Hello All! Guess what! The tomorrow I mentioned in the last chapter apparently lasted long enough for me to get into college! Go figure! That was what…2 or 3 years! I am massively sorry. I'll be amazed if anyone reads this chapter. But we'll see.
Thanks to all my wonderful supporters who stayed with me until chapter 9. You were all so nice and wonderful with your reviews. Thanks to all of you.
I know you guys who've been waiting for this don't wanna read those long chapters again so I made a handy-dandy recap. Yay!
Recap:
Chapter 1: Their first kiss. Both enjoy it a lot, however, both Darien and Serena see the royal version of each other during it and feel a little guilty after the kiss is over. Keep in mind, they don't realize that the royal vision from their dream is, in fact, the one they are kissing. D and S have a little spat over it resulting in Tux giving S kissinglessons.
Chapter 2: Serena returns home after her run in with D. She discusses with luna what happened (leaving out her vision of the prince) and makes her swear on scouts honor to tell nobody, especially the sailor scouts about it. That's when Serena mentions the Tux Mask bit and Luna suggests that there may be a link between Darien and the enemy, and maybe he's a youma. Serena doesn't think so. Her mom gives her a beautiful nightgown and lets her sleep in the luxurious attic room. Tux comes to her house and wakes her.
Chapter 3: Little bedroom teasing. Romantic stuff. Serena ends up on the ledge next to the balcony.
Chapter 4: Serena is wary of tuxedo mask thanks to Luna and eventually insults Tux with the "you might be a psycho rapist" thing. They build some trust after they get over that. She falls asleep in his arms. He puts her to bet with somesweet words and a rose bud.
Chapter 5: Serena wakes to find that the previous night with Tux wasn't a dream. She is mad at Darien because she is so frazzled at the current situation. Darien is still pissed that she even had the nerve to use the word rapist and so insults Serena's sexual integrity when she comes over to talk to him. Serena throws hot coffee in his lap and shoves a muffin down his throat. Humor ensues. Darien plots revenge.
Chapter 6: Just some information about joining my mailing list for updates. cough cough updates…ya.
Chapter 7: Serena and the girls are at the ice cream shop. Serena tells the girls about what Darien said. Girls plot revenge on Darien. Serena is then walking by the lake later that night. Darien shows up pissed over the burning of his ahem and stuff. He decides to scare and confuse her a bit. He tells her that Tux is coming back later that night, and that the next day he (darien) would get even with her the next day. Oh yeah, stolen kissies. (Can't resist desire!)
Chapter 8: Tux and her form a bond (kissy kissies). Lesson #1: Don't (romantically/sexually) provoke a man unless you know you really want to. Basically, don't ignite his interest without being prepared to respond to it. The girls prepare for making Darien's tomorrow hell. So by now, Serena and Tuxie are fairly cool with each other. Serena sees these meetings as a way to investigate the nature of, and of course spend time with, Tuxedo Mask.
Chapter 9: The girls take over Crown Arcade and tie up Andy. They are using his monitors to watch Darien fall into their traps. They watch as Darien picks up Serena for the Day, and they freak out. The girls also mentioned some booby traps they set up.
AND NOW, AFTER ALMOST 3 YEARS OF WAITING, I GIVE YOU…..(drum roll)….CHAPTER 10!
Serena was pissed, and if she hadn't been feeling so tired she knew that she'd have been even more pissed. What gave Darien the right to sneak up into her room and wake her up at 10 AM? What kind of person would even wake up before 10AM on the weekend? A madman that's who! A freaking moron with no life! Someone who lives to torture innocent 14 year olds who like getting their full 15 hours of beauty sleep!
"You don't have to look so angry. It's not like you didn't know I was coming here for you today," Smiled Darien as he guided Serena towards his car. Serena only frowned and growled in his general direction. "That's not very lady like you know," he laughed.
"Well as you love to insist, I couldn't be lady like if my life depended on it, so why should I bother trying? Especially when it concerns a personality zero such as yourself?" Darien only rolled his eyes in response and opened the passenger door for the blonde. She just looked incredulously at him and stated matter-of-factly "Just because you somehow tricked my mom into letting you in my room before I'm awake doesn't mean I'll be tricked into your car, dummy. I'm not going anywhere with you." Darien let out a frustrated sigh.
"Look," he said, "I know you don't like me, and I don't much think I like you either, but I think both of us are tired of what's been going on between us since we met. Can't you at least pretend to be amicable for one day and help me try to find a safe plane between us so that we can at least minimize our future feuding?"
"I don't speak Greek Darien."
Frustrated, he sighed. "I want us to spend today finding a way for us to stand each other without declaring war every time we see each other, ok?" She eyed him with suspicion. "That's all, I swear!" He cried as he threw his hands up; Serena looked at the ground as if in thought. He placed a hand on her shoulder; she looked up in surprise in order to meet his eyes. "Scout's honor." He said calmly. Her eyes widened slightly at his choice of words, but she quickly recovered before he noticed.
"Luna did say that Darien might be connected to the negaverse as well," she thought to herself, "If I am going to try to get closer to Tuxedo Mask, I may as well try to get more information on Darien too. Even if I think he is a mean guy." She heaved a deep breath before surrendering to his declaration. "Fine." She shrugged as she seated herself in his car. With a satisfied smile Darien shut her door, rounded the car and took his seat behind the steering wheel.
