A/N: ::waves muchly to everybody:: Hey guys! This is my attempt to pull myself out of the fanfic slump I've been in for a while now…x.x; I'm not too pleased with the beginning or the end, but it's gotten pretty good feedback from the people I've shown it to, so here goes ;D Enjoy!
It's So Simple
The three words Leo most often heard from Max were, "It's so simple." They were a constant reminder of how little Leo really knew about New York – at least, how little he knew about the New York Max seemed to live in, the New York of a producer.
When Max and Leo had first met, Max had said brightly, "It's so simple!" He had outlined a five-step plan to produce the "biggest flop in history" with such enthusiasm, he really had made it sound simple. It was as if he was discussing a holiday in California, instead of what could possibly be the riskiest, biggest, most fascinating con in Broadway history.
When Leo arrived in their office three hours late, breathless and exhausted because he'd gotten lost, Max had sat with him for as many hours, showing Leo the route he had to take. "It's so simple," he'd said in slowly growing exasperation, tracing the route from Leo's apartment to their office with a finger, then with a marker, and forcing Leo to memorize it. Leo was never late again.
"It's so simple," Max had explained to Leo patiently when it came time to audition. Leo listened with wide eyes as Max outlined how they had to orchestrate the audition – making Roger, Carmen, and Franz think that they were picking the best actors, while really selecting the worst ones. "They can't find out," Max had said, then added, "Don't worry. It's so simple!"
When Max spoke those words, Leo often felt rather stupid. How could it be that Max knew so much and he so little? Still, it was good to learn new things, especially from Max. Even at his most frustrated, the older man still managed to make the producer's New York seem like a fascinating place. Leo drunk it all in and was incredibly grateful, trying not to worry that he was a burden to Max.
Once he asked Max, hesitantly, if he was annoyed with having to explain so much to Leo. Max had grinned at him fondly, ruffled his hair, and shook his head. He admitted that he found Leo's total ignorance of New York and his lack of city-savvy refreshing and that it was fun to have a student. Leo was caught between indignation and flattery – it was good to know that Max got as much pleasure from teaching Leo as Leo got from learning from Max.
When Max told Leo he loved him, Leo was too shocked to say anything at first. Eventually he managed to stammer out, eyes wide, "H-how could s-someone like you p-possible love…me?"
Max placed a finger on Leo's lips to silence him and smiled, his face inches from Leo's own. "Darling Bloom, glorious Bloom," he whispered, as he had on the day he'd first met Leo, tracing Leo's lips with his finger. "It's so simple."
Max kissed Leo, and for the first time, Leo understood perfectly.