Hey everyone! I understand that I haven't written in a while, but now I'm back with a new fic just in time for Christmas. I'm planning on completing "An Unexpected Vacation" down the road so please look forward to that. Anyway, let me just insert a standard disclaimer here.

I do not own Sailor Moon or any of its characters. They are all copyright © 1992 Naoko
Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation. English Language Adaptation © 1995 DiC Entertainment. All rights reserved. Also, please do not plagiarize!!! If you do, and I find out, prepare to feel my infinite wrath

Anyway, please R&R!!! Take care guys, and enjoy!

A Christmas Memory

Chapter 1

It was cold outside, easily below freezing. Yet, children ran and laughed and played without a care in the world. The ground was bathed in a sea of white. It had just snowed the night before; the first snowfall of the year. However, one girl sat alone, slowly sipping her large cup of hot-chocolate. Her long golden-blonde hair formed into two "meatballs" on the top of her head, as two pigtails cascaded down her back.

A chime could be heard, signaling that somebody had just entered the café. The girl turned around to see who it was, but there was nobody there. Whoever it was, he/she must have rushed in. She turned back around and lifted her drink off of the counter before continuing to sip at the hot beverage.

"Surprised to see you here, Meatball Head," said an all-too familiar voice. The girl jumped, almost spilling her hot chocolate all over her. She managed to save it from totally spilling, but some had landed on her delicate hands.

"OUCH!" she shrieked, quickly bringing her hand up to her mouth. "Don't surprise me like that. And for your information buddy, the name's Serena. SE-RE-NA!!! Got it?" She whimpered as she sucked on her finger. The man simply laughed. With a smug grin, he brushed a few strands of his raven-black hair away from his lavender eyes.

Footsteps could be heard racing towards the scene. In a matter of seconds, a tall man with short, dirty-blonde hair was out from the back door and behind the counter. He stood there, gasping for breath, a steel pipe in his hand. He had heard Serena scream, and was prepared to pummel whoever was bothering her. He sighed in relief when he saw who it was.

"Oh, hey Darien," the man said, quickly hiding the pipe behind his back. "When did you get here?" Darien looked away from Serena and up to his friend. The man was dressed in a white, button-down shirt and tan khakis. Over the shirt he was wearing an apron. Darien took a second to wonder why his friend was wearing an apron before shaking the thought out of his mind. He decided that some subjects were better off being left alone.

"Just a minute ago," Darien replied, by habit looking at the watch on his wrist. The man looked over and saw Serena sucking on her index finger, tears in her eyes. Instantly, the man's eyes filled with rage and he once again turned to Darien, who gulped. Andrew shook the anger away and turned back to Serena.

"Are you okay?" the man asked the girl. "What happened to you?" Serena pulled her finger from her mouth and looked up at the man.

"Well, I was just enjoying my hot chocolate, when," she pointed her finger directly at Darien, almost poking him in the eye, "HE comes up to me and nearly gives me a heart attack. He made me spill it." Darien reached up and grabbed Serena's hand, lowering it before it ended up in his cranium.

"Don't listen to a word she says, Andrew," Darien said, turning to face his friend. "I simply greeted her and she had one of her stupidity attacks and spilt it. I had nothing at all to do with this." Serena, who had resumed to sucking her finger, gasped and stood up, pounding the counter with both her hands in the process.

"Liar!" she shouted loud enough for the entire block to hear. "He snuck up on me and tried to scare me." Rage filled her sky-blue eyes as she stared straight at Andrew, as if to ask him to do something about it. Andrew sighed and leaned back against the wall. Almost every day, he had to endure the same thing. Darien would do or say something to make Serena cry, and it would turn into an argument between the two that ultimately concluded with either Serena stomping out of the door, or running away in tears. There was only so much one man could take before he too felt the urge to run away in tears himself.

Andrew always tried to settle the disputes without taking sides. Darien was his best friend, and Serena was, well, Serena. She would never lie to him, right? It would be unfair to both of them if he took a side. However, it was leading to more than a couple stressful experiences. Serena then sat down.

"Well you're lucky I'm in a good day today, mister," Serena said before continuing to sip from her drink. Both Darien and Andrew simply gaped at her in shock. They were both expecting a burst of tears, anger, screaming, and yelling, but it never came. Andrew grabbed Darien from over the counter and dragged him over to the far side of Serena.

"What's wrong with her today?" Andrew asked. Darien simply shrugged. He was as clueless as his friend was. Andrew sat in thought, resting his chin between his index finger and thumb. Darien grabbed a drink from the nearby fridge and was slowly gulping it down, watching Serena from the corner of his eye. He noticed that she was quite cute.

That particular day, she was wearing a light-pink, puffy jacket, with a rabbit face sewn into the back. Matching it were pink mittens. The outfit was completed by a simple pair of blue jeans and brown boots. Darien couldn't help but smile. He began taking another sip from his drink.

