Chapter Sixteen
Disclaimers: Don't sue and don't copy!
AN. *Evil laughter.* ;-P
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Once everyone signed in they managed to drag all of their luggage, most of which was Serena's, up to their rooms. There they said their goodnights so that the group could get some rest before the first welcome session scheduled for the next day. Of course Darien had already started his count down. "I'll give her two more minutes to finish her room's inspection and come over to check out mine," he mumbled to himself looking at his watch.
He was wrong. He hadn't even gotten his tux hung up in the closet before there was a knock on the door. He opened it and let her in smiling. "You're early."
"Early for what?" she asked looking around the room.
He laughed, "Nothing."
"Hey, I have a picture just like that in my room," she remarked looking at the framed print over his bed. "Only mine has little butterflies on it. And it's daisies in stead of lilies. Oh, and the background is blue in stead of that pinky-mauve color."
"But it's just like that right?" he asked removing the tuxedo from the hanger bag and running a hand over it.
"Yeah," she caught the context of his words and threw a look at him. He didn't catch it as he laughed at her and hung the clothing up. "Anyway," she said flopping down on his bed, "do you think we gave Romola any permanent heart problems?"
He walked over and sat down next to her. "Well, if she falls over with a heart attack during this thing I think we'll have to send her family a lot of sympathy cards."
She giggled at him and flipped over to look out the window on the other side of his bed. "You know, this place seems smaller than Tokyo but it really is pretty." She laid out on his bed propping herself up on her elbows to stare out at the city. "How far away from the capital thing do you think we are?"
He laid out on his side and looked out with her. "I don't know. In all truth I don't think the city is all that big so we're probably not that far from it."
"What's the deal with all the numbers and letters and quadrant thingies? I mean how in the world does anyone find their way around this place? Everything's in circles and squares and octagons!"
He chuckled looking from the window to her. "The city was designed around one main point. The hill that the capital sits on is the center of the city. Everything else stretches out from it in diagonal lines. Downtown streets are laid out in a grid. Little parks or circles mark intersections in those avenues. The main streets and the Mall, or like the main little government building things, divide the city into four quadrants. That's how you know where you are. If you're in the right part of the city you can find your way around. North-south streets are the ones with the numbers, and east-west streets have letter names. So every address has initials that follow it, because NW, SW, NE, and SE tell you which quadrant it's in."
She stared over at him with an overwhelmed expression. "How do you know all of this stuff?"
He chuckled at her. "I read."
She rolled over on her back with a groan. "That's it! I am never asking you a question again for as long as I live."
"I can't help it if you ask me dumb questions."
She popped back up to lie on her side facing him. "That was not a dumb question. Besides, for all I know you just make up all of these things."
"Well, you are extremely gullible."
"I am not!"
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Are too."
"Am—Oh shut up!"
He laughed and she reached over and smacked him in the shoulder. Just for that he reached back and grabbed her elbow and pulled her over to him wrapped his other arm around her and flopping over on his back so that she lie beside him. "Besides," he mumbled evilly, "I thought you said I was cute when I thought I was always right."
Sufficiently tangled that way she stopped struggling and laid her head on his chest. "Of course you had to hear that part," she muttered.
He smiled and lightened his hold on her so that she could place her arms around him too. "I did, but I also confessed something to you."
She looked up him uncertainly and then a light dawned in her eyes. "You actually did say that you thought I was cute when I argue with you. Didn't you?"
He nodded still smiling at her. She looked down again thinking for a minute. "You just kind of popped into my dream and led me along didn't you?"
"I guess I did. But I didn't expect to find out that you were dreaming about our wedding."
"Humph! I told you I don't know where these things come from. They just started and won't go away." She didn't look at him but he could tell that she was sorry he found out about it.
"I'm sorry Serena," he mumbled still quite amused with the situation. He ran a hand through her hair and she seemed to relax a little more.
"Not your fault I talk to people when I'm asleep." He quietly agreed. "But, I want to know what dream you had that I missed out on."
He laughed at her and shook his head. "No way you're getting anything out of me on that one."
She propped herself up on her elbows and looked at him evilly. "You will tell me," she said deadly serious.
He looked back at her just as determined. "No I won't."
Seeing that her bluff wasn't working she resorted to whining. "I told you mine and its not fair Darien! You have to tell me!"
