Author's Note: Okay, well…I said that I was eventually going to write a Sheldon/Kyoko one-shot…and I did. At about 1:00am this morning. -sweatdrop- Thus, this fic is probably a bit incoherent.

It's complete and utter fluff. Complete and utter fluff that I felt compelled to write because of the other, darker Sheldon/Kyoko fic that I'm currently working on. I wanted to write Kyoko as the happy-go-lucky teenager that she is in the manga instead of the way that I'm writing her in the other story. So, yes. That was how this one-shot was born.

I think that this is my first one-shot that isn't a song-fic. Interesting.

Anyways, here's the fic. I hope that you enjoy it in all of its…pointless fluffiness.

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Disclaimer: I don't own Black Cat. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…and blah. Yeah. Eat that, lawyers.

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Kyoko sat on the edge of a tree-branch, her legs swinging to and fro. Her black loafers had fallen off of her feet and rested on the grass below her. The tree that she was sitting in was pretty tall, but she didn't seem to be unnerved by that fact. She wasn't afraid of heights. Besides, she loved climbing trees. It was…soothing.

It was especially soothing when it was raining. A small smile rested on her lips as she tilted her head up to look up at the sky through the branches and leaves of the tree. Small drops of moisture landed on her nose, and she giggled lightly. She scrunched her nose up, going cross-eyed as she attempted to see the clear globule of water. It slid off of the tip of her nose and fell to the ground below. Multiple other drops of rain followed it, landing in her short black hair.

Most people would have run for cover, but Kyoko didn't. She enjoyed the peace and quiet. Also, she just liked the rain. She liked feeling it, seeing it, listening to it…rainy weather gave her a sense of tranquility. Tranquility was something that her life had been lacking for many years.

It had only been a couple of weeks since she had learned of Creed's defeat. The news had given her a certain sense of…freedom. She knew what Creed did when people betrayed him: he killed them. Ever since she had found herself alone, she had lived in constant fear of being tracked down and murdered. She had nothing to do with Chronos anymore, she didn't even know where Train was, and Sheldon had left her long ago. She was definitely on her own, and she knew that her powers were no match for Creed's. In the end, she was utterly helpless.

But Creed had never chased her. She figured that she hadn't exactly been of much importance to him. Not that she cared; it was better that she wasn't important. She just wished that she could have been more important to certain other people…or a certain other person…

No need to feel down, Kyoko, she always told herself. Forward is the only direction that you can go. She tried to enjoy her life to the utmost, but she constantly felt herself hurting inside. Her existence seemed doomed to be a lonely one. She was a strong girl, though, and she kept trying to convince herself that she didn't need other people to survive. Besides, she had friends at school. It wasn't as if she were completely alone.

Still, she felt alone. The one person who had been her constant companion in the darkest time of her life…the one person who had always been there for her to talk to, even if it was about the most pointless things that her mind could possibly have conjured…that person was gone. The realization caused her to have to fight back tears. Chuckling a bit at her own pathetic feelings, she quickly wiped the tears away. "Get a grip, Kyoko…"

"You might get more than a grip if you're up there for too long, Miss Kyoko. Aren't you cold?"

Kyoko froze—her violet eyes widening significantly. Am I…hallucinating…? Leaning forward, she stared down at the ground below.

Her shocked amethyst gaze was met by an amused cerulean gaze. It was him…he had come back, and was standing there in all of his grandeur. He was missing his tall black hat and his glasses, but she didn't mind at all. She had always thought that he looked better without them. He looked more like a person when his face was completely visible. He was more…relatable that way.

"Oh…my god…" Kyoko managed to choke out, her expression one of complete shock. Then, she broke out in a full grin. "Sheldon! I thought that you were never going to come back!"

A slight smirk played at the corners of his lips. His long blonde hair blew around in the breeze, which was quickly turning into a strong wind due to the gathering storm. "I thought about it, but…then I realized that you're all alone, and I find that sad." A flicker of amusement shone in his eyes for a brief moment.

