Disclaimer: I do not own Skip Beat, unfortunately.

A/N: My first time writing anything resembling romance. Had a bit of a writer's block for my other stories, and this just kind of happened. Tell me if you like it!

I've been reading a lot of Skip Beat fanfiction lately, and I especially like the ones where Kyoko is already famous and widely acknowledged. And, for once, I wanted a story where the Japanese people would be in favor of Ren and Kyoko getting together, instead of opposed to it. I kept imagining them feeling as I do, looking desperately for signs of love and squealing at each cute thing they do for each other. And, so, here it is.

It had been an average summer's morning at the perfectly average high school in Kyoto, Japan. Everything was as normal. Teachers were sighing, students were counting the hours until break, girls and boys alike were gossiping.

And then one high school girl arrived at the school with groundbreaking information that put this entire day that was shaping up to be mind-numbingly average into disarray.

She had arrived slightly late to class and burst into the room like a typhoon, making the entire classroom look at her. Her face was flushed and she was panting heavily, as though she had run all the way here from her house without stopping. One hand was on the doorframe, as she needed the support to keep standing, while the other held a curled up poster with infinite care that belied the poor girl's condition.

The teacher stared at the girl at the entrance of the classroom with worry.

"Suzuki-san? Are you all right?"

The girl just looked at the teacher silently. Then, with continued care, she unfurled the poster she had brought with her, exposing its contents to the entire class.

It was a poster for a new movie that would be released a little more than a year form then. On it was a handsome man decked in traditional Japanese clothes, but with an edge of danger and authority to him that made him seem like some high-ranking official in a mafia, perhaps even the clan heir. In his arms was a beautiful woman, also dressed in traditional Japanese clothes, who, similarly to the man she was posed so intimately with, held a certain dangerous grace to her that hinted at some power in the underworld. It was not their obvious beauty, nor the hints of danger that sent small shivers down the viewer's back that so captivated the classroom, however, it was the complex mix of emotions evident on the couple's faces.

They gave each other mirroring looks, so each obviously felt the same as the other. Somehow, in just a still picture, the couple managed to convey a deep-seated desire for each other, an all-encompassing possessiveness that meant the other person was theirs completely. Yet there was also wariness in their postures, perhaps due to some past history of antagonism, or perhaps they were afraid of the obvious intensity of their emotions for each other, which threatened to blow them away. And behind the desire, the possessiveness, the wariness, was a hint of something so beautiful and pure the students could only hold their breath at having finally found it after staring at the poster for a few minutes – love. The couple was beginning to love each other, and despite themselves it was all the students could do to silently cheer them on.

So entranced by the expressions the two actors depicted, it took the class a second to place exactly who they were.

But eventually, the scene computed and squeals reverberated throughout the classroom.

"OH MY GODDD! IT'S TSURUGA REN AND KYOKO!"

"REN-SAMA AND KYOKO-SAMA ARE GOING TO STAR IN A MOVIE TOGETHER!"

"What? WHAT?! WHAAAAAAT?! HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS?!"

"I KNOOOOOOW"

"THEY'RE LITERALLY MY OTP!"

"I KNOOOOOOW"

"THEY'RE SOOOOO CUTE TOGETHER!"

"I KNOOOOOOWWWWW!"

"OH MY GOD. I NEED TO STOP. I LIKE- LIKE I CAN'T EVEN."

"I THINK I MIGHT CRY. TEARS OF HAPPINESS. JUST, PURE OTP JOY."

"THIS IS TOO MUCH FOR MY HEART RIGHT NOW - WAIT, DOES HARU KNOW? WE NEED TO TELL HER RIGHT NOW. SHE WILL FREAK OUT."

"ARE YOU JOKING?! WE NEED TO TELL THE WHOLE SCHOOL! EVERYONE IS GOING TO FREAK OUT!"

"OH, SUZUKI-SAMA! THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US THIS POSTER AND SPREADING THE JOY OF KYOREN ON THIS BEAUTIFUL MORNING!

"I SWEAR IF THEY'RE NOT DATING THEN LOVE IS A LIE."

"I SHIP THEM SO, SO HARD."

