Whhhaaat?! She actually updated?! OH MY GOD and UPDATE! It's a miracle!

You guys please don't hate me, I'm sooooo sorry! D: D: D: I had no ideas for this chapter and so I just got stuck for an eternity.. Again.. Anyway the story is very nearly finished! I only plan ONE last chapter to round up the last things. Also I hope this chapter is satisfactory and you'll all enjoy it and THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PATIENCE!

Disclaimer: Don't own

Welcome:

Rei and Kai sprinted down the hallway as fast as they could towards the chambers of the king. A million thoughts ran through Rei's head. His father had been sick for so very long and until a few days ago, Rei had actually almost completely given up hope that his father would ever get well again. And so much had happened in that time, how should possibly he be able to explain it all? Like how was he going to break it to his father that his own brother had poisoned and tried to kill him?!

Both too soon and too late Rei and Kai arrived at the giant door leading to the king's bedroom. Both teens took a moment to catch their breath. Rei suddenly felt very nervous. He hadn't seen his father in what felt like ages, Lee hadn't even allowed him to see him while he was sick, claiming his father's illness was contagious and it would be too risky to expose him, the only heir to the throne.

Kai caught the worried look on his beloved neko's face.

"Rei, what's wrong?" Kai asked gently.

Rei had to sink the lump that had gathered in his throat before he could answer.

"I.. It's just.. I haven't seen my father in such a long time.. What if.. What if he…" Rei blabbered barely able to make sense of his own words and unable to voice his fears as his eyes never left the door he suddenly felt afraid to walk through.

But Rei didn't have to finish his sentence for Kai to understand. Kai took both the neko's hands into his own and forced his boyfriend to look him in the eyes.

"Rei listen to me, your father will not blame you for anything regarding Lee or anything else. You did everything right, just tell him the truth." Kai said and gently cupped Rei's cheek.

Rei reached up and placed his own hand atop of Kai's and leaned into the soothing touch. He closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath, but he still couldn't stop the slight shaking of his hands.

"You know I'll have to tell him about us too. The truth about us…" Rei whispered and a cold shiver ran down his spine. He knew that no matter what, he would never leave Kai's side, but he had no idea how his father would react that he first of all was gay and secondly that he hadn't even chosen one of royal status as it was expected from him. Rei would never want to keep such a secret form his father anyway, but they also had to face the fact that they couldn't hold Kai's true past and origin hidden forever, especially not now when his father would be able to rise again and claim the throne.

Kai stood silent. He knew Rei and he couldn't keep the truth hidden from the king, but the mere thought of losing Rei now was such a horrible thought that it almost made him sick to the stomach just to think about it. Still, Rei was a prince and he had such great responsibilities to live up too for the sake of his people and the neko kingdom and if the king believed his son's relationship to him would hinder the course of the greater good, then who was he to oppose? After all, he was born and raised most of his life in the streets and had even been dependent on stealing to survive. He had no place among royalty, he knew. But he loved Rei, more than anything in the world and he would stand by his side through water and fire if he had too and as long as Rei wanted him there.

"I know.." Kai answered calmly before adding in a tender whisper.

"But no matter what happens I will always love you Rei.. Remember that.."

Rei's eyes widened a moment in slight panic before narrowing in hard set determination as he cupped Kai's face and brought their foreheads together.

"I'm not going to lose you now Kai, I've been too close too many times already.. I never want to live my life without you.. Never!"

Kai smiled softly hearing those words.

"I know, me neither." He said and leaned upwards to softly press his lips against Rei's in a tender loving kiss that lasted several moments. When they finally parted they took a moment to gaze into each other's eyes before Kai stepped back a little and pushed his boyfriend gently towards the door.

"Now go Rei, you haven't seen your father in such a long time. I'm sure the king is anxious to see his son." Kai was really trying his hardest to sound cheerful and reassuring, but still couldn't shake off that twisting knot of worry nestling in the pit of his stomach, frightened that the king would forbid Rei and him from ever seeing each other again.

Rei nodded, Kai was right. He took a deep breath and slowly opened the door to his father's chamber. As he stepped inside he caught one last glance back at Kai, who sent him a small smile, which he returned before softly closing the door behind him again.

Kai now stood all alone in the empty hallway. Now there was nothing else he could do than wait and hope.

