This scene? This is where I intended the story to finish. When I started writing I intended it to end like this.
So. Thank you for reading so far thanks for all your lovely reviews, and thanks for subcoming to my blackmail. I really really would love just one more review from each of you, just a final "What I thought of this story" or even "What I thought of this bit" sort of thing. If you want to email me at Alipa@rocketmail.com with a detailed explanation, I'd be thrilled to read your opinions. Other then that… enjoy.
-------
"When Dawn Comes"
By Kimra
Part XXIV
Something inside her clicked, like a finishing puzzle piece and the torrent began……
Memories of long past centuries tumbled through Serena's dishevelled mind, sensations she had felt before. Moments encountered, people lived. But they where vague and unintelligible. She tried to process them, most slipping through her mental fingers back into the recesses of her mind where they belonged. And one memory surfaced that was clear, that did not speak of fairytale romance's or kingdoms lost. And she clung to that memory with more ferocity then any of the others, her mind opening to the images she was once more allowed to live.
She watched the party with detachment, wondering when her communicator was going to beep. It was the only thing she could really imagine that would happen at the party, it always seemed to go off when she most wanted it not to. Not that I ever want it to beep. She admitted begrudgingly. She looked down to her locket, pinned to her hip, Luna had checked three times to make sure she had it on her. They all expected an attack, they always did. Her eyes then moved over the crowd of teenagers, all lost in their own world, their own security.
It was good to know that she did effect these peoples lives, because without the Sailor Scouts maybe these children, her school mates, maybe they wouldn't be able to leave there homes after dark. Maybe without the Scouts things would have been far worse then they already where. What with losing our only crystal to Zoicite I doubt we'll have to worry about things like that for long. The Negaverse is going to hit, and hit hard the second it recuperates.
A hand thrust in front of her, breaking her chain of thought.
"Thirsty?" A male voice asked from beside her. She stared at the cup before her and glanced down at the one still in her hold only to find it empty.
"I just finished one, no thanks." She replied calmly, trying to be rid of him then and there. The cat wasn't there, she wanted time to think without being told she had homework to do, without being told she should go to sleep, or she should be more respectful of her duties as Sailor Moon.
"Come on." The voice cogured from beside her. She took the glass reluctantly discarding her empty one, her eyes still on the party not him. But she didn't drink, she was far to exughsted to waste time drinking. "Aren't you going to drink it?" The boy continued a little teasing, a little mocking, all in all a little too like Darien. She snorted at that line of thought. All she needed to ruin her night was to think about the jerk. She heard an impatient noise from her company and sighed in resignation before quickly gulping down the plastic cup's contents.
The room titled alarmingly at the bitter sensation coursing down her throat but she resisted the urge to cough it up. Too many Youma incidents involving all sorts of interesting liquids had taught her that if it goes down bad, it'll go back up just as painfully. So she forced the liquid to keep it's course.
Self control didn't stop her from scrunching her nose up and glaring up at the boy who had given her such an offending drink. He smiled smugly down at her, his eyes glinting with something she couldn't read.
"What?" He asked with what sounded like mock innocence. She wet her lips, the bitter taste still lingering in her mouth.
"What was that?" She demanded grimacing again as she tried to get the flavour to go away.
"Oh." He sounded apologetic. "Sorry, it's something a friend of mine brought with him. Here I'll go get you some water to wash it down with." And the tall boy moved away from her pushing into and through the crowd.
"Hey Serena!" Molly called across the crowd, pushing through it as well, but not as effectively as the boy had. She stopped before Serena, her grin huge, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Can you believe it? So many people showed up! This is so cool!" Right about there was where Serena found her eyes focused on the dancing crowd, Molly's voice a faded mumble in the background. They where inside, but Molly's living room had been cleared of almost all the furniture, but even then the crowd was rather thick. That wasn't what had her attention however, there was something odd about the movements of the crowd, something almost blurry.
A squeal of excitement came from beside her before a hand patted her shoulder. Serena turned her head in time to see Molly fading into the crowd to greet someone else.
"Ah. Here we are princess." Came the same male voice from before, she turned to find him waiting for her attention, a white plastic cup cradled in his hands protectively.
Serena looked up at him, his eyes where a soft blue, something about their shape making them look hard. His jaw was firm, skin a light brown, and his features where strong. His name completely escaped her at that moment but she knew he was a heartthrob you didn't have looks like that without being a heartthrob. Her second comparison between him and Darien for the night, and she wasn't really sure if she wanted a conversation with one of the spawn of satins siblings.
He held the cup out to her like a trophy, his grin lopsided. And she plucked it from his grip, her fingers curling tightly around it, surprised to realise they where shaking. The strange after taste had faded away but she took a sip to try and calm what ever was causing her to shake. It didn't feel like nerves, it felt like something else, something deeper.
"Who are you?" She asked calmly.
"Justin." He replied soothingly, but it didn't really sooth her. She took another quick sip of the water.
"You go to our school?" She asked, in her attempt at a civilised conversation since he wasn't moving from before her.
"Our?" He smirked at her. "It doesn't look like there's more then one of you." She refrained from telling him that at that moment there was one and a half of him in her vision, shook her head to clear it and smiled at him.
"Molly and I. You know, it's her party." She waved towards the door not really sure where Molly was. She heard another shriek of excitement and knew she had pointed in the wrong direction.
"So your good friends with Molly?" He enquired leaning against the wall by her head his eyes not moving to search out Molly, instead fixed on her.
She nodded her head in response, and the world titled again. "I'm all dizzy." She murmured, meaning to say it to herself, but it must have come out louder then that.
"I'll take you outside." He offered, and without permission pulled her from the seat directing her to the exit. If fresh air hadn't appealed to her so much at that moment she would have argued it. Something just didn't feel right about the scenario.
He walked her to the silent hallway and told her to wait before leaving her side. She gripped her head, ordering it to behave trying to shake the strange sense of dizziness. The music from the other room was dulled where she leant against the hall wall. The murmur of conversations barely filtering through to her solitary position.
She felt him return. "How's your head?" He asked randomly.
"Not good." She muttered in response, her hands leaving so she could see him again. He was much taller then her, dark brown hair styled to fall across his forehead without touching his eyes while being short at the back. He was dressed in a pair of casual dark grey pants and a light blue t-shirt. He took a hold of her upper arm again and turned to the door.
"Serena? Are you leaving?" Molly asked from near by halting their movements. Serena went to turn and respond that she was just going outside for a moment when Justin interrupted.
"Serena's not feeling very well, so I'm taking her home."
Serena blinked in surprise. Her mind repeating the words and all she could think was that he had gotten it wrong. Somewhere he had bodged up the message, that, or she was hearing things. He gripped her arm a little painfully and pulled her out the open door. She heard Molly murmur something and tried to tell her she would be back but the door was closed between them quickly and control of her tongue seemed to be dwindling
The cold night air bit into her exposed skin raising goose bumps making her shiver despite the internal warm pulsing through her. The hand on her arm travelled across to the small of her back. She jerked away from the contact frowning in a bid to force her mind to focus.
