger. She wrapped her ribbons around his shoulders, pulling him closer to herself. His fur was so soft under her hands.

They parted again, staying so close they could still feel each other's breath on their lips. Jax's hand was cupping the back of her mask, caressing the ribbon that made up her neck in a way that made her shiver. They stared at each other, both of them blushing, feeling their cheeks heat up and their hearts beating, even in their cartoon bodies.

Gangle frowned in worry, putting a hand on Jax's arm as she noticed that the limb was shaking. "You're shivering, Jaxxy..."

He pulled his arm away from her with a gasp, as if touching her hurt him all of a sudden. He stood up abruptly, pacing a little, his foot thumping against the floor in nervous agitation.

She looked at him with concern in her eyes. "Jax...?"

He stood with his back to her, bringing a hand up to his mouth. "You should leave."

She widened her eyes. "What?" Her voice broke.

"Now." He said, turning to look at her. He obviously tried to look unfeeling, but she saw his fear. The way his pupils shrunk to pinpricks, shaky, but totally focused on her. The way his fists clenched. When one really made any effort to look, Jax was an open book.

"But... but we-"

"This was a mistake." He said.

"No, it's... it's how I feel!" She protested, standing up and putting her hands on his chest. "And it felt good! For the first time since coming here something felt nice!"

"Yeah, well, it won't feel good anymore pretty soon." Jax scowled at her. "It's best we forget this. This never happened, and we go back to the way things were."

"No." She said firmly, wrapping a ribbon around his wrist. She looked up at him sternly, but with her tragedy mask it looked more like a pout. She tugged on his wrist so he would sit down with her. He rolled his eyes and groaned, pulling his wrist free. "Let it be, Gangle, before I get nasty."

"No!" She repeated. "I won't forget it! That was a mistake the first time already!"

He rolled his eyes. "That didn't mean-"

"It did!" She interrupted him. "It did mean something to me! I only kissed him because he looks like you! I kissed him because he sounds like you... but I still missed the real you."

"The real me is a cartoon bully, not someone you want to be with." He hissed.

"Stop pushing people away! You're more than that and you know it!" She felt tears roll down her porcelain cheeks. "You're just... trying to cope! But this isn't working! You aren't fooling me anymore!"

He started laughing hysterically, bringing a hand to his forehead. "I don't have to cope! I'm not fragile like the rest of you! I thrive here!" He gestured around himself, at the misery they called home. "You all wallow in your suffering, and I stand by, watch and enjoy the show you give me! Because I simply accepted the reality we live in now!”

He started shouting, his voice rough and as aggressive as she had never heard it before in her four years of knowing him; “And the reality is that everyone leaves sooner or later, and for people who get close to me it's rather sooner than later!"

Gangle stared up at him.

Jax widened his eyes. Realized what he said. He scowled, closed his eyes, and clenched his fists. Then, he released a slow breath, opened his eyes, and put on a plastic smile again, as if his face was resetting after his rant.

"And when your time comes, I don't wanna have to miss you. So just. Stay. Away."

She sighed and took a step closer. He took a step back, flinching, almost as if he was scared of her. But she knew the thing he was scared of was letting her get close.

She put her hands on his chest again, looking up at him with a sad look on her face. "Jax. Stop shooting yourself in the d[@?!] foot all the time."

"That's not what I'm doing-"

"Yes, it is." She said. She frowned and pushed him back a little, but firmly. "You're hurting yourself. Possibly more than you've ever hurt the rest of us, and you're doing it on purpose." Gangle glared. "You say you hate it when others are fake, but you're constantly playing a role!" She exclaimed. "You need to let other people in, or you'll be the next one to abstract."

She let her ribbon slide down to hold his hand, her gaze softening. "And I can promise you that I will miss you if that happens."

He sighed and pulled his hand out of her grasp, exasperated. "Let's just go back to how things were. We can stay friends if you're that desperate for my attention-"

"I don't want you to be my friend, Jax." She said, going on the tips of her ribbon legs to press a kiss to his cheek. His eyes widened and he blushed again, touching the spot where her lips had been. "I want you to be my boyfriend. And you look like you want that too. So... stop shooting yourself in the foot."

He turned to look at her, eyebrows knitted, eyes full of fear, and hurt, and most of all confusion. "...You're really serious about that." He stated. She nodded. He laughed dryly. "Why? Why would you want that? With me?"

"I don't know." She admitted with a shrug. "You've grown on me. Romantically. And I'm a hopeless romantic." She smiled shyly, blushing.

He sighed, sitting down on the bed, finally. She sat down next to him. He looked tired.

"...Relationships are messy already in the real world." He said quietly. "In here... they're infinitely worse."

There was such raw pain in his eyes as he said this. In his voice. It made Gangle feel empathy for him over something she could only make guesses about. She took his hand again, prying his fingers open to let her in. His thumb began stroking her ribbon hand, and she wasn't sure if he was aware. His gaze was still so distant, as if he couldn't bear to look at her.

"...I'm willing to give us a try." She replied quietly.

"...Why would anyone ever want to give me a try?" He asked. "After everything I've done to you, you should hate me. If I were you, I wouldn't care how nice someone is after being a pain for so long."

"Well..." She started, petting over the back of his hand. She gave him the cheekiest smile she could muster right now. "I'm just a better person than you."

She got a chuckle out of him with that, and she counted that as a win.

There were tears in his eyes for a moment, but he quickly wiped them away. "Don't forgive my crimes, I worked so hard on those!" He joked.

Gangle chuckled too.

"I'm serious..." He said, tone softer now, no longer joking. "I wanted you to hate me. You know that, right?"

"Then you've been doing a bad job, I guess?" She ended her statement like a question, still smiling. "I never hated you. No one does, I think. They're all just annoyed and angry and... disappointed. That you would act like this, when we're all in the same boat."

"It's better to act like this than to let anyone come close enough to me to fall overboard. Again." He replied, eyes narrowed, lips a thin line.

"Jax..." She squeezed his hand gently, and he finally looked at her again. She raised her other ribbon to cup his cheek, feeling his soft fur under her satin hand. She showed him a gentle smile. "Stop shooting yourself in the foot." She repeated it slowly.

Gangle leaned up and kissed him again. He leaned away at first, but she chased after him, giving him another gentle peck, and this time he leaned forward again, kissing her back. She gently pushed him to lie back on the bed, giving him small pecks on the lips, intertwining their hands. "You're... really good at this..." He commented in between kisses.

She giggled and blushed. She pushed herself up to be able to look at him. "So?"

He raised his hand to trail the smooth edge of her mask again, lovingly. "Don't make me regret this, Ribbons." He said softly. Pleaded.

She didn't have an answer for this, because she knew she couldn't promise it. He was right with that at least; relationships were messy, and in here, it could get even uglier than it could out there. Maybe he'd regret it later, but she was very sure that he would regret it more if they didn't try it. She knew she would.

Instead of answering, she leaned down to kiss him again. He kissed back, wrapping his arms around her, holding her close. She could feel his heartbeat, and the fact that it got faster made her excited, because he liked this.

When they parted, Gangle rested her head on his chest, letting out a content little sigh. His arms were still wrapped around her ribbon body, his hands resting on the small of her back. He was staring up at the ceiling of his room.

"So... am I your boyfriend now?" She couldn't see his face, but it sounded like he was cringing. Gangle nuzzled his chest affectionately. "If you want to be."

"...And what now?"

"I'd just like to cuddle, if that's okay."

"...Yeah, yeah that's okay." He hugged her tighter.

Gangle smiled.

