Short Stories, Snow Princesses, and Mistletoe

Summary: It was already November, and Tsuruga Ren still hadn't found the perfect gift for Kyoko. What could he give her that would rival his gift from the previous year? Holiday story and first-date challenge fic

Disclaimer: I do not own SkipBeat, nor do I own The Gift of the Magi, or Disneyland, or any of the characters therein.

Chapter 1 – The Dilemma

Tsuruga Ren mumbled softly to himself as he searched through yet another magazine for the perfect gift for Kyoko. Last year had been such a success that he was determined to do even better this year. Unfortunately no amount of effort had yielded an idea. The truth was that Kyoko wasn't an easy girl to shop for. True, she loved makeup, and anything to do with fantasy and faeries; but every gift he considered under those criterion was unsatisfactory. He wanted to get her something that would make memories and that she would cherish for years to come. After all, this wasn't just any Christmas. On this Christmas Kyoko would turn eighteen.

Eighteen was a very significant number for Ren. Even without Yashiro's constant teasing reminders, Ren was fully aware that Kyoko would cease to be a minor at the age of eighteen. Now, it is true that Japan's view on the age of adulthood and consent is slightly different than that of the United States. But Hizuri Kuon was born and raised in the United States and therefore in his mindset Kyoko would no longer be a child on December 25th. He was also aware of the fact that he wasn't the only male in Tokyo who had noticed how much she had grown and matured in just one year. Other than Fuwa Sho, there hadn't been any serious competition for Kyoko's attention in the last year, but that would certainly change soon. Ren wanted to make certain that he was the one who won Kyoko's attention, and her heart.

On the previous year he had stumbled upon the perfect idea by accident during a moment of unexplained restlessness. He had been sitting in the waiting area prior to an interview, feeling decidedly lonely. At the time he had still been struggling with his feelings for Kyoko, and so he hadn't recognized that she was the source of his restlessness. Kyoko, in her usual caring fashion, had overheard Maria complaining about Christmas and Kyoko had understood to true source of Maria's discontent. On one fateful Christmas, years before, little Maria had lost her mother in a plane crash as her mom was heading home for Christmas. Maria's birthday was on the 24th of December, so she had lost two important holidays due to the tragic death of her mother. Kyoko came up with the perfect solution in putting together a "Grateful Party" with her little imouto. As a result, Maria learned to love both her birthday and Christmas once again. The problem was that it meant Kyoko was always at the Takarada Mansion preparing for the event and therefore inaccessible to Ren.

This year Kyoko would be just as busy with the preparations for another Grateful Party. Ren wanted to find the perfect Christmas/Birthday gift, a gift that she would always cherish… a gift that she would still fondly pull out in the years to come… to show her children… their children. He allowed himself to paint the beautiful image of his children playing in front of him while Kyoko cuddled with him on their couch…

"Ren?" Ren jumped as he realized that Yashiro Yukihito was standing in front of him with a bemused look. "It must have been quite a nice daydream, Ren… but you should really be careful about smiling like that." He made a sweeping gesture behind him to point Ren's attention to the carnage. All around the lobby, women were either swooning, drooling, or melted into puddles on the floor.

"What exactly were you thinking about?" Yashiro raised an eyebrow inquisitively; obviously intent on wheedling the information out of Ren, but thankfully an announcement on the intercom intervened.

"Tsuruga Ren, please report to the office of Takarada Lory." Ren looked at Yashiro, but the shorter man merely shrugged. With a feeling of dread Tsuruga Ren and headed towards the nearest elevator, followed closely by his manager.

oOoOOoOo

Ren knocked once and stepped back quickly as one of the double doors began to swing open. Even before a pointy-eared Sebastian could speak, Ren and Yashiro were assaulted with a cacophony of sounds, from Christmas music and the whistling of toy trains to the tink-tinking of dozens of tiny hammers. The visitors paled and began to step back, but a booming , jolly voice halted them, "Ren-kun, Yukihito-kun! You're in luck! I checked my list and you've both been good this year!"

