Luckiest Man in the World

I remembered this morning the weather man reporting something about severe thunder storms, which I had dreaded all day. But now, walking home from school with Rima, I could only see slight signs of rain coming on, and that brought me comfort. Just as the Earth was only slightly attuned to the weather to come, Rima was slightly miffed. I couldn't figure out why, either, which was new. Since the battle on Tokyo Tower, Rima's social skills and our friendship had gotten a lot better and stronger so I found her increasingly easy to read.

Noticing me staring intently at her, Rima stopped in her tracks and frowned at me. "Nani?" And I frowned back, because her tone was a bit snappy.

"Nothing." I said, waving my hand dismissively.

We began walking again and she ran a hand over her face. "Do I have something on my face? What is it? Why were you staring at me, Amu?"

I smirked slightly, shaking my head at her. "It was nothing, Rima, forget it."

She huffed. "Just tell me already. Or is it something else on your mind?" She said the second sentence a bit differently, her words coming off as falsely flirtatious and a bit knowingly.

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Eh? What's with that voice? You sound like you know something you shouldn't."

She laughed darkly. "I do know something I more than likely should not."

I stopped walking. "Really? Do tell."

She shrugged. "Only if you tell me why you were staring at me." She said, her old smirk coming back into place – her regular expression as opposed to her second natural expression, that being a look of no emotion – and that made me smile, seeing her normal mood return.

I continued walking. "Fine, fine. You just seemed a bit angry to me, that's all."

She frowned. "Oh?"

I looked sideways at her. "Is something bothering you?" She opened her mouth to answer, thought better of it, and closed her mouth. The final answer was a dismissive wave of her hand. "Alright then, tell me what you shouldn't know, you sneak."

Her smirk returned, along with a slightly chuckle. "I thought maybe you were thinking about Ikuto."

I tried my absolute hardest not to react to that name, but my insides turned and my heart clenched painfully. "Why would I be thinking about him?"

She turned to me, walking backwards now so we could face each other. "Well, two reasons actually, and I'm only slightly sure that you're oblivious to both."

I cocked my head to the side. "Eh?"

She sighed with impatience. "I'm guessing you didn't hear that Ikuto is back, correct?"

My heart thumped madly. "Ikuto? Back in Japan? I thought he-"

"He did, Amu, but he didn't find whatever he was looking for." I remembered Ikuto telling me about searching for his dad, but I kept that to myself. "Now, he's back in Japan, and I drove past the other day to see him walking down your road... passing by your house, Amu." She poked my shoulder, her words telling me something else.

I scoffed. "You don't think I had him over, do you?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, but I think he's looking for you in particular."

I narrowed my eyes at her questioningly. "Why would he be looking for me?"

She stopped dead in her tracks. "Are you serious?"

"Of course."

"Amu, the kid loves you and you know it. In fact, I'm pretty sure you love him back." Rima said confidently as we approached my house. Of course, Mother Nature chose that moment to open up her sky and drop heavy rain on us.

I was blushing beat red. "Of-of course I don't! And in no way does he love a girl that's – what? Five? Six years younger than him? Besides, if Ikuto loves me, then Nagihiko must love you!" And, of course, I just had to throw that one out there. I knew better than anyone how sensitive Rima was to her painfully obvious crush on Nagihiko (though she claims she doesn't and, even if she did, it would not be so obvious.), so I was definitely in for it.

Rima stopped, spun on her heel, and gave me the death glare. "What did you say, Amu?"

With the chance at hand, I made a break for it. "Bye Rima! Love you! Gomen! Bye!" I ran the rest of the way down the road, Rima's shouts to me drowning as the rain beat down all around me. I ran up to my door, threw it open, and then slammed it close behind me. If only Ran had been with me, I wouldn't be so out of breath. I was dripping wet and I was shaking from the exertion. "Damn... damn." I muttered twice when my knees tried to give out underneath me.

