Chapter 19

For a little under 12 hours he would get to sit next to his incredibly sexy, beautiful, amazing, talented, sweet girlfriend. Yes, he was calling her his girlfriend. He had been thinking of her that way for a little over a year now. Even if the public didn't know about it, he did. Yukihito knew and most likely, Lory did now too judging from the call he and Kyoko got through his phone the day before they were scheduled to go back.

There were many things revealed in that call: Kyoko's new residence; the most recent troubles that Fuwa was causing; the veritable mountain of offers they both had waiting for them, together and separately; finally, the meeting that Lory demanded with both of them once they returned. Kuon supposed that it had something to do with their little stay at the ski lodge and how everything had just blown up from there. It nearly made it impossible for them to play those last few days in LA with his parents.

She and Kuon were flying First Class once again, upon Juli and Kuu's insistence. She had no choice but to shut up and accept it because it meant that she and Kuon would have their own little space together, good food, and peace and quiet from the fans. Sadly Kanae and Yuki were in business class and the only way they could communicate at this point was through text message; however, Kyoko was pretty sure that Kanae really didn't mind and Kyoko was enjoying the sweet time spent with Kuon.

"We'll arrive there at around 11:30 pm, did you want to spend the night or check out your new apartment?" Kuon asked, hoping she would pick the former instead of the latter of choices.

Kyoko smiled a little. "You wouldn't mind putting me up for the night?" She cooed a little softly.

"Never…" He purred, stroking her arm as his rested around her. "Besides, we shipped all your new stuff to my apartment anyway, and you still need to get the key from Boss." He reminded.

She groaned a little. It was a lot of stuff. Clothes, makeup, shoes, accessories, knick-knacks, souvenirs, and a few little odds and ends that Juli and Kuu may have included. She would have a monumental task of sorting and storing everything once she got rid of the inevitable jet-lag she was sure to suffer from.

"What are you doing, Sho?" Shoko asked, irritated by his behavior lately.

"Kyoko's flight comes in at 11:30." He answered, grabbing his phone and jacket.

Shoko panicked. "NO! You are not going to the airport to make a spectacle! Remember what the boss said? Lory Takarada said he'll file a restraining order on you if you're caught harassing her again. He's got proof, Sho!" She stood in front of the door.

Sho furrowed his brow. "I'm not going to harass her. I'm just going to welcome her back."

Shoko paused. "You can't go, it's too late and you have an early day tomorrow." She reasoned.

"Aw come on, Aki~" He whined. "What kind of best friend would I be, if I don't welcome her home. What if she doesn't have a ride home from the airport and can't get a cab?" He was thinking up any excuse that might convince her.

Aki sighed in resignation. "Alright, but you have to bring me along. That way you won't get in trouble for it."

"Great!" He answered cheerily. This way he could at least find out if she was still staying at that stupid little restaurant.

"Boss just messaged to meet Ruto at the VIP Terminal." He groaned a little.

She pouted. "I suppose we've been discovered?"

He chuckled. "Probably that couple that got off in Hawaii." He reminded her of the newlywed couple that noticed them when they got on their flight.

"Is the Narita VIP lounge private enough?" She'd actually gotten pretty used to being able to successfully avoid paparazzi this way over the months traveling with Juli. Especially once her popularity started rising about half-way through.

He nodded. "Boss has a private suite rented for LME. Most of the others have their own too." He explained.

She suspected that was the reason she'd never heard of him being spotted at the airport.

"They have customs officials there too to make it easier. They'll deliver our luggage there. Boss said that Ruto will be waiting with the limo at the private entrance." He finished, nuzzling her hair and taking in her wonderful scent.

As Kuon and Kyoko exited their flight through a side door that led to the private terminal, the main terminal was in chaos. Sho was quickly panicking as he was crowded in with her fans and the paparazzi. He was thankful that he'd actually had the forethought to wear his disguise or he probably would have been mauled after they recognized him. But seriously, he did not expect that so many people would come out so late at night just be at the airport. What is going on?

"Where the hell is she?" He complained to Shoko as he was being practically squished into her by the veritable sea of people around him.

"I don't know. Maybe she's in the VIP Lounge." She guessed.

He shook his head. "I have someone waiting there to let me know if she shows up."

Aki furrowed her brow at that statement. He really did sound like a stalker. "Maybe LME has their own lounge?"

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Really? For someone like her? Not a chance. She'd need a special status for something like that to even be possible. If it weren't for my contacts, I doubt anyone would know she's here."

Aki grimaced. "Sho… These people are here for her or have you failed to notice the signs welcoming her home?"

He was stunned. He couldn't remember when he had this many fans welcome him home. He couldn't even tell you what the inside of a VIP lounge looked like. Has she really come this far? He felt his heart clench at the thought.

~xoxo~

"That was more relaxing than I expected." She giggled as she snuggled into him in the back of the limousine.

He chuckled. "All of them are your fans, Kyoko-chan. They were spilling out into the parking areas just to welcome you home."

She groaned. "I don't even want to think about how it's going to be at LME when I go back to work."

He smiled and kissed her temple. "Better get used to it, Baby. It's going to be like this for a long time. It might even get worse."

"I wonder if Ten-san will help me figure out a convincing disguise." She pondered.

"Kyoko… I don't think it will help at this point. Everyone's already seen you in practically every way conceivable." He reminded her.

She gave him a mischievous grin. "Not as a guy." She lilted.

"Nope… Won't work. They'll think something's up once I'm caught kissing you in drag." He teased.

"Kuon! You're terrible!" She scolded with a smile.

He smirked. "Terrible for kissing you in drag or terrible for thinking about the extreme scandal it would cause." He snickered.

"Alright, you have a very good point. I'll just wing it or let Takarada-san handle it, like Mom said." She pouted.

He gave her a quick chaste kiss. "That's my girl."

"Come on, Sho. It's time to leave. It's already 1:45 am. It's obvious that you missed her. She was probably escorted through the VIP exit." Shoko informed him, impatiently whispering, and glancing around them to make sure that no one was listening in on their little conversation.

Sho sighed out. "I just don't get it. Had to be a no show. There's just no way she's got that much star power now." He denied the suspicion that was a deep hidden fear. "She's probably still in Hawaii. My contact must've mistaken someone else for her."

"That's enough… Time to go. I'm not staying here all night waiting for someone that's already gone home, Sho. You need to stop stalking her and get on with your life." She hissed out, hoping that no one recognized him or her.

His head hung. For some reason, he really wanted to see her now. He kind of missed her and worried about her when she was gone. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone. Aki would never let him live it down and his parents would immediately expect him to propose to her. He wasn't entirely sure he even liked her in that way and he was pretty sure the feelings that she'd had for him in the past just weren't the same anymore. Was he scared and confused deep down? Absolutely, but he sure as hell wouldn't say it out loud or even acknowledge something like that. To him, they were both entirely too young to think about love and romance. Something like that was for old people and flaky fans, he was not old and he definitely was not a fan of anyone but himself.