A/N: Back at it again! I promised I'd finish and that's exactly what I'm going to do. So, I guess this is my own personal AFTER-after-party. Props to anyone that's still following along and I hope nobody minds me just muddling through the rest of this for my own personal satisfaction of a complete collection.

Day 25 | Tala/Julia | Rated: K+

Colorful

Sometimes Julia sat back and marveled at her life, amazed by the capacity it had to take her by complete and total surprise. Today was one of those days. She was in a field somewhere in Denmark with the circus setting up in the background, clothes that needed dying in front of her, and a stoic Russian watching her intently. The first two weren't a shock, but the third…

Never in a million years would she have imagined a few conversations during the World Championships would end in Tala spending the summer in her and Raul's trailer, touring Europe with the circus as her own personal roadie. She'd been joking when she suggested it. She couldn't tell if this was his elaborate way of calling her on her bluff or if he had other motives.

The majority of their troupe thought he was interested in Julia romantically. A few of them even thought she was secretly dating him and too shy to say anything, which was ridiculous because she wasn't Raul. They liked making it awkward, regardless of her protests; whenever Tala joined her at meal times, they would get up just to leave her alone with him.

During the day she kept busy so she didn't notice their behavior as much. Between practicing her act and the fact that she and Raul were still the errand-runners and odd-job-doers to their circus family despite aging out of the role years ago, she didn't have time to entertain Tala.

That didn't stop him from being entertained. The veteran members of the circus weren't shy about asking him to lend a hand here and there as needed. She'd gotten used to traipsing through the grounds and seeing him nodding politely along to whatever gossip they were filling the silence with. She didn't want to think about all of her embarrassing childhood stories that had probably already been passed on.

Early in the morning and late at night when they reconvened in the trailer, she should have had a break. Instead she had to deal with Raul staring between them suspiciously, as if he didn't quite believe Tala slept scrunched up on their couch all night and not in her bunk with an arm around her waist. At least he was too intimidated by Tala to try giving him the shovel talk.

The whole thing was a little maddening, but admitting it bothered her would be worse. She'd tried bringing it up to Tala once, just to see if they were on the same page, and gotten absolutely nowhere.

"Why did you come this summer, anyway?" She punctuated her question with a vigorous sweep of the stable floor. She was trying to make it look like her job was just as taxing and gross as Tala's, but they both knew shoveling the manure was the worst part. Normally she handed that off to Raul, but he wasn't the one helping her muck out stalls today.

"You invited me," Tala answered, looking at her like she'd lost her mind. His nose was only wrinkling a little bit at the smell as he shoveled more droppings into a nearby wheelbarrow. "Remember?"

Julia flushed. Hopefully he thought it was from exertion and not embarrassment.

"You don't seem like the type to run away with the circus, that's all," she retorted and redoubled her sweeping efforts to avoid looking at him. She only lifted her head again when the sound of the shovel stopped.

"What type am I, then?" Tala asked. He was staring at her with a searching look in those bright, blue eyes. Not for the first time, she felt like he could see straight through her. It was unnerving.

Julia decided it was best if she didn't answer.

"What's all this?"

She shook her head and let Tala's question ground her in the present. He was awfully curious for someone who'd toted half a dozen boxes into the field for her without asking why first. All she'd had to do was point him in the right direction and she was free to get everything set up while he did the grunt work. Handy.

"The Jubilee shows kick off this weekend," Julia answered as she finished wrapping the last bundle of fabric in rubber bands. With a glance to make sure it was secure, she tossed it into a box with the rest. "Since Raul and I have our routine down, I've been nominated to tie-dye the commemorative t-shirts."

Tala arched one eyebrow and surveyed the contents of the boxes she'd begun unpacking when her fingers needed a break from twisting shirts.

"Are they going to be rainbow?" he asked, eyes skimming the plethora of dye bottles lined up in the grass.

"What else?" Julia laughed at the barely-concealed distaste in his expression and used a spare rubber band to tie her hair back. "Don't tell me you're too afraid of color to help, Mr. Orange-and-Blue-Jumpsuit." Tala's scowl deepened and Julia relished in it for a moment before adding, "I'm putting you in charge of bagging each one when I'm done dying them. They can't dry out."

"I thought I was just the muscle because the strongman was busy," Tala retorted, but didn't argue when she shoved a box of gallon size bags into his arms and motioned for him to sit down next to her.

"Just be glad I'm not making you help me with the actual dying," she said as she began saturating the first of many shirts with color. "Raul and I tie-dyed some of our first costumes. He didn't listen to me about color placement and his turned out ugly and splotched with brown."

"So, to be clear," Tala replied, holding open a bag obediently for the first shirt, "Raul won't help because you're a control freak?"

