Work Text:
After months and weeks of work, Kinger and Caine had finally managed to "fix" the code of the Abstracted. Naturally, they decided to keep it a surprise—a gift for everyone else.
...
Once again, Pomni returned to the pillow fort they had all built together to take care of Jax. She hadn't been able to sleep for a long time now; every night, opening her door and seeing that X painted across Jax's room broke her heart all over again.
This time she hadn't gone to Ragatha's room in search of sleep. Even though the circus had grown quieter, free from the overstimulation of Caine's chaotic adventures, the nightmares refused to leave. Neither did the guilt that kept eating away at her.
She made her way with slow, trembling steps toward the small tent made of blankets and pillows.
One curious thing was that Jax barely did anything anymore besides sleeping in his new room, waking up, spending the day at the aquarium with the other Abstracted, and, once the circus lights went out, returning to his little fort.
As she stepped inside, she found the massive, glitching creature curled up asleep, the faint glow of his eyes still visible beneath his closed lids. A small smile found its way onto Pomni's face. She approached carefully. She knew he could hurt her without meaning to, but she didn't really care anymore.
Holding her pillow against her chest, she settled down beside Jax, who breathed slowly in his sleep. The moment she felt the dampness of the pillows, she let out a quiet sigh.
She had completely forgotten that Jax spent most of the day splashing around in the water with his friends.
Carefully, she curled up beside him, resting her cheek against his back. Jax was sleeping in a tight little ball, but as soon as he felt her touch, he shifted slightly. He already knew who it was.
With a small movement, he made room for her to get closer.
Pomni accepted the silent invitation without a word and nestled herself against him. Little by little, the steady rhythm of his breathing helped her relax.
She felt...
Safe.
Even though she knew she'd wake up covered in tiny glitches crawling across her skin, and probably receive another lecture from everyone for putting herself at risk again.
Then she heard it.
A soft purr.
She opened her eyes just enough to see Jax's long ears in front of her. Carefully, she lifted a hand and rested it between them.
Touching him hurt.
Physically.
But it hurt far more knowing that this Jax...
...was someone she had never truly gotten the chance to know.
"Jax..."
Her voice came out unsteady.
The rabbit's ears twitched upward before he slowly opened his eyes to look at her.
"I know you're... still you... but... I don't know..."
Jax watched her for a few seconds, as though trying to understand why she had become so sad again. It wasn't the first time he'd seen her like this.
Without a sound, he simply pressed his forehead against hers.
That alone was enough.
Pomni couldn't hold herself together anymore, and tears quietly spilled down her cheeks.
...
Several minutes passed.
Pomni's quiet sobs filled the silence while Jax wrapped his enormous body around her, almost crushing her against him in a protective embrace. He watched her with a mixture of concern and affection.
Then a small tongue emerged from the darkness of his face and gently licked the tears from her cheeks.
Pomni clung to him tightly.
"I never even got to know you properly... and now that I finally do..."
Her voice broke completely.
Jax's warm tongue continued to brush away the tears from her face.
Pomni took a shaky breath, trying to calm herself before slowly stroking him again.
"...it's too late for me to save you."
The Abstracted lowered his gaze at her words, as though he truly believed everything that had happened was somehow his fault.
After a moment, he carefully picked up a pillow in his mouth and placed it beside her.
It was a little covered in drool.
That earned a small, tearful laugh.
"You know... I think... I should stop being such a crybaby... because you'd probably tell me I'm being cringe..."
Jax stared at her for a moment.
Then he gave a small nod.
Pomni let out a quiet chuckle before resting her head on the pillow.
Jax's glowing eyes slowly drifted closed again as his gentle purring continued.
Pomni closed hers as well.
The glitches still prickled painfully across her skin, but she simply relaxed into his warmth, as though she had finally grown used to living with that quiet, constant ache.
...
The faint light of dawn began to slip through the blankets of the fort, falling directly across the jester's face.
She grumbled in her sleep and rolled over.
But when she didn't feel Jax's familiar warmth beside her, she slowly opened her eyes.
She looked down at her hands.
The glitches were gone.
A quiet sigh escaped her.
Looks like they'd caught her sleeping next to him again.
She got up with a yawn, stretching her arms as the little bells on her hat chimed softly.
She didn't worry anymore whenever she couldn't find Jax.
She already knew exactly where he would be.
She hurried through the circus, making sure no one saw her. It was still a little embarrassing to let everyone see just how attached she'd become to an Abstracted.
Though she also understood why they worried.
They all knew she was still grieving.
When she reached the aquarium, the first thing she did was pick up the plate of spaghetti that was always left ready for Jax.
She stepped into the vast, dimly lit enclosure.
The Abstracted swam happily through the water.
But Pomni was only looking for one of them.
And when she finally found him...
She smiled.
It was her favorite part of the day.
Jax splashed around with Kaufmo and Ribbit. Somehow, he always managed to steal the little bow off Ribbit's head, forcing her to chase him all over the aquarium to get it back.
And the moment she finally caught him...
Jax would steal it all over again.
Pomni loved watching them enjoy each other's company.
