AN: Sorry for my lateness. My family came over for independence day and it was hectic. But I'm good now so hopefully the next chapter won't take too long to post. :) And I'm sorry about this chapter's shortness, but something really big happens in the next one and I couldn't really decide where to end this... Gah, I'm babbling TT Oh yeah, and chapter 42 of shugo chara... WTF?!?!? We WILL get our happy ending AT ALL COSTS!! I don't care how Peach-Pit does it, but they have to...

Disclaimer: Whoopsi doodles; I forgot the disclaimer in the last chapter... Well, I think it's kinda obvious that Shugo Chara's not mine. :(


Shutting the door behind him, Ikuto's attention was quickly drawn to Amu, who was looking at him strangely with her hands on her hips.

"What's up with you?" Amu asked, staring intently at Ikuto. "Why were you so bitter to our new neighbor?"

"It was nothing."

"It was something."

"I was just irritated by the whole Gaito issue, okay?"

Amu's gaze softened as she looked at her boyfriend.

"Yeah," she said quietly. She walked up to him and gave him a warm hug. "Everything's going to be fine. Gaito will never find us."

"Of course," Ikuto replied, surprised at her. "Don't worry about me. As long as things stay as normal as they were this morning-"

"Normal?" Amu interrupted, giving him an incredulous look.

Ikuto ignored her and continued, "As long as things don't change, I'm fine." He reached around her and pulled her close to him, blowing into her ear. Her face flushed deeply which caused his smirk to appear. This was turning into a ritual. "And nothing's changed yet."

"Yeah," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Wait a minute; weren't we supposed to be talking about your manners with Kirai?"

Ikuto looked annoyed that she was talking about his new neighbor so familiarly but responded nevertheless, "I'll work on them."

"Good," she said with a smile. "Now head off to work or you'll be late."

"Yes, your highness," he said stiffly, saluting her.

"You're supposed to salute to royalty?"

"Quit picking on me. I wasn't the top of my class as you know."

"You're supposed to bow. So since you say I'm 'your highness' then you must treat me so. Now, bow!"

"What!?"

"Bow."

He stepped forward and kissed the top of her head. "Sorry, I'm rebelling against the royal family."

"Then the police will arrest you."

"As long as you're the one doing the arresting," Ikuto began, taking one of her hands and encircling it around his wrist like a hand cuff. "I'll go along willingly." Amu's face turned bright red at his words and grew brighter as he leaned down to her ear level. "Make sure you treat me well."

"Pervert!" Amu screeched, pulling away from him. He whimpered quietly and launched himself at her, pulling her into his arms again. Amu yanked herself away and began running around the apartment, Ikuto at her heels, while shouting, "Ikuto you perv."

"I was wondering when you would say that," he chuckled, finally catching her. As they tried to regain their breath, Amu glanced at the clock.

"Holy shit, you're gonna be late again! One of these days, the club will stop hiring you."

Ikuto didn't respond; he just stared at her.

"Wow, Amu. It's not often I hear you curse." Amu's hands flew to her mouth. "But I like it." He pulled her hands away and planted his lips on hers. His arms tightened around her waist as she welcomed it and he, of course, deepened it. Reluctantly pulling away, he whispered breathlessly in her ear, "See ya."

Before Amu had time to regain her thoughts, Ikuto was already out the door, violin in hand. Amu raised a hand to her lips, lightly touching them with her fingertips. It's not often that they kissed that passionately.

A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts and she mentally shook herself as she twisted the brass knob and pulled. Kirai stood waiting on the other side, a big grin on his face.

"Hey, Amu," he greeted.

"Hi, Kirai," she said, a little surprised at seeing him.

"I was wondering if you could help me unpack. I'd like to get it finished as quickly as I can. So, if you have the time…"

"Sure," she said, returning to her old self. "Let's go!"

"Great," Kirai said, giving her a smile. 'Perfect,' he thought.

"Man, it's cold in here," Amu said after fifteen minutes of unpacking.

"Yeah, sure is," Kirai said, looking towards the room his father was sleeping in, the door firmly locked of course. "I didn't install the heater yet so…"

"Oh," Amu replied. "Well, why don't we take a break and go back over to my apartment. We could have some hot tea."

"That sounds good," Kirai said, making his eyes sparkle for the effect.

'All according to plan,' he thought as he followed Amu to her and Ikuto's apartment. 'And if I'm correct, every musician at that club only performs for twenty minutes at time, meaning Ikuto will be coming home soon.' A wicked smile appeared on his face as he sat at the small dinner table, Amu facing away from him towards the tea pot. 'Perfect.'

"What kind of tea do you want?" Amu asked, turning to face him.

"Whatever you're having."

Amu smiled and turned back to the cupboards, getting two cups. Kirai silently lost the attitude that he'd been keeping up; the one he thought would best attract the girl. He took a quick glance at her behind, quickly approving. He stopped staring as she turned to him, two steaming cups of tea in her hands.

