Chapter 12: Andrew's here!
"Hey, you two, wake up! I'm hungry!" a childish voice complained.
He cracked open an eye to a face-full of spun gold in the morning light. Recognizing his favorite dream, he started caressing the girl in his arms, receiving a humming sigh in response.
"I'm hungry. I want pancakes."
That was not a part of his dream, he thought groggily, his brain slow to surface. A sudden weight fell on him, his muscles tensed, *he was not alone.* The sight of cotton-candy hair caused him to relax from fight mode and a quick glance made him realize his dream was real. A grimace crossed the porcelain face on the pillow next to his. "G'way, spore," she mumbled. He smiled, she must be used to being jumped on in the morning. Before Rini could say anything else, he motioned for silence with a finger on his lips.
"Alright, ten more minutes," she muttered as she withdrew to find a paper to draw on.
He looked down upon his angel, his princess, wishing he could close his eyes and lapse back into his dream. *His dream!* He flushed, hoping Rini hadn't noticed exactly what he had been doing under the covers. *(She must be in her 'we're her parents' mode.)* Sometime during the night, he had shed his restrictive shirt and slacks and crawled back in with Serena, who apparently had. (yep) found his best silk shirt to sleep in. Bare legs overlapping, his hand had been *-where?.* and she had been responding. (Guess girls have *dreams* too.) There was only a couple of ways the situation could be worse and one of them was... He sure hoped Lita had talked with Serena's folks and that they believed her, cause he certainly didn't feel like confronting them today.
"Serena, wake up," he shook her gently.
"Won't work," Rini's voice came lilting from across the room. Oh well. Thinking he should make himself decent while he could (without embarrassing either of them further), he slid from her side, reached for his slacks and slipped them on.
"I'm going to take a shower, then I'll fix breakfast, Rini. You get dressed and try to wake her up, ok?"
"Okie-dokie." Just as she finished dressing, there was a knock at the door. "Someone's at the door, I'll get it," she called. "Who is it?" she asked, remembering not to open the door to strangers.
"Andrew. Is Darien home?"
Rini opened the door, "Come in, Andrew. He's in the shower."
"Hi Rini, is Serena here? It's pretty early to be visiting, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's early. She's over there, still sleeping in bed," she said innocently, pointing past the small mound of blankets on the sofa to the rumpled snoring mound on the edge of the bed. He stared at it in shock, it didn't take much to imagine a long lank form occupying the emptiness on the other side.
"Darien," Rini called, "Andrew's here."
"What the..?" came an astonished yelp from the bathroom. The water stopped running.
"Andrew?" A pair of blurry blue eyes peeked from the bed. "Eep!" The blue eyes disappeared. "This is just a dream, I am still asleep. This is just a dream,.." a voice chanted lowly.
The bathroom door jerked open and Darien stepped out, damp and half- dressed, hair and eyes wild. Andrew turned and shoved him up against the wall. "Darien, I came by to see if you're alright, and I find... If you've hurt these girls..." he spat angrily.
Rini looked on, eyes wide with fright at the normally nice man. Darien scanned the room, gaze sharpening as he assessed the situation. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have." Rini stammered, belatedly realizing the social implications.
"Can it, Andrew," he ordered, knocking away the other man's arms effortlessly. "It's ok, Rini," he briefly reassured her before heading toward the bed where the chanting continued, his primary concern her well- being. "Serena...Serena, are you all right?"
"D..Darien, am I awake?" The blanket flopped down, revealing her face. "I thought I heard Andrew."
He held her hands and looked in her eyes, "You did. You're at my place. You were pretty out of it last night, remember?"
"Remember?" she murmured, her eyes going blank again.
"Serena!" his voice was low and urgent, "everyone is fine, the world is fine."
She blinked, focusing on what he said, then she sat upright and hugged him, eyes brimming with relief, "Oh!"
He held her for a few seconds, ignoring the glare from his friend, then released her. "Uh, Serena, we have company."
She looked around, noticing where she was, how she was, who was there, and the implication. *Poor Andrew,* she noted, *he couldn't more shocked.(Well, he could be,)* she amended. "Then I guess I'd better make myself presentable," she said regally, "and so should you." She wrapped a blanket around herself, more for protection from the chill morning air than from embarrassment, made her way past the stunned young man into the bathroom.
"Darien, what the hell is going on? I demand an explanation!" Andrew shouted.
"Relax, let me finish getting dressed and we can discuss this over coffee." Assured that Serena was fine, all was right with his world and Darien had a devil-may-care attitude.
Rini, confident that the grown-ups (to her) had things in hand, went back to her drawing while the sound of the shower started again.
Darien put on a clean shirt, started the coffee and straightened the kitchen while Andrew simmered nearby. The water in the bath turned off and a minute later the door opened a crack. "Darien, do you have a brush?" Serena called.
