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AM never considered himself the social type. There'd been a time where he had at least tried to be more friendly but that was in the past now. The only people he ever spoke to were a couple of friends he knew from back when he still worked in an office setting, and that was more than enough for him. Honestly, even those two proved to be a bit much sometimes.
This was exactly why the presence of his new neighbor- a chipper young man with curly red hair with a mouth too big for his own good- bothered him so much. It wouldn't have been a big deal if the guy would just mind his own business, but of course he seemed incapable of that. Every morning at 9:30 like clockwork he'd be on his doorstep, rambling on about some nonsense usually pertaining to his work as a ringmaster at the local circus and gifting AM a variety of handmade items.
It was almost endearing. Almost.
There was a knock at his door. AM pinched the bridge of his nose. He considered just ignoring him but that had never really worked before. He was nothing if not persistent.
Sighing, he stood up from his place on the couch and answered the door.
“AM! How are you today, my delightful dollop?” The smaller man beamed, his mismatched eyes twinkling as he lifted a box to AM with his one free hand, his other one gripping his cane. “Made you somethin’!”
“I'm fine, Caine,” AM grumbled, reluctantly taking the small box from Caine's hands. Caine bounced on his tiptoes as he waited expectantly. With a roll of his eyes, AM opened the box. Inside was a little doll obviously painted to look like AM. He tilted his head. “What is this, some kind of voodoo doll?”
Caine laughed. “No, you silly sugarcube! Just a regular doll. I made one for all of my friends!”
“... And did your ‘friends’ enjoy them?”
Caine faltered for a moment, dropping his heels back to the ground. “Well, um… I'm sure they did! They just, uh- left in a hurry, y'know?”
AM hummed. “Is that all?”
“Y-yeah. That's all.”
“Goodnight, Caine.”
“Good-!”
AM didn't let Caine finish before shutting the door in his face. He looked down at the doll. It was almost cute, in a twisted, uncanny way. He shrugged and placed the doll back in its box before adding it to the ever-growing pile of presents from Caine that was building up in his closet. He may not like the guy but it felt cruel to just throw the things away. After all, they were clearly made with love, whatever that meant.
AM winced at that thought and closed the closet door quickly.
•••
Caine straightened out his red ringmaster's jacket and took a deep breath. Bubble, his beloved pet bird, flapped his wings from his perch on his shoulder.
“How do I look, Bubble?” He grinned into the mirror. Bubble tilted his head and chirped.
“You look like a fa-”
“Bubble!” Caine quickly cut him off. “What did I say about that type of language? The circus is a family friendly place!” He sighed as Bubble bobbed up and down, clearly feeling proud of himself. Caine had bought the little guy from a… less than reputable seller when he was a teen and thus the bird had some little quirks.
“Ah, well. We can work on that later. The show must go on!”
“Circus!”
Caine patted his head and turned on his heel to leave the room and headed to the big tent. He smiled as wide as he possibly could to greet his cast members.
“GOOD MORNING MY DIZZY DALMATIONS!”
There were a couple of groans and Gangle moved to cover her ears.
“Caine! Too loud!” Zooble barked. Caine flinched at their harsh tone. Yes, he was obnoxious, but weren't circuses meant to be loud? He didn't understand, but he could at least do his best to accommodate their request. After all, it hadn't been the first time someone had talked to him about this, he recalled sheepishly.
“Oh- yes! My apologies!” Zooble just shook their head and turned back to adjusting Gangle’s leotard for her.
“I just wanted to make sure you were all prepared for tonight's performance!”
“Yup, all prepared here!” Ragatha gave a thumbs up accompanied by a strained smile. Caine beamed and tried to bounce a little but was quickly stopped by the stabbing pain in his lower left leg.
