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L O V E H E X A G O N S
by Moonlight Eternal edited by Dragonborncrystal
Chapter 4 In Which Darien Worries Excessively And More Questions Arise
Cherry Hill Temple
"WHAT!!" All the scouts stared in amazement as Serena walked in the door at exactly 6:30, and then proceeded to tell them that a little girl named Tranquility had walked up to her doorstep, and that Rini had come back from the future.
"Wait a minute, Serena. All this has happened, and you forgot to tell us!"
"Well, I was really busy. You know, the whole homemaker thing is really difficult, and I thought maybe Amy could help me, and you guys could too. I'm taking courses about things I've never been good at but I'm finally trying! I need to be both a good wife and a good queen, so I thought a few home economic like classes at the community college might help me along. I've been so wrapped up in everything I forgot about Lily and Rini. Actually, it was like a nice family dinner with Darien there too. If I had thought I wouldn't have been late, I would have brought the girls too and maybe gotten a hold of Darien to come to a meeting once in this lifetime as well too."
Everyone stared open-mouthed at Serena, who was already getting stuff (presumably homework) out of her bag. When she looked up, she asked, "What?" to all of the jaw-drops. Amy was the first to recover.
"Serena, I had no idea you were taking classes at the college!"
"Well, it was sort of a spur of the moment idea I had...but I wasn't doing anything else, so I decided I might as well try out something useful, so I'm taking regular home-stuff like cooking, sewing, you know, that kind of stuff. The only problem is, I missed a day or two after Desdemona and I've been a little behind since then, so I have a ton of homework tonight. But, at least I have you guys to help me, since I know all of you can do what I'm having problems with."
"Serena, I'm really surprised that you've decided to buckle down and work!"
"I would take that as an offense, but I guess it's true...anyway, the thing here is, I'm having problems on this one type of stitch-"
"Hold on a minute!" Artemis cried. "We ACTUALLY have a reason why we called you here!"
"Really?" Mina asked, looking from Luna back to Artemis in surprise.
"Yes. We have been studying the strange weather patterns outside-"
"I didn't know it was weird for it to be dark and dreary in December," Raye said sarcastically.
"Well, some of it HAS been sort of strange..." Amy lent Artemis helpfully.
"IF I CAN CONTINUE!" The others nodded in shock, and Artemis continued. "Luna and I believe that there might be someone interfering with one of the Earth's power sources, causing a chain reaction of strange occurrences to happen concerning any random thing. For example, the weather here. If an enemy is tapping into Earth's power through, say, lightning, then a surplus amount of storms would arise. We might be used to regular rain in winter, but thunder storms? We have already found something else to make our suspicions of a new enemy even greater."
"You've found something?" the girls asked.
"Yes. There have been strange negative energy created and aimed to Earth's surface from a fortress in Elysian. Not only have we tracked it, but Amy's computer has picked it up too." Artemis informed everyone.
"This true, Ames?" asked Mina. Amy nodded uncomfortably.
"It looks like we've got a new enemy on our hands." She said a little sadly.
"But, they haven't attacked or anything...how do we know they're evil?" "We don't, but there was that thing with Desdemona. She wasn't just some rogue one-timer. Considering what she did to Serena, she'll be back again. My guess would be she's strategizing and biding her time, waiting for the exact moment to attack us. Well, actually, not her, but her leader."
"That's right. From what Rini's told me, guys, Desdemona isn't working alone. She's another henchman, although her strengths surpass that of one. Apparently, she's the ruler of some world located in Elysian. Technically, I guess it isn't considered Elysian anymore, but the Shadow World. Helios told Rini all about her while she was in the future. She's still on the rise, scouts. We just want you all to be alert."
"All right. We will be, Luna." Mina answered for everyone.
For the rest of the meeting, Serena and the other scouts discussed how it was strange that Tranquility had come at the same time, and also that the new "enemy" had just been discovered too.
"Well," Serena said, looking at her watch, "I have to go now. Darien's probably tired of watching the two kids." (flashes to Darien, who is actually enjoying watching Sleeping Beauty with the two children and getting into the music). And so Serena walked to her Honda and drove off.
All the scouts thought for a moment, and then the reality of Serena's words hit them.
"DARIEN'S WATCHING THE GIRLS!!" They could barely believe Darien would watch a 5 year old by his own will. Although they doubted he really HAD done so on his own will (the last time Darien had actually accepted the job of sitting for Rini and her friend Melissa was when Serena had had pneumonia)!
