Work Text:
You arrived in Jupiter, Florida, intending to invest your money in a business with the trust fund money your family gave you from the family company. While you were at one of the small town diners, you caught sight of a group of oddballs sitting on the bar stools. It was a rather misfit bunch. Not that you minded, as the other patrons seemed to. One caught your attention.
The curly dirty blonde in the white tank top and overalls, wearing a leather jacket. He sported a pair of leather mittens over his hands. Those mittens caused several questions to form in your mind. If the others he was with had a uniqueness about them, his hands must be what others would deem as different.
The others that sat on either side of them were a tall woman wearing a red bandana around her head, a heavily tattooed male with arms that reminded you of flippers on a seal, and lastly, there was a woman without legs.
The man wearing the mittens appeared to be the leader of all of them by the way he spoke up for the others when the cooks and servers protested against serving them. Before a fight would ultimately break out by the rising anger between the workers and the dirty blonde male, you got up from your seat and walked over to the counter.
You slipped in beside the tattooed male and the man wearing leather mittens. You offered the cook a smile and plucked a few bills from your purse — reciting the groups order perfectly as your own so they would have to serve you.
“We don’t need your charity.” The dirty blonde rebuked, turning his head in your direction and giving you a dirty look. “I was handling it. I didn’t need your help.”
You chuckled outright and rested your elbow on the table, your cheek in your hand. You raised a brow and cracked a smile. “It’s my treat. Not a charity. Quite the little group you’ve got here. My name is Y/F/N Y/L/N. I love it. Now, are you going to introduce yourselves?”
The dirty blonde held out his gloved hand to you cautiously. “I’m Jimmy Darling. To the right of me is Eve. Beside her is Suzi. On my left is Paul.” Usually when anyone took an interest in the show like this, it meant that they had an ulterior motive in mind or wanted to sell them because they were freaks and treated as such. Few saw them as real people, which was something that he heavily fought for.
They all waved in your direction after you shook hands with Jimmy. “Strong grip you’ve got there, Jimmy. It is a pleasure to meet all of you.” You let go of his hand and turned your attention to the cooks who made the food that you ordered, lining them all on the bar. You passed out the orders to where they needed to go for Suzi, Eve, Paul, and Jimmy.
“Why are you doing this?” Jimmy asked, still convinced that you were up to something nefarious.
“Because I want to. It’s not right that you weren’t being served just because you are different.” You started. “Not that being different is a bad thing. I adore it and all of you look fabulous, by the way.” You couldn’t help but be enamored by the group.
Eve and Suzi smiled when they heard the compliment from you. “Thank you, darling. We don’t get many compliments like that from most folks. It is much appreciated.” The tall woman said.
“It was very kind of you, miss Y/L/N.” Paul said, extending his flipper hand to you. You walked to the other side of Jimmy to shake his hand. Normal people seemed to be taken back by him and his form, being creeped out by all of his tattoos that adorned his smaller frame and his deformed arms. You didn’t.
“What do you guys do for a living?” You ask after you let go of Paul’s hand and looked around the small group.
“Fräulein Elsa’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Did you really think we had normal jobs around here?” Jimmy answered, a slight chuckle leaving his lips.
You shrugged your shoulders, smiling a little. “You never know. That’s why I asked. I assumed that you handsome fellas and gorgeous ladies worked in the best place in town.” You said nonchalantly. “Wanna take me there after you’re done eating? I’d love to see it.” You slid your hand to lie on top of Jimmy’s leather gloved hand. “I need to see what I’m putting my money into, right?” You playfully wink at him before you left them to eat and finish your own meal at the table you were residing in before you spotted the misfit group.
After everyone’s bellies filled with food, you followed them out and with your car to the large open field with tents and trailers strewn about rather elegantly, in your opinion. You pulled up next to where Jimmy parked and parked beside him. You got out of the car and gave them a smile as the others got out of the car.
“You guys go on ahead. I’ll give the lovely little lady a tour of the place.” Jimmy told the others before turning to you. He threw his leather gloves into the car to reveal his deformed hands. His index finger and middle finger on each hand and his ring finger and pinky were melded together. The medical term for his condition being called ectrodactyly.
Your eyes couldn’t help but stare at his hands. Your head tilted to the side as you walked closer to him. You placed your hand on his arm and trialed it down to his hand, holding it between yours. Your fingers delicately traced along his and you were speechless as you studied them.
“Your hands...” You trailed off.
“Are freaky, right?” He continued, waiting for you to agree with him like others did.
