"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, people of all ages, bienvenue." The velvet voice seeped through the darkness, a spotlight dripped down to the center of the ring, revealing the thickly-accented voice to belong to a handsome man with long golden hair and a dangerous expression. "to the most spectacular show you'll ever see. Welcome, to the Bonnefoy brother's circus! And up first, the incredible, the astounding..."
"Hey Arthur!"
"Quiet Alfred, there's a show going on you idiot!"
"I'm being quiet!" Arthur sighed, the bloody American probably thought he was. "Just, do you think anyone's ever realized that there's only one Bonnefoy?"
"Ah yes, the greatest show on Earth, strung together by good luck, good money, and good looks." Arthur rolled his eyes in the darkness.
"Well, I think that we're really good! At least, Ludwig and the Vargas brothers are. And Kiku and Antonio, I think Gilbert might kill someone pretty soon. Actually I think we're all really good, except for like, Ivan."
"And what did you say about me? Hmm?"
Arthur watched all the color drain from the boy's face beside him as the cheery Russian man materialized from the darkness.
"I-Ivan! Hi! I didn't see you there! Ahaha. ha." Alfred laughed nervously, hoping Ivan would just pass by, he dropped a heavy hand onto Alfred's shoulder, smiling down at him.
"I just wanted to know whether I should be flattered by what you were saying about me, or if I should be angry at you"
"Well I Was just talking about how, um, ah, you aren't good, I mean, you're not just good! You're great!"
"Hm, glad to know you feel that way. I'll see you soon, da? But first you have to go on. Byebye now!" Ivan waved, and the blonde duo breathed an audible sigh of relief as he stalked his way down outside the tent.
"Who the fuck thought it was a good idea for him to be a clown?" Arthur felt his friend's warm whisper in his ear.
Damn that Alfred Jones. He could talk his way out of anything and make Arthur swoon in a heartbeat. God, he wished he could be loved by Alfred F. Jones. But how could he, when he was just the assistant, the sideshow, the shadow, onstage and in life. He was just the plain counterpart to this absolutely magnetic boy with the million dollar smile, the one that thousands of people across the country fell in love with, while Arthur, always at his side, went almost completely unnoticed.
But for his purposes, that was probably for the best.
"And now, madames et monsieurs, filles et garcons, prepares yourselves…"
Alfred grinned down at Arthur, grabbing his hand and causing the butterflies in his stomach to rise from more than just stage fright.
"The incredible, the mysterious MR. JONES!"
Arthur took three long strides behind Alfred into the light, eyes adjusting to the bright lights and the roar of the crowd. Alfred threw his arms up in the air and taken a bow, his black suit fitting him, Arthur noted every show, incredibly well. The top hat perched on top of his head failed to cover his untamable cowlick, and he had taken his glasses off for the show, his blue eyes catching the light, and though Arthur knew that he probably couldn't see more than 5 feet ahead of him, Alfred looked beautiful.
He didn't blame the audience for falling for him.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Alfred waved at the crowd. "And I would like to introduce my lovely assistant Arthur!" On cue, Arthur stepped up to join Alfred in the center of the main ring.
Their magician act had always been incredibly popular, and they continued the night with the standard tricks before Alfred shot Arthur a nervous look, signaling he was about to announce the act he'd worried about for so long.
"And for our final trick tonight, we're going to save my assistant from mortal peril!"
The "moral peril" in question was rolled out into the ring in the form of a box, which Arthur opened with a wide stage smile to reveal the inside was lined with rusty metal spikes.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Alfred begin to sweat nervously.
"Well," the magician's normally peppy voice sounded dry until he swallowed hard. "Are you ready Arthur?"
"Ready as I'll ever be!" He quipped back anxiously.
"Well then, I'll just give you a hand into this bed of roses." Alfred's hand grasped his gloved one as he stepped into the death trap. The audience couldn't tell, but Arthur could see just how terrified the magician was.
"Ready?" Arthur took a deep breath, staring at the rusty spikes overhead.
