The summer beat down too hard for Amu's liking. She didn't feel like doing anything that day, a hot day of June.
"Amu…play your flute…" Ran mumbled incoherently.
"Play your piano…" Miki was on her back, wiped out.
"Draw, desu…"
"Or sing, or move your right leg by two centimeters," Dia mumbled face down into Amu's bedsheet.
"No, too tired to," Amu whispered.
"Well this is called physical therapy, right…?" Dia drowsily asked.
"I don't think so," Amu shook her head once and lied down still. Then her phone went off, shocking the four tired charas. Then as if magic existed, their energy was magically restored.
"It's Rima!" Ran squealed and held the phone right next to Amu's ear.
"Crush…that…stupid…phone…"
"Now, now, now, you have to answer it. That is why I am carrying it!" Ran squealed once more. Amu shook her head at Ran's childish behavior sometimes.
"Fine," Amu groaned before getting up and plucking the cellular device out of Ran's chubby hands.
"Hello?" Amu said.
"Good. You answered. You awake?"
"No, I'm sleeping," Amu snapped.
"Anyways. Hotori had this weird idea for all of us to get together at his house and we as the Guardians do something fun the whole day. I guess you are bored to death right now, right?"
"The sun seems to be sucking out my life as of now," Amu drawled.
"Nice story. Get cleaned up and be at Hotori's house in one hour."
Amu's blood froze cold.
"One hour isn't enough time to get ready!" Amu yelled. Why would Rima think of waiting until the last minute to tell her to go and get ready?
"Well sweetheart, I tried texting you but you wouldn't answer. Assuming that you have your phone on vibrate to block me out as of today. So I tried calling you. Check your phone. I sent you a billion texts over the past few hours and you never picked up."
Amu did so and found out Rima was right.
"Fine be there ASAP," Amu sighed, swinging her legs over the bed.
"See you there." Then the line went dead. Amu groaned and hung up herself.
"Rima just loves to make me wait until the last minute, doesn't she?" Amu scowled as she rushed into her bathroom with her towel.
Her charas looked at each other and smirked and laughed as their bearer rushed to get ready for the get together.
-x-
A certain cat chara was overhearing the conversation of Amu and Rima. He laughed and flew down to where Ikuto was waiting, his back resting against Amu's house.
"Ikuto nya!"
"So what were you able to hear there?" Ikuto smirked as he saw his cat chara fly in his direction.
"One of her friends called and said there is going to be a get together at Kiddy King's house nya!"
"Kiddy king, huh?" Ikuto murmured underneath his breath, feeling his fists clench in overwhelming jealousy.
"What's wrong, nya?" Yoru tilted his head when he saw his bearer take a rock in his hand and reduce it into fine powder as thin as talcum powder.
"Let's go stop them," Ikuto smiled at Yoru, who quivered a little.
"You are going to go sweep Amu-chan off her feet again aren't you?" Yoru sighed.
"What is that?" Ikuto popped his ear closer to his chara, "Do I hear whining?"
"N-No!"
"Thought so. Now let's go. We have a pinkette to steal."
"Roger that!"
-x-
Amu sighed. She had dressed too casually for her liking. With her hair in a braided bun and a huge X clip, white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up 'artistically' in Miki's view, faded jeans, and black converse, she looked like a street artist more than a person out for a casual outing.
Ding dong!
"I got it!" Rima's voice fluttered from somewhere inside Tadase's house. The door opened out of nowhere making the pinkette back up a little.
Rima's eyes widened and then she smiled, "Hey, I like it how your casual wear is so… artistic. Come on in. You are just in time."
"Thank you," Amu huffed as she came in and took off her black converses, "I would be early if you called me early."
"I reminded you that I texted you," Rima sighed.
"And I remember telling you a month ago that my phone mysteriously went on silent. The only loud noise it DOES make is when someone calls."
"Well check your phone more often," Rima shrugged, "Or…I don't know what else."
"Rima, you out of everyone should know I am not a girly person. If anything I am more of a tomboy," Amu sighed and flipped her phone to give her mom a quick text that she arrived safely.
"That is true," Rima sighed and then went down the hallway to the living room, Amu following behind.
"Hey, she's here," Rima drawled before dragging Amu to sit next to her.
"So what are we going to do?" Kuukai asked.