"Here you go," she said, placing one in front of him. "I hope that warms you up."

"Thank you, Amu," he replied politely, inwardly cringing at his choice of words. He'd never say anything like that under normal circumstances.

She seemed to accept it all the same and smiled, turning back to her cup of tea. He took this time to actually study her appearance. Her sense of style was great; he approved of the gothic punk attire. Her long pink hair looked like it would feel nice entangled in his fingers. Her expressive golden eyes would look amazing when hazy with lust or half crazed with passion. And her lips; they looked so sweet that he just wanted to taste them right then and there. He quickly tried to shake off his thoughts, but to no avail. After all, nearly all of his private thoughts centered on women and everything related to that subject.

His eyes were still zeroed in on her lips and she had yet to notice, gazing at the tea in her hands. She was innocent and the innocent ones were always fun. He stared to imagine what her lips would look like swollen with his kisses when the doorknob turned and Ikuto stepped in, immediately freezing as he caught sight of Kirai.

"Ikuto!" Amu shouted happily. "You're back."

Ikuto didn't respond; he just glared at Kirai who glared defiantly back.

"Do you want some tea?" Amu asked cheerily.

"No," Ikuto finally said coldly, never taking his eyes from Kirai.

"Um," Kirai started, feigning awkwardness. "I think I should go now." On the inside, he was pleased everything went according to plan and Ikuto saw him alone with Amu.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Ikuto tore his eyes from Kirai to shoot Amu a surprised and hurt glance which she didn't notice.

"Yeah," Kirai said with a small smile. He gave her a small wave. "Bye."

Amu shut the door behind him and thought out loud, "I wonder what that was all about."

Ikuto only grunted in reply. Amu wordlessly walked towards the fridge and pushed Kirai from her mind as she looked through the shelves. "What would you like to eat for dinner, Ikuto?"

"Nothing; I'm not hungry." When Amu turned to face him questioningly, he said," I'm just gonna go to bed; I'm really tired." And with that, he wordlessly walked toward their bedroom.

Amu was left alone in the kitchen with no one but her thoughts. She turned back to the fridge, frowning, and twisted a can of Coke out of the six-pack. She snapped the can open and sat down heavily at the dinner table, sipping absently from her soda.

'What was up with Ikuto?' she thought, swallowing a mouthful of the strong bubbly liquid. 'He seemed really annoyed at something. Wait a minute; could this somehow be connected to Kirai? After all, he started acting weird once we met our neighbor.' Amu took another sip. 'No, it's probably just Gaito. But Kirai is a possibility. And all of the feelings I felt coming from Ikuto seem very familiar… too bad I can't remember what they are.'

Amu stood up and rinsed the half empty can out n the sink and threw it in the recycling bin. She looked at the two tea cups she'd used with Kirai and quickly washed them in the sink, the hot water burning her skin. She didn't even notice; she was just too deep in her thoughts. Drying her now pink hands, she opened up a cupboard and pulled out a bag of strawberry flavored Twizzlers. Ikuto had picked them out. She pulled one out and absently gnawed on it as she made her way to the bedroom.

Ikuto was lying on the bed when she came in. She gazed at him as she walked by into the bathroom, taking a pair of pajamas with her. Quickly brushing her teeth and changing, she stepped back out and crawled into bed beside Ikuto.

"Ikuto," she whispered.

"Yeah?" he responded in the same tone. He turned to face her though Amu couldn't see his face in the darkness except with the dim light of the alarm clock. But right now, her head was blocking out its light so it was of no help.

"Are you okay?"

"Never better."

Silence fell as Amu ran out of things to say.

"If you're done, can I go back to sleep?" he asked shortly.

"I- I just wanted to know if everything's alright. You seemed very upset earlier."

Ikuto remained silent for a while, not speaking. Suddenly, he crushed her to his chest, causing her to lose her breath.

"Do you love me?" he asked. Amu could see his eyes since she moved and they were boring directly into hers, completely serious.

"Well, yes of cour-,"

"And do you love me and only me?"

"Yes, with all my heart." She was no longer embarrassed of saying such things. She knew it to be entirely true.

Ikuto sighed with relief at her words and dipped his head to kiss her. She responded automatically, her hands moving up to stroke his face. Soon, they broke apart for breath and Ikuto rolled Amu over so that she was beside him. He molded his body around hers, her back to his chest, and listened to her breathing slow down.

"What was that about?" she asked. "Did you begin to doubt me?"

"No," he responded firmly, holding her securely. "I just wanted to hear you say it out loud."

"I love you."

"And I love you too."

Ikuto could practically see her smile in the darkness and felt her body become slack as she fell asleep.

"Thank you, Amu," he whispered. "But that doesn't make me feel any better about him."


AN: Again, sorry for the lack of action and plotliness, but I'll make up for it in the next chapter; I promise!! Anyway, please review!! I'll update faster if you do. :)