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At home Serena was helping her mother prepare for dinner. Her mother was the perfect person to complain to. She would understand.

“Darien Chiba is such a pain! You’d think the guy would have something better to do than hang out with teenage girls and torture me to death. What did I do to deserve this?” Serena was on another rant about Darien, while she helped her mother prepare for dinner.

“Honey, don’t forget to call your Dad. He wants to know if you’ll be going skiing with him and Celine this winter?”

“Mom! You aren’t listening to me!”

“Of course I am, sweetheart,” Ikuko said, as she continued stirring the sauce she had simmering on the stove. 

“No you’re not! Besides, it’s summer now, why does Dad want to know about something that won’t be happening for months?”

“Because it means that you’ll be spending Christmas with him. The whole thing has not been arranged yet, but his family is planning to spend the Christmas vacation in Europe.”

“That means grandma will be there too! I do not like that woman!”

“Serena! She’s your grandmother!” As much as Ikuko disliked the matriarch of the Chandler family, she didn’t want her own beliefs to negatively influence her daughters.

“She’s a stuck up snob, Mom, not to mention a complete hypocrite. I don’t mind hanging out with Dad and Celine, but when Grandma starts going on and on about how precious her only son is and blah blah blah, I just want to gag!” 

Ikuko couldn’t help but smile. Amanda Chandler loved her son and didn’t hesitate to let anyone know it. She hated Ikuko for having had an affair with him and giving birth to her first grandchild Serena. According to Amanda, Ikuko had ‘ruined his innocence’. She seemed to have neglected the fact that her son was a playboy long before and after Ikuko. Evident in the fact that he had three daughters with three different women and two more children on the way; his current wife Celine was pregnant with twins. In just a few months, Serena would have yet another pair of siblings.

It was no surprise her son had rebelled. The woman was absolutely smothering!

“But your grandfather will be there.” Now Amanda’s husband, Serena’s grandfather, Michael Chandler, was a wonderful man. Ikuko couldn’t conceive of how the two had ever married. Serena loved her grandfather as much as he loved her.

“Well, I suppose I could put up with her, as long as I get to see everyone else. I’ll call him tonight.”

Serena loved her family. Although she didn’t live with her biological father, Richard, the two had a relationship as close as the one she shared with her stepfather Kenji. Serena also loved her stepmother and two younger sisters Irene and Catherine. Irene was a year younger than Serena, a product of Richard’s first marriage to Anika St. Andre. Catherine, his youngest daughter was about three years old, and lived with him and her mother, Celine, while Irene lived in Paris with her mother. It certainly was an international family.

“Anyway,” Serena began, “Why are men so rude! He’s always picking on me, making fun of my hair and anything else he could possibly find.”

Ikuko rolled her eyes.Teenagers! 

“Serena sooner or later you’re going to like one of them so I suggest you just let go of the frustrations early in life and accept them, or you’ll be miserable for the rest of your life trying to figure out what makes them the way they are.”

“Mother! You’re not supposed to say things like that.”

“Sweetheart, I’m a mother and a married one at that. That pretty much certifies that I know some things.Men can be strange, but you get to like them.”

“Not this one!”

“Ok honey, whatever you say. Could you bring the salad to the table.”

Serena wrinkled her nose. “Why do I have to eat this stuff anyway? I am not a rabbit.” She poked at the lettuce scornfully with the tip of her finger.

“It’s good for you.”

“Whatever!”

“So, Serry, got a plan yet?”

“Don’t call me that, and no!” Serenity snapped at her little sister.

“Beryl rolled her eyes. How did you get that name? You are so…” she searched for the right word, “cranky! Of all people I should be the last person in the world to tell you to relax.”

“I would relax if I had some idea how to get them together. Damn these intangible bodies!”

“It’s not a life or death situation! You have plenty of time to get them together.”

“I’m afraid that’s not true. Pluto informs me that this timeline is unstable, which is why they’re not together as yet. Nothing is guaranteed.The only thing we’re sure of is that it’s within everyone’s best interest that we get them together as soon as possible.”

“Ok, so I guess we really need an idea soon. How are we supposed to do this without bodies?”

“That is our hurdle. We can appear in dreams, and make whispery suggestions. But, there is no guarantee that they’ll remember, or hear. They’re so stubborn that even if a thought came to them that just maybe they might be attracted to each other, they’d end up denying it and suppressing the idea completely! Even if we were capable of talking to them directly, there is no way we could force them to fall in love.”

“Well maybe we need a stronger method.”

“I’m open to suggestions,” Serenity said. Her sister appeared deep in thought. They were both quiet for a long while, until Beryl’s pale face suddenly lit up.”

