A/N: This chapter sort of felt fillerish, but I think it is important. I hope you enjoy it. :)
Chapter 38: Distractions
Kuu decided that the only thing he could do to help Kyoko was to distract her, and he did. Julie took her shopping, and for ice cream. Kuu took her to dinner, then to a movie. Then more shopping. By the time they returned to the house in the evening, laden with bags, Kyoko was at least smiling genuinely. She knew that Kuu and Julie were just trying to get her mind off of her mother, and at first she was just trying to make them happy by playing along, but halfway through the day, she had begun to truly enjoying herself. She dropped her bags off in her room, and was promptly called back downstairs to watch one of Kuu's movies. Snuggling in the blankets between her parents, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, finally allowing her thoughts to drift back to her mother.
'She's dead.' She forced herself to think it, to admit to herself. 'She's dead and I will never see her again.' Internally, she flinched. 'It's okay. Like Father said, I have a family here, a new family at home, and Kuon.' The thought of Kuon warmed her heart in a sweet, embarrassing way. 'And they all…they all love me. I am not alone, or unlovable. I have a job at LME and Moko-san and Maria and Yukihito-san.' She sighed softly, leaning her head on her mother's shoulder. 'It still hurts. She…she blamed me. For everything. She hated me.' Kyoko swallowed hard, determined to get through this. 'It wasn't my fault. I was born to a woman who didn't want me. That wasn't my fault. She didn't love me. It. Was. Not. My. Fault.' She repeated the phrase again and again.
Kyoko sat in the plastic chair, staring at the tile floor. All around her, people hurried around, sipping coffee or talking on their phones in multiple languages. The well-worn magazine in her hands crinkled as she turned the page, halfheartedly reading an article about the best ways to get more sleep. She glanced around, watching the hustle and bustle around her, wondering what they were all in such a hurry about. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was 6 o'clock in the evening, and her stomach rumbled. She blushed a little, hoping that no one had heard, and considered finding something to eat.
In the large window to her side, she could see a plane landing and wondered if Kuon was on it. It wasn't the President's private plane, but she had no idea if he always took that plane. This was one of her first times meeting him at the airport. Jack had offered to, and nearly insisted on, accompany her, but she had refused him firmly. She wanted to wait for him alone, since they had spoken about the issue at length the night before and had decided that this would be his last visit until she finished her filming. She hated that he had to keep dropping everything to come visit her, even if he said that it wasn't hurting his career at this point.
Kyoko pulled out the sheet of paper detailing her appearance in the commercial next week. The commercial was an advertisement for a store chain. Instead of having models show the clothing, they had chosen a few actresses to showcase their outfits. The filming wouldn't take but a couple of days. She was looking forward to it, and hoped that maybe she could get her name out there before the movie was released and that she would be asked to do another commercial. Her bank account slowly being built back up after the plane ticket.
She was rereading the store description when two large, warm hands covered her eyes. She reached up and touched the hands with her own, a small smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. "Hello." The English word was whispered in her ear and she shivered.
"Hello Kuon." She leaned her head back and smiled up at her blonde (thanks to a very realistic wig) haired, green-eyed boyfriend. The word made her blush a little. She was still unused to thinking of herself as 'Ren Tsuruga's girlfriend.' He leaned down and kissed her, pulling away quickly, knowing too well how she felt about such intimate behavior in public. She stood he walked around the chair, wrapping his arms around her.
"I'm so sorry." He told her gently, holding her close. "How are you doing?"
She gave a faint smile. "I'm okay. I've been focusing on work." She admitted with a shrug.
"Have you talked to your father?"
"No. Not yet." He nodded, shouldering his large bag and taking her hand. "Are you hungry?" He changed the topic. If she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't push her.
"Starving. Do you want me to make you something?"
He shook his head. "No, you're hungry, and I don't want you to have to wait. Let's just eat out." They headed to a cafe close by, ordered sandwiches and tea, and sat at a small table in the corner. "Are you…" He hesitated, not sure if he should be doing this. "Are you sure you don't want to talk about anything?" He asked suddenly, the worry showing in his voice. She looked up from her sandwich with tired eyes. He could tell that she was trying to shove the thoughts away, and worried that she was just burying it so that she wouldn't have to face it.
