AN: Okay, I lied. Sorry about that… I've been busy -.-;;

Also, to tell you the truth, the quote thing is holding up the posting of chapters a lot cuz it takes me so long to find a quote that fits each chapter…but I've been told that the quotes are cool so what do I do?? Oh well, I'll just post chapters and if they don't have a quote right away, well, then I'll find one eventually. Does that make everyone happy? Good. Now, finally, we get on with the story!!

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Chapter Thirteen: Pink Roses, Neatly Trimmed

Serena held the wishstone high above her head, treading softly within its silver circle. She stopped abruptly as a dark form whirled before her. Pale eyes gleamed as it stepped within her ring of light, bringing its dark glow with it. "You came, Serenity," it said, with a cold, cold voice and an icy smile. Pain flared and she opened her mouth to scream, but heat rose quickly to silence the agony. Strong arms encircled her from behind, and a warm whisper came in her ear, "I'll always be with you. You should've known; you can always trust me." The arms let go, and she was about to fall, when he caught her hand. "You see?" Midnight blue eyes smiled into her own, with a golden warmth…

She sat up with a gasp, panting. The bedroom around her came into sharp focus, and Luna regarded her with sleepy disinterest from the foot of the bed. She pressed a hand to her sweaty forehead. That dream again. . . but different, this time. I didn't scream, she thought, thinking of the last time she had the nightmare, when Darien had comforted her… she felt a little let down.

Silently reprimanding herself for such a silly notion, she slipped out of bed, yawning and stretching. It was then she realized that she was still wearing her party dress, having slept in it. Moaning with regret, she inspected the damage. The poor thing was wrinkled beyond repair.

Remorsefully, she pulled out her travel bag (repacked and moved into her-- well, Darien's-- room) and dug out a pair of flare jeans and a white baby- tee with a screened print of a chibi anime angel. She slipped them on and hung her once beautiful new dress over a chair with the mourning air of a funeral. Then she ran a hand over Luna, who had settled into the warm spot that Serena left in the bed, and went to see about some breakfast and coffee.

She found Darien sitting in a chair that he had pulled up to the window of his living room, staring at the street below with an empty mug in his hand and a pensive expression on his face. He didn't seem to notice her presence, and she regarded his set, handsome features for a moment, admiring the way early sunlight touched his hair and played over his skin. Then she decided to leave him to his apparently absorbing thoughts and went into the kitchen. She felt a little awkward about what she would say to him, anyway.

She paused and looked back at his outline. Remembered sensations rushed through her. His arms around her, his cheek on her hair, his hands stroking her face, his lips on hers… She blushed. But he didn't know that she knew he had kissed her. He had thought she was asleep. She shook her head. It probably didn't mean anything, anyway. It must have been one of those 'caught in the moment' things. . . I'd be naïve to think it was anything more. . . She sighed and turned away. Someone as experienced and smooth as Darien would never be interested in someone as silly and troublesome as me.

With a decidedly dejected air, Serena poured herself some coffee and opened a cupboard to get some cereal. She knew that all Darien had was plain Cheerios, but they weren't bad if you put sugar on them… Then she did a double-take. Leaning forward, she inspected the cabinet one more time.

Coming out of the kitchen, she stood in front of Darien with a hand on her hip and asked, accusingly, "Are you aware that there is absolutely no cereal in this house?"

He didn't even look at her. "Oh. That's nice."

"Nice?" Serena echoed indignantly. "Nice?! I'm hungry! What am I supposed to eat?"

His eyes looked slightly glazed as he continued to stare down at the cars. "Mm hm," he said, absently.

Serena balked. "Hello? Darien? Are you even listening to me?" She waved a hand in front of his sightless eyes. He started and turned to her as if realizing her presence for the first time.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Serena. Did you say something?"

She regarded him with a worried expression. "Yeeesss," she said slowly, as if talking to a small child. "I asked what you expect me to eat for breakfast. There is no cereal, and no other food besides some beer in the fridge."

He blinked. "Oh. Uh, sorry…guess I need to do some grocery shopping, huh?" He sighed and stood up, coming fully back to reality from whatever reprieve he had been absorbed in. Then he smiled. "Tell you what. There's a really great little bagel stand on Fourth Street. We can walk over and get some breakfast together."

Suppressing her curiosity about what in the world he had been pondering as he studied the view, she agreed to what her stomach said was a very good idea.

~----------~

"Look, Darien, they're not afraid at all!"

"Why should they be? They know you're going to feed them. Everyone knows pigeons have fool-proof sucker radar."

Ignoring his little jab, Serena knelt on the sidewalk in front of the flock of noisy birds. She held out one hand, and they came right up for a piece of her bagel. Their bobbing heads watched her with bright eyes as little bits of toasted bread and cream cheese disappeared into their quick-jabbing beaks. Delighted, she looked up to grin at Darien. He had his arms crossed, and was shaking his head, but his eyes shone with amusement… and… something else? She couldn't tell, but maybe…she looked away quickly before he could sense her uncertainty. No, she wouldn't read anything into it. She just being silly, getting excited over pigeons and imagining things in Darien's eyes. Her heart clenched with an unexpected bitterness. She hated that about herself.

With a sigh, she stood up and tossed the rest of the bagel to the birds. It instantly disappeared under a mass of flapping and cooing. Serena wrapped her arms around herself and started walking again.

Why am I always such a child? How stupid, they're just dumb, fat birds who are overfed by silly dopes like me.

Darien jogged a couple steps to catch up to her again. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned at her abrupt mood change.

"Nothing. I'm sorry. It's stupid, to get excited over some dumb birds." She couldn't meet his eye. What's the matter with me? It's not a big deal.

