Author's note: A long chapter today! I really hope you love this chapter. It has taken me a while to write, despite that I've been on sick leave from work - I was hoping to get this out sooner. My kidneys appear to be experiencing problems these days but I've powered through to bring you a turn in the story. I hope you enjoy this update. It'll be good fun to bring out another update soon! In the meantime, let me know what you think in the reviews and I'll rest before attempting more!

Chapter 23

Andrew jumped a mile in the air when Serena suddenly appeared behind him, slamming her hands on the countertop impatiently but with her usual bubble of enthusiasm to accompany it. He turned round to face her, holding his hand against his chest over where his heart was, his face a little startled. He raised his eyebrows.

"Let me guess, a chocolate milkshake pronto?" he guessed.

"Have I ever told you that you're the best?" she asked him so sweetly that she could have given him diabetes.

"Only once or twice," he replied. "I'll be two minutes."

He turned and disappeared down the short corridor to grab what he needed from the back room and Serena sat herself down on a stool, absently running her fingers over the countertop in swirly patterns. She sighed, thinking about tomorrow. She was studying with Darien again, but for once, it wasn't the studying that made her sigh. When she was with him, it felt like the air around them sizzled with electricity and it was intense. It was hard to concentrate sometimes when his stormy eyes were looking at her.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a familiar voice teased in her ear from behind.

Speak of the devil.

Serena looked up to see Darien's face gazing down at her. He took up occupancy on the stool next to her and turned to her.

"What's with the sigh?" he asked.

"Oh," she gasped, taken aback. "I didn't think anyone heard that."

"It was a pretty hefty sigh," he needled.

"I guess I'm just thinking," she shrugged.

"About?"

"You're stubborn, aren't you, Darien?" she raised an eyebrow.

"That's never changed in all the years I've known him," Andrew interrupted, placing the glass of milkshake down in front of her much to her delight.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "That was fast!"

"I've made so many milkshakes for you, that I'm fairly certain I could do it blindfolded," Andrew grinned.

"Now that I will have to put to the test someday," Darien smirked.

"Over my dead body," Andrew retorted.

"Not up to the challenge?" Darien chuckled.

Serena looked between the two of them and rolled her eyes, taking a long drink of her favourite beverage. She sighed in contentment.

"Ah, now there's a happier sigh!" Darien stated.

"Oh, it's just the prospect of studying," she lied.

"You're not studying today, Meatball Head," he pointed out, holding up his hands when she glared at him. "Besides, studying will be a breeze tomorrow."

"Oh, so confident?" Andrew remarked.

"Of course," Darien shot back. "We will be doing biology tomorrow and that subject's a cinch."

"I'm sure it is when you're pursuing medicine," Serena grumbled.

The guys looked at her in amusement then turned to each other.

"So, what are you up to this afternoon, Dare?" Andrew asked.

"I was hoping you could grab me a coffee?" Darien returned hopefully, grinning when Andrew turned round to make his brew. "Otherwise, nothing. There was just a paper I was going to start for chem class."

Andrew pulled a face.

"You always make me feel like I'm miles behind!" he complained.

"I just get a head start," Darien said, shaking his head. "Plus, little study sessions help." He winked at Serena, who immediately turned back to drinking her milkshake as she felt the warmth rise in her cheeks.

Andrew handed over Darien's coffee to him.

"Thanks," Darien responded gratefully, knocking back a throatful.

"Whoa, steady on there," Andrew laughed. "Are you not sleeping or something?"

Darien was acutely aware that Serena had gone rigid and he felt her attention on him.

"Well, you know me and my coffee," he replied breezily. "What will you be up to then, Serena?"

"I was going to take a walk in the park while the sun is still out," she answered.

Darien eyed her empty milkshake glass and beckoned Andrew.

"Would you mind grabbing a hot chocolate to go?" he requested. "With cream, chocolate shavings and marshmallows?"

"In need of a sugar high for that chem paper?" Andrew asked sceptically.

"Yep," he simply replied.

Serena watched Andrew leave them to make the hot drink with a frown on her face and leaned over to Darien.

"Since when do you drink hot chocolate?"

"I don't," he answered.

