Mable: Interesting fact! I actually originally wrote this fic BEFORE the pilot came out. I posted it, gosh, months ago, but Fanfiction was in a sate of no alerts, so I didn't go ahead with posting until now. Hope ya like it!


Head Over Heels

A fly-by knife lodging in her eye.

A leg sticking out and tripping her up.

A little shove on the back sending her toppling into a pool of jelly- that was the worst. Why jelly? Because Caine.

All of which was answered with a curt 'apology'.

"Oops!"

"Whoops!"

"Sorry, Raggs! Missed ya there!"

But Jax was never truly sorry, if his little snickers and giggles were any indication. Especially in that last case where his bowed over and heaved out laughter so hard that she was shocked he didn't pass out.

Normally Ragatha didn't take these little pranks too hard. Jax pulled them on everyone, and it's not like he did anything that would truly hurt them beyond emotionally. It was harder to hit Ragatha where it hurt because she let things roll off her back. But this whole jelly incident had left her slightly annoyed. If only because of how embarrassing it was having him laugh so hard at her. Even she laughed it off until he started floundering for air.

It was hard enough playing along with this whole circus thing without being the target of some bunny with a bad sense of humor.

"Why don't you just… ask him to stop?" Pomni asked. The two in one of the many quote-on-quote sitting rooms sitting on an oversized asymmetric couch that would probably be gone by the next day, with Pomni offering some light moral support. It was hard to do when she was so on edge, but she tried.

Ragatha didn't blame her for offering the simple solution. The truth was it wasn't an option she had tried. Largely because she didn't see it working.

"I would, but if Jax knew how much it bothered me then he'd just try harder," Ragatha reasoned. Anything to not admit that she hid a sore pride under that cool exterior and didn't want to give him reason to laugh in her face.

"Oh…" Pomni was already out of ideas. Or perhaps, none that she felt confident enough to be out with.

Someone else wasn't so coy.

"Pretend you're into him."

Pomni jumped and Ragatha looked back to see Zooble leaning on the back of the couch. An unfazed look in their eyes.

"What?" Ragatha asked with a half-smile. She assumed it was a joke.

"Pretend you're into him," Zooble repeated. "The whole reason he goes after you is because he likes to get you worked up. To get you to drop that happy little façade and show some claws. If he thinks you're into it, and into him, it'll creep him out and then you see how fast he leaves you alone."

"I don't know if that'll work," Ragatha said uncertainly. She didn't want to outright say it was a bad idea, but she didn't exactly think it was a good idea. Not with Jax.

"Oh yeah? Remember Valentine's Day?"

Ah yes, Valentine's Day. That is, Caine's sudden declaration that it was Valentine's Day and they needed to do something special. Gangle had made handmade valentines for everybody with craft supplies he gave her- one of the few nice things Caine did that didn't have a catch attached- and handed them out. Jax had gotten his and gotten extremely uncomfortable, to the point where he avoided Gangle for… well, a while. It was hard to count days here.

The takeaway being that Jax seemed creeped out by even the most innocuous gesture of affection. Zooble did have a point on that front. If that's what they meant.

"What happened never mind I don't want to know!" Pomni rushed out at the end. She calmed herself down before giving a quiet, "But, uh… That might work."

"You think so?" Ragatha asked in surprise.

"Maybe?" Pomni offered unsurely.

"Worth a shot," Zooble said bluntly.

While Ragatha wasn't entirely convinced, she kept the idea in the back of her mind. It really seemed like the sort of idea that could blow up in her face. So, she wasn't really planning on doing it.

She changed her mind by the next time Jax tripped her up. She was walking down a colorful corridor of the circus and barely spotted the rabbit hiding inside the narrow crack of a tapered off hallway before his leg shot out. Him leaning nonchalantly on the wall and her unable to stop herself before flopping face first onto the tiled floor.

"Oh, Rags! I didn't see ya there. Ya gotta give a guy some warning," Jax said with a barely disguised snicker.

Well, he wasn't the only one who could act.

"It's fine," she said, her mouth muffled on the floor. She stood back up quickly and brushed off her dress. "It wouldn't be the first time I fell for you… I- I mean-!"

