Cirque

A/N: This O/S is a complete work of fluffy post-Christmas fiction that was inspired when I watched Cirque du Soleil's – Alegria on the TV over Christmas and I just couldn't get this idea out of my head. This is my Cirque fantasy – hope you enjoy it too. If you don't like guy/guy hanky panky, read no further. Must be over 18.

Disclaimer – I own nothing Twilight or Cirque Du Soleil.

Huge thanks to Harrytwifan for betaing this and to DKinney my sounding board - I FLOVE you guys.

It's all in Jaspers POV

Cirque

Hello, my name is Jasper and I am part of a trapeze act that recently joined the Cirque du Soleil. Previous to this we were part of the Russian National Circus and had been advertised as "The Devils Angels – They may be from hell, but you'll be dying to see them". While on tour, a scout from Cirque spotted us and enquired when our contract was up for renewal, because he wanted to know if we were interested in joining them for a new show that was going to be a little different from the usual. Apparently they were going to do a performance based on a particular musical artist; in fact they had secured the services of said artist for the whole of the first season. The show itself didn't have a name yet; apparently rehearsals and putting the performance together happened long before a name was found for it.

We were all so ecstatic at the opportunity, that our troop signed up for a three year contract. This was the norm and we were excited to see where this new venture would take us. Cirque du Soleil was the ultimate accolade – all human, and no animal was ever seen or used. Even though restrictions were much better now and animal welfare was paramount, I couldn't help feeling bad for those involved in any circus.

We originated from Washington and despite most of us being in our mid twenties, we had all been doing this since we were children, the genes for the circus life having been inherited from various sources. Our troop was pretty large, containing eleven men.

Carlisle was our coordinator – he formed the troop when we were teenagers. He used to be a main member, but stepped aside in favor of younger blood and now helped us put our routines together, sometimes taking up a slot if a member was ill or injured.

Emmett and Sam were our main Catchers.

Jake, Quil, Embry, Paul, Jared, Seth, Liam and me were the main Flyers, though I sometimes doubled as a Catcher as I was both strong and tall at just over six feet.

We looked like two families that had come together; Sam, Jake, Quil, Embry, Paul, Jared and Seth were all tall, muscular and dark haired. In fact they all looked as though they had Native American heritage though it was unlikely as there weren't many Natives in the circus. They weren't too sure about where they originated from, so they made believe that they descended from a long line of Aztec royalty.

Carlisle, Liam, Emmett and I looked like brothers too, all with blue eyes and short light brown hair, except for Emmett who was blond. Carlisle's features were sharp, Liam's not so much, but he was still thin faced, whereas I was broader across the shoulders, with larger eyes and my lips were much fuller. Emmett's build made him look like he belonged with the Greeks or Romans – the guy was huge, but athletic, and he had a heart of gold. I could just imagine him in one of their leather skirts, brandishing a shield and sword.

We weren't your regular trapeze act; we used what looked more like a climbing frame with swings on it rather than the normal bars. This allowed us to monkey around before launching off to be caught by Emmett or Sam, depending on which end of the frame we jumped off. In fact, one part of our act involved us jumping off in quick succession to Emmett and being passed to Sam before finding our way home to the rigging.

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Cirque du Soleil's international headquarters (IH) stands proudly in the Saint-Michel district of Montreal, Quebec, next to the former Miron sandpit and Montreal Waste Treatment and Disposal Centre. When we arrived at Cirque's IH, we were put through our paces before being shipped off to Europe where we would join the other acts that had approval for the show.

While many young people lead solitary lives in individual apartments, in the circus city about 150 people lived together in a large trailer community. Strong bonds developed as circus citizens ate, slept, trained and travelled together all day, every day, for ten months a year. People took people under their wings, and skills were passed down from generation to generation, from friend to friend.

Upon arrival at what looked like a huge football pitch sized warehouse on the outskirts of Paris, we were allocated three trailers that would be our home for the foreseeable future. We dumped our stuff before venturing into what was for now, Cirque Paris HQ. We were surprised to find that the inside was split into various rooms and practice areas that had accommodation for a number of acts; we could see our frame set-up ready. For now the area accommodated all the acts, but eventually it would become a surrogate stage as the show and performances took shape.

What the show was to look like had already been decided and the costume designers were hard at work.

Our first order of business was to have our measurements taken - a total of 62 body dimensions were charted before we were sent off to another department to have our faces and heads immortalized in plaster. From these, our costumes would be made to the best possible fit. It was a weird feeling having your complete head covered with jelly and plaster with only a tube stuck up each nostril allowing you to breathe. Until now we had been used to a removable cape and tights with plenty of protection around the privates.

