Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Zooble woke up that morning with a sense of dread.

Why wouldn’t they, after all, today was another one of Caine’s personalized adventures, and he was probably not going to let them skip out on it.

They decided to get up and begin picking out their parts for the day. As they started to sift through their parts box, they heard a knock on the door. They figured it was probably Ragatha, reminding them that there was an adventure today, even though they already knew because there was one everyday.

“Coming!” They walked over to the door and opened it.

“Hi Zooble!” It was Gangle. Zooble hadn’t expected that.

Her comedy mask was on this morning, so she was smiling sweetly at Zooble in a way that made their nonexistent heart skip a beat.

“Hi Gangle.” Zooble said, their tone forcefully relaxed. “What’s up?”

“Well I just woke up and I didn’t want to be in my room anymore so I was walking to the tent. And then I heard you moving around and nobody else was awake so I wondered if you wanted to hang out for a bit before the adventure? If not I understand.” Gangle looked a little sad at the end of her rushed question, as if she was anticipating Zooble saying no.

“Of course.” Zooble said. They couldn’t let Gangle look sad, and they wanted the company.

“Okay!” Gangle smiled again. “Can I come in?”

“Oh yeah.” Zooble moved to the side to let Gangle in. “I have to pick out my parts for the day, do you want to help?”

“Help?” Gangle said looking confused. “I mean I’d love to but how could I help you with something like that?”

“Just help me look through the box and if you see something you think I would like, then I’ll try it.” Zooble said.

“Really? Well I’ll do my best!” Gangle walked with Zooble over to the box of parts.

They both kneeled down and sifted through the box of parts. It took a while, but Zooble was able to find the limbs they wanted for today. Gangle had picked out a three fingered claw hand and a purple antenna with a star. Normally they hated this part of their morning, but Gangle’s presence made it a lot better.

After they were done, they both just sat around and talked. They talked about Caine’s shenanigans, Bubbles rampage yesterday, and anything else they could think of.

It was the most relaxing morning Zooble had had in a long time, and she wanted to something like it more often.

But then they heard the others moving out of their rooms for the morning and they knew it was time to go.

“We should probably get going now, huh?” Zooble said, standing up.

“Oh yeah, right.” Gangle said, standing up as well. She looked at the ground before saying. “We should do this more often, I really had a nice time.”

“Of course. I did too.” If Zooble had a mouth they would definitely be smiling ridiculously right now.

“Well let’s go!” Gangle seemed quite excited about Zooble’s response, which only made them feel even better.

They both walked into the hallway, unfortunately seeing Jax right in front of them, walking towards the tent.

He stopped when he saw them, a large grin creeping its way across his face.

“What were you two doing in there hmm? Anything you’d like to share with the group?” He snickered. “I bet y-“

“Can it a&%hole, nobody asked your opinion.” Zooble said, trying not to show any of their embarrassment at being taunted by him.

“Ohh someone is feisty today! I guess I’ll let you two lovebirds be!” He shouted while running off.

“F$%¥ YOU!” Zooble shouted after him. So much for a great morning.

They thought they heard Gangle squeak when Jax had referred to them as ‘lovebirds.’ What an asshole.

“Don’t let him get to you okay.” Zooble said, taking note of the fact that her mask was pointed towards the ground.

“Y-yeah of course.” Gangle said. “Let’s go.”

Zooble guessed that Gangle wasn’t fine, but they didn’t want to push her to share if she didn’t want to. Especially considering it wasn’t something they would appreciate if someone did that to them.

The two walked together out of the hallway and into the tent. As they stood in front of the stage, Caine, the giant spinner wheel with all the cast’s faces on it from yesterday, and Bubble floating in a small iron cage, all appeared.

“HELLO MY MAJESTIC MARIGOLDS!” He shouted giving them all a small startle. He thankfully restrained himself from causing any explosions though. “I KNOW AFTER YESTERDAY YOU MIGHT NOT BE COMPLETELY EXCITED ABOUT YOUR PERSONALIZED ADVENTURES, BUT NO WORRY! BECAUSE I HAVE LOCKED UP OUR LITTLE TROUBLEMAKER SO THAT TODAY’S ADVENTURE CAN GO OFF WITHOUT A HITCH!” He gestured to the cage containing Bubble.

“I’ve been a bad boy~” he said in a very flirtatious tone.

Zooble was beginning to think Bubble did that on purpose to irritate Caine, because boy, did it work.

Caine’s eyes developed a gentle red tint, and steam blew out of the sides of his hat, indicating he was not in a good mood.

“BUBBLE I AM ALREADY QUITE UPSET WITH YOU SO I SUGGEST YOU QUIET YOURSELF BEFORE YOU MAKE IT WORSE.” Caine snapped his fingers and a zipper appeared over Bubble’s mouth, getting rid of his ability to speak.

