Heart of the circus

Life was strange. Throughout her life since she entered elementary school, her education had been her number one priority. Never before had her focus strayed from the knowledge the teachers served to her. Maybe once in early high school when the new cute transfer student arrived who had proved to be more of an asshole than the good education-focused guy he appeared to be. In college, there had been one date here and there, but nothing even close to being anything serious.

Her education was her top priority, and even after earning her degree, her hunger for knowledge wasn't quenched. She worked her hardest and experimented a lot. She climbed her way toward the top in the psychology field, she aimed to be the very best.

This was the first time, her occupation wasn't her first priority.

The obnoxious trapeze artist had wormed his way into her heart with one sarcastic comment at a time. He didn't breathe down her neck demanding attention and affection. Soul… he was cool. He was just as busy as she was with training and shows. He understood. He knew he couldn't create any more time than he already spent texting and calling her.

It was magical. As she prepared for her next lesson, she always dove for her phone every time it buzzed, large smile appearing every time seeing his name. This was different. Completely different. Her feelings were like a cliché description in a romance novel, butterflies and tingly fingers. He was… really special. Even precious.

After the wonderful call from Soul when they basically expressed their interests toward each other and the skype call later that evening, they decided she should come to him over the weekend.

It was strange. She packed her bag for a weekend away, threw in her laptop in there so she could do some work as well. Friday didn't arrive too early. She was grateful her last lesson was around lunchtime. She ate a quick lunch and she got in her car where her bag waited for her. She drove for hours with a short paus to stretch her limbs and by the time she arrived, the sun had gone down.

The darkness had fallen when she pulled up on the dirt road. The large colourful circus tent appeared in her headlights and a large smile grew on her face as she saw Soul waiting for her. She pulled up by Soul and turned off the engine. The door opened and Soul leaned against the top of it, grinning wide toward her.

"You might want to put these on." In his hand was a pair of red wellington boots with daisies on them. Quizzically she gazed at him. "We've been at this place for about a week. The ground is more mud than grass."

"Oh." She grasped the shoes in his hands. "T-thank you." Her hands trembled as she slipped off her ballerina shoes and slid on the boots. She put the shoes on the passenger seat. Soul offered his hand and she gladly accepted it. She stepped out of the car and was met with a loud squish of the muddy ground.

He pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back. It was strange. The last time she had seen him in person was in the supermarket where he had bought her the movie. It felt different. She liked it. She hadn't anticipated how good it would feel to be in his presence.

"Was your drive good?" Shivers ran down her spine as his lips caressed the shell of her ear.

She hummed and pulled away from him. "How was the show?"

"Expected. Far from sold out since we've stayed here for a while." His touch along her spine affected her far more than she remembered any past boyfriend's had. When she drove here, she hadn't even imagined her heart would race and her skin to shiver pleasantly from a single touch.

There was definitely something… special.

He was something special.

He looked in her eyes. His eyes soft rubies glowing in the dark and white wild hair radiating like the full moon hanging in the sky. His tight sparkly spandex seemingly sparkled under the night sky like stars, enhancing every muscle hidden underneath the thin material.

She wanted to kiss him before their first date had even started.

His hands abandoned her back and settled on her hips, thumbs stroking her hipbones through her skirt. "You must be tired and hungry from your long drive."

"Oh, yeah, I could use some food."

"Cool." His arm snaked around her waist and (to her joy) he tugged her close to his side. "I got some pizza before the show. If Black*Star can read, it should be left in the fridge."

"Sounds good." Maka returned the gesture and hugged his waist, feeling his hard muscular side. She knew he had to be fit since he was a trapeze artist, but feeling his hard side it finally sunk in; he was really well trained.

They shortly reached the trailers by the humongous circus tent rising proudly toward the sky.

A bonfire was lit and Tsubaki, Black*Star and Liz laughed cheerfully by it in their normal clothes. As soon as Tsubaki's gaze landed on her, her face lit up with joy. "Nice to see you Maka!"

Liz spun around on the bolder she sat on, golden hair whipping from the force, grinning wide toward them. "Hello you two. It's good to see you," she purred as if the cat got the cream. "Especially you, Maka."

Maka glanced toward Soul hastily, seems like Liz was her Kim. The one person she confided her feelings in when she was too scared to accept them and expose them to Soul. A smile spread on her face and she squeezed his side. He must've been just as flustered and confused as she with their failed history of relationships.