"Maybe," Andrew began, lifting his finger as if to make a point. Darien quickly looked away from Serena and up to his friend. "Maybe she got a boyfriend," Andrew said nonchalantly. Darien, who had a mouthful of his drink, spit it out all over the counter. Andrew quickly jumped back to avoid the fire. Serena didn't notice. She was too busy humming to herself, trapped in her own world. Darien coughed and quickly stood up.

"Yeah right," Darien said, almost yelling. "As if 'she' would 'ever' get a boyfriend," he continued, pointing his finger straight to Serena. "That meatball-headed ditz couldn't get a, a," he stopped to think of a word, "a 'frog' to like her, let alone a 'boy!'" He plopped back down to his seat and gulped down the rest of his drink.

"Thanks a lot, Darien," said a tear-choked voice from the far end of the counter. Darien sighed and looked over to her. "You know, I was having a great day today," Serena continued, "and you just 'had' to come in and ruin it, didn't you." Darien suddenly felt a pang of guilt, but quickly shook it off. "Christmas is in three days you know. Can't you at least show some Christmas spirit?" Darien rolled his eyes.

"Bah Humbug," Darien mumbled, grabbing another drink from the fridge. Personally, he'd rather if there were no Christmas. "Christmas Spirit," all the caroling, and all the "togetherness" of the season was enough to make him sick. He popped open his drink and began gulping it down.

"Whatever," Serena continued. "You were a jerk, are a jerk, and are always gonna be a jerk." With that, she ran out of the café, tears streaming down her face. Several seconds later, she ran back in, still crying, gulped down the remainder of her hot chocolate, then ran out again. Darien simply stared at her empty seat in a mixture of awe, confusion, and a touch of humor.

"Yeah, whatever," Darien said aloud, more to himself than to anybody else. He continued sipping at his drink, only at a much slower pace. He once again felt a pang of guilt, but shook it off. It was better not to indulge in the past. What is done is done. That was always his philosophy. He then felt a sudden pain in his arm, as if something hit him. He clutched his arm and quickly looked up at Andrew. "Owe, that hurt," Darien said angrily. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Listen," Andrew said, "you're my friend and you know I respect you. But enough is enough! What has Serena done to deserve your constant harassment?" Darien was silent. Truly, he had no idea himself. For as far back as he could remember, he always teased her. He still remembered when he had first met her.

At the time, he was six years old, so she was five. He remembered it vividly. That day, she had moved into the house next door to him. He was overjoyed when the old owners moved out. He had always thought they were 'old and smelly,' and had often received smacks from his mother when he said so.

Darien looked out the front window at the numerous moving trucks in front of the house. His lavender eyes were wide with awe as he watched the monstrous vehicles drive away. He had always been fascinated by such things as large trucks. While from the eyes of the adult, it was simply a large vehicle, to the eyes of a child, it was a gargantuan, mechanical beast.

After he was sure the trucks were gone, he hopped up and down on the couch in excitement. When he had first heard of the new neighbors moving in, he could've cared less. However, when he heard that they had a child around his age, he was overjoyed. There weren't any children near his age living close to him, so it was very rare that he played with anybody outside of school.

"Mommy, the trucks are gone," Darien yelled as he ran towards his mother's room. "Lesgo, lesgo," he chanted excitedly. Once he entered her room, he saw that she was busy "fixing" herself up in front of the mirror, totally oblivious to all around her. She was a young and beautiful woman in her late twenties. Her long black hair shimmered in the light as it fell gently past her shoulders.

Like her son, she had lavender-blue eyes. It was her eyes that made her husband fall in love with her. At least that's what he always told her. Even after having a child, she had a figure almost every mother, and many women would kill for. Her long legs seemed to go on forever, reaching up to her perfect hips and slim waist. Her face was without a blemish, so much so that she had absolutely no reason to wear makeup. However, she always felt that she had to "look her best."

"Mommy," Darien said again, jumping up and down. "C'mon, c'moooooooooooooon!" She was busy applying mascara and showed no sign of hearing him. Darien stomped in frustration, ready to scream.

"One second," his mother said, just above a mumble. It was obvious that she was only half-paying attention. Darien sighed and pranced around the room, stomping his feet as he went along. He was making it more than obvious that he wanted his mother to hurry up. "Okay, I'm done," announced his mother as she put away her supplies and turned to face her son. Almost the moment after she said that, Darien grabbed her by the hand and began dragging her towards the door.

"Hey, what's the rush?" his mom said with a giggle. Darien just kept heading towards the door. "Okay okay, I understand," his mother said, "but you don't have to pull my arm off." Darien stopped and turned to face her, letting go of her arm. His mother smiled sweetly and kneeled down so that she was face-to-face with him. "Now, do you remember what I told you?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Darien said in annoyance. "You said, 'Now remember, be polite and cer…ca…catrious.'" His mother laughed, making Darien frown. "What's so funny?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips, copying what his mother does when she gets angry.

