I Promise--Chapter Two by Aimee--sailor_moon89@hotmail.com Serena looked up at him...her smile slowly faded. He was staring at her with unmistakable intensity-- Serena swallowed hard. Slowly, he lowered his face to hers. She felt his warm breath on her cheek, and closed her eyes. His lips grazed against her's slightly... *Ding Dong* Their eyes flew open, suddenly very aware of their surroundings. The spell was broken. Backing away abruptly, Darien released Serena from the embrace, muttered something that remotely sounded like "sorry" as he went to answer the door. Serena stood in shock for a few moments, still partly unbelieving that Darien, the man who apparently couldn't stand her, had almost kissed her. But why had he done so? Out of pity? Had he been taken in by the 'damsel in distress' scenario? She wiped away a few of her remaining tears and wondered had she not been crying, would he have acted in such a way? Darien, meanwhile, couldn't decide whether he should be extremely thankful for the person behind the door or royally ticked off. Had the person kept him from making a huge mistake or hindered Serena and his shaky relationship even further? He wouldn't deny that he had some rather warm feelings for the girl, and they hadn't been born of the visions he'd been having...only deepened and intensified by them. Regret dawned on him--he had gone too fast with her. Something as intimate as a kiss should be worked up to, not forced upon a person as he felt he had done. He scolded himself for daring to take advantage of an emotional girl in such a way. If he indeed decided to pursue her affections, things would go much, MUCH slower. Darien opened the door swiftly, only to witness a flash of auburn hair and be met with a crushing bear hug. "Hi, Ann..." he wheezed through his smothered windpipe, not even having to look down at the girl squeezing the life out of him to know who it was. Ann was sickeningly bubbly, speaking in a voice reminiscent of Trixie from Speed Racer: "Oh,-Darien- I'm-like-so-glad-to-see-you.-I've-missed-you-so-much- even-though-I-saw-you-half-an-hour-ago,-but-that-doesn't- matter-cause-I-just-think-you're-the-coolest,-unlike-that- total-creep-you-saved-me-from-at-the-VR-theater,-which- was-like-really-brave-of-you.-Has-any one-ever-told-you- you're-brave?-And-handsome?-And-cool?-Did-I-say- handsome-already?-*Ha Ha Ha*-Silly-me!-So-like-what- do-you-say-we-like-go-get-a-milkshake,-just-you-and-me?- It'll-be-so-much-fun,-dontcha-think-Darien?" Darien looked at the girl in amazement, trying to sort through the flood of syllables and vowels to figure out what the heck she just said. "Uh...actually, Ann. I'm baby-sitting, so I won't be able to go anywhere." "Baby-sitting!?!!?!" Ann took an excited gasp of air. Darien braced himself for another onslaught. "Oh-wow- Darien!-That's-so-cool-and-sweet-of-you.-I'll-bet-you're- really-good-with-kids,-but-not-as-good-as-me,-of-course!- Kids-love-me!-Oh,-where's-the-baby-Darien?-I'll-bet-I- can-help-you-out-a-bunch!-What-do-you-say-I-help-you- for-the-rest-of-the-day?-We-could-watch-movies-and..." "Actually, I already have someone helping me," Darien cut her off, trying to restrain himself from covering his ears. Where was Serena when he needed her? As if on cue, Serena cleared her throat, making her presence known to Ann. Despite the fact that her crying spell had quieted and she had calmed down, Serena's face was still flushed in a soft pink color. Her blue eyes still held the 'watery' quality, and her hair and clothes were slightly tousled from Darien's embrace. Darien thought she looked charming. Ann felt otherwise. "What the hell happened to you, Serena?" she spat. "You look like crap." Serena's face fell, and Darien scowled at Ann. She failed to notice the glare and walked over to Jordan who was eyeing Serena's hair with a bit of drool on the side of his mouth. "Awwwwww, look at the pretty baby!" Jordan's eyes became wide at the sight of the menacing looking girl approaching. Serena could have sworn heard him make a little "eep!" noise. "Isn't she pretty!" Ann gushed. "Actually, Jordan's a boy..." "Whatever." Picking the terrified child up, Ann spun him around dizzily, causing little Jordan to feel a bit woozy. Before his stomach got in the 'danger zone,' Ann stopped spinning, having caught sight of Darien's balcony. "Ooooooo, I didn't know