I do not own Skip Beat!
He was nervous, happy, excited, terrified and reveling in the moment. There was a tiny voice in the back of his mind reminding him that if he screwed up again, it could all be over, but he told the voice to shut up, called on his determination to get him through this.
He walked into the main entrance of the Darumaya at ten 'til six. Usually he would go to the side door, so as not to cause an uproar amongst the customers, pick up Kyouko, and be gone before anyone noticed that Japan's most popular actor had been in their midst. It wasn't that he wanted to make a show of taking Kyouko out, but he wanted to let the couple she was staying with see that he was serious. Maybe if they realized that, it would somehow be get into Kyouko's head.
The Okami-san greeted him with a surprised smile as he entered the restaurant.
"Good evening," he greeted. "I'm here to pick up Mogami-san."
"Ah, I'll let her know you're here," she said with a grin.
She and Ren both turned to the counter at the sound of a meat cleaver heavily falling on a cut of beef.
"You can have a seat at the counter while you wait," she said, smiling sympathetically.
Ren nodded and took a seat as the Okami-san headed upstairs to get Kyouko. A few customers began whispering. One began to rise from her seat, but stopped as the meat cleaver again slammed down over a piece of beef.
"Good evening," Ren greeted.
The Taisho grunted.
It had been a while since Ren had done the whole, meeting parents thing. Technically, this couple wasn't Kyouko's parents, but they obviously cared for her, and were protective of her, at least if the force with which the Taisho was chopping the meat was any indication. This was more intimidating than he remembered.
"Um, your restaurant has a nice atmosphere," Ren offered.
The Taisho glanced up and went back to cutting meat. Ren kicked himself. It would have been better to make that sort of comment to the Okami-san. He should have complimented the food to the Taisho, but he hadn't tasted it, so that wouldn't make sense. Ren sighed.
The Taisho finished chopping up his cut of meat and moved it into a bowl, then placed another piece on the cutting board. He made another cut before looking up and locking eyes with Ren.
"What is this?" he asked.
"I beg your pardon?" Ren asked.
The Taisho made another loud cut without looking away.
"She said you weren't dating, so what is this?" he asked.
"Ah, well we weren't," Ren said, "but that's something I'd like to change."
"Does she know that?" he asked.
"I've told her," Ren said. "Now I have to show her."
The Taisho grunted again and went back to cutting.
"Just make sure you don't keep her out too late," he said.
"Yes, sir," Ren said.
He didn't know if he'd gained this man's approval, but at least he'd tried to get his intentions across.
"Kyouko will be down in a moment," The Okami-san said, reappearing at the base of the stairs.
"Thank you," Ren said.
The Okami-san smiled at Ren, then she glanced over to where her husband was standing and let out a little laugh.
"Dear, you've cut too much meat. We're going to have to make beef curry or gyūdon the special tonight," she said.
The man grunted, took his abundance of chopped meat and retreated into the kitchen.
Chopping meat really was a very effective intimidation tactic. Ren decided that he would have to learn to cook if he and Kyouko ever had a daughter.
The girl in question emerged a few moments later, rousing Ren from his family fantasies and orienting his mind dangerously close to fantasies of another kind. She always took his breath away, and tonight was no exception.
"Good evening, Tsuruga-san," Kyouko said, cheeks slightly flushed. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not at all, Mogami-san," he said, letting the happiness he was feeling spill into his expression. "You are absolutely worth the wait."
"Um, shall we go?" Kyouko asked.
"Certainly," Ren said.
"Have a good time," the Okami-san called, smiling at the couple as they walked toward the front door.
The Taisho reemerged from the kitchen just long enough to give Ren a long hard stare as they were stepping out the door.
Ren respected and appreciated the man's protectiveness over Kyouko, but he was still relieved to get out of the restaurant. He had a feeling that the man would not let up on his intimidation tactics until there was a ring on Kyouko's finger. Ren enjoyed that thought immensely, but felt it would be a long time coming. He had to get her to fall for him first.
'One step at a time,' he reminded himself.
"Um, I hope I'm dressed alright," Kyouko said, breaking him from his thoughts. "I didn't know where we were going, so…"
"What you're wearing is perfect," Ren said. "You look beautiful."
He smiled. It was nice not having to hide those thoughts. He enjoyed the blush that suffused over her face as a result.
"Um, so where are we going?" Kyouko asked as they reached his car.
He waited until they got in and he'd started the engine to reply.
"It's a surprise," he said.
Kyouko pouted.
"You didn't pick something insanely expensive, did you?"
"No," Ren said with a laugh. "I wouldn't call it insanely expensive."
"Tsuruga-san!" Kyouko scolded. "That's a waste of money!"
"I was only joking," he said. "It's really not that bad."
"I don't trust you," Kyouko said, pouting cutely.
"Would I trick you?" he asked.
"Yes," she said with no hesitation.
Ren laughed.
"Don't think about the price," Ren said. "I'll feel like a failure if you don't enjoy yourself."
"Eh? No, I'm sure it will be lovely, it's just that…"
"Yes?" he prompted.
"You don't have to make such an effort for me," Kyouko said.
Ren glanced over at Kyouko. She was nervously looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, and staring at her folded hands by turns. She truly didn't think she was worth the effort, and that both broke Ren's heart and enraged him.
"If I don't make an effort for the girl who's most important to me, who am I going to make an effort for?" he asked.
Kyouko turned away from him, toward the car window, but when they passed under a streetlight, he caught her reflection in the glass and thought he saw tears in her eyes.
"Mogami-san, are you alright?" he asked. He signaled and pulled the car to the side of the road.
"Ah, no, I'm perfectly fine!" she said, waving her hands. "You don't have to stop. It's alright."
Ren, turned toward her in his seat.
"Mogami-san, you're not fine," he said, slowly reaching up and gently wiping away a tear that was clinging to her lashes. "What's wrong?"
"No, really, there's nothing wrong," she said, blushing and turning away. "It's just that…no one has ever said anything like that to me before."
Ren smiled. He would have to be sure to tell her that a lot from now on.
"Good," he said. "I'm glad you're not upset."
"But I am," Kyouko said. "You really should stop being such a playboy, Tsuruga-san."
Ren was utterly dismayed. He had been entirely serious. He was trying to do things right, show her his real feelings and intentions, and she had interpreted it as casual flirting. He thought his heart might stop, until he looked down to see Kyouko's joking expression.
Ren breathed a sigh of relief and pulled back onto the road. This girl would be the death of him.
AN:Thanks for reading, reviewing, subscribing etc. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to leave me a review if you'd like to let me know what you think :D