This chapter of the Fabulous Fall Fic 2020 Collaboration was brought to you by: nnjvz
Chapter Six
Kyoko blushed as she picked up the latest article of clothing from the night before, flung off to the side of the TV stand. Folding the sweater neatly, she placed it on the growing pile of cosplay items. Glancing down at the set of ears that had been laying next to the sweater, Kyoko needed to vigorously fan herself for a few seconds before she was comfortable enough to continue cleaning up their room. We may need to rethink our living arrangements next time. Yashiro won't be there to interrupt every time, Kyoko thought, remembering the late night phone call Kuon had gotten from their manager. If he hadn't called about changes to the meet-and-greet location, things may have gone farther than either Kuon or her intended.
Shaking her head, she picked up the pile and brought it over to the closet to be packed away. Luckily Kuon had to leave early again this morning, otherwise who knows how much cleaning up she could have done with him distracting her. Sitting down on the floor beside the closet, Kyoko carefully removed the secret cosplay pieces she had been working on for tomorrow, and gathered her purchases from the day before. Glancing at the clock, she gave herself half an hour to add the finishing touches before she needed to get ready. Searching for Kuon today was going to be extra difficult thanks to the change in location due to overzealous fans, so she had less time to prepare than normal. "The price of fame," Kuon liked to joke sometimes, when he described stories from his childhood of fans appearing in strange locations just to meet his parents.
Finishing up the cosplays, Kyoko gave a little squeal of excitement, impatient for Kuon to try the outfit on. She couldn't wait to see him at the charity ball in it. Looking at her own outfit, she gave into temptation and held it up, twirling about the room as if it was her dancing partner. Returning from La-la-land (as Kuon referred to it), Kyoko stopped spinning and carefully packed the outfits back up in their special hiding spot. Leaning over once she was done, she peeked around the extra bedding to make sure her surprise was safely hidden before taking out her clothing and wig for the current day.
Humming to herself, she flitted in and out of the bathroom, doing her makeup, lacing her corset-topped dress and making sure her wig was properly styled. Today would be an interesting mix of cosplays and she was excited to go out in the convention and see what people's reactions would be. While the overall theme of their outfits was the same, Kuon and her would be doing a cross-over of character designs for their cosplay, taking the characters from different sources. They were lucky they had thought of doing a crossover when Kyoko was choosing their cosplays, otherwise it would have been extremely difficult to pass Kuon as his character without fans instantly recognising him as Ren.
Moving back to the bathroom, Kyoko carefully gathered the beautiful blonde wig and pinned it in place. The wig, partially repurposed from the first day of the convention, was now braided and piled up, with flowers weaved throughout. It was a bit heavy, one of the reasons she wasn't going to be wearing this outfit tomorrow for the ball, but it wasn't too bad after a few minutes. Kyoko just hoped she would be able to stand the weight for the whole day. I don't envy my character the amount of hair she has to deal with on a daily basis. No wonder she is strong enough to haul people about if she has to carry this all the time.
Smoothing out her purplish-pink skirt, Kyoko did one last glance over her outfit in the mirror, ensuring she had her lanyard, convention badge, and chameleon-detailed purse. All set! Taking a deep breath, she quietly cracked open the hotel door and peeked around looking for any people before exiting the room. Reaching the elevator without seeing anyone else, she breathed a sigh of relief that their precautions from the days before had worked. Cheered over her sneaky departure, Kyoko looked down at her purse and exclaimed, "Pascal, let's go find our prince!"
Taking in a deep breath, Kuon walked stealthily to the corner of the curtain barrier and peeked out, mentally berating himself for not planning better earlier. I should have had Yashiro bring my bag back here for me, instead of leaving it at the bag-check again. There are so many people waiting here today.
A hand clamped down on his shoulder, interrupting his thoughts, as someone leaned in and whispered, "What has you so paranoid?"
Flinching in shock, Kuon glanced to the side at Kijima huddled closeby.