"One…" Okay
"two…" breathe
"three!"
"Ready?" Alfred fought to keep his voice steady as he watched his best friend lie down in the medieval torture device.
"One…" Arthur closed his green eyes."
"Two…" Both of them took a steadying breath.
"Three!" With a wave of his wand he turned to face the crowd and slammed the lid shut.
Several audience members screamed, parents covered their children's eyes. Stage smile still plastered to his face, Alfred turned around to see blood leaking from the sides of the coffin.
Suddenly lightheaded, he turned back to the crowd.
Arthur told me to trust him. He thought to himself. I do trust him. He's okay.
"Are you ready to see what's inside now?" A few cheered from the stands, many just blanched at the thought.
"One!"
"Two!"
"Three!" With his heart in his throat Alfred threw open the lid to reveal a flash of red light and a dazed, but perfectly unharmed Arthur sitting inside.
How did he do that?
"You saved me!" The Brit cried, smiling up at a blushing Alfred.
Alfred lifted his assistant into his arms and carried him to the front of the ring, Arthur pressed his face into Alfred's neck, causing him to blush probably incredibly visibly in front of the crowd.
"Alfie, are you going to stare at me all night or are you going to take a bow?" The man in his arms hummed into his ear,
"Uh, right, yeah." He practically threw Arthur, who tumbled to the ground with an ungraceful thud.
The duo raised their clasped hands to the crowd and dropped into a heavy bow, racing out of the ring and into the starlight outside of the big top as Francis was announcing the closing act, the Vargas brothers on the trapeze.
"So tell me, how did you manage to get out of that box back there?"
"You got me out, Alfie, with magic, of course. I'm just the assistant." He smirked at Alfred, who furrowed his brow, racking his brain for some sort of explanation. He was just 13 when he joined the Bonnefoy Brothers' circus. Just a cute kid with nowhere left to go, he got to work selling tickets for the show, back then he couldn't even execute so much as a simple card trick. But as he grew older, it became clear that, sure, maybe he was useless at everything else he tried, but Alfred F. Jones was pure charisma. But where would he be without Arthur, ever since he arrived, a brave faced 13 year old with an untameable cowlick, there had always been watching out for him. He was only 3 years older than Alfred, but he took to the job of looking after the boy wholeheartedly, but over the past 4 years Alfred shot up like a tree, towering over a still tiny 20 year old Arthur.
But last year was when things really changed for him. There had been no magic act when Alfred arrived, a year before he joined the circus, the magicians Vladimir and Lukas were killed in an accident that still nobody liked to talk about, leaving their best friend and assistant, Arthur, sullen, angry, and unresponsive. That is, until he met Alfred. Some years later, when Alfred was 16, Francis was struggling to find a new act to keep the show from going under. Arthur encouraged Alfred to try out for the magician spot. He even offered to take up his old position as assistant, which he hadn't done since the deaths of his friends.
"But Arthur," Alfred had stuttered when he first brought it up. "I'm terrible at magic! I can't even pulling a fucking rabbit out of a hat!"
"Listen Alfie, that doesn't matter. You are the most incredible person I've ever gotten the privilege to meet. As long as you believe, they believe. And I'll be right here to help you out. Now, do you need me to tell you any more sweet nothings or are you going to get your ass out there and save this circus?"
And he was right. Here they were, one year later. It was weird, overshadowing the person he'd always looked up to. Well, onstage at least. As soon as they weren't in front of the audience, he still pushed Alfred around and ordered him about. The stars were reflected in his green eyes and the wind blew through his blonde hair, making Alfred want to run his fingers through it. But the best thing was his expression. Arthur was looking up at the sky with the calmest, most beautiful smile. God, Alfred could watch him smile forever. But then he caught Alfred's eye and dropped back to his familiar, but still adorable, scowl.
"What are you looking at, wanker?"
"Your eyebrows."
"You ungrateful brat I could kick your ass right here-"
"Um, hey, guys?"
The two sprung apart to see the lanky timid man that neither of them noticed approaching.
