IN THIS LIFE (sequel to In Another Life)

NOTE TO NEW READERS: If you have not read "In Another Life," (I think it's chapter 4 of this collection of stories) I suggest you go back and read that first before this one so that you get the whole story!

"The very last breath of the hero of our tale
Would leave you only to guess,
Did he truly prevail in a sequel?
I guess I'll have to write a sequel."

- Kishi Bashi, Manchester

He sighed; they were back again. Having experienced these dreams at least once per month, if not more frequently, since the filming of Dark Moon, they fell just short of beating him over the head with the idea that he and Kyoko were fated lovers. While he had emotionally progressed enough to come to terms with his feelings towards her, he was still not prepared to do anything about them. The dreams were just an added complication to an already intricate problem.

Communicating that out loud was, of course, never a viable option. How exactly does one go about telling her about those dreams? Oh, and by the way, you are also the long-lost childhood friend from when she was six years old who gifted her with the stone she now religiously carries around with her as a source of comfort and courage when she cannot produce her own. Only, you have assumed a new identity while trying to find atonement for some bad choices you made in your teens. And you are the son of the internationally famous movie star that she greatly admires and calls 'Father'. Yes, try telling all that to Miss gunning-down-romance-at-point-blank-range, Mogami Kyoko, and see how you fare.

Ren placed the empty glass in the kitchen sink and trudged back to his bedroom. It may prove to be a futile attempt, but he wished to try for just a few more hours of sleep. Perhaps that sleep would not be pervaded by dreams of a bright-eyed young woman whose smile stops the rhythmic beating of his heart cold in its tracks. Well… one could hope anyway.

It was official, Kyoko was slowly going insane. Rubbing the last bit of sleep from her eyes, she groaned wearily. Her overactive imagination was finally getting the better of her at night. Between that and her newly-realized feelings for her senior, mentor, and former co-star, she was having the most bizarre dreams. Granted, she often had dreams in which he featured before but, most recently, they became more frequent and romance focused.

She chalked it up to the conversation she had with President Takarada as he pointed out to her that she could use these wretched emotions in her acting. It seemed to her that her mind was creating scenarios and characters for the two of them to act out in her dreams. They just happened to be long, elaborate stories of unrequited, unrealized or ill-timed love despite the odds always bringing them together. To be perfectly honest, she was starting to grow tired of it as some of them bore resemblances to terribly cliched romance novels, using her most treasured Corn stone as a symbol of fate. While she was not the typical, simpering lovestruck woman during her waking hours, her brain apparently had other ideas when she went to sleep.

Kyoko began to wonder if she needed to see a doctor. She knew she ate well and got plenty of exercise while working or commuting via bicycle. Perhaps she was not getting proper rest or her futon was too firm. One way or another, something was going to give and she would prefer not to be sleep deprived and blurting out to Ren the details of how she constantly dreams about him. Shaking her head vigorously at the thought, she got up from her futon and prepared herself for the day ahead.

"What happened then?" Yashiro pushed for more details as they drove along that morning.

Ren cursed himself mentally for even mentioning to his manager the reason for his lack of proper sleep. Ever the sharp-witted man that he is, his mind immediately leapt to the conclusion that the dream was about Kyoko. As a result, he was currently badgering the actor for a full recounting of the previous night. With an elongated sigh, Ren continued the drive saying nothing further about it.

By the time they arrived at LME, he had, reluctantly, given in and related an overly generalized version to his manager. Several large parts were omitted for the sake of retaining his own sanity as he would not be able to tolerate the noises Yashiro would undoubtedly make were he aware of the implications made regarding their fate.

"So you saw her being attacked across the field from where you were walking," his manager prompted. "What did you do next?"

"… and then he comes to help me kill these things and we both end up dying," a familiar voice said from around the corner.

Two girls, in blindingly pink jumpsuits, rounded the corner into the main hallway carrying stacks of flattened boxes in their arms. The duo stopped just short of running into the two men, abruptly ending their conversation. Yashiro eyed the young women carefully as they made their greetings with respectful bows. He also could not miss the look on his charge's face indicating that he was equally curious about their conversation.

