March 2002

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters but the story is mine.

Chapter 2

Andrew crashed his fighter into the side of the canyon wall for the
fifth time in a row as Darien cross the finish line. "Damn, Drew, what's up,
you usually smoke me at this thing."

Andrew sat back in the chair and shook his head, "I can't help feeling I
know the blonde I almost ran into today, Dare. I know, you hear me say that a
lot as a line, but this time it's true! Her eyes are this amazingly clear blue
color and I can't place them!"

Darien looked puzzled, "What do you mean you can't place them. There
are lots of blondes. That one looked like Mina, Chad's younger sister."

"But it wasn't. Mina was in practice today." he snapped his fingers, "I
remember, it looks like that friend of hers, that Selen or something that was
only here for a few days before moving on."

Darien froze in his chair, "Selenity, you mean?"

Andrew nodded, "Yeah, that princess, but she'd never go to the college
to watch volleyball. From everything I've heard, she's quite the proper
princess."

Darien slumped. He'd been corresponding with Selenity for the last
eight years or so hoping she'd be telling him she was coming back. Oh, he'd
had the odd offer from women his age, but he never took them up on it. For
some strange reason she was all he ever saw. He'd watched her on TV, opening
new schools, cutting ribbons, attending exclusive events. He wasn't in her
league, yet she kept writing to him, kept telling her all her secrets dreams
and hopes. He couldn't help but wonder if she thought of him the same way he'd
come to think of her.

Musical laughter brought his head up as he and Andrew turned to look at
the doors of the arcade. Mina and another blonde came in laughing. The second
blonde drew Darien's attention and took his breath away. No. It couldn't be.
She would have told him if she was coming back, wouldn't she?

"That's her." Drew nodded to the two blondes.

"Hey Drew!" Mina called, waving to him, "Hey Darien."

Darien met Selenity's gaze and knew it was her. "Selenity." his voice
was a whisper.

Selenity froze, seeing him for the first time in 8 years. Sure, he'd
sent her pictures but they didn't do him justice. He was taller than she'd
expected. Wide in the shoulder with devestating good looks she'd known he'd
grow into. His hair was a shade too long and kept falling into his eyes, and
brushed his collar at the back. His deep aqua orbs met hers and she felt her
knees go week. She reached out and caught a hold of Mina's shoulder with one
hand. "Darien." her voice was soft, incredulous, "Is it..." she swallowed hard
and then dropped her bags and ran at him, throwing her arms around his neck and
hugging him close, "Darien," she whispered softly.

Darien braced himself for impact as she ran at him and caught her in a
firm hug. His gaze met Drew's over her golden head, and Drew grinned at him
before walking over to join Mina. Darien wrapped his arms more securely about
her and whispered her name softly, "Selenity, is it really you?"

She nodded and looked up at him, freezing when she found her lips were
bare centimeters from his. He looked deep into her eyes, a heart melting smile
spreading across his face. He turned his head and dropped a soft kiss on her
cheek, close to her ear, "I've missed you, princess. Lord, how I've missed
you."

She closed her eyes, feeling tears welling up. She'd not cried since
her mother had passed away fours years ago. "Yes, Darien, it's really me. Oh
Darien, I've missed you too!"

Mina's laugh from across the arcade brought them back to reality and the
pulled apart, Darien claiming her hand. Mina had Andrew in a booth with her
and was attempting to read his palm. His suffering look brought a grin to
Darien's face, "I think Drew knows how much I've miss you. Come on, let's go
rescue him."

Selenity squeezed his hand, "Shakes are on me, Dare."

He looked at her, "How come you didn't tell me you were coming back?"

She smiled, reaching into one of her pockets and holding out a small
envelope to him, "I wanted it to be a birthday gift."

He blinked.

She giggled and offered him the envelope again, "Take it. It's for
you."

He took it and then held back as she slid into the booth across from
Andrew and Mina. Darien slid in beside her and casually slid his arm across
the back of the booth and around her shoulders. Andrew raised an eyebrow at
him but smiled at Selenity, "I'm glad to see it's you, Selenity, I was sure I
knew you when I almost bumped into you at the college today."

One hand flew to her mouth, "Oh! It was you, I wasn't sure and I was in
such a rush to see Mina... Gomen, I didn't mean to be rude. Good to see you
again."

"No biggie. Hey, Sam, four chocolate shakes." he yelled across the
parlour at the girl tending the counter. She nodded and disappeared from view
for a couple of seconds. "I own the place, so shake's are on the house."

Selenity laughed, "I was going to pay for them, seeing as how I'm rich
and all..."

"If you want, milady, but next time they'll be on me."

She smiled, "Call it a make up gift. If I'd known who you were I
wouldn't have been so rude. A girl has to keep her guard up, you know."

Andrew chuckled, "Especially one as gifted as you, I suppose."

Selenity rolled her eyes, "Something like that. I just want to relax
with my friends today. I'm back in Tokyo for good, now, unless something awful
happens and I have to be taken into protective custody, " she made a face, "I
hope daddy doesn't think I'll go willingly."

