mmmm stupid Jax confession variation...... there are so many ways I can see it happening but we'll go with the silly funny one first since that will require the least amount of thinking (this is going to end up being unnecessarily long) update; it has.
Oh adventures with Caine. A joyful experience- especially now that the voting feature is a thing!! How fun!! Now you guys have gone on all sorts of wacky adventures and had the silliest mechanics be introduced- there was one time that Jax was instead a purple cat instead of a bunny, a time where Gangle's ribbons changed colours, a time that Ragatha's hair worked liked one of those customisable dolls where you could just keep pulling and more hair would come out, and various other things. Good times. Splendid times that definitely never lead to Jax being a pest and annoying everyone.
Right now though, you're all hanging out in the circus, having just gotten back from an Adventure where you all went ice skating and had to help this Swan get a prince to fall in love with her! Or something. Jax contorted what everyone said when he was playing messenger. It was one of those heavily scripted adventures where Caine assigned everyone roles. You, and everyone beside Ragatha and Kinger giggled about Jax being put into a little newsboy outfit. It wasn't too different from his regular outfit, but it amused you all.
Ragatha was made into a maid for the story, Zooble was a knight, Gangle was the royal adviser, and Kinger was uh, the king? Meanwhile, you were a ballerina that was in the same ballet class as the prince. Or something. How these roles would help a Swan get the prince to fall in love confused you a bit, but hey, you got to dance and have fun, so you weren't too bothered. So long as you didn't think too hard about that other ballerina in black that seemed determined to keep you away from the prince as possible. Or those moments when the ballerina in black and Jax would gossip with one another before she would strut over to you and shove you to the side with her hip and manhandle the prince. But whatever.
It ended up being revealed that the Swan was actually a person, who'd been turned into a swan and she was also a ballerina? You were a bit busy dancing with the other NPC's and hanging out with the others when you could, so you honestly weren't paying too much attention to whatever storyline was happening.
Details, details, blah blah blah. You all got the adventure over with, even with Jax's and that NPC's interfering.
Anyway, back to what was currently happening. You'd all gotten back from that mess of an adventure, and were relaxing in a cosy couch kinda area. You know the one from when Pomni had to hold her breath? That one. Why not? Gangle and Zooble were doing some drawing together, Kinger was spacing out, you, Ragatha, and Pomni were talking together and Jax was loudly groaning about how bored he was. Typical bunny. At least, typical behaviour for this bunny.
"If you're so bored here, why not go wreak some havoc bothering Caine or something?" Zooble finally spoke out, turning their triangular head to Jax with a tired expression.
"Aww, you must really care about me, Zooby. Especially if you're trying to shoulder me off to Caine to get me entertained." He had visibly perked up, a smug look on his face. You rolled your eyes, a brief smile gracing your lips.
"Oh, $#%@ off. I just don't want you to try tormenting everyone like you always do." Zooble turned back to Gangle and their own sketchbooks again, with Gangle smiling at them.
"Heeey, I'm not torturing anyone! I'm bringing smiles to faces and entertainment to those at home! I'm a crucial member of the cast, and half the audience wouldn't be sticking around if I wasn't here." He sat up where he was, pointing somewhere and smiling at a wall again. He was confusing sometimes.
"Bull%$&@. Can't you just, like, be honest for a minute? You don't make any sense when you talk sometimes."
Jax let out a sharp laugh, his face contorting in that strange way that it does sometimes. You stifled a snort at the sight. Pomni quietly giggled beside you before looking at Ragatha and clearing her throat and speaking.
"Zooble's not wrong, y'know. You can say some really confusing things sometimes Jax." The jester shrugged a little with her words. Kinger seemed to snap out of whatever thoughts he was having, speaking eagerly.
"Oh, I know! We can ask Caine to make Jax speak the truth!"
"Make me do what now?" Jax blinked quickly, getting into a slightly defensive stance.