"Then why…?"

"Ssh," he hushed her quietly.

He continued to drink his coffee, while Serena returned to tracing the countertop with her fingers in intricate patterns. Minutes later, Andrew appeared with the requested hot chocolate, prompting Darien to get to his feet, pushing money into Andrew's hands to pay for the drinks, telling him to keep the change.

"Come on then, Serena," Darien invited her with a nudge.

"Where are we going?" she asked, surprised.

"The park, of course," he explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Andrew watched this exchange in bafflement. He gaped at the two of them, wondering yet again what was going on between his two friends.

"See you, Andrew," Serena waved. "Thanks for the milkshake. It was yummy like always."

"No problem, Serena," Andrew replied faintly, watching them both leave the arcade.

"So, why are you joining me on a walk?" Serena asked Darien as they made their way down the street with their drinks in hand.

He looked down at her at his side and smiled.

"The sun tempted me," he replied.

If he was honest with himself, it wasn't the sun that tempted him. He recalled his conversation with Killian earlier in the day and felt that pang in his chest again. Then he was aware he was still holding the hot chocolate.

"Oh, here you go," he offered her.

Her eyes widened at the delicious Serena-approved beverage and she pressed her lips together in surprise. She took it off his hands.

"Thank you, Darien," she smiled. "That was kind of you. Though I'm not sure that a hot chocolate was needed on a walk in the sun."

"I can take it back," he said, reaching for it.

"Get lost," she laughed, scurrying away from him, and crossing through the gates into the park.

He grinned and followed after her. With his long legs, he soon caught up to her and captured her wrist with his fingers. She inhaled sharply at his touch.

"Sorry," he apologised, immediately dropping her arm.

"Oh, it's f-fine," she stuttered.

"Let's go sit down," he suggested, making his way to the coveted bench that overlooked the large lake in the middle of the park that was luckily empty.

She followed him and sat down, taking another sip from her takeout cup. He glanced at her and bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. She frowned at him.

"What is it?"

"You have a cream moustache," he smirked.

"That's your fault!" she complained. "You ordered cream on top!"

She ran the side of her hand across her lips and Darien couldn't help himself. He burst out laughing. She groaned.

"You got it up your face, you scruff," he told her, shifting closer to her, and using his thumb to swipe away the cream that went from the corner of her mouth and up her cheek.

Darien's finger caught her lips and she felt the telling flutter of butterflies in her stomach. He cleared his throat and moved over so that they regained some space between them.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"No problem," he replied gruffly, taking the last few gulps of his drink before throwing it in the bin next to the bench.

"Oh, I have something for you!" she announced, clicking her fingers, suddenly remembering what she'd slipped into her bag that morning.

She reached to the side of her and into her bag, pulling out a bottle. She handed it over to him. He frowned, accepting it, bringing it closer for inspection.

"Lavender oil?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded. "You told me that you weren't sleeping. Well, years ago, I was having trouble sleeping and momma gave me a bottle. It sends me right off now. And even if it doesn't send me to sleep, it helps me to relax."

Darien felt incredibly touched by her thoughtfulness and it must have showed on his face as she offered him a warm smile.

"Thank you, Sere," he murmured. "That's incredibly kind of you."

"No problem," she returned. "To be honest, I have bottles of lavender spray for bedsheets in the bathroom and in my bedroom. It's so helpful when you just know you're not going to have the best night's sleep. It's great if it's been a rubbish day."

Darien peered at the bottle of lavender oil.

"So, what do you do with it? Just pipette the oil onto your pillows?"

"You can do, but I find it a pain if I get the oil in my hair and I've got school the next morning, so I tend to put it on my temples," she told him.

"Doesn't that just run everywhere?" he laugh.

"No, you ninny," she giggled, taking the bottle from his hands. She opened it and took out a pipette full of oil. She gently squeezed it so that the oil dripped onto her index and middle fingers. She then quickly returned the pipette to the bottle and rubbed the oil over both sets of fingers and got up to stand in front of Darien. He looked at her questioningly. "Just keep still or I'll probably get this in your eyes."

