Author's Note. This is indeed the end of the story. Final chapter, no sequel planned. Though it took over a year to reach this point, I'm happy with the results. In the future, I plan on rewriting the first few chapters to make them sound less childish and to fill them out a bit more. Until then, check out my other fanfiction if you'd like.

Thanks for all the support!

.x.

The days crawled by, and slowly Kouji recovered mentally from the ordeal that Dakota had put him through. 'Fucking bastard,' he thought every time the blond man crossed his mind.

His wounds had long since healed, carefully tended by Takuya who seemed to be on edge more often then not as of late. He hardly let his dark-haired lover out of his sight; much less let him go out into the city alone. Some would call him overprotective, but Kouji knew his brunette companion was just showing how much he cared; that was just how he was programmed.

Losing all track of time, the school year crept up on the boys. Or it would have had they not already been accepted to an American school in a place called Michigan. Known for muggy summers and subzero winters, a secondary school in a town by the name of Carson City had accepted the pair as exchange students, allowing them to complete their senior year in the States. Unfortunately, it meant leaving everything they had ever known behind; friends, remaining family, and their pasts all were heavily tied to Japan.

But this was a part of growing up, or so they assured themselves as they found their day of departure coming up fast. Their days were spent packing when they weren't out on the town with Kouichi, Junpei, and the younger brunettes, trying to fit an entire summer of activities into a measly two weeks. Try as they might, it didn't exactly work out. However, the movie theater made a killing off the teens, as did the food court in the local mall.

When the morning of 30 August dawned, it found Kouji and Takuya wrapped in each other's arms, wearing nothing with only their legs from the knee down twisted in the sheets. Shinya was asleep in his room, curled up with Tomoki who had spent the night, while Kouichi and Junpei had claimed the foldout couch as their own.

Behind the door to the voyageurs' room, music began to blare as 7AM rolled around. Jolted out of his sleep, the brunette slapped at the alarm clock, succeeding in only knocking it off the nightstand. Kouji groaned, slipping out of his lover's arms to slide off the bed into a seemingly boneless heap on the floor, fumbling for the alarm clock.

In two hours, the six teens would be showered, dressed and fed, already on the metro, surrounded by the suitcases Kouji and Takuya were taking with them. As the underground train drew steadily closer to Tokyo and the international airport, jitters of anxiety and excitement claimed the two teens. After all these years in Japan, they would finally be leaving and making new lives for themselves; and oddly enough, now they could hardly wait.

All the worries that had previously plagued their minds had fallen apart, sifting to ashes before fading away completely. They knew it would be hard to disappear, become different people, and abandon their friends, but it had to be done. Staying wasn't an option anymore; it was just too hard for either of the two to endure.

.x.

The airport was a whirlwind of commotion as families said their tearful goodbyes; friends giving hugs and pecks on the cheek away like candy while lovers shared more intimate moments before the intercom announced their time was up. The young adults clung to each other, arms linked as they maneuvered their way through the crowds to Takuya and Kouji's gate, waiting patiently through the security checks with surprising ease.

Having an hour to kill, since they had arrived dutifully early, everyone sat together in the lounge, chatting comfortably about what they thought America would be like, and taking bets how long the brunet and dark-haired teen would last before calling Japan, demanding to come home. Laughter and smiles were shared, tears hidden from view until a female voice announced in rapid Japanese that flight 285 was now boarding at gate C5.

As if a dam had been broken six times over, all of the teens burst into tears as they hung on for dear life, not wanting the self-proclaimed leaders of their gang to leave, but knowing it was inevitable. Kouji looked desperately at Takuya as Kouichi clung to him, seeing that his brunet lover was faring no better with both Shinya and Tomoki hanging off his arms and making quite the scene.

Junpei stood back, watching the siblings embrace, feeling just a bit left out until the travelers were able to pull themselves free of their adhesive friends. They pounced the round teen in unison, sending him crashing into a row of chairs, their collision marked with peals of rich laughter that rang pleasantly in the crowded terminal.

All too soon the final boarding call came across the speakers, and with their carry-on bags bursting with last minute gifts, including a stack of mix CDs along with burned DVDs of anime for the boys to enjoy on their new portable DVD player, Takuya and Kouji finally handed their tickets to the stewardess.

