"…I hope you know that, no matter what happens between us, I will always be there to protect you."

"And I will do the same."

"Has it…has it really been that long?"

"What, a couple of months since we had that talk, or the last three and a half years of being together?"

"Please, please tell me you're joking? There is no way that it has been–"

"Hun, it's been that long – we both know what's to come soon, anyway."

The couple has been, for the past couple of hours, sitting on one of the docks looking out towards the ocean, reminiscing on some of their fonder memories, both good and bad.

"You know, Sora has been trying to reason with you for quite some time now–"

"I know, but I don't care. I don't care that we're only a half-hour apart – it's still going to hurt not seeing you every day."

Biyomon's voice cracked through her statement, and she let her tears run freely.

"I'm going to miss you. I don't know how I'm going to survive."

"There, there," Hawkmon said, taking his girlfriend into his wings to try and comfort her. "We can't stop people from growing up and going after their dreams; if Sora wants to be a famous fashion designer, then you need to show her the support she will be craving for once you both get there. It's going to be hard for everyone involved, but you know what they say – absence makes the heart grow fonder. Besides, you'll be home for the holidays, and we can catch up then."

"I…I don't think that'll be enough," the pink bird managed to say through her light sobbing.

"Then we'll work something else out…anything to make you happy again."

"The only thing that'll make me somewhat content is a change of heart from Sora, but I know it's too late for that."

With that, Biyomon broke from Hawkmon's embrace and started her flight home.

"I'll see you in a few days, okay."

"Okay – love you."

"Love you too."

And with that, she was off to her home.

Dinner that night at the Takenouchi's was off.

Way, way off.

Biyomon was keeping silent – her reasoning seemed fair to her. Sora was having what any new college student went through – nervousness, excitement…all of those feelings wrapped into one. Mr. Takenouchi, who's been working at Kyoto University, made some free time in his schedule to spend the weekend with his family, but more than anything, to give a proper goodbye to his daughter. Mrs. Takenouchi, whether for lack of awareness or understanding everyone's emotions but knew it was best not to intervene, was mostly silent throughout.

"So, Sora," Mr. Takenoucki asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm not going to lie and say that I'm fully ready for this – I am a bit nervous about adjusting to life outside of my comfort zone."

"You're not that far away – a simple ride is all you need to be back here, and feel free to come home whenever you want."

"Thanks, Mom."

Biyomon kept to herself, playing with her food by the using of her fork.

"Always remember – keep your head above water. Don't get too far behind, but don't get too carried away. Give a little you time every now and again to keep your sanity in check."

Sora laughed at her father's advice. "Don't worry – my sanity will be kept up very well, thank you very much."

Biyomon looked at from her plate to see the people around her waiting for her to speak; not wanting any part of it, she excused herself and scurried into Sora's bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

"Oh, dear…"

"Sora, what's the issue with your partner? It's unusual to see her like this."

The young woman looked at her mother's broken expression before saying, "I think she doesn't want to leave here – she doesn't want to leave Hawkmon behind."

Her father, being a little out of the loop, took a couple seconds to remind himself who Hawkmon was. Once he was done, he spoke, "Oh, she doesn't want to leave because she's afraid of what might happen between her and her boyfriend, correct?"

"Yes, Dad, that's the exact reason. But instead of talking to me or to anyone for that matter, she's in hiding."

"Poor thing – you know, it was hard for your father and me to be separate in the beginning, but we managed to make it work."

"How?"

"Being open, being honest, and putting aside some time to talk and reconnect – that's how. If Biyomon is serious with Hawkmon, that's what she needs to do…and I think you need to tell her this."

Sora nodded her head, understanding what her father was saying.

"Alright; I'll be back."

Heading towards her room, she took a second to compose herself before knocking on her bedroom door.

"What?"

"Mind if we talk?"

"…Fine."

With that, Sora opened her door to see her partner lying on her bed, face down in a pillow. Closing the door, she approached the bird and gave a gentle rub on her back.

"Look, I get it – you don't want to leave."

"Gee, how long did it take for you to figure that out?"

The pink bird got up and off of the bed and stood on the carpeted floor, her wings crossed over and her face wore a stern expression.

"What do you want from me, Biyo? This is what I want to do with my life, and I thought of all people, you would be the one that would be the most supportive of me. If it's because of–"

"There's your reasoning. How…why…I don't get it! Don't you realize that I'm going to suffer without him there; and it's not like I'm wasting my time flying out here every day because people are still up in arms about us. It's ridiculous."

"I understand your stance with that," Sora explained, "but you need to realize that, outside of a small group of people, you'll be seen as an enemy. They don't want to get to understand; they'll never understand, and no matter how much it hurts, you need to accept that."

"…Okay, fine, so I accept that. It doesn't make me feel better. I'm still hurt!"

"I get that you're hurt! You don't think I understand – you aren't the only being who's leaving someone behind."

Biyomon stayed silent to let Sora continue to speak.

