Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for being my beta!

Chapter 33 – Decisions

Serena was not happy at all. She had agreed to meet her parents for breakfast early this morning, and from the moment she walked in, it hadn't gone well.

She approached the table and heard, "Serena, I thought you were on time now that you grew up a bit." Her mother had stated while shaking her head at her.

Serena looked at the time on her phone. "Mom, I'm three minutes late. I walked here, and I just didn't time it perfectly." She sighed, sat down, and opened her menu.

Her dad took a sip of his water and then asked, "When are you moving back home now that you have been back for a while?"

"Dad, as much as I love you both, I'm not moving home." She knew it was time to tell them she was engaged. "I have liked living with my uncle and the guys, and eventually, I will be moving out. But, it's because I'm getting married." She held out her ring for them to see and said, "Darien asked me to marry him."

That was when the attention of the whole restaurant was brought to their table. Really, she could go a long time without being a spectacle at a restaurant again. Why did this keep happening? This morning, it was because her father had just yelled, "You can't expect us to be happy with your engagement! We don't approve!"

Serena looked at her angry father and her pale mother. It was hard for her to gauge what her mother was really thinking about the proposal. "Uncle said you didn't really approve of Darien. I don't really care. I went a whole year without seeing you, and I have barely seen you now that I'm back. When I did live under your roof, you didn't really spend much time talking to me other than to criticize me or kick me out of the house because of my grades. Never once did you offer to sit down with me and help me study. I have gotten myself to the place where I am, and I'm not really looking for your approval. I was just informing you that I'm getting married. And, I cannot fathom why any parent in your position could object to him. He is going to be a doctor and is at the top of his class. Most fathers would be pushing their daughter towards him no matter their daughter's feelings. Well, I love him, and we're amazing together." She stood and put down her napkin. "I have better things to do than to continue making a scene in a restaurant. Goodbye." She then turned and walked out, leaving them and their opinions behind.

She was disappointed later when her mother hadn't called her to talk to her. Serena sighed and decided she must agree with her father.

Molly sat at the arcade talking to Andrew and drinking coffee. She needed the caffeine after the late night she had. She had tried practicing with her Sailor Mars powers deep in the woods all by herself. She wanted to not look like a total amateur anymore. Technically, she was, but it didn't mean she wanted it to be so obvious.

Andrew asked, "So, what's wrong? You look exhausted and annoyed. That's a hard combination to pull off, but you're nailing it."

She gave a light laugh, "I was up late practicing with my powers. I want to look less ridiculous next time we all train together." She then suppressed a yawn.

Andrew shook his head, "You should really take Jadeite with you when you do that."

Molly grew really annoyed, "I can defend myself just fine. I don't need to take someone along every time. I'm not a child."

Andrew gave a nervous laugh and shook his head, "You misunderstand me." He wiped a spot on the counter and looked back up at her. "You don't need protection, but you do needhelp. This isn't something any of them did alone. Serena had Darien from the very beginning. Why hold yourself to a different standard?" He reasoned.

"She had his help in battle, not training."

"She never trained. Surely Darien would have been drawn to her and showed up to train with her if she did back then." Andrew reached for the coffee pot and poured her more.

"You do have a point there."

"The reason I recommended bringing Jadeite with you to train was actually to help him. So many times, he has mentioned to me that you have Raye so well handled that he really isn't needed. It would help to make him feel needed if you asked him to train with you. Going off on your own, while perfectly acceptable, will make him feel sidelined. You're capable of so much on your own, but you need to remember that it's in his nature to protect and help. It isn't that you're a woman either. He was brought back by Queen Serenity to protect Darien, a man. Also, I really think he wants to share this with you. He is so proud of you. He has been talking my ear off about how quickly you're getting everything and how brilliant you were at the meeting."

Molly's shoulders drooped, "Well when you put it that way, you're right. It would be nice to have him there and help by giving me advice. He has seen all of the scouts in action, and I was usually running away before and had my back to them." She then looked up and smiled, "He really has been saying those things about me?"

Andrew just smiled and nodded at her.

Molly pulled out her cell phone and called Jadeite, "Hey Jadeite, would you like to train together again today?"

Molly never knew how much his heart soared to be invited along and deeper into her life.

She hung up her cell phone and looked at Andrew questioningly as she saw that he stood there frozen. "What?" She asked.

He never got the chance to answer.

"So, you're by yourself again." Raye snarked.

Molly looked at Andrew, "Hear that Andrew? Apparently, you don't count as a person any longer."

Raye rolled her eyes, "I wasn't counting the person who was being paid to talk to you. Maybe that's it. Maybe you're just used to paying people to spend time with you."

Molly turned to look at Raye, "Please tell me you aren't going to be making a scene again. You always just end up making a fool of yourself."

Raye made a point of looking around, "You're the one who ends up looking foolish, and if you haven't noticed, we're the only three in here. See, Andrew was only talking to you because you were literally the last person in this place." She smirked at that.