He was leading her somewhere, they weren't just standing outside waiting for her head to clear then return. For some reason she was following him unthinkingly. She tried to think, she had defiantly heard he was taking her home, she trusted herself far too much to doubt that.
Except she didn't remember ever leaving Molly's house and going this way. Her feet faltered, and beside her he stopped. She looked up into an angry expression. "Where are we going?" She managed to slur out, wetting her lips as if that would grant her control of everything once more. He rolled his eyes at her and threaded his arm through hers before tugging her back into movement.
"I'm taking you home." He patronized. She had been patronized enough in her life to know that tone perfectly. She frowned at him, forcing focus to return to her eyes long enough to gage where they where heading. "My house is in the other direction." She defied stopping once more.
"Ah, but our transport is this way." He retorted and laced strong fingers around her upper arm, jerking her back into movement.
Battle sense's told her something wasn't quite right, but with the constant throbbing of her head, and the way the world had begun to sway on her she guessed she was making things up. After all, this guy, who ever he was, he went to school with her, he couldn't possibly be dangerous.
"What kind of transport?" She asked anyway. Her arm felt a bit sore, his grip biting into her. "And… errr your hurting my arm." She mumbled forcing her eyes to stay open and her breathing more steady. She felt like she was sinking deeper into a confused sleep.
"A flying car." He growled at her, his fingers digging in a little more, his pace quickening. She was forced to accommodate the speed, not usually a problem but her legs weren't quite obeying their orders.
And then she processed his words. Considering the things she had seen in her life it didn't seem all that far fetched, especially with the way her mind kept skipping through things and making everything possible or at least equally as foggy at that moment. "They exist?" She managed to ask, just a little confused. Surely she would have heard of it if there where flying cars about.
"Sure why not." He drawled. "Would you quit talking it's getting on my nerves." She didn't know why but she complied with his demand, perhaps it was stunned silence. So he lead her on for a few more minutes of silence before stopping. "This'll have to do, sweetheart. I don't think your going to last much longer."
"Last?" She gaped at him, trying to fathom his words.
"Don't worry, it's not important at all." His voice was low, and he turned to face her, his grip still tight about her left arm digging into the tendons. She made a noise her right hand moving to dislodge his grip, even she wasn't invulnerable to pain. Her fingers felt weak around his wrist as she tried to push it away from her and she felt him smirk at her.
"Let go." She ordered angrily. "It really hurts." She tried to push his grip away once more, then glared up at him. And the expression in his eyes sent all her battle instincts into overdrive. His smile was far from nice, it wasn't even that mocking smirk she was so used to seeing from Darien, it seemed almost evil. It scared her though, she couldn't recall ever meeting a human who looked evil to her before.
"Does it?" He murmured, still that patronizing voice lingering. "Lets see what we can do to make you forget about the pain." Shockingly his hand gripped her waist, and before she could respond he shoved her backwards and she hit a wall painfully, a second latter his weight pushing her into it hard. His hands settled on her hips.
"Don't touch me." She warned voice quivering, and the fingers dug in harder, one sliding around to squeeze her behind. "What do you think your doing?" She demanded, both her hands raising and pushing his shoulders. The shock of his actions steadied her mind, and with a strength she rarely portrayed she managed to push at him. She took him by surprise throwing him back four steps, his grip on her breaking.
It occurred to her, when she glared at him angrily that they where not on the main street anymore. "Where are we?" She asked immediately distracted, her eyes grazing their surroundings, her mind once more fogging over. It looked like an alley, but she couldn't remember turning up an alley. It was unnerving to realise she couldn't see the main street, and their only company where a few piles of garbage. Her head spun as she tried to process her surroundings, objecting to the work load.
Fingers gripped her hips tightly once more, his body firm against hers.
"Little spit fire aren't you?" He murmured, and that's when his lips moved in. She gasped in shock, her left hand jumping up to defend her mouth before he could reach it. Then fiercely before he could react because she certainly couldn't think properly enough to wait until then, she clamped her hand over his face and pushed it away from her. He stared at her, with amusement. She ignored it, her breaths shallow and weak but they had been for a while, small beads of sweat trickled down her exposed skin and the world was swaying again. "If you stop struggling this wont take half as long." He told her once more patronizingly and moved in again.
She slapped him that time, with every piece of strength her left hand could grant and she was shocked by how little strength that was. Even in human form she was stronger then that. Immediately she knew she had to get out of there, away from him and his dangerous looks. Her feet began moving for the only exit she could see, using the stunned moment to put distance between them.
It wasn't enough.
Something grabbed at her right wrist, yanking her back, and the next second her back had been slammed against the wall once more, his body locking her in place. "Not so fast." His body felt hot against her, fierce and demanding. She went to push him away again, to remove the feel of his body against her own, and he caught her other wrist holding it firm. His mouth leered at her moving in towards her again.
"Stop it." She demanded struggling against his firm hold, trying to wiggle out of his grip, and his expression darkened with every movement. Panic set in, her befuddled mind trying to remember how to react. She'd gone through training for things like this, to break away from the enemy, because at that moment he was the enemy, human or not. She turned her head from his assault, her lips pressed together trying to get her mind to come up with a battle plan. Some form of response despite her trembling muscles and blurry eyes.
He cursed her angrily, snapping her arms to above her head, and pinned both wrists down with one strong hand, the other hand gripped her chin, forcing her to face him. She tried to pull her head from his hold, tried to jar her head backwards only to have it strike the brick wall intensifying the spinning sensation. She tried to struggle with her body, trying to worm out of his hold unable to even form a protest with words. Out loud all she could do was chant a plea, she wasn't even sure what she was saying, but it was all she could get her mouth and mind to do.
Something pushed against her when he ground her against the wall painfully. Not his body, something lower, and suddenly she realised exactly what was happening and it was enough to get her sense's back, even if only for a brief second. Her knee slammed up into his hardened groin, and he released her grasping at himself, several curses escaping him.
She hadn't realised, her mind wasn't working, but that contact and she had known what he was trying to do to her. She ordered her legs to move past him and with each weak step they threatened to collapse under her. Something wasn't right something was very far from right with her body. Before she could contemplate what was wrong she was caught up once more and thrown against the wall. The next moment, when she stared at the light blue eyes opposite her a blunt force slammed into her stomach making her cry out in pain. Her shaky mind realised he had punched her.
He was still bent over before her, holding himself firmly his expression clouded with rage. Her back was pressed up against the wall not forced there but using it for support. She wanted to curl into a ball to repress the feeling but instead she told herself to move, known that she had caught him off guard and that such a chance may not come again.
She stumbled past his folded form, aiming for the opening she assumed lead to the main street. A force slammed into her back, throwing her face first against the dirty floor. She cried out in shock, her chest pushed against the cold cement, palms scratching against the surface where they had fallen, trying to soften her fall.
"Leave me alone!" She begged, feeling the human form solid against her back, her face unable to turn to glare or even beg more.
Hot breaths pushed against the back of her neck. "You stupid little bitch, I wasn't going to take very long, in and out, simple. But you've gone and complicated it now." He growled at her, fingers on her waist digging in mercilessly.
