When Bad Boys Go Good

by PrincessSerenity1976

***Finally Finished***A sort of prequel to my story, The Lunar Princess of the Earth. Post-Stars. It is three months after Chaos's defeat and life is back to normal for everyone, until Darien gets another chance to study in America. So he calls in some old friends to help protect Serena. Sere/Dare and Scouts/Generals

21. The First Goodbye

A/N I know, it's a miracle! I'm actually updating this. Really, I've been spending quite a bit of time on this story in particular because I want to get it finished before GT is done. That way when the final chapter of GT goes up the entire Lunar Princess trilogy will be complete…at least until I start the one shots. But those will all take place in the future, so I want everything dealing with the present to be wrapped up neatly. Okay, fairly long update here, so let me get those hugs out of the way so you can move on. BIG HUGS TO:

saveme57

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A million, billion, trillion thank yous as always. You guys are the best! And now on with the story. I do apologize in advance for any glaring editing errors. My allergies have been kicking my butt and the meds I have to take make me a little fuzzy headed. But I tried my best. :P

ENJOY!

---

When Bad Boys Go Good

Chapter 20

The First Goodbye

---

Serena looked up over the edge of the funny paper that she had stolen from Darien's morning newspaper to frown at her dark haired boyfriend. "Hey, Dare! Do you think Drew is happy being with Rita?"

Darien sighed as he lowered the paper he was reading to look at her. "Are you still worrying about last night?"

She nodded as she laid the funny paper over to the side and then scooted around on the couch to lay her head on his shoulder. "I'm really worried about him. You saw how he was last night. He was all smiles and laughs until he got that phone call from Rita. After that he got quiet. And then he left after the first movie was over instead of staying for the second one. I just got a weird vibe."

"Serena!" Darien groaned. "Don't be a Mina and start meddling in other people's relationships. So Drew and Rita are suffering from a little stress right now. I'm sure it will blow over once she gets back here. They've been together for a long time. They'll work it out…Did you say something, Rini?"

The pink haired teen currently sprawled out on the living room carpet looked up with an expression that was as bland as plain toast. "Who…me? Nope! I didn't say a word!" Then she turned her attention back to the television and the anime that she was watching.

Serena's eyes cut to the screen. "Inuyasha? Since when did you start watching that? You used to gripe at me when I watched it and said that it was a stupid show."

Maroon eyes rolled at her. "Well maybe my tastes have changed over the years! One of my friends happens to be a huge fan of Inuyasha, and she's taught me how to appreciate the storyline. So consider it a compliment, Meatball Head. You actually have good taste in something for a change."

"Why you little…" Serena began to growl.

"So what do you lovely ladies want to do today?" Darien inserted smoothly, cutting off the Serena-Rini war of words before it could get started. He gave himself a mental pat on the back when both girls fell silent and thoughtful.

"Hmm…" Serena mused after a moment. "That's a hard one to call. I would say let's go see a movie, but there's nothing good playing right now. And I really don't feel like going bowling."

Rini's nose wrinkled up. "Unh uh! Me neither. Can we go swimming at Mina's?"

Serena shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. If that's really what you want to do. I figured you would've gotten sick of swimming by now though. You've barely even been here a week, and we've gone swimming several times."

"No way!" Rini replied with a shake of her head. "I love to swim. Besides, it's too hot out to do much of anything else. And all of the indoor activities sound boring."

"We could go to a museum," Darien supplied in a helpful tone.

"I rest my case," Rini sighed as both she and Serena turned to look at Darien like he had just started spouting gibberish.

"What?" he asked, looking completely clueless.

Serena shook her head and gave him a patronizing look. "Sweetie, think carefully about what you just said. Would you really want to take Rini and I into a museum."

He reached over and pulled lightly on one of her golden pigtails. "I was just teasing. Believe me, I know better than do something insane like that. You two would be bored to tears inside of three minutes, and then you would probably get us kicked out because neither one of you seem to understand the meaning of indoor voices."

"Rini, darling," Serena began in a sugary sweet voice. "I do believe someone thinks he's being funny at our expense. What do you think we should do about that?"

Rini tossed one of her pink hair streamers over her shoulder with a haughty sniff. "Find a good place to hide his body once we've hacked him into little pieces?"

"Hmm…" Serena hummed, tapping her chin. "That's a little too bloodthirsty for my taste. Not to mention that it would be hazardous to your existence if we take him out of the game this early. Perhaps something a bit less brutal."

Darien felt apprehension skitter down his spine as future mother and daughter shared a silent look between them that seemed to speak volumes. He gulped. "Hey! Don't I get a say in this?"

"No!" both of his Meatball Heads snapped back at him. Then, just as he was about to bolt from his seat, they both screeched, "Let's torture him!" and took flying leaps at him, tackling him onto his back on the sofa as they began ruthlessly tickling him.

He responded in kind, getting in a few good tickles himself when the opportunity presented itself. In just a few minutes all three of them were short of breath as they gasped with laughter and sprawled out across the plush living room carpet.

"I guess I better call Mina and make sure it's okay if we use the pool," Serena said when her breathing had somewhat returned to normal. "I wouldn't want to interrupt anything if she and Kunzite have plans to use it themselves today."

"Hmph! That's never stopped you before," Darien snickered as he sat up and shot her a teasing grin.

"Thhbbb!" Serena blew a raspberry at him as she nimbly rolled to her feet and skipped off toward his bedroom where her cell phone was.

She scooped the tiny silver phone up and began paging through her contact list, murmuring to herself, "Amara, Amy, Dad, Darien, Hotaru…Geez! I never realized that I had so many numbers in my phone…Jadeite, Kunzite, Lita, Melvin…Wow! What am I doing with his number?…Michelle…Ah! Mina!" She pressed the call button.

The phone rang twice before a dejected sounding voice answered. "Hello."

"Mina?" she asked quickly. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, Serena!" Mina gushed. "I am so glad to hear your voice. I was going to call you, but I figured that you were probably busy with Darien and Rini. I am soooo bored! Kunzite had to go meet a potential client for lunch, so I'm all alone. Everybody has been so busy lately with their own lives that I didn't want to push myself on them, but now I feel depressed and lonely. Maybe I should ask my dad if he would pay for me to hire a full time pool guy. At least then I would have somebody to talk to while I just sit here and waste away. And I'd have to make sure he was cute so I could enjoy looking at him."

Serena choked on a laugh. "You're horrible!"

But Mina wasn't fazed. "Hey! What can I say? A girl like me is used to having at least a little bit of company and attention. Even Artemis has bailed on me. He was very vague about where he was going, saying that he had some stuff to take care of, but I know what that really means. He and Luna must have had plans. I wish the two of them would quit sneaking around behind our backs. It's not like we don't already know that they are going to hook up eventually. We have met Diana after all. But they are both so stubborn sometimes that it makes me want to pinch their furry little heads off! Who do they think they're fooling? I am a descendant of Aphrodite. I know when something is brewing, and there is definitely something going on between those two. They can try to hide it from me all they want to, but I can tell."

Serena giggled as her extremely vocal friend finally ran out of air. "Well, I may not be a hunky pool guy, but how would you like to have some company? Darien, Rini, and I are going stir crazy sitting around here, and it's so hot out that we thought a swim sounded good. So what do you say?"

"Oh god yes!" Mina exclaimed. "I would be willing to go up against every enemy that we've ever faced, by myself, just to have some human companionship right about now. Get your butts in gear and get over here."

"We'll be there as soon as we can," Serena promised.

"Well don't take all day," Mina complained. "I know how long it can take you to get ready to go somewhere sometimes."

"I'm sticking my tongue out at you, Mina," Serena declared as she poked her pink tongue out at the phone. Then she laughed. "We'll be there soon, okay?"

"You better be," Mina growled. "Now get moving!"

Serena was still chuckling as she ended the call with her friend. "That Mina! What am I going to do with her?"

She tossed the phone onto the bed before skipping back down the hall. "Hey Darien…Rini…Mina said…"

Her words turned into a shriek as pink light exploded just as she stepped into the living room. There was a burst of smoke above her head, and she scrambled out of the way as a decent sized black ball appeared and almost brained her.

"What the…!"

Darien and Rini both jumped to their feet at her cry, but it was Rini who figured out what was going on first.

"Luna P?" she said in a confused voice. "What in the world are you doing here?"

The light on top of the cat-head shaped toy began blinking at the sound of her voice and it turned to float to her, it's computerized voice beeping, "Small Lady…Small Lady…"

"How weird," Rini murmured as it landed in her hands. "I haven't messed with this thing in forever. In fact, it's been collecting dust on a shelf in my room for probably a good two years now. Mom or someone must have reactivated it."

"Wow!" Serena breathed. "I haven't seen Luna P in so long that I almost forgot it even existed. You used to be practically joined at the hip with it, Rini."

Darien chuckled. "You sure were. You never went anywhere without it. Wherever you went, it followed."

Rini nodded. "I know. Luna P has bailed me out of more scrapes than I can count. But then one day it was strange. I got up and decided that it wasn't important to have it trailing around after me anymore."

"It's called growing up," Serena replied in a soft voice. "I used to be the same way when I was younger. I had a stuffed bunny that I used to drag everywhere with me, even to school. I refused to go anywhere without it for years. But I eventually outgrew that phase and began leaving it at home." Then she smiled sheepishly. "I still keep it on my bed though."

Rini rolled her eyes at her. "Why am I not surprised? Oh well! There has to be a reason why Luna P was sent here. Somebody must be trying to send me a message."

She pressed Luna P's nose, and sure enough a small white envelope popped out from a narrow slot beneath the painted on mouth. She took the letter, leaving her old toy to float in mid-air, and crossed over to Darien's desk, where she used a letter opener to carefully slit the envelope open.

She pulled out a couple of sheets of paper and began reading, her lips moving silently as she did. As the moments passed her eyes grew wider and wider.

Serena felt a stab of concern. "What's wrong, Rini? It's not bad news from home, is it?"

Rini looked up with large shining eyes. "No, it's not bad news at all. In fact, it's great news. Read for yourself."

Serena took the letter that was handed to her, and she and Darien pressed their heads together as they both read. She jolted a bit in shock when her own handwriting jumped off the page at her.

