A/N Thank you everybody for the wonderful response to this story. I wanted to have this up sooner, but as I said in my last update of GT, my laptop is out of commission right now and it's seriously cut into my writing time since I'm back to using my family computer. It stinks, but I'm dealing with it…for now. Anyway, I want to give out some hugs to everyone that was nice enough to review Part 1. BIG HUGS TO:
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Thank you so much everybody! Now I'm going to let you get on with Part 2!
ENJOY!
Star Bright Angels
Part 2
December 24
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Andrew came awake slowly, wondering what that persistent noise was that was interrupting the wonderful dream he had been having. He lay there, disoriented, trying to figure out why he was on the couch in his living room instead of in his bed.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
There was that sound again. Belatedly he realized that the sound was someone knocking on his door. He went to sit up, only to find himself weighed down by a very warm, and somewhat heavier than normal, blanket. A living, breathing blanket.
Jess was splayed out across his chest, her long honey hair half hiding her face and her ear lying right above where his heart was. Her long legs were entwined with his and the tiniest of snores escaped her after every breath that puffed past her slightly smiling lips.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Drew! Damn it! Open the door! I know you're in there," his sister's muffled voice yelled from the other side of the door.
He carefully slid out from under Jess and covered her with a blanket as she murmured in her sleep and snuggled into the warm indentation his body had left in the couch cushions. He spied his jeans that had been hastily discarded the night before and pulled them on before stomping to the door and opening it.
"What!" he whisper yelled.
Lizzy stared at him wide eyed for a moment before she smirked. "Couldn't you at least put a shirt on before you answered the door? Honestly, the last thing I want to see, especially on Christmas Eve morning, is my half naked brother. A girl could go blind around here."
"Ha, ha!" Andrew replied dryly. "What do you want, Liz?"
She rolled her hazel eyes. "Geez! For a guy that's getting some on a regular basis you sure are in a bad mood. It's Christmas Eve, dummy! Why do you think I'm here?"
Andrew slapped a hand to his forehead. "The breakfast! I can't believe I forgot!"
"Bingo, buddy! Nice to see you haven't gone completely brain dead," Lizzy intoned sarcastically.
Although the arcade was officially closed for the day, Andrew's parents had started a tradition years before of cooking a huge breakfast on Christmas Eve morning and inviting all of their friends to it. The list had grown over the years as both Andrew and Lizzy had started inviting their friends as well, and now it wasn't unusual for the arcade to be as packed as it normally was on a Saturday afternoon.
"Just be glad I'm the one that came up here and not mom," Lizzy continued. "She was really pissed about an hour ago when she tried to call you and didn't get an answer, but dad calmed her down and told her to let you sleep for a little while longer."
Andrew ran a hand through his hair. "Look, just go down and tell them to give me fifteen minutes to grab a shower real quick, okay."
Lizzy shrugged. "If you say so. By the way, have you been working out? You look kinda buff. Who would've thought that my scrawny nerd of a brother was hiding an impressive physique behind his arcade apron?"
Andrew laughed and tickled her ribs, causing her to squeal. "Get out of here, you little pest! I'll be down soon."
Lizzy scampered away laughing as he turned back into the apartment and closed the door behind him. His eyes went immediately to the couch and saw Jess sitting up with the blanket draped around her, yawning and rubbing her eyes.
"Good morning," he said warmly as he approached her.
She gave him a sleepy smile. "Good morning. I guess we overslept, huh?"
He glanced at the clock. "Not by too much. We still have time before anyone shows up."
"Good," she groaned as she got up off the couch. "I need time to get some caffeine in me and wake up before dealing with the whole motley crew."
Andrew caught her as she stumbled. "I was about to go take a shower. Would you care to join me?"
Jess was acutely aware of his bare chest and her unclothed state under the blanket. She tried to fight down a blush she felt rising, but felt her cheeks burn anyway. She pushed away from him with a short laugh. "Oh no you don't! I know for a fact that if I get in the shower with you that we'll never make it downstairs before this afternoon. Having your sister knocking on the door is one thing, but if we don't get our butts in gear your mother will be next. I love your mom to death, but she can be one scary woman when she wants to be."
He snagged her around the waist and pulled her back against him. "But think of the good we'd be doing for the environment, conserving water and all. I promise I'll be good." He chuckled as her already pink face flushed bright red. "You are so adorable when you blush."
She buried her flaming face in his chest. "Oh hush!" she muttered. "Don't you dare laugh at me right now."
He stifled his laughter and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "Baby, I'm not laughing at you. I just can't help but find that streak of innocence in you irresistible."
Jess pushed her embarrassment into the back corners of her mind and leaned back in his arms. "Fine! I'm going to take a shower. You can come if you want. But if you let one finger stray out of line I'll…I'll…I don't know what I'll do, but I'll make you sorry. We have to go downstairs and help your parents."
Andrew kissed the tip of her nose and then let her go. "Lead the way, princess."
She tried to glare at him, but he could tell that she was struggling to hold back a smile as she whirled and strode as gracefully as a queen down the hall. He waited only a few seconds before he followed her.