"Get off me!" She screamed hopelessly. Tears sprung to her eyes as she tried to pushed against him, to dislodge his settled weight from against her back. But her arms where shaking, even her normally feeble strength nonexistent. Her back hurt from being forced against the wall so many times, her wrist was stinging, her palms bleeding from trying to catch her fall and her chest hurt from supporting both of their weights against the ground. "Please, please, please, just leave me alone." She begged, her breathing harder to control through her abused chest.
Cold fingers fumbled in beneath her shirt, sliding it up her back between them, modesty only maintained because the shirt refused to move beneath her chest.
"I'm warning you." She tried desperately. Adrenaline pumped through her, trying to clear her mind for her, trying to give her a better hold of the situation, fear fighting that adrenaline in part and accenting it in other parts. She tried to raise herself again, but found him still pushing into her, his fingers touching at her bare side and pressing in against the side of her covered breasts.
"Quite trying to move." He ordered roughly and his fingers dug into her painfully.
She gasped in pain, the tears blurring her vision worse then it had been blurred, although she still couldn't move her head to see anything but the side of a dirty wall. He was pushed so intimately against her that once more she could feel his hardened excitement pressing into the small of her back.
"Get off me!" She screamed the order once more and heard his rotten laugh in response, the fingers retracting from her sides. He shifted his weight above her, and she felt the fingers crawl along her back between them stopping at her bra strap. "Don't touch me you creep!" Again his fingers stopped their movements, and the weight above her shifted. Suddenly she could draw air into her forgotten lungs, air she desperately needed.
"I don't think-" He growled angrily "-your in a position to give orders."
She tried to pushed her weight back and dislodge him again, aware that he was sitting up, his weight settled against her buttocks and pressing her pelvis down harshly into the ground. Then blunt pain slammed into her back, shocking her into crying out. Again it came, that blunt pain that she knew meant he had hit her. Three more times he struck her, each time she tried harder to ignore it and move from beneath him. But he pinned her again, the flat of his palm on the back of her neck, crushing her face to the ground once more, her body unable to move with her head and waist trapped so firmly.
A whimper escaped her, her mind still trying to process ways of escape but all that came to mind where erratic unintelligible thoughts that she could not decipher. Her head continued to spin.
"Now stay still, because I can make this so much worse." He warned, his left hand digging into the base of her neck while his right traced across her almost bare back. She felt him fiddling with her bra, trying desperately to think of escape, her hazy mind arguing the need to think before the tension of her bra snapped away.
The second wave of panic set in, more adrenaline pushing through her veins, trying still to clear her mind for her. Her fingers grabbed around franticly trying to find some form of weapon.
The sound of a zipper moving and her attention was back on him, feeling the waist of her skirt loosen. Terrified she grabbed at it, her fingers coming across cold metal and clarity tumbled into place.
Her eyes snapped to his face, eyes fierce. "Moon." She growled out threateningly, her fingers closed around the tiny broach her heart pounding with realised freedom. "Prism."
"What's that?" He taunted from above her and she confused him by smiling.
"Power." She whispered, and it came to her, power. It threaded through her veins pulsating through her existence. She felt the initial burst push her attacker off her, sending him across the alley. That didn't matter, it wasn't even a thought of concern, all that mattered was the safety of magic pooling around and within her. She felt the scrap's on her palms healing, the tiny bruises that had already begun to form closing over. And it settled within her like it always did.
A groan interrupted her self analysis and she turned to find him standing a trail of blood streaking down the right side of his face. His eye's unfocused, his body supported by the wall he had struck. Then he looked at her his eyes where murderously dark and before she could coordinate her limbs to move he had rammed into her and pinned her against the alley wall.
Shock flooded her system, her body crushed below him once more and all she knew was he was dangerous, he was evil, he had to be stopped, she had to protect the innocent, it was her duty to protect the innocent. And with no other thoughts able to fight through the haze she brought her fist against his face with every piece of her strength. Something cracked, that didn't matter, her fist came down again, her left hand holding his shirt so he couldn't escape. The enemy always came back when she didn't stop them. Zoicite kept coming back, again and again with his grating laugh and his evil plans, and every time he hurt someone she loved, he hurt innocents she never knew but he kept hurting and it was because she never stopped him. And she would stop it this time, she wouldn't let evil escape. So her fist kept moving, until pain flashed through her head.
Her actions stopped. Her head had begun to pound again, nausea tickling her sense, her stomach clamping down threatening sickness. Breathing harshly she released her fist's, something struck the ground but was ignored, her hands jumping up to cradle her head. The world was spinning again, twisting and turning around her and nothing seemed to focus. Fighting for breath she stumbled to the only exit she could see, never noticing the blood she wiped against her white body suit, never noticing that she was forgetting something, just knowing she had to get away from this place, had to get out in the open, had to go back and tell Molly what had happened.
None of it stayed as a coherent plan, her body half supported by the walls she walked past, her mind so jumbled she didn't really know where she was going.
She stumbled for a long time before it occurred to her that she desperately needed to sleep and recuperate. Her eyes scanned her surroundings taking in where she had brought herself and was mildly surprised to find the park entrance opposite her. I beats the open street. Was all she could think before she had groggily made her way inside.
The silence she encountered as she stumbled along the pathways was comforting, a sign of solitude. She wasn't quite sure where she was going but she made her way along the pathways until stumbling upon one of the solid park benches.
She collapsed onto it, the tension in her body evaporating. Wanting nothing but to surrender to the sleep that beckoned her.
The moment her eyes closed she heard it. Pulsating in the back of her head an almost imperceptible thread of music. Below her the ground responded to the overloud bass, throbbing in time.
She groaned and threw her head back against the hard wood. "I just want some peace!" She screamed at the night sky, watching the twinkling stars as they refused to help her in any way. She ground her teeth, closing her eyes again and forced the sound away from her thoughts, but slowly it crept right back in, prodding her headache and igniting her irritation. She gave another scream, her hand closing over her ears. All she wanted was sleep, a lot of sleep, to get rid of this sickening feeling that pushed through her relentlessly. And some idiot was playing music, what was worse, it was being played at the most annoying level for music. The level where she couldn't recognise it but nor could she ignore it.
Her fingers curled around the edges of the bench, trying to fight the sound, they jumped to cover her ears only to find that position highly uncomfortable on a park bench. She shifted and moved as much as she could, all the while the music seemed to be getting louder.
A groan of defeat escaped her and she forced herself to stand, pulling her anger in like a blanket to make sure who ever was intruding on her much needed sleep would understand how thoroughly pissed off she was. Then she stormed towards the music, she didn't recognise the music was the first thing she knew, she didn't like it was the next. But she continued to follow it cursing about people with bad taste who played things to loud.
It surprised her, and a few others when she stumbled into a large group of college students. She stopped and stared at them, and found they where doing the same to her. She frowned a little, her mind no longer focused then her eyes levelled onto the portable stereo and she remembered what she was doing there. Reminding herself that she was angry she stood taller and glared at them, showing no sign that she was intimidated by being shorter then all of them.
"Would you kindly turn that music down?" She demanded as haughtily as she could. At their blank stares she rolled her eyes and stretched the muscles in her back, eyes not really leaving them for long. "Some people are trying to sleep you know?"