You shook your head. “No. Just not what I was expecting, but pleasantly surprised.” You answered, biting your lip softly. You didn’t realize how much you were so focused in on them while you were genuinely admiring them. “You know what they say about guys with large hands.” Questioning the expression whilst joking. “Or is it feet?”
Jimmy cracked a smile and chuckled a bit, shaking his head. “You’re certainly different. I’ll give ya that. Let’s give ya that tour, alright?” He motioned for you to come with him and made his way into the camp. He turned his head back to see if you were following him, and you were. “The expression is guys with big feet have a big dick swingin’ between their legs jus’ to clear that up for ya.”
“Duly noted.” You said slyly, a chuckle rumbling in your throat.
The first place that Jimmy led you to was the mess hall tent where a few of the others were just hanging out and talking. Some of which you remembered from the diner and a few that you had yet to meet. Like the short male that wore tall brown and grey feathers on his head and a furry collared shirt that covered him up well enough, but he wore no pants. He held a live chicken in his hands. There were two pinheads that seemed thrilled together, like a married couple with the small Indian woman in the woman’s hands, and it made a smile come to your lips. They were so cute together. The last new person you saw there that you hadn’t met at the diner was a larger brunette woman with a beard. None of the people that you saw truly terrified you or startled you.
Jimmy slipped into the canopy and offered a smile to the bearded woman. “Hey Ma. It smells amazing.” He said, reaching up to rub the woman’s back before turning back to you. “Ma. This is Y/N Y/L/N. She wants to sponsor us. Y/N, this is my Ma, Ethel Darling. The guy with the chicken is Meep. Then you got Pepper and Salty and Ma Petite.”
You slunk under the canopy and offered the woman a smile. “It is a pleasure to meet you.” You looked over to the others and gave them smiles as well. “All of you, really.” Your gaze shifted over to the food that Ethel was cooking up. “Do you need any help? I’d be happy to help.” You offered as you made your way over.
Ethel looked up from what she was doing and looked over at her boy before turning her attention over to you. She gave you a courteous smile and inspected you from head to toe, sizing you up. “So you want to sponsor us, do ya? Now why is that?”
“I want to sponsor you guys because I want to. You guys deserve it and I’ve been dying to find something to invest in and this show and everyone in it deserves every penny I have to give to fund this show.” You explained, desperately seeking approval that you didn’t know that you were pining for. A kind smile took over the one that you were currently wearing.
Ethel bucked up and listened to your story, trying to wrap her head around it. She was deciding if the woman before her was telling the truth. Being who she was and what she had been through, being treated like a freak for being a woman with a beard. Knowing people's true intentions and the fake facades they put on was part of the job description, so to speak. The woman thought it odd that you didn’t call their freak show for what it was. You merely called it a show like a comedy show or a dinner and a show. Your tone sounded sincere in your answer that you wanted to give away your money on a group like them. “Ya seem genuine in what ya say. But how do we know ya mean what you say?”
You hummed softly, taking a moment to think of an answer, and it came to you. “I know how I can prove it to you. I won’t take a dime and I’ll help around the camp. Treat me like I’m one of you. I can do a little singing. Though I don’t personally think I’m as good as you or anyone else here in their acts. But let me work for my keep.” You clasped your hands together and interlaced your fingers together, pleading that she would accept your paltry offer.
A few tense minutes passed as Ethel stared you down and once she deemed your offer was good enough, she finally said. “Alright. I will pass that onto Miss Elsa. I’ll let my boy finish your tour of the place and then we’ll put you to work.”
You practically rushed the older woman with glee. The pure and innocent glee that you felt that Ethel, Jimmy’s mother, would put in a good work with Miss Elsa about the arrangement that you made with her. You wrapped your arms around Ethel in a tight hug, bouncing up and down in place. “Thank you so much, Miss Ethel Darling. You are a doll, truly.” You said before you released her from the hug with the largest and brightest grin on your face that you could muster. Ethel shared the sentiments and return the smile with a light-hearted chuckle.
Logically, you knew that you would have to meet with this Elsa person who was in charge of the whole freak show at some point. Probably that night, once you settled into a tent or caravan with one of the many entertainers. Part of you hoped that it would be with Jimmy, but surely they would never allow you to bunk with him. Things might happen. From the looks of it, Jimmy Darling was the real ladies’ man.
Jimmy laughed lightly as he watched the display in front of him between the two ladies and he placed a hand on your shoulder. “Come on, let’s finish this tour, huh? And maybe you can show me your singin’? Like a rehearsal before Miss Elsa hears ya because I’m sure that she’d wanna have ya show off what you can do to see if you’re gonna make the cut, so to speak.”
