Author's Note: In which Izzy flips out, and has to deal with Tai right in the middle of a panic attack. I just won't cut that poor boy a break, will I?

Jerry and Amy, Pt 1

It was a day like any other, and Izzy was in his bedroom at home, working at his desktop. It was all very quiet and pleasant, and Izzy was quite enjoying himself, until a loud, piercing scream had him throwing himself out of his chair. It rolled underneath him as he moved, pitching him forward into his closed bedroom door. A sharp exclamation of pain slipped out of him, but it was entirely drowned out by another shriek. The sound was keening, so high and biting that it seemed to vibrate his skull. Izzy had never heard anything like it before, and he hoped he never would again. It was like hearing a heart shattering into a million splintered shards.

Somehow, he managed to get the door open and enter the hallway. Distantly, he noticed that this place wasn't a part of his home. The walls were blank and nondescript, and they seemed to stretch on forever. But that couldn't matter right now; there was obviously someone nearby who needed help. He ran, moving straight ahead, as that was the only option. Before long, the screaming turned into speaking, and Izzy began to hear words, to register a familiar voice.

"Please… No… I don't- I don't- Stop! Please- Please-"

Izzy stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face, when he recognized that sweet, lilting voice. A heartbeat passed as shock, fear, and rage tore through his body, and then a strange, deadly clarity overtook him. He nearly doubled his pace, calling out Amy's name all the while, but there was no answer. It felt as if his heart was moving up his throat, and his ears rang with its pounding. It sounded like a war drum, driving him inexorably forward.

Finally, the hallway came to an abrupt end, dumping him in front of a worn wooden door. Izzy grabbed the knob and threw it open, then winced as harsh, yellow artificial light assaulted his eyes. He blinked furiously as his pupils contracted, then took a hasty look around, still crying out to Amy all the while.

When his vision cleared, he noticed cream colored walls made of painted cinder blocks, a desk with twin monitors, and exposed pipes in the ceiling. A dorm room, he noted with confusion. Movement on the far side of the room caught his eye, and he turned towards the twin bed by a double set of closets. Amy was lying on her back, flailing against the body on top of her. Sobbing gasps rendered her words unintelligible. A boy was pinning her lower half down with his hips and restraining her wrists. His free hand was clumsily removing his belt.

It didn't occur to Izzy that he had never retaliated in a fight in all of his life, despite having been mildly bullied in his childhood. He didn't stop to consider that he was small, scrawny, and extremely likely to hurt himself just by throwing a punch. All that mattered was getting that bloody bastard as far away from Amy as possible, no matter what the price may be. He threw himself onto the bed, grabbed Amy's attacker by the shoulder, and pulled, moving his fist back all the while.

The boy turned, and Izzy froze when he saw dark, deep set eyes, a heavy brow, and short, blood red hair. His jaw went slack, and he glanced frantically from Amy, who was cowering away from the both of them, to the stranger who wore his face. Then, suddenly, there was a pair of soft, warm hips between his thighs, and his fingers were wrapped around two trembling wrists. His other hand was working the clasp of his belt while his hips pressed down against hers. His hunger for her eclipsed his ability to think, overwrote his very nature.

And, suddenly, he understood: he was the one forcing himself on Amy. She didn't want him, and a glance at her ashen face was enough to prove that he had already broken her trust in him. He doubled over, dropping his forehead on hers, and began to gasp frantically. His lungs seemed to be collapsing in his chest, smothering under the weight of his confusion, panic, self-loathing, and pain. His vision blurred, then went black.

For a moment, Izzy genuinely thought that he had somehow died, or at least fainted. He was still gasping in his dorm room bed, and everything was dark, but there was no one under him. In fact, he seemed to be lying on his side, which was odd, as he always slept on his back. And why was it so wonderfully warm beneath the covers? Then he noticed his horrific headache and the dull, drumming pain in his stomach, and he glared at the closet doors in frustrated confusion.