There was a sudden snicker from one of the boys, and she glared at him as quickly as she could only to find he looked completely unrepenting and perhaps a little more amused then he had been. One of the other guys repeated her question in stunned disbelief.
Serena tried to remind herself that male intelligence dropped down about five hundred points after the age of thirteen then remembered Sammy and decided male intelligence was a myth.
Someone tried to splutter a response and she resisted the urge to tap her foot in impatience, the wretched music was still pounding away at her sense's drawing forth a new wave of nausea. She decided then that it probably would have been better if she hadn't approached the noise, and instead she had moved to a different bench where the noise didn't reach.
"Oh my god." Someone muttered after several attempts at words. Serena raised her eyebrow at them quizzically, this wasn't the reaction she was expecting for such a simple request. She stared back at them then realised in the depths of her foggy brain that there was something wrong with her if they where staring at her like that. Fidgeting she brushed at her face and glanced down. Nothing seemed out of place so she went to wipe at her face again when her brain caught up. She looked down again and found a pair of red boots an indecently short blue skirt, white body suit and red bow.
Immediately she laughed at herself, somewhere along the lines she had forgotten to transform back. She tried to break the smile off her face immediately and looked back at them, as seriously as she could. "We superhero's need out rest." She managed to say steadily, there was a dead pause and before any reaction could come from her captive audience she burst into laughter again. Maybe she could say those corny speech's to the Negaverse, but a grouped of gapping college students felt so comical it was far too much to handle.
She could hear them start talking, perhaps broken from their shock momentarily, but their words held no interest to her. "Sailor Moon's drunk." Broke her from her laughter, and she looked up to find that all eyes where fixed on her and all of them seemingly amused. Then she was laughing again, the very thought that she 'Sailor Moon, Champion of Justice' was drunk was absurd. Luna would scratch her eyes out if she had been drunk, besides she wouldn't even know where to get alcohol to get drunk with. The whole situation was laughable, the girls would have fits when they found out she had forgotten to transform though. Raye would shout her ears off, Amy would probably look disappointed and think of ways to correct the mistake before it could happen again, but she was pretty sure Lita would find it as funny as she did.
They where all still talking, shouting one comment after another. Until one brave man jumped up on a picnic table scanning the crowd with intent before shouting "Shit where's Darien? I bet even he couldn't turn down Sailor Moon." And a further ruckus ensued from the crowd, a whole lot of them started to shout out numbers while the rest of them shook their heads wearily. She found she was still the centre of attention for the group which was slightly disconcerting and the bastards still hadn't turned their atrocious music down.
The shouted question deciphered in her brain and she began to laugh again, tears breaking to her eyes at the thought of Darien not been able to turn her down, even if she was Sailor Moon. "Darien Shields? You bet he couldn't resist me." She teased, her eyes flashing dangerously of temptation, god she wouldn't mind making him realise how much he wanted her. She caught herself. "But I'm much to upper class for him." Automatically she spun on her heal, her hands smoothly flicking through the motions of her tiara attack then posed for her willing audience. She found half of them where gapping at her again, her tiara in hand and pointed at them, but not charged, even she wasn't such a fool.
"Shit. That really is Sailor Moon!" One of the boys cried.
"Nah! It's just some girl." A girl Serena couldn't see rejoindered.
"What?" Serena demanded angered by the mere suggestion that she wasn't who she was. "I am too Sailor Moon!" She did another pose, her entrance to the battle pose, she would not let them tell her she wasn't Sailor Moon, no one else was qualified for it but her.
"Yeah whatever. Sailor Moon's just a tabloid thing anyway, she doesn't have any real powers." A cynical looking man at the front of the bunch sneered, his eyes moving over her ludly. She huffed at the words, not noticing the look.
"Hey!" A champion of her good spirit shouted from the sidelines. "I've seen the Sailor Scouts! Man, they kick butt."
"Yeah right! They walk around in miniskirts, how tough do you think they are?"
"I'll have you know, this is the ancient costume of my guards." Serena made a sweeping motion, her eye's un-focussing and threatening to sway, god's but she felt ill again.
"Come on, show them what you can do sweetheart!" Her champion cheered with enthusiasm. She went to remove the Tiara again then reconsidered, looking about the area. She couldn't see anything she wanted to hit… well maybe the stereo, but she would never hear the end of that if she did.
"I can't there aren't any enemy's!" She whined, just as annoyed as they where, it wasn't often she got a chance to preform to the crowd.
"Just blow a tree up." One demanded.
"I can't just blow things up!" Serena gasped at the idea. "My cat would kill me!" It obviously wasn't the winning sentence because suddenly they where staring at her again. There was tense silence before the whole crowd broke into uproarious laughter.
Before she could respond a hand caught at her shoulder, fingers digging in fiercely, another latching around her wrist. The action was followed by grating laughter. The pain bit into her with reality, making her gasp a little, she remembered she was in Sailor form and knew for it to hurt this was no little grip being put to use on her. "Fraternizing with College boys? Aren't you a bit young for them?"
Instincts kicked in immediately at the sound of that all to familiar voice, her elbow slamming back into a strong jaw, feeling the tension of his hold release and her body stumbled forwards out of the tight hold. She turned and stared into fierce green eyes. Her fist curled in response to the face before her.
"You don't know how old I am, Zoicite." She spat, noticing the silence around her, the suddenness of it all made it feel like a dream.
"No, but I can see how drunk you are." Zoicite replied lazily, his sharp yellow eyes moving about the crowd with a smirk.
"I am not drunk!" Serena screamed before cringing and clutching at her head, the response to much to ignore even when faced with an enemy.
"Indeed." Zoicite mocked, and Serena felt the attack coming. Serena shifted her spot, diving to the side and releasing her head to glare fiercely at her attacker. Zoicite looked almost impressed, and another attack came at her. Serena jumped up and pushed out of the way again. "You know little moon brat, I'm not used to you showing up out of nowhere unless there's an attack. What prompted your appearance? Wanted to impress the boys?"
Serena glanced and found the crowd was staring at her, they had moved back but where still staring.
"What are you doing here if there isn't an attack?" Serena demanded a little irritated, wanting to think through a battle. She knew there was something she was meant to do in every battle, something important but it just wasn't coming to mind at the moment. With a growl she shook her head, she would have to think of that latter, and dodged another attack. Somewhere along the lines she did a pretty nice back flip to escape an attack that left Zoicite gaping like the college students had not that long ago.
"Just examining a few energy fluctuations that popped out of nowhere. Like a certain little Sailor Brat transforming for no reason. Really, I thought your friends where smarter then to let you do such." Zoicite shook his red locks glaring down at her.
Serena realised he had started his floating thing, god she hated when he did that. It was bad enough when-
Her foot caught something and she tripped, her mental triad falling to pieces and she connected with soft dirt. She muttered a muffled 'ow' before jumping to her feet and brushing off her front trying to pretend the accident hadn't happened.
A blast caught her unawares throwing her against the crowd, one of the boy's took the brunt of her fall, his cocky grin proving he was more the willing to play the hero for her. She groaned at the expression and disengaged herself. Her head swirled, her body swaying and people where talking to her. Vaguely she looked up, saw Zoicite and looked around only to realise that half of the crowd was within a meter radius of her now.