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The following days were filled with practice, practice and more practice. One thing we soon discovered was that a lot of people were multi-talented, and these people were used as fillers to do whatever was necessary to allow enough set up time between performances. Cirque was famous for the fact that one group of artists brought equipment on stage for another, though very talented engineers did the main stage set up. Performers came from all walks of life and countries. Some had circus backgrounds, and others were gymnasts that no longer competed, while a few came from circus school.

Every act was expected to learn the between-act routines; delivering more than just a walk on, do your act, and walk off. Choreographers were on hand to help, adding extra people where necessary to ensure the transition from one act to another flowed and was in keeping with the tone of the show. I was amazed at how much was happening months before the show went live or was even advertised.

It was during one of our sessions with the choreographer that I saw him. He was somewhat hard to miss because he already wore what looked like a Cirque face. There were no extra noses, chins or anything; he looked more like a refined clown-A Cirque version of Pierrot only with blue, orange and black make-up around his eyes. Even his clothing suggested he was ready to go on stage, wearing a red outfit that was tight across the torso, but the arms and legs were like a pleated skirt, though it was tight at the cuffs and ankles. I couldn't even see the color of his hair because it was covered with a hat.

Nudging Jake, I quietly asked, "Any idea who the fuck that is?"

"Not a clue. Weird that he's already here in a costume, maybe Carlisle knows."

Carlisle was sitting about five people away from me, so I couldn't ask him without drawing attention to myself. I'd have to leave it till later, but try as I might, I couldn't take my eyes off the fascinating creature.

As it turned out, I didn't have to wait long for my question to be answered.

With a heavily French accented voice, Madam Esme shouted, "Edward, you do your thing as stage conductor to distract the audience while everyone enters, then work your way between them, taking part in the main movements while Carlisle's boys get up to their frame."

With a nod of the head, he said, "Oui, Madame."

Nothing more was uttered by him. I wondered if French was his first language, though he obviously understood English.

The practice went well. Edward was an acrobat, cartwheeling and tumbling on first, followed by the dancers, some of whom he highlighted with gestures, others he joined in with. We did our part and as soon as some wrinkles in the routine were ironed out, Edward disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.

I kept an eye out for him after that; something about him drew me in. I noticed that he turned up to practice but rarely socialized. When I did see him, he was usually in conference with Madam Esme, who was somewhat of a daunting woman, taking no shit from anyone, despite her short stature. She wore tight black leggings, a thick rust color jumper, orange leg warmers and black ballet shoes. Her dark brown hair was always tied back into a bun.

Given the community we currently lived in, it was usual that everyone knew everything about everyone else's act. So canteen chit-chat was my starting point. I discovered that his name was Edward Masen and that he had been with Cirque for many years, playing various roles, from clown to conductor. He was also a close friend of Madam Esme; in fact he shared a trailer with her. That was where details came to a halt as no-one dared speculate what their relationship was. Well, they did, but no one was prepared to share for fear of retribution should anything get back to Madam Esme.

Later that day, I popped into a local internet café to see what I could find out on-line. Apparently, Edward had been a British gymnast in his early years, but his career came to an abrupt halt when he broke his leg after a dismount from the parallel bars went horribly wrong. I found some newspaper articles of the time and these also showed a picture of him without his makeup. He was stunning. He had an angled jaw, soulful green eyes, a beautiful smile and the most unusual bronze-colored hair that seemed to have a mind of its own, sticking up in all sorts of directions-perfect for Cirque. I was surprised he wore a hat, given his hair seemed to give a performance of its own.

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One night I awoke in the small hours of the morning and couldn't get back to sleep. All sorts of thoughts plagued my mind; our act, the show, costumes and yes, Edward. There was only one place that calmed me at times like this, and that was my perch high up on our frame.

Leaving a note for Jake, Seth and Liam, who I shared a trailer with, I made my way to the warehouse.

As I entered the main practice hall, another person was already in there. However, the act was nothing like anything I had seen billed for the show. There was a tall, lean, chiseled, bare-chested man with a V shaped torso, long legs and messy hair, flying around on bungee cords. Oh my God! It was Edward, without his makeup. What he was doing was so graceful. I knew from experience, anything like this took a lot of strength and every time he flew I could see the strain it put on his abs and arms. The definition in them was gorgeous.

After another ten minutes of watching him try out various moves, he made his way up into the rigging, undoing the buckles and bolts that kept his cords in place, carefully lowering them to the ground.

