Prompt/Summary: Popular soap opera actor Asakura Yoh decides to go summer camping around Europe with his beloved girlfriend, the known author (and secretly hopeless romantic) Kyoyama Anna. But what happens when thanks to the schemes of his colleagues, Hao (who is jealous of his popularity) and Tamao (who is jealous of their love), he suddenly loses his job and the two of them don't even have enough money to go home? Hilarity ensues.


Episode One: Pilot in Tokyo!


"Please…don't…I…I…" the stunning girl with perfect features cried out, falling to her knees in a cathartic singular moment of sheer desperation, clutching at her heart and reaching out to him. Her life. Her love.

"You what?" Yoh asked, helplessness, anger, bitterness all converging together holding his hands out, asking what else more she could expect from him. "What do you want me to do? I just can't…I can't believe…The child that you're pregnant with…it's not mine. You cheated on me. You gave up our five year long relationship for one night in France. You lied to me." His voice lowered. "What do you expect me to do?" he asked quietly.

"To love me," she said, tears falling thick and heavy from her shining eyes, her hand trembling as she took his in hers. "To stay with me. I'm here…I'm exposing myself to you, this is me, my soul." She pressed his hand to his cheek. "Please don't leave me…"

"I don't even know you anymore," he proclaimed coldly, clenching his eyes shut and balling his hand into a fist, yanking it away suddenly from her. "Who are you?"

She gasped, her sobs wrenching and shaking her body in spasms so much that she looked like she could've collapsed from the sheer force of them. "Who…am…I…" she repeated in a daze. "Who am I?" she asked, this time stronger, her chin tilting up to look up at him. "I'm…just a girl…just a simple girl, no more, no less…asking a boy…to love her."

"Aaaaaaaaand, cut!" Ryu yelled out. Yoh and the girl sighed and stretched. "Perfect, you two! Simply perfection!" He turned around and motioned to the crew that was awaiting his next command. "Everyone, take five."

"Eh…I don't know, Ryu. That last line Pirika said sounded pretty similar to Julia Roberts' confession in Notting Hill." Yoh shrugged and offered a hand to his co-star, pulling her up to her feet.

"Ugh, my make up's running. I think I'll go see Tamao to get myself fixed up before the next scene," she said, jutting her finger towards her dressing room.

"Yes, yes, dear, do whatever you want," Ryu remarked casually, waving his hand dismissively. "We'll just leave that up to chance, shall we?" He winked at Yoh. "Anyways Europe Roundabout is the most watched Japanese soap opera in four years! No one will care!"

"Five years now, Ryu," someone called out, typing away on a laptop. "My Idol! Entertainment's JDrama editor came up with the annual rating and reviews. It's five years now!"

"You mean…we beat out Osorezan Revoir's record from 2005?" Ryu demanded, his jaw dropping and eyes widening. "This is outstanding! We haven't even aired the finale yet!"

"Hey, Ryu, this scene's the last one of the season, right?" Yoh asked.

The director nodded. "It sure is. This is the finale and then we're all done for the next few months." He smirked. "Why?"

"Well, it's my anniversary with Anna…"

"Ah, you're going to propose to the ever-so-fabulous Kyoyama lady?" Ryu patted him on the back. "It's about time! Not to mention, good for publicity. Though, Chocolove says that our ratings would go up even more if you and Usui were in a real, off-camera relationship," he said thoughtfully, stroking his chin.

"That might be somewhat difficult, considering that in the next scene, Pirika not only got pregnant from the man who almost killed me last season but that it was done through artificial insemination," Yoh pointed out, reading from the script in his hands. "And she's basically like my little sister so that would be borderline incestuous." He paused, tapping the rolled up script against his head. "Oh, and Horohoro would never go for it."

"Damn, straight I wouldn't!" Horohoro, the primary cameraman on the set, yelled.

Pirika, having finished getting her makeup redone, rolled her eyes as she approached the two. "Uh…don't you think my makeup is a little too…perfect for a woman who has gone through several hours of labor and has just given birth?"

"Usui…this is a soap opera. Do you actually think we'll get ratings if you looked like a hot mess onscreen?" Ryu explained as if he were talking to a child. "Honestly, we've been doing this for years now. You'd think you'd get the drill by this point in time."

"Feh, just sayin' is all…" she grumbled, allowing Tokagero to strap a fake pregnancy pillow around her midsection before putting on a disposable hospital gown.


