Author Note: I hope nobody gets too bored with this chapter, but I like it. Sometimes it feels really good to do something much simpler. I also was let know that I need to work a bit more on my Yashiro characterization so I hope I've captured him a bit better in this chapter. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Six – A Handshake

So, today was going to be their second date and during that date, Ren wanted…or rather Kuon wanted to discuss with Kyoko the parameters of their relationship. As he had told his manager nearly a dozen times, he didn't know what they were supposed to say about their relationship, but he did know that he was going to let Kyoko lead the media's interest in the way that she wanted to. The only thing that he would object to was being cast as the antagonist.

He was trying to think of what Kyoko would get up to in his apartment before he came home. He had spent about half an hour that morning making sure that everything was in the right place. He trusted her not to go around opening drawers and cupboards and spying on him, but he had taking precautions anyway.

Kyoko wasn't that type of a person to invade his privacy. It was most likely the fact that she did care about the privacy of others that made it so she couldn't take their relationship public. Nothing wrong with that.

Ren parked his car at TBM where he was doing an interview himself and before getting out of the car, turned to his manager in the seat beside him who was looking very much like a fangirl. He sighed before speaking with one tired word, "What?"

"I'm so excited for you," Yashiro said. "It must feel so special for you to know that when you get back you'll see Kyoko there. I wonder if she'll be wearing an apron and would make a special omelet with rice in the shape of a heart."

Ren shook his head, "Yashiro, though there is a chance that Kyoko would be wearing an apron, I don't think she'd go around making things like that. Of course, I don't know what goes on in her fantasy world so there is a chance, but please stop speculating on our relationship and turning Kyoko into one of those girls in a romantic comic book."

Yashiro rolled his eyes, "I doubt that you didn't think about the possibility of her looking cute and giving you the food with a smile on her face and saying, 'Please Ren, take this food I made just for you.'" He smiled playfully as he saw Ren imagining it for a moment. "See, I knew that you had thought about it."

"Thinking about it and discussing it are two different things, Yashiro, you should realize that," Ren said as he exited the car. "I mean, if Kyoko did hear you she would think of you talking about her in such a manner as disrespectful. Please try to learn more about ladies," he advised as Yashiro stared at him with a dropped jaw.

"Me?" he asked as he placed a hand on his chest, "Are you, Ren Tsuruga, really telling me that I should learn more about women. I think that your ego has grown bigger since you started dating her," Yashiro pouted as Ren ran a hand through his hair as a gust of wind blew through it.

"You know what," he grinned happily. "I think you're right. Being with Kyoko makes me feel absolutely incredible even if nobody else is allowed to know the reason."

Ren continued smiling as he approached the studio and then caught Kyoko outside wearing a simple but cute outfit. He grinned as he saw her, "Hey there," he said before seeing her eyes get a little bit wider as she looked from side to side as if seeking out any reporters. "How are you, Kyoko-chan?" he asked with his gentleman smile to avoid looking concerned.

He saw Kyoko tense up a little as she looked at him. They had spoken on the phone after the interview and she was hoping that he hadn't felt bad about her denying him as her boyfriend. He had said that he understood if she was uncomfortable stating that fact especially on national TV and that he would be as patient and discreet as she wanted him to be. She had felt that he had been too nice about that and now with that fake smile she was scared that he had lied to her.

"Is anything wrong?" Ren repeated as he turned his face into that which showed more concern for his girlfriend, he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kyoko?" he tilted his head to the side as he showed that he was worried about her.

"Kyoko, is everything okay? Aren't you happy to see Ren?" Yashiro asked as Kyoko stiffened and both men could see the cogs working in her brain.

Kyoko looked at her boyfriend, now she had caused him to be troubled about her. She wanted to hug him and tell him that she was okay but then what if the cameramen found that out. Going into a bow might show submission as well and she definitely didn't want love to be the reason for her doing that. It was good in public, yes, but it made her think of how much she wasted on Shoutaro. Kuon was more deserving of course, but she still didn't want to fall into that trap.

Instead she reached out her hand for a handshake, "It's good to see you again, Ren," she said stiffly as Yashiro and Ren both stared at the offered hand.