"Yashiro warned me that our fans are being extra intense today. Already, four people have been found hiding under furniture and in our dressing rooms in the past hour, not to mention the ones camping out in the meet-and-greet area last night."
"Oh yeah, I heard about that. I even saw a few follow me to my room yesterday. But what does it matter now? Just walk out there and have some fun! Who knows— instead of working all the time, you might even enjoy yourself." Kijima added, winking at the last bit.
Shaking his head in annoyance, Kuon stated, "I'm trying to leave, not get mobbed."
Sighing in disappointment, Kijima responded, "You're no fun! You won't come out for drinks or walk the floor with me. All you do is work, work, work."
"The last time I went drinking with you alone it didn't go so well." Kuon muttered under his breath, flashbacks to the scandal that event had caused briefly flitting through his mind.
"Maybe I should ask Kyoko out again, since it seems like you are married to your work." Kijima goaded.
Glaring at him, Kuon harshly whispered back, "As I said the other day—Kyoko will be mine," before checking the hallway quickly once more. Kuon then pulled back the curtain and walked away, hands clenched in an effort not to throttle his friend.
Walking briskly, Kuon dodged a few fans by entering a nearby men's washroom and exiting through the door on the opposite side. Luckily for him, this actually brought him closer to the bag-check area and he was able to easily grab his things without too much of a commotion. Pulling out his cell phone, Kuon quickly read his messages from Yashiro about where some open rooms should be available for staff. Consulting a nearby convention floor plan, he found a room that he should be able to change in without any issues, and headed that way. Glancing at his watch he grimaced, noting how little time he had left to change and store his things before he was supposed to meet with Kyoko. Speeding up, he quickly found the room he had been searching for and checked it out for fans or other convention staff. It seemed to be clear, so Kuon entered and locked the door behind him.
Quickly stripping, he briefly paused to message Yashiro his location before he got to work pulling on his outfit. The tight dark leather pants were difficult to don at first and took a few precious minutes of his time struggling to properly pull them on. The looser white shirt was infinitely easier to slip on, a fact Kuon was thankful for. Pulling the leather doublet overtop, Kuon admired the stitched leather and metal detailing that R'Mandy had added to the coat, amazed at how intricate and accurate it was. Although with Lory involved it probably shouldn't be too much of a surprise at how detailed the outfits were designed.
Glancing in the mirror Kyoko had packed for him, Kuon carefully switched out his brown Tsuruga Ren contacts for blue ones. He probably could have gone without the blue, but it didn't hurt to also change his eye colour as a precaution. That, in addition to using the blonde wig from earlier in the week, should help to throw off some of his more avid fans. Fixing his hair to lay better after being messed up in the bag, Kuon was ready to head back out onto the convention floor to look for his princess. Stowing his phone and a few other personal objects in the handy inner pockets of his coat, he stashed his work clothes and bag behind one of the chairs and unlocked the door. Nodding slightly to Yashrio who was standing across, Kuon silently thanked his manager for his help as he walked away.
The convention was definitely busier today as the weekend crowds packed into the halls and hotel. Winding his way through the mass of people, Kuon was glad that his additional height helped him to traverse the floor much more easily than those around him. He worried about how Kyoko was fairing and silently cursed the fact that he couldn't have met with her back at their room. Although, Kuon acknowledged to himself, we may never have left the room if I went back, scenes of last night flitting through his mind. She's just too cute sometimes; it makes it difficult to be responsible. Especially with those ears.
Shaking those thoughts from his head before he wandered too far into it, Kuon continued to progress steadily through the crowds. Heading towards the photo-op background area that the convention had set up near the entrance, Kuon continuously scanned the crowd for spots of purplish-pink and a blonde wig, trying to find Kyoko. Reaching the tower background that they had arranged to meet at without any success, Kuon searched for Kyoko again before he pulled out his phone.