Obligingly, he held still and watched her as she took her fingers up to his temples either side of his head and gently rubbed the oil into his skin. The strong yet subtle scent of lavender overtook his senses and he immediately knew what she meant when she said that lavender zenned her out. He was aware of only three things: the scent of the lavender oil, the soothing movements of her fingers rubbing into his temples that was taking away his stress and that she was touching him. It was like his skin was on fire. He was suddenly conscious that his eyes had been closed for a moment and he opened them to meet her cerulean blue eyes which seemed much closer than he expected. He felt the flutter of butterflies in his stomach and he licked his dry lips, pressing them together as he tried to find his voice.

"Thank you, Serena," he said softly.

She let her hands fall to his shoulders, wiping her fingers on his shirt where the remaining oil would soak in. She knew any oil would come out in the wash, so she didn't give it a second thought. It was then that she couldn't help herself and threw her arms around his neck, the familiarity of his touch stoking the fire inside her that yearned for him.

He reciprocated without thinking about it, as if it were normal to hold her like this and felt himself melt into her petite frame. Her delicate, floral perfume – roses, he thought – invaded his nostrils and made him feel like he recognised it. He felt the silky strands of her long blonde tresses down her back against his hands and he couldn't help but smile at the idea of her spaghetti hair to match the meatballs on top.

They pulled apart and she picked up the bottle she'd left on the bench and handed it over to him. He made to take the bottle but found that his fingers had clasped around her hand instead. Her eyes flicked down to her hand and back up to his face, then to see his lips descend to face. She inhaled and felt his lips catch the corner of her mouth, almost as if he intended to kiss her lips but then went for the safer option of her cheek instead. He sat back upright, uncurling his fingers from around her hand and took the bottle, saying nothing further about their physical closeness.

"Thank you, Serena," he repeated.

"You're welcome," she breathed.

Jackson reached the top of the shrine staircase and released a lungful of air. It was always a relief to finally reach the top. He had no idea how Raye easily climbed it every day, several times a day. Maybe meditation really did exercise discipline, he mused to himself. Perhaps he should try it sometime. He looked around the courtyard and found it empty, even the sound of cawing crows wasn't to be heard. He crossed the desolate space and approached the stand where the talismans and charms were sold, peering at the entrance to the temple. He then leaned over the stall to see if anyone was behind the stall and frowned when he realised no one was there.

"Raye?" he called, his eyes flicking around the shrine's grounds.

After a moment of apparent silence, he heard feet shuffling towards him and he turned to find Chad exiting the temple, heading towards him. A deep frown was evident underneath Chad's long bangs that hung over his eyes and Jackson found himself feeling apprehensive about the look in his dark eyes that glared at him.

"What do you want?" Chad asked rudely, folding his arms across his chest.

He wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what this guy was here for: to see Raye. He wasn't going to entertain such a relationship though. He was still steamed that when he was trying to get through all the chores on the inside of the temple, Raye had thrown him out of the room that homed the sacred fire. She was almost feral. He'd been on the receiving end of her temper before, but this seemed more demanding and serious than usual. He no longer had the patience for her moods. They weren't really on good speaking terms yet after their fall out… over the guy stood in front of him now.

"Actually, I'm here to visit Raye," Jackson replied, straightening himself to his full height at Chad's standoffish attitude.

Standing at only five feet five, Chad didn't really have the height advantage over Jackson, which only served to irritate him more. So he did the only thing he could.

"She's not available right now," he replied flatly. "You'll have to come back another time."

He only tagged on the last part to honour Grandpa. He didn't want to spread the word that he was a jerk to visitors of Grandpa's shrine.

"But she's here?" Jackson insisted.

"It doesn't matter if she is," Chad frowned. "She's busy."

"Great," he smiled. "She can have my help."

"And what am I?" Chad asked sarcastically. "A broken broom? She has all the help she needs here. We certainly don't need you."

"Well, I doubt she needs your attitude either," Jackson retorted, now annoyed with him.

"You need to le–"

"Chad!" Raye's voice hollered from the temple's entrance. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Greeting our latest visitor," Chad replied through gritted teeth.

"I'm sure," she replied tartly. "Go finish up inside. I'll deal with this."

