Disclaimer: I love Skip Beat!, but that doesn't mean I own it. Pure fan love here.
Story: Various one-shots where Kyoko finds love in unexpected places and unexpected people.
Set all over the place.
Spoilers: Yeeeessss. Yes, yes, yes. Beware?
Warnings: Hm, I need to think about this time.
Pairings: Various/Kyoko

Chapter Plot: Maria didn't want her papa to be sad forever and she wanted a mommy. But the only female she liked and trusted was Kyoko. Well…time for them to meet then!

The Love Me Confessionals
Takarada Kouki

Maria giggled to herself, trying to wait patiently. Today, Papa was going to be moving back to Japan! He was finally going to be by her side for now on, and they would get to be together when she wanted.

She was so excited she almost rushed out of the room when she heard the front door open and she heard her papa's voice.

"Papa, you're here!" she exclaimed.

Almost sliding on the floor in her haste to reach her father's side, she steadied herself and then flounced over to her waiting father, who held out his arms to her. Maria happily leaped into his embrace and snuggled against his chest.

"My little Maria, how are you?" her papa murmured.

She sighed, bursting with happiness. "Happy now that you're here, Papa."

He squeezed her tightly before pulling back to look at her. "I'm very glad, Maria. I promise we'll spend lots of time together, okay?"

"Okay~"

"Kouki, it's good you're finally here," she heard her grandpa's voice and she and her father separated to see her grandpa watching them with a smile.

"Father," her papa greeted him.

"Get settled in!" her grandpa told him. "Make yourself home, Son. Maria and I are really happy to have you back."

"Thank you, Father. I'll get everything settled right away, so we can have a family dinner later?"

"Sounds good!"

Maria let her grandpa and Papa continue to talk, thoughts trailing away as she watched her papa. She nibbled on her lip.

She didn't like how lonely her papa looked.

Maria thought about it a lot on the first week her papa had moved back in with her and Grandpa. Her papa had been alone for a long time, ever since Momma had been gone. She still really missed and loved Momma, and she was sure Papa did too.

But she didn't want her papa to be sad forever.

When no one was looking, sometimes her papa looked really sad and lonely and she didn't like that. She liked it even less when her papa was like that when he was with her and Grandpa, and tried really hard to cover it up and pretend he was okay. He wasn't okay, but she wanted to help him be okay.

Maria didn't want Papa to be sad anymore and she admitted she'd like someone to be a mother to her. So if dragging another woman into their lives was what it was going to take…

She scrunched up her nose. She didn't really like or trusted a lot of women, especially the ones she'd seen around Papa or the ones that were always so stuck up around her. In fact…if she thought about it, the only female she did like and trust was…Big Sister Kyoko!

"Kyoko-oneesan," she muttered, starting to smile eagerly.

Perfect! Her big sister was always kind and took time out for her, and they got along a lot. Plus, Kyoko didn't think she was weird or treated her different just because she was "The President's Granddaughter". Kyoko would even make sure to let Maria know she wasn't going to let her act up and get away with it, like she used to before Kyoko did that amazing performance with that play Maria used to hate.

A large hand patted her head and she looked up to her grandpa grinning down fondly at her.

"My, my~ What is my little cherub thinking so hard about so early in the morning?"

Maria peered around him to see that only her grandpa's loyal manservant Ruto was around, so she looked back at her grandpa and frowned while trying her best to look very serious.

"Papa is sad and lonely," she said matter of fact.

Grandpa Lory nodded slowly. "Yes, I can see that too, Maria. Your papa doesn't like to show it, but…your Grandpa Lory sees all!" he laughed and Maria only inwardly sighed. When he shook his head and calmed down, he continued. "But yes, I can see Kouki has been more withdrawn than normal. I want to do something about it, but I'm not sure what."

Maria cleared her throat nervously. "I…I want to set Papa up with someone!"

Her grandpa looked at her surprised. "Oh? Well, that's actually a really good idea, little cherub. I would love to spread more love around, especially for your papa. Did you have someone in mind?"

She only hesitated for a second before blurting out, "Kyoko-oneesan!"

This time Grandpa Lory looked more than surprised –he looked shocked and like he hadn't expected it at all. But Maria hurried on, explaining her reasoning before she could lose her nerve. He hmmed in thought, rubbing his chin.

"I can't say I'm not caught off guard, Maria. I didn't expect this at all, especially your suggestion of Mogami-kun. I'm not even sure Mogami-kun is ready or even at the point of being willing to accept love again. But at the same time I'm not too surprised because I know how well you two get along and how much you really like her."

"So, Grandpa?" Maria asked.

"I've got it," he agreed. "I'll have Mogami-kun on an assignment and spend the day with you and your papa, okay? That way the three of you can spend the day as a family in a way."

Maria nodded in excitement. "That'll work, Grandpa! When are you going to do it?"

"She'll be freed up this weekend, so I'll give her the assignment then," her grandpa smiled widely at her. "You just be patient until then, and I'll let your papa know beforehand so he doesn't make plans for then and he'll be prepared for it."