"I really don't." She mumbled.
"Okay. But please, if you want to talk to talk…I'm here. You know that, right?" She nodded and smiled genuinely.
"Thank you. So how is work going?"
"It's going well. I had a busy week in preparation for taking off this weekend, but since this is my last visit," he looked quite unhappy about this. "my schedule should be pretty much back to normal." She lifted an eyebrow and grinned.
"Normal?"
He laughed. "Normal for me." She nodded.
"So how is Yukih...Yashiro-san." She smirked.
"He doesn't care if you call him Yukihito."
"I know." She blushed a little. "I'm just getting too used to living in America. I'll have to switch back when I go home."
"He's fine, either way. Actually, your friend came by for a little visit, which I accidentally interrupted." Kyoko blushed and her eyes widened at his tone.
"Moko-san was…" She covered her face with her hands and he laughed.
"Don't tell her I told you. She would make my life miserable." She giggled.
"Poor Moko-san! You shouldn't have walked in on them!" She scolded.
"I didn't know!" He cried.
"Wait…were they…um…" She blushed even brighter and he laughed, shaking his head.
"Nothing like you were thinking. Just…well I always knock now." She smirked. "So tell me about the commercial." He rested his head in his hand and watched her eat, a sweet smile on his face.
She looked up, blushed again, and then focused on her food as she spoke. He hid a smirk. "I will be modeling a couple of outfits for a clothing store. That's all. There were about seven actresses and four actors to do the same. It's not really a big deal."
"I disagree. It will get you in the public eye, and you may get another commercial because of it."
"I hope so." She admitted softly. "That plane ticket was a lot of money, and I've been trying to build my bank account back up, or I won't have money for rent when I get back to Japan. I don't know when my next job will be unless I can resume Box R, and I don't know if the couple at the restaurant where I use to live still has my room available. If I have to get an apartment by myself, it will cost a lot more and I'll need more jobs."
"You could live with me." The suggestion was out of his mouth before he thought about it, but the stunned, half frightened look on her face made him want to swallow the words. He tried to speak, but nothing came out.
Her voice was faint when she finally remembered how to make words. "Kuon…I…I didn't…I can't…I'm so sorry but…please don't be angry." She looked up at him with pleading, frightened eyes and he grabbed her hands, leaning toward her.
"Kyoko, you don't have to apologize." He assured her, ignoring the slight wound in his heart her fearful look had inflicted. "I know how you feel about…that." He said softly. "First of all, I meant that you could live in the spare room. I'm not trying to pressure you into anything." He promised quietly, knowing that no one was sitting near enough to hear but still embarrassed and sure that she was feeling the same. "And either way, I wouldn't be angry at you for something like that." She nodded, still staring at her plate. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, obviously upset, and she smiled.
"No, don't be sorry. Thank you for the offer, and I will think about it. I was just surprised…."
"Have you contacted the couple you live with?" He wondered, changing the subject again.
"No." She mumbled, feeling horrible. She had been forced to leave them in such a hurry that she hadn't had adequate time to explain, and then after fleeing to America and the events that followed, she had never called them. "I just…I was just their tenant and I didn't want to bother them with…"
"Kyoko." His voice was dry and she looked up in surprise.
"What?"
"They were like your parents." He informed her simply. "They really cared for you and looked out for you. They barely made you pay rent, and probably would have let you stay with them for free, and you think that informing them of your whereabouts would be bothering them?"
She blanched and her face filled with guilt. "Oh no! I haven't called them or anything! They probably hate me!" She cried, dramatic tears falling down her face forming a puddle around her feet. He smiled a little.
"Kyoko." He touched her hand. "They don't hate you." He assured her. "I'm sure they would love it if you called them. I'll bet that they are worried about you." The tears disappeared and she looked up at him hopefully. "Just call them later."
Jack picked them up after a quick phone call, and Ren headed straight to his room. Kuu and Julie had insisted that he stay in his old room when he visited, and it still felt strange. He walked in and sat his bag beside the bed, hearing Kyoko walk up behind him. Turning, he found her leaning against the doorframe. He sat on the bed with a smile, opening his arms. "Come on in." He invited.