"Do you want some cheese with that whine?"
"No but I certainly get all of the ham I want around you."
He laughed at her indignant air. "Just trying to keep your life interesting."
"I'm a schizophrenic. My life is always interesting."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot. Although how I could forget something like that I don't know." She sniffed and tried to pull out of his grasp. But he wasn't about to let her go. Instead he flipped her over so that they had switched positions. She was now lying under him and he lay on his side next to her. Propping his head up with his elbow he kept one arm around her to make sure she wasn't going anywhere.
Serena for her part let out a very startled sound and stared up at him. Once she found herself safe and sound but still next to him she flashed him an angry look. "I really hate when you do things like that."
He smiled his most charming smile at her. "I know."
Her expression softened somewhat, "And I really hate it when you look at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you have to be the cutest man on the face of the planet and you know it. Therefore nothing you do could be wrong."
"I do that?" he asked genuinely confused.
She giggled at him. "Yes."
"Note to self: stop doing that."
She batted her eyelashes at him pretending not to hear the comment. She slipped one arm inside of the elbow he was supporting himself with and placed it on his back. The other hand was placed over the arm he had around her to keep him there. And he knew he was in trouble.
"Please Darien, tell what you dreamed about." That same look that always got to him, not to mention that with her all snuggled next to him he was rather enjoying this moment. But the little image of that bikini brought him back to his senses. Or maybe away from his senses.
"I'd really love to tell you about it, but, uh, I forgot already. You know how dreams are, one minute you remember them and the next you don't." He felt her nails dig into his back and he squirmed away only to find himself closer and eye to eye with her.
"Care to rephrase?" she asked with a raised eyebrow and evil intent written all over her face.
He laughed nervously at her and began to wonder if he could adjust the heating down a bit. "Really Meatball Head, I don't remember much. Besides, yours had to be so much more—Ow."
"Ow?" she asked digging a little farther.
He nodded. "Ow."
She looked at him with mock concern. "Oh, am I hurting you Dearest?"
He smirked at her, "Not at all…Love," but she was going to start drawing blood soon.
She smiled bewitchingly at him as he kept getting closer trying to get away from those killer claws. "Oh, what's a few stitches between friends?"
"Stitches. Funny." She wasn't letting go. Finally deciding that he'd had enough of her torture he started to move back and away from her. Big mistake.
Her nails raked down his back at the move and he yelped despite himself. "Ow! Ow! I give!" She finally let him go and he hopped up to a sitting position. "What are you trying to do, kill me?!"
She laughed at him and sat up beside him. "Oh, you poor little defenseless creature. Let Aunty Serena see if you're hurt." She pulled up on his shirt and he turned around intent on saying something but she beat him to it. "And no stupid comments on me thinking of trying something just because you happen to have a nice tight end."
He just gave her a withering stare and turned back around. She laughed to herself and lifted up his sweatshirt. "Oh, well, what a lovely set of matching red marks," she mumbled.
"Scarred for life because some psycho needed to try out her new manicure on me the hard way," he grumbled.
"Oh, you'll be just fine." She ran a hand over his back and he had to admit that hurt was not what he was feeling. She reached up with the other hand and pulled him closer to her to peck a kiss on his check. "Now I didn't hurt you did I?" she asked much more gently.
He looked into her eyes and confessed to himself that she really hadn't, but he wasn't done with his ploy yet. "Yes," he mumbled trying his best at one of her pouts.
It failed but she laughed wickedly anyway. "Serves you right for holding out on me. Now give." She slid back and laid down on his bed again.
He assumed the same position he had before but this time he didn't let her get her hand on his back. "You know, I still don't think that jarred my memory back into shape."
She looked at him very measuringly for a moment. "Didn't it?" she asked with venom dripping off each word.
He laughed at her and finally decided that he could tell her part of it. "Fine, then this is for your crummy 'tight end' jokes."
She looked at him very curiously and he sighed. "Let's just say it was one of those dreams that you're sorry you have to wake up from, but once you're awake you really wished you'd never had it."
She giggled at him and he was beginning to wonder if he could lie and say it was something perfectly innocent. But somehow, that didn't seem like much of an option, she'd know if he lied to her. But maybe… "And if I tell you this you have to tell me the rest of yours."
"No!"
