Chapter Text
“Hey... Pomni?”
Pomni looked up at him, surprised that he had approached her first. “What’s up?”
Jax let out a sigh, already seeming to regret speaking. “...Never mind.”
“Jax.”
He looked at her, tears welling in his eyes. “Pom...” was all he managed before breaking down.
Without hesitation, Pomni pulled him into a tight embrace, gently rocking him as he buried his face in her chest and sobbed.
“Shh... Shh... It’s okay,” she whispered softly, holding him close. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong.”
Jax trembled in her arms. He looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. Pomni sensed it immediately and tried to calm him down, running a hand through his hair.
“I... I don't know what's wrong w-with me...” he cried, his voice breaking as he clung to her like she was the last person left in the world.
Pomni held him a little tighter.
“Nothing's wrong with you, Jax.”
“Yes there is,” he whispered.
She opened her mouth to respond, but he shook his head.
“I keep pushing everyone away.”
His grip on her tightened.
“I tell myself I don't care. I act like I don't need anybody, but...” His voice cracked. “I do, Pomni.”
Pomni's heart sank.
Jax let out a shaky breath.
“Every time someone tries to get close, I ruin it. I make a joke, or I say something stupid, or I leave before they can.” He swallowed hard. “And I'm so tired of doing that.”
The words seemed to pour out of him now that he'd finally started.
“I'm tired of pretending everything's fine. I'm tired of acting like I don't care about anyone.” Tears slipped down his face. “I don't want to be like this anymore.”
Pomni was quiet for a moment.
Then she gently placed a hand on his cheek.
“Jax...”
“I mean it,” he said quickly, almost desperately.
“I don't want to keep running away from everyone. I don't want to keep hurting people because I'm scared they'll leave first.”
For a second, neither of them spoke.
Then Pomni pulled him back into her arms.
“You came here, didn't you?”
Jax blinked.
“What?”
“You came to me.” Her voice was soft but steady. “You could've kept hiding. You could've kept pretending. But you didn't.”
His eyes widened slightly.
“You took the first step.”
A shaky breath escaped him.
“It doesn't feel like enough.”
“Maybe not,” Pomni admitted. “But it's a start.”
For the first time all day, Jax felt something other than exhaustion.
Hope.
Small and fragile, but there.
And as Pomni held him, he found himself wondering if maybe, just maybe, he didn't have to do this alone anymore.
“Now c'mon, let’s go help the others.”