"Ah, guys, I don't think that's really the greatest idea-" Ragatha tried to butt in, wanting to play peacemaker.
"Why not? Jax is always being a pain in the #@$ anyways. Why not give him a taste of his own medicine?" Zooble stood from where they and Gangle were sitting, crossing their arms and having a sly expression.
"Oh, come on- sure, Caine made me a vegan or whatever, but there's no way he can make me speak the truth or whatever." He flexed his fingers into quotation marks, mocking the idea of it. You pursed your lips, a little unsure if it was so smart to be doubting Caine's abilities, given everything that's happened so far.
"What an excellent idea everyone!" Caine practically yelled from over yours, Pomni's and Ragatha's shoulder, causing the three of you to yelp and fall off the couch.
"W-where did you come from-"
At least Kinger was worried about you guys- oh and he's staring blankly again. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
"Now what am I doing?" Caine asked, his floating eyes flicking amongst you all. Bubble slid up from behind the couch next to him.
"You're making Jaxy-Waxy spill all of his dirty little juicy $!@#ing secrets!"
Everyone paused for a moment.
"I'm not the only one unsettled by that, right-?" Jax raised a finger to point at the AI Bubble.
"Nonsense, bunny boy, it's truth-speaking time!" Caine stuck his tongue out, his eyes looking outwards as he snapped his fingers.
Nothing happened. Nothing visible happened? Everyone looked at Jax. His eyes were blown wide for a moment before he let out a laugh.
"Ha! See? I was scared that would work." Jax spoke in a smug tone, folding his arms and closing his eyes.
You paused, now standing up and helping Pomni stand up. The two of you share a look before facing Jax.
"Jax, you just- you just admitted to being scared that would do something." You said, now helping Ragatha stand up as she thanked you.
"Weeeell, I have other things to be doing so have fun with that!" Caine sang out before disappearing along with Bubble. Whatever, they always vanished after doing something plot-relevant. Back to Jax, whose smile seemed to be straining and his posture stiffening as your words sank in.
"Ha. Yeah, sure, what's next, am I gonna confess my biggest fears? Maybe I'll admit my poor sleeping habits. Ooh, maybe I'll even go on a rant about how I have feelings. Boy, wouldn't that be fun?" He blinked quickly. His smile dropped. He turned slowly to Zooble with his ears twitching. "What have you done to me."
Zooble looked amused beyond belief, Gangle and Ragatha looked shocked, Pomni seemed a bit concerned, and Kinger had wandered off to his pillow fort at some point. You... weren't quite sure how to feel yet. Sure, Jax was an ass who would rather hit someone with a truck than admit he cared about people, but he'd rather hit people with a truck over a lot of things. You also kinda considered him a friend? I mean, the two of you have had a few moments where you would talk and he wouldn't try to torment you in any way.
You couldn't deny the charm of a lanky purple bunny who acted like an asshole, okay, that's why you're here, don't deny it.
"Well, looky here. Big bad bunny has to be honest for a while. This'll be fun." Zooble took a few steps closer to the purple rabbit, sizing him up. He let out a shaky laugh, clearly growing uncomfortable.
"Maybe we should start with simple questions? Like, I dunno, what his favourite colour is or something?" You tried to suggest, not wanting to cross any boundaries or delve into any actual secrets.
You know that you'd hate being in that position yourself- whether you wanted to admit it or not, thinking about being forced to tell the truth no matter what was honestly terrifying. It didn't matter if you had something to hide or not, that's scary.
"How boring. Ask me if I've killed someone, that's way more fun than what Sweetpea suggested."
And so returns the asshole behaviour. Wait-
"Uh, Jax? Why'd you call them sweet-pea?" Ragatha questioned. Gangle let out a small gasp, her ribbon ends settling onto Zooble's arms as a smile spread on her comedy mask. Zooble let out a small snort. Jax tensed but forced himself to ease up, his eyes and ears betraying what he really felt.
