When I drew the first version I didn't really put any sort of effort into it lol cause I wasn't really expecting it to recieve any attention, but lo and behold—
you guys went FERAL over that shit and proper surprised me SO here's an actual better quality redraw now that I'm more familiar with drawing Jaxxy boy hehe enjoy
So… been a while eh? So much has changed and happened over the last year, and I never thought I’d write again, but something in me called to the inner gremlin.
Seeing Beyond.
Warning: TADC episode 6 spoilers!
After episode 6 of TADC I think we all need some fluff to brighten our spirits. Not exactly funnybunny but can be interpreted as such I guess.
Anyone that comes across this that is not in the you know what community uh… I’m sorry?
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The stakes were high… the least threatening of groups, Ragatha and Kinger, had been taken down, leaving just Pomni and Jax, and Gangle with Zooble. Both parties patrolled the circus tent in search of the other team, guns loaded and in hand.
As Jax and Pomni walked, their eyes drifting from place to place in search of any sign of the others, all the while jumping from topic to topic as they conversed.
“Ok… Here’s another one.” Pomni begins with a soft smile as she walks alongside the tall rabbit.
“Least favourite color.” Pomni asks, clearly enjoying this unexpected game of trivia she was having with the purple rabbit. Jax rolls his eyes despite his usual charismatic smile still being plastered on his face.
“Eh… probably blue… or maybe red.” He smirks, holding his hands behind his head casually as he walks. His eyes dart up and down Pomni’s figure for a moment with a cheeky grin, waiting for her to catch on to his teasing remark.
“Huh… Why’s- Wait! Hey!” Pomni stammers, her pupils growing small in playful irritation as she looks up at the purple rabbit. Jax only chuckles. “Oh come on, Pompom, ya walked right into that one.~” Jax teased, his smirk growing wider at her irritation. Pomni sighs, shaking her head. She wasn’t actually mad, but it seemed this playful banter and picking at one another was Jax’s way of being somewhat genuine... So she’d roll with it for now. The two stroll along the black and white checkerboard floors for a few moments in silence before Pomni smirks.
“So….” She begins, piquing Jax’s curiosity as he opens an eye to look down at the small jester.
“About that maid dress, huh? I mean… it seemed just a little too… personalized.” She smirks as she sees Jax’s eyes widen in surprise and embarrassment. “Wha- Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?!-” Jax stammers, clearly taken off guard by the sudden question. Pomni chuckles, twirling her gun on her finger casually. “I’m just saying… it looked like it was *Maid* for you!~” Pomni giggles, crossing her arms and leaning closer to the rabbit, whose face was flushed red in irritation. It’s clear she hit some kind of nerve, but what the core of it was? She had no idea. After a moment, Jax shakes off his initial embarrassment and playfully shoves at Pomni’s head.
“Oh, shut it. It was completely against my consent, ya victim shaming me now, Pom?” He retorts back as they stop by a bunch of blocks near the large tubes and towers in the main opening of the circus. Pomni smiles as she sighs, leaning against one of the boxes.
“Man… being evil is exhausting…” She groans, flopping down onto her butt to sit for a moment. Jax simply scoffs, rolling his eyes, but leans up against the block as well.
Jax clicks his tongue. “Really? Tapping outta your evil era already? Lame.” He smirks, crossing his arms almost in a challenge, egging her to keep up her act. When she doesn’t right away, he slides down against the block, sitting down next to Pomni for a moment, propping his lanky elbows up on his knees, his handgun still lazily gripped in his right hand. He had to admit, stamina was one of the few things he’s still not figured out about the circus. While they don’t need to sleep, can’t die of oxygen deprivation, or even eat, they still can’t run and be on the move none-stop. Maybe it’s like a stamina bar in video game, Jax ponders…
The two sit in silence for a few minutes, listening for any sign of Gangle or Zooble… Pomni watches as Jax’s ears twitch every so often at small sounds her own ears couldn’t hear. She looks up at the tent above, contemplating for a moment… being on Jax’s team wasn’t ending up at all how she expected, though she’d be lying if she said she was super surprised as well… When she first got here, Jax seemed like just another prick of a guy that bullied people for fun… and maybe that was part of him. But over the past little while, she’s been seeing different sides to him, albeit slowly.
