Yugyeom looks down at the envelope that just dropped into his lap, it's small and purple with gold detailing around the edges. It looks posh. He looks up to the owner of the hand that just deposited it and is only mildly surprised to find Jaebum leaning precariously over the table.

"Hyung?" He asks, picking the envelope up blindly, his eyes on Jaebum as the elder walks around the table. He spins the chair in front of Yugyeom around and straddles it, resting his forearms on the back as he stares intently at his friend. "What are you even doing here?" Yugyeom tilts his head to the side, curious.

"Hoseok's teaching," comes the dismissive response, "open it." He nods at the envelope, a lopsided smile on his face. Yugyeom's gaze drops back to the purple rectangle. He turns it over slowly, smiling when he sees his name written in swirling calligraphy on the front, before opening it just as carefully. Inside there's three ornate strips of paper. He pulls one out to see that it is, in fact, a ticket. A ticket to the circus that Jaebum has been raving about for the last few months, hinting heavily that he'd like some friendly (or otherwise) support since he's performing. And everyone agreed and said that Yugyeom especially had to come since he'd never seen Jaebum perform in any capacity before. Mark and Jackson had pretty much insisted.

"Oh, cool," he whispered, and he truly meant it. Although slightly nervous about what exactly attending a burlesque circus would entail, he had been really anticipating it. He had been told that Jaebum was a dancer and an aerialist, although he wasn't entirely sure what the second term meant other than doing stuff of some sort up in the air. He had thought to google it, but realised he would prefer to be surprised and had so refrained. "Ah that's awesome, who're the other tickets for?" He beamed up at Jaebum, holding the envelope and its precious contents close.

"Jinyoung and Jackson," Jaebum replied without a moment's hesitation, "The others are coming to see me on a different day, spreading out the support or something." He shrugged and laughed. "It's the weekend after next remember?" Yugyeom nodded enthusiastically. "You sure you can come?"

"I wouldn't miss it for anything."

~

He almost missed it; he was running late when Jinyoung knocked on the door to his room, stepping into his suit trousers because of a last minute text from Jackson informing him of the dress code. Dress code!? Geez he could have done with more warning but he'd somehow managed to find and iron his dress shirt and even locate his best trousers and matching cummerbund, a rich maroon.

A few seconds later, his door flew open and Jackson stormed in, almost causing him to fall over out of pure shock. Jackson froze just inside the door and stared at Yugyeom as he balanced on one leg, shirt not even done up, returning his gaze with wide eyes.

"Oh come on Yugyeom, what exactly is the delay?" Jinyoung asked, exasperated as he stepped past Jackson. He halted in his tracks and spun on his heel dragging Jackson back out with him. "We'll be out here, not staring at your pale legs." He said curtly, pulling the door shut once more. Yugyeom toppled onto his bed, giggling to himself as he forced his legs into the trousers. They had strips of dark red fabric to match his cummerbund running up the outsides of each leg and he knew they made his legs look good. Struggling back to his feet, he buttoned and tucked in his shirt before fastening his trousers and putting the cummerbund round his waist. Perfect. If only he could have located a bow tie, but no such luck. He slid his wallet into his pocket, snatched up his suit jacket and swanned out of his room moments later, shiny shoes squeaking minutely on the corridor's wooden flooring.

He looked over the pair standing outside. Jackson lounged uncaringly against the wall opposite, tight fitting pinstriped suit complementing the tuxedo and waistcoat worn by an anxious Jinyoung pacing beside him.

"Are you guys coming?" He asked, turning to lock his door and he could have sworn that Jinyoung actually hissed at him. "Not my fault Jackson only told me about the dress code just before you got here." Yugyeom muttered as his friends fell into step beside him.

Jackson stumbled as Jinyoung turned to glare at him.

"You forgot to tell him?" His voice was ice cold and Jackson sped ahead with a yelp.

"You dropped me in it Yugyeom!" He shrieked as he headed off down the stairs. When Yugyeom glanced at Jinyoung, he had a surprisingly fond expression on his face, but he dropped it as soon as he realised he was being watched.

