Title: Next Time Take the Elevator - A Sequel Part: 3 Author: Alicia Blade E-mail: Kammi22@sprintmail.com Webpage: First Love: A Sailormoon Story Archive Addy: http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/spa/4410 Genre: Romance/Comedy Rating: G - PG The sun was bright and warm against our skin, with ribbons and cherry blossoms blowing in the wind. I could see Serena already beginning to travel down the pink aisle littered with rose petals, Darien standing stiffly next to the priest, though with a large smile plastered on his lips. Their eyes were held together, sparkling in the sunrays. I felt like crying. After so many years, our little princess was growing up. As a single tear began to streak down my cheek, I felt a gentle nudge in my side. Turning, I saw Amy behind me with tears in her own eyes, holding out a tissue. A quivering grin climbed up over my lips. "Thank you," I mouthed, taking it from her fingers and blowing my nose loudly. A blush rose in my cheeks as Serena shot a glare in my direction. I lowered my head. After a moment, I my gaze rose again, letting my eyes wander over the scenery. Holding the wedding here at the Jesenkyou Ponds had been Raye's idea, and I commended her for it. What a grand idea! The springs glittered in the mid-day light, silent and still with depths of perfect sky blue. They were everywhere, glowing and shining, with tall vertical logs jutting from their waves. We stood upon the only peninsula, the rest of the guests seated on the main land about 20 yards away. Green grass grew up around our ankles, butterflies danced along with the brightly colored flowers and cherry trees rimmed the edge of the sacred training ground. Yes, the Jesenkyou Ponds are most widely known for their martial arts training capabilities, but such a lovely place deserves recognition as one of the most beautiful sites in Asia, also. Definitely, this was a grand idea. Serena finally reached her groom and they linked hands, sharing unhidden smiles. In front of me, Mina sighed, one hand clasping over her chest. "How lovely," she stated dreamily. I only grinned in agreement. The priest begins to state the purpose, to unite so and so with so and so in holy matrimony… the words fly in one ear and out the other as I drown in the romance of it all. From the corner of my eye, I see Rita standing beside Serena's parents. The three of them are the only guests not in the ceremony who were allowed onto the peninsula. The four guardians were, of course, Serena's bridesmaids and Andrew posed as Darien's best man. Mrs. Tsukino holds a large grin on her lips, though her arm is tense as she braces a furious Ken Tsukino, her hand locked through his elbow. Obviously, he isn't as caught up in the beauty of everything as much as we are. "If any person knows a reason why these two should not be united, speak now or forever hold your peace." "Why you!" Instantly, all heads turn to the steaming Ken, his wife trying vainly to quiet him as he glares daggers in Darien's direction. I cough, shuffling my feet nervously. "Just an inkling…" I whisper to Amy, "but this can't possibly be a good thing." "Daddy!" Serena screeches, her blue eyes wide in embarrassment. She is ignored as her father shakes off his wife, continuously staring at a stunned Darien. "How dare you take away my little girl!" "Wha… huh?" Darien stutters, unconsciously taking a step back. Sensing fear, Ken lunges forward. Darien only has time to blink a few times before two outstretched hands tackle him, pushing him backward from the chest. With an abrupt yell, he stumbles back, his eyes widening before he falls over the edge of the peninsula, tumbling downwards. SPLASH! Serena screeches, running towards him to collapse next to the edge, her trembling hands grabbing at tufts of grass. "Turtle Dove!!" she yells just as… a… a… "What the hell is that?!" … rose up from the pond, sputtering in every direction. THAT was a black and white, chubby, blue eyed giant panda. "Ohmigod!!" screamed Serena, "Darien was eaten by a panda!" Wailing, she lurched herself backward. She was almost caught by Raye, but the second impact was made, Raye lost her balance, stumbling backwards. "No! Raye!" Serena yells, turning swiftly. The crowd diverts its attention to another small pond, looking on for the black haired priestess. However, none arose, only quiet ripples in the water. Serena sniffled. "Raye…" A cat like hiss aroused just as a black kitten with a small red ribbon climbed out of the pond Raye had recently fallen into. The kitten growled, screeched, shook its hair, then sneezed before walking daintily up to the top of a small grassy island in between two of the springs. Settling down quietly, she began to clean her fur. All these actions were monitored closely by the silent audience. "Oh no! Not Raye too! Even a CAT could devour her!" "How strange…" Amy muttered, whipping out a pocket computer. "I didn't think such animals lived in places such as this. In fact, if I didn't know better, I would think that Darien and Raye have become the animals, not been eaten by them. But then, that's a silly hypothesis." Mina shook her head, looking calmly between the two animals, the panda now sitting in a pond, chewing on a bamboo stick. "Ya know, I get this strange vibe coming from them, almost familiar…" She gasped loudly, her hands flying to her cheeks. "Oh goodness… do you think… that maybe… they're from the Negaverse?!" "RAYE!" howled a voice, running up from the mainland. I turned to see Grandpa Hino jogging toward us on his short little legs. "What happened to her? Where's my Raye? Why haven't any of you gone in there to get her yet?!" "Well honestly, Grandpa, I don't remember which spring she fell into," said Mina cheerfully, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "They all look the same to me!" "It was that one, you young, beautiful ditz!" he yelled, taking a short moment to flirt happily, before pointing in the opposite direction Raye had fallen. "Actually, I think it was…" began Amy shyly, continuously typing away. "Now go down there and bring her back!" Grandpa finished, his fist clenched. In a moment he had grabbed the trail of Mina's skirt and pushed her, head first, into the closest pond. "Don't come back up here without my Raye!" Mina's scream was quickly replace by gurgling sounds. And a second after that, I could have sworn I heard her yelling for help, but since when does Mina… oink?! Looking over into the pond, I realized my mistake, seeing a drowning blond piglet in the mist, a red bow tied neatly around its neck. "Aw, how cute! Somebody should go help the little piggy, don't you think?" I cooed, my hands over my chest, big glossy eyes admiring the adorable, struggling pig. "From my research, it seems