“I have a wild idea, one you won’t like, but it’s the only way I can think to have an effect on the real world.”

“What is it?” Serenity asked warily. She was sure she wasn’t going to like this.”

“Well, we don’t have bodies of our own, but we could always use someone else’s.”

“Oh no you don’t! You can’t possibly be suggesting we posses someone!” Serenity was certainly surprised. It was just like Beryl to come up with something that rubbed her sense of decency the wrong way.

“Oh come on Serenity, do you have a better idea? This is the only way I can think of to get this done.”

“We can’t just go around possessing people!” She paused for a moment. She had to admit she didn’t have a better idea. She took a deep breath; not quite believing she was about to employ this idea. 

“Assuming we followed this plan of yours, you do realize how much energy this would take. We wouldn’t be able to make another attempt for months!”

“So we’d only have one chance. We’d just have to do our best to make it work.”

“OK. I’m willing to try this, since it appears to be the only idea we have that has any chance of working. So how do we go about this?”

“Do I have to do everything?”

Serenity rolled her eyes at her sister’s statement.

“Ok, we can’t go directly to Serena and Darien so whatever we do has to be without their knowledge. We’re trying to get them to acknowledge that they have some feelings, any feelings for each other, which they won’t do in front of their friends, so we need them alone.”

“I’m getting the feeling you’ve done this before,” Serenity said, surprised at how quickly, Beryl was putting this plan together.”

“Darling, darling,” Beryl began in her best snobby socialite imitation, “I am a professional.” Serenity couldn’t help smiling. 

“We need to posses someone they trust, someone whom they’d believe implicitly…”

They turned and smiled at each other, they’re thoughts in sync for the first time in a long while.

There they were again, the happy couple. Serena wasn’t sure whether she should laugh or gag. Raye was, of course, hanging all over Darien, while Darien was doing his best to detach himself. That girl just didn’t get it. 

Serena didn’t get it either, Raye could have almost any guy her own age. Why did she have to be hanging all over the one guy that didn’t want her, with whom she had absolutely no chance? Why anyone would want Darien was beyond her.

He was probably gay anyway, why else would a single college guy hang out with a bunch of teenage girls? Serena chuckled at that thought. No, gay men were usually nicer and infinitely more attractive. 

That wasn’t true either. Even she had to admit that Darien was one of the best-looking guys she knew. It was just such a tragedy his personality didn’t quite match up.

He was just another spoilt rich kid. He had the trademark resentment towards his parents, whom he probably secretly adored. He lived in an awesome condo atop one of the nicest buildings in the city, undoubtedly paid for through his trust fund. He obviously thought himself so much better than everyone else, which is why he was always making such a great effort to study and be perfect in every way he could.

She knew her parents were equally rich but they didn’t live the pretentious socialite lifestyle his family did. In fact, if you excluded her unusual number of parents, grandparents, and half siblings, her family was normal and loving. They didn’t flaunt their wealth in the faces of others; something Darien’s father did constantly. 

She wasn’t really in the mood to fight with him today, she thought to herself as she walked over to where Raye, Darien, Amy and Andrew were already sitting. She had managed to get here before Mina and Lita. Darien wasn’t supposed to be here, but she had gotten used to him showing up randomly. 

“Hi guys.” She was going to attempt to be civil today, maybe if she ignored him altogether they could get through this day of shopping without a fight. “Andrew, I didn’t know you were going to be shopping with us.”

“Actually, Darien and I were just hanging out, when we saw these two,” he gestured towards Raye and Amy. 

“Cool! Will you be shopping with us for the rest of the day?” She asked speaking directly to Andrew. Darien raised an eyebrow, as he observed her quietly. No snide remarks, no scowling, this was certainly interesting. He had a feeling she was ignoring him though, somehow that didn’t rub him the right way. He didn’t even notice he was frowning.

“Actually, we know better than to get involved in one of your shopping marathons,” Andrew said, glancing over at Darien wondering when the snide remarks would begin.

He was surprised Serena hadn’t already commented on the scowl that had developed upon Darien’s face. 

“We just came by to pick up a few things, we have a study group to get to.”

“Well, don’t let us keep you from your studying,” Amy said. “That’s something I would be doing myself if I hadn’t been dragged unwillingly from my home.” She cast a sideways glance at Raye, who was looking awfully satisfied with herself and not in the least bit guilty.

“Well I guess I’ll see you girls later,” Darien said to Amy and Raye, completely ignoring Serena’s presence. Serena raised an eyebrow but said nothing, much to the surprise of everyone. Darien and Andrew left the three girls and Serena took her place at the table across from Amy and Raye.