It was an automatic response and he kind of liked that slight embarrassment in her voice. "That's the deal."
She looked at him carefully for a minute. "But I've already told you mine."
"Liar," he said flatly.
She looked away from him dejectedly. "I don't want to tell you the rest of it," she pouted.
He smiled. "You don't have to."
She looked back sourly. "I suppose that means that you don't have to either."
He shrugged innocently. "It's only fair."
"No it's not!"
He laughed at her. "Poor little Meatball Head. You really don't want know what I was dreaming about anyway."
"Yes I do!" she nodded enthusiastically.
He sighed again looking down at her. Oh, well, let's see if he can get a nice scarlet color out of her. "All right, fine. But you're not going to like this," he warned. She only smiled at him and waited. He rolled his eyes. "The basic point was the two of us in a hot tub."
She waited for him to continue and he didn't. "So. What happened?"
He pushed out his lips thoughtfully. "That was about it."
She stared at him incredulously. "That was what you didn't want to tell me? Some dream about a hot tub! What it the world is wrong with…" she stopped staring at him. "Wait a minute."
He licked his lips acting a bit nervous. "I didn't say what you were wearing."
Three… two… one…
"Darien Chiba!!" She sat up despite the arm that he had around her waist and pushed him down to the bed covers without any trouble. "I don't believe you! What in the world were you thinking!" She jumped from the bed and went on raving about the horrible nature of his intent, or something. He simply laid there staring up at the ceiling while she blew herself out. She finally smacked his knee and he jumped up to a sitting position. "And why don't you enlighten me as to what your sick little perverted mind thought up for my wardrobe anyway."
"Perverted?"
"Yes! Perverted. Sick. Warped. Depraved."
"Depraved?"
"Yes!"
He crossed his arms over his chest and stared at her. Good humor was one thing. Their normal arguments were something else too. But he did not enjoy being called a pervert. "For your information I am not a pervert and if I were your normal clothing style would be more than sufficient to supply my 'depraved' imagination. And might I add that if I were that type of person this would not be any rare instance. Not to mention that after five years you'd know exactly what type of pervert I was if I had any evil intentions in me."
She looked at him a bit startled by the tone of his voice. In all truth he wasn't exactly being fair to her. She probably hadn't meant that anyway, but he had an image to maintain.
She recovered and crossed her arms over her chest staying well out of reach next to his bedside table. "It's just the principle."
He smiled uncrossing his arms to lean back on them. "I didn't want that dream any more than you wanted yours. So stop acting all high and noble and tell me that you're not actually mad at me."
She turned back to him to regard him quietly before walking back and sitting down next to him. "No, I'm not. I can't blame you for a dream." She paused before looking back at him with the same indignant air. "But what was I wearing?"
He smiled lying back down again. "Do you remember that little tropical flowered bikini you had?"
She nodded thoughtfully. "I still have it. Why?"
He chuckled, "Take the ruffles off and you pretty much have it."
She thought about it for a minute and looked down at him confused. "So what's wrong with that?"
He just looked at her surprised that she was serious. She blinked back and he just started laughing. "What?" she asked hopelessly.
"I don't even need to be a pervert around you."
"Darien!"
He kept laughing and then reached up a hand to gently pull her back down to him. She grudgingly lowered herself with him and stayed quiet until he finished his laughing fit. "I still don't get it," she mumbled. "What was the point of the dream?"
"There was no point to it. Is there ever a point to stuff like that?"
"So fine, you had a dream about me in some skimpy little thing. That's still better than plotting our honeymoon."
He chuckled. "Oh, I don't know. That dream could make for a nice honeymoon."
She leaned up on one elbow to regard him. "There's something you're still not telling me isn't there?"
He paused looking at her. "Yes."
She tapped her nails against his chest absently. "So are you going to tell me or not?"
"…Not."
Her look was actually becoming painful. After all if someone could kill you with a look it would be Serena. "I really hate you."
He smiled evilly at her and pulled her back down. "That's a horrible thing to say to your husband."
"Yeah, you wish."
"Yeah, in my dreams right?" he chuckled. She smacked him in the ribs. "So come on. Yours was a whole lot more interesting than mine. Tell me the rest of it."
"Why should I?"
He smiled into her hair. "Because you're dying to tell me anyway."
"Why?"