as though everyone's life serving energy is being constantly replaced and overcome by that of the animals, which supports the theory that they are not being eaten, but these affects are more closely related to replacement…" "Replaced? REPLACED?!" Serena screeched, finally up on her feet again after staring into the ponds silently. Her face was bright red, the veil from her dress missing and her hair tousled. "Well, Einstein, if you're so smart, bring them back!!" Amy chuckled nervously, running a hand through her hair. Well, it's not quite that easy. First, I have to figure out what is causing the changes and where these animals are appearing from. And then…" "Bring them BACK!" Serena screamed, pulling her hair momentarily before lunging back in the direction of our genius, her hand aiming for her neck. Contact was not made as Amy jumped back in fear and tumbled down and down… just like the rest. Serena froze, her hands still in mid-air. "I didn't do nothin'!" she finally muttered, bringing her hands behind her back. "Didn't touch nothin', didn't see nothin', didn't say nothin', I didn't do nothin'." Whistling, she slowly turned away. I gulped, hesitating, before looking over the edge. By the time my gaze followed the rings of the splash, Amy was gone, through a cute little duck floated on the top, quacking occasionally. Blinking, I tilted my head to the side, furrowing my brow. "Now that's odd…" I stated as if it were the strangest occurrence of the day. "Liiittaaa!!" Serena wailed from behind me and I turned around like lightning before she could lurch herself in my direction. She was not ready to tackle me, however, only sat crying on the ground, staring at the large living teddy-bear. "Where's my Honey Muffin?" she sniffled. "Poo po po poo poooo poo poo…" the panda muttered, holding up a white sign from behind him. "I am Honey Muffin," the sign read in perfect kanji. Serena stared blankly for a minute before rolling her eyes. "Yeah, right, even I'm not that stupid!" Groaning, she stood up to walk silently into the crowd, disappearing somewhere behind the trees. I watched momentarily as the crowd tittered amongst themselves, before slowly getting up to leave. Frowning, I placed my hands on my hips. "Well, what a waste of time that was! I'm hungry. Where's the nearest restaurant?" "Oink-oink! :::SQUEAL:::!" Looking down I saw the tiny yellow pig nuzzling my leg. It looked up with blue eyes before trotting off down the peninsula, taking a left before turning to see if I followed. "Hm… coulda sworn it was the other direction, but I guess a piglet would know the way better that I would!" I sing, before following the small animal. Together, we walked into the sunset. Tiredly, Lita grinned, fluffing up her pillow and squeezing it to her chest, a bit of drool rolling out the corner of her mouth. *** "I'm still hungry." "There's a surprise." "Quiet, Da… Carrot Nose." Darien grinned lopsidedly, lying a gentle kiss on Serena's cheek. She sighed, leaning up against him. "I'm tired too." "Yup, I'll agree with you on that one." The serene moment was interrupted by the loud honking of a nose as Tom blew into the handkerchief Darien had offered. "How are you doing over there, Tom?" "Lots better, Mr. Darien, sir. Here's your hankie back…" Darien's eyes glanced down at the limp tissue before smiling weakly, holding up his hand. "Eh… you keep it…" With a smile, Tom shoved it into his jean pocket. Flinching, Darien turned back to the girl as she rolled her eyes in disgust. "Hey, you know what my mommy always used to do when I was tired?" "What's that, Tom?" "Well, she would sit me down on her lap and sing me my favorite lullaby." "Really? That's very cute." "Yeah…" Tom whispered, staring up at the ceiling slightly dazed. "She always knew how to make me feel better, and put me right to sleep." Yawning, he stretched his hands over his head. "But that was before I moved out. No one's sung me that lullaby since I was just a wee one…" "When did you move out of the house?" "Oh, I left the nest at 32. Yeah, I know it's sad… leaving your mother at such a young age, but I thought I was old enough to be out on my own." A bit frightened, Darien and Serena exchanged glances before looking up at him once again. His dark eyes held a look of sadness and loss. Whimpering sadly, Serena listed her head to the side. "Gee, that's really… REALLY… sad, Tom. Is there anything I can do?" *** "On top of Spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball when somebody sneezed. It rolled off the table, and onto the floor, And then my poor meatball rolled out of the door." "You have a real purty voice, Ms. Serena…" said Tom as her hands ran briefly through his hair. "My girl is a great lullaby singer," agreed Darien, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist to snuggle even deeper into her side. "It rolled down the garden, and under a bush, And then my poor meatball was nothing but mush! The mush was as tasty, as tasty could be, And then the next summer it grew into a tree." "Just like Mommy always used to." "The tree was all covered, all covered with moss, And on it grew meatballs, all covered with sauce. So if you have spaghetti, all covered with cheese, Hold onto your meatball, 'cause someone might sneeze." Serena sighed, rolling her eyes as her head hit the railing behind her, her hands running tenderly through the two mops of hair on her lap. "That was… so beautiful… Ms. Serena…" Tom yawned and smacked his teeth together a few times, before snuggling a bit more into her waist. "Yeah, thanks, Tweetie Bird…" "On top of…" "All covered… with…" "Poor meatball…" "Head…" Rolling her eyes, Serena could hear the gentle sounds of the two grown men as they drifted off to sleep. 'How do I get myself into these positions? I thought I was the tired one here. For goodness sakes, people, really now…' Groaning, she tried desperately to get comfortable, weighing out the two bodies snuggled up against her. Finally, she relaxed with her head nuzzled into the wall just beneath the railing. ::wheeezze:: SnOrT -wheeew…- ::wheeezze:: SnOrT -wheeew…- ::wheeezze:: SnOrT -wheeew…- Serena's eyes snapped open in agitation. "Oh, God no…" she muttered beneath her breath to the sound of a grown man snoring in her ear. *** This dream sequence is brought to you by the makers of Happy Pills! Are you sad? Lonely? Depressed? See a psychiatrist! But, if you just need a pick me up, try caffeine, sugar, and artificial flavor enhanced Happy Pills today! "Does he love me? I wanna know! How can I tell if he loves me so?" Jumping out from behind the chocolate candy-covered bush, I grabbed one of the first ice cream cones I saw, holding it to my lips like a microphone and dancing into the sugar cane field. "Is it in his