"Kyoko, are you feeling alright?" Yashiro asked as he looked at the both formal and very informal gesture. He watched as Ren finally caught onto the fact that he had paused and was looking at her blankly and shook her hand as well, this time placing one hand on the backs of hers as well.

He saw the smile across his client's face as he replied to his girlfriend, "Yes. I'm happy to see you as well, Kyoko," he said before bending down and whispering in her ear. "Is everything okay? I didn't do anything that made you uncomfortable, did I?"

Kyoko's back straightened and she looked up into Ren's eyes. "Nothing at all is wrong," she told him. "You really are a Prince Charming, Ren-san" she blushed as he looked at her with a nod.

"Should I be expecting something good to happen at my apartment tonight, Kyoko-chan?" he asked not really intending the second meaning. As soon as he saw her pale face he kicked himself. He was trying to ask her if she would really be coming over that evening, but he had tried to do it in such a vague way that he couldn't blame her for thinking he was referring to something else.

"No. I'm sorry. I know that you've had -" Kyoko said as she thought about the emperor of the night. Just because she became an older man's girlfriend, did that mean she had to let him have access to her body as well?

"I'm sorry." Ren apologized, "I wasn't asking about something like that, I was mainly asking if I should expect someone special to me to be making me a meal tonight. I wasn't asking about that kind of …dessert."

Kyoko smiled in relief, "If that's so then yes you should," she said as Yashiro stared at the actor with a horrified expression.

"You really need to watch what you say, Ren" he said. "I've told you to try to behave less like an American."

Ren shared a smile with Kyoko as they both knew the secret that Yashiro was an outsider to.

….

….

Kyoko let herself into Ren's…Kuon's apartment after she had changed into some clothing that would be ideal for a date with her boyfriend. She was carrying two bags of groceries since Ren had told her that he wasn't sure what he had on hand for her to make anything. She was happy to have gone shopping for groceries. When she had gone with Ren the first time she realized that there was a lot that his upbringing hadn't led to him knowing.

Although, one day she would love to have Kuon know how to cook well enough to make a meal that Kuu would love and that he would actually think tasted good. She could imagine Ren…Kuon in these family reunions and she only wished that she would be there with him when he did meet his parents as himself.

She looked around to see that Ren had made a good effort to hide away some of the items that she had remembered from before. If she hadn't given him enough time to prepare, then maybe he would have left her some clues to his past.

Now that she knew what his real name was, she was even more curious in what kind of secrets his past contained, but she would have to ask him about them and then wait to see if he actually wanted her to know them. For someone who couldn't even admit in an interview to having a boyfriend, she had to try to understand that there were some pieces of himself that she didn't know.

She set down the bags and started taking the groceries out. She had decided to make a four course meal. Maybe Ren would prefer eating four smaller meals rather than just one large meal, it might be easier on his stomach to digest as well.

She was going to start off with some miso soup. This was a good choice since there wasn't anything fried in there and it would help start the meal off with a refreshing cleanser. She didn't think that Kuon would object to that. Then there was a simple salad without much dressing. She had picked out some vegetables that were both seasonal and weren't too filling.

Then she had decided to cook chicken udon. She wasn't going to make too much of it and she would make sure to keep a check on her boyfriend's face to see if he was forcing himself to eat it. Kuon had a rather irregular eating pattern so that was something that she would have to observe to get the hints on when he was actually hungry but too lazy to get anything and when he felt he was suffocating from too much food. She was glad that she had known that about him before.

The last part of the meal was something that was a personal test to herself. She hated the idea that she was going to be treating a man that she had fallen in love with like a test subject, but she wanted to see his reaction. She was making pudding, the same pudding that Shou secretly liked.

Did it really matter how much Kuon liked this as well? She didn't quite understand why she was testing him to see what kind of food he liked or if he was like Shoutaro. She knew that he wasn't. Kuon wasn't that selfish and he had never really hurt her, or at least he had only hurt her with his cutting words that she had deserved at the time. She also knew from reflecting on how much she liked Kuon that what she had felt as a child wasn't love, it was her trying to find an escape route from a terrible reality.

Hopefully in a few months, she would tell the world about her relationship with Ren and Kuon would become her reality. If things were going as wonderful as this, she wasn't going to be afraid of even moving in with him. She wanted to know everything about him. Her Ren. Her Corn.

Her Kuon.