A/N: Welcome back everyone to another chapter! I wish a happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating in America! Hope you're spending time with your loved ones and with lots of good food! Please read, enjoy, and leave a review if you'd like! I have more notes at the end.

Sub Ink: Thank you for the review! And Jade was dating one of them, but not anymore. I finally caught up on my reviews to Jade Chan Adventures. If you ever were to pick back up on it again, I think that'd be great!

1:39 PM JT, Narita

Darek steadily drummed his fingers on the table as he stared intently at the menu in his hands. He and Seymour were idly sitting in the ramen restaurant Nagase Ramen, a large dine-in eatery in the airport that was bustling with customers. Many customers would walk into the establishment and be taken by a server to find available seats and order. The waiters were going left and right to keep up with the busy environment since it was lunchtime. Within the past hour, many people from domestic and international flights had come in with empty stomachs desiring a solid meal to eat if they could, much like Darek and Seymour. "Which's better?" Darek looked to Seymour sitting across from him. "The tsukemen, the tonkotsu miso, or the shoyu?"

Seymour cupped his chin as his eyes skimmed over his menu to the said choices. "I dunno, they're all good to me," he coolly responded.

"Okay, but which one do you recommend?"

Seymour looked at the pictures of each of the choices his nephew named to consider his thought. "{Probably the tonkotsu miso. I like my ramen spicy.}"

Darek looked back to his menu at the demo picture of the tonkotsu miso ramen. Fortunately, the menu was both in Japanese and English so he didn't have to ask his uncle to translate it for him. It was a large bowl containing a cloudy brown broth, a soft-boiled egg cut horizontally, small cut green onions in the middle of the dish, five slices of chashu pork neatly placed outside, and the noodles themselves floating in the soup under the other toppings. Compared to the pictures of the shoyu ramen and the tsukemen, the tonkotsu looked more visually appealing. "I guess," Darek concedes with a small shrug.

Just then, a boy in his late teens in a restaurant uniform of a white shirt, black pants, and an apron walked to Darek and Seymour's table and greeted them with a bow. "[Good afternoon. Welcome to Nagase Ramen!]" the young man said in Japanese. "[My name is Jiro, I'll be your server today. Have you chosen what you wish to eat or do you need more time?]"

"[We can order now. We'll take two large bowls of tonkotsu miso ramen, please,]" Seymour answered as he pointed to the picture of the dish on the menu.

"[Good choice! You want your ramen thin, regular, or thick?]"

"How big do you want your noodles?" Seymour translated in English for Darek.

"Make 'em thick," Darek said.

"[I'll have regular, he wants thick,]" Seymour told Jiro.

"[Do you want any extra toppings?]" Jiro asked as he scribbled the order down on a notepad he pulled from his apron's pocket.

"You want extra toppings?" Seymour interpreted.

"Uh, pork and another egg."

"[He'll have extra chashu and an egg. I want extra green onions and fish cakes,]" Seymour said back to the waiter.

Jiro nodded and scribbled more on his notes. "[Would you like any appetizers, desserts, something to drink?]"

"Any appetizers, dessert, a drink?" Seymour lazily asked.

Darek looked to the menu again with a shake of his head. "I'm good on appetizers and desserts. Do they serve alcohol?"

"[He doesn't want any appetizers or desserts, but he's interested in some alcohol,]" Seymour translated back to the waiter while pointing his eyes at Darek. "[And I'll take a medium Pepsi, the pork gyoza, and one spring roll.]"

"[Alright,]" Jiro said with more scribbling. "[We have Japanese whisky, wine, beer, and sake.]"

"Japanese whisky, wine, beer, sake," Seymour listed.

"Just gimme a beer," Darek answered with a small wave.

"[Any beer's fine,]" Seymour said back to the waiter.

Jiro kept writing in his note with a quiet nod. "[Asahi Super Dry is a popular beer brand if that's okay with him?]" he asked Seymour. "[And I need to check his ID.]"

"Already ahead of ya," Darek said as he heard the waiter say 'ID'. He reached into his pants to pull out his wallet and show his card to the server.

Jiro leaned in to get a good look at it, then nodded. "[Great! The ramen will take about 15 minutes to be made and served. I'll be back with your drinks and appetizers soon,]" he reported with a small bow, then turned on his heel to head to the kitchen.

"He said the food's gonna take 15 minutes, and he'll be back with our drinks and my appetizers," Seymour said.

"Fine," Darek quietly said. The table fell silent as both Darek and Seymour's attention dropped from each other. There was a slight bit of awkwardness in the air between the Chinese men for a minute, considering that the other customers around talked to each other at a room-level volume, looking comfortable and enjoying each other's company. The most Darek and Seymour could do for that minute was to look anywhere but at each other.

"You said your flight's in three hours, right?" Seymour broke the silence to ask.

"Yep."

"Then we have plenty of time to talk," Seymour said, his hands folded together on the table.

{Here we go,} Darek thought with an inward sigh.

