Okay, sorry about this chapter taking it's time. I had my birthday on the 22nd (19! WOOH!) and was just busy. Thank you for all the reviews for my last chapter. I do want to clear that I have NO intention of having any villans here. Its just real Serena and the rest of them... no sailor scout transformations. If anything Darien is the only enemy here. Hahah. But I want to say that if you ever seen the pictures from Fragrant Olive, you should find some. Those are beautiful pics of Seiya and Usagi (Serena). If you go on youtube and type in "Not fate but what we make" and maybe add seiya and usagi to it you'll see a song on there from Brittany spears and it has all these photos of the two anime couple. I love looking at them because thats how I see them. Check it out if you got time or Ill send you the link if you ask. Music helps a lot too XD Many many songs with Seiya and Usagi videos in them help too. I hope you like this chapter. I'm doing my best to keep on developing their relationship and again with all the reviews telling me how I protray the character like they are it makes me happy! I'm doing a good job! YAY! XD Well, not to keep you anymore. Enjoy guys. Longest chapter so far!

...

It was exam week and Serena was already stressing early that morning. Her mom made her a nice breakfast of pancakes to cheer her up and told her to relax. It was chilly out, but nothing unbearable. The snow covered the ground nicely and the streets and sidewalks could be cleared with ease. Walking on her way, Mina met up with her but their walk was silent. Serena felt bad because she knew Mina felt bad for telling her about the locket.

"Mina, it's okay. I'm glad you told me and didn't keep it from me." She broke their silence. Mina looked at her, and sighed.

"I was so afraid I hurt you by doing that, I'm sorry Serena." She said.

She pats her friend on the back. "You never hurt me, Mina. Thank you. I'm just sorry we're both going to suffer this week."

They both moaned in unison, not even close to being excited about the mid-term exams. The dreaded the next few days. But of course they have to suffer with tests before the promise of a relaxing vacation. Serena did actually get a good nights' sleep the night before. Usually she would freak out and attempt to study, but she stayed calmed looked over a few things and slept that Sunday. She knew she was relaxed after her talk with Seiya the other day. She hasn't mentioned anything to the girls, just Luna. Luna gave her the thumbs, well paws up, to just see where things take her. They arrived at school and Lita and Amy waited on the two of them. Amy seemed confident as ever, and Lita was just calm.

"You two ready for the next three days of hell?" Lita asked.

"Please don't remind us." Mina and Serena said, both wanting to cry hysterically.

"I hope you two did your studying." Amy smiled at them.

"Well, I did for your information! I wasted my whole weekend." Mina whined. They turned to Serena.

"What? I did study… a little. But hey, that's a lot for me to say so you know I at least looked at everyone once…" she put on a cute face so they wouldn't yell at her.

"You should've done more." Lita said.

"Aw, come on! I tried, but I was occupied!" she tried to make an excuse.

"With..?" Amy and the other gave her a look.

"With me of course." A male's voice interrupted them. Serena face blanched and they all looked at Seiya in his uniform with the biggest smirk on his face.

"With you?" Mina asked, then gave Serena the death glare, her eyes twinkling. "You didn't call me?"

"Hahahaha… I was shopping for Christmas…" she tried to cover up things.

"I was preparing with the stage manager for the city's Christmas Eve celebration. I'm performing, so I had to figure out my line up." He explained.

"Oh, that's right! You're going to perform! I'm so excited! I just wish Yaten was here too." Mina went into her dream world.

"Mina, focus… Exams in twenty minutes." Amy said trying to snap her friend out of it.

"Oh please, Amy if Taiki were here you would be the same as her." Lita made a point. Amy just shut her mouth and blushed.

"But still Serena, you two spend plenty of time together." Lita went on.

"No we don't. He's busy a lot with his music and I see him at school all the time if that's what you mean." She was ready to take off into the building; she really didn't want to explain their talks to them at all.

Seiya just watched the girls go back and forth trying to gang up on Serena.

'That was probably a bad idea to say something to them.' He thought.

Lita kept talking to Serena but Mina snuck up next to Seiya and just stared at him.

"So, what are you doing for Christmas and the Eve of?" she asked, but her voice had an almost evil tone to it. Seiya jumped back a little.