"Merry Christmas Eve," a voice crooned in Serena's ear as fingers gently brushed loose pieces of hair away from her face.
"Mmm hmm…" she mumbled, still more asleep than awake as she rolled over and tried to settle back into sleep. But a few seconds later the words she'd heard finally sunk into her foggy brain.
Her eyes popped open as she sat and gasped, "It's Christmas Eve!"
Darien chuckled. "I do believe that's what I said."
She was suddenly wide awake. "It's Christmas Eve!" she shrieked in delight and threw herself at him, knocking him over on his back.
He laughed and pushed away a cloud of golden hair that had fallen over his face. "Now if only it was as easy to wake you up when you have a class."
She stuck her tongue out at him, and then giggled. "It's not that hard to wake me up anymore, is it? I thought I'd gotten much better over the years."
He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Oh you've gotten better. You only sleep like a comatose person now instead of a dead one."
She slapped at his shoulder. "You're picking on me, but I don't care. Nothing can get me in a bad mood today."
"Okay, okay," Darien replied and kissed the tip of her nose. "But as much as I would love to spend all day here with your warm, wriggling little body on top of me like this, I'm afraid that your good mood will disappear pretty quick if you miss out on the Furuhata's annual breakfast."
Several things clicked in Serena's mind at the same time. First was that she and Darien were splayed on the floor of their living room. Obviously they had never made it to bed the night before.
Number two was the fact that Darien was freshly showered and fully dressed while she was wearing nothing but a blanket. She couldn't help but smile at the memories of the night before. She had been looking forward to last night so much over the last hectic weeks, and she hadn't been disappointed.
Thirdly, her eyes went to the clock on the entertainment center and a startled squeak escaped her when she realized that they only had an hour until they would be expected at the arcade.
"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" she squealed. "You're lucky I took a bath and shampooed my hair last night or we would be in major trouble. Do you know how long it takes me to wash and dry this mop? At least now I can get away with a quick shower without doing my hair."
She was off of Darien in a flash and running down the hall toward their bedroom. Darien chuckled and shook his head before getting up to follow her. He stood in the doorway to the master bathroom and watched in amusement as Serena proved yet again why some of the girls had nicknamed her Speedy Gonzales in middle school. Quick as a flash she had the water in the shower on to warm up and was busy twisting up her hair to shove it under a plastic shower cap to keep it from getting wet.
"Slow down, Sere," he cautioned her when she almost slipped while jumping into the shower. "We're not running a marathon or anything. And Mr. Furuhata always makes enough food to feed all of Juuban and Azabu combined, so you're not going to go hungry."
"Oh shut up!" she snapped, her words a little garbled from the water. "This doesn't have anything to do with the food. Okay, maybe it has a little bit to do with the food. But you know I always like to get there early and visit with the Furuhatas before they get crowded."
Darien snorted. "No you like to get there early so that you can lick the batter out of the bowls while they cook. Admit it!"
He heard her sniff. "I admit to nothing! I don't think I like what you're implying. You make it sound like I value my stomach over my friends. I can't help it if Poppa Andy always lets me lick the bowl when he makes his double chocolate chip muffins. It's kind of a tradition now since I've been doing it as far back as I can remember."
Darien grinned and leaned up against the doorframe as the citrusy scent of her shower gel tickled his nose. "You might have some competition this year. I think Jess has taken your place as the favorite adopted daughter of the Furuhata clan."
"Ha!" Serena barked. "That's only because she's everything but engaged to Drew. Speaking of which, I wonder when that boy is going to get up off his butt and ask her to marry him. Jess claims that there's no hurry because she wants to finish school first, but I don't see any reason why he shouldn't go ahead and put a ring on her finger. It might help deter some of the guys that constantly follow Jess around campus. Did you know that one guy actually had the nerve to ask her out last week? She turned him down of course. But I thought it was pretty gutsy of him since it's common knowledge that she and Drew are together."
Darien's grin grew bigger at the thought of the sapphire ring that was currently in Andrew's possession. His friend would be staking his claim soon enough, but Serena would find that out when the time was right. "I'm sure they'll make things official between them eventually. Besides, they've only been together for eight months. Give them some time."
The water turned off and Serena's head appeared around the shower door. "Pass me my towel, please." She took the pink, fluffy towel he handed her and began to dry off. "Sure, they may have only been together eight months, but it may as well be eight years. They know each other as well as you and I do."
Darien nodded. "That's true, but give poor Andrew a chance to get his head on straight. He just graduated from college and he has a lot of aspects of his life to line out. I'm sure Jess figures in there somewhere."
Serena stepped out of the shower with the towel wrapped around her tightly. She eyed him suspiciously as she pulled the shower cap from her head. "Do you know something that I don't know?"
He was careful to keep his face blank. "No. I'm just saying that they have plenty of time."
She continued to stare at him for several more long moments before she shrugged. "You're right. I guess it's just the romantic in me coming out. I want everyone to be as happy as we are."
