Chapter Text
Venera yawns and blinks a few times before rubbing her eyes, she sits up on her bed then swings her legs to the side. She sits there for a while before finally getting up and making her way to the bathroom, she washes her face, brushes her teeth. She takes a long look at herself in the mirror, inspects her pointed ears for what must be the millionth time in… well, her whole existence.
She drags a slow line over the lobe of her ear, where there’s supposed to be a curve. But there isn’t. No matter how many times she critiques how it looks, how uncanny it looks, how unhuman. It only serves to remind her that no matter how hard she tries, she will never fit in. Never become like Aven; perfect and strong and human.
“Venera! Get up! Breakfast awaits to be eaten!”
Shit. Right. Aven was waiting for her downstairs. She debated getting dressed before shrugging the thought off. There was time until later, and she really didn’t feel like moving her sore, still-asleep limbs.
“Coming!”
Venera made her way downstairs passing by pictures of her and a man, many of them were from different vacations they took, when she got to the kitchen, there stood Aven. The man who was in the pictures and who helped her, showed her kindness and took her in. Her older brother!
“Good morning Venera, slept well?”
Venera nodded and sat down at the table looking over at Aven who was finishing up cooking, the table was already set, there was nothing she could do other than wait, she daydreamed about what she’ll do today and then a thought came. She has work today, she grimaced at the thought of going to work. She loudly sighed and laid her head on the table.
“Aven.. do i have to go to work today?”
“Yes, Vennie, you have to go”
She whines and loudly complains, Aven rolls his eyes and places plates down on the table and glasses.
“What do you want to drink? We have.. Orange juice, Apple juice, sparkling.. Water.. Disgusting who left sparkling water here?”
“Not me, that’s for sure”
“We also have iced tea, cola, fanta and water”
“I’ll have uh..” Venera blinks, thinking for a moment before glancing back up at Aven. “Brother, I would be delighted to be in possession of some vodka.”
Aven gives her a look. The look that every mother has, that scares them a little “No.”
Venera now has yet another reason to whine and grumble about. She was much like an alternative, edgy teen, despite her being.. Uh, almost twenty three? At least, she thinks so. She’ll ask Aven later.
“Eat up, i’ll take you to work today”
“Ooo! Fun! Lemme ride it! I can control the motorbike!”
“No, you almost crashed last time”
She whines and whimpers about it while Aven doesn’t give her much thought, he pours himself some orange juice and grabs a piece of toast, butters it and adds a few things like cheese, bacon and so on. Venera bleh’s at the bacon and looks for some (little bit) burnt toast and adds almost everything but bacon. They eat in silence before an alarm clock interrupts them.
“Venera, your alarm clock”
She doesn’t react and continues to eat, she pours herself a glass of orange juice and chugs it down. Minutes pass and they both finish eating, Venera goes upstairs to get ready for the day and Aven cleans up the table and washes the dishes.
– – – –
When Venera went outside to where Aven is, she sees him looking through the motorbike, he seems annoyed. She gets closer and stares, Aven notices her and gives out a sigh.
“Something’s wrong with this stupid fucking motorbike, it doesn’t want to turn on. Looks like you’re walking to work and im taking the bus’’
Venera stares at Aven with a look that screams betrayal and hurt.
She puts the back of her wrist to her forehead and leans back against the door, whining. “Aven, you wound me! How can you be so cruel…”
“It’s not my fault! This BITCH won’t turn on!”
Venera just shakes her head before turning to leave, time to walk to work
– – – – – – – – – – –
On her way to work, still mentally whining and bummed out, she spots some movement near a store from the corner of her eye. She pauses and takes a look, seeing a man standing over a colorfully dressed, clown-like individual. Yelling at the poor clown.
For a moment, she thinks(must be her first time). Should she step in and intervene? Would that be okay? I mean… It’s a human thing to do. And so, despite the fact that the man might turn on her if she defends the clown, she steps forward.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” She pushes the man away, standing between him and the clown.
‘’Ever since those guys showed up, people have been disappearing! They should go back to whatever hellhole they crawled out of!”
Venera suddenly feels protective over the clown. Glancing back at him, he looks…like an injured puppy. Cute. Pathetic and dejected and fucking adorable. It makes her feel like she could just grab his face and kiss him until he loses his breath.
“It’s a coincidence, you asshole! And it doesn’t give you an excuse to harass and beat this adorable puppy poor clown! Now shoo before I call the police.”
