Work Text:
“Pomni,” Ragatha began as they were headed towards Pomni’s room, “I was really glad to finally talk about all of that with you. I feel… closer to you, almost.”
“Yeah, me too.” Pomni smiled as she slowly twisted the handle of the door, “Just like you said earlier, if you ever need to talk about anything, I’m here. I don’t want you thinking it’s one sided.”
Ragatha gave her a sincere smile and nodded, “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind!”
A few seconds of silence passed by, both unsure if the conversation was ending or not. Something about Ragatha’s expression gave Pomni the impression that she wasn’t ready for this to be over, but there was only one way to be sure.
“Dooo… you wanna come in?” Pomni asked with the raise of an eyebrow.
Ragatha perked up and put her hands behind her back politely, “Oh, sure! If that’s okay with you.”
Pomni let out a sound, presumably one of acceptance, and walked into her room with the door open. She went over to her bed and plopped herself onto it, watching Ragatha saunter through the entryway and close the door behind her gently. The ragdoll took two steps forward and then stayed in place, unsure of what to do next. There wasn’t much in the room and she didn’t wanna do anything she shouldn’t.
Ragatha was admiring the colorful room, despite it being so small and not having many items, it was a very interesting sight for the eyes. Although the mirror and dresser was peculiar, why have those if they cannot change clothes on their own? She was probably thinking about it too hard, Caine definitely wanted to simply create an ordinary bedroom.
“You know you’re allowed to sit, right?” Pomni patted the space next to her on the bed, “I don’t mind.”
“Oh, thank you.” Ragatha awkwardly walked over to the bed and hesitantly settled herself down beside Pomni, resting her hands in her lap and fiddling with her thumbs.
Neither of them were sure what to say. For whatever reason, when it came to each other, there was some kind of invisible wall that made it impossible for them to talk. It’s not that they didn’t want to or that the other bored them, it wasn’t describable.
Pomni looked at Ragatha’s lap, noticing the way her friend was tapping her finger against her own hand. It was a small gesture but one that made her question if Ragatha was comfortable being in here. Did she misread her? Perhaps make her feel pressured to stay?
After that talk they had, Pomni was sure that if Ragatha wasn’t okay with something, she’d be vocal about it as opposed to anytime before this. But they only just talked, she wouldn’t blame her if it was too soon to be honest about any negative emotions yet. The only way to know was to ask.
“Ragatha…” Pomni began, the doll turned her focus over to the jester and patiently listened, “You know if… you’re not comfortable being in here, you don’t have to be… in. here.”
Ragatha looked dejected, “Oh, I know! Am… Am I making you think I don’t want to be here?”
“No—“ Was that technically a lie? “I guess I just wanted to let you know. Today was a lot. I don’t blame you if you’re tired and need to be alone.”
“To be honest, I am pretty tired…” Ragatha forced a short chuckle out of herself, “But I would like to stay if you’d have me, Pomni!”
Pomni couldn’t help but smile at that, she was really hoping those words were genuine and not a desperate last attempt to make Pomni like her. But something about it made that worry dissipate quite fast.
“Are you suggesting a sleepover?” That was mostly a tease from the jester, but now that she’s said it, she wouldn’t be surprised if Ragatha wanted to do that.
A glint of excitement showed in Ragatha’s eye and she started playing with her locs of yarn, “I mean, if you’d want that! I can’t remember the last time I had one, haha…”
Pomni felt silly now. Of course Ragatha would want that. It’s Ragatha.
“Oh, okay. Sure, but…” Pomni looked around the room, there was plenty of space for Ragatha to sleep on the floor but Pomni didn’t have any extra mattresses or blankets and would feel terrible doing that to her, “I’m not really sure where you’d sleep.”
They both looked around the room, trying to come to a conclusion. The answer was almost painfully obvious, but neither of them wanted to say it outloud. They were both too old for this kind of behavior, there shouldn’t have been anything scary about such an idea. Yet there was.
Ragatha’s already been having doubts about their friendship lately and she just finally got to a point where she’s no longer stressing out about it, she wouldn’t want to say or suggest the wrong thing and ruin their progress all over again. She could just simply be overexaggerating any potential reactions she’d get out of Pomni, but it’s hard not to when this relationship between them is so delicate. It’s so easy for her to do the wrong thing and ruin what good she had.