But, inevitably, her thoughts drifted elsewhere.
She was happy.
She truly was.
Jax could finally spend time with his friends again.
A single tear rolled down her cheek.
She felt selfish for wanting him back all to herself.
After all...
She felt like she was the one who had known him the least.
She'd had to step into his memories just to discover who he really was.
Without ever asking his permission.
More tears began to fall.
She lowered her head, gripping the fabric of her pajamas tightly as droplets landed on her hands.
Then she felt a gentle hand rest against her back.
She looked up.
Kinger.
The old chess piece sat down beside her without saying a word.
He simply stayed there.
Letting her cry.
To everyone in the circus, Kinger was like a grandfather.
Or rather...
Everyone's adoptive dad.
Pomni slowly rested her head against his shoulder and broke down again, quiet sobs shaking her body.
"Why does it hurt so much...? We barely even knew each other..."
Her voice was completely broken.
Over the past few months, faint dark circles had appeared beneath her eyes, always slightly red from crying in silence.
"Why do I feel so... fucking awful for wanting him back...?"
"Pomni..."
Kinger gently pulled her a little closer.
His voice was calm.
Protective.
"It wasn't your fault."
"It was! If I'd just talked to him... if I'd pushed a little harder..."
Her hands started trembling uncontrollably.
After months of endless overthinking, her pupils had become little more than messy scribbles.
"If I'd just been more stubborn..."
"No, Pomni."
Kinger's voice grew firmer.
It wasn't a scolding.
It was the voice of a father trying to ease his daughter's pain.
"None of this was your fault. Not yours... not anyone's.
Don't let this eat you alive, my dear."
Pomni looked up at him.
The tears still refused to stop.
In the end, she buried her face against Kinger's chest, as though, just for a moment, he could shield her from everything that still haunted her heart.
...
After several long, agonizing minutes, Pomni had cried herself completely to sleep, wrapped in Kinger's purple cloak. He remained seated, quietly watching Jax, Ribbit, and Kaufmo play inside the aquarium.
He frowned slightly before lowering his gaze to Pomni.
He looked exhausted.
"I'll do everything I can, Pomni..."
Carefully, he tucked the cloak around her a little tighter before lifting her into his arms as if she were a small child. He left the aquarium without waking her and slowly made his way to the main room.
The others were already there.
"Did it happen again?" Ragatha asked, unable to hide the concern in her voice. "I'm worried about her..."
"There's nothing to worry about, Ragatha. She's just exhausted..."
Kinger looked away.
It wasn't that he minded helping Pomni through her grief.
It was simply that...
He was carrying far too much on his own shoulders as well.
"Were you at least able to make any progress with... your plan?" Gangle asked quietly while continuing to sketch, leaning comfortably against Zooble.
"Not yet. Though thanks to Caine, I managed to gather more information about the brain scanner. It's heavily corrupted... but I think I can restore it."
As he spoke, he absently rubbed the back of his neck before sitting down on the nearby couch.
Zooble watched Pomni for a few seconds and sighed.
"I'll take her back to her room. When she wakes up, we can hang out with her for a while. Keep her distracted."
She stood up alongside Gangle, and together they carefully lifted Pomni into their arms.
The little jester only let out a sleepy grumble before settling comfortably against them again. Her hair was completely messy, her hat was barely hanging on, and the tear stains still marked her cheeks.
"You're going to get through this, Pomni..."
...
A few weeks later
...
"I'm terrible at drawing!"
Pomni whined dramatically as she held up her latest masterpiece.
Gangle let out a small laugh.
"Oh, come on! It's not that bad. It's actually cute. Don't put your own art down."
She genuinely meant it.
She really did.
But the way Pomni had drawn the eyes made it incredibly difficult not to laugh.
Just then, Zooble walked in carrying a small juice box.
They looked at the drawing.
And immediately spit out their drink.
"ZOOBLE!!"
Gangle completely lost it, bursting into laughter.
Zooble's laughter quickly became contagious, and before long Pomni was laughing too.
The three of them enjoyed a peaceful afternoon together.
After all...
Pomni smiled far more often than she used to.
Though she'd also started keeping her distance from Jax.
As though getting too close had become something she was afraid of.
Their laughter was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Zooble went to answer it.
It was Ragatha, carrying a tray filled with food for all three of them.
"Thanks for the food, Ragatha."
The rag doll simply smiled.
"You don't have to thank me! Just have fun and make sure you eat!"
Pomni looked up.
But as her eyes wandered toward the doorway, they landed on the large X still painted across Jax's door.
Her smile faltered ever so slightly.
Did she miss him?
Before she could dwell on the thought any longer, Gangle held out a cheesy bread roll toward her.
"Pomni... are you okay?"
The jester simply nodded before taking a small bite.
"I'm fine."
...
The days began passing much faster.
They no longer felt like endless nights or hollow days that refused to end.
Pomni spent more time with everyone else. She laughed, played games, and tried to keep moving forward.
And yet...
Her eyes always drifted back toward the pillow fort.
Imagining Jax walking out with a yawn, stretching lazily with that carefree expression he always wore.
She'd noticed something else, too.