Seymour's eyes narrowed into a glare as he saw Darek's subtle eye-roll. "Don't give me that look."

"{What look?}"

"{You're rolling your eyes.}"

"{Was I?}"

"{Yes!}"

"{I was?}"

Seymour crossed his arms and sent a hard glare to his nephew. "Stop being stupid! I've asked you about Jade a bunch of times already and you keep avoiding my questions."

"Huh, it's almost like I don't wanna talk about it," Darek replied sarcastically and crossed his arms.

"And why not?"

"Keep being nosy and I'll beat your ass."

"{Pfft! In public?}"

"You think I won't?"

"{C'mon then, tough guy.}"

Darek sat back in his chair to give a nasty teeth-baring scowl at his uncle. The lack of action from him put a shit-eating grin on Seymour's face as he held his hands out in a 'bring it' taunt. He found it comical to call Darek's bluff because he knew his nephew wouldn't be stupid to cause a public scene that held the high possibility of getting his flight canceled and getting stranded in Japan. Now it would be a different story if both men were in Hong Kong, where Darek would be less inclined to keep calm in public.

Darek had to tightly purse his lips so a string of curses wouldn't fly out. He could feel his head and ears heat up, so he let out a tuff of air to physically calm himself down. "Can we at least get our drinks first?" he grumbled.

Jiro returned to the table with a serving tray of two full glasses in both hands. "[Pepsi and Asahi, right?]" he asked with a smile.

"Checkmate," Seymour melodically quipped and sent his nephew a smug grin. It took everything in him not to laugh out loud at the growing irony.

Darek glared up at Jiro as he placed the yellow-colored beer glass in front of him, then shot a hard glare at his uncle across the table. His glare caused Jiro to freeze and drop his grin as he handed the glass of soda to Seymour. "[Your friend doesn't want the beer?]" Jiro sheepishly asked.

"[He's fine,]" Seymour quickly reassured the waiter with a headshake.

"[O-Okay,]" Jiro slowly nodded while refraining from eye contact with Darek again. "[Um, your gyoza and spring roll will be out in a minute.]"

"[Thanks]," Seymour said and the waiter gave him a tiny bow before he left. Seymour then looked back to his nephew with a sneer as he grabbed his soda to sip from. "So?" he egged.

Darek picked up his beer to take a large gulp. He then leaned back in his seat and defensively crossed his arms. In the back of his mind, Darek knew his uncle would continue to poke and prod this issue until it got old and tired. This was one of the setbacks that came with family being involved in relationships. It was something Darek came to regret now that it was clear he couldn't weasel his way out of this. "Jade and I-" Darek slowly strained. His eyes fell to the table and his lips pursed together to savor the taste of his drink. "-broke up."

"Broke up?" Seymour repeated in his surprise. "When?"

"Almost four months ago."

"Was it bad?"

"Kinda," Darek faintly cringed at the memory and rubbed the back of his neck. "{I did it over text.}"

Seymour coughed out his soda mid-drink and sputtered into his napkin. "You what?!" he looked at his nephew with wide eyes. "{You broke up over text?!}"

Darek coolly shrugged. "{Yeah, what about it?}"

Seymour threw back his head in utter disbelief and burst out into a fit of giggles. "That's so stupid! {Why would you break up with your girl over text?}"

"{I dunno! I didn't think it'd be that big a deal,}" Darek threw his hands up defensively before taking a drink.

"{"That big a deal"?!}" Seymour chortled as he put his head down on the table to howl. "{My god, you're a fuckin' idiot!}"

"{Keep your fuckin' voice down, shithead!}" Darek hissed as he warily looked left and right at the few customers near them curiously looking their way. "{You're laughing like your relationships are all peachy keen compared to mine.}"

"Listen, listen," Seymour picked up his head from the table to take a deep breath as his laughter finally subsided. "I know I've been far from the best boyfriend in my past, {but I've never ever broken up with a girl through a phone!}" he chuckled.

Then, Jiro returned to the table holding a square plate of pork gyoza in a two-by-three array with a brown-fried spring roll placed in a corner. "[Your pork gyoza and spring roll, sir,]" he said as he carefully placed the plate in front of Seymour and handed him a pair of chopsticks to go along with it.

"[Thanks,]" Seymour said with a bow. He opened his chopsticks to pick up one of the gyoza and shove it in his mouth. "You owed Jade the decency of at least saying it to her face," he muffled out to emphasize. "{Unless she's a crazy ass bitch, then texting is better.}"

"She wasn't," Darek bit back with a sour look. He paused to take a long sip of his beer. "And breaking up in person sounds awkward. We'd probably end up fighting again."

"So you were okay with taking the weak way out? You couldn't even do a phone call?"

""Weak"?" a flash of anger flared up in Darek's eyes. "Who're you callin' weak?"

"{If Jade texted you wanting to break up after what, almost a year and a half together, how would you feel?}" Seymour asked, remaining unmoved by his nephew's temper.