“ANYWAY LETS SPIN THE WHEEL AND SEE WHO’S ADVENTURE WE PARTICIPATE IN TODAY!” Caine spun the wheel quickly, and Zooble watched in horror as the arrow landed on their picture.

“LOOKS LIKE IT’S ZOOBLES TURN!” He snapped, causing the Bubble cage and the spinner to disappear. In front of the cast was a rainbow colored swirling portal.

Zooble felt the dread from this morning increase exponentially. They didn’t want to deal with whatever strangeness Caine had schemed up with them in mind, especially considering that the last adventure Caine made with them in mind involved possession, ghosts, and biblically accurate angels.

“THIS ADVENTURE IS GOING TO INVOLVE OUR DEAR ZOOBLE IN THEIR PREFERRED HABITAT, WORKING AT A BAR! BUT SINCE YOU ALL KNOW THAT I DON’T LIKE TO REPEAT ADVENTURES, THIS ONE HAS A TWIST! IT TAKES PLACE AT A GRAND PARTY WITH A MURDER MYSTERY! YOU ALL WILL TAKE TURNS WORKING AT THE BAR AND MINGLING AT THE PARTY TO DETERMINE THE KILLER, WITHOUT GETTING KILLED YOURSELVES OF COURSE!” He announced the last part proudly, like he was excited that he had dreamed up a murder scheme. “THE SHIFTS WILL BE DESIGNATED BY ME, AND YOU WILL BE WORKING IN PAIRS! ZOOBLE YOU WILL BE WORKING THE MOST, AS YOU HAVE THE MOST EXPERIENCE! GOOD LUCK MY LITTLE DETECTIVES!”

Zooble wasn’t sure if they would love or hate this adventure. The idea of working at a bar again after their last time was cut short sounded nice, but they didn’t want to deal with some big party. Or a murder mystery.

They reluctantly began to walk toward the portal, not even bothering to argue with Caine anymore.

“ZOOBLE WAIT!” Caine said, before Zooble could walk through. All the others had already gone through, so what did Caine want?

“What?” Zooble asked, putting a deliberate edge into their voice, hoping to dissuade him from saying anything stupid.

“AS I MENTIONED, YOU ALL GET TO WORK IN PAIRS AND I KNOW YOU ARE NOT A FAN OF MY ADVENTURES SO I WANTED TO OFFER A CONSOLATION OF SORTS.” Zooble didn’t anticipate the kind tone in his voice. “I WAS GOING TO PICK THE PARTNERS MYSELF, BUT YOU MAY CHOSE YOUR PARTNER, AS LONG AS YOU DON’T TELL ANYONE ELSE!” He winked at them.

“Uhh.” Zooble took a second to think even though they knew who they wanted. “Can I work with Gangle?”

“OF COURSE! AN EXCELLENT CHOICE! GANGLE’S EXPERIENCE IN FOOD SERVICE MAKES HER AN IDEAL CANDIDATE!” He shouted. “NOW GO ALONG AND HAVE FUN!” He waved his hand, gesturing them into the portal.

They walked into the portal, considering this silver lining to their situation. Even though they had to deal with a ridiculous adventure, at least they had Gangle helping them.

As they walked through, they noticed something. They were now wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a pink tie. They didn’t hate the outfit, but they weren’t sure about the pink tie, but Caine likely put it because it matched the color of their head.

They looked up to see the cast in similarly fancy attire. Kinger had a deep purple suit with a gold tie, Jax had a red suit with a yellow tie, which in Zooble’s opinion could have looked nice but looked ridiculous on him. Ragatha had a sleeveless dress in the same color as her original dress, thankfully minus the patches. Pomni had a red suit jacket and blue pants, accompanied by a gold bow tie. But then there was Gangle.

Zooble was probably biased, but she looked the most beautiful out of everyone. She had a black dress on that was simple in all the right ways. And her mask had a cute little red bow on the corner of it.

Zooble couldn’t help but stare for a second.

Then Jax’s voice snapped her back to reality.

“Hurry up and go work at the bar Zooble! I need a drink.” Jax said.

“F$%¥ you Jax.” They went to do it anyway, knowing they probably should. “Gangle, Caine said you can work with me.”

Gangle nodded and followed after, looking at the floor and not speaking. This made Zooble worried about her for a moment wondering if she didn’t want to work with them. But the two walked through the party to get to the bar at the back, ready to get to work.

Chapter Text

As Gangle and Zooble walked through the employee entrance, black aprons appeared on the two.

“You look nice.” The words fell out of Gangle’s mouth before she could process them.

