by Lady Aishiteru
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. I do own this fic, though.
Sean folded the last shirt in the pile and wiped his forehead with his arm. 'Man, it's hot in here, he thought, wishing to the Powers that Be that someone would get around to fixing the air conditioning in the mall. It was ninety degrees outside, and that was in the shade. Inside, it wasn't any cooler.
The air conditioning had quit at noon, and the repair team was stuck in an elevator. Ironically, they needed another repair team to get them out. It was all a big headache, and much more than Sean really wanted to deal with. He wished the clothing department would allow them to move Casual Friday to Monday, and Tuesday as well, if the situation kep snowballing.
"Hey, Sean, it's closing time. You ready to go?" called a voice over his shoulder.
"Boss, I thought you'd never say that," he said, flashing a killer grin. He wrung the shirt of his uniform for emphasis.
"Sean Baker, you've got to stop calling me that," said the owner of the voice. She was about 5'7", long legged and slender, with cropped brown hair and high cheekbones. "My name is Linda, and hearing 'hey, boss' every hour is really grating on my nerves," she said, placing her hands on her hips.
"Whatever you say, boss," Sean said. Linda rolled her eyes and punched in the security codes for the alarm system.
"Sean, a couple of us management types were thinking of heading out for some coffee after work. Would you be interested in joining us?"
"No, thanks. I've got to get home." Sean replied. He shook his head when Linda's back was turned. Whenever Linda worked the same shift as him, she would always try to ask him out. He would always let her down gently, but it was clear to see that she wasn't picking up on his signals.
And she wasn't the only one. Ever since Sean had started this job a month ago, women were always hitting on him. He had gotten a job in the lingerie department due to his impressive knowledge of women's underthings. The interviewer had shaken her head, saying that he must have undressed many a woman to know as much about bras as he did. In response, Sean had just smiled, neither affirming nor denying. With his tall, triangular build, ocean blue eyes and platinum blonde hair, it was fair to assume that he had broken his share of hearts.
Sean hailed a cab and made his way to his apartment. He twirled his keys on his finger and opened the door. "Luceee, I'm hoooome!" he yelled. 'I always wanted to say that,' he thought, thankful that he lived alone.
Sean took a wide, pink pen out of his pocket and raised it into the air. Muscles became curves, and short, close cropped platinum locks became long, golden tresses topped off by a twin pair of odangos.
Serena hugged herself and collapsed on the floor, shivering from exhaustion. Using the Luna Pen for such extensive amounts of time really took a lot out of her, but it was a necessary evil. She walked over to her bathtub and fiddled with the tap until it produced lukewarm water. She took off her store uniform, sank into the tepid waters and sighed contentedly. Ah, this was the life.
Her application into Azabu had finally been accepted. She had received the response yesterday, and was very thankful for it. She thanked her lucky stars for whatever power had helped her with the application test; it was the most difficult thing she had ever had to do. Well, second most difficult.
She was also thankful that the Luna Pen's transformation was complete, for Azabu was an all male academy. When she became Sean, she became him completely. Under the clothes, Sean was all man. Serena had to admit that certain details about male life had been difficult to adjust to at first. During her first week as Sean, she must have went into the ladies' room at least three times, not to mention the method of what happened once inside the bathroom. Getting used to all of the female attention she had been receiving was also difficult. She hoped that she had never been that nauseatingly pretentious with Darien.
Darien walked slowly to school that morning, dragging his footsteps on the pavement. He had hoped that he would bump into Serena today, just as he had anticipated being knocked out cold by the Odango Express for every morning of the past month. He looked at his watch and sighed. He regretted that his mornings had been remarkably collision free.
'Need....coffee....'Darien's sleep deprived brain ground out. He decided to drop by the coffee shop for his daily dose of vitamin C - caffeine. He no longer visited the arcade in the mornings; it was too full of memories.
As he opened the door, he bumped into a tall, white haired stranger. "Excuse me," said the man.
He scratched his head as the newcomer walked past him. There was something familiar about that guy, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. "Hey!" he called out.
The stranger stopped, then pivoted on his heel so they were facing each other. "Yes?"
"Do I...know you from somewhere?" he asked.
At this, the stranger frowned and looked down at the ground. "No," he said, walking away. "We have never met."
"Well, we're wearing the same uniform. Can you at least tell me your name?"
"My name? Sean Baker."
"I'm Darien Shields. Nice to meet you." Sean looked like he was going to walk away again, so Darien spoke. "I don't usually do this, but would you like to walk to school with me?"
"Sure," Sean said, smiling. He felt a little nervous when he saw Darien smile back at him, a sight he had been aching to see for weeks. After all, he was still Serena at heart. He wanted to get out the Luna pen, throw caution to the wind and kiss the sweet breath out of that gorgeous man walking next to him. His cheeks flamed bright red at the thought.
"Sean, you're blushing," Darien observed.
'CRAP! Um....I forgot about that part!' thought Sean. It was far too early in the game to be discovered now!
"Penny for your thoughts?" asked Darien.
"I was just...thinking about...someone I miss," amended Sean, staring at a random crack in the sidewalk.
"Hn," said Darien, sounding pensive. Sean knew exactly what was inferred by that introspective "hn," but he decided not to press it. He knew from experience that if pressed too far, Darien would become more introverted, and he definetly didn't want that.
"Well, here we are. Since I'm guessing you're new here, would you like me to show you around?"
"Sure. Lead the way, Indiana Jones," he said, flashing a grin.
Darien smiled at Sean's dry sense of humor. He had only known him fifteen minutes, but he felt like he had known him his whole life. Already, he could see them becoming fast friends. "Any requests?"
"I've got a ton of them."
"Then we'll take it from the top."
"Well," said Sean, feeling a bit sheepish. "For starters, could you help me find my locker?