A Balancing Act

by m1q0t3

Summary:

Jax doesn't do relationships.
So what happens when Pomni comes along and his own rules start to betray him.

Chapter 1

Pomni was starting to come to terms with her life in the digital circus.

She got along with everyone pretty well now, and the adventures were filling the time as well as they could - as much as she wasn’t thrilled about them.

Every day was starting to look a little less scary, she had friends here and talking to them made everything feel a little less world-shattering.

She sat in her bed staring at the carnival-style tent roof of her bedroom, counting the hanging stars above her and grumbling.

“I should get up…” she groaned.

Making her way to her dresser, she stumbled over pillows and toys scattered across the floor. The toys weren’t for her to play with so much as a weird attempt at circus-themed decor from Caine.

Weirdness aside, her room had a strange sense of whimsicality to it - dimly lit with only fairy lights and strange novelty lamps casting over the room. Draped fabrics skewing the walls and ceiling, it was actually pretty cosy.

She stared at herself in the mirror before clumsily pulling off her oversized pinstriped t-shirt and replacing it with her classic jester outfit.

Running her hands through her messy brown hair, she attempted to make herself look a little more presentable before finishing off with her hat.

 

Pomni arrived in the kitchen for breakfast, greeted by an overly chirpy Ragatha.

“Pomni! How did you sleep?” she mused with her face buried in a warm cup of tea.

“As good as any other night I guess..” grumbled Pomni. She hadn’t slept a full night since entering the circus, she felt exceptionally lonely when it came time to sleep.

“Do you think today's adventure will be a little less… extreme?” shuddered Gangle, looking to Zooble.

Caine’s new thing has been circus-themed adventures to ‘stay close to home’. Last time was a horrible lion tamer adventure where Gangle was literally eaten by the lions.

“I hope there aren’t any rats this time..” winced Kinger, holding his head fearfully.

“WELL HELLO MY LOVELY LITTLE LILYPADS!” boomed Caine as he appeared suddenly above the cast. Pomni took note of Jax walking casually into the kitchen as Caine spoke.

“TODAY’S ADVENTURE IS SUPER MEGA TIGHT ROPE WALK OF DOOM” he swirled and shot confetti from his hands as he proudly announced the title.

“Sounds dangerous boss!” chimed Bubble.

“THAT’S RIGHT MY STRANGE SPHERICAL FRIEND! WILL THEY MAKE IT TO THE END OR WILL THEY PLUMMET TO THEIR DOOOOOOMS” he stretched out the final word a little longer than necessary.

“Nope, not doing it, goooodbye.” said Zooble as they walked away.

“ONE OF THESE DAYS I’LL MAKE YOU LOVE ME.” replied Caine holding a fist before his face as he looked down in disappointment.

The cast were all teleported onto individual tightropes, the world around them morphed into a supersized circus tent, below them a void of darkness only accompanied by the faint sounds of an audience cheering.

In front of them were three ‘checkpoint’ platforms before the big finish at the end. Each platform resembled a circus staple.

“Oh great, tightropes. Can’t wait to see Gangle end up a splat on the floor.” Jax smirked while Ragatha shot him a disapproving look.

It was at this point he turned to his right and noticed Pomni.

She was shaking.

“Not good with heights pompom?” he quipped.

“I'm fine Jax, I can handle it.” She shot back. It’s not like she couldn’t handle heights, she had plenty of risky moments exploring abandoned structures in the real world, but something about the void beneath her and the overwhelming cheer of the audience had her rattled.

One by one the cast made their way across the ropes toward the first platform, the seals ball.

Something that came with Jax’s rabbit form was the unique ability to carefully control every muscle in his body with ease. His natural balance was unmatched, making this part of the adventure a piece of cake.

He made his way across his rope easily, staying behind the rest only so he could watch in amusement as they wobbled and shakily tread the ropes.

Pomni caught his eye however.

She placed each foot in front of the other with a firmness, like she’d been in this position before.

“A little clown in your past life too huh?” taunted Jax.

“Mph-No” she wobbled slightly “If I didn’t have a basic grasp on balancing I’d probably be dead by now..” She mumbled, keeping her gaze locked on the rope the entire time.

