To all of you that wanted a continuation, here it is! A Ren and Kyoko cute one-shot. The next installment will be about Sho and Kyoko, I promise. (:

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat!.

Come Down With Love

When you start to walk my way,
I forget where I am,
can't find a word to say.

It had been three days since the run-in with Fuwa Sho. Tsuruga Ren hadn't been in a good mood since then and it hadn't taken Kyoko very long to notice. She'd questioned him over what was wrong countless times, obviously fearing that Sho had said something to upset him. But every time she brought up that name, it only served to anger him more. It was so obvious that the connection between the two wasn't fading, not even with how infrequently they would see each other.

And that only served to hurt Ren.

"And you think you'll ever be part of her heart? I am her heart."

"There's a fine line between love and hate."

The words rang through the actor's head at the worst possible moments. Just when he got control over the bubbling anger within him, it would come right back to the surface, flowing over the edge. And it was annoying to think that Sho was getting the exact reaction out of him that he'd intended. Was he really so easy to toy with?

"Ren?"

He snapped out of his thoughts as Yashiro caught his attention from the passenger seat. He'd been running on pure habit and was already pulling up to his manager's apartment building. In his full mind, he hadn't realized how much time had passed him by.

"Yes?" he asked, trying to sound pleasant and failing.

With a raised eyebrow, Yashiro said, "You've been off your game all day. But you refuse to tell me what's happened between you and Kyoko, so I guess I'll just stay in the dark." For someone that wasn't an actor, the manager was very good at putting on a face that would torment someone close to him.

Sighing, Ren said nothing. He wasn't going to tell Yashiro the real story; there was just too much going on in Ren's mind. Still, he knew that he was being rude to his friend, but could he do anything else?

"Fine." Yashiro got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. He leaned down to look at his client through his open window. "Just know that letting things between Kyoko and you distract you so thoroughly is only going to make her that much angrier with you." Then the manager turned and left, leaving the actor to wallow in whatever thoughts he was so entranced in.

Yashiro knew that, when it came to Kyoko, he had to be cruel to be kind to Ren. The man was just simply incapable of making any real progress on his own. And he needed to remember that she was becoming more popular, that more men were coming after her. If Kajima-san wasn't enough to beam that into Ren's mind, Yashiro didn't know what would. What would happen to Ren if she ended up with someone else?

Ren slowly pulled away, turning around to head back to his own apartment. If only Yashiro knew what was really bothering Ren; would he blame him then? Or would he try to make everything better, make his client more sure of his place in her life once again?

Luckily, he didn't have to go on in the car very much longer; he didn't know if he was really taking in his surroundings well enough to be driving.

Somehow, he needed to show Fuwa that there was nothing that would stop Ren from reaching his goal; Kyoko was his only solid connection to who he wanted to be rather than who he had been. Where Sho wanted her, Ren needed her. Every part of him called out for her. Never would she know of her power to keep him sane, keep him from falling into old habits that would ruin him. The darkness that had once controlled him was chased away with just one innocent touch from her.

Pulling into his parking spot, he couldn't help looking up when he caught sight of that tell-tale hair through the horde of people around his building. Before he could steel himself against her, she was striding towards him, eyes narrowed in determination. He stepped out of the car quickly, hoping to meet her halfway, but she was walking too fast. Before he'd made it more than six steps from his car, she was in front of him, glaring up at him with an intensity he saw only just before she shouted at him that she was sorry for whatever she might have done to upset him.

They stood there for a moment in a silence, neither speaking as Kyoko seemed to compose herself and Ren just wanted to give her a chance to talk.

Suddenly, she held out her hand and said, "C'mon. I want to show you something." When he didn't take her hand, she grabbed his wrist, dragging him forcefully away from his car and even his building.

Surprised at her touch, he allowed it to continue, grasping for even the smallest improvement between them. It was almost all he could think about as she tugged him across busy streets and into a small park just inside the city. She pulled him about halfway through the path, then tugged him off it towards what could only be a clearing. Her footsteps were light and quick; if his legs weren't so long, he probably would have tripped and fell trying to keep up with her.

When they got through the worst of the trees, Kyoko turned on him, letting go of his wrist. Even as his heart clenched at the sudden feeling of distance between them, she motioned towards a thick patch of grass in the middle of the clearing. "Go lie down. I want to show you something."

Too shocked to do anything other than obey, Ren crossed to lie down, folding his hands over his abdomen as a feeling of deja vu swept over him. Yes, this was just like where he'd first met Kyoko as a child. He could hear a stream somewhere just beyond the edge of their sanctuary, butterflies danced around in the air just above him. There was a gentle scent of spring flowers wafting with the breeze that gently ruffled his hair. He would—and had—always associated this kind of setting with Kyoko, the little girl that he now worked beside.

He heard her softly lie down on the grass beside him, just within touching distance. If he wanted to, he could reach out his hand, tell her everything that he had kept to himself for far too long. He could tell her that he loved her, that he always would. Who else would keep a punk kid named Corn so close to her heart for so long?

"This is my favorite spot. It reminds me of the first time I met Corn," she said after several moments of pleasant silence between them. Turning her head to look at him, she smiled brightly, that innocent smile that never failed to catch him off guard. He couldn't help staring at her, wondering why she couldn't love him like he did her. "I found it when I first came to Tokyo." A few tears came to her eyes as she turned her head back towards the sky. "I thought, 'Corn would like it here.'" Wiping at her cheeks with her sleeve, she sniffled before she asked in a small voice, "I wanted him to be with me here for so long." Her eyes glanced back at him. "Will you come here with me instead?"

His heart skipped a beat before a rare, real smile came to his face. "Of course. I would like that, Mogami-san."

They both glanced back to the sky before a blushing Kyoko said, "Can I call you Ren? You can call me Kyoko." Before he could answer, her small hand took his, locking them together in the grass between them.

"I'd like that, Kyoko."

It wasn't a love confession, but it was a good step forward.