Somewhere out there

beneath the pale moonlight

someone's thinking of me

and loving me tonight

Tsukiyomi Ikuto stood alone before the giant Christmas tree in the middle of the shopping complex, just staring up at the greenery and the baubles and the tinsel and the lights. As usual, his violin was in its case over his shoulder. Even after all these years, and even some of the trouble that had been caused to him by this very instrument, he still carried it.

He'd searched the whole world over, paying for his travel with the money he made playing his violin in the streets. He hadn't found his father though. Perhaps the man travelled more constantly, perhaps Ikuto just hadn't looked in the right places. Whatever the reason, Ikuto had not found his father, though for a moment he'd seen Yoru again – only to say goodbye to him – and now he was back here.

Not because the place was home, but because of a certain girl. A certain girl with -

"Ikuto?" a voice called from just behind him, timid and hopeful. "Ikuto is that you?"

He turned, and smiled. There she was. That girl with pink hair and golden eyes, and the Humpty Lock hanging around her neck.

"Amu," he answered with a smile.

She smiled back, delight and relief and something else dancing in her beautiful golden eyes, then suddenly she pouted. "You've gotten even taller," she fake-grumped.

Ikuto chuckled. "Well, so have you," he countered, taking a few steps away from the Christmas tree and towards her.

Amu laughed at his joke and let him get close. Almost as close as they'd been some of the times he'd snuck into her bed back before he'd left. Then she calmed her laughter and answered him seriously. "I guess ten years is a lot of time to grow in," she allowed, a little sadly. "A lot can happen in ten years."

Ikuto felt something within himself become tense at those words. What had happened? Was she with the kiddie king? Was she with someone else? There had certainly been a lot of boys among the people she knew, and all of them seemed to love her in some way...

"Like?" he prompted, successfully keeping most of the worry out of his voice.

Amu smiled again for him. "Like I've got my own apartment now," she said. "So any visiting strays can come and visit me without having to hide from my parents," she added, and her grin was practically triumphant.

"Do you have many strays that visit you?" Ikuto asked, still doing his best to keep his nerves at bay.

Amu shook her head. "When I catch up with people these days, it's mostly out at places like this, or I go to visit them. It's not a very big apartment after all, and I do have a lot of friends," she explained.

Ikuto cocked his head to one side, and then a smile started to creep across his face until it was a full-blown sneaky grin. "Are you inviting this stray to visit you little apartment, Amu?" he asked quietly.

Amu smiled. "How long have you been back?" she asked suddenly, apparently changing the subject.

"The plane just landed a couple of hours ago," Ikuto answered.

"And will you be going to stay with your mother? With Utau? Or do you have somewhere else to stay?" she asked.

Ikuto caught on then and shook his head. "There's a park bench with my name on it," he answered.

Amu laughed. "Carve your name there yourself?" she suggested.

"I did as a matter of fact," Ikuto answered, completely straight. "So, unless they've taken it away, I really do have a park bench with my name on it."

Amu shook her head again and reached into one of her pockets. Her hand came out with a key on a tag. The tag had Ikuto's name on it.

He blinked in surprise as she took his hand in hers, and then dropped the key into his open palm.

"Just in case I ever ran into you in the street one day," Amu explained. "I carry it with me every day. It's actually saved me a couple of times when I've forgotten my own key."

Ikuto could still do little more than stare at the key he was now holding, but finally he was able to wrench his eyes from the small, but significant, item to look at Amu's face again.

Her smile was soft, welcoming, glowing and... "Merry Christmas, my stray cat," she said.

Ikuto breathed in to hear the possessive. "Amu..."

"Everybody else is spending Christmas with their significant others this year," Amu ploughed on, as though she hadn't done something monumentally significant between the two of them. "And I'm avoiding my parent's house because Ami is introducing Mama and Papa to her boyfriend at last. So it was going to be just me anyway."

"Amu," Ikuto repeated.

She reached past him and fingered the Dumpty Key where it hung from his violin case, her other hand caressing the Humpty Lock that was resting innocently against her throat. "That's two locks of mine that you have keys to," she tried to joke, but it fell flat when she looked up at Ikuto's face, made eye contact and saw all the emotion there.

Amu shook her head and picked up the key she'd just given him from his hand – which was still out in front of him even after she'd let go – and dropped the key into his shirt pocket instead. Then she took hold of his hand, weaving her fingers in between his.

"You know, some days, the only thing that kept me from going mad with worry was the letters you sent," she said as she started walking out of the shopping complex, absently dragging Ikuto after her as she had hold of his hand. "Other days, it was even worse, because I'd write an answer that I couldn't send. I have a box full of letters that I wrote to you."

"Amu..." Ikuto said again, finally curling his own fingers up around her hand the way hers were laced around his. A quick jerk and she'd been forced around and against his chest. "I love you Amu," he said quietly.

Amu smiled. "I love you too Ikuto," she answered.

"I'm home," Ikuto said, wrapping his arms around her and resting his cheek on top of her head. "Wherever you are, I'm home. I'm not going to be a stray any more."

Amu wrapped her arms around Ikuto as well, and though he couldn't see the smile on her face or the happy blush on her cheeks, it was there all the same. "Hm," was all she said as she held him tight.

"Merry Christmas Amu."

"Merry Christmas Ikuto."

Somewhere out there

If love can see us through

Then we'll be together

Somewhere out there

Out where dreams come true.

~The End~

Nb: lyrics taken from, but by no means all of, a wonderful song called Somewhere Out There by Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram.