Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Lonesome Without You ❯ ??? ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

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*Serena*

Her expression glum,Molly sank down onto the edge of
the bed and lifted the baby to her shoulder."I think
you've suffered a temporary mental lapse brought on by
your thirty-second birthday."
"Oh,stopit,"Serena said,fially acknowledging Molly's
disapproval."Darien and I are just going to dinner."
"And you're just going to wear the sexiest dress in my
prepregnancy wardrode."
Serena tossed the dress over a nearby chair and began
unbuttoning her blouse."That's only because I got tied
up at the office,and I didn't have time to get to my
place,change and get back downtown to meet Darien." Molly still
looked skeptical,but Serena wasn't about to admit she had
been thinking of nothing but this sexy dress ever since
Darien called."You know Tokyo traffic on Friday afternoons,"she
improvised."It really was quicker for me to come over here than
to go home."
"You could wear what you have on."
"But it's my birthday,"Serena said as she stepped out
of her black skirt."I want to look nice."
Patting the baby on the back with one hand,Molly used
the other to indicate her loose T-shirt.A myriad of stains,
ranging from milk seepage to finger paints,decorated the
front."At this moment,your little black suit looks pretty
nice to me.Wanna change places?"
"As if you would."Serena went to the mirror and tugged
the dress over her head.She settled the clingy knit into
place and ran a hand through her blond hair,continuing,
"You know you're exactly where you want to be,Molly."
But when her friend was silent,she turned back around.
"You are happy,aren't you?I know you and Melvin didn't
count on having a third child,but you've resolved all that,
haven't you?"
The baby responded for Molly,with a loud,most unlady-
like burp.The two women shared a startled glance,then
burst into gigles.
Serena sat on the bed and lightly touched the baby's
downy hair,which was as fiery red as Molly's.She was so
tiny,so in need of the shelter Molly's arms offered."Is
she alright?"Serena asked as the baby whimpered and
burped again,softer this time.
Green eyes bright with amusement,Molly laughed.
"She's fine.Unlike her mom or her Aunt Serena,little Jocelyn
has a very simple life.She eats and burps and wets
her diaper and then sleeps and eats and wets and burps
some more.After just one month,she has no complications,no
regrets,no ex-husbands to call her up every
birthday and upset her life...."
Muttering about one-track minds,Serena went to the
dresser and began brushing her shoulder-length hair
into place."I'm not upset."
"And how will you fell in the morning?"
The quiet question brought a muffled exclamation from
Serena."You'd think after all these years I'd learn not to
tell you everything.Just because Darien and I...well,you
know...got intimate a couple of years ago on my birthday..."
"I thought it was last year."
Serena flushed,reluctantly meeting Molly's gaze."So it
was last year."
"And a couple of years before that?"
"Molly-"
"In the eight years since you guys split up,I'll bet
you've-"
"So I gave in to temptation a couple of times,"Serena
interrupted."Was it a crime?I mean,it always happened
when Darien wasn't dating anyone and neither was I.It
wasn't as if we were being unfaithful to anyone or pro-
miscuous or anything.We have a history together.Things
get out of control."
Molly cocked an eyebrow."Things-as you so delicately
call sex-has been out of control between the two
of you from the beginning."
The beginning.Serena pretended concern over the dress's
hem while she thought back to the day she had met Darien.
Serena could see Darien as he had looked nearly ten years
ago,with his mussed dark ebony hair and midnight blue eyes,
stapping into her apartment to investigate a burglary.He'd
had a cocky grin and a rookie cop's swagger in his walk.
Of course the swagger had nothing to do with being a
cop.It was just Darien.Reckless,passionate Darien.He was
the only man who had ever induced her to take chances.
She had married him two months after that first meeting.
"Oh,good grief."
Molly's groan brought Serena back to the present."What
is it?"
"I don't like that look in your eyes."
"What look?"
