A/N: Hi, friends! How are we? Doing well? Yes? No? No…? Yes. Ok. Great! You had me worried for a sec. Although, if we need to step aside for a hot second…You know what? Come here. You. Over here…Are you alright? Are you doing ok? Not just hiding it? It's alright. You can talk here. It's safe. Look at me. We're going to be ok…Ok? I know shit might seem kind of bleak right now. But it's temporary. It'll be alright. And if you're just riding out the storm, you can stay here for as long as you'd like. *chu* I love you. You're wonderful. Now, let's get back to the others, ok? Stay back for as long as you need to and come join us when you're ready. We'll be waiting.

Now! For the rest of you. Hello, my loves. It's that time of week again. Rei's birthday is an ARC. I really didn't think it'd be this many chapters, but it's worth it! Because…Well…I haven't really told anyone this (except for one person. Here nor there.), but in the next couple chapters, this is going to be ending. Forever. We'll never have another chapter of For the Family ever again. I mean, if you want, the Good Old Days is still going on via Tumblr, if you start to miss the Mendoza family in general and if you're wanting to meet Rei's mom in more than just the occasional story out of her dad. But don't worry. We'll talk more about the end at a later date. Let's just…Let's have another round tonight, k? Love you x

(Also, yes, I'm aware I make too many musical references throughout this story. And next week, I promise we'll make a switch from the Hamilton references. Pinky promise.)

I still couldn't believe it. The more I kept getting dressed, the more intense the buzz from Veronica's words got. I can't believe she had to let the top out. For the first time in my baby life, something was actually too small on top for a change. Good for me. Mama always did say the family was full of late bloomers on her side. And normally, after seventeen, we'd all grow up a little at a time. God's seventeenth birthday present to me. Who would've thought?

But then, a thunderous knock outside my bathroom door snapped me out of my headspace. I love him, but I may kick him, "Come on, Rei! You're fine!"

"I know!" I yelled back, "But I'm also busy! Let me be!"

"You're exhausting…" I could hear Ritsu sliding down my door. Isn't he the cutest?

"And yet," I poked my head out the door, "You still love me. And my high maintenance ass."

"Kind of," he admitted, "You know…In the right light. Depending on the day of the week. The moon's position in relation to the stars."

"You know, Ritsu," I kept the crack in the door and went back to digging through my makeup bag, "We don't have to go to this party. We could just go back to the Narrows, so I can bat you around for a little while again."

"I'd much rather go to that party," Ritsu assured me, "That was not a fun trip to the Narrows."

"No, it was not." And it hurt even worse knowing Ritsu was the one to put himself there in the first place for shit out of his hands, "And as fun as it can be to go to the Narrows with you, baby, I'd rather never have to take you back there ever again."

"Not under those circumstances."

"Absolutely," I readjusted my eyelashes, trying not to get glue on my water line. I'd like to be able to blink again, "You make a good intimidation factor."

"And you are scary when you want to be," I could hear him gush with pride. And I loved it.

"Key word, when I want to be," I pointed out, "But I'm a sweetheart any other day of the week, right?"

"Do I need to answer that honestly?"

I knew that was meant as a joke and that it was meant with love, but that wasn't going to stop me from taking my straightener and whacking my loving boyfriend on the head with it. Not hard enough to cause damage, but enough to make a point, "Love you, too, asshole."

"Come on, Rei," Ritsu nursed his well-deserved bonk, "What did I do?"

"You got hit in the head with my straightener," I thought that would've went without saying. But I understand. Probably should've unplugged it first. My straightener got hot, "And you were being a dick. On my birthday, Ritsu…You've done some shit before, but that…That's just the worst."

"Hey," he pulled at the skirt of my dress, "You want to do another shot?"

"Yes, please!" I loved that Ritsu got me. I'll take him.

Ritsu passed the bottle off in the door crack. I loved me some Hibiki. And I love that Ritsu was sweet enough to put this in front of me. God bless him. Now that I got my whiskey buzz mixed with my sudden puberty buzz, I'm fucking unstoppable. I didn't have much left to do. My lashes were on. My hair was done already with love from Maxwell. My nails were gorgeous. My shoes were still in my bedroom, but if I didn't have to wear heels yet, I wasn't going to force myself into that. The shit I do for vanity.

"Are you done yet?" Ritsu whined, "I can only scroll aimlessly through my phone for so long and I've been getting texts from the twins relentlessly asking if I want their help. Because apparently, I need it. I don't get what they're talking about, but I feel like it's better that I didn't ask."

Oh, Ritsu…Dear, sweet Ritsu. How I love you so. And from someone who's had Hikaru and Kaoru attempt to help today, no. You do not want to know what that means. And you do not want that forced upon you. I love you and I will protect you from that hell, "I'm almost done. Probably another…Five minutes to hide my lash bands and then, we can leave."

"Thank God," he hit his head on the door, "Do I have to hang around the host club or do I get to hover your dad like I did last time?"

"You didn't hover my dad last time," I remembered, "You hovered me. And Daddy would occasionally steal you away."

