Levana Ceri (Moon Love)

Chapter 10

Serena opened her eyes and looked into a pair of very worried eyes. "Oh thank God." Darien said in relief before he pulled her up into his arms and held her tightly against his chest.

Serena's mind was still reeling with Saturns parting words echoing in her brain. "We need you Princess. Something must be done to avert the impending tragedy. You are the only hope we have. Please..."

Serena shut her eyes closed and wrapped her arms her Darien's and held on to his shoulders tightly, pressing her face tightly into the crook of his neck. The screams from the vision Saturn had given her still reverbrated in her ears. The sight of her friends lifeless bodies on the ground...the bodies of her people littering the ground.

The image of Earth being destroyed. Darien....

Serena pulled away from Darien and looked into his face. Darien raised his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs. "What happened? One moment you were sleeping peacefully then the next you were thrashing around."

"It was just a bad dream." Serena whispered to him. Darien frowned slightly at her still holding her face in his hands. "Really? I didn't know bad dreams could make you cough up blood."

Serena's eyes widened. "What?"

Darien held her eyes with his own then nodded to the trashcan he had pulled close to the bed. Serena looked and it was filled with bloody pieces of toilet paper. Swallowing Serena turned to Darien again and gave him a watery smile. "It was a REALLY bad dream."

Darien looked thoughtful. "Must've been." He tilted her head up slightly and touched a raw spot on her neck that hurt like hell. Serena flinched away. Darien raised his finger and showed her the blood on it. "Funny that a line of blood appeared on your throat like magic. If I didn't know any better I'd have thought someone pressed a knife to your throat."

Serena tried to turn away from Darien's knowing gaze but he only pulled her back. "Something's going on. I'm not stupid Serena. I can't help if you don't tell me."

Serena wrenched herself away from him. "I don't want your help." She told him angrily. "Well, whether you want it or not doesn't matter. It looks like you need it." He snapped back.

"What the hell could you do? You don't know anything!" Serena yelled at him.

"If you'd tell me then I'd know."

"It won't change anything." Serena tried to swing her feet over the side of the bed to get up, when Darien suddenly grabbed her legs and pulled them over his lap. With one hand restraining her legs his other pulled her upper body close to his. "I won't watch you go through shit like this again without knowing what the fuck is going on!" He smashed his lips against hers. There was nothing nice or tender in his touch. This kiss was a punishment. For the fear that had struck his heart when she was asleep and he couldn't wake her up. The fear that she would never wake up and die in his arms. His soul nearly died when she coughed up the blood and there wasn't a damn thing he could do. He had been helpless. Helplessness was not something he dealt well with.

Serena couldn't help it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Kissed him with all the passion she had been holding back the last few days. She held him close, afraid to let go. She had seen Earth be destroyed. She had lost him. To hold him this close. To allow herself the pleasure of being held in his arms and knowing that at least at this very moment he cared...

Darien felt the acceptance in her kiss. Instead of fighting him he felt her soften up against him. She wasn't complacent at all. She made demands with her lips that he was more than happy to oblige. She speared her fingers into his hair and trailed one hand to feather his cheek and grip his jaw. She licked the seam between his lips and when he didn't open quick enough for her she put pressure on his jaw to open his mouth. She plundered his mouth with her tongue.

Darien groaned and laid back on the bed turning her beneath him. She raised one leg until her knee was pressed tightly against his hip. Darien's hand caressed her leg, enjoying the feel of her smooth silky skin against his fingertips. Serena moaned into his mouth and her body squirmed, trying to fit more closely with his. Darien's hand trailed further, up her thigh then beneath her nightgown. He was very happy he had decided to dress her into the pretty pink nightgown that had been laid across her bed. And no, he hadn't looked at anything when he had been undressing her...much. Darien grinned at the memory and Serena licked his smile. He kissed her again, awarding her, then he kissed her cheek, chin then left a steaming trail of open mouth kisses along her neck. He very gently ringed her cut with little kisses that drove Serena wild.

