Thank you blueeyedevil06 for being my beta


Chapter 39 - Transitions

It was Saturday night, and his old apartment was completely empty. The Penthouse had all of their furniture set up. Boxes still needed to be unpacked. Yet here he stood on the balcony outside of the Master Suit and looked over Tokyo. He had just hung up with the Tsukino's. He was livid.

He had been ready for a fight to keep Sammy with him. He had worked through countless possible arguments in his head in preparation for talking to his parents. What he hadn't prepared for, and what made him incredibly angry, was that they just let him go. No fuss. They just let him keep Sammy with him.

He closed his eyes, pictured himself in his old room tearing it apart and throwing things at the wall. It was his trick to control his emotions. He would mentally destroy his room then open his eyes and everything would be back in place. He wasn't as in control as he seemed. He just was good at pretending.

Serena stepped out onto the balcony and took his hand. She looked up at him with concern written all over her face, and he realized he was wrong. He wasn't good at pretending around Serena. She always saw through his stoicism. She saw him. She made him feel like he mattered.

He squeezed her hand and brought her closer to him, wrapping her in a hug and kissing the top of her head. He held her for a couple of minutes before he said, "Sammy can stay here for good. Your parents let him go."

She squeezed him even tighter, and said, "I am sorry. I can figure out what happened. I love that you are upset that they don't value him more."

"Aren't you upset too?" he asked, confused.

She looked up at him and said, "You forget that you have only known about their behaviour for a short amount of time. We have lived it long enough that we know what to expect. He won't be surprised. In fact, he will be happy because you want him here so badly."

"You agreed they may try and get in the way of a marriage if we fought them for Sammy." he pointed out.

"And that was true, if they fought for him. I just didn't think that they would fight. I didn't have the heart to say that in front of Sammy. Even though I think he already knew that." she said, trying to explain.

"They will sign marriage papers for us any time you want to marry." he informed her too.

She placed her hand on his cheek, smiled at him, and said, "So, smile. We are getting everything we want."

He did smile at that, "You are right. This is what I want. I just didn't think anyone could let go of either of you so easily."

"And I love that you feel that way." she kissed his chin.

He leaned down and claimed her mouth, deepening the kiss and savoring her taste. She was right. He had what he wanted here and in his arms. He would take what he was given and cherish it.

He pulled back and said, "So, do you like your new place?"

Serena smirked at him and said, "If I were the type of girl to like a huge, amazing penthouse, then yes. I love it. I think I need more dresses though. This feels like a place you wear a dress in."

He chuckled at her adorable observation and said, "I gave you a credit card that you never use. Go shopping and buy whatever you want. I want you to have everything. You have already given that to me."

A tear rolled down her cheek and she said, "I have everything in you too. What more can I want?"

"Some pretty dresses?" he prompted.

She chuckled, "Okay, those would be nice."

"So go on a shopping trip with the girls." He pressed her tightly into himself and whispered into her ear, "Or take me lingerie shopping. That would be fun too."

She shook her head, "I think I like surprising you with things like that. I did enjoy making you fall out of your chair the other day."

He growled into her ear lowly, "I liked that one a lot. You look so sexy in anything, or nothing. I like that also." He ran his hand down along her side caressing the side of her breast.

She moaned, arched back and pressed herself into him. "Darien, you do things to me."

"What do I do?" he whispered in her ear. He then stroked the side of her breast again.

Serena pulled him into their new bedroom and pushed him onto the bed. "Right now I am in charge."

As he held her after sex, he realized he really liked that side of her. He enjoyed her taking charge and telling him what she wanted. He told her as much, and she smirked.

She said, "Of course you do. You are so in control over your life. Why wouldn't you want to be able to relinquish control sometimes, to someone you trust?"

She made a lot of sense.

Later after they redressed and pretended that they had been unpacking, they met Sammy in the living room. He was overjoyed to hear his parents would let him stay with Darien and Serena. It made Darien a little melancholy that Sammy didn't even pause at the fact that his parents gave him up. Serena was right about that too. Sammy expected it.

Meanwhile, Beryl was still furious. Her anger permeated the whole of D Point near the North Pole. Metalia has been growing impatient and she pressed her cousin to get the Legendary Secret Treasure, a mission that led to her death. What exactly had happened, she wasn't sure, but she knew those Sailor Scouts were involved.

