Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Sailor Moon and you don't either! So there!

CHAPTER SIX

An Offer You Can't Refuse

Serena groaned inwardly when the shadow appeared over her drafting desk. She stopped sketching and wearily rested her head in her hand. She had definitely had enough of the Baka to last a lifetime, so why must life insist that she put up with more today?

A few minutes went by while he just stood there behind her back. "Seeing has how you have the remarkable talent of knowing when I'm near, Carroll-san, I'm surprised that you haven't greeted me yet. You're usually the first to speak. Where is your 'Yes, bossman' inquiry?"

Not even acknowledging his presence, Serena picked up her pencil again and resumed sketching.

"Not going to reply, Carroll-san?" No response. "I didn't know that Americans were so disrespectful to their working superiors." She still didn't answer. "I assume your life would be better if you never had to acknowledge my presence again."

"Actually, no. Life would be infinitely better if I never had to acknowledge your existence."

"She finally speaks! Good. Come into my office at the end of the day, Carroll-san. We need to discuss your working habits." And he left as silently as he arrived.

"What did you supposedly do now?" Yoshimi asked.

"What do I ever do wrong?" Serena muttered. "He didn't officially say anything was wrong this time, but to meet him at the end of the workday."

"Aw! Your first date." Yoshimi sighed.

"I told you about those fantasies of yours, Yoshimi! It's becoming a nasty habit."

********

At the end of the day

"You wanted to see me?" Serena had just walked into Darien's office, leaving the door open. In case she felt the need to start swinging, as she usually did in such close proximity, she could opt to walk out instead.

"Yes, Carroll-san, have a seat." He waited for her to be seated and then turned to shuffle papers and file folders around on his desk. Then he turned to his computer screen and started typing something. After that, he returned to the file folders, taking out a few papers, and continued to arrange them, and jotting down a few comments here and there.

"Unbelievable," Serena muttered. With all the time he was taking, she figured that she could've attempted to straighten her desk too, or at least run to get a soda. She thought that this was important meeting, so she wanted to be prompt.

Darien looked up. "Excuse me, Carroll-san. Did you say something?"

"No."

He nodded. Darien was fully aware of how close she was to him. He could see every move she made in the corner of his eye. He could even smell the strawberry shampoo she had used this morning. It was such a soothing scent. He just knew that he'd always relate it to Serena from now on. He also knew that his meaningless rearranging of paperwork was wearing on her nerves. But he was stalling for time. He still hadn't worked out how he could word his proposal.

After Serena's third impatient sigh, Darien decided to just improvise. He took a deep breath, and turned towards her. "Carroll-san, I've called you in here to discuss a serious problem that we have. I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about?"

"No," she answered coolly. "Can you elaborate, bossman?"

Darien sighed. He knew this wouldn't be easy. "I'm talking about the animosity that's between us. Your blatant disregard of respect for me as your supervisor," he rushed on as she looked like she was starting to speak, "and my supposed attempt to goad you on." She drew him an incredulous look. "Alright, my deliberately goading you on. But you must understand the position I'm in, Carroll-san. I oversee a department of 25 people, and it's a tough job to keep track of all the paperwork and sketches that need to be sorted and distributed. The people here look to me for their assignments, they follow my lead, and you make it extremely difficult. What if they start following your example?"

"They follow your lead? They're people, not sheep! And just what do you mean by saying that I'm extremely difficult? I do my job just like everyone else. I don't turn in assignments late, and I follow your instructions. Frankly, I don't see a problem except a behavioral one--yours."

"Excuse me?" This wasn't going as well as he had hoped. He definitely started out all wrong. Improvising what he wanted to say wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Yes! Has it even occurred to you that my job isn't easy either. I've got a psycho boss forever on my case! You don't even explain what the problem is, you just want me to fix it. I don't think I have a problem, but if I, or anyone else genuinely did, then don't you think it would be wise to help them along, possibly explaining what it is you see wrong and gently correct the problem? And a little commendation wouldn't hurt you either. You say that you're just a supervisor, but I see you as a slave driver."

"What? I am not a slave driver! You know what! Why are we discussing my supervising skills? This is between you and me!"

"Hey, guy! I'm just following the lead of my supervisor!"

"Watch it, Carroll-san." He got up and started pacing the office. He suddenly turned towards her again. "You want commendation, then fine, here's commendation for you. I am unable to fire you, Carroll-san. Ito-san herself had originally picked you for this program, and she saw that you had potential. She is a wise woman and though her mistakes are rare, I must say that having you come here was not one of them."

'Strange commendation,' she thought.