My Dearest Rini – I hope that you have been enjoying your little vacation into the past. I know that this isn't the way that you had originally planned to spend this week, and I'm sorry that work interfered with our plans. In any case, I sincerely hope that you have been having fun in Tokyo and that you haven't been giving Serena and Darien too hard of a time.

Serena looked up from the paper with a snort. "I don't guess you've been too bad…this time. At least you haven't been since you finally decided to stop acting like such a brat. You were hell on wheels when you first got here."

Rini's snort matched hers. "Whatever you say, Meatball Head. Now give me my letter back."

"Wait a minute. I'm not done yet," Serena protested, turning her attention back to the paper.

Now for the good news. Your daddy and I managed to get our business taken care of quicker than we expected, and the scouts have promised that they can handle any problems that may come up, so I think that we are finally ready to take that vacation that we have been planning. We won't be leaving for a couple of days though, so you can stay in the past a bit longer if you want to. Just be sure to be home on Monday if you don't want to be left behind. Your daddy and I both send you our love, and we hope to see you soon. – Love, Mom XOXO

"That is way weird to be reading a letter written by my future self," Serena muttered.

Darien laughed. "I find it amusing that, even in the future, you still write in those enormous bubble letters. You take up a whole line just to write two words. And don't get me started on the x's and o's. I think you're frozen in time at sixteen instead of twenty two."

She gave him a scathing look. "At least my handwriting is legible. It takes me forever to make out your scribbling. No wonder you want to become a doctor. You already write like one."

He gave her a grin. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"Stop the flirting already! I'm going to hurl if you two get any sweeter," Rini complained. "Can I have my letter back now?"

"Oh, sure," Serena answered as she handed the pages back to her. "So when are you going back, Rini? Did you want to leave now?"

Pink pigtails swished in a negative reply. "No way! Mom said to be home on Monday, which means we must be leaving Tuesday morning. I already have my bags packed from before, so there isn't much for me to get ready. So I think I'll stick around here for a while. It's much better than hanging around the palace and being annoyed by my…well, being annoyed by people."

"Don't you have any friends at home?" Serena asked her.

She shrugged. "Sure. I have a ton of friends. And some of us are pretty tight. But I see them all the time at home. It's rare that I get to come back here and visit, so I take advantage of it when I can. It's nice to be a normal girl instead of a princess."

Serena beamed a smile at her. "Well, normal girl, go get your swim stuff together if you still want to go. Mina's crawling the walls with boredom and told us to hurry up and get there."

---

"Don't add too much of the flour mixture all at once, or it will make it hard to mix," Lita cautioned Nephrite.

He looked up from where he was standing at the island in the center of the penthouse's kitchen and arched a mahogany brow at her. "Cookies may not be my specialty, but I think I know enough to be able to handle mixing up this dough."

She gave him a skeptical look. "That's what you say now. But from where I'm standing it looks like most of it is ending up on you."

A hot gleam entered his eyes. "If I get too messy then you can just lick it off of me. And if I get really messy I'll go take a shower and you can join me like you did this morning." He leaned across the counter toward her and said huskily, "My shower is much bigger than the one at your apartment. We would have plenty of room to have fun."

She shoved his face away, but laughed. "Have you been taking pointers from Jadeite? That sounds suspiciously like something that depraved lunatic would say."

"Depraved lunatic? You must be talking about yours truly!" Jadeite's voice trilled as he breezed into the kitchen. He swept into a low bow before grinning at Lita. "When are you going to stop wasting your time on this emo loser and find yourself a real man? I could give you some pointers if you need them."

The bowl in Nephrite's hands thunked heavily against the countertop as he set it down hard. "Emo? Let me tell you something, Smokey…"

"Whoa! No fighting in the kitchen!" Lita broke in on them. "If you two girls want to finish your bitch-fest, then take it somewhere else. I've got cookies I'm trying to bake plus a couple of cakes I want to try. So I don't need you getting in my way."

Jadeite stumbled back and raised his hands dramatically. "No! Not the glare of death! I'm sorry to have angered you, mighty Jupiter. I promise I won't do it again. Please, have mercy on me! I'll be as quiet as a church mouse from now on."

Lita burst out laughing and turned to Nephrite. "He's really not right in the head, is he?"

He rolled his slate blue eyes. "I've been saying it for years, but nobody ever listens to me. He fell out of the hayloft of the palace stable once when we were kids and hit his head pretty hard. I think it scrambled his brains."

"Ha ha!" Jadeite replied blandly as he walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a Dr. Pepper. "My brain is just fine, thank you very much. But at least I have a valid excuse to play off of whenever people accuse me of being an idiot. That's more than I can say for you. Everyone just thinks that you are naturally moronic."

Nephrite pointed his giant spoon at him. "You're cruisin' for a bruisin' pal."

"Damn!" Lita muttered as she rescued the bowl of cookie dough before it became an unwilling sacrifice in the testosterone war that was currently being waged. "I never thought that I would meet two people that love to bicker more than Serena and Raye, but I think I just might have found them. You two could probably give them a run for their money on their best day."

Jadeite waved a casual hand. "Ah, it's all in good fun. Engaging in verbal sparring is a great way to keep your mind sharp. Isn't that right, Nephie-poo?"

Nephrite growled. "Does anyone think that the authorities would really care if I killed him? After all, he's just an annoying pain in the ass."

"Hell, they'd probably give you a medal for it," Lita teased.

Jadeite clutched his chest. "Ouch! That hit me right in my tender spot!"

"I'm going to hit you in a much more tender spot if you don't knock it off," Nephrite threatened. "Let's see if your fiery Raye still wants to have anything to do with you once you've been completely emasculated."

"Ooo, I just felt a shiver. Was that fear?" Jadeite tilted his head to the side thoughtfully for a moment. "Nope! It must have just been a chill from the air conditioning."

"You two crack me up!" Lita howled.

"I always aim to please," Jadeite quipped as he hopped onto a stool at the island. His eyes widened at the sight of all of the bowls sitting on the countertop. "Whoa! Are you cooking for an army, Lita?"

She shook her head. "No. But you would think that I am with all this food, wouldn't you? It's Serena's birthday on Monday, and Rini's too. Us girls always get together and celebrate when it's one of our birthdays, and I've been making Serena a birthday cake every year since I met her."

Nephrite chuckled. "It doesn't have to be her birthday for you to make something for her to eat. I've never known anyone, man or beast, that could pack away as much food as I've seen that girl inhale since we got here. I'm surprised that she hasn't eaten you out of house and home by now."

Jadeite nodded vigorously. "She does like to eat. Maybe her large appetite is just a leftover Lunarian trait from her former life. If I remember correctly, Lunarians always had to eat a lot to keep their energy levels up. And since the gravity here on Earth is stronger than the gravity on the moon was, it makes sense that she would have to compensate for the extra strain the weight puts on her energy if she does still have some leftover Lunarian qualities."

Nephrite stared at him for a moment like he had suddenly grown another head before exclaiming, "Zoicite! When did you take possession of Jed's body?"

"Very funny!" Jadeite grumbled. "I do have a brain. And I do know how to use it. Do you honestly think that all I think about is women and partying?"

"Noo…" Lita drawled. "You also think about sex, cars, sex, video games…oh, and did I mention sex?"

His blueberry eyes twinkled as he lifted his drink to her in a salute. "You're a sharp one, Lita. Neph better stay on his toes around you." Then he winked outrageously.

Lita huffed a laugh, and then sighed as she began dropping spoonfuls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet. "I just hope that this birthday goes better for Serena than the past few have."

"What do you mean?" Nephrite inquired.

"Well," she hedged as she turned to slide the cookies into one of the preheated double oven. "I guess her fourteenth birthday was okay. That was shortly before she became Sailor Moon. But when all of us scouts were reunited again a few months later we decided to throw a belated birthday party for all of us. That was when we were in the middle of fighting Beryl and she had kidnapped Darien, so we had put the party together in an attempt to boost Serena's spirits. But Dark Prince Endymion decided to set a youma loose that night and it kinda ruined everything."

She propped a hip against the counter before continuing. "Her fifteenth birthday was even worse. She and Darien had a fight that day because she thought that he'd forgotten her birthday. In truth, the silly Meatball Head had never even told him when her birthday was. But they met up later and were in the process of making up when they were attacked. We were fighting a particularly nasty, alien-possessed scientist at the time, who also happened to be Hotaru's father. He liked to send his little minions out to collect peoples' pure heart crystals. He had this one psycho chic working for him named Kaori Knight, another redheaded bitch, and she targeted Serena. She took her brooch, so she couldn't transform, and Darien was frozen in glass and captured while protecting Serena. Uranus and Neptune were slinking around at that time, but they refused to join forces with us at that point. They were after the talismans that were supposed to be sealed inside of pure heart crystals because they were trying to keep Saturn from being awakened. They thought for sure that the planet would go ka-blooey if she showed up. But they never counted on Serena and what she was capable of. Anyway, Serena's birthday that year ended in a pretty big fight with the schizophrenic redhead.

"Last year was just…sad. We had just finished defeating Nehelenia and the Dead Moon Circus. Rini had left to go back to Crystal Tokyo. And Darien had just announced his big decision to go to Harvard. Serena tried to keep a brave face, but you could tell that she just wasn't feeling it. She only had one slice of cake and went home. It was very un-Serena-like."

Jadeite let out a low whistle. "Man! You girls and Darien have seen a lot of action, haven't you?"

Lita smirked. "That was just the tip of the iceberg. There was also Galaxia, The Dark Moon clan, Fiore and the Kissenian Blossom, Queen Badianu and her annoying little dream fairies, and Princess Snow Kaguya."

"Okay! Okay! I get the picture," the perky blonde laughed. He tipped back his can, draining the last of his soda, before glancing at the clock. "Speaking of seeing some action, I better get going. When I talked to Raye a little bit ago she told me that she was closing up the charm booth, so she should be free by now. Later!"

He strolled leisurely from the room, pitching his can into the trash as he went.

Lita shook her head in amusement before looking at Nephrite. His face had darkened into an angry, yet sad expression. "Hey! What's wrong with you?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

She brandished a spatula at him. "You can't fool me. I can tell you have something on your mind. Now spill!"

