Being dragged to a circus by his friends was not Yifan’s idea of fun. He had planned to relax during the weekend but he couldn’t even do that, thanks to his friends.

As he looked at the big structure housing the main stage, he had to admit it wasn’t so bad. The tent was huge, a beautiful teal and white design with gold accents, illuminated with tastefully placed lights.The theme of the circus was fairy wonderland and Yifan could see they captured that wonder well.

He was staking the lions tent, hoping his friends would forget about him soon so he could escape, but his bad luck continued as William found him and proceeded to take him to the big carp, talking a mile a minute about the main show and getting good seats.

Yifan sighed as he sat down between Yifeng and William, giving BingBing a tight smile when she leaned forward on Yifeng’s other side to look at him, before looking forward, waiting for the show to start.

=========================

Jerking awake from his dozing by William’s frantic shaking of his arm, Yifan dislodged William’s hand and rubbed his eyes while looking around. People were hollering and the booming voice from the Ringmaster rang clear, presenting the final solo act.

“OUR FINAL SOLO ACT OF TODAY, IS OUR ONE AND ONLY!!!

THE MOST GRACIOUS AERIAL DEITY!!!

THE BEAUTIFUL PHOENIX THAT TAKES FLIGHT

CANLIE!!!!”

The light went out and the soothing tinkling of bells started, a spotlight flaring up on the ceiling while Yifan felt his breath being knocked out of him. A gorgeous being was wrapped around a red silk, the one-piece suit that clung to their long limbs littered with orange stones that glimmered, looking like fire every time they moved. The way Canlie manipulated the silk, how they hung from it, and how it hugged their body... he felt enchanted.

When Canlie ended their routine, the tent erupted with thunderous applause and Yifan found himself on his feet, clapping and whistling along with the crowd. Catching himself, he hastily sat down again, his stomach churning; he needed to do something, he wanted-- well, he didn’t know exactly what he wanted, but he knew it had to do with Canlie.

A group of plate spinners had now taken the stage and Yifan needed to get out. Turning to William, he muttered that he was going to the bathroom, receiving a nod in return. Carefully maneuvering the seats, he finally made it out and breathed in a lungful before slowly letting it out.

Looking around, Yifan carefully made his way towards the back of the tarp, mindful of the small security around. Masterfully, he found Canlie’s dressing room. Looking around once more, he entered the medium structure, locking the door behind him.

=========================

“You made it.” A deep voice sounded from behind as sinewy and strong arms wrapped around Yifan’s waist, hugging him to a slim torso and causing him to smile. He’d missed that voice.

“I told you I would, didn’t I?” Yifan responded while turning around to be met with beautiful big brown eyes, still heavy with makeup and sparkling with happiness. Carefully, he grabbed the face in front of him and caressed it, leaning his forehead to rest on the other’s.

“I miss you, Yifan.” Was breathed against his lips.

“I miss you, too,” Yifan whispered back, “Chanyeol.” And he captured those sinful plump lips in a searing kiss. He unloaded his longing and desire into the kiss, making Chanyeol whimper and arch against him. Breaking for air, they smiled at each other and stayed just like that for a while, basking in each other’s warmth.

Yifan spoke “You looked beautiful out there. I don’t know how you do it but you keep outdoing yourself.” He told Chanyeol, who smiled at him, “My beautiful Canlie.” Chanyeol blushed and buried his face in Yifan’s neck. They both laughed, because no matter how many times Yifan complimented Chanyeol, he always got shy.

Chanyeol broke from the embrace, “Sit,” he said, gesturing to the small loveseat in the corner. “I’ll get you a drink.”

Obediently, he followed Chanyeol’s instructions, happy to sit back and watch him bustle about the room. Chanyeol was already in a singlet and shorts; he never failed to immediately change, as he never liked staying in his costume more than necessary, something that had always amused Yifan about the younger. Yifan drank in the image, strong shoulders and long smooth legs.

Accepting the Diamond Dancer-- “A cocktail?” “For the circus experience.” “You’re thinking of cabaret” “Shush”-- and a peck on his lips, Yifan sat back with his drink and watched as Chanyeol wrapped himself in the white silk ropes he had hanging in the room, right in front of the sofa. As the circus’ biggest and popular act, Chanyeol had some leeway with his dressing room demands, one of them being a sturdy structure with a ceiling so he could stretch and do his aero yoga in private.

