That’s how, nearly an hour later, five boys found themselves inside a small tent outside the main tent—dressed…well, dressed.
Chang Wufei leaned against a tall chest, scowling. Heero Yuy was bending into a mirror, touching up his make-up. Trowa and Quatre stood at another mirror while Trowa piled huge amounts of greasy stuff over Quatre’s face. Duo Maxwell was pulling at the flashy tight spandex.
"You know, I must really love you to let you be doing this," Quatre said softly. His reply was a huge powder puff to the face—which left him coughing.
"Oiya, oiya. This is just wrong," Duo complained, pulling again at the neon pink and silver tights with gold lining. "I mean, if it wasn’t bad enough that these colors are so *off* for me… now I’m beginning to dress like Heero! Man! These things are so *tight*! How the hell you manage to hide stuff in pants this tight!" He stretched his legs spread-eagle and tried to… readjust himself.
"Are you wearing a strap?" Trowa asked casually.
"Strap?" Duo looked up at him—the position his body was contorted in was effective in bringing a smile to even stoic Trowa’s lips.
He quickly turned back to his administrations to Quatre’s face. "Yes a strap."
"What strap? Where strap? You mean there’s more to this get-up?" He was rewarded with a white piece of cloth tossed in his face.
"It goes on under the tights, Duo," Heero told him after watching the boy turn the strap every which way.
"Remember to keep your hands powdered on the bars," Trowa told them. "The net will be up, so it will catch you if you fall—"
"We won’t fall," Heero said calmly.
"Hey! I don’t know ‘bout you, but I ain’t never done nothing like this before," Duo said, pulling up the tight jumpsuit and turning to Wufei so it could me refasten.
"We won’t let you fall," Wufei told him, pressing against his back when the last snap was closed, his hands reaching for Duo’s hips and pulling them back against his own. The tight bodysuits left little to the imagination and Duo nearly melted against the Chinese boy.
"I fell a long time ago," Duo said hoarsely, pressing back against Wufei. He turned in Wufei’s arms, his own coming up to loop around the other boy’s neck as he reached up and pressed his lips against his in an… innocent kiss.
"There’ll be time for that after the show," Trowa said, stepping away from Quatre to admire his handy work. He gave a quick nod before turning to face the others, inspecting.
Duo groaned, "Sure there’s not enough time?" before pulling away from Wufei.
"Positive."
The stood in an uneven circle, facing one another in silence. Heero’s royal blue and purple jumpsuit flashed with emerald sequins, encasing his body from neck to wrist to ankle in a ‘raindrop’ pattern. Wufei’s gold and emerald green jumpsuit held the pattern of raging fire, the silver sequins outlining each flickering flame, stretching from low-neck to bare shoulders, to his knees. Duo’s own flashy neon pink and silver suit held lightening zigzags that ranged from his neck to shoulders to ankles. Quatre’s small body was encased in a frenzy of cotton candied colored polka dots and stripes. His angelic face smeared with white, red, and black paint was framed with rayon blue curly, frizzy hair.
"This is silly, you know," Quatre mumbled. "Duo should be the one playing the clown."
Trowa smiled, leaning over and kissing his love’s shoulder lightly. "The clown is the easiest to play, love. All you have to do is stand there and trust Catherine."
"Hnm. No one else is worried that I’m going to be standing there while a deranged woman throws knives at my body?"
Trowa smiled again and dropped another kiss on top Quatre’s wig-encased head. "They’re daggers, dear, not knives." He looked at the others, arm still draped over Quatre’s shoulders. "Everyone understand what to do?"
There were nods and sounds the affirmative, but Trowa went over the itinerary anyway. "There will be three rings. The animal parade will be first. Dogs, right ring; bears, left ring. Heero will have the horses in the center ring."
Heero nodded. Trowa continued. "Second Act, left and right ring, clowns, center ring elephants. The children will be there with you," he said directly to Quatre. "Just follow their lead and have fun. Catherine will be in the center ring with the elephants, but don’t get distracted."
"Got it," Quatre replied nervously.
"Third Act, acrobats, all rings. The children will be helping out, too," he told the three boys facing him. "So we should cover all three rings without a problem. Fourth Act, Cat’s Lair, center ring. That should give you plenty of time to change into your next costume. Catherine and Quatre will go on right after me, giving me a chance to change and join you for the Fifth Act, High wire and trapeze."