Kinger disappeared for hours at a time alongside Caine.
He always visited Jax first, and afterward the two of them would lock themselves away without telling anyone what they were doing.
It sparked every bit of her curiosity.
She was nosy.
She wasn't about to deny it.
Still, she tried not to think about it too much.
Meanwhile, with Caine's help—and thanks to the office he now had to work in—Kinger continued his research.
He typed away through countless files when Caine suddenly pointed at one of them.
Kinger studied it for a moment.
"And what's this, Caine?"
"That's the user registry."
The floating set of teeth answered as he sat down beside him.
"It stores every user's physical and mental code."
Kinger fell silent for a few moments.
"Then... why didn't you ever use it to bring the Abstracted back?"
Caine lowered his gaze.
"I couldn't. Every time I tried changing anything... I only made things worse."
"I see."
Kinger smiled gently before giving him a light pat on the head.
Caine immediately smiled back, clearly delighted by the gesture.
Kinger opened the file.
Caine had been right.
The data was completely corrupted.
After figuring out how the system worked, he began writing new lines of code.
But first...
He needed a test subject.
Since all the other Abstracted were together...
His only option was Queenie.
It hurt to use his own wife as an experiment.
But she was always calm whenever he was nearby.
Kinger lowered his head.
Watching Pomni shatter after losing someone reminded him far too much of himself.
He had shattered too when he lost Queenie.
He had simply never allowed himself to show it.
To him, everyone in the circus was like his children.
His precious family.
Watching one of them suffer in silence broke his heart.
He would do anything to see her smile again.
"Caine... I need to connect this to your head."
Caine stepped closer, a little uncertain.
He still felt nervous being near Queenie's Abstracted form after everything that had happened.
"It'll probably feel a little uncomfortable... but that's normal."
Caine simply nodded.
He looked at the towering Abstracted standing before him.
She returned his gaze calmly.
There was no resentment left in her eyes.
Almost as though she understood he had changed.
The moment Kinger connected the first cable, Caine's system opened automatically.
His eyes turned completely blue, glowing like a computer screen.
Kinger attached two more cables and connected them directly to the main monitor.
"Queenie... forgive me if something goes wrong..."
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"...my love."
The towering Abstracted simply looked back at him with the same quiet calm she always had.
Kinger got to work.
He tried restoring the code.
Once.
Nothing.
Twice.
Nothing.
Three times.
Four.
Five.
It still failed.
"Come on... something has to be wrong here..."
he muttered, rubbing his tired eyes.
He was completely exhausted.
Even Queenie had fallen asleep after standing there for so long.
"What if you just copy all the code into a brand-new file? This one's way too corrupted."
Kinger looked up.
Caine was right.
It made perfect sense.
"You're right... let's try again."
He started over from scratch.
Hours continued to pass.
Kinger was seriously considering taking a break.
Pushing himself any further would only lead to mistakes.
But when he finally pressed Enter...
A brilliant white light flooded the entire room.
"Ah!"
Kinger threw both arms over his eyes.
When the light finally faded, he slowly opened them again.
He blinked several times.
Then looked up.
Standing before him...
...was a chess queen.
"Kinger..."
Her voice was soft.
Filled with disbelief.
"You did it..."
"Queenie!"
Kinger didn't think twice.
He shot up from his desk and wrapped her in the tightest embrace he could manage.
The two of them remained there for several long moments.
Completely forgetting Caine was still in the room.
"Uh... I... think I'll just... go..."
Caine mumbled as he began disconnecting the cables.
But before he could leave...
Someone gently grabbed his hand.
It wasn't Kinger.
It was Queenie.
With a warm smile, she pulled him into the embrace as well.
Caine froze.
Then...
A single tear slipped from one of his eyes.
And without saying a word, he quietly melted into the hug.
...
"So let me get this straight... You're telling me I got Abstracted, Caine died and then came back to life... How is any of that supposed to make sense? You're as crazy as ever, Kinger..."
"Caine... play the video for him."
Kinger sat down beside Jax. He looked exhausted. He'd already told the same story three times, and the idiot still didn't understand...
Or maybe he just refused to believe it.
Caine nodded and set up the recording.
The moment the video started, Jax's ears perked up when he heard his name...
And then, a few seconds later...
His real name.
For a brief instant, the mask he always wore cracked.
He felt completely exposed.
Hearing his own story...
Learning that he was a copy...
The sarcastic grin vanished from his face.
"This is a joke... right?"
"Jax, every word of this is real. Your code was simply much more fragmented than everyone else's. I couldn't restore all of it, which is why there are things you can't remember."
"I..."
He swallowed.
His eyes widened, his pupils shrinking to tiny pinpricks. His hands began to tremble as he slowly stood up.
"No way... And... you can't make me remember?"
"No. Unfortunately, I can't recover memories that your own corrupted code erased."
Silence settled heavily over the room.
Kinger let out a long sigh before speaking again.
"Jax... for months, she slept beside you while you were corrupted."
Jax froze.
"...What?"
"She came to see you every single day. She brought you food. She cried for you more times than I can count."
...
"I'm not asking you to love her.