Startled to see he had some missed calls, he cursed the loud music and crowds from preventing him from hearing it ring. A few of the messages were from Yashiro, confirming he found Kuon's clothes and bag. Another reminded him to be extra careful today if he wanted to enjoy his time with Kyoko. The last message was from Kyoko herself. It was her calling to inform him that she had successfully left their room and was on her way. Kuon glanced at the timestamp of that message. She had called twenty minutes ago! Concerned, as this area should only be a ten minute walk from their room, Kuon decided to call her just in case she had run into some trouble.
Kyoko had a problem. Walking around with Kuon the past few days made her forget how people tended to part for him when they walked, either due to his height or his expression. Now, trying to push through the crowds on her own, she appreciated Kuon's ability to get them places quickly. After a few more moments of trying to walk against the crowd, Kyoko's entire body started vibrating and the faint melody of music filled the air. A couple of people around her backed off, and stared at her in confusion until they noticed her pull out her phone from one of the secret pockets in her dress.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Rapunzel! Where are you?" Kuon asked.
"I'm just reaching the ticket area now, you?"
"I'm at your tower. Wait where you are and I'll come get you!"
"But Prince—" Kyoko started to protest.
"It'll be easier for me to move through the crowds," he reasoned.
"But how will you find me?"
"I'll always find you. But stay on the call and let me know if you see or hear me."
"What do you me—"
"RAPUNZEL!" Kuon shouted out loud in English, pushing back into the crowd. A few people in and not in cosplay had come up to him for a picture as he was listening to his voicemails and calling Kyoko, but he just smiled apologetically and motioned to his phone. Now as he called out for Rapunzel, a group of them that had been gathering nearby started to follow in his wake.
"Rapunzel! RAPUNZEL!" Kyoko could hear Kuon shouting through the phone quite clearly, but as she stood off to the side of the flowing crowd, she could hear him distantly over the noise of those around her. Glancing in that direction, she could partially see a shock of blond hair moving above the mass of people.
"I see you! Head straight and a bit to your left."
"RAPUNZEL! Great, let me know when I'm closer."
Watching him weaving about, past clusters of convention goers walking and standing in the hall, Kyoko giggled, noticing the group of people following behind him.
"RAPUNZEL! What's so funny?" Kuon asked, delighted to hear her tinkling laughter.
"You have an entourage, my prince."
"RAPUNZEL! I what?" Turning around slightly, Kuon finally noticed the group of people that had been watching him at the tower earlier. "I guess we shall have to put on a show."
Still giggling, Kyoko replied, "I guess so!"
Now almost upon her, Kuon could finally make out his petite girlfriend among the rest of the convention. She looked beautiful in her dress, with her hair full of flowers and a twinkle in her eye as she watched his progression.
"Rapunzel! I have finally found you."
"My darling."
Kuon pulled Kyoko in for a hug, leaving a light kiss on the top of her head.
A small smattering of claps and cheers rang out from the crowd that had been following him. A few of them stepped forward after a little while and asked, "That was adorable! Do you mind if we take your picture?"
"Your outfits are amazing!"
"I love your hair! How did you get the flowers to stay in place?"
Posing for a bit, Kuon and Kyoko talked with the crowd, fielding questions about their outfits and how they have found the convention. There was even a great surprise when a familiar red garbed man popped into the crowd.
"Rapunzel and her prince! Well met! I thought I recognised that profile and build. I take it you are not hunting for wolves or dueling men today?"
"Little Red Robin Hood! Well met indeed." Kyoko answered, laughing in delight. "No wolves yet. Only towers to escape from."
"That was amazing what you did a few days ago! The party was buzzed for hours!"
With a blush on her cheeks, Kyoko replied, "Thank you again for the use of your sword!"
"No problem!"
