WARNING: So there's mature stuff again. So cover your eyes kiddies! Haha. Jk. It's not that bad. But it is rated 'M'… Take that into consideration. :D

Crescendo

Chapter 8: In this Life

Serena had forgotten, but a long time ago, in freshman year of high school, she had once read the novel, The Vampire Lestat. Truly an excellent book, as most of Anne Rice's novels are, Serena had often wondered while reading through the 300 plus pages, how blood gave nourishment. Of course she understood in her practical mindset that blood could give life, but she often wondered as a vampire, how it was that vampires used blood. Vampires didn't go to the bathroom, nor did they often bleed excessively, and so, a fourteen year-old Serena often wondered, just exactly where did that blood go? Was the taste something to be desired? What was the concept behind drinking blood? Why couldn't vampires just drink lemonade, or cow blood? You know, do the human race a favor?

Even now, as a fully fledged vampire; that is, a slightly unique fully fledged type of vampire, Serena still didn't understand. What she did understand however, was that Darien was delicious.

Quite simple as that really. He was just absolutely, completely, delectably, delicious.

Serena liked to consider herself as quite a connoisseur of food, whether it be gourmet, pre-packaged, or fast food. She knew good food when she tasted it and she had to say, Darien sure as hell was some pretty fucking good food.

Quite possibly the best. The most exquisite. The most scrumptious. And she wasn't just talking about his ass either.

So now, with her hands twisted and tangled in Darien's mane of midnight-black silk, her long legs wrapped around his narrow yet muscular waist, and her mouth attached to his throat drinking and feasting for all it was worth, she forgot those silly questions that had once plagued her mind. Darien was… Sex. And Food. And just… Yummy. Yum. Yummy.

But there was a reason why she'd "attacked" him initially, wasn't there? She could've sworn that there was… some kind… of…

Darien's strong hands moved down and firmly grabbed her ass, pressing his groin against her. She moaned as she felt his desire growing and pulsing against her.

…reason. Oh eff that.

Serena pulled once last time at that strong column, and swiped her greedy tongue over the two little pinpricks, the wound closing almost instantly. She savored that few drops on her tongue right before she dragged his mouth to hers. Oh those lips. So full, so sinful, so desirable. Their lips and tongues mated together in the way their bodies clearly desired to as well. Darien growled deep in his throat right before he turned their bodies around, slamming Serena's back into the car behind her. She didn't feel any pain, but she heard the faint crack of the car window behind her. Their lips still meshed together, Serena opened open bleary, heavy eye and saw their audience.

Zoicite still stood there, cradling the unconscious Amy carefully within his arms, his eyes averted; looking anywhere but at the writhing couple standing before him. Sure he was grateful enough that the woman who'd attacked him earlier had probably just saved his life, but honestly… Couldn't they get a room for this sort of thing?

Serena was about to push Darien away and send the mystery man on his way, but Darien apparently didn't like the idea of their heated embrace ending, and he was a man who always got what he wanted. His talented fingers had already slipped under her shirt and sweater to cup her bra-clad breast, gently squeezing it and molding it against his hand. His lips slipped from hers and moved down to her neck, nuzzling and nipping at that long, slender throat.

She waited until she finally caught Zoicite's attention, grateful that Darien's large body concealed exactly what his hands were doing to her, and mouthed the word 'go' to him. Her eyes were rapidly beginning to flutter shut but she fought hard to keep her attention focused. "Amy… Safe…" She mouthed to him, and made a shooing motion with her hands to urge him to leave, lest Darien forget his current… activities and return to one that caused Serena to deter his attention in the first place. Zoicite caught the hint, and popped right of sight, in that same unsettling way Darien often did.

Now there were no more distractions, and as Darien's hot mouth suckled her neck, Serena was grateful.

His long, deadly fangs slid smoothly in her neck, with the barest of pricks. Sensation burst forth within her body. She could feel herself growing even wetter, hungry for Darien. Welcoming his embrace, craving it. He didn't take as much blood from her as she did from him, but that suited both of them just fine, for as soon as he closed the pinpricks, Serena captured his lips with hers again. She could taste her blood, her essence, on his lips, and that seemed to spur her hunger even more.

Their bodies rubbed and meshed together, Serena's arms still wrapped around Darien's neck, and Darien's hands still wandering up her bare stomach, teasing her smooth skin and now-bare breasts. He captured one rosy nipple with his lips, nibbling and sucking. She moaned harshly, throwing her head back, trying to force him to take more of her. Soon they began to drift down, and tumbled onto the cold, snow covered ground.

