The rose in Kyoko's hand felt heavy. Not that it weighed more than any other rose. It wasn't like Queen Rosa, the enormous bloom that Ren had given her for her birthday. It was just a plain, old, boring rose. The weight she felt was actually her heavy thoughts. It was just easier to blame the flower in her hand.
Does he even like roses? She didn't know. She hadn't asked.
Ren sat in the president's office waiting for the eccentric man to arrive. It wasn't like the president to be late but it was Valentine's Day. The one day a year where the love obsessed president showed no restraint at all. Throughout the course of the day President Takarada and Ren's manager, Yashiro, had badgered him constantly about his glacially slow progress with the woman who had stolen his heart. Kyoko just wasn't any easy nut to crack.
When the door to the office began to open Ren didn't even notice. He was racking his brain to come up with any plausible excuse to see her. He had worked from 7am till 8pm, smiling all the while as he accepted box after box of chocolates he was never going to eat. He didn't even like chocolate. And she was the only one to figure that out about me.
"Tsuruga-san?" Kyoko's soft voice questioned. While Ren had been staring off into space she had entered the room and was now standing next to him.
"Mogami-san. Did the president ask to see you too?" He asked as he motioned for her to join him on the couch. She took a seat next to him but didn't answer. Her body was turned to face him in an uncharacteristically forward manner. "Mogami-san?" He questioned again.
Kyoko took a big breath and let it out slowly. She looked nervous as she captured Ren's attention with her stunning amber eyes. "I… I… I…" She started.
"Yes?" He prompted as he leaned in as if to hear her better.
Her face turned an adorable shade of pink and her eyes widened as if she were worried about something. Ren's smile got a little bit brighter in response and he watched as she jerked backwards, fighting the urge to cower from his gentlemen's smile. "Mogami-san. What are you hiding from me?"
Behind her back Kyoko stroked the stem of the rose, willing it to give her the courage to follow through on her decision. After another deep breath she was ready. "Tsuruga-san. We need to talk."
Ren's face fell. His mind spun in countless disjointed logic circles. He had experienced the breakup 'talk' many times before. Wait! She can't break up with me! We've never even gone on a date!
When his mind cleared enough to focus, Kyoko was looking up at him with puppy dog eyes. In her hands she held a single white rose. She cleared her throat and prepared for the worst. Her words were spoken so fast that Ren barely understood them. "Tsuruga-san. Iaminlovewithyou."
She looked away as the last words left her mouth. She couldn't bear to see him reject her, but she couldn't keep it bottled up anymore either. She had decided to tell him. It was selfish of her. She knew she was so far below him, that her feelings could never be reciprocated. Still she had to tell him.
A genuine smile bloomed across Ren's face, putting the rose to shame. He reached out for her with gentle hands and cupped her face. Turning it towards him, he didn't say a word. He just stared into her eyes as he placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "I'm in love with you too." He finally whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers. "I don't think there was ever a time I wasn't in love with you Kyoko."
A/N: Dedicated to my idiot husband. Because I actually did this to him when we had been dating for 6 months. After he recovered from my terrible start his response was this: "About time you figured it out. I've known I was in love with you for months. You're just so flighty I couldn't tell you." Ever since then I have not been allowed to start any conversation with "We need to talk."