Hey people! Here's my 2nd Serena and Darien serious kinda fic.
 It takes place in the first season during the episode "An Artful
 Attack" right after the battle with Vena, the monster who was 
Peggy Jones. My inspiraton came when my best bud MarbleNito spent 
the night and we were watching that episode. I wondered why no one
 had ever written a fanfic about it, and then thought, well why 
don't I? So here it is!!!


"An Artful Attack: What Really Happened?"

by:  Sailor Tampa
SailorTMPA@aol.com


"........And on the eighth day......God created Darien......" <3<3<3

Serena pushed open her front door and walked sluggishly down the 
walkway and onto the sidewalk. She sighed as she thought about Tuxedo
 Mask. He confused her so much. One minute he saves her life and gives
 her his locket, the next minute he vows to get her rainbow crystal and
 tells her he only saves her because it keeps the Negaverse from 
winning. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't even 
notice the sidewalk ending a few feet in front of her
Half of Serena's foot actually landed on the curb, causing her to go
 careening forward for another spill. She knew in a split-second she'd 
be face down on the haqrd stoney street.
She closed her eyes and waited for the impact, but it never came.
 Instead, she was being held in strong arms, her face muscular chest.
 Serena incoherently took in a deep breath, also taking in the scent 
of her savior.
-Wow...he smells really good....and kinda like Tu- Her thoughts were
 cut short when her support spoke.
"You allright Meatball Head?" Darien asked.
-Oh....my.....God....-Serena thought as she slowly lifted her head and
 saw his familiar face staring at her, showing geniune concern. Then, 
her eyes locked with his and a shock circulated throughout her body. 
Perhaps attraction? Serena didn't want to think about that right now.
 She was more concrened with Tuxedo Mask's behavior than with Darien's
 beautiful blue eyes.-Why didn't I ever notice how gorgeous they were?-
"Serena, are you allright?" Darien asked again, a little more 
impatiently. 
After all, she'd been cradled in his arms for literally 3 minutes now 
not saying a word. She blinked a couple of times and then blushed when
 the realization of the current situation hit her.
"Um, yeah...thanks." she mumbled.
He titled her back so she was on the sidewalk again and unwrapped his 
arms from around her, almost reluctantly. Even though Serena did notice
 his hesitation in taking his arms from around her, she brushed it off 
as him just making sure she was allright. They stood there in silence
 for a few minutes before Darien finally spoke.
"Is anything the matter?" he asked.
Serena shook her head and looked at the ground.
"No, I just have alot of things on my mind...." she answered.-Yeah, 
like how hot you are...-She silently cursed herself for thinking such
 things about Darien, even though they were true.
"Oh....ok." Darien said softly.
His thoughts from earlier today replayed in his mind. He had finally
admitted to himself that he thought Serena was very pretty, although
he had noticed her good looks the first time he saw her.-Why didn't I
notice till now?- His attraction to her was confirmed when he played 
his "Knight-in-shining armor" bit and caught her. A spark had shot 
through his body as he held her. Something inside him told him to
never let her go, but then he realized who he was thinking about.
And even so, he almost didn't let her go when he placed her back on
sidewalk. He was extremely grateful that she didn't see his blush 
after she unlocked her eyes from his for that one second to answer his
question.-Does she know she's that beautiful?- Darien mused.-Has anyone
ever told her? maybe I could if we go out to a movie or dinner or--
What am I doing?! My mission...my princess. I can't forget! I have 
to focus!
"So, Darien, where are you headed?" Serena asked, breaking the 
uncomfortable silence.
"Oh, um well I was, uh...." Darien stuttered. He had completely 
forgotten where he was going or what he was going to do. But he found 
that was usually the case when Serena was around. Everything going on
 in Darien's world seemed to fade away when he saw her, or teased her, 
or that cute little scowl appeared on her face when she called him a
 conceited jerk. Serena affected him in some way....but what way?
*flash*
"What's wrong, Dar?" Andrew asked.
"My boss made me work the late shift last night and becasue of it I 
failed a major exam today!" Darien stated angrily.
"Oh man, tough break..." Andrew said sympathetically, putting on his 
trademark arcade apron. "Hey, why don't you play a few games and try 
to get your mind off of things for a while?" 