Neo-queen Serenity stared worriedly up at the dark clouds that were quickly veiling the skies of Tokyo. Endymion gently tapped her, and she jumped a little, startled. "Are you all right?" he asked, seeing her worried expression. For once along this pregnancy, she was glad he asked.
"Not really." When her husband tried to coax into going to bed, she said, "No, not in that way," she rubbed her growing abdomen gently. "The baby's fine. It's the weather that's been bothering me actually. I called Sailor Uranus to ask her if she had suspected any storms this week. She a nswered no, but I know she could've been wrong. It's just that," she stared back up at the heavy blackness filling the air... "I feel uneasy about this sudden change. We've never had storms this bad, except when the Black Moon attacked. Even if you think it's just regular weather, I've got a feeling it isn't. It's happening faster than I thought..." She stared sadly out into the dark world that was starting to unravel in her mind. Her husband looked down at his queen curiously.
Sometimes, thought not often, she was a total mystery to him. They'd been married for years, yet she still had some enigmatic air to her that she had held at young age of 14. She knew something about life he did not. What it was, he wasn't sure he'd ever know.
Meanwhile...
After a week, a regular routine had formed within the "family" of four, although there were a few times that the routine caused some tight spots. On one occasion she couldn't get out of, Serena's parents and brother had come for dinner. Unfortunately, Darien, Lily, and Rini had all been over as well when they arrived. During dinner, everyone had been informed that Lily was Darien's cousin who was staying with Serena because he didn't have enough space in his apartment. However, after Darien was brought up, and a glance from her father, Serena decided to not tell her father yet she and he were planning to get married soon. After all, the death glares her father was giving him now were bad enough...things would only get worse...
One night when Melissa had offered to have both Rini and Lily spend the night (everyone, especially Rini, was quite fond of Lily), Darien paid a surprise visit at Serena's apartment. Serena had been practicing her new recipe for Texas Chili (she had now moved up to an international cooking course). She decided to use Darien as her food taster. "How about this?" she asked, adding in some chili powder, stirring, then giving a spoonful to Darien. Darien took it, remembering the last delicious meal Serena had made. He took one bite, and Serena waited. 3 seconds later, Darien's mouth tasted like it was on fire. "AAHH!!" he screamed, running around the kitchen, frantically searching for something to drink. He grabbed the closest bottle to him, and before Serenacould stop him, drank it.
"Darien..." Serena said, a little embarrassed as he ran to the sink to drink from the faucet. "That was hot salsa." He looked at her in pure rage. "Why did you leave it out on the counter for some innocent bystander, like me, to drink it?"
"If you'd not gone and DRANK the whole bottle, you might've been saved." Darien couldn't think of a better argument so, he just stood there, with a little pouty look on his face. Serena giggled, then kissed his cheek (to his surprise). "I love it when you do that," she said sweetly.
"I should do it more often," he said. They laughed. Then they looked into each other's eyes. She reached for him...he reached for her...and as they went into each others' arms...
DDDDDDDDDDDIIIIINGDOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNGG!!
'Not again!' Serena thought. The two groaned as she and Darien reluctantly pulled from each other's arms for the second time. She answered the door. 'Should've guessed,' she thought angrily as she looked at Mina's smiling face.
"Hi! I think you need to hear the latest gossip I have, so if you don't mind, let's start to catch up. I'm bored stiff!" 'Ketchup, yah, that's what I'll turn you into Mina!'
"Actually, Mina, umm...Darien and I were beginning the plans for our wedding..." Serena said, hoping Darien had heard her through the kitchen door. She looked towards it, and saw as Darien stuck his head out in horror. He tried to avoid anything that had to do with a long ceremony, and even more if it had to do with a long planning period. After his initial suggestion of getting ready for the wedding, he wished more and more that he hadn't promised Serena they would not elope. Darien looked out of the kitchen at Serena as if to say, "THAT WAS THE BEST EXCUSE YOU COULD COME UP WITH!!"
"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt. Hi Darien." Then, turning back to Serena, she began a long story about the paperboy, and Darien slyly slipped out. 'So much for a romantic evening with the wife-to-be...' he thought as he sulked back to his own apartment.