You looked back at Jimmy, feeling his hand on your shoulder. You nodded, and the smile didn’t fade from your lips. “Of course. Lead the way.” You quickly turned back to the others and gave them all a wave goodbye.
Over the course of the rest of the tour, you got to meet with everyone except for Miss Elsa, along with the others that you met earlier at the diner, and chat with them about a little of this and that. It was amazing to see their individual talents and what they brought to the greater community. It made you want to prove yourself all the more and building this rapport with them seemed to be worth it.
The last place that Jimmy showed you was the main show tent, and he slipped away while your eyes took in the sight of where they performed their acts. Inside the tent was larger than what you were expecting it to be from what you could make from it on the outside. Chairs set up and lined up with an aisle down the middle of the tent. A stage platform at the back of the tent with a microphone stand on it. Speakers on each side and music equipment set up off to the side. A large open curtain draped to create a beautiful waterfall on both sides of the stage.
“Testin’.” Jimmy’s voice broke through your thoughts over the live microphone and you immediately brought your attention to the stage where you saw the male standing there. He looked so perfect up there. Like he was made to be on stage as casual as he looked up on that stage. “Testin’. I think we’re ready. Don’t worry, I’ll play sum music for ya so ya aren’t goin’ completely solo up on there. Figure that it might make ya a bit more comfortable.”
“Sounds perfect. Thank you.” You said, reaching out your hand to place it on his chest momentarily. “Promise not to laugh if I completely bomb this. I’ve never performed on stage before.”
He gave his charming smile to you and reached up, taking your hand in his. “Don’t be scared. Jus’ pretend it’s just the two of us. Sing to me, alright?” He reassured you. “Because I have a feelin’ that the others are gonna wander in here when they hear your song.” He gently led you over to the stage and walked you up onto the wooden platform, taking you to the mic. “You got this.” He met your gaze and winked his signature little charming wink that made any girl melt. The corners of his lips curled into a light smirk before he jumped off the stage and took a few steps away before turning back around to see you on the stage all on your lonesome. “Beautiful.” He uttered to himself, thinking that you wouldn’t hear it, but you did.
Your cheeks flushed slightly at the compliment, but you cleared your throat as soon as he walked away to put on some instrumental music in the background. He returned to his spot dutifully, giving you another charming wink. You looked up, closed your eyes, took a deep breath before lowering your head and opening your eyes. Your eyes trained on him as you sang with the music. The song you chose was ‘Strangers Like Me’ by Phil Collins. It seemed quite apt given the situation. Though fitting in the nicest way.
As you sang to the sung, like Jimmy said, the others filed into the tent with hearing the music coming from the tent. Even Miss Elsa showed up to see what all the commotion was all about after Ma Petite, Salty, and Pepper came by to tell her what was going on. You were so engrossed in the song and focused on Jimmy that you hadn’t really noted the others until the song came to a stop. Seeing everyone there to watch you sing sent anxious shivers down your body and your face to flush immediately.
“That was beautiful. Truly something to behold.” The older woman with curly blonde hair and a german accent spoke as she walked closer to the stage. “I hear from Ethel that you wish to make your keep here and sponsor our little show, taking nothing for yourself. Don’t you think that is a poor business decision on your part if you wish to invest in us?”
With Jimmy’s helping hand, you jumped off of the small stage and stood directly in front of it before the great Elsa Mars. “I’m not interested in the money, Miss Elsa. I see some real potential in this show and I want to put my money where it is needed most. Not where I can make the quick buck. I genuinely adore everyone here. For who they are. Because they are people, just like me. Just because they are different doesn’t mean that they aren’t living, breathing people like anyone else.”
Jimmy’s gaze softened slightly towards you as he listened to every word that came out of your mouth. A small sense of pride overcame him for finding such an amazing sponsor for their show and breathtaking as well, with a heart of gold. You saw them as he saw them. You two were one in the same, cut from the same metaphorical cloth, and he loved that about you.
“I see.” Elsa drew out, taking a drag from her lit cigarette. She blew out the smoke that filled her lungs off to the side before turning her head back to you. “Well, I suppose you and Jimmy here think similarly and you seem genuine in your claims. We are glad to have you join us, Miss...”
“L/N. Y/N L/N.” You introduced delightfully, extending your hand to the woman who returned the exchange to shake hands.
“Think we got everything?” Jimmy asked with a slight chuckle as he turned to you. His eyes darting to the cart of groceries he was pulling.
You hummed softly and looked over the list in your hands before scanning over the mountain of supplies inside the cart. With each item that you confirmed present, your smile grew bit by bit. You knelt down a little just to be certain with a few items buried in the pile and once the assessment came to a close; you stood to your full length. “Looks like it is all there. We do good work together.” You said, nibbling your bottom lip as you raised your gaze to meet his.
