IF A PICTURE PAINTS A THOUSAND WORDS IV A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman, Based on a Story in Moon Angels 1 By Sailor Mac Finally! Finally, it's the weekend! I rushed home from school as fast as I could. My mom said she wished I would be this prompt coming home every day of the week. I told her that I was just making a pitstop at home, that I was going to a sleepover at Raye's temple tonight. Now, if you know me well enough, you know that I'm most definitely *not* sleeping at the temple (hee, hee, hee. . .) I'm up in my room, stuffing everything I'll need into my backpack. This really is going to be a big weekend. Rumor has it that those Super Soaker-packing jerks we fought with last week are going to be at the arcade tomorrow, looking for trouble. Darien said he's going to come there with me - he doesn't have to work. Then, Saturday night, the Java Jive is going to start having karaoke again, and on Sunday, we're all going to the amusement park. I zip up my pack and then change from my school uniform into jeans and a polo shirt. Grabbing my bag, I start to head down the stairs. . . Then, I hear a most unwelcome voice from below. Oh, Gods, it's my Aunt Marie. Whenever she sees Sammy and I, she treats us like we were still six years old. She pinches our cheeks and rumples our hair and talks baby talk to us. Think I'm gonna put up with that? No way! I'll just stay here at the top of the stairs until she leaves, she never stays past 4:30. . . I sit down on the top step. Then, I hear what Aunt Marie is saying. . . "I don't know, Eileen. It's like our marriage has become stagnant. Dull. I don't even think George views me as a woman anymore. . ." "Don't be ridiculous, Marie! He loves you as much as he ever did!" "But he doesn't show it! He takes me for granted all the time. I cook his favorite meals, and he barely acknowledges them. I try to engage him in conversation, he wants to watch the baseball game." "Maybe you just need something that will really grab his attention. Why don't you borrow one of the hot little nightgowns I bought to wear for Ken? Believe me, they work!" WHOA! Now *that* was a shocker! Oh, yeah, I know my parents *did it*. . .after all, that's why Sammy and I are here. . .but the *idea* of them actually, well. . .getting *wild,* like me and Darien. . .Yuk! Thanks for the visual, Mom. . . "But. . .I *have* tried. . .sexy lingerie. . .I dress up for him. . .and he doesn't notice! He just passes out!" Bleh! Now *that* was a visual I needed even less than the other one! I hear Aunt Marie start to cry, and peeking down the stairs, I can see my mom hugging her. "Marie, don't cry. You'll be able to jump-start your love life. Listen - why don't you and George go away for the weekend? Don't worry about your cats and your plants - I'm sure Serena would be glad to house-sit for you." Oooh, Serena sure would. Aunt Marie and Uncle George go away. . .Serena moves in. . .Serena has their house all to herself. . .Serena invites Darien over. . . "It's no use!" Aunt Marie cries. "Oh, I'm naive to think that it'll ever improve. This happens to all marriages! All of them! You may think that it won't happen to you and Ken, Eileen, but wait until you've been married as long as me - you'll be in the same boat!" "Oh, Marie, don't be. . ." "I should have realized it when I was a young girl, full of romantic dreams, like your Serena is now. . .Romance is temporary. Sex is temporary. There's no such thing as eternal love. . ." My heart drops into my feet. Is what she's saying true? Is there really no such thing as eternal love? Are all couples doomed to eventually take each other for granted and live in a dull, sterile, sexless existence? Will Darien and I end up that way? My mind starts whirling through a nightmarish fantasy. . . * * * I'm standing at a kitchen counter, wearing an apron, chopping cabbage. I look down to admire my wedding ring. Darien and I have been married for quite some time now, but sometimes, it still feels like just yesterday. . . I'm so busy admiring my ring that I don't notice that my knife is slipping and cutting my finger. I let out a wail as I see the blood. I rush into the bathroom for a band-aid, thinking that I'll forget all about this little moment of pain after we have a sweet, romantic evening tonight. . . I hear the door open. He's home from work. I rush to greet him, stopping short of throwing myself at him like I used to as a kid. We kiss warmly. "Hi, sweetheart," he says. "What's for dinner?" "Chicken curry," I say. "I've been working on it for hours." He gets changed out of his suit while I finish the dinner. I bring it out to the table. "So how was your day?" I say. "Same old grind," he replies. "Boss is a jerk, co-workers are whiny. . .How was yours?" "Oh, okay. I managed to get that torn seat cover repaired. . ." "She stuck her finger with the needle about 10 times in the