The way he asked about Gangle during the stargazing, the tension between him and Ragatha… how he would joke and tease her but not in the same way as he did the others… it was odd, but she couldn’t say she minded it that much. A small clicking sound diverts her attention back to the present… She glances over again to see Jax with a bored expression on his face as he idly spins the cylinder of his gun with his gloved finger. She can tell he is deep in thought, his rectangle pupils large as if he’s in his own little world, watching the cylinder spin.
“Out of ammo yet?…” Pomni asks casually, snapping Jax out of his thoughts. The rabbit shakes his head for a moment before looking down at Pomni.
“Nah, got two more in here.” Jax reassures, skillfully flipping the cylinder back into the jack of the gun with ease. Pomni watches him for a moment… she can’t help but wonder why he had opened up to her, even a little. She’s known Jax’s type before… and they are usually a lot more... Aggressive towards anyone that gets close. Well, aggressive may not be the right word, he definitely was that. But there's something else under there, and she can tell it’s buried deep… and she knows it can blow up in her face if she is not careful…
“Hey, Jax?…” Pomni hesitantly says, her voice a bit quieter than usual. Jax’s eyes snap from the gun to her, easily catching the shift in her tone, his guard instantly going up once again. The grip on his gun tightens slightly.
“What you said earlier… about the archetypes…” She begins with a shrug, her eyes look over at him curiously but with caution.
“Why do you think we ended up… looking the way we do? Like- hm… Why am I a… Jester? A-And you a…” She hesitates, looking up at him. “A purple… rabbit?” She asks.
“Well, I’m not sure.” Jax sighs placing the gun down next to him, resting his arms behind his head once again. “Probably just a part of the big joke. Makes us forget who we were.” He shrugs almost coldly, his eyes focused forward at a door across the way. He clicks his tongue casually again before he continues. “Like I said, we’re all part of the machine... we all end up turning into what it wants us to be. Maybe our characters are just another part of that whole plan to make us lose who we were.”
Pomni considers his words for a moment…
“But… then why can we still feel things… as if they are our bodies… Why do we breathe even though we don’t technically need to in here?… isn’t that still human?” She lightly challenges, shifting a little where she sits, knowing she is most likely on unsteady ground with Jax on this topic. Jax sighs, closing his eyes, his grin returning to his face.
“Beats me, but either way it doesn’t matter, pain or other sensations don’t mean anything inside this digital world. It’s not like we have any use for them anymore.” He shrugs again, clearly trying not to think too hard about it, using his masked and sarcastic tone. Pomni is quiet for a moment, looking down at her cloved hand curiously, flipping it around a little as she thinks. Jax does have a point… without the risk of being killed, their senses really don’t have much use, other than sending pointless signals to their brains to stop some kind of perceived danger or damage that could harm them… at least not here…
Jax hisses through his teeth, leaning back a little against the box, crossing one ankle over the other. “But either way…” He peaks open an eye to look at her. “Makes it more fun to mess with people, eh?” He smirks, flicking her in the forehead to lighten the mood and hopefully annoy her.
“Wha- Hey!” Pomni grumbles and recoils back a little, her arms flailing to try and grab at Jax’s hand, as he now begins to poke at her head, making the rabbit chuckle. She swats at his hand until he pulls it back, his amused grin only making Pomni more irritated by his teasing. She huffs and playfully pouts, crossing her arms in mock annoyance. Jax’s smirk grows into a grin at her facade of irritation, moving his hand back behind his head to cushion it against the hard block they were still leaning against. Pomni grumbles and scoots closer to Jax before she elbows him in the side. Her small arm making contact with where his lower ribs would be. Jax’s eyes snap open in an instant, his ever-present grin faltering for a moment as he flinches back, his arm coming down to shield his side. He looks down at her in surprise and almost confusion a bit as he is startled by the sudden, unexpected sensation. Pomni, noticing this, and worried she may have hurt him, quickly tries to apologize, but he is quick to stifle his reaction, over-dramatically flopping down onto the floor.
