Blueeyeddevil06 thank you for editing my story yet again!
Prompt from 87WW
I have a new one shot up as its own story since it's 10k words. It's called A Chance Encounter. Please check it out.
Serena sat down on the stool next to Darien and gathered her courage. Andrew was currently over cleaning the arcade machines since there were so few customers at the arcade at that moment. This was her chance to ask. "Darien, there is a manga and superhero convention coming into town in a few weeks."
He good naturedly rolled his eyes. "Let me guess, Dumpling Head. you want to borrow money so you can buy a ticket to go."
She shook her head. Her streamers of hair moved vigorously along with her. "No, I already purchased tickets." She pouted, "I'm not even on the leaderboard for Sailor V anymore. I haven't played in so long to save up my money."
"So, what are you talking to me about it for?"
She clasped her hands together so he couldn't tell they were trembling. This was her shot to try and do something with him. She knew it wouldn't mean as much to him, but she had resigned herself to that. After all, if she kept the secret that she was Sailor Moon, she could keep the secret that she was irrevocably in love with him. "I was hoping… I want to dress up as Sailor Moon and I was hoping you would come as Tuxedo Mask. I thought it would be funny. You wouldn't need to buy a ticket. I bought you one too."
He looked at her in shock, "And, why would I go?"
She was glad that she had planned for this question. She said, "You wouldn't, but Tuxedo Mask, he always shows up for Sailor Moon."
Darien swallowed hard. Here she was asking him to dress as his alter ego and go with her to this event. Did she even know what that would do to him? He would have to pretend that he wasn't thrilled to be seen next to her. Happy when strangers assumed that they were a couple. Instead of answering her right away, he looked in front of her at the empty counter and asked, "Where is your milkshake?"
She sighed, "I already have a big tab here. I can't afford one."
"How do you plan on affording a costume then?"
She rolled her eyes, "I was just going to transform, silly."
"Can't. People wouldn't really be able to see you would they? When we transform, it obscures people's perceptions of us. It would be obvious we're the real deal. We'll have to get costumes."
"But, I can't afford-" She paused. "Wait, did you just agree to go with me?!" He nodded. "Darien! Thank you! I'm so happy. Now I just have to figure out what to wear." She thought about it for a moment. "I'll figure something out." She reached into her bag and pulled out a ticket. "Here, this is your ticket. I figured you'd want to meet me there." She slid off her chair and ran out of the Arcade.
A bit later, when Andrew returned, Darien paid off her tab.
Serena went straight to Mina's from the Arcade and knocked on her door. When she answered, she explained the problem with her costume, and they set to work. Mina knew exactly what to do.
The night before the event, Serena grew pale when she read the caller ID on her cell. Darien was calling her. He never called her. This wasn't going to be good. She knew he was canceling. She answered and said, "Hello." She was dejected.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"You never call me. This can't be good. I… I understand that you probably don't really want to go." She was barely holding back tears.
"No! I'm still going. After all, you're right. Tuxedo Mask always shows up for Sailor Moon." He thought about how he was always chasing after her but never caught her. "I wanted to just offer to pick you up in the morning."
Her heart soared and said, "That would be great! I won't have to ride the bus in my costume. Thank you!"
They set a time, and they hung up. Serena went to bed happy that night. She would be spending the day with the man that she had fallen in love with. Well, he'd be dressed as his alter ego, but she knew who was underneath the mask.
Darien pulled up to the curb and parked in front of her house. He rang the doorbell and smiled when she answered. She looked so happy. His eyes then drifted to her costume, and his gut clenched. He was so glad she wouldn't be riding the bus dressed like that. She looked so sexy.
They made it to his car, and he took deep breaths through his nose. He was trying to reign in his desire. As much as she was dressed like Sailor Moon, it was Serena's body that he was noticing. He tried to remember if her skirt was always that short.
He parked at the convention center, and they handed their tickets to the guy at the front. He commented, "Sailor Moon, isn't your hair a little long?"
Serena scowled as they walked in, and Darien just laughed. She said, "He's kidding, right? I happen to know my hair is perfect."
"Of course it's perfect. Whatever masks our identities must mess with people's perceptions of us." He smiled at her. Her hair really was perfect. He loved it.
It took thirty minutes for Serena to discover that taking Darien to this convention was a terrible idea. Her stomach was in knots, and she was really working to fake a smile. She had planned on this to be a not-date but to spend time with him. What she hadn't planned on were the other Sailor Moons, the ones that looked sexier than her. She tried not to glare at the Sailor Moon with obscenely large fake boobs and the very low cut neckline. Serena was sure if she sneezed or moved too fast, her breasts would fall out and her nipples would be on display.
Darien quickly insisted that they line up for the costume contest. He said, "After all, that was part of the point of coming, wasn't it?" Serena just nodded and joined him in line. They made their way to the judges, and she struck her Sailor Moon pose. At least she knew she nailed that. She tried not to think of the fact that entering meant that they had to stay longer to wait to hear the winners. She was already wanting to leave.
