Chapter 10

Rei was the first to arrive. She had a six-pack of sodas and videos to watch. "Thanks for the invite, Sere. Chad is coming back tonight and Jadeite is driving me nuts."

"What are friends for?" Serena said. "We'll be camping in the family room."

"I'll set up."

Lita came next and planted herself in the kitchen. A few minutes later, Serena and Rei sniffed appreciatively at the aroma coming from Lita's domain.

"I'd marry her just for her cooking." Rei said.

"Forget it. I've got dibs on her." Serena said shoving Rei. They ended up wrestling on the floor. This was how Ami and Mina found them. It was clear to the two girls on the ground that Mina was faking her cheerful demeanour.

"I think we're gonna need some ice-cream." Serena said snagging the phone while still pinned by Rei.

"And some cookies. I'll let Lita know." Rei rose and went to the kitchen.

"I think we should all clear the air as to what's happening with us." Serena said. "But we'll wait until Lita can join us."

"Yes." Rei said. "We all need to vent."

"I'm not sure I should be venting." Mina said the words coming out like a growl.

"Yes, you should. If we encounter a new enemy, we should be able to deal without being sidetracked by our crazy, mixed-up personal feelings." Rei insisted. "Let's watch a movie until the cookies are done and the ice –cream gets here."

"Serena can't see, Rei." Mina scoffed.

"My ears work just fine." She defended. "Besides, I'll be getting a live commentary from all of you anyway." She teased.

"Then let's do it." Ami said.

"Oh, come on!" Lita said. "What idiot buys a screwy story like that? It's obvious those two are playing hide the salami behind her back."

"She is an idiot." Mina said. "If I found my best friend in bed with my man, I'd kill 'em both. The jerks. Fell asleep my ass."

"Some people just allow love to blind them to all faults. It's obvious she knows what's going on." Rei said and hissed her teeth.

"And she's hoping it'll all stop once they're married. News flash, it doesn't work like that." They all fell silent again as they watched. It was Lita who broke the silence again.

"Now she's pissed? I'd say it's days too late. No way am I wasting my wedding dress on some loser that's gonna screw my maid of honor in the vestry."

"What part of her is a maid? Biggest slut if I ever saw one." Rei said. The credit rolled and Ami turned on the music.

"So, guys, what's up?" Serena said, never one to beat around the bush. "Who goes first?"

"Me." Rei said. "Mine's easier. So, I love Jed. Not the past but this one. But I think I might have feelings for Chad too."

"You owe to yourself and the guys to sort it out before you make an impulsive decision." Ami said.

"And stop sleeping with Jed. It's unfair to Chad." Rei smacked Serena's head. "It was obvious, Rei. Plus if you end up choosing Chad, Jed's gonna be really pissed at you."

"It won't be easy." Rei said sighing. "I just can't help myself around him. I just wanna get closer."

"Do you feel that way about Chad?" Lita asked.

"No. It's sort a warm and cozy with him. Like, I know he'd never hurt me. It's just easy."

"Then there is your answer." Serena said. "I'm surprised you missed it. You're not an easy person to get along with, Rei. You know how to irritate and revel in the knowledge."

"True." Ami said. "You seem to enjoy a good fight. Wouldn't you get bored with Chad?"

"I does get pretty boring after a while." Rei admitted.

"So, there you go. Take a few days, see if there is anything, other than you not wanting to get hurt, between you and Chad." Mina said.

"Simple enough." Rei said not really believing her words but up to the challenge. "Now do Lita."

"Hey! Don't volunteer me." Lita protested by pulling on the braid she was currently making in Rei's hair. "Anyway, I don't have a problem. Nephrite's a cocky bastard. I'm just waiting for the right time to cut him down. He's stupid if he thinks I'm gonna trip all over myself because we had a fling way back when."

"So you do like him." Rei said.

"Sure. He's cute. And he can fight. Admirable qualities." She replied.

"How are you gonna 'cut him down'?" Serena asked intrigued.