“Oh! I’m wounded! How could you, Pomni? My own teammate turning against me!~” He mock-cries, placing a hand on his forehead for extra effect. Pomni giggles with relief to see that she didn’t actually hurt him, her expression softening a bit as he flops down next to her. She smiles and gently punches at him, enjoying the playful turn this conversation has taken. “Ow!- Hey! Cut it out.” Jax groans in playful annoyance as she pokes and pushes him, though despite his attempts, he can’t fully hide the small laugh escaping his mouth.
“Muwahaha! Yes! Feel the wrath of Pomni The Evil!” Pomni attempts her evil laugh again as she jokingly karate chops and punches at the rabbit. Jax looks up at her with a smirk, rolling his eyes as he halfheartedly fends off her attack.
“Eh… still kinda cringe.” He teases. Pomni, taking this as an invitation, doubles down on her playful efforts to attack him. Her hands grasp his side in attempts to get a good grip to shove him across the tiled floor. Jax gasps, his eyes going wide once again as his arms pin down to his sides. Jax chuckles as her fingers lightly dig into his sides, making him squirm. Pomni, not seeming to notice right away, continues her playful assault, poking and pushing at his torso.
Jax giggles again, trying to weakly grab her hands despite his body telling him to shield himself. He curls onto his side, his eyes shut in small, mirthful giggles as he swats at her hand.
“Gehehea! H-Hey! No fair!-” He giggles, grabbing her hands. Their playful squabble pauses for a moment as Pomni catches onto his reaction. Once again, he tries to divert her attention, by this time letting out a fake cough, but Pomni quickly realizes what was happening, and her eyes squint in suspicion.
“Jax… are you…?” She asks, a small smirk coming to her face as she looks down at the purple rabbit. Jax’s eyes go wide for no more than a second, his face flushing slightly in realization that she has probably caught on.
“Huh-? Uh heh, am I what?” He inquires, cautiously crossing his arms over his chest, trying to seem unaware of the implication. He could just sit up and run to get away… but that would tell Pomni the answer clear as day.
“Are you ticklish?” Pomni smirks, moving to poke his side again. Jax’s expression resembles a strange mix of emotions: surprise, embarrassment, and even a bit of… excitement? But he quickly shoves those emotions away, pushing her hand off as he scoffs and quickly sits up. “Pfft- Of course not! You must be losing it, Pomni.” He deflects, scooting back to his spot next to her. His attempts to seem nonchalant don’t go unnoticed by Pomni. He eyes her wearily as he subconsciously hugs his knees to his chest, trying to protect any weak spots.
Pomni chuckles sympathetically, seeing the embarrassment in Jax’s expression.
“I… didn’t know we could still be ticklish here.” Pomni chuckles, with an innocent shrug, making Jax’s face flush deeper.
“Yeah, well— We can’t. It was just a glitch or something.” He denies, averting his gaze from her. Pomni chuckles at Jax’s denial, which she is not surprised by at all considering his personality. She scoots a bit closer to him, her smile growing.
“Oh yeah? Then why are you getting all embarrassed?” She teases lightly, digging her fingers into his side again, making the rabbit jolt upright.
“H-Hey!” Jax exclaims, slightly squirming away from her touch. He curls up further, his legs pinning closer to his chest as he tries to shield the sensitive area with his arms. (Yeah, like that saved you before, buddy.)
“Hm… interesting…” Pomni smiles, pulling her hand back for a moment. Her eyes sparkle with amusement and fascination at the new discovery of not only tickling being a thing in this digital world but that Jax was susceptible to it!
