Authorly preamble or something: Still lagging behind with the manga, so if canon conclusively josses this your forgiveness is appreciated. Whether or not this fits into my personal canon is another matter entirely, and one I've yet to settle.


Speechless

speech·less (spēch'lĭs) adj.
1. Temporarily unable to speak, as through astonishment.
2. Refraining from speech; silent.
3. Unexpressed or inexpressible in words.

Ai's ears weren't real, as it turned out. She and Midori had known each other a while before she finally worked up the courage to tell him, nervous and a little embarrassed, unable to meet his eyes. She was afraid he'd be angry, which he had to admit surprised him more than the revelation itself.

"I know they're a bit silly," she stammered with a forced laugh, "but I feel weird without them, like everyone's staring at me or something, and I've gotten so used to them, they're not the nuisance you might think..."

As she spoke, her nimble fingers worried one ear until it pulled loose and began to slip out of her hair. She moved quickly to correct it, but Midori was quicker, and he clipped it back into place gently as Ai's cheeks burned. He'd never really had a way with words — that was Ai's jurisdiction, thankfully — but when he tilted Ai's chin up with his fingertips and kissed her without a word, he knew it was as good an answer as any.

Ai seemed to think it was the right answer, anyway.

It was enough for Midori to know Ai had lost her ears; it never really occurred to him to ask for details, and not knowing the circumstances didn't particularly bother him. Ai either thought the same or just didn't want to talk about it, and either way was fine with Midori. He didn't want to push her, after all. Though they weren't immature enough to pretend the conversation had never happened, Ai never brought it up again, and Midori only once.

"You know, you'll have to stop wearing them eventually," he said, and Ai grudgingly agreed. "I'll make you a deal — you stop wearing those ears when I lose mine. How does that sound?"

Ai took a long moment to digest the words Midori had spent so long carefully choosing, during which Midori was fairly certain his heart had stopped beating entirely, and though she offered not so much as a word in response, the bright smile that lit her face was all the answer Midori needed.

After all, sometimes words just get in the way.