6. Experiment

Summary: The Strongman needs a break from lifting all those weights. The Doll has nothing to do. The Firebreather needs someone to practice on. Oh, Miss Fortune is going to kill them all (except for the Doll, because he loves the Doll too much) once he finds out about it.

Characters: Strongman, Firebreather, Doll, Miss Fortune (mentioned), Ticket Keeper (carnie!Sophie, mentioned)

Pairings: kind-of/possibly crack-ish StrongmanxFirebreather, mentioned Miss FortunexDoll

If there was something the Strongman needed badly, it was a break from lifting all those weights for the audience to see, to marvel at his strength. Why? He's strong. He should be able to lift those weights with no problem.

Well...Even the Strongman can run out of stamina and that was what happened earlier, right after he was done his act for the audience. Just because he could lift weights didn't mean that he could do that 24/7, unlike what a lot of people believed. He needed a break, too.

Unfortunately, that was when the Firebreather ran over to him.

"Strongmaaann..."

"No." The Strongman snapped at the blond Firebreather, glaring at him.

"I haven't even asked you yet!" The Firebreather snapped back, before continuing. "I want to juggle some stuff on fire for practice, and no one wants to help me."

"Why can't you just ask the Doll?" The Strongman asked. "I'm sure Miss Fortune wouldn't mind-"

"Miss Fortune would kill me if I got him on fire. You know that." The other responded, crossing his arms. "I swear, he won't let me even touch the Doll-not since the time when the Knife Thrower tried to charm him."

The Strongman let out a sigh, realizing that the Firebreather just wasn't going to give up on this request. "Fine, fine, I'll do it..."

"Wait a second!"

"What?" The Firebreather snapped in response.

"You want me to throw myself into a fireball that you conjure up, after I throw ten stuffed dolls into the flames one-by-one for you to juggle!? Are you nuts!?" The Strongman shouted, his eyes bulging out. "No wonder you didn't want to ask the Doll-Miss Fortune would definitely kill you!"

"Shut up, okay? It's not like you're actually going to be on fire. The flames should only affect the flame-resistant suit that you're wearing, and set that on fire instead. Besides, who doesn't want to see a man on fire?" The Firebreather responded, crossing his arms.

"Who wouldn't want to see a man on fire?" The Doll let out a sigh as he repeated the Firebreather's question. "Tiny children will have nightmares if they see this act, I bet. Parents would sue if their children would get injured, I'm sure..." The Doll had just finished his work at the infirmary, so he was dressed in an elaborate nurse outfit with frills at the skirt part of the dress.

"Shush. They can't sue us if we're on our way to the next town by the morning after." The Firebreather interrupted him, putting a finger to the Doll's lips for a moment, before pulling them away and rubbing his hands together. "Strongman, are you ready!?"

The Strongman let out a groan, before picking up the ten teddy bears in his arms. "The Ticket Keeper might kill you for burning these...And yes, I'm ready."

"She doesn't care a thing about this carnival, except for Miss Fortune you know." The Firebreather muttered in response, before conjuring a first fireball to go flying into the air. The Strongman threw the first teddy bear, and it burst into flames instantly as soon as they collided. "I think it's because they're both brother and sister-it would be pretty natural for her to care about her brother, right?"

"...Miss Fortune has a sister?" The Doll asked after a moment of silence, intrigued by the newfound information.

"Yeah. The Ticket Keeper." The Strongman responded as he threw two more teddy bears into the flames. "She hates working here, but she does it to keep Miss Fortune happy. If they never joined, I doubt they would have found any better place to stay, though."

The Doll made a mental note to himself to ask Miss Fortune about this later. He definitely wanted to know more about the issue.

"I think I've got it!" The Firebreather spoke up after a moment of silence. All ten, flaming teddy bears were being juggled by the teen at a furious pace, and the Firebreather had a confident look on his face. "Strongman! Jump when you're ready!"

The Strongman took a deep breath, and the Doll watched in horror as he jumped into the flames.

Things immediately derailed from there.

The Strongman let out a howl of pain as the flames enveloped his entire body instantly. The Doll immediately shut his eyes, not wanting to watch the teen burn, but there was the sudden sound of an extinguisher working, as well as two teenaged boys groaning in muffled pain.

The Doll opened his eyes to find himself awkwardly holding said fire extinguisher in his hands, as well as seeing the scorched teddy bears, the Firebreather and the Strongman all tangled together on the floor, covered in white foam and lips smashed together.

The Strongman was the first to speak up, after pushing himself off the Firebreather. "What the heck was that for!?"

"I don't know!" The Firebreather snapped back. "I was trying to catch you, and-"

"It's not like I meant to just fall on you!"

The Doll just let out a sigh, before leaving the tent. He would definitely inform the Ringmaster first, get those teens patched up...

And then he really needed to talk with Miss Fortune.

Author note: ...I didn't mean for this oneshot to sound this angsty. Honestly-it sounded better in my head, but once I wrote it down it became like this...(sigh) Anyway, I'm going to be adding two new carnies, and one of them was created by Bite the Dust in a oneshot recently put up, called 'A Day In The Life of The Strongman.' It's really good, so check it out!

Sophie-Ticket Keeper-The acrobats were taken, fortuneteller position was taken, and I didn't want to make her as just a mere assistant to anyone, so I stuck her here. Background info on her and Miss Fortune will be revealed in the next oneshot.

Matsushiro-Lion Tamer-created by Bite the Dust, he is actually more of a tamer for all animals, with a soft spot for horses. Now that you think about it, this position would actually fit Matsushiro quite well.