“Pomni… I-I swear if you—“ Jax stammers, but before he can finish speaking, Pomni smirks evilly and reaches up, tickling his neck. A shiver runs down Jax’s spine as he scrunches his shoulder up around her gloved hand. A wide, genuine grin on his face as he tries to keep his composure.
“Aeheheheheh! H-Hehey! Pompom! C-C-Cohome ohon!” He squeaks, scooting away from her but easily just traps himself in a corner of the large blocks.
“Hang on. I gotta test this.” She playfully protests, poking and tickling his sides and ribs, making the purple rabbit shriek and squirm.
“Phohomni! I’m gonna kihihill you!” He gasps, but there’s no real malice behind his words. Surprisingly, he doesn’t do much to stop her, or even take control of the situation like both of them assumed he would. Instead, he just… curled up and didn’t resist except for what his body naturally did in response to the sensation… It’s such a strange and almost unfamiliar feeling to Jax… he should hate this. He should shove her back, get mad at her, scare her off, push her away… Anything to avoid her seeing him like this… no one sees him like this. This isn’t his character, and that’s wrong… but something in him stops him, and it both infuriates and scares him.
“No, you won’t! Look at you, you’re hardly even fighting back!” She giggles, lightly scribbling into his underarms, making him squeal.
“Come on! Admit it! You’re ticklish.” Pomni teases, snapping Jax back into reality. He full-on screeches when he feels her hands squeeze his lower sides.
“Gahaha!” He giggles as she moves to squeeze the same spot again, making his foot thump against the ground in ticklish agitation. Jax squeaks and giggles wildly as she teases the sensitive spot.
“Pohohomni! Iihit tickles!” He gasps through giggles and squeals.
“Ha, see! I told you! Who’s the funny one now, huh?!” Pomni teases, fluttering her fingers back up to his neck. His mind races with conflicting thoughts of telling himself he can’t let his persona slip and secretly craving more of the playful affection. The fact he can’t hide his reactions… and yet Pomni seems to accept and want to see more of it… the genuine him… The last time something like this happened was with…
“Aahahaha! Nyahahaha! Nohot thehere!” He suddenly shrieks as she squeezes and pokes at his belly through his overalls.
“What’s wrong, Jax? I thought you wanted me to be evil! Mwahahaha!” Pomni laughs evilly again, clearly enjoying this playful game they have going on.
“Ohok! Ohok! Pomni! Ehenough! Yohou win!”He shrieks pushing her hands back with ease. Pomni, seeing he has had enough, lowers her hands, letting them rest idly in Jax’s hands. The two of them stare at one another for a beat, as Jax catches his breath a small but genuine smile on his face.
“Jax…?” She begins as he glances up at her. His signature smirk once again plastered on his face.
He clicks his tongue. “Well, you caught me. Looks like my biiig secret is out, huh?” He shrugs with his usual sarcastic tone letting go of her hands. Pomni smiles slightly at his tone, glad he isn’t mad. She scoots back a bit giving Jax some space, though she still looks at him with a cheeky smile making Jax playfully roll his eyes as he stands up.
“Hooo, didn’t think you had that in ya Pompom.” He says, his back turned to her for a moment before he looks back, his smirk once again returning, but this time with a bit more mischief than usual, he runs a hand through the fur on his head.
“You got guts.” He smirks down at her, he leans down picking up his gun, twirling it casually before he speaks. “And… “ He sighs stretching his arms a bit. “I think you should run.” He smirks.
“H-Huh why?… Oh-“ She suddenly realizes where this is going. Her eyes go wide.
“Oh [BLOINK]…” Pomni stammers scrambling to stand up, Jax chuckles evilly, clearly having plans for revenge. He takes a step closer to Pomni, just when she is about to bolt a bullet comes flying by her head hitting the ground. Both Jax and Pomni look at the bullet in the floor then back at each other…
They both smirk readying their guns. Revenge may have to wait…
Summary: Things were pretty awkward between Pomni and Jax, but now...well, they were still kind of awkward.