eyes?" sang the small blue birds in the air, twirling and dancing on the clouds. "Whoa no, he'll make believe!" "Is it in his eyes?" continued the small chipmunks on the happy tree trunk, their arms around each other as they sang with their small beady eyes closed. "Oh no, you'll be deceived! If you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss…" "That's where it is!" screeched the little goldfish in the nearby crystal clear spring, jumping out from the silky waves. "Is it in his face?" "Whoa no, that's just his charm." "In his warm embrace?" "Oh no, that's just his arms. If you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss…" Picking up the small bear cub at my heels, I began ballroom dancing through the meadow, dipping the young animal like a ballet dancer and swinging him around on my tip toes. "Shoop, shoop, shoop!" sang all the animals, the frogs from the pond jumping around me and the Easter lilies swaying in the gentle breeze. "So kiss him… and squeeze him tight!" Setting the bear down, I pulled the grand ancient cherry tree into a tight hug. "Find out what you wanna kno-o-o-ow… If it's love, if it really is…" Sliding into the middle of the field on my knees, I threw my hands up to the sky. "IT'S THERE IN HIS KISS, WOOOAAAHHHH!!" "Is it in his smile?" "Oh no that's not the way! And you're not listenin' to what I'm sayin'. If you wanna know if he loves you so, it's in his kiss!" "That's where it is!" "Oh yeah, it's in his kiss." "That's where it is!" "Oh yeah, it's in his kiss…" "Wwooooohh, weeeoooohh… oooooooooooohhhhh…" "Andrew, SHUT UP!" :::WHACK::: Andrew yelped, sitting up in the bed as a hand smacked him in the face. "Wha…?" "For goodness sakes, you were singing in your sleep, AGAIN! What on earth goes on inside that head of yours all night?!" Rita screeched, moaning as she fell back in the pillows. Andrew sighed, rubbing at his sore nose. "Sorry, Hon…" "It doesn't matter now, we have to get up anyway. The wedding will be starting in about 2 hours." Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Rita got up to walk into the kitchen in order to start a pot of coffee. After a quiet moment, a goofy grin spread over Andrew's face as he stood up to find a change of clothes and go in to take a shower. Beneath his breath, he began to sing, "Is it in his face? Whoa no, that's not the way!" We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming. *** ::wheeezze:: SnOrT -wheeew…- ::wheeezze:: SnOrT -wheeew…- WHACK! "Ow!" "Would you SHUT UP already?!" Serena screeched, withdrawing her arm from the face of the large man snuggled into her side. Darien groaned, rolling over to slowly open one droopy eye. His gaze was met with a security guard leisurely rubbing at his nose and his girlfriend grumpily smacking her lips together. A crooked grin creased his cheeks. "She's grumpy in the morning," he yawned, sitting up to stretch carefully. "Yeah, I noticed." "Well, you would be too if some oversized crybaby had been snoring in your ear all night long!" Serena hissed, standing onto shaky legs to walk over to her purse and pull out a makeup compact in order to begin applying the foundation. After a moment, she sighed, turning around to see the two men still trying to wake up on the stairs. "For goodness sakes, I'm supposed to be getting married in a few hours. Why on Earth am I trapped in here with you two loonies?!" "You know, you couldn't very well get married in a few hours if it was just me trapped in here either." She rolled her eyes, straightening out her shirt and smoothing the material from wrinkles. "Not my point." "Hm… according to my watch, workers should be here by now." "What? What time is it?" "11:25." "Ha! And I'm AWAKE at such an ungodly hour? For goodness sakes, I'm going back to bed, and both of you had better stay away of me. I want you both outside a 10 foot radius! I will not lose out on any more beauty sleep than I have to!" With that said, Serena knelt down on the floor and once again curled into a ball before she was breathing quietly, almost asleep. "Eh… Snicker Doodle… if Tom is right, then we should get someone to let us out. Have you forgotten? We're supposed to be getting married in… well… 25 minutes ago." Serena's eyes snapped open, instantly followed by her jumping to her feet, whisking around to face him. "25 MINUTES AGO? But… but… what if they've already given up on us? What are we going to do?" Wailing, she fell to her knees, sniffling and crying as loudly as her vocal cords would allow. "Now, now, you really shouldn't do that," reprimanded Tom, searching through his pockets. "You'll get red puffy bags under your eyes, hardly the look you want on a day like this. Look, you stay here and get some rest, and I'll go out into the store and buy you some cucumber slices, and maybe some aloe cream. Would that work for you?" said Tom comfortingly, pulling out a ring of jangling keys from his pockets to begin flipping through the metal keys. Sighing, Serena slid down the wall to collapse onto the floor, the tears only beginning to subside. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I'll just wait here for you to get back." Finally finding what he searched for, Tom grinned up at her. "I'll be back in a jiffy then!" Sliding the key into the lock on the door, he tilted the handle down, opened the large metal door and walked out. It almost latched close again, but was stopped just as Darien reached out a hand to catch it before the door could close completely. He held still for a moment, his mouth open as he glanced from the semi-open door to the handle to his wife and back again, repeating the process a few times. "Fluffy Muffin?" "Not now, Peanut Butter Cup, I'm still trying to let out my stress in big bawling tears." "Yeah, but, uh… Love Biscuit… the door…" "Is locked, I know. Just wait until Tom comes back to open it for us, alright? Then we can go to the church and get married and everything will be happy-go-lucky, got it?" Darien chewed on his lip momentarily, looking down at his hand, still holding onto the small metal door handle. "Well, Snookie Bear, about this door thing…" *** "I am going to kill her." "Now, Raye…" "I am SO going to kill her." "I really don't think that would be a great idea…" "Stop arguing with me on this one, Lita! The girl is going DOWN." Lita gulped, taking a step back to twiddle her fingers. A silence passed over the girls standing in the lobby of the church. Inside they could see the guests lounging and talking uncomfortably. "It's not all that bad…" began Amy, pursing her lips together. "What do you MEAN 'it's not all that bad'?! There should have been a wedding here an HOUR ago, and the bride and groom haven't even showed up! What am I going to tell all these people?!" Suddenly, a