Sessediz

Rated M: Language and love scenes

D/S

I'm back from Omaha…which means I have internet again!

I also saw the new music video for this song and I'm happy to see a musical storyline portrayed between the two singers. The lyric video is cool too but now I am sure that Halsey really is a mattress, not sheet, thief. But seriously, who steals a mattress? ಠ_ಠ

This final chapter jumps a lot between the two main characters but I promise it's to characterize the final transaction we'll be seeing of our favorite couple. I didn't want this ending to be too rushed but this chapter just helps to conclude what the previous chapter couldn't quite achieve. Besides, we needed to get to the opening night of Moon Rise, right? :)

Thank you to everyone who has followed, favorited and reviewed this story during this brief journey… Definitely the fastest story I've ever written! Be sure to jump over to my other stories Outside the Walls and Do More Than Just Exist. I have also started another story now that this American election season has ended. The story is called First Daughter and just like this story it's starting as a one-shot unless I get enough feedback to merit writing more.

Again, thank you to my dedicated readers and to future readers who started reading after the story was completed. I still look forward to hearing what everyone has to say about Becoming Closer so be sure to leave a review at the end.

—Sessediz

Serena Tsukino:

"Alright, is anyone aware that we are opening a restaurant in only three hours?" I hollered out for at least a second time, maybe third. One of the new waitresses rolled her eyes as she muttered something to one of the male waiters. "And you!" I walked over, "Why is your hair down?"

She stifled a laugh and nudged the man next to her, "Um, it's more elegant this way. Isn't that what we're going for with the new theme?" The waitress gestured to the black skirt and apron combo with the white blouse and bowtie.

"Hair in our guests' food is not elegant nor will it ever be. Put your hair up before we get a health violation."

I rushed over to the front desk and readjusted the pom-style flowers in the fishbowl vase. Nothing changed but it made me feel like I was crossing something off my to-do list. I felt someone's presence behind me and knew I was about to be lectured.

"Hey, Sere?" Lita started, "You really shouldn't be taking your frustrations out on the new hires. They don't understand what this change is like for the rest of us." I turned to survey Lita's appearance. She wore a full black chef's jacket with red pants and a skull-crossbones bandana.

"Why are you wearing that?"

Lita questioningly reached a hand to her hat, "What? This?" I nodded. "I used to always wear them. Nathan bought this for me."

I scoffed, "Of course he did! Why not just wear a tutu over a bikini while you're frying up the mayor's dinner?"

"So the mayor is confirmed?" she deflected.

"Don't change the subject."

I pulled out the utensil baskets and began to count them again. Lita rested a hand on mine, "Sere, com'on on, you've been acting weird all week. I thought you were cool with us?"

I stopped pulling rolls of forks and knives out and sighed, "I'm stressed out, Lita. I know that we're prepared for tonight but something in the back of my mind keeps telling me that we're forgetting something or that we don't have enough of something. I don't know."

She rubbed my arm in small circles and softly shushed me, "Hey, it'll be alright. As soon as we are twenty minutes into this it will just be a larger, busier restaurant. Don't think of it as a new hotspot to create or how many important people are turning out for the opening; none of that matters. Just do what you do, girl."

I looked back at Lita and mirrored her smile. Realization dawned on me and guilt started to seep in, "I really shouldn't have yelled at her, should I?"

Lita chuckled, "No, she was wrong. Bertie knows that her hair needs to be up. Now, yelling at Emmy about her apron not being tied into a bow was a little much."

"I should apologize," I stated firmly, trying to walk away. Lita grabbed my arm.

"Not until you tell me what's really wrong. You've been nervous before but I've never seen you like this. Is something wrong? Have you talked to Darien about it?" I looked away and could feel my face turning redder than Lita's chicken Marsala. "Wait, is it him? What did he do?"

I snapped my head back, "What makes you assume that it was his fault? Aren't women to be equally blamed for problems in the relationship if we're ever to be fully on par with men?"

"Oh no, you slept with him… didn't you?"

I furrowed my brow, "What?"

Lita pressed a finger to her lips and cocked her hip to the side, "I can see it all over your face; you slept with Darien after your date, didn't you?" I opened my mouth and waited for my witty response to come out. Nothing… nada. "Tell me you at least tried to wait, sweetie."

I scratched the back of my neck, "We made an agreement." Lita nodded her head and I continued, "Alright, we just—we really wanted to and I mean—um—we both wanted a relationship out of this, right? But there's this history and then there's also the recent history and we just sort of—well—we decided that there was no sense in waiting just to wait." Lita didn't respond and when she did it was a slow 'alright.' "Don't—don't do that."

"Do what?"

I groaned, "That's not the issue, Lita. I—I told him I love him." Her eyes widened and I saw her mouth open to shout. I quickly brought my hand over her lips and pulled her towards the coatroom. Once she momentarily calmed down I continued again, "What am I going to do?"

