Entry for the Last Ship Sailing Competition

Pairing: Katie/Marcus

Prompts:

Circus!AU

(colour) Navy

(word) ricochet

(dialogue) "Well, to be fair, you are pretty reckless."

(word) candlelight

Bonus Prompts:

(colour) yellow

(word) lazy

Entry for Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Task #2: Write about trust between two people and only two people.

Extra Prompt: (colour) red

Also, 1920s!AU. So imagine vintage stuff :)

(2720 Words)

I'll Be There To Catch You

The horizon was glowing in fiery colours as Marcus took a deep breath and entered the red and white circus tent. It was a step into a new chapter of his still young life, and it was one full of hope, hope to finally find a place in this world where he belonged.

Ever since his father had died back in 1916, hit by a ricochet on the battlefield by Verdun, and his mother had ended her life because she couldn't handle the pain of loss, he had been searching for a new home. A place where everybody accepted him for who he was, a place where he might even find something like a family.

A few hours earlier, he had spoken with the director of the circus, a man named Roger Bell. He had been kind enough to listen to Marcus' story, but he'd also been pretty strict. Marcus couldn't remember a single audition during which he'd been tested so thoroughly, but upon seeing the man's approving smile, he'd been more proud than ever before. Bell had made it clear what he would expect from him: hard work, commitment – in these hard times, there was no space for lazy people. The great depression was making it difficult for every circus to stay in black numbers.

Bell seemed to be convinced that Marcus was a good man, and so he'd offered him a chance to see if he liked their program and if he could imagine to work with them.

OoO

Marcus had expected to see a lot of excellent artwork in the show – Bell's circus didn't have the reputation to be the best circus of the country for nothing. Their orchestra was flawless, the acrobatic numbers were breathtaking and the wild animals fascinating. However, Marcus hadn't been prepared for this one thing.

He didn't suspect anything when the lights were dimmed and countless candles were placed around the manege, only a circle in the middle being left empty. A long, navy coloured veil with silver ornaments sewed on it was hanging from the ceiling of the tent, touching the sand.

Moments later, the orchestra started to play, a soft, nearly dreamy melody, and then, the curtain that separated the manege from the backstage area of the tent moved. A young woman, about his age, stepped into the tent, moving slowly and elegantly, turning on the tips of her toes with the music.

For a short moment, Marcus forgot to breathe.

Never had he seen a woman this beautiful. Her slim body was wrapped in a tight, white lace dress with a short skirt; her light brown hair was pinned up in waves, pearl strings holding them in place. Her eyes were wandering around the tent, a captivating smile turning her blood red lips upwards.

When her gaze met his for the fraction of a second, his skin started to prickle.

Her vibrancy, and the way she moved were fascinating, and he couldn't keep his eyes off her as she grabbed the veil, the silver lines on it gleaming in the candlelight as she moved, opening it and waving it lightly before twisting it. Some people in the crowd gasped audibly as she grabbed hold of the veil tightly and climbed a few feet upwards in a swift mode, her legs stretched away from her body. She might have been slim and fragile looking, but she was also incredibly strong and flexible.

Everybody marvelled on the way she worked with the veil; moving slowly and patiently, she bent and turned in the air, held only by the veil wrapped around her arm or leg.

And Marcus stared at her in fascination, a rare smile playing around his lips in the darkness of the auditorium.

OoO

The first time he talked to her was on the next afternoon.

Director Bell was showing him around the grounds, told him everything about the daily routine of the circus family. Upon reaching the paddock of the elephants, Marcus had already been introduced to a lot of his new co-workers and felt more welcome than he would've thought.

He was surprised to see her standing by the elephants, feeding them vegetables. She looked different without her make-up, wearing a plain yellow dress with daisies printed on it, but he found that her smile was even more intriguing. It wasn't for the show, it was just... real, and friendly.

However, what surprised him even more was when the director introduced her as his daughter, Katherine Bell, and told her that she would familiarise him with their elephant number and acrobatics.

As soon as Bell had left, she took his hand and shook it, softly saying: "You can call me Katie! Nice to meet you."

"Oh, the pleasure is mine, Katie."

