Underestimating the Understudy - A Sora x Leon story
Sophie wasn't killed by the car accident, but lost the use of her legs. Leon has become cruel and dangerous to his partners on the trapeze. Will a new start in California be the change they both need?
Sophie befriends a volunteer at physical therapy named Sora — the same Sora that Leon complains about every evening as being an immature, naive performer.
Can Sora's fiery personality and Leon's icy composure learn to co-exist? It's inevitable, they'll either fall in love or kill each other.
Chapter One:
.
.
.
Leon stormed out of the Parisian Emergency Department. It was another failed attempt with another failed partner. His last partner was being seen for a broken arm. Adrianna was a physically attractive woman and he could admit to himself part of his acceptance of a partnership with her was spurred by his attraction to the blond. However, she was weak and uncreative. She had the basic forms correct, but she relied too heavily on her male counterparts in the past.
He didn't want a weight, he wanted a counterbalance to his performance. Compared to his sister, none of the women he performed with worked even half as hard as Sophie. He knew of one other woman that was as hard working as his sister, but he couldn't stand her partner— Layla Hamilton and Yuri Killian. The latter was the reason Sophie had to end her career.
Leon vowed to himself that he would never settle for a partner, nor would he be swayed by charisma, charm, or beauty. His future partner would be decided on merit alone. She must be technically perfect.
He hailed a taxi back to his apartment. It was a nice apartment with a balcony that overlooked the Seine River and had a great view of the Eiffel Tower. It was important that his place have a view so that Sophie could look out and see beauty around her because the world was ugly.
It was near midnight by the time he took the elevator up to the eighth floor. Sophie was wide awake in her wheelchair with an afghan draped over her legs, outside on the balcony.
"You'll catch pneumonia!" Leon scolded. He rushed to her side and immediately pulled her back inside the apartment. He closed the balcony sliding door and rubbed her shoulders briskly. "You're freezing."
"How's Adrianna?"
"Broken arm, she's out for the season." Leon stalked towards the heating system and cranked up the temperature.
"How did she fall?" Sophie asked softly.
"She couldn't support her own weight. She expected me to do all the work," Leon scoffed. "She missed practice more often than attended these past two weeks. An injury was inevitable at this point."
"You're her partner, it's your job to protect her," Sophie reasoned.
"I refuse to carry dead-weight." Leon took a thick Irish wool blanket off the back of the couch and arranged it over Sophie, covering her from neck to toe. "I'll make some hot chocolate for you."
"Were you using the safety net?" Sophie asked, rolling her chair towards the edge of the kitchen.
The tea kettle started to steam as the water within heated and Leon poured the contents into a pale lavender mug with a pink glittery star imprinted on the surface. It was her favorite mug. Her mother gave it to her for her fifth birthday. It was the last gift before the death of their parents.
"Yes, we were using the safety net, but her technique has only gotten sloppier in the last few weeks." He held the mug out to her and she pushed down the blanket to accept it. "I'm just relieved it was a practice session and not an actual performance. The manager is considering just shutting down production for the season. There were some financial issues as well."
Sophie blew on her hot chocolate and an uneasy silence fell over them.
"I tried to catch her, Sophie. I really did," Leon said. "These routines are complicated and impossible if both partners aren't pulling their own weight."
"Maybe your standards are too high," Sophie said quietly. She sipped gingerly from her mug. "Have you given thought to Kalos' offer?"
"You want to move to California?" Leon asked, silvery eyebrows raised high. "This is our home, Sophie."
"It's not a comfortable home for me anymore. It's hard seeing the familiar streets knowing I'll never be able to walk them again. My friends never visit, too worried my paralysis will spread to them, I guess." She closed her eyes and smiled wistfully. "I heard Layla's last performance, before her injury, was phenomenal. Her partner sounds amazing. I'd like to see a recording of it. Do you think you could ask Kalos?"
"It's still weird that two women were the staring act," Leon grumbled.
"You can't say they weren't both pulling their weight," Sophie countered.