you had a balcony, Darien!" she swooned, shoving the slightly green Jordan into Serena's arms. "Here--hold him while Darien shows me the view of the city." Serena could barely blink before Ann had disappeared with Darien onto the balcony--the sun was setting outside, which no doubt made it quite romantic and cozy out there. She sighed and blinked back tears. Why did it have to be this way? Serena glanced at the whimpering Jordan, who wasn't feeling too good at the moment. Her motherly instinct kicked in immediately. "Awww...poor thing," Serena whispered to the child. "It's okay. I'll make it all better." Sitting in the chair Darien had occupied earlier, Serena rested Jordan's cheek on her chest. Smoothing his hair back and away from his face, she hummed a lullaby to the child. His whimpering slowed as his nausea faded, comforted by Serena's rhymic breathing. He sucked on his thumb contentedly, his eyes slowly closing into a welcome slumber. Darien glanced inside from the balcony, and his heart practically melted at the sight of Serena and the baby. He smiled and thought perhaps his mother used to hold him like that... "Darien, are you listening to me?" "Hmmm?" he murmured dreamily to Ann. "I said don't you think the sunset looks pretty from up here?" repeated Ann, impatiently. "Beautiful..." he murmured, his attention on Serena--he couldn't but notice the miles of blond hair streaming down the couch and how it curled naturally at the ends. Her small hands ran through Jordan's hair comfortingly, her ivory skin a dramatic contrast to his fiery red curls. Again, Darien's mind was attacked with another flashback: he lay in her arms, his cheek pressed against her chest--much like the way she was holding Jordan now. Pain shot through his back, making him feel as if he were dying. The pain was bearable though, since she was there by his side. Through almost frantic tears, she pleaded, "Darien, you can't leave me...you can't..." Though he tried to comfort her, he felt himself slipping further and further away from consciousness. The memory left as quickly as it had come, leaving Darien wide-eyed and breathless. What was this girl doing to him? Lost in confused thoughts, Darien barely noticed when Ann led him back inside, but her voice quickly brought him back to reality... "Sereeeeeenaaaaaa!" Ann whined. "Jordan doesn't want to sleep right now! He wants to play!" Jordan's eyes once again became large and a tiny little whimper escaped from the child's mouth at the sight of the brunette who had caused his bout of nausea. "Ann, I don't think it's a good idea to be too rough with him right now. He's not feeling good..." Serena tried to warn her. "Like you know anything about babies, Serena!" Ann snapped, grabbing Jordan from his comfortable spot in Serena's arms. She began to spin Jordan around again, mumbling unintelligable baby-talk phrases. Jordan's greenish tint returned, and he began to make little burping noises...the spinning was unmerciful. It all ended in one inevitable conclusion. "OH GROSS!!! EW EW EW EW EW!!! THAT LITTLE BRAT!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME HE WAS SICK?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD TRICK ME LIKE THAT!!!" Ann slammed the door behind her when she left, and her screams could be heard all the way down the hall...in the elevator...down the street...across town...ect... Jordan sat on the floor and cooed happily, obviously feeling much better. Serena and Darien just looked at each other for a few moments in silence. Darien was the first to chuckle. Serena quickly followed suit. Chuckling became snickering, then dissolved into giggling, then laughter. "Did you see the look on her face?" Serena tried to speak through the giggles, but found it quite difficult. "The look on *her* face?" Darien laughed. "What about the look on Jordan's face?" Darien held his stomach and imitated a gagging face, causing them both to crack up again. After a while, the laughter faded, leaving Serena and Darien smiling at each other. The tension of uncomfortable feelings between them that were born of their near-kiss had all but vanished. "Feeling better?" Darien asked softly, still a bit concerned about her emotional breakdown earlier, but pleased that she was laughing and smiling now...and what a beautiful smile she had. "Yes, but I think I'm going to have to wash my