She blushed and stared at the carpet as she took a tiny step inside. He laughed and waited, leaning back on one hand. She softly shut the door and slowly made her way over to him, opting to sit on the bed beside him. He brought a hand up and traced her jaw, feeling her heat rise up in her cheeks, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. She smiled and peeked up at him as he stroked her cheek and neck, his mouth following his hand. Her turned toward her and placed a hand beside her, leaning on it, as he kissed her. "I love you." He whispered in her ear, making her shiver. "I miss you so much." She put her arms around his neck, still a little unused to having any kind of affection lavished on her, but enjoying the feeling of his mouth and hands on her. "I miss having you come over and cook for me. I miss running into you at LME. I miss working with you."
"I miss you too." She whispered as she let him continue. He pressed against her a little, wrapping an arm around her back and pushing her down, following her as they lay on the bed.
He nibbled her neck, enjoying the way she gasped and giggled when he hit a sensitive part. She massaged his back and ran her nails over his shirt gently. His hand slipped under her shirt and over her bra, and she squeaking in surprise. He took a deep breath, inhaling her scent as he squeezed her gently over her bra. She felt electricity pulse through her body as he continued squeezing her, all coherent thought slipping away. She pushed her stomach against him involuntarily, opening her mouth in surprise as his hand moved to her other breast.
"Kuon." Her voice was breathy and faint, and the man nearly moaned at the way it made him feel. Placing his lips over hers, he kissed her, entering her mouth and exploring her mouth. She moaned and placed a hand on his chest, letting it trail up and down, tracing random patterns over his shirt. He let his hand leave her chest and trailed it down her stomach, stroking her from the base of her bra to the top of her pants, not allowing himself to go any lower. She whimpered at the feeling and stroked his tongue with hers, pushing harder against him, and then entering his mouth with her tongue. He rolled them over and pulled her on half on top of him, with her chest pressing against his and her legs falling to the side. He kept her from straddling him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to control himself if she was pressed against his lower body.
Finally, after exploring his mouth with her tongue, she pulled away for breath and he laid his head back onto the pillow, pulling his hand out of her shirt and pulled the shirt down. He wrapped his arm around her and she rested her head on his shirt, grateful that he had ended the make out session before things went to far. During one of his first visits, they had sat down and had a conversation about their relationship, and (a very embarrassed) Kyoko had admitted that she didn't want to sleep with someone before she married them, and Kuon had promised her that he would respect that, something that she was grateful for. However, he sometimes seemed to push things pretty far, which she enjoyed at the time, but was usually embarrassed about later. She listened to his steady heartbeat and closed her eyes as he stroked her back.
Kuon smiled at the ceiling as he relished the feeling of holding his Kyoko. 'She has grown up so much. I miss her, but living her has done her a lot of good. She is learning to accept love and affection from people, and she is learning to love them in return. She is more confident and comfortable than she ever was before. I have my parents to thank for that. They've been teaching her all about unconditional love. I'm glad she came here.' "So how is filming going?" He asked his ceiling. She moved closer, resituating so that she was lying on her arm, and he grabbed a throw sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling it over them.
"It's going well. We are filming the last scene next week, and after that I just have to come in a few times for narration. I think there may be a few scenes they want to tweak, but we nearly done."
"Have the other actors been having any trouble?"
"No, not anymore. Halee was having a lot of trouble for a while, but I think Director Song is happy with her work now. I heard that she threatened to replace her." Kuon's eyebrows lifted but he didn't comment. It wasn't that unusual. "I am nervous about the last scene thought." She admitted quietly, and he sat up a little, holding her against him, and propped his back against the pillows. She sat up and leaned her head against his shoulder. "It's the last scene with Khan Tegus and Dashti. She marries him in the end, and…well, she has to…" She looked away and blushed a little, fearing his reaction.
"She has to what?" His voice was a little edgy and she hesitated.
"Um…she has to…kiss him." Her voice was quiet and Kuon looked down at her in surprise.
"That's it?" He lifted an eyebrow.
"Um…you aren't mad?"
He laughed a little, pulling her back to him. "Kyoko, it's your job. Of course I'm not mad. I have to kiss other women all the time." Kyoko froze as he laughed.
'He…he kisses other women all the time while acting.' The thought felt like a stake through her heart. 'Everything he just did to me…he has no trouble doing it to some other random woman.' She clenched her fists and looked away. 'I shouldn't be upset about that. It is his job…but…' She couldn't put the feeling into words, but it was making her heart clench.
