Ikuto didn't wake until noon, light already piercing through his window. He moved to sit up in bed and rub the sleep from his eye. It took him a few moments to wake up fully and allow his brain to process what had recently transpired.

"What a night." He said to himself, rubbing his hand over his face. Ikuto felt the urge to relieve himself, so he threw the covers off and moved to slip into his adjoining bathroom.

After using the restroom, Ikuto went through his morning routine of a shower, brushing his teeth and quickly drying his dark blue hair with a towel. Ikuto took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. 'I have a strong feeling that today is going to require a strong cup of coffee.' Ikuto thought to himself. He let out a sigh and walked out of the bathroom.

He dressed in a plain white button up alongside a pair of navy blue slacks. He was adding a set of silver cufflinks to his shirt when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in."

He was still adjusting his collar when the door opened to reveal Ms. Aki. The woman Ikuto had come to consider family stood in the doorway with a small smile on her face. "Good afternoon Ikuto, I have lunch waiting for you and Ms. Hinamori-san down in the gardens. I think it will do you both a world of good to go outside in the fresh air, it will make the inevitable conversation a bit easier." she said in a calm yet knowing demeanor.

"Thank you, I really appreciate everything you've done in the last twenty four hours. I couldn't have managed without you last night." He stated sincerely. "Is Amu up already? He set to putting on his dark brown leather shoes.

The older woman nodded, "She is already waiting for you down in the garden. I set out some cucumber sandwiches and lemonade that she seemed quite delighted with. Hurry up now, you don't want to keep such a pretty girl waiting." she said with a wink.

This caused the man's cheeks to flush. He coughed to hide his embarrassment, "Lead the way then." he stated as he followed her out of the room. They made their way downstairs and through the house. Everyone was up and tending to their daily tasks.

When they reached the back door that led to the gardens, Ikuto stopped a moment and turned to Ms. Aki. "I um..I think I should talk to her alone. There is a probability things may get a bit ugly. She is pretty stubborn and I am going to need time to make sure she stays calm."

The older woman nodded knowingly before turning to leave. Ikuto took a breath and then opened the back french doors.

He could see Amu sitting at the back patio table nibbling on a sandwich. She was facing away from him, so he couldn't really see her expression. As he approached her he cleared his throat so as to not startle her.

Amu looked up over her shoulder to see Ikuto standing there. He looked a bit apprehensive and nervous. "Good afternoon Amu. Did you sleep okay?" He asked, moving to sit across from her. He started to pour himself a cup of coffee when Amu finally answered.

"I didn't sleep all that great. It hurt anytime I moved so I woke up quite a bit. Did you sleep okay? I wouldn't think you usually get up this late into the day but considering how late we were up I get it." she said as she looked around the garden they were sitting in.

She seemed to have a far off look in her eyes that Ikuto was unsettled by. Her eyes usually were full of life and emotion. Now they just seemed dull and dazed; however he couldn't blame her after what she has been through.

"No you're right, I am usually up by six. I did sleep okay though." He answered politely. She didn't look at him. She continued to admire the grounds around them, occasionally taking a sip of her lemonade or a bite of her remaining sandwich.

Ikuto waited for her to say something but it was becoming clear to him that she wasn't going to start the conversation so he was going to have to do it. 'I'm going to need an opening to start this.' He thought to himself as he sipped on his coffee. 'That's it! Coffee.' He smiled to himself before clearing his throat to get her attention.

She briefly looked at him before her eyes dropped to her plate. "You know this isn't what I had in mind when I asked you to coffee. I always thought we'd meet at that little café down the street from the club. Never imagined you'd be waking up in my house and having brunch with me." He exclaimed as he took another drink from his coffee cup.

This seemed to bring Amu back to herself for a moment. "Pardon me but this is not a date! I never said yes to going out with you. This merely happened to be by circumstance." She uttered, looking rather red in the face and embarrassed. Ikuto chuckled, glad she still had some fight in her.

"There she is! That's the feisty personality I met a few months back. I'm glad she isn't gone." Ikuto grinned, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. "I know you said last night that you don't want to talk. I respect that. However, as someone who is now involved, I do feel I have a right to ask a couple of questions. Does that sound fair to you?" He asked in a calm and gentle voice, trying to keep the peace and still make progress.

Amu shifted a bit in her seat and took another sip of her lemonade. The wind was blowing her hair around and it was at this moment that he realized she was wearing one of his sisters outfits. She wore a light blue t-shirt and a pair of denim skinny jeans. 'Ms. Aki must have given them to her.' he thought to himself, but before he could dwell on how lovely she looked in blue, Amu interrupted his train of thought. "You deserve that much and maybe more." she said quietly, finally looking him in the eyes.

He sat up straight and waited for her to continue.

"I want to thank you for saving me last night. I know we left things in a bad spot at the club but you cared enough to come after me and I will forever be grateful that you did. I don't even want to think of where I would be if you hadn't come in time. If I'm being honest I'd probably be dead or at least would want to be." She trailed off and took a moment to take a few deep breaths.

She looked up and gave a small smile. "You can ask me anything you'd like but I can't promise I'll be ready to talk about what you might ask, but I'm willing to try. I'm sorry I snapped at you last night. I was in a bit of a state and wasn't in my right frame of mind."

Ikuto didn't know where to even begin. He had so many questions but he didn't want to overwhelm her. So he started off with basic etiquette. "You have nothing to apologize for. I was tired and still in shock from what happened myself and I wasn't considering how you may be feeling."

Amu seemed to relax a bit in her chair and Ikuto took this as a sign to continue.