"Men like him are all about the chase. I'll give him a chase. But it's a tricky thing for the hunter when he doesn't know he's being hunted." Mina mimicked a tiger and they all laughed. "He won't know what hit him." Lita said a mischievous light in her eyes.

"What about you, Ami?" Serena said. "Any progress on the antidote?"

"Some. We've isolated the chemical from the sample of your blood. We made a batch. General Zoicite should be working on breaking it down now. A new blood sample would be helpful so we could test any possible antidotes."

"Sure." Serena said munching on a cookie. "That aside, how are things?"

"As awkward as ever. It doesn't help that he never lost his memories. I've had a life without thoughts of him. I've developed feelings for others in that time."

"Like Greg?" Lita asked as she scraped her cup. "I need more ice – cream. Don't say anything until I get back." Lita came back with the entire carton of ice-cream and Mina snickered. "Can it, Mina."

"Go on, Ami." Serena said.

"It's made worse by his feelings for this other person."

"Oh, just say it, Ami." Mina said. "It's Malachite." The others gasped. "It shouldn't be a surprise. Next to Darien, Zoicite was the idiot's closest friend. Zoicite developed feelings for his friend because he was a woman for all those years."

"That's rough." Rei said.

"I can't even imagine how I'd deal if I started feeling attraction for one of you guys."

"We'd smother it out of you, don't worry." Rei said.

"Shut up." Lita said throwing a pillow at the girl. "So what are gonna do, Ami?"

"There's nothing to do as long as he wants to stay away from me. He doesn't want a relationship with me. That's clear."

"He wants Malachite?" Rei asked aghast.

"No. He just wants to die. But he would never consider it since Darien asked and ordered him not to harm himself. I'll just move on with my life as is. Greg's a wonderful guy."

"But you're not in love with him."

"I'm not in love with Zoicite either. Honestly, I wasn't in love with him back then either. We were just starting out and it got a little heated too quickly."

"Then you're better off for it. Either way, you'll grow to love somebody in this time. Me? I'm stuck because of some stupid decision with a guy who is in love with someone else." Mina said.

Serena sat up. "Malachite? He doesn't seem to have eyes for anyone but you."

"He hides it well." Mina said.

"So who is it?" Rei said. When Mina didn't continue Rei grew impatient. "Don't keep us in suspense."

"It isn't good." Mina said. "And I think Darien knew too."

"It's not Darien, is it?" Lita asked.

"No. It's Serena. Malachite is in love with Serena." There was a second of deafening silence before Serena started choking on the cookie. It took a few seconds to get the girl breathing again without coughing.

"Mina, are you serious? Malachite is in love with me?" Serena squeaked. "It's not possible."

"He is. I saw it in his eyes when I confronted him. And he didn't deny it."

"And you say Darien knew?" Rei asked. Mina nodded.

"It explains why he was so pissed when Malachite tried to help me that one time." Serena mused. "How do I face him knowing this? I need to talk to him, don't I?"

"What would it change?" Lita said. "You'd never leave Darien for him. You'd never hurt him like that. Or Mina. You love them both too much. Besides, he's tied to Mina."

"Such an ugly thing. Tied to me. Not in love. Tied. Why the hell did I invoke that stupid thing? How did I do it? It shouldn't have worked if he was in love with Sere all that time."

"Why wouldn't it work?" Ami asked intrigued.

"If he had feelings for anybody else, the attempt alone would have killed me. Or destroyed my powers at least."

"When did you tie him to you?" Ami asked.

Mina thought for a minute. "I guess it would have been the first time we came to earth. We were scouting the area to make things right for Serena. Safe."

"That means he wouldn't have met Serena yet. And you did it impulsively; without thought?" Ami said

"I guess. What are you getting at?"

"He didn't know Serena so he had no feelings for her when you bound yourself to him, and him to you."

"And I didn't tell him about it either. In fact, I didn't even know until one night I heard him in my head. That's when I knew what had happened."

