Disclaimer: All aspects of Skip Beat! belong to Nakamura Yoshiki-Sensei. The storyline in this oneshot, to my knowledge, is mine though.

Summary: Drunken Ren Challenge Oneshot. Fire + alcohol = pretty flames. (Note: No, no one is a pyromaniac here…)

Author's Note: When I saw this Drunken Ren Challenge promoted by leavesfallingup, I was suddenly struck with this little idea which then expanded into this oneshot below. The Drunken Ren Challenge's rules have been copied and pasted directly from chapter 3 of leavesfallingup's story, "Chase the Sun":
"1. It has to be Ren or Kuon, not Cain, BJ, Katsuki, or anyone of his other characters.
2. Someone has to be embarrassed by something Ren has done. It could be himself or someone else.
3. You have to state the consequences of his drunken stupor in the story. No getting him drunk, kissing Kyoko and not stating what happened after.
4. Try and keep it IC. Considering we have only seen Ren in an angry drinking binge, so allowances are to be expected."

Also, seeing as this is my first ever fanfiction, reviews and constructive criticism will be highly appreciated. This hasn't been edited, so if anyone catches any grammatical errors, please let me know, and I will make the appropriate changes. Thanks and enjoy this fluffy oneshot!
-TT

Edit: Special thanks to Iris Anthe for catching some errors! :)

Italicized text = past
Normal text = present

Everything's going to be Alright

Ice clinked in the glass as Ren set it down with his right hand, his left twirling an ornately shaped whiskey bottle. He clumsily refilled the glass in haste, trying to rid himself of the haunting memory.

"Kyoko, will you marry me?"

Ren groaned and clutched his head. Why, oh why, did he ask that question? It would be one thing if they were already dating, but to ask that out of the blue when they were not? It was ridiculous. As Kyoko's stunned face resurfaced in his memories, Ren felt the pain from his headache multiply. He could already visualize his past efforts in maintaining a balanced relationship with Kyoko swirl down the drain.

In his own defense, Ren would argue that the question wasn't asked entirely out of the blue. They both had been on set and Kyoko had just finished a stunt. Like himself, Kyoko insists on performing all the stunts personally not only because it is part of her profession but also because she believes it keeps herself in tune with her character. Like most other stunts, this particular stunt was dangerous. Kyoko had to navigate her way out of a burning warehouse as supporting beams fell all around her. Needless to say, there had been firemen on standby in case the fire became uncontrollable. The first few minutes had gone by smoothly, exactly as rehearsed, but then the entire roof of the warehouse collapsed when Kyoko was still inside. Although the cameras showed Kyoko to be near the exit and would be able to escape the danger, alarms had been set off in Ren's mind.

Ren gripped the glass in his hand until his knuckles became white as he remembered the feeling of terror.

He stood up and was about to rush into the scene, which would have ruined the entire shot, had it not been Yashiro holding him back. There was no way in hell that he would just stand there and watch the flames swallow up Kyoko. The director called out to everyone to stay put for a few more seconds to allow Kyoko to come out herself until the firemen deemed it necessary to extinguish the entire set, which would, in fact, cost the production team a small fortune.

Ren's mind raced. The damages were the only thing on the director's mind? Is he insane? Kyoko's life was in danger and yet the director only thought of the costs? Just as he had been ready to inform the director that he would personally pay for the loss, Kyoko finally stumbled out, soot smudged randomly on her face and her clothes ripped and burned in various places. When Kyoko finally finished her lines, the director called cut immediately and Kyoko sank down to the ground—whatever strength that helped her escape the flames left her. Firemen rushed into the scene to extinguish the fire while the paramedics swarmed around Kyoko. Yashiro finally loosened his hold on Ren's arms and Ren stumbled toward Kyoko, still in mild shock.

In his mind, there were only two people present—Kyoko and himself. As he reached her, Ren fell to his knees and pulled her into his arms, trembling. He felt Kyoko stiffen, but he refused to let go. Never again was he going to let her put herself in danger like that. As Kyoko patted his arm awkwardly, trying to comfort him and make him let go, Ren finally loosened his grip and pulled himself away from her, just enough so that he could see her entire face. He gently stroked Kyoko's cheek with his ice cold fingers, smudging some soot in the process, and whispered, "Kyoko, will you marry me?"

