Liam (youngestmurphy) wrote in the_cirque, @ 2024-05-02 15:31:00 |
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This was not the first time that Liam had wandered the circus, he had done it a lot when he had been younger and both his dad and Niall had been so fascinated by it that of course the rest of the family had to join them. This time, however, he was a member of the circus rather than a tasty little treat on legs. That, hopefully, meant he wasn’t in any danger, right? Right? Liam was so caught up in his own head that he did not notice the ridiculously tall, stupidly good-looking individual that he bumped into, hurriedly racing through an apology because it was definitely and wholeheartedly his fault. “Shit, I’m sorry, I totally wasn’t paying attention.” With everything that had gone on over the past few days, to say Mikhi was distracted would’ve been a gross understatement. After the (justified) telling off he’d received that afternoon from his mother in regards to the food fight earlier in the week, he was feeling a little frayed and emotionally fraught on the heels of what had been such a good yesterday. It was as he made his way to the ticket booth shortly before the sun set that another curveball was thrown his way, though this one was a much nicer surprise. The grounds were relatively quiet, just the usual roustabouts and crew doing final checks before opening that night, and so the pathways should have been clear. With his gaze fixed firmly on his phone, Mikhi was not looking where he was going and quickly found out why paying attention was important. Watching as his phone tumbled out of his hands upon impact with another person, Mikhi frowned to himself and dropped down to retrieve it as the stranger relayed their apologies. “It’s okay,” he said, returning to his full height as he brushed the (thankfully undamaged) screen against his shirt front, “I should have been looking where I was—” Something about the young man in front of Mikhi gave him pause, his sentence trailing off and getting lost in the myriad of background noises around them. He couldn’t place it but there was something about him that was familiar, though recollection didn’t come easy. Was he a new member of the Cirque who Mikhi had met only briefly before? Perhaps a long-standing visitor who had snuck onto the grounds prior to opening? Whoever the man was, Mikhi felt as though he knew him. Liam much like the taller man was having a moment of feeling like he knew the other, but that wasn’t possible, right? Yes, he’d been keeping in touch with his would-be saviour turned friend ever since that fateful day, but that didn’t mean anything, they’d never exchanged pictures after all. “Are you okay?” He asked, expression concerned. “And uh… this is going to sound really bloody weird, but… do I know you?” The Irish lilt to his voice reminiscent of another member of the circus family which when combined with the sharp angles became even more apparent that he might be related to somebody else. As the pair of them looked at each other, taking in the intricacies of one another’s features, Mikhi racked his brain to work out who this man might be. Given that the circus moved around so often and he had been a part of it for so long, he’d met thousands of people over the years. Yet this man, this Irishman if his ears were identifying that accent properly, seemed more familiar than most. Then, all of a sudden, it struck him. “Liam?” he asked tentatively, head tilting in mingled confusion and curiosity. There was a certain likeness to Niall, something around the eyes and mouth, which paired with the accent surely had to mean something. Wait, what? Liam looked momentarily confused before something, a slow dawning realisation that trickled over him like water, and his eyes widened dramatically. “Mikhi?” What were the odds that of all the people he’d bump into in the circus one of those would be the very friend he’d been emailing with all these years? Of course, this was the Cirque, it worked in truly mysterious ways. The sight of those bright blue eyes widening so dramatically broke any hint of tension that had surfaced at the surprise meeting, with Mikhi laughing softly as he reached out to pat the other man on the shoulder. “Yeah, it’s me!” he said happily, not quite believing his luck. Any negativity that had been lingering promptly vanished in the wake of such a pleasant surprise. “What are you doing here? Just visiting?” “Jesus, you’re tall,” Liam remarked, a soft laugh punctuating the words. “I mean, I’m not exactly short, but you’re like… way up there.” Part of him wanted to go in for a hug because he honestly felt like it was the most appropriate greeting for his