"First off, I'd like to just kind of go over what we need to get done today. After we finish here, we need to head over to the hospital and have those x-rays done on your wrist and to have the rape kit exam done like Dr. Ito recommended."

Amu was silent but nodded slightly to let him know she was listening.

"Then I contacted my lawyer. I am going to make an appointment for us sometime this week. I took the liberty of asking Kukia to get some information on your foster parents but I'm going to need you to verify the information he sends over once I receive it. I don't want you to worry about them anymore. I have an amazing lawyer and she will take care of everything. We will make sure they can never hurt you again. I also want to look into some therapists. Dr. Ito said it would be the best thing for you to be able to recover. I will make sure you have the best there is to offer." He said with such finality in his voice. He looked like a man on a mission if she was being honest.

Amu chuckled while also shaking her head. "I really appreciate that Ikuto, really I do. But everytime I think I have finally gotten away, everytime I feel like maybe I can stop watching over my shoulder anymore, something bad always happens. So I have very low expectations for how all of this is going to play out. I will help you verify their information but please respect that I want as little to do with them as possible." Amu let out a heavy sigh and continued, "And that leads me into something else."

Ikuto was about to say something but Amu quickly held up her hand to stop him. "Please…I need to say this before I lose my nerve." She sighed when she saw him nod to continue.

"I obviously have a lot of issues, Ikuto. I have a lot of baggage that isn't just going to go away. Being with me wouldn't be like being with the girls you've been with before. It would be really hard. I am not stupid. I am pretty self aware and I know I have trauma that I need to work through. I probably have some post traumatic stress now from being sexually assaulted in addition to physically abused. I'll have to work through that too. I know what you want for us, but you were right. I am terrified." Amu could feel the sting of tears welling up in her eyes but she looked up at Ikuto determined to meet his gaze.

"Everytime I get close to someone something bad happens. Maybe that's my trauma talking but it's how I feel. I care about you Ikuto and I don't want something bad to happen to you. That's why I told you no last night… but with all of this said I'm…I'm still willing to try. So, yes. Ikuto, I would love to finally have coffee with you. Just wait for me, okay. I need time to recover and get through all this mess."

The tears finally won over and Amu sat across from him, crying with a tiny forced smile on her pale face. Ikuto felt as if he couldn't breathe. He had never in his life felt such an overwhelming urge to protect and love someone as much as he did for the women sitting across from him. Before Ikuto knew what he was doing he had moved around the table and pulled Amu out of her chair and into his arms.

"Amu Hinamori, I swear to you. You are never going to have to see your foster parents again, God as my witness I will protect you from them. I know you need time to recover and I know this is a lot but you are not going to go through this alone. Not ever again. You've been alone for far too long. I will be there for you, whatever you need, I'll be there through it all, okay? Coffee would be wonderful. Anytime you want. We'll take this at your pace." Ikuto said all this while he embraced her and she cried into his shoulder.

It took a couple minutes of Ikuto rubbing the back of her hair and whispering to her that everything would be okay and that he was not going anywhere before Amu finally calmed down.

She let out a few shuttering hiccups before pulling away from Ikuto and looking up at him. He stared at her with such emotion that Amu couldn't help what she did next.

She slowly leaned up and gently pressed her lips to his. It was so gentle that Ikuto stood frozen a moment before he registered what was happening and he melted into her. He wrapped his arms around her tiny frame and kissed her in a way he'd never kissed another woman.

He kissed her with compassion and tenderness. This feeling was new and slightly frightening to the young man. Aside from his family Ikuto never truly cared about anyone but himself, but this woman has somehow wormed her way into his heart and he feared he may never come back from this. This new beginning was going to change him and what scared him most was the fact that he didn't even mind if it meant having her by his side.

Ikuto was the first to pull away. He could feel Amu shaking a bit so he let his forehead press against hers. He lifted his hands to gently rub up and down her arms to try and sooth her.

"We need to get to the hospital, okay? We can talk more about us at another time. Let's take this one step at a time. I want to make sure you are okay before we even focus on us, alright?" He asked her, looking into her honey gold eyes.

Amu was feeling a bit dazed. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her emotions were all over the place after that confession, but Ikuto was right. They had a lot to get done today and they had already slept half the day away. "Okay. Let's go." Amu smiled up at him.


They spend a majority of their day at the hospital. After checking in to the ER there was a slight issue of insurance for Amu. Ikuto was irritated to find out that Amu's foster parents never applied for health insurance for the young girl. Not that it should surprise him. Ikuto told the receptionist to just put her down as self pay and he would take care of it.

Of course this led to an argument with the pinkette about him paying for her. "I can take care of my own bills, Ikuto. I don't want you paying for me." Iktuo simply reminded her this was true but she needed to learn how to accept help from people who care about her. That seemed to do the trick in shutting her up.

Amu had her wrist x-rayed and thankfully it was just a spain and she wouldn't need a cast put on. The doctor that saw them told her to just keep the splint on for a week or so and once healed to follow up with physical therapy to make sure she could move it again properly. No heavy lifting if she could manage. "See Amu, aren't you glad I didn't let you go into work?" He said smugly.

"You didn't make me not do anything, Ikuto! I choose not to go into work. You just happened to mention it prior, leading you to believe you had a say in the matter." Amu glared at him and stuck her tongue out. This caused Ikuto to laugh, "Okay, whatever you say." He was glad to see even with the tense reason they were there she managed to still be silly and argue.

Their next part of the hospital visit sucked away any humor that was previously there. The doctor sent in a team of nurses. One was holding a tray of medical equipment, another had a camera with her, and the last one had a computer. They asked Ikuto to leave the room and wait in the waiting area.