"What?! Why the hell wasn't I told immediately that the king had awakened? I have to go right now!" Tala exclaimed angrily and all but jumped out of the bed only to reach about three steps before his legs buckled under him, still feeling rather weak and faint.

"Shit.." The redhead cursed as he headed straight for the floor, but then felt something warm and strong catch him before he could make the painful collision.

"You aren't going anywhere. You're still too weak Tala. You need to let your body rest." Hiro tried to reason. It was he who had found the king awake when he had strayed over there to check on the majesty while Tala was sleeping. On request he had filled the king in on the most basic of happenings that he knew of. The king had then, as expected, sent word for his son Rei. Hiro had sent one of the female servants to do so and had then promptly returned to Tala's side and waited for the teen to wake up before filling him in.

And Tala wasn't happy with it. He struggled the best he could to shake free of Hiro's hold of him, but the man was surprisingly strong!

"Let go of me! I'm fine! I need to go, I need to be there! It's expected of me!" Tala protested loudly, never stopping his fighting, but it seemed like it was ridiculously easy for Hiro to keep him from escaping.

At this point Hiro gripped Tala's shoulders firmly and forced the red head to look him in the eyes.

"No Tala, now you listen to me! No one expects you to be anywhere than your bed right now. Deny it as much as you want, but the physically and emotional abuse you've undergone by the hand of Lee ever since the king fell ill have caught up to you and it is not something you can recover from in the span of mere days." Hiro said in a firm voice, his eyes never leaving Tala, who stared back at him with wide eyes, completely speechless.

Hiro's eyes softened and his grip on the teen's shoulders eased considerably. He brought one hand up to the side of Tala's neck and in a comforting manner before continuing in a much softer voice;

"What you went through adding the responsibilities that lay upon your shoulders all the while, is a weight so heavy it should not have been carried alone, but you did, because you had too. You never had a choice with Lee always watching you. But that bastard is gone now, he can't hurt you anymore and you have nothing to prove."

By this point Hiro had successfully been able to guide Tala back to sit on the edge of the bed, no longer seeming so intend of escaping from the room.

"I.. But I.. Rei and Kai they.." Tala stammered slightly, seeming rather confused and lost.

"You need to rest, don't worry about Rei and Kai, I'm sure they can manage on their own, but you need to focus on yourself and your own needs for once. Okay?"

At those words Tala quietly slipped back under the covers before looking up with an almost pleading look on his face.

"Will you.. Stay?" He asked in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

Hiro smiled softly, never leaving his own seat at the edge of the bed.

"Sure, I'll stay. For as long as you like."

It seemed like Kai had been waiting forever when the doors finally swung open once again and Rei stepped out in the hallway with an unreadable expression on his face. Kai immediately stood from the floor, where he had been sitting leaning against the wall, feeling like his entire future was being sealed behind those closed doors and being unable to do anything to affect the outcome.

"Rei?" Kai said tentatively, reaching out and placing a gentle hand on his lover's shoulder.

Rei seemed spaced out the first few moments, but the soft hand on his shoulder seemed to bring him back to reality and made him turn around to face his boyfriend. The neko placed his hand on top of Kai's and squeezed it slightly as he spoke softly;

"He.. He wants to talk to you."

Kai's eyes widened.

"Did you.. Did you tell him about.. You know.." Kai stammered while gesturing with his free hand between the two of them, not hiding his quickly rising nervousness very well.

"I told him everything love." Rei said and squeezed Kai's hand a little tighter.

Kai swallowed the lump of nervousness in his throat. Everything.. That meant the king knew, not only about his traitor of a brother to Lee as well as everything about Kai's relationship to his son, but also of Kai's true identity being a street rat and a slave. In his head Kai could envision hundreds of ways the king could react to this information, but unfortunately he imagined most of these to be of bad nature.

"And.. What did he say?" Kai was almost afraid to ask.

Rei shook his head slightly a look of confusion crossing his face.

"He didn't say anything he just.. Sat there and listened. Listened with a completely blank expression as I talked and explained on and on endlessly.. When I finished he just moved his gaze from me and stared ahead of him for several minutes lost in his own thoughts. When he finally turned back to all he said was that he wanted to talk to you.." Rei explained.

Kai felt a fresh weave of panic wash over him, but tried to hide the best he could.

