Title: For Just One Night
Summary: That night, after he left her with a kiss on the cheek, he returned just once more. He was safety, and she was home, and for just one night in the middle of the war, they could be together. Amuto
A/N: Yeah, don't ask me where this came from. I just really felt like doing a Shugo Chara one-shot for some reason a few months ago, and then never got around to posting it. I was looking at it today and thought it wasn't half bad, so I figured I'd throw it up.

It was nearing the early morning hours by the time that Amu returned back to the house. She and her four charas climbed out of Tsukasa's car with grateful smiles and bowed to him in thanks; he nodded in return and drove off, leaving Amu to face the music alone. Not that she was really alone – all over the city, she was fairly certain that her friends were going through the same thing – but that didn't really give answer her question of how one explained to their parents that you'd been out fighting an evil corporation all night.

"Don't worry, Amu-chan," Dia said quietly. "Mama will understand."

"I hope so." Amu looked down at her cell phone. The glowing numbers read that it was about four in the morning, and she remembered her phone call with her mother. Guardian work, she'd said. What kind of Guardian work would keep her out so late, even if it was under the supervision of a teacher?

Her mind spinning, Amu climbed the front steps and turned the doorknob. It opened easily and she stepped into the cool interior of the house. It was dark and silent, and for a moment, she thought that perhaps her family had given up waiting and gone to bed. Then the kitchen light went on, and her stomach clenched with nerves. Slowly, she walked through the living room and paused in the doorway. Hinamori Midori, who was seated at the table with a cup of tea in front of her, took one last drink before she placed the cup down and turned to look at her daughter.

For a long time, there was only a heavy silence that lingered between the two women. Midori looked her over carefully and openly, noting every bruise and every scratch that littered Amu's body – and there were a lot of them, though none so serious as to require medical attention. Her uniform was torn in a few places, and her hair was mussed, and she was holding her right arm a little oddly, but overall... Amu looked up at her mother and bit her lip, nervous over the inspection. She was about to say something when Midori stood.

"Welcome home, Amu-chan. Did you finish the work for the Guardians?"

"Yes, we did," said Amu, blinking in surprise. She'd expected questions of a different sort. "It... It took longer than we thought, but we did it." Warmth suffused her chest when she spoke those words, and she couldn't help the tiny smile that graced her lips. Ikuto was free. He was finally free.

Midori smiled back. "I'm glad. We were worried about you."

"I was safe," Amu assured her immediately, and that was the truth: she was never safer than when she was with the Guardians and Utau and Ikuto. She added, "It was important."

"I know." Midori sighed softly and crossed the kitchen to her daughter. She noted the dust and grime on Amu's hair and clothing with a practiced eye, but said nothing. "You should go on up to bed after you take a shower, Amu-chan. I think that just this once, you can miss school tomorrow and sleep in."

"Okay..." Turning slightly as her mother walked past her, Amu said, "Mama..."

"Yes?"

"You... didn't ask me any questions?"

"Amu-chan, I wish that you didn't have to keep secrets from us," Midori said softly, looking her daughter in the eyes. "But I understand that as you grow up, there will be things that you can't always tell me. I hope that you will be able to feel comfortable in telling me someday, but for now, I don't want you to have to lie to me, and so I won't ask. I'll trust that if something becomes too big for you to handle, you'll come to us."

"Mama..." Tears sparkled in Amu's eyes, and she threw her arms around her mother. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." She squeezed tightly before letting go. "Now go to bed, okay?"

Amu nodded and obediently crept up the stairs, passing by Ami's room quietly. Her charas floated after her, darting into the room behind her. She closed the door and leaned against it for a moment, closing her eyes in order to think. That had gone... a lot better than she had dared to hope. Her mother hadn't pushed for answers, hadn't even asked many questions, and she could hardly believe her good fortune in having parents who actually seemed to understand a lot more than she had ever expected. Maybe they weren't so bad after all.

Smiling to herself, Amu opened her eyes. Her charas had settled into their basket with nary a word, and the five eggs were cuddled together, cuddled close and comfy for the night. She walked past her desk, intending to grab a clean pair of pyjamas from the closet, and froze as her mind finished processing what she had just seen. Slowly, she turned to face the basket and counted the eggs again. Yes, she had been right the first time. There were five. One pink with hearts, one blue with spades, one green with clovers, one yellow with diamonds, and one black-and-white with a little cat's head stencilled on it.

Feeling the headache that she'd been sporting all night getting that much bigger, she looked in the direction of her bed, noticing for the first time that the door to her balcony was open. And sure enough, a very familiar boy with dark blue hair was curled up underneath her pink covers. Amu stalked over to the bed and stood over Tsukiyomi Ikuto with a scowl on her face. Her first instinct was to yank him out of the bed, but... her anger faded when she noticed how exhausted he looked.

"Ikuto... you came back here, even after I told you that I hated you," she whispered and sat down on the edge of her bed, feeling more tired than she could ever remember being before. Almost unconsciously, her hand brushed a few strands of hair out of his face and lingered, twining through the soft, silky strands. How could she kick him out when she had spent the last few weeks dreaming about having him there again, safe and sound where he belonged?

"W-wait, where he belongs? My own thoughts are too weird!" she whispered to herself. Cheeks pink, she jumped to her feet and quickly picked out a pair of pyjamas before hurrying out of the room. In her haste, she failed to notice the dark blue eyes watching her every move.

When Amu returned to the room about twenty minutes later, she was relaxed, clean, and tired. The events of the day had been too much for her, and she was more than ready to go to bed. She closed and locked her door so that no one would walk in and get the wrong idea, then stood at the end of her bed and contemplated Ikuto. He was lying on the side of the bed closest to the door, and had left her side, the one closest to the wall, free.

"I can't believe I have a side of the bed," she muttered, pushing the covers aside and crawling up beside Ikuto. She wasn't completely shocked when arms came up and yanked her down against a strong chest, but she still protested. "Ikuto!"

"Hmm?" was the only response as Ikuto buried his face in the back of her neck and breathed in the scent of her hair.

Amu could feel herself blushing, and she was very tempted to push him away. Sleeping in the same bed as a boy was something she still hadn't gotten used to. But truthfully, having her back against Ikuto's chest actually felt kind of nice. He was warm, for one thing, and she felt safe and protected with his arms around her. Even if he was a pervert, perhaps, for just one night, it would be alright? It was easier to not be so embarrassed when the room was so dark and quiet, and she knew that no one, not even their charas, was watching.

"Ikuto?" she breathed. No answer came, but she continued anyway. "I'm sorry that I said that I hated you. It wasn't true. I... I want you to know that I'll al-always be here for you." She fell silent, knowing that the pink in her cheeks was even more pronounced than before. "I... I care about you."

Ikuto said nothing, but the arms around her waist tightened. Amu smiled and let her own hands rest on top of his as she closed her eyes. She'd come to a lot of realizations that night, as she put the Dumpty Key and the Humpty Lock together, when she saw Ikuto's memories, as she hugged him and freed him from Easter's control, and when they character transformed together. Maybe she'd found more than one answer that night, and even if she wasn't quite ready to bring herself to say it yet, it didn't really matter. And when she woke the next morning to an empty bed, she didn't really mind.

After all, both of them knew the truth.

He would come back.

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