AN: The last chapter!!!!! Hard to believe, huh? *sniff* Well, it's been
fun, but I guess it has to end sometime. I hope everyone enjoyed the story,
will like the ending, and will read any new stories I post in the future!
See you all soon, hopefully……
~ryo-chan~ ^_~
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Mishi yume /sametemo iro no/ kakitsubata
I wake and find
the colored iris
I saw in my dream.
--Shushiki, from Japanese Death Poems, p. 306
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Nineteen: The Wish Not Granted by a Wishstone
The power drained slowly from him, leaving him weak and shaky. He slid to the floor, Serena a dead weight in his arms, passed out from the strain of upholding her power for so long.
Darien held her, panting and watching with sad eyes as Sapphire knelt beside his brother.
"Oh, Diamond," the man whispered, reaching out to pull the lids over the sightless, pale blue eyes. "You always were so full of pride. Proud that you were the one who carried the crystal. Proud that you could have any woman you wanted. Proud that father favored you and that you were the strongest of his children. But at the last, it is I--" and poor Sapphire choked on tears and stumbled, "I… who is proud of you."
The blue head bent to the white one and Sapphire kissed his brother's forehead. Then he stilled with a sudden gasp and held his hand over Diamond's parted lips. He looked at Darien in wonder, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"He breathes…He lives!" he whispered, disbelievingly.
Darien drew in a shaky breath. "Well…we didn't want to kill him. Especially when he dropped his power like that. He was defenseless. But we couldn't pull the power back once it had built up that strongly."
Sapphire took a deep breath and stood, tucking the black stone into the front pocket of the navy jacket he wore. He stooped down and pulled Diamond's still form into his arms, lifting his brother's body. A look of pain crossed his face. "He lives…but…he is gone. I can't feel him anymore. My brother is gone. Something else remains in his place." Sapphire seemed to struggle with the terrible knowledge for a moment before he could overcome his grief enough to speak.
"Darien," he said, holding his brother, "I want…to say…"
Darien couldn't bear to see him suffer so and held up a hand to silence him. "You don't have to say anything."
Sapphire shook his head. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry. For not doing anything about this before. I knew what Diamond was doing in this apartment, why he had rented it and how he was getting all those women to come to him here. But I never did a thing about it. I never did anything against Diamond, no matter what he had planned. I always knew about it, of course, because I'm…was… his Reader and I'm tied to the crystal just as strongly as he was. But I'm not the chosen one and I can't control it like he could, and I've always been afraid of that power. I wanted to believe…that he would never hurt me, never use that power against me; but being a Reader, I have no illusions about the purity of human nature. Not even that of a brother. So I never raised a finger against him, no matter what horrible things he did." Sapphire sighed as he looked down at Diamond's still face. "I did love him, though," he said, very quietly.
Darien felt a wave of sorrow for his friend. "Of course you did," he said, gently, "he was your brother. And you know, he loved you, too, even if he didn't show it."
Sapphire's face grew dark in sorrow. "Yes, I did know that," he whispered, so softly that Darien almost didn't hear it.
He was quiet, not knowing what to say to such a deep pain. But the moment of solemnity was interrupted by a most unwelcome sound.
Darien stumbled unsteadily to his feet to answer the sudden, sharp ringing of the doorbell.
A police officer stuck his head in the doorway as soon as it was opened, peering around suspiciously through the apartment.
"We had a report of some disturbance, some shrieking and whatnot from next door," the man drawled, pushing his way inside. Several more officers followed him.
"Mind if we come in?" one of them asked drolly.
Darien apprehensively watched them take in Serena's still form on the floor and Diamond's limp body in Sapphire's arms.
"Hey, ain't that the little girl who ran away that we're s'posed to be on the lookout for?" an officer exclaimed, pointing to Serena.
Darien gulped as the first policeman looked him hard in the eye. "You got some explaining to do, son."
~----------~
Serena was dreaming in a confused way, something about silver lanterns, when her senses finally began to relay the real world to her.
She felt soft fingers stroke down her cheek, and opened her eyes. Darien was smiling down at her.
"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered tenderly. For a moment, there was only him, and Serena was happy and safe.