Not that she hadn’t meant it, because Zooble looked absolutely stunning. The black suit and pink tie looked perfect on them, and Gangle silently thanked as well as cursed Caine for giving her the opportunity to see them in it.

“Oh.” Zooble said and Gangle instantly feared the worst.

“I’m sorry I-“

“You look nice too.” Zooble said, cutting off Gangles hurried apology. Gangle instantly looked away, blushing horribly.

“Thank you.” She mumbled.

“Of course.” Zooble said. But in Gangle’s embarrassment, she missed Zooble looking away and blushing as well.

An awkward pause settled between the two.

“Ribbons, gimme a whiskey sour will ya! I can actually enjoy it this time since I’m not a vegan, thank god” Jax sauntered up to the counter, grinning.

Of course Jax had to mess with them. That was sort of becoming a theme today, Gangle noticed. But since his interjection broke the awkward tension between the two, she couldn’t really complain.

“Um of course Jax!” She was a little wary near him because her comedy mask was still intact, and she wanted to keep it that way.

But as she moved to give him his drink she realized she didn’t know what she was doing. Sure she had experience with food service, but not bartending.

“Uh Zooble, could you help me out? I’ve never really worked in a bar before.” Gangle said nervously.

“Yeah of course! I can show you the ropes!” Zooble said.

“Will you two quit flirting and gimmie my drink already!” Jax shouted.

“After I deal with him.” Zooble said through gritted teeth.

They began digging around the bar quickly whipping up Jax’s drink. When they were done, they slammed it on the counter so hard that they splashed some of it on him.

“What the heck was that for!” He yelled grumpily.

“Being an a€&hole. Now get out before I grab the corn.” Zooble snapped.

Jax reluctantly stomped off, grumbling something to himself.

Gangle laughed slightly as he stomped away.

“What?” Zooble said.

“Just funny you scared him off so easily. Guess I need to keep some corn on me huh?” Gangle joked.

“Not a bad idea.” Zooble said, “Now let’s teach you how to work the bar.”

Chapter Text

Pomni was trying not to stare. She really was.

But Ragatha looked so effortlessly gorgeous she couldn’t help it. She moved through the party expertly, mingling and chatting like she already knew everyone. It helped that she probably did know some of them, because some were npcs from previous adventures.

Because of the frequent number of familiar npcs, Pomni was trying to keep an eye out for Gummigoo, even though he most likely wouldn’t remember her.

But Ragatha kept distracting her. She was so confident, and the direct contrast between her confidence and Pomni’s awkwardness only making the two more obvious.

Sure Ragatha was slightly confident with the rest of the cast, but with the npcs it was entirely different. She was less focused on making everyone happy, and while she still held some of those traits while with npcs, you could tell she was less obsessive in that way around them.

Pomni was curious as to why this was. She couldn’t help but take it slightly personally, wondering if Ragatha didn’t actually like being around the rest of them and was just lying about everything and being with the npcs was a fresh start and-

Woah. She needed to calm down and get some space from Ragatha before her brain tried to explode again.

She wandered across the room towards the bar, as she approached she noticed Jax stomping away from it, holding a glass. She also noticed that he had a splash of something on his suit, and she figured that he had probably gotten in a fight with Zooble.

Good. After yesterday she had zero empathy for him. His treatment of Ragatha had no excuses, not even some hypothetical traumatic backstory that she had originally assumed about when she first started to talk with him.

She walked up to the bar, where Zooble was showing Gangle around, likely teaching her how to work the bar. Pomni realized she might need a tour as well if she was expecting to work at it later.

“Sup Pomni. Can you give us a sec? Trying to show Gangle around.” Zooble called over to her.

“Of course.” Great. This gave her more time alone with her thoughts. But then she heard someone walk up to the bar.

“Hey Pomni! Whatcha up too!” Ragatha had a grin on her face as she sat next to Pomni.

“Just getting something to drink.” Pomni tried to avoid looking at Ragatha, in that beautiful dress that showed off her slightly muscular arms and-

Stop it stop it stop it. She yelled at her annoying brain.

“Are you all right? You seemed pretty upset over there, and right now.” Ragatha said, a tone of concern in her voice.

“Yeah I’m just not a fan of parties I guess.” Pomni said. That wasn’t really a lie, parties were hard for her and a part of her knew that was true in her life before the circus too. She had much preferred to… As usual the memory slipped away.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Ragatha asked kindly.

“Not right now.” Pomni knew she wouldn’t be able to hold a conversation with Ragatha when she looked like that. Not without some alcohol in her system first.

“Well what do you think you’re going to get to drink?” Ragatha asked quickly giving a much needed switch in topics.

“I’m not sure. I don’t know much about alcohol, normally I just drink what’s available.” Pomni admitted. “I’m pretty sure I wasn’t much of a drinker or a partier before the circus. And I wasn’t really the biggest fan of what I got in the last bar adventure, so I want to try something different this time.”