He looked at her, full of remorse. "No, it's not. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make fun of you. I don't think it's stupid at all." He grinned and tapped her lightly on the nose. "Actually, I think it's pretty cute."

She blushed and smiled with a sudden warmth. Then it faded as a thought came to her: Cute? Great, so I'm 'cute'--like a little sister.

And sure enough, Darien continued, "You know, sometimes you remind me a little of Mina. You're so bright and full of life. Like even though bad stuff might happen to you, you can still let go and just be a little kid for a while. Life doesn't have to be complicated for you all the time." He smiled and pulled one of her hands away from her side. "I love that about you," he said, very softly, as he laced his fingers through hers.

Serena felt her face heating again. She felt strange, sort of dizzy and warm. There was that something in his eyes again, that something that might be… She looked down at their intertwined fingers, at the linked hands swinging between them as they walked. She had to swallow hard to make sure she could speak normally.

"I've…always hated that about myself. That I'm so childish. I always feel like a little kid, playing at being an adult," she whispered, not really sure why she was telling him.

His fingers tightened on hers. "Don't feel like that. It's a gift, that vitality. Everywhere you go," he made a gesture with his free hand to encompass the city landscape around them, "you spread joy. You lighten people's hearts." He smiled down at her rosy cheeks. "And that's a gift that you should be glad of." Then he looked away, and his eyes were a little darker than usual. He added, almost under his breath, "The world needs all the sunshine it can get."

Unconsciously, she squeezed his hand a little tighter. He looked down to their interlocked hands, then back up to her clear aquamarine eyes, full of concern. A small smile crept across his lips despite himself, and they walked a little way in silence, swinging their hands between them.

~----------~

"…and Andrew said, 'Whoa, dude, that's not *my* car!'"

Bubbly laughter spilled out of Serena as she doubled over with hilarity. Darien laughed, too, delighted that she was delighted with his story. Finally, she managed to straighten up and wipe her eyes.

"Oh god, Andrew is hopeless, isn't he?" she said, still grinning.

Darien chuckled. "Yeah, well, what can I say? That's my best friend."

Serena laughed again. "You really have some friends. First there's Ami, who never stops talking, and then there's Andrew, who can't stay out of trouble…the only normal one seems to be Sapphire, but his brother is just…creepy."

Both quieted at the mention of Diamond. They walked another few steps before Darien came to an abrupt stop. Serena stopped too, puzzled.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He was looking up at a big house in front of him. They had somehow ended up in the residential area just outside the city. Darien shook his head. "I don't know…for some reason, I've walked us over to Artemis' house…you know, my adoptive father. It's strange…I don't think I meant to…" He shook his head again. What in the world? Why would I take her here of all places. . .

She took a second look at the house, with sparked interest. It was large and Victorian, with ornate latticework over the windows. The paint was a stately color of grayish-blue, edged with white trimming. It was well cared for, and the roses by the front walk were trimmed neatly. The overall effect was quite charming, and she found herself wishing she lived in such a beautiful house.

Darien seemed embarrassed, and he put one hand behind his neck, rubbing it as though there were an ache there. "Uh, well…I guess we should go back to my apartment now…uh, it'll probably take us a couple hours to walk back, so we should get started, I guess…"

Serena didn't want to go, but he looked so uncomfortable… she sighed and took one last, wistful look at the neat pink roses that lined the slate stepping-stone front path. "All right," she agreed quietly, and turned to go.

But they had taken only a few steps when a small voice called out, tentatively, "Darien?" He froze, and turned around slowly. "Darien?!" the voice asked again, a little louder. "It is you!"

Serena turned back as well, just in time to see a blond streak hurtling itself into Darien's arms. He laughed and scooped the small figure up, setting the little girl on his hip. She latched her arms tightly around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "Darien, I missed you!" she exclaimed, in a happy little girl voice.

He smiled and tapped her on the nose. "I missed you, too, Mina-mine."

She giggled, then noticed Serena for the first time. Her laughter died, and she studied the stranger with wide, sky-blue eyes. Her arms tightened on Darien's neck, more a possessive action than a fearful one.

Serena proceeded cautiously, sensing tension. "I'm Serena," she said, careful to use an open tone with no false brightness. "You must be Mina, my fellow lover of 'Lady and the Tramp,' " she continued, extending her hand.

Wide and pure, the clear blue eyes bore steadily into her own, with an unwavering intensity. No smile appeared, and the young face was set in adult seriousness. Serena swallowed hard and found it hard to look away. For a moment, she was frozen, and silver depths swirled slowly deep within her, gently stirred by the blue gaze of the small girl's eyes. Then the sensation was abruptly gone, and Serena took a shaky breath, wondering what had just happened.

Mina solemnly shook the extended hand, and smiled for the first time since seeing Serena. Her strange seriousness disappeared, and she became a bouncy little girl again.

"I thought so," she ascertained brightly, "You are one of the special ones. Like Darien."

Serena frowned slightly in puzzlement. "What do you mean, 'special ones'?"

"Those who carry a--"

"Okay Mina, Serena doesn't want to hear about that," Darien interrupted quickly. "Uh, let's, uh, go inside and see what Papa's doing, okay?"

Both girls eyed him strangely.

He quickly tried to recover, "Um, that is, unless you'd really rather go back, Serena… I just thought since we're here, and they're here, uh, I guess we should at least say hello."

One of Serena's eyebrows quirked up. She could almost see sweat breaking out on Darien's brow. What was with him? Well, if he really insisted on her going inside his beautiful, charming, inviting and wonderful house, then why should she argue?

"Alright," she agreed, "let's just go say hello."

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