👀 - smut (there’s a lot of that here!)
💐 - fluff
☔ - angst
😌 - hurt/comfort
🍀 - AMAB or cis male pairing/Reader, he/him pronouns
👌 - Gender neutral, or no pronouns mentioned
🏳️🌈 - queer pairings or characters
🏳️⚧️ - TRANNNNNSSSS RIGGHTTSSSS
Sorry for the flood of The Boys posts, I pinky promise I am not defecting from TADC writing/hyperfixation lmao
I've been a fan of The Boys for long enough to know that while I really love the show, it doesn't have the HYPER SPECIFIC elements needed to coax me into writing about the characters.
I'm just pumped to watch the show and needed somewhere to yap about it since no one else I know right now is watching it.
btw it's so fucking stupid you can be anxious physically in your body even after you've decided mentally you don't care. I'm supposed to be in charge here
Jensen Ackles is really stealing the show as Soldier Boy. God he's so fucking funny. Every time he's on screen I expect to laugh at whatever comes out of his mouth.
I don't have nostalgia for Mr. Ackles as I didn't watch Supernatural growing up but I can appreciate him when I see him knowing all the time he's put in
Let's give Toni Starr (and all the actors tbh) a BIG fucking clap. Dude plays unhinged/psychotic/despairing so well. He freaks me out so much as Homelander in this season.
Also. The end of episode three I had to look away. The only other "look away" moment I've really had was Sage lobotomizing herself but I couldn't bear to watch Homelander beat Ryan like that. Guh
sexism in medicine kills people. racism in medicine kills people. fatphobia in medicine kills people. queerphobia in medicine kills people. classism in medicine kills people. ableism in medicine kills people.
do not downplay people’s fears about being mistreated because they are a part of a marginalised group. it is a matter of life and death and you should be angry about it.
Now that the option is open to her again, she feels the need to luxuriate in the feeling of scalding hot water on her skin. The fact that she couldn't take her clothes off or change them, regardless of no accumulation of any dirt or bodily funk, still grosses her out.
Also, she'd just missed the routine of it all. Pair that with not having to pay a water bill? Exquisite.
That being said, the shower room that'd hastily popped up after Caine's initial deletion wasn't much to look at.
Pomni's not even sure she can remember who had made the thing in the first place. Was it Zooble? Ragatha? Somebody had wanted to wash up for the first time in who knows how long. (Pomni's intuition says Ragatha, but again, she can't say for sure.)
Before Pomni had gotten ahold of it, the shower was only about the size of one stall, like what one might find in an average household.
But now that she's gotten her mitts on it, and has almost certainly been the only one using it, the entire space has at least quadrupled in size. Pomni didn't hesitate to conjure herself the fanciest bathtub and shower she remembers seeing online back in the human world, and why would she? Along with her own touches, of course.
The space is now closer to the size of a public bathing house than a personal shower. Decorated with tiles in a delicate jade green, she's made herself plenty of space for a bathtub (okay, more like a large hot tub), a massive shower with benches running around its edges, and any towels, robes, or toiletries she might need.
Excessive? Yes. Deserved? Also yes.
After ages of not bathing at all, having water pour down on her from any number of showerheads that she wants -- in a shower that she can do laps in, if she had a mind to -- is her idea of heaven. Or just soaking in a hot bath, floating in a small sea of water.
Admittedly, there haven't been many baths since Caine came to stay in her room.
As Pomni locks the door behind her now, with half a mind to make it vanish entirely so she can't be followed, she already knows what she wants to do under the reprieve of the water.
Though it usually isn't accompanied with so much shame.
Hooking her thumbs under the waistband of her sweatpants, she lets them pool to her ankles, stepping out of them. Next, Pomni pulls her tank top over her head. Finally, she removes her underwear and socks. When she's naked in front of the full-length mirror nearest the door, she blushes at her own reflection.
Because she looks flustered and guilty. As her face flushes even further still when she spares herself a look, Pomni has to glance away.
Bending down to turn on the shower water, Pomni waits a moment to let the temperature adjust before stepping under.
Tonight, she lets the water pound down on her -- the majority of it thundering from the two largest showerheads above. The weight of the water falling on her shoulders and head is a momentary distraction, wrapping her up in heat. Noise and motion and moisture, all battering her thin frame.
Pomni closes her eyes.
God, she's so stupid.
Stupid to get so close and cuddly with Caine just because she misses being close with someone that badly. And even stupider to let herself lose her mind at the slightest nudge of friction.
Does she have no self control? No dignity?
She walks to the closest bench where her shampoo and body soap are waiting. Hopefully she can at least try to distract herself from feeling awful about what's just happened.
But even as she scrubs down with her favorite bar soap (lightly peach scented) Pomni's mind keeps snapping back to what had happened in the bed.
