I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. Here is some more for you.
Note: I do not own Skip Beat!
Yashiro fidgeted under the sick woman as he tried to get into a more comfortable position. Kyoko had relieved him of his coat and tie before following Ren into the kitchen. Yashiro looked down at the still form wrapped around his middle. He could feel her breath penetrate his shirt making a warm pool in his side. The location Catherine had chosen to bury her face was higher than his lap, so she was supporting her weight with the arms clamped around his body. He dropped his arm down under her head and shoulder to help support her so she could relax a bit more. This position was not very comfortable for Yashiro, so he scrunched down, lifted his legs up, and placed his feet flat on the floor. This cradled the woman in the curve of his body, relieving pressure from his arm. He was happy with this position. Now that he was comfortable his mind was free to wonder.
His attention fell to the woman in his arms. He had been so busy with her health conditions that he had failed noticed what she was wearing before now. The light from the kitchen filtered in just enough to illuminate her still form wrapped in a black material that spilling around her. The silken robes that she had pulled on this morning had come untied in her agony to reveal a long strappy nightgown of the same soft silk. Yashiro froze as he realized the side was split clear to her arm and laced back to the hip. His eyes fell on where his free hand touched her side and blushed to see that his fingers had slipped into the lacing and rested on her skin under the material. He quickly pulled his fingers out and looked straight ahead. His sudden movement shook them a little and Catherine moaned lightly in protest. He returned his hand to her side, over top of the material this time, and looked down at her. Everything since they found the strickened woman had driven thoughts of the surrounding out of his mind, but now that he was calming down, he realized that it was cold in here. He could feel the near naked woman against him tremble slightly in the cold. He could hear the actors in the kitchen, Ren was giggling and Kyoko was throwing a fit.
"Ren." Yashiro called. The soft noises from the kitchen stopped and the tall actor peeked out to see what was needed of him. "It's cold in here. Could you do something about it?" Ren stepped into the room followed by Kyoko.
"Sure." Ren turned to the girl following him. "Mogami-san, could you check in the bedroom for a blanket." She nodded and turned to the only other doorway in the room. Ren proceeded to try to locate the thermostat in the dark. It took him a moment to find it, but he turned it up to a more normal temperature. Kyoko still had not come back with covers, so he followed her into the other room to find the reason.
Ren found Kyoko stopped just inside the bedroom door, her eyes frozen on the sight before her. Ren looked pass the girl to see what made the woman forget life. The room was an average size bed room with a double bed, night stand, and bookshelf. The bed was messy, as if the occupant had been thrashing around before leaving it. But this was not what had drawn the attention of the young girl. The bookshelf was a little girl's fairytale dream. The bottom shelves were filled with books and movies, but it was the middle and upper shelves that made Ren smile. The middle was filled with stuffed dragons of a variety of colors. There were other stuffed fairytale creatures mixed in, but it was the top two shelves that he was sure had caught Kyoko. The light from the window had illuminated twelve delicately detailed fairies. All wore very ornate dresses, four sat on crystal balls, four sat in crescent moons, and four danced lightly in the air. Other shapes could be seen scattered across the shelves, but the light was too low to make them out fully. Ren placed his hand on Kyoko's shoulder.
"Did you find a blanket?" His words and touch snapped Kyoko back to the real world and she blushed as she realized that she had kept the sick woman waiting in the cold room. She went quickly to the bed and picked up a woven blanked that had been knocked to the floor from the foot of the bed. Clutching it up, she returned to the living room and the waiting managers. Ren smiled and shook his head as he watched the young woman's retreat. She muttered an apology to Yashiro as she coved the scantily clad form in his lap. Yashiro thanked her and tucked the blanked around Catherine upper body before returning his hand to her side over the blanket. Kyoko blushed more and turned away from the pair on the floor. She felt like she was watching an intimate moment between the two. Her eyes fell on Ren, who was smiling gently at the scene before him. Their eyes met and she blushed even harder before retreating to the kitchen. She needed a moment to clear her head. 'That smile on Ren should be illegal.' Her demons were running in circles trying not to burst into to flames. After a few cleansing breaths, she pushed everything that had happed today away so that she could concentrate on the problem at hand. What were they going to do about lunch? They were going to have to go to the store for food, but that was not the real problem. There was nothing to cook in or eat from. She pondered this for a moment.
Ren stepped into the kitchen and watched as his heart's desire paced the length of the room and back. 'What could she be so worried about?' He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. He loved to watch her move, so fluid. On one pass she finally noticed him standing there. She posed the question that was bothering her to her audience.
"What are we going to do about lunch?" Ren nearly burst a seam trying not to laugh at the question. Of all the things she could have been focused on, food was the one she picked. Unable to completely contain his entertainment, a smile curled his lips and he pushed away from the doorway and into the room.
"We will just have to go shopping." Ren walked around to behind Kyoko and maneuvered her out of the kitchen. Kyoko let him lead her into Catherine's bed room, apologizing to the many watching eyes, he opened Catherine's closet. Kyoko stared at him in disbelief. 'What was he doing in her closet?' She got her answer when he pulled out the familiar black trench coat. He pulled out the fedora she had rolled in the pocket before laying the coat on the bed. He straightened out the soft felt hat before popping it on his head. Kyoko stifled a giggle at the sight of him in the hat. He continued searching in the closet until he came out with a gray zipper hoody with NEW YORK embroidered in four inch high letters on it. It was just large enough to fit him. He pulled it on over his dress shirt and zipped it up. This time Kyoko was unable to contain her laughter as she dropped to the floor in giggles. Yashiro looked up from where he was trapped to see Kyoko rolling on the floor laughing. He had to stifle a laugh when Ren stepped over the fallen girl into the room. He tried, and failed, to hold a serious face as the taller man squatted down next to him. As Ren got closer, Yashiro's façade broke apart and he grinned broadly at the disguise.
"You look like a tourist." Yashiro chuckled lightly. The movement caused Catherine to moan in pain. She rolled her head in the manager lap so her face was pointing up Yashiro's body. He stilled and patted her back trying to comfort her. Kyoko got up from the floor as her laughter subsided. She looked at the covered form in concern. Her face showed the pain she was in as she breathed heavily through her parted lips. Ren cleared this throat to regain the man's attention.
"We are going to head to the store to get things for lunch." Ren informed his manager. "Do you need anything before we leave?" While Ren was talking to her pillow, Catherine cracked an eye to look at the disguised man. If it was not for the pain associated with this action, she would have busted a gut laughing too. Her hat and sweatshirt really did make him look like a tourist. Yashiro shook his head and Ren stood up to head out. "We will be back in a while." He called Kyoko over and forced her into the long black coat. Yashiro grinned broadly at the sight before him. It was one time he lamented the fact that he could not get to his camera. Yashiro heard the lock click shut as the two actors left. He sighed and turned his attention back to the woman in his arms. Her face was mostly uncovered now so he studied it in the soft light from the kitchen. He pushed her hair back so he could just make out the scar on the side of her face. A reminder of the first time they met. He smiled softly as he remembered the traumatic events that had brought them together that first time. He leaned forward and laid a kiss to the soft hair at her temple. She sighed softly in response. He paused to see if she was awake. Her limp grasp and even, deep breathing led him to believe that she was asleep. He closed his eyes and relaxed under her. It was no time before he was breathing evenly in sleep. Catherine opened her eyes and looked up at the man holding her. She smiled at him through the pain before closing her eyes and letting the meds take her completely away.
