"Amu-chan! I'm home!"
"Tadase! Welcome home!" Amu leaned across the platinum blond head in her arms to kiss her husband affectionately on the cheek. "How was work, dear?"
"One of my employees resigned today." He said before he held up his hands defensively when his wife scowled. "Don't worry! It's not like I'm discouraged or anything! I've got at least a million left."
Amu chuckled. "Loyal subjects, I'm sure."
At that, Tadase bent down, looking into the eyes of the child in his wife's arms. "And how was my little sunshine?" He asked, poking the blond child's nose playfully.
Amu smiled lovingly down at her daughter. "Delightful as usual. Right 'Suki?" The baby laughed, reaching her tiny baby arms out to her mother.
Dia smiled. "You're brilliance is showing, Amu." She whispered, teasingly. But then her face fell. "But how brightly will you shine when you see... him..."
- - -
"I'm leaving Amu-chan! Have a good day!"
"Work hard, Tadase!" Amu said, waving, before remembering, and rushing out to stop her husband before he left. "I might not be home this evening when you come home, I've got a couple of errands to run, and they might take a while. I'll take Ramisuki with me." She leaned in, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
Tadase smiled warmly. "Of course, Amu-chan. I'll see you for dinner then?"
Amu felt her cheeks warm up. This was why she married him. "Yeah. See you then."
-
"Oh, Suki, don't touch that, that's not for babies!" Amu said, exasperated. The baby, her flesh and blood though she may have been, was making all of these errands so terribly difficult. The rose-haired woman looked pleadingly to Ran, Miki, Su, and Dia, who immediately set about placating the child, while her mother took the item from her little hands and placed it on the check-out desk. Then... Amu suddenly felt a presence behind her.
"Eh~... What a cute baby... It couldn't possibly be yours." The voice was breathtakingly familiar.
Amu turned around slowly. "I-I-Ikuto?" She asked, not daring to hope.
The dark-haired man laughed. "Studdering, Amu? Really, I thought you might become a more dignified woman." Amu pouted, tears stinging the back of her eyes. He flicked her forehead. "Baka. The cashier's waiting for the rest."
And with that, the cat-boy began pulling items out of Amu's shopping cart, placing them on the check-out desk, and flashing a winning smile when he caught the cashier's prying eyes.
After paying for the groceries, Amu and Ikuto crossed the street to the local park, walking beside each other in somewhat companionable silence, while the Shugo Chara's quarrelled behind them. After walking for a while, Amu sighed and sat down on the bench helplessly. Suki began to cry.
"Oh Suki, shh..." she said, bouncing the baby's head softly. When the baby failed to stop, she ran a tired hand through her hair. Ikuto sat down beside her.
"May I...?" He asked, holding his arms out for the child. Amu hesitated.
"Ikuto-... I..." she looked at her daughter, then handed the blond baby over. Ikuto bounced the child on his lap, the baby laughing delightedly. Amu smiled half-heartedly, then looked longingly at Ikuto. "Ikuto... You..." She clenched her fists, tears finally falling from her eyes. "You fool! Where have you been for the past twelve years?!" She cried, clutching his shirt's sleeve like a child. "Where were you when we finally found the embryo? Where were you when Rima was married? Where were you when Kukai was married?" She asked helplessly, sobbing in between, beating her fists of his arm.
"Where were you when I was married, Ikuto?" She asked, the tears glistening horribly in the light from the sun. Suki began to cry again. Sniffling, Amu took the child into her arms and held her close. Ikuto's face was frozen in shock.
"You married?" He asked incredulously.
"Like you would know though." She said stubbornly, turning her back to him to hide her tears, and to stop Suki from crying. "You graduated high school, went to University for a year, and then disappeared. We — I — never heard a thing from you. You just left..."
