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The First Time She Worked With Sho

Kyoko paced back and forth with the phone clutched in her hand. Not an hour after talking to Sho and she was already starting to regret her decision. It wasn't that she thought he would be hard to work with, or that she didn't need the money. She did. But it was Wednesday and so the next day was Thursday and she would be seeing Kuon and she wanted to tell him what was going on before date night…the last thing she wanted was for him to be upset with her on their one night together a week.

So she would call him. She'd tell him tonight and he probably wouldn't be angry because he loved her and he'd said that she could tell him anything and it wasn't like she was cheating on him or anything! Of course not! She scolded herself for even thinking it. She loved him so much and there was no reason for her to be nervous because this was a job and she was a professional and besides, it was all for Kuon anyway! Not that he knew that.

Her heart raced as the line rang, her phone still clutched too tightly in her hand. He answered on the fourth ring, sounding happy as he greeted her. "I wasn't expecting you to call. Did you finish up early?"

"Yes…the filming went really well and we were able to wrap up early," she told him, trying to smile so he wouldn't worry. "I hope I'm not bothering you."

"You're never bothering me," he told her softly, sounding so gentle. "I'm always happy to hear from you."

Kyoko blushed, sitting down on her futon and leaning against the wall. "There…um…I need to tell you something."

Immediately his voice turned serious. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she assured him. "I just…I accepted another job."

"Really? Do you have time?"

"Yes, it'll be the weekend before Christmas, so I didn't have anything planned."

He was quiet for a moment, and when he spoke, it was hesitantly. "Are you…are you sure you want to do that? I mean…you've been working so much, and doing the acting class…I just want to make sure you're okay."

She smiled a little. He was treating her like a little kid again, and it was sweet, but she hated that he was worried. "I'm fine, I promise. I, uh…it's actually a PV. For Sho."

"Oh.." he sounded surprised, but not upset.

"I mean…I wanted to tell you because…well, because it's with Sho. I ran into him after work and he said that he'd finished his album and he wanted me to be in his PV and I said yes because it pays well and I thought it might help if the press saw us working together but if you think it's a bad idea…"

"I don't think it's a bad idea," he cut in, speaking gently. "Not at all. You're right. It might help with the rumors about you two if the public sees you working together. But…can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she told him, trying not to let her nervousness show in her voice.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's fine!"

"I mean…with money. Is that why you're working so much?"

"I have enough money," she assured him quietly. "I just need as much experience as possible, right? And this way I can try lots of different roles."

"That's true…" He trailed off before speaking again. "Just…please, if somethings wrong or you don't have enough money, will you tell me?"

She promised, dropping her face into her hands and shaking her head as soon as they hung up. She hadn't meant to worry him. The last thing she ever wanted was to worry him. But in order for this surprise to work, she would need more money, and in order to get more money, she had to worry a little extra. After Christmas, she could get back to normal hours…well, normal for an actress. Eyes drooping, she leaned her head against the wall. She was tired. So tired. But she did still have things to do…including the call she needed to make to Yashiro-san.

As if summoned by her thoughts, her phone buzzed, her manager's name lighting up her phone. Blinking herself awake, she answered right away. "Good evening, Yashiro-san!" she chirped, although they'd just seen each other less than twenty minutes ago when he'd dropped her off at her apartment.

"Hello, Kyoko-chan. I hope I didn't wake you."

"Oh, no I'm not asleep yet." Although she was in her pajamas and sitting on her futon…she hadn't even washed her face or brushed her teeth yet, not to mention the script she still needed to study.

"I was calling to confirm with you that you'd actually agreed to Fuwa's PV."

"Yes, I did. It's the weekend before Christmas, right?"

"Yes…it shouldn't be any more than two days…and you know you have a commercial to film on Monday, right?"

Kyoko nodded, then remembered that she was on the phone. "Yes. But I don't have anything Saturday or Sunday right?"

"That's right…" He trailed off, and she got the feeling that he was worried too, but he didn't say anything about it. "Alright. I'll confirm with him tomorrow, and I can give you a ride."

"Um…Yashiro-san? I was actually going to call you."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Can, um…can I ask you for a favor?"

"Of course. Is everything alright?"

Cursing herself for worrying both Kuon and her manager, she nodded. "Yes, everything is fine. I just..I need your help with something."