"At least your birthday this year doesn't require a performance," Ritsu let out a heavy sigh of relief. Only to tense up in the next breath, "It doesn't, does it? Because I don't think I got that in me. Nor do I want to have to do something like that in front of the host club. Fuck that."

"Don't worry," I laughed, "You're fine. We don't need to repeat last year. But you did great last year, Ritsu. I was proud of you. You were a quick study."

"I had to be!" he squeaked, "It was either be a quick study or fuck up in front of a room full of mafia. And one of those I'd fuck up in front of would be your dad. I don't think so."

"Again," I snuck out of the bathroom again and stole a quick kiss on Ritsu's cheek, "Still proud of you."

"Thanks, baby," Ritsu melted, "But still not doing that again."

"Not until we have to do it again," I figured, "And I promise next time, we will be much more prepared for that. I'll be sure to give you more than a week's notice. And that I won't be such a mega bitch drill instructor on you either."

"Aren't you a sweetheart?" he awed, "Thanks, Rei. Love you, too. Now, are you ready?"

"Yes," I rolled my eyes. Pain in the ass. But my pain in the ass. As I tried opening my door, something seemed to be blocking the way, "Ritsu, get the fuck out of the way."

"Well, excuse me for…" Once he got up, Ritsu managed to freeze like a deer in the headlights. And I kind of loved it, "Ouch…"

"What?" I played innocent, but I knew. And nothing made me weirdly happy quite like seeing a little bit of blood come out of Ritsu's nose. Just when I thought we were over that, I can still manage to make him have a nosebleed. Damn, Rei, you're good at this.

"You…" Ritsu took my hand and gave me a little spin.

"Me…" I fell into his chest, "I swear to Christ, Ritsu, if you bleed on this dress, we're going to have a problem."

"Not going to," he promised, holding me tight, "I'm glad I get another birthday with you, Rei. I really am. This could've went so south so fast."

"I could've made your nose bleed in a whole different way," I cuddled into him, "But not today. We're not going to go down that road, Ritsu. You and I both deserve so much better than that and you know it."

"So," Ritsu kissed the top of my head, "You ready now?"

"Once I put my shoes on, yeah," I nodded, "Do you know anything about this party, by chance?"

"Nope," he shook his head, "Nobody kept me in the loop."

"Then, why do I keep you?" I teased, shoving him a bit. Now, heels or thigh high boots? I'm leaning toward thigh high boots.

"Because," Ritsu threw himself on my bed, "You like my butt."

"I do like your butt…" I thought it over, "Alright. Consider yourself redeemed."

"Really?" he wondered, "It was that simple?"

"Yeah," I laced up my boot, "What? Were you expecting me to make you jump through a million hoops to earn my love again? Na. Did that once. Don't feel like doing that again."

"By the way," Ritsu checked his phone, "I think the twins are here. Not sure how many more. You want me go check?"

"If it's not too much to ask for," I bit my lip, "Please?"

"Of course," he kissed my cheek and took off down the hall. Bless him. I think I need to keep that one for a while. Just a little while longer. Besides, it gave me a chance to be a little vain and feel myself here without Ritsu making fun of me. Because damn, I'm a beautiful bitch tonight. For a second or two, I thought about a quick selfie shoot, but that's a level of vain that I don't ever need to hit. That's like…Tamaki levels of vain. And I'm a little better than that. Although…No. Reila, look at me. You know damn well there's going to be plenty of pictures taken tonight. You don't need to be that desperate.

Instead, I took Ritsu's phone off my bed that fell out of his pocket and used that as my excuse. Then, if anyone asks, I can just pretend Ritsu was sweet enough to take them for me. That works. I'll take it. And only a couple. I know I'm being a vain bitch, but I have a limit. And that limit is only a couple pictures. Then, it's not so bad. If anyone asks, my one woman photoshoot never happened and I have an alibi for last Saturday night.

"Rei?" Ritsu walked back in while I quickly threw his phone back on the bed like it was about to burn me. He looked at me strange, "What the hell was that all about?"

"Don't ask," I brushed him off, "What is it? What do you want?"

"Hikaru and Kaoru are here," he backed off, "Apparently, everyone else is there already."

"Good," I let out a heavy sigh. I actually wanted to talk to Hikaru and Kaoru which is a sentence I never thought I'd say, but here we are. It's a strange timeline we're living in. Let's keep it going.

When I walked into the living room, Kaoru's head was on Hikaru's shoulder and they both looked like they were ready to pass out. Jesus Christ, Veronica, what was your shit laced with, horse tranquilizers? Or were these two just that much of a couple of lightweights? Maybe both. Veronica's got a very strong tolerance. I needed to get some of Williamsburg's finest liquid hospitality in them. I'll be damned if they're going to be the buzzkills at my birthday party.

Still, I approached them slowly. This wasn't the first time I've dealt with this kind of thing. Likely not my last, "Hiya, boys."

"Hi, Rei…" they both looked up at me. That's a good sign. And they can still do their weird speaking in unison thing, so I'm guessing they're straight…Straight might not be the word to ever describe those two. They're back to normal. That's the word I'm looking for.

"Wow, Rei…" Hikaru gushed.

"You're actually a girl," Kaoru added.

"Is this what Veronica did for you?" Hikaru wondered.

