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ETERNAL LOVE
Chapter 4
Sailor Galaxy

Serena moved her head on the surface it was lying on and moaned as pain shot 
through her. She felt a cool compress on her forehead and was grateful. She 
tried to open her eyes but it was as if they were glued together. Struggling 
to put out her hand to lever her up, she felt some-one push her gently back 
down.

Serena licked her parched lips and opened her mouth to ask for water but her 
voice failed her. It seemed as if the person who was in the room with her knew 
what she wanted because she felt a glass touch her mouth and water trickle 
past her lips. She drank thirstily and felt marginally better as the liquid 
flowed down her throat. Water was life saving. She would never argue against 
that statement again.

Trying again to open her eyes, Serena succeeded and blinked a few times at the 
muted lights of the room. It wasn't familiar. Turning her head slightly, 
mindful of the pain, she looked at the person beside her. She gasped out loud 
as she realised who it was.

" Don't have a heart attack meatball head. After all the trouble I've gone to 
try to make sure that you live, the least you can do is to make sure that you 
don't die."

It was Darien.

She didn't even think to yell at him about calling her meatball head. She was 
too surprised. Darien? Had saved her? What was he talking about?

" What?"

Darien stood up and Serena noticed that she was on a bed. In a room. Which was 
clearly a male's. Darien's?

" Is this your room?"

Darien looked around him as if pretending that he was only just noticing where 
he was. He focused on a photo which stood on a mantle. In it were two people 
and a small boy who had black hair and cerulean eyes. Darien. 

Serena wondered who those two people were on either side of him and than 
rolled her eyes as she hit on the thought that of course they were going to be 
his parents. The man looked exactly like Darien did now. And the women had 
black hair too. So, yeah, they probably were his parents. She wondered where 
they were now. 

" Your parents?"

Darien just nodded as a sad light came into his eyes. He didn't say anything 
but stood gazing at the photo. Serena meanwhile, looked at Darien's portrait. 
He really was handsome. Not cute as she's first thought but handsome. That 
tall, dark, film star handsome. 

" Well, what am I doing here?"

Darien looked down at Serena. 

" You don't remember?"

" I wouldn't be asking you if I did would I?"

Darien shrugged and a small smile curved his mouth.

" You probably would. Only you would do something stupid like that."

Serena gritted her teeth. She should control her temper. She was here in 
Darien's house and even though she didn't know the whole detail, she gathered 
that he'd helped her. She owed him to remain civil. So, she should be calm, 
controlled and-

" Don't you agree meatball head?"

To hell with calm and control. Who wanted it when dealing with Darien?

" How many do I have to say it? Don't call me-"

" -meatball head? But come on. Don't you think the name really suits you?"

Serena sighed and closed her eyes. She refused to answer. Slowly, she brought 
her feet down on the floor and looked around until her eyes saw her shoes. 

" What are you doing?"

Darien narrowed his eyes as he saw her struggle to get up and then after a 
moment of swaying from side to side, take small hesitating steps towards her 
shoes. She sat down on the floor with an inward sigh of relief and started 
putting her shoes on. Darien repeated his question.

" What are you doing?"

Serena didn't bother him with a glance. From now on, she was going to be civil 
to him when he said anything to her but otherwise she would ignore him. She 
was going to ignore everybody who insisted on treating her anything either 
than who she was. The Scouts. They had turned their backs on her. Luna and 
Artemis. They hadn't stood up for her. All of them were traitors. Darien. 
Well, Darien was Darien. That was enough. So...

" I'm leaving."

Darien walked towards her but she held out her hand to stop him.

" Don't stop me. I'm grateful that you took care of me. But I have to go now. 
I should have been home a long time ago."

Darien reached over and put his hand on Serena's shoulder as she got up and 
turned around to head out of the door. Serena froze.

" Meatball Head. Look. I saved you. Don't think that I'm letting you go before 
you tell me how you got so hurt?"

Serena sighed and closed her eyes. A look of resignation was on her face but 
Darien didn't see it because her back was turned towards him. She opened her 
eyes and lifted her chin in determination. She was not going to loose her 
temper with Darien. She would just concoct a story to satisfy him and be on 
her way. Then they could both forget that this had ever happened. She turned 
around and looked at Darien out of wide blue eyes. 

" How do you think I got hurt?"

Darien paused and Serena had the impression that he was thinking of how to 
reply. Whether he should tell her something or not. Suddenly, something 
occurred to Serena. Did Darien know...? Did he know about the fact that she 
was Sailor Moon? But surely if he had known, he would have said something 
about it. Wouldn't he? After all, to him it would be very startling if he 
found out that Serena was the person who saved hundreds of lives every day and
night. 

Serena relaxed again when she thought of that. Of course Darien didn't know. 
Even though she had detransformed sometime while she was unconscious, it was 
possible that it had been before Darien came on the scene. And thinking of 
that, how did Darien find her?

" How did you find me?" 

Darien came out of his thoughts. 

" What?"

Serena looked around impatiently before looking at Darien again.