Once packed away, he wheeled them into one of the storage areas before getting dressed in baggy grey 'hide in the crowd' clothes, much different from his normal garb. I got to see much closer how well defined he was. What I thought was my internal groan must not have been so quiet, because the next thing I knew, he was right in front of me.

I expected him to be really pissed off, but instead he looked shaken and worried.

"How long have you been watching me?" I could hear the shaky nervousness in his voice.

I looked straight into his glistening emerald green eyes, "Long enough to know you're beautiful… I mean you have a beautiful act," I countered, stumbling over my words.

"It's not an act and never will be."

With that he almost ran from the building.

I saw him several times over the following days and each time I caught his eye, I nodded my hello with a smile. A few times I looked over to find him surreptitiously looking at me too.

One time while I was practicing, when, purely by chance, I spotted him watching me from the doorway. Unfortunately, this caused me to lose concentration and timing, sending me plummeting into the safety net below. This earned me a kick in the ass from Carlisle and by the time I re-took my position, he'd gone.

Jake nudged me in the side, whispering, "Come on, man – you know better than to lose it up here. Get your mind back in the game."

"Sorry, Jake," I said, feeling a little stupid at the rookie error.

That night I did more research surrounding shows that Edward had been in. I knew it was kind of stalkerish, but I liked to think of it as watching films that featured a favored actor. I wanted to get some kind of idea where this guy was coming from, even if it was only his public face.

After watching several productions of which I fast forwarded through most of, being selective of the parts I ran in normal time, I could see a pattern to Edward's characters. They were funny, over-the-top, multi-lingual, brave, clever, talented, clownish on occasion, but in all of them, he was alone. That didn't mean there wasn't interaction with the other characters, there was. He'd jump into their act, do his bit, and then jump out of it.

Given the many costumes and faces in a show, you'd never guess they were all played by the same person. There was Geekward, Businessward, Clownward, Tumbleward, and Mimeward, to name but a few. Only by knowing which person you were looking at in each production could you begin to see similarities. It broke my heart a little, wondering what made him such a solitary person.

The following day, we were taking a break between sessions and it was my turn to go get drinks for the guys. As I exited the hall, I heard an, "I'm sorry," right behind me.

Turning my head, I saw it was Edward in his make-up looking at me, and by the expression on his face, he was not in character.

Temporarily put off kilter and unsure that this gorgeous man was actually talking to me, I asked, "Excuse me?"

Edward was leaning up the wall, wringing his hands, "I said, I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"Making you lose concentration."

Turning to face him directly, "Oh that! Pft, don't worry about it, that's what the safety net's for. It wasn't your fault anyway; I'm supposed to have tunnel vision up there. I think of it more as a learning experience. Better for it to happen now and in there, than during a performance."

"True, but I still feel responsible."

Feeling rather bold, I took a step or two closer to him and with a smile I said, "Tell you what, if you really feel that bad, how about after practice tonight, I let you buy me a coffee or something?"

A smile crept up his face, "How do you like it?"

Now wasn't that a loaded question.

"Cappuccino… sweet please," I replied with a grin.

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I was part of a large troop, but that didn't mean we didn't have our own lives. We were like any other family. We laughed, cried, and argued, but when the chips were down, we stuck together. We all had our quirks and times out; it's what made us work well together.

Jake liked fixing watches.

Seth made models.

Emmett and Sam usually headed for the nearest bar to fleece anyone stupid enough to play pool with them.

Carlisle would simply shut himself away and write for a while.

Quil and Embry were cyber geeks in their spare time and you'd find them surfing the internet, usually for porn. However, I did catch them watching "The Big Bang Theory" on TV a few times. They even knew all the words to the intro.

Liam would spy a woman and then charm her until he got into her pants, she would then become a regular visitor for a few months.

Paul and Jared had been a couple for a long time. We always knew what they were up to while no one else was around. They were also film buffs, loving nothing better than to watch Star Wars while playing with their personal 'Light sabers'.

Speaking of Light Sabers in a different context, we all had our own FX sabers and would regularly engage in battle scenarios. I was Obi-Wan. Seth always made me laugh in these encounters because when he took his battle stance, he'd stick his butt out, making it a prime target. He frequently returned to the trailer with stripes across his ass.

On the subject of sexuality – I was very open-minded about it all. Being around a circus meant that you saw all sorts of variations on a theme and some were definitely not my cup of tea romantically. I guess, it helped me define what I definitely didn't want. I had kissed my fair share of women and men and had been in a relationship with Jake for a short time, but we soon realized that we preferred being brothers rather than lovers. It all ended amicably and if anything, it brought us closer as friends. He has designs on Seth now but was biding his time-he didn't think Seth was ready for a meaningful relationship yet. I guess what was important to me was the connection. For now my form of release was a five knuckle shuffle in the shower; it helped release tension at the end of a hard day.