"You…you came…" she whispered softly, her eyes fluttering open. "D-Does that mean…?" She looked up at him hopefully.

He hesitated. "I…I'm willing to give this another shot. For you. For me. For the baby." He clasped her hand. "As long as you love me and only me."

"I don't ever want to see him again! I swear, my heart only belongs to you…I…" She began crying, her tears running into the hospital gown she was wearing. The nurse handed her the baby she had delivered merely minutes ago. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

Yoh had finally cracked and began kneeling by her bedside. "It's fine, we're all together now, right? That's what matters."

"I don't deserve you…I don't deserve this happiness," she hiccupped. "I don't deserve your love."

"Shh…I have loved since the day I met you. I love you right now. I will love you forever, I swear. I will never leave your side. The truth is…I even loved you when I was still engaged…"

Pirika gasped. "You…really did?"

He nodded. "I have loved you every second of my life." He stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

A nurse knocked at the door. "Ah…miss? You have a visitor…" She coughed, embarrassed that she had interrupted the two.

"I…do? Who is it?"

"Says he's the father of the child." The nurse stepped aside to make space for the man in question to enter the room.

"You!" Yoh snarled, pointing an accusatory finger out of here. "Haven't you caused enough pain for the both of us? You nearly killed me last year and you forced my fiancée into this pregnancy!"

Pirika's mouth parted. "Fiancée? Do you…do you mean it?"

"Only if you want this as much as I do," he smiled.

Lyserg stepped forward. "That's funny…considering that merely nine months ago she had confessed that the entire time you two were together, she had loved me. What were the words again…oh yes, that 'her heart belonged only to me.'"

"You…you what?" Yoh reeled back as if he had been slapped. He looked at Pirika as if seeing her for the first time.

"No! Don't…that was…a mistake…" she said, her voice becoming soft.

"You seemed very adamant about it back then," Lyserg drawled. "And in fact…the baby that was just born? It wasn't conceived as you think it was. While you were in England, we had tried for months prior in France, if you know what I mean." Yoh clenched his fists. "But then she finally got pregnant. Through artificial insemination."

"I can't believe you," Yoh whispered. "You…lied to me. How much of our relationship had been a sham? How much have you two been laughing at me as you were stringing me along? You lied to me." He paused as if the truth had settled in. "You liar. You liar!" he yelled.

"Please don't leave! You can't leave me! I don't know what I would do without you…I can't be alone…" Her voice dropped. "Not again." Her head snapped up. "Not again! I can't lose you for the second time!"

"It's too late." Yoh was already at the door. "You already have." And then he left.


"Aww, man, that was really bad," Yoh and Lyserg laughed as they rewatched the scene while Manta cropped out some of the excess footage in the preliminary editing stage. "Haha, the backlighting in the hospital makes you look like a vampire, Lyserg."

"The entire show is backlit, you idiot!" He smiled, shoving Yoh. "So I suppose I look like a vampire every episode."

"Well, they don't call you the 'Edward Cullen of the JDrama world' for nothing, then!" They both laughed again, remembering the Jump, Step! people's choice awards and nominations of last year. "'Enough angst, emotional power, and good looks to satiate any Twilight fan in Japan! Lyserg Diethel is a must-watch actor! The only thing missing is the sparkling skin!'" Yoh and Lyserg quoted in unison from the article.

"That was one of the worst…But thanks to that, Europe Roundabout got a whole lot more viewers because of it." He shook his head. "Too bad they're mostly girls hoping that the show is the Japanese version of Stephanie Meyers' series."

"It really is a pity…But at least they mob you, not me, at the events!" Yoh grinned.

"Or when I'm getting groceries. Groceries, for God's sake!" Lyserg sighed. "Well, what can you expect?" He took out his phone to check the time. "Would you like to join me for some drinks later? Horohoro and Pirika are coming along too, I think. We're going to Matamune's to celebrate the last episode this season."

"And then a couple months to ourselves! That's the life." Yoh frowned. "Can't…I have…er, plans already." He had colored a little.

Lyserg's face brightened up. "Oh, I see! You're going to propose tonight, hmm?" He prodded Yoh in the ribs with his elbow. "I can see her next interview on The Tao Jun Show: 'And now we have next Japan's most eminent romance writer, a veritable idol among teenage girls and women alike…Let's hear it for Asakura Anna, nee Kyoyama!'" he announced with a flourish of his hands. "So how are you going to do it?"