"Because you tell me everything. Now come on. I got in on the surprise honeymoon, which actually does sound like something I'd try. Did you get the whole wedding ceremony too?" He picked out a lock of her hair and started playing idly with it.
She paused for a moment. "Do you enjoy playing with my hair?"
"Yes. You know I love it so stop stalling and tell me."
"I didn't know you actually liked my hair. I thought you just found it nice to torment me about." She popped her head up so that she could look at him.
He chuckled and watched her amusedly. "Yes, I like your hair and I do not torment you."
"Says you." She laid her head back on him again.
"Will you just tell me the stupid dream!"
"All right fine! Humph! No, for your information, I did not get in on the wedding. All I got was the trip from the reception ball thing to the boat that you were taking me on. It was really pretty too. It wasn't a normal boat or anything. It was kind of one of those ancient house boat thingies. You know that ones that look like they have a little house in the middle of a regular fishing boat. Only this was bigger so there was like two different levels to the building thing. But it was so romantic! I guess I really shouldn't have thought it was real."
"Hey!"
She giggled, "Sorry. Anyway, that was the boat that you threw me off of when I woke up."
"Well that's one way to throw away the bride," he chuckled.
"The expression is to give away the bride," she chided.
"Whatever. So there wasn't really all that much to it besides what I already came in on?"
"Uh, no."
He looked down at the top of her head and she slightly shrunk away from him. "Why is that so unconvincing?"
"Why can I never lie to you?" she said angry with herself.
He laughed, cuddling her closer to him. "Please don't try to learn too hard," he whispered in her hair.
"OK," she said snuggling into him.
"Now what did I miss."
"I'm not telling you."
He stopped, "What?"
"I am not telling you the rest of it. So you'll just have to suffer."
He quietly regarded her thinking of how best to get it out of her. "Oh, I think suffer is the right word all right." He used both of the hands he had around her to start in on the one form of torture that he knew would work. He tickled her.
"No!" She jumped as he started in and she tried vainly to slip away from him. It didn't work and she found herself on her back giggling like the engaged at a bachelorett party. "Darien!" giggles, "Stop! Please," laugh, laugh, "Stop!" She curled herself into a ball under him trying to get away from him. He didn't let up and she just kept yelling at him incoherently around her forced laughter.
"Now are you going to tell me or not?" he asked very rationally, momentarily letting up.
"NO!"
That was the wrong answer and he started in again. "No, no, NO! Darien!" she whimpered trying desperately to make him stop. He heard the little pained note in her voice and continued a second longer and then stopped wrapping her up in a hug and pulling her to him. She still giggled with the aftereffects and she clutched a hand onto his shirt.
"If you don't stop screaming you're going to wake up everyone else in this hotel."
"Good!" she said forcefully. "Maybe they'll think you're attacking me and come and arrest you!" He chuckled at her and finally noticed then that she was trembling slightly. Concern washed over him as he wondered if he'd somehow hurt her in the processes.
"Serena? Are you all right? I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked picking up her face so that he could see her. She had tears in her eyes and he stopped afraid that he had. It wasn't until she punched him that he came back to Earth. And rather painfully too. He wasn't expecting the blow and she had some force behind it.
She took the opportunity to slide away from him. "No, but you're going to be hurt if you every try that again!"
He clutched at his stomach and rolled away from her groaning in faked pain. "What do you mean 'going to'? This is me in pain!"
"Good. I hope you die of internal bleeding and a ruptured spleen!"
"You don't even know what a spleen is."
"I don't care," she turned on him. "I watch enough blood and guts movies to know that it's suppose to hurt and that's all I care about!"
He sat there and laughed at her as she dried her eyes and recomposed herself. "So will you tell me what you're holding out on me?"
"No." She eyed him warily in case he was going to try that again. But he figured he'd best give up on it for one night.
"Fine. I'll just let my little imagination play with the image of us married and on a boat."
"Don't even go there," she warned.
He laughed again and looked over at her. "Don't worry, I think the picture of us married is too much for my humble imaginings anyway."
"There's nothing humble about you," she snipped and after a moment willingly stretched out to lie beside him. He uncurled an arm so that she could lay her head on his chest again before enfolding her with it. She laid there for a moment thinking but he couldn't be sure of what so he remained quiet. "Is it really so hard to imagine us together?" she asked very quietly.