"What do we do about it anyway? We can't force him not to love Serena." Rei said.

"And I can't knowingly encourage a relationship with anyone who I might develop feelings for. He would kill them and I couldn't stop him because it's his nature."

"The wolfman. That's what I called him." Serena spoke up.

"He's animalistic. It would be instinct for him to remove a threat to me. Not love."

Ami cleared her throat. "You are forgetting something else, Mina. As the Sailor Scout of love, if your feelings go unrequited you lose your powers of love. Your heart would break. You would become like Saturn. Except, you would be more of an avenging angel rather than the clean up for our failure." There was profound silence for a while. The only sound was the soft music that floated in the room. Serena ventured to break it.

"Mina, I hope you know I'd never do anything to hurt you. I'd never encourage him."

"I know Sere." Mina said.

"We should get some sleep." Ami said. "A good night's rest would do us well."

"Yeah." Serena said. Lita got up and turned off the room light and they all settled into the silence of the dark to ponder their situations.

Princess…

Hmmm? Five more minutes.

Ha ha ha ha…you're running out of time, brat.

Go away…

I'm coming for you and you can't stop me…ha haha ha

Serena jerked awake and looked around. Her friends were still asleep. She could hear her mom tiptoeing around the room and she smiled at the woman. "Mom." She jerked around, her hand on her heart.

"Serena." She whispered. "Are you okay?"

"Just a bad dream." Serena whispered back. "I'm gonna sleep for a while longer."

"You do that, honey. I'll see you in a bit. Your friends can stay for breakfast?"

"Sure." She murmured as she slipped back into the drugging effects of sleep.

Serena couldn't shake the feeling of dread that she had since she woke up. The dream was really getting to her. She barely paid attention in class and was in a daze throughout the break periods.

"Serena, are you feeling okay?" Ami asked worriedly.

"Huh? Yeah. Sure. Sure." She waved her off and slipped right back into her troubled thoughts.

"She's lying." Rei said looking into the oblivious girl's face. "What's wrong with you?" No answer.

"Sere?" Mina shook her and she looked at her and smiled. "She's creeping me out. Should we call Darien?"

"Why?" Lita said. "What's it gonna help if she's not talking? Besides, he's still in class. Let her alone for now. She'll snap out of it soon enough."

True enough she did. Mostly because her head started to hurt. "Welcome back, space head." Rei said.

"Come off it, Rei." Lita warned.

"It's okay, Lita." Serena said. "I have been spacing out all day." She shrugged.

"So what were you thinking so hard about?"

"Uh-" she hesitated. With all that was going on, she didn't want to worry her friends. "Just sorting through everything that happened. Being stuck like I was – was very unpleasant to say the least. I guess I'm still adjusting to being back."

"But you're fine right?" Mina asked.

"Perfectly. No ill effects."

Ami looked at her watch and sighed. "I gotta get going, guys. Need to get to work on the antidote."

"Sure. See you tomorrow." Mina said. They watched her walk out, tension making her seem stiff and uncomfortable.

Not long after Ami left, the other men showed up. Serena couldn't help the blush that heated her face when she sensed Malachite's eyes on her. She shifted uncomfortably when he took a seat next to Mina, directly across from her. Even without her sight, she could sense his scrutiny. She resolutely turned to Darien when he finally convinced Lita and Rei to give up their seat beside her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" she snapped. "I'm fine." The table went silent and she sighed. "Sorry. Just a little tired."

"Uh-huh." Darien said and drew her gaze. She frowned at him and looked away. She'd forgotten she could see him for a second. She caught the lift of his brow before fixing her gaze on the invisible, but tangible, milkshake before her. Without Lita and Rei to fill the silence – as they were off playing games with Nephrite and Jadeite – the table was completely devoid of conversation. So Darien broke it. "Okay, spill it; what's going on?" No one spoke. He gripped Serena's chin and pulled her face around to meet his determined gaze. "Serena."