He slowly began to rise, trying to ascertain what was going on, his heart beating wildly all the while. Something shifted against him as he moved, and he swallowed an exclamation when he realized that there was a second person in his bed, and that his arm was wrapped around the intruder. A faint mewling sigh reached his ears, and Izzy rubbed his eyes furiously, trying to hasten their adjustment to the darkness.

Unless he was very much mistaken, there was a girl in his bed. And, unless he was even more mistaken, it was Amy. He shifted his body so that a patch of moonlight slipped past him and onto the rest of the bed, then swallowed so hard that he nearly choked.

It was certainly her, sleeping peacefully beside him, breathing slowly and evenly. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the ghostly white lighting, making it immediately obvious that whatever she was wearing was barely providing sufficient cover. Izzy leaned closer and recognized his own robe wrapped around her, falling partially open at the front, giving him a teasing look at her curves. For a split second, it occurred to him that no one would ever know if he opened the robe further and helped himself to an incredible view, but the thought disappeared from his mind as soon as it formed. There were more pressing matters at hand.

What the deuce happened last night?! He rubbed his forehead furiously, then gasped at the jarring pain created by the contact. It felt like a tiny man was punching his brain from somewhere inside at regular intervals. Groaning quietly, he dropped his face into his palms and forced himself to think, despite his internal and external distractions.

The events of the evening sped through his mind, as if he were fast forwarding a movie. His breathing hitched as he remembered his chat against the bar wall with Amy, growing increasingly shallow and quick as he worked his way through inviting her to his room. He began to rock his body back and forth on the bed as he realized that they had kissed, and a strangled sound slipped out of him as he acknowledged that it had been much more than touching lips to lips. It was a kind of melding, like slipping entirely past physical barriers and communicating on some mysterious inner frequency. Touching and being touched in ways he didn't- couldn't- understand. The things they said to each other, the ways they interacted… He stifled a quiet groan as he remembered how Amy had spread her legs beneath him and eagerly rubbed her sex against his, frantically kissing and stripping him all the while. Those huge brown eyes hovered in his mental vision, brimming with a longing that went far beyond desire.

Izzy stumbled out of his bed, so overwhelmed that he nearly tripped, so distracted that he forgot that Amy was sleeping. He moved towards the center of the room blindly, with no destination or purpose in mind. Somehow, he just needed to move, needed to wander. He glanced at the display of his digital clock and saw that it was a little after four in the morning, and irritation somehow registered through his haze of emotions. What he needed right now was to skate until his legs went wobbly, but the rink wouldn't be open at this hour.

Sit down, you fool. Do your thinking where you can. With that thought, Izzy parked himself on his desk chair, crossed his arms, and tilted himself towards his bed. Miraculously, Amy had slept through all that movement, and Izzy watched her, hardly able to believe that she was actually there. The sound of her breathing was faintly audible from the desk, and Izzy listened, fastening his attention to the sound, allowing the simple, peaceful stimulus to soothe him.

Now. What happened after that kiss? And why would I have such a terrible dream? A shudder passed over his body, ripping away the thin layer of calm that he had just wrapped around himself. To dream of victimizing her like that… His stomach roiled at the memory, no doubt helped along by his hangover. It felt like something disgusting was wriggling along his guts, winding its way through his intestines. Izzy grit his teeth and forced himself to forget the dream and the nausea for the moment, so that he could remember the rest of the evening.

His encounter with Amy had started moving too far, too fast, and Izzy remembered arriving at a point where he wasn't sure if he could hold back if things went any further. So I asked her if she was certain that she wanted sex… And… And then what? His heart began to palpitate, and it reminded him of a ticking bomb, coming closer to an explosion with each painful pulse. Think, idiot! You don't have any protection- what happened? What did she say?