He was a bit confused with the question and he really didn't know how to answer her. "What do you mean?"
"Honestly Darien, have you ever thought about…" she stopped unsure of herself. "Never mind," she mumbled instead.
"No, tell me. Thought about what?"
She sighed, "I don't know. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if we were together? I mean like dating or something."
"Seriously? Uh, no."
"Never?"
He paused, "Well, maybe. But most of my thoughts fall back to the fact that I couldn't put you through that."
"You're too hard on yourself." She giggled and seemed very amused by the conversation. "But, I have a question."
"Shoot."
"Marry me."
"What?"
"I'm serious Darien. I mean let's face it, neither one of us has any good experience at the relationship thing. Not to mention that we know each other better than anyone else knows us. We get along… well, we might have to work on that." He chuckled. "Everyone we know already thinks that there's something going on between us anyway. Why not?"
"Why not?" he asked very skeptically.
"Yes, why not? We work together and in a place where mostly everyone else is married to their partners anyway. We're together half of our lives anymore. We have just enough in common to build on. You're always telling me that I need someone that actually uses his head, which I'll have to grudgingly admit that you do. And you definitely need a woman that will get you out of the house and make sure that you don't work yourself into a Noble Peace Prize and an early grave. I think we could compliment each other very well."
He rubbed his chin in her hair and smiled at the thought. "Yes, I guess I can say that we compliment each other. But working with each other is very different from living together."
"I know. But we can work that out. It would be so much easier than both of us trying to find someone else that fits into our lives the same way. Besides, what if there isn't anyone else out there for us?"
"That's a really lousy reason for marrying someone."
"Granted. But I know you'd stay with me. I know you'd care about me."
He silently agreed with her. He always would. "But we are missing one thing."
"What's that?"
"Love."
She chuckled lightly, "No relationship's perfect."
"Serena!"
She laughed at him. "I know, I know. But who's to say that we won't fall in love after we're married."
"Great. This might as well be an arranged marriage." She shook her head slightly against him. "No. At least we know that we care about each other."
He played with her hair again. "But concern probably isn't enough to get you through a marriage to a man that you don't love."
She laughed slightly. "With as long as a normal marriage lasts anymore, I don't think love has a thing to do with any of them."
"True," he conceded. "OK, so we have everything but love. I guess that's not bad. But how long do you think that would last?"
"What do you mean?"
"Serena, I care about you. And I know you. And everything else, but how long until one of us really starts to regret this little deal?"
She was silent for a while and he began to wonder how they got into a halfway serious debate about this. "Somehow I think you'll regret having me around before I resent you for anything."
He chuckled, "What could I resent about you?"
"The fact that I'm always such a pain. Or that I whine constantly. Or that I klutz out at every opportunity. The fact that I'm always surrounded in a mess when you're a neat freak… What else can I come up with?"
He smiled at her. "None of that matters to me. You know that. But what happens when I'm always so quiet with you? When I bottle up like I always do and won't let you in. What happens when you get sick of me being so unemotional to you?"
"When have you ever been unemotional to me?" she asked perfectly serious. "I know that you try to close up sometimes but you end up letting me help when you're ready. I'll be the first to admit that you don't talk nearly enough, but if you need me you know that you can come to me. Besides, there's nothing unemotional about you when I need you."
He paused very thoughtful for a moment. "All right, you talked me into it. When do we set the date?"
She giggled, "Somehow I have a hard time believing that I've convinced you. You always have to be so rational."
"Maybe, but in this case, I don't mind not being rational. After all, I think I'm getting the better end of the deal here."
"Why?"
He smiled, "Because I get you and you only get me."
She propped herself up to look at him. "What do you mean only? I think I'll have more than my hands full with you!" He laughed at her and she laughed back. "So, what about April? Isn't that a good month to get married in? I always thought it would be pretty. All the flowers are coming out and everything."
"April sounds nice. But that only gives us three months to put everything together."
"Oh yeah, that's right." She laid back down to get comfortable. "Well, maybe we should shoot for fall then."
"Or we could say April next year."
"Hum. Fifteen months. I don't think I could handle waiting that long."
He laughed, "It's not like we should be in a hurry or anything."
"Well, that's true. OK, next April then. Can we still have a big wedding?"
