Ikuto laid down on his bed with his arms stretched behind his head. He could hear the water hitting the edge of the shower in the bathroom next to their bedroom. Amu was finally getting her shower that she asked for so long ago. He sighed and stared at the ceiling. He had been trying to figure out what her dream had been about since he got out of the shower and heard her saying his name. When she woke up, the first thing she did was feel her neck. Maybe she was having a nightmare about a vampire? Maybe he was a vampire in her dream. No, that didn't seem right. He sighed again and passed his time by listening to the water and listening to Amu hum her songs in the shower. Man, the walls were thin. He tried to remember what else was going on with her when she was asleep. He remembered that her face was a bright pink, stained with blush. Maybe they were… Ikuto felt a light blush touch his cheeks and remembered the feeling of her fingers on his ears. He rolled around on his squeaky bed and tried to kick the though from his mind, but it refused to leave. He pulled his pillow over his head and grumbled into it angrily. He heard the water turn off in the room behind him and paused. He hid his face behind the pillow, waiting for Amu to walk in. Not a minute later, Amu trotted into the bedroom with a new spring in her step that wasn't there after she had awoken from her nap. Ikuto longed to ask her what her dream had been, but he kept his face hidden deep in his pillow.

"Is something wrong, Ikuto?" Amu asked as she walked over and tapped him on the back of his head.

Ikuto responded by kicking his feet on the bed like a child having a tantrum.

Amu smiled at him, "Oh, come on now, Ikuto. What's wrong?" She grabbed the top of his ear and pulled on it a couple times.

Ikuto's hand shot up and grabbed her around her wrist. He quickly sat up and stared Amu in the eye and said sternly "I told you not to touch my ears."

Amu tried to pull her hand away as she giggled at him. "Ikuto, I didn't know you could blush," she teased as she reached up with her other hand and started to stroke his ear.

He could feel his face heating up and he tried to pull away from her, but she just leaned closer to him until he was backed up against the wall on his bed. "A-Amu," he blindly tried to push her hands away, but he wasn't even worried about seeing her anymore, "Stop!" He put his hand on her face and pushed her away angrily and then buried his face into his pillow again, making sure to completely cover his ears.

Amu sat down on the edge his bed and giggled, "Ikuto, your face is so red."

Ikuto groaned.

"What's wrong with your ears?"

"It doesn't matter," Ikuto mumbled angrily through the pillow.

Amu poked his side playfully, "What is it?"

He moved the pillow just enough so that his words were audible, "I think that all the steam from the shower has gotten to your head. You're just imagining things."

Amu shrugged and smiled, "I'll go see if Shiragin knows then."

Ikuto waited to hear her leave the room before he got up and pressed himself against the door to hear what they were saying.

"Hey, Shiragin," he heard Amu call.

"What?" he replied lazily.

"Why do Ikuto's ears make him act weird?" she asked him in a singsong voice.

There was a pause, probably Shiragin trying to figure out how to answer. Finally he decided answer with "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Amu sighed heavily, "Yes, you do. I know you do. Now tell me!"

Shiragin lowered his voice, but too much that Ikuto couldn't hear him. "It doesn't matter to you, Amu. He… He'll tell you if he wants to, okay? Now go mind your own business."

Ikuto sniggered when he heard Amu stomp on the ground as she made her way back to the bedroom. He started to scramble back to his bed but he was tackled to the ground by Amu. He rolled onto his back under her and grabbed onto her wrists before she could touch his ears. He smirked at her, "You know, Amu, I'm usually on top when I do this sort of thing. I don't mind being bottom though."

Amu frowned at him, trying to figure out what he meant, and then she realized that he was talking about sex. She blushed and looked away, trying to pull her hands away from him, "Th-That's not what I was going for…"

He pulled her forward by her wrists a little so that she was straddling his stomach instead of over his upper legs. "Are you sure? You seemed pretty determined," he cooed.