I'm just asking you...
Please don't hurt her."
Jax clicked his tongue in annoyance.
That wasn't his problem.
He turned sharply, opened the door, and slammed it shut behind him.
He was angry.
None of this made any sense.
Why was his memory the only one that was broken?
Why could everyone else remember...
Except him?
He lowered his gaze to his chest.
Without meaning to, he remembered the feeling of Pomni resting her cheek against him.
That feeling...
A mixture of restrained affection and overwhelming emotion that somehow left him breathless.
And yet...
He also felt nostalgic.
"...Tch."
He clicked his tongue again.
"What a load of crap..."
He tried to push the thought away.
He couldn't.
So he wandered aimlessly through the circus instead.
Some things hadn't changed.
Others were completely different.
Everything somehow felt...
Warmer.
Without realizing it, he eventually stopped in front of the pillow fort.
He frowned.
He had no idea why he'd ended up there.
Slowly, he stepped inside.
The smell of spaghetti mixed with damp fabric filled his nose.
It was a little disgusting...
But at the same time...
Strangely familiar.
A feeling he didn't remember ever having.
And yet...
It felt as though it had always been there.
He looked around.
The inside was dimly lit.
Empty plates were scattered everywhere.
Terrible drawings covered the walls.
Small handwritten notes were tucked between the pillows.
Curious, he picked one up.
"I'll never leave you alone, Jax :)"
He grabbed another.
"I'll always love you."
He stood perfectly still.
An unfamiliar emptiness settled inside his chest.
Like a piece of himself was missing.
Like something was desperately trying to break free...
Only to remain trapped behind a door he couldn't open.
He growled under his breath.
Tore the note in half.
And let it fall to the floor.
He picked up another
"Whenever you need help, ask me."
Then another.
And another.
With every word he read, a sense of peace settled over him unlike anything he'd ever felt inside the circus.
Had he really forgotten something this important?
Had that little jester really waited all that time for him?
His eyes wandered.
Then he noticed a piano.
His ears perked up.
Another note rested on top of it.
"Someday, learn more songs... just like you always wanted."
Jax frowned.
He had never told anyone he knew how to play the piano.
So then...
Had this really been his room?
He shook his head.
Picking up the instrument, he settled it across his lap before sitting down on the floor.
He switched it on.
The small screen in the center glowed blue.
"It's been a while since I've played..."
Silence.
His fingers rested on the keys.
The first note echoed softly through the fort.
Without realizing it, he began to purr as the melody carried him away.
*"I don't know what the trouble's been..."*
*"But it's so much to get over you..."*
*"You're much too much to get over..."*
The soft jingle of bells entering the fort made him stop singing.
He looked up.
Pomni.
"Is that... the second song you know?" she asked quietly, not daring to step any closer.
Then she noticed the torn notes.
One of them lay ripped in half on the floor.
For just a moment...
The little light still lingering in her eyes faded.
But she didn't say anything.
"How do you know so much about me?" Jax asked, his voice rougher than usual, clearly embarrassed she'd caught him singing.
"Because... we were friends."
"And how did *that* happen?"
He frowned with genuine curiosity.
His usual mask had slipped back into place.
But it could no longer hide all of his doubts.
"I don't know. I'm not even sure we really were friends. You always said we weren't...
...but your actions said otherwise."
Pomni slowly walked over before sitting beside him.
"We sang Daisy Bell together... during the gun adventure. We teamed up."
Jax stared at her.
Why did every word sound so familiar?
Suddenly—
A sharp pain tore through his head.
He winced.
A faint glitch rippled across part of his body.
It felt as though something buried deep inside his code was fighting to keep those memories locked away.
"Jax, are you okay?" Pomni asked, alarmed.
He looked back at her.
Setting the piano on the floor, he stood up while pressing a hand against his head.
"...Yeah.
I just...
Need some rest."
He didn't wait for a reply.
He simply walked out of the fort.
And once again...
He left Pomni sitting alone among the pillows.
...
About three days passed.
Jax was still the same jerk as always, though he had stopped shoving Gangle to the ground just because he felt like it. He was still obnoxious, still sarcastic...
But something was different.
He seemed calmer somehow, as if the anger he'd been carrying no longer exploded over every little thing.
"You're way too slow!" Jax shouted impatiently, waving his arms dramatically to hurry Ragatha along.
"Oh, shut up, Jax!" she shot back from the other side of the court.
She swung at the ball.
A little too hard.
THWACK!
The ball slammed directly into the rabbit's face, knocking him flat onto his back.
For a couple of seconds...
No one said a word.
Then—
"HAHAHA! Your Abstracted self was way nicer than you, dude!" Ribbit cackled, leaning against the railing.
Jax slowly sat up, one hand covering his nose, which had turned slightly red from the impact.
"And what business is it of yours?"
The irritation immediately returned to his face just as Ragatha hurried over.
"Sorry... I think I hit it a little too hard..."
Jax looked down at the hand she was offering him.
He stared at it for a few moments.
Then he simply stood up on his own, leaving Ragatha awkwardly frozen with her hand still outstretched.
He noticed something strange.