He stroked a hand over her hair. "Just inviting your family and friends will make it a big wedding. Besides, I don't exactly have a large list of my own remember?"
"Oh yeah. Well, we can work through the guests later."
He laughed at her serious tone of voice. "Deal."
"But now we should probably be concerned with getting you enough best men to compliment my list of bride's maids."
He groaned and shook his head back and forth. "Does that mean that we're going to have a big house in the suburbs with a picket fence too?"
"No, an apartment is fine with me. After all we have too perfectly good ones between us. Although we're going to have to do some serious furniture moving."
"Actually, no, our apartments probably won't work," he said thoughtfully.
"Why not?" she propped herself up to look at him.
"Because there're both one bedroom places. To which I have to ask exactly how married we're going to be." He looked at her for an answer and she stared back before she finally laid back down looking a little numb.
"Maybe this won't work."
"I suppose not," he said laughing at her. "Love is meant to be the biggest part of a marriage. You need everything else too but you need love to see you through when they fail."
"And you ask why I come to you with my relationship problems."
"Can I add that in all truth I don't know what I'm talking about, it just sounds good?"
"I don't believe that for a minute."
He chuckled, "OK, so I learn by observation."
"Yeah. Observed love. …Why do I feel like that's all the closer I'm going to get?" Her voice quieted and she was serious.
Darien couldn't understand the change in emotions. "What do you mean?" She laid there quiet for a while making no indication that she'd heard him. Finally she moved slightly in his arms and he brushed her hair back wondering if she would tell him.
"Darien?"
"Hum?"
"Do you ever wonder if there really is someone out there for you?"
Somehow he didn't figure that this question was exactly pointed at him. "Yes Serena, I wonder sometimes."
"Do you ever feel that maybe you've missed them? Or that… there really isn't anyone there for you after all?"
"I've thought of that. Perhaps I've thought of it more than some have." She tightened her hold on him and remained quiet for a time.
"I've begun to wonder myself," she said quietly.
He nestled his check against her hair and kept it there. "Why would you believe for a moment that you won't find someone Serena?"
"Love seems so… so hard to me. I mean I want to fall for someone yet, I'm afraid to. Do you know what I mean? If you fall in love with someone you live in fear that the other won't return it. Or what if it's the other way around? What do you do then? It gets messed up so easily and you never know what to do when it goes haywire."
Darien listened to her talk wondering what could bring this on. What could he say to her to help her believe in love? Especially when he had such a hard time believing in it himself. "Serena. Love has to be given and received freely or else it's not love. I know that it seems hard, but when you find the right man you'll see that it is easier to fall for him than you thought."
She pondered his words for a minute before responding. "I hope you're right. I mean all my life I've waited for someone to sweep my off my feet and love me forever. But in real life it doesn't work that way does it? What if I… fall in love with someone that doesn't love me back? That can't love me? What then?"
He sighed silently praying that that would never happen to her. "Serena, don't set yourself up for the fall here. You're beginning to sound like me," he admonished gently. "Look at the man that you think you're falling for very carefully before you make your decision. Watch how he treats you and how he treats everyone else because sooner or later he's going to do the same things to you. Really know him, and I mean know him a long time, before you let yourself talk you into anything rash. And if you know him and you truly do love him, then I don't see how he could not love you back."
"There are a lot of players out there."
"I know," he said quietly. "That's why you keep yourself at a point where if he pushes you, or if he leaves, you won't be crushed by it. If you don't give in to him then someone like that won't stay around. That may hurt but it's a lot easier than losing yourself to him and being lost forever." He brushed a hand through her hair again. "You've always been a good judge of character, your friends will agree with me on that and listen to them too. Real friends won't let you get into something that will hurt you. But listen to your heart. I know it too well to believe that it'll lead you astray."
She giggled lightly at him. "Thank you. I'm sure I'm just worrying over nothing. It just gets lonely sometimes."
"I know." He looked down at her, "Did that help?"
She nodded against him. "Yeah. I have my whole life to find Mr. Perfect why rush into something that more than likely won't be love anyway. Besides, why not have some fun while he's not here yet?"
He chuckled, "Not exactly the elegant phrasing I was hoping for, but as long as it helped somehow I won't complain."
She sighed, curling up next him tightly. "Thank you."
"You're welcome Meatball Head."