The man huffs and turns on his heel, walking off, but not before muttering “crazy bitch..” under his breath, just loud enough for both Venera and the clown to hear.
Venera turns and helps him up. Only then, when he’s on his feet, does she realize how fucking TALL he is. He towers over her by a solid foot and a half—fuck, maybe even more than that!
“Hey, you okay pup?” The pet name slips out before she can control her mouth, and she really hopes that he didn’t notice. She sees him just nod, and takes that as a yes. “Hold on for a sec-” She rummages through her bag quickly, pulling out a pink band aid with kittens on it. She reaches up, hesitant to touch him at first, before he leans down toward her. Taking that as approval, she gently puts the band aid over his wound, her thumb lingering over it for a second before she steps back.
“There, all better.” She looks him over, taking the length of him in.
She can hear Aven’s voice in her head, Venera, Move it or you’ll be late.
“Bye!” Venera waved begrudgingly then nods at the stranger and begins walking away, her slow steps steadily turning into a jog as she rushes to her job. Damn it, she shouldn’t have spent that much time there, especially since she was daydreaming half of that argument about turning around and kissing the clown. She shook her head– no, it was barely 8am and she shouldn’t be thinking about such things right now.
She finally reached the cafe and entered, she met.. Her boss? Where’s Carol?
Her boss turned around, and huffed as he saw her, yet still offered a warm smile. “Venera, good, you’re not too late.” His thick southern accent was.. Well, more than obvious. He had the type of voice you’d expect to hear from a man with a cowboy hat and mud-ridden boots, not a man that looked like whiskey in human form.
Venera nods, still glancing around for any sight of Carol, “Yeah, sorry, something happened- Uh, Where’s Carol?”
Her boss sighed “Start as soon as you can, Carol’s running late and I've been covering her shift. The orders are on the counter, bring them over to the customers”
Venera nods and goes to grab her apron, she puts it on and ties a little bow on the back, she goes to grab the drinks and brings the items to the tables. The first and second customer talked about the circus and the flyers, the third talked about the cold weather, the fourth and fifth customer talked about getting home safely or whatever. Throughout the small talk she was kind and gave short answers, she really just wanted to go home.
For some reason she feels like someone’s watching her, like a predator watching its prey closely. Venera looked around and found nothing of the usual, how strange. Her boss came up to her with a neutral expression.
“Venera, don't let anyone hand out flyers here, I'm tired of ripping them off the window, and if you have a minute, can you go and pick up the ones scattered around the shop?”
“Sure! hmm.. Some people are being kinda mean to the circus folks, don’t you think?”
“With how they act, it freaks people out. Best to keep them away, bad for business”
Venera sighs and watches her boss leave to do some work, she looks around the shop and started to pick them up and mutters to herself “Fucking customers leavin’ these around..”
She sighs and the door opens and the bell chimes, Venera turns to face the customer with a smile , still holding the flyers she greets the customer.
“Welcome! What can I get started for you sir?”
“I’d like a strong, hot coffee”
“I’ll bring it right away sir!”
She turned to the coffee machine and started working with it, it wasn't long when the coffee was made. She made her way to the customer and gave him the coffee
“Here you go sir”
“Thanks, it’s really cold outside. What’s with those flyers?”
“Ah- someone was handing them out. I had to pick them all up”
“How rude to do that in a place of business, right?”
“Mhm.. it just creates more work for everyone else”
“If you want, I can take them from you! I’ll toss them out when I leave, no big deal. I was gathering some paper for recycling anyway”
“Really? In that case.. That’s better than just throwing them away, thanks.”
“No problem dear’
“Do you need anyt-”
“Do you like the circus?”
Venera realized what this was. He was trying to keep her talking, keep her engaged in conversation, and she hated it. “I mean… The concept intrigues me. I’m unsure if I would visit it though.”
“This one’s not for kids at all, it’s really scary”
Venera blinked, “You’ve been to the circus?” she was now lost in thought, thinking about the clown from earlier, before the man snapped her out of it.
“Are you even listening?”
“Sorry?”
“Haha, thought so, here take this” The man took out a pink ticket and hands it to her
“Go on, check it out, and try telling me it didn’t give you chills.”
“No no! I can’t take this! I can’t accept something like this”
“Don’t worry. I already went, I was thinking about going again, but I'll be leaving town soon. Keep it, or sell it if you want”
Venera thought about it before taking the ticket from the man “Thank you.. i might go one day”
“I’ll be glad to know that someone used my ticket. Thanks for your time, I’ll let you get back to work”
Venera was really tired, that conversation took years off her lifespan, time passed pretty quickly after that conversation and it was finally getting dark, her boss talked about closing early, after the final customer leaves of course, she didn’t listen much, she just waited until finally the last customer left.
