A/N Hey, everyone. Yes, I am still alive, but in need of BIG FAT inspiration. Any propositions? Films, books, fan fictions, music - whatever! Pretty please! SHARE) And I'll write faster. And more.

BTW Have you heard about this new SM version? What do you think about it?

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Moonprincess998

Serena-Darien2001

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LoveInTheBattleField

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Disclaimer: Don't own Sailor Moon

Chapter 9

When Mina entered the hotel room, where Serena along with Lita, Zoi and Kun, were patiently waiting for her arrival, the pictures of the past were still playing in her mind, so clear and sharp as if it happened yesterday. Only now she saw it completely different.

One day Jade called on his family quite unexpectedly. Ever since he had married Raye Shields he became even a more rare guest in the DeVeene mansion if that was even possible. So, although after the brake-up Mina was in no condition to play a good hostess, she still found the strength to smile brightly and invite him to stay for dinner.

Her brother seemed to be anxious about something, it could be seen easily in his behavior: it was extremely inconvenient for him to just sit still for a second. Jade knew it did not go unnoticed, and so he was waiting for his family to start questioning or at least show some interested. Mina wondered if maybe Raye was pregnant and that's the reason for Jade's anxiety. There was only one way to learn the truth-wait a little till it would become too hard to hide it. Both his father and sister knew he was simply incapable of keeping a secret. So, several minutes later, tired of waiting for any kind of reaction, he spilled the beans. But it was far from being good news.

A terrible accident happened on a Shields factory, taking one innocent life and injuring several workers. And most definitely Mr Arthur Shields was to blame. The information was confidential. But Jade saw no harm in sharing it.

Their father only chuckled at his son, thinking it was hilarious that of all people, Jade was the one unable to keep his mouth shut.

«Well, I presume, this is what you get for years of keeping secrets of the whole nation. I am glad you've decided against following my footsteps and chose your own path, Jadeite. Otherwise, you would have been a disaster.»

Mr. DeVeene always advised both his children to process the information before letting one bit of it slip so that later they could use it to their own benefit. Seems that eventually Jadeite learnt his lesson. But why on Earth did he need that?

'Oh, come on, Mina! This is Jade we're talking about! There's almost no chance that he THOUGHT before doing something. He most definitely just figured it would be nice if his sister married his wife's brother. And he decided to help.'

Serena and Lita were watching a glare-match between Kun, who, from what the girls could see, was obviously crazy in love with Mina, and Andrew, who, sensing a kind of link between the two, switched on the overprotective-brother mode.

Mina chose to ignore both of them. And Lita followed her example.

Zoi had already accepted the fact that Kun and Serena were not meant to be. His fling - or even relationship - with Mina made no difference.

The two men were not nearly done their imaginary fight when the «I am sexy and I know it» ringtone interrupted them. Blushing madly, Andrew reached for his phone and listened carefully. As fast as his face had become red it lost its color turning awfully pale. Drew's answers were curt and emotionless. However, everyone in the room understood that something serious had happened. It made Serena remember the night of the party, when they came home and found Mina's room turned upside down. And how Darien took care of her, holding her in his arms all night…

Hiding the phone back in the pocket, Andrew addressed to Mina:

«Listen, I am afraid something has happened with your car, seems to be the brakes, again. And it's hardly a coincidence. I hope, you do understand that.»

«How's the driver?»

«He's fine, now he's in the hospital. Doctors say, there's no threat to his health. Anyways, don't think about it, it's his job to protect you. Though… this time he was unaware of the fact.»

«That's it! It was no longer his job. I am no longer Shields! He has nothing to do with me!»

Unnoticed by Mina was Kun's reaction to these words. He seemed to be… genuinely happy about it.

Day after day he had been looking at her, first just seeing a mirror reflection of his friend, and then he started noticing differences, her personality. She was sassy, bubbly, full of emotions, alluring, breathtakingly beautiful woman, the kind he never liked thinking they required more effort to keep them by one's side.

And Kunzite understood why he wanted Serena to be by his side, his partner, his wife. She was a little more reserved, unsure of herself - giving him possibility to guide her - it was almost unnoticeable, but he sensed it, especially when she told about her fairy tale dream. What surprised him was the fact that she looked embarrassed by her own dream. And Serena was most definitely afraid of it. The woman didn't know whether she wanted the dream to come true or she'd rather lived a common life, with a reliable man by her side. It was easy to play on her uncertainties. Or so he thought.

So Serena left to 'clean her head' and decide which path she would choose. Several days later Kunzite went after her, ready to propose. After all, it was not wise to let her think too much. The man could easily meet resistance, even a little fight. However he was completely not ready to face a completely different woman.

Kun was fascinated.