"I'm doing the concert of course."

"Yes, one song… That's not on your new album to be released the Tuesday after Christmas."

"How the—"

"Never underestimate my network!" Mina began laughing. "But tell me, what are you planning then…" She looked at Serena who was still trying to make Lita and Amy change subjects but then back at Seiya.

"Uhh… to be there like I'm supposed to."

"And what about Serena?"

"What about Dumpling…?"

"I will throw you off a bridge if you don't do anything nice for her…" Mina said.

Seiya didn't expect that from her. "Of course."

"You are warned." She said. Seiya's eye twitched a little, being slightly freaked out by her. The school bell then rang. Serena and Mina both froze, their death bell sounded.

"Noooo!" They both cried out. They all walked into the building; Serena was sulking slowly as she went into the class, Seiya walked behind her and was laughing at her posture. She was dreading the tests and they way she was reacting was priceless to him.

He sat behind her and was being kept entertained by her. She was complaining about the tests and how this didn't make sense and that didn't seem right. To him it was quite adorable.

"You know worrying too much makes you wrinkle faster" he whispered to her.

"What was that!" she turned to him with a fist in hand.

"Uh… Nothing."

"Thought so…"

He smiled; put his hands on the desk and rested his chin on them. "You and anything test wise is funny. I remember it from before."

"I hate studying… It's boring and I don't like tests… too much pressure on a poor girl like me." She whined.

"How about I tutor you?" he said it with a dark voice. "I will teach you."

"Uhh…" she blushed. "For some reason I'm afraid studying would never happen."

"What are you thinking it would turn to then?" His face changed to confusion.

Serena sighed. "Never mind. But how are you feeling about this?"

"I don't really care, it's not like I need to get anywhere with grades, I have an easy career and plus I technically don't live here so it didn't matter anyways if I did good or bad."

"Lucky…" she mumbled.

"Cheer up Dumpling, you will do fine, I have a good feeling." He smiled.

"Really?"

"Yep, and I'm always right." He said.

"Is that so?" she gave him a look.

"Oh yeah, so far I've been…" he leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head.

"What do you mean by that now?"

Before Seiya could answer, the teacher called the class to order and so the tests were beginning to be handed out, and you could see Serena and Mina biting their nails freaking out with what was on the papers.

…..

"Oh my god, I'm going to die!" Serena collapsed onto the bench outside the school under a tree with Seiya.

"I think you'll live." He said. They just got out of school for the day which was filled with mid-terms. Serena was drained now, the entire math she had to do today, and she even had a gym exam today.

"Who invented a 'gym' exam?" she complained. "I mean really? It's not right. I'm tired." It was cold and snow blanketed the land still, but it was nice outside. The sun made it slightly warm on their exposed skin; the sun made the snow sparkle a little, making it winter wonderland-like. Serena wasn't seeing it that way though, her mind still spinning numbers and exercise moves. Seiya patted her on the shoulder.

"You'll live, Dumpling." He said again.

"Hmph… Then tomorrow is English and History. Ughhh..." she sulked on the bench.

"It's not that bad…"
"Please, I'm never going to use this in my life. I'm a future Queen for God's sake… I don't need that crap." She kept whining like a child.

"A Queen should still know her History at least." Seiya teased.

"Don't talk to me like that…" she said.

"Or what? 'Off with my head'?" he laughed.

"You never know…" she poked him. "I'll make you scrub royal bathrooms."

"Hmm… I get to be with you when you're Queen? Not a problem!" he said with confidence. Serena shut her mouth. Her mood changed from playful to lost thinking.

'I wonder if Seiya will be involved with us at all in the 30th century? I mean, all the others are plus a few other scouts, so maybe the Starlights will be too. But then again, if he is, I'll be with Darien and Seiya will just be Fighter.' She sighed heavily. Seiya noticed her mood changed.

"Dumpling, what's on your mind?" he asked.

"Oh… Nothing, just deep thoughts."

"I thought we had no more secrets." He leaned closer to her. Her cheeks flushed red.

"I—I was just thinking about the future…" she looked at the sky which was clear of all clouds now, although it would snow again soon.

"And…"

"And if you would be involved with it." She finished.