face now," she smiled, wiping away a few stray tears. "Sit down...I'll bring you something," Darien told her, leaving the room. Serena obediently took a seat on the couch, and heard the sound of water running in the bathroom. Darien came back in the room a few moments later with two damp washcloths. She watched him lovingly as he cleaned up Jordan with one of them--he wasn't too messy. The majority of mess ended up on Ann's blouse, Serena realized, beginning to snicker again. After giving Jordan a playful tickle and providing a few toys to occupy him, Darien picked up the other washcloth and moved to Serena. Kneeling before her and cupping her cheek in his hands, he gently ran the warm cloth over her face, wiping away any traces of tears. Serena's breath caught in her throat when he began this soft caress--she hadn't expected this. "Darien--I can do it myself..." she protested, slightly uncomfortable. "I'm well aware of that, Miss Tsukino," Darien teased with gentleness, rubbing the cloth over her lips. They tingled in it's wake. But then again--everything was tingling. Darien's hand moved to the back of her head, lifting her slightly away from the couch. Serena gasped as she felt the cloth on the back of her neck. "There, that's better," Darien smiled at her. He discarded the washcloth and took a seat next to her on the couch. His arm rested on the back of the couch behind her--though he wasn't touching her, Serena could feel his warmth. They sat in silence, watching Jordan play happily with his toys. "So Serena..." Darien began after a few minutes. "You never told me why you were crying earlier." Serena's gaze dropped to her hands. She remained silent. "You know I'm your friend, Serena, and that I'll listen to you if you need to talk about something," Darien told her gently, his arm sliding from the back of the couch to rest lightly on her shoulders. Still, she said nothing. Darien became increasingly concerned--and determined. "Serena..." he urged her, his mouth very close to her ear. "I-I just had a bad day." Well, it wasn't a complete lie... "Really?" Darien spoke, still very close to her ear. His voice was gentle yet firm, as if he was interrogating a young child in trouble. "Are you sure that's all that's wrong? "Can we talk about something else?" Serena mumbled. "No." "Please?" "Uh-uh." "Darien, you wouldn't understand if I told you." "How do you know?" "It's...complicated." "I like complicated." Serena sighed--she had no idea this man could be so stubborn. "I think it's time I went home," she told him, attempting to get up from the interrogation seat. Darien's arm on her shoulder stopped any and all effort to move, much less get up. "So soon?" he asked innocently. "Darien..." she half whined, half sobbed. "Please don't do this to me..." "Do what?" the exasperated man exclaimed. "I'm trying to help you, Sere-" "Then leave me alone!" she cut him off, pulling away from him. "Can't you see you're just making things worse?" Serena marched toward the door only to find a slightly angered man with black hair and piercing blue eyes blocking her way--again. "Get out of my way, Darien," Serena spoke bitterly. "Look, I'm not going to let you walk out of here upset," he half spoke, half yelled at her, angry with the threat of her departure. "I'm surprised you care!" Serena yelled, her tears betraying her and falling carelessly down her flushed cheeks. "I care more than you think, Serena," he spoke firmly. "No, you don't!" she insisted. "Why would I tell you anything? You'll just laugh at me." Serena's tears fell harder. "Serena, in case you haven't noticed--I'm not laughing." Indeed, he wasn't. She looked him square in the eye-- he was serious. She didn't know when he had changed from a mocker and teaser to a friend, but he had--and it was genuine. She didn't know what to say anymore. "Serena, I don't know what you're upset about, but I do care. I want to be your friend, but you keep shutting me out. I can't help you if you won't let me in." Darien placed his hands on her shoulders. "Now you have a choice, Serena. You can walk out of that door," he pointed toward the front door. "Or we can try this again." Serena's voice was small and pathetic. "Try what again?" she mumbled through her tears. "This..." Darien pressed his mouth to her firmly. ----- To be continued. Please write! ^_~ sailor_moon89@hotmail.com