"What on Earth were you two just talking about?" he asked finally.

"Oh, the President has us trying out these online games so that we can learn the 'love and trust of working in a team with complete strangers,'" the lie fluidly came from Kanae's lips with practiced ease as she did not miss the way all color drained from Kyoko's face at the question. "Kyoko had to try it out first and she was telling me all about it."

"I… see," something felt off about the explanation, but Yashiro shrugged it off. "Well, you ladies have a good morning. We should be going so that we are not late for our meeting."

He gestured to Ren, who threw another odd glance at Kyoko before bidding both ladies farewell and the two of them continued on their way. As they walked side-by-side, he noticed the slight shake of the actor's head as if he were dismissing a thought in his head.

"What was that for?"

"Nothing," Ren said quickly. "Just a very strange coincidence I suppose."

"How so?"

"It felt as if the words were taken right out of my mouth."

"He's the one, isn't he?" Kanae said when they were alone again.

"What are you talking about?"

"The 'random guy' who keeps showing up in your dreams. It's him, right?" she gestured down the hallway where the two men had disappeared from sight.

Kyoko's teeth worried at her lip and she was unable to look her best friend in the eye. Clutching the boxes in her hand tighter, she looked embarrassedly to the side and nodded once. Kanae said nothing further as it was neither the time, nor the place, to discuss that. They continued to walk back to the LoveMe room in silence.

It was only in the past few weeks that Kyoko began to confide in her friend about the dreams she was having when it became apparent that her behavior was being affected by them. Despite the vehemence with which she would deny the fact, Kanae was very observant when it came to her best friend. As such, it was easy for her to notice the general unease surrounding the young woman. It required slightly more than the usual amount of coercion to get her to own up to what was bothering her but, after a particularly effective threat regarding sleepovers and snack food, Kyoko finally cracked and the source of her troubles came rushing out. Unfortunately, there was not much she could think of to help her friend. Instead, she encouraged that they at least talk about her dreams together. She once heard somewhere that talking about one's dreams was helpful in allowing the mind the reconcile what it experienced. It seemed to help, as her friend appeared to get some relief by sharing with someone else.

She always did wonder about the unidentified male who kept appearing. Kyoko was noticeably vague about what he looked like but it was usually the same person. More often than not, she would wave a dismissive hand as she spoke saying that it was irrelevant and did not matter. Kanae let it slide due to the fact that at least she was opening up about something and felt that, if she pushed her for more details, she would shut down completely. Now, it was clear as to why her friend had been oddly reticent about the other person who featured in her dreams. She was in love with him. And she was ashamed of that.

"You're never going to tell him are you." she stated plainly when they were back in the LoveMe room, assembling the boxes before carefully packing away the folders they previously sorted into stacks around them.

"Would you?" Kyoko asked, an eyebrow raised incredulously. "If you were someone like me?"

Kanae took a long moment to contemplate her answer. The sad truth was that it was expected that her friend would never consider herself a suitable match for the most eligible bachelor in the country. The last celebrity she had the unfortunate experience of falling in love with left her with zero regard for their lengthy childhood friendship; to say nothing of the extremely damaging remarks he made about her appearance. And, her self-esteem had already taken a momentous hit from her mother effectively abandoning her. Yes, there were several very good reasons why Kyoko was the number one member of LoveMe and all of them supported her self-deprecating attitude toward the possibility that she would be good enough for anyone. Especially for someone as high-profile as Ren; regardless of the fact that—if his behavior was any indication—it would most likely be mutual.

"I don't know what I can say that would reverse a lifetime of emotional devastation," she admitted somberly. "But, you are much more than you believe yourself to be."

"Moko-san, that's one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me," Kyoko choked out and pulled her into a fast embrace. "Thank you for believing in me."

"How about you start believing in yourself for a change?" Kanae counted to an arbitrary number in her head before she started to attempt prying her way out from her friend's arms.

"Even if I was more confident, I still don't think I'd be ready to do something like that."

"Why not?"

"Because he's… he's…"

"Well respected and liked? One of the most prominent actors in the industry? Desired by nearly every woman—and a number of men—across the country?" Kanae supplied.