Ragatha slapped her hands over her mouth and looked to Jax with her eye wide. He quirked a brow questioningly and she peeled back her hands.

"I've- I've got to go!" she rushed out and then raced off. Frantically getting away from him as fast as possible, only dropping the act once she was out of sight.

"He's probably not buying it yet, but that was a good start!" she thought.

He seemed more confused than anything, but only time would tell. Endless time perhaps, but time.

Eventually Jax tried to prank her again. The good ol' 'Oops, a fork flew out of my hand' trick. Lodged right into her arm, which barely hurt but caused her to stumble.

"Fooooourrr-k!" Jaz called through cupped hands.

Ragatha plucked the fork out and waggled it at him, but instead of dropping it, she clutched it in her hand and held it to her chest. Then she hurried along to the nearest spiral painted red and white pillar. She hid behind it- very poorly, but that was on purpose- where she then made a display of clutching the fork to her chest and tossing back her head in a swoon. Like this pokey little utensil was a beautiful gift.

She stepped out from behind the pillar and looked towards Jax. He was looking VERY confused now. She gave a surprised jump and smacked the fork down out of her own hand before hurrying off. He had to be noticing now.

But that didn't mean it was working. She'd keep up with it a little longer, and it was Jax, so she wasn't going to feel too guilty.

She noticed Jax giving her some weird looks throughout the day. He didn't engage again but that could've been because he switched targets to Gangle and then to Kinger when Gangle got too upset to be fun. This should've been a success, but Ragatha decided that maybe it wasn't successful enough. He would roll back around eventually.

So, she took the initiative with the next one. This one was going to be gold.

First, she got some paper, which she had and didn't have to coerce Caine to give her, and then she took a fat crayon- beggars couldn't be choosers with what they had to work with- and started to doodle. She drew big childish hearts with initials inside. "R + J" or "Jax" in especially flowery cursive. Well, as flowery as one could write with a stumpy crayon. More big hearts and stars and swirls around the page.

It looked like something a lovesick teen might doodle. It was perfect.

She then very casually just left it out where someone may or may not stumble upon it.

For a while she thought it had gone unnoticed. It felt like a long time had passed since the 'accidentally dropped' her little art project and nobody was bringing it up, let alone Jax.

Until she got the knock on her door. It couldn't be Caine, he didn't knock. Could've been Pomni or anyone else so she went over to answer it, opened the door, and there was Jax with his hand on his hip and his typically smarmy grin on his face. Before she could even ask, he brought up his other hand and dangled a very familiar piece of paper in her face.

"Is this yours?" he asked sly.

"No!" she cried in an overexaggerated fashion and promptly shut the door. She waited a beat before opening it back up and snatching the paper out of his hand, with him only looking surprised when she did it. Then she shut the door again.

It was very convincing. At least, she thought it was. Convincing enough that she was starting to feel some secondhand embarrassment even though it was an act. At least he was the only one who found it… maybe.

Except for one problem. Jax seemed very smug and not exactly as freaked out as she was hoping. Maybe he was just playing it cool or maybe he caught on to how obvious it all was. Looked like the plan was a bust, but she considered one last go at it. Something a little bolder. A grand romantic gesture, in a sense. The ultimate swing for the fences.

This meant waiting a while. She kept up her charade whenever they brushed past. She had noticed that Jax was in general hanging around a lot more in her vicinity, sending her a mocking wink every now and then and looking so sure of himself. As much as she didn't want to stroke his ego, she played along with her quick turn-aways and generally acting ass jumpy as Pomni did.

Then she got her opportunity when she wandered up on Caine talking to Jax. You could've heard the ringleader's boisterous voice from across the seemingly endless expanse of circus so it drew her right to them.

"I've gotta say, Jax, I LOVE the knife act! What you did with it last time was just- mwah! Perfecto!" Caine gave a chef's kiss as he layered on the compliments. "And your confidence! It is perfectomundo! I LOVE the confidence!"

He wanted something. Ragatha could tell that much, but Jax seemed to be soaking up the compliments. Normally he would deflect them, but Caine was just coming on so hard that he couldn't help but relish in it. Of course Caine loved the knife show- so did Jax. The only one who didn't was poor Pomni, but even she would've contested that Jax was a way better thrower than Caine. His knives went exactly where he wanted them to.

