Work Text:
A knock sounded at Zooble’s door; hesitant and accompanied by a sharp intake of breath. Familiar, they thought as they propped themselves up from where they were about to drift off to sleep—their favourite pastime whenever Caine was dragging the others out on an adventure. “Come in,” they answered, almost excitedly as they fully expected a red ribbon to appear from behind the door that slowly creaked open.
“Hey, Zooble…” an unexpected voice sounded, its lack of enthusiasm matching the expression on Zooble’s face as Jax stepped into the dimly-lit room.
“What’re you doing here, Jax?” They crossed their arms, cocking their head at the unusually halfhearted Jax who lingered around their doorway. “I don’t want to have to deal with you, especially not when I’ve finally gotten Caine to leave me alone.”
“Psh, you sound like you want me gone!” Jax huffed, making a quick recovery as a familiar wide smile spread across his face. Though, something in his posture was still off; a certain nervousness evident in his stance and the quick flicker of his eyes as he traced Zooble’s room, seeming to examine it.
“What could I possibly have done to make you think otherwise?!” Zooble asked, playing along as they followed Jax’ footsteps; circling him. They watched Jax’ eyes widen, like he was expanding his vision to simultaneously search their room and keep Zooble within eyesight; a prey animal that knew it’d been spotted. “Tell me, Jax. What do you want now?”
“Look, Zoobs,” Jax huffed with a laugh that did nothing to hide his nervousness, tugging at the strap of his overalls. “I know we don’t always, achem, get along…” he trailed, and Zooble watched as his eyes dilated once they locked onto their box of parts. “But I was wondering if, ehe-”
“My parts?” Zooble asked, causing Jax to freeze in the act of reaching for them. His pupils grew back to their regular, enlarged, size as Jax composed himself. “What about them?” Zooble asked, crossing their arms like they were shielding themselves in case Jax was playing a cruel joke on them. Instead Jax faltered: casting his eyes to the floor and letting his arms hang lifelessly by his side.
“Are they made just for you, or-” he began, clearing his throat like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to commit to this conversation. Within a second, his posture shifted and he raised his hands like this was nothing but a casualty. “would, say, Rags be able to use ‘em if she wanted something like a third or fourth arm?” Jax rambled on, tracing around the room to swing an arm across Zoobles shoulders.
Jax smiled like he had played the part perfectly, but Zooble saw a glimpse of familiarity within her.
“I mean…” Zooble started, their voice a lot less irritated as they brushed Jax’ arm off their shoulders. “You can try to modify yourself, probably, but-” they continued on as they leaned down to rummage in their box of parts, shooting a look back at Jax that had him glance around anxiously. They couldn’t help but snicker at the notion, continuing to dig for what they swore they’d seen buried in there once before. “Aha! I think this oughta’ have the same effect.”
A piece of fabric came flying at Jax’ face, barely managing to catch it. “What.” he sputtered, looking at the thin red lace that rested in his hands; lingerie. “What do you take me for, Zooble?!”
“Is that not what you came for?” they immediately retorted with a snicker, glancing between Jax and the set they’d just thrown at him.
“Why do you even have this?! It doesn’t fit your weird- Your, your parts!” Jax scrambled, to which Zooble rolled their eyes and sighed.
Zooble let themselves drop back on the bed, hands behind their head but one eye focused on Jax despite their lax posture. “Looks like it’d fit you, though.” they commented, watching Jax’ hand tighten around the fabric at the very notion.
“Are you seriously suggesting I, of all people-” Jax rambled, barking a laugh that was clearly feigned as he tossed the set of lingerie to the floor in protest. “Psh, keep dreaming!” he continued on, shaking his head as he pulled open the door. “See ya’ around, Zoob-”
“Wait-” Zooble interrupted Jax’ step, a hand wrapped around his wrist within the blink of an eye. “I won’t judge.”
“Judge” Jax slowly shut the door again, “what?”
“Look, I-” Zooble began, uneasily scratching the back of their neck. This was already an uncomfortable topic, and they could hardly believe it was Jax who they were telling about this. “I know what it’s like, not to be happy with your parts.”
Their grip on Jax’ wrist loosened, but he didn’t reach for the door again. Instead, his eyes narrowed at Zooble as a hand gripped their shoulder. “If you tell anyone about this,” he began in an unusually serious tone, “I’ll kill you. Understood?”
“Understood,” Zooble answered, locking the door behind them. “not like I’d want to talk about you anyway.” They scoffed with their words, taking place on their bed once again as they watched Jax intently.
Jax swallowed, hard, when he picked the lingerie back up.
“You’re crude.” Jax retorted with a shake in his voice, though Zooble’s attention was drawn elsewhere.
“Your tail,” they commented, “I didn’t know it wagged.”