Pomni, on the other hand, is more worried about the comfortability of sharing any sort of space together for an unknown amount of time. She isn’t sure how long Ragatha tends to sleep for, but she can’t imagine any option would be too pleasant for her. For one, the rough floors would make her sore like hell. For two, Pomni’s rubberhose body probably isn’t the best feeling to rub up against if they were to sleep together. For three, she would probably give up her own solace for Ragatha’s sake even if she has more than enough self respect not to do that.
The brief moments of stillness was cut short by Ragatha as she began to stand up off the bed, “I can just take the floor, Pomni. It wouldn’t be a problem. I’ll just get some blankets from my room.”
“No! No,” Pomni wouldn’t normally protest, but it was like the words came out of her mouth before she could control it, “How about you just—“
It was like the whole world started going in slow motion as these words fumblingly and gracelessly came out of Pomni’s mouth.
“—Sleep. With. Me.”
Pomni froze as she said that and all air left her lungs in a harsh exhale of humiliation. Her eyes widened and a red blush overcame her white exterior, she grit her teeth and started mentally yelling curses at herself. There was no reason for this to be as embarrassing as it was, but the wording threw her off. It wasn’t intentional for it to come out like that.
Ragatha slowly processed what Pomni said, the sentence managed to shock her as well but not to the same degree. She straightened her back and smiled uncontrollably, her pupil expanding from joy. Unlike Pomni, her mind didn’t immediately go to the gutter despite the format of her sentence, she just never expected to be given a chance to be so close to her. Ever.
These past few days, Ragatha had seen how careless Pomni was when Jax made physical contact with her and was envious. She was very observant when it came to other people but especially Pomni. That’s no surprise when Pomni is what takes up most of her thoughts, something she’s a little ashamed to admit to. But the opportunity to be able to share a space and even… possibly touch her, willingly and comfortably and even… initiated by her… It’s almost uncharted territory.
Everytime she would come into contact with Pomni, Ragatha would notice her tendencies to pull away or make an odd face. It would be a new step in their relationship for Pomni to trust her like that. But, now comes the question…
“Would you uh, be okay with that?” Ragatha asked as gently as she could.
Pomni laughed uncharacteristically and crossed her arms, “Uh, yeah. Yep. Yes. Yeah, yeah.” She nodded with every word, “Umm… Yeah.”
Ragatha wasn’t very convinced, her previous enthusiasm slowly died down, “You don’t have to force yourself, Pomni. I swear I’ll be fine just taking the floor.” She began to turn to the door to go retrieve her blankets and pillows.
“No, Ragatha—It’s fine!” Without thinking, Pomni reached forward and grabbed ahold of Ragatha’s wrist.
Ragatha jumped at the sudden feeling and looked back at Pomni with surprise. With the reaction from the poor girl, Pomni immediately let go and leaned backwards. She felt horrible. She knew how terrible it could be to be touched without permission, why is she being so reckless right now? First she blurted out the idea of sleeping together in a rather mortifying way, now she’s grabbing at her without a second thought.
Pomni wasn’t sure what was up with her tonight. Maybe she was emotionally disoriented after what happened earlier with Jax, or maybe she’s just being a weirdo. Whatever the case, she knew she needed to get her shit together. The more strange she acts, the more problems are gonna arise between them. It’s bad enough they’ve had a strained relationship this past week, she doesn’t need to be the reason it becomes irreparable.
“I’m sorry,” Pomni sighed and held her head, “I didn’t mean to grab you like that.”
“I-It’s okay, Pomni.” Ragatha took a step closer to her, an odd feeling in her chest came to her as she noticed Pomni’s unordinary behavior, “I was just… surprised.”
Pomni looked up at Ragatha as she noticed her gradually inch closer, “Well… Um, I did mean it when I said it was okay.”
“Are you sure, Pomni?” Ragatha couldn’t help but double check.
“Mhm,” Pomni turned her head to look over her bed’s size, it was definitely a bed for one person but if they squeezed together it should’ve been fine, especially with Pomni’s height, “I think there’s enough room.”