Caine probably doesn't even know about sex, she thinks miserably, rinsing herself free of suds. Or if he does, it's the bare minimum he had to know to enforce his stupid filter.
Pomni remembers his reaction to Zooble asking for the ability to have sex, ages ago now. He'd frozen up like it wasn't even something he'd had the capacity to respond to, then completely changed the subject.
Yeah, that -- that isn't a good sign.
And here she is, getting all hot and bothered by him.
Just as Pomni hadn't wanted to admit to herself that she'd grown to like him more and more, she's desperate not to acknowledge the growing arousal in her gut every time they make contact like that. This time, it'd seemed to come out of nowhere, licking at her mind like a brushfire. Now it's utterly unmanageable.
And what makes her feel worse; all the touches they've shared have been utterly innocent. Until she went and did that.
She presses her palms into her eyes. Rubbing up against him, even if it wasn't her intention, was something she'd initiated. And gotten horny about.
So, yeah. She's gone and ruined it. She's the pervert here.
Her brain feels all twisted, even though she's clearly still aching to be touched. Like her body's developed a Pavlovian response to being alone in the shower room, knowing what she usually comes in here for.
Sharing a room with Caine really has been fine. Sure, even attempting to match his energy took some getting used to after being alone for a while. He thinks out loud almost constantly, and tends to ask endless questions about what it's like to be human. Pomni feels like -- no, scratch that, she knows -- that he'd just talk all day if permitted.
Sometimes Pomni just has to be honest and tell him when she feels overwhelmed. Thankfully, instead of getting his feelings hurt about it, Caine's learned to apologize and self-correct. Then they might spend some quiet time together, either doing their own things in the same space or finding something they both enjoy.
For Pomni, it's either writing out her daily thoughts (hoping to keep her head on straight) or listening to the music selection Caine's proudly shown off.
"We have the entire public domain, and several hundreds of artists who released music up until the year nineteen ninety-six!" He tells her. Caine tilts his head in thought, scrunching his top jaw. "Though I haven't listened to much outside of the public domain. Making adventures didn't really seem to necessitate it, you know?"
Needless to say, she can't wait to expose him to the joy of eighties and nineties pop.
For Caine, he's trying to learn to draw more things that aren't bees. Pomni isn't much of an artist herself, but she's trying to help him out. He's often confessed how much he admires Gangle's artistic abilities, and expressed confusion at how easy she makes it look.
"That's because she practices," Pomni explains. "And she really likes to do it."
"I practice too!" Caine insists, pouting. "And I really like to do it!"
"Hmm." Pomni's trying not to laugh as she comes up with an answer to that. "Well, maybe she can give you some pointers the next time you see each other."
Funny how well things work when you're being straightforward about how you feel.
And funny how awful it can make a person feel when they want to talk about something with someone they care about, but they're afraid it'll ruin everything.
Because she's tried, really tried, not to think about Caine like that. Whenever Pomni's come here in the past to relieve stress, it just...slowly began to happen.
She'd have her legs spread open, sitting on one of the shower benches as she presses two fingers firmly against her clit. Her other hand is palm down on the bench for balance as she moves against her fingers, taking her time. Imagining one of her old city crushes putting their hands between her legs, leaning in to murmur something flirtatious in her ear. Teasing her.
No one too specific, as Pomni hadn't formed any serious romantic attachments in the human world. She's always had better luck coming by her own hand, anyway. But she just needs to imagine someone.
Someone to pet her thighs and trace over her slit. Someone to keep her on the edge until she gives in. Someone to roll one of her nipples between her fingers (and thank god or thank somebody she can make her breasts as small as she wants, here).
Somehow over time, the fantasy in her Pomni's mind shifts to gloved hands between her thighs. She'd even conjured up her own pair to wear, sitting just outside the spray so that the satin wouldn't get wet, and fingered herself with them on.
The orgasm was intense. But it was only after the second time, as she'd splayed herself out on the bench afterward to recover, that the realization hit. She'd stayed in the shower for a long time trying to come to terms with that. In a fit of embarrassment, the gloves had been tossed away.
For some time after, she tried to tell herself it didn't have to mean anything. Plenty of people liked gloves as a sex thing, and the way hands looked in them. It didn't have to mean that she was attracted to specific people and their hands. No. She's just learning things about herself, and that's healthy.
But it got worse from there. Only a few days ago as Pomni had tried in vain to imagine someone, any crush from her past, she suddenly pictured Caine between her legs instead. The more she tried not to see him there, the more it was all she could think about.
He'd sit so pretty for her, kneel there however she wanted. His big, intense eyes would stay right on her face, too worried about missing any cue or instruction to blink. Pomni imagines him sliding hesitant palms up her thighs, scooting in closer until his mouth is just a breath away from her wet folds.
"Like this?" He'd ask, looking up to her for confirmation.
"Yes," Pomni gasps, clamping her legs together as she starts to come. "Fuck, yes, C--"
She slaps a hand over her mouth, riding out the rest of it in silence.