“Of course!” Ragatha paused for a moment. “You could try a cosmopolitan! That’s my favorite.”

“Yeah I remember from last time.” Pomni said. “Sure I’ll try it.”

“That’s the spirit!” Ragatha said excitedly.

“What do you two want?” Zooble asked, and Pomni noticed that the grumpy tone usually present in their voice was missing. They clearly enjoyed working at the bar. And Pomni could figure they enjoyed spending time with Gangle too, even if they didn’t say it.

“Two cosmopolitans! Pomni wants to try one!” Ragatha said cheerfully.

“On it.” They walked away and said something to Gangle, who began to help them with the drink.

Pomni turned back around to look at the crowd, keeping an eye out for Gummigoo. But he was still nowhere to be seen.

“Whatcha looking for?” Ragatha asked, startling Pomni, even though she already knew Ragatha was right there.

“Gummigoo.” Pomni said sadly.

“Oh.” Ragatha said, her voice losing its cheerfulness.

“I know he won’t recognize me or remember me but some part of me hopes he will.” Pomni said, feeling a slight sting in the corners of her eyes like she was about to cry. She turned back around to the counter and folded her arms, placing her head on top of them.

“Hey it’s alright Pomni.” Ragatha said, attempting to comfort her. “I get how that is.”

“You do?” Pomni said, wondering what Ragatha meant.

“I’ve made friends with npcs before, only to see them again later and they’ve forgotten about me. I remember, when I was first in the circus, I connected with one of the npcs really well. But next time I saw her she had completely forgotten me.” Ragatha’s cheerful tone had been replaced with a sadder one. “It sucks, to feel forgotten, even with someone you don’t fully know. But when you know someone well, when you care about them, it hurts even worse.”

Pomni suspected part of that might not be about the npcs, but she didn’t pry. She knew Ragatha had a habit of keeping those things to herself, even if it wasn’t good for her.

“Thanks Ragatha.” Pomni said, appreciating the insight nonetheless.

Then Ragatha placed her hand on Pomni’s back, gently. Pomni turned her head slightly to look at her, and everything else vanished.

“It’s okay Pomni, I’m always here.” She smiled gently and Pomni couldn’t help but smile back. She was probably blushing too, based on the sudden warmth in her face.

“Here you go?” Gangle said, gently setting down the drinks in front of the two. “You okay Pomni?” She asked.

“Uh yeah!” Pomni quickly sat up, almost knocking over her drink.

Gangle giggled slightly and walked away.

Awesome. Pomni was such an idiot sometimes.

She took a sip of the drink, noting Ragatha watching her out of the corner of her eye.

It was more sour than she expected, but it also had a nice sweetness to it and it tasted pretty good.

“Whaddya think?” Ragatha asked, grinning in anticipation at the smile on Pomni’s face.

“It’s pretty good!” Pomni said. “I get why you like it so much.”

“Awesome!” Ragatha beamed. “I had a feeling you would like it.”

“I didn’t expect it to be so sour, and I might try something else next time, just to figure out what I like, but it’s nice.” Pomni admitted.

“That’s good.” Ragatha said taking a sip of her own drink.

“Hello you two!” Called a voice from behind them.

It was Kinger.

“Oh hey Kinger!” Ragatha said giving a small wave. “What’s up?”

“Hmm.” He seemed lost in thought. “Good question! Have either have you found the killer yet?”

“Umm to be honest Kinger I forgot about that entirely.” Pomni admitted.

“Me too!” Ragatha said. “Have you had any luck finding the killer?”

“A killer!” Kinger shouted.

Of course.

“Don’t worry about it Kinger.” Pomni said quickly, not wanting to freak him out. “Do you want to sit with us and get something to drink?”

“No I’ll be alright, I think I might go back to the party.” Kinger said, beginning to walk away. “You two enjoy though!”

“Bye Kinger!” Ragatha shouted to him. Then, in a lower voice, to Pomni, “We should probably check on him later to make sure he doesn’t get himself killed.”

“Yeah.” Pomni agreed.

They both sat for a while, finishing their drinks.

Once they had finished, Ragatha stood up.

“Wanna come mingle with me?” She offered her hand out to Pomni.

“O-of course.” Pomni took her hand, feeling warmth in her face that wasn’t just from the alcohol.

The two walked into the party, and even though Pomni was still a bit nervous, the hand clasped in hers acted as an anchor, keeping her from drifting off into her anxiety.

Well sort of. Her heart was still beating incredibly fast at the feeling of the plush hand currently entwined in her own.

Chapter Text

Gangle was trying really hard to do a good job.

