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: Alright, here we go. This is most likely the last full chapter of ABMB, which is bittersweet. I got the confrontation that I have been waiting for out here, which is the main point of this chapter.

I know it may be a little late, but I made a trailer for ABMB and it is on YouTube. You probably can't just search it because of the generic name, but you can probably search my account (username KrisBlack4) or go to my website at: www (dot) krisblacks (dot) webs (dot) com where I will most likely be posting a link to the trailer. There is a link to my website in my profile.

"Kyoko, you look tired. Maybe we should head back?" Ren said after a few hours at the reception party.

They had done all of the traditional western events like the pictures, first dance and cutting of the cake and Kyoko looked more tired than he felt himself. It had been a long day for them both and tomorrow wouldn't be any better. Kyoko nodded in reply and allowed Ren to lead her out of the make-shift hall LME had created in one of the studios.

"Where am I staying tonight?" Kyoko asked.

It was a valid question. She had merely stayed over at his apartment the night before with all of the intentions of returning to the daruma. However, now they were married and neither had really thought about the living arrangements after the fact.

"Maybe we should stay at my place?" He offered.

Kyoko thought about it. Was this really the way that she had anticipated spending her wedding night – contemplating whether to return to her own haven or stay with her husband? Husband. The word made Kyoko light headed and strange. She thought she would never want or have a husband, not after what happened, and especially not at this time in her life. Never in a million years would she have even thought of Tsuruga Ren having that title.

"I will stay with you," she answered finally. "I am exhausted and your apartment is closer."

He kissed her forehead and they walked to the elevator together, going down to the underground parking where Ren had parked his car earlier that morning. Kyoko got in and buckled up, resting her head against the headrest and closing her weary eyes for a moment. It had been a long day and she couldn't wait to get into bed. She was thankful that it was late and the paparazzi had cleared off hours ago or getting out would have been more than she could handle and she may have just resigned herself to sleeping on that couch she had seen in Ren's office.

They managed to make it back to the apartment with no problems and Ren immediately pulled into the secure underground parking. Kyoko barely had enough energy left to walk as they went at a staggeringly slow pace (mostly due to her) to the elevator that would take them up to the apartment. The elevator seemed to take an eternity to reach the designated floor. Her eyes were closing even as Ren was opening the apartment door.

"I can't possibly sleep in this wedding dress," Kyoko said. It was too beautiful for her to even consider it.

"You still have your duffel bag here from yesterday; you can wear the same night clothes as you did last night."

She nodded and slowly made her way down to the bedroom to get changed. Ren knocked on the door fifteen minutes later to check on her. Receiving no response, he opened the door gently. On the bed Kyoko lay sleeping soundly, changed into her nightclothes. Ren couldn't stop the contentment from showing on his face. She must have been so tired she had fallen directly asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows. He walked over and tucked her in before changing out of his suit and climbing into bed beside his new wife.

The next morning was the first morning that Ren had been there in the bed beside her. They had been granted the next day or two off by the president, with the exception of the press conference they were to attend later that day. Kyoko lay in bed and watched Ren sleep. He looked innocent and young, almost like the Corn she remembered from childhood. Her face brightened and she brushed a stray piece of hair from his forehead. Her wedding band caught the sunlight that filled the room and glistened.

What was she doing still laying in bed? She should be preparing a breakfast feast for her new husband. Kyoko gently slid out of the bed and made her way quietly to the kitchen. She was pleased to see that Ren had the refrigerator stocked with food and easily found all the ingredients she was looking for. She found an apron in the linen closet and donned it before preparing the meal.

It wasn't until mid-way through cooking breakfast that Ren came into the kitchen, heading right towards the coffee maker that Kyoko had already turned on in preparation. He poured himself a cup of the rich brew and drank as much as he could of the hot beverage in one gulp.

"You are up early," he said once he sat the coffee cup down.

"I wanted to make a nice breakfast for us for our first married morning. It is the least I can do. Plus, a healthy breakfast is the best way to start the day."

"You didn't have to trouble yourself this morning of all mornings," he chastised. "But it smells absolutely delicious. I can't wait to try it."

Kyoko was astounded that Ren had said he was looking forward to eating. He seemed must have had some sort of childhood trauma regarding food to make him dislike it as much as he did, eating as a chore and necessity only. Then, Kyoko thought of his father, Kuu, and it did not surprise her suddenly that something like that could have occurred.

When breakfast was ready, Kyoko laid out the rice, miso soup, tamagoyaki, natto and broiled fish out in the traditional Japanese style as she had been taught by Shotaro's mother. Ren sat down opposite of her on the western-style table in the kitchen and they ate in relative silence. To Kyoko's surprise, Ren ate every last bit of his meal and even had an extra bowl of rice.

"You don't have to force yourself," she insisted.

"This is some of the best food I have ever eaten. If you keep cooking like this, I don't think I will ever be able to skip another meal again."

"Then I will cook like this forever," Kyoko said seriously. It had always been a concern of hers when he often skipped meals simply because he was too busy or just forgot.