But no words, uttered in that airy, trilling voice, came to mind. Instead, he began to remember tears and pathetic, high-pitched whimpers, tense, frozen muscles, eyes widened and trembling with fear. Izzy gagged and threw himself to his feet, grabbing his tiny trashcan as he went. His phone vibrated before he took a step towards the door, and he picked it up automatically. Then he was in the hallway, running towards the nearest bathroom.

Once he was there, he stepped around the puddle of vomit on the middle of the floor without mental comment, threw the door of the nearest stall open, and was violently sick. His entire body shuddered as he tried to remember what happened next. Did I force myself on her? No, no…! If I did, she wouldn't have stayed in bed with me. I didn't hurt her. I would never!

But she was frightened. I frightened her terribly, his mind whispered, and he shuddered and groaned. A few tears forced their way out of his eyes, compelled by physical discomfort and emotional pain. Then, finally, his heaving ended, and he forced himself to his feet, leaning heavily against the stall for support. He stood there for a moment, ignoring the terrible smells in the bathroom, trying to understand how he could have scared her. She wanted that kiss. I'm certain. It felt a bit like hubris to say it so bluntly, but he clearly remembered her eagerness, her malleability to his every suggestion. So, where did he go wrong? Was he forgetting something crucial?

This is punishment. This is my due for drinking and giving into romantic inclinations. I thought I had learned my lesson…! How much of a fool can a man be? And to hurt an innocent girl in the process… There was a part of him that wanted to break down and cry like a helpless child, but he somehow stifled the urge, turning his focus to his phone for a distraction. As he slipped out of the bathroom, he saw that Tai had called him, and he tapped send before he could convince himself otherwise. With any luck, Tai would occupy his mind with some minor problem for a few minutes, providing him with a temporary reprieve.

Tai shouted his name like an enraged madman after the first ring, and Izzy blinked and held his cell a foot away from his face until the screaming died down. "Hello, Tai. Could you repeat that? You seem to have rendered me temporarily deaf." Banter, wit. Temper tantrums from volatile peers. Normal, calming things that marginally cleared his head. A breath slipped out from between his lips as he made his way to the deserted student lounge and sat on a tattered, stained sofa, dropping his trash can beside him.

"Fuck you!" Tai cried, and Izzy managed half a grin. Normally, such disrespect would annoy him, but he was coming to see that this was simply Tai's way. At any rate, his rage was almost amusing when sampled from a safe distance. "Where the hell did you take Amy?"

Izzy leaned back against the couch, something he typically would never due, owing to its questionable level of cleanliness, and stared blankly at the ceiling. "Amy and I both sent you text messages explaining that I was escorting her back to the dorm. That's precisely what I did. I can only assume that she's sleeping." He was, of course, treading carefully around the topic of exactly where Amy was sleeping. As miserable as he was at the moment, he would still prefer to not have his head bludgeoned in by an enraged quasi-brother.

"Like anyone's sleeping right now," Tai growled, and Izzy raised an eyebrow at the light panels above him. "Matt and Sora ditched me. So did Mimi and Joe. We all know what they're up to." A frustrated snort registered over the phone, faintly audible over the sound of traffic and laughter. "And then I find this message saying that even Amy left me… With you!"

Ah, delightful. Sexually frustrated, betrayed, worried, and jealous. And I, of course, was the only one foolish enough to take his call. "She was tired, Tai, and she assumed that you weren't interested in returning yet." Truthfully, he was putting words in Amy's mouth, but they didn't seem like much of a stretch, so he went ahead and said them.

There was shuffling sound, then the opening and slamming of a door. "Listen. No offense. I mean, you're alright, but I don't trust anyone but Matt with Amy. Take her to me or him the next time she wants to go home."

"She asked me to take her home," Izzy said, gritting his teeth. Part of him knew better than to argue with Tai, particularly when he was full of alcohol, but the implication that Amy couldn't make her own decisions irritated him. And something about that bothered him, but he was too upset and hungover to know what. Maybe the trouble is that we're discussing the very topic I wanted to forget, he thought darkly.

