Homecoming

Kuon was waiting around the corner of the restaurant for her when she finally left. They'd staggered their exits purposefully, Kyoko's nerves demanding extra precautions so as to not raise suspicions. He was smiling at his phone and didn't notice her approach.

"What's so funny?" she said, leaning on his arm to try and see his phone screen.

He circled his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as he tilted the phone to show her clearly. It was the group photo from earlier. Kyoko's face on screen was flushed, her smile genuine and bright. She was surrounded by people she could now call friends. Except for one.

He was much, much more.

"Your face!" she said, giggling as she studied the photo. Kuon pursed his lips and zoomed in on himself.

"What? It's just my face."

"That is not just a face. That, sempai, is the Emperor of the Night." She dodged down to escape his tightening arm as he tried to capture her and muss her hair. She shook her finger at him. "He is definitely not allowed out in public."

Kuon shrugged, stepping forward to close the distance between them again. "Good thing we aren't staying in public, then." His voice was pitched low, his eyes narrowing lustfully as he gazed at her.

"Stop it-" she said, still laughing. "You're making the face on purpose now."

Kuon ran his finger across his lips, watching her reaction closely. Her eyes widened, focusing in on his mouth. He smiled devilishly, leaned in and grabbed her about the waist, pulling her close for a kiss. Kyoko squeaked in protest, smacking his chest but her hand fell light and soft, betraying her true feelings.

"Let's go home," Kuon whispered against her lips. Kyoko blushed red, but merely nodded. The word home rang in her mind, an unforeseen longing to make his innocent statement true rising up in her and keeping her silent. It was just a slip of his tongue. A common reference.

Their ride was quiet, both enjoying the simple pleasure of being close. His fingers moved ceaselessly over her hand where it lay on the center console until she wrapped his hand in hers and drew it over to rest on her lap.

His top-floor apartment was dark and as cool and sterile as always. Kyoko made a mental note to bring flowers, or colorful table mats. Maybe a panorama of the beaches at Guam! She smiled as she dumped her bag in the corner, shuffling on the guest slippers and padding into the kitchen. Guam was where she'd met Corn again and seen his wings. She laughed under her breath at herself and her utter refusal to connect the extremely obvious dots. She had been part right in her delusions, at least - in a way, Tsuruga Ren did have fairy ancestors. He was a fictional character himself, more intangible even than her fairies! To think that Prince Corn was more real than Tsuruga Ren. Kyoko beamed. She resisted the urge to fling her arms out and spin in a circle, drinking in the joy of being in the apartment belonging to Corn the Fairy Prince himself!

The Prince had stayed in the doorway, leaning against the closed door. She did spin then, dancing on her tip toes as she laughed, beckoning him to come join her. He surprised her by staying still, watching her, not even bending to remove his street shoes. Kyoko cocked her head, curious.

It hit her in a sudden rush. "Oh!" she cried, covering her mouth with her hands. She'd just completely made herself at home - dumping her things, commandeering his kitchen, imagining new decor, even dancing!

"I'm sorry!"

Kuon frowned at her slightly, his eyes focusing on hers in question. "Sorry?"

"I just- I'm sorry; this is your home. I'm acting like its mine." She walked over quickly to tidy her bag and knelt to straighten her shoes, repenting to herself for even thinking of changing his perfect decor.

His eyes widened, then his face crumpled into a strange half-smile, half-grimace. He looked like he was about to cry. Kyoko stood in a rush and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Forgive me! I'm sorry," she repeated quietly, her mind rushing to think of ways to make up for her error.

"No," he said, the single syllable choked off as he wrapped his arms around her in a crushing hug. "No, I'm not upset. I'm… oh Kyoko, please make this your home."

Kyoko froze, suddenly a stiff statue in his arms. Not the words she'd been expecting to hear. He continued, his hand rubbing her back, the pressure keeping both of them stable. "Watching you walk in here... You bring life. This place, without you... What kind of home is it?" His arms pulled in her tighter still, his head bending to nuzzle against hers. "It's just rooms."

"Stay with me tonight," he continued.

She didn't answer, her eyes wide with confusion as she tried to reconcile the emotions warring within her.

"Stay with me forever," he whispered, his hands convulsing slightly where they clung to her.

Kyoko buried her face in his chest, her own hands tightly knitted in his shirt. "It's not proper."

"We lived together for weeks as the Heels."

"That was acting."

"Was it?"

Kyoko shook her head. Then nodded. Then shook her head. He gently lifted her chin, silently asking her to look at him.

"I want you here," he said earnestly. "Whenever you're ready." She nodded, bright tears gathered in the corners of her own eyes from ill-contained joy. Someone wanted her. Kuon wanted her.

He kissed her forehead. "We could… practice…"

She pushed back to see his face clearly, examining him for evidence of the Emperor's resurgence. She found none, just Kuon. "Practice?"

"We are going to be resuming Cain and Setsu," he said, biting his lip as if to hold back the smile running suddenly rampant over his face.

"And their parental overseers," she reminded him, suspicious.

"Don't tell me you think Setsuka Heel would choose to bunk up with her mother instead of her beloved brother." He eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Kuon-" she interjected, her tone warning him. He just shrugged, turning to finally slip off his shoes for house slippers.

"My parents will be in full character for this trip. It's the perfect way to meet, yet not meet, to have contact, yet wait for everything to come full circle. Plus," he paused with a sarcastic sigh. "There's a reason Takarada Lory is best friends with my mother and father." He raised his eyebrows knowingly at Kyoko. "Birds of a feather flock together. They are going to eat up these roles like it's an all-you-can eat buffet they've been saving coupons for."

"That doesn't mean we have to do the same," she tried to reason with him. "We can get individual rooms."