Leon started washing the dishes, turning his back to his younger sister. "Layla is a hard worker, but Yuri is an ass. He did this to you. And he's the one that owns Kaleido Stage these days."
"He made a mistake, Leon," Sophie protested quietly. "He wasn't driving the car."
"As if that makes it better," Leon scoffed. "And sending you flowers once a month is hardly enough to make up for it."
"They bring me cheer," Sophie argued. "That's their point."
"You're just soft on him. Kalos works for Yuri. I don't think I could stand to see his smug face every day," Leon shut off the water and dried his hands.
"Leon, no one wants to work with you here. They're all terrified. You know what they call you," Sophie murmured. "Kalos called you because Yuri suggested you. He thinks you're the right person to step in as co-star."
"And who is meant to be my partner?" Leon demanded, his pale eyes narrowed angrily. "Some upstart that rode on Layla's coattails?"
"The doctors can offer me no hope here, Leon," Sophie pleaded. "I want to try America. And I want to try California. Please, for me, think about this opportunity."
"Fine, I'll call Kalos in the morning."
.
.
.
OoO
.
.
.
Sora toyed with her spoon, idly stirring her soup. She'd been surprised when Mr. Killian wanted to take her out to lunch and talk about the future of Kaleido Stage. She knew things were going to change with Layla's untimely retirement.
"He's a bit difficult to work with, I'm just warning you. If you thought Layla was temperamental, she's got nothing on Leon," Yuri warned.
"But, Dracula?" Sora scooped up a bite of the soup and ate it. "That's not really appropriate for children."
"It was his request," Yuri explained. "I know it's hard to explain, but I owe him. I'm sorry that it's putting you in a difficult position. It's not fair to ask you to compromise when you're part of the reason we did so well last season."
"Can we at least do a children's show then? To balance it out?" Sora set aside the spoon and folded her arms over the table. Kaleido Stage had done some dramatic pieces over the years, but they all involved interludes that were light-hearted and comical. "I thought children were our target audience. Dracula sounds dark and depressing."
"Plenty of adults go to the opera without children," Yuri pointed out. "Their cash is just as green. It's supposed to be romantic, not depressing." He sighed. "Okay, I'll talk to Kalos. Otherwise, we'd be forcing a bunch of clowns out of their comfort zone."
"Thank you, Mr. Killian!" Sora smiled at him broadly "Maybe if we altered the Dracula script and included a hero or heroine like Van Helsing. There could be dashing sword fights — everyone loves those."
"How many times do I have to tell you? You can call me Yuri." He raised his hand to request the check from the waitress. "I'll think about some alterations to the script. Have you given any other thought to my other suggestion?"
"I'm not much for those sorts of competitions, Mr. Killian," Sora said, ignoring the more familiar name.
"Please, Sora, the publicity for Kaleido Stage would be huge! When Layla and I won at the previous competition it was a huge financial boon. We have the chance for two representative teams."
"Who would my teammate be? You or this new guy with the temperament?" Sora covered her face with her hands and massaged her temples. Just thinking about a cut-throat competition was giving her a headache. "Can we discuss this later?"
"You're right, the competition isn't until the off-season," Yuri acknowledged. "We have some time, yet. And we still need another female. How's Rosetta doing?"
"She's talented, but that's a lot of pressure for someone so young," Sora worried. "Maybe, Layla will return?"
"We'll hold an audition then," Yuri said. He knew Layla was done with performing. Her father had her scheduled for three different movies over the next year. Trapeze was the furthest thing from his former partner's mind. "I'll work on a little recruitment. I want you to make Leon feel welcomed. It will be a big adjustment for him. Our West Coast circus is more laid back than the classic troupes he's worked with before in Europe."
.
.
.
A/N: This is based off the second season, I'll be changing up some details, but roughly similar to cannon. I was inspired by Cirque du Soleil's performance Friday night. They are airing a show each week during the pandemic to lift people's spirits, and as always the circus makes me think of my favorite circus anime!