Morg: Heyo!

Ikuto: Oh, look. You're back.

Amu: Joy.

Morg: Neither of you sound very excited.

Ikuto: Don't have to be.

Amu: You can't make us.

~Spark of Life~

"All right," Amu said as she and Ami stood facing each other on the path leading up to their grandmother's house. "Do you have everything?"

Ami shifted her bag on her shoulder as she looked up at Amu. "I think so."

"Ikuto and I will be at our house for a few days so if you did forget anything just call me and we'll bring it over, okay?"

"Amu," Ami said quietly. "Are you sure I can't just stay with you the whole time?"

Amu made a sound in the back of her throat before she pulled Ami into a tight hug. "I would gladly have you stay at home the whole time, but Grandma's been looking forward to having you stay with her and I know you'll enjoy hanging out with her. You can call me whenever you need to, okay?"

Ami sniffled as she pressed her face harder against Amu's shoulder. "Okay."

"Don't sound so sad," Amu said with a wet chuckle. "It's not like we won't see each other at all over the next few weeks. I'll come see you when I can."

Ami nodded as she pulled back out of Amu's arms. "Have fun on your trip with Ikuto."

Amu smiled as she ruffled Ami's hair. "Thanks, Ami. I'm sure we'll have fun learning more things about each other."

"Yeah," Ami agreed. "But you already know the most important things."

"Like what?" Amu lifted her brows as she looked at her sister. She wasn't sure how Ami knew what she did and didn't know about Ikuto.

"That he's not a murderer," Ami said with a grin.

Amu groaned as she nudged her sister toward their Grandmother's house. "Get out of here. I can't believe I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you, too," Ami sang over her shoulder as she ran up to the door.

Amu shook her head as she turned back to Ikuto's car. He was patiently waiting for her with one hand resting on the top of the steering wheel. His body was turned so that he could watch her say goodbye to her sister. She saw him smirking at her and scowled. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything," he said lightly as she got into the car.

"Ikuto," Amu warned. "I'm emotionally fragile right now because I just said goodbye to my sister. I don't want you to say anything. I just want you to drive us back to my house so we can cuddle on the couch until Ami calls to tell me goodnight and then we'll go to bed."

"I can do that," Ikuto assured her as he started the car. "Whatever you want."

Amu didn't say anything else but she relaxed a bit when he took her hand and held it gently against his knee the entire way home.

XXX

Amu woke first. It wasn't often that she woke to find Ikuto still asleep next to her. She'd found, over the short amount of time that she'd been sleeping with him, that he slept significantly less than she did. He said it was because he just didn't need as much sleep, but she wondered if it was because he was worried about protecting her.

For a few moments, she lay in her bed with him and just watched his chest rise and fall. He was almost painfully handsome when he was awake. Watching him sleep, seeing him relaxed, Amu wondered not for the first time how she ended up with him. She knew why he had shown up at her house that first time. He'd been starving and she was the only one around that could feed him.

But the more time they spent together, the more she genuinely liked him.

Silently, Amu traced his features with her eyes and hoped that he liked her for being Amu and not just because she could feed him or because she could guarantee his continued sanity.

"Amu," Ikuto huffed out without giving any other indication that he was awake.

Amu froze next to him on her bed. "Yeah?"

"Why are you watching me sleep?"

Amu frowned as she started to turn away from him. She didn't manage to do more than shift her weight before his arms were tightening around her to hold her in place. "Ikuto," she complained.

Ikuto's lips ticked up at the corners but he didn't bother to open his eyes. "I don't want you to go. Just wondering why you're awake."

Rather than struggling against his hold, Amu snuggled further into Ikuto's chest. "It's morning."

"It's still early."

"I just woke up." Amu kept her voice low as they whispered together in her bed. "I don't know what woke me."

Ikuto hummed. Then he stretched without letting her go.

Amu giggled as she was dragged along as Ikuto rolled over onto his other side. "If you're still tired then you should sleep some more."

"I'm not tired," he told her.

She didn't believe him. Mostly because he still hadn't opened his eyes, but also because his breaths were becoming deep and even once more. "Sleep some more," she told him softly. "We'll get up later and eat before we go back to your house."

Ikuto made a noise in the back of his throat as he dropped back off into sleep.

Amu was content to stay there in his arms while he slept. She didn't mind that she was awake while he wasn't. She didn't even mind that his hold on her prevented her from finding something to do to occupy herself while he snoozed.

She was safe in his arms and Ikuto clearly wanted to hold her, so Amu didn't move. She closed her eyes and dragged her fingers along his arm in a soothing pattern as she let her mind wander over the things that she needed to do before they left and what they were going to do over the next few days at Ikuto's house.

"If you keep doing that," Ikuto muttered against his pillow. "I won't be able to sleep."

Amu hummed but didn't stop dragging the tips of her fingers against his skin. "Are you still very tired?"

Ikuto yawned before he finally blinked his eyes open. He pressed his face down against the bed before he lifted his head enough to look at her. "I can get up."

Amu smiled at him before she lifted her head enough to press a light kiss against his lips. "I want to eat something before we load up your car and go."

"We can do that."

