* This story was inspired by previous works that I've read in the past. Key authors being Holly Black and Melissa Marr. I take no credit for their work. Furthermore, I don't carry the rights for this anime. Some of the characters will act OOC; all of these characters are of age. Constructive criticism is very welcome. Enjoy.
Chapter 11: Amu's POV:
It was a restricted call. She never answered restricted calls... But her thumb slid across the screen, answering it without thinking.
Pressing the phone to her ear, she spoke hesitantly. "H...Hello?"c
"Amu." A husky, cool voice greeted, sending a zap of electricity down her spine.
"Amu."
Her heart stopped. She stared at the table blankly' it felt like her body wasn't there. She forgot Tadase's existence... He was probably hoping she'd tell Ikuto she'd 'call him back later'. That she was 'busy'.
As if hearing her thoughts, Ikuto spoke again, not waiting for her greeting.
"Three months can be a long time for a mortal... How are you fairing, Amu? Anything new going on?"
His voice sent shockwaves down her spine. The phone seemed nonexistent as well. It felt as if it were he, whispering in her ear. She imagined it silently, playing with the scene in her mind. She was completely out of it, it seemed.
"Amu, speak." The voice sounded sad, old, and very desperate. It hurt her heart, but she couldn't feel her body. She felt euphoric and she couldn't muster the strength to open her mouth to say anything. She just wanted to sit and hear him talk to her. She wanted to hear sweet words come from him. She wondered what she looked like to Tadase at this very moment. Did she look sad? Heartbreakingly desperate and more? How was he taking it? The thought of him registering that another man was on the other end of the line amused her.
"Amu, I'm begging you to speak. I want to hear you." Ikuto plead, but it also sounded like a smooth demand. She felt the need to obey his pleading.
She finally spoke, and once she did she came to her senses. And once she did that, she wanted to slap herself. Three whole months, and the first sentence to come out of her mouth was:
"How did you get a phone...?"
There was silence and the longer the silence drew out, the longer Amu drowned in her self-hatred. She listened as the breathing on the other end of the line hitched and caught, and soon after that she heard soft, melodious laughter.
"Ha...Hahahahaaa~!"
...He was laughing!
A blush stained her cheeks and even though she heard an agitated sigh across the table from her, she was already lost in the world of Ikuto.
"Y-You're laughing at me?!" Her voice bordered on incredulity.
He only seemed to laugh harder.
"Ikuto..." She hedged.
He shut up. It almost made her upset. Was he going to make her beg to hear his voice as well? ...She smiled when he spoke again.
"Amu... I have to tell you something."
No. No, she didn't want to hear that he was staying longer. That he was going to be gone for more months and that she'd have to get over him. She bit down on her lip. She wanted more time!
"B-Before you do that, Ikuto... Tell me how and why you have a phone?" Her voice sounded pathetic. She could almost imagine her friends watching this conversation with disgust. This was totally out of character. She'd been totally out of character ever since she met Tsukiyomi Ikuto. Is it his fault? Maybe... But she wasn't angry for having met him. She didn't regret a thing. In fact, she wanted more.
"Amu..." He sounded irritated with the subject change.
Did he want to hurry up and get the heart-breaking moment over with?
"I got the cellular device from a friend. To use to call you whenever need be." Ikuto continued.
He got the phone just so he could talk with her? She felt warm and tingly...
"Wait..."
She blinked.
"Cellular device?"
"Yeah." He said slowly, as if talking to an elder who had never heard of such things. "You know... The thing you're using right now." His voice grew to be condescending.
Amu happily drank his voice and criticisms all in. Savoring it.
"It's a cell-phone... That's what we call it now.… She shot back.
"Same difference." He retorted.
There was a pause and Amu imagined them staring each other down until one gave in. She lost.
"Alright, true, but-" She began.
"Amu, can you let me tell you what I need to tell you?" He sounded like he was frowning with disapproval.
"Ikuto, no, not yet!" She gripped her cooling cup of coffee, feeling desperate to keep him on the line.
"Amu... This is important." He said.
"Ikuto, don't tell me yet!" She panicked. She heard the screech of a chair gliding across the floor as Tadase pushed his seat back to stand.
"Amu-chan... I see that now is not the best time to hang out... You're busy..." He walked around the table silently.
He wasn't the only one silent either. Ikuto was so silent, she could barely tell that he was breathing. But she knew he was still there.
"Tadase-kun…" She looked up at Tadase, him towering over her with a small smile.