A dismissive snort, then a long, gravelly sigh. "Well, whatever, I guess. I just made it back myself. Been callin' everyone for so long, I didn't even realize how close I was. She'll be in Matt's bed, right? Since he's with Sora." Izzy grimaced and half stood, noting the bitterness that was fouling up Tai's mood even more. "If she has a single complaint about you, I swear to God, I'll be knocking your door down in five minutes."

Izzy stood and began to aimlessly dart around the room, feeling far too panicked to sit still. "Ah- Ah, well, no. She's not in your room." He could almost see Tai's puzzled, annoyed frown, and he smiled nervously in response to that mental image.

"So she's in her bed? I'm sleeping in Sora's bed? Great. That's fuckin' awkward. Maybe I'll just nudge Amy over, she won't wake up anyway…"

"Er- Well- She actually asked me to…to allow her to sleep…elsewhere."

There was a long pause that somehow caused a string of shivers to pass over Izzy's body. "Alright. So I'm heading straight to your damn door, then," Tai said, and the forced cheerfulness in his voice sounded more ominous than his earlier shouting.

I'm dead, Izzy realized, coming to a halt in the middle of the room. Something akin to hysteria overtook him, possibly because he knew he had no way out of this. Why hadn't he thought of this eventuality earlier? I'm dead. I had just as well have some fun with it, I suppose. "Do be careful when you break the door in, Tai. Amy's trying to sleep in there."

He expected more shouting and swearing, but all he heard was a sharp intake of breath, then the faint beeping that announced the end of a call. And, somehow, that was so much worse. Although Izzy didn't understand Tai's personality as intimately as he did Amy's, he sensed that the lack of obvious signs of temper indicated a more dangerous inner state. The yelling and bravado went along with normal anger, were outbursts that helped Tai retain some level of control. The silence, focus, and action… That was what someone saw before they were knocked unconscious.

Izzy grabbed his trashcan and ran back to his door, stumbling once or twice along the way. Although he hated to wake Amy, he knew that he would require her intercession to escape this encounter unscathed, so he flicked the lights on and sat on his bed, dropping the trash can back under his desk as he went. "Amy," he said, shaking her gently. "Amy?"

Her facial muscles pinched up for a moment, and she made a groaning sound and turned away from him, like a grumpy child on a weekday morning. Normally, Izzy would have smiled and investigated this behavior, but he wasn't exactly at his leisure at the moment. "Amy, please. I'm sorry. I'm aware that you're tired and hungover, but Tai just called, and he found out that you're sleeping in my room, and- well- he isn't pleased."

Amy blinked at him a few times, and her eyes grew less and less blank with each pass of her lids. He could clearly discern the moment when she identified him, then her surroundings. She raised herself into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes, then pushed her tangled hair away from her face. "Izzy…?" she asked, glancing nervously about the room.

I don't have time for this. Tai will be here any second. Izzy leaned closer and took hold of her upper arms, hoping that the contact and proximity would soothe at least one of them. "Yes. You're in my room, and yes, we shared my bed these last few hours." He paused for a moment, unable to take the widening of her eyes and the flaring of her nostrils in stride. If she regretted what had passed between them, it would hurt him more than he cared to admit, even to himself. And the sense of loss would be unbearable.

Amy cleared her throat, then glanced away from him, wringing her hands all the while. "Are… Are you still drunk?" she asked, directing the question to her knees. Frowning, Izzy slid his hands down, until they were wrapped around hers. What could she possibly be thinking?

"No. I'm painfully sober, I'm afraid." He glanced nervously over his shoulder, realizing that he had forgotten to lock the door in his haste. He tried to slide off of the bed, but Amy's fingers were locked around his, and he was hesitant to break any contact from her, since their status felt so tenuous at the moment. She was still staring into her lap, looking fragile and despondent. Her hands were cold, but slightly sticky with sweat.