"Maybe Joker has an idea?" Kairi looked at Amu expectantly.
"I don't know! Honestly I spent half of today lying down on my bed, letting the sun suck the life out of me!" Amu flailed her arms. Her charas nodded.
"The sun was too intense today," the four chorused.
"And more importantly, wouldn't you be having some kind of ramen contest with Utau? Where is she?" Amu cocked an eyebrow at the brunette.
"Right here," a smooth voice came from behind her.
"Hey Utau. Going to pick on me again?" Amu wearily asked.
"Tempting, but no," Utau smirked.
"Wow, she teases you?" Kuukai asked with big eyes.
"Oh yeah, she does. Just like Ikuto. I swear they are identical or something," Amu groaned and Nagihiko laughed at the pinkette's mock despair.
"Oh but you are so interesting to tease, like a little sister!" Utau gave Amu a tickle on the side before sitting down next to her boyfriend. Kuukai slung an arm around Utau's shoulders.
"More like a test dummy than a sister," Amu muttered. Rima caught this with her ear and snickered.
Utau raised a delicate eyebrow at Rima and said, "Something funny?"
"N-Nothing…" Rima snickered, "N-Nothing you s-should know o-of…"
Utau looked like she wanted to rip Rima's smirk off her face but then Tadase cleared his throat and said, "How about we play heads up, seven up?"
"An elementary classic, nothing better to do on a summer day," Rima drawled.
"Why do you have a better idea?" Tadase challenged the blonde. She shook her head no and then he cleared his throat again, much to Amu's annoyance.
"I guess you know all the rules, right?"
"But I do not think we even have seven people to be it," Nagihiko protested.
"Then three can be it," Utau said.
"Good idea," Tadase nodded.
"Okay, in that case Utau, Tadase, and Yaya are it," Amu pointed them out.
"YAYYYYYYY! And the prize should be a bucket of Reese's PB and chocolate cups!" Yaya declared.
"I do not think we can afford that," Amu drawled.
"That would be too expensive," Rima nodded.
"I do believe this is a prize LESS game," Tadase said. But Yaya started to give the puppy dog look by making her eyes abnormally large and cute.
"Fine! But for each winner, they get ONE PIECE of Reese's," Tadase slapped his forehead. Not exactly what Yaya wanted but she mischievously smirked and nodded.
Amu sighed and plopped her head down between her arms, and stuck up her thumb. This was going to be one LONG game for her.
-x-
Ikuto flew by the back window of Tadase's house, hiding in the grass and sending Yoru as a spy to see what the Guardians were doing in the living room.
Yoru came back and was snickering.
"What are they doing?" Ikuto raised an eyebrow.
"That silly game where you put your head down and thumb up and someone who is it can randomly pick you and when you get up you have to guess that person nya," Yoru snickered.
"Heads up seven up?" Ikuto smirked, "Why such a childish game?"
"I do not know, but Amu-chan doesn't look like she is having fun," Yoru snickered.
"Why is that?" Ikuto asked.
"Because she guesses correctly each time she gets her thumb picked," Yoru laughed.
"How about we crash the game?" Ikuto smirked, "There is nothing better to do on such a hot summer day than interrupt a child's game."
Yoru beamed and nodded, finally having something to do.
-x-
Amu stood up. She was one of the three to get picked, yet again.
"Who do you think picked you this time?" Nagihiko asked, one of the 'it'.
Amu sighed. Somehow, Yaya found herself 'it' because a piece of candy really seemed to motivate her a lot.
"Yaya," Amu drawled.
"Not fair!" Yaya pouted and traded places with Amu. Amu shrugged, went to the prize bucket and took another piece of Reese's candy.
"Well you do tend to almost rip my thumb from my hand. I know that is you," Amu shrugged.
"Okay…how about another round?" Nagihiko asked.
They all put their heads down and thumbs up.
-x-
Amu sighed a few rounds later. She was not it anymore because Utau had correctly identified her as the person who tapped her thumb.
Amu put her head down and popped up her right thumb. A few minutes later there were surprised shouts and squeals and even Utau was going on a rampage but not telling who the name of the person was. However the noise went down suddenly and Amu almost raised her head when a large head gently put her head down again.
Amu shivered. That touch is too familiar to her.
