Japan's Most Wanted

by quite-a-riot

It's that time again, and Japan's most desirable men have been chosen! But this year, there's a photo shoot involved, and Ren has to suffer through his co-worker's idle gossip...about Kyoko. Until she shows up too...which only fuels the flame... Set in an AU branching from Ch. 273.

10. California's Most Wanted

Okay, so fair warning, this is pretty much all fluff and citrus. And conversations I wish they would have. BECAUSE JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER IN CANON ALREADY! CALL HER REN! JUST CALL HER ALL THE FUCKING TIME! *drags hysterical self that can't take the slow burn for much longer out of the limelight*

Ahem. So, yeah, another 16k because things kept happening at this party...ENJOY!

---

Surprising no one who knew them, Ren and Kyoko's Violet Evergarden screen test practically lit the room on fire, their chemistry was so exothermic. They were quickly green lit as Violet and the Major. What followed after was a whirlwind of costume fittings, meetings with the marketing staff, contract negotiations (conferenced in with Yashiro, of course), and introductions to the instructors Kyoko would begin working with once Ren flew back to Japan to finish up his remaining open contracts. Ren bowed out of these shortly after meeting the two married (to each other), female, stunt professionals she would be working with and used the time to touch base with the producers and directors he'd spent months putting off. He figured it was worth it to try and mend fences before he worked with them in the new year.

And, as fate would have it, he was invited to a high profile party, just as Kyoko predicted he would be.

But he waited until the last possible minute to tell her.

Since he had no intention of letting her go anywhere near it.

"That's wonderful! I can't wait! I wonder if Julie has anything I can borrow to wear, since it's tonight..." Kyoko's excitement was palpable. It almost killed Kuon that he had to be the one responsible to crush her mood.

"Kyoko, this is a business thing. I won't be able to keep an eye on you and work the crowd hosting it at the same time. Maybe you and Mom can go to a movie or something while I'm gone?" He watched her face fall and wanted to kick himself for his own insecurities. "I'm sorry."

But, he knew it wasn't just his insecurities telling him to keep her away. Kyoko was nowhere near ready for the Hollywood set, especially at one of the most notorious houses in the Hills. There would be drugs. There would be people there for the sole purpose of hooking up with someone new for just the night, and there would be influential career-makers who weren't used to being refused anything by a young starlet hoping to make her way onto Hollywood's silver screen. He already had the weighty task of ingratiating Ren Tsuruga to the crowd while keeping his identity as Kuon Hizuri under wraps. The logistics of that were manageable. Add Kyoko to the mix and who knew what old habits he would end up falling back into before the night was over.

Kyoko blinked away what could have been surprise or tears and plastered a realistic smile on instead.

"Yeah, okay. I'll go see if Julie has plans. Maybe we'll just have a night in." By the time she hit the word 'night', he had to blink to believe she'd ever even looked sad.

Maybe she was fine. Kyoko had never been great at hiding her emotions from him.

Unless you count how she hid the fact she was in love with me from everyone, including me, for more than a year.

A few hours later Ren stopped to check himself in the full-length mirror right next to the door to the garage (put there for that exact purpose) and tugged his black R'Mandy bamboo/silk blend dress shirt collar so it hung evenly.

The man staring back at him in the mirror looked anything but ready-to-party.

Ren was two seconds away from changing his mind and begging Kyoko's forgiveness when his mother came gliding down the grand staircase next to him.

"Oh there you are, hun. You look impeccable, of course. You just go and do what you need to do. I'm sure Kyoko and I will have no trouble entertaining ourselves without you." If Ren had spent the last five years spending time with his mother, he might have picked up on a few signs that she was less than pleased with him.

But then, he might not have. Julie was, after all, a great actress in her own right. As it was, the only hint of censure or criticism he received was in her sharp dismissal before she whisked gracefully back up the stairs.

"Do behave yourself this time, dear."

---

Kyoko watched Kuon drive away in a sleek, shiny car (that she couldn't begin to name the model of) through a window in Julie's closet (yeah, her closet was so big it had freaking WINDOWS...plural!) and felt a pang in her chest. It hurt that Ren didn't want her to come with him. The inadequacies, which had dissipated with Julie's almost immediate acceptance, came rushing back.

No matter how much Kuon loved her, or how beautiful he said he thought she was, she was apparently still too plain and inexperienced to be his escort to a Hollywood party. She had been starting to believe that standing next to him at an event (even as just a colleague) wouldn't be a discredit to him, but apparently her budding confidence had been premature. And worst of all, because of her inadequacies, he had to bear the pressure all alone.

But mostly, more than it depressed her, the whole thing just pissed her off.

Some omamori she was...instead of helping him, she was making plans to crash his night.

"Turn that frown upside down and get your cute little ass over here to help me decide!" Julie proclaimed, like the queen she was, from a rack that held an array of expensive, eye-catching designer dresses she had pulled from the ranks of her extensive wardrobe. Julie apparently liked to look at her top choices all together before making a decision. Kyoko's eyes lit up and she cooed, stroking the soft fabrics.

"They're so beautiful!" she cried, excitement and a hint of rebellion doing wonders to help fill the hole left by Ren's rejection. "Which one are you going to wear?"

"I was thinking something in green…" Julie said playfully. "What do you think?"

Kyoko took the opportunity very seriously, looking at each dress on the rack before pulling out a tight fitting, backless, emerald silk dress that was simultaneously low-key and interesting to look at, with effortless-looking draping across the front that would accentuate Julie's tiny waist. The color matched her eyes and would make her long blonde hair practically glow in the dark with contrast.

"How about this?"

Julie eyed her choice with approval, more than a little impressed. Sure, most of her clothes were chosen (or designed) to fit and accentuate her form precisely, but Kyoko had proven she knew how to choose the right style for the right occasion and to factor in how to show off Julie's best assets.

Or she'd taken a lucky guess. Either way, she approved.

"Oh yes. Definitely that one," Julie agreed gleefully. "I guess that means you should wear something gold then," she said, gesturing to Kyoko's eyes to illustrate her point.

"...will any of these fit me, you think? You're a lot taller than I am," Kyoko said wistfully. "And thinner. But there's no way anything I brought with me will do for something like this."

Julie smiled like the Cheshire Cat and pounced on her chance.

Late the first night of their stay, Kuu had warned her about Kyoko's tendency to refuse expensive gifts, having been tipped off by Kuon. In particular, he had insisted she not share with Kyoko about the house next door she had purchased under any circumstances. At first it had devastated her, but with more than a week of exposure to Kyoko, and being quite observant herself, Julie had discovered there were chinks in her thrifty armor. And she had stumbled across one of them that very night.

It turned out, Kyoko would do anything, and allow anyone to help her (spending way more money than normal in the process), in order to exact revenge on someone who had wronged her.

And Julie had no problems using that in order to let her FINALLY spoil the shit out of her future daughter-in-law.

"No, I don't think any of these will probably fit you," she said with an expert once-over of the more petite, but slightly-curvier Kyoko. "Luckily, I prepared ahead of time for just such an occasion!"

Grabbing Kyoko's hand, she dragged her down the hall to a door next to the bedroom Kyoko had been using and threw it open to reveal another closet. It wasn't as big as Julie's (and only had one window) but Kyoko still probably could have done three of Momiji's back handsprings in a row there with room to spare (something she tried out months later to Julie's utter delight when they were both home with nothing to do).

And it was full. Clothing of all colors, shapes, and styles was neatly packed onto every rack, hook and shelf. Accessories from sunglasses to belts glittered in the recessed lighting through clear plastic drawer fronts and the entire back third of the closet was lined in full shoe racks. It was like a dress-up wonderland. Kyoko's eyes went starry.

"These are for you. They're all in your size-I got your measurements from The Kidnapper before you came-and I won't hear of you refusing them or taking them back. If I am a fairy queen (Kyoko had accidentally called her that aloud one night over dinner to her great amusement), then I am also your fairy godmother. And, as a fairy godmother, 90% of my job is making sure you're dressed for every occasion! As an actress, you're judged first and foremost by your appearance." Julie's voice shifted from gleeful to wise and Kyoko knew another golden nugget of show biz knowledge was about to be imparted.

"It can push a director to choose you if he's wavering, it can shut up a prima donna who is making your work life difficult, and most importantly, it can give you the confidence to do anything you need to in order to fulfill your job or your own personal happiness. You're going to be here for months, right in the heart of everything, with the highest references I can recommend." Julie framed her face with her hands and blinked her eyelashes facetiously to imply that of course she meant herself, switching back to fun-frivolous Julie in a heartbeat. "It would be a crime for you to lose everything giving you the advantage because you won't accept a gift that doesn't even begin to dent my wallet. Please don't disappoint me by refusing such a useful gift, Kyoko…" she coaxed.

Kyoko was simultaneously dazzled and devastated. She wanted to accept so badly, but the thought of how much money Julie had thrown away on her made her want to throw up. It had to be ten times her meal budget for a year!

(It was actually more like a hundred times...but it was probably better she didn't know that.)

"But…" she began, watching Julie's face morph into a stunning version of Corn/Cain's abandoned puppy-dog eyes. Without thinking, she burst out, "Oh come on! Can you all do that?! How is anyone supposed to say no to anything with you three around!?"

Kyoko covered her eyes with her hands to keep from being tempted...

But...Julie had a good point. As Kyoko was finding, she usually did.

Kyoko had borrowed clothing from LME to develop most of her characters. Young Kuon, Natsu...even Momiji had needed the swords and headband to set her characterization apart from the rest.

Still… "Fairy godmothers usually only work their magic for one night. It would take me a lifetime to wear all of this. And I could never pay you back..." she argued, still with her eyes covered.