Finding their seats was a pain since people were still trying to shove their belongings into the overhead compartments, but at last the pair was settled in their row, the brunet claiming the window seat for himself the instant they got there. Kouji had rolled his eyes, though a smile was on his lips at the sight of his best friend being so excited to see miles and miles of ocean.

Pulling out his well-worn copy of Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite, his favorite horror author who called New Orleans, Louisiana home, Kouji made himself comfortable, looking forward to another intimate encounter with Tran, Luke, and of course, Andrew Compton.

Beside him, Takuya had already whipped out his Nintendo DS, his fingers frantically tapping away at the buttons as he fought his way through level after level of Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, a gift from Shinya in their last few minutes in Japan.

.x.

Roughly 7 hours into their flight, both young men could be found curled up with each other, a blanket haphazardly spread across them with their pillows nowhere in sight. A glistening string of drool hung from Takuya's parted lips went unnoticed, except by the steward who saw the pair and was reminded of his twin boys at home who had the habit of spending nights in each other's arms when the nightmares came calling. In fact, it was this man, one Lukas Albright, who had bestowed the boys with the blanket and the now missing pillows. He couldn't help but smile as the ebon-coifed teen snuggled closer to his friend, an arm slung protectively across his waist.

.x.

Sunlight filtering in through the small window that had been neglected during the night danced across Kouji's eyelids, causing him to squeeze them shut even tighter, murmuring something incoherent against Takuya's neck. In turn, this made the brunet pull his lover closer, squirming in his seat to try and regain circulation to his legs without actually waking up. Soft chatter filled the plane, and somewhere towards the back, a baby crying for a bottle made its' hunger known.

A masculine voice broke through the buzz of the passengers waking up, hungry with just enough energy to last until they arrived at their final destination. "We shall be landing in Detroit in about half an hour, and breakfast will be served in a few moments."

Upon hearing the mention of food, Takuya opened bleary chocolate eyes, only to find midnight hair obscuring his vision. He didn't know how it was possible, but somehow he had slipped in his seat and Kouji had become a contortionist overnight, his lithe frame bending at an impossible angle so that the brunet's face was buried in the crook of a pale neck.

"How on earth…?" he murmured, rubbing at his eyes. "Never mind, I don't think I want to know." Takuya decided, gently shaking his friend awake.

.x.

If you've never actually gotten to experience what it's like to try and retrieve your luggage and exit a plane in an efficient manner, our boys would be more than happy to tell you that it is an impossible task. Twenty full minutes after the plane had landed found the pair slinging their backpacks over their shoulders and waiting in the crushing line of people fighting to get off like the back of the plane was on fire or something.

Finally stepping foot onto American soil might have been a life-changing experience, in some sense. Not that either would ever admit that the simple act of exiting a plane altered their way of thinking, because it just didn't work that way with them. Sure, they were in a different country, but things honestly didn't seem that strange.

The airport was crowded, there were still families with screaming children, lovers never wanting to part, and friends shoving balloons and stuffed animals into each other's arms. And outside, the sun still shone, the air was still breathable, and the clouds were still fluffy.

When they had collected their luggage, and dragged it behind them all the way to the loading lane where their taxi was waiting, the sun that had been at its' zenith around the time they arrived had began to creep to the horizon. The smog-filled sky dulled the riot of colors that the sunset promised, but it was nonetheless beautiful to the Japanese teens.

An impatient honk rang in their ears, bringing them back to the sidewalk where they were standing, gawking like the tourists they were. Their cab driver was now leaning against the trunk, eyeing Kouji and Takuya.

"Y'all just going to stand there?" he drawled, his Texan accent laced with a bit of Detroit.

Smiling at the man, knowing that the ride to the nearest bus depot wouldn't be the least bit awkward, Takuya began to gather up their suitcases to put in the trunk. Kouji hurried to help, lifting the trunk's lid and rearranging the bags so all of the bloody things would fit.

Yeah, it wasn't Japan, and it wasn't exactly the city they had imagined, but America would suit them both just fine, as long as they had each other.