* 2021-12-16

My stories are PG18+++, as in, there is graphic violence, coarse language, sexual situations and triggers as my stories deal with characters who deal with past emotional, physical or mental traumas. Advance at your own risk. Enjoy.

Late Night Escape

Chapter 2

The base vibrated through the human throng gyrating on the packed dance floor. Almost deafening, both in pitch and intensity. Drowning any attempt at conversation; not the place or time for it anyways.

Blinding, abrupt sporadic lights, the only visibility, tinted in hues of orange, red and burgundy. And if the sound and sight didn't get to you, the hot, stale, suffocating smell of sweating bodies would.

But who cared? You went to clubs for three things. One, for fun; to dance your youth away. Two, to hook up; at least for a night. Three, to lose yourself. To forget everything. To let loose. To escape.

Serena was in that last category. Fun she forced herself to have daily, because who knew what shit show tomorrow would bring. Hooking up… Well, the clubbing individuals didn't quite meet her, ahem, Tuxedo Mask standard. Either way, it wasn't another complication she needed.

No. The last category is where she found herself. In the group that was there only to release all that tension that was pent up inside. In a somewhat, perhaps, hopefully, harmless manner… Was it healthy? Was it going to fix anything? Nope and definitely, most probably, not. But it's not like she could go see a shrink, and be like: "Hi, I'm Sailor Moon and I'm dealing with A, B, C, and did I mention X, Y and Z?" It wasn't a solution but at least, it was an outlet for all the pressure on her shoulders and her well of emotions.

Would the world and people who counted on her approve? Probably, wait, scratch that, definitely not. But it didn't matter. Because in that moment, in that club, she wasn't Sailor Moon, she wasn't the wannabe leader, she wasn't the disappointing daughter, she wasn't the failing student… She wasn't the girl that needed to fake smiles when she felt hurt, insecure or lonely.

It was quite ironic how it all started when you thought about it.

Just a couple weeks ago, Lita had found her crumbled up in an alley after a battle. Serena had performed surprising well, barely needing Tuxedo Mask's help or the other sensei. All thanks to the extra effort she had been putting in and years of experience finally catching up. It was finally paying off. The young klutzy airhead was maturing and coming into her own. Proud beyond words, Lita had wanted to congratulate her best friend but instead found her going through a total ugly, messy, nervous melt down.

Which wasn't a surprise with the routine the Senshi leader had going on. Serena had been sparing in the mornings with Lita, studying in the evenings with Amy and doing reckon at night with Mina while learning to work on her confidence with Rei. Constantly solicited by Luna and Artemis to find the Moon Princess, Crystal and deal with scout business. Topped with school finals/graduation and keeping a normal face in her family life.

Not to mention that although Serena was cheerful by nature, she took things to heart way too easily. Including Rei's disses, Amy's sighs, Mina's frowns when she didn't perform well as Sailor Moon… Or her mom's and Luna's scolding's… She cared too much… It was in her DNA.

Serena wanted nothing more than for everyone around her to be happy. To protect them.

So, despite what everyone thought, she was harder on herself than anyone could have ever imagined.

The cumulation of stress, anxiety, frustration and exhaustion, toppled with unattainable expectations finally destroyed and wrecked apart the kindest girl Lita had ever met.

Lita's eyes filled with unshed tears at the heart wrenching sight. Having been alone for a long time, observing people and seeing past their masks had become second nature. She'd watched as her bubbly friend faked smiles while her parents criticized her, not knowing the full weight on their daughter's shoulders. Worst of all, as Serena loved her family, the lying and hiding her injures from them really took an extra toll on her. Lita knew all too well how long a person could hold a strong front before they cracked.

Rushing to the crumbled mess, Lita wrapped her arms around Serena while she wept until she was hyperventilating. The brunette rocked her friend until the sobs had stopped, soothed her hair until the tremors had passed and vowed to help her find an outlet.

Lots of people found their release in stressful situation through alcohol, drugs, adrenaline, addiction, or escapism. Alcohol and drugs hadn't even slightly tempted the leader of the scouts, she knew better than that. Addictions other than shopping sprees, were not even an option. Adrenaline, well they certainly had enough of that as Scouts.