'Oh well...always next slumber party...' Serena thought, totally ignoring Mina's story. As Mina dragged on, Serena heard the grumbling of her own and Mina's stomachs. Mina asked, "Hey, got any food here? Oooh!" Mina had entered the kitchen, and found the chili. "This looks delicious," Mina took a spoonful, and before Serena could warn her, Mina's mouth became engulfed in hot flames.
"It'll be a long night..." she sighed as Mina ran for the salsa.
That night, Mina had decided to stay and crash at Serena's in the extra room. Although she hadn't said anything at the time, Mina had noticed Serena having a shortness of breath and clenching her chest. Very un-Serena like, and definitely something Although, Serena hadn't exhibited any other problems other than a small unenthusiastic approach to Mina's new ideas for a lover for herself. "Mina, why not just find your soul mate?"
"Unlike you, girl, some of us don't seem to have one."
The silent and uneventful night suddenly changed as Serena, snuggled closely in the bunny decorated comforter, was thrown out of bed by a loud beeping noise beside her. Groping around in the dark, she picked up her watch. "Great. I set my alarm clock too early."
"You actually own an alarm clock, Meatball Head?"
"What's it to you, Raye?"
"That's Sailor Mars to you, Moon!"
"Huh? Oh..." Serena hadn't even realized that the watch she'd picked up had in fact been her communicator. She sighed deeply.
"Where?"
"My temple."
"I'll bring Mina." Serena closed her communicator, and got up to go get Mina when another surge of pain and weakness shot through her, at the center of her chest. Collapsing to her knees, she attempted to breathe as easily as possible and wait for pain pass on its own, but a sound on her balcony caught her by surprise. Swirling around, she saw, "Desdemona?" Her voice sounded weak and feeble to her own ears. The woman outside strolled towards the glass doors, which opened automatically like the ones at the supermarket Serena had felt many times were a blessing but now wished never existed. Not that it would have mattered...
"What do you want?" Serena tried to straighten, but another pain shot through her.
"Oh, just checking up on you." The low voice of Desdemona droned above head.
"Why do I have the feeling that this isn't a checkup that will do me good?" Serena muttered sarcastically.
"I guess if you still have strength enough to be so impertinent, we're not ready yet. But it seems all is going to plan. Actually, if you keep up this way, I don't even have to wait. Now is as good as ever..."
Desdemona attempted to grab Serena's arm, but a light from her locket made the tall woman retreat.
"Interesting..." she muttered to herself, glancing at her hand, which was smoking within its black glove. "Well, obviously you really aren't weak enough yet. I'll just wait a little longer..." the woman laughed viciously at the questioning look Serena gave her, then disappeared.
A moment later, Mina accompanied by a baseball bat ran into S erena's room. "Where's the robber? Where, where?!" Then, she saw Serena, on her knees with her face down to the bed. The translucent white draperies of her balcony waved in the breeze which the open doors allowed in. Serena looked up from her position, and it looked as though she had been crying.
"There's an attack at Raye's temple..."
"Serena? Are you-"
"Go!" she shouted agitatedly. Mina shrank at the sternness. "I'll be there soon..." Serena added with a rye smile. Mina only nodded, transformed, and left. After another moment, Serena's soft sobs grew louder. She thought they'd go unheard, but she was incorrect in assuming so.
"Serena?!" Tuxedo Mask stood in her balcony doorway.
"I have a lot of uninvited guests today," Serena said sourly, pushing herself up on shaky legs and brushing away the tears.
"Why-"
"Desdemona came. Here...and there's an attack at the temple."
"Was. The others took care of it." Serena winced as she stood straight.
"Good."
"They're having a meeting...that new scout showed up again."
"You go instead of me."
"But-"
"Please..." Darien hated to leave her unprotected here, but the pleading look in her eyes told him he really had no choice. And he couldn't bare to see them fill with tears all over again...
"Fine, but I'm coming back later. And then you'll tell me what exactly is going on with you." Serena, from her position on the bed nodded, then her eyes shut and she slept.
"Who do you think the new scout is?" Mina asked, sitting at the opposite end of the table from Lita, Ami on a pillow, with Raye on the other side.
"There are a million possibilities. Tokyo's a big city, you know. She could be Molly or Peggy or..." Raye thought.
"I don't mean WHO, I mean like enemy or not!" Mina said, irritated, obviously a little more worried about her best friend then she let on. She still hadn't told the others about what Serena had done earlier.
"Well, she DID help us..." Amy said. "And she said she was the future Sailor Moon's ally..." Lita added.
