Destiny's Sorrow
Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, I do not own Sailor Moon. So if by chance someone decides to sue me, it would be pretty irrational, as I do not have a penny to my name at the moment!
A/N: Juggling stories isn't as difficult as I thought it would be, so don't worry, I will still be as prompt as I normally am in posting my stories. Not that you were expecting any different, I hope. *Smiles* I also want to say thanks to:
Miiaevia: You are such a darling! Thanks for your uplifting reviews. You're not going unnoticed. I promise. I welcome your faithful reviews, they are great. Thanks so much.
AMI MIZUNO1: I know I can count on you to review my stories, and I always look forward to see what you're going to say next! Thanks for your support, it's very appreciated.
For the rest of my reviewers, you're definitely not going unnoticed either. I value you all.
Having said that, I'll stop blabbing on about how great you all are and give you a new chapter to review for me! So here goes nothing... -- Eli K*
Chapter 2— Life Stories and Deepest Secrets
The stormy cerulean eyes behind the mask closed momentarily. Never would he have thought that he and Serena would get caught out so soon. So now that they had been discovered, what was he to say? He couldn't very well say much with Lita Kino looking as though she was going to bash him into oblivion at any second. Slowly Darien de-transformed and sighed. Better to tell the truth than to lie now that the secret was so obviously out.
"Yes, Amy. It's me." Darien still stood in front of Serena, protecting her.
Mina looked utterly astonished. "You're Tuxedo Mask! Oh God. What the hell are you guys doing? What about Raye? How did you guys find out about the other's true identity?" The questions spilled thick and fast from the blonde's mouth, each one demanding an answer.
Serena took this chance to speak up. "Oh, Mina, I never meant to hurt Raye. You have to believe me." She gripped steadfastly to Darien's white shirt, still as Sailor Moon.
Unconvinced, the blue-eyed love goddess said, "Well, then what the hell are you doing if you don't want to hurt Raye, would you mind me asking that?"
Hands on hips and ready for battle with Darien, Lita spat, "Just how did you know Serena was Sailor Moon to start with, Darien?" Emerald eyes flaming fire she waited for the obviously pathetic response he was going to give, probably something like: 'I saw her transform before a battle one day.'
"One question at a time, please," Darien sighed, raking a frustrated hand through his glossy jet-black locks. "Okay. Serena doesn't want to hurt Raye and neither do I. But you of all people should know, Mina, that true love can't be forced to a halt. I assume you know this as you are Sailor Venus?"
Outrage caused Mina's cheeks to burn red. "Just how did you know that, Darien?"
"Did you tell him, Serena?" Lita shouted. "Let me guess, you told Darien all our life stories and deepest secrets, right? Oh, for God's sake."
"No, just mine," Serena said, holding her head high. With Darien there she didn't feel inclined at all to cry or wimp out, something she thanked the universe for. It wouldn't do her any good to break down during something this important.
Amy gazed carefully at the flaxen-haired meatball head, gauging her words meticulously before saying, "Serena, would I be wrong in guessing that you somehow used being Sailor Moon to your advantage in this situation?"
Swallowing hard, Serena stammered, "Um. Well, you see, I... well, er..." She bit her lip, gazing at all their faces in turn. Lita looked ready to kill, Mina seemed extremely frustrated, and Amy appeared disappointed. "It's not easy for me, you guys. Can't you please look at this from my side?" she begged to no avail.
"What, you wanted Darien so badly you just had to sneak behind Raye's back no matter what the cost?" Lita asked. Serena shook her head. "No? Then I don't understand, Serena. What would you call this if it wasn't betrayal?"
"Well, it IS, but there's also true feelings involved here. The feelings Darien and I have for one another," Serena tried to explain.
"Well what about Raye's feelings?" Mina said immediately.
"You didn't think of that, did you, Serena?" Lita supplemented.
"Whoa!" Darien shouted suddenly. "Stop, stop, stop! Give Serena a chance to explain herself, will you PLEASE?" He shook his head, adding, "Jesus Christ, do you really think Serena would intentionally hurt any of you?"
