Chapter 8

Storm of Emotions

Despite the fact I was sleeping soundly and having the best rest I had had in years, something was prodding at my mind telling me to wake up. I tried to push the feeling aside, but it would not leave. Finally it got to be too irritating and I let myself wake up slowly, conscious of the comforting weight on my shoulder and chest. I willed my eyes to open and let them adjust to the still dark room. I could tell from the sky that it was almost dawn. As my eyes adjusted I glanced down and smiled. Serenity was laying beside me, her head on my shoulder and her arm draped across my chest. I had my arm wrapped around her delicate shoulders. If I could have, I would have stayed where I was until the end of time, or at least until she woke up. I knew, however, that if I did wait that long then there would be hell to pay. Rather than risk her anger again, I slowly started to slip her from me.

The task was harder than I thought it was going to be. I had to move her off of me, get off the bed, and make it out the door without her waking up. Easy? About as easy as walking on those proverbial egg shells. Millimeter by millimeter I eased her off of me, slowly sliding across the sheets away from her. When I was almost free and about to give an internal sigh of relief, she stirred. My whole body froze and I tensed up, afraid I had woken her up. I hadn't. She simply tightened her grip on my shirt and threw her leg over top of mine. I swallowed hard. Of course, it didn't help my situation that the action tossed the covers off her legs and revealed a thigh that was exposed almost all the way up to her hip. This was certainly not getting any easier. Her knee was uncomfortably close to my groin and the sight of the pale, smooth skin was not helping my now trembling hands to calm down.

I finally managed to get my arm out from under her and pry her hand form my shirt. How, I have no idea, but I did manage to do so. Now all that was left for me to do was untangle her leg from my own and then I could slip out of the room. No problem, I could do this. This was going to be the easy part.

Yeah right.

I made sure that she was hugging a pillow so that she would not have the sudden urge to snuggle up to me again and put me back to square one. Once I was sure her arms and hands were occupied, I began focusing on the task at hand once more.

I gently slipped my hands below her knee. My fingers brushed against her satin-smooth skin, causing my blood to pound through my veins. I gritted my teeth in an attempt to steel my nerves. If she woke up right now...I wondered how many seconds I could stay alive.

Forcing myself to move as slowly as I could I raised her leg, moving my hands to be constantly supporting it as much of it as I could. I prayed for the strength to keep myself from running my hands up and down her calves and thighs, and soon found myself biting the inside of my cheek to banish such thoughts.

Then, she stirred again. There was nothing I could do but watch helplessly as she slid her leg across my hands, bringing her knee even closer to my groin. I took in a sharp breathe and counted to twenty. This. Was. Not. Good.

Once I was sure she had not woken up, I continued my delicate maneuvering. I was still holding her leg so I started to slowly lift it, grateful for the patience I had inherited from my father. Finally I had her leg high enough so that I could slide mine out from under her. My muscles trembled as I tried to my leg away from her and keep my upper body steady so that I wouldn't move her leg and wake her up. I could feel my palms sweating as I began the slow, tedious process of lowering her leg.

As I finally placed her leg on the sheets and fixed the covers so that she was completely beneath them, there was enough sunlight in the room to see everything clearly. I took a moment, now that I was in the safe zone, to stare. It was not often I could do this since Serenity seemed to always know when I was watching her.

The golden dawn caressed all her features with a soft glow. She looked so innocent, peaceful, and calm just laying there. The sleeve of her nightgown had slipped off her shoulder, revealing her pale shoulder. The arch of her collarbone came to her neck, her long, slender neck where the skin looked softer than silk.

My eyes wandered up to her face. I wished I could see her eyes. They always enchanted me, mesmerized me. I would have to make due for now though.

Her lips curled in the corners ever so slightly. I wondered what she was dreaming about. Her nose twitched and I resisted the urge to chuckle. She took in a deep breath and let it out as a sight. I smiled. Her eyes fluttered open and my heart froze.

Her eyes went wide as she as she shot up into a half-sitting position. "Endy, what are you doing here?" she exclaimed.

My mouth dropped open and for a few moments I was speechless. She was sitting on her hip, leaning against her arms. The way her body was place she was right in front of the open door to the balcony, the sun giving her a partial silhouetted look. Her hair glows in the sun a rich gold, the sleeve of her nightgown was still off her shoulder, and her eyes glittered.

"I-I..." I swallowed. "Y-you were having a bad dream," I stammered. She lost her shocked expression and replaced it with one of curiosity. I must have been quite the sight, my hair disheveled, shirt rumpled and hanging half open, not being able to get out a proper sentence...