"Leave it alone, Darien. This is not the time. Or place." She said. There was no use in lying. Their behaviour gave them away.

"She's right, Darien. It wouldn't be wise to talk about it with so many possible witnesses to your temper." Mina said.

"So it's something I'd get angry about?"

"Mina, shut up." Serena said and Mina chuckled.

"Relax, Sere. He's not gonna guess what it is. And Malachite here wouldn't dare say what it is with an audience." Serena sighed.

"Just when am I gonna be privy to whatever has you all so nervous?"

"Later." Serena said and stuck the straw into her mouth. A shiver went down her back when his finger brushed her neck. She kept her head down. She couldn't look at him. Not that she didn't want to. She desperately wanted to look at him. But it didn't bode well for her libido when her mind's eye locked them in so private a world.

"Mind moving so I can get up?" Mina said to Malachite.

"Yes, I do mind. You'll not speak to that man in my presence." He responded, his voice low and gruff.

"Malachite-" Serena started then shut right up. What exactly was she gonna say to him that wouldn't sound pitiful.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Shhh. Don't call me that. It's Serena. My name's Serena."

"As you wish."

"Let Mina go. I understand your position but you must understand hers. She has lived a life without you. You cannot expect her memories of a former life to dictate her actions in this life. Forcing her to – to stay with you because of an impulsive decision will not help your case." Serena waited then heard as Malachite shifted to allow Mina to get up. Serena didn't miss Mina's anger at her interference. Best friends or not, Mina would resent whatever hold she seemed to have over Malachite.

While Darien and Malachite spoke, Serena tried to be as invisible to them as possible. It didn't help that Darien seemed to find every reason to touch her. And occasion. If she shifted her leg, his followed to close the gap. She shifted away from him and he moved to rectify the space. As it was, she was trapped in the corner of the booth. His hand, that would seem, to many, casually thrown over her seat, was drawing maddening little circles on her neck. She rolled her shoulders and tried to hide the tiny tremors that she couldn't suppress. When he pulled her shake from her hand and took a sip, she found it damn near impossible to drink from it again. But the urge just to see if she could taste him on the straw was frustrating. She frowned at the drink. In the corner of her mind that monitored the conversation, she heard Malachite excuse himself. She turned to ask Darien to move over so she could go to the restroom and found herself free-falling under the effects of his kiss. She forgot the drink. The restroom. Her friends' problems and embraced the sweet bliss of the moment.

"I wish you wouldn't surrender like that, Serena." He said a breath away from her lips. "It doesn't help what little control I have over myself."

"Then don't kiss me like that." She muttered even as she sought out his lips. He complied for a few more seconds with his desires. And hers. He sat up slowly on a deep, shaky breath.

"I don't know why I thought I ever disliked you." He said pressing his thumb to her lips.

"Yeah. Same here."

"So, are you gonna tell me what's going on?" he asked as he toyed with her hair.

"Exercise a little patience. Besides, I'm supposed to be mad at you for locking me in an icicle."

"But you can't stay mad at me." He reasoned.

"Don't be so smug about it." She groused.

"So, what's bothering you, otherwise?" She glared at him and he smiled.

"Are you reading my mind?"

"I wish I was. I wouldn't need to ask what's going on."

She sighed. "I had a weird dream last night. And I can't really remember it but it's been on my mind. I just have a bad feeling that something's wrong."

"With you?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I keep going over what happened with – with Beryl and I can't help but feel that something went wrong. Like we aren't done."

"Serena, Beryl is gone. For good. There is no coming back for her."

"I keep telling myself that but it's as if I can hear her laughing at us. Laughing at me. Now I sound paranoid. And nuts." She muttered and laid her head on her hands.

"It's perfectly fine to worry. You never got a chance to adjust to Beryl's absence. We thought it was kind of surreal when it ended."

"It doesn't feel surreal. It feels unfinished. We all know that the crystal hasn't been activated and without it, I wouldn't be able to defeat Beryl. What if she isn't dead?"