"What can I do for you?"

"I…I wanted to do something special for Ren for Christmas."

"Oh!" His tone changed immediately, and she blushed a little, giggling at the eagerness in his voice. "How can I help?"

Kyoko laid out the whole plan with a smile, explaining that she needed Ren out of his apartment directly after the Happy Grateful Party. She'd thought about trying to do everything while he was asleep, but there was no way she'd be able to finish everything without waking him. And if he woke up it would ruin the whole surprise!

Yashiro-san agreed immediately, letting her know that he'd set something up and let Ren know that he now had an unavoidable engagement that evening after the party. "He won't be happy…"

"I know…I'm sorry."

"That's alright. I'm sure he'll be thrilled when he gets home."

Yashiro-san also agreed to help her with the delivery, letting her know that everything she needed, she could have delivered to his apartment that day, taking another load off of her mind. Before, she hadn't been sure how exactly she was going to get everything up to his apartment.

Kyoko waited until the next morning to make a list of everything she would need delivered to his apartment. It was important that nothing be delivered until they were at the Happy Grateful Party, and Yashiro-san would arrange with the doorman to have everything brought inside. Sketching out exactly what she wanted, Kyoko managed to finish her list before it was time to get ready, reminding herself that she would have plenty of time to sleep after Christmas. She tucked the list into her purse to give to Yashiro-san as soon as she saw him, then got ready for work.

She didn't see Ren until Thursday after Bridge Rock, having spent all of her free time preparing for the Happy Grateful Party or working. Invitations for the party had been sent out, and Kyoko had listed the recipes for everything she wanted served to the guests. The Ishibashi brothers would be doing skits and playing instruments to entertain everyone, and Maria's father would be flying in to visit her. She knew her friend was excited, and she was happy for her while simultaneously trying not to think about how much she missed Kuon's parents..or to think about her own mother at all. That was still too complicated to even think about with everything else she had going on.

Kuon was waiting for her by her dressing room on Thursday after Bridge Rock, greeting her as he had the last time and guiding her into the room as he lifted the costume head off. She couldn't help thinking that she really could get used to this. He didn't kiss her though, just ran his thumb under her eye. "I wish you'd tell me what's going on," he whispered, looking so sad and worried that it made her heart clench.

"What? Kuon, nothing…" She thought for a moment, remembered how he'd gotten around lying to her when he'd had a surprise for her. "Nothing bad is going on," she told him, meeting his eyes and bringing a hand up to press against his cheek. "I promise. Nothing bad is happening. I'm fine. I'm just a little tired. But I'm okay."

He just looked at her for a long moment, then nodded, leaning his face against her hand. "Okay. If you're sure you're okay…"

"I am."

He smiled then, leaning in to kiss her, and Kyoko closed her eyes, losing herself in the feeling of his lips on hers, her arms wrapping around him even though she was still in the Bo costume. After a minute or so, he began to ease the straps of the costume off of her shoulders, and she climbed out eagerly. Kuon's hands wrapped around her waist and he lifted her, her legs wrapping around him automatically. He chuckled against her lips, not moving away as he hitched her up a little higher, rubbing his hands up and down her bare legs.

She didn't want to stop. The thought hit her like a lightning bolt, making her cheeks go hot. She didn't want to stop. She wanted to keep going and going and going until…

But not at work. Not in her dressing room at TBM.

So she pulled away, trying to force her thoughts away from her new realization.

How had that snuck up on her like that? How had she gone from being terrified of holding his hand to wanting to…she cycled through the terms to find one that didn't make her face erupt into flames and settled on 'sleep with him,' which really wasn't any better than any of the others. But, she realized, she trusted him. And she loved him. And she knew, deep down, that he felt the same way.

Did he want to…

If he did, the thought no longer scared her. Instead, it made her heart flutter in her chest.

He pulled away when she did, his fingers lingering on her thighs as he held her up. "Aren't I heavy?" she asked softly, well aware of how brightly she must be blushing.

"Not at all," he murmured, bringing a hand up to brush against her warm cheek, smiling so lovingly at her that it made her heart want to explode.