She giggled and then propped herself back up to look at him. "Marry me anyway Darien. I mean, what would I do with my little knight in shining armor without you to walk me through it? Fall in love with me and marry me and I'll be all set."
He laughed lightly at the image and reached up to brush her check. "You'll do just fine in figuring out your emotions without my help. And you'll find someone a lot better than me to marry you."
"How?" She looked at him carefully. "How could there be anyone that knows me better than you? I don't mean that I'm all that serious about this, but… you need some confidence in yourself. Don't put yourself down on the latter so far. I mean, let's face it, if I hadn't known you for so long, I could be in serious trouble over having one Darien Chiba in my life."
He smiled at the compliment. "I'll say that for you too."
She giggled and laid back down. "Does that mean that if we met now things would be different between us?"
"I hope so. We're alone in a hotel room laying on my bed and talking about marriage!"
"Yeah, I guess that would be a little different. But you know, I don't think I mind this," she mumbled getting comfortable again.
He smiled to himself. The image of their wedding still locked in his mind. "I don't either… Now, how did these moon dreams start?"
"Darien!"
He laughed at her. "Oh come on. You said that you've had a lot of them. I want to know about these things. They sound very interesting to me."
"I'll give you interesting," she growled.
"Come on, tell me," he said quietly nudging her head with his chin. "Please?"
She sighed, "What do you want to know?"
"When did they start?"
She didn't answer right away and he wondered if he shouldn't have asked. "It was right before I decided to break up with Neil."
He grimaced, no wonder she was being quiet. "I'm sorry Serena. I didn't mean to bring that up."
She scooted up on her elbow so that she could look down at him. "Why not?" He looked at her confused for a moment. "Why not bring it up? I mean you and everyone else I know are still tiptoeing around the issue two months afterwards. I'm not going into a mental breakdown here Darien. I'm all right, but no one else seems to think so. I don't understand it."
"Serena," he sighed looking up at her closely trying to judge her true feelings. "We're worried about you." He reached up with one hand to brush her check. "Going through something like this isn't easy. And you came very close to going with him."
She looked away from his eyes. "All of those close to you got the scare of their lives and it isn't easy to forget that. We're worried about you partially because of the fear that we went through and partially because we aren't sure what you're feeling or what we can do to help." He paused still looking at her. "And I'm no exception."
She turned back to him measuring his words. She finally sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm sorry Darien. I know how much I had to have scared you."
He smiled tightly, "No you don't."
She looked at him questioningly. He just watched her eyes and knew that he would have done anything just to see them again. He brushed her check again and then pulled her down to him again wrapping her close and not wanting to let go.
They just laid there in silence for a while. He knew deep inside that with every touch or hug, every time he saw her eyes sparkle, he thanked God for sparing her. And he wondered silently if there wasn't a bigger reason why she was placed back in his arms.
She stirred slightly, enough to tickle his chin with her bangs. "I am sorry Darien. I never meant to put you through that. Or anyone else for that matter."
"I know. You didn't choose it. I'm just thankful that you're still here." He hugged her tighter to him to say it personally.
She snuggled closer to him and laughed lightly. "I know you are. I saw that look in your eyes the first time you came into my hospital room. And I know you're still worried. I can see it in you from time to time. But, I've kind of made peace with myself and with Neil's death. I guess I just needed some time to really think everything through."
He smiled at the top of her head. "And I think I just needed some time to adjust to what I kept feeling when you were asleep and not paying any attention to me."
She chuckled lightly. "And what was that?"
He rubbed his chin against her hair for a moment and closed his eyes. "That I don't know what I would do if I lost you." He opened his eyes again searching his heart for the right words. "That it took something like that to make me see just how much you mean to me."
She caught her breath and tightened her hug to the breaking point. "I'm sorry. Oh, Darien, I'm so sorry."
"It's all right Serena. I was just afraid of losing my little Meatball Head." He leaned over pecking a kiss on her head. "But, um, if you don't let go you're going to have to learn to live without me."
She laughed and squeezed him tighter for a minute before letting go and propping herself up on her elbow. He coughed and sputtered a moment trying to find any cracked ribs. "I don't want to have to live without you. But a cast here and there I think would be very fitting."
"Yeah, and I'll give you a few more stitches."
She laughed. "Yeah, it'll add to my battle scars."