"Psh, what, you think that means something? It obviously does." He paused, avidly avoiding looking in your direction, despite his desire to see how you'd reacted at the nickname. "I've never felt more embarrassed in my life. I want to claw out of this hell-hole."
He turned and stared at Zooble, with them meeting his gaze in a challenging way. He pressed his mouth shut, glaring at them. Despite not having a mouth, you could swear that Zooble was grinning right now.
"What, don't have any snarky remarks lined up, or are you just too scared to speak now that you've had some little slips?"
Jax's hands tensed at his sides, his expression unseen by you as Pomni leaned in, poking your shoulder gently. "Maybe we should leave. This feels.... uh, dangerous."
You nodded idly, your steps following Pomni's as she started to head for another part of the circus. Curiosity bit at you like a dangerous bug, but the respect you had for the cursed rabbit outweighed it. You'd rather not learn things about him when he clearly wasn't ready to express these things yet. God you'd love to ask him a million and one questions though. You turned your head towards Pomni, not catching the way that Jax had angled himself to watch you leave.
He breathed a heavy sigh of relief, his posture relaxing slightly. At least he won't have to deal with that problem yet. It kind of hurt to watch you go, though. He barely even got to see your reaction to the nickname because he was so caught up in getting called out for the slip up. Even if it definitely didn't mean anything. He would never call you an affectionate nickname in his mind in his yearning. Never.
He also definitely didn't shut up because he knew if Zooble kept prying while you were here, then everyone but Kinger would know he definitely did not feel differently towards you or anything. Not at all.
"You've got a thing for 'em, don't you?"
"What kinda thing?" He asked instead, trying to regain his casual asshole persona.
"You know what thing I mean, you idiot. I've seen the way you look at them- hell, everyone in the circus has." Gangle nodded beside her.
"Pshhh, I look at them like they're the only person who matters to me." Jax felt his eye twitch in frustration. "I dislike this situation a lot right now." His foot was beginning to thump against the floor.
"You could always tell them how you feel, you know. They're really nice, so I'm sure they'd-"
"Oh shut up, ragdoll! I do not want to hear from you how nice they are! I know how nice they are! And how kind-" He paused, his mouth hanging open before he groaned, a hand raising to smush over his face. He let out a sigh before smoothing his ears back, forcing a relaxed expression. "Yeah, this isn't okay. But who cares! I do, and you guys definitely do, but I'm not gonna tell them about any of this, and neither will you if you know what's good for you."
Everyone still present looked down at his thumping foot, his irritation obvious. Zooble sighed before speaking."God, you're hopeless."
Gangle let out a small gasp before leaning up to whisper to Zooble. Zooble's eyes widened for a moment before relaxing, eyes creasing in a smile as they turned to Gangle, patting her ribbon shoulder.
"That's genius. I'm not sure how well he'd cooperate, but if we did that... It might just work."
Jax's foot stopped, one hand on his hip and the other hanging by his side. His eyes pin-pointed onto Zooble.
"What are you talking about."
"I mean, we'd just have to call Caine over first and get his thoughts, but I think he'd be up for it."
"Ragatha, I wanna get your thoughts on Gangle's idea."
The redhead moved over to the other two, curious but eager. Everyone had honestly grown tired of Jax's pathetic pining and your obliviousness to it. It was not a friend way that he looked at you- he treated Pomni in that jackass friend way that he did. Even if he didn't want to admit that either. Kinger, who wasn't even aware he was breathing half the time, had some idea of what was happening.
He absolutely knew, but the others didn't realise that, so they just figured he was oblivious to it. Although, he did comment to Pomni once- something about "Are those two going to kiss again?"- it confused her, and when she tried to ask about it, he asked Pomni who she was talking about. So that didn't lead anywhere.
The two of you weren't outwardly affectionate or anything, at least you weren't. He was commonly seen lounging on top of you, an arm on your head, leaning his own head on it with his ears blocking your vision just for the fun of it. Whenever you'd move them, they'd just flop right back in front of your eyes. Other times, he'd throw himself across your lap, claiming he was "so bored, and needed entertainment", and "you're free, entertain me".