The crowd was cheering out, shouting rather obscene things that she wouldn't have understood even with her mind working perfectly at Zoicite. Others shouting encouraging, if not muffled words to her. The world spun around her, and she took three stumbling steps towards Zoicite. She could feel the power in her fighting something inside and it was drawing as much strength as any injury, except she couldn't recall becoming injured.
"I won't let you disturb this party!" Serena declared, her legs buckled shockingly, her hands jumping out to prevent herself from hitting the ground fully. "Even if they are playing crappy music." She muttered to the ground. Her head wasn't working again, her limbs had begun trembling, maybe it was because Zoicite had made her move so fast so far.
"I quite like their music." Zoicite mused, hovering close by. Serena reached up for her tiara.
"Proves it's crap." Serena retorted, the tiara falling from her hand as her stomach clamped up. She gripped at the metal, her eyes glaring up at her enemy. She was forgetting something, she just knew it. She heard an attack coming her mind a bit blurred but registering the attack. She wondered why she had felt fine before Zoicite had shown up but now she felt worse. Maybe the attacks had pushed her more then she realised, maybe what ever was wrong with her was teetering on tacking over… or winning.
A rose interrupted her thoughts, landing almost directly before her. She blinked at it and felt the heat of Zoicite's attack fade. A strong arm caught around her waist and she was hoisted from the floor, her fingers curling around the tiara as she was tugged. It didn't occur to her what was happening straight away, she went to fight, thinking maybe it was Zoicite, but that didn't make sense, because Zoicite would never interrupt his own attack on her. She wanted to stop and think and her body did, for about a second before who ever it was had pulled her back into fast motion.
"Take it away from the crowd Sailor Moon." A silky voice hissed at her, seemingly disgruntled. She looked to her right, her feet stumbling because she wasn't looking where she was going and because she could hardly get her legs to work properly. She found her Tuxedo clad hero pulling her along an unmarked path through the park. He stopped somewhere, she went to look and he caught her chin. "Where are the others?" He demanded staring at her, and she saw the sudden frown pull across his brow, felt the anger almost immediately directed at her. Ignoring that she was giddy in his presence, she didn't think she had seen him this much in one sitting before and Zoicite at that moment felt like a foreign ingredient in her nights happenings.
She giggled at him, and pushed a few strands of escaping hair out of her eyes.
"You're drunk." He stated bluntly, that frown darker. His grip around her upper arms tightened. "Where are the others?!" It was a demand, a right out demand, and she blinked at him not sure if she had done anything to warrant anger.
And why do they keep telling me I'm drunk? She wondered angrily. Where do these people get off? She heaved a breath of anger, and saw him react to something, from the sleave of his jacket a rose appeared and into the night sky it disappeared.
"The other's Sailor Moon?" He demanded, gripping her tightly and yanking her into motion again. It occurred to her that they where running away, she was a bit annoyed by that. They where super hero's they shouldn't have been running away from anything.
"Let's fight!" She declared ready to turn only to find he was not letting her control her movements, in fact most of her support was coming from him. Odd.
"Are you even listening?" He demanded roughly his eye's fixed before them not on her, but she could feel the anger.
"Yeah yeah." She mumbled bitterly. "Where are the others?" She sighed at the question. "How should I know? I think there at… no I can't remember." She gave another sigh in defeat before tripping neatly on something. He didn't let her fall.
"When are they getting here?" He demanded just as harshly. She glared across at him angrily.
"How should I know they take their time some times!" She was triumphant with her declaration then realised with astounding horror that she hadn't called them to get them there. Fumbling she yanked the pink device out and went to turn it on.
The man supporting her jerked to a stop the pink communicator jumping out of her numb fingers. She went to scramble after it, her eyes panicked but he pulled her back.
"Well well well." Zoicite floating before them, drawled staring in amusement. His hands rested on his hips looking down at the two. "If we don't just have one drunk Sailor Scout and one useless Rose Thrower." Zoicite grinned amused. "Somebody forgot to tell me it was my birthday." The attack came fast, knocking Serena back into her mysterious hero before either could react. Another attack came, and Serena felt herself being pushed out of the way. She didn't react to any of that, her eyes fixing on the tiny pink calculator that would summon the help she always needed. Usually they where there before her, at least it always seemed the way of things, she had never had to hold her own against a Youma, even in the beginning Luna had always been there. She reminded herself Tuxedo Mask was there and turned her head to see how he fared.
She was shocked to find he had somehow disappeared from the scene and felt tears break to her eyes realising he had left her. She tried to cling to hope but her betraying body was highly emotional at that moment and the tears began to streak. She fumbled forwards for the communicator and was intercepted by Zoicite, his grip tightened around her wrist and lifted her into the air with him.
"My my my, the little scout seems to have lost her friends. Didn't your parents tell you bad things happen when you drink girl?" The smug red head demanded.
"I am not drunk!" Anger boiled insider Serena and she slammed her free hand against his lower jaw. His grip released and she fell, before hitting the ground she was once again caught into a secure hold, but this time it was comforting. "Tuxedo Mask." She whispered revelling in the feeling of contact. He put her down too quickly throwing her an angry look.
"Where are your friends?" He demanded harshly.
"I haven't called them!" She replied the panic returning. Somewhere inside her dishevelled mind things where on a delicate balance, she was somewhere between panic and humour and it kept tilting between the two. "I need my communicator." She went to point and found they where behind a tree. She went to push past him and he stopped her.
"Come on out little pests. It wont take me that long to kill you." Zoicite's voice taunted.
Tuxedo Mask glared at her, she didn't know how she knew, but it felt like a glare in her bones, especially with that deep frown. "Wait here, I'll get rid of him. De-transform if you have to hide." And he was gone in a flurry of silk and wool that left her confused and a bit agitated. It was her job to save the day! It always had been! It was his job to show up, make her fall in love then laugh at her while stealing those precious crystals she had done a pathetically poor job of finding.
She heard the battle taking place, her head peaking out from behind the tree to watch as he did all sorts of acrobatic feats she couldn't possibly do all the while throwing his rose's but they didn't seem to be doing anything. It was her job to save the day, besides it looked like he was doing a barely decent job, and Zoicite looked nothing less then infuriated, in other words not injured.
Silently she crept on hands and knees from her hiding place, her eyes fixed on the pink communicator hidden within the grass from prying eyes. She kept moving, trying to force thoughts away, knowing they where going to do little help but half way there a spike of rebelliousness pierced her.
She was Sailor Moon, she was the Champion of Love and Justice, she was a super hero who wielded the power of light and crystal, she was the only person who could destroy the Youma, and now she was obeying a Tuxedo wearing rose throwing idiot and struggling to contact her belittling friends who didn't think she was capable of looking after herself. Adrenaline pumped through her with her idiotic decision, and she scrambled the rest of the way, clasping the communicator and putting it away then her eyes latched on to Zoicite, only to find that Tuxedo Mask had disappeared again, and Zoicite was touching at a bleeding welt on her lower left jaw line.