“What?! No it doesn’t!” Jax squeaked, jumping up and spinning in a circle in an attempt to see his own tail only to realise Zooble was right when he caught a glimpse of it wagging a mile a minute.
“Or maybe you just haven’t been this excited before…?” Zooble suggested, taking great enjoyment in seeing Jax freeze up at the notion.
“Eugh- Whatever.” he grumbled in response, turning his back to Zooble as he slipped the strap of his overalls off his shoulder.
“Oh, don’t turn away from me,” Zooble said with a scoff, “We don’t even have genitals!”
“It’s embarrassing-!” Jax huffed, letting his overalls drop down his legs and to the floor; still facing away from Zooble.
“I like seeing you embarrassed.” Zooble failed at swallowing their words.
“What.” Jax shot a look over his shoulder, the pace at which his tail wagged not matching his disturbed expression.
“What.”
“You’re, err- You’re not getting off to this, are ya’?” Jax asked, pausing in the act of stepping into the bottom piece to glance over his shoulder again.
“Psh, do you not want me too?” Zooble asked, perhaps a bit too casually for someone they openly hated—then again, maybe that was what made this whole ordeal just a little more appealing.
Jax drew a sharp inhale at the notion, looking between himself and the lingerie to consider that maybe that it was exactly what he wanted; to be desired, admired, when she was presenting as herself.
“That’s what I thought,” Zooble said after a moment of silence between the two, “now continue.”
Jax said nothing as he stepped into the bottom piece with both his feet, pulling the red lace up to his hips while his tail continued to wag steadily. Zooble said nothing, knowing that if there was any moment to refrain from deprecating Jax like they had since the two met; it’d be now. Instead, they watched Jax put on the delicate lace bra, buckling it behind his back with unexpected ease—like this wasn’t the first time.
“Well,” Jax began with a hint of sarcasm in her voice as she turned around, like she was preparing to defend herself if Zooble were to make fun of her, “how do I look?”
A snarky response got stuck in Zooble’s throat—the digital version of it, anyway—at the visual of Jax’ lanky frame, dressed in delicate red lace instead of her usual overalls; much more ladylike. “It suits you,” was all they said, with as much of a genuine tone as they could manage for someone like Jax of all people.
“What?” Jax scoffed—a mixture of offended and flustered—as she toyed with her hands, composure crumbling at the very notion. “That’s all?! It suits me?!” she continued on, striding the short distance between where she was standing and where Zooble was still leaning back on their bed. “No snarky remark? Nothing?!” she waved her hands before Zooble, subsequently giving them a perfect view of her lace-clad frame. “Just it suits you?! What is that supposed to mean?!”
Jax was panting by now, but Zooble remained almost indifferent because—as much as they hated to admit they were similar to Jax in any regard—they’d once been the one confused, denying the complications that came with feeling comfortable.
“C’mere-” Zooble beckoned, hooking a finger behind the strap of Jax’ bra and guiding her closer. Jax obliged, following the movement until she was seated over Zooble’s lap; breathing unsteadily with eyes flicking between her lace attire and the only other person who’d ever seen her in such a state. “What do you want it to mean?”
Despite Zooble’s tone; the question was an open one, and Jax knew she could retreat if she wanted. Yet she remained in place, feeling her tail wag behind her at the notion; at everything this implied. “You’re sure you’re not going to tell anyone about this?” Jax asked after a beat of silence, a hint of genuinity in her voice.
“If I did, I’d be humiliating myself just as much as I’d be outing you.” Zooble responded dryly, but their hands traveled down to Jax’s hips: curiously lingering.
“Psh,” Jax huffed a genuine laugh, “I guess you’re right, for once.” Zooble grumbled something under their breath before silence washed over them, Jax’ contemplation evident in the very air. One of her hands reached for Zooble’s, moving it to be planted definitely on her hip. “Then I want it to mean that, while I’m wearing this, I’m a good girl.”
“Good doesn’t really suit you as much as girl, does it?” Zooble immediately retorted with a smirk evident on their face, grabbing at Jax’s hips with both hands to make her squeal ever so slightly.
“Oh, shut up-!” Jax retorted, but the involuntary roll of her hips against Zooble’s thigh and the rapid wagging of her tail did little to support the annoyance her words were supposed to convey.
“Or maybe desperate bunny is more fitting?” Zooble asked, almost immediately gaining another roll of Jax’ hips. With a snicker, they adjusted their position so Jax was straddling one of their thighs, red lace pulling tight against her abdomen at the movement. The moment she was positioned, Jax grinded down on Zooble’s thigh with a barely contained whimper. “That sounds good, doesn’t it?” they asked Jax, a hand cupping her face as she frantically nodded in response.
“Call me that again-” Jax begged in a quiet heave, a roll of her hips syncing with Zooble just slightly raising their thigh to assist the motion.
