Surprise chapter! I'm sorry for my impromptu hiatus. I had a crazy end to last year and beginning of this year, and had to go through some pretty trying and somewhat tragic personal experiences. But as with all experiences comes growth and strength. Anyway, I've been meaning to update for a while, but felt my creative mojo was AWOL. I've kind of forced this chapter, and it's not what I wanted it to be. Quite jumpy, but I felt it was time to update and wanted to show you all that I'm still alive (haha) Thank you all for your ongoing support and understanding.

Thanks to: anon, Jane Hood, Sailor Rallison, anon, K. Le-i-gh.B, life705, rainediamond, Twiggirl006, Kelly, Goddess of the Moonlit Sky, deedee, moon86, Moon Princess Selene, SailorMoon489, Usako, ScarletL, scooby-blues, MinnieMoosi, stephumz, devilsangels11287 and Jenbunny for reviewing the previous chapter

Title: Summer Rain
Author: Crystal Saturn
Rated: T
Chapter: 14- It's the Little Things

"The truly important things in life - love, beauty, andone's own uniqueness- are constantly being overlooked."
[-Pablo Casals]

It was the fifth consecutive day of a late Summer heatwave that caused Darien to skip his afternoon class to purchase an air conditioner. He couldn't stand it anymore. The scorching temperatures during the day made way for sticky, hot, humid nights which were so unbearably uncomfortable that Darien found himself sleeping in his shorts, on a deck chair on the balcony. He soon found that it was hardly any better with moths often roosting on or near him, and his mouth tasting almost like an ash tray in the morning. The stifling stagnant air of the previous night was doing nothing to relieve him of his misery. Worst of all, Darien was losing sleep. This meant lack of concentration during classes and an overall grumpy Darien. Grumpy Darien meant a lower tolerance threshold for Serena's immaturity, and thus, more petty arguments. This made Darien sad.

"I'll take that one." Darien pointed to the nearest split cycle air conditioner and handed the retail assistant his credit card.

Rushing home, Darien almost drove over a group of senior citizens, two parking inspectors and a sidewalk cafe. He lagged the huge box that contained his new best friend into the elevator, down the level corridor and into the apartment where he sneakily dragged it into his room. Unpacking the air conditioner in a flurry of bubble wrap and Styrofoam, he managed to install it in twenty minutes, before kicking aside the huge cardboard box and falling back onto his bed in a sweaty mass of relief as cool air rushed across his back.

"Darien, are you home?" Serena called out as she knocked on his bedroom door.

"Go away." Darien groaned loudly.

"Darien-idiot. I'm sorry about calling you a monkey faced moth muncher." Serena apologised through the door. "I was wondering if you wanted to come down to the pool with me, since it's soooooo hot today."

"No." He called out once again, rolling over in bed in order to cool down his front half. "I don't want to."

"Darien Chiba!" Serena swung the bedroom door open in protest only to be met with a rush of cool air.

"Hey hey hey! Go away, it's mine!" Darien leapt to his feet and pushed Serena back into the hallway.

"Wait, you have an air conditioner? When did you get an air conditioner?" Serena questioned before receiving a face full of door in response. "Darien, let me in! It's hot out here!" She whined, wriggling at the door handle trying to yank the door open.

"No! Get your own-"... 'Wait... bikini.' Darien's mind took half a second to register what Serena had been wearing and he opened the door again, pulling the astounded blonde teen into the room. "Hurry up, you'll let all the cold air out."

"Oh, it's so nice in here!" Serena let out a small giggle of delight before diving under the covers of Darien's bed.

"Hey, what are you doing, Dumpling?" Darien watched as Serena wriggled about under his sheets, making loud 'morning stretch' sounds of contentment.

"I'm getting comfy." Serena pulled the covers up to her chin, making sure that her shoulders were covered before kicking her feet out from underneath the covers, letting them stick out, exposing them to the cool air.

"It's summer, why do you have a blanket on?"

"I get cold easily." Serena replied simply before turning over in bed and yawning. "Goodnight, Dar."

"Good night? But it's mid afternoon." Darien glanced up at the air conditioner, then back down at the blonde in his bed. "Wait! What about going for a swim? You're wearing your swimsuit."

"This is much better." Serena closed her eyes and smiled with contentment. Realising that he had somehow managed to trade in an afternoon of splashing about with a bikini-clad Serena, with an afternoon of watching Serena's hair buns and feet poking out from underneath his covers while she slept, Darien soon turned his attention back to his new air conditioner and stood for a good five or so minutes, simply glaring at it.

The gentle sound of purring indicated that Serena had already fallen asleep. Darien frowned slightly in disappointment before reaching for one of his pillows. He placed it on the floor beside his bed and lay down for a nap under the treacherous air conditioner.

