Morg: Heyo! What's this? Another chapter?

Ikuto: Oh shut it.

Amu: You've updated more than one story in a day before.

Morg: So what! I can be excited!

Ikuto: But that doesn't mean that we have to be.

Amu: Yeah! You don't own us!

~Alone With You~

Watching as the two love birds entered the room with their arms wrapped tightly about each other, Kukai made a gagging face to Janel behind their backs.

Giggling, the doctor motioned for Ikuto and Amu to join them in the living room for a chat. "So what have you decided?"

That question held more weight than the light way that Janel asked it, but Amu and Ikuto only exchanged smiles before Ikuto sat down. Pulling Amu into his lap, the lanky man nuzzled his face into the side of her neck while inhaling her scent that was distinctly Amu. "We aren't giving up if that is what you are wondering."

Grinning from ear to ear, Kukai moved to slap the other boy on the shoulder in a congratulatory way. "Good choice mate! Now we can have more fun!"

Nodding her head to the crazy energetic man's statement, Janel jingled the keys the others hadn't noticed in her hand. "How about a little cruise around the savannah? Anyone interested in seeing some wildlife before you just take off?"

Kukai's hand shot straight into the air before anyone else had a chance to answer Janel. "I've made the executive decision that everyone wants to go! To the jeep!"

Exchanging glances, Ikuto let Janel know that they were indeed okay with going out for a drive since Amu had just been saying how much she wanted to see some sort of wild animal on their trip. The jungles of South America had been awesome and the parts of Europe and Asia they'd been through were pretty sweet. Not to mention their little escapade in Antarctica and Australia. Then again, seeing the variety of animals found in Africa was supposed to be more amazing that some of the places that they'd already been.

"So we'll leave in thirty? Can everybody be ready by then?"

"Thirty as in thirty minutes? I have to wait that long! Come on people! You have five seconds to get your asses to that jeep!"

"Cool your jets, Souma. I am pregnant, you know."

Ikuto should have known by now that the future mother of his child could play dirty when needed but he never thought she'd play the pregnant card so early in the game. Then again, she could play it for the next six to seven months without letting anyone argue against her. "She's right, man."

"Alright fine. The soon to be fat one can have a whole minute. Let's go!"

The fact that Ikuto was holding onto Amu was the only factor that saved Kukai's life in that moment. Tightening said hold just a little more, Ikuto started whispering into his lover's ear. "You don't need to listen to a word that man says, baby. The only the only thing that is going to get bigger on your body is your stomach and once that baby is born you are going to be just as beautiful, if not more, than you are right now."

Slowly, some of the anger that Amu felt subsided. Angering a mood swinging pregnant girl was not the captain's best decision. "You're lucky that you're over there, Souma. Though I've learned to make a swift kill, I still know how to make someone suffer when I feel like it."

Kukai swallowed deeply before nodding his head to the still angry looking pinkette. "Alright, take your time. I'll just be in the jeep."

Watching as the brown haired boy basically sprinted from the room, Janel sighed before heaving herself to her feet. "You know, I doubt that you'll actually gain much weight besides what the baby will weigh, Amu. You live an extremely active life. You'll just have to make sure to elevate your feet at night when you go to sleep so you ankles don't swell or you'll have one hell of a time moving around the next day. I know that with your life you can't afford to not be able to get out quick."

Taking in the advice, Amu nodded her head before pushing out of Ikuto's arms. "Well since I managed to get us some more time, how about we pack some snacks and drinks and hit the road. I want to see an elephant before we ditch this continent."

Ikuto smirked as he got up behind his pregnant girlfriend. "Right, so what do you think you're going to want to eat?"

Amu went silent. Ikuto knew instantly that this meant something bad. "At the moment I'm sort of craving some ice cream, but peanut butter and pickles sound amazing! Should we make some sandwiches for everyone?"

Shaking her head, Janel put a stop to that instantly. "No thank you! I eat jelly with my peanut butter on a sandwich and nothing else."

Pouting a little, Amu crossed her arms and muttered under her breath. "I bet it tastes amazing. You have no idea what you're going to be missing."

Ikuto couldn't help but chuckle as he wrapped an arm around his lover's shoulders. "Okay Amu, I'm sure Janel will regret her decision once she sees how amazing you sandwich idea is. Let's go make them."

