the greatest show on earth
I have one question.
Why is no one writing a Disney kids Circus AU with me?
--
Joe pulls back the heavy velvet curtain an inch, just enough so that he can put an eye to the gap and peer through. The audience seating is filling up; long wooden benches topped with worn red cushions, rising row after row into the dusty rafters until they disappear into the darkness.
It should be a good night.
The sawdust filled arena ring is still dark, but the seating is lit, red coated ushers lining the aisles, directing people to seats and tearing ticket stubs. From the looks of it, the might get 75% filled tonight. Not bad for a Thursday night, way out in the boonies like they are.
The audience is chattering, the thrumming anticipation of a show palpable in the air. Joe always has to peek out at the tent as it fills up. It's a preshow ritual he didn't even realize he had until Kevin pointed it out. He needs to see the audience, hear and feel their excitement and let it seep through his pores into his blood, amp up his energy until he can't hold it in any longer. Until he's ready to give them the show of a lifetime.
It's noisy out in the arena, but backstage it's quiet. Everyone is immersed in their own preshow preparations, their own rituals. Joe lets the curtain drop back into place and shuffles over to David, whose sitting on a elephant step and shining his patent leather shoes. Joe swipes the tall top hat from David's head and flips it onto his own.
David doesn't even look up. He keeps rubbing the cloth over his shoe with one hand, and hold the other out for his hat, snapping his fingers. "My mojo, please, Joe."
Joe snorts a laugh and drops the hat back onto David's head. "Ready to give 'em something they've never seen?"
David nods and finishes for Joe. "The greatest show in the world, bro." Joe holds out his fist, and David taps it. Joe catches David's wrist before he can pull away and snaps his loose cufflink together.
"Let's blow them away."
Joe heads back towards his little corner of the dressing room. He passes Chelsea, who's in the midst of her nightly battle of wills with Mina. Chelsea's trying to affix the feathered hat to the top of the elephant's head, but every time she gets it secured and bends down for the lead, Mina sneak her trunk up and pulls it down. Chelsea groans, "Mina!" as the elephant grins and does it for the fifth time, and Joe can't help but grin back at her.
Selena's in her corner checking the silk sheath for her disappearing act and throwing dirty looks at Moises and Jason as they paint on their makeup and trade fart jokes. Joe knows she's pissed because Moises took a nap in the sheath earlier that day, and Selena spent ages getting the axle grease out of the fabric. He's pretty sure there will be a nasty surprise waiting for Moises in his caravan tonight.
Jake looks up from his stilts and reaches out for a high five as Joe passes. Jake's been slowly and not so subtly moving his dressing station spot by spot over the last week so that he's positioned next to Miley and her dogs now. Joe is honestly not sure whether this process is about Miley or the dogs. Hard to tell with Jake.
Joe tosses his makeup bag into the rickety folding table that serves as a dressing table and pulls off his t-shirt. He's got a little mirror hanging from the wall, his trunk shoved underneath the legs, and some photos of him and Nick and Kevin taped to the wall.
He looks down at Kevin, on his back on the floor already in his leotard, stretching it out with Zac. "About ten minutes, Kev."
"Sounds good," Kevin responds. "I'm pumped! Zac and I were practicing a new flip sequence, and I think it's ready for tonight's show. It's gonna be awesome!"
Zac pauses from pressing Kevin's leg parallel to his chest. "I'm putting you on top of the man tower tonight, Kevin."
Kevin's face lights up. "Really? Aw, sweet!"
Joe laughs and opens up his trunk to pull out his unitard and chalk bag. Before he can straighten up, someone's sitting on his back and wrapping arms around his neck. From the smell of the perfume, it's Demi. Her hair is wound up in intricate braids, strands of silver thread wound through, and her eyes are heavily lined and glittery.
"Hey lamer. Gonna fall off the trapeze tonight?" she jokes.
"No fair. I haven't fallen off in... weeks." Joe counts on his fingers. "Maybe even a month. And you better be nice to me. Who exactly is it that catches you again, snatching you from the jaws of plummeting death?"
Demi laughs and kisses his cheek. "Hopefully you and not the net. Get dressed quick!" She moves to turn away and Joe catches her wrist.
"Hey, you seen Nick?" he asks, jerking his head toward the empty dressing table next to him.
She smiles. "Yeah. He's outside with Stevie and Elvis."
Joe pulls on his unitard hurriedly and shrugs Nick's old, soft plaid bathrobe on over it. He pulls back the canvas flap at the performers entrance and jogs over to the animal caravans. He pads softly up the steps to the cat caravan and puts his ear to the door. He can hear Nick. He cracks the door open and peeks in.
