Conversations

A/N: So, I started a new story, but this story shall simply be a collection of one-shots, which may or may not be loosely connected depending on what I end up wanting to write about.

I love dialogue, especially in Skip Beat. It's always so much fun to see Kyoko and Ren talk to each other, or Ren and Yashiro talk to each other, or Kyoko try to jump Moko while talking to her... Good times. I sometimes have little thoughts about 'What if they talked about this or that?' so this collection shall reflect my little thoughts every now and then. I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I intend to enjoy writing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat! That honor goes to Yoshiki Nakamura sensei.

It's better to ask for permission than to ask for forgiveness

Ren quietly closed the door to the break room and turned around, mentally rolling his eyes at the cat-like grin Yashiro had sported as he waved good-bye. 'Ah, so that's why Yashiro san was giving me that weird look.' Sitting at the lone table with a box of enormous cupcakes was Kyoko, a severe frown drawing her eyebrows down into a V.

"Mogami san, good afternoon. Is something the matter?"

Kyoko glanced up and smiled, "Tsuruga san, good afternoon. Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking of the topic discussion we had at the LME training school today."

Ren pulled out a chair and sat across from Kyoko, leaning forward as he asked, "What was the topic?"

"The topic was the saying, 'It's better to ask for permission than to ask for forgiveness.'" Kyoko replied, "Our teacher had us think about and discuss actions that people might be okay with in the end, but are likely to refuse if you ask permission to do so first."

Ren nodded in understanding, "Knowing when to push boundaries is is an important skill in this business."

"Oh," Kyoko grew thoughtful, "I didn't think of it like that before."

"So, what was it about pushing boundaries that put such a ferocious frown on your face earlier?"

Speak of it and it shall appear. With the ferocious frown back in place, Kyoko glared down at the table, "Some of the girls in my class were insisting that a first kiss definitely falls within the parameters." Kyoko said bitterly, "They were talking about how 'romantic' it is when a guy just swoops in for a kiss and about how it's hard for a girl to just say yes when asked for a kiss. How can it be alright to simply kiss someone without consent? If it's likely the person will say no, of course it's not okay to kiss them! That type of thinking just encourages stupid idiots to commit even greater acts of stupidity!" Kyoko ended her rant with a huff, and quietly muttered, "No matter how much I think about it, I don't understand their way of thinking at all."

Ren kept quiet for a moment, digesting everything Kyoko had said, 'Well, considering what happened with Fuwa, of course she'd be angry at hearing something like that called romantic.' "You're right in that it's never okay to kiss someone without their consent. What your peers might have been thinking of though, was that gaining consent doesn't always have to mean verbally getting permission."

Kyoko tilted her head and stared at Ren in confusion. "How so?"

Ren motioned for Kyoko to move to the open area in front of the table. "For example, if Maria came running up to you, calling your name, how would you invite her in for a hug?"

Kyoko set one knee on the ground and opened her arms wide, "I'd make myself look as open to her as possible."

Ren nodded approvingly, "Exactly. You used body language instead to say, 'give me a hug.' Now, what would you do if you wanted to invite someone to kiss you just using body language?"

"Eh?!" Kyoko flushed hotly and looked away, keeping her eyes on her knees as she sat back down in her chair.

"Mogami san," Ren said sternly, "You may have to act out kiss scenes in the future for work. Are you going to go up to your partner every time and say, 'Please kiss me?'" He let out a dramatic sigh and gave an exaggerated shrug, "If you avoid even thinking about scenarios you feel uncomfortable acting out, you'll never become a first-rate actress. That is your goal, isn't it, Mogami san?"

"Alright, I'll do it! You don't have to be that condescending about it." Kyoko fumed, her acting spirit burning brightly in response to Ren's taunting. She pursed her lips as she steeled herself, closed her eyes and tilted her head up slightly. 'Something like this should be fine...'

Ren stared at Kyoko's sweetly upturned face and did his best to tamp down the urge to take what his body insisted Kyoko offered. 'Maybe this was a bad idea.' Just barely winning the battle against himself, Ren gently cupped Kyoko's chin, feeling the tremor that ran through Kyoko at his touch. 'Don't get distracted.' Taking a deep breath, Ren leaned forward until he could feel Kyoko's breath against his skin, then boomed in a stilted voice, "Mogami san, can I kiss you?!"

"Gyaaah!" Kyoko wrenched her head out of Ren's grasp and lurched backwards, desperately grabbing hold of the table to keep the chair from crashing into the floor.

"Mogami san, are you alright?" Ren moved to go to Kyoko's side when she held up a hand to stop him.

"I'm fine. Please just stay on that side of the table, Tsuruga san."

Grabbing hold of Kyoko's outstretched hand, Ren pulled Kyoko back into a stable position, only letting go when all four feet of the chair were safely on the ground. "Alright then. Shall we continue?"

'Continue?' Seeing the horrified question in Kyoko's eyes, Ren gave a short laugh and said, "The explanation of your peers' motive for choosing a first kiss as their action, shall we continue?"

Kyoko gave Ren a timid nod, closing her eyes and letting out a sigh of relief as Ren began his lecture. "Some actions are performed more readily when there is the appropriate mood or atmosphere in place. Your peers may have suggested that a first kiss be taken without verbally asking for consent due to the fact that the first kiss between two people tends to be very sensitive to the atmosphere around them. This is especially true if a couple has not yet become comfortable with one another."

Ren smiled wryly. "As you've experienced just now, speaking can be a definite mood killer, even if it is just to ask for permission."

