It happened once.
Just one time. One unguarded moment, and Jester was left unintentionally captivated.
And what's worse? It was a human.
And not just any human, it was that visitor.
The pathetic little vermin that slowly crawled its way into his head with words he couldn't even decipher. Perhaps a foreign language, one that he did not know about.
The Jester folds his arms, almost as though he is guarding himself even against a person's mere voice, all while he hides behind a wall.
Though, he must say, this foolish visitor couldn't have been any wiser.
To sing so beautif- audaciously, yes. To sing so audaciously in the dark of the night. Almost like a serenade...
Jester stares at the ground in utter disbelief, scoffing as he peers from behind the wall. A glimpse, just one, and he will be on his merry way, back to his home and away from this thorned rose. That is what he tells himself. Drilling that thought into his meticulous mind.
And yet, his body doesn't move. Almost as if it refuses the idea of drifting away from this source of unwanted, needless comfort.
You continue to sing, melodies slipping past your lips in your native tongue, as you to tend to whatever occupied your hands.
Until you heard a familiar clicking of heels.
Jester stands tall behind you as you sit at the bench, peering down at your form with a look that could only be described as irked and.. conflicted?
"You do know that it's late right now, visitor? Best return home as soon as you can," He speaks with his usual serene tone, not waiting for a response as he turns around, ready to head back, but pauses upon hearing your reply.
"I am waiting for my friend, she is still hasn't gotten back to me so I can't possibly leave her all alone and go back home," You respond, despite how uninviting his manner of communicating appeared.
Like a person who had walls up, and not just any walls.
Walls of unyielding iron. Steel, even.
Jester gives you a sarcastic hum, amused by this admirable, albeit naive loyalty, before taking a seat at the bench next to you.
You stare at him with wide eyes, the same way one would if a famous celebrity sat next to them.
"What? Benches were made for resting, no?"
"Y-Yeah but, I didn't expect you to sit next to me, that's all," You utter quietly, shifting your gaze and focus back to what was occupying you before he showed up.
"What is that?" Jester points a clawed finger at the item in your hand with a fascinated look. Not everything seemed to capture his interest so easily, yet the item in your hand was.. oddly shaped like an ice cream, yet not an ice cream.
You hand him the item, noticing the way his fingers avoid touching yours, "It's a decorative accessory!"
"In the shape of an ice cream..?" He tilts his head slightly with a bored gaze.
"Yeah!.."You wish you could get away from this conversation for once, hoping he would shut it down like he always does to any sort of talk between him and humans.
Seeing your frantic expression, Jester lets out a small huff, akin to a suppressed laugh, before pocketing the item.
You stare at the sheer audacity, eyebrows raised at the blatantly uncharacteristic action from him, "HEY!-"
Before you could even continue, you hear your friend calling out to you.
"I'll let you leave, then, but one more thing, dear visitor.."
" Be careful when singing alone, I don't want anyone else coveting you, little nightingale~ "
Your breath catches from his words, mostly because of how close he sounded,. You whip your head around so fast to respond, but find that he had already disappeared.
He.. What..
'Little nightingale'?
No, forget that part! Did he just say 'coveting'?!
Sadly, you were not spared any more time to think on this, as your friend drags you away from the bench you were sitting on and elsewhere, rambling about whatever held them up and made them late.
Jester watches you get pulled away, his gaze lingering a second longer on you, as if taking a mental screenshot of you to keep in his mind, before making his way back to the circus.
