My Worst Fear
I don't own Sailor Moon, or any of the characters, and all that fun stuff.
January:
Darien adjusted his bow-tie for the thirtieth time in ten minutes, glancing into the mirror once again. He knew that he shouldn't be nervous; wearing a tuxedo wasn't anything different from his everyday outfits, or it wasn't much different. As the crime fighting partner to Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Darien wore a Tuxedo in high stress environments when one mistake could end in death. In comparison this should be the easiest thing he had ever done in a Tux.
Darien hissed air between his teeth in frustration; every time he looked into the mirror he thought he looked like an idiot in fancy clothes. What did she see?
"Stop fidgeting!"
Darien looked away from the mirror to see his best friend, Andrew, leaned up against the door. Andrew was a striking counter point to Darien's nervous energy and dark looks; with his blonde hair and green eyes Andrew looked cool and composed in his tux.
"Easy for you to say." Darien muttered. He tugged on the blue silk vest that he wore, and cast a suspicious look at the black jacket hanging on the chair. "I'm going to look bad in that thing. I don't know why I thought a big wedding would be nice, now more people will see me looking like an over-dressed dolt."
Andrew snorted. "You're a big politician now; you can't just get married in private, they would think you were up to something." Andrew smiled, and grabbed Darien's Tuxedo jacket. "Besides, everyone needs to be suitably impressed that you could get a girl like Serena."
Darien slid his arms into the jacket, and glanced into the mirror again. He wasn't even thinking about impressing other people with Serena, he was still shocked that he could get a girl like her.
On the happiest day of his life, Darien's mind shied away from the knowledge that he wasn't going to have much time with his bride. After that night in January, when Serena told him that she was dying, Darien had moved in with her and taken over the wedding plans. He had wanted to move the date up from January to November, but logistically it was impossible.
Last night had been the first time in months that Darien hadn't slept in the same bed as Serena. In fact, they hadn't even been in the same building. He spent an uncomfortable night sleeping on Andrew's couch, worrying that something would happen to his blonde fiancé while he wasn't there.
"Its show time, champ."
Darien buttoned his jacket, and ran his hand through his black hair. "I look okay?"
Andrew smiled. "No one will top you."
"Liar." Darien shoved his best man playfully. "Serena will."
Serena looked stunning; her white silk wedding dress was beautiful, but this had nothing to do with the dress. The blonde was glowing with happiness as she accepted congratulations from friends and family.
Darien was worried. Like a beautiful flower, Serena was beginning to wilt. He hated to think of the questions that would arise if Serena collapsed, especially because only her family knew what was going on. In her normal fashion, Serena had been concerned with burdening their friends with news of her illness, and had extracted a promise from Darien that they would await the opportune moment to tell the others.
Darien sighed and slipped his arm around Serena's waist, allowing her to lean on him with out giving the impression that anything was wrong. He was especially wary of the reporters who circled the reception like vultures, hoping for something. Reporters always delighted in drama; if they couldn't have a giant fight between the two newlyweds they would settle for death.
"It's getting late, Bunny."
Serena looked up and smiled. "We should say hello to a few more people." The way she beamed up at him made Darien's heart melt, it would have been enough to make him agree to anything, but he felt the subtle shift as she leaned more of her weight against him.
Darien moved behind Serena, and wrapped both of his arms around her. "Just a few more." He whispered in her ear. Then he raised his voice a little for the benefit of the people around. "Serena forgets that we will see you all again after our honeymoon. She doesn't seem to want to leave."
"Of course, that is just maidenly shyness."
Serena laughed, and smiled at the speaker. "Haruka, I thought I had missed you!"
Haruka Tenou was one of Serena's closest friends. Tall, blonde, blue eyed, and daring Haruka was the perfect racer and had won world wide acclaim. The only problem was that Haruka was a woman in a man's sport. She had developed a wild, abrasive personality and a dry sense of humor but she was a loyal friend. The blonde smiled and ran a hand through her boy cut hair, "I would never skip out on you, Princess."