"Well, they're already bought, so you'll just have to pay me back by wearing them. Just put your arms in all the sleeves eventually and it will all be worth it," Julie coaxed, pulling Kyoko's hands gently down. Kyoko's tongue was tied for a moment as she remembered Cain saying something super similar when she hadn't wanted to keep the clothes he gave her either. More and more, it was becoming obvious that Kuon took after his mother in a number of ways. "Plus, I think it's up to the fairy godmother's discretion just how much magic they wish to bestow, don't you?"

Kyoko swallowed her pride, feeling her will begin to crumble. "I suppose so…"

Julie could see she almost had her, so she hammered the final nail in the coffin of Kyoko's frumpy discount days with one sound, emotional stroke.

"Darling, what's most important is this: You're an unmarried, emancipated, beautiful young woman who is just as entitled to enjoy herself at a party as her boyfriend, whether he's asked you to come or not. And because of that, you can go wearing anything you want, even something you brought with you... But, if you let me spoil you tonight, Ren will never leave you behind again. He won't even be able to take his eyes off you while you're there." Not that he takes them off her anyway, Julie added to herself. "And don't you want to show him just what happens when he leaves the women who care about him behind?"

Julie's voice leaked a little bit of pain, letting Kyoko know that this act of defiance was about more than just Ren's refusal that night. Kuon had cut his mother deeply by leaving without so much as a goodbye.

And that was all she wrote for Kyoko's pride.

Julie and Kyoko's grudges popped out in mutual vengeance and high-fived.

"Did you have a particular dress in mind?" Kyoko asked with a dark smirk.

Kuu, peeking his head through the door to see what the girls were laughing about together (in a closet of all places), blanched at the equally devious looks on their faces and quietly backed away.

God help whoever pissed the two of them off, he thought to himself.

---

If the Hollywood elite enjoyed anything as a whole, it was novelty. A new rising star, a fresh idea; really anything new and exciting was enough to send them into a whirlwind of enthusiasm. If the fresh piece of meat was incredibly good looking and knew how to work a room, all the better.

Naturally, Ren Tsuruga was in his element. His anxiety over whether he would be discovered was quickly dampened as he was reintroduced to a dozen people who'd worked with Kuon and not a single one gave him a suspicious look. The composed Ren was so completely opposite from the cheerful, volatile, inexperienced Kuon (and it had been so long, in a crowd of constantly rotating young faces), that he doubted his past self would have even recognized him as the smooth, Japanese leading man.

So Ren did what he had spent years perfecting in Japan and built up the mystery around himself, while politely sidestepping anything concrete about his past. He let his true character out a little more, making more dry, witty comments, and drinking a little more than he would in Japan, because that was what was expected, but otherwise, conducting business as usual. And it was paying off. Already, he had been introduced to six new contacts who wanted him to schedule a meeting with their office before he left the country. They all had something 'just perfect' for him and 'wouldn't forgive him' if he refused their offer. He smiled equally to them all and carefully tucked away their business cards, but made a mental note of the ones who spent a little too long lingering on everything from his neck down. He'd experience those kinds of meetings more than once as a child actor and he thought it would serve him better not to break any more noses or limbs if he could help it. His father had insisted he learn martial arts for just that reason, but it was all around better for Ren's image to avoid such altercations. With everyone else, he just had to keep calm, stay cool, and show that he was capable of fitting in with the elite crowd.

However, while Ren was having what could safely be called an enjoyable time, Kuon was miserable.

Ren was careful not to alienate any of the women who approached him, recognizing more than he expected as A-listers, and behaving as a perfect gentleman to all, glossing over more than one offer to join someone in a secluded room upstairs.

Kuon wanted to tell them off, jump in the candlelit pool to rinse off the cloud of perfume that had started to stick to him, and go home to snuggle with Kyoko.

As the night drew on, Ren slowly lost ground to his former self. Kuon's arguments in his head were sounding more and more logical until he was just about ready to call it a night...

...and then she walked in.

Well, technically both of them walked in, but at the time, he only saw her.

Even more than usual, he couldn't tear his eyes away.

The problem was that neither could any other person in the room. It actually went silent for a moment (helped out by a break between songs in the background music), something he'd never seen happen before as she glided into the room wearing what looked like liquid gold with a plunging neckline so low he swore he could see the outline of one of her ribs. Her short chestnut hair had been colored to a fiery, almost unnatural red, and the dark makeup around her eyes made them pop like they were made of more genuine gold than her luscious dress.

However, what made him feel like he was suddenly drowning was the complete lack of jewelry protecting her vulnerable throat. His fingers floated up subconsciously to touch the fading bruise beneath his shirt she'd left over his heart before they'd left Japan.

She wasn't wearing his necklace.

Kyoko. Wasn't. Wearing. His. Fucking. Necklace.

Kyoko's casually roaming eyes found him immediately in the crowd, a smile curling up her mouth but not quite reaching her eyes. They glowed with a different emotion entirely.

It was that moment that he realized it had been a huge mistake leaving her behind with his mother. Not one he would soon be repeating. There was a flicker in her eyes that reminded him entirely too much of when they had met...and she had been consumed by thoughts of revenge on him.

It shook him to his core.

But, before he could take even a single step towards her, a dozen people crowded in between them, eager to meet the ingenue arriving with Julie Hizuri of all people (who he then realized stood just as stunningly beside her).

The host was overjoyed. Having a Hizuri at your party guaranteed a bump in your social status, no matter how well your last movie had done, and Julie was pickier in her company than even Kuu. The man, wearing a custom-made purple velvet suit, rushed into the crowd and quickly disappeared in the chaos.

Ren ground his teeth at the mess of people between him and his goal and strode forward intent on physically pulling them off of her if necessary when the crowd parted on its own, revealing Kyoko and velvet-clad host of the party arm-in-arm and chatting away like they were old friends. The middle-aged, yet still extremely handsome, producer proudly led her away into another room, barking orders to clear the way every time someone stood in his way. Ren pursued them, his steps stumbling to a stop only when she locked eyes intentionally with him again before gliding elegantly out of the room.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, I hear," said a familiar female voice over his left shoulder. "I wonder what schmuck made the mistake of scorning a knock-out like her…"

Ren unclenched his jaw and turned the brightest smile he could muster onto his mother.

"Why Ms. Hizuri, to what do I owe this honor?" he said pleasantly, aware that the pair of them were drawing attention. It wasn't every man who could stand eye to eye with a supermodel, even in LA. Thank God he was wearing his contacts or his cover would have been blown with just a glance at the two of them together.

"My dear friend Kyoko over there," she gestured to the doorway flippantly, playing along. "Informs me that you are an important 'senpai' of hers...Ren Tsuruga I believe?"

"Yes. Miss Mogami and I have worked together on several occasions. She is a dear friend." Ren almost choked on his words as he mimicked his mother. Everyone in Hollywood was a 'dear friend' to everyone else. He'd forgotten how fake it all was. Not that he, living his life as a completely different person for the last five years, had any room to complain. "I never would have imagined I'd see her at this kind of party though. You should keep a close eye on her. She's still quite young and more than a little naive."

Julie raised her brows. "Oh? She seems to handle herself pretty well. I, of course, gave her the rundown of what to expect so she wouldn't be caught completely unawares, but I think with a little preparation she'll do just fine navigating the crowd on her own. After all, I was younger than she was when I made my debut all alone."

"And remember how well that went…" Ren muttered under his breath for only Julie to hear.

She flinched just slightly but her charming society smile didn't waver.

"True, I didn't have the benefit of a veteran born to the business to watch out for me. Luckily she has...you."

It was Ren's turn to flinch. He didn't need a reminder that leaving Kyoko behind had been a selfish decision. Or that it had probably been the wrong one. That was becoming abundantly clear.

Suddenly a huge cheer went up from the room Kyoko had entered only minutes before.

Julie grinned. "Oh, looky there, she seems to be fitting right in without anyone's supervision."

Kuon couldn't take it anymore. He broke character to glare for just a moment at his mother, before striding imperiously through the crowd and into the other room...

...where he found a man groaning on the floor with Kyoko standing over him, one platform high heel to his throat. On her face was the Maid-Spirit expression she had used on Ren countless times to hide her true emotions. Even across the room, he could hear her voice clearly as she spoke with perfect American English diction.

"I'm terribly sorry, but I'm just not interested, as I told you the first time. I see that you've had a little too much to drink, so I'll forgive you this time." Then, entrancing everyone in the room, she removed her foot and slowly kneeled into seiza without ever once touching the floor with her hands or curving her perfectly straight spine. Her elegant motions immediately made the women dressed to the nines around her look cheap.

Then, Natsu took over her face and malice rolled off of her in waves making half the room shiver. "You see, I'm feeling generous tonight because I heard a friend of mine is in town and also at this party. We have unfinished business, you see, and I would hate for your screams of pain to ruin the rest of the event for him and all of these truly lovely people. So," Kyoko reached down and grabbed the man's phone, already unlocked in his limp hand. She casually deleted the pictures he'd taken of her butt (and several other girls') and scrolled through his apps to request a Lyft. "How about I just contact someone to come get you?"

Then, as gracefully as she had kneeled, she rose to her feet again. Raising his phone up in the air, she adopted a playful look and waved it around at the crowd. "Anyone else need a ride home?"

A group of girls standing nearby grinned and waved at her. She tossed them the phone.

The man on the ground started to protest and get up. "What the hell, you bitch! Give me back my phone!"

Ren started forward on the word bitch, but found his interference wasn't necessary as Kyoko planted her stiletto on his face this time. The man froze, but didn't miss the chance to angle his eyes up her mini-skirt.

"Didn't your mother teach you any manners?" Kyoko addressed her next line charmingly to the whole crowd as she leaned the sharp point of her heel into his flawless cheek before lifting it away, turning back to Ren. "If you're going to photograph a girl without her permission, at least offer her a ride home for the trouble!"