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After practice we all usually went our separate ways for an hour or two, before meeting up again. Normally, I'd stay up in the rigging chilling out on one of the platforms waiting for everything to go quiet and today was no exception.

At the end of the session everyone dispersed. Once the last of the performers had left, half the lights were turned out. This was my signal to move. Throwing my legs over the edge of the platform, I noticed an orange figure holding two coffees looking up at me.

I hollered, "Comin' down," and with that, I did a swan dive off the frame, flipping onto my back during the closing seconds into the net below.

Skillfully somersaulting off the net to the floor with a smile, I came face to face with Edward.

"Impressive," he quietly stated as he handed me my drink.

"Thanks, you wanna try it with me sometime?"

"Maybe," he said with a shy sideways look at me.

"Where do you wanna sit?"

"Over in the corner will be fine," he replied, letting his coffee cup point the way.

On the way over to sit, I grabbed my track suit and hoodie so that I didn't get cold. Air up in the rigging stayed warm for quite a while after the place emptied, but on the floor it was a different matter.

Sitting on opposite walls of the corner with our legs bent, we were close, but not close enough to touch unless we stretched out. We stayed in companionable silence for a while before a burning question got the better of me.

"I hope you don't mind me asking this, but, why do you wear your make up during practice?"

Keeping his eyes firmly on his drink, he replied, "It's a face."

"I don't get it."

Transferring his eyes from his cup to me, he sported a very thoughtful look. "I like my privacy, Jasper, despite being part of a circus. It's difficult in this community, where everyone knows everyone else's business, to have space to yourself. I love playing the different characters; they allow me to be someone else for a while and to interact as much or as little as I want. The make-up is all part of the performance. People found it a bit weird to start with, but they just roll with it now. It's my choice and I see no reason to change."

"So I see! I have to admit, I've asked around about you."

"I know you have," he said with a little smile.

This shocked me somewhat, but I guess you shouldn't say anything in public that you don't want the subject themselves to find out about.

Crumpling my face, I felt awkward, "Oh shit. How? Sorry."

He laughed a little before answering, "I may not interact out of character, but I still hear what goes on. People talk… it's human nature."

"So if you know about that… and considering you are a private person, why are you talking so freely with me now, especially after the other morning when you were almost terrified that I'd seen you?"

He looked sheepish and played with the rim of his coffee cup, "Because I've been watching you almost as much as you've been watching me. As I'm sure you may have noticed—hence your accident earlier. My time on the cords is my time. No other performers know about it and I was afraid that you'd tell everyone about what you'd seen. But, you haven't told anyone and for that you have gained my trust and thanks."

I felt a little overwhelmed by his statement. I'd never even considered telling anyone else about him. I wanted to know about him, but I was no gossip, "Wow, thank you. Most of the guys have their own things that they do away from the rest of us, it's cool. We do get in each other's pockets and private time is hard to come by, it's why Carlisle insisted that we all find 'time out' activities."

"A wise man. What's your time out activity, Jasper?"

"Mine… Oh, I don't do an activity as such. I like sitting in the rigging before and after a performance, soaking up the atmosphere, enjoying the audience anticipation as well as the peace, solitude and echoes when they've all gone."

By now our coffees had been finished and I could sense my time was almost up. This made me sad because now that I'd had a small insight into this man, I wanted to know even more.

Fidgeting a little, I could see he was ready to go, "Ah well, duty calls and all that. It's been good talking to you, Jasper, thank you."

I intended to walk with him to the door before going our separate ways, but I had one last question before we ventured out into the public.

Grabbing his wrist as he turned, "Edward," he looked directly into my eyes and for a moment I was lost in them, "I know it's your private time, but I was wondering if I could come watch you?"

With a small smile, "I think I'd like that, yes… but not every day."

I could live with that.

Turning out the remaining lights, we parted, both content in the knowledge that we had made a new friend.

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The following few weeks were interesting. From the edge of the arena, I quietly watched him fly a couple of times, seeing the immense concentration required, but at the same time I noticed the complete elation on his face as he soared through the air.

I introduced Edward to my world, initially taking him up into the rigging, allowing him to free fall into the nets below. I offered to catch him once, but the look of terror on his face had me retreating and suggesting something else very quickly. I guess he either didn't trust my ability to catch or his ability to do it right.