Kyoko felt a strange tightening in her chest. His words…were almost exactly the same as the ones that she had spoken to him when she had followed him from the Apostles of the Stars. She knew that the resemblance wasn't coincidental. What she couldn't figure out was why she suddenly found it so hard to breathe. What he had said, and the way that he had said it, had made her begin to feel…strange. She couldn't place it, but…what she felt certainly wasn't normal.

But, if she was going to let that fact stop her from playing along, then her name was certainly not Kirisaki Kyoko.

"And, here I was, thinking that I had you all figured out. You really are an odd person!" She giggled slightly, remembering when he had called her odd. I really must be an odd person, huh? Kyoko had never really been known for fitting into any kind of mold, whatsoever.

Sheldon laughed lightly, finding it amusing to have his own words thrown back at him. Then, he stopped and looked up at the sky with a somewhat irritated look. "Miss Kyoko…must you really stay out in this rain?" It was beginning to sprinkle steadily, which meant that a downpour was only minutes away.

"Yes, I do." Kyoko nodded emphatically, causing her hair to shift back and forth across her face. "It's nice out here."

Or, it was nice until a rather large, cold raindrop inconveniently fell right down her open shirt, causing her to shriek and lose her balance on the branch. With a gasp, she toppled over backwards—plummeting towards the unforgiving ground. She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her head with her arms, hoping that her back would take most of the impact. It would hurt, but it would be better than cracking her head open.

Instead of hitting the ground, however, she felt her fall come to a halt as two arms slipped underneath her body, catching her. She stared up at Sheldon with wide, frightened eyes, then blushed in embarrassment. "Ah…"

"Always trying to keep me on my toes, aren't you?" Sheldon chuckled and shook his head. Kyoko's blush deepened even further. It was bad enough that she lost her balance and fell out of a tree, but she had fallen into the arms of the one person that she never thought would ever end up holding her. But…he was, and it didn't seem that he was planning on putting her down any time soon.

"W-well…I have to make life interesting, right…?" She smiled weakly, her speech sounding a bit breathless. Well, she had just fallen out of a tree. Whether or not that was the reason that she had the wind knocked out of her was completely irrelevant.

"Quite so." The smile that settled on Sheldon's lips made Kyoko feel like melting. But…not literally, even though she probably could have. "However, since I don't find having a sick girl on my hands to be interesting, I'm getting you out of this rain." His tone of voice left no room for argument. Even if he had left room for argument, Kyoko wouldn't have jumped at the chance. She was perfectly fine with him taking her out of the rain.

The park that she had been climbing trees in was fairly large and incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately, it provided very few places in which to hide from the rain, which had begun to fall fast. Apparently not liking being wet, Sheldon broke out in a run towards a spot of grass at the corner of the park that was covered with a corrugated sheet of metal. Squeaking slightly, Kyoko looped her arms around his neck and held on tight. She didn't exactly like the thought of being dropped. Not that she thought that he would drop her, but…a little extra insurance never hurt anyone, right?

When they reached their little shelter, Sheldon gently set Kyoko down on her feet—watching her with an amused sparkle in his vibrant eyes. She gazed back at him with a quirked eyebrow, attempting to swallow the growing lump in her throat and waiting for him to say something. But, he never did. Wordlessly, he sat down on the grass. She paused, then sat down beside him.

For the first time in the whole period of her life that she had known him, Kyoko began to feel uncomfortable in his presence. He was staring off into the distance, looking completely stoic, and she didn't know what to do or say. If she waited for him to say something first, she would have been waiting for an awfully long time, and she was beginning to understand that. Pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, she sighed, which caused Sheldon to snap out of his mini-reverie and look over to her.

"Something wrong, Miss Kyoko?"

Kyoko bit her lip, averting her gaze from his. She was silent for a few moments, then spoke—her voice somewhat shaky. "Why'd you leave me, Sheldon?"