Nick is sitting cross-legged on the straw-covered floor, murmuring soft words to the two huge animals beside him. Elvis has his great head resting on Nick's thigh, and Stevie is curled up next to him, and both cats appear to be truly listening to Nick. Nick buries his fingers deep in Elvis' mane and whispers something in his ear, and the lion huffs like it's some shared private joke. Nick smiles and tugs lightly on his fur, and Stevie yawns and her sharp teeth gleam in the half-light but Joe feels no fear. These are Nick's lions. Joe is safe with them.
"Nick," he whispers softly, not moving from his position at the door. All three look up at him as one, and God, but sometimes Nick just seems like one of them, more at home in this dark lit caravan on a straw-strewn floor with his lions. But the moment passes, and Nick's smile for Joe breaks over his face. He extracts himself gently from the cats and makes his way over to Joe.
"Is it time?" he asks, resting a rough palm against the side of Joe's neck.
"Just about. David's going out in five minutes." Joe picks a few pieces of straw out of Nick's wild curls. "You ought to go get ready. You're a mess."
Nick shrugs. "I've got time. Elvis was upset, needed a little time. It's all good now." He moves back to the cats, rubbing each of their ears in a familiar gesture of farewell, and walks towards the big top with Joe, their hips bumping.
"You gonna watch me?" Joe asks.
"Always," Nick responds, and links their pinkies for a moment as their arms swing forward. Joe grins down at the scrubby ground.
They all gather behind the velvet curtain as the audience lights go down. Clowns, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, trapeze artists, animal trainers, they all huddle together wrapping their arms around each others shoulders. Dust rises up from the floor and fills Joe's nose with the familiar, beloved scent of performing. Everyone looks around and grins at each other, the adrenaline and excitement pumping.
"Let's make their dreams come true, guys," David says, and they all squeeze in a little closer to create a huge embrace of bodies. Then David pulls away and moves toward the curtain. Joe stands to his side and reaches out to straighten his top hat.
"Ready?"
David nods and steps through the curtain, and Joe feels Nick's arm land around his shoulders, feels the warmth of his chest press against Joe's shoulderblade and the light of Nick's smile against his heart as the crowd roars and David's voice rises up to the very top of the big top.
Why, you ask? WHY NOT.
Why is no one writing a Disney kids Circus AU with me?
--
Joe pulls back the heavy velvet curtain an inch, just enough so that he can put an eye to the gap and peer through. The audience seating is filling up; long wooden benches topped with worn red cushions, rising row after row into the dusty rafters until they disappear into the darkness.
It should be a good night.
The sawdust filled arena ring is still dark, but the seating is lit, red coated ushers lining the aisles, directing people to seats and tearing ticket stubs. From the looks of it, the might get 75% filled tonight. Not bad for a Thursday night, way out in the boonies like they are.
The audience is chattering, the thrumming anticipation of a show palpable in the air. Joe always has to peek out at the tent as it fills up. It's a preshow ritual he didn't even realize he had until Kevin pointed it out. He needs to see the audience, hear and feel their excitement and let it seep through his pores into his blood, amp up his energy until he can't hold it in any longer. Until he's ready to give them the show of a lifetime.
It's noisy out in the arena, but backstage it's quiet. Everyone is immersed in their own preshow preparations, their own rituals. Joe lets the curtain drop back into place and shuffles over to David, whose sitting on a elephant step and shining his patent leather shoes. Joe swipes the tall top hat from David's head and flips it onto his own.
David doesn't even look up. He keeps rubbing the cloth over his shoe with one hand, and hold the other out for his hat, snapping his fingers. "My mojo, please, Joe."
Joe snorts a laugh and drops the hat back onto David's head. "Ready to give 'em something they've never seen?"
David nods and finishes for Joe. "The greatest show in the world, bro." Joe holds out his fist, and David taps it. Joe catches David's wrist before he can pull away and snaps his loose cufflink together.
"Let's blow them away."
Joe heads back towards his little corner of the dressing room. He passes Chelsea, who's in the midst of her nightly battle of wills with Mina. Chelsea's trying to affix the feathered hat to the top of the elephant's head, but every time she gets it secured and bends down for the lead, Mina sneak her trunk up and pulls it down. Chelsea groans, "Mina!" as the elephant grins and does it for the fifth time, and Joe can't help but grin back at her.
Selena's in her corner checking the silk sheath for her disappearing act and throwing dirty looks at Moises and Jason as they paint on their makeup and trade fart jokes. Joe knows she's pissed because Moises took a nap in the sheath earlier that day, and Selena spent ages getting the axle grease out of the fabric. He's pretty sure there will be a nasty surprise waiting for Moises in his caravan tonight.