Serena's eyes flew open in shock upon feeling the ice burn against her bare back and immediately shrieked, pushing at Darien. His lust-clouded eyes and mind quickly examined the scenario… The snow… The ground… Serena's half naked body…

He flipped their positions, so that he lay flat on the ground, his coat shielding his back with Serena lying flush against him. His hands rubbed up and down her back, trying to warm her up again, and he pulled her tangled shirt and sweater back down. For a few moments, the couple did nothing but lay there, Serena's face flushed and softly panting, Darien's hugging her against him, breathing in the faint scent of peach that permeated from her hair.

It was a blissful moment.

She felt so… Sated. Granted, that heavy throbbing between her legs was really getting to her, but it too, slowly began to fade, leaving behind a Serena that felt as if she were floating upon clouds. Darien's body was warm and comfortable beneath hers, and she wanted to purr like a kitten whenever his hand would stroke up and down her back, just as he had done with her wings. Her face was pressed against Darien's throat and she could feel the rapid pulse of that delicious blood that she had just feasted on only moments before. She pursed her lips and gave him a soft kiss against his neck, as if thanking him for the… treat (insert satisfied smirk).

Darien stroked his beloved's hair, the smooth strands like silk beneath his callused hands. "We may have to get up sometime soon, love. I'm afraid my entire backside is considerably soaked now," he said amusedly, kissing the top of her head.

"Hmm?" Serena stretched contentedly on top of him, and Darien nearly groaned aloud again upon feeling those lushly soft curves rubbing against him.

"The snow, darling. It's melting."

"Snow? Oh… OH!" Serena sprang up, and Darien had the childish urge to pout when she removed that luscious body of hers away from his. "I didn't… I don't know why…" Serena flushed, her face and ears turning a bright red. "I'm sorry about that… I don't know what came over me," she stammered.

"Trust me love, you needn't apologize. But if you truly feel that badly about it, you can make it up to me by… doing it again." He grinned devilishly at her, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her close again. Serena felt her face grow even warmer and she twisted her head, looking away.

"Darien! Stop! You're all wet remember?"

"Yes, and so are you," he purred.

Somehow, she got the feeling that he wasn't talking about the snow… Time to change the subject.

With effort, she pushed them apart, keeping them at an appropriate arm's distance. "Who was that man, earlier, holding Amy? The vampire."

"That was Zoicite Mason. One of my trusted men. You may have heard of him, as he works for me and is good friends with Jadeite."

"I… see. What was he doing with Amy? And why did I… attack him like that? So suddenly…"

"I believe that Amy is his recently acquired Mate. It must the season for it," he said blandly.

"Mate? But. But. That's so sudden!" She exclaimed.

"As if it was any slower for us?"

"Oh… Well why was he here anyways?"

"Well why was she here in the first place?"

"Ah. Well. Erm. I may have… That is… She… I was… Um. ." Serena let it all out in one long stream. She couldn't look Darien in the eye.

For a moment there was only silence, that is, until Darien burst out into laughter. "What? Why are you laughing?" She cried.

"Your face… It's so adorable. I love seeing you get flustered like this," he said, his body shaking with laughter.

"Does that mean… You mean, you knew? You knew that I had called her?"

"Of course. One doesn't become King if he can't even eavesdrop. And depending on when Mina and Raye check their messages, I guess we can assume they'll come swooping in sometime soon as well, correct?"

"Oh you- you- Agh." She hit his arm furiously, only succeeding in making him laugh harder.

"Although your 'punches' don't make it seem so, you are a very powerful woman. You probably attacked Zoicite because you thought Amy was in danger. I have never seen such power… That is, except for me," he added with an arrogant tilt of his head. "Just goes to show how perfect you are for me. We were destined to rule together you and I, side by side."

"Is it because I'm half… Er, because of my other side that I'm so different? I mean, I never knew who my real parents were… But still…"

"Perhaps. But whatever the reason, whatever happens, it doesn't change that you were made for me. We are mates, love. And that's for life." He said it so matter-of-factly that Serena just wanted to scream at him. What if she didn't want it for life? Why didn't she have a choice in this? Why was it so unfair?