look of fear passed over Raye's face and she clamped her hand over her lips. "What if I'm forced to marry CHAD?!" Amy, Mina, and Lita exchanged curious glances, but couldn't comment before Andrew and Rita came walking into the room, worried expressions covering their faces. "There's no one picking up Darien's phone. They're not at his apartment," said Andrew. "And I couldn't get a hold of his cell phone either." Sighing, Raye collapsed weakly into the nearest chair. "This is a disaster," she mumbled, her hands rubbing at her temples. "Er… can I make a comment?" The small crowd turned to face a shy looking Mina. "Well, I'd just like to point out the fact that… I was RIGHT. They DID elope. Come on, people, who called it? You best pay up, Lita!" Growling, Raye began to ball her fists up, when a loud squeal rose up from the entrance. "WE'RE HERE!!!" In a flash, all heads had turned to see a very tired couple, messy, sweaty, and breathing hard in the doorway. "Where have you BEEN?!" Raye screeched, jumping to her feet to stand in front of them and proceed to yell at Serena and Darien at the top of her lungs. After only a moment, Lita clasped her hand over Raye's mouth. "Thank goodness you're both here. I almost had to pay ten bucks to Mina. Do you realize what that would do to my savings?" Pushing her way in, Mina stood in front of the couple. "Serena Tsukino- Almost-Chiba, WHAT have you done to your hair?! For goodness sakes, woman, this will not do! Now come on, get yourself fixed up, we're trying to hold a wedding here!" Grabbing onto Serena's wrist, Mina began pulling the bedraggled girl to the hallway on the side of the church that lead up to the small dressing room. "Now you hold it right there just a corn-shucking minute!!" screeched Raye, turning to watch the two escaping from her clutches. "I'm not done venting just yet!" "Relax, Raye," Amy said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. "You go tell the guests that things will be starting shortly, we'll take care of everything else." Raye glared for a minute, before letting her shoulders droop. Heaving a sigh, she turned on her heels to walk into the church, ready to deliver the news. Sighing, Amy and Lita turned to face Darien, ruffled and unsteadily trying to catch his breath. "The… cake… is in the… the taxi…" he managed, his hand clasped to his shirt. "For god's sake, TELL me my tux is here!" Amy and Lita exchanged glances, before turning to him and shrugging. "Looks like Tux-Boy's gonna need one more appearance." Groaning, Darien rolled his eyes. "Fine, where do I change?" They pointed in the direction of the other small change room, and he inhaled a deep breath, before trudging down the hall they led him in. Amy and Lita remained motionless for a minute, before Amy sighed, tucking a lock of blue hair behind her ear. "I suppose I'll go get the cake." "And I'll go see how Serena and Mina are doing." Nodding, they turned to go their separate directions. *** "Now I'm thinking blue eyeliner… or maybe black? No, that'd be too dark… What do you think Serena? Oh, why am I asking you, you don't know anything about makeup…" "Knock, knock, can I come in?" "Yeah, sure Lita!" Lita walked in on Mina hovering over Serena in a small desk chair, Already dressed in a flowing white gown. Her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail with a few strands to frame her face. "Dang girl, you work fast." "I know, now help me decide on makeup." "Hello, can we speed it up in here?!" yelled a new voice, peering in from behind Lita. Raye entered the room, her arms folded. "The people are getting just a TAD impatient out there!" "Sorry Raye, but it isn't exactly easy to turn Cinderella into a beauty queen when she hasn't showered in nearly 2 days!" "What?! Where were you all this time?" "Sorry, Raye, Darien and I were a bit busy…" "Doing what, I wonder…" mumbled Lita. "Fine, whatever, just hurry it up!" "I think I'm done!" squealed Mina, placing the last bits of lipstick on Serena. "Now we just need the veil, and…" Grabbed by her two arms, Serena was hoisted out of the chair and a sheer lace veil was thrown onto her head. Yawning, she rubbed at her eyes, only to have her hand grabbed away and slapped gently. "Don't do that, you'll smear the makeup! For goodness sakes, didn't you get ANY sleep last night?!" Lita snickered at this comment, only to be roughly jabbed in the side by a less than amused Raye. "How are things going in here?" whispered Amy, walking in quietly. "Alright, she's almost ready." "No, she IS ready!" Mina said proudly, tugging out some of the wrinkles on the veil, before latching onto Serena's arm to drag her to the door. "WAIT! I'm not ready!!" she screamed suddenly, her arms reaching out to the doorframe to keep from being pushed outside. Everyone froze to stare at the evidently frightened bride. "Oh no… Serena, this is NOT the time to be having wedding day jitters!" "No, no, it's not that!" "Then what?!" they yelled simultaneously, even Amy rolling her eyes in exasperation. "That… that tradition thing!" "What tradition thing?" "You know… it's um… er… you know! That thing they always do!" The girls traded confused glances as Serena groaned, letting her head drop to her chest. "One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish!" Lita sighed. "That settles it. I also knew the girl would someday go loony." "I am NOT insane! Come on, you must know what I'm talking about!" "You mean…" began Amy, "something old, something new…" "Something borrowed, something blue?" finished Mina. "Yeah! Yeah, that!" "Tell me she's joking," muttered Raye, slapping her forehead. "I can't go out otherwise, please don't make me!" pleaded Serena. "Fine, fine! First, we need something old." The five girls stood for a moment, looking around the small room. "Hey!" squealed Lita suddenly, diving for her purse. "How about this?!" From inside, she pulled out a white paper plate with an unknown food on top wrapped in cellophane. "And just WHAT is THAT?" "Fruit cake from last Christmas!" she said, quite proudly. Slowly, Serena let go of the doorframe to walk into the room toward Lita. Pausing, she looked down at the cake, taking a moment to poke at the single slice of cake. "Lita?" "Yes?" "That is disgusting." "Really? You think? I actually find it quite tasty…" "Eeew!!" "Okay, okay, never mind!" interrupted Mina. "Great idea, Lita, but how on Earth is she going to wear FRUIT CAKE? Here, how about these instead?" Reaching into a duffel bag behind the desk, she held up a pair of muddy, beaten up, smelly tennis shoes. "Hey! Those are my running shoes!" screeched Lita. "Well, duh, do you actually think I would wear these hideous things?" Mina commented, plugging her nose. Serena gulped, before nodding