Kuon's POV

~At Le Goût du Vin ~

I took a deep breath, and looked down at me clothes checking for the 100th time if what I was wearing okay. I was wearing a navy dress shirt with the top four buttons undone, charcoal slacks, and black dress shoes. I sighed and went inside.

I stopped breathing the moment I walked in the door. Leaning against the wall was Kyoko dressed in a knee length ice blue sleeveless dress that slid gracefully over her curves, a matching wrap, strappy white heels, and a simple white hand bag. Her make-up was simple but faltering. The eye shadow accented her amber eyes nicely. The lip gloss made her lips look absolutely delicious. And her black hair fell in a wavy curtain to her waist. She looked over as the door chimed.

"Ah, Kuon, you're here." Kyoko said a smile creeping onto her face. "And looking quite charming." She added taking in my attire.

"You look quite beautiful yourself." I said a smile spreading across my face. I watched amused as a crimson blush crept into her cheeks.

"Thank you. Yuki and Jeanne picked it out for tonight." Kyoko said looking at her feet. I chuckled.

"They just want to make sure you have some fun and relaxation once in a while." I told her walking towards her. I offered her my arm. "Shall we head out for our date, my dear Kyoko?" I asked a mischievous twinkle in my eyes. She giggled.

"Quite the gentleman as usual." She said as she took my arm. "Let us enjoy ourselves tonight." Kyoko added an impish glint in her eyes as we walked out the door. I smirked.

"Tonight will be a night you'll never forget." I whispered as I opened her door. She smiled mischievously.

"Let the games begin."

Kyoko's POV

I raised an eyebrow as Kuon pulled up outside a popular restaurant. Jeanne had roped me into a girls night out a few years back. We went out for a meal and some dancing and stumbled upon this restaurant.

"I always find that dancing a good way to shake the stress away." He said with a wink. I smiled and rolled my eyes.

"Fine, but don't complain if I accidentally step on your toes. Dancing has never been my forte." I added stepping out of the car. I left my hand bag in the car and followed Kuon inside. The restaurant was quite crowded so it took us a few minutes to find and get to an open table. We sat down and started looking over the menus.

"So what are you going to drink?" He asked as he made his selection. I pursed my lips.

"Probably the L'eau de Rose martini." I said skimming over the menu a bit more. "What are you going to drink?" I asked setting down my menu.

"I'm going to get the Noir Aube." Kuon replied setting down his menu.

"So how is everyone at LME?" I asked wanting to see how everyone was doing. He smiled.

"Maria is currently running a small black magic shop in Tokyo and is doing quite well. She also has a steady boyfriend. Sawara retired a few years ago. The president is the same as always. He keeps adding new additions to Love Me section as well." He added with a chuckle. I giggled.

"Sometimes I miss wearing that neon pink uniform." I told him sadly. Kuon smirked.

"Since you disappeared before you graduated from Love Me section if you return to LME you would be placed back in Love Me section." He said teasingly. I rolled my eyes.

"Unless there was a France LME I wouldn't be able to go back into Love Me section. It's not like I can just go back to Japan. I have Le Goût du Vin to take care of and I also would have to worry about the transition of moving to a different country for Yuki." I said dryly. He nodded.

"It would be a change. But wouldn't Yuki like to see the land where his ancestors lived?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yes, he's been bugging me for years to take him to Japan on vacation one year. Knowing Yuki he would refuse to leave and I would have to drag him on the plane." I added shaking my head. Kuon chuckled.

"That does sound like him. As for Le Goût du Vin aren't the other apprentices always harassing you about giving them ownership? Why not just give it to one of them?" He asked. I scowled at him.

"It's not that easy. Mignon-san entrusted me with Le Goût du Vin because his other apprentices had lost the passion for cooking. If I just turn it over to them I would be doing the exact thing Mignon-san had been dreading to do before I came along." I said annoyed. Kuon shrugged.

"Couldn't you turn it over to your head chef? If you chose them I'm sure they're passionate about cooking." He suggested. I nodded.

"I could, but Jeanne doesn't know the recipe for Grue Brique Geleé di Vins. Only Yuki and I know it." I added. Kuon cocked an eyebrow.

"He got my cooking skills. His first time cooking he didn't burn, explode, and/or became poisonous." I added. I chuckled as I remember Kuon's first cooking lessons.

*Flashback*

"Kyoko, is the stew supposed to be black?" Ren asked holding up a ladle of blackish gunk. I stared at him in disbelief. I had given him one of the simplest recipes on earth and he turned it into an unrecognizable slop.

"No, it's not!" I cried picking up the pot and placing in the sink. "What did you do?! I left you alone for two minutes and this happens!" I practically yelled as I examined what was left of the pot. He winced.

"I don't know. I followed your directions and it started turning black. So we try it to see if it's salvageable?" Ren asked looking at the blackish substance. I stared at him in disbelief.

"Ren, this might be categorized as biological warfare." I said as I turned on the faucet. Suddenly the black gunk exploded. Thankfully my demons shielded me from the worst of the blast but my hair and clothes were covered in black sludge. Ren smiled sheepishly.

