A/N: Who's ready to see Ren be mature? (Well...at least for the moment ^^')

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's. That goes to the respective owner. I only own my OC(s).

Matured:

(Ren's POV)

"But I don't want to goooo," I groaned. My sister and I got invited to a family get-together (though, it was more of one of us has to go 'cause neither of us attended the last couple of them).

"Ren, I'm exhausted from my trip. Besides, you're the one who is badly disconnected from our family."

"What about Chelsea and her kids?"

"I meant the family you don't talk with every other day."

"Dammit...but I don't want to be by myself! It'll be boring!"

"Then invite Eric or Jazz to go with you."

"Eric's off getting his eyes checked out and I have no clue what Jazz is up to."

"Then bring Yusei along. Isn't he the one that's been telling you that you need to start re-connecting with the family?"

"I don't think he'd like going either."

"Have you ever asked him?"

"Well...no..."

"Ask him then. I won't do it for you 'cause he's your boyfriend, not mine."

"Ugh, fine, but I doubt he's going to want to go." I grabbed the phone and got off the chair to call him.

(Few Minutes Later...)

"He actually said yes!" I exclaimed, coming back.

"Well, wonder who's going tuxedo shopping," AJ retorted.

"...I wonder if you're really my sister..."

"And I wonder if you're really eighteen."

(Later that evening)

"Nngh...I still don't want to go," I groaned against Yusei's back. Since my car was being worked on, Yusei provided the transportation with his Duel Runner (at this point, I think I've gotten a bit used to riding on one...don't know if I'll be considering getting a license yet).

"It won't be so bad, Ren," Yusei tried to encourage.

"Mmph."

"Is there some other reason other than you're still patching things up with your parents?"

I sat up so I could face him better as he turned to look at me. "Mm...well, there's my aunt—my dad's sister—and my cousin. They're kind of part of the reason I don't like mentioning I come from a rich family."

"Why's that?"

"They act like the typical stuck-up rich people. The whole 'I'm better than you 'cause I've got a bunch of money.' That kind of bullshit."

"Ah. I see."

"Yeah, and nine times out of ten they come to these. More so since neither AJ nor I will be the next head of the business."

"How long did AJ tell you to stay?"

"Ugh, two or three hours..." My head collided with his shoulder once more.

"I'll make you a deal. Let's stay for a little over half an hour, you talk a little bit with at least two or three family members you like, and we'll spend the rest of the time back at my place?"

I lifted my head up. "Seriously?!"

"Yep."

"Did I tell you how much I love you?"

He chuckled. "Let's get going if you want out that badly."

"Okay!"

Once we got in (after a bit of an argument with the guy at the door), we situated ourselves at a small table. I tried getting us some drinks, but they didn't have much of anything without alcohol (and I doubt the punch would be any better). So, I asked for two empty glasses, went to a nearby restroom, and got water from the faucet. From the head count I could manage in the area, there wasn't a whole lot of family that came this time (and trust me, I have a HUGE family from both Mom and Dad's sides).

I got a bit surprised to see Chelsea, my half-sister, at this family reunion since she lives over in America. I hardly get to see her or my niece and nephews because of that. We chatted for a bit before she left to go meet up with some of our cousins.

"Okay, one more family member and then it's time to leave," I said, grinning.

"Is there anyone else you're still on speaking terms with?"

"Umm...oh, yeah, Avery should be here. She's about the only one from my aunt's family I'd talk to. It's, uh, just finding her." I stood up and looked around the are of the table. "Shit. Well, I might be able to run into her when I get up again for our water."

The two of us just talked to ourselves in the mean time. I asked how the re-making the program was going which really got him talking. While I wasn't into a lot of the same things Yusei was, I did make an effort to at least learn a bit of it (though there are times when I have to make him slow down and rephrase things as I get a bit confused once he gets going). Pretty soon, our glasses were empty and I got up to get more water.

On the way back, though, I heard my name being called. "Ren! You came finally!" the girl said, coming up.

"Um...do I know you?" I asked. It wasn't meant to sound mean or anything. I genuinely didn't know who the girl was.

"Oh, come on, Lo-Lo. I know I look different but I can't be that different."

The little nickname finally made it all click. "Avery?!"

"Yep, it's me."

"Shit, I barely recognized you!"

"Heh, yeah. Managed to get the surgery and now I'm starting to feel a bit more like I'm in my skin."

"Glad to hea- wait, did Gareth have anything to say about that? 'Cause if he did, I'll-"

"No, don't worry. Dad helped with everything."