The crowd chuckled and many of the women nodded or shouted out agreement. Kyoko waved them off with a confident smile as she closed the distance between herself and Ren. Her stride changed and slowed as she got closer, like a lioness cornering her kill.

"Oh hello, it's been a while. I didn't expect to see you here! I had totally forgotten you were visiting this part of the world too until Julie mentioned she had seen you," Kyoko lied smoothly through her glossy lips with a sing-song tone he associated with girls much stupider than his girlfriend.

"Likewise. It's a pleasure as always. And I see you've been busy. Do you need a hand taking out the trash?" Ren said pleasantly with a radiant smile aimed to disarm her. It didn't, but a couple of women behind her caught the smile dead on and almost fainted.

Kyoko's grudges popped out as they sensed his anger. She hazarded a quick glance at Julie and saw her own apparitions stretching towards them to bask in his dark glow. It put a little smile on her face, despite the menacing aura she could feel from Ren.

"No, thank you, I think I managed the garbage pretty well on my own."

"True. But a young woman such as yourself should never have been put in such a situation in the first place," he replied with a bit of annoyance. "As your current guardian, Miss Hizuri should have chosen more appropriate entertainment for the night. And perhaps attire that was a little more conservative."

Kyoko's smile dropped, but her shoulders pulled back in defiance, if anything accentuating the amount of skin she was showing even further.

"What, Tsuruga-san? You don't think I deserve to have fun at a party just as much as you do?" Kyoko didn't need to act like she was annoyed, she just let her true feelings show. A little bit of pain slipped into her tone without her intending it to. The condescension behind his scolding words stung. "How unexpected of you. If you think I'm not mature enough to be here, or to dress appropriately for the occasion, then I'll find someone else to spend the evening with. I would hate to impose upon you to babysit. If you'll just excuse m-"

Ren's hand shot out and grabbed hers, keeping her from walking away. His mind flashed painfully back to the last time she had told him she was going to find someone else to 'practice' on. Setsu had been kidding. He wasn't entirely sure Kyoko was. He could tell she was really pissed at him.

He casually surveyed the room before he switched to Japanese, fairly confident that no one around them would understand. He plastered his polite smile in place as though they were discussing nothing more interesting than the weather. "Kyoko, you know that's not how it is."

Kyoko responded in the same language, turning and letting out a bubble of laughter as though he'd told the most amusing joke before smiling ironically up at him. "Do I? Because you sure as hell don't look happy to see me. It really hurt that you didn't want me to come with you, you know. Granted, I probably would have just wallowed in my misery at home if Julie hadn't pointed out that I'm not beholden to anyone and can do whatever I want."

"I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings, but a party like this is more dangerous for a single young woman than you could possibly understand," Ren said pleasantly, only his eyes showing how serious he was as he tucked a strand of her brightly colored hair behind an ear hung with what looked like a very real, very expensive yellow diamond earring. He wondered what his mother had done to get her to accept them. Maybe Kyoko didn't know they were real. Normally she'd be too afraid to wear something that cost so much. "I was just protecting you. I told you before, I just didn't have time to keep an eye on you. I'm here for work."

Again, Kyoko laughed, this time with an edge to it. "Yeah, like that's the only reason you didn't want me to come. I'm not a child, Ren. I don't need a babysitter. In just a few more days, you're going to be back in Japan and I'll be here all on my own. Do you think I don't know when not to put myself in a dangerous situation by now? Do you think I learned nothing from Karuizawa or the incident back in April? I wanted you beside me at my first industry party precisely because I thought I wouldn't feel safe without you. But, that doesn't mean I need you hovering over me every second. Honestly, it doesn't seem so bad now. As long as I stay in the public areas and make my intentions crystal clear, there isn't all that much danger. Plus, your mother brought along a bodyguard. He's waiting right outside the front door. All I have to do is hit the panic button in my purse and he'll come running." Her pleasant expression twisted with just a hint of wistfulness. Considering how cheerful they were pretending to be, it was almost like openly crying to Ren's trained eyes. "I wish you would have just trusted me. I wanted to spend as much time together as we can before we have to be apart. But I guess I'm just too embarrassing to be assoc-"

"Excuse me," came a polite English interjection over her shoulder.

The voice belonged to an extremely good looking man, around Ren's age, holding an unopened wine spritzer and a beer. "I hate to interrupt your conversation, but I noticed that no one offered you a drink. I thought I would remedy that immediately and make sure we retrieve the bad impression you must have of us after that unforgivable incident." The confident blond positioned himself comfortably triangular to them, just shy of openly cornering Ren out of the conversation, and popped the bottle open with an opener on his Lamborghini keyring. He held it out to Kyoko with a charming smile.

Ren answered with a smile before Kyoko could do more than open her mouth. "Thank you for the gesture, but she's still underage."

Kyoko's mouth snapped closed in an angry line. She had been about to say exactly that and refuse, but something about the way he spoke for her really pissed her off. Kuon's Kyoko didn't like being handled. Especially in front of people she could be working with in the near future. So instead, she reached out and took the bottle with a flirty grin, her eyes never leaving Ren's.

"Well, true, but one won't really hurt, right?" Kyoko elegantly tipped the fizzy liquid into her mouth and let it slide down her throat. It wasn't as sweet as she was expecting, but it wasn't unpleasant either...like unsweetened cranberry juice or flavored seltzer water. And much, much less alcoholic than the sake she'd been required to taste and recommend when she worked for the Fuwas. Best of all, the look on Ren's face was priceless. He was clearly speechless. Maybe this would teach him a valuable lesson: just because she preferred to avoid something, it didn't mean she had never tried it. Who else would Sho have gotten to sneak him and his friends booze from the ryokan's liquor cabinet in middle school? Alcohol didn't scare her, she just thought breaking the law was wrong and wasn't particularly fond of it.

"I won't tell if you won't!" the smug competition for her attention replied smugly. "Would you like to d-"

It didn't take Ren long to recover from his shock. "No, she would not."

The bleach-blonde, muscle-bound B-list actor gave him an annoyed look that clearly told him to get a clue already. "I think the young lady can choose for herself."

Kyoko glared up at Ren and took another sip of her drink. "Yeah. I can. Maybe you shouldn't assume you know everyth-"

Kyoko choked on her words as the Emperor of the Night burst into existence in front of her.

Ren's hand buried itself in her hair as he drew her onto the tips of her toes and bent slightly to capture her lips. He was so fucking done with this superficial party, and schmoozing these people, and pretending he barely knew his own fucking girlfriend. He just wanted to do whatever he fucking wanted for once, especially since Kyoko was apparently doing just that.

And what he wanted was to show Kyoko just how much he missed her every minute she wasn't by his side. And that he was sorry for being an overprotective ass. And that he loved her. And that he was scared shitless someone would steal her away while they were half a world apart. None of which he could just say to her right now in front of all these people who weren't supposed to know they were even dating.

He poured everything he had into the kiss, feeling Kyoko lean against him and grab onto his arm for support. She let loose a small whimper and he pulled back, letting her fall back onto her heels.

Ren didn't know if he managed to convey everything he intended, but Kyoko's eyes were certainly dazed enough to be on the right track.

He did have to say, it was lovely having their usual foot of height difference reduced to a mere six inches. Her lips were so much more accessible...

"Well? What'll it be then?" he murmured in English, for the benefit of their disgruntled audience. "Your choice."

"That isn't fair…" she replied quietly in Japanese, her cheeks heating up as a blush painted its way up her face. Even Kuon's Kyoko couldn't remain stoic after being kissed by the Emperor in public. She took another sip from the bottle, hoping it would calm her nerves and started to remove her hand from his bicep.

The Emperor smiled slyly and smoothly pulled her body snuggly against his from their knees to their hips. Kyoko's grip tightened to maintain her balance, but she didn't try to push away. She was completely captured in his spell.

"I never said I'd fight fair. I'm really not as good a person as you insist on believing I am," he replied in the same language, nipping her ear with his teeth as he leveled a glare at the man who had tried to take what was his. Then he took the bottle from her hand and tipped the remaining liquid into his own mouth, setting the empty vessel on a nearby table.

The Californian would-be-Casanova lifted his hands in a universal sign of surrender and turned to look for a way to spend his evening that wouldn't result in the need to call his plastic surgeon in the morning.

"Tsuruga-san…!"

Kyoko's soft squeal against his chest brought his attention back to the petite woman cradled very publicly in his arms. "Yes?"

"I thought you...didn't want to be seen with me like this in public…" she muttered into his collar, trying desperately to ignore what felt like a million eyes staring at them. Now that her persona had broken, she was finding it very difficult to get back into character. It had taken her the entire time getting her makeup and hair done, and a significant amount of righteous anger, to build up enough confidence to confront him like that. Now her pillar of strength lay in rubble somewhere beneath Ren's size 13 Fendi loafers.

Ren sighed, but didn't let her go. "This is why I didn't want you to come. I knew I would do something to blow my cover. Fuck...I can't even bring myself to care right now." He nuzzled her ear fondly. "I can't stay in character at all when you're like this..."

Kyoko waited for him to more fully explain what he meant, but he never did. She pulled her head back, leaning back against the hand that still threaded through her hair so that she could look into his face. What could he possibly mean? She already knew she wasn't beautiful enough to stand beside him without question when he was Tsuruga Ren...that was obvious. But she didn't think her performance had been that terrible. The whole point of this had been to show him that she was capable of being an asset instead of a hindrance. And to, of course, get back at him for leaving her behind. But, maybe she had done something even worse than she thought if he'd been forced to break character to deal with her.

"...when I'm like what?"

Ren's eyes were a storm of fighting emotions that she couldn't decipher. Flashes of the Demon Lord and Emperor crossed his face like lightning. Instead of answering her, he took her hand and led her out onto the second story balcony, escorting her past the smokers lingering apathetically at one end and around the corner to a small area that looked out over the pool area below where guests were mingling in brightly colored gaggles. He found a little deserted alcove in the warm stone, thrown completely into shadow save for a weak reflected glow from the lights shining from the pool, and pushed her against the wall using his entire body. Revisiting what he'd started inside, he pulled her into a scorching kiss full of urgent passion.