Jax considered what she’d said, remembering how she’d mentioned exploring abandoned buildings in her real life. His stomach jerked a little at the idea of Pomni falling and hurting herself, something he’d usually find hilarious if it was anyone else.

He shook his head firmly and continued on.

By the time Pomni and Jax made it to the ball, Gangle and Kinger had already passed it leaving only Ragatha on the platform with them.

“Pomni! You made it!” She grinned with a little too much relief before noticing Jax had also made it to the ball.

“So dollface, how’s this one work?” he smirked at Ragatha, the name noticeably getting under her skin.

He was cut off however by the sudden spin of the ball.

“RAGATHA! RUN TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BALL” Pomni yelled as her and Jax began slipping down the far side of the tilting structure.

She was knocked backwards into Jax who was now on his knees behind her trying to gain some sort of balance.

As her head hit his chest she looked upwards and the pair locked eyes.

He lingered on her face for just a second too long before scrunching up and pushing her back into the middle.

“Geez talk about an eyesore” He choked out as the three of them got into place.

The ball finally tilted back into a steady place allowing them to make their way to the next set of ropes.

Jax hummed to himself as he walked along the rope with ease.

As Pomni relaxed into the movement, she ever so slightly lost her footing and nearly slipped off her rope.

Jax, without thinking, reached out and grabbed Pomni’s arm to steady her

“Careful there Pom Pom, or you’ll end up a permanent decoration down on the floor.” snickered Jax.
“You could’ve helped without the added commentary.” She hissed, before realising Jax still had his hand around her wrist.

He lingered there for a moment, only now taking in how small she actually was. His fingers wrapped around her porcelain arm with ease and she felt so fragile in his hold.

He suddenly jerked his hand back and paced ahead on his own rope.

“And where’s the fun in that?” He cooed as he bound forward.

Her heart was racing.

She was so afraid when she’d slipped, she hadn’t even thought about how quickly he’d been there to rescue her. Her cheeks began to heat up but she brushed it off quickly. It was Jax after all, he probably only helped so he could keep laughing at her.

To the far left, Ragatha had watched the whole interaction from her rope.

Her face contorted into a grimace, that wasn’t the Jax she’d known. He would’ve taken it as an opportunity to obnoxiously flirt or feel her up in the process, but that was genuine. He held her gently, with care.

She hugged her sides tightly as she shook off the thought and made her way along her rope.

By the time they made it to the second platform, the giant seesaw, they’d caught up with the rest of the group.

They manoeuvred so that Gangle, Jax and Pomni were on one side with Kinger and Ragatha on the other.

The seesaw was slowly weighing down a little more on Pomni’s side, and as it did Gangle’s comedy mask slipped from her face and went plummeting into the darkness below.

The mask falling must’ve evened out the weight as the seesaw slowed steady back in the middle.

Jax hugged his side as he jeered “Nice one Gangle! You losing your comedy mask ACTUALLY helped us for once!”

Gangle looked at the floor in disappointment.

Pomni put a hand on her shoulder offering as much comfort as she could in this horrible adventure.

There was only one rope left to the final platform, so they each had to go one at a time.

Ragatha went first, followed by Kinger and then Gangle, leaving only Jax and Pomni to go.

Jax went first, bounding across the rope with ease, but as he turned back to look at Pomni, she was struggling to make her way across.

“Gee, don’t go fallin’ on me again now, I might just let you this time.” He joked, trying to offer her some kind of twisted encouragement, but it fell on deaf ears.

Pomni was so focused on the rope, she just had to make it across this one and this stupid adventure was over. She could handle heights and dangerous situations, but she was starting to get dizzy from the fear and the cheers were starting to get louder, breaking her focus.

Jax noticed that something was wrong, and he knew if he didn’t step in he’d watch her fall into the void any second now.

He carefully stepped out onto the rope, and in one swift movement, scooped Pomni up under his arm and used the rope to jump them both back onto the platform.

He placed her down gently before settling into a smirk.

“So where’s my big thanks?” he grinned with his hands on his hips.

Pomni was stunned looking up at him. Her mouth slightly agape and eyes wide.
He’d saved her? She knew she was seconds from slipping and he must’ve been watching her close enough to realise it too.