"Kyoko, what's wrong?" He had an arm around her and was trying to peer into her face. Fear had coiled in his stomach and he could physically feel it. 'She's angry? Or hurt? What did I say?'
"Nothing." Her voice was a little faint. "I'm sorry. Nothing's wrong." She slipped out from under his arm, much to his surprise and hurt, and slipped off the bed. "You must be really tired. I'll let you get some sleep."
He sat up and started to follow her, stunned at the sudden change. "Kyoko, please?" His voice was soft and he reached out to catch her hand. "Don't be angry. What did I do?"
"Nothing." She gave him a distant smile and turned to leave. "You should get some sleep." She shut the door behind her and leaned against it with her eyes shut tightly.
Kanae picked up the phone and held it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hey Moko-san."
"Hi Kyoko." Kanae smiled a little, crossing her ankles and settling into the sofa in the Love Me room. She and Yukihito had decided to keep the relationship as private as possible, which included hiding it from the President, so she was still in the Love Me department.
"Can I ask you something?" Her friend's voice sounded both irritated and distressed, and immediately Kanae was angry with Ren.
"Yea. What's the matter?"
"How would you feel if you knew that Yukihito was kissing other women." Kanae felt her world stop and pain gripped her heart.
"What?"
"I mean, say he just had to do it for work, but he was kissing other women. How would you feel?" A tear slipped down Kanae's face, making her angry. Fury filled her mind and she clenched her fist.
"Kyoko, why are you asking me this?"
"I just…wanted to know what you would say."
"I would be heartbroken and furious, and I would kill him." She snarled.
"Moko-san! What if it was just for work?"
"What! Why would he have to kiss other women for work? What did he say to you? Who was it!"
"What? Moko-san, he's not…"
"Don't lie to me!" She snapped. "He's cheating on me!"
"Moko-san! Yukihito wouldn't cheat on you! I haven't even talked to him." Her voice sounded panicked, but Kanae was too angry to care.
"I have to go." Kanae snapped the phone shut, dropped it into her purse, grabbed her coat, and stormed out of the building.
Kyoko groaned and dropped the phone. 'I just wanted my friend's opinion on this…but Moko-san took it the wrong way. I hope everything is okay with Yukihito… Who can I talk to about this? I just want to know if I am being stupid…' With a deep sigh, she dialed another number.
Sho groaned and rolled over in bed. 'Why is the alarm going off? I'm trying to sleep.' He grabbed his phone and, instead of his alarm, was greeted by Kyoko's face. He lifted an eyebrow. She hadn't called him in a while. He pressed the answer button and held it to his ear. "Hey." He mumbled tiredly. "Do you know what time it is?" He complained.
"Um…after noon?" He grinned a little at the smirk in her voice.
"What do you want?" He asked, his tone not matching his rough words.
"Can…can I ask you something?"
"If you must." He teased her, trying to lighten her serious mood.
"Sho…is it stupid of me to be…upset that R…Kuon ki…kisses other women?"
"He what!" Sho sat up, furious. "He's cheating on you? Of course you should be upset!"
"No!" Kyoko nearly groaned at her inability to explain the situation. "I mean for work. He kisses other actresses while he is acting."
"Oh." Sho's face colored a little at his outburst. "I see." He thought for a second, then forced himself to be relatively mature. "No, it's not really stupid to be jealous…most people get jealous. But I think he really likes you." He winced at the thought. "If that is how you really feel, you should probably be talking to him about it. He seems understanding enough."
"But…he didn't get jealous when I said that I had to kiss someone for work!"
"Really? Maybe he is just more mature than you are."
Kyoko winced at her old friend's blunt tone. "Sho!"
He laughed. "I was kidding. Well, mostly." He was silent for a minute. "How did you feel when you saw him kissing another woman?" His voice was soft and serious.
"I…didn't see it. He told me because I was afraid that he would be angry that I had to do it for a scene."
"Okay. So how did you feel when he told you?"
"It hurt. I was…scared." She spoke softly and he smiled gently at the phone.