process," says Luna from the corner. "I did not!" I say. "It was only twice, maybe three times. . ." "Um, that's nice. . .Say, Serena, can I have a bit more rice?" And that's the extent of the conversation for the rest of the meal. We eat in silence. He stuffs himself, so I know he thinks the food is good, but why doesn't he tell me? He never compliments me on my cooking anymore. . . We're done eating, and as I wash the dishes, he settles himself on the couch, channel surfing. I come into the living room, and he give out a big yawn. . . "I'm real, real tired," he says. "I think I'm going to make it an early night." "But. . .but Darien. . .I had something special planned for us. . .you know. . .a surprise!" No flicker of interest. No "Oh is that so, you little minx? And just what might it be?" He just sits there on the couch like a blob. . . I go into the bedroom and bring out what I bought. "Ta-da!" I wave the crotchless panties in front of him. "Want me to model them for you?" "Um, sorry, honey, let's make it another night, okay?" "Darien. . ." I say, "what happened to us? What went wrong? We used to be so hot, so passionate. . ." I hear a "humph" behind me. I turn, and there's Luna. . . "If you two are discussing intimate details," she says, "I'm not sticking around. I'm going to bed. The gory details of your sex life is not something I want to know about." She stalks off. There are no gory details, I think. Not anymore. We head up to the bedroom. He gets ready for bed, then it's my turn in the bathroom. I'll show him, I think. I'll put on. . .well, not the crotchless panties, but a nice bra and panty set, and I'll come to bed with them on, and he'll see them and remember our early days together, and. . . As I change and prepare for bed, hot images flash through my mind of us wrapped in each other's arms, writhing madly, our faces contorted with passion as we go higher and higher, soaring toward the sweet crazy peak of love. . . I enter our bedroom and hop on the bed. He's not there. He's out in the living room, turning out the lights. . . He comes in. He sees me. He flops next to me and goes right to sleep. And then I start to cry. The next image I see in my mind's eye is myself running away, dragging a big suitcase behind me. I'm in a very bad part of town. Two leather-jacketed punks approach me. . . "Hey, gorgeous," one says. "How about showing us your moves?" "Get lost, creeps!" I shout. I quickly realize what a mistake that was. Suddenly, they're grabbing me, pulling at my clothes. . .and dammit, my Sailor Moon brooch is in the suitcase, so I can't transform. . . "Think you're pretty brave, huh?" one of them says. "Well, if you won't give it to us, we'll TAKE it. . .AAAUUUGGGHHH!" They both drop me and run away. I see one of them has his hand to his cheek, and blood running down his face. . .I look down and see a rose embedded in the pavement. "Don't you EVER, EVER touch her again!" Darien shouts at them. "DARIEN!" I cry. "Serena. . .why did you leave? What are you doing in this part of town?" I find myself sobbing again. "I left because. . .you take me for granted! We never sleep together! You don't love me anymore!" "Serena. . ." "Aunt Marie was right! Every marriage ends up like this! We should never have gotten married!" "Serena. . ." "Romance is temporary. Sex is temporary. I don't think you EVER loved me, Darien Chiba. . ." "Never. . .loved. . .you. . ." Suddenly, he starts to laugh uproariously. "I don't see what's so funny!" "What's funny is that I've *always* loved you, and I always will. If I never loved you. . .why did I come to rescue you?" "Because it's your duty as my protector." "Because I *love* you! Serena. . .let's make a fresh start. I promise, I won't take you for granted anymore. I'll spend more time with you. And we'll have a hot sex life again. I love you, and I can't let you go. . ." We embrace. "Forgive me?" I say. "If you forgive me." But even as we head home together, I wonder. . .does he really mean it? Or will our marriage end up stagnant and dull again? * * * I'm jolted back to reality by the sound of the front door banging. Finally, Aunt Marie is gone. I can go to Darien's. But I'm not as full of joy as I was before. I tell my mother I'm headed for the sleepover and leave the house. I can't get those thoughts out of my head, Aunt Marie's words. . . "All marriages are like that. . .romance is temporary. . .sex is temporary. . ." I reach his apartment. He opens the door. I kiss him lightly on the lips. "Uh-oh," he says. "What do you mean? "Something's bothering you, Meatball Head." "Nothing's bothering me." I start to take my things into the bedroom. "Serena. . .when you don't knock me clear across the room with your greeting, I know something's wrong. Tell me, Meatball Head. Come on, let me take your stuff. . .you sit down and get cozy. . .get yourself a soda. . .and we'll talk." When he comes back, he sits next to me, kisses me, and draws me into an embrace, rubbing my back soothingly. "Now, Serena, you know you can tell me anything at all. . .you know I love you." "Yes, but is it forever?" "What? Of course I'll love you forever, sweetheart! Serena. . .you're part of me. Do you remember that movie we watched together, 'Jerry Maguire'? Do you remember what Tom Cruise said to his wife at the end? 