Mina was not terrified by… anything. She didn't like her life at home and she left, no fear, no regrets. When the woman felt the attraction between them, she literally dove in it. Then Mina found out about her sister and she gave up the freedom, and went back to rescue Serena. No uncertainty. No doubt.

And now Mina was free. And Serena seemed to have made her mind choosing the fairy-tale. He couldn't be more lucky.

But what this tall, blond, square-jawed man is doing here with her?

Meanwhile Serena was not even half as confident as Kun had thought she was. She was thinking about Darien over and over again and could not decipher her feelings. Or, to be more exact, to confess and accept them.

It had hardly been any time at all, and yet Serena felt like she had known Darien all her life. It felt so right to be with him, holding his hand, breathe in his perfume, let it soak into her clothes and then admire it throughout the day. Serena even missed his scolding and their bickering. Sometimes the woman thought she caught a glimpse of a smile kissing his lips when he looked at her. And the thought warmed her heart. Except...

He never saw Serena, he was most definitely flirting with his wife, Mina. And that was natural, legit, right.

Ignoring the commotion, Serena turned away and looked into the window. They were very high, the top floor, and the view is spectacular, literally out of this world. The sun is low on the horizon, its color is deep orange, while the sky is painted with opal, pinks and aquamarines. The perfect mixture created from above, almost making her forget.

Zoi approached his sister. She had been unusually quiet ever since she came to the hotel. Serena's smile didn't reach her eyes and she appeared to be even more depressed than he remembered when she was leaving. His only desire was to support her in whatever his sister was going through, however every time he tried to talk to her, she closed up, refusing o let him in.

"Hey, sis! You ok?"

"What? Oh, yes, perfectly. Where's that detective you were talking about? I can't wait to hear the story. I've been trying to guess what has happened to us over and over again, almost loosing hope."

"I don't know. He doesn't take my calls nor does he respond to the messages. Perhaps, he is too busy. We loaded him with information we managed to collect. But they are all just bits and pieces and make little sense. Mina and you are sisters and the fact is a top secret. You were born in Russia which we have already known. However we failed to find out who are your biological parents. Our only hope is officer Kou."

"So... You are not my Biological brother, are you?"

"I don't know, Sere... Simply don't know. But that doesn't change a thing, you know. You are still my older sister. It's just now there are two of you..." Zoi hesitated to continue, but eventually he asked: "Have you managed to get to know her?"

"No. Not really."

"You'll get on. Just give her a chance."

Serena was sitting alone in the room, thinking about Darien... Again. She was ashamed of the fact that even with things getting more and more hectic around her, especially taking into account another incident with Mina's car, she still couldn't stop remembering the last days. Strangely enough, they seemed to be the warmest memories she had.

Too deep in her thoughts, Serena didn't hear the knock on the door, so Mina figured it would be ok to let herself in. Eager to get into Serena's heart, she made a beeline to the bed, jumping on it and looked at her ringer intently. Eventually, she failed her voice a little, startling the other blonde just a little bit.

"Hey... Sis."

"Hi."

"You look different. Nothing like me, how come they messed it all up, huh?"

"Yeah, couldn't figure that one out too. Everyone seemed to be blind, and deaf! And your plan? Such a waste..."

"Don't you worry. I've got what I wanted. And actually, not everyone is blind and deaf. My ex-husband for example, saw the difference."

Serena visibly paled.

"Darien knew?! How? Why? When? Why he didn't say a word?"

Seeing her reaction, Mina grinned. Now she knew what she would do. Serena's pupils widened, and a rosy blush heated her cheeks as the memories washed over her with the new mind-blowing force. Thanks to Darien's despair, Mina knew every single detail of their... Relationship.

"Who knows? He's a man... But you know what? We should celebrate!"

"Celebrate what?"

"Why, our reunion, my divorce. And you know what?" Mina hurriedly switched on her bubbly mode, eager to make Serena let go of her control and show all of her emotions while Mina's nonsense speech. "This absolutely must be a masquerade! And at midnight all faces will be revealed! Oh, I am such a genius! The event will take place..."

Mina continued on with her speech, noting Serena's melting defense. Once she relaxed, the match-maker dared asking her little details of the time spent in the mansion.

When Mina left the room hours later, she was completely and utterly satisfied with the evidence of mutual feelings between her sister and her ex-husband. Now that she thought about it, they were created for one another and would make a perfect couple.

Her only and last concern was Serena's stubbornness. No matter how hard Mina tried, she couldn't make her confess the feelings even to herself, much less to the new-found sister.

The more complicated, the more interesting.

'Oh, it's gonna be fun!' was her last coherent thought as she snuggled next to a man in her king-size bed.