Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The second challenge for Tales of the Clandestine Shrine was called "The Road to Milk and Honey." The contestants were attached via a bungee cord to a slicked up, open-topped chute and covered in what was described to be some kind of cursed oil of slipperiness. The goal of this game was for one teammate to collect honey from a beehive or milk from a cow, then slide through the oil of slipperiness to pass the honey or milk jars to their partner, who would then slide to the opposite end of the chute, climb a pillar, then place the jar on an altar as an offering. The team who collected the most milk or honey at the end of three minutes would win a second pendant of undying, while second place would be granted another half pendant.

As with the first challenge, it didn't take long for the chaos to unfold. For one, all the cows turned out to actually be bulls and were thus unmilkable, while the bees were… incredibly aggressive and protective of their hive. As the honey and milk-retriever for the Putrid Pumas, Jax was almost immediately stung all over when he bullied his way into the hive to swipe a honey jar. Kinger was a bit more fortunate, avoiding getting stung because he was content to just sit and chat with the bees. So it wasn't a surprise that Pomni was the first to secure a golden jar and slid her way through the chute to meet Gangle in the middle.

Gangle held onto the honey tightly as she was bungeed back to her side of the chute, then wrapped her ribbons around the pillar to scale it. It was still difficult to get a good grip, being covered in this oil of slipperiness—which felt and smelled a lot like normal olive oil—but her flexible limbs still gave her advantage enough that she was the first to place a honey jar on top of the altar.

The Squeamish Snakes fell into a comfortable rhythm, an easy back and forth between them as they called out words of encouragement to each other. By the time Jax got a jar of honey, the real challenge became meeting Ragatha halfway in the chute, both of them struggling to stay in place with the bungee cords and oil working against them. They snapped at each other as they scrambled, eventually getting one jar of honey onto their pillar. However, at that point, Pomni and Gangle already had four jars, while Zooble and Kinger hadn't moved at all, both content to sit on their respective sides of the chute, so it was pretty clear the Putrid Pumas would come in second again. Jax stopped trying, sulking next to the bull while Ragatha pouted over him just giving up and not even making an effort to work with her.

At the end of the three minutes, Pomni and Gangle were granted their second pendant of undying. The two of them cheered, Pomni's competitive energy infectious as Gangle happily went along with it, soaking up the satisfying rush of victory that was usually unfamiliar for her. Neither of them felt Jax's cold stare, pinprick pupils honing in on their newfound camaraderie like he was trying to pick it apart. Like he could dissect it with a sharpened blade and peel back the artificial layers to prove that at their core there was still nothing there beyond their archetypes.

The third round slowed things down a bit, offering up a mental challenge rather than a physical one. "The Stairs of Smarts" was a stone staircase made up of four levels, with buttons on each step for the teams to step on in order to answer a series of questions. If they answered the questions correctly, then they'd get to move down a step. The first team to the bottom would win yet another pendant of undying.

"Alright, mates. We've got a random assortment of trivia here based on the history of Duke Darius Drakemoor, the fabled Golden Gibubwhatzit, as well as a mystery category. Answer any one of our questions twenty-eight, and your team will get to move down to the next stair. Now, for your first question: Beltane the Small, Duke Darius Drakemoor’s head knight, died after he was kicked in the head by which ornery farm animal?"

Kinger slammed his body on the button. "Twenty-eight!" he hollered, making everyone around him jump.

"N-no." Gummigoo blinked at him. "Sorry, but that's incorrect. Does anyone else want a go—"

"But you said to answer any one of your questions 'twenty-eight,'" Kinger interrupted.

"I… that's not what I meant, mate. I meant that I have a total of twenty-eight questions and answering any one of them will allow you to move forward one step—"

"Oh, so it's a word problem! Nice try, but you can't pull the wool over my eyes! Twenty-nine!" Kinger tried again, brimming with confidence. "Twenty-eight plus one is twenty-nine!"

"Good answer," Zooble hummed approvingly, giving him a pat on the back while he preened.

Pomni stepped on the Squeamish Snake's button. "Uh… a bull?" she guessed, based on the last challenge.

Their step lit up with silver light and a happy chime. "That is correct! Squeamish Snakes, move on down!" Gummigoo beckoned them, then read off the next card. "Next question, mates. Which brass instrument has no valves, keys, or slides with which to change its pitch?"

Ragatha stomped on her button, practically vibrating out of her seams as she shouted out, "Bugle! It's a bugle!" When everyone stared at her unbridled enthusiasm, a light flush dusted her cheeks. "What? Is that weird to know? They're used in horse races…"

"That's correct! Putrid Pumas, you're on the board! It's still anyone's game. Now, for the next question: Duke Darius Drakemoor’s third wife, Tatiana the Bloody, was swallowed by a big gloopy monster how many times in her lifetime? Go ahead, Putrid Pumas." 

"Um… twice?" Ragatha offered up with a shrug.

"Sorry, but that's incorrect. Anyone else?" Gummigoo smiled as Pomni tentatively stepped on her button. "Yes, Squeamish Snakes?"

"Uhh… three times?" she guessed warily, eyes creasing in suspicion.

"Correct again! Squeamish Snakes, if you answer two more questions correctly, this third pendant is all yours!"

"I don't really see how any of this is actually testing our mental capacities when it feels like it's all just one big guessing game," Pomni said.

"From what I remember of a similar show that I watched when I was a girl, we were supposed to get a brief synopsis of Duke Darius Drakemoor’s history and answer questions based on that," Ragatha piped up. "Guess Caine forgot that part."

Zooble rolled their eyes. "Figures."

Gummigoo moved on. "It's no secret that Duke Darius Drakemoor loved Italian food and his favorite was this Italian-American classic dish that was originally made with eggplant back in Italy? Ah, Squeamish Snakes again! Your answer?"

Gangle's eyes were wide, mouth parted in disbelief as her ribbon foot hovered over the button on their step. "It's, um… it's Chicken Parmesan."

"That's correct! Squeamish Snakes, you're only one question away from another full pendant of undying, but it's still anyone's game!"

"What kind of question is that? Why do you even know that?" Jax jeered from two steps back.

"I don't know. I like Chicken Parm sandwiches?" Gangle answered meekly, shoulders hunching up.

"So do a lot of people. Doesn't make them weirdos obsessed with knowing its whole origin story," Jax scoffed. "Besides, I thought you were a weeb. Aren't you supposed to be obsessed with, like, ramen and drinks with balls in them?"

"What, scared of Italian food now, too?" Zooble asked, their smirk audible in their voice.

"Only if it has lots of little holes," Pomni muttered under her breath, Gangle the only one that heard her.

"Like, ditalini or fiori?" Gangle whispered.

Pomni jerked, not expecting a response to her aside. "Uh… maybe? I can't think of what either of those look like off the top of my head," she admitted.

Gangle curled her hand into a really tiny, narrow tube, the size of a thimble. "Ditini is like really mini rigatoni and fiori look like flower-shaped macaroni."

"Then yeah. Probably."

"What are you two whispering about?" Jax snapped.

"Why do you care?" Pomni called back without looking.

"Tch. I don't, but some people might. You seeing this, Zoobie? Your little girlfriend's cheating on you with a clown, how does that make you feel?"

"Like punching you in the teeth to see if that'll finally get you to shut up," they said simply.

Pomni flashed a smug grin over her shoulder at that. "Besides, who said Zooble and I can't share?"

Zooble arched an unimpressed brow. "You sang Daisy Bell outside my room like a creep. You think I'm sharing anything with you?"

"I'm just saying," Pomni lifted her arms in a gesture akin to jazz hands, "Gangle has two hands."

"Oh…" Gangle buried her face in her hands, mask burning as she scrunched up her ribbons tightly.

Pomni's smile turned sheepish. "Sorry, I was just quoting that one meme. Didn't mean to embarrass you."

"I’ll hold your hand, Pomni," Ragatha interjected, while Gangle just muffled a pathetic whine against her satin, refusing to look at anyone.

"'Scuse me, mates, not that this interpersonal drama isn’t fascinating, but we've got a schedule to keep. Next question: What's Caine's favorite color?"

The circus cast fell silent. Pomni glanced at Gangle when she finally peeked up from between her ribbons, but they were both at a loss. A cough from the audience echoed throughout the soundstage as no one offered an answer.

"Anyone want to take a stab at it?" Gummigoo coaxed.

"Fine, I guess. Red?" Jax asked dully.

"You have to step on the button—" Gummigoo was cut off as Jax stomped on the button. "Putrid Pumas, your answer?"

"Red," he repeated tersely.

"I'm sorry, that's incorrect."

Kinger stepped on his button. "Twenty-eight!"

"That's not a color…"

Pomni stepped on their button and motioned for Gangle to try. "Green?" she guessed meekly.

"No. Yellow Bees, one more actual guess?"

"Uh…" Zooble's eyes squinted. "Yellow?"

"Wrong again. Let's just uh… let's just move onto the next question," Gummigoo cleared his throat awkwardly. "What is Caine's favorite book?"

"Motherfucker," Zooble groaned into their palm. "Going to the Dentist, I don't fucking know! Or maybe Cirque du Freak's more fitting."

"This is stupid. I'm not answering this," Jax muttered.

"Oh, come on, Jax. I'm sure we can figure this out. Caine must've mentioned it at some point in all our time here," Ragatha tried. "Maybe he'd like something like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?"

"You think he's reading kids books?" Jax deadpanned.

"Well, I don't know the names of any computer science books or I'd guess those!" she huffed.

"1984," Zooble answered dryly. "Lord of the Flies."

"Maybe I, Robot?" Pomni suggested. "That was a book before it was a movie, wasn't it?"

"A book about bees?" Gangle guessed. "Maybe? I don't know any off the top of my head… All I can think of now is Bee Movie, but that's not a book…"

"The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka," Zooble continued, sounding more hollow and exhausted with each grumbled guess. "It's not a bee, but it's a fucking huge ass bug that the guy had absolutely no choice turning into."

"A bug? Where?" Kinger looked around excitedly, gaze falling on the image printed on Zooble's shirt. "Ahhh! Zooble! There's a bee on your shirt! Whatever you do, don't startle it."

Gummigoo appeared at a loss as he quickly lost control of the entire situation. "…Let's just go to commercial."