Even if you didn't do anything but tell him to get off with a huff, he wouldn't move. If you tried to move him, which you have tried and done, he would simply get back on you and possibly wrap around you. He was a-okay with doing this purely because his justification was that it annoyed you. So it wasn't intimate. Duh. It cancelled out or whatever.
Anyways. Over to you and Pomni. You guys had decided to go to the outside of the circus!! Lay on the grass, look at the clouds, point out the funny shapes. Have a sense of normalcy in this Digital Circus. Sometimes you forgot that you were quite literally trapped within a computer. Some code or whatnot. That Caine was kinda your overlord and protector but also your biggest threat. You sighed, a frown tugging at your lips as the existentialist thoughts began to swim in your mind.
Pomni turned to you, patterned eyes taking in your expression. She sat up, nudging your shoulder with the back of your hand. "Hey, uh, you okay?"
You blinked, turning to her and sitting up as well. "Oh- yeah. Thanks, i was just- thinking about the whole," you gestured vaguely to your surroundings, "Everything."
"Like... the circus?" Her hand fell to her side, her eyes still on you. You nodded.
"Yeah. I mean, Caine can just, do anything. And we kinda just have to deal with it." You crossed your legs, your hands over your legs. "I mean, at least we have each other, right?"
You raised your head, looking at her again and smiling a little. She blinked, her concern fading as she smiled back. "Yeah. We do."
You let out a long sigh, leaning back on the grass again. "As awful as it is, it's kinda nice. I mean, you guys are nice to hang out with. I like just... existing with you guys."
She leaned back, laying down as well. "Yeah." Her eyes moved to the sky again. The two of you laid there on the grass, enjoying the faux clouds and the distant music. "It's nice."
The moment stretched on. For a scarily long time. Pomni furrowed her brow. Your casual position became restless. She spoke first.
"Something's bound to happen."
"Who do you think it'll be?"
"Mine too." He might do something to get back at the others for the whole truth thing." You nodded in response, and she paused, squinting as she stared at the sky in thought. "Whose your next bet?"
"Really?" She turned to you, a brow raised.
You kept your gaze on the sky, nodding solemnly. "With how they've been egging Jax on and bothering Caine, I wouldn't be surprised if they had something devious planned."
"Huh. Good point." She turned back to the sky again, trying to ease up. You pursed your lips for a moment, looking at her in the corner of your eye before you spoke.
"Should we go back inside?"
"No, I think if, if something's gonna happen, we'll just be-"
Suddenly, the two of you were gone. You now stood outside of what looked like a restaurant. You were dressed in fancy attire, surprisingly comfortable despite how it sat against your skin. Pomni was now on a stage in a tuxedo, holding a cello that was larger than her.
"Teleported." She sighed, looking at the other members on the stage.
Ragatha sat at the piano, Zooble held a trumpet, and Gangle was holding a flute. The three seemed at ease. Must've been their idea. Pomni turned her gaze to look out just as you walked in the door. Kinger greeted you. The low lighting working for him as he didn't seem as erratic as he usually was. That's good. A smile pulled at her lips before she shifted her gaze to see-
"Jax?" You spoke, your tone and expression confused as Kinger had led you to a two-seated table. Jax occupying one side, while the other seemed to be waiting for you.
He wore a fancy suit; a red so dark it almost looked black that somehow looked nice against the purple of his fur. He had the black button up undone at the top, his tie a little loose. He looked nice. Really nice. You were tempted to tease him with his half-assed tie and fix it up for him, but you resisted that urge. For now.
He snapped still, his eyes darting to you and dragging over your figure. He tightened his expression before groaning, mumbling something under his breath.
"Well, I'll leave you to it! I'll get your menus shortly." Kinger spoke cheerfully, clapping his floating hands together. He wore a simple but refined outfit, and you waved goodbye as he walked away.
