"Ehh? You're graduating summa cum laude?! That's amazing, Yuuki-chan!" Tsukushi gushed over the phone. She had just gotten back from the island with Tsukasa and called her friend to let her know she was back safely. The news was, while incredible, not entirely unexpected, since Yuuki had always had impeccable grades ever since elementary school, and had worked incredibly hard all through university.

"It was such a surprise to me too!" Yuuki confessed. She sounded slightly drunk and effervescent - considering she had such good news, Tsukushi supposed she couldn't blame her.

"And that's not even the best part!" Yuuki continued. "Remember that firm I did the summer internship with, the one Domyouji-san recommended me for?"

When Tsukushi gave her assent, Yuuki giggled. "Well, they have an affiliated firm in the UK, and they apparently liked me so much they recommended me to that firm! I'm going to work in London!"

Tsukasa, sitting next to Tsukushi in the limo, was checking his emails when he heard the screaming coming from Tsukushi, and astonishingly enough, her cell phone as well. He gaped for a moment - he had never known his wife to be prone to histrionics, and the girl on the phone was screaming loud enough to wake the dead!

"Yuuki-chan is going to work in London!" Tsukushi screamed at him joyfully when he interrupted to ask what was going on.

"That's incredible… a commoner getting to work overseas, and right after graduation too? Congratulations, Yuuki-chan!" Tsukasa bellowed into the phone, which he wrested from Tsukushi's grip. "We should get the whole gang together and celebrate! Tomorrow night, at the Domyouji house!" he decided. He had grown fond of the commoner girl over the years. She was a good friend to Tsukushi, and she was clever and cute. He'd thought about hiring her, but Tsukushi had just frowned and told him that Yuuki needed to make her own way in life when he'd brought the topic up.

Tsukushi tsked at him. "Don't make decisions all by yourself! That does sound like a good idea, though… Yuuki-chan, are you free tomorrow night? You must be very busy with the packing… when are you leaving?"

Soon, all the details were hammered out and Tsukasa was busily calling catering companies to find one that was able to cover the party on such short notice, and that served food he could bring himself to eat. He supposed that since it was a special occasion he could compromise a little… if there was no uni sushi he would have to deal with it. He was becoming so mature!

Next to him, Tsukushi said her goodbyes to Yuuki and hung up, then rested her head on his shoulder with a happy sigh. "London, hmm? How exciting for Yuuki!" she mused.

He laughed at her. "You've been to London! And all over the world, too!" How silly of her, being jealous of Yuuki.

"Well, yes but… Yuuki's never been able to go overseas before, she couldn't afford it! This is so exciting for her, and it's for business too. An overseas firm recruiting you… that's the commoner's dream," she said teasingly, borrowing his overused term for normal people.

He huffed. "Of course I know that, stupid!" he exclaimed. "Do you think Soujiroh knows?" he wondered.

"Of course he does! He's the first person she would go to with this kind of news!" Tsukushi scoffed.

"Hmm, that's true," he acknowledged before calling Nishida to command him to settle the details for the party tomorrow, since Tsukasa had gotten annoyed after the first two catering companies he'd called had been fully booked.

"We should go shopping tonight, get something nice for Yuuki-chan," Tsukushi commented when he'd gotten off the phone. "Maybe a pretty necklace or a watch… what do you think?" He hummed in agreement, settling back into the seat of the limo to close his eyes for a bit.

Later that evening, the F4 were sitting in the VIP room of one of the bars they frequented, when Tsukasa called Rui. "Hey Rui, I'm not coming tonight. I'm going shopping with Tsukushi for Yuuki-chan's graduation gift. By the way, tell the others: we're having a going away party for Yuuki-chan tomorrow night at my place. Make sure to be there!"

Rui blinked. "Going away party?" he asked, confused. Had he missed something?

"Oh, yeah! Yuuki-chan apparently got an amazing job offer to work in a London firm! She's leaving in two weeks. Tsukushi and I figured she'll be busy packing and making arrangements, so we're having the party earlier rather than later in case she's too busy later on."

"Ehh, she's landed a good job then. Good for her," Rui commented before hanging up.

Soujiroh looked up from the girl who was nestled into his side. "What's up?" he asked.

Rui flipped his phone shut and placed it on the table. "Apparently Yuuki-chan is graduating and moving to London for work. Tsukasa isn't coming because he and Tsukushi are shopping for her graduation gift, and the farewell party is tomorrow."

Soujiroh looked a little shellshocked. "Yuuki is moving… to London?"

Akira looked up from the middle-aged woman he was flirting with. "You mean you didn't know? I would've thought you would be the first person she would go to with that news."

Soujiroh extricated himself from the girls who were wrapped around him. "I didn't, no clue at all. Good for her though, commoners like her don't get this kind of opportunity often. Excuse me," he said abruptly, leaving the little mezzanine area.

"Sou-kun!" the girls called, pouting. Without him here, they would be made to leave the VIP area and go back downstairs. Over their heads, Rui and Akira shared a meaningful glance. They both knew where Soujiroh was going.

Yuuki tied her long hair back into a bun, rolled up her sleeves, and narrowed her eyes in determination. "It's time… to start packing!" she declared. She knew the apartment she was living in would be a small expat's apartment, so she would have to throw away most of her stuff. She wanted to empty out her room so her parents would have the option of renting it out while she was gone if they needed the extra income.