Serena licked her dry lips tentatively, then grinned, getting her feet beneath her and stood up. She felt a little unsteady then forced it away, she would make this perfect, a moment the scouts would have to admit she was their equal, perhaps a moment when she would convince herself of that same thing. Her tiara slipped into her hold smoothly, the power gathering as she twirled around. Then she released it towards Zoicite only to see him grin rather devilishly at her and disappear before the tiara could even singe his ugly clothes. It speed through the empty air and the fell back into her grip. Serena cursed fluently at the miss. There goes your moment of glory Serena. She grumbled to herself, feeling a bit stupid, and wondering where everyone had gone.
A force slammed into her back, throwing her face first against the ground, then something pushed against the back of her neck, holding her face firmly against the dirt and grass. She went to push against it and another force slammed into her back. In shock she shouted out.
"What do you think Tuxy? Do you think you can watch me kill her?" Zoicite laughed from above her and another force slammed into her back. She felt the ground beneath her push down in protest, her own body trembling, a rib broke she was almost sure, under the pressure of those attack's against the same spot each time. "Pathetic little wretch that she is, I certainly wouldn't." A grating laugh came from him once more, and the force on her head pushed down harder.
Serena struggled, she did, she put every bit of effort into fighting Zoicites hold, there was no way she was going to be the pathetic helpless victim again. She moved and the force hit her again.
"I wonder how many times I can do this before she's dead." It was a thoughtful question not a threat.
"Let me up you big oaf, if you weren't so scared I'd kick your Nega-ass you wouldn't be holding me down here like this!"
"Is it just me or do those speech's get worse when she's drunk?" Zoicite asked no one, ignoring Serena's plea. His hand's curled, power gathering in his grip his expression dark. The power left his hand and struck again and a scream escaped her that time, something else broke, maybe another rib, she wasn't sure she couldn't think clearly. Tears gathered in her eyes, she was hurting all over and she knew how weak she was and it made her feel pathetic, something even Darien couldn't do as effectively as this. "Come on Tuxy." Zoicite whispered under his breath, eyes scanning the empty tree's around them. A growl escaped Zoicite and his foot ground her face into the dirt harder. "Like I need a hostage." He muttered, and she felt the power drawing into the man above her, his foot holding her head in place, her back throbbing and demanding relief her insides protesting something that had happened to it and silence engulfed everything else. Not even the bass of bad music was audible from where they where.
"Stop." The breathless male voice commanded. Zoicite shifted, his weight against her never varying.
"You have something for me Tuxy?" Zoicite cooed. Serena couldn't see what was happening, could hardly focus on it, her back hurt too much, her stomach hurt to much and the flavour of dirt in her mouth was oddly distracting.
"Let her go." Was the steady command. She knew the voice of Tuxedo Mask anywhere and felt relief flood her.
"Give me the stones." Zoicite demanded his voice jagged with impatience, that power ready to be released.
"I will." Tuxedo Mask assured.
"Why don't I trust you?"
"Dishonourable people never trust others." The foot pressed down harder, and the foot released her head and slammed down into her bruised back. Another cry escaped her.
"What was that?" Zoicite asked sweetly. Serena held back tears. Her body wasn't responding to her demands, her head was too hazy to make the commands worth while. She felt resigned to lay there and let them shout out their difference's or what ever they where doing.
"Here." Tuxedo Mask's voice whispered and she heard the slight chink of stones against one another. "Let her go."
"You shouldn't." Zoicite stated blankly still not moving. "She deserves it and we both know it. You've spent so long trying to get them and your just going to hand them over for the drunken whore's life?" There was something remotely resembling concern in Zoicites voice. "Don't get me wrong, I'll get those crystals no matter what, but don't you think you should reconsider surrendering them so easily?"
"Just take them!" Tuxedo Mask shouted. "And let her go!" He sounded closer to her then, almost over her like Zoicite was. She heard a sigh in the enemy towering over her and then felt the movement of him grabbing at what ever Tuxedo Mask offered.
She took that one moment of instability and twisted her weight under him. He tumbled and she rolled further avoiding being crushed beneath his weight. Her back struck something hard and she cried out in shock and pain but that noise was drowned out by what ever fighting seemed to have erupted where she had been.
She struggled to her feet, the tears coursing down her checks un-fightable, her back rippling with pain and hurt. Her eyes settled onto another battle between Zoicite and Tuxedo Mask. Her tiara slipped into her grip as she stared at them, her mind hazing and blanking, this time from pain. She went to charge the tiara when Zoicite cast a quirky smile at her and disappeared his hand gripped around something.
"Shit!" Tuxedo Mask shouted out, his eyes locked on the sky, she followed his vision and found him watching the moon. Something rather odd in her opinion of him. A string of curses erupted from him, his hands scrubbing at his face as he seemed to force control on himself and his eyes jumped to her. Still standing, still holding the tiara, ready to attack, ready to faint, and ready to be sick all at once.
He stalked up to her, his expression dark with rage.
"You stupid ditz!" What was usually quite a charming voice echoed across the clearing with deadly anger. "You- your." He motioned at her fiercely the anger un-abating. "Your drunk! What on earth! Drunk, and you go stropping about transformed!" His fist's kept clenching by his side and he turned form her then turned back his expression unyielding. "I told you to stay hidden!" He gestured towards the trees too angry to know where he was pointing.
She stared at him open mouthed. The first horror of the night, the real horror in her mind was that Tuxedo Mask was shouting and at her. The second was that everyone kept telling her she was drunk when she would know if she was drunk. And the third was that Tuxedo Mask was standing in front of her and he was swearing! She would have sworn he didn't know a curse word until this day.
"You where losing!" Serena tried feaverently to fight back, the world twirling around her faster and faster, making her head spin, making her want to clasp at her head but she wouldn't do that in the face of his anger. Her legs where locked still, the only way to remain upright.
"I was losing a lot less when you where hiding!" His fist curled again his anger radiating from his own body to engulf her own. She gulped and went to deny it, but there wasn't anything she could say, he was right. "If you wer-" He stopped abruptly staring at her, looking for something and she felt him roll his eyes. "Your not even paying attention!"
"I am!" She cried back fiercely. "It's just you keep spinning and it's distracting and-" And he was gone. Like he had never been there, the clearing around her was empty. "-my back hurts." She whispered to the air, wanting comfort, unable to find it. Tears broke through her controls, her head hurt, her night was ruined. She could take Darien the jerk picking her to shreds but Tuxedo Mask the dashingly handsome forgiving hero telling her she was a ditz hurt far worse, because it hadn't been in good fun, it hadn't even been close. The pure rage of her hero's expression still pressed in on her and filled her with self loathing. The tears poured quick and fast, her night was horrible, it was over traumatic and she was in pain.
She collapsed to the floor, her gloved fingers curling into the dirt as she focused her power on those rib's that bit into her insides. The power fought her hold but she was determined that if nothing else she was going to walk away without a broken bone.
It was beyond her how long It took before her ribs seemed repaired, but that didn't matter, She pushed herself up from the ground with her throbbing wrist. "Stupid Zoicite." She muttered rubbing at the bruises that where already making themselves known. "Stupid Tuxedo Mask." She sniffed at that, and pushed the tears away, she refused to cry, she just wanted to go home and sleep. She just needed to get her orientation back, that stupid masked avenger had dragged her off somewhere and she wasn't even sure where it was.
