circus - joshler

_audience_

after tyler promptly caved in to josh's wishes of joining the troupe, brendon's words of advice to tyler went out the window. now they were 4 hours into rehearsal for the next day's show and closer (mentally and physically) than ever. tyler tried to ignore his conscience telling him not to get attached to josh, but every word or touch from the older man sent him reeling for more.

"wow, josh, i'm impressed. it took me years to feel steady on this trapeze swing, but you've got it down in one afternoon." tyler applauded josh while perched atop the two-person trapeze.

josh was careful not to shake the bar too much for the brunettes sake as he swung his strapping frame up to sit beside him. tyler reached out his hand to steady josh as they both sat on the swaying bar suspended in the air. 40 feet below was the ground that seemed to beg one of them to fall.

"yeah, i guess i'm a fast learner," josh hummed in agreement, "or i just have a good teacher."

"oh, whatever," tyler rolled his eyes and gave josh a playful push, but was concerned for a moment when josh almost became unsteady, "sorry we don't have a safety net, by the way. i learned with one, but wentz decided to get rid of it once i seemed comfortable up here."

josh rolled off the bar backwards, catching himself in midair by his knees and grinned up at tyler, who was momentarily shocked by josh's cocky move, "i don't know, i kind of like the danger of it all."

"alright, alright, hotshot," tyler teased, "let's run through the act one more time just to make sure you're not all talk."

"try me."

******

the spotlight hit the two men as they descended slowly into the audience's view. a rush of intense adrenaline surged through them both; for one it was the first time, for one it was the millionth time. dramatic music pulsed through the big top and all eyes were trained on them.

10 feet away dropped down another trapeze bar and tyler gave the signal to drop down to swing together on the bar by their arms. josh counted three swings in his head before letting go and grabbing the second bar in the air. the audience applauded wildly until growing quiet once more to watch their next trick.

josh turned around on the bar to face tyler while they swung in rhythm. for a few seconds he could observe the brunette's slender, yet muscular, frame through his leotard. in everyday clothes, tyler seemed thin and lanky, but for those few moments during the show, he was the god of his art. josh missed his cue by a hair while trapped in his thoughts and almost didn't make the leap back the the other trapeze when the two were supposed to switch bars.

"whoa, be careful." tyler mouthed the words to josh, earning him a reassuring look in return.

the audience didn't even notice the small blunder josh made and applauded the pair profusely for the rest of their performance. tyler had had his doubts about how prepared they would be for their first performance, but he was more than a little impressed by their act.

"great work, gentlemen!" brendon exclaimed, slapping both of their backs, "i'm sure the boss is gonna be really proud of you. especially you, dun."

josh was still unsure of how to treat him after how he treated tyler, so he only gave a small smile and a polite nod to brendon. tyler, however, wasn't so subtle about his newfound dislike for the man and could hear the poison bleeding through brendon's nice facade. tyler had ignored brendon's warning about getting too attached and he would soon pay the price, but there was no turning back now.

"yeah, speaking of which, urie, where is our boss? i kinda want to talk to him." tyler lied to change the subject. he actually did want to know where pete was though; it would be easier to keep josh out of the ringleader's grimy hands if they could keep some distance from him.

"oh, you didn't hear? wentz is throwing a big party in the bistro car to celebrate dun's first show. i heard there's gonna be free drinks this time, too."

tyler's suspicion about brendon continued to grow, "so? you know i don't drink."

"well, this party isn't for you." brendon rolled his eyes before turning his attention to josh, "what about you, dun? you drink?"

"yeah, and i think i can party better than some people i know." josh winked at tyler, before laughing quietly at the blush spreading across tyler's face.

tyler felt the attention on him and turned his face to the ground, "oh, whatever, guys," tyler ducked out from under brendon's arm to walk escape into the dressing room and was slightly surprised when josh didn't follow him, "i hope you have tons of fun at your party."

"where do you think you're going, joseph? the boss specifically invited the both of you. he'll kick my ass if i don't show up with the both of you."

it would have been a bad move to let josh go to the party alone, so tyler began to give in, "uh, well, okay. just let me wash up first..."

"no, time for that, joseph! you look great! doesn't he look great, josh?"

"yeah, ty, you look great." josh smiled more genuinely than brendon.

tyler couldn't refuse that smile.