"O-Oh.. Okay.. Then we.. Better get in there." Kai said as calmly as he could muster and made a move to pull Rei with him towards the door, but Rei stopped him halfway.

"No Kai.." The prince muttered softy and gently and reluctantly pried Kai's hand off his own and took a step back.

Kai looked back at him with an expression of confusion and anxiety.

"He said he wanted to talk to you, only you. I can't go with you, even though I want to." Rei explained softy and gently ran his index finger over Kai's cheek in a soothing gesture.

Kai eyes widened. Was he going in there all by himself?! Oh no, no, no no! He couldn't do that. The king was sure to be furious with him. What if he only wanted to separate him from Rei so that they could never see each other again?!

Without thinking Kai threw himself into Rei's arms, which immediately closed around him, and buried his face in the neko's neck.

"Please Rei, don't make me go alone! I can't, I can't! I don't want to lose you!" Kai rambled, not being able to voice his thoughts more clearly from the knot of worry lying in the pit of his stomach.

"Shh, Kai it's alright.. I promise you it's going to be okay, you won't lose me.. I won't let you out of my life ever. But we have to see this through. My father may seem frightening, but he is not cruel. I made it clear to him that I would never accept an outcome of this where you weren't in my life." Rei paused to kiss the top of Kai's head.

"Just be honest with him love and everything will be fine." Rei whispered into his boyfriend's ear while rubbing the tense back under his hands in small soothing circles.

"Promise?" Kai whispered back after a few minutes of silence as he forced his heart rate to slow down.

"Promise with all my heart love." Rei answered and sealed the promise with a small kiss against Kai's soft lips.

Slowly Kai pulled away from Rei's warm protective hold. He closed his eyes and took a few deep calming breaths. Rei was right, they had to see this through and if the king did not understand the depth of love they held for each other, then they would make him understand! Neither of them would allow anything to come between them now.

When Kai opened his eyes again the panic and fear had disappeared, instead a fierce look of determination had settled upon them. Looking up one last time into the beautiful face of the man he loved more than anything else in the world, he smiled softly and said;

"I love you Rei."

Rei had to fight the urge to pull Kai back into his arms and claim his mouth until nothing else mattered when he heard those words. Instead he cupped his face and bowed to put their foreheads together, beautiful crimson and shining golden eyes staring deep into each other with nothing but love and devotion showing through.

"I love you too." Rei whispered softly as answer and a smile was exchanged between the two.

Too soon for both their likings, they had to part. They had probably already let the king wait for far too long. With a final shared glance, promising a shortly reunion, Kai stepped through the golden doors into the chambers of no other than king Kimari of the neko jins.

The big door closed behind Kai, the soft click sounding almost loud in the big dim lighted bed chamber. Stepping tentatively forward into the room Kai now saw the man sitting straight up in the a giant golden king sized bed in the middle of the room staring ahead and clearly still hadn't acknowledge Kai's present yet. Even form the other end of the room Kai felt the aura surrounding said man so strongly, the kind of aura that immediately let him know that this was a man of wisdom and greatness. Despite in the dim light Kai could easily see how much Rei and this man looked alike. As his son, the king had what seemed like a black waterfall of black hair that pooled slightly on the silk covers on the mattress, he looked young despite the slightly dark bags that showed under his eyes and as the man turned his head around he found himself staring into matching golden slit eyes of his boyfriend, though these were eyeing him with a measuring look that he surprisingly didn't find judging or intruding. Just.. Observant and curious. Really the only thing that really differenced father and son was that the king's skin looked paler than that of his son's, but that was to be expected after such a long time of illness.

The moment King Kimari had laid his eyes upon him Kai had stopped in the middle of the room, partly because he did not know if the king would want him any closer and partly because he was afraid that if he came any closer the majesty would be able to hear the pounding of his heart and give away how anxious he actually was, despite keeping a more or less straight face. Then he remembered who he was standing before and quickly offered the deepest bow he could manage before swallowing the lump in his throat and broke the silence;

"Your majesty wanted to see me." It came out as a rather hoarse statement and Kai inwardly winched at the sound of it, but didn't have any time to dwell on it as the king answered with a calm gentle voice.

"Yes, you must be Kai. My son told me a great deal about you. Please, come sit." Gesturing with his hand to a chair next to his bedside.