Though the teams had to stay separated to avoid any foul play, everyone was free to mill about as they pleased. Gangle and Pomni collectively decided to just sit there on the Stairs of Smarts, still one away from winning this round, too, and further solidifying their position in first place. They both glanced around, Pomni finding Ragatha making her way over to the crafts services table, likely looking for any excuse to get some distance from Jax. Who was sitting off by himself, away from the cameras and crew, looking very much like he was about to crawl out of his own skin. Pomni's mouth pursed into an uncertain frown, unable to look away—unable to help being worried, even if she didn't exactly want to be anywhere near him right now either.

"Hey, Pomni?" Gangle's shy voice tugged her attention away from both members of the Putrid Pumas.

"What's up?"

Gangle fiddled with her hands, pointedly avoiding looking anywhere but at their pointed tips as she twisted them together. "How do you know if someone's… saying what they really feel when they're… under the influence of something?"

Pomni blinked, then leaned forward just enough to see around her. Off to the side of the current set piece, Kinger and Zooble had taken seats in a pair of pop-up folding chairs, the latter trying and failing to appear like they wanted to look anywhere else but at Gangle. As proven when Zooble's gaze slid over to her, only to stiffen when their eyes met Pomni's instead. Pomni arched her brow, silently asking what that was all about. Zooble's eyes quickly darted to Gangle and back, then they shrugged their shoulders in a helpless sort of gesture.

Great, so they didn't have a clue either, but at least that clued Pomni into what Gangle was likely trying to ask in her roundabout, avoidant way.

"Did Zooble say something last night?" she asked gently.

Gangle visibly flinched, shifting to hug her knees for comfort, but she didn't deny it. "It's just that… you know, when Ragatha was on the stupid sauce, she told me that she didn't really mean everything that she said. So I just wasn't sure if that was the same for everyone. I haven't exactly been around people much when they're… not fully themselves? At least not people I consider… friends."

"Well, that's fair…" Pomni glanced back at Zooble, watching the way their foot bounced anxiously even as their gaze was stubbornly focused elsewhere. "I'm sure whatever Zooble said, they didn't mean it either. I guess I just can't imagine them saying anything mean to you though—"

"Oh, they didn't say anything mean!" Gangle hastened to defend them.

Pomni blinked again. "Oh?"

"Mm-mm. No… kinda the opposite really." Gangle's mask turned pink as she hunched up more.

A lightbulb clicked for Pomni. "Oh! Well, what did they say?"

"That they liked being on a team with me. And they… wanted to do it again."

It wasn't nearly the kind of dramatic, drunken confession Pomni had been expecting, and from the way Gangle's blush deepened, she also knew it was a far cry from sounding like anything worth getting worked up over. "Well, that's nice, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but… we didn't win. We lost and I… I didn't even get a single point." Gangle's mouth quivered. "I know they don't really care about adventures or anything, but yesterday… they tried really hard. More than I've ever seen them before. So I guess it's easier for me to think that I must've let them down than believe that they didn't mind losing because of me…"

Pomni nodded, sitting with that explanation for a beat. "Well, if it's any consolation… we won, but… I don't feel good about it. I still feel like we lost, too."

Gangle lifted her head, uncurling a bit to look at Pomni and taking in the dark cloud that passed over her face. "Yeah. It can feel that way. Winning with Jax."

Pomni's eyes widened as she met Gangle's sympathetic gaze, like she hadn't considered the person who'd apparently paired up with Jax on every team adventure before would understand. "Gangle… I'm sorry we went after you guys so hard like that…"

Gangle shook her head. "It was part of the game. It's fine. But… are you okay?"

Pomni shrugged. "I just felt like… I dunno. Like I was making progress with him or something. Like there was something there, deep down, and he was finally starting to trust me enough to let me see it."

"Yeah, he's good at that…" Gangle glanced away, swallowing thickly. "And it's not like there isn't anything there. Nobody can be just one thing, right?"

The lines around Pomni's eyes deepened. "…right."

"So, you know, there is something under all of… that. But I think the problem isn't accepting that he's more than the front that he puts on, but… whether it's worth all of the abuse and putting myself through—" Gangle's voice broke on a sob, burying her face in her hands as her whole body hitched with it, "—what feels like hell just to get through to him. It must take a specific kind of person and that's—that's not me. I'm not—It's not my job."

Pomni looked over at her, shoulders sagging under the weight of a shared sadness. "No, it's not. It's no one's job, really. If he doesn't want to open up to people, that's… that's on him."

"But I think… maybe… if anyone could get through to him, it might be you."

"Huh?"

"He hasn't figured you out yet. I don't think he knows what box to put you in. You still… surprise him. He can't predict you." Gangle's mouth quivered. "And I don't think he knows what to do with that."

"Yeah," Pomni hummed sadly. "Me either."

"Oh, but not that it's your job either! I'm not saying that at all!" Gangle squeaked, eyes round with alarm as she frantically backpedaled, tears swinging as she shook her head. "It's just that… you're a good person, Pomni. You care about everyone. Even the NPCs. Even Jax…" Her voice softened, gaze dropping to the tops of her knees. "And I know sometimes you can't change without somebody else caring about you or just being there. I know that. I know I'm not easy to like either—"

"What? That's not true—" Pomni tried, but Gangle was already shaking her head.

"I'm not. It's okay. I know I'm a lot. This is a lot." She gestured to the big, shining tears clinging to her mask. "And it's not anybody's job to put up with this, especially not Zooble's. I don't want them to feel that way. They're already trapped in this circus, I don't want them to feel like they're trapped with me, too."

"So… what they said last night. About liking being on a team with you… you think they didn't mean it, which means they don't actually like being around you?" Pomni connected the dots outloud, unable to help a small, sad smile when Gangle nodded, only to immediately shake her head.

"No, not exactly. I know they like me. I know they care. We're friends…" Her tears slipped down her mask on either side, one at a time, immediately replaced with new ones. "I guess I just feel like I get so much more out of them being my friend than they get from me being theirs… They deserve better."

"I don't know about that." Pomni mirrored Gangle's posture, propping her chin up with her hand. "From where I'm sitting, I see that they've got someone who cares enough about them to wonder if they feel it. And like you said, you've got some pretty big feelings, Gangle. It's kinda hard not to notice them," she added with a teasing lilt. "Not everyone is lucky enough to get someone like that in their corner. And I think Zooble knows that. I don't think they're the kind of person that would take something like that for granted."

Gangle wiped at her eyes with a sniffle. "I know," she whimpered. "But if they're telling the truth about how much they like being around me, then that means… other things might be true, too…" Like the way they might actually feel about themself.

"Like what Ragatha said at Spudsy's?" Pomni guessed instead, not knowing the full context behind Gangle's conflicted emotions. "Well, I will say, not everyone's going to act the same when they're on something. Ragatha bottles up a lot, so when she was on the stupid sauce, her filters were pretty much nonexistent. I don't think that means she was saying everything she actually feels, though. It's more like… she was a shaken up soda bottle and the stupid sauce twisted the cap, so every thought that ran through her head just poured right out of her with all the bubbles. Like, we've all had passing thoughts we don't actually believe, right? I want to say it was probably something like that.

"Where Zooble is way more comfortable speaking their mind when they don't like something and being openly critical of things, so I think losing their filters wouldn't suddenly make them dishonest. They just don't have the same pressure of bottling everything up, where it feels like they have to say everything all at once, even if they don't mean it."

Gangle's pout turned pensive, twisting to one side as she hummed. The pressure of bottling things up until it all spills out…

"Have you ever had to make that choice? …of course not. You're Zooble."

"But I do know they both really care about you. Zooble especially," Pomni continued. "I'm sure they meant what they said, and I'm sure they would be having fun on a team with you right now. Winning or not." Pomni's smile turned crooked as she tried to meet Gangle's eyes. "I know I am. Does that help?"

With a sniffle, Gangle nodded and wiped at one of her tears. "Yeah, a little. Thanks, Pomni." She glanced over at the gummy gators as they prepared to get back to the show. "How are you feeling about… that, by the way?"

"I don't really know…" Pomni answered, voice pinched as she followed her gaze. "It's different from when we were at Spudsy's. Like, he didn't really play much of a role there other than 'paying customer,' but with this… I don't know. It's just starting to hit me just how much Caine can really mess with stuff."

"Just with the NPCs," Gangle reminded her gently. "Since he created them and all."

"Right…" Pomni murmured.

As the two of them talked, getting ready to get back into the competition, neither felt the piercing, yellow-eyed stare locked onto the backs of their heads as the buzz of white noise in his brain deafened him to everything else.

It was decided that the Squeamish Snakes won the Stairs of Smarts round of the competition as well since they'd answered the most questions correctly, granting them their third pendant of undying. The Putrid Pumas also got another half pendant, considering they were the only other team on the board, bringing them up to one and a half pendants. Which left the Yellow Bees solidly in third place with no pendant pieces whatsoever. Not that either member of that team particularly cared.

"For our next challenge, our teams must face the Murky Moat of Mystery!" Gummigoo announced dramatically, as a fine mist rose up from the wide pool dividing the soundstage in two. "To win, our motley crew must cross this perilous, piranha-infested moat from one side to the other in one piece."

The spotlight glinted off the dark water's surface—the shine of hundreds of fish scales gleaming in the deep between the gaps in several floating, wooden platforms. The narrow planks were arranged in three rows, side by side, and stretched across the moat for at least one hundred feet. They'd have to walk single file to cross, balancing with one foot directly in front of the other if they didn't want to risk rocking the proverbial boat, so to speak.

"Make up your mind, Rags," Jax groaned as the teams went to line up at their respective starting points.

"Just give me a minute, Jax. I know I don't want you behind me… but I don't know that I want you in front of me either," Ragatha fretted aloud.

"Sounds like you just don't want me around at all."

"That's not true!" But she couldn't look him in the eye when she said it. "I'll just go first. I was in gymnastics as a girl, so my balance is pretty decent. Just don't push me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," he replied on autopilot, eyes glazed over as he watched Pomni and Gangle smile at each other, both agreeing to let Pomni go first.

She and Ragatha lined up side by side, with Kinger on Pomni's left. Zooble, Gangle, and Jax settled right behind them.

"Hey, good luck out there," Zooble told Gangle.

She managed a sweet smile back. "You too. Be careful with your wheel."

They both looked down at their wheel foot as she gestured to it. "Eh, I'll be fine. Worst comes to worst, I'll skate across," they said in their usual unenthused drawl, but their eyes crinkled when it got a soft laugh out of Gangle.

