Hey everybuddy. Here's another chapter. Enjoy:)
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"Darien!" Serena screamed happily, when she saw the familiar red sports car parked in the parking lot. The girls had all come out of the back door to avoid the press camped around the front of the school, and luckily Darien had anticipated that and was parked and waiting in the back lot. Serena ran to the side door and climbed in.
Darien leaned over and gave her a kiss. "What about the other girls? Don't they want a ride home too?"
"Oh, they have their own ways of getting home." Serena smiled slightly, and kissed him again. Then she leaned back into the seat. In the distance, you could see 3 figures, dressed in Sailor suits, roof hoping their way home.
Darien started up the car and put his arm around Serena drawing her close. Serena settled herself comfortably in his arms.
"Oh," Serena moaned silently. "I've missed you so much. It's been so hard without you."
Darien kissed her on the top of her head. "I've missed you too."
"So, what did Andrew say when you told him?
"Well…"
*Flashback*
It was early Monday morning when Darien walked into the Crown Arcade.
"About time you got here!" Andrew said from behind the counter. He had been waiting since Sunday morning for Darien to come in and talk to him.
"Umm, hi Andrew." Darien hadn't expected that welcome. He had more expected a friendly 'Hi.'
"Sit." was all Andrew said. Luckily, Darien noticed, Andrew had a huge smile on his face, like he had heard a really funny joke and couldn't wait to tell it.
Darien walked over to counter and sat down. "I'm going to guess that you know about Serena and the girls."
"Well duh! I'm not *that* out of it. What I want to know is how come you never told me that you were Tuxedo Mask!"
That last comment got Darien's attention fast. "How did you know that I'm Tuxedo Mask?!" 'Good going Darien!' he thought to himself. 'You could've denied it. Open mouth, insert foot."
"Man, how long did you actually think that you could keep a secret that huge from your best friend." Andrew laughed slightly.
Darien just stared at him. "How did you actually find out?"
"Well, actually, I figured it out that time you kissed Sailor Moon…Serena on TV." Darien blushed at that, but only slightly. "I've seen the two of you kiss enough, and when you two kiss, it's like to pieces of a puzzle fitting together to form one. I've never seen any couple like that, not even Rita and I. So when I saw how Tux and Sailor Moon kissed, I knew that it was you guys."
"So you've known about me and Serena all this time?" Darien asked. He didn't expect an answer, since he already knew it. "How come you never told us that you knew?"
"Well, mostly because I knew that you didn't want anyone to find out."
"Andrew," Darien said, looking him straight in the eye "Thanks."
"Anytime bud, anytime."
*end flashback*
"So Andrew's known the whole time. I'm glad that he kept it a secret." Serena said.
"Ya, that was nice of him. He never even told Rita."
"Wow. Oh, Darien, stop. There's Sammy."
Darien pulled over to the curb. Serena leaned her head out the window. "Sammy, get in."
Serena got out so that Sammy could get in the back. When she got back in, she settled herself in Darien's arms again. Serena could here Sammy's complaint, but chose to ignore it. "So Sammy, how was school?"
"The usual. Tons of people asking me questions, flunked err…*aced* my history test."
"Great Sammy. Glad to see that I'm not the only one who fails err aces tests." Serena giggled. She could mentally see Sammy looking guilty in the backseat, which he was.
In Serena's mind, they pulled up to the house far to soon. The media didn't appear to be around, but that probably was because they were still over at the school.
"Why don't you come in Darien?" Serena asked him. She spoke whisper-like, but Darien heard her. "Daddy's not home yet, some you don't have to worry about being questioned to death, and I'm sure that Rini would like to see you. And it'll probably be the closest thing that we can get to a date for a few weeks."
"Aw, would I ever pass up the chance to spend time with you? Never."
Serena gave him kiss, quite a long one. Sammy, of course, decided that maybe they had forgotten about him.
"Ahem." He said rather loudly. Serena and Darien pulled away from their kiss, and blushed when they realized that they had forgotten that he was in the backseat. "If you guys are going to continue to make-out, can you at least let me out of the car."
Serena and Darien both blushed more, and climbed out of the car. Sammy, quickly climbed out and dashed inside, in a hurry to get away from the lovebirds. Serena and Darien, however, took a much slower pace, holding hands tightly.
"Mom! Rini! We're home!" Serena cried when her and Darien entered the room.
Rini poked her head around the corner. Her eyes lit up when she saw Darien. "Darien!" she cried, running towards him. She took a leap and jumped into his arms. Luckily, he was prepared for it.
"Hello Rini" he said, after giving her a hug.
