Disclaimer-Sailor Moon and Beauty and the Beast do not belong to me. The song for the chapter title is Rise and Shine by Guster.


Chapter 12:

When Serena told him she was going to show him what it would be like to act like a kid again, she didn't really have a plan. All she knew was that she was going to have to find Raye and get a change of clothing. A mini skirt wasn't exactly conducive to play time.

"Where are we going?" Darien begged as they walked down the hall. Serena hated when people had to beg her for something. She was such a sucker for a good pout and it seemed that her new friend had mastered the look.

"To find me pants," Serena replied, giving him the only answer she had at the moment. "I can't do anything worthwhile without pants."

"I know where Raye keeps everything. We'll get you something and then you're going to tell me what we're doing. I don't like surprises," he sulked as they walked. He was going to be the death of her. Not that she minded much. Death by Darien Shields didn't seem like such a terrible way to go at all.

"No, really?" the blond began sarcastically, annoyed at herself more than anything else. It was one thing for her heart to feel an attraction to Darien, which it undeniably did, but it was an entirely separate thing for her head to go along with it. "Listen, don't worry. I promise you, it'll be fun. If it's not, you'll tell me, and we'll do something else. No big deal."

"That simple?" he asked, disbelief audible in his voice. Did he really think she was going to force him to do something he didn't want to do? What kind of monster did he think she was?

"That simple," she confirmed, hiding her equally incredulous tone as Darien pulled her over to an inconspicuous looking door and pushed it open.

"Have fun finding your pants," he said, just a hint of a smirk tainting his voice as her eyes widened in shock at the sight before her. There were more shelves and racks in the one room than there were in the biggest clothing store in town.

"Wow," Serena muttered as she pulled away from her companion and walked into the room. At first she hesitantly approached the different fabrics, almost afraid that they would come alive and bite her, but after a moment of adjustment, she got down to business. "You might want to find something more comfortable. And warmer. If the snow lets up, you better believe we're going outside. Snow isn't just something pretty to look at." It was a phrase she had grown up with, one her grandmother had instilled in her. And no matter how much Ami usually wanted to stay inside and study or Molly wanted to read the trashy magazines that had piled up in her mailbox, they would go out.

"I don't like winter, to be honest," Darien replied as he joined Serena in her search for proper winter clothing.

"Well neither do I," Serena admitted sheepishly as she looked up from her task to find that Darien had managed to maneuver his way to the other side of the room without her realizing it. "I like spring best, but I like to make the best of all the seasons. Just because it's not my favorite time of year doesn't mean I can't have fun outside. Snow can be a lot of fun."

"Snow is cold and useless. It kills everything and makes getting around that much harder," he shot back, his grumpy nature returning, something Serena had been waiting on.

"Okay, maybe snow does cause a lot of trouble, but on those mornings when you wake up to two feet of snow on the ground, knowing you won't have to go to school that day, don't you feel just a little bit of appreciation for the cold, white stuff on the ground?" Serena asked dreamily as she thought back to the many cold days she, Ami and Molly had spent rolling around in the snow back home.

"No," Darien replied dully. "I've never had a snow day. I was home schooled."

"No snow days!" she exclaimed, her eyes bulging slightly for not the first time in the last ten minutes. "Well that's why you don't like snow! You need a snow day to appreciate it." It was a cardinal sin in Serena's mind to never experience a snow day.

"If you say so," he shrugged noncommittally.

"Trust me. We'll make this perfect," Serena gushed as the wheels in her head began turning. She hadn't had this particular plan in mind when she had mentioned the snow day plot, but now that the idea had dawned on her, she wasn't going to turn away from it.

"What does that mean?" Darien asked curiously, the lack of enthusiasm painfully obvious to Serena, even though she ignored it.

"You'll see," she winked as she grabbed the last of the clothing either she or Darien would need. "Now, let's go to your room and set up the grand plan."

