XD You all responded surprisingly well to my bitching last chapter- thank you for that. And HOOOOLY crap, we hit 250 reviews. What the actual hell. How have you people managed to deal with me this long? Not that I'm complaining… THANK YOU FOR PUTTING UP WITH ME!

… You know what? I'm not even gonna bother posting my excuse for being late. Just know from now on if it's not up on Sunday, it'll be up within a few days.

Here We Go Again

Chapter Twenty-Four: Homecoming

Ryoma's ears popped loudly and he felt a slight shifting in his gut. Outside, the world was a tiny model of its true self. From his vantage point, he could see Tokyo and the surrounding bay spread out beneath him. The plane was beginning to tilt nose down, ready to land.

With a relieved sigh, the boy leaned his head back and closed his eyes. America was interesting in its own way, but Japan was still home.

Japan's still where Fuji is. Without warning, Ryoma slammed his head back against the headrest. It was punishment for his mind, thinking such strange things, and perfectly justified.

Kevin shot him a strange look, but didn't comment. The blond was too intent on squeezing just a little bit more time on his iPod into the flight before they descended to ten thousand feet and had to turn their electronics off. Why, Ryoma hadn't the slightest idea. They had been stuck in the cramped cabin (first class or not, an airplane was still an airplane) for who-knows-how-many hours and he had no clue why the little screen in his friend's hands was so entertaining.

Leaning forward again, he looked out the window. The landscape below was getting clearer, and the few wispy clouds drifting in the sky were already behind them. No doubt it was a perfect day down on the ground.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our final descent into Tokyo, Japan. The ground temperature outside is seventy-eight degrees-" Ryoma, along with the other clearly Japanese passengers, balked. "-Fahrenheit."

…

Americans.

"It is twelve fifty, local time,and we are estimated to arrive ten minutes ahead of schedule. Once again, we'd like to thank you for flying with us."

The pilot's announcement ended, and Ryoma resumed his quiet vigil. The ground was drawing ever closer, and with it came the strangest urge to be home as soon as possible. It had been an unspeakably long day, with their first flight leaving New York at five in the morning and this last leg of the trip touching down at what would be nine P.M. in New York. Not only that, the past few weeks had all seemed to drag, tiring him out as they went. Getting back into top shape without hurting himself was proving to be as difficult as it was fun.

Hopefully he would be well enough by next week to play a good match, seeing as Seishun would be facing Hyotei in the upcoming round of the Kanto Tournament.

Monkey King might be an issue, but I should be okay, since the finals went well enough at the Open.

He smirked, remembering the cool feel of the large silver trophy in his hands and the chill settling on his skin as his heart calmed and he left the state of self-actualization. Djokovic had taken the loss well. The man had been smiling as he shook Ryoma's hand and made a joke about how he hoped the teenager would be too preoccupied with school to come to the next Grand Slam tournament.

The young celebrity had smirked then, too. Some may have taken it to be an act of triumph, which it partially was, but really Ryoma had almost been wishing he could laugh. Djokovic would get his wish; Echizen Ryoma was officially retiring from the pro circuit.

For now, anyways.

He let his mind wander aimlessly for the last few minutes of the ride, and soon enough the familiar rumbling sensation shook his body as they touched the ground again. His ears popped again, making the background noise on the plane clearer and louder than before.

"Ryoga's picking us up, right?" Kevin pivoted in his seat, his hands already itching to unbuckle the seatbelt across his lap and get moving again.

Ryoma turned his lazy golden eyes on the American. He nodded once and returned his gaze to the window. Baka-Aniki was the only one who could drive (sans Oyaji, but Ryoma didn't want to deal with him) so their only choice had been to accept his offer to come and get them.

After a long and boring taxi, the plane came to a total stop in front of the gate. Almost as one, the passengers stood and began to gather their bags and stretch. Kevin was clearly trying to keep himself from bolting around the cabin after having been forced to sit for hours on end.

