Spoiler Alert! This fanfiction refers to events in chapter 150 and is set to immediately follow it.
This is also the first fanfiction I've done in YEARS, so please be gentle! Oh, and Skip Beat is not my creation or whatever disclaimer I need to say for this. I also never quite nailed the honorifics down, so please let me know if I got something off!
Someday
Kyouko blushed as she stared at the flowers on the set and thought of Ren. Half an hour ago, she had no idea what to make of his gentle kiss on her cheek. It was too much to make sense of. Whether or not he was serious, the result was bad. She didn't want to hurt Ren with a rejection, but she wasn't ready yet for love either. On the other hand, if he was fooling around, then it meant he looked down on her, and that was hard to swallow as well. That was thirty minutes ago, before he came to help her.
She sighed and chuckled at the memory. She really did love him, whether or not she was willing to date him. Ren had gone out of his way to play down the kiss so she wouldn't have to think about it, but he slipped up. He said he wouldn't kiss just any Japanese girl, which implied Kyouko was special to him. She rubbed the side of her face with her shoulder and grinned. It wasn't time yet, but maybe someday.
"You're in a good mood," Kanae said back at the office. Kyouko nodded dumbly and grinned at her best friend. "And here I was all worried that those boys would cause trouble for you for not getting chocolates…"
Kyouko grimaced but found her smile again in seconds. "Well, there were a couple incidents, but really, it's better now."
"Oh?" Kanae asked. She raised an eyebrow. "So what happened?"
Kyouko's face flew through disgust, rage, shock, confusion, and dreamy happiness before registering Kanae and settling down again. She stared up at Kanae hopelessly.
"Did you run into Shou Fuwa?" Kanae asked.
Kyouko glared at Kanae. "I don't want to think about him right now. Tsuruga-san liked my gift though!" she added, popping out of her anger and falling into a dreamy state. "Kanae, he's a good person!"
"I thought you didn't have a gift for Tsuruga-san since he hates chocolate!" Kanae said.
"I didn't give him chocolate! I made wine jelly and put it in a gorgeous glass that was just like the queen rose he gave me, and he really liked it, and then he… he…" Kyouko blushed and batted her eyes at Kanae, whose jaw had dropped. "He kissed me," Kyouko said, and pointed to the touched spot.
"So you finally realized he's in love with you?" Kanae asked.
"You knew?!" Kyouko shouted. Both girls froze for a few moments staring at each other.
Kanae rolled her eyes. "Well did you accept? Are you two dating now? What happened next?"
Kyouko pouted. "I can't date him, Kanae! I swore never to fall in love again! Besides, he's my superior… I'm just happy that I'm special to him, that's all."
"So you rejected Tsuruga Ren?" Kanae asked with disappointment.
"No! I kinda spazzed and screwed up at work, and he came after me to calm me down, and he played it off like it was a normal thing with the internationals, except that he doesn't do it casually with Japanese, implying I'm special… Kanae, I was shocked! I thought of a way to deter the conversation off of that idea, so I don't think he knows I've realized it, but… What do I do if he really does press it? I'm a Love Me member for a reason, Kanae, I can't fall in love!"
"Yet you went out of your way to make him a special dessert on Valentine's Day because you knew he didn't like chocolate. Kyouko, you sound like you're in love to me," Kanae pointed out.
"This and that are different!" Kyouko protested, blushing. "So what happened with you? Did Hiou-kun receive chocolates from you?"
"I just remembered I have to be somewhere, see you later, Kyouko!" Kanae said and ran out before Kyouko could object.
Kyouko grumbled and pulled her happy Tsuruga doll out of her bag. "I sure would like to fall in love you with you, Tsuruga-san, but… I'm just a fractured person after that other guy. You can't really want me," Kyouko said and smiled sadly. She glanced around the room quickly and kissed the doll's cheek quickly before stuffing it back in her purse. "That's revenge for you, Tsuruga-san!" she said cheerfully.