Soul's cheeks heated up under Maka's knowing grin and he unwrapped his arm from her. "Um, you can hang out with the crew while I go and reheat the pizza." he murmured, pulling away from her and jogged away from her with his head lowered.

"You're more than welcome to come and sit with us." Tsubaki spoke up, waving for her to join.

Maka took Soul's advice and leaned against the large boulder Liz sat on by the bonfire. "So, who is she again?" Black*Star asked, arm wrapped around Tsubaki's shoulders leisurely.

"She's Maka Albarn, you know, the professor in Death City Soul has been talking to," Tsubaki whispered.

"Oh! Yeah! That girl! Shoulda known from the dorky outfit."

"They're not dorky. They're professional," Maka hissed back as Black*Star groaned in pain from Tsubaki's elbow in his side. Unlike some others, she couldn't stroll around in bodies and flashy leotards. If she did, her research team would never get any founding.

"You might want to gag him." Liz said as she took a sip from her plastic cup. "So, Maka, how was the drive here?"

"It was good. I guess the show went smoothly?"

"Yeah, same old, same old." Liz jumped down from the boulder, swirling the liquid in her cup. "So how are you and Soul doing?"

She desperately tried to wet her suddenly dry throat at the implication of Liz's sentence. "O-oh, well, we'll see."

"As his friend, I can tell you, you mean something to him. You're something precious to him. Judging from Jacqueline and Kim's conversations, I can tell he means something to you too."

Maka's eyes fluttered with confusion before realization dawned on her. Maybe she ought to tone down her talks with Kim. She might not have intended for her feelings to leak to the circus crew's ears, but she was married to Jacqueline and some people in the crew could've overheard their conversations on the phone. The only person she could blame was herself.

"Liz it's not nice eavesdropping on Jacqueline's phone calls with Kim." Tsubaki spoke up.

"I was just gathering some information," Liz defended. "Besides, Soul has been hurt a lot in the past by girls similar to Maka. I just don't want him to end up hurt again. No offense to you."

"Wait… are you saying I'm here to hurt him?" Maka said astonished as she stared at Liz with wide eyes. "If that's so then I do mind."

"I'm not saying anything. I'm saying if you have any ideas of exploiting his feelings or using him, I'm your worst nightmare."

"That's enough Liz." Tsubaki shot up from the fallen log she sat on. "Maka's our guest here. Have some faith in Soul." She turned toward Maka, the rage in her eyes extinguished within a heartbeat. "I'm so sorry Maka. Liz didn't really mean it―"

"Yes I did."

"― and she apologizes." Tsubaki sent Liz a sharp glare.

"What's going on here?" Maka's eyes snapped toward Soul, holding a large pizza box as he quizzically gazed between Liz and Tsubaki. He cocked his eyebrow toward Liz.

Liz waved it away. "Nothing." She went passed Soul and away from the bonfire.

"Okaaay?" Soul's gaze followed her before he turned back to Maka, letting her go for the moment.

"I'll go and talk to her. You two enjoy your pizza." Tsubaki backed away from the bonfire in the direction Liz headed, offering the two of them a smile before she jogged after her.

"Girls, man." Black*Star shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you think we should go after them?" Maka asked.

Soul shook his head and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Nah. They can handle it themselves." His thumb caressed her side of her waist, creating goose bumps on her skin. "Let's not waste the pizza."

A smile spread on Maka's face and she nodded, heart deliciously fluttering in her chest from Soul's warm red eyes. "Yeah."

Soul tugged at her waist and she let him lead the way. Her arm settled on his hip as they treaded away from the bonfire toward the large circus tent to her confusion. Bewilderingly she gazed toward Soul who only smirked toward her, eyes communicating it was a surprise she had to find out.

The past months she has known Soul, it was obvious he didn't like going the extra mile for anything. Everything was supposed to be easy. Fast and healthy foods, always chose the restaurant closes to him and a comb wasn't in his vocabulary. Some might call him lazy, but he was simply comfortable. His choices didn't matter to him. He was happy with what he could get.

Now, he had ordered pizza before the show since no one of them knew if she would arrive before, after or in the middle of the show. He had taken precautions and prepared something special for them. Her heart couldn't help but flutter with joy. She couldn't stop the train of thoughts that perhaps, she was just as special to him as he was to her. But then again, if she wasn't, she wouldn't have spent all those hours behind the wheel to get here.

Here with him.