"But she could've been lying." Darien, who had been listening in the doorway, added.
"Yeah, but if she WAS an enemy, she probably wouldn't have helped us. Where's Serena?" Raye asked.
"Asleep."
"What do you mean, asleep?! She needs to be here!" Raye screeched. Darien gave his friend a cold glare.
"She has her reasons, Raye. Deal with them." Mina looked quickly at Darien. He must've talked with Serena. Actually, now that she thought about it, Mina was sure Darien knew there was something wrong with Serena. She bet he'd probably known before as well. Raye was shocked by Darien's cruel response.
"You know what I thought when I saw Sailor Masquerade?" Mina asked, attempting to change the subject. Everyone turned to her. She caught Darien's eye, and he gave her a small smile. She smiled briefly as well. "The first thing I thought was that she looked like Lily..."
"Me too!" Raye said.
"That's what I thought too!" Lita cried.
"I thought the same thing," Amy admitted too.
"Am I the only one here who didn't?" Darien asked.
"You don't count. Besides it's 4 against 1." Mina said.
"What do you mean, I don't count!?" Darien cried.
"You're a guy." She said defiantly. Darien tripped.
"That's prejudice! I should count too." He pouted.
Then he thought of the night that Serena had kissed him for his pouting.
he was so worried about her...
"Darien, you're too wrapped up in Serena to notice anything. You may not have really looked last time. Wait, you weren't even there!" Raye shot.
"Not that you saw..." Darien said slyly.
"But Darien does have a point, you know. For one thing, our scout was years older, maybe about 7 more? And also, she had a way different hair style." Amy said, trying to have a double view. She always ended up being a peacemaker, because she hated it when everyone was fighting.
"So?" asked Mina.
"Hey guys, I was thinking, do you think Sailor Masquerade COULD be Lily?" Lita asked, obviously deep in thought.
"Did you not hear what I just said?" asked an exasperated Amy, who was still trying to play peacemaker when really her mind was on next week's test.
"She does have a locket similar to Serena's 2nd one..." Mina said, ignoring Amy's outburst.
"Oh yeah, she DOES...I never really thought of the significance of that..." Raye said thoughtfully.
"Let's go see if we can find it!" Lita cried out.
Amy gave up as the girls crept into the hallway, and opened the guest room door quietly (although it DID creak). They made it there before they heard Raye clear her throat.
"You know guys, it would have been a great plan except that Lily's not here. Or at Serena's."
"Not true." Darien said. "She is at Serena's, she and Rini. Apparently, when you guys called Rini, she brought Lily back to Serena's and waited until she thought she was asleep before coming."
"Where'd Rini go?"
"Back to Serena's..."
"Let's all go!" Lita shouted, pumped on finding Lily out.
After the others were pushed and pulled into coming, the lot of them arrived at Serena's apartment, where they entered and tripped in the dark. "Wait a minute, isn't Serena awake?"
"SHHHHHH!"
"Didn't I say she was ASLEEP?!" Darien exclaimed in a small voice
"Oh, right. Well, time for Operation: Locket. Head out, troops!" Lita pulled the moaning group along. "Remember, we might be finding Sailor Masquerade out!" Enthusiasm exploded in the tired senshi. They piled upon one another in the doorway to the guest bedroom where Lily and Rini were both visibly asleep.
"Now, I volunteer Mina to go in and take the locket." Raye whispered.
"Why ME?" Mina asked.
"Because I said to!" Flames began to burn in Raye's eyes, so Mina guessed she might as well do it. She crawled on her stomach towards the bed. Lily rolled over, and Mina laid flat against the wall.
"Camouflage." She whispered. Lita rolled her eyes at this. Mina was always a little too over dramatic. Perfect for a movie star Mina had pointed out.
Mina peered over the bed, and stared at the thing Lily held. She let out a gasp.
"What is it?" Raye whispered harshly, thinking their suspicions might be correct.
Her mind was already wandering to the things she'd taunt at Darien when Mina said, "It's a totally CUTE teddy bear!" The girls and Darien fell down in the hall.
"Wait!" everyone jumped back up again. Mina had opened the drawer to the nightstand, and she triumphantly smiled. She held up Serena's old star locket.
"Open it!" Lita cried.
"SSHHH!" Mina said.
"Uh...Mina..." Amy began.
"Not now!" Mina said.
