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Like much of the time, while the glamour works on the rest of the town, Sportacus can tell that this newcomer 'Roberto' is Robbie Rotten from the moment he pops up and says, "Did somebody say ringmaster?"
And like almost always, he knows that this means Robbie was spying and got a plan in his head, and that he is up to something.
And like always, in spite of past experience, Sportacus is willing to not only play along with the disguise, but to give him the benefit of the doubt.
It isn't particularly often, however, that he finds himself... liking the disguise. In a way that he doesn't normally like them, that is—of course, he admires the creativity! And the work and effort he knows Robbie must put into making them, even if Robbie would deny it to the moon and back.
And he does admire the craftsmanship that likely went into Roberto, as it's very well put-together and aesthetically pleasing while remaining true to cirque fashion, it's something that would be very expensive to buy, let alone commission personally—
And it's also very flattering.
Sportacus folds his arms while the kids all gasp in excitement, and tries very hard not to make his staring too obvious. But he doesn't think Robbie even notices, as he barely glances at him when he walks around the group to show them a circus tent he's apparently put up.
Now, Sportacus grins for a different reason. A whole tent! Robbie has put some serious effort into all this, evil plan or not, and the kids are going to love it. He already loves it, because he knows that somewhere, deep down, Robbie knows that he's giving these kids a day to remember and that he loves it too.
So he doesn't hesitate to wave for the kids to all follow him and Roberto, laughing in excitement—
And he only slightly hesitates to try to get a glimpse of Roberto's ass under that tailcoat.
*
Seeing the inside of the place is something different entirely. How Robbie put this together, Sportacus can't imagine, and thus he finds himself approaching the man with a grin and clasping his shoulder.
"This is amazing!"
He looks startled for a moment, flinching away as though he thought Sportacus was about to hurt him—and then softens into a smug look.
"Well, of course it does! I'm Roberto the Great, not Roberto the Mediocre."
Sportacus laughs at his joke and squeezes his shoulder a little tighter. Roberto's eyes widen.
"So what would you like me to perform for the circus, Roberto?"
"Hm?"
"You are the ringmaster, after all—you're in charge! I can do anything—backflips," he says, promptly demonstrating and very narrowly missing Roberto's face with his foot. "Hand-stands, hand-walking, on the ground and on a tightrope, balancing acts, and—ooh! I'm no contortionist, but I can put both legs behind my head!"
As he drops to the ground and begins pulling up a leg to show him (to show off, and not even unconsciously), Roberto frantically pulls him back up.
"Oh, no, no, there's no need, Sportacus. Help out the brats—I mean, the children, all you want, but no solo acts! I have something very special planned for you at the very, very end, and I want it to be a surprise for everyone. Including you!"
Roberto's smile, then, is clearly devious, and somehow it still makes Sportacus very happy.
"You're making me the grand finale?"
"Yes, I am!"
"Oh, wow... Thank you, Roberto! Whatever it is, I won't let you down!" Finally, he lets go of the man's shoulder and grabs his hand instead, then shakes it vigorously before flipping away.
He just vaguely notes a look of awe on Robbie's face.
*
Sportacus doesn't realize it at first, if only because he hasn't done it so overtly in so long, but he's been... flirting.
He doesn't know, truly, if it's the outfit and persona getting to him (maybe Robbie put some other kind of magic on it aside from the glamour?), or a softer sort of affection based on how genuine Roberto has been so far—or a combination of the two. But as much as he stares, as much as he feels his heart race when he's not even moving... he's also actually acting on it.
During his stunts with the children, he keeps making eye contact with Roberto and winking at him, earning a flustered look each time. Especially as he bends into impressive positions, or in a situation where he can reasonably flex.
God, he's actually flexing at him... Sportacus can't remember doing that since his training days, as a literal teenager.
He doesn't quite know what he expects as a reaction, but perhaps he doesn't expect anything? Perhaps he's simply inclined to act like a lovestruck idiot not only with this unusually appealing outfit, but with the fact that it's a "disguise" being a buffer for awkwardness.
(And perhaps he actually is a lovestruck idiot.)
In between acts, Sportacus finds him backstage.
"Roberto, Roberto!" he calls after him, stopping once the man has turned around. Possibly standing a little too close, but he doesn't step back.
"Yes, Sportacirque?" Roberto doesn't step back either, but he looks nervous and swallows.
"Oh—ha, clever!" he tells him, beaming. "Actually, I had an idea about an act—you said no solo acts for me, but that's not what it is. It would be the two of us!"
