Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat or any of its characters. Thank you.

Kyoko woke to a throbbing in her head and long, warm body stretched out beside her. The room was cold and snuggled back under the covers and into the arms of Fuwa Sho. What was with her? One little moment of weakness and her vengeful spirits had left her? Her thoughts returned to Tsuruga Ren. Or perhaps they had simply found another target. Was she always so wishy washy? Her body was cradled neatly in Sho's arms and their limbs entangled. Kyoko peered into his sleeping face. Why did those who were cruel born so beautiful? Such deceit. It was really, truly quite unfair. Sho pulled Kyoko into him as he slept. His desire for control was present even when defenseless. It wasn't until Kyoko had pulled herself out of her deep thoughts that she noticed something rather stiff poking into her abdomen. Her face went to stone. He couldn't….she didn't…what the hell? She let out a screech and shot out of Sho's arms, grabbing the nearest object, a pillow, as a weapon. Sho was awake now, wincing at the sound of Kyoko's ungodly scream. He wiped at his eyes, mind still groggy from sleep. Kyoko began beating him with the pillow.

" .DIS-GUS-TING!" She separated each syllable with a blow from the pillow. Sho extended an arm in defense.

"What the hell are you talking about? I haven't done anything wrong!"

Kyoko just sneered at him.

"You are vile! You know exactly what you've done." She said, her eyes wild and poised to strike again with the pillow, rapidly losing its feathers. Her eyes strayed to the offending appendage. Sho traced her visual path that led to his body and turned beet red. Grabbing the pillow from her grasp he covered himself.

"Don't get yourself too worked up. It's only natural, it happens to all guys in the morning. You should know that by now."

"And how precisely would I know that? Do I look like a man?"

"Don't act like you weren't banging Mr. Tall, Dark, and Heartbreak."

"Even if I had that's MY business. It's still disgusting…..and weird."

"The weird one here is YOU. It's a NATURAL reaction. It's not like you're even…."

"Your type? Blonde? Leggy? Big Breasted?" Kyoko offered.

"…..interested. I was going to say interested."

"Interested in what?"

"Oh come on, Kyoko. You and I know you're not completely virginal. A bit of a prude maybe but I know that there is a lot that appeals to your baser instincts. You just refuse to think about it because you'd lose your head."

"What are you trying to say?" Kyoko placed her hands on her hips and jutted one out to the side. Sho took that as a challenge. He locked eyes with her. No way was she getting out of this one. She wanted to pretend she was an ice queen? He'd have to crank up the heat.

Sho crossed to her, unabashed by his arousal, his enjoyment of the situation in which she put them blatantly obvious. She rolled her eyes and in retaliation he slid his hands into her hair and tilted her face bringing it dangerously close to his own.

"I've always thought there was only one real reason why a middle school girl runs away with a boy to live with him….alone. Very gutsy. Pretty obvious that something very wild had spurred her decision."

He thought she followed him to sleep with him?! Sho had always been attractive but she had never given much thought in that regard. She found his body quite beautiful but she didn't fantasize about her and him….together…..doing THAT.

"Not all of us are driven by lust." She spat, clearly disgusted with the situation.

"So, you're telling me you never once wondered what a man would look like, what it would FEEL like? In all that time you proclaimed to love me, you never felt it even once?"

"Feel what? Stupid?" Kyoko snorted.

Sho was tired of playing games. She had probably spent all her time and energy fantasizing about smarmy asshole Tsuruga Ren but she wasn't the least bit curious what he looked like without clothes? Or how he could make her feel? Did she ever really love him or was she just in love with the idea of him? Or maybe she just didn't know what to call it. Maybe she had never experienced it because he had never touched her that way. Hopefully, nobody had. He figured Tsuruga had to have done something explicit, but Kyoko wouldn't have allowed him too close.

Sho was consumed with Kyoko. He wasn't supposed to want a woman like this. He especially wasn't supposed to want HER. Yet here he was ready to take her against the window for all the world to see. He didn't find that idea half bad.

"Desire, Kyoko." Sho backed her up against the cool glass, pinning her neatly between the window and his warm body.

For the first time since waking, Kyoko took note of his shirtless body. He was much more tan and toned than Ren, though his frame slightly stockier. The scent of his day old cologne and bare skin wound around her like an aphrodisiac. She breathed in while trying to appear unaffected. He smelled delicious. Wait…what? This was Sho. The boy she'd grown up with, the crush who'd fascinated her, the man who'd broken her locks (the first time at least), the guy that had used her up like a dirty dish rag…..he was also the man who knew her best. Someone had once said they had an irrepressible bond. This cornering of Kyoko seemed to be a favorite move of Sho's. It was a position that radiated power and the desire to be in control of the situation, like a lion with its prey. Wouldn't it be fun to challenge his control? What faces would he make? Her breathing came heavy at the thought of such a dangerous game because the stakes were very high. She could easily end up in bed with him. Baser instincts, he'd said. What would it feel like to tap into them just a bit? After all, who knows when her next chance might be once the debut came through? President Takarada had said that all experiences were useful when you were an actress.