"The I'm-going-to-see-Darien-so-I'm-melting look."
Serena stiffened her shoulders."I never melt.Whatever
I do is what I chose to do.Ask all my clients.Even IRS
audits don't make me wilt."
Shaking her head,Molly stood."Hony,the IRS is nothing
next to the heat you and Darien generate when you're
together."
The heat.Yes,there was something hot between her and
Darien.Serena shivered just thinking about it.It was a
pity great sex hadn't been enough to hold a marriage
together.
"I wonder,"Molly mused."Has Darien grown up enough to
give marriage another shot?"
"Darien,will never be ready for marriage."
"You're right.Emotionlly unavailable men,however sexy
they might be,rarely change.And there are
women-like yourself-who continue to be attracted to
them."
Serena looked at Molly in amazement,then laughed.
"You've been watching too many talk shows with too
many pop psychologists as guest,my friend."
"No,"Molly said,all trace of teasing gone from her
voice and expression."I've spent too many years watching
you ride the Darien Chiba roller coaster.He calls you or
you call him,you see each other and this....this thing
between you explodes.You feel guilty and avoid him for
a few weeks until he stops calling.Then,eventually,one
of you starts it all over again."She sighed."Meanwhile,
you don't take any other man seriously.For years you've
avoided getting on with your life.If you're in love with
Darien-"
"We established long ago that I didn't love Darien,"
Serena retorted."I find him exciting and intriguing,but do
I love him?No."
"Then why aren't you going out with someone else tonight?"
Serena forced a light tone into her voice."Don't you
know,Molly,you got the last decent man."
At that moment,a chorus of"Dady's home!" came from the
family room where Molly's four- and five-year old boys
had been watching television.Molly grinned.
"You could stay here tonight.Three of the last decent
guys in the world are here and would love to help you
blow out the candles."She nodded toward the bedside
telephone."Why don't you call Darien and cancel?"
Serena considered the possibility while Molly went to greet
her husband.Perhaps her friend was right.Perhaps meeting
Darien would only perpetuate some destructive cycle she
had begun years ago.It was just that seeing Darien always
made Serena feel so alive,so...female.Though she had been
involved with other men,no one affected her quite like
Darien.
And today,on her birthday,she wanted to feel that way.She
needed a lift.
Sighing,Serena pulled a cosmetics bag from her purse
and began freshening her makkeup.She certainly wasn't silly
enough to consider herself old at the age of thirty-two.
Except when she thought of Molly and her three kids.
Serena paused,amazed as always by the fact that she and Molly
had chosen such different paths and managed to remain friends.
Happy-go-lucky,disorganized Molly had three children.While
Serena had none.
She set aside her lipstick and listened to the cacopony of
family sounds coming from the other end of the house.
For a second she gave in to the envy that sometimes crawled
through her when she saw what Molly had.If she and Darien had
stayed together...
"No,"she said aloud.Her eyes narrowed as she stared at her
reflection."You're not going to play the what-if-we-stayed-
with-Darien game."
Years ago,when she and Darien were together,Serena hadn't wanted
diapers and mortgage payments and a minivan in the driveway.

She had wanted exactly what she had-a briefcase,a condo and
a BMW.Molly had realized her dreams.Serena had found her had found
hers,too.
So why did Srena feel like crying?
"Don't be stupid,"She instructed herself,blinking away tears.Again
she considered calling Darien.Then squared her shoulders.Serena Moonstone
met challenges head-on.And tonight's challenge was seeing Darien and
not giving in to the sexual temptation he always presented to her.

She was a grown-up and,as Molly pointed out,it was time she got on with
her life.Tonight was going to be the beginning.She wasgetting of the Darien
Shilds roller coaster.
But half an hour later,acrose a crowded room,Serena's gaze met Darien's,and
she felt herself sliding down the first dip in the never-ending ride.
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That's all for now I'm trying to get chapters out to all my fic's ,so it'll be awhile berfor
I get another chapter out. :)