As he looked down at her expecting a witty comeback, he choked as he took in her expression.

Tears threatened to fall from her huge eyes and she shook like a baby deer.

“Thank you jax…” she mumbled under her breath, fear still holding her captive.

He put a hand on her head and ruffled it lazily as he looked to the side.

“It’s nuffin.” he said, hiding his face as red spread across his cheeks.

“Anyways, we gotta launch ourselves to the finish line!” he cheered, gesturing behind him..

She followed him toward what she’d now realised was a huge circus cannon pointed directly to the end platform. The only way to the exit portal.

She was still so shaken up from before that her legs betrayed her as she tried to walk toward the entrance.

Jax noticed her staring at it, a startled expression on her face.

He sighed, he knew she wasn’t gonna make it by herself.

He scooped her up once more and jumped into the barrel of the cannon, holding her tightly between his legs like a protective shell.

"You better be ready for this one.” he warned, as the cannon shot the pair toward the final platform, surrounded by confetti.

As they flew through the air, Jax positioned himself protectively around her, as if she’d shatter on impact.

They hit the floor of the platform with Pomni landing on top of Jax.

The rest of the cast had already made their way through the exit portal, leaving only the two of them.

She pressed her face into his chest instinctively as her eyes screwed shut, afraid if she opened them she’d only see the void below her.

As she realised she was safely on the platform, she scrambled off of Jax and brushed her clothes off.

“Look at us! Alive and unharmed, we make quite the team-” Jax grinned leaning back on his elbows.

“Yea yea, don’t count on it happening again, I’m just not good with heights…” She crossed her arms and turned away from him, ignoring the thumping in her chest.

The pair made their way through the exit portal, refusing to make eye contact.

Once back in the regular circus, Ragatha watched as Jax and Pomni made their way back to their rooms together.

Her brow furrowed as she gripped onto her dress.

Jax doesn’t care about people, that’s the whole point.

She shook her head as she made her way back to the rest of the group who were filling Zooble in on the adventure that had just taken place.

 

Jax leaned his head back against his headboard and groaned.

He couldn’t stop thinking about how his instincts had kept pushing him to touch Pomni all adventure. He wasn’t touchy, at least not in a caring way. He thought back to his insides screaming at him to protect her, to keep her safe.

It was unfamiliar.

This wasn’t something he’d felt before, not even with Ragatha.
With Ragatha his instincts were purely selfish, he knew what they’d had was simply mutually beneficial, a deal.

This was different, it was selfless, in the moment he would’ve fallen in her place.

And that was all kinds of screwed up.

He thumped a fist down onto his bed and rolled over. He was done thinking about this.

There was nothing more to it.

Chapter 2: Perfect Harmony

Summary:

When paired together for an adventure, the two have to work in perfect harmony to escape.

Pomni woke up feeling.. well rested?

She’d fallen asleep as soon as she hit her bed after yesterday’s adventure. She knew she’d dreamt about something nice but it was lost in the back of her head. What wasn’t was the lingering knot in her stomach about what happened with Jax.

She couldn’t shake the feeling of being held, protected.

Pomni didn’t like feeling unsafe in the circus, but she didn’t like feeling vulnerable either.

 

She took her place beside Ragatha at the table for breakfast and Ragatha pushed a cup of tea toward her.

“You feeling okay after yesterday?” Ragatha asked.

Pomni felt her whole body tense up.

“What- why wouldn’t I? It’s not like anything, I’m fine?” She stammered out, confusing Ragtha.

She’d only asked as a pleasantry, but Pomni’s reaction made her frown.

“You shouldn’t get involved with him Pomni, he’s only in it for himself.” Ragatha sighed.

She stared down into her tea, her cheeks heating up a little at memories of her and Jax tangled up in his bedroom. Her relationship with Jax was one of letting off steam, helping each other relieve their urges. Watching him protect Pomni selflessly in yesterday's adventure however set something off within her. She’d never felt used with Jax, but she suddenly felt an uncomfortable jealousy forming in her chest.

Pomni was about to respond when Jax lowered himself between the two, wrapping his arms around their shoulders and pulling them in.

“Who we talkin’ about?” He grinned.

