The Way it Should Be

Disclaimer: I don't own Shugo Chara. If I did, amuto would have happened way earlier.

Ikuto's POV

I watched her as she ran by, her strawberry hair tossing as she ran. Amu. Why is she always in such a rush?

Curiosity got the best of me. I stood up, stretching, then leapt easily through the trees, following Amu home. I leapt onto her balcony and waited. In a mere matter of moments, Amu came through the door.

She put her bag down, then jumped when she heard me tap on the glass. "I-Ikuto! Why are you here?" she yelled.

"I was curious," I replied simply.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," she snapped furiously. "Now, will you kindly leave? You're not staying in my room anymore. Not after what happened last time."

"What? I gained the trust of your mother? You got to sleep in the same bed as me? I know you liked it, just admit it. Even if you didn't, I certainly did," I smirked, watching her turn bright red and splutter for words. "Fine, I'll go." I jumped off the balcony, landing lightly on my toes.

I silently zipped up the nearest tree, grinning as Amu ran out onto her balcony, searching for me frantically. When she turned and faced the side of it, I leapt lightly onto the other side and tiptoed into her room. By the time she gave up and went back into her room, I was calmly sitting on her bed, Yoru floating around Miki's egg.

"If you wanted me to leave so much, why did you go look for me as soon as I jumped?" I asked curiously.

"I wanted to make sure you left. Obviously, you didn't. What did you want, anyway?" she replied curtly.

"You're always in such a rush. Why can't you take some time off?"

"If you really must know, today Tadase asked me out. Other times I'm avoiding perverted cat-boys who like to follow me home and look through my personal property."

"What kind of personal property?" I asked in a suggestive tone, my eyebrows rising. I inwardly smirked at her reaction.

"NOT THAT KIND!" she screamed. She shoved me onto her bed, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her down with me.

As we fell, everything sort of slowed down, and I could see everything clearly, including the outcome of our situation, yet there was nothing I could do about it. My back met her bed, and as Amu fell on top of me, our lips met. Both of us were so shocked, that for a moment, neither of us could move. But then, I started to deepen the kiss, and she responded, her lips speeding up to keep time with mine, the kiss becoming more passionate.

I could feel my ears and tail coming out, so I decided that it was time to slow things down. I broke the kiss, and she gasped for air, her cheeks gradually turning an interesting shade of dark pink.

"Thinking of perverted things again? You naughty girl, you," I smirked at her.

"I-Ikuto! I-I was j-just thinking that it w-was time for you t-to l-leave!" her cheeks growing ever darker as she spoke.

"I'll leave when I feel like it," I replied. "Right now, I was thinking it was about time for me to take a nap." I curled up on her bed and pretended to be asleep. Amu stormed around her room, grumbling, then I heard the door open and close. I sat up and decided to play a game with her.

I hid in her closet, watching through the slots in the door, much the same as I did the night Tadagay confessed to her, unaware that I was there to watch it all. Yoru realized that it would be funnier if he hid, also, so he hid his egg in her schoolbag, then proceeded to take over Miki's egg. After a brief scuffling, all was quiet.

Amu returned to her room and sat down at her vanity to comb her hair. As she did so, it dawned on her that two of the room's previous occupants had mysteriously disappeared. She glanced around and shrugged, having obviously come to the conclusion that I had left. She finished doing her hair, then looked around her room one last time before dropping her skirt.

I decided this was a good time to appear. "Why does your underwear match your uniform?" I asked, coming out of the closet (A/N-lol it sounds like he's gay).

"I-Ikuto! I-I thought y-you were g-g-gone!" she shrieked, her face turning tomato red. She grabbed her skirt and put it back on frantically, while I watched her laughing.

"I was sitting right there the whole time," I answered smugly, gesturing at the balcony.

"And I was sitting over here ~nya!" Yoru added, popping out from behind Miki's egg.

"Why were you back there?" Amu asked, confused.

"To torture Miki ~nya," he answered simply, as Miki popped out of her egg and proceeded to repeatedly whack Yoru over the head with her sketch pad.

"He messed up all of my unfinished drawings!" she yelled, before flying into Amu's outstretched hand. Amu then placed Miki on her bed, then turned back to face me.

I suddenly realized how odd it was that no one had come upstairs to pound on Amu's door yet. "Where's your family?" I inquired.

"They went to the hot springs with Ami. I stayed behind in case the Guardians needed me," she replied. "Why do you care?" she asked, suddenly suspicious.

"Oh, no reason. How long will they be gone?"

"A week."