“I’m impressed Serena. Does this mean you two will be getting along from now on?”

“I seriously doubt that, Amy. I just didn’t feel like arguing with him today. I bet he thought he looked awfully cool with his sunglasses and that nasty expression.”

“Oh come on Serena! Darien is cool! Not to mention cute!”

“Raye, he’s an ass! I can’t believe you like him.”

Raye simply rolled her eyes. It was difficult to imagine that Serena was unable to see that Darien was the best looking guy they knew. Did she really hate him that much? She was still thinking about it when Lita and Mina finally arrived. 

“You’re late,” Serena said, satisfied that for a change she hadn’t been the one.

“There was an accident in town. The bus had to take a detour. There was so much traffic too,” Lita said.

“Well, let’s not waste another minute. Bargains await!” Mina almost yelled, causing a few people to look at her strangely. “Oops! I guess that was a little loud.

“Just a little,” Lita said, slapping the blonde hard on the back.

Serena slumped down on her bed, absolutely tired. Shopping was very hard work.They had visited just about every store in the mall. She was quite satisfied however. She’d added to her collection of CDs, bought a tank top that she would never let her parents see her in, and pigged out on cinnabuns and frappacinos until her stomach hurt and she’d developed a caffeine-induced headache.

She was relaxing on her bed, drifting off to sleep to the sounds of her new CD. She should be doing her homework, but she could save it for later. Maybe she could finish it up early tomorrow morning before school. She was a decent student now; missing one day of homework wasn’t going to kill her. 

Suddenly she felt something land on her chest. 

“Yo, airhead! It’s dinner time!” Sammy yelled through the door of her room.

She threw the stuffed bunny that had landed on her chest at her brother who was standing in the doorway to her bedroom. The bunny just missed his head.

“Get out of here you little imp!” He stuck his tongue out at her and ran down the hallway.

Serena groaned. Just when she was getting comfortable.

“Beryl, I can’t believe we’re doing this! Why this place? This is not going to work. There is nothing to stop them from leaving once they get here.”

“Don’t worry I took care of it! We just need to get them here.”

‘This is not going to work! This was a bad idea.”

“Oh relax Serry,” Beryl said stretching in her new body. “They’ll talk when they’re alone. I can almost guarantee it. Everything they argue about is just a show for their friends.”

“I certainly hope so. We won’t be able to do this again for months if this doesn’t work.”

Serena was actually doing her homework, close to midnight, when Luna walked in. She was just about ready to fall asleep; math was so boring! 

“Serena!” Luna said with urgency in her voice.

“What is it Luna?” Serena said somewhat annoyed at the interruption, but also grateful for the break.

“We have a problem!” Ok she was not that grateful!

“What now?”

“The scouts need your help! They’ve been trapped by a group of very strong youma.”

“What??!!!”

“I’m not sure how or what happened all I know is they’re being kept at that hotel on seventh avenue.”

“You’re kidding me right?! Why would a youma keep them in a hotel?”

“How am I supposed to know? What does it matter anyway? They need your help. Transform and go to them!”

“Ok, ok I get the point.” She was still pondering the reasoning behind a hotel. This seemed more than a little ridiculous. 

“Darien, the scouts need your help!”

“Ok, lead the way Artemis.” Artemis was surprised that that went so easily. This guy has way too much time on his hand, Artemis thought. It was midnight and this guy was ready to go kill youma!”

The truth was Darien was tired of studying. There was a test tomorrow on plant biology but after a while all that information became a mass of useless crap. He needed a break and something to take his aggression out on. A youma would do just fine.

“Where are we going Artemis?” Darien asked as he scooped the cat up in his arms and jumped off the balcony of his building, his cape flying high in the updraft. “Why didn’t the girls call?”

“They thought they could handle it on their own. Unfortunately it turned out there was more than one and well now their trapped in a hotel room with a couple of energy sucking beasts.”

“A hotel room? The youma rented a hotel room?!!” Darien was absolutely incredulous. He knew that it was inappropriate to laugh under the circumstances but this was the most ridiculous thing he’d heard.

Artemis rolled his eyes as best a cat could.“Obviously they didn’t pay the bill in advance!”

Sailor Moon arrived in front of the hotel, out of breath from having ran all the way there. It wasn’t a big building. It was only about five stories high, shaped like a U. It was nice. From what she could see from the front of the building it was somewhat classy. In fact she was sure she’d seen an ad for this place as some sort of hotel and day spa.

“What now? Where are they?” she asked between breaths.

“They’re on the third floor, room 311. You’ll have to go around back.”

“They have a room?” Serena asked dubiously.