"Eh? Do what?"

"Propose! Pop the question! You know!" Lyserg exclaimed. "Hmm, well Kyoyama is a classy lady…I'm guessing…ring in champagne glass at Hang Zang-Ching's? No wonder you didn't want to come with us tonight! I'd pick the classiest Chinese restaurant this side of Tao's over going to Matamune's any day!"

Yoh simply laughed. "The past odd five years of my life have been all about clichés. No way I'd do that!" He scratched the back of his head. "Next two months of my life, I'll be going to Europe—"

"Finally! No one on the entire cast, crew, or writing staff has ever been to continental Europe…funny how the show is called Europe Roundabout and takes place there."

"Or perhaps…expected. The entire drama is based on stereotypes and assumptions that the writers and director have of the entirety of Europe…that may be why it's so cliché and cheesy."

"Point. So you're going to propose…when exactly?" Lyserg drew his keys out of his pocket and the two started walking out of the editing room, waving at Manta.

"On the last day of the trip most likely. That's when we're going to be in Paris."

"Romantic. Eiffel Tower?"

"Can there be any other way?" Yoh asked. They both laughed. "You're oddly…chipper today. More than usual anyways. Why so happy?"

"You make it sound like it's a crime."

"What, did you finally get a girlfriend?"

He shrugged. "Come on. You already know that my contract says that I can't be in any relationships until the show is done for good."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Can't make your rabid fangirls jealous now. I keep forgetting…"

"Well, that's because you were already in a relationship before you even signed on, so obviously they couldn't put that in your contract." He opened the door of his car and paused. "Marco's coming home tonight."

Yoh punched his costar in the arm. "Wow! I'm happy for you! How long has it been?"

"A year and two months. Not that I'm counting or anything. The manufacturer he's been dealing with finally agreed to start producing the Archangel." Lyserg could barely keep himself from smiling.

"Heh, when they start coming out with those cars, I'm definitely getting one. Finest luxury car I've ever had the pleasure of seeing."

"I'll be sure to tell Marco that."

"In fact, I think I'll invest in this." Lyserg quirked an eyebrow. "Yeah, I will. Just talk to Amidamaru, he'll get everything set up." He waved as he opened the door to his own car. "It must be nice knowing big bro is home and all."

"You have no idea." He waved as he sped away from the parking lot and Yoh turned the key in his own ignition.


He arrived at the hotel roof, out of breath. But the sight of her made it all worth it. She turned around, the hem of her khaki trench coat making a painfully slow yet graceful arc about her. His breath caught in his throat as he saw that she was still wearing the green cocktail dress that she had confessed her love to him in—he caught sight of the stain of the Long Island iced tea he had accidentally spilled on her. The diamond necklace dripped its sparkling jewels down the column of her neck and past the valleys of her collarbones, the matching shining earrings brushing against her shoulders as they swung wildly back and forth. As they embraced, he knew that they were silhouetted against the Eiffel Tower in the moonlight. And that's when he realized how effortlessly beautiful their love had been, was, and always would be.

He reached past her cheek to remove the clip that held her hair up. As her golden hair fell down, he paused for what seemed like a lifetime. "I have always loved you, A—

"Anna!" Her eyes shot up from her laptop screen and she snapped it shut, wincing slightly as it made a painful cracking noise that definitely indicated something had broken.

"What," she snarled. Before she could whirl around to see who had so carelessly interrupted her creative flow, a pair of arms seized her from behind and lifted her up. "P-Put me down right now!" she spluttered out, flustered that someone might see her being manhandled and treated in such an unladylike manner. The offending owner of the pair of arms complied and set her down on the floor.

"What, am I not allowed to surprise my own girlfriend?" Yoh asked playfully, plopping down on a nearby chair.

"No," Anna returned in a dead-pan voice. "You should know that by now." She inhaled and exhaled a few times to get her heart beat down, partially caused out of the fear that someone that knew her well had come so close to reading what she had been working on. What was she working on? Oh yes. A romance novel. A tacky, drippingly romantic, hopped up on fluff romance novel that would somehow net her millions of yen like every clichéd love story she had ever written. Kyoyama Anna. Occupation: romance novelist. Relationship status…

Yoh, with a smug grin on his face, leaned back in chair so much that it slipped out from under him, causing him to be suspended in the air for one second and flat on his back the next.