"A bad dream?" she asked. Yes, I could work with this!

"Yes, a bad dream. You were screaming and crying, so I came to see what was happening." I bit the inside of my cheek as she touched her face, probably trying to see if she really had been crying. "You calmed down though and went back to normal sleep," I quickly continued.

"How long have you been here?" she asked. She looked like she was trying to remember what dream she had.

"Not too long," I replied as I stretched myself out beside her, leaning on my elbow. "Do you remember what you were dreaming?" I wanted her to start thinking about something other then me, since she was bound to figure out I hadn't just stood there when she was crying but had touched her to calm her down.

She sighed and leaned against her pillows, closing her eyes. "I remember dreaming I was back on the Moon," she replied quietly, "and there was someone chasing me. They were getting closer and closer, and when they finally caught up to me they suddenly disappeared. I felt safe all of a sudden, and warm. There was someone else there," she paused, a light blush creeping across her cheeks. "I wasn't scared anymore," she concluded hastily, opening her eyes.

"Do you know who any of the people were?" I prodded.

She stared at me and then brought her hand up, laying it against my face. It was something she did every so often when we were alone, something that still made my blood heat up. "I couldn't see any faces," she murmured softly. She never said she didn't know who they were. She just said she couldn't see their faces.

I closed my eyes and leaned my face into her hand. I heard her take in a sharp breath and her hand stiffened. I smiled and opened my eyes again, allowing my gaze to wander to her eyes. "I was worried about you," I said. "You sounded very scared."

She nodded, allowing her hand to relax. "I was," she replied. I closed my eyes again and turned my head so that my cheek rubbed against her palm. This time she didn't gasp and her hand stiffened only momentarily.

"Endy," she whispered. "I-" There was a soft knock on the door and we both froze. Serenity tore her hand from my face and straitened up.

"Who is it?" she called out. There was a pause before the person spoke.

"Motoki, your grace," I heard Motoki say, the uneasiness in his voice very clear.

"What is it," she asked. There was another pause and I could just picture him debating on what to say.

"You're grace, I-I...I was wondering if you knew when the ladies down the hall wanted to be woken up. Princess Rei and Princess Mina."

I almost laughed at Motoki's bluffing. At least he was quick.

"Luna was to wake them," Serenity replied.

"Thank you, your grace," Motoki replied before we heard the sound of retreating feet and the sound of his door being shut.

Serenity and I looked at each other. "Well that was odd," I said nonchalantly as I sat up and stretched my arms out. "I suppose it's time that I go and get ready for the day," I said.

Serenity nodded. "All right. I'll see you at breakfast."

I nodded as I stood. "Yes, I 'll see you then."

As I left the room and entered my own, I let my breath out with a whoosh. That had been close.

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The day went by fairly quickly. The sky was grey all day and a wind started to pick up in the late afternoon. Rain followed the wind, and by the time dinner was over, there was a storm brewing outside. Serenity came with me to my room after dinner for a quick game of chess before going to bed.

I escorted Serenity to the seat in front of the chess board. She was tense and high strung, always looking to the windows and listening to the howling wind. "Are you afraid of storms?" I asked her teasingly as I sat down across from her.

She looked at me, her eyes wide. "There are no storms on the Moon," she said quietly. "I've never seen this."

"Well there are storms here every so often. They're not too bad thou-" A crack of thunder shook the palace and lightning lit the night sky. Serenity screamed, jumping up from her seat. I was on my feet in a flash. "Are you all right?" I asked as she stood there, clutching her hands to her chest, breathing deeply, staring out the window.

"What was that?" she whispered.

"Thunder and lightning," I replied. "You'll hear and see it again soon."

I saw her shiver as she sank down into the chair again, tearing her eyes from the window. She started staring at the chess board. I felt bad for her. I could still remember how storms had frightened me until I was about seven. I hoped that I could get her mind off the storm as I moved out my pawn and she reached for her knight. Another bolt of lightning shook the palace. She cried out again and covered her ears.

"It's ok!" I said quickly, not knowing how to comfort her. She looked so fragile and helpless just sitting there, and I just wanted to scoop her in my arms and take her somewhere where there were no storms to frighten her. Slowly, she took her hands away from her ears and slowly brought her eyes up to look at me. Her eyes were swimming with both curiosity, fear, tension, anxiety, and distress.

"I don't think I like storms," she whispered.

I nodded and then stood up from the chess board. "I don't think there's much use in trying to play," I murmured. There was no way she was going to concentrate on it. I held out my hand. She placed hers on mine and stood up. That was something else she was slowly allowing me to do, to help her from her seats. It was something that had been going on for only about a week. I loved it, so did she apparently. Her thirst was increasing.