"Do you… Do you want me to go back to my room? I'm sure Sora and Matt are… I don't think they would mind if I just slipped into my bed at this point." Izzy frowned at the curtain of fine, tangled hair separating the two of them. His instinct was to say something along the lines of, No, I rather need you at the moment, actually, but something about her vulnerable tone and posture had him interpreting her words, despite the threat that was moving towards him.

There was some significant sputtering in his brain, due to its recent emotional battering, but it eventually landed on a conclusion: She's unsure of whether she's still welcome here, now that I'm no longer inebriated. That doubt and uncertainty hurt him more than he could have anticipated, and he had to fight to keep a grimace from forming. If he was going to have any hope of soothing her, he needed to appear composed. He gently extricated a hand from hers, then brushed her hair over her shoulder, giving himself a view of her face. She tilted her head away from him, and he moved in closer to compensate. The muscles around her eyes were tight and drawn, making her look worn and troubled.

He wanted to say something romantic and sweet, but his throat completely closed in on itself at the thought. Revealing his feelings and desires went utterly against his nature, but he knew he had to act now, or risk losing the progress his drunken self had made. And so, he forced a word out, then another, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth all the while, as if he were watching a frightening film. "Stay. Please."

There was a pause, and then a faint pressure on his forehead, followed by the sound of a shuddering exhalation. Izzy opened his eyes and found that Amy's face was right up against his. He could feel the ragged, quick rhythm of her breathing, sharp sounds that normally accompanied crying. And, sure enough, there were tears dripping rapidly down her face.

"Amy!" he cried, cupping her cheeks. "Please- why are you crying?" His fingers desperately wiped at the moisture, as if drying her face quickly enough would banish whatever was hurting her. Why does everything I do seem to end in tears for her?

"I'm okay, I just- I was afraid you would ask me to leave-" She might have said more, but the door crashed open at that moment, and Tai threw himself into the room, like a bull storming into a matador's ring. Amy startled severely, throwing her arms around Izzy and pulling him in. Oh, Amy, Izzy thought, offhandedly monitoring the progress of his heart towards his stomach. Must you really begin crying and clinging the moment Tai appears?

The three of them stared at each other for a second, and, for the sake of his pride, Izzy could only hope that he was making his normal disinterested expression. "Tai. So good to see you," he drawled. It was foolish to bait him, he knew, but Amy's robe was far too open in the front, and Izzy discretely closed it while Tai turned his flaying glance towards him.

"Hi, Tai," Amy chirped, wiping at her cheeks. She tilted her head and smiled sweetly, but Izzy could feel the tightness of her muscles. She's embarrassed and wary, Izzy realized. "Is everything alright? You look kind of worked up."

A muscle twitched visibly in Tai's cheek, and Amy inched closer to Izzy. Her hand found his, and he squeezed it gently, trying to reassure her and find reassurance. She'll know how to navigate this. Best to give her point.

Tai's hands curled into fists with enough force to make the veins in his arms stand out beneath his skin. "Amy," he said at length, and there was an odd laboring effect to his voice, as if he found speaking difficult. "What in the hell is going on here?"

Izzy kept his eyebrow from cocking through pure strength of will. In all honesty, he was impressed; he had half expected an immediate fist to the face, followed by questions sometime in the next week, when he finally regained consciousness. Perhaps his proximity to Amy, or the way she was slowly working her hand up his arm, was saving him. Either way, he slowly released a breath that he hadn't been aware of holding.

Amy made an uncomfortable humming sound, then began tapping her fingers up and down his inner arm. "Tai. I love you, and your concern really means a lot to me. But… Well, what I do with my boyfriend is, you know, kind of… My business? Right?"

A jolt when through Izzy as he registered her words. She turned to him, as if in search of confirmation, and he gave her a jerky, robotic nod. Could she really want to be my girlfriend, despite what happened before we fell asleep? It's possible that she's merely appeasing Tai to soothe his temper. But as he considered that possibility, he began to remember what happened after Amy's panic attack.

