A/N It's been what, five years since I wrote this story? And I was looking through the reviews and saw all the desire for the so called kiss of a lifetime chapter and I thought, what the hell, I've missed amuto anyway. I don't know who still even knows I write shugo chara anymore but if there's even one of you left, this one's for you! (also, I know the first chapter is first person, but I've matured and I can't stand it anymore so please don't mind the discrepancy)

Perfection doesn't come easy. In which Ikuto tries, and fails, to create the perfect kiss.

Amu was anxious.

After Ikuto's declaration and the heat that burned her heart every time she remembered his lips so close to hers, she hadn't been able to stop thinking. Stop thinking about his hands at her waist, his hair blowing in the wind, his gaze, so sharp and bold, like she engulfed his thoughts and reigned in his heart-

"Amu-chan? Amuuuu-chaaaaan? Amu-chan!"

Amu blinked, looking up to see an amused, and slightly confused Nagi staring down at her. Gently, his hand reached out to press against her cheek, concern melting away his confusion. "Amu-chan, are you okay? You're burning up."

Amu's blush deepened as she laughed uncontrollably, probably on the edge of mania. Waving her hands in the air, she couldn't help silently cry as Nagi's concern only grew, "I'm fine I'm fine, don't worry about me, I'm fine." Except Amu could hear how progressively high pitched she got and knew it was nothing if not a red flag.

A slow smile stretched across Nagi's face and Amu just knew he was up to no good. "You don't look fine Amu-chan. Is there perhaps something on your mind?"

"What! Something on my mind! Noooo, no. Of course not, why would you think that? AHAHAHAHA!"

Laughing at her, Nagi was forced to go sit down in his own seat as Nikaidou strode up to the front tapping on his book to get their attention. "Okay Amu-chan, whatever you say." Nagi's teasing smile drove Amu crazy but there was no way she could tell him- or anyone for that matter!- what was about to happen.

She wanted it to be their secret. At least for a while.

Immediately, another blush pushed her temperature through the roof and Nikaidou's lecture was lost to her daydreaming. This was going to be great. At least, she hoped so.

As the final bell rang signalling the end of academic torture, Amu rushed outside the school gates, halting suddenly to straighten out her jacket and dust her skirt. Her breathing getting only slightly erratic, she jumped into the air as a low whisper sent shivers down her spine. "Miss me Strawberry?"

Startled, Amu twisted around to see Ikuto too close-way too close!- to her, laughing silently into his hand at her reaction. "I-Ikuto!"

His humor fading into a smile so gentle it made her knees tremble, he held out his arm to her. "You ready to go?"

"Go? Go where?" her embarrassment faded as her curiosity urged her to loop her arm through his, letting him guide her to some magical unknown.

Ikuto tilted his head down, eyes sparkling with mischief, "It's a surprise." He teased, finding her pout too cute to bear and unlooping their arms so he could wrap his around her shoulders pulling her as tightly against him as he could.

Heart thudding in her chest, Amu's own hand rose up slowly to wrap around his waist. Looking away from his furiously, Amu struggled to keep her emotions in check. Ikuto was Ikuto. More than being a romantic interest or boyfriend, he was her best friend, the person she could trust the most with everything. The reason she fell for him in the first place was because even though he kept butterflies in her stomach and her skin tingling with his touch, he was the one she was comfortable with the most. He made her feel at home, like she was loved wholeheartedly, being given everything of him. Their relationship was honest, both of them exactly as they were.

Swallowing, Amu tightened her grip around Ikuto's waist and let her head rest gently against his arm. "So how was school?"

Amu snorted, "Oh Ikuto, it's okay you don't have to ask boring questions just because we're dating."

He looked startled, "I'm not. I want to hear about your day. I always want to hear what you have to say." And his response was so genuine it shook her because her own parents didn't want to know about her life.

Eyes glued to the floor in shyness, Amu focused on synchronizing their gait. "Well…it was pretty horrible to be honest. I was so distracted all day and that annoying teacher wouldn't stop picking on me!" She looked up at him sharply, "This is why you shouldn't know your teachers outside of school! They'll just end up teasing you!" her lips were curled petulantly and Ikuto reached out to pinch her nose.

"That sucks." He agreed, "But at least you didn't get someone's soup dumped on you."