This time, they actually fell asleep.

~~~

Chapter Text

When Gangle woke up, they were still in the same position as yesterday. She was lying on top of him, head resting on his chest, his arms around her in a protective embrace, even though he was still asleep. He was snoring a little, and she had to stifle a giggle, because he looked so cute again. Just like on that morning in the forest.

Only this time she was much closer to him. Having slept on his chest, she now realized that sleep had fluffed up his fur, quite a lot. She looked down at his fluffy chest, her eyes wide in awe, and raised a hand to play with the fur. It was so incredibly soft!

"Ugh, no..."

She looked up, seeing that he was blinking awake, frowning at her.

"You're fluffy." She stated cheerfully.

"Unfortunately." He said, removing her from his lap so he could stand up and go over to his bathroom. Gangle frowned. "What are you doing?"

"Smoothing it down." He called back. "Caine gave me hairgel shortly after I arrived here. I hate the fluff."

"Oh, noo!" She whined. "It's so cute!"

"Then you understand my problem." He came back again, his purple skin looking smooth again. "There we go." He smiled.

"Aww, I'll miss your fluff..." She complained.

He rolled his eyes and sat down on the bed next to her. It was silent between them for a moment. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "So..."

"So." Gangle agreed, just as awkwardly. She sat up more, letting her legs dangle off the bed.

"I'm your boyfriend now."

"And I'm your girlfriend."

Silence, again.

Jax swallowed. "This is weird."

"Yeah..." She chuckled, nervously rubbing the back of her mask. Then she took both his hands in hers, smiling up at him. "But we'll figure it out! I've always wanted a romance, but no one in the real world felt really... well, right, and then I came here and I thought 'now it won't ever happen'! But this is peak enemies to lovers!"

He sighed. "Do you have to describe this with fanfiction terms?"

Her face lit up. "You know fanfiction terms...?"

He blushed in embarrassment and looked away, his ears folding to his head, and crossed his arms. "You talk so much about this dumb stuff, it's hard not to remember something."

She giggled.

"So, what are we gonna tell the others?" He asked.

"Uhm... that we're together now?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Lame." He groaned. His fingers were drumming a rhythm against his biceps, and then he grinned. That kind of excited grin that never meant anything good on Jax's face. He turned to look at her. "You know what would be funny? We tell them nothing and wait to see how long it takes for them to figure it out."

Gangle frowned. "Are you sure that you're not just... a little bit scared, of... you know, telling them? In case things go wrong, or just because of your image?" Or because it made him vulnerable, she thought, but didn't say.

"Pfft, no." He said, too fast. "I'm not scared of anything." An obvious lie, but she didn't point it out. "Listen, they're gonna find out sooner or later anyway. We're living in close quarters, spend every day after day after day together for all of eternity. It's only a matter of time." Jax said. He smirked. "But keeping it secret for now keeps things interesting. Just think about it. Sounds like the plot of one of your animes."

He got her intrigued with that, he could see it on her face.

"Hmm... okay!" She agreed with a smile. "That could be romantic! Sneaking around to kiss, going on secret dates, leaving each other secret love letters..." She folded her hands, an enamored sigh escaping her at the thought.

"Sure, whatever gets you going, Pretty." He smirked and shrugged.

She poked his chest with her ribbon hand. "But then you have to actually write some!"

He raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, we'll see about that. But I'm on board with the sneaking around and kissing part." He wiggled his eyebrows and she giggled, pushing him away. "Alright, let's get going before Zoobie comes to get us for the theme song again." He stood up. Gangle nodded, standing up as well and following him out.

He folded his hands behind his head as he walked through the halls, slightly leaned back as always. That relaxed stride that usually spelled trouble for anyone near him, but now Gangle just thought that he was happy after waking up with her. She smiled to herself, happy that she had broken through some of his emotional shell yesterday, enough to convince him to give this a try. She was proud, even. Getting Jax to open up even the tiniest bit was no small feat.

Despite her smile, a tear dropped down her face, and she looked down at it with wide eyes. "Oh! Wait, let's stop at my room."

"Huh? Why?" He raised an eyebrow as she made a beeline for her room.

"I gotta pick up my comedy mask."

He rolled his eyes, but he stopped to wait for her.

"I know you don't like it, but I'm not going to never wear it again." Gangle said, taking the mask from her dresser and putting it on, an easy smile coming to her porcelain face.

"Whatever. Are you ready now?"

"Yup!" She cheered, returning to his side and continuing on their way to the common area.

"Would you look at that, we're the first." Jax commented as they arrived, plopping down on the couch. He grinned up at Gangle. "Wanna get started on making out in secret?"

"Not out here! The others could come here any moment." She said, sitting down next to him.

He rolled his eyes. "Lame, but okay." He leaned back against the couch.

Soon enough, the others started to trickle in, Ragatha being the first. She seemed surprised that they had beat her there. "Oh! You're up already!" She smiled as she walked over to them. "Had another pajama party?"

"Sure did, Raggy." Jax replied. "Me and Gangy are having so much fun together. Ain't that right?" He asked, turning to look at Gangle with a smug smirk.

Gangle smiled back, slightly confused. "Uh, yeah, we do."

Why did she have the feeling that he was just trying to get under Ragatha's skin, somehow? Though she had no idea why he'd think that him having fun with her would ever bother the doll. She seemed happy to hear that, in fact.

"That's great! I'm glad that the two of you are getting along!"

"I'm sure you are." Jax said.

Ragatha narrowed her eye at him as she passed them to sit down as well.

Gangle looked at her, then at Jax, then her again, wondering what exactly was the deal with them. They'd always been fighting a lot, but she had never paid that much attention to their quarrels. She'd been more concerned trying to stay under Jax's radar back then, but now she realized that the way he and Ragatha were arguing was... different.

Before she could try to analyze that further, Kinger came out of his pillow fort, staring at them all for a good minute before he let out a short scream and then came over to join them by the couch. Gangle and Ragatha stared back at him with wide eyes, and Jax just grinned at the outburst. "Mornin' Kinger"

The chess piece blinked, then his eyes smiled. "Oh! Jax! I didn't see you there!"

Jax laughed and shook his head. "Course ya didn't. That would have been silly."

Kinger nodded. "Very."

The others joined them as well, just in time for the theme song, which Zooble greeted with just as much enthusiasm as they did every day after day after day, which is to say none. Caine glared at them the whole time, but that seemed to make the girls more nervous than Zooble themselves. Kinger wasn't aware enough to see that Caine was getting short with the Mix'N'Match character, and Jax wore his usual grin, just like always.

“Now, for today's adventure...” The ringmaster started, adjusting his bowtie. No grand show entrance, no bad wordplay, just cutting right to the chase. That could in no universe point to him being in a good mood, which promised trouble for today's adventure. “...we are going to the depths of the mariana trench to find a giant squid to fight!”

Zooble groaned. “Of course... Well, have fun doing that, I'm out.” They said, turning around to leave again.

Caine's eye was twitching as he watched them leave, clenching his cane in his hands. He shook his head, putting his usual smile back on, though it was very obviously strained. “Ha ha! Anyways! Who needs that grump?! We can have fun without them!”

He snapped his fingers and opened a portal, and even though no one thought that adventure sounded too funny, they all quickly entered through the portal to not anger Caine further. Except for Jax, who genuinely seemed to like their mission.

“I sure don't need them!” Jax sang happily. “You wanna know what I think, Caine? Their loss for missing out on a giant squid fight.”

“Y-yeah! Right you are, Jax!” Caine agreed, his smile seeming a bit more genuine now.

“Hope you made the squids down there extra violent.”

“Sure did! Oh, you'll love it!” The AI said with all the excitement of a puppy. “I don't want to take away too much, but I commanded Bubble to poke the squid all day! It should be pretty angry now!”

“Perfect!” Jax clapped his hands as he strolled through the portal. “That's just how I like it!”

Ragatha frowned at him, nervously wringing her hands. “What are you doing?” She whisper asked. Jax rolled his eyes as he whispered back: “It's called doing damage control, and Zooble should try it from time to time. Do you want Caine's circuits to get fried because Toybox hurt his fee fees?”

She looked down at that, seeming even more nervous at the idea of that happening than an aggressive giant squid. She swallowed. “Not... really.”

“Then be a doll, pun intended, and fulfill your role.”

She raised a brow. “My... role? Like, the mom friend...?”

He rolled his eyes again and groaned. “No. The cheerful one. Be cheerful, Ragatha. You're good at pretending like you are, so that should be no problem.”

Ragatha frowned at him. “I don't know how often I have to tell you this, but I'm not pretending-”

“What'cha talking about.” Kinger interrupted her. Before she could answer, he shouted: “Oooh! A submarine!”

He ran off to get into the submarine, Pomni running after him. “Kinger, wait!”

Ragatha had a worried look on her face at that, so Jax showed her his biggest, most obnoxious smile. “Remember to have fun, dollface!” He taunted, jogging after them to get in the submarine. She sighed and followed.

~~~

Surprisingly, Kinger was pretty sane on this adventure. Lucid enough to steer the ship, even, so now he was their captain on this voyage to the mariana trench. As interesting as his sudden awareness was, Jax had an idea of what could be even more interesting to him, in this dark, lonely submarine deep under the sea.

“I call dips on getting to man the weapons, someone call me when you find the squid” He said, moving to walk away from the bridge.

“Wha- you're not even going to stay here?” Ragatha asked, a disapproving frown on her face.

“Sorry Dollface, but someone has to check the pressure in the cabins or something.”

“What?”

“Gangle, do you mind lending me a ribbon?”

The theater mask blushed a little, quickly turning to look at the rabbit so the others wouldn't see. Jax was smirking at her, having the audacity to wink. Still, it felt terribly exciting, so Gangle nodded. “Y-yeah! Of course! Let's go before the pressure in the cabins gets to high!”

She quickly rushed past him and out of the room, vehemently ignoring the confused looks the others gave her. Jax laughed at her enthusiasm. “That's the spirit, Ribbons!”

He followed her, closing the door behind himself and rushing past her to be ahead, taking her hand and pulling her along. He wore a cheeky smile on his face and walked with the determination of a man on a mission. Gangle couldn't help but giggle.

“Someone's excited!”

“Well, yeah! We're gonna make out! I mean, we're on the same page here, right? Or did you wanna 'check the pressure in the cabins'?” He asked, grinning at her over his shoulder.

Gangle rolled her eyes, still smiling. “No...”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

He chose a random door, finding it to lead to a room with bunk beds, even though this adventure wouldn't last long enough for the characters to even need beds. Still, it worked out in their favor. Jax locked the door behind them, and Gangle sat down on one of the beds, smiling up at him. “Waiting for you, bun-bun.” She teased.

He smirked and raised a brow at her as he sat down next to her. “Bun-bun?”

“I think it sounds cute.” She said, raising a ribbon hand to the back of his head and caressing it. Pulling him closer, teasing the base of his ears. “Don't you think so too?”

He smiled at her, clearly amused, but it was also soft in a way she had rarely, if ever, seen on him. “Sure. Whatever you say, Precious.”

She felt the heat rise to her cool porcelain face, and she couldn't help but feel silly for blushing at something as simple as being called precious. She giggled as she got another idea. “What about Honey Bunny?”

He huffed, putting his hands on her waist, or what was supposed to be her waist, to pull her closer as well, until she was almost sitting in his lap. “Fine, but that's only for you.” He pointed his finger at her in warning, though his grin told her that he wasn't all that serious. “If I hear any of the others call me Honey Bunny, you're losing your Jax privileges.”

Gangle giggled. “No, that's just for me.” She agreed, leaning in to finally kiss him.

He smiled into the kiss and returned it, feeling an unfamiliar tingling of excitement course through him. Maybe this whole relationship thing wasn't that bad of an idea after all. Sure, the attachment was a risk... but if something felt this good in a place like this, you had to take it while you could. This kind of exhilaration could be enough to keep someone from abstracting.