"Thanks Kinger." You called after him, watching him disappear before shifting your attention back to Jax. "So, are you still suffering Caine's little truth trick?"
You moved to your seat, about to pull it out when Jax jolted up and grabbed your hand. "Wait." You paused, looking at him. He let out a sigh. "...Allow me." His voice was surprisingly soft. A little irritated, yeah, but softer than what it usually is. You nodded. He moved out of his chair, getting behind yours to pull it out for you. You mutter your thanks to him, sitting in the seat as he tucks it in. "Comfy?"
You blink for a moment before responding, his hands near your shoulders. You could almost feel the warmth from his fur. You shivered and nodded, adjusting yourself in the seat to distract yourself. "Uh- yeah, yeah. I'm good."
You hear movement from him before his hand drags off the chair, falling briefly over your shoulder in a way that feels so intentional. He slumps down into his chair across from you, his yellow eyes lidded as he meets your gaze. You tense up a little in your chair. #&@$, he's so attractive and he knows it.
Meanwhile, he was clenching the arm of his chair with one hand trying not to run away because you looked so mesmerising. His other hand propping his head up as he desperately tried to look nonchalant. You were so you. It was almost insulting how amazing and just perfectly you that you were.
Forgive him for not having the proper words, he's not quite used to being honest and nice and using pleasantries unless he was being sarcastic. The point is, he's trying his damn best to appear unaffected meanwhile he's wanting to scream at everyone at how humiliating this is, while simultaneously wanting to crush you in his arms in an act of affectionate aggression. Not that he'd admit that. Well. Not on purpose.
Everyone on the stage had to resist sighing at Jax's pathetic act. There were other tables in the restaurant, yes, but you guys were smack dab in the middle of the building, in view from any part of the establishment. Plus those other tables were just filled with the randomly coloured mannequin characters Caine had made to fill up space. So it was more than easy to pick the two of you out.
Zooble shrugged, saying something about just playing the instruments they had. Thankfully, Caine had given them the ability to play, regardless of whether they already did or not. Speaking of, Caine was sitting in his little monitoring room, watching everyone with a slightly hunched pose.
"Hrnngh, I don't get why we had to set up this entire elaborate plot to get those two on a date! They're already together, aren't they!?" He threw his arms around wildly, his cane floating about whenever he hit it. Bubble floated next to him, pointed teeth in their usual grin.
"Maybe we should've put them in a horror themed park and force them to be closer to each other! That way, the fear will turn to #^$@& @#^* &^#*@^* #*& @*^!!(& ($^&@."
"Bubble, I don't- I don't think that's allowed."
The AI simply floated, silence between the two for at least 5 seconds before Bubble screamed at the ringleader, who popped him in freight. He then sighed, laying down onto the floor before moving the needle on a record player and allowing music to play.
Anyway, back to you two lovebirds, you're the focus here. Kinger has brought back some water for you both, and Jax confirmed that yes, he is still under Caine's silly little truth tongue trick. You've held your tongue for the most part, not wanting to force him to say something he wasn't ready for yet. The both of you looked around every now and then. It was very clear what the others were intending, and you were both very aware of what the intention was, but that just made it feel all the more awkward.
Is this a ploy to get you two together? Absolutely. Is it entertaining that they decided to bring Caine into the mix on top of the truth speaking part? Maybe. Does this make you feel more confident that the bunny man liked you back? Not one bit.
In all honesty, you figured that he tolerated you about as much as Kinger. You didn't bother him, so he, for the most part, didn't bother you either. The only times he really "bothered" you was when he would sabotage your progress with NPC's during adven- oh. Oh fuck he is so down bad. Surely he knew you were into him too then, right? I mean, if the others even saw how down bad you were for this asshole, then surely he did too, right?
Then again, he hasn't said anything. And usually people who know they're not going to be rejected by the person they like confess to them. But he hasn't. (Neither had you, but that's not the point.)