Twenty minutes later, the four were in Janel's jeep and ready for their drive.

"We're going to see elephants and giraffes and lions and tigers and cheetahs and antelope and vultures and hyenas and –"

"We get it, Kukai! Most of those animals will be out here somewhere, but that doesn't mean that we are going to see them all today."

"Of course it does! This is Africa!"

"Have you ever been here before?"

"Yes!"

"This far away from the ocean?"

"No!"

"Then you have no idea what you're talking about."

"You take the fun out of everything, Janel."

"No, I just don't like letting stupid people think stupid things."

"Hey!"

Not being able to handle much more of the quarrel, Amu held up her hand to shut them both up. "How about we make a list of the animals we want to see and then do the research and try to find them?"

"Brilliant idea, Amu."

"Don't be nice to me now, Ikuto. You are still in trouble."

Kukai leaned over to the blue man beside him. "What did you do?"

"Not a thing. She's just mood swinging again."

"You know what you did, Tsukiyomi!"

"Whoa, last name basis. You are so in trouble, Ikuto."

"Janel, you really aren't helping."

With Janel driving and Amu sitting beside her that left the two boys for the back of the jeep with their cooler between them. Janel drove the roads like she knew them well. Tearing around corners and flying down the straightaways. Amu laughed the entire way.

Ikuto was pleased to see his lover so happy. Amu had suddenly turned on him while they were making sandwiches. Apparently she thought that he was putting a small amount of peanut butter on her sandwiches because he was afraid she was going to gain weight and get fat. Ikuto had thought that he was putting on more than she liked. This was going to be a long six to seven months if that was how Amu was going to handle all the meal making situations. Every second would be worth it to hold his son or daughter though.

"We'll be going to the reserve today. We can go to other places other days if we find something else that says we should. Sound good?"

Three positive replies met Janel's statement so she continued on with the route they were taking. The preserve was a no hunting area that a lot of animals could be found on. They were certain to see some awesome creatures during their drive.

Amu let her golden eyes scan the grassy lands around them in search of the giant grey beast she wanted to see. Though elephants weren't as numerous as they once were, Amu was certain that they would see some of them.

Kukai was more interested in seeing lions or something cool that could rip someone's head off they weren't careful. He was sure he could get Ikuto or Janel to do something stupid so that they could be chased. At least, that's what he was hoping for.

Not that he didn't want to see the animals of Africa but Ikuto was much more concerned about keeping his pregnant lover safe. The sites were sure to be amazing, but he cared too much about Amu to let something happen to her on this trip. In fact, he'd even pulled Janel aside before they left and explained to her that there would be no monkey business on this little joy ride. Amu's safety came before anyone else's.

Having lived there most of her life, considering she was born and raised for a short while in Japan, Janel had seen it all before. This being the case, she knew exactly what to look for. So much so that she was the only one that spotted the small herd of antelopes feasting on the grass. "Hey guys, look over there."

Two heads whipped to where Janel indicated while the third remained fixed on a certain pinkette.

Kukai strained himself so much so that he actually stood up in the back of the jeep to look for whatever Janel was talking about. "What is it? A lion! A cheetah! What?"

Seeing no elephant, Amu let her excitement die a little, though she knew that she was going to still see something she'd only seen in pictures. "Are those antelope?"

Grinning at the pinkette, Janel nodded her head. "And where there are antelope there are –"

"LIONS!"

Ikuto had to actually grab the back of the captain's shirt so he wouldn't fall out of the back of the jeep due to his excitement. There was indeed a small pride of lions watching the antelope though they didn't seem interested in doing much else but watch them, much to Kukai's disappointment.

Nevertheless, he took pictures of the lions and the antelope. "Come on lions! You are so hungry! Just look at those tasty antelope! They are just begging you to eat them!"

"Dude, I don't think it works that way."

"Shut up, Ikuto! You don't know anything!"

Falling silent, Ikuto just allowed the other man to shout stupid things at the animals around them before nodding to Janel to keep them going.

"Oh come on, Janel! Let's stay a little longer! I know that one is going to pounce soon!"

Amu followed the finger that Kukai had dramatically thrown into the air to see the lion at the end of it just napping in the grass. "I think maybe we'll see something cool if we come back later, Kukai. Let's just go on for now."

