A/N: Wow...I managed to make it to chapter 4 today. I hope you like it alright. I liked this chapter because it was a lot of fun to write. Let me know if you think they are OOC. Please enjoy.

Chapter 4: Offers

President Lory leaned back in his chair and smiled. Ren resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the President's mob boss attire. Several large men in suits and hats with (what he hoped were) fake guns strapped to their hips guarded the doors. He has almost asked the man who had showed them into the office, complete with Italian accent, how much he was being paid to do this. However, he had been distracted by the thick cloud of cigar smoke surrounded who he assumed was the President. As Kanae made her case, the President's white teeth stood out through the smoke. 'How does he do that?' Ren wondered.

"Okay Kotonami-san, let me make you an offer you can't refuse." Ren dropped his head into his hands with a SMACK and groaned. Yashiro and Kanae just looked confused. "I'll throw this party for you. But in exchange I want you to do a little something for me. If you catch my meaning." He nudged a (once again, hopefully) fake gun forward, while the trio stared at him in horror. Suddenly the room was filled with a flash and his booming laughter. "Did you get their faces, Maria?"

"Yes grandfather!" Maria appeared with a small camera and immediately the smoke cleared from the room. Ren just put his head back in his hands. Yashiro and Kanae stared at the President dumbly.

The man laughed loudly. "You three should have seen your faces! Priceless. This is going in my private collection."

"Um…President."

"Hmm. Oh, yes Kotonami-san?"

"Are you going to help us?"

"Of course! You obviously love your friend! And what else am I here for than to spread love throughout the world!" Kanae glanced at the gun and the men in the suits. " "So, let's get started, shall we?" Maria ran over to Ren and he pulled her on his lap as the President pulled out a list of phone numbers. "Step 1: Distract Kyoko."

Kyoko's Love Me work, which consisted mostly of cleaning random rooms in LME that particular day, only kept her busy until about 3, but by that time her lack of sleep was catching up with her. Deciding to take a break before she went home, she curled up on one of the sofas in the LoveMe room. That was where Ren found her. Smiling at his good fortune, he crouched in front of her. "Kyoko-chan." He whispered her name, nudging her gently. "Kyoko-chan? What are you doing sleeping here?" She whimpered and batted him away like a cat. Chuckling quietly, he shook her again. This time her eyes cracked open.

"Go away." She mumbled, not seeing him.

"So you don't want a ride home?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you want a ride home?" She opened her eyes the rest of the way and jumped back in surprise at the close proximity of his face, effectively rolling off the couch. She yelped as she hit the floor. "Are you okay!" He jumped up and came over to where she lay stunned on the floor, taking her by the arms and helping her sit up. "Kyoko-chan? Are you okay?"

She winced when he touched her right shoulder, but quickly hid it. "I'm fine. Sorry. You surprised me."

"Let me see your arm."

"Huh? Oh, it's fine! I think I just slept on it wrong. It's…" She trailed off when he gently grasped her shoulder and watched her face in concern. When she didn't show any outstanding signs of pain, he relaxed and smiled at her.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Standing, he offered his hand which she accepted shyly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She giggled. "I'm fine. And if it won't be a bother…"

"Let's go."

They rode in companionable silence until Kyoko realized that they weren't headed for her home. "Um, where are we going?"

"Hmm? It's a surprise."

She smiled. "A surprise huh?" Suddenly she realized what she was doing. 'Oh my gosh….I'm falling for him. Well, more than I already was. What am I going to do? If I fall for him…well more than I already have…he'll…" Her best friend's words echoed in her head. 'Would he really hate me? It seemed like we are good friends. Don't friends become more sometimes?' In the movies they did, anyway. She had never really seen it herself. But what if he… She sighed. This was going against everything she had been telling herself since…well since Sho.. But was all of that wrong? 'What if he turns out to be like Sho?' "chan." She jerked at the voice.

"Huh?"

"I said, we're here Kyoko-chan." Looking up, she realized that they were parked in the middle of the forest. "Come on."

Ren didn't like the look on her face. As they had been driving, he had seen happiness, fear, contemplation, and then pain cross her face. At first everything was going fine. She even seemed to be enjoying his attempts at flirting with her. But then he saw the pain. What could she be thinking about? Or, more likely, who? Fuwa? Why did it always come back to him?

Suddenly, she reached out and grabbed his hand. He did his best not to jerk in surprise. 'Will this girl ever make up her mind?' He smiled. It didn't matter. This in itself seemed too good to be true. Part 1 of Step 1 (Distract Kyoko) was one of his favorite parts of this little plan, and although he was happy to organize a party for her, he was more interested in cheering her up. 'Even if she never acknowledges my feelings, as long as she is happy and by my side, I'm happy.'