vivaciously. "Okay, fine, those will work!" Sitting down in the small chair she began to undo her own shoes. "Great, now for something new!" cheered on Raye. "Well… how about…" "Hm… we could use…" "Say… maybe…" "Ha, that one's easy!" twittered Amy, smiling proudly. "Raye, I could have sworn you just got a pair of new earrings a bit ago…" Raye stared at Amy for a moment, before backing away and clasping her hands over her ears. "Oh no you don't! I paid good money for these just so that I could wear them today! There's no way I'm handing them over to her!" "Oh, come ON Raye! Do you want to get this show on the road, or what?" "Yeah, hand 'em over Raye!" "No way, uh-uh, it's NOT gonna happen!" she screeched, closing her eyes tightly. "Would you stop being such a baby?!" "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!! I can't hear you! I can't hear you!" Rolling their eyes, the girls turned away. "Well, on second thought, how about…" "We tackle her?" "Sounds good to me." Turning, Mina, Lita, and Amy each launched themselves at Raye, Lita grabbing onto her hands and holding them behind her back, Mina holding her head still, and Amy carefully removing the earrings as Raye screamed her dislike of the turn of events. Finally, they released her and handed the small drop earrings to Serena who put them on hesitantly. Growling, Raye scrunched herself into a corner. "This is not fair. I do so much for you and look how I'm treated." "To continue!" Amy stated, holding up a finger in determination. "Next on the list… something borrowed!" Another moment of silence followed as they stared at each other. Serena, finished with the tennis shoes and earrings, stood next to the others silently, looking at their dresses to see what would work with her outfit. "Here." "Eep!" Serena screeched, jumping back slightly as Mina held up a small pink piece of… something… "What is that?!" "Gum." Serena stared silently as Mina continued to hold the chewed on bubble gum in her face. "Yuck! Mina, that's gross!" "Geez, Sere, just take the gum, it's not gonna kill you!" reprimanded Amy. "We are wasting time!" "And I don't have cooties," pouted Mina, thrusting the piece a bit further into Serena's face. The bride hesitated, staring at the alien food as if it would jump up and attack her. "Wh… what flavor is it?" "Watermelon." Biting her lip, she slowly lifted her hand up, and Mina dropped the piece into her palm. Serena flinched, grimacing, before slowly placing it into her mouth. After a silent moment, she began to chew, her cheeks sticking out to the side, before she looked at Mina and forced a small smile. "Thanks." "Which leaves…" said Raye, finally standing up to rejoin the group, though obviously still pouting angrily, "something blue." Instantaneously, four heads turned to an innocent, oblivious Amy. She looked between their expectant faces for a minute, before her eyes went wide and she held up her hands, backing away. "You… you don't mean…" "I'll get the scissors." "No! You can't use my HAIR! Are you crazy?! How will she wear it anyway? Come on, guys, it's short enough as it is!" "We'll just take a little snippet, no one will notice!" "But… but…" >SNIP< "Ay!" Swirling around, Amy stared at a grinning Lita as she held up a small lock of blue hair. Her jaw fell. "Thanks, Ames, you're so much help." Handing the hair to Mina, the girls watched as she tied a small ribbon around it before tying it into the bouquet. "There, that's everything!" "Whew, it's about time! Now let's get moving!" Quickly, the girls tramped out, leaving a motionless Amy behind them, her hand running over the back of her head. *** Darien folded his hands in front of his stomach, before momentarily crossing them over his chest, then deciding to shove them into his pockets. "Would you relax?" "What is taking her so long?" "Oh, I'm sure they're just primping. You know girls." Darien grunted in response, turning to look at Andrew. "Weren't you at all nervous on your wedding day?" Andrew smiled, raising his eyes to meet his best friend's. "You were there, what do you think?" Chuckling, Darien lowered his gaze. "Oh yeah. Never seen one man drink so much champagne." "Oh, quiet you." A hush settled over the crowd as organ music blasted through the pipes in the corner of the church. Darien stiffened, his blue eyes locking onto the doors at the other end of the aisle. "It's about time," whispered Rita from the front row. The oak doors swung open, and in walked Amy and Raye, arm in arm. They began to stroll down the aisle slowly slowly, left foot - together - right foot - together, before Raye let out an anguished groan and began dragging Amy down the aisle. "Can we just hurry this thing up? My ice swans are probably melted by now!" she growled, a little too loudly. Finally, they stopped at the altar, a shaky Amy taking her place behind Raye. Next, Mina and Lita began walking together, their arms locked as one foot stepped before the other. The music continued, playing melodiously. Darien straightened his tuxedo, tugging at the ends of his bow tie. Mina blew a kiss to some friend - or miscellaneous cute guy - in the audience. Lita waved, repeating in her mind 'elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist…' Before the beautiful moment was ruined with Raye's booming, "Would you pick up the pace a little, you're walking as fast as my GRANDPA!" They ignored the fact that her grandpa could MOVE when he wanted to, and scuttled up the rest of the aisle. The music changed. The crowd stood. From behind the panel of the great oak doors walked a slim figure covered in white. She stood as the centerpiece of attention for a moment, her eyes glancing at her husband-to-be through the sheer veil, before inhaling a deep breath. Picking up her skirt, Serena ran up the aisle, one hand clutching the rose bouquet, the other wrapped around a handful of her dress. Finally reaching the front of the room, she turned to face a stunned audience. "Okay, I just want to thank you all for coming, and I'm sorry we're late, but we have cake and ice cream waiting, so LET'S GET MARRIED!" Dancing happily, she turned to face a shocked Darien, bouncing up and down a few times. "Sugar Lips? Are you feeling okay?" "Yup, yup, sure am!" "Eh… Lita didn't try to feed you anything weird did she? I mean, no six month old fruit cake or anything, right?" "Huh?" Serena paused, her feet finally stilling on the carpet, before blushing and lowering her face. "I think it's the shoes." Lifting up her skirt, she showed the dirty, stinky tennis shoes to her groom. Darien gulped, hesitating, before nodding his head. "Oh… okay. Well then, let's get started!" The crowd seated themselves as the priest began flipping through his books. "Alright, then… hm…" He cleared his throat, placing