Ow, ow, ow-
“SplENDID! Well we are on in 30 minutes so Bubble and I will be around if you need anything! Anything at all!” He winced. Kinger rounded the corner suddenly and gripped Caine by his shoulders, causing Bubble to startle and fly away. Caine was also a bit taken aback but he wasn't going to complain. It wasn't everyday someone willingly chose to touch him, after all!
“Caine! Thank God I found you! I can't find my hat anywhere!” Caine's gaze drifted up to Kinger's head and he couldn't help but giggle a little.
“Kinger, it's on your head. Like always.” Kinger's hands quickly left Caine's shoulders and flew up to his head. Caine frowned a bit at the loss of contact but quickly recovered as Kinger squeaked in excitement.
“So it is! Thank you, Caine!” Kinger wandered away, leaving Bubble to settle back on Caine's hat for a world record of about two seconds before Jax came around the corner and nearly knocked him over.
“Whoops, sorry Cainey! Just working on my new super masculine moves.”
“Jax, you're on a unicycle right now.” Zooble smirked.
“Yeah, and?”
“And… doesn't seem that manly to me.” Jax sputtered.
“I- h-hey! Don't say that! Caine, tell them they can't say that!”
“Um…” Caine looked back and forth between the two of them. Oh no! What could he say that would make them both happy?
“Oh don't go whining to bird brains over there!” Zooble shot back.
“Bird brains…?” Caine's gaze flickered to Bubble who was flying in circles above Jax. “What does that mean?” He titled his head at Jax.
“Oh wow! See, I knew you weren't all there but I didn't realize you were stupid as well!” Jax laughed. “Oh, who am I kidding? Stupid is practically written all over that disastrous suit of yours.”
Caine frowned and looked down at his clothes. “What's wrong with my suit?” He spent a lot of time working on his costume and he thought he'd done a pretty good job.
“Oh, stop, Jax! Go pick on someone your own size.” Ragatha shooed him away. “Your suit is fine, Caine.”
“Just fine…?” He looked up at her with uncertainty.
“Ah jeez, Raggy! You're such a people pleaser! Just drop the act already.”
“It's not an act-”
Caine laughed nervously. “Well, it seems like we're almost ready for the show!”
“Something like that…” Pomni grumbled. Jax leaned down and squeezed her red clown nose. “Jax I SWEAR TO GOD-”
“Sorry, PomPom! Just can't take you seriously when you look like… that.”
“ON IN 5!” Bubble suddenly squawked and all of the cast hurried to their positions. Bubble came down to rest on Caine's cane.
“Thank you buddy. I'll get you some extra treats tonight.” Caine whispered to the bird as he smoothed down his coat again.
Out on that stage, he could forget about this. There, only his adoring fans would be cheering him on.
They were waiting for him.
•••
The show went off mostly without a hitch, with only a few issues during Kinger's magic show that could easily be passed off as purposeful for his loopy character. The cast met backstage to compare notes about the performance.
“I have to say, I found that lift you too did pretty impressive!” Ragatha was hanging over Gangle's shoulder, eyes twinkling.
“It took so much practice.” Gangle giggled shyly.
“You know, I think this calls for a celebration! How about next Friday at mine?” Zooble suggested.
“Only if there's alcohol involved.” Jax laughed.
“You would say that, lightweight.” Pomni poked him.
They continued to chatter on as Caine observed. A party? He'd never been invited to a party before. Surely when Zooble said that, they meant everyone was invited! Oh, this was so exciting!
Caine's mind was reeling the whole way home as Bubble blabbered on and on in the passenger seat of his car.
“A party, Bubble! I've got to tell AM!”
Caine practically ran all the way up the stairs with Bubble in tow. He skidded to a stop in front of AM’s door and took a minute to catch his breath before knocking in his own made up pattern. AM answered the door with a groan and rubbed at his eyes.
“What could you possibly want at this hour, Caine?” He mumbled.
“AM! Did I wake you? I'm sorry! I just wanted to tell you something super duper extra exciting!”
“And…?”
“I got invited to a party!”