Maybe he wants princess treatment and to be swooned over and swept off his feet? Or maybe he just doesn't think he deserves to be loved? Considering his record, you wouldn't be too surprised. Lashing out at people and forcing them to be distanced, it was a more common coping system that you've witnessed before the circus. You turned to him, and his eyes immediately shifted to meet yours.
You blinked. Then cleared your throat. "Does it feel weird only speaking the truth?"
He shrugged, moving in his chair and keeping his eyes on yours. "It doesn't feel different. It's just- I don't know what exactly I'm going to say sometimes. It's a pain."
You hummed in response, toying with your glass of water, swirling the liquid. You watched it for a moment, thinking.
"Y'know, you can just talk to me. You don't have to just- worry about me saying something I'll regret. It's annoying." You blinked, pausing your actions and looking up at him. He was looking away now, probably feeling embarrassed. "I'd rather you talk to me and I say something stupid than you don't speak to me at all."
"Oh." You could feel your cheeks heat up a bit. He sounded so... soft? And sincere. It was almost unsettling. You probably would've thought he'd been replaced with Evil Jax from that baseball adventure if not for you being there when Caine "cursed" him. "Well, uh. Hm. Now I've gotta think of something to say."
He let out a scoff of a laugh, looking at you with a sly smile. "What, you didn't have your 21 questions planned?"
"No. I didn't wanna intrude and ask something too personal." You set your glass down, meeting his level.
"Oh yeah, cuz my favourite colour is gonna spiral into my childhood trauma." He rolls his eyes playfully, locking his gaze onto yours.
You fold your arms and lean onto them on the table. "You never know. They could be more connected than you think." A grin is now playing at your lips as your banter grows, easy conversation beginning to flow between you. Both of you relax in your seats, and it feels almost easy to just forget that you're trapped in this circus and that you're not in your real bodies. You've been here for so long, it was almost natural seeing the wacky bodies and physics you had to live by now.
The lack of a need for food and water was unsettling to begin with, but it soon became something you indulged with just for fun. The food tasted good, even if it felt void when you ate. Anyways, Kinger eventually came back to give you guys menus, left, and came back again to take your orders, to which the chess piece told you that Bubble was cooking. The visual made you smile, despite the AI always being the chef of the circus.
"Pssh, we'll be lucky if he doesn't pop himself while he's at it." Jax remarked, a lazy grin on his face. You let out a soft chuckle, dragging your finger along the rim of your glass.
"He seems to do a good job every other time, so I think he'll be alright."
"Eh, I think I could do better." He shrugs. You raise a brow, your finger pausing its movements.
"You cook?" His brows furrow, taking on a slightly offended expression.
"What, did you think I couldn't? I wouldn't have made it this far that way, y'know. Besides, I'm a pretty average cook and can do any easy meals." He paused, his eye twitched before he sighed. "I hate this curse."
You let out a soft laugh, a smile on your lips as you shift your gaze to your glass. The design was pretty. Maybe it was crystal?
"Your laugh is cute." You raised your gaze, meeting his as he stared at you. His expression was relaxed, pupils blown a bit more than usual. Then again, they'd been especially more consuming the entire night. You tried not to think too hard about what that meant. Although, you were pretty certain of what it meant, but you weren't sure he was ready for that.
You cleared your throat, flattening your hand on the table. "You think so?"
He paused for a moment, clearly thinking before he groaned. "God, this is- you're pretty. No-! You're smart! You're- #&@% this is annoying."
His ears moved, shifting to hang over his face as he rubbed at his face in irritation. His eyes shrunk to squiggly messes, staring blankly at the table before moving back to you. He blinked slowly, pupils rectangular again and slowly growing as he met your gaze. You simply stared, your cheeks a little heated as you waited for him to continue.
He let out another groan before sighing, leaning back and folding his arms in almost childish defeat. "You're reeeal cute." His tone was sarcastic, but he- he couldn't exactly do sarcasm right now, could he? Well, if he wants to play that way, you could too.