"Oh, we should do a roller rink adventure sometime!" Gangle chirped.

"We should not," Zooble groaned, pinching the space between their eyes like it was the bridge of their nose, but a smile still clearly lined their eyes when it garnered a few more giggles from Gangle. "Don't give Caine any ideas." A crafty, cat-like smile curved her mouth despite the glistening tears clinging to her cheeks. "Gangle."

"I'm gonna put it in the suggestion box."

Zooble rolled their eyes with a snort. "You have fun with that. I'll pass."

"What if I asked him to put in an arcade and a snack bar, too? Or other things to do besides skate?" she asked, wiggling from side to side. "It could be fun? Almost kinda like a—" 

"Jeez, would you two get a room already?" Jax interjected. "Last night not enough for you insatiable freaks?"

And just like that, the feeling of normalcy that was finally starting to settle between them was wrenched away. Gangle visibly flinched, tugging on the hem of her t-shirt as she scrunched herself up with a whimper. Zooble, meanwhile, stiffened; their eyebrows suddenly furrowed. The hollow space inside them where their heart should've been echoed with the memory of an anxiety-riddled pulse as it beat out a discordant rhythm in their plastic chest.

"What do you know about last night?" Zooble growled.

Jax arched a brow, the corner of his mouth quirking up as he read Zooble as easily as a picture book. "More than you, apparently."

Zooble refused to be baited. "Like hell you do. You weren't even there."

"At least I remember how I got to my room and who I talked to, right Gangle?" He leaned into Gangle's personal space, leering until she shuffled away from him with a sniffle.

"Jax, would you leave them alone?" Ragatha looked over her shoulder at him. "Just focus on playing the game, please."

"I am. I'm getting in the competition's head." Jax pointed at his own head and twirled his finger. "Not my fault everyone here makes it too easy."

"Well, just… stop," Ragatha requested, though it sounded like it physically pained her.

She glanced at Pomni and Kinger beside her. Some of the tension she carried in her shoulders at having to carry her team loosened when Pomni gave her a sympathetic smile and nod, while Kinger waved enthusiastically at her. Ragatha waved back with her own tight smile, then glanced at the piranha-filled moat stretched ahead of them.

"Well, best of luck, guys," she told them.

"See you on the other side," Pomni replied.

"Teams, on your mark. Get set…" Gummigoo trailed off, watching as Pomni and Ragatha both readied their stances. "Go!"

The platforms were exceptionally buoyant as the Squeamish Snakes and Putrid Pumas stepped out onto them, bobbing on the surface of the murky, mist-covered moat unsteadily as Pomni and Ragatha's weight settled on them. The platforms were wide enough to stand with both feet side by side, but it was easier to keep their balance by placing one foot in front of the other as they slowly shuffled across the first floating platform to the second.

Gangle waited until Pomni was on the next platform before she followed. Her weight did little to disturb the wooden plank, as wispy as she was, so it didn't wobble so much as she delicately tip-toed her way across. Though Ragatha and Pomni were keeping pace with each other pretty easily, Gangle wasn't far behind them.

Over with the Yellow Bees, however, Kinger was distracted by watching the shiny scales of the piranhas lurking just beneath the wooden planks. Zooble didn't rush him, more than satisfied to be stuck on stable ground. Their eyes followed the others, watching the way Jax struggled to keep his balance as he stumbled after Ragatha. Zooble muffled their snort into one of their hands when Jax's lanky limbs flailed as he crossed from one floating plank to the next.

"You're the picture of grace, Jax," they called out to him.

Jax glared at them over his shoulder, then at the distance that was growing between him and Ragatha. With both arms outstretched and core tightened as much as her ragdoll body would allow, she was managing the challenge the best out of everyone. She soon surpassed Pomni with an apologetic smile when the jester nearly fell over from the gentle waves moving the platforms ever so slightly out of sync with one another.

Gangle paused, giving Pomni a second to recover and find her balance again before getting too close. "It's okay, Pomni. You're doing great," she called out, trying her best to sound encouraging while also on the verge of tears. "Take your time. Find your footing."

"Right." Pomni readjusted her stance, mimicking Ragatha's posture as she slowly started forward. "We've got this. We're absolutely not going to fall in and get eaten alive by piranhas. We're fine. This is all fine."

"Hi, Pomni!" Kinger suddenly hopped up on the platform beside her. 

"Waaah!" Pomni nearly leapt right off the platform if Gangle hadn't scurried forward to catch her, her lack of weight hardly disturbing the plank of wood as she steadied her with a ribbon at her waist. "Kinger! How'd you catch up so fast?"

"Catch up to what?" Kinger blinked. "I just wanted to tell you to watch your step. There are piranhas in this water."

Pomni exhaled shakily and shook her head. "Thanks, Kinger. I've got it. You be careful, too, okay?" She glanced back at Gangle and offered a weak thumbs up. "Thanks for the save, partner."

"Oh, uh… don't mention it, p-partner," Gangle replied with an embarrassed giggle.

Pomni's smile warmed a little when she played along, but while facing her, she could also see Jax on the other platform. His gaze was dull and distant, like he'd disengaged from the challenge completely. Except his eyes were locked onto the two of them, pupils fixed so intensely as if he could pin them in place just from looking at them. Pomni's smile faded, concern creeping in as she quickly averted her own gaze. Her worry at war with a general wariness as the echoes of their fight rattled in her head.

"C'mon. We've still got the best shot at winning. You can keep your balance way better than Jax," Pomni told Gangle, taking a couple of steps away from her. "I just need to stay focused."

"I'll spot you if you need it," Gangle offered, this time sticking closer since she didn't seem to be disrupting Pomni's sense of balance by being on the same wooden board as her.

"Thanks. I don't think I'd be so nervous if it wasn't for the piranhas," she laughed sheepishly. "Just something about being ripped apart by a lot of really sharp teeth… you know?"

Gangle nodded, the edges of her mask softening with gentle understanding. "I don't blame you. I don't even want to think about—"

A shove from behind knocked her off balance. With a yelp, Gangle stumbled sideways. Her nonexistent insides lurched as she flailed for something to grab, but there was nothing within reach. She could only fall.

Ahead of her, Pomni paused and glanced back over her shoulder, eyes wide as she realized what had happened to her teammate. Gangle hit the water with the softest splash—only to be completely overrun with the vicious, snapping jaws of swarming piranhas within seconds.

"Oh my god! Gangle!" Pomni shrieked as she tried to turn around to help, while Jax slipped on ahead to take the lead. "Jax, you asshole!"

"What? She slipped and fell! Not my fault she's as clumsy as she is spineless."

"Oh," Kinger blinked at the rush of piranhas convening on the spot where Gangle fell in, wobbling in place a little as Zooble suddenly side-stepped around him, a steadying hand keeping him upright even as they tried to look past him to see what had happened.

"Shit," they hissed, eyes wide as they bolted forward on their own plank. "Gangle!"

Hundreds of gnashing teeth ripped her to shreds. Her shirt didn't protect her, the gray fabric devoured within seconds of falling in. Scraps of red ribbons didn't even have a chance to float to the surface as they were torn from her body. Trapped beneath the water, bubbles burst from Gangle's mouth, forced open in a never-ending scream as she was pulled apart by piranhas.

Pomni dropped to her knees on the narrow plank, frantically scanning for some way to reach her. Zooble stumbled to a stop just opposite her. They watched her hesitate to plunge her own arms in, knowing whatever passed for flesh on the jester's body would be peeled away in seconds. So they didn't hesitate to pop their left arm out of its socket.

"Pomni!" they hollered, their only warning before they chucked their arm at her.

With a gasp, Pomni fumbled to catch it, bobbling it between her hands before securing a good grip. "A-are you sure—?"

"Just hold it so I can grab her!" they snapped, their disconnected hand still clenching itself into a tight fist.

Nodding quickly, Pomni winced as she plunged Zooble's arm into the swarm. Sharp teeth immediately embedded themselves in their plastic, gnawing on their limb like ravenous dogs would a bone. Zooble sucked in a sharp breath, eye twitching as they tried to focus through the pain that drove deep into their arm. The one still attached grabbed at their empty socket, fingers clinging to their yellow t-shirt as they swallowed down their pained grunts. They blindly felt through the water, smacking away any fish that got in the way of their search. From above, Pomni tried to angle the arm where she could see the most red, but it was hard when the piranhas were trying to wrench it out of her grasp.

A strained whimper slipped out, immediately followed by the piercing bleat of Caine's censor as Zooble swore, both eyes squeezed shut against a sudden, sharp burst of pain radiating all along their arm. But then a tiny flutter brushed against Zooble's palm, weakly curling around their thumb. Their fingers clamped around it with a tight squeeze as their eyes snapped open. 

"I've got her!" Zooble cried out.

"That's all well and good, Zooble, but what about Gangle?" Kinger asked, hopping up beside them.

Pomni grunted as she tried to yank Zooble's arm out of the water, fighting against the incessant tugging of the teeth still biting into the plastic and the ribbons it held in its fist. She cried out as more piranhas leapt up out of the water to snap at the air, a couple of them latching onto the top part of Zooble's arm to chew on their bicep. Pomni shook them off, fighting to stand and get more distance between her and the water. Reeling back, she finally pulled Zooble's arm free from the piranhas, along with a tangled, tattered heap of red ribbons.

Gangle landed with a limp splat on the plank, her mask cushioned by the sopping wet fabric of her body. Or what was left of it. Pomni covered her mouth on a dry heave, accidentally dropping Zooble's dismembered arm onto the plank. It twitched, but still kept a hold of Gangle's hand even as it flipped Pomni off.

"Sorry," Pomni croaked out, trying to swallow her nausea as she hovered over Gangle's mangled body, only to flinch back when the ribbons tried to lift themselves up. "Oh, Gangle…"

Where the spiral shape that made up her body usually coiled, there was a gaping hole as her ribbons drooped from being ripped open. Her left arm was missing entirely; only a tiny, frayed stub flicking in the air as though she was trying to use the phantom limb to push herself up. Her right arm was disconnected from her chest piece, looking much like an approximation of a dislocated shoulder as it sagged. There were several more holes inside her, frayed satin completely torn from itself, leg hanging on by a literal thread. It almost seemed impossible that she could hold any kind of shape with what was left of her, but the physics of the circus never really made sense from the start.