Then it all came flooding back to her… Running and the woman and Diamond and the power rushing through her with Darien's arms around her…
She gasped and sat up straight on the sofa that she had been laid on. She looked at Darien with wild aquamarine eyes. "What happened?! Is he…"
"Dead?" Darien finished for her. "No, but…some might consider his position as good as dead."
"What do you mean?" she whispered.
"He's insane. Harmless, but absolutely senseless. His father nearly went insane himself when he found out. But it's all right, Sapphire took the reigns and Diamond is in a very good home now." Darien sighed and shook his head. He looked haggard, and it occurred to Serena that she must have missed a lot while unconscious. "I tell you, it's a damn good thing Sapphire was there when the police showed up."
Fear seized Serena in a very cold grip. "Police?" she echoed faintly.
Darien captured her hand and pressed it warmly. "Don't worry, everything's fine, thanks to Sapphire. He had an explanation for everything, and you know something? He is a very talented actor when he wants to be. The police ate everything he told them right up. And of course, I used a little of my crystal's power to, ah, help persuade them."
"But what did he tell them?" Serena asked, unable to fathom how two unconscious people--one of them the son of the most powerful man in the city, the other a known runaway--could just be explained away, even with the help of the golden crystal.
Darien chuckled at Sapphire's ingenuity. "Well, he told them that Diamond had always been a little crazy, but it was well covered-up, because of how scandalous it would be for his family if anyone found out that one of the Darmoon sons was insane. Anyway, he had always been harmless most of the time, or at least, until now. Sapphire said that the four of us had been over at his apartment for a drink--and there was a bottle of wine and some glasses on the table, so that checked out--when Diamond got really upset over nothing at all and attacked you, thus explaining your unconsciousness. And you had a nasty bruise on the back of your head, so that checked out, too. Then of course, Sapphire and myself had to protect ourselves from him, so he was subdued with some chloroform, explaining the lack of marks on his body. The chloroform bottle had been put back under the cabinet in Diamond's kitchen where it had been found, and so the police found it, where Sapphire knew Diamond kept it." Darien was grinning. "I tell you, the man's a genius." Then he sobered. "The only thing he couldn't explain was what you, a runaway from a foster household, were doing with us. And unfortunately, no amount of 'leaning' on their minds would make the officers dismiss the issue. That's why we're here."
Feeling small and lost, Serena looked around for the first time, taking in the familiar desk with the little framed picture of a man with his arm around a woman with long, black hair. Her stomach sank with foreboding. She had sat on this couch exactly seven times before in her life. The one place that she had been trying so hard not to end up back in.
Ms. Rei's office, again.
She felt herself go cold. This was the end of all her bright hopes for a stable life, for finally winning her independence. She would go to another family, another home, somewhere far away from here, and she would never see anyone she loved again.
Sensing her distress, Darien worriedly pulled her against him. She let herself be pulled, a dead weight, all the life drained from her. "Hey, come on, don't look like that," he said gently, rubbing her upper arms with his warm hands, "It's not what you think. Listen--"
But he stopped short as the click of high heels outside became audible and the doorknob turned. A woman in a sharp business suit entered, swinging her long, black hair over her shoulder as she closed the door. The woman set her briefcase beside her desk and settled into the rolling chair, then folded her hands on the desk's surface and peered at the two on the couch over her oval glasses. She made a very forbidding figure until she smiled warmly at Serena.
"Hello, Serena," Ms. Rei greeted her charge brightly. "Back again, are we?"
It was a joke between them, but Serena didn't feel like laughing.
Ms. Rei cleared her throat. "Well…um, let's see…" she said, shuffling through some papers in front of her. "As Mr. Chiba here has no doubt informed you, Mr. Diamond Darmoon has been found clinically insane and dangerous, and thanks to his capable brother, Mr. Sapphire Darmoon, who took over for the hysterical Mr. Wallace Darmoon, is now resting comfortably in a very nice institution. The police have dropped all charges of assault from Mr. Chiba and Mr. Sapphire Darmoon on grounds of self- defense, and any charges of assault on you that had been placed against Mr. Diamond Darmoon have been dropped on grounds of insanity."