"She's gone. Sailor Pluto would have said otherwise."

"I guess she would have." Serena said. "Okay. She's gone. She's gone."

"Now that we've solved that, what's say we go out on an actual date?" Serena snorted and he frowned at her. "Did I say something funny?"

"Wouldn't all these outings be classified as dates?"

"Technically. But I want to take you out without the others acting as chaperones."

"And I should do this to give you free reign to have your wicked way with me?" she said. He smirked at that and she narrowed her eyes because she could already feel her cheeks flaming.

"I could have my wicked way with you now." He said smugly. He threaded his fingers through hers and squeezed. "More than likely, you'd only put up a token resistance." He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the traitorous pulse on her wrist, his eyes never leaving hers.

"You're too cocky for your own good, Prince Darien." The address slipped out before she could stop it and he smiled, using the opportunity to scrape his teeth against her skin.

"Your reactions make it easy to be cocky, Princess Serenity." He said easily. He straightened but kept her hand in his. "So will you? Tonight? My place?"

"Uh-"

"Say yes, Serena. You want to."

"My dad wouldn't allow it." She said grasping at straws. When he only smiled at her she sighed. "Fine. I'll-I'll be there."

"Here's the key. Let yourself in and wait for me." She looked at the object with trepidation but took it anyway.

"I hope I don't regret this." She said and swallowed. She looked at him for a long time before she allowed the screaming thought to manifest in words. "Please promise you won't do-anything." Instead of smirking as he always did, he frowned at her. She saw the anger in his eyes and wondered why he would be angry at her words.

"Serena, I wouldn't take advantage of you."

"I-"

"Is that the kind of person you think I am?"

"Darien-" she said hurrying to stop the fight. "That's not what I meant to say."

"Then what do you mean?"

She swallowed and tried to ignore the furious blush she was sporting. "I am-susceptible to you. As much as you seem to be around me. It wouldn't take much for something small to escalate between us. Just ease off on the charm." She said.

This time he laughed. "What charm? According to you I have as much charm as a snake."

"And my evaluation stands." He laughed again at her words. "The problem is when you forget to irritate me, you suddenly turn into – I don't know – a reasonably sweet guy. If you haven't noticed, normal, healthy, hormonal girls find it hard to resist your face. And damn your eyes." His smile slipped away and he frowned at her. He was about to stop her flow of words when she said the one thing that pushed him over the cliff of embarrassment. "Not many men can be described as beautiful. But you are. You're beautiful."

"You can stop talking now, meatball head." He said.

"No need to get snippy. You asked and I answered." She stared at him. When he didn't speak and his face became carefully blank, her mouth fell open. "Oh my-are you embarrassed. Is that it? You're embarrassed because I called you beautiful?"

"Would you stop saying that?"

She laughed. "Well at least you're not completely conceited. In that I was wrong." She laughed again. Embarrassment mixed with his quick temper hand him shoving his face close to hers. She sat back, her head hitting the wall almost painfully. His eyes glittered at her and she felt trapped. She wasn't a coward under most circumstances. Far from it. But when he looked at her like that, she decided hiding from the intensity was better than trying to tamp down her hellish hormonal reaction. So she closed her eyes and stopped breathing. At least she wasn't blushing.

"Serena."

"Back off Darien." She said through her teeth, sacrificing precious air. "I said what I said and I'm not taking it back." Her breath ran out and she had to inhale. She turned her head away, leaving her neck exposed to him. He nipped her, none too lightly and she squeaked. She snapped her eyes open, ready to fight. "You animal!" she shoved him. "You bit me! I can't believe you bit me!" She didn't care that the entire arcade was privy to their quarrel. It was nothing new.

"Serves you right." Darien said that. Even though he didn't yell, the tenor of his voice carried well across the attentive expanse of the arcade. "You should really pay attention when someone is talking to you."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak animal. Could you translate 'aarf aarf' into human for me?" She said. She shoved him again mostly so she could make her escape. He didn't budge. She was seriously considering an undignified crawl over the table.

