Let Me Protect You
Chapter 1: The Melody of Love

The eerie melody echoed through his mind, though the tiny star locket was now closed; a haunting lullaby to the ghost of his memories. The locket lay in his palm, and he clutched it tightly, pressed his fingers into it as though he wanted to break it. Escaping from that memory was impossible for him, and even if he did manage to break the locket, she would still linger in his dreams. It had been two years since he had even seen Serena; everything during that time had been so peaceful, but now the nightmares were back. With the nightmares, came many sleepless hours and the aching pain which had permanently made its home inside of his heart.

Darien sighed and flopped back down onto his bed, his head crashing into his pillows. Almost unconsciously, his fingers unlatched the locket, and once more the melody sifted throughout the room. He wondered how she was doing then. From the look on her delicate face two years ago, Darien had done as much damage to her, as she was doing to him now. Of course, she had no idea that she was hurting him; he knew exactly how much he had broken her. But she also had no idea of why he had to hurt her; he wished that he could have told her. Telling her, though, would only place his beloved in danger.

He closed his eyes tightly, hoping that he would soon fall asleep, but as soon as he began drifting into sleep, a soft knock sounded from his door. At first, he did not get up, didn't even budge, but the soft knocking became louder. Then he heard the sniffling, and the sob, and her voice.

"Darien," Serena whimpered, "I know you hate me, but please, please let me in."

Immediately, as if he were drawn to her voice, he sat up and pushed away from the bed, unlocking the door, and grasping the cold knob in the hand that did not hold the locket. He turned it slowly, half wondering if this was just another nightmare; he would wake up soon anyway if that were the case. He pulled the door open and stood aside, glancing at the girl who stood before him. She was still the same: Long blond hair tied into pigtails, and her 'meat balls' were still there as well. Her blue eyes shimmered in the soft light from the hallway, and tears ran down her face.

"I'm sorry," she choked, still standing rigid in the hall, "but I didn't know where else to go. Something's happened and you were the first person who popped into my head."

He became more alert when her words sank into his sleeping state, and he opened the door wider.

"Come in," he said, pausing slightly, "Serena."

She nodded and walked in, standing near him as he closed the door. He locked it and turned to her, and for a moment he wanted to touch her, to pull her to him, to kiss her, but as far as Serena knew, those sorts of feelings, longings, needs, were done with. For her own sake, he needed to remain a man who did not love her. But how could he not? She made it too damn hard for him not to do anything but love her. He clinched his fingers into a fist and led her to the bed. She sat down and wiped at the tears that continued to stream down her lovely face.

"Tell me what happened," he suggested. "Maybe you'll calm down if you do."

Serena shook her head; long yellow pigtails shivered, then stilled. Her fingers dug into her skirt (which Darien figured was her high school uniform) and they trembled. He silently laughed to himself, remembering that she had always been the not-so-brave type of girl. She inhaled deeply and glanced around before exhaling and looking up at him.

"Something is after me, Darien," she finally squeaked.

"Something is after you?" he asked, his heart sinking at the realization that his nightmares were coming true.

"Well, not something per say, but someone," she continued. "At first, I had strange dreams…terrible dreams, and then Rini had one as well. I didn't think much of them, but Luna said that…that I should check into it, because it could be someone from the Negaverse."

Darien lurched forward and shook his head. "How could it be anything from the Negaverse? We defeated them, Serena."

She cringed a little when he said 'we', but shook her head.

"I-I know," she stammered. "But Luna believes that they are back, because there is not a balanced energy between…between you and me. Or it could be something else…something much more determined."

"What do you mean?" Darien murmured. "Why is it much more determined?"

Serena shuddered and looked down at her feet, replying, "Because, Darien, this monster is stronger than all the others."

"How do you know?" he groaned. "How can you tell if it's stronger or not if you've only met it in your dreams?"

"I haven't just met this thing in my dreams, Darien," she whispered. That was when he saw the blood for the first time. It was smeared on her clothing, her arms, even on her face; her tears mixed with it. "That thing…almost just…killed me."

He was not only angered by the fact that something had harmed his precious Serena, but by the fact that whatever was trying to harm her knew that she was in fact Sailor Moon. So much for secret identities; now she wasn't safe no matter who she was, or where she was. A shiver ran through him, and he thought of the others. If this thing knew Serena's identity did it know the others as well? He shook his head and looked back down at her, glancing her over and growing more frustrated with each and every oozing slice on her body.

He walked over to the drawers that sat against the wall near his bed and opened them up, pulling out a t-shirt. He held it out to Serena and motioned towards the bathroom. She took the shirt and stood from the bed.

"Go clean up," he suggested. "The towels are in the cabinet above the sink. Feel free to take a shower."

She nodded and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Darien sat back down on the bed and looked around at his empty room. The sound of the water in the shower oddly enough made him feel at ease. He closed his eyes and waited for Serena to come out. The locket lay on the sheet beside his fingers.

When she finally did come out from the bathroom, she was dressed in his shirt. He looked her over, and she blushed, turning her head away from his gaze. Even if he did hate her, the slightest glance made her go weak at the knees. The sad truth for Serena was that she wasn't over Darien at all. He stood from the bed and came to her, placing his hand on her shoulder, his other hand (now free of the locket) went to her face; his fingers tugged at her chin. Hesitantly she turned to face him, and their eyes locked.

"I don't hate you, Serena," he said, correcting her from earlier. "I've never hated you."

"Then…why?" she asked him. Her heart raced wildly in her chest, and she inched closer to him. Their eyes never looked away from one another.

"I had nightmares, too," he replied. "How could I possibly ever hate my Meatball Head?"

She sighed softly, with the same old frustration of hearing her nickname, but she smiled. "So you still…"

Darien cut her off before she could finish. He was a man who could not love her, and only because he yearned to protect her. "Maybe someday," he told her. "Maybe someday things can go back to the way they were. But for now, let's get some sleep."

Serena nodded and he led her to the bed.

"You sleep here," he started, "and I'll sleep on the couch."

When she said nothing, he turned around to leave, but as he walked away, she grabbed for his shirt. He paused, stiffened, and let out a slow exhale of air.

"Please," she sniffed, "please don't leave me alone. I'm…I'm afraid."

He could hold his feelings in no longer; his limit had been exceeded from the moment she had walked through his door. He turned around and took her into his arms, and let her cry softly on his shoulder. Finally, she crawled into bed, and shortly after, he followed. In this process, somehow the locket het been kicked from the bed, and landed on the floor, open. The melody sounded out as Darien wrapped his arms around Serena. Neither one of them made a move to pick the locket up, or close it. They simply closed their eyes and drifted to sleep, surrounded by their song; a comforting melody of love.

A/N: So…what do you think? 1,500 words is much more than what my normal chapters are, hmmm? Well…I've wanted to do a Sailor Moon Fan Fic for a very long time…and here is chapter one! Please review if you'd like more! I hope you like it!