Opposites Abstract - Pomni x Male Reader

Chapter 16 - Close for Comfort

Y/N wasn't talking very much.

He felt heavier than usual. Maybe the Darkness affected your weight or something. His walking was lopsided, and his breathing was sort of off and funny. Like a dog trying to hide it was out of breath. Pomni's arms were still wrapped around his waist, and she could feel his body weight was resting on her almost entirely. If you removed Pomni from the equation, Y/N may just fall face-first onto the floor.

Pomni - "Are you feeling alright, Y/N?"

Y/N - "... fine."

Pomni - "You don't have to be okay if you don't think you are."

Y/N grunted in acknowledgement of her comment but didn't provide an answer further than that. Call Pomni weird, but it made her upset that Y/N wasn't himself. Usually he'd have some witty comment to share, or talk excitedly about their excursions, or recount a funny moment he shared with Zooble or Gangle the other day. She found him quite engaging to listen to. Now, however, Pomni could practically feel that Y/N was off.

The silence was the most deafening it had been in her entire time at the circus.

Once they reached Y/N's door, he let go of Pomni and leaned against the door. After fumbling with the handle as if it were the first time he had ever used his hands, the door slowly creaked open and revealed Y/N's room, now slightly tidier than the last time the two of them were in there, though the pile of broken furniture had simply been pushed into a corner and neatly stacked.

Y/N walked forward lopsidedly and fell into a nearby chair, taking his blazer off and breathing deeply but shakily. Still feeling unsure as to how to navigate the situation, Pomni double-checked that no one was outside before shutting the door and walking anxiously over to Y/N. His hair was covering his face for the most part, and you could hear the quiet breaths threatening to puncture a hole in his lungs.

Pomni - "D-Do you want a d-drink?"

Y/N - "U-Uh... no, no thanks. I think I just need a minute..."

He had never looked so shaken. Pomni waited silently as Y/N calmed himself down and was taken aback when he suddenly shot up and dashed towards a blackboard he had pushed against the far wall of the room. He also tossed his ring into a pouch resting in his piano while flapping his hand aggressively.

Pomni - "Are you alright?"

Y/N - "Just the weird red stuff. Hurts a bit."

Y/N swivelled the blackboard to face the two of them and picked up a small stick of chalk, writing a list of discoveries they had made so far.

The Void is hiding something.

The Darkness is hiding the abstractions.

What is the office space?

Jax and Caine are working together?

You can turn off TOS.

What is Caine's motive?

Y/N and Pomni don't abide by the laws of the Circus.

He paused and tapped his chin.

Y/N - "So... here's what we've got so far."

Pomni - "That's a lot."

Y/N - "Yup."

He drew a line between a collection of the points to try and organise it a little better.

Y/N - "Eh... that would look better on the left-"

Pomni - "Y/N, slow down a sec-"

Y/N - "The people in the abstractions are still in there somewhere. I spoke to Kaufmo and he recognised me, so they aren't necessarily aggressive. I imagine Kaufmo was as he was angry, I would be too. There are probably at least five more people down there. I should visit regularly, keep them company, maybe look around the Darkness to see if there's another way out?"