“Just go!” Luna snapped 

“I’m going already, no need to be rude!” Luna muttered something under her breath. Serena chose to ignore her. Things were certainly very weird tonight.

Serena was forced to jump a fence, landing somewhat clumsily on the other side by the pool. It had been raining earlier in the evening and the smooth tiling was somewhat slippery. 

“Which room is it?” Serena asked the black cat in her arms as she looked around at the rooms. Each room had a balcony that face in towards the large pool in the center. It was dark, with only a few lamps. Most of the lights in the rooms were out, understandable considering the late hour.

“The one on the third floor with the lights on.” Luna almost growled.

“Geez! What is wrong with you?”

“There’s nothing wrong with me. You have job to do. Get to it!”

“Alright already.” Serena put the cat down and jumped up to the third floor balcony without too much difficulty. Luna was so grouchy sometimes.

Darien landed gently on the top of the hotel building. He set Artemis down on the flat roof top. 

        “So where are they?”

“You have to be kidding me!”

“Just go! The girls need your help.”

“Alright, but this is way too weird,“ Darien mumbled. 

He went over to a small cottage-like protrusion on the roof. There was a metal door that was locked. With unnatural force he twisted the handle hard, hearing a snap as the metal broke. 

Darien made his way down to the third floor using the stairs. On his way down the third floor hallway, he passed by a drunken couple. The man was supporting the woman as she stumbled and giggled her way along. They both stared at him rather oddly but said nothing even if they thought his mask and formal wear seemed somewhat out of place.

He went over in his head the oddness of the whole situation. Youma were rarely intelligent, especially without guidance, how did they manage to get into a hotel room without notice and subdue five super-powered teens without making a mess of things?

He finally arrived in front of the door. He twisted the knob hard, breaking it easily. When he entered the room he was surprised to find it neat and empty with the exception of a single blonde female standing around looking rather confused. He soon found himself falling victim to that very same confusion.

“Where are the others?” Darien asked

“I was about to ask you the same thing!”

“Artemis said you were trapped here and needed help.”

“Luna said the same thing!”

“Well obviously they were mistaken! It’s a good thing too I would hate to depend upon you to save my life.”

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have tried!”

I thought you said they weren’t going to argue!” Serenity snapped at Beryl as she looked in on the two. Their spirits were drained from the exhausting ordeal of inhabiting Artemis’ and Luna’s body and using their human form to get these two rooms and getting Serena and Darien there. When the two cats woke up, they would think they’d had very strange dreams.

“Give them time Serry, really, you need to be much more patient!” Beryl scolded “Mother must surely have had a sense of humor when she named you Serenity. As it turns out, your daughter is just like you!”

“Oh be quiet and let me listen!”

Darien and Serena, decked out as their superhero counterparts, were in the heat of yet another argument. Their voices had risen to a rather loud level. They hadn’t even been aware, until there was a pounding on the walls. A voice came, somewhat muffled, through the walls telling them to ‘shut the hell up,’ before they called hotel management.

“Now, look what you caused!” Serena snapped.

“Me? You are the loud mouth that caused this problem.”

“That is so not… never mind, I’m out of here. I have better things to do than sit around here arguing with you.” For a moment Darien simply stared at her, a blank look on his face. 

“What!?” Serena frustrated with Darien’s weirdness and general annoying behavior threw her hands up in frustration.She stomped across the room out unto the balcony. 

Darien stared at her disappearing form. She was so beautiful and for a moment he had been stunned by that recognition. He was at a loss for why they had been arguing in the first place or why this had suddenly occurred to him just now. He followed her out unto the balcony watching as she jumped gracefully off the balcony edge and down to the tiled terrace below.

She let out a squeal as she landed somewhat less than gracefully on the slippery tile. The smooth bottoms of her shoes offered her no resistance and she felt herself slipping and sliding across the wet tiles. She came to a stop at the edge of the pool. Her momentum sent her careening over the edge and into the water.

Darien couldn’t help chuckling as he watched from the balcony. That had certainly been amusing. He jumped down from the balcony, more carefully than she had and landed rather gracefully. 

Serena was floundering in the pool, an amusing sight that turned Darien’s chuckling into a full-fledged hearty laugh. She managed to drag herself to the edge of the pool, but was having a difficult time getting out. 

“I don’t suppose you could help me up now could you?”

“Now why would I want to do that, Meatball Head? 

Even after saying that, a little voice inside his mind spoke to his sense of decency, which usually disappeared in her presence, scolded him, and forced him to be nice. 

He stuck his hand out to help her up, just as she had hoped. With a hard pull on his arm, she sent him flying into the pool. Without another look behind her to see how he was, she helped herself out of the pool. She obviously hadn’t needed his help in the first place.

