She swept the wet cloth over the table once more, trying to round up the few crumbs that had evaded her. All of the chefs took turns cleaning up the cafeterias after meals, so she didn't have to do it every day (or even every week), but every once in a while the task fell to Amu. It wasn't exactly hard work and she didn't mind it, but she would rather be cooking.

Well, she was almost done, anyway. There were only two more tables that needed to be cleared of middlemeal's leftovers. Luckily, the people of the commorancy were very tidy in general and never wasteful, so that certainly made her current job easier.

Absently brushing a strand of pink hair from her face, Amu continued her earlier train of thought… How the heck was she supposed to balance all this? She wanted to spend time with her family, and she wanted to meet with Shinku and Rima outside of work, and she wanted to get to know Utau, but… Most of all, she really just wanted to spend her time with Ikuto. Maybe it was selfish, but she wanted to keep him all to herself, wanted to be with him every minute, to hold him close and breathe him in.

She knew the other people she was close to were a bit upset that they didn't get to see her very often, but that was just too bad, for now.

In three months' time, they'd have her all to themselves.

Her stomach suddenly clenching, Amu fought down the bile in her throat, struggling not to throw up in the rag bucket.

Don't. Don't. Don't leave.

-likefireandgunpowder-

Tucking the book underneath her arm, Amu punched in the entrance code for Ikuto's home. For once, though, she wasn't there to see him.

Although, if I'm being honest, it would definitely be an added bonus, Amu thought wryly as the door slid open. She laughed a little bit to herself, stepping through the open frame. Inside, all was quiet, but the young woman took a few hesitant steps forward, anyway, clearing her throat in case Ikuto, Aruto, or Souko was home. When no one answered, Amu walked over to Utau's door and rapped her knuckles on it a few times.

"Yes?" Utau's voice called out in reply. "Come in."

Please don't let me be overstepping her boundaries, please don't let me be annoying her, please don't let me say something dumb, please, Chooser…

Amu took a deep breath for courage before pushing the door open. "Um, hello."

"Amu." If Utau was surprised to see her, she didn't show it. "What are you doing here?"

Ikuto's younger sister was lying in bed, beautiful as always, of course. The Tsukiyomis were all so lovely to look at that she felt plain and awkward in comparison. But not with Ikuto! she reminded herself. No, never with Ikuto. Standing by his side made her feel joyful, not embarrassed, and when he looked at her, she felt more beautiful, rather than less. Focus, Amu! her brain scolded her. Now's not the time to get all lovey-dovey about Ikuto!

"Hi, Utau. I was thinking I'd like to spend some time with you, get to know you better…" She wished her heart would stop beating so fast. Dang it, she just wasn't good at being outgoing…

"Well, what did you want to do, then?" Utau asked her, sounding intrigued, if a little impatient.

At this, Amu lifted up the book she'd been holding. "I thought we could talk. Or, I could read to you, if you're tired."

"Read to me?" The blonde looked insulted. "I'm an invalid, not a simpleton."

"Of course not!" Amu flushed with embarrassment. "I never meant… I just… This one's from the Library, so you might not have read it before. And it always made me feel better when my mom read to me when I was sick as a child…"

At this, Utau's face softened. "Ah… Then, I guess you can. But, if you're a bad reader, I'm reading to you, okay?"

Amu grinned. "Sure!"

-likefireandgunpowder-

"Look, Ikuto!" Amu laughed, motioning for him to come closer. He obliged, walking over from where he'd been standing and sitting down within arms' length of her.

The two of them were in the Library. They'd come under the pretext of getting a new book for Amu and Utau to read together, the two of them having plowed through the last one. "I'd like to come next time," Ikuto had said after learning of his girlfriend's visits with his sister, and there had been a softness in his eyes that told her he appreciated the effort she was making. "Amu's voice is so lovely, I could listen to it for hours." If he'd intended to make her blush, then he'd succeeded. Amu's face was red but pleased.

However, they'd already found a suitable book, so now the couple was amusing themselves by looking through the other tomes- specifically the dictionary, in Amu's case. "Hand it over?" Ikuto asked, holding out a hand for the book.

Amu passed it on, scowling when he effortlessly supported its weight with that single hand. "Show-off," she grumbled.

