Again, thank you blueeyedevil06 for being my beta
There is a new chapter in Finding Love, Residency. Darien is doing his residency when he runs into Serena again. No Powers
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Chapter 33 - Being A Man
Serena turned and picked up her bag that had been thrown on the ground by Darien. She looked at him and said, "I promised the girls that I would meet them at the Arcade to study. I hate to do this to you right now, but I have to head out. I imagine it will involve getting yelled at by them too."
Darien nodded and said, "I am sure it will, especially from Raye." He walked over to pick up his bag too. "I will walk you there. I will sit at the counter and do my homework."
Serena rolled her eyes, "I promise I won't go running off like that again."
"I believe you. I am just not ready to let you out of my sight right now." Darien said.
Sammy came out of his room and asked, "Is it safe to come out? I didn't want to step into the middle of that fight. By the way, I am on Darien's side on this."
Serena sighed, "I am on his side too. I was wrong."
"Why don't you grab some homework and come along? We can sit at the counter while your sister has 'girl time.'" Darien asked.
Sammy beamed and ran to get his things. Serena stepped into Darien's arms and sniffled. "It makes me so happy to see him smile like that. There wasn't a lot of that at my parents' house."
Darien held her, "I am glad you are so happy." He looked up and noticed Sammy was back. He said, "No comments about how this is gross?"
Sammy shrugged, "She's my sister, and I don't want to know everything you are doing together. But, Ryan was right on something. He asked why I was so grossed out that my sister was well loved. It got me thinking. I can handle the hugging and some of the kissing. I am just too happy for her to take issue with it."
Darien smiled and shook his head, "I thought we were going to have to keep Jadeite from going to your school and kicking his ass. I am glad that you both have become friends. It sounds like you two understand each other."
Sammy nodded, "And after you helped us both with math, the next day we had a pop quiz. We both did really well. His father was pleased to hear he was getting help from THE Darien Shields."
Serena looked puzzled, "The three of you studied together?"
"He didn't tell you?" Sammy asked.
Darien shrugged, "I thought if I mentioned it, I would sound like I did it for her. You were both studying and I joined you. It was nice to have someone to study with at home. I haven't really had that before. I just helped when you both got stuck."
Sammy stayed quiet. He didn't know how to explain that he was pleased Darien studied with them because he wanted to and not to impress his sister.
They all headed to the Arcade, and the moment they walked in the door Raye was yelling. "Serena, I can't believe you went and put yourself in danger like that! Next time take me with you." She crossed her arms and glared at Serena.
Serena sat down and was very apologetic, "I am sorry I ran off without superhero backup. I won't ever do that again. I promise. You can imagine that Darien wasn't pleased with what I did. Neither was my brother."
Serena pulled out her books and they all began studying. They seemed content with the fact that Darien had already handled her going off on her own. They trusted him to take her protection seriously.
Andrew poured coffee for Darien and got Sammy a hot chocolate. He then sighed and said, "So, what do I do about Molly? I wasn't competing in the meet. She went to Serena and not me. I get that Serena can do more, but she didn't even mention that anything was wrong."
Darien looked Andrew in the eye and said, "If I sound a little harsh, please know it is because I am trying to help." Andrew nodded and Darien continued, "Even before all of this happened, Serena was the one who fought for every single one of them." Darien sighed, he didn't know how to soften the blow. "What have you ever done that showed her you would fight for her? I understand why you didn't speak to Rita sooner. I really do. My question is why Molly didn't appear to know that you planned on breaking up with Rita?"
Sammy looked perplexed, "I am missing something. What happened?"
"They had feelings for each other. Andrew broke it off with Rita, and Molly asked what that meant for them. It appeared that Molly didn't know Andrew planned on ending things with Rita. She was just fighting being the 'other woman.'" Darien pointed out.
Andrew grew pale, "I thought she knew."
"Did you tell her?" Sammy asked him.