"So, Tough Guy, what do you say about spicing up that act a little, huh?" Caine tempted. "How about juggling?"

"I can juggle," Jax said without breaking a sweat.

"Chainsaws?!"

Jax gave Caine an empty smile and silence.

This was a possibly risky move. Getting in between Caine and the current target of his interest could risk becoming said target of interest, but she had a hunch that maybe she could get out unscathed. She strode over quickly.

"Caine, wait! I don't think that's such a good idea."

Caine looked to her in surprise, as though the idea of it being a bad idea had never crossed his mind.

"Knives are one thing, but chainsaws? That would totally throw off the weight balance. You couldn't move those fast enough to keep them up!"

"Aww, Raggs, are you worried about me?" Jax asked teasingly. That smirk returning and his eyes narrowing with a little snicker, like he knew some big secret.

He only thought he knew her secret. When it came to the truth, he didn't have a clue.

"Well, duh! Course I am!"

She grabbed his hand.

She had never seen that smile disappear so fast, nor see those blocky pupils shrink so much. Yet she turned towards Caine and continued with the ruse.

"You said it yourself, Jax's knife routine is the best. Why mess with perfection?" Ragatha offered.

"That is true- but when it comes to performances, you must always be going above and beyond!"

"Okay, well then how about bigger knives? Work up to chainsaws instead of getting him up there on stage dropping them like a goof," Ragtha suggested. She nudged Jax with her elbow like she was teasing.

He was looking at her like she had just offered to juggle the chainsaws herself.

"Hmm… That is a very good point! A very good point!" Caine agreed. It looked like he was coming around.

Which was a good thing. Even if she was doing this to get to Jax, Pomni would suffer a lot less in this scenario. Especially if Caine got sidetracked with another idea before juggling and throwing chainsaws showed up.

Caine was still talking, prattling, but Ragatha was too busy trying to size up Jax out of the corner of her eye and she realized quickly that she had finally done it. She had got him.

He was looking so extremely awkward right now. Leaning back away from her, hand still clutched in hers, dead silent with his teeth clenched- grinding. He was actually grinding his teeth in discomfort. He was just so uneased by the mushy-gushy display. Ragatha thought that she might feel bad once she got to him but really, she felt like it was sort of deserved. He was getting a taste of his own medicine.

Finally, Caine went off to do something and Ragatha gave a relieved sigh and wiped her forehead of non-existent sweat.

"I'm glad that's over. I almost got worried for a second that he was going to double-down," Ragatha remarked. She looked to the rabbit beside her and smiled wider the look of disbelief and probably revulsion he was giving her. She couldn't help but double-down herself. "Good thing he didn't. We wouldn't want you scarring up that handsome face of yours, hmm?"

She winked, but with one button eye it was impossible to tell, and let his hand go before turning to leave. She could tell it had worked by the dead silence that punctuated her exit. Jax was struck speechless.

But not for long.

He found his voice soon enough when he pulled Pomni aside for a little chat. His arm had all but stretched out of nowhere, grabbed the jester, and dragged her right up beside him.

"Heyyyyy, Pomni, Buddy, best friend! Come 'ere," Jax said. He reeled her in with his arm around her shoulders. Pomni looked as nervous and sweaty as always. "So, I hear Caine's got a new act planned for ya."

"Wh-What? You heard that?" she asked with wide-eyed panic. "What did he say…?"

"Oh, nothin' too bad. Somethin' 'bout chainsaws."

Pomni's mouth dropped open. "W-Wasn't that YOUR show?!"

"It was until Raggs stuck her neck out for me." Jax made a cutting noise as he sliced his thumb across his neck. Pomni shrunk in at the sound and gesture. "But you're a good friend, so maaaybe I could help ya out."

"How?"

"Well, y'know how Caine likes that stupid rabbit in the hat trick, right? I hate doing it, but maybe I could tap in and he'll forget all about that whole chainsaw thing." Jax looked away before slowly rolling his eyes back. His sharp grin stretching wide across his face. "…If…"

"If?" Pomni asked meekly.