"Did you mean it?"

"No shit I meant it. Why else would I say it?"

"Why else would you say it?"

I paused. "Wait, you think I told him I love him to get him to stay with me?" The thought of using those three words to get what I wanted from a guy had crossed my mind before but the need never arose. "I wouldn't do that."

"Have you never told anyone before?"

I thought for a moment and remembered the first time I had planned to say it. "I almost said it to the guy who I first slept with but I found out pretty quickly that that would have been a bad idea. And I—," I gulped as I thought about the day that I left Tucson. "I need to go over my list again."

Lita called after me, "You can't run away from this, Serena!"

Darien Shields:

"Breathe, Dare," I whispered to my reflection as I double-checked my tuxedo for lint and hairs. It was only a rental but I wanted to look my best for Serena's big opening. She hasn't returned my calls this week and has barely responded to my texts.

I knew that Serena was probably freaking out about what we said last time we made love but I honestly couldn't be happier. I just hoped that it was something she would warm up to.

I reached for the clear box sitting on my dresser and took a deep breath. "You can do this."

Serena Tsukino:

I had ducked into the restroom to be sure that my hair was still presentable and the sequins of my fitted black dress shone with the mirror lights. I reached my hand up to my silver chain necklace and adjusted the clasp to the back of my neck again.

"Did he mean it when he said it back? Does he really love me?" I smiled. "I think he does, but I shouldn't have said it so fast. Maybe he feels that way but does that mean we should be saying such things so early in our relationship?" My stomach growled and I remembered that I hadn't eaten lunch. Shit. I opened the restroom door and rushed to backroom where Lita and I had an office set up. Inside of the mini fridge was a Tupperware container filled with leftover spaghetti.

My brow furrowed and I realized that we were only half an hour away from the mayor and some of his associates showing up. They would be served first as a priority but mostly because I knew that just like a party, no one wants to be the first one to show up. This gave us an edge on making our first night a great success and then Saturday would be by word of mouth and maybe even an article online.

After my quick meal I popped a couple of breath mints and met Lita at the front of the restaurant.

"You ready?" I asked her.

She nodded and narrowed her eyes, "Are you?"

"Of course."

Darien Shields:

"I don't know what time I'm be home tonight, Andrew," I said grabbing my keys.

"Don't worry about it, man," Andrew looked around the room and then moved up close to me. I was about to jump back from the close contact when he reached into his pocket. Whispering he told me, "Look what I picked up the other day."

My eyes widened, "Wait," I also looked around the room and then lowered my voice, "you're gonna ask her tonight?"

Andrew nodded, "I'm going to take her to that restaurant called Barbetta a few blocks from the Gershwin Theatre. Her father proposed to her mother there."

I was stunned. Sure, I kind of figured that they would get married someday but seeing my college friends take that next step made me suddenly think about how old we were. Aren't we still a little young to be getting married? "Wow, congrats."

Andrew quickly shoved the small box back into his pocket. I wonder what kind he picked out. "Thanks but save it for later; she hasn't said yes yet."

"Is there any doubt that she might?"

He shrugged, "We've talked about it already so it shouldn't be a surprise; I just don't want her to be too nervous to say yes."

I raised my eyebrows, "You think she'll accidentally say no?"

Andrew chuckled, "Com'on, you know what I mean. We're young, Darien. I'm only twenty-five years old. A lot of people these days don't get married until their thirties or even at all." It's like he can read my mind. "But that's just not for us, you know?" That's just not for us; I pondered on the words Andrew had said before we both turned our heads to see Amy descending the stairs in a floral dress and peacoat. I wonder what Serena's wearing tonight. I pulled out my phone and saw the time. Shit!

"Have a great night, you guys," I grabbed the small container that I had set on the end table and bolted out the door. At least the restaurant is just across the park.

Serena Tsukino:

"Miss Tsukino and Miss Kino, you've outdone yourself," the mayor said as he brought a napkin to his mouth. "Very exquisite."

One of his associates joined in, "I agree and I love the décor; you've blended the Upper East Side with that of your original restaurant."

I stared in awe at the beautiful woman in front of me, "You visited our Brooklyn location?"

She nodded, "Indeed I did and this new venture perfectly shows your unique vision inside of our bustling city." I looked to Lita and saw a bright beam.

"Thank you so much, all of you." I didn't want to check the time in front of the mayor but I was sure we were nearly at our opening. "Would you be interested in seeing our dessert menu tonight?" I motioned for Emmy to walk forward.

The mayor patted his stomach, "I guess it doesn't hurt to look." I departed from the table and followed Lita to the entrance of the kitchen.

"This is it," she whispered, gripping my hand.