Two hours later, she was trying not to cry. Chesty McBusty, or slutty Sailor Moon, she hadn't decided on a proper name for her yet, noticed her Tuxedo Mask and was making her way over. She wondered what happens now when he finds a better Sailor Moon than her? She was crushed. The tramp came up to Darien batting her eyes. "You make a very good Tuxedo Mask. I need my picture taken with you." She barely looked at Serena when she handed over her cell phone for the photo. Serena felt nauseous as she watched her press her breasts against Darien's arm. She then snapped a few photos.
The other girl looked up at him and asked, "What's your phone number? I'll send you the picture."
Serena was officially done with this not-date. She spun on her heels and marched off as quickly as she could, darting through the crowd. Her frustration grew as she realized there was nowhere to hide in that huge, stupid room. She needed a place to cry. She ducked around the corner of a booth and fell apart. Her hiding spot wasn't good, but Darien wouldn't be able to see her.
Darien tried not to cringe as some random woman walked up to him and wanted a picture. Before he knew what was happening, she had her breasts pressed against him, and Serena was taking a picture. He tried to smile to humor Serena. When she asked for his number, he told her no. He lost some of his polite edge when she tried to insist. When he looked over at Serena, she was gone.
His panic set in completely then. They were in a huge convention hall, and the only reason he was there was because he wanted to spend time with her. He looked around and stode off trying to find her. He wasn't fooled; he knew the panic was showing on his face.
Some guy dressed in red, with fake long white hair, fuzzy dog ears, claws, and a fake sword walked up to him. "Are you looking for a crying Sailor Moon?"
Darien's stomach dropped and he nodded, "Where is she?"
The guy used a finger with a long, sharp claw to point at a booth. "She's hiding behind that booth there."
Darien looked him in the eyes, "Thank you so much." He then ran off after Sailor Moon. He chuckled that now was the first time all day that he felt like Tuxedo Mask. He found her right where that guy had said she was, and he pulled her close. "Serena, please tell me what's wrong. I'll fix it."
"I want to leave."
He nodded and led her out of the main hall into an alcove in the lobby that was barely still inside the convention center. He made sure she was blocked from prying eyes and asked, "You were really looking forward to this. Are you sure you want to go before you win the costume contest?"
She laughed bitterly, "I won't win."
"Of course you will. How could you not?"
"This place is filled with women who look better than me in their costumes. I'm sure you have proof on your phone. She did send you the picture after all."
He huffed, "Serena, what are you talking about? You are, by far, the best Sailor Moon here, and I don't have that picture. Why would I want it?"
She laughed bitterly, "Yea, why would a guy want a picture of a woman with huge boobs? Men hate those."
He lifted her chin to look at him, "Why would I want a picture of a woman who wasn't you?"
"Please don't say things like that." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "I… I just can't do this anymore. This was my excuse to get you to spend time with me. I wanted you to see me as someone who was mature and special. Someone like Sailor Moon, but it turns out that I'm still just crybaby Serena." She wiped her tears. "I hate that there are women that look better than me in my own costume. It makes me feel inferior. I just wanted you to really look at me." She let her secret out, "I love you."
"And, I love you." He then pressed her up against his body and slanted her head. He kissed her and quickly deepened it, claiming her mouth. He slid his tongue into her mouth and tasted her. One hand slid to the middle of her back and the other to the back of her head. He refused to let her go. She was his now.
He pulled back, and they caught their breath. He smirked at her kiss swollen lips. He did that to her. "You're mine. Do you hear that?"
She nodded, "And, if that slut comes by you again-"
"You won't force me to take a picture with her." He finished.
She looked shocked. "I didn't force you."
He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I was about to say no, and you were holding up the phone ready to take it. She's not my type."
"Big boobs aren't your type?" She rolled her eyes in disbelief.
Darien shook his head, "Sailor Moon isn't my type. Serena, she's my type."
She began to cry again. This time with happy tears. "You like Serena?"
"Sailor Moon is just an alter ego that I get the chance to help save the world. Serena, she's real. She's the one who sits by me and makes me smile. The one I look forward to running into every day. The one I lie awake at night wishing she would love me back."
She kissed his cheek and said, "That is a relief, because I'm in love with Darien. Tuxedo Mask's a bit of a sissy after all. I mean, what's with the flowers?" She laughed and took off running.
He chased after her, caught her, and tickled her. She collapsed in hysterics. "Take that back. Those roses are cool."
She looked up at him and smiled, "They're very cool."
He laced their fingers together and said, "Let's go back in. I, for one, want to know who wins."
That night, as she laid in his arms, their trophies rested on his nightstand.
Prompt: It would be fun to see Serena talk Darien to going with her to a convention and they decide to go as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask & they win for best costumes because they're so authentic looking.
She does read manga after all