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?" Ikuto asked, cupping her face gently. Amu leaned into his warm palm and nodded. "Yeah, I'll come find you once it's over." He let out a heavy sigh and moved to leave. Before exiting, he spoke over his shoulder, "You got this Amu. Remember, this is just one more step."

Once Ikuto had left, the head nurse, the one with the computer started to speak. "Okay Amu, I know what you have been through has been very traumatic and we will do our best to make this as quick as possible. We will need you to strip down to nothing. We need to take pictures of any injury to your body. They will need to swab your skin and also your private areas for evidence. I know this is very uncomfortable for you and not something anyone should have to do but the sooner we start the sooner we can help get that man locked up where he belongs. "

Amu couldn't speak. Her breathing felt slightly erratic and her heart felt like it was going a mile a minute. 'Just breath. They are here to help you.' Amu concentrated on removing her clothes and after she stood in nothing but her under garments Amu turned to the nurses.

"Okay, please hold your arms out to your sides. We need to get a picture of the bruising along your abdomen."

Amu did as she was told but occupied her mind with counting so she didn't panic. The nurses swarmed around her. One flashing pictures, another would run a cotton swab along her arms, stomach, legs and back. They took pictures of her wrist and her face. Her face was swollen a bit from being slapped so hard.

"Alright Ms. Hinamori- san. This last part may be a bit uncomfortable. You'll need to remove your underwear." She said as she handed Amu an exam robe, which she slipped on. Grateful to be covered again, but Amu did as she was told and spilled off her underwear. " I'll need you to lay down on the exam table and move your bottom all the way to the edge of the table and put your feet in the stirrups."

Amu had been managing fairly well until this point but it was something about her most private area being exposed that finally had the young girl crying quietly. "I know this is hard. Take as much time as you need." The nurse spoke softly.

Amu climbed up onto the exam table and sat there trying to get the tears to stop but they just kept flowing. She could feel herself starting to panic. She needed to get out of here. "I have to get out of here. I can't... I can't do this. Please let me go, I don't want to do this anymore." Amu could feel the anxiety in her chest building. The nurses were speaking to her but she couldn't hear them over the ringing in her ears.

It was as if time was slowing down and she could only feel the hard thumping of her rapid heartbeat. She covered her ears with her hands and curled into herself. "Ikuto. I need Ikuto! Please stop. I don't want to do this. Get me Ikuto!"


Ikuto sat in the waiting area scrolling through facebook when he got a text alert from Kukia. He tapped on the notification to read his text.

Ikuto, I only managed to get some basic information. I am having the official documents sent over to your house so you can have a physical copy. Not sure what you need this information for but I hope all is well. -Kukia

Ikuto tapped the download on the enclosed document his friend sent. When he was able to open it he started to read. All of the information about this pink-haired girl almost felt off limits but Ikuto continued.

He shook his head in disbelief as he read the file. Her real family had died. Her father, mother and younger sister were in a car accident that involved a drunk driver about seven years ago. She moved to an orphanage because she didn't have any living relatives. A month after, she was placed with her foster parents. He saw the pictures and quickly recognized the man in the photo as the man he saw the other night. He was standing next to a woman he assumed was his wife.

Further down was basic information on each person.

Name : Hinamori Amu
Age : 19 years old
Job : Student at Seiyo University/ Currently employed at Black Lynx as a waitress
Born : September 24th 2002
Father : Hinamori, Tsugumu: used to be a manager for a computer software company.
Mother : Hinamori, Midori: Worked as a magazine editor for 'the housewives daily.'
Sister : Hinamori Ami: was in dance lessons prior to the accident.
Other information : Her family died in a car accident involving a drunk driver. Lived in an orphanage for a month before being placed with Hoshina, Kazuomi and Hoshina Keiko. Currently living in an apartment by herself.

Name : Hoshina, Kazuomi
Age : 38 years old
Employment status: currently unemployed, lost his job 6 months ago. Employer stated that he never showed up to work on time and had multiple complaints from female coworkers for sexual harassment.
Date of birth : March 22, 1983
Wife : Hoshina, Keiko
Other information : Foster father of one Hinamori, Amu. History of gambling and credit card debt. Frequents a lot of local bars and is seen intoxicated in public frequently.

Name : Hoshina, Keiko
Age : 35 years old
Job : Unemployed, housewife.
Born : February 2nd 1984
Husband : Hoshina, Kazuomi
Other information : has a foster daughter – Hinamori, Amu.

After Ikuto finished reading all the information he saved the file to his phone for safe keeping. It was then that he heard his name being called a bit frantically. He looked up and saw one of the nurses that was supposed to be with Amu currently. He quickly stood up and hurried toward her.

"Is everything okay?" He asked, overcome with a sense of worry. The nurse spoke in a low hushed tone so no one else could overhear them. "Ms. Hinamori-san is having a panic attack and we can't seem to get her to calm down. She is asking for you and we thought we'd try having you come in before we end up having to sedate her."

Ikuto felt his gut twist in a knot. "Take me to her. What happened? She was fine when I left, what did you all do!" Ikuto started to clench his teeth as he and the nurse hurried back to the exam room.

Ikuto felt the color drain from his face at the sight before him. Amu was curled up in a ball, rocking back and forth on the exam table, hands covering her ears and her head shaking back and forth. She was fairly exposed with nothing but an exam gown hanging around her loosely. Ikuto quickly averted his eyes from her body and focused on her face. Now was not the time to admire the young woman's form.

Amu was trembling on the exam table, it was like she was stuck in a nightmare. "No, I'm sorry. Don't hit me … I'm sorry. Don't touch me. Stop. Please stop." Ikuto could hear the trembling in her voice.