“Nothing to do with you Jax.” Ragatha spit back at him, groaning and pushing his arm off her.

“I didn’t say it was! Always on your mind aren’t I Raggy-” He smirked as he made his way over to Gangle stealing the OJ from her hands.

She huffed and crossed her arms bitterly.

Pomni watched the way they interacted with a strange curiosity. She thought back to what Ragatha had said earlier and her stomach twisted a little at the idea that her and Jax might have some kind of past..

Not that she cared of course! Their business was nothing to do with her, why would she get bothered by the past of someone she hardly knows.

Still, it ate at her throughout the rest of breakfast.

 

It wasn’t long after that Caine appeared to announce today’s adventure.

“GOOD MORNING MY BEAUTIFUL BOUNCING BALLS! I’VE COOKED UP QUITE THE ADVENTURE FOR TODAY” Caine boasted, clearly very proud of his work.

“AND NO LEAVING! ZOOBLE YOU WILL PARTAKE TODAY!” He added before very quickly teleporting the group into the adventure.

In front of them was an enormous ferris wheel, circling in jagged and unpredictable movements. Each carriage seemed to be filled with a colourful smoke obscuring the insides.

“EACH OF YOU WILL BE PAIRED UP AND ASSIGNED A CARRIAGE, YOUR JOB IS TO WORK TOGETHER IN HARMONY TO SOLVE THE PUZZLES AND MOVE YOUR CARRIAGE TO THE TOP TO EXIT.” Caine explained before floating into the ticket booth at the bottom of the ride.

Before they knew it, they were each teleported into a carriage.

Pomni found herself on her back, knees pressed up against Jax’s chest.

“Geez, they designed this thing for pipsqueaks like you.” He grumbled before scrambling to his feet.

Pomni huffed before balancing herself out.

There were two weighted plates on the floor of the carriage. On each side was a crank and behind them, a set of multicoloured nodes with one big node in the middle.

“What happens if I-” Jax questioned as he stepped off his plate, just for his question to be answered as the entire carriage tilted to his side.

Pomni went flying into him, the two crashing into the side of the carriage.

“Nice one smart guy.” She grumbled before pushing herself back onto her plate.

“Got it. Stay on the plates.” He mumbled to himself.

Pomni turned to the crank to her left.

“I assume we have to turn them at the same time?” She offered.

“Clever, for a rookie like yourself.” Jax snarked, placing his hands on the crank at his end.

They looked at each other and nodded firmly before pulling their cranks.

The levers turned a quarter of the way before stopping abruptly, as they did, the carriage came to a halt and flashed a strong red glow.

The sudden stop threw Pomni off balance and she bumped softly into Jax.

He held her shoulder to steady her, his hand lingering a little longer than necessary.

“Not pulling your weight?” He smirked, before she shoved his hand away.

“Like you’re helping.” She snapped back, smirking back at him.

She turned to notice the red nodes behind her.

“Ya think the red meant we gotta press the red buttons to unlock the cranks?” Jax questioned, a hand on his hip.

“Not bad~” She giggled as she reached out to press the red node on her side, followed by Jax doing the same.

As they pressed their nodes in sync, the carriage sounded a ding to signify they could keep going.

The two resumed their places at the cranks, nodding once again before turning them to the half way point.

This time, the carriage glowed blue.

The pair turned around, but quickly realised that the blue nodes were on the ceiling of the carriage.

“I can’t reach that!?” Pomni pleaded, looking to Jax who despite his height, also couldn't quite reach them. It was like the carriage had magically grown taller.

“Damn it Caine!!!” She huffed as she tried jumping, which only made the carriage tilt and wobble.

“Guess you’re gonna have to let me help ya.” Jax sighed before widening his stance and placing a foot firmly on Pomni’s plate.

Just before the carriage could tilt, his hands found the sides of her waist and he hoisted her up to the buttons.

Pomni’s breath caught in her throat as she felt his firm grip on her small frame, she shook her head and focused on the task at hand.
“A little higher!” She winced as she reached out to the buttons, only inches away from touching them.

Jax lifted her as high as he could while remaining on the plates, just enough for her to poke the nodes.

