Chapter Text
Warning this story has: Gradient Joe x Mime, Bugbo x Gerbo (may or may not be one-sided), multifandom, light swearing, AU
(this takes place in an AU where Gradient Joe never made circuses illegal again and before A familiar foe)
It was a simple modest Tuesday. I was spending some time with my friends Gerbo and Bugbo watching all the circus performers including our friend The Hollow Clown doing some circus acts that would put anyone at awe. Even I, a guy more interested in activities requiring more thinking like chess could appreciate the show. That and also the fact that I really needed a break from the crazy Monday I experienced. I'm not going to go over it all, but in short the mayor made circuses illegal after tripping on a ball so years later my friends and me meet The Hollow Clown and agree to help him make circuses legal again by me running for mayor. In the end I won by default (because Bugbo took Quentin's life force but that's not here or there). At first I was a little nervous to become a mayor, I'm just a average gradient headed guy who didn't really need nor want all the power and responsibilities that came with such an important job. But then it became apparent that this job honestly wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.
All that I was required to do was look over paperwork giving a overview on everything happening in the town which I was able to do in about 1 hour and 30 minutes since the town I'm mayor of is not that big and make sure everyone was generally fine. It truly wasn't that bad, plus the fact that I could make new laws was a bonus. I actually haven't made any new laws other then all circuses are legal and correcting the many useless laws Quentin had made. I don't plan to unless I know that the law I make is actually important and would benefit the townspeople. Quentin was a bad mayor because he was too impulsive. He made laws at the drop of a hat just because of how he felt in the moment, laws that would do nothing or even worse negatively affect the townsfolk. No, I, Gradient Joe, will not let history repeat itself. These people need an actually decent mayor for once.
Anyways, I decide to take my focus off the show for a bit to look to my side and see how my friends were doing. Gerbo was between me and Bugbo and was eating some popcorn from a red and white striped bag. He was very amazed with the show and was one of the people of the crowd ooohing and ahhhing at every cool thing the performers did. Though he did it quietly as to not upset Bugbo. Speaking of Bugbo, he still had his unusual grin that seems to never falter no matter what situation he's in. His eyes aren't any less unnerving, staring with an unreadable gaze. If I were just a stranger looking at Bugbo right now I'd probably think he wasn't paying attention but I know better than to think that. Bugbo is always paying attention to all of his surroundings and seems to have god-like powers that he casually uses. Sure, he's pretty competent with his powers and not that malicious but it's not that comforting to know that there's a bug that could just kill you by saying "no". Adding to the fact that specific bug is bugbo, and you have the perfect concept for a horror movie.
He's generally okay with me and Hoppo, even sometimes asking me how I felt after the situations we got into. Except for that one time he was a dick and pushed me into that hole, someone could even say that Bugbo likes me the most out of the friend group, even though Gerbo is supposed to be his best friend. In fact, Bugbo is the most passive aggressive to Gerbo. Bugbo is basically obsessed with productivity and feels an intense need to do something that will accomplish teaching his favorite moral. Gerbo however likes to slow down and doing activities that Bugbo views as not very productive, so its no surprise how Bugbo is the most passive aggressive to Gerbo. How he's being treated, I was genuinely surprised when Gerbo confessed to me that he loved Bugbo. He said he just had to tell someone or it would just eat away at his soul and thought I would be the best person to tell. I agreed not to tell Bugbo but questioned Gerbo as to why he would ever have feelings for Bugbo. Gerbo insisted that Bugbo was just looking out for him and Bugbo just had to make sure it didn't go over his head.
Gerbo isn't dumb nor a masochist, he's just naïve. He looks up to Bugbo and thinks he is way better than himself. While Bugbo is like I said very aware of everything, I don't know if Bugbo even knows about Gerbo's crush on him. Either Bugbo doesn't know or he just chooses to not acknowledge it. I'm not a fan, but if Gerbo's happy then I'm happy. Though if I were him I'd never fall in love with anyone who treated me like that like Bugbo does to Gerbo. I'm pretty sure that Bugbo does actually care about Gerbo, its just that in Bugbo's head he has to tell Gerbo what to do the way Bugbo likes it because he's 'not so bright'. All Bugbo's main goal is to do productive activities that would lead to him stating the moral that "togetherness makes anything effortless". It's very strange, like Bugbo's a broken record repeating the same moral just to please an audience. But then that train of thought would just make me question if I or anything here is real, and I don't have proof for or against that. If I had to guess though, Bugbo knew the answer.