Back at the Arcade
With quiet attentiveness, Serena's friends watched as the two began their day together. Andrew, of course, remained tied and taped somewhere in the back of the room.
After a moment of silence Ami looked to the faces of the other girls and asked, "Where do you think they could be going?"
Rei, who had turned a faint green with envy responded, "That's not the question Ami. The question is why are they going wherever they are going together?"
"Relax Rei," chided Lita, "It's not like they have an interest in each other anyways."
Ami nodded. "But that's exactly why Rei's question has some merit Lita." She stated.
"OH MY GOD!" Wailed Mina. The startled others looked at her. "He's going to KILL Serena isn't he?" Mina cried. The girls rolled their eyes and chuckled before turning back to the screen.
"I somehow doubt that Mina. Darien is mean to Serena, but I don't think he is quite homicidal." Laughed the genius of the group. "Oh." Chuckled the blonde. "The question at hand seems to be 'what are we going to do now?'"
"Yeah," concurred Lita, "I mean, the whole point of all this was to punish Darien, not Serena with all our booby traps. Serena is inevitably going to be caught up in it if we just sit here doing nothing." A brief moment of thought followed before Rei piped up.
Rei sighed, "I think we shouldn't do anything. If anything, our traps will help her out. After the first couple, one or both of them is bound to suspect the other and forfeit their day together. I think it would actually help Serena get away from Darien, who would still be subject to our traps. We'd still be doing her a favor by doing nothing." The other girls looked at Rei with suspicion.
"Just whose side are you on Rei? Serena's or Darien's?" commented Mina; "It sounds like all you want to do is get Serena away from your crush. Do you realize how jealous you're sounding?" Rei blushed slightly.
"I admit it is a slightly biased option coming from me, but you have to admit that it does make a little sense. Just think about it. If what I say works, then Serena and Darien will split; most likely Serena will just go home, leaving Darien to run into the traps by himself, which means we would still accomplish our mission. Not to mention we wouldn't have lost an entire night's sleep for nothing." Silently the girls took in what Rei proposed.
"You know she might actually be right you guys." Said Lita. The girls nodded. "Maybe we should take a vote on what to do." Again the girls nodded. "Alright then, All in favor of running around like headless chickens to sabotage our own booby traps before Serena and Darien get to them, raise your hand; and those who are in favor of doing nothing and letting things take their own course keep your hands down."
Mina and Ami raised their hands. Rei and Lita did not.
"Crap, now what?" sighed Rei. Mina licked her lips and shot a look at Andrew. The other girls caught her line of site and also stared at Andrew, who shrunk under their gaze. "Well," stated Rei, " he is the only one who can break the tie."
"But he's Darien's best friend. His opinion will be biased." Voiced Ami.
"He's Serena's friend too though; either way, nothing can be done about it unless one of us plans on changing her mind." Concluded Rei. Ami shrugged in submission. Mina walked forward and removed the tape from his mouth after telling him not to shout. The girls stood in a half circle around him and stared at him, waiting for his choice.
Andrew stared up at them. "What on earth makes you think I'm going to get myself in between the two of them? You realize that choice is baited don't you? No matter what I say one of them is going to kill me in the end." He whined with anguish. Mina smiled.
"You don't really believe that you aren't already involved do you? Come on man, we're in your arcade and we're using your equipment, you're just as much involved as we are."
"That's faulty logic at best Mina." Andrew reasoned.
"Look at it this way Andrew, interjected Rei, if you don't make a choice we'll all just say it was your idea in the first place. That's four against one, and since we're using your equipment and store, no one will believe otherwise."
"Well excuse me," he said sarcastically, "but if you count the massive lump on my head I think my proof will outweigh your claims a little." Ami sighed.
"Look Andrew, we just want your opinion. We won't tell anyone what you said, we'll pretend we never came to need a tie breaker if the subject ever arises, which it most likely won't okay? Please, time is running out, and as Serena and Darien's friend you should want to put in your two cents. What should we do?"
Andrew sighed, he knew there was no way out. "Fine, he said, here's what I would do if I were you…."
Back in the Car
Darien turned the key in the ignition, causing the car to roar to life. Shifting to drive he slowly pulled the car out of Serena's driveway and proceeded down the street away from her home. A quiet and mutual sense of discomfort hung between the two like an overbearing fog, one that could not be burned away by the warm rays that filtered through the tinted windows and washed the car's interior with light. Uncertain about what to make of the situation and somewhat agitated by Darien's presence, Serena saw no choice but to cut the fog with a blade forged of sound.
"How in the world could you manage to get past my mother and into my room while I was sleeping? It seems strange that my mom would let a guy that is a total stranger into my bedroom before I am even awake." She mused aloud. Darien smiled in response.
"It was easy. When I asked for you at the door she assumed I was your boyfriend and I didn't tell her otherwise. She just made sure your dad and brother weren't home and then told me where to find you. I was able to keep my breakfast down at the thought of being your boyfriend long enough to get upstairs and to a bathroom before I came in to get you." Chuckled Darien.
