So before you all get to the story, let me explain what this is all about.

I understand my updates are less than...well...satisfying as of yet. And I know I make one too many excuses for them. I'm an adult, what do you expect. (Sadness).

However, I do try my hardest and I want to thank all of you for being so patient with me. I know I'm not the only writer out there with life difficulties and shit. And I do apologize for all my lack of reasons for it.

This story is a tie in with my actual life situation. My fiancee and I are moving to a new state in the next couple of months. Well, actually, I'M moving to a new state in a couple of weeks. He's following in a few months as soon as I get things settled with a new job and a new apartment. (Here's hoping)

It's gonna be hard. We've never really been apart for this long in our two year span of being together. I'm leaving January 10th and from there, I don't know when he'll be following, or even if he is. We're hoping it won't be for a while. Maybe 3 months if we're lucky.

But in any sense, this will be my last yaoi fanfiction as I'm trying to kinda...step away from it. Not saying I have any problems with yaoi, I loved the concept and it was the first published work I ever did. And I figured I would use the first pairing I ever started with to end my yaoi-ness.

Now, I may come back to it. Who knows. Maybe another awesome yaoi will find it's way to me. But until then, I'm going to start working on my bigger projects. My profile should have some insight on those said projects.

So with that, I leave you all with this and I hope that you all with stand by me until I have nothing left to give. Which could be a long while, muahaha.


With a heavy sigh, Norio set the last of the bathroom boxes in the hallway, then wiped his forehead.

It had been over 2 days since they started packing and already, the boy could feel his back straining with all the lifting and crouching. For a catamount, he wasn't exactly limber with this whole thing.

Hell, the day snuck up on them in truth. When Kunimasa delivered the news, Norio was more than excited, but put off packing since it had been well over 8 months since the news was given.

Now he was paying the price for it. Kunimasa would come back any time now and scold him for procrastinating.

But oh well. He could at least say he had a good portion of the house packed up by himself, save some help from Yonekuni and Shirou. Bless their hearts, knowing how much pressure Norio was in to pack everything himself.

"Phew, well...3 rooms done...what's left?"

Norio looked around and took into account everything he had packed up. The living room was nothing but a couch and boxes. Their bathroom was empty, same with their bedroom. The kitchen was probably the most difficult, but Shirou helped him a lot with that bit.

Running his hands through his hair, he knew which room was left.

Their so called 'office', which held nothing but a desk, a computer and a whole shit ton of books. That was going to be a bitch.

"Ugh, great. And I don't even know if I have enough boxes for all this. Let's see, I have 4 big boxes left, I'm sure Kunimasa will want to pack the computer himself...and I don't have the slightest idea how to take apart the desk...and between us, there's bound to be over 500 books. This is gonna be a nightmare."

With one last exhale, Norio grabbed some of the boxes and walked into the office, a sweat drop forming when he took notice of how many books he was truly dealing with.

Now he deeply regretted putting all this off until now.

Sighing, he looked at the clock, which read 5:15 pm. Kunimasa would be back any minute to load up the last few boxes. Then they'd be done.

Hopefully.

Norio had been at this all week nonstop and all he wanted was a hot soak and some sleep. True, Kunimasa was the one dropping all this stuff off to the mail carriers, but he had assumed Yonekuni had packed it all.

But it was almost over...then they could start anew.

Norio rubbed his neck and grabbed the step stool, setting it up so he could take the books from the top shelf down. All the while as he tossed books into the open boxes, he day dreamed about this whole idea. It seemed like yesterday when Kunimasa told him that he and Yonekuni had gotten jobs outside of Japan...in America no less!

Shirou was more than excited, though a little nervous. His university grades would be transferred to his new school upon arriving and everything would be payed for along the way.

Norio was a little less excited and all the more nervous. While he was happy to be starting a life outside his normal, it just seemed nerve wracking to him to start fresh.

A new country meant a new way of life. And he wasn't sure he could handle it.

But Kunimasa held him that night, kissing his brow and telling him everything would be ok. That no matter what happens, he'd be there to help him and that Shirou would be there for moral support as well as Yonekuni, so they wouldn't be totally alone.

So Norio was growing more and more attached to the idea of leaving their old lives behind to start new elsewhere. So much so that when he flew to America to check out the conditions of his new contract for him and his brother, Norio started planning everything right away on what he would do there. What to explore, who to talk to, just everything.

As he threw another book into the box, he started thinking about all the negative things he had heard about America...and chose to overlook it. He wouldn't let such trivial things get in the way of his and his lovers future.

"Ahh one row down, only 6 more to go."

Norio gripped the sides of the stool and bounced to the next top shelf, throwing books into the box, standing on his toes to reach the higher collections.