"You're not too bad yourself," You paused, giving him a cocky smile and a sharp gaze. "Bunny."
He flinched subtly, his eyes locking to yours before he relaxed, his grin growing. "Ohh, I see. You trynna out-flirt me now?"
"Mm, I wouldn't say I'm trying, perse. I'd say it's just my natural charm and good nature winning you over, Bunny."
He let out a scoff. "Sure, sure. Just because we both think you're the most charming person here makes it true." The corner of his mouth twitched. "This is so unfair."
You laughed in response before pushing back your chair and standing up. His eyes still caught on yours as he watched you move like you had all the time in the world. You paused next to his chair, raising a hand slowly to cup his fluffy cheek. You rubbed your thumb over it for a moment, humming softly. You dragged your hand down, fingertips grazing his neck before settling at his unbuttoned collar and half-done tie.
"You might be a bit more charming if you dressed yourself properly, y'know." You kept your eyes on the fabric, doing up the button and straightening the collar, tugging the tie just a bit to make him flinch. You met his eyes, expression smug. "Oops. Slipped."
He looked- god, you'd never seen him make a face like this before. His eyes were half-lidded and pupils blown so much you could barely see the yellow in them. His mouth was what you had to assume to be hanging open a bit in pure shock and most likely admiration, if you were to guess. There was a visible hue of pink on his cheeks that you wanted to question but chalked up to the cartoony logic and physics you guys lived by in the circus.
He didn't even sound like he was breathing. You wished you could take a photo of this and keep it forever. Both for admiration reasons and teasing. You maintained your composure however, and fixed the tie up, smoothing it down his chest and leaning just a fraction closer so he could feel your breath against his fur. He seemed frozen in his position, gaze fixated on every movement you made, the pink on his cheeks growing stronger.
You pulled back slowly, dragging the tie and letting the fabric simply sit on your hand. "Careful Bunny, I might just think you have a crush on me."
Just as the tie was about to fall from your fingertips, he reached out, his gloved hand practically snatching your wrist and keeping you close. His other hand lifted, hesitating just a moment before settling onto your waist, thumb drawing circles over your clothes.
You could feel the warmth from him through the clothing, your gaze moving to where he held you- his hand on your waist in a silent plea, his hand on your wrist shaking slightly in desperation to keep you close- before you looked back at his eyes. Half lidded, ears drooping behind his head and brows upturned in the most pathetic and attractive expression you've ever seen on him.
"So what-" he swallowed thickly, taking a deep breath before he tried to speak again, "So what if I do?"
Your brows lifted for a moment before your sly expression came back. You wrapped the tie around your hand, tugging it closer and forcing him to stumble a bit in his seat. His grip on your waist tightened, the hand holding your wrist moving to the table as he regained his balance.
"Then I'd say the feeling's mutual. And that if you want to, we can leave this silly little restaurant and go star gaze or talk about our feelings or go kiss." You paused, faking thought. "Then again, we could just go all three, huh?"
His eyes scrambled to take in your features, trying to find a hint of deceit. "Yeah-" He blinked rapidly, clearing his throat as he tried to regain his usual attitude. "I bet you'd like that, wouldn't ya?"
You let out a giggle. "I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't, ya goof." You let go of his tie, moving a hand to hold the one that rested on your waist and intertwining your fingers. You pulled him up, moving towards the door of the restaurant. "C'mon Bunny, let's go."
He stumbled a bit as he followed you, his eyes shiny and smile returning. You'd honestly say it was a fairly boyish smile, just unadulterated glee and a bit of stupidity lacing it. Plus that hint of being in love. You stopped at the door, Jax almost pressing into your back as he looked down at you. He was visibly confused.
"Almost forgot something." He opened his mouth to say something, and you grabbed hold of his tie again, pulling him down to your level before kissing his cheek. "Thanks for the date."
He let out a shaky breath, melting a bit at your touch before cupping your cheek. "You missed, Sweetpea."
