Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

POMNI

The unfortunate thing about being trapped in a digital world for the past year or so is that you forget where you parked your car. It took her at least 24 minutes to find it, and then 17 more to remember where she put her car keys. 

And then half an hour of terror as she slowly remembered how to drive again. 

Outside, the trees swayed without stutters. She could feel the wind on her face from the open windows, the coolness uncommon for someone who’d been trapped in a place that was perpetually too warm. She didn’t know where she was going, but her subconscious seemed to. She drove on instincts until she reached an apartment building that looked better than most but definitely nothing special. 

Her flat was just as supposedly she left it, everything still intact and not a layer of dust that wasn’t usually there. She knew where her laptop would be, on the side table next to the couch. The living room was on the left when she entered the flat, and there was the laptop. She needed it to look at the date, her phone being smashed from when it fell out of her grasp. 

She opened her laptop and stared blankly at the glowing screen. Pieces of memory were sliding around her mind, none of it quite fitting. It was as if two different jigsaw puzzles were trying to assemble themselves into one finished puzzle, leaving jagged edges and broken gaps where pieces didn’t fit together. 

Saturation.

Darkness. 

Round.

Pixels.

Screams.

Bright white.

And a sudden 

                     drop.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as the computer screen finally lit up. The wallpaper was of three people she vaguely recognised. One must have been herself, the girl looked the same as the person in her car mirrors. And yet, that wasn’t here. Not truly. 

Not anymore. 

Her hair was dark and shoulder length with a slight wave that was lost in the circus. She had heterochromia, with the left eye being blue and the right a warm brown. Her skin was pale, but not the bright white it used to be. Next to her in the photo was a girl with straight blonde hair and blinding blue eyes, and the girl on her other side had copper skin and was holding a beagle. 

The cursor blinked at her, awaiting the password. 

“Fuck” she mumbled, and then muttered again at the shock and relief of it being said with nothing to stop her. 

The password itself took a moment to recall. It was odd, what was remembered and what wasn’t. She could remember large things, such as her parents divorce, moving out for college and Mayra's (the girl with the dog) intense crush on the blonde haired girl who didn't have a clue. But small, everyday things illuded her.

Like this password.

Or her name.

Finally she was able to find what she was looking for.

The date.

10/13/23. The day she got stuck. 

Okay, so no time had passed. That was good, she supposed. Maybe. Would that mean the others were also thrown out on the day they got in, like in Jumanji? How could she remember Jumanji but not her own name?

Wait.

That was it. 

She felt stupid for not knowing it sooner. 

Pomni Christine.

Christine Pomni.

Neither felt right. They both felt like something that was taken from her. Reminders of what could have been. 

And what was. 

It was at this moment that Christine realised that she really needed the toilet, a feeling that she hadn’t felt since before being trapped in digital hell. 

And then hunger. 

And then exhaustion after somehow managing to cook without burning the house down. The oven was far too dangerous for her to use after seemingly a year of not having to eat. She ended up microwaving leftovers while staring at her surroundings, the dull yellow tiles as a backsplash for sticky white countertops. Everything here was… washed out, she wasn’t used to it after constant overload on her retinas. The world was also smooth, everything she did didn’t lag or buffer, and neither did the surroundings. It even hurt when she dropped a heavy bowl on her foot by accident. That didn’t happen in the circus, she hardly felt pain. It was exhausting in a different way, everything took far longer to take in as it wasn’t simplified to catch the eye of doomscrollers. 

She fell into her bed after a bland meal, but at least it tasted of something. Nothing in the circus ever did. Her mattress was lumpy, and her blankets too thin for the October weather. 

However, when she finally got comfortable , sleep struggled to take its hold. She spent far too long grappling with the thought that this was all an adventure, as so many others had been. 

She finally fell asleep after at least 2 hours of worry and reassurance. 

But her sleep was not without fear. 

Pomni woke up trembling, unsure that the dull world around her wouldn’t suddenly become fake in a flash of bright colour. 

She went about her day as normal, or at least what she thought normal was. She ate breakfast (toast, that’s all she trusted herself with), then drove to work (who works on a saturday? Her apparently) where she sat at a desk for 3 hours before having a 20 minute lunch break in which she went to the Starbucks across the road. Christine wouldn’t have survived without a cinnamon dolce latte, which was apparently her usual order. She then spent another 3 hours staring at a blank screen trying to remember how to do a job.

Trying not to think of what everyone else would be doing. 

Everyone else… 

Where were they? 

How could she have so quickly forgotten about them?

Christine’s coworker interrupted this soon to be downward spiral. 

“Have you done any work today? At all?”

Liana was the least irritating of her coworkers and was Christine’s roommate for the majority of college. Christine realised that she was the blonde girl from the photo. Her hair really was the straightest hair she had ever seen, and Liana was very persistent when she sensed something was wrong, which Christine was quickly remembering. 

“Ris?”

“Oh , yeah no. I’ve been… distracted.” She had forgotten about her nickname. She liked it. It felt more like her than any other name. 

“Well I know a way to fix that” From Liana’s expression Ris knew exactly what was coming. 

“I don’t think drinking-”

“We’ve got to go to the new bar that opened up. It’s just two blocks away from my apartment, come on” She was whining now.

“Not tonight, I’m… busy”

“Tomorrow? You don’t have work, what else would you be doing?” Dang it. Ris could never resist that tone, let along when Liana bats her stupidly long eyelashes at her. 

“... Fine.”

“YES! My place at 7 tomorrow. Oh and Ris?”

“Yeah?”

“Wear something nice. You never know who you could meet out there!”

This left her with 2 hours to fill before work ended, and with nothing else to do she decided to do some research. Right, so out of everyone in the circus, who would be easiest to find? If they even wanted to be found. 

Changing all her usernames was probably a good start. She was now ‘Pomni_Jester’ on everything except facebook because some old fool had taken it before her.  So facebook was ‘ActualPomni’. Searching the others names was useless, nothing came up. No one else was actively trying to reach out, or maybe they hadn’t thought of it. Now that she remembered, Ris needed a new phone. 

Apparently phones aren’t that hard to get. She had more money than she thought, but not enough that she could go around wasting it. Which is why this outing tomorrow wasn’t a good idea. To take her mind off it all, she decided to break into an abandoned building again, although it was probably a stupid idea because of what happened the last time she did that. But it was the only escape (ha) she had. 

