Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon.

Key

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

Flashback

(AN: Author's notes)

Dying Angel

The hospital room was silent, except for the sounds of the machines that were hooked up to 19-year-old Serena Tsukino. There was only one other person in the room other than the blonde, a man, who sat by her bedside in a chair. His dark ebony locks were unruly, having not been combed for quite a while. His midnight blue eyes, filled with weariness and grief, were fixed upon the frail girl lying in the hospital bed.

She was dying. She had been dying for the past month. Slowly but surely, the young girl was leaving this world, her family, her friends.

But most of all, she was leaving him.

He was going to be all alone again, like he had been five years ago, before he'd met her. He always smiled when he thought of how they'd met.

But not now.

"Watch where you're going, Odango Atama." The 18-year-old young man was handsome, with dark hair and eyes, and a strong, but not too strong, build.

However, the 14-year-old girl wasn't exactly concerned with how he looked. He had just mocked her hairstyle, which meant he had to PAY.

"EXCUSE ME? YOU'RE the one who ran into ME!" she shrieked at him. Her sky blue eyes, normally bright and cheerful, were narrowed into a death glare towards the arrogant young man before her.

"You're the one who was racing down the sidewalk at 60 miles per hour," he shot back, a smirk on his lips. This was a very nice change for him. Girls usually threw themselves at him, practically begging him to allow them to be his girlfriend.

This blonde, however, was actually arguing with him.

"Is it my fault that you're so stupid and slow that you can't move out of my way in time?" she shot back, crossing her arms stubbornly.

"And what college do you plan on going to, Odango Atama?" he said, still smirking. The girl blinked, letting her arms drop back down to her sides. His question had confused her so much that she had not taken notice of the fact that he had made fun of her hairstyle once again.

"What does that have to do with anything, baka (AN: Japanese word for idiot)?" she asked, still thoroughly baffled by his question. Actually, what baffled her was how it had anything to do with the argument.

"You called me stupid. I plan on getting a scholarship to Harvard, one of the most prestigious colleges in America. Where do you plan to go to college, Odango Atama? Obviously, you plan on attending a much more prestigious college. Unless, of course, you just knowingly insulted your own intelligence?"

She didn't answer. She was still trying to figure out what he was getting at. Suddenly, her eyes widened, and she let out an ear-piercing shriek, causing her companion to wince.

"What's your problem!" he demanded, a bit irritated by her almost bursting one of his eardrums.

"I'M LAAAAAAATE!" she wailed. She ran past him, wailing loudly as she went. He turned and watched her go, an amused expression on his face.

"See you around, Odango Atama! My name's Darien Shields, by the way!" he called after her.

Much to his surprise, she paused and whirled around to face him. No longer wailing, she fixed him with a glare.

"My name is NOT Odango Atama! It's Serena Tsukino!" she shouted at him. Realizing once again that she was still late for school, she let out another shriek and continued to run to school.

Amused by the fact that she had heard his farewell over her loud wailing, Darien continued to walk to his apartment.

End of Flashback

That had been the start of a rivalry between the two. However, somewhere along the line, the two had formed a respect for one another, which had gradually turned into a friendship.

And then, two years after they had first met, they went on their first date together. Their relationship had grown since then, until they were where they were today.

Darien glanced at the engagement ring that Serena had been wearing on her ring finger for nearly a year now. He felt tears well up in his eyes once again. He'd felt like crying a lot lately, ever since he went with Serena to that doctor's appointment months ago.

Darien held Serena's hand tightly, brushing his thumb over the engagement ring he'd given to her a few weeks ago. Both stared at the doctor anxiously. Judging by the young woman's hassled appearance, the news that Serena had been called in to hear was not good at all. To help ease her uneasiness, Darien had volunteered himself to accompany her. Now, he himself was feeling uneasy about the whole thing.

"Ms. Tsukino, I'm afraid I have some bad news." the doctor said finally. Darien felt Serena tense beside him, and squeezed her hand comfortingly. She relaxed slightly, allowing herself to slump down slightly in her chair. She gave a small nod, signaling to the doctor to continue.

"I'm afraid that you've developed a rare disease. It slowly destroys the body from the inside, making it harder and harder for the body to function correctly, until it is completely destroyed. We've only seen three cases before, all of which turned out to be fatal within five months..."

Serena stared at the doctor, eyes wide. She resembled a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Darien looked at her, just as shocked as she was, but was more concerned for her life at the moment than shocked.