The first recollection was pure pain, and his heart seemed to twist in his chest like a wrung dishrag. He had frightened Amy so deeply that she lost track of where she was and who she was with, and she kept asking for Tai and Matt, unwittingly shoving more and more blades into his heart. But I was to blame. She told me at the bar that she was hesitant to interact romantically while under the influence. I didn't heed her request, and it hurt both of us.

But, on the other hand, he had a clear memory of watching that fear and hurt drip away from her expression, of watching her eyes widen and shine with happiness and relief. When did that happen? And why?

And then he heard it in his mind, with the clarity of an expensive sound system:

This really isn't going away tomorrow, is it?

I would strongly prefer that it not.

I know I said no kissing until we're sober, but… Can I have just a little one?

Despite the threat literally looming over him, Izzy's eyes drifted shut as he worked his way through that kiss. In all honestly, he thought it was a bad idea at the time, and he had almost tried to argue her out of it, but something about the hope and vulnerability in her voice had convinced him to lightly place his lips on hers. As soon as she reached for him and sighed so sweetly, he was a prisoner to her every suggestion, and she somehow pulled him into her, and he felt her regard and affection for him. The strength of those feelings, and his strange ability to sense them, shocked him to the core, and he froze against her. By the time he came back to himself, she was sound asleep snuggled up to him.

This woman… How does she jump from emotion to emotion so quickly? One moment, she's terrified of me, and the next, she wants me to kiss her to sleep. What thoughts are swirling about in the mist behind those eyes? Her mind is some sort of uncharted otherworld, as far as I can tell. He smiled wryly at his lap. She's the best kind of puzzle; that which can never be completely solved. But one thing, at least, is clear; she's forgiven me for frightening her, and, somehow, she's still interested in me. Relief overtook him, gripping him so strongly that he shuddered from head to foot.

Tai stared at the two of them for a long moment, giving Izzy time to work through all of those thoughts. Finally, the athlete grit his teeth and shoved his fingers through his hair, then made an annoyed sound as they got caught in it. "You don't have a boyfriend, and you're not the type to hook up." He set his eyes, hard and glaring, onto Izzy's, and the redhead had to fight to keep his expression neutral. Even so, a bead of sweat worked its way down his forehead, stinging his eye, but he didn't wipe at it. "You're dead," he breathed, his voice low and menacing. "You're dead."

Tai moved so fast that Izzy had no time to react before he was a foot away on the bed. Amy must have anticipated an explosion, because she somehow managed to get her body in between the two boys, despite Tai's breathtaking speed. He stopped just short of ramming into her. "Tai," she said calmly, cupping his cheek with a hand. "I do have a boyfriend, and we didn't have sex, not that it's any of your business. Would you please calm down and listen to me?"

Izzy glanced uneasily from one cousin to the other, seeing an indulgent sort of patience on Amy's end and wild anger and alarm on Tai's. Good Lord, I hope she knows what she's doing. He looks like a lion defending the pride.

Tai calmed down by painfully slow degrees, until he plopped himself into a normal sitting position. "Talk," he grunted, crossing his arms. "And you shut up."

"Don't say that to Izzy!" Amy cried, squeezing the redhead's arm. Izzy fought down a smile. It always amused him when Amy bickered with her cousin, owing to her normal demure behavior. His amusement fled as she hissed and squeezed her eyes shut. "Jove, I have such a headache… And my stomach…"

"Hangover. Get her some water and pain killers." Izzy was reluctant to move away from Amy, knowing that Tai was less likely to try to hurt him if she was near, but he seemed relatively calm now. He stood and took Tai's orders, shuffling about in the room while Amy began to speak again.

"Well- I don't know what to say!" Amy's voice was shrill and embarrassed. "I, I've liked Izzy for a while now, and I guess we ended up talking about it at the bar, and then Matt was in my room, and your room smells like a locker room, and Izzy offered to let me sleep in Joe's bed, and then I asked him if he wouldn't mind my sharing his bed, and…" She held her hands out and shrugged, pausing to nibble her lower lip. "Uh, here we are."

