Angsty drabble on the horizon...I wanted to write smut originally, but after listening to a certain song, this is what came out! The title is very suggestive but in case you can't guess how lightning can strike twice, I will let you read on and find out.

As always, I would like to thank my beta, PaolaAdara, for the great work she does with correcting this and everything else I write that's related to Kaleido Star. She's my savior, but she's only human, too, so if you find any mistakes, please tell me.

Warning: Drama, drama and more drama...I hope I haven't lost my touch here! Rated a little for bad words.

Lightning Strikes Twice
By Royal blueKitsune

Winter reminded her of Leon: pristine and beautiful, mesmerizing and unreachable, cold and unfeeling.

Sora didn't bother to wipe her tears away. She pulled her coat closer and leaned back to watch the play of snowflakes across the gray sky. They were dazzling in their beauty and almost impossible to look away from, unwittingly bewitching those who took time to notice their grandeur.

It was that way with Leon, too. Her boyfriend, her confidant, her lover...those words didn't seem enough to describe who he was to her. He was the man she had fallen head-over-heels in love with, the man who broke her heart every day with his caresses, kisses, and touches.

He broke her heart...because Sora couldn't believe that he was truly meant for her. She shivered but wasn't sure whether it was from the cold or something completely different.

He had beautiful hair - so pretty she wanted to curl her fingers through it and let it slide over her body slowly and langurously- clear eyes the color of the winter sky, charming smile, sinuous body he enjoyed using against her and...and...

Sora buried her head in her hands and desperately tried to withhold the brokenhearted whimpers and sobs.

And he didn't want a family. He didn't want to have a child yet...with her.

She bit her lower lip, almost tempted to draw blood, then moved a hand to her still-flat stomach protectively. Her smile was bittersweet.

'Then again, what he doesn't know can't hurt him, right?' Sora hiccupped and giggled hysterically, noticing offhandedly that her tears had almost frozen as well.

Leon didn't know she was pregnant; she had barely found out herself. Sora had no intention of telling him...yet. She was going to, of course, but later. Maybe when she recovered from her temporary loss of sanity. Briefly, she entertained the thought of looking for it - whatever that meant - but, with a sigh, she realized that her brain was still frozen and pretty much uncooperative.

Thus she was not acting like herself.

At all.

An old couple passing by her gave her speculative glances. The redheaded starlet glared at them, and the old man quickly pulled his wife closer to him, muttering about kids these days.

See? She was a bloody mess. She was glaring at innocent people on the street like they were the cause of everything that had gone wrong in her life.

She shook her head. This strange behavior had probably started sometime between the time she had asked - trying desperately to sound as detached as possible - Leon if he wanted children and he had promptly said no, and the time she had stormed out of the apartment...leaving behind a very beguiled and disgruntled Leon.

Well, who could blame her?

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes again, and Sora blinked several times in hopes of stopping them before they fell. It didn't quite work, only managing to fuel her anger even more.

She had been dating Leon for five years already, two of which she'd spent living with him. It had been a very happy period for her, something to be cherished and kept close to her heart. Today, she was twenty-one, moving towards twenty-two rapidly, and he had yet to propose to her. Try as she might, she couldn't sense anything from him that might tell her that he wanted to commit to her.

There was nothing. Nada. Zip.

This was a blow to their relationship, and her insecurities were slowly coming out into the light. All the dark thoughts she had secretly harbored concerning their so-called love were consuming her with a vengeance. All the nights she had watched Leon sleep next to her and wondered if she'd be the first and last to ever see this - serene - side of him, came back to her.

Now that she thought about it, Sora didn't even know what she was to him. Was she perhaps his girlfriend? His lover? Or just a woman he could consort with without having to worry about getting tied down? A live in maid with extra services?

The last idea was enough to make her stomach churn with emotions. Sora swung her legs down from the bench, patting away at the layer of snow that had gathered on her trench coat and boots. She was going to have to face her fears and ask him sooner or later. Sora just hoped that suffering wasn't inevitable; she just hoped that Leon's answers weren't going to break her heart further.

Still, walking amongst all the couples walking down the street hand in hand, she felt her heart shrivel in her chest. It went beyond what her armor of sunny smiles and cheery disposition could cover, and she felt her face crumple in tears again. It hurt.

Leon had never shown her such affection in public. He didn't shy away from her touch when they were alone, and he always liked to have contact with her - he would caress her face, weave his hands through her hair, glide his fingers down the nape of her neck and watch the fine hairs stand on end...

Sora liked to think that he just wasn't used to showing his affection so readily after the death of his sister - the young woman who had left a scar on his heart for life. Yes, she liked to think that, even when her heart whispered that he might just not love her as much as she loved him, he hadn't only used her.