"Nevertheless, It was fun to see you, Amu-chan..." He leaned down and gave her a refined kiss on her cheek, standing straight before giving a small bow to his head. "I'll text you later." And with that said, he left.
Ikuto was still silent, and Amu started to worry. Her face was red because of the kiss, but she didn't make a big deal out of it. After all, they were dating. Whether she truly liked it or not, it was appropriate.
"Ikuto...?" She prodded anxiously.
"Who was he?" Ikuto's voice kind of scared her. Was it jealousy? No, it couldn't be. There was nothing he could have been jealous of. Anyway, did Faeries even feel human emotions? Other than sensing it from humans, of course.
"That was... H-Hotori Tadase… He's uh…-"
"Your beloved." Ikuto said simply. This time, his voice scared her more than anything. This time, there was nothing to be heard in his voice. She couldn't pinpoint any type of emotion. Not even happiness. More like... It was more as if he were only talking to her out of civility. Like the day they first met. His voice was rough and yet free of anything remotely human.
*Flashback*
"What's wrong?"
"You're willingly holding out your hand. You're willing to touch me." He replied softly.
"Isn't that what you wanted me to do?"
"About ten minutes ago, yeah.." He admitted. "But I like you, now."
*End Flashback*
"He's not my beloved, Ikuto..." Not really, anyway.
"Then why did he kiss you?"
HUH?!
"H...He didn't kiss me, Ikuto! Anyway, how would you know that?!" She accused.
BERRRP...BERRRP...BERRRP...
She pulled the phone from her ear, a cold sweat breaking out over her hands as she stares at her phone.
*Call Ended: 00.43*
"He... He hung up on me..." She whispered. Her eyes filled with tears as she stuck her phone back into her pocket, staring numbly at her now completely cold coffee. "Why did he...?"
She heard a loud, obnoxious sound behind her; outside of one of the picture windows and she jumped up from her chair and spun around to see what/who it was. "What do you wa...!"
There he was. In all of his glory, he had his forehead pressed to the glass of the window, staring at her. His expression was cool and collected as his sapphire eyes skimmed over her, sending a thrill throughout her body.
Three months. Fuck. She'd forgotten how he had practically oozed Sex. Even through a wall, she could feel it. The pull towards him. She didn't fight it, though. Of course, she practically ran for the window. She wanted a hug. A hold. A kiss even! She wanted to squeeze the life out of him for leaving her behind! She wanted to-
She stopped dead in her tracks to the window, staring at the floor. She couldn't do any of those things... How silly she was, for even thinking them to begin with. She couldn't safely hug him without the fear of becoming an addict... She was even afraid to hug him if were to wear long sleeved shirts! Her cheek would accidentally touch his neck and it would all be over for her. Tears pooled up in her eyes once again, and she fought to keep them back. Crying was a useless human emotion. And at that moment, she didn't want to be human.
"Amu..." Ikuto's voice was muffled behind the window and she rubbed her eyes, dragging her chair over to the window, sitting down in front of it to look at him closely. "Are you alright, Amu?"
It seemed the Tadase conversation would be put off for another day. She wouldn't complain. The very thought brought her to smile again as she stared at Ikuto. His violin was strapped to his back, and he wore his tunic. Meaning no one saw him but her. Only her...
"Amu...?" His hand lifted and he tapped on the glass lightly, frowning.
Instinctively she reached up and pressed her hand against the glass. "Ikuto... W-Why are you here...?"
As if thinking nothing of it, he pressed his hand against the glass, directly over her hand. She could feel the heat of his hand emanating through the pane.
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about... I'm allowed to return..."
Her heart stopped. "You..." She couldn't repeat what he said. Her mind and mouth wouldn't let her. But he seemed to understand, as he nodded.
"Indeed."
Still though... Ikuto didn't look happy...
"Ikuto, did you not want to come back-...?" Amu bit her tongue and forced her question to end right there. She was about to say: 'Did you not want to come back to me?' How embarrassing... There was nothing that intimate between them... There could never be.
But his eyes widened. "Of course I wanted to come back! You're my best friend, Hinamori Amu. My only friend. I've learned a lot while I was away... Both positive and negative lessons, but... I missed learning lessons from you the most."
He lifted his free hand and tapped her nose through the glass, and Amu realized that she had been leaning forward, her forehead and nose now pressed to the glass.
"Amu, I am glad to be back." He finished, but there seemed to be more to say.
"B-But...?" She prompted. She didn't know what to say to him after what he told her. Her heart and stomach were tingling with the overload of fluttery butterflies.
