Always Be My Baby
by Kris Black
Summary: After going over lines for TDM, Kyoko and Ren have a night of passion and the result could not only cause a scandal, but ruin both of their careers. How will the two lovers withstand the trials of their love?
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Skip Beat! the manga or the anime. I do not own any characters listed in this story except those you don't recognize. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of the story as a whole, or in part.
AN: It seems as though I have to address a few things before continuing on:
1. Just because I haven't updated in one week does not mean I am dead or discontinuing this story. Regrettably, I have a life as it happens. I can't always update within a day or two, although I try. I covered this in previous chapters. I will try to update as regularly as possible for you guys though, but I felt that this chapter deserved a little more thought.
2. The occasional (or always some may think) out of character-ness of both Ren and Kyoko. In the first chapter, it was necessary to get the ball rolling and I do not apologize for that. As "hang" so beautifully replied in the reviews: if there wasn't a little bit of OCC, then we wouldn't have fan fiction because the characters would just do what they usually do and nothing would have happened any different from the manga. I do try my hardest to keep them in character as much as possible though.
3. Kyoko's age. In Japan, it is alright for a sixteen year old to be married, pregnant even. In North America it isn't all that uncommon for a sixteen year old to be pregnant, or younger! They didn't mean for this to happen, but it did so now they have to deal with it. If that makes you uncomfortable to read, then you might want to find a different story, sorry.
4. I am starting to deviate from the manga, but I will still be sticking to it. I like that I can twist and manipulate the scenes to fit the new situation and I feel that no matter what, they would still end up in the same places as the manga, which puts them in similar scenes. Of course, new scenes will be added, some scenes deleted and some manipulated to suit my fancy.
5. Some of you have noted that this is a little bit like the situation between Hachi and Takumi in NANA. I will admit it is a little similar, but I assume that is because in both situations, someone was in the limelight. This isn't the same, although it may have a similar plot it is purely coincidental. The tabloids, for instance were on Nana and Ren instead of Hachi and Takumi, along with a number of other variations.
6. Kuu should be appearing soon, on a happier note.
7. And just for AppleYumi94's clarification, yes, I am a girl ^_~
A HUGE thank you goes out to everyone who continually reads and reviews this story. I hope that this AN has cleared up a few things, sorry about it being so long. I love you guys a whole bunch and hope that you enjoy this chapter!
"Have you decided what you want to do yet?" Ren asked, trying to keep calm.
"What I want to do?"
"About the baby," he clarified.
"I-" Kyoko began. "I want to keep it. My mother abandoned me; I don't want to do the same to anyone, whether they are born yet or not."
Kyoko laid a hand on her abdomen gently.
"This baby is my responsibility now and I intend to do whatever it takes to keep it protected and safe," she finished.
Ren was touched to say the least. He didn't think he had ever seen such a gentle look on Kyoko's face. He was already prepared for both answers, whether or not she wanted to keep the baby. He realized that she was still young, only sixteen, and that he was little more mature at twenty – but he wanted this baby that he hadn't known about for more than an hour more than he had wanted anything else in his life.
Wasn't he stable enough to take care of both the mother and the child? Of course he was; he made more than enough money for all of them to live comfortably alone, even if Kyoko wasn't working. Although he was raised in America, sixteen was perfectly acceptable here in Japan, wasn't it? He wasn't just going to leave Kyoko with this all by herself.
"Our responsibility," Ren corrected finally. "This is our baby, our responsibility, Kyoko. I am not going to abandon anyone either."
Kyoko looked up from her hands.
"Ren, I –"
Kyoko was interrupted by an abrupt knock on the door. Ren stood up and answered it quickly, returning with Kyoko's breakfast. Her stomach growled loudly as he sat the plate in front of her.
"You should eat first, your health is important right now," Ren noted and back down in his chair.
Although Kyoko really didn't feel up to eating, her body felt otherwise. She took a bite of her toast first and then began devouring her breakfast. Ren watched silently as she ate, thinking of how he was going to fix the situation for the best possibly outcome. When Kyoko finished eating, Ren began to speak.
"I know that we haven't really found time to discuss our relationship and what happened that night, and I am sorry. I should have made time to do so."
"It's alright Ren, I understand. We have both been really busy with promotions, filming, and the whole paparazzi incident."