"If you tell me what's up with Raggs," Jax said. "I know somethin's up and I want the dirt before I bury her myself."

Pomni's pinwheel pupils darted around nervously. Ohhh, she knew something alright, and that made Jax even more eager. Something juicy.

"I, uh, I don't know," Pomni fibbed.

"You don't?! Ah well, too bad! Guess I can't help ya then."

Jax got up and started to mosey away, only getting a few steps before Pomni called out with a desperate, "Wait!" He barely resisted a snicker at her predictability and turned back towards her.

Pomni twiddled her fingers. She knew what she was about to do was going to betray Ragatha's trust. Ragatha was practically her best friend here, so… maybe she would understand. Maybe Jax would too if she explained the truth.

"Ragatha is, um… You really embarrassed her with that whole… jell-o thing."

"Wait…" Jax's eyes narrowed thoughtfully before his face alit excitedly. "So, she IS getting back at me! Heh, I knew it." His eyes narrowed mischievously at the thought, and he rubbed his hands together. "This whole charade about her being sweet on me. Oh ho ho, ain't that so cute."

"But, umm, she wasn't trying to embarrass you," Pomni continued. Jax was not paying attention. "She was trying to-."

"I guess I COULD tell her I know and stop her from making a fool out of herself, but I can't just let this opportunity go, can I?" Jax thought deviously.

"What opportunity?" Pomni asked worriedly.

"To get her back, of course!" Jax exclaimed. He clasped his hands to his chest. "She might be breakin' my big bunny heart," he said with a fake wobbly tone. "M-M-Might need her to make it up to me."

Pomni's mouth dropped open again at how much joy he was taking out of this, and the implications of what could be when this whole thing started because of Jax in the first place.

In that moment, Pomni suddenly became very annoyed. Both at herself for spilling the beans and at Jax who took this whole thing like a joke. Ragatha had been right, Jax probably didn't care that he was upsetting everyone.

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Why can't you just-?"

She then regained control and shut her mouth tightly.

Jax looked to her curiously, looking to see if that nerve followed through. It wouldn't. Pomni currently didn't have enough backbone to confront him about leaving her alone.

"Why can't I just…?" Jax coaxed. He leaned over with his arms folded behind his back and his head mockingly cocked. "Spit it out, New Blood. Why can't I juuuuuust?"

"Why can't you just, uh… Tell Ragatha how you feel?" Pomni spilled out.

Totally innocent. An innocent assumption. Jax would laugh it off and tell her about how he loves to push Ragatha's buttons, and then laugh at the pun.

Except Jax didn't. Jax's eyes widened, his pupils shrunk, and his ears shot back. He was gritting his teeth so tightly that they could've started breaking. It was frightening transformation.

Pomni suddenly realized she had made a big mistake.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jax asked lowly.

"I-I didn't mean to, uh… I don't know?" Pomni said with a phony grin.

Jax crouched down to her level so fast that it caused her to stagger and almost fall onto her backside. He was still shooting daggers at her. Not literal ones, but he looked like he was dying to whip them out.

"Look here, New Blood, I don't know what Raggs has been telling you, but I don't catch feelings. 'Specially not with some ditzy yarn head. We ain't even friends! Let's call us… reluctant co-workers being held against our will."

"O-Okay…"

"You got it?"

"I-I got it."

"Good!" Jax hopped up and turned to leave. He sent her a little salute. "See ya 'round!"

"Wh-What about the chainsaws?"

"See, I dunno. I said I'd help ya if ya helped me, but you didn't really help out, did you? I kind of had to drag it out of you," Jax said with a dirt-eating grin.

Pomni's eyes widened. "Jax?!"

"I'll think about it, mkay? First thing's first, I got a lovesick little dolly who needs a little cheering up." Jax waved as he headed off on his way yet again, leaving Pomni to writhe in her own anxiety until someone else told her the truth.

Likely the yarn head he was about to go see.

Ragatha had sort of been riding high since that earlier victory and after Jax's mysterious absence since, she had made the mature decision to call a stop to it here. Hopefully Jax got the message.

She had to admit that if everyone reacted like that to pranks then she might've understood why he did it so much, but it was a far cry from the upset he got from his mean little games. Maybe it was that sweet taste of revenge that made it so much more palatable.