“Needy, desperate, little bunny,” Zooble damn near spat with a smirk, their voice dropping lower at the visual of Jax gasping for air despite not holding her breath. “All it takes to turn you into a mess is gettin’ you all dolled up…” Jax’ hips just rutted against Zooble faster at the notion, outright humping their thigh with need now as she reached a hand up to grab at the padding of her bra; groping something that was supposed to be there.
“You’re, mgh-” Jax head fell forward as she humped her groin into Zooble’s thigh, before recollecting herself: “you’re just as much of as a mess as I am-”
“Maybe that’s why I’m the only one who gets to see you like this…” They looked Jax in the eye at that, a moment of silence aside from shared breaths conveying more than words ever could: a mutual understanding rooted in identity, whether it be suppressed or expressed.
“Whatever-” Jax huffed after a moment, her tail still furiously wagging as she continued to shamelessly hump Zooble. Her eyes shot between them and her own lace-clad frame, squeezing her chest as if she had breasts all this time: outright moaning when Zooble moved a hand to do the same. “Haa- Fuck! How can I even feel this when I don’t have-” she gasped, looking down at her crotch like she wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to imagine to be there.
As if Zooble noticed where Jax was looking, they chimed in: “Who cares, just be a good bunny and c’mere already-” They seized Jax’ jaw at the notion, pulling her forward out of—what they could only presume to be a—habbit that lingered from before the circus. Their heads collided, significantly hindered by the lack of facial features as Jax pulled back with a laugh.
“Okay, let’s-” she tried to say in a lax tone, though her voice quickly descended into another whine as she continued to rut into Zooble’s thigh, “let’s not try that, ha-! I don’t think they took kissin’ into account-”
“Obviously not-” Zooble huffed with a hint of annoyance at being told the obvious, a hand on Jax’ hip making her move even faster; chasing a high they weren’t sure was even reachable in these digital bodies. “You’ve got more to keep me entertained, though…” Zooble continued curiously, reaching their free hand up to wrap it around Jax’ ears and give the lightest pull. Jax seemed to downright melt at the touch, letting out a moan before her pupils dilated and nervously shot across Zooble’s frame. “Oh- Oh, okay. So that’s what you’re into?”
“I am not int-!” Jax began defensively, but Zooble already tugged on her ears; hard, making Jax’ head roll back. “GAH, shit- Shit, shit shit- Do that again!” Jax begged, and Zooble obliged: pulling her ears back even harder. “Mfg- Yeah, that’s it, h- haa- Fuck. Fuck-” Jax heaved, hips growing rigging and hand grabbing the padding of her bra as a blue-screened error message briefly flashed across her eyes. The moment Zooble let go of Jax’ ears she collapsed forward into them; slender purple frame still shaking while she heaved for breath.
“Really?!” Zooble proclaimed in disbelief, their arms in the air like they weren’t exactly eager to hug Jax. She looked back at them like she wasn’t expecting it either, eyes half lidded with slight annoyance before the reality of what just happened dawned on her, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “That’s what did it?!” Zooble added, and they had to do everything in their power not to sound too judgmental—knowing that this was a vulnerable moment for Jax.
“Oh, shut it!” Jax shot back once the initial surprise wore off, pushing herself up from Zooble’s lap and onto her feet.
“I guess you really are a pathetic bunny…” they muttered in response, unable to help but be a little fascinated by this new side of Jax they liked more than her regular self.
“That was just, I- You-!” Jax stammered, fumbling with the clasp of her bra as she shot Zooble a look over her shoulder. “You know damn well that was just temporary!” she retorted, ridding her body of the lace and reaching for her discarded overalls.
“Whatever you say doll,” Zooble replied with a smirk evident in their tone, leaning back on the bed as they watched Jax get dressed in his regular clothes; back to what he’d deemed normal. “whatever you say.”
“Listen,” Jax started, a lot more serious and unamused than he was mere minutes ago, though Zooble noticed the red-laced lingerie disappear in the pocket of his overalls, “if you so much as utter a word about this, I’ll-”
“Yeah yeah, you’ll have my head on a stick and whatnot. I got it the first and second time.” they retorted, waving their hand in the air in an attempt to make everything feel just a little more casual.
“Alright.” Jax said sternly, crossing the distance between himself and the door before his tone just briefly softened: “I’m glad we’re on the same page…”
“Me too.” Zooble huffed, and just that was enough to convey the kinship that had set this entire interaction in motion.
“Alright,” Jax swung open Zooble’s door and slipped out into the hallway, “bye.”
“Come on,” Zooble yelled after him, “you’re not even going to reciprocate?!”
“Nope!” They could hear Jax shout in response from behind their door.
“Oh, how stereotypical!” Zooble yelled back, though they had a hunch this wouldn’t be the last time Jax’d be showing up in their room.