Immediately Ikuto moved to climb up on the table with her. He couldn't help himself, he didn't want to frighten her but he hated seeing her in this kind of distress. Ikuto hesitantly took Amu's hands and pulled them away from her ears and he quietly spoke to her. "Amu, you are safe. No one here is going to hurt you. You are safe here. I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you again."

It took a good while of the young man repeating that Amu was safe before she finally started to calm down. Her eyes locked with his. He continued to tell her she was safe. He gently laid them on their sides, wrapped his hand around her waist and hugged her close to himself.

He didn't pull away until the pinkette had stopped trembling. Ikuto looked down into her eyes and saw she didn't seem to be out of reach anymore. "Are you alright? What can I do to help?" he whispered to her while cupping her face with his hand.

The young woman parted her lips and quietly spoke. "I just want to go. But I know I need to finish this screening. Will you just stay with me? I know that's asking a lot but I don't think I can do this alone."

Ikuto gave her a smile and Amu could feel the last bit of tension leave her body. "I'll stay with you. Always." Ikuto moved to sit up and moved to the side of the exam table.

"I am staying with her for this part of the exam. Let's just make this quick. She's already been through a lot and I don't want to trigger her any more than necessary."

Amu sat up and noticed the nurses seemed a bit put out at how Ikuto was speaking to them but Amu could only feel grateful for his commanding presence in this moment. She felt she could draw strength from his confidence.

"Alright then, Ms. Hinamori please lay back down on the exam table and move your bottom all the way to the edge of the table and put your feet in the stirrups. I will only need to swab a couple of times and this will be over. I apologize for the stress, I know this must be causing you but I will be as fast as I can, alright?"

Amu nodded and did as the nurse instructed, only this time Ikuto stayed by Amu's side and held her hand in his. She could feel him rubbing light circled into the back of her hand. This grounded Amu as she felt the nurse move in between her legs and use a long cotton swab to swab around her vaginal area.

Amu felt as if she was going to be sick, the pressure in her chest threatened to overwhelm her until Ikuto moved his face in front of hers. "So, you know what? I was thinking that after we finish here we can go back to my house and start the marvel collection series I told you about and we can order some pizza. What do you think?"

Amu gawked at him. "Ikuto you really have no social skills. You'd think someone who is going to take over the Tsukiyomi company might realize that talking about watching Marvel movies isn't something someone wants to do when they are having their nether region examined. Poor timing my dude." Ikuto laughed so hard his sides started to hurt. This woman was truly something else he thought to himself.

"Okay, we are finished Ms. Hinamori-san." The nurse took the swabs and put them in a tube with some gel-like substance in them. Amu however was distracted by Ikuto who was still giggling to himself, giving her a cheeky grin.

"You're an idiot, you know that!" she said as she sat up and pulled the gown close around her. "And to think I thought you'd changed." She shook her head and hopped off the exam table and moved to gather her clothes from the chair in the corner of the room.

"Yeah but I'm your idiot!" He said looking much too cheerful for what had just occurred. "You're something alright… A pain in my ass." Amu said with a small smile on her face. "Now turn around so I can get dressed. And no peeking you pervert."

It took a moment to realize the nurses were still in the room, seeming to ignore the two and finishing up with the collection kit. Amu cleared her throat and bowed her head to them. "I apologize for any trouble to have caused you. I really appreciate your help. When will I hear back with results?"

The head nurse smiled at Amu and shook her head gently. "You have nothing to be sorry for. This is not an easy situation that you just bounce back from. But to answer your question, it's going to take about a week. We will call you when we have the results and I'll have a copy printed off for you to pick up for your records."

This information seemed to sober Ikuto quickly of his laughing fit. "Actually, would it be possible to also have the records faxed to my lawyer as well. She will be helping us with this case and will most likely need those records as well."

The nurse agreed and asked Ikuto to follow her to the nursing station to update the fax information in the Amu's chart. Once they and the other nurses left the room, Amu redressed as quickly as she could manage with her wrist in it's splint. It was starting to throb a bit from the movement but she ignored it and slipped on her shoes.

Once adequately dressed, she left the room to find Ikuto at the nurses station signing some paperwork. "Alright sir, we'll get that to you as soon as we can. You both have a good rest of your day." said the nurse before walking off to check on another patient.

Ikuto turned and looked at Amu. "Are you ready to go? I wasn't kidding, I really do want to do a movie night. Marvel is great therapy for the soul." Amu couldn't help but chuckle at his enthusiasm. She took his hand in hers and they both started off in the direction of the exit arguing over what order they would start the movies in.


After getting back to Ikuto's house the two managed to cause a stir in the Tsukiyomi home. The two walked in and Ikuto was howling with laughter. Amu had revealed that she has no idea that batman wasn't from the marvel universe and that apparently was the funniest thing ever to Ikuto.

The maids and workers of the house observed the young couple with fascination. Ikuto had never shown so much interest in long term relationships with women, let alone brought someone back to the house multiple times, so this was the latest gossip circulating the house as the staff prepared for the evening. Their master had announced that he wanted to have a Marvel marathon with pizza and snacks.

The maids turned the living area into a room of pillows and blankets. The house chef had started with making a pepperoni, cheese and meat lovers pizza to give the two some variety and then some extra pizzas for the household staff to enjoy. Ms. Aki has to reign in the staff giddiness at their master's joy. It was a rarity to see him so relaxed and carefree with anyone other than his close friends.