Mina stared coldly at him. "The point is, Darien, she HAS hurt Raye, and she doesn't seem to have an excuse for it at all other than the fact that she thinks you're a great handbag. Never mind Raye's feelings."
"I do NOT think of Darien as a handbag, Mina!" Serena spat. "I told you all, I am in love with Darien. Does that count for nothing to you?"
"Well, so is Raye," Amy said logically. "Clearly, you were only thinking of yourself, Serena. The question is, just HOW did you manage to deceive Raye so cleverly? Surely she would have known if Darien were cheating on her. She's a very intelligent girl."
Now the Scouts had Serena against the wall. Tears threatened to form in Serena's wide blue eyes, but she pushed them away forcefully. "Well, if Darien was in love with Raye, why's he standing here with me? Huh? He mustn't feel too much for Raye if he's with me. There's a difference here: Darien loves me back. We share the same feelings. It's one-sided with Raye."
"Oh, that's lovely, Serena." Lita was appalled. "So now you're accusing Darien of using Raye, and also of Raye being stupid for loving Darien."
Troubled, Serena said shakily, "It wasn't meant to come out like that!"
Darien rolled his cerulean eyes in disgust. "All right. No, I was not in love with Raye. I liked her a lot, and truly thought the relationship had potential to develop further, but then Serena..." He trailed off, a flush beginning on his handsome face.
Lita advanced on him. "But then Serena... what?"
Darien and Serena remained stubbornly silent.
Eyebrows creased, Amy spoke up. "Darien. Would you not have broken it off much sooner with Raye if you knew you had feelings for Serena? Why did you string her along? Tell me, because I'm sure Lita and Mina would love to know the same thing, only they're much too angry to ask you without hitting one of you right now."
A puff of irritated breath was Darien's answer, and then, "Look. It's not my place to tell you exactly how Serena and I got together. But if I had known my feelings for Serena were true sooner, yeah, I would have instantly broken things off with Raye."
"This is getting stupider by the minute!" Lita's voice rose heatedly. "What the hell is going on? We know you're lying to us about something. Okay. HOW did you get to know each other's secret identities? We know Serena blabbed, but why did she blab? It obvious she didn't know you were Tuxedo Mask before she opened her mouth about herself and the rest of us, judging from the look on her face."
Darien knew he and Serena were getting in deeper than they were prepared for. "Look. I really think you guys should leave now. You just barged in here and started firing questions without waiting to hear us out, and frankly, I find that incredibly rude." He gazed gravely at the three irate girls facing off with he and Serena. "So I propose that you all go and let out steam elsewhere and come back when you are calm enough to discuss this rationally."
Lita scoffed, "Are you ASKING us to go and tell Raye what we've just discovered? If you send us away without answers, we'll go and fill Raye in straight away."
Darien laughed this threat off easily. "What, and add to her heartbreak? If you do that, you're no better than Serena and me. A real bunch of friends would cool off and find out the facts before saying anything, rather than blabbing what they think they know, Lita."
Defeated momentarily, Lita was quiet.
"So are you going to dob us in?" Darien asked, knowing full well he'd just bought Serena extra time to figure out what to do. There was no way Lita would want to add to Raye's confusion and heartbreak by telling half a story.
Mina glared at Darien. "No."
"Count yourself lucky, Serena," Lita put in. "Lucky that you have a boyfriend who can dig you out of a hole better than you could yourself. We won't tell Raye. We'll leave it up to you. But if you haven't said anything in two days, then I'll go ahead and give Raye half the story, got it?"
Serena thanked Darien infinitely inwardly. "Right."
Once the door closed behind the furious Scouts of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, Darien sank back into his sofa, pulling Serena in tight to him. "That was close."
Visibly shaken, Serena nodded. "I have two days to figure out how to say this to Raye without hurting her more than I have to... oh, Darien, there's just no way that can be done!"
"I'll come with you."
"What?" Serena whipped around to look at him. "Are you crazy? That'll make things worse!"
"No, it will assure Raye you're not a liar, and that I can back up your story. It will also give me a chance to explain myself, something I want very much," Darien said softly. "Believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her."
Serena sighed long and loud. "I know, Darien. I know."