"Calm down, Peroxide head. You can freak out all you want once we get home." Ryoma made sure Kevin had understood him and returned to gathering all of his things.

It took several minutes of shuffling around and dodging their fellow travelers, along with Kevin nearly getting lost and breaking a display board, but eventually the two teens found their way to the luggage carousel. Their one large suitcase came out quickly enough, and Kevin took it outside, complaining loudly about its weight.

"But did you seriously have to put the damn trophy in the bag? Why couldn't you have gotten it shipped or something?" The blond huffed and leaned back against the wall with crossed arms.

Ryoma didn't respond and began looking for his brother's car. All around them, people were bustling around, hugging relatives, and loading cars with luggage. But Ryoga was nowhere in sight.

Just as the irked boy was about to tell Kevin to just call the idiot already, he saw a sleek little BMW round the corner. Their chaperone was behind the wheel, looking thoroughly bored.

Ryoma gave Kevin a quick punch to the shoulder and pointed.

"Hm. That was actually pretty quick, considering it's Ryoga," observed the teen. He stepped up to the curb, waving energetically.

A smirk broke out on Ryoga's face and he began working his way over to his charges.

"Yo, Chibisuke. Nice job over there. The media's all over it, you know? They love how weird you are." The man hauled their suitcase into the back of his car and ushered them in. "Oh yeah, and how's your chest doing? It healing up okay?"

Kevin, seated in the shotgun seat, seemed to decide that the airport's concrete walls held the meaning of life. Wasn't my fault, wasn't my fault, wasn't my fault. He glanced at Ryoma nervously. It took all he had to stop himself from crumpling in relief when his friend nodded without comment. "Well, should we get going now? I want to get back to the dorm."

For the next half hour, they were forced to put up with Ryoga's driving. Ryoma was convinced that his older brother was in less control behind the wheel than Kikumaru-senpai. The most terrifying part was quite possible that the elder Echizen did it on purpose.

They finally came to a screeching halt in front of the dorm, at which point Kevin all but leapt out of the vehicle. "No matter how many times we do that I can't get used to it…"

Ryoma left at a more relaxed pace, but even he looked slightly green.

Ryoga, for his part, bounced out of the car with a massive grin on his face. "Ah… That was fun!" The man stretched and slammed his door shut. "Oi, Kevin, grab your bag from the trunk, will you?"

"Eh? Make him do it," whined the blond, jerking his head in Ryoma's direction. Still, he circled around the car and grabbed the bag. "It's good to be home, na, Ryoma?"

The boy smirked at his friend out of the corner of his eye and nodded. He led the way into the dorm, idly wondering what to do after unpacking. Maybe he could sleep off the jet lag.

Ryoma dug around in his pockets, looking for the key that he hadn't used in weeks. The lock clicked, and he shoved the door open.

"Surprise!"

He had never wished for his voice to return more than he did at that moment. Curse words just weren't the same when you couldn't shout them.

What seemed like half of the high school tennis circle were crowding the main room of his dorm. Hyotei, Rokkaku, and Fudoumine in their entirety, plus the Three Demons of Rikkaidai. They were standing around the foyer, smiling and waving as if they lived there too.

His sharp eyes caught a flash of red near the upper level's banister. Oh, please god no.

"Ko-shi-ma-e!"

The shrill, ear-splitting shriek rent the air just as a small, strong body slammed into him.

"Ne, ne, Koshimae! Have a match with me! We came all the way from Kansai to see you, you know?" Toyama Kintaro was clinging to him like Kikumaru, grinning in his face like a maniac.

We? thought Ryoma.

"Kin-chan," said a smooth, relaxed voice. "He just got back; let him relax."

Ah. Right. The babysitter.

Said babysitter stepped forward, shooting a glance at his youngest regular that said, "Get off." Shiraishi extended his un-bandaged hand to shake. "Congratulations, Echizen-kun. Good job over in the states."

