A/N: So it looks like this story will be my longest so far…it was only going to be a few chapters long! Lol. But I've enjoyed every minute of writing it and all the reviews, so thank you all!

Letting off Steam

The young woman stepped under the hot stream of water and closed her eyes, willing her mind to calm down and relax. It didn't work, however, as all of her troubled thoughts seemed happy where they were; fighting each other for space in her mind. 'Ren didn't seem angry with me.' Of course, that was first and foremost in her mind, and while she was relieved, she was also upset. 'This is my fault. If I had just agreed to announce our relationship, none of this would have happened, they wouldn't be insulting me, and Ren wouldn't be worried about it.' She groaned and adjusted the knob so that the water was hotter, letting it pound against her back. 'And now, not only does he have to worry about that, he's starting Cain Heel tomorrow. He's afraid of BJ, he told me that himself. But…what if I'm not enough? What if I can't help him through this?' She closed her eyes and let the water run down her face, reaching for the bath pouf and lathering it with body wash, then, starting with her face, scrubbing her body. Briefly she considered calling his father and talking to Kuu, but immediately vetoed the idea as the water washed the suds from her body. 'No. I'm not going behind his back like that. If I'm going to help him, I have to do it.'

After a few minutes under the pouring stream of water, she shut off the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping the fluffy, white fabric around her body and knotting it so that it would stay in place, then wrapped her hair in another. She looked at herself in the mirror as she reached for a toothbrush and squirted toothpaste onto the bristles, the stuck it in her mouth. 'The President sais that I am going to debut soon.' She remembered as she attempted to sort through her thoughts. 'And now I'm 'Japan's #1 Actor's girlfriend…or a whore…' She shook her head. 'I wanted to be famous. That's part of my job…but this seems too fast. I don't want people thinking that I am just dating him to get my name out.' She spit the toothpaste out and rinsed her mouth, then began to dry off. 'And I know I shouldn't have snapped at Moko-san…but I can't believe she would even suggest that Yashiro would do something like that.' Closing her eyes, she crouched down and rested her head on the edge of the sink. 'It's too much. Everything with Ren…and my current jobs…and a debut coming up! I don't know how to handle everything. And I can't tell Ren! He's dealing with just as much as I am.'

There was a tentative knock on the door and she leapt to her feet, tightening the towel. "Kyoko? Are you okay?"

Wondering how long she had been thinking, she began to dry her hair in earnest. "I'm fine! I'm almost done." She grabbed her pajamas, a pair of very short shorts and a camisole top, and continued drying her hair as she slipped out the door, turning off the light. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take so long." He shook his head, saying that it was okay, but he continued to stare at her closely for a few moments. "Um…it's getting late. I think I'm going to bed." She reached up and pecked his cheek then hurried into her bed before he started asking questions. Turning his back to him, she waited for him to turn off the light. The room was silent for a few moments, and she felt the bed dip. A large, warm hand covered her forehead and then moved to stroke her cheek.

"What's wrong?" She cursed his ability to see through her and rolled over, smiling up at him with her best 'tired' expression pasted onto her face.

"What? Oh, I'm just really sleepy. It's been a long day." She felt her smile brighten and he flinched a little as the rays burned his eyes. "Sorry. Are you not sleepy? You can keep the light on if you want. But we have to get up early…" He continued to stare at her in suspicion and she lifted an eyebrow, then rolled back over, shutting him out as best as she could. 'Not this time. I'm not going to give in and give you any more trouble than you already have. I'll deal with it on my own.' She heard him sigh then the lights disappeared, but the weight on her bed lingered. "Are you going to sleep in my bed tonight?" She asked softly. She was a little embarrassed at the idea, although they had done it before. Still, she didn't think that doing it every night was a good idea. In her limited knowledge, sleeping in the same bed could lead to…things.

He continued stroking her hair, and she could almost feel the sadness radiating from him. "What's wrong?" She asked softly when he didn't reply.

"You're upset." He answered simply as his hand moved to the back of her neck and rested there, making her eyes widen in the dark. "Something is the matter with you and you won't tell me what it is."

"Ren…" She sighed and rolled over, scooting toward the other side of the bed and pulling him down. He shifted his body until he was lying beside her, facing her, his hand on her face. "It isn't important." She informed him quietly. "Not as important as what you are dealing with, and…"

"Don't do that to me." He begged her, stroking her face tenderly, then tugging gently on her orange locks. "Don't push everything aside and act like I'm more important than you are." She stiffened a little.