Yifan hummed while sipping on his drink; Chanyeol looked so serene with his eyes closed and his lovely forme wrapped by the silk.

“You can talk.” Chanyeol said while changing to a position that enabled him to look at Yifan.

“I’d rather watch just you, to be honest.” Yifan smiled, and it was true-- while he could talk and catch up with the young acrobat, or even have , today he was content with just watching. They’d have plenty of time to talk and to make love later. (Though it was very tempting-- Chanyeol could wrapped himself in a way that would leave him laid out for Yifan to enjoy.)

Chanyeol smiled back, detangling himself from the ropes and walking towards him. Yifan wrapped his arms around the dark ash blond beauty’s waist as Chanyeol climbed onto his lap, long limbs everywhere. “Hello there” He said before capturing Chanyeol’s lips in a lazy kiss, hugging him tight, feeling Chanyeol’s hands run through his hair.

They kept kissing lazily before a sharp knock on the door interrupted them, “Final bow in 5 minutes, Canlie!” A voice said. Chanyeol responded with a ‘got it’ before looking at Yifan with a sad puppy expression on his face. Yifan chuckled and kissed Chanyeol deeply, then nudged him to stand up. While he wanted more time, they knew they couldn’t run the risk of being caught, so Yifan needed to get out before the rush of the other performers started.

“I’ll see you next time, okay?” Yifan said while caressing Chanyeol’s cheeks with his thumbs.

“Three more cities.” Chanyeol said as he hugged Yifan tightly.

“Three more cities.” Yifan parroted before hurriedly kissing Chanyeol one last time, whispering an ‘I love you’ against the plump lips, stunting the other.

He smiled and quickly unlocked the door, peering outside, and winked towards the gaping Chanyeol as he went back to his friends. Yifan wasn’t worried about an answer, he knew he’d get one the next time he met Chanyeol.

=========================

“Did you go to Mars to pee or something?” Was the first thing out of William’s mouth when he sat in his seat.

Yifan just rolled his eyes, “No, I got lost on the way to the bathroom and then got distracted by the lions on the way back.” The lie flowed easily out of his lips, the guilt of lying to his friends being discarded ages ago. William laughed at him and shook his head, quickly letting Yifeng and BingBing know what Yifan said; Yifeng just shrugged and BingBing raised an eyebrow at him, which Yifan promptly ignored.

He started clapping politely as the Ringmaster started calling the performers forward, and if he clapped louder when Canlie came out, well, no one noticed. They received thunderous applause, some people even going as far as throwing the beauty gifts. Yifan studiously ignored the clench of jealousy in his stomach when he saw a beautiful bouquet being handed to them.

The Ringmaster called a goodnight, the performers waving to the crowd as everyone started getting up and leaving. Yifan got up alongside his friends, and they started pushing towards the exit. Looking around, he saw children meeting some of the other acrobats; his gaze found Canlie’s bright eyes and he smiled slightly in their direction, nodding slightly. The aerial acrobat bowed slightly in his direction before bowing towards the others, giving a final wave before disappearing behind the big curtain.

Yifan turned his attention in front of him and hurried forward-- he had fallen a bit behind his friends due to his brief exchange with the enchanting acrobat. He gripped Yifeng’s shoulders before throwing an arm around them.

“Someone is in a good mood now.” Yifeng said.

“Despite my early misery at being dragged here, I had fun! So thank you, guys.” He smiled at them, feeling grateful for having friends like them, who put up with his lame jokes and weird shenanigans.

As they got into William’s car, Yifan looked behind at the big carp, Canlie’s beautiful form in the air burning in his mind, and in his heart. He smiled to himself before turning towards the others, “Ya’ll want some drinks? I got some new cocktail recipes I want to try out. You can crash at my place too.” Yifan asked, laughing at William’s hollering, BingBing’s ‘yes please!’ and Yifeng’s rubbing his hands.

“Man, I love your cocktails!” Yifeng said, “How are you so good at them?”

An image of big eyes and a bright smile flashed in his mind while he shrugged, “Just, you know, picking some things here and there, I guess” He smirked at them, causing them to groan, knowing he was keeping something but not bothering to ask because they knew it would be fruitless.

As he laughed in the car with his friends, part of his mind was still in the circus, in the big tent.

‘Three more cities’

Fin.