"I WROTE FANFICTION ABOUT THEM. AND READ FANFICTION ABOUT THEM EVERY. SINGLE. DAY."

"DID YOU SEE THE LOOK HE GAVE HER AT THE OSCARS? I WISH SOMEONE WOULD LOOK AT ME THE WAY HE LOOKED AT HER."

Needless to say, nothing else was taught at on that previously average day at that average high school in Kyoto, Japan, as all anyone could think about was two of Japan's top actors finally starring together.

The sound of polite applause filled the Talk Show room. An attractive woman in her 40's with a glamorous dress and fashionable hairdo greeted the audience sitting in front of her and the camera.

"Thank you! Thank you! Welcome to the Rumiko show! I am your host Rumiko and today I'd like to invite two very special guests – and I'm sure you guys are going to be as freaking excited as me once you find out who they are –

"The TOP male and female actors of Japaaaaaaan," She paused as the sound of a drum roll could be heard. The audience grew restless as they excitedly realized who the guests were. "TSURUGA REN AND KYOKO!"

At the confirmation of their suspicions, the audience roared. Squeals could be heard all throughout the room, and was that the sound of a person fainting?

The two actors came out at the same time, Kyoko with her hand delicately placed on her co-star's arm, both looking as beautiful as ever. They waved regally at the audience and the camera as they made their way to their seats.

Tsuruga was wearing a semi-casual suit that clung to his body and accentuated the hard muscle that was underneath. His height and his toned body gave him an aura of pure physicality that left many women light-headed. Yet somehow, it was all contained in the image of a perfect gentlemen. His presence would have dwarfed any ordinary actor, but the woman at his side was by no means ordinary. She, too, was incredibly beautiful, with a delicate face and an athlete's body. She had piercing golden eyes that were obsessed over by the media for years, and long dark lashes to frame them that gave her a sensual look she had been too innocent to use when she was younger. She wore an elegant black dress that highlighted her slim figure and legs that ran on for miles, granting her an air of nearly untouchable sophistication.

At the appearance of the two top actors, the audience seemed to become even more wild, squealing at pitches that could only be heard by dogs and particularly astute dolphins. Rumiko had to wait a full seven minutes before the audience finally calmed down enough for her to speak and be heard.

"Thank you so much for coming on the show today, Tsuruga-san, Kyoko-san. As you can see, we are very excited to have you!"

Rumiko gestured at the audience as they yelled their agreement. The duo smiled and Kyoko gave a short inclination of her head as a bow.

"Thank you for having us, Rumiko-san. We're very excited to be here, and to talk about our new project our upcoming movie together Noble Hearts." Tsuruga replied with his usual charming smile.

"It's been all anybody could talk about for the past month ever since that poster came out! The people are dying for news!"

"Oh, believe me we know. I couldn't talk to anyone without them asking me about it. I even had one fan who came to me in tears and made me promise her that the poster was true, that she wasn't just dreaming, and that I really would be filming a movie with Ren." Kyoko chuckled. Then, she looked at the camera, "If you're watching this, Hana-chan, rest assured. It's all true. The film will be released next year."

The TV host laughed. She always loved having this duo on her show. Not only did she always get off of the charts ratings, but also they always knew exactly how to please a crowd. Both were absurdly charming people.

"So you two have acted in a few projects together in the past, haven't you?"

"Oh, absolutely." Tsuruga replied with his usual blinding smile. "One of the first projects where we worked together was Dark Moon where I played the male lead Katsuki and Kyoko played the main antagonist, Mio." He looked at her and grinned slightly mischievously. "I had never been so scared of a high school girl in my life."

Rumiko smiled. This was one of the reasons her show was so popular when they were both together. Kyoko seemed to evoke this new devilish side to Tsuruga that they had never seen before and that made Japan fall in love with him all the more.

"You should be careful what you say, Ren. You never know when my Mio side might come out and attack you!" She gave him a joking glare as though to reinforce he threat before laughing and turning back to the Talk Show host. "Since then, we've worked on a few other projects together, all amazing experiences such as the The Death of the Dog, James R. Norris, and that Dior commercial." At this last one she almost seemed to blush and refused to look at her co-star. "I've really been so lucky to be able to act so many times alongside him. He's an absolutely wonderful person to work with."