Julia's glare was met with a smirk.

"For your information, he got wrangled into helping bedazzle the show outfits," Julia shot back. There was never enough sparkle, especially when it came to the circus's seventieth anniversary – he'd probably be stuck with the seamstresses for a while. "I thought you'd rather do this, but if I was wrong I'm sure Raul would swap you. I never took you for a rhinestone person, but…" She trailed off with a shrug.

Tala squeezed the air out of the bag and sealed it shut without another word.

They continued on like that, exchanging short snatches of conversation once in a while, but mostly working in silence. They got a system down relatively quickly where Julia would slap color on, Tala would bag and stack and keep her stocked up with full bottles of dye.

Without discussing it, they decided to work through their normal lunchtime. The sun had peaked and begun its summertime-slow descent into the afternoon by the time they finished.

"Finally," Julia groaned and stretched the kinks out of her back. "I thought we'd never be done."

"I didn't realize how many people there are in the troupe," Tala commented, placing the last bag on top of the ones already overflowing out of their box. He stretched his long legs out on the grass in front of him, leaned back on his hands, and asked, "What now?"

"Now they sit," Julia answered, cracking her knuckles one by one to release some of the tension buildup. She frowned when it didn't make a huge difference. "We'll rinse them out and hang them to dry tomorrow."

That would, at least, be less physically taxing, especially if she borrowed a hose from someone. She wanted to be able to launch her beyblade for the Jubilee's opening night, after all. Poor Raul was probably in the same boat – if he was still elbows deep in tulle and glitter, his fingers had to be sore. She tried to rub some of the ache out of her hands, but with both of them hurting, it didn't do much good.

"Right now I say we find something to eat," she said, making to get to her feet. "I'm starving."

Tala caught her wrist before she could get very far. Forced to decide between hovering awkwardly in a half-standing position or sitting back down, Julia let herself fall to the ground.

"What are you doing?" she asked when he adjusted his grasp to hold her hand gingerly in his.

He glanced at her face, as if asking permission.

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to find out what his problem was, but when he began pinching and massaging each of her fingers individually, it snapped shut. Instead she breathed in deep through her nose and watched with wide eyes as he worked.

Tala generously ignored how stunned she was and continued until he finished with her fingers. Then he moved on to her hand, working the tension up and out from her palm to her wrist in a series of firm whorls.

Julia caught herself staring at his hands, thinking about how big and strong they were and what it might be like to curl her fingers up through his just once. What would his long, pale fingers look like intertwined with her own, stained multicolored from hours of tie-dying? With an alarmed inhale, she flinched back.

"Did I hurt you?" Tala asked, brows knit together in concern. His reflexes were fast enough to catch the tips of her fingers, preventing her from pulling away entirely. He palmed her hand again and ran his free one down over the back of it in a soothing motion.

"No," she exhaled and immediately blushed when his eyebrow arched up. "It's just sensitive or something."

It was the lamest excuse, but Tala pet her hand one more time like it was a skittish animal instead of commenting. There was no way she was saving face, so when he gestured for the other hand, she let him take it.

"You do this a lot?" she asked to fill the silence. He had to – her hand didn't cramp at all when she wiggled and flexed her fingers to test out his handiwork.

He nodded without looking up and said, "We used to practice our launches for hours." The 'in the Abbey' was implied and made Julia pay rapt attention. It was rare for anyone to get insight into his past, and she was always dumbfounded that he decided to share even the slightest mention of it with her, of all people. "When you grip a launcher for that long on a daily basis, you find ways to help the pain."

Julia stayed quiet while he finished. It was probably her imagination, but she thought he stroked this hand for longer than the last one.

"Thanks," she said, when he finally let it go. "I was afraid I was going to have to ask you to be my stand-in for the show." She smiled mischievously at the bolt of terror that shot through his eyes. Back on even ground. "How are you with streamers?"

"I'm better with a beyblade," he deadpanned, getting to his feet, "and I don't think your costume would suit me."

"Aww, Tala," she teased and picked up the box of dying shirts, "you need some more color in your life."

He grunted when she hoisted the box into his arms, once again her replacement strongman, and said, "I think I have all the color I can handle."

The way he looked at her when he said it would be all she thought about through lunch, dinner, and as she waited to fall asleep that night. With all the surprises life threw her way, she got the feeling there was at least one more involving Tala on the horizon.

A/N: I actually had a Tala/Julia fic planned for this prompt before I knew what I was writing for Tattoo. Then, once I figured that one out and had so much fun with it, I was glad I made this choice for Colorful during the planning process. I think these two chapters mirror each other in some ways and I love this slow start to their relationship.

Thanks so much to anyone still reading! :)