"The two of us?" Roberto repeats, sounding scandalized. "But I'm the ringmaster, not a performer, it wouldn't—"
"Don't worry, there would be no equipment! In fact, it would emphasize you as the master of the circus, because I would be lifting you up, see?" He reaches for Roberto's whip to demonstrate. "Like a barbell. And I could push you up in the air with just the two of my hands, and if you're not scared, I can toss you up and then—" He does so with the whip— "catch you again! I think the kids would love it, and it would be a fitting act to go right before my grand finale—"
"Well, to me, Sportacus, it sounds like you're trying to steal the show," he says, snatching his whip back.
"What?" The accusation leaves a pang in his chest. "No, not at all—"
"I already gave you the grand finale, and you want more? Don't you think it's unfair of you to grab so much of the performance when, when... when you're already a superhero?"
"...You know what, you're right, Roberto," he sighs, nodding with a slight grimace.
"I am? I mean—yes, of course I am!"
"Yes, this is for the kids, not me! I can be impressive anytime, but they deserve the spotlight here."
"Yes, precisely. Except for the finale!" Roberto reminds him, leaning in close and grabbing him by the arm, smiling big under that fake moustache.
Sportacus feels his chest burn at the sight, briefly puts his hand on Roberto's waist underneath the coat, and smiles back. "Of course!"
*
When Roberto returns backstage from his act with the animals, he's met with Sportacus walking towards him. On his hands. (Ass facing him.)
Once he's close enough, Sportacus flips and lands on his feet, letting it become clear that he has a rose between his teeth. Without a word (just a smirk), he takes it out of his mouth and hands it to Roberto.
He stares down at it for a moment, going red, then asks shakily, "What's this for?"
"For your outfit! I thought it might go well—you know, add a splash of red to the black and purple color scheme you've got going on."
Sportacus figures that's an acceptable time to look him up and down without it being uncomfortable, though he winds up letting his eyes linger a little too long. Then, to make up for it, he quickly grabs the rose back and stuffs it inside Roberto's tight vest where it'll stay put, and stick just out the inside of the coat.
"There!" he says brightly, then takes a still-shocked Roberto by the small of his back over to the mirror. "What do you think?"
For several seconds, he stares at himself in silence, and Sportacus frowns, worried.
"You don't have to wear it if you don't want to—"
"No, I'm going to," he says simply. "Um. Thank you." The tiniest of smirks indicates how much he truly likes it, even as he tries to walk away—
And as Sportacus stops him.
"Wait—do you want me to change costume? Or add something? Take away something? Put on some make-up—change into something a little... tighter?"
With that he raises his eyebrows hopefully, noticing that Roberto looks shocked again. Almost beyond repair this time.
Surely Robbie would love to see him changed, if for no other reason than the novelty? He's always griping about how Sportacus is always in the same blue outfit, how he should mix it up once in a while—and he may not say it, but Sportacus feels sure the man must be dying to put him in some eyeshadow, at least. Maybe some glitter on his cheeks?
Instead, he tells him,
"Nope. You are perfect as you are, Sportacus. Besides, the clothes you're wearing are tight enough. We wouldn't want your pants to rip open on stage, would we?"
For once, Sportacus is the flustered one.
"No, no we wouldn't."
*
The kids all dressed as clowns run out on stage at the ringmaster's command, and Sportacus is there waiting for him when he turns around.
"Hey, I said all the clowns!"
Rather than feeling insulted in the least, Sportacus folds his arms and smirks. Roberto smirks back after a second, and grabs the crook of his arm.
"Come with me, the final act is coming up after this and we need to prep you!"
Sportacus lets Roberto pull him along, suddenly feeling very anxious to finally discover what he has planned and perform his solo act.
Too anxious, perhaps, because before Roberto can tell him what it is, he stops on an impulse.
"Wait."
"Agh—what is it?" he groans, throwing his hands up in impatience.
"Before the finale, I—" Sportacus starts slowly, then reaches out to grab both of the other man's arms, looking as sincere as possible. "Robb—Roberto... I wanted to say thank you."
The man looks genuinely confused. "What for?"
"For putting all this together! You've given the children such a good time, I don't think they've ever had this much fun—or myself, even! And you, too, I—I mean, I don't know about your personal life, but... I'm glad you're letting yourself have fun, too." That, he thinks, may give himself away, but Roberto says nothing. "Truly, I'm thankful for your circus."
Roberto's mouth twitches, as though he's trying to keep himself from smiling—or perhaps he doesn't know how he should look or feel. He begins to go red, again, and he blinks far more times in the next several seconds than he needs to.
"Well, um...," he finally gets out, his lips still unable to pick an expression. "You're welcome?"
Sportacus can tell how awkward he feels, so he offers him an out:
"Okay, now what's the final act you want me to do?"
The twitching stops, but so does the rest of his body. For a second he doesn't even seem to be breathing, and his eyes seem to have lit up, and then... then he goes soft, takes a deep breath, and tightens his lips.
"You know what... Why don't we do your idea for the grand finale?"
