"It starts with Sorry" (A Jax X Ragatha story)

Chapter 2: Distractions

As the morning sun began to rise outside the circus tent, Jax slowly started waking up, His mind still replaying the events of last night over and over again like a broken record, his mind filled with the memories of Consoling Ragatha and snuggling with her for the night as he stirred slightly before eventually waking up and letting out a tired, sleepy groan before examining Ragatha's room.

It was a lot simpler and overall more organized than his room with a bookshelf to his left and another shelf next to it but that one was for other misalliance things like yarn which she probably used to stitch her dress. On the right, there was a simple brown wooden piano which he had seen a couple of times and a box that he could only imagine was full of accessories like bows and whatnot, not that he was gonna check it and risk seeming like a creep anyway.

That was when he noticed Ragatha was strangely missing even though she had been sleeping right next to him, he scratched his head lightly in confusion with his eyes darting around the room before he heard the door that was placed on the other side of the room (which is where the bathroom was) open as Ragatha walked out unclothed except for a towel which covered her most private areas, her hair was wet and messy and she let out a content sigh before noticing Jax staring at her.

Jack blushed heavily seeing Ragatha barely dressed even if she was mostly covered by the towel, his bunny ears sprang upwards as he immediately covered his eyes under the covers and let out an annoyed and slightly flustered groan earning a small giggle from Ragatha.

"Good morning Jax, sorry I forgot to tell you I would be in the shower," She told him trying her hardest to not giggle from his flustered reaction.

"Ugh...morning Dollface. Just....give me a warning next time before you flash me" He told her annoyed, still hiding under the covers to hide an increasingly growing blush.

Ragatha giggled hearing his response as she began to dry herself before talking to Jax in a more teasing tone "I wasn't flashing you but alright~" she told him before eventually beginning to dress herself.

Jax then continued to hide under the covers as Ragatha began dressing herself in her underwear before eventually moving on to dressing herself in her usual blue dress and black shoes as Jax could only vaguely see under the covers but when he saw that she was finished and headed to dry her hair, he slipped out of the covers and walked up behind her, taking the hair dryer and offering to do it for her despite his clear shame and slightly annoyed face and tone.

"Here, let me help you with that" He replied trying to sound nonchalant but was starting to slip a bit.

Ragatha smiled warmly, seeing Jax show signs of genuine care for her underneath the rude and apathetic facade was quite the special occasion and it made her feel special as a result "Thank you" she whispered happily, taking a seat on the bed as Jax began to blow her hair.

Jax then continued to blow her red hair with the hair dryer before he then grabbed a spare bow and started to put it on Ragatha's hair, feeling the now dried surface of her licorice-looking red locks as she melted under his touch feeling like a content puppy every time his fingers would run against her hair. It was clear she enjoyed being pampered as she closed her eyes and let out several happy hums as Jax then finished helping her with her hair.

"There...good as new" He replied grinning slightly as Ragatha got up and headed towards the door with a smile on her face.

"Thanks again for helping me with my hair today Jax, you really do know how to make a girl feel special."

Those words keep repeating in Jax's mind, the fact that he had made Ragatha not only comfortable but even feel "Special" made him really consider if there was something wrong with him since after all, he was still meant to be a jerk and a prankster but he decided to push that thought away for now as he walked to the door himself.

"Yeah I know, Pranks aren't the only thing I'm good at Dollface" He replied in a much more in-character tone before he went over to his room and showered before returning to her in his usual Red overalls.

The two then began walking together down the halls with Jax side-eyeing Ragatha before speaking "So...feel better now?"

"Yeah, I do...I really can't thank you enough for what you did for me last night" She told him with a sweet smile.

Jax blushed slightly seeing her smile and warm attitude which had always contrasted with his own cocky and snarky personality but he tried his best to still seem nonchalant and unaffected by her warmness.

"Say, what do you think Caine's got for us today?" she asked changing the subject.

Jax snickered lightly hearing her question as he could already imagine all the pranks he was gonna play on the other circus members, a devilish grin forming on his face "Oh you know me Doll, I'm fine with doing whatever, as long as I get to see funny things happen to people~"

Ragatha let out a soft chuckle upon hearing Jax's response "I should have known you would have said that" She replied still laughing softly.

Jax felt a pang in his heart hearing Ragatha's laughs and giggles which for some reason, he found cute and endearing which immediately caused red alarms to go off in his head since previously, he hadn't found Ragatha's laughter cute or endearing yet here he was blushing like a schoolboy over the smallest things she did, he let out an internal groan as he thought to himself "Ok...this...is not normal, something is TERRIBLY wrong with me if Ragatha is making me blush just by laughing- But that's ok! I'll just not think about it and think about how I'm going to prank the others like uhhh...Oh! How I'm going to break Gangle's mask again, Yeah~ that'll ruin her day for sure and I can't break my streak now can I?"

Jax continued to talk to himself internally trying to convince himself it was just a fluke before being pulled out of it by Ragatha poking him lightly.

"Jax, are you ok?" she asked looking at him confused.

Jax immediately snapped out of his gaze before looking at her and talking in The most natural tone he could "Yeah... I'm fine, just a little distracted~"

"Alright then" She replied continuing to walk forward as Jax sighed internally, he was just starting to realize that trying to act like his normal self was gonna be much harder after last night but he was still determined to not be seen as "Soft" by the others even despite his interactions with Ragatha becoming more intimate but surely acting like a douche and making others miserable would distract him and help him forget about it all.....or at least that's what he hoped would happen as he and Ragatha eventually arrived in the main hall, Alone together awaiting everyone else to arrive and to start yet another day of wacky digital misadventures.