his finger on the page inside the book. "We are gathered here today to pay our respects to our dear deceased friend… um… what was the name again?" Darien frowned. "This is a wedding, not a funeral." The priest stared blankly, not understanding for a moment, before smiling. "Ah well, they all start out the same." Clearing his throat again, he continued, "We are gathered here today to unite Mr…" "Darien Chiba." "Darien Chiba with Ms…" "Serena Tsukino." "Serena Tsukino in holy matrimony. If there is any reason why these two should not be married, speak now or forever…" "Hold your peace, yeah, yeah, we know, no one complains, come ON Father, let's pick up the pace a bit!" Darien looked from Raye to Serena. "Is she wearing those shoes too?" A tad startled, the priest continued, "Since there are no objections, we'll continue. I see that you wish to state your own vows? You may do so at this time." The couple sighed, turning to face each other. Gulping, Serena handed the bouquet to Raye behind her, and then smiled up at her husband, their hands grasping onto each other. "Sweetie..." Darien began, looking into the pale white veil. He opened and shut his mouth a few times, before frowning. "Can you take that veil off?" Giggling, she reached up to pull the sheer cover off of her face. Darien smiled and took her frail hands into his again. "Sweetheart," he started again, inhaling deeply. "I remember the first time we met, when you threw that awful test paper at me and then we got into a big fight. And then how you stomped away, all mad because I made fun of your hairstyle and grades. But more than anything that happened that day, I remember one small moment, that was so brief I didn't realize it had even happened until nearly a week later when I saw you again in the arcade. But that day, the first day that we met, when you were glaring up at me, I saw a tiny spark of something deeper, some kind of recognition, and I felt it too. It was like my entire body was telling me how wrong this was, that we should be holding each other, not arguing. But I ignored it for as long as I could. "And then… one day there was a terrible storm and while I was out walking, I found a delicate, frail angel on the sidewalk. And you looked up at me and though you looked so sad, it was like a message from heaven had just descended on me - that it was my job to take care of you. And so I picked you up, scared and shaking, and took you to my apartment… and we got stuck in the elevator." They both chuckled a little in remembrance. "And we were in there for nearly four hours before we could escape, and as treacherous as they might have been in the beginning, I have to admit that those four hours were the first of my entire life. "Being with you helped me to realize how dull my surroundings were in comparison to you. And even though everyone told me it wouldn't work because of how much younger you were and how reserved I was, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would die and waste away if I never got to tell you about all the feelings I harbored inside. If I could never let you know that I think you are perfect, the way you imitate your teacher when she's angry, the way you laugh at me when I say something stupid, the way you blush when I kiss your hand and try my best to treat you like a gentleman. Every little thing about you is perfect, and for the rest of my life I will be content to say that though I could never be good enough for you, no matter how hard I try to make you happy, you still chose me. To live your life with me, spend all of your tiny butterfly kisses on me, someday grow old with me… Knowing that the delicate, frail angel who's afraid of storms still tries to calm the endless storm inside of my heart proves to me that someone, somewhere, thought I was doing something right, to give me such a gift as the love of my life… for a wife. Serena Tsukino, I love you. And I will spend every tiny moment showing you that those four hours when we got stuck in an elevator - weren't a tragedy, but a beginning." The crowd cooed as Serena blinked, trying desperately to rid herself of a few tears, to no avail. "I love you, too…" she whispered, her eyes glimmering with happiness, smiling up at Darien. "Ms. Tsukino, you may say your vows now," said the priest, wiping away a tear. Serena inhaled deeply, chewing on her lip. "Well, I… I'm not very poetic. And I'm not a writer. But… but people always tell me what a romantic I am, and when I say things that only seem to make sense in my head, everyone tells me that though it seemed pointless, it still had a loving undertone. I'm not really sure how to take that, but… I'm going to base my vows on that. So, Love," She sighed, a smile creasing her lips. "Five years ago, two of the best nights of my life took place. One night, during a god-awful storm, I was taken into the arms of a knight in shining armor and whisked away to a castle, then stuck in an elevator. But it wasn't a bad thing in the end. Because even if it was a bit cramped, and the music was terrible in the beginning, that night I realized just what the perfect man would act like. You see, before that night I'd thought that the perfect man would… have nice hair, and always wear the most fashionable clothes, and be able to ballroom dance. But that night I realized that instead, he would let me screw up his hair as much as I like, he would wear the ugliest jackets, as long as they were warm and heavy, and he could tango in a small six by eight foot space." She giggled, watching Darien's lips tweak upward. "Then, two nights later, the second best night of my life happened. You see, all that day I had been thinking that you weren't in love with me after all. I believed that I was the only one with those strange feelings. But… but you came to my balcony, like some medieval lover. At first you just yelled at me, and I yelled back, but after awhile you got this strange, haunted look in your eye, and the next thing I knew… you were willingly giving me my first kiss. Now, when I was really little I had had all these dreams about the perfect kiss, what it would feel like, taste like… but you put every one of those dreams to shame. It was more wonderful than I ever would have imagined… like chocolate melting in my mouth, only it was sweeter than chocolate. And I wasn't sure what to do, or what I was doing, but that night, I remember you just holding me underneath the stars. It was all a blur and nothing really made sense to me at the time, how fast my emotions were swimming, how quickly you had gone from teasing me to telling me I was beautiful and sweet… but nothing I felt, not a single thing, was bad. "Instead, you were a complete answer to my prayers, and every time you kiss me now I have the