They chatted with Robin Hood and the rest of the group for a bit longer until they realized they were taking up quite a bit of the hallway, blocking people from easily walking around. Saying their goodbyes to the crowd, they headed off further into the convention. With no panels planned for the day, they wandered about, briefly walking around the Artist's Alley. Every so often they would be stopped for pictures, but surprisingly they were able to move about more easily than other days.
As they were passing one of the rooms, they were invited by some of the convention staff to join in a game of cosplay chess. Curious, the pair agreed and were led to an area with a large grid marked off on the ground and a collection of chairs around it.
"Ah! Rapunzel and her Prince! Welcome!" A petite fairy in a red dress with a pointed hat exclaimed. "If you would just head over to the black side of the board, Fauna will direct you to your place."
Calling out to the woman in a green dress with small wings at the back and a pointed hat, she said, "A king and queen for you!"
"Perfect! Prince, if you would just stand there," Fauna said, grabbing Kuon's hand and pulling him onto the board. "And you, lovely Rapunzel, you can stand here."
As she directed Kyoko, she looked down and cried out, "Oh look! Those are amazing! I almost swore you were walking around barefoot!"
"They are amazing aren't they!" Kyoko said, looking down at her flesh-coloured five toed shoes, an ingenious R'Mandy creation as part of the fairytale line.
There were a few minutes of gushing over shoes and the surrounding outfits by Kyoko, Fauna, and some of the other 'chess pieces' on the black side while they waited for all the spots to be filled and the chairs of the audience to be taken.
"Okay everyone!" Flora finally called out a few minutes later. "Merryweather will go through the audience and choose two lucky people to be the commanders for each side." She motioned to another woman in a similar fairy garb, just this time in blue.
A young man dressed as a tengu, a bird-like man, was chosen as the leader for the black side versus a young female Jack and the Beanstalk. All the participants had a great time mock battling when they claimed another's space and the crowd enjoyed the often over-dramatized death scenes the conquered player portrayed. Kyoko acted out an elaborate death as one of the white knights, a Bluebeard with a sword, moved around and stabbed her from behind. The agonised, "Rapunzel, no!" from Kuon added greatly to the tragic effect as she lay gasping for breath, hand stretched out to him. In the end, having lost his queen, Kuon was cornered into checkmate and surrendered, giving white the victory.
They stayed behind to talk with some of their fellow players and enjoy some time to rest while watching the next match of chess play out. Soon though, they started to feel tired as the exhaustion of six days of the convention started to catch up with them. Saying goodbye, they made their way back to their room. There were a few last eventful encounters as a Prince playfully yell-sang "Agony! Beyond power of speech!" at Kuon as they passed and a woman dressed as Mother Gothel pretended to lure Kyoko away while saying, "Come now, Mother knows best." After stopping to take a few pictures with them, Kuon and Kyoko hurried on their path, craving the comfort of their room. The elevator area was blessedly free when they arrived, so they didn't need to worry about potentially being followed back upstairs.
Ordering room service once they arrived, they decided they would practice the waltz they learned before going to sleep, to be ready for the ball tomorrow. Pushing the furniture out of the way as best as possible, they turned on some music and danced around their room. Consulting the video of their lesson a few times, they enjoyed spinning and twirling about the room, holding each other close, until both were too tired to dance anymore. Collapsing onto the bed, they lay there entwined, smiling as they drifted off to sleep.
It's been so much fun creating this story with everyone, and I hope you all enjoyed my continuation of the fairytale convention adventures! I really wanted to have Kyoko and Kuon be Rapunzel and Flynn, as it would have been hilarious to see one of them walking around with a frying pan.
Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out a way that Kuon could be sufficiently disguised and not be recognised as Ren. But this way I got to watch the Agony scene from Into the Woods several times, so that was fun. As always, thank you so much to my fellow authors for the opportunity to write with you all, and to all you lovely readers, thank you for reading!
~nnjvz
This author can be found at:
AO3: (website goes here) /users/nnjvz/pseuds/nnjvz
FFN: (website goes here followed by a slash) u/10961114