"No, that's no excuse. To be truthful, I think that I was running away from the whole situation – I didn't want to face it and was worried about the repercussions it would have on our relationship that had been. Apparently, the repercussions were more than what I expected."
Kyoko sat nervously, admitting that she was running away from the exact same thing. However, the baby forced them to admit that something did happen that couldn't be undone and now it was time to face the music.
Ren's cell phone began to ring and he looked ready to ignore it.
"You should check who that is at least," Kyoko suggested. "It might be from Dark Moon."
Ren let out a sigh and pulled out his cell phone. He glanced at the caller ID and shot Kyoko an apologetic look before answering.
"Yashiro-san?"
Ren nodded a few times and answered with brief assurances before hanging up.
"Our scenes are set to be shot in a half an hour," he grumbled. "It's as far as they could delay them. We had better get ready to go."
Kyoko nodded in affirmation and stood up, wiping the crumbs of the toast off of her clothes gently.
"We have big parts, we can't expect them to be able to reschedule us forever," she answered Ren's continual grumbling. "We still have time to figure this entire thing out."
Ren smiled at her briefly before taking her hand in his.
"We can talk tonight again, just the two of us," Ren said.
Kyoko nodded, managing a smile back at him as he led her out of the hotel and to his car.
"That's a wrap!" Director Ogata called out as Mio descended the stairs, glaring at Katsuki and her sister, pulling Ren out of character.
"I know that it is late everyone, but please take your lunch now," Director Ogata continued.
Ren swayed slightly. He should have gotten some sleep last night, rather than staying up worrying over Fuwa Sho and Kyoko. In fact, now that he knew that she was pregnant with his own child, he cursed his own stupidity for having stayed up all night. He knew that there was no way that he could continue acting today without some sleep. Yawning, he quickly told Yashiro that he was going for a nap.
By the time that Kyoko zoned in after the director called for lunch, Ren had already left the set. She heard Yashiro talking to a bunch of crew members, telling them that Ren had left for a nap.
"Even Ren gets tired sometimes," One of the girls giggled.
"He did look really tired…"
"Come to think of it," one of the girls spoke up. "Last night Kyoko met with Ren-kun alone."
"Unfair!"The group called simultaneously.
Kyoko's eyes grew wide and she began to panic. How in the world did any of the cast or crew find this stuff out?!
"Kyoko was all alone with Ren last night?!"
"I'm so jealous! If it means having to get a stalker to get some alone time with Ren, I want one too!" One of the girls cried out.
Kyoko looked up menacingly. Who the hell would ask for a stalker, especially one as crazy as hers? She turned around slowly, glaring at the girls.
"Oh, is that so?" She asked darkly, instantly turning back into the terrifying Mio.
All of the girls froze instantly under Kyoko's gaze. She raised her hand slowly and began to count.
"One, two, three, four," she counted, pointing at each of the girls in succession. "I'm glad, there are four."
Mio, because Kyoko was now lost in character, stalked towards the first girl and pulled her up to her, her demons binding all of them into place.
"Firstly, that pretty face of yours, let's make it like mine."
The girls cried out in a chorus of apologies.
"We're sorry Mio-sama! We'll never talk about wanting a stalker again!"
Kyoko let them all go and they hurried away, presumably to their lunch.
Ren lay down on the couch in the bus, his hand over his head as the light shone through the windows. The look that Fuwa Sho had on his face the last time that they had met was not one that he was unfamiliar with – the look of triumph. Someone had always given him the same look before, when he lost to his power because he was so great that Ren could not overcome him.
He knew that it shouldn't bother him any longer, that Kyoko didn't want anything to do with Fuwa Sho. But still, it bothered him. That one look of triumph had been enough to bring back all of the insecurities and trauma he had experienced before he had fled to Japan with the President.
"Dammit, why do I feel as if I lost before I even arrived?" He swore and wiped one of his hands through his hair.
'It feels as if I am being forced to realize that I have no place in this world again,' he thought to himself sadly. 'That my existence is meaningless.'
A frantic flurry of footsteps broke him out of his musings and he glanced over to the door of the bus to see Kyoko panting slightly as she reached the top of the stairs.
"Kyoko-"
"Are you alright?" She practically screamed before she burst into tears.
Ren sat on the seat he had been sprawled across, stunned. Why had she just burst out into tears for no reason? Why was she so frantic?
"Kyoko, what's wrong?" He asked gently, standing up.
"No, sit back down!"
Ren instantly dropped back down onto the seat.