He sighed heavily. "It's just…hearing you talk about all the fights that you've been in the past few years. I wish I could have been there with you, fighting by your side."

She skirted the counter until she was standing in front of him. Then she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. "Aw, that's so sweet. And don't worry. I'm sure we'll get our opportunity to fight side by side someday. The important thing is that you're here now. And that's all that matters."

His mouth quirked up in a grin. "That's all that matters, huh?"

"Damn straight!" she told him emphatically. "Now, give me a kiss so I can get back to work."

He gave her a naughty look. "Who says we have to stop with just a kiss? We do have this entire place all to ourselves."

She slapped at his arm. "I say so because I have cookies in the oven that have to be watched. So I can't let myself get distracted with other things. They might burn if I do. Now are you going to kiss me or not?"

"Whatever my lady wants."

Then his warm lips covered hers in a long, exploratory kiss. Lita momentarily forgot about her cookies…until the oven timer went off and reminded her what she was supposed to be doing, sending her into a cursing fit.

---

"This is bliss," Amy sighed as she laid back against the smooth rock that surrounded her "secret" pond with her legs dangling down into the cool water.

She heard a husky chuckle next to her, and then a smooth tenor voice asked her, "Could I interest you in another strawberry, my love?"

She opened her eyes to find Zoicite leaning over her, dangling a bright red fruit just a few inches above her lips. She smiled up at him before saying, "I'll take it if you're offering."

A wide grin appeared on his face as he lowered the strawberry to her mouth. As she bit into it the juice from the fruit covered her lips in a glossy sheen. Unable to stop himself, he bent down and kissed her, using his tongue to lick away the residue.

She giggled as he pulled away several seconds later and gazed up at the leafy green canopy above them. "I don't think I've ever had such a lazy day. I haven't opened a single book today or turned on my computer even once."

Zoicite lounged back on his elbows and joined her at staring up into the branches overhead. It was another abominably hot summer day; especially to people like them that preferred things to be somewhat on the cold side. But the combination of the cool water and the thick leaves that blocked out most of the sunlight made it quite comfortable for both of them.

"Is it so bad to have a lazy day once in a while?" he asked her as he fought back yawn. It was so peaceful here. That, and the fact that he hadn't had much sleep the night before, made him feel like he could stretch out and take a nap right now.

She turned her head to look at him. "No. There's nothing wrong with taking a day off every now and then. I'm just not very used to it. During the school year I'm always busy with my studies. And even when I'm not in school I'm usually reading or researching something. Serena and Raye tend to bicker a lot, and Mina and Lita are usually talking about boys or shopping, so I got into the habit a long time ago of carrying a book with me. It usually helps me tune them out when they get too carried away."

He nodded in understanding. "I know what you mean. Jadeite and Zoicite are constantly getting under each other's skin, and Kunzite isn't much of a conversationalist. So I usually keep a book close by as well to help fill the void."

She flashed him an impish smile. "Well considering you don't have a book stashed away around here gives me hope that there aren't any voids that you feel like need filling right now."

His eyebrows shot up at her statement. "Of course not! You are probably the only person in existence that I feel comfortable enough with to just kick back and let the world fade away. Even the silences between us are nice. I don't feel this overwhelming need to keep myself busy with something else. It's a refreshing change of pace."

"That's nice to know," she mumbled thickly as she muffled a yawn behind her hand.

"Am I boring you that much?" he couldn't help but tease.

Her blue eyes widened. "Oh no! It's not that at all. I just feel so sleepy for some reason. It must be the heat."

His bright green eyes glimmered humorously. "Or it could be the fact that you barely got any sleep last night."

One of her shoulders lifted in a half shrug. "I guess it could be that, but I've never had it affect me like this before. I'm used to getting by on very little sleep."

"But pouring over books all night doesn't use a fraction of the energy that we did last night," he replied in a voice that was shaking with repressed laughter.

"Ooo," she fumed, sitting up to glare at him. "You're picking on me, aren't you?"

"Maybe just a little bit," he confessed.

She sniffed haughtily. "Well let me tell you something, smart guy! There have been many times that I have gone to school all day, then turned around to spend my afternoons and evenings trying to help tutor Serena and the others, only to come home and study for a while before some idiot enemy decided to show up. I would transform and run to help the others fight before going back home to study some more. And was still able to go take two exams the next morning and receive perfect marks. So if you think that doesn't take a lot of energy out of a person, you better think again, pal! I have perfected the art of multitasking."

Luckily, Zoicite was smart enough to know when to back down. "My apologies, Lady Mercury. I in no way meant to imply that your stamina was substandard."

Amy tried, and failed, to keep from smiling. "Oh, don't try kissing up to me. I know when I'm being teased."

He grinned goofily. "What if I try kissing something else?" He sat up and then leaned forward to place his lips on the long column of her neck.

"You're horrible!" she squealed as goose bumps broke out over her skin at the contact.

He gave her a possessive look. "That's not what you were saying during the pre-dawn hours this morning."

Embarrassed heat flew into her cheeks at his not so subtle reminder of the events that had occurred between them during the overnight hours.

He cupped one of her pinkened cheeks in his hand and stroked it gently with his thumb. "I'm sorry, Amy. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

She shook her head. "No. It's okay. I wouldn't change anything at all about last night. I guess I'm just not used to playful banter." Then she smirked. "But I wonder what Jadeite would think if he learned that you were just as bad as he is when it comes to innuendos."

"He'd probably be jealous because my vocabulary surpasses his," he laughed. "But the difference between Jed and I is that he shares his flamboyant personality with everyone while you are the only one that gets to see this side of me. When I'm with you, I feel like I can truly be myself instead of always being so calm and proper. You see past the outer shell that I present to everyone else and touch me deeply, right down to my very soul."

"I feel the same way," Amy said as she lifted her legs out of the water and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Don't get me wrong. I love the girls dearly, and they have helped me so much the past few years in getting me to come out of the cocoon that I have always kept myself wrapped in, Serena especially. They've taught me how to loosen up and have fun instead of always burying myself in my studies. But there is always this reservation in the back of my mind telling me to never completely let go. But when I'm with you I feel…free. Does that make sense?"

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. "It makes perfect sense. You are a strong woman, Amy. That is what makes you such a wonderful strategist both on and off the battlefield. The scouts depend on your problem solving skills and your tactical knowledge to help keep them safe. But you don't have to be that way with me. I know that beneath Sailor Mercury's fuku and tiara lies the real Amy Mizuno. And that is the woman that I love."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled even closer to him. "Thank you. I can't believe that I considered, just for a moment, not returning your soul to your body. We would have missed out on so much."

His sigh ruffled her hair. "I wouldn't have held it against you if you had decided to just leave me be. Heaven knows that it would have been nothing less than I deserved."

Amy shushed him by laying her fingers against his lips. "Now none of that! I couldn't leave you locked up in that crystal knowing that the reason why the events that occurred in the past only happened because Beryl used her magic to warp your mind. It wasn't your fault. Now if you had done what you did out of your own free will…"

His arms tightened around her. "Never! I would take my own life before I ever purposefully hurt you."

She hugged him in return. "I know you would never hurt me. You're a good man, Zoi. And that's why I'm here with you now. I trust you. Now, let's leave the past in the past and focus on the future, okay."

"Sounds good to me," he agreed. Then he chuckled as she turned her face into his chest to stifle another yawn. "Perhaps we should pack up the remains of our picnic and head back to the house. You could catch a nap before dinner."

She looked up at him with drowsy eyes. "But I don't want to go yet. It's so nice and peaceful here. I know we need to get back soon so I can feed Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum, but I want to stay just a little while longer."

It was a beautiful setting, so he didn't argue with her. He just lay back on the ground, pulling her down with him. They stayed silent, listening to the sounds of the birds in the trees, the small forest animals around them, and the leaves rustling in the breeze. And in no time it lulled them both to sleep.

---

"Why in the world did grandpa have Chad store the love charms on such a high shelf?" Raye grumbled to herself as she stood on top of a stepladder in the shrine's storeroom and stretched up, trying to reach a box on the topmost shelf. "Does he think that just because everyone else around is taller than him that we are all ten feet tall?

She cursed as her fingers brushed against the bottom of the box she was trying to reach, making sure to keep her voice low in case her grandfather was close enough to hear her. The lovable old man pretended deafness for the most part when she went off on her rants, even ignoring her language as long as it wasn't too obscene. But the whispered words spilling past her lips at the moment were ones that were sure to land her on the sharp end of her grandfather's tongue and saddled with enough chores to keep her busy until she was fifty.

It had been a great day up until now. Since Chad was away for the day she had helped grandpa set up the charm booth and had worked beside him all morning as they tended to the patrons who had visited the shrine. The business had died off as lunchtime approached, and after waiting a bit longer and taking care of the few stragglers that wandered in, they had decided to close the stand down for the day. Wanting to see Jadeite again, she had called and told him to give her about an hour and then come pick her up.

But just as she began packing away the charms a bus had stopped at the bus stop at the foot of the shrine steps and deposited at least a dozen high school girls who had been in search of love charms. No sooner had she finished with them, than a soccer team on their way to some kind of playoffs had stopped by wanting to pick up some good luck charms. After that, a soon to be bride had stopped by with her ostentatiously large wedding party to pick over some happiness charms.

Finally, everyone had left, and just as she had been trying to calculate how fast she would have to hurry through her shower to be ready before Jadeite got there, another round of giggling teenage girls had descended on them. She had been tempted to tell them all to go to hell, but the shrine depended on the money made from selling charms in order to help with the expenses. So she bit her tongue and put a smile on her face.

The booth had been completely wiped out of love charms by then, which, of course, the girls were interested in. So grandpa had sent her to get some more from the storeroom. And now here she was.

But getting to the charms was proving to be easier said than done. She eased up onto her tiptoes, cautious of the fact that she was in a precarious position on top of the stepladder, and reached up as far as she could. But she still couldn't quite grasp hold of the box.

Impatience caught up with her quickly. Jadeite could arrive at any minute, and here she was, still in her shrine robes with pieces of her dark hair sticking to her hot sweaty face. Not exactly the poised image that she had hoped to present to her boyfriend.