"Oh, Darien, hello." Ikuko said, when she came into the hall. "I'm glad you're here. Come into the living room, Rini and I made a lemon pie, so there's something for a nice snack." Ikuko walked back into the kitchen to get the snack.
Serena and Darien, still carrying Rini, went into the living room and sat down. Rini moved out of Darien's arms and sat on the couch next to him. Darien wrapped his arm around Serena's shoulders, and she happily leaned against him. 'They look a lot like Mommy and Daddy do.' Rini thought watching them communicate with their eyes, and just enjoy each other's company. 'it makes sense, cause they *are* Mommy and Daddy, but still. Serena and Darien are in a totally different time. Ugh, this is way to complicated.' Rini leaned back on the couch, giving her brains a rest.
They talked for a while, mostly discussing the media. Naturally, they all managed to finish off almost the entire pie, leaving one piece for Kenji. When Serena finally checked the time, she gasped.
"Darien," she said. "Daddy will be home in a few minutes. I don't know about you, but I don't think dealing with him right now would benefit anyone."
"Your right, Serena. Want to walk me to the door?"
They got up, and still holding onto each other, walked out to the door. Rini followed them, but stopped at the doorway. She didn't want to interfere in their "moment". Instead, she turned around and walked up the stairs to her room. She was about to climb up onto the roof, but decided against it. instead, she sat by the window to watch the city.
Darien and Serena, meanwhile, were still at the door, locked in one of their Don't-Let-Me-Go goodbye kisses. They only broke apart when they finally needed air. "I love you" Serena whispered to him.
"I love you too."
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you more."
Darien, realizing what time it was, gave Serena a quick goodbye kiss, walked out to his car and got in. as he drove down the street, he noticed Kenji's car driving up to the house. 'Way to close.' He thought to himself.
Kenji, meanwhile, entered the house with a look of pure anger. At first, she thought that it was because he had seen Darien, but when he walked passed her without even noticing her, Serena decided that it must be something else.
"The nerve!" Kenji shouted when he entered the kitchen. Serena followed him. "Can you believe the nerve of my boss?!"
"What happened honey?" Ikuko said.
"My boss comes into my office and tells me that he wants me to do a tell-all article about my daughter and the Sailor Scouts! It took every bit of discipline I had to not tell him where he could shove his idea! Can you believe that he would actually ask me to do something like that?!"
"I'll do it." Serena said from the doorway.
"Serena," her father said, trying to calm down. He hadn't even noticed her before. "No you will not. I refuse to do any type of a story on you. I just won't."
"Daddy, please. Maybe this will stop the reporters from hounding us."
"Or make them go after you even more."
"Either way, at least with you we can control what you write, and I know, we know, that you won't twist what we say. And I don't want you losing your job because of this."
"Serena, I won't." Her father was speaking in his most soothing voice. He didn't want to add to the concerns that she already carried. "Remember, bunny, I'm not a reporter, I'm a photographer. My boss knew that when he gave me the assignment. He knew that I wouldn't take it, but he wanted to try. But, Serena, I refuse to participate in anything that will make your life harder, and puts more pressure on you. This was supposed to be a secret; I won't help expose it more. You understand, right?"
"Yes daddy." Serena said, somewhat reluctantly. She knew that Kenji would have some problems because he wouldn't do the article, but Serena agreed with what he said. Exposing themselves more wouldn't help at all. "I'll be in my room."
***
When Serena got to her room, she sat down by the window, and just stared at the moon. 'It just isn't fair.' She thought. 'I was sent to Earth so I could have a normal life. It was destroyed when I became a scout, but I could at least have a normal life between battles. After Galaxia, it should have been easier, with only strays. I don't know why any of us thought that, we just did. And now…' You could see two trails of tears running down Serena's face. You couldn't hear her crying, but you could see she was. 'We can never have a normal life. The media will always be around, and Crystal Tokyo, probably in ten years or so. I wish… I wish we could just go back, stop the reporter who started this.'
Serena was still staring at the moon, silently crying, when Rini came in. "Serena?" she whispered. It was barely audible, so Serena couldn't hear it. Rini quietly went up to her, and wrapped her arms around Serena. "No matter what Serena," Rini whispered, quiet enough so that only she and Serena could hear. "The scouts and I, we will always protect you. The media will always be there, but I'll bet that they eventually back off a bit. Just, don't worry. I like you better happy."
Serena tore her eyes away from the moon to look at the little girl. Serena could see a few tears falling from Rini's eyes now too. 'Oh, Rini.' Serena thought, picking the small girl up and setting her down next to her. 'She's right. It will be okay. And worse comes to worse, Jupiter could always give the media a small electric shock.' That thought made her smile, and she went back to staring at the moon.
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Another chapter done (Woohoo!). Warning everybody, epilogue is next. Then I get to start on my new story!!!