Kyoko gasped, allowing his tongue to take over until she hesitantly began to respond, arching her back enough for his hands to slide around her waist and meld her more securely against him.

I thought he was bringing me here to talk. I wasn't expecting this...what if someone sees us?!

Her thoughts became muddled as he bit down on her lower lip and one of his long-fingered hands slid over the fluid drape of her dress until he cupped her breast.

Ren swallowed a groan when he realized the perky chest under his fingers wasn't receiving support of any kind (which probably should have been obvious from her neckline but had not fully occurred to him until that moment). Her nipple pebbled against his palm and he felt her body shiver.

Kyoko panted into Ren's mouth as he moved his hand over her, using the friction of the fabric to increase her sensitivity. She was unable to keep a small hum of pleasure from escaping her as moisture gathered between her legs. Her thighs clenched tightly together in response.

Ren's body reacted accordingly to the hot curves in his hands, Kyoko's breath catching at the growing hardness pressed against her stomach as his hand squeezed her a little more roughly. Breaking away from his kiss, she gasped for breath. Ren just moved down to her neck, marking out the path to her cleavage with kisses.

"Ren...we shouldn't be...I mean...you…" Kyoko tried to remember what she started to say as fuzzy warmth that had nothing to do with the perfect balmy weather or her alcoholic beverage tingled out to the tips of her fingers. It felt like what she had been saying was important. "You didn't answer the...question. What did I do wrong...to make you lose control of your character?"

Ren nipped the inside swell of one of her breasts through the open neckline he had been cursing since she walked in and traced a hand down her leg to just above her bare knee before he stilled, taking in her question.

"What did you do...wrong?"

Kyoko swallowed hard, trying to clear her mind of the sensation of his impossibly large hand almost entirely circling the back of her thigh and creeping upward. "Yes. What were you so afraid of me doing that you didn't want me to come? I thought I did okay dressing and acting the part...but you still got angry that I'm here and broke Ren's character, so I must have done something wrong…unless you really just didn't want to see me..."

Kuon let out a disbelieving, humorless laugh and rested his forehead at the crook of her neck and shoulder. "You have got to be kidding. How can you possibly not know what you're doing to me?"

Kyoko felt tears prick the back of her eyes. How was she supposed to know if he didn't tell her? Didn't he understand how hard she was trying? Her already wavering confidence plummeted, along with the little naughty part of her that was enjoying his exploration of her body. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm still not worthy of being with you after all."

Kuon's head shot up so he could see her face, his hand tightening around her leg when he saw her eyes glimmer in the dim light.

"Seriously?! Kyoko you're driving me crazy here, and you really have no idea how amazing that is? You know, I once had an internationally renowned supermodel show up naked and uninvited in my hotel room and it didn't come close to making me break character as Ren. You on the other hand... Everything about you is so fucking hot right now that every man in that room, including me, couldn't think about anything but fucking you! And it's not just how you look, it's everything about you! It's a struggle to keep my hands off you when you're just being your usual, sweet and slightly insane self, but when you bring on the confidence? Just...fuuuuck. I can't seem to remember that I'm not allowed to touch you the way that I want to. Or that I'm not supposed to make it clear to everyone that you're already, somehow, miraculously mine." He growled out the last word, sending vibrations through her.

Without any warning he used his grip just above her knee to hitch her leg up over his hip and lift her off the ground. Kyoko squeaked and lifted her other leg naturally in response, wrapping them around his waist and her arms around his neck to keep herself from falling. Kuon mentally scoffed at the very idea that he would let her fall, but relished the feeling of her strong legs wrapped around him all the same. Especially when her tight skirt rode all the way up and off her thighs.

"So...you're not embarrassed by me?" she asked, her eyes pleading with him to say no.

Kuon cradled her head in one hand so he could keep her eyes directly trained on his as he spoke as sincerely as he could.

"I could never be, and have never been, embarrassed to be seen with you, no matter where I am, or what you're wearing. You're not inadequate. You're gorgeous, and kind, and funny, and loving, and anyone who gets to know you can't resist the incredible magnetism you have. I'm counting the fucking days until we can stop sneaking around and everyone knows that we're together!" He huffed out a breath and looked away, his smile crumpling into a frown.

"But if something were to happen to you...do you have any idea what that would do to me? I would fucking lose it. I almost killed someone just for pushing you to the ground, and that was while we were on a job! Do you really want to see what I would do if someone forced themselves on you? I don't. It scares the shit out of me." The hand on the back of her head slid around to caress her cheek.

"You have to be more careful! Did it even occur to you that the entire time you had that guy pinned to the floor, he could probably see right up your skirt? It didn't, did it? You're like an oblivious time bomb of sexual temptation that starts ticking at the most inopportune times! And one of these times, I'm not going to be there to make sure everyone else keeps their hands off of you like they fucking well should! It will be ten times worse than Karuizawa or what happened with that bastard at LME. One of these times it's not going to be a roomful of polite, comparatively timid Japanese men who secretly worship you, but one full of aggressive, self-centered American celebrities who think you're just acting coy. And that's when something unforgivable is going to happen to you before you get the chance to so much as touch that panic button." He leaned his forehead against hers and looked up into her shocked eyes with as serious an expression as he could muster, considering he still couldn't get his mind to stop thinking about taking her right then and there, against the side of a random house in the middle of a sleazy party.

Something was seriously fucking wrong with him on a basic level. He sincerely prayed she never figured that out.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "This is all my fault."

"No, it's not," he snapped, pulling his head back with his eyebrows pulling downward. After that display inside, she was just going to go all meek and apologetic on him? Even with her 180 mood swings, that was hard to believe.

Kyoko's brow furrowed. "But you're mad at me. And you're right. You're almost always rig-"

"No, I'm not. Dammit Kyoko, you have got to quit putting me on a pedestal. I fucked up tonight. If I had just taken you with me, and treated you like the woman you are, none of this would have happened. Aren't you mad at me? Isn't that why you showed up like this wearing half-a-dress in the first place?"

"Of course I am, you idiot!" Kyoko snapped back quietly, avoiding his eyes and ignoring his comment about her dress. It was more revealing than what she usually wore, but she'd seen others at the party wearing way less. Plus, she trusted Julie's fashion advice implicitly. "I expect a very sincere and extensive apology from you for that. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't apologize for what I did either." Her hand went to her throat. "And I broke my promise. I'm sorry I took it off. Julie said it didn't go with the dress and-"

"Of course she did," Kuon growled through his teeth. "You know, my mother isn't right 100% of the time either, Kyoko."

Kyoko tipped her head sideways in confusion. "Of course she isn't. I know that. But I also didn't think it was a good idea to show it off in case someone here recognized it. It was such a big deal back home when you quit wearing it!"

The gossip and tabloid speculation over what happened to his necklace still hadn't fully died down when they left. Yashiro and Lory had been asking him to go to an interview about it for months, but he refused every one.

He didn't want to lie about what giving that to her had meant to him.

He looked at her innocent eyes, seemingly unaware of her current position wrapped around him. She looked totally carefree, like she sat that way all the time, her arms loosely wrapped around his neck and playing with his hair. The thought of her being forced into a position like that with some other man made him feel like his mother had burnt a whole chicken to a crisp and was force feeding it to him. "I don't fucking care. Wear it anyway."

She pouted. "But-"

"If it's between you getting hurt and our relationship going public it's not even a question. Just wear it please."

"Okay," she replied meekly. "But it's not like it will be as effective over here. It's not like Ren's that famous internationally yet."

"Yeah. I know. I'm handling it, okay?" Kuon made a mental note to check with his dad about the substitute they'd come up with.

"How?"

"Don't worry about it." Kuon leaned forward and kissed her neck. "There are much more pleasant things I'd rather be doing right now with you than discussing this."

He felt Kyoko's skin flush under his lips more than he saw it.

"B-but...R-Ren!" Kyoko's hesitant voice snapped when he tried to nudge her dress off her breast with his nose.

Despite the thin, silky nature of the fabric, it stayed mysteriously in place. What deal with the devil had she made to make that happen?

"Sssssh, do you want someone to hear us? What the hell did you stick this on here with? Glue?" He freed the hand supporting her neck and gave the fabric a gentle tug. It stubbornly remained in place.

"Fashion tape actuall-OW!" Kyoko squeaked as he gave a decided pull away from her skin and the tape peeled painfully off like a clear, double-sided band-aid. "Hey! That stuff is really hard to get re-stuck after you pull it o-hoooooly cannoli…" Kyoko couldn't remember what she was saying as Ren sucked hard on her newly exposed bud. "That feels…"

She'd never been this vocal with him before. Maybe it was the alcohol. He wanted to hear more. He smiled against her skin and nipped lightly with his teeth

"Ah! That feels...so amazing…" Kyoko's thighs clenched around his waist and her hands greedily pulled his head closer. He hummed around her and pushed her more securely against the wall in front of him in response. "But...what if...oh GAWD, that feels...so...NO, what if...someone sees...us? We should...stop…?"

Kuon lifted his head and looked her in the eyes. "Do you want to stop?"

Kyoko felt her insides clench at the sultry look on his face, lips still glistening and slightly red from kissing her. It was like the Emperor of the Night...but younger...purer...

She hesitated answering, caught up in the intense vibes he was emitting. Whatever else she couldn't quite believe about his feelings for her, there was no denying that he definitely wanted her.

It was a thrilling piece of knowledge to have.

Kuon watched her patiently, looking for the slightest indication that she wasn't enjoying herself. He didn't want her to jump away from him in fear again. But he also didn't want to stop touching her. Every synapse in his brain was firing together with one, hot, wet, goal in mind.