"Wow, I didn't think the princess actually had the nerve to curse."

My chest seized up and I saw black spots in my vision. The last time I heard that voice, it broke my young heart. And though it had been five or six years, I still knew that voice better that anything. When I could finally drag in a breath, it sounded like I was having an anxiety attack and I was breathing through a straw. My head flicked up, slinging my wet hair across my face so my eyes squeezed close on impact.

"There is no way..." I told myself before I timidly opened one eye. Despite what I told myself, Mr. Black Cat tangibly sat in one of my kitchen chairs, smirking his trademark smirk while his cobalt eyes held a note of concern. I straightened up and walked curiously over him. Maybe I was just seeing him again, like I used to after he left.

I timidly lifted my hand to touch him and he lifted his to meet mine. He tried to close his hand around my slim fingers when they met him palm, but I jumped a foot away. He was real. He was warm. He was here.

"Ikuto?" I whispered, my mind still numb with shock.

He rose to full height, smirking at me again. "Hello Amu."

I cringed away from him. "How are you... why are you...?" I trailed off, too many questions trying to jump off my tongue at once. I was about to choke on all of them if I didn't just shut my mouth and sort all of this out in my head. "Uh, hi." I finally settled on, looking up at him shyly.

"Do you always run in your house dripping wet and breathing like you ran a marathon?" He asked teasingly, taking a few steps towards me.

I jumped, remembering I was dripping wet. I looked down at the puddle of water around my feet and silently cursed. "Crap." Looking down, I only then realized I was trembling. "Oh." I mumbled, holding my hands out in front of me side-by-side to see just how bad they were trembling. That made me conscious of just how cold I was. My teeth began to chatter. "Damn it, Rima. Just... damn it." My muscles were already tight as I tried to take off my dripping wet jacket.

Ikuto moved behind me with a deep chuckle. "Here, let me help." His warmth passed between his front and my back and it took all my will power not to lean back against him and get him soaking wet. He put my jacket over the chair and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "I'll go get you a towel. Wait here." And I heard him go up to the second floor.

Moments later, when I was bent over in the chair to hold onto my body heat, I felt a towel drape over my shoulders. I looked up and Ikuto and smiled faintly. "Thanks, Ikuto." I took it off my shoulders and knelt down to mop up the puddle with the towel. I gathered the wet towel into my arms and turned back to him. "I'm going to go change real fast. Give me five minutes."

"Okay." He said, walking to take a seat in my living room.

I raced up the steps two at a time and dumped the wet towel in my bathroom hamper. I stripped off all my clothes, as I was soaked to the skin. I changed into a new bra and panties, then pulled on thick navy blue leggings and pulled over a cream-covered oversized sweater than fell down to my upper thigh. It could've been a dress. I took a look at myself in the mirror and decided to take another towel with me to dry my hair. I looked sick, my nose now red and eyes red-rimmed against an overly pale complexion. I grimaced, turning away and going back downstairs.

Ikuto was looking at something on his phone while Yoru kneaded at the throw pillow in Ikuto's lap. Ikuto sat on the floor in front of the fireplace which now had a fire. He looked up at my entrance and smirked at me. I took the silent invitation and sat by him on the floor, ravishing in the warmth of the fire.

"Mm." I hummed, a light smile coming to my lips.

"You haven't changed much." Ikuto stated.

I peeked at him out of one closed eye. "I could say the same for you, Cat."

He chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't even miss me. You haven't even given me a hug yet." I looked at him entirely now.

"Who told you different?" I scoffed.

"Rima and Yaya." He said.

My eyes widened. "You spoke with them?"

He nodded with a look that made me blush. "Rima's the one that picked me up from the airport and filled me in on everything. From what I hear, you missed me a lot more than I thought you would." He reached forward and dragged me closer to him, moving the throw pillow with a sleeping Yoru aside to pull me into his lap. I was blushing madly. "You're still small enough to be my little heater, aren't you?"