He found a spot just where her neck met her shoulder that he particularly liked and bit her not so lightly. Serena gasped and Darien covered the bite with his lips...soothed the sting with his tongue before he sucked. Serena by this time was breathing raggedly. She reached her hands down and pulled his T-Shirt out of his pants and pulled it up so she could trace her fingertips over his abs. They were very tight and Serena brushed her nails lightly over them. Darien gasped and pulled away with a light laugh. Serena smiled at her discovery and brushed her nails over his abs again. Darien chuckled again and pulled away from her. With glee Serena bit her lip and tickled his ribs again. "Meatball head you do the damndest things."

"I didn't know you were ticklish." Serena giggled.

"Well now you know so stop killing the mood." Darien warned her with a roguish grin. Serena laughed and Darien couldn't resist kissing her again. He wanted to feel her laughter against his lips. Darien caressed her shoulder then very slowly lowered her shoulder strap. Serena's laughter died quietly when she looked into the intensity of his eyes. She closed her eyes and felt his lips kiss the path of the strap as he removed it from her shoulder. He nibbled down the upper slope of her breast-

"HOLY SHIZNIT!!"

Darien quickly placed his body between Serena and the door that had flung open. He glared at his former friend. "I am going to kill you Jadeite." He growled.

Jadeite laughed and right behind him were Nephrite and Zoisite. "Nephie...did you get a load of that?"

"Couldn't get a load of anything. And your damn scream broke the party up really fast."

"I'm sorry but seeing Master cuddling up to anybody is a shocker but with Serena of all people, I'm glad I didn't die of heart failure." Jadeite breathed a sigh of relief and lightly tapped a fist against his chest.

"Master...since Jadeite doesn't have the stamina you mind if I join the party?"

"Who says I don't have the stamina?"

"The swedish girl you took a total of 3 minutes with last month."

"Wait." Zoisite interrupted, trying to keep the guys attention away from Serena who was currently cowarding behind Darien and trying desperately to get some of her composure back. "You mean to tell me you two actually SHARE women? I didn't think either of you would be able to stomach being with the other...despite your perverse pleasures."

Both Jadeite and Nephrite stiffened visibly. "Hey, we don't roll that way. What I meant was that the swedish girl was soo dissapointed with Romeo here that she came crawling in my bed to be with a real man."

"She must've mistook your door for Kunzites." Jadeite grumbled.

Nephrite sputtered a bit but finally relented and laughed. "Ain't that the truth? All the girls want a piece of Kunzite. You realize most of the girls we get were actually panting after him?"

"I don't care who the girls were panting after as long as they're still panting by the time I'm done with them."

"Ha ha, yeah...panting for MORE!" Both gave eachother high fives and Zoisite rolled his eyes.

"Back to important matters. Master...didn't you say that you'd be a very sick man to touch Serena?"

Jadeite strode boldy into the room and bravely placed his hand against a fuming Darien's forehead. "He doesn't feel sick...no fever."

Nephrite walked in and held Darien's wrist high up with thumb and forefinger gripping either side. "Hmm, his blood pressure seems to be going quite fast...but that might have to do more with Serena's tempting state of undress." Nephrite tried to look over Darien's shoulder at Serena but Darien continued to block his view. Both continued to snicker and irritate Darien until Zoisite saw that Darien was really going to kill both of them.

Zoisite cleared his throat. "Men...it is time we departed."

Jadeite rolled his eyes and stood up straight stiffly immitating Zoisite. "Men...it is time we deported."

"Departed dumb ass. He said departed." Darien grumbled.

Nephrite laughed when Jadeite became embarassed. He punched Nephrite in retaliation but he only laughed harder. Zoisite summoned up his powers and with a few flicks of his wrist he simultaneously opened the window to the second floor bedroom and threw them both out of it.

Darien stared at Zoisite in surprise. "Sometimes they can be irritating for me as well." Zoisite smiled. Darien grunted. "Irritating or not, I don't want them dead."

"Oh I wouldn't worry about that, I'm sure I conjured up a bush to break their fall." Suddenly painful screams rent the air. Zoisite cocked his head to the side in thought. "Or were they cactus branches? Either way...they still live."

