circus - joshler

_gymnast_

tyler stood from where he was sitting and grabbed josh's arm as pete burst into the tent. his boss had clearly had one too many in his system, as he stumbled around until he could grip a costume rack to steady himself. he now glared furiously at josh.

"i said get away from tyler, you dumb fuck," pete spat, "in fact, get the hell away from my whole circus! we don't need any more bitchy pretty-boys walking around here." he nodded at tyler.

the brunette's grip on josh's arm tightened. he couldn't let his last glimmer of hope slip through his fingers. tyler thought back to what brendon had said about finding someone to replace him as pete's main focus, but couldn't imagine forcing someone else to endure what he had gone through. tyler felt the powerful muscles rippling through josh's arm and hoped to god that the man's mind was as strong as his forearms.

"he was actually thinking about joining our troupe," tyler lied through his teeth, causing josh to look down at him with questioning eyes, "he came in here looking for you, wentz."

pete's doubtful eyes narrowed at the taller man, trying to figure out if the offer was legitimate or not.

"what's your name, son?"

"josh dun."

tyler looked up at josh for the first time knowing his name and smiled slightly.

"do you have some sort of talent? we don't just let any bastard join us if they can't do shit." pete questioned further, trying to stay collected despite the copious amounts of alcohol he had recently consumed.

josh bit his lip in thought, racking his brain for any kind of ability that might earn him a place in the circus with tyler, "i-i can do a backflip," he stuttered, "other gymnastics as well, but i've kind of perfected a backflip, sir."

"i don't know about all of this. we already have tyler, who's the main gymnast in my show..."

"we could have a duet act on the trapeze." tyler suggested, his eyes now seeming desperate as he didn't want pete to take one more thing away from him.

pete scratched his chin and thought about how much more money people would pay to see the duo, "alright, fine. what the hell time is it anyways?"

josh peered at his watch, "three in the morning, sir."

"already coming in handy, i see, pretty boy," the ringmaster winked with a look on his face that used to be reserved exclusively for tyler, "we'll figure all this stuff out tomorrow; you both should go to bed."

******

tyler led josh by the wrist to his train car. the cold air stung against tyler's exposed skin around his tight, blue leotard, so he moved quickly across the circus grounds to get to his warm room. they passed cab after cab of the long train, most of them lit up and full of people celebrating a well executed performance. tyler didn't usually go to those parties because of the relentless, drunken troupe members who only want to get in his pants. after shows, it was safer to just get washed up after everyone had left the dressing rooms and go to bed afterwards- if wentz wasn't in one of his moods, that is.

"it's that one up there," tyler pointed ahead with his free hand, "it isn't much, but i've lived in there for years."

they practically fell up the stairs and through the entryway at the front of the car, breathing heavily and laughing as they both collapsed behind the closed door. tyler had barely cracked a smile in months, but something about this new guy was extremely refreshing. he had almost forgot about the troubles that lay outside the room as he sat next to josh.

"so, i guess this is where you'll be staying until wentz bothers to make room for you," tyler flicked on the light, illuminating the makeshift furniture made out of old food crates and sheets, "yeah, i know it's kinda shitty, but-"

"no, everything looks great," josh smiled at him, "thank you."

the sincerity in josh's smooth voice was comforting. tyler got lost in it.

"if you're tired, we can go to bed, i guess," tyler fumbled with his words, "i just kinda have to get changed first, so..."

"oh, yeah, for sure." josh said, standing up and opening the door to leave.

tyler sat up, surprised, "wait, where are you going?"

josh blushed and raised an eyebrow, "just giving you privacy." he laughed, "let me know when to come back in."

privacy like that felt so new to tyler and he almost felt lonely when josh left the room. in his business, there was always someone around; fixing your costume or touching up your makeup. tyler ran a hand through his hair as he stood up to get undressed, which wouldn't prove to take long as he only had his one piece costume on. he remembered that josh was outside waiting so he quickly threw on a loose t-shirt.

"you can come in now!" tyler called through the door, once a small pair of shorts were around his waist.

josh walked in the door and sat down on the bed. he found that it was far softer than it appeared, although it was just a long crate stuffed mostly with straw, "this bed's a lot better than my old one."

tyler felt a pang of guilt hit him as realized that josh was just leaving his life behind to join the circus with him, "by the way, we won't be back here for a long time. did you not need anything from home? say goodbye to anyone?"

"nah, i just want to forget everything about that place. i only had two people left in my life anyways; i had a shitty friend and this one girl..."

"a girlfriend?" tyler bit at his lip.

"no, definitely not." josh denied with a bitter tone.

tyler looked at ground, feeling sorry for making josh upset, "sorry, josh. i won't talk about her anymore," he said, switching off the light and climbing into bed next to the man.

"it's alright, tyler," josh sighed, "goodnight."

"goodnight."