"You...You seriously have your own music playing in your car..? That's...Actually, you know what? Self love is important. Good for you, man."

Takumi snorted at my comment, but kept his eyes trained on the road. Ren, beltless and bold, leaned right on over the centre console to fiddle with the cd player, ejecting the Trapnest CD and replacing it with something else.

"You know, if I did a hard break right now, you'd go flying." Takumi hummed, though I noticed he slowed his speed, just in case.
"A thousand points if you send me through the back windshield of the car in front." Ren replied, uncaring, before returning his front half to the back again, though he remained without his seatbelt, sitting on the edge of his seat to wrap his arms over the back of mine and around me. "You seriously didn't know we were staying in the same hotel? I call bullshit."

Raising my hands in defence, I chose to meet his eyes in the rear view mirror instead of turning.
"Call bullshit all you want. I only got back to Tokyo this morning, so I didn't exactly have the time to sit down and go through the damn guest logs at the front desk." I responded, digging in my bag for a cigarette.

"Hey, my bad for outing you back there, by the way. I didn't realise it was such a big secret since I assumed you were all close." Takumi spoke up, sounding genuine, and I decided to just let it go.
"I'll let it slide, but you owe me. Especially if one of them blabs." I flicked my lighter once as a warning before I reignited it again to light my cigarette, which was promptly stolen by Ren. "Oh, you bitch."

"Eh, I don't think it'll be an issue." Ren finally leaned back to sit properly. "I've hung out with them a lot recently, and they're a decent bunch. Even the baby one. Loyal, too. You should be fine." I wanted to take his word for it, but only time would tell. At the very least I knew Yasu would likely do some damage control on my behalf if any of them seemed likely to talk.

Another cigarette lit, I decided to be polite and offer it to Takumi. Instead of just taking it from my hand, he leaned over, keeping his eyes on the road, and parted his lips. Scoffing a little under my breath, I placed it where he wanted, turning my attention back to my cigarette packet just as he began to smile.

Whilst I have a strong immunity, I can't deny he's pretty. Such a shame he's famous.

"So...did you bring me a present from the UK? You just got back from there, didn't you?" Ren peeped over my headrest as I lit what was finally my own cigarette, and this time I did turn to look at him.
"We haven't spoken in six years! Why would I have brought you a present?!" I laughed incredulously, watching him sit back with a huff.
"I thought I was your favourite..."

"You've been to the UK yourself! A lot!" Ren really hadn't changed. He was still, mostly, a little kid stuck in the body of a rockstar. It was one of his most endearing and insufferable qualities.
"Think if we sing him a lullaby he'd shut up and fall asleep?" Takumi whispered loudly, flashing me a smirk, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I'll have you know that I only sleep to the soothing sounds of God Save the Queen by the Sex Pistols." With a quick glance to the back seat, I caught Ren nodding to himself, and I fondly rolled my eyes.
"Really? Because I vividly remember being a sleep deprived pre-teen with Friggin' in the Riggin' stuck in my head because of you."

Great, now it's going to be running on a loop in my brain for the next week...

"You would've been a sleep deprived pre-teen regardless because you wouldn't stop stuffing your face with sugar after dinner. I'm innocent." Ren and I lovingly quarrelled back and forth for a bit before we settled down, and I went back to silently cursing every time my phone vibrated in my pocket.

"Sounds like somebody's eager to get your attention. Boyfriend?" I turned to Takumi when he commented on the constant stream of messages and phone calls that I was ignoring. He was observant, I'd give him that.
"Nope. Manager. I may or may not have slipped out of my room earlier when he wasn't around." I revealed, hearing Ren tease with a 'oh, you naughty girl' in a playful voice.

"You just going to ignore him?" It wasn't really any of Takumi's business, but I could understand his curiosity. From just watching how Trapnest operated over the television I could tell he was the one with the knack for the serious side of things. He probably never left his managers on delivered.

He probably has decent managers...

"We'll be back soon enough. A little patience won't kill him." I shrugged the question off as I spied the hotel, tall and bright, off in the distance.
"So, you'll be staying there for a while, right? We can catch up properly?" Ren asked, his voice his usual drawl, but there was a tinge of hope.

"As far as I know, yeah. As long as boss man doesn't keep me on a shorter leash because of this, I'm sure we'll have plenty of time to hang out. Yasu, too." I really hoped that we'd be able to spend time together. Finding them just to still remain apart was painful to think about.
"Aw, what about me?" Takumi piped up, but an arm shot out between us from the back.

"Cock! Blocked! Two to zero!" Ren was having a whole load of fun fulfilling his promise to Yasu, and Takumi just shook his head, flicking on his indicator to turn into the parking garage of the hotel.
"No, that's zero to zero, because I'm not trying to do anything." He sighed, rolling down his window to scan his patron ID to gain us entry. "I wasn't aware offering a ride and wanting to be included counted as foreplay."

You'd be surprised by how men operate.

Once parked, we climbed out of Takumi's car, and I made a point of slowly ambling towards the elevator. I didn't want to deal with my manager, or get back to the grind of being 'famous'. It was such a chore.
"You should come play cards. It isn't that late, and I think I have some Yan Yan in my room." Ren urged, dropping a very tempting offer as we finally boarded the elevator.

"Pains me to refuse Yan Yan, but alas, I am about to be restricted to my quarters, for I have gone against my tyrannical master." Laying the back of my hand against my forehead, I flopped against the wall dramatically.
"He's probably just worried. You should have called him back." Takumi commented, and I shot him a glare.