When they had finished eating, Ren insisted on cleaning up and ushered Kyoko to the living room and turned the large television on for her before returning to the kitchen. One of the main entertainment news shows was on and Kyoko took the remote, turning the volume up a bit to hear the announcer. When they had just finished the initial report Kyoko was shocked to see her face displayed on the screen.

"In other news, it has been reported that the company that actress Kyoko works for has scheduled a press conference for today regarding the various rumors and reports that have been circulating around the internet and the industry. One of our very own reporters will be attending this event. It is uncertain if there will be anyone attending the conference other than Kyoko herself. More to come tonight."

Kyoko muted the television just as Ren returned to the living room, sitting beside her.

"How many reporters do you think are going to be at the conference later today?"

"I am not sure," he replied casually. "But the President directed me to have us there at least an hour before hand for make-up, wardrobe and preparations."

"That sounds a lot like what happens right before filming a scene," Kyoko noted.

"It most likely will be. There will be someone there tutoring us on how to respond if certain questions come up," said Ren. "Just try to relax and not feel too stressed about it. How are you feeling today?"

"Better, now that I don't get morning sickness anymore." Kyoko touched the bump on her stomach.

Ren beamed and placed his hand large hand over Kyoko's small delicate hand. Their wedding bands chimed when they came in contact. They sat like that for a moment, basking in the small comfort that was their family.

"I was thinking that maybe we should look at some houses."

"Houses?" Kyoko asked. She thought that they would be living in Ren's apartment.

"With the baby on the way, I think that it might be better if we looked at some houses instead of the apartment - it would be a better environment and I can certainly afford it. It wouldn't take much for me to sell this apartment. Plus, when the baby is born I would prefer if the paparazzi didn't know exactly where we live."

"I just thought that we would live here, I never even considered a house." Kyoko answered truthfully. "How are we supposed to look for them? We would easily get spotted if we went to an office."

Ren chuckled and stood. He disappeared down the hallway into the bedroom before returning with a catalogue in his hand. He sat back down and passed the catalogue to Kyoko. It was a list of real estate in and around the area.

"I had Yashiro pick it up for me a little while after I found out you were pregnant," he confessed. "Even if we didn't marry, I intended to buy a house for you."

"I- I couldn't have accepted such a gift!" Kyoko said astonished and blushing.

"Well, we don't have to worry about that now because it will be our house."

They flipped through the catalogue for the rest of the morning, bookmarking and highlighting potential houses that they were interested in seeing. By noon they had narrowed it down to only a few houses that they wanted to look at. Ren promised to pass the information along to Yashiro and have him set up times to view the houses that worked with both of their schedules. Kyoko yawned and rubbed her eyes and Ren suggested that she take a nap. They had a long night the night before and the press conference was only in a few hours and she should be well rested for it.

Kyoko wanted to refuse, but found that she had no energy to do that either. So she crawled back into bed for a rest trusting that Ren would wake her in time to go and prepare for the press conference.

Ren had been right when he described how things would go before the conference. Once they had arrived at LME she was rushed to a dressing room where a make-up artist, hair stylist and clothing stylist were waiting for her. The clothing specialist made Kyoko spin around once before she took off to the rack of clothes that she had brought with her. Kyoko was ushered to the chair in front of the mirror to sit while the make-up artist worked on her. Soon after, her hair was done prettily and she was in a tunic-like shirt, leggings and a pair of fashionable healed boots.

The stylists left when an assistant with a clipboard walked in and began questioning her with some of the potential questions that the paparazzi may ask. Kyoko tried to answer each to the best of her ability, only to be corrected several times and be told when she should use the response "no comment". She was also informed that there would be a master of ceremonies that would be directing the press conference to ensure that all went well.

Silently assuring herself that everything would be okay, Kyoko was still a ball of nerves when one of the other assistants came and announced it was time to go. Kyoko stood shakily and allowed the assistants to lead her toward the conference. Ren was already waiting by the door, dressed in casual wear that looked almost formal and was more gorgeous than anyone should ever be allowed to be.

"We are waiting for one more person," Ren said when she made it to his side.

She was about to ask who when footsteps echoed behind her. She turned away from her husband to see who the newcomer was. Shockingly blond hair and a tall frame greeted her gaze and it was all she could do not to scream and attack. There, standing before her, was Fuwa Shotaro - still dressed like a rebel punk at that. Her demons screamed and swarmed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked darkly when he was close enough so that no one but they could hear.

"Didn't your company tell you? They requested that I come here and try to douse the fires of your scandal."

"I didn't think you would actually come," Kyoko replied. "Unless you are here to try and ruin me, in which case I should just take you out right now."

"I will behave myself, scouts honor," Sho teased before growing serious and lowering his voice. "But how are you doing? Not that I care or anything..."

"That is none of your business," Ren cut him off, moving Kyoko closer to himself.

"And it is yours?" Sho laughed. "Simply because she is carrying-"

"It's time." One of the assistants cut him off mid-sentence.

The air around the three cooled and grew tense as they put on their acting masks. Whatever happened between them all would have to wait until the press conference was over and done with. The door opened in front of them to reveal a large conference room with a hundred people sitting inside, maybe more. They walked in one by one and took a seat at the head table set up, complete with microphones. Ren and Sho both sat at the end with Kyoko separating them in the middle. Cameras were going off like flash bombs and the clicking was the only thing that could be heard over the sound of one's own heart beating like a drum of war.