The young man smirked, shifting the book so it rested in his lap. "What word were you looking at?" he asked.

"Pink," Amu admitted, giving a vividly pink strand of hair a light tug.

"Of course," Ikuto teased.

"Oh, be quiet, you. But seriously, couldn't they have found a better description for the noun than 'pink color or pigment'?"

At first she'd wondered whether it was okay to think something like this about an object produced by the commorancy. But then she'd realized that the people who wrote the dictionary were human, just like them, and prone to making mistakes; that knowledge had eased her anxiety. And besides, seeing Ikuto's smile was worth it.

"That's so incredibly helpful," the dark-haired man remarked. No sarcasm there.

He flipped through a couple pages. Amu was content to merely sit and watch his face for a little while, so she noticed when his eyebrows rose. "What is it?" the pinkette inquired, her curiosity piqued.

"Two things." Ikuto beckoned her closer, then glanced at her when she scooted over. "Not close enough."

"But I can see just-"

"You need to be closer," he interrupted.

Amu flushed and moved still closer until they were sitting side by side with their arms touching. "Is this good?" she asked.

"Yep." He nodded, looking satisfied.

"Why do you need me to be so close?" Amu questioned. Not that she minded, but it made it hard to concentrate…

"I like to have you next to me."

He'd been looking down at the dictionary as he said it, as if afraid she'd laugh or scold him. Amu blinked; then smiled tenderly. "Mm. Me, too." After a few seconds, she spoke once more. "So what were you going to show me?"

"First of all," he instructed, "look at that picture."

Amu leaned in slightly and peered at the page. "Huh. It looks like a kitchen knife, sorta, but different. I've never seen that before, though. 'Scalpel'. But- HEY-"

"I know." He was watching her.

"Somebody inked out the definition!" Amu's voice trembled- with shock or outrage, she couldn't tell. "Who would deface a book produced by the commorancy?"

"Crazy, huh? Whoever did that had guts," Ikuto mused.

"It's outrageous!" Amu huffed. "Writing in books!"

The two of them stared at the marked-up page for a little while longer, uttering soft exclamations every once in a while. Contrary to Amu's outrage, Ikuto seemed more intrigued than anything else- both at the fact that someone had very obviously broken a rule, and at their choice of what to cross out. "Maybe it wasn't necessary," he said, frowning, after a while. "You haven't heard of it; I haven't heard of it. Maybe, whatever it is, it just isn't used anymore. So they didn't need the definition."

"Ah…" Amu's frown lightened. "Maybe."

But another page turn soon dispelled that notion.

"Look, another!" Amu exclaimed, jabbing her finger at the page.

"Surgery." Ikuto's jaw clenched. He was obviously thinking of Utau.

"Well," Amu said, her voice quiet. "That's certainly necessary."

"Why this word?" he murmured, fingers lightly brushing the pen marks.

"Maybe somebody was angry that they couldn't get one," Amu offered hesitantly. She, too, was thinking of Utau. "Or somebody who knew them."

"Perhaps." The troubled expression lingered on his face for only a few moments before being replaced with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Hey, Amu."

She recognized that glint. "What is it?" the pinkette asked warily.

"Let's do it, too."

"WHAT?" Amu nearly shouted before being silenced with a finger to her lips. They waited breathlessly for a few long seconds to see if anyone would come to investigate. When no one did, however, Ikuto removed his finger from Amu's lips, and she whispered furiously, "Are you crazy? They'll know it was us!"

"Nah," he said casually, with a shrug. "They'll think it was whoever did the last markings. Besides, I won't make anything unreadable. Just… change some things."

He did just that, changing letters and adding hilarious adjectives that completely changed the meaning of the phrases. Soon Amu's disapproving look disappeared and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Chooser, I'm sorry, but... this is really fun!

"Here," she said, reaching out for the pen. "Let me have a try…"

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the delay! I know it's shorter than usual, but I thought that something was better than nothing… As you can probably tell, I've reached the end of what I had already written before posting. As such, updates will not be coming as quickly. However, I do promise that I am not going to abandon the story or anything like that It just might take a while longer than the previous chapters to come out. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, short as it was. I was so excited that I'd reached a thousand hits, so thank you to all my readers! If you read this or any other chapter, please drop me a review to let me know what you think.