Suspense hung in the air as Kyoko's rather expressionless face turned into one of pure shock. However, before she could respond, Kyoko was pulled away from him, ushered by the paramedics into a private trailer with more medical supplies. Little did he know that Kyoko's face had turned an entire color palette's variety of red—he was, obviously, out of it.

Ren slammed his glass on the coffee table. It's not that he regretted asking the question; he planned on asking her that same question in the future in an entirely different setting where they were both happily in love and safe from any burning buildings. He refilled his glass and continued drinking until the whiskey bottle became empty. Frustrated, he tossed both aside, deciding to dwell in his own stupidity without any more additional depressant.

The alcohol must have seriously addled his senses because if he had been sober, he would have noticed another presence in the room. Kyoko entered his apartment with the spare key he had given her several months ago in case of an emergency. She had come because Yashiro informed her that he could not reach Ren on his cellphone. Yashiro also insisted that Kyoko should go to ensure that Ren had eaten a proper dinner to which she agreed. When she entered, Ren was sitting on the floor of his living room, his back resting against the couch, and his head clutched between his hands that were holding the glass and bottle. Not knowing exactly how to inform him of her presence, Kyoko stood there, frozen. When Ren slammed the glass onto the table, she squeaked and jumped a bit. Kyoko had thought her presence would be known then, but as Ren didn't acknowledge her presence, she finally decided to move a bit closer. Standing behind the couch, Kyoko watched as Ren continued to pour himself the beverage until he eventually threw both aside. Sighing, Kyoko walked around the couch to pick up both. It was only then Ren realized that someone else was in the apartment.

The moment Ren saw Kyoko was in front of him, the corner of his eyes crinkled as his lips lifted to give Kyoko a smile that Kyoko used to cower from. The smile slowly disappeared as he then muttered, "Great, now I'm hallucinating? At least I'm not hallucinating flames."

He frowned at the word "flames". Just when he was about to forget the entire ordeal, he unconsciously brought it back up. Scowling, he attempted to stand, wanting to head toward his alcohol collection for another well needed sacrifice. Watching Ren lose his balance, Kyoko finally could not hold it in anymore; she took his arm and supported him, "Tsuruga-san, let's get you to bed."

Shaking his head groggily, Ren tried to clear his head; this was not a hallucination, it was too real, and honestly, he knew he didn't consume enough alcohol yet to hallucinate. He turned his head toward her and squinted, "Mogami-san?"

Her eyes lit up, enthralled that this was not going to be as troublesome as the time with his fever. At least he recognized her! "Yes, it's me! And, Tsuruga-san, you really should go to bed now."

They stumbled through the bedroom door, and Ren allowed himself to be tucked into bed by Kyoko. There was no way he could resist her. When Kyoko was turning around to leave, he called, "Mogami-san…no, Kyoko, thank you."

Kyoko smiled, "You're—"

"And I love you."

Kyoko's mouth opened, agape, but before she could respond, Ren had already closed his eyes and was in a deep slumber.

When Ren finally woke up the following morning, it was as if all the members of an orchestra had deemed their instruments to be effective battle weapons and were fighting each other in his head. It was not particularly pleasant. As he rolled to his side, a small bottle, a glass of water, and a piece of paper caught his eye. He groggily reached his hand out to the paper and squinted to read the neat handwriting,

Dear Tsuruga-san,
I know your head is probably throbbing, so here's a bottle of aspirin to help with the headache. Also, I have already made breakfast and packed a lunchbox, so please eat those to regain some energy.
Sincerely,
Mogami Kyoko

Ren smiled tenderly, and he slowly moved to take the medicine. Ambling out of his bedroom, he spotted the breakfast and lunchbox placed neatly on the dining table. And then it struck him—Kyoko came by last night? To say he was rather shocked would be an understatement. He had absolutely no recollection that she came by. Did he say or do anything that would have further pushed himself away from Kyoko? He made up his mind. Today, no matter how busy he was, he would find time to confront her.

As Kyoko entered the LoveMe room, Kanae was already sitting at the center table. Smiling maniacally, Kyoko rushed into the room, "Moko-san!"

Kanae, instead of dodging like always, stood there ready to be engulfed in her friend's bear hug.

After recharging her best friend battery, Kyoko stepped back, rather pleased that Kanae gave into her hug. Feeling adventurous, she asked, "Usually you dodge out of the way. Even though I'm not complaining, what happened?"

Kanae looked into her best friend's face carefully, looking for any scars. She shook her head and gave a weak smile, "Because you almost died yesterday."