Darien squeezed her shoulders, "Relax, there's all of us to keep you
company this time around. And you can bet, classes or no classes, one of us is
going to be with you at all time for the next month or so."

She laughed as Mina and Andrew nodded in agreement, "Thanks you guys,
but I'm sure you've all got better things to do than play bodyguard to me.
Heck, I'm lucky enough to get this time with you. The more I skip away from
the reporters the more they'll suspect something." she sighed, "I really don't
want them to find out about you guys, daddy would find out and then he'd find
someway to muscle me away from here again. I don't want that."

"Why would he try and take you away again if he found out about us?"
Andrew asked.

She bit her lip, "My bethrothed," she grimaced, feeling Darien stiffen,
"thinks he owns me so whenever he feels threatened he has me moved. This time,
though, I intend to make my own decisions. Now that I'm 18, I'm going to be
annuling it. I despise the man, he's a controlling, dominating, abusive jerk."

Darien smoothed her shirt over her shoulder, "Relax, princess, we'll
look out for you, won't we guys?"

They nodded in agreement. He met her gaze and gently brushed her hair
off her cheek, frowning, "Is your hair getting longer, Selenity? I swear it
was shorter when you walked in."

Selenity blushed and ducked her gaze, "I'm not allowed, and am unable,
to change my hair length for any length of time. My hair grows at an amazing
rate after it's cut. Oh, it holds a trim for a long time, but if I change the
length, like I did today before skipping out of the house, it'll be too long to
do anything other than my regular hair style before midnight."

"Wait a sec, are you telling me you can't cut your hair?" Mina asked
incredulous.

Selenity nodded, her cheeks bright pink, "Yes."

"Yeah right, nobody's hair is that long!"

Selenity sighed and pulled out her pony tail, "Take note Mina, how long
is it?"

"It's at your elbows, a nice length for you."

Selenity pulled it back again and then met Mina's gaze, "In two hours,
remind me to pull it down again, alright?"

"Sure, no problem."

Darien fingered a lock of the silken strands, "It's very gorgeous. How
long is it normally?"

Selenity looked at him out of the corner of her eye, "Seven feet long."

He jerked in surprise, "That's awful long. Are you sure it will grow
out before midnight?"

She nodded, "By about 10 tonight I'll have no choice but to put it into
the hairstyle I regularly use unless I cut it again."

"I've got scissors at my place,"

She grinned, "Now there's something to set the gossip columns aflutter,
Darien. 'Princess attends Mystery man at his home.' Thanks but I think I'll
pass. Besides, I need a knife to cut thought it, it's delicate looking but
takes some effort to cut."

He grinned, "I've got knives too. How about this, the four of us go to
the mall and do a little knife shopping to keep your hair the length it is."

She laughed, "How about it, you two, you want to help me find a sharp
enough knife so that I don't draw us unwaranted attention?"

Mina giggled, "While we're at it we can do some shopping for some killer
outfits. Darien's party is in two days."

Darien groaned, "Don't make a big deal out of it, I just want to sit
around and relax for it."

"Not with Selenity in town you're not!" Mina told him hotly, "We can
throw the party at her place and make it formal. That way we'll be keeping the
numbers small."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Mina? I mean, I'm alone, but the
reporters flock to the place."

"They can't stay there all the time." something beeped on her person
and she glanced at her watch, "Oh shoot, I've gotta go do something for a
minute. Don't go anywhere!"

Andrew blinked at her as she slid across his lap and out of the booth.
She ran towards the washroom and disappeared inside. "That was a little
strange. Do you suppose she's on the pill or something?"

Selenity smothered a giggle with her hand, "With her energy levels she'd
knock out a whole football team in about ten minutes. Not that I think she's
that way, but I'm sure she's healthily involved on occasion."

"And are you, Princess?"

She blinked, "A Lady never tells, Andrew. It's below my dignity to talk
about."

He smirked, "I take the hint. Tell you what, I'm going to go check on
those shakes, you two keep each other company, okay?"

"Sure," they chorused as he disappeared. "Want to open your enlelope
now, Darien?"

He pulled it out and looked at her, "I'm not going to regret this, am
I?"

"I hope not. Go on, I want to see your face when you read it."

He slid a finger into the flap and tore it loose. Something inside was
causing a dent in the paper where it'd been glued. He gently extracted a card
with a piece of paper on the inside and then upended the envelope, a plain
silver ring dropping into his palm. He looked at her in question but she just
motioned to the card and note. He opened it, removing the paper, "Read the
card first."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye but did as she said and
read the front of the card. It simply said "Happy Birthday" and then he opened
it, reading softly aloud, "I know it's Early, and yet late, and maybe a bit
presumptous, but I wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday. The ring is a symbol
of my friendship to you, a sign that no matter what we'll always be friends, no
matter the distance. Love, Selenity Serene Tuskino"

He smiled at her, "Thank you."