Well.
That's not good.
Things have only gotten more vivid from there, despite Pomni trying to convince herself it was just a weird one off fantasy. Especially since they've talked about the whole friends can cuddle thing.
She feels like such a hypocrite.
Would Caine even want her like that? Would he know how to want her like that? Pomni feels like she's ruining something sweet by having urges she can't help.
Who would have thought she'd end up feeling this way about Caine, of all people. After everything that's happened.
But it has happened. She genuinely likes him. Pomni likes hanging out with him and has yet to be bored. Caine makes her laugh even when he doesn't mean to. He's sweet, and he can keep up with her teasing. Most of all, he's trying to be a better person, and Pomni thinks that's more than she can say for a lot of humans she's known.
And she's incredibly curious to know if he'd ever want to touch her the way that she wants to touch him. The kind of curious that keeps her up at night.
Pomni folds to the floor, putting her head in her hands. Her hair plasters to the sides of her face and neck, water pounding in her ears. Creating a little shelter from the outside world, if only for a moment.
She can't keep doing this -- keeping this from him. The fact that she comes here to jerk it is certainly none of his business, but she can't just go back to her room and pretend she's fine. Not telling someone something important is still technically a lie.
"Goddamnit," Pomni mutters. "Fine. Fine."
Giving herself a few more minutes with the water, Pomni eventually gets to her feet, drying off with not much more certainty than she'd had when she got in.
--------
Caine sits up straight from his half of the bed as soon as she gets back to the room, eyes bright with excitement to see her again. He'd been dangling upside down off the end, playing with one of the many new stim toys Pomni's made for the both of them. Even right side up again, he still clenches the fidget spinner in one hand.
"There you are, my sugarplum! I was worried for a moment that you'd swam down the drain."
He's so cute, Pomni's mind supplies, melting. Like a puppy.
"Haha...yeah."
Wait, no -- that's the exact opposite of how we're supposed to be thinking. Get your shit together.
"Did you enjoy your daily human bathing ritual?" He continues.
"I --" Pomni chokes on the word, part of her ready to lie and tell him that yes, she'd had a great shower. Eager to crawl back into bed and curl up like she hadn't just singlehandedly fought her guilt demons.
But she can't.
"I have to talk to you," she manages instead.
A blue question mark appears over his head.
"We're talking right now," Caine points out.
Pomni's not sure she can help the expression that comes over her face. Because yeah, true, but not helpful. Yet such an utterly Caine thing to say.
"I mean," Pomni continues, "I have something kind of important that I want to talk about. And it's...hard to say." She looks at her feet. "I-I don't know how to start."
Twisting her hands together in a nervous imitation of Caine, she chances looking up at him.
Only to find that he's very clearly on the brink of tears.
"It's about me staying here in your room, correct?"
The fidget spinner he's holding blurs at an impossible speed as he flicks it with a little nervous laugh.
"Hey..." Pomni starts, taking a few steps closer to try and reassure him. Wanting to tell him that he's ridiculous, and of course she doesn't want to boot him out.
She reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder, but drops it when Caine shrinks back.
He starts rambling, seemingly unaware of the surprised look on Pomni's face. Two tears drip down his jaws, and he blinks them away quickly, as if they hadn't escaped in the first place.
"I-I knew that I was overdue to go back! You did say I could stay until my code was sorted out again, and here I am, perfectly fine. Intruding on your hospitality, one could say."
Caine gives her a bright smile. If she hadn't come to know him better, it might actually be believable.
"Caine," Pomni tries again, her heart aching, but he isn't quite finished.
"My dearest apologies, my star, of course I'll be out before you know it."
He hops off of the bed and snaps his fingers. In a blink, he's wearing his ringmaster garb again, filling Pomni with instant dread.
"Give me just a second and I'll --"
"You're not going anywhere," she says firmly.
There are tears in her eyes, too, but she can't decide if she's more upset or outright angry. Pomni blinks them back, swallows, trying to get a handle on her breathing. It won't do either of them any good if she blows up.
"If you'd just listen to me then you'd know what I was trying to tell you."
"Oh," he says, looking thoroughly abashed. Caine blinks several times, fiddling with a button on his jacket instead of looking at her. "I -- I'm sorry, my little bug, I really and truly thought --"
"No, you didn't think. Sit."
If the conversation weren't so tense, Pomni definitely would have laughed at how quickly he moves to do as she says. His butt makes contact with the mattress instantly, hands folded in his lap as he looks up to hear her out.
She take another deep breath.
"So, first of all, please don't assume I want you gone. That's the opposite of true. When I say that we're friends and I want you around, I mean it."
Caine's eyes are bright and sparkly as he listens to her speak, overjoyed at the reassurance.
"Okay?" Pomni prompts.