That same adrenaline from before came back in Ragatha, “A-Alright! I could turn off the light for you?”
Pomni was quick to get off the bed and reassure her friend, “It’s okay, I got it. You get comfortable first, tell me if you like it and uhh… I’ll join you.”
Ragatha nodded and allowed Pomni to do what she felt was necessary. Despite the fact this was Pomni’s room, she felt bad that she wasn’t the one doing the small niceties. She was grateful Pomni wanted to give her such a sweet experience, especially for their first sleepover together (God, she sounds like such a teenager), but she would’ve preferred to be the one to set it all up.
Though even with that, it was nice to not be the one to do everything for once. It became such a routine for her that the idea of not doing every little thing for someone else is unheard of.
Ragatha placed her hand on Pomni’s bed, feeling at the blanket as if she wasn’t just sitting on it a few moments ago. She smiled as she felt the soft fabric and briefly imagined Pomni sleeping cutely in this bed every night. That might’ve been a little creepy, so she shut that thought down as soon as it occurred. She gently grabbed the blanket and pulled it back, then sat down on the side of the bed she intended to sleep on.
She put her legs underneath the blanket and pulled it back up over her torso, preparing herself for the warmth of the bed that would become her one night cocoon. She laid her back against the pillow rather than her head so she could watch Pomni on the other side of the room.
While Ragatha was getting ready, Pomni had just been staring at the lightswitch near her door. Ever since she suggested the sleepover idea, she’s been a little anxious and that anxiety has been getting worse with every step she’s taken. It’s not the standard anxiety, but more like… a flustered excitement that she can’t put her finger on. To combat this, she’s just been staring at the wall like an idiot. How smart.
Pomni knew she couldn’t keep Ragatha waiting all night and if she took too long to get to bed, somebody would end up bothering them. She looked down to her feet as she mentally prepared herself, nothing was going to happen. It was just a simple sleepover. For one night. She swallowed the lump in her throat and exhaled the breath she didn’t even realize she was holding.
Her hand finally reached for the switch and turned off the light with no effort at all. Now all she had to do was get in bed and sleep. Easy peasy. Pomni wasn’t exactly popular in the real world, but she did have quite a few sleepovers with friends as a young girl. This was going to be just like that, right?
Though she will admit, they were going to bed much sooner than expected. Usually, there were always some activities before going to bed, but it didn’t really matter. They were both relatively tired and Caine had them going on insane adventures every single day. The small activities aren’t anything to fret over, not that she was anyway.
Pomni hadn’t moved from the spot she was at, both from fear and the fact she was trying to let her eyes adjust to the dark. There wasn’t any mess on her floor, she made sure to pick everything up a few days ago. She wasn’t a fan of messiness and she hated living in it even more than the idea of it.
Ragatha took notice of how long Pomni was taking to return to the bed and got worried, “Pomni? You okay?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. Just can’t see anything.” Pomni tried to pick up the pace and slowly walked forward with unnecessary caution.
“Do you need me to help you?”
“No, I got it! Stay there.”
Although it felt like forever, Pomni eventually got to the bed. She felt at the bedding and sighed contently, she felt relief that it was finally time for her to get cozy. Pomni climbed onto the bed quickly but then immediately tripped over something and fell onto it. A grunt left Ragatha.
Pomni didn’t realize what side of the bed she was getting on.
What she tripped and fell onto was Ragatha’s stomach.
They both were quiet.
Ragatha didn’t know what to say and the utter humiliation of such a mistake left Pomni completely still on her.
…
“…Are you okay?” Ragatha finally spoke up, her hand hesitantly coming up to lightly rub at Pomni’s arm.
Pomni’s soul seemed to return to her body as she immediately shoved herself off of Ragatha and a very clearly forced laugh left her, “Hahahahahahaaaa, I am so sorry, Ragatha! I have no idea how that happened!”
“No worries, Pomni. I promise.” Ragatha tried to look past Pomni’s eccentric behavior, but it was getting a little too noticeable, “Do you want me to help you up?”
Pomni blushed and furrowed her eyebrows harshly, “I-I don’t think that’s really necessary, I can get on my bed myself…”
“Are you sure?”
