A plan in 'Vain' {A Skip Beat! FanFic}

Love's first sting

I do not own Skip Beat! or the following songs used.

(named at the end)

Children are a mystery really, you could spend your entire life studying them and still when you think you know everything there is to know about children. They will do or say something which will blow your mind entirely. Lory would have told you that he knew his granddaughter, that he could understand her quite well thank you very much, but even Lory never would have seen that coming... that simple little act of love and kindness... which would hurt as much as it would heal.

Lory watched on lovingly, his Valentine's masquerade ball in full swing. The drinks were flowing the mood merry, yet for Lory there was still something missing! that something was his number one love me girl and his number one love me boy, finally admitting just how much they truly loved each other. It had been 3 years! 3 long and tiring years for the master of love! he had watched his beautiful Kyoko bloom into an amazing woman, actress and stunning beauty. His so-much-like-a-son Ren had grown and bloomed in his own way, no one could ever say his acting lacked feeling, even the feeling he had found most elusive was now his... he had fallen in love... they both had and after a year of hiding it on Kyoko' s part and 3 years on Lory's it was fair to say the man was fed up!

Tonight for instance, it was almost too perfect for confessions if he did say so himself! the main hall was beautiful, the decorations showing off the day, outside the hall lots of fairy lit balconies, niches and gardens. who in their right mind wouldn't confess? he sighed heavily.

"Grandpa you're losing happiness again!" Maria said as she walked up behind Lory who couldn't help but smile at the little superstition he had made his granddaughter so fond of.

"I'm sorry honey but you see I feel a little unhappy so I thought I would let it out." he said honestly as Maria looked at him confused.

"Why would you be unhappy?" the 10 year old asked as she allowed Lory to pick her up and place her lovingly on his lap.

Lory wondered if anyone had ever mentioned her sweetheart Ren and her Onee-sama's feelings for one another around Maria before? He knew Maria was always saying she would marry Ren when she grew up and was always chasing away the women that got too close with her trusty bug lunch box, but could Maria ever really understand the needing of one heart for another as Ren and Kyoko needed each other?

Lory looked over at Ren surrounded by men and women, mainly the latter talking and smiling, but it was his fake smile... his fake laugh. He then looked at Kyoko with Kanae and Chiori. They to had a small group mainly consisting of men. Kyoko of course was not fake in her gestures or feelings even if those towards the men flirting with her were simply so polite that they could not get the wrong idea if they tried. Or maybe it was the way both Kanae and Chiori seemed to protect their friend from the worst of it. Either way he knew neither of them were truly happy.

The small glances, the way their eyes always sought out the other, and even if their eyes did meet polite yet genuine smiles lit their faces. Yes Lory was not happy, but he would never hurt Maria intentionally and he knew it could very well do so.

"Oh just one of my plans for the evening that didn't work out so well," he said smiling at her gently, "but I feel all better now seeing you dressed so beautifully."

Her dress was white and floaty in a true princess style perfectly matching her little white mask. She looked stunning and the older she got the more Lory saw her mom in her.

"Thank you grandpa. Onee-Sama helped me make it! Isn't it lovely? She made her dress too!"

Lory would never cease to be amazed by his Love Me number one's many talents and Lory wondered if this was a skill she had picked up from her 'adoptive mother' Julie. Kuu had insisted on flying Kyoko out to visit them for a week last summer. But then thinking of the doll she made Maria of her beloved Ren-sama it was probably a skill she already possessed.