Amu has gone back to her designated guest room to recollect herself a bit before they started with the evening's festivities. She wanted to message Utau and Rima to let them know she was doing okay and see what they were up to. When she got into the room Amu noticed the room had been cleaned and there were a couple sets of clothing and a pajama set left out for her. Amu smiled and told herself to remember to thank Ms. Aki later.

"I really do need to go home soon though. I can't just stay here forever, Ikuto will get the wrong idea. I'll stay tonight and head home in the morning." Amu said to herself while starting a group chat between her friends.

The young girl didn't really feel like watching movies after all that had occurred but Amu had the feeling Ikuto was doing this to try and lighten the mood and help take her mind off of things. Amu has been having intrusive thoughts all day. She didn't want to tell him because she knew he wouldn't let her go home if she did. She didn't want to hurt herself but her mind just couldn't stop replaying the events of the previous night.

She could still feel the ghost of her foster fathers hands on her. 'I hate this…I hate myself for not being strong enough to fight him off before it even got that far. I wish I'd never run away from Ikuto at the club. Then this never would have happened. I wouldn't be tainted and my skin wouldn't crawl.' Amu just sat on the bed letting her mind finally take in what had happened today.

She couldn't even be examined by a nurse without having a panic attack. If Ikuto hadn't been there she didn't know what she would have done. Amu released a heavy sigh and picked up her phone to message her friends before she had to go downstairs for the evening.


Meanwhile Ikuto was humming to himself while changing into his silk navy pajamas. He rarely ever used these, he usually just slept in a pair of boxers but seeing as he was attempting at decency for the first time in his life he decided to put the pajamas to good use tonight.

He then decided to write out a list of the Marvel movies in chronological order.

-Captain America: The First Avenger
-Captain Marvel
-Iron Man
-The Incredible Hulk
-Iron Man 2
-Thor
-Captain America: The First Avenger
-Marvel's The Avengers
-Iron Man 3
-Thor: The Dark World
-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
-Guardians of the Galaxy
-Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
-Avengers: Age of Ultron
-Ant-Man
-Captain America: Civil War
-Black Widow
-Spider-Man: Homecoming
-Black Panther
-Doctor Strange
-Thor: Ragnarok
-Ant-Man and the Wasp
-Captain Marvel
-Avengers: Infinity War
-Avengers: Endgame
-Spider-Man: Far From Home
-Eternals
-Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
-Spider-Man: No Way Home

Obviously they couldn't finish them all tonight but his hope was to get Amu invested so she would want to come back and hang out with him again to watch them. He wasn't stupid and he did realize she would eventually go home soon but he wanted to enjoy the time he was spending with her while he could.

He made his way out of his room and across the hall to the guest room. He gently knocked on the door and waited for Amu to tell him he could come in before opening the door.

Amu was sitting on the bed cross legged wearing a pair of pink and white pajamas. Ikuto took a moment to admire how adorable she looked. She was on her phone and seemed to be messaging someone. Her eyes looked a bit red and she notably looked worn out but this further enticed Ikuto to try and cheer the pinkett up.

"Hey, are you ready? I think the pizzas are about done and I'm excited to start the movie!" Ikuto said, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. Amu hit send on her text message and looked at the young man with amusement. "Alright Ikuto, let's go." She said. Standing up seemed to be a bit difficult because Amu's movement from the day had made her injuries sore.

Ikuto took note of the pinkett's struggle to get off the bed and moved forward to give her his hand which she took gratefully and got off the bed.

They left her guest room and made their way downstairs, Amu was hit by a wave of enticing smells. She could smell the pizzas and what she hoped was cookies in the oven. "Oh my lord Ikuto, that smells so good!"

He laughed and smiled at the girl as they walked into the kitchen. Laid before them was every snack imaginable; three different pizzas, chips, popcorn, a charcuterie board, cookies, candies of all sorts, sodas, water and tea. "What the hell! It's just the two of us, why do we need so much food?" Amu exclaimed, eyes as big as saucers. Ikuto said nothing, just moved to grab a plate and started piling on the food.

Amu shook her head, "Damn rich people." she muttered to herself. Ikuto was filling a glass with Pepsi when he finally spoke. "Amu, As much as you may think I'm an ass, I do actually care about some people. My staff happened to be in that category."

It was at this moment that the workers in the house started walking in the kitchen. Amu noticed that they were out of uniform and in their normal clothes. she wondered how many of them actually lived on the large estate and how many drove from home.

Amu grabbed a couple slices of pepperoni pizza, some tangy BBQ chips and some chocolate chip cookies before moving out of the way so the others could get some food too. She grabbed a bottle of water and just stood at a clear section of the kitchen as she watched everyone chat amicably while grabbing their food.

She was startled when Ikuto put a hand on her shoulder. "Tonight, while I'd love to make it about just us, it's also for the staff of the house. We woke up a lot of people last night and everyone still managed to perform their duties today with less sleep. I thought it would be a good reward for us all to watch the movie together. I hope you don't mind."

Amu could feel a warm sensation overtake her as Ikuto spoke. It was very sweet of him to be so considerate to his workers. She wondered if he really was like this all the time or if this was a new development in his character. I guess time would tell. "No, I don't mind at all. Let's go."

The two took hold of their plates and cups before walking into the living area. Ms. Aki had outdone herself. The place almost reminded Amu of what walking on a cloud might feel like. The whole floor was covered in blankets and pillows. It looked so cozy.

The two sat in the middle of the floor and got themselves situated. Others started piling in from the kitchen. They all seemed so excited to be together and just relax. This pleased Ikuto, he had never done anything this intimate for the estates staff. Sure they'd been given bonuses and vacation time but nothing like this.

