If You Love Written by: Mark Berger Edited by: Will Wolfshol Note: this story takes place just after the episode "Prediction of Doom" in Sailor Moon R, and in the Shared Universe continuity. `If you love it, let it go. If it comes back it's yours forever. If it doesn't, it wasn't meant to be!' Serena Tsukino stared at the words written on the inside of the bathroom stall door. Finally, she nodded. If she couldn't cajole Darien into paying attention to her, she would let him have a little taste of what he was doing to her. If he truly still cares about you, sniped a negative thought, in Rei's voice. He cares, she shot back, silencing it. I could feel it when he kissed me. He saved my life with his kiss. Suddenly she realized exactly how difficult this would be. At Cherry Hill Shrine, Rei Hino concentrated on the sacred fire, trying to divine the reason behind Darien's sudden shunning of Serena. She cared deeply for her friend, and seeing the younger girl in this much pain made her really angry - She may have once loved Darien, but Serena was important, and not just to her! In an apartment in Tokyo, Lita Kino angrily hammered a piece of tenderloin. She normally marinated the steak, but today she was in a bad mood, and using the implement helped her work off the stress. Damn it, Darien! We all saw how you kissed her, why are you hurting her like this!? In another apartment, Ami Anderson was unknowingly pressing harder and harder on the page she was taking notes on, until her pencil tip snapped. I've got too much stress - I'd better go for a walk. Though it was an effort, Ami left her textbooks in the house. Darien was walking along the road, when he saw a familiar meatball-headed silhouette come into view. Oh, no, he thought, afraid that Serena was going to run up to him and tax his reserve to its very limit again, and wind up hurting both of them. He had cried himself to sleep the previous night, so great was his pain over what he was doing to Serena. Strangely, though, the girl passed him, chatting with Reeny. Not looking at Darien was the most difficult act Serena had ever done in her entire life. Every fiber of her being rang out in protest as she passed without so much as looking in her ex-boyfriend's stormy, dark-blue eyes. Arriving at Lita's apartment complex, Serena brought the little girl who she was becoming quite sure was her own daughter - by Darien - upstairs. When she entered Lita's apartment, she saw from the corner of her eye the Starlight Tower. Once, she had nearly died in there. It had stood empty for a year, and now was being renovated by a new company. What was its name, Canyon... no, wait - GENOM. As soon as Serena turned the corner and was out of Darien's sight, he felt a wave of despair greater than anything he had ever felt. Suddenly desperate for somewhere to support him, for lack of his suddenly-failing legs, he walked to, by strange fate, the phone booth Serena had collapsed and cried herself out in on that first day when he had shattered her heart. As soon as he was inside, he collapsed against the ground and began to cry brokenly. Serena... My heart, my soul, what have I done to you? I would sooner you hate me than to ignore me! In that moment, Darien realized that he was a fool - and how desperately he needed the girl he loved, that her absence could hurt him in this way. Passing by, Serena felt a palpable wave of anguish, so great that a tear fell from her eye. She looked to the phone booth and saw inside of it Darien, body heaving as great sobs wracked him. She opened the door. "I'm busy, go `way." The raw pain in Darien's voice hit Serena like a mace. She kissed his forehead and gave him a gentle hug. With all of his emotional barriers fully down, he could do nothing but shiver in the loving arms of his once-fiancee and absorb every bit of spiritual warmth she could offer. "Darien, I'm going to invoke an age-old promise you once made me on the Moon." "What?" he croaked. "You once promised that you would never hide anything from me. You've been hiding from me whatever it is that's been causing you to ignore me, and I've about had it," She hated herself for saying this, but, "Now either you come clean or you find another girlfriend." Darien explained everything. "Darien, can't you see? These dreams are meant to split us apart, not to protect me!" Serena gripped his hands tightly, "You've got a choice: do we follow your first dream and live happily ever after, or do we follow your new one and never speak again?" Her words opened Darien's mind and heart again. Ye shall know the truth, he thought, and it shall set ye free. For the first time in weeks, he knew exactly what to say to Serena. His answer was swift and concise. He pulled his wondrous Meatball Head, so full of love and hope, closer to him and kissed her fully on the mouth. She let out a muffled gasp, then returned his kiss happily. Two halves of one soul joined again at last. Two last tears, of joy and renewed hope, fell down Darien's cheeks and dripped onto Serena's, mingling with those that she had shed. Just then, Serena's communicator beeped, and it was a very annoyed girl who came up for air and said, "Yeah?" "Serena, we've got Droid trouble downtown." "I'm on my way," responded Serena, then closed the lid of the watch. "Well, Tuxedo Mask? Ya coming?" "Of course, my love, but I have an idea." Darien whispered his plan to her. At first her face fell, but then a devious grin spread wide across it. "Darien, I just love you! It'll be hard to pull off, but I love the way your mind works!" Serena got up and ran for the battlesite. As soon as she arrived, she ducked into a back-room to catch her breath and cry, "Moon Crystal Power!!" Sailor Moon entered the fight. It was going badly for the other Sailor Scouts. "About time you showed up, Meatball Head!" "I was busy, Mars!" "Doing what?" "Another time, will you!?" The Droid fired at Sailor Moon, and she ducked - a graceful, athletic move, not her usual clumsy collapse. Beat, beat, beat, she thought, then the familiar rose whistled through the air. "TUXEDO MASK!!!" shouted the Sailor Scouts. . . except for Sailor Moon. Even though she was pretending to be mad at him, she couldn't resist winking at him before going into her act. "Well it's about time, Tuxedo Mask-kun. Can't even show up to save us, can you?" Serena played the ice in her voice so well it brought a nervous chill to Tuxedo Mask's neck. "Sailor Moon, do not be angry, just destroy the monster!" "I'm not listening to you, but hey, it's a good idea. MOON SCEPTER, ELIMINATION!!" And that was that, for the Droid. After the Dark Moon family left the field, the Sailors and Tuxedo Mask left as well. As soon as they were out of sight, the other Scouts turned to Serena to ask what side of the bed she had gotten up on that morning... only to see Serena exchanging a passionate kiss with Darien. "What's up?" asked Sailor Mars. This scene was the exact opposite of what had gone just moments before. "What does it look like?" responded Serena, stars dancing in her eyes, "We're back together!" "WHAT!?" screamed the other four Sailor Scouts at once, "You just acted like you totally hated him!" "She's a very good actor," responded Darien, "If I hadn't known better, I would have been fooled." "But no matter what, you better remember always that it's an act, buster, or there's gonna be some serious trouble around here!" The other Sailor Soldiers laughed at their leader, knowing that things would be better. -- Mark Berger Defender of the Terran Empire and Knight of the Crystal Millennium Champion of Light and all things Mekton Zeta: http://www.geocities.com/Area51/6661/index.html Author of Sailor Moon: The Wedding and Married Life "Now listen - strange women lying on Moons, distributin' Crystals is no basis for a system of government!"