"We..." He bowed his head, silent for a moment. "I don't want you to die. I don't care for myself in this situation, but if we were to be caught together, I'm afraid the counsel will have their way with us. Punishment for being involved with a human is torture or even worse, death... And the punishment for a human knowing of our existence is simply torture."
She didn't want to know the answer to the question she was about to ask. But she felt she needed to. "What do they... do...? For torturing 'criminals'?" She air-quoted 'criminals'.
He sighed heavily. "Cruel things that would simply drive a human mad. Insane. The Unseelie court, as known as the Winter court enjoys using ice picks and ice for torture. Have you ever been stabbed after getting hypothermia? Not exactly pleasant... Anyway, the Seelie court, also known as the Summer court does the same. But with fire and stuff. I'm sure you get the picture. All tortures are all based on the court."
Weirdly... That didn't scare her as much as she feared it would. She tilted her head a little, staring at him. He stared back, blinking. "What?"
"You never told me what court you belonged in..." She murmured.
He sighed. "That would take more explaining than I think I should."
"Don't think."
He nodded and words flew out of his mouth. Guess he didn't need to think.
"The Seelie court is actually like Summer and Spring combined, with a twist of 'Evil'." His mouth screwed up at the last word, as if he didn't agree. "The Unseelie court is like Winter and Autumn combined, and are often considered to be more 'Evil'." Again, the screwed up mouth. It almost made Amu laugh.
"Okay, and...?" He wasn't really answering what she wanted him to.
He smirked. "The Summer Court typically represents what people see as the benevolent side of the Fae. The Fae of our court are generally considered to be more polite or well mannered," he chuckled. "Albeit, we are still very capable of cruelty. The Summer Court has free reign over summer solstice and spring equinox months, and are strongest during that time. Needless to say, the Fae of our court are frivolous, venereal, hot-headed and very, very sexual." He paused, and her face reddened. "We are the epitome of Summer."
"W-Wow..." What else could she say? But she was curious to know about Utau. She knew that she was Winter. SHe had that feeling. She also saw her 'magically' throw snow on the ground. The thought made her snicker. "Utau's a Winter Fae?"
Ikuto chuckled more and nodded. "The Winter Court typically represents what people see as the malevolent side of the Fae. The fae of that court seemingly frown upon humans-" he looked at her. "As I'm sure you already know. Anyway, they're more inclined to talk about their cruelty. They have no shame, really. This makes them look none other than evil. The Winter Court has free reign over winter solstice and autumn equinox months, and are strongest during that time, like I am during the Summer. By and by, the fae of that court are sensible, chilled, dark, and baleful. The full description of Hoshina Utau. My sister."
"Wow..." She repeated.
Ikuto rolled his eyes. "I'm boring you, aren't I? You silly girl, you can't honestly expect me to believe you enjoy hearing about this kind of stuff."
Amu shook her head. "It sounds interesting when you explain it.." More like, when he explains it, it sounds so sensual and awesome. Therefore, she likes his voice. "Feel free to talk as much as you want." She muttered, knowing he'd hear her.
"I wish I could... But I must leave..." He looked around, and she did the same. A cute bunny clock hung on the wall behind her and her eyes widened when she saw the time. "4:30?! HOW?!"
She heard laughter behind her, and she turned around to see him staring at her in amusement. "Time passes when you're enjoying yourself..."
"I've heard that so many times, it's a cliche'." She grinned.
He stared at her a long moment before holding up a finger, motioning her forward. His finger entranced her and she kept her eyes locked on it. It was strange, to actually think of his fingers as arousing. She blushed brightly yet didn't act to wrench her gaze away from them. He continued to motion her forward and soon enough her nose bumped against the window pane. "O-Ow!"
He snickered and shook his head. "Amu.. You're amazingly silly."
"Silly?! I am not silly!" She snapped, making him laugh.
There it was!
His smile!
It lit up her whole world, and she smiled along with him. His smile was contagious and so rare, she was dying to pull her phone out and snap a picture of him. Wait...
"Ikuto...?
He smiled, his laughter dying. "Yes, Amu?"
"If I took a picture of you, could I see you?"
...
He nearly keeled over clutching his side, his free hand pressed against the window for support. "Aahahahahahahahaahahahahaha! Hahaha! A-Amu... Hahaaa! I-I..." He couldn't even speak properly! She pouted, staring at him. She couldn't muster up any anger, because she wanted to laugh at how silly her question sounded herself.