Basically, Bugbo can be a nice guy except when someone is in his way from going on an adventure that in the end would teach that same old moral. I was going to ponder on why Hoppo wasn't here, but then something else catches my attention. A blue moose wearing a fake mustache, hat, and weird suit was counting money with eyes that desired one thing and one thing only: greed. He snickered to himself as he counted all the money had he gotten, since judging by his outfit he was the ringmaster. I was about to dismiss the ringmaster and look away when someone else approached him. The person was a deer with a white and navy blue shirt. His fur was like looking into an amethyst, a rich shade of purple. The most interesting part about the deer would have to be his face. A triangle that color matched the navy blue parts of his shirt above each of his eyes and two pink painted on circles on each of his cheeks. To complete the look, there was a white powder that completely covered his face. It was obvious that this guy was a mime.
The mime tugged at the ringmaster's suit end not roughly but enough to get his attention. The ringmaster looked at the mime in annoyance. "What do you want, boy?" The ringmaster asked with an irritated tone in his voice. The mime simply smiled and held up a flyer. I didn't know what it said, but the next words that came out of the ringmasters mouth would make it quite clear what the flyer was for. "Oh, I forgot I needed another employee. I don't have much confidence that you'll be any good. I mean, is that really how you dress up when you're looking for a job? You look like a emo clown!" The ringmaster laughs at his own comment while the mime looks at him with a confused expression. I guess the ringmaster is also really stupid because he literally works at a circus. "Okay then, if you want to work here then you better impress me. Do something cool!" The Mime smiled and nodded his head. The mime pulls out a red, yellow, and blue ball. He starts juggling them. It's simple but a good start. The ringmaster however seems to disagree, as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
The Mime then takes out plates, sticks, and a circus ball that was luckily to big to trip on. He then starts plate spinning while balancing on the circus ball. I honestly have never seen anyone do plate balancing on a circus ball in real life or media, so I was pretty shocked when the ringmaster literally just yawned and called it 'boring'. Then the mime did something that left me completely flabbergasted to the core. The mime takes out 3 chainsaws and a stick with a flame on top which I have no idea how he did that and starts to juggle the chainsaws with his feet. His goddamn feet. Meanwhile the stick with a flame on top was in one hand and balancing his entire body on the other hand. Finally, as the cherry on top, he was plate spinning on his nose. It was so incredible that it was surprising that nobody was noticing such an impressive act happening inside the carnival. "Hm..." The ringmaster put his hand on his chin and looks much more interested. "Okay, I think your performance has impressed me. But before I hire you, may I ask why haven't you talked this whole time? It's kind of creepy..." Does this guy really not know what a mime is? The mime stops doing that crazy act without cutting his legs off and stands up. The mime clenched his hand and moved it onto his lips. The mime was saying that he was mute in sign language, but it seemed like the ringmaster didn't understand this as he just looked very confused. "What, are you shy? Come on, just say something!" The ringmaster insisted, but didn't hear a thing from the mime. "Well I mean this is a circus with thousands of people coming so it'll be very difficult for you to work here if your too scared to speak, and you know what they say. No guts no glory so I can't hire you, sorry." The ringmaster concludes.
The mime nods sadly and walks past the ringmaster. I feel really bad for the mime since he can genuinely make a great performance with true passion and skill. The ringmaster somehow didn't understand that the mime was a mime and mimes don't talk so the mime couldn't get the job. I look down sadly, life can truly be unfair. I should probably not think about that right now. I didn't even know who that mime guy was, so I shouldn't be unable to fully enjoy my friends company over a incident that happened between strangers. "Hey Gradient Joe, why do you seem so sad? Are you okay?" I look at Gerbo, who was staring at me with concern with those big ocean blue eyes of his. I take out my notepad and red ink pen and write out a note for the small note for the small yellow spider. 'Ah, it's nothing. I think I'm just a little tired that's all.' I hand Gerbo the paper. "Oh really? Well if your tired you could get a fizz soda. The ringmaster guy told me that it can help make you feel more energized while I was getting this popcorn."