"Kyoko, I think you are more afraid of him leaving you than you are jealous." She was silent, thinking this over. "I saw the look on his face when he watched you act." Every word caused him pain, but he forced himself to say them, for her. "He's not going to let you go." As he spoke, he knew the words were true. 'He won't let her go...he obviously loves her. And I'm pretty sure she loves him too. Oh well. At least Tsuruga didn't get her.' The fact caused him some small comfort.
Kuon opened his eyes a little when a beam of light filtered into the room and quickly disappeared, then felt the bed dip. Someone slipped under the covers and snuggled against him, and he smiled, pulling her close. She kissed his cheek and rested her head on the pillow beside his head. "Is everything okay?" He had to check, although he was delighted to have her seemingly back to normal.
"Everything's fine." She mumbled, kissing him softly, and he fell asleep happy.
Yukihito opened his front door, smiling softly down at his girlfriend. "Hey sweetheart." He greeted her in happy surprise. "What are you…" He jerked back when her hand came into contact with his face, making the whole side of his face sting.
"You bastard!" She snarled, and his eyes widened. He grabbed her hand and pulled her in, looking around to make sure that no one had seen that little display, and slammed his front door, ignoring her cries of 'Get your hands off of me!' and 'I hate you!'
"What is the matter with you?" He cried, stepping back in case she decided to slap him again.
"How dare you!" She glared at him, her hands clenched into fists at her side, making it obvious that the next time she touched him it would be with her fist rather than her palm. "I cannot believe you would do this to me!" A tear escaped from her eyes, and she wiped it violently. "I should have known better! But no! I was stupid and let myself get too into this, and I have to find out from Kyoko! You don't even have the decency to just break it off and…."
He stared at her incredulously. "Kanae!" He interrupted, capturing her hands. "Have you been drinking?" Her eyes widened and she tried to jerk away, but, fearing for his life, he held her still.
"No I have not!" She cried, fighting him.
"Kanae, "I have no idea what you are talking about." He tried reasoning with her, his voice gentle. "Can you just slow down and…"
"You cheated on me!"
"What!" He let her go, shocked. "Why would you think…"
"Kyoko told me!"
"Kanae, I never cheated on you." He told her sincerely, taking her hands again. "I would never do something like that. I love you." Her eyes widened at his sincerity and she took a deep breath, realizing that she might have been too hasty. "What exactly did Kyoko say?"
"She asked me how I would feel if you kissed someone else." She told him quietly, and Yukihito's eyes widened.
"Ren is cheating on her?" It was too impossible for him to really consider.
"He'd better not be." Her eyes narrowed.
"Maybe…maybe she meant he was kissing someone for a scene, and she was upset." Yukihito reasoned, leading her over to a sofa and sitting down beside her. She touched his face, wincing at how red it was.
"I'm sorry." She mumbled. He smiled, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her lips.
"Don't worry about it. I know of a way you can make it up to me."
Kyoko groaned and stretched, finding herself wrapped in blankets and Kuon's arms. His eyes were open, and he was watching her with a happy smile on his face. "I love waking up to you."
Kyoko blushed a bright red and dove under the covers. He chucked and pulled them back down, revealing her red face. "Did…did you sleep well?" She asked nervously, skipping over his comment.
"Very well. You?"
"Fine." She shrugged but he caught a trace of sadness in her eyes. "I've been dreaming about her sometimes." She admitted sadly, smiling briefly when he pulled her to him. "She's always telling me…how much she hates me, and how everything is my fault."
"That's not true." He told her fiercely, and she nodded.
"I know." She sighed. "But…there's something else. The last thing she said to me was, 'You'd better watch out because once he's got what he wants from me, he'll come after you.'" She shivered, clutching his shirt in her hands, and he held her tighter.
"Who was she talking about?" He wondered, feeling a protective anger rising.
"I don't know. Hayashi-san? His father? They were the men she was trying to get a business deal with." Kuon nodded.
"I'll talk to Lory about it." He assured her. "I'll take care of you. I promise." She smiled.
"I know." She looked up at him, her eyes catching and holding his in the dim room. "I trust you."
A/N: I'm sorry this took a while. With Christmas coming up, I am very busy! But I got another chapter done, and had a good time writing it. The story is almost over, I swear! (Well, sort of almost over...sorry if you find it boring, but I am enjoying it.) Anyway, have a Merry Christmas everyone!