When she worked in fast food before the circus, she had a habit of always trying to be a ‘model employee.’ And even in the circus, when they did the Spudsy’s adventure, they still chased the validation that came with being a model employee.

But now, without an employer or even a real focus for profits, since it was at a party, she should be able to relax right?

Well as she figured out quite quickly, not so much.

While she wasn’t focused on profits or corporate standards, she was still focused on customer satisfaction. And impressing Zooble.

Gangle had never worked at a bar before, but if Zooble needed her help, she was going to do the best job she could.

Also, customer interactions were far easier with her happy mask on, and, instead of having to worry about managing everything, she got to just work with Zooble. With some occasional help, of course.

It was nice to see familiar faces there as well, like Ragatha and Pomni. And some npcs that didn’t remember her, but still were nice to talk to.

Overall, it was turning out to be way better than her food service work had ever been.

She even had a particularly funny interaction with Ming. He had wandered up to bar and asked for something strong to drink, looking rather depressed. Gangle asked what was wrong, out of pure curiosity about the new npc. He had responded saying he hated parties because they were rife with people making assumptions. Gangle had to try not to laugh slightly at the npcs antics. Caine truly had a strange sense of humor when it came to them.

And then things started to go downhill.

Gangle guessed Caine wanted everything to be as accurate as possible, because after a certain duration of the party, some customers were behaving more unkindly, likely either due to being drunk, or just being plain rude.

Through all of it, Gangle tried to keep a smile on her face and not let anything get to her. But it was difficult, because she had to deal with Zooble’s presence. Sure she cared about them and they would always defend her against the customers that were rude, but she still wanted to look good for them. Though she wasn’t entirely sure why she felt that way.

Gangle felt particularly upset after one customer yelled at her, saying she was ‘obviously incapable and inexperienced’.

This hit way too close to home with what she had been worried about all day. And proving them right, Zooble stepped in to defend her. She turned around, pretending to be busy with something else, when really she was just trying to hide her face from everyone else. It felt like her comedy mask was on the verge of breaking.

“Are you okay Gangle?” Zooble asked from behind her.

“Yeah.” Gangle said, continuing to face away from them.

“Are you sure?” Zooble asked with a note of concern in their voice. “Normally I wouldn’t push it but you’ve seemed off since this morning.”

“I’m fine, just need a break is all.” Gangle said. “Would you find if I took fifteen?”

“Of course.” Zooble said, and the concerned tone that they were using made Gangle want to tell them everything, but she knew Zooble didn’t deserve to be burdened by her problems any more than they already were.

She began to walk off, partially hearing Zooble say something but the loudness in her brain silenced it.

She opened the door to a supply room in the back and walked over to sit on the back wall, not even bothering to turn the lights on. She tucked herself out of sight in the corner in case someone decided to look inside.

Gangle slipped off her comedy mask, setting it down next to her gently. Then she finally let herself cry.

“Why am I so pathetic, especially in front of them?” Gangle sobbed to nobody.

She had no idea how long she sat there, crying and thinking and muttering terrible things to herself.

She was just thinking about getting up and going back, but the thought of facing them sent her back into a spiral, and just kept sitting there, stuck in a loop of self pity.

Then she heard the door open.

“Gangle?” Zooble called from the doorway.

Maybe if she was quiet they would leave?

“I saw you go in here and I’m just trying to make sure you’re alright. If you don’t respond I’m going to get Ragatha.” Zooble said firmly.

“I’m here.” Gangle called out weakly.

Zooble closed the door and walked over to her, sitting next to her.

“What’s wrong Gangle?” They asked. “Remember what we talked about yesterday? I want you to tell me if I did something to upset you.”

Gangle took a deep breath.

“It’s not you, well not really.” Gangle said keeping her eyes far away from Zooble’s.

“Gangle.” Zooble said warningly.

“I just- I wanted to help you, to impress you. I feel so weak, and- and pathetic, and I’m so sick of being like that. You’re amazing and even though I appreciate you always defending me, it just makes it even worse. Because you’re so strong and I’m nothing like you.” Gangle was crying again, still hiding her face from Zooble.

“You think I’m amazing? And strong?” Zooble asked.

Gangle flushed slightly, but she was already in deep now, so there was no point in hiding it.

“Of course.” Gangle said.

Zooble didn’t speak for what felt like ages. Gangle tugged her knees to her chest, worried that she had messed up.

“I’m not.” Zooble said, with a twinge of frustration in their voice.

Gangle was the one who didn’t speak now. She didn’t know how to react to this. Was Zooble angry at her? Probably not. But what did they mean?