Soon after, Edward asked me if I wanted to try the cords. The first time I flew, I was all over the place. This was a hell of a lot more difficult than I even first thought. He was rolling around the floor with laughter saying that I looked more like a clown than a trapeze artist, telling me it was all in the stomach muscles. Cheeky bastard… Unraveling the cords from my arms, I stalked over to him.

Kneeling by his side with my hands on my hips, I exclaimed, "Think it's funny, do you? I'll show you something funny," and I leant over him, delving into his ribs, finding his funny spot straight away. We rolled and sparred until our ribs ached from laughing.

Eventually I gave in, settling on my back with Edward over me pinning my arms above my head, "Do you submit?" he asked, with a glorious look of victory on his face.

Panting heavily, I felt a shift in the air. Looking up from his bare chest, to the sweat shiny long muscles in his neck, to his lips, before gazing deep into his emerald eyes that by now were several shades darker than they had been earlier, I whispered, "Yes."

The smile disappeared from his face as he slowly lowered his lips to mine. What started off as small wisps of lips on lips, led to peppered pecks along my jaw line. My want for him got the better of me and as I turned my head, I laced my fingers in his hair, taking his bottom lip in my mouth, sucking it in deep. This lit a furnace deep within us both and he attacked my mouth with a growl. Our arms clasped around each other tightly as we devoured and gave into the primal urges that had been building.

The requirement to breathe became paramount and as we emerged for air, Edward cooed in my ear, "If I'd known getting you on the cords would lead to this, I'd have done it earlier."

As wonderful as I felt and before we continued, there was one little nagging thing that I needed to clear up.

"What about Madam Esme?"

He must have heard the rumors about them and guessed where my brain had gone. "Oh, you mean Auntie Es. What about her?"

That just about said it all; my curiosity satisfied with one sentence, "Absolutely nothing, forget I said anything."

"No problem at all," he whispered as he leaned in for another searing kiss.

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Over the next few days, every opportunity we got we had our hands on each other. It wasn't possible to do too much because Edward's make-up would have been smudged.

Jake noticed that I was going to bed earlier and rising earlier, and more frequently than usual, and he questioned me about it one night. I simply told him that I had a new 'time out' activity and preferred to keep it private for now. He made the observation that whatever it was it was making me happy, but to ensure that it didn't affect my performance.

The following morning we spent some time among the cords, where he flew with me in his strong arms. I finally understood what he felt and the elation it created. I partly understood due to the trapeze, but this was a different feeling again. The circus in us took over. We soon morphed into a position where Edward was flying horizontal to the ground while I did a handstand on his chest while, for stability, I wrapped my ankles around the cords.

It didn't take us long to get totally lost in the creative side of things, experimenting with Edward flying and picking me up en-route, to me using the cords like I would the bars while Edward did his bit below. He was fantastic at controlling the cords, while bit by bit, our two worlds merged into one.

We even tried having one cord each, holding on to each other while Edward guided us on another flight of the imagination.

It was extremely intense, but somehow we both knew we were creating something special.

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Later that day I was in my favorite place alone among the rigging. Half the lights went out and as I lay there a little longer than usual, my mind was on overtime thinking about the cords and possible things we could do. What started off as Edwards's private time had become time for us both, creatively and personally. Closing my eyes, I lost myself to the sensations and the connection that was clearly there, both when we flew and when on the ground.

Some people had noticed that Edward and I talked more during the day time, but whenever anyone came within earshot we made sure they overheard creative ideas. We acknowledged that our relationship would be found out eventually, but we wanted to stay private as long as we could.

The troop had commented on the Edspur mind meld, too. So I simply told them that I was helping him with something-which was true. My connection to him was something special and not just a casual hook up. I could see the look on Jake's face that he had guessed it was something more, but as I was keeping his secret desires about Seth to myself, he returned the favor. I mouthed a 'thank you' to him and he nodded his understanding to me.

Edwards's make-up covered head popped above the platform, "Knew this is where you'd be. I'm not a balancing act, so coffee's on the floor."

It had become a regular occurrence that once everyone had gone we'd share coffee.

I turned to him with a smile, "Sorry… I got lost in thoughts."

With his head tilting to one side, he asked, "Anything I need to know?"

"Just random creative stuff, tricks we can have a go at tomorrow."

It was wonderful how our two worlds had woven into one another. It was a little awkward at first, with Edward having to adjust the cords to accommodate my added weight. Then for me to do balancing tricks on a relatively unstable base took some getting used to.

