"Wh-what do you mean?" Serena stuttered as she tried to hide her fear. Darien, who stared at the cat by his side, didn't notice her movement. Luna twitched but continued to sit there contentedly.
"Sorry; it's silly. Don't worry about it."
The blonde took her guard down, feeling truly that he knew nothing of the Sailor Scouts. Somehow, she trusted that even if he did, he would keep her secret.
"Actually, she just kinda came to me that way. I found her two years ago. These little kids were picking on her (back then she had a band aid over it). When I rescued her and took the band aid off, it was just-there. I've been stuck with her ever since." She sighed. A few minutes of silence passed between them. In the meantime, Serena had a chance to think over the story she had just been told. She wondered what he had been getting at when he jumped from talking about the moon to Luna.
"I wonder..." she said under her breath. Slowly she reached toward the hand that had been stroking Luna. Serena blushed at the intimate touch, but forced herself to continue out of curiosity. Meticulously, she unraveled the wrapping that completely enclosed his left hand. Luna, Darien, and Serena alike stared at the hand in wonder. In fact, it looked perfectly normal.
"First degree burn…" was all Darien said. Despite all his apparent familiarity with his strange abilities, he still looked from his hand to the cat in wonder. "I guess the moon still has the same effect on me."
"You know, Darien. I've always believed there were people on the moon with powers we can only dream of." Well most people. "Maybe one day you can truly understand who you are and why you have this gift." Serena said with wisdom that was unusual to her. She simply stared at her feet as they dangled off the side of his hospital bed. Then a thought came crashing back into her mind. Could Lita have been right? Serena stared into the blue depths of his eyes searching for an answer. With courage she came to terms that they were alike in many ways. They had the same hauntingly blue eyes and ebony hair. But at the same time they were two different men. One seemed both harsh and romantic, but completely guarded. While the other was youthful and accepting of all that came his way. No, they couldn't be the same. Serena trained her glance to the floor tiles.
"Hey, Darien," Serena began when she finally returned to her original train of thought, "How long have you been in the hospital since your last accident?"
"Two weeks," he said bluntly.
"But I thought you said-."
"Well, the truth is that, ever since I woke up here, I can't heal myself the same way. I'm positive I could in the past, but…it seems like some part of me has died…. I don't know who I am anymore." Darien stared out the window like a wilting plant waiting for the sun to rise. Serena could only imagine the loss she would feel if she knew that an important part of her life, such as being with the Sailor Scouts, was suddenly lost to her.
Serena reached for Darien's hand gingerly.
"I know who you are. You're Darien Shields, friend to Serena Tsukino, and storyteller extraordinaire. You like jell-o and have a huge problem confusing names and foods! But you're still kind inside-out."
Darien looked at her in wonder. She hadn't figured out everything about him; like the fact he was starting to really like a certain Meatball Head.
Serena noticed his eyes boring into her oddly. She felt as if he was trying to read her soul. She thought of what he said and began to wonder if he had come from….
A startling noise erupted from her backpack. It was low, but just loud enough for her to hear the alert. In an instant alarm filled her body and she yanked her bag up. In two seconds she was out the door.