She made one last attempt, surging up to her toes and extending her reach as much as she could. If she couldn't reach that box she would just have to tell those silly, simpering bimbos that they would have to come back tomorrow. Chad would be back by then, and he could get the damned box for himself.

A moment too late, she sensed the danger. The stepladder gave one shake before it began toppling to one side. She fell from her perch and began tumbling toward the ground. She screwed her eyes shut and prepared for impact. But instead of smacking into the hard wooden floor, she found herself caught up in a pair of warm arms.

"Jed," she whispered, knowing who had caught her without seeing him. She had been too distracted before to sense him drawing near, but now his aura wrapped around her like an old, comfortable blanket.

Then he chuckled. "Looks like I got here just in time, doesn't it?"

Her eyes popped open to look up into his laughing blueberry colored ones. For a moment she was lost in his gaze, but then she shook her head to clear it as she slid out of his hold.

"You just got lucky, general," she told him in her usual brisk tone. But then she softened the sting just a bit by adding, "But I am glad you were here. I would have been covered in black and blue marks if you hadn't caught me before I hit the floor."

His eyes darkened in concern. "You would have been lucky to have not broken a bone. Now, what box were you trying to reach?"

She pointed up at the one labeled Love Charms. "That one. Grandpa and I were closing up when we suddenly got swamped. Teenage girls have been swarming in here like crazy and they cleaned us out of love charms. I'd hoped to be ready to go by the time you got here, but that didn't happen."

He cocked a grin at her. "That's okay. The day is young."

He looked around carefully, making sure that none of the people outside in the courtyard were peeking in. Then he lifted his hand, and with a casual flick of his fingers, had the box floating down to land in his arms.

"Nice trick! I always wished that I could do that," Raye grumbled under her breath.

Jadeite elbowed her lightly. "Don't be that way, Firefly. I admit that it's a handy little ability to have, but you have a lot more talent than I do. You're ten times better at reading and interpreting fire than I am."

She gave him a smug grin. "No. I'm a hundred times better at it than you are. But I will give you some credit. You are pretty good at summoning and controlling fire."

He preened like a peacock. "Oh, baby, I'm much better than just pretty good."

Heat seeped into her cheeks as she sensed the double innuendo behind his words, but she didn't let it rile her. She was becoming used to his slightly off kilter sense of humor. She just rolled her eyes and reached for the box.

"I've got it," he told her quickly.

Part of her seethed at being treating like a helpless little woman. Like she hadn't been lugging these boxes around for almost half her life! But a softer, feminine part buried deep inside her felt warm at his actions. She knew that he wasn't trying to act macho by insisting that he carry the box. He was just trying to be helpful. She would never admit it out loud, but she was touched.

"Come on then," she told him, leading him back outside toward the charm stand, where they found that Chad had returned and had joined her grandfather.

"What are you doing back so early?" she asked. "I thought you'd be gone most of the day, visiting with your family."

Chad grinned and waved a hand. "Nah. I stayed long enough for my mother to consider it to be a proper visit, and then I got out of there. I can only handle so much of them, especially when they all start trying to talk over each other about business and their fancy clubs. I'd much rather be here where things seem more real."

"I don't blame you there," Raye agreed as she thought back on the few times that her father had roped her into going to some function or another with him. They had been nauseating affairs where all the people in attendance seemed bent on trying to one up each other in everything, from what kind of cars they drove to where they spent their ridiculously lavish vacations. It still made her shudder to think about it.

"Hey are those the love charms?" Chad asked, gesturing to the box in Jadeite's arms. "Great! These girls are going ballistic wanting to see them."

"And about time too!" Grandpa blustered as he stomped over and practically jerked the box away from Jadeite. Then he turned a glare on his granddaughter. "You were taking so long I thought you must have hopped a ship to mainland China to go after them."

"Why you ungrateful old codger!" Raye exploded. "Is that the thanks I get for almost breaking my neck for you? Why in the hell did you have the love charms on the top shelf anyway? They are our biggest sellers!"

Grandpa passed the box to Chad, who hurried over to where a group of teenage girls were staring at him with dazed, love struck looks. A few of them had also noticed Jadeite and were eyeballing him, which didn't improve Raye's mood.

"Can I help you girls with something?" she snapped heatedly at the gawkers.

"Now don't start running away the customers with one of your temper tantrums," Grandpa admonished, shaking a finger at her. "You'd think that you were jealous or something with the way you're acting. You're the one that Jed caught when you fell, not those other girls."

Jadeite choked on a laugh as he caught the teasing twinkle in the old man's eyes. That wily old coot! Nothing ever got past him.

"I…you…but…" Raye sputtered. Then she hissed, "Were you spying on me?"

Grandpa clucked his tongue. "My dear girl, you should know by now that I have no need to spy. I saw the incident happen this morning as I gazed into the Great Fire. That is why I steered Jed in your direction the moment he came up the steps. You could have been seriously hurt if I hadn't pointed out your location immediately."

"That still doesn't explain why the love charms were so high up," she countered back.

The old priest folded his hands in front of him, appearing as innocent as a baby. Then he said simply, "If that box hadn't been up there then you wouldn't have almost fallen. Fate had chosen for you to be in Jadeite's arms at that moment, and I, for one, never mess with fate. Now be a good girl and go clean up. I'm sure you two lovebirds have plans. Chad can help me finish up."

"I think your doctor needs to change your medication!" Raye flung over her shoulder as she stomped toward her room.

"Whew!" Jadeite sighed as he watched her retreating form. "And I thought that I was the only one that she got that angry at."

"She's not really angry, just passionate," Grandpa replied wisely. "Her blood runs as hot as fire through her veins. She doesn't live for confrontation, but riling her up helps keep her sharp." Then he laughed. "It's also great fun to pick on her…if you know how far you can push her before she completely blows her stack."

Jadeite joined him in his laughter. "That's true. But I'm afraid that I'm still learning my limits with her. Most of the time she stays so mad at me that I fear that she's going to separate my head from my body."

Grandpa crossed his arms with a smug expression. "Just give it time. I have faith that the two of you will find a way to coexist someday. It may not always be smooth sailing, but I believe you have a long and happy future together ahead of you."

---

"So you're going home soon, huh?" Mina asked as she floated on a raft in her backyard pool.

"Uh huh," Rini murmured from her seat in an inner tube next to her. "Mom's letter said that she and daddy had taken care of whatever important business that caused them to put off our vacation before. I just hope that it doesn't end up being a total bust. It wouldn't be the first time that our plans had to change more than once because people won't leave them alone for even a few days."

"I know what you mean," Mina sympathized. "Since my dad works for the government he's always in high demand. I can't tell you how many school plays and birthdays he missed when I was growing up because he was called away on business."

"Yeah," Rini muttered glumly.

"Speaking of birthdays," Mina inserted quickly, trying to lighten the mood. "You've got one coming up the day after tomorrow, the big one-four. I can't believe how grown up you're becoming. You're definitely not a little girl anymore."

Rini's expression turned dark. "I wish somebody would tell my dad that. Mom's lightened up on me some, and she seems to be fairly understanding, but dad…he still treats me like a five year old sometimes."

Mina giggled. "That's just the way dads are when it comes to their daughters. You should have seen my dad when I told him that I wanted to move back here alone. His face turned so red that I thought he was going to have a heart attack. Of course, I had only just turned fifteen at the time. My mom was a bit more reasonable. I've always said that if I had been a boy that my dad wouldn't have spazzed out as much. But alas, we girls are always faced with double standards. And one of them seems to be that sons seem to be able to get away with more than daughters."

Rini didn't respond to that, but Mina heard her grumble to herself. She couldn't exactly make out the words, but she could have sworn it was something along the lines of, "Tell me about it."

The back of Mina's neck prickled with the sensation that someone was watching her. She turned her head to look and saw Serena motioning for her from the glass patio doors. Using her hands, she propelled her raft toward the side of the pool.

"I'm going to get something to drink, Rini. Do you want anything?" she asked as she climbed up to stand beside the pool.

The pink haired head shook in the negative. "Nah, I'm okay for now. But try to find out where Serena and Darien are. They went after drinks almost ten minutes ago. They better not be off somewhere making out."

Mina giggled at the younger girl's blunt assessment of what she thought the past forms of her parents might be up to. "I'll take a peek around. Be right back!"

The smooth stones that made up the patio had grown hot in the day's sun, so she flew quickly toward the house, barely giving her feet time to come into contact with the ground. A blast of cool, air conditioned air hit her as she slipped through the glass doors and stepped onto the tile floor.

Serena turned from where she had been rummaging through the refrigerator, holding a chilled bottle of sport's drink in her hand. "Wow! That was quick. I figured that it would take you a minute to get away from motor mouth out there."

Mina shrugged. "Nah! She actually hasn't been as much of a chatterbox as usual today. In fact, she been almost completely closed mouthed. I guess the paternal side of her DNA has taken over for now. Speaking of which," she craned her neck as she looked around, "where is daddy-dearest anyway?"

Serena's expression scrunched up. "He had a phone call from his advisor at Harvard, so he stepped out front to take it. They're trying to get the details of his flight and his housing arrangements ironed out now so that there are no problems later."

"Serena, are you really okay with Darien leaving?" Mina asked after a worried moment. "I know that you say that you are, but are you sure."

Serena waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, I'm cool with it, for real. I'm not saying that it will be easy, or that I won't cry a few tears from time to time, but I do think that this is a good thing. Dreams are important to people, and if a person has a chance to accomplish one of their dreams they should take it. Darien has been waiting for an opportunity like this for at least half of his life. Sure, it will be hard for us, being apart for such a long time, but sometimes sacrifice is needed in order to reach the goals we set for ourselves. It will all be worth it in the end when he comes back all highly educated and stuff. And who knows, without him around to distract me, and as long as no new enemies come along, my grades might keep getting better. I may even do well enough to get into college myself someday."

Mina blinked hard. "Wow! That's pretty heavy for you. Don't tell me that you're going to turn into a bookworm like Amy."

"No way!" Serena laughed. "But I guess I've finally grown up enough to see what everybody has been trying to tell me the last few years. The future Earth could end up a gigantic mess if Neo Queen Serenity turns out to be a total flake. So it's up to me to make sure that doesn't happen. But I can't spend all of my time studying. There are still mangas to read and sales at the mall to hit. I am a teenage girl after all."