She sighed and went to clean the tables when she heard the bell chime, she turned around to tell whoever came in that they were closed but.. No one was there.
Then the power goes out.
Total darkness.
“Fuck-” Venera whispered, and ran to the breaker. She felt eyes all around her, watching her, and she quickly opened the panel and reset the breaker as quickly as she could. She sighed a breath of relief, slowly dragging herself back to the counter, only to be met with-
“Oh. You’re the guy from earlier.” She looked at the tall clown, before her eyes widened at the sight of blood sliding down his forehead. She stepped closer to the counter, reaching up and cupping his cheek, with him instantly melting and nuzzling into her palm. “Are you okay? Why are you bleeding?”
Suddenly, he pulled out a paper rose that seemed stiff and wet. Venera blinks and, she smiles a little before taking it, putting it aside. Her gaze lingered on the blood on his forehead before she grabbed a napkin. He leaned down and put his elbows on the counter, his chin nestled in his palms. Venera walked closer and gently dabbed at the blood with the tissue, cleaning up the blood slowly while he stood there with a silly, giddy smile on his cute face.
Her phone started to vibrate, receiving texts after texts.
After she looked at her phone, she realized who it was from. Aven. She looked through them
PRIV DMS
—---------------------
Avy<3
Hey Vennie
Have you eaten yet?
I’ll be home late, something came up
Some green idiot flirted with a woman and got in a fight, i have to clean up after this mess and so much more, this is utter bullshit
See you later sis, take care
Get home safely <3
—---------------------
Venera sighed and put her phone away, deciding she’ll reply later. What needed her attention more was the cute clown in front of her. She turned her attention to him. “You don’t talk. Is that part of the act?”
He glanced around, seemingly a little worried before walking around the counter, stepping closer to her and lifting her chin gently, reverently. As if she would shatter if he touched her a little rougher. “I can’t be seen talking, my lady.”
His voice…..
HOLY FUCK, HIS VOICE!
It was smooth and deep and so unexpected that for a second, Venera thought it wasn’t his. It was so perfect that she just wanted to drop to her knees and-
No– NO! What was she thinking? Aven would be so disappointed in her if he knew that she was having these thoughts. She shook her head a little and brushed off the thoughts, looking up at the clown. “Ah. You sound… very pretty.” The situation catches up to her and she pulls him closer. “Wait, so it IS part of the act!”
He gave her a cute smile, pushing her hair behind her ear. “Yes, my lady. I…sincerely appreciate all your help.” He allowed his eyes to lock with hers for a moment. “I’m the Pierrot. It’s an honour meeting you properly.”
Verena tilts her head to the side “you don’t look like one?”
“Indeed, you are right my lady! We were required to modernize my attire. But my role, remains unchanged”
“People have been pretty rough with you guys” (venera's gon be rougher with you later in bed)
“I suppose we do look rather.. Uncanny to some. That tends to unsettle them”
“Do the Pierrot's out on the street with the flyers perform too?”
“Indeed. The circus has but a small cast, we both perform and hand out flyers. Though i must say, I am the only Pierrot, my lady. The others are Jesters and… Harlequins..” Pierrot has an expression on his face that screams annoyance and disgust. Whatever he was thinking of must not be pleasant.. Looks like he doesn’t get along with just anyone.
“That’s.. Cool! So, are the others as quiet as you are?”
“I am the only one who remains silent. Though i do make an exception when it's just the two of us”
“Oh! Got it! Your secret’s safe with me- oh hey! Your bandage’s coming off. Let me take it off for you”
Pierrot’s expression turned a little surprised, and his cheeks seemed to turn a little red before he nodded, coming closer and bending down until they were almost face to face. “Thank you, my lady. I have brought you another small token of appreciation.”
He took out a red ticket out of seemingly nowhere, handing it to Venera. She took the ticket, surprised, before looking back up at him.
“Thank you, but I already have one,” She puts the red ticket away in her pocket. “A customer gave it to me.”
Pierrot blinks, and he straightens a little, that friendly and almost dopey smile still on his face. “Oh? May I see it, my lady?”
Venera hands him her other ticket, the pink one– and Pierrot’s expression sours, his eye twitching a little as he stares at the ticket. It seems to bother him. It seems to bother him a lot.