"Come on," he urged, speeding up, "our seats are right at the front so we really can't be late and we've got quite a way to go." Yugyeom hurried after him and automatically slid into the back seat. He was slightly dismayed to discover that Jackson was, in fact, driving - always a rather... exhilarating experience - but he supposed that the guy did drive faster than Jinyoung, who was frustratingly careful. He just wished he had a friend that actually drove normally.

"So, you excited?" Jackson asked, glancing at him in the mirror as they pulled away.

"Hell yeah," he grinned, "everyone except me has seen Jaebum perform and no one will tell me anything!" Jinyoung laughed before he responded.

"It's to peak your interest."

"Well it's peaked alright, I just want to see him right now!" Jackson winked at him through the mirror.

"Aw look, our boy knows what he wants," he teased and Yugyeom gaped, flustered but his protests were swiftly talked over so he quieted down and sat back, listening to the others' conversation.

He didn't even realise he'd fallen asleep until he found himself being shaken awake by Jinyoung.

"Hey, we're here," Jinyoung intoned, backing away to let Yugyeom out and ushering him to the entrance with a hand lightly on the small of his back. Yugyeom gazed up at the venue as he blinked sleep out of his eyes. It was huge, an imposing building, much larger than he'd expected and he couldn't even dream what the inside must be like. It seemed to be an actual theatre of some sort - he hadn't really been paying attention to any of the details in his excitement and didn't even know how many acts to expect.

He allowed Jinyoung and Jackson to lead the way, gratefully accepting the programme slid into his hands as they made their way out into the auditorium. The room was strange, with tiered seating curved around what seemed to be an excessively wide oval stage. He'd never seen anything like it. It was amazing. Thankfully, Jinyoung seemed to know exactly where they were supposed to be sitting and got them there with minimal fuss, forcing Yugyeom to sit in the middle.

The seats filled fast and Yugyeom preoccupied himself with gazing up at the high ceiling and the seats all around him before finally turning his attention to the programme. He gasped when he opened it; the inside cover and the first page were taken up by a two page spread of Jaebum, dressed in tight fitting clothes, seemingly throwing a slim woman into the air towards another man with arms outstretched to catch her. He turned past it quickly, trying not to let his gaze linger too long on a certain figure. The programme listed a varied mix of acts each with a brief explanation and a list of names. There was also a multitude of pictures but he slammed the thing closed when came across one of Jaebum with mussed hair smiling coyly at the camera from behind what looked like a red curtain. Jinyoung gazed at him curiously, forcing him to reopen the programme and smirking evilly when he caught sight of the image

"I think you're gonna enjoy his silks performance, he murmured, Jackson agreeing a step behind, "I think you'll like it a lot."

"Silks?"

"They're, like, strips of suspended fabric, it's kind of his thing." Jackson replied, grinning just as wickedly and Yugyeom suddenly wished he had someone with him to keep these two in check. No such luck. "He's amazing." 

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Yugyeom muttered, suddenly worried that he might somehow embarrass himself in front of the two people who would never let him live it down. But, thankfully, neither of them noticed; the show was about to begin.

~

The first person to step on stage looked so small stood in the centre of such a vast expanse but Yugyeom was sure she was probably taller than him, even without her top hat. She gave an exaggerated bow before addressing the audience, her amplified voice carrying pleasingly through the room.

"Good evening, ladies, gentlemen and everyone in between. We have a packed night of acts both circus, burlesque and a blend of the two, I hope you will all find something that suits your taste." Her voice dropped an octave at the end, twisting low and seductive as the lights suddenly dimmed. She was lit up in a pool of light, surrounded by darkness. She dipped into another sweeping bow before turning on her heels, sliding out of her tuxedo as she went and dropping it daintily to the floor behind her just before she disappeared.

Moments later a hand darted into the light and snatched up the tux to much laughter before retreating. And then a shorter woman made her way out into the light, wearing the tux which was far too big on her and mismatched with her sweeping pale blue evening gown. She sashayed to the centre of the light and the music started. Slow and seductive, matched by the movements of her hands as she slid them over the dark material of the tux. She turned her back on the audience, shimmying the tux of her shoulders revealing that her dress was strapless, all eyes drawn to the tan skin of her exposed shoulders. Spinning back around, she shrugged out of the jacket until she had it pinched between the thumb and forefinger of one hand. She brought it to her chest, pressed her face into it as if sniffing it and then it was cast into the darkness shortly followed by each of her gloves in turn, to much cheering.