It wouldn't do to make it too obvious to Sho she was planning on being compliant with things. That would simply take the fun out of everything and above all else a challenge never failed to make the pair see red.

"Where and when did I have the time to sit down and think about you…like that?"

"Right because you were too busy fantasizing about Tsuruga Ren."

"Well, maybe you're right and I didn't have to IMAGINE." She smirked knowing she'd succeeded in irking him.

She squirmed as his face drew closer as well as his broad expanse of chest. He placed his forehead against hers and looked her square in the eyes. He was not going to beaten by the memory of some ass that thought he could have even a chance at what was rightfully his. He pressed himself against her. Damn these clothes.

"Sometimes, imagination just doesn't do the justice certain things deserve." He said, his eyes lit with a devilish gleam.

'Dear God' Kyoko thought to herself. Sho was right, though she'd be damned if she gave him the satisfaction. He was hard and angular in the places she was not. Sexy. That was the only word for it. Yes, she couldn't deny he'd always been sexy. She would never admit it to Sho but of course she had thought it. Desire. It was only palpable in one setting for Kyoko. That brief taste of deviance she'd gotten as Setsu…with Ren. She shook her head. No, with Cain, which was even more absurd because she wasn't sure if he was all Cain at that moment either. She supposed that, that danger, that sex appeal, had come from Kuon. She shook her head but she still couldn't get that bad taste out of her mouth from the memory with Ren. All the while, he she was melting into Sho's arms.

She glanced at Sho's eyes. As if Sho knew exactly what she had been reminiscing about, he grinded his hips into hers, driving all rational thought from her mind. Why did that feel so exquisite? Her mouth was running dry and his attentions in the friction department had not yet stopped, but she had to get a handle on this before they…did things she might regret….or worse, want to repeat.

"Isn't it unhealthy to be like that for so long?"

"Like what?" Sho said clearly amused.

"…" Kyoko stared at him mutinously.

"Desire is natural, Kyoko. The difference between him and ME is that…" He thrust hard into her hips, pinning her to the glass, her feet suspended, the tension building, and brought his lips down to her ear.

"…..I know EXACTLY what excites you." He whispered his breath hot and delicious in her ear. She felt a flick of his tongue trace her ear.

That was when the door sounded. Sho extricated from himself slowly and reluctantly, almost peeling himself off of her from top to bottom until he gently lowered her to the ground. Immediately, Kyoko lamented the loss of the warm angular planes and cursed herself. Her body ached it places it ought not to ache for a mere childhood friend, much less a man who had once broken her heart. Traitorous body. He looked into her eyes, breath still coming hard and arousal still apparent. The door sounded again and Sho snarled.

"Kyoko?" a familiar masculine voice filled the air. Ren. No, Kuon. Whatever he called himself, was standing outside her door. The door behind which she had nearly lost her virginity to Sho. Instinctively she moved to begin smoothing herself into state of composure and paused. Why? What answers did Tsuruga Ren deserve? He'd broken her for the final time. What was there to say? He broke her heart and she could fix it however she damn well pleased.

Sho's face must have betrayed his emotions because he could have put his fist right through Tsuruga's stupidly radiant fake ass smile. He took a deep breath and moved to answer the door. She didn't need this right now. She didn't need him. WHY was this bastard always intruding? He heard Kyoko move to stop him in a moment of weakness. He fixed her with a stare from across the room and silently mouthed. "STAY". For once, in what like a very long time, Kyoko did as she was told. His eyes glittered with a tinge of fury but pulled on his cold mask of indifference. The bastard deserved to know EXACTLY what he'd interrupted. He wrenched the door open, staring at Tsuruga impatiently in all his shirtless glory.

Ren took in the scene that lay before him and his eyes gleamed with a murderous intent as they scanned the room for her. When they landed on her they hardened yet softened at the same time, which seemed nearly impossible when his heart was sure to be full of fury. Kyoko returned his gaze with a resigned glare of icy resolve and pure defiance. She wasn't afraid of the beast she knew he was. His face fell away from her and landed back on the offending hostile image that was Fuwa Sho. They seemed to be putting up a united front because Fuwa looked more composed than a moment ago, though his temper was still in full swing. His jaw tensed.

"Kyoko is busy. Don't come here anymore."

Ren's eyes lingered on Kyoko for a moment longer. Somehow, this felt like goodbye.

"Understood." He left with a resounding swoosh of his expensive cream colored over coat. Sho shut the door firmly behind him, ensuring the locks clicking into place rang in Tsuruga Ren's ears.