And that's when Lita heard it, the beat coming from a club down the block. She remembered how Ken had snuck her into one his brother worked at. It had been exactly what was needed. The music took over, dissipating her ever present anger and releasing her excessive power. Maybe it would do the trick for Serena?

Having formed a plan, Lita had snuck into her best friend's window at midnight the following night. Without explanation, she made Serena turn into a older version of herself with the Luna pen. Then, the two girls snuck into the downtown club, the Devil's Playground, with Ken's help. The escapism plan completed.

'And here we are,' Serena thought to herself. As the DJ playing the Sucker Punch version of Sweet Dreams, her body swayed sensuously, eyelids closed, lost to the music, escaping everything.

Serena didn't need to be nice here. She didn't have to put on airs. She didn't have to act nice or sweet. She could let her other, darker nature out. Fighting as a Scout had tainted her soul.

If you asked any soldier, they would explain this to you in simple terms; no matter how nice you were, fighting brought out the dark in you. Anyone who thought different was really in La La Land. In denial. Plain and simple. Why? Because, when you are constantly faced with physical violence or even emotional or mental manipulation to either save your or protect the life of others, it changes the way your mind works. Among other things. The darkness is a necessity. What sweet, kind, loving innocent girl would enter a ring and be ok with having the shit beat out of her, time and time again. All in the name of love and justice. Well, she wasn't so naïve or young anymore.

Honestly, she was almost 18. And yet everyone still treated her as a child! Even Mina, whoo should have known better as she'd been the one fighting the longest out of them.

And yet, they all expected her to stay the sweet, innocent and kind girl that they knew before the Sailor business started. She had so many expectations, that it really pissed her off sometimes. She couldn't be as opinionated as Rei, as strategic as Mina, as clever as Amy or as capable as Lita. No matter how much love she felt for them, she was only human! That meant that there was a load of insecurities and misgivings on her shoulders. And yet, the leader of the Senshi had to be the stone AND heart of the group.

Hence, the reason Serena let everything drown in those couple of hours at the club. The curvy blond released her boldness, her sexuality, her cunningness, her confidence. She wasn't Serena Tsukino here. She was free to be whoever she felt like being in that moment. No expectations, no limitation…Kind of like when Tailor Swift smoked her darling home girl image. Oh well. C'est la vie, as Mina would put it.

That very first night, Lita had put her in one of the many spacious cages, refusing to let her out until she got everything out of her system. Everything about the club had made her feel uncomfortable, not in her element. It was the furthest thing from anything Serena had going on in her life. The darkness, the lewdness, the disillusion of the place broke through all of her inner drama. Shocking as it was, it left the blond with but one option. Let the music take over.

The DJ mixed sensuous rhythms, blending rock, hip hop, trance, pop, etc. until he cast a spell on the crowd. And Serena had found a new outlet that night, dancing.

Relief was not the right word Lita would have used after having confined her best friend in that cage. But the emerald eyed brunette soon was a it appeared she got a job upgrade: her buddy's personal bodyguard and bouncer. The tall amazon had been originally shocked by the change in Serena but only smirked it away. Lita was far too aware of her own demons, after all.

The guys had lined up those first Saturdays to get to the blond. To take her home. Or at least a dance.

To Lita's amazement, Serena had blown them off easily. Cuttingly even. Getting physically violent when they passed the acceptable line. "Teaching them manners, that's all," Serena had shrugged indifferently and kept dancing.

But all that didn't matter, not now, at least. All that mattered was the feel of the base, how it took over her whole body and soul. How everything melted into the background. How the tenseness in her back dissipated, her joints loosened. How her frustration eased out of her pores. How her breath finally felt carefree and easy.

"Serena," a deep male voice called beside her.

Slowly opening her eyes, her body turned to the idiot who had a death wish. Because whoever had figured out her identity would be made to regret it. Or would be made to forget it. The whole point of being in this club was to stay anonymous and free. No asshole was going to take that from her.