Serena was grateful to be resting on Darien's warm chest as Ms. Rei was speaking. This all felt so surreal, like a fragile shell that would be dropped from the world at any moment, exposing the painful sharpness of reality that lay inside.
Ms. Rei adjusted her glasses and looked over them at Serena for a moment before continuing. "So that just leaves the matter of you, Serena."
Serena's heart was frozen. What was the point of hoping anymore? Life had proven to her all too many times that hope was a useless, painful gateway that only opened the way to getting all your other emotions stomped on. Another foster home, jail…it was all the same. Neither would have Darien in them. Or anyone else that she had ever cared about, for that matter.
Everything she loved was taken from her. That was how life worked. No point in fighting against it.
"Don't bother, Ms. Rei," she said flatly, in a dead sort of voice. "I don't mind confessing. Yes, I destroyed all that equipment and I healed Sammy and ran away. And yes, I've been hiding out and lying to Darien to keep him from turning me in. And yes, I ran away from him, too, when my cover was blown, and I broke into his apartment and stole an umbrella. Yes, I am an awful person, and I don't much care anymore, so just tell me where exactly I'm supposed to go now and I'll go quietly, without whining at all, I promise." She smiled a very small smile, unaccompanied by any warmth in her eyes, for Ms. Rei had often complained about her whining when she was a child.
To her surprise, the woman smiled back at her, but with a caring sparkle in her deep indigo eyes. "No, I doubt that you'll whine about where you are to go now. As you know, you are still underage and cannot live independently. As for jail, well, there is no need to worry about that. I believe that breaking into Mr. Chiba's apartment, if even discovered by our esteemed police force, can be easily explained, as he is quite likely to testify that you had merely lost the key that he had given you. The hospital incident…now that, indeed, was quite strange…has been mostly hushed over. Doctors don't like to have it known that there are things they can't explain, and the hospital has worked quite hard to shake the media off its back and keep the whole incident as quiet as possible. There have been no charges pressed against anyone. And as for running away…" Ms. Rei gathered up some of the papers on her desk into a pile and straightened them. "Well, I haven't been working here for twenty years for nothing. I have a bit of weight to pull, and everyone was just so glad to find you safe and sound… So everything is taken care of." Ms. Rei beamed at Serena and brought the edge of the stack of papers she was holding down on the glass-covered surface of her desk, making a smacking sound as the sheets fell into place in a neat stack.
Serena's heart sank. "So I'm going to another home?"
"You aren't happy? All this trouble you've put everyone through-- you come out completely unscathed, with absolutely no consequences, and you aren't the least bit glad? Grateful? Feeling blessed?" Ms. Rei asked, puzzled, peering over the rim of her oval glasses.
"Jail, another home, what's the difference?" she muttered sullenly. Darien's arm slipped around her shoulder. She looked up into warm blue eyes gazing sadly into her own.
Darien didn't say anything, and Ms. Rei chuckled loudly into the silence. Serena looked at her in bewilderment. The woman kept chuckling.
"Oh, I think you'll find that there's a rather big difference. And really, 'another' home isn't quite correct…you really should say that you're going back to a home…"
"Wh-What?" Serena stammered, the beginnings of a tiny hope creeping up into her. She immediately tried to squash it, but she couldn't stop her heart rate from increasing.
"It's all right here, just waiting to be signed," Ms. Rei said, her indigo eyes sparkling with mirth as she waved the stack of papers. The woman stood up excitedly and clicked her high heels across the room to place a hand on the doorknob. "Serena," she announced, with an air of happy importance, "You're going to go back…"
"…and live with us!" cried a gleeful voice as the door was pulled open.
Serena watched in numb amazement as a sandy-blond little streak hurtled itself through the door way and into her lap. Little arms wrapped around her and the tow-haired head buried itself into her neck.
Not believing, she put a trembling hand on the little boy's back. "Sammy?" she whispered, voice quavering.
The head lifted to reveal wide green eyes and a broad grin. "I missed you, Serena!" he said, in a voice she well recognized. Then he buried his face in her neck once more, tightening his little arms around her.
She hugged him back and looked up at Ms. Rei with a uncomprehending expression. Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino were standing next to the woman, beaming at Serena and their son.