"You're just sooooo cute," she said, giving him a hug. Darien groaned and attempted to push her away. She giggled and pulled away. "That's 'courteous,'" she corrected him. "Otherwise, you're absolutely right. Now don't be mean and respect our new neighbors." Darien nodded, his eyes showing that he just wanted to get there already. "Okay, let's go then," she said, standing up and taking his hand.

Together, the two walked to the house next door. The house was fairly small compared to theirs. It was a small, white one-story ranch. Wrapping around the front and part of the side, was a beautiful, wooden patio. Going along the patio were thin white pillars that stretched up to the roof of the house. On the ground alongside the house was a small garden of flowers, spanning the entire front length of the house. While the house may have been small, it was definitely beautiful.

When they got to the front steps, they saw that the front door was open, only the glass door remaining closed. Through the door, a couple guys could be seen moving furniture around. While she wasn't positive, Darien's mother guessed they didn't live there, and were simply helping to move the furniture.

"Maybe now's not a good time," his mother said, but Darien wouldn't have that. He quickly walked up to the door, and before his mother could stop him, rang the doorbell. His mother sighed and quickly pulled him away. "Who said you could do that?" she said to him in an angry voice. At that moment, she heard the door open. Quickly, she stood up and regained her composure. After a smack to the back of the head, Darien quickly did the same.

"Hello?" asked a man at the door. He looked to be in his late twenties, possibly early thirties. He was fairly tall and thin. Thick glasses covered his face. Darien's mother got the impression that if he lost the glasses, he would be quite attractive.

"Um, hello," Darien's mother replied. "We're you're neighbors from next door, and we came by to welcome you. I'm sorry my husband couldn't join us. He's out on a business trip right now." Instantly, she cursed herself for spilling all that before even properly introducing herself. "By the way, my name's Paula."

"And my name is Ken," the man replied with a smile, reaching out his hand. Paula gently shook it and smiled in return. Ken then knelt down. "And who are you?" Ken asked.

"I'm Darien," he said with a large grin, holding out his hand, mimicking the adults. Ken and Paula both laughed. Darien frowned, so Ken quickly shook his hand as well. "Pleased to meetcha," Darien said, excessively shaking Ken's hand. Ken laughed and patted Darien on the head before standing up.

"Let me grab Elaine," Ken said. Paula smiled warmly and nodded. Ken walked away from the door. "Honey," Paula heard him call. She laughed to herself, remembering how her husband calls her the same way. She sighed. Though she never showed her feelings to Darien, she always missed her husband when he was out on business. She just wished that he could work somewhere that didn't require him to travel cross-country every month.

A few moments later, Ken returned to the door. Next to him was a young woman, who looked to be in her early twenties, though Paula knew that was impossible. She had dark, wavy hair that reached down to her lower-back. Her figure rivaled her own. She was wearing a light-blue summer dress and a plain white apron. The only words Paula could think of to describe her were "adorably attractive."

"My, what a surprise," Elaine said with a large smile. "My name is Elaine. I'm sure you've already met my husband Ken. I'm delighted that you came by to visit." Paula smiled and nodded, and Darien followed suite. Coming from the house, Paula could smell the odor of cookies baking in the oven.

'Is she baking already?' Paula thought to herself before quickly shaking it away. If they caught her suddenly dazing off, they would think she's some type of freak. "It's no problem," Paula replied. "I…we were so excited when we heard that we were going to have new neighbors."

"The other ones were old and smelly," Darien chimed in. Paula quickly smacked him on the back of the head, an audible "ouch" being heard. "But they were," Darien continued. Paula smacked him again. "But you said so yourself." That was it! Paula pinched the back of his neck, causing him to freeze. Paula simply laughed out of embarrassment. Fortunately for her, the others thought it was actually quite cute, and they laughed themselves. Paula sighed in relief.

"Oh yeah, we have to introduce you to our little one," Elaine said. She turned her head to look behind her. "Come on, don't be shy," she said. Several moments passed and nothing happened. Darien watched on in excitement. He couldn't wait to meet his new friend. "It's okay," Elaine continued, "just come on out and say hello." Slowly, a small head peaked out from behind her.

It was the head of a little girl. Her beautiful, sky-blue eyes were full of a mixture of fright and wonder as she looked up at Paula, then to Darien. Her golden-blonde hair was pulled up into two ponytails that fell down to her neck. She was wearing a cute, pink shirt, covered with denim overalls, which were covered in rabbit prints. Paula instantly wondered where the girl got her blonde hair from.

"This is my daughter, Serena," Elaine said with a smile. "I'm sorry, but she's a little shy around new people. She never had many friends in our old home, so I'm thrilled that you have a child around her age." Darien just looked on in awe, then disappointment.

"You're a 'girl?'" Darien asked, as if questioning whether it were true or not. Suddenly, he felt all his excitement go down the drain. Gone were his dreams of playing in the dirt, or having fake fights. Gone were his dreams of going on grand adventures. He dropped his head and slowly walked back to his house.