However, despite everything else, her tragedy mask was still intact; not a single crack against the porcelain.

"Gangle?" Zooble panted, brow creased as they tried to get a good look at her, the hand still holding hers squeezing in the hopes she'd squeeze back.

"I'm okay…" A broken whisper floated through the air, only to hitch as Gangle's empty gaze fell on the hundreds of deep teeth marks in Zooble's arm and a rubber nub where their pinky finger should've been. "Oh," she whimpered, voice suddenly thick with tears as the stub of her left shoulder twitched helplessly. "Your arm."

"My arm's fine. Don't worry about that. What about you? What hurts?" Zooble demanded.

"Think a better question might be what doesn't hurt," Pomni murmured, slowly assessing the damage. "Gangle, you're shaking."

"Your arm," Gangle blubbered, still staring at all the deep-set pock marks marring their limb, edges of each little indent sharp and jagged and easy to snag on satin. She could feel so many of them against her hand just on their palm and fingers alone. "Y-your arm—"

"Forget about my arm! It doesn't matter!"

But Gangle only wept, tears mingling with the moat water dripping from her mask as she crumpled in on herself with a sob.

The low rumbling of a motorboat approached them, with Gummigoo and a mannequin wearing a nurse's cap aboard it. "Looks like you've run into a bit of snag here," the host said into his mic, surveying the ever-traumatized looking Pomni, Gangle's tattered remains, and the dismembered arm that didn't hesitate to direct another extremely rude and censored gesture his way, too. "Ah. Right. Er, Squeamish Snakes? I'm afraid you're disqualified from the competition considering one of you is… well… physically incapable of competing. Sorry about that. The medic here will escort you back to safety. See if they can't patch you up a bit."

Pomni's eyes creased in disbelief. "Her arm was chewed off by piranhas."

"Yes, well…" He coughed, then smiled sheepishly. "That's what the waivers are for?"

"We didn't sign any waivers!" Zooble growled at him. "We didn't agree to any of this!"

"As for the Yellow Bees," Gummigoo continued, wincing as he read off the teleprompter, ignoring Zooble's complaints, "I'm afraid you've also been disqualified for… unsportsmanlike conduct."

"What?" Zooble stared at him incredulously.

"Wait, what did Zooble do? They were just trying to help save Gangle," Pomni defended.

"Exactly. Assisting another team during a competition is strictly against the rules since it can be considered as providing them with an unfair advantage. Otherwise known as cheating," Gummigoo explained.

"The fuck do you mean 'cheating?'" Zooble demanded. "Jax pushed her into a pool of piranhas on purpose! How's that not cheating?"

"Well, because the point of the challenge is to win," Gummigoo replied with a shrug.

"Oh my god." Zooble pinched the space between their eyes with a low groan. "Fine. Whatever. Disqualify our asses. Jax wins again. What else is new?"

Gangle curled in on herself. "I'm sorry," she sniffled and the hand she was still holding stiffened, just like the rest of Zooble over on the other platform as their visible frustration faltered, then squeezed their fingers around her in an attempt to comfort her; thumb rubbing gentle circles along the grain of her wet ribbon, until the holes bitten into the plastic caught and snagged. "I'm so sorry—"

"Hey, it wasn't your fault," Pomni reached out to her, too, but didn't quite know where to touch that wouldn't hurt when so much of her was in tatters, especially when she just shrunk away, making herself even smaller. "Come on, let's just get you on the boat."

"Hold on a minute. We've just received word from our producers," Gummigoo interrupted. "Since only one member of the Squeamish Snakes is too injured to continue in the competition and one member of the Yellow Bees is the only one who cheated, there is an option for the remaining contestants to make a team of their own and finish the rest of the game!"

"Oh? Well, isn't that thoughtful of them?" Kinger said with a smile scrunching his eyes.

"Though it would be with a one pendant deduction due to the Yellow Bees' conduct."

"Fuck you." Zooble glowered.

"So it's still anyone's game," Gummigoo offered with a hesitant grin, looking to Pomni. "Whaddya say, sheila?"

"Well…" 

Pomni glanced at Gangle, then over her shoulder where Jax and Ragatha had already made it to the other side of the moat. With Jax directly behind her, Ragatha hadn't been able to turn back for them when Gangle fell in, but she watched the commotion now with her hands clasped over her mouth, looking completely distraught by the fate that befell her friends. Jax was watching them, too, as he twirled his prized, full pendant around on his finger with a smug grin. 

"It's not fair to just let him get away with it," Pomni continued, then looked back at her teammate. "Are you alright with that, Gangle?"

"Huh?" Tearfully, she blinked up at Pomni.

"Want me and Kinger to avenge you and Zooble?" she asked, a small smile quirking up the corner of her mouth. "I promise, we won't accept anything less than total and humiliating annihilation."

"Oh…" Gangle glanced over at Zooble, but they simply shrugged and gestured in her direction.

"It's your call."

It meant it would take longer for the adventure to end and for her to be patched up by Caine, but they'd also been so close to winning. It wasn't fair. The thought of throwing it all away just because she was an easy target… the weakest link of any team…

More tears slipped down her cheeks as she nodded. "Yeah," she hiccuped. "I… I want you to win."

Pomni's smile warmed. "Then we won't let you down. Right, Kinger?"

"That's right!" he agreed with a jovial nod, then tilted his head to the side. "Or is it your right and my left? Or my right and your left? Or—"

"That settles it then! Moving on to the next round with two pendants to their name are the… uh… Squeamish Yellow Snake-Eating Bees…" Gummigoo read off, squinting dubiously at the text on the teleprompter. "Well, that's a mouthful, isn't it?"

While Pomni and Kinger shuffled the rest of the way down their planks to the other side of the arena, Gangle was dragged onto the med boat. It puttered its way around the obstacles to reach Zooble, then stopped to let them board as well. The mannequin in the nurse's cap had draped an emergency mylar blanket around Gangle's soaked-through shoulders as she sat on the floor of the boat, with Zooble's chewed up arm resting in the remains of her lap, still holding their hand in her own.

It was covered in a collection of colorful bandages with various cartoon animals and sayings printed on them. As Zooble approached, the medic mannequin stuck another happy, smiling bandage on one of Gangle's torn ribbons in an attempt to reattach it where it had been ripped. This one read, "Hang in there!" with a cartoon sloth giving an encouraging thumbs up, right up until the adhesive slid off the smooth satin and flopped uselessly at Gangle's side.

Gangle, Zooble, and the medic mannequin stared at it for a beat, then the latter brandished a plastic wrapped lollipop, handing it off to Gangle with a pat on the head. The boat docked and the medic hopped off with a cheerful skip in their step. Zooble's gaze narrowed, then they rolled their eyes as they crouched down to help Gangle to her feet.

"It's okay, I can…" Gangle wobbled, though still stubbornly tried to stand on her own, despite her body slipping out of her control with her ribbons so loose. "Ah!" Zooble's arm clattered to the floor, most of the bandages fluttering off it like confetti, as she doubled over in pain and her legs gave out from under her.

Zooble caught her around her waist with the arm they still had, letting her lean into them so she wouldn't collapse. "Easy. C'mere, I've got you."

"I'm sorry," Gangle whined into her hand, hiding her face as she sagged hopelessly around Zooble's arm.

"You don't have to apologize. I don't mind giving you a hand, Gangle. Not even a literal one," they told her, gaze flicking down to their arm, the pain still searing the back of their pixelated brain as the entire limb spasmed on the boat floor. But they pushed it back even farther, ignoring it in favor of tending to Gangle. "Besides, you helped me out yesterday, right? After Caine's stupid award thing?"

Gangle lifted her head on a sniffle, mouth wobbling as she looked up at Zooble. "You… you remember last night?"

Zooble's eyes widened, then they quickly glanced away with a bashful blush. "Not really… It's all pretty hazy. That stupid sauce is no joke. But I figured if I blacked out so hard that I can't even remember getting back to my room, then someone must've helped me. And I remember you being there…" Their eyes flicked back after a beat, clearing their throat a bit before adding, "Guess it could've been Ragatha. She seems like the type to mother hen someone when they're out of it. As long as she's not the one on the sauce, that is."

Gangle's pout became more pronounced as she angled her head away, gaze falling on Zooble's abandoned arm. "No… it was me," she admitted quietly. "I helped you back to your room. Ragatha disappeared with Pomni after the show. She said they had something to talk about. Though, uh, she still offered to stay back and help, but I said I could manage on my own."

"Hope I didn't give you too much trouble," Zooble said, their tone warm, but with a bit of rasp to it, like there was some underlying worry beneath it.

Gangle shook her head, though she still didn't look away from the arm on the ground, her own limply reaching for it. "You didn't. It was fine. I just wanted to make sure you were safe and…"

"I hate this! I hate this!" The memory of their frustration—no, their anguish—spilled over into the forefront of her mind, choking the words right out of her throat.

"…and comfortable," she added weakly.

Zooble lowered them both enough so Gangle's hand could brush their battered arm, their gaze soft as she immediately latched onto it, cradling it to her chest. "See? You did all that for me, so just think of this as me paying back the favor." They straightened up again, with Zooble cupping her waist and silently encouraging her to use them as a crutch while they walked.

"But you already do so much for me," Gangle mumbled, though it didn't go unheard by Zooble.

They started to hobble off the boat together, steps slow and awkward as the torn strands of Gangle's ribbons dragged across the floor. There were rows of stadium-like seats overlooking the game show set where all the mannequins of the audience sat, positioned to see most of the different challenges. Zooble guided Gangle past them to sit on one of the set pieces off to the side instead; a massive, stone brazier with a bronze bowl resting at the top of a tall pillar containing a bright, billowing flame for ambience. It would give them a decent enough vantage point to see the rest of the competition without being in the thick of it or the crowds.

Gently cupping her hip, Zooble leaned to the side and hoisted Gangle up at an angle to set her on the ledge protruding from the oversized torch's base. Zooble's detached arm did some of the lifting, too, latching onto a vine wrapped around the pillar to pull Gangle the rest of the way up. She squirmed very much like a squeamish snake, wincing and hissing under her breath when her ribbons snagged as she wiggled her way into a sitting position. Zooble then heaved themself up after her one-handed, scraping their plastic body against the stone set piece as they dug their heel and wheel in and shimmied their way up. Gangle tried to help, but with her ribbons so ripped up, she didn't make much of a difference. Zooble managed to settle beside her, slumping back against the pillar with a sigh.