She blushed, "Your welcome. Read the letter."

He unfolded it and gently smoothed it out before reading it aloud as he
had with the card.

"Dearest Darien,

I'm writing you to tell you that I'll be coming home, er, back to Tokyo. You
better than anyone know that I consider it home. Father has be bethroed to a
man I have no desire to marry, and will not listen to reason. I've been given
a year to find someone to my liking who can understand the reasons. When I see
you next, hopefully it will be a surprise and I can deliver this to you in
person, get me alone and I'll explain everything. Some things are just too
delicate for notes." he paused and looked at her. She met his gaze, her own
eyes filled with pain.

He squeezed her knee under the table and then turned back to the note, "On a
happier note I will be there... here for your Birthday and I hope whatever I
find you will be good enough. I've got all the money in the world and I still
don't know what to get you for your birthday to make up for all the years I've
been unable to buy you something. Not for lack of trying, dad just doesn't let
me send packages. He'd get suspicious. When I see you again, do me a favor.
Ask me what it is I want more than anything in the world, not necessarily right
away, but when the time is right. I don't think I'm making a lot of sense but
I miss you terribly, every day without you here is hard. Writing to you helps,
it lets me know I have someone on my side in a world that seems to be against
me. I'd better go, I'm sure you have better things to do than read letters
from me.

Forever yours,
Selenity."

He slowly folded the note back together, her words reeling around in his
head, "You never sent this to me. Why?"

"I wanted to give it to you myself. It's very personal, plus platinum
is expensive and I didn't want to risk having it lost in the mail."

He looked down at the ring resting on the table, "Platinum?" he met her
gaze and smiled, "You could have got it made of iron and I'd treasure it."

She scooped up the ring and held it out to him, "Nothing but the best
for my bel..." she swallowed, "my best friend."

He took the ring and inspected it, noticing two twined initials on it,
"E and S?"

"Endymion and Selenity." she smiled shyly, "Andrew told me that's really
your first name and that you go by your middle name."

He chuckled and slid the band onto his pinky where it fit perfectly
before grasping her hand and kissing the back of it, "Thank you, Selenity.
I'll treasure this forever," he gently stroaked the back of her fingers with
his thumb before dropping her hand and carefully putting away the papers in his
coat. They'd go into the shoe box where he kept the rest of her letters, but
the ring would stay on his finger. Nobody, except her, could get him to remove
it.

"Here we go, four chocolate milk shakes, the best in town!" Andrew
placed them on the table in front of them, "This is awful cozy, I hope I'm not
interrupting."

Darien slid his arm around Selenity's shoulders again and pulled her in
close to his side, "Of course not. I wonder what happened to Mina."

"I dunno. Rita called, that's why I'm so late getting back. She wants
you two to come with us for dinner tonight at the Maison de Requin, whatever
that is."

"It means 'House of the Shark', Andrew," Selenity supplied.

He looked at her funny, "You speak French?"

She nodded, "English, Spanish, Latin, High German, Arabic, Chinese,
Russian, Celtic, Polish and Ukraian too, to mention a few. I'm an
international figure," she grimaced, "a lot of my training was language
training. I have to be fluent, or at least have a working knowledge of each
language."

"Impressive." and Andrew looked impressed, "Anyway, Rita wanted to know
if you two would come, our treat of course."

"It's pretty expensive, Drew, and you two are saving for your wedding."

Andrew shrugged, "A little splurging is good for the soul, Dare. Come
on, it'll be fun."

Selenity looked at Darien, "On one condition."

"And that is?" they asked together.

"My treat. You're helping me escape my dreary exsistance for a few
hours, I'll pay for it."

"That's the only way you'll come?"

She nodded, "One and only."

Andrew grimaced, "Rita wants to meet you so I can't say no. Alright,
but next time it's our treat, ok?"

"Sure, no problem," Selenity told him, smiling. Secretly she was
thinking of the honeymoon trip she would have planned for him and Rita, once
she knew where they wanted to go, and pay for everything in advance. If
nothing else, it would take a lot of the burden off of them.

"What happened to Mina?"

Andrew shrugged, "I dunno. She was here, she's not come back yet?"

"No."

Darien spoke up, "Maybe she had an emergency. She'll catch up with us
later. When are we supposed to meet you and Rita at the Maison de Requin?"

"In about four hours. Why?"

"Well, Selene, you want to get out of here and find yourself an outfit,
a knife and a new pair of shoes for this evening?"

Andrew blinked, "You're offering to take her shopping?"

"Sure, why not?"

"You hate to shop!"

Selenity arched a brow at Darien in enquiry, "You do, do you?"

He grinned at her, "I've never had the right motivation, or the right
partner before. Come on, it'll be fun."

She laughed, "Alright, but you asked for it. I'm going to find
something that will knock your socks off."

Andrew laughed, "Selenity, Rita is going to love you."


Author's Note: Questions, comments, flames, anything you have to say, write me!

Jademax@hotmail.com

Thanks for reading!
Jade_Max