"Maybe I should just stick to TV dinners and take out." He suggested. I nodded.

*End flashback.*

Kuon hung his head.

"Please don't remind me of that." He said through gritted teeth. I laughed.

"So have you had any recent cooking adventures?" I asked teasingly. He winced and nodded.

"I tried baking." He said quietly. I burst out laughing.

"What did you try to make? A cake? Cookies? Brownies? What?" I asked calming down slightly. Kuon buried his head and murmured something.

"What?" I asked leaning closer. He glanced up at me.

"I tried to bake biscuits with Maria." He mumbled blushing. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"How did they turn out?" I asked. Kuon looked me straight in the eye.

"They were worse than the stew." He said quietly. I couldn't hold it in anymore. I was laughing so hard I had to brace myself against the table. Kuon scowled at me.

"I'm sorry, but it's hard to believe anything was worse than the stew." I said after I'd calmed down. He looked down at the table.

"Maria called in a hazardous waste disposal team." He whispered. I laughed.

"Kuon, please you're killing me." I managed to say without going into a laughing fit. He scowled at me.

"Well, sorry for being a bad cook. Remember I never learned to cook when I was young." He pointed out. I shrugged as a waitress came over to our table.

"Hi, may I take your drink order?" She asked Kuon not even sparing me a glance.

"I'll have a Noir Aube and she'll have an L'eau de Rose martini." He said glancing at from the corner of his eye. The waitress glanced at me assessing how much of a threat I was to her. As she took in my make-up hair, hair, and attire she gritted her teeth.

"I'll get right on those." She said plastering a plastic smiled on her face. As she walked away Kuon chuckled.

"She doesn't seem to like you." He said teasingly. I rolled my eyes.

"Of course she doesn't like me. I have the attention of one of the most handsome gentleman in Japan. I mean who wouldn't want your attention?" I asked raising an eyebrow. He chuckled.

"Well I think she's jealous because of how beautiful you are." Kuon said smiling sweetly. I blushed. The music changed to a slow song and he stood up.

"May I have this dance?" He asked offering a hand and bowing slightly. I laughed and took his hand.

"I apologize in advance for any broken toes." I said as he led me to the dance floor. I stretched to place my left hand on Kuon's shoulder. He chuckled as he put his right hand on my waist.

"A little too petite, are we?" He teased. I scowled playfully at him.

"No, you're just too tall." I said craning my neck to look at him. Kuon smiled and leaned down.

"Well, being tall means I can carry you without much effort so it's not so bad." He whispered into my ear. I purposely stepped on his toes. He faked a wince. I smiled satisfied.

"Being small means I can squeeze in and out of your grasp easily." I said winking. He gave me a loopy grin.

"Shall we experiment after dinner?" Kuon asked teasingly. I shrugged.

"You can try alone. I have to make sure Yuki goes to bed before one so I have to be home before 12:30. Sort of like Cinderella." I added. He bit his lip and looked straight over my head. I blushed.

"Go ahead and laugh. You're remembering my first Love Me section job, right?" I asked looking at my white heels.

"I'm sorry but the dreamy look on your face when you came out from the dressing room was funny." He said laughing softly. I scowled at him.

"I was 16 and love deprived. But now I'm a single mother of a teenage boy and an owner of a restaurant I don't have time to daydream." I said dryly. Kuon looked down at me.

"But you deserve time to daydream, Kyoko. Take a day off and have some excitement. Hand the restaurant over to Yuki and Jeanne for a day and go to the fair or go shopping or do something you want to do." He said in an almost pleading tone. His eyes were full of worry. I smiled softly.

"Okay, I'll take this Sunday off and do something." I said rolling my eyes. Kuon smiled.

"How about I take you out for a day on the town?" He asked. I narrowed my eyes.

"How long are you here for filming?" I asked. He shrugged.

"Filming ends next Tuesday. I already finished most of my scenes so I'm free most of the time I'm here." He said avoiding my eyes.

"Kuon, are trying to film a lot scenes in only a few days?" I asked firmly. He looked away sheepishly. I shook my head.

"Do you want to get sick again? If you're going to try and pack as many scenes as you can in a day then I am going to go on set, drag your ass to Le Goût du Vin, tie you up, and throw you into one of the bedrooms. Do you understand, Kuon?" I asked him. He looked down at me and smiled.

"Is that a promise?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"It was supposed to be a threat, but a promise with work too. I'll make sure Yashiro calls me when you're over doing it." I said smiling up at him. His smile began more tender and beautiful the longer I looked at it.

"So if I don't overdo it what will I receive in return?" Kuon asked slyly. I giggled.

"Well, how about a date on the day before you go back to Japan?" I suggested. He shook his head.

"How about a date and you come to Japan over summer break?" He asked leaning down so our faces were only inches apart. I rolled my eyes.

"Fine, but I just have to ask. Did Yuki tell you when summer break starts?" I asked him dead serious. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"No, why?" Kuon asked cautiously. Goddamn coincidences.

"Summer break starts on Monday." I said smirking. "Looks like we'll be on the same plane to Japan."