Kyoko nodded vigorously, keeping her head down as she replied brightly, "Yes, I completely understand my peers' logic after your example, Tsuruga san. It is still important to make sure the other party is giving consent somehow before kissing them though. Extremely important."

"Yes, it is." Ren's smile grew bittersweet, noticing how even the tips of Kyoko's ears had turned red. Taking pity on her, Ren let the subject drop. "So, what action did you propose should be done without asking?"

Kyoko's head shot up, catching a brief glimpse of Ren's smile before his face donned an inquiring expression.

"I assume you did come up with one, correct?"

"Of course! I put tickling up as a candidate." Kyoko replied proudly.

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Tickling?"

"I believe many people would be willing to tolerate being tickled to some degree, as long as they felt comfortable enough with the other party." Kyoko said eagerly, leaning forward as she warmed up to her topic. "However, it would be seen as strange if a person did say yes to a request for permission to tickle them. Well, the question itself would be seen as strange as well. Probably the person asking too..."

"Actually there are people who would say yes if someone asked to tickle them." Ren countered smoothly."

"Really?" Kyoko's eyes widened in disbelief. " Why would anyone say yes to a request like that?"

"I'll show you." Ren beckoned Kyoko over to his side of the table and opened his arms wide. "Try to tickle me."

Kyoko eyed Ren warily, only giving in when Ren leveled a stern look at her. "Alright then. Here I come..."

Ever so gently, Kyoko reached out and tickled Ren's sides. 'Hmm?'

Pressing a little harder now, Kyoko did her best to tickle Ren and make him laugh. No matter where she touched though, Ren showed no reaction. Frowning, Kyoko looked up into Ren's bemused eyes. "Tsuruga san, am I doing something wrong? I've never tickled anyone before so my technique might not be very good."

Ren let out a short bark of laughter. "Your tickling technique is just fine, Mogami san. I'm just not that ticklish."

"At all? You're not ticklish anywhere?" Kyoko tried tickling his stomach to no avail. "I didn't realize that was even possible."

"Many people are not all that ticklish. As you've pointed out, people are more likely to simply go for it and tickle someone rather than asking for permission first. However, someone who wants to avoid having their peers constantly try to get a reaction out of them might give permission, but mention that it won't do anything. That usually stops people from trying more than once." Ren glanced down to watch Kyoko's hands as they slowly trailed up and down his stomach before swiftly focusing his attention back on her face. 'How long is she going to keep tickling me? I want her to stop and don't want her to stop at the same time...' "...In this way, by agreeing to the other party's request, they are actively discouraging the other party from trying to tickle them in the future. Tsk." He flinched as Kyoko's fingers danced over where his neck met his shoulder.

"Aha!" Kyoko shouted in triumph, "So you are ticklish, Tsuruga san! I knew it was impossible for a person to be completely immune to being tickled."

Ren loomed over Kyoko with a menacing grin, causing her to immediately retract her fingers. "Since you found my weak spot, it's my turn now."

Kyoko squealed as she scrambled to put the table between them, letting out a shriek of laughter when Ren's fingers caught hold of her sides. Desperate to get free, Kyoko seized a cupcake and quickly took a huge bite. "Please don't tickle me anymore! I have food in my hands!" Shoving the cupcake towards Ren as evidence, Kyoko heaved a sigh of relief as Ren released her and backed a few steps away.

"Alright, I'll stop. I can see why you would refuse if someone asked to tickle you." Ren replied with a grin.

Kyoko ripped off another piece of her cupcake as she glared at Ren. "Would you like a cupcake as well, Tsuruga san?"

Ren took a good look at the jumbo-sized cupcake Kyoko offered him, paling ever so slightly. "No, thank you." The feeling of having dodged a bullet washed over him as he watched Kyoko carefully set the second cupcake back down in the box.

"So, can Tsuruga san think of one?" Kyoko asked suddenly, trying to focus her attention away from the realization of what she and Ren had just done. 'I can't believe I had the first tickle fight in my life with Tsuruga san of all people.'

"Hmm?"

"An action that is better to just do rather than ask for permission first. Can Tsuruga san think of one?" 'Stop thinking and just listen to Tsuruga san. Tsuruga san will definitely think of something good.'

Ren stared intently at Kyoko's face and replied, "Actually, I can. Wiping food off of another person's face for them should qualify. It's something that happens quite often, especially with children who tend to be messy eaters. Many people would refuse and wipe their faces clean themselves when asked though, don't you agree?"

Before Kyoko could respond, Ren reached out and gently rubbed his thumb over the corner of her mouth, licking the icing off of his finger. "You had a bit of icing there and I couldn't resist. Forgive me?"

Kyoko nodded stiffly, unable to trust her voice as her mind screamed, 'Tsuruga san! You, you playboy!' Ruthlessly pulling out the biggest cupcake from the cupcake box and setting it down on a napkin in front of Ren, Kyoko pulled herself up to her full height. "If you want icing, Tsuruga san, you should eat the cupcake that goes with it. All of it."

Ren flinched as Kyoko slammed the door behind her and looked down at the daunting task Kyoko had set before him. "I guess I just got my just desserts."

A/N: To make it clear just how big the cupcakes are, looking up Costco muffins. They really are enormous.

Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and favorited this chapter. It's always fun to see how all of you react to what I write. We shall see what I end up writing about next. Somehow I keep thinking of Kijima making fun of Ren. How that would happen though, who knows...