"Yes, I guess I could..." Darien said reluctantly. "But, I'm telling 
you Andrew, NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING can make me forget what my boss 
did to me!" He sat down in front of a video game and started to play.
 He got so invovled in his game, that he didn't even notice somone come
 into the arcade and start talking to Andrew. As his last man died, he
 perked up his ears and started listening to the conversation already
 in progress.
"Cheer up Serena! What does your brother know anyway, forget him! If 
you wanna go into modeling, you gotta just go for it!" Andrew 
encouraged.-I should've known.....- Darien thought.
"Do you really think so Andrew? You think I've got what it takes?" 
Serena asked hopefully, batting her eyes at him. Darien felt a sudden 
twinge of jealousy and decided to enter the conversation. -She never 
looks at me like that...- he thought bitterly.
"Yeah, absolutely. I can just see you right now, tumbling right off 
the stage! Its Serena the hyena!" Darien said.
Serena gave him the evil eye. "Just stay out of this, ok Darien? Who 
asked you?"
Darien got up from his stool and tucked his sunglasses into his front 
pocket.
"I'm just trying to help you Serena," he said fakly. "Modeling's tough
 work. You've gotta get up early and do exactly what your told, you've
 gotta be on time, and you've really gotta watch what you eat! You 
can't eat any junk!" Darien finished, stifling a laugh. He knew that 
Serena would never want to be a model now that she knew she couldn't 
pork out or sleep in.
"Creep! How would you know?" Serena demanded. 
The question took Darien off-guard. He hadn't told anyone about his 
brief career as a model except for Andrew. -Ah, it can't hurt to tell
 her.- he thought.
"Well, actually when I first got out of high school, I did some 
modeling to pay my tuition."
Serena's jaw practically dropped to the floor.
"You did modeling?" she asked in disbelief.
"Sure did, and it's not all glamour, believe me." he warned.
"Yeah, well don't you worry about me buddy!" Serena said confidently.
Darien shook his head. "I'm not. I know your going to fail. You're 
never on time, you're always cramming junk food into your mouth, and 
you can't even walk one block without falling....and taking at least 
three other people with you!" 
Tears starting to well up in Serena's eyes. She swallowed hard and 
glared at Darien.
"Thankyou so very, very much Darien, but I'm going to do just fine, 
you watch!" Serena said as confidently as she could muster. She was 
SO angry as she stormed out of the arcade. No one, not even Raye could 
make her this mad. Not even the NEGAVERSE could make her fume like this
. Darien was the only person who could really push her buttons. And in 
a weird, sick, twisted way, she kinda liked it.
Andrew sighed."You know Darien, sometimes your pretty mean. How come 
your always so rough on that girl?"
Darien realized that he was always a class-A jerk to Serena, and no 
matter how hard he tried, he could never figure out why.
"I really don't mean to be....it's something that just comes over me 
when I'm around her...." he said as he watched Serena exit the arcade. 
"A feeling that I just can't quite explain." 
Andrew shrugged and started walking towards the token machine. He 
stopped dead in his tracks as a  thought suddenly popped into his 
mind. He furrowed his brow and then turned back to Darien.
"Hey Dar?" Andrew asked.
"Yeah?"
"Well, you try to avoid Serena as much as possible, right?" he asked.
"Right." Darien said with a nod.
"And you avoid talking to her, right?" He held his chin between his 
forefingers.
"Yeah....." Darien answered slowly.
"And you don't pay any attention to her?" he said shaking his head to
 emphasize the point.
"Yeah, so what are you getting at?!" Darien almost yelled.
Andrew looked up at Darien. "Then how do you know all those things 
about her?"
It hit Darien so hard he almost stopped breathing. How DID he know all
 those things? The truth was, he went out of his way to run into her
 all the time, he loved talking(or in this case, exchanging insults) 
with her, and all he did when she was around was stare at her and watch
 her every move!-I hate it when Andrew's right!- Andrew decided to 
change the subject because all Darien was doing was standing there with
 his mouth wide open.
He cleared his throat. "So, anyways Dar, did those games help you to 
relax? I mean, you can't stay mad at your boss forever!"
Darien turned his head to look at Andrew.
"Huh? What are you talking about, why would I be mad at my boss?" 
