Chapter Text
Jax squeezed Pomni’s hand with an unexpected tenderness before he let go.
He was almost as surprised as she was.
Pomni studied his face with admiration. His mask was nowhere to be seen. Jax looked… cute like this. Also a bit nervous, almost shy, like he had no idea what he was doing. That arrogant swagger completely vanished, leaving a lost and clueless man standing before her.
Jax cleared his throat. “Pomni,” he began, a bit more control and confidence in his voice now. “I was trying to tell you something, but you were making it hard to focus with those big, dumb eyes of yours.”
Pomni’s brow furrowed, but she let him continue.
He crossed his arms.
“Say this was a date. Hypothetically, of course. And let’s pretend I did have a good time with you. Would you wanna come back to my room with me afterwards?”
Pomni felt a wave of relief from the so called “hypothetical” question.
“Hmm. Well, I would say that sounds great. Juuust as long as my date won’t insult me again,” she said playfully.
Jax gave an amused smirk. “No promises.”
“Alright, you’re really asking for it-“
They fell back into their comfortable banter as they left the theatre- teasing, joking, laughing.
Pomni caught that smile of his again. That rare, genuine smile that melted her heart the very few times she’s seen it.
She wondered if she was the only person to have seen it in years.
Jax was nearly clueless that this is something she even noticed, let alone kept track of.
All he knew is that with her, he felt alright.
——————
The two laid side by side, quietly staring at the glowing stars that adorned Jax’s ceiling.
There was tension between them; nothing uncomfortable, more so just waiting for the other to address the obvious feelings they were sharing.
Finally, Pomni broke the silence.
“Sooo… Jax?”
Jax peeked over at her.
He hated the feeling she gave him.
Such a weird, foreign, terrifying feeling.
He hated how her voice made him weak. How her eyes made him queasy, how her smile made his non-existent lungs heave.
He took a deep breath, having an idea of what she was probably about to say.
“What’s up, Pomni?”
She turned her head to him and their eyes met, and all those weird feelings inside of Jax amplified.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“Okayyy… for?”
Pomni giggled, “For having me here, I guess. For making me laugh and smile and everything. I dunno, I’m just really, really happy I have you in… this place.”
Jax’s pupils grew at her words, and he turned away from her.
That feeling. That feeling he hated.
He kept his eyes glued on the stars above him.
She felt that anxiety of rejection creeping up.
“Sorry, I just… I thought-“
Jax let out a sigh, one that Pomni assumed it was of annoyance.
She knew that being soft with him like this had its risks, but she wanted to believe the fact that he went as far as to invite her into him room told her enough about how he really felt.
I shouldn’t have said that.
Jax is just going to push me away again
We will be back at square one
Why did I -
Her thoughts were interrupted-
Jax held her face, an uncharacteristic gentleness from his hand as his giant eyes peered into hers.
“Uh, Jax-“
Is he about to…
She closed her eyes in anticipation of what she thought was about to come.
“Pomni?” Jax said.
She was really starting to like the way he says her name.
She opened her eyes slowly.
“I have another question for ya,” he mumbled. “What would you do if someone… I dunno, kissed you right now?
…oh yeah, that’s another hypothetical question by the way.”
Pomni closed her eyes again with a laugh,
“I would kiss them back, I guess. Depending on who it is, though.”
She caught another one of those rare glimpses of genuine emotion from his smile right before she felt their lips meet.
It felt so sweet and soft, more than what she thought was possible from him. Sweeter than what she ever thought she could deserve or even find, and it was with him.
She fell deeper into him as they kissed. Their limbs became entangled together, and a warmth filled their entire beings.
It had crossed Pomni’s mind before, wondering what it would feel like to kiss someone in this world. She wasn’t sure if it would even feel like a kiss with these digital bodies.
And well, it was weird. It didn’t feel like a human kiss- well, not physically. But the emotions behind it were unlike anything she’s ever felt, and the same could go for Jax.
All that fear, all of those weird emotions he’d get just from being around her. It was so real. So human, so… terrifying.
But if this is what it felt like to love someone, he didn’t want it to end. That’s what scared him the most.
They held onto each other tighter, until Jax pulled away.
His huge pupils were replaced with dizzy spirals, his breath hitching.
“Are you okay?!” Pomni asked with concern.
“Uhhhh-“ he blinked a few times, shaking his head as his pupils returned to normal.
“I’m. I’m good. Are you okay?”
“I’m more than okay, Jax,” she said with a smile.
“This is… weird,” he said.
“Oh! Do you want to stop? Sorry, I-“
“No! I mean, no, I’m fine. I just… it’s been a while since I…” he stammered, but Pomni listened patiently, her arms still around him.
“Pomni. I told you that was supposed to be a hypothetical question,” he said with a hint of his usual smug attitude.
“Ha ha,” she said sarcastically, “I’m pretty sure you’re the one that kissed me.”
“You’re just making things up, now.”
She laughed again, and put her forehead to his.
“You’re a piece of work, Jax. You know that?”
He closed his eyes again, and nuzzled her gently.
“You know me so well, Pompom.”