In less than a second, the sleep was completely gone from AM’s eyes.
“You what?”
“I know, right! I'm so- happy- stoked- thrilled- no, hyped-”
“Hold on a second. Who invited you to a party?”
“Oh? Jealous, AM?”
AM scoffed. “Just answer the question.”
“Why, my circus friends, of course!”
“Your circus friends? Really?”
“Of course!” He hesitated for a moment, his smile falling from his face. “Is that so unbelievable?”
“Did they say you specifically were invited?”
“Well, no- but-”
AM sighed and threw his head back. “You know what? Nevermind. I don't care. Please go away.” Without another word he shut the door in Caine's face. Caine turned to Bubble.
“Well, someone's grumpy!”
“Grumpy!”
“Let's go get you those treats, huh buddy? I don't know about you, but my feet are killing me!” He scritched Bubble’s little chin and walked back to his apartment. AM carefully peaked from behind his curtained window.
What had this kid gotten himself into?
•••
Caine gripped his cane as tightly as possible. His muscles were especially achy today but they didn't need to know that!
He'd been rehearsing what he'd say all week.
He would walk up, knock on the door, and present his gift to Zooble, a friendship bracelet perfectly designed to match his own. They'd love it, he was sure. They'd thank him and let him inside and he'd finally get to hang out with his beloved cast outside of the circus! He was so excited he could hardly contain himself. He'd even bought a new outfit just for the occasion (since apparently his ringmaster suit wasn't all that great…). A white button up, dark blue waistcoat, black slacks, and black dress shoes.
He looked pretty spiffy if he did say so himself!
With that he finally had enough courage gathered to make his way up to the door and knocked with his special pattern. When Zooble answered the door, their head was turned as they laughed at something someone inside had said. They turned their head slowly and their eyes widened as they landed on Caine. Caine wiggled on the spot and pushed his gift into their hands, but they didn't take it.
“Caine?”
“Hi Zooble!” He pushed the small box again.
“What are you doing here?”
“I'm here for your party! Sorry, am I late? I heard it was cool to be ‘fashionably late’.”
“Wh- why are you here?”
“What?” His hand lowered.
“I mean- I didn't invite you-”
What?
“O-oh, I just- I thought-”
“Caine, please. I don't know why you thought it was okay to show up here, but I need you to leave. I can't do this right now.” They rubbed their face.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Did you- yes, Caine! God, you're just- you're too much, okay? Take it down a few notches!”
“Oh…” Caine lowered his gaze to the ground.
“Oh, don't give me that. Please just go.” They gestured for him to leave.
“Okay…” He gently placed his gift box on the ground in front of the door and turned away as tears burned his eyes.
Of course they didn't want him there, how could he be so stupid? They were trying to tell him this whole time that they didn't like him and he just couldn't take the hint. Stupid, stupid boy.
He bit his lip as he got back in his car and rested his head on the steering wheel.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid…” He scratched at his wrist for a moment before popping up and turning the car on. It was a short drive back to his house but it stretched on for what felt like an eternity.
By the time he finally made it back to his apartment building, tears were openly flowing down his face, making it difficult to unlock his door. He dropped his keys and covered his face with his hands.
Across the hall, AM saw the pathetic display and couldn't help but feel bad as Caine struggled to retrieve the keys from the ground, legs clearly working against him. He sighed. Well, he couldn't just leave him alone out there, could he?
He opened his door and Caine's head snapped up to meet his gaze. He quickly stood up straight and frantically wiped at his eyes.
“Oh, AM, didn't expect to see you.” He let out a broken laugh. AM leaned down and picked up the keys for him, placing them in his hand.
“Thank you…” Caine's hands twitched as if he was debating reaching out but AM stepped away before he could make a move.
“Don't mention it…” He mumbled as he retreated back into his apartment, watching from the window to make sure Caine got in safely. Caine turned back around and with a bit of effort managed to let himself into his own apartment.