As she began to untwist the locket, a voice said, "Hello." Mina looked up in surprise, and found Lily sitting up in bed, staring at her. "Uh-oh..." she said. Quickly, however, she covered up.
"Oh, HI! I thought this was yours. I found it on the floor in the hall." Mina said, holding up the locket. Raye sighed in relief. She always had been a sly liar...
"Oh, yes it's mine. My mommy gave it to me." Lily said, snatching it out of Mina's hand. "Thank you for finding it. Goodnight." Tranquility snuggled down into the covers with the locket, and turned over. 'Darn, foiled!' Mina thought, sulking outside.
"Well, Mina. Look on the bright side. We know that that used to be Serena's transformation brooch; so obviously, Lily is of Serena's birth line. Maybe she's a sister of Rini," Lita said.
Everyone stared at Darien, as if he'd have the answer.
He blushed and quickly said, "She might also be Rini's daughter." Suddenly the image of how that would come across appeared in his mind, and suddenly felt he'd kill any guy Rini ever brought home. Helios was first on the list...
"She looks more like you, Darien..." Raye interjected.
"DOES NOT!"
"DOES TO!"
"DOES NOT!"
"DOES TO!"
"Great. We're back to wondering where Lily's from again..." Amy said, as Raye and Darien began to pull each other apart. She glanced at her watch.
"IT'S 3:00AM!! OH NO!!"
"What?" the girls and Darien asked, stopping mid-argument.
"I have a big test coming up! I missed another cramming night!" She said frantically.
"And this test would be..." Mina asked.
"In a month!" Everyone fell over, except Darien, who realized he'd missed a cramming night too.
"Wish I'd studied for the one TOMORROW!" Mina mumbled from the bottom of the scout stack.
"Well, let's get to sleep, guys." Raye said, trying to get everyone's minds off school. "Yeah, it's not THAT late..." Lita yawned. "But I'm beat."
"Um, you guys ARE going home, right?" Darien asked.
"Why in the world would we do that?" asked Mina,yawning.
"Oh, well, because we sort of don't have enough room for everyone, if you think in terms of all of us sleeping here. Have you guys even though of wherewe'd all sleep?"
"The guest room?" Lita supplied.
"Which is occupied by two children." Darien reminded them.
"Oh, that's right...and I don't WANNA walk all the way home..." Mina whined, then glanced at Darien viciously.
"Don't look at me, I didn't bring the Batmobile or anything. I'm Tuxedo Mask, remember?" Everyone grumbled about where Batman was when you needed him."Well, I'll go sleep in Serena's room-" Darien began, but the evil glares he received from everyone in the room quickly shot down that idea. "What have I done now?" he wondered.
"Nothing. But we still haven't forgiven you about almost leaving." Raye glared even more than the others.
"So I made a mistake. Why do you punish me-"
"Plus, you're male. You never know what kind of ideas you'll get..."
"Well, I do, but the female species doesn't..." Darien muttered.
"I'll sleep in Serena's room!" Amy volunteered.
"Agreed," the others said in unison, leaving
Darien staring in shock. He knew he'd not liked Amy for a reason...
Mina, in her enthusiasm to sleep, took the couch as quickly as possible, leaving Raye to the recliner and a grumbling Lita to the family room floor.
Darien muttered, "So where am I supposed to sleep, the kitchen sink?" Mina pointed out that there WAS the balcony lounge chair. He thought about this, and decided that BECAUSE it had been such a nice day earlier, that it was probably better than the floor or any sink. So, everyone settled down in their spots.
Darien, out on the porch, had brought a thin blanket, considering it was a humid night. At about midnight, he awoke to the sounds of thunder. 'Oh, wonderful.' He thought, sitting up. Yet the clouds were far off to the west with winds to the east. He doubted they'd make it to Tokyo. Still the temperature outside had cooled dramatically, the thermometer he'd read earlier as 75 degrees Fahrenheit now reading 55. After about an hour of going numb due to lack of warmer coverings, Darien looked up, and his eyes met with drops of rain.
'Great,' he thought, himself and the blanket getting totally soaked instantly. He glanced on the horizon and saw the same thundercloud there. Another one had come in its place and he'd missed it. Darien scrambled off the lounge chair, and tried to open the sliding glass door. It was locked. 'Oh, this is perfect!' he thought, pulling on it with all his might. He finally managed to get it open after another half hour of freezing cold rain AND dropping temperatures. He was totally soaked, and shivering to no end. "Nothing could make this night worse," he said out loud. The burglar alarm began to go off. He mumbled, "Just my luck." He thought grudgingly that all gods deserved to die.