"But I called you right afterwards!"

"I needed to see you in person in order to completely relax." Scowling, Kanae pointed under her eyes, "See? Look at these bags under my eyes!"

Withdrawing herself slightly, Kyoko looked slightly downcast, "Sorry about that…"

Kanae sensed her growing depression and decided to change the topic, "So how did the shoot go afterwards?"

"Eh? It was the last scene and they put out the fire after the scene ended. The paramedics swarmed around me…," Kyoko paused.

Sensing an untold story, Kanae probed, "And?"

"Tsuruga-san hugged me…"

Eyes narrowing at her rival-for-Kyoko's-attention's name, Kanae continued, "And?"

"He proposed."

"What?"

Face beet red, Kyoko muttered, "He asked me to marry him. And he did this in front of everyone, which was rather sudden and embarrassing. Though—"

Kanae's eyes widened and then narrowed, "What did you say he did?"

"He proposed and afterwards when I went to his apartment to check if he ate dinner, Tsuruga-san said he loved me."

Kanae scowled, "Did he now?"

Kyoko continued what she wanted to say before Kanae cut her off, "Though I think he's just toying with me. I don't mind his teasing that much, but there really is a time and place for everything, even teasing!"

At this, something inside of Kanae snapped. Even though Kanae would rather bury herself alive than give up her dominating position as best friend in Kyoko's heart, seeing Kyoko denying herself of love stirred something inside of her, "Do you really not see how he looks at you? Like you're the only person that matters?"

"But—"

"The smiles he only shows you? Filled with unfathomable amounts love and tenderness?"

"Well—"

"The little actions? How he treats you as if you're the most precious thing in the world?"

"That—"

"Kyoko! He loves you!"

When Kyoko fell silent, Kanae continued, "I know that you don't believe that anyone can love you romantically, but even if I hate to admit it, Tsuruga Ren is fully and undeniably in love with you, Mogami Kyoko. Now the question is, what about you?"

As an alarm on Kanae's cellphone went off, Kanae frowned at the time displayed on her phone and gathered her things, "I have to leave or else I'll be late to my shoot." Her voice softened, "Think about it, okay? Call me if you need anything."

Kyoko nodded her head dumbly and sat down where Kanae was sitting previously, not even bothering to shut the door properly. Thoughts ran through her head close to the speed of light as pieces of her memories fell into their correct places, providing her with the answer. It was in this state of stupor that Ren found Kyoko.

Knocking politely on the door but not receiving a response, Ren entered the room, "Mogami-san?"

Kyoko jumped up to see the source of her problems standing in front of her, "Tsuruga-san!"

Ren smiled softly, "Thank you for the breakfast, it was delicious. As uncharacteristically of me, I'm also looking forward to my lunch."

Kyoko fidgeted, "You're welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Sensing the awkwardness, Ren's brow furrowed, "Is something wrong?"

Kyoko didn't respond, but Ren was fascinated to see Kyoko's normal complexion gradually taking a reddish hue when she finally spoke quietly, "Tsuruga-san, don't you think you went in the wrong order?"

Ren looked at her confusingly—he did say breakfast before lunch right? He asked, "Sorry?"

"You propose to me first, then tell me that you love me?"

Startled, Ren realized that he had slipped up in his drunken stupor. He needed to fix things, fast, otherwise that delicate balance between them will be broken. He attempted to explain, "I—"

Eyes flashing as a wave of courage overtook her, Kyoko looked into Ren's eyes, dispelling whatever thoughts he wanted to say. Kyoko took in a deep breath and started, "Well, let me tell you this: I love you too."

Before Ren could respond, Kyoko pulled his face toward her so that their lips met, creating sparks neither have experienced before.

As Kyoko pulled away just enough so that they both could breathe, she giggled, "I think the answer to marriage will have to wait, but I do believe that if you asked if you could date me, you would get an immediate answer."

Ren smiled, "Would you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?"

Kyoko reciprocated the smile and breathed, "Yes," as she leaned back in for her second kiss.

Author's Note: And that's it! In case any of you were wondering why Kyoko seemed a bit out of character, it's because I focused mostly on Ren. Kyoko's mind would have been swirling with questions and, most likely, hilarious unsaid thoughts, but because she never got the chance to speak (like, being pulled away forcibly by paramedics or Ren falling asleep before she could reply), she would have seemed out of character. Anyhow~ I hope you all enjoyed it!

-TT