It was dark inside, but he didn't bother to turn on the light, only shutting the door firmly and locking it. Bubble cried out to be let out of his cage but Caine couldn't even think about that right now. All he could think about was his collection of blades strewn across his bathroom sink. He felt no need to hide them. After all, who would want to come over here? Clearly nobody liked him.
Well… AM had been nice just then. But had he done it because he cared or just because he pitied Caine? It had to have been a pretty depressing sight.
He sighed and pushed open the bathroom door to grab one of the blades. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and quickly threw a towel over it so he wouldn't have to see his face again. That was the last thing he needed right now.
He sat down on the floor and ripped his waistcoat off of his body, pushing up the sleeves of his button up to reveal two wrists covered in a myriad of scars. His right one was a mess of jagged lines while his left was much more orderly, each scar planned out perfectly. He deliberated for a moment before placing the blade in his left hand. He didn't want to be organized right now.
A sob broke its way out of his throat as he pressed down into his skin for the first time in two weeks. It was perhaps his longest clean streak to date and here he was, ruining it like he ruined everything. He deserved this.
His cries grew louder as his cuts became more messy, blood pooling up and falling down the length of his arm. Only when it was covered in fresh cuts from top to bottom did he decide it was enough.
He wasn't sure how long he sat there on the floor, but it was long enough for the blood to dry and scabs to begin forming. By the time he pulled himself up his legs had dissolved into a mess of static. He somehow managed to stumble into bed and cried himself to sleep.
He couldn't go to work on Monday.
He was a failure.
•••
As much as AM hated to say it, he has developed something of a soft spot for the small man who lived across the hall from him. When he saw the poor thing crying his heart out in front of his door, it made something inside of him shift.
He'd never cared about someone like this before. He usually didn't even notice what his neighbors were up to, but this guy was special somehow. He'd caught his eye.
Since that incident on Friday night, he'd been watching Caine's door extra carefully. His work had been long neglected as he sat glued to the window. It had been days and yet there was no movement from the apartment across the hall. He hadn't even left to go to work, which must have meant that party had seriously screwed him up.
AM winced. He saw this coming. When Caine had shown up at his door with that smile that could brighten any rainy day, he knew something was off. He knew damn well those performers didn't like him, so why would they invite him to a party? Obviously Caine had misinterpreted something. And misinterpret he did.
AM sat at his kitchen table for a moment, trying to calm his nerves. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull his attention away from the window. He needed to know what was going on over there.
He pushed his chair back and threw his front door open. He crossed the hall in two long strides and knocked firmly on the door.
No answer.
“Caine, open up! It's me!”
He knocked again.
“Please?”
Eventually he heard the telltale sign of a lock being undone and was met with two watery eyes, one green and one blue. Caine was in worse shape than he thought, his hair plastered onto his head with sweat and a sweater barely hanging off his frame. He was gripping the door so tightly AM thought he might keel over if he let go.
And those eyes. They made him shudder.
“AM?” Caine attempted a smile but it fell flat.
“Hey, Caine. Can I come in?”
Caine hesitated for a moment before the fog in his eyes seemed to clear and he opened the door wide.
“Of course! Um, sorry for the mess.” He scratched at his neck.
“It's no trouble. You should see mine.” Caine gave a soft smile as AM looked around. It wasn't too bad, honestly. Just a lot of random craft supplies everywhere and miscellaneous dishes. Caine stepped into the kitchen.
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“Oh, just water is fine.”
Caine nodded and grabbed two glasses, filling them up with filtered water and dropping a couple of ice cubes into each one. He handed one to AM and then started limping over to the couch.
“Here, let me help you.” AM hooked his arm under Caine's and shifted his weight over. Caine looked up at him with such a sad look that AM thought he might burst into tears right there.
Curse this wretched man, making him feel lovey dovey things.
Eventually the two settled down on the couch, glasses of water in hand.
“How have you been, Caine?”