"You just kicked me o–"

"Chad," Raye sighed, her nostrils flaring. She watched him stalk past her and into the temple, then she turned to Jackson. "Sorry about him," she excused. "He's just angry with me."

"Why?"

"Long story," she said, waving the subject away with a flick of her hand. She peered at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Actually, I came to see you," he admitted.

"Oh," she uttered, momentarily taken aback. "To be honest, I was on my way out."

He cocked his head to one side as he considered her harried demeanour and tense shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he asked gently.

"No, I'm not," she answered honestly, realising she had no time to fob him off. "I need to find Lita, now."

The determination in her violet eyes were the only thing that kept him from questioning further. He pressed his lips together. There was something about that look in her eyes that was so familiar to him.

"Lead the way," he offered.

"What?"

"I'll come with you," he told her, his voice not leaving an invitation for argument.

She sighed.

"Fine, wait here," she ordered, turning round to head back into the temple. "I need to change out of my robes," she threw over her shoulder.

Lita was giddy with excitement as she laced up her skates at the side of the ice rink. She glanced at Neal to find him tying and untying his laces, as if he didn't quite want to put them on. She rolled her eyes and finished lacing up, then getting to her face.

"Neal, what are you doing?" she demanded.

He glanced up at her awkwardly from his angle.

"I can't get these tied tightly enough," he complained.

She frowned, spotting the strain of the lace against the skate and she kneeled down on the floor in front of him, swotting his hands away. She tugged on the lace of the skate that was tied up.

"I'm not sure I could get scissors under here to cut them off," she stated. "To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if you ended up with all the circulation being cut off in your feet."

"But what if they fall off while we're skating?" he insisted.

"Then I'll fetch a wheelbarrow," she teased.

"Very funny," he said drily, flicking the end of her nose gently.

She rolled her eyes, immediately untying his skate.

"Hey, I think that one was just right!" he protested.

"Neal, you still need blood in your feet," she laughed, quickly tying it back up. She then moved onto the second one, much to his protests. "There, you're fine."

"Thanks, mother," he replied sarcastically.

"Hey, hey," she chided, poking him in the ribs. "A little appreciation."

"This was the best idea you've had," she exclaimed with a grin.

"That it was," he winked. "Come on then. Want to watch me fall?"

"I get to see that every time you're with me," she stated with her eyebrows raised innocently.

His mouth dropped open and she grinned. She whirled round, easily leaping onto the ice and expertly manoeuvred herself between the last few stragglers on the rink. They were here for the last half an hour of the public skating. What Lita didn't know was that Neal had paid for them to have an hour on the ice rink after closing. After seeing how she glided across the ice as if she were the ice princess herself, he was glad he'd made that choice. He smiled and followed after her, tentatively taking a step on the ice, holding onto the side. He felt like his feet were firmly under him, so he kicked off and let himself drift across the ice with the momentum. What he wasn't prepared for was the momentum will only keep you going for a short time and he promptly lost his balance and landed on the cold floor. He heard giggling from above him. He looked up to see Lita's amused face smirking down at him.

"You weren't kidding, were you?" she asked. "I really was going to see you fall."

"Hey, I'm doing this for you," he grumbled.

"Want my help?" she offered.

"Sure," he groaned.

She reached out to him and he took her hand, immediately yanking her so that she fell into his lap. Her eyes remained wide a few moments after the shock had passed and she glared at him.

"That wasn't funny," she said flatly. "Do you want me to push you over?"

He kissed her cheek with a smirk. The surprise made her stomach do a somersault.

"You wouldn't dare," he chuckled.

He pushed her gently off his lap and got to his feet unsteadily, pulling her up with him. She was still staring at him, shocked by something else this time.

"So, are you going to show me any of your skating talent?" he twinkled at her.

This brought her back to the present and she blinked at him.

"Seriously? With all these people around?"

"I can't wait half an hour!" he replied.

"But we'll be leaving then," she pouted.

"Wrong," he corrected. "I paid them to allow us to have a private hour on the rink."

"You didn't?" she checked, her emerald green eyes brightening.

"I did," he nodded.

"It's confirmed," she cried. "You are the best!"

