"Is this it?" Mamoru asked, kicking the door closed behind him. He grunted as he adjusted the big box he was currently carrying in his arms, wondering what in the world his girlfriend had stuffed inside that would make it quite this heavy. He looked up at Grace, who was unpacking the last box he'd brought inside.

"Yeah, that's it." She replied with a smile, watching him place the box delicately on top of the other boxes that littered the apartment floor. The two had been dating for almost a year at that point, and Mamoru finally had asked her to move in with him. It made more sense, since she spent most of her time there anyway. But the excitement she felt for finally moving in with her boyfriend was apparent, practically glowing while she put some of her things away. Mamoru grinned and walked up behind her, grabbing her around the waist and placing his chin on her shoulder, placing a tender kiss against the side of her neck. Grace giggled and leaned back against him, wrapping her arms around his.

"Think you'll get tired of having me around?" She asked teasingly.

He chuckled. "Probably. You can be a pain in the ass sometimes kid." Grace frowned, she released her hold on him and turned. She slapped at his arm playfully, causing him to chuckle once again, an obvious grin spreading across his face. Huffing her frustration at him exaggeratedly, she turned back and returned to unpacking some of her belongings. She didn't have all that much, only bringing a few large boxes with her, but all of the things she'd brought were precious to her. She'd sold some of the stuff back at her old place, furniture, things of that nature. But the things with her now were her most precious things, besides the obvious things that she just needed, like her clothing. Old photo albums, some special gifts Mamoru had given her, letters her parents had sent to her before they'd passed away. Things she couldn't seperate from. Mamoru watched her with amusement for a moment before pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket and taking one out. He leaned up against the wall next to where Grace was unpacking and lit the cigarette up, taking a generous puff before blowing it in her direction teasingly.

"You're such a jerk sometimes." Grace said, waving the smoke from her face.

"But you love me."

She rolled her eyes. "For some reason. But don't get used to having those things for too long. You promised me you would try to quit. Or at the very least cut back on them."

"I'm already cutting back on them sweetheart. Count your blessings."

Glancing over at him, she saw that signature smirk of his and couldn't help but laugh at him. "Shouldn't you be at the station? I thought you had some big case you were working on?"

Mamoru flicked the tip of the cigarette into the cigarette tray on the counter and shrugged. "I am. I took this morning off so I could help you bring the rest of your stuff over here."

"What is this big case of yours anyway? You haven't really told me much about it."

"Because I'm not going to."

She laughed. "Oh come on! Why not?"

Mamoru raised an eyebrow at her. "Because I know you, and you're going to want to stick your big nose in it and try to help."

"What's wrong with me trying to help?"

"You know the answer to that Grace. You're the civilian, and I'm the detective. Kids shoud mind their own business."

Grace sighed, temporarily letting the kid comment pass. "Alright fine I won't help. But come on, at least tell me what you're up to lately. You're hardly ever at the penthouse anymore with the guys, it must be something good."

Mamoru flicked the tip of the cigarette in the tray again. "And if I decide not to tell you?"

She smiled innocently at him. "Then I'll just bug the crap out of you until you do. Or I'll stick my nose into anyway, which you really wouldn't want."

He chuckled, shaking his head at her. "Why is it that you're so interested in what I do as a detective anyway?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she turned and leaned up against the wall next to him. "I don't know. I just find it kind of fascinating. Makes me wish I could go solve crimes and beat up the bad guys."

A hand landed on her head, ruffling it gently. "Not a chance kid. Just leave the bad guys and such to me. Besides, I thought you liked what you did?"

Grace glared at him. "Who honestly likes being a maid? I mean it's ok, but it's just not all that exciting."

"Then quit. Find something you do like doing."

"Like being a detective or a PI or something like that?" She asked excitedly.

Mamoru laughed. "Except that."

Grace pouted, but leaned in closer towards him. "Fine. I'll start looking for another job, something I actually enjoy doing. But in the meantime, you have to tell me about your case now. Come on, please?"

"Fine. But only because I don't want you pestering me about it later. You remember the AID?"

"Of course I do. How could you ever forget about a group as crazy as them?"

A chuckled rumbled through Mamoru's chest. "Very true. Well, they've gotten some new leader after we arrested their old one. He's been doing some nasty dealings on the side with some rather unscrupulous characters, so I'm just trying to find out more about it. I know he's got some papers hidden inside the compound that would likely send him to prison, and half of the organization for that matter, for a long time. I'm just trying to find out how to get back in there and get them."

Grace nodded thoughtfully. "Do we need to infiltrate the compound again?"

"What's this 'we' business? I told you, no meddling whatsoever. You hear me? These guys are a lot more dangerous than they were when we last dealt with them. They've gotten more on the level of Soryu and his men. Besides, they already know who we are, and if you can recall, they don't exactly like us that much."

"That's true."

"Alright now, I've told you about it, so don't even think about meddling in it. Got it?"

"I got it."

Mamoru narrowed his eyes at her. "Promise me."

Grace laughed and rolled her eyes. "Fine, I promise. I won't but in unless you ask me to."

Another puff of smoke drifted in her direction. "I can assure you that, that won't happen. But anyway, I don't even have to be back at the station until two this afternoon. I'd like to just kick back and not even think about the case until then if you don't mind."

Grace shook her head and walked over to him, taking the cigarette from his mouth with a seductive smile. "It is two Mamo."

Mamoru looked over at the clock on the wall to confirm her statement. Seeing she was correct, he shrugged his shoulders and sighed. He walked over to the couch and grabbed his coat, draped over the top, and walked back towards her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he hauled her up against him until her feet left the floor, and she slung her arms around his neck. He was much taller than she was, but with him holding her up like this, she was able to be eye-to-eye with him. With a seductive grin of his own, he pressed a kiss to her lips tenderly, savoring the taste of her lips. She couldn't help but to smile against his lips, still so incandescently happy to be with him like this, even after all this time.

"I'll be back later tonight." He said quietly to her when he finally pulled back from their kiss.

"Okay. Eiuske helped me get the day off, so I'll be here unpacking the rest of this."

Mamoru pressed another kiss against her lips, sending a wave of heat down her body. She'd discovered in their time together that this man certainly knew how to use his mouth, both in and out of the bedroom. He always seemed to be able to create this fire deep within her belly, without even realizing it half the time. She often wondered if he knew he had this power over her, using it to his advantage whenever he needed to. Often times he would treat her like such a child, teasing and laughing at her in such a way that would sometimes drive her absolutely insane. It sometimes took her a lot of effort to not throw something at him in frustration, his calm and carefree attitude almost infuriating. But then there were other times, when they were alone, when he would show her how much of a woman he really saw her to be. It took almost all of her strength to pull back from his intoxicating lips and grin at him.

"If you keep dawdling around here, you really will earn you Slacker Detective status." She said to him, almost a little too breathlessly. He smirked at her, his eyes looking a little disappointed for having to leave, and lowered her back down to the floor. Stealing one last kiss from her, he headed to the door, waving at her over his shoulder.