He glanced at Jackson, receiving a knowing smirk in response and turned back to see that the woman was in the process of undoing the back of her dress. She caught it just before it fell, the lights coming up as she winked and let it drop. She stood proud in lingerie, heels and a corset whilst, a few metres behind her, the owner of the tux stood waiting, one arm extended. The stage around them was flooded with people, bright costumes catching Yugyeom's eyes as he gazed around a little overwhelmed. The two woman met, embraced and then walked off together, the brighter costumed folk filtering off along with them and leaving behind a neverthriving of jugglers dressed like old fashioned pierrot clowns. Yugyeom was just pleased that they'd left out the characteristic make up - somehow pierrots disturbed him more than regular clowns, with their often morose expressions. But these jugglers were amazing and he soon lost himself in their act.

One performance blended into another - the transitions were seamless - and then, suddenly, a familiar form moved onto the stage. Jaebum. His hair was slicked back and he wore only metallic trousers so tight Yugyeom felt like they should be illegal. Severe makeup altered his face and expression, but Yugyeom wasn't fooled, it was Jaebum alright. Although, he'd never realised how incredibly, unbelievably ripped the guys was. It was lean muscle, but he was still just so built. He couldn't stop himself, he gaped. Those abs were divine and the definition of his arms and shoulders just seemed unreal. Yugyeom realised that he had, for some awful reason, never been gifted with the opportunity to see Jaebum with his shirt off. Until now.

"Ayyy," Jackson leaned in close, "doesn't he look good?" He jostled Yugyeom and he nodded awkwardly, his words sticking in his throat. Jaebum looked more than just good. He stalked across the stage, feline in his movements, impeccable balance as he leaned dangerously over the edge of the stage. One by one, he was joined by men and women in similar costumes (the women had tight tops but their trousers were the same) with uniform makeup, until he blended into the crowd. The group came together and split off into pairs and triplets, all moving with the music. Yugyeom gasped out loud as people were thrown across the stage and towers were built terrifyingly high out of people alone. He couldn't keep track of any one person but that was the aim. It was gorgeous.

He didn't even realise that it was the interval until Jinyoung jabbed him in the side. He jolted.

"You zoned out, kid," Jinyoung said, standing and then pulling his friends up after him. "Come on let's sneak out to see Jaebum, he has a break so he said he'd put on clothes and meet us at the bar." Yugyeom followed dutifully, Jackson on his heels. Jinyoung led the way out and quickly located the bar. "I'll buy." He said but another voice chimed in.

"No I'll buy." Yugyeom whirled to see Jaebum standing behind him, still in full costume, make up even crazier up close, just with an oversized hoodie and a pair of jeans on over the top making him stand out even more amongst such a dapper crowd. His eyes ran over Yugyeom before he broke out into a wide smile.

"You came!" He gushed, crushing the younger in a bear hug. "And dayum you clean up good."

"Well," Jinyoung interjected but Jaebum brushed him off.

"So, pick your poisons before I have to sneak backstage again folks." They chose quickly even though they wanted to maximise their time in their friend's presence. "The second half is even better." Jaebum whispered, leaning in close to Yugyeom and he could smell the sweat. Before he could respond, Jaebum slipped away, halted only by Jackson smacking his , hard and then feigning total innocence. Jaebum just stifled a laugh and made himself scarce. Yugyeom was certain he definitely wasn't supposed to come out front like this.

~

Soon enough, it was time to go back. Once again, the acts blurred into one for Yugyeom, dancers, , acrobats, all feeding into each other as their performances overlapped. It was incredibly skilful and he had to wonder who on earth had devised this programme. No wonder Jaebum had spent all his time waxing lyrical about this. it really was a work of art, and yet, he hadn't even seen the man himself. Not the solo piece he was waiting for. He looked on as two men and two women performed as a strange quartet on two trapezes, constantly switching partners, runs of moves so long it made his head spin and then, just as the last woman skipped off stage with a cheeky wink, the lights went down. A quite susurration rose in counterpoint to the lights dimming. What was coming next? He found himself leaning forwards in anticipation, pulse already racing.