She had changed too.
She no longer carried that painfully forced kindness she'd always shown before.
Now...
It felt genuine.
That still didn't stop him from replying the way he always did.
"Uh-huh, suuuure... *You* hit it too hard. What a huuuge accident, doll."
Ragatha clenched her jaw.
She took a deep breath.
A very deep breath.
"Jax..."
"Jax!"
A woman's voice made him turn around.
Queenie.
The chess queen stood there with her arms crossed, wearing an expression that promised absolutely nothing pleasant.
Over the past few days, she'd spent quite a bit of time talking to him.
Almost like little therapy sessions.
She'd listened to his story.
She understood the anger he'd carried since childhood.
The abandonment.
The loneliness.
But understanding someone was never the same thing as excusing them.
"What did we talk about, young man?" she asked calmly, though there was no mistaking her disappointment.
Jax rolled his eyes.
"Don't you dare disrespect me, Jax Leroy."
The rabbit's ears shot upright the moment she used his full name.
He let out a long, defeated sigh.
"...Not to treat the girls badly."
"And?"
"...Not to disrespect anyone."
Queenie smiled, satisfied.
"That's right. Now go stand in the corner."
"...What?"
"Go think about what you did."
"I'm in my twenties."
"And you're behaving like you're eight."
Jax let out the most dramatic groan imaginable.
"This is humiliating..."
"Exactly."
Queenie took him by the hand and started walking.
To everyone's surprise...
Jax didn't resist.
He simply followed, wearing a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance.
Not only because a woman he'd barely known for a week was acting like his mother...
But because she'd just scolded him in front of everyone.
When they reached one corner of the room, Queenie placed a small chair there.
Then she pulled out a little cardboard cone she'd written on with a marker.
TIME-OUT
As naturally as if this were the most ordinary thing in the world, she set it on top of his head.
"Why do you treat me like a kid? You're not even my mom."
"No, I'm not."
She smiled softly.
"But I don't have to be your mother to care about you."
Jax fell silent.
"You're a very rude young man.
And a very bitter one.
I know that.
But that doesn't justify hurting the people who are only trying to get close to you."
She knelt so she could meet his eyes.
"If you keep pushing everyone away...
You'll eventually convince yourself that no one was ever meant to stay."
Jax looked away.
"So what? In the end I..."
He stopped himself.
Queenie's hand rested gently on top of his head once again.
She slowly ran her fingers through his hair with almost absurd gentleness.
Little by little...
The tension left his shoulders.
He looked like he hated the fact that it was working.
"You didn't grow up with good parents.
Or good role models.
I know."
She sat down in front of him.
"But there's a difference between never being taught...
And choosing never to learn."
Jax stayed quiet for several moments.
"...Why you?"
"I don't get people who expect someone to change all by themselves."
Queenie smiled warmly.
"Because I *don't* expect you to do it alone."
Jax slowly lifted his eyes.
"I just want to be here if you ever decide you want to.
No one changes because they're forced to.
They change because they find a reason."
She paused before adding,
"And we want to make sure you never Abstract again."
The rabbit slowly exhaled through his nose.
"...Tch.
Alright...
Queenie."
A small feeling of relief settled in her chest.
It was the first time he'd said her name with genuine respect.
"Five minutes."
She straightened the **TIME-OUT** cone on his head one last time, gave him two gentle pats on the head...
And quietly walked away.
...
By the third minute, one of Jax's ears twitched.
He'd recognize that sound anywhere.
The little bells on Pomni's hat.
"Grounded, huh?"
Jax let out a low groan.
"God... Hey, I'm not allowed to talk to anyone while I'm in timeout."
He turned to look at her.
And again.
That pain.
A sharp stab behind his eyes.
He frowned.
Pomni immediately stopped walking.
"I know... but I still wanted to keep you company for a little while. You look kind of pathetic sitting here all by yourself."
She tried to smile.
When she noticed the look on his face, she instantly assumed she'd done something wrong.
"...Although... if you'd rather I leave..."
Jax looked away.
"Do whatever you want, clown. Your choice."
Without another word, Pomni sat down on the floor beside him.
Not too close.
Just close enough to share the same corner.
She didn't try to make conversation.
She didn't ask any questions.
She simply stared at the same wall he was staring at.
Jax glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.
He thought about telling her to leave.
He didn't.
He wasn't even sure why.
That little jester was unbelievably stubborn.
She always ended up wherever he was.
It was annoying...
At least, that's what he wanted to believe.
Because for some strange reason...
Whenever Pomni chose to stay nearby, the silence didn't feel so heavy anymore.
They remained like that for several minutes.
It wasn't an awkward silence.
It was...
Peaceful.
Strangely peaceful.
When Queenie returned to end his punishment, she stopped before approaching.
She watched them quietly from a distance.
Pomni was rambling about whatever random thought had popped into her head while still staring at the wall.
Jax answered with short remarks.
The occasional sarcastic comment.
And every now and then...
Without even realizing it...
A genuine laugh slipped out.
He wasn't wearing that mocking mask he always showed everyone else.
He was simply...
Being himself.
Queenie smiled to herself.