Disclaimer: Unfortunately for me, I do not own Sailor Moon. So if by chance someone decides to sue me, it would be pretty irrational, as I do not have a penny to my name at the moment!
A/N: Juggling stories isn't as difficult as I thought it would be, so don't worry, I will still be as prompt as I normally am in posting my stories. Not that you were expecting any different, I hope. *Smiles* I also want to say thanks to:
Miiaevia: You are such a darling! Thanks for your uplifting reviews. You're not going unnoticed. I promise. I welcome your faithful reviews, they are great. Thanks so much.
AMI MIZUNO1: I know I can count on you to review my stories, and I always look forward to see what you're going to say next! Thanks for your support, it's very appreciated.
For the rest of my reviewers, you're definitely not going unnoticed either. I value you all.
Having said that, I'll stop blabbing on about how great you all are and give you a new chapter to review for me! So here goes nothing... -- Eli K*
Chapter 2— Life Stories and Deepest Secrets
The stormy cerulean eyes behind the mask closed momentarily. Never would he have thought that he and Serena would get caught out so soon. So now that they had been discovered, what was he to say? He couldn't very well say much with Lita Kino looking as though she was going to bash him into oblivion at any second. Slowly Darien de-transformed and sighed. Better to tell the truth than to lie now that the secret was so obviously out.
"Yes, Amy. It's me." Darien still stood in front of Serena, protecting her.
Mina looked utterly astonished. "You're Tuxedo Mask! Oh God. What the hell are you guys doing? What about Raye? How did you guys find out about the other's true identity?" The questions spilled thick and fast from the blonde's mouth, each one demanding an answer.
Serena took this chance to speak up. "Oh, Mina, I never meant to hurt Raye. You have to believe me." She gripped steadfastly to Darien's white shirt, still as Sailor Moon.
Unconvinced, the blue-eyed love goddess said, "Well, then what the hell are you doing if you don't want to hurt Raye, would you mind me asking that?"
Hands on hips and ready for battle with Darien, Lita spat, "Just how did you know Serena was Sailor Moon to start with, Darien?" Emerald eyes flaming fire she waited for the obviously pathetic response he was going to give, probably something like: 'I saw her transform before a battle one day.'
"One question at a time, please," Darien sighed, raking a frustrated hand through his glossy jet-black locks. "Okay. Serena doesn't want to hurt Raye and neither do I. But you of all people should know, Mina, that true love can't be forced to a halt. I assume you know this as you are Sailor Venus?"
Outrage caused Mina's cheeks to burn red. "Just how did you know that, Darien?"
"Did you tell him, Serena?" Lita shouted. "Let me guess, you told Darien all our life stories and deepest secrets, right? Oh, for God's sake."
"No, just mine," Serena said, holding her head high. With Darien there she didn't feel inclined at all to cry or wimp out, something she thanked the universe for. It wouldn't do her any good to break down during something this important.
Amy gazed carefully at the flaxen-haired meatball head, gauging her words meticulously before saying, "Serena, would I be wrong in guessing that you somehow used being Sailor Moon to your advantage in this situation?"
Swallowing hard, Serena stammered, "Um. Well, you see, I... well, er..." She bit her lip, gazing at all their faces in turn. Lita looked ready to kill, Mina seemed extremely frustrated, and Amy appeared disappointed. "It's not easy for me, you guys. Can't you please look at this from my side?" she begged to no avail.
"What, you wanted Darien so badly you just had to sneak behind Raye's back no matter what the cost?" Lita asked. Serena shook her head. "No? Then I don't understand, Serena. What would you call this if it wasn't betrayal?"
"Well, it IS, but there's also true feelings involved here. The feelings Darien and I have for one another," Serena tried to explain.
"Well what about Raye's feelings?" Mina said immediately.
"You didn't think of that, did you, Serena?" Lita supplemented.
"Whoa!" Darien shouted suddenly. "Stop, stop, stop! Give Serena a chance to explain herself, will you PLEASE?" He shook his head, adding, "Jesus Christ, do you really think Serena would intentionally hurt any of you?"