His smile must have been a tiny bit too smugly, as she eyed him oddly and then responded: "Don't think that I'll let more things pass just because you have a pleasant smile, Flint. If you misbehave and I see it, you'll be gone – the last one who occupied this position was thrown out because of me."

He grinned, gently patting the trunk the female elephant next to them was reaching out to them.

"You're cunning. I like that."

"I'll have an eye on you."

"Oh, I was hoping you'd do that," he winked, then turned his attention towards the elephant. "So, what is the name of this lady?"

OoO

During the first week, he mainly took care of the elephants in between shows, and even though he felt like he could have done more, he tried to do the job he'd been assigned as good as he could. After all, he didn't want to disappoint Katie, or Miss Katherine, how he called her in his head.

She really was a special woman, he thought – she was fierce, self-confident and didn't let anyone tell her what she was supposed to do, and that impressed him. He couldn't remember to have met any woman that was like her – except for his mother, maybe. Before the loss of the love of her life had broken her.

Katie did control his work twice a day, and Marcus felt like he cared way too much about her opinion. Since the death of his parents, he'd been on his own and in that time, he'd learned that everybody just cared about themselves, and that nobody except himself was going to help him. Therefore, he really hadn't cared about what people thought about him. He didn't trust anybody anymore.

But now, it slowly changed, even though he tried not to admit it to himself.

OoO

In his second week, director Bell approached him and asked him to start rehearsing an acrobatic number with Katie, in addition to his role in the elephant number.

To say that he was nervous when he entered the tent to meet her for their first practice session was an understatement.

His heart was racing, and it took him a lot of control to keep his nervousness from showing. Even though she was having an undeniable influence on him, he tried to conceal it. He'd lost everyone he loved in the past, and he was afraid. Afraid of being left again if he committed to someone.

Katie was already there, jumping around on the trampoline he'd seen some of the others carry into the tent that morning. It was the newest trend in circuses all over Europe, and so Mister Bell had invested into this apparatus which promised breathtaking performances that would draw more visitors.

She was sometimes waving her arms when she reached the highest point of her flight, as if she was testing the feeling of the air around her. Her hair, secured in a ponytail, wafted around her head at every bounce, a tiny bit like a lion's mane.

Marcus already wanted to make his presence known to her, when she suddenly somersaulted upon her next ascend. At the highest point, she opened her tuck position and stretched her body, a smile visible on her face showing how much she enjoyed what she was doing. It didn't seem to matter to her that she was risking a lot. In contrary, she seemed to enjoy the adrenaline rush, riding on its high and creating something astonishing out of it.

Katie repeated her tumbling a few times, her motions becoming more fluid with every try, and Marcus watched her, standing in the shadows outside the manege.

It could have gone on like this for hours – Marcus wouldn't have minded to stand there all the time.

But Katie seemed to overdo it at some point. Her bounce was too powerful, she couldn't control the forces when her body came down again to hit the trampoline, and she flew, only horizontal this time. With a loud thud, her body hit the matting that was lying on the floor around the trampoline. More or less elegantly, she rolled off and came to sit on her butt, shaking her head as if she couldn't believe that she had failed.

"I would give your landing a 5.0," Marcus grinned and stepped into the light of the manege. "Your toes weren't pointed and it looked rather half-hearted."

"I am laughing, Flint. Really."

She grimaced at him while she stood up, re-doing her ponytail that had loosened during her training.

"Well, to be fair, you are pretty reckless. But you also are pretty good in what you do."

He earned a crooked smile for his compliment and it made his heart jump.

"Thank you, Flint. And now let me find out if you're just as reckless as me," Katie announced, and for a short moment, Marcus didn't want to know what she had in her mind. Even though he had a lot of experience in acrobatics, he wasn't so keen to do the dangerous stunts. Nonetheless, he would see what she had in mind.

OoO

Marcus took a few deep breaths as he stared upwards, craning his neck a bit to have a full overview over the apparatus.

"You are insane. You want to work on this? As a pair?"

"Father told me you already have experience on the trapeze."

"Yes, but... but this is definitely a lot higher than the one I normally work on. And I am used to working alone!"