She might've felt bad about it too, but it was worth it if it got Jax to back off. So far, it seemed to have worked like a charm.

And then the next thing she knew Jax stepped out of somewhere and was suddenly directly in front of her. Much to her dismay that wicked smile was back in his face and his eyes were twinkling with mischief.

He was also standing a little close.

"Hey there, Ragdoll. What's shakin'?" he asked.

Forget the decision. She was going for it.

"Oh, hey Jax! Just heading back to my room to draw," she said. She got right back into the act, twisting a piece of yarn hair around her finger. "What are you doing?"

"Lookin' at the cutest girl I've ever seen."

Her eye popped open and she let go of the piece of yarn which sprung back into place.

"What?" she quietly asked.

"You! I never really thought about but you're pretty easy on the eyes, ain'tcha?" Jax held his hands out towards her. "I mean, just look at ya! The way you've been skipping around here. It's almost like somethin's changed. It's real cute, real cute."

He was beginning to circle around her like a shark. His razor-sharp teeth only emphasizing the comparison as he watched with an unblinking stare. It made her a touch nervous because he was a prankster, but he seldom looked THIS intense.

She barely noticed that he was trapping her up against a wall until her back bumped against it.

"I gotta know, what's your secret?" Jax asked.

"There's no secret. I've just been feeling happier," Ragatha brushed off. She started to inch to the side only for him to plant a hand on the wall and block her in.

"Y'know, I've noticed you've been acting weird lately. Always rushin' off and swooning, and when you see me your eyes- heh- your eye just lights up. Almost like you've got a…" His eyes lidded, his voice lowered, he leaned in just a bit more. "A little bit of a crush on me."

"What? No! That's crazy!" Ragatha brushed off with an exaggerated 'pshaw'.

"Na, na, I think I'm onto something," Jax said with a shake of his finger. He reached in and began to lightly flick the piece of yarn Ragatha was previously fiddling with. "So soft!" He pinched the piece and slid his gloved fingers down it. "I really don't spend enough time this up close and personal, do I? I dunno, after how handsy you were earlier, maaaaybe we could change that?"

It was something in his tone that gave him away. Ragatha's eye went wide when she recognized it but there was an inflection or something and suddenly she knew that like her flirtations, this too was an act. He was messing with her.

But how could he have found out? Maybe he just had a hunch, and this was a test. That he thought he had caught on and was calling her bluff. With that in mind she decided to call his bluff right back.

"Okay, Jax. I'll admit it. I… I…" She clutched her hands to her chest, to her little candy heart. "I… I think I have feelings for you."

"Oh really? Because I think…." Jax leaned in close. "…You DON'T."

"…Wait, what?"

"Tell me the truth, Raggs. I wanna hear you say it." Jax suddenly retracted both arms and folded them behind his back, leaning forward with the look of someone about to crack up. "Tell me you're faking."

Uh oh. He figured it out.

"What? No! I mean, what… give you… that idea?" she fumbled.

"Oh, not much." Jax pulled one hand back around to admire his gloves like he was admiring his nails. "Just Pomni."

"Pomni?! Wait, what did you do?" Ragatha asked suspiciously. She planted her hands on her hips.

"Me? Nothing! You're the one going around playing with people's feelings. That's just so mean. I didn't know you had it in you!" His expression turned wicked again. "Or maybe you weren't. I dunno, Raggs. That look on your face a few seconds ago- it almost looked like you wanted me getting you up against a wall."

Ragatha's face burned with embarrassment. Though before she could defend herself, he stepped in and now he was very nearly bumping chests with her. Grinning down at her with so much amusement.

The jig was up, and he had gotten all the ammo he needed. Ragtha's heart sank as she realized what was coming would probably be the same little games he always played, but now punctuated with snide little comments like that one. She had made a huge mistake going along with this, it had all blown up in her face.

Her face was burning hotter with every passing moment. Both from his mocking and from the fact that he was so very, very close.

"What's wrong, Raggs? Rabbit got your tongue? I mean, if you asked nicely~."

Her face was burning now. His chest trembled with chuckles, and he was so close she could almost feel them. He was toying with her, but this time something about it felt so unfair. She couldn't handle it and buckled.