He snagged her around the waist and pulled her close to him. "As happy as we are, hmm? Well do you know what would make me happy right now?"
An impish smile played around her lips. "What would that be?"
He growled low in her ear. "If you would quit prancing around in front of me in nothing but that towel and go put some clothes on. My willpower is fairly strong, but even I have my limits. And while I would like nothing more than stay here curled up with you all day, the fact remains that if we don't show up at that breakfast we're going to have a lot of people banging on our door. And your father will probably be leading the angry mob."
Serena giggled. "You're not still scared of daddy, are you? I thought you two were getting along better."
Darien shook his head. "We've progressed to the stage where we can be civil to one another, but he still gives me death glares whenever he can. I don't really blame him though. He thinks I stole his little girl away from him."
She gave him a quick kiss and then slipped out of his arms and into the bedroom. "Don't worry. Mom and I will protect you from my big, bad dad. Now what should I wear?"
Darien looked down at the blue jeans and crimson Harvard hoodie he was wearing. "Keep it simple, okay. This is the way I'm going, and I don't want to look like a bum next to you."
She smiled and patted his cheek. "Sweetie, you always look good. You could never look like a bum."
He grinned evilly and reached into the closet. "Well, I guess I could change into something else."
"Nooo!" Serena screeched and lunged for the green jacket that he had pulled out. "Please don't wear that thing, Darien! Please, please, please, don't!"
He rolled his eyes. "You really can't stand my jacket, can you? What's wrong with it? It's a perfectly good jacket. It's even Christmassy looking since it's green."
"It is NOT!" she shrieked. "Christmas green is bright and pretty. That thing looks like pea soup! It's hideous and it doesn't suit you at all. Anyway, what you're wearing is red and looks perfectly Christmassy."
He burst into laughter. "Calm down, Sere. I was just joking. I have no intentions of wearing that jacket today."
She glared at him as she snatched a pair of jeans and a sweater from the closet. "You're so not funny, Darien. And you know better than to pick on me before I've had my coffee."
He held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. See, I'm putting it away." He hung the jacket back up. As he pulled back his arm brushed against a garment bag. "Hey, is this the dress you bought for tonight?"
A sly smile crossed Serena's face. "Yes, as a matter of fact it is."
He began to lift the plastic. "Can I have a look?"
She giggled and pushed his hand away. "No, I want it to be a surprise for tonight, so you'll have to wait and see it then."
He arched a brow at her. "You sure are being secretive. What's the big deal? It's just a dress."
She closed the closet doors firmly. "Maybe it is just a dress, but I want to wait and let you see it on me tonight."
"Fine," he sighed. "I'll wait. Now hurry up and get ready. I'm a little hungry myself this morning and I'm looking forward to breakfast."
"There are Santa's little helpers!" Kathleen Furuhata cried as Andrew and Jess came through the door that led to the stairs. "I was beginning to wonder about you two. I thought I was going to have to come up there with the jaws of life and pry you apart."
Andrew laughed at his mother while Jess ducked her head as her face flamed red. Despite her best efforts the shower had taken a little longer than planned.
Lizzy whirled by with a stack of plates. "Don't pay any attention to mom. She hasn't had her morning medication yet."
"Watch it, missy!" Kathleen mock scolded as she shook a spoon at her daughter. "It's not too late for me to take back all of the gifts I got you and exchange them for something for myself instead."
Lizzy gasped in an overly dramatic fashion. "You wouldn't dare!"
Kathleen tossed her red head, causing the jingle bell at the end of the Santa hat she was wearing to tinkle merrily. "Oh yeah, just try me. Or better yet, I'll just give all of your gifts to Jess. She's practically family now."
Andrew gritted his teeth as he saw his mother look deliberately at Jess's left hand. It seemed his father hadn't wasted any time filling his wife in on what their son had planned. He should have known better. The Furuhatas were cursed with a gene that made keeping a secret almost impossible. He just hoped that his parents had been smart enough to not tell Lizzy and that neither of them accidentally let anything slip.
"Anyway, you two lazybones get over here and get some caffeine in your system. We have a lot to still do," Kathleen said as she set two cups on the counter. "Let's see, a vanilla latte for my college grad and a peppermint mocha for my new favorite daughter." She stuck her tongue out at Lizzy.
"Thank you," Jess said softly as she shuffled over and picked up the hot beverage offered to her. She smiled shyly at her boyfriend's mother before wandering over to the large front windows to look out at the winter morning as she sipped her drink.
"Mom, what are you doing?" Andrew leaned across the counter and hissed at his mother.
"Oh, don't get bent out of shape," Kathleen whispered back to him. "I'm not going to blow your surprise, but I'm trying to make her feel a part of this family. She doesn't have any family of her own to spend the holidays with after all."
That made Andrew pause for a moment. "Oh, thanks mom. But try not to lay it on too thick. She hates for people to make a fuss over her."
Kathleen patted his hand. "Okay, honey. But I do have one thing to say."
"What's that?" he asked.