"The only battles you get into is with bus benches."
She looked at him sourly a moment. "How can you be so sweet and worried about me and then turn on me the next minute?"
"I'm always sweet and believe me I'm always worried about you," he said innocently.
She slapped him for it and hopped up to walk around the bed to stand in front of the window. "It is really pretty here. Check out this sunset," she said waving him over.
He rolled off the bed and walked over behind her. The sky was lit with pink and purple clouds as the sun fought for room to shine out before night tucked him in. The downtown buildings crowded their view of the sight but they remained secondary to nature itself. "It is pretty," he commented.
She turned around without warning. "Let's go out and do something."
He stared at her like she was a mental patient escaped from the institute. "Are you kidding? You were the one just saying that you couldn't figure out how to get around in this city and now you want to go out after dark when we don't have the foggiest idea where we're going." He lightly tapped her on the forehead. "You did bring you prescription with you right?"
She slapped his hand and frowned at him. "Oh, come on. You just said you knew how to get around this city and besides if we get lost we get in a cab and tell them where we're suppose to be going."
"City traveling according to Serena. Next lecture will be on the evils of sleeping on subways."
"Yes, they're very hard on your back," she mumbled humoring him.
He laughed at her and moved back to flop down on his bed. "You can't tell me that you're really up for this can you? I mean if it's like six o'clock here that makes it…" He tried to count back to what time it was at home. He just gave himself a headache.
"I don't even want to know what time it is there. All I know is that my sleep cycle is completely messed up already and I don't care."
He looked up at her wondering if he could bottle some of her energy and sell it as peppy-pills. "Have you ever heard of the Energizer Bunny by any chance?"
She looked at him weird. "No. What is it? A landmark over here or something?"
He laughed at her. "No. I was just wondering." He looked over at the TV and thought of a better distraction. "Why don't we stay in here where it's warm and get some American culture."
She sat down beside him curiously. "How do we do that?"
He reached over on the nightstand and retrieved the remote. "The most useful of all modern inventions of course."
"The last time I saw a sunrise was the day I called you to say I was sick."
Darien chuckled, "You must have been sick if you got out of bed that early."
She turned to give him a dirty look. "No that was the first time I had one of those moon dreams."
"Oh? What was that one about?" he asked curiously stepping up and wrapping his arms around Serena's waist.
"Oh," she groaned quietly. "You don't want to know."
"Really? Was I in that one too?" he asked leaning over slightly to place his chin on one of her meatballs.
She sighed, leaning back against him. "Yes. You know, that one dream was the real reason why I decided to brake off with Neil."
"Because of a dream?"
"It was more than a dream," she mumbled placing her arms over his. "But the day's just started, lets not ruin it already."
He looked down at the top of her head wondering what could possibly effect her that much from a dream. Then again, this was Serena. She could be greatly affected by accidentally buying the wrong flavor of Chap Stick.
He instead gazed back out the window. From her room they had a very good view of the neighboring building. But a patch of sky could still be seen and it held many of the same colors that their sunset had.
*Their sunset?* Why was it that all of his thought were traveling in we's and our's? The pair hadn't turned in for bed, well different beds, until nearly midnight. And lying there alone last night he had begun to think about all of the things that had been said before. Somehow a few new emotions had etched themselves on his brain and, he feared, on his heart. He had even caught himself seriously wondering about their wedding!
But no matter how much he tried to put it out of his mind he had still fallen asleep thinking of her standing at an alter beside him. *Yeah, her and five bride's maids. Now would you get over it!*
But this morning each had received a nice wake-up call from the Bentons' room across the hall. Apparently a sight seeing trip had been planned without their consent. So they were both up and dressed and staring absently out the window.
"What time did you say it was back home?"
"Ten o'clock at night."
She barely nodded. "It feels like it."
He chuckled into her hair and then slipped his arms away from her, taking one of her hands in the process. "Come now little Miss Bubbly. Time to play the part of the cute perky tourist."
She laughed and followed him out and down the hall. The Bentons were already down stairs waiting for them. "So where are we going anyway?" she asked slipping on her coat.
He stopped next to the elevator and turned to her. "I don't know."
- - -
@}->-- "Knowledge is gained by learning; trust by doubt; skill by practice; and love by love" -Thomas Szasz.