She threw her arms around his neck, causing them to inch back on their skates a short distance and he laughed.

"Careful," he warned. "Or we'll both end up back on the ice."

"I'll do some skating, then I'll teach you how to glide," she grinned, pecking him quickly on the lips before she lost her nerve and sped off.

His lips tingled with her touch and he found himself staring after her. He couldn't believe they'd gotten that close. Lita skated to the middle of the rink, held her hands up above her head, bent one leg so that her toes rested against the top of her foot and spun in a perfect pirouette on the spot. Neal was amazed that she didn't appear in the faintest bit dizzy. She skated through some other less skilled skaters and then lifted one foot up behind her so that from her head to her toes was a perfectly straight line. She effortlessly spun on the spot, her foot behind her guiding her in the spin, then she gently brought her leg down and took off round the rink at high speed. She came to an empty spot and lifted one leg up in front of her, taking off into a spin, then she squatted on the one leg executing a sit spin. As she slowed down, she brought herself upright again and flashed a grin at Neal who found himself unable to take his eye off her performance. She made her way towards him from across the rink and spun her leg behind her, gaining momentum, as she brought her hands to her head as she twisted her body in the spin. She bent her outstretched leg, bringing her hand down to meet her skate and brought her foot up over her head from behind into a perfect layback spin with her foot caught in her hand to complete the spin. She skated the rest of the way to him, breathing heavily.

"Phew, just like riding a bike!" she joked, wiping her brow.

"I had no idea you could skate like that!" he breathed.

"You thought I was exaggerating?" she raised an eyebrow.

"No," he shook his head. "I don't think you exaggerated enough. I thought you meant you could skate, not that you could perform!"

"I wasn't performing," she objected. "It just makes me feel free."

"Why would you take on basketball when you could do this?" he asked.

"The school doesn't have a club in ice skating," she shrugged. "Besides, it's nice to have something that doesn't involve an exam or competing with someone."

She then grinned at him. He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"What is that look for?"

"You've been stood here the whole time like a lump of clay," she complained. "Come on, we need to get you moving."

"But watching you is so much better," he insisted.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," she commented, giving him a shove. "Move it. Or you may as well sit in the stands." She spotted the look in his eyes that suggested he was considering it and she growled. "I hardly think so. Now I know you were willing to try this, we sure as hell are coming back."

"Oh, we are?" he chortled.

"We are if no one else can join me," she countered, sticking her tongue out at him. They heard the tannoy announce that the public session was now over, and she smirked at him. "You've no excuse now. You are going to skate."

He felt his palms get sweaty, afraid he was going to make a royal idiot of himself but sucked it up and took the hand she offered.

"Stop looking like I'm taking you to your execution," she scolded. "Now, follow my lead. It's all in the footwork. You almost want your feet in the perfect V as you skate. You need to engage your core, keep yourself upright, unless you want to gain more momentum, in which case you'll lean forward to help propel yourself." She dropped his hand. "Watch me." She pushed off and skated so that each foot moved forward so that they were going at a slight angle away from each other, giving her the area to work with. When she chose to came to a stop, she pushed her feet in and came to a standstill. "See?" she asked. "It's all in the footwork. It's okay if you fall. I didn't exactly come out of the womb with a pair of skates on."

Neal laughed out loud and followed after her, mimicking her movements. There were certainly a few hiccups along the way, and he fell twice but he found himself laughing about his shortcomings, rather than embarrassed or self-conscious that he was no Christopher Dean.

"You're so much better at this than Serena," she noted. "The first time she came on the ice, she cried the whole time. It was such a disaster."

"I can assure you I cried myself out before we met at our spot," he winked.

Lita felt herself blushed. She recalled how Neal appeared around the rose bush in Fairview Park with the same pink of the rose earrings she always wore, not at all surprised to find her there. It had somehow become their spot because that was where they had both connected and attempted to get themselves onto a friendlier footing. And there was always the potential for cherry pie. Neal found himself pleased that she instinctively knew where he was to pick her up.

"Well, I'm glad about that," she laughed.

"So, what came of Serena and ice skating?" he asked.

