With each step, the two of them increased the distance between the warm glow of friends and civilization. They were alone, not a soul in sight save a single man capturing every second of their slow walk. The atmosphere had been set alright, with untouched sand and a glimmering ocean, but Kyoko was nowhere near feeling it. She felt her sanity crumbling as surely as the sand beneath her bare feet. If only Ren was feeling nervous, then she'd feel somewhat better about the whole thing.

She snuck a glance at his face. His gaze was forward, steps even, showing no pull of the lips or brows that would indicate nerves. Dang him. He was probably still laughing after catching her with the earpiece. That, or annoyed at the multiple crazy things she pulled in the last few hours.

Either way, being along (or as alone as she could be) with him was proving to be both helpful and not. Away from the stares and gossip of the other contestants, she felt free to finally speak to him candidly… if she could get over her thumping heart and failing nerves first.

Ren stopped short, prompting Kyoko to do so as well. He nodded to the cameraman, with whom he must share some sort of secret head nodding language as the man appeared to understand the seemingly common gesture. The cameraman took said camera hoisted on his arm and backed up ten more feet, now well out of earshot.

"Mind if we sit?" said Ren. "I'd rather walk, but this could be a long discussion. I'm sure our cameraman would appreciate being able to set up a tripod rather than follow on foot with that heavy equipment."

Typical. Always thoughtful, even toward people who were prying into his private affairs. It was almost disgusting how thoughtful he was. She pulled a face, one he noticed.

"No? Would you rather walk then?" He'd misunderstood her expression.

"No, it's fine." She took a seat in the sand, adjusting her dress as she waited for Ren to join her. "Does that mean we finally get to have a private conversation? No more camera's hovering around us?"

"Not entirely. They have mics that can pick up our voices even at this distance, but the space helps me forget they're there."

Now that surprised her. She stared openly as he situated himself beside her, side by side facing the water with a good foot of space between them. He'd given her plenty of room, a gesture she'd normally appreciate, but right now it just felt like one big metaphor for their current lack of communication. She forced the thought from her head lest she spiral back into self-pity. Instead, she focused on what he'd said.

"I'm surprised," she said. "It sounds like you're self-conscious of the cameras."

"To some extent. Yes. I'd rather all of our conversations could have been kept from the public eye."

She couldn't help feeling defensive at the comment. "No one asked you to follow me and spill all our history for all of Japan to enjoy," she muttered.

She expected a comment for her sass or even a sigh as if she didn't understand something. He did neither, instead turning his head to fully face her. Something, she realized with a jolt, he hadn't done since their argument. She suddenly found herself the subject of his open scrutiny.

If she was feeling nervous before she was practically hyperventilating now. Sheesh, even with the nerd glasses still in place she felt the Tsuruga Ren effect. The pull to relax and smile and fall in love. And okay, maybe that was mostly because she was already in love with him but hey! Having his attention felt nice, especially when he didn't look pissed anymore.

Either way, best to keep the effect he had to herself for now. Didn't want him to know how much of an advantage he had over her if they were going to try this whole "fall in love with each other" thing.

Oh, holy hell she still had to try and convince him to do that. And flirt. That was also on her to-do list.

"So," said Ren slowly. "I want to make sure we're clear on a few things since we both seem to have a habit of making up personas and tricking the other." At least one of them was willing to voice it. "You've known as Bou that I was steadily falling in love with someone and that I wanted to confess to that person recently."

Going straight for the kill tonight, Tsuruga-san. I was hoping we could just skip that part and never acknowledge it happened. Apparently, he meant it when he said they were going to talk. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak yet.

"You knew that I was going to confess to someone," Ren repeated. "Then you saw me here, heard my proposal, and assumed that my confession had failed, correct?"

"Yep."

Flawless Kyoko. He totally didn't notice the quiver in your voice.

"Which is why you got mad and refused." His eyes narrowed. "This is the part that I don't understand. Why?"

It would help if he clarified which question he wanted to be answered. Or maybe it was both. She was ready to make up some bullcrap when an idea clicked.

This was the perfect segue into doing what Sakura suggested. Make up some reason that if they were to get together it would have to be for love. If she was going to die of embarrassment trying to flirt with him then she might as well do it all the way.

Okay brain, let's do this. First let's think of a reasonable reason why I, Kyoko, his friend with nothing but friendship-like feelings for him, would get mad. Think.

"I guess… it was the Bou-san in me," said Kyoko. "I'd helped and watched you fall in love for so long and then to just see it all fall flat? I thought you were going to get your happy ending and then you didn't. I mean, you did seem to lo- like her very much."

Okay, she'd sustained some damage with the last part but at least it had sounded convincing. Hopefully, he'd attribute her despondent tone to her worry over his trampled feelings or something like that.

He chewed on her answer, rubbing a thumb into his palm as if something she'd said had upset him. Eventually, he pulled off his glasses in irritation.

"You're not a rebound. I didn't propose to you to get over anyone." His voice was firm, though not unkind as his eyes flashed in earnest. It made her stomach do all sorts of flips. He really wanted to make sure she got the right idea, whatever that was.