"How about changing the dismount tonight?" I chirped.

"What do you have in mind?" He asked a little suspicious at where my mind was going.

"I'm thinking… Well, you don't seem to want to take a leap of faith letting me catch you, so what if I take the catcher's position, you climb down my body, and I swing you so that you get a triple somersault in before you land?"

After considering it for a moment he agreed with a smile.

"You're going to have to lose the skirts though; I'm not risking those getting caught up in the rigging."

Standing, he undid the clips and tossed the hat along with the rest of his outfit off the edge of the platform, sending it floating to the floor, leaving him wearing only a tight fitting Cirque standard body suit - which didn't leave anything to the imagination. Only one phrase came to mind as my mouth pooled with saliva, "Big boy."

Taking up position on the swing, I encouraged him over. Slowly, he slid over the bar and over me. Wrapping my arms around him, I controlled his descent. At one point his crotch was right in front of my face. There was only one thing I could do.

Gripping him even tighter, I buried my face in him, eliciting a shuddered groan and an, "Oh my God," from Edward, along with hard breathing.

Unable to play with my hands, I opened my mouth and massaged him through his body suit with my lips, tongue and teeth. His reaction was right there in front of my face to see. As I slid him painfully slowly down me, I nipped and sucked my way up his hardness. Edward held onto the rigging as best he could.

He was never in any danger; I was used to holding onto troop members and my upper body strength was more than capable of coping.

As his face drew level with mine, albeit upside down, I softly said to him, "I've got you… I won't let you fall, unless of course you want to?"

We held each other under the armpits ready for the final drop into place.

Edward whispered, "I think I've already fallen…," and he placed a fierce kiss on my lips, spiderman style, but longer and with tongue, before descending, smudged face and all, into my wrist grip, keeping his eyes locked on mine the whole time.

After a few swings to build up momentum, he released, doing a triple somersault before stretching out to land in the net.

I soon joined him on the ground, where we both dressed and he grabbed my hand saying, "We need a room," as he wiped off remnants of his face paint from me. I couldn't have agreed more.

We almost ran from the room, coffee forgotten.

When I realized we were going to his trailer, I asked, "What about Esme?"

"She's out on a date, with your Carlisle," he replied with an amused tone.

The sly old fox.

I sent a quick text to Jake saying that I definitely wouldn't be back till very late and good luck with Seth. Hopefully that would give him a huge hint that I thought Seth was ready for Jake to make a move.

Edward and Esme's trailer was parked closest to the warehouse. It was large and spacious, a reflection of how long they had been with the company and his aunt's position within it. There was a cooking area in front of a double table; one side was clear for eating, the other contained a mirror with lots of make-up in containers.

Once inside, Edward removed his Pierrot face along with his clothing. I did the same before making our way to the back of the vehicle where his room was. I knew I was not Edward's first, as he was not mine. We had already talked about previous partners.

We fell to his bed a writhing mass of manly musky sweat and lust. Taking a moment to study his outline, I couldn't help but run my hands over him as he did me. He was smooth, everywhere. Considering how figure hugging the Cirque outfits were, body hair, no matter where it was, could be seen. Therefore, most performers removed all hair that was not considered complimentary to their act.

Once we had both carefully caressed and worshipped the other with eyes, hands and mouth, Edward pulled me to him, with the question, "Top or bottom?"

Extending my neck to reach his ear, "Want that monster between your legs in me," I panted, before pushing him back into the bed, covering him with my body.

After hands roamed and kissed, I realized that we wouldn't be able to mark each other anywhere that may be exposed during a performance. That left one delicious place. Kissing my way down his torso, swirling my tongue around his nipples as I descended, evoking beautiful mewling sounds from Edward, I settled between his long legs. Taking the inside of his thigh between my lips, I licked and sucked for all I was worth. Upon releasing him, I checked my handy work and was happy when I could see the skin already turning purple.

Edward was fisting the blankets in his hand, "Move that beautiful mouth of yours up here," he commanded.

"Yes, sir." But I didn't go the direct route. I sucked his balls before licking up his length, rolling my tongue around his tip collecting the pre-cum, swallowing it with a hungry moan. Running my fingers over his ripped abs and chest, I left open mouthed kisses all over them, dipping my tongue into his navel before resuming my journey north to capture his lips in mine.

As soon as I was on top of him, he splayed his hands on my back, curling around me, taking my weight and reversing our positions. Leaning over to his side table, he ferreted around in the drawer until he found a bottle of lube. Coating his fingers, he abandoned the bottle as he kissed and tongue flicked his way down my happy trail, encompassing my cock in his devilishly hot mouth. His head bobbed up and down and his fingers massaged my rear entrance, eventually breaching the rim with one finger.