After changing into dark clothing and fully charging her phone she was ready. The place was picked, an abandoned school nearby that hadn’t been monitored in years. The drive took little time, and she was soon inside the building. Ris nervously wandered the forgotten halls, feeling like there was something else in there with her. It was light enough inside to see without her phone light, so she turned it off. This ended up a bad idea as she tripped over something and fell into a cabinet with a crash and a “Fuck!”

After standing up and brushing herself off, she entered the closest room, unaware that anyone was in there until-

“Hello?”

JAX

Pulling the headset off was the hardest thing he had ever done. And yet, life seemed to get harder from there. Every place he went, he looked around at the people, wondering if they too understood the fear he had. Everyday he woke, wondering if he was out, if the escape was real, if this freedom was just an adventure made by Caine to torture them further. The monotonous aspect of life was slowly killing him, day after day after day of waking, doubting, working, sleeping. The world around was grey and dull compared to the saturation of the circus. Eventually, Jax (or Felix, as he had long since remembered his name was) needed a break, an escape from the future that was perpetually hurtling towards him, far too quickly to understand the meaning of it all. Therefore, he decided that the best thing to do was to take a page out of an old friend’s book, and start breaking into abandoned buildings. 

The thought of finding something else like that headset had put him off this idea for several months. However, he didn’t have many options to feel better, and this was the only thing that he could think of. Also, maybe posting it online would help the others find him, if they had even got out. His dreams reiterated these fears, but also his hopes of finding someone, anyone who could understand how lost he was. 

He had been to seven buildings before anything interesting happened. The darkness reminded him of Kinger, and that at least was a small reminder of the place he once called home. The room was dark, the light of his torch lit up the areas that the dim evening light couldn’t. Everything was dusty; this building seemed to used to be a school. Broken parts of desks and chairs littered the floor, graffiti covered the walls. Everything was silent except for the sound of pigeons roosting in the walls and ceiling. And… 

CRASH

“Fuck”

A voice. 

A light outside the door.

The handle turning. 

And a face. A young woman, who looked to be just a few years older than him. She was short, with pale skin and short, wavy brown hair. She wore a faded blue hoodie and jeans, her phone torch lighting up the outside of a room. 

She hadn’t noticed him yet. 

“Hello?” 

She jumped at his voice, shocked that someone was in there. 

“Wow, you startle easily” he smirked, finding it easy to fall back into old habits. But his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. 

“As if you could.” she retorted.

They stood staring at each other, her looking at his mop of brown hair with purple tips (it made him feel more himself), green eyes and scuffed jeans. The silence was awkward, yet…. familiar. Certainly not unwelcome. 

“Soo… come here often?” her smile reminded him of… no. He couldn’t do this again, fantasising about her. He had met so many people in these buildings who could be her, but they never are. He couldn’t let himself get hurt again. 

“Eh, occasionally. It’s… an escape I guess. Of life. A friend recommended it” Felix didn’t know why he was telling this to a stranger, but she just made him feel comfortable. And he needed to tell someone, why not someone who he won’t ever remember in a few months?

“I feel that.” She looked down at the dusty floor.

He also looked down, starting to pick the black nail polish off his thumb.

“What about you?” 

“Huh?” she said, looking up at him again. 

“Why are you here?” he didn’t know why he asked. 

“It… reminds me of someone. Someone who I don’t think I’ll ever see again.” She didn’t know why she answered. 

Felix didn't know what to make of this. It was so brutally honest, which wasn’t common for people found in places like this. 

The silence stretched on. 

As before, she was the one to break it.

“So, an escape you say? Care to elaborate?” She seemed genuinely interested, her brow furrowed as if she was trying to figure him out. 

“I used to do it, before… I was kidnapped? Sort of?” He had no idea why he said that. Opening up to a random stranger was not something he expected he was going to do today. He also didn't know how much he needed it. 

“Yeah, I needed a break. Life after… was just too normal. I couldn’t keep pretending that everything was fine when it wasn’t, you know?”

“I think I do. I was also… sort of kidnapped. And forced to do these… activities that were made for our entertainment. To stop us from going mad.”

“Us? There were more people in this place?”

“Yeah, there were six including me”

Felix smiled, really smiled, for the first time in months. 

“Did you really just compare Caine’s adventures to carefree activities?”

Her eyebrows scrunched, her eyes squinted as she thought hard. 

“Wait…… wait. Jax?”

“Oh thank fuck I was right”

Chapter Text

Ris took less than 30 minutes to get ready, putting on a white shirt, black trousers that were slightly too big and a loose black tie. It was similar, no, exactly what she had worn in the bar adventure. Ris hoped that someone would recognise her if she wore what was close to what they knew her as. Jax had, after all. Well, that was mostly because she revealed things that only someone from the circus would know. Their conversation after the revelation was shorter than either of them wanted it to be. Their parting was awkward, much like their meeting. Ris looked up at him and declared “I’m going to hug you now” before clinging on, not wanting to let go in the fear that he would disappear as soon as he was out of her sight. He didn't though. He picked up her call.

It went on for three hours.
Ris found out that Jax (or Felix, as he was originally called) worked in a cafe across town, and he often hated this job as he had to work night shifts (what kind of cafe is open all night?). He lived in a shitty apartment near his work with two roommates, both of them far too interested in his personal life and his sudden change in behaviour. It turns out he was thrown out six or seven months ago, which proved her Jumanji theory. Just how far back did the others get pulled in? How long have they lived, without knowing the others were out there? There was also the question of how they escaped, they still had no idea after comparing both of their broken memories. Just a lot of screams, flashes of colour, and blank whiteness before picking up where they left off.

Jax was still a massive pain in her asshole, but he was also… different. It was like the mask had slipped now he didn’t need to wear it to keep sane.
Felix discovered Ris’ general hatred towards doing anything that she couldn’t quite remember learning how to do, such as driving or cooking, which reminded her that she needed to drive over to Liana’s house tomorrow evening.

“Ughhhh “

“What?”

“I just remembered that I agreed to go to a bar with my friend tomorrow evening.”

“What’s the problem with that?” She could sense his smirk through the phone.

“She’s going to spend the whole time flirting with some random guy she finds.”

“Well fuck, if your so worried about a little trip to the club then I’ll come with you.”