Pomni paused and took a moment to genuinely consider it. That would require physical contact from Ragatha… The concept alone isn’t horrendous, it could be helpful to get used to her gentle touch knowing they’re going to be sleeping next to each other for… many hours.
Her big gloved fingers tapped at the bedsheets before she inevitably gave in to the idea, “You know what? Go ahead.”
Ragatha fully expected it to be a hard no, but she was happy with the response. This whole night had been incredibly strange so far, but this eased her nerves knowing Pomni was slowly trusting her more. She leaned down to the edge of the bed and her hands reached under Pomni’s armpits to get a firm grip on her. Pomni tensed up at first, she didn’t think this was what Ragatha meant by help, but she didn’t pull away either.
Ragatha lifted Pomni up from the ground and the small girl felt like a teddy bear. The ragdoll was quite strong so that mixed with Pomni’s height made it seem like she was just holding a piece of paper. Ragatha’s movements were noticeably slow like she thought she was going to drop her, something that was appreciated and adored. She brought Pomni up and over her body then laid her down beside her, interestingly close.
When she pulled away from Pomni, the lack of warmth around her arms was evident and was annoying in how it felt but she tried to ignore it. Pomni and Ragatha’s arms were touching with how close Ragatha set her down by, but neither of them seemed to mind it. For once.
Though the polite touches of the arms changed when Ragatha got more settled into the bed. She had slid herself down into the blanket so her head was at the pillow instead, now she and Pomni were basically eye to eye. Pomni pulled the blanket up to cover her tiny clown body and tried her best to relax into her own pillow.
Pomni turned her back to face Ragatha and closed her eyes, there was no reason to be facing her and it avoided any unbearable conversation. Ragatha was laying down with her body facing the ceiling, but her eye kept darting over to Pomni’s back even though the darkness made it difficult to see her.
“Goodnight, Pomni.” Ragatha said amongst the silence.
“Night, Ragatha.” Pomni replied quietly, her legs coming up to her chest and creating a fetal position.
They both worked their way to slumber, finding their previous tensions from before slipping away. Or, that’s what would be said if it weren’t for a certain dolly.
Only a few minutes had passed, neither of them had fallen asleep yet. It wasn’t a case of restlessness, but there was a lack of desire to sleep as well. There was still a feeling in the air between them that neither of them could let go of, but the jester was focused on trying to find her peace while the ragdoll had other plans.
“Hey, Pomni?” Ragatha whispered but made sure to be loud enough to be audible.
A few seconds passed by, Pomni originally wasn’t going to say anything… But she couldn’t reject her like that.
Pomni turned around just a little, “Yeah…?”
“Are you still awake?” Ragatha asked without realizing the irony.
“Um…” Pomni turned around fully to look at Ragatha, her body now copying Ragatha’s position, “Yeah? How else would I… Nevermind.”
“Sorry if I’m making it hard to sleep,” Ragatha’s mitten fingers circled into the covers, “I guess I just wanted to keep talking.”
“We can talk.” Pomni said as she closed her eyes.
Ragatha turned her body over to face Pomni and the weight shift of the bed made Pomni turn by force, she almost fell onto Ragatha again but caught herself that time. Her eyes were open despite just closing them. They were much closer now, just a few inches away from touching each other and they could actually see their faces in the dark with the close proximity.
Ragatha blushed but it was too dark for Pomni to see it, “Thanks for this, Pomni. I’ve never really gone to a sleepover before.”
“Really?” Pomni completely expected Ragatha to be familiar with them, “But you’re so… you.”
Ragatha chuckled, “I’m not exactly sure what you’re implying with that, but it’s true. I didn’t have many friends growing up and, well… my mother was pretty strict about the few I did have. She didn’t even let me hangout with them much… Then, I dunno, being an adult doesn’t get you many playdates, heh.”
Pomni hummed in response, feeling bad for her, “I’m sorry about that. My parents never really paid much attention to me, so I could really do anything I wanted. Freedom is nice but not when you have too much of it, y’know?” Pomni’s arms came up to her chest and she rubbed at her collarbone, “But I’m glad I could give you this, Ragatha.”
Ragatha felt butterflies practically explode in her stomach, it was almost overwhelming to be treated like a friend… Like a person, “Me too.”