His mother pinned him with serious hazel eyes. "That girl is absolutely perfect for you. You better have that ring on her finger by the time you two show up at the house for Christmas dinner tomorrow or I may have to get down on my knees myself and beg her to join the family. You need her, Drew-baby. So don't lose her."
He grinned at her. "Don't worry, mom. Letting her go is the furthest thing from my mind."
About that time, Poppa Andy came bustling through the swinging doors from the kitchen bearing a large tray of muffins. The burly blonde man frowned at his son, but his brown eyes sparkled with humor. "So I see you decided to stop being a bum and get down here. Those pancakes aren't going to cook themselves you know."
Andrew rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I'm on it. Come on, Jess," he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her behind him to the kitchen. "You can help me with the pancakes."
She giggled as she followed them. "You mean I can watch you while you make them. Trust me, nobody would be able to stomach any pancakes I attempt to make."
As the sound of their laughter disappeared into the kitchen, the senior Furuhatas turned to smile gleefully at one another.
"What is up with you two?" Lizzy asked as she looked back and forth between her parents, who she had finally decided had gone off their rockers. "Have you guys gone mental?"
Kathleen waved a hand at her. "No, dear. We're just in a good mood. It is Christmas after all."
"Riigghhtt!" Lizzy drawled and then turned to the glass doors as they swished open to see Serena and Darien walk in. "Hey guys! Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!" Serena gushed excitedly as she rushed around to give hugs to them all. She squealed in delight when Andy produced the bowl from where he had made his double chocolate chip muffins and handed it to her with a wink. There was still plenty of batter left clinging to the sides.
"I saved this especially for you," he told her in a conspiratorial whisper.
"Thank you so much! It wouldn't be Christmas Eve without this." She ran her finger around the edge of the bowl and then licked the batter from it. "So where are Jess and Drew hiding this morning?"
Andy jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "They're in the kitchen. Drew's on pancake duty."
Lizzy snorted as she walked by. "And if you want any of those pancakes to be edible, Serena, I would suggest an intervention. There's no telling what they're doing in there, and I admit that I'm too much of a coward to find out."
A mischievous smile appeared on Serena's face. "Don't worry, I'll save the pancakes."
She grabbed Darien by the hand and walked over to the kitchen door where she swung it open with a bang and yelled, "PDA police! I want at least three feet of space between the boys and the girls at all times!"
She blinked, expecting to see Jess and Drew jumping apart from each other with guilty faces. But instead she was surprised to find Andrew busy stirring a bowl of pancake batter while Jess leaned casually against the counter next to him. They were both staring at her like she was an alien from another planet.
Behind her, Darien chuckled. "I guess your help wasn't needed after all. Your precious pancakes look to be in good hands."
Jess rolled her eyes. "You're demented, Serena! Believe it or not Drew and I are capable of behaving ourselves when the occasion calls for it. I bet Lizzy was the one who sent you in here, wasn't she?"
"That brat!" Andrew grumbled. "When is she ever going to start acting her age? Sometimes I think my life would be much easier if I was an only child."
"I heard that!" Lizzy yelled over Serena's shoulder. "Some big brother you are!" Her voice shook with suppressed humor.
"Can it, twerp!" Andrew called back with a laugh.
Jess shook her head. "I'm surprised your parents survived raising both of you without ending up in the crazy house. I would have lost my mind a long time ago." Then she patted the pockets of her jeans. "Crap! I must have left my phone upstairs. I'll be right back."
"Are you expecting a call or something?" Andrew teased.
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Maybe. My aunt and uncle may be content with just sending me a Christmas card, but my cousin, Brad, always calls me when we don't spend the holiday together and I don't want to miss his call." She left the kitchen quickly.
Serena slapped a hand to her forehead. "Speaking of phones, I think I left mine in the car." She turned to Darien with pleading eyes. "Sweetie, do you think you could…"
"I'm on it," Darien said with a chuckle. He hurried through the arcade and dashed out to his red car where he found Serena's silver cell phone resting in the cup holder. He grabbed it up and turned to go back inside when something made him look up.
He saw Jess sitting on the edge of the roof, gazing out over the early morning city. As he watched her he saw her raise a hand to swipe at her cheeks. Changing his direction, he ducked around the side of the building. A quick look assured him that no one was around to see him before he tapped into his alter ego's powers to leap up onto the roof.
He landed as silently as a cat, but Jess's head still snapped around as his feet touched the roof. When she saw it was him, she turned away quickly.
"What are you doing up here?" she asked in a slightly rough voice.
He shrugged. "I could ask you the same thing. I happened to see you up here and thought you looked upset. Do you want to talk about it?"
She pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "I don't know. There's probably not much to say. I'm just being stupid."
Darien took a seat next to her. "Is everything going okay with Andrew?"
She nodded. "Yeah, everything's great. In fact, my life is pretty close to being perfect right now. It's just…"
"Just what?" he prompted her gently.
She let out a shaky sigh. "It's just that Christmas was always a big deal when I was growing up. My mom and dad always made a huge production of it. It was always my favorite time of the year. Everybody was so happy. And then…then they died."