“Firstly, it’s not a club, it’s a bar, and secondly that wouldn’t solve anything, she’d just flirt with you instead”

“I’d like to see her try, I wanna to know if she worthy of Mayra”

Ris rolled her eyes at this, grateful for their friendly banter that she had missed more than she let herself believe.

“Would you actually? Come to the bar with me?”

“I mean, I’m not doing anything. It would be a way to see if Zooble worked there, and then we could start checking bars from there onwards.”

“Across all of America?”

“Why not? I’ve got time.”

It was far too late in the evening (or too early in the morning, they had lost track of the time at this point) when Ris fell asleep.

The drive over to Liana’s building was short, and so was the walk to the bar. Even so, Ris was glad that she wasn’t wearing heels. Liana was already complaining despite wearing them 24/7. That was most likely the problem. Her friend spent the entire walk over asking about the guy she’d invited. She was sure that there was something between them despite Ris’ constant correction that there wasn’t.

The bar was small and mostly empty, which was odd since there were two bartenders on the clock. Liana was flirting with one of them, and he was flirting back (her eyelashes were magical). He was short and had floppy blonde hair. His name tag read ‘Harry’. Ris had no idea what her friend saw in him. The other bartender had shorn pink hair and tattoos, the name tag read ‘Tava’.

She was thinking about this person when Jax Felix entered the bar, also dressed similarly to the bar adventure. He sat down and immediately put his head on the table.

“Hey Ris, who’s your friend?” she wiggled her eyebrows at this, obviously wanted to know if she had a thing with this boy.

“Oh this is J-Felix. Felix. We met at… umm… a party a few weeks ago.”

“I didn’t know you went to parties” Ris had Liana’s full attention now.

“I was forced”

“Weren’t we all” Felix had finally decided to join the conversation, taking his head off the table to smirk at her.

“Oh fuck off, will you try and help me here?”

“Come on Pompom, you know what I mean.”

Liana got tired of their banter and went back to flirting with Harry.
Ris was back to starting at Tava.

“Hey Felix, that bartender…”

“The one that looks like vanilla personified with the personality of an educated guess?” He looked so proud at that line.

She was rolling her eyes so much around him she feared that they would fall out.

“How long have you been cooking that one up? Also no, the other one, with the tattoos.”

“What about them?”

“Don’t they look a bit like… well, Zooble?”

Felix looked, like really looked at the person wiping down the table across from them.

“Fuck, I think you’re right.”

“What do we do?” she tried to ask, but Felix was already two steps ahead of her.

“I don’t know POMNI, I don’t know how to find the OTHER HUMANS from the AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS” Felix half shouted, drawing the attention of half the bar. If this wasn’t Zooble, Ris was going to kill him. Or maybe she would die herself from the embarrassment.

She locked eyes with Tava, and somehow managed to keep eye contact with the intense stare. They walked over, and Ris was sure they were going to be kicked out for disruption or something.

Instead, Tava just said “My breaks soon, meet me at the backdoor in 15 minutes,” before walking back behind the bar.

They sat in silence before Liana broke it.

“Okay, what the ever loving fuck was that?”

Chapter Text

ZOOBLE

Zooble Tava woke feeling more like themself then they had the entire time in the circus. Even though they couldn’t change their parts, they still had a form that felt like theirs. Work continued, but in the first three weeks they were so distracted they ended up getting forced to a new branch of the bar, a smaller place in an area of the city with bars on every corner. Although there would be less people working here, the general lack of people meant less tips. Even so, every person who came in got them wondering about the others who were trapped with them. They looked all over the internet for any reference to the circus, checked every corner of every manga website, even went to a fucking comicon to see if she… No one was them. Any of them. It was like Tava (which was a much better name than Zooble) was the only person who had got out. It might be the case, they were kicked out at the very moment they got sucked in. They might have been the only one. Which was why they weren’t even thinking about it when this pair of girls walked into the bar, followed by a young man who immediately sat at their table. After two months of trying, and waiting, and searching, and hoping, one learns tends to give up. To let life continue as it was before. It couldn’t though. Continue as it left off. So much was different. So much had changed. But Tava had pushed this all into the background, especially when at work. They didn’t want to get demoted again. 

Wiping the tables was one of their least favorite parts of the job, but it got them closer to the customers who always seemed to have some sort of gossip. Wow, to think they’d resorted to gossip for entertainment. What had become of them. The table with the group of three looked like they were just having a normal conversation. Well, two of them were, the blonde girl was flirting with Harry. Typical, he hardly did any work at the best of times, and certainly not when girls were flirting with him. It was clear he had no interest in her, Tava didn’t know why she didn’t give up. This distracted them enough that they didn’t register most of the conversation between the other two, until the young man very loudly said “I don’t know POMNI, I don’t know how to find the OTHER HUMANS from the AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS.” 

Wait.

Tava looked at them. Really looked. They could be. 

How else would they know?

Unless this was all by Caine design, to let them believe they had the freedom they all craved, just to take it away by giving them exactly what they wanted.

Genuine connection. 

They locked eyes with Pomni(?) and walked over to their table.

All eyes were on Tava as they said “My break’s soon, meet me at the backdoor in 15 minutes,” before walking back behind the bar. 

As they were walking away they overheard the blonde flirt say “Okay, what the ever loving fuck was that?”

After 15 minutes of Liana being confused, Ris and Felix left her to flirt with Harry and walked to the back of the bar where they had to wait another three minutes for Tava to actually come out. The alley wasn’t the most pleasurable place to wait in, the bins and trash littered around caused the entire place to smell. 

“Idiot drunks” They muttered as they strode out the back exit. 

They stopped staring at the two who were starting back. Felix was leaning against the stone wall whilst Ris stood in the centre of the alley, not wanting to touch anything around her. 

“So, you’re Pomni then?” 

“Yeah.” There was little to be said in moments like these, ones in which the whole world was found and then lost again as they all realised all the horrors were a reality instead of a mass hallucination of two.

“And you?”

He smirked, pushing himself off the wall in one smooth motion. Ris was starting to think that this was his basic “Come on Zoobs, you don’t recognise me?” 

“Jax.”

“The one and only” 

Ris decided to butt in before the exchange became heated” Hi, umm, I’m Christine, or Ris, and this is Felix,” she said, knowing that he would try and keep his name as a great secret. She knew she made the right decision when he pouted and said 

“Shit Ris, ruining my fun”

“Two months out and you haven’t changed fucking a bit,” They muttered before saying louder, “I’m Tava.”