"Y-yes! Okay." He nods enthusiastically, top hat struggling to stay in place. Caine pauses, teeth chattering ever so slightly. "And I'm sorry I didn't let you speak first. When you told me you had something to say."
Pomni moves to sit beside him, letting their legs touch a bit. He looks reassured by the physical contact, and she really hopes what she's about to confess to isn't about to ruin it all.
"I get why you were scared," she says after a minute. "But. Yeah, I just needed to talk about my thing first before you jump to conclusions."
Caine nods again, and the fact that he's purposefully not saying anything at all to let her speak is sweet.
Okay, here goes nothing.
"I know we talked about h-how typically, humans can be friends and still do stuff like cuddle, hold hands, things like that."
Oh, god. Her mouth is bone dry. Pomni's so anxious that she's actually getting dizzy. Caine's just looking at her expectantly with those big eyes, obediently hearing her out with no idea of what she's actually about to say.
"But, um. I don't think we really touched on things of a...sexual nature?" Pomni can feel herself cringe just saying it, wishing she could hide behind her hands.
Caine twitches. Blinks several times, then shakes his head, glitching a bit.
Later, he'll let her know that he had to remind himself that there was no filter to reinforce or work around anymore. But right now, to Pomni, it just seems like he's having an adverse reaction to sex being mentioned, period.
"Are the two concepts connected in some way?" He asks meekly. "I don't know if I understand."
"Fuuuck," Pomni groans, unable to help it.
Her embarrassment and frustration are almost at a breaking point. He really is going to make her spell it out, isn't he?
Well, there's nothing else for it but to rip the bandaid off. They've done enough stalling. Pomni clenches her hands into fists, as if afraid the confession might hurt.
"I might be feeling a certain way -- sexually -- about you."
There's no way she can even attempt to make eye contact right now, so Pomni stares at her hands. Her heart is racing. But when she doesn't get any reply for several seconds, it's impossible not to look up.
Caine's so still that for a moment, she's afraid that he's shut down. Regardless of whether he's shut down or not, Caine is...frozen. Not just the kind of frozen where one doesn't move, but stuck in place, his frames halted past the point of lagging.
"Um. Caine?"
Her voice comes out timid, waving one hand in front of him. Had that declaration been enough to undo all the careful repair Kinger had done for his code? If she has to go to Kinger and tell him that this is the cause for another error, then she may as well abstract so she doesn't have to speak to anyone ever again.
But at the sound of his name, Caine seems to come back from wherever he'd been stuck processing his thoughts.
"I get it now!"" He announces, loud enough to startle her.
"What -- what do you mean?"
"I understand the reason for your erratic behavior the past several days," Caine says excitedly.
"'Erratic behavior'?" Pomni repeats with a nervous laugh. "What's been erratic about my behavior?"
He claps his hands together, brow furrowed.
"Your simulated pulse has been abnormally high. Your breathing has also been rapid. And your pupils are dilated, even now!"
Oh god, oh fuck. This is what she gets for being attracted to an AI. He's reading her for filth and all Pomni can do is sit here and take it, stammering protests under her breath as Caine keeps going.
"What's more, your face flushes and you have difficulty forming sentences -- which, if I'm understanding correctly, is often a sign of embarrassment or overwhelm."
"Oh my fucking god," says Pomni, unable to stop herself from burying her face in her hands. "Caine."
She's not turned on by this. She's not turned on by this.
He tilts his head.
"I see now that the physical proximity, the embarrassment and overwhelm, and the sexual attraction are connected, but... Are you certain this has all something to do with me?"
Now he blushes, deep, an impossible effect that hovers around his face even when he's glitching slightly.
"Yes," Pomni insists. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. I like you as a friend and I'm almost positive that I'm attracted to you."
Now her pulse is racing in her ears, the whole world narrowed down to the two of them sitting together side by side. Their legs touching -- not much but enough -- and Caine's eyes laser focused on her face. Like he couldn't tear himself away from it if he tried.
its almost gay month!!! can u draw caine with a lesbian pride flag or another pride flag of ur choice (and also would i be allowed to make it my pfp ^_^) (and if u choose a non-lesbian pride flag would i be allowed to edit the picture to have the lesbian pride flag instead and then make that my pfp...) (all with credit ofc!!) (:D)
Happy Pride Month!
the Amazing Digital Circus is a safe space for all!
I've included some other flags below! (I may do more flags later, if there's any specific requests do ask, but these are all I have energy for rn lol) I do also know there are a few variations of the lesbian flag so I hope it turned out well, and I can change it if not
I would be absolutely honored if you (or anyone else) wanted to use my art as a profile picture so please go ahead if you'd like to!
this was a lot of fun and I have a couple other pride themed drawing ideas so I may do more
Pairing: Caine x Pomni, aka Showtime (Pomni 3rd Person POV)
Rating: Explicit for later chapters
Tags: arguing, fluff, cuddling (hhhh), they're both touch-starved, minor Abstragedy, blink-and-you'll-miss-it Jax, Pomni's brief but valid panic attack, Caine is 100% doing his best, sexual tension
Pomni squirms under Zooble's intense gaze, their accusatory tone. Their reaction automatically makes her want to be more defensive, inciting her to bristle up and match the energy being directed at her. She hadn't even wanted to argue, but the way she answers says otherwise.