Sportacus can't imagine that was very easy for Robbie to say, which is at least half of the reason why it makes him so happy to hear it.
Happy enough to tighten the hold he has on the man's arms, and pull himself closer.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"You think the kids will love it more than your own idea?"
"Oh, far more."
"And you're up for it? You trust me to catch you?"
"I, um. I'll admit, I am mildly afraid of heights."
"I promise you'll be safe! And I'll make us both look very impressive."
"I don't doubt that. Also, we have only a few minutes before it's time to go on."
"Oh! In that case—" Sportacus finally lets go of him, and Roberto shakes his arms out. "We should go over the plan."
And they do, and it's relatively simple, nothing difficult to remember—especially not for an esteemed ringmaster, as Sportacus points out when Roberto hesitates.
"Don't be nervous—you're Roberto the Great, remember?"
"I'm not nervous!"
"Good! But even so... how about a kiss for good luck?"
In the seconds they have left, Sportacus wraps an arm around Roberto's neck, pulls him down to his own level, and presses his lips right to the side of his mouth.
He pulls back with a big, toothy smile, watches Roberto's lips twitch upward as well, and promptly pushes the curtain open.
* *
Blushing something furious, and so, so grateful that the light obscures it, Robbie walks out onto the stage.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" he shouts, gesturing dramatically. "Each of you lucky individuals are about to witness our grand finale, starring myself, your ringmaster, Roberto the Great... and Sportacus the Magnificent!"
That wasn't in the script they planned, but it's only fitting, isn't it? That elf is so magnificent, in fact, that he actually managed to change his mind about shooting him from a cannon.
Sportacus takes a running start out from the curtain and backflips onto the stage—finally, a good reason for him to be moving around that way. He lands behind Roberto to a very enthusiastic applause from the children, but wastes no time to bask in the glory like Robbie himself might.
He holds his hands out, like they planned, and waits for Roberto to fall back onto them. Despite everything, he still worries that for some reason this may all be a trick and that he'll hit the floor, but Sportacus proves there's nothing to worry about—
And before he knows it, he's being lifted above the other man's head with ease.
That's his cue for Roberto to shift onto his side, one arm propping up his head like he's relaxing, and the other outstretched with his whip. This pose better look impressive from out there.
He wouldn't know, as the town is only yelling for Sportacus, shouting about how strong he must be while he holds the ringmaster up, but then—
"Ready, Roberto?"
"As I'll ever be!"
Then Sportacus squats him once, twice, and on the third he launches him up in the air.
They planned it, but Robbie didn't know how it would feel to be so high without any support, and it's happening too fast for him to remember exactly how he's meant to flip, and then he's falling and the crowd is gasping and it's too late, he doesn't care about looking cool, he's just terrified—
And then, albeit not exactly what he intended, Sportacus backflips and catches him mid-air, landing them in a dip with Roberto's rose in his mouth.
His heart is pounding—both their hearts are pounding, and their very small audience is screaming, and everybody is too caught up in the excitement to realize, until Sportacus grins back at him—
His hat and mustache have fallen off, thus removing the glamour, and allowing the whole rest of the town to see what Sportacus has seen this whole time.
"Robbie Rotten?" the lot of them gasp disjointedly, but not in their usual accusatory way. After all, he's done nothing wrong, this time. As far as they know.
"Robbie Rotten," Sportacus says quietly, a telling shine in his eyes as he tries to look at least a little surprised. Then he smiles, shakes his head, and lifts Robbie up to a standing position. "Robbie, you know you don't have to disguise yourself just to have fun with us!"
"I—well, you see, I wasn't... um, you—"
His babbling is interrupted by the little pink girl shouting:
"Yeah, Robbie! This was so much fun—you should have let us know it was you!"
The other children audibly agree, and then the Mayor and Ms. Busybody join in, and it all leaves Robbie feeling quite overwhelmed. So he looks back to Sportacus, who still has an arm around him.
"Don't worry," he starts, so Robbie doesn't have to, "you can do nice things sometimes and still be a villain, if you'd like. And, I'm sure—" he glances at the crowd- "All of us would like you to come join us for a circus after-party?"
"Yeah!" Trixie yells.
"Of course!" Stephanie chimes in.
"You are absolutely welcome, Mr. Rotten!"
"I already have extra cakes made!
"Please come!"
"Yeah, Robbie, won't you, huh?"
"Sure, I guess."
"Stingy!"
Robbie glances with him, then back once again.
"Well, I... I suppose I'll come," he decides. His mouth is twitching again. "But only for the cakes. That's it."
Sportacus grins and pats the space on his back he's been holding, then begins leading him out of the circus tent with everyone else.
"Of course, Robbie. Just—" He stops, and bends down to pick up the rose he had dropped from his mouth, then slides it back into Roberto's vest. "If you wouldn't mind, keep the costume on."