“Yeah not shit, do you know what a nametag is for?”

“Alright, calm- wait,” Ris’s face scrunched in confusion and thought, “two months? That’s when you got out?”

“Yeah? When did you?” 

“Two days ago.”

At that everything fell silent, them all suddenly releasing the reality of what Ris just said. 

“You’ve only been out two days, and you’ve already been able to find two others?” Tava was trying to make direct eye contact with her, but Ris was avoiding it. 

“Nice work Pompom.”

“I mean, sort of? Felix basically found me, and finding you was a coincidence so-”

“That’s better than anyone has been able to do in the length of time we’ve been out. I’ve been searching, but there’s nothing out there. No one has reached out or anything.” Truth be told, Tava was worried about Gangle. Worried that she had convinced herself it wasn’t real, which wasn’t healthy for anyone, let alone someone in their situation. They needed to find her. 

“Well, I’ve changed all my usernames to… to Pomni, but nothing else came up when I searched your names.”

Felix and Tava both stopped and looked at the ground.

“Why the fuck did I not think of that.” 

“Because you’re an idiot.” 

“Fuck off Jax.”

Before this could become another heated argument (those were far too common between these two, and God she had missed it), Liana strided into the alley, apparently tired of flirting with someone who clearly had no intention of flirting back. 

“Sup guys, sorry to interrupt this threesome but are we going home soon?” She was clearly drunk, if not fully then at least very tipsy. 

“Oh yeah, we can go now.” Ris said after a glance back at Tava and Felix. She took a few steps before running back to scribble her phone number on Tava’s notebook. 

“Please don’t kill each other. Oh and Tava?”

Ris met their strong gaze and held it as she smiled. 

“I missed you.” 

Liana was talking about this supposed ‘threesome’ the entire way back to her apartment. Ris spent the time thinking about how to find the others. 

Two down, three more to go. 

The Horrific Digital Nightmare

Zoobs: Shut it asshole

You: Come on, you know it’s true

Pompom: Guys, I'm trying to sleep. Please stop arguing. 

You: Would have been easier if you’d let me come with you

Pompom: … nope. I don’t trust myself in my apartment half the time, let alone you

Zoobs: Stop flirting and go to bed. 

Pompom: … 

You: I never should've given you my number.

Chapter Text

Every morning Ris awoke feeling more out of control. The dreams were getting worse, the constant fear of being back terrified her every sleeping moment. It had been two weeks since they had found Tava, and she couldn’t keep lying to herself, couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Every moment felt like it was going to turn into a nightmare featuring the slow but persistent downward spiral of her mental state. She thought about getting a therapist for this, she had a councillor in school and it helped a bit with her past struggles. But this was more than her parent’s divorce, this was more than friendship troubles. This was borderline insanity wrapped up in a digital torture room. There was no therapist in the world that wouldn’t send her to a mental hospital. It’s a shame none of the others who were trapped were trained psychiatrists.

Speaking of the others, neither Felix or Tava had any idea of how to find them. There was still nothing on the internet despite them all changing their usernames. It was as if everyone else had fallen off the face of the earth.

Well, Tava had one idea. And it was one that neither Ris nor Felix were going to enjoy.

Comicon. 

The problem was, the closest comicon was a two hour drive from the city, the convention centre was in the middle of nowhere. Tava was driving themselves there, which left her to drive Felix because he didn't have a car. She asked about this in the first 5 minutes.

“You think I can afford a car? On minimum wage and minimal tips? Woah, I didn’t think you were that upper class.”

“Oh fuck off, I’m not upper class.”

“Really? Because I’ve seen your apartment.”

“It’s a one bedroom flat and you know it.”

“You have a separate kitchen and dining room.”

She took one hand off the wheel to hit him, laughing at his annoyed “Heyy, what was that for?”

She just glared at him. 

His genuine smile reminded her of something, the feeling in her chest was new but not unwelcome. 

This reminded her of a moment that happened a week ago, when she finally allowed Felix to visit her flat. They were sat talking on the coach, about anything and everything. The sky was dark outside the window, the view of the city obstructed by the crane outside. Stupid construction work that woke her up at ungodly hours of the morning. The only light came from a tall lamp behind them. Ris’s head was in his lap, his hands subconsciously running through her hair as he spoke softly about his mother. How she used to hold him afterwards, kiss his bruises even though she knew it would only add to hers. Ris looked up at him. Felix was smiling. He was doing that more and more when around her. Genuine smiles, nothing like the fake ones he wore in the circus. She looked at him, when he thought no one was looking. And she felt… something hadn’t felt before. There was no name for this feeling. Not one Ris knew of anyway. It was pink. That was all she could tell. 

It was the way he smiled at her that caused this feeling. He smiled like it was a secret that he wanted to share, but couldn’t with words.

The car journey was similar to their conversations in her flat living room. They talked about just about everything from meaningless conversations like:

“You ever been to Comicon?”

“Felix, I’ve never watched anime.”

“That’s not the only thing you go to comicon for!”

“Really?”

“Yeah!? I went as Lightning McQueen once.”

“... I need pictures.”

To more intense conversations. 

“I just can’t sleep. Every time I close my eyes, it’s like I’ve put that headset back on. Block colours and poor graphics” He laughed, but it was forced, like he was baring his soul in the process. 

“I’m just so tired of waiting for Caine to come out, telling us it wasn’t real. That nothing is real. And I half believe him.”

“Believe what?” 

He was staring straight at the road ahead of them, his eyes unfocused as the countryside flew past. 

“That this isn’t, or that wasn’t, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s real anymore, and..” He was forcing the words out now, knowing they needed to be said, but saying them out loud made them real. “It scares me. That nothing could be real.”

“I’m real. No matter what, you can trust that. I was real in the circus, and I’m real outside of it. I’m not going to disappear.”

He looked up at her, eyes shining in the light of the rising sun. 

“Now go to sleep. You’re going to need it”

Thankfully, he obliged with little complaint. 

Some time later, Ris glanced over at him. Felix was asleep with his cheek pressed up against the car window, drooling over the hoodie he was using as a pillow. 

That was her hoodie. 

That she thought she had lost. 

There was going to be payback for this. 

It was odd. All the time spent in the circus, and all the time spent out of it made her feel like this person beside her was someone she barely knew. And yet, she did. She’d known him for two weeks (and around a year, if you count the invisible time in the circus), and yet he was the person she trusted most in the whole universe. 

