A/N: The Best Thing by Relient K (if you noticed, I thought this fit better)

"She amazes and surprises me every time we see her, Ren." Yashiro said as we were getting into the car.

"Yes, Kyoko tends to do that." It's part of the reason I'm so in love with her. Who would of thought that just bumping into her would result in that?

"I wonder what made her realize how she felt." Yashiro has developed an uncanny ability to ask the questions I was thinking aloud. "I suppose you don't care too much, given the end result."

My face renewed its smile, not that I really stopped. No, I really don't care how she got there, but I can't complain since she realized she loves me. I don't think she understands how happy those three words made me. Well, and that kiss too. It took a bit of self control to end the kiss where it did. Otherwise, I might have embarrassed her to the point of running. Now that I have her, I have to do everything I can to keep her there. The President's lecture about my Katsuki role came to mind. No, I never actually had been in love before. That thought never crossed my mind concerning any other women.

I glanced over at Yashiro to find he was pouting.

"What's wrong?"

"After all my efforts to get you two together, it just happened by accident." He looked like a teenage girl with his arms crossed in front of his chest like that. I've also seen Maria make that gesture many times, but seeing it on Yashiro was a bit entertaining. "All that effort wasted." He paused thinking. "Though, indirectly, you wouldn't had been there unless I scheduled time for you to visit her in between jobs..." He looked a bit pleased with himself.

"Well, you can keep up your good work by helping me schedule some time for her. When am I free enough to ask her on a date?" Yashiro's eyes lit up with renewed purpose. He pulled out his planner giggling. I wonder if he felt like he wouldn't have anything left to do now that I confessed my feelings to Kyoko. I shook my head smiling. This was just beginning. I had to make sure that I could keep her, even if it meant putting aside my career. Well, put it aside only a little bit, which is still significant for a workaholic like me.

"You're free around dinner on Thursday and for lunch on Sunday." We pulled into the parking garage at TBM.

"Thanks, I'll give her a call after we're done shooting this." I went to get out of the car but Yashiro stopped me by grabbing my arm.

"You should probably fix your face before we go in." I looked into the mirror. A goofy looking grin greeted me there. I tried to fix it, breathing slowly and trying to clear my mind. I closed my eyes. It didn't help. I could only think of her smell, how her lips felt and tasted against mine, how her breath mingled with mine. I opened my eyes and stared at the cement wall in front of the car willing myself to not forget, but put aside the elation I felt inside, if only for a short time.

When I finally regained my composure, I noticed Yashiro was already outside the car with the door closed. I got out too. He looked at his watch.

"I was wondering how long you were going to be. I almost thought today was going to be the day you broke your impeccable record for punctuality. I'm not sure it would have surprised me either. I think Kyoko-san took the cake on that one today." I smiled my typical gentleman's smile.

"I can't start being late now. Let's go." We started walking. As we neared the building, I couldn't help but notice how oddly Yashiro was walking. It was as if he was trying to keep from skipping. Really, he was worse than most of my fans. If someone didn't know better, they would have thought that Yashiro was the one who was in love and just kissed the girl he liked. I suppose he is right when he says he tends to reflect the emotion I really am feeling. Tsuruga Ren can't show it, so he does it for me. I don't think I could live it down if I was ever found skipping, either with the public or with Yashiro.

I couldn't wait for the shoot to be over with. I wanted to call Kyoko. I smiled at the thought of calling her Kyoko freely now. Yashiro reminded me about my face again. At this point, I think Tsuruga Ren could use a bit of an image change, hiding my smiles about her is getting frustrating. If I hurry, I would risk sending her running from the intensity of my emotions. Even though she realized that she is capable of love again, it probably will be some time before she comes to terms with it, not to mention that I'm the person she's fallen in love with.

The public would probably need some time to adjust to me falling in love. Especially with Kyoko. She's four years younger than me, to begin with. She's still in high school. She's only just started acting, which would bring into question my interest in her and her interest in me. They would probably assume she is using me to get more attention in the business. As for me, I would be labeled as a pervert or pediphile or something. That would definitely be a hit to my image. Not to mention I'm supposed to be one of the sexiest bachelors in the industry and I'm not sure dating a talento would be helpful with that image. Though, I don't care so long as I have Kyoko by my side.

I was probably more surprised than her when she said those words so suddenly. Not that I mind. I would love to hear her say that again and again... I thought it would be much longer for her to even think there was a possibility of seeing me as something besides her sempai. I wonder why it seems that I'm so inaccessible to her, even from the standpoint of friendship.

Either way, I still don't even deserve to be loved, not with the past I've led. From what I've gathered, Kyoko doesn't think she is worth loving either. She's suffered too much rejection in her life to consider being loved again. We're two people that don't believe we should love or be loved, but ended up falling in love anyways, with each other no less. President Lory will hear about our encounter in the hallway sooner or later, especially with how many witnesses there were. He must be ecstatic though. Maybe the President is on to something when he gushes on the power of love. I wonder just how strong that power is when my past comes out.

With her small and wonderful admission, I've suddenly found myself in a precarious balancing act. If I reveal my past, I fear rejection from Kyoko, as well as the entertainment industry. I can't say anything publicly about my past until I've become successful to face my father. But the longer I wait to tell Kyoko, the more she may resent me for not telling her. She may feel that I didn't trust her enough. I also can't become too public about my affections for her either. That could tarnish both of her careers. I don't want her to think that any of her success has any relationship to the one between us. The relationship between us… It's taken on such a different meaning in only a brief moment. I should probably make it clear that I didn't misspeak or don't treat everyone that way. She might believe it was all a mistake or that I was bullying her.

After this huge bit of progress, I don't want to take my time. I want her to know everything, everything from how I feel to who I am. I don't want to be patient like I really need to be. Yet If I'm not, everything could all fall apart...

Oh, the shoot is already over. Really, Kyoko's really something to make me forget all about my job and just go through the motions. Maybe I'm over thinking. Why don't I just start out by calling her and asking for a date? With how busy both of us are, maybe taking this one day at a time won't be too hard. Still, I need to get my focus back on my work, just because we've gotten closer doesn't mean that I can slack off.

That doesn't stop me from grinning as I dial her number in my dressing room…