Eventually, his toes slipped and he fell backwards off the stool, gasping at the suddenness of the fall...

Into his lovers arms.

Norio blushed widely.

"K-Kunimasa! When did you get home?! I didn't hear you come in.."

"I just got home and saw all the boxes around the house...then I come in here to find you throwing books. You're lucky I came in when I did otherwise you would have busted your spine with that fall..."

Norio sighed and pressed his head against his lovers chest, feeling his soft heartbeat. It was like a relaxing lullaby that soothed his pounding headache.

If not that, the scent of his mate was enough to calm down his nerves. He had been without Kunimasa for over 3 weeks and now just having him here was like a gift from the gods.

He felt the rumble in his lovers chest as he said,

"I see the packing's almost done. Has Yonekuni been over to help?"

Norio shook his head and smiled.

"No. Shirou came by a few days ago to help with the kitchen, but among all else, I did the majority of it. This was actually my last room before I was done."

This surprised Kunimasa, but only a little. He knew his mate wasn't one to have people do certain things for him, but he never expected Norio to just up and do ALL of the packing on his own.

It wasn't until he pressed a large hand to the back of the boys neck and felt just how tense he really was. A week straight of cleaning and packing by himself? No wonder he looked beat tired.

He smiled and pressed his lips to the boys hair, inhaling his working sweaty scent. He could smell Norio's exhaustion and stress in his scent and decided the boy needed a break.

"Norio...go take a hot shower. I can finish this room. And when I do, we'll send the boxes off tomorrow."

"No, I wanna finish this myself. I put this off for too long and now, I need to finish it. But you can help me with the tall things and-"

"Shut up and just take a shower. I'm in no mood to argue with you."

Norio said nothing as he glared into Kunimasa's dark eyes. He knew better than to argue with his mate, especially when it was in a moment like this.

Sighing, Norio nodded and mentioned for him to be put down, which the taller man did and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

But before the boy left the office, he hugged the man tightly, whispering,

"I'm happy you're home..."

"Hn...I'm happy you're coming with me."

"Why wouldn't I? I told you I would support you in any way I could. And if that means...exploring a new way of life in a new country, then by all means, I'm with you all the way...I love you, Kunimasa and I want nothing but the best of futures for us."

Kunimasa said nothing; he never had to. He lifted the boys head up and kissed his lips deeply, loving the eager sound he drew from his mouth.

But he pulled away and ran his hand over the boys head.

"Go shower and then lay down. I'll finish up in here."

Nodding, Norio walked out of the office and into their bathroom. Kunimasa heard the water begin to run and he sighed, turning to take some books off the shelves.

So much planning had gone into this move. He and Norio would fly down to America first and after getting settled, Yonekuni and Shirou would follow after maybe a month or two. Depending how this deal went down.

It was a big transition, this was true. But it was a move they were ready for. Shirou had made a mention that he felt like he had been in a rut lately and Norio felt like there was nothing for him where they were at now.

Either way you look at it, this move could be the answer. Yonekuni was excited, that was for sure. And Kunimasa, well...he was dealing with it as he always did.

It seemed like over an hour and soon, all the books were packing up in boxes, leaving nothing but the empty shelves, the desk and the computer. But they could worry about all that later. Right now, Kunimasa wanted to see how Norio was holding up.

Doing all the packing by yourself for a week must be hard, especially if you obviously don't have a lot of muscle. Norio always tried to do too much alone.

Walking out into the living room, he couldn't help but smile at the sight that welcomed him.

Norio was curled up on the couch, sleeping soundly. His ears were present and his tail was wagging actively, as if he was dreaming about something huge. His nose twitched every now and then.

His brown hair was still a little damp from his shower, but it didn't seem to bother him. Kunimasa chuckled and sat down on the couch, rubbing his mates head, petting his hair.

"Just 2 more days love. 2 more days."

He left the tail wrapped around his wrist and with a smile, he kissed it before standing to lay a blanket over the boy. He had pushed himself too hard this week. The least he could do was sleep it off while Kunimasa finished the more difficult tasks.

In just two more days, they would leave their old lives behind. Tomorrow, they'd send all the boxes off and the next day, they'd be flying out to their new home in America, to their new lives.

Kunimasa was more than excited. And he was overjoyed when Norio said he'd follow him to his new life.

He was even more happy to learn Yonekuni and his lover were coming as well. This way, Norio wouldn't so alone.

Such a huge transition meant new experiences and Kunimasa knew one thing.

That no matter what challenges he'd face, what kind of changes this move would bring, so long as Norio was with him, it would work out for the better.

With a last kiss to the boys temple, he walked into the office with a screwdriver, ready to take apart the last bit of furniture.

Pretty soon, their lives would change.

And he was going to make the most of it.

End.