Nuki's Note:

FINALLY! A Shugo Chara section :D yey

But yes, this is a one shot I wrote for Secret Santa on the wonderful forums: Guardian's Wish. It's actually pretty old

Expose a Secret

The cold wind bit at her cheeks and nipped at her bare hands. The house seemed warm and embracing, and yet a ping of caution rang in the back corners of her mind. Amu's wet shoes shuffled under the moisture of the snow. She was freezing and wet, fate was against her, she figured she had no choice but to except the invitation, trap or not. Slowly, she placed one foot inside the house, closing the door behind her.

The house looked like any ordinary other house. Dimmed lamps lit up the inside, the air smelled of sweet pumpkin and candy cane candles. Dark colored carpets decorated the smooth wooden floors, and soft Christmas music hummed in the background. Amu followed the entering hallway to the living room. Two couches were back to back, one couch faced a warm, roaring fire, and the other faced a decently sized plasma screen television. To the left of the television was a door leading into the kitchen, and to the right of the television was a window that allowed one to peer into the kitchen to get a glance of the dinner that was being cooked. Amu eased onto the couch facing the fire. The flames warmed her body with in seconds and she could not help but smile at the sudden pleasure. The air grew sweeter and calmer. The girl's eyes became heavy, and she willingly gave into sleep.

oOo

At first his plan was to scare her, yes, give her a nice little fright to mess with her. His heart sank when he crept downstairs to find her fast asleep on the couch, he couldn't annoy her when she was asleep. There was always the devious plan of scaring her even worse by waking her up, but no, that would be mean. He was no trying to be mean, but only to remind her of her feelings. Ikuto moved closer to her, she was cute when she was asleep, or when she didn't have that frown on her face. Fingers thinking with minds of their own, he caressed the girl's cheeks- they were still cool, which only told Ikuto that she must have been outside for a long time.

Amu jerked and Ikuto yanked his hand back. Red covered the girl's face and she sputtered and stammered, with her arms flailing madly. The boy's head cocked to one side as a proud smile spread across his face.

"How dare you!" was all the Joker could manage after several moments of stammering.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow- maybe he would get to annoy her after all. He moved his hand through the girl's bright, soft pink hair, the other one placed smoothly over her left. Amu's face went from magenta to ripe tomato red in a matter of seconds.

"You touched me some where didn't you? Where'd you touch me?" Amu screeched, backing up to the farthest end of the couch.

"It's a secret." Ikuto whispered, placing a finger over his own lips.

Amu's eyebrows narrowed drastically. She wanted to get out of this house and away from her enemy, but looking on the other hand, the wind was picking up and she was not sure exactly where she was. Ikuto's interest leapt to the fire and for the next ten minutes his eyes did not roll in her direction again.

"I can't go anywhere right now, but if you can't treat me correctly then…I'll tell your parents!" the second after the words left her mouth Amu knew she had said the wrong thing.

Ikuto stared at the pink haired girl for a moment before snapping into an amused smirk. He brought both arms to rest over his head and turned back to the warmth and crackle of the flames. There was a lot he could say to counter her, but then she would worry about him. The last thing he needed was for her to worry.

"My parents aren't home much. And usually if they are, it's when Utau and I are with Easter."

Without thinking, Amu's face softened. She was aware of just how little she knew of this cat boy, but maybe there were certain things that would be better for her not to know. Awkward and still embarrassed from her childish remark- the Joker turned her back to Ikuto and remained hushed. She wanted to say something, to say anything, but suddenly she felt like any word that dripped from her lips would come out wrong or foul. Maybe if Ran…RAN!

"Wait! Where did…?"

"They're upstairs in my room."

Ikuto's reply was colder than either had expected. Amu's head cocked and now her eyes shone with confusion and yearning to understand. Ikuto jerked his head away and trudged into the kitchen.

"Did I say something wrong? Why are you angry at me?" Amu demanded, climbing over to the other side of the couch.

The boy ignored her question and began drinking from a milk carton. For a moment Amu's thoughts side tracked and went down a different path. Ikuto seemed like one of the boy on a manga she had recently borrowed from Yaya. Some one with an indescribable spark to themselves, yet at the same time just a careless-average teenage boy. Whether it was her own arrogance or not, Amu figured approaching him with an attitude would get her no where and only make her stay even worse.

"Sorry I snapped at you…but did I make you mad?"

"Why do you blush when you know you like that little boy king?"

