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
(
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