Word Count: 3,013
[Set in between episodes 7 and 8...aka before Caine goes all sicko mode haha]
This is a tickle fic btw!
~🍓~
It might have been smarter to debrief or have some sort of conversation about what had just happened after Caine’s last so-called ‘adventure,’ but Pomni could tell nobody was feeling particularly up to it. That included her.
When everyone returned to the circus, they each silently slumped into their rooms. Pomni followed them, shutting her door just a tad bit too strongly as a final screw you to Caine. The slam that reverberated throughout her room felt good in the moment, but the silence that followed only served as yet another reminder that they were alone here. She was alone here.
Pomni sighed and collapsed onto her bed. The stiff mattress reminded her of those tiny beds that came in dollhouses someone might find at their local run-down toy store. The ones that were basically a piece of cloth haphazardly stapled onto a slab of wood.
Pomni turned to face the wall. Once everyone had time to decompress, they would probably gather around to talk about…what they were going to do, especially since their only lead turned out to be a concoction of Caine’s messed-up code.
Were they supposed to pretend everything was normal and just let Caine whisk them on another adventure tomorrow? How could they when Caine was capable of taking what little sense of reality they had and tossing it all in a blender to serve to them later as some stupid smoothie? Pomni grabbed her pillow and smashed it against her face, half-heartedly hoping that she would be able to suffocate herself in a world where nobody needed to breathe.
…
Pomni wasn’t sure when she had fallen asleep, but she woke up to her pillow on the floor and dried drool on the side of her cheek. She sat up slowly, rubbing her face. Out of habit, she glanced at the wall to check how long she was out, but there wasn’t a clock or anything she could use to gauge the time.
She tossed the pillow back onto her bed and sat up. Restless energy buzzed under her chest. Pomni opened the door. It squeaked slightly. The hallway was empty. She supposed everyone was still holed up in their bedrooms. Filled with nothing except the vague impulse to move her legs, Pomni stepped out into the hall.
She wandered around the circus for a while. It was silent save for the occasional popping of one of the bubbles overhead. Pomni stared at them for a few minutes, waiting for one of them to grow fangs and a potty mouth, but they stayed blank, floating to and fro much like actual bubbles would.
The circus was strangely eerie without Caine’s booming voice or Kinger’s squawks or Ragatha’s awkward laughter to fill up the place. Ironically, the colorful walls and large, cutesy props sort of reminded her of an abandoned mall or a toy store. This would have been exactly the type of place Pomni would have been itching to sneak into with nothing except her cell phone and a camera in her hand.
But that was a habit of the past.
Eventually, Pomni found herself stepping into the circus’s common room…if one could call it that; nothing about this place was particularly ‘common,’ but it was one of the few relatively normal rooms.
Pomni stopped in her tracks.
Jax lay across one of the couches with one of his arms draped haphazardly over his face. His legs hung over the armrest. His eyes were closed. Pomni would have thought he was sleeping if it wasn’t for the way his foot tapped against the side of the couch.
She scratched the back of her hand as she thought about what to say, but her mind went blank. Should she even talk to him? Breaking the silence somehow felt like some sort of taboo.
…Well, if it was anyone who would be more than willing to break anything that was considered to be remotely decent, it was Jax. With newfound confidence, Pomni stepped over to where he was lying down.
“Hey,” she said, her voice low. “I thought you’d be in your room.”
If Jax was surprised about Pomni’s presence, he didn’t show it. Instead, he opened one eye and scanned her up and down before closing his eye again. “I got bored,” he said simply.
“Me too.” Even though Jax was no longer looking at her, she still smiled. Granted, it was a small, awkward one, but a smile nonetheless. After what had happened with the whole button thing, she wanted Jax to know that there weren’t any hard feelings, at least not on her side. “I napped for a bit, but that was it.” She bounced on her heels as she glanced around the looming circus tent. “It’s a bit weird here without anyone else.”