I was about to bite off his head with a retort, but instead, I turned quickly to sneeze into my elbow. Damn it. The rain got me sick.

Ikuto put his hand on my cheek, making me blush madly, and turned my face so he could look at me better. "Baka, you're sick."

I shivered, but it wasn't because of Ikuto. "No I'm not. Now, let go of me."

"Amu, you need to get to bed." Ikuto insisted.

I grimaced. "But, my room is so cold." I whined.

Ikuto chuckled, lifting me up into his arms bridal style. "You won't be cold, I promise. Now stop whining. Yoru," Ikuto said, his voice now strong and dominant. "please put out the fire and then meet us upstairs. I'm sure Amu's blue chara missed you. Miki, was it?" He added the last part almost as an afterthought before carrying me up the steps to my room.

"You didn't have to carry me." I mumbled pointlessly.

Ikuto ignored me. "Did you grow at all since we last spoke? You're still so small and light." He chuckled and nudged open my ajar bedroom door. He set me down on my bed and then took a long look around. "So we're at what now? Purple? Deep, dark, depressing purple?" He said with a slightly curious tone.

I was shivering in my spot. "Uh, y-yeah. I l-l-lost the pu-pink about four yeh-years ago." I told him, looking around as well. Now I saw why my room was so dang cold. "Did you seriously come in through my screen door?!" I yelled at him.

He took a seat next to me on my bed, smirking as usual. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

I scoffed. "I guess, seeing as I still forget to lock it."

Ikuto sighed, earning my interest again. He moved to lay next to me on my bed, propped on his elbow. A sense of deja vu washed over me, bringing nostalgia to my heart. "Amu, you really missed me didn't you?"

I sneered at him. "Could you not be egotistical for-"

He interrupted me. "Amu, I'm not trying to egotistical. Now, could you just be honest with yourself and explain to me why Rima told me you tried to commit suicide two years ago?" If I knew anything about Ikuto, it was that he didn't raise his voice when he was upset with me. He lowered it.

I just stared at him in shock. "What else do you know?" I asked suspiciously.

He smirked darkly, making my heart hurt. "I know about the depression, the suicide attempts, Tadase moving away, and, trust me, I know more than I should about Utau and Kukai, and Rima and Nagihiko, believe me on that one." I smiled sadly at his attempt to bring humor into the air.

"I'm glad she didn't tell you everything, because you'd probably be looking at me a lot differently if I wasn't the one to tell you." I sat up and brought the blankets over us, trying to conduct warmth back into my trembling body. "Alright, where do I start? Oh, and I promise, for your sake, I won't cry." I told him, almost trying to bring in humor, though it was a bit dry. "The depression was partially because of your absence, because I figured out a lot that I never got to tell you – that I needed to tell you." I let out a big sigh. "Then, my dad got sick. Really sick. So sick that I sometimes didn't see him for a few days. I was seeing him less and less and less until I just wasn't seeing him at all. Never, in a million years, would I have predicted spending the one-year anniversary of the Battle on Tokyo Tower in a graveyard at my father's funeral." I laughed dryly, looking up at my ceiling as I traced small patterns with my eyes, trying to ignore the tears trying to come up.

His hand caressed down my cheek. "Amu." He said tenderly.

"Anyways, my mom went crazy after that. She's in Hiroshima right now, in a psycho ward. The only way I'm still living here is because I have legal permission and both of my parents' pensions are paying for the house." I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to fight away the burning sensation of unshed tears.

"What about Ami?" He asked.

I flinched, and bit back a grunt as a more-than-physical pain jabbed through my heart. "Beside my dad, at the moment." I said, cursing the fact that my voice cracked. Tears leaked out of my tightly shut eyes, so I rolled over onto my stomach and hid my face in a pillow, determined to not let my shoulders shake.