Gerbo showed me his popcorn to emphasize that this was the popcorn he bought, which was still somehow not finished. Eh, why not. I'll just buy one soda so that Gerbo would stop worrying about me. Besides, I'm sure there not that expensive since Gerbo got his popcorn for 5 shells. I give Gerbo a thumbs up, letting him know I'll do it. Gerbo smiled back. "Thanks Gradient Joe, I'm glad I could help you!" Gerbo said. I nod my head and go over to the snack bar. The person selling the snacks was a brown rat with chestnut colored eyes wearing a red and white striped hat that looked like a popcorn bag except for a black brim. He had a thin black mustache that seemed real and a kind of pitched Italian accent. "Hello there sir, your gonna buy something?" The mouse asked. I look around and see the fizz sodas. I write 'I want to buy a small fizz soda' The guy scoffed when I hand him the paper. "What a strange thing, you have lost your voice?" The mouse inquired as he read the paper. "Well that will be 1.99 shells." The mouse stated.
The price seemed pretty reasonable, so I decide to buy it. 'Okay I'll take it...Gerald' I linger a bit to squint at his nametag to write the mouse's name. I pay Gerald the shells and head back to the bench. I sit down and try to distract myself, but why can't I stop thinking about it...? Five minutes later and I'm still thinking about the situation. I'm just kind of staring at the performance without really processing it while mindlessly sipping at the fizz drink. No, the soda wasn't that good I was just trying to distract myself. I only stop when I realize I had drunk the entire soda. I felt that I kind of had to pee since I drunk a fizz drink in 5 minutes. It wasn't urgent but it's better sooner than later. I put down the soda and casually walks to the bathroom. When I open the bathroom door however, I see nobody in the bathroom except one. It was the talented mime! But he wasn't using the bathroom, rather he was looking very sad. He was sitting on the floor while leaning on the wall, tears in his eyes and down his face smudging his face paint. Maybe I felt so bad about that incident is because I could still help him. I didn't have to go that bad, so it could wait.
I write 'I saw your performance, it was really impressive' I sit next to the mime and put the paper on the floor in front of him. He slowly looks at the paper and then at me. 'Nobody else does, even if I do well all the other circuses refused to hire me because they think it'll be too difficult to work with a person who doesn't speak.' the mime signs. I knew sign language, but chose to write because most people didn't understand sign language so it's just more convenient. His eyes showed no hope that I'd actually understand, but I did. I respond by writing 'I can relate to having differences making it harder for people to understand me. I actually used to use sign language to communicate but most people didn't understand me so I just switched to writing.' I use most because of course Bugbo understood fully. The mime looked shocked at this confession. 'You really do?' I nod. 'Wow, I have that same problem too! The other tree friends are usually nice too me but when I try to talk to them through sign language, they just look at me like I'm crazy.'
It was a nice experience for me as well to find someone who also shared similar problems. The real problem wasn't the mime, it was that the circuses couldn't understand him because he can't speak. But his performance is still good with or without the circus. 'You don't really need a circus to do circus acts. You have all the skills you need and can make all the equipment to preform on your own so everyone can see your performance without the problem of a communication barrier.' I suggest. The mime looked down and signed 'I know I can, but you see ever since I was 5 I wanted to join the circus. A circus ad I saw where people were preforming amazing acts and the crowd focusing on that and not what they said was the reason why I realized my dream was to work at a circus. But it seems like even at a circus you have to be able to talk...' So that's why he was doing such ludicrous acts just for a circus job! I know I wouldn't for a job unless I really wanted it. I nod my head in understanding and start thinking of a solution. Maybe something the ringmaster said would give me an answer? I think back to what the ringmaster said...'What, are you shy? Come on, just say something...Well I mean this is a circus with thousands of people coming...' Then everything becomes clear what happened.
