Eyes wide, mouth agape, Jonghyun looked around curiously as Kibum pulled him to the centre of the Dome where the stage was located. Looking up at the rows and rows of seats towering above them made him feel extremely small and he wondered how he hadn’t been afraid of sitting so high up. From here, the seats looked as if they were clinging onto the walls for dear life.

“Come on.”

Kibum tugged at their linked hands excitedly. Jonghyun snapped his mouth shut and stumbled after him, across the stage and to the other side of the room where a small iron staircase spiralled upwards. He squinted up along the core, spotting the end close to the roof, panning out into a small platform mounted to the wall with no safety railings whatsoever.

“Are we climbing all the way up there?” he asked, already feeling exhausted just looking at all the steps.

Kibum turned to him with a sweet smile and Jonghyun’s exhaustion was gone in a flash.

“Yeah, but it will be worth it,” he assured.

Jonghyun stared at him for a moment, losing himself in his eyes, and every cell in his body yearned to pull him close. Kibum turned and began making his way up the stairs, dispelling whatever had fallen over Jonghyun before he managed to act on his emotions.

As Jonghyun watched him make his way upwards, he wondered why the pull towards Kibum and the circus was so strong. He had asked some of his friends, who had seen the second show, how they felt and they had thought it was amazing of course, but weren’t otherwise affected.

Heaving a deep breath, Jonghyun put his musings aside and started climbing the stairs after Kibum. They ascended in silence, the only sound the dull clang of iron against shoe and Jonghyun’s increasingly heavy breaths, his legs screaming at him for mercy. He didn’t understand how Kibum could continue on, looking as unbothered as if he were taking a stroll around town, when his legs felt like lead and his chest wanted to collapse in on itself. Then again, he was a circus performer; he probably had harder training than walking up a seemingly endless staircase.

Finally they reached the top and Jonghyun tipped over, hands on his knees, wheezing loudly and trying not to cough up his lungs. Kibum laughed softly and crouched down so he could look up at his face and give Jonghyun a gentle, encouraging smile. His fingertips brushed across Jonghyun’s forehead, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. Jonghyun managed to shoot a grin back at him and straighten up, reaching out a hand to pull Kibum back to his feet. Kibum beamed and let their fingers tangle and suddenly he was the only thing in Jonghyun’s vision. It would be so easy to just lean in and press a soft kiss to that pretty smile. Jonghyun’s body swayed in anticipation but he caught himself and let out a small, choked cough.

“So, why did I need all that exercise?” he asked, diverting his mind from thoughts of kissing. His cheeks were heating up and his skin tingled. “Are you trying to indirectly tell me I need to lose weight?” He joked, trying to ease the sudden tension in the air.

Kibum’s cheeks turned a little pink and he bit his lip, smiling and looking to the wall.

“Well…”

He strode over to a metal box fixed to the wall, bringing Jonghyun with him by their linked hands. The lid opened to reveal so many blinking buttons and shining levers that Jonghyun’s head spun just looking at them. Kibum thankfully seemed to know what he was doing because he swiftly, and determinedly, pressed a few of the buttons and pulled on one lever. The lights went out and a faintly familiar whirring sound echoed through the empty dome. Jonghyun looked up and saw the ceiling once again open up, revealing the night sky with its billions upon billions of stars. Another whirring sound filled the air and a black net spread across the open space, at the same height the platform was, a few meters below the opening in the ceiling.

“Oh, so you do have a safety net,” Jonghyun remarked and Kibum laughed.

“It’s for Minho and Taemin’s benefit when I can’t be with them at practice.”

Jonghyun frowned because not a single bit of that sentence made any sort of sense. Kibum, who had been looking at the net spreading across the open space, glanced at him and shrugged half-heartedly.

“Anyway, come on!”

He quickly pulled Jonghyun to the edge of the platform, where the net connected, and let go of his hand before stepping out on it. Jonghyun stared after him as he made his way to the middle of the net with graceful ease, only to throw himself down and spread his limbs out. Jonghyun chuckled a little as Kibum turned to beckon him over and hesitantly stepped off the platform–

And stumbled forward awkwardly.

He would have fallen on his face if his hands hadn’t instinctively shot back to grab the railing of the staircase. A giggle made its way over to him and he looked up to see Kibum had sat up. Ears burning, Jonghyun straightened up again and managed to wobble his way over to Kibum’s side where he quickly sat down to avoid another accident.