But they only rested for a second, snapping upright almost immediately so they could snap their head off their body. Gangle blinked when Zooble set their head down next to her, then watched their body as they attempted to wrestle their t-shirt off it one-handed. It took some undignified squirming, but they eventually managed to tug it off entirely. Popping their head back on with a roll to their neck, Zooble angled themself towards Gangle and used their shirt like a towel to dry her ribbons.

Her breath caught at the gentle touch, eyes watering from just how tenderly they tended to her. When she shivered, they mistook it for her being cold and draped the shirt around what was left of her shoulders. Their eyes met, Zooble's gaze searching hers until she nodded and mouthed a silent, "thank you."

They both sat back again, leaning against the pillar side by side, though this time Gangle was trying very hard not to be distracted by the nostalgic, plastic scent that clung to the cotton shirt, still warm with the illusion of their body heat. Like sinking into the safety of someone's arms in a ball pit awash with moonlight. Or pressed up against one another in the colorful tunnels of a playplace after closing, close enough to feel their breath whisper across her porcelain…

Gangle shook those thoughts and their accompanying butterflies away, head still a little hazy from the pain seizing her entire body, but tried her best to stay present and focus on the rest of the game show anyway.

Across the sound stage, Pomni and Kinger were already working together on the next challenge, though the chances of them winning this round already seemed pretty slim. "Are they riding giant bucking beetles?" Zooble asked, squinting at what appeared to be a set of huge rhinoceros beetles carved out of wood that rocked and spun in dizzying circles in an attempt to throw off their riders. "Thank god I got disqualified."

Gangle nodded, glancing at Zooble's various parts as she pictured them getting shaken apart within seconds. "At least Ragatha's probably happy about this one… It looks kinda like horseback riding?"

"Yeah. Out of everyone, my money's on her. Which unfortunately means it's on Jax, too," they sighed, letting their head loll back with a light, plastic tap. "Maybe Pomni'll trample him."

Pomni was barely able to stay on top of her beetle, much less guide it anywhere, but Gangle didn't want to dash their hopes. Instead she offered them their arm back, tears wobbling as more welled up behind them at the sight of each tiny puncture wound carving up the plastic and the jagged edge where they were now missing their pinky. Zooble took it back, staring blandly at it as they gave it a light shake so the remaining bandages clinging to it fell away.

"I'm sorry you… got hurt." Gangle tried to tap her hands together, startling herself when she remembered she only had one.

"It's fine, Gangle." But Zooble still winced as they tried to pop their arm back into its socket, twisting it a little when it didn't snap into place cleanly. "At least these removable parts can be good for something after all."

Gangle stiffened, a fresh ache in her chest blossoming that had nothing to do with her frayed ribbons. Her mouth trembled as she watched Zooble wrench their arm back and forth, but the connector piece had been chewed enough that it was too warped to fit. With an annoyed grunt, Zooble shoved it in a little harder, rough with themself in a way that made Gangle sick to her stomach.

Zooble's tearful eyes from the night before flashed in her head, crying because all they wanted was to sleep on their side when their body physically wouldn't let them. Maybe a small thing, in the moment, but they all added up eventually, didn't they? How many times before had Zooble felt betrayed by their own body? Forced to be at its mercy when they wanted—needed—so much more.

So disconnected and ambivalent towards it; so much so that they didn't hesitate to throw pieces of it away to the literal fishes. That if they had to choose between protecting parts of themself and protecting her, they would somehow choose… her.

That was too much to sit with, the pressure nearly suffocating.

Gangle curled up in her seat, knees drawn up to her tattered chest as she turned away. "They don't have to be good for something to be worth something," she mumbled into what remained of her arm as she hid her face. "You didn't have to do that."

Zooble cast a quick, sidelong glance her way before going back to ramming the chewed up joint of their arm back into their socket. "I know. I'd do it again anyway."

She scrunched up tighter, enduring the sharp pain that rippled through the frayed gaps in her ribbons. "It's not worth it."

"Well, it's not like I'm just gonna stand there like an idiot and let you get ripped to shreds by a bunch of fucking piranhas when I can actually do something about it."

"But your arm—"

"Fuck my arm!" Zooble snapped, the censored swear echoing around them. "I've got other arms. You wanna know how many other goddamn arms I've got? Too bad! I can't even tell you, 'cuz I've got no fucking clue!" With a growl of frustration, they finally gave up and chucked their bitten up arm as hard as they could, seething until it landed with a loud clatter on the stage floor below. "Ow."

Gangle sniffled, even though her mouth twitched up helplessly at the subdued, bland, and belated reaction, only for it to fall immediately as the guilt settled in. "But it still hurt you. It doesn't matter that you can replace it later. It hurts now."

Zooble let out a heavy sigh, their body sagging forward, only able to balance themself with one arm braced against their knee. "I'm used to it," they murmured.

Gangle lifted her head at that. "I don't want you to be."

"Yeah, well, I don't want you to be either." Zooble met her gaze, a weariness lining their mismatched eyes, something deeper than one drunken night. A bone aching exhaustion when they didn't even have bones to ache with. "Besides, it's not like you haven't gotten hurt trying to help me before." Their eyes drifted to her left foot, even if her current injury was higher up. "You burned alive once trying to save me."

Gangle stiffened; she hadn't thought they actually knew that. "That… that was different," she argued, crossing her ankles self-consciously. "There was a chance neither of us would get hurt back then if I'd done a better job of rescuing you. But you knew the moment you threw Pomni your arm what you were risking. You knew you'd get hurt trying to save me."

"I did," Zooble acknowledged. "And I'd do it again. I wouldn't regret it." They cast her a considering look. "Would you choose not to go into the volcano after me knowing how everything turned out?"

Gangle's mouth wibbled into a petulant pout. "No," she mumbled. "I'd still go back for you. I wouldn't leave you."

Even though it was the answer that supported their argument, their gaze softened with a resigned sort of sadness. "See? I wouldn't leave you either. Because I've got your back if you've got mine, remember?"

Fresh tears slid down her porcelain face. "I remember."

"Good," Zooble exhaled on a sigh. "I know there's not a lot we can count on in this place, but… I want to be something you can. You deserve to have that, Gangle. I know you think you don't, but you do."

She didn't know how to tell them that they already were. She could count on them to be waiting for her after every rough adventure, subtle enough that some might think they just happened to be lounging nearby, but their half-lidded eyes always drifted to the fractal noise, watching intently until they found Gangle's as she stepped through. She could count on them to not make fun of her art or judge her for it. Count on them to keep her happiness safe and secure for her. Count on them to keep her safe and secure, even when she was the worst possible version of herself…

But counting on Zooble wasn't the problem. It was whether or not Zooble could count on her. They claimed they could, when they were dazed by their own stupid sauce delirium, but that didn't make it true.

Or if it did, then it meant too many other things had to be true, too. Things they didn't feel like they could tell her.

Gangle stared at the arm on the ground.

Beside her, Zooble tilted their head, and she could feel their gaze roving over her torn ribbons. "Man, they really did a number on you… how're you feeling? And don't just say 'fine,' okay?" they interjected, holding their palm up before she even moved to speak. "You can be honest with me. Please."

Gangle swallowed, her eyes fixed on Zooble's arm as she idly toyed with the sleeve of the t-shirt draped around her to ground herself. "It feels like… I'm falling apart and floating away at the same time. Like I'm not really here anymore? But also kind of like I pulled all of my muscles at the same time. Muscles I didn't even know I had."

Zooble sucked in a sharp breath in sympathy. "That sounds… fucking awful."

"It kinda is," Gangle huffed out a slight laugh, gaze flicking over to them. "Almost makes me wish I'd just died so I could respawn in one piece."

"Dark." They gently nudged her shoulder with their plastic wing, a teasing lilt to their voice that made her giggle, but it softened as the t-shirt fell away and they glanced down at the floppy way her ribbon slid down from where it was supposed to lay in its perfect coil. "Hey, this might be stupid, but… do you think you'd feel better if you were tied back together or something?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" Gangle half-shrugged, and she self-consciously tugged on the loose ribbon dangling from her shoulders, suddenly feeling as exposed as if the strap of a dress or bathing suit had snapped. "It couldn't hurt."

Zooble nodded, then hopped down from the ledge to fetch the arm they'd thrown. They tossed it up unceremoniously, then clomped and clambered their way back up beside Gangle. Once they settled, legs dangling off the edge, they offered their arm to her.

"I can't reattach it, but if you hold it up for me, I might be able to get it to cooperate."

"Oh…" Gangle accepted their arm, inhaling on a small squeak when she felt the dozens of grooves bitten into the plastic. Each tiny tooth mark digging in deep and leaving marks that couldn't be reshaped. Gangle gently traced along their forearm, where their veins would've been if they had a working circulatory system. The arm twitched in her grasp, startling her out of her reverie with a yelp.

She nearly dropped Zooble's arm, fumbling for it one-handed while the stub of her lost ribbon arm fluttered frantically. "Sorry!" she squeaked.

Zooble steadied her, their eyes averted as they cleared their throat just for something to do while they felt the phantom tingling in their lost arm. "You're fine," they croaked out, shifting on the ledge to better face her. "Now just… try holding my arm up where it would normally go? Hand facing you."

"Okay…" Tongue poking out, Gangle's grip curled around the piece that made up Zooble's bicep as she lifted it so the plastic connector piece lined up with their left socket.

Brow creasing, Zooble stared hard at it, opening and closing their fist as they tested its responsiveness. Satisfied enough with their mobility, they gave Gangle a once over before reaching for the biggest tear along her ribcage. Well, either that or her waist. Her ribbons weren't exactly one to one for her human body parts.

Zooble gingerly took the end of one ribbon between their fingers, then reached a little deeper inside her to take hold of the other frayed part. The raised edges of the bite marks peppering that hand's fingers snagged against her satin, catching both her body and breath with its touch. Gangle stiffened as a jolt of sensation sparked through her. Her tears wobbled against her mask as she sucked in a sharp breath, her ribbons contracting with it.

Zooble froze, eyes wide as they released her, hands rearing back like they'd burned her. "Did that hurt?"

"No," she exhaled quickly, grip tightening on Zooble's arm like she could stop them from pulling away—even if it wasn't attached. "Just feels a little… strange."

