A/N: My apologies for the long wait. Life has been extremely hectic.

trish1573: I'm glad Trish! Thanks for still reading my stories! ;) Usagi Carter: Nope! Still here! I'm pleasantly surprised that there are still readers pleased with a notification of one of my updates. :) You're very kind and thoughtful. Thanks ever so much! catgirl505: You're welcome! And thank you! :) LoveInTheBattleField: Thanks! Love the poem! ;)Moonprincess998: lol. I hate spinach too but I do love yogurt, sometimes. ;) Thanks a lot for your continued support. It's really appreciated! :) MixBerkaan: Thank you! :) I'm glad you thought so and sorry for the long wait. Amydali86: Hi Amy! Thanks! I haven't forgotten CWTI. Will read it after I've written the next chapter of TOBITF and will PM you right after! I'm really sorry for the long wait. You still haven't changed your mind, right? Still willing to wait?kbtjmandy: Thanks! Lol. I haven't forgotten. Writing for me is an escape. I just never figured I'd need an escape from it as well! But I'm back for now, I think ;) smfan4ever72: Oh thank you! :) It's nice to know I've been missed. Is that bad? I haven't touched TOBITF at all this year but am planning to get back to it by next week. I don't dare make any promises but something should be up at the latest by early next month. :) nickybluejess: Thanks for saying so. I'm glad you thought so. :) Sorry for the long wait.

TOBITF ALERT: I'm not sure about August but there should be at least 2 updates before September ends. :)

Thoughts are in Italics.

(Standard disclaimer: I do not own any of the Sailor Moon characters. All characters belong to Naoko Takeuchi.)

S plus D equals little s squared plus little d squared (S + D = ss + dd)

10. Hair Brushing Session

Timeline: takes place between Chapters 17 & 18 of TOBITF

Rating: K/K+

No. Of words: 854 words

Serena walked out of the shower in her favourite cotton pink bathrobe, her wet hair turbaned in a towel. A smile lit her face at the sight of Darren and Darryl brushing Sara and Suri's hair on her bed.

"How sweet of you boys to pamper your sisters," she praised as she gave them each a quick hug and settled herself on the bed with them.

She started taking the towel off her hair and began to dry them but stopped at Sara's horrified exclamation, "Mummy!" The little girl looked aghast as she continued, "Suri and I are four years old. We don't need to..." she bit her bottom lip hesitantly.

"We don't wear pampers anymore, Mummy," Suri finished for her twin. Her tone adamant and the expression on her face was equally horror struck as the one on Sara's who was now nodding her head vigorously to emphasise on the importance of Suri's statement.

Darien wisely held back his chuckle at the scene currently unfolding before him.

He decided to take pity on his Meatball Head, "I think Mummy was referring to being pampered, as in spoiled," he explained easily as he sauntered over to join them.

He gently pushed the back of his hand under Serena's chin to shut her mouth that had opened to a wide O at their future daughters' proclamation and bent down to kiss each little girl on their cheek and gave each little boy a quick hug.

"But Daddy, you said being spoiled is not good for building chapter..." Sara stopped midsentence and corrected herself at Suri's subtle nudge, "I mean...character. It's not good for character building. You said so, Daddy."

Darien did laugh now, quick and filled with pride. "So smart," he said and dropped another kiss on the top of her head.

"Hmm...My mistake. I guess the better word would be to indulge, like a treat or as a show of affection or for comfort. Does that make sense now, princess?" he asked Sara as he settled Suri on his lap.

Sara paused in thought for a second before nodding her head but Suri turned towards Serena and went on to question further, "What did you mean, Mummy? What were Darren and Darryl doing to in...dulge us?" she asked using the newly learned word, glancing back at Darien quickly to see if she had applied it correctly.

For a moment, both father and daughter had the same proud smile on their faces and Suri turned back to her mother as Darien hugged her tighter.

"One of the great joys in life is having one's hair brushed," Serena said simply as she took the brush from Darryl's hand and he took the towel from hers.

She picked Sara up and sat her in front of her as she started brushing her future daughter's hair as her future son continued to dry her hair for her.

Darren patted the space in front of him and went back to brushing Suri's hair once she scrambled over to him.

The little girl leaned forward and tapped Darien's arm, pouting slightly "Silly Daddy! You're not fighting with Mummy again, are you?" she asked.

Four pairs of Serena eyes looked up at him, scrutinising him with his assessing gaze. Her eyes, his expression.

Darien shifted slightly at that. "No," he answered and couldn't help the frown that formed. "Why?" he asked.

Sara answered him with the usual nonchalance and innocence little children have, "You haven't kiss Mummy hello yet!"

Darien looked at Serena. His frown disappeared, replaced by a quick grin at the faint blush covering her face.

"How silly of me," he said as he bent down to comply, his voice slightly husky. He couldn't help it.

He meant for the kiss to be light but she was all soft and gold, he almost forgot to be gentle.

When they broke apart, they were both slightly breathless and she smiled self-consciously as he stared into her eyes.

Her cheeks were glowing and he couldn't help skimming his fingers over them, couldn't help brushing his lips against her temple, lingering for a moment as he whispered, "Hello, Mummy."

She couldn't help but laughed and as the children joined in the laughter, Darien went to pick up another hair brush and held his hand out to Darryl who passed him the towel.

He easily settled himself behind Serena. "I couldn't deprive you of one of the great joys in life, could I?" he responded to her startled questioning glance with an outward nonchalance as he continued the task of drying her hair and proceeded to brush them for her. Inside, he was secretly thrilled at having all those silky spun gold to play with. So soft, so beautiful, he thought to himself, definitely one of the great joys in life, he decided.

A few feet from the open door, two guardians watched almost in disbelieve and completely in amusement, as Darien sat brushing Serena's hair, Darren and Darryl on either side of him, brushing Sara and Suri's hair in what was to become one of the first of many hair brushing sessions.

Posted on fanfiction: 22 August 2014

A/N: I have an idea for the next drabble that will feature the two guardians' perspective of the hair brushing session. Who do you think they are? Who would you like them to be? ;)

"One of the great joys in life is having one's hair brushed," is a quote I heard from the movie Letters to Juliet which I watched a couple of years ago.