“That we do. Come on, let’s check out and get outta this joint, and back to camp. I’m starving.” Jimmy gestured with his head in the direction of the checkout lanes.
You nodded in agreement and followed him up to the checkout, helping him load up the groceries onto the belt. You paid no mind to the stares that you received from a few of the patrons and the other cashiers working. After everything scanned, you thanked the man working and paid him. Jimmy followed your suit and thanked the workers before the both of you left the store.
With the groceries loaded into the car, the two of you set off towards the camp. Arriving at the camp; Paul and Eve helped with unloading the bags of groceries from the car while you worked on packing away whatever you didn’t need for making dinner that night for everyone.
You treated everyone to the best grand meal you could think of and knew how to make without having to use a cookbook. Everyone filled their bellies with the delectable meal while chatting about the show after having prepared all day for it, laughing even at a few jokes shared between them all.
You met Jimmy’s gaze beside you on the bench and time seemed to stand still as you lost yourself in the dark brown abyss. Your breath slowed to a crawl and a light pink flush spread across your cheeks. It felt as though the magnet pulled you closer to him and all you could do was succumb to the weight of it. You inched closer to him, your thigh brushing up against his, and one of your hands snaked to take his that had settled on his thigh while he ate.
His breath hitched in his throat softly, making it nearly unnoticeable to the others. A chocolate brown brow arched in minute confusion or perhaps intrigue towards your actions. Like you, he felt the magnetic urge to be closer to you.
“You two feelin’ alright?” Paul questioned on his way to clean up his plate. He cleared his throat a few times until the staring contest between you and Jimmy came to a halt.
“Yeah... Yeah. Totally fine. I was just seein’ how long she could go without blinkin’.” Jimmy diverted as he looked over to Paul. “She may just have a talent yet. Holdin’ someone’s gaze for a really long time without blinkin’.” He joked, a grin overtaking his features as he took his hand back and used his elbow to nudge you.
Despite your best efforts to not give Paul the satisfaction of seeing you squirm, you felt your cheeks flush an even darker shade of pink. He often tried to tease you and make you squirm because obviously you harbored feelings for the lobster-handed male beside you. It was becoming clearer that he may just have some feelings towards you as well.
“Yeah... Alright.” The heavily tattooed carnie said. He did not sound remotely convinced with the excuse Jimmy spit out. He walked away to deal with his dishes. The others did the same after they finished eating.
Soon enough, it was showtime. The fairy lights strung up and lighting up the night, illuminating the way for those who dared to enter Fräulein Elsa’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Laughter and a few giggles, sprinkled in with a few screams from the children that attended the show with their parents. Chattering of young couples and the sounds of the few rides on the property filled the camp, breathing life into it.
Slowly, the seats filled with the patrons pilling into the main even tent. You pulled open the curtain into a slit to peak at the crowd. It always amazed you at the amount of people that the show would pull in, and your attention engrossed by watching those people settling into their seats, chatting to one another.
Jimmy wrapped his strong arm around your waist from behind and pulled you back from the curtain. His chuckle rumbled deep in your ear. “Don’t be scaring off nobody by lookin’ at ‘em from backstage.” He teased you softly, his breath lapping against your neck. “It’s just about showtime. Meet me in my caravan after the show.” He let you go and gave you his charming smile.
With your back turned to him and feeling his warm breath against your skin, your cheeks flushed darkly. You pivoted on your heels, spinning around to look at Jimmy fully. That charming smile of his made your heart thump hard in your chest and butterflies to flutter in your gut. “Alright. Yeah. I’ll see you after the show.” You said, the blush burning across your cheeks as it spread across them further.
“See you then, doll.” Jimmy winked charmingly and walked away to double check a few miscellaneous things before the actual show started.
You exhaled the breath that you didn’t realize you were holding and you slipped outside of the tent. The stark contrast of your warm body and the chilly night air pulled you out of your mind as it whirled with thoughts of what could happen after the show between you and Jimmy in his caravan. You didn’t wander far from the tent in your little walk. Just a casual jaunt through the tents and other attractions.
You gathered your composure and settled your mind before heading back to the tent. This time instead of slipping through the back, you snuck into the front and hung back to watch the show from a new perspective. The smile sitting on your lips never left your face while the show went on. The freaks performed their respective acts and before you knew it, Jimmy stood on the stage.
The lights changed to red as he took the microphone in his hand and leaned in, the song ‘Come As You Are’ playing. He looked up from the stage to the crowd and sang. His eyes met yours in the back as he lost himself in the song, his passion for doing what he loved shown through, like the light in the dark. Clear and bright.