"I love you," she told him then, the words escaping before she'd decided to say them. It wasn't that she'd never said that before…they said it to one another all the time now. But it was the way the words came out…so sure…and so…intense. She loved him. So much. She wanted him to be happy and she couldn't wait to give him his gift and surprise him and make him happy. And she wanted to be close to him…closer than they were now, even if the thought made her blush.

He kissed her again, softer and more gentle than before. "I love you too," he murmured against her lips.

"What are we doing?"

He smirked. "Well, right now, I'm holding you, and we were kissing, something I'd love to get back to."

His Emperor smile just made her giggle, and she shook her head. "I meant for our date." It astonished her how easy it was to say that. Date. She was going on a date with Tsuruga Ren and she couldn't wait.

"I thought we'd cook together at my place. What do you think?"

"That sounds perfect."

And it was.

Together they moved through his somewhat stocked kitchen, pulling out ingredients, her hyper aware of how often her shoulder brushed against his, and how warm he felt when she leaned against him, the two of them standing together by the stove. He'd bought ingredients for Christmas cookies too, explaining that Yashiro-san had asked to get another picture of them since the others had been doing so well.

"I know…I was surprised at the comments," she told him without thinking, pulling out a bowl to mix the dough. When he was quiet, she glanced up at him from where she was crouched by his cabinets. He was looking at her kind of strangely, tilting his head and smiling a little.

"Did you read the comments?"

"Um…some of them," she admitted, not sure if that was strange.

"Do you have an Instagram account?" He seemed oddly excited and she laughed, straightening.

"I made one to follow LME," she admitted, sheepish. "I wanted to see what people thought of the pictures."

Kuon pulled out his phone then. "Is it under your name?" he asked, tapping at his screen, and she came closer.

"No…I mean…"

"What's the name?" When she just stared at him, he looked up, eyes lit up with excitement. "I want to follow you!"

She laughed then. "Kuon, I don't post anything," she told him, shaking her head. "It's a blank account with a fake name. Look." She pulled out her own phone, putting the bowl down and showing him her blank Instagram account, complete with kitten picture, and he deflated a little.

"Oh..."

"Do you have an account?"

"No, but I'd make one to follow yours."

Kyoko laughed, taking her phone back and dropping it back into her purse.

Once they'd gone back to the cookies they were making as the food cooked on the stove, he glanced over. "I never look at the comments. What do they say?"

She blushed a little, not sure why she would be embarrassed. "Um…they're good. Mostly. Almost everyone seems to like the photos, and they want more of, um…more pictures of us."

"Well then, we'll have to give them more," he told her simply, holding up his phone.

The next photo they sent to LME was of the two of them in his kitchen, her in an apron he'd bought for her and kept at his apartment, a tray of cookie dough shaped like trees and gingerbread men in front of them. She held up a tiny Christmas stocking made of cookie dough, while he held up a bell. It wasn't a pristine photo…there was a mess on the counter, flour dusting their clothes and the countertop. Behind them, food cooked on the stove, and dirty dishes were in the sink. But it might have been Kyoko's favorite so far. It was real…a real picture of the two of them, doing something so normal that anyone could relate to it.

Too soon, it was time for Kuon to drive her home, a box of cookies in her hand to take to Moko-san, while Kuon would give another box to Yashiro-san. They also had boxes for some more of their coworkers, and one for Maria, since they'd made sure to make plenty. And the next morning, when Kyoko woke and grabbed her phone first thing to check and see if they'd posted their picture, she realized that her Instagram now had a single follower: a blank account with a generic name and a photo of a puppy as the profile picture.

Kyoko didn't see Kuon again for days, and managed to distract herself by throwing herself into work, making sure Yashiro-san's list had everything she needed, and studying her scripts both for work and for her acting class. But between all of that, she managed to fit in a conversation with her best friend as the two of them made dinner a couple of days after her date with Kuon.

"So…um…can I ask you something?"

Her friend lifted her eyebrow, looking up from the food she'd been making as Kyoko stirred the rice.

"Does it have to do with your boyfriend?" she asked dryly, and Kyoko gave her a sheepish smile.

"Sort of."

"Fine."

"I just wanted to ask your advice…"

Moko-san crossed her arms and Kyoko felt her cheeks flush.

"Just…um…have you ever, uh…have you ever goneonbirthcontrol?" she blurted, practically screaming, and her friend blinked at her, eyes wide.