"I don't see how it's any of your business," she spits out.
"Any of my --?" Zooble splutters. Behind them, Gangle twists her ribbon hands into anxious knots. "Pomni, do you not remember what just happened? What Caine just did?!"
Pomni can feel her face flushing.
"Of course I -- do you think I'm stupid?!" she bites back.
Zooble narrows their eyes, throws their hands in the air.
"I don't know what to think now!"
"Guys --" Gangle cuts in timidly.
It had been Pomni's fault for not closing her bedroom door. This had all been going great until Zooble had glanced over and seen the extra bed.
And, uh. The fact that the extra bed -- Caine's -- is pushed against Pomni's own. That's kind of new.
Part of Pomni wants to minimize it or brush the idea away in her mind, but the truth of it all is that being closer is easier. More convenient than sitting in the middle of the floor to yap at one another every day, and easier than pretending that they don't want to share even more space.
It's been five days now since they went to see Kinger, and one night since she suggested they just say to hell with it and move their beds side by side.
They'd had another talk about what humans "normally" do in terms of physical contact, and it'd been another tangent entirely explaining that friends could touch one another. Not that Pomni is certain anymore that her feelings are platonic, but she wants to make sure she's explaining things thoroughly, anyway.
"Everyone's different, which is part of why consent is so niche and confusing. Friends could do things that partners do too, without putting a label on it. It just depends on what they want, you know?" Pomni has her head in Caine's lap, idly kicking her legs as she glances up at him. "But, yeah. I think it's completely fine to hold hands with a friend if they also want to do that."
He lets out a sigh like he's massively relieved to hear it. "Oh, that's -- that's good." A pause. "I like holding your hand. And this. I like this."
"I like it too."
Pomni curls into his side, trying to work up the nerve to say what she wants to. He's been making himself clothes embroidered with bee patterns, and today it's a soft yellow sweater with a black bee trailing down one sleeve.
And she's finally figured out what he smells like. Cotton candy and buttered popcorn. The circus -- of course.
"Do you think maybe --"
"I was wondering if --"
They laugh a little.
"You first," says Caine.
"Would you be okay if we kinda...cuddled again? Like we did when I had my nightmare the other night? I, uh." Pomni shoves her face further into Caine's sweater, the rest of her sentence coming out muffled. "That was really nice. I'd be down to do that again. If you are."
No answer at first. Then the softest chuckle before a hand lands on her head.
"Preferably with no nightmare," he answers at last. "If that's quite alright with you."
Pomni twists up to get a look at his face. There's something soft in the way he looks back at her; something that sets off fluttering in her stomach. She shoves her face back into his sweater.
"You laughing at me?" She huffs, teasing.
"Never at you, my dear." The hand on her head pats once, twice. "I just -- wasn't expecting you to ask the same thing I was! It was a laugh of incredulity. But yes. I...would very much like to be nearer to you."
"Yay," Pomni says before she can stop herself, glad that she's already face deep in fabric.
Well, maybe Caine didn't hear her.
"Yay," he says back, brushing a stray strand of her hair back into place.
Damn.
She'd forgotten how this felt. How it felt to like being around someone, to feel like she might never get tired of it. To have her breath taken away by just the idea of more contact; so much so that even the simplest of touches would suffice the craving. Pomni's starting to feel downright dumb around him when they're making any sort of physical contact, and that's not a good sign at all.
But safe to say, she'd slept wonderfully last night.
Caine tucks himself neatly under her arm with a happy little sound and falls asleep almost instantly, making his white noise static sounds only after he tells her several times how comfortable he is.
He didn't even try to be the big spoon, she thinks with a smothered laugh. Pomni takes a little longer to drift off, but the fact that someone's curled up against her, a warm and real weight, feels wonderful.
Before Zooble and Gangle's arrival, she and Caine had been walking around the Inbetween, to stretch their legs and get out for a while. Funnily enough, they'd just been talking about who to visit next -- Caine asking why they couldn't knock on Jax's door to get that over with, and Pomni arguing that starting with Ragatha was a much safer idea.
Turns out, someone was finally coming to them.
He'd gone stock still in the middle of his sentence, and a few seconds later, Pomni hears what he does; approaching footsteps. Then, the higher pitches of Gangle's voice followed by Zooble's lower ones.
"Oh, hey, that's --!"
No sooner has Pomni turned to Caine in excitement to acknowledge it than he's vanished. Disappeared as if he hadn't been standing beside her in the first place.