"While you two proceeded to get hella stoned on her couch?" I giggled, "Yeah. But enough about me. How are you two feeling?"

"Better," Kaoru reported.

"How the hell did we end up like that?" Hikaru asked, his fist in his eye, "We weren't smoking it."

"That didn't mean it wasn't still in the air," I explained, "Veronica did feed you two, right?"

"God, we were hungry," Kaoru shuddered, "So hungry."

"And probably thirsty, too," I assumed. Like I said, not my first trip to the fair. Those few months where Veronica lived with us were very educational for baby Rei. I was eight years old and learned how to operate a weed grinder. Good times. Although, I don't think Mama and Daddy knew about that. They knew about what Veronica liked to do to relax, but they never knew I'd be here a time or two.

"So thirsty!" Hikaru whined.

"Come on, boys," I pulled them onto their feet, "We're going to make a quick pitstop before we go to the party, ok?"

"Where are we going?" Ritsu wondered, "Because I'm not babysitting these two for much longer."

"Just the Bean," I promised, "It's not like we're pregaming."

"We did that in your bedroom."

"Excuse me?" Hikaru gasped.

"What was that?" Kaoru chimed in.

"Naughty, naughty…" they smirked.

"What?" I rolled my eyes on the way to the elevator, "Don't even. Ritsu gave me a bottle of Hibiki for my birthday. We both took a couple pulls from the bottle. Do you two really think we'd be fucking while you weirdos were in the living room?"

"We are voyeurs."

"That's why," I took Ritsu's hand, hoping to all things holy the magic of the elevator didn't kick in. Although, I was kind of looking forward to going to the Bean again. For a second, I thought about getting my own liquid hospitality, but I'm sure I'm going to be fine. I popped in, got Hikaru and Kaoru their coffee, and popped right back out. As promised. Mostly because I didn't want to put Ritsu through babysitting duty. I loved him too much. And especially not when it's the Hitachiin twins coming down from (likely) their first weed high.

Although, as much as I wanted to get to this party, I did have one more stop I wanted to make. That was probably on the way. At least I sure as hell hope so. And I knew that no one in that car would have the balls to tell me no. Even on a good day. Just one more person I wanted to see before I went to go play with my friends and my family and my extended family. As we pulled up to the cemetery, the assorted looks of confusion in that car tickled me to no end.

"What are we doing here, Rei?" Hikaru asked, looking out the wrong window.

"Other side, genius," I told him, pushing the car door open. This shouldn't be long, but I knew how taxing those two could be, "I'll be right back."

"You want me go with you?" Ritsu knew how I could be when I went to see Mama and the fact that he was more than willing to go with me for support (and possibly an escape) warmed me to no end.

But this was something I needed to do on my own. At least for now, "You'll get to see Mama before we go home. Don't worry. It'll be a quick in and out. Promise."

"Alright," he gave me one more kiss, "Take your time."

"Ok." I knew better. The less Ritsu can be left alone with the twins, the better off everyone will be. Now, Mama…Mama…Mama!

I sat on the ground at her stone, wishing with every fiber of my being she could be here to see this. It got better, Mama. Daddy got better. Things with Ritsu and me got better. The world got better just in time for me to march back into Hell with a smile on my face again. I know I'll be able to take Ryoichi on with no problem. I've been doing it for the last few months and I live to tell the tale. But I don't know if Ritsu can. At the end of the day, that's still his dad, no matter how big of a prick he is. He still has a hold on Ritsu. I can hear it when he talks about him. It makes me sick.

Ritsu knows he's got a better family than him. So what if it's not blood? I just hope he'll be able to see that. He still beats himself up for what happened. And I hate it so much. But that wasn't his fault. That wasn't our fault. That's what I have to keep telling myself, so I can sleep at night. But as much as I'd love to hang around here a little more, I have a party to go to and I think I'm probably late enough to make an entrance. I kissed Mama's stone like I did every other time I visited and took off. I love you, Mama. I'll be back again before we leave. Promise.

"Everything alright, Rei?" Ritsu worried.

"Everything's fine," I nodded, "Why?"

"Because now," Hikaru began.

"We get to give you your surprise," Kaoru pulled a black blindfold out of his pocket.

"What the hell is that for?!" I squeaked.

"It's a surprise, Rei," they assured me, "It's not like we're hooding you."

"Aww…" I melted inside, "Someone's been hanging around my dad lately."

It's cute how they've picked up on certain terms. They'll learn. I'm sure. If they keep hanging out with my dad, they might end up recruited, but I doubt it. Not under my regime anyway. I already have my members of the host club picked out. Kyoya would try to usurp me and Mori already said no. But I played nice and let them blindfold me. Although, it had me curious. Where the hell would they be taking me where it required a blindfold? Or they really did just want this to be a surprise.

However, when the car stopped, they led me inside. Ok…Warmth. That's comforting. And an elevator…And I didn't get to make out with Ritsu. What a downer. But then, the blindfold came off…And the glass ceiling showed me all of the city I loved. Alright. I know there's no party like a host club party, but this? This was perfect. At the end of the day, this was still a host club party…But it was my host club party.