Going Home

"Do you think they ever plan to get up?"

"Shush! You'll wake them up!"

"Maybe they're dead?"

"Higen! Come away from the door."

"Do you have any idea what time it is? What if they have sleep apnea and choked to death?"

Kumi placed her hands on her hips, giving her husband a very stern eye and tapping her foot impatiently. "You know that Horokeu doesn't have sleep apnea."

"Yeah, but we don't know if Ren does." Higen replied smartly, running a hand through his dark blue hair. "Maybe he knew he was gonna choke to death and decided to take Horo with him. Or maybe Ren just choked to death and Horo couldn't bear the loss and decided to join him in the afterlife! Like Romeo and Juliet! Except, more like . . . Romeo and Jonathan."

"Oh, Higen!"

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Ren's eyes opened slowly; he could feel his 'pillow' jigging him around, whispering. "Ren! Hey, Ren!"

He moaned sleepily. "Nani?" He murmured, his half-lidded eyes glancing up at his fiance as he tried to regain his comfortable position, resting on the Ainu's chest.

"What's sleep apnea?" Ren muttered something in Chinese and Horo raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"It's an illness, you idiot." Ren groaned, shifting again. "Why?"

"Dad thinks we're Romeo and Jonathan."

" . . . What?"

Horo chuckled quietly and shifted his body so that he was a little more on his side, but Ren's head was still rested against his chest. "If I had sleep apnea and choked to death in my sleep, would you be able to bear the loss?" He teased quietly, creeping his hand across the mattress to find Ren's.

"Hmm . . . it would be the loss of a great pillow, but . . . well, I could always find another one." Ren poked him lightly in the ribs. "You're not as comfortable as you used to be."

"But I got you a nice ring!" Horo answered back quickly.

"True . . . " Ren looked down at his ring thoughtfully. "I guess I'll have to keep you for a while then."

"Wait! Wait, wait, I hear voices!" Higen's less-than-quiet attempt at a whisper came through the door. "I think they're alive!"

Ren blinked curiously and looked up at Horo in confusion before looking back at the door. "Higen?" He chirped questioningly.

"HE LIVES!" Higen almost shrieked. "Is Horo alive too?"

Ren narrowed his eyes slightly and a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "No."

"Did the sleep apnea get him?"

"No." Ren answered again.

"Did you get him?"

"Yes."

"Did you eat him?"

"Yeah," Ren's smirk spread some more. "You should try some; tastes like baka."

Higen made that odd kind of gasp/squeak thing that only he could pull off. "Ren, I told you we had to do something about your cannibalistic urges!"

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"Yaochen, the human body is a perfectly natural thing. You shouldn't be embarrassed!" Kumi urged, scooping out scrambled eggs onto everyone's plate and nudging Ren with her hip. "Could you translate, honey?"

Ren sighed quietly and rolled his eyes towards Yaochen. "These are Horo's relatives; they're like bushmen, they run around naked everywhere. It's nothing new to them."

Yaochen's eyes looked up at Kumi, the big smile on her face never leaving, and he smiled timidly in return.

"Did you tell him what I said?" Kumi asked Ren politely.

"Exact wording." Ren nodded.

"Hmm, he doesn't look convinced." Kumi frowned lightly. "Well, maybe just remind him that Ujio is a man too, so it wasn't anything he hadn't seen."

"Mum!" Ujio whined.

"Well, it's true."

Ren looked over at Yaochen. "You're both guys, so the only thing you should be embarrassed about is if you're equipped like four-year-old."

Yaochen's eyes widened slightly. "Did she actually just say that?" He asked in astonishment.

Ren nodded his head again. "Oh, yeah."

"She didn't really; you're making it up."

Ren raised an interested eyebrow had his servant. "Would I lie?"

Yaochen's face turned doubtful; Ren wasn't known to lie, no. He looked straight at Kumi again. "She kind of scares me."

"What did he say, dear?" Kumi asked, pulling out her chair and sitting down at the table.

"He wants you to pass the ketchup."

"Oh . . . " Kumi smiled and grabbed the ketchup bottle, handing it across the table to Yaochen. "Here you go, sweetie."

Yaochen looked at her curiously and took the bottle, then looked at Ren. "Why did she give me this?"

Ren smirked a little. "She says tomatoes help with 'growth'."

Ujio sprinkled some salt on his eggs and nudged Ren with his elbow. "Tell him I didn't know he was in the shower, and next time he should lock the door."

"Okay." Ren turned to the fellow Chinese again. "Ujio says you're built like a walrus and he's never seen anything so damn sexy before."

"Or I dunno," Ujio continued. "At least put on a towel when he gets out and go get dressed in the bedroom."

"I'll tell him." Ren nodded and then flipped over to Chinese again. "He wants to know if you'll be his gay lover."

Yaochen's face instantly burned red. "Um . . . no, thank you."

Ren nodded again and looked over at Ujio. "He says 'thanks for the advice'."

XxXxXxXxX

"Are you sure that you have everything, sweetie?" Kumi piped up again, carrying Ylang Ylang's carrier over towards the jet.

"Yes, Mum, we checked everything three times."

"Well, I just don't want Ren to forget his luggage again . . . "

Ren sighed and turned around, lifting the bag in his hand purposefully. "I have it, thank you."

"She knows you have it," Ujio whispered quietly, leaning nearer to Ren so that he could hear him. "She just doesn't want you to go."

" . . . Oh."

"You boys are gonna be back to visit soon, aren't you?" Higen asked, dragging a suitcase behind him up the jet's ramp. "You can't make all those wedding plans alone!"

"We'll come back when we can, Dad," Horo answered, smiling happily at the reminder of marriage. "But our next trip is China."

Ren stopped dead in his tracks and nearly dropped the bag he was holding. "It is?"

