A/N: Decided to ride the rush of inspiration I got from watching this great new series to make something short and cute. Thought it might help me get a bit of my writing mojo back - plus, I really like these two :D
It'd all started rather suddenly. Like… really, really suddenly.
Everyone at the circus had their bad days. Who wouldn't in a place like this? But Pomni, well… ever since she'd arrived, it'd been nothing BUT bad days. That was fine. Everyone had trouble adapting when they first arrived. She'd mellow out in time, she just needed to find a way to cope for now.
And she did. It just… wasn't in a way Ragatha was expecting.
One day, during a particularly fitful bout of existential angst, Pomni let out a wail and clung to the nearest thing for comfort. That thing just happened to be the doll's leg.
Ragatha chuckled awkwardly, shrugged, and prepared to be Pomni's personal cry-pillow for the next couple minutes. And yeah, she did end up with a wet dress. But a couple strange things happened - one, Pomni calmed down a lot quicker than she'd expected.
And two? Pomni didn't let go.
After another minute of the little clown silently clinging to her thigh, Ragatha cleared her throat. "You, ah… you okay there?"
She felt Pomni nod against her. "Y-yeah. You're just… really soft."
The doll couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I am made of cloth and fluff." She'd come to terms with losing her human body loooong ago. If anything, she was just amused that her new coworker was just now realizing the obvious.
Another quiet moment, with Pomni still holding on. Ragatha finally spoke up again. "Yooooou… going to let go any time soon?"
Pomni took a long moment to answer. "Sorry, can I… can I just do this a bit longer? …Please?"
Surprised, Ragatha looked down with concern. After a second, though, she nodded. "If it'll help you feel better, take all the time you need." Who was she to deny someone some comfort in this digital nightmare?
So she waited. One minute. Two. After about five minutes she finally gave up and tried moving again, just sort of awkwardly shuffling with a clown attached to her leg. Pomni did eventually let go, apologizing and thanking her profusely, but Ragatha waved her off. She was just happy to help the newbie retain her sanity.
Still, things changed ever since that incident. While it was never quite as tearful and awkward, Ragatha couldn't help but notice the new girl taking any chance to touch her. When they walked side by side, she'd suddenly find her arm gently gripped in both of Pomni's. If they sat, she'd inevitably feel the clown's head leaning against her.
One day, Ragatha pointed it out. "You know, I never took you for the handsy type," she mused aloud after Pomni had taken her arm again.
The clown immediately backed off. "Sorry!" she apologized, looking frazzled. "I just, you know, haha… ittttt's kind of nice to have something comfortable at hand when everything here's still so… not." She fidgeted, arms behind her back, ashamed. "I'll stop."
Ragatha knelt down to her level, offering her a reassuring smile. "It's fine. I understand the feeling. And I don't mind." Truth be told, the touch was starting to feel as relaxing to her as it did to Pomni.
Pomni just gaped, Ragatha's answer somehow more surprising than any of the bizarro antics the circus had thrown at her so far. "You don't?"
"I don't. In fact…" The doll gestured to her back. "Hop on."
And hop on she did — affffteeer a long moment of deciding if Ragatha was serious or not. But when she finally clambered aboard, the doll simply lifted her up and carried her off with a happy hum. The two spoke piggyback, their spirits higher than before.
And so things went on. From then on, the two were hand-in-hand more often than not.
It didn't take long for the others to notice. As you'd expect, Jax was the first to point it out in his typical snarky way. "Well, ain't that cute. Dolly and the newbie, already hooking up. Didn't know you were into shorties, Raggy Ann."
Ragatha just laughed it off. She wasn't even sure if a concept like 'dating' could even exist in this wacko reality… but if it did, it sounded pretty fitting.
It all led to a jarring realization one night. The two of them were close as usual, the little clown dozing in the doll's lap, cuddling her close. Ragatha had been stroking her hair when she suddenly froze, a thought coming to her.
Pomni hadn't had a meltdown in quite awhile. Sure, she'd freak out a bit when Caine was up to something, but they all did that. She'd adapted, in her own way.
And Ragatha… Ragatha had too. She'd sort of begrudgingly accepted her new life awhile back, but the doubts and the fears and the slowly intensifying insanity had always nagged at the back of her mind. Now? She couldn't remember the last time she'd pondered the point of her new existence.
Maybe because she knew the point, now. Keeping the two of them safe and sane. Enduring their wacky digital lives… together.
A smile on her face, she went back to petting Pomni, leaning down to gently kiss the top of her head.
In her sleep, Pomni smiled. She always had sweet dreams in Ragatha's embrace.
Might do another thing or two, but either way, it was nice to contribute something to this fun new show! I'm eager to see where it goes.