Once everyone was settled into a seat, which was comical seeing as there were about thirty people sprawled out in the spacious living room, Ikuto took the remote and put the first movie on his list. Captain America: The First Avenger.

Ms. Aki turned off the lights in the room and adjusted the surround sound before taking her seat and enjoying her food. She watched on as the young master and Amu sat together quietly chatting through the trailers. It truly was a sight to behold. She'd seen Ikuto grow up and watch him entertain many ladies, if you could call them that. Most of the time she didn't even know their names. But this was certainly different. This beautiful young woman had somehow captured Ikuto's heart. 'I doubt they are even aware of it themselves.' She smiled to herself nibbling on her cheese and crackers.

The movie began and all got quiet. For the most part Amu was quiet. She had an occasional question about the storyline which Ikuto was more than happy to answer. Amu was surprised that she enjoyed the movie as much as she had. By the time it ended she was ready for the next movie and she told Ikuto so. This caused the young man to bellow in laughter.

"I TOLD YOU! See and you said it would be stupid." He exclaimed with a look of triumph on his face. He was never going to let this go and Amu was willing to admit defeat. Amu watched Ikuto as he changed the movie to Captain Marvel.

Amu could hear everyone talking about Captain America. Some were talking about stuff that must be in future movies because she didn't understand who or what they were talking about. Ms. Aki came by and picked up their empty plates and took them into the kitchen. Amu also noticed a few people getting up as the trailers started and leaving with their plates. She paid them no mind as they most likely had other things to do then watch movies all night but she was glad everyone got to have some fun tonight.

Amu refocused and laid back and snuggled under the blankets as the next movie started. It was about midway through the movie when Ikuto shifted under the blankets too. "Um excuse me, you can get your own blanket sir." Amu whispered so as not to disturb the other. She saw the man smirk and scoot closer to her. "You know I could get used to you calling me sir like that." He said moving his hand to rest on her stomach. Amu glared at him.

"Ikuto stop being a pervert. I'm trying to watch the movie. And please move your hand, it's resting on one of my bruises and it hurts." This immediately made Ikuto move his hand and she noticed his face looked troubled and worried. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, Amu. Are you alright? I didn't hurt you too badly?" He asked, looking her up and down as if to find some new injury.

Amu sighed, "It's alright, I'm okay. I'm just a bit sore still."

Amu could see Ikuto still felt bad so she slid her hand in his and turned back to the movie with a blush on her face. "Alright Sir, explain to me what we just missed." Ikuto felt a bit shocked and yet very pleased that Amu not only was holding his hand for a second time that day but she put an emphasis on the word Sir when she spoke. "What a little tease you are Amu-koi." Ikuto chuckled before catching her up on the events of the movie.

They managed to finish the second movie and the rest of the Tsukiyomi staff bid their master and his new companion goodnight. It was getting rather late but they took this opportunity to use the bathroom and switch to the next movie.

Unfortunately the two didn't make it an hour into the first Iron Man before falling asleep. Ms. Aki found the two tangled together under the blankets, the movie still playing in the background.

The older lady took a moment to appreciate the atmosphere of the evening. The whole household had been in joyful spirits and it didn't escape her notice that Ikuto was the happiest she had seen him in years.

She turned off the tv and soundbar while reflecting on how the young pinkett managed to change things in less than a day. With a final glance at the two sleeping in each other's arms she flicked the hall light off and went upstairs to her room.


Amu awoke the next morning feeling slightly stiff but overall warm and comfortable, she didn't bother opening her eyes while she was enjoying the warmth that was surrounding her. She briefly remembered having some kind of nightmare sometime in the night but she heard someone whisper in her ear that she would be okay, that one would hurt her. She'd felt so secure that she fell right back to sleep. She snuggled into her pillow but instead of soft and fluffy, she got hard and defined muscle – like a chest.

'Wait, my pillow doesn't feel hard.' She thought, slightly confused but still in a groggy state. When she felt a strong hand lingering on her waist pulling her closer Amu's eyes shot wide open. She could feel a hot breath on the back of her neck.

She couldn't see anything at first, so she had to crane her neck back a bit to see Ikuto fast asleep while holding her to his chest. Slowly Amu managed to twist her body to face Ikuto. She looked around then to see they were on the floor cocooned in blankets. She realized that they must have fallen asleep during the movie.

Amu took the moment to appreciate just how handsome Ikuto looked. His features softened while asleep and she noticed he looked so much younger when he was completely relaxed. She giggled softly as she heard small snores escaping his lips.

She smiled to herself before lifting up from the bed slowly, trying not to wake Ikuto up. She walked across the living room and made for the kitchen. It was still quite early, Amu saw the oven read 6:43 when she entered the kitchen.

She took a moment to stretch out her stiff limbs. Sleeping on the floor with her injuries may have not been the best idea but she has enjoyed waking up next to Ikuto if she was being extremely honest with herself.

Amu took note of her injured wrist feeling very itchy in it's splint. She attempted to ignore it by dragging her feet over the cool tile floor and over to the coffee maker. It was a struggle finding everything she needed but she managed to find the coffee, sugar and cream after perusing around the kitchen.

She poured water into the back of the coffee maker and added the coffee grounds into the white paper filter before setting it to brew. She leaned against the marble countertops as she heard the coffee maker gurgle and spout out steam. The smell was divine and Amu took a moment to just acknowledge that she wasn't okay. And that was okay.

Ikuto did a wonderful job of distracting her yesterday but she knew she needed help to navigate through this. It wasn't something she wanted Ikuto to feel responsible doing. Her goal today would be to go back home to her apartment. She needed to get insurance and set up an appointment with a therapist like the doctor had suggested. She needed to do this not only for herself but if she ever wanted to continue with a possible relationship with Ikuto it would be necessary.

