Author's notes:

Hi guys! Thank you for reading my fanfic! But before you start, I have a few reminders first. 1) Sailormoon doesn't belong to me. It belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. BUT I do own this story. 2) Italicized words mean that they are either a thought or a flashback. 3) This is rated PG for foul language. But don't worry! There are only a few AND it isn't that foul—if you know what I mean. 4) This story is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE! 5) Please review!!!!!

That's it! Please enjoy reading! TC!

The Blue Sky

by Maya Kitajima

Chapter 4

The afternoon was sunny but windy. He lay on the rich soil while she sat down, playing with the flowers budding from the earth. He studied her as she held a sunflower to her nose, taking in its fragrance.

She was pretty. Her hair was tied up in its usual buns and her sapphire eyes glistened with joy.

Even though he was a kid, he was also a man…a young man if you still insist. And he knew that he had feelings for the little girl that he played with everyday.

"Serena." The young girl removed her eyes from the yellow petals and turned around to see her best friend sat up and moved closer to her.

"Serena, I have something to say to you." Darien said. She smiled and focused her attention to him.

"Yes, Darien?"

"Serena, I…like you. And when I grow up, I want to be with you…always." Serena was startled but her smile returned at once.

"I like you too, Darien." This washed away all the nervousness that Darien felt, and now, boldly—as he have always been—he leaned forward and caught both of her hands. He held them and gazed into her eyes.

"Then Serena, when we grow up and arrive at the right age…Serena, please be my wife." Innocently, as any child would be, she beamed without hesitation.

"Sure, Darien!"

The first thing that came out of his mouth that dark, rainy day was a huge sigh.

It's not easy…

Again, he thought of that young girl that haunted him in his dreams. But this time, she was all grown up.

Beautiful, blithe and perfect.

Again, he let out a long sigh.

It's not easy to fall in love with your best friend…

He thought of all the possible outcomes of this feeling.

First of all, I have a girlfriend. Yes, we're not that serious with each other. But hell, she's still my girlfriend. Second, look first at whom you're falling in love with, Darien. She's the only daughter of the former king and queen of this country. In short, she's a princess AND she's the ruler of this country. Third, I'm not even sure if she feels the same way for me. Maybe she sees me only as her longtime best friend. Ahh…yes. Best friend… That's the fourth one. She IS my best friend.

He was about to stop and give in to this clear idea.

Oh, but Darien, she DID say that she was going to marry you…but that was a very long time ago. We were kids then. We didn't know what we're getting into. Besides, maybe she doesn't even remember it anymore.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on his door. It opened and revealed his elder sister.

"Darien, what are you doing?" She flicked the light on and headed for his bed, where he lay.

"Lita, get out." He said as he turned away from her.

"Darien, it may be dark already but it's still 3:00 in the afternoon. So don't sleep yet!" Darien sighed and sat up.

"I know, Lita! I'm just resting for a while."

"Resting? Oh no, Dare, that's not a very good idea. I told you, making yourself alone on a rainy day like this will depress you. You'll just think of your problems and more gloomy thoughts." He raised his eyebrow.

I hate it when my sister's right.

Darien's big sister was a tall, slim woman with the same raven hair, though hers is long that it reaches her waist, and the same midnight blue eyes. She was all that Darien's got since their parents died in a bad illness six years ago. After they passed away, Lita was like his second mother, raising him up and taking care of him.

"Darien, are you listening to me?" Darien snapped back to reality.

"Huh?"

"Oh no! It's getting in to you now. I'm telling you, don't concentrate on those unhappy things. Well, we better hurry up!"

"What? Lita?"

"I said I'm taking you out on a date." His eyes widened.

"What?!" She smirked.

"I'm taking you out on a date, Dare."

"No way, sister!"

"Oh, but you can't back out now. Serena already said yes." His eyes grew bigger.

"Serena?"

"Yes. A double date. Me and Andrew. You and Serena. Isn't it perfect?"

"LITA!"

"Wow! Serena! When you said you'd pick us up I didn't expect you'd come in something like this." Serena giggled at Lita's comment.

"Well, sorry but this limousine is the only car left at home. My cousin needed all five of our cars."

"Well, I'm not complaining! This limo is so awesome!" Darien exclaimed as he browsed through the channels of the television. But then Andrew sighed heavily.

"We're going to make such a scene with this car! Oh, damn that Ken! What is he going to do with all that cars anyway?"

"Calm down, Andrew. We'll just let the driver drop us off at some deserted alley and we can just walk towards the mall."

"You're right, Serena."

"What? That won't be so exciting then!" Darien complained.

"Sorry, Dare. You know the situation. We can't let anyone know or have some clue that our little bunny here is the princess." Andrew said as he patted Serena's head.

"You're right." Darien agreed without any hint of disappointment.

"Anyway, I still can't believe that Andrew and Darien's sister are a couple." Serena said. Andrew and Lita beamed.

"Hehe! Guess I'd surprise you, Sere."

"Well, you did!

The four of them entered the fully packed moviehouse. They guessed that many people had the same idea as them on how to spend the gloomy day. They found some empty seats at the middle of the chairs and soon, they were watching the sci-fi movie that Andrew had picked out.

However, Serena wasn't actually watching the movie. She was watching Darien.

I'm so glad he decided to come with us…I've been longing for him since yesterday. I've been craving to see that smile of his again. Yes, that smile that always made my knees week and send shivers up my spine.

Oh, I love you, Darien. I always have.