Amu tried to pull away from him but failed. She glared at him, "Let me go, you pervert."

Ikuto raised an eyebrow at her and pulled her down a little closer to him, "Oh? I'm the pervert? You're the one that has an obsession with my ears, Amu-koi."

Amu kept trying to pull away from him, "J-Just let me go…"

Ikuto chuckled at her, "Do you promise to stop touching my ears?"

Amu glared at him and blushed, "Okay, okay, just let me go."

Ikuto hesitated, but let go of her hands. He put his hands on the ground to push himself up but was pushed back down by Amu, who grabbed back onto his ears and started to rub the top of them, giggling furiously as she did so.

"A-Amu! Stop it!" Ikuto tried to push her off but couldn't find the will to.

Amu giggled and buried her face in his chest as his face started to turn bright red with a blush she didn't think Ikuto was possible of. She looked back and giggled at him as he stuttered and tried to create complete words.

"A-Ah," he felt around and grabbed her shoulders but still couldn't find the strength to push her off.

"Ikuto! You look so cute like this!" she cooed as she rubbed the back of her ears like she would a cat.

He struggled under her, trying to free himself from her grasp. "A-Amu… Ngh! L-Let me go!" he yelled at her before finally wiggling out from under her and escaping out the door. He quickly ran down the stairs, he could hear Amu getting up and following him. He found Shiragin lying on the couch reading a book. "Sh-Shiragin," he said, out of breath. He kneeled down on the floor next to the couch and rested his head on the cushion, "P-Protect me, please."

Amu got to the bottom of the stairs and giggled at the blush on Ikuto's cheeks. "I told you he acted weird when you touch his ears," she said. She started walking towards him, seeing as he had nowhere to run to now.

How wrong she was. Unfortunately for Shiragin, Ikuto decided that the safest place for his ears were between the back of the couch and Shiragin's side. He climbed over Shiragin, careful not to step oh him, and wedged himself between the older man and the cushions on the back of the couch. He wrapped his arms tightly around Shiragin and hid his head in the cushions. "Make her stop touching them!" he whined.

Shiragin sighed and looked at Amu, "Amu, stop touching his ears, okay?"

Amu pouted, "But why does he act like that? I mean, they're just ears."

Shiragin frowned, "Just… trust me, Amu. Ikuto doesn't need anyone touching him there, so just don't do it, okay? Maybe he'll tell you one day, and then you'll understand why he doesn't want you touching there, okay?" He glances down at Ikuto, who still had his red face buried in Shiragin's chest, "Although, I do admit that Ikuto is extremely cute when he blushes."

Ikuto hit him on the chest lightly.

Amu sighed and looked at the time on her phone and yawned, "Fine then, I'm going to bed." She quickly trotted back up the stairs and into the bedroom.

Ikuto pulled his head out from between the cushion and Shiragin's ribs and placed it on his chest. "Shiragi—n," he whined.

Shiragin dog-eared the page he was on and dropped the book to the ground. "Yes, Iku—to," he echoed back while running his fingers through Ikuto's hair.

"Amu is such an oblivious pervert. She was straddling me earlier and had no clue why I was making a dirty joke," he said with a sigh.

Shiragin chuckled, "She's just dense. You could always try to teach her about all this stuff… but she might try to attack your ears again."

Ikuto fidgeted uncomfortably against Shiragin, pressing his face against Shiragin's chest, "I-I think I'm feeling better now…"

Shiragin smiled and kissed the top of Ikuto's head, "You going to bed, then?"

Ikuto tried to pull his head away and scooted further down the couch, "D-Don't kiss me, you fag. And I won't be able to sleep anyway. I'll probably just go for a walk or something."

Shiragin laughed quietly, "Now, now, Ikuto, how many times have I told you that 'fag' is a bad word?"

Ikuto rolled his eyes, "More than I can count," and chuckled. He rolled on top of Shiragin and blushed, "Th-Thanks, Shi."