"You're shitting me," Pomni mutters, craning her head in every direction. Nope. Nothing. He's gone. "You're absolutely --"
"Pomni!"
Gangle appears around the nearest corner, closely followed by her counterpart. She's grinning widely, comedy mask intact, and Zooble looks cheerful as well.
God, so much has changed in such little time. Though no one in the circus was really unaware of what the two of them had going on, the fact that they can actually be together openly has clearly made them so much happier.
They look so freaking cute, Pomni thinks as she takes them in. Gangle especially looks twice as cute and cheerful as she used to. Her ribbons are tied in a bow behind her mask, and she wears an oversized pink hoodie that falls to where her thighs would be. (Guess Pomni isn't the only one who wanted comfortable clothes.)
Zooble's wearing a beat up leather jacket that Pomni's guessing resembles something they had in the real world, along with a white tee and jeans. Simple, but they make it look good.
She raises a hand to wave at them before closing the distance. Pomni supposes she can be annoyed with Caine for vanishing later; for now, they're all overdue for checking in with each other.
"Hey!" A little breathless from her short jog, she smiles at the other two. "It's been a minute."
Zooble nods. "It has. We were starting to get a little antsy about not seeing anyone else, so we thought we'd check in."
"Same here," Pomni says. "I wish we had some sort of phone line or something, but -- "
"It doesn't work when you try to make it."
"Right," she sighs. Anxiety plucks at her chest. "Maybe it's built into the program? We have to interact with other people, or...?"
Zooble shrugs, like they'd rather not go into much more detail. "I mean, it'd make sense. That sounds like the kind of fucked up thing Caine would do."
Pomni feels herself go tense. "I mean. I don't see what Caine has to do with that."
"I don't see what he doesn't have to do with it." Zooble narrows their eyes.
An uncomfortable pause.
"Why don't we all go for a walk!" Gangle chirps, sensing the unease. "We were wondering how to use this old space, now that Caine's out of the picture. Maybe a museum? Or -- ooh! -- a garden! No -- an art studio with a garden --"
Zooble and Pomni share a glance that says they're both willing to drop the subject in favor of listening to Gangle talk. (If there's one thing they have in common, it's being a sucker for sweet femmes.)
That's right; they don't know about Caine's code being restored.
Shit.
This is about to get complicated.
It isn't something that Pomni had kept hidden from the two of them; she simply hadn't known if Kinger's efforts to reconstruct him would be successful the last time they all spoke. If Pomni were in Gangle and Zooble's shoes, she'd assume Caine was gone, too (and that he didn't just fuck off somewhere a few minutes prior).
But the subject changes as Gangle leads the way down the nearest hall, lightly commenting on how different things feel though not much time has passed. Pomni's mostly content to chime in every once in a while, letting her and Zooble do most of the talking.
Until they come upon the hallway with their old rooms.
"Pomni, how come you haven't moved out of here yet?" Gangle asks, twisting her mask-shaped face back as they round the corner.
"Oh, uh..."
To be honest, it's a fair question. Since the two of them and Ragatha had booked it as soon as they could, and there's nothing really keeping her here aside from Caine and perhaps Kinger, she can see why they'd be confused.
"Yeah," Zooble adds. "I thought for sure you'd make yourself a little apartment near that café you showed me."
Well, that had been her plan. Then Caine happened.
"I'm kind of waiting to see what Kinger does," she says, which isn't a lie.
Gangle and Zooble hum in understanding.
"I'm surprised Ragatha didn't stay here with him," Gangle comments. "I mean! Not that I think she should, she can do whatever she wants. I just thought she'd want to keep him company."
Pomni makes a small sound of agreement; she'd had the exact same thought.
"I feel like he's gotten kind of afraid to leave the Aquarium Room, you know?"
"I got that vibe when we went to check in with him," Zooble murmurs. "Well...hopefully we can make him a few more spaces like that when we have a better idea of what the program can take. So he has options instead of just being holed up here."
They're almost to Pomni's room, which faces straight across from Jax's. Her door is thrown open wide -- and as far as she knows, Jax's has been closed since Caine lost his temper almost two weeks ago.
The three of them stop, eyes collectively going to Jax's placard.
"Anything from him?" Zooble asks quietly.
"I dunno, let's check."
Trying to act like her heart isn't pounding in her chest, Pomni walks up to Jax's door. She raises her fist and knocks, hard.
Instantly, from inside:
"What?!"
"I'm checking to see if you're abstracted, dumbass!"
Pomni can feel her teeth sharpening into pointy fangs in a matter of seconds. Because of course he'd be in there, just fine, pissed off that someone bothered to think about him.
"Well I'm not, so get lost!"
Fucker. She kicks the door hard, hissing a bit as an aftershock of pain rings up her leg.
"Oh dear," a voice says almost in her ear. Pomni jumps, adrenaline flooding her system at the unexpected sound. "Be careful -- that's not --"
"Jesus Christ!" She yelps.