Oh yes, this was really going to happen. I fisted the sheets, writhing as he added a second and eventually a third, pumping, scissoring and stretching me. He was already taking me to places I had only dreamed about.

With a pop, he removed his mouth from me asking, "Are you ready for me?"

"Hell yes," I breathlessly exclaimed.

Ripping the condom wrapper with his teeth, he rolled it over himself, adding more lube to the rubber coat and to my puckered star.

Lifting my legs, he positioned himself between them, hovering over me with one hand by my head, while the other guided himself into me. We both watched as he slowly but surely buried himself within my heat. Once fully sheathed, he looked into my soul and whispered, "I love you. " Without giving me a chance to reply, he bound his lips to mine, pouring every ounce of emotion he could into it. The only way I could reply was to kiss him back with equal intensity. Hopefully he would get the message that I felt the same.

Edward started to move, circling his hips before withdrawing and slowly moving back in, in a wave motion. Our arms caressed and loved as our hips kept rhythm. We lost ourselves to the tide of emotion and the sensations being created, until we could take it no longer and had to speed up. I grabbed his ass as he took hold of my erection, pumping it in time with each of his oh so wonderful prostate hitting thrusts.

I breathlessly yelled, "Gonna come, gonna ccccooooooommmmmmmmeee," and hot ribbons of creamy seed shot from my body.

As my back arched and my ass clenched, I heard a moan that erupted from deep within him, followed closely by the pulse of his cock inside me. I'd had the best orgasm that I'd ever had and it was all because it was with someone I had a deep connection with and cared for a great deal. Yes, this was love.

As we came down from our highs, I looked deep into his eyes and cooed, "I love you too," and we sealed our declarations with a long open mouthed kiss that had our heads and jaws moving in sync for what seemed like a delicious eternity.

Eventually, we cleaned ourselves up and had a quick shower. Unfortunately, the cubicle only just fit one person, so there was no way it was going to fit two.

That night we drifted off to sleep, contentedly wrapped in each other's arms, feeling cared for and above all loved.

The following day we overslept slightly, making us rush out of the trailer. It cut down our time on the cords, but we still made the most of it.

When it came time for the troop to arrive, I couldn't find one of my forearm cuffs that soaked up the sweat, helping Emmett and Sam get a better grip. I was beginning to panic until it was thrust in front of my face. Looking up, it was Carlisle holding it out to me. Before he released it, he leaned forward and whispered to me, "You left it in the trailer, be more careful next time. I'll keep your secret, if you keep mine," and with a grin on his face, he left to climb into the gods-secure in the knowledge that I wasn't a kiss and tell kind of person.

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Another month passed and our morning rendezvous had become more creative as did our time in the bedroom. The fact that Carlisle and Esme were also involved was a big help. We came to an arrangement as to who could have the trailer and when.

Our time on the cords remained secret, though there were some whispers flying around about the state of our relationship.

It was the time in the production when costumes were beginning to appear. The men wore various swirled vibrant shades of blue, purple and orange. The ladies wore oranges, blue and reds, while others had plain versions to break up the kaleidoscope effect. Heavily colored highlighted eyes, leather, zips and chains helped to complete the creations.

One morning the show's manager Garrett turned up. He stopped rehearsals, gathering everyone into the main training area to pass on the news that the show hit a pothole in its production. The previous night, one of the acts - a Chilean balancing act, where the guy piled up chairs and trays, before doing a strength balancing routine on the top - had to pull out after breaking his arm.

A notice went out that they would have to get someone in, delaying the show's launch and costing a lot of money, unless anyone knew of an act they could use that was available at short notice; like last week.

I immediately looked over to Edward who stared back. I mouthed "It's time." I could see the pained look on his face, before slumping his head between his shoulders.

As the meeting adjourned, I made my way over to Edward, grabbing both his arms so that he had to look at me. "It's time for the world to see you Edward, not one of your characters."

"What about my private time… our private time?" I could see the internal battle he was waging. He wanted to save the show, but at what cost.

"That will continue! No one will take that away from you, from us… I'll make sure of it… The show must go on, Edward."

The nerves were building within him. "Will you help me?"

With a smile, I cooed, "Of course I will, my love. I'll be waiting for you to pick me up."

Exhaling a deep breath, he whispered, "I love you."

"I know! I love you too." And with an arm squeeze for encouragement the decision was made.