She swept into her throne room sending everyone one who had been there running to get out of her path. She had killed quite a few out of anger already. In her fury, she demanded the bodies stay for the time being. She liked looking at the destruction and death she caused. She smiled over at the two bodies that lay near her throne. One had told her the news of Bazzite's death. The other had been bringing her a glass of wine. The wine was delicious.

She cursed when she tried to come up with her next move. Bazzite was not just the one she trusted the most, she was her only Dark General. Well, the only one she hadn't killed during one of her fits.

Now she had to find someone to become her next Dark General. She despised what came next.

What came next for Darien, Serena, and their whole group was a beautiful time of peace. They had many discussions about Beryl and what it all meant. They knew that Andrew's totally badass move killing Bazzite must have sent Beryl scrambling. They knew the war wasn't over, but it was nice to have a break from the battles.

They trained, Serena still hated doing push ups, and they worked on strategy. They knew that whatever came next would be full of fury. Bazzite was related to Beryl after all. She would not just want the Crystal. She would want revenge.

Sammy thrived living with Darien and Serena. Very quickly his grades began to get even better. His latest standardized test score was not just the highest in his school. He was ranked in the top 100 in the country at his age. He enjoyed the response he received from Darien and Serena when he told them. They were so proud of him. Darien got him a new gaming system as a reward. Sammy thought that playing it on the large screen TV in the Family Room was incredible.

It was in that time that a girl had first really flirted with Darien. Serena had been sitting with the girls at the Arcade while Darien sat at the counter to talk with Andrew. He knew she needed time with her friends. He also liked to keep an eye on her. It was then that a girl he didn't know came up and asked him for the time. He decided to respond since he had been in a rather good mood that day.

She then thanked him and placed her hand on his arm, leaning into his space. She informed him that she had time and asked to join him for coffee. He was about to respond to her when he heard Serena.

She slammed her hands on the table and shouted, "Get the hell away from my fiance! He doesn't want to have coffee with you."

He watched her march over. She was angry, and she looked so sexy. She pointed her finger in the other girl's face and said, "It's time for you to leave. He is mine."

The other girl scoffed and looked smug, "Guys don't like jealous women. You won't be his fiance for long."

Darien grabbed Serena's hand, drawing her to him. He looked at the other girl and said, "Like hell I don't!" He then half drug her out of the Arcade and to their place. He made love to her, and as he buried himself inside of her, he told her how much he loved how she made him feel wanted. Serena made sure to let her jealousy show after that.

It was five weeks from the Thursday that Lita and Nephrite had started dating. Lita had been nervous because Nephrite had been acting strange. That evening, after school, he surprised her by taking her out to an incredibly fancy dinner. It was one of the best restaurants in town and had a chef that Lita admired.

When the desert course came and he started fidgeting, she couldn't stop herself from asking him what was wrong.

He wiped his hands on his pants and took her hand in his. "I'm nervous. You make me so nervous sometimes. You are a beautiful woman. I sometimes have to pinch myself that you agreed to go out with me. Then we found out that we are soulmates, and I felt so lucky. I mean, it means that you love me like I love you. How is that possible when I feel like I don't deserve such a strong, amazing woman? It's overwhelming. I just don't feel worthy. I promise to constantly try to be."

He paused, got down on his knee next to her at the table and pulled out a ring. "Lita, finding out I am your soulmate only made me hope you would want me in your life the way I already want you in mine. Please marry me."

She swooped down off of her chair into his arms, crying and nodding yes.

The whole group later came to celebrate their friends' joy.

Rui had become an issue in the group. Serena and Darien had discussed telling her about their secret and they had agreed to wait. It was a lot to tell someone who just got to know most of them. As time passed though, Serena grew to like Rui even more. They had come to the decision that they would wait a bit longer to tell her, but she would be told the secret.

Andrew had started morning practices with everyone right after his performance at the ball. He had grown in confidence in his physical ability. Sure, he wasn't a superhero, but he discovered that you didn't have to be in order to protect those you love. He could tell just by the look on Molly's face when she was thinking about him saving her life. The night of the ball had also been the first time they had sex. He was surprised how strong an aphrodisiac that had been and continued to be for her.

Serena and Darien looked over their group of friends as they sat at lunch. Serena said: It's time to tell Rui about us all. She has noticed that she is being left out.

I agree, he said, sighing. He liked her, but it was Serena that he wanted to protect and he wasn't sure how she would react. He trusted Serena's instincts on people though. She had an innate ability to see things. He knew he lacked that.

He squeezed her hand and said: You pick the time and the place and we will gather everyone.