Kyoko opened her mouth to answer but couldn't seem to form words as she gazed into his eyes. With a sexy smirk, Kuon teased her.

"Do you need me to repeat the question?" With her securely pinned to the wall with his body, he let his fingers slide slowly up her thighs, circling around with one finger to stroke the silken edge of her underwear.

It was damp to the touch.

He almost took her right then and there.

Which is when he realized that she was absolutely right and it was completely insane to be doing what they were doing where they were doing it.

Kyoko shivered at his touch. "Maybe…" she breathed.

It took Kuon a whole ten seconds to realize she was referring to needing the question repeated and not saying that "maybe" he should just fuck her senseless. Shaking his head to try to clear it, he mentally drew back, forcibly locking his lust securely away again and letting his Ren persona drift back into place. He reluctantly withdrew his fingers and slid his hands back to her knees where he carefully pried them off his waist.

It took Kyoko a moment to catch on, but she obediently tried to find her footing as he lowered her back to solid ground. Embarrassingly, she wasn't able to stand at first. Her legs couldn't stop shaking. She kept her arms around his neck, dragging him down with her as she desperately tried to stand on her own.

"We should stop," he whispered.

"That wasn't a question…" she whispered back cheekily, still riding a little giddy from the desire rolling off of him in waves. It was like a crazy adolescent sex dream come true. He really, REALLY wanted her. Eighth Wonder of the World, Natural-Disaster-level sex god, Tsuruga Ren, wanted her.

Julie had been right again...clothes really could make all the difference.

"No, it wasn't," he said seriously, breathing hard through his nose as he closed his eyes and concentrated on getting 'little Kuon' to give up on the idea that he was gonna meet 'little Kyoko' anytime that night. He backed up a step and braced his hands on the wall on either side of her.

"Okay," she replied, seeing the hard set of his shoulders as he towered above her. He looked like he was in pain. She carefully removed her arms from his neck, thankful that her legs didn't buckle, and self-consciously tugged down her skirt until it lay smoothly over her thighs again. Then she tried her best to stick her top back in place with the less-than-sticky tape that was left. "Are...you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Ren groaned, thinking of how Kyoko's ability to master everything almost instantly would factor into a blowjob, and had to start the whole process over again. "Please, dear God, don't ask me that again. You are nowhere near ready for me to take you up on that offer."

Kyoko turned red from head to toe as she realized just what she had implied and squirmed against the wall, doing her best not to touch any part of him.

"Yep! Gotcha! Please carry on without my help!" she squeaked out.

Peeking at her through one cracked eyelid, he couldn't help but smile, dropping one of his arms. "Actually, if you wouldn't mind stepping away for a minute, this would probably be easier if you weren't still within touching distance."

"Roger!" she squawked and hastily took several steps away, grabbing her little clutch where she'd dropped it at some point and turning her back to him. He watched her go and sighed, closing his eyes again.

"Um, Ren?"

"Yes?" he replied to Kyoko's whispered inquiry somewhat desperately. She was not making this any easier. His fingers curled in and he felt her dampness from his fingertip transfer to his palm.

His hands clenched into tight fists before they could make a grab for her.

"Your moth-um, I mean, Julie-san is coming this way…"

Aaaaaaand, instant boner killer.

Ren's head shot up with wide eyes and he stepped backward just until he could see around the edge of the wall where Kyoko was looking. Sure enough, his mother was casually making her way towards them, stopping to talk to a couple of people along the way. Hastily, he pulled Kyoko back into the shadows and glanced over her attire. Everything was mostly back in place except for her hair and her lipstick. With a thumb, he cleaned up the edge of her lip tint as best he could while his other hand smoothed her hair back to an approximation of her earlier style.

Kyoko caught on quickly and smoothed out his hair in return. She noticed his shirt had come untucked from his pants on one side and reached out to tuck it back in for him. At the last minute she thought better of it though, remembering his pained expression. Her skin blossomed red again.

"Um, fix your shirt! I'll go stall for time!" Her first couple of steps were unsteady, but she quickly hit her stride, approaching Julie with confident posture and attitude, if slightly flushed cheeks.

"Hello, darling, "Julie greeted her, breaking away from her last quick conversation to meet her halfway. "Where is that senpai of yours? I figured you'd still be having it out since he dragged you off and I came to see if you needed backup..." Julie took in Kyoko's slightly disheveled hair, pink face, and faded lipstick, but didn't let on that she'd noticed. Internally, she was grinning ear-to-ear. She suspected she'd be getting those grandkids quicker than she'd anticipated. Though hopefully not too soon.

"Oh, yes! We had a good talk and cleared up a lot of things. We were just...admiring the lighting around the pool when I saw you coming and had to come say hi. He should be right behind me!" Kyoko smiled warmly, her eyes glowing with real happiness through her lie.

Because Ren Tsuruga wanted her. Kuon Hizuri wanted her. It was amazing how that little fact, finally cemented in her brain, made the world just a little bit more brilliant.

Julie smiled back, taking Kyoko's hands in hers. "I'm so glad. I would hate for you two to keep fighting over something like this." Her eyes darted away from Kyoko's in order to scrutinize her son, who was approaching them. "Especially when you have so little time together while he's here."

Kyoko's spirits drooped a little. "Yeah. I wish he could just stay here with me…" she said without thinking. Julie raised her eyebrows. It was the first time the whole trip she'd heard Kyoko express a desire for anything without being coaxed or prompted. If the expression on Ren's face was anything to go by, he hadn't heard it before either.

"I wish I could too," Ren whispered into Kyoko's ear from behind, making her jump with embarrassment. "Hello again, Ms. Hizuri. I hope you're enjoying yourself."

"I am. Though not as much, I suspect, as you two have been…" Julie said wryly, enjoying making them both squirm a little. "In fact, I think I'm going to call it a night, but I would hate to limit Kyoko's fun to the early bedtime of an old lady like me." No one commented on the fact it was nearly one o'clock in the morning. "Would you mind terribly if I entrusted you with giving her a ride home when she's ready to go? From what Kyoko has told me, you're a very trustworthy person, Mr. Tsuruga."

Ren stiffened and put on a smile to cover his discomfort.

"Of course. I will happily take responsibility for her." He put a hand on the small of Kyoko's back and she fought the urge to shiver at the sudden heat emanating from his palm.

"Lovely," Julie replied, beaming. "Now Kyoko, have yourself a wonderful time and send me a text if you're going to be out past dawn."

"Are you sure?" Kyoko asked, feeling guilty. "I can go home with you now if you're that tired…"

"Don't dream of it, dear. After all, it's not like the magic is going to expire at midnight without me," Julie finished with a wink.

Ren quirked an eyebrow. Isn't it already past midnight?

Kyoko grinned broadly back. "Yes, ma'am."

Ren looked curiously back and forth between their faces, slightly jealous that his mother seemed to have more inside jokes and shared secrets with his girlfriend than he did. Both Kyoko and Julie had a jealous little grudge pop out in response, which only made them smile wider.

"Well, then shall we head back in?" he asked Kyoko, applying just the slightest amount of pressure to his hand to coax her into stepping forward and away from his mother.

"Yes! Thank you so much for bringing me, Julie. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your night!" Kyoko started to walk off with Ren, but at the last minute Julie shot out a slender arm to grab her hand.

"Wait! I almost forgot, let's get a picture together!" She held out her phone. "Would you mind, Mr. Tsuruga?"

Ren hid his confusion, taking the phone smoothly from her. "Of course." Couldn't they just get pictures together at home?

Kyoko and Julie posed together against the balcony railing, arms around each other's waists, naturally turning to get their best angles. Ren didn't even have to count down as they naturally froze in place with dazzling smiles. He wondered how long it would be before Kyoko was dazzling the modeling world as much as she had the acting one. She was too short for runway work, but if she didn't have an advertising deal signed with a major company before the year was up, he'd be greatly surprised. Especially with his mother pulling the strings for her.

"Oh Mr. Tsuruga, you have such long arms, I bet you never have trouble taking selfies. Why don't you get in here with us? The only thing we're lacking is someone tall, dark, and handsome to really set off our ivory skin." Julie's eyes sparkled with humor as Ren froze in surprise for a moment.

"Of course. But we should probably duck a bit or Miss Mogami won't make it in the frame," he joked dryly.

"Oh, yes, you're absolutely right!" Julie agreed, bending her knees slightly.

"Hey!" Kyoko huffed. "I'm not that short! And I've got heels on!"

"I think I'll lean down just the same," Ren murmured in her ear, having come to stand on the far side of Kyoko and obediently holding out the camera until they were centered on the screen. "Okay, everybody ready?"

Ren took a couple and started to lower the camera when Julie objected.

"Just one more! Hizuri style!" she whispered.

Ren flinched, but eventually nodded to his mother. "Quickly."

Kyoko didn't have time to be confused as Ren and Julie quickly leaned down and kissed either side of her cheeks, shocking her eyes wide just in time for Ren to get the shot.

"W-what?!" Kyoko sputtered. "What was that?"

"Hizuri tradition," Julie said mysteriously, grabbing her phone from Ren to grin down at the image. "Welcome to the family." She giggled. "Kuu is going to be so jealous!"

"Then we'll have to take another picture with him." Ren said quietly.

"Yes. We definitely will," Julie's eyes glistened with unshed tears. "But we've got loads of time for that! You kids go enjoy yourselves!" Julie leaned in for a brief hug with Kyoko and whispered in her ear. "In case you need it, I tucked a couple of condoms in your purse. Be safe and have fun!"

Kyoko's face turned an even brighter red than before and Ren's curiosity flared up again.

Neither woman said anything, but Julie's eyes slid Ren's way slyly before she strode gracefully away with a wave over her shoulder.