Darek deeply frowned and tightly crossed his arms. He wanted to open his mouth to snap out a rebuttal, but he instead sunk back in his seat with a pout. He felt the guilt rest on his shoulders as he brought his cup to his lips. "{I guess I wouldn't be too happy about it,}" Darek grumbled out as he rubbed his forearms uncomfortably.

"{Exactly,}" Seymour nodded and drank his soda. Darek's gaze remained glued to the table as he chugged more alcohol down his throat until the glass was empty. He placed the cup on the glass on the table and wiped his mouth, stifling a deep burp in his mouth in the process. Seymour pitifully shook his head. "Did you cheat?" he asked as he popped another appetizer in his mouth.

"No."

"Did she?"

"No," Darek said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Why is cheating automatically your first thought?"

"Because it's a common reason why a lot of relationships end badly, duh," Seymour flatly replied.

"Tch! Like yours?" Darek shot back with a sneaky smile.

"Hey! Watch your mouth!"

"Doesn't make it any less true."

"Whatever," Seymour huffed and crossed his arms."{If cheating didn't break your relationship, what did?}"

"{We just weren't as close anymore. We stopped spending as much time together and the times we did, we argued and fought a lot,}" Darek wistfully said. He took a long pause to take a drink and consider his next words. "{That, and Jade's folks didn't seem all that fond of me when I met 'em. It's like they thought I was a bad influence on her.}"

"{They told you that?}" Seymour's brows furrowed in his concern.

"{They never said it, but I could practically see them judging me after her garlic-reeking-old-ass uncle snapped at me for having tattoos and an earring and insisted I was a shady car dealer,}" Darek responded with a small shrug. "{The tattoos and my "thug" look probably gave 'im the impression that I was some kinda gang member set out to ruin his great-niece or somethin'.}"

"{And what'd Jade say?}"

"{Jade defended me when her uncle and I turned heated. But we never really talked about that night after that.}"

"{Did someone ever bring up your record?}"

"{The uncle did, and I told him I didn't have one.}"

Seymour instantly stopped chewing at this and pointed a confused finger at his nephew. "{But don't you have a couple of misdemeanors from your car thieving days?}"

"{Did,}" Darek smugly corrected with a smirk. "{Uncle Zou wiped 'em clean.}"

"{Does Jade know?}"

"{Nah. If she did, she would've had a fit about it. That I know,}" Darek reported and took another drink. "{Probably would've broken up with me.}"

"Your dumbass is lucky she doesn't know," Seymour lowly snickered with a shake of his head.

"Yeah, 'cuz they're just old misdemeanors from when I was a dumb teen. That's old shit. Jade and her family don't need to know that. I'm a better man now," Darek disparaged.

"Sure you are," Seymour quipped with a roll of his eyes and drank his soda. "{You think she ever told 'em? And didja ever tell 'er about us?}"

Darek bobbed his head in a so-so manner. "I don't think she did. And I've mentioned you guys to her a few times, but nothing too deep," he said. He then looked at his uncle with a curious eye. "No one knows, right?"

"No one but me," Seymour shook his head and returned a smug smile.

"Good. Keep it that way," Darek gruffed and pointed a strict finger at his uncle. "Last thing I need is the others bothering me about my relationship status."

"{You're telling me,}" Seymour rolled his eyes and put his head in his hand. He knew firsthand how overbearing his family was when it came to their endless maddening questions and comments like "When will you settle down?" and "You're getting too old to still be single.". Seymour enjoyed his life of dating and sleeping around (safely, of course) when he felt like it. It freed him of the heavy responsibilities he didn't feel up for and kept him happy and carefree. As of now, he didn't know if he would find someone nice to settle down with, but only time would tell. "{How-}" Seymour started to say, softly tapping the glass of his soda. "{-have you been taking the whole breakup and everything?}"

Darek's leg steadily bounced his leg and he bit his lip. He remained quiet as his uncle's eyes remained on him awaiting his response. A sliver of the younger man wanted to speak, but he quickly dismissed that notion and simply gave his uncle a halfhearted shrug. "It's just a breakup. I'm over it," he bitterly said and took a drink.

Seymour frowned and eyed his nephew carefully as he finished his soda. Darek's gaze was down to the table as he too sips. His eyes flashed everywhere from Jiro and other employees serving customers to the bar's interior designs to the look of the food being served; everywhere but his uncle's eyes. Despite what his nephew was telling him, Seymour could see from his nephew's blank expression, his avoidant gaze, and his simply writing off the breakup as "just a breakup" that Darek was acting out of character. He was mostly around to watch Darek grow up and understood his nephew to have a rugged and tough personality. Oftentimes Seymour could see he was much like his father, which held both positive and negative meanings. This inflated pride of Darek was definitely a negative.

Before Seymour could question his nephew, further the waiter returned to the table pushing out a small serving cart with two metal domes on the top. "[Your ramen is ready!]" Jiro cheerily said as he grandly pulled off the domes to show off the meals to his customers.

"Finally," Darek grumbled. His stomach rolled off an involuntary rumble as the aroma of the food graced his nose.