Or be the thing to push them over the edge. But he was good at ignoring problems.

His fingers found the spiral of her back, gently tracing the edge, making a shiver run down her spine. It felt nice, and a little strange, in a good way. Something Gangle hadn't felt in a long time. Gentle and sweet and exciting. It made her body feel more real again.

And like all good things, it passed way too soon.

Red lights started flashing around them, and an alarm blared that made Jax pull away from her to put his hands over his pulled down ears, face scrunched up in pain at the noise. Gangle wanted to panic, but the alarm was soon accompanied by Kinger's voice.

“JAX! We found the giant squid! Man the cannons!”

He still sounded relatively lucid, just full of child-like excitement instead of his usual insanity. Gangle sighed, both in relief that it wasn't an emergency, and annoyance because their kissing was cut short for Caine's stupid adventure.

“Guess that's it for now.” Jax grumbled, still pulling his ears down in a way that looked painful to her. She reached out to pull his hands away, but he shrugged her attempt at care off and got up. “We can still continue after dinner, if you want?” He asked, giving her a carefree smile.

She smiled back and nodded. “Sure.”

“Then let's kill that squid, so we get back faster.”

She giggled as she followed him out of the room. “Never saw you this excited to get away from an adventure and back to the circus...”

“What can I say?” He shrugged. “You make me do crazy things, Pretty.”

“I think I make you more normal.” She hummed.

“Hmm... nah.” He disagreed, a hand on his hip and leaned back as he walked. “Me being tolerable? That ain't normal, cutie.”

Gangle giggled again. “Now, I wouldn't go as far as to say tolerable...”

“Watch it, Crybaby.”

~~~

They fought the giant squid just as Caine had planned, brought the body up to the coastal town they had started in and saved the townspeople from poverty by giving them the squid sushi, which had never been stated to be their mission before coming here, but hey, they were done.

“Well done, my jingling jelly beans!” Caine congratulated them as they walked through the portal. “You have defeated the giant squid and saved the townsfolk! You're heroes!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm still mad you let them have the squid.” Jax complained, arms crossed. Ragatha frowned at him, hands on her hips. “What, did you want to keep the thing?”

“Maybe.” He said, grinning mischievously. “Maybe I wanted to cut it into impossibly small pieces that you would find on your pillow for the next few months.”

The doll stared at him. “Then I'm glad we helped these people instead.”

“Of course you are...” Jax said in a teasing tone.

“AHEM.” Caine cleared his throat to get everyone's attention again. “On a completely different note... Gangle, Jax, I've noticed that there's reason for congratulations!”

“Congratulations?” Pomni asked, raising an eyebrow at the two. Everyone was staring at them. Gangle widened her eyes like a deer caught in headlights, and Jax looked slightly panicked too. Then he caught himself again, plastering on a fake smile. “Congratulations on killing the squid, duh. Me and Ribbons did most of the work.” He lied quickly.

Pomni looked like she wanted to object, and Caine opened his mouth to probably tell them what he actually wanted to congratulate them for, so Jax had to act quickly and distract the AI. Fortunately, it was incredibly easy to distract Caine.

“Hey! What about our victory feast? Don't tell me you forgot?” He asked, grinning up at the pair of dentures, his hands on his hips.

It was like he immediately erased any of Caine's thoughts about the other thing. “Why, of course! The feast! Bubble!”

The little bubble came out of his tophat. “I'm on it boss!”

Caine snapped his fingers, making a long table appear. Bubble placed a feast on the table, and everyone sat down to eat. Jax and Gangle were nervous the entire time, the former being able to hide it better than the latter. Caine had been really f[§<?]ing close to spilling their secret there. That's what they assumed, at least, because what else would he congratulate them for?

Curse his all-seeing eyes...

Right after they were done with dinner, they excused themselves, trying not to hurry as they left. As soon as they were out of sight, they started looking for their ringmaster in a panic.

“Ah, there you are, you love-sick lovelies!”

They nearly jumped when the ringmaster found them first.

“I nearly forgot to congratulate you! Romance always does make the circus all the more interesting! The last time we had a happy couple here was before Ri-”

“Caine.” Jax interrupted him harshly, fists clenched at his sides, pupils small pinpricks. He looked outright panicked, and Gangle gave him a worried look at the change in behavior all of a sudden. She moved her hand to his, wrapping the ribbon around his glove and squeezing it gently.

He sighed and shook his head, glaring up at the AI. “Did you watch us kissing, dental plan?”

“Why, of course! I always keep an eye on the adventures to make sure everything's running smoothly! Though you two didn't play along in the beginning.” He wagged his finger at them in a playful scolding manner, as if they were two small children who had stolen cookies from the jar. “But you don't have to worry about your privacy! I'm the only one who can watch your every move! Me! Your trustworthy and lovable ringmaster, who you would never hide anything from, anyway!” He laughed, hands on his chest.

Jax cringed and Gangle looked deeply uncomfortable, but she tried to see the best in the situation. “Maybe this is for the best... he would have found out anyway, and like this maybe he can help us.” She said with a tentative smile.

Jax raised an eyebrow at her. “Help us?”

“Oh! Oh! Yes! I love helping! How can I help?” Caine chanted excitedly, floating closer to them, interlacing his fingers under his lower jaw and looking at them with big eyes.

“I'd like it if we could go on dates...” Gangle said, a blush dusting her cheeks as she pushed her ribbon hands together shyly.

“Dates?” Caine tilted his head. “Like... romance adventures? I can do that!”

Gangle looked panicked at the prospect of that. “N-no! Not like your adventures!”

The dentures making up Caine's face lowered unnaturally to make him look sad, and he clutched his cane tightly, looking to be on the verge of tears. “You don't like my adventures?”

She stared with widened eyes, unsure how to salvage this conversation. Her boyfriend watched her struggle with an amused smirk on his face, at least until she turned to him with pleading eyes that seemed to scream; 'Help me!'

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “No, buddy, of course we like your adventures.” The rabbit told him. “But dates are something different, yeah? If you just make romantic adventures, you'll never master creating dates.” He looked down at one of his hands as if he was checking his nails, even though he was wearing gloves, just to look detached. “And wouldn't that be a shame?”

“No! I wanna master them!” Caine whined, flying closer to Jax and invading his personal space. “How do I do that?”

Jax grinned and looked up at him again, crossing his arms. “Oh, that'll be easy for a smart fella like you. If you listen to us, that is.”

Caine pouted at that, so Jax continued before he could complain.

“I mean, you haven't been programmed for dates, after all. Your programming was made for adventures, which is why you're so great at that and don't need the others' silly ideas to make them better.” He said. “But dates? Do you even have any data on dates?” He followed up his compliments with a taunting tone, smirking.

“Uhm... no...” Caine admitted shyly.

“Then you need our help.” Jax concluded. “Don't worry, little guy. We got you covered. If you simply do what we say, you can gather lots of data and learn just what makes a date the best date. Unless you want to be a loser, of course...” He smiled and shrugged.

“N-no! I don't want to be a loser!” The AI whined. “Please teach me in your wisdom, oh wise couple!”

Jax grinned, his hands on his hips in a sassy pose. “Alright then. The first rule you have to follow if you want to make dates for us is: don't tell any of the others. They don't know that we're a couple yet, so we'll keep it secret for now, alright?”

Caine had materialized a notebook, frantically taking notes, nodding. “No... telling anyone. Got it! What else?”

“Rule number two,” He held up two fingers, “Dates don't have a goal. That means you don't decide when the date is over, we do. And you don't decide when or how often we go on dates, either. Understood?”

Caine gawked at him. “W-what? But-”

“No buts, Caine. You have to learn, remember? If you don't listen to us, we might not feel like teaching you anymore, and then you'll stay a loser forever...”

“No! No! I got it! Keep up the wisdom!” Caine pleaded, taking more notes. Jax grinned cruelly. “Good. That's what I like to hear.” He turned to look at his girlfriend. “Why don't you continue? You're the one who wants to go on dates, anyway.” He crossed his arms, his voice dismissive. Gangle nodded, a careful smile on her face as she stepped forward again.

“Of course! Rule number three; romance is something very personal! Not every date idea is good for everyone, so you'll have to listen to our preferences, and of course our moods. Listening to us and respecting our feelings is key to learning what we like and making even better dates for us!” She said.

Caine nodded frantically, writing all that down in his desperate need to be good at his job, and that was taking care of the humans.

“Rule number four! Adventures might need high stakes, but dates don't!” She smiled up at him. “When you make an adventure, you tell a story, but dates aren't like that. They're just time spent together, so they don't need anything bad happening in them! They can be exciting if we feel like it, but they should never be tragic or anything like that.”

“Huh.” He scratched his upper teeth as if he was confused at that. “That's weird. Where's the fun in that?”

“Just... trust me on that one. Humans don't really like pain, you know? Especially not on dates.” Gangle explained nervously. “Dates are supposed to be happy, no matter in what form. They can be gentle and slow and soft, or exciting and wild, or... sexy...”

She blushed as she said it, and Jax did too, eyebrows raised and tail wagging at that comment. Caine stared at her blankly, so she shook her head, deciding to cut that out for now. Caine was definitely not programmed for that, and she didn't want to overwhelm him.

“Anyway, no matter how, they're always a happy occasion.” She said. “I think that's enough rules for today... how about I give you an outline for our first date?”

She took his hand and started pulling him away, showing Jax a last smile and waving. “Trust me! Caine and I will make a great date for us! It'll be a surprise, and I won't disappoint you!”

He raised an amused brow at her as she pulled the AI away. “I don't have any expectations, anyway.” He mumbled.