His hand goes in front of the ticket and he slides it down and- the ticket turns red. As if it were always red, as if it was just her seeing things or a matter of perspective.
Venera took the ticket back in her hand, inspecting the newly red ticket. “Woah. How’d you do that?”
Pierrot ignores her question, taking her hand in his. “That ticket was incorrect, my dear. You would’ve been turned away with it. Please take mine instead.”
Venera blinks at him, then back down at the ticket between her fingers. “You mean to say it was fake?”
Pierrot nods, his hand still on her face, tracing her jawline and playing with stray strands of her hair. “Indeed, counterfeit. Do not accept tickets from strange men, my lady. I do not wish for you to encounter trouble at the entrance.”
His face turns more cheery once more, and he takes a step back. “Anyways, will you be coming tomorrow? To see my performance? I assure you, I’ll make you smile.”
You look so pretty when you smile, Venera Sylver.
Venera gives him a small but tired smile, and she yawns. Right, she was supposed to be closing. She looked up at him and cupped his face once more. “Pierrot…” I love you. “I’ll make sure to come.” She glances at the clock on the wall. Twenty-five minutes past the new closing time. Venera huffed and gently took a step back. “And.. i hate to say it, but you need leave. It’s closing time now and we would get in trouble if we stay any sooner.”
Pierrot seemed to be saddened, and if he had a tail it would likely be between his legs. He stared down at Venera with a sort of longing she usually experienced when her cat, pickles, would watch her eat a snack or dessert that it would likely be sick from. He nodded, and Venera turned for a second to check something.
Though, when she turned back, The Pierrot was gone.
-----------------------------------
Venera arrived home, kicked off her shoes, and changed, all while thinking of that Pierrot and his charms and how she just wanted to bring him home and keep him to herself with no one interfering.
Then, she heard the door. Aven's home!
She went downstairs in her pajamas, and Aven’s tired gaze locked with her energized one.
“Oh, big brother!” Venera called out, smiling delightedly as she walked closer, and her pupils were so dilated that Aven was almost afraid of what she had to say. “I’ve found the LOVE of my life! He’s so sweet and puppy-like… I just want to tie him up and keep him with me forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and eve-”
“Venera.. what the fuck are you saying?” he gave out a sigh “what.. What man caught your eye this time?”
“One of the circus folks! He's the Pierrot! He's so sweet it just makes me wanna follow him and collect items he uses and- KYAA I JUST WANNA LOCK HIM UP AND KEEP HIM ALL FOR MYSELF!!”
Aven listened to her as she went on and on about some guy named Pierrot, if his day wasn't that hectic then he would've talked back but he's too tired. He slips his shoes off and threw them to the side, at least he gets the day off tomorrow and got a gift from the one that caused the brawl at the bar today, speaking of which, the one that caused the fight wait that's not right, he only flirted with a girl and some other guy came over yelling and started the fight.. maybe he should just go to bed.
“Venera” he looks up at his younger sister and gave a tired smile “Go to bed you silly girl, you're gonna complain tomorrow about having to get up”
The girl noticed her older brother's tiredness and gave a smile before nodding “we'll talk about Pierrot tomorrow!! It's a promise!”
The girl ran upstairs and she could hear her brother yell at her not to run up the stairs or she'll fall but who's gonna stop her ? She jumped on her bed and grabbed a long pillow to hug as she pulled her blanket up. She buries her face into the pillow she's hugging and falls asleep.
She didn't notice the creepy face staring at her through the sliding door that goes out to her balcony that houses a few plants and a place to relax.
The sliding door opened and Pierrot let himself in he carefully walked over and was now looming over her
“Ah my lady..”
“My lady, I just adore you so much.. you're so perfect for me.. ill never NEVER let someone else take you from me, no never, you'll be mine and only mine, no one else will ever lay their filthy hands on you or even yell”
“You look so.. defenseless, so.. innocent and peaceful. Ah my love.. my goddess… my universe.. you're now mine… And i’m yours.” He took a lock of her hair and brought it to his face, kissing it. He lets go before his hand rests on her cheek and he caresses it. His mask opened up and a long slimy yellow tongue and then he kissed her.
He pulls away and wipes the saliva off her mouth and his own.
“I am quite delighted.. so delighted.. please.. come to my show tomorrow.. I might cry if you don't..” Pierrot stares down at Venera’s peaceful face before kissing her once more. He gets off the bed and was about to leave, he glanced back at his sleeping lady and gave a wide smile.
“See you soon my lady.. i love you”