She stood on the edge of the pool, soaking wet and gloating. Revenge was definitely sweet. Darien floundered for a while; his cape and tuxedo making him look rather amusing. His mask had floated away from him as he attempted to get his bearings back.Eventually he managed to drag himself out of the pool.

Serena was still laughing hysterically, when his dark menacing figure walked appeared, towering over her. Serena’s laughter came to a swift halt and she began backing up as she saw the cold unforgiving look on Darien’s face. Her laughter faded, as did the smile she’d had just moments before.

Darien had every intention of intimidating her to the best of his ability. At least that was his plan. He took of his dripping jacket and threw it to the ground angrily, all the time glaring at her angrily. He was definitely going to let her have it now.

Serena gulped, as much from the look of the wet shirt clinging to his lean body as from his intimidating stance. Were those rippled muscles she was staring at through the thin wet cloth? His hair was clinging to his forehead in the same way that three hairdressers would have spent two hours attempting to get the same look on a model. For the first time, rather odd considering the situation, she was willing to admit that he was absolutely gorgeous, especially with water dripping from his thick lashes, each drop reflecting the dim light of the lamps in the area. He was glowering at her with his midnight blue orbs, or attempting to. The end result was far sexier than intimidating.

Darien was doing his best to intimidate the girl standing before him. It was getting more and more difficult with her staring at him so intently. She was so cute, even with her blonde curls plastered to her forehead and clinging to her body. Her cheeks were a brilliant shade of pink even under the dim lights and her radiant blue eyes stared up at him so innocently, he wondered how he had managed to be so mean to her all the time. Ok cute might not be the right word he thought as he glanced over her mature body.

He gulped when he realized that the sailor scout outfit she was wearing was obviously not meant to get wet. The whole outfit was almost completely transparent now that it was soaked thoroughly. Her perfect breasts and were plainly visible, as was the narrow line of her tight stomach that led down to her belly button. The short thin material of her pleated skirt clung to her hips and upper thighs like second skin. 

A blank look overshadowed his face. She wasn’t just cute. She was absolutely gorgeous, and unbelievably sexy. His mind was boggled at the effect she was having on him. Sadly, in typical male form in these situations his brain pretty much turned to jelly and the only thing he was aware of was how much he wanted her at the moment.

Serena was suddenly bewildered by the strange look that had overcome Darien’s features. He was staring blankly at her as though she had just grown an arm out of the side of her head. No, that wasn’t true. He wasn’t really staring at her head.

She followed his line of vision to her own body and suddenly realized where his eyes were staring with such intensity. Her eyes suddenly took note of the thinness of the material that covered her body and her erect nipples. She felt enormously self-conscious. She could feel her entire body turning a brilliant shade of red. She slapped her hands over her chest attempting to cover her body. 

She stared up at him in shock, embarrassed to be seen like this by him of all people. She was suddenly aware of how close he was standing to her and the irregularity of his breathing as well as her own. She glanced over his body and her eyes went wide as she realized his own ‘reaction’ to her. Her mind kept telling her this was not happening, while her body accepted his closeness, and his heat quietly begging for more. She could feel his heat even across the short distance between them.

She willingly let him bridge the distance between them allowing him to touch and kiss her. She melted against his body as they kissed. His hands ran over the thin wet fabric, covering her skin, running up her waist until his hand settled over her breast, causing her to gasp as he caressed her nipples. She felt his hardness against her and knew that she didn’t want to stop anytime soon. 

Her brain was not explaining to her or reasoning with her on the matter. There was no resistance from her body or mind as she found herself sinking unto a lounge chair and it felt as though she were sinking into the best dream she’d ever had. There was no awareness of anything but his body and her own. 

She desperately desired to have his warm skin against her own. Even the thin, wet, layers of clothing between them became a nuisance. She began pulling at his shirt and pants, rubbing her hands over his smooth, hot skin, as it became available. She unknowingly released magical constraints of her own clothing, leaving her naked beneath his body. Darien’s clothing began to melt away with an unnatural ease.

Darien found himself desperately kissing and caressing every inch of her perfect body that seemed to fit his own just perfectly. The taste of her skin was like ambrosia on his tongue. He loved the feeling of her soft breasts beneath his tongue.

They were both completely lost in utter bliss. She begged for him to join with her in a way she had never known before. Her cries of pain as he breached her virginity, filling her completely, were lost in a sea of kisses. As he moved inside her cries quickly became moans of pleasure joined with his own. They came together and sank down into their dream world unaware of nothing but the steady feel and sound of each other’s breathing.