"You're an unusual young woman, Carroll-san, and you definitely give me grief. But you're here to stay, though temporarily. And so I have a proposal. An offer you can't refuse, as you Americans say."

Serena leaned back in her chair, and looked towards the ceiling. "I want to go home," she whispered.

Darien looked worriedly at her. Did she just say that she wanted to go home? No! He couldn't allow that. Why couldn't he have kept his mouth shut that first day? He needed to patch things up quickly.

"At least listen to what I have to say, Carroll-san, you might see that its not so bad."

"Alright," she reluctantly agreed, "what's your offer?"

"A truce."

"A truce? That's it? That's so juvenile."

"Well, can you honestly say that your--" he stopped at her glare, "that our behavior has been adult-like?" When she didn't reply, he continued. "Yes, I propose a truce between us during working hours. That way we'll have far less problems. The people will be able to carry on with their work more if they don't have us to entertain them with our petty fights, and work will be, if not more enjoyable, then endurable. So what do you say?"

Serena looked into his eyes. 'Such beautiful blue eyes,' she thought. "You mean no more fighting, you won't torture me anymore?"

"I didn't realize I was 'torturing' you, Carroll-san," he commented dryly.

She rolled her eyes. "But we're bound to have disagreements. What then?"

"Then we try to talk them out, calmly and rationally like adults normally would." She looked thoughtful. "I'm not saying that this would solve all our problems. Heck, we both know that they won't disappear at all, but we can at least attempt peace. Our jobs are being affected."

"I agree. And I don't want to get in trouble, or for anyone else to be in trouble for that matter. You're right, they do watch us every time we're around each other."

"Exactly, though I must say that the workers aren't the only one who took notice. Ito-san has noticed too, if you recall."

"You're right!" Serena gasped. "Oh no! I remember! That was the day when you--" she stopped shortly, "well what did she say after I left?"

"That if we don't deal with our problems fast, then she'll deal with them herself. I wouldn't look forward to such an ordeal if I were you." Serena buried her head in her hands and took a deep breath. "Don't worry about it, Carroll-san, I'm sure we can be successful if we attempt at making peace."

"First of all, just what is entailed in this truce? Does that involve you not making demeaning comments to me and behind my back? Or finding faults with every little thing, especially when Motoki says they're fine? Making me redo assignments?"

He couldn't help it--he laughed. "Yes, I won't do that any of that anymore."

"How about you not overloading me with three times as much work as everyone else? And what's up with your scheduling issues?"

"I haven't received complaints from anyone else."

"Well you've already stated that I'm a difficult case. I guess I'm special."

'You have no idea how special,' he thought.

"Well how 'bout those two issues?" she continued.

"But you're a rookie. Everyone starts on the bottom."

She frowned. The guy was twisted.

"Alright, I'll lighten the workload. Now it's my turn."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"What do I get from this truce?"

"I already told you that I wasn't causing you any problems."

"That's a matter of opinion," he said, "and I happen to disagree."

"Fine," she groaned, "what do you want? I'll consider it."

"Respect."

"Sorry, bossman, you'll have to earn that, and you have a long way to go."

"Alright then, at least a certain degree of respect to start off with, Carroll-san. I want you to stop back-talking me in front of the entire department."

"That's gonna be hard."

"For you, yes it will. But this truce is based on making attempts. Can you at least put yourself forward to do that?"

"I'll try."

"Good. Next, I don't want you undermining my authority. If you have a question, then can you please see me privately instead of announcing what a stupid idea it is?"

"What?! I never did that!"

"No? Hmm...well it certainly seems like something you would do."

"You see? The truce is still in the talking stages, and you're starting already. This is never gonna work."

"Nevermind that. I'll rephrase my statement then."

She waited. And waited. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"I thought you were going to rephrase what you were going to say."

"That was it."

Serena looked at him like he was crazy. "Unbelievable. You're a piece of work, you know that?" she muttered in English.

"Well do you agree never to demean my ideas in front of everyone no matter what you may think of them?"

"First of all, I would never do something like that. I may not have respect for you, but I respect your ideas and opinions, and the authority you have as supervisor. Besides, doing something like that would just make me look stupid too."

"So are we agreed to this truce?"

"Whatever."

"What is that? Does that mean yes? Silly American phrases."

"Hold on! I've got an amendment to this...whatever this is. No more talking about my culture. It has nothing to do with being an American anyway. It was just the way I was brought up."

"Some upbringing."

Serena sighed and rolled her eyes again, "This isn't gonna to work," she repeated.

"That was uncalled for."

"You're the one who made the comment!"

"I was referring to myself, Carroll-san."