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"Darien!" Serena screamed happily, when she saw the familiar red sports car parked in the parking lot. The girls had all come out of the back door to avoid the press camped around the front of the school, and luckily Darien had anticipated that and was parked and waiting in the back lot. Serena ran to the side door and climbed in.
Darien leaned over and gave her a kiss. "What about the other girls? Don't they want a ride home too?"
"Oh, they have their own ways of getting home." Serena smiled slightly, and kissed him again. Then she leaned back into the seat. In the distance, you could see 3 figures, dressed in Sailor suits, roof hoping their way home.
Darien started up the car and put his arm around Serena drawing her close. Serena settled herself comfortably in his arms.
"Oh," Serena moaned silently. "I've missed you so much. It's been so hard without you."
Darien kissed her on the top of her head. "I've missed you too."
"So, what did Andrew say when you told him?
"Well…"
*Flashback*
It was early Monday morning when Darien walked into the Crown Arcade.
"About time you got here!" Andrew said from behind the counter. He had been waiting since Sunday morning for Darien to come in and talk to him.
"Umm, hi Andrew." Darien hadn't expected that welcome. He had more expected a friendly 'Hi.'
"Sit." was all Andrew said. Luckily, Darien noticed, Andrew had a huge smile on his face, like he had heard a really funny joke and couldn't wait to tell it.
Darien walked over to counter and sat down. "I'm going to guess that you know about Serena and the girls."
"Well duh! I'm not *that* out of it. What I want to know is how come you never told me that you were Tuxedo Mask!"
That last comment got Darien's attention fast. "How did you know that I'm Tuxedo Mask?!" 'Good going Darien!' he thought to himself. 'You could've denied it. Open mouth, insert foot."
"Man, how long did you actually think that you could keep a secret that huge from your best friend." Andrew laughed slightly.
Darien just stared at him. "How did you actually find out?"
"Well, actually, I figured it out that time you kissed Sailor Moon…Serena on TV." Darien blushed at that, but only slightly. "I've seen the two of you kiss enough, and when you two kiss, it's like to pieces of a puzzle fitting together to form one. I've never seen any couple like that, not even Rita and I. So when I saw how Tux and Sailor Moon kissed, I knew that it was you guys."
"So you've known about me and Serena all this time?" Darien asked. He didn't expect an answer, since he already knew it. "How come you never told us that you knew?"
"Well, mostly because I knew that you didn't want anyone to find out."
"Andrew," Darien said, looking him straight in the eye "Thanks."
"Anytime bud, anytime."
*end flashback*
"So Andrew's known the whole time. I'm glad that he kept it a secret." Serena said.
"Ya, that was nice of him. He never even told Rita."
"Wow. Oh, Darien, stop. There's Sammy."
Darien pulled over to the curb. Serena leaned her head out the window. "Sammy, get in."
Serena got out so that Sammy could get in the back. When she got back in, she settled herself in Darien's arms again. Serena could here Sammy's complaint, but chose to ignore it. "So Sammy, how was school?"
"The usual. Tons of people asking me questions, flunked err…*aced* my history test."
"Great Sammy. Glad to see that I'm not the only one who fails err aces tests." Serena giggled. She could mentally see Sammy looking guilty in the backseat, which he was.
In Serena's mind, they pulled up to the house far to soon. The media didn't appear to be around, but that probably was because they were still over at the school.
"Why don't you come in Darien?" Serena asked him. She spoke whisper-like, but Darien heard her. "Daddy's not home yet, some you don't have to worry about being questioned to death, and I'm sure that Rini would like to see you. And it'll probably be the closest thing that we can get to a date for a few weeks."
"Aw, would I ever pass up the chance to spend time with you? Never."
Serena gave him kiss, quite a long one. Sammy, of course, decided that maybe they had forgotten about him.
"Ahem." He said rather loudly. Serena and Darien pulled away from their kiss, and blushed when they realized that they had forgotten that he was in the backseat. "If you guys are going to continue to make-out, can you at least let me out of the car."
Serena and Darien both blushed more, and climbed out of the car. Sammy, quickly climbed out and dashed inside, in a hurry to get away from the lovebirds. Serena and Darien, however, took a much slower pace, holding hands tightly.
"Mom! Rini! We're home!" Serena cried when her and Darien entered the room.
Rini poked her head around the corner. Her eyes lit up when she saw Darien. "Darien!" she cried, running towards him. She took a leap and jumped into his arms. Luckily, he was prepared for it.
"Hello Rini" he said, after giving her a hug.
"Oh, Darien, hello." Ikuko said, when she came into the hall. "I'm glad you're here. Come into the living room, Rini and I made a lemon pie, so there's something for a nice snack." Ikuko walked back into the kitchen to get the snack.
