Disclaimer: Don't own Sailor Moon, never have and probably (cant rule out the slime chance!) never will

Author Note: A big thank you to my amazing beta for putting up with my indecisiveness :P I know I have other things to be writing but um...yeah. I was inspired to write this by a story called Midnight Rendezvous written by Shadow's Moon Hime. Its awesome. If you haven't read it, I recommend it.

She missed him.

She walked along the park, looking around her for any disturbance of the Negaverse kind. They were still stealing people's energy for whatever reason and it would (always) happen at night and in public places. In order to counteract, Luna had come up with the idea of the five girls going in different locations--where energy was drained the most--and "patrol".

Never mind the fact that they were only 14 year old girls who needed sleep and had school the next morning. She debated on whether or not she should go investigate the dark patches of trees...um no. She just didn't feel like it; didn't have the energy.

Serena didn't have energy for a lot of things these days. She slowed her steps and leaned against a tree, her eyes closing. She was so tired of everything. She couldn't sleep, eat, and be merry because of him. No matter how hard she tried not to she couldn't stop thinking of one person.

Darien.

Taking a deep suffering breath, she slid down the tree until she was on the ground. Sighing, she brought her knees up to her chest and leaned heavily against the lower half of the tree. Wrapping her arms tight around her legs, her arms rubbed up against high boots and she rested her chin on her knees.

She looked up into the moon-- which seemed to be shinning directly over her-- and didn't find the comfort she usually found. Nothing was able to give her comfort now and she doubted anything ever would again. Only one thing could assuage the pain that ate at her every minute of every day.

She missed him –a lot-- and all she wanted was him. She wasn't asking for much. She just wanted to see him smile or sneer at her again. She longed to hear him call her that insufferable name if only it meant he was with her and fine.

But he wasn't with her and she doubted he was fine. She sniffled. She didn't even care if he was with her (well she did care) she just wanted to him to be okay and not in the clutches of Beryl.

Closing her eyes, she rested her chin on her knees again. It was quite funny and bizarre when she thought about it. Few weeks ago, she wouldn't have given it more than second thought if Darien, her self proclaimed arch nemesis, had gone missing...but now?

Now her whole world was in tethers over it and she couldn't breathe without emotional pain being heaped on her by the tons. It just wasn't fair. How could she miss someone who always berated her for being clumsy and getting bad grades more than she had the will to live?

She wiped at the side of her face and sniffled some. "It's not fair," she said out loud. She wished she was never Sailor Moon, didn't find out that Darien was her Prince and her soul mate.

Her destiny.

If those things never came to pass she wouldn't be drowning in misery and unrequited love...It's not that he doesn't love me, she rationalized in her mind, but that he doesn't know he loves me. Thanks to Queen Beryl.

Anger bubbled up in her so fast and strong that it blinded her from everything else. The only other emotion which stood apart from the anger was the burning hatred she felt for the Negaverse Queen. Her face grew grim and her hands tightened into fist.

Never before had she ever hated someone until now. She could truly and honestly say she hated Beryl and wanted her dead and she also wanted it to happen by her hand. She wanted to inflict the same kind of pain she caused her.

The knowledge that she loathed Beryl so much scared and shocked her. The good guys weren't supposed to feel this but she did…. All she could think about was making Queen Beryl pay for what she did, for taking Darien from her and making him evil.

She shuddered as she thought about how dark and evil he was. He was so wicked that his lovely roses were no longer red, they were now the black. She didn't know the man he was now, he wasn't the man who'd tease her and she'd get into fights with or the man she had vague memories about from long past.

He was someone different; the man he was brained-washed to be. He was mean, ruthless and he stared at her with such bleak coldness. She was nothing to him.

And that wounded her more than thousand of dark energy being hauled at her could. It wasn't his fault she supposed he didn't know her but it didn't make his rejection of her seem any less real. He only cared about one thing, and that was getting the Silver Crystal and it was one thing she couldn't give to him.

He may not know her or remember her but she knew him and remembered him. She would do remember enough for the both of them; her love would set him free. She grinned slightly, that was corny but it didn't make it any less true.