"Yashiro-san told me that you didn't sleep last night!" Kyoko scolded. "You must know how important sleep is. Do you feel alright? Do you have a fever? Are you cold?"
'Traitor,' Ren thought of Yashiro, who had probably worked Kyoko up on purpose.
"I feel fine, just a little tired, really."
Kyoko forced Ren to lie down on his back. She looked over him worried, before asking gently.
"Ren, is there anything that I can do for you?"
Ren looked over at her slightly astonished. She had an amazingly gentle and caring look on her face, which froze him for a few moments.
'It feels as if I am being forced to realize that I have no place in this world again,' he remembered thinking just a short while ago. 'That my existence is meaningless.'
That couldn't be true; not anymore at least. Kyoko was pregnant. Regardless of what happens, he would always have a place and meaning in this world and that would be beside his child, and possibly Kyoko.
"Ren?" Kyoko asked, worried after he hadn't replied for a few moments and had just stared at her.
"There is one thing that I want you to do," he answered her finally.
"Your," Ren began reaching out gently to touch Kyoko.
He froze when he saw her face, stone as rock trying to look completely normal, but her eyes wide and nervous.
"Lap," he chickened out. "Let me use your lap. I think that I'll get better if I have some sleep, but I can't sleep without a pillow."
Kyoko nodded hesitantly and sat on the bench. Ren instantly moved his head into her lap, almost sighing with disappointment in himself. Why didn't he have the courage to ask her what he had wanted? Wouldn't it be best for their whole little broken, soon-to-be family, all three of them?
"Ren, for a pillow, isn't my lap too high?" She asked nervously as Ren closed his eyes.
"No, it's perfect," Ren replied sleepily. "Not only do I get to be close to you, but to our baby too."
Kyoko (who had been freaking out about having his head in her lap up until then) relaxed and smiled down gently at his black hair.
'Even for me I gave her a weird and suspicious answer,' Ren thought glumly. 'If I needed a pillow to sleep, wouldn't I carry a pillow around with me everywhere?'
Ren was glad wished that he hadn't stopped. He would rather feel rejected than have Kyoko think that he didn't care about her or the baby. He would rather have them with him than without him. He would rather have them with him than with Fuwa Sho. He couldn't let himself get erased from Kyoko's existence, from his child's existence. He wouldn't allow it.
Kyoko's cool hand ripped him out of his train of thought as she placed it gently on his forehead.
"Thank god," she whispered. "He doesn't have a fever. I'm glad."
She obviously thought that he was asleep, Ren mused. However, he was surprised when her hands moved to his hair, playing with it in a strangely comforting and soothing way.
It was then that Ren made up his mind. His existence to her had to be above Fuwa Sho's, above anyone else's. He closed his eyes slowly, listening to her breathing, the dull, twisted lump in his own heart becoming unravelled and soft again, if only slightly.
Ren couldn't help watching her sleep; he had done the same before he had to leave for work when they had been together before. Her breaths were faint whispers singing to his ears, and it was the most peaceful he had ever seen her. Whatever had happened to her, whatever was going on now, it didn't affect her dreams.
Kyoko's eyes felt heavy as she opened them slowly, attempting to shield the light from her eyes.
"Hi," she heard Ren's quiet voice greet her.
She opened her eyes more fully now. Ren was directly in her line of vision, glowing like unearthly like a god. Kyoko wondered if she was still dreaming.
"Good morning, that was good timing. I was thinking that I was going to have to wake you up."
Then it hit her. She wasn't dreaming, and she had just woken up, with Ren! She hadn't slept with him again, had she, this time without even realizing it? Her body went into panic mode. She looked around quickly to find him sleeping in her lap on a bus, both of them still fully clothed.
"No!" She screamed and jumped up, knocking Ren over. Tears filled her eyes immediately.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" She cried. "It's too cruel to watch me sleep, especially from below!"
"I-I'm sorry," Ren managed to sputter out amidst Kyoko's cries. "You looked so defenceless… no, happy, that I thought it would be a shame to wake you."
"Rather than have someone watch my sleeping face from below, I would rather be woken up!" Kyoko cried. "On top of that, to disregard you while you are ill, how can I even face you?"
"Is that what this is about?" Ren asked, smiling. "You're going to make a wonderful mother, do you know that?"
Kyoko sniffed.