"Sorry, just a comb," he called back.
There was a moment of silence. Just as Andrew lost his patience, a frustrated scream was heard. "Aargg! I've had it! No more hiding!" Three heads whipped around, one in shock and the other two in knowing trepidation as the door opened and Sailor Moon stepped out. "This is the only way I could get my hair decent," she explained, "Rini, let's go home for breakfast. Darien, I'll see you later." With that, the girls left.
Andrew just stared at the door, Darien stepped out onto the balcony and waved to a normal Serena and Rini, then returned to the kitchen.
"She. . .That's. . . She's Sailor Moon!" The words came out barely coherently from Andrew's direction.
"Yes, she is." Darien confirmed calmly. *The cat was out of the bag, might as well have fun with it.* "Coffee's ready."
The blond man nearly collapsed at the table. "Serena is Sailor Moon," he stated, unbelieving.
"Yeah, I know," Darien confirmed again, "Want an omelet?" He moved behind the divider, opened the cupboards and got things out- as if being caught with a girl in your bed who turns out to be Sailor Moon was an everyday occurrence.
Andrew took a drink of his coffee, set his cup down and stared at it. "Wait a minute, I thought Sailor Moon had a thing for Tuxedo Mask?"
*thwunk* A red rose stood imbedded in the table near his cup.
"She does," a deep voice answered.
Andrew looked up at.. a notorious figure in black.
He froze. . . brain overload. . .stop the day. . .rewind . . "I . . I . . You . . You . . She . . She . . You . . You . . She . .You . ."
"Andrew, you're repeating yourself," The man in black chided while drinking Darien's coffee.
"Tu...Tuxedo Mask?"
"Yes."
"D..Da..Darien?"
"Yes."
An electric bolt flared through him as pieces of a puzzle fell in place. "Why the hell didn't you tell me!" He jumped up, grabbed the super-hero by the lapel, and raised his fist...to a sarcastic grin. The sheer audacity of the situation finally got to him, and Andrew collapsed, laughing. Darien detransformed and joined him.
"Man, I can't believe this," Andrew choked, "you, her.. have been doing this ...two years." He suddenly sobered, "But that still doesn't explain this morning."
Darien sweat-dropped. It was going to be a long day.
AN: Holidays- too busy! Hope you had fun with this one, it's a personal favorite. Anyway, today is two-for-one day. Next chappie coming right up: what will the girls say? And, oh, thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews!
"Hey, you two, wake up! I'm hungry!" a childish voice complained.
He cracked open an eye to a face-full of spun gold in the morning light. Recognizing his favorite dream, he started caressing the girl in his arms, receiving a humming sigh in response.
"I'm hungry. I want pancakes."
That was not a part of his dream, he thought groggily, his brain slow to surface. A sudden weight fell on him, his muscles tensed, *he was not alone.* The sight of cotton-candy hair caused him to relax from fight mode and a quick glance made him realize his dream was real. A grimace crossed the porcelain face on the pillow next to his. "G'way, spore," she mumbled. He smiled, she must be used to being jumped on in the morning. Before Rini could say anything else, he motioned for silence with a finger on his lips.
"Alright, ten more minutes," she muttered as she withdrew to find a paper to draw on.
He looked down upon his angel, his princess, wishing he could close his eyes and lapse back into his dream. *His dream!* He flushed, hoping Rini hadn't noticed exactly what he had been doing under the covers. *(She must be in her 'we're her parents' mode.)* Sometime during the night, he had shed his restrictive shirt and slacks and crawled back in with Serena, who apparently had. (yep) found his best silk shirt to sleep in. Bare legs overlapping, his hand had been *-where?.* and she had been responding. (Guess girls have *dreams* too.) There was only a couple of ways the situation could be worse and one of them was... He sure hoped Lita had talked with Serena's folks and that they believed her, cause he certainly didn't feel like confronting them today.
"Serena, wake up," he shook her gently.
"Won't work," Rini's voice came lilting from across the room. Oh well. Thinking he should make himself decent while he could (without embarrassing either of them further), he slid from her side, reached for his slacks and slipped them on.
"I'm going to take a shower, then I'll fix breakfast, Rini. You get dressed and try to wake her up, ok?"
"Okie-dokie." Just as she finished dressing, there was a knock at the door. "Someone's at the door, I'll get it," she called. "Who is it?" she asked, remembering not to open the door to strangers.
"Andrew. Is Darien home?"
Rini opened the door, "Come in, Andrew. He's in the shower."
"Hi Rini, is Serena here? It's pretty early to be visiting, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it's early. She's over there, still sleeping in bed," she said innocently, pointing past the small mound of blankets on the sofa to the rumpled snoring mound on the edge of the bed. He stared at it in shock, it didn't take much to imagine a long lank form occupying the emptiness on the other side.