"Oh."

"Forgive me."

Serena's eyes widened. Did he just apologize? A miracle! "Uh...yeah."

"So are we agreed?"

Her eyes narrowed as she studied him. "I want this in writing."

"What?"

"Yeah, I want this in writing. Just to make sure, you know?"

"Fine," he sighed. "But either we'll have do that tomorrow or you work on it tonight, I have a meeting to be at in five minutes."

"Oh no," she said, "This is a joint agreement. We'll do this together."

The thought of them together sent Darien's thoughts spiraling.

"Strange, but I feel like I'm about to sign my soul over or something," she said. At his glare, she went on, "I'm sorry. It's going to be hard to reform with you. Be patient, will you?"

"And the same goes for you regarding me, ok?"

"Alright, bossman. A truce then and a written form of it tomorrow. So what now? Do we shake on it for now?"

'A shake!' his thoughts raged, 'Yes! Shake on it! She wants to voluntarily touch me! A shake would be good. For now.'

"Are we in agreement?" he asked her. He took her hand, delighting in the feel of the texture of her warm, soft, creamy skin. Her hand felt so tiny encased in his. He basked in this moment.

"It's a deal," she commented. "At least it will be tomorrow. When does this actually take effect?"

"How about when we each hold the written forms of our truce," he suggested.

"Ok, bossman," and she turned to leave.

"Carroll-san," he stopped her just as she reached the open door. "You know, most of your co-workers use names instead of titles. I've even heard you call them by name. Wouldn't you like to use mine?"

She appeared thoughtful for a moment. "No," she answered, and walked out of the office.

'What a woman,' thought Darien.

********

When the meeting was over, Motoki caught up with Darien.

"Hey, man. I saw you talking to Serena. What happened?"

"I never knew you were such an inquisitive man, Motoki. How could I have missed that?"

"You know I have an interest in this. Besides, I'm her champion," Motoki grinned.

"Her champion?"

"Well, yeah. I saw a damsel in distress, and I just couldn't resist."

"And so you're to defeat the dragon I take it?" Darien asked drily.

At this, Motoki momentarily looked sheepish. "You've got to admit that you've been breathing fire down Serena's back, and if that's not a dragon-like quality, then I don't know what is. C'mon, Darien. What happened after you went over to her workstation?"

Darien hesitated. He knew Motoki wouldn't like the beginning of the cockeyed story.

"I'm sure you've got an idea," he countered.

"I've got plenty ideas, my friend. I've also got a theory. Would you like to hear it?"

Actually, Darien didn't, but anything to forestall his friend. "Shoot."

"I've decided that your behavior towards one Serena Carroll is elementary.

"Elementary?"

"Elementary because you're acting like a little kid! No, hear me out!" He cried when Darien rounded on him. "I'll explain. You're acting like a little boy who likes the girl that sits in front of him. Think about it. The little boy forever teases the little girl, making her life a misery, reducing her to tears. And it's all because he likes her! So that's what I think you're doing. You've become a little boy all over again."

Darien was clearly not amused. This day was taking a toll on his self-confidence. First Serena taking him to account on the way he watched over the manga department, now Motoki, reducing him to the character of the little boy he thought he'd hoped he'd left behind.

"When you think about it," Motoki continued, "it's actually extremely funny. I mean, you of all people acting like this. You're always so controlled!" And Motoki launched into a laughter that bordered on hysteria.

"Maybe I am acting like a little kid," Darien admitted. Motoki continued laughing. Darien scowled. "It's not that funny, Motoki! Get a grip!"

When the laughter subsided, Motoki remembered the original purpose of the discussion.

"Ok. I'm better now. So now getting back to what we were talking about. What happened between you and Serena? And don't try to sidestep the issue this time."

"What do you think happened?" Darien asked instead.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind if you apologized to her for everything you've done to her. It would definitely make my life easier. That's not what happened though, is it?"

"Nope. Try again."

"You went out there and kissed her breathless?"

He received another look from Darien.

"No?" Motoki was having fun even though it was clear that Darien didn't share the sentiment. "I thought not. If something like that had happened in front of everyone, I would've heard about it by now. Too bad. That would've been cool. Would've made an awesome storyline to pitch to Ito-san in any case."

"If you must know," Darien cut Motoki off, "things didn't start off as well as I had hoped. Needless to say, I stuck my foot in my mouth again."

"Oh, no. What did you say?"

"I basically blamed her for distracting me from doing my job."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"I wish. No, I tried to think out what I would say, but nothing would come to mind, so I winged it."

"And accused her of all your problems?"