“Okay, so what are we doing?” Jonghyun asked curiously – and nervously.

He tried to not look down at the stage, which was so far below them, but his hands still trembled lightly.

“This won’t break, will it?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Kibum laughed again and put his hand on Jonghyun’s chest, pushing him to lie down. Completely forgetting how to breathe, he looked up at a happy Kibum hovering above him. Every single coherent thought left his head and his heartbeat went wild. He was sure Kibum could feel it, what with his hand still lingering on his chest, especially by the way his eyes softened and he looked down at his hand.

“Just lay down and relax,” Kibum whispered and he was so, so close.

Jonghyun swallowed harshly. He could actually feel Kibum’s minty breath on his face and he fleetingly wondered if he had brushed his teeth or just been chewing gum.

“And breathe,” Kibum added in a chuckle before he pulled back and laid down beside him, their shoulders pressed together.

That’s when Jonghyun finally saw it. He inhaled in a rush, eyes wide.

The starry night sky stretched above them, small glimmering dots greeting them cheerily. The moon hid just behind the edge of the opening, casting a soft glow over the walls behind their spot on the net. The faint sound of waves crashing against the cliffs drifted over to them and the even fainter sound of trams clattering along the streets accompanied it. A calmness settled in the air and Jonghyun’s muscles relaxed one by one. Awed, he traced a few stars before stealing a glance at Kibum from the corner of his eye. Kibum had his eyes closed, a small smile playing on his lips. He looked so lovely Jonghyun wanted to pull him to his chest, kiss him, and never let go.

He looked back up at the stars and cleared his throat.

“So, um, everyone here is a– a freak, as you put it?” he asked quietly, hesitantly, stealing another but quicker glance at Kibum.

“Yeah,” he sighed, eyes still closed.

His smile dimmed and Jonghyun swallowed. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to know anymore.

“What kind of freak are we talking about?” he said, trying not to sound nervous, this time keeping his gaze on Kibum’s face.

Kibum’s eyes opened and he turned his head to look at him, searching his face for something. He bit his lip, looking unsure, and Jonghyun wanted to reach out and hold his hand. Kibum turned his gaze back to the sky.

“We kind of–,” he cut off, hesitated. “We have a sort of… fault in our bodily system that makes us... well, weird.”

Jonghyun frowned.

“Weird how?”

Kibum filled his cheeks with air and blew it out noisily.

“Well, for starters, Jinki can actually communicate with animals and the only reason they are so calm and peaceful is because he can force living things to be calm with just his will.”

Jonghyun blinked and his heart skipped a beat.

“Wait, he did that to me!” he exclaimed in astonishment. “In the dining hall!”

“He can’t control it sometimes.” Kibum wrinkled his nose. “Sorry.”

Jonghyun shook his head.

“It’s okay, I guess. As long as it doesn’t cause any mental or physical damage to me, I’m fine with it.”

Kibum smiled tightly at him.

“Then do those creepy fire guys know how to control fire?” Jonghyun asked excitedly and Kibum looked a little taken aback. “Like fire bending?”

Kibum shot him a questioning look, but hummed.

“Something like that, yeah, though I don’t know what fire bending is. They can create and control fire with their bare hands. It’s mostly cool but they accidentally burned down a building once.”

“Oh…” Jonghyun worried his bottom lip. “Minho and Taemin?”

“They have an ability to generate a magnetic field which makes it easier for them to never miss a trapeze or make a mistake. Though they still get some help from me.”

A small frown formed on Kibum’s forehead and he fell silent.

“And you?” Jonghyun asked after a few seconds, voice low and careful.

Kibum looked up, studying his face carefully. Their eyes met and they looked at each other for a long time. There was an insecure and vulnerable look to Kibum and this time Jonghyun didn’t stop himself from reaching out and grabbing his hand.

“I...” Kibum swallowed nervously, squeezing his hand. “I can defy gravity. The rules of physics don’t seem to apply to me and those I want if I will it and... I shine in the moonlight.” He almost whispered the last words and a soft pink appeared on his cheeks. “That’s how I help Minho and Taemin.”

“Shine in the moonlight?” Jonghyun repeated in a murmur, remembering the breathtaking performance he had seen.

Kibum watched him closely, chewing on his bottom lip as he waited for his reaction. Jonghyun’s mouth tugged up at the corners and he couldn’t help but make the comment:

“Like the vampires?”

Kibum stared at him incredulously for a moment before he burst out laughing.