They were staring into each other’s eyes, it was comfortable which wasn’t expected with how the night had gone so far. Out of everybody in the circus to connect to, they were glad it was each other. Everything’s been so complicated and wild recently, just a nice moment like this is something they both needed. Something they craved.
Without much thought put into this motion, Pomni reached out and grabbed onto Ragatha’s hand. Ragatha was quick to return the gesture, gently wrapping her fingers around Pomni’s hand. The handhold was tight and reassuring as if to nonverbally say “I’m here”. Ragatha leaned forward, her eyes becoming half-lidded.
Pomni noticed how close she was getting, but she didn’t move away. Instead, she accepted it and even did the same. Maybe it was mindless or it was the effect of sitting alone in the dark together, but they felt attracted to each other in a way they never had at this moment. Their legs brushed up against the others and they could hear each other’s breathing better than their own.
The closeness, the touches, everything about this should’ve alerted both of them, but Pomni found herself getting sleepier from how relaxed she was at this moment. However, Ragatha was becoming more awake with every second spent like this. It was beginning to give her an impression she never thought possible.
Out of seemingly nowhere, Ragatha gently moved her head forward to kiss Pomni. It was a hesitant kiss, one that made her question if this was of her own action or some invisible force pulling the strings. It was one of uncertainty but also one full of desire. It was… the biggest mistake of her life.
Pomni’s eyes went wide and they both jerked backwards, completely shocked and quiet as they tried to decipher if what just happened actually happened. With how sleepy Pomni was getting, she wasn’t sure if that was a dream induced by being half awake or if Ragatha really did that. Ragatha felt like the most idiotic person ever right now.
“I’m SO sorry, I-I don’t know what came over me!” Ragatha sat up and hid her face from Pomni, her hands coming up to cover her mouth.
That absolutely confirmed it.
That was real.
Pomni slowly sat up alongside Ragatha and her heart was pounding in her physically non-existent ears, she tried to find her voice but nothing came out.
Ragatha threw the sheets off of her and was preparing to leave, “I can’t believe myself. I really am so sorry, Pomni! I swear I didn’t mean to! A-And I promise, this wasn’t supposed to be anything like that! I would never take advantage of you!”
“Huh…” Pomni shook her head to try to bring herself back to reality, she quickly stumbled over the bedsheets and reached out to Ragatha, “Wait!”
Ragatha halted just at the edge of the bed, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at Pomni again. She felt so guilty, how could she be so careless? Tears welled up in her eye and she tried to not break down right then and there. She’s always been so, so careful with her actions, she couldn’t believe she let this happen. Pomni was absolutely going to hate her for sure now.
“Ragatha…” Pomni scooted closer to her as Ragatha waited at the edge, “You don’t need to apologize.”
Ragatha didn’t believe that, there was no way Pomni was about to comfort her over her own mistake. There was absolutely no justification for doing something so stupid. The best option would be to cut her losses and just leave, but she couldn’t do that. She wasn’t strong enough for something like that.
“I liked it.”
It felt as if her precious, fabric heart stopped. Not from fear or guilt, but from alleviation.
Ragatha managed to bring herself to turn around and look at Pomni again, her face full of disbelief as tears were falling down, “What?”
Pomni blushed and did her best to maintain eye contact, “I liked it.”
“…Are you sure?”
“I wouldn’t lie, Ragatha.” Pomni shifted her position on the bed so her legs were dangling off the edge, “Please don’t cry.”
“Sorry… Sorry.” Ragatha wiped away her tears and tried to not cry anymore, but the fact she did something so drastic in the first place kept her afraid, “I-I really didn’t mean to.”
“I know,” Pomni didn’t seem to care much about her intentions, “Come here.”
It took her a little while to muster up the courage, but eventually Ragatha gave in and got closer to the jester. She leaned down so they were closer in height and Pomni brought her hands up to Ragatha’s shoulders, rubbing at the material of her dress. Ragatha made sure to not reciprocate, she didn’t deserve it after doing something like that and she wasn’t even sure what Pomni was doing.