"I know. Good luck tonight. Let one of the crew know if you need me for anything. If anything catches fire or there's too much work, don't ignore it, alright?"

She smirked, "Well I hope I wouldn't ignore a fire."

I leaned in for a tight hug and we shared a smile before Molly called my attention. "Miss Tsukino, it's time to greet the first guests."

Darien Shields:

I stood in line among other fashionable-dressed individuals, couples and small groups and suddenly started to wonder how I would be seated as a lone attender. When I reached the front, there was a petite brunette woman wearing a black dress with a bow in her hair. I gave her my name and she checked the list.

"Ah, you must be here to sit with Zoe and Malachite Metalia." Who? "Please follow Bertie to your seat."

I looked over to see a woman with a menu in hand and began to follow her lead. Before we could get out of the lobby my feet stopped as I watched Serena saunter from table to table to ask the guests how their meal was going. The sight made me smile. She's so beautiful.

"Sir?" I looked back to the waitress.

"Oh, sorry. Uh, do you think you could get the owner for me? I need to speak with her in the lobby."

Serena Tsukino:

"Thank you for attending our grand opening tonight. We will be open to the public tomorrow and then start our first full rotation on Tuesday." I gave small bow and departed from the table. When I heard my name I turned around to see Bertie walking towards me. Oh, no… she did catch the kitchen on fire. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"There's a man here to see you. He's in the lobby."

What? The health inspector has already been here… Maybe it's the police? We have our liquor license cleared! "What's his name?" Bertie shuffled in place, "You didn't ask?"

"Sorry, I didn't think to."

I waved her off, "Just get back to work. I deal with whoever it is." Guess we'll have to go over some guidelines with the crew for future instances. I walked to the lobby and looked around for someone standing alone. All I could see was a single-file line and Molly at the podium. I was about to ask her if she had seen the man that Bertie told me about when I heard my name.

"Are you just gonna stand there?" I heard a chuckle before finally turning around. "Surprised to see me? You did give me an invite."

"Oh," I completely forgot about that. Damnit, I was hoping to get through this weekend without Darien drama. "Have you been seated yet? I think I had them sit you with the owners of Metalia Thorp so that you could attempt business with them over dinner."

"Not yet but I did hear that. Thank you for thinking of me," he smiled.

I gave a short grin, "So what did you need?" Darien looked around and gestured for me to follow him. Though he was walking through the restaurant for the first time, he seemed to know how to get to the backroom area. He was interested in buying this place at one point. When we reached the office, Darien stopped walking and I half expected him to open the door. "Darien, I really can't be away for too long. What's so import—what's that?"

Darien held something behind his back and the overhead lights made it gleam. He bit his lip and I almost melted at the sight. "I got you a gift for tonight but I have something to say first." Darien revealed the mystery object which appeared to be a plastic container with flowers. Is that a—? "We never got to go to prom together and you're wearing that beautiful dress and I'm wearing a tux," he looked down for a moment, "so I got you a corsage. It's to celebrate your opening night."

He started to open the container to pull out the wristband of flowers and small crystal pieces. "Red roses," I whispered.

"Yeah, just like I used to grow. You were always so encouraging of my secret hobby so…" he trailed off.

After the band was placed on my left wrist I smiled up at him, "It's beautiful."

Darien placed a hand on either side of my face, "You are beautiful. Serena, I know that we have a muddy history; both together and separate. What I'm asking you for is a chance to make this work. We're not like other couples, you know? We don't follow social norms and we certainly don't have a perfect path in front of us but right now I can't see myself trying to make it in this world without you."

"What brought this on?"

Darien's left hand moved up to my brow, "Something from a long time ago. I should have told you then, I should have asked you out sooner and I should have been more willing to listen to you that day. But now you have this fantastic restaurant and—and was that George Clooney I saw earlier?"

I nodded, "It sure was."

He grinned widely, "You've really made something of yourself, Serena Tsukino, and I love you for that and for everything else that makes you this special little package; from your fascination with space to your passion to succeed." Darien paused as he dropped his hands down to hold mine. "I know we said those three words last week and I certainly do mean them but if by any chance you feel like they were premature, I don't mind waiting with you until the day you feel sure about us."

Darien pulled me in for a tight hug. This… this is what it's supposed to feel like. I pulled back and stood up on my tip-toes as my lips brushed up against his. The smell of his cologne engulfed me and I almost shivered from the slight contact of his mouth. Darien closed the distance and pressed his partially open lips to mine. We didn't deepen the kiss but instead we get held it there, with small movements to keep it chaste. When we both pulled away I couldn't help but smile.

"I meant it, Darien. And I'll mean it every time I say it to you. I love you."

Darien ran his hand through his dark bangs before moving down to pull me into his embrace. In the crook of my neck he placed several kisses as he worked to my shoulder where my cap sleeve started.

"And I love you."