This started off as a one-shot, but like everything else it escalated! I actually owe this story to t-rex989, who gave me the idea via a PM. After thinking it over, it sort of just took off. T-Rex989, I changed just a little bit of your original idea, but still kept the basics! I hope you like it! I am still working on Love is A Battlefield, but it was sort of refreshing to take a break for a little bit and get this out!
Disclaimer: I only borrowed the characters from Sailor Moon, I do not own them. I also got this story idea from a member, any likeness to another story is purely coincidental as I have never read one like it!
It's Rated Mature like most of my stories, because of sex and language!
It was hot, abnormally so for a spring day in Tokyo. A rare heat wave was affecting the city, the citizens mostly unaware and unprepared. As Serena walked towards the arcade, she was relieved she had decided on the wearing the sleeveless summer dress with the denim jacket. She had long since removed the jacket, carrying it over her arm as she walked. She was regretting not wearing her sandals, opting instead for the leather flats that now housed her sweating feet. She couldn't imagine being in blue jeans on such a hot day, especially since she had to walk to the arcade. The heat was already giving her a sheen of sweat, causing her already short dress to stick to her legs. As she walked, she attempted to adjust the fabric, looking down briefly to see her success. She suddenly ran into someone, knocking him back and falling on top of him. Even if her body hadn't recognized him, only an idiot would wear a jacket on a day like today; an ugly green jacket at that!
"I see someone still hasn't learned how to walk and think at the same time, huh meatball head?" Darien told the blond girl who was sprawled across his chest. Serena blushed, the proximity of the him always causing a flushing sensation all over her body. She hastily stood up, reechoing down absently to help him up.
"Quit calling me Meatball head!" Serena whined to Darien, irritated even more when he brushed her hand to the side and stood up on his own. "What kind of an idiot wears a jacket on a hot day like today?" Serena asked him angrily, glaring daggers at him. Darien smirked at the little blonde. 'She's cute when she's angry.' He mused to himself before responding to their daily Verbiage of insults.
"I'm an idiot?" Darien asked smugly, "Last time I checked, I wasn't the dumb blonde failing all of her classes. Besides, this was my father's jacket." He finished, unsure why he added the last part. He rarely spoke about his parents to anyone.
"Oooooohh! I am not Dumb!" Serena whined loudly, hurt that he really thought of her as a dumb blonde. "And I guess your Dad doesn't have any sense of fashion either! Him and your Mom certainly didn't teach you any manners!" She finished angrily. Darien's smirk instantly faded at her words. Without saying another word, he turned and walked away, leaving a surprised Serena staring after him.
Darien opened the door to his apartment, walking in and sitting on the couch. He really shouldn't let their arguments escalate to the point of feelings getting hurt. He knew Serena wasn't dumb, she just needed to apply herself. His thoughts of the blonde we suddenly interrupted by Zoisite appearing in his television screen.
"Hello Darien, or should I say, Tuxedo Mask!" Zoisite sneered at him through the t.v. set. Darien sat back onto his couch, feigning calmness.
"Zoisite." He said conversationally, "What brings you to my home? I'd offer you a beverage, but I don't want to mess up my television." He continued sarcastically.
"You know exactly what I want from you and I am prepared to make you a little deal." She told him smugly.
"I don't make deals with evil Negaverse sleaze." Darien replied in his calm manner.
"Oh I think you will entertain this one, especially if you would like your girlfriend to be left alone." Zoisite said menacingly.
"I don't have a girlfriend Zoisite, and no, you aren't my type." He said jokingly, all the while his heart rate increased wondering who she was referring too. There was only one girl whom he spent any amount of time with, all be it that time was arguing.
"Really?" Zoisite continued evilly, "I thought you had a thing for Blondes." She laughed as Darien stiffened on the couch. "Or maybe I should put my hair up into buns on my head too, or what was it you called that girl? Oh yeah, meatball head!" She finished.
"You won't touch her…" Darien began, leaning forward.
"I won't touch her, if…you fight me for your rainbow crystals." Zoisite interrupted.
"Fine." Darien gritted out. "Where?" He asked her impatiently.
"How about on the roof of your building?" Zoisite supplied, "It's plenty big and not very far…meet me in 30 minutes or I go after that blonde girl." She disappeared from his television screen, leaving Darien alone again.
"Damn-it!" He said, getting up and pacing his living room as he tried to think of what to do. This was obviously a trap, as he couldn't see why Zoisite would bother fighting him when an ambush was more her style. A knock sounded at his door, startling him out of his thoughts. 'It's not safe here.' He thought as he strode to his door, 'I have to get rid of this person quickly.' He wrenched the door open, surprised to see Serena standing there. "Serena?" He asked in shock, before remembering that he needed to get rid of her. "What do you want?" he snapped, hating the hurt expression that flashed across her face at his rudeness.
"I…" She began, trying to gather her thoughts, "I just wanted to apologize for what I said earlier…I…" She began again.
"Fine." Darien interrupted, "Just forget it." He said before slamming the door in her face. 'Please leave Sere, please leave.' He thought, hoping that Serena would get far away from this place before he had to meet Zoisite. He couldn't stand it if anything bad happened to Serena. They may have argued a lot, but he always