Pomni fell back onto the mattress and dragged Ragatha down along with her. She was now situated on top of her and more flustered than ever. One of Pomni’s hands came up to hold Ragatha’s face, an action she hasn’t experienced in years. But she didn’t let herself cherish it or lean into the touch.
“Is this okay?” Pomni asked, her thumb caressing the skin of her cheek.
“Yeah…” Ragatha whispered, a familiar blush creeping up onto her face again.
“You don’t have to feel bad, I… I don’t even really know what we were doing before. I don’t blame you for being enticed.” Pomni tried to laugh about it but it was very weary and tense.
“That doesn’t make it okay, please don’t talk about it like that.” Ragatha’s head lowered slightly, her hair brushing against Pomni’s face, “Nobody should ever do that without asking.”
“But I didn’t hate it.”
“That doesn’t make it any better…”
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t mind doing it again.”
That tempted Ragatha greatly, but she still wasn’t sure if Pomni was just saying that to make her feel better. But even so, Pomni has never really been that type of person either.
“W-What are you saying?” Ragatha found herself not knowing if she wanted to pull away or reel in.
“I’m saying I want you to kiss me.” Pomni said bluntly, getting a little tired of tip toeing around everything.
“B-But… Are you sure?” Ragatha stammered, feeling her body heat increase, “I-I don’t want you saying that just because…”
“Ragatha.” Pomni held her face with both of her hands and looked her directly in the eye, “I want you to kiss me. Do you want to?”
Ragatha nodded eagerly and a smile finally came back onto her lips. With that, Pomni pulled her in by her face and kissed her. The kiss didn’t feel proper as they had a lack of lips despite having actual mouths. Their mouths were not made with the intention of anything but communication, Ragatha’s mouth was flat on her face like it was sewn on while Pomni’s lips were thin. That didn’t stop them.
Pomni pressed her lips hard against Ragatha’s, closing her eyes tightly as she did so. The direction of the kiss was opposite for them, Ragatha was going for a more gentle approach while Pomni was evidently hungry for something more. Ragatha brought her hands up to Pomni’s waist, she pushed her head forward into the kiss and tilted it to the side.
Ragatha’s hands dug into her clothes, tugging gently knowing they couldn’t take their clothes off. She hummed into the kiss and a new sense of want lit inside of her. Pomni sighed and groaned into the kiss, not fully aware of her own actions. Her legs wrapped around Ragatha’s waist and she squeezed them in an attempt to pull her closer.
Pomni’s tongue licked across Ragatha’s bottom lip, a silent plea to be let in and one that was gracefully granted. Her black tongue slithered its way into Ragatha’s mouth, there wasn’t time to unpack how this was possible when her mouth was sewn on, and it pressed up against Ragatha’s pink tongue. Their saliva mixed into each other and got all over the others’ mouth. With every twist and turn of the tongue against the other, their mouths grew hotter and their pants quickened.
Ragatha whimpered against Pomni’s tongue, her grasp onto her growing painful. Pomni arched into Ragatha as a result of the light pains, but she didn’t pull away from the kiss. Ragatha was much less confident in the kiss in comparison to Pomni, it was hard to be when she’s only done this with a few people in the past. A very small amount.
Pomni’s tongue slid under Ragatha’s and she pulled it out, only to suddenly bite down harshly onto Ragatha’s bottom lip with her sharp teeth. Instantly, Ragatha pulled away with a cry and felt around at her mouth. She patted around the area and, while there was obviously no blood, there was a small hole.
“That hurt, Pomni…” Ragatha rubbed at it with her finger, trying to soothe the pain.
“S—t, sorry.” Pomni was panting as she rubbed her forehead and tried to bring herself back down to Earth, “I didn’t even realize what I was doing…” She took this time to consciously transform her teeth back to their natural flat shape.
“Just be more gentle next time…” Ragatha cautiously brought her hand up to hold Pomni’s face.
“Next time?” Pomni smirked teasingly, leaning into her touch, “What are you trying to say?”
“Oh, uh—I mean, o-only if that’s what you’d want!” Ragatha grinned shyly, “I-I just didn’t know if we were done or not!”
“What do you want, Ragatha?” Pomni moved her hands down to Ragatha’s neck and pulled her closer.
Ragatha blushed heavily and spoke before her mind could think, “You.”