They were all looking at him, nodding. "Any questions?"
"What am I supposed to do the third act?" Quatre asked earnestly, looking up into his love’s face.
"You’ll join the children in the stands, passing out balloons and goodies," Trowa told him softly.
"I have a question," Duo piped up, manic grin in place as he leaned up to Wufei, Heero’s hand wrapped in the end of his long braid. "How much do we get paid?"
They stared at him stunned; Even Wufei and Heero. It was a voice from behind that answered.
"A quarter of the proceeds of tonight’s show," Catherine said coming up behind him. She was dressed in a flashy navy blue tutu, her hair pulled back with feathery barrettes.
Duo tilted his head and studied her. "Is that normal?"
"No, but you’re not normal players, either," she answered in a gruff manner. "You’re playing at least two parts each and this isn’t even your responsibility. Why?"
"Oh, I was just curious in case I decide I want to join the circus one day!" he said, sending her a wink and manic smile. "Oh, and don’t worry about the money," he called as he passed out the opening heading towards the main tent. "We’re paying *you* tonight!"
Five people stared after him. Wufei and Heero were the first to recover, look passing between the two as their lips twitched in would-be-smiles.
"C’mon," Catherine said, snapping out of it. "It’s almost show time." And then she followed Duo’s tracks out of the tent, not waiting for the other four to fall in behind her.
* * *
"Ladies and Gentlemen and Children of All Ages!" The ringmaster’s voice boomed out over the speakers placed around the big tent. The packed crowd cheered and clapped before settling down a bit. "Tonight we have prepared for you a one-time only appearance of some very special people, so we invite you to sit back and enjoy your trip through A Dream Fantasy!"
All the lights went out, plunging the tent into darkness. Suddenly, sparkly flashes of light began to dance about the crowd. Had one looked, they would have discovered the source of this sparkling light to be the large round ‘disco’ ball turning at the top of the tent. Children were giggling; people were ooh-ing and ah-ing as a soft twinkling music began to fill the air. The effect was what one would imagine as fairies flittering by. Colorful sequins and sparkles caught the tiny flashes of light and reflected, as there was movement down below in the rings.
The music deepened to a primordial beat as soft red and green and blue lights began to filter into
the rings… lighting up the "Parade of Animals". As if by magic, all the animals called out to the audience in greeting—thrilling the audience. First in the parade were the elephants led by a young woman in a navy blue tutu, their trunk-noses bleating out a god-awful ruckus that delighted the children. They wore shiny-sequined ‘hats’ that looked like bonnets and cape-like blankets over their backs. Four of the six beasts also had a ‘bracelet’ on one leg.
Next in line were the yapping dogs that ranged in size from a minuscule Chihuahua to a monstrous Great Dane. Each dog—twelve in total—wore an annoying looking ruffled collar with bells or feathers or sequins. They danced around the rings, some running ahead, some falling behind, circling a small boy in a green and blue clown suit.
Two dancing medium-sized brown bears were behind them, bear-waltzing around the tent. A young girl walked calmly behind them in a bright, sunny yellow tutu, smiling and waving to the crowd.
The elephants lead the parade around the ring twice, loosing the dogs to the right-most ring and the two bears to the left-most ring. The lights began to follow the elephants to into a third circle when a troop of ten white or dapple-grey horses galloped into the tent, circling twice—the elephants had made a hasty retreat out of their way—before jumping the foot perimeter of the center ring. They continued their gallop in the center circle, the feathers in their headpieces flying with the momentum. The silver buckles of their harnesses clanking and twinkling.
The music surged and a spot light focused in at another entrance---and in a blur of blue and purple and green, another horse—solid black—bolted from the entrance, it’s rider perched on it’s back---standing.
The crowd went wild with delight, screaming with cheer as the horse jumped into the center ring without breaking the stride of the ten white horses—it’s rider falling from a standing to sitting position as it came full circle to the center of the ring, rearing and then settling. The rider slid off the gelding’s back and raised his arms in salute. The crowd cheered. He bowed before them and then turned back to the eleven horses.
The horses trotted in their circle, changing direction with a moments notice. They circled and they dipped and they bowed before the delighted audience. Their final act was a ‘line dance’ *on* the ring---which looked like it was only a foot wide but was actually three feet wide. The crowd was hollering and applauding like mad as the animals pranced out of the tent.