"[Please be careful, it's very hot,]" Jiro warned. He was careful to pick up each bowl and give it to the appropriate customer along with a set of chopsticks and soup spoons. "[Would you like refills?]" he asked with a subtle nod toward Darek's and Seymour's empty cups.

"The food's hot and do you want a refill?" Seymour translated.

"Yeah," Darek said and pushed his empty glass to Jiro.

"[I'll take a refill too,]" Seymour said. Jiro nodded as he collected the cups on the table to place them on the cart and roll back to the kitchen.

Darek picked up the chopsticks and began blowing into his food to chase away the steam rising from his bowl. It seemed to only make him hungrier as he stared in awe at the large bowl he ordered. Even with a stomach full of beer, Darek was able to make room for his big helping of food. He dipped in to scoop up a slice of chashu and some noodles with his chopsticks and brought it up to his mouth to slurp. He softly moaned as he took the first bite of his first meal in so long. "{Good shit,}" Darek softly moaned.

Seymour picked up his soup spoon to lightly push the contents of his tonkotsu away to lightly sip the broth. He gave a small shrug: the ramen was decent to him. He wasn't as eager to eat as his nephew was, but he wasn't going to not eat, especially with his last five-hour flight around the corner. "{It's airport food, dude,}" came his dry remark.

"{I don't give a fuck, it's food,}" Darek dully responded as he mixed around the noodles his broth to take another taste. He had started to regret only having black tea and a banana for breakfast before his flight. His hunger along with his growing jet lag almost made him feel like a walking zombie.

Jiro again returned to the table with their refilled drinks and placed the respective drinks to the right customer. He then pulled out the server book from the pocket of his apron and placed it on the edge of the table on Seymour's side. "[Let me know if you need anything else,]" he nodded to Seymour and Darek before hustling off to help another table. The Chinese men didn't speak for the first few moments they got their food. Only the sounds of blowing and soft eating could be heard at the table. It was a peaceful and brief moment the men could enjoy.

"Listen," Seymour used his chopsticks to dip the gyoza in his broth, then ate it. "Whatever the hell happened between you and Jade, stays with me," he said. While Seymour found it hard to believe Darek was truly unbothered by his breakup, he also understood it wasn't his place to say otherwise.

"Seymour told us about your girlfriend and we all reached out and invited her," a piece of Darek's near-nightmare flashed back in his head. He mentally cringed at it as he picked at his pork. In the past, he found he could trust his uncle to keep his personal life a secret, but there were times that he worried Seymour may expose him in an accidental slip-up. Darek let out an inner breath of relief and saluted a grateful nod to his senior. "{Thanks.}"

"{Speaking of family,}" Seymour prompted, using his chopsticks to pick up some noodles with green onions on top and swallowed them down. "{You know your cousins are coming too, right?}"

"{Cousins?}" a baffled Darek repeated with furrowed brows.

"Yanno, my sibling's kids? Fang, Lian, the twins, Lei an' them?"

Darek gradually sat back and put his chopsticks on its stand. He pursed his lips together, savoring the flavor of the food from it as he licked his lips. "Uhm... " he mumbled and ticked his head to briefly stare at his uncle.

"Pfft, don't tell me you've forgotten them already? It hasn't been that long," Seymour quipped.

"It's been a long time since I've seen 'em," Darek said in his defense. It took him half of a minute for him to vaguely connect only a few of the listed names to their faces. "I remember Fang and the twins, and I think Xiaohua."

"{They're older than you, so I expect that,}" Seymour carelessly shrugged and bit into half of his spring roll. "Then there's Chang's and Bao's kids."

Darek's brows knitted together hearing this. "They have kids?"

Seymour nodded. "They were a lot younger the last time you saw them."

Darek scratched his chin and held a pensive expression for a long moment to think back to the previous family reunions. However, his memories were a bit muddled trying to remember everyone that attended the New Year family reunions from year to year. Darek remembered playing and interacting with his older cousins, but he found it a challenge to even recall the times he saw his younger cousins. After much time of reflection had passed, a lightbulb figuratively flashed in Darek's head. "Oh yeah, they do," he hummed and massaged his eyebrows. Darek's memory was 100% perfect, but he was pretty sure he had an idea of what his younger relatives looked like. He took a long pause to swallow down his food. "Fan-fucking-tastic. Anything else I need to know?"

Seymour lightly blew on the half-boiled egg after dipping it in the broth several times, then taking it into his mouth. "You know what gifts you're bringing?"

Darek's eyes lit up and he snapped his fingers. "I almost forgot! I know you said Aunt Do wasn't specific on what to get, but I honestly don't know what to get either."

"Pfft! How do you not know what your own family likes?" Seymour guffawed.

"{You know I'm not that close to them, dipshit. That's why I'm asking you,}" Darek impatiently huffed as he lightly pushed his egg around in his soup with his utensils. "The only stuff I can think of off the top of my head are kumquats and tangerines."

Seymour smirked and shook his head. "They will laugh your head off if you bring only that, {trust me.}"

"And what'd you get?"