"Are we there yet?" He chuckled. Kyoko had been following him through the woods for a while now and was starting to get tired, especially after a sleepless night and a long day.

"Almost. Come on, just a bit longer."

She was about to ask again when they came to a clearing and she found herself rooted to the spot. A large picnic basket sat on a checkered blanket in the middle of a grassy meadow surrounded by trees. The wind blew gently and a small stream ran at the edge of the trees. She took a few steps forward and watched as the water fairies and the wind fairies played together by the stream.

"Well are you hungry or would you rather watch the…uh look at the scenery?" Ren smiled and headed for the blanket.

She wordlessly joined him on the ground but kept her eyes on the fairies. They came over to say hi and she had to employ all of her self restraint not to answer. Then they gave up and headed over to Ren, who didn't seem to notice. A few perched on his shoulder and another hovered in front of his face.

Ren looked up when Kyoko let out a loud squeak and started to giggle, her red face in her hands. Leaning over, he reaching out and touched her shoulder.

Kyoko jerked her head up. She hadn't been able to stop her reaction when the fairy had kissed Ren's nose and then fainted, being promptly carried off by her friends. Now his face was, for the second time, far too close for her personal comfort, and she felt herself frozen as she stared into his dark eyes. The amusement drained from his eyes until he was looking at her in a way that made her stomach do flips and her blood rush to her cheeks. "Sorry, it's just….uh…there was…"

He couldn't help it. She was so adorable when she laughed like that, but more than that, when she looked up at him, he saw it. There was something there. Something more than the feelings that a friend would have. But he didn't know if she knew it yet. 'Do I initiate something? Should I speak up? Or should I wait for her? Would it hurt her if I said something, drove her away? Or is she afraid that…that I will hurt her like Fuwa? I would never do that. Not to anyone, but especially not to her. Doesn't she know that? She doesn't look scared.' He stared into her eyes, transfixed. Her cheeks were a light red, but nothing compared to what he expected. Her lips were parted slightly and that wasn't helping matters. 'No. I will not scare her away. Not when we are so close. But…just a little something can't hurt.' He turned his head to the side a bit and gently kissed her cheek. When she didn't stiffen or pull away, he wrapped his arms around her, wondering how he had ever survived before her. He could feel her heart racing and smiled a little. Get her to see him as a man: check.

He thought he was going to die when she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head in the crook of his neck. "Thank you." After all the confusion, all the fear, and all the pain, she felt like she was finally coming to the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. Even if she wasn't ready for an intimate relationship with someone, she was willing to take a chance. Now she only had to wait and see how he felt, though she was getting a better and better idea.

He pulled away slowly, almost afraid that she would run or scream, or, even worse, just sit there, frozen in fear and shock. Instead, she had a sweet smile on her face. "So what are we eating?"

"Uh…um…I made food…. Uh…." He reached for the basket to cover his light red face. 'Why am I stuttering like a lovesick teenager…oh. Never mind.' "Just sandwiches."

She took one from him and looked in the middle. "Peanut butter and jelly?"

"Yea…it was the only thing that I was confident I could make." She laughed at that, and his heart skipped a beat.
"You know, I don't mind cooking at your place."

"I know. But I wanted to do something for you. You would never let me cook if we went to my house, and even if we went out you attempt to pay. So I figured this was my only option. Oh, and don't forget…" He pulled out a Tupperware container which she opened excitedly.

"Grapes?" She giggled.
"Peanut butter goes well with grapes. Everyone knows that." He shrugged with a big smile.

"You didn't know how to make apple slices?"

"Why would you say that!"

"Because I thought that everyone knew that apples go with peanut butter."

"Um…I thought that was bananas." She laughed, realizing the silliness of the conversation. They gave it up and decided to just eat them.

The two sat together long after they finished eating, talking about work and school until darkness found them laying on their backs, side by side, staring at the stars. She started shivering before long, and he thanked God for the opportunity to perform the ultimate cliché . He sat up and pulled of his jacket, draping it over them, and placing his arm around her shoulder. Instead of freaking out, she leaned against him and hummed happily. When he started to get cold under the blanket, he started to sit up when he realized that she was asleep. This time, he just picked her up and carried her to the car, wrapped in his jacket. Deciding that the drive back to her home might wake her up (actually he just didn't want to) he took her back home with him and settled her in the guest bed. As he slipped into his own bed, Ren decided to classify Part 1 of Step 1 a success.

A/N: Thank you for reading. A special thank you to Sake22 ( I don't speak Spanish but according to Google Translate it was nice), Lara Vadhelars , NightMinsk, Thia4stories , leavesfallingup , and LunaBianca for reviewing! You guys are all awesome!