As if he sensed the change in her mood, he slid his finger underneath her chin and lifted her face up to his. "Don't worry. It's easier than it seems. We'll get through the days, one-by-one. I'll be by your side to protect you and care for you. You can continue to do everything you love-"

"See everyone that I love?" Serena cut in. Darien stared at her beautiful, rebellious face. Her eyes, so innocent yet so strong. A strength that astonished him, fascinated him. He'd known grown men, kings, leaders, that didn't even possess the same strength as her. Yet this small woman, with her blue eyes and silver hair; she managed to topple him, move him in ways that he didn't know possible. Made him love her with a ferocity he didn't know that could exist.

"You will have to make… adjustments. But like I said, I promise it will get easier with time."

She just didn't have it in her at the moment to argue anymore. She was so tired of struggling over the same issue over and over again with him. She sighed. "Will I at least be able to see my friends and family one more time?"

"Of course you will, many times. But a time will come when they notice that you haven't changed, haven't aged… Then it'll be different."

That made her feel at least a little bit better… That she wouldn't have to cut all ties with everyone that she cared about immediately. She'd be able to say goodbye to her adoptive parents, be Raye's maid of honor at her wedding, gossip a little bit more with Mina, have one last concert at Amy's concert hall…

Darien stared at her with an unreadable expression on his face. She stared back, defiantly, daring him to just try and provoke her, but instead, he smiled that loving smile at her, that smile that just made her melt and held out his hand to her.

"Come. We should go now."

"But your clothes! Aren't they still…" Her words drifted off upon seeing the perfectly dry clothes molded against his sinful body. "Oh well, what kind of Vampire King would you be if you couldn't dry your clothes on demand, right?" She said dryly.

"Exactly. And what kind of King would I be if I couldn't even keep my Queen's clothing in shape as well?"

Serena looked down and was surprised to see that her once slightly damp and twisted clothing was now warm, dry, and assembled neatly on her body, as it had been before their… tumble. She put her hand in his and allowed him to lead to her lead her to the passenger side seat door. She was surprised (although at the same time, kind of not really), to see a flashy silver Bugatti Veyron standing where the slick black Vanquish used to be. "So you can change cars in the blink of an eye but you can't fix cracks in a window?"

"Even I have my limits."

"Hm. I'm sure."

"Speaking of which, I didn't hurt you during our little…"

"Tumble? No. I'm fine." More than fine. She could feel her body heating up every time she thought about it.

"That's good. Now, where would you like to go, love?"

She thought about it for a few moments. Where would she like to go as her first time as a vampire-demon in the state of New York? Granted, it was rather late, about eleven o'clock at night… But Serena felt as if she'd just woken up from a really good night's sleep. She had enough energy to do anything.

"Ice skating. I want to go ice skating. And I want cotton candy. With some hot chocolate."

"Done."

The rink was empty, as it had closed two hours earlier, but Darien wasn't the richest man in NYC for nothing. A few phone calls here and there, and voila. It was miraculously open, without a soul in sight. The lights were glaringly bright against the smooth ice, and the enormous illuminated Christmas tree stood high above the rink.

Serena let out a happy and content sigh as she took a big bite of the fluffy pink cloud in her hands and washed it down with a warm torrent of hot chocolate. Darien squatted in front of her, swiftly tying her skates up tightly.

"I haven't had cotton candy in so long. I forgot how wonderful it tasted." Serena closed her eyes as she savored the taste of the sticky sugar melting on her tongue.

"Well lucky for you, you can no longer get cavities, so enjoy as much as you'd like." Her face at that moment made his heart soar. So pure, so open, so trusting. There was no distrust or angriness between them- only a big cloud of sugar. His entire life that led to this one moment made the suffering so much more worth it.

"Really? Geez, what problems do vampires have?"

"You and I are special cases; you, having mixed blood, and me, being an ancient. However, most vampires are not like us. They cannot control their blood lust as quickly, nor can they stand the sunlight. There are many cases in which a young vampire will go insane, and must be eliminated," Darien explained solemnly. "There are also many rogue vampires, which kill mindlessly and viciously. They not only threaten the human race, but are also risks to the entire vampire race itself."

"Oh. Well then, I guess I was pretty lucky, huh?"

"As was I. Shall we?" Darien stood on the ice, hold his hand out to her.

"Let's." Serena smiled at him, and finally, as she glided out onto the ice, she felt so free. Minutes, hours, days of being trapped all disappeared in that single moment. She felt like she could fly to the ends of the earth.

They danced upon the ice, moving, drifting, gliding.

But another came along. Unseen, watchful.