"Well . . . yeah." Horo answered, frowning at Ren in confusion. "We can't just get married and not tell your family, Tiggit."

"Yes, we can! It's called eloping!" Ren protested quickly. "People do it all the time; it's what Las Vegas is for!"

"Ren, we can't elope."

"Yes, we can! It'll be exciting and romantic, you'll like it!" The odd silence that followed that comment was enough to make a rock feel awkward, and Ren's eyes moved from Horo to rest of the Usui family that were now watching with high interest. "Well . . . maybe right now isn't the time to talk about it."

Kumi smiled softly and handed Ylang Ylang's carrier to Yaochen. "Ren, you don't have to worry about your family." She said in her calm, soothing voice, walking up beside him. "If they love you, they'll accept you and your relationship with Horohoro."

"But they don't love me." Ren answered in a colder voice than he had used with Kumi before.

"Well, I love you," Kumi answered, and quickly kissed him on the cheek before he had a chance to move away. "We all do. You're family now."

"Don't know if it's a good thing though." Ujio chuckled weakly; when nobody chuckled with him he just turned away and muttered under his breath. "You serious sap-fest monkeys."

Horo raised an eyebrow. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"Says the one who said Ren looked like a masterbating hamster." Ujio scoffed in return.

Ren sighed quietly and decided to the ignore the idiotic ramblings of the Usui brothers for once. "Can we just get out of here before we all freeze to death?" He grumbled, carting his suit case up the ramp behind him.

It didn't take too long to get all the luggage packed in; they had more than enough time for a long good-bye as Yaochen prepared the jet for take-off. Ren stood off to the side as he watched Horo being crushed in Usui-style hugs, dreading his own turn.

Kumi had tears in her eyes by the time she reached over and grabbed Ren by the arms, pulling him into a hug. "We're going to miss you!"

Horo giggled quietly as Ren was passed from one Ainu to the next, suffering Ujio's suffocating grasp and then Higen's back-breaking bear-hug. Horo was more than used to it, as his family was so affectionate, but Ren looked almost frightened when Higen literally lifted him into the air to squeeze him again his chest.

"You're a good boy," Higen said, happily patting Ren's head as he recovered his breath. "I couldn't ask for a better son-in-law."

"Thanks," Ren squeaked, reaching down and grabbing the bag he had dropped. "It was nice to meet you all."

"Awww," Higen cooed, nudging Horo with his elbow. "He's going all shy again."

"I'm not shy!"

There was a few more minutes of teasing, and a few more hugs. Horo tried to get away before anyone started crying, but as usual, he was too late. Kumi was streaming tears by the time the jet door finally closed behind them, and Ujio was very carefuly wiping his eyes so that his eye make-up wouldn't smear everywhere. Even Higen looked a little choked up.

Horo sighed a little. "I'm gonna miss them." He smiled fondly and turned to look at Ren, a little surprised to find him looking upset. "You okay?"

"Of course I am." Ren almost barked it back, turning and swiftly making himself comfortable in a nice, cushioned seat.

"It's okay to be sad," Horo spoke softly and sat down beside the smaller boy. "I know you'll miss them too."

"I won't miss them! I've been counting down the days for us to go home!" Ren's eyebrows locked firmly together in a scowl, staring right into Horo's unconvinced face. "It's cold here!"

"Don't worry, Tiggit." The Ainu's smile just widened and he pecked a soft kiss on Ren's cheek. "We'll visit again soon."

" . . . Three days." Ren stated bluntly.

"Okay, not that soon."

"No, I mean . . . China . . . " Ren almost whispered it. "I won't stay longer than three days. If you want to stay longer than that, then you'll have to stay by yourself."

"Ren, I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think it will."

"You're right; it'll be worse."

"You're over-reacting."

"No, I'm not!" Ren persisted. "You don't know him!"

"Ren, he's dead!" Horo hadn't meant to put it so bluntly, and the look on Ren's face when he blurted it proved that just shouting it like that surprised him. He cleared his throat and repeated himself in a softer tone. "Your dad's dead."

The silence that followed was incredibley awkward, and it wasn't until Yaochen came in to tell Ren they'd be taking off soon and left that Ren spoke again.

"Three days."

"Alright, fine." Horo sighed quietly and shifted to get comfortable in his seat. "We'll stay home for a while, and then we'll go . . . for three days."

"Thank you," Ren muttered quietly and let his head rest on Horo's shoulder, grabbing the older boy's left hand and playing with his ring. "I love you, Horo . . . "

"I love you too, Tiggit."

"So . . . what do you wanna do when we get home?"

Horo could only grin.

THE END

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That's right, you guys! Meet The Usuis is officially over! I know, I know, you guys probably wanna know what happens when they go to China, and this brother of Ren's that he apparently hates, etc. But don't worry, all shall be revealed . . . eventually XD I have no idea when I write the sequel, but I don't expect it to be too far away.

I also realize how unforgivabley long it's been since I updated this. Shall I bother with my excuses? Well, to wrap it up shortly: School is a bitch, a friend of mine died, I haven't had much free time, and several family issues. But don't worry, I shall press on!

I'd also like to thank Udyjay for the review I got earlier XD I was actually working on this when I got it, but they were kindly reminding me what a slow ass I've been at updating lately XD I'd also like to thank her (him? sorry, I'm assuming you're a girl XS) for actually bothering to review every single chapter even though she didn't start reading until it was almost over (as well as my other stories)

AND, as my last announcement: I decided (a while ago actually XD) to make this story a surprise dedication to my favourite-ist, most belurved, beautifully-ist-ness Kimikoi! (Don't worry, I still love all of you guys too) Kimmeh, this ones for you X3 Cheers!

REVIEW PLEASE