A woman's scream pulled her out of her dark musings, and Sora's head snapped up, face draining of blood at the frightful image in front of her. A small child, no more than four or five years of age, was standing in the middle of the street, clutching a toy ball in his arms and stiffly watching a car come at full speed towards him.

His mother was the woman screaming for help, and despite the desperation written on her face, it was obvious to anyone that she was too frozen in fear to react before anything happened. Sora's eyes widened, and she let out a loud breath, the sound filling her ears and shutting off the outside noises. It all happened in a moment's wake. Visions of that child dead, his mother mourning for him, blood everywhere...

Her heart clenched and before she knew it, she was sprinting forward at breakneck speed; arms spread forward and eyes wild. She wasn't going to be late. She was going to save that child so his mother wouldn't have to go through the same pain she went through when her own parents had died.

She was going to do it because she would want someone to save her child if the need for it should arise.

Her child. The life she and Leon had created together.

Sora wrapped her fingers around the boy's forearm just as the car slid on the ice and spun out of control. Then she was pushing him out of the way and a few moments later there was pain. Pain so searing she could barely breathe past it; pain so excruciating it sent her into a state of blessed numbness. She felt the cold seep through her bones and travel upwards, freezing any physical response. There was something dripping down the side of her chin, and she reckoned it could be blood. Her blood. After all, there was sky above her and gravel below and she was sure that the world wasn't supposed to look to bleak and colorless.

She couldn't move. And it was so cold. So cold.

Someone was craddling her face, checking her pulse and rubbing her temples and the warmth of those hands still couldn't push away the cold. Her brain was fuzzy around the edges, and consciousness was fast slipping through her fingers - the same ones she had curled around her stomach at the last moment.

"Hang in there, miss...the ambulance will be here in a few moments."

There were murmured agreements all around her and Sora struggled to rasp out something inteligible right back.

"Leon...call Leon."

Layla ran through the hospital corridors, cursing silently at the lateness with which her plane had arrived. The accident had already occurred two days ago, and if only her schedule hadn't been so messed up, Mia might've been able to contact her earlier.

'Damn it all to hell! Which way is it?'

"Miss Layla, over here."

The blonde let out a shaky sigh of relief and jogged to where everyone was gathered...actually, Layla thought, almost everybody she knew from Kaleido Stage was there.

Mia and Anna had stood up to greet her, eyes red and puffy, no doubt from crying. Ken and Yuri were leaning against opposite walls, both weary and obviously tired and worried. May, Rosetta, Marion, and Sarah were sitting next to Kalos, and by the girls' expressions, it was obvious that they, too, had been crying earlier. Many other performers were there, too - people Sora had worked with during her long years at Kaleido Stage.

Briefly, Layla wondered where Leon was, but the thought was quickly pushed away. She didn't need to ask to know that he was with Sora.

"How is she?" the words were quietly spoken, and Layla feared that she would break down if she talked any louder...or, perhaps, the others would. From behind her, Yuri wrapped an arm around her waist, giving her silent support. She welcomed it.

Mia sniffed softly and wiped away a stray tear, her voice coming out just as softly. "Fractured arm, sprained ankle, fractured colarbone, several bruises and deep gashes on her arms and legs. There was no damage to her spine and nothing wrong with her head other than a minor concussion." she hiccupped and accepted the handkerchief Anna gave her. "The doctors are optimistic, but...but she hasn't woken up yet."

A horribly litany of wounds. Layla almost felt sick.

"And the baby?"

The strawberry blonde had raved about Sora's newly discovered pregnancy at the phone, and Layla fervently hoped that nothing had changed since a few hours ago. She didn't dare think about...

"They're both fine, Miss Layla," May intervened from her place. Dark circles lined the skin beneath her blue eyes, and her lips were pale and thinned with worry, but she was keeping her emotions firmly in check.

"Then would you mind showing me the way to Sora's room, May?"

A shadow of something passed through the young woman's eyes, and she nodded slowly, standing up to lead the way. Ignoring everyone's surprised looks, Layla followed, keeping her expression perfectly neutral. She could feel their stares on her back even as she concentrated on the clicking sound of their shoes on the marble floor. Left, right, click, left, right, click...

Her mouth felt dry and the butterflies that had taken residence in her stomach fluttered madly in a way that jarred her nerves. It was now or never, and even though never sounded better, Layla wanted the irrational and unexplainable feeling of guilt to disappear.

"Is there something you wish to ask me, Miss Layla? I imagine that this is why you asked me to accompany you," May spoke in low tones as they turned a corner and walked side-by-side through the long corridor.

Despite herself, Layla's lips curled in a ghost of a smile. The girl had always been the intuitive one after all. "How is Leon taking this? I imagine he is with Sora right now..."