'You complete me.' That's exactly how I feel about you." "You won't feel that way 15 years from now," I say, and burst into tears. He draws me deeper into his embrace. "Serena, who on earth put an idea like that into your sweet little Meatball Head?" I want to hold it back, but it all bursts out at once. . . "IheardmyAuntMarietalkingtomymomandshesayshermarriageisdullandboringand. . ." I stop and take a deep breath. . . "andallmarriagesgetlikethatandromanceistemporaryandsexistemporaryand. . ." I burst into tears again. "Oh, honey. . ." He strokes my hair and covers my face with kisses, kissing my tears away. "Don't listen to what your aunt's saying. She's going through a crisis, that's all. Probably all they need is one romantic weekend together, and then they'll be just fine. . ." "But Darien. . .what about you and me? I had this. . .this nightmare daydream. . .that you and I were stuck in a dull marriage, and you wouldn't make love to me, and I ended up running away. . ." "Serena, darling. . .I would *never, never* take you for granted. Because our relationship isn't like most couples'. I know full well how valuable you are to me, how precious you are. We've been through so much together. . .Every time I thought I was going to lose you in battle, I thought I would die, and it made me value you all the more afterwards." "Darien. . ." I kiss his cheeks, his nose, his neck. "I love you so much. . ." "And the day I'm not turned on by your sweet, hot little body. . ." he begins to run his hands over my legs, my hips, up to my breasts. . . "is the day I'm a dead man." He brings his mouth to mine for a hot, HOT kiss, and my tongue quickly plunges between his lips, exploring the velvety softness of his mouth, and then his tongue is tangling and dancing with mine. . .meanwhile, his hands are squeezing my breasts, then releasing them, then squeezing them again. . . I lean my head back. His tongue sweeps up and down my neck. "Darien. . .I whisper, "I have a surprise." "Oh, is that so, you little minx? And just what might it be?" "I bought something. . .would you like me to model it for you?" "Hmmm, maybe. . ." "Oh, you!" I take one of the couch pillows and playfully bop him. He tickles me in return, I tickle back, and we're both laughing. . .I break away and run into the bedroom, opening my bag and taking out something I had bought the day before at a lingerie store's red-tag clearance. I remember how wide Molly's eyes got when I bought it - poor Molly, she never got to know the joy with Nephlite that I share with Darien. . .I strip to the skin and put on my purchase, then head for the living room. It's a pair of crotchless panties. The same pair that were in my nightmare-daydream. But now, they seem to be having the opposite effect than they did in the fantasy. . . As soon as Darien sees me, I strike a sexy pose and wink. "Hey, there, good-looking," I say. "Do you like what you see?" "Oh, BABY!" He pulls me into his embrace. "Serena, did I ever tell you that you're the hottest thing since jalapenos?" "No." "I'm telling you now." He pulls my mouth to his, and we kiss, long, deep, wet, hot. . . I pull away from him playfully and start leading him toward the bedroom. "Looks like we're turning into ecchi." "Terrible, isn't it?" He grabs me in his arms again and whispers in my ear, "Just the sight of you makes me mad." We kiss again as we tumble onto the bed. I start pulling on his shirt, and together, we rid him of his clothes. We press our bodies together, rubbing hot skin on hot skin. . .I can feel my nipples rise and harden, pressing against his soft-hard flesh. . . He rolls me on my back, his mouth claiming mine again and again. Then, he inches down, and he's licking my left nipple, and I'm moaning and moaning, tangling my fingers in his hair, begging him to suck. . .When he does, I let out a small shriek. Oh, he knows so much about what feels good to me, just how much pressure from his lips, how fast or how slow, when and where and how to flick his tongue. . . "The other," I plead. "More, more. . ." He switches his mouth to the right, and I cry out again. "Darien, Darien, oooohhhh, honey. . ." His mouth tugs, tugs, tugs at my nipple, hot, wet, crazy, wonderful . . . He lifts his head, his thumbs coming up to my nipples to rub them. "Does that feel good, Serena? Do you like that?" "Ohhhhh. . .yes, yes. . ." "I'm gonna make you feel even better, sweetheart. I'm gonna make you scream." He begins to move downward, kissing over my