"What…" was the only word her stupefied brain would supply.
"Like I said, it's all right here," Ms. Rei happily explained, brandishing the papers once more.
Irene Tsukino took over the explanation for the social worker, her eyes shining as she beamed at Serena. "Well, we were hoping that you wouldn't mind coming back to us, Serena, dear. What you did for Sammy… Well, we're very grateful. And we were even thinking…well, that is, assuming you would want it…well…what I'm trying to say is…"
Ken Tsukino put an arm around his stuttering wife and, smiling at Serena, finished for her, "What she's trying to say is, we'd like to adopt you."
Serena's breath froze in her lungs. Her heart tripped and stumbled in its palpitations. "Adopt…me?" she whispered, incredulous.
"Yes," said Irene happily, once again recovering her voice. "We know that you'll be going off to college soon and that you'll be eighteen and old enough to be independent in just a couple of months, anyway, but, well… We feel that everyone should have a permanent family--you know, people to care about you and support you whenever you need it. Besides, Sammy has just been absolutely crushed these past couple days without you. And well… we missed having a daughter around, too. So, if you want… Ms. Rei's drawn up all the papers for us. We just have to sign."
Serena's mind reeled. A family… a real family… people to care about her and support her whenever she needed it. Could cruel, cold Life really grant such a wish?
"I…would love that," she managed to choke out. The Tsukinos broke into grins and Sammy let out a great shout of delight, sitting back on her lap to clap his hands.
"But wait," she countered quickly, a sudden thought occurring to her. Irene paused worriedly in the middle of reaching for a pen. "What about my cat, Luna?" Serena pointed out quietly, remembering Irene's distaste for animals.
"Don't worry about that." Darien's voice came calmly, speaking for the first time since Ms. Rei had entered the room. Serena turned to him in surprise. He smiled at her and continued, "I found her under Diamond's steps and took her back to my apartment for the night."
"Night?!" Serena interjected quickly.
"Yeah, you've been out for a while. You passed out yesterday and you've been unconscious ever since. Anyway, she seems quite happy there, though she misses you a bit, I think. I wouldn't mind keeping her for you, if it would help keep harmony in your new home. Because," and Darien's voice dropped to a whisper that was meant for only her, "Mrs. Tsukino's right, Serena. Everyone should have a family, no matter what." His midnight eyes penetrated hers meaningfully, full of concern and….she was finally able to admit it…..love.
Struggling against a sudden attack of tearing eyes, she sniffed ferociously and said, "Oh, all right then. I'll go home with you guys and stay this time."
"Yay!" Sammy exclaimed, hugging her tight. She hugged him back for all she was worth, disgusted with herself for being so sappy, but unable to keep from crying in joy.
……..
In the flurry of papers and legal mumbo-jumbo to be settled, it went largely unnoticed as Serena leaned across the couch and poked Darien in the ribs.
"Quite a noble, self-sacrificing offer thou dost make in the care of mine cat, good sir," she whispered in his ear, glad that Sammy's mother had plucked the boy off her lap and into a hug.
"Tis my pleasure, fair lady," he played along, slipping an arm behind her.
"However…" she drawled coyly, dragging a finger lightly down his chest. "Methinks thou maketh thy offer largely to lure me back to thy apartment again to see thee and the furry beast."
Darien grinned rakishly at her, with a look in his midnight blue eyes that made her stomach flutter. "Then thou thinketh absolutely correct," he murmured close in her ear.
She giggled, and met his intense gaze shyly, resting one hand on his warm chest. His grin softened, and he drew his thumb across her tear-streaked cheek, cupping her face in a gentle hand.
His eyes were serious, and shining softly with the quality that she had correctly identified as love. "You know something, Serena?" he whispered softly.
"Yes, and I love you, too," she whispered back, an incredibly warm feeling in her chest.
His brief look of shock was slowly erased by a soft, wonderful smile. "My Serena," he whispered, savoring the syllables.
A shiver ran through her at the sound of his voice on her name. A pleasant sort of shiver, though, and as his lips slowly lowered to hers, she thought, I suppose I'll just have to get used to being happy.