exact same sensation. This undying feeling that… that you always have been and always will be the only one for me. It's been proven many times in more ways than one. And now… after everything we've been through, I am so happy that you're mine, that we'll be together forever, just like in all the movies. Darien, I love you. And I cannot wait to become Mrs. Darien Chiba." Darien reached up a finger to trace her jawbone as she finished, before pressing away one of the crystalline tears from her cheek. "With the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife," stated the priest through watery eyes. "You may now… kiss your bride." They smiled at each other momentarily, relieved, happy gazes spreading over their stares. Slowly, Darien placed his hands on either side of her face, stroking her cheeks gently. She smiled, raising her expectant face. Licking his lips, Darien lowered his face, brushing their noses together. Serena let her body go limp as his warm, caressing lips brushed over hers once, before lowering down into her completely. His arms tied around her waist, bending her back gently, as their first kiss as husband and wife tempted their lips. In the background, the audience cheered, blocking out Serena's sigh of happiness. 'So this is what I was waiting for…' she thought peacefully, her hands tying around the tuxedo jacket as his warm lips melted against hers. She gasped as his tongue slipped through the kiss, before a quiet moan engulfed her and the world faded away. Suddenly, Darien stiffened, his breath catching, then abruptly he pulled away, gasping and choking for breath. Serena squealed, her eyes wide as she stood back to look at him. His face turned a few different shades of pink, his hands grasping at his throat. "Sugar Plum?" she called worriedly, reaching forward to lay a hand on his shoulders. Andrew stood behind him, rubbing at his chin. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he was choking…" "Choking? Well… make him stop!!" After a moment of silence, Andrew nodded sternly. "Yes, ma'am!" Reaching a hand over his shoulder, he thrusted his palm down on Darien's back, allowing a pink, chewed, glistening piece of bubble gum to fly up from his esophagus, landing in Serena's grandmother's white curly hair. The elderly woman screeched, trying desperately to shake it off with the desperate help of her middle-aged daughter. Gagging slightly, Darien inhaled a few unsteady breaths, before turning to his worried wife who stood chewing on her nails. "A… are you okay?" she finally managed, stepping forward cautiously. Rolling his eyes, Darien let his shoulders slump. "Other than the fact I'm now married to a walking disaster? I'm great. Besides, you are MY walking disaster… legally now…" Instantly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, before freezing and staring at her speculatively. "Is there anything in your mouth?" Serena stood with her lips slightly parted, before shaking her head slowly. "No…" "Good." Taking a deep breath, Darien bent his head down to finish their first kiss as husband and wife. *** "Well, well, well, Serena Tsukino, I see you don't only fall asleep in my class!" Groggily, Serena opened her eyes, groaning in anger. 'She always ruins the best part…' Looking up, Serena saw a big blur with red hair hovering over her. Yawning, she wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry, Miss Haruna, could you repeat the question?" Then she realized that something felt different. She wasn't sitting at a desk, she was sitting… on a lap?! Snapping to attention, she looked up to see a sleeping Darien above her. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!" she screeched, backing away in vain. Darien's eyes flew open to see two large blue eyes staring him directly in the face. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!" "Aaaaaahhhh!!" "Aaaaaaahh!" "Serena Tsukino, quit that wailing or I'll give you detention for a week!" Silence fell over the two as Serena looked up to see her teacher standing before them, her arms crossed over her chest in disappointment. "Sorry, Miss Haruna." "Mr. Chiba?" The two looked over Haruna's shoulder to see a tall man with brown hair standing just behind her. Darien gulped at the sight of his boss. "Oh… uh… good morning, Mr. Nihao." "Hardly. It's eleven o'clock p.m. Just WHAT do you think you are doing in the elevator at this time of night?" "Um…" Darien looked down on Serena. "Sleeping?" Mr. Nihao rolled his eyes. "I can see that, Darien! Might you explain WHY?!" "Well… you know, it's a long, boring story…" "There was this storm and…" "Then we came here…" "And got stuck in the elevator…" "But then there was this speaker…" "And Andrew, too…" "But we couldn't do anything, so…" "We just…" "Slept." "Yup, we just slept." Darien and Serena looked up, attempting to smile innocently. Miss Haruna rolled her eyes. "Serena, again, you answer my question without any background information. You must work on that or it'll never get you through college!" Serena bowed her head. "Sorry, Miss Haruna." Darien snickered above her. She turned and smacked him hard in the shoulder. "I don't think you should be laughing too hard, Mr. Chiba. This is certainly what I'd call robbing the cradle." Darien's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. His breath caught and with lightning speeds, he had pushed Serena off his lap and now attempted to stand up on his own feet. He didn't notice his one hand trapped between her back and his own jacket. "Aaaaaaaaaaahh!" Serena screamed to match his own as he came toppling down on top of her. Throwing her onto her back in the center of the elevator. The next thing either knew, Darien's lips had managed to connect with hers, one hand still wrapped around her waist Mr. Nihao raised an amused eyebrow. "Can't you wait a little longer?" "Yes, get a room," added Haruna. "Serena you are ruining the very little bit of respect I had left for you. What would your father think if he knew what you were doing?" Darien pried himself off the girl, trying to untangle his arm from he jacket. Finally, he managed to pull his arm away from her, jumping to his feet without bothering to help her up as she too forced herself to stand. Hesitantly, Serena bowed to her teacher. "Sorry again, Miss Haruna. Um… I'll be going now." "Bye Meatball Head," Darien choked out, trying to straighten his wrinkled shirt and jeans. "I'll see you on Monday, Serena," Haruna called after her as the whirlwind disappeared out the door. Haruna and Mr. Nihao turned to Darien, who was blushing furiously. "It was nice running into you, Darien." "Uh… yes, likewise, sir." "Unlikely," chuckled the man. Placing his arm around his date, he led her into the elevator. Darien walked out of it