"I don't like this already," he mumbled as he led Serena out of the room and back to his. She smiled as she followed him. She might not be the most perceptive woman in the world, but she could tell that she was worming her way into his life. She didn't know that was what she wanted when she walked into the manor the night before, but now that she was here it was all she could see herself wanting for quite some time.


"This is stupid," Darien mumbled as he rolled over onto his side, his arm hanging off his king-sized bed needlessly. It was nice to lie in his unmade bed, considering he had spent the night sitting up right on a couch, and it was even nicer to be wearing fresh, clean pajamas instead of the pants and turtleneck he had been wearing for over 24 hours, but this was ridiculous. He couldn't believe he had been roped into this.

And what was this? He wasn't even sure. All he knew was that, because he had opened his big fat mouth about snow days, Serena had decided to put on a show, one that included his participation. She had told him to get into bed and wait there until she came to get him. She said that he should go to sleep if he was tired or got impatient, it would only enhance the greatness of the moment.

It was just as he was dozing off that he head his door creak open. He didn't even bother to force his eyes open as he listened to Serena's small, bare, feet tiptoe across the carpet, over to his bed. He could guess what was going to happen next.

"Rise and shine, Darien, there's snow everywhere! There's no way we'll have school today, so wake up!" he heard Serena exclaim as she clambered up onto the bed and bounced up and down, shaking him as well as the entire mattress. "Come on, come on wake up Darien! No worries today, only playtime." The joy and excitement was over-present in her voice, yet the sentiment was sincere. She sounded more than pleased to spend a day with him, even if the snow day was just an act.

"Go away," Darien insisted as he pulled the covers tighter over her shoulder. If they were going to act like children, then they were going to act like children.

"Darien!" Serena whined as she shuffled her away over to his side of the bed on her knees. Her intention was probably to tickle him or shake him until he had no choice but to get up, but instead she lost her balance in a bout of clumsiness and fell on top of him.

"Oof!" she grunted as he stomach made contact with his side, her long blond hair falling over her shoulder so that it draped over his outstretched arm like a sun-kissed curtain.

"See what snow days will do to you?" he asked softly as he turned onto his back, Serena's weight seemingly insignificant.

"It's still fun," she shot back as she raised an eyebrow at him, the smile still on her face. "Come on Darien, get up! The snow waits for no one!"

"Okay, okay, but you know there's still a blizzard out there," he warned.

"Nuh-uh!" Serena retorted as she jumped up and shimmied off the bed with very little grace before skipping over to the window and throwing open the curtains.

"Wow," Darien gasped as he made his way to the window to get a better glimpse of his backyard. An involuntary shudder from the cold ran through him as he pressed his hand to the glass panes, but he didn't notice it. All he could look at was the untouched layer of snow on the ground and the light flakes that fell from the sky.

"See, no more blizzard," Serena crowed joyfully as she turned away from the window. "Get dressed, Dare, we're going out."

"If you says so," Darien replied as he turned around just in time to see her duck into his closet, probably to slip on the rest of her layers while he got dressed. He didn't know how, but she had done it. She had made him see possibilities snow had to offer.


Serena and Darien spent the next four hours outside in the snow with vary members of the Shields household. While Diana, Luna and Artemis were outside the five made snow angels and built little snowmen, much to the delight of Diana. Once they had gone inside and Andrew, Mina, Lita and Raye had taken their place, an all out snowball war ensued, boys against girls with the girls as the obvious victors. And then finally, when the other four had to go inside to see to their work, it was just Serena and Darien, left alone again, a situation that seemed to suit them both quite nicely.

"I like this snow man better than the others," Serena said critically as she adjusted the hat on the snowman. The previous snow sculptures had been destroyed, a casualty of war.

"He's taller than the rest, I'd say," Darien added, nodding in agreement.

"And he's fat, like a snowman should be," Serena continued. "Really, it's just so much better this time around."

"Would you like to make some more snow angels?" he asked as he turned from their creation, satisfied with their work.

"Uh, duh," Serena replied. Without another word, the blond dropped back into the snow and worked her arms and legs up and down, a smile on her face as she enjoyed the winter wonderland around her.

