The room was a mess. Cards scattered across the floor, mismatched cushions thrown about, faint neon light flickering from some tacky circus prop Jax had probably stolen from a “show.” The place looked like chaos—just like him.
Bonnet stood hesitantly in the doorway, clutching her skirts with both hands. She hated admitting it, even to herself, but loneliness had settled in her chest like a heavy stone. The silence of her dollhouse room was unbearable tonight. She needed… something.
Or maybe she needed him.
Bonnet: softly, peeking in “…Jax?”
Jax: ** lounging on his bed, arms behind his head, one ear twitching lazily “Well, well, look who wandered in. Thought you’d be too busy polishing your teacups to come slum it with me.”
Bonnet:* pouting, stepping inside with a little stomp of her shiny shoes “Don’t be mean, BonBon. I… I didn’t want to be alone tonight.”
Jax:grins, sitting up, though his eyes soften at her tone “Aw, poor little dolly couldn’t stand the quiet, huh? Guess that big empty dollhouse of yours finally got boring.”
Bonnet:** climbs onto the edge of his bed, skirts puffing out around her like a porcelain cupcake; she fiddles with the lace on her bonnet “It’s not boring. It’s just… too quiet. Like the walls are staring at me.”
Jax:tilts his head, watching her with that teasing smirk, though there’s something warmer under it “…You get weird when you’re lonely, you know that?”
Bonnet:leans against his shoulder without warning, her porcelain cheek cool against his arm “Then let me be weird. I don’t care. Just… don’t push me away right now, okay?”
Jax:** stiffens for half a second—affection always catches him off guard—then sighs dramatically, wrapping one arm around her shoulders in a loose half-hug “Fine, fine. You win, Princess. Guess I can share my royal chambers with you for a night. But only ‘cause you’re cute when you pout.”
Bonnet:muffled against his shoulder, voice quiet “…I hate being cute.”
Jax:snorts, flicking one of her bonnet ribbons “Liar. You live for it. Don’t think I don’t see how you light up when people call you adorable. You’d die without it.”
*Bonnet:giggles softly, but there’s a crack in it—the kind that comes from tiredness, not humor “…Maybe. But I’d die faster without you.”
For once, Jax doesn’t joke back. He just sits there, his smirk faltering, his eyes fixed on the tiny cracks running faintly along her porcelain cheek in the glow of the neon light.
Jax:quietly, almost serious “…You’re not allowed to die, dollface. Not on my watch. Got it?”
Bonnet: closing her eyes, leaning fully against him now like he’s the only thing holding her together “…Got it.”
The circus outside kept screaming, but in Jax’s room, it was quiet—two misfits sitting shoulder-to-shoulder in the mess, keeping each other from falling apart.