Traveling for your education was one of the most challenging things you have ever had the experience of doing. Growing up was hard enough, getting settled in places you never felt like you belonged in. Even in your current home within Japan, you felt odd. You weren’t originally from there—you almost like a tourist in your own home—and even though you never felt fully “settled”, the way Ichimatsu made you feel was just that—a sense of belonging. Separating from him that day was hard enough, trying not to bawl your eyes out in front of him as his tired eyes took in your face, as if trying to memorize you in his mind to stave off the feeling of missing you that he knew was sure to come. Now your only form of contact was from the prison of your computer screen—your messy-haired boyfriend half asleep while he laid in his makeshift bed, feeling so safe within your presence that he began to drift off. The time difference now present between the two of you was killer—you hardly found a time to talk with your boyfriend through anything other than texting, but you both tried your best to make it work. You loved each other so deeply, the distance didn’t matter. “..how are your classes?” he questioned in a murmur, blinking the sleepiness from his eyes as he fixed his gaze upon you, soft adoration in his pupils.