Andrew's shoulders slumped and he said, "I didn't think I needed to. I thought it would be obvious that I wanted to be with her."
Sammy laughed at that, "Don't you have a sister? I would think you would get how girls work. Sheesh, you should have even seen Serena. She lacked the confidence that Darien would actually want to date her. She's had a crush on him for years! They need to hear about your feelings, or they invent all sorts of scenarios in their heads."
Darien's head popped up, "Years?"
Sammy rolled his eyes, "Yup, you are an idiot for not asking her out sooner." He shrugged, "But, I guess you have realized that by now."
Darien reflected on how he could have been kissing her a whole lot sooner than he did. He liked her plump, soft lips. He also liked her plump breasts…. He rubbed his hands over his face. He needed to get it back together. He was sitting right next to her brother.
Sammy said, "Can we go back to how Andrew was an ass? I don't like the look you just had on your face, Darien."
Andrew began to object and stopped. He realized he didn't have a leg to stand on. "So, what do I do to make it up to Molly?"
"Be a man," was Sammy's blunt answer. "Even I know that. She's a strong woman. She doesn't need you to be a pushover. Show her that you can be relied on. You don't need super strength to do that. Just start fighting for her happiness. You are right. She should have gone to you too. You couldn't have battled the monster, but you could have listened to her fears."
Andrew sighed and said, "I just realized that Sunday, when I thought I was comforting her, I was actually pointing out that Serena would make sure everything was okay. I reassured her to trust in Serena. I didn't step up and make her feel more secure."
Sammy nodded and said, "Well, now that you know the problem, you can fix what you are doing. Step up and listen to her and try to help her when she needs it. Also, get to know Rui. They are obviously close. Be the kind of guy who cares to get to know the people who matter to their girlfriend. Darien is a great example of that." Sammy turned to Darien, "Any suggestions for Andrew on how to do that better?"
Darien almost let his jaw drop. He was floored. "I didn't realize that I was any good at that. I…"
Andrew scoffed, "Even I can see you are good at that. Sheesh! For one thing, Sammy is sitting here. Are you telling me that it was Serena's idea to bring him along?"
"Well, no. I asked. But, Sammy doesn't count. We've talked about this already. I see him as family and a good friend." Darien replied to Andrew.
Sammy couldn't contain his joy. He never thought he would be so happy to hear that it didn't count that he was Serena's brother.
That evening, when it was time to leave, Serena whispered in Mina's ear. "Do you mind if I go to Darien's apartment tonight? When he was yelling at me, it was really sexy."
Mina just laughed and said, "I'm not going to be home tonight either. Kunzite looked really hot kicking ass at the meet."
The girls all said goodbye and headed out. Serena walked over to Darien and Sammy. She said, "Can I come to your place tonight? I don't want to be in the apartment alone."
Sammy rolled his eyes, "Sure. That's why you want to come."
Serena looked at him and very frankly said, "I thought I would say that to spare you the truth. I was trying to cut down on what your therapist would have to help you work through."
Later that night, as soon as Darien closed the door to his bedroom, he asked, "So, what was the real reason?"
She gave him a heated look and said, "You were really sexy today when you were mad at me."
He walked over, picked her up by the waist and tossed her on the bed. He knew by now that she liked him to be more aggressive in his pursuit of her. He also had to trust she would tell him to stop if he went too far. He remembered thinking Endymion was bold in his perusal of Serenity. Frankly, he believed that Serena and Serenity were probably the same in how they wanted to be treated.
He pulled off one of her socks and then the other. He kissed the inside of each ankle as he did. He kneeled on the bed then and placed one of her feet on his chest, the other he laid out at an angle on the bed. He then ran his hands down her leg that he had up in the air. He slid the palm of his hand down her inner thigh stroking her panty line. He then ran his knuckles over the outside of her panties, teasing her clit. She mewled and rocked into his hand.
He pressed her hips down on the bed and said, "You stay put. I am going to punish you for being such a bad girl today."
He fully intended to make good on that promise.
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