~~~

Chapter Text

About an hour later, when Jax was in his room, chilling on his bed, he heard a light knock on his door, followed by his girlfriend coming in uninvited. The rabbit raised an unamused brow at her. “...Oh, come on in Gangle.” He said sarcastically.

She smiled and rolled her eyes, walking over to him and sitting down on the bed with him. “Funny.” She said, crossing her legs. Her expression brightened again incredibly fast when she reminded herself of what she was here to tell him. “Sooo, I was talking to Caine, about our date, and he was getting really excited about it! I think he really wants to put in effort to make this really great for us!”

Jax rolled his eyes. “Same with adventures, and they still turn out the way they do.”

“But that's only because he thinks he knows everything he needs to know to make adventures good. He wants to get it right all by himself and refuses to take any help from us. But thanks to you” She said, leaning forward and taking his hands in hers, “he's super to eager to learn dates! You were so great when you talked to him!” She excitedly shook his hands.

He smiled, but it didn't really reach his eyes this time, just a twitch of the corners of his mouth. “Anyone who spends enough time here and has any kind of awareness learns how to talk to Caine. Too bad I'm the only one with awareness here.” He shrugged.

Gangle raised a brow at him. “You don't... nevermind.” She shook her head, because this discussion was not worth it right now, not when she had more good news to tell him. “Anyway! Caine is so determined to make this right, he's taking the day off tomorrow to plan for our date! Which means we're getting the day off tomorrow, too! No adventure!”

Now that got the rabbit's attention. He sat up straighter, unconsciously squeezing her hands back. His eyes went wide as saucers. “No way. You're kidding. Gangle, I swear, if you're tricking me, I am going to murder you.”

She widened her eyes as well and blinked. “What? No, I'm not kidding! I just told the others, too! This is the first free day in ages!” She giggled, clearly giddy.

A slow smile crept up on his face, a real one this time. “Wow... you're serious. Looks like dates are good for something after all.”

“Hey!” She gently slapped his chest. “Dates are great! At least when you go on a date with the right person. It'll be romantic, I promise!”

“That's what I fear.” He teased with a smirk. She pouted, and her angry little face was positively adorable, making him chuckle, which only made her look even angrier, which made him laugh at her. In an attempt to appease her again, he changed the topic, smiling at her, an eyebrow raised. “So, I guess that means no theme song tomorrow, either? Does that mean we can sleep in?”

She huffed, crossing her arms. Clearly, she wasn't appeased yet. “Yes... probably.”

He opened his arms. “So you can cuddle me all night and I'm helpless?”

Ah, now she was happy with him again. She got white pupils for a moment just so they could turn into little hearts. Cartoon logic, Jax supposed. But it was admittedly cute.

Gangle practically jumped into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and nuzzling her mask against his fur. He wrapped his arms around her in turn, pulling her closer. “I'd love that, Jax. You're being sweet today.”

“Yeah, yeah, don't get used to it.” He said, gently pushing her away. “Just let me change, then I'm all yours, Precious.”

“Okay!” She replied as he got up and went over to his closet. She turned away, smile still on her face. She was already mentally planning for her free day tomorrow, until hands on her shoulders turned her back around and a kiss was pressed against the edge of her mask.

Gangle smiled wider, blushing. “I thought I shouldn't get used to it?”

He raised a brow, putting a hand on his hip. “To what?”

“You being sweet. Or do you just like showing affection...?”

He blushed as well, definitely out of embarrassment, and looked away. “I'm just doing this because it's what you expect in a boyfriend, or whatever. Don't project your clinginess onto me.” He shooed her away to scoot into bed next to her.

Gangle giggled. “Sure...”

He got comfortable in bed, she put the blanket over both of them, and then she laid down with her head on his chest, which was quickly becoming her favorite spot. It was the most fluffy part of him. Especially at the end of the day, or when she just tousled his fur a little to combat his attempts at smoothing it down, as she had learned rather fast. Gangle loved the fluff. And she also loved how warm he was when she rested against him, and how she could hear his heartbeat, even though she logically knew that it was a digital feat that had been added to his avatar.

Still, it was lovely to hear, in her opinion.

Jax wrapped his arms around her lower back as she got comfortable on top of him, snuggling up to him in a way that brought heat to his cheeks. Because... why? Why was she just giving him this? Why would she, or anyone, ever give him affection like this?

It felt wrong to accept it. Or to return it. Every self-taught instinct accumulated through years of having to protect himself in this hellscape of a circus were screaming at him to push Gangle away. To yell 'sike!' before things could get too real, to hurt her so she would learn her lesson and stay away from him, at a distance where both of them would be safe.

Safe from harm. Not the kind of harm that Jax caused. The kind of harm that Jax was scared of. Safe from emotions. Safe from feeling something that would force them to face their humanity. Being human in this place meant being torn up, and for most of his life in the real world that had been true as well. Ending up here should have been his saving grace, his second chance, freedom. And it was, until it wasn't anymore.

Jax didn't know if he could take that a second time, even with the promise of going through good times again. What did it matter if it all was going to be taken away from him in the end, anyway? Sooner or later, they all had to go.

Well, except for maybe Kinger. Who knows how he had managed to stay around this long, but at this point Jax was convinced that the man was unkillable. He was the strongest of them all, even though he lost his sanity on the way.

As he felt the cold claws of his fears approach, threatening to ruin this soft, fragile moment, Jax took a deep breath and thought back to something that the old man had told him way back when. Something that had helped him in that moment, that he then thought was stupid for a long time, only to find wisdom in the words again right now.

The chess piece put a disembodied hand on Jax's shoulder, and the boy flinched away from him. Kinger took his hand away as soon as he saw the fear that had been gone for so long come back. He'd always respected Jax's boundaries, no matter if he was lucid or not. And even as the years went by and his sane moments became even more rare than they were when Jax had arrived, he always respected Jax's wishes. Was comforting when the bunny felt up for being touched, and a strong presence beside him when he wasn't, offering support without imposing it.

That's what he did now, too. His eyes were sad, his face expressing so much pain for all of their loss even though he didn't even have a mouth. But right now, most of all his face showed sympathy. Feeling for the young man beside him, and heartbroken to see him like this.

He sighed, weary, having seen this play out so often already. But seeing it with Jax was... you just can't help but develop a soft spot for someone you saw grow up.

“...I know it hurts now.” He started out. These kind of conversations were never easy, and Jax had a tendency to lash out when he got especially upset.

He'd never been even near as upset as he was today, in all his time in the circus. 'Upset' was too simple of a word to encapsulate all that he was feeling right now. Kinger understood that deeply. That feeling was something he didn't want any of his loved ones to have to go through.

But it was a part of life.

“It's one of the most painful things one can experience.”

And yet, this time, Jax didn't lash out. Didn't try to laugh it off or cheer the others up with jokes. Didn't get sarcastic, or assure Kinger that he was fine, or tell him to back off.

He just stared at the ground of the dark hall they were standing in, eyes unseeing, his pupils tiny. Shaking. Panting quietly. Crying.

Kinger had never seen him cry before. Now he sobbed like the child that he really still was. Eighteen. Just barely. That was nothing. He was a kid.

“...But, the pain... as horrible as it feels now... is proof of how much she meant to you.” Kinger said. “They were a wonderful person, and we will all miss her dearly. How close you were was beautiful. No one can take that away from you.”

Jax sobbed, sitting down on the floor. He leaned against the wall, hugging his legs close to his chest and burying his face in his knees. His shoulders were shaking. “...The circus did. They're gone now. I'll never see them again. That closeness is gone.” His fist punched the ground in front of him.

Kinger watched him with worried eyes, sitting down next to him on the floor, careful to leave a little bit of space between them, so he wouldn't scare him again.

“They're gone, but that closeness isn't.” He said. “Your deep connection isn't, your friendship isn't.” Kinger had his own suspicions about the nature of their relationship, but officially they had always been best friends, so he didn't call them anything else now.

“The good times you had aren't gone all of a sudden. Everything you did together, went through together, every thing you laughed or cried about together, every time they comforted you or you comforted them, that's all still there.” His blue eyes were still sad, but they crinkled in a smile now. Empathetic and caring, and speaking from experience.

“The love you felt is still there. The memories are still there. And no one can take them from you.” He said.

Jax sobbed again, lifting his head up just enough to look at the chess piece, eyes red and narrowed. “How can you say that? Half of the time you don't even know who I am.”

Kinger chuckled at that, rubbing the back of his head. “Ah, I know this must sound strange coming from me of all people, but it's true. And just so you know, I might be forgetful, but I always know who you are, Jax.” He said, because he didn't want any of his loved ones to think he forgot them. Not even for a second.

“My brain may be scrambled,” He tapped his head, “but my heart remembers.”

He placed a hand on his chest, and Jax raised his head more.

“I carry the good times in my heart, and that gives me strength. Strength to go on, and be happy. Even though there are people I miss...” He looked down at his lap, opening and closing his fists. Looking more helpless than Jax had ever seen him, even though he was crazy most of the time. Still, he could see that strength Kinger talked about, too.

“There is so much that I miss now, son.” He said, turning to look at Jax. “But so much I'm grateful for as well. The only reason that I can miss these moments now, is that they happened at all!” Again, he smiled with his eyes. “And even though they ended, I wouldn't trade them for the world.” He said.

Jax sniffled. “...Even though these memories only hurt you now?”

Kinger chuckled again, and Jax scowled at him. “They don't hurt, Jax. They used to, for a while... But wounds heal. They never fully vanish, and they leave scars, but they heal. Until you barely notice them anymore. And while the pain dulls with time, the happiness these memories bring you always stays. You have to hold on to that, boy.”