Giving in to the inevitable, the two men stepped past Sebastian and into an extremely authentic version of Santa's workshop. Everywhere they looked there were workbenches and little men with pointy hats and pointy ears were working away, creating toys. Seated in a large red-upholstered chair on a high platform, sat Takarada Lory, complete with white beard and red suit. He held a long, unrolled list of names as he looked up from his tiny reading glasses at his visitors. "Welcome to the North Pole, Gentlemen." He said with a broad smile.

Before he could say more, the door swung open again and three young women stepped in, one at a time, bearing boxes of materials. Yashiro had been facing Lory, but Ren had sensed her presence as soon as the door opened and turned. When Ren sucked in his breath, Yashiro turned to see the three LoveMe girls dressed in red, velvety outfits that did more to highlight than to hide their feminine curves. He looked at the tall man as he stood transfixed with his focus completely centered on the second figure.

Yashiro looked back, but his own attention was drawn to the tall raven-haired beauty in the lead. Despite her scowl, Kotonami Kanae was breathtaking in her little Christmas suit. Yashiro tried, but failed to keep his eyes from wandering down to her perfectly toned long legs. When he did force his eyes back up to her face, his eyes met her fierce glare, but even that was beautiful, highlighted as it was by her blush.

Ren stared at Kyoko for so long that the poor girl began to grow frightened by his intensity. Chiori, seeing the man's fixation and Kyoko's reaction, "accidentally" interposed her body in between the pair, effectively breaking the moment and allowing Kyoko to nervously deliver her burden to a waiting group of "elves." Never allowing her eyes to meet Ren's, she turned to head back to the door, but Lory's voice halted her progress, "Mogami-san, please stay. I need to speak with you and Ren about project!"

Kyoko stood there, her hand on the doorknob, her heart racing for some unknown reason. Why was her sempai looking at her like that? Was her outfit that inappropriate? Was he about to scold her? Finally she stood straight, released the doorknob, and turned to face her company president.

Ren, aware of Kyoko's nervousness, had forced his eyes to focus on Takarada Lory, though every fiber of his being wanted to turn and devour the girl he loved with his eyes. He also wanted to cover her up and protect her from the eyes of all other men. Why did the Boss dress her like that! What could he be thinking! Damn, she is sexy, dressed like that…

"The reason why I've asked you both to remain is that I have a project that I require your skills for. Have either of you ever heard of the story The Gift of the Magi, written by O'Henry?"

"Yes Shacho," Kyoko responded with a smile, "I had to read it for my literature class in high school last year."

Lory started to turn and ask Ren, but then he remembered the secret that only a few people knew: Ren had never finished high school. He had left the United States at fifteen, with over two years left before graduation. As soon as he remembered this, he turned back to Kyoko, "Since you're the most current on the story, why don't you refresh our memories?"

"It's the story of a young married couple that truly lo… umm… that truly care for each other. The husband has a gold pocket-watch that is his pride and joy. His wife has beautiful, long hair that is her shining glory." Kyoko was hesitant to speak of love, but the story was so beautiful that her eyes began to shine as she continued to speak.

"They are very poor, but when Christmas approaches they each want to give the other something very special. The husband decides to sell his pocket-watch to buy a decorative comb for his wife's beautiful hair. The wife decides to sell her hair to buy a matching gold chain for her husband's pocketwatch." Her eyes watered at the beauty of each sacrifice, causing Ren's heart to catch in his throat. He wanted desperately to take this beautiful creature into his arms, but he restrained himself.

"When Christmas came, she presented her gift first. When he told her that he had sold his watch to buy her present, she took her hat off and showed him what she had done. Neither was angry because both knew that what was done was an act of…" she cleared her throat and said the dreaded word, "of love."

Takarada Lory looked at the pair with teary, glittering eyes, "Isn't that the most beautiful story of true love ever written? It's a story that deserves to be told over and over again… and that is why I have decided that LME is going to produce a Japanese version of the story… with the two of you as the leads."