I've always look forward to what you said when we were kids. I've always wanted to be your wife.

Suddenly, all her dreams of Darien vanished as she remembered something.

But then I can't. Why did you have to have a girlfriend? Do you really love her?

There are so many questions she wanted to ask him, but she can't.

When she left Geneva, she cried. She cried so much for days and days when she arrived at Cambridge. She already missed her home, her parents, but most of all, she missed Darien. There was nobody else like him there. There was no one who could make her smile the way he did, there was no one who would play with her as much as he did, and there was no one else who would help her when she was hurt as much as he did.

She missed him, but he was also the reason why she decided to stop crying and live a happy life. She thought that Darien would never want her to cry like that and would want her to do what she was supposed to do there fruitfully. If she didn't, she knew that being separated with him wouldn't be worth it. All those tears wouldn't be worth it.

So she studied…and became a good student. Actually, she was the expected valedictorian in their batch. And she would have graduated with that title if she didn't have to quit school and go back to her homecountry.

Serena had gained many friends at Cambridge. And Raye became her best friend. There were also guys too. She was popular at her school for having both beauty and brains, so many guys courted her and dreamed to be her boyfriend.

But they weren't Darien, so she dumped them…but they soon became her friends.

Yes, she had dumped more than fifty guys in her life…just for him.

But now he already has a…he already has a…

"Serena. Serena." She slowly opened her eyes to the sound of a voice that called her. She blinked twice and saw that it was Darien.

"Damn! I guess she slept through the whole movie! I can't believe you, Serena! The movie was actually good!" Andrew said. She opened her eyes wide and looked around her.

"We're still in the moviehouse, Serena. You fell asleep watching the movie." She gasped.

"Oh no!" She exclaimed. She really wanted to watch that movie.

"Oh well, there's nothing we could do anymore. Come on! Let's go eat! I'm starved." Andrew announced as he started to leave. Lita followed him.

"Come on, Serena. I know you're hungry, too." Darien offered his hand, and she gladly took it.

Andrew and Lita walked ahead of them, discussing the movie they had just watched. Serena and Darien, on the other hand, walked silently. Both of them couldn't find the right words to say at that time.

They ate in an expensive Japanese Restaurant, which was all right since Andrew offered to pay for all of them.

"Haha! This is why I loved dates with my Andrew. You don't get to spend anything!" Lita exclaimed happily. Andrew raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, so that's why you agreed to be my girlfriend!" Andrew joked.

"Of course not. Even if you're a beggar, I'll still love you." Lita said sweetly. And then they kissed. This caused the two younger couple to blush slight pink. Andrew and Lita noticed this and laughed at them.

"This is your fault, Darien. You should propose to her already!" Lita smirked. Darien turned from slight pink to deep red.

"Shut up, sister!" He scowled.

But inside him he thought that he wished he could.

"Hey, Dare! Isn't that…" Serena suddenly stopped and froze as she pointed to whom she's talking about. Darien turned around to look at it and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Across them sat Mina and a guy. And they were kissing!

"Who's that?" Andrew curiously asked. But instead of answering, Darien stood up.

"I'm going to the washroom." He said flatly. Serena stared after him worriedly.

Darien stayed there for a long time that when he came out again, the three were done eating.

"Hi, sorry for that. Anyway, if you're finished already, let's go. I'm finished eating, anyway." They nodded and left.

Back at the limo, the two couples sat speechlessly. Each of them was satisfied listening to the sound of heavy rain as it hit the windows. No one dared to break the silence until Andrew couldn't take it anymore so he turned to Lita and began a conversation.

"Hey, Lita. Do you want to go to some bars or something."

"Uh…I would love to visit that new bar in town."

"Great! Serena, would you and Darien come with us?"

For the first time since they got in the car, Serena and Darien looked at each other. And as if they spoke in their minds, they announced, "We'll stay at home," in unison.

So they were dropped off at the mansion and the two of them were left alone in Serena's big bedroom.

Tired, they lay at her bed, next to each other. They were so close that both can hear each other's breath.

"Darien." Serena finally started.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier." Darien paused before he spoke.

"Don't be. I already told you, Mina and I didn't care a thing for each other."

"Okay."

Even though what he said was true, he was still hurt. Mina was actually the first attempt he made to court a girl. And he did it just to prove to himself that he can. When he proposed to her, she said yes right away that he found out she wasn't serious about him. But he left it to that.

Serena didn't anymore say anything after that so the silence and the sound of heavy rain made him even more depressed.

Why am I so hurt? I'm supposed to be happy since now I have a reason to break up with her.

Lita is right. The rain does make you sad no matter how joyful your heart is.

He sighed and glanced to his side where Serena rested with closed eyes. He took in her flawless skin and her great figure. He suddenly had an urge to touch her. And hesitating, he reached out and caressed her little face with his hand.

Slowly, Serena's eyes opened and revealed a surprised expression mixed with happiness. She touched his hand on her face and glanced at him.

And without a word, he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips. Serena liked it very much. It was as if every problem in the world departed. She forgot all about the death of her parents, and the sudden duty she owes her country and the fact that he had a girlfriend.

As he paused to breathe however, he managed to mutter, "I love you," to her.

She smiled softly and kissed him back. This had the same effect on Darien as it had on her. The once gentle kiss turned into hungry ones. And this continued for the whole night.

Finally, Serena fell asleep on his arms, unaware that she had surrendered herself—everything…to him.