“Remember the other day, when we were in that castle?” They paused for a moment, with a breath so shaky Gangle almost looked up to see if they were crying. “I told you all that stuff about loving yourself, and you asked if I ever had to make that choice. You decided right away that I was too perfect to make that choice, and since then I’ve felt like I’ve been lying to you. Because I struggle with that choice every day. Every time one of my stupid changeable parts falls off, every time I look through that stupid box, and every time I look in a mirror. Actually, this morning was the first in a long time I didn’t-“ They paused for a moment, taking another shaky breath. “It’s the first morning in a while I wasn’t only thinking about how much I hate myself.”

At this admission, Gangle gave up. She looked Zooble right in the eyes. They weren’t crying, but they looked vulnerable. More than Gangle had ever seen them.

“I know it’s kind of an a%€hole move to spring something like this on you when you’re dealing with your own problems, and I’m sorry for that. But I’ve been avoiding telling you because I thought you would think less of me, and you already have this view in your head of me being some strong put together person, so I just needed to tell you so I could stop feeling like I’m lying to you.” Zooble rushed the words out of their mouth, looking extremely upset.

“Zooble.” Gangle’s voice sounded almost awestruck. “I don’t think less of you.” She blushed slightly but didn’t look away this time. “I don’t think I ever could think less of you. Actually, the fact that you’ve been dealing with all this and still always seeming so in control and standing up for me just makes you even more amazing in my eyes.”

She placed her ribbon on top of Zooble’s hand, twining it around when they didn’t protest.

The two just sat there, listening to each other’s breathing and holding onto each other.

After a while Zooble managed to say in a hoarse voice, “Thank you Gangle. I needed to let that out.”

“Of course, I kind of needed to listen. You really calmed me down.” Gangle admitted.

“Listen, I know that we can’t hide in here the whole adventure, and we’ll have to go out there eventually. So what do you think about when we get back to the circus, just talking about everything. I have some stuff I need to talk about, and I think you do too. If you don’t want to I would understand.” After this sentence, they rubbed one of their fingers along the ribbon wrapping around it, causing Gangle to blush again.

She was kind of a mess today, huh.

Definitely because of Zooble. Gangle wasn’t sure exactly when, but she had developed a massive crush on them. Probably not a good thing to realize when she was in a dark closet holding their hand. But she was also glad the closet was dark because her mask was probably bright red right now. Then she realized they were waiting for a response.

“Of course. That sounds nice.” Gangle said quickly. She had meant it though. She figured that talking about their problems outside the rush of an adventure was something they both needed.

“I’m ready if you want to go back now.” Zooble asked.

“Maybe just a bit more please?” Gangle asked.

“Of course.” Zooble said.

“Speaking of the adventure though, who’s taking care of the bar if we’re in here?” Gangle hadn’t thought about this at all, and she worried that if they left it unattended then Caine might punish them.

“Well funny story, I was planning on grabbing Ragatha and Pomni, but I couldn’t find them. So I had to ask Jax and Kinger.” Zooble chuckled.

“How did you convince Jax to work?” Gangle asked skeptically.

“The only way anyone convinces him to do anything. Threats.” Zooble said, with a slightly mischievous look in their eyes that Gangle wanted to see over and over again. “I told him I would tell Caine that he loves corn a lot and to leave some in his room.”

Gangle started laughing uncontrollably. The idea of Jax being the one in terror for once sounded absolutely priceless. Especially over something ridiculous as corn.

When she had finished laughing, she noticed Zooble staring at her, with an indecipherable look in their eyes.

Gangle felt herself blush involuntarily.

“What?” She said, almost embarrassed at the way they were staring.

“I didn’t know you could laugh without your happy mask.” Zooble said, still sort of staring.

“Neither did I.” Gangle was getting annoyed at their staring now. “I guess you’re just that funny.”

Her eyes widened in realization of what she had just said.

Why did she have to be so bad at this?

Zooble laughed too, but pulled their hand away so they could stand up. Gangle missed it as soon as it was gone.

“You ready?” They asked, offering their hand.

Gangle slipped their happy mask on again, and after letting out some of her emotions, she discovered that it felt more comfortable.

She took the hand Zooble had offered, thinking of the time in the castle. Except this time, they weren’t letting go just yet.

“Can I have a hug?” Gangle instantly felt so awkward for asking, but she just wanted to be close to them.

“Yeah.” They said, leaning forward and hugging her.

Gangle curled her ribbons around their torso, startling them slightly at first, but they soon leaned into it.

The two stayed there for a bit, enjoying the comfort of each other’s presences.

After a while, Gangle muttered “I think I’m ready now.”

“Alright.” Zooble said in a quiet tone.

The two pulled apart and walked out of the supply closet.

As they walked back to the bar they were greeted by a truly chaotic sight.

A line of customers was standing at the bar, some yelling, and some entirely calm. Kinger was standing behind the counter staring into the distance at nothing and Jax was just sitting on the counter drinking from a bottle of whiskey.

