AN: So sorry about the slow updates. It wasn't just on this fic but on most of them. I hope you enjoy this chapter and again sorry about the wait and thanks for your patience.

Chapter Twenty – Promised her my Love

Kyoko smiled at an article that Okami-san had given her which was a look into 'The Lake in the Park'. It really made her feel lucky how she had a way to bond with Kuon and more than that, she had a way to act across from a true professional. Just as had happened when her soda commercial had been shown, Kyoko felt a little embarrassed when she looked at the picture of her and Kuon. Still, it was different in some ways. She seemed to take more importance in how he was looking at her than at what she looked like.

She looked at the jacket again and made sure to tie the ribbon well. This was going to be a gift for her boyfriend. Unlike when she was living with Sho, this was a gift that he didn't know about or expect, this was a gift that she was going to give him as a surprise. She just hoped that what she had seen from his wasn't him wanting more from her.

She had heard in some stupid comedy movie that one reason why guys gave girls jewelry was to make it so that they could enter the next part of their relationship. She didn't think that she was ready for that. Kisses still made her tingle, having anyone that close to her - that was really hard to think about.

However, she would consider it if he was gentle and she knew that he knew her body as well as - well half as well as she knew his. She wanted to feel that it was safe to say no and he would immediately stop. Well, she had that. She knew that Kuon would do his best to take this at her speed. She was scared to disappoint him.

As she looked at herself in the mirror, she did a small turn to look at the dress that she had bought for this date. She had on a hot pink dress and a black cardigan. She wondered if she stood out too much. Kuon must have…expectations for her and for this date. He was experienced and he had dated other girls. She didn't want to be given a bad grade especially by him.

She walked down the stairs to see Okami-san there and bowed deeply. "I'm going out for the night. Please let me know if I can help with anything when I get back and I promise not to stay out too late," she said quickly before Okami grinned.

"If you have any problems with him then tell us. Enjoy your romance," she sighed and Kyoko grinned before going out to see Kuon standing out front of the shop in a nice suit. "Hey," she smiled as she walked over to him and slipped her hand into his. "You could have come inside and waited for me. It's a little chilly out here," she said with a smile and Kuon started taking off his jacket. "No, I'm okay. I'm okay," she smiled before he tilted his head to the side.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his eyes focusing in on her as if to try to tell whether she was trying to be nice or if she actually was fine. He put his arm back into his jacket and took her hand before looking down at the present she was holding. He saw her looking at it and then she took a step away from him.

"Here, I'm not sure if there's an etiquette for older boyfriends who are also your senior -" Kyoko said quickly as she handed him the present. She paused as she saw Kuon smiling and holding it in his hands. She blushed and looked down hoping that he would like it.

"Thank you, Kyoko," he smiled and as she looked at him she could see the ten-year-old who had first stolen her heart despite her not knowing it at the time. "Can I open it now?" he asked and Kyoko smiled with a nod. She looked down nervously but kept peeking at him to see his expression.

She grinned as she saw him remove it from the box and hold it in the air.

"Wow, this is a great. Thank you," he said and Kyoko had to stop herself from being blinded by his smile. She stood with her hands in front of her as she saw him remove his suit jacket to try the new one on. She grinned as she saw that it fit and smiled happily. "Thank you. I love it and I love you," he told her honestly and Kyoko almost melted at how happy he appeared.

"Do you know what they say when a girl buys their boyfriend a jacket," he said as Kyoko looked up at him and saw all the kindness and love and accepting that she used to see as teasing her or toying with her. She paused and waited for his reply. "It means that the girl wants the guy to wear it so that everybody knows that they are a couple and that's why this is now my favorite jacket," he said before kissing Kyoko's cheek as she turned red.

"Well if that's not what you want," Kyoko said as she looked at him and he smiled seeing her nerves. "If you don't want to go around with people thinking that … that's not what I meant …I really hope that you do like it."

"I love it," Kuon said as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and felt how hot her face had become. He really had to keep holding himself back when it came to her because the last thing that he wanted was for her to want to break up with him. "I also got you a gift today," he told her.

