(again and again and again and again I see your face in everything)

He jolted awake. The key. That was it. That was how he could do it. He could use Rini's key. Then he remembered that the key that Rini stole from Setsuna only took Rini through time. It couldn't just take her anywhere anytime. He groaned and sat up, putting his feet over the side of the bed. He thought. What could he do to get to Setsuna?

There wasn't any denying it anymore. He needed to get back to Setsuna as quickly as he could.

Serena suspected nothing of his feelings. He did not even think she had noticed his steady, slow decline. He had enveloped himself in his thoughts of Setsuna, trying to figure things out. In the future, they were to be together, but when was that? How soon would that be? When would be the next time he could hold Setsuna, touch her with hands that tingled for her very touch? When could they finally be together again?

The answer, Darien decided, was not soon enough. He wasn't going to wait around like some poor, sick bastard, further depressing himself with the memories of his love, and further torturing himself by pretending he was so in love with Serena. She was already talking of marriage and wedding plans. He hadn't even asked her to marry him.

But it was destiny. There needn't be any formal engagement, Darien and Serena and damn near everyone else knew how things were expected to go. Serena had been fitted for her dress already. She was choosing her bridesmaids dresses. She was writing up the invitations.

As far as he knew, Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka were not on the guest list. He clenched his fist over the key on the chair around his neck.

No. It was time for him to take matters into his own hands. It was time for him to see her.

He looked out the large terrace window beside his bed where the sun was rising over the water outside the city. Was Setsuna watching him from the Gates of Time right this moment? Could she know of his plans? He didn't think so, and that was good. If she knew, she would try to stop him, and he wasn't going to let anyone do that.

Yet, one of the only ways to travel to the Gates of Time was with all the power of the Sailor Scouts joined as one. He wanted a private meeting with Setsuna, and there wasn't a way to achieve that with all the Sailor Scouts there, believing whatever lie he might have managed to fabricate as to why he needed to go to the Gates of Time.

Another option was Luna. He was sure that Luna had some sort of device to allow travel without the use of his Silver Imperium Crystal. But would she allow it to him? No, it was far too risky, even if she would. As he thought about it, he realized that any device Luna might have would probably have some sort of connection with the Silver Imperium Crystals, anyway, defeating his purpose of using something else.

The Silver Imperium Crystal was powerful enough as it was, but if he used his Crystal to go somewhere, Serena would know. Their two Crystals were connected, and Serena and Darien both knew when the other Crystal was in use. If either of them should ever want to do something alone, it would be no matter.

How the hell else could he have jumped on the scene as Tuxedo Mask so many other times to save her buns, literally?

He pulled on some jeans and a button down shirt and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He examined his reflection, pondered shaving, and at the last moment decided against it. Serena had been pestering him about the rugged look, but he was growing to like it. His boss had even complimented it. So sorry, Serena, he thought, brushing his teeth. The stubble stays.

He spat foam into the sink and swallowed some water, then left the tiny bathroom, almost forgetting to flip off the light as he went. For the first time in a long, long while; Darien had some resolve. He had hope. He felt very animated, and he thought that not even the roadblock of not knowing how he was going to get to Setsuna could stop him for long.

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"Powder blue," she corrected him on the name ofacoloured fabric swatchfor the millionth time.

"Light blue is light blue, Serena," Darien replied tiredly. He'd been in good spirits all day, what with the plan he'd thought of that morning. Rather than being suspicious of him, Serena was instead delighted. She thought that the wedding was bringing him out of that depressive funk he'd been in for such a very long time. No matter to him, the less she considered him, the better.

"I just can't be sure. I do love the style, though. The girls will just die," Serena said, smiling at the photograph of a dress Darien thought was hideous.

They'll die all right, Darien thought, but not to be wearing it. It was a characteristically Serena mess of frills and bows, something the other girls may have been willing to wear in junior high school. He wasn't sure how much longer he was going to last with all the wedding planning.

"That pink is pretty," he said, pointing to one of the color swatches shown for the dress.

"Oh, yes," Serena agreed, nodding. "That Soft Rose looks exactly the color of Rini's pigtails!"

Darien snapped his head up from being bent over the magazines and stared at Serena. She did not even notice, she went on scribbling things down in a Wedding Planner that her mother had bought for her. Rini. Rini stole that one key from Setsuna, perhaps she had stolen another in some other time. A key that allowed you to travel through the present to any spot in the world. Perhaps that was why Rini had given him the earring that day that now seemed so very, very long ago. She was trying to give him a hint!

He needed to see Rini immediately.

"Serena, I almost forgot. I need to meet Carla"–(Darien's boss)—"about that business trip I have coming up," he told her quickly, standing.

She looked up, pausing in mid-write, looking at him. Her expression was slightly surprised, and to his dismay, even a little suspicious. He'd made up the business trip to warn her about his leaving. It would be a good excuse, and he could spend more than just a few hours with Setsuna. Darien had told Serena about it earlier in the day. "You just remembered this meeting?" She asked finally, quizically examining him.

"Yeah, sorry, I've been forgetful lately," he said, moving to get his keys. That much, at least, was true. "I like the pink," he added as an afterthought, heading to the door of the apartment.

"Soft Rose," she said, absentmindedly, watching him as he left.

Serena did not go back to flipping through her magazines right away. Something was going on right under her nose, she was sure of it. How on earth was he so happy today, after being so stupidly depressed for so many months? He had even stopped seeing Rini a few weeks ago, after Rini had gone to his house for a visit. He had never even seemed but half-interested in their wedding. He had always seemed, since Raye's incantation, to be half a world away. Serena wondered exactly how good Raye's stupid incantation really was. Darien could be thinking about something else.

Serena glared darkly at the door. The room was rank with the smell of cigarettes, only adding to her sudden bad humor.

She shifted her weight beneath where she was sitting on her knees at the coffee table and dropped her pencil to the notepad where she had previously been taking notes.

Nothing was going to ruin her goddamned wedding. Especially not Raye's faulty spells. Especially not—

Something sticking out slightly from under the couch caught her attention. It was the corner of a small blank sheet of paper. She took it and found upon lifting it from the hardwood floor that it was a photograph. Slowly, she turned the photograph over.

Setsuna. Serena's hand clenched tensely, crumpling the picture.

Setsuna.