She once feared that she didn't have enough familiarity of him to do it but she now thought differently. So she didn't know him in the sense that she could tell anyone his favorite color or what he hated most in the world but she knew his soul. That had to count for something, right? She felt like she knew him better than she knew herself.

She sighed and lifted her head, gazing at the moon. How many times did her past self stare at Earth with longing? How many times did look on Endymion with longing? Was she doomed to the same fate? Always looking but never having? Touching?

"No!" she said shaking her head, "no," she whispered. She was going to get back him back. It was in the stars. She refused to believe Fate or Destiny could be so cruel as to give back her memory and awaken her love for him only for him to be gone from her forever.

She had to believe she would get him back...somehow, someway. After all love conquered all.

Anything less was unacceptable. She didn't care if Luna and the girls thought she was acting stupid or delusional; so what if she tried more than ten times to heal him with the crystal? And it failed, always failed. She'd try 500 million more times before she gave up.

They just didn't understand, they couldn't. They didn't feel the gaping nothingness that resided in her or how she all wanted to do was curl up somewhere and never wake up again. They didn't feel how her heart broke a million times over after her attempts at healing him proved futile.

"Moon!"

Serena was drawn out of her introspection with the shrill yelling of her name. Putting her hand in her sub pocket, she removed the communicator and gazed into Mars's impatient face.

"Yeah?"

"I've been calling out your name for a good minute now! Ugh!" She rolled her eyes, "How's things on your end?"

Serena got the impression that Raye had wanted to yell at her some more but chose against it. Thank God. Raye loved to nag and keep going when she got on her self righteous soap box. She looked around and realized she hadn't been patrolling like she was supposed to be. "It's good," she lied. I did patrol...a little.

"Really?" Mars asked suspiciously, "Are you telling me you walked the entire length of the park and back again and aren't sitting down somewhere all woe is me?"

Serena blushed because that's exactly what she was doing, Raye knew her too well. She stopped looking into the tiny pink device so Raye couldn't see the blush on her face and know she was lying. She wasn't the best liar despite months of lying about why there was a bruise on her arm, thigh, face etc.

Clearing her throat, she looked into the communicator again. "Yes. That's what I'm telling you. Are things quiet for you, too?" she asked her so the conversation wouldn't be on her.

Rayed nodded, "Things have been too quiet lately."

"That's a good thing Raye," she pointed out. "You're sounding like Luna." Whenever the Negaverse henchmen didn't attack every day, Luna would instantly believe things were getting worse. That they had this big plan which would destroy them and take Earth for their own.

"That's because she's right," Raye snapped. "They are pissed off they don't have the crystal already and now they have Darien! They know morale is down and I'm getting a really bad feeling."

"You always have a bad feeling about things." She wasn't putting much stock into the other girl 'bad feeling', "Just tell it to shut up."

Raye rolled her eyes, "ha ha. Not very funny." She thought it was very irresponsible of Serena not to take this seriously and couldn't believe that she was actually supposed to follow such an airhead. She'd be a better leader.

Serena didn't want to believe that things could get any worse whereas she saw that it could and was preparing for it, could Serena say the same? No. "I don't want to fight any more than you do Serena," she acquiesced, hoping by doing so Serena would see the truth in her words, "but the Negaverse has never not attacked for five days straight and its going on seven."

She shrugged, still not alarmed over it. She wasn't looking forward to fighting another monster out to destroy her and her friends. So if they were on a vacation of sort, great! Maybe she was being naïve but it just didn't seem like a huge quandary Luna and Raye were pimping it out to be.

"They are up to something and it can't be good for us." Rayed worried and chewed on her bottom lip. "I wonder what could it be? And will we be able to handle it?"

"Yeah well..." Her voice trailed off when she saw something in the distance. She blinked several times, not believing her eyes. Was that a cape and armor she saw shining in the moonlight? "Darien?" she whispered softly, "I ah gotta go Raye...pee..."

She jumped to her feet with more energy than she has exhibited in weeks. She lightly sprinted to where she saw him and when she reached the spot-- where she thought she saw him-- she found nothing but air. The gladness that had entered her heart at seeing him died and she fell to the ground, defeated.