Thinking that she'd reacted like that because of the pain, Gangle flinches in sympathy.
"It's probably better if we just leave him alone," she suggests, putting a comforting hand on Pomni's shoulder. "He's not -- not worth the trouble."
"I second that." Zooble shoots Jax's door a glare before turning with the other two to keep moving.
Pomni's still stunned from the random disembodied voice speaking to her. And a little bit from how hard she'd locked the door. But mostly the random voice.
Is she...okay? Is this how abstracting starts? A random moment of disorientation that slowly gets more and more intense until she can't tell what's real and what isn't?
If she'd had anxiety about it before, then what she's feeling now can only be described as cold terror. They don't know how to stop people from abstracting and they don't know how to bring people back.
Then she's essentially dying. Fuck. Fuck.
Oblivious to her panic, Gangle and Zooble continue to cross the hall.
"Ooh, I really like what you've done with your space, though!" Gangle says, peering into her room. "It's super -- oh. "
"Oh, what?" Zooble walks over to see what made Gangle stop in her tracks, and Pomni finally comes to her senses to see what they're both looking at.
Stunned into temporary silence, the pair of them are staring directly into Pomni's room -- at her bed. Not just her bed, but the bed that's been shoved up against it. There's little doubt as to who it could belong to. With the red and white striped canopy he'd added on, who else would go out of their way to make their bed look like the circus?
"There's no way," Zooble says slowly. "No way."
Caine chooses that exact moment to pop back into view, floating several feet above them and scaring the living hell out of all three. Gangle's comedy mask slips off and shatters into two neat pieces.
"Goooood afternoon, my superstars!" He announces, doing a spin that puts off cartoon sparkles.
He's back in his ringmaster's clothes, complete with top hat and cane. For a split second, Pomni feels herself a bit scared to see him in them -- they hadn't exactly had the best interaction the last time he'd been dressed this way.
But that fear is quickly replaced with annoyance.
Zooble and Pomni both start yelling at once; Zooble at Pomni and Pomni at Caine.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Oh, now you show up?"
Caine at least has the good grace to look guilty. He ducks his head, wavering a little bit in place, and wrings his hands together.
"I-I, uh," he begins, but Zooble doesn't give him a chance to keep going. They take a few steps in front of Gangle, protective, looking from Caine to Pomni and back.
"Pomni," they say, their voice a mix of desperation and dark amusement. "Please tell me this is some kind of joke. You're not sharing a room with -- with Caine? Right?"
She can feel her face go flaming hot, but she's not about to lie just to make Zooble feel more comfortable. If they have a problem with it, that's their issue.
"So what if I am?" she says, sounding bolder than she feels.
Behind Zooble, Caine's eyes go huge with surprise.
Zooble looks back and forth between the two of them in stunned disbelief.
"So not only has he been here this whole time without you saying anything, but you're cozying up with him."
"I --" Pomni splutters. "For one thing, you didn't ask! And for another, it's not your business --"
"Oh, I think it is when he went crazy on all of us --"
"Now, hold on my little butterbeans," Caine tries again nervously. "W-why don't we just all calm down and try --"
He magicks up a mug of hot chocolate, clutching it between both hands as if to offer it out, but the gesture only seems to annoy Zooble more.
Caine's wilted lower and lower with everything Zooble's had to say, shoulders curved inward as he shrinks into himself, and now his feet are almost touching the ground again. Even Gangle's beginning to look sorry for him.
Pomni wants, more than anything, to just make this all stop.
"No! You don't get to tell us to do anything anymore." Zooble's glare is harsh. "I don't care if you blend me up and turn me into a -- a smoothie or something, I'm not going back on your adventures, and neither is Gangle!"
"Hey!" Pomni finally barks.
All of the stress she's had piled onto her so fast is threatening to implode. The surprise of Zooble and Gangle showing up. Caine disappearing and leaving her alone. Jax being a prick.
Thinking she was staring to abstract, for god's sake. They are going to have a long and serious discussion about how he can't just turn himself invisible and speak in her ear.
And now Zooble yelling at her, and at Caine as well. It's too much, and Pomni doesn't much feel like being the peacekeeper anymore.
Not right now.
Pomni marches up and places herself between Zooble and Caine.
"Would you lay off of Caine for one second?"
Her jaw feels so tight with stress that it's hard to get the words out the way she wants.
"A lot's happened since both of you went off together -- no offense, but you did leave -- and if you'd just chill out and let me explain then maybe you wouldn't be so -- so hostile!"
"Hostile --" Zooble scoffs, incredulous, but Gangle puts a hand on their arm. They share a look.
"Let's hear her out, Z," Gangle says quietly. "Come on."
They growl under their breath, but it's common knowledge that Zooble would almost never say no to Gangle.
"Fine."