Serena wondered if it was wrong of her to be enjoying herself so much. I mean, she'd had vowed only a few days before to hate Mr. Totally-not-that-mean-and-scary-like-he-thinks-he-is-Darien. Other than his initial asshole-ness (i.e. the kidnapping, the vampire-ing, the possessive-ing thing, the painful wings, etc.) it was really turning out to be not that horrible.

Perhaps she'd just been too melodramatic.

Or maybe Darien was just getting to her.

But it was just that he felt so good. He made her feel emotions so deep and profound that it just staggered her. Never before had she felt such freedom and happiness playing the piano before, nor had she ever enjoyed a cloud of cotton candy and ice skating so much. She felt like she was… a kid again. Except with very adult appetites; it wasn't like she could help it! What woman could, with what Darien looked like and tasted like?

She wondered how many other woman had ever tasted Darien's blood, ever kissed those sexy lips and felt a strange twinge.

No, it couldn't be jealousy. She didn't care nearly enough about Darien to be jealous… Right?

Darien just so happened to choose that moment to pop up a few feet away from her, holding a fresh cup of steaming hot chocolate ("…with exactly five mini marshmallows. Okay?"). He smiled slowly at her, looking at her as if he wanted to completely devour her… And let her do the same to him.

Oh yea, he was a force to be reckoned with.

"Here you go, Madame- hot chocolate, five marshmallows, heavy on the chocolate, per your order." Serena thought she'd positively melt under the force of his grin. He was sexy enough as a brooder, that classically lined face harshly beautiful in an almost cruel way, yet when he smiled, those navy blue eyes sparkled like sapphires and transformed his face into something equivalent of a Greek god's.

"Darien."

"Mm?"

"How did you know it was me? I mean, how are you so sure that I'm your mate?"

He paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. "When I'd first heard you play the piano, the song that you were playing at the time… It filled me. I'd been so empty for so long but the moment that I heard it…. It just called to me. Then I saw you and you were just… perfect. It felt like as if everything in the world was just… right."

"Which you then soon after chose to ambush me in my dressing room and suck out my tonsils."

"Something like that."

Serena cupped the steaming mug in her hands, enjoying the warm sensation. It was strange, but even while dressed in only jeans, a sweater, and a scarf, she didn't feel all that cold. Another perk of being a vampire, she figured. "So this whole idea of 'forever.' It's kind of… Daunting. How do you live with it? How do you understand it?"

"I don't. I just live my life day by day. Before you know it, an entire decade has gone by, then a century, then a millennia… You just learn to live with it. To adjust. But now, with you, the idea of eternity doesn't seem so lonely at all anymore. In fact, it sounds… wonderful. And for that reason Serena, I'd die for you. You've allowed me to feel more alive and more hopeful than I ever have before."

"You're welcome… I guess."

"Now if you'd only allow me to return the favor. Serena, I just want you to be happy. It's alright if you don't love me, I just want you to stay by my side. That's all I need. In return, I'll give you everything."

"The sun and the moon?" Serena said teasingly.

"If you'd like," his face was dead serious.

He would. She could see it in his eyes. And it terrified her. My god. What is it like to hold such power in your hands? How did Darien survive for so long without losing his mind?

"I nearly did. I'd all but lost hope that I'd ever find my mate; find you. But now everything's different." He answered her unspoken question aloud.

"I'll say."

"Don't worry angel. I'll never let anything happen to you."

It was just so… Overwhelming. Just a week ago she'd been back in her apartment, sleeping in and living a happy and comfortable life. And now, she was with Darien, who was so ridiculously handsome and wonderful that it just blew her away. Things like this just don't… happen.

"That's because it's fate. All vampires are fated to find their one true mate someday. It just takes longer for some than others. Or in my case, the longest."

It was happening again. Her thoughts just seemed to slide right into his head. It was like she could just see them sliding in. It didn't unnerve her much as it did before; in fact, she was rather used to it.

"Darien… I can't… I don't know… Commit to anything yet. It's just all so, sudden. And unexpected. But for now, I'll try this whole… thing out. I just can't promise you anything yet." She looked him and looked him straight in the eyes. "But I'll be with you."

Darien took her hand and gently pressed a kiss in the center of her palm. "I can't ask for more."

Serena gave him an impish smile. "Well come on then. I want to race you. I bet you can't beat me skating backwards."

"I don't know about that. I've been ice skating far longer than you."

"Bring it."

And into the late hours of that winter night, their laughter filled the chilled air.

Oh, and Serena won (Darien let her).

Another pair of eyes watched the couple in the well-lit arena. From a considerably far distance, they watched.

And watched.

And watched.