"Darien," Rini called, "Andrew's here."
"What the..?" came an astonished yelp from the bathroom. The water stopped running.
"Andrew?" A pair of blurry blue eyes peeked from the bed. "Eep!" The blue eyes disappeared. "This is just a dream, I am still asleep. This is just a dream,.." a voice chanted lowly.
The bathroom door jerked open and Darien stepped out, damp and half- dressed, hair and eyes wild. Andrew turned and shoved him up against the wall. "Darien, I came by to see if you're alright, and I find... If you've hurt these girls..." he spat angrily.
Rini looked on, eyes wide with fright at the normally nice man. Darien scanned the room, gaze sharpening as he assessed the situation. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have." Rini stammered, belatedly realizing the social implications.
"Can it, Andrew," he ordered, knocking away the other man's arms effortlessly. "It's ok, Rini," he briefly reassured her before heading toward the bed where the chanting continued, his primary concern her well- being. "Serena...Serena, are you all right?"
"D..Darien, am I awake?" The blanket flopped down, revealing her face. "I thought I heard Andrew."
He held her hands and looked in her eyes, "You did. You're at my place. You were pretty out of it last night, remember?"
"Remember?" she murmured, her eyes going blank again.
"Serena!" his voice was low and urgent, "everyone is fine, the world is fine."
She blinked, focusing on what he said, then she sat upright and hugged him, eyes brimming with relief, "Oh!"
He held her for a few seconds, ignoring the glare from his friend, then released her. "Uh, Serena, we have company."
She looked around, noticing where she was, how she was, who was there, and the implication. *Poor Andrew,* she noted, *he couldn't more shocked.(Well, he could be,)* she amended. "Then I guess I'd better make myself presentable," she said regally, "and so should you." She wrapped a blanket around herself, more for protection from the chill morning air than from embarrassment, made her way past the stunned young man into the bathroom.
"Darien, what the hell is going on? I demand an explanation!" Andrew shouted.
"Relax, let me finish getting dressed and we can discuss this over coffee." Assured that Serena was fine, all was right with his world and Darien had a devil-may-care attitude.
Rini, confident that the grown-ups (to her) had things in hand, went back to her drawing while the sound of the shower started again.
Darien put on a clean shirt, started the coffee and straightened the kitchen while Andrew simmered nearby. The water in the bath turned off and a minute later the door opened a crack. "Darien, do you have a brush?" Serena called.
"Sorry, just a comb," he called back.
There was a moment of silence. Just as Andrew lost his patience, a frustrated scream was heard. "Aargg! I've had it! No more hiding!" Three heads whipped around, one in shock and the other two in knowing trepidation as the door opened and Sailor Moon stepped out. "This is the only way I could get my hair decent," she explained, "Rini, let's go home for breakfast. Darien, I'll see you later." With that, the girls left.
Andrew just stared at the door, Darien stepped out onto the balcony and waved to a normal Serena and Rini, then returned to the kitchen.
"She. . .That's. . . She's Sailor Moon!" The words came out barely coherently from Andrew's direction.
"Yes, she is." Darien confirmed calmly. *The cat was out of the bag, might as well have fun with it.* "Coffee's ready."
The blond man nearly collapsed at the table. "Serena is Sailor Moon," he stated, unbelieving.
"Yeah, I know," Darien confirmed again, "Want an omelet?" He moved behind the divider, opened the cupboards and got things out- as if being caught with a girl in your bed who turns out to be Sailor Moon was an everyday occurrence.
Andrew took a drink of his coffee, set his cup down and stared at it. "Wait a minute, I thought Sailor Moon had a thing for Tuxedo Mask?"
*thwunk* A red rose stood imbedded in the table near his cup.
"She does," a deep voice answered.
Andrew looked up at.. a notorious figure in black.
He froze. . . brain overload. . .stop the day. . .rewind . . "I . . I . . You . . You . . She . . She . . You . . You . . She . .You . ."
"Andrew, you're repeating yourself," The man in black chided while drinking Darien's coffee.
"Tu...Tuxedo Mask?"
"Yes."
"D..Da..Darien?"
"Yes."
An electric bolt flared through him as pieces of a puzzle fell in place. "Why the hell didn't you tell me!" He jumped up, grabbed the super-hero by the lapel, and raised his fist...to a sarcastic grin. The sheer audacity of the situation finally got to him, and Andrew collapsed, laughing. Darien detransformed and joined him.
"Man, I can't believe this," Andrew choked, "you, her.. have been doing this ...two years." He suddenly sobered, "But that still doesn't explain this morning."
Darien sweat-dropped. It was going to be a long day.
AN: Holidays- too busy! Hope you had fun with this one, it's a personal favorite. Anyway, today is two-for-one day. Next chappie coming right up: what will the girls say? And, oh, thank you, thank you, thank you for the reviews!