Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon

Mirror of Contrast

Chapter 10

"How was your visit with Trista?"

Serena looked up at from her desk, smiling at Andrew who stood in the door way. "Excellent, if you must know. So…am I still out of the squad?"

"For now—"

The sweet smile fell from her face, "So I poured my guts out for nothing?"

"Of course you didn't, Sere. However, you aren't going out yet. I've been advised to keep you at headquarters until I get permission from higher authority."

"You what! I cannot sit here doing nothing."

"There, there," He tried to appease, "You won't be doing nothing. Here." With that he dropped a pile of papers before her.

"I can't believe you. This is cruel and sadistic. You've sent me to a psycho analyser and now you're telling me that I can't go and do my job?"

Andrew gave her a hard look, "Trista isn't a psycho analyser, where do you come up with these ideas? Just because you've been to a councillor doesn't mean that you're automatically reinstated."

Serena wrenched her draw open, grabbed the extra-large Pinky bar, then slammed it closed again, causing the mug full of pens to wobble precariously. Ripping the packaging open, she bit off a huge chunk of the chocolate treat, chewing unmercifully at the marshmallow and caramel.

"Serena, there's no need to throw a tantrum."

Serena's face darkened and she swallowed with difficulty, "Talk to me when I've finished this because if you deprive me of my sugar as well, I will draw my gun and shoot your head off."

Andrew wisely shut his mouth and let Serena shred pieces from her candy bar, the vigour causing him to wince. When she finished she licked the sweet treat from her lips, crushing the wrapper in her hand and throwing it towards the bin. However, the ball bounced on the rim to rest innocuously beside it. Even the goddamned Pinky bar is against me.

"You better now?" Andrew enquired with amusement.

Serena absentmindedly flicked through the manila files, "Do I really need to answer that? So what are these files about?"

Grabbing the first folder on the stack, Serena placed it on the desk and flicked through the content. "What the hell have I got these for!"

Serena looked like a snarling tiger, her eyes glittering dangerously and a scowl so deep on her face that it took all of Andrew's will power not to run off. Hopefully, by the end he would leave with at least his manhood intact.

"So that you don't get paid for nothing."

She growled with frustration, "This is goddamned maths! I don't do maths."

Andrew shrugged, "Well someone needs to do it, otherwise we'd have complaints from the Compensation Authority. I would have put you on cover-ups, but subtlety isn't one of your fortes."

"I resent that comment…Hey! I haven't finished yet!" She cried as he made his way out the door.

"Yes, Sere?"

"Aren't you afraid I might write a couple checks for myself?" Her eyebrows rose as she tried to bait him.

"Nope. You've got to send them all to me to be signed. Have fun." With those final parting words, he darted out the door lest something come flying at him. Pixies were cute, but damn they had bad tempers.

Serena sighed from her desk, feeling absolutely dejected and useless. Self-pity radiated through the room as Serena reached in her draw for more comfort food. Sitting indefinitely with only the four white walls around her was going to drive her to the shrink voluntarily. What was scarier, she was stuck within the four walls with a pile of mathematics for company. Now that was a suicide incentive. It was a nightmare since she didn't have a calculator with her. Well I'm not doing this without a calculator, with that thought in mind Serena trudged to Melvin's office as she knew that he had an extensive calculator collection, which he was quite possessive of.

"Knock knock, it's me," She said, poking her head through the door.

"How can…can I help you…Sere?" He bumbled adorably, pushing his heavy glasses up his nose.

Sliding into the room Serena tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Can I lend a calculator? Please."

"What do you need a calculator for?" Melvin regarded with suspicion.

"I'm stuck working out compensation and damage costs, courtesy of Andrew."

Melvin shuffled in his desk, "You won't destroy it, will you?"

Serena frowned, "I'll treat it with the respect it deserves."

"Uh…no offence…but that doesn't…" He paused pulling at his tight collar, "…put my mind at rest if you know what I mean."

"Alright. How about I trade you my gun for your calculator?" With that she pulled her favourite SIG from her shoulder holster, "This gun is my best. Look after it, okay?" Personally Serena felt he was getting the better end of the deal, at least he could defend himself. Though I suppose I could bore the enemy to death.

Melvin nodded with relief, pulling out a dark blue calculator and handing it to her.