"Alright, Jax, you win. Are you happy?" Ragatha asked. She crossed her arms- brushing him again but succeeding to now get something between them.

"Not yet. First, I wanna hear it. I want you to SAY IT," Jax said. His mouth stretched into such a smug smirk. "Come on, tell me I'm right. Tell me this is alllll an act. Tell me all about your little plan to, what, make me fall in love with you?"

"No! I wasn't doing that!" Ragtha said aghast.

"Then what, trying to scare me off? Thinking if you got all cuddly that it would get me out of your yarn?"

"Stop it, Jax. Stop teasing me," Ragatha huffed.

He was getting too much enjoyment out of this, especially when she didn't fight that claim. He waggled a finger at her- he knew. He knew exactly what little game she was playing and what games he would soon play too.

"I'm just playing around with you, Dolly. I thought you'd like that!" Jax continued. "Gee, I wonder what the others will think once they see that pretty drawing you made."

"Don't you dare!"

"I might not, but only if you say it." Jax grinned wide. "Come on, give it to me. Say it loud and say it proud!"

He was even more insufferable than he usually was. So smarmy and smirking, peering down with those large glossy and narrowed eyes. He was just such an insufferable jerk that she couldn't stand it.

She couldn't stand him. She couldn't stand that she had given him more fuel to the fire. So smug, so awful, awful and she felt like she was about to burst into flames and die of embarrassment and annoyance in the same go.

She was never going to live this down and he was never going to let her live this down.

"Say it."

And here he was still teasing her.

"Sayyyyy it."

She couldn't stand his voice for a second longer and grabbed him by overall strap. His smile was still there as she yanked him down and-

-pressed her fabric lips to that vexing grin of his.

It took her a good two seconds to realize what exactly she was doing. Weird to think that she didn't really piece that together until she was kissing him. Soft fabric and rough flesh, the slightest bump against his teeth when going in. If it was the only way to shut him up and wipe that smile off his face, then she was going to hold him to her as long as possible.

Then something shifted. It was Jax. He shifted his head and those jagged teeth split and suddenly it was all so much more intense. So much more heated, his rough lips molding over hers in a way they shouldn't have.

In the back of her mind, she realized that he was kissing back. It was all so, so warm, especially now that she was crushed up against him, feeling his rapid heartbeat thundering in his chest, thumping against her chest.

He nipped at her lower lip. For a split second she thought he was going to turn this around by biting her, but he didn't. His teeth gazed her fabric and made her dizzy and flustered.

Rabbit got her tongue indeed.

When suddenly Rabbit got a vice-like grip on her shoulders and pushed them apart. Though since her back was against the wall, he had nowhere to go but back. Back to standing over her and staring down at her.

Well, she had wiped that smug grin off his face after all, because he looked nothing short of slack-jawed and dumbstruck.

"What was that?" Jax asked.

It was that question that snapped Ragatha out of it enough to realize what they had just done. What she had done and who she had done it with.

In the back of her mind Ragatha realized that might've been a stupid move.

In the back of her mind she also realized that Jax was sort of hot when he was flustered.

"I… don't know. I mean, obviously I know what it was, heh, but… So no, I don't know," Ragtha admitted with defeat.

He stared at her for a long moment. His hands tight on her shoulders and hers digging into her dress.

Then after what felt like ages Jax gave an almost forced chuckle as his smile returned. His teeth still clenched tightly and his breathing heavy. She couldn't tell what was going on, but something was up with him.

He just seemed… greatly uncomfortable, maybe. She looked down at his gloved hands and took note of how they were still holding her away from him.

"I get it."

She looked up to see that grin quickly shifting to one of his usual ones. Eyes narrowing with that usual mirth.

"Tryin' to shut me up. Clever! You've got some nerve. Well, for a doll," he quipped. He lazily pointed a finger at her. "You didn't, like, feel anything from that, right?"

Just laughing it off. Okay, that was a good step. It made her feel a little less weird about it.

"Uh, well…" Ragatha held that question for a second before an embarrassed, goofy smile made it onto her face. "Sorta. That was pretty intense, whatever it was." She looked up at him. "Did you?"