But asshole or jerk, was the exact description of the guy who froze her in her movement. Her eyes bulged wide open, her mouth parted on a gasp, her heart stopped, startled. 'This isn't happening! Why him!?' she whined internally.

Darien was standing on the other side of the cage, looking at her as if he wasn't sure what to say. Which was a first.

"Fuck. Off." And with that she turned back without giving him another second of her time, trying to get back into the groove. Anything to get back to her false sense of freedom, of unreality which had just been shattered to smithereens by his Royal Highness, the Jack of all AssTrades, the Bane of her existence. How that man could drive her to distraction and speed up her pulse without doing anything! Even after so long, it really infuriated her.

"Darien! What are you doing here?" Lita turned in time to catch the idiot by the throat and slam him against the wall, with a teensy, really tiny, bit of superhuman force, before he tried to enter her friend's sanctuary. Without breaking her hold, the brunette threw a water bottle into the cage for Serena. The blond chugged most of it then let the rest of the content fall over her head and kept dancing.

"Enjoying the show." His lips curved into a predatory smirk which didn't escape Lita's scrutiny.

"Enjoy it, but not a word to anyone, understood!?" she growled loud enough only for him to hear, cracking her knuckles, her eyes twinkling with retribution.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" his hand on his heart, the other up in a scout promise, complete mischief tainting his handsome face.

To his relief, Lita returned to dance with two similar looking brown-haired guys he had seen her a couple of times with. Free of impending doom, his eyes latched again on Serena. This was not what he had expected to find. His own self-assurance that Albert had been mistaken had completely blindsided him.

As soon as they had entered the club, his frustrated buddy had zeroed in and practically dragged him through the dense crowd to the back like a beckon was calling him. Surrounding the stage the DJ was playing on, were a bunch of golden cages with solo or couple dancers in them. When Albert joined him finally and pointed to a corner cage, Darien froze.

There was a very curvy, long-legged blond moving sumptuously in the cage. Her loose golden streaked cascading hair clinging to her sweaty body. Fitted in a black leather halter, tight black pants, knee high stiletto leather boots. Eye lashes covered in dark mascara and eye liner. The only color on her, red lipstick, red bra and red underwear that peeked as she moved. Sexy as hell was the understatement of the year. But he held on to hope until she opened her eyes. Recognition sucker punched him into the gut. Serena.

Sweet. Innocent. Klutzy. Serena.

Not his medical school nor his psychology classes, not his double life as Tuxedo Mask, not even loosing his parents as a child and becoming an orphan could have prepared him for that moment. For the first time in his 23 years, he was speechless, his body unable to move or draw a breath, his mind in shock. Except for one part of his body who wasn't getting the memo and was having the hardon of his whole goddamn life.

Everything Darien thought he knew on the girl he'd been desperately in love with, not to mention painfully attracted to was flipped, uprooted and then tossed in a blender for good measure.

And if he had found her tempting before, he didn't know what to think now.

Practically shoving everyone out of his way with his extra strength, Darien stacked toward the cage like a starved animal. What he was going to do was beyond him. His body moved of its own accord. Instinct taking over with a need to move, to get close. A call as demanding and insistent as when he was called to protect Sailor Moon.

His mind suddenly filled with pictures of Serena doing exactly what she was doing. Except, naked, with him, in his bed. Or anywhere else for that matter. Right in that cage was fine with him too.

For over three years, he had held himself back, had given her space, had not made a move. Nothing. Respecting her child-like mentality and wanting to take it at her pace. Her innocence had been what she showed everyone. But here was the truth, gyrating in front of him. Gone was the child; a young woman in her place.

A woman he desperately wanted. Needed more than his next breath. Which needed to seriously be examined. At some point. Really… He would.

Licking his lips, mouth dry, jaw clenched, he chocked as he tried to swallow. Fuck, she was hot. Nothing had prepared him for this side of her.

He had always had women fawn over him, run after him, beg him to do what he wanted to them. But he knew it wouldn't be the case with Serena. Not with their history of constant bickering and badgering. It would be a fight, as it always had been.

'Let the games begin.' He smiled darkly. "You're mine, little bunny."