"No!" Amu gasped, scanning his body for any signs of stains.

"I changed clothes you goose." He teased, "But one of my friends was trying to be funny but he ended tripping all over himself."

Amu laughed, her head dipped back, shoulders shaking. "I wish I could've seen that. You're always one step ahead when you're with me." She complained.

"But Strawberry," he proclaimed dramatically, hand at his heart, "If I didn't do that, how could I surprise you like this." Letting go of her, he beckoned her over to an alley entrance looking too excited to enter the perfect set up for a mugging.

Smile cracking just a little, Amu peered into the alley, expecting some trash cans or a wild raccoon or something equally disgusting but instead froze from the shock. Mouth dropping, she ran at Ikuto clutching both of his hands and pulling him in. "Ikuto! This is amazing!"

Stepping onto the cobbled path, the alley way opened up into the backs of dozens of old buildings still made with concrete and bricks. Somebody had transformed all the exposed walls the outside world wouldn't see into the most fantastic works of art. Graffiti landscapes covered every inch of usable space and the whole world was displayed within it. Famous actors shared the walls with roaring waves and mountains that loomed over them. An ocean spanned across from it, fish of all colours and shapes swimming about, looking gloriously colourful against the black and white flower installation beside it.

Overwhelmed with the secret beauty, Amu's eyes shined while Ikuto's shined looking at her. "It's Graffiti Alley. Once a year artists sneak in and repaint the whole thing. It's pretty neat."

"Ikuto!" and the excitement in her eyes was rivalled by the happiness in her heart, "Thank you! For taking me here!"

Slowly, Ikuto neared her, hands reaching out to pull her in closer, "My pleasure." He whispered, fingers tilting up her chin and eyes fluttering shut.

Heartbeat drowning out the world around them, Amu's heart swelled as their lips neared only to be torn apart by a loud shriek. "Guys! I found the mural! This is perfect for our shot!" Frazzled, Amu opened her eyes to see a small group of boys carrying cameras and microphones rush past her and Ikuto to set up in front of the skull and demons mural.

Ikuto, to his credit, managed to reseal his emotions, his face a blank mask, but Amu knew better. She could see the disappointment in the slant of his brow and his annoyance in the rigidity of his jaw. Gently tapping at his cheek, Amu mustered up a smile, "They look like they're having fun."

Staring at her for a few seconds, Ikuto slowly smiled back. "And they're loud too." Turning around, he gestured for her to follow, "Come on, you're hungry right? I know a great Italian place." If Plan A failed, well, that's why there was a Plan B right?

Clapping in anticipation, Amu ran to catch up to him, chatting animatedly with him as they walked a few blocks down to a lovely homerun eatery. The setting was refined, yet cozy, and their menu absolutely enticing. Kind of as a joke but also because he liked it, Ikuto ordered the spaghetti and sat in suspense for the teasing part of the night to begin.

As the waiter brought in their meals, Ikuto waited some more for Amu to make a significant dent in her penne while he forked around his pasta waiting for the right moment. And suddenly, he had an opening.

"Ahhhh, this place is so good! I've never had pasta so delicious!" Amu gushed, sparkles in her eyes and hands clasped beneath her chin.

Quirking up a brow in amusement, Ikuto hummed in his throat, "Really? I'm glad."

"You can try some if you'd like." She offered shyly.

Ikuto grinned like a fox, "Feed me Amu." The way he said her name sent tremors in her heart and nervously, she pierced into a meatball and some pasta as she shakily raised her fork to meet his mouth.

Not taking her eyes off hers, Ikuto's mouth widened before closing around her fork, pulling off the bite with his tongue. Chewing leisurely, he broke way into a lazy smile. "This is good." He agreed, "But you should definitely try mine." He smirked, "We can do a Disney kiss."

Amu blushed. "D-d-disney kiss?" fingers fiddling with the hem of her skirt Amu looked anywhere but at him.

"You know," he pushed, "Like in the Lady and the Tramp."

Steam burst from Amu's ears. "Ahh!" she squeaked, but suddenly calmed down, "Ah." She said again, looking up at him from behind her hair.