"Oh JEEZ." She made a gagging sound as Darien shot her a smirk. She crossed her arms over her chest as if in disgust. "She was probably just kidding with you. My mom has known me since before I was born…she should at least know by now that I have much better taste in men than that. God, at least give me credit enough to think I could get a boyfriend with a personality score of at least 1." She huffed, to which Darien just rolled his eyes.
"For the sake of nipping this argument in the bud, I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that," he replied.
"Fine with me," she agreed; he gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. Without a word she stared out her window at the passing trees and buildings. Ten minutes passed in silence.
"Aren't you going to ask about where we are going?" asked Darien.
"No."
"You don't want to know?"
"I figured you wouldn't tell me if I asked. The only thing I know is that because of my little coffee fiasco the other day you somehow plan to make me 'pay' today…as you put it so nicely last night." Both blushed slightly at the mention of it. Darien gently bit his bottom lip in thought.
"Actually, I want to talk about all the things that have happened this last week with you somewhere, but I don't really have a plan on where to take you to do that. I didn't really think about it after…after I left you last night."
"Is that so?" she replied with sarcasm.
He responded with a "yes…"
"So what are we going to do then?"
"I think I know a place that we can talk in private, which is something that we need, I think."
"…Why? So if one of us kills the other the body won't immediately be found?"
Darien felt a small smile on his lips. "You know, you could almost be funny if your jokes weren't always so lame."
"Whatever." Serena said before she stuck her tongue out at him. Darien blushed slightly at the sight of it and the thoughts of the previous night as Tuxedo Mask that the sight of it called forth. He quickly looked away before she could notice.
Twenty minutes later Darien pulled into a parking spot and unfastened his seat belt. "We're here." He stated.
"You're joking right?" she immediately responded; "Now I'm sure you're going to kill me Darien. This place is obviously an absolute death trap and I am not going in."
"Don't worry about how it looks. I have a colleague at work that is renovating the place soon, so I know that it is safe for us to go in."
"Why can't we just go to a park or something?"
"Because when we start talking or arguing I don't want anyone around to stop us like people usually do. Whatever it is between us that is causing so much anger needs to be figured out and gotten out of our systems. This abandoned theatre is the perfect place." Serena remained unconvinced as she gave the building the twice over…suddenly a look of recognition struck her and she shot Darien a look that was a mixture of amusement and smugness.
"You say you know about this theatre, huh? What exactly do you know about it?" she asked.
"I know that we shouldn't have any trouble, nobody will be coming here until months from now."
The blonde laughed. "Please tell me that's not all you know about this place." Darien shrugged.
"What else is there that could be important enough to want to know?"
Again, Serena laughed. "My god, wait till I tell everyone that you took me here; they'll never believe me!"
Darien's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "What the heck are you talking about." With tears of laughter streaming from her eyes Serena looked up at him with a smirk.
"Darien this is the old X-theatre."
Darien showed no response. Serena just let out an amused sigh.
"Darien this is the theatre that showed only XXX movies for 30 years before the city shut it down for being…unclean…if you catch my drift. It's the most popular porno site in this city. I can't believe you didn't know!" The onset of redness in Darien's face was instantaneous…which only caused Serena to laugh harder.
"According to my friends this became a popular high school make-out spot for years before they roped the place off. And just WAIT until I tell everyone that you, the great and mighty Darien, brought me, Serena, here! HAHA!"
"Get in the car." Squeaked a very red faced Darien.
Five minutes down the road Serena turned to the still rosy Darien and batted her eyelashes before asking in a joking voice "Where to now lover boy?" Inexplicably, his heart skipped a beat at her words, but he was not to be outdone by her jests.
"To my backseat if you don't stop teasing me, my sexy lady." He replied in a low voice. Serena's cerulean eyes widened slightly at the intensity in what he said and felt her pulse quicken. She softly licked her lips and returned her sightline to the surroundings that the car passed by, hoping the awkwardness that she now felt would pass as quickly. "Ewww," was the only reply she could muster.
Smiling with satisfaction, he informed her that he knew one more place that was solitary enough to suit their needs: another abandoned building that he was certain had no…questionably dirty history.
An hour later Serena found herself in the middle of the woods, in a place she had never seen nor heard about. However, she was just happy to be out of the car after spending an hour and a half driving around just to find a place to talk. Walking slowly around the car to her side both Darien and Serena took in the surroundings. Before Serena lay a large building that appeared to have once been a white mansion, but now only small sections of it were visible. Long vines, overgrown shrubs, trees, and other plants that had grown from the earth to swallow the house in their powerful grip covered the rest. In awe, Serena asked Darien why she had never heard of such a large place that was hardly more than an hour out of town.
"Because no one else can get to it," was his cryptic answer. For a moment he seemed to be far away, but that moment was brief. Soon after it left him, he sighed and walked determinedly forward toward the steps the ascended to the front of the house and Serena was not far behind him.