Jax hummed flippantly in response.
“Uh,” Pomni stretched out the sound. “Do you mind if I sit here?”
For a few seconds, she thought Jax wasn’t going to answer, but then he shrugged. “I don’t care,” he muttered through his teeth.
Pomni plopped down at the end of the couch, next to Jax’s head. If she had the choice, she probably would have sat on the other side, where his legs were, but there wasn’t any room for Pomni to sit. Honestly, there wasn’t much room on this side, either. The top of Jax’s head narrowly avoided brushing against her thigh, but that meant his ears were nestled squarely in her lap. She pressed herself against the back of the couch.
Jax’s eyes popped open. His pupils were tiny. “What are you doing?” The question came out quickly, almost a snarl. His ears perked up in such a way that they were no longer touching her skin, which she appreciated.
“You said I could sit here.”
“I said I didn’t care.” Jax glared in a rather non-uncaring way. “And, I thought you meant one of the other couches. You know, the three other free ones?” He jabbed his pointer finger toward the set of equally colorful couches across from them.
“Oh,” Pomni said. “Sorry.” She didn’t bother to move.
Jax gave her an unimpressed look before rolling his eyes. He settled back into the couch cushions and covered his face with the back of his forearm. “...Whatever,” he mumbled.
They sat like that for a long time.
It was weird. For a while there, it seemed like Pomni and Jax were sort of getting along. Sure, he was pretty rough around the edges and overall a jerk to literally everyone here, but they were beginning to find some sort of common ground. That was, until the gun adventure, and now…whatever that whole thing was with Caine. She couldn’t understand him.
Pomni glanced down. Jax’s ears bobbed slightly in the air. Every so often, one of them would droop down far enough to hit her leg, but he always picked it back up.
She kept watching it.
Maybe that was the problem with this place. Everything here looked close enough to real, but not real enough for them to stick. Jax was a person, obviously, but he was also a purple rabbit made of whatever passed for code in this world, splayed across a toy-bright couch underneath a giant multicolored circus tent. The whole scene felt staged. It felt like something set up for her to poke just to see what would happen.
“You know, it’s kind of funny,” Pomni said, “but, for some reason, I had assumed that you were slightly fuzzy. Like an actual rabbit.” Before she could think better of it, she rubbed one of his ears with her forefinger and thumb. Jax flinched slightly at the contact, but he didn’t move away. “But, you actually feel more like rubber.”
“Did you find that out when you were beating me into a pulp?” Jax asked.
Pomni blinked. “Ah, well, um, yes,” She stumbled over her words. “But, you did throw me out of a moving truck once, so I think we’re even on that front.”
“Touché.”
“You have to admit that it is kind of interesting, though, right? Our bodies, I mean.” She stroked the tip of his ear with her thumb. Jax sniffed, stiffening slightly. “Like, I’m wearing gloves, but I can still feel things normally.” To emphasize her point, she ran her fingers down the length of his…fur? skin? Whatever exactly covered his avatar.
Jax bolted upright and turned around in his seat. “D-Don’t do that,” he yelped, cringing at the way he stuttered. He tugged at his ear, as though he was attempting to shake out the sensation.
“I’m sorry.” Pomni held her hands in the air. “I didn’t mean to tickle you.”
It was as though Pomni had just kicked his puppy. Jax stopped cold before turning around fully, so he was now on his knees facing her. “You didn’t tickle me,” he sputtered, his voice turning ever so slightly shrill. “I’m not ticklish.” He slapped the cushion with his palm.
“Relax,” she said. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about–”
“I’m not embarrassed!” Jax gestured toward himself. “Who said I was embarrassed? I just don’t like people touching me, alright?”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” Pomni found herself agreeing with Jax just to get him to settle down. “I don’t like being touched all that much, either.”
