Hello, loyal fans and subscribers! It is I, Kolourz / Ariel / Arryhul (if you're Haley), with a Vocaloid fanfiction that I've had brewing in my waste of space called a skull for a few weeks. And before you ask, no, it is not a songfic - it is not titled after the song Welcome Home. It is named that because... well, read it. Find out.

Enjoy. -- Kolo

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Did she really have to move in with him?

Then again, she had no choice.

Luka sighed and looked up toward the small house before her, a few bags of luggage in tow. She could no longer live with her good friend Miku after Kaito had taken the only spare room, Len and Rin were hassles to take care of, and she really didn't want to share living space with Meiko. But that only left one person who would welcome her in.

Gakupo.

She could barely stand him at all. He was very traditional, stern yet laid-back, and a generally lax man - if you could call him a man, he was barely even past twenty years old. Although around her, he seemed to perk up and fix any flaw he could find on himself, from his robes looking crooked to his long purple hair looking slightly off. Sure, he was amazingly nice to her, but he was also... what was the word?

Oh yeah. Annoying.

Any time she visited he would act as proper as he could, checking up on her from time to time, and occasionally striking up a conversation that died within seconds. He'd happily do anything for her, and would even interrupt her private time on her old laptop (which he broke during another visit, causing her to get a small desktop computer as a replacement) just so he 'wouldn't have to watch her be so lonely'.

But she couldn't do anything about that now. Her bed, desk, computer and armoire had already been moved into the spare room in his house (a traditional Japanese home on the edge of town, floored only with tatami mats and with sliding doors for entrances), and all she had to do now was step inside, put away her clothes, and just admit that this would be her new home.

With a small sigh, Luka dropped her shoulders and began the walk up the cobblestone walkway to the front door, brushing some of her stray pink hair out of her blue-gray eyes. As soon as she started up the steps to the front door, it slid open, revealing a tall man with long, indigo-purple hair, dark blue eyes, and a purple, blue and white samurai-like outfit.

"Hey, Luka," Gakupo said softly, a smile tracing his lips, "it's about time you got here. Welcome home." He stepped aside casually to let her inside, even taking one of her bags from her to lighten her load. "Your room is on the right side of the hallway, across from mine. I even put everything up for you when the movers came here earlier."

"I know, I know," Luka replied quickly, rushing off to her room - which was easy, with Gakupo's house only having four rooms. She plopped her bags onto her bed and sighed tiredly, almost not noticing Gakupo follow her to set another bag on her bed. "...Listen," she said flatly, turning to him, "Could I have a minute to myself? I, well, I need to put up my clothes. Then I'll take a nap or something. So please don't come in without knocking, okay?"

Gakupo nodded and smiled, "Alright, if you say so. Just find me and tell me when you're hungry or whatever, and I'll fix something for you." He stepped towards the door to her room and looked over his shoulder, "The bathroom is on your right from here. If you need me, I'll be either in my room or out, so call my cell phone, 'kay? You know my number."

As she watched him leave and slide the door shut behind himself, Luka sighed once more as she quickly set to work putting up her wardrobe. All she wanted to do was sleep - the move had made her exhausted, and maybe if she woke up at the right time, Gakupo would have already made her food and she wouldn't have to go and embarrass herself by asking him.

To tell the truth, Luka was amazingly flattered whenever Gakupo had confessed his love for her a month or two back. Yes, she would pretend to ignore him and what he said, disregarding it as just him being a caring, hopeless romantic, but she really wouldn't mind befriending him. After all, he seemed nice. He was attentive and smart, and even rather attractive --

What the hell are you thinking? Luka asked herself. She quickly brushed off her thoughts on Gakupo as she finished placing all of her clothes, and she set her now-empty bags into her small closet. There, she thought, setting her hands on her hips, now all I need to do is plug up my computer and lie down for a while...

After looking all over her room for an electrical outlet - which she only found two of - she quickly turned her computer on and set it into sleep mode. She herself needed rest, badly. A nap wouldn't hurt, would it? Besides, Gakupo had said he wouldn't wake her up. He'd probably keep true to his word.

Luka flickered her eyes open and glanced at her bed side clock - seven at night? Had she really slept for two hours? She yawned and shifted in her spot. She needed the sleep anyways, having stayed up half the previous night packing away clothing.

Looking down, she noticed something heavy covering her, which was odd. She hadn't covered herself with a blanket for her nap, but clearly someone had. That someone being obvious - the blanket was a rich, dark purple color.

Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes and looked back at her bedside, noticing a small mug sitting on her desk filled with hot tea. She grabbed it tiredly and took a small sip before a white piece of paper fluttered down from the side of the cup and into her lap.

Dear Luka, the note read, I am sorry that I walked in without knocking. You looked cold, so I brought you one of my blankets. Also, I thought you would like some tea after your nap to wake you up. Dinner should be ready by the time you wake up, so you won't need to worry about that. Sincerely yours, Kamui Gakupo.

Luka sighed and blushed slightly, shutting her eyes and setting the note back on her desk. Yes, he had gone against her word, but would she get angry with him about it? Probably not. This was only something small. Rising from her bed, Luka stretched her arms and walked out into the hallway that connected her room with the main room of the house.

At the far end of the room was Gakupo, with slightly rolled up sleeves as he set a small dish at a table. "Oh, hey Luka," he said, looking up to her and smiling, "You're up just in time. I just finished cooking for us. I tried to make it really good, too, but if it sucks, I'll still understand. I'm not a good cook."

A small smile grew on Luka's face. "You know, you're kinda annoying sometimes," she mused to him as she walked over to the table, "but thanks for the blanket, tea and such, Gakupo. I appreciate it."

Gakupo almost seemed to radiate happiness as he sat down across from her, the insult seemingly flying over his head. "It's nothing," he said cheerfully, picking up a pair of chopsticks. "If you need any more help or anything in general, you're free to ask me."

"Okay, then. I'll keep that in mind," Luka mused at him before she began to eat. Yes, he was an annoying, slightly nosy person with a knack for overdoing things, but he was also immensely caring and very, very kind - maybe even protective.

I'll deal with you... Luka thought, looking up at him, ...I guess.