He stared at her for a moment, then let his face fall. She watched as his features transformed piece by piece into the annoyingly effective one-shot kill Cain Heel trademarked puppy dog face.

"No," she said, backing up in mock fear.

"Setsu…" he whined, following her.

"Not going to happen," she reiterated, unable to pull her eyes away. He pouted, his shoulders falling. "Not… oh God, stop. Fine."

Kuon beamed, fire flashing through his eyes in victory.

"But I don't think it's necessary," she said, wanting the final word.

"We'll be in a foriegn country, in full disguise, promoting Cain's movie prior to the official release, and most definitely prior to Tsuruga Ren's public reveal as the actor." Kuon ticked off each item on his fingers. "It is every bit as necessary as it was during filming, if not more so. Do you know anything about the London paparazzi?"

Kyoko shook her head. Her international experience was, well, zilch.

"They. Watch. Everything." She saw nothing but deviousness in his smile and swallowed hard. "In taxis… restaurants… lobbies…" He looked down at her, running his fingers through the fringe of her hair. "...bedrooms," he finished, his voice deep and full of promise. She gulped.

"When are we going to the onsen?" she said, throwing out the first question she could think of to get him off his train of thought. She winced at herself. Not a great choice.

"What? Onsen?" Kuon was clearly off-balance, his brows furrowed as he paused in his advances.

Making a flash decision that her being in charge of the dynamics was far safer than his lead, Kyoko summoned up her experience on-set. Natsu and Momiji in tandem would do nicely. Incite but restrain. Her hand lightly grazed his chest as she looked up at him from under her lashes.

"You promised," she said. "And if they watch… everything…" She let the word slide off her tongue laced with hidden meaning. "Then we need to go before we leave."

She saw Kuon swallow hard, his eyes fixated on her mouth. She deliberately bit her lip, letting it slide slowly out. His lips fell open slightly, then closed again as he licked them. Kyoko smiled at the tiny proof she was having an effect on him.

She turned, walking away from him, her hips swaying slightly more than usual. Momiji's scene with Koga had been without eye contact. That gave her some leeway, a border of propriety. Facing away from him, Kyoko bent over a little too slowly to draw her phone out of her bag. She heard his breath hitch and rose, ignoring him. Kyoko cocked her hip and ran her finger absent-mindedly along the nape of her neck, pretending to play with the loose hairs tickling her skin as she searched on her phone.

She felt him draw near; felt his breath warm on her neck as he leaned down. Just before he touched her she stepped forward, never looking back, pretending not to notice his proximity. She walked into the kitchen to sit on one of his stools. Natsu would definitely pull out her lip gloss right now. Momiji - Momiji would be done with this by now. Kyoko smiled at herself, choosing her own way.

She glanced up at Kuon. He was still standing in the living room, watching her, waiting. She beckoned him with just two fingers, patting the counter next to her. He crossed the room in a flash and she sat the phone down, showing him Google-sensei's results. As she scrolled, commenting mindlessly on the local onsens and their reviews, she let herself swirl one finger over the back of his hand. His skin was so smooth it felt like silk beneath her touch. She heard him sigh and looked up to see his eyes closed, his face peaceful except for slightly knitted eyebrows.

Kyoko bit her own lip. Drawing reactions out of him was like a drug - she had thought the end-all of her goals was to dominate him on stage, but these moments were theirs alone. No one else would know the feelings coursing through their bodies right now, every touch electric.

How much more could she draw out of him?

She felt his hand move beneath hers, turning upwards to lace his fingers between her own. Her heart started racing. Such a simple contact, it shouldn't have this depth of meaning and yet it was everything. Kyoko breathed out slowly. If this was how she reacted to such innocent gestures as holding hands with him, a rushed onsen trip was probably not a great idea.

"Let's not force this," she said, working hard to keep the shaking out of her voice. "We will only be gone for two weeks. We can go when we get back." She felt his fingers tense around hers and purposefully avoided his gaze.

"If you don't want to go, it's fine," he said. He'd leaned forward so his face was mere inches away from hers. She risked a glance but his eyes were looking at her small phone screen. He smelled so good; his shampoo and scent pervaded her senses as they stood close together.

Kyoko studied him as he read the review she'd pulled up. He seemed calm and steady, as if he really meant what he'd said.

"You won't be disappointed?" Kuon turned to look at her and she frowned. It wasn't Kuon she was looking at; it was Ren. He'd pulled the mask down again, emotions trying to hide behind a gentleman's blase.

Kyoko tsked at him, bopping her finger on his nose. "Not him- you." Kuon blinked, standing up slightly with confusion on his face.

"Don't hide behind your mask with me anymore, Hizuri," she said, starting off with a mock scolding tone. By the time she reached his surname her voice had turned gentle. "You're home," she whispered. She laid her hands on either side of his face and pulled him down, pressing his forehead tightly against hers. She didn't close her eyes, watching his expression carefully. He winced slightly, as if in pain, then sagged as tension ebbed from his entire body.

"Home," he sighed, opening his own eyes.

The world outside was humming with action, but their small part of it was still, caught in a moment of perfect awareness of another person. Her smile was bright but swift, appearing and disappearing like shooting stars. His was laced with lingering doubt, the edges never fully caught. Home. It wasn't perfect yet, but it was theirs and that was enough for now.

"Don't leave," he whispered.

She shook her head and burrowed into his chest, wrapping her arms around him.

"Try and make me," she said, her face aglow with contentment.

Kuon laughed. "You'd kick my ass," he said. "I've seen Momiji fight." Kyoko punched him playfully.

"Cain and Momiji," she pondered aloud.

"Yikes," he said. "Let's stick with Setsu."