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Zooble liked Pomni’s eyes, but not in a lovey dovey kinda way. The jester’s eyes tended to change based on her emotions, which was really convenient when it came to figuring out what kind of mood she was in.
The pinwheel was their typical state, and they would shrink if she was focusing intently on something. There had been a couple times where they had turned into hearts while she had been looking at them (which was admittedly kinda cute). And when Pomni started to spiral, her eyes turned into small scribbles.
That was the last state Zooble had seen them in, right after the group had finished a particularly stressful adventure. Pomni had unfortunately been paired with Jax, who did his best to make her even more stressed. Having been paired up with Kinger, the two surprisingly had come in first place and were allowed to return to the tent early. Gangle and Ragatha exited next, and Zooble was too caught up chatting with the ribbon girl to notice Jax and Pomni exit the portal last.
After they spotted Jax making his way towards them (and quickly ushering Gangle away as to avoid any more harassment from the rabbit), they looked around for the jester, who was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Pomni?” They asked Jax, whose cheshire grin had already begun to irritate them.
“Why do you always need to know where the wet cat is? She’s got a life of her own, y’know.” He retorted. Zooble rolled their eyes.
“God forbid I show concern for someone I’m spending eternity with. I could tell she was stressed and I just want to make sure she’s doing alright.” They shot back. Jax chuckled.
“Well lucky for you, I know exactly where she is.” Jax said, shifting his attention from Zooble to something over their shoulder. “Hey Scribbles.”
Before they could turn around to face the jester, Zooble felt their hand get grabbed. And before the shock of Pomni suddenly holding their hand could set in, it was quickly ripped from their body as Pomni went racing off with it.
“Hey, what the #%^$ Pomni?” They called out. Jax doubled over as he cackled, wiping a pretend tear from his eye.
“She’s taking possessive girlfriend to a whole new level, huh Zoobie?”
“She’s not my–" Zooble paused mid sentence and sighed. "#%^$. She is my girlfriend.” They grumbled.
Despite how hard the two had tried to keep their relationship a secret, Jax had of course found out when he broke into their room and caught them cuddling.
Zooble groaned and pushed past the still laughing Jax to follow Pomni. They had seen the jester run towards the main hallway, so they assumed she was running to her room.
“Ah #%^$, she’s having a panic attack isn’t she.” They mumbled to themself.
As they made their way towards her room, they felt as Pomni began to play with their hand. First just fiddling with their fingers, and then fully interlocking them with her own and repeatedly squeezing their hand. Zooble found it endearing, despite still being a little annoyed at her. They eventually reached her door and knocked on it with their claw.
“Pomni? You in there?” Zooble called out. The grip on their arm tightened slightly. Oh yeah, she was in there.
With a slight struggle, Zooble opened the door and stepped inside the room. Pomni was huddled up on her bed, pressed as close to the wall as she was able to get herself. The jester was now clutching their arm tightly to her chest. Any sense of annoyance immediately left their body as they watched their girlfriend quickly try to wipe her tears away. Zooble let out a quiet sigh and shut the door before slowly making their way toward Pomni’s bed.
“Can I get close to you?” Zooble quietly asked. They knew how bad Pomni’s panic attacks could get, so they wanted to make sure what they were doing was ok so they didn’t freak her out anymore. Pomni nodded, and Zooble climbed into the bed and sat about a foot away from the jester.
“I’m not mad at you, by the way. You just surprised me is all.” They reassured. Pomni opened her mouth but just as quickly closed, opting to nod instead of trying to speak. She slightly released her death grip on Zooble’s arm to move their hand up to her cheek, placing her own on top of it. Zooble let out a quiet chuckle.
God she’s cute.
They began to rub Pomni’s cheek with their thumb, both to comfort her slightly and to wipe away some of the tears falling down her face. Once the tears had mostly subsided, Zooble spoke up again.
“Alright hun, time to give it back.” They said, holding out their claw towards Pomni. The jester frowned slightly but nodded and handed back her partner's arm, not before placing a gentle kiss on the palm of their hand. Zooble reattached the limb, then held both arms out towards their girlfriend.
“Do you want the whole thing?” They asked. A small smile crept its way onto Pomni’s face, and she climbed into Zooble’s lap. She rested her head on their chest as they wrapped her in a gentle hug. Pomni let out a shaky sigh.
“Zooble...why do you put up with me? Especially when I act like this so often?” She quietly asked. Zooble rolled their eyes. “Pomni, I’m not ‘putting up with you.’ You’re my girlfriend, I want to be here for you, and I hate seeing you so upset.” Zooble realized how sappy they were getting and looked away in embarrassment. “And, y’know. No one wants to hear you cry all the time. Someone’s gotta put a stop to it.” They quickly added. Now it was Pomni’s turn to chuckle.
“Thanks, Zooble. I’m...I’m very grateful for you, you know. Sometimes you make me forget that I’m stuck here.”
Zooble stared at Pomni in shock, and they felt a tear begin to well up in the corner of their eye.
No! No you are NOT crying god d@#^$t. Not in front of her.
A tear slowly rolled down Zooble’s face.
#%^$
“I, um...I’m glad I’m able to do that for you.” They said quietly. Pomni giggled, and she gently wiped the tear from Zooble’s face. “Sorry to make you cry babe.” She said.
“Hm. You gonna make it up to me somehow?” They joked.
Pomni put her finger on her chin as if she was deep in thought. A lightbulb appeared over her head - literally. She let out an annoyed grunt before swatting it away.
“I think I know how.” Pomni said, before leaning in and planting her lips between Zooble’s eyes. They closed their eyes and let out a content hum. Zooble placed their hand and claw on Pomni’s waist, gently caressing one side with their thumb. It was the closest they were able to come to kissing Pomni back since they didn’t have a mouth. When the jester eventually pulled away, she stared back at them with big hearts in her eyes.
Zooble loved Pomni’s eyes. Maybe in a bit of a lovey dovey way.