-------
It's evening by the time they've talked through it all, sitting right there in the hallway where the conversation had started.
Gangle's resting curled up in Zooble's lap, looking content as the latter occasionally pets fingers through her ribbons. Pomni and Caine have scooted a bit closer together as well, out of habit more than anything.
Thankfully, the tension has long since dissolved. Zooble had actually been able to listen, and Pomni thinks they might even believe that Caine isn't a threat to anyone anymore. Especially not after he'd apologized to them and to Gangle a dozen times each.
"So, to recap." Zooble holds up a hand, ticking off fingers as they list things. "No more power than we have."
Caine shakes his head, excited to answer.
"Nope!"
"You're definitely cozying up with Pomni."
"Uh, I -- if you mean we're friends, then yes."
Caine casts Pomni an uncertain look, and she nods back at him. Gangle can't completely suppress a giggle watching the interaction.
"Yes! We're friends."
Zooble and Gangle share another look; that wordless couple communication Pomni remembers having with another person, a long time ago now. It'd been nice to know someone well enough that you could just glance over and know exactly what they thought about something.
"And you're going to try to help us rework the circus, once you apologize to everyone."
Caine nods so eagerly at that that Pomni's a bit worried his head's going to fall off his body, as she's seen it do from time to time.
"A zillion times yes! From my discussions with Pomni I believe it would be an excellent new purpose to have. And a good thing to do!" He states proudly.
Zooble looks skeptical at that.
"He'd probably be a ton of help," Pomni adds. "I know you both have a lot of ideas, and not a lot of luck knowing how to lay them all out yet."
"That's true," Gangle says. "Between Caine and Kinger, we could get a lot done to turn this place into somewhere that we actually want to live, you know?"
"I -- yeah." Sighing, Zooble finally relents. "As long as there really aren't any more adventures, or breakdowns where you torture us."
--------
They bid Gangle and Zooble goodbye, eager to tuck into bed.
"I forgot how uncomfortable this was to wear," Caine remarks, trailing gloved hands over the jacket of his outfit. "Or -- maybe I didn't know it was uncomfortable until I put something else on?"
Watching him ponder from the foot of their shared bed space, Pomni shrugs, worn out from all the unexpected socializing.
"Maybe."
"Your clothes are very comfortable, that I do know," Caine continues, shrugging out of his jacket.
Pomni, who's already back in sweatpants and a tank top, grins from where she's propped up on her elbows.
"That's on purpose. I like being comfortable."
"I think I like it too." Caine smiles back at her, vanishing his jacket with a snap before moving on to loosen his bow tie. "Would you... mind if I borrowed something to wear from you tonight? For old time's sake?"
"Old time's sake?" She repeats with a laugh. Her eyes linger on Caine's hands where they toy with the black buttons of his dress shirt before remembering that she's supposed to keep talking. "Hasn't been that long, but sure. Go ahead."
Delighted, Caine rifles through her dresser until he finds what he's looking for.
As Pomni turns away to let him change (since he's been so intent doing it the human way) she wonders why he'd wanted something of hers when it's so easy for him to just make anything he wants for himself.
Maybe he's taking that convenience an extra step by not having to decide what to conjure up? She does have a wider selection of things to choose from. Yeah, that makes sense. Sometimes she forgets that this is the first time in his existence that he's really strayed from what he was programmed in.
A few seconds later, Caine joins her on the bed, sporting her fuzzy unicorn pajama pants and an oversized tshirt. He gives her a hesitant glance, as if checking for permission, and Pomni lazily rolls over to open her arms for him.
He wraps her up in a tight hug, nuzzling his bottom jaw against the top of her head. Without thinking, Pomni slings a leg over his waist, bringing their bodies flush together. Caine makes the smallest noise of contentment, relaxing into her.
"Long day," he murmurs, pressing closer into Pomni's body. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"Mm. Mmhm!"
Oh. Oh, fuck. She can't help the tiny, hitched gasp as that motion affects her; creating unexpected friction where they're joined. His model might not have anything added on, but that doesn't mean Pomni didn't make some adjustments as soon as she was confident that she could.
But if Caine notices her reaction, he says nothing. He only nods in acknowledgement of her reply, letting one of his hands trail down to play with her hair. Playing with her hair is something he's done a few times now, fascinated with the feel of it, and normally she's happy to let him.
Unfortunately, that isn't helping Pomni right now. Right now, she's getting more and more aroused. Letting her mind wander. Imagining hands elsewhere, moving with the same slow, specific intent --
"You know what!" Pomni squeaks, extracting herself carefully from their mess of limbs. "I think I'm gonna take a shower."
"Oh! Okay." Caine nods, looking up at her from the nest of blankets. "I hope it helps you relax! Your heart rate was quite elevated for a moment there."
Mortified, she starts stammering some excuse about seeing Gangle and Zooble today before all but sprinting out.
