Author's Note: Sorry for my excessively long absence. I just got back yesterday from a vacation, and when I was on the airplane, the idea for this story came to me. I will also continue my other fics as soon as possible.

His throat was raw, his forehead was drenched with sweat. His fingers were screaming with pain, his heart was pounding, he was exhausted. But yet, Usui Horohoro was having the time of his life, doing what he loved the most.

Playing a concert.

It seemed like such a long time ago that he had first picked up a guitar, on account of some coaxing from Yoh. He had learned to play a few simple chords, and then he had learned to play a very simple nursery song.

Ren had encouraged him and told him he was doing well. Ren never compliments anyone, so Horohoro was eager to get better, to make Ren happy. And now, a few years later, he was famous as hell, travelling everywhere, playing his bright blue electric guitar and singing about stupid things. Usui Horohoro was a star.

After screaming out the final lyrics to the last song of the performance, Horohoro flashed his audience a broad grin, the adrenaline still rushing through his veins.

"Thank you!" he shouted, bowing several times. "Thank you, everyone, thanks for coming!"

With that, he pulled his guitar strap over his head and tucked the instrument under his arm, and simply headed backstage, the delighted screams of his audience still ringing in his ears.

As he made his way down through the corridor, paparazzi snapped pictures of him from every side. He liked the attention - all the camera flashes, all the cameramen begging him to look their direction, TV reporters asking him to comment on the concert.

As he smugly basked in the pool of fame, he felt a hand gently touch his elbow. He turned, and his smile widened.

"Ren!"

"You...You did well," the Chinese boy commented.

Grinning, Horohoro turned to Ren, forgetting entirely about the cameras flashing from every side. "Why're you here?" he inquired curiously, taking the boy's hand. Ren was also a well known celebrity, he was a singer and had gotten quite famous recently.

"I flew in from Shanghai directly after my gig," Ren explained. "I heard you were playing here, so I came as quickly as I could."

A reporter from a news station was upon them in an instant.

"Horohoro, you seem to be in good relations with the lovely Tao Ren," he shouted, trying to be heard above all the shouting and screaming. The news station's cameraman was frantically following the reporter, making sure to capture every moment. "Are the two of you friends?"

"Friends?" Horohoro winked at the camera. "Let me tell you something, reporter-san...We're much more than friends. Ren is my fiance."

"Did you hear that, ladies and gentlemen? His fiance! Usui Horohoro is engaged!"

"You bet I'm engaged," Horohoro answered in a sing-song voice. He turned away, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Let's get out of here, Ren. I need an Advil, I feel like shit..."

Ren sighed for the hundreth time that day. "Horohoro...did you honestly have to make such a big deal out of it?"

"Out of what?" the Ainu asked innocently, looking up from his coffee. It had already been a few weeks since he had gotten an apartment of his own and Ren had moved in with him. Not that they really lived together much, since Ren always had concerts in China. But for those few occasions that Ren was not busy, such as this day, Horohoro was always sure to savor them.

"Of this." Ren threw the magazine onto the breakfast table in front of Horohoro, who peered at it and feigned surprise.

The headline wrote "HE'S ENGAGED" in huge blue letters. Plastered across the magazine's cover was a picture some cameraman had shot of the pair the day before after Horohoro's concert.

"Oops. Must have slipped out," he giggled, opening the magazine to the article. He then procceeded to read it aloud.

"Last night, it was discovered that Usui Horohoro, world famous rock star, was engaged. After keeping this secret for who knows how long, he finally revealed it to reporters shortly after his concert. But who is his lucky fiance? None other than Chinese singing sensation, Tao Ren. They are the new most talked about couple, and the attention of the public and media is enough to rival even the American pairing of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes..."

Horohoro started laughing quite loudly. "You hear that Ren? We're so much cooler than those American movie stars..."

"Can you please not act like it's a laughing matter?" Ren demanded, pursing his thin lips. "The press will be all over us, and you can say goodbye to any privacy you wish to keep from this point forward-"

"Oh, come on," Horohoro insisted, cutting Ren off. "You act like everything's the end of the goddamn world or something...Seriously, Ren. Lighten up."

"But..." Ren answered quietly. "You promised me, Horokeu. You promised me you'd try not to bring...us to attention."

Horohoro swallowed. It was never good when Ren called him "Horokeu."

"Look, Ren," he answered. "I'm really sorry, okay? I'll make it up to you..."

"How?"

"Like this."

Ren let out a startled yelp as Horohoro lunged at him from across the table, knocking him out of his chair and onto the floor.

"Horohoro!? What are you-!?"

"Shush, Ren-chan," the Ainu grinned, looking triumphantly down at the boy underneath him. He then procceeded to press his lips against Ren's, enjoying the the boy's muffled protests and complaints.

As soon as Horohoro broke the kiss, Ren pouted and said, "Get off me. You're heavy."

"Fine, fine..." Horohoro rose to his feet, but right as he was about to stand, he felt a foot slam into the area where it hurts the most.

His eyes bugged out and he crumpled back to the floor. Ren's pout turned upwards into a small grin as he began laughing.

"S-Stop laughing," Horohoro spluttered. "I'm in pain, and it's not nice..."

"You told me to lighten up," Ren pointed out.

"Oh."

Usui Horohoro couldn't be happier. He was rich, famous, and engaged to the love of his life.

What could possibly go wrong?