The space inside the house was massive. Large arched doorways lead to other rooms and hallways; faded colors and deteriorating structures of the house lined every wall and corner. The house had fallen deeply into disrepair, yet it still struck Serena as beautiful. Perhaps because she could tell that it had at one time been beautiful, or simply because the home had lost only it's fresh appearance but not its grandeur, she could not tell. She only knew that somehow, she felt small but welcome by just being there. But strangest of all, it felt familiar. Like she had been in that same place long before but she could remember.
"What is this place Darien?" she asked quietly and she looked over at him.
Taking a deep breath, he replied "This is a place my parents left me in their will. I think they lived here when they were still alive, but I don't really know. All I know for sure is that I am the only one who ever comes here so we should be fine to talk here."
"Oh." She breathed, letting go of the notion of familiarity. Now knowing what the place was, she knew there was no way she could ever have been there before.
"Andrew said that you already knew my family was dead, is that right?" he asked, to which Serena nodded her affirmation. "Okay," he stated, "just know that I don't want sympathy for it." She nodded once again. "Fine then. Fine. Just go through that door and take a seat, it's the only room with furniture that isn't covered tightly in plastic. I'm going to get something for us to drink." With that he walked off into the maze of halls leaving Serena in the atrium of the house.
Through the open archway that marked the separation of the two rooms Serena found a sitting area that consisted of two couches that faced each other with a coffee table between them. Through the dusty darkness she searched for a light switch on the wall, but by the time she had found one Darien had arrived with a box and a pitcher of ice tea.
"Don't bother." He said as he opened the rectangular box. "I'm not up here often enough to pay for the electricity. I find that candles and whatever sunlight gets through the vines on the windows offers enough light to do whatever I need to when I am here. I only pay for water." Deftly he pulled out four long, red, used candles and a lighter from the box. The candles he placed in holders that had been left out on the table and the lighter he used to ignite the wicks. After that he walked to the couches and removed the tarps that had been tossed on them to prevent the collection of dust on the royal blue leather. Serena, who had been leaning against the wall watching him walked over to have a seat on the couch nearest her. Darien did the same on the opposing side. They looked at each other and their eyes met. Once again they felt their hearts quicken for a moment before slowing back to normal.
"I guess this is it then." He said. Serena nodded her agreement and asked where they should begin. "I'll flip a coin." He decided as he pulled out a penny. "Heads it's you, tails it's me." Serena laughed in response. "What?" he asked nonplussed.
"Just thought it was funny how the coin mirrors us. You know, I'm heads as in meatball head and your tails because you're an ass." Darien rolled his eyes and flipped the coin.
Arcade, 1 hour 5 min before
Back at the arcade, the four girls were awaiting Andrew's tie breaking opinion.
"What I would do if I were you," he said patiently "is go back in time and make it so you had never put those booby traps up in the first place."
In the background a cricket chirps.
"You can't say that Andrew, you have to break the tie." Cried Rei. With a sigh Ami wandered back to the surveillance screen.
"You wanted my opinion, you got it." He insisted. "I think it was wrong of you to interfere with the two of them this way. I agree that Darien is not very nice to Serena but there were other ways to do this."
"Yeah, yeah. What's done is done. What are we going to do now though?" The raven-haired girl hassled.
"How should I know? This is your mess, not mine."
At the computer screen, Ami's eyes got wide, "Oh my GOSH guys! G..get over here!" she cried. The other three girls promptly made their way over, and their jaws immediately dropped at the sight that greeted them. Serena and Darien, the world's greatest enemies were at one of the most famed "make-out" spots in the city.
"THAT'S IT! We have to stop them!" shrieked Rei.
"Relax girl, neither Serena nor Darien would do anything foolish. It's probably just a way for them to be alone since no one is aloud to go there anymore." Concluded Ami.
"But this will tarnish Darien's reputation if this gets around. I'm going to get them!" insisted Rei.
Ami, Mina, Lita and Andrew watched as Rei stormed out of the back room and out of the store. With a sigh Ami realized that the choice had just been made. If Rei was going to separate the two, she would most likely end up with Darien in Serena's place. The traps would have to be taken down. "Mina, Lita I think we should start taking down the traps. There's no point for them to be up any more. I'll stay here and keep an eye on Darien, Serena and Andrew in order to be sure nothing bad happens." The two agreed and left to erase the work they had done.
For the next hour and a half Ami directed Rei on how to follow Darien based on his movements that she detected from the camera and tracer that had been planted in his car. Rei then passed on the directions to Chad, whom she had convinced to help her by driving her around. For the whole ride, Rei had been stewing about the situation her friend and crush were in; she could not wait until she caught up with them. Oh the things she would say to that Serena! Finally, the drive was coming to an end…they were five minutes away from the house that the two had entered.
"Um…Rei? We can't go any further."
"What!"
"This is totally private property Rei. The whole place has a huge fence around it, it's impenetrable." Incredulous to Chad's claims, she shrieked her disbelief. "There's nothing I can do Rei. This place is a fort. You'd, like, have to wait till they come down or just talk to this guy later."
"We'll wait." She stated. Chad shook his head and reminded her of his duties to her grandfather at the temple. And despite her loud protests, turned around and began the drive home.
Back at the Arcade Mina and Lita had just returned and entered the back room. Ami turned around and shrieked in surprise. "WHAT HAPPENED?"