Darien shrugged and walked out of the arcade.
Andrew blinked a few times before Lizzy came and rested her elbow on 
his shoulder. She shook her. "He's got it bad."
*flash*
"Darien, are you okay?" Serena asked, taking a step forward.
"Um...yeah...um, nevermind. So where are you going?" he said
 trying to change the subject.
"Well, I was going to go see the painting that we posed for at Peggy's 
studio but I don't think it opens till 5 and its only 3 so I thought 
I'd go to the park or get some ice cream or something!" she said in one
 long breath.
Darien, who was still trying to figure out where he was going, decided 
he didn't have anything better to do so he'd join her.-Yeah, right 
Darien, you know you've got tons of other things you could be doing!-
"Oh, yeah....me too! Why don't I join you?" he suggested.
Serena looked at him as if he had an extra arm. "What? Come again? You
 want to join me?" she asked in disbelief. Darien knew the only way he
 was going to get to go with her was if he said the magic words.
"I'll buy." he said.
"REALLY????" Serena squealed. "Let's go then!" 
She grabbed his arm and yanked him towards the ice cream store. 
* * *
"So what'll you two have?" Lizzy asked.
"A triple-hot fudge sundae!!!" Serena enthused as she clapped her hands together.
Darien gave Lizzy a half-smile. "Coffee." he said.
"Sure. Coffee." she said as she scribbled down the order on her notepad
. After she had finished, she looked at Serena, then looked at Darien, 
then back at Serena, and then winked at Darien. They both stared at 
Lizzy like she was a physcopath and she walked away. -What's Lizzy 
problem today?- Darien thought- She doesn't know that I like Serena. 
Wait a second! I DON'T like Serena......or do I?-
"Ok Darien what gives." Serena said bluntly.
"Huh?" he answered.
"Why are you being so nice to me....buying me an ice cream and all?" 
she asked.
"Geez, Serena! I'm not a jerk 24-7 you know! I can be nice...." he 
said.
Serena looked at him skeptically for a moment and then concluded that 
yes, Darien could be nice. He had caught her after all...and now he was
 buying her an ice cream! -I guess I should give him a chance....- she 
thought.
"Ok I believe you." she said and smiled at him. He was surprised when
he looked at her. She's never smiled at me before...she always does 
for Andrew, and now she's doing it for me! Why do I feel so happy all
of a sudden?-he thought. He couldn't hold back the smile that crept 
across his lips. For some reason, he felt like he was on top of the 
world, the luckiest man on earth.....just because Serena smiled at him?
He could only imagine what emotions he would expierience if she was 
his girlfriend. If just a smile, a small insignifigant little smile
could make him feel this way, what if she gave him a hug? Or even
kissed him? What would he feel like then?
"Here you go Darien!" Lizzy said as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him.
Darien shook his head to stop the questions buzzing around in his head.
"Oh, thanks. That was fast!" he said.
Lizzy clicked her tounge and rolled her eyes. "Like, duh Darien! I only
 got you coffee!" She walked away shaking her head.
They started up a conversation about school, how much of an airhead 
Lizzy was, just things in general. Finally, Serena's ice cream came and
she attacked it like a madwoman. Darien just laughed and gazed at her.
He had no idea she could talk so much about anything! It really amazed
him. She loved life, and everything that came with it. Him, on the 
other hand, wouldn't of cared if he dies tommorow. But now he was on
a mission to find his princess and he would stop at nothing to get her.
 But for right now, he just wanted to relax. Serena stopped shoveling 
ice cream into her mouth and froze in mid-scoop when she saw Darien
just sitting there staring at her. He had a slight grin on his face, 
leaning against his fist and blinking slowly, like he was tired. She
looked down at the mess ont he table and felt ice cream dripping off
her chin. She quickly put down her spoon and grabbed a wad of napkins,
wiping her face with one clean swipe. Serena glanced up at him and saw 
he was still looking at her like that.
"I-I'm sorry...."she started slowly, a blush rising on her cheeks. 
"Along with a Meatball-headed ditz, you must also think I'm a slob." 
she lowered her head in embarrassment.
Darien continued to stay in the position he'd been in for the past 5 
minutes, his grin widening. "No, Serena....I think you look cute." He 
said soberly.