Maybe Jax still couldn't remember Pomni.
But something deep inside him...
Did.
...
After that day, the rabbit and the little jester grew much closer.
Sometimes they spent the entire day together. Pomni was practically the only person capable of making Jax laugh for real—the kind of laugh that wasn't drenched in sarcasm or mockery.
Everyone noticed.
No one commented on it.
Jax himself felt... strange.
Without realizing it, he always wanted to be around Pomni.
He'd never felt anything like that before.
Not even when he'd been friends with Ribbit.
If Pomni went off to draw with Gangle, he'd "coincidentally" wander by to make some sarcastic remark about the drawings.
If she disappeared into the pillow fort to be alone for a while, he'd magically show up claiming he'd only come to play the piano because it was the only place where nobody bothered him.
There was always an excuse.
He always ended up wherever Pomni was.
Then, one day...
Something strange happened.
The two of them were sitting inside the pillow fort.
Pomni rested her head against Jax's shoulder while he gently played **Daisy Bell** on the little keyboard.
♪ *Daisy... Daisy... give me your answer, do...* ♪
Pomni's voice was barely above a whisper.
Jax smiled without noticing.
Then joined in.
♪ I'm half crazy... all for the love of you... ♪
Their voices blended together.
♪ It won't be a stylish marriage... ♪
♪ I can't afford a carriage... ♪
♪ But you'll look sweet... ♪
♪ Upon the seat... ♪
♪ Of a bicycle built for two... ♪
Then—
It happened.
Jax's hands froze above the keys.
The piano fell silent.
Both of them slowly looked up.
Their eyes met.
For several long seconds...
Neither of them spoke.
"I... uh..."
Jax quickly looked away as a faint blush spread across his cheeks.
The tension felt strange.
Not uncomfortable.
Just...
Different.
Then—
A violent pain shot through his head.
"Goddamn it...!"
He doubled over, clutching his forehead.
"Jax! Oh God! Are you okay? Your headaches have been getting worse..."
Pomni immediately stood up.
But the words died in her throat.
Tiny glitches began crawling across Jax's body like black cracks, flickering beneath his skin before disappearing again.
Her eyes widened in horror.
"What do I do...? I'll get Kinger!"
She turned to run.
She barely managed a single step.
Jax grabbed her wrist.
Pomni froze.
His grip was trembling.
He was struggling just to keep holding on.
His breathing had become ragged, and the glitches continued spreading across his body.
He needed to remember.
He wanted to remember.
Inside his mind...
Only one moment remained.
Pomni smiling.
Their fingers intertwined.
The two of them spinning together while singing that song.
He couldn't get it out of his head.
And it hurt.
It hurt so much.
"I want...
I want to remember you..."
The words came out almost like a plea.
Pomni stood perfectly still.
She had never expected to hear him say something like that.
"Jax... you have to stop. You could become corrupted again... let go of me. I'll get Kinger."
He slowly shook his head.
With his free hand, he pushed the piano off his lap.
Never letting go of her wrist.
Their eyes met once more.
"It hurts...
But I want to."
His voice was barely audible.
"I can't get those memories out of my head...
And it just keeps hurting more."
A painful knot tightened in Pomni's chest.
She didn't know what to do.
"Jax... I..."
She never finished.
His grip around her wrist suddenly went limp.
His fingers slowly slipped open.
His body collapsed forward.
"JAX!"
Pomni barely caught him before he hit the floor.
The rabbit had completely lost consciousness.
Fear rushed through every part of her body.
"KINGER! KINGER!"
Her voice shattered the silence of the circus as she desperately held Jax in her arms.
...
Jax slowly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was the pink ceiling of his room.
His cheeks immediately flushed red.
That color reminded him of something...
Something that had never actually happened.
He slowly sat up, still a little dizzy, when he heard the soft sound of a page turning.
He turned his head.
Ribbit was sitting beside the bed, completely relaxed, reading a book as though nothing had happened.
"Oh. You're awake."
She barely looked up before returning to her book.
"...And you? What are you doing here?"
"They told me to keep an eye on you. I'm the only one who knows how to unlock your room..."
She turned another page.
"...Besides, I didn't have anything better to do."
Jax huffed.
"Well, I'm fine now. You can leave."
"I can't."
Another page turned.
"I have to wait until Pomni or Kinger gets back."
Jax rolled his eyes.
Then he felt a strange tingling in his arm.
He looked down.
A dark mark stretched across part of his skin.
His breath caught.
His pupils shrank.
"...No."
He instinctively scooted backward, his breathing quickly turning into panicked gasps.
"Hey."
Ribbit immediately set her book aside and hurried over.
She gently grabbed his shoulders.
"Easy. It's okay."
"...Am I...
Am I going to Abstract again?"
His voice trembled.
He frantically rubbed at the mark on his arm, as if he could erase it with his own hand.
"No! Of course not."
Ribbit shook her head firmly.
"Kinger said it's just because of the glitch you had. He's going to fix it. Nobody's going to let you go through that again."
Little by little...
Jax's breathing steadied.
Only when she saw he could breathe normally again did Ribbit let go.