Ikuto sighed. He knew his disappearance would have an affect like this. He casually placed a nonchalant arm around Amu's shoulders. "I travelled." He said. "I went to America. I went to India. I went to Africa. When I tried University, there were just too many... things... on my mind..." He paused for a moment, thinking. "No. There was one thing on my mind..." Then he slowly turned his head to meet Amu's eyes. She froze, her face heating up, not able to do a thing about the devastating face about to meet hers. She held out a hand, pressing it to his lips.
"Ikuto, I wont betray this ring." She said, looking fondly at the ring on the third finger of her left hand. Then she met his eyes again. "I was willing to give you a chance... Before you left. I was interested. But now... I'm a married woman, and if Tadase knew it was you..." Amu looked back down on her now sleeping child's blond head.
"Tadase... I should have known it would be the chibi king who stole your heart." Amu looked at him, a sorrowful smile on her lips.
And then, suddenly, the lips she'd just finished denying were upon hers, and in earnest. Suddenly, his hands were around her waist, and he supporting Suki's head at the same time with his arms. Suddenly, Amu didn't care about the consequences, slipping a tentative arm around his neck.
The older man took this as encouragement, pressing harder into the lips he had not stopped longing for over the course of twelve years. He bit softly into her lip, tugging lightly. Pleasure gripped him when she gasped, and he was smiling when he went in for the kill. He was finally exploring the mouth he'd wanted since she was twelve. He was holding the waist of...
A taken woman.
Slowly, Ikuto attempted to pull away. Amu followed, stealing two kisses, and Ikuto gave up for a moment, returning to those lips, enjoying the feeling of Amu pressing her hand earnestly against his neck, wanting him. He made a second attempt to leave the kiss he'd been waiting for, and succeeded. He gazed into Amu's eyes for a long moment, his hands still on her waist, her hand tangled in his hair.
"I'm sorry, Amu." He whispered, burying his face in her shoulder, holding her so close, he thought they would become one entity. "So sorry..."
She sighed heavily, pressing her tear-stained face into his shoulder. "So am I..."
- - -
"Tadase?" Amu asked, opening the door to their quaint little home.
"Amu-chan!" He said, looking up from the television, smiling happily at her. "I was wondering when you'd be back. I have the roast in the oven. I'll get everything prepared."
She sniffed, placed Ramisuki in her playpen, and then wrapped her arms around Tadase's waist, burying her face in his back. "I love you." She said, her voice muffled by his clothing.
Tadase attempted to look at her over his shoulder. "I love you too."
"Good." She said.
Dia whispered into her ear. "Amu-chan, you should tell him!" She said sternly.
Amu shook her head. She walked off with Dia. "No. He's better off knowing nothing..." She said, wondering if it were true.
-
Ten Years Later
"Suki! ...Suki! Be nice to your brother!" Amu said sternly, leaning out from where she was busy preparing dinner, the green clover in her hair matching her green plaid apron.
Suki pouted. "But Yuki won't leave my Rika alone!"
Said boy pouted in a similar way. "But Wika's so pwettee!" He laughed delightedly, as the tiny Chara preened at the praise.
"Mamoru, darling, will you go pry Rika out of little Shinji's hands for Mummy?" Amu asked, patting her son on the head.
The boy nodded solemnly, running up to his little brother.
Amu watched after him, smiling, wiping a hand across her forehead. "Who knew your son would be so spoiled, dear." She said, affection lacing her voice.
"Yeah. It would seem he got my wanted personality more than I did."
Amu smiled for a quick moment, before it fell, watching Suki try to pull off her father's classic "beautiful face".
"I'm sorry, Amu." Her husband said, wrapping his arms around her.
"So am I..." she said.
A/N: This was born of watching multiple episodes of Shugo Chara!! Doki, and imagining Tadase and Amu as parents after episode 58. It breaks my heart, because as much as I root for Amuto, I think Amu and Tadase-kun would be so cute together. -squeezes Kukai plush- Oh well. If it ends up being Tadamu, I can have Ikuto and Souma! Mufufufufu.
Thanks for reading!
*siagr; - Doki!