Two strong hands took my hips and dragged me into a warm chest. He wasn't asking me to look at him or speak or think or do a single thing. He was offering me a comfort no one else really could, because no one else was Ikuto. The kindness was making my heart leak with emotion, and a small groan came out of me as I tried to push it all away.

His lips brushed the shell of my ear as he spoke. "Relax, Amu. It's alright now. You don't have to hold it in any more. Let it out." And I did. At first, I held back from making noise, but they leaked. When they did, Ikuto would just soothingly rub my back and coax them out, telling me I didn't have to hold back anymore. After that, I just let out my soft groans and moans of thick, emotional pain and I cried my heart out in the crook of his neck, shoulder, and his chest. He would just hold me and play with my hair, or rub my back, or even hum some of the lullabies and melodies I used to hear him play on his violin.

Ami was the main source of my tears. I would keep picturing her, blood staining the white sheets on the gurney as they wheeled her to the ambulance. One of the paramedics had to hold me back, explain to me – as I was freaking out – that she had been hit by a car and was in critical condition. She didn't make it to the hospital.

What felt like hours later, I stopped crying. Ikuto pulled away from me to sigh deeply, running his fingers through my bangs to push them aside. "Feeling any better?"

I smiled gently. "A little bit. Thank you. I didn't mean to load all of that on you, but I guess Rima or Yaya would have told you eventually." I tried to remove myself from Ikuto's embrace, but he held tight, forbidding me from an easy escape.

"Amu, what did you need to tell me about, hmm? You mentioned something about that at the beginning of your story." Of course he remembered that part.

I tensed up in his hold, my face turning pink. "Oh." The shivering returned with a cool wind and I pulled myself out of Ikuto's arms. This time, he let me. I got up and closed the balcony door, then turned to lean against it. I looked hopefully at the small box holding my charas, all four of them. Despite how fruitless it was, I hoped they might wake and distract Ikuto for me. It was useless. They all still slept so soundly.

So, I returned to the bed slowly and sat as far from Ikuto as I could. "So... Rima fell in love with Nagi, though I'm sure that was plainly obvious from the start." I chuckled nervously, avoiding Ikuto's eyes.

He smirked. "What's this? Are you stalling?"

I gaped at him. "No! Of course not! I'm just trying to tell you things."

He only laughed and I noticed he sat up and moved a bit closer. "Then, tell me."

I cleared my throat. "Well, I'm sure you've already visited Utau. And I'm sure she already told you all about Kukai, and how they're dating. And how they fell in love. Cute, isn't it?" I looked up at him for a fleeting moment. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he quickly caught onto where this conversation was headed.

"Very cute." He agreed.

I was getting more and more nervous. "And... Yaya, well, she fell in love with someone in Kukai's grade. I think that's really cute, because she's younger, and also because she's so enthusiastic about it." I laughed again, but it was painfully obvious how fake it was.

Ikuto moved so he was sitting behind me. He put his hands on my knees. "You seem to be forgetting about someone." He whispered to me as my hands latched onto his wrists to keep them from moving up my legs, though, somehow, I knew he had no intention of doing that.

"Who?" I asked quizzically.
"You." When I didn't say anything he leaned closer so his chest was pressed against my back. "So? Who was it?
"Hmm?"

"Who did you fall in love with?" He asked softly.

My heart began to palpitate. "Uh..."

He sighed deep with disappointment, then he started up the Guessing Game. "Was it Tadase?" He asked, though it was obvious how confident he was that it was a wrong answer.

My eyes began to cloud with tears. "No." I said simply, shaking my head limply.

He rested his chin on my shoulder. "How about Kairi?"

My throat grew too thick to speak, so I shook my head. I could feel him staring at my face calmly from the corner of my eye.

"I'm guessing it definitely wasn't Kukai or Nagi."

I didn't smile at his attempted humor, shaking my head silently. My hands were trembling on his; I knew he could feel it as he pressed closer to me for comfort.