Serena laughed and smiled at Zoisite in approval. Zoisite inclined his head to Serena and bowed to Darien. "I shall leave you two alone." He smiled knowingly at both before he quietly closed the door behind him.

Serena blushed and rested her forehead against Darien's back. Darien grinned. "Are you going to stay behind me or are we going to talk about this?"

Serena bit her lip and shook her head against his back. When Darien tried to turn to face her she held his shoulders still with her hands. Darien chuckled "Serena this is ridiculous. You're going to have to face me sooner or later. Or if you want I can just sit here with you behind me and remember how much I enjoyed kissing you...tasting your skin....licking your-"

"Stop!" Serena shoved his back and Darien laughed. Serena covered her face in her hands and swore she was going to die. Darien turned and pulled Serena into his arms with her back pressed against his chest. Serena held still for a moment then tried to pull away. Darien pulled her into his lap and held her still. "Shh." He closed his eyes on a sigh and rested his chin against the top of her head. Serena slowly relaxed in his arms and just enjoyed the feel of his arms around her. His chest slowly rising and falling against her back with every breath. He slowly reclined against the headboard of the bed and put his legs up on the bed with Serena still in his lap. He grabbed two pillows with one hand and placed them behind his back and settled in. Serena snuggled against his chest and shivered when his right hand made small little circles on top of her hands resting against her stomach.

"You ready to talk yet?" Darien asked.

Serena slightly tensed. "Talk about what?"

"I don't know. Take your pick. We can talk about the nightmare you had. The fact that I nearly made love to you...and will probably try again really soon-"

Serena tried to jump out of his arms but Darien held her back with a laugh. "I'm not going to try right now. Calm down. As I was saying...or we can talk about what you're running from."

"What are you talking about?"

Darien smiled and kissed Serena's temple. "C'mon Serena, don't take me for a fool. Whenever any of us go out and try to invite you along you come up with a thousand reasons why you can't. You stay cooped up in this mansion as much as you can, and when you walk about the grounds you constantly look around and behind you, as if expecting someone to jump out of the bushes at you."

Serena closed her eyes and wrapped both his arms around her seeking comfort. Darien leaned in and whispered in her ear "What are you afraid of meatball head?"

Serena frowned lightly. "Nothing you can help me with."

"We'll never know unless you tell me."

"Darien, please."

"Do you have any family? People who are looking for you? Is someone trying to force you to do something you don't want to do?"

"Damn it Darien!" Serena threw his arms off of her and stood to glare down at him. "Why can't you just leave it alone?"

"Because I'm starting to find I care for you. And I'm terrified that one day you're going to just disappear on me the way you've decided to disappear on someone else."

Serena stared at him in surprise. "It’s different. I had my reasons for leaving."

"What's to guarantee that you won't get 'reasons' for leaving here...me?"

"Are you....are you asking me to stay?"

Darien ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I don't know what I'm asking...I've never felt this way before. I want to hold you, touch you, and keep you with me. But in the next breath I want strangle the life out of you!"

Serena laughed. "The feeling is very mutual."

Darien raised his head and looked at her very solemnly. "Is it?"

Serena's smile died at the emotion she could see in his eyes.

Princess…

Serena closed her eyes against Saturn’s voice. “Darien, I need…”

Darien sighed and stood before her. “It’s ok. We’ll talk about this later. Get some rest.”

Darien started to step around her when she grabbed his arm and stopped him. Darien looked down at her. “Wait. Darien…will you stay with me tonight?”

Darien gave her a small grin and brushed his lips lightly against hers. “Sure.”

Darien took off his shirt and slowly removed his pants. Serena blushed and turned away. Darien chuckled softly and Serena took a quick peek at him before he slipped into her bed under the covers. He was still wearing his boxers.

“Disappointed?” Serena’s eyes snapped up to his and she stuck her tongue out at him. Darien laughed again and motioned for Serena to join him. Serena slipped under the covers as well and Darien wrapped an arm around her stomach and pulled her close. Serena sighed contentedly. Darien kissed the nape of her neck and said “Get some sleep.” Serena curled her fingers into his hand that was resting against her stomach and closed her eyes.