Shiragin playfully ruffled Ikuto's hair, "Don't mention it."

Ikuto laid his head back down on Shiragin's chest, "Do you think Amu is as dense as she acts? Maybe she's just pretending to be naïve to catch us off guard."

Shiragin raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm pretty sure that I've told you that not everyone is out to get you. I remember when Amu first started. You trusted her so easily."

"I know," Ikuto spoke slowly and quietly while tracing designs on Shiragin's shirt, "But there's just something about her. She makes me want to… I don't know. I want to trust her one second, the next second I won't believe a word she says, and the next I just don't care anymore. She's just another person."

Shiragin started to stroke Ikuto's hair, "Maybe you like her?"

Ikuto half shook his head, "No, no, I don't like her."

"And how would you know that," he accused, "if you never try to tap into your feelings. Don't try to cover it up, I know you're always trying to push your feelings to the back of your mind and forget about them, just like you did with—"

"Don't say it. Don't you say it," Ikuto warned.

"…Just like you did with Aruto."

Ikuto punched Shiragin hard in the chest. Shiragin brought a hand up to his chest and rubbed it, "Ouch, that hurt, you jerk."

"I told you not to say it," Ikuto mumbled. "He's gone and there's nothing I can do about it."

Shiragin frowned down at Ikuto, "Ikuto, just because he's dead, that doesn't mean you have to act like he never existed. He was your dad, after all."

Ikuto wrapped his arms tightly around Shiragin's waist, "My dad that you slept with every night." He buried his face into Shiragin's shirt.

Shiragin could feel the wet spots soaking through the fabric of his shirt through Ikuto's tears, "Now, now, Ikuto," he said soothingly as he rubbed Ikuto's back, "that doesn't make him any less of a father."

Ikuto didn't reply. He didn't let any sobs escape his mouth. They were all caught up in his throat and he couldn't speak. Tears just streamed out of his eyes silently as he listened to Shiragin breathe. Shiragin ran his fingers through the younger boy's hair and waited for the barrier to break. Soon enough, Ikuto erupted into a fit of sobs, the tears streaming down his face and onto Shiragin's shirt. "I-I miss him," Ikuto mumbled into Shiragin's stomach through the sobs.

Shiragin grabbed Ikuto by his arms and pulled him up near his face and started to rub his back, "Now, now, Ikuto…" he said as he scooted over on the couch and made room for Ikuto to lay down in front of him. He wrapped his arms protectively around Ikuto's chest, and Ikuto grabbed onto them.

"Y-you… you killed h-him," Ikuto choked out.

"Shh, shh, Ikuto," he said, calmly shushing him in his while nuzzling the back of his neck.

"I-I… I h-hate you, Shi," Ikuto managed to say.

Shiragin smiled, knowing Ikuto's feelings didn't match his words. "I love you too, Ikuto. Now calm down and go to sleep."

Ikuto tried to stop the sobs, but they didn't stop for another five minutes when he finally wore himself out and fell asleep in Shiragin's arms.

A/N—HEY YOU GUYS. So I was… I was on vacation most of the summer. So I stayed up until almost 12:45 in the morning working on this for you. C: So also, I recently noticed that you can't see my greater than and less than signs when I'm trying to differentiate between languages. Sorry. Oh well. So yeah. Ikuto's ears, as stated by him in one of the episodes (Mon Dieu, I've forgotten), are his "erogenous" zone. I like to think of it like the ahoges from Hetalia, if any of you watch/read that. And I totally threw in some IkuShi… Shikuto? DA. DA. DA. Shikuto. So I threw some Shikuto in there for you guys. Well, mostly for me. I think it's cute. Don't worry, Ikuto's straight. ;) SO YEAH. School's starting back soon, so I'm not sure how it will affect my writing. I'll be home a lot more now, because I'm going into highschool, but I don't know… So yeah. Just bear with me. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to REVIEW, SUCKAS.