Slumping down in his seat dejectedly, Kukai nodded his head as he pouted.

Ikuto caught the man stealing glances back at the lions as if he was just hoping that they'd actually do something. He actually almost felt sorry for him.

Janel pulled over once more when they reached a watering hole. There didn't seem to be any animals in sight until she pointed out the crocs in the water. Only their eyes were visible. "See them? Those big guys will get you without you ever seeing them. This is why you shouldn't go near water you don't know."

Kukai only rolled his eyes. "I bet the lions don't worry about them."

"Usually crocodiles will only go for animals that straggle or seem weak because that's the easiest prey, but I can guarantee you that a hungry croc will take out a lion if they want to."

"Whatever."

Amu just giggled as the boat captain pouted once more. So far she was definitely enjoying the trip even though she had yet to see any elephants. They would definitely find them before they left South Africa. Ikuto had promised. "Is anyone else hungry?"

Ikuto stayed deadly quiet. He didn't want to remind Amu that she was currently angry with him. This seemed to be the wrong choice as two golden daggers were turned on him. Ikuto basically squirmed in his seat. "What's wrong baby?"

"You aren't hungry? Didn't you say that my sandwiches would be delicious and everyone would be jealous? Eat one!"

Ikuto swallowed before taking the sandwich being thrust into his face and unwrapped it. The smell of warm peanut butter and pickles hit his nose. Ikuto fought hard not to wrinkle his nose so that Amu couldn't tell that he already didn't like the snack she'd made. Opening his mouth only a little, Ikuto took the smallest bite he could. The sandwich was disgusting. It could possibly have been better without the heat of the day baking it horribly before they'd gotten a chance to eat it. "Delicious, Amu. I knew it would be."

Narrowing her eyes, Amu looked over the man eating one of her sandwiches. "You better eat it all then."

Resigning himself to his fate, Ikuto began to eat the sandwich. Kukai motioned for him to throw some of it out of the jeep as they drove along, but Ikuto knew that he'd be caught and he'd rather not face the wrath that he knew Amu could produce.

Amu was fine. She really was. Ikuto was slightly pissing her off, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized she was really just pissed off that he was so ridiculously delicious looking while she was going to get fat. Sure, her body was awesome at the moment, but she was definitely going to lose her figure as the months wore on.

Once that thought finally struck home, Amu suddenly turned to Janel. "We need to head back now!"

Raising one eyebrow, Janel gave a worried glance back at Ikuto before turning to Amu. "Are you alright?"

She could feel it now. The want and need building. Damn that man and his godly looks that made her want him so bad. "Janel," Amu whispered in a low, dark tone. "I'm swinging again and I definitely need to be back at the house right now."

Still giving Amu a worried look, Janel nodded her head before turning the jeep around in the middle of the small road. "Whatever you want, Amu."

"Kukai, switch me spots."

Ikuto could only watch in shock as Amu suddenly sprang into the back seat and basically shoved Kukai into the front with Janel. In the process, she managed to knock the rearview mirror out of whack. "Amu, are you alright?"

Shoving the cooler out of her way, Amu slid her body right up next to Ikuto's. In a voice that she knew only he could hear, Amu began talking. "I will be once we get back and I can touch you in any way I want. And trust me, Ikuto. I want."

Gulping slightly, Ikuto just wrapped his arm around her shoulders and listened to his lover purr at the contact. They were in for a long afternoon.

Janel fixed her mirror just to mess it up once the sight of Amu licking the side of Ikuto's shocked face came into view.

Kukai happened to not be paying attention to anything except the area outside of the car. Lucky for him, he didn't know about what Amu was doing to Ikuto in the backseat. Unfortunately for Janel, his eyes did land on a lion eating an antelope. "We missed the chase! WE MISSED THE CHASE! I blame you, Kimi-chi! I BLAME YOU!"

.

Morg: So how was it?

Ikuto: Brilliant. Write the next chapter now.

Amu: You really don't have to!

Morg: I won't write it now, but I will eventually.

Ikuto: Damn the other stories you want to update! This one is more important!

Amu: Don't say that! Besides, the reviewers are the only ones that matter to Morg.

Morg: Not completely true, but you know, reviews do help!