Ryoma shook off his surprise at the situation and took the teenager's hand. That seemed to be the extent of his relative peace, for as soon as their hands were unclasped, the wolves descended.

The wolves being his oh-so-beloved teammates, of course.

~X~

"Take that, mother-"

"Eiji!"

"But Oishi! He was asking for it, nya!"

Ryoma sighed and returned to his game of pool against Kevin, Fuji, and Kintaro. Ten minutes ago, Gakuto and Kikumaru-senpai had challenged each other to a game of ping-pong, and everyone in the game room had been testing their reflexes dodging the little white balls ever since.

Currently, the room was packed. There were several people using the consoles against each other in one of the warfare games or another, and it was this group making the most noise, then there was the acrobat showdown over on the other end of the room, which had gathered a small crowd of onlookers, and his billiards competition. Yanagi and Inui had taken a chess set over to the quiet room so they could focus (there was no doubt in Ryoma's mind that their game would be remarkably strange) and all of the other guests had gone to wreak havoc in the pool or the backyard.

His teammates had arranged this massive party to welcome him home, and in the process they had decided that they should invite everyone possible. It was actually almost touching, in a strange way.

He wouldn't be the one cleaning it up afterwards, though.

With narrowed eyes, he brought his hand forward, getting a sound hit on the cue ball. It swerved to avoid the trap Fuji had set up, and struck the eight ball cleanly. The black orb rolled smoothly into the corner pocket, dropping in with a resounding thump.

Kevin sighed in disgust. "That's game."

Fuji showed no disappointment at his loss after pursing his lips for a moment. "I still can't beat you, ne Ryo-chan?" he teased, laughing at the disparaging look the boy shot him.

"Eh? Koshimae, play another round!" demanded Kintaro, giving his rival puppy-eyes.

Before Ryoma could respond, Fuji stepped forward. The brunet hooked his arm through his boyfriend's and began to walk off. "Sorry, Toyama-kun, but I have to borrow him for a minute."

Ignoring the redhead's protests, Kevin's quizzical look, and Ryoma whacking him on the arm in askance (or petulance) and walked over to Kikumaru.

The brunet cocked his head to the side and brought his hand into the now unoccupied space to catch the ping-pong ball flying at him. "Eiji, Taka-san should be here soon. I'll go downstairs with Ryoma to set everything up, ne?"

"Are? Okay, thanks a bunch, Fujiko! I'll be down to help right after I beat this bastard, nya." The catlike boy was already returning to his game as he finished the sentence. Not wanting to risk being caught in the crossfire, Fuji decided to take his leave.

He dragged Ryoma downstairs, eventually switching his grip from the boy's wrist to his waist.

They walked to the kitchen slowly, Fuji nuzzling Ryoma's hair playfully and whispering, "I missed you," over and over.

Ryoma leaned into the touch slightly, that being his way of reciprocating. The tiniest of smiles crept onto his face. He tilted his head back at Fuji without warning, mouthing, "Do you want to have a match tomorrow?"

The genius laughed. Of course that would be one of the first things the boy wanted upon returning. "Should I show you the counters again?"

The freshman shrugged, but there was a predatory glimmer in his eyes that was saying hell yes.

They put their banter on hold, having reached the kitchen, and Fuji began to flit around. Ryoma saw him getting cups, soda, and dessert, and decided to grab plates and chopsticks. Kawamura was coming over in a few minutes with sushi for dinner, and his upperclassman had apparently just volunteered them to set things up in the foyer.

When their arms were filled with food, drinks, and plates, the couple headed back to the central room.

While Fuji set his pile down on the large table that had been set up, Ryoma dumped his unceremoniously and drifted over to the couches, yawning hugely.

His attention drawn by the sudden change, Fuji followed. He sat gracefully on one of the large sofas, gesturing for Ryoma to join him.