"Oh. Well you never know… Maybe I will be and you don't know it yet. Things can change"

"Yeah, but things won't be… you know? Like this." She waved her hand.

"I don't care. As long as you're happy and it's what you want." He tried to remain cheerful but he wasn't happy with the future either.

"Could you honestly deal with me, knowing about what I will be and that I have a daughter and a husband?" she didn't want to talk about this now, but it just happened.

"It's in the future, Dumpling; not now."

"Are you going to be okay when you see Rini? What if she gets mad at me for this? I don't want to lose her or anything." She imagined Rini knowing about her and Darien's relationship status now and how it would affect her and her future. How mad she would be at her, and how much she would loathe Seiya.

"That's her issues. I want what's okay with you. I told you before; I am not leaving unless you don't need me here. I'm sure she could understand; this is a different life after all." He saw her sad eyes and put one arm around her gently. She didn't move or flinch at his gesture which made him relax a little. 'I'm glad she's relaxing about all of this, I just hope she lets it continue.'

"I hope so. She's a sweet kid, I miss her."

Seiya couldn't say anything to that. They sat and relaxed on the bench a little longer, enjoying the winter afternoon. A few students passed them by, some whispering to one another, but Seiya and Serena paid no mind to them. Birds chirruped above them and the day moved on.

"What would you like for Christmas Dumpling?" Seiya broke the silence. She was still wrapped with his arm on her shoulders.

"Seiya, I don't need anything from you. You're here." She answered truthfully. 'That was my wish and I got it. Why should I ask for anything more? It's all I wanted.'

"You're going to make this hard on me aren't you?" he moved his arm off of her but patted her head a little. "Oh well, looks like I have to do it all on my own now."

"Hey, I said no."

Seiya got up and smiled at her. "Oh well." He shrugged.

"Seiya—"He put his fingers on her lips, making her quiet.

"Shush, Dumpling. It's a special holiday and you deserve what you want this time of year. I want to experience the full effect of this holiday you have so I have to." He removed his fingers.

"Yeah… But I honestly don't want anything."

"Oh well, I'll figure something out. Listen, I'll see you tomorrow."

"What are you doing tonight?" Serena asked.

"Working on final stuff for the songs and album and I'm going to do a little shopping, maybe." He smiled. 'That's what I'm planning on all evening since I have no idea where to start.'

"Hey, you are going to dress up and everything for this Thursday right?" He asked. He watched her face go into surprise.

"Oh, I need to get something…"

"Pick out something pretty to wear for me Dumpling." He watched her face turn red. "Bye." He said and walked away hearing her complain behind him all the while he chuckled.

….

Seiya was ready to pull his hair out. He's searched many stores for something else for Serena, but it was actually hard finding her something special. Of course he was getting the locket fixed, he had someone taking on the challenge now, with no questions asked about the odd metal it's made from. But he was having difficulties finding the right thing for her. He knew she loved all form of sweets and anything that was cute. He didn't want to get her the plain thing of jewelry as he has seen others do and all the commercials. He saw adorable stuffed animals and cute Christmas items, but nothing screamed 'Get this for her'. This holiday stuff was harder than he figured possible.

He walked around to different shops and even checked out what others were buying to see if he could get an idea. He watched other women drag their men to jewelers and clothing shops and pointed to bags and rings and bracelets of all sorts. He saw children show their parents what they wanted too and Serena is sometimes a child inside he thought it would help, but still wasn't helping. The night was coming and it was getting colder out, but it didn't really bother him. His school jacket kept him warm enough. During his expedition, he was forced to sign a few autographs by fans, which hindered his quest.

'I don't want to just get her locket fixed, I would like to do something else for her, but what?' he asked himself. He stopped and grabbed some hot tea for himself and kept looking. He caught a glance at pretty clothes for the Christmas Eve night and he picked Serena in a few of those and thought about how lovely she would look.

'I'm so excited to sing this song for her and to be with her for the night. I hope she will be okay with letting me be close to her like this.'

He sipped his tea and glanced at crystal head pieces and figurines. He saw some of the moon with red roses swirling around it. Nothing was catching his interest though. He was beginning to become frustrated. He was inside a store checking out birthstones.