Jax paused. “...Good.”
A beat passed between them. Pomni glanced to the side, but there wasn’t much to look at. Jax wasn’t moving. He scrutinized her every movement as though she was going to jump him at any moment. Pomni tapped her fingers against her knee just to have something to do.
“I was being serious, though,” she said just to break this awkward energy.
“About what?”
“About how there’s nothing embarrassing about being ticklish.”
Jax crossed his arms. “Would you let go of that already?” He kissed his teeth. “I didn’t peg you to be some sort of pervert.”
“Pervert?!” Pomni sputtered. “What are you talking about?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Jax’s tone took on that same lazy drawl it usually did when he was trying to deflect. He smirked as he leaned back against the armrest. “I mean, you basically waltzed in here begging to cuddle up with me—”
“Excuse you?”
“And then you start touching me all over—” He threw his hands in the air wildly in some strange attempt to mock her. “—like some sort of perv!”
Pomni frowned. She waited a second just in case she had managed to mishear him, but nope.
She chose her words carefully. “...If the first thing you think about when someone accidentally tickles you is something perverted, then maybe you’re the issue?”
Jax went still.
He stared at Pomni. His pupils were so tiny that his eyes were basically a sea of yellow. Jax’s ears straightened up as if someone pulled them by a string, and his shoulders hunched over. He sort of reminded Pomni of a predator hunting his prey, which was kind of funny considering what he looked like.
Then, he smiled.
It was wide, almost encompassing his entire face.
“Wow, Pomni, you’re even more perverted than I thought.”
“Are you serious?”
Jax stretched his arms out in front of him before cracking his neck. He was acting like someone who was about to start a workout. “Let’s see how you like it when someone gets handsy with you.”
“What are you talking about—ah!” Pomni screamed as Jax leapt on top of her, knocking the wind out of her chest. They tumbled into a heap on the floor. “What are you doihing—!” Pomni got her answer once Jax started digging into her sides.
“See? You’re ticklish, too!” Jax exclaimed. He sat on her legs, pinning her to the ground.
Pomni noted the last part of his sentence. “I nehever said I wasn’t!” Jax didn’t answer. Instead, he chose to drill his thumbs underneath her arms. Pomni flinched. She could feel a wobbly smile creep onto her face as quiet giggles poured out of her. “Hehey!” She placed her hand over his to dull the sensations.
Jax scowled and moved onto her stomach, then her hips, and then her sides, again. If Pomni didn’t know better, she would say he was beginning to get annoyed. What? Were her reactions not funny enough for him? Because they certainly weren’t funny for her.
Finally, having had enough, Pomni seized Jax’s shoulders and shoved him to the side. He gave a clipped yell before crumpling onto the ground like a rag doll. Pomni pushed herself up. She knew she didn’t have much time before Jax would decide to retaliate, so she did the only thing she could think of.
She sat on his back.
“Huh? Hey!” Jax collapsed underneath her weight. Pomni experimentally wiggled her fingers against his ribs. Any sort of smartass comment that Jax might have said in that moment was drowned out by a high-pitched squawk. “AAHHAHAHA—!” He slammed his fists against the ground as his arms scrambled underneath him in some sort of futile endeavor to push himself up.
Jax’s laughter was more like a scream than actual laughing, but it was amusing nonetheless. His face scrunched up, but he couldn’t keep his lips closed for more than half a second. Pomni suspected that he was trying to hold his laughter in, but he was apparently too sensitive to even do that.
“Huh,” Pomni said. “I guess you are ticklish after all.” She spidered her fingers up and down Jax’s sides. While she always thought his overalls were pretty goofy, they gave her great access to exploit his weak spots.
Jax’s legs twisted and turned wildly as he tried to buck Pomni off, but she held on strong. “Sh–shuhut uhuhUHUHP!” His laughter was borderline maniacal with the occasional hiccup splattered in between. How endearing. “It’s nahahat…!” Jax squeaked when Pomni pinched his side. “It’s nahat FAHAHAhair!!”