Ris shook him awake as they pulled into the car park, which was full of (shocker) cars and people walking around in cosplay. It should have been perfectly normal for a comicon, but something felt off. It was if there was something Ris should have recognised, but couldn’t. It was too far back in her memory, or had been blocked out long enough that she couldn’t remember it anymore. A flash of blue and red. Ribbons. Shapes. Colour. 

Parking was a nightmare. And incredibly expensive. 

The hall was packed with people, Ris felt incredibly out of place in her skirt and zip up hoodie. At least she wasn’t only wearing a hoodie and jeans like Felix was. Tava fitted in slightly more in their black shirt and long straight trousers that were wide off the leg. They looked like they could fit into an anime. Maybe. Ris hadn’t seen any anime, so she couldn’t be sure. Unless you count the anime adventure from the suggestion box, but that was original so Ris couldn’t be sure if it counted. It was odd to know what being 2D was like. 

Someone walked past to the endless rows of stalls. Someone that looked like…

“Ris, you are going to want to see this.”

She turned, looking at what Felix was staring at open eyed. 

It was her.

But not her. 

It was

Pomni. 

Chapter Text

“Ris, you are going to want to see this.”

She turned, looking at what Felix was staring at open eyed. 

It was her.

But not her. 

It was

Pomni. 

And Jax. 

And Zooble, Gangle, Kinger, Ragatha, Caine. 

It was them. As they were. Exactly as they were. In the circus. Animated and all. 

How? Why?

There were people around them, cosplaying the people in front of them. Or the people they used to be. The lights were too bright, the noise too loud. Ris’s mind was spinning, full of all and no thoughts. Her mind was blank, she couldn’t move. Why couldn’t she move?

Felix saw the moment Ris’s mind froze. The moment everything crashed down. And there was nothing he could do, except get them out of here. 

Tava made eye contact with Felix, and they both took Ris by the arm, and guided her out of the building. 

The fresh air hit Ris’s face, waking up her blank mind and bringing her back to the present. She fell against the wall, sliding down it until she was sitting on the cold concrete floor. Was she even real? Was anything real? Someone had recorded them inside the circus, and had decided to play it off as a silly animated show. And she was just supposed to be okay with that? How? She had to continue life, not knowing if anything she did was private. Everything she did in the circus was dramatised for entertainment. Her pain, and torture, and madness. Her arguments, bonding, dreams, nightmares, all used for people’s enjoyment. How? Why? This wasn’t… She couldn’t keep going like this. She had told Jax, fuck, Felix that everything was real just under an hour ago. And now? How could she say that, knowing that it probably wasn’t true? She needed to get out. She couldn’t… Why? 

She was l  sing her 

               o            mind. 

“What the fuck? Why are we cartoon characters? How are we here?” Tava exclaimed. 

No one had the answer to any of those questions. 

“If Gangle is in there, she’s probably having a breakdown.”

“So what?” Felix was angry. Angry that they had been broadcast to the nations. Angry that their privacy was taken away like this. Gangle was the last thing on his mind at the moment. 

“She should be easy to find, we just look for someone freaking out. It shouldn’t be too hard.” 

“Fine. You look for her, and I’ll stay with Ris.” He was worried about her. She still hadn’t said a word, but her breathing slowly returned to normal. That was a good sign. 

Tava turned and strode back into the building, being suddenly overwhelmed by the lights and bustle around them. People were everywhere, and no one looked to be having a mental breakdown. This might be harder than they thought. 

“Ris? Ris?? You okay?” 

He was getting increasingly more worried. 

“Christine? Please.”

She was unresponsive, her head in between her legs with her hands gripping her knees. He sat down next to her. She was shaking.

“Pomni!”

Her head flicked up sharply. Her gaze met his, her blue and brown eyes filled with tears she stubbornly wouldn't let fall. 

“I… I can’t. Why… that’s me. But not… I don’t… Why?”

“I don't know” She leant into him, and he put his arms around her, shielding her from the anxious faces of passerbys. 

“Its going to be okay.”

“How do you know?” She sounded so unsure. She was never unsure. She was always so certain of everything she did. He didn’t know how to make it better. 

“I don’t. But I’ll keep trying until it is. We can figure this out. We can find everyone. You know why?”

“Why?” 

“Because we have you to help us. You, who found me in two days of being out. On my second day, I didn’t leave the house. I didn’t answer messages, or phone calls, or even go to work. But you instantly tried. And that’s how we will get through this, because you never stop trying. And I won’t either.” He stood up and offered a hand. “Now come on. Tava’s gone to find Gangle, we can go wait in the car if you want to?”

“No, let's go find her.”

The building was cramped. And loud. There were so many people dressed as them. There were also several Pomni and Jax cosplayers kissing in dark corners. How did they know?

“Hey Felix?”

“Yeah?”

“Where’s the bathroom?”

It took far too long to find them. 

As Ris was coming out of the cubicle, she bumped into a girl with dark hair. 

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No, it was my fault.”

She had blonde roots like her hair was dyed and forgotten about, and downturned blue eyes. Her cosplay was the best one she’d seen yet. It was of…

She started open wide before running out of the bathroom. 

“Felix! I found her.”

“Where?”

“In the bathroom, she’s in full cosplay.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Trust me.” 

Felix did, more than anyone. 

Gangle herself interrupted his answer.

“E-excuse me, you left this by the sink.” She held up Ris’s bag. 

Felix looked at her, guilt in his eyes. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“For.. for what?”

“Bullying you. In the circus. It was hard enough for all of us without constant teasing. You didn’t deserve that.” 

She looked confused before smiling, tears in her eyes. 

“Jax? And… Pomni?”

“Hey Gangle. I’m Felix, and this is Ris.”

“Chloe. Have you found… anyone else.” 

“Why yes indeed.” He waved at Tava, who immediately ran towards them upon seeing Gangle. 

Tava had lapped the entire building twice, and there was no sign of anyone who looked even slightly like they could be Gangle. It was hopeless, and there was no reason she would be here at all. They spotted Ris and Felix walking with a black haired girl in a full Gangle cosplay, red skirt and white blouse wrapped in ribbon. Gangle… 

“Gangle!” 

“Zooble?” 

Felix and Ris turned away smiling as they embraced. 

“Come on, let’s leave them with some privacy.” 

Ris pulled him away, holding his hand as they walked the length of the hall and back, rating the cosplays of themselves and admiring the art of all fandoms. 