And then he kissed her, and there was absolutely nothing else in the world.
.
.
.
.*.
..~*~fin~*~..
. .
*
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.
.
~ryo-chan~ ^_~
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Mishi yume /sametemo iro no/ kakitsubata
I wake and find
the colored iris
I saw in my dream.
--Shushiki, from Japanese Death Poems, p. 306
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chapter Nineteen: The Wish Not Granted by a Wishstone
The power drained slowly from him, leaving him weak and shaky. He slid to the floor, Serena a dead weight in his arms, passed out from the strain of upholding her power for so long.
Darien held her, panting and watching with sad eyes as Sapphire knelt beside his brother.
"Oh, Diamond," the man whispered, reaching out to pull the lids over the sightless, pale blue eyes. "You always were so full of pride. Proud that you were the one who carried the crystal. Proud that you could have any woman you wanted. Proud that father favored you and that you were the strongest of his children. But at the last, it is I--" and poor Sapphire choked on tears and stumbled, "I… who is proud of you."
The blue head bent to the white one and Sapphire kissed his brother's forehead. Then he stilled with a sudden gasp and held his hand over Diamond's parted lips. He looked at Darien in wonder, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"He breathes…He lives!" he whispered, disbelievingly.
Darien drew in a shaky breath. "Well…we didn't want to kill him. Especially when he dropped his power like that. He was defenseless. But we couldn't pull the power back once it had built up that strongly."
Sapphire took a deep breath and stood, tucking the black stone into the front pocket of the navy jacket he wore. He stooped down and pulled Diamond's still form into his arms, lifting his brother's body. A look of pain crossed his face. "He lives…but…he is gone. I can't feel him anymore. My brother is gone. Something else remains in his place." Sapphire seemed to struggle with the terrible knowledge for a moment before he could overcome his grief enough to speak.
"Darien," he said, holding his brother, "I want…to say…"
Darien couldn't bear to see him suffer so and held up a hand to silence him. "You don't have to say anything."
Sapphire shook his head. "Yes, I do. I'm sorry. For not doing anything about this before. I knew what Diamond was doing in this apartment, why he had rented it and how he was getting all those women to come to him here. But I never did a thing about it. I never did anything against Diamond, no matter what he had planned. I always knew about it, of course, because I'm…was… his Reader and I'm tied to the crystal just as strongly as he was. But I'm not the chosen one and I can't control it like he could, and I've always been afraid of that power. I wanted to believe…that he would never hurt me, never use that power against me; but being a Reader, I have no illusions about the purity of human nature. Not even that of a brother. So I never raised a finger against him, no matter what horrible things he did." Sapphire sighed as he looked down at Diamond's still face. "I did love him, though," he said, very quietly.
Darien felt a wave of sorrow for his friend. "Of course you did," he said, gently, "he was your brother. And you know, he loved you, too, even if he didn't show it."
Sapphire's face grew dark in sorrow. "Yes, I did know that," he whispered, so softly that Darien almost didn't hear it.
He was quiet, not knowing what to say to such a deep pain. But the moment of solemnity was interrupted by a most unwelcome sound.
Darien stumbled unsteadily to his feet to answer the sudden, sharp ringing of the doorbell.
A police officer stuck his head in the doorway as soon as it was opened, peering around suspiciously through the apartment.
"We had a report of some disturbance, some shrieking and whatnot from next door," the man drawled, pushing his way inside. Several more officers followed him.
"Mind if we come in?" one of them asked drolly.
Darien apprehensively watched them take in Serena's still form on the floor and Diamond's limp body in Sapphire's arms.
"Hey, ain't that the little girl who ran away that we're s'posed to be on the lookout for?" an officer exclaimed, pointing to Serena.
Darien gulped as the first policeman looked him hard in the eye. "You got some explaining to do, son."
~----------~
Serena was dreaming in a confused way, something about silver lanterns, when her senses finally began to relay the real world to her.
She felt soft fingers stroke down her cheek, and opened her eyes. Darien was smiling down at her.
"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered tenderly. For a moment, there was only him, and Serena was happy and safe.