Anna sighed. Taken. And showing no signs of proposing any time soon, even though they've been in a relationship for six whole years. She quickly centered herself and attempted to find her zen and her happy place and her balance and whatever else her anger management and meditation books had advised her to search out whenever she got upset.

"You've been working on another—" Anna supposed that Yoh had had a mental block at that point in time. Either that, or he suddenly had a very existentialistic epiphany and realized that he no longer valued his own life since he reached forward and was going to open her laptop.

She immediately slapped his hand away, grabbed his wrist, yanked his opposite shoulder backwards and shoved the arm in her grip against his back. This is what you call, ladies and gentlemen, disarming someone.

"Erk…s-sorry…I forgot. Not allowed to ever read your stories. Ever," he squeaked out. She shoved his twisted arm again once more for good measure as if to reinforce the lesson he learned before tentatively releasing him. He rubbed his wrist and back tenderly. "Aww, come on, when will you let me read your books?"

"Never." Maybe if you actually ask me to marry you already. Men, she huffed to herself indignantly.

He shrugged. "Does the one you're working on take place in Paris again?"

Her eyes bugged out and she turned around to face him. "You've read my books?" she said, trying not to screech at him.

He laughed. "Heh, got you! Nah, Pirika was just talking about it again. She's still in love with your works. Says she's your number one fan."

"She would read my books…" Anna muttered to herself. "Can't blame her though. That's what I do. I put in minimal effort by coming up with the crappiest literature possible, put in an irresistibly charming and handsome lead and use a Mary Sue for the female protagonist. That way, the female readers, who are 98% of my target audience, can project themselves onto the severely underdeveloped female character and pretend that they're the one getting confessed to or getting kissed or ravished."

"Isn't that what Stephanie Meyer does?"

"I'm better. I actually write the entire sex scenes out."

"Er…" Yoh wasn't entirely sure if that really was better. "Doesn't that get repetitive though?"

"No, you see there are different character types. The leads can be brooding and emotional and intense. Or he can be awkward and endearing and polite. Or acerbic, witty, and a proverbial 'bad boy.' Or he can be funny and bold. Or even laid back and carefree. A free spirit, really." She swept her laptop into its bag and her hair into a ponytail. "The only important thing is that he's passionate. That's what all the girls are into nowadays."

"Wow, you've certainly got this down to a science." Yoh took the laptop bag from her and held the door open for his girlfriend as they walked outside of the house.

She pursed her lips, not wanting to tell him that she actually enjoyed writing her books and only played it off as exploiting her poor, sappy audiences. That she was actually the poster child for a hopeless romantic. That the last four books she had come out with in the past two and a half years were really poorly disguised versions of herself and him. And how each of them ended with the male character proposing to the fictional version of her. And that's probably the only way he'd ever propose—if it's in a story, not real life.

"Anyways…I brought up Paris for a reason. Since the setting in all your books is in the City of Lights…" He looked up at the ceiling as if he were distracted while his hands disappeared behind his back. "Don't you think it's high time that we actually visited there?" He produced a pair of tickets and waved them in front of her face temptingly.

She snatched them from his hands. "You're serious?" she demanded, sounding almost angry. As if she was daring him to trick her.

"Yeah, we just wrapped up the finale now and it's in prelim production stages now." He spread his arms out, opening the car door in the process and stepped in. "We have two months all to ourselves. In Europe!" He placed his hands on the steering wheel. "And I thought it was appropriate since…well, I'm the lead in a show about Europe and you write all your books about Europe and neither of us have been there…not to mention we've both wanted to go since…"

"Forever," she finished for him.

"Exactly." He paused. "You know, I was planning to tell you at Hang Zang-Ching's instead of your study but I just couldn't wait!"

Anna narrowed her eyes. "Do you…still have reservations at Hang Zang-Ching's?"

"Yeah but I guess I should cancel, huh? It takes months to even get on the waiting list there—"

"I expect you to take us there immediately after we pass by my house," she ordered, putting on her sunglasses, her latest purchase, courtesy of the surprisingly boom in sales of her newest release.

"Your wish is my command," he said in an overtly polite and formal voice.


A/N: i really liked this prompt, sooo this will be at least 5 chapters long :) i really enjoyed writing this (sorry for the extremely late post...school is killing me -__-) hope it's up to your expectations! :D Review? :)