Mina's skin was dripping with honey, thorns were in her hair, dirt on her face and her clothes were soaked in water. Lita's hair was singed, her face was covered with what looked like lemon cream pie, and the rest of her was covered in oil and white fluffy feathers.
"What did you DO?" Ami cried again.
"REI did it!" They cried in unison.
"HOW?"
"She didn't tell us where her traps were so we didn't know where they were until it was to late!" cried Mina. "…and there is another little problem." She added.
"What?"
Lita laughed nervously, "Apparently we weren't the first to get to all of the traps…and now there's a uh…mob outside after our blood."
"There's WHAT?" cried Andrew.
"Oh no." sighed Ami as she put her head in her hands.
At the Mansion
The shiny coin flipped over and over above Darien's head as both Serena and Darien's eyes watched it move. With rapid speed it fell into his palm, which he used to flip it on to the back of his opposite hand. His eyes read the face of the coin…
"Heads," he said, "looks like you're up."
"So what do you want me to talk about?"
"Anything…everything. That pertains to us. What you think, why you do things you do, stuff that pertains to why we do what we do to each other, I guess." Serena licked her lips.
"Anything?" she asked. Darien nodded. "Fine then. I suppose we should start at the beginning."
"Sounds fair." He nodded.
"The day we met. When my test paper hit your head…why did you make fun of me? Ever since the day I met you I've seen you with other people and you're always so nice to them no matter what they do. The first minute you met me you acted like you already knew you hated me."
Darien shrugged. "I just felt like it."
Serena gaped. "That's it? If that's all your going to say about what I ask you then I can tell you right now that this is pointless." Darien ran his hand through his hair.
"Cool it Darien," he told himself, "you may not want to open up, but it has to be done to get past all this and get close to her for the princess."
"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I'm not really used to talking to you civilly. The truth is I don't know why I did it. Maybe I had felt…I don't know…I think…I….Grrr! I didn't think it would be this hard." He laughed a little as he sat back into the couch. "How about we agree that whatever we say here, stays here between you and me, okay? That might help us both." After a brief minute, Serena nodded. He was quiet for a moment before he forced out his answer as though it burned him to say it.
"I was jealous of you, alright!"
The blonde's eyes went wide. "What?" she cried.
Darien looked off to the side as he answered a little slower. "I was jealous of you," he admitted. "I was jealous of you and I think it eventually made me look down on you. I had seen you around before, you know. With your friends and family. I would think how lucky you were. You had friends and family who loved you and were there for you through everything. Something I have never had, but I guess I had always wanted. And you were always so happy. No matter what happened you could always find a reason to smile….I…I envied that too. And you accept yourself, even with your imperfections, and act like you have nothing to prove to anyone. I guess you could say I observed you from afar. And then that day came when we finally had a reason to speak to each other. When you tossed that test paper on my head. When I saw the grade you got it just made me angry."
"But why? You hardly knew me, what did it matter to you?"
"…because." He said, "Because I just figured that…I had nothing when I grew up. No family, no friends…no happiness and from that nothing I saw fit to make myself work to become better. I worked for a position of intelligence and status. I had to work to deal with my loneliness; I had to work to be recognized as alive by people. And I made it happen. Then here you come into my life. A young person with everything I always wanted, everything I had to work so hard for and things that my hard work could never give me…and you let yourself be nothing. And you're okay with it. I suppose I thought someone with such a support system would use that strength to go forward in life. Would have the desire and ability to carry on and be great. I didn't…I don't understand how you were okay with pretending you don't have to work to get through life…It just upset me. I began to look at you as nothing but a foolish girl. Not to mention you were different than anyone I had met before…I guess that's what bothered me."
Serena nodded. "That explains a lot."
"My turn." Said Darien. "Okay, I'll go back to the beginning later, there's something I need to know now." Hesitantly Serena looked up at him with a questioning look.
"Why? Why? Why? Why? Did you dump steaming hot coffee in my lap and make me…" Darien gagged slightly at the memory, "just, that whole thing. Why?"
Serena scoffed, "Are you kidding me! You basically called me a slut to my face over nothing!"
"Well what about your rapist comment the night before! What makes that any better?" Darien shouted. Serena looked shocked. Quickly Darien realized what he had said and recovered, "Tuxedo Mask told me what you said. He took it personally, and as a close friend of mine I saw fit to be mad at you as well."
"That's not an excuse!" she cried. "You had no right to say what you did! Not to mention I was shocked that he actually showed up; I thought you were kidding me!"
"Well, I wasn't."
"Nah, really?" She said with sarcasm. "Look, I'll say I am sorry if you say you're sorry. But I think we're about equal on this one."
"You almost burned my….!" Darien protested. Serena tried her best not to blush at the thought.
"I said I was sorry. And I'm here with you for it am I not? I think I've made my penitence. If you don't think so, then that's no longer my problem. I don't owe you anything." She insisted.
Darien sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry too then."
"My turn." Serena said as she sat back into the chair.
"Why do you call me meatball head when you know I hate it?"