Kyoko smiled before taking his hand, "Please don't feel that you need to get me things all the time. I've fallen in love with you and when you really fall in love with someone, material wealth means less than having the person by your side. However, thank you so much, Kuon."

Kuon grinned as he got out the bag from the jewelry shop but as he was about to give it to her, he dropped the bag onto the ground. "I am…I'm so sorry," he apologized quickly as he knelt down to pick it up. He picked up the jewelry box and looked up at her from one knee. "Kyoko,"

"Yes," Kyoko replied without a second thought, "Yes. I will marry you, Corn."

"Huh?" Kuon asked before getting up onto his feet. "I'm so sorry," he apologized to her as he tried to brush himself off. He looked at her and held her hand, bringing it up to his lips. "I'm sorry. I'm not ready to propose to you just yet," he smiled before closing his eyes. "It means so much to me that you said yes though."

Kyoko looked down embarrassed. She had been prepared to say no and let him down easily so that he didn't feel like an idiot. She had been so surprised by her answer and even more surprised that it had come out of her mouth so quickly. She felt as if she wanted to hide away and not be seen.

"Don't worry about it though, let's forget it happened and just be thankful for one another," he tucked a few more strands of hair behind her ear before giving her a box. Inside was an expensive necklace that had a mix of sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds. Kyoko's eyes widened at how beautiful it was.

"This must have cost you so much, is it really okay for me to accept?" she asked and Kuon smiled.

"Of course, it's okay for you to accept. I think once this drama airs you'll have offers flooding in and you'll be a super celebrity. I'm just so happy that I get to see it all happen. I'm happy that I've seen you grow from the beginning," he told her and Kyoko hugged him close.

"Thank you, Kuon," she whispered.

She was now certain that one day in the future she would come to be married to this man.

…..

…

Kyoko could hear the whispers as she and Kuon were sat at the exclusive table. She turned to her boyfriend who seemed oblivious to what people were saying. Maybe it was because he had grown up with two actors as parents and a mother who was a supermodel. He had probably had people talking about him all the time. Even when she had been with Kuu, she had heard the whispers about who was she and why was she there.

This camouflaging technique brought her down a little. It was as if she was cursed to just blend into the background despite her roles.

As she looked around, she felt Kuon hold her hand and squeeze it gently. She looked at him and saw him beaming at her. "Are you alright?" he asked as a bread basket was set down between them.

Kyoko nodded and smiled at him, "I am since you're here," she told him as she saw his expression soften even more. She had always felt that the puppy dog eyes worked on her whether it was Ren, Corn, or Cain but now that he was her boyfriend she saw even more looks.

"I will always be here," he promised her as a waiter came to them.

"Shall I start you two off with a bottle of wine?" he asked and Kuon quickly looked at Kyoko before shaking his head. He knew that the wine here was top quality and many people came here exclusively for it but he didn't want to make Kyoko feel uncomfortable.

"No, can I get a water?" he asked and Kyoko looked at him. She had imagined that he would order something that she couldn't drink. Was he ordering non-alcoholic beverages because he understood her age. That was most likely the considerate act he was doing.

"Could I have a sparkling water?" Kyoko asked as they looked through their menus and she tried to avoid looking at the prices. This was something that Kuon wanted to do and she wanted to be there with him. As the waiter turned she looked at her boyfriend and let one of her fingers stroke the back of his hand. "You could have -" she tried to argue but he shook his head.

"Wine is better if you can share it with the person you love. I'll wait until I can drink it with you," he told her before seeing a woman – who was not a waitress – approach the table.

"Ren," she said as Kyoko rolled her eyes. "Did you forget about our date this evening?"

Kyoko stared at her with an annoyed expression which matched her boyfriends. "Wow, what a dumb tactic," she said so that only the three of them could hear it. "Trying to cause trouble. Well, Kuon has promised me his evenings and his love. You can't shake my trust in him."

Kuon looked at the woman confused, "I'm afraid I'm going to ask you to go away. I don't even know who you are," he told her before the woman straightened her back and said in English.

"Just like you, Kuon, to forget about Rick."

End of Chapter Twenty

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Nineteen

Brennakai, Crazy4Animation, DreamIdol, EmmaLasagna, Kris, paulagato, Undertheskys