Reminding herself of all the trouble it had already caused her she pushed the transformation away, feeling the power escape her limbs and the pain come back.
"Figures" She muttered angrily winching at the bite of her back's throbbing. She stumbled around her fingers touching at the broach once more clipped to her hip and listening intently for danger, she was not going to be attacked one more time that night, that would have been beyond pathetic, but she wasn't quite sure and having already had two surprise attacks was ready to deal with a third.
She came across the college party again rather unexpectedly, the music had been turned down to an almost whisper. A whole lot of them where already gossiping about seeing Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and some ugly guy in a grey suit. She was going to approach them, ask them where she was, and hope for a good reception when she saw him. He was sitting there, with a group of boys, looking thoroughly dejected as they joked about something. She couldn't hear that group, but she could see him so clearly it was astonishing. The rest of the world still spun but she could see everything to do with him, even that little turn down at his lips that suggested he was upset.
Groaning in defeat she lent against one of the tree's, there was no way she was going to wander the park and find some other strangers to ask directions from, and there was no way she was going to approach the jerks friends and ask them. She would just have to wait until he was gone before she made her presence known. In the mean time she rested her head against the bark as well, willing to welcome sleep.
She waited pathetically there, watching him drink down the bottles thrust at him by flirtatious women who made her stomach turn, and rowdy men who Darien paid just as little attention to. The group around him continued to get louder, trying to conjure him into conversation with them, even threatening to sing songs if he wasn't more social.
She wasn't that surprised when Darien rose from his seat and walked away from them, heading into the park. And as she watched him leave an evil little plan spun into motion. Maybe it was her only way to try and get that morbid expression he was wearing off his face, or maybe it was just their rivalry that had her want to approach him.
She followed him silently, creeping from the bush's as he approached the lake. And she realised a little proud of herself, that she suddenly knew where in the park they where. She could go home. But watching his hunched figure she found herself unwilling to leave yet. Slowly tentatively she crept towards him, what exactly to do, her mind gave her no suggestions. An idea occurred to her as she followed him onto the bridge, sneaking up behind him. She twiddled her fingers, her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth as she reached up with her right hand to cover his eyes, teasing comments on her tongue.
They all stopped, when unexpectedly he turned, catching her hand before it could reach his dark eyes. He stared down at her gripping her wrists his breathing hitched.
"Hey jerk, let me go." She warned harshly.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded, his eyes not moving from her own. She stared at the intensity she saw in his dark sapphire eyes, like barriers had been removed and this was what he always hid deep within,
"What's it look like?" She demanded tartly. "I'm losing circulation to my hand." She glared pointedly at their connection. Her pulse was up she couldn't explain it but she was excited. Gently he tugged her wrist and brought her up to him.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded again, but his voice lost it's bite before the third word was out. He was staring at her expression still, fixated with something, then the gap between them was breached his lips closing over hers fiercely.
She went to struggle, after all that's what her mind was on auto pilot to do considering her earlier encounter, but instead her body yielded, curing in against his in surrender.
His grip on her wrists didn't relinquish as the kiss intensified. Her other hand latched onto his elbow as he tilted her back, his arm sliding around her waist to assist in supporting her.
"Oh gods." He groaned his lips moving about her face exploring. She pulled herself tighter against him, her own mouth trying to move about his features, trying to keep up with him and her frantic heart beat. His lips sealed over the side of her neck, just below her ear lobe and she arched fiercely against him. He went to pull away but she refused to relinquish her grip.
"Don't stop." She warned him. She would accept none of that from him, she dealt with enough crap from him as it was. But none of their fights mattered in that moment, as his hands moved about her body, exploring over her clothes, because at that moment she felt right. She felt like she was where she belonged for how ever many eternity's she existed she knew it wouldn't feel this right again.
His right hand caught her waist and pulled it firm against his own, heat pooling in her depths at the contact, pleasure coursing through her. His lips trailed down her neck, soft cries escaping her control not that control had any place where she stood. This moment she knew was void of everything their previous encounters had held, and control had always been there before.
"This isn't like you." She managed to gasp unthinkingly, her fingers tracing the muscles of his chest with curiosity, she had always known he was muscular, enough encounters with peoples chests gave you that knowledge, but it was euphoric tracing those muscles like she had every right to.
"I know." He breathed against her chest, his lips trailing over her clothes to between her breasts, his hands curled around her hips still. "I think I'm drunk." He admitted, and gave a laugh. "But if this is drunk, I don't think I want to be sober again." He jerked back up, lips closing over her own once more his hand closing over her breast without warning. Shocked she went to shout out something but noise was blocked by those demanding perfect lips. After a second, his fingers still pressing into her occasionally and rubbing her breast he pulled back a sheepish grin where his usual suave self lay. As if he couldn't believe he was doing what he was either.
"I don't think I want you sober either." She gasped at him, pleased with the feelings he was bringing forwards in her. His smile went from sheepish to suave immediately and he lifted his hand from her breast settling both hands on her shoulders and trailed them smoothly down her thin shirt sleaves to her hands. Then casually he lifted her left hand planting delicious kiss's on each finger before drawing the other one to his mouth.
He stopped, his head tilting to the side and she saw the frown appear.
"What happened?" He asked softly, releasing her left hand and tracing the visible bruises on her wrist. She was a bit surprised, she had forgotten about them.
"Oh I just klutzed out, you know me." She prattled, nervously watching his fingers tracing her palm and lower arm, her tongue skipping out to wet dry lips, she wanted him to kiss her again, and those casual touch's to her right hand where sending all sorts of currents through her body.
"You okay?" He asked quickly, looking up into her eyes with the only concern she had ever seen in his eyes. It melted her heart.
"Yeah I'm fine." She muttered bewildered, ignoring her throbbing back. He twisted her wrist in an arch, what would normally be an odd but painless movement and she winced. Glaring up at him she found he was watching her that same annoying eyebrow cocked as if he had known her reaction would be just that.
"Liar." He told her firmly. He caught her other hand releasing her right and without a word he tugged her off the bridge, away from the party. She didn't protest, didn't have the brain power to do so after all the emotions he had drawn out in her body. It was a night of highs and low's and right now she was on a high.
It was surprising when they stopped, when doors swung open and the cool night air was replaced with the mild warmth of air-conditioning. She glanced around, reviving faintly from her dazed state of mind. They where in a building lobby. She didn't even ask, as he once more tugged her gently into motion.
Silence played on her sense's as the lift rose, feeling groggy still, a little uncertain and entirely comfortable. If he hadn't kissed her, if he hadn't drove emotions into her body she had never felt before but was more then willing to feel again she would have been a bit curious as to what was leading her to follow him without question. But standing near him, her left hand still entrapped in his grip she found herself smiling stupidly.
He saw her expression and his small frown slipped away. "What?" She could hear mild amusement in his voice and schooled her features into a perfectly placid and unaffected expression. His short laughter told her she hadn't done it half as well as she had wanted to. As she scowled at him his grin removed itself but his eyes where still amused. "Come on, Serena." He took a step towards her, and on instinct she stepped back. "What where you thinking?" He asked softer, his fingers tightening around her own, and she realised no matter how much she backed away he had her trapped, and that thought pleased her as much as all the others.