"Don't tell me you're a pervert and you went after that Suzuki kid." Tears spilled over my eyes as I shook my head again, but Ikuto was very quick to brush them away. "Hey now, don't cry. Why are you crying?" Ikuto asked, his hand moving from my face to wrap his arm around my neck and hold me close.

I was shaking now. "B-Because you're t-teasing me! You're teasing me... about this, and it h-hurts. Th-this is the best and wa-worst thing to have e-ever happened to m-m-me, and you-you're teasing me about it-t." I stuttered, trying to pull myself away from him but found I was too weak to struggle.

He sighed in my ear, making me shiver. "Just answer the question."

"You already know the answer." I spat.

He growled back. "I want to hear you say it." So he was getting angry?

I barked a dry laugh. "Well, isn't that cute?" His nails bit into my knee and I winced. "Fine, I, Hinamori Amu, somehow fell in love with you, Tsukiyomi Ikuto." I struggled in his grip again. "Happy? Satisfied? Let me go now."

He only squeezed me tighter, his other hand on my knee moving to wrap around my waist. "I don't think I'm ever going to let go of you, Amu. In fact, the only way to get out of this is if you kiss me." I could hear the smirk in his voice, despite the fact I couldn't see his face.

I groaned and struggled to turn in his arms to face him. So I sat there, basically straddling his lap so we were eye-to-eye. He had his hands on my waist, preventing me from escaping and, at the same time, offering me great support and comfort. His hair was no longer than it was when he was seventeen, so I toyed with it before pressing forward and letting our lips touch. The kiss was suppose to be chaste, but Ikuto wouldn't have that (surprise, surprise). He flipped us over so he had me lying back on the bed, his body hovering over mine.

"You have absolutely no idea how long I've waited for that."

I smiled. "Longer than I have, I'm guessing."

He smirked back. "Since I laid eyes on you." Then, he shut us both up with another chaste kiss. He pulled away to look at my reaction and then moved back down to slowly let our lips mold against the other. For a little bit, it wasn't even kissing, it was just us resting our closed lips against the others. Then, simultaneously, we moved our lips together. He began to kiss me so hard and desperately, I knew my lips would be sore, but that thought didn't hinder me from kissing back with the same passion. Soft lights exploded behind my eyelids as I kissed him, and things only grew more intense. I locked my legs around his waist, raising my hips to meet his. His tongue ran across my lower lip and I opened to allow him access. He tasted me, I tasted him. I fought for dominance, but submitted the minute he bit my lip as punishment for trying to overtake control. Of course, I still had my fun. I rolled my hips against him, which would earn me a growl or groan and always a soft bite on the lip.

After we had our fun and were both out of breath, we just lay there, content with just holding each other and listening to anything we could hear. Our breathing, our heartbeats, and sometimes the soft sigh of content from one another.

"I forgot something." Ikuto said suddenly, and I found myself on top of him, laying down with his arms holding me tight against his long body. I blushed, cocking my head to the side in silent question. He smirked slyly at me. "I, Tsukiyomi Ikuto, love you as well, Hinamori Amu." And he punctuated the confession with a long, soft kiss.

When we broke apart, I stared at him with a soft expression. "I never thought you'd ever say that... and mean it."

He smiled sadly. "What made you think that?"

I shrugged. "Maybe my self-consciousness, or the fact you left me."

He hugged me tightly, rolling us over so he was on top again. "Well, I mean it. I'll always mean it. You're the only one I'll ever love, and I can only hope I'm the same for you." He bent down to kiss me again, and then moved to kiss my neck. When he stopped, he just lay on me, content. I hugged his neck to my chest, also happy and content for the first time in a long time.

I smiled. "I really love you."

He smiled back, eyes closed. "I really love you, too."

This made me giggle. Finally, finally, I was happy. After such a long time of loneliness and detachment, I finally had a bridge to reconnect me to everything I missed out on in my darkness. Like happiness. It radiated on me, almost tangible.