She had forgotten to let go of his hand. 

He didn’t mention it.

Chapter Text

Gangle.

In her returning memories were things that she didn’t even know she’d lost. Family, friends, her college, her major in art (to her parent’s disapproval). She had a physical form. There was matter in between her bones. She could smile. And frown. She was complete, and yet was broken. She had to walk back to her accommodation, her roommates greeting her with news of a new indie series on YouTube. They wanted to watch it with her. She wasn’t sure, until they said the name. 

5 months later, after living and suffering, she found the piece that filled the ever present hole in her heart. And it happened at Comicon of all places. 

“Gangle!”

“Zooble?”

Strong arms were around her, holding her as she wept. She took in Zooble’s face, her human face. Her eyes were thickly lined in black, irises shining with areas of brown and green. 

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I’m Tava.”

“Chloe.”

The Horrific Digital Nightmare

Ris: Me and Felix are going to watch TADC if anyone wants to join?

Tava <3: Why do you want to watch it when we experienced it firsthand? 

Felix: To see if I actually knew where the camera was

Tava <3: … Why not

Ris: Chloe?

You: Sure

Liana had decided to invite herself, due to Ris telling her about her plans that evening. 

“You are going to watch The Amazing Digital Circus? Without me? I didn’t know you liked black comedies.”

She didn’t take no for an answer, which led to Ris coming to a crossroads. She could either: tell Liana about the circus, or not. Well why not? She probably won’t believe her, and if she does then Ris wouldn’t have to pretend to be okay anymore. 

Liana was sitting in her living room as Ris paced, trying to figure out how to tell her. Felix was laid back on the couch, looking like he was scrolling while he was actually keeping a worried eye on her. 

“Ris, girl, you’re gonna wear a hole in the rug if you keep pacing.”

“Okay. Okay.” She sat on the edge of the couch due to Felix’s legs being on most of it. 

“Liana, I need to tell you something.”

“Okay? Why are you so worried? Did something happen?”

“No, it’s just…” She took a deep breath. She knew this was going to be hard, yet somehow it came as a surprise. 

Felix laid his hand on hers. He met her gaze and nodded. Once.

“I’m Pomni.”

Ris’s eyes flicked up to Liana’s, who was standing at this point.

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”

“Pomni. I’m her.”

“Ris, you aren't making any sense.”

“I… uh… I’m sorry, I don’t-”

Felix cut her off. 

“They recorded us. In the circus. And, idk. Put it on YouTube apparently.”

“Who are you? Really? You show up out of nowhere and claim to know Ris better than anyone?” Oh great, now she was suspicious. 

“Oh, hi, I’m Jax. I was trapped with her as a purple bunny for several years.”

“What?”

“Come on, just… watch with us. We’ll prove it.” Ris was worried she was going to lose her. She had no idea how to prove it. 

The doorbell rang. 

“Who’s that?” Ris was relieved that Liana didn’t bolt out the door at the first loud noise. 

Felix decided at this moment to be unhelpful. 

“It’s Gangle and Zooble.”

Liana looked shocked, but at least she sat down again, not near the door. Hopefully she wouldn’t run. Hopefully she didn’t think they were all insane. 

“I’ll… go get the door.”

It was indeed Gangle and Zooble. 

“Hey, you're that bartender that Ris was talking to.”

“Name’s Tava. And this is Chloe.”

“Liana”

They had stolen the armchair by the time Ris re-entered the room. It was old, a gift from her parents when she moved out. Somehow both Chloe and Tava had managed to fit on it, curled around each other. Ris sat down on the couch, pushing Felix’s legs off so there was room. Liana was already sitting on the end by his feet. 

She sat silent, taking it all in. 

Ris watched her, worried. 

As she leant into Felix, he whispered “hey, you okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“We are about to watch ourselves in the most traumatising place of our lives, both figuratively and literally.”

“Yeah. I’ll be okay.”

He watched her more than the screen when they started. Felix didn’t understand, for someone he had tried so hard to push away, she had somehow become the most important person in his life. To be honest, it was a pretty low bar in the first place. His father, drunk most of the time. His mother, gone. Few friends because he couldn’t lose anyone else. It was fascinating, how certain he was that she wouldn’t leave him. He would try to return the favour. 

It was odd. Watching yourself. Ris reckoned Felix had it the hardest. He was (and still sometimes still is) an asshole. But he wanted to be more. He didn’t need that mask anymore, even if it still slipped on occasionally. He just kept wincing and whispering “sorry” at anything he did. 

Seeing Gumigoo was hard. The others didn’t know everything, she didn’t tell anyone the details of what happened down there. They knew now. Ris was glad she didn’t need to tell it. 

They were about a third of the way through the third episode (her life. In episodes. Crazy.) when Liana leant over and whispered “I believe you.” She didn’t know why. She didn’t need to know. Just that small trust meant so much. This moment was promptly spoiled by a knock on the door. 

“Oh it’s probably Mayra, I was texting her about this earlier. I’ll go get it.”

“Nah, I’ve got it.”

“You want us to pause?”

She just smirked.

“It's fine, I’ve lived it.”

She unlocked the door. It was indeed Mayra, her russet curls messy and her left eye milky. Huh. She’d forgotten about that. 

“Hi, sorry, this is a really weird question, but are you Pomni?”

“What the fuck?”

Chapter Text

RAGATHA

May struggled with returning. Mind you, she was overjoyed to be free. But other people… weren’t. Her mother questioned the change in her behaviour, questioned her openness and kindness, as if these were luxuries that she didn't deserve to have or give out. So May becomes closed off again. Living under the radar, not seeking anything more than she thought she deserved. Which, according to her mother, was a life of solitude. She could not love who she was ‘supposed’ to, so she could not love anyone. This was destroying her. May longed for someone, anyone, who could fill her loneliness. She knew, as most people should, that you need to be content on her own before relying on another. It wasn’t that she felt empty, or missing a piece. She did feel broken. That was what her mother taught her to feel. May wanted, no, needed someone. Anyone. Please. 

She lived 3 months like this. Alone. Struggling, as so many others do. And yet, she felt as if her struggles were insufficient, like there were people dealing and fighting so much worse, she was just being dramatic. Wait, that was her mother’s voice. May couldn’t tell the difference anymore. She was already broken from birth. It was odd how in the circus she could suddenly see with both eyes. Well, one eye, one button. She had to adjust to life as it had been before, and will continue to be after. Mother noticed this. Her readjustment period where everything seemed off, her spatial awareness and coordination was the most affected. This made it difficult to work. It was difficult before. Mother thought this a pitiful excuse for laziness. 