"Among other things, yes," she nodded.

"So what?" she challenged. "He's still only human and, from what I can tell, you're probably one of the handful of people who treats him as such when everyone else likely sees him as an asset or commodity."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence, really," Kyoko shook her head gently. "But, I respect and treasure the relationship we have too much to want to change it. Even if I did believe that I was evenly matched with him, it's just not that simple."

"Fine, I'm not going to force you to do anything if you're not ready but," she added cryptically. "The odds may be more in your favor than you think."

Ren smuggled his completely masculine and not-at-all-ridiculous sheep pillow into the darkened room of the LoveMe section in the hopes of getting a quick nap before leaving for a photoshoot in a little over an hour. He did not expect to find the object of his undisclosed affections curled up in his usual spot, fast asleep. She had all the wild and ethereal beauty of a forest sprite caught sleeping in the treetops as her hair splayed out across the cushion. Smiling softly at the sight, he bent over and carefully tucked the pillow he carried under her head, which was currently at an odd angle having nothing but her hands to support it. She mumbled quietly at the disturbance, but did not wake and he breathed a silent sigh of relief. The strands of russet hair that fell into her face were gently brushed away and tucked behind her ear. Satisfied with what he had done, Ren stretched out on an adjacent chair and drifted off to sleep himself.

Yashiro was well aware of his charge's favorite resting spot in the LME building and quietly opened the door to the room to retrieve him for his next job. Upon entering the room, the light that filtered in from the hallway revealed that there was another person standing there, observing the pair of actors who currently slept soundly on the chairs before them. The long, black hair cascading from a headband told him it was Kyoko's friend and fellow LoveMe member. Slowly making his way to stand beside her, he was about to ask what she was doing when her arm swiftly whipped out and clamped a hand over his mouth. She held a finger to her lips and jerked her head towards where Ren and Kyoko slept. He raised one eyebrow at her in question but the other soon joined it and his eyes opened wide when he heard voices suddenly speaking in the otherwise silent room. They stood there like that and listened for several minutes before he motioned for her to join him outside.

Back in the hallway, he let out a breath he did not remember holding while Kanae pinched at the bridge of her nose.

"What was that?!" Yashiro asked in a voice just above a whisper, not wanting to wake the occupants of the room they just left or alert anyone else in the hallway to their conversation.

"I don't know," she shook her head in disbelief. "They were... talking."

"To each other," he added. "In their sleep."

Were the two actors awake, it would have appeared as if they were merely practicing lines with each other. However, the fact that they were both unconscious made the entire scene extremely surreal. Neither one of them sounded like themselves—they referred to each other by different names—and yet they were having a fluid conversation with each other. There were no awkward pauses and each question that was asked was answered by the other in a completely coherent manner. Yashiro swore that one of them even laughed at some inside joke that the other must have made.

"Well, what do we do?"

"Kyoko asked to have dinner with me before she worked at TBM tonight so I came here to get her," Kanae stated. "You?"

"Ren has a photoshoot in a half hour," he pointed his chin towards the door. "Which one of us should go in first?"

"I'll do it," the young woman volunteered. "She'll be forced to postpone her inevitable freakout if he's still sleeping in there. Why don't you make yourself scarce until we leave?"

He nodded once and turned to walk further down the hallway while Kanae quietly slipped back into the room. Busying himself with his phone, he waited patiently just around the corner until he heard hushed voices that he recognized and the sound of a softly closing door. His head poked around the corner to see the retreating backs of the two female actors and he all but tiptoed back to the room. Ren was still completely out of it, his legs pushed straight out in front of him and crossed at the ankles while his hands were folded across his stomach and his chin rested delicately against his chest. Yashiro soundlessly turned the lights on in the room and the sleeping actor awoke instantly with a sharp intake of breath.

"Why would you do that?" Ren asked sternly, blinking at his manager. "Mogami-san is—"

He trailed off when looked over to the now-vacated spot where Kyoko had slept, and then at the pillow that had been neatly placed in the center of his lap.

"She left a little while ago with her friend," Yashiro explained.

"…Oh."

