As soon as the bear had come out, Quinn whipped his head to the side to give Mal a look. When the vampire leaned in to speak, chills ran down his neck and spine, a fast and invasive image of meeting him halfway in a kiss making his cheeks flush. Trying to ignore his own reaction, he turned to talk in Mal's ear and that same impulse pushed forward again. What would it feel like to place a kiss on Mal's cheek? He looked at his companion, the blush not fading just yet, their shoulders and knees pressed together in the tight seats of the tent.
With a hesitation that was just a moment too long, Quinn answered him incredulously. "Uh, yeah, actually. That bear looks miserable! You're in trouble." He gave the vampire a playful scowl and turned his attention back to the affair on the floor. The thought that the bear could have been something other than just a bear never occurred to him, forgetting briefly the intensity of the supernatural presence in the city.
The rest of the circus featured a dazzling display of acts, introduced and narrated by the traditional ring leader in a shimmering top heat. Clowns in face paint, jugglers, trapeze artists. His favorite part was the team of acrobats who put on such a stunning show of human strength and flexibility that had Quinn twitching compulsory as he imagined the workout it would take to practice such feats. He was so enrapt with watching the twelve men stack themselves and bend themselves that he almost didn't notice Malakai watching him with a widening smirk. If it hadn't been for the slight turn of his head, he may not have even noticed at all. He flushed when he noticed, muttering a defensive "what?" which only made the vampire's grin widen, his eyes land back on the act on the floor. He inched closer to the vampire, casually re-adjusting himself and making no effort to play coy as he pressed just a little more weight against his partner.
He wanted to slip his arm around the back of Mal's seat, the idea of rubbing small casual circles into his back with his thumb tempting and simple enough to do. With all the eyes around him, however, and a history of hiding himself among people who hated his open displays of affection, Quinn didn't dare. The city had always been friendly to him and his lovers, but old habits die hard. He didn't do public displays of affection, no matter how small. They made him a target and Quinn had had enough of that to last him a lifetime. So the opportunity was left alone and the human contented himself with the extra, reasonable closeness to his date instead.
After a couple hours the crew bowed and stepped away and the lights rose on a packed house that appeared much fuller than Quinn had realized. He stood and clapped with the rest of the audience, thoroughly entertained, despite the presence of sad bears. He stretched stiff muscles and waited for his date to decide whether he wanted to sit and wait for the crowd to dissipate or to join them in the slow, smooshed migration towards the exits. Quinn was content with anything, feeding off the excitement of the show, but excited at the possibility of feeding Mal more human food.