Darien chuckled. "In the beginning it was because of what I said before about looking down on you. But after a while, it just got funny. You always had such funny reactions to whatever I said. I guess it made me feel better to know that even someone like you, who is always happy, can be upset once in a while. I guess it made me feel good to be the one to cause it. Not to mention you're cute when you're angr….y." Darien blushed and yelled at himself in his head. "Crap! I just told her she was cute! What the heck am I thinking."
He looked up to see that Serena was also blushing slightly and staring at her hands.
"Okay then. You're turn."
"How do you know Tuxedo Mask, and what did you do to make him owe you a favor?" she asked.
"Serena, I can't answer that."
"Why not?"
"Isn't it obvious? Tuxedo Mask is in a very delicate situation as a superhero. If anyone knew he was linked to me, that would put both him and I in danger."
"I guess that makes sense." She thought out loud with disappointment. She was hoping to get some information for Luna about him and Tuxedo Mask. Apparently, that information would have to come later. Serena shivered in the chilly air of the house. Darien noticed.
"I could start a fire if you're cold. It gets pretty chilly up here on the mountain, even during midday. Actually, I think I will. I'm a little cold myself. And since there's no electricity, there's no heat or AC."
Darien left the room and returned with newspapers he had found elsewhere in the house. He used them as fire starters for the wood that was already in the fireplace that ran perpendicular to the arrangement of the couches. Moments later, heat from a roaring fire was spilling out into the room, dwarfing the light of the four dwindling candles. After he completed the fire he took his seat again and drank from his glass of tea.
A few wordless minutes passed before Serena reminded Darien that it was his turn to go.
"Oh yeah," he replied. "My question is this: Why do you let yourself do so poorly at school? Why don't you care about bettering yourself?"
"hmmmm." She hummed. "I guess I just never looked at it that way. It's not like I don't want to do well. I realize how important it is for me to do well, and how important it is to my parents that I do well, but for some reason I just can't do it. And as much as you may think otherwise, it does bother me. I guess I just feel like I can't do much to change it, so I stopped letting it affect the way I live." She paused for a moment. "Sometimes…sometimes I think I'm just stuck."
Attentive to her words, and curious to her meaning, he asked her how exactly it was that she felt she was stuck.
Serena sighed. "I know this sounds crazy. But I feel like I am both afraid of failure and afraid of success. So I am stuck. I don't know what to do, so I do nothing." She looked into his face and saw it marred with confusion. Exasperated at not being able to convey her point she tried again. "I just feel that if I started becoming successful, I would have to acknowledge that the unsuccessful person that I was before was meaningless…a waste of life. Also, people would begin to expect things from me, and I would become even more fearful of letting them down…of failing. And I fear failing, because that also means I would be disappointing people I care about. I know it sounds confusing, but somehow it makes sense to me. It scares me to change. Because there are things about me I really like. And wouldn't they change too if I decided to try harder to change a certain part of myself? So I am stuck and afraid to change or try. Does that make any sense?"
He shrugged, "Sort of, I think. I must admit that I am surprised. I always thought you just didn't care. It sounds like you've actually put a lot of thought into understanding this."
"Like I said, don't think it doesn't bother me. I just don't talk about it to anyone, and the only reason I am telling you is because we swore to keep it a secret, and no one would believe you if you told them anyway. In any case, that's the best way I can explain it." He nodded and gestured for her next question.
She licked her lips in preparation. "Okay Darien. Try not to be to mean when I ask you this, but I do want an honest opinion, alright?"
"Alright, I promise."
"Darien…do I really kiss like a hippo?" He smiled at the question before she continued. "And has Tuxedo Mask told you anything about it, because he's not complained to me about it yet. He also hasn't told me how to kiss properly yet."
"You want to know, honestly?" he asked.
Serena sucked in a deep breath; she prepared herself for the harsh words she knew would come.
"Yes." He said to himself. "Say yes. So far it's all you know is giving you access to kissing her and seeing the princess.But it's such a lie."
"No Serena. I was just being mean at the time. I was shocked…among other things. But I don't really want to talk about that yet. You could use a few pointers, but you kiss ok." In his mind he told himself how mildly he had just described her earth shattering kisses. But it was for the best….
Serena smiled in surprise. "Really?" she questioned in disbelief. Darien nodded.
"How about me?" he asked, "Do I really kiss like a dog?" Serena laughed and reciprocated his answer onto him.
"Let me ask one more question before you take your turn. Why did you really kiss me anyways?" he asked.
Serena looked down in shame.
"It's like I said that day. I wasn't thinking very clearly. I guess I hadn't really looked at you as a friend, and I used you in order to be able to enter that wedding dress contest….I hope you'll forgive me for it."
"A friend." Mused Darien. "How about now?"
"We're still not what I would consider friends Darien. But I think with all this talking, it could eventually be possible. Sure. If we can stop arguing so much." He nodded. "I..Is that what you want?"
Darien bit his lip. Something inside made him want to cry that he wanted so much more than that. But that something was buried so deep that he was able to ignore it completely. "I think I might." He said gently.
Serena smiled. "I only have two more questions Darien. One of which you probably won't be able to answer."
"Try me." He replied.
"Well the first one is 'why did you kiss me last night at the lake?'"
"I was trying to intimidate you. I was very upset about what had happened earlier when I did that to you. I am really, really sorry. There is no excuse for it." Serena nodded.
