"Can't you go faster?" May asked Rosetta, while sighing.
"I don't think so..." The girl answered, breathing heavily.
"Well, if you can't go faster, we'll have to change the technique."
"Are you changing it?" Ken asked from the ground, taking notes.
"Yeah. We'll find something else." May shrugged and threw herself from the trapeze to the safety net.
"But I can..." Before Rosetta could argue, May was already leaving the net to the ground.
As soon as she reached it, the door opened and two figures came in.
"Are you done?" Leon asked and May nodded.
"Not yet!" Rosetta answered from the trapeze and everyone turned their heads in her direction. "I'll try one more time." She said, making May sigh.
"It's their turn, Rosetta. Come down and we'll figure something out tomorrow."
"It's okay, May! We can wait till Rosetta tries one more time." Sora said with a smile.
"We've been trying for the last hour, she hasn't come close to it. She won't make it now." May turned her back and walked to the door.
"Well, I want to try one more time!" Rosetta yelled, hoping to annoy May enough for her to come back and start a fight.
"Good luck doing that on your own. Tell me how it went when we meet tomorrow." May unenthusiastically said that and left, leaving everyone but Ken dumbfounded.
"Did she really just walked away from a possible fight?" Rosetta asked, pouting, already on the ground.
Sora nodded, also confused. "There's something wrong with her."
"I'll go after her..." Ken said and left the training room.
"Sora..." Leon called with his eyes still on the door "Help Rosetta out with whatever it is that can't waituntil tomorrow..."
With a last look at the girls who were already talking enthusiastic about training together, Leon left. Finding them would be no problem, Leon knew.
As he predicted, there was May, at the beach, Ken walking right behind her in silence. Whatever problem she was having, and Leon knew what it was, she didn't seem to want to talk about it.
May saton the sand, facing the ocean while Ken stood right behind her. Until she said something and he shrugged, walking away and leaving her alone.
After a few moments observing the girl from the sidewalk, Leon walked to the beach and sat by her side. May acknowledged his presence by a look they exchanged, and prepared herself from what he was about to tell her, or scold her for.
"You've lost your passion." He simply stated as she glanced back at the ocean.
It was the truth. She knew that. But still, hear it from someone else still hurt.
"Clearly..." She sighed and rolled her eyes, sarcastically.
"The truth is there for whoever wants to see..." He kept talking, even though he knew it was upsetting.
"Then why don't they?"
"I've been the only one paying attention, probably."
They stood in silence for a while, but May knew Leon was not done. He wasn't there to tell her how he has been watching her with attention and concern. That wasn't a freaking novel.
"I hope you understand how this attitude of yours affects other people... Rosetta mostly."
"Weren't you the one to say... Quote ' I can't and won't do your job for you when you can't do what I ask you to' end of quote."
"I do recall also saying... Quote 'but I won't let you fail, not while you're my partner' end of quote." He rolled his eyes "And stop being defensive, I don't know if you remember, but I was never the best example of a good partner."
"And now you are?"
"I'm better than I was before..." He answered.
"Aw... So that's Sora effect." May said with a sarcastic smile and rolled her eyes.
"I do admit having Sora as a partner was the reason why I'm better."
"Paaaaaartner..." May said the word slowly and making quote signs with her hands.
"Partner." Leon said again. "Nothing more than that."
May shrugged.
"Why don't you like Sora, anyways?" He asked, genuinely curious at the answer.
She shrugged again. "Why do you like her?"
"Well... She's nice."
"You can't like someone just because she's nice!" May argued "It's like saying you like cats because they don't bark, it's too generic."
Leon raised an eyebrow "I didn't put much thought into my answer since you didn't even answer me."
"I never said I didn't like Sora."
"But you don't." Leon pointed out.
"I don't dislike her... because she's nice." May looked at him. "See? That's the difference. You don't like someone because she's nice, you just don't dislike her."
"But that was my answer and I will not change it now!"
"Saying you like her because she's nice is worse than saying you like her because she's pretty!"
"I don't like her because she's pretty!"
"Right!" May rolled her eyes again "And I like you because you're blind." Leon laughed dryly.
"She's not my style... But she's nice and I like her."
"Aw, that's so sweet of you! You only like girls because they're nice..." May gavehim that sarcastic smile once more.
"I like you and you're not nice." He said, truthful.
"Why do you like me then?" She asked, staring at him.
"Because you're pretty?" He half-answered, half-asked and May laughed, making him smile.
"Your style?" She asked, playfully.
"My style." He answered and she smiled.
None of them said much after that for a few minutes, they just looked at the ocean and enjoyed each other's presence.
When a cold breeze made May shiver, she was the first one to speak.
"Who would say Leon Oswald could cheer someone up?"
"Considering the fact that I came here to scold you, I did a pretty decent job." He smiled and she smiled along, sighing after a while.
"I'll help you." Leon said and she stared at him "Find your passion again... I'll help you."
"Yeah?" She asked, still staring at him and he nodded "And how's that gonna work?"
"One step at the time." He answered, smiling at her.
"First step?" She asked.
Leon brought his face closer to her and gently touched his lips on hers.
"First step, check." He said, after pulling his head back to look into her eyes. May was smiling and for the first time it reached her eyes. First step was a victory, Leon thought and smiled.
"We should go back..." He spoke after a while.
"Yeah." She agreed "I guess I'll have to magically make Rosetta faster than she is..."
Leon laughed as he stood up and offered his hand to help her. May held it and stood up too.
"That's a start." Leon said as they walked back into Kaleido Star.
A.N.: so, this is my first Kaleido star fanfic... I actually have more written but I don't think they're very good ( I don't really think this one is good either, but I just wanted to post one of Leon and May)I know not many people like Leon/May,
but I think they're an underrated couple... I love them together. That's all I wanted to say!
I hope you enjoy this!