AN: Hey all! Thank you for reading this. I promise I'll make this note (and future notes) quick and painless. This story takes place immediately after the last episode of the Japanese version of 'You're Beautiful', 'Ikemen Desu Ne'. So, I will be referring to the characters by their Japanese names. I do re-read a lot before I post and I'm pretty sure it's 99% good grammar-wise. At the very least, my spell checker says there are no spelling mistakes. Please comment on anything and I accept all types of constructive criticism, I will be a better writer because of it. Well, that's all I have. Please enjoy!

"Ren-san!"

"Welcome home."

"I'm back!"

Chapter 1

Ren's smile widened when he saw the necklace around her neck. Where it always was in all the pictures she had sent him and his band mates. He took in all the differences. Her hair was obviously longer, the hairpin he bought for her holding a side of it back. She looked the same, yet different. He would not let anyone know, but he had been worried about her return. Worried she may not feel the same, even though she had never given him reason to doubt her feelings. However, he suspected Shu picked up on his thoughts. They had a slight… disagreement… before he left to pick Miko up. The last words Ren heard from Shu after having the front door slammed in his face before he left were "Go pick Miko up already so we don't have to deal with your mood swings." He grimaced.

"What's wrong, Ren-san?" Miko asked, watching his face earnestly.

"N-nothing." A slight smile showed up on his face. They had still yet to leave for his car. He wanted as much time alone with her before he had to share her attention with the others. Especially her brother, Ren thought. He grimaced again.

"Seriously, Ren-san, that's the second time now. What happened?" She tugged on his jacket and pouted. "Are you and my brother arguing again?"

Instead of deflecting the question, he answered it. They were in love; he didn't have a reason to hide anything. "I don't want to take you back and share you right now. Let's go get some dinner?"

She grinned and hugged him. "I missed you."

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed gently. "I missed you, too. No more going out of the country without me and never for that long again."

Miko nodded and buried her head against his neck. She pulled back a bit and placed a quick kiss on his nose. Her eyes widened and a blush colored her cheeks. She didn't even think before she did that. She opened her mouth to apologize, but was cut off by Ren's lips crashing against hers. They stood there, in the midst of the crowds and strangers, until Ren backed away with a smile. "I think you missed the first time, Buta-Usagi. C'mon, let's go get some food."

Miko's cheeks felt like they were on fire, but she nodded. He grabbed her white rolling suitcase with one hand and her own hand with his other. Together they walked through the airport and to his car.

The shiny red Lexus was easy to spot. Ren opened the passenger door for her and softly closed it once she was in. He all but tossed her suitcase in the trunk, not being exceptionally careful about the paint. He didn't want to be without her for too long. "It has already been long enough," he muttered to himself.

"So, where shall we go to eat?" he asked after he got in and started to pull on his seatbelt.

"I don't know. You should chose, Ren-san." She smiled up at him.

"All right, I know just where to go."

While he drove, Miko shared stories about her time there. She was able to go in much greater detail now that she wasn't just limited by a piece of paper. She told him about the children she helped care for and teach. He felt a lump in his throat form when she mentioned how much she enjoyed being around the children.

Sometime during their conversation, her hand managed to find itself placed on his leg. His eyes darted to her form next to him for a quick second. Her head was bowed down slightly, but he could see her face was tinged with red, but she was still explaining about the new school the volunteers were able to build. Looking back out at the road, he smiled and placed his left hand on top of hers, squeezing gently before returning it to the steering wheel.

It didn't take more than an hour to escape the airport and make it to their destination. It was a small place, but obviously for the upper-class of society. Miko bit her lip anxiously. Once the car was parked, he squeezed her hand again. "Don't be so nervous. I know it's on the ritzy side, but it's a place I know I can get into right away and have a private meal with you."

She looked up at Ren and nodded. "Sorry, I'll try not to be so nervous."

She started to open the door, but he tugged on her hand that he still had captured. "Wait." He unbuckled and jumped out of the car, literally running to the other side to open the door for her.

Miko smiled and took his hand the he offered to help her out. "Thank you." Hand in hand they walked into the restaurant.

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"I swear, if that Ren doesn't have my sister here in 30 minutes, I'm going to switch his cold and hot water lines in his shower!"

Shu and Yuki laughed at Mio. "Give them some time together, Mio. Ren-san has been cranky all week, if he comes back before he's had some time with Miko, who knows how much grumpier he'll get."

"We all haven't seen her for two years, but you know how her last week with us went. Give them some time," Shu, always the voice of reason, said.

All three of them sat the breakfast bench. "What was the yelling and banging I heard down here earlier?" Yuki asked.

Shu laughed and took a sip of his tea. "He spent the entire morning trying to pick out his clothes and then started complaining that he wouldn't have enough time to do his hair."

"Just like a girl," Mio muttered. "Why couldn't he be a girl?"

"Hey! I liked Miko even when I thought she was a boy," Yuki said.

The other two laughed.

"So, I pretty much dragged him out of his room. He was yelling at me the whole time and I kicked him out with only his car keys and wallet." Shu reached into his pocket for another set of keys. Everyone noticed they were Ren's house keys by the twinkling stars hanging from the ring. "I locked him out." He slipped the keys back in his pocket.

"Brilliant, Shu-san!" Yuki congratulated.

"Whatever…" came the sullen reply from Mio.

Both Shu and Yuki looked at him. "You used to get along with Ren up until a couple months ago, what happened?" Shu asked.

Mio sighed. "I didn't realize how serious they were. Ren and Miko." He looked at the two others and was contemplating whether or not he should tell them what he found out. The two just looked at him expectantly. "At that recording a couple months ago for the new single, I asked to borrow Ren's laptop during a break. I swear, I wasn't prying or anything, but his bookmarks list was up and there were a couple links for jewelry stores. I… clicked on them. They were all for rings. There was even a page for custom design rings."

Both Shu and Yuki's mouths dropped slightly. "So, he was looking at engagement rings for Miko?" Shu asked.

"He also had some designs in his iPhoto library that I found. And yes, I started snooping once I saw the websites. There wasn't much else besides lyrics and music he was working on."

Yuki smiled. "You should be happy for your sister, Mio-chan . Ren is a perfectionist; she'll have the best ring ever."

"That's not the point, stupid. Sure, they've known each other for over two years, but how much time did they really spend together? I bet he doesn't even know what her favorite color is."

Shu sighed and patted a gentle hand on Mio's shoulder. "Love has no restraints on time, gender, creed, age or race. It's limitless. Miko has helped Ren become… I wouldn't say another person… but he's not as reserved with his feelings anymore. She got through all his quirks and found the real him. And I think, in some ways, he's done the same for her."

Mio nodded reluctantly. "I know… but she's still my little sister. Aren't I obligated to hate him?"

They all laughed. "Yes, but take it from people who have known him much longer. I've never seen him this happy. I've never seen him this open. If we all thought he was a musical genius before, I don't know what to call him now." Yuki nodded in agreement with Shu.

"He would do anything for her. Your sister made him a better person… made all of us better. You should be proud to have her for your sister," Yuki added on.

Mio smiled slightly and nodded. "I'm still switching his water lines."

Yuki stood up. "Want some help?" Shu just shook his head and took another sip of tea.