'She was born in June, but I don't think this is what I'm looking for.'

"Sir, can I help you?" A female voice said. He glanced to see a older lady that worked here watching him.

"Uh, I'm okay, just having trouble looking for a gift, that's all." He said.

"I wouldn't get anyone something like this for Christmas…" she gestured to the birthstones. "This should be kept for birthdays only in my opinion. May I ask who you are shopping for?"

"Well, I'm shopping for my girl and I don't know what to get her. I'm already getting something very important to her fixed, but I want to do something else too."

The lady smiled. "Sometimes a girl just needs someone to hang out with. Call me old fashion, hun, but sometimes a girl likes it when a guy just takes her out and if she likes anything, get it for her. Or maybe just a sweet date. Are you taking her to the ball this Thursday?"

"Yes I am. After I'm done with my song, I am." He said. They lady squinted at him.

"Oh yes! I thought your face was familiar." Seiya anticipated a new fan now, but she surprised him. "She's a very lucky girl, but that's all you need to do for her. I think bringing her to do just that is all she wants. We women are difficult but easy at the same time. Enjoy your night with her, make it memorable, take pictures, and just give her what you're fixing. I have a feeling that's all she could ever ask for and I believe you'll make her the happiest thing alive."

"You really believe that?"

"Of course. I have good intuition. Have a nice night, Mr. Kou" She walked away from him. Seiya felt a little more relaxed after hearing that and walked out of the store with a weight off his shoulders. He walked to head back to his apartment, but something caught his eye. He saw a man walking towards him, but oblivious, just reading a book.

'No way…' He thought. Seiya just kept walking but they came right next to each other, but Seiya didn't do a reaction, but the other man stopped and turned to look at him walking.

"Seiya, you're still here?"

'Dammit. It's him.' Seiya spun to face Darien who closed his book in his hand.

"I'm surprised you haven't left yet."

"Aren't you supposed to be in America?" His voice had venom. Darien rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I'm leaving this weekend."

"Good, have fun." He turned around to walk away, holding everything back not to knock him out.

"Wait, you're just going to walk like that?" Darien had taunt in his voice. Seiya looked back at him.

"Look, I'm doing enough by not knocking your head into the wall and ripping your heart out of your chest."

"You're still admiring Serena?"

"What do you think? More than you ever did." He snapped.

"I loved her very much; I just want my own life for once instead of what I'm supposed to." He smiled at Seiya and it made Seiya's skin crawl.

"You wouldn't have come back to her if you wanted that! You would have kept away and never returned. You're a snake." Seiya voice was rising.

"I don't understand, aren't you a girl technically?"

Seiya's blood was boiling. "As Star Fighter, I am. Otherwise I am a male, but at least I have the balls to confront things and not wait and hurt people and wait until they're most vulnerable then break their hearts until they're bleeding on the outside even."

"Excuse me?" Darien's eye twitched. He walked up to Seiya and pushed him against a wall into the alleyway slightly. People paid no mind to them.

"You heard me. I find it hard to believe you're supposed to be her husband in the 30th century."

"You're aware of all of that?"

"Of course. We don't keep secrets." He said.

Darien laughed. "Well, hope your ego is okay knowing you can only deal with her now."

"That's fine. But you never know, maybe I'm the one on that throne and you just made it happened that way." He watched Darien get extremely mad. "What? You want to live your own life; I'd be happy to take yours so I can be with Dumpling and actually cherish her."

"Go to hell."

"Sorry, I'm with heaven. You're in hell." He was taunting back at Darien. "What? You're ready to hit me. Go ahead, I don't care, I'll kick your ass and not even have to transform to do it."

"No, I'll not stoop to that."

"Of course not, got to look good for those American girls." He didn't know the difference, but why the hell not?

"You're just as annoying as she was."

"Please, I enjoy her company very much."

"Well good luck with that. Have fun with leftovers…" Darien turned to walk away. Something snapped inside Seiya. Next thing he knew he had Darien's face pressed against the wall, hands caught behind his back and Seiya twisting his wrists, while pushing harder and harder onto the back of Darien's head.

"Say it again?" His voice was vicious. "Go ahead and tell me."

