Work Text:
It had been since another adventure involving the voting system that this… emptiness… had persisted. Everyone was released from those awkward situations… except for this distinct sense of gnawing hunger in Jax’s abdomen. It wasn’t something he totally noticed at first until the late hours of the day rolled around, leaving him alone in his dim, quiet room.
While he could claim he was hungry in the past, it was closer to a lie than a truth. No one could feel that empty sensation that normal humans could… or anything else for that matter. They lived in a digital world, and while they were once human… here? They were merely characters. They don’t need to eat or sleep to live and function properly. As was said, it was only nice to do those things to keep a routine.
Nutrition had no purpose here… and while Jax lay quietly on his bed, the sudden, quiet growling that filled the silence around him ignited a sense of confusion and nervousness in his chest.
He sat up, perched against his hands while his eyes locked onto his knees.
That… should’ve been gone hours ago. Right? The voting system was down? Right??
Jax’s mind swarmed for a moment before he forced himself out of those ruminating ideations. He didn’t need that right now… not after everything else that’d gone on today.
The aching had squeezed again for a brief moment before dissipating into a hollow nothingness… carelessly, Jax plopped himself down onto his back again before he turned over, and shut his eyes.
~~~~
It wasn’t until the later hours of the morning had rolled around that everyone began to wonder where Jax had been. Yeah, normally he was off doing god knows what on his own… but today felt off for some reason. Questions didn’t fly long before the group pushed Pomni to go looking for him. Semi-reluctantly, she obliged.
The halls always felt never-ending in times where uncertainty hung over everyone’s heads… each footstep felt so much smaller than they actually were.
Pomni stood quietly in front of Jax’s door for a long moment before ringing his doorbell… waiting quietly for him to answer.
Footsteps quietly approached the door before a crack formed, showing Jax peeking out into the hallway.
Pomni spoke first.
“Hey… uh… we were all wondering where you were,” she stammered, her tone turning more sincere before she spoke again.
“Are… you doing okay?”
Jax stared at her for a second, honestly debating whether or not he should just shut the door in her face and tell her to tell everyone that he was perfectly fine! He just didn’t want to deal with Ragatha or Gangle today… whatever kind of excuse that is.
But he didn’t.
He clicked his tongue to initiate his response, but before he could, there was a low, utterly hollow rumbling noise that only got quieter as Jax hugged himself. The noise alone said enough, but the way Jax hunched in on himself told a better explanation than words could alone.
Pomni’s eyes widened, glancing down to his middle in surprise.
“Oh… wait— but— the adventures over?” she sputtered, confusion apparent within her tone.
All Jax could do was roll his eyes. “No way… really? I thought this was still part of the adventure!” he responded sarcastically… which did not impress Pomni… but that concern in her eyes didn’t falter as she looked back up at him.
“Would company help…?” came another question as Pomni placed the palm of her hand against the wood of Jax’s door gently, taking a slight step forward.
Jax glanced at her hand on the door, his heart leaping into his throat for a moment while his mind raced over an answer. His hold on the door lessened before he opened it up a bit more for her to enter.
With a smile on her face, Pomni entered the room, and the door shut quietly behind them.
It wasn’t Pomni’s first time in Jax’s room, so the decor didn’t come as a surprise to her… it never really did in the first place. Did it seem like him? No, but after a while of closeness, and connection… it all starts to make sense.
Pomni’s thoughts were interrupted as Jax placed his back against the wall, and slid his way down to the floor instead of settling down on his bed. His hands were heavy against his abdomen, his face displayed a look of annoyance, and discomfort. The sight made Pomni’s heart both sink… and jump into her throat. Vulnerability like this from Jax was… rare. She couldn’t tell if this feeling was just worry, or added eagerness.
She walked closer to him, knelt down next to him, then picked a comfortable position for her to sit in beside him.
Another growl emerged from Jax’s stomach… deep, and long. This ravenous feeling had crawled into his throat… leaving him to swallow his saliva thick, and with difficulty. His stomach cramped again… a globus sensation forming in his throat. All Jax could do was shift his seated position uncomfortably, and sigh… though his sigh came out more a desperate whimper instead.
Pomni’s face flushed, her own stomach fueled with butterflies as her hand fit itself beneath his mindlessly, her thumb gently caressing the hollow spot as she made her attempts to comfort him. Jax found one of his hands holding Pomni’s wrist firmly for a moment before he let his hands fall to his sides to rest on the ground beneath him. The absence of Jax’s hands gave Pomni the chance to use both of her hands for comfort… also allowing her to shift her position from next to him, to in front of him as she sat herself comfortably on his lap.
Jax scoffed. “You into this kinda stuff?” He teased, evening his breath with his words.
Pomni tilted her head, staring at her hands as she applied pressure against his abdomen… trying to find another one of those hollow pockets to massage out. Her expression was calm, her shoulders were relaxed. She didn’t answer.
“When do you wanna tell Caine?” she asked… looking up at him with her eyes, her head still tilted down towards his abdomen.
“Uh. Soon?” Jax replied… his tone hinting at Pomni question being genuinely stupid… but the way she looked at him had his heart leap into his throat.
Was he the one into this shit??
Pomni’s thumb pressed deep into the place right between Jax’s ribs… making him tense, and his breath hitch.
Jackpot.
“fuck—“ Jax exhaled, his hand coming up to hover over Pomni’s… who smiled at his reaction.
“… Just breathe,” she cooed. “We’ll get you taken care of in no time…”
Jax listened, taking a deep breath in, and sighing it out slowly… as he did, the cramping beneath Pomni’s fingers released into a deep grumbling noise. His hand found his way to his mouth as another whine escaped his throat without knowledge of it happening.
Pomni placed her palms flat against his stomach, feeling the rumbling beneath her hands. It was almost surreal… it was so human.
She let out a scoffed chuckle when the ruckus quieted… her hands gently gliding along his sides as she leaned in closer to him.
“Okay… I guess we can get you fixed up…”