The master of ceremonies commenced the press conference. He was someone that Kyoko recognized from LME, but no one that she had officially met. Kyoko wondered if perhaps Ren knew him in some way or another. It wasn't until the open questions started that the press were allowed to speak and as soon as they were, the room nearly exploded.

The reporters began with simple and unintrusive questions like what her home town was. They then moved to her mother and her abandonment and how she had ended up in Tokyo. She answered them all calmly in wholly edited versions of the truth. It wasn't long before the reporters got to the issues they were truly curious about.

"What is your relationship with Tsuruga Ren and Fuwa Sho, Kyoko?" One reporter asked anxiously.

Kyoko looked from Sho back to Ren. When she finally created a response that she was sure would do the assistant that tutored her briefly proud, Sho had already spoken up.

"We are just childhood friends," he replied smoothly. "Our mothers were best friends and she often stayed at my house as a child and we were close. We both decided to come to Tokyo and fulfill our dreams in the industry and we are fortunate to both have been so lucky to have gotten this far and still remain as close as we have."

It took all of Kyoko's willpower not to snort into the microphone. The reporters who did not have a recording device were writing furiously. The demon-king sensor in Kyoko's head began to go off furiously and she stilled, petrified. She did not want to look over to Ren, but it was inevitable - like driving by a car crash and looking, even when you know you shouldn't. Ren was beaming his demon king smile that was enrapturing the reporters. Kyoko's demons were swarming, all wanting to be closer and closer to their king.

"What about Vie Ghoul and Hizuri Kuu?" Another reporter asked, not bothering to wait for the answer about her relationship with Ren, as if they all assumed it was just a confirmed fact.

"Vie Ghoul happened to be recording at the same location that the Dark Moon was filming. We accidently ran into each other once or twice. He is nothing more than a stranger, an acquaintance at best," Kyoko replied the rehearsed line. He is also a freaking terrifying esper and monster, she added to herself.

"Hizuri Kuu is an old friend of mine I knew when I was a child," Ren answered the last bit. "He was with Kyoko that day as a special favor to me."

"And what about the relationship between yourself and Kyoko then? What was happening in the supposed proposal picture?"

Sho looked down at Ren, barely hiding the smirk that crossed his face. Kyoko wanted nothing more than to jam the glass of water that sat beside his hand fully down his throat as he resisted grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"That is exactly as it looked," Ren said finally. "I was proposing."

A thousand more cameras went off and a few audible gasps.

"And what was the answer?" Another reporter asked.

"We are already married. I even brought some wedding pictures to show," Ren smiled to the crowd as the lights dimmed and the reporters buzzed and talked to each other in a volume so loud that Kyoko had to refrain from covering her ears.

A projection screen came down on the side of the room and the pictures they had taken the day before were projected onto it for the paparazzi to view. Sho shook beside Kyoko as he watched, his jaw clenched and his hands curled into tight balls. When the slideshow finished and the lights returned to normal, the reporters' cries of questions came again, only to be cut off by the master of ceremonies concluded the conference for the day.

The three stars stood and bowed before exiting the room into a smaller adjoining one in which they were to wait until the press cleared the building. Sho was the first one in, followed by Kyoko and Ren. Almost the moment the door shut behind them, Sho whipped around and punched Ren square in the face. Ren staggered backward from the unexpected blow.

"What do you think you are doing?" Kyoko yelled, running to her husband.

Ren wiped the blood from his lips and stood up.

"Do you honestly think that you can just waltz around doing whatever you please?" Ren asked darkly.

"I can't believe that you actually married her," Sho laughed bitterly.

"Yes, well, I am not the kind of guy that runs off to Tokyo with a girl and then leaves her stranded after sucking every once I can out of her."

"Well at least I didn't get her pregnant."

Kyoko looked at him outraged.

"You never touched me and you never will."

"You are just a spoiled little boy," Ren said to Sho. "You discarded Kyoko like an old toy that you didn't want anymore and as soon as another child picked her up and was interested in her you want it again."

Sho's nostrils flared in outrage.

"Do you know that she said that you are talentless? She told be repeatedly that I have more talent than you any day." He countered. "Every time you appeared on television she would say that to me, right after she worked all day and served me dinner when she got home, like a good little wife. Even now, all she can think of his her revenge on me, isn't that what has driven her career? Whether it is hate or love, we both know that I am the only one she has room for in her heart."

Ren's jaw clenched and he dove, punching Shotaro square in the jaw. Sho dropped to the floor from the hit and covered his jaw with his hand.

"If you ever come near my wife again, Fuwa Shotaro, I won't stop with just one punch," Ren said before taking Kyoko's hand and leading her out of the room and home to their apartment.

AN: Mostly filler, bust necessary. Again, next chapter will probably show a bit of the rest of Kyoko's pregnancy and then possibly the birth. I also have to send Grampy back to the States for a bit. So, there should only be one more chapter and the epilogue (which will be short).

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