Calmed slightly by the fact that he hadn't yet received either glares or harsh words as he had expected Kai obeyed and moved to the chair and took a seat, now sitting right next to the king, whose eyes followed him carefully all the way.

"So, you're the servant my son has taking such a liking to?" Kimari stated rather than questioned when Kai had been probably seated.

Kai couldn't help wincing slightly at the word 'servant', but nodded.

"Yes your majesty."

Seconds of silence followed. To Kai it felt like hours before Kimari spoke once again.

"My son spoke of you so fondly and passionately. I've never seen him so happy. It's very clear to me that his love to you is true and unconditioned."

Kai felt warmth slowly spreading in his body hearing those words and a soft smile found its way to his lips.

"Thank you your majesty, I'm glad to hear so. I've no doubt about the honesty of your words or Prince Rei's feelings towards me and I can assure you that I love your son just as much as he me." Kai said and bowed his head slightly, his smile still intact. But when Kai lifted his head back up he was met with the coldest glare he had ever seen, coming from the king's golden eyes.

"Do you really think me such a fool to believe such nonsense!" Kimari growled dangerously at a now fear frozen Kai.

Kai felt a cold shiver ran down his spine at those words. Until now he had actually allowed himself to believe that maybe the king would accept the love Rei and he shared, but the look he was receiving now told him no such thing.

"Your majesty.. I- I don't know what you me.." Kai started, but was immediately interrupted by the sneering voice of Kimari.

"Don't you dare playing stupid boy! I've figured you out so you can drop this pathetic act of yours. You may claim to love my son, but I see the truth! You have used the goodness of his heart and twisted his head with words of passion and promises of eternal love in order to save yourself from your own miserable life of servitude and poverty! You want money and power and you saw your chance with my son didn't you?! You've stolen his heart with nothing but manipulation and false intensions! And if you think I will allow this you are very much mistaken. I love my son dearly, he is everything I have left in this world and I will not have a wretched fortune hunter as you break his heart!"

Kai sat silent for another few moments before he stood suddenly, knocking his chair over in the process. He straightened his back even further and his expression turned into a look of complete confidence and honesty mixed with anger.

"With all due respect your majesty, but I will not accept these indecorous accusations! I love Rei more than anything on this earth, more than my own life! He is my savior as well as the love of my life and I would never use or manipulate him in any way! Certainly not for any personal gain! I love him for the man he is.. Not for what he has.. You can punish me in whatever way you see fit; torture, imprisonment or slavery, it doesn't matter to me I've already been through them all, but I would go through it all again if that is what it takes for you to understand how much I love Rei. Nothing in this world is going to chance how much I love him..."

Kai felt his heart beat loudly in his chest as those words escaped his lips. He did not know where he suddenly found the courage to speak his mind so confidently, but he meant every single word he said.

To Kai's surprise King Kimari's eyes soften and his mouth slowly turned into a approvingly smile.

"I believe you Kai." The king then said and slowly stood from the bed, his legs still a little shaky.

Kai couldn't believe his own ears. Not two minutes ago the king had accused him of not truly loving his son and now he was smiling warmly at Kai with nothing but approval and admiration in his eyes as he stepped closer and placed his hands softy on Kai's shoulders.

"B-But I thought.." Kai stammered confused as he looked up at the face of the still smiling king.

"I understand your confusion Kai and I must apologize that I had to put you through this, but you see I had to be sure your feelings towards my son were true and I see now that they are. I think I can certainly say that you just erased every doubt in my mind with that speech of yours."

"So.. It was a test.. You tested me?" Kai stated more than asked. His body was slowly starting to bubble with joy and happiness, but he was still afraid to let it grow too much.

"Yes it was a test and again I apologize Kai. I know that you've already been through more trials in your life than is fair, but as a father I only wish the best for my son. What I can say is that I've never heard more heartfelt and honest declarations of love than those Rei and you offer each other and I would never forgive myself if I were to keep a love as strong as yours from happening." Kimari explained in his soft voice.

Kai could no longer keep the smile of his face as his joy grew even further.

"You mean?" Kai started, but he could hardy finish the sentence.

King Kimari's smile grew a little wider and his hands squeezed affectionately on Kai's shoulders.

"Yes Kai, welcome to our family."

And there you finally have it ladies and gentlemen :) I'll try very hard to update the last chapter faster! See ya :)