"Woah! Got anything smaller then this brick?" Serena questioned, her eyes widening at all the squiggles and symbols there were.

"No, but it's a graphics calculator. It can do anything you want."

"All I need is the plus and minus keys. But…uh…thanks," Serena muttered, darting out before he offered her some ludicrous instruction course for it.

Perhaps I should have taken an instruction course, Serena ruled, stabbing at the buttons to get it started. This is the topper on my day, a goddamned calculator with no 'on' button. She managed to work it but gave up when it spouted fancy answers which didn't match her equations. Gathering all her arithmetic ability, which incredibly equated to three skills (addition, subtraction and multiplication), she began to jot tables onto spare pieces of paper. Needless to say, working out the answers manually took Serena a long time; it also was quite painful at times as she had no idea how to do division. So sue me! I haven't been to school for…what seventy-fivish years. Of course I'm a bit rusty.

It was when Serena was truly despairing, Greg briskly walked in, "I don't have much time," He said quickly, "But nice picture."

Serena blinked at him, "Huh?"

Greg snorted, "Too hung over? Poor baby. Got one thing to say, you've got some hot legs."

Her eyes widened at his statement, "What are you talking about?"

"You don't know," He laughed at her, "I've got to go, I've got some real work to do. Not that paper junk, what did you do to evoke Andrews wrath?"

"Don't ask," Serena groaned, remembering all the work she still had to do.

"See you later. If you ever want dinner or a drink, you've got my number," He smiled roguishly with a wink.

A moment later he was gone, leaving Serena incredibly confused. Weird, weird man. He was probably rubbing my nose in it, the bastard. She sulkily returned back to her sheets, wanting to whack her head on the desk, today is not my day, yesterday wasn't my day and no doubt tomorrow won't be my day either. We have come across a bad trend here, Serena. She thought to herself. Maybe I need a vacation, when was the last time I went somewhere nice? Her brow crinkled with thought, can't even remember.

Serena envisaged going off to a great tropical destination, where she could wear a nice bikini, drink strawberry daiquiris and stroll the beach with a sexy handsom—Serena's head thumped onto the desk. Maybe I should just do my work. She propped her head up, spastically performing some equations while doodling on a margin. The word bored was too mild to describe her mental situation.

Lunch came and went with Serena grabbing some food and retreating back to her office. She would have liked to have said it was because of her dedication to maths, but it wasn't. Fact was, as soon as she walked out the door, she had been inundated by men wanting her number and one cold glare from Seiya when she passed him by.

Had she missed something?

For the first time in Serena's career at the NDS, she left as soon as the working day was over. The five o-clock sun was just beginning to sink, creating a beautiful red-orange glow over the horizon. She admired it for a moment then caught a taxi, tossing her address to the driver as she slumped in the seat, calibrating her mental status. Closing her eyes, she massaged her temples giving a soft moan at the relief. Planning ahead, Serena decided to order some takeout—possibly Chinese—and then watch a movie with Luna and Artemis. Or she could give herself a long over due pampering too. That sounds nice she thought with a smile.

Glancing out the taxi window, Serena blinked, what the hell… "Um, excuse me sir," she tapped on the window, "But you're heading the wrong way."

Nothing but silence answered her. A spark of alarm shot through her and she perched at the end of her seat, tapping again at the shield, this time in a more brisk manner.

"Are there some road works?" She tentatively asked hope lifting her voice at the end.

The taxi driver still ignored her, his hat dipped low over his face and jacket collar drawn up. Adrenaline coursed through her veins in response to her anxiety. Her heart thumped in her chest, but she composed a look of nonchalance, tensely licking her suddenly dry lips. Reaching into her bag, she extracted her phone but when she attempted to use it, she found the signals were scrambled. Keep calm, Serena. Maybe we're out of range. Oh Goddess I wish that was the reason. More likely he had installed something which messed with the programming.

"Look, just stop the car and drop me off here."

She waited a moment for him to oblige, but the moments slipped past with the driver showing no indication of slowing down. In fact, as they headed towards the highway, he began to pick up speed. There were too many coincidences against the driver, which indicated to Serena she was being hijacked. Hijacked!

"Look you fucker," Serena yelled, slamming her fist against the plastic barrier, "Let me out!"