"Perhaps, when we get in the car, you can tell me the details of that trick you two pulled."

"Trick?" Ren asked, confused.

"You were both talking in your sleep," he stated matter-of-factly. "With each other."

"W-what? How?" Ren rubbed the heel of his hand across one eye.

"I wouldn't be asking if I knew," he shrugged. "I almost thought you were helping her practice lines since you were both responding to different names."

Ren's face grew paler by the second as his manager prattled on about what he heard. The names and dialogue all sounded so familiar. He remembered this conversation as if it were a dream. Because it had been a dream; the one from which he had just awoken, in fact. He nearly choked on his next breath but, somehow, managed to smoothly transition it into a light cough. If they were able to converse with each other in their sleep then there was a decent possibility that they were having the same dream. All those fantastical notions of kismet suddenly did not seem so ridiculous. But, the problem still remained of how he was going to talk to her about all of this.

Lifting the pillow from his lap, he tucked it under one arm, noticing the pleasant mixture of lavender and jasmine that wafted from it, courtesy of Kyoko's shampoo. With a wistful smile, he got up and followed his manager out of the room.

"I did WHAT?!" Kyoko shrieked as they walked together along the sidewalk.

Kanae briefly considered locating a paper bag for her friend to breathe into as she prepared herself for the impending hysterics.

"Mou, I refuse to talk to you unless you calm down first.

"But Moko-san," she whined, drawling her best friend's nickname. "You're telling me I tried to carry on a conversation with Tsuruga-san in my sleep. How do you expect me to react?"

"I suppose logic was too much to ask for at the point," Kanae grumbled. "You didn't try to do anything, it just happened. We just found it very confusing because you were both asleep but the way you sounded, it was as if you were fully awake."

Kyoko started breathing heavily and the other woman instantly regretted not finding a paper bag earlier. Suddenly, she stopped altogether and narrowed her eyes, her head cocked to one side.

"What do you mean by 'we'?"

Kanae floundered for a few moments before giving in with a sigh, "His manager came in a little after me and witnessed it too."

The dark haired woman tried to name the shade of red that immediately spread across her friend's face. If she had to guess, it was somewhere between ruby and scarlet. She watched Kyoko sink to her knees in the middle of the sidewalk with an anguished wail and wished she could be anywhere else. Were it anyone other than her best friend having an existential crisis in the middle of the city, she would have left long ago.

When the young woman suddenly leapt up and bounded in the opposite direction, Kanae grasped her tightly by the wrist.

"Where are you going?"

"Yashiro-san must have told him what I did. I have to apologize to him right now," Kyoko begged. "Hopefully, I can catch him before he leaves."

"You will do no such thing," Kanae yanked her backwards forcefully. "You are going to come have dinner with me like you promised and leave the panicking for another time. His manager said he had to leave for another job and you don't want to disrupt his work do you?"

Hanging her head in defeat, she nodded solemnly in agreement, "You're right, Moko-san. I'm sorry."

Kanae pulled her now-reluctant friend along with her as they continued on their way. She would not deny the fact that Kyoko did need to have a talk with Ren, but she also knew it would not be a quick conversation. It would be better for them to take the time when they both were not in a hurry. As oblivious as the two of them seemed to be regarding each other's feelings, they would need as much time as they could get.

Unbeknownst to either of them, while Kanae tried to make herself unavailable as often as possible, Yashiro orchestrated as many long breaks and early nights as Ren's schedule would allow so that he and Kyoko would have more opportunities to meet. However, even with their unintentionally coordinated efforts, it was still several days before the two were able to see each other.

Ren considered it a stroke of luck that the young woman accepted his invitation to his apartment that evening with little reluctance but an overall appearance of dread. Since she had been there more than a handful of times already for various reasons, he hoped it would be a less intimidating, and more private, venue for their discussion. He made sure to specify that there would be no cooking on either of their parts—especially considering the disaster that was his last foray into the culinary arts—though that did not seem to alleviate her anxiety.

Having removed her shoes upon entering the door, Kyoko immediately prostrated herself on the floor before him.

"I AM SO SORRY!" she bellowed in despair.