As she straitened from her chair there was another rumble of thunder, causing her to shriek and fling herself at the closest thing, which just to happened to be me. I instinctively wrapped my arms around her, hoping to shield her from the sounds and vibrations. The air was filled with static, I could feel it, and I didn't' doubt that she could do.

She froze and looked up at me, terror in her eyes. It pained me to think she still thought I was going to hurt her. My eyes pleaded with her not to be frightened. Another flash of light lit the room and she buried her face in my chest again, letting go of her fear of me and letting the fear of the storm replace it. I could feel her heart pounding in her chest and her body heating with her rushing blood. I tightened my hold on her until the next rumble of thunder passed.

Not wanting to stand in that spot all night, I slowly let go of her. "You're sleeping in here tonight," I informed her as I took her hand and started to lead her to the bed. "The storm is going to keep going all night and I don't want to be running to and from your room every two minutes."

She stiffened and I could feel the panic inside her. I realized then I had taken her hand without asking, I had touched her, and I could feel her want to pull away and scream. I looked at her and tugged on her hand. In all honesty I was amazed she wasn't already screaming. It showed, though, that my plan was slowly working. Still, she remained frozen on the spot. Not wanting to force her too much, I let go of her hand and flung back the covers on the bed. I quickly slipped off my boots and sat on the bed, swinging my legs up onto it and scooting over so she had room too. I laid my hand across the pillows and pointed to the spot beside me.

Serenity stood there, staring at me with wide eyes. For the first time I felt a strong surge of frustration, seeing her there with such hesitancy that screamed a lack of trust in me. I gave a low growl in my throat. "I'm not going to hurt you." I started to wonder how long it would take before she finally got that through her head.

There was another flash of lightning and thunder. Serenity gave out a yelp as she scurried onto the bed and over to me. I quickly brought the covers up over both of us. I left my arm around Serenity's shoulders as she huddled her body to mine, draping her hand over my stomach and holding onto the fabric of my shirt. Her whole body was trembling, and I didn't know whether to attribute it more to the storm or to the fact that she was in bed with me.

I let out a sigh and held still. Each time there was thunder and lightning she would press herself closer to me, hiding her face in my shoulder. I started to stroke her arm.

"Endy," she whimpered, and I could feel her tense up even more.

"Shh, it's ok," I murmured. "I'm not going to do anything else." I gave a comforting tug on the heart string, and it seemed to work. She gave one back, and I relaxed. At least she wasn't going to bolt or start hurtling things at me.

The storm raged for another hour or so before it started to slowly clam down. The time between the lightning strikes got bigger and bigger. Along with that, Serenity began to relax.

"You know," she said sleepily. "I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep here."

I grinned, noticing how she was already starting to relax in my arms. "You sure?" I asked.

She nodded but said nothing. After another hour the thunder and lightning had stopped altogether. The rain could still be heard pelting the windows, but the wind had died down as well.

"Usagi?" I whispered. There was no reply. Only deep breathing. I smiled as I placed my lips on the top of her head. She was sound asleep, oblivious to the fears she had only a few hours before. I squeezed her gently towards me, savoring the feeling of her warmth.

She moaned quietly from her sleep as I shifted us so that I could be laying down too. Her head was still nestled on my shoulder, her hand across my stomach. I brought the blankets up higher so her shoulders would be covered. "Endy?" she murmured from her sleep.

"Mmhmm?"

"I love you," she whispered.

I was sure my heart froze in my chest. From the way she was laying and breathing I knew she was still asleep, but the admonition was so sincere, so heartfelt...I swallowed hard and planted my lips on her forehead roughly. Had she really said those words? I felt giddy. She had just told me, albeit unconsciously, that she loved me. Maybe this was the first real step in breaking down her barriers. I felt my muscles quiver. Slowly I pulled away, my heart thudding and my head feeling lighter than air.

"I love you too," I whispered. It was true. I don't know how it happened, but it did. Holding her in my arms felt right, natural, comfortable, just as comfortable as talking to her to spending time in silence with her. She did something to me that made me feel complete. Granted it wasn't a fierce passionate love, I could not claim that...at least, not yet. One step at a time.

She snuggled in closer as I wrapped both my arms around her, giving a silent promise to keep her safe during the night, and then fell into a peaceful slumber myself.

I knew that things were going to get very interesting.

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A/N: I hope this chapter was more to all of your liking...

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Disclaimer

I do not own the rights to Sailormoon or any of the characters. That honour belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, and I am simply a lowly author who can use her characters for my plots.

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