Darien raked his fingers through his hair in frustration as he wriggled to shed his shirt, hurling it in no particular direction, half way across the living room. A week had passed since he had bought his air conditioner, and this was now going to be the third consecutive night that he would have to spend sleeping on the couch. He had been kicked out of his bed again by Serena, who, this time, had not only snuck in to use his air conditioner without asking while he was at University, but had also helped herself to his movie collection and flat screen TV. But that's not all! She then had the nerve to fall asleep, looking like the epitome of peacefulness, wrapped up in his sheets and snuggled ever so cosily under his blanket, in his bed.

"What are you doing?" Andrew noted Darien's agitated demeanour as he walked through the apartment door.

"Sleeping on the couch... again." Darien huffed as he threw about a number of small cushions. "That sponge stole my bed again."

"So? Move her back to her bed." Andrew kicked off his shoes before strolling ever so casually into the kitchen to pour himself a drink.

"Great idea! Why didn't I think of that before?" Darien leapt to his feet with a newfound sense of determination. He stormed into his room and scooped up the snuggle bunny in his arms, lifting her from her cosy cocoon of comfort before moving her hastily onto her own bed. He received minimal protest, until he tried to tuck the blanket over her feet.

"Stop it." Serena groaned in her sleep, kicking away at the blanket. Darien watched with curious amusement as he attempted once more to pull the covers over her toes. "You're suffocating me!" She kicked away at the blanket once again in an attempt to expose her feet.

"I wouldn't cover her feet if I were you." Andrew hollered from down the hallway. "She gets hot feet on humid nights and it makes her seriously grumpy."

Darien raised an eyebrow curiously as he placed a hand against the sole of Serena's right foot. True to word, they felt quite warmer than normal body temperature. Smirking quietly to himself at her strange quirkiness, Darien backed out of Serena's room and closed the door behind him. Changing into his sleeping shorts, he practically dove for his bed, relishing to coolness of his room and the comforting feeling of his soft Egyptian cotton sheets, before drifting into a peaceful slumber.

. . .

'Oww...' Darien cringed as a hard pointy object smacked him across the back of his head as he slept. 'What the hell?' Opening his eyes slowly, he looked about the room. It was still dark and the air conditioner was still running quietly in the background. It wasn't until he flipped over onto his back that he realised there was an unusually foreign lump on his bed. His blanket was back, and with it, Serena.

"What are you doing in here?" Darien groggily poked the blankety mass beside him, earning an annoyed grunt for his efforts. "Go back to your room."

"It's hot." Serena's muffled whines came from beneath the covers.

"Well then take the blanket off."

"My arms get cold easily." She protested.

"Then how is it hot?" Darien turned to his side to face the strange contradiction of a person beside him. Serena slipped her feet over towards Darien, placing each one against his legs.

"Ooh, so cool..." Serena inched closer towards her personal cooling system.

"What the heck?" Darien glanced down at the delicate porcelain feet pressed gently up against his legs. "Have you been baking with them?"

"It's not funny." Serena pouted. "They get really hot."

"No kidding." Darien continued to stare down at her feet. He could have sworn that if he looked long enough, he would see heat waves radiating from them. "But you know, if Andrew comes in and finds us sleeping in the same bed, he's going to kill us."

"But my feet are hot." Serena's slow, dreamlike tone indicated that she was merely moments away from falling back to sleep. It became pretty evident that there was no way Darien could keep Serena away from his room. At least, not tonight.

"DAAAAARIIIEN! You jerk!" Serena's wailing screeches echoed down the hall from the bathroom. Darien smirked quietly to himself as he snuggled into bed and curled into a ball, somewhat bracing himself for the inevitable confrontation. "I'm going to kill you!" Serena wailed, a mixture of teariness and animosity carrying in her tone, and sure enough, her loud footsteps began pounding down the hallway. She stormed all the way back into Darien's bedroom, and pounced onto his sleeping form.

"Oww, you really need to cut back on those donuts you eat, dumpling."

"You're not funny!" Serena narrowed her eyes as she perched herself precariously on Darien's soon-to-be corpse, leaving barely an inch between their faces. "Do you think this is funny? Is this your idea of a practical joke?" Serena pointed at the thick, black, inky moustache ever so artistically drawn onto her face. She watched, fuming, as Darien struggled to suppress his laughter and keep a straight face.

"Yes." He answered simply before allowing himself the pleasure of a broad grin.

"It's not funny Darien. It won't come off! There's no way I can go to school like this!" Serena waited for Darien to offer a solution to her problem. His eyes began to tear up as he struggled to suppress his overwhelming need to laugh.

"It's-a me, Mario!" He grinned happily before proceeding to sing the Mario Bros. game tune.

"That's really mature." Serena rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her tone. She reached for a pillow and began to repeatedly smack Darien across the head with it. "You're an ass. I hate you so much right now." Flinging the pillow forcefully at his face one last time, Serena stormed out of the room and made for the bathroom in another attempt to remove the permanent marker moustache from her face.

Needless to say, from that day forth, Darien had his bed all to himself again.