"Strange bad?"

"No, strange… good." Gangle pursed her mouth into an embarrassed wobble. "Sorry, that's weird to say. I'm just not really used to being touched… there? Or anywhere."

Zooble glanced down at her limp ribbons, then back up into her face. "It's not weird," they assured her. "Sometimes something as simple as brushing shoulders or holding someone's hand can feel overwhelming when it's been a while since anyone's touched you. And these avatars don't exactly make for easy comparisons to what any of that used to feel like."

They reached for her again, hands hovering over the gaps in her ribbons as they watched her face, waiting for her nod to try again. They took each torn end of her in between their fingers and thumbs, then brought them closer together as they crossed one over the other, then looped around. Gangle's breath caught on another gasp as she hunched in on herself, accidentally tugging herself out of Zooble's grasp.

They huffed out an amused rush of air as they fumbled for the lost ribbon. "Stop scrunching."

"Sorry, but it kind of tickles." Gangle pressed her mouth closed around a giggle as she tried to relax.

"Fair enough. I'll try not to tickle you," they promised, voice nothing but fond as they started over with a new loop.

It still did, a little, especially with how light Zooble's touch was as they smoothed out the two separated ends. But the more Gangle watched, the more the sensations faded from the forefront of her mind, focus shifting to Zooble's hands and how delicately they handled her. Careful and slow, a consideration for her body that was never present in the way they handled their own. They roughly ripped their pieces away, wrenching and yanking and twisting.

The thought of Zooble handling her like that certainly had her feeling some kind of way—though maybe not when she was already in tatters and hurting—but that embarrassed fluttering in her chest was quickly constricted by concern for her friend. Zooble didn't treat themself with nearly the same care and open affection as they did her. Maybe it was because they saw her as breakable; that she'd shatter at the slightest touch.

Or maybe it was because they wanted to break instead.

A flash of Zooble from the last night flickered in her memory; the way they bent their bat wing between their hands with every intention of snapping it in half.

Gangle looked at the arm she held up for Zooble, the one tying her back together instead of tearing themself to pieces. It was a different arm from last night's, but Gangle never saw any of their arms as anything other than a part of them. Each part just as deserving of love and tenderness.

Taking note of the quiet, Zooble flicked their gaze up at her, brow creasing as they realized she was staring at their arm, tears big and blue as her mouth pursed with a slight pout. "I can barely feel the sting anymore," they told her, clearing their throat as they focused back on her ribbons. "One of the other perks to detachable parts, I guess. The longer it's separated, the less I feel it. 'Course, that's not exactly helpful here," they sighed when their detached hand lost its grip on her ribbon and they had to start over.

"It's okay. I appreciate you trying at all," Gangle assured them with a light squeeze to their arm. "And I'm glad it's not hurting you still. I'm sure that wouldn't make things any easier."

"It'd just be nice if I could feel you. You know, make sure I'm as gentle as I'm trying to be."

"You are."

"Good thing I didn't pick the crab claw today," Zooble muttered, concentrating on not tugging too hard while they tied the frayed ends together.

"I like the crab claw," Gangle giggled as she fought the urge to squirm under their touch.

Zooble snorted. "Don't think you'd like being pinched by it all that much."

"You don't know what I like," Gangle replied breezily, glancing away while a little cat-like smile curved her mouth when she felt Zooble's fingers twitch mid-tie, undoing their careful work yet again. "But yeah, you're right. Probably doesn't have much dexterity to it."

Zooble arched their brow as they glanced up from her ribbons, studying her with their own thoughtful hum before retying the two ends together, this time with more of a pinch and tug between their fingers. Gangle squeaked, slapping her hand over her mouth as she turned bright pink and angled her head away, hiding her face even though she couldn't hide the sound she'd made. But it got another snort out of Zooble, this one more of a suppressed laugh than a scoff, so maybe it had been worth the embarrassment. At least they didn't call her out on it. Instead they gently rubbed their thumb along the grain of her satin, a silent apology and promise they wouldn't do it again.

"There," they murmured after a beat, sitting back a bit to survey their work. "How's that feel?"

Gangle glanced down at herself. Where the two severed ends of her rib ribbons criss-crossed was a tiny, delicate bow. If it wasn't to repair an injury, it would've just looked like a cute accent or accessory. Like she'd simply wanted to truss herself up in bows.

"Oh," she exhaled, the stub of her missing arm flicking up and down like she wanted to touch it. "I love it."

"It doesn't hurt at all? Not pulling too tight?" Zooble asked, reaching for their arm to free up Gangle's hand so she could prod at or adjust it.

Gangle shook her head. "Not at all! There's a little pulling, but it kind of feels like… have you ever had your hair in braids that were just a little too tight? Or a ponytail? Not enough to hurt, but enough to feel this constant pull on your scalp? If that makes sense?"

"Kind of. It's been a while since I've tied my hair up in any kind of way. If it was too long and I wanted it out of my face, I'd use clips or one of those stretchy headbands or whatever you call 'em. Or I'd just wear a beanie." Zooble watched her brush over the bow almost reverently before lifting their gaze to her face. "You okay for me to do the rest?"

"Yeah!" Gangle chirped, the happy little curve to her mouth back and sweeter than ever. "As long as you don't mind, that is."

"I don't." Zooble handed their arm back to Gangle, this time tying together the loose ribbons up near her shoulder. "Try and hold still for me," they murmured, leaning a bit closer.

Gangle fought back the shiver that trembled through her frayed ribbons, trying to hold Zooble's arm steady while their gentle touch tickled the strip of satin that made up her neck. Swallowing audibly, she forced her eyes to remain glued to Zooble's arm and not think about how close their face was or how focused they were on the scraps of fabric where her collarbone would be. Which meant she missed the darker dusting of pink coloring their face at how close they realized they were—at how she immediately obeyed and opened herself up to them, stilling to the point where even her chest barely moved as she held her breath.

Until the world started tilting, that is.

"You can still breathe," Zooble snickered, moving their hand when the top of Gangle's mask tapped it as it started to spin.

"Sorry," she exhaled, smiling shyly as her mask shifted back into place.

"You're fine," they assured her, glancing back at their second bow. "Think I might've made this one too tight. Try rolling your shoulder?"

Gangle did, the motion stiff and lacking her usual flexibility, definitely pulling a little too tight on her neck, but it was better than feeling completely disconnected from herself. "It's okay," she told them, but Zooble was already adjusting it, giving the bow a little more slack to work with.

"Be honest about how you feel. If it doesn't feel right, your body's going to try overcompensating in other ways and you'll just end up even more uncomfortable," they told her, voice gruff with a certainty like they'd experienced it firsthand.

They probably had, Gangle mused to herself, watching as the arm she held rolled its wrist like it was trying to stretch.

"And you won't hurt my feelings either," Zooble continued. "I'd rather you be honest with me than dance around something I've said or done that goes beyond what you're comfortable with."

"What if there isn't anything?" Gangle asked quietly.

Zooble cast her the most unimpressed look she'd ever been on the receiving end of by them. "I'm not perfect, Gangle. Eventually I'll fuck something up."

"No, I know that. I'm not saying you are." Gangle shrunk back, crossing her torn up legs at the ankles in lieu of curling her arms up to her chest self-consciously. "Just that… if it's you… I wouldn't really mind."

There was a tightness around Zooble's eyes. "You wouldn't mind me making you uncomfortable?"

"No, I meant… I don't think you could. Make me uncomfortable. Because I know it wouldn't be on purpose. You're not like that."

"That's… that's not the point," Zooble sighed, then turned their attention to the torn fabric above Gangle's knee. "Look at it this way. Say you accidentally say something that hurts my feelings, even though I know you didn't mean to. How would you feel?"

"Bad…" Gangle whispered.

"Even if I don't hold it against you at all? And don't need or want an apology because there's nothing to forgive?" They pressed, pausing mid-tie and watching for her nod. "You'd still feel bad?" She nodded again. "What would help?"

"I'd want to know what I said, so I don't do it again. And I'd want to make sure you were feeling okay and could talk to me if you needed to."

Zooble nodded, a knowing look in their eyes. "Do you think I wouldn't want the same thing?" Gangle shook her head. "Good."

"I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."

"It's okay, I get it. Trust me. It's… not always easy to be honest. Even with the people you care about." Zooble resumed their work on her leg.

Some of the empty space inside Gangle couldn't be patched up with the ribbons she had left. Chunks of her long gone, gobbled up and resting in the belly of a few dozen hungry piranhas. But Zooble was nothing if not creative. 

As they considered their resources, they glanced down at the yellow t-shirt, crumpled and pooled around Gangle's hips. It took some dual coordination between the two of them, using the sharp edges of Zooble's zig-zag headpiece to create a small cut in the hem, but they managed to rip a few decent strips from it. Where there'd been ribbons completely missing from Gangle's body, yellow cotton held the satin together in the last of the bows, soft and still smelling like plastic.

By the time they were done, Gangle was patched back together by six sweet little bows. Zooble sat back and observed their work in action while Gangle twisted herself around to try and admire each one for the pieces of art they were to her.

"Feeling better?" they asked warmly.

"Much!" The cat-like smile was back as she preened. "It still hurts a little, but the floating away and falling apart feelings are gone. And it's maybe a little silly, but… it kinda helps that they make me feel like I'm pretty," she giggled, pressing her hand to her cheek as her smile turned into an embarrassed wobble.

Zooble tilted their head, eyes half-lidded on a light huff. "You are pretty," they told her, the finger of their disconnected hand flicking her teasingly. "With or without a bunch of bows."

She could feel her porcelain pinken, cheeks warm from the compliment as she kept her gaze averted. Pretty… they'd called her pretty last night. Right after they said that they hated… 

Gangle's shy smile faded, her hand quickly covering her mouth to mask it as she reflected on their momentary meltdown. From the way they treated their arm, the sharp bite in their voice as they disparaged it and the dozens—maybe even hundreds—of other parts Zooble had to switch between, Gangle could see it so clearly now. What didn't come so easily was how she had missed it for so long. Willful ignorance? Cowardice? Or was she so self-absorbed, too busy drowning in her own too-big feelings that she couldn't see Zooble was offering her a life preserver when they didn't have one for themself? 

She knew they weren't happy that they could be so easily disassembled on a whim, but she'd always thought the assortment of parts was because they wanted to change things, to look different from day to day. Something to disrupt the otherwise stagnant lives they lived. 