The raven-haired woman hesitated next to her, obviously having trouble finding the right words to express herself. How did one describe a man who had been on the verge of losing everything he loved and cherished?

"Devastated," May supplied bleakly. "No, beyond that. You should've seen the way he stormed into the hospital, Miss Layla...he was far from the cool, composed person we all know and work with everyday," her voice cracked, and May took a few seconds to get herself under control again.

The halls were silent and so was Layla.

"And that wasn't even the worst part. When the doctors told him that Sora was pregnant and had been one step away from losing the baby, he lost it. He was a man possessed, and we thought at first that he had gone mad with the way he almost assaulted the doctors. Yuri had to physically restrain him until he came to his senses. They gave him a sedative to keep him from harming others or himself"

Both women stopped at the far end of the hall in front of a white door, neither looking at each other. They kept their eyes forward, opting to study the invisible patterns on the walls. White, white, white...everything was ghostly white.

"He hasn't left her side at all, hasn't slept. Barely ate, and even then, no more than a few bites. All he does is sit next to Sora, holding her hand and sometimes crying silently. I've never seen him like this before, Miss Layla, and it scares me. He won't take help from anybody, he won't listen to anyone."

The blonde felt her heart clench with the intensity of old and new emotions alike.

It wasn't fair...life wasn't fair. And history shouldn't have the right to repeat itself. Not to a man who had already half of his heart stolen with the death of his sister. The death she herself had unwittingly caused through ambition and the desire to be the best.

Now it had almost happened the same way. The same way.

If Layla could've cried so easily, she would've. She would've cried for the person she'd thought of as a sister and for the apparently accursed fate of a man who had been and was still forced to watch two most important persons in his life teeter on the brink of death.

She pushed the door open a little and surveyed the scene before her quietly. It lasted for a few moments, and May wrung her hands, half nervous, half having nothing better to do.

Then, without a word, Layla turned on her heel and proceeded to head back to where everyone was gathered, much to May's surprise.

"Aren't you going in, Miss Layla?" She almost tripped on her own two feet in her haste to keep up. 'So much for being a Kaleido artist,' she thought, almost snidely. But she couldn't keep her balance, not when she hadn't slept in God knows how long.

"Is there a reason why I should? I doubt Leon wants me - or anyone else for that matter - near her, and there is nothing I can do to help her anyway. Sora will recover - you and I both know that she is strong both in will and in body - but until then, all we can do is watch and wait from the sidelines. It would best if the rest understood and did the same thing."

He pressed a reverent kiss on her hand and leant his forehead against the smooth skin, watching her through dull, half-lidded eyes. She looked so frail, so pale and small on the large hospital bed. Ghostly and surreal.

If not for the bruises and scratches marring her body, he would've been inclined to believe that she was an apparition. A bandage wrapped around her head, a scratch on her cheek and a bruise beneath her left eye which was still blue and black and ghastly.

Leon closed his eyes as he felt burning tears escape his tightly shut lids and slide down their entwined arms. God, this nightmare wasn't ending...he was meant to live in perpetual purgatorial agony, fearing that one of his loved ones would die and leave him alone.

First, it had been Sophie, and her death had paralyzed his existence for more than three years...until Sora came and taught him how to live again. In more ways than one. He had come to depend on her and her presence like he depended on the air he breathed. She had possessed his mind and body in such a manner that her death would surely destroy him.

He brushed a strand away from her face, wanting nothing more than to see her open her eyes again...those soft, strong, eyes that drew him in and mesmerized him beyond belief despite the common color. Never had he seen eyes that could express so many emotions all at once.

Love, joy, determination, happiness, sadness.

His hand strayed downwards and splayed over her still flat stomach, and the burning beneath his eyelids intensified, accompanied by a faint pulsing pain in the back of his head, which would surely develop into a headache in five or so more minutes.

Not that he cared about his minor discomforts when Sora was pregnant with his child and struggling to keep it. It was as simple as that...but terribly terrifying in its simplicity. Because of his callous behavior, because he had hurt his beloved's feelings, he had almost lost them both.

What would it have been like? To find out that the woman he loved had lost the child she was carrying and that he was too late to do anything about it? Leon shook his head, trying desperately to retain some semblance of control. He was a mess, and it didn't take a genius to point that.

'It wouldn't do to have Sora wake up and see you so emotional.' a small voice cautiously whispered in the back of his brain. Leon growled low in his throat and roughly pushed the thought back in the darkest confines of his mind.

'But that is what got me here in the first place.' he thought, almost wishing he could cut out his tongue for saying no to her that time she had asked if he'd wanted to have children. 'If I'd been more responsive, if I'd shown more emotion to Sora both in public and in private, this wouldn't have happened. If I hadn't told her that I didn't want a baby, she wouldn't have been hurt. This is my entire fault.'