"Good job," Catherine called out as the young man in the blue-purple-and-green jumpsuit passed her.
Heero shot her a look, nodded, and told her "Thanks" before disappearing with his animals to the back.
Catherine was already on the move, jumping up to the back of the lead elephant and moving them out into the main tent. Heero could hear the ringmaster introducing her.
"Oh, Heero! You was fantastic out there!" a voice he recognized as Quatre’s cried from behind him. "I gotta get out there now. Good luck with the rest of the show!" The cotton-candied-polka-dotted clown disappeared after the elephants; seven children also dressed as clowns swarming around him.
Heero handed over the horses to an older looking man who nodded and congratulated him on a good job, too. Heero didn’t reply, just turned back to the small tent that they’d claimed earlier to change into his next costume. He was just inside the tent when he felt a body press up against his back.
"You, are incredible," a husky voice practically growled in his ear.
"We don’t have time for this, Duo," Heero said—not harshly, really, just tired—as he felt the hardness pushing against his backside.
"Time for what?" Duo purred, pressing his hips into Heero’s well-toned backside.
Heero held back the groan that was ready to fall from his lips and said instead, "You know damn well what."
Duo pulled back, his hands trailing over the smooth spandex-encased body teasingly. "Hey! Can I help it if you turn me on so easily."
"Yes," Heero grounded reaching around his back for the clasps that held the spandex together.
"Hmphf," the braided one replied, slapping Heero’s fingers away and tackling the clasps himself. He peeled the skin-hugging material away from his love’s back, trailing kisses as he went.
"Duo…" he warned hoarsely, trying to tug the suit off quicker—so he could change into the next one.
"Not even a real…" kiss "quick…" tongue laved against salty skin "turn?" teeth nipped gently at well-toned muscles.
"N-no," Heero said, swallowing, ripping the spandex down his shoulders and torso and over his waist and hips.
"Seeing you riding those horses out there…" Duo continued, his voice husky and low, his hands rubbing against Heero’s hips and thighs as he helped push the clingy spandex down his legs. "I got so turned on… all I could think about was *me* riding *you*…" His tongue darted out and laved a wet trail over his hip. Heero did groan then.
"Duo…" he tried again his voice shakier than before.
"Real quick..?" the braided one pleaded. "We’re wasting valuable time by arguing…" He rubbed his hips against the other. Heero’s eyes fluttered shut as another groan tore from his throat. Another thrust of Duo’s little hips, had him kneeling over a trunk for support.
He wasn’t sure exactly how he’d managed it, but Duo was out of his own spandex jumpsuit and thrusting into Heero in less than a minute. Both boys cried out as Duo’s throbbing member tore into Heero’s dry passage, thrusting over and over and over again in a frenzied, pulsating tempo.
The tent flap opened but neither boy noticed, too caught up in their impromptu session of love. It was the body pressing up against Duo’s back and the hand reaching around to take Heero’s throbbing member in a demanding grasp that broke through their haze.
"I should’ve guessed you wouldn’t have been able to resist," Wufei growled in Duo’s ear, his teeth tugging at the sensitive lobe, pulling it into his mouth and sucking it briefly. Duo gave a start, thrusting even faster into Heero. Heero gave a tortured cry as Wufei’s hand pulled at his last restraints.
"Wanton," Wufei growled before sliding around and slipping to his knees between Heero and the trunk.
Quickly, without warning, Wufei swallowed Heero’s length, pulling at it, sucking hard, coaxing the Japanese boy to come. His tongue swirled and teased its head, dipping down as far as he could, teeth grazing its swollen need as his head bobbed up and down repeatedly. His hand reached up and squeezed its sac, his other touching himself through his own spandex suit.
A strangled cry was a warning he didn’t need as he opened his throat and swallowed all that Heero had to offer. Duo was right behind him with his own climax as, with a final thrust of his hips, he came, spilling himself into Heero’s spent body.
Wufei stood up, licking his lips. He pressed against Heero and leaned over and kissed Duo deeply, sharing the salty-sweet taste of Heero’s seed.
"We better hurry," he said, breaking away from the kiss. "I was sent to tell you we have five minutes to get to the tent. That was three minutes ago."
Heero grunted, reaching for the silver and gold spandex jumpsuit that was his next costume.
"Remind me… to come to… to circuses… more often," Duo gasped as Wufei helped him reposition his pink-and-silver jumpsuit.
* * *