Her head shot up and her face became a bright shade of pink. "What?!" 
she gasped.
Darien blushed and sat up straight. "Uh, nevermind!" he said quickly,
 hoping she would take that response. "Are you done?" he asked.
The blush was still on her face as she nodded. Darien paid and didn't
 give Lizzy a tip. They walked outside and Serena stretched her arms.
"Well, I guess I see ya later then Darien. Thanks for the ice cream!" 
she said as she ran past him.
Darien was enjoying this time with Serena too much to let her get away
 that easily. He ran after her and grabbed her hand. They both stopped 
as the current raced through their bodies almost simotaniously. Darien
 struggled a little with his next words. 
"Uh, w-where are you going?" he asked as evenly as possible. He hadn't 
noticed that he still firmly held her hand.
Serena looked down at her hand in his and then back at Darien. "Well, 
I thought you were just going to buy me an ice cream and that was it." 
she said.
That was what he had meant, but now he didn't know why but, he wanted
 to spend more time with her. The whole afternoon if he could swing it.
 That short time in the ice cream shop, just talking to her.....just 
having her smile at him, invigorated him....and he didn't want the 
feeling to end.
"Well, no...." he lied. "I meant that we would spend the afternoon 
together and  then go see Peggy's painting at 5."-Great, Darien! You 
just sounded like you asked her out on a date!-he thought.-but it is 
kind of a date.....-
"Oh...well, I don't know...." she said unsurely. 
Darien knew she was about to say no, and he didn't think he could take
 her rejection. He just couldn't let her walk away, not right now. Her 
gripped her hand tighter and walked forward so that he was inches away
 from her face. "Please?" he whispered sweetly, rubbing his thumb over 
the top of her hand and staring into her eyes. She nearly fainted right
 there. 
"ok....." she breathed so softly Darien almost didn't catch it. He 
smiled. "Good." Once again their eyes locked and a sudden urge 
overpowered them both. They were so close to each other they could feel
 each others breath on their faces. Slowly, they started moving closer,
 and closer, and when they were an inch away from each other's lips....
-WHAT AM I DOING!?-they both thought at the same moment and pulled away.
They both blushed dark shades of red and looked at the ground.-I almost
kissed her!- Darien thought.-How could i have done that!? First off,
she's only in junior high, and second of all she's...well she's Serena!
The ditzy, clutzy, crybaby who is absolutely beautiful and has the most 
gorgeous smile and wonderful personality and--Who are you kidding, 
Darien! You like her...ALOT!- Serena fidgeted with her hands as she 
stared at the ground in sheer embarassment.-I nearly kissed him! My God,
two more seconds and I would've been in a serious lip-lock with Darien!
....Well....not that I would've minded that much...NO! This is Darien!
The jerk who always teases me and has the most gorgeous blue eyes and
thinks I'm cute and wants to spend the afternoon...with...me.- She 
stopped as she realized what was going on. She liked Darien and it
looked as if he liked her back. Maybe if they put this whole 
uncomfortable situation behind them, they could continue on with the
afternoon.
"So Darien," Serena said non-chalantely."Whaddaya say we go to the
 park?"
He cleared his throat. "Sure!" he said, grateful she hadn't brought up
 the subject of there expirience a few minutes before.
As they walked, they started talking again, both completely forgetting 
what almost happened. 
* * *
Before they knew it, they were walking through the park laughing, and 
telling embarassing stories at their friends' expense.
"And then," Darien laughed between words, "Andrew came out of the bath
room in *nothing* but a party hat, jumped up on the table, and starting
 singing 'I'm every woman'!!!!!" 
Serena burst out laughing, and Darien had tears running down his cheeks
 as he retold the story of Andrew getting wasted at his birthday party.
"Oh God, I never knew Andrew was like that!" Serena exclaimed, still 
giggling. "Um, Darien, do you know what time it is?"
Darien glanced at his watch. "It's 4:08, why?" he asked.
"Good! There's still time!" she squealed.
"For what?" Darien asked.
"Let's go out on the lake and rent a row boat!" she said."Well, ok." 