"Mogami-san what are you doing?!"

"I wanted to apologize for taking advantage of you while you were asleep in the LoveMe room last week," her forehead remained firmly planted on the floor.

"Okay, first of all, that sounds much worse than what actually happened," Ren began, trying to maintain an even, calming tone. "Secondly, aren't you the least bit curious as to why it happened at all?"

"Talking in one's sleep is a fairly common occurrence," she said matter-of-factly, uncurling herself from her position on the floor.

"Yes, but I believe two people having a full conversation in their sleep is not," he reasoned, offering her a hand to help her stand up.

Once she was on her feet again, he led her to the sofa and motioned for her to sit. Ren disappeared into the kitchen only to return seconds later with two glasses of water. Handing one to her, he sat down beside her. She rubbed her fingers idly along the side of the glass and refused to look him in the eye. He sighed.

"I don't recall this ever happening during the filming of Tragic Marker," he remarked absently, then remembered that he never experienced any of those dreams while they shared a hotel room.

Kyoko shook her head in agreement and shrugged, "This must be some odd fluke."

"Do you remember if you dreamt anything?"

"I don't believe so, no," she kept her voice as level as possible as she lied.

"I see," he said, disheartened.

Kyoko had not seen him like this since she caught him moping around TBM while she was dressed as Bo. Even during the Maui Omurice incident, he looked more determined and introspective. This time, he appeared disappointed in himself, as if he held on to some hope that was utterly dashed by her response. She hated to see him when he looked so down and in her heart bloomed a fervent wish that she could help him out of it.

"Did you happen to dream of anything then?" she asked softly in return.

Ren nodded, but just barely, and said no more. She hesitated to ask him anything further. Having refused to tell him the truth of her own dreams, she had no right to expect any different from him. The water in the glass she held wobbled slightly and she looked down to watch it intently, trying to find a way to break the silence.

"I dreamt I was a doctor," he cleared his throat gently and Kyoko's eyes snapped to his when he began to speak. "I had become close to a patient over the course of their treatment when they eventually passed. They had a terminal illness and only had six months to live."

"Eight months," Kyoko corrected absently, her eyes going wide in realization of what she had done.

Ren took a deep breath before he spoke again, "I thought you said you didn't remember anything."

"I-I'm sorry I lied," she stammered her apology. "I don't like talking about my dreams because they're so personal. It did not occur to me that we would ever dream about the same thing, not to mention at the same time."

He nodded in understanding, accepting her response. It made sense that she would be wary of telling him about it. Ever the paragon of propriety, Kyoko would rather lose a limb than admit that he featured in her dreams. But, if he did feature in them, did that mean what he thought it meant?

"Besides, you were fairly vague about everything when describing your dream," she pointed out, looking at him slyly. "It didn't seem like you wanted to talk about it either."

Ren chuckled briefly at this, "You're absolutely right. Since you said you didn't remember your dream, the last thing I wanted was to burden you with the implications of mine."

"Implications?"

"We both had the same dream," he explained. "At the same time. Involving each other. Do you not recall what all happened during it?"

Kyoko's face blanched at that. Yes, there were definitely implications. It was a recurring theme that her dreams were supposedly more visions of her and Ren in other lifetimes than the delusional dalliances of her subconscious at night. Purportedly, they both shared these visions because there was some invisible thread of fate, and a peculiar deep blue stone, tying them together. It was easy for her to pass this off as exceedingly preposterous—he already knew about Corn and her stone so there was no real mysticism there—until this very conversation. But, her dreams had now invaded her waking life. Yes, there were many implications. And all of them were terrifying to her.

"Impossible," she muttered to herself.

"What's impossible?"

"You can't possibly—I mean, we couldn't be—," her mind raced while her mouth fought a losing battle to catch up.

"Perhaps you'd like to take a moment?" Ren suggested gently and pointed towards the water she held.

Putting the glass to her lips, she slowly swallowed several mouthfuls. Much to her relief, she found that it did have a slightly calming effect. She turned her focus fully towards each subsequent sip until she felt more under control. Giving Ren a grateful look for the brief break, she placed her glass on the coffee table and nodded.