Life continued as what she thought it was before. She retreated inside of herself, convinced she was broken, years and years of the same words repeating in her head. 

These three months of grey were violently interrupted with a burst of colour and life. With Liana. 

Liana was an easy person to be friends with. They met at a bar. May didn’t go to bars, but she managed to slip away from the house unnoticed for one evening. She went to feel something. Anything

 Liana just came up to her after seeing May sat alone in the corner for far too long, declaring that she looked lonely and wouldn’t allow anyone to drink alone. She was someone who May could talk to for hours without stopping. Liana didn’t leave May out (like many of her other friends. Mother’s friends). She was her first real friend. And maybe, someday, something more. 

Her second was one of Liana’s co-workers. 

Ris. 

The moment May met Ris, she knew. Ris was in every way Pomni that May was still Ragatha. However, she didn’t understand. She would drop hints about the circus, the adventures, the others. But they all went right on Ris’s head. So May assumed she was wrong. She was often wrong. 

That was Mother’s voice again. She had been doing better after leaving, but there were still moments when she felt worthless. Like when she looked at Liana, and saw the one person her soul longed for. She shouldn’t feel like this. 

She was

Worthless.

Broken.

Wrong. 

“Stop. That isn’t true.” May was sitting on Liana’s couch, having just left her parent’s house for good. She was telling her everything. Well, almost everything.

“Look at me.” She lifted May’s chin up so their eyes met.”That isn’t wrong. It’s love. You aren’t broken, or worthless, just because of who you love. Do you know what I see when I look at you?”

“No?” She sobbed. 

“Someone who loves so deeply, it hurts. Someone who shows kindness and concern to everyone because you genuinely care. I have never met anyone as loving as you. You aren’t broken. You aren’t wrong. You are worthy of being loved.”

She moved into Liana’s guest room. 

When May had her first Christmas away from “home”, Liana couldn’t be there. She was visiting family. They still called. It was short, but was one of the best calls May had ever had. 

First ring, Liana picked up immediately. 

“Hey.” 

“Hey.”

“Soo, have a nice Christmas?” It wasn’t often they had nothing to talk about, but Liana was desperate for conversation.

“Yep.”

“What did you get?”

“Not you.” May joked

“You’ll always have me.” Liana answered, no hesitation, perfectly serious.

The conversation continued for a few minutes, May’s heart pounding through it all. She smiled, properly smiled. Whilst May smiled often, Liana was one of the only people who could get her to smile like this. She sat staring at the wall long after the phone call was over. 

In October, a new series came out on Youtube and May had to react to everything like it was the first time seeing it. Ris had suddenly become distant, barely answering her texts and only seeing Liana occasionally. May was worried. And suspicious. 

It was mid November when May received a nonsensical text from Liana. About the circus. 

About Ris. 

Mother was wrong. 

May was right. 

And if Mother was wrong about one thing, what else had she got wrong?

Ris unlocked the door. It was indeed Mayra, her russet curls messy and her left eye milky. Huh. She’d forgotten about that. 

“Hi, sorry, this is a really weird question, but are you Pomni?”

“What the fuck?” 

“Oh, sorry, I though-”

“No, I am Pomni. Are you?”

“Ragatha.”

Ris heard Felix coming down the hall. Perfect timing, as always. 

“Hey Pompom, what’s taking so lo-”

“Jax?”

They stood, staring, taking each other in. 

Ragatha broke the stillness, pulling them both close and wrapping her arms around them. 

Felix was whispering apologies as Ragatha wept (Ragatha? Mayra? They’d have to ask). 

“Come, Gangle and Zooble are in the other room.”

Ris pulled her by hand as Felix followed closely behind. 

Six pairs of eyes met them as they entered the room. 

“Hi, I’m May.”

Tava’s suspicious eyes melted.

Chloe laughed in delight. 

“Ragatha!”

But her eyes were on one person, with hurt and confusion staring back at her. 

“May?”

Chapter Text

“May?” 

Liana was the type of person who showed her emotions clearly on her face. Therefore, her pain and confusion were clear at this moment. She stood up, ready to leave. To run. 

“I will explain everything, just stay, please?”

But Liana was already gone. 

Like everyone, she was gone. 

Chloe stood up and took her hand, gazing up at her with shining eyes. 

“My name is Chloe, and this is Tava.” She said softly as she gestured over to where Tava was still sitting. 

“I’m Felix.” He walked up to her, not making eye contact until he was close. He offered a small smile. 

She returned it.

Of course, someone had to break up this tender reunion, and Ris was the unlucky one. 

“Sorry, I’m confused, how did I not know it was you?”

“Because you weren’t Pomni when I met you. You were just Ris.”

Ris’s nose scrunched in confusion, her head tilted to the side as it often was when she was confused. Huh, when did Felix start noticing that?

“Wait, before. Of course, I met you before it all. But, why didn’t I remember you? In the circus?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

Tava decided to join this conversation, they had a sliver of an idea. Nothing real yet. “So, how long have you been out?”

“9 months” May admitted, to which several people exclaimed: “9 months?!”

“Yeah? How long have you all been out?”

“Around 7 months.” Felix said, not looking anyone in the eye. 

“5 months.” Chloe.

“3 months.” Tava.

“Just over 2 weeks.” May looked shocked at Ris's words.

So there was a two month gap between people both arriving and leaving, with May entering at 9 months, that meant Kinger…

“Two weeks?” 

Tava was irritated that their thoughts were interrupted by May’s surprise. They didn’t understand why everyone was shocked at the time frame, it made logical sense. 

They zoned out the others rambling and continued to think. If Kinger really had gone in 11-12 months ago, that meant… nothing. Dang, Tava really thought they were getting somewhere with this. They were no private investigator, but surely this would put them all one step closer to finding him. Wait a second…

They were pulled out of their thoughts by being gently shaken by Chloe. 

“Tava? You okay? You were lost to the world for a minute.”

“I have an idea.”

The problem was, their plan was both costly and time consuming. Therefore, it was a plan for tomorrow. Instead, Chloe insisted that May tell them all her story. So, after they had all got comfortable again (Tava and Chloe were back in the armchair. Ris still had no idea how they both fit. She was leaning against Felix on one side of the couch and May was sitting at the other end) May started talking. 