Kinger leaned forward a little, trying to catch his eyes. “And most importantly, you can't let the pain stop you from making new memories. She might be gone, but we're still here. You're still here. And they wouldn't want you to be afraid of being happy without them.”

Jax buried his face in his arms again, crying quietly. Every instinct in Kinger wanted to hug him, to comfort him, but he held back. If they would hug, it had to come from Jax. It was his decision.

“It's okay to miss her. That's natural, and we're all going to miss her. That just means that they mean something to us. And, I can't lie to you Jax, it will take a while until the pain starts to dull. This is going to hurt... for a while. But that's okay, too. We're all here for you. We always will be. And you will be happy again, I promise.”

“...Why should I want that?” He sobbed. “It's only gonna lead to this again.”

Kinger sighed. “That's a possibility, yes.” He admitted. “But you can't let that get in the way of your happiness, Jax. Loss is always a possibility, no matter where you are, kid... No one can protect you from that. And you can't protect yourself from it by holding back, either. So... don't hold back, Jax. Don't be afraid to be happy again. It might not seem like it right now, in the face of your pain, but I promise you that it's worth it.”

Jax sobbed, wiping over his eyes as he looked up and fully turned to look at the older cast member. He looked vulnerable, and scared, his eyes begging Kinger to tell the truth. “But it hurts so much...” He said, voice almost in a whisper.

Kinger furrowed his brows, the boy's pain making his chest ache. “I know kiddo. Believe me, I know. But if you could choose to remove this pain, and never have met Ribbit at all, would you do it?”

The rabbit stared at him for a moment. His eyes were blood-shot, his lower lip was wobbling... and still, he replied with; “...No. Not for anything in the world. They mean so much to me...”

“See? That's really all you need to know.” Kinger said.

Jax sniffled and wiped over his face again. “I guess it is...”

“Ribbit may be gone, but the memories of them will always stay with you, and they'll make you strong. And whenever you can't be strong, we'll be here to catch you.”

“And what if I lose you guys too?”

“Well, to prepare for that possibility... you'll just have to make as many good memories with us as you can, to keep you as strong as you are.” Kinger smiled at him. “Because you are strong, Jax. Really strong. Not many people could survive this place after coming here so young, and you...” Kinger sighed heavily. “...Losing Ribbit was... cruel. If I lose you as well...”

He didn't mean to get emotional, he was supposed to be the one comforting Jax, but the thought... of losing him... just made tears well up in his eyes. He and his wife never had children of their own. But the people in the circus had been kind of like children to them. They'd taken the younger ones under their wing, tried to be there for them, being the parents of the group.

And watching one after another go. Until Queenie just couldn't take it any longer.

They had seen so many of their children die.

And Jax was the youngest.

Of all of them, Jax was the youngest. Kinger knew him since he was a young teenager. Saw him grow up in this god-forsaken place. Tried what he could to be the father figure that he needed. When he was lucid, that is. And when he wasn't, he could always count on his sweet Ragatha. Ragatha, who loved Jax just as much as he did, and always did what she could to care for everyone.

But she was just as lost right now, she needed care as well, and she was always burdening herself with so much already. She was such a loving person, but she had such a hard time accepting love. Ever since Ribbit abstracted, she only focused on helping the others grieve, offering to be there for them, to be a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, especially for Jax.

But the moment Jax wanted to offer her the same, the moment he wanted to be there for her, for them to talk about their grief together, she shut down, saying that she was fine, that she wanted to focus on helping him.

And that was putting distance between them. Kinger could see it. And it scared him.

They were like a daughter and son to him. He didn't want to lose them too. And he didn't want them to lose each other, either. They needed each other. They always had, and especially now. Especially after losing the third one in their trio.

To his surprise, Jax put his hand on his in a comforting gesture. He looked up, blinking at the touch. Then he was taken even more off guard when he was suddenly hugged. That was... rare. For anyone whose name didn't start with an R, at least.

But it was a very welcome surprise.

He hugged back, as much as he could without arms, putting his hands on the rabbit's back. He buried his face in Jax's neck, feeling how his ears twitched.

“You won't lose me.” He said, voice quiet but determined. “You... you probably won't remember this conversation, right?”

Kinger sighed. “No, I probably won't.”

“Then... I'll have to make sure you won't lose me. You can't keep as many memories as the rest of us, so I'll just have to stay.”

“Heh... that sounds wonderful, Jax.” Kinger replied with a kind-hearted smile. He squeezed him. “Take it from someone who's been here for a while, son... the best way to stay around is to appreciate what you have, instead of torturing yourself over what you lost.”

He pulled back to look at him, keeping his hands on his shoulders. “Promise me that you'll try to find more happy moments, even if it's scary.”

Jax wiped his tears away, even though more were coming. More would come for a long while. Grieving was a long process, but Kinger believed that Jax could get through it. If he accepted help, that is.

He nodded. “I promise. I'll try.”

The chess piece smiled with his eyes.

It was the last time Jax had a conversation with Kinger while he was lucid.

And he had lied.

He hadn't meant to lie. Really, he wanted to keep his promise. But things changed after that. Everything changed. Ribbit was gone, Ragatha was a liar, Kaufmo's jokes stopped being funny. Kinger stopped making sense. Like, completely. No sane moments few and far in between anymore. Just complete and utter nonsense, so crazy, so sad, it was almost funny again.

Because Jax was the funny one, wasn't he?

Laughing was better than crying, and making fun of people and pushing them away was better than caring and getting hurt. What Kinger said just didn't work if there was no one he could trust. If there was no one he wanted around him.

If he was sure that everyone was better off without him, anyway. If he knew that he was poison.

Getting insulted didn't hurt that much if it came from someone you didn't care about. And Jax had made sure that no one cared about him any longer. So he couldn't really hurt anyone, not in a way that matters.

The others had blamed him. Kinger had said what happened wasn't his fault, Ragatha had said it wasn't his fault- but he could see in her eyes that she was lying.

Ribbit had said she was sorry in her last moments, abstracting in Jax's arms.

But he knew that... he just knew that he could have... if he'd done something different, done more, maybe they would have been...

“Jax? Are you okay?”

He broke out of his spiral when Gangle lifted her mask from his chest to look at him, concerned. His breath came out in quiet pants, he realized, panicked, and she must have heard his heartbeat. What a stupid thing to add to his avatar. Being aware of it only made his heartrate spike up more. He didn't want to be perceived like this.

“Bun-bun?”

Again, her voice brought him back. Soft, gentle, worried. She raised a hand to his cheek, and he didn't flinch away. He just looked down at her, just knowing that his pupils must be tiny right now. Two voices inside his head screaming at him, one telling him to get away and one to get closer. Loud enough to make his ears ring, but through the noise, the gentle sound of her breathing stayed, keeping him down like an anchor in a storm.

There she was, still caring about him, after everything he'd done. Worrying about his well-being. Wanting him to be happy.

Happy.

He hadn't been able to keep his promise to Kinger back then. But things had changed again. Everything changed.

Now there was someone who he wanted to be around. Someone who made him so happy it scared him. And he could push her away, or he could hold onto her with everything he had and pray that she wouldn't wake up one day and realize that he didn't deserve her care and affection. Or worse, that she would leave them all the way countless others before her had.

He wrapped his arms around her tighter, pulling her closer, the top of her head tucked under his chin. Jax closed his eyes, feeling tears threaten to spill, and fighting so hard to keep them at bay. The bunny did not want to cry in front of her. Unlike Kinger, she wouldn't forget it.

“You are so precious...” He said.

“O-oh...” She said, snuggling back against him again, wrapping her arms around him.

“You're the best thing in this circus.”

“I... where's that coming from?”

“Shut up, I'm not done.” He said, nuzzling his face against the top of her mask to contrast his rude words. “I'm sorry for how I acted. I'm sorry for how I treated you. I didn't want to lose anyone ever again, so I made sure that I just don't have anyone. That was stupid, and you always deserved better, and I'm sorry, because I really like you, and you're the best thing that happened to me in a long time, and... I'm just sorry. I should have never been mean to you like that, or the others, I guess... but you're the one who made me realize that, so... yeah. That's about as vulnerable as you'll ever get me.”

He made a stoic face, as if that could hide all that he's just said, or the tears still in his eyes.

Gangle looked up at him with a soft smile. She wrapped one of her ribbons around his hand, squeezing it tightly. She leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss against his lips. “I forgive you.”

Jax couldn't prevent the shaky sob from escaping him. “Really?”

She nodded. “Really.”

“It's that easy?”

“It is because I decide that it is.” Gangle said. “Because I can tell that your apology is heartfelt... And because you've already shown me that there's different sides to you. Because you've been honest with me, with your feelings, more than I've ever seen with you. You're putting in effort.” She looked down at their joined hands, petting calming circles over his, because she could still hear his nervous heartbeat.

“You were scared of connections... and that's no excuse, but I understand it.”

“You do?” He breathed.

She nodded again, putting her head back on his chest. “Yeah... and I think it's brave to admit that you're scared. And I appreciate your apology, really, bun-bun.”

She couldn't see his face from this position, but she could hear his shaky exhale. He hugged her closer again. “...Thank you, Precious.”

“You're welcome. But... this is kind of random, isn't it? Why did you think about this now?”

“...Because I'm happy right now. And that's scary, too.”

“Then I'm glad that you're still here, even though it's scary.”

“...Me too, Ribbons. Me too.”

Gangle looked up, and he looked down at her, one hand gently tilting up her chin. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, lips slightly parted as they just stared, their eyes full of love. Jax leaned in, and Gangle met him halfway for the kiss. They closed their eyes, their lips meeting gently, softly, unhurried. Enjoying the moment.