"I was thinking-" She paused, she couldn't actually remember what she had been thinking. A smile and a quick shake of her head and she beamed one of her brighter smile's up at the man before her. "I don't remember." She broke into a fit of giggle's, realising it sounded like a lie and finding that more humorous then anything else. She tired to catch her breath against the escaping giggle's bringing her free hand to wipe away the water collecting in her eyes. A little part of her demanded if it really was that funny, but that voice was annoying and ignorable.
She caught her breath, and looked back up at him, her eyes gleaming with the amusement she was trying to suppress. It faded effectively when she met his eyes again. Her breathing slowly shallowed, her eyes sliding across his face languidly. "God's your beautiful." She whispered absently, then realised what she had said and flushed a bright red. She didn't even see his eyebrow rise again.
"I thought only girls where beautiful." He challenged, and if it wasn't for his amusement, a soft shared amusement instead of mocking amusement she would have scrambled away and hidden.
The lift came to a halt and she went to escape out to what ever level it was delivering her to, but he quickly caught her still and trapped her into the corner of the lift.
"Umm… we'll miss our floor." She whispered, eyes intent on the escape, intent on avoiding him.
"It's not going anywhere Serena." He told her firmly, even as the door's slid shut. She made a noise of protest to signify that she wanted to be on the other side of that door but he continued to ignore her protests. When the doors where completely closed she tried to find something else to look at. "So I'm beautiful ha?" His voice was back to teasing, and how she hated it when he teased her. "Not handsome or dashing? But beautiful?" Mock indignation filled his voice, and she wasn't quite able to tell the difference between real indignation. She looked up quickly in worry, met his eyes and relaxed. She would have known if there was real resentment in those eyes.
She reached up, despite everything and brushed one of his black locks behind his ear. "Beautiful." She whispered again. Then met his eyes firmly. "And yes, handsome. But lots of guys are handsome. Beauty in a man is rare." She paused then worriedly continued in a rush. "And it's good. It's not bad, it doesn't mean you look like a girl or anything. I mean-" she was stopped abruptly for which she was thankful for, and even more so thankful by the form of interruption. Lips where closed possessively over her own once more, his body confining her more securely into the corner. She responded, ignoring the rattling heart beat in her chest as she fought to keep up with him.
She pulled back roughly, catching her breath and he stepped back from her fighting for his own breath as well.
"We should-" He stopped, looked at her with dark eyes then shock his head. "Your wrist." He suddenly stated as if catching himself. "I was going to look at it." He snapped away from her, and she wondered in the universe of bad excuses if that even came close to making the grade. He stepped away, pressing one of the numbers once more, and automatically the doors opened. He stepped out and she followed him, although she was reluctant to follow him, cradling the mentioned wrist ready to protect it from his prodding's. She did not want him asking questions about the marks she had received from her two attacks, something told her that even drunk he would probably be able to figure something out.
He fumbled with key's opening a door before stepping through, she felt him waiting for her just inside the door, as if he was uncertain if she would follow, and she caught herself quickly moving to enter the apartment wondering if it was his. Of course it is idiot, who else's apartment is he going to have keys to? She shock her head and stepped through the hall, closing the door behind her. Before looking to find him watching her.
On reflex she released her wrist, not wanting to draw attention to it again and stared back at him. Something needed to happen, something to distract him, something to calm her body down from the shaking heights he'd already driven her too. A little thoughtlessly she breached the distance between them, hands twining around his neck and pulled his lips back down to hers. She was pleased when he reacted immediately, his arms encircling her, trapping her. His lips pulling away, returning, exploring her face in a rushed exploration of tenderness.
And he continued to explore his mouth moving downwards, tentative in their exploration the further down she let him go. She could fell her body shaking, burning with a need she was far too dizzy to name. And his lips and hands as they explored her where sending her over the edge.
She wasn't even quite sure what was happening. She was aware of it all, processing it all but it all felt like a dream of some weird and enthralling sort. Until pain shot through her body. Pain that pushed aside passion and set her to remembering her battle with Zoicite. She must have made a noise, a sound of some kind because he was glaring at her when she managed to open her eyes to the situation once more.
"What?" She demanded breathlessly, trying to make herself sound bitting, but the pain that tinged in her voice made her sound nothing but weak.
"You said you where okay." He growled at her sharply.
"You said I was a liar." She responded as calmly as she could. Her back was throbbing, telling her to faint but she held her ground. There where secret's he couldn't know, secrets she refused to allow him to know and some part of her frazzled mind told her that by looking at her injury's he would figure it out.
He reached for her shirt, going to lift it she realised and she jerked to halt him, her glare deadly when he met her eyes. She had secrets that could cost more then just her life, and her friends lives where something she could not play with.
He gave a sigh, his fingers releasing the material, and slowly his gaze slid over her. She felt uncomfortable in his presence then, a strange sense that he could figure it out any second if she remained. Abruptly, at least in his point of view, she turned to the door only to find his hand had captured her wrist. She turned to glare, but the smile aimed at her made her hesitate.
"Stay." He whispered, a pleading tone, a demanding tone, and a tone of gentle caress' that made her turn with him and allow herself to be drawn deeper into his domain. He directed her to a seat and disappeared from the room, her eyes left the wonder the expanse over expensive gadgets and nothing that made up his room.
Feeling an onset of exhaustion she rested back against the couch and pain zipped through her body faster then lightning. She stopped the small scream that threatened, bitting into her lip and blinked back the new tears.
She heard him return and turned her head to see him, standing in the door way watching her. "Whatever's wrong needs to be looked at." Came his calm voice. And she realised he was holding a first aid kit. Her anger flared wild as she jumped to her feet. She breached the distance between them unexpectedly again, her hands finding his chest. Tracing patterns against hard muscles before equally unexpectedly she yanked the kit from his hand and threw it across the room, ignoring the clang it made as it came in contact with a wall.
"Was that necessary?" He growled at her, and she grinned for the second she had before he had caught her up against him once more, somehow forgetting her injury's just as she forgot them. And she lost herself in his warmth surrendering everything but her secrets to him.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, whisper thin threads of silver and magic, weaved between them, tying them together in a blaze of love and passion. And nothing mattered but that they where connected and that they where together and it was where they belonged, even if the world fell apart around them. And nothing could ever argue it, or fight it because nothing else was as powerful.
Serena gasped, something slammed against her, something burning and harmful and deadly. Her body tumbled forwards, falling over Darien's, but he wasn't there, and she was alone. She tired to breath, to catch herself to overcome the flood of images in her head and return her focus to the moment but the breaths where shallow weak. The tang of copper invaded her mouth, breaths coming out weaker. She tired to sit up, tried to draw herself back to reality, only to find her body unwilling to oblige her. She curled her fingers, uselessly proving she could move, if only a bit.
She could hear people shouting but not the words that rushed through the air just that they where shouting.
And something unknown, unrealised, slipped from her grasp, without a whisper of warning.
And everything faded leaving darkness and silence.