Ah, now Darien knew where she was coming from. Being an orphan himself, he had viewed the holidays with mixed feelings for years, until he met Serena. "You miss them, huh?"
She shrugged. "That an everyday thing for me. I'm used to that part. It's just that for the last couple of years Christmas hasn't been that big of a deal. I mean, Dawn always came to visit me and I had Nebula, but it was hardly different than any other day. Now being here, and being around the Furuhatas, it feels strange. I almost feel like I'm intruding on their perfect little family traditions; like I'm the poor little orphan girl that's trying to steal someone else's family for her own."
She looked up at him with slightly reddened, tear bright eyes. "Am I being ridiculous? They've been so great to me, but I feel like I'm taking advantage of them."
Darien put an arm around her shoulders. "You're not being ridiculous. I used to feel the same way. I avoided coming to this breakfast for the first couple of years that I knew Andrew because I felt out of place. But once Serena and I got together she insisted on me coming with her. It felt strange the first year or so, but then it grew on me. And you're not taking advantage of anyone. This is just the way the Furuhatas are. They reach out to everyone and treat them as family. You'll get used to it in time."
She smiled and hugged him tightly around the waist. "Thanks, Darien. I feel much better now. That was exactly what I needed to hear."
Loud, bickering voices floated up to them, and Jess looked down to the sidewalk and then giggled. "It looks like Raye and Jadeite have arrived."
Darien shook his head. "That idiot! I wonder what he did to piss her off this time. You'd think he would have learned better by now." He stood and offered a hand to Jess. "I guess we better get back downstairs before Serena and Andrew send out a search party after us."
She took his hand and let him pull her up. "Can we keep this little conversation between us? I'd rather Drew not know that I was upset. He takes things so much to heart."
"My lips are sealed," Darien declared as he made a zippering motion across his mouth and presented his arm to her.
Jess laughed a true, genuine laugh as she looped her arm through his and let him lead her back down to where her new extended family was.
Serena stared at herself in the full-length mirror on the back of the closet door and chewed on her bottom lip in indecision. The dress that she had been so excited about buying the day before now seemed like a huge mistake. She tugged at the neckline as she frowned at her reflection.
The dress was beautiful; there was no doubt about that. But it was just so…different from what she usually wore. Her normal style was much simpler and subdued. This was sleek and sophisticated; two words that she never used to describe herself.
"Why did I listen to Jess on this?" she moaned softly. "I can't pull this off. I'm just going to change into one of my older dresses and go with that."
'Don't you dare back out of this!' she swore she could hear Jess's voice in her head scolding her as she reached for a white satin number that she had only worn once before.
"Sere, are you almost ready?" Darien asked as he knocked on the door. "We've got to be leaving soon."
"I'll be out in just a minute," she called in a slightly higher voice than usual.
"Is everything okay?" he returned, sounding a little concerned.
She turned back to the mirror to look at herself again. One of the reasons why she had decided on this dress was because both Jess and the saleslady had commented on how much older it made her look. Zoicite had invited a few doctors from the hospital to the party tonight and these people would soon be Darien's coworkers. She didn't want to embarrass him by looking like she should still be in high school.
"Everything's fine," she answered him firmly as she replaced the white satin on the rack. Her decision had been made. She was walking into this party tonight looking like the future wife of a doctor she was. There would be no snickering in the hallways of Tokyo General about how childish Dr. Shields' fiancé was.
She picked up her purse and squared her shoulders as she reached for the doorknob. She opened the door and came face to face with a pair of deep ocean blue eyes that seemed to suck her in.
Darien grinned. "Hey! I was beginning to wonder if…" his voice trailed off as his gaze traveled down the length of her.
Serena giggled as his mouth fell open. She turned slowly in a circle to give him the full view. "Well, what do you think?"
His throat moved as he gulped hard. "What do I think? I think…WOW…I'm thinking I wish we didn't have this party to go to. I'm not sure if I want anyone else seeing such perfection. You look fabulous!"
She blushed a little. "Do you really think so?"
He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. "I know so."
His appreciative gaze took in every detail. Her dress was a simple slip of gold silk, overlaid with a dress made of sheer red lace that allowed the gold to show through. The lace over gown had long fitted sleeves and a modest neckline which her pale, creamy skin showed through and ended a couple of inches above her knees. Her long legs were encased in silken stockings and she wore black heels. She had pulled her blonde hair back into a French twist and left a few tendrils loose to curl around her face that was tastefully made up.
"So I take it I have your stamp of approval then," she whispered softly.
"Oh you more than have my approval," he told her huskily. Every time I think you can't get any more beautiful, you prove me wrong. I'll be the envy of everyone at the party tonight."
Her flush increased. "Now you're just being overly dramatic. I don't think I've heard so much bull spill out of your mouth since the Silver Millennium."
He smiled her favorite crooked smile. "What kind of prince would I be if I didn't let my princess know how stunning she looks? You take my breath away, Serenity."
She laughed lightly and reached up to smooth back the stubborn black hair that always fell into his eyes no matter how much he combed it. "And you take mine away as well, Endymion. You look very dashing tonight."