"You were right," Darien said as he sat down cross-legged beside her.

"About what, pray tell?" she asked curiously as she shifted her gaze from the clouds to her companion.

"This was fun," he admitted.

"Oh, I knew that, silly, you didn't need to tell me." Her voice was teasing and his face made it apparent that he didn't mind.

"Can I show you something?" Darien asked as Serena stopped moving around so much, her angel clearly defined in the white fluffy snow beneath her.

"Sure," she shrugged. With that, Darien got to his feet and pulled Serena up after him so she wouldn't destroy her creation.

"This is my greenhouse," Darien said as he led her to a hidden section of the backyard.

"Oh wow, it's amazing," Serena said, her voice full of awe as she took in the large building made of glass. "What do you grow in there?"

"I breed roses all year round," he explained as he walked over to the greenhouse, Serena trailing behind him curiously.

"Oh my God, it's amazing in here," she mumbled as she unzipped her jacket due to the heat of the room and took a good look around. The flowers seemed to come in every color imaginable, all in different states of bloom and size. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Thank you," Darien replied modestly. "Do you like roses?"

"I love them. The red ones are my favorite," she said as she turned to him, her eyes still full of excitement as her senses registered everything in front of her.

"I thought you liked pink best?" he asked as they moved down the rows together. As he examined the flowers to make sure they were healthy, she was gently touching their full petals, not seeing a single flaw in any of them.

"Yes, I do, but I like red roses better. To me, when you give someone a rose, it's a declaration of love and red is the color of love. I don't know, that probably sounded really silly, but it makes sense to me," Serena shrugged.

"Well, unfortunately my red roses haven't been faring very well at all this season. I'm not sure what went wrong exactly," Darien frowned as they walked towards the patch in question. It was there that they were faced with the smallest roses in the greenhouse. Many were clearly far behind in their growth and, unlike the many other flowers there, they were few and far between.

"They're still gorgeous," Serena replied, honesty seeping from her voice. "If I were in charge, I probably would have overwatered all of them on day one."

"I guess," Darien shrugged. "I just wish they were up to par. When they're in full bloom they really are the gem of the house in the winter."

"Maybe you just need to give them time. Sometimes it takes a little longer for a flower to come to it's own." From the instant the words left her mouth, it was clear to both of them that she wasn't just talking about the plants.

"I think I can be patient," he said as he stared down the flowers with tears welling up in his eyes that Serena could see but wouldn't comment on.

"I know I will be," she replied as she slipped her hand into his as squeezed it as tightly as she could as a show of support.


"Sapphire!" Diamond's shriek carried through the apartment, all the way to his brother's room. "Sapphire! How could you let me sleep? You were supposed to wake me up!"

"Oops," Sapphire mumbled as he rolled over in his bed and pulled his pillow over his head. He could hear Diamond bumbling around, pulling on clothing and knocking things over as he tried to get himself together. He did have to go rescue his damsel in distress, after all.

"I can't believe you didn't wake me," Diamond growled angrily as he poked his head into Sapphire's room before making his way back down the hallway to finish getting ready.

"I can't believe you're so stupid," Sapphire yawned, his voice quiet so that his already incensed brother wouldn't hear him. It was only when the front door slammed, signifying Diamond's exit that the dark haired man rolled over and climbed out of bed. He probably had enough time to shower, get dressed, grab something to eat and go out for a nice walk before the light haired man returned, his anger intensified further due to yet another rejection.

"I love my free afternoons."


A/N: Me too Sapphire, me too.

I'm so sorry it took so long to get this up. Fanfiction's been on the fritz for the last couple of days. Trust me, I was pouting too. But I was so happy when I noticed it went back up an hour ago that I stayed up extra late just to post this! Please reward my diligence with reviews!

I'll post again soon, hopefully. I have two ideas for the next chapter and I'll decide tomorrow during class which one I prefer. Thanks for reading!

Love and Luck,

Gaby