Soul freed his arm from her waist and pushed away the heavy fabric of the entrance. Her breath was taken at the stunning view in front of her. The yellow lights on the sandy stage was replaced with a pastel pink from the makeshift filter in form of show costume hanging in front of the single light. The round stage wasn't abandoned, but a heavy wooden chest stood high on the wrong end and on it laid some sort of white fabric, something similar to a coat. On it rested two plastic cups waiting for them.

"Oh my." Maka finally breathed out. "Did you do all of this?"

"I got some help, but it all was my idea." He watched her as she went deeper inside of the circus tent, passed the benches for the audience.

She stepped into the stage and bathed into the pink light. Her fingers brushed against the fabric of the white coat acting as a table cloth, flowers from a meadow romantically scattered on the surface.

Never before had a past boyfriend done something like this for her. The few dates she had gone on was spent in fancy restaurants with white table clothes and luxurious cloths acting as napkins. Soul's pay check was far from hers, both of them knew it, but he had still tried to make something beautiful and special. For both of them. How he had managed to get the time to pull this off after his show was beyond her.

She… the date had barely started and she felt ten times more than she had ever felt on any date.

"Kilik and Black*Star helped carry the chest onto the stage while Patty, Kid and Liz helped clear the stage." Soul rambled as he placed the pizza on the improvised table. "Tsubaki helped me with the vision I had in my head and helped me with the decorations." He massaged the back of his neck. "I know it's not fancy and not up to your standards, I'm sorry for that, but it was all I could do."

She placed her small hand on his on the pizza box. His shy gaze locked with hers. "It's perfect." His usually half-lidded eyes were wide as he stared at her. She squeezed his hand and offered him a comforting smile. "This is better than any date I've ever been on. Thank you for preparing this."

He stood fixed on the spot as if her words had shocked him beyond her imagination. His eyes softened and he clasped her hand in both of his, thumb running over her knuckles. She felt like melting under his warm eyes.

"Cool," he whispered, his warm fresh breath hit her face. He pulled away and gestured toward the plastic chair. "Have a seat. I couldn't get any wine, but I hope soda's okay too."

"It's more than okay."

They had eaten dinner together. Well, skyped while they ate. It was different eating with him actually there. Right in front of her. Their hands entwined as if it was obvious. She laughed and munched on her pizza, never letting go of his hand. Her cheeks shyly coloured as her bones were reduced to spaghetti under his warm gaze. The soda couldn't quench the unfamiliar thirst drying her throat.

"It's actually not that hard." His thumb caressing the smooth skin of the back of her hand was very much a distraction. "Once you know the rhythm and can control it, it's easy." He flashed his sharp teeth. "I would be more terrified over the specialists. Those types could tear you down in the blink of an eye."

Maka snorted. "They wish. With all the research and preparation I do, there is no way they can tear me down."

Soul's deep and hearty laugh made strange things to her, feelings that hadn't been present for a very long time, and never to this magnitude.

She wet her dry lips, parting them. "Right now, my research team and I are working intensely so we could present our material as soon as possible to specialists and investors. Hopefully, we could get more funding for our research."

"You never seem to surprise me. Always striving toward some goal." He rested his chin on his hand. "Have you always been like this? Always planning and looking forward?"

"Well yeah? What else would I do?"

"Maybe settle? You've already a very successful research team and you're an amazing professor at one of the most prestigious universities and you're not even thirty! Isn't it enough?"

"No. Why should I settle with a half-empty glass when I have the hard work to gain a full one? I know I can do more and I want to do more for society. This information is very useful for every individual so it's important to get it out as soon as possible."

Soul grabbed his soda can, raising it. "Cheers for hard work."

Her cheeks hurt from the permanent smile on her face as she raised her soda. "Cheers." The aluminium clinked loudly. "So, is your cup full?"

"Sometimes."

Maka cocked her eyebrow. "Sometimes?"

"I love being a trapeze artist." She waited in the inevitable but. "I'm happy when I'm on the trapeze, when I'm in bed; awake, maybe not so much."

Maka tilted her head curiously. "Why? You travel to so many exciting places and you must meet so many different people. Isn't it fascinating and thrilling?"

"People aren't my thing."

"But you get to do so many new things."

"I would rather stay in the trailer and watch some TV."

Maka could only laugh. He had a freedom she had never experienced, something she had traded away for knowledge. The information she and her research team slowly unfolded was some that needed to reach the public. There was still so much work that needed to be done.