"Then why did you propose?" This was what she really wanted to know. He'd said something about her not being ready to hear it if she couldn't even imagine it, which was highly unlikely. She did have a very active imagination. For all she knew she was talking to a Ren from another reality where she was a wanted fugitive and his strategy to catch her was to trick her into marrying him.

But reality traveling creatures aside, if he really wasn't trying to get over the girl he loved, what was the real reason? Gosh, she hated how vulnerable she felt. This was why love was so annoying.

Her question was met with silence. The irritated energy from Ren slowly bled away, leaving behind a content stillness. When he did speak, his expression was soft, so achingly tender she wanted to cry.

"I'm happiest when I'm with you."

Ouch. Her heart. Not fair. Reasoning through the drum line he's just set off in her chest was not going to be easy.

"T-that can't be it," she sputtered. Otherwise, she might marry her bed.

"I have other reasons," said Ren. He lifted his shoulders in that annoying American shrug. "But that one seemed the most important."

Normally she'd retort at his blatant attempt to rile her up, but no. That would not help her ultimate goal. Ren had just so wonderfully handed it all to her. Done the hard part and given her a smooth transition. She just needed to be brave and take it. To open her freaking mouth, flirt and—ugh!

It was easy to get distracted by what he'd just said. To imagine for a moment that he meant it. That he really was happy with her. That his smiles, no matter what persona he adopted, were genuine and full.

"We should fall in love!"

Ren froze. Well, she'd done it now. Jumped right and dug her grave. At least she had surprised him. But she was also burning with embarrassment that fueled her mouth to speak at rates indecipherable by the human ear.

"You shouldn't be in a loveless marriage," she sputtered. "You're Tsuruga Ren! How will it affect your acting if you're in a marriage of convenience? Or your press? We're good friends, right? So, while we could stay friends, I think it would be beneficial to both of us to actually fall in love, even if it is an inconvenient emotion. And we both know a lot about each other that others would have to catch up on. I mean, we're both in the same industry and the same company so we'd understand the crazy schedule and the need to act with other costars even for romantic scenes. We'd trust each other, right? Unless you have another big secret that will make me mad."

She was practically on top of him, Ren leaning so far away from her it was a wonder his back wasn't broken. His eyes were blown wide, mouth gaping as he stared, seemingly having short-circuited.

Kyoko immediately regretted every word. She set back on her heels, burring her red face into her palms.

"Sorry!" she wailed. "I don't know where I got such a dumb idea. Just forget what I said. It was dumb." Crap, she'd already mentioned that. "Such a thing would be impossible anyway."

He cleared his throat, voice uncharacteristically horse. "I don't think it's impossible."

What?

Kyoko's head popped up, pushing back the panic-induced burn that had crept into her eyes. Was he being serious?

"You don't?" she wheezed

"No, I think it is possible." He wasn't looking at her now, a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck.

"But what about the girl you love?" she sputtered. Great one. She might as well have shot herself in the foot.

Ren's lips twitched, Kyoko unsure if it were a grimace or a smile. "That won't be an issue, trust me. What about you? What do you think?"

"Me? Oh, um." She was reeling at his implication. That if Ren thought it was possible, that meant he believed he could maybe, possibly, might fall in love with her?

The number of heart attacks Kyoko had sustained tonight could not be good for her health. Yet here she was again, trying desperately to calm the mess that was her thumping chest.

Her voice was soft as she finally answered. "Yeah. I think we could."

Ren smiled, bringing his hand dangerously close to her own resting on the sand. "Alright then," he said. "I guess that means you should stop avoiding my attempts to win a date with you."

Emboldened by the new feeling of weightlessness in her chest, Kyoko sent him a cheeky grin. "I don't know. It's pretty much a habit at this point."

"Then I guess I'll have to remind you when you do run."

In one smooth action, Ren shifted, closing the distance between where they sat. His leg pushed up against hers, closer than they'd ever been as Kyoko and Ren. She could feel the heat radiating from his body and had to stop herself from leaning in.

"Don't run," he pleaded.

Kyoko licked her lips, taking a few tries to find her voice. "O-of course! I'm-m not a quitter Tsuruga-san."

He chuckled but thankfully didn't respond or make any other advances. Maybe he could sense that she was already at her limit. Either way, despite the million things flying through her head, she couldn't bring herself to say anything else. All she wanted to do was enjoy the moment and let it sink in.

So that's what they ended up doing. Just sitting there, watching the horizon darken as they sorted through their own thoughts. Most of hers wondered what his were. But the longer they sat there with no sign of Ren moving away, the less anxious she got.

This was happening. This was really happening. They were going to try and fall in love. Or more accurately, Ren was going to try and fall in love with her. The idea wasn't ludicrous or scary anymore. She had hope. He said he was happy spending time with her. That she was important to him and that it was possible to fall in love with her. Her cheeks hurt from repressing the smile that threatened to give her away.

Now, if only she could find a sure-fire way to make sure he did fall in love with her.

Thanks for reading!

I know, it's short. But please accept my offering of cute fluff. We are not done yet guys. Nope. They're getting better, kinda, but they still have a few things to work through. And thank you all for your reviews! I am so glad I wasn't the only one amused by the last chapter. XD

-Blushweaver