Seven

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Thank you for reading this story. This is short. Sorry. The succeeding chapters are harder to write because things will be a lot darker for these two characters after the wedding and I'm trying to be careful. My plan is to finish this story by November, so there... On to Chapter Seven. And I will sleep now.

"Coming!"

Serena jumped from the chair she had been standing on for an hour now. She was repainting her old room in a futile attempt to distract herself from thinking about her current situation when the doorbell rang. She sprinted across the living room and reached for the door. Her jaw almost dropped when she saw Darien looking impossibly handsome in a casual navy polo shirt and slacks.

"Darien, I wasn't expecting-"

She forgot what she was about to say when Darien suddenly moved to trap her between the door and his huge frame. "That's obvious," he lifted a brow and looked down at her. She was wearing a loose gray blouse with holes and a pair of shorts; her body covered with purple stains. Her hair was twisted into a tight knot with a lot of stray strands. He tucked them behind her ears and brushed his thumb on her cheeks. For a while she thought he was going to kiss her, she tensed recalling the last time he did; Darien seemed to have remembered it too since he took a step back.

"Paint," he said holding up his now paint-stained thumb.

"Oh," she blushed, "I was repainting my old room, guess I wasn't doing a very great job."

"You should have told Pete, we could hire someone to do that," he reached for the phone in his pocket.

"No, no it's fine, I was just doing it on a whim," she said shaking her head, "actually; I want to thank you for sending him here every day. He's already been a really great help."

Since their first encounter, she would find Pete waiting at the front door every morning to give her a ride. At times, the man would also bring food and some supplies as per his boss' instructions. Serena dismissed this as just Darien's way of making sure she doesn't back out of their deal.

"Well, he said you're free today and I'd like to show you something. It won't be far from here." It was a demand and not a question.

"Something to do with the wed- arrangement?" She didn't wait for him to reply as she pushed the door further open, "Please come in, I'll just grab a quick shower."

After a not so quick shower to remove the paint in her body and an awfully quiet car ride, they arrived at their destination. Darien opened the door for her and she stepped out to find a huge house in front of her.

"Where are we, Darien?"

"This is where we'll live. I bought this place four years ago, the first property I actually acquired after my business picked up. I was saving this for when I'm...happily married..." He trailed off, looking at the house with a certain longing.

Neither of them said anything for a little while, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

Feeling a little out of place, Serena was first to speak. "Well, it sure is a beautiful house, Darien. I think it would be... I don't know...inappropriate? For us to live here? This place seems pretty special to you," she said nervously.

"I'd like her to see what she's been missing so I decided to use it," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Serena didn't know how else to react so she went for a casual, "Okay."

"I already hired an interior designer but I need you to help her," he gave her a meaningful look; "You remember how I wanted it to be, right?"

Serena was stunned, of course she remembers. Darien and she used to talk about their 'dream house' when they were younger. They would go for hours, lying in his apartment bed, discussing how they wanted their house to look like. She just wasn't expecting him to ask her to make this house look like that. This house that was meant for Rei. And the worst part is, she would live here and probably be kicked out the moment Rei gets back to her senses. She had no idea how she managed it but she eventually croaked out a "YES."

"Come on, I'll show you inside."

Darien led her inside all the while making comments about what he plans for each room. Serena maintained a straight-face, nodding and answering at the appropriate times. When they went to the master bedroom on the second floor, Serena quickly headed to open the window to the balcony. She averted her eyes from the four-poster bed; it was stupid, but she could imagine Darien and Rei making love on the freaking bed.

The view from the balcony was breathtaking; the sun was about to set. She leaned over with her arms on the stone balustrade and closed her eyes. The coldness of the air around her helped ease the pain she'd been trying to suppress.

"Serena?" It was Darien.

"Hmmmn?"

"Will you marry me?"

Her eyes shot open and she spun quickly to face him, "What- what did you just say?"

Darien strode forward until he was a scant foot away from her, "I just asked you if you will marry me," he held up a small velvet box, "wasn't that the plan?"

The plan. Of course, how stupid of her to even think that it was a real wedding proposal.

"Well, yes, I guess." She shrugged.

Darien studied her face for a moment. He took her left hand and slid the ring on her finger. Closing the distance between them, he slowly tilted her head and pulled her by the waist using his other hand, as if he couldn't get any closer. He leaned in and pressed his lips very gently against hers. Serena couldn't help but close her eyes, as a single tear finally fell down on her cheek.