Maria felt giddy and couldn't wait for the weekend to come.

Lory wouldn't say that he had expected this. In fact, he would say he had been completely caught off guard.

He did very much love his son. Kouki deserved to be happy and he knew that his son had been upset and lonely for a very long time. Lory would have loved to find someone to help make Kouki happy, as Maria seemed to think would help.

But he hadn't expected his granddaughter to suggest Mogami Kyoko of all people.

The thing was…the idea wasn't too off-putting to him, thinking it over. He'd inwardly instinctively balked because he had already thought and had plans for her and Ren. He had always thought the two of them would get together and he couldn't help a little nudge here and there to help that relationship out. It was just…

Ren kept stalling that relationship and looking to keep doing so. And the lies about who he was to poor Kyoko would inevitably hurt her, which was exactly what Lory didn't want to happen. At this point, the whole Ren and Kyoko angle he'd been rooting for was a mess, and he worried about what was to come of it.

And if he thought more on Maria choosing Kyoko, it really shouldn't have been a surprise. His cute granddaughter had always been fond of Kyoko and had gotten along with her from the beginning. The two of them were very close and Maria had very seldom others that she liked or trusted on that level, especially regarding grownups (and definitely any women). Coming to find someone Maria felt was acceptable to be a good partner for her father had to be someone that she would like herself and would get along with. Who else then but Kyoko?

Kouki would be good for and to her. Lory had raised his son to be a good man and he would treat Kyoko right, so he had no doubts about any that. It would also help in teaching Kyoko about the proper ways of love and to help heal her from the painful experiences of the past. And honestly, Lory didn't mind at all having her as part of his family and being his daughter in law. He would be very pleased and would love to have Kyoko become a Takarada in the future…

"Sir? President Lory, what can I do for you?" the very person he was thinking about asked in confusion. An excited smile started to grow on his lips.

"Mogami-kun! I have another assignment for you."

He held in the chuckle at the brief grimace she took on, and instead allowed himself to smile at her hesitancy that she'd allowed herself to show.

"Maria misses you," he said, surprising her. "Her father has moved back here from America, and she's extremely happy to have him back. She does tell me she wishes she could spend time with you again, and since she'd mentioned to me how she'd like you to meet her father, I thought I'd assign you to spend a simple day with her and my son at the zoo."

"Oh!" She definitely looked like she hadn't expected this, just like Lory hadn't expected this newfound change in his plans regarding her. "I'd lo –o-of course! I miss Maria too and spending time with her at the zoo sounds like a great assignment."

Still, she seemed to be waiting for a catch, which he didn't blame her for. He had a horrible tendency to do that kind of thing, didn't he?

"Very well, I'll let Maria know. You can meet them at the front of this building. Remember to dress casually and for a day out of fun!"

She nodded eagerly and was on her way to leaving when he called out to her again, wearing a mischievous smile.

"Oh, and Mogami-kun?"

She turned to him with a puzzled look.

"Try to act as if this is a family outing and you are just going out with your family. This is still a Love Me assignment after all!" he chuckled, more so as her face turned red. "Try to think and pretend that Maria is your daughter and my son is your husband!" he said just as she hurried out of his office with a face the color of tomatoes.

He was still snickering when Ruto came into his office, shaking his head as he held up Lory's phone.

"Your son's on the phone for you, sir."

He hmmed and looked forward to telling his son the news.

Yashiro tilted his head to the side, trying to be sure of what he was seeing. No, his eyes weren't deceiving him. That was Kyoko alright –strangely dressed casually, so she wasn't working it seemed. But she seemed to be anxious as she paced a hole at the entrance of the LME building.

"I wonder what's on her mind," he heard Ren say, taking the words right out of his mouth.

Yashiro smirked to himself. "Why don't we go see?"

Ren looked like he was debating it to himself, but then he was starting to walk and Yashiro had to catch up to his long strides.

"Mogami-san, are you alright?" Ren asked first.

Kyoko stopped and faced them, looking like an adorable doe that had been caught and wanted to run away.

"Ts-suruga-san," she stuttered. "Yashiro-san, hello," she smiled weakly at them.

She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little riled up. I'm going to be on another…Love Me assignment."

Yashiro looked at her confused. "You're not wearing your pink coveralls though."

"Takarada-san told me to dress casually," she explained. "Today, I'm going out with Maria to the zoo."

"Oh! So your assignment is to spend the day with Maria at the zoo?" Yashiro asked.

"Ah, more or less. You see, I'm supposed to –"

"Excuse me, are you Kyoko-san?" someone interrupted them.

Yashiro frowned and turned to face the intruder to the conversation, only to pause and gape. He could practically feel Ren's confusion from next to him as well.

Kyoko hurriedly bowed. "You must be Maria's father! Please to meet you, Takarada-san. I am Mogami Kyoko."