"So, would it be a safe assumption that you have had several dreams like these?" he started again. "Before you get nervous, I will preface that question by admitting that I have had a good number of them."

Kyoko's hands began to shake again, so she busied them by counting off each different dream on her fingers, "The Bakumatsu Era one, the post-apocalyptic one, the rival street gangs one, the next-door neighbors one. At least those are the ones I can remember off the top of my head."

Ren nodded after each one was listed, confirming he remembered them as well.

"I just don't understand," she continued. "What is the purpose of all this?"

"What do you mean?" he looked at her quizzically. "I thought it was pretty clear what they were trying to tell us."

"That's awfully presumptuous, trying to throw us together without so much as a by-your leave," she ranted. "Especially when you—"

'Especially when you're in love with someone else,' was how she meant to finish, but did not.

"Especially when I what?" he put her on the spot.

"I just meant that there's no way you would ever feel the same way about me as I do about you," Kyoko blurted out, then clamped a hand over her mouth.

She had meant to word that differently. Instead, the thought was expressed in the most unrefined fashion possible. Humiliation swept over her like a giant wave crashes on the shore. However, it was the truth. He loved another, someone who was four years younger and still in high school, just like she was—

'There's no way he was talking about me… is there?'

Ren sat there frozen by what she had just said, the heel of one hand rubbed so firmly into the knee of his pants, by all calculations, a hole should have developed. An intense flush of crimson rose to his face and he looked away from her. Kyoko had to take a deep, steadying breath at that reaction because—well, that was quite possibly the hottest thing she had ever seen him do. The always calm and collected Tsuruga Ren had been rendered completely flustered by her outburst. It took everything in her power to not smirk triumphantly.

"I assure you that's not the case," he squeaked out in an inexplicably hoarse voice. "Quite the opposite, actually."

All of her hard-won composure was lost in an instant and she was, again, a blathering mess. She silently cursed the man who currently sat across from her. Only he could do this to her. Kyoko's heart sped up, its rhythm not unlike the beating hooves of several galloping horses. Her palms dampened considerably and her cheeks felt like they were on fire.

"For the longest while I never knew how to tell you," Ren admitted openly. "But these dreams have been overwhelming me to the point that all I can think about is what it would be like to call you mine."

"I-I…" she found it difficult to hear her own voice over the rushing of her pulse in her ears.

"Mogami—no, Kyoko, there are a number of things about me I have yet to share with you. Things that only a select few people know," he explained. "But, you are the only person I trust enough to tell before it ever becomes public knowledge. Is it alright if I tell you about that someday?" Ren asked, hope evident in his voice. "I'd tell you now but I think you've been given enough to adjust to already."

Her words had failed her the last few attempts, so speaking was clearly not an option. She chose to reply with a nod instead.

"Please don't feel like you need to respond immediately to my feelings," he timidly reached out and closed his hand over hers, blanketing it with warmth. "The only thing I ask is that you know that I love you. I love you for everything you are and ever will be and that will never change. This is it for me. You are it for me."

"I really don't know what to say," Kyoko finally managed to force a complete sentence past her lips.

"You don't have to say anything if you aren't ready," he gently shook his head. "I know this is a lot but I wanted to make sure you are absolutely certain of how I feel about you."

"Yes, I think I do."

Ren's breath came out in a long sigh of relief. He looked at the woman sitting there before him and a battle was waged within him to keep his eyes from straying to her lips. They were perfectly bowed in a small, pensive pout and he found it difficult to look away. Inwardly, he admonished himself; they had only just come terms with their own feelings for each other and all he could think about was claiming her mouth with his own. His eyebrows furrowed just slightly and a tiny frown formed.

"What is it?" she asked innocently, noticing his change in expression.

"I'm trying to convince myself that it would be ungentlemanly to ask to kiss you," he said with a wry smile. "I don't want to pressure you into anything you aren't ready for."