'I know the real reason why the ringmaster didn't hire you' I write. The mime looked confused. 'Isn't it because I can't communicate easily to the other staff and management? Since the other circus ringmasters said it straight to me that was the reason why would this be different?' Mime asked. 'Those other circuses, yeah, it sucks that most people don't understand sign language. But I realized that ringmaster here thought you were too shy to preform with an entire crowd.' I explained. 'Really?! That's the exact opposite of me!' The mime signed. 'Then we should go tell him that, come on.' I get up. I lend the mime a hand and he gets up as well. We get out of the bathroom and look around for the ringmaster. He was at a coffee machine on a desk near the corner of the circus. Since he wasn't doing anything, we were able to approach him. He saw us and looked shocked. "Huh, why are you still here? You didn't get the job! And who is that guy with no face?" The ringmaster asked. It was normal for people to not recognize himself as the mayor since it was just yesterday but I didn't need to mention that to make a point. 'Sir is the reason you didn't hire this guy is because is because you think he is too shy?' I wrote and gave the ringmaster the paper.
'Yeah, even that girl with the really bad anxiety and dandruff issue was at least able to say something about her qualifications. But that guy couldn't even say a word! Only covered his mouth when I asked him to say something as the silence was giving really bad vibes." Lumpy responds. Mime looks around at the table and sees a lone pen. I hand him my notepad and he writes 'I know it might have seemed like I was scared to preform in front of a crowd, but it's actually the opposite. Working in a circus has been my dream and I'm 100% prepared to face any audience because I know I've been practicing for years on my circus tricks. The only reason I was covering my mouth was to tell you that I'm mute, that's also why I wasn't speaking. So could you please reconsider me for the job, I promise I'll do my very best!' The mime gave the paper to the ringmaster and looked with anticipation as he read it. Then the ringmaster looked up at the both of us. "OHHH, your mute! Well, that's okay! You don't really need to speak for the job as its pretty simple, but I'll definitely hire you now that I'm not worried you'll run when seeing a full crowd."
The mime grinned and jumped for joy! The mime and the ringmaster shook hands and the ringmaster said "Congratulations, you are officially hired!" They stop shaking hands but the mime was still celebrating over getting his dream job. "As an apology for the misunderstanding you can keep the pen, but what do you mean by 'facing an audience'?" The mime stopped celebrating at these words and looks at him confused. "The ringmaster laughed. "What, are you gonna be sweeping in front of the crowd as a show? Ah, it's probably a slip of the pen. Well I'll see you tomorrow our new cleaner!" The ringmaster walks away while the mime looks dumbfounded. I write 'I'm sorry for that, I really thought you were gonna get your dream job but instead your a cleaner.' He shakes his head to regain his focus and looks at what I wrote. Instead of being any other emotion I was thinking he would be, he simply smiles. Then he writes 'Its okay, thanks to you I got a job. And while I won't be preforming as a circus worker which sucks, I'll still get to be near a circus which is better than working an average job which I probably would have had to get if it weren't for you.'
The mime hugs me and I hug him back. 'So are you still gonna use writing to communicate? It's okay if you don't' I inquire. The mime nods. 'Sure, most people won't bother to learn sign language so it's much more convenient. Besides I get to use this pen with pretty purple ink that'll remind me of this day. Though I'll probably use my own notepad from home to write.' I didn't whether the part about remembering this day was about how he got a job since it wasn't even his dream job or something else, but I was happy for him. 'Oh yeah, I just realized I never got your name. What is it?' I ask. He writes 'It's Mime, very convenient since I am a Mime.' Mime answers. I check the time and realize I should be heading back to my friends since it was almost time to leave. 'Hey Mime, do you want to meet my friends? I'm gonna be leaving soon.' I write. 'Sure, if they're friends with you I'm sure they're nice.' Mime replies. I lead him to my friends Bugbo and Gerbo. "Oh hi Joe! You took pretty long in that bathroom." Gerbo said. 'Well I actually met this guy called Mime. He's really cool and also mute like me.' I write. "Wow how amazing my friend indeed, and hello to you too Mime." Bugbo says.
Then I realize I really need the bathroom, since I never used it. 'Uh yeah guys really cool now I'll just leave you guys alone a bit okay?' I quickly wrote before rushing to the bathroom. As I'm reliving myself, I think of all the events that have unfolded. I wonder how this new friendship with Mime would lead to, but only time could tell. When I walk out, Bugbo is telling Gerbo something while Mime looks confused. Gerbo sees me and says "Oh Gradient Joe is here! Let's go now." We all head out of the circus. Mime waves goodbye and I do the same before we all go in our homes.