Gangle knew something was wrong with him, she hadn’t seen him look so out of it in a long while. He grinned when he saw them, dropping down from the counter.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the two lovebirds. What were you two doing in that dark closet by yourselves huh? Maybe-“

“Jax! Can you help me with this?” Kinger cut off Jax, holding his hand out.

In his hand was a pomegranate cut in half. Zooble had no clue where he had gotten it from, but it caused Jax to jump back in fear, a little slower than he normally would.

“Screw you Kinger. I’m leaving.” He promptly hopped over the counter and wandered into the party, whiskey bottle still in his hand.

“He’s definitely drunk.” Said Zooble.

“Yeah I think so.” Gangle chuckled a bit. “It would be funnier if he hadn’t left such a mess.”

“Well we can deal with this, then we should see if we can drag Ragatha and Pomni over here to help us out.” Zooble said. “Mind helping me fix this up?”

“Of course Zooble.” Gangle smiled at them, and from the look they gave back, Gangle could tell they were smiling too.

Chapter Text

Pomni was standing and watching Ragatha again.

After Ragatha pulled Pomni into the party with her, Pomni had been struggling to keep up with her. Ragatha moved through the party gracefully, making conversation like she already knew everyone. Meanwhile Pomni stumbled after her, barely talking with anyone.

After a while she gave up and just started to do her own thing and let Ragatha do hers.

The party was in full swing now, evident by the increase in guests. There was also music playing from an orchestra of mannequin npcs that appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Then Ragatha walked up to her, accompanied by the princess Pomni remembered from the candy adventure.

“Hey Pomni!” Ragatha called out grinning. “Loolilalu, I would like you to meet Pomni! She’s a friend of mine.”

“Pleased to meet you! I am Princess Loolilalu of the Candy Kingdom. And you are?”

Pomni had to remind herself that the npcs didn’t already remember her before she said “Hello, my name’s Pomni. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too sweetheart.” Loolilalu winked at Pomni, making her blush a little.

Pomni recalled something from the Candy Kingdom adventure, Ragatha saying ‘look Pomni, we’re already friends with the princess!’

Pomni wasn’t sure what to say to the princess in reply. Was Loolilalu flirting with her or was that how she was with everyone? But thankfully Ragatha made the choice for her.

“I’ll have to introduce you to our other friends soon, I think they would like you.” She said, evidently trying to break the awkward silence. “They’re working behind the bar.”

“Sounds wonderful! I could use a drink.” Loolilalu smiled, but then cocked her head as if listening to something. “I do love this song. Would you like to dance with me before we get something to drink?”

“Sounds great!” Ragatha said excitedly.

Loolilalu then pulled her closer to the stage and Pomni lost sight of them. When she was able to see them again, she saw the two holding hands and dancing together. Was Ragatha blushing?

Pomni could see a reddish tint on the dolls face from here that definitely wasn’t present before she was dancing.

Pomni literally didn’t know how to comprehend this. She knew Ragatha was super friendly to everybody, even the npcs, so why did this seem different? Was Pomni just going crazy or acting jealous? Why was she jealous? Did this mean Ragatha was into women?

She needed to take a break, she already felt like she was about to either keel over or cry. All these people and all the loud music were only stressing her out further. She noticed a bathroom at the far side of the room and decided to retreat there.

Pomni walked through the bathroom door and locked it behind her, standing in front of the sink and staring at her reflection. She just needed to breathe and relax.

It was tough though, she was really not good in social situations and she was already stressed enough about Ragatha. She absolutely had a crush on her based on how she had been feeling around her. But the sight of her, dancing with someone else, made her feel jealous, but also miserable. Did Ragatha want to spend time with everyone else because Pomni was boring?

She stood there, trying to calm herself down so she could go back before anyone knew anything was wrong.

Then she heard a knock on the door.

“Hello is- is someone on here?” It was Ragatha, and she sounded kind of upset.

Pomni took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Ragatha?” Pomni asked, looking up at her.

Ragatha’s face changed in an instant, and she gave Pomni a weak smile.

“Hey Pomni! Just gotta use the restroom.” Ragatha was obviously lying.

“Ragatha what’s actually wrong?” Pomni asked, giving her best attempt at a stern look.

“Nothing I- it’s ok, I promise!” Ragatha smiled, but her eyes kept darting away from Pomni’s.

Pomni sighed. She had had enough of Ragatha’s lies and she didn’t want to keep playing this back and forth game with her. She grabbed Ragatha’s hand and pulled her into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

“Pomni!” Ragatha shouted at the sudden motion.