For a moment, only the briefest of moments, Kyoko was ecstatic. She would be playing in a leading role beside her great sempai! And then the significance of the roles hit her, and her eyes grew wide with alarm, "Ano… Shacho… that is a story about… about a husband and wife." Her face grew red and she was unable to look over at her tall sempai. "Nobody would ever believe that we… ummm… that Tsuruga-san and I… that he would ever marry somebody like me! It would ruin the whole story."

Lory waited for Ren to speak up and confess his undying love, but when he didn't, Lory sighed, "Mogami-san, I chose you for two reasons. The first is that I know how desperate you are to break away from bad-girl bully roles; consider this my Christmas present to you so that you can accomplish that." Kyoko looked up and smiled at him with a mixture of gratefulness and sadness.

"The second reason is that you and Ren have great chemistry together," when Kyoko made to protest, he stopped her with a raised hand, "It's the truth. Some of the best scenes in Dark Moon were not the scenes between the lovers, but the scenes between Mio and Katsuki. Whenever you two were on-screen the viewing audience were mesmerized."

Kyoko frowned, "Well… perhaps… but that was Mio threatening Katsuki. Who would believe the idea of any character he played being in love with me?"

Ren finally spoke up, "I'll do it." Both Kyoko and Lory turned surprised eyes on him, as if they had forgotten his presence in the room. "I will play the husband… though I'm disappointed in you, Mogami-san… I seem to remember that you wanted to act in a leading role alongside me." He shrugged dismissively, "I suppose that was all talk. A professional would never turn down a role because she didn't think that the viewers would believe it. A professional would make them believe it. Oh well…"

"NO! I'm sorrryyy. Please don't cast me off, Sempai! I'll do it!" Kyoko practically threw herself at Ren's feet in a dogeeza. Ren's breath caught as the sheer red velvet material highlighted her delightfully athletic body, but he moved quickly to lift her upright. This only made things worse because it afforded him a momentary view down the front of her outfit… It took him several long seconds before he could find his voice to still her apologies. As she continued to bow Ren became more agitated, until finally he pulled her into his arms to still her movements.

Kyoko froze, stiff as a statue in his arms. "I'm sorry to grab you like this, Mogami-san, but you needed to calm down. I know that you are a professional and that you will do the right thing, right?" As Ren spoke firmly, Kyoko felt the vibrations of his chest… the wide, firm chest that her face was pressed against. She couldn't speak, so she only nodded.

Ren was actually loving the feel of Kyoko in his arms, but he knew that he had to let her go or his excuse for grabbing her would lose its validity. "I'm going to let you go now, Mogami-san. No more bowing, right?"

Kyoko nodded again. The truth was that she was beginning to feel quite comfortable… Ren's arms released her and Kyoko quickly stepped back, red-faced and alarmed at what she had just been feeling. Ren only saw her jump back, and because he couldn't read her mind her action made his heart ache. Will you ever want to be in my arms, Kyoko?

Lory had been forgotten during the exchange. He had watched with both amusement and joy, but there was also epiphany. For months he had looked down on Ren because the boy never made any progress with Kyoko. Now he saw that the boy was trying, but that he had to work slowly and carefully to try and build a place for himself in Kyoko's heart. Lory realized something else as well: Kyoko wasn't as immune to Ren as her actions would suggest. He had watched her face as Ren held her. I'm going to give these two another Christmas gift. I'm going to do everything in my power to help them to open up their hearts to love.

Notes: Many moons ago, there was a challenge issued: The First Date Challenge. So I've decided to answer this challenge with this Christmas story. I hope that you will enjoy.

Rules:
1: Cannot be a "fake" date or a LoveMe assignment
2: Feelings must be established from at least one side, i.e. at least one of them has to have confessed to the other (doesn't need to have happened in the fic, but bonus points if you include it!)
3: There must be some sort of kissing (doesn't matter when)
4: You must incorporate a love rival into the story (we need drama/conflict! use any existing character you like, no matter how minor)
5: Must end with Kyoko/Ren!

This will be a five-chapter holiday fic.