email-pal for so many years, but Liam hadn’t exactly been around a lot of affection in the past few years and so not knowing how it would be received refrained. “Uh, no,” he shook his head. “I work here now. At the ticket booth, I mean.” That was far from the first time Mikhi had heard such a thing yet mention of his height did draw a laugh from him as his pat to Liam’s shoulder became a gentle squeeze. “When it rains, I’m usually the first to know,” he joked, letting his hand slip from Liam to hang casually by his side. “You’re shorter than I expected, though most people are.” While it was a pleasant surprise to hear that Liam’s visit wouldn’t be a quick one, it was even more of one to learn where he’d be working. “No way!” he exclaimed, unable to quell his bright grin, “That’s where I work! Tonight must be your first shift, huh?” Liam tried not to be offended by the remark about his height, knowing he wasn’t “short” necessarily, Mikhi was just a giant. Maybe some sort of miracle grow thing at work? “Really??” he exclaimed, surprise causing his eyebrows to lift before he bit the corner of his lower lip as his mouth slid into a smile. “That’s amazing and yeah this is my first shift. I guess you’ll be showing me the ropes?” “I guess so!” Mikhi said brightly, happy to learn that not only would he have company in the ticket booth from now on but that there was not going to be any awkward first meeting with a new employee. While he did tend to get along with most people, it was always a bit tense to begin with. Now he didn’t have that concern. Nudging the other man with his shoulder and nodding in the direction he’d been going, Mikhi began to walk. “Have you swung by it yet?” he asked curiously, “Or did you just arrive? Have you seen Niall yet?” Liam fell into step beside Mikhi, relieved that any awkwardness had seemingly vanished as soon as they realised they knew one another, managing to keep up even if he was shorter than expected. “No, not yet, I was getting the lay of the land first. Hoping not to get eaten, honestly.” His lips tugged into a lopsided grin as he threw in a mention of their shared past. “Mm, I’ve seen him. Hung about outside his trailer until he came back from wherever he was, think I made him throw out a Hail Mary as he definitely was not expecting to see me.” Making sure to walk a little slower since they weren’t exactly on a time crunch—the ticket booth opened prior to the front gates but the sun had barely begun to descend—Mikhi listened as Liam explained his day. He did laugh at the callback to how they had first met, so many years ago now, and was quick to offer up a reassurance, “The contract will protect you from that now, so hopefully you can sleep a bit better at night.” Mikhi could picture Niall’s reaction to the unexpected appearance of his brother perfectly. Given what had happened recently, he suspected that seeing a familiar face would’ve pleased the other man once the shock subsided. “What brought you to the circus?” he went on to ask, suspecting that if Liam didn’t wish to relay the facts, he would simply change the subject. “Honestly? I don’t know.” Liam was honest about that. “I just got a feeling I might be needed, by my brother that is, and I know better than to ignore that sort of gut feeling.” He cast his gaze around as Mikhi led the way, observing and taking everything in. “And for the record? It will help me sleep better at night, knowing that.” Nobody wanted to get eaten alive if they could avoid it or be protected from it. Gut feelings were very important and Mikhi was glad Liam had followed his. If Niall did end up needing his brother, all the better. It also meant that Mikhi benefitted, though he hadn’t known such a pleasant surprise had been en route. “You’re all moved in?” he continued, each question only fuelling the next. There was a lot to discuss! “Finding everything okay?” “Uh, getting there?” Liam hadn’t travelled with a lot, but he hadn’t fully moved into the trailer provided, not sure about how to make it feel like home because honesty? Ever since their father had been killed, there hadn’t been much of a home anywhere. “On both accounts, I figure the whole finding my way around thing will come with time.” He nibbled on his lower lip. “Anything or anyone I should know?” There was a pang of empathy at Liam’s plight. Mikhi leaned over and nudged the shorter man with his shoulder in a silent show of support. “If you need any help with the moving or anything, I’ll show you which trailer is mine later and you can come find me whenever you need,” he said. It wasn’t a hardship to offer such a thing. “Lots of people, lots of stuff,” he went on to say, mostly teasing but also not. There was a lot