Serena and Darien, still carrying Rini, went into the living room and sat down. Rini moved out of Darien's arms and sat on the couch next to him. Darien wrapped his arm around Serena's shoulders, and she happily leaned against him. 'They look a lot like Mommy and Daddy do.' Rini thought watching them communicate with their eyes, and just enjoy each other's company. 'it makes sense, cause they *are* Mommy and Daddy, but still. Serena and Darien are in a totally different time. Ugh, this is way to complicated.' Rini leaned back on the couch, giving her brains a rest.
They talked for a while, mostly discussing the media. Naturally, they all managed to finish off almost the entire pie, leaving one piece for Kenji. When Serena finally checked the time, she gasped.
"Darien," she said. "Daddy will be home in a few minutes. I don't know about you, but I don't think dealing with him right now would benefit anyone."
"Your right, Serena. Want to walk me to the door?"
They got up, and still holding onto each other, walked out to the door. Rini followed them, but stopped at the doorway. She didn't want to interfere in their "moment". Instead, she turned around and walked up the stairs to her room. She was about to climb up onto the roof, but decided against it. instead, she sat by the window to watch the city.
Darien and Serena, meanwhile, were still at the door, locked in one of their Don't-Let-Me-Go goodbye kisses. They only broke apart when they finally needed air. "I love you" Serena whispered to him.
"I love you too."
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you more."
Darien, realizing what time it was, gave Serena a quick goodbye kiss, walked out to his car and got in. as he drove down the street, he noticed Kenji's car driving up to the house. 'Way to close.' He thought to himself.
Kenji, meanwhile, entered the house with a look of pure anger. At first, she thought that it was because he had seen Darien, but when he walked passed her without even noticing her, Serena decided that it must be something else.
"The nerve!" Kenji shouted when he entered the kitchen. Serena followed him. "Can you believe the nerve of my boss?!"
"What happened honey?" Ikuko said.
"My boss comes into my office and tells me that he wants me to do a tell-all article about my daughter and the Sailor Scouts! It took every bit of discipline I had to not tell him where he could shove his idea! Can you believe that he would actually ask me to do something like that?!"
"I'll do it." Serena said from the doorway.
"Serena," her father said, trying to calm down. He hadn't even noticed her before. "No you will not. I refuse to do any type of a story on you. I just won't."
"Daddy, please. Maybe this will stop the reporters from hounding us."
"Or make them go after you even more."
"Either way, at least with you we can control what you write, and I know, we know, that you won't twist what we say. And I don't want you losing your job because of this."
"Serena, I won't." Her father was speaking in his most soothing voice. He didn't want to add to the concerns that she already carried. "Remember, bunny, I'm not a reporter, I'm a photographer. My boss knew that when he gave me the assignment. He knew that I wouldn't take it, but he wanted to try. But, Serena, I refuse to participate in anything that will make your life harder, and puts more pressure on you. This was supposed to be a secret; I won't help expose it more. You understand, right?"
"Yes daddy." Serena said, somewhat reluctantly. She knew that Kenji would have some problems because he wouldn't do the article, but Serena agreed with what he said. Exposing themselves more wouldn't help at all. "I'll be in my room."
***
When Serena got to her room, she sat down by the window, and just stared at the moon. 'It just isn't fair.' She thought. 'I was sent to Earth so I could have a normal life. It was destroyed when I became a scout, but I could at least have a normal life between battles. After Galaxia, it should have been easier, with only strays. I don't know why any of us thought that, we just did. And now…' You could see two trails of tears running down Serena's face. You couldn't hear her crying, but you could see she was. 'We can never have a normal life. The media will always be around, and Crystal Tokyo, probably in ten years or so. I wish… I wish we could just go back, stop the reporter who started this.'
Serena was still staring at the moon, silently crying, when Rini came in. "Serena?" she whispered. It was barely audible, so Serena couldn't hear it. Rini quietly went up to her, and wrapped her arms around Serena. "No matter what Serena," Rini whispered, quiet enough so that only she and Serena could hear. "The scouts and I, we will always protect you. The media will always be there, but I'll bet that they eventually back off a bit. Just, don't worry. I like you better happy."
Serena tore her eyes away from the moon to look at the little girl. Serena could see a few tears falling from Rini's eyes now too. 'Oh, Rini.' Serena thought, picking the small girl up and setting her down next to her. 'She's right. It will be okay. And worse comes to worse, Jupiter could always give the media a small electric shock.' That thought made her smile, and she went back to staring at the moon.
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Another chapter done (Woohoo!). Warning everybody, epilogue is next. Then I get to start on my new story!!!