"{Some sweets and envelops for the kids, a massage pillow and perfume for Midori, a Colombian coffee kit for Xavior, jewelry for Bao, and a Cuban cigar pack for Chang,}" Seymour listed off with his fingers and pointed to one of his bigger luggage. "{I'll get some fish maw for Zuo once I get to Hong Kong.}"

"{Damn,}" Darek winced.

"Yeah," Seymour gave his nephew an understanding nod. "But you don't have to get stuff that everyone likes, just things that some will. It makes you look considerate."

"Okay. Gimme some ideas."

Seymour laid back in his seat as he took the last gyoza and dipped it into the remaining broth at a languid pace. "{Don't bring flowers,}" he finally ordered.

"That one I know," Darek snickered and took a drink. "Remember some years ago in that Hong Kong parade when we passed that flower shop, and the wind blew pollen in Uncle Dan's eyes and nose?"

"Dan flipped the fuck out!" Seymour chuckled behind his hand at the age-old memory. "He was sneezing and coughing all over the place!"

"And he was real pissy 'bout it too," Darek recalled with a large grin. "Okay, what else?"

"Let's see... " Seymour settled down and looked up in thought. "{Food, liquor, and assorted candies and chocolates are all good.} Tea works too, {but they can get pretty pretentious about it.}"

"{What about tonic foods like ginseng?}"

"{Yeah, Zuo likes those. Goji berries are good too,}" Seymour said. "{You're also gonna need to buy some envelopes.}"

"What?" Darek said in disbelief. "{I have to give envelopes now?}"

"{Well duh, you're not a kid anymore. You got your younger cousins.}"

"Well, shit."

"Stop complaining. It's just those three, not the rest of us," Seymour bit back. "And you don't need to give 'em your entire wallet, {just, like, 10 to 15 bucks each.}"

Darek slowly nodded as he brought his bowl up to his mouth to drink up the leftover lukewarm broth. "Guess I'll need to throw everything into a big-ass gift basket," he said with annoyance.

Seymour eyed Darek with slight concern. "{You know eating like that's bad for digestion, right?}"

"{Thanks Uncle Zuo,}" Darek cynically remarked. He ignored his uncle's scowl as cocked back his head to down the rest of his beer and put the cup back on the table. "Done," he casually said with a mighty burp. "You think they got some good stuff at that Lunar New Year pop-up shop around the corner?"

"Eh, airport stuff is super pricey and overrated. {You can find way better and cheaper stuff in the Hong Kong markets,}" Seymour said as he picked up his bowl to drink up the rest of his broth. He put his bowl on the table and grabbed the checkbook, only for Darek's hand to reach out and take the book as well.

"I got it," Darek said and drew the wallet to him.

"No, I got it," Seymour insisted and pulled the booklet towards him.

"I said I got it, Sey."

"I offered to take you out."

"And I'm offering to pay."

"{I ordered more than you!}"

"{Didn't you tell me to respect my elders?}"

"{Ha! When was the last time you did?}"

Darek and Seymour continued to pull at the checkbook, careful not to bend or damage it, but pulling with enough force to weasel it out of the other's grip. This was a typical act in the family, to fight over the bill whenever they went out to eat. It was a way to show respect for one another through something as trivial as paying for meals. Of course, the easiest and simplest of solutions was to split the bill evenly or even take turns. But oftentimes it was more than just paying for a meal; it was subconsciously a way of showing pride that the payer was rich and successful.

Many seconds passed, yet neither man broke his hold nor stopped locking eyes. Then, Seymour slightly turned his head to look past Darek. "{Is that Jade?}" he asked with a furrowed eyebrow.

Darek's eyes went wide and his heart turned cold. "What?" he softly asked, wasting no time whirling his head back.

"Gotcha!" Seymour happily exclaimed as he yanked the wallet from his nephew's distracted and loosened hands and clutched it to his chest. Darek turned back to Seymour and shot him the meanest glare he could muster at his elder. "Whoops. Guess my eyes were playing tricks on me," Seymour said with a playful shrug as he scribbled his signature in the checkbook.

"{Go fuck yourself,}" Darek growled.

"C'mon, no need to get upset," Seymour crowed with a hint of a smug smile. "{I was joking.}"

"Since when'd you become a fuckin' comedian?" Darek sharply hissed and half-turned his body away from him.

"I thought you said you were over Jade."

"I am!"

"Then why're you so tou-"

"Just fucking drop it, okay?!" Darek angrily blurted out. His outburst caused the other customers and a few servers around to look in his direction with surprised and confused expressions on their faces. The bar momentarily went silent and Darek felt the embarrassment rise to his face. He looked across the table to a visibly stunned Seymour staring back at him. Darek shook his head and let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. "{Just forget it,}" he mumbled. He got up, grabbed his luggage, and stormed out of the restaurant to sit on a nearby bench to cool off.