With a big black trash bag in one corner of her room and a huge box in another, Yuuki was prepared to clear her childhood room of all the debris she had accumulated in the first twenty-three years of her life. What she couldn't bear to throw away and didn't want to bring with her would be going into storage in the basement.

Yuuki was immersed in her enormous task - or rather, she had gotten distracted after finding an old shoebox full of pictures of her and Yuuki in their middle school years and was currently flipping through it smiling - that when her parents called her, she jumped in surprise.

"Yuuki! A gentleman is here to see you!" her mother called in a mischievous voice that Yuuki knew meant she would be getting an interrogation after whoever it was left.

"All right, I'll be right down!" she replied, leaving the pictures on the floor and wiping her dusty hands on a rag she'd been using the clear the dust she'd found while digging up things that hadn't been touched in years. She hurried down the stairs and stopped short in surprise when she saw the unexpected guest standing at her door.

"Nishikado-san?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"Yuuki-chan, may I talk to you for a second?" he said with a nervous smile. Now she was even more confused - what would he have to be nervous about?

"Um…" she was about to invite him in, but glanced up the stairs and saw her parents peeking at them from the second floor and rolled her eyes, knowing that they would eavesdrop unashamedly at her conversation. She rolled her eyes at them.

"Sure, let me just grab my coat and shoes and we can take a walk in the park. Come on in and wait."

Five minutes later, the two of them were the only ones walking through the dark path winding through the park, pressed against each other for warmth.

"So… what did you want to talk to me about that was so urgent it couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Yuuki prompted curiously.

He coughed. This was it. "How come you didn't tell me you're moving to London?" he blurted out before he could come up with a more tactful way to phrase his question. The moment the words were out he cringed; they now hung between them awkwardly.

"Oh…" she said softly, one side of her mouth quirking up in a smile. "I guess word gets round quickly. Tsukushi told you about the party tomorrow?"

"She… Yuuki-chan, why are you so nonchalant about the whole thing? You're leaving for London in two weeks, and you didn't even tell me?" he exclaimed, his frustration bursting out of him in the moment.

"Huh?" Yuuki asked, completely perplexed. "What are you going on about now? What does it matter to you?" she said, her brow wrinkled in confusion.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I care, Yuuki-chan! We're…" He stopped and considered it for a moment. Really, what were they? He now knew what he wanted them to be, but somehow he was embarrassed to say it out loud. "Anyway, why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Ah…" Yuuki was still confused, but tried to make him feel better regardless. "I tried to tell you earlier today, so don't feel like I forgot you or anything!" she offered tentatively, hoping to make him smile again.

Somehow, it didn't work. Instead, his face grew even darker. "You what." He said it flatly, his brows drawing together in a scowl.

"I, um… why are you so worked up about this, though? Are you all right?" she moved closer to him and placed a hand on his forearm, looking up searchingly at him.

He jerked his arm away, scowling, and started pacing up and down. "No, dammit, I'm not all right!" he snarled in frustration. "I didn't realise that was what you wanted to tell me!" There were so many things he wanted to tell her, but he wasn't sure if he could now. He didn't want her to think he was trying to keep her from her dreams, because God knew he wasn't. He just… why had he come here again?

"I understand, and I don't mind, really. It happens all the time. I don't get why you're making such a big deal out of this though. I'm not leaving for two more weeks, even though the party seems like it's on short notice."

He abruptly stopped and whipped around to look at her. "Of course you don't understand!" he said angrily, then his shoulders slumped in resignation. "I just… I wanted to…"

She stepped closer. "Wanted to what?" she prompted.

"I wanted to ask you to date me, okay?" he spat. "After you left earlier… I realised how stupid I was being, because it's only my fear of commitment that made me keep you at arm's length before. I just…" he scrubbed a hand down his face. "I know it's stupid because we would never be like my parents, and yet…" he trailed off helplessly.

"Nishikado-san…" Yuuki said helplessly, not knowing how she should respond to that. This was all she had ever wanted, but just a little too late.

"And today I hear that you're going to London?! I won't stop you, Yuuki-chan. That's not what this is about at all. I'm so proud of you for doing so well at university and getting such a great opportunity. You should definitely go, this will be good for you. Just… don't forget me when you're overseas?" The moment those last words left his mouth, he cringed inwardly. How pathetic!

Yuuki's heart broke a little. He was right - she had no intention of backing out of the offer now that she had accepted. She was excited to live and work overseas. And yet… thinking of all that could have been had the timing just been a little better, she couldn't help but feel wistful.

"Um… Nishikado-san," she started tentatively. "I know I'm going to London, but… that's in two weeks."

He looked up sharply. "Two weeks is hardly - "

She frowned at him. "I wasn't finished," she told him. "Besides, you have a fancy private jet and all. You can visit me whenever you have time."

At her words, hope started to unfurl in his chest. "You mean…?"

"Besides," she continued like she hadn't heard him. "I won't stay in London forever. I'm an only child, you know, and my parents are getting on in life. Of course I would come back to take care of them in their old age."

He pulled her close to him in a crushing hug. "Yuuki-chan…" he whispered, burying his face in her hair. They would make it work - he was determined. This was possibly the most important thing he would ever do.

Hello everyone! I am back! (Just for now. It's been a while, hasn't it?) Hope you enjoyed this little continuation - this could be it, or I could do one more chapter set a few years in the future some time later, if the plot bunny comes back to me. As always, I would love to hear what you think about this piece.