I've liked him for a while now… Izzy swallowed hard and busied himself with opening his closet door, grateful for the excuse to turn his back on the others. Those words made him feel jumpy and flustered, and he didn't really know how to process it.

Tai's voice sounded wearily, and Izzy fastened his attention to the distraction. "So, this was your choice?"

"Absolutely," Amy returned blithely.

"Your drunken choice, anyhow," Tai snorted. Izzy frowned, insulted by Tai's implication that alcohol was required to make him desirable, but said nothing. "But you're sober now, right? Are you still cool with it?"

Izzy nearly dropped his bottle of aspirin when he turned and saw the color spreading across Amy's cheeks. She smiled, shyly at first, but then uncontrollably. "Y-yeah," she managed at last, pressing the tips of her fingers together and partially hiding her face behind them. Something lurched violently in Izzy's stomach.

She's adorable. She has an inherent brand of sweet, genuine charm. What's going to become of me? I'll be completely at her beck and call in a matter of weeks. Amy turned her glance to him, then exhaled sharply and turned away, as if she found him so wonderful that she needed to avert her eyes. Days. Hours, Izzy amended, trying to combat the shaking of his hands.

Tai remained quiet for a few seconds, then leaned forward, his shoulders sagging, as if under an invisible weight. "Fine," he muttered, closing a hand around Amy's. "Fine. I'll let it go till morning. I'm fuckin' beat, anyway. C'mon, take some aspirin, and let's get to sleep."

"Okay, Tai," Amy said, punctuating it with an enormous yawn. Izzy turned his face towards the bottle in his hands, hoping to hide his pinched muscles. Why was Tai acting so high and mighty with Amy? What else could there possibly be to discuss? And what, was Amy planning to meekly follow her cousin out of the room and leave him here? I suppose I should expect to still be secondary to Tai for the time being, since they've grown up together. I'm sure I'm still be behind Matt, and perhaps a few others, as well. But, despite that logic, his heart felt oddly heavy and raw. He suddenly realized that, while her world was small, it was still larger than his, and that somehow made him feel a bit vulnerable.

Nodding, Tai slipped off the bed and tugged lightly on Amy. She glanced at their connected hands and produced a puzzled frown. "C'mon," Tai repeated, looking rather careworn. "I'm tired. Let's go."

Amy tilted her head like a confused puppy. "Go? I'm staying here."

Izzy's knees went a little weak, and he navigated around the bed and moved towards his desk chair, falling onto it gratefully. She didn't even consider leaving. She's surprised by the suggestion.

Tai slowly released her and stepped back. "Uh, okay?" he said, sounding slightly shocked. "Later, then." He made his way to the door with a dazed expression, and Izzy realized that he felt bad for him. Stop being so ridiculous. He was threatening my life earlier, and, although he did so out of concern for Amy, it certainly didn't endear him to me. Regardless, that awkward feeling remained, and he tapped his foot in an unsettled manner.

"I love you, Tai," Amy called, and Tai poked his head back into the room for a moment. He managed a weak smile that no one was going to buy, said good night, and closed the door.

Sighing, Izzy poured some aspirin into his palm and set aside a dose for the both of them. Amy watched him as he took out a bottle of water and offered it to her. "That was… interesting," he murmured as she swallowed the pills.

"I'm sorry. He's worried… And kind of jealous. You know, like how a dad gets when his little girl starts dating." She took a long swig from the bottle and handed it back over. "Not that I would know…," she trailed, resettling the sheets and comforter around her body.

Izzy mulled over her words as he downed his own pain killers, locked the door, and turned off the lights. I believe this may be what is referred to as 'daddy issues,' he realized. He made his way to the bed by moonlight, and Amy moved back the covers for him. He thanked her and tried to make himself comfortable in the limited space.