Seymour's idea of a joke felt more like an intentional jab at Darek, as it left a large mark on his ego. He found nothing about the "stunt" to be humorous, more because it took a lot of courage for Darek to admit his breakup to his uncle. In a way, it gave the young man a glimpse of what could happen if he were to tell the rest of his family. While the breakup was almost four months ago, it was still challenging for Darek to move on from Jade. Some days were easy to forget he ever met her, and on other days all it took was little reminders of Jade to trigger him into a bad day.

After Seymour had paid for the meal, he walked out with his luggage in hand to sit beside his nephew on the bench. Darek crossed his arms and half-turned from his uncle so his elder wouldn't look him in the eyes. "I'm fine," he gruffly insisted with a low sniff.

"You ever try therapy?" Seymour patted a consoling hand on his nephew's shoulder.

Darek's face scowled at the thought as he shrugged off Seymour's hand. "{Why would I?}"

"Suit yourself," Seymour passively responded and held up his hands. Like father, like son, he thought and rolled his eyes. It was clear that nothing he could say would get through, so he was going to stop while he was there. Seymour looked down at his watch, his eyes lighting up when he saw the time. "My flight's probably boarding now."

"Already?" Darek asked and looked at his watch as well.

Seymour nodded and jerked his head in the direction of the security check-in line. "{Walk with me.}"

{Fuck...} Darek internally cursed, sparing his uncle a reluctant eye roll. He had slight hopes that he wouldn't have to accompany Seymour to the security line and watch him go. However, with his uncle's assertive tone, Darek knew he couldn't downright refuse his uncle. The young man uncrossed his arms and stood up to grab his things. {Please don't ask me anything else stupid,} he thought with a glare as they walked.

"{You remember everything I told you?}" Seymour asked.

"About what?" Darek curiously raised an eyebrow at him. Seymour turned his head to give his nephew a skeptical look just as Darek could figure out what he was talking about. "Oh, you're talking about the whole family reunion thing," he said absent-mindedly. "You said my cousins would be there."

"Yeah."

"Er, get something at least some of my uncles and aunts will like. Like food, liquor, snacks, healthy and fancy stuff."

"Yup," Seymour coolly nodded. He and Darek reached the security station of the airport, which was divided into five lanes for passengers and their belongings to come through. Each lane had one agent at a desk checking people's IDs and another agent helping passengers through the body scanners and checking their items of baggage for any items not allowed on board.

Seymour reached into his pocket to pull out his ID from his wallet and approach the officer at the desk to show his card to him. The man leaned over his desk to get a closer look at the details written on the card, then turned to his computer to type his name up. "Right this way," the officer nodded and gestured his hand to show Seymour the screening line behind his desk.

The second Japanese officer watched as Seymour approached her station and approached him with a clipboard and pen in hand. "If you have any electronics larger than your phone, you should also take them out and place them in the bin," she said in English.

Seymour shook his head and held up his phone in front of her. "Only my cell."

"Any carry-on liquids over 100 milliliters? What about any sharp objects, like knives, box cutters... ?"

"Nope and no."

"Good," the woman checked off her list on her clipboard. "Next, remove your shoes and any metals on your person, such as metal earrings, rings, necklaces, bracelets, and watches. Then you can come under the scanner," the officer then pointed to the large body scanner behind her.

Seymour removed all the bits of change from his pockets and placed them in a black bin that the agent provided for him. "Keep going," he prompted Darek with an inviting wave of his hand. He then reached behind his neck to undo the silver necklace from inside his shirt to place in the container as well.

Darek rubbed his chin and looked into the air to find his lost train of thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, and you said some envelopes for my younger cousins," he finally remembered.

"Yeah."

"And apparently all the "good stuff's" cheaper to buy in Hong Kong."

"Yup. You're gonna have to do some haggling to get it at a good price, but it's worth it," Seymour told.

"Hold your arms up like this," the officer said, motioning her arms up straight. Seymour copied her actions so the woman could go back to the machine and turn it on. The body scanner hummed out in a low dull tone, as it lifted upwards and revolved over Seymour for a panoramic view of him. After a full round, it stopped and went back into its immobile position. Then Seymour stepped out from the scanner and the female officer approached him to firmly pat him from his arms down to his ankles. Seymour couldn't help himself as he let out a tiny chuckle as the officer skimmed his stomach and the sides of his abdomen. "You are ticklish?" the security woman asked with an air of amusement in her tone.

"No," Seymour replied, a cheesy grin slowly growing on his face. "I'm just not used to being handled by someone as gorgeous as yourself."

From outside the line, Darek rolled his eyes and shook his head at another one of his uncle's pathetic attempts at flirting. "Hurry up and stop thinking with your dick!" he called out in English.

"Hey!" Seymour snapped his head to where his nephew stood. He could feel the heat of his embarrassment rise to his face as he flashed Darek a hard glare. "{Fuck off!}"

The officer turned up her nose at Seymour, her lips curled with aversion at his flirting attempt. "Nice try," she wiggled her fingers at him to show off an oval-cut diamond wedding ring wrapped around her ring finger. She then pointed toward the direction of the terminals far past the station. "Grab your bags and check in at the terminal over there."