Your heart thumped in your chest as you watched him. He cared so much and his passion burned. It lit a fire inside of you. A special fire. In a moment, as the lights faded back from red to their normal hue, you truly realized how much you loved Jimmy Darling. You watched him walk off of the stage and you sipped out of the tent, catching him doing the same after rounding the circular corner. “Hey. Great show you put on back there.” You complimented, waltzing up to him and a smile graced your lips.
His smile matched yours, and he sidled up to you. His gaze dipped down for a second before he met your eyes. “Hey. Thanks. I see that ya decided to watch the show like everyone else. I was wondering where you ran off to after I caught ya staring at the crowd from backstage.”
“I took a walk. I needed some fresh air.” You admitted. “You wanted to go to your caravan, right?” Absently, you fiddled with your fingers nervously while your eyes locked with his.
Jimmy nodded his head. “Yeah. If you don’t mind, Y/N. I’d like to get a little time with ya before Elsa takes your attention for the rest of the night.” He said, gesturing his head in the direction towards the caravan lot off to the side of the main attractions.
You gladly followed him to his caravan and he let you go in first, like the gentleman he was before he climbed in. He jimmied the lock to give the two of you some privacy while you hung out.
You looked around the caravan and sat down on the bench. Not much changed from the last time you visited. Most of the time you spent here was with Elsa, talking business or cooking food for everyone or doing whatever errands needed to be done with the other freaks. You were a part of them and you never wanted that to be taken away from you. You didn’t want anything to change.
Jimmy sat down beside you and offered you a smile with a glass of water, which you delightfully took. He looked you over up and down after you set the empty glass down by your feet. He sipped at his water before he cleared his throat gently, licking his bottom lip. “Hey... uh... Y/N. Where did ya come from, anyway? I feel like we coulda used ya a long time ago. You’re seriously one of a kind, you know that, right?”
You blinked a little in confusion at the line of questions that Jimmy presented to you and you turned sideways on the bench, propping a leg up to give him your full attention. “I’m not sure what you mean by all that. I mean, I came from my mother and my father.” You answered, holding back a chuckle for a few minutes and earning yourself a laugh from the brown-haired male sitting across from you. “But uh... Yeah, I’m aware that I am definitely one of a kind. I don’t think any sane person would be doing what I’m doing, but here I am. Just being me like you guys are all being yourselves and getting paid for it. You guys are doing the real honest work. I’m just the happy sponsor, cook, and errand girl.”
He reached out and took your smaller hand in his larger one. “You are so much more than that. Don’t tell yourself otherwise. You don’t need to be so modest all the time. You can take a little pride in what you do for all of us here. Because of you, we get to keep this show going. For a little while longer, at least.”
You opened your mouth to say something, but the words failed to come out of your parted lips. After a moment, you smiled softly as your thumb absently trailed along his melded fingers. You lifted your head to meet his gaze and as soon as you locked eyes with him; you lost yourself in his dark brown eyes.
Silence settled between the two of you. But it wasn’t an awkward silence that fell between the two of you. The world seemed to slow down, and it seemed like the world melted away until it was just the two of you in it. You found the silence comforting, actually.
Electricity buzzed between you and Jimmy as you got lost in one another’s gaze. It felt like the electricity was magnetizing, drawing you into him. You slowly leaned in, surrendering to the magnetic pull. It appeared like he felt that pull as well, and before either of you knew it, your lips clashed with his. His eyes closed then yours, soft moans vibrating into the kiss.
You melted into the kiss and your hands found their way to the back of his neck, deepening the kiss. His hands pressed against your hips before one moved to your lower back, pulling you in closer.
You stayed liked this for a few minutes with one another, kissing and pecking each other’s lips. Getting lost in the moment and the feelings. By the end of it, you were on his lap straddling him with your arms around him and his around your hips to steady you.
Jimmy pulled away for air first and his lips curled into a grin, a soft chuckle rumbling in his throat. “Wow. That was some kiss ya got there. I did not know you felt that way about me.” He teased lightly, trailing his hands along your sides and back.
You rolled his eyes dramatically before nudging him with your hands on his shoulders. “Haha. Very funny, Darling.” You murmured sarcastically.
“I love you, Y/N. Have for a long time. Jus’ didn’t know how to approach it, ya know? It would be kinda weird if I went out and kissed the sponsor of the show out of the blue and all.” Jimmy admitted, his hands resting on the small of your back.
“That would be pretty weird. But I love you too.” You captured his lips in one last hurrah of a passionate smooch.