"Secondly….do you know what Tuxedo Mask likes in a girl? Or how he likes to kiss?"
Darien's eyes flew wide open. "W…what?"
"I was just thinking. You said I could use some pointers, right? I thought it might make things easier to know what a guy like him would like. I thought you would have some insight because you're a guy and a good friend of his."
Darien was totally silent. This was unexpected…and problematic because that question was somehow very arousing. Here was a pretty young woman that gave him rushing thoughts and feelings who was basically flat out asking how to please him. It was a dream come true!
"What makes you think I know?" he asked.
She laughed nervously. "Well, obviously I don't expect you to know exactly what he likes, but I thought your tastes might be similar since you guys seem to be good friends."
"So basically you are asking what I like?" choked out Darien.
"Yes…I guess so."
"Down boy." He told himself. "She's young. Don't be impulsive. But this could be very advantageous. Another opportunity to try and see the princess…and feel those sensuous lips on mine again." He quickly ripped himself from his arousing thoughts.
"I'm not even sure how to explain something like that." He admitted.
Serena nodded. "That's ok. I thought it couldn't hurt to ask though." Darien rose from his seat on the couch and walked around the coffee table to Serena who eyed him with curiosity.
He sat down beside her on the couch. "Just how willing are you to learn what he likes?" he asked hesitantly.
"What do you mean?"
"I can't explain it. There's no way to explain a kiss and truly capture what it is and its meaning. What I mean is…that if you're willing. I could show you what I like…what I think he would like. If you want."
Once again Serena's bubblegum pink tongue wet her lips. Anytime she was in his presence it was as if every part of her body started working funny. Her palms would dampen, her heart quicken, her thoughts rush, her lips dry, her body yearn…and before she even thought a single word about what he had proposed, she felt herself whisper "Yes…yes."
Serena gazed up into his eyes shyly and as if in a trance, Darien wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her toward him gently. His body screaming "Thank you God!" at what she had just whispered to him. He had feared that if she had waited another second to say something he would have kissed that cute mouth of hers anyways.
Her lithe body was warm and soft against his; the nearness of it filled him with sense of fulfillment and perfection. The world became silent and faded away, and for them it was as if it were just the two of them in existence, almost as if they were between sleep and awake…so close, warm, and surging with an inner yearning to kiss each other. For a moment it seemed that there were no more worries, no more walls, and no more painful fights, only a shared peace and emotional desire between them. He gazed at her and she returned it with a kind of nervous "I want to tell you how I'm feeling but I don't think I can say it" kind of look. He realized he probably appeared the same way.
"Serena." He whispered.
She longingly stared into his deep blue eyes.
"Darien, what should I do?" the blonde whispered.
He couldn't help smiling at her innocent and breathy question. Gently he took her hands and placed them around his shoulders and gently told her. "If you are ever uncomfortable with this, just tell me ok?"
"Okay," she responded. He smiled reassuringly at her as he raised a hand to cup her cheek. Slowly he proceeded to trail his fingertips through her bangs and gently along the curve of her blushed cheeks. "When you are kissing anyone Serena," he continued, "softly touching that person's neck and face or holding his or her head is a very intimate part of a kiss. During feelings love, it's one of the most sensitive and intimate places to touch someone. Especially with a kiss." He leaned forward as though to kiss her, but the moment her eyes fluttered closed he went lower and kissed the nape of her neck and he enjoyed the feeling of her jump slightly beneath him. "The ears, especially, are very sensitive." He said playfully before he stopped to nibble her earlobe a bit as he raised his head from her nape. He smiled with satisfaction at her flushed appearance. The smile she was returning to him was not needed, however, to tell him he was also flushed and excited. Gently he held her head in his right hand while his left hand guided her to lie down on the couch. She looked at him in surprise. "Trust me." He smiled. Willingly, she lied down, and he followed suit beside her; one hand holding her face as he was propped up on the other arm, facing her and the back of the couch. Trying desperately to control his breathing in this position, he whispered, "another thing you should never do, Serena, is kiss without passion. A kiss is a gift to someone you care about and trust. And I want you to trust me…because I trust you. I think I might even…" Serena gazed at him with wide eyes, and he could not help but be drawn in to her beauty. Even if this was just considered practice by her for his alter ego, he knew that he needed to feel her passion; his own words had made him crave that intensity he had felt when she first kissed him. He could feel the burning need rapidly consume his body in a flame of insane desire for her...and he could no longer bear it.
"Serena…" he almost whimpered, "kiss me..."