Quickly, Ikuto dug around in his plate for the spaghetti piece he had been saving which looked long enough to work but also seemed way too fragile to actually accomplish the task. As he struggled to get it onto the fork without it slipping, while also trying to figure out how to get it in both their mouths without looking like idiots, Ikuto suddenly felt very, very stupid. He set his fork down and refused to meet Amu's curious gaze.

Silence, and then a small snicker.

"You can't do it can you?"

If Ikuto pouted well, no one needed to comment on it, "It worked better in the movie." He sulked.

Amu's snicker filled out into a laugh that rang like sunshine in his ears, "Everything works out better in the movies. We don't need spaghetti…you can kiss me whenever you want." She mumbled, her courage evaporating.

Surprised and suddenly very, very in love, Ikuto leaned closer, "Well in that case…" Amu leaned in as well, getting closer to finally achieving the day's ambition before Ikuto's elbow knocked over his glass of water all over the table before clattering to the ground, shattering.

Distressed, Ikuto looked at the glass, looked back at Amu and promptly dropped his head onto the table and sighed. Life just wasn't fair. Somewhat amused and more so disappointed, Amu reached out to pat her boyfriend on the arm gently, "There, there, you sulky kitty-cat."

Dramatic eyes looked up from the crook of his arm, "The whole world is against me." He declared, sighing obnoxiously again.

Sympathy lost, Amu turned back to her food, stuffing a bite too big for her mouth between her lips with a flat expression, "Yes, yes. Everyone is against you, a teenage boy, who just crashes my house and sleeps all day."

Ikuto's wallowing deepened, "Well when you say it like that…"

Amu grinned, feeling light and content and suddenly so sure about everything she had done in her life so far to get her to this point. "I'm happy." She said softly, "Seeing you make all these new faces for me."

Ikuto ducked his head, not wanting her to see his eyes shine like the sea under the summertime sun. "When did you become such a tease." He said instead, picking himself back up gruffly and twirling spaghetti around his fork.

Amu's grin was positively wicked, "I learned from the best…Ikuto-koi." And Ikuto swore his heart didn't lurch out of his chest because somehow he was still alive through the incessant hysterics his emotions ran through.

After apologizing profusely to the waiter, paying the bill and scurrying out of there, Amu and Ikuto once again found themselves outside. The sky darkened, the sun giving up its right to rule the sky to please the moon. Ikuto and Amu held hands loosely, taking the long route home through the park. This would be his final shot, Plan C to fulfill A's destiny, to create the perfect kiss in the perfect setting with the perfect vibe. It was an arduous mission but one Ikuto wholeheartedly accepted. It wasn't like he'd let anyone else do it after all. A girl's first kiss… Amu's first kiss…A goofy smile spread across his face before he hurriedly worked to neutralize his expression lest Amu pounce on another opportunity to tease him again.

Truly though, nothing was quite as beautiful as a park caught between night and day. When the colours of the flowers danced in an otherworldly glow, the trees whispering their secrets as their leaves fluttered to the ground. It was magical in a mundane way. A special twist on the every day. But those were always the most sacred things. Their hands swinging lightly, a knowing twinkle appeared in Amu's eyes as she saw exactly where they were headed.

Of everywhere in the city, besides the now destroyed amusement park of course, this place meant the most to the two of them. Ikuto looked so melancholic, the first time she saw him playing here, as though the shadows were the only space he could breathe, the moon the only light that didn't burn, like his music was the only home he could make with his own two hands. He looked beautiful, in a way that made her heart ache. But looking at him now, she could see the tension that usually lay coiled in his eyes like a beast ready to pounce tamed and gone. His lips were curled in an easy smile, his expression loose and happy. Calm. Serene.

Amu smiled to herself. Everything was worth it if Ikuto could stay looking like that.

Hopping up onto the gazebo, Amu had the very fleeting image of a wedding ceremony. Maybe on this very place- Amu shook her head, already feeling the heat crawl up her neck and cheeks. This was definitely not the time to be thinking about…about…Ahh, her brain short-circuited again.

Rather cheekily if she did say so herself, Ikuto bent down towards her, "Ok Strawberry?"

Crossing her arms haughtily, Amu turned her nose in the air, "I-I'm fine! Totally fine!"

Ikuto smiled, one arm curling around her waist and the other cupped around her head, "Good," he murmured, "Because I'm about to-" he stopped suddenly.

Amu blinked, "Ikuto?"