You furrowed your brows in irritation at the return of the nickname. "Hey-"
Your eyes widened as his lips met yours. You smiled into the kiss, hands moving to hold onto his shoulders. Curse his stupid height. You had to resist kicking him in the leg. His hands seemed to tremble a bit against you as he held onto you. His touch was so gentle, treating you as if you were something fragile that could slip through his fingers and shatter. He clung to you like he was trying to convince himself that this was real- you were real, and kissing him, and that you loved him.
Well, neither of you have directly confessed, but you wouldn't kiss another traumatised trapped circus member if you didn't love them, right?
You pulled back, opening your eyes to meet his. You snorted at his appearance; eyes glazed over and blown open, his ears twisted into one another and forming a heart at the ends. You're pretty sure you can hear his tail going crazy behind him too. You finally registered the thumping between you and diverted your gaze, spotting his foot thudding against the ground.
"Don't make fun of me, I can't control it." He leaned forward, nuzzling his face into your neck and sniffing deeply. You looked over his shoulder, spotting his practically vibrating puffball of a tail.
You giggled at the sight, and he lightly headbutted you in response. "What? I'm not making fun of you!"
"Yes, you are, you're laughing at me. See, it's true cuz I could say it."
"No, I'm not, I think it's cute."
"Well, you love me too, Bunny."
Your giggling softened into a smile, and you let out a content sigh.
"Maybe we should thank Caine and the others?"
Jax pulled back, expression flat. "No."
You placed your hands on your hips, cocking a brow. "Why not? It's technically because of them that we even confessed and are dating now."
"I'm not letting them have that." He crossed his arms, his foot accelerating in it's thumping. "And you didn't ask me out, so we're not dating.
"Oh I see. Would you like me to take you out on a little rowboat and go through fireflies while the sea-life around us sing about how we should kiss then?"
He furrowed his brows. "I'm a rabbit, not a prince. I don't need anything showy like that."
"You'd like it though, wouldn't you?"
"Shouldn't I be the one to ask you out anyways?" He tilted his head, his foot starting to slow down as his ears unravelled from one another.
"Are you gonna man up and ask me out then, Bunny?"
"Maybe I won't if you're gonna be like that." He turned away, a grin on both of your faces.
"Aww, boo-hoo. Guess I won't tell you how I feel then."
"You're such a-" He cut himself off, remembering how his words would end up twisted if he tried to say something even vaguely mean. He pursed his lips for a moment before wrapping his arms around you and practically leaning himself over you. "Would you do the honour of letting me be your boyfriend?"
Your brows raised, eyes widening for a moment before softening, your arms moving to wrap around him as well. "Of course." You pressed a quick kiss to his fur. "I love you."
His fur shuddered, his tail moving slowly and foot thumping wildly. "I... I love you too."
You heard a crash and clatter further away, from back where the two of you were seated. Kinger stood at your table, hands on his head. "OH NO, THEY IMPLODED."
The music on stage paused, Pomni calling out to the older man. "No- Kinger, they're at the door!"
"Wait, so are we done with this now? Thank $&#@, this tuxedo was suffocating me."
Caine materialised above your table. "Wait, did they kiss!? Are they together now!? Bubble, you made me miss it!"
The AI came out from behind the kitchen door, chef hat adorned, with cutlery in hand. "They didn't even eat Chef Bubble's food! You should blow them up- go on a hike- make them go #&$*ing fishing!"
"We might do that on another adventure Bubble, I'm still caught up on bees."
Jax held you tighter, the rest of the cast talking amongst themselves and seeming to forget the two of you.
"Does that truth tongue still bother you, Bunny?"
He let out a grumble. You giggled, taking his hand and leading him out the door. The bell rang above you, but no one seemed to notice. The two of you snuck out, making your way through the empty streets Caine had manufactured for the restaurant. The two of you spent your night peacefully, enjoying the bliss and time alone together.