"What did she say?" Ren's voice was barely above a whisper, but almost raspy. The look his mother had given him reminded him of when he was a kid and she had baked something huge that she couldn't wait to feed him.

Kyoko shook her head. "I'm not telling you," she squeaked and clutched her bag a little tighter. Ren immediately focused-in on her show of weakness and bashful mien.

"Why not?" Ren teased with a devastatingly sexy smile.

Kyoko turned quickly away and started walking for the door into the house, passing a couple of sequin-clad women as they came out. "I think it's better if you don't know...though I sort of understand now how Kuon ended up so wild. His mother is a little too indulgent sometimes…"

Ren opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but didn't get the chance.

"Do you mean Kuon Hizuri?!"

Both Ren and Kyoko froze in place. Kyoko quickly turned to the speaker, one of the women they had passed. "Were you speaking to me?"

The brunette woman in front of her was only a little taller than Kyoko and devastatingly pretty. "Oh, I'm Miranda. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I thought I heard you mention Kuon just now. It's such a unique name, so I was wondering if you were referring to Kuon Hizuri?"

Ren's arm tensed beneath her hand. Kyoko squeezed it in reassurance and smiled warmly at the girl. "I was. The Hizuris were gracious enough to take me in while I'm in the country for work, so I'm pretty well-acquainted with him."

"Wow! Does that mean you've seen him recently?! He just disappeared out of nowhere a few years ago and no one has heard from him since then! Is he back in town?" the other girl gushed. Something about her made Kyoko uncomfortable. Her eyes were a little too bright and awake for the time of night, and she fidgeted constantly.

"No, he's not. I met him when he was in Japan with his father," Kyoko lied smoothly, spinning as much truth as she could into her words. "However, I know he's left Japan since then. Sorry, but how do you know Kuon?"

"Oh, we dated for a while. I was hoping to hook up with him again." The girl looked off to the side with what could have been wistfulness, but off looking like she couldn't get her eyes to focus. "Best sex of my life. He's totally ruined me for normal men, unfortunately."

Kyoko fought down a blush and glanced at Ren, to find him staring, deer-in-the-headlights straight ahead, avoiding her eyes. She pretended that she had just remembered he was still standing there.

"Oh, Tsuruga-san," she said in English. "Can you go ahead and order us some more drinks? I'll be right there." She added in Japanese, "After I'm done handling your ex-girlfriend."

Ren forced his shoulders to relax and tucked a strand of Kyoko's hair behind her ear casually, never turning more towards his ex than a slight profile. "Okay. I'll wait for you by the bar. Thanks for doing this," he replied in Japanese. Then he sauntered away with carefully measured speed. Kyoko turned back to the woman.

"Sorry about that. Talking to everyone at parties like this really makes me thirsty! As far as I know, Kuon is abroad at the moment; he travels quite a bit. I'm sure he'll give me a call in the next couple of weeks and let me know how he is, though. He's always checking up on me."

Miranda bristled. "Oh? Well that doesn't sound like the Kuon I know. Getting him to call first was like pulling teeth. I'm glad to see he has changed his ways." She looked more like she was sucking on pickled plums than glad.

Kyoko smiled sweetly, feeling her tight grasp on her grudges slipping as one floated over to slide around the other girl's neck like a noose. "Oh, well, I'm sure it's a special case. You see, his father and I are very close. At this point I'm practically fam-" Kyoko was conveniently cut off by her phone ringing. She gave Miranda an apologetic expression and dug it out of her bag. "Sorry…oh, speak of the devil!" The name on her screen came up as 'Dad'.

She noticed Miranda gaping openly at her phone and her smile sharpened.

"Oh, excuse me, that's Kuu now. I need to take this." She accepted the call, barely turning her body away from Miranda, to guarantee she heard the whole conversation. "Hey Dad! What are you doing up this late, you should really be getting to bed! Did Julie make it home already?"

"Kyoko! How is the party?! Are you enjoying yourself?"

"I am! Sorry, I can't talk long, I just ran into one of Kuon's old...friends, maybe you remember her. Her name is Miranda?"

Kuu chuckled on the other end of the line. When his son had texted to say Kyoko might need an out from a conversation, he had immediately jumped in to save the day, but it sounded like she had it well in hand.

"Sorry," Kuu said loudly, in order to be overheard. "Can't say that name rings a bell. Julieis on her way, she called from the car and said she can't wait to go out with you again. I'm so glad you two get along so well. Be safe hun, and I'll skip waking you up for breakfast tomorrow so you can get some rest."

"No! You have to wake me up! Making breakfast with you is the best! Plus, we have to perfect our pancake show for when Kuon comes home! You know he said that was the only way he'd ever enjoyed eating pancakes before!" she gushed. What Ren had actually said was that watching them flip pancakes across the kitchen together almost made them look appetizing, but Miranda didn't need to know that.

Miranda's face told her it was the right move though. As she suspected, Kuon hadn't cared enough about any of his exes to actually consume food if they asked him to.

It took every ounce of self-control Kuu had not to burst out laughing. His little girl was really pulling out all the stops. It was fun to hear Kyoko being so possessive of his son. He hadn't been lying, he really didn't remember any of Kuon's exes or friends. They had all dumped him, and as far as Kuu was concerned, anyone who couldn't see how amazing his son was beyond his good looks wasn't worth the gray cells to remember. But he sort of wished he remembered this Miranda girl so he could picture the jealous look that had to be on her face. "Okay, but you also need your beauty sleep. We can't have Japan's rising star with dark bags under her eyes. Let's make it brunch instead. Listen to your father now, and take care of yourself!"

Kyoko sighed. "Fine, brunch it is. We can send Kuon a picture to make him jealous that he's away," she giggled, channeling a little of Natsu's fake good-girl side.

"Yes!" Kuu couldn't help but laugh at the expression Kuon would make if they woke him up with a message about pancakes at the crack of noon after a night out. "That will have him running home in no time. You know how fond he is of you. If it weren't for you, that boy would never come back."

"Oh, Dad, that's not true-oh!" Kyoko looked up at Miranda, pretending to notice she was still there. "Oh, I'm so sorry Miranda! How rude of me! I have to go, Dad. Say goodnight to Julie for me and I'll give you the rundown of the night tomorrow!"

"Of course honey. Be careful and don't lead Ren Tsuruga on too badly. I've got you reserved for my son's future wife after all!" Kuu bellowed, letting out a laugh.

Kyoko blushed and glanced at Miranda as though she hoped she hadn't overheard. "Okay, I really have to go now. Bye!"

"Goodnight sweetheart!"

Kyoko hung up the phone and took her time putting it back in her purse. "Sorry about that...what were we talking about again?"

"Nevermind. I was just curious about Kuon...um, what was your name again?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I don't think I said! I'm Kyoko. This is my first time visiting Hollywood. I'm an actress from Japan, but I'll be here into the new year for a job."

Miranda perked up with the potential to show Kyoko up. "I'm an actress too! I've been acting since I was a kid, so I know all the ropes. If you need any advice, or want me to introduce you to some promoters, I'd be happy to help. Oh, and I get invited to all the best parties. If you need someone to hook you up with anything, I can recommend some very discreet options." She smiled in a sickenly sweet, yet suggestive way.

Everything suddenly clicked for Kyoko. The reason she felt off was because she was high! ON DRUGS! And she'd basically just offered to get Kyoko drugs too! She fought to keep her surprise and disgust from her face. This is the kind of girl Kuon used to date?!

Kyoko kept her poker face but gave the other girl a wide smile. "Uh, I'm more of a clean-living kind of girl. But that's so kind of you! As I said, I'm going to be very busy with my new Netflix series for a while, and after that…I understand Kuon's grandpa has some parts he'd like me to look at, but if I have time I'll have to look you up."

Miranda's mouth fell open in stunned silence. As Kyoko expected, everyone at this party probably knew Kuon's family connections. She felt a little bad for dropping Uncle Tiger's name...but not much.

And if Miranda's face was any indication, her work here was done.

"Sorry to leave so abruptly, but Ren Tsuruga is not someone you keep waiting. I hope I see you again sometime!" Kyoko turned on her heel with a jaunty wave and a spring in her step.

Until she got to the bar, that is, where Ren was surrounded.

By women.

Because of course he was. They hadn't been separated for even ten minutes and already the simpering masses were hanging on his every word. And limb.

At first, Kyoko didn't understand why he didn't employ his usual avoidance tactics (smiling disarmingly and walking away, begging off due to his next appointment, having Yashiro come rescue him, etc...she'd seen him do it a million times) until she realized that all of them involved walking away...which he couldn't do. Because he said he'd wait for her at the bar. The poor guy couldn't even use the excuse that he needed to leave to get a drink, because he was literally holding two in his hands. And he couldn't come back to her, because he didn't want Miranda to recognize him. He was stuck.

Kyoko stifled a little giggle watching his veneer of polite chit-chat at its absolute thinnest, his most charming smile locked into place.

He was in definite need of rescuing. And she was just the girl for the job!

"Tsuruga-san, I'm so sorry to keep you waiting!" she chirped loudly from behind a woman even shorter than herself who had latched onto Ren's arm. "And after you got me a drink and everything. I hope you weren't very inconvenienced."

Ren's eyes lit up when he saw her, and a genuine smile took over his face, causing many of the women to turn and see what had attracted his attention. He shook off the hangers-on and casually steered away the bodies between them. "Ah, Mogami-san. Don't worry, it was hardly any time at all. Excuse me," he said to the crowd of women, flashing a brilliant smile just long enough to stun them so he could make his escape. He handed Kyoko one of the glasses in his hands and put an arm around her waist, pulling her snugly against him like a shiny, golden piece of armor between him and the rabid hoards. "What do you want to do now? Maybe we should go explore the gardens?"