Lita and Raye were jolted awake (Darien saw them jump to their feet).
"A burglar!" Mina screamed, franticly running in place. Because it was dark, no one could tell it was Darien stumbling into the living room. Lita tackled him.
"There's no way YOU'RE going to break into our best friend's apartment! You picked the wrong one, mister!" Raye ran to call the police.
"Wait!" Darien tried to say, but was met with a strangle hold. Mina was running around in a circle, thinking of what to do, as Amy flicked on the lights.
"Darien!" Lita said in amazement, looking down. He was on the ground, and Lita was about to punch him. Raye must've heard, and came rushing in.
"Darien!" She repeated in amazement.
"Why are you all wet?"
"I was locked out and it started raining." Darien said from under Lita.
"Sorry," she said, embarrassed.
"B...But I just called the police!" Raye said.
"Oh no." Darien groaned, standing up.
"Great! You know I hate cops!" Mina cried.
"I'll just call them back, and tell them it was just our Dad coming home late!"
"Hurry!" Amy advised. And luckily, Raye was able to convince the 9-1-1 operator it wasn't a prank, that they had just made a mistake. After she got off the phone, everyone then settled down, and fell asleep.
Darien, with no extra clothes, and not really wanting to go home, for fear something might happen while he was gone, slept in his wet ones, on the kitchen floor ("It's better than the sink!" Mina had said). Darien couldn't get warm though, and spent most of the night in a restless sleep, or awake, thinking of Serena. She was being amazingly strange. As he thought more about it, he realized Serena had never been the one in the situation of being weakened. He, the scouts, and even Rini had all been debilitated in some way or other, but Serena had not.
After he felt he could attempt sleep no more, Darien tiptoed into Serena's room. He carefully, so as not to disturb Amy, pulled up a chair, and sat at her bedside. He fell asleep in it, with the blanket draped over his shoulders. About an hour later when everyone began to wake up, Darien ran to the kitchen and feigned sleep a little longer.
He felt absolutely terrible, but wanted to be there when Serena woke up again. He desperately needed to talk to her, no matter what his condition. Unfortunately, it seemed all the recent lack of sleep was catching up to his body's immune system. So, he hid it from the scouts (best he could) that he was sick, and they left for school, taking Lily and Rini with them. Darien called in sick to his job, and although it was technically true that he was sick,being in denial he told himself it was just for Serena.
Feeling worse than he ever thought he had for both physical reasons plus Serena, Darien went into her room again. He looked down at her. She looked a lot better than she had yesterday. Her cheeks were a lot less pale, and her breathing had become more regular than when he'd spoken with her briefly the prior night. He was sure he'd look better if Luna had used him as a scratching post, the way he felt right then. But he didn't really care. He had to make sure Serena was fine to at least some extent, and anything could happen to him but it wouldn't prevent him from seeing her wake up. How he longed for her eyes to open...he began to worry when she wasn't awake at 9:30. But this was Serena, after all. She actually didn't wake up until about noon, actually, so he was in intense worry mode for 2 and a half-hours, which didn't help him feel any better, or get better.
But as soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Darien, sitting by her bedside, at that moment staring out the window. It made her feel almost immediately 100.
She looked at his face, and it didn't take him long to realize she was awake. "Serena!" he said. She could hear the relief in his voice. She sat up, and immediately felt light headed. But she stayed steady, and looked at Darien intently. She reached for him...he reached for her...and... Darien broke away and coughed heavily. Serena was immediately concerned, any of her emotions put aside.
"Darien, are you sick?" she asked, staring into his flushed face (he was not blushing, she could tell).
"Maybe..." Serena gave him a skeptical look. Darien admitting he wasn't in tip top shape was something to worry about in it of itself. Before she could interrogate him, however, he told her about the 'burglar' she'd slept through the night before. She laughed, but worry never left her face. Darien laughed only a little and was mostly coughing in the long run. "Are you sure you're all right? Do you have a fever?" Serena asked again after a while longer, brushing her hand lightly across his forehead.
"I'm all right..." he tried to assure her, worried he'd make HER get worse, which was the last thing in the world her wanted to do. She needed to tell him what Desdemona had done to her and what she was hiding. It was more than that strange pain she was having, something more she wasn't letting onto...