belly. . .When he reaches my panties, he lays his kisses over the silky material, and I gasp. . .the thin layer of fabric between my skin and his lips seems to make it all the more tantalizing. . . He pushes my legs up and out, and then he's kissing my inner thighs, getting closer and closer to his goal by degrees, maddeningly long degrees, and I think I'm going to go crazy. . . "Please! Please! Oh, Darien. . ." "Sssshhh, my sweet. . .I'm gonna take it real slow, make it last real long. . ." Then I feel the tip, just the tip, of his tongue go into the hole in my panties that leaves my crotch bare, teasing the outer edge of my nether lips, and I whimper. . . "Ooooooohh. . .baby, lick, lick, suck. . ." "Aaaahhh, Serena. . ." he whispers. And then he buries his head down there, and the sweet assault begins. He's kissing all over, nibbling, licking. . .He kisses my jewel once, twice, three times, then quickly pulls away from it, running his tongue around and around my entrance, but not plunging in. . .his hands are on my breasts, stroking the nipples, and my head is flipping side to side as I pant and moan loudly. . .then, his fingers squeeze and his tongue plunges and I arch and cry out, on the edge, on the edge. . . "AAAHHH! Oh, Darien, I think I'm gonna. . ." But he backs off, slipping his tongue out of me, starting to kiss my inner thighs again. . .I whimper in frustration. "It'll be worth it baby," he whispers. "Trust me." And then he goes into my sweet zone again, and he heads straight for my pearl, and he's taking it in his lips, flicking his tongue over it before sucking. . . "DARIEN!" I shout. He stops sucking for a second, flicks his tongue over it quickly, back and forth, back and forth. . . He raises his head. "This is it, baby. Ready to scream?" "YES! YES!" He assaults my jewel again, and his fingers are dancing on my nipples, and he's teasing it with his teeth, and then he takes it in his lips and sucks it again, and that does it. The floodgates burst, and my whole body is trembling and shaking and I feel like I'm on fire but it's so, so, so delicious. . .and then the scream is tearing itself from me. . . "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!" I flop back down on the bed. I feel him stripping away the crotchless panties. . .I'm so dazed, I feel like I'm slipping into an alternate universe. . .I hear his nighttable drawer open and the sound of a wrapper being torn off. "Come on, baby," he says. "Let's go for a wild ride." He pulls me up so I'm sitting astride him. I impale myself on his member. A small shiver, a tiny orgasm, courses through me at the contact. I didn't think I'd have anything left in me, but I do, oh, I do. . .I'm eagerly pumping up and down on him, yes, Darien, yes, yes, yes. . . "Oh, Serena, honey," he moans, "I love you so much. . ." "I love you too," I whisper. I bring my mouth to his, and we kiss again and again and again and I pump faster and harder and I feel something else building in me. . .I lean back and cry out and I'm exploding with joy again, the second orgasm shooting through me like skyrockets. I fall forward when it subsides, pushing him backward onto the bed. I position myself so I'm lying over him, so I can kiss him as I drive him to the final ecstasy. I lower my head to his nipples, so I can lick and suck and hear his delighted groan. . . Then, I kiss his lips, and I start to pump again, speeding up quickly. . .He groans, and his face begins to contort as the climax starts building up in him. . .and I feel an answering one building within me. . .and then, suddenly, everything is blinding white heat, and I let out another scream, and so does he. . . I collapse atop him, gently kissing him as the last shudders wrack both our bodies. I roll off, and he pulls off the rubber and disposes of it. We settle into each other's arms. "I promise you, my love," he whispers, "it will be like this between us, always. My love and my passion for you will never die." "And mine for you will never die, either." We snuggle up together and start to fall asleep. I believe him, now. I believe that there *is* such a thing as eternal love - because we have it - and that romance and sex are *not* temporary. And my last conscious thought is a quick, silent prayer that it will be that way for my aunt and uncle again. AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story is dedicated to Sun Princess, whom without it would never have been written. She helped me track down the doujinshi I used as the basis for it. If you know of any doujinshi with Serena/Darien stories, please let me know at AmberSesht@aol.com. Thanks to the usual gang of friends and helpers: Mark, Jeffrey and Sally, Sonya, Artemis and Luna, Sailor November, and everyone who's supported me and my work. Standard Sailor Moon disclaimers apply. These characters ain't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a little while.