Five minutes passed before he calmed down. Amu's heart was pounding hard in her chest. It seems his laugh had an effect on her. She was smiling so wide it hurt her cheeks. Bowing her head, she pulled out her phone, swiping her finger across the screen to unlock it. "I'll try it!"
As she clicked the Camera app, the air around her changed and she felt as if the room became stuffy and seductive. Familiar, invisible fingers grazed the back of her neck, shockwaves shooting down her spine. She gasped softly and looked up at the window, seeing Ikuto... In his Glamoury.
He looked up at her after raking his hand through his hair. He had the same expression he had last time. Awkward and irritated. "Just in case. Hurry up and take one."
She smiled wide and lifted her phone, and pressing it to the window for a clearer view of him. He wore the same outfit he wore last time, but since it was still daylight out, it looked different somehow. "Say cheese, Ikuto!"
He shifted his weight, his eyes trained on the camera itself, smirking.
That'll do.
She blushed, snapping the photo, pleased to pull back to see him there. On her screen. No, she was more than pleased. She almost felt like she could die happy now. It was as if she had proof that he was real. That he wouldn't just /disappear/. The stuffy, sensual mood she felt before in the room disappeared, and she knew Ikuto was back in his tunic. She looked up after putting her phone away to find him leaning against the window, his forehead pressed to it. His hand still pressed to the window, she leaned forward as well, covering his hand with hers, smiling at him.
He smiled back before motioning her closer.
How much closer could she get? She blushed furiously as she pressed her forehead on the glass; against his. "What is it?"
"Tadase."
Amu blinked. Oh... Oh no... Please, Kami! Please don't ruin this moment!
"W-What about him...?"
Ikuto smirked as they stared into each others' eyes. "I know he is courting you... I heard it in his voice. As well as yours when you tried to explain."
It was official... He was too damn perceptive.
"O-Oh..." What could she say to that?! She stared to the side guiltily.
"Amu."
She looked back up at him, and blinked. There was a fire burning in his eyes. A fire. A light of determination.
"I won't allow this."
She blinked again and swallowed. "Wh..." Where was he going with this?
"Amu, we can't touch each other... But we can find ways to... I know we can... Being away has shown me how important you are to me. We haven't known each other for very long, but you'd sparked my interest from the moment I saw you stumbling in the park."
"I-I wasn't stumbling...!" Her face was red.
"You were. And it was a beautiful sight, I assure you. I'm not sure how you feel about me. I am, after all, not really... Human. At all. And of course again, we can't touch. I can't change who I am... But I wan-"
"Ikuto, being in a together with someone doesn't just mean you have to touch the other. Intimacy isn't really needed..." It'd be nice to have, but... "I've been happy with you from the start! Each moment I've spent with you was amazing, and when you left... It was a depressing time for me..."
"Amu.." He stared at her for a moment, raising an eyebrow. "What you're saying is sweet... But you're getting off track."
There goes her blush, again.
"A-Anyway... Yeah. Touch isn't needed..."
"But it is a sense of showing the other that you care. If that's the case, I can't show you in that way. Because I do care, Amu. I'm willing to ruin it all for you. It's not smart of me... But I can't seem to stay away from you. And I will most definitely not stand by and watch you being courted by someone else." His voice was smooth, but cold.
"I can't just end it with Tadase... I do like him.. I can't just break his heart..."
"This is selfish of me, Amu, but listen. I plan to win you over. I plan to woo you so that it wouldn't matter to you whether Hotori grew upset if you left him." He said, as if convincing himself of that as well. "I've never done this before. All my life I've wooed women sexually. It's what I'm good at... But I will not woo you that way. I will not end your life by touching you, and I will find another way. I will." He nodded before looking back to her eyes, with a soft smile.
"This is your confession..." Amu whispered. "Are you confessing to me?"
"Amu..." The fire in his eyes softened, and his eyes were bluer than before. "I have the feeling what we have doesn't need a confession... Your feelings for me are so clear I can practically taste them. I am just returning those feelings."
They pressed their noses together; the thin, cool glass between them. Before she knew it, she had boldly pressed her lips against the glass and closed her eyes. After a moment, once she felt warmth emanating from the glass to her lips, she opened them to see him staring at her, his lips also pressed to the glass. She smiled and he gave her a playful wink.
Her first kiss. Her first Glass Kiss.
Q: Not /super/ long. But most definitely longer than all of the others. I enjoyed writing this one. A lot of things inspired me today, and I wanted to post this as soon as possible.