The boy was probably more surprised than Fuji at the fact that he didn't protest to this. Instead, he flopped down like he had just played a set with Monkey King. For whatever reason, he was crashing, and crashing hard.

The brunet tilted Ryoma's face towards his own, planting a soft kiss on his lips. Fuji scooted closer, and Ryoma took the opportunity to rest lay his head down on the older teen's shoulder. So tired…

"Jet lag?" suggested his current pillow gently. The brunet drew him close with one arm, and the smaller teen curled into the warmth in response.

He nodded. That made sense. While it was still relatively early in Japan, he was still on American time, and that meant that he had just essentially pulled an all-nighter. Still, it was slightly ridiculous how quickly it was kicking in. Somewhere from the back of his mind, he remembered Inui-senpai explaining narcolepsy.

"The extreme characteristic of falling asleep whenever slightly relaxed."

Compared to the past few hours, this position was extremely relaxing. Sounds about right, he thought as his eyelids drifted shut.

~X~

Fuji glanced down at the head of green-black hair nestled on his chest. Ryoma's breathing was steady and deep, signifying that the boy had managed to fall asleep in the ten seconds that they had been there. A fond smile widened on his face.

He had to say, the object of his affection was far more agreeable when tired. The boy would barely let him get away with anything when fully alert. Then again, maybe that's what made it so fun.

He ran his fingers through Ryoma's hair slowly. It was an incredible feeling to have his Ryo-chan back after so long, and he wished that they could stay like this a while longer.

But that would just be too easy, wouldn't it?

The doorbell rang, breaking the sweet silence, and with it came Taka-san's familiar voice.

"Burning! Kawamura Sushi delivery service here!"

He winced slightly, pulling out his phone. Trying to shift the weight on his chest as little as possible, he dialed Kikumaru.

"Moshi moshi?"

"Eiji, it's Fuji. Could you come get the door? Taka-san's here."

"Unyah? Why can't you get it, Fujiko?"

"I'm a little tied up right now."

Through the line, he heard the noise of the game room fade out. "Gotcha. I'm coming, nya."

Knowing he would see Kikumaru within seconds, Fuji hung up without farewell. Sure enough, the spiky red hair and large, inquisitive eyes poked around the corner just as he was putting his phone away.

"Thanks, Eiji," he said with a sweet smile.

The acrobat, whose eyes had widened when he first entered the room, put on a sly grin to match the Cheshire Cat's.

"I knew it! No one can beat my eyes, nya! Congrats, Fujiko, but I've got no clue how you got Ochibi to agree-"

"Eiji. The door," reminded the brunet gently.

"Ah. Hai."

Kikumaru returned momentarily with Kawamura on his heels.

"Yo! Fuji, how've you been?" yelled their former classmate, swinging his large containers of sushi energetically.

The teen smiled and waved, but then brought his finger to his lips, pointing at the boy sleeping on him.

Kawamura's jaw dropped to the ground, and had Kikumaru not swept in to save them, the platters of sushi would've followed. With his hands now empty, a beet-red blush rose on his cheeks.

"Oh, ah, sorry Fuji," stammered the teen, rubbing the back of his head. "So are you two, you know…?"

"Together?" supplied the genius. "Yes. Is that alright with you?"

Kikumaru laughed boisterously, swinging his arm around Kawamura. "Of course it's okay, nya!"

"Are you sure?" asked Fuji, his smile never faltering.

"Positive! After all-" Kikumaru grinned "-I'm pretty sure three quarters of the people here are out of the closet already!"

Who liked the fluff? III DIIID! But I won't put in so much that it gets sickening, nuh-uh. XD But oh, god… *laughing* I had sooo much fun with that last scene.

Ugh… I was sick this week, and while usually that means yay-stay-home-and-write, I had this killer headache XP I had to make this chapter a little shorter because of that…

PS- Everyone give a big thanks to BronzeButterfly18 for giving me the idea for the "Ryoma falling asleep on Fuji- NGAF" scene.