calmly. "Have a nice night," he replied, nodding his head toward them. "Same to you, but, don't you live here, Mr. Chiba?" He cleared his throat. "Um… I think… I need to get some fresh air for a little while." "Fine, fine. Though the storm is still going full blast out there. But I guess I'll see you at work then." "Yes… good night." Darien walked away beet red as the elevator doors closed. Walking silently through the apartment lobby, he could see the blackness outside looming over the door. He paused momentarily, biting his lip as he watched pellets of rain hit the sliding glass doors loudly before mixing together and sliding down to the sidewalk outside. It was thunderously loud. Evidently the storm hadn't ceased at all during the many hours he and Serena had been in there. Shaking his head, he wondered what on earth had just happened. Why hadn't they been woken up once the elevator started working again? And where was Andrew? He had expected him to wait in the lobby until he and Serena could escape. Sighing, he let his shoulders droop drastically. He reached up to run a hand through his hair, feeling it tightly knotted, though the weight had let his locks droop down overtime, no longer sticking up like spikes. Rolling his eyes, he briefly acknowledged how perfect a warm shower would be at that moment. But his mind quickly turned to another seemingly perfect thought. Where had Serena gone so suddenly? Just… up and ran, as if she didn't even notice the storm. Maybe she had been so overcome with embarrassment, she didn't really notice it. But then… she would be stuck out there right now. His brow furrowed. She would be terrified. Closing his eyes, his head sank down. He must have looked very comedic at that moment. His hair messed, a wet spot on the front of his shirt that hadn't yet dried due to Serena being snuggled so close to him. His coat was gone, luckily. He was glad that she still had that. And here he was in the middle of his lobby staring into a hideous storm, dreaming of a scared little girl, that overnight had become not-so-little. He reached out his fingers to lightly touch the window. Even standing a foot from the door, his warm breath was beginning to cling to the glass in smoky gasps. His memory reminded him of when he had found her out there. All shaking and bundled up into a small ball on the sidewalk, hunched over on her knees, her arms tightly around her waist. Then she had turned and looked up at him, so hopeful that she could be saved, even by a man like him. And when she launched herself into his arms, trembling, sobbing, he had made promises. "Come on, let's get you upstairs for some hot chocolate." Sighing, he shook his head. Then his teeth clamped down on his lip, a bit tiredly, but more frightened. She was still out there alone. Gulping, with doubts and hesitation, he walked over slightly to trigger the automatic motion sensors, and the doors swung open. He walked into the storm, ducking as the rain hit him painfully. After a moment of coughing, he held his hands up to his lips. "Serena!!" he screamed. His voice was barely heard even to himself. Walking a little ways, he continued to call for her, looking in every small alleyway he could, yelling her name. "SERENA!" Before he knew it, he was running through the streets, not knowing quite where he was going, other than he had a pulling sensation somewhere in his chest. "Serena! Where are you?" "Darien?" The small, high-pitched voice made him freeze, and he turned around to see a small girl standing before him, her hand grasping onto the front of the jacket, holding it tightly around her stomach. Her hair was dampened down, the braided crown around her head already beginning to fall to the side, and the small rose in her fist just barely peaked out from underneath the green coat. His breath caught as a tiny smile glimmered in his eyes. Hesitantly, he stepped toward her. "Did… I ever tell you…" she began, her voice small as her frightened eyes read into his, "how much I hate storms?" His eyes darted between her gaze, and slowly, his grin crawled onto his lips. "Yeah… that sounds vaguely familiar," he joked, almost being forced to yell over the pounding of the storm as he began walking close to hover over her frail body. She didn't move. "Ya know… I have some hot chocolate in my apartment. It's on the twelfth floor, but we can always take the stairs if you want." It wasn't long before her smile matched his and she nodded proudly. "That sounds delightful!" Grinning, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and started to lead her off in the direction of his apartment. "I had a dream while we were asleep," said Serena shyly after they had walked about a block. "Yeah? What about?" She was silent for a moment as her eyes watched the rain fall innocently into puddles on the black street. Then, she stated quite seriously, "I don't quite remember. But… I know that you were in it. And… it was a really good dream." There was a moment of silence, and she buried herself further into his embrace. Below her breath, she mumbled, "Thanks for that… Muffin." *** In the middle of a dark, silent street in Tokyo, a small form walked quietly down the sidewalk, skipping momentarily, before hopping into a black mud puddle. Giggling, the small girl ran across the street, merrily dancing. Today was a good day, and despite the storm, she was happy. Then the figure paused, seeing a black image lying on the sidewalk. Approaching it slowly, she could see a silver, metal handle sparkling and glimmering beneath the pale orange streetlights that hung overhead. She listed her head to the side, walking closer, before bending to pick it up. She held the handle in her palm, turning it over a couple times, before pushing up on the small latch and laughing loudly as a large umbrella, nearly twice her size, exploded above her. Giggling louder still, she held it above her head, peering at the lonely street before her from beneath the almost warm shelter. Silently, she wondered who had dropped such a nice umbrella. Shrugging, she patted one of the heart-shaped balls on top of her head, stringing a finger through the drenched curl behind her ear. Lifting blue eyes up to the overcast sky, she thanked the stars for the protection in the only way she knew how. "Chibi Chibi!" Giggling, she continued to skip and dance through the stormy night. *** Ha ha ha! It's OVER! About flippin' time, I know. ^-^;; Please read the ANs at the beginning and EMAIL ME!! Arigatou gozaimasu! By the way, before anyone asks, I KNOW that a lot of things about the dream wouldn't make sense, for example, Serena didn't know Darien was Tuxie and she'd never met Tom, but who cares?? Deal with it! :::innocent grin::: Love always and God bless! <3 Alicia