"You're so lucky, you know." She fiddled with his fingers. "This is the first time I left my state for amusement. You've such a freedom and you don't really cherish it."

"Freedom?"

"Yes. You're free like a bird, seeing so many places and experiencing so many different things. It's something I could never experience."

"I wouldn't say that."

"What?" She snapped her gaze from his hand, looking into his mischievous eyes.

"What if I told you I could make you fly?" Her eyes fluttered with confusion as he stood up from his chair, offering his hand for her to take. Curiously she accepted it.

…

"You are crazy!" she exclaimed as she held onto the metal rope of the trapeze. Soul hoisted her higher and higher. If she fell down, she would blame Soul for sweet talking her into this.

"Relax." Soul yelled as he put the safety on the wheel. "You're not that high up."

"I could break my neck if I fall!"

"Then don't fall."

Adrenaline pumped in her veins as she clung onto the trapeze as she watched Soul running around the stage, spinning on some wheels and pulling some levels. Soon, some sort of net was in place right underneath the trapeze.

"You're insane, you know that?" Maka yelled as she watched Soul climb up a ladder and onto a platform.

"Full time madman. You might want to hold on tight."

Before she had a time to protest, Soul ran and leapt. He grabbed a hold of the free trapeze before she swung toward the trapeze she was seated on. She shrieked loudly as he spun in the air and grabbed a hold of the bar. The next moment she knew, he was standing on the trapeze beside her.

"Y-you—" Maka stuttered as the trapeze rocked slightly. "This is insane! I could've hurt myself!"

"That's why the safety net is there, dummy." He grinned wide, exposing his intriguing sharp teeth. "Don't your degrees mean you're smart?"

She pouted at him but it was quickly whipped away when he started rocking the trapeze. "W-what!" she squeaked and held onto the metal wire and his calf. "S-stop."

"You wanted to feel free, this is the first step." He laughed at her squeaks as the trapeze rocked more and more like one of the swings she had seen kids swing on on the playgrounds, except this one was far scarier.

"I regret it! I regret it! I regret it!" she chanted and squeezed her eyes shut, holding onto his leg tightly.

"Fine." Her eyes fluttered open and he bend his knees. She released him and gave him room to sit down on the narrow bar of the trapeze. He wrapped his arm around her waist, supporting her against him as he rocked on the trapeze. "We're almost like birds." he whispered as the wind blew in her hair as they soothingly rocked back and forth.

She had never experienced something like this before. As soon as she could read, her nose was always in a book while her friends played on the swings and slides. She never experienced the thrilling butterflies in the pit of her stomach or the tingling in her fingertips for every time they swung backwards. Never before had she thought she would experience something so… so… free, especially with a wonderful person like Soul.

"Yeah," she breathed, leaning her head against his shoulder, eyes fluttering shut to simply enjoy the moment. "This is really cool. Thank you."

"No," He leaned against her, nose nudging her head. She lifted her head and looked into his deep and soft eyes. "Thank you. For driving here. I'm… really happy you're here."

A soft smile spread on her face as she leaned toward him, their noses brushing in the process.

There were no words for how much Soul had grown to mean to her. On her drive toward the circus, she was nervous and exhilarated and happy, but she never predicted her feelings would grow into something like this. He… this was real.

Their breaths mixed. The rocking of the trapeze had come to a stop. He brushed away a piece of hair and cupped her cheek. It was the trigger they needed. Their lips brushed and confidence ran in their veins. Their kiss turned heated. His hand moved to her neck and pulled her closer to him. She held onto the thin fabric of his body. Their mouths slanted and they clutched at each other.

It was as if she had gone back in time to her hormonal teenage self when she started noticing guys and her dreams weren't just innocent and peaceful. She could touch this. Simply kissing him made her hands tremble with excitement and her core to heat with sinful sensations.

They pulled away, out of breaths and heart hammering in their chests. Soul's forehead rested against hers and he wore a goofy grin. "How about I take you out for a second date tomorrow after the show?"

"I would love too," she said without a shred of hesitation.

"If you want, we could get down and I could show you exactly what my tongue could do." He waggled his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes. "But how will we get down?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Yeah― AHH!" He pulled her and they fell from the trapeze before the safety net caught them. She clutched onto him as they bounced a little before they lay still on the net. "You-you!"

Soul rolled his eyes at her. "Don't look at me like that. You would've just freaked out just by the idea of falling down."

"Well, yes- but- still!"

"See? I did you a favour."

"You're unbelievable."