Darien coughed, but Seiya pulled him back and slammed him onto the floor. Darien stammered up and went after Seiya, but Seiya quickly moved to the side, took Darien's arm and threw him to the side and into the wall.

"And you're supposed to be a protector of the earth? You're a joke." He watched Darien get up again but make no move towards him. Seiya walked and picked up his book and threw it at him. "I would absolutely love to beat the living hell out of you, but I won't do it. I'm not going to hurt her like that. Go to America and I hope you never come back to see her unless it's the 30th century. Never go see her or I will make you wish you stayed where you were over six months ago."

Seiya walked away, his mind spinning with all the images of what he should have done, but resisted the urge to go back.

'I would just upset her. As much as I know deep down she would be happy to know this, it would just hurt her knowing I hurt someone physically like that.' He walked but saw a little of red as he did so. His blood was rushing through his body and his teeth with grinding almost. After he got his distance he sat on a bench and fisted his hands into his hair and breathed in and out very heavily. He quickly glanced up at the sky, which a small snowfall began. The snow fell very faint, only a few flakes here and there. Seiya saw his breath leave his mouth and just tried to relax. He got back up and walked back, but he headed in Serena's direction rather than to his home. It was getting late, but it wasn't too late. Maybe only 9pm by now. He didn't want to bother her, but just to see what she was up to. Seiya saw that her window had light coming from it, and he gracefully jumped up and swung himself onto her small patio.

Seiya peeked inside and saw Serena, her hair out of its usual dumpling style, spilling all over her back and desk. She had her arms rested under her head where she seemed to be asleep atop of school books.

'Wow, she was actually trying to study.' The snow was falling still, but not as much as the other day, he noticed her door was opened enough he could fit through it. 'This is stupid, but I'm still so furious, I just want to see her and to see she's doing well now so I can feel better.' He went in, but expected to see her cat Luna, but there wasn't any sign of her. Serena's room was a mess with papers and clothes thrown all around. He quietly walked over to her and saw she was indeed asleep. She was looking through a history book from what he could tell and everything else was English papers and books. She didn't seem to be mumbling in her sleep this time, which he was hoping she was actually sleeping peacefully now. He noticed her photo of her and Darien was missing and he smiled in satisfaction of that.

'You're going to be hurting in the morning if you stay asleep like this, Dumpling.' He did his best to pick her up in his arms and walked her over to her bed. He gently lied her down, and covered her in her blanket. She was sleeping soundly still.

"I remember you complaining you're heavy but you really aren't… Light as an angel's feather." He whispered to her. He stroked a few strands of hair form her face. "It's funny to see you without your dumplings, Dumpling." He smiled.

"It's not funny…" she mumbled. He jumped a little. Serena opened her eyes, still very sleepy. She looked at Seiya and around her room. "I'm not dreaming right?" She sat up a little and rubbed her eyes.

"No… but, I'm sorry Dumpling, I just had to see how you were doing." He felt bad now, all his anger of Darien gone now.

"I'm fine." She made a big yawn. "Are you okay? You seem restless." She was getting more awake now.

"I'm… at the best I can be now. Look, I'll go. I didn't mean to bother you and wake you up." He got up, but Serena grabbed his hand. He looked at her.

"Oh, no you don't. You played mysterious man 'come- into- girls -room- while- she- is-asleep', you are staying and talking so I can sleep again." She motioned to the spot next to her on the bed. "Sit."

"Yes Ma'am." He couldn't argue with her. He got up on her bed and sat next to her. Serena's bed was big enough to fit them both comfortably. A fresh breeze came in from the window cooling off the room.

"So why are you sneaking into girls rooms now?" she asked, but was joking.

"I'm not sneaking into any girl's room."

"Just mine?"

"Yeah…"

"Uh huh… So you seem a little tense?"

"Yeah… well, you're difficult to shop for." He wasn't lying about that.

"Please, I'm the easiest. I love stuffed animals and candy and snacks and anything cute."

"Yeah, but anyone can get you that, I was looking for something different."

"Well Seiya, I told you. You came here, that's an early gift for me. Plus, you're taking me out after your concert this Thursday, so it counts as a gift for me too in my eyes." She looked at his face and he looked at her, their eyes searching once more.