Amu released a heavy sigh when she heard the coffee maker beep that it was done. She moved to grab a mug out of the cabinets and proceeded to pour coffee, cream and sugar into her cup. 'I already know Ikuto is not going to like me leaving. I am going home today and he will put up a fight. I'll make him some breakfast. That might soften the blow.' she thought to herself as she sipped her coffee from her mug.

She was startled from her thoughts when the chef of the house walked in. "Oh, good morning Ms. Hinamori-san, I hadn't realized you and the young master had already awoken. I will get started on breakfast right away!"

Amu held up a hand and smiled at the older man. "That won't be necessary. I'll be making breakfast today if you don't mind. I'd like to do this as a thank you for everything Ikuto has done for me. But I wouldn't mind some help finding the things I'll need." Amu noticed the chef looked a bit unsure. Perhaps he thought he'd get in trouble if he let her cook.

"Don't worry about Ikuto. I'll make sure he knows this was completely my idea. And you can even cook for the rest of the household if you'd like, I just want to cook for him." This seemed to ease the tension in the man's shoulder. "Okay, what will you need for your breakfast Hinamori-san?" he asked with a smile.

Amu took this as an initiative to start listing everything she would need.

Ikuto awoke from his slumber in a bit of a daze. He slowly sat up and looked around. He must have fallen asleep during the movie. 'Amu, I could have sworn she was down here with me. I wonder where she went.' Ikuto thought to himself when he caught a whiff of something that smelled delicious. "Mmmm, chef Minori must be making breakfast." he felt his belly growl and that was all he needed to get up and walk towards the kitchen.

He was surprised to find Amu already sitting at the kitchen table. She looked up at him and smiled, she waited for the man to walk over to the table and take a seat. Laid before them at a smaller kitchen table were blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and bacon. It smelled incredible and Ikuto's mouth watered.

"Good morning Ikuto. I hope you slept well." Amu said quietly. She started serving food on a plate before setting it before him. Ikuto rubbed some seep from his eyes. "Thank you Amu. I was disappointed to not wake up with you still in bed. Why are you up so early? And why aren't we in the dining room?" Ikuto asked, he was drizzling maple syrup on his pancakes while she poured some orange juice in her glass.

"I asked the chef to serve everyone else in there so you and I could sit together privately. Now please eat before the food gets cold."

Ikuto rolled his eyes and started eating at her request. He was enjoying the delectable fluffy pancakes when he noticed the pinkette gazing at him. He raised his eyebrows towards her and the girl spoke.

"Well, do you like it?" Amu asked the man seated across from her. He nodded with a large grin on his face, this was one of his favorite dishes – blueberry pancakes with butter and syrup. "I'm glad you like it." Amu muttered quietly before going back to her own breakfast.

Ikuto looked at Amu in mild confusion. One of the maids passed behind them carrying her empty plate to the kitchen sink, she giggled at the two of them and turned to leave them alone. As the maid walked out of the room Chef Minori walked in with an empty glass.

"Thank you for breakfast Chef, it's really good." Ikuto said with a smile. The chef smirked back at his boss and said, "Today's breakfast was made by Ms. Amu-chan, Young Master."

Ikuto sat frozen in surprise. She sat next to him eating her own breakfast as if it wasn't a big deal. And he supposed to most people it wasn't but Ikuto had never had anyone make him a meal other than chef, Ms. Aki and his mother when he was very little. Ikuto sat quietly and continued eating.

Amu was a bit confused by how quiet Ikuto was. She thought he'd be happy, she wanted to show her thanks to Ikuto for being so supportive and helpful. She knew that she needed to tell him she was going home today but she didn't want to tell him while he looked so intense.

The two finished their breakfast and Amu stood to take their dishes. "Are you finished?" He looked up while wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Yes, thank you." She nodded and took the dishes in her hand. "Amu!" she looked at him. He looked her directly in the eyes and smiled. "The food really was delicious, I really appreciate you cooking this morning."

Amu felt her body relax, happy to see Ikuto wasn't upset after all. She set to taking the dishes from the sink and putting them in the dishwasher. Ikuto looked at her like she'd grown two heads. "Um… you really don't have to do that. I pay people to handle that." He could feel her glare burning into him.

"Yes, I am aware. That doesn't mean we can't help out with the chorus every now and then. After I finish this we need to talk." Ikuto was no fool to think the line "We need to talk" could ever be good. So he sat at the table and waited for her to finish with her task.

Amu dried her hands on a hand towel and set it down on the counter. She let out a heavy sigh and braced herself for the impending argument. 'It's probably a good idea to go upstairs so we don't draw attention' Amu thought while gnawing on her lip.

"Hey, why don't we go upstairs and chat. I want to have some privacy without worrying if someone will walk into the kitchen." Amu didn't wait for a reply, instead she quickly left the kitchen giving the man no room to argue.

Ikuto quickly started following the pinkett out of the kitchen and up the stairs. She only stopped when they made it back to her guest bedroom. Ikuto noticed that Amu shut the bedroom door.

"Amu, is everything okay? You're starting to worry me. You're not mad at me are you?" He asked. Amu leaned her back against the door and shook her head. "No, I'm not mad. I just want to talk to you about going back home today."

Just hearing the statement Amu could tell she was right about needing privacy. "Amu, I really don't think you being alone right now is a good thing. I am not trying to be insensitive but you need to be around people who will care and help you." Ikuto was trying to keep his sudden agitation out of his voice. "We still have so much that needs to be done. We have to meet with the lawyer this week and we need to get your therapy sessions set up and we still need to follow up with the police to see if they found your foster father."