“Really,” he said between giggles, “do vampires shine?”

“Well,” Jonghyun took a deep breath and filled his cheeks with air, turning his head back to look at the stars. “More like sparkle. In the sunlight, if you were to believe the latest version.”

Kibum chuckled and squeezed Jonghyun’s hand, letting out a small breath he seemed to have been holding.

“I...” he began and Jonghyun waited in anticipation for his next words. “Thank you. For not, you know, freaking out.”

Jonghyun grinned.

“Yeah, well, I’m not really surprised.” Kibum looked at him with wide, surprised eyes and Jonghyun waggled his eyebrows at him. “You see, I’m actually from another galaxy. I was sent into space by the authorities on my planet to look for intelligent life and got stuck here on earth.”

The unadultured laugh that bubbled out of Kibum was music to his ears and he couldn’t help but join in.

“Wait,” Jonghyun said as they calmed down. “Is that why I feel such a pull to this place?” 

Kibum looked at him, confused frown on his forehead.

“What?”

“Did you use some magic spell on the audience or something?”

“I– yeah,” Kibum mumbled. “It’s our illusionist’s doing. But she is only supposed to help your imagination so that you can see the stories in our performances.”

Jonghyun frowned.

“Then why do I feel such a strong connection?”

Kibum met his gaze, his bottom lip between his teeth. Suddenly Jonghyun didn’t care why he was so affected. All rational thought left his head and the only thing he could think of was how pretty Kibum looked in the faint moonlight, his lip wedged between his teeth and his eyes narrowed in thought. He saw Kibum’s lip come free, glistening slightly, and his mouth moved but he couldn’t bring himself to understand what he was saying, the shine of his bottom lip capturing all of his attention.

“What?” he asked sheepishly, not able to move his eyes away from the invitingly soft-looking lips.

The corners of Kibum’s mouth tugged up, but when he spoke his voice was serious.

“I said; she might have accidentally used a bit more force on you,” he repeated and Jonghyun managed to tear his gaze from his lips to his eyes instead, which didn’t really do anything to help his brain make sense of anything. “You’re not feeling like that any more, are you?”

“A little, but I’m mostly just coming here because I think I’m falling for you,” he blurted without thinking and both of them blushed, staring at each other.

“Y-you… what?” Kibum looked completely lost.

“Nothing,” Jonghyun said quickly and sat up, internally cursing at himself. “Just forget I opened my big mouth at all.” He laughed nervously, pulling a hand through his hair. “Well, this has been exciting but I really think I should take my big mouth and leave.” He stood up shakily, the net as well as nerves making his legs wobble. “I’ll go jump off a cliff now. It’s been great knowing you. Bye.”

He managed to take three unsteady steps before he was bowled over by a laughing Kibum and fell face first onto the net. The pleasant, warm weight of Kibum landed on his back.

“You’re so silly,” he breathed between laughs in Jonghyun’s ear. A shiver went down Jonghyun’s spine and goose bumps rose where Kibum’s breath tickled his skin. “I can’t believe you just said that!”

“Yeah, well,” Jonghyun huffed and turned. Kibum slid off his back and they shuffled until they were facing each other. “Sorry if I offended you or anything.”

“How can one person be so attractively idiotic?” Kibum laughed again, both mirth and happiness shining in his eyes.

Jonghyun tried his hardest not to pout.

“Was that a compliment? ‘Cause it sure didn’t feel like one. I don’t think you know how compliments wor–”

He didn’t get much farther as Kibum grabbed the front of his shirt and crashed their lips together. It was a simple and short kiss, but the best one Jonghyun could ever remember receiving. It left him completely dumbfounded and immobile and all his senses suddenly filled with Kibum.

“Stupid,” Kibum chuckled as he pulled back and Jonghyun managed to gather himself enough to not look like a gaping fish.

“Still not complimenting,” he mumbled, but couldn’t really care less if his stupidity meant Kibum would kiss him again.

“Shut up,” Kibum mumbled back, tone amused, and pulled him in.

And Jonghyun really couldn’t do anything else than comply with his request.

A/N: I have been so extremely busy and out of inspiration :( This took so long for me to write out, even if I knew how I wanted it I couldn't find the words to write it down and yeah... I hope it was okay, anyways :)

And I'm still going to be quite busy so I don't know when the next chapter is going to be finished :/ 

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

LOVE YOU ALL!! <3

Bye~!