“What isn’t fair?”
Her fingers crawled up and around his back, targeting the especially sensitive spot between his shoulder blades. Jax tried to push her off of him, but he couldn’t quite reach the spots where Pomni’s hands were. Despite being taller than her, Pomni was definitely bigger, which she used to her advantage. She planted her knees against the ground to steady herself.
“You’re n—nahahat that—!! Eheheeh!” A particularly squeaky chirp spilled from Jax’s lips. “Stahap! Stop thahahaat!” Jax’s fingers dug into the floor, but he couldn’t find any leverage.
Hm. Was Jax complaining that she wasn’t as ticklish as he was? How childish could he be? Though Pomni supposed she wasn’t one to talk, considering the circumstances.
“I’ll stop if you promise not to tickle me again,” Pomni said.
Before the softball adventure, Pomni didn’t think they could blush. They didn’t exactly have blood, after all, but Jax had proved her wrong, then. And, he was proving her wrong, now. Jax’s face had taken on a more pinkish hue. Since they didn’t need to breathe here, Pomni surmised that his reddening cheeks were mostly due to embarrassment. Unless his face just did that when he held his breath, but she doubted that.
She lightly brushed her index fingers up Jax’s armpits. His arms clamped around his sides as he let out another sharp scream. “AHAHAH—!” Jax almost managed to fully shake her off of him that time. That must have been a particularly sensitive spot. “Nuh uhuh!! Yoh–ou…” Another hiccup. “You stah–AHAH–arted it! Eehehek!”
“Yeah, by accident!” Pomni rolled her eyes. She suspected that he was mainly refusing due to pride. He could be pretty stubborn, after all, but she could be, as well.
“Oh, I’m sohoho getting you bahaHAHAck when I gehet out of thihihs!”
At this rate, Pomni was going to be tickling him forever. She needed to find a way out without Jax immediately getting revenge. She shifted, so she was looking behind her. Jax’s legs were still kicking as he writhed all over the place. It sort of reminded her of that one rabbit from that movie she watched a long time ago as a child. What was their name, again? Thumper?
Huh.
Something else managed to grab her attention. She blinked just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things, but no, Jax’s tail was wagging. That was pretty surprising, considering he didn’t have the thing a couple of weeks ago.
Pomni wasn’t all too knowledgeable about rabbit biology, but she wondered if his tail was similar to a dog’s. Maybe Jax was secretly enjoying this? It certainly didn’t seem like it by the way he was yelling at her, but his tail was telling another story entirely.
She didn’t dwell on it.
She hummed in a fake inquisitive way. “I wonder if your paws are also ticklish.”
Jax shrieked. It sort of hurt her ears. “FIHIHINE! Fihihihine! I wohohon’t get you back! I promihihise! Ahahaha! J–Just stop! Ple—ahahah—!”
Satisfied, Pomni stopped tickling him. She slid off of Jax to give him time to calm down. Jax’s arms gave out from under him as he fell into a pile of limbs on the floor. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to catch his breath. His cheeks were still rosy in hue, but they were starting to return to their natural purple shade. A singular droplet of a tear had welled up in his right eye, which made Pomni scratch her cheek. Yeah, she might have gone too far this time. Again.
Jax wheezed. He tried to push himself up once more, but he only managed to prop himself onto his elbows. “Never ever mention this to anyone ever,” Jax said in between labored breaths. He wiped away the tear with the back of his hand.
“As long as you do the same,” Pomni said.
Jax paused for a moment, like he was mulling it over. Then, he nodded. “Deal.” He held out his hand.
“Deal.” Pomni shook it.
Jax nodded before fully collapsing onto the ground. He pressed his face onto the ground and groaned. Oops. It looked like she did go a bit too far. Hopefully, he would forgive her sometime soon.