"Well, we can't have you here all alone, now can we? I'll stay here with you until they get back. Yoru can sleep over there with Ran, Miki, and Su. I'll keep you warm at night, because it gets cold in here."

"NO! G-get out!" Amu struggled to keep her voice steady.

"I'll go if you really want me too."

Amu hesitated. I smirked. "Seems to me like I'm staying here for a while, doesn't it?" I said.

"Fine. You can stay," Amu grumbled, her expression downcast.

"Don't worry. We'll have fun!" I tried to get her to smile, but to no avail. "We could go to the amusement park every night!" This at least brightened up her expression slightly.

"Promise?"

"Promise." I smirked. "Oh, now we're excited, aren't we?" I teased her some more.

"Shut up!" she whined. She attempted to push me onto the bed, but this time I moved out of the way before she could touch me.

"We don't want a recreation of what happened last time, do we?" Amu blushed. "Does that mean you want it to happen again?" I prodded. She just stared at her feet. "I guess there's only one way to find out, huh?" And with that, I pulled her close to me and kissed her again. I kissed her passionately, and to my surprise, she responded. I nibbled on her bottom lip, asking for entrance, which she granted almost immediately. I explored each and every corner of her warm mouth. Finally Amu pulled away, gasping for air.

"I-Ikuto…*huff* I-I think that I-I m-might l-l-love you…" she stuttered softly, her already brilliantly red face turning impossibly redder.

"Is that so?" I said coolly. In my head, however, my thoughts were spinning faster and faster, eventually coming to a stop at one (sectioned) thought: It could never work. We're enemies, for god's sake. It doesn't matter that I love her. It doesn't-wait. What did I just think? Do I really love her? Yes, I decided. I love you, Amu.

"You do? Oh, Ikuto! That makes me so happy!" Amu shouted, clapping her hands together.

What is she talking about? I wondered. Then it hit me. I had said the last part out loud. Oh, crap. I thought. "It doesn't matter. We're enemies. Being together would just get us both killed. It would be different if I died, but you're too valuable to the Guardians to die. Without you, they would have no chance of winning against Easter," I explained, my own explanation stabbing me in the chest with each word. I knew that it was affecting Amu the same way, but I knew that she knew what I said was painfully true.

"Why must it be this way?" she cried. Tears began to stream down her face, staining her cheeks and making her eyes red and puffy. I couldn't bear to see her like that, so I pulled her into a tight embrace, murmuring comforting words into her ear. When that plan fell through, I kissed the tears from her cheeks and tried some humor.

"If you cry too much, I'll start crying too." The way I stated it so simply made her laugh, a very wet laugh at that. "Now isn't that better?" I asked.

She nodded, and the tears slowed to a stop. "Why me?" she whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"You could have any girl, but you chose me. Why?"

I was shocked speechless. I had never really thought about it. "What do you mean?"

"You could have any girl, but you chose me. Why?"

I was shocked speechless. I had never really thought about it. "Because…" I wracked my mind for a good answer. "Because you were so… you. No one can say or do anything to change your mind about anything. You always speak your mind without worrying what others thought. (A/N-no she can't… lol) You fight for what you believe in, and for your friends."

"…" Amu just stared past me.

"What? What's wrong now?" I whined.

"Look behind you."

I turned, and my mouth dropped open. On the bed, Yoru had tackled Miki, and was kissing her relentlessly. "Um…" I sweatdropped.

"What ~nya? I figured you got to kiss the girl you like twice without her asking, so I should be able to also ~nya," Yoru turned to face Amu and me. I just shrugged and beckoned to the balcony.

"Care to take a walk?" I inquired. Amu blushed lightly and took my hand. I held on and swung her into my arms, making her squeal lightly. "Can't have you falling, now can I?" I smirked, but then I realized I couldn't jump off the balcony safely without Yoru. "Yoru, bring your little girlfriend and chara-change with me long enough to jump out the window," I said loudly, so he could hear me across the room. I heard him sigh, then felt the slight warmth I always felt when I began to chara change with Yoru. I stepped off the balcony and smiled, exhilarated by the crisp evening air.

"See ya ~nya," I heard Yoru call as I began running.

"Where are we going?" Amu asked. I ignored her and kept running. "Ikuto?" she murmured. Finally, I couldn't ignore her any longer.

"You will see when we get there," I answered. My voice sounded much too cold, I realized. "Just wait; I promise you'll like it," I amended.

A/N- How did you like it? I will not upload another chapter until I receive at least 5 reviews, whether they be good or bad. Thanks so much for reading! Oh, by the way, towards the top, where it mentions how Amu's underwear matches her uniform, I had imagined it with red plaid on it, just to be different.