Darien agreed. -Am I going to be able to handle this? Its using all of
 my self-control to just keep from grabbing and kissing her....-
"Yah! Let's go!" she said pushing him towards the lake. This was the
 first time in 6 months Darien was actually having a good time. No, 
a *wonderful* time. Serena was enjoying herself immensly as well. 
Darien was being a perfect gentleman, and she liked it.
* * *
They spent nearly an hour out on the lake. When they finally docked, 
they realized it was after 5 and headed for the studio. When they 
arrived, surprisingly, it was closed. They decided to try the doors, 
and they were open. 
"Oh, hi you guys!" Peggy exclaimed as she saw them entering.
"We were on our way to your studio, Peg and saw this place was closed. 
What's going on?" Darien asked.
"I wanted to add a few more paintings to my exhibit. Look! Its
 finished!" she said as she showed them the painting they posed for.
"Wow!" Serena said in awe.
"She's got the meatballs perfect too!" Darien added playfully. He just 
wanted to see Serena squirm, and she did. She turned to him and frowned.
"See if I ever sit next to you again!" she teased and then looked up.
"Wow! When did you do this?" Serena asked as she saw the painting of 
Peggy on the wall in front of her. 
"After you came to pose and  we had that nice little talk. Lonny Lanai 
is finished in the painting business for good! From now on, everything 
has my name on it and everyone will know the real me!" Peggy explained.
"That's great!" Serena exclaimed as she hugged Peggy. Darien just 
watched Serena. Their afternoon had been wonderful, but he felt like 
something was missing. That something was unfinished. They said there 
goodbyes and exited the gallery. Darien offered to walk Serena home.
"Wasn't that painting we posed for beautiful?" Serena bubbled.
-Not as beautiful as you...- Darien thought as he looked at her. 
Everything he felt about Serena had come out today. He liked her. He
*really* liked her. He might even go so far as to saw he loved her. But
he knew it could never happen. His loyalty was to his dream princess,
and he couldn't betray her. Serena was really gone on Darien, it was
a crush, but somehow, it felt like more. She knew it wouldn't work.
She loved Tuxedo Mask and just couldn't forget him. But, it was
unquestionably one of the best days she'd ever had, even though
something felt unfufilled...like something else was supposed to
happen. When they reached her front gate, she turned to face Darien.
"Thanks for the great afternoon, Darien. I really had fun." she said 
and smiled.
He responded by giving her an even bigger one. "Yeah, me too."
They stared into each other's eyes for a few more seconds until Serena 
spoke. "Well, goodnight!" she said as she turned and started towards 
her door.-Darien! Don't let this opputunity slide by!You like her, she 
likes you, go for it!- A voice inside of him screamed. He unconciously 
reached out and grabbed her hand. She looked over her shoulder and then
 turned around completely to face him. 
"Serena, I--" he started shakily.
"Yes?" she asked soflty, taking a step forward.
"I--" he tried to say again. He sighed and looked at the ground, 
shaking his head. He then looked up and in one solid movement, walked 
up to her,the side of her face, tilted her head back, and kissed her.
 Her lips felt so wonderful on his and fireworks exploded throughout 
Darien and Serena's bodies. He kissed her long and gently, as if 
savoring every second. After he felt he was going to pass out from lack
 of oxygen, he broke away slowly and looked deep into her eyes. He 
brushed his hand over her cheek and then kissed it so softly, Serena
 could hardly feel it. 
"I'll see you tommorow." he whispered in her ear and then let go of her
 hand, and walked away.
Serena stared after him, her heart still beating madly in her chest. 
After a few minutes, Luna came out and lectured her on standing in 
front of the house like that. Luna always found something to lecture 
about, no matter how dumb. 
* * *
Serena got into her pajamas and climbed into bed. She took out her 
star locket and started to think about Tuxedo Mask.-I wonder who he 
is......-she giggled at her next though, -What if Darien turns out to
be Tuxedo Mask? Yeah, and I'm the Moon Princess!-
* * *
Darien stood on his balcony thinking about that bold move he made on 
Serena. He was glad he did it, and he would do it again if.........if
 it weren't for his dream princess. -What if Serena turns out to be my
 Princess?- Darien laughed at the thought.-Yeah, right! If  Serena's 
my princess, I'll hop around town in a white robe and a turban!- He 
shook his head and walked inside.


THE END!!!