It wasn't until the third week of autumn had passed that the wind began to change. The cooler air combined with the hot, sweaty days gave rise to turbulent pressure systems and some violent, ground shaking thunder storms.

"You know, for someone who's so afraid of thunder, you really are taking your sweet-ass time getting home." Darien found himself stopping and turning around for the umpteenth time, this time, to the sight of Serena clinging to a poor strangled Ficus plant decorating the exterior of a cafe.

"I don't want to go out there!" Serena wailed over the sound of the rain. "You can't make me!"

"Are you seriousl-" Darien began in a frustrated, condescending tone as he approached the trembling girl, latched onto the flimsy trunk of the green plant. "Are you crying?"

"Just go home without me." Serena turned her face away, still grasping at the plant. "You don't understand what it's like. You're not scared of anything. Just go away. I don't need you standing there under your pretentious umbrella, making fun of me."

"How is my umbrella pretentious? Do you even know what that word means?" Darien couldn't help but smile a little at her insecurity. A blinding flash of light barely preceded the loud thunderous crackle of a nearby strike which even made Darien flinch. Serena's pale knuckles continued to strangle the plant outside the cafe. This time she didn't scream. She didn't wail. The only thing that indicated any distress at was the consistent rustling of the leaves on the Ficus beside her, and a gentle mewing noise which seemingly came from Serena as she furiously rubbed her tears away. "Give me your hand." Darien reached his free hand towards Serena. She turned her head for a brief moment, almost as though she was waiting for the punch line. Serena's eyes glanced up at the heavens, and as if by fate, she was rewarded with another blinding vein of lightning, blazing across the sky. She squealed, bracing herself for the Earth to shake beneath her. Darien extended his hand further and surprised Serena as he yanked her rather forcefully away from the shrub and towards his body. He winced as the sound of the thunder seemed to travel straight through the petite girl, causing her to dig her nails into Darien's arm. She shuddered against his chest while he attempted to protect her from the storm.

"Let's go home." He whispered quietly and began to guide her back to the apartment. Serena remained absolutely silent, her claws latched onto the flesh of Darien's left arm. "I'm afraid of needles." Darien confessed after a while, in a futile attempt to distract Serena from the sounds of the storm. "Absolutely terrified. I hate them."

"R-really?" Serena gazed up at the Darien in disbelief. "But you're going to be a doctor."

"I know." Darien smirked, fully aware at of the irony. "Silly, isn't it?"

"Well..." Serena began after a moment of thought. "No. I don't think it is." The faint rumble of thunder in the distance did nothing to dissuade Serena from her argument. "You're willing to work through your fear in order to fulfil your dream of saving lives. That's... really cool."

"Well, to be honest, it's not like I'm the one that's going to be immunised every day, so I guess it's not really much of a big deal in the grand scheme of things." Darien shrugged. "But, do you know what's even worse than a needle?"

"What's that?" Serena questioned almost immediately.

"The feeling of ten fingernails, relentlessly digging into my left arm."

"I'm so sorry!" Serena immediately released her hold of Darien, and sure enough, he had a number of crescent shaped indents along his forearm, and several superficial scratches.

"It's ok." He chuckled in return, silently thanking the heavens that feeling was starting to return to his arm. "You're nervous and-" Another explosion of light illuminated the dark grey sky and in an instant, Darien's fingers were interlaced with Serena's. She had desperately reached over for support and protection. An overwhelming wave of nostalgia briefly swept over Darien, causing him to stop breathing for a few seconds as he felt the warmth of another hand within his. Serena was silently thankful that Darien hadn't reacted to her impulsive actions, and that he kept his gaze steadily on the path ahead of them. Although, her heart did beat wildly within her chest as she felt his fingers curl ever so slightly, accommodating hers in a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"We're home." Darien reluctantly released Serena's hand and reached into his pocket to search for his swipe entry card.

"Thank you... for walking me home today." Serena humbly expressed her gratitude, but shyly avoided eye contact. Her fingers still tingled from the warmth of his hand.

"Any time." Darien swiped the card across the lobby door, gaining entry. "Does that mean we're even on the moustache thing?"

"What?" The defiant spirit rose within Serena as she remembered Darien's horrible prank. "Not a chance, buddy!"

"Oh, well... in that case, you'll be needing this." Darien handed Serena his umbrella and gently walked her a few steps backwards into the rain before striding into the building and shutting the front entrance behind him.

"Wait! Darien!" Serena ran back and unsuccessfully tried to open the door. She silently cursed as he watched with amusement from the other side of the glass door. "Darien, you jerk! I don't have my key card! Darien, let me in!" He slowly crossed his arms and shot her his classic cocky grin.

"Not a chance, dumpling."

. . .

So, this was a bit of a waffly chapter, and unfortunately, I honestly don't know when I'll be able to post the next chapter. I'll aim for 2-3 weeks time. Fingers crossed! I still need to work on Akai Ito too! Ugh! Creativity, come back! Once again, thanks so much for your patience, dear loyal readers.

Crystal Saturn