She looked at him for a long moment, her green eyes observing every tiny bit of emotional reaction on his face. He felt like she was analysing him, trying to find the answer to every single facet of his behaviour.

"So, you don't trust me?" Katie asked after a moment of silence. "There is a safety net. And we'll start slowly, to get used to each other."

Raising her hand, she stretched it towards him, waiting patiently for him to take it. A small, encouraging smile played around her lips, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he questioned his agenda. He preferred to work alone, trusted hardly, but she had the ability to make him overthink everything.

"One step after the other?" Marcus responded carefully, looking her deeply into the eyes, as if he was searching for a trace of dishonesty. But there was nothing, and hesitatingly, he reached out and took her small hand into his larger one. She smiled softly at him, nodding as she affirmed:"Yes. One step after the other."

OoO

They started on familiar ground, working on their individual skills on the trapeze before proceeding to the partner exercises. Katie gave him all the time he needed to get used to her presence on the apparatus, even though Marcus knew it should have been the other way around. She was the one who needed to be caught by him when she let go of her swing and flew through the air like a bird. It was her who should have needed to built up trust.

But then, she seemed to be fearless, and trusting him already - it scared the hell out of him. And so he always had to take some extra time for himself while preparing to go onto the trapeze.

OoO

The first time she missed his hands and fell, he was convinced that his heart stopped. Even though she landed in the safety net, unharmed and cursing like a sailor, he felt shaky when he stood on the platform again, his left hand curled tightly around the wooden swing, staring down at her as she crawled through the net.

Only in this moment he realised that her trust in him was a heavy weight. She was letting go and performed dangerous maneuvers because she knew that he would be there to catch her. Her reliance on him was making him feel sick and wobbly, even though he didn't show it, hid it behind his unmoving mask of confidence.

Nonetheless, he climbed off the apparatus, causing Katie to exclaim in surprise:"Hey, where are you going?"

"I need a break!" Marcus replied sharply and walked away, feeling her stare drilling into his back as he walked. For the rest of the day, the shock continued to course through his body.

OoO

"You're hiding from me."

Marcus looked up, admiring Katie's looks for the fraction of a second. She had went to him immediately after the late night show had ended, and was still wearing that black taffeta dress from her dance number. To him, she looked lovely in it, however, the expression on her face was the of anger and disappointment.

"What makes you think that I am doing that?" He replied calmly, avoiding to look her into the eye.

"You missed practice two times already. You even managed to stay at distance backstage. What is wrong with you? Ever since that tiny mistake during practice, you acted weirdly, and I highly doubt it is just your ego that is hurt a tiny bit by something minor like that, I thought you were standing above things like that."

"It's not about my ego," Marcus hissed, cursing himself for sounding more furious than he really felt.

"Then what is it?! Tell me, Marcus! You are part of the family now! No one is going to judge you here!"

It sounded like a promise that was too good to be true, and if it had been any other person, he would have stayed silent. But it was Katie, and his tongue worked on its own, spilling what was on his mind.

"I am scared, okay?! Since my parents died, I wasn't able to trust anyone, and nobody trusted me! And then you come and… and barely even know me but are willing to go into this dangerous situation where only I can catch you! It terrifies me that you are putting so much faith in me, Katie!"

To his surprise, she just smiled and took his hand, gently squeezing it.

"It's okay to be afraid. It scares me too how much I trust you."

Then, she placed a peck on his cheek, making his skin tingle, and stood up, walking away from him.

Without arrangement, they both came to the trapeze the next morning, and continued their work.

OoO

Many weeks later, their trapeze number was incorporated into the show for the first time. In the moment before their performance, Marcus felt more nervous than ever before in his life.

But when the curtain was lifted for them, and Katie took his hand with a smile, his fear disappeared and was replaced by excitement.

Despite his concentration, their show went by in a blur, his body was working through the movements automatically.

He only seemed to resurface when the audience applauded loudly, getting to their feet at the end of their performance.

Marcus briefly looked at Katie, and in the same moment, she turned her head to him, a happiness radiating from her that it nearly swept him off his feet. The applause and her smile seemed to bring him to unknown heights. As the curtain closed behind them, he gently pulled her away from the bustle.

And behind the circus tent, they kissed for the first time.