"Don't be fooled, dear heart, she would have gone racing today if she could have." Haruka's other half, and many would say better half, was an elegant woman named Michiru Kaiou. She had wavy aqua colored hair that fell to her shoulders, fashionably pale skin, and an innate elegance that nothing seemed to dispel. For all of Haruka's wild abandon Michiru was calm, graceful, and precise. It didn't seem like the two women could ever have a successful relationship, but they were the most perfect couple Serena had ever seen. And as the Sailor Scouts of Uranus and Neptune the two women were partners in everything.
Michiru smiled, a touch of sadness in her eyes. "Congratulations, you two; Tokyo will never see a more beautiful couple."
Darien smiled and Serena blushed.
By the age seventeen Michiru was an internationally acclaimed concert violinist; the Tokyo symphony orchestra had stolen the young woman away from the competition, and she continued to be the highest paid violinist in the world. From the moment they met, Serena had envied Michiru's charm, grace, and elegance. The blonde had always dreamed that one day she too would be as poised as Michiru at high caliber social events.
"Everything was amazing."
Michiru's gaze flittered up to Darien's, the masked sadness that he saw in her eyes took him by surprise.
"You should depart now, Serena." Michiru said quietly. "You have a big day ahead of you, I'm sure."
Darien knew that Michiru understood what was going on.
"Enjoy him while you can, Princess."
Haruka's snide remark made Darien tense, as his eyes snapped up to the woman's face.
Did she know? Was she just being cruel?
Darien had never cared for the blonde racer and her opinion of him could scarcely bee seen as better, but the two tolerated each other because Serena cared for them both. Haruka usually used every chance she got to needle and Darien, but he was shocked that she would sink so low.
"Are you ready to leave, Bunny?"
Serena nodded, but didn't move to detach herself from her husband's grasp. It only took Darien a moment to realize that the young blonde's energy was rapidly seeping out, so he gathered her in his arms, white dress and all, and carried her from the room.
Ami saw them leaving from across the hall.
She smiled and bid farewell to the group of women she had been speaking with; they were all to busy exclaiming over the couple's romantic exit to notice when the petit doctor moved on.
She exited the reception hall and followed the pair out to the parking lot. "Bunny! Darien!" She called when she was within earshot.
Darien stopped and turned around. "How are you Ami?"
Serena smiled uncertainly at her friend.
They both dreaded what was coming next. She was a doctor. She would know what was going on.
Serena took a breath, trying to steady her racing heart. She had hoped that Ami wouldn't figure it out, the doctor had enough to worry about without the knowledge that her friend was dying to add to the load.
"I noticed that you didn't eat much today, Bunny."
Serena blinked and nodded; the medication that she was on made her queasy, so she had stopped eating foods that were rich or spicy. It made for a very bland diet, especially for a woman who was use to fine dining.
"I've been quiet long enough!" Ami declared, glaring at her friend. "I know what is going on."
For a moment the blonde felt panic, she didn't want people to know. She could deal with the envious looks as she walked down the street, but she didn't know that she could cope with pity. At least Ami wasn't going to make a public scene, this was bad enough.
"Ami, you don't have to..."
A sharp look from the blue haired girl cut Darien off mid sentence. "Since you don't seem to care, I figured that it was my duty to say something."
Serena felt her jaw drop. Ami was always quiet, kind, and considerate; Serena couldn't imagine why she would say something s cruel to a man who had only shown compassion. "What do you mean?"
"He doesn't seem to care that you are starving yourself to death!" Ami exclaimed. "Maybe it suits his political plans to have a paper thin wife, but it won't do him any good when you starve to death! Honestly, Serena, you have to eat! You are starting to look sick!"
Seconds ticked by as a tense silence hung over the trio, and then it was broken. Serena's laugh rang out like a bell chime. She didn't know what else to do, and she was so relieved that Ami had gotten it wrong.
Darien smiled down at his wife, his mind mulling over Ami's statement. The woman was a brilliant doctor, but she had latched on to the idea that Serena was anorexic and not let go. It was probably because the alternatives were too terrible to think of. Darien had to admit that if Serena hadn't told him what was going on he would probably be in the same position as Amy.
"We are working on it, Ams."
Serena smiled at her friend. "I love you, Ami. Thank you for caring."