Morg: Heyo!

Ikuto: Well, well, well. Look who the cat dragged in.

Amu: Oh, great. It's you.

Morg: Don't sound so excited. I'm here with another chapter.

Ikuto: Yeah? And how long until we see the next one?

Amu: I don't really care. I'd rather not see one ever again.

Morg: I don't own you. I can't make you stay here.

Ikuto: Just get on with it.

Amu: Please don't.

Morg: Sheesh!

~Red Card~

"Ikuto!"

"Hey, Amu."

Something was wrong. He wasn't looking at her. He hadn't answered any of her calls and his texts had been short and didn't hold any of the playfulness they'd had before. "Are you okay?"

Shuffling his bag to his other shoulder, Ikuto sighed as he looked down the hall before looking back at Amu. "I'm fine. I'm just thinking about the game."

"About that, you never answered me about-"

"I don't think we should do this anymore."

Amu froze. Her breath caught in her lungs and her body felt like it suddenly filled with ice. "What?"

Ikuto shrugged as he looked away from her once more. He had to swallow back an apology for making her look the way she did. "I need to go get ready for the game."

Amu couldn't do anything as Ikuto pushed past her to head for the men's locker room. She stood shock-still in the middle of the hall for several minutes.

"Amu? There you are. I was looking for you."

It wasn't until she turned her head to look at Utau that Amu realized that she was crying. "I… I'm sorry. I just."

Utau took one look at her best friend before sighing. "It's okay. It's not your fault. He's an idiot."

"I don't know what happened. He just… He doesn't want to do this with me anymore. I thought things were going well."

Gathering Amu into her arms, Utau squeezed the shorter girl for a moment before steering her around and toward the women's locker room. "I'm telling you that he's an idiot, Amu. He probably didn't say what he was thinking clearly. I'm sure that he didn't mean to make you cry."

Sniffling, Amu nodded as she let herself be pushed down onto one of the benches in their locker room. The other girls were getting ready around them but didn't pay them much attention. "He is an idiot."

Utau smiled at that as she pulled out her phone. Amu didn't seem to be focusing on anything as Utau snapped a picture of her sad face. "I'm absolutely certain that if you tell him that after the game then he'll try to explain to you why he said what he said."

Amu sniffled again before scrubbing at her face with her hands. "I just… I love him. I think my heart is breaking and I don't know what to do about it."

Typing furiously, Utau sent off a text before putting her phone away and kneeling in front of Amu. "You're going to get ready for the game. You're going to smile and cheer and keep it together until you can yell at my dumbass brother after they win."

Gulping in a deep breath, Amu nodded as she pushed herself up. "Right. I can do that."

Utau gave the other girl a pat on her shoulder and left her to it. She may or may not have kept a close eye on Amu while the other girl got ready and as they headed out onto the field. Her brother definitely had a lot to answer for.

XXX

Ikuto cursed as he threw his phone into his locker and slammed the door shut. He knew that his words earlier had hurt Amu but he hadn't realized that he'd made her cry. The photo that Utau had sent him burned behind his eyes as he dropped his head against his closed locker.

"Dude? Are you okay?"

"Not now, Kukai."

"I would back off and leave you alone but we're going to play a really important game in about ten minutes and I need to know if you're ready for that or not."

Sighing, Ikuto picked his head up to face his teammate. "I just fucked things up with Amu."

"Fuck."

"Yeah, I'm not sure how to fix it."

Kukai was silent for a moment as he studied Ikuto. "It says a lot about how much you've changed that you want to fix it."

Ikuto paused at that. "What?"

"The last time a girl rejected you or split up with you or whatever, you laughed and shrugged it off. Said something about other skirts to chase, I think."

"Amu isn't just some skirt to chase."

Holding up his hands, Kukai took a small step back from his captain. "I agree. And the fact that you're telling me that means you know full and well that you've changed."

Sighing again, Ikuto slumped as he released his anger. He wasn't mad at Kukai. "We started seeing each other as a game. She set goals for me during games and I got to collect rewards if I met them."

"Is that why you've been playing better?"

Ikuto rolled his eyes but replied anyway, "It's why we've all been playing better."

"True."

Running a hand through his hair, Ikuto turned to finish getting ready to head out onto the field. "I told her before coming in here that I didn't want to do that anymore. I really like her. I want to see where we could go, but I don't want this game to be between us anymore."

"And you told her all of that?"

Dropping his head, Ikuto didn't reply.

"Dude, you are an idiot. You just told her you wanted to stop the game, didn't you? You didn't say you wanted more."

"And now she's crying in the women's locker room. Utau sent me a picture."

"Harsh."

"I deserved it."

Kukai stepped forward to drop his hand on Ikuto's shoulder as he spoke, "Yeah, but you deserve to be happy, too. So let's go out there, play our hearts out, and then you can beg her for forgiveness."

Ikuto nodded before finishing with his shoes and shin guards. He hoped he'd catch Amu's gaze and somehow give her some sort of sign that he was sorry for being an idiot. He didn't like the idea of her crying.

He went through the motions of listening as his coach gave them a pep talk. He warmed up with his teammates on the field. He tried several times to catch Amu's eye, but she was never looking at him. Utau sent him plenty of glares and made a few threatening gestures. For the most part, he ignored his sister. This was between him and Amu.

As the game started, Kukai smacked Ikuto on the back of the head. "Get your head in the game. Everything else will come after."