Then it all came flooding back to her… Running and the woman and Diamond and the power rushing through her with Darien's arms around her…
She gasped and sat up straight on the sofa that she had been laid on. She looked at Darien with wild aquamarine eyes. "What happened?! Is he…"
"Dead?" Darien finished for her. "No, but…some might consider his position as good as dead."
"What do you mean?" she whispered.
"He's insane. Harmless, but absolutely senseless. His father nearly went insane himself when he found out. But it's all right, Sapphire took the reigns and Diamond is in a very good home now." Darien sighed and shook his head. He looked haggard, and it occurred to Serena that she must have missed a lot while unconscious. "I tell you, it's a damn good thing Sapphire was there when the police showed up."
Fear seized Serena in a very cold grip. "Police?" she echoed faintly.
Darien captured her hand and pressed it warmly. "Don't worry, everything's fine, thanks to Sapphire. He had an explanation for everything, and you know something? He is a very talented actor when he wants to be. The police ate everything he told them right up. And of course, I used a little of my crystal's power to, ah, help persuade them."
"But what did he tell them?" Serena asked, unable to fathom how two unconscious people--one of them the son of the most powerful man in the city, the other a known runaway--could just be explained away, even with the help of the golden crystal.
Darien chuckled at Sapphire's ingenuity. "Well, he told them that Diamond had always been a little crazy, but it was well covered-up, because of how scandalous it would be for his family if anyone found out that one of the Darmoon sons was insane. Anyway, he had always been harmless most of the time, or at least, until now. Sapphire said that the four of us had been over at his apartment for a drink--and there was a bottle of wine and some glasses on the table, so that checked out--when Diamond got really upset over nothing at all and attacked you, thus explaining your unconsciousness. And you had a nasty bruise on the back of your head, so that checked out, too. Then of course, Sapphire and myself had to protect ourselves from him, so he was subdued with some chloroform, explaining the lack of marks on his body. The chloroform bottle had been put back under the cabinet in Diamond's kitchen where it had been found, and so the police found it, where Sapphire knew Diamond kept it." Darien was grinning. "I tell you, the man's a genius." Then he sobered. "The only thing he couldn't explain was what you, a runaway from a foster household, were doing with us. And unfortunately, no amount of 'leaning' on their minds would make the officers dismiss the issue. That's why we're here."
Feeling small and lost, Serena looked around for the first time, taking in the familiar desk with the little framed picture of a man with his arm around a woman with long, black hair. Her stomach sank with foreboding. She had sat on this couch exactly seven times before in her life. The one place that she had been trying so hard not to end up back in.
Ms. Rei's office, again.
She felt herself go cold. This was the end of all her bright hopes for a stable life, for finally winning her independence. She would go to another family, another home, somewhere far away from here, and she would never see anyone she loved again.
Sensing her distress, Darien worriedly pulled her against him. She let herself be pulled, a dead weight, all the life drained from her. "Hey, come on, don't look like that," he said gently, rubbing her upper arms with his warm hands, "It's not what you think. Listen--"
But he stopped short as the click of high heels outside became audible and the doorknob turned. A woman in a sharp business suit entered, swinging her long, black hair over her shoulder as she closed the door. The woman set her briefcase beside her desk and settled into the rolling chair, then folded her hands on the desk's surface and peered at the two on the couch over her oval glasses. She made a very forbidding figure until she smiled warmly at Serena.
"Hello, Serena," Ms. Rei greeted her charge brightly. "Back again, are we?"
It was a joke between them, but Serena didn't feel like laughing.
Ms. Rei cleared her throat. "Well…um, let's see…" she said, shuffling through some papers in front of her. "As Mr. Chiba here has no doubt informed you, Mr. Diamond Darmoon has been found clinically insane and dangerous, and thanks to his capable brother, Mr. Sapphire Darmoon, who took over for the hysterical Mr. Wallace Darmoon, is now resting comfortably in a very nice institution. The police have dropped all charges of assault from Mr. Chiba and Mr. Sapphire Darmoon on grounds of self- defense, and any charges of assault on you that had been placed against Mr. Diamond Darmoon have been dropped on grounds of insanity."