Not to be outdone, Tsuruga looked at Kyoko, "Kyoko is also fantastic to work with. Anyone who interacts with her can see that she is truly passionate about her work, and has unbelievable talent. Sometimes it's difficult to remember she only started four years ago, she's been so successful."

Their gazes held for a few seconds, as though in their own little world, before abruptly (had they not been such great actors the embarrassment at being caught staring into each other's eyes would be evident) turning to the talk show host who was smiling knowingly.

"But I hear that this movie will be special. As I understand it, this will be the first time that you two act as each others' love interests?"

This time Kyoko answered first, "Yes, that is true. We'll be acting as the heirs to these two rivalling yakuza clans who are constantly fighting. In order to stop the incessant violence, they pretend to be in love and get married, while actually deeply disliking one another. As the movie progresses and they spend more time together as a married couple, the two have to learn to rely on one another to survive amidst the deception of politics and the ill intentions of those who want war, and eventually fall deeply in love."

"It's actually a truly moving story," Ren continued. "So much so, in fact, that a certain someone cried during the script-reading."

"Ren!" Kyoko complained, putting a hand on her cheek to attempt to cover her blush. The whole crowd collectively "aweeed" at the cute actress and the adorable interaction.

"I never said it was you, Kyoko. You just confirmed it for them."

Kyoko gave him a small glare before laughing. "Honestly, it's completely unfair for you to say anything. I'm positive you're not human, Ren, you didn't even cry when we watched Bambi." She gave him an absolutely bewildered look, as though the mere possibility of someone not crying when watching Bambi was beyond her. "Anyways, I was deeply touched by the story. It just proves how good the script is."

Rumiko laughed, "Believe me, I don't think you need to give anyone an extra incentive to go watch the movie. Just seeing either of your names on a movie makes most people want to watch it – both of you in the same movie together and it's guaranteed to do well in the box office. And both of you together as love interests- why, it could beat a record!"

Both guests laughed politely at her words. No one doubted that that really was the case.

"Which brings me to the moment of truth: Are the two of you dating?"

There was a moment of silence only filled by the sound of the eager audience leaning forward in their seats in anticipation of what would be said next.

Tsuruga smiled one of his smiles that made girls swoon before looking at Kyoko, "Well, we expected this question. There can't be an interview with either of us where they don't ask if we're dating."

Tsuruga and Kyoko shared a sympathetic smile that just made the audience believe even more that there was something going on.

Rumiko defended her actions, "Well, how can you expect any different? You're Japan's favorite couple that never was! You call each other by your first names, you've been seen repeatedly going out together in your free time, you usually go to formal events as each other's dates… it has taught the Japanese people to hope."

Silently, Tsuruga and Kyoko were thankful for the fact that they didn't know Kyoko now had a spare key to Tsuruga's apartment, or that they had shared a room for a few LME projects, or that she called his parents "Otou-san" and "Okaa-san".

"I hardly think the Japanese people hope for such a thing, Rumiko-san. Rather, I'm afraid they'd be very angry with me for stealing Japan's number 1 eligible bachelor and number 1 sexiest man." Kyoko looked at the audience, almost as if expecting them to agree.

"And I can hardly imagine the Japanese people thanking me for taking away the nation's sweetheart and number 1 most beloved idol AS WELL as number 1 most beautiful woman." Tsuruga said with a pointed stare in her direction.

Kyoko blushed again, "Oh, I hardly think we're on the same level, Ren. You're so much more amazing than I am."

"I'm going to have to disagree with you there, Kyoko."

"I'm afraid I have to side with the wise Tsuruga-san here, Kyoko-san. There are fans out there that pray every night for the two of you to get together, more than they pray for their own love lives! I'm pretty sure millions of hearts would be broken should either of you two date anyone else!"

Rumiko exclaimed dramatically.

"Of course, no pressure, you two."

Tsuruga and Kyoko laughed.

A/N: Next chapter will be the filming!