He still remained silent and it was incredibly disconcerting. He's not going to let me go! Her angry yelling, fed by her fear hadn't worked, so she resorted to desperate measures, scooting to the door to throw herself out. Never mind that the car was going a hundred plus kilometres on the high way, she just wanted to get out! But the door was locked and she scrambled to open it, only to find that particular feature had been disabled. Pushing unmercifully she tried to force it open then, thumped her fist against the window. Nothing budged.

Serena tried to catch the attention of other motorists, but the taxi's speed was incredible, shooting past everyone before they noticed her. Returning her attention back onto the driver, she hit her open palms against the plastic barrier, calling him every foul name she could think of. She begged, screamed, bribed and threatened, but to no avail as the taxi driver remained stone still and silent.

Despite her resolution to never cry, Serena's lips began to quiver at the absolute futility of it all. She was being kidnapped to god knows where, with no cell phone and no gun. Why did she exchange her gun for a calculator, more ironically, why did she have to exchange it on that particular day? She was at her captor's mercy with utterly no weapon.

Maybe I have something in my bag, Serena ripped through her bag for anything. Note pad, hair ties, purse—why don't I have a nail file or something sharp! Dismissing her whole bag, her only hope resided in a pencil with a blunt tip, which she tucked up her sleeve. The diver had long since left the highway, driving her somewhere she had never been to before…a dark dingy area of town. Dread settled in Serena's heart when he eventually parked outside a dreary motel.

The driver exited the car, his feet crunching ominously on the gravel as he stepped towards the backdoor and threw it open. She shrunk as far as she could from his large hand, trying to kick at him while shrieking obscenities, but he caught her ankle and wrenched her to the exit. Serena screeched in protest as she skidded towards him, groping at the upholstery for something to grab. Her battle was insignificant as he easily snatched her wrist and yanked her out. Serena stumbled, twisting her on her high heel painfully, so she was forced to clutch his jacket. That's when she attacked, stabbing the pencil, held in a white-knuckled grip, into his large shoulder. There was a momentary surprise from her captor and a slight grunt, which enabled Serena to wrench her wrist free.

However, before she took another step, she found herself thrown over his shoulder, her hair streaming into her vision and disadvantaging her escape plans. The driver had reacted extremely swiftly, supernaturally so, and was making long strides towards one of the rooms. Serena screamed. She wanted to be sick, her horror tangible as she beat her legs and fists against his chest and broad back. He kicked open the door, striding in and slamming it behind him. The thought of him cutting her off from the world panicked Serena, and she continued to fight, kicking and scratching all the while trying to see beyond her hair.

He tossed her onto a rickety double bed, which whined in response to the sudden weight. Wrenching her hair free of her vision, Serena watched the taxi driver throw his hat off, revealing Darien at the foot of the bed. Her angry insults died in her throat at the livid fury on Darien's face; his eyes burned almost completely black and his mouth was pressed into a severe line showing he was at the edge of his tolerance. They both stood looking at each other. From his coat he pulled out a tabloid newspaper, tossing it onto the bed before her.

"Explain this."

Serena unfolded the article by The Sun, trying to keep an eye on the volatile wolf and see what he was talking about.

Oh…Serena thought dazedly, no wonder I was getting hit on all day. There was a picture of her and Diamond going to dinner, their backs to the camera which revealed the arm Diamond had curled around her waist. Serena cringed as she skimmed the article beneath it.

DIAMOND'S OWN PRECIOUS JEWEL?

'High ranking democrat, Diamond Le Coeur, was spotted on Thursday night with a mysterious femme. The couple sneaked in at exclusive restaurant 'Rhodes' approximately seven-thirty last night for a romantic rendezvous dinner…'

Serena skipped the wordy paragraphs about Diamonds political career, silently begging that there wasn't anymore speculation about the mysterious femme.

'…The question hanging on everybody's minds is whether this miniature woman has managed to win the heart of the eras Number 1 Bachelor. And if she has, who is she?'

She looked up at Darien, his eyes probing—no, expecting—an answer. Serena licked her lips, "Well, obviously I went to dinner with him, though…um…this has presumed we're an item—which were not. We're platonic friends. You shouldn't read junk like this."

"Is that so? Because I beg to differ," With that he tossed a substantial pile of large photos at her.