If only you knew...

"Worried is an understatement. Actually, just the wrong term entirely. Dickwaddery comes to mind, but until that is officially entered into the dictionary I'll have to settle for cu-"
"Nope." Ren squished his palm over my mouth, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "Such foul language from a young lady in my care is not permitted. Forshame."

When a slobbery lick didn't do the trick I had to wrestle his arm away until he finally removed his hand, and I turned to the mirrored wall, quickly fixing the smear of lipstick he'd caused. The last thing I needed was to be looking like I'd just fucked the pair.
"...nt." I finished my broken sentence with a defiant smirk, only just managing to fix my face when the elevator chimed.

The second the doors opened I spotted what I had been trying to avoid from the moment my phone had started buzzing. Ashy hair framing just the circumference of his otherwise bald head, tall but wide, my manager was frantically pacing the lobby until his eyes shot straight to me.

"Oh...Hey, Pa-"
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MANY TIMES I TRIED TO CALL YOU?!" I hunched my shoulders in preparation as he stormed over to plant his hands on them. He didn't shake me, but I knew he very much wanted to. "DO I NEED TO REPEAT MYSELF THAT MUCH?! YOU DON'T JUST WALTZ ON OUT OF HERE WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE IT!"

I can't do anything I feel like...

"Excuse me, but if I could interject?" Clearing his throat, Takumi stepped closer to my side, and in turn, Ren did the same. Reo was about to snap at whoever dared interrupt him, but the second he realised exactly who was addressing him he immediately straightened himself up.

"M..Mr. Ichinose? Mr. Honjo? My apologies, I..I didn't see you two there! Of course, go right ahead!" I had seen Reo suck up to plenty of people during out time knowing each other, and this was no different. He played the part of professional boot-licker well.

"I'm afraid it's our fault that Miss. (Y/N) was out and about. We ran into her in the hallway and invited her out for a quick drink. We were rather pushy, so please, I hope you'll accept our apology? The second she mentioned you'd be upset, we brought her straight home." Takumi continued, spinning a very believable lie.

Wow. He's good at that...Maybe his true calling was acting..?

I instantly began to play along, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly.
"Sorry, Papa...Ren and I go way back, and when Takumi invited me it just felt so rude to say no. I really didn't mean to upset you, honest." Cue the baby-doll bat of the lashes, and...

"How can I stay mad at you?" Reo heaved a sigh, shaking his head as he took a step back. "I didn't know you knew Mr. Honjo. I suppose I can let it slide this time, but you need to tell me when you plan on leaving. I thought the worst!"

No, you thought I skipped out on our contract, which isn't at all the worst...

"I'll let you say goodnight, then we need to go over the schedule for tomorrow. Meet me up at the room when you're done." My manager made sure I gave him a nod of confirmation before he bowed to my companions. "A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Ichinose, Mr. Honjo."

The second he turned away and was out of sight, I released so much breath that it felt like I'd fall flat like a deflated balloon. Placing a firm hand on Takumi's arm, I met his eyes.
"You are a lifesaver and I totally forgive you for outing me before. Actually, I owe you one." I said in all seriousness. I don't think he understood just what magnitude of wrath he'd just spared me from.

"Oh, it was my pleasure. You get good at tall tales when you have to cover for the idiots I'm stuck with." Takumi chuckled, brushing a few strands of his dark hair from his face.
"More importantly..." Ren rested almost his entire weight on the top of my head, which nearly sent me toppling straight to the floor. "...Papa?"

Ehhhh...

"Right, yeah, that..." I ummed and aahd a little, toying with the strap of my handbag. "He's technically kind of legally my adoptive father..? Gets kind of pissy when I don't refer to him as such..." This seemed to startle Ren into what I liked to affectionately refer to as his 'cognitive mode', and he quirked a brow.

"You got adopted? You? The aggressively anti-parent brat with an extensive bite record? Seriously?" He prodded as I began to slowly sink under his weight, having to jab him in the side for him to finally lay off.
"The stupid hags signed off on it without letting me know. Why else do you think I just up and disappeared, man? I got yoinked the second I got home from school."

Did you really think I left without saying goodbye on purpose?

Ren frowned a little, but he didn't push for any more information. I knew he would eventually, but he thankfully spared me for the evening.
"Well, we shouldn't keep you any longer, since he's waiting for you. We're on floor sixteen, if you want to stop by whenever you're free. You have our numbers." Takumi reached and smoothed down my hair that Ren had messed up as he smiled before taking a few steps towards the elevator at the other end of the lobby.

"You free tomorrow night? I was planning on going to see Nana again, so we can wrangle Yasu and just chill out." Ren tilted his head, and I tried to recall what I knew of my schedule in my mind.
"I think I have something tomorrow, but I should be able to in a few days?"

Maybe...

"Whatever works for you, just let me know." Instead of walking straight off, Ren pulled me into another hug, giving me a tight squeeze. He knew just how I used to like hugs. Constricting and close. Nowadays, I really didn't like being touched much at all, but it was completely different when it came to my Ren, and my Yasu. "I really missed you, (N/N)."

"I missed you too, you big, lanky candy bandit..."

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***I write Ren as an absolute idiot but he won't be like that constantly. He's just fun to play around with.

Next Time: I Think I've Earned Myself A Great Big Helping of Euthanasia***