Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Author's Note: Hey boys and girls, this is my second series of Sailor Moon drabbles, the first being my –cough, cough- unfinished Signs of Affection. This one, unlike that last, will be much shorter and the drabbles completely unrelated to one another. These are my entries in the UsakoMamoru LiveJournal group's 2nd Anniversary Challenge (go look it up on livejournal(dot)com). Wish me luck and enjoy!

Celebration!

UsakoMamoru Second Anniversary Challenge

Danika Lareyna

One – Cake

Darien muttered under his breath as he sped through traffic. Usually, riding his motorcycle helped him clear his mind and relax, but today had been a Murphy's Law sort of day- anything that could have gone wrong, did. Darien, who usually exemplified foresight and level-headedness, found himself completely unprepared to deal with the string of minor disasters.

Bad lucked seemed to target him from the very moment he opened his eyes that morning and discovered that he had knocked his alarm clock off the table in his sleep and he was late for his first class. In his rush to get to the University, he had forgotten the notebook containing his homework assignment for his second class and his calculator. The bus was out of the question and he had apparently left the headlights of his car on when he had arrived home the previous night, draining the battery, so he was forced to take his motorcycle to school.

He had been berated by no less than four professors, an experience he had never endured in all of his previous years of schooling. He had been forced to skip lunch to run home and pick up the missing homework assignment. He had nearly broken his leg when, rushing about like a chicken with his head cut off, he had missed a step coming out of the Student Union. And he had… had… What was that sound?

Ten minutes later, as Darien pulled into a parking spot behind the Crown Game Center, he added the final item to his list of woes. He had been pulled over for speeding in his haste to get away from the University and to a decent cup of coffee. Oh man, how he needed a decent cup of coffee.

With the weight of his book bag and helmet dragging at him like a thousand pounds, Darien trudged into the Crown, already mentally rehearsing the indignant rant he would unleash on the arcade manager. Andrew, his best friend, was always a good ear for Darien's tirades.

So engrossed was he in enumerating his troubles, Darien did not notice the balloons and crepe paper until a hand on his shoulder snapped him out of his thoughts. Glancing around, he was disturbed to notice that a giant bottle of Pepto Bismol seemed to have exploded in the building- everything was covered in pink. "Sorry, Darien," Andrew said, tucking his hands back in his apron pockets. "The whole place has been rented out for a private party today."

The dark-haired man blinked in disbelief. Could this day get any worse? "I thought you didn't do that sort of thing!" he exclaimed.

Andrew shrugged and tilted his head towards the back of the room. "In this case, we made an exception."

Following his friend's indication, Darien glanced towards the booths that lined the window. A familiar group of teenaged girls were laughing rambunctiously, all wearing pink, paper hats. A large sign hung over their heads, reading, "Happy Sweet Sixteen!" Darien groaned. Of course Andrew would not be able to resist them. "A birthday party?" he grumbled. "Who-?"

His question was cut off by a very loud, very high-pitched squeal. "Darien!" Before the man could turn to acknowledge the greeting, he was plowed into and thin, yet somehow surprisingly strong, arms caught him around the middle in an enthusiastic hug. Long hair floated around him and a pair of unbelievably blue eyes met his gaze. "Did you come to wish me happy birthday?"

For perhaps the first time in his life, words failed him.

When it became clear that he was not going to answer, Serena's brows drew down in confusion. With her pale hands still buried in the back of his jacket, she asked, "What's wrong?"

Darien blinked, finally snapping out of his momentary stupor. "I thought you were supposed to hate me," he replied.

Serena blushed and released him as Andrew chuckled. Placing an affectionate hand on the young woman's head, the arcade manager said, "You'll have to excuse Serena. I think she's had a bit too much sugar."

Feeling that he definitely needed to make up for his brief stupefaction, Darien arched a brow and drawled, "Really? I would have thought she would be immune to that, by now."

Rather than turning a fetching shade of furious red, as she usually would when he taunted her, Serena giggled wildly. In the midst of her laughter, she managed to gasp, "It's funny because I eat so many sweets!" Darien and Andrew exchanged a bemused glance.

He waited a moment, but it did not seem that Serena's giggles were going to stop anytime soon. Still feeling a bit cranky about the whole matter, Darien shot Andrew a dirty look and muttered, "Well, I guess I'll head home then. Have fun with your party."

Quite suddenly, Serena's laughter cut off. "Oh wait!" she exclaimed, turning around and dashing towards her friends. Darien frowned and considered sneaking out while she was not looking. He would never admit it aloud, but he was rather unsettled by Serena's friendly attention. It sent curious waves of emotion through him that he really would rather not examine. But let it not be said that Darien Shields was a coward and, when the girl returned a moment later, he was waiting.

"Here!" she exclaimed, pushing something into his hands. "Take this home with you for later!" She grinned up at him, her eyes sparkling. Darien glanced down. She had given him a paper plate (pink, of course) holding a large slice of chocolate cake covered in thick, white frosting with rainbow sprinkles.

Surprised, he said, "You're giving me a slice of your birthday cake?"

Laughing happily, Serena said, "Silly Darien. Cake is like love- it should be shared with everyone!" Without another word, she twirled on her heel and headed back to the party, swiftly to be engulfed by the rest of the giggling partygoers.

Andrew chortled, earning himself another frown from his friend. Grumbling about sugar-high teens and a sad lack of coffee in the word, Darien said goodbye to the blond man. Before heading back outside, he took one last glance around the arcade. It seemed to him that all of the pink in the entire world must have congregated in that room to celebrate the Meatball Head's birthday. There could not possibly be any left over elsewhere. Shuddering, he stepped out onto the sidewalk.

As he left headed for his motorcycle, Darien examined the saccharine treat. How was he going to get it home on his bike? "Cake is like love…" he mused.

Perhaps it was not such a terrible day, after all.