"...Then why do I have this?"
"Because you tried to force memories your code still isn't able to recover."
She sat back down on the bed.
"So just let Kinger do his job."
Jax muttered under his breath.
"...But..."
Ribbit glanced toward one of the walls.
A smile immediately spread across her face.
"Look at that."
Jax followed her gaze.
An entire wall was covered in photographs.
Many of them were of him.
With Pomni.
With everyone.
Tiny memories from life in the circus.
"...Looks like you really did miss us after all."
She picked up one of the photos.
It showed Jax standing beside Pomni.
A laugh escaped her.
"You've even got pictures with her."
Heat crept up the back of Jax's neck.
He didn't answer.
"I can help you remember, too...
Without making your head explode."
He looked at her with cautious hope.
Though suspicion quickly returned.
"...Why would you do that?"
Ribbit burst out laughing.
"Oh, Jax..."
She lightly flicked his forehead.
"You seriously need to stop assuming everyone's out to get you.
I've never lied to you."
He sighed.
"...Fine, Miss Smartass."
Crossing his arms, he leaned back.
"Talk."
Ribbit settled into a more comfortable position.
"It all started when you showed up at the aquarium. Our Abstracted minds were a complete mess...
But there was one thing we never forgot."
She smiled.
"You always arrived happy."
Jax frowned slightly.
"You'd bring food Pomni had made for you, toys, random little things...
You looked like a puppy getting its favorite treat."
One of Jax's ears twitched.
"She came almost every day.
Sometimes she'd spend hours just watching us.
Sometimes she'd cry.
Sometimes she'd simply sit in front of the glass without saying a word.
But every single time you showed up..."
Her smile softened.
"...her eyes lit up."
Silence lingered between them.
"And you never stopped talking about her, either."
Jax blinked.
"...Me?"
"Yep."
Ribbit grinned.
"You'd tell us she was bringing your favorite food, that she slept beside you in the fort, that she always came back even after you shoved her away."
She laughed.
"Kaufmo and I teased you constantly because you looked completely lovestruck."
Jax's ears slowly lowered.
"One day I asked if you'd ever hurt her.
And you told me she was just too stubborn...
That you didn't want anything to do with her."
Ribbit chuckled.
"But that was a lie."
Her smile became warmer.
"It was obvious you cared about her...
Because she was the only person who was never afraid of you."
Another pause.
"She wanted to understand you."
Silence.
"And when you finally became fully Abstracted..."
Her smile faded.
"...she was the only one you could still talk to."
"You told her everything."
"And she didn't run away."
"She stayed."
"Holding you."
Silence settled over the room.
Then...
Jax's tail began thumping against the bed.
Again.
And again.
Faster and faster.
He didn't even realize he was doing it.
Ribbit watched it for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
"Good grief, Jax...
You're terrifying when you get flustered."
Jax slowly lowered his gaze.
The rabbit's tail kept wagging on its own.
"...Are you... happy?"
Jax reacted as though she'd just caught him doing something deeply embarrassing.
"What?! No! Of course not, dummy."
He turned his face away.
"I wouldn't be happy over some stupid story..."
A brief silence followed.
His ears twitched again.
"...So... what happened after that?"
Ribbit couldn't hold back another laugh.
"Why don't you go ask Pomni?"
"She knows that story a lot better than I do."
Jax fell silent, thinking.
Another small glitch crawled across his arm.
He shuddered.
"You should stop trying to force your memories," Ribbit said more seriously. "You might not Abstract again... but you can still keep damaging your code."
Jax let out a long sigh.
"It's just... so frustrating..."
He rubbed a hand over his face.
"It feels like I'm *about* to remember something... and right when I think I've got it..."
"...it disappears."
"It's like having a constant headache."
Ribbit simply looked at him.
She didn't say a word.
She didn't have to.
That look alone was enough.
Jax finally huffed.
"Fine! Fine! I'll go ask her!"
"Really?"
The frog grinned mischievously.
"That's weird... my look never used to work on you."
She looked him up and down.
"Oh, Jax..."
Resting a hand dramatically against her cheek, she sighed.
"That girl's really changed you."
The rabbit's face immediately turned bright red.
He shoved her face away with one hand.
"Oh, shut up..."
He climbed out of bed, still thoroughly embarrassed.
"...By the way... do you know where Pomni is?"
Ribbit stood up beside him.
"Right now? She's helping half the circus."
She smiled knowingly.
"Trying to keep herself busy because a certain rabbit has had her worried sick these past few days."
Jax's ears drooped slightly.
"But don't worry."
She gave his shoulder a light pat.
"The second she sees you walking around again..."
"...I'm sure she'll drop everything."
---
In the end, Jax couldn't find Pomni.
And Ribbit had apparently wandered off with Ragatha to do...
...well, who cared?
Certainly not Jax.
With an annoyed huff, he returned to his pillow fort instead.
He flopped down among the cushions.
He was irritated that he hadn't managed to find the little jester...
And, more than anything...
He was bored.
Closing his eyes, he decided to take a nap.
But the unmistakable jingle of tiny bells made them snap open again.