Her eyes drank him in; the way his black suit molded itself to his tall, slim, yet muscular body. His snowy white shirt contrasted sharply with his lightly tanned skin and a lovely silk tie, the same red as the roses his alter ego threw, was knotted neatly at his throat.
He chuckled and pressed a light kiss to her cherry red lips. "I guess we better get going then before we both stand here and die of asphyxiation. We still have to swing by and pick up Drew and Jess."
She looked up, surprised. "Oh! I figured Drew would drive his own car."
Darien shrugged as they walked into the entry hall and he held up her long white coat for her to slip her arms into. "He said the car was making a funny noise and he didn't want to chance taking it out, so he asked if they could hitch a ride with us."
A big smile appeared on Serena's face. "I can't wait to see Drew's reaction to Jess's dress. She's going to knock his socks off."
"Get a grip, man. You're acting like an adolescent schoolboy trying to work up enough guts to ask out the girl you have a crush on. Grow a set already and get over it!" Andrew grumbled to himself as he stared at the black velvet ring box in his hand that he had retrieved from the arcade's safe earlier.
Honestly he didn't know why he was letting himself get so worked up about this. It was just as Darien said the day before, he knew that Jess loved him deeply, and he couldn't imagine any scenario where she would turn him down, but there was still one small part of him that worried about what would happen if she said no.
It wasn't as if he was asking her to walk down the aisle with him tomorrow. She still had a few semesters of school left, and he was willing to wait until she finished if that was what she wanted. He also knew that she was completely devoted to him, but his male ego wanted his ring on her finger to tell the world that she was his.
"Hey, baby, can you come here for a minute?" Jess's voice floated down the hall from the bedroom to reach him where he stood in the middle of his living room.
He shoved the ring box into his pocket. "Yeah, I'm coming," he answered her.
He paused outside the bedroom door for a moment to take a calming breath and listened to the voices inside.
"You know, this would be a lot easier if you could help me," Jess was griping.
A slightly condescending voice answered her. "Well it's not my fault that I lack opposable thumbs. That is one of the things I like about being a cat, I don't ever have to worry about what I'm going to wear. I have a fur coat that I never have to change."
"Keep it up, hairball, and I'll gladly separate you from that fur coat," Jess growled.
Andrew chuckled as he stepped into the room. "Is she giving you a hard time, Nebula?"
The rust colored cat perched on the foot of the bed sniffed haughtily. "When does she not? I guess I should be used to it after all of these years. She's been heaping verbal abuse on my head since the first day I met her. I'll never forget that first day, actually. My ears are still ringing from her screech."
"Well excuse me for being wigged out by a cat suddenly opening her mouth and talking to me!" Jess's irritated voice came from the bathroom. "This dress is pissing me off!"
"What's the matter, darling?" Andrew asked as he cautiously approached the door.
His breath caught in his throat and almost strangled him when he saw her. She was standing in front of the vanity wearing a silky little red hot number paired with wicked looking black heels. Her long hair had been left down and it floated around her in a curly cloud of dark, burnished gold. The red of her dress brought out warm, coppery highlights in the waist length tresses.
She stood with her back to him, but he could see the frustration on her face in her reflection in the mirror as she reached an arm back over her shoulder in an attempt to grasp the tiny zipper that was supposed to close up the back of her dress.
Andrew couldn't help but smile. "Need a little help?"
She met his gaze with one that was half exasperated and half relieved. "Please."
He stepped up behind her and slid the zipper up before landing a kiss right behind her ear. "You look absolutely gorgeous."
Her face flushed as she looked down. "Do you really think so?"
"Definitely," he proclaimed seriously. "You always look beautiful to me though."
Her blush deepened. "Thank you," she murmured. "You look very nice too."
"Yeah, yeah," he muttered as he tugged at the collar of his white shirt. "I feel like I'm slowly strangling to death."
"Stop that!" she scolded him as she turned around and reached up to straighten the forest green tie he was wearing and smoothed the lapels of his charcoal gray suit. "There! Now you look perfect."
"Perfectly ridiculous," he grouched. "I honestly don't see how guys like Kunzite can go around wearing this stuff all the time. It's stifling."
Jess rolled her eyes at him. "Then what in the world did you go into business for? I hate to break it to you, sweetie, but businessmen are usually expected to wear suits and ties quite a bit. And you don't look ridiculous, you look hot."
A wicked grin tilted his lips as he jerked her tightly against him. "I'm not nearly as hot as you. One look and I go up in flames."
She smiled sweetly at him. "Oh yeah, well little green plastic army men don't stand a chance with you around. They melt into goo if they come within twenty feet of you. And don't worry about your uncomfortable clothes, I'll help you out of them later."
He chuckled at her mischievous look. "Is that a threat?"
She shook her head. "That's a promise." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to hers.
Their lips had barely brushed when a growl came from the door. "Oh for the love of the goddess! If you two are going to start acting like a couple of hormonal teenagers then I'm going to take myself to Elysian."
Jess waved a dismissive hand in Nebula's direction. "Then go instead of standing there griping about it. You're seriously killing the mood."