Ikuto ducked before nodding. He shoved everything with Amu to the side and focused on the pitch.

XXX

Amu did all the cheers that Utau called out. She smiled and waved to the crowd. She cheered when they scored with the rest of the girls. On the outside, she was perfectly fine. On the inside, she felt as though her heart was withering away.

She had thought they had something special. It was small and just beginning, but Amu was certain that Ikuto felt it, too. But then he'd ripped her heart out and stomped on it.

"Amu?"

Turning, Amu found herself face to face with Utau. "Yeah?"

"The game is almost over. We're going to win. Can you manage a few more minutes?"

Swallowing, Amu turned back to the field. She watched Ikuto race down the pitch in pursuit of someone on the other team with the ball but brought her gaze quickly back to Utau. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine. I'm going to make him eat dirt."

"Utau."

"You're going to yell at him, right?"

Smiling a bit, Amu shook her head as she fell back into her rest position. She kept her eyes on the field but didn't follow Ikuto's progress any further. A horn sounded to end the game, but Amu didn't move. "I don't know if I want to talk to him."

Utau turned to cheer with the others before she looked back at the field. She watched her brother get tackled by his teammates before he shook everyone off of him and made his way toward where they were standing. "Uh, you might not have a choice."

Amu snapped her gaze up just in time to see Ikuto looking at her. He was stopped by someone on the field. The captain from the other team, if she wasn't mistaken. He was nodding at something the other player said to him, but his eyes never left her. "Utau."

"Don't sound so panicked. It's just Ikuto. He's the same smart-ass he's always been. I know he hurt you, but you should hear him out. Don't go easy on him. I'll punch him for you if you want me to."

Turning, Amu forced herself to drop Ikuto's gaze. "And if I don't want to hear him out?"

"Then let's head for the locker room and let him suffer for a bit. You won't be able to avoid him. He's going to ambush you at some point, but if you don't want to do this now then you don't have to."

Amu thought about it as she let her gaze fall on him once more. He was shaking the other player's hand and moving away from him once more. Ikuto was ignoring the pats on the back from his teammates as he steadily made his way across the pitch. "I'd rather just get this over with."

Utau snorted but didn't move away as her brother came to a stop in front of Amu. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm the emotional support and have permission to kick your ass if needed."

Ikuto glanced at his sister before returning his gaze to Amu. "I'm sorry. I meant what I said but I shouldn't have said it the way I did. I've been a bit distant for the last few days because I've been trying to figure out what I want."

He was sorry. Amu could see that he was telling the truth about that. His other words didn't make a whole lot of sense to her, but he was there and talking so she was certain they could clear up the confusion. "And what do you want?"

Ikuto hesitated for only a second. His gaze slid to his sister again before he stepped up closer to Amu. He put himself in her space and slowly brought his hands up to cup her face. He smiled a bit as she didn't move away from him. "I want you. I've been sort of freaking out about that. Mostly because I've never wanted anyone the way that I want you. I want you in my life. I want to text you stupid things and snuggle with you while we watch bad television. I want to sit with you on the bus and tease you when I make you blush. I'm sorry that I couldn't say the words to you properly before the game. I don't want what's between us to be the deal we had before."

Amu sucked in a shuddery breath. She felt the tears gathering in her eyes as she blinked up at Ikuto. "You want me?"

"I love you."

Amu heard a gasp. She knew it didn't come from herself or Ikuto. She almost laughed as she remembered that Utau was standing there and that they had an audience. Slowly, she brought her arms up to lock her fingers behind Ikuto's neck. "Utau told me to make you beg."

Smiling a bit at that, Ikuto dipped his head to brush his nose against Amu's. "You should. I didn't mean to make you cry earlier. I was trying to catch your eye before the game to try and reassure you somehow but I didn't get the chance."

"I was trying not to look at you."

Stilling for a second at that, Ikuto let his hands drift down to hold onto Amu's hips. He pulled her closer to his chest and relaxed slightly when she didn't shove him away. "I am sorry."

"How did you know that I was crying?"

Ikuto flinched but didn't look away from Amu's gaze.

"Oh, Utau told you."

"She might have sent me a picture."

Sighing, Amu dropped her head to hide her face against Ikuto's chest. "Great."

"I might have thrown my phone and Kukai might have had to talk me down so that I could play the game without freaking out."

Snorting at that, Amu picked her head back up to look into Ikuto's eyes once more. "You did play a hell of a game."

"I thought you were trying not to look at me."

"That doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention."

Ikuto smiled down at the girl in his arms for a moment before he sobered up a little. "You haven't told me what you want."

Shrugging, Amu stayed where she was in his embrace. "I'm not entirely sure what I want."

Smile dropping, Ikuto cleared his throat and tried to step back. Amu didn't release her hold so he couldn't go far. "I understand."

"No, you don't. I want you to kiss me right now. I want to go get something to eat with you after this and hang out at your place or mine and watch bad television and snuggle. I know what we were and what we have the potential to be. I know that I want to find out what that is, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for anything beyond giving it a try."

Nodding, Ikuto pulled Amu closer to him once more. "That's more than I deserve."

"You told me that you love me. Did you mean it?"

"Of course. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't."

"Then you better kiss me like you're trying to convince me."

So he did.

.

Morg: So there's that.

Ikuto: Why would Amu ever question the way I feel about her?

Amu: No comment.

Morg: I hope you all enjoyed that!