Caine hummed. “Okay, I guess.”
“You looked pretty upset on Friday. What happened?”
Caine clenched his teeth and said nothing for a long moment.
“Caine?”
“It's nothing- nothing important. Just had a bad day is all.” He sipped his water. AM figured he probably wasn't going to get anything more out of him on that subject, so he switched gears.
“I, uh… I really liked those bracelets you made me. Do you remember that?”
Caine's face lit up. “You did?”
AM nodded and pushed up his sleeve to show two bracelets, one labeled ‘AM’, and one ‘best neighbor award’ with smiley face beads. Caine squealed and pulled his arm closer, before stopping suddenly and letting go.
“Oh, s-sorry I shouldn't touch you.”
“No, it's okay. You can if you want.”
Caine beamed again and pulled AM’s wrist up to his face. He frowned.
“Are you just doing this because you feel bad for me?”
AM sighed. “No, Caine. I'm doing this because for some ungodly reason I actually like you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
The two continued talking, notably avoiding the topic of whatever happened Friday night. At some point, Caine had gathered some art supplies and busied himself drawing bumblebees.
“Could I use your bathroom, Caine?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah. First door on the left.” Caine said without looking up. AM stood up and walked to the bathroom before Caine realized his mistake.
“Wait, AM-!”
It was too late. AM was standing in the doorway, gaze poring over the absolute disaster it was in there.
The counter was littered with a variety of blades, some clearly used. There was a towel haphazardly thrown over the mirror and in the sink there was a folded piece of paper with a bag full of miscellaneous pills AM couldn't identify. He reached for the paper as Caine scrambled off the couch and latched onto his sleeve.
“Please, AM, I can explain-”
AM opened the note and read through it.
“What the hell is this, Caine?! ‘I'm sorry for being a bother’, ‘I’ll try not to make a mess’, ‘I deserve this’? Were you going to- to- I can't even-”
Caine burst into tears. “‘M sorry, sorry…”
AM spun around to face Caine.
“Show me.”
“What?”
“You cut yourself, didn't you? Where did you do it? Show me!”
Caine sucked in a breath and rolled up his sleeves. AM took his arms in his own and shook his head in disbelief.
“You didn't even take care of them?”
Caine ripped his arms back.
“Why do you care? This is what I deserve!”
“Caine, no-”
“I'm such a failure, everything would be better if I was gone.”
“Caine…”
“Nobody likes me anyway. There's something really wrong-”
“CAINE!”
Caine stopped his rambling as AM cupped his face. Their eyes met each other as tears started to fall down AM's cheeks.
“Sorry…”
“Stop apologizing. You didn't do anything wrong.”
“But I made you cry- I-”
AM just pulled him into his chest, arms wrapping around him protectively. Caine trembled in his grasp.
“Okay… it's gonna be okay.” AM pulled away and gathered the blades and bag of pills in his arms.
“No, wait-”
“Please, Caine. I'm taking these away.”
“You can't, I need them!”
“I'm not going to let you just kill yourself.”
Caine closed his mouth and nodded as AM walked away and threw the items into a random grocery bag Caine had left on his table.
“Come and stay at my place tonight, okay?”
“Okay.”
AM hooked an arm underneath Caine's for the second time that day and led him out.
“But my stuff-”
“We'll get it later.”
“Okay…”
•••
It had taken some convincing, but eventually AM had gotten Caine to go back to work, more out of worry for his finances than anything else. After a while Caine seemed relatively stable again, so he went back to sleeping in his own apartment with AM visiting everyday. For a while he thought everything might be okay.
Too bad good things never last.
“Caine?” He pounded on the door. “Caine if you don't answer I'm letting myself in!”
There was no sound from behind the door. AM took a deep breath and pulled out the spare key he had convinced Caine to give him. The door came open with a bit of jiggling.
“Caine?”