Then, instead of another large hand tucking her thumb down, something delicate and warm and wet faintly outline her whole thumb, to the point there was something sucking her thumb. Amu's heart almost dropped into her stomach.
It was a tongue. And she very well knew who it was.
"A-Alright, heads up, s-seven u-up!" Nagihiko stuttered.
Amu flew up and said, "WHERE IS THAT PERVERTED CAT GUY?!"
Utau was surprised.
"Using the restroom. Why?"
"He sucked on my thumb! I need the bathroom or a sink for half an hour straight!" Amu was wiping her right thumb on her shirt.
"H-Hinamori-san y-you can use the kitchen sink!"
"Thanks!" Amu rushed to it and put enough soap to wash the hair in her hand and scrubbed down her hands thoroughly and roughly as much as she could while keeping in Su's stern reminder in not wasting too much water, as this wasn't her own house.
When her hands were starting to form a raw rash and Su worriedly pointed it out, Amu allowed the green chara to wipe her hands down for her as they felt raw and burning and tingling.
"You okay?" Rima asked Amu as she eyed the red hands.
"Yep. Sanitized."
"Aww, my little strawberry is so cold to me!" Before Amu knew it, arms encircled her waist. Amu grew a dark aura around her.
Rima looked at Utau, they both nodded and whispered something into the ears of others. They all nodded and silently filed out of the room while Amu was too busy to pay them any mind.
"I can't believe you sucked on my hands," Amu growled.
"You still have the cooties on you no matter how much you scrub them," Ikuto smirked.
"Oh so I wonder, who is being a child now?" Amu innocently tapped her chin.
"You," Ikuto smirked.
"Hah, you wish. You always treat me like a kid yet you are one yourself," Amu smirked back right away.
"We are both little toddlers," Ikuto justified.
"Correction, I am a kid. You are toddler," Amu scowled.
"But Amuuuuuuuuuuuu!" Ikuto whined, nuzzling Amu's neck.
"Point proven," Amu cut in. Then her phone buzzed.
"Wow I wonder what happened to your phone to being on silent," Ran whispered.
"Huh, dunno. Vibrate is better than anything," Amu said and sat next to Ikuto as she checked her phone for anything.
"Damn my band teacher," Amu growled.
"You play an instrument?" Ikuto asked.
"Yeah, the flute and the piano, but sometimes my band teacher can be a stuck up. She is just so…GAH!" Amu almost pulled her hair.
"I can take it that you do not like your band teacher."
"No. Especially when she flirted with my dad and almost caused my parent's divorce. Ami and I had to convince Mom not to break it off," Amu sighed.
"I think I should stay away from her," Ikuto uneasily said.
"Damn straight. And I can't believe you sucked on my thumb!" Amu screamed at Ikuto.
"Hey chillax. Right here," Ikuto rubbed his kitty ears.
"How do I calm down when you LICKED me?"
"It is the only way to show my affection for you, strawberry."
"Oh there are other normal ways to do that!"
"But I am not normal."
Amu thought about it and laughed and said, "Yeah, you are far from normal. Gotta admit that one is true."
Ikuto sighed and made his head comfortable on her lap.
Amu raised an eyebrow and said, "So what are you doing here? Why aren't you doing a tour or something?"
"I have come back to stay for good. I don't want to be too far from my strawberry," Ikuto yawed like a cat and made himself even more comfortable in her lap. Amu blushed and rolled her eyes.
"Again with that silly nickname and silly promise."
When Amu was about to sputter more she felt cold gold slip over her ring finger on her left finger and Ikuto looked at her with serious eyes.
"Does that tell you that I am serious?" Ikuto asked. Amu nodded.
Ikuto smiled and then yanked Amu down and slipped his arms around her. Amu's face broke out into a fresh blush.
"I-Ikuto what are you doing?" She tried to get out of Ikuto's warm yet strong hug.
"Napping. I am so tired from travelling internationally so can you do me a favor and keep still?" Ikuto murmured into her neck. Amu blushed and nodded again.
The two didn't notice all the charas cheering them on, the squealing friends, Utau taking a picture of the two and putting them on Instagram, commenting, "Ikuto Tsukiyomi and his future wife." And they didn't notice Tadase boiling up in anger and jealousy and it took Utau and Kuukai to pin him back and not rip the two apart.
Who knew such a childish game could accomplish so much?
-finalmente-