"I don't…" She whispered harshly.

"Yes, you do. You just want to focus on what I'm going through, and I appreciate it, Kyoko. I couldn't do it without you, but I want you to let me be there for you too. That's part of being in a relationship with someone." He spoke slowly, deliberately, so that she would pay attention.

"You just have to deal with so much right now…" She leaned her head against his chin, tucking herself under him, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"So are you, and what you are going through is no less important. Won't you just tell me?" She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath, deflating against him as her resolve flew out the window.

"It's just too much." She whispered. "The rumors about us, BJ, Cain and Setsu, my work on Box R and Dark Moon, the President's plan for my debut…" She wiped irritably at her eyes as her stress came to the forefront. "They're calling me a whore." She whimpered, feeling his arms tighten around her. Using every ounce of her strength, she refused to cry. "They are using us to hurt each other, and our reputations, and…" Her voice broke and he rubbed her back. "I don't know what to do, Corn." She finally sobbed. "Moko-san believed them." She cried. "She thought that Yashiro was trying to flirt with me and asked if I was serious about you." He rocked her for a moment, letting her calm down. "I'm sorry." She mumbled.

"It's going to be okay." He ignored her unnecessary apology and gently tugged on her hair, making her giggle softly. "Look, we're going to announce our relationship to the press. They'll be annoying for a while, but we'll get through it, and they'll eventually leave us alone. Kotonami-san is probably sorry for even suggesting something like that, and I'm sure she understands that you are under a lot of pressure. This movie, the BJ project, Cain and Setsu…we'll get through it together and it won't last too long. In between we can take breaks. The President isn't going to have you debut until your schedule opens up a little. Okay?" She nodded, sniffing, and he kissed her forehead.

"Okay." She murmured, laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes.

"I wish you'd stop hiding things from me." He whispered, kissing her cheek this time. He felt her face heat up a little, but she didn't squirm in his arms. Instead, she moved closer and nuzzled his neck, placing a quick kiss over his pulse.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just…whatever problems you are having…you can come to me. Because I love you. No matter what, I'll always be there for you." She sniffed again, and then moved away, coming out from under his chin, and pushed her lips against his. He smiled briefly, then kissed her back, pulling her waist closer until there was no space between them. She placed her arms around his neck and let him open her mouth, briefly questioning the sanity of making out with her boyfriend while half naked in her bed, but coherent thought was made impossible by his tongue in her mouth. Giving in and trusting him to stop before they went to far, she let him lead.

He had to stop when she placed her legs around his waist. Ren hadn't even noticed when he rolled them over, his tall frame resting on her smaller one and his weight resting mostly on his legs and arms, but her ankles lifted and locked around his back pushed their lower bodies together, and when she rocked against him, he didn't know if he could keep himself from continuing. He was suddenly vividly aware that the only thing covering her lower body was a think pair of shorts. He pushed against her involuntarily and shuddered at the way she groaned, pushing back up against him, causing a hot jolt of electricity from his lower body and up his spine. He took a deep breath and pulled away, gently reaching back and pushing her legs off of him. It took the majority of his self control to get himself off of her and out of the bed, but he managed it...barely.

"Aren't you going to sleep with me?" She asked softly, her voice somehow innocent. He bit his lip for a second.

'She trusts me. She won't have a reason to if I stay in that bed.' He leaned over and kissed her forehead, pulling the blankets up and tucking her in. "No. I'd better not." His voice was deeper than normal, and he wondered if she could tell. "Goodnight, Kyoko." He whispered, then moved away from her.

Kyoko frowned when he went into the bathroom and shut the door firmly, the lock clicking into place in the otherwise quiet room, but decided that she'd better cool off and go to sleep. Cain had to be at work early, and his beloved sister needed her beauty sleep. Right as she was about to drift off, he emerged from the bathroom, careful to turn the light out quickly so it didn't disturb her, and slipped into his own bed. "I love you." He whispered across the room.

She managed a drowsy "I love you too" before drifting off.

A/N: This is short because finals are hectic. Still, hope you enjoyed. Reviews are lovely and appreciated. I'm sorry for typos, and I will try to go back soon and fix a lot of them in this story, along with 'Of Age' which has a few problems in the final chapters especially. Thanks for reading!