"Yeah," Darien muttered. "But I did admit that I goaded her on to retort."

"Well there's truth in that. Which makes my theory seem sounder. What else?"

"I said that the department artists look to me for instructions, so if she continued with her show of disrespect, they might start using her as an example. Then where would I be?"

"What did she say?"

"She said that the artists weren't sheep."

"Smart lady."

"Anyway," Darien continued, "she then reversed the issue somehow. She pointed out how she follows all instructions given to her, and said that if anyone had a problem it was me! She started questioning my supervising duties. She even had the audacity to call me a psycho and a slave driver!"

Motoki collapsed into laughter again.

"It's not funny, Motoki! You know what? You wanted to know, but forget it." He took off, leaving his wheezing friend.

Motoki caught up. "No, no, wait! I'm sorry. But you gotta give Serena her props. The girl's got skills."

"Yeah," Darien answered.

"So then what?"

"I offered her an offer she couldn't refuse." Darien got quiet as he remembered her expression.

"Like what?"

"But it seemed like it only made matters between us worse," Darien went on as if Motoki hadn't spoken. "I even heard her wish she were back home. I couldn't have that, but I went ahead with my idea anyway."

"Which was?" Motoki waited anxiously for Darien's answer.

"A truce."

"A truce," Motoki repeated.

"Yeah. She thought it was a stupid idea too, until she realized that our actions aren't exactly coinciding with our ages."

"So then what?"

"Well, we discussed what we both wanted for our side of the truce. She gets me off her back a little, and she shows me a little respect during working hours. We'll write it all up sometime tomorrow and it'll go into effect when we each have a written copy of it."

"It's a start. I just might work, too. Hopefully Ito-san will see an improvement. But wait, this truce is only on during for working hours?

"As far as I know it is. We really don't need it anywhere else. I never see her in social settings anyway."

"True. But what if you did? What would happen if you just met her in the street or somewhere?"

"I don't know. We'd ignore each other, I guess."

"Or rather, Serena would ignore you. I don't think you'd be able to if you met her in casual surroundings."

"You're probably right."

"Of course I am. It's all part of the theory."

"I almost forgot about your elemental theory."

"Not elemental. Elementary."

"Ok, ok. Elementary!"

"Anyway, I'm off to meet some of the guys for a friendly game of basketball. You in?"

"Nah," Darien declined. "I'm headed over to Rei's apartment. I need to catch up with that scatterbrained sister of mine."

"Suit yourself. Tell Rei hello for me."

********

"Rei-chan! I'm home!" Serena took off her shoes at the door and tossed all the paperwork she acquired on the living room table. "You wouldn't believe the day I had. Everything had to do with that baka boss of mine. But hopefully we're on the path to resolving the matter." When she received no response from her roommate, she called again, "Rei! You here?" Her roommate still hadn't made her appearance. "Guess not. And I'm talking to myself. It's all that baka's fault, too. He's driving me insane!"

She then saw a note on the refrigerator.

"Rena, I've been called in to substitute one of the fitters at a showing at the Civic Center. It shouldn't be more than two hours, so don't worry about me. If my brother calls, please tell him I'll call him back. I didn't cook anything, cause it's your turn. See ya. Rei."

"Great! I'll just get take out then." As she reached for the phone she saw the light flashing on the answering machine showing that either she or Rei had a message. She pressed the button.

"Hello! You've got Rei and Rena's place! We're not here right now, but if you leave a message after the beep, we'll get back to you. Oh, and by the way! Make sure you state who you want to talk to! Bye!" *beep*

Rei's voice filled the room. "Rena, you there? Oh well, I really don't have time to talk anyway, I'm stuck here at the show for another two hours. Afterwards I'll probably go out with a few of the people here. I don't want you to worry. If you want to come meet us, you've got my cell number. Bye!"

*End of message.*

Serena looked at the clock, but was too tired to join Rei and her friends' activities. 'Besides,' she thought, 'I've got work to do. But first, I want a little relaxation.' Removing the handset from the recharger, she gathered up things to take a nice soothing bath.

"This is heaven," she sighed as she sank in the bubbly water. She laid back and shut her eyes. She must've fallen asleep because the water was cool and the next sound she heard was someone at the door.

*ding dong* *knock knock knock*

"Just a second!" she yelled from the bathroom. She hurriedly tried to dry off and scrambled to wrap the towel around her. Finally covered, she ran out and swung the door open.

*Evil laughter*  I thought that was a good place to stop.  Please R/R.  They're always appreciated and they let me know that I should continue, how I'm doing with the storyline or if I need improvement.  Thank you!!