"That sounds lovely, thank you," she replied, subconsciously keeping the women from following them with the grudges that had popped out in response to their sudden bloodlust. Instead she focused on letting Ren guide her downstairs. The party hadn't thinned out much, even at the late (well, early) hour, but it had mellowed. Groups that were standing or dancing before now had found places to sit and kicked off their expensive shoes to cuddle. It amazed Kyoko how touchy-feely everyone was in California, but she was thankful for it-it made it easier for her and Ren to navigate the crowd and find their way out the side door.

The pool, located at the back of the house seemed to be the outside hot spot, because the side patio on the opposite side of the house, which led to an extensive hedged-in garden, was completely deserted. They sighed in unison, looking out over the dark space lit only by the glow from the house lights and the occasional well-placed spotlight.

Kyoko was starting to think rich people would spotlight a pineapple if you left it sitting on their lawn for too long.

"Thanks for the save," Ren commented softly, stepping forward onto the gravel path. Kyoko tried to follow him and nearly fell over, her stilettos immediately disappearing between the tiny stones. Ren caught her at the last minute. "Those are probably not the best shoes for walking outside in. Do you want to go back inside?"

Kyoko shook her head. "No. Just give me a...sec…" she trailed off in frustration as she tried to balance on the toes of one foot to unbuckle one of her shoes. "How the hell do you get these things off?"

Ren laughed and led her into the garden behind a hedge before he went down on one knee in front of her, setting his glass safely off to the side. "Here. Let me. Just hold on to my shoulder."

Kyoko blushed, but didn't argue as she rested her free hand on his broad shoulder, putting as little weight on him as she could. At least, that was her intention. However, she found herself leaning fully on him as he unexpectedly lifted one of her feet off the ground and onto his raised knee. His legs were so long that her dress rode up more than they both expected.

Kyoko hardly noticed, more concerned about falling over.

Ren, to his credit (and for the sake of his sanity), kept his eyes carefully trained on the row of tiny buckles keeping the shoe secured to Kyoko's ankle. He only hazarded a glance upward when her foot came loose, but the view of her upturned face lit by the glow from the house had the shoe falling clumsily from his fingers.

He was suddenly very aware of the position they were in. To anyone in the house, who couldn't see her bottom half behind the hedges, it would look a lot like he was proposing. He smirked.

"Kyoko?"

Startled, Kyoko looked down at him, still balancing on her one high heel as her bare foot slid off his leg and the tip of her toe grazed the gravel. The loving look in his eyes took her breath away as he let Ren's character melt out of him. "Yes?"

Kuon reached up and took her left hand in his, placing a chaste kiss on her ring finger. "Would you please give me your-"

"Kuon! I told you-kyaa!" Kyoko jumped back away from him on instinct, which unfortunately was too much for her already straining ankle. She lost her balance completely and the world around her went into a mad tilt. Kuon sprang into action, diving forward to take the brunt of the fall. They landed side-by-side with a spray of tiny pebbles, Kyoko cradled safely in Kuon's arms.

"-other foot?" he finished with a grin. Kyoko went red and tried to push away.

"You HAVE to stop doing that! We could have really gotten hurt!" she exclaimed, still trying, in vain, to get him to release her.

"Whose fault is that? I was just asking a simple question, you're the one who freaked out and went falling all over the place."

Kyoko glared at him, but stopped pushing futilely against his chest. "You're not a nice man."

Kuon grinned. "That is what I keep telling you. Man, the look on your face was priceless."

Kyoko stuck out her tongue at him and he graciously resisted kissing her into submission, releasing her instead. The garden wouldn't be any more appropriate than the balcony had for continuing what they had started earlier, no matter how much he wanted to. They both sat up and Kuon pulled her still shod foot into his lap to start on the buckles while she brushed off the gravel dust marbled over his once pristine black shirt and slacks.

Kyoko coughed a little, breathing in some of the dust coming off of him, and turned to look for her drink, only to find an empty glass on the ground where she'd dropped it in the fall. She picked it up with a frown.

"Shoot." She coughed again. "Now I really am thirsty," she said with a chuckle that turned into a cough..

Kuon finished the last of the buckles and pulled her shoe away, setting it neatly on the ground next to the other one. Then he grabbed his own glass and offered it to her without thinking. "Here."

"Thanks." Kyoko quickly tilted the glass back and downed it in a couple of gulps. She managed not to keep coughing from the unexpected burn, but her eyes watered at the effort. "W-what was in there?"

Kuon sat back with big eyes as he held her bare foot in limp hands. "Amaretto sour. Sorry, I didn't think you'd gulp it down like that."

"No…" Kyoko cleared her throat so she didn't sound so hoarse. "No, that's my bad. I wasn't paying attention." She rolled her tongue around her mouth as her stomach blossomed with heat from the liquor. "That's actually not bad. I'll have to remember those when I'm old enough to legally drink."

"I was going to ask this earlier, but you've had alcohol before, haven't you?" Kuon asked as he absentmindedly ran his fingers over the foot in his lap, massaging his thumbs into the ball of her foot and rubbing over the red lines her strappy sandals had left behind. "I'll admit, I was pretty surprised."

Kyoko watched him settle comfortably into the rock of the path and mused to herself that he could somehow fit in wherever he ended up. It was one of the many inherent talents she hoped to one day appropriate from him. She hummed an affirmative.

"Mm-hmm. When I worked for the ryokan, we had to be able to recommend a number of different sakes to pair with food for our guests, so we had to taste them. And, of course, I taste tested the signature cocktails I created for the Grateful Party last year." She set Kuon's empty glass next to hers and leaned back on her elbows. "You're really good at that." She groaned as he pressed a little harder with his knuckles into the arch of her foot. "Just one more thing to add to the list. Naturally talented people really are scary."

Kuon chuckled. "This is just because I used to massage my mom's feet after she was in a show. I assure you, it doesn't take long to get it right when Julienna Hizuri is training you in anything. I've had lots of practice. Besides, you're one to talk. I bet you could manage a flawless full body massage on your first try just from seeing me do this." He carefully avoided thinking about being on the receiving end of said full-body rubdown. "It seems like every learning curve is barely a speed bump for you."

"You're wrong. I've just been really lucky to be taught by excellent people," she threw the ball back in his court.

"Even excellent teachers can't mold a talentless student," he parried.

"Not true." She grinned and leaned back on her hands. Kuon basked in how comfortable and casual she was being with him. Maybe it was only the alcohol she'd consumed, but he really hoped it was because she was finally letting her guard down. "I'm no different than any other student who is willing to learn and work hard to achieve her goals."

"Riiiight. So, how long did it take you to learn how to do the back handsprings in that last episode of Lotus in the Mire?" Kuon challenged, revealing that he'd been keeping up with her work, even when he barely had time to eat. True, there were some episodes he had fast forwarded through to get to her parts, but he hadn't missed a moment of her screentime yet.

Kyoko smiled wider and blushed, but kept eye contact. "I don't know...a week?" Kuon's eyebrows went up and his face started to morph into something that clearly said, 'I told you so'. "Or maybe two?" she added hastily. "I don't know. I had to practice it a lot. And I got a ton of help from Yashiro-san and Isharagi-san and all the guys at the training club!"

"It took me a good three months to get that down," Kuon confessed. Kyoko snorted in disbelief.

"Liar."

Kuon shook his head. "Nope. It really took me that long."

Kyoko narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, but how old were you?"

Kuon grinned. "Six?"

"SEE?! It took you three months, but you were barely even a person yet! You're so much more amazing than I am."

"Naw, I think it's much more impressive that you learned to do it so quickly as an adult. I haven't done anything that cool in a while." He set her foot on his thigh and grabbed the other one, furrowing his eyebrows when it was cool to the touch. He'd forgotten how much the sun-warmed ground cooled off at night. Maybe they should try to find somewhere else to sit so she didn't catch a cold after having so much skin exposed to the gravel. Plus, the rocks were kind of sharp.

"You learned to play piano for Dark Moon," Kyoko continued to argue, oblivious to his worries and actually finding the position they were in more than comfortable. "That was incredible and you know it!"

"That was just a couple of songs. And I'm sure I couldn't play it now if my life depended on it. That kind of thing requires constant practice. I'm more of a short-bursts-of-brilliance kind of actor. If I didn't learn to do it as a kid, it leaves my muscle memory almost immediately."

"Still! It's not everyone who can learn to play even one song that well in a month! But fine, then what about the car chase scene! You did it perfectly in one take!"

"Two takes," he reminded her. "And I told you I learned to drive really young. That isn't nearly as impressive as learning to walk like a supermodel in one night." His fingers worked their way up to her calf, finding it hard and tight. He made a mental note to tell his mother to schedule weekly time for her with a masseuse. A female one.

Kyoko ignored his compliment. "Playing BJ then! Your combat skills for that were incredible. And you just got better as the filming went on. Even when the fight scenes weren't fully choreographed, you still nailed them all in one take! It's not just your performance either. You manage to make everyone around you do it perfectly too. That's so much more impressive."

"What, are you telling me that you don't do the same as Momiji?"

"No! When we started filming it took two or three takes on almost all of my scenes. I don't have that kind of skill."

Kuon gave her a suspicious look. "When you started? So, let me guess...by the...second episode, you were getting no NGs for all your scenes, right?"

Kyoko turned her head away and answered in a barely audible mutter, "It wasn't until episode three."

"Ha! I knew it! And you've never had experience with the martial arts or stage combat before, have you?"

"That wasn't because of me! That was just everyone around me getting in the groove. They're just all such great professionals, they needed a few weeks to get warmed up. I was just struggling to keep up!"

"Nope, you're just ridiculously talented."

Kyoko blushed. "I've still got a long way to catch up to you."

"I think you're closer than you think. I'm hardly the pinnacle of acting talent. If I was, I wouldn't have come to Japan in the first place."

"It's only a matter of time. You're unbeatable as Ren."