Amu listened calmly, she understood Ikuto wasn't used to not getting his way so she needed to be delicate with how she worded things. "Ikuto, I really appreciate everything you have done to help me, but I don't live here. I need to go home and check on things. I have to get back to work and start saving up for insurance so I can start therapy. I just...I need to be in a familiar space. I think it would help me a lot."

An array of emotions passed across Ikuto's face; irritation, confusion and acceptance. Amu just stood there staring at him and letting him process what she had said. When the silence was starting to make her ears ring he finally spoke. "Come here." he held his arms out for her and Amu didn't think twice before walking into his awaiting arms. It was a safe place as of recently.

She felt him release a heavy sigh and hold her tightly against his chest. "Amu, I won't force you to stay here. However I don't feel comfortable leaving you to stay by yourself so soon after what happened." Ikuto rested his chin on her head and just held the small girl.

"I understand. Perhaps we can meet in the middle. I can facetime you in the evening to check in? Or you can stop by and have dinner on the nights I'm not working. I know we have meetings this week and I promise to make them a priority. You can go with me if that would make you feel better."

Ikuto liked the idea of going to Amu's apartment. In the months he had gotten to know her, she had shared things about her apartment but she'd never invited him to see her place. "Alright Amu, I'll agree to taking you home with the conditions that you facetime me in the mornings and on our available nights we do dinner. Either at your place or we can go out. Does that sound fair?" He asked, pulling back a bit and looking down at her.

Amu lifted her head and looked at Ikuto's azure eyes. "Yeah that sounds fair." she said quietly, still holding his gaze. It was then that Amu realized just how close they were. Her face was mere inches from his. It would be so easy to just lean up and kiss the man who was being so understanding. She didn't have to though.

Ikuto slowly closed the distance between his and Amu's face, kissing her gently. He kissed her like she was fragile glass that would break if he held her too tight. The kiss was chilling. It was soft at first before Ikuto nipped her lower lip, making Amu gasp and open her mouth. Ikuto took the chance to slip his tongue inside her battling for dominance. Amu surrendered and let Ikuto explore her mouth completely.

They parted away to breathe a moment before Ikuto claimed her lips once again. This time with more confidence and not as gentle. The kiss soon led onto something more, Amu could feel a warm sensation overtake the pit of her stomach. The feeling was foreign and she didn't know what she should do.

Ikuto held Amu's petite body as Amu's small hands lingered on Ikuto's waist. Ikuto walked them backwards towards his bed.

Amu's legs collided with the bed and they both laid back against the mattress. Ikuto positioned himself above her. He let his elbow support his figure so he wouldn't crush the small body below him, mindful that she still had bruises that may be sore. He kissed light feathery kisses on her face and down her neck. He nipped her earlobe and earned a surprised moan from the pinkette. This caused the Young girl to turn bright red and she looked away from him. He took this as a good sign and continued to kiss further down.

He slowly roamed his hand inside her shirt and let his palm cupped her breast. She moaned when she felt his hand slowly squeeze her..

"Ik..Ikuto!" Amu managed to gasp out as the man massaged her chest. It was at this moment Amu began to see flashes of another face in front of her. It was her foster father. And once again she was back in that alleyway with that horrible man touching her. Amu's breath started to quicken and tears gathered in her eyes. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

Ikuto stopped to look down at Amu and saw she was crying. Ikuto immediately got off of her, in control of himself once again. He felt like the world's biggest dick. How could he have let himself get carried away like that. He knew damn well what she had just been through and yet his raging hormones and body threw all common sense out the window. Ikuto looked back at Amu who was shaking on the bed with her hands covering her eyes.

"Amu…Amu I am so sorry. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, please don't cry. " Ikuto said, falling to his knees in front of her. He felt like I might cry himself. He had royally fucked up and didn't know if Amu would ever forgive him.

Amu shook her head. Finally getting a grasp back on reality. Seeing Ikuto slumped in front of her helped shake her from her flashbacks. Seeing him in distress was oddly grounding for the young girl.

"Ikuto, no! I was enjoying myself! I um...I really wanted to continue, I didn't realize it would happen like that! I have never had a flashback like that. It was so real I couldn't even see you anymore. I'm so sorry. I really wanted to continue." Amu rambled on while tears still streamed down her face.

Ikuto looked up at her and she could see the guilt in his eyes. She looked into his blue eyes and could see him pleading for forgiveness. Amu shakily said "There isn't anything to forgive Ikuto. You did nothing any other man wouldn't do with someone he's wanting a relationship with. You just happened to get involved with someone who is pretty fucked up." She leaned her forehead to his and just sat there breathing in and out.

Ikuto was quiet for a long while before he moved and took her face in his hands gently. He looked her directly in the eyes and spoke.

"I understand your trauma might make sex difficult for us, but I want you to know that I respect your boundaries and am willing to wait as you need to begin exploring this. So please don't ever pressure yourself into anything you're not ready to do for my sake. I am so incredibly sorry for not communicating better today, I should have been smart enough to know regardless of how you were responding you were not ready for this."

Ikuto hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "Get your things together and I'll take you home." Amu nodded into his chest and melted into his embrace.

Amu felt like she was drowning. She wasn't sure what love felt like but she had an idea that whatever she was feeling now was the beginning to the end. She could feel herself falling for this man and it was so terrifying. But it was something she was going to let happen. She was going to be selfish for once in her life. She wanted this. She wanted him. She was determined to not let her past define her future with this man.