This is actually a little emotional for me because this is the end of the story and possibly my fanfic writing. Life is just too crazy to commit to writing another story. But who knows what the future holds... ;) Thank you so much for sticking through to the end and reading this story from start to finish. You don't know how grateful I truly am. Please let me know what you think of it. Thank you for these past few years of writing. Everyone's reviews have meant the world to me. Stay amazing!

- 3 Years Later –

Kanae finished pinning a pearl beaded embroidered white veil to the now black hair of her best friend. She stepped back to admire her handiwork as Muse put on the finishing touches to the bride's make up, twisting a strand of stray hair so that it curled back into place.

"There… Beautiful," Muse concluded, taking in her and Kanae's work.

"A-Are you sure? I don't have Princess Rosa's magic with me…" Kyoko nervously questioned, not yet allowed to look in the mirror.

Muse and Kanae exchanged a glance, Muse smirking and Kanae rolling her eyes.

"Kyoko," Kanae sighed, "You do realize you don't need that necklace."

"B-But…" Kyoko tried to begin, but Muse held up her hand to cut her off.

"You've been nominated for top actress of the year and your fans have grown exponentially over the past few years," Muse spoke matter-of-factly. "People love you and reporters can't stop talking about your ability to transform for every role."

Kyoko blushed, still not believing that so much had happened over the past few years. Her mind wandered back to Ren's proposal.

- 1 year before –

"Kyoko, you know you don't have to make so much food," Ren eyed her meal with trepidation.

"This isn't too much for your birthday…" Kyoko replied stubbornly. "I just want today to be perfect for you." I'll never let myself live down messing up the first time I celebrated his birthday! Kyoko recalled getting the date wrong for Ren's birthday.

Ren stepped up behind her as she chopped vegetables at their counter and wrapped his arms around her waist. Kyoko had permanently moved in with him a year after the stalking incident. He had never wanted her to move out afterward, but she thought it was too fast for them. She only moved back in when she realized she spent most of her free time at his apartment anyway, at least that's how Ren put it.

Being so much taller than her, Ren placed his chin on the top of Kyoko's head and sighed. "You do too much. Just having you here is enough for a present."

She set the knife down and tilted her head back so that she could look up at him.

"Really…?" Her eyes voiced her unspoken concerns. They had been a couple for 2 years and she still felt like she was not good enough for him.

"Really…" His eyes danced with mirth, "Though I do still enjoy that lamb pillow." He chuckled as he watched a blush crawl up her neck. He teased her about it whenever given the chance because he knew she was self-conscious of her present. In truth, he adored the present more than any other he had received.

Kyoko pouted at the poke he made at her until she observed Ren's face become serious.

"Kyoko…" His dark eyes never left hers and conveyed everything she needed to know; she was treasured and loved. He brought a hand underneath her chin and bent down to pull her lips to his.

The kiss was brief, but Kyoko's lips burned in its wake.

"Kyoko, I'm in love with you," Ren stated, still staring down at his beloved.

She blushed and her lips upturned in shy happiness. "I know…"

He released her from his embrace and stepped back away from her so that she could turn to face him. The atmosphere grew intense and Kyoko could not deduce why or what Ren was working up to say. She watched as his steady gaze changed from tender to determined.

"Kyoko, I need you to hear me out," he began, "Let me say everything I need to say before you respond."

She brought her hands together and clasped them at her chest, a signal Ren knew meant that she was nervous. She nodded sharply, determined to listen closely to his every word.

Ren took a deep breath and began the speech he had practiced in his head for the past month.

"Kyoko, I am in love with you. I want you… I want to give you happiness. I want to give you love every day, because you deserve to be loved. You deserve to live each day knowing that there is someone out there who would do anything just to make you look their way." He paused, gauging her reaction. Her hands at her chest were trembling, but she said nothing.

"When we met again at LME, we butted heads. I was stubbornly caught in my own world with a set of ideals you blew out of the water. You were a whirlwind that I couldn't escape and I fell right under your spell," Ren grinned as the memories came flooding back: him kicking her out of LME, the two arguing, him carrying her when she broke her foot, him being taken care of when sick, all of their bickering, seeing her first performance as Mio, resting his head on her lap at Karuizawa, and everything since and in between.

He shook off the memories and continued.

"I loved you when we were kids and fell for you again as an adult. I fought my urges to touch you with all of my will power. And believe me, it was tested," his eyes narrowed as more memories flooded in: meeting Sho, hearing about Reino and how Sho had saved her, her showing up to the Dark Moon party with Kijima, and her omiai with Arata.

"…And yet now I can touch you all I want," he stated as he lifted his hand and twisted a lock of her hair around his finger. She was frozen in place, a shiver running up her spine in an excited and overwhelming premonition. He was going somewhere with all of this, and her mind wouldn't let her believe what she thought he was doing.

His eyes bore into her as he played with the hair trapped in his fingers. "I'm not going to let you go, Kyoko." He let go of her hair, "You broke my curse by giving my life some much needed perspective and light…" His thoughts wandered to his near crash while filming for Dark Moon and how Kyoko had pulled him from the darkness.

Once again he shook the memories from his mind, focusing on the task at hand.

"I chased you all the way to Kyoto because I knew I couldn't let you go. Not at least before you knew how I felt. You had to know that you had someone who spent so much of his time thinking about you. After everything, I had to at least try to make you mine… I told myself to prepare to fail and be turned down. My heart was prepared for the worst," his gaze clouded as he remembered all the times he stopped himself from trying to move their relationship forward out of fear of losing her completely. Something was better than nothing. But…

"Then you said you loved me too…" he chuckled, "I think the world actually stopped for a minute when it sunk in." 'To… to have… feelings for you is inexcusable…!' is how she put it, but who cares Ren laughed again but turned serious again so that he could finish. He took one more deep breath and spoke slowly, watching her face for any sign of a response.