Sheldon hesitated, blinking, then sighed. "I thought that you would understand…it was for your own good. I didn't want you to get hurt because of the things that I was involved in. I especially didn't want you to get mixed up in anything when Creed was still alive…because I didn't know if I would be able to protect you." He shook his head in a forlorn manner. "You were safer with the Black Cat."

"But I didn't want Train…I wanted you."

Eyes widening, Sheldon stared at Kyoko in shock, but Kyoko was staring off into the distance—her chin resting atop her knees. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if he was trying to say something, but couldn't get it out. "…Kyoko…"

She sighed, rubbing her nose with a hand. "Never mind…it doesn't really matter."

"No." Sheldon's voice was insistent as he placed a hand on one of Kyoko's cheeks, turning her head so that she had to look at him. "No, it does matter. Tell me what you're feeling, Kyoko."

Kyoko nervously chewed on her bottom lip, doing everything that she could to keep from looking at him. She began to fidget slightly—her fingers absentmindedly plucking at the lush grass that they were seated in. "I don't know what I'm feeling…" Her brow furrowed in frustration. "When you left, I felt that you had just abandoned me. I felt like I didn't matter to you at all. And then…I told myself that it was okay, because nothing would have ever worked with us if you didn't care about me, and I said that I should just move on…but…I kept feeling lonely and kept thinking about you and couldn't figure out why…and now…now I feel all hot and stuffy and uncomfortable and strange, and I don't know why!" Finishing her ramble, she took a deep breath and blew it out, looking completely flustered and helpless.

All Sheldon could do for several moments was sit there and stare at her—completely unaware of what he should do and how he should do it. He hadn't expected Kyoko to tell him those things. It had always been painfully obvious that had felt something for him back when they worked together as Apostles of the Stars, but he had thought that her affections found a new object in Train. Apparently…he had been wrong.

It was hard to think of something to say in response to Kyoko. It wasn't like he had ever been in that kind of position before. Kyoko had always been a bit childish and naïve, but those traits were exactly what he had always found attractive in her. No matter what happened, she always seemed to find a way to derive good from it. Nothing seemed to be able to bring her down. Nothing except…apparently…him.

"Kyoko…I wish that there was something that I could do to take back what I did. I didn't mean to cause you any pain. In fact, I was trying to spare you from pain. Apparently, my plan backfired, and I ended up hurting you more than I realized." His eyebrows knitted together in consternation as his gaze dropped from her to the grass beneath them. "I'm sorry, Kyoko."

Blinking, Kyoko looked up at him. She had never heard him apologize to anyone ever before. Not only that, she had never heard him second-guess his own actions before. It was such a strange thing to behold. Sheldon seemed just as lost and confused as she was. She attempted a weak smile as she fought past the rising lump in her throat. She just couldn't seem to get rid of that stupid thing. "Sheldon…" she began quietly, then paused before continuing. "Did you ever…miss me?"

He blinked, then managed to smile a bit in return—tucking a few stray strands of black hair behind her ear with the hand that was still resting on her cheek. "Every day. My car was a lonely place without your incessant chatter and potato-chip crumbs."

Kyoko's gaze was scrutinizing, as if she was trying to see if he was lying to her or was being completely honest. She was met with nothing but stark, undisguised truth. He really did miss me… The realization caused her expression to brighten considerably. She hadn't been the only one who was alone throughout the entire ordeal. Their separation had taken a toll on him, as well. She didn't glory in his pain as a kind of revenge; she was just happy that her feelings weren't completely unrequited.

Sheldon tried his hardest to keep from smirking, but he couldn't help it when the corners of his mouth began to twitch. The way that she was staring at him, grinning like a fool, was incredibly amusing. "Black Cat got your tongue?"

Kyoko gasped in mock offense, then stopped and grinned coyly—dangerously. "No…but you could have it, if you'd like it."