It was her mind playing tricks on her, she cursed. She wanted to see him so bad that she conjured him up. How pathetic. She thumped the ground with her hands.

"Over here Princess,"

She looked up when she heard a deep baritone voice speaking to her. At least she assumed it was her, how many Princesses where there nowadays? Not many she reasoned.

She gasped when her eyes settled on him. She was right; her mind hadn't been playing with her. He was here...why? She looked at his face and her light blue eyes gazed into dark glittering cobalt eyes.

He pierced her with them and she felt frozen to spot. Her heart rate increased and a blush quickly spread throughout her face. She looked away, and, Lord have mercy, if she hadn't already been sitting, her legs surely would have given away from the sheer masculine beauty of his face.

His face was chiseled, all hard line and angles, straight nose and lush mouth. Her heart beating faster than it ever had in her life, her mouth watered at the sight of him. Tall, dark, handsome and dangerous.

Gorgeous came to mind when she thought of a word to describe him but it didn't do him justice. She gulped and realized she couldn't just gape at him although the idea really appealed to her. She rose to her feet on shaky almost coltish legs.

He seemed a lot taller than she remembered him to be but then again she's never been alone with him either especially not when she was crazily in love with him. The girls were always somewhere around while they tried to stay alive and simultaneously fight off the latest monster set out to destroy them and take the Silver Crystal.

Serena licked her lips nervously and couldn't deny how dangerous he looked but it didn't take away from him if anything the allure of danger added to his appeal. She clutched the communicator in her hand and knew all she had to do was press a button and the girls would be here but she couldn't. Wouldn't.

"What are you doing here?" she mentally patted herself on the back for her voice not wavering with emotions. Using her free hand, she passed it over "meatballs" and wiped away the tears that hadn't dried. She wished she hadn't looked so much like a wet rag while he looked like an Adonis.

He smiled sexily at her and took a step towards her while she took another one back. His grin grew; she was afraid of him. Rightly so. "I came to see you, Sailor Moon."

Heart thundering and bursting with feelings, she looked at him with wide eyes. "Y-you came to see me?" she stammered in disbelief. She didn't believe it. Why would he come to see her? And most importantly how did he know where to find her?

He nodded and took another purposeful step towards her. "I can't get you out of my mind," he admitted. "And I don't know why."

Her heart missed a beat at his admission and the hand that held the communicator dropped to the ground soundlessly. "Wha? I-I don't understand." He couldn't stop thinking about her? Really? He never hinted at it before, if anything she thought he couldn't stand her but he did always save her...

"Me neither." He had no idea why she reigned in his thoughts the way she did and why he couldn't stop thinking about her. She was the enemy, he should be thinking of way to kill her, not thinking how beautiful she looked. "Why?" he posed the answer to no one as he walked towards hers, "Why can't I stop thinking of you?"

She fought the urge she had to move back and instead held her ground. She couldn't prove to Darien that he belonged with her if she kept taking steps back. "Queen Beryl has taken away your memories, but she can't take away our connection."

She motioned between them when she said "connection" and her hand touch his armor. It was then that she realized how close he was to her and unable to help herself, she took a step back. He was too close, too close for her sanity.

He scoffed at her use of connection but didn't let it show on his face. "I don't think that's why." He cornered her and her back hit a tree. He saw fear filter across her face and ignored it, he breathed in the light floral scent of her perfume. "I think you've done something to me,"

Darien shook her head, "I...I haven't done anything to you." It was more likely he did something to her. She couldn't seem to concentrate and the air around them cackled with electricity, making her uncomfortable. She lifted her hand and pressed them to his covered abdomen to push him away but she didn't. Didn't want too.

Instead, she let it stay there and felt him tense against her hands, she looked up and blue eyes crashed together. A zing went through her and she blushed even more as her stomach muscles tightened...but not in a way that would cause discomfort. "I-ah..." She avoided looking at him, didn't want him to see the need she couldn't explain in her eyes. "You're--ah--um--too--ah--close to me," she muttered as she finally pushed. He didn't budge.