"Are you serious?" He asked.

"Yes. I wouldn't lie to you. You're doing more for me than others have and you're doing it because I know you want to rather than have to." She smiled at him.

"I enjoy being with you." He placed his hand on hers that were on her lap.

"I know and thank you. I am very happy to hear that from you." Her heart was pounding in her chest. Each time he would even graze his skin by hers, her heart would just hammer. 'That's probably a good thing, but I'm still hesitant about a lot of things though…'

"Well Dumpling, I wouldn't have it any other way." They sat in silence a few minutes, just enjoying one another's presence. "How did your studying go?" he asked a bit later. She laughed.

"I think I got like an hour in for each subject then I passed out. But I did better than I have in years."

"You really hate it that bad?"

"You have no idea. It's torture Seiya, it really is." She twisted her hands so she could hold his hand too. His hand was warm and she was enjoying the feeling coursing through her veins. She felt nervous doing something simple like this, but she was trying wasn't she? "It's nice you're here tonight. I see it's snowing outside, but very slowly. Nights like this are lonely rather than enchanting."

"I don't understand."

"Like when there's a faster snowfall; the snow twinkles with the night and it seems so beautiful and magical; like the snow is nothing but sparkle. But when it falls so slowly it's like time is sowing and all you can think about are sad things and things in your life that made your days dread on and on." She looked back at him, embarrassed a little still. "Sometimes, I feel like that even when there was no snow. Time just was stopping and I felt empty."

"Do you feel like this now?" he asked.

Serena shook her head at him. "No. I feel safe and secured. I feel like everything is right and as it should be. I'm just nervous and don't want to ruin anything."

"I don't get it why you're nervous, Dumpling." He shifted so his torso was turned more to the side and facing her directly. Their hands still intertwined.

"I just am. Sometimes I don't feel good enough for something like this…" she didn't look at him.

"You're so funny." He put his head to hers. "You have no reason to feel like that. If anything I'm not worthy of your attention like this."

"Seiya…"

"What? I'm just saying, Dumpling." He chuckled. "Are you tired yet? Shall I let you go to sleep?" He asked.

"No. I mean I'm tired but I don't want you to go anywhere."

"If you would like me to stay Dumpling I will. Exams mean nothing to me, remember. You need to be rested though."

"Yeah..." she breathed and looked back out the window to the slow snow fall. Seiya let go of her hand sat more into a sitting position looking out the window. She looked at him; he was resting his arm on his knee, as he watched her. A smile never left his face.

"Sleep, Dumpling. I'll be here." He said.

"You know Seiya, I don't have my hair up now…" she was shaking slightly from the nervousness. She was very comfortable with him being here. She never felt this good when Darien was here. Rather than feeling on edge, she felt relaxed, but shy.

"I've noticed." He grazed his hand through her hair. He watched her cheek flush with color. "It's still the favorite nickname." He went and sat back on the bed. "Come here, Serena."

Serena's heart fluttered. 'Did he just call me by my real name?'

"Come here, Serena." His arms opened as a gesture for her to relax on him. Involuntarily Serena lay against him; her back into his chest, her head resting on his right side of his chest. His arms enclosed around her and his cheek was nuzzled to hers. She felt so stiff and wanted to relax, but it was hard to when she felt this nervous. "Relax, just relax and sleep. I'll be here still."

Serena exhaled and her whole body fell into relaxation against Seiya. She looked up at him, his eyes glanced into hers. He was smiling sweetly as he held her tight.

"Good night, Dumpling…" he laughed a little. "Now I know how you react when I saw your name."

"It's not funny." She was embarrassed now.

"Yes it is, but don't worry…" His lips were by her ear. "I'll save that for special occasions."

Her body was on fire; her face was a cherry yet again.

"Hahahaha. Your reactions are adorable. Go to sleep, Dumpling. You've got a while before you worry about anything like that."

She couldn't speak. "Uhh… I-"

Seiya kissed the top of her head. "Sleep or I'll read to you your history book."

"That's not fair…"

"Night…" He said again.

"Fine… Don't go anywhere though…" she snuggled and closed her eyes.

"Don't plan on it." He whispered, and watched her fall asleep before he closed his eyes as well.