"Maybe I should put you over my knee and teach you some manners."

"So you're an animal and a pervert." She said. She grabbed her unfinished shake and threw it in his face. If she had thought the action through, she would have remembered she was trapped between the wall and his angry form. She opened her mouth to apologize. Nothing came out. Suddenly she was being flung over his shoulder, ass in the air. She was too shocked to argue until she was out in the open air. By then, it was too late.

"Should we go after them?" Lita asked Rei.

"What for? So we can get caught in the cross fire? They'll sort it out themselves. If not, we'll play clean up crew for the next few days when the dust settles."

"I guess." Lita said and went back to her game. She currently whipping Nephrites butt.

"I've got it." Zoicite said. "I've got the antidote."

"Are you sure?" Ami asked looking over his shoulder at the results he was currently reviewing.

"Positive. Sample number three thousand and fifty neutralized the poison ninety eight percent of the time."

"May I?" she said politely and he stepped aside as she took a sample of the liquid and dropped it onto the scanner of her mini-comp. She watched as the liquid destabilized the poison and then facilitated the metabolism of the components. "Well, done, General. We need to figure out the correct dosage to give Serena."

"Child's play after all this." He said and smiled. She couldn't help but return the gesture. It was the first easy moment they ever had. Ever. "Serena should be able to see in a few days at the least."

"Let's get to work then."

"We can let it rest for the night. You should call up your friend and have a night out."

"He is no longer in town." She said. She looked at her watch. "I guess I could get in a few hours of studying before I have to turn in." Retrieving her jacket, she slipped it on.

"Allow me to escort you home."

"It's not necessary, General."

"It would be my pleasure, Ami." He said and extended his hand for her. She bit her lip knowing that she couldn't refuse without seeming ungracious.

"Thank you." She took his hand and they both wish she hadn't. She inhaled sharply and he stiffened involuntarily. Instead of letting go, his fingers fisted painfully around hers. She was more concerned about the mental pathway that was being forged than the possible broken bones. "S-stop." She said.

"I-I can't." She watched as he tried to get his fingers to obey his demands and felt as they tightened around her delicate ones. She gasped in pain. She shook her head trying to dislodge the two-way invasion. If they didn't break contact now, they'd be permanently open to each other mentally. No blocking. No hiding. There would be no privacy in her thoughts. Or his. She pulled at her hand desperately. It was a futile attempt. She needed to interrupt the process.

"I'm sorry." She whispered even as her knee came up and nailed him in the crotch. His hand fell away to hold himself where the pain originated. Pain exploded in his head and he saw stars as he fell to his knees. "I'm so sorry. So sorry." She wouldn't touch him. She wouldn't chance it.

"It-It-oh my god." He moaned. Then he laughed. There was pain in the humor. "It hurts like hell." He said and still he laughed. Ami wondered if he'd lost his mind. "It's good to be a man again." He said and wheezed, pitifully. Ami went to the fridge and retrieved an ice-pack. She wrapped it in a damp towel and waited for him to crawl to a chair.

"Here." He took the pack, carefully avoiding contact with her skin.

"Thank you."

"Will you be okay?" she asked softly.

"Hopefully, I won't be impotent or sterile after this." He winced as he laid the ice over his groin and then watched as Ami turned completely red. She shot up realizing her position – kneeling between his open legs. He smiled cheekily and she pouted.

"I'll call someone to assist you." She said in clipped tones.

"Don't bother. I'll be fine soon."

"All the same-"

"I'll be able to walk you home. We'll just have to be more careful about bodily contact from now on."

He was able to walk her home – with great discomfort – twenty minutes later. Ami couldn't help but laugh to herself. It was funny seeing him trying to walk around so noticeable a pain.

"Well, thank you for walking me home." She said at the door. "I'll be back at the lab after school."

"Of course. Good night, Ami."

"Good night." She let herself in and then watched him walk away through the window. Nice butt. She thought to herself and smiled.