Serena picked then up, gulping as she took in the first image of them eating dinner. Flicking through, she found the photos were of the whole duration of the dinner, though none were incriminating against her platonic relationship reasoning. Though the one of Diamond holding her hand was a bit dodgy, she'd admit that.

"So. This proves nothing only that you have violated my privacy," She snapped, angered by his stalking. How long had he been watching her?

"What about this one." With that Darien held up the picture of dessert, where Diamonds hand was, most defiantly, on her derriere. Serena cringed.

"Tell me, do you like his touch? I know you haven't slept with him, but do you want to? Do you enjoy taunting me? Letting him maul your body when I ache a whole month for you, knowing it's only because of the moon that I can touch you. So give me one good, goddamned reason why I shouldn't hunt fairy-boy down, sink my fangs in his thin neck and crush the life slowly from his body."

"Darien! You can't! He's the faerie prince," Serena scrambled to the end of the bed, catching his sleeve as if he would run off at that moment.

He leaned in so their faces were inches apart, his eyes all-consuming voids, "Not. Good. Enough."

"You won't kill him, Darien. If you kill him like my NDS team, I swear I'll hate you even more."

Darien snarled furiously in response, smashing the furniture to vent his anger, but Serena didn't watch, instead she wrapped her arms around her legs and tried to staunch tears. We're such an unfortunate coupling. Or is it under unfortunate circumstances? Things would be so much easier if they were the same species.

Serena was grateful it was the middle of the month, far from a full moon, because she could think. It was the first time they'd met where she wasn't ruled by that mind numbing lust that demanded Darien. Serena came to appreciate his kidnapping because this was her chance to find the answers she so desperately needed – which was gnawing at her conscience thanks to Trista.

"Why did you kill them that night?" Her voice demanded, interrupting his smashing.

"Why? Because if I didn't, they would have killed my pack. That raid was both a blessing and a curse," He bit out.

Serena looked up at him anger shooting through her at his assumption. "Liar! You know we wouldn't touch your pack, you just wanted to hunt us down. If you turned up for syndicate meetings then none of this would have happened. Goddess! You wolves are so antisocial why the hell shouldn't we be suspicious and be forced into drastic meas—"

"Is that what your NDS tells you? Because that's the lie. Your goddamned team had it coming, let me remind you that it was your team that made the first step by violating my territory. Would you give your enemies the opportunity to kill your women and children? Your faerie government is so corrupt and Prince Diamond—" He spat "Is the most corrupt of them all. They fool you, Serena. "

"I don't believe you. Whatever you do is for your own benefit," Serena dismissed in a low tone.

"Fine but you're just like them, Serena. A conniving little bitch, who is selfish and teases every man she comes in contact with. You drive me mad!"

Her breath rattled in her throat. Ouch, that hurt, Darien. Serena slipped into a protective persona, giving her shoulders an accepting shrug, "Well isn't that what I am? Your Bitch."

Serena turned away with disgust, re-seating herself at the side of the bed, her back to Darien. At least Diamond never name called, she wanted to scream out childishly, but decided against it; hell hath no fury like a jealous werewolf. Guess she wasn't the only one wanting to unload her mind. She sighed with disappointment, which baffled her to no end, why am I upset about it? Serena wished she had a coat with her, the thin wool of her sweater set unable to combat against the sharp chill in the dank room. It didn't take sensitive hearing for Serena to know Darien was brooding, pacing along, growling every so often in that menacing way that had her actually fearing him. When he finally spoke it sounded ripped from his throat, unnatural, angry, and it startled her.

"I don't want you with Diamond. At all."

"Alright, fine," Serena answered, stepping up and turning towards Darien, "That all? Because I want to go home." Inside she felt like weeping, which again irritated her, why do I care?

Serena smartly marched to the door, but was stopped by Darien's arm shooting out and preventing her exit. Following the thick, muscle roped arm to his face, she pursed her lips before muttering a command to move.

"We aren't finished."

"Arrange another kidnapping session then. Give me a little warning next time so I don't have a mental breakdown in the backseat." And I'm prepared with a Uzi.

"Serena," He gritted in a warning tone, "Sit. Down."

She reluctantly perched on the corner of the bed, raising an eyebrow to prompt him into action. Darien continued pacing, as if working to phrase something.