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Thank You," Kyoko smile bravely and wiped her tears. "Sorry, I've been crying a lot lately."
"Pregnant women have a tendency to do that, I hear," Ren offered.
Kyoko laughed, sobs still escaping as she tried to get them in control. Ren laughed slightly with her, shoving his hands into his pockets. His right hand brushed against something, reminding him of what he was originally supposed to be asking Kyoko.
"Kyoko, I-"
She looked up at him, red eyed, cheeks blotched red from crying and he decided that now was probably not the best time.
"I think that we should probably head back now."
She nodded and smiled at him. She quickly walked over to the sink and splashed some water on her face in attempt to clear up the evidence of her crying. Ren exited the bus first, giving Kyoko some time to fix herself up after her nap and crying spell.
When Kyoko began to descend the stairs out of the bus, Ren noted that she had done a fairly good job of hiding all evidence of both sleep and crying. When she stepped the wrong way on her sore ankle on the second step, she let out a cry and Ren immediately caught her from falling, ignoring the sound of something hitting the ground.
"Are you okay?" He asked, slightly out of breath.
She nodded slowly into his chest where he had caught her. He set her down gently and looked her in the face.
"You have to be more careful from now on alright? Anything could happen-"
He was cut off when he glanced down and had seen what had fallen from Kyoko, except, he didn't know where from. A baseball bat, an alarm clock, and a hammer were all lying on the ground by Kyoko's feet.
"I-I'm sorry," she hurried. "They're some weapons and a substitute warning alarm just in case-"
"Where on earth were these?" Ren asked, flabbergasted.
"Um, these clothes have no pockets so I attached them to my leg under my skirt."
"Just in case?" Ren asked looking at her. "You mean, if you happen to meet the stalker again?"
"That's right," she whispered.
"I would protect you though," Ren said to her. "Even without all of these things that you're carrying. Can't you rely on me?"
"That's not it at all, but the opposite," Kyoko argued. "These are just the things that I had from before, when I was worried about what I was going to do. These are here so that if I see him, I can immediately strike him down. I was so worried about what I should do, or what would happen if I met him again; I was really scared.
But, when Director Ogata told me last night that you had arrived and were at the hotel, all of the fear instantly flew away completely. Just knowing that you are here for me helped me relax. Your existence gives me courage and self-confidence, Ren."
Ren was touched, truly and deeply touched to his core. Knowing Kyoko's past and knowing how tightly she had closed her heart off to everyone, Ren knew that this speech was probably the closest thing that anyone would get to a confession from Kyoko for a very long time.
Relationships are built on love, respect, honesty, and mutual understanding. Although Kyoko said she could no longer love, he doubted that fact and was sure that they both had feelings for each other, feelings that could sprout into love, perhaps. They both respected each other deeply. They understood each other. They were going to share a child together. They were honest, well mostly. Ren knew that she should know about his own past – about his father, his mother, America, and the real him. His true name, his true identity, even his real hair colour – after all, she might be shocked if their son or daughter came out with lighter hair, rather than her own originally dark colour.
'Now is probably the best time that I am ever going to find to do this,' Ren reminded himself and fingered the item in his pocket.
"Kyoko, you have no idea how happy I am to hear that I mean so and do so much for you, despite my flaws," Ren began. "I know that you say that your heart is shut off to everybody, and I understand that. But I know that we both deeply respect each other and at the very least care for each other. We are about to share a child together."
Ren paused for a moment and Kyoko looked at him, absolutely terrified and looking like a deer in headlights. He couldn't stop now though, if he did he would probably never get this opportunity again.
"I know that this isn't that romantic, or probably anything you have ever dreamt of, but I feel like it is now or never."
Ren dropped to one knee awkwardly in front of her. She moved to step back, but one glance from Ren froze her in place. He reached for the object in his right pocket and pulled it out, revealing a very pretty diamond ring.
"When did you-"
"I bought it during our first this morning as soon as I had made up my mind," Ren explained. "The jeweller had it delivered right before lunch – the luxury hotel has its own jewellery store."
"Ren-"
"Kyoko," he cut her off. "I want you to be my wife. I want our child to grow up in a home with both of us. I don't want to share you with anyone else. I can make you number one in my whole existence if you can make me number one in yours."
AN: Again, thank you all so much! Stay tuned for the next chapter – but I am not going to be giving any clues to what might be in it this time!
Remember, I love reviews – they keep me happy and writing!