"And then," Amu said as she struggled enough that she managed to turn him onto his back and lay against his chest. "When we get to your house, I want you to show me your other form."

Ikuto rested his hands against her sides as he blinked up at her. "I told you," he reminded her gently as he searched her gaze. "That I can't do that without at least feeding twice."

"I remember," Amu said with a hum. "We can talk about your breakfast on the way to your house."

Ikuto's eyes widened as he looked up at her. "Yeah?"

Amu grinned at the breathless way his voice had sounded. "Yeah, let's get up."

XXX

Ikuto tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he guided them carefully through the city. He couldn't begin to describe the feeling building in his chest. Amu's bags were packed in the back of the car and she was planning to stay with him until after the festival. He was going to have her in his house and in his bed every day for at least a week.

He really couldn't wait.

"Hey," Amu said as she turned her head to look at him. She had her sunglasses on but he could still see the way her gaze settled on him as she spoke. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What is it?"

Amu dropped her gaze to look down at her fingers. "You have to tell me if it's too much of a distraction while you're driving."

"We're almost out of the city," Ikuto assured her. "Once we're in the countryside, driving becomes significantly easier."

"Yeah," Amu agreed. "That's part of the reason I waited so long."

"All right," Ikuto said as he adjusted his weight and took Amu's hand into his so she'd stop fidgeting. "I'm intrigued. What is it?"

Amu swallowed hard as she looked out the windshield. "I wanted to talk to you about how you want to eat."

"Amu," Ikuto said slowly. "Did you forget how it works?"

"No," Amu snapped as she blushed. "I fed you two days ago! I remember!"

"Then what do you mean?"

Amu sighed as she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. "I want you to know that you can say no. I understand that some people might think what I'm going to ask you is gross. I don't want you to feel pressured because I'm asking and you think you have to give me what I want so I don't leave."

Ikuto swallowed hard. "Okay," he rasped. "I can assure you that there is very little that you could ask me to do to you that I wouldn't want to do."

Amu nodded at that. She fidgeted with his fingers for a few miles while she bit at her lip.

"Amu," Ikuto prompted her gently. "Just tell me what you want me to do. I swear I'll tell you if I don't want to."

Amu waited until the last of the houses of the city passed away. They were driving down a paved road but all she could see were fields and grazing pastures for cattle. "You've been using your fingers the last few times you've fed to help me," she finally said.

"Right," Ikuto said gently as he tried to get her to continue after she fell silent. "Do you not want me to do that anymore?"

"No!" Amu turned to him as she blushed bright red. "I mean, I like it. I don't want you to stop doing that. But I also, maybe, want to try something else."

"Okay?"

Amu groaned in frustration. "Why is this so hard for me to say? Why am I so embarrassed right now? The only other person here is you."

Ikuto didn't say anything as he let her get her bearings and figure out what she wanted to say. Silently, he told himself it was a good thing she was struggling because it meant she really cared about what his response was going to be.

"I want you to use your tongue."

Ikuto slammed on the brakes. "What?"

Amu snatched her hand out of his and covered her face. "Ikuto!"

Ikuto stopped the car in the middle of the road. He wasn't worried because there weren't any other cars around them. He didn't need to worry about them getting hit as he sat with both of his hands on the steering wheel.

He hadn't been expecting that. Honestly, he hadn't let himself think about what she could be working her way to asking him because he hadn't wanted to skew his reaction.

His mouth felt dry. He rolled his tongue against the roof of his mouth as he tried to swallow. He licked at his lips and felt like the action had done nothing to wet them. "Amu," he rasped as he tightened his hold on the steering wheel. "First, I want to thank you for waiting until we were out of the city before you said that."

Amu made an embarrassed noise as she peeked at him from behind her hands.

"Second," he continued as he stared hard at the road. "And I cannot stress this enough, I will gladly spread your beautiful thighs and lick my way into you whenever you want me to."

Amu dropped her hands as she turned her head to look at him. She studied him for a moment before she cleared her throat. "Really? You want to?"

"Baby," he said as he finally looked back at her. "You have to stop turning me on so much while we're driving somewhere. I don't really want us to be seen by some random stranger and there's definitely not enough room in my car for what I want to do to you."

Amu swallowed hard as she looked back out the windshield. "You should start driving again."

"When we get to my house," Ikuto said to her in a low voice as he took his foot off the brake and eased the car into motion. "We're going to leave your bags here. I'm going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you up to my bed as fast as I can. Then I'm going to peel those little shorts down your gorgeous legs and worship you."

Amu whimpered as she squeezed her thighs together. "Ikuto," she breathily complained. "Stop talking."

"I'm going to make you come on my tongue, Amu," Ikuto swore to her as they gained speed. He kept his eyes on the road but noted the way she hit her head against the seat behind her. "And if you're still not satisfied, I'll do it again."

Amu whined as she dug her fingers against her knees. "Ikuto," she said again. "You're always touching me. Can I touch you? Can I see you?"

Ikuto's steering wheel groaned beneath his hands. "Baby," he promised her. "You can do whatever you want to me. I'll give you anything."

"Anything?" Amu asked as she turned to look at him.

"Everything," Ikuto swore to her.

.

Morg: Well.

Ikuto: It's not a lie.

Amu: You're an idiot.