" I said, how did you find me? Where was I when you saw me? And why did you 
bring me here, instead of the hospital when you claim that I was very badly 
injured. You're not a doctor,  so how could you have treated me?"

Darien frowned at Serena. She had asked many questions that he didn't know how 
to answer. He hadn't expected her to come up with them. To him, she'd just 
been a slightly more than usual dumb blonde. Obviously, she had more to her 
than she showed to every-one else. And of course that was necessary since she 
was Sailor Moon.

" Well?"

Darien focused on Serena and saw that she had a frown on her face. He couldn't 
blame her. He'd been standing there, staring at her the whole while he was 
thinking. 

" I found you when I was taking a walk."

Serena raised her eyebrows.

" And...?"  

" I brought you here okay? What else did you expect me to do? You were lying 
on the floor, unconscious. I couldn't just leave you out there you know."

Serena frowned at Darien.

" I was unconscious?"

Darien nodded wondering where this conversation was heading.

" Yes. You were unconscious."

" So I wasn't that badly hurt that you had to perform surgery or whatever?"

Darien just looked at her.

" When I woke up, you told me that you'd saved me life. Now you're saying that 
I was just unconscious. You're not making sense Darien."

Darien opened his mouth and then closed it again. He didn't want to tell her 
about the fact that he knew she was Sailor Moon. And that he was Tuxedo Mask 
and she had been badly hurt but using his powers, he had been able to heal 
her. He didn't want her to know that. Not yet anyway. The time wasn't right. 

" You should be glad with what I've told you. And anyway, I think I'm the one 
who deserves an explanation. What were you doing that caused you to be knocked 
out cold and why have you got a scar down your side?"

Serena stared at Darien, aghast. How did he know about the scar? It wasn't 
visible because the shirt she was wearing hid it. So how did he know about her 
scar?

" You looked under my shirt?"

Blood rushed into Darien's cheeks and he tried to hide this from Serena. 

" No, I didn't. What do you think I am?"

Serena smiled serenely and pretended to examine her nails.

" You wouldn't wanna to know."

" I don't know why you're being so elusive. Usually you don't hesitate in 
telling me what you think I am."

" Usually I don't have men looking up my shirts either."

Serena scowled at Darien but she could feel embarrassment creeping up on her 
from the tips of her toes to the individual strands of her hair. Darien had to 
have looked under her shirt. The idea should outrage her and it did. But she 
also felt a small perverse excitement at the pit of her stomach. If that 
wasn't weird, nothing was.

" You were lying on the floor. Your shirt was rucked up to..."

Darien trailed of and watched the colour further bloom on Serena's cheek.

" Well, let's just say that the shirt was rucked up. When I picked you up-"

Serena lost her embarrassment.

" You picked me up? How dare you pick me up-"

" Meatball head. Calm yourself okay? I would never pick you up that way you're 
suggesting. You're not my taste."

Darien paused to let the double meaning sink in and carried on.

" What did you expect me to do? Get two sticks and carry you up to my 
apartment on them?"

" You didn't have to do either. You could have asked for help from some-one 
else."

" I could have, but you wouldn't have liked the results."

Darien stared at Serena for a moment before taking a few steps away from her 
and turning his back her way. He ignored her snort of derision. How was he 
supposed to tell her that she'd been Sailor Moon when she had fainted? 

" Look. The thing that matters most is that you're fine now. That's it. But I 
ask you again, why did you faint?"

" Why do you think a girl usually faints?"

Darien turned around to face Serena.

" I've heard that pregnant woman faint sometimes."

Serena's mouth fell open. Darien grinned inwardly at what he had done He 
watched Serena splutter and try to get a sentence out but she was obviously 
too outraged. She stomped over to where he stood, and pocking a finger in his 
chest, hissed at him.

" You are the most irritating, infuriating, irksome- creature I have ever 
known."

Darien calmly looked down at Serena from his height and took her pocking 
finger in his hand. He wrapped his fingers around hers when she tried to 
snatch it free.

" Known many Meatball Head?"

Serena, once again, tried to ply her hand loose from Darien's grip but his 
fingers only tightened.

" Actually no. But knowing you makes up for that. More than makes up for that."

Serena growled in her throat when Darien just chuckled. He wasn't even 
bothered. Thought why he should be she had no idea. I mean, it wasn't as if he 
liked her that he wanted her good opinion. All he wanted it do was annoy her, 
and by god he was succeeding. His simple existence maddened her. 

'But you'd miss that existence if it wasn't there.'

A sly voice piped up in Serena's brain and she froze.

'No.'

'Yes. Admit it.'

'No.'

'Yes. You would. You've come to think of Darien being in everyday of your 
life.'

'No.'

'Yes. You love Darien being in your life. You wouldn't like it without him in 
it.'

Serena opened her eyes wide in amazement at the turn her thoughts had taken. 
Was it true? Had she gotton very used to Darien in her life? She thought about 
it and conceded that yes, she had. She wondered why that didn't bother her as 
much as it should have.


Will Serena be able to figure out Darien's identity? What will happen if she 
does? And why doesn't Serena care that she's becoming too attached to Darien?

Sailor Galaxy

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