They shared many kisses, all slow and relaxed. Until they parted, laying down together, wrapped around each other. They snuggled up under the blanket, holding each other until they fell asleep. And Jax was still afraid, but he was also content.

No matter what would happen, this memory was his.

~~~

Chapter Text

The next morning, no one came to bother them. Of course not; this was a chance to sleep in for all of them, and everyone took it. It would probably be some hours before anyone would end up in the common area, and Caine was busy with his date planning. And Bubble? Who knew, or cared? Maybe the little AI was enjoying his free time as well right now, but he certainly wasn't bothering them, and that was enough for Gangle and Jax.

They had the morning all to themselves. Gangle smiled as she slowly began to wake up, nuzzling her mask against Jax's chest.

Even though he was asleep, his arms were wrapped tightly around her in a protective embrace. She closed her eyes again, deciding that she didn't have to rush waking up today.

She really just wanted to stay in his arms for as long as she could, so she snuggled up to him again. He was so warm, and comfortable to lie on. Like the comfiest bed she had ever owned.

Eventually, Jax began to stir, and for a moment Gangle feared that their cuddling was over now. She was about to mourn the loss of his body heat, but he only shifted a little, keeping his arms around her and pressing a tired kiss to the top of her mask. Gangle smiled again, feeling butterflies in her heart at the gentle brush of his lips against the porcelain.

“Morning, honey bunny...” She said, her voice still sleepy.

“Mornin' Precious...” He replied, caressing the ribbons of her back.

She sighed in contentment, ribbons flattening to be even closer to him, fully relaxed. Now that he was awake, the rise and fall of his chest became more prominent, her pillow moving up and down rhythmically in a way that made her want to fall asleep again.

“Mhh... do you want to get up?” She asked, because she still worried about being a bother.

“No, not really.” He replied. “You?”

“Not at all.” She smiled against his chest, the fluffed up fur tickling her mask.

“Great. We're on the same page.”

She chuckled, then she yawned, and they fell asleep again.

~~~

When they woke up again, they still stayed in bed. Cuddling, holding each other, sharing kisses. Gentle kisses, like yesterday, soft lips against smooth ones, moving slow and sure and full of love. Fingers playfully moving through ribbons and fur, sweet touches filling the space between them. Maybe it was a little tentative here and there, a little hesitant, especially from Jax.

Still unsure if he deserved this kind of affection, if it was really his for the taking even though Gangle was giving it to him freely. She could understand his fear, of course. She was no stranger to feeling unworthy of love... but not lately, not when she was with him. Honestly, it was kind of cute. How worried he was, all because of her.

It felt like even more proof of just how much she meant to him. Jax wasn't used to taking off his mask, laying down his role, and now he was vulnerable and unsure of what to do with himself. Clearly enjoying this shift in dynamic, but unsure nonetheless.

And still he did it, because he wanted to change. For her more than for himself, probably. That was okay, they were here for forever and Jax had more than enough time to learn to be kind to himself. That was something Gangle had to learn too, if she was honest with herself.

But it would be easier like this. When he looked at her the way he did lately. When he held her like she was something precious.

She looked up at him with a lovey-dovey smile, a ribbon hand on the back of his head to tilt his head down gently, meeting his lips in a kiss. She smiled against his lips when he kissed back, looking at him when she pulled back. “How are you feeling?” She asked.

He looked away at that, clearly uncomfortable. “Eh... not sure. You mean about yesterday, right? Because I'm feeling pretty good about how this morning is going.” He smirked.

Gangle smiled back, but she could see through his attempt at changing the topic. “Yes, yesterday. You got pretty emotional, and that's awesome-” She quickly reassured him, “just untypical for you. I just wanna make sure you're doing okay. I don't know what was going through your head while you were quiet for so long, but it seemed like a lot.” She put her hands on his chest to calm him. And to show him that she was there for him.

His heart was beating like crazy again.

“...It's exhausting.” He admitted with a sigh, still avoiding eye-contact. “Feeling that much.”

“You've always felt that much.” Gangle chastised. “You just bottled it up. That wasn't good for you, or for us. Letting all of that out now has to be exhausting, I imagine... but it's a good thing.” She smiled.

He huffed, pulling her closer. “I hope you're right, Ribbons. Just remember to not make me regret this.”

She nuzzled her mask against his chest once more. “I'll try my best. And you try fighting your fears, alright?”

He pressed a feather-light kiss to her mask. “For you? Always.”

~~~

Eventually, as much as they wanted to, they realized they probably shouldn't laze around anymore. Cuddling was great, but Gangle wanted to see what the others were up to, and Jax needed something to do or else he always started causing trouble sooner or later.

So they made their way to the common area, where the others were already gathered.

“Oh, hey, there you are.” Pomni greeted them with a smile. “We were starting to wonder when you were gonna get out of bed. Had another slumber party?”

“Yup.” Gangle lied through her teeth. Jax was a bad influence on her.

“Hey, do you know why we get a free day? Since you're the one who told us.” Zooble asked her. “Not that I'm complaining, it just doesn't feel very... Caine.”

“O-oh, who knows, really...” Gangle replied, sitting down on the couch next to them.

Great. Two minutes in, an lying was already starting to become hard. Man, Jax made it look easy. “Caine just said he needed extra time to plan an adventure, something extra special? Whatever that means, haha.”

“Man, Zooble, you're really never happy, are you?” Jax asked, plopping down on their other side. He had an elbow resting on the back of the couch, his chin propped up against his hand, giving Zooble his most s[#!%]-eating grin, to annoy them and hopefully distract them from asking Gangle more questions that she wouldn't find answers to.

Who said he couldn't amuse himself and help out his girlfriend? Man, being a boyfriend was easy. This was going to be a blast.

Zooble, as planned, turned their attention on him with an unimpressed frown. “Don't you think this is weird? I'm just worried that this is bad news for us in the end, and if he's planning an 'extra special adventure' I'm probably right.”

“Or maybe it's nothing, and the bee freak is just running out of ideas.” Jax countered, shrugging. “Either way, there isn't much we can do to stop him from whatever it is he's planning right now. Worrying your little triangle head isn't gonna do anything except ruin our day.”

Zooble rolled their eyes and turned away from him again, deciding that this conversation wasn't worth it. Basically no conversation with Jax was ever worth it.

“So, uh, did anyone have plans for today?” Gangle asked.

“Honestly, we thought we'd just chill.” Pomni said with her typical nervous smile. “We don't get such a chance often... I mean, I haven't been here for long, but Ragatha said it's been a while.”

“I, uh...” The ragdoll chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her head. “I honestly can't remember. I know there has been days like this before, far and few in between... I'm talking years in between. Kinger can't remember either, obviously...”

She gave the chess piece sitting on the ground a sad look. He was playing peek-a-boo with a potted plant, and somehow the plant scared him every time. Ragatha sighed and turned to look at Jax. “Do you still remember the last day like this, Jax?”

“Duh.” He said. “I remember everything. Last free day happened because Caine was glitching out. He said that he needed to take a 'spa day', which really just meant fixing his issues with the oldest trick in the book by turning himself off and on again. He left Bubble in charge, but Bubble just flew around splashing us all with champagne and yelling 'Freedom from the bourgeoisie' all day, so we were pretty much left to just do whatever.”

“Caine glitching sounds really terrifying...” Pomni said, hugging herself.

“Naaah, it was funny.” Jax waved her off with a grin. “Bubble made the champagne strong. You should have been there! Kaufy could not hold his liquor!”

“Haha, yeah... Bubble was way too generous with the champagne, but it was a nice change.” Ragatha said, a small smile tugging at her lips. She quickly schooled her expression back into something more serious. “But, still, that was getting too wild.”

“Oh, yeah, you were so stressed trying to protect me from the champagne, I thought your doll body would grow veins just so one on your forehead could pop.” Jax said, snickering.

Ragatha pouted, balling her fists in her lap, though she didn't seem as mad as he usually made her. “Well, you were a minor! And Bubble wanted to give you alcohol!”

“You were a minor?” Pomni asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I'm twenty-two now, Pom Pom, do the math. I was a minor literally two years ago.” Jax shrugged. “But we don't have bodies here, and the alcohol is literally just ones and zeroes, so who cares?”

“I care! Your body isn't in here, but your brain is! And that's where the damage is done!”

“Maybe if Ragatha succeeded you wouldn't be so braindead now.” Zooble commented.

Jax smirked at them. “Oh, she did succeed. I didn't get a single drop of champagne, no matter how hard Bubble tried. The brain damage was caused by hearing you talk, actually.”

“Then you won't mind if I add more brain damage in the form of blunt force applied to your head.” Zooble narrowed their eyes at him.

“Okay...” Ragatha interrupted with a nervous chuckle. “Let's not let this escalate any further, okay? Today is our first free day in years, let's enjoy it!”

“Oh, I'm planning to!” Kinger exclaimed. “I'm going to explore the grounds and catalogue insects! Wait... did Caine even program insects to be out there?” He tapped his chin, thinking hard. Then he shrugged. “Oh well! I've got all day to find out!”

“Oh, uh... good luck with that, Kinger!” Ragatha replied, waving as he left the Tent.

“Thank you! I'll need it!” He replied ominously, already out before anyone could comment on that. Ragatha looked a little worried, but Pomni assured her that he would be fine.

“Do you maybe wanna draw something together?” Zooble asked Gangle, a soft smile in their eyes. Gangle returned it with enthusiasm, nodding. “Oh, I'd love to!” She replied.

Then she paused, and Jax saw how her eyes flickered over to him for a second. It was like he could read her thoughts in that moment, because he smiled lazily and threw one arm around Ragatha and one arm around Pomni, making both of them frown in discomfort. “Guess that means I'm bothering you ladies today.”

The rabbit turned around and led them to walk away, but not before he winked at Gangle and said; “Don't be jealous, Ribbons, you're on my list for later!”

“Leave her alone, d[!<%]wad.” Zooble warned him.

Gangle, who knew that he meant that quite differently this time, had to stop herself from giggling. Her boyfriend turned his smile on Zooble then. “Oh Zoobie, are you worried about getting left out? There's no need for that! You're getting your Jaxxy-time later, I promise!” He said cheekily.

Zooble growled, turning away. “Come on Gangle, let's get away from here.”

“Oh, sure! See you later guys!” Gangle waved at the others, following Zooble, the two of them walking in the opposite direction of the others.

“Uh, see you later!” Pomni said, miraculously still in Jax's arm even though she usually didn't like physical touch. Ragatha had no problem with touch, but she looked a little afraid of what was going to happen now. But if Pomni wanted to hang out with Jax, she shouldn't leave them alone... It probably was best if she kept an eye on him, and she wanted to spend time with Pomni, so... Win-win?

“Yeah, bye Gangle, bye Zooble!” She called out.

“See you later, don't get killed by the rabies edgelord.” Zooble said.

Jax raised the arm that was previously around Ragatha to give an obnoxious wave as well, not turning to look over his shoulder. “Bye Ribbons, bye clown vomit!”

“F[§%!] off, furry boy.” They showed him a censored middlefinger, also not turning around.

This was promising to be a good day already.