"Hey Matthew! Didn't see you there!" Alfred grinned.
"Typical. Anyway, Francis is about to wrap up and we need you back inside, so just, hurry along, eh?" Alfred sighed inwardly, it's not like he hated the post show because he hated meeting the audience, he'd just rather spend his time alone with Arthur.
Matthew Williams knew this. Matthew knew almost every goddamn secret told, thought, or acted upon under the tent of their red and white striped world. People, especially Alfred, told him everything because they knew there was no chance for their secret to get out. After all, who really noticed him? He figured one day Gilbert would forget he was there backed up against the board and send a knife flying into his heart.
Sometimes he wanted to be bitter but he really just couldn't.
Arthur hated when the audience came into the ring to meet the performers up close. But not for the obvious reasons of obnoxious children asking if all assistants were supposed to be pretty girls or the blatant overshadowing, or even the bloody frog Francis winking at him from across the room. Well, yes, it was probably partially Francis' fault, but mostly it was the girls coming up giggling to Alfred licking their red lips and hiding behind their curls, hoping to elicit attention from the handsome magician, who in return rewarded them with his signature smile which made the spotlights of the circus seem dim. Half charming, half crazy, and all handsome. And no matter how much it happened, how much he told himself he was just being Alfie, that these girls would never see him again, and that what he felt for Alfred was wrong in every sense, it still made Arthur feel sick to his stomach. How could he dream of being loved by someone so adored by everyone who he met. Alfred could have anyone he wanted, so why did he keep playing Arthur like that.
"Thank you ladies! But I really think you should meet my Arthur- uh my assistant Arthur." He felt Alfred's arm wrapping around his waist and pulling him to his side. Arthur's expression of surprise settled into one of fierce protectiveness, causing a lull in the girls tittering. The gap in conversation gave Francis the cue to cut things off for the night.
Alfred watched the crowd drain out the front flap of the tend, Francis kissing several hands and slapping a few asses as they left, like the big slut he is.
"What a pervert." Arthur muttered, still at Alfred's side. "Honestly, how anyone can think highly of him I have no idea that low life motherfucking..."
"Ah, mon amour, I love when you talk dirty to me."
Alfred bit back a laugh as all the color drained from his assistant's face. He didn't have the heart to tell Arthur that the frenchman was behind him the whole time. Also, imperceptible to Arthur, was Matthew, who's normally serene smile changed to something harder at Francis' words to Arthur.
"Hey guys," He tried, no one responded.
Of course, all attention was on tonight's installment of the quarrel between Arthur and Francis, which had now devolved into full on shouting. Alfred was still holding Arthur back by the waist and laughing his ass off. He almost felt bad for Matthew, who was frantically tugging at Francis' sleeve.
"I'll show you to talk about my mother that way frog!" Arthur was shouting.
"Guys, please stop fighting."
"Ah, well I would move on to insulting your father, but I doubt even your mother knows who he is."
"Oh go fuck yourself."
"Go fuck Alfred."
Both Arthur and Alfred turned bright red at this, Arthur started sputtering a response, but Alfred swore he saw trash and tickets on the floor begin to shake uncontrollably.
"Guys, please!"
"HEY! Mattie here has something to say, so why don't all of you shut up and listen to him!" Gilbert pushed his way through the crowd and looped an arm around the Canadian's shoulders.
Whatever had been compelling the objects to move had stopped, and without further explanation, Arthur ran outside.
"Arthur! Wait!" Alfred started towards the exit, but an arm held him back.
"What, Francis?"
"I think I should be the one to deal with this."
WOW that took forever to figure out how to do. is still new to me so bear with me as i struggle through this. Here's the lay down. USUK, Spamano, Gerita, and Prucan is all what's going on here. I came up with the plot for this when I was singing Circus by Britney Spears in the shower I'm not gonna lie to any of you fine folks. I'll try and update every week but things will get crazy and I already have a bunch written already so it'll probably be sporadic.
anyway thanks for reading, any reviews are awesome, and shootout to hailsammy for beta-ing this