Rose lighting illuminated what seemed to be the largest piece of fabric he had ever seen suspended from the ceiling as soft music slowly built. So these must be the silks. Did that mean... Jaebum? The pile of fabric at the bottom twitched and his eyes snapped to the movement. It twitched again, shifted and a hand and a foot appeared at opposite ends, waved cheekily, drawing a laugh and then retreated. More movement and then a head peered out from between what he now saw to be two separate pieces of fabric. The dark hair was mussed, the eyeliner thick and the lipstick dark maroon - almost the colour of his cummerbund - but it was clearly Jaebum. He looked around the auditorium in surprise, waved shyly with a black clad arm and then his expression morphed into a coy little grin and Yugyeom knew he was ed. Well and truly. Someone slapped his thigh appreciatively, but he was far too focused on the stage to look or even react. Jaebum's cheeks were highlighted with glitter as were his eyebrows and the effect was mesmerising. Jaebum's head disappeared, and his legs appeared on the other side, stepping delicately through air before withdrawing. The man drew the silks together, hugging them to his chest and showing off two arms encased in black material that appeared to be hooked over each middle finger. Yugyeom got a perfect view of his shoulders and how they tapered to his waist as Jaebum writhed, clutching the red material closer still, arching backwards.

And then Jaebum stood up. 

Yugyeom's breath caught in his throat as Jaebum finally revealed himself, his legs weren't actually bare, hugged by footless tights well matched to his skin but that all paled in comparison to the dark fabric of the leotard stretched across his arms and torso as he dipped into another back bend, letting the silks go. Yugyeom could barely think, let alone breathe. sheer panels wrapping around the torso gifted him unfair glimpses of well-developed abs and, was that lace hugging Jaebum's ? Coiled black roses with silver highlights that shone under the bright lights spread across his friend's chest and shoulders.

The man on stage stretched up then moved effortlessly into a high jump, legs splitting wide. He landed, collapsed on the stage and Yugyeom gasped, but then that dark haired head flicked up with a satisfied grin and he arched on his hands and knees, then rolled back to the silks which seemed to have lifted higher - attached to a winch mechanism - so that the ends now just brushed the stage. Large hands gripped them and Jaebum climbed upside down like a monkey, that cheeky grin in place the whole time. He climbed with the music, pausing when it paused, changing to a different climb halfway up, and then he was hooking a leg round the material of the silks and, in a graceful flurry of movement they were wrapped over his hips and around his waist. The contrast of the red silks against the black of his leotard was perfect.

Yugyeom forgot to breathe when Jaebum, who'd been feigning sleep so high up above them, suddenly started, flinging himself backwards and arching into a drop that had Yugyeom's stomach lurching. He heard someone behind him scream as Jaebum dropped the length of the silks but they caught him, of course, and the applause was loud as he smirked and slowly unwrapped the red fabric that had tightened around him. The silks dipped lower as he did, depositing him safely on the ground and he hugged the ends, acting as if he was pulling them lower, sinking to his knees and then stretching across the floor. In such a form fighting costume, Yugyeom swore he could see the muscles flexing and stretching and, seeing that, he just wanted to touch.

Jaebum's hands slid up the fabric, hands twining together until the silks were securely wound around one of his wrists under then he was up and running. He bounded on light feet around the edge of the stage and then, the silks drew upwards and Jaebum ran up into the air, twisting his body leisurely through a series of poses as he flew out over the audience so high above. Yugyeom, on the ground, cried out, and someone took his hand. But he wasn't scared, no, he was in awe. So comfortable moving so precariously through the air, clad in black with a tail of red, Jaebum looked like a bird in flight. Free and beautiful. Literally and figuratively, he had never seemed more out of reach.

When Jaebum's feet once more graced the smooth surface of the stage, Yugyeom felt like he could finally breathe once more but the act was far from over. In a series of seemingly random movements, Jaebum tangled himself up in the silks so thoroughly it seemed like he might never get out. He lay back on the floor, arching away as the silks rose and lifted him up by his hips. his fingertips trailed along the floor and he was airborne once more. Yugyeom was so sure he was winding up to another death defying drop. And he was right.