Serena was grateful to be resting on Darien's warm chest as Ms. Rei was speaking. This all felt so surreal, like a fragile shell that would be dropped from the world at any moment, exposing the painful sharpness of reality that lay inside.
Ms. Rei adjusted her glasses and looked over them at Serena for a moment before continuing. "So that just leaves the matter of you, Serena."
Serena's heart was frozen. What was the point of hoping anymore? Life had proven to her all too many times that hope was a useless, painful gateway that only opened the way to getting all your other emotions stomped on. Another foster home, jail…it was all the same. Neither would have Darien in them. Or anyone else that she had ever cared about, for that matter.
Everything she loved was taken from her. That was how life worked. No point in fighting against it.
"Don't bother, Ms. Rei," she said flatly, in a dead sort of voice. "I don't mind confessing. Yes, I destroyed all that equipment and I healed Sammy and ran away. And yes, I've been hiding out and lying to Darien to keep him from turning me in. And yes, I ran away from him, too, when my cover was blown, and I broke into his apartment and stole an umbrella. Yes, I am an awful person, and I don't much care anymore, so just tell me where exactly I'm supposed to go now and I'll go quietly, without whining at all, I promise." She smiled a very small smile, unaccompanied by any warmth in her eyes, for Ms. Rei had often complained about her whining when she was a child.
To her surprise, the woman smiled back at her, but with a caring sparkle in her deep indigo eyes. "No, I doubt that you'll whine about where you are to go now. As you know, you are still underage and cannot live independently. As for jail, well, there is no need to worry about that. I believe that breaking into Mr. Chiba's apartment, if even discovered by our esteemed police force, can be easily explained, as he is quite likely to testify that you had merely lost the key that he had given you. The hospital incident…now that, indeed, was quite strange…has been mostly hushed over. Doctors don't like to have it known that there are things they can't explain, and the hospital has worked quite hard to shake the media off its back and keep the whole incident as quiet as possible. There have been no charges pressed against anyone. And as for running away…" Ms. Rei gathered up some of the papers on her desk into a pile and straightened them. "Well, I haven't been working here for twenty years for nothing. I have a bit of weight to pull, and everyone was just so glad to find you safe and sound… So everything is taken care of." Ms. Rei beamed at Serena and brought the edge of the stack of papers she was holding down on the glass-covered surface of her desk, making a smacking sound as the sheets fell into place in a neat stack.
Serena's heart sank. "So I'm going to another home?"
"You aren't happy? All this trouble you've put everyone through-- you come out completely unscathed, with absolutely no consequences, and you aren't the least bit glad? Grateful? Feeling blessed?" Ms. Rei asked, puzzled, peering over the rim of her oval glasses.
"Jail, another home, what's the difference?" she muttered sullenly. Darien's arm slipped around her shoulder. She looked up into warm blue eyes gazing sadly into her own.
Darien didn't say anything, and Ms. Rei chuckled loudly into the silence. Serena looked at her in bewilderment. The woman kept chuckling.
"Oh, I think you'll find that there's a rather big difference. And really, 'another' home isn't quite correct…you really should say that you're going back to a home…"
"Wh-What?" Serena stammered, the beginnings of a tiny hope creeping up into her. She immediately tried to squash it, but she couldn't stop her heart rate from increasing.
"It's all right here, just waiting to be signed," Ms. Rei said, her indigo eyes sparkling with mirth as she waved the stack of papers. The woman stood up excitedly and clicked her high heels across the room to place a hand on the doorknob. "Serena," she announced, with an air of happy importance, "You're going to go back…"
"…and live with us!" cried a gleeful voice as the door was pulled open.
Serena watched in numb amazement as a sandy-blond little streak hurtled itself through the door way and into her lap. Little arms wrapped around her and the tow-haired head buried itself into her neck.
Not believing, she put a trembling hand on the little boy's back. "Sammy?" she whispered, voice quavering.
The head lifted to reveal wide green eyes and a broad grin. "I missed you, Serena!" he said, in a voice she well recognized. Then he buried his face in her neck once more, tightening his little arms around her.
She hugged him back and looked up at Ms. Rei with a uncomprehending expression. Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino were standing next to the woman, beaming at Serena and their son.
"What…" was the only word her stupefied brain would supply.
