Step right up, ladies and gentlemen, to the most culturally diverse circus on earth! The book made for you, my Wattpad audience! Focusing on Spamano and featuring such ships as: PruCan, RoChu, UsUk, GerIta, and lots more! So come one, come all, and...
The night of Antonio's arrival, the circus' owner informed them that they would be deviating from their original tour lineup. Although he never said why, they all knew. It meant they hadn't paid off their loan, and were shipping out to Switzerland to beg for an extension.
"Alright, let's go." said Alfred, plopping down in the driver's seat of his and Matthew's RV.
"Oh no, you don't. I'm driving." Matthew ordered.
"Oh, come on." Alfred whined.
"Nope. You keep forgetting the street signs are in metric."
"I'm a good driver!"
"You can drive when we get to France. At least then I can talk to the police."
"Fine." Alfred huffed, realizing the frequency of this argument. "But no more of this 'stupide américain' stuff. Even I know what that means."
Alfred got up and moved to the passenger seat as Matthew took over the driver's seat.
The crew were old pros at moving, and when they arrived at their new location on the French-Swiss border they were a fully functional circus by dusk.
Over the course of this time Gilbert had devised a plan on how to get Matthew without Alfred. Alfred had a particular distaste for their Russian crew member. He wasn't the only one. Most saw him as a threat to Matthew's job, others were nervous because of his nationality. But he and Matthew did an act together.
Matthew and Ivan, much like their bears, were a well contrasted pair. Matthew studied biology and learned how to train his bear Kumajiro by gesturing with a baton and giving quiet commands. Meanwhile, Ivan almost wrestles his large black bear into place.
The crew would often complain about Ivan'straining methods. They thought Ivan gave his bear too much leeway, but both Ivan and Matthew assured them that it was safe. This was good enough for Arthur, but even they admitted things did get out of hand sometimes.
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"Matthew, do you know what I should do when bear is biting me?" Asked Ivan, unreactive as his bear gnawed on his head.
"Malchik! No!" Matthew reprimanded, swatting the bear with his baton.
Malchik just grumbled and continued to chew on Ivan's head.
Matthew took out one of the pieces of fish he used as treats. Catching the scent of it, Malchik let go of Ivan and rushed over to Matthew. Mathew led him to his cage and pretended to throw the fish into it. Malchik scampered in after it and Mathew locked the gate behind him. The trick caused Malchik some distress when he figured it out, but Matthew was already back in the ring with Ivan.
"Thanks, Matt." said Ivan groaning slightly at the sticky saliva dripping off his head and fingers. "I am going to clean up."
"Sure. I'm going to finish up here."
"Da." said Ivan, making his way out of the tent.
Matthew started the music again and woke up Kumajiro who had decided to take a nap when Matthew left to help Ivan.
He instructed Kumajiro to stand and Matthew did his bow. He took hold of one paw and Kumajiro rested the other on Matthew's shoulder. Then they began to "dance."
Outside Gilbert walked up to the tent.
"Nín hǎo, Gilbert." Yao greeted, when Gilbert stopped by the entrance where Yao was practicing his contortion.
"Hallo, Yao."
"You can go in, aru. Ivan isn't in there." said Yao, recognizing Gilbert's reason for hesitating outside, as well as his reason for being here in the first place. "And Matthew is inside, aru."
"Kesesese. I'm not scared of Ivan."
"Of course you aren't." said Yao, rolling his eyes.
"I am not!" said Gilbert, puffing his chest.
"Sure."
Gilbert huffed and marched in to the tent. In the middle of it, Matthew shuffled in a sort of waltz with Kumajiro. Gilbert's heartbeat sped up at the sight of him. Matthew spotted him and a tiny curl formed at the corner of his lips, and Gilbert felt his heart skip. He walked up to the pair and held out a hand.
"May I cut in?"
The gesture made Matthew smile and he looked up at Kumajiro. The clever bear understood and lumbered off to curl up in his cage and continue his nap. With his Matthew now free, Gilbert took his hand and waist and began whirling around the ring.
"You're quite the dancer, Gil." Matthew laughed.
"I am an awesome dancer!" Gilbert proclaimed, dipping him dramatically. The sudden move made Matthew laugh. Seeing Matthew's rare exuberant smile compelled Gilbert to say, "I've vanted to dance vith jou for a vhile, Matt."
Matthew stared as Gilbert stopped spinning and took his hand.
"I like you, Matt. I think jou are smart, handsome, funny, und just plain awesome. Und if jou vould do me the honor of being jour boyfriend my life could never be more awesome." He said, running out of breath.
Matthew beamed then jumped forward to lock his lips with Gilbert's. Gilbert was still frozen with surprise when Matthew pulled away. Gazing into his eyes, Matthew wrapped his arms around Gilbert's neck as he sighed contentedly.
"I would love it if you would be my boyfriend, Gil."
At those words Gilbert's frozen expression melted into an ear to ear grin. "Ja! The awesome Matthew is mine!" He declared, picking Matthew up in a strong hug and spinning him in the air.