"So true!" Mina flashed her V sign. "Us girls still have to have our retail therapy. And shopping trips just wouldn't be the same without you there to keep me company in the clothing stores when Amy bails on me to go to the bookstore and Lita runs off to the kitchen supply shop. And don't even get me started on how many hours Raye spends in that store that sells candles and incense. I'd have a headache for sure if I stayed in there for too long with all of those different smells all mixed together."

"For sure!" Serena agreed. "Never fear though! Even though I want to try to make sure I'm a good queen someday, I'll still always be up for a good mall trolling. But enough about me, that's not what I called you in here to talk about."

Now Mina's curiosity was piqued. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Weelll…" Serena drawled, sneaking a quick look out the back door to see that Rini was still floating on her inner tube in the pool. "It's like this, and please don't think I'm being selfish or presumptuous about this. But every year you girls have been great about doing something to acknowledge my birthday, and I'm assuming that this year is no different. Right?"

Mina nodded and answered cautiously, "Yes…Lita said that she had a new cake recipe that she's wanting to try that she thinks you'll be crazy about. We were going to suggest everyone getting together on Monday night so you could blow your candles out. Of course we had planned on including Rini as well, since it's her birthday too. But now that she's leaving…"

"Just hold that thought!" Serena jumped in. "I had a great idea that I wanted to run by you. I was thinking that since Rini has to return to the future on Monday, maybe we could do a little something for her tomorrow. You know, a kind of birthday/going away party."

Mina snapped her fingers. "Hey! That really is a great idea! Why didn't I think of that?"

Serena snickered evilly. "I guess that just goes to show who the smartest blonde is around here."

"Ha! You smarter? You wish!" Mina countered back. "Just because you have one good idea doesn't mean that you're suddenly a genius. I think we both know who the smartest blonde in this house is right now."

The sound of a throat clearing came from the doorway that led into the rest of the house, followed by a deep voice saying, "Ladies, I do believe that honor falls to me at the moment."

Mina spun around, her eyes widening in surprise at the unexpected voice. They narrowed to blue slits a moment later when she identified the conversation crasher. "Hmph! Don't you have a high opinion of yourself, general. Besides, I don't think your hair qualifies as being blonde."

Kunzite smirked at her. "It's platinum blonde."

"It's practically white, silvery white at that," she shot back. "I've seen little old men with almost the exact same shade of hair."

That caught his attention. "Are you saying that I look like an old man?"

She shrugged. "You can take it however you want to. At least I didn't compare you to an old lady. Lots of elderly women spend a lot of time and money to keep their hair bright like yours instead of dull."

"You are a cruel woman, Mina," Kunzite growled, but his gray eyes sparkled with humor.

She blew him a kiss. "Aw, poor baby! Did I insult your manliness? That's okay. Later on I'll give you a chance to prove to me how manly you really are."

Serena squeaked. "Excuse me! Did you forget that I was here? I know you two are close, but I don't need any mental images of what you guys do behind closed doors, thank you very much! I'm going to go and make a few phone calls and see if the other girls are on board with what we were talking about."

As Kunzite stepped aside to let her pass, she asked, "Is Darien still outside?"

"Yes. He was on the phone and pacing the front walkway, so it must be a pretty important conversation. We only exchanged waves as I came up," told her.

She nodded her head in acknowledgement before heading for the living room where she had tossed her purse, containing her cell phone, upon arrival. After taking only a few steps, she rolled her eyes as she heard Mina squeal, followed immediately after by the unmistakable muffled sounds of kissing.

"And people always said that Darien and I had a hard time keeping our hands and lips to ourselves," she muttered as she picked her purse up from an end table and pulled her phone out.

She dialed Amy first, figuring that it would be best to find out what time she and Zoicite would be returning to the city before calling the other girls to set up a time for the party. The phone rang several times before a groggy, sleep thickened voice answered, "Hello."

"Amy?" Serena asked uncertainly.

"Oh, hey, Serena," Amy mumbled. Then it sounded as if she yawned. "What's up?"

"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry," Serena apologized. But she was also completely mystified. Amy wasn't usually the type for a middle of the day nap.

"No. It's okay," Amy quickly reassured her, sounding more like herself. "I just laid down for a minute and I must have dozed off."

There was a shuffling noise, like Amy must be sitting up or something, followed almost immediately by Zoicite's voice in the background asking, "Who is it, Amy?"

Serena couldn't help but giggle. "So you were napping, huh?"

"Yes!" Amy snapped back. "Zoi and I we're having a picnic, and I guess we both fell asleep. I didn't sleep well last night."

A low whistle slid past Serena's lips. "You better be lucky that I'm the one calling you and not Mina. She'd be all over you in a heartbeat for saying that. I take it the trip is going well?"

"Oh yes! It's been a wonderful weekend," Amy told her. "It's always nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a few day. So what's going on with you? I get the feeling that you called me for more than to just ask me how my weekend was going."

Serena gave her a quick rundown, explaining how Rini had to go home soon and her idea to give the younger teenage girl a party. "So I was wondering if you and Zoicite were interested in coming, or if you would even be back by then," she finished up.

"Sure. We'll be there," Amy told her. "My dad's flight is coming in early tomorrow morning. I'll probably visit with him for a while, but we should be back home sometime in the afternoon."

The girls chatted a couple of more minutes before they hung up. Then Serena dialed Lita. They were going to need a cake for this occasion, and she was hoping that her culinarily gifted friend would be able to help her out.

The phone rang so many times that Serena was sure it was about to go to voicemail. But then Lita answered, panting slightly, "Serena, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Serena reassured her. "Is this a bad time?"

Lita snorted. "Nah. I just had a little accident in the kitchen earlier and was in the shower. I jumped out quickly when I heard my phone ringing."

"Oh! I won't keep you long then," Serena promised her. Then she gave Lita the same spiel she had given Amy. She finished with, "So do you think you might be able to do something about the cake?"

"You're in luck!" Lita told her triumphantly. "I've been baking most of the day, making goodies for your birthday party. And since I knew it was Rini's too, I went ahead and made her a cake too. So it's all taken care of."

"Leave it to you to be one step ahead in the food department," Serena laughed. But then she heard something that caused a hot blush to rush into her face.

"Hey, Lita! Aren't you coming back in the shower? The water is going to get cold if you don't. And I don't think I got all the chocolate off of you yet."

Serena slapped a hand over her mouth. That was Nephrite's voice! When Lita had told her that she had been taking a shower, she'd naturally assumed that she was taking it alone. Boy, had she been wrong!"

She heard Lita hiss something unintelligible. She probably had her hand over the phone so Serena couldn't hear her. Then she spoke into the phone. "Hey, Serena, I'll call you later. I'm dripping water all over the place."

"Um…yeah…sure. I…I'll catch you later," Serena stammered and quickly hit the end call button.

"Problem?" Darien's voice asked from right behind her.

She spun around, clutching her phone to her chest. "Um…no! I was just calling the other girls. I thought that since Rini's birthday is on Monday too that we could give her a little party tomorrow night before she leaves."

Darien raised a brow at her. "Are you sure that's all? You're awfully jumpy, and your face is a red as an apple. You did put sunscreen on your face, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did," she muttered petulantly.

He reached out to stroke her warm cheek lightly. "So what has you so flustered then?"

She pulled back slightly. "It's nothing. I was talking to Lita and heard something, or someone I guess I should say, that I wish I hadn't."

Comprehension fell across his features. "Oh!"

"Never mind that," she said, changing the subject. "How did your phone call go?"

"Incredibly smooth," he told her. "Everything is all lined out. My flight is in six weeks and I'll get there a few days before classes start so that I'll have time to settle in and get used to things. I'm going to be staying in one of the dorm buildings on campus, but the good news is that I'll have a room all to myself."

"That is good news," Serena agreed. "I know that you were worried about possibly having to share since you keep such crazy hours." Then she fixed a bright smile on her face. "So six weeks, huh? We're going to have to make the most of every moment between now and then."

He pulled her forward suddenly, into a tight hug. "Serena, are you sure you want me to do this? It's not too late to change my mind. I could…"

She rose up onto her tiptoes and silenced him with a kiss that lasted several seconds. Afterward, she told him, "I thought we already had all of this worked out. No more second-guessing, remember. You are getting on that plane and going to school to become a great doctor. You'll probably get so super smart that you won't want anything to do with dum-dum me when you get back."

"That will never happen," he whispered to her as he dipped his head down to give her a sweet, gentle, yet very thorough kiss.

Her head was swimming dizzily when they finally parted, but she pushed him away playfully with a laugh. "Go keep Rini company for a little bit. I'm sure Kunzite still has Mina, um…distracted, so she would probably appreciate someone to swim with. I'll be out soon. I just need to call Raye and the outers real quick. I'm sure Hotaru would like to come to Rini's party."

Darien chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this is your subtle way of telling me to get lost."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Well let me make it a little less subtle so that you can understand. Get lost for a minute! I've got girl stuff to take care of."

"All right, all right! I'm going," he grumbled good-naturedly as he strode casually from the room.

Serena looked after him fondly for a moment before shaking her head and giggling to herself. Then she dialed Raye to get her input on the party. At least with the dark haired priestess she wouldn't have to worry about hearing anything unexpected or shocking.

---

Raye moved her cell phone to hold it between her shoulder and her ear as she dug in her small backpack purse for her sunglasses, "Yeah, sure, I'll come to Rini's party. I kinda hate to see the squirt leave so soon. I feel like I haven't spent nearly enough time with her with everything that's been going on around here lately."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Serena replied morosely from the other end of the line. "This has been a way super-short trip for her. I'm used to her staying for a few months at a time, not just a week. But she's got a vacation trip planned with her mom and dad, so I can't really blame her for wanting to go back home. She has been a bit of a pain a few times, but I am going to miss her."

Raye snickered. "Aw, Meatball Head! Is that actually maternal feeling that I hear in your voice?"

"Can it, Pyro!" Serena growled. "I'm trying to be serious here. It's not just Rini that I feel like I haven't spent much time with. I feel that way about all of you girls. Other than a few outings we've all been busy doing our own things. I'm excited about an opportunity for all of us to get together and spend a little time with each other."