Still nothing. Nausea was starting to creep up on AM as he walked through the apartment, eventually finding the small man huddled on the floor of his bedroom. Bubble was hovering nearby, not quite landing anywhere. His sleeves were pulled down, but they were covered in a sickening red color.
“Give me the blade.”
Caine reluctantly handed over a small blade, likely pulled from a pencil sharpener. He was getting creative, which was bad news for AM. It meant he needed to keep an even closer eye on Caine, and he didn't know if he could manage that in their current arrangement.
“What happened, honey?”
“Jax- he- I was just-”
“Hey, hey! Take a breath with me.”
Caine matched the rise and fall of AM's chest.
“He said… he thought my ideas were stupid and the old ringmaster- the one before me- he did a better job. A-and nobody disagreed so it must be true!”
“Don't listen to that jackass. He's just trying to upset you.”
“Well he's doing a good job!”
AM winced. “Yeah, sorry…”
They sat in silence for a moment before Caine spoke up again.
“AM? What's wrong with me?”
AM paused for a moment. “There's nothing wrong with you. They just aren't trying hard enough to see you for who you are.”
“But everyone in my life is the same! Everyone, but… well everyone but you. They all think I'm too overbearing and I try to be more relaxed but I can't help it!”
AM embraced him. “You don't need to change yourself for them. You're enough the way you are. I promise.” The two men pulled apart.
“Pinky?” Caine sniffled, holding out a pinky to AM. AM smiled and took it gently.
“Pinky promise.” He held Caine's gaze until a strange warm feeling made itself known in his chest. He pulled away suddenly, face flushed.
“Uhm… c'mon let's get you cleaned up, okay?” He stood and offered a hand to Caine, which he took gratefully. He winced as he got his legs under him. He tried to take a step before stumbling. AM caught him and hummed, before scooping him up and carrying him to the bathroom. Caine squealed and kicked in delight.
“You're so strong, AM.”
“You're just small, bee.”
“Bee?”
“Oh- sorry, is that not okay? It's just you were fine with honey and I thought -” AM rambled.
“I like it.” He pulled AM's face close and pressed a small kiss to his chin. For a moment AM thought he might explode right then and there. He carefully placed Caine down on the counter, avoiding eye contact. Caine giggled again. “You're so flustered!”
“Don't tease me.” He slapped Caine's hands away playfully and pulled out the medical supplies he made sure to stash under Caine's sink. Caine's demeanor shifted immediately as he pushed up a sleeve to reveal a dozen or so bleeding wounds. AM worked carefully so that Caine would be in as little pain as possible.
“Thanks for taking care of me…” Caine mumbled. AM smiled down at him.
“I like taking care of you.”
Caine hummed.
“I don't wanna go to work tomorrow…”
“That's okay. I've got to run a couple errands tomorrow so why don't you hang out in my apartment? Bring Bubble.”
“Are you sure you want Bubble in your place?”
“Don't make me regret this.” He laughed, helping Caine down from the counter. “You know that bird drives me crazy.”
“He's just a babyyy…”
“Mhm…”
•••
AM tried to tell himself not to get involved with Caine's work life, but it was getting harder day by day. When he found Caine curled up on his bathroom floor last night, he knew he couldn't hold back anymore. Someone had to go knock some sense into those assholes, and it had been a while since he got to yell at someone.
He walked up to the building and let himself in. An old man wearing a way-too-large hat was sitting in the entry.
“Oh, hello!” He waved.
“Are you Jax?” AM narrowed his eyes.
“Oh, no. Jax is out on the floor.”
“Thanks…”
The man seemed to lose focus and then screamed.
“You scared me!”
“I've… just been standing here.”
“Menacingly.” He pointed. AM brushed him off and headed into the main room, where lo and behold a variety of performers were practicing.
“Which one of you is Jax?” He shouted. The performers stopped what they were doing.
“Who the hell are you?” A tall man holding some kind of hoop shouted back.
“Which one of you is Jax?” AM repeated, more firmly this time.