"Oh, right, the divorce...forgot about hearing that."

"Well, I'm just glad you came to one of these. I was starting to miss my favorite cousin."

"Geez, stroke my ego, why don't ya?"

"Haha. Did AJ come with you or did you come alone?"

"Naw, I brought my boyfriend Yusei. AJ was a bit too tired from visiting her out-of-town boyfriend."

"Oh, well, tell her I said hi."

"Haha, I will." I'm surprised with how well this get-together has been going. It's been nothing but a good ti-

"Thought I heard someone annoying and cocky," a voice cut me off of my thoughts.

"Knew something would turn this sour," I muttered under my breath. While some people sometimes confused us as siblings rather than cousins, we couldn't be any more different than fire and ice. Also, even though he was older than AJ and I, he was third choice on who would be head of the family business. Not like we wanted to even be a part of the business anyway, so in a sense he's first choice.

"I'm surprised they even let you through the door, considering you look more like you were born on the streets," Gareth sneered. I glared, not saying anything knowing that it would end up being cuss words.

"Gareth, stop that. He's still a part of the family," Avery defended.

"Yeah right. He barely lives in what could be considered a house and still has to work when he could just as easily go to Uncle for it."

"Maybe I like to put that money away for when I really need it, not just spend it on whatever makes me look fancy," I growled slightly.

"Oh, so the cat hasn't gotten your tongue, cousin."

"No, I just don't want to waste my breath on you." Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Yusei looking up. I didn't have to look right at him to know he must have a worried expression on his features.

"Wow. That's a lot coming from you." With how Gareth's stance was, I knew he was wanting to pick a fight with me. Compared to AJ who mainly stuck with words, I was the one who easily flew off the handle and went for physical attacks rather than verbal when it comes to fighting. Normally, I'd fall for it...but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction anymore. Besides, I had something I've been wanting to say since the last we met.

"You know what your problem is, Gareth? You think that money and power is everything, but it ain't. I might not be perfect and I might get on people's nerves at times, but at least I've got friends and loved ones who stand with me no matter what. I don't have to throw money to others just to get them to like me. I just have to be myself. And when worse comes to worse, they've got my back and I've got theirs. So what if AJ and I aren't always using our parents' money or whatever we get sent each month? At least we're happy with our lives. We don't need to have to pay our friends to be with us."

Avery looked to me, a bit surprised I didn't resort to my usual punches, while Gareth looked livid. "Why you-!" He raised a fist like he was about to hit me.

"I'd put that down if I were you," Yusei's voice said from behind me. I felt his hands on my shoulders. "I'm not too fond of people who threatened my loved ones."

"What the?! How did someone like you get in here?!"

"He's my boyfriend," I interjected, leaning my head against Yusei. "And my guest, so he has every right to be here."

Gareth looked like he was about to retort when Avery stepped in. "Gareth, that's enough."

"But he's a-!"

"As far as I'm concerned, the only one who would need to be dragged out of here is you, considering you were going to hit Ren first."

"Like he's any different!"

"Gareth, leave. Or do I need to inform Uncle not to send you any more invites because of your behavior?"

He tsked. "Fine!" He stormed off, muttering curses under his breath. It took every fiber of my being not to stick my tongue out at him while he left.

Avery turned to Yusei. "I apologize for how my brother acted."

"It's fine. Nothing I haven't heard before," Yusei replied.

"I keep telling you to tell me and I'd go have a talk with them," I replied, trying to get eye contact with him (kind of hard to do when we're both the same height and him being behind me).

"And your talks tend to end up with bruises and bloody noses."

"Meh."

"Anyway, I'm Avery. It's nice to meet you, Yusei."

"Likewise. Ren told me a bit about you."

"Oh? Did he also mention some about what we did in our childhood."

"Avie," I warned with a slight glare.

"No, I don't believe so."

"Well, he offered to play the role of 'princess' when neither AJ nor I wanted to when we were younger and played dress-up."

I turned at least a hundred different shades of red at that. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone about that!"

"What? I'm sure you haven't brought him to your parents' place long enough for your mom to bring out the baby pictures or videos."

"That's besides the point!" She laughed. Ugh, she's doing it on purpose...

A/N: Well, technically, Ren not resorting to a fist fight has to count as him growing up a little, right?

I need to get back to working on Elements of the Original Dragon or Dragons' Souls badly...just one more short for this month and it's back to some main story stuff.