His smile melted off his face before her very eyes. His eyes opening fully again and his pupils slowly shrinking down.

Maybe that wasn't the right answer, Ragatha considered with a subtle wince.

Jax was dead silent the entire time, and now he was staring at her like he had no idea who she was. This reaction was totally unreadable. She couldn't tell if he was angry or offended, or grossed out, but that smile was gone, and that wide-eyed look was beyond ruffled.

It was then that Ragatha realized she had gone too far. Maybe this whole thing had been a prank both ways, but she took it to the next level. She violated his space by yanking him into that kiss.

Just because he kissed back hadn't meant he liked it.

She looked down at the floor, suddenly more embarrassed and ashamed now than during any of the pranking that led them to this moment. She really had taken it too far.

Meanwhile, Jax was having his own sort of internal crisis.

Raggs was playing with him. She confessed already; this was just a step-up on their little game. Of all the people he played around with, she was the top-tier, the primo.

Who cares if she did or didn't feel anything? He sure as hell didn't- his heart was pounding so hard; he couldn't remember the last time he felt so alive- he didn't 'feel' nothing, sure he didn't. He didn't get feelings- but he shouldn't have pushed her away. He shouldn't have stopped it. Because his heart was about to pop into a bloody pulp.

God, Raggs was the best one to play with. He loved it. He loved watching her get so huffy. He loved that she was so totally fixated on him every time he walked in the room. He knew, he was always watching, he always knew.

He loved every moment of it and damned if he didn't love what just happened- but that didn't mean nothing. Nothing to get worried about. It was just him playing around with his doll.

What he didn't love was the look currently on her face. She looked remorseful and sad, which was a big no-no. Flustered, angry, even happy, even ecstatic, he'd take any of those responses over this one. This place was depressing enough with Ragatha's usual spunk. Seeing it fizzled out was just a crying shame.

He mulled over something to say that wouldn't upset her more- not his specialty- but she beat him to the punch.

"I guess I took it way too far. I'm sorry, Jax," Ragatha quietly apologized.

Aww, so that's what had her down. She was worried about him.

A switch flipped.

"No, you're not."

Ragatha looked up with a befuddled expression and suddenly his mouth was crashing back down onto hers. Now she knew how Jax must've felt, but it and any other thought was drowned out as Jax tipped back her head and deepened the kiss. It escalated right back up to where it left off, though now with his arms locked around her. She grabbed at his back to steady herself, one hand grabbing on his shoulder and the other arm around his neck.

So much heat. So much intensity. The quick thump, thump, thumping of his heart practically pounding in her ears. She didn't know if this was her first kiss, but it felt like it. It didn't feel like it was his. It didn't even feel like it was Jax.

He broke the kiss to catch his breath. That devious grin had returned but now his pupils were shrunk to slivers and his teeth were chattering or clicking together. He looked downright feral.

"Not yet you're not."

He leaned in and she did too, only to have him miss her lips and nuzzle at her cheek instead. She rolled her eyes, thinking he was teasing her up until he began to pepper soft kisses around her neck. Her face was back to burning again and Jax seemed too out of it to do much except rubbing up on her. She cracked a little smile.

"Only you could ruin a tender moment with a threat," she said.

He gave a low little chuckle.

"I'm gonna getcha back for this," Jax promised. Words interrupted by soft, needy peppering. "Mark my words, Doll. You are so totally screwed."

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the back of the head. "I think I like you better with your mouth shut," she said while turning him to face her and pressing their lips together again.

The heat was back, and she felt alive again. Energized, invigorated. She couldn't remember the last time anything made her feel this good.

Though it was then that Ragatha remembered that this WAS Jax. Buzzy little good feelings or not, hot intensity and her candy heart threatening to melt or not, it was STILL Jax. It was the insufferable nutjob who she was getting fed up with who was now waaay closer than she had ever intended. Such as currently purring against her.

Here she had been trying to get him to back off and now he was closer than ever.

"Well, this plan went great. Great job, 'Raggs'."

Ragatha had a feeling she was going to regret this, but not yet. For right now, she was fine staying right here.

And then he dropped her.

"Whoops!"

"Jax! GOD, you are such a jerk!"

"You love it.~"