"Was worth a shot," Seymour gave a simple shrug to her as he went to the belt to grab his shoes and other belongings. He turned to Darek to shoot his middle finger at him. "{Cockblocker,}" he mouthed as he shoved his feet into his shoes.

Darek did his best to hold back his snickering with his fist at Seymour's failure. "See ya, Sey!" he yelled out with a mocking wave goodbye as his uncle went off to find his assigned terminal. For good measure, Darek stood around at the starting end of the security line to watch Seymour go until he wasn't able to see him anymore.

Then, Darek threw back his head to push out a deep sigh. "{Thank God,}" he breathed out, feeling the stress instantly weigh off his shoulders and chest. He strolled over to the nearest seating area and plop down where he would be sitting alone. Just great. No wonder they changed the address at the last minute, he thought as he massaged the bridge of his nose. It was one thing to stay with seven other adults. It was a whole other thing now that his cousins, whether he knew them well or not, were all coming too. "Might as well enjoy these last few moments of alone time," Darek said in a weary tone and crossed his arms. "I need another drink."

3:01 PM JT, Narita

Seymour heaved out a relieved sigh as he shoved his baggage into the overhead compartment a final time. "That should do it," he said. The large bag was finally able to fit entirely in the space right above his seat so he could reach up and close the opening. "Man, my arms are killing me," Seymour whined as he sat down in his chair and massaged his upper arms. At this time, nearly all other passengers had found their assigned seats, had put their bags away, and were comfortably seated. The flight attendants went up and down in the aisles attending to anyone that needed assistance. Passengers turned their phones and other carry-on technologies into airplane mode and put them away. Others were in the process of making themselves comfortable in their seats. Fortunately for Seymour, he had all the room to be comfortable with a business-class seat. Even though the flight was merely four hours long, he wanted to get the rest he needed before reaching his final destination.

Just then, Seymour felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He reached into his pocket to pull out his device, seeing the familiar number and caller ID. "{Can't really talk now, Zuo. My plane's taking off soon,}" he answered in Mandarin into his phone.

"{I understand that, but it's important I reach you at this time,}" Zuo replied. He stood on the porch of his courtyard, one of the most peaceful places on his vast property that he cherished the most. His children, Xavior, Midori, and her children were the first of the extended family to arrive and settle in his vacation home. The lot was having a rather rowdy dinner in the house, and Zuo needed some quiet in his environment so he could talk to Seymour undisturbed. "{Sheng will be attending the reunion.}"

Seymour's eyes shot wide into full circles and he quickly sat up in his chair. "{No way!}" he croaked. "{Please tell me you're joking.}"

"{Seymour, you know I am not a man who jokes like that,}" Zuo said sternly. "{Sheng called me three hours ago and said he will be here tomorrow morning around 9:30.}"

"{Tomorrow morning in Hong Kong time, right?}"

"{Yes. Hong Kong is an hour behind Japan.}"

"{That means... }" Seymour trailed off and looked to the air in deep contemplation for a long moment. "{That means I'll be at your place before him.}"

"{Correct.}"

"{But wasn't Sheng supposed to be in the Netherlands on business?}"

"{Yes, but apparently, his trip got postponed at the last minute.}"

"{Says you,}" Seymour huffed with a roll of his eyes. Sheng had a history of selfish tendencies and then came around to his family to bail him out when he needs help. "{Who else knows?}"

"{Midori and Xavior since I put them on speaker to talk to Sheng. I will reach Dan, Bao, and Chang after you.}"

"{What about Darek? He and Sheng practically hate each other. You know he's not gonna be thrilled his dad's coming on short notice.}"

"{No, Seymour. I would have never guessed Darek and his father still weren't on good terms,}" Zuo drew out snarkily. "{Thank you for telling me, brother.}"

"Hmph. No need to be an asshat about it," Seymour lowly grumbled off the phone so Zuo wouldn't hear. At times, his dry way of sarcasm really rubbed Seymour the wrong way, though he couldn't outright tell his elder this. "{Well, does Sheng know Darek's coming?}"

"{Yes.}"

Seymour's left leg steadily bounced in place as his thoughts quickly changed to his nephew. In the past reunions, Darek felt comfortable attending because he knew his father would most likely be "too busy" to show, so he didn't have to worry about seeing or interacting with his father in any way. "{Darek's gonna be pissed,}" Seymour said with a slow shake of his head. "{His flight comes two hours after mine lands.}"

"{Just two hours?}"

"{Yeah.}"

"{Let's see... }" Zuo drifted off in his words. "{Your flight lands at nine in Hong Kong time in the evening, and from the airport to Kowloon City is half an hour, so you'd be here before 10,}" the man rambled to himself in his mind-arithmetic. "{And if things go as planned with Darek's flight, he'll land at 11 and get here by midnight.}"

"{And that means Darek only has, like, nine and a half hours before his dad comes,}" Seymour nodded as he mentally followed his brother in his calculated ramblings. "{Shit! And I just missed him.}"