"You do have a point," Raye had to admit. Then inspiration struck. "Hey! Why don't we make a total big deal out of this and make a whole afternoon and evening of it? I know the heat bothers just about everyone except for Jed and I, but according to the weather report there is a cool front that's supposed to be moving through tonight and tomorrow is supposed to be quite nice. We could all get together at the park and have a big picnic or something. What do you think?"

Serena's squeal came through the phone, making Raye jerk it several inches away from her ear to protect her eardrum. "That is a fabulous idea, Raye! Lita is supposed to be calling me back in a little bit. I'll talk it over with her and see what we can come up with."

"Okay. I'll call you back later on tonight to get and update. Now if you don't mind, I'm kinda on a date!" Raye replied firmly.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Serena apologized profusely. "I'll let you go now. Tell Jed that I said hi!"

"Only if you tell Darien that I said hi in return," Raye quipped. "Talk to you later, Meatball Head!" Then she hung up.

"What was that about?" Jadeite asked as he returned from getting them a couple of ice cream cones."

Raye shook her head. "Oh, nothing much. It was just Serena calling to babble to me about some idea that she had." Then she filled him in on Rini's upcoming departure and the party that they were planning.

"Sounds like fun," he told her. Then he asked, "So what do you want to do next?"

"Hmm…" she mused as she looked around. They had opted to go to the amusement park that Jadeite had attempted to invite her to a few weeks before. And because of the heat there was no crowd, giving them almost free run of the place. Jadeite, of course, had never experienced a place like it before, and he'd kept Raye in stitches with his boyish enthusiasm.

She licked at the strawberry ice cream that was already beginning to melt before replying, "How about the Ferris Wheel next? We haven't been on it yet."

Jadeite eyed the giant wheel skeptically. "I don't know. It just goes around and around in a circle, and it doesn't even go very fast. I was thinking that maybe we could give the roller coaster another spin. That thing was bad!"

Raye gestured to the triple scoop chocolate ice cream cone that he was almost inhaling in an attempt to eat it before it melted. "Believe me, you'll be glad that you didn't rush right back to the coaster after eating that thing. The worst thing you can do is fill your stomach up right before you go get on a machine that's going to flip you over, around, and inside out. Even the strongest stomachs have lost the battle against those g-forces."

"But…" he whimpered like a child that had just lost his favorite toy as he looked off in the distance toward the giant loops of the roller coaster tracks.

She patted his shoulder lightly. "There, there, poor baby. I'm just trying to keep from putting a damper on our day. And trust me, the only thing you'll feel like doing if you get on that ride with a full stomach is crawling home and going to bed."

He arched a brow at her. "That wouldn't be so bad if I had some company."

Raye felt a blush rush to her face, but she snorted. "Yeah right! You'd be so busy trying to keep from tossing your cookies that trying to get me into bed would be the last thing on your mind."

"Oh, I doubt that," he drawled. "You always tell me that I have a one track mind. I'm sure that I would still be able to envision what you would look like in my bed."

"You are absolutely impossible!" Raye fumed. But she did take his free hand in hers as she spun and stomped away in the direction of the Ferris Wheel. "We are going to ride the Ferris Wheel…and you're going to like it! Sure, it may not go super fast or upside down, but there is a spectacular view of the city from the top."

"As you wish, my lady," Jadeite chuckled.

They had both finished their ice cream by the time they reached the ride a few minutes later. Just like every other ride that they had ridden that day, the line was very short. So in just a couple of minutes they found themselves climbing into a car while the operator closed the door behind them.

"I just wish that this was the type of Ferris Wheel that had the bench seats instead of enclosed cars," Raye murmured while she looked out through the metal mesh as their car rose slowly several feet so that more passengers could be loaded.

"So do I," Jadeite grumbled, but his voice had a strained sound to it.

Raye turned to look at him, and was surprised to see that his face had turned ashen and sweat had popped out on his forehead. "What's the matter?"

He forced a smile onto his face. "I'm okay. I just don't care much for small, enclosed spaces. I got locked in a storage closet once by accident when I was little and was stuck there for several hours before anyone found me."

Raye's eyebrows shot up beneath her dark bangs. "You're claustrophobic?"

"Not extremely!" he snapped back, sounding defensive. "I'm not like some of those whack jobs you hear about that can't stand to have walls of any kind around them. I can handle being inside just fine. I just don't like tiny, cramped spaces."

"I know that!" she fired right back. "I've seen you indoors enough to know that it doesn't bother you. I was just asking a question. You don't have to bite my head off about it. Geez!"

He took a deep breath to settle his nerves. "I'm sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. Do you forgive me?" He flashed her his most charming smile.

Raye felt like she was melting into a puddle of gooey chocolate at the sight of that smile, but she could tell that he wasn't quite at ease yet. So she reached out to take his hand in hers and tugged him closer. "Come over here by me. There's plenty of fresh air coming through the grate. And in a minute you'll be able to see that view I was telling you about."

Sure enough, after starting and stopping several times, their car came to a halt at the top of the giant wheel, giving them a bird's eye view of the city around them. They weren't high enough up to see very far, but what they could see was impressive.

"So what do you think?" Raye asked her companion.

Jadeite shrugged. "It's nice. But if you think this is something, you should see the view I have from the balcony off my bedroom. Sometimes I stand out there for hours at night and watch the hustle and bustle of the city. It's really something to look at with all the lights glowing."

"It sounds lovely," she replied in a much softer than usual tone. "I would like to see it sometime."

His eyes jerked to hers in surprise. "You would?"

She giggled nervously. "Why do you sound so shocked?"

"Weelll…" he responded hesitantly. "I guess it's because you've been immune to all of my attempts to seduce you so far. So I can't believe that you would willingly put yourself in a position where you would be alone with me in my bedroom. You scurried out of there quick enough after I showed it to you yesterday."

"Well maybe I forgot to get my booster shot for my vaccination to your charms," she muttered. Then she blushed bright red as she realized that she had said that out loud.

"So the truth finally comes out," he drawled slowly. "You haven't been quite as repulsed by my overtures as you have led me to believe, have you, Lady Mars?"

"You need to deflate that ego of yours some," she growled back, her face still the same shade as her fuku skirt when she transformed. "And I never said that you personally were repulsive. I just said that I found a lot of the things you say to be in poor taste. I will be the first one to admit that you are an attractive man…at least until you open your mouth. Then the whole image gets shot straight to hell."

He ran a hand through his golden tousled curls. "Well at least I have my looks. That's at least one point in my favor."

Raye sat back against the padded seat and folded her arms as she looked out at the scenery that was whirling by as they traveled around the big wheel. "I rest my case. You're such a narcissist!"

"But you love me anyway," he quipped back. Then he turned serious. "Come on, Firefly. What do you say? You can come over tonight. I'll order us a fab dinner from somewhere and we can eat it on my balcony while we drink in the sights. I have quite a DVD collection too, so we can watch a movie if you want to."

His pleading look broke her down. "Oh, all right! We'll have a stay in night at your place."

A mischievous grin blossomed on his face. "And you'll stay all night too?"

It was a good thing that Raye was sitting at the moment, because suddenly her legs felt as weak and wobbly as Jell-o. But one look into those sparkling blue eyes that she loved had her agreeing, "Yes, I'll stay the night with you."

Jadeite leaned forward quickly and captured her lips in a hot, intense kiss that made her moan and cling to him as her senses spun.

Holy Ares! If he could turn her into a whimpering, brainless, clingy female with just one kiss, what would she be like after spending an entire night with him?

"I've been praying that you would learn to completely trust me ever since I first came back to this life," he told her softly as he ended the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. "Now that's it's finally come true it feels like a dream. But after everything that we've been through, I think we deserve our happily ever after. Don't you?"

"Yes," she whispered. Then she grinned as she felt the ride stop. "Well, general, at least I can say that I accomplished one thing."

He arched a brow at her. "And what would that be?"

She pushed him away lightly as the door to their car opened. "I managed to keep you distracted enough during that ride that being closed up in here didn't bother you at all."

One side of his mouth hitched up higher than the other. "Yes you did. In fact, I enjoyed it immensely."

She tossed her dark hair over her shoulder as she made to climb out. "Well don't get yourself too worked up, general. If you wear yourself out now you won't be able to have fun tonight."

He snickered evilly. "Don't worry about that, Firefly. I'm like the Energizer Bunny. I keep going and going and going…"

"Hentai!" Raye hissed. But the blush returned to her face in full force as she scrambled quickly out of the car.

---

The Next Day

"Yikes, Serena! You don't have to drown the bread in mayonnaise. A little goes a long way," Lita chided as she scraped the excess condiment from the slices of bread laid out on the counter.

"I'm sorry," Serena sniffled as she stepped back with her hands behind her back. "I was just trying to help out, and I can't even do that right. My brother has been right all along! I'm an absolute disaster in the kitchen!"

Lita winced as the blonde's voice fast approached a glass shattering frequency. "You're not a disaster, Serena. You're just, um…slightly heavy handed. That's all."

Serena took a deep breath and brought her emotions under control. "Thanks, Lita, but you don't have to try to sugarcoat it for me. I know I'm hopeless."

"Not completely hopeless," Lita hedged, trying to be helpful. "You learned how to make a decent curry, and that's something to brag about. Not everybody can accomplish that dish."

Serena snorted. "Yeah, but the kitchen always looks like a war zone after I get done. Mom banned me from cooking at home after I charred one of her favorite pans and set the kitchen curtains on fire. And Darien, bless his heart, let's me use his kitchen, but he stands by with a fire extinguisher, broom, and mop, because he knows in advance that some catastrophe is going to happen."

"Well, it pays to be prepared in case of trouble than to be caught unaware later," Amy said as she entered the penthouse kitchen.

"Amy! You're back!" Serena squealed as she jumped up from her seat and ran to engulf the blue haired girl in a bear hug. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon!"

Amy giggled as she returned the embrace. "My dad got in early this morning, and after Zoi and I had brunch with him and visited for a while we decided to head back. So where is the guest of honor at?"

"At the mall with Hotaru, having one last girl fling before she goes home," Serena told her. "When I called Amara yesterday to tell her about the party, Hotaru was in the background begging for Rini to come spend the night with her. Rini was so jazzed about the idea that I couldn't say no, even though I had kinda wanted her to stay with me last night. Anyway, Michelle called me earlier and said that she, Amara, and Trista were taking the girls shopping and would meet us at the park later."

