The main show had finished, and Allison was dying to get to where they were keeping the tiger. Derek was grumpily allowing himself to be pulled behind her. It was her birthday, and this is what she wanted to do. Derek had pleaded with her to pick something else, anything else, but she was insistent. She hadn't been since she was a kid, she told him she'd take Lydia if he didn't want to go, but her big, brown, doe eyes were enough to convince him.
She was headed straight for the tiger cages, dragging him towards something extremely terrifying. The face of straight terror, and it was handing out balloons to children. He saw the man and stopped short, jerking Allison's arm at the same time.
She turned around annoyed, "Why are you stopping?"
He shook his head and involuntarily squeezed her hand. He was obviously nervous, but he just kept watching the costumed man.
Allison followed his eyes, feeling his uneasiness, "What's wrong, Derek?"
His mouth opened but quickly shut again as the man began to walk in their direction with a too-friendly smile. Derek broke into a fast walk, hauling Allison behind him.
"Derek," she hissed, "What is it? The guy over there, what is he? Werewolf? Hunter?"
He pulled her behind a vender stand, "Not that I can tell... He just looks like a bad guy."
She studied his face and then laughed, "Are you afraid of it?"
"Don't be ridiculous, Allison. You should know better than anyone, I'm only afraid of one thing."
She was still giggling, "Aww, Der. You are too. You're scared of clowns."
Derek's face turned bright red as he stuttered over how ridiculous she sounded. He was a werewolf, an alpha no less. Why would something as silly as a face painted guy in big clothes scare him?
She kissed his cheek and ruffled his hair, "I won't let the bad clown get you."
"I'm not a child," he protested, "And I'm not scared of clowns."
Allison raised an eyebrow, "Is that so? Then why are we hiding behind a cotton candy cart?"
"I'm protecting you," he said it so it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than her.
"From what?"
Derek sighed loudly, "Apparently nothing. Let's go find the tigers so we can leave. I'm hungry, for real food."
"The tigers can wait a couple of minutes. We're going to say hi to the nice clown. I bet if you're nice, he'll even give you a balloon."
"I don't want a balloon," he grumbled.
Allison smiled brightly, "Poor you. We can skip the clown if you'll
admit you're scared of them..."
Derek huffed, "I'm not afraid of a clown."
She rolled her eyes and pulled him towards the smiling clown, slowly. Ever so slowly. His hands were shaking, and his jaw was clenched. About five steps away from the man, he stopped.
"Okay. I don't like clowns," he whispered into Allison's ear.
She spun around quickly, "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"You heard me the first time. Don't make me repeat it."
"It's pretty loud in here. I think you said you like clowns. Am I right?"
He took a deep breath, "I said, I don't like clowns. They're creepy looking, and absolutely terrifying."
She beamed at him, "That wasn't that hard, now was it? C'mon, big guy. We'll go see the tigers and go get some dinner."
They visited the tigers. Allison pleaded for one, but was quickly told that dogs and cats don't get along. Not to mention, it's illegal to own one without special permits. Stealing the circus's tiger was not going to go over well for anyone. When he finally ripped her away from petting the fuzzy cub, the couple walked to their car. Dinner was filled with small quips and remarks about clowns, but after he growled at her to stop, she apologized. The subject wasn't brought up again until they were laying in bed.
"So," she said propping herself up on her elbow, "Do I get to know why you're scared of them?"
Derek rolled on top of her, "We could talk, or we could do something else..."
He kissed her neck, biting and sucking as he went. She seemed to let the previous subject go, but it didn't last long. She had rolled over so that she was laying on his torso.
"Don't cheat, Derek. There's plenty of time for all of that later. Let me guess. Mommy took you to a circus and you got lost, ran into a couple of clowns, and you assumed they were out to get you."
He rolled his eyes and chuckled at her excited face, "If I tell you, you have to promise to never bring it up again."
She nodded.
"Alright, so I was like six and I was sent up to bed. I was all tucked in, I just sat there listening, and there was this sound coming from my closet. Naturally, I got up to go see what it was. When I opened the door, a clown jumped out screaming, "You're supposed to be asleep." I found out later in life that it was just Peter, but ever since that night, I can't stand them. I know it's irrational."
Allison placed a kiss over his heart, "Mean Uncle Peter."
He mumbled an agreement and looked her in the eyes, "I'm begging you, never make me go back to a circus. Next time, take me up on my suggestion for a trip to Mexico, or a cruise."
She snuggled against his side, "I guess that's okay."
"Mmm, now where were we?"
Allison yawned, and her eyes fluttered close, "No baby tiger, no sex."
"Allie, pet tigers are illegal."
"You'd better figure something out, you can sleep on it and we'll discuss it again in the morning," she mused.
"Allison, be reasonable," he tried.
Her lips twitched upward, "Good night, Derek."