There was no way of putting it, other than he was beaming. His smile the broadest that had ever graced his lips. Arthur actually feeling excitement, as he and (Y/n) made their way down the street. A giddiness that he had never felt before, bubbling up inside him. And he liked it. No, in all truth, he loved it and he never wanted it to end.
Arthur, (Y/n) and Gary had made it back to Ha-Ha's after the afternoon at the zoo. The little man chuckling at his two friends, as they had talked all the way. Arthur for once letting his guard down, as they had made their way up the long flight of stairs that lead up to their changing rooms. Gary telling him again that (Y/n) really must like him, as the two men had waited for her to change. Arthur giving his diminutive friend a grateful smile, as he had told (Y/n) that he had something important to do but would perhaps take her up on the kind offer of coffee, another time. So now, here he was, arm and arm with the beautiful magician, not sure where he was going, and not caring. The clown happy to go anywhere that (Y/n) wanted to take him.
"You will love this place, Arthur. It's owned by a couple that used to travel with the circus. Giovanni, Sofia, their son Matteo and daughter Guilia used to perform as the Flying Rossini's. But it got to the point that Gio was nearly missing the catches, sooooooooo..........When you start missing catches on something like the trapeze, I suppose that you have to figure that it's time to call it a day. I mean, if I make a mistake, its easily fixed. I can just distract people. But if you miss a catch, especially when you're working without a net, there might be no coming back from that one. There's no fixing it or distracting an audience." (Y/n) explained, as they continued down the street. The magician suddenly taking a quick turn and heading down a small alley.
"When the two of them retired, they headed back to Gotham. Gio's family are originally from here and he persuaded Sofia to take over this little café that he had been looking at for some time. According to Matty and Guilia, the place is thriving, and I promised to come and say hello." (Y/n) continued, as she took another turn. Arthur now not sure where he was going. And despite the fact that she had never before been to Gotham, (Y/n) seemed to know the streets better than he did.
Suddenly there it was. The bright red and white awning standing out from the background dullness of the city. The carved wooden elephant balancing on top of a ball, that stood next to the entrance of the café, making Arthur smile, as (Y/n) pushed her way through the door. A tiny bell ringing out, as the pair entered the unusual establishment.
On every wall there was something to do with the circus. Old pictures, paintings, even props hung from the ceiling. A ringmaster costume on a mannequin was set up in one of the corners, with a taxidermy lions head just next to it. The whole thing making Arthur's head spin. The clown not sure what he should look at first.
"(Y/n)? (Y/n) is that you............What are you doing here?" A voice asked. Arthur turning to see (Y/n) embracing an older woman. The grey haired female smiling broadly, as she finally let the magician go.
"It's definitely me Sofia. And I'm here because I finally let Gary talk me into a job at that place where he works. Thought I'd see what it was like to settle down for a while. Put down a couple of roots. So, I got myself a little place not far from here." (Y/n) explained, as the older woman looked her up and down.
"You should have told us that you were coming to town. We would have met you..............."
"It's all good. To be honest I really haven't had time to think yet, never mind settle in. I only got into town the other day, and I had my first job this morning. And speaking of that.........." (Y/n) told Sofia, before moving to grab Arthur by the hand and pull him over to meet her old friend.
"Sofia, this is Arthur. He works at the same place as Gary. He's a clown too. Arthur this is Sofia. One of the best flyers in the business." (Y/n) introduced. Arthur holding out his hand for the elderly woman to take.
"My, my, my. Aren't you a sweetie? Seems a shame to cover that pretty face of yours up with clown make up." Sofia said with a chuckle, as she shook Arthur's hand. Her smile growing broader, as she saw his cheeks redden.
"I, er...........thank you. I................." Arthur replied. Sure that he hadn't had this much positive attention from women in his entire life.
"Why don't you two go and take a seat. I'll go and get Gio. I know that he would love to see you." Sofia continued, ushering the two towards a small booth, before disappearing into the back.
>>-------------------------------<<
"She's right you know............." (Y/n) said, as she pulled off her jacket and got comfortable.
"What...............?"
"Sofia. She's right that it's a shame to cover up that handsome face of yours with all that thick makeup. We've had lots of clowns in the circus over the years, but none of them ever looked like you when they took their clown persona off. In fact, most of them looked better with it on." (Y/n) chuckled. Arthur finding himself not knowing what to say in reply. It had been the strangest of days. Normally his life was dull. Grey. It was the same thing day in and day out. Nothing to look forward to or hope for. But since he had met (Y/n), it was as if the dourness of his everyday life had been replaced by a rainbow of colours. The excitement and giddiness still bubbling inside him. And with every compliment from the beautiful magician, he found himself feeling stronger. Braver. Like he wasn't the freak that he had always thought he was. That he had been told by so many others, he was. And..........the look of her legs in her outfit, had been sending his mind to other things too. Other, more intimate possibilities. Arthur just grateful this these thoughts hadn't made him break out into one of his pained laughs.
"You know. I really do think that we should talk to Hoyt about you helping me out more often. We worked brilliantly together today. It felt so natural. Like it was meant to be. But......... that's only if you want to, of course. It's all good being on that stage by myself but having someone else there does help. It's another distraction to take the audiences eyes. I think that I could do so much more if I had an assistant and you really do have a showman inside you Arthur. You could come to my place, and I could teach you a few tricks. Train you in a few set ups. It would mean that we would have to spend more time together. But if you don't mind..................."
"I'd like that!" Arthur blurted out. Not wanting to lose the chance of being able to spend time with (Y/n) outside of work. Not wanting to give her the chance to change her mind. More than delighted to learn anything that (Y/n) wanted to teach him.
"Really? That's wonderful. Maybe we can talk about it more later. If you aren't busy, you can come to my new place after this. But first, I am in the mood for pasta. I'm starving." (Y/n) smiled, as she took his hand and squeezed it tight. Arthur's heartbeat picking up pace, as she moved a little closer to his side.