Grabbing Carlisle before we headed to find Garrett, I asked his permission to try something with Edward for the good of the show. With a smile, he gave his consent.

We could see Garrett talking to Esme by the door and we made our way over to them.

Taking a deep breath, Edward spoke up. "Garrett!" They both looked to Edward, "We may have something for you, it's rough around the edges, but it might work, if you don't have anything else."

Looking between the two of us, it was clear that he was willing to give anything a go, "Okay, let's see what you've got."

With a touch of excitement and apprehension I said, "Give us fifteen minutes and we'll be ready."

A whistle was blown to get everyone's attention and instructions were issued to clear everything out of the way, leaving just the mats on the floor.

While all the bustling went on, I sent Edward away to get rid of Pierrot and I set up the cords.

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Jake was stood with me when Edward re-entered, extremely nervous; stripped bare of make-up, topless in all his glory, only wearing white gymnastic trousers. He was breathtaking and whispers of admiration at his form soon started working their way around the arena along with murmurs of shock saying, "Is that really Edward?" With a huge heart pumping out of my chest, I thought, "Yes, and he's all mine."

Jake nudged me in the side, "Holy fuck, Jasper, has he been your time out activity?"

Sporting a huge smile, I said, "Yes and what you're about to see."

Everyone was informed that this was rough around the edges and would need some tidying up, but that hopefully it would do the trick for the show.

Leaving Jake, I approached Edward. "Are you okay?"

Rubbing his palms against the side of his trousers, he murmured, "Nervous."

I could understand his feelings; it was the first time in many years that Edward Masen himself had been put before an audience.

Looking into his scared eyes, I said, "Tunnel vision, remember? Imagine it's just us and there's no one else about… hang on a sec." I had a thought and shouted over to Jake, "Jake, cut all the lights except this one," pointing up to the light directly above us.

It effectively relegated everyone into the background.

"Thank you," and with a nod we took up our positions.

Edward attached himself to the cords and we both leaned back, stretching the elastic. We started the routine with a double somersault in the pike position, where my back was to Edwards's chest, my hands clasped behind his back. As we tumbled in, Edward deposited me on the ground before the cords bounced him up in the air.

It was bitty in places, but we did the section where Edward flew horizontal to the ground with me balancing between his shoulders in various positions, morphing into a double vertical handstand, where my chest was to Edward's back. I climbed up the cords, allowing Edward to perform some tumbles, combining circus maneuvers with parts from his gymnastic days on the rings and other run and fly sections before I returned to him.

We managed to complete a section where we had a single cord each, but kept connected while our bodies wrapped, twisted and turned around each other in various shapes.

We finished the routine in a similar way to the start, but instead it was much more daring. Timing was everything. Somersaulting in, in the tucked position, Edward landed behind me, where there wasn't much time for me to grasp behind him before we bounced out in the same pike position that we entered with.

We were both heaving for breath at the end, but we did it. Silence encompassed the room before applause broke out, and as the lights were switched back on again, all we could see were smiles, hoots and whistles.

We could tell by Garrett's smile and the complete look of pride on Esme's faces that what they saw had been well received.

Agreeing that it was rough around the edges, the whole company pitched in, working as one to help clean it up. Performers were used to adjust the rigging so that it could be pulled and adjusted to perform low, medium and high level movements.

From then there was a buzz in the atmosphere. Carlisle stepped into my position within the Devil's Angels, and Esme found another acrobat to take up Edward's character.

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We all worked hard, and it wasn't long before dress rehearsals started and the show debut was imminent. My relationship with Edward went from strong to stronger, and soon it was no secret that we were also lovers. Especially as I essentially moved in to his trailer with Carlisle and Esme, leaving Jake and Seth to develop their relationship as they saw fit.

Opening night was at Le Zénith in Toulouse, France. The show was called 'VLAST' and was based on the music of Adam Lambert and his phenomenally successful, 'For Your Entertainment'.

Our act was performed to 'Whataya Want From Me' flowing into 'Fever' while Adam himself sang. Cirque creators added blue silks to the cords, allowing me to perform some movements independent of Edward.

The show was a complete success and at our opening night party, Edward in all his bronze messy glory, got down on one knee.

Upon opening a box containing a beautiful platinum ring, he asked in a strong sincere voice, "Jasper, will you make the happiest man alive and marry me?"

"Yes," was my unwavering answer, and in a very public display of affection, our bodies crashed together, sealing the deal with a kiss, to the applause of all around us.

The End

A/N – Hope you enjoyed my fluffy flight into the fantasy – please leave me some luuurrvveee and review. Take care. XX