Something buzzed and Ikuto removed his phone from his pocket. He stared at the screen before sighing heavily with a miffed attitude.

"What?" I asked quickly.

He rolled his eyes. "So, Tadase makes annual visits, huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah, of course, what about it?"

He smirked. "Rima just sent me a text, warning me I guess."

I gave him a curious look. "Why would she warn you? Last time I checked, you and him were friends again."

He snickered. "Silly, Amu. Still doesn't change the fact that we were both on a race to get you. And now that I have you, I have to make sure he knows I have you; that the race has been won." He said, his eyes darkening with either lust or dark playfulness, it was hard to tell. He took my hands and pinned them next to my head, our fingers interlocked.

"What are you-?"

"Tell me, Amu, what side of your neck is more sensitive?"

Subconsciously, I tilted my head to the left side slightly to protect my neck, barely registering the question. Ikuto smirked wickedly and dipped down to left, nudging my head away easily and breathing deeply over the skin, making me shiver. I began to struggle. "Ikuto, stop!"

He chuckled and I felt his lips brush my neck. I bit back a sound, unsure of what it would be. "Not a chance, princess. Don't worry, hickeys feel good. I won't hurt you."

"Ikuto, no way! You are not giving me hickey just so Tadase will-" He cut me off with a deep kiss, stunning me, and then moving back to my neck. Before I could react, his lips were on my neck, kissing and licking ravenously.

"No getting out of it, Amu. Tell me where you want it." He blew cold air into my ear, making my head twitch to the side and knock against his.

I groaned. "C'mon, Ikuto, don't do this."

He laughed again. "This isn't torture, Amu. I'm giving you a love bite. You should be happy about it. Guess I'll pick a spot myself." His nose began to trail along my neck, and he seemed to be looking for something. After a moment, he trailed up to right under my ear. I gasped as he brushed the sensitive skin under my ear and near my jaw. He laughed. "Oh, how could I forget? Your ears are just as sensitive as mine. " He proceeded to quickly nip my ear, making me gasp in shock. I tried to sit up, to get away, but he just pressed himself down harder on me and moved my hands higher above my head. "You're so much fun to tease. Hold still." His lips slid over the sensitive spot. I held my breath, waiting.

All my air left as his teeth clamped down on the skin, making me all but scream. He began sucking the skin, making his mark, and licking over the fabric every few seconds which caused me to shift and wiggle under him. He straddled my waist, eliminating use of my legs, and held my wrists above my head with one hand. His free hand tickled my stomach and back, making me laugh even when I didn't want to.

After two good minutes of hard sucking at my skin, he pulled back to examine his work. My hair was disheveled and my face was bright red. I knew exactly how I looked underneath of him and he grinned lustfully when he saw it too: vulnerable. He got off me and led me to my vanity. In the mirror, he brought my hair back to show me the darkened skin that formed the oval of Ikuto's open mouth.

"I like my mark on you." When I glared at him, he only smiled. "I'm part cat, remember. I am territorial. I only want Tadase to know you're mine."

I grumbled. "You couldn't have just told him that?"

He smirked at me, kissing my cheek sweetly. "This is much more satisfying." His hands settled on my hips, holding me back against him so he could clasp his hands over my stomach.

I huffed, unable to stay mad at him. "You're so lucky I love you, Ikuto."

He laughed, resting his chin on my head. "Trust me, I know just how lucky I am to have your heart, Amu. I'll never forget how lucky I am for as long as I live. I know there's always talk about the luckiest man in the world, but right now and probably forever, I will feel like him. Because only the luckiest man in the world could have possibly stolen your heart." He hugged me tighter, his arms constricting me with need and want. He buried his face in my hair, his voice now raw and vulnerable as he spoke. "Anyone can love you, Amu. But only the luckiest man in the world will be loved by you."