Nebula arched her back and hissed menacingly before disappearing in a flash of white light.
Andrew grinned at the woman in his arms. "Well that got rid of her. Now where were we?"
"Right about here," Jess whispered as she pulled him into a deep kiss.
"We're here!" Serena's voice rang through the apartment as the front door banged open.
"Somebody up there hates me," Jess groaned as she laid her head on Andrew's shoulder. "Why do we have an open door policy with them again?"
Andrew sighed and kissed the top of her head. "Because they are our best friends. But their timing sucks. I guess we better go."
Jess reluctantly stepped out of his arms. "I'll be right there. I just need to put my earrings in."
He left the room and she turned back to the mirror and picked up one of the gold snowflake earrings she was going to wear. She had just inserted it in her earlobe when she heard Serena's voice saying in amusement, "Why don't you look nice, Drew. I particularly like that shade of lipstick on you. It's very becoming."
Jess froze, staring blankly at her reflection. Sure enough, the candy apple red lipstick that she had carefully applied earlier had been smudged and smeared across her mouth, and some of it was missing completely.
To her surprise she heard Andrew laugh. "You're one to talk. Darien's lips seem to be doing a good job of matching yours as well."
"What!" Serena shrieked.
There was the sound of hurrying footsteps, and then Serena appeared in the bathroom doorway. She elbowed her way in beside Jess and pulled a tube of red lipstick from her handbag before leaning toward the mirror to put on a fresh layer. Her slightly annoyed light blue eyes met Jess's sparkling dark blue ones in the mirror.
"Don't say a word," Serena growled menacingly to her best friend and former daughter.
Jess tried to look innocent. "I wasn't going to say anything. I don't have to. I can just sit back and watch you hang yourself." Her lips twitched as she tried to hold back a laugh.
Serena couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her and within seconds they had both dissolved into laughter.
"Hey, are we going or what?" Darien asked from the doorway.
The two women looked up to find both him and Andrew standing there watching them with amused expressions. Thankfully the two of them were now blissfully lipstick free.
"Yes, we're going," Serena answered as she carefully dabbed the corners of her eyes. Then she smiled mischievously as she held up her lipstick. "Are you sure you guys don't need a touch up first?"
A few hours later Serena groaned as she slid into the passenger seat of Darien's car. She slid her shoes off and rubbed her aching feet. "My feet are killing me! But that was a great party, wasn't it? Everything was perfect."
Darien nodded as he keyed the ignition. "Yeah, it was great. Lita really outdid herself this time on the food. I don't think a professional catering company could have done any better."
"And the music," Serena sighed happily. "It was nice to dance in your arms again, even if my feet are paying the price for it now."
He gave her a sympathetic look. "You could have kicked those shoes off and danced barefooted. I wouldn't have minded."
She winced as her fingers pressed against her tender arch. "I probably would have if it had just been our regular group. But there were all of those business associates that the guys work with and the doctors from the hospital. I didn't want to seem childish in front of them."
Darien snorted a little. "Trust me, nobody would mistake you for a child after seeing you in that dress. You presented yourself as being a refined and sophisticated woman tonight, except for that one spat you had with Raye when you blew the raspberry at her. But we won't count that because nobody saw it but me."
She sat back with a sigh. "Then I accomplished what I set out to do. And it's worth every ache and pain. I wasn't going to have those stuffy doctors running back to the hospital and talking about how one of the youngest doctors ever hired there is engaged to a klutzy, air-headed blonde."
He reached out and cupped her cheek in his palm as he turned her face toward him. "Is that what this whole production was all about? Sweetheart, you know that I never expect you to be anything but yourself. I love you just the way you are."
She put her hand over his. "I know that. This wasn't just about making you look good. I had an ulterior motive."
He arched a brow at her. "And what would that be?"
She smiled impishly. "To drive you crazy. You've hardly been able to keep your eyes off of me all night."
He growled at her. "You've driven me crazy all right. You just wait until I get you home. Then you're going to pay for torturing me like this."
She shivered in anticipation, but kept her voice teasing. "You're going to rub my feet for me, right?"
"I'm going to rub more than your feet," he threatened as he put the car in gear.
As they pulled out of the parking garage, Serena saw two figures in the distance walking down the snow-covered sidewalk toward the park. "I still can't believe that Drew wanted to walk home. And I can't believe Jess went along with the crazy idea. It's freezing cold tonight. They would have gotten home quicker if they had ridden with us."
"I'm sure he has his reasons," Darien said, keeping his voice light and his eyes forward.
Something in his tone caught Serena's attention. "You know something," she accused.
"I know nothing," he protested. "Ouch!" he cried when Serena grabbed his ear and twisted it. Instead of letting go, she held on tightly like a tenacious pit bull. He carefully pulled the car over to the curb before he wrecked it.
"You do know something," Serena hissed in a soft, deadly voice. "You can try to hide it from me all you want, Darien Shields, but I know you too well. Now spill!"
He flinched away from her dangerously glittering eyes. "I really can't say anything, Serena. Andrew made me promise not to say anything until it was a done deal."