"Oh, she got much better and found her footing," she replied. "I found out later that she had been practicing with Dari…" she then corrected herself, "a friend from school privately and she found a talent on the ice. She's still weary though. I'm not sure she enjoyed her time with her bum on the cold floor."

"Ha, ha," Neal scoffed.

In that moment, they both felt a shake under their feet and his dark blue eyes met her own wide emerald eyes and she knew this wasn't a good thing. She glanced to the left to look to the middle of the ice rink and she immediately spotted a glow beneath the surface.

"What the…" she murmured.

"What is that?" he wondered.

Lita felt heat under her feet, and she did the only thing she could.

"Get down!" she yelled, throwing herself at Neal, causing them both to tumble to the floor as the ice suddenly broke in the middle, shards flying everywhere as a huge figure appeared in the centre. She looked up and she felt a cold sweat run down her spine when she recognised what the figure was: the Croatoan. "Oh no."

She heard a groan beneath her and spotted blood dripping out of Neal's ear.

"Shit," she whispered.

She rolled off him and quickly tried to pull Neal to the side of the rink so that he could sit upright. She kept her eye on the Croatoan as it advanced on her, its soulless, dead stare with no eyes to see fixated on her. She saw the tentacles writhing and thrashing about from its middle and she looked at Neal who was now holding his head. Could she transform here?

"Oh!" she exclaimed, startled, as she leaped away from the Croatoan's deadly saliva that was aimed at her.

She looked behind her at where she was previously stood and watched in horror as the acidic saliva burned away the ice there. A tentacle whipped out at her and she skated back but the Croatoan only advanced forward. She took off at high speed around the rink, catching its attention, leading it away from Neal. Its tentacles came out again and again. She looked down at her skates and had a great idea. She gained momentum and just as she heard the tentacles striking the air at her, she abruptly spun and kicked her leg out, slicing off a few tentacles in the process. She heard a screech of pain coming from the Croatoan, though it appeared the sound hadn't come from its mouth as in the next moment, it was snapping its sharp teeth at her and aimed another saliva bomb at her. She had no choice.

"Jupiter crystal power!"

In a beam of green light, in her place stood Sailor Jupiter. Neal blinked once, then twice. He stared at the sailor soldier in front of him, wondering where Lita had gone. She had been there a second ago. He peered at her more carefully. Lita?

"Stay down!" she ordered when she looked back at him to see him staring at her. "Flower hurricane!"

Flower petals swirled around Sailor Jupiter as she twirled around, shooting her hands in front of her, blasting them at the enemy. The light that rebounded off the ice caught the petals, highlighting the sting ready to penetrate the enemy, immobilising it. She watched in satisfaction when she saw that the Croatoan could no longer move. She nodded and turned to Neal, landing on her knees in front of him.

"Are you alright?" she asked urgently.

"Yeah, I think so," he grimaced, holding his head.

"We need to get you out of here and get your head checked out," she told him, calm on the outside but ball of anxiety inside.

"Sure," he complied.

He opened his eyes more fully and his gaze went over her shoulder. His eyes widened in horror as he glanced between the sailor soldier and silent figure approaching from behind.

"Lita!" he yelled, shifting himself quickly from his spot against the rink wall and slamming his body against hers, whipping them both out of the way in time as multiple shards flew past them and into the wall.

Precisely at that moment, Raye and Jackson appeared in the doorway of the ice rink and an overwhelming beam of light blinded them all momentarily. When the light faded, Jupiter looked up into the eyes of Nephrite and all she could do was gape at him. She didn't see Neal anymore.

"Ju?" he whispered.

At the nickname, she flashbacked to the days of the Silver Millennium. Back then, none of the inner sailor guardians had a civilian name and the Shitennou found it astounding that they were ever only known as their home planet. So Nephrite decided to give her a nickname: Jules. It was a private affectionate joke between them. In time, when they got closer to each other, Ju was her name to him. It made her more than a sailor guardian. It made her his.

Raye looked at Jackson, but her expression didn't change. It was some time ago that she saw his real face. However, it was the first time he was seeing hers and that's when he knew she knew. They both looked at the Croatoan who came to a standstill, then disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.