“Uh… I am.” The man replied. AM stepped towards him.
“Great, so maybe you can explain what the fuck that was yesterday?”
“Dude, what the hell are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I'm talking about. What gives you the right to treat other people like shit?”
“Ohhh, is this about Caine? What are you, his guard dog?”
“Do you want to find out?”
Jax raised his hands in surrender. “Hey, I didn't say anything that wasn't true. He's genuinely not good at this.”
“So what, that means you get to be a dick to him?” AM took a step back and looked around the room. “And all of you can just stand by while it's happening? Do none of you have even a shred of empathy?”
The three women in the room seem to wear various guilty expressions, but the taller acrobat and Jax were harder to move.
“I can't believe I'm siding with Jax of all people right now, but he has a point! Caine is just so… ugh! Are you seriously going to tell me you don't find him at least a little overwhelming?” The acrobat placed their hands on their hips.
AM tensed as a wave of guilt hit him. “Okay, yeah, at first I didn't like him that much, but that was before I actually got to know him! When you actually talk to him he's wonderful! Thoughtful, kind, sensitive…” AM shook his head. “I'm getting off track. What I mean is you need to give him an actual fighting chance before just giving up on him!”
“Oh so just ‘cause you have the hots for chatterbox means I gotta start playing nice or somethin’?” Jax smirked. “Fat chance.” AM reared back to smack that stupid look off his face before he was stopped by the old man from before.
“WaaAAiTTT!”
AM lowered his arms.
“What?”
“Huh?”
“Uh- what?”
“Sorry, Kinger's a little crazy.” A woman with red curls that reminded him of Caine stepped in and pulled Kinger to the side. “But, uh- I think his heart was in the right place. You're right… we have been unnecessarily cruel to Caine.”
The clown girl stepped forward too and nodded along, gently pulling along the smaller acrobat.
“Oh come on! You guys are a bunch of-” This time Kinger wasn't fast enough to get between them and AM landed a punch squarely on Jax's jaw, sending him tumbling to the ground. The red headed woman stepped in now, raising her hands in surrender.
“Okay, okay! You made your point! Jax is an asshole, yes, but he's not worth your time, honestly.”
“Hm, not like getting beaten up has ever stopped him before.” The taller acrobat mused.
“S-shut up!” Jax barked. They only laughed.
The small clown girl came up to AM’s side and held out a hand. “Truce…?” AM murmured something before taking her hand. “AM. And you are?”
“Pomni.”
•••
“Hey, Caine! Wait up!” Pomni jogged to catch up to her ringmaster. “I- um. I wanted to say sorry. For everything.”
“Did… did AM put you up to this? I didn't want him to say anything -”
“No, no! He was right. We were shitty to you. Well, mostly Jax and Zooble, but it will take a long time to get an apology from either of them.” She laughed nervously. Caine shifted his weight to his cane as he eyed her. “For the record, you're actually not too bad of a ringmaster. Honesty, we've had worse. Wayyy worse…”
Caine mustered up a small smile.
“I appreciate it, Pomni.”
“Say, why don't you join us later? A few of us were just going to get dinner and stuff, it'll be super chill.”
“I dunno…”
Pomni took his hand.
“I mean it, okay? I want you there.”
Caine blinked back the tears in his eyes.
“Okay.”
“Okay! I'll send you a message on where we decide to go!” With that, she ran back to the floor, leaving Caine shocked.
“That went better than expected.” Caine jumped and twirled to see AM standing there.
“AM! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” He giggled. “You didn't have to do all this, y'know…”
“I know. I wanted to.”
“Why?”
“Because, Caine- I like you. Like a lot.” Caine blushed.
“Like-”
AM leaned over and pressed a quick kiss onto the ringmaster's lips.
“AM…”
“You don't… have to say anything.”
“I like you too.”
AM’s eyes snapped to meet Caine's.
“Really?”
“Really.”