"At last you've proven to yourself that you're a cold, heartless bastard," Leon bitterly whispered to himself, squeezing the small hand in his grasp tighter. "It's my fault you're hurt, Sora...my fault."

"Oh, Leon...don't say that. It's not your fault at all."

His eyes opened and widened abruptly when they settled on the woman of his thoughts. Sora was watching him with a warm twinkle in her sleepy, half-lidded eyes and a tired smile on her pale lips. To Leon, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He wanted to open his mouth and say something, but his throat was suddenly too dry and he was sure his voice would be scratchy.

"You're awake." he finally voiced out, unable to stay silent any longer.

There were no words to describe how Sora felt right now. 'In pain' would be a good one. 'Like a rag doll' seemed appropriate, too. The discomfort, however, seemed to fade into insignificance when she awoke to the face of her beloved.

He felt bad enough if she were to listen to his half mumbled words and she could only try to console him the best she knew how.

By the sharp intake of breath and the twinkle in his pale colored eyes, Sora gathered that her awakening had been exactly what he needed to raise his spirits. His voice was hoarse and rough with emotion and she let it wash over her for a few moments before speaking again.

"Yes. For some minutes now, I have been." She chuckled and it sounded as haggard as she felt. "I couldn't pull my wits together to let you know earlier. Listen to me, Leon...I was the one who jumped in front of that car." She was running out of breath too fast; air was a luxury in her state. "I did it to save that child, and, despite the risks I've taken, I don't regret doing it." Weakly, she moved her hand to caress his face and felt her heart clench painfully when he raised his hand to clench her fingers in his tightly.

"It's my fault actually." Her smile remained serene even when Leon's eyes narrowed dangerously in shock and denial. "Forgive me for storming out from the apartment and forgive me for being so upset. If I hadn't run away from you, none of this would've happened." A thought occurred to her and she let out a harsh breath, struggling to open her eyes and move her other hand as well.

"He's fine, love." After all these years of being with her, Leon would be damned if he didn't know how to read her yet.

Sora sighed and he followed suit, almost trembling inside from the shock.

Right now, he needed to get over the fright she had caused and calm down his frazzled nerves. His shoulders slumped, and he leaned his forehead against Sora's stomach, finally allowing himself a moment of relaxation.

He doubted, though, that he could ever put this completely behind him. The scare had been almost too palpable to be ever forgotten. From now on, he wasn't going to let Sora out of his sight. The arrangement sounded ridiculous even to his fuzzy brain, but Leon was willing to give it a shot, if only to know that she would be safe.

"You don't sound angry to hear that I'm...pregnant." Sora's voice was weak, hesitant, but the glimmer of hope easily shone through.

Leon made an exasperated noise at the back of his throat then lifted his eyes to meet hers. "Of course I'm not."

Her heart skipped a beat. He really didn't sound angry - what she couldn't tell from his voice, she read in his eyes.

"I was afraid to burden you when you're still so young. I thought that if you knew I wanted a family, you would eventually end up blaming me for tying you down too fast. I was selfish, and I thought, knowing how much Kaleido Stage means to you, that you'll end up regretting having a baby when the responsibility holds you from enjoying what you love to do."

Sora coughed and chuckled wryly. "I guess we're both guilty about this, aren't we? I thought you didn't want a child, and you thought that I didn't want one."

And to think she had blamed Leon before for his behavior. She couldn't believe she had actually thought that he didn't love her!

How foolish they had both acted.

"I'll forgive you on one condition." Sora almost laughed at the eager expression on his face but managed, albeit just barely, to remain serious. The clueless idiot still thought she was mad at him. "Once we get home, we're both sitting down and talking about our future and what we want from each other. Deal?"

Her face broke into a slow, deliberate smile, and Leon felt the fear and sadness ebb away and completely disappear like they hadn't existed before. He wasn't going to lose her. Not now, not ever.

"Deal. Though I should tell you that I already know what I want...dear."

The last word was almost purred, and Sora wondered if she still had the blood to blush anymore. That sounded so nice coming from his mouth.

"What do you want?"

'I'm going to have to spoil her more in the future...preferably starting now. It will keep her on her toes.' Leon thought smugly, filing the information for future reference.

"You. Legally, of course...I'll be sure to ask you that when we get home, unless you're willing to answer my question now."

For a few moments, Sora tittered between happiness and surprise. "Is that a proposal?"

"Only if you say yes." he murmured, offering her one of his rare smiles.

"Then...yes, I'll marry you. Though..." Her eyes darkened and she still managed to look fierce even with a half-swollen eye. "You aren't doing this just for the baby, are you? I'll have you know that I have a cast, and I'm not afraid to use it."

Leon did laugh this time.

End

Rushed, rushed, rushed. Wished I had more patience.