Gangle always looked forward to seeing what pieces Zooble chose for the day. She hadn't once thought they changed them out day after day after day because they didn't actually like any of them.

That they didn't like themself.

That they had to make the choice to drag themself from their bed every morning, dreading the inevitable routine of picking through a box of parts already knowing they wouldn't like what was inside.

She'd rather believe they'd been lying about how much they liked her, if it meant they were also lying about how much they didn't like themself. Because to her, they were…

Gangle stared at the ribbon tying her leg together. Oh.

So lost in her own thoughts, she missed the way Zooble leaned out of her space, taking her silence and the loss of her smile as a sign they'd overstepped. "Hey…" they started, then hesitated, shaking their head like they shouldn't have said anything, even when Gangle glanced over at them curiously. "Look, I… going back to what we were saying before about being honest… I just wanted to say, if I said anything stupid last night, that I'm sor—"

"You didn't say anything stupid," Gangle interjected.

Zooble glanced up, searching the smooth porcelain of her face before sighing, "I feel like I must've said something. You… haven't really looked at me all day."

"Oh." Gangle ducked her head, mouth trembling. "I'm sorry, that's not… I think I'm just too much in my own head today."

Zooble tilted their head to the side, trying to meet her gaze. "You want to talk about it?" their voice going soft in that way it always tended to around her.

She didn't answer right away, shoulders bunching in a half-hearted shrug. "I guess it had a little bit to do with what you said last night," she confessed after a beat.

Zooble squeezed their eyes shut. "Fuck," they hissed under their breath, then looked at her earnestly. "I'm sorry. I really don't remember anything and I wish that I did, because I'd never want to hurt your feelings or—"

"You said really nice things." Gangle glanced up at them shyly, mask going warm with the admission. "About me."

Zooble blinked, their brow slowly creasing with confusion. "Oh. Uh… like what?"

"Like, um…" Gangle fiddled with Zooble's arm in lieu of wringing her own hands together. "You said how much you liked being on a team with me and that you wanted to do it again. And that… somehow I make you happy just by being around you. That I make everything shine. And I guess I just don't know how to deal with that? 

"You said you had fun with me, but you held my comedy mask for most of the adventure, so I was my worst possible self all day with you. I couldn't imagine why you would want someone like that on your team. Or how someone like me could make you happy.

"And then Jax said it was weird if I believed Ragatha when she said that she didn't mean all the things she said while she was on the stupid sauce, but then you say all these sweet things and suddenly they're true? Like, I have to admit, he had a point. If I don't believe the mean things somebody says when they're not in their right mind, why should I believe when someone says they actually like being around me? Right? It's a-a double standard… or something."

"I…" Zooble stared at her uncomprehendingly, their voice cracking a bit in disbelief and hurt. "…you think I don't like you?"

"No! Ah, mmmph. That's part of why it's so confusing." Gangle went to bury her face in her hand, only to nearly whack herself with Zooble's bitten up arm. She looked at it instead, turning it a little while she took a breath and recollected herself. "I think… I guess I just thought that… I don't see myself as somebody worth liking, so it's hard to believe other people do. Or that they see something there that's worthwhile. Especially when I haven't done anything to deserve it.

"But then I started thinking about what else you said last night. Not about me, but about yourself. And then how you reacted earlier with your arm... And there's been other times where you've made an offhand comment here or there and it suddenly started adding up. All these little things that I just thought were your general frustration at the situation and-and of course nobody wants to look the way that any of us look, but I noticed it was maybe more… more for you than for the rest of us…"

"I…" Zooble looked stricken, panic flickering in their mismatched eyes as their gaze darted away, looking for an escape. "Fuck. I—W-what did I say—?"

"Hey…" Gangle set down their arm so she could touch their face, gently brushing the tip of her ribbon against what amounted to their cheek, guiding them to look at her. "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. If you're not comfortable. I can forget that you said anything, if that's what you want, but first I… I want you to know that hearing you say those things and getting a glimpse at how you see yourself… it made me realize it's possible."

Though they were still seized with the horror of being perceived, Zooble didn’t pull away, letting Gangle gently stroke their face beneath their smaller eye. "What is…?"

Gangle's smile shone with all the adoration she felt for them. "I like you so much. You're the best thing about this place. I'm always so happy to see you. Even when an adventure's been really hard and my comedy mask is broken and nothing's gone right all day, when I walk through that portal, my whole body feels like it's fluttering because I know I'll see you. And when I see you… all the bad things that happened before don't matter so much. Because you're there. Waiting for me. My constant that I can always come back to, no matter what you look like. The feelings are always the same. And all I want to do is be close to you. I want to hear about how you spent your day while we were apart, even if you're just gonna say nothing because all you did was nap," she giggled, eyes creased with all the joy of her comedy mask as her cheeks shone with all the tears of her tragedy. 

"You make each day worth facing, no matter how hard it might be. And if I can feel that way about you, even though you don't feel that way about you, then… of course it's possible for you to feel that way about me, even if I don't feel that way about me. You see?" Gangle's embarrassment finally caught up to her as Zooble just stared at her, stunned and still and silent. "Oh… I'm not making any sense, am I?"

"No, you… you are, I—" Their breath hitched as they blinked rapidly and took a moment to collect themself, eyes wide and so, so… hopeful. "You really feel that way?"

"Yeah, of course. You're Zooble," Gangle said simply, her smile beaming through her tears. "And that means… all the parts of you, even the parts you don't like, matter to me."

"Gangle…"

"So, we can forget about it if you want. I just wanted to let you know that I can believe you. I do believe you. And if you ever do want to talk, I'll be here. Whenever you're ready. I've got your back, too. I want to be the person you can count on if you need it. I… I want you to feel like you can be honest with me, too. On your own terms. Not because of stupid sauce or because you feel trapped, but because you trust me. And because you want to."

Zooble's breath shuddered as they turned their head away, Gangle's ribbon finally slipping from their smooth plastic. The fingers of their attached hand dug into the fake stone of the shrine set piece as they sat with that for a second. Gangle gave them that space, eventually dropping her own eyes to her lap and several of the little bows tied up in her ribbons. Always so gentle and kind with her…

Something slid out of view in her periphery, Gangle's head lifting with a small gasp when she realized Zooble had dropped down from the platform. "Zooble?"

"I'm… gonna go see how close they are to being done. Just stay here, I'll be back," they told her, refusing to look back up at her as they walked away.

Gangle's mouth pursed into a small frown, as she followed Zooble's retreating form with her tearful gaze. "O-okay," she answered, even though they were already out of earshot.

They left their left arm behind. Gangle couldn't tell if it was intended to be insurance, to assure her that they'd come back, or if it was because they saw pieces of themself as disposable; not worth the effort to care for. Easy to abandon. 

Taking the remains of their yellow t-shirt, Gangle wrestled to wrap it around the lonely limb one-handed. Once it was sufficiently bundled up, she cradled Zooble's arm in her lap, nestling the forearm and wrist against the crook of her own arm.

"I've got you…" she whispered to it, whatever traces of warmth and life leeching out of it despite its blanket cocoon.

She couldn't blame them for walking away. They hadn't chosen to reveal this vulnerable part of themself to her, not of their own volition or in their right mind. Even if she made good on her promise and never brought it up again until they were ready, it didn't change the fact that she still knew it was there. That Zooble knew that she knew.

It was a lot to deal with, exposing the weakest and worst parts of yourself to someone else.

But they wanted her honesty, and she wanted theirs. She wanted to build something with them that would last. Their foundation couldn't be made of anything other than mutual trust.

And she trusted them.

So Gangle didn't chase after them. Even if part of her wanted nothing more than to follow them, to promise them they didn't have to shoulder their pain alone. She gave them their space, trusting that they would come to her when they were ready.

Even if it meant the tears wouldn't stop spilling down her mask, pooling in the plastic divots of their arm.

Though they'd wound up the underdogs in terms of the number of pendants they had to compete with, the Squeamish Yellow Snake-Eating Bees won the Shrine Skirmish in the end.

In a Hail Mary moment, Kinger had apparently been lucid enough in the dimly lit shrine set to help Pomni navigate through the various, booby-trapped rooms. He held his breath and illuminated the Forest of Eternal Darkness so Pomni could find the hollowed out tree that led her into the Pit of Pity and subsequently the treasure room. Meanwhile, Jax and Ragatha struggled to put together the statue of the Silver Bee in the chamber dedicated to all things… bees, and got caught by the Incisor Clan when they couldn't cooperate, losing all their pendants of undying in quick succession.

When Pomni finally cracked open the treasure chest in the deepest part of the shrine, she finally revealed to everyone just what the Golden Gibubwhatzit truly was…

It was a bugle horn.

Which put the earlier trivia question about brass instruments into perspective, in hindsight.

As the "credits rolled," everyone was snapped back to the circus stage sans t-shirts, although Pomni was allowed to keep the bugle. Gangle's ribbons returned to their continuous coil, each of Zooble's bows vanishing out of existence as the pain from being ripped apart faded from the forefront of her mind. Like fragments of a bad dream. 

Still, she brushed her hand against her collarbone and then her waist, feeling a little more empty inside. The arm she still held onto had also been repaired; as smooth as the day it had been unboxed, missing purple pinky finger right back where it belonged. Gangle immediately cast her gaze about for Zooble, only to find they were already shuffling off to their room with a half-hearted, one-armed wave while the others inspected the bugle with befuddlement.

Quietly, Gangle crept after Zooble, careful to keep her distance as her light footsteps went unheard up the steps and down the long hallway. Zooble turned into their room and closed the door without a single glance back. Still cradling their arm, Gangle wandered up to it and looked into their portrait. If they still needed space, she didn't want to disturb them. She didn't want to leave their arm lying on the floor either, just in case Jax came up next and decided to pull some kind of prank with it.

Hugging it closer, Gangle took the striped arm with her into her room and silently closed the door behind her. The low lights of her room cast dark shadows against the velvet curtains and mahogany wood. She carried the arm to her bed and laid it against her body pillow to make it comfortable. Then she flopped back onto her duvet with a heavy sigh, letting her ribbons fall loose and lax as she tried to let go of the day's static still buzzing around behind her eyes.

Normally drawing helped her settle, but she didn't want to get up. She didn't know if she could even make sense of all the noise cluttering her brain.