Takarada Kouki, someone Yashiro barely remembered as the President's son who'd been overseas for a very long time, smiled slightly.

"Please to meet you as well and call me just Kouki. It'll be easier to differentiate me from my father, since you probably call him Takarada-san as well, yes?"

"Y-yes, that's right," Kyoko flushed red in embarrassment, straightening up. She turned to them, bowing slightly again. "I'll be going now, Yashiro-san, Tsuruga-san. Please take care."

Takarada Kouki held out his arm to Kyoko politely, which she accepted after a moment, and then they were walking away from them.

"Hm, I guess Kyoko is spending the day with Maria and her father," Ren concluded, slowly shrugging it off. He smiled slightly. "Maria probably missed Kyoko and wanted to spend time with her and her father and have some kind of outing."

Yashiro nodded, agreeing with Ren. Still, something seemed a bit off…

What, he didn't know. But he was sure something about this seemed more to it than just that.

"Ahhh, Kyoko! Look, look! The lions!"

"Maria-chan, those are tigers…"

Kouki sweatdropped as he listened in. His daughter had always been strange, but…Although, this strange girl his daughter had taken so well to while he was gone handled Maria pretty well. Kyoko indulged Maria even, and didn't dismiss or halfheartedly pay attention to her like he'd thought she would, like most others did when it came to his daughter. In fact, Kyoko was a very avid listener and would even join in with Maria frequently.

He knew about Kyoko before this meeting, even before his father had told him about this little outing he'd arranged. He remembered hearing how this girl had managed to break though Maria's shell and had somehow started to repair and encourage communication between Maria and him, before the actress had met Kouki. If it hadn't been for Kyoko, things would've continued to be strained with he and his daughter, and the two of them would still not be talking. Maria would be despondent and angry, and he would've been floundering and missing his daughter.

So he found himself agreeing when his father told him about Maria's wish to go out with him and this girl, spend a day as a normal family out in a zoo even, and wanted to get to know her himself. He just…hadn't expected her odd but endearing personality.

She was quite funny, especially when she went off into her own world or when she started to do some weird voodoo thing that Maria casually joined in on (he long knew his daughter had her quirks and apparently she'd now found someone to share them with). Kyoko was also very enthusiastic about things and was overall very kind and sweet.

She was attentive to his daughter as well, and genuinely liked and cared for Maria. He could sense no ulterior motive and Kyoko made a good balance with indulgence and avoiding spoiling Maria, teaching her manners and being fair. The more he watched the two of them, the more he saw how good Kyoko was for Maria and how well they got along. It was the first time he'd ever seen his daughter take to another female, an older one at that, so well.

Kyoko was very charismatic though. And he could hesitantly admit she was cute in her own way, and actually rather pretty. He wondered why she didn't have a boyfriend yet.

"Papa! There's ice cream. Can I get one?" Maria asked him.

"It's 'may I get one?', Maria-chan," Kyoko corrected in amusement.

Kouki hid his smile and fished out his wallet, handing Maria some money.

"Why don't you go over and get yourself whatever you'd like, and if there's anything left over, surprise Kyoko-san and I with one. Okay?" he told Maria affectionately.

Maria beamed joyfully up at him. "Yes, Papa."

She left, giving him a chance to be alone with Kyoko and have a private talk. Keeping an eye on his daughter, he turned to his companion for the day.

"Kyoko-san, there's something I'd been meaning to say to you," he said seriously and he watched her face him nervously. "About before, what you've done for Maria…how you've helped her and I connect again…words cannot truly express how grateful I am to you. Without your help, none of this would've happened and I wouldn't have had my daughter back."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head rapidly. "It was nothing, Kouki-san! There's no need to thank me. Maria really missed you and I wanted to help her. And you, I was sure missed her also. I just wanted to make sure you two were able to communicate that to each other."

Kouki smiled softly, feeling himself grow all the more fonder of this girl who'd entered his family's life so strangely. He inclined his head and gave her a tender look.

"And that's why I needed to thank you."

She blushed faintly, offering him a shy smile. Once again, the thought of how cute she was passed through his head, but he pushed it away.

Maria's voice cried out happily to them and they looked over to her coming towards them quickly. She tripped and nearly dropped the ice cream she was holding. Kyoko laughed lightly by his side and he watched her go over to Maria and say something to her, ruffling her curly locks before picking her up. The two of them smiled at each other and for a moment Kouki's breath caught as he observed the scene.

Kyoko and Maria looked so happy together, and for a brief glance could be mistaken as mother and daughter…

The sight of them and the thought of that put both an ache and warmth in his chest. An ache because he still loved and missed his wife, but also a warmth this young woman had managed to instill in him, more so as he continued to watch the scene.

Maybe…maybe it was time for him to look to the future instead of the past.

Started 1/16/18 – Completed 2/1/18

A/n: Been awhile, yeah? Dunno, trying not to check out on the fandom though. Eh, anyway, I hope you guys liked this one. I might start another Skip Beat! fic to keep interested, but who knows?