"My mom, who has done everything for me – I want to give back to her in more ways than ever. I want to make sure she doesn't need to do anything for me anymore once I'm out of school. And she's not the only one I'll be missing – how do you think I feel with Matt? He won't be there, and in fact, he's doing his own thing, so it'll be hard for everyone involved."

Sora knelt down so that she was eye-level with her partner.

"I supported you two throughout all of these years; it has been amazing to see the love that the two of you share. This is one thing that I love, and right now, it needs to be in the center of my life; if I can support you throughout your journey, why can't you do the same for me?"

Biyomon couldn't take much more – at that last statement, she embraced her partner, tears flowing freely from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I…I do support you, and I want you to do real well! I…I'm just going to need help, that's all."

"And I'll need all the help I can get, so we'll both be in the same boat. We can help each other out, okay?"

"Okay."

It was enough for Biyomon at that moment to convince herself that, even without her boyfriend close to her, everything will work itself out one way or another.

The dreadful morning came all too quick for Hawkmon. Hearing the alarm go off by Yolei's bedside, it took a couple seconds before the sound was gone.

"Today's the day...are you ready?"

The avian turned towards his partner, who was now stirring awake.

"I…I guess I am."

Allowing Yolei to get up from her bed and letting her freshen up in the bathroom, Hawkmon was left alone – just as he wanted to be.

"Am I…really ready?" The avian whispered aloud, pondering on this for a little bit.

Biyomon came to him the day after her and Sora's talk, and said that she felt much better than she did prior on the fact that they'll be alone for quite some time. While he was happy that his girlfriend was taking all of this in stride, he feels that he has been faking his emotions for far too long.

"Oh, Biyo, I'm going to miss you…" and with that, Hawkmon allowed himself to cry for the first time. It only lasted for a couple of second before Yolei came back in.

"Are you okay?"

Hearing her question, the avian quickly wiped his face clean of his tears.

"Yeah, yeah…why would you say that?"

"Because I saw you upset a minute ago."

Knowing that his charade was up, Hawkmon opened his feelings about the situation.

"It's just…Biyomon was upset not too long ago, and I kept telling her that everything will be fine. Now, she's better, but I'm feeling a bit down. I want to be brave for the both of us, but I don't think I can do that anymore…"

And again, he started to cry.

"Hawkmon," Yolei said, moving towards her bed and embracing his partner, "why didn't you open up sooner?"

"I…I don't know. I thought I needed to be strong."

"You know this wasn't going to be easy for any of us, but that doesn't mean you shut yourself off from the people that care about you. You could have gone to me, to my parents, my siblings, our friends – you could have avoided all of this."

Rubbing her fingers through his feathers, Yolei continued. "Remember, if you start to feel down about this whole thing, come to anyone and talk. We've seen you and Biyomon grow together, and we all want to best for you both. Please, don't beat yourself up over this – it doesn't help you at all."

After a few more minutes of embrace, Hawkmon spoke.

"You're right – I need to talk more. I was really scared to open up because I didn't want to seem weak, but–"

"Now you know not to do that, okay?"

"…Okay. Thank you Yolei."

"Anytime, partner. I'll always be here for you."

With the majority of her belonging at the campus, and seeing that orientation would be starting up the next day, it was time for Sora and Biyomon to leave.

"Alright," Mrs. Takenouchi said, "you be good out there."

"I will be, Mom; thanks for everything."

The two embraced for some time before breaking off.

"And you," the older women said, bending down towards Biyomon, "you keep her safe, okay?"

"You don't need to worry – I always do."

After their embrace, the duo left the apartment and made their way over to the station where they spotted Yolei and Hawkmon.

"Well…are you ready?"

Sora took a few seconds to answer Yolei's question, but ended up responding, "I guess I am."

"We'll leave you two alone," Yolei said, setting Hawkmon down as her and Sora went over to the side.

"I guess that…this is it."

"Yeah."

A couple of seconds passed before the two embraced.

"I'll…I'll try to write, video chat, anything on a regular basis whenever you want me to," the avian said, clutching his girlfriend tightly.

"And I'll do the same," was the pink bird's response as she held her boyfriend tight as well.

After a few minutes, it was time to board.

"I don't want to let go."

"You know I have to – it'll be hard, but everything will be okay."

As the two broke off, they still intertwined digits.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

With a nudging of their beaks and a goodbye kiss, Biyomon was off towards the station with Sora, while Hawkmon and Yolei waved as the train left.

"It'll all work itself out, right?"

"…Right, Yolei; everything will be fine."

As the two embraced, they know that their friend, and someone's significant other, will be back sooner rather than later, with memories that they've made and stories to share…just as they hope to have to share with them. As life moves on, it's best important to keep the memories close, whether good or bad, and to always give someone a chance – you never know what could come from it.

Well - there it is, the end of the story. Finally! I've been at this for a long while and it feels good to be done with this...even if it took close to three years to complete. Hey, my life was a whole lot of hectic during that stretch. Well, with that, I hope y'all enjoyed this story, and until next time, Pantastic is out; thanks again for the support! :)