"Are you so lonely that you need to come here just to try to get a rise out of me? That is just sad." Molly looked away and turned back to her coffee.

"I notice Jadeite isn't around. Surely he's off with some other woman by now." She gave a false look of pity and said, "Just wait until I am Sailor Mars again, and he comes running back to me. I've been working on regaining my powers."

Molly barked out a laugh at that, "You're just ridiculous." She refrained from revealing her brooch. She didn't want Raye going after it. "Serena already appointed the new Sailor Mars; she was at their latest meeting." Raye grew pale and Molly continued, "She has transformed into Sailor Mars also. You'll be hearing about her eventually when the next attack happens."

Raye looked livid, "Who?! Who dares to try to replace me, as if anyone could? She will fail; you'll see. I will get my power back, and she will be left powerless and alone."

Molly gave a slight mocking smile, stood up, and took a sip of her coffee. She started walking out of the arcade and turned before she reached the doors, "Me, I dare. I'm Sailor Mars. Goodbye, Sister." She then exited.

"Bitch!" Raye yelled after her, trying to get the last word.

After Andrew returned from the breakroom, he saw Raye was gone. Whew! He thought. He had no trouble admitting to himself he was a coward when it came to Raye and her temper.

Serena slumped down on Darien's couch and frowned.

"What's wrong, my love? I thought you would still be as happy as I am." He was puzzled regarding her mood since the moment she walked in two minutes ago.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but the wedding is wrong." She sighed.

Darien was frowning now too, "How am I supposed to take that?"

"No, not that part. Not us marrying. THAT is amazing. I had breakfast with my parents, and they aren't happy about our engagement." She sighed and slouched down, "That will be great for gossip, my parents looking upset while we promise to spend our lives together. And now on top of that, on the way over here, I realized I can't get married at the temple I wanted to."

"Raye." Was all he said.

"Yup!"

"Now, I get it. There might be an easy fix to all of that if you're up for it." He looked sheepish.

"I'm all ears." She looked hopefully at him.

"We could always elope. Several of the guys even recommended that very thing to me." Darien smirked because, technically, it was true. He was apprehensive that he may have upset Serena by suggesting it though.

"Darien, you are without a doubt the smartest person I know. Let's do it. Let's elope!" She paused and jumped up onto her feet. "We already have a house; we can stay here until it is furnished. We could really elope soon. I love it!" She beamed at him and then stopped before she leapt in his arms. "You did mean it, right? You weren't joking around, were you?" She looked so unsure of herself at that moment.

Darien looked her in the eyes and said, "I'm serious. I want to marry you soon." He then paused. "Shoot, you're under 20. We would need your parents' permission." His shoulders drooped, and he looked frustrated.

Serena shrugged and said, "I can get them to sign the paperwork. They might not like it, but they haven't once stopped me from doing whatever I wanted. I don't, for a second, believe that I was able to sneak out of that house for four years without them ever noticing once."

He narrowed his eyes and considered that fact. It annoyed him that they hadn't been watching out for her. He refrained from commenting and upsetting her further, "Can you get them to sign the paperwork Saturday?" He caressed her face.

"Saturday? Yes, I can do that. Wow, we're eloping. I need a dress, and we need wedding bands!" Her mind started racing.

He took her hand and started walking her towards the door. "I already have your wedding band to go with your engagement ring. Let's go buy mine right now." He then pulled out one of his credit cards, "Here, use this to buy whichever dress you would like."

"I can't just take your credit card."

"Of course, you can. Just use my card. By the time the bill comes, we'll be married anyway." He reasoned to her.

She looked shocked, "Good point. Wow! I can't believe we're getting married Saturday. Should we tell anyone or just surprise them?" She smiled up at him.

"I say we surprise them all. And hey, that way I don't have to pick a Best Man, and you don't have to pick a Maid of Honor," he joked.

"I didn't even think about that! How would we have picked? Jadeite would have been so mad if I made him wear a dress to be my Maid of Honor." They both started laughing at that.

They walked out of his apartment building and went to purchase his ring. Neither of them could stop smiling the whole time.

Later that night as Darien walked Serena home, Serena abruptly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and Darien came to a halt. He took a couple of steps towards her and took her hands in his. "What is it, love?"

"You really want to elope with me on Saturday? You aren't feeling forced because of my parents?" Serena had tried to hold her voice steady.

"Sweetheart, you can't believe I ever dreamed of a big wedding. Besides the fact that I'm a guy and I didn't dream about my wedding; I don't have any family that I could even invite. The only family I really want, or need, is you. You will be there and become my wife. That is everything to me." He kissed her on the forehead then.

Serena sniffed, "Then we get married Saturday, and we spend the rest of our lives together. I love you."

"And, I love you."

Darien then walked her home and kissed her at the door.

As he walked away, he smiled realizing he would be sharing a home with her soon.

= I did look up how to elope in Japan. You can get married the same day you fill out the paperwork. If one person of the couple is under 20, they need the parents to sign that they have their permission.