"We're going to have to keep you here, and see if we can find anything to stop the disease." the doctor said. Serena was barely able to nod in response. She didn't listen to the doctor's next words, but Darien did. Realizing that Darien was the only one listening, the doctor addressed him directly as she explained what would be done during the next month's of Serena's life. Darien would nod every once in a while, and answer the few questions the doctor asked every now and then, but he didn't look away from Serena.

He realized that now, they'd never be able to get married. Serena was most likely going to die, unless a miracle happened.

He wanted to believe that a miracle would happen, but he found that he couldn't.

A miracle didn't save his parents sixteen years ago, when he was only six. They had died in that car crash, and he had lived.

But there had been a price to pay, and that price was his memories.

And now, Serena was faced with an even bigger price.

Now, Serena would lose her life.

End of Flashback

Serena had lasted longer than they'd expected her to. She had survived for a whole year. But now, it seemed that her time was almost up.

Darien had managed to keep from crying for a long time. He had only cried during the beginning of Serena's battle for her life, in the privacy of his apartment. But not, he felt as if he was about to burst with all of the sorrow he'd kept bottled up inside for the past few months.

She was going to leave him alone again.

Before he had met her, Darien had been terribly lonely. Sure, he was popular at school. But he still felt lonely, longing for someone who would understand him, someone who would listen to him no matter how he felt.

Someone who would accept him as he was, and wouldn't leave him alone, no matter what.

Serena had been that person for five years. But now, she was dying.

He was scared. He was scared to lose her. He was scared of what he would become after she had left.

He remembered the dark thoughts that had filled his mind before Serena had come into his life. He'd thought about suicide a lot, but had never had the guts to go through with it. He had always had a small hope that there was still something for him to live for.

That hope had been on the verge of fading completely away when he had met Serena. He found out that she was what he should continue to live for.

And now, she was leaving him.

He found himself thinking the same thought lately.

'Will I be able to commit suicide after she's gone?'

"Damn it, Serena. Damn it! Why are you leaving! You promised you'd stay with me… You PROMISED!" His voice was low and scratchy as he spoke to her. Of course, he thought she was still asleep.

"You're leaving me alone! Serena, I can't deal with it! I can't deal with losing someone else I love! Serena, I… I'm scared. What if I… What if I…" His voice trailed off. He couldn't say it. Not to her.

He felt the tears begin to fall from his eyes, and he bowed his head, covering his face with his hands. Silently, he cried.

"Darien…" His eyes widened at the sound of her soft, weak voice, and he let his hands drop back down onto his lap. He raised his head and looked at her. She was looking at him, a small, tired smile gracing her lips. Her sky blue eyes had a small sparkle to them, and her long, wavy blonde hair spread about her head like a halo. Darien reached out and grasped her small, pale hand in his larger, tan one.

"I'm sorry… But it's… Time for me to go…" she said softly. He shook his head defiantly.

"Darien… Will you promise me something…?"

"Anything, Serena. Anything at all," he answered.

"Promise me… That you'll find happiness again… Promise me… That you will get on with your life after I die..." Serena whispered, feeling her body becoming weaker.

"… I… I promise…" Serena smiled weakly at his answer.

"I love you, Darien… All I want… Is for you to be happy…"

"I love you too, Serena…" he whispered, kissing her forehead gently.

"Tell the girls and my family… That I love them… And that I'll miss you all…"

"I will," Darien said, tears in his eyes.

Serena smiled gently at him.

Her eyes slowly closed.

She let out a soft sigh.

Her hand went limp in Darien's.

A straight line appeared on the screen of the heart monitor, and a loud tone filled the air, alerting everyone within earshot of the life that had now ended.

But Darien didn't let go of her hand. He gazed at her face, tears still falling.

"I promise…" he whispered.

Author's Note

I know I should be working on Sincere Darkness, but this story idea popped into my head and wouldn't leave me alone until I had it typed out. I plan on getting the next chapter of Sincere Darkness up today, though!

This story, as was stated in the summary, is AU, alternate universe. That means no Sailor Scouts, no Silver Millennium, and no Crystal Tokyo. I will not continue this, or do a sequel.

Oh, just a quick note, I do have another story idea. It'll probably be a long-term project, so I'll start it after I finish Sincere Darkness, but it probably won't be out for a while. I want to try to get a few chapters typed up before I post that one.

Anyways, please review and tell me what you thought of this story! But please keep in mind that this is only my second story, so I probably didn't do it very well. And I wrote it in about… An hour and 35 minutes. So yeah, I didn't spend too much time on this one.