"Which means that we need to get a move on if we want this food to be ready," Amy stated as she disentangled herself from Serena. "What can I do to help, Lita?"

"You can stir the potato salad," Lita replied as she nodded at a large bowl. "Most of the big stuff has been taken care of. Now we're just tying up the loose ends. Come on, Serena, and help me finish making these sandwiches."

Serena eyed her dubiously. "Are you sure you want me too? They may not be edible if I touch them."

"Just get over here and help me, girl!" Lita growled affectionately. "I'll be keeping an eye on you and won't let you do anything to screw them up."

"There's no need to fear! The goddess of love is here!" Mina announced as she twirled into the room.

"It's about time," Lita grumbled. "I thought you were going to sleep the whole day away. I know Kunzite's gone up at least ten times to try to wake you up. He finally gave up."

Mina waved a casual hand at her. "I needed my beauty sleep. I was up extremely late last night. Of course, that wasn't entirely my fault. Kunzite may not seem like it to the rest of you, but he can be quite insatiable sometimes. And he…"

"We don't want to hear it!" the other three girls exclaimed as they clapped their hands over their ears.

"Oh fine! Be that way! I wasn't going to tell you anything really juicy anyway," Mina huffed. Then her bright blue eyes fell on Amy, and they began to glitter rabidly. "Well, well, Amy. Your trip certainly seems to have agreed with you. You're positively glowing."

Pink stained Amy's cheeks as she mumbled politely, "Yes. It was a very pleasant trip."

An insanely feline smile curled up the so-called love goddess's lips. "Reeaallly?"

"Whatever information you are fishing for, you can forget it, Mina!" Amy snapped, her voice as icy as her expression. "I don't have to give you the details of my weekend. Zoicite and I spent a nice couple of days away from the city, and that's all you need to know."

Mina just winked. "That's okay. I don't need details. I can tell things about people without anyone saying a word."

"So does anyone have any idea where Raye is?" Lita jumped in to cut off a potential argument.

Serena shrugged. "I'm not sure. I haven't talked to her since late yesterday afternoon when I called to finalize plans with her. She seemed a little distant though, so I thought that she and Jed might have had a fight or something. She swore that they hadn't, and that they had spent a great afternoon at the amusement park. So I'm assuming they're okay. I tried to call her earlier, but I didn't get an answer. I guess she must be busy."

"She'll probably be here soon," Lita replied as she began laying thick slices of ham, turkey, and roast beef on the bread. "Knowing her, she probably got wrapped up with something at the shrine."

At that moment, the raven-haired priestess came flying into the kitchen. "I'm so sorry I'm late, you guys. I got busy doing something and lost track of time."

"It's cool," Lita reassured her. "We've got things running smoothly here, so don't worry it."

"If by running smoothly you mean Lita having to be the warden chef to make sure I don't screw everything up," Serena grumbled.

"You'll probably give us all food poisoning," Raye teased, but not unkindly. "So what can I do?"

"Hmm…" Lita mused. "I guess you can come help me finish the sandwiches while Serena and Mina start gathering up the paper plates, napkins, and stuff from the pantry."

"Sounds good to me!" Serena cheered as she abandoned the mayonnaise. She knew that Lita was just trying to keep her and Mina away from the food preparation, and that was just fine with her. Mina was even a bigger disaster in the kitchen than she was.

But Mina trailed after Raye as she crossed the room with a confused expression on her face. "Something's different about you, Raye. You seem…almost cheerful somehow."

Violet eyes snapped at her in irritation. "What? I can't be in a good mood sometimes? Who died and made you the happiness police?"

Mina tilted her head to the side in thought. "I didn't mean that you are never happy. You just seem…really, really calm. If I didn't know any better I would say…" Then her blue eyes widened until they almost swallowed her face. "Omigosh! You did!"

"Shut up!" Raye shrieked as she lunged at the blonde and clamped both of her hands over her mouth. "I swear that if you finish voicing the thought that you have bouncing around inside that empty head of yours, I will turn you into a flaming arrow pincushion. Is that clear?"

Above Raye's hands, Mina's large eyes filled with fear as she nodded rapidly.

Lita and Amy were both similar shades of red as they glanced around the room, searching for anything to take their attention away from the heated confrontation between their friends.

Serena gulped, and then jumped bravely between the two girls, separating them. She gave Raye what she hoped was a supporting smile as she took Mina by the arm. "Okay! Raye, you get to helping Lita. Those sandwiches aren't going to make themselves you know. And, Mina, you're with me. We've got all sorts of little goodies to gather if we're going to make this picnic happen, and the day's not getting any younger. So let's go!"

Lita huffed a laugh under her breath as she watched the shorter blonde literally drag the taller blonde from the room. Then she whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Amy, "Leave it to Serena to diffuse the situation. At least she got Mina off our backs."

Amy nodded. "Yes. Mina is really a sweet girl, but she can be incredibly nosy about personal issues sometimes. I understand that she can sense things about people and their relationships, but she takes it to an entirely different level. I just hope that between Serena and Kunzite that they can keep her off of us for a while."

"Ha!" Raye barked as she picked up Serena's discarded knife and began slathering mayonnaise on the bread. "If I know Mina, and unfortunately I know her better than I would like to, she won't let this die easily. She'll be pestering us all day, every day, for at least the next week."

Amy sighed. "Well at least we'll be with everybody for the rest of today. That will deter her from her cross-examinations."

"I wouldn't count on it," Lita grumbled. "Mina's Venusian senses have gotten sharper since she got together with Kunzite, making her more stubborn than ever. She'll be trying ways to ambush us for information."

"She wouldn't actually question us in front of the guys, would she?" Amy gasped.

Raye arched a brow at her. "Think of who we're talking about here. Of course she would! Mina may have cobwebs where her brains are supposed to be, but she's tenacious and has no sense of propriety. She doesn't care what she says and who she says it in front of. So we better prepare ourselves, because we just might have to kill the so-called goddess of love before the night is over."

---

"Oh, beautiful!" Serena squealed as the night sky exploded in a shower of colorful sparks. "I didn't know that the park was planning a fireworks show tonight."

Next to her, Darien chuckled. "I didn't either. I guess it's because of that music festival that they've had going on this weekend. I'm not complaining though."

She shook her head. "Neither am I. I'm going to take advantage of the free entertainment." She curled her legs under her and leaned her head against his shoulder.

But after a minute her eyes strayed from the spectacle in the sky to look at those around her. Besides her parents, and her annoying brat of a brother, these were the people that meant the most to her.

Her heart swelled as she took in the sight of the four couples that were nearby, sitting slightly apart from each other on blankets spread over the grass. Over the past few years she had sometimes felt extremely guilty that she had been given the chance to reconnect with her soul mate and one true love while her best friends had been left to drift aimlessly around in search for someone that could make them feel complete. She had prayed and wished many times that they could find happiness, but things just never seemed to pan out for them.

Raye had been the one that she had been convinced had the best shot at love. Everyone had known that Chad had a huge crush on her from the first day that he had landed on the temple steps. They also knew that Raye had feelings for him too, despite her constant denials. But over time their relationship had settled into a completely platonic, sibling-like friendship that seemed to suit them both perfectly.

Lita had a few ex-boyfriends stashed away in her past, but none of them had been serious relationships. She'd gone through a period of time when she'd thought that she might be in love with her childhood best friend, Ken. But after doing some soul searching she had decided that it was just a passing crush, and she didn't want to risk their friendship being destroyed over a short-lived fling. That had been a good thing, because Ken had found a nice girl that he was crazy in love with, and they had been together for over a year now.

Greg, who had been one of the Rainbow Crystal carriers back during the scout's battle against the Dark Kingdom, had come back to town about a year and half before to take a semester of classes at a technical school. He and Amy had spent quite a bit of time together, but it had never been anything truly romantic between them. It had just been the meeting of two intellectual minds. And when he left again they had parted as good friends.

Then there had been Mina…poor jaded, disillusioned Mina. She had definitely dated more than all of the rest of them put together, but she was never happy with the results. Sometimes the guys went out with her just because they thought she was a prize because she had been in movies. There had been a few genuinely nice guys in the mix, but she always broke it off with them because she sensed from the beginning that there was no connection between them. She'd called it her curse.

But none of the inner scouts looked lonely or cursed now. In fact, they all appeared to be glowing with love as they sat with their significant others and watched the show. Mina was in front of Kunzite, leaning back against his chest with his arms around her waist. Lita sat with her shoulder propped against Nephrite's. Raye had laid her head on Jadeite's shoulder. And Amy sat next to Zoicite with her fingers entwined tightly with his.

Not too far away from the array of small blankets, a larger one had been spread out and all four of the outer scouts, plus Rini, were sitting on it. When night had started falling and the couples had begun to break away, Amara had invited Rini to sit with them to spare her from all of the lovey-doveyness.

"Come on, kiddo! You don't want to be subjected to the sight of all of these drooling, moronic men, do you? Believe me, it's a pathetic thing to see…borderline vomit inducing really. And I'm sure that you don't want an upset stomach after all that food you scarfed down," the tall scout of wind had told her.

Darien bumped Serena's shoulder with his. "Hey! What are you thinking about so hard? You're missing the fireworks."

She shook her head and looked up at him. "Nothing important. I was just thinking about what a great day it's been. It's been nice having everybody together. I think Rini's had a great time too."

"It has been a nice little send off for her," he agreed. "I'm also glad that Amara has kept the man-bashing and attempted bloodshed down to a minimum. I was a little worried about her and the guys being around each other. You remember what happened last time."

"How could I forget? But everyone has behaved today," she giggled. Then she squealed as several fireworks went off at once in a rainbow of explosions. "Oh! How pretty!"

Darien leaned down to speak directly into her ear. "Nowhere near as pretty as you. You are brighter than any firework. You could light up the sky with just your smile."

She batted her lashes at him and drawled innocently. "Why, Mr. Shields, are you flirting with me?"

His familiar, lopsided grin appeared. "Perhaps. But I must be losing my touch. You've usually fallen into my arms by now."