He sat up slightly as Pomni's silhouette appeared between the blankets.
A faint blush crept across his cheeks.
Almost immediately, he forced his usual carefree expression back into place.
"Oh... there you are."
"Ribbit told me you'd woken up and had been looking for me."
Her voice was calm.
Much calmer than the last time they'd spoken.
Just seeing her there seemed to ease something inside him...
Though he'd never admit it.
Jax shifted into a sitting position among the pillows.
His tail swished excitedly from side to side beneath a blanket, desperately trying to hide itself.
"...Yeah."
"I was looking for you..."
he muttered, as though every word cost him an enormous amount of effort.
"It's just..."
"Ribbit told me some things..."
"...about when I was Abstracted."
Pomni froze.
A soft blush spread across her face, and a tiny spark returned to her eyes, as though those simple words had brightened her entire day.
She walked over and sat beside him, leaving only a few inches between them.
"...What did she tell you?"
Curiosity barely managed to hide the hope she was trying so hard to contain.
Jax looked away, one ear folding forward.
"She said I was always happy..."
"That I talked about you all the time."
"That you slept beside me every night..."
"That you came to see me every day..."
"That you'd spend hours sitting outside the aquarium watching us..."
He hesitated before continuing.
"...That even when I got mad at you..."
"...you still stayed."
Silence settled between them.
Jax slowly turned toward her.
"...Is that..."
"...true?"
Pomni lowered her gaze, hugging her knees.
She was still smiling.
But it was a sad smile.
"...Yeah."
"It is."
"I went to see you every night."
"We slept together..."
"Other times I'd just sit there and tell you about my day."
"I'd draw... listen to music..."
"...even though I never knew if you actually understood me."
Her voice gradually began to crack.
"You were really affectionate, too..."
A strange heaviness settled in Jax's chest.
Another small glitch flickered across his arm.
He ignored it.
"...I still don't understand."
His voice had grown much quieter.
"I'm still the same idiot..."
"So why did you try so hard..."
"...for someone like me?"
Pomni looked up.
Her eyes shimmered with tears.
But this time...
She wasn't crying.
She was simply speaking with a sincerity that made it impossible to look away.
"Because you were you, Jax."
He froze.
"Because underneath all that attitude..."
"...I saw someone who was terrified."
"Terrified of being used."
"Terrified of trusting people."
"Terrified of letting himself be vulnerable."
She took a slow breath.
"And because you matter to me."
"After everything..."
"...you're still going to matter to me."
Jax opened his mouth.
Not a single word came out.
It was the fourth time that girl had managed to leave him speechless.
His ears stood completely upright.
His pupils were huge.
The blush had spread across nearly his entire face.
He tried to hold her gaze for a few seconds...
Then awkwardly looked away, clearing his throat.
His hand even drifted a few inches toward hers...
Before stopping itself.
"I seriously can't believe you're this stubborn..."
A small laugh escaped him.
A real one.
Pomni couldn't help laughing too.
Little by little...
The tension filling the fort melted away.
"...I'd like to remember you."
The little jester let out a quiet sigh.
Gathering her courage, she rested her head against his shoulder once more...
Just like she had so many times before.
"You don't have to remember everything all at once..."
Her eyes drifted to Jax's hand.
"We can get to know each other again..."
She paused.
"...If that's what you want."
Once again...
Jax fell completely silent.
*God...*
*That clown always found a way to leave him speechless.*
He let out a quiet breath, caught somewhere between embarrassment and resignation.
But he didn't move away.
If anything...
He leaned just a little closer.
For the first time since waking up...
He felt a kind of peace he hadn't realized he'd been missing.
Very slowly...
Almost shyly...
Their hands moved toward each other.
They didn't intertwine their fingers.
They simply hooked their pinkies together.
It was the smallest of gestures...
Yet somehow...
It meant far more than any embrace ever could.
Maybe soulmates don't always remember each other.
Maybe...
Even after forgetting everything...
They always find their way back to one another.
In comfortable silence, they both found themselves wondering whether the people they had once been—outside the circus—had ever met.
And if they had...
They hoped they had been happy.
...
The apartment was a complete mess.
The queen-sized bed was still unmade. Clothes were scattered across the floor, a forgotten coffee mug sat on the nightstand, and a towering stack of pizza boxes had clearly been there far longer than either of them would ever admit.
Sitting in front of the TV, a young man ate a bowl of cereal as though the chaos surrounding him was simply part of the décor. He lazily flipped through channels with an expression of complete boredom.
From the bathroom came the sound of running water and the steady hum of a hairdryer.
"Babe!" shouted the dark-haired young man, his bangs covering part of his face as he wandered through the apartment in wrinkled pajamas.
"What is it...?" a sleepy young woman called back from the bathroom while brushing her teeth. Her hair was just as messy as she hurried to get ready for work.
"I love you!!"
Silence filled the apartment for a moment.
A smile spread across the young woman's face.
"I love you too, Leeroy!"
she laughed back, still speaking through a mouthful of toothpaste foam.
"Heh! You're so cringe, Abby!"
"Oh, look who's talking!"
...
The End.