"Oh no, uh-uh. I'm not having you insult my integrity then expect sex. That would be reinforcing your theory of 'Serena-my-easy-bitch'."

Darien snarled, "Don't you dare talk like that. I will not have it."

"Funny that, you started it. Just for future reference, you made the first step," She pointed out.

"I lost my temper, I'm sorry."

Serena rolled her eyes, "Whatever," she muttered, obsessing over his comments. Was she really that bitchy? And selfish? Coming from him, it really hurt. She couldn't live with knowing he disapproved of her. Insecurity raised its ugly head. Urg! I don't need his approval. Serena, you dolt, he's brainwashing you. Remember, I don't care. Truth was she did, that's why being called a tease was inaccurate because she only wanted one man. But she didn't want to want him.

Lying back onto the bed, she stared blankly at the ceiling, focusing on breathing deeply to dissipate the red haze that argued for her to fight back. She was tired from the strain, and stress, of the day.

"Serena…" He sighed obviously trying to fight the rage that lurked there. He sat beside her and she recoiled, rising on her arms and shuffling away.

"Don't!" He bit, the anger piquing again.

Serena stopped and looked him straight in the eye, "Why are we doing this? Why are you deluding yourself? Don't you see we don't work – I'm trying to understand you!" There was anguish in her harsh admonition. "We don't mix at all! I can't understand you and you can't understand me. So maybe you think I'm some tart by wolf standards, but I am a pixie, then you go goddamned shove me into your world and expect me to understand after you killed my comrades. How would you feel if I put a leash on you, because that's what you've done to me."

Serena allowed her hair to cover her face, using its coverage to conceal her emotional slip up. Her breaths came in ragged gasps and she clenched her fists with the combination of anger, frustration and dejection which were surging in her veins like boiling lava.

She felt his fingers first on her back and she arched away, "Leave me alone," she hissed.

"I can't, baby, I've upset you and I need to comfort you." His voice was no longer furious, now full with mournful regret as she flinched away a second time.

"I don't need it," she denied, lying to herself.

Nonetheless, Darien again went against her wishes but inside she was glad, for it did comfort her. Soothingly he traced her back, managing to ease her into his arms though she forced herself to curl up smaller and refused to return the gesture. Too confusing.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't considerate. I will try to control myself in the future, Serena , I will try to understand you."

With hurt Serena coldly looked into his eyes, "You're the selfish one."

He released a dry chuckle, surprising her, "I don't deny it, especially when you're concerned."

Serena felt a flash of anger and shook out of his embrace, "Yeah well, I don't like it. It's weird."

"It's different," He corrected.

"Whatever…But I meant what I said: we don't work together, capeesh?"

Though Darien's face didn't change, there was an ominous shifting beyond what she could see. "I won't let you go."

With frustration, Serena threw her hands up in the air, "So how will that work, hmm? Are you sure, absolutely positive that you can't get someone else to be your…uh…to fill in this position?"

"You were born for me."

Serena growled angrily, "Cut it out with the born-for-me mumbo-jumbo. Just answer my goddamn questions."

"There is no one else who can fill the position, as you put it."

She sighed, "So…I guess we've got to work this out…"

"It would be a good place for us to start, to make compromises as you stressed before. I will try compromising, I do not want you unhappy."

Licking her lips, she decided to get right to the point, "What do you want from me?"

"Fidelity."

Serena glared at him, "You said yourself that I hadn't slept with anyone."

Beside her, Darien shifted and he caught her chin, "I want you to swear faithfulness to me."

He was so intense, his blue eyes glittering and his kissable lips drawn in a serious line.

Serena nodded slowly, "I promise."

Sensually, he ran his thumb over her lower lip, "You promise what?"

"I promise to be faithful to you," She stammered quickly, noticing his hand and knocking it away. "Anything else?"

"Mates need to touch…I need to touch you, be with you."

"Like every month?"

"More then that, I want you to want me, desire me and not flinch away. I want a relationship."

"Oh." His admonition made Serena suddenly want to be touched. "Touch me?"

"Mmm, like this…" He purred, lowering his head to her hair and sniffing then returning his hand to her face, rubbing her lip. She shivered, awareness prickling in her lower body when he nuzzled her.

"Alright, I can try."