Zuo's bushy brows raised in interest at this information, completely dismissing that Seymour had just cursed on the phone. "{You saw him? When?}"

"{About 45 minutes ago. Darek had just landed in Narita and we coincidentally found each other. Then we talked and got food, and I left to catch my plane.}"

"{Are you able to call him from your phone? Or perhaps you can put Darek on a three-way call? I tried to call him, but it seems I cannot reach him through the number he gave me. Perhaps he changed numbers?}"

"{Lemme try,}" Seymour said and took the phone off his ear to dial Darek's number into his phone. He pressed enter and the line began ringing out to his nephew's phone. After four rings, the call went to voicemail. Seymour redialed the number and waited as the line rang four times, then it went to voicemail once more. "{He's not picking up.}"

"{Probably because the plane interferes with technology,}" Zuo drawled.

"{Well, what are we gonna do now?}" Seymour said as he looked out the window towards the airport, almost as if he was looking directly at his nephew. "{If we tell Darek, he'll turn straight home.}"

"{And if we do not tell him, Darek will be in for a very unpleasant surprise when he sees his father, considering as you said, their relationship is still in a rather toxic place,}" Zuo concluded, cupping his chin and glaring off into the distance into thought towards his garden. His fingers steadily drummed on his armrest and his aged eyes looked out towards the body of water just outside of his property's gates. The night was cool in Kowloon Tong with a soft breeze in the air that grazed his skin. There was a waning moon in the sky surrounded by millions of bright stars. The scenery helped Zuo to really think this troubling problem through.

Despite Darek's youthful hardheaded stubbornness, Zuo had some empathy for him. He understood a lot of his nephew's qualities and vices stemmed from an absent father and having to mature at an early age. Zuo strongly disapproved of his younger brother's unfatherly behavior during the time and made sure to let Sheng know it. As the family patriarch, he felt it was like a crime for a child to grow up without a proper parental figure there to guide them. Whatever advice and opinions Zuo had for Sheng on raising a child all fell on deaf ears. So Zuo did his best to pick up the broken pieces and support Darek and advised his family to give support when they could. Zuo's then-wife and daughters were happy to watch over Darek when Sheng wasn't home. Seymour and Midori on occasion gave their nephew a present or took him out for the day. Xavior, Chang, Bao, and Dan made some visits here and there but failed to be consistent. As time passed and Darek got older, he became more independent and defiant. Even with all the support from his aunts and uncles, Zuo could see it would never be able to substitute the sensation of fatherly love. At that point, there was little Zuo could do to help anymore. It was sad but expected.

"{Give me his number,}" Zuo finally spoke to gravely announce his decision. From his pocket, he pulled out a pen and a slip of paper to write on. "{I will call him myself.}"

"{You sure, Zuo?}"

"{Darek should know what he could get into should he come. If he chooses to cancel now, so be it,}" Zuo simply said.

Seymour nodded at his brother's statement. "He probably needs the holiday off anyway," he softly acknowledged with a shrug.

"{What was that?}" Zuo asked as he tilted his head to get closer to his phone. "{I didn't quite catch what you said.}"

"{Er, nothing! Nothing! Darek's number is 415-355-4957,}" Seymour hurriedly spat out, remembering his earlier talk with his nephew. "{They want us to put our phones on airplane mode! Talk to ya soon, bye!}"

"{Thank you. See you soon, brother,}" Zuo said and hung up on his end. He picked up the scribbled paper and drew it closer to his face. "{415-355-4957,}" he repeated again, this time committing it to memory. Zuo folded the paper neatly and stuffed it into the pocket of his robe for safekeeping. "{I am going to need a call-}"

"{I win again!}"

"{What?!}"

"{You cheated!}"

The sudden and muffled yelling drew Zuo's attention to the house, where he remembered that he left in the middle of his daughters, Midori, and Xavior playing a passionate game of mahjong. The latter two were the loudest because Midori had just accused Xavior of cheating. As much as Zuo wanted to stay outside and take in more of the evening view, he knew he had to go inside to tend to his family while accommodating for the coming others.

"{Let me go in before something trivial turns serious,}" Zuo drew out with a sigh and stood up from his seat. He slowly stretched his back and shoulders up and down. "{And a nice warm bath after would be nice.}"

A/N: [Japanese], {Mandarin}

Shen Du = Sheng Du

This is the juicy chapter I was talking about! I realized it was going to be a lot of exposition, so it's better to keep it all in one chapter. And it was so much fun to write! Literally, so many ideas were flowing all at once. I was going to wait to write more about the other demons until after Drago/Darek reaches Hong Kong, but I also wanted to do a scene on another character besides the Ice Crew and Darek.

So now we have the sort of official introduction of the Moon Demon Tso Lan (Zuo) and an honorable (or dishonorable) mention of the Fire Demon Shen Du (Sheng). In this AU, Zuo is like the older dad/grandfather who tries to keep everyone in line and Sheng is a businessman who's also the family's black sheep.

See ya next time!