But Serena was not perturbed, and as soon as she was allowed to feel Darien's hot flesh (he'd spent a good while avoiding her touch) she was certainly not going to give up so easily on letting go of his own health.
"You are not all right, Darien Chiba! You're burning up!" she exclaimed. Before he could stop her, Serena stood up, dizziness winning the battle, however. She wobbled on what felt like jello legs.
Darien quickly stood, and caught her. "I tried to warn you," he said, smiling although he felt as dizzy as she. "I'll be fine after I walk awhile. Really, it's you that you should worry about. I am-" Serena's breath caught in her throat and itself seemed to choke her. 'Not again,' she inwardly groaned. Darien watched her carefully, still stabilizing her in his arms. After a moment, she drew a breath slowly, then smiled wearily. "I'm going to get a thermometer and some cold medicine. It's in the kitchen, so just lie down in here while I get it."
Darien tried to refuse, but secretly let her win, considering he knew she was right. It felt good to lie on the cool sheets and inhale Serena's soft scent. It was the most relaxing thing that he could ever acquire, besides Serena herself.
"I can't believe how deep in denial you are, Darien. How can you let yourself get this sick?" Serena sighed deeply as she then poured the liquid cold medicine into a spoon, and gave it to him.
"You're one to talk," he said tersely.
"I just don't understand why you let yourself get to such a breaking point. I'd guess that this whole thing started with just a minor cold you decided to ignore. You know, you can't just ignore your problems, Darien."
"This is the pot calling the kettle black, Serena,"Darien said in return.
"Ah, so I'm RIGHT, aren't I? You neglected to take care of the common cold and here it is, back to hauntyou. Honestly, you're studying to be a DOCTOR Darien. You could at least attempt to keep yourself in good health along with the rest of the world."
"I'm so worried about you, Serena, that I really don't have enough time to worry about others."
"Darien! One, you have no reason to worry for me and TWO it is not smart to not pay attention to your own health in worrying over me! What if I needed to be rescued at this very moment and you were stuck here, sick?!"
"I'd push myself over the limit and go find you."
"And collapse on the way."
"Don't rub it in my face, Serena, that I'm only mortal."
"Darien, really if you catch pneumonia or something, I'll be quite disappointed in both you and me." she said.
"Well, I can see the disappointment in me, but why you?"
"Let me first clarify that I'd only be disappointed in you for not treating yourself at the early signs, not because you got sick in the first place. Don't let yourmind wander in that direction. As to why I'm disappointed in myself...it's a failure as a partner to not recognize her soul mate's weakness. If I had known you were ill last night,I wouldn't have gone back to sleep and sent you off to themeeting, it would have been the opposite. And you'd be fine right now."
"No, then you'd be tired and sick and I'd be just sick. Really Serena, there's no point in attempting to take the blame.I won't let you, it wasn't your fault. Let's stop with the guilt tripping and actually speak usefully."
"Nah, we won't have much to talk about for long..."
"And why do you say that and why do I get the feeling you've done something wicked...besides the fact that you're wearing that evil smirk?"
"Well, the medicine I gave you happened to have codeine in it, and you know what that does..."
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't feel in the least bit sleepy." Darien was, in fact, dead on his feet...well, not exactly on them, but tired enough to count under that metaphor.
"Really?" Serena seemed fooled. "It's just that, for me,codeine is like caffeine, it makes me bounce off the wallsuntil it wears off, and then I crash. But that's hours oftime I spend awake. It's real purpose is to put you to sleep,and I thought that since you are both normal when it comes to medicine, and the two of us are such a contrast..." Serena's breath caught again, so she said the rest in a whisper, "I thought it would probably work." She waited a few moments, clasping the pain in her chest and wincing.
"And you're worried about ME..." Darien mumbled, pulling a blanket over his head. They needed to talk so much that it was killing him to feel the weariness take hold.
"Yes. Now can I finish?" Serena asked quizzically. Darien groaned to say he was listening. "Darien, I'm over here, not under the blanket." Serena pulled the blanket off his face. They were inches away from each other. Serena wanted to kiss him , but she drew back. "I just thought that you wouldn't be hyper like I get..." she whispered as Darien felt the medicine fully catch him within its grasp.
"We aren't that opposite..." Darien let sleep take over, and allowing his body regain some of the sleep it'd lost the night before.