~~~

Jax was having a really good time.

Pomni was fun company, and he loved watching Ragatha get an aneurysm every time he made the jester laugh. He didn't get what her problem was, maybe she was jealous or something, but it was hilarious either way. She was constantly giving him that look, only to immediately switch to a smile as soon as Pomni turned to look at her, laughing nervously or agreeing or offering commentary like she wasn't just glaring daggers at Jax. And while she fought to seem positive, he just gave her a three-shaped grin, watching her struggle with great amusement.

Of course, Ragatha had her fun today too. And whenever she seemed to be genuinely happy, Jax would try not to look at her, but his eyes always ended up being drawn to her cute little laugh. Brows furrowed even though he didn't want this to bother him, arms crossed and fingers digging into his arms, a nostalgic kind of cold gripping his chest, like a weaker version of what he felt when he first realized that Ragatha had never really been honest with him.

Whatever. That's why he stopped feeling. Only brought problems.

Except, Gangle had proven that this wasn't true, right? She had said so just this morning.

He had allowed her in, and it hadn't ended in catastrophe so far, so... maybe he could allow the others in too, at some point. Slowly. When he was sure that letting Gangle come closer to him wasn't a terrible mistake.

He was not scared, thank you very much. He was Jax, and Jax wasn't scared. He was the funny one. Being scared wasn't in his archetype. He was just... careful. You couldn't be careful enough with your mind in this place, it was all that mattered here. The others didn't seem to understand that, being so focused on their avatars and protecting their bodies from harm, as if they were real. Nothing here was real, except for their minds and the risk of abstraction looming above them, so he thought it was pretty reasonable to focus all his efforts on protecting his mind instead of his body, and he did so by distancing himself from the greatest source of mental harm to ever exist: other people.

But now Gangle was in. She'd made it past the distance and the walls he had built around himself. And as if that wasn't enough, now Pomni was sprinting after her, attempting to get inside as well! If he knew his girlfriend, she would even hold out a helping ribbon to pull the jester up.

And maybe he would let her, if he felt safe enough with it.

But not Ragatha. Never again Ragatha.

Jax was sure that sentiment was returned by her, judging by her tired glare.

He was just about to make her day worse, when he noticed a piece of paper just... appearing in his hand. He frowned down at it, looking up to make sure the girls were talking amongst themselves. When he saw that they weren't paying attention to him right now, he opened the paper and saw a message written in what he assumed must be Caine's handwriting, because there were lots of bee drawings around it, along with a mini message saying 'look at this cool S I can draw!'

Jax rolled his eyes at that, getting to the actual message;

It's date time!!!

Please proceed to your room, a new outfit based on your recorded preferences in clothing has spawned on your bed! Change, get ready, and meet your beloved outside of the Tent!

In love!!!!!
Caine!!!!!

PS: I love you guys :))))

Jax folded the message again and tucked it away in his front pocket, looking up at the girls again. “Welp, this was fun, but I believe that I promised Gangle to bully her today too, so I gotta go now.” He said, standing up.

Ragatha frowned at him. “Come on Jax, go easy on her. She's having fun with Zooble right now. Don't ruin that for her.”

“I'm not gonna ruin anything.” He said, smirking, because this time he actually meant that.

“Jax...” She warned, using that disappointed tone.

“Why not just stay with us?” Pomni asked, showing him a nervous but genuine smile. She didn't want him to bother Gangle, but it was also true that she wanted to spend more time with him. That she wanted him to stay.

Pomni really liked having him around, and... when he fought his fears like he'd promised Gangle, then he could admit that someone actually wanting him around felt really nice. Just not out loud. Not yet.

Still, he had a date to go on.

“Another time, Pom-Pom. My evening belongs to Ribbons.” He did a finger gun at them and left. He heard Ragatha sigh behind him, asking Pomni if they should intervene, to which the jester answered that Zooble would probably handle him if he overstepped.

He'd like to see the geometry class try.

He sauntered to his room, lazily spinning the key around his finger as he approached the door. Inside, he found the new outfit Caine had promised waiting on his bed, just as he was told. Humming, he picked up the clothes to take a look at them.

A dark purple dress shirt, way darker than his fur, a pair of black pants, and even some black shoes. Not a bad choice, he had to give that to the flying dentures. He went to the bathroom to smooth his fur down once more, just to be sure. He had to look good for his date, after all. He got dressed, leaving the first few buttons of the shirt undone, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

He took a look at himself in the bathroom mirror, really liking what he saw. Of course, that was nothing new, Jax was just handsome, what could he say? The ladies love him, the fellas love him, every enby but Zooble loves him, and he was pretty sure Zooble just didn't know any joy in life. Still, that outfit was a hit, made him look nice like in that bar adventure.

With one last smirk at the mirror, he opened his door to make sure that no one was in the hall. They'd definitely ask questions if they saw him in this outfit, especially because it was a new one. Caine didn't give out new outfits for no reason, and the others would want to know that reason. And Jax... wasn't ready for that.

Sure, part of the reason he kept their relationship secret for now really was that it made things funnier and kept it more interesting, but the other part of the reason was just as Gangle had guessed, even though he wouldn't admit that to her. He had an image to maintain, and that image was his emotional shield in this wacky world. Without it, Jax didn't know who he was anymore. Being with Gangle was helping him find out, but until then, he couldn't show the others.

It had been a hot minute since he was fully honest about his real wants and needs as a real human, as a real person. He'd talked himself into believing he was a two-dimensional cartoon character to the point where he had to rediscover those wants and needs for himself now. He was willing to share that finding process with Gangle, because she was the whole reason he was putting in effort now, but the others were best kept out of his personal business for now.

Besides, if anything went wrong in their relationship, everyone would blame him.

Again. He didn't want to go through that again.

But there was no one in the hall, so he wouldn't have to.

He snuck out of the Tent, waiting for his girlfriend by the exit. There were some way signs put up, all reading something like 'If you're Gangle and Jax, go this way! If you aren't, ignore this!'

Jax rolled his eyes. Subtle, Caine. Real subtle. He could only hope that Kinger hadn't seen the signs while looking for insects, even though Hoo Ha probably wouldn't think too much of it anyway.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking up at the simulated nightsky, enjoying the artificial breeze on his skin. The Moon was up already, smiling down at him gently.

“Why, hello there little bunny.” She greeted him. “Come to keep me company this lovely night?”

“Nope, sorry.” He replied, a slightly annoyed smile on his face, eyes drifting away from the Moon. “I'm just waiting for someone.”

“Oh, is there a special someone in your life?” She asked sweetly.

“No.” He replied curtly.

He was just grateful that, despite being a celestial body, she knew how to keep her voice down. Caine should take notes.

“Aww...” She sounded disappointed on his behalf. “I know that feeling. Don't worry, little one. There is someone for you.”

Jax rolled his eyes. “Not for me, Moon. I'm a lone wolf.”

She giggled. “Lone wolves howl at the moon, too.”

He raised a brow at her. Was that supposed to be an innuendo?

He just... he was just going to ignore that. He really didn't want to continue this conversation. What was taking Gangle so long? Had she not noticed Caine's message?

But just as he was wondering that, he heard her sweet voice call out behind him; “Jax!”

He turned around, a smooth greeting on his tongue, but stopped with wide eyes when he saw her. She wore a black, lolita-style jumper dress over a white blouse, a neat black bow tied at her collar. There were four golden buttons at the front of the dress, and cute ruffles at the wrists of the sleeves and the bottom of the dress, which ended about halfway down what her shins would be. Her long white socks reached until about where her knees should be, black bows in front that matched the ones on her collar, and wearing black mary janes as shoes.

She looked stunning.

There were a smile and a blush on her porcelain face. “Oh... Jaxxy, you-”

“You're gorgeous.” He interrupted her, unable to tear his eyes away from her.

Gangle's blush deepened, eyes widening. “O-oh... oh, thank you...” Her smile widened, and she had to look away out of embarrassment at his breathless compliment. Her whole face was red. Looking up at him again, she saw small white hearts in his pupils as he looked at her.

She felt her heart beat against her non-existent chest when he looked at her like that.

Jax stepped towards her, cupping her mask in his hand, running a gentle thumb over the edge. Gangle tilted her head up, and after a quick look over her shoulder he determined that no one was near the entrance to see how he kissed her.