"Like I said, it's all right here," Ms. Rei happily explained, brandishing the papers once more.
Irene Tsukino took over the explanation for the social worker, her eyes shining as she beamed at Serena. "Well, we were hoping that you wouldn't mind coming back to us, Serena, dear. What you did for Sammy… Well, we're very grateful. And we were even thinking…well, that is, assuming you would want it…well…what I'm trying to say is…"
Ken Tsukino put an arm around his stuttering wife and, smiling at Serena, finished for her, "What she's trying to say is, we'd like to adopt you."
Serena's breath froze in her lungs. Her heart tripped and stumbled in its palpitations. "Adopt…me?" she whispered, incredulous.
"Yes," said Irene happily, once again recovering her voice. "We know that you'll be going off to college soon and that you'll be eighteen and old enough to be independent in just a couple of months, anyway, but, well… We feel that everyone should have a permanent family--you know, people to care about you and support you whenever you need it. Besides, Sammy has just been absolutely crushed these past couple days without you. And well… we missed having a daughter around, too. So, if you want… Ms. Rei's drawn up all the papers for us. We just have to sign."
Serena's mind reeled. A family… a real family… people to care about her and support her whenever she needed it. Could cruel, cold Life really grant such a wish?
"I…would love that," she managed to choke out. The Tsukinos broke into grins and Sammy let out a great shout of delight, sitting back on her lap to clap his hands.
"But wait," she countered quickly, a sudden thought occurring to her. Irene paused worriedly in the middle of reaching for a pen. "What about my cat, Luna?" Serena pointed out quietly, remembering Irene's distaste for animals.
"Don't worry about that." Darien's voice came calmly, speaking for the first time since Ms. Rei had entered the room. Serena turned to him in surprise. He smiled at her and continued, "I found her under Diamond's steps and took her back to my apartment for the night."
"Night?!" Serena interjected quickly.
"Yeah, you've been out for a while. You passed out yesterday and you've been unconscious ever since. Anyway, she seems quite happy there, though she misses you a bit, I think. I wouldn't mind keeping her for you, if it would help keep harmony in your new home. Because," and Darien's voice dropped to a whisper that was meant for only her, "Mrs. Tsukino's right, Serena. Everyone should have a family, no matter what." His midnight eyes penetrated hers meaningfully, full of concern and….she was finally able to admit it…..love.
Struggling against a sudden attack of tearing eyes, she sniffed ferociously and said, "Oh, all right then. I'll go home with you guys and stay this time."
"Yay!" Sammy exclaimed, hugging her tight. She hugged him back for all she was worth, disgusted with herself for being so sappy, but unable to keep from crying in joy.
……..
In the flurry of papers and legal mumbo-jumbo to be settled, it went largely unnoticed as Serena leaned across the couch and poked Darien in the ribs.
"Quite a noble, self-sacrificing offer thou dost make in the care of mine cat, good sir," she whispered in his ear, glad that Sammy's mother had plucked the boy off her lap and into a hug.
"Tis my pleasure, fair lady," he played along, slipping an arm behind her.
"However…" she drawled coyly, dragging a finger lightly down his chest. "Methinks thou maketh thy offer largely to lure me back to thy apartment again to see thee and the furry beast."
Darien grinned rakishly at her, with a look in his midnight blue eyes that made her stomach flutter. "Then thou thinketh absolutely correct," he murmured close in her ear.
She giggled, and met his intense gaze shyly, resting one hand on his warm chest. His grin softened, and he drew his thumb across her tear-streaked cheek, cupping her face in a gentle hand.
His eyes were serious, and shining softly with the quality that she had correctly identified as love. "You know something, Serena?" he whispered softly.
"Yes, and I love you, too," she whispered back, an incredibly warm feeling in her chest.
His brief look of shock was slowly erased by a soft, wonderful smile. "My Serena," he whispered, savoring the syllables.
A shiver ran through her at the sound of his voice on her name. A pleasant sort of shiver, though, and as his lips slowly lowered to hers, she thought, I suppose I'll just have to get used to being happy.
And then he kissed her, and there was absolutely nothing else in the world.
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..~*~fin~*~..
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