"Have I ever gone on birth control?" Moko-san repeated slowly, and Kyoko nodded, lowering her eyes. "Are you and Tsuruga…"

"No…I mean…no. Not…but I…just in case I…"

Her friend huffed out a sigh. "If you think you might need to, it's probably a good idea," she told her. "I've never taken it before."

"Oh. Okay," she murmured, still blushing.

Moko-san was silent for a second, but then she turned to Kyoko, looking worried. "Is he…does he want you to? Go on birth control?"

"He doesn't know," Kyoko admitted. "I just…I thought that since we'd been dating for a while and…and I might…um…want to…"

Kanae lifted a hand. "Okay. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't pressuring you."

"No. He's not," Kyoko murmured, wondering if her face would ever go back to a normal color.

"Good." Her friend nodded, and with that, the conversation was over.

Unfortunately there was no way to ask Google-san since she didn't have any personal electronics, and she couldn't imagine doing something so personal on her work phone. Instead, she called and made an appointment with her regular doctor, somehow managing to fit that in before Christmas. As embarrassing as it was, she reminded herself that if she was going to do…stuff…like that, then she needed to be a grown up about it…she had to be safe.

The days passed in an exhausting blur. She worked and went to her acting class and studied her scripts and double checked her list with Yashiro-san, sometimes falling asleep in his car before he could even get her back to her apartment at the end of the night. But that was okay, she continued to remind herself, because she almost had enough money for both Kuon's gift and for everything she was having Yashiro-san pick up and have delivered for her. He was going to love it. And she couldn't wait for him to see everything!

Kyoko knew that Kuon was still worried, especially when it came time to do Sho's PV. He didn't say anything, though. Instead, he offered to drive her to the studio, so when Saturday rolled around, he arrived at her apartment at seven sharp. Moko-san was the one that opened the door, and when Kyoko stepped out of the kitchen, having cleaned up her breakfast dishes, she found Kuon in the living room, sitting on her sofa with a smile.

She jumped, then giggled a little. "You scared me. I'm not late, am I?"

"No," he assured her, standing and glancing around the room before pulling her into his arms. Before she knew it, his lips were pressed to hers, and she felt almost dizzy with how wonderful it felt to be held by him. She closed her eyes, leaning against him, and he pulled away just enough to kiss her forehead. "How are you feeling?" he asked in a murmur.

"I'm good. We'd better go…I have to be on set at 8."

"Okay," he whispered, nuzzling her hair and kissing the top of her head. "Do you know what time you'll be done?" Kuon wrapped an arm around her, leading her to the door where she pulled her shoes on and grabbed her purse.

"He said it wouldn't be too late."

"Good. In that case, would you like to have dinner with me after you're done?"

"Of course!"

"And I thought we might do something else...if it wasn't too late."

"Oh…what?"

He just smiled. "It's a surprise."

Kuon didn't give her any more information, and since she was also hiding something big from him, Kyoko didn't try to pry. Instead, she kissed him before climbing out of the car when they reached the studio, promising to call him as soon as they were done, and he waited until she was inside to drive away.

Sho was waiting for her inside, arms crossed as he regarded her. "Your boyfriend drop you off?" he asked almost playfully.

Kyoko rolled her eyes, lips tugging into a little smile. "He did."

"But he didn't come inside?"

"He's not working on this project."

Sho snorted. "I thought he'd want to threaten me or something."

"He said that you two had a truce."

"We do…just didn't expect him to keep it," he muttered just as a familiar woman approached, looking between them warily.

"Oh, Asami-san! I didn't know you were the producer for this PV too."

The older woman smiled, giving a quick bow of greeting to return Kyoko's. "It's good to see you again, Kyoko-san. Let's get you into hair and make-up." She led Kyoko away from Sho who watched them go, arms crossed, before going into his own dressing room to get ready. Kyoko didn't know a lot about this PV, only that she had taken it to get a little extra money, and that it would smooth things over to have the public see her working with Sho again. She hated all the rumors swirling around about them with the public, some of which had been mentioned in the comments on their Instagram posts.

"I have to admit, I was surprised when I found out that you accepted Sho's offer," Asami-san told her softly, the two of them stepping into an empty dressing room. Hanging on the rack was a garment bag that she couldn't help being curious about, and a beautiful make up bag was sitting by the dressing table.