Her comedy mask could also help. Sitting innocently on the vanity where she'd left it that morning. It would quiet her thoughts, for a little while at least. Muffle them in a way she could ignore and go about her day like nothing happened.

Like nothing happened…

Gangle didn't think she could go back to acting like nothing happened. Even if she promised Zooble…

She didn't sleep. She wasn't sure how long she laid there for, but she was certain she didn't sleep. She stared listlessly at the unmoving arm on her bed, limp and lifeless, silently counting the number of orange stripes, then yellow stripes, then orange again, then yellow, and then—

There was a hesitant knock at her door.

Almost too soft to be heard.

Gangle sat up straight. Jax would've banged on it. Ragatha had a soft knock, but she always tried the doorbell first before resorting to knocking. Pomni—Pomni had never knocked on Gangle's door, so she wasn't sure what it would sound like. Neither had Kinger for that matter.

Zooble had, but Zooble's always sounded like… their knock always sounded like, "I'm here."

This knock sounded like, "I'm lost."

Gangle waited for a moment, holding her breath as she listened for a second knock or some other indication of who was on the other side of her door. When it didn't come and her mask began to spin, she finally pushed herself off the bed and scurried over. Pressing both hands against the dark wood, she took a deep breath and braced herself as she took a peek.

Zooble stood in front of her, gaze downturned even once the door was open. They'd swapped out every one of their parts from earlier, not one piece remained the same. The black and white snake antenna was paired with a green swirl-like headpiece. On their chest was a purple crescent moon. Their right arm had been replaced with stiffer joints ending in a green-gloved hand while their left had been changed to…

The crab claw.

Gangle felt the punch to her heart even though there was nowhere for it to physically land.

"Whatever you want, I'll get it for you."

"I like the crab claw."

Gangle opened the door fully, tragedy mask tilted to the side as she took in everything about them. Like admiring her favorite painting in a museum after years away, looking at them from a new perspective and tracing all the new lines she hadn't ever noticed, even if she'd seen it a thousand times before.

It was still her favorite.

"Hey…" Zooble rasped out when Gangle didn't say anything. "Sorry about… earlier."

Gangle shook her head. "You don't need to apologize."

"I just kinda walked off on you."

"You needed some space. I understand."

They winced, rubbing at their crab claw arm. "Still wasn't very cool of me."

Gangle leaned against the edge of her door, holding onto it to keep from launching herself at them and twisting each and every strand of herself around them. "No one should feel like they have to be cool all the time… even if you do come pretty close."

That got them to look up, the pinch of their brow relaxing a little when they noticed her small smile. "Heh, thanks."

"Are you okay?" Gangle asked. "Was it all… too much?"

Zooble gave her question the proper consideration she was searching for. "What you said earlier…about how you feel about me…? That means more to me than you know. It's kind of been playing on a loop in my head all night? Like it's stuck on fucking repeat, but I don't really want it to stop." The pink of their face warmed, a light gently glistening in their eyes. "I don't think I really know what to do with it either."

Gangle nodded, caught up in the shine reflecting off Zooble's pupil. "It is a lot…"

"But not too much," they added, looking her in the eye, some of their usual hard, brusque certainty flickering across their face. "Never too much."

Gangle sniffled, a small smile curving her mask. "Okay." 

"But the rest of what you said? I'm not… ready to talk about it just yet," Zooble murmured, glancing away, squiggly arms folding across their chest. "And I can't say that I ever will be. But it's not because I don't trust you. After all, Caine fucking knows and it's not like I trust him to respect how I feel. It's just… I… I like the way you look at me." They squeezed their eyes shut, a deeper flush darkening the pink of their face. "And I'm not ready for that to change. Even if it's for the better."

"Zooble…"

"It's fucking selfish, I know. God, I'm… it's so pathetic when I can't even stand to look at myself, but I don't know. You just—when you look at me you make me feel like I'm…"

"Everything?"

Their eyes widened, gaze flicking to her earnest face, then away again just as fast. "Something like that…"

Gangle nodded, ribbons fluttering as she nearly reached out, wanting to place a reassuring hand on them, but worried about overstepping or assuming. "I understand," she urged, tapping her hands together as she leaned a little closer, trying to land in their line of sight. "But nothing will change the way I see you. You're so strong, Zooble. I thought that before last night, and I still think that now. I'm always going to admire that about you."

Their eyes softened, their own version of a smile reaching through to her. "I seriously don't deserve a friend like you."

"Well," Gangle shrugged helplessly. "You've got one."

Zooble huffed out a laugh, the crinkle to their eyes warming Gangle inside and out. "Damn, my own words coming back to bite me," they sighed, but only looked more delighted when Gangle just stuck her tongue out at them. "Mean."

"Not mean," she argued with a flick of her wrist. "Honest."

"They're not mutually exclusive," Zooble pointed out. "You can still be both."

"Now who's being mean?" Gangle giggled when they rolled their eyes. "But you're feeling better?"

"Yeah," Zooble exhaled, hip popping out as they leaned to one side, like they were trying to convince themself they were as relaxed and at ease as they wanted to be, betrayed by the stiffness that lingered in their limbs. "Though there is… one more thing."

"Yes?"

 "I still don't remember most of what happened last night, but there is one thing that stuck." The dark pink flush returned, painting their face as they shuffled their feet, suddenly unsure how to stand. "I remember I really wanted to ask you something and I don't know if I actually did…"

Gangle tilted her head. "What was it?"

They swallowed audibly, shoulders sagging with a resigned sigh as they finally looked her in the eyes. "I wanted to ask you to stay… I didn't want you to go."

"Oh…" Gangle's mask matched the pink of Zooble's face as her gaze darted away, her hands pressing over her own cheeks like she could smother the rising heat.

"Okay, see, this is the kind of thing I meant earlier. You know, the ways I could make you uncomfortable. You shouldn't have had to deal with that. Especially when I was a fucking mess. So, if you said no, I promise I get it—"

"No, it's not that. You didn't ask me to stay," Gangle told them, but she was still mentally retracing her steps to the previous night, to those last, lingering breaths and the way Zooble's voice tugged at her heartstrings and pulled her back… "But I think you tried."

Zooble stiffened. "You think?"

"Yeah."

"What…" They shifted their weight between their uneven legs, an uncharacteristic fear flickering behind their eyes. "What stopped me?"

"You fell asleep."

"I—what?" Zooble blinked and Gangle slapped a hand over her own mouth as a squeaky giggle bubbled up, then a choked up sound escaped them as well as their eyes creased. "No. Wait, are you serious? I fell asleep?"

"You called out to me and asked me to wait, but then you just…" Gangle shrugged, smiling sheepishly up at them. "Passed out."

"Goddammit." Zooble pressed their hand over their eyes as their shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. "All day I was worried I'd been a total fuckwad about it and it turns out I just passed out? What the fuck is wrong with me?"

"You were sleepy," Gangle defended with a giggle.

"That's no excuse. Past me is an idiot."

Gangle curled her hands like paws, her smile curving into a cat-like shape as she cooed, "Past you was so cute! You were like a sleepy kitty!"

"Oh my god," they groaned, but laughter still rattled through their plastic parts as Gangle laughed along with them. "Don't say that."

"You were! You nuzzled my hand! And you slow blinked at me," she sing-songed, swaying from side to side as she overplayed it, beaming when Zooble peeked at her through their fingers. "And you let me pet you. A true honor for us cat people."

"...I don't even want to know."

"It was on the head!"

"That doesn't make it sound any better," they cackled, still hiding their face.

But Gangle just beamed at them, hands clasped behind her and practically tying herself in knots to keep from grabbing their face and nuzzling it with her mask. "If you'd asked… I would've stayed," she admitted shyly.

Zooble's hand fell away, eyes wide before darting to the corner of her door as they cleared their throat, arms tightening around themself in a way that made Gangle wonder if they were actually hugging themself for comfort instead of trying to appear closed off and unaffected and casually cool. "Good to know," they croaked out.

The silence was thick between them; not awkward, but heavy with an impending sense of anticipation on both sides. Static electricity nearly tangible between satin threads and normally grounded plastic with the steady, digitized hum of how much they both wanted. And how much that scared them. 

Gangle took a steadying breath, wringing her hands together as she finally built up the courage herself, just as Zooble surged forward, all caution thrown to the wind as they gave voice to the one thing they felt that they could.

"Do you want—?" they both started at the same time, freezing when they realized the other was talking.

"You go ahead!" Gangle flailed her arms at them.

"No, I can wait. What did you want to say—?"

"Do you want to stay?" she blurted out before she could chicken out, mask pink as she curled her hands over her mouth. "Stay here… with me? Tonight?"

Zooble's eyes rounded, stunned by her bold request as the pink of their own face deepened. "Beat me to it," they murmured, glancing away as they rubbed their arm, betrayed by the eager fluttering of their wing and the way their antennae twitched. "Gotta say, waking up this morning would've been a hell of a lot better if it had been to you in my bed."

Gangle smothered a thoroughly charmed squeak behind her ribbons and held her breath, only giving in once her mask started to spin again. "Is that a yes?" she asked, still muffled by her hands.

Their gaze slid back to her, head bowed a little as their eyelids lowered. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

Gangle's heart fluttered in the empty space barely guarded by silky coils of red ribbons. Each fiber of her being tightening, like her body wasn't coded to feel so much happiness at once and would completely unravel under its onslaught if she didn't hold herself together. Standing in front of her, letting down their hardened guard to give her a glimpse at the soft, breakable heart they didn't believe they had, Zooble looked at her like she was all they wanted.

No drunken haze or fog of delirium clouding their judgment. Just Zooble, just as they were. Just who Gangle wanted more than anything, too.

Porcelain bright with her smile, despite the tears still clinging to it, Gangle lifted up to the tips of her ribbon feet and pressed her mouth to the bottom corner of Zooble's head. The closest to a kiss on the cheek that they could get. Her mask made the tiniest clink against their plastic, an affectionate tap if anything. But she still heard their breath hitch and felt their gaze following her every move as she flitted away. Like they truly were caught in her orbit.

Gangle shyly stepped aside, holding the door open for Zooble. Her door would always be open to them. No matter how long it took for them to knock.

Their plastic parts rattled as all their pent up nerves drained from their body, mismatched eyes hopeful and bright as they followed her and took the first step across her threshold.

The door closed behind them.