Jake looks up from his stilts and reaches out for a high five as Joe passes. Jake's been slowly and not so subtly moving his dressing station spot by spot over the last week so that he's positioned next to Miley and her dogs now. Joe is honestly not sure whether this process is about Miley or the dogs. Hard to tell with Jake.
Joe tosses his makeup bag into the rickety folding table that serves as a dressing table and pulls off his t-shirt. He's got a little mirror hanging from the wall, his trunk shoved underneath the legs, and some photos of him and Nick and Kevin taped to the wall.
He looks down at Kevin, on his back on the floor already in his leotard, stretching it out with Zac. "About ten minutes, Kev."
"Sounds good," Kevin responds. "I'm pumped! Zac and I were practicing a new flip sequence, and I think it's ready for tonight's show. It's gonna be awesome!"
Zac pauses from pressing Kevin's leg parallel to his chest. "I'm putting you on top of the man tower tonight, Kevin."
Kevin's face lights up. "Really? Aw, sweet!"
Joe laughs and opens up his trunk to pull out his unitard and chalk bag. Before he can straighten up, someone's sitting on his back and wrapping arms around his neck. From the smell of the perfume, it's Demi. Her hair is wound up in intricate braids, strands of silver thread wound through, and her eyes are heavily lined and glittery.
"Hey lamer. Gonna fall off the trapeze tonight?" she jokes.
"No fair. I haven't fallen off in... weeks." Joe counts on his fingers. "Maybe even a month. And you better be nice to me. Who exactly is it that catches you again, snatching you from the jaws of plummeting death?"
Demi laughs and kisses his cheek. "Hopefully you and not the net. Get dressed quick!" She moves to turn away and Joe catches her wrist.
"Hey, you seen Nick?" he asks, jerking his head toward the empty dressing table next to him.
She smiles. "Yeah. He's outside with Stevie and Elvis."
Joe pulls on his unitard hurriedly and shrugs Nick's old, soft plaid bathrobe on over it. He pulls back the canvas flap at the performers entrance and jogs over to the animal caravans. He pads softly up the steps to the cat caravan and puts his ear to the door. He can hear Nick. He cracks the door open and peeks in.
Nick is sitting cross-legged on the straw-covered floor, murmuring soft words to the two huge animals beside him. Elvis has his great head resting on Nick's thigh, and Stevie is curled up next to him, and both cats appear to be truly listening to Nick. Nick buries his fingers deep in Elvis' mane and whispers something in his ear, and the lion huffs like it's some shared private joke. Nick smiles and tugs lightly on his fur, and Stevie yawns and her sharp teeth gleam in the half-light but Joe feels no fear. These are Nick's lions. Joe is safe with them.
"Nick," he whispers softly, not moving from his position at the door. All three look up at him as one, and God, but sometimes Nick just seems like one of them, more at home in this dark lit caravan on a straw-strewn floor with his lions. But the moment passes, and Nick's smile for Joe breaks over his face. He extracts himself gently from the cats and makes his way over to Joe.
"Is it time?" he asks, resting a rough palm against the side of Joe's neck.
"Just about. David's going out in five minutes." Joe picks a few pieces of straw out of Nick's wild curls. "You ought to go get ready. You're a mess."
Nick shrugs. "I've got time. Elvis was upset, needed a little time. It's all good now." He moves back to the cats, rubbing each of their ears in a familiar gesture of farewell, and walks towards the big top with Joe, their hips bumping.
"You gonna watch me?" Joe asks.
"Always," Nick responds, and links their pinkies for a moment as their arms swing forward. Joe grins down at the scrubby ground.
They all gather behind the velvet curtain as the audience lights go down. Clowns, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, trapeze artists, animal trainers, they all huddle together wrapping their arms around each others shoulders. Dust rises up from the floor and fills Joe's nose with the familiar, beloved scent of performing. Everyone looks around and grins at each other, the adrenaline and excitement pumping.
"Let's make their dreams come true, guys," David says, and they all squeeze in a little closer to create a huge embrace of bodies. Then David pulls away and moves toward the curtain. Joe stands to his side and reaches out to straighten his top hat.
"Ready?"
David nods and steps through the curtain, and Joe feels Nick's arm land around his shoulders, feels the warmth of his chest press against Joe's shoulderblade and the light of Nick's smile against his heart as the crowd roars and David's voice rises up to the very top of the big top.
Why, you ask? WHY NOT.