"Ah ha!" she crowed in triumph. "I knew that something was going on. The two of you were sharing secretive looks between each other all night. Well you can keep secrets from everyone else, but not from me. I want know what's going on." She twisted his ear again for good measure.
"Ow, ow, ow!" he yelled in pained exasperation. "Okay, okay! You win! Drew is going to ask Jess to marry him! Are you happy now?"
Serena let go of him immediately and stared at him with wide, surprised eyes. "Did you just say what I think you said?"
Darien rubbed his offended ear. "Yes I did. I'm talking the whole nine yards; down on one knee with a ring and everything."
Serena clapped her hands and bounced in her seat. Her eyes sparkled excitedly. "Oh I can't wait! It's so terribly romantic! I'm going to be on pins and needles until she calls me with the good news. The suspense is going to kill me."
"I'm sure you'll survive," Darien drawled dryly. "Now can I continue on home now, or are you going to inflict more bodily damage on me?"
"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as she leaned over and placed several kisses on his reddened ear. "I didn't mean to get so rough."
He shivered as her tongue licked at his ear lobe. He groaned and slammed the car into gear. "Hold that thought for a few more minutes until we get home."
She giggled and blew a warm breath in his ear. "I can hardly wait."
"The moon and the stars are so bright tonight," Jess said softly as she leaned her head back to look up at the dark sky. "I almost feel like I could reach out and touch them. They are so beautiful."
Andrew turned his head to look at her. "They're not as beautiful as you are." He smiled as her already pink cheeks flushed deeper.
She settled back against the cushioned seat with a sigh. "So this was why you decided you wanted to walk home, huh? I thought you were crazy at first, but this is nice."
His smile grew. "So I guess I have your stamp of approval then. I thought it was a nice way to end the night."
Every year, as soon as the first snow fell, horse drawn sleigh rides were available in the park. The company that provided them also went along the path that they used and strung up thousands upon thousands of twinkling white lights. All in all it was a magical, fairytale-like experience. And on Christmas Eve they ran until midnight.
They rode in silence for several minutes, simply enjoying the peacefulness and each other's company. Jess scooted over until she could rest her head on Andrew's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her. All too soon, the sleigh came to a stop.
"Here we are folks," the driver said as he turned with a grin. "You two are my last customers for the night."
"Thank you," Andrew replied as he got out of the sleigh and then helped Jess out. "You have a Merry Christmas."
The driver tipped his hat to them. "Same to you." He jiggled the reins and clucked to his horse and drove away whistling 'Jingle Bells'.
Jess giggled as she pulled the collar of her coat up around her neck. "At least he was nice enough to let us off here near the arcade so we don't have to walk to whole way. As nice as the ride was, I'm ready to get home and warm up a bit."
Andrew took her hand in his. "A little cold for you?"
She smiled. "Just a little. One of the by-products of spending most of my life in southern California I guess. Of course I spent the last two winters in New York, and it was like the arctic tundra there."
A clock began striking midnight somewhere in the distance and Jess squealed in delight. "Oh! It's Christmas Day!"
Andrew swallowed hard and shoved his hand into his pocket where the ring had been practically burning him all night. The timing couldn't be more perfect. They were alone in an idyllic snow covered setting, surrounded by beautiful twinkling lights and the clear winter night sky overhead. Jess's face was alive with child-like excitement as she listened to the bells ringing in Christmas Day.
As the last toll faded away, Andrew pulled her close against him. "I have something I want to give you," he whispered against her ear.
She laughed lightly and leaned back slightly to look at him. "What, now?"
"Yes, now," he told her. Then he kissed the tip of her nose before dropping to one knee in front of her while holding her left hand tightly.
Jess's mouth fell open in absolute shock. Other than one tiny squeak, no sound came from her. Tears sparkled in her eyes before he even said a single word.
Andrew took a deep breath and looked up at her, letting all of the love he felt for her show on his face and ring in his voice. "I know this may seem sudden to you, but I just had to let you know. I love you more than anything else in this world. You had me hooked from the first day you walked into the arcade and ordered that cherry coke. I know we have an ancient history between us, but what is important to me is our future. You may have been my Melody and my best friend in the past, but now you are my love and I never want to let you go. So Jessica Alexander, I'm asking you this…"
He held out his other hand in which rested the box with the glimmering sapphire ring.
"Would you do me the honor of one day becoming my wife?"
A/N Ooo…Andrew popped the question! Of course if any of you have read Lunar Princess or are currently reading GT, you know how it all turns out. I'm going to try to have part 3 up as quickly as possible, but how quick depends on how busy I get with Christmas stuff and how much computer time I can wrangle. If there really is a Santa Clause out there he'll help me out. I'm not asking for a whole new laptop, mine isn't that old, I just need the light bulb replaced so I can see my screen again. Unfortunately I've discovered that those things are freaking expensive! Oh well, I'll just have to work with what I have for now. Don't forget to drop me a review and tell me what you think. Happy Holidays everyone!
~Sere~