"Not true, actually. I've never beaten my dad."

"Pfft! Well, yeah. Father is the best."

Kuon's hands stilled on her leg. "Yeah, he really is, isn't he?" he said sadly. Kyoko gasped when she realized what she'd said. She leaned forward, putting a hand over his.

"But that doesn't mean you aren't also the best! It's not like only one of you can be successful. And I know one day you'll surpass even him." Kyoko smiled sweetly at him. "I bet if you fought him now, Father would find it very difficult to beat you, if he even could."

Kuon's heart squeezed in his chest and his fingers mirrored it on her slender leg. "I love you."

Her eyes went wide and her cheeks blazed, but she didn't look down. "I love you too."

"Thank you for making me come back. I don't think I ever could have done it without you."

Kyoko shook her head. "I didn't really do anything. Just don't...well, I mean…" No matter how hard she tried, Kyoko couldn't keep her face up anymore. She looked down at her lap to avoid looking him in the eyes and possibly seeing his indifference. "I hope you still...spend some of your time in Japan. I would miss you a lot if you decided to stay here all the time...without me."

Kuon gently put his fingers under her chin and lifted her face so that she would look him in the eyes. "Kyoko, I can't promise we'll always be in the same place. I think we'll both have jobs all over the place as long as we both love acting, but…" He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. "I can say without a doubt that wherever we are, I will always want to be where you are. That will never change."

Kyoko could barely breathe. It felt like the air was made of honey. Or her heart had grown so big her lungs couldn't expand.

"But," Kuon continued in a slightly more playful tone, pulling away, but keeping his hand on her face. "I'm not the one who is staying away from Japan for months on end, remember? Don't you think I should be more worried about you leaving me behind?"

"Pfft. Yeah, right. It's just a handicap for me so I have half-a-chance not to be left in the dust when you finally come back. You've already got Yashiro-san booking you into everything he can while you're here. The women of Japan practically went into mourning when you left for two weeks. I wonder what they'll do when they hear you'll only be back for another six months…"

"I really am going to miss you every moment of that six months."

Kyoko sighed. "It's not like we got to spend much time together the last few months anyway. Just a few minutes in the car between jobs, really."

"Yeah," he agreed, finally leaning back and placing her foot back on the ground. Carefully, he got to his feet, brushing off his pants before offering her a hand. Kyoko could almost see the Ren side of him effortlessly slipping back into place as he straightened his spine. "But even a quick car ride with you is enough to charge me up for the day. I don't know how I'll manage without it, to be honest."

"Breakfast might be a good start," Kyoko retorted to cover her embarrassment at his admission. She had no idea he'd valued that time as much as she did. She took his hand and he pulled her smoothly to her feet, her shoes in hand.

Ren laughed. The deep, satisfied sound dissipated into the humid coastal air and Kyoko collected the memory of it to hold next to heart. "I knew you were going to say that! Are you going to make me record myself eating again, or will you take my word for it this time?"

Kyoko scowled at him. "Your word is meaningless when it comes to food. But I suppose making you record yourself eating for six months worth of meals is a little unreasonable…" She trailed off into thought, absentmindedly lacing her fingers with his as they set off strolling through the beautiful garden space, fireflies adding their erratic glow to the already idyllic surrounds. "I'll have to insist Yashiro get tougher with you then."

Ren kept his face carefully blank. Their manager was a total pushover on the food issue. No matter what Kyoko told him, it wouldn't change anything. "If you insist."

She eyed him suspiciously. "Or, maybe I should make you record at least one meal a day…"

An idea popped into Ren's head and he smiled. "Sure. Or I could just call you while I'm eating and let you know."

"Every day? Your mealtimes are erratic at best, and then there's the issue of the time difference…" Kyoko rebutted reluctantly. It was more than she dared hope that they would get to talk on the phone every day they were apart. It was almost cruel of him to dangle it in front of her like that.

"Well...I end up eating dinner around 11 most nights when I get home," Ren argued. When I bother to eat at all...but if I skip lunch, then I'll probably have room for enough to please her at night… "And with the time difference, that's about six in the morning here. That might be a little early for you though." He hazarded a glance down at his girlfriend and had to hold in his laughter as her huge excited eyes gave away her eagerness.

"No! That's just fine! I can definitely do that! I mean, if you think it wouldn't be too much trouble for you. I'm sure you'll be tired. So, don't feel like you have to call me every night. You can just set up your camera for proof without even talking to the camera on some nights if you just don't have the energy. Just as long as you don't skip eating."

"I assure you, I will never willingly miss one night. It will be something for me to look forward to every day," Ren said charmingly, tilting his head to look up at the moon before turning his heavenly smile down on her again.

Kyoko reminded herself to breathe. How had she started somehow dating this god-turned-man again? "Me too. I can't wait to wake up to you every morning."

Ren cleared his throat. He was pretty sure she just meant their soon to be early morning calls, but the thought of actually waking up with her in his bed every day made his heart squeeze painfully in his chest. He had to remind himself, it was just a matter of time. All he had to do was wait until the right time to ask her and she would say yes.

If she doesn't get tired of me.

Or find someone else while we're apart.

Or discover just how terrible a human being I really am under the facade.

Or…

Kyoko furrowed her brows at him as his grip on her hand kept tightening. "Ren?"

"Yeah?" he replied absentmindedly as they turned a corner and came upon a rock garden, with a natural-looking fountain gurgling away at its center and large stones of different colors and shapes scattered around it. Taller, less regimented bushes surrounded the space, insulating it from the sounds of the party, which made the sound of trickling water more prominent.

At the last minute, Kyoko decided not to ask him what was wrong. He probably wouldn't tell her anyway. "This reminds me of our clearing a little," she said instead.

That shook Ren from his thoughts. He looked around and then raised an eyebrow at her. "How?"

Kyoko ducked her head. "Well...there's the sound of water, like the stream. And that rock over there sort of looks like the one you used to do flips off of. And the weather here is similar to that summer in Kyoto. And it's sort of cut off from the world." She smiled sweetly up at him. "And you're here."

Ren's hand relaxed. He glanced around the well-maintained little grotto, but found his eyes drifting back to her instead. "Want to stay here for a bit?"

"If you don't mind."

He shook his head and led them over to the rock she'd pointed out. "Not at all."

Together they sat, shoulder-to-shoulder, enjoying just being together. But as they sat in comfortable silence, Ren realized he'd forgotten to say something important.

"I'm sorry I didn't invite you to come with me to the party. What can I do to make it up to you?"

"You don't have to do anything, as long as you don't do it again." Kyoko yawned. The adrenaline that had kept her perky for most of the night was finally gone and she could feel fatigue crashing down in its place. Suddenly it really felt like the wee hours of morning.

"But I want to. There's got to be some way to assuage my guilt. How about jewelry? It's how my father always apologizes to my mother."

Kyoko giggled sleepily. "I can see that. But you already gave me your necklace. And my fairy godmother gave me more jewelry than I'll ever be able to wear…" She yawned again and leaned her head against his shoulder. It was just the right height. She loved that about him. Everything about him always felt just right.

"Fairy godmother? Is that what you're calling my mother now?" Ren chuckled, the whole 'magic disappearing at midnight' thing making more sense. "Is that how she got you to accept her gifts?" He felt her shake her head against his arm.

"No. They aren't gifts. They're an investment in my future career. One day I'll pay her back...somehow…"

Ren resisted a snort. Yeah right. Trying to pay back his mother's gifts would be like being in constant debt to a loan shark, but Kyoko would figure that out soon enough. "Then, am I allowed to 'invest in your future' too?"

Kyoko hummed, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment. Suddenly, her eyelids were just too heavy to keep open. "You've already invested too much in me. I'll never be able to pay you back."

"You've got that backward. I still owe you for so many things you've done for me. I'm buried in guilt for everything that I owe you. And it's not like I have tons of free time to spend with you, so at least let me spend money instead."

"Mmmm...fine. Buy whatever makes you feel better then. I like everything you give me," she mumbled.

Ren's eyes went wide and he tried to move as little as possible to take his phone out of his pocket. "Sorry, I didn't hear that. What did you say?"

Kyoko snuggled her face more firmly against his shoulder before replying. "I said, buy me whatever you want. I'm sure I'll love it."

Ren grinned as he pressed the record button and immediately backed up the video he'd taken to the cloud so she couldn't delete it later. "Awesome. I'll go shopping tomorrow then. Want to come?"

Kyoko didn't answer.

He carefully leaned over enough to see that her eyes were firmly closed and her mouth hung slightly open, totally asleep. With a happy sigh, he contemplated his options and decided it was time to head home.

---

Soooo, things are going to speed up a bit in the next chapter. I'm thinking one short (HAHAHAHAHA, like I can write a short chapter!) one with a few little glimpses of their time apart, and FINALLY Christmas, which will hopefully wrap up the whole story.

I'd love to hear opinions on the direction I'm taking Julie so far. She's harder to write, since we've only seen the back of her head for like three frames, but I think it makes sense that the reason Kuon had a hard time was because his parents were too indulgent over all and let him do whatever he wanted, and I think that would be a hard habit to break if Julie wanted to parent Kyoko a bit too. Mostly, I just REALLY want someone to point out to Kyoko that she's basically emancipated and can do whatever the fuck she wants, so she doesn't have to keep worrying about what everyone else expects of her. le sigh.

Side note: For those waiting for a new chapter of Passive Aggressive Post-Its, I'm SORRY! I know it's been forever. I just can't seem to keep my head in the game with it. I have tried to go back and complete the next chapter a few times, but nothing but crap comes out when I try to write it. I'll keep trying though. I pledged at the start of this fucked up year that I would get PAPI done, so as soon as my study is unpacked (still working on getting out new house set up) I'll lock myself in with my new desk and monitor and not come out until it's finished!

Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! They always make me open up my Google Doc and get back to typing!