"I'm not going to let you go when I know you feel the same…" he stepped forward and grasped her shaking hand, "so marry me."

With his free hand, he reached into his pocket and procured a velvety black box. He let go of her hand so that he could open the box and reveal the most beautiful ring Kyoko had ever seen. His eyes never left her face as she took in the sight before her and replayed his speech in her head, tears filling hers more with each passing moment. By the time they lifted to meet his scorching gaze, they had filled to the brim and spilled down her cheeks.

Her answer was barely a whisper and shook with emotion, "Yes."

Ren's eyes flickered with a million emotions at once: love, relief, excitement, humility, joy, desire. He felt like crying and laughing all at one. Instead, he pulled her to him and did just what he promised- didn't let her go.

- Present Time –

Kyoko's face heated at the memory of their first night of deep intimacy. He always took things slow with her, but that night he admitted he couldn't fight it anymore. Ahhhhhh! Her thoughts screamed, stop thinking about that! I can't be blushing right now! I need to get it together!

Her friends lowered her white dress so that she could step into it without messing up her make-up. As they zipped it and snapped the buttons running up her spine in place, she finally got to look at herself in a mirror.

She had dyed her hair back to black for the wedding, which Ren was not aware of yet. It was now long enough to hang to her waist, but it was currently curled and styled in an elegant up do. Her pure white veil was a stark contrast to the black of her hair, which made the pearls stand out even more. The dress she was now buttoned into was a princess style wedding dress with crystals and more pearls along the bodice and train. It was exactly what she could picture a real princess wearing, and at the moment she felt like she was one.

She normally would never choose something like that for herself due to her stingy spending habits, but with Ren's encouragement and Lory's tendency for overabundance, she now wore the dress of her dreams for her western-style wedding.

Kanae looked down at her phone and smiled, "Kyoko, its time."

"Moko-san…" Kyoko looked at her best friend for mental support. There was a room full of people important to her waiting and she couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Don't worry. He's waiting for you," Kanae smiled and patted Kyoko's shoulder. "Now go!" she said with a push.

Kyoko stumbled at first, but took a deep breath and went to where she was meant to wait until going down the aisle. Kanae and Muse passed her and went in to the chapel to take their seats. Kyoko's ears then perked up when she heard a sweet melody begin that signaled the start of her journey toward her soon-to-be-husband.

Ren turned and took in his soon-to-be-wife, losing his ability to breathe. To him, everyone else disappeared as Kyoko walked slowly toward him. His face transformed into his angelic smile and she smiled at him in return. When she reached him, he held out his hand and she placed hers in it.

The audience watched with excitement. Ren's parents sat on one of the front rows, holding each other's hands. It had taken a while for Ren to forgive his parents for his dad's schemes, but he knew he wouldn't stay upset forever. In the end, it did push Ren and Kyoko closer.

Lory and Maria sat a few rows back, Maria with hearts in her eyes for her favorite couple and Lory with pride on his face. Ren was almost like a son to him, and seeing Ren so happy and completing his journey to forgiving and accepting himself filled Lory with an overwhelming joy, though he'd never let anyone truly see what he was thinking.

The Darumaya couple sat on the aisle opposite Ren's parents with Sayuri, as they were the closest to parents Kyoko had. Taisho was grinning and Okami was wiping tears from her eyes. To them, she was the daughter they never had. Sayuri passed a tissue to Okami as she wiped her own tears away with her free hand.

There were several in attendance from Kyoko's acting experiences. Yukihito was fangirling to himself next to Ryouta, Hiou sat next to Kanae, Momose watched on in admiration and defeat, the members of Bridge Rock had slightly broken hearts, Sawara stared in wonder out how far Kyoko had come, the cast of Box R who had become her friends over time, and many others she had grown close with. Each person would bring a new memory to Kyoko's mind when she looked at them. However, for now her eyes were only for one person.

"Are you ready?" Ren mouthed to Kyoko with a smile.

She closed her eyes momentarily and thought back on her life and all that had transpired. For a moment her mind wandered to Sho and she smiled knowing if she had never known him, she would have never met Ren.

She was unaware that Sho was currently leaning against the outside wall of the chapel with a satisfied smile on his own face. He knew he had lost the girl he had fallen for after shoving her away, and he had come to accept it. He was just thankful she was finally happy.

When her eyes opened, Ren could tell she held no doubts.

"Yes."

When their vows finished and Ren was told to kiss his bride, he lifted Kyoko's veil with a tremor in his hands that gave way to his façade. To everyone else, Ren was calm and collected. To Kyoko, there was a storm in his eyes as he fought the feelings overwhelming him. He'd had his own long journey and once thought he never deserved such happiness. Now, surrounded by those he called friends and gazing into Kyoko's eyes, the happiness was almost too much.

The kiss was searing but did not last longer than appropriate. When Ren pulled away, he noticed Kyoko's slight smile and chuckle.

"What?" he asked her, hiding his voice in the thunderous applause.

"Nothing… I was just wondering what my name is going to be now. Kyoko Tsuruga or Kyoko Hizuri…" She chuckled again at their secret conversation. No one new knew about Ren's true identity, not even Kanae.

Ren joined in her quiet laughter, "We'll figure it out."

Kyoko nodded with a smile, "We only have forever to decide."

At that, Ren dipped down for another kiss and the crowd's cheers grew louder.

The End