The boy swallowed, looking vaguely panicked, "Amu…don't move." Something like fear boomed in Amu's chest.

"Wh…What is it?" And suddenly Ikuto's hand was swiping at her cheek before looking up and having the blood drain from his face.

Quivering in trepidation, Amu slowly tilted her head up, and screamed. Jerking backwards, she kicked off the banister to scurry off the gazebo landing far away on the pavement. Following after her, Ikuto looked like he had gazed into the face of death as he clutched her hand and ran. Wind rushing past them, Amu could hear Ikuto muttering under his breath sounding more disdainful by the second, "First punks, then a cup and now spiders. Spiders!"

They pulled to a stop and Amu shot him a concerned glance, wanting to say something comforting but not knowing what. Looking back at her, Ikuto mustered up a forced smile, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Sorry for smacking you."

She shook her head, "Don't worry," she said cheerily, "If I saw a spider on you I would've punched it off!"

Nervously laughing, Ikuto tucked his arms behind his head, leading the way back home, the same fake smile plastered on his face. Frowning, Amu walked next to him, struggling to convey what she needed to. There was no point in Ikuto faking anything for her. She knew him inside out. Knew all the subtleties of his face that gave away everything he tried so desperately to hide. There was no lock to his heart that she could not pick. No wall she couldn't climb. For Ikuto, he was an enigma to all who met him, but for Amu, it was as simple as leaning over and hugging him from the side, letting her warmth do the talking. Slowly, he relaxed and Amu knew it'd be alright.

Finally, the couple arrived at her house, the moon now fully up and setting the world in a romantic glow. Ikuto stared at her, looking frustrated and sorry all at once. "I'm sorry today didn't go as planned."

Amu frowned, "What are you saying, today was…" her smile was radiant, "Today was perfect."

The frustration grew on Ikuto's face. If he couldn't accomplish what he wanted to make the girl he loved happy than what was the point of anything? "I wanted to give you the date of a lifetime, the kiss of a lifetime-"

And it dawned on Amu suddenly, that she was looking at this the completely wrong way all this time. Of course, how could she have forgotten his promise to blow her away with the ultimate kiss. After building it up, of course Ikuto would go out of his way to live to her expectations. Ikuto, who tried so hard in the fringes, who wanted everything to look effortless when he had really invested everything he had in order to make it succeed. Amu's smile was gentle. So there were still things she didn't know about Ikuto after all.

That just made it more exciting.

Grinning widely, Amu sprung from her place, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing their lips together with all the intensity of her love. Kissing Ikuto was nothing and yet exactly how she imagined. His lips were soft and gentle against her own, his arms instinctively wrapping around her waist to pull her closer, everything exploding into heat and her thoughts overridden by the sensation of him. Pulling back, she rested her forehead against his, enjoying the dazed expression on his face and the slight part of his lips. "You idiot." though her tone took out all the bite, "It doesn't matter where or when, the fact that it's you…" eyes cast downward, she couldn't help her blush, "The fact that it's you! That's what makes it the kiss of a lifetime!" staring right at him, she hoped with every fiber of herself that Ikuto looked at her and saw, really saw, all that she felt for him. "It's better to have a lifetime of kisses, don't you think?"

And Ikuto's surprise melted away into an expression so loving it shook her and as he kissed her again, she wondered if it was possible to explode with joy. "You're right." He murmured against her lips, kissing her chastely again, "I want to kiss you always. Here." A kiss on the lips, "Here." His lips against her cheek, "Here." The softest touch against her forehead. "I'm going to marry you one day Hinamori Amu. So get ready. I'm not giving you to anyone else."

"Well good." Amu declared, "Because I don't want to marry anyone else."

And truly, the liberated joy on Ikuto's face, so rare like a lunar eclipse, sent Amu in a daze. That was her favourite expression. And one she hoped to bring onto his face time and time again. Because she was sure, though she couldn't see, that he made her smile in the exact same way. Of all the outcomes of life she could see, being with Ikuto just like this, smiling just like this, was the only choice for her.

A/N ahhh it's fun to write Amuto again after all these years though I'm not sure if I got their dynamic right...If you're interested, Graffiti Alley actually exists in Toronto and it's totally amazing and fantastic and my writing did not do it justice. Hope you amuto fans enjoyed this!