“As I said, I’ve been out for 9 months. And at the start it was… lonely, to say the least. And, I needed people. I needed you. Then I met Liana. I never usually go to the bar, but I’m glad I did. She,” May blinked, holding back tears, “she saved me. She gave me a way out. Someone to talk to, to hold, to laugh and cry with. I wouldn’t have survived without her. And then, she introduced me to Ris. The first time I met you, I thought, and hoped. But you didn’t understand. You weren’t truly Pomni. 

“But I stuck close. I think a part of me always knew. And… and I missed you. All of you. A fraction of what you would become was better than the empty space of your entire absence. I gave up hoping long ago until Liana sent me a crazed message about the circus. And now I’m here.”

Chloe was weeping silently, Tava holding her. 

Ris moved to embrace May, tears falling. 

Felix looked like he wasn’t impacted, but Ris knew better. His nose was twitching. He was the one who broke the silence. 

His voice came out wrong. 

“So.” He cleared his throat and tried again. “Do you wanna keep watching?”

“I think we could all use a distraction.” Ris said, knowing that that was Felix’s intention. Distracting until he could properly deal with the emotional impact this moment was having on him. 

They did keep watching until most people went home. May texted them later, saying that she and Liana had had a conversation when she got back. All was well.

Felix had fallen asleep, with Ris lying on his chest. She didn’t move, no matter how uncomfortable it would become. After all, she wouldn’t want to wake him. 

Chapter Text

Felix woke up sweating with a weight on his chest. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t see. There were…. Lights. And eyes. And the sky was tearing open, Pomni was fading into nothingness as he watched on, helpless. She was gone, and he was fading, disappearing into code and white and darkness and-

He was home. But he still couldn’t breathe, and she was…

Pomni

Ris. 

Asleep on his chest. She was shaking. Or was that him? 

He couldn’t tell. 

The blanket that had been laid across them had slipped down. He pulled up, covering Ris up to her head. 

Felix started sobbing, trying to keep his chest still in the process. The memory of last night crashed into his mind. Ragatha. She had found them. But that wasn’t why he was crying. He couldn’t figure out why. 

“Felix?”

Shit he’d woken her. That was the one thing he was trying not to do. She rubbed her eyes and looked up at her. She was so warm. So were his cheeks. 

Luckily it was too dark for her to see his red eyes. 

She knew anyway. 

“You okay?” Her voice was groggy with sleep. 

“I-” He hesitated. It was hard. For so long he had pretended to be fine, pushed others away and hid himself behind a mask. Felix was so tired of pretending.

“I don’t know. I would blame it on the nightmares, but they are so common that they are almost a comfort at this point.” Who knew Felix could be such a poet late at night. “I just… don’t understand. Why. Or…” He truly didn’t know. Tears were filling his eyes again and he couldn’t stop them. Ris brushed them away. Her hands were soft and gentle, contrasting what he was used to. What he deserved. 

She brushed her fingers over her lips, as gentle as before. Her face was suddenly clear within the darkness. 

Felix pushed her off his chest and stood up, racing for the door before he thought better. His chest was heaving as he turned.

And saw the pain and confusion on her face. 

“I’m sorry, I thought…” 

“No, it’s not your fault. I…”

He took a deep breath and sighed. He was scared. And that made the mask slip, but not off. If anything, fear was the cement that kept the mask on. 

“I guess, I’ll always love you in most meanings of the word. But at the same time, we can’t-” He laughed half a sob. “We can’t be together. And I get that and I understand that and I understand why you feel how you do. Everything will work out. Just not for me”

“Why not?”

Now it was his turn to be confused. 

“Why not for you?”

How was she so persistent? 

“Felix? Everything will work out. For me. And for you. Us. We have the time.” 

Us. Her and him. Together. She thought there was an ‘us’. No, scratch that. She knew there was an ‘us’.

He had sat down again without realising it. Ris pulled his chin so he was looking her in the eyes. 

“Listen to me. I will fight for you. No matter how much you push me away. Because I know you. I know when you are actually done, and you aren’t. Like you weren’t in the circus. You don’t have to hide from me. You can retreat, and run, and hide, but I know you. I have spent pretty much most of my time outside the circus with you. And quite a lot of time in the circus. I know when you are being truthful. And you aren’t. So tell me, why are you afraid?”

He didn’t want to admit it. Saying it out loud would make it real. But it would be if he didn’t say it. 

“I can’t lose you.”

“Then why do you push me away?”

“So I don’t have the chance of you leaving. Like… like everyone else.”

Her hand stayed at his chin, but his eyes weren’t meeting hers. His voice was barely a whisper, a stark contrast to his previous tone. 

“I will never leave you.”

“That’s just it. How are you so sure? How are you always sure?”

“I have to be. To make sure you stay.” He finally met her eyes, her gaze as strong as her promise. That’s what convinced him. If she was certain in every bone in her body that she would keep fighting for him, then maybe he could be too. 

“Okay.”

“Okay?” 

He nodded, taking her hand off his face with slow and controlled motions. She untangled their fingers and took her hand back up to his face and cupped his cheek. Her fingers were as soft as before, except he now noticed the calluses on them. He would have to ask what she did that required those to form. Her eyes were bright in the darkness, brown and blue glinting. Ris leant forwards, an unspoken invitation. 

Their lips met. It was like a gunshot, fast, precise, dangerous. The lights danced behind their eyelids, fingers tangled in the other’s hair. His hand moved to her waist, the other cupping her face as their mouths moved up, down, up, down. An endless cycle reflective of the lapping tides. They slid to the floor, eyes open and staring at each other, forest against sky, emerald against oak. Her soft brown hair tickled his cheeks, Ris’s hands were in his hair, gently combing through it as they sat, fully one with each other. The air between them was separated as they fell away from each other. The light of the rising sun caught their eyes, drifting slowly above the horizon. They sat watching it, fully content in the company of one another. 

Felix started laughing. Softly at first, before he couldn’t contain it and was wheezing on the floor.

Ris was laughing with him when she asked “What is it?”

“The fans were right. How the fuck did they know?”

“They probably didn’t. They just saw a female and male character in close proximity and jumped to conclusions.”

“They were still right though.”

“Yeah.” She sighed. “And I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“Really?”

“Not for the moon.”