“Listen Ragatha.” Pomni stood in front of the door, crossing her arms. “I don’t know why you keep lying to me, but I want you to stop. I can tell something is wrong with you and I wish you would stop hiding it. After all the s&£# we went through together yesterday, I would have thought that we were close enough for you to finally share things with me, but you’re clearly still trying to hide things from me even though I can tell you’re upset.”

Ragatha just stood there, staring at Pomni. She opened her mouth as if trying to speak but closed it again.

Ragatha took a deep breath and seemed to find her words.

“I was just upset because I was having fun with Loolilalu but I saw you run off and I got worried, but she got upset at me for being so focused on you.” A tear fell out of Ragatha’s eye. “And you’ve been being weird around me the whole adventure and I’m just worried I did something wrong.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong Ragatha, I just-“ Pomni had to try and find her words now too. “Earlier when you asked me what was going on I told you about the thing with Gummigoo, but that wasn’t the only thing. I’m really bad at parties to be honest. They give me a lot of anxiety because I get so nervous about interacting with everyone and I don’t even know why. It’s just so hard to talk to people, I mean you saw how I was with Loolilalu.”

“What do you mean?” Ragatha asked.

“What do I mean? I was being super weird and awkward.” Pomni said, thinking Ragatha must be lying to avoid upsetting her.

“I don’t think so? All you did was say hello.” Ragatha said with a light smile. “Maybe you’re just underestimating yourself. You probably just think you’re doing bad or saying the wrong thing, and that causes you to feel awkward.”

“I did kind of feel like a mess when she called me sweetheart.” Pomni admitted in embarrassment. “At least you handled that stuff well.”

Pomni was reaching out now, trying to get Ragatha to talk about what happened with Loolilalu. And maybe figure out if Pomni was right about the flirting.

“What do you mean?” Ragatha asked confused.

“Well she was kind of flirting with you wasn’t she?” Pomni asked, suddenly unsure of herself.

“What? She w- Oh.” Ragatha hit herself gently in the face with her palm, groaning in frustration. “I’m so stupid, of course she was. That makes sense why she asked me to dance and why she was all jealous about you. Gosh I can be pretty stupid sometimes huh?”

“You’re not. We should get back to the point though. I’m not mad at you I just suck with parties, and I want to make sure you told me everything that was wrong.” Pomni looked Ragatha dead in the eye. “Please don’t lie to me.”

“Well, there is one more thing. You said you suck at parties, well I kind of do too. I’ve gotten good at acting normally on the outside, but a lot of the time I’m freaked out on the inside. I’m always scared that I’m saying or doing the wrong thing, but it’s even more amplified when I’m at parties. I seem more comfortable at parties because it’s just instilled in my brain that I should be.” Ragatha looked back at Pomni. “Today was better because I had you with me, but then you started acting weird and it made things worse.

“Sorry.” Pomni said. “I didn’t mean to make you more upset.”

“No it’s okay, it’s also my fault for not telling you what was going on.” Ragatha smiled. “I guess I need to get better at that huh?”

“Clearly we both have some work to do in that area.” Pomni admitted, smiling back. “Just promise me something. Promise me you’ll try to share more with me and I’ll do the same.”

“Of course Pomni.” Ragatha said, her smile grew, making Pomni’s chest flutter. “I promise.”

“I don’t really want to go back.” Pomni admitted rubbing her arm self consciously.

“Well we don’t have to, but I promise I’ll stay around you this time if that would help. I have an idea, actually, would you want to dance with me?” Ragatha asked.

Pomni was absolutely shocked.

“W-well that sounds really nice but I don’t know if I would be any good.” Pomni said, looking at Ragatha.

“I can show you how if you want.” Ragatha said.

“Sure.” Pomni looked at the ground, blushing as she reached out her hand.

They walked out of the room together, hand in hand as they had earlier. Except this time, Ragatha didn’t let go and leave Pomni alone.

A song was just beginning to play as they both walked onto the dance floor. It was quick and lively and the other members of the party were just beginning to dance as well.

Ragatha kept her grip on Pomni’s hand, while her other hand settled itself on Pomni’s hip.

“Just follow my lead.” Ragatha looked right into Pomni’s eyes, and every place where her hands touched Pomni felt like they were burning.

Just as they began to move, there was a loud shout from inside the crowd.

Pomni and Ragatha pulled apart to see what had happened. They ran over to the crowd of npcs surrounding whatever was happening and pushed through it. They saw Disappearing Guy, lying on the ground with a pool of blood spreading out around him. Ming was kneeled down next to him, a look of concern on his ridiculous face. Pomni felt Ragatha squeeze her hand slightly.

“Help! I’ve been sta-“ Disappearing Guy and the pool of blood disappeared, causing Ming to break down into tears.

“Look! It was them! By the stage!” A voice shouted from the crowd.