Needless to say, Sheldon had not been expecting her to say that. He had absolutely nothing to say in response. Nor could her really think of anything to do in response. She had stunned him witless. Score one for Kyoko.

It was Kyoko's turn to smirk in amusement. She had always been peppy and perky, but she had her dark, mischievous side, as well. Scooting forward, she slowly slid a hand up his chest, resting it behind his head as she pulled it closer to her own. Her other hand rested on his shoulder. Since Sheldon had frozen slightly and didn't move, Kyoko was able to press herself close enough to him that, if either of them talked, their lips would inevitably brush against each other's. Her gaze dropped down to lock on his lips, her voice practically purring as she spoke. "I'm waiting."

Sheldon knew what he wanted, but he had never convinced himself that it was appropriate. Kyoko was a mere eighteen years old, while he was twenty-four. Despite her strange personality, she really was wise beyond her years. Still…he couldn't help but feel that she was a child. A very, very seductive child with all the right traits, and she wasn't hard to look at, to boot…

Never mind. He had effectively been pulled over to the dark side.

Slipping his free arm around Kyoko's back, he slid his other hand down to where her jaw-line met her neck, leaning forward just enough to delicately press his lips against hers. The contact sent a shiver down his spine. Although he would never have admitted it, he had thought about such contact for a long time…but imagining something is never as good as experiencing it, especially for the first time.

Kyoko was thrilled to feel his lips against hers. She hadn't been quite sure if he would go along with her prodding or not, but she was happy that he did. Her eyelids fluttered shut as she pressed herself even closer to him—letting out a soft sigh as she deepened the kiss slightly. It wasn't her first kiss, but it was certainly her most amazing kiss. She had never felt such strong emotions when it had come to any other person. Sheldon was just…different. In every possible way, he was different. And different was something that she liked.

After a few very long moments, Sheldon pulled back for air—staring at her breathlessly. Neither of them really knew what to say, but Kyoko managed to smile slightly, trying to keep from grinning like a complete idiot. She had wanted to do that for so long…but she had never found the opportune moment. Plus, she had never figured that he would have ever let her. It didn't matter, though…waiting had been worth it.

Sheldon suddenly chuckled, tugging at the ends of a few strands of her short hair. "I just realized that I'm still alive. Didn't feel like incinerating me from the inside out?"

Kyoko quirked an eyebrow in question, then laughed lightly. "No, no…you're much too cute for that." Winking, she grinned, and he chuckled again in response.

"Good to know, Kyoko…good to know."

Smiling, she leaned her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist—struggling to keep from yawning. She suddenly felt very tired. But she felt very warm inside…everything seemed to have finally fallen into place for her. All of her fears had been relieved, and all of her questions had been answered. What was better was that she was never going to be lonely again.

…was she?

Suddenly blinking in alarm, she frowned and unconsciously tightened her grip on his wait. "Sheldon…you're not going to leave me again, are you…?"

Sheldon wrapped his arms around her tightly, leaning down to briefly kiss the top of her head. "Of course not."

"Promise…?"

A small smile curved at the corners of his lips. "I promise, Kyoko."

Satisfied, Kyoko smiled and let her eyes close. The rhythm of the rain pounding against the metal awning overhead slowly lulled her into a sound and peaceful sleep. She felt completely safe, protected, and wanted. Falling asleep seemed only natural.

Sighing lightly, Sheldon silently gazed at the girl who was sleeping in his arms. He had left her once, but she had welcomed him back with open arms once he had realized his mistake. Chronos was a constant thorn in his side, but it was an easily ignorable thorn. Taking them down never would have given him the life that he had wanted, anyways. That life was found right where he was—sitting on grass under corrugated steel, watching a deceivingly harmless-looking Tao master sleep. Being with her was worth all that Chronos had and more.

In the end, nothing that they had ever chased after had given them what they wanted. It was only after they had stopped running that they had realized that all they needed was companionship; all they had ever needed was each other.

Now that they finally realized that, they would never have to be lonely again.