Ikuto's reply was soft but blunt. So blunt in fact, that Amu had to take just a few seconds to soak in the question. The mention of Tadase brought red and pink to her cheeks. Ikuto put the milk down and sighed.

"See? You're doing it again. Why do you even talk to me if you like…him."

The girl's eyes widened as a small gasp escaped on her breath. Was this jealousy? Now more than ever Amu wished she had Ran. Sure Tadase was her "love" and she treasured those special, precious nights where dreams of them together danced in her mind, but did that mean she could not be kind to Ikuto?

"Amu, tell me what is on your mind. This is important for something I have to tell Utau."

The Joker bit her lip, embarrassed and reluctant to answer. "I love Tadase-kun."

oOo

For what seemed to be hours on end, the only noise came from the sparking fire- which seemed to have quieted its cracks and hisses just to listen. Ikuto's eyes darted from his fingers to the milk carton- as if trying to recall the answer to a difficult test. Amu was unsure whether to say something or keep her lips sealed. Her weight shifted from one leg to the other as she sat upright on her knees.

"Amu. Do you love the kiddy king? Or do you like the kiddy king?"

No answer.

"You know, perverted little girl, there is a difference between loving a person and liking a person. But then again at your age- usually all you have are baby crushes that make you blush."

His words caught Amu by her neck and squeezed hard. Once or twice her parents had informed how that "love" was a strong word, and warned her to never abuse it, but hearing this from Ikuto hit home hard. She had stopped staring at him with large, curious eyes and instead shamefully hung her head.

"Tadase-kun really has wonderful qualities…"

Ikuto chuckled rudely and shook his head as if he were a cop dealing with a hopeless criminal.

"Good qualities of a person mean nothing until you've learned to love their bad ones. How can any human being truly love if they only know how to frolic with the good side of a person?"

Amu's eyes closed as she once again turned her back to the boy. Truth began to grab firm hold of her chest. Her heart began to beat heavily as she struggled to maintain her head.

"I know more about Tadase-kun than you would think."

"I know more about you than he would think."

Ikuto had been stealthy with his words all night but this time Amu fell off the couch. Her eyes were wide as dinner plates and her mouth hung open in shock and bewilderment. Another period of silence passed, all while Ikuto kept hold of an impish smile.

"Amu…lets imagine a scenario for a moment. If you work with me on this one little favor, then I'll take you home."

The pink haired girl nodded with a robot like motion. She felt ridiculously hollow inside. Ikuto had taken her feelings and thrown them in the trashcan of truth one by one. The only thing left was the little character side of stubborn will that still clung to her now assorted feelings for the blonde.

"We're going to pretend I declare I love you. Hinamori Amu, I do love you."

Another explosion erupted inside Amu's chest. Something about those words did not seem right at all. There was an unknown sense in them that stole all feeling from her legs.

"Now…think of the times I have spoken with you, including tonight. Do you believe I have the right to say that?"

The Joker bit her lip harder than intended. A simple "no" could easily leave her mouth at anytime, yet the boy's earlier speech forced her to travel deep into thought. The first thing that hit hard was her speech. Around Tadase, Amu's words were rushed and garbled. She never looked him straight in the eye, and half the time she barely focused on what the boy was actually saying. Amu's language was even more cluttered around Ikuto, but that was because he confused her with witty and smart-alec remarks. Although she shoved the thought in the deepest back corner of her mind- Amu's conclusion was the fact that talking with Ikuto was easier than with Tadase. But she had put up with enough from this cat boy tonight, she wanted it to end.

"I don't know what' you're talking about." Amu spat at last, turning around. "And you won't get anything else out of me; I'd like to go home now."

To Amu's surprise- Ikuto did not object. He grabbed a coat and silently followed her out the door. The wind had died down a great deal, but snow flakes fell from the sky like cool, baby cotton balls. The only noise between the two was the sound of their crunching footsteps and the occasional car that passed by. Amu's brows narrowed at the annoying thought that she might have upset Ikuto again-although familiar roads and houses pulled her thoughts in a different direction. Was her house really that close to Ikuto's?

"That's your home isn't it?" Ikuto's words were emotionless and blank.

Amu nodded and slowly trudged forward. Before placing a hand on the cold, frozen doorknob, she turned around. It was difficult to mark the exact expression on his face, but something was there. Perhaps deep inside, some where inside the corners of Ikuto's heart, he had shoved a tiny smile.

"Ikuto…" the pink haired girl found the words jumping from her tongue. "You weren't pretending earlier, were you?"

The cat smiled, placing a finger over his lips. "It's a secret."