Although cuddling had felt natural enough before they fell asleep, it was very awkward now, and the tight cast of Amy's muscles seemed to indicate that she was struggling, as well. "Are you sure you're alright like this?" Izzy asked, trying to find someplace to put his arm. Would it be permissible to touch her? Would it be prudent? Did I even want to? "We still have the option of preparing Joe's bed for you."

There was a long pause, and Izzy felt more and more despondent as it stretched on. Although he hated to admit it, he wanted to be comfortable with her, wanted to be able to share close quarters with her. But it felt so strange and unsettling now that he was sober, and, worst of all, he could somehow sense trepidation building up in her, despite their lack of physical contact. "I guess this is kind of weird," Amy said at last. "Do you want me to move to the other bed?"

"I…" Izzy's pride reared up, demanding that he ask her to do just that, to kick her out of the personal space that a man ought to reserve for himself, as far as he was concerned. But there was just enough moonlight in the room to illuminate her wide, hopeful eyes, and he swallowed the words inching up his throat. "That's really not necessary, is it?" His tone was gruff and embarrassed, but Amy smiled shyly in response.

"Umm, okay. Do you want to talk about stuff? Or do you want to sleep?"

Izzy almost laughed. Right now, a reprieve from all of these demanding, uncomfortable emotions was more far more valuable to him than a massive lump of gold. Dredging up more accursed feelings was the last thing he wanted. "The latter, if it's all the same to you."

Her loud sigh of relief had him grinning. "Good night, then," she said. She stared at him for a moment, then closed her eyes, but Izzy could feel her fingers drumming uneasily against the bed.

Oh, for- Be a man, you fool. Can't you overcome your pride and offer her some sign that she's welcome and desired here? He gathered himself, then leaned into her, placed an arm around her waist, and lightly pressed his lips to her forehead. It was a brief, stiff offering of affection, but most of the tension seeped out of Amy's body in the seconds that followed. As time went on, her breathing became deep and even, but he lay awake for a long time, unable to relax, unable to process everything that had happened. His heart was a throbbing ball of pain and discomfort in his chest, scolding him with each beat for his abandonment of his stoicism.

Eventually, the tiny, pale hand lying between their faces twitched, drawing Izzy's eye. His mental floundering came to a halt as he really looked at the woman lying beside him. The circumstances weren't ideal, he acknowledged, but… But somehow, I'll rectify all of this. An unfamiliar sensation, warm and sweet, spread outward from Izzy's core, and he lifted a hand and settled it on top of hers. Finally, he yielded to his fatigue, and he allowed himself to drift off on that pleasant feeling.

Author's Note: This was a dragging, possibly unnecessary chapter. I acknowledge that it probably wasn't that good. Still struggling with writer's block, and that is my lame excuse XD But I wanted to devote some time to Izzy and Tai having freak outs, because it would have felt odd to gloss over that. Speaking of, poor Tai, I just… I just throw that boy under the bus over and over and over. Things will look up for him, I promise, but it's going to take a while, sadly.

Also, MAN are Izzy and Amy an awkward couple. I hope they enjoyed their make out session, because I rather doubt they'll be doing that again any time soon.

Uh… Right, so… This story arc is going to be delivered in a few parts, since it's so long. I already have quite a bit written of Amy explaining the Jerry situation to Izzy, so that should come out before too long. So, next chapter, you'll get that, along with an interesting conversation between Izzy and Joe. The following chapter should probably deal with Izzy talking to Matt. Just to warn you, this entire arc is going to be VERY heavily Izzy-centric, as he (somewhat desperately) investigates the Jerry thing from all possible angles. But hey, he is the main character here (I consider him to be the main character of this story, which I hope is coming through).

Oh, also, if you're wondering why I've been absent lately, it's mostly because of things at work, and also because I'm finally setting up the details of my wedding with my long-standing fiancé. I'd appreciate it if you lovely readers would offer me your understanding :)