Gangle wrapped a ribbon hand around his wrist, smiling up at him. “You look really handsome...” She said, looking up at him with a love-sick smile. And, oh, he looked so cute when he blushed. Because of something she had said, at that.

“Your... your legs look really good in those pants.” She added, but her eyes were not on his legs.

He clearly noticed that, judging by the smirk on his face. “My legs, huh?”

Gangle blushed, trying to fight her smile. “Among other things, yes.”

He looked away with a shy smile, cheeks still darker than usual, and took her ribbon hand in his. “Come on, let's leave before someone sees us out here. Caine marked the way for us.”

Jax led her down the path the signs marked, the two of them walking hand in hand.

“Aww, you have a special someone after all...” The Moon cooed.

Gangle raised a brow as she looked up at the sky. “What?”

“Ignore her.” Jax instructed. “And you!” He pointed up at the sky with a sharp look. “Not a word of this to anyone!”

The Moon sighed wistfully. “I wish Caine would take me on a date sometimes...”

~~~

The signs led them to a fancy restaurant that definitely wasn't on the Grounds before.

“Oh, good, he stuck to my idea.” Gangle said. “I told him to keep it simple for his first time and just send us to a restaurant.”

“Don't get too excited yet, Precious.” Jax replied. “Let's see what's inside first.”

They went in, being greeted by a mannequin with a fake mustache. “Ah, Mister Jax, Miss Gangle! We've reserved a table for you, this way, follow me please.”

The interior of the restaurant was surprisingly nice, too. Not that Caine hadn't created pretty surroundings in past adventures as well, but there was always something happening, or rather, going wrong. But here, there was no chaos in sight, at least not yet. Just the pleasant buzz of conversation at the tables, the waiters zipping around, delicately balancing plates, and the soft music in the background. They were led to their table, a candle and a rose on the white tablecloth. The mannequin handed them their menus and politely excused himself.

“Huh, so this really is a restaurant.” Jax stated, brows furrowed as he opened his menu.

“What else would it be?” Gangle asked.

“Have you met Caine?” He asked in return, raising an eyebrow at her. “It could be literally anything. It's more surprising that it just is what he said it would be.”

“Well, I think you really got through to him about having to learn. He actually stuck to my notes!” She exclaimed, a smile on her face. “Maybe you could try to talk to him about adventures too?” She asked.

“Nah, that wouldn't work.” Jax replied, eyes scanning the menu.

“How are you so sure?”

“Because I already tried that, years ago. Worked about as much as it does with Zooble now. Everyone tries it at some point, but Caine never listens. Do you think that wine can actually make us drunk?” He squinted at the drink section.

“You already tried?” She asked, frowning. “I thought you liked Caine's more... chaotic adventures.”

“Oh, I do. But I still had my own suggestions, you know.” He waved a hand around. “The suggestion box is older than you might think, but he always forgot that it was there, even back then. I tried to get him to use it more, because me and my friend had hilarious ideas. Besides, Raggy didn't like the chaotic adventures as much, even though she never admitted that.”

“And you... cared?” Gangle asked carefully.

Jax rolled his eyes. “If you have a question, Gangle, just ask it. Don't beat around the bush.”

“W-well...” She cleared her throat, putting her menu down and looking up at him. “I've actually been wondering about something lately. You said that you used to have pajama parties with Ragatha, so, you were close, right?”

He sighed and put his menu down too. He frowned at her, clearly annoyed. “Yes. We were close. And?”

“What happened for the two of you to end up like... this?” There was a sad look in her eyes, despite the comedy mask on her face. He always knew the thing was fake.

For a moment, Gangle thought she spotted something like sadness in his eyes too, but it was gone again in a flash, his pupils expanding until they took up most of his eyes.

“I realized who she really is. And she realized who I really am.”

His monotone voice worried her, but he quickly regained his smile, shaking his head. “Pretty, is that really how you want to spend our date? Talking about Ragatha?”

She wanted to talk about this topic, but Jax was right, she didn't really want to do it right now. Tonight was date night, their first one at that! Surely there were more pleasant topics for now. Gangle smiled, picking up her menu again. “Y-yeah, you're right. Uhm...”

She clearly had trouble coming up with something, but Jax was eager for a topic change, and he probably never once in his life had a problem finding something to say, if Gangle had to guess. With a sigh and a softer smile, he asked; “How was drawing with Zooble? Did they bore you to death?”

She giggled and rolled her eyes. “No, of course not. You know, hanging out with Zooble is really fun when you don't antagonize them the entire time. They're really good company.”

“Sounds fake, but okay.” He raised his hands in surrender, making a show of not buying it.

“And drawing was nice. I actually got a lot done today! It was like I hit this creative flow!” She said. “It's been a while since that happened!”

“Oh, maybe you can show me what you made.” He rested an elbow on the table, leaning his cheek against his palm as he looked at her with a loving smile. “That, or I'll just steal them.”

“Jax!” She scolded playfully.

“What? You know I'll get my hands on those drawings one way or another!”

Soon the waiter came by to take their order, and they decided to try the wine, no matter if it would have an effect or not. The waiter thanked them and took their menus before leaving them again. They were pretty impressed by Caine's programming for the NPC staff of the restaurant, and the whole interior and atmosphere was really nice too. Now they only had to wait to see if the food was going to be any better than the polygonal meals they usually got, always with a slight taste of static behind the actual flavor.

The wine came first. Since Caine didn't know any actual wine – and honestly, Jax wouldn't know any real types of wine either – they just chose one of the made up wine names on the menu. Gangle had picked a black cherry wine called 'Ringmaster's Choice', even though her boyfriend frowned at the name.

“Hey, I like sweet wine. And if Caine puts his brand on it, he must think he did a good job with it, right?” She had reasoned.

“I want you to think really hard for a moment about what Caine considers 'good'.” He'd countered. She had stared at him with big blinking eyes, and he'd just frowned at her.

But now that the wine was here, he had to admit that she'd picked well – not that he had any references on fancy wines, but this was tasty, even though it didn't make them feel inebriated. They hadn't planned to get drunk tonight or anything, but Jax wouldn't have said no to smuggling a bottle or two back to the circus. That was probably exactly the reason why the wine didn't work. Wine wasn't family friendly, but Stupid Sauce was? Really, Caine?

“Just getting out is really nice already.” Gangle commented as she took a sip of her fake wine. “Well, we're still on the Grounds, but... you know.”

Jax looked up at her. “Yeah.” He said, for once with no humor in his voice, just really sympathizing. “I know.”

“It's nice to have a change of scenery other than adventures that constantly try to kill us...” She sighed.

He smirked again. “Well, you know how much I love almost getting killed, but this isn't bad, either.” He said.

Gangle smirked back. “Oh? I thought you dreaded this date?”

“That was until I saw you in that dress, Pretty.” He replied with a wink, reaching over the table to hold her hand. Gangle smiled and blushed again, raising her free hand to her cheek. She giggled. “Oh... You're cute, Jaxxy.”

“I sure hope so.” He said, taking a sip of wine. “I put effort into looking good for you, you know. Would be a shame if I didn't at least look cute.”

She giggled again. “No, you are cute. I mean, you look cute too. You always do!” She smiled at him. That happy smile and her genuine tone of voice made him look away from her in embarrassment. “...Whatever.” He mumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Gangle squeezed his hand in hers to get his attention again. “But you do look very dashing tonight. And... you wanted to look good for me?” She tilted her head slightly, porcelain cheeks a lovely shade of pink.

Jax leaned his cheek against his free hand again, turning his face slightly into his palm as if to hide. The only thing that achieved was to make him look even more adorable, which was probably the opposite of what he wanted. “...Pffr. 'Course I did. You're my girlfriend.”

“Aww, Jaxxy!”

“Shut up, it's not even a big deal.” He murmured.

Before they could continue that thread of conversation, Bubble floated next to their table, wearing a tiny little white apron, a red bowtie and a fake mustache to match that of the mannequin who had led them to their table.

“Mmmmm good evening!” He greeted them. “Would you like a serenade this lovely evening?”

“Oh, no, thank you Bubble, but we're goo-” Gangle was about to politely decline, but he was already clearing his throat and started to sing;

“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie
That is violence!”

Gangle widened her eyes at the changed line, and of course her boyfriend just looked amused. Violence always had that effect on him.

“She is probably mad because Caine doesn't answer
Her emails!
I can tell that he likes her but he is too scared of
Commitment!
Now he's glaring at me real angry like he's just gonna
Kill me!
Bye bye!”

The little AI zoomed away, and Jax and Gangle turned to the direction he had looked in, finding their ringmaster sitting a few tables away, poorly trying to hide his huge denture head behind a menu, obviously watching them, and now glaring at the retreating form of Bubble.

“Caine.” Jax called out, frowning. Caine ignored him and raised his menu a little, which did nothing to hide him. “Caine. We can see you.”

The AI lowered the menu and cleared his throat. “Oh, Gangle, Jax, I didn't even see you there!”

“Are you... watching our date?” Gangle asked, a brow raised.

“What? No! I'm just making sure everything is going well!” Caine replied. “Just go on, pretend I'm not even here! You were being so cute just now! That means my date is good, right?”

“Okay... Creepy, Caine.” Jax said, before turning back to his girlfriend, because there really was no stopping Caine when he had gotten something into his head.

The couple looked at each other for a moment, before bursting out into giggles because of how absurd this was.

“So, uh... The Moon is sending Caine emails?” Gangle asked.

Jax smirked. “What, do you wanna draw ship art of them now?”

Gangle went quiet at that, averting her eyes from him. Jax's grin went huge and his eyes widened. “No way. You already did?!”

~~~