He watched her as she remained thoughtful for an excruciatingly long moment. Kyoko looked as if she was actually weighing a decision as to whether or not she allow it. On one hand, he was absolutely petrified by the possibility that she would turn him down. However, on the other, he was somewhat happy to see that the was carefully considering her response rather than being swept up in the moment. She did not exactly have much of a choice the last two times someone kissed her—Ren lived every day with the guilt-ridden elation of having stolen her lips on Guam as 'Corn'—so, having the freedom to choose this time around was important.

She then looked up at him with a decisive nod, "It's okay."

Shifting closer to her, he left the one hand where it continued to rest on hers and brought the other up to brush the hair back from her face before resting softly along her jawline. As he lowered his head towards hers, he watched as her eyelids fluttered shut in complete surrender and he swore his heart nearly stopped at the sight of it. When his nose brushed along her cheek and he was but a breath away, he swallowed the lump of apprehension in his throat and closed the distance between their lips.

It was sweet and gentle with all the hallmarks of restrained passion and their senses were overloaded with the sound, taste, touch and smell of each other. The experience was now imprinted in their minds and on their flesh; an indelible lover's signature. However, the rampant dreams had Ren anticipating some momentous, be-all-end-all occasion where the two of them finally got it right. It was remarkable in it's own right and thoroughly enjoyable, but he found himself somewhat at a loss. When he slowly pulled away, he looked at her thoughtfully. She raised an eyebrow at him in question.

"Well, that was…" he hesitated, not knowing how to properly finish his thought without potentially offending her. "Different… than I expected?"

Taken slightly aback, her face colored.

"Well, I'm not exactly a kissing expert like some people," Kyoko looked at him pointedly. "So, you'll have to forgive me if I am unable to… wait a minute. You believed it, didn't you?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," his face flushed in embarrassment.

"You did, oh my goodness," a giddy laugh bubbled from her lips and she clutched at her stomach. "You honestly thought those dreams meant something?"

"Well, can you blame me?" he defended himself in a tone that was half mortified and half irritated. "We were having the same dreams. I'm more surprised you weren't right there along with me considering your head is always full of fairy tales."

"I may be a fan of them," her face was suddenly serious. "But, I learned a while ago that fairy tales do not apply to people like me."

Ren frowned, sadness clouded his eyes, "I would give you the fairy tale, were you only to ask it."

He brought her hand up to his lips, pressing a light kiss to it.

"No!" she yelped embarrassedly at the sudden contact, then looked apologetically at him. "I mean, I'd rather what we have be based in reality. That way, I know I'm not dreaming."

Ren chuckled, his deep voice rumbling with warm tones, "Well, our dreams may not have been prophesies of some cosmic alignment-type destiny, but I guess our hearts finally got the message through to our stubborn heads."

"Maybe, the next time they have something to say, they won't be such drama queens about it," Kyoko half-grumbled, but the corner of her mouth quirked upward in amusement.

"Considering it's the two of us," his smile mirrored hers. "Do you really think we would have paid attention if they weren't?"

"I think we've spent so much time around the President, we subconsciously developed a taste for silly stories about fate and dramatic reveals," she laughed heartily at this, and he along with her. "Next thing we know, you'll be telling me you're Corn or something."

"..."

"Ren?" Kyoko spoke his name with such ease, it almost broke him out of his stunned silence. "Why did you stop you laughing?"

-THE END-

I MISSED YOU ALL SO MUCH: Well, I'm back from my annual pilgrimage to DragonCon and took some time out to go to my first Renaissance Festival and enter an online contest for wedding save-the-date designs (yes, you now know the horrid truth of my secret identity; I'm a graphic designer by day and a fanfic writer by night). In between all of that, I was finally able to re-write this story.

I think this is the closest to what I originally wanted so I'm glad I didn't rush to finish it. I had considered a more 'magical' ending but I didn't like the concept enough to go through with it. Instead, I was much happier with a more realistic approach. Hopefully you all like it too… or not (that's always okay by me)! Also, I have not had the chance to read the most recent chapter of SB with all of my other activities, but I'll catch up once the newest chapter is out.

Lastly, but most importantly, If any of you were affected by the recent storms, I hope you are all doing well and are safe. A few of my friends and family were touched by it so I'm extending my concern to all of you. Take care of yourselves!

AUTHOR OUT!