The next time Darien fully awoke was about 6:30 pm, and he opened his eyes to find Serena half on top of him, her head and arms laying on his chest but the rest of her on the ground beside the bed. He gently got up, so as not to wake her, to get a drink of water. When he came back into the room, she had awoken, and was rubbing her eyes.
"You're awake." He said, coming back into the room and Serena stood.
"How do you feel?" she asked, brushing her hand almost a foot abive her own head to feel Darien's forehead once more.
"Much better." Darien was surprised to realize he actually DID feel a lot better, and wasn't just saying it.
"Well, you've cooled off a lot. While YOU slept, I made arrangements for Rini and Lily to spend the night with Hotaru. The outers just were able to escape today, and got in early this morning." Darien sat back on the bed, and Serena got in beside him, nuzzling close.She was tired, he could see. But this conversation couldn't wait any longer.
"Serena," Darien took on a more serious mood, "what happened between you and Desdemona last night?"
Serena's mood also darkened visibly. "She knows who I am, so I really wasn't too surprised she found my apartment. But as soon as she appeared, my chest-" as she spoke, again a pulsation caused her to yell in pain.
"Like that?" Darien asked, hating the feeling that jumped through him every time he saw Serena suffer.
"Yes..." she said grimly. "And she spoke to me about something. She tried to take me with her, but the crystal wouldn't let her touch me."
"She tried to take you with her?! And you let me go to the scout meeting?"
"I knew she wouldn't try again just yet. What did you tell the scouts?"
"That you were asleep, since you were."
"I bet they didn't react too well..."
"Raye? No. But I quieted her and Mina helped. You'll probably be telling Mina everything too." Serena sighed heavily.
"What about the new scout?"
"Well, the others were leaning towards Lily...but I'm not too sure."
"Lily? But she's, what, 7 years too young? AT LEAST?"
"My point exactly, but hey, they're your friends."
"Yours too..." Serena grumbled.
Darien then explained to Serena what the scouts had attempted with Lily. "Her locket looks like mine?"
"Your second one. The pink brooch with the five point star?"
"Oh, yes, now I know which one you mean! Did she see what was inside?"
"No, but it is or was, at least, in Lily's nightstand drawer..."
"And I have MY star brooch in my closet somewhere. Let me get it, and we can compare." 5 minutes later, they were looking at two identical brooches.
"Amazing," Serena said, her eyes wide. Darien thought so too.
"Try opening Lily's," he directed. Serena did, and they found a small rose, which was blooming, inside. In the center was a small crystal, golden in color, which shone like the sun's rays.
"Well, that settles it." Serena said, shutting the compact quickly.
"Settles what?"
"Tranquility's got to be your daughter. Look, she has the golden crystal!"
"Hey, wait a second, doesn't that mean yours too?!"
"Not necessarily..."
"And it doesn't have to be MY kid. Helios has control over the golden crystal too. If he and Rini get together, then-" Darien mentally kicked himself. Once again, in attempting to lay the blame somewhere else, he'd placed it upon his daughter and the slight possibility of truth was enough to scare the future father.
"Fine. It at least tells us it's someone related to us. In the future..." Serena yawned, and glanced at the time.
"It's only 7 o'clock and you're already tired?" Darien asked.
"It's something Desdemona's doing. Don't worry too much though. I would say don't worry at all but I know you won't listen."
"You're right, I won't. And why shouldn't I worry?"
"Because as long as I keep up on my sleep and stay healthy I s hould be fine." Suddenly, it struck Darien that he being sick probably wouldn't cause a positive affect on Serena.
"Are you sure I-"
"Darien, I've already been around you. It won't make a difference." Serena smiled softly, the dark circles under her eyes more evident than usual. Darien was beginning to feel worse anyways.
He glanced outside at the rain that still poured down the windows. "You can stay tonight." Serena smiled again, then got up and returned the locket to Lily's room then walked back to her own. Darien decided, as Serena climbed in beside him, that sleep was better than walking home in the rain, even if it did look a little strange to someone walking in on them. Serena and Darien fell asleep cuddled next to one another, happy for the slight time they had together although perhaps not romantic. It was more than they had been getting lately... Unfortunately, Darien did not have the peaceful night's sleep that Serena enjoyed. He'd dreamt that dream again, and though he had sworn he'd not leave Serena, it made him worry more. Something was wrong with Serena, that much was obvious, and from what she'd hinted it had to do with this new enemy. How far would they go? And how far could Serena?
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Please review, guys! I need some words here!
Moonlight Eternal