He hardly noticed how the force she used to throw herself at him had thrown him backwards and off the couch. All he knew was the intense sensation of her body on top of his, their lips seeking each other in a heated desire, and the feel of her arms around his neck. One hand ran through his midnight hair and she ravaged his body with waves of unrealized love. It was amazing to him…more than amazing, but she'd had control the first time…it was his turn. Holding her head and lower back he rolled her onto her back. "We need…to move away…from the table." He said breathlessly. She nodded and turned over in order to crawl to the space in front of the fireplace on her hands and knees. Darien felt himself become impossibly more aroused at the site and he quickly followed her over. Gently he guided her to lie on her back and he stared down at her from above, admiring what he saw…but not for long. Gently he traced the curve of her neck with his light kisses to the nape of her neck, and then he stopped…as if he were thinking. Then he kissed her lightly…and began to draw her into his mouth. "D..Darien." she breathed. He stopped immediately and replayed her voice in his head. She had moaned his name. The sound of it excited him. That she had said his name like that…not tuxedo mask…not anyone else. She had called for him. Withholding every urge he had to take her so much further than kisses right there in front of the roaring fire, he resumed his work at her nape. He listened with great titillation to every sound he evoked from her, and within seconds he began to sooth the pain with the tip of his tongue. After which he moved his mouth the few inches it took to get to her ear and gently whispered, "I have marked you princess."
Not even realizing what he had just said, he moved to her lips and captured them with his own. he was only beginning to realize how much of her he wanted as his own.
Gently licking, kissing, holding and playfully nibbling each other, they experienced each other in a way they would never have predicted, and neither would object. But all good things must come to an end, until they can begin again. Eventually they left that mansion and drove away.
The two decided to stop at a fastfood chain in order to get something to eat. Serena, of course, ordered half the menu, which Darien insisted on paying for since it was his idea to take her out that day anyways. Not to long later they decided that it would be best to prepare for returning home. Somewhat embarrassed at what had occurred, they quietly took their leave.
In the car on the way home Serena found the courage to thank Darien for his help with the matter. He replied that she was welcome, but that he had not really done that much to assist her. She smiled at the comment and counter pointed, "practice makes perfect."
By the time they had arrived back in town it was 8PM.
"Should I take you home Meatball Head?" Darien winced at his slip.
"Just because you think I'm cute when I'm angry doesn't mean I'll let you call me that." She told him.
"Sorry. Old habits die hard, Serena. Let me make it up to you."
She glanced at him with interest, "How so?"
"Ummmmm….How about we rent a movie and watch it at my place? I have popcorn and drinks I think. Maybe we can talk a little more."
Serena checked her watch and for the first time that day realized how long she had been out. "I didn't realize it was so late."
"Time flies when you're havi….nevermind."
Serena couldn't hold back a laugh. "It sounds like it could be a nice idea."
Within the hour the two ended up back in Darien's apartment complex with a copy of the newest adventure flick. As they walked towards his doorway, Serena felt the tip of her shoe scrape the carpet, causing her to fall. Darien's reflexes allowed him to catch her with ease. "You really ought to stop falling for me, or I might start returning the favor to see how you like it." he said jokingly before he could catch himself. He felt her shiver in his arms as though racked by a chill, and their eyes met as he helped stand her upright, though his arms never came out from around her. Blue clashed with blue as the stood in front of his door, the desire rekindled in their met gaze.
Darien, resisting the rising urge to kiss her breathless right there in the hallway stammered "M-Maybe we should go inside?" Serena just nodded her agreement. Taking one hand from behind her and removing his keys from his pockets, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. Serena followed through the open door and turned to shut it.
As it clicked she gave a cry of surprise.
Darien turned around and his eyes went wide. Serena stood there with a complicated expression of hurt, anger, and possibly even heartbreak on her face. Serena picked up her hands and watched the slimy egg run down them before she looked straight into his eyes. "I should have known better than to trust you." Serena choked out. Darien tried his best to recover from the shock and defend himself.
"Serena I didn't…"
"Forget it," she interrupted him, "I hope you're happy now." She said as she turned and ran away in tears. Completely confused Darien followed her for a step or two before he noticed a pink piece of paper on the ground. He snatched it up, read it's contents before he balled it up and threw it across the room in fury.
He grabbed his jacket and ran out of the apartment after Serena.
Back in the monitoring room
"Well, I finally convinced the mob you guys weren't here." Sighed Ami as she entered the room.
"Ooooh hell. That is not good." Lita said.
"What?" asked Ami
"Guys," Lita stammered, "I really hate to say this, but I think we are in more serious trouble than that mob."
Rei, who had just returned from the temple where she left Chad, was obviously not happy to hear Lita say that. "Why Lita? Because we just egged Serena? She doesn't even know we're responsible. Let Darien take the blame, its better for both of them that way anyways."
Lita, the Amazon of the bunch shook her head. "That's not what I mean. What I meant was Darien knows who really did it."
"WHAT? HOW?" Cried Mina who had finally left Andy's side.
"That pink piece of paper." conjectured Ami. "Lita, what exactly was written on that piece of paper?"
Lita laughed a nervous laugh. "Ah ha ha, just a bit of nothing…I just signed it…you know…so he'd find it after he got egged….you know….I thought it would be funny to put "courtesy of Lita Kino, Amy Mizuno, Mina Aino, and Rei Hino." Everyone was silent.
"We are in deep shit." Sighed Rei.
End Chapter
What will Darien, Serena and the Scouts do now? Stay tuned and I'll show you! Hopefully in less than a month! Thanks for reading. If it wasn't to your satisfaction, please keep in mind I haven't written fan fiction in over 2 years, I'm a little out of practice. I do appreciate your reading this though; feel free to give me pointers in reviews. Just try to be as nice as you can please if at all possible. Thanks to all of you once again.