"What's revenge for me, Mogami-san?"
Kyouko froze and slowly turned around to face the door, where Tsuruga stood with a pained but amused expression. Kyouko's own heart twisted as she considered what he must be going through. "It's a secret," Kyouko said and flashed a daring grin at him. She felt a blush creep onto her cheeks, and she trembled as he smirked—a sure sign he had noticed. The emperor of the night was before her.
"A secret that's in your bag, Mogami-san?" Tsuruga asked.
"A secret's a secret!" Kyouko insisted and tried to march past him out the room. She was too afraid to ask what he wanted by coming there. What if he did ask her out? Tsuruga blocked the way with an arm and bent down to look at Kyouko in the eyes. Kyouko shuddered and backed away with a fixed grin. She didn't even notice Tsuruga's other arm reaching for her bag until he had snatched it from her. "Give it back, Tsuruga!" Kyouko complained and blushed as she realized what she had called him. "San. Tsuruga-san."
Tsuruga raised an eyebrow and grinned. "I think I'll just take a look inside here first." He opened the bag and looked inside. Kyouko cringed and waited for it. "Mogami-san? What are these?" he asked, pulling out the figurines of himself and Shou. "Did you make these?"
"They helped me concentrate when I was stuck… It's what I used when I needed to imagine you berating me to get my act together. I haven't used the other ones in a long time though."
"That's amazing… a little embarrassing, but these are really good, Mogami-san. You really caught every detail." Tsuruga paused as he chuckled, and Kyouko looked up to see a sad and wistful expression. "You see so much, and yet you miss the most important things. I have no idea what to do with you, Mogami."
"San. Mogami-san," Kyouko corrected. She sat back down and pouted. "It's not like I don't ever notice, but sometimes it's easier to pretend otherwise. It's like, I feel I'm learning what it is to want to be loved, but I still belong in the Love Me section, so I don't want to think about it."
"Think about what?" Tsuruga asked and sat down uncomfortably close to her. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, and her thigh burned where it had contact with his. "Think about love? And if you did, what would you think?" He leaned closer, then seemed to think better of it and scooted away. Kyouko found herself missing the warmth, just like the time he had embraced her after he rescued her from Reino.
"That maybe it wouldn't be so bad to date someone I like and respect who seems to like and respect me," Kyouko said and blushed. "I'm not ready though!"
"But if you were… do you have someone in mind?" Tsuruga asked and gazed at her with the most soulful expression she had ever seen. She couldn't joke her way out of this one.
"If… if I were ready, it might be someone who helps me believe in fairies," Kyouko said and met his eyes blushing. Tsuruga was mesmerized, and their heads came closer. "But I'm not ready," Kyouko said, turning her head just in time. "I need to get to my next job though, so," Kyouko said, taking the line Kanae had used on her to escape, but Tsuruga had grabbed her arm.
"Come closer," Tsuruga said, gesturing with his finger. Kyouko leaned over as if enchanted. Tsuruga caressed her cheek and kissed her gently on the forehead. "I'll be waiting for that day you're ready," he whispered in her ear. He squeezed her hand and stood up, grinning at how shocked and red she was. "Didn't you have an urgent appointment."
"Not really," Kyouko said, staring at Tsuruga longingly. She paused, shook her head, and slapped herself in the face.
"Come on, Mogami-san, don't let such a simple thing get to you, you're a professional!" Tsuruga said, echoing his earlier words to her when she was shocked from his first kiss. "I need to get going too, so I'll see you later. Take care, Mogami," he said.
"It's Mogami-san!" Kyouko protested, but she had pulled herself back together, and she grinned at Tsuruga. Their eyes met and narrowed as they issued an unspoken challenge to each other with their smiles, and Tsuruga left. "Someday," Kyouko said and sighed dreamily. "Someday."
Thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think! It's a little scary getting back into fanfiction. I expect I'll need encouragement to continue!