"You want me to move back?" he drawled softly. His eyes assessing her face in spite of her refusing to look at him. He chuckled at her innocence and knew exactly what he did to her.

She nodded. She couldn't breathe much less think with him in such close proximity to her. His heady scent of roses and lemon was already surrounding her. It was in every breath that she took, effectively disarming her. She didn't know why but she felt hot and her skin tingled from awareness.

"No, I don't want to move back. I like being exactly where I am." He tilted her head upward so he could look into her bright eyes. "I make you nervous."

Throat clogged, Serena didn't know what to do...how to respond. Never before had she been in this situation or been this close to a person of the opposite sex. "Yes," she squeaked.

He chuckled, the sound washing over her and calming her nerves. "I'm harmless."

"Are you?" she questioned, "I don't think so." He was proving to be more hazardous to her than anything else. "And you keep trying to kill me and my friends; that's not harmless." She needed to keep her mind on the tiny, insignificant information that he was evil and not on how good he looked and how amazing he smelt. She shouldn't think of how it felt to see his face or how for the first time in weeks her world was fine and the sun was shinning...

"I never tried to kill you," he smoothly answered. "I just want the crystal; you and your friends are standing in my way." He reached out and skimmed her tiara and she stood stock still. Shocked. He was touching her...kinda. It was on her person so therefore it was her.

"Wh--what are you doing?" She couldn't even speak around the man! How on earth was she going to heal him if she couldn't ask him a simple question? Although the last thing on her mind was healing him...

"Something I've wanted to do for a long time." His feather-like touch went lower, touched her brow, the slope of her nose. "So soft," he murmured to himself and stroked her cheek. Her skin felt like how he imagined clouds to feel but softer.

Her breaths came out in little spurts as he continued to touch her face. His touch felt inexplicably right on her skin and she leaned into him, powerless to do anything but. Her eyes drifted closed and a tiny voice (that sounded suspiciously like Luna) told her to tell him to back away from her, threaten to moon dust, call the girls.

She didn't pay the voice any mind, he felt like heaven. This felt like heaven. "Darien," she sighed his name, her eyes drifting close but then opening. She squirmed, wanting him closer and relishing the heat he built inside of her. Serena arched her neck as his finger stroked there, his thumb brushing over the pulse point beating swiftly in the base of her neck.

She shuddered and her eyes opened like a dream and was meet with dark blue eyes staring intently, fervidly at her. The look she found in there was enough to make her putty in his hands--that is, if she wasn't already so. She didn't understand the emotions she saw in them but her own body responded to them, grew pliant.

Darien looked at her lips and then back up at her flushed face. "I've been wondering..."

She licked her lips and looped her arm around his waist casually and leaned fully into him. It didn't even cross her mind that she hadn't wanted to be close to him and now she was the one who pressed their bodies intimately together. "What?" she breathed.

He continued to stroke her neck and then cupped her nape. He brought her head up more and angled his head a certain way. "I've wondered if your mouth taste as good as it looks."

Her mouth parted on a gasp but no sound came out and she promptly closed them. My mouth? He's been looking at my mouth? Does that mean, did he want to kiss me? She hoped he did because she wanted him too. Wanted him too more than she wanted peace in the world and the end of violence.

She leaned up on her tip of her toes, expectantly. Her first kiss, she smiled sweetly at him and was glad her prince, her dark prince was going to be the first.

The first for everything.

His head moved lower and he was only a couple of inches away from her lips. He continued to stare at her and hypnotized her with his sultry gaze. Her brain officially turned to mush and anything else she should have cared about flew out the window.

"How sweet are you?" he asked her his thumb going over her lower lip. He felt her tremble, saw her pupils dilate.

She waited. But nothing happened. "Are you going to kiss me?" she asked, wondering if she had gotten the wrong message and hoping against hope she hadn't.

He smiled and leaned extra close, their lips almost touching but not quite. "No."

"How did it go?"

Prince Endymion stopped in mid-stride as Malachite stood in his way. He grinned smugly, declaring, "Better than even I had foreseen."