Mina stared coldly at him. "The point is, Darien, she HAS hurt Raye, and she doesn't seem to have an excuse for it at all other than the fact that she thinks you're a great handbag. Never mind Raye's feelings."
"I do NOT think of Darien as a handbag, Mina!" Serena spat. "I told you all, I am in love with Darien. Does that count for nothing to you?"
"Well, so is Raye," Amy said logically. "Clearly, you were only thinking of yourself, Serena. The question is, just HOW did you manage to deceive Raye so cleverly? Surely she would have known if Darien were cheating on her. She's a very intelligent girl."
Now the Scouts had Serena against the wall. Tears threatened to form in Serena's wide blue eyes, but she pushed them away forcefully. "Well, if Darien was in love with Raye, why's he standing here with me? Huh? He mustn't feel too much for Raye if he's with me. There's a difference here: Darien loves me back. We share the same feelings. It's one-sided with Raye."
"Oh, that's lovely, Serena." Lita was appalled. "So now you're accusing Darien of using Raye, and also of Raye being stupid for loving Darien."
Troubled, Serena said shakily, "It wasn't meant to come out like that!"
Darien rolled his cerulean eyes in disgust. "All right. No, I was not in love with Raye. I liked her a lot, and truly thought the relationship had potential to develop further, but then Serena..." He trailed off, a flush beginning on his handsome face.
Lita advanced on him. "But then Serena... what?"
Darien and Serena remained stubbornly silent.
Eyebrows creased, Amy spoke up. "Darien. Would you not have broken it off much sooner with Raye if you knew you had feelings for Serena? Why did you string her along? Tell me, because I'm sure Lita and Mina would love to know the same thing, only they're much too angry to ask you without hitting one of you right now."
A puff of irritated breath was Darien's answer, and then, "Look. It's not my place to tell you exactly how Serena and I got together. But if I had known my feelings for Serena were true sooner, yeah, I would have instantly broken things off with Raye."
"This is getting stupider by the minute!" Lita's voice rose heatedly. "What the hell is going on? We know you're lying to us about something. Okay. HOW did you get to know each other's secret identities? We know Serena blabbed, but why did she blab? It obvious she didn't know you were Tuxedo Mask before she opened her mouth about herself and the rest of us, judging from the look on her face."
Darien knew he and Serena were getting in deeper than they were prepared for. "Look. I really think you guys should leave now. You just barged in here and started firing questions without waiting to hear us out, and frankly, I find that incredibly rude." He gazed gravely at the three irate girls facing off with he and Serena. "So I propose that you all go and let out steam elsewhere and come back when you are calm enough to discuss this rationally."
Lita scoffed, "Are you ASKING us to go and tell Raye what we've just discovered? If you send us away without answers, we'll go and fill Raye in straight away."
Darien laughed this threat off easily. "What, and add to her heartbreak? If you do that, you're no better than Serena and me. A real bunch of friends would cool off and find out the facts before saying anything, rather than blabbing what they think they know, Lita."
Defeated momentarily, Lita was quiet.
"So are you going to dob us in?" Darien asked, knowing full well he'd just bought Serena extra time to figure out what to do. There was no way Lita would want to add to Raye's confusion and heartbreak by telling half a story.
Mina glared at Darien. "No."
"Count yourself lucky, Serena," Lita put in. "Lucky that you have a boyfriend who can dig you out of a hole better than you could yourself. We won't tell Raye. We'll leave it up to you. But if you haven't said anything in two days, then I'll go ahead and give Raye half the story, got it?"
Serena thanked Darien infinitely inwardly. "Right."
Once the door closed behind the furious Scouts of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, Darien sank back into his sofa, pulling Serena in tight to him. "That was close."
Visibly shaken, Serena nodded. "I have two days to figure out how to say this to Raye without hurting her more than I have to... oh, Darien, there's just no way that can be done!"
"I'll come with you."
"What?" Serena whipped around to look at him. "Are you crazy? That'll make things worse!"
"No, it will assure Raye you're not a liar, and that I can back up your story. It will also give me a chance to explain myself, something I want very much," Darien said softly. "Believe me, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her."
Serena sighed long and loud. "I know, Darien. I know."