Suddenly, even as the silks pulled upwards, Jaebum was tumbling back down in a whirl of limbs as chaotic as it was entrancing. Again, he stopped short of the floor but the silks kept rising and Jaebum climbed them again, inverting and posing all the while. He split the two halves of the silks apart and wrapped a foot in each side before sinking into a deep split that had Yugyeom's eyes watering, and his pulse racing. He would never have known how flexible Jaebum was if not for this show and he was incredibly pleased with the knowledge. And then he took his hands off and balanced, held up by just the simple wraps on his feet, so high, no crashmat to save him.

Yugyeom's heart skipped a beat and he gripped whoever's hand was in his so hard it elicited a low groan and then Jaebum's hands were back on the silks and he was twisting himself into more gorgeous contortions, his cheeky grin ever present. It had only been absent during that split, that insane balancing act.

Perhaps it was because it was Jaebum, but Yugyeom found this particular act far more involving, far more daring than all the others before it. And he wanted to beat Jaebum into a pulp for making him worry so much, but he swallowed it all down as he tilted his head back once more to the figure above who was somehow maintaining the conflicting duality of innocence and allure. The lines of every pose drew the eyes along his entire body and Yugyeom could feel that the performance was reaching its . Jaebum paused, one hand reaching to the taut length of material above him, the other had the tail tight in its grasp, the majority of the silks wrapped over his waist and shoulders. He split his legs, crooked them, straightened them once more. Then, he tilted his head back, eyes lazily falling half closed and the hand above him let go. He fell forwards, then backwards, then rotated sideways before falling forewords again, looking almost like a rag doll as the silks pulled on him and turned him through the air. Drop complete, the silks wound lower once more and his friend sank into the floor with a lackadaisical grin spreading across his lips, and lay still.

"." Yugyeom exclaimed under his breath and was immediately kicked by Jinyoung. " me!" He barely even registered the rest of the show going by, the final acts little more than blurs of colour and movement and revealed skin. Tease. But his mind was all on Jaebum, the way he looked stretched out so high up, the curve of his back, the way the silks pulled tight around his waist or across his shoulders. That stupid sparkly and sheer leotard that made Yugyeom want to drool. And the gorgeously sated look on his face as he basked in applause after his piece was done, how he'd hung limp in the arms of the acrobats that carried him off stage as part of their act, black against pale blue.

He clapped automatically, when those around him did but his mind was well and truly elsewhere. He sat stiffly, thoughts whirling and all centered around a certain man with unfairly tight clothes and insane talent. Yugyeom only really came back to himself during the finale when the entire cast of the show gathered together on the stage, various groups stepping forward and bowing before melting back into the crowd as another group made their way to the front.

He clapped so hard his hands hurt. He hadn't known what to expect and, frankly, he'd been blown away by the entire thing. He'd seen people twist their bodies in ways that didn't seem possibly. He'd seen sultry singers paired with daring acrobats, a act high above him whilst tumblers made the stage their own below. Clowns, dancers, even a knife thrower. He was so glad he'd come. In fact, he wanted to come back again. It was so good, he felt he could watch the entire programme over and over and never tire. He shouted his approval in whooping cries alongside Jackson and Jinyoung.

The show had been exhilarating through and through, every aspect thrilling, enticing, holding his attention like nothing else. He watched as Jaebum stepped up to bow alone, still in that infernal leotard. Yugyeom watched fondly as the older man giggled like a small child and waved to the audience as he stepped back into the huddle of performers after taking his bow. His heart warmed at the sight of Jaebum's excited bouncing as he made his way forward, distinctly unprofessional. In fact, Yugyeom realised, as he took yet another elbow to the ribs from Jackson, it wasn't just warmth or fondness he was feeling. Not just pride either. No, finally, he could see it. He didn't just like Jaebum and want to spend time with him. He almost laughed as he watched Jaebum walking up again, this time surrounded by all the other performers.

He was freaking in love with him.

It just made him cheer harder.

​Hi lovelies, what did you think?

I actually learnt aerial silks for roughly four years but I kept all the technical language out of this one lol. The circus is honestly where I'm meant to be haha ~

I hope you enjoyed this and perhaps learnt something new ^.^ ​

Oh, and there will be a sequel to this with a) & b) stripping hehe ~

p.s. if you're really nice to me, i might even link to the only performance i ever did ;P but don't get your hopes up - it's not the best >.<