The familiar ding sounded and the carriage shook, sending the two falling to the floor.

Jax softened her fall, coughing as she landed on him.

“I’m sure that’s normal!” Pomni groaned sarcastically, running her hand along her neck.

“Sure, if by normal you mean landing on me like a human cannonball.” Jax quipped.

“I didn’t land on you on purpose!” she jeered.

“Riight, accidental gravity strikes again, I’ll be sure to thank it later.”

Pomni huffed, pushing her way off of him and back onto her own plate.

“You’re impossible.” she muttered, brushing herself off.

“And yet somehow you keep falling for me~” He grinned, placing his hands in his pockets.

She shook off his comment and returned her attention to the stupid adventure.

“Come on then, we should only have to do two more of these.” She affirmed before they both pulled their cranks once more.

The carriage lights suddenly shut off before a voice sounded out-

“DANCE BREAK”

“You gotta be kidding me Caine.” Pomni groaned before the carriage lit up in various flashing lights and a disco ball lowered from the ceiling.

“Hey lighten up PomPom, you’re looking a little stiff over there-” Jax cooed as he began to dance awfully.

Pomni couldn’t help but break down into laughter. She joined him in what could hardly be labelled ‘dancing’.

Weirdly enough, she was kind of enjoying this adventure. Being paired with Jax seemed like a death sentence at first, but he’d been competent in the actual task part, and his humour had made everything seem a little less overwhelming.

A few seconds later the carriage went back to normal, the disco ball retreating back into the ceiling and the lights turning back on.
“Huh, I guess there was no puzzle that time, thanks Caine!” Jax grinned at Pomni.

They pulled their cranks a final time, making it a full circle.

The carriage glowed purple this time, and they saw the final big node they had to press.

They locked eyes before smiling and placing a hand each on the oversized button.

It was big enough for two hands, but the size difference meant their hands had to brush slightly to both fit. Pomni felt her face heat up as his hand met hers, she turned to look at him only to see him staring right back at her, eyes wide as he took in her features.

Jax turned away first, about to make some kind of joke about completing the adventure. But he was cut off by the carriage lurching towards the exit.

It knocked the two into the side of the carriage once again, this time their faces only inches apart.

Pomni’s breath hitched. Her hand was pressed against his chest, his arm tangled with hers and their knees brushing. She could feel his shaky breaths against her face, and she cursed her body for betraying her as she felt her face heat up.

“You’re heavier than you look..” Jax choked out dryly, a painful attempt to mask how rattled he was feeling.

“I-I’m not that heavy!” Pomni replied breathlessly.

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Pomni felt like the carriage had heat up, it was almost suffocating.

As the two stared into each other's eyes, they were suddenly jerked away from each other as the carriage played a ‘winners jingle’ and confetti burst from the sides.

When they emerged from the carriage, the others were waiting for them at the exit.

“Hey guys!! How’d it g-” Ragatha tried to ask how the adventure had gone but Jax stormed past her and straight through the exit door.

“Youch, someone doesn’t like ferris wheels.” Zooble snarked, turning back to finish their conversation with Gangle.

Pomni stood in complete silence, hands by her sides and eyes wide. She had to get out of here, fast.

“Sorry Ragatha.. I’m not great with ferris wheels either..” she lied, fumbling an excuse to leave.

 

Once back in her room, Pomni stared at herself in the mirror.

She pulled her jester's hat off and sighed, running her hands through her hair.

She kept placing her hands on her face, feeling the physical warmth radiating from her rosy cheeks. She couldn’t understand why she felt so bothered by all of this, the adventure was going well, it was fun! Why did that last moment have her so shaken up.

Groaning into her pillow, she tossed around in her bed until she eventually fell into a slumber, the last image in her mind being Jax’s face.

Notes:

EEEEK I'm having so much fun :P
I do want to note that there will be sexual scenes in this fic, most of them will be romantic and later on a lot of fluff, but there will be one pretty raunchy scene - so if that's not your thing be warned now!!

Notes:

Helloooo :D

This is my first time writing a fic ever but I'm simply so so so obsessed with these two it's not even funny.
This work is based on a dream I had so you GOTTA trust me when it gets to the scary part, it WILL have a happy ending :')