She felt Darien smile against her throat, "That's all I ask for," his breath whispering down her blouse. "What do you want from me?"

Embarrassingly, it took a long moment before she got her brain to function. "I don't want you to spy on me or do any more of these stunts. I don't want you to force me out of the life I live already, though as par contract I'll meet up with you. And don't act like I'm your piece of property or your 'female'. You're also too possessive and this jealousy is just too extreme."

At first Serena thought he was about to protest but he sighed. "Agreed, though I can't promise the jealousy."

She fought for some space between them, glaring into his eyes, "What do you mean? That's not fulfilling what I want."

"You're responsible for the jealousy, sweet heart, it's connected to my selfishness. Spend time with me and I won't be jealous."

"Hey, I've promised fidelity."

"I know you have," He purred with satisfaction, "But I want you to use your time with me."

"Fine, I'll keep that in mind, so um…" She mumbled moving her head to cut off his route to her neck. He was doing wonderful things and it was turning her on so it had to stop. "What happens next?"

"Lie with me."

She glared shuffling away, though Darien was like a vine—no, a weed—and had managed to curl around her. Infuriatingly, like a weed, every time she managed to pull his arm away, it would replace itself on another area of her body.

"Look, usually we work on some weird instinct, you know…uh…the primitive jumping one another…pure lust." She waffled quickly, awkwardly, "But I have brain function today and I think it wouldn't be good if we had sex especially after all this."

"Did I say that?" He pointed out, "This is my part of the bargain. Remember?"

She exhaled with annoyance, "Fine, I'll lie with you."

The night was absolutely silent, not even an insect could be heard outside and it made the 'lying together more intense in a highly sexual way. Like a victorious wolf after a hunt, Darien pulled her to the head of the bed, arranging her on her back and resuming his neck fondling.

"This is foreplay you ass!"

He chuckled against her collar bone, "It's only foreplay if it arouses you. Relax, baby, I don't want you to get hot and bothered due to your state of mind."

"You know you're pushing it! You always seem to imply I'm a nymphomaniac," She hissed giving an all out wriggle to free herself and leave.

She was forced to stop when his hands moved to restrain her, settling on her sides and involuntarily making her squeak. He regarded her with surprise, "You're ticklish?"

"No I'm not," She vehemently denied with a snap.

To verify her answer his fingers twitched and she squirmed, "Fine I'm ticklish so cut it out."

"How refreshing," he mumbled against the shell of her ear.

Serena tried to clamp her arms to her sides, "Nothing refreshing about it, lots of people are cursed with it."

"Not wolves," He informed, "We have tough skin so I would like to explore this…phenomenon."

"Nah-uh," She snarled, shoving away, but he pressed her down moving his fingers along her sides in an efficient swoop that extracted loud laughter.

As he found all the sensitive areas, Serena's arms uselessly sought to stop his fingers, her strength pouring into the laughing, giggling and snorting that she could not stop. Darien had now crouched above her, supported by his knees as he let off his round of torture. He relished in every new experience with her, no longer was the room cold but rung with her charming laugh, punctuated with snorts that had him raising a brow.

"Stop! Please," She wheezed, "You'll bruise me."

At once he stopped, storing her sensitivity in his mind for future use, a wicked glint in his eye at that thought. She was now placid, malleable, so he rolled over and propped his body against the headboard. Reaching for her, he settled her body between his legs and rested her head on his elevated chest breathing the scent of her hair in.

"Who knew the Werewolf King is a cuddle monster," She speculated, finding the snuggling too…normal and weird for the master strategist and leader to indulge in.

"Only with you."

It was damn nice, Serena ruled. That night was her downfall.

Note! Humans don't know about the Faerie world, that's why Diamond is portrayed—and hounded by paparazzi—as a democrat because he represents faeries in the government.

Sorry about how long this took, I haven't even started the next instalment of NMT, I've been on holiday for two weeks and it has pushed me behind in so many things. I am also a little low in inspiration due to this.

P.S – thanks Lunaeve for the fairy boy comment.

BTW I'm putting my drabbles on my LJ, if you want to see them, type in this link and remove or add the appropriate symbols w w w. livejournal . com (slash) users (slash) io (underscore) isis. I hate fanfiction for removing their scrips but if link doesn't work, there is another on my bio page.