to keep up with at the Cirque, though everyone got the hang of things eventually. He just hoped Liam would be sticking around for long enough to experience it all. “Thanks,” Liam said with a smile as he nudged Mikhi right back, albeit less shoulder and more arm because they’d already established that Mikhi was a giant. “I appreciate that and I’ll try not to bug you too much.” He had after all moved in and out of his brothers’ lives like a shadow so he knew a little something about not being a bother. Liam regarded Mikhi with as close to a dry expression as humanly possible and drawled sarcastically, “Wow, that’s so helpful.” Laughing in response to the dry remark, Mikhi paused for long enough to twist into a mock bow before straightening up and continuing to walk. By now they were close to the front gates, the mid-sized building that held the ticket booth within it just in sight, which he didn’t hesitate to point out to Liam with an incline of his head. “It’s been pretty lonely in the booth for a while,” he said as they approached, “The last guy skipped out about six months ago so I’ve been waiting for the circus to pick a replacement. Guess it was just waiting for the right fit, huh?” “Careful, mate. You keep talking like that I might end up asking you to marry me,” Liam shot back with a razor sharp smirk not too dissimilar from his brother’s. His eyes however were blue, very blue, which he knew he got from their mother. The only one to inherit that colouring and the freckles, at least obvious freckles. He followed Mikhi to where the ticket booth was. “How busy does it get?” Though the clapback was unexpected, it drew a surprised laugh from Mikhi. “Bet you say that to all the boys,” he retorted, finally reaching the booth and cracking open the side door to allow Liam into the cozy space first. It was somewhat narrow, a glass wall partitioning the eventual crowd from the booth itself, where two comfy (new) office chairs were neatly tucked under the counter holding various office supplies. “It really depends,” he offered, pulling his typical chair on the left side of the counter out and flopping down into it. Wiggling a little to find a suitable position—he had yet to break in the leather and missed his old chair dearly—he used his foot to nudge the other chair out for Liam to take. “First night in a new place is always the craziest, people are usually really excited to check it out. But there’s usually a pretty constant stream through the night, though obviously it gets quieter in the middle of the night.” Liam lifted his shoulders and without batting an eyelash replied smoothly, “only the pretty ones,” before running his hand across the back of the empty chair which would be his going forward. It felt cool under his fingertips and the fresh scent of leather all but confirmed just how new both seats were. He spun it around and slid onto it, mimicking his friend as he attempted to find a comfortable position. It didn’t take long, thankfully. “Well, evidently we’re going to need to find a way to pass that time.” Such a response drew a scoff from Mikhi, who rolled his eyes despite feeling the stirrings of a blush prickle at his cheeks. He never had been especially good at accepting compliments. Rather than address it, he set it aside for now. Liam was just kidding, surely. “We’re going to have so many paper ball toss contests, I already know it,” he joked, eyeing the waste basket that was nestled under the desk between the two of them. “I do have to warn you that my aim is lethal, so I hope you’ll bring your best.” Liam was not kidding, he’d meant every word. Ever since he’d learned to control his “gift” he made a point of being as honest and truthful as he could be. He’d had a lot of missed opportunities when he was younger, to speak up and make his voice heard, and he’d vowed to never let that happen again. “You’re probably going to wipe the floor with me,” he admitted with a laugh. “I haven’t got the best track record as far as anything sporty goes, but I’m happy to play.” His lips tugged into a hapless smile, complete with dimples. “We’re going to have a lot of time in here for you to practise becoming the paper ball toss champion,” Mikhi said with another chuckle, stretching one of his long legs out to nudge Liam with his toe, “You’ll be a pro before you know it.” In the scarce moments of silence that followed, Mikhi really looked at Liam and felt himself smile gratefully to himself. It seemed almost impossible that he was actually here, that the person on the other end of all those messages over the years was a living, breathing being who just so happened to have fallen into place at Mikhi’s side as though it was simply meant to be. |