"Well, he asked me personally," Kyoko told her with a little smile.

I just meant, after what I saw on the news…"

Kyoko knew exactly what she was talking about and waved it away. "Oh…that. He apologized. Besides, it was mostly a misunderstanding." Not true, but close enough. And he had apologized.

"Was…um…I saw that you and Tsuruga Ren were…together?"

"We are, yes."

"He wasn't concerned about you taking this job?"

Kyoko shook her head, wanting to nip that in the bud right away. Kuon would never tell her which jobs she could take…he wouldn't even try. He respected her way too much for that! "Not at all. He actually drove me this morning."

"Ah. Well…in that case, we should get your make up done before we get started."

She agreed, and as though she'd been waiting outside the door, a young woman came hurrying inside, ushering Kyoko over to the dressing table where she began to do her makeup. The costume, as it turned out, was a princess dress, long and flowing and so beautiful it took her breath away. She even managed to sneak a photo of herself in the mirror and send it to Kuon once she had the long, flowing black wig situated on her head. She looked like a princess!

It wasn't until a few minutes after she'd sent it, already listening to the director explain the concept of the new PV, that she thought to be embarrassed. She'd just sent him a photo of herself! And it wasn't like he'd asked for one. Would he think she was silly? Or being conceited? It didn't look like her, she knew…but she'd sent him photos before! And he always liked them!

Kyoko struggled to push that thought out of her mind. This was not what she needed to be focusing on! Besides, it was like Sho had designed this PV with her in mind! It was an actual fairy tale! She got to be a real princess, complete with ball gown, and yes, he was her prince, but she could pretend for long enough to make it seem like she loved him. She was a professional actress after all. And it wasn't like they had to kiss or anything.

Asami-san seemed to be constantly watching the two of them, but Sho was surprisingly easy to work with all day. He'd studied his scenes and he looked at her lovingly, but when the cameras quit rolling, he went back to normal. They ate bentos at lunch together, him tossing his own bento onto the table with a sigh. When she gave him a questioning look, he just rolled his eyes. "Poochie gave it to me," he told her as though that explained anything.

She crossed her arms and frowned at him. Mimori made you a bento?"

"Yeah. She does it all the time."

He said it with an annoyed huff, and she remembered how the other girl had looked at her when she'd seen the bento that Kuon had made her. "If you don't like her, why don't you just tell her to stop making you bentos?" Kyoko asked, wrinkling her nose at him and taking a bite.

"She's a fan," he told her with a smirk. "I have to please my fans."

"She's in love with you Sho. And you know it." Not wanting to start a fight but unable to help herself, Kyoko leaned forward. "You're treating her like you used to treat me."

He stiffened, meeting her eyes with wide, startled ones.

"You're taking advantage of her, and letting her think she has a chance with you, and letting her make you lunch and tag along with you, but you don't have any intention of actually being with her."

"I can't be tied down to one person," he scoffed. "I"m Fuwa Sho."

Kyoko lifted an eyebrow. She wasn't nearly as oblivious as she'd been before…she knew what it looked like when someone flirted with you…when someone was interested. And she knew that Sho had been at least a little interested in her. It had stemmed mostly from him wanting her back…he'd wanted her around to stoke his ego and cook and clean for him like before, she was sure, but she also had a feeling that if she had gone back to him, he would have taken her. They would have been in a relationship. Not like the one from when they were younger, and not what she had with Kuon…but something.

Sho wasn't in love with her. She knew what love looked like now. This wasn't it.

"Then tell her that. And stop giving her false hope. It's cruel, Sho."

Sho looked away first, almost seeming embarrassed as he dropped his eyes. "Whatever," he muttered, picking at his food, and all she could do was hope he took her advice to heart.

Thankfully, their little disagreement didn't seem to affect their work, and they got right back to it once they were done eating. They managed to finish about half of the scenes that day, and although the director always looked at them like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop, it never did. Kyoko gazed at him lovingly, the music playing in the background when they danced around a ballroom. The PV took inspiration from Cinderella, which Sho knew was her favorite, but she wasn't thinking about Sho when she smiled up at him, his hand secure on her waist as he led her.

She was thinking about Kuon, and the present she would be able to afford as soon as she finished this job.

Thank you for reading!