"Aw, poor baby! Is this better?" she asked as she slid herself neatly onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He grinned wolfishly. "Yes." Then he pressed a quick kiss to her lips before pushing her head down to lay on his chest while he rested his chin between her twin hair buns.

After the fireworks came to a booming conclusion a few minutes later, most of the assembled people began dispersing. Serena stretched and stifled a yawn behind her hand.

"Tired?" Darien teased her gently.

"Not too much," she answered. "I think just sitting here got to me. I'll perk back up once I get up and walk around a little. I'm not ready for this night to end yet. As a matter of fact, I think I'll wander over and see if Lita has any of that delicious cake left."

He chuckled as he stood with her in his arms and then set her on her feet. "I guess it's a good thing that Lita brought both cakes with her. Although that means that you don't have a birthday cake for tomorrow now."

She shrugged. "I don't mind getting it a day early. Besides, my mom always makes me a big, ooey-gooey cake too. So I'll still get cake for my birthday. And you're still coming over for my birthday dinner, aren't you? Mom will be crushed if you don't."

"I'll be there," he promised her. But inwardly he cringed at the thought of having to spend an extended amount of time in the presence of Ken Tsukino. The man watched him like a hawk whenever he was around and had a tendency to squawk like a chicken if he so much as looked at Serena. Thankfully, Ilene was usually able to keep her husband from reacting too badly and he was able to escape these encounters without any physical injuries.

"Cake time!" Serena trilled as she began heading in the direction of Lita and Nephrite's blanket. But she hadn't taken more than a few steps when an icy shiver ran down her spine. Her head jerked around, searching for the source of this feeling.

Sensing her sudden unease, Darien grasped her arm. "Serena, what is it?"

She shook her head. "I'm not sure. But all of a sudden I feel like something's wrong."

Darien's eyes began sweeping the area as well. "A new enemy?"

"I don't think so," she told him. "It doesn't feel evil or dangerous. I just get this feeling that something is not right." Then she looked toward the spot where the outers were sitting and her heart almost stopped. "Where's Rini?"

The two of them ran to the blanket where Amara, Michelle, and Hotaru were, belatedly realizing that Trista was missing as well.

A ball of dread formed in Serena's stomach as she asked her youngest scout, "Where is she, Hotaru?"

Tear-filled, amethyst eyes glistened at her. "She left with Trista during the fireworks while everyone was distracted. She wanted me to give you this." She handed her a pink envelope.

Serena clutched it tightly to her chest. "But why? Why would she sneak off like this without saying goodbye?"

"She thought that it would be easier to leave this way," Michelle replied in her soothing tone. "She said that she knows that you always get upset when she leaves, so she wanted to spare you a teary goodbye this time."

"That rotten little pink haired spore!" Serena exclaimed. "How dare she think that she can take off on me like this without even a wave goodbye! She better not have made that jump yet, because I am going after her, even if I have to find a way into Crystal Tokyo myself! I'm getting my goodbye, dammit!"

She whirled and began running. She knew where Rini would be. There was a clearing on the other side of the park that Trista seemed to favor when opening the path to the time plane. It was fairly well hidden and secluded. And at this time of night that section of the park was usually deserted.

She was moving fast, much faster than she should be, and she knew it. Darien had followed her, and he obviously thought the same thing because he grabbed her arm and hissed, "Slow down, Sere! You're beginning to blur."

She jerked away from him. "I don't care! She's got several minutes head start on us. If we don't hurry we'll miss her!"

Darien did a quick sweep of the immediate area and saw nobody around. So he grabbed Serena again and pulled her behind a large cluster of bushes.

"What are you doing?" she shrieked as she struggled against him.

He gave her a small shake to get her attention. "Just calm down for a moment and transform. Nobody will think that it's strange if they see Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask zipping through the park like a couple of loons."

Realizing that he had a point, she quickly pulled her brooch from her pocket and cried, "Moon Eternal Power!" Normally, she reveled in the feeling of her transformation, but this time she willed it to go fast and she transformed quickly in a flash of light and rush of feathers.

"Okay! Let's go," Darien, now Tuxedo Mask, said as he took her hand in his and they broke from the cover of the bushes side by side in a dead run.

Serena was grateful that he had suggested transforming, because in this form they didn't have to worry about hiding their superhuman abilities. She had no idea how fast they were going, but judging from the slack-jawed looks of surprise she glimpsed on a few peoples' faces as they blew by them, she figured it must be pretty fast.

Juban Park was one of the largest in the city, spanning several acres, but it barely took them a minute to travel from one side of the park to the other. Just as they figured, that area of the park was deserted at this time of night. And as they approached a section that was thick with undergrowth, Tuxedo Mask swooped Sailor Moon up into his arms without breaking stride. Then with a powerful leap, he took to the tree branches.

After traveling several yards in, they could see pink light glowing ahead. "Oh no! We're too late!" Sailor Moon moaned.

"No we're not!" Tuxedo Mask growled as he cleared the last few trees without even touching them to land on the edge of the clearing.

Both Rini and Sailor Pluto spun around at the sound of the thud they made. The pink light faded away.

"What are you guys doing here?" Rini almost wailed.

Sailor Moon wriggled her way out of Tuxedo Mask's arms. "What are we doing here? I think you mean what are you doing here. How could you take off on us like that without a word? I thought you weren't going home until tomorrow."

Rini looked down at the ground as she scuffed her feet. "I just thought it would be better this way. It seems like every time I leave here we both end up crying, Serena, and I didn't want you to be sad this time. So I thought I'd just slip home quietly and everything would be okay."

"Well it's not okay, okay!" Sailor Moon snapped, her transformation fading as she stomped toward her future daughter. "I've gotten used to you popping into my life unexpectedly, and I'm fine with that. But if you think for one moment that I would be okay with you just disappearing on me without even a simple goodbye, then you've got another thing coming, Serenity!"

"Um…" Sailor Pluto began uncertainly. "I think I'll just go ahead to the time gate. Small Lady, you can just use your key to meet me there whenever you are ready." With a puff of smoke and flash of light, she was gone.

Tuxedo Mask detransformed, but remained over to the side, quietly watching the stare-off going on between his future wife and daughter.

Rini finally cracked when she saw the pink envelope still grasped tightly in Serena's hand. "You haven't read it yet?"

Serena sighed. "No, I haven't read it. I haven't had time to even open it. I took off after you the moment I found out where you were going. But if it's that important to you, I will." She reached for the flap.

"No!" Rini cried, stopping her. "I don't want you to read it until after I'm gone, okay. And I'm sorry for trying to sneak away. I just really thought that it would be easier for you."

Serena's irritation evaporated. "I know you did, sweetie. Okay, so I know that I tend to get a little weepy and emotional when you leave, but it's not a bad thing. Yeah, I feel sad when you go away, but it's because I love you so much. If I had my way, I would keep you here all the time. But I know that your true place is with your mom and dad. And besides, one day I'll be with you in the future. So in a way it's a comfort to me to know that I'm always with you, in some form or another."

"Oh, Serena!" Rini almost sobbed as she swiped hastily at her watering eyes. "Now you're going to make me cry!"

Serena choked out a laugh as she pulled the younger girl into a tight hug. "No, Rini. This time neither one of us are going to cry. You have a wonderful vacation with your parents to look forward to, and I'm sure that my future self would be very sad if you didn't go with her. I also have several weeks of summer fun ahead of me. Darien and all of our friends will be with me, so I won't be lonely."

Darien finally stepped forward and spoke up. "I guess the big question is whether you're going to leave now or wait until tomorrow like you originally planned."

Rini pulled away from Serena and scrubbed the few tears that had leaked from her eyes away. "I guess since we've already come this far I may as well go home now. Twelve hours isn't going to make that much of a difference since we'll be sleeping most of the time. So I'll say my goodbyes now."

"We'll miss you," Darien told her as he flicked his wrist to produce a single, deep red rose. He handed it to her. "Have fun on your vacation. And Happy Birthday, princess."

Although she was crying inside, Serena managed to keep her eyes dry. "Yes. Happy Birthday, sweetheart. And try to not give my future self too much grief. She loves you, you know."

"I know," Rini mumbled. Then she launched herself at Serena and Darien to hug them both tightly. "Bye guys! I love you both so much!"

She released them quickly and ran a few feet away where she held up the time key that she wore around her neck. "Great guardian of time, Chronos, please open the way for me and let me return home to the future!"

Pink light exploded around her as she began to float up toward the pink cloud that had appeared overhead. Just before she disappeared into it, she called out, "Serena! Don't forget to open your envelope!"

And then she was gone.

Serena fingered the flap of the pink envelope for a moment before she opened it and pulled out the contents. It was a birthday card. The front of it read – Mothers are more than just guardians that help protect us and keep us safe. They can be our greatest confidantes and our best friends.

She opened the card to read the inside. And you are the best mother that anybody could ever wish for. Happy Birthday!

And underneath the printed words, in Rini's loopy writing, was written, I mean it. You are the best mother ever. I don't know if or when I'll get to see you again in this time, but I love you, Momma. – Love Always, Your Rini

The tears that Serena had been trying to hold back rushed forward and spilled over. "Oh, Rini! I love you too!" She hugged the card close to her chest.

Darien looped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "She's so much like you. She has a heart that is full to the brim with love."

Serena giggled as she wiped away her tears. "She's a lot like you too. She has a stubborn streak in her a mile wide and can drive me to the brink of madness with her obstinacy."

He shrugged. "I guess she just got the best of both of us. Now what do you say that we head back, tell the others goodnight, and head home? This has been a long day."

Serena wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him close. "That sounds good to me. Lead on, my prince."

---

A/N So that's it for now. Everybody seems to be settling into their new relationships nicely. As I'm sure you can tell, this story is extremely close to wrapping up soon. There are still a few more things that I want to put in, but I'm thinking that perhaps two more chapters and it will be done. I could possibly do it in one, but I don't want to rush the ending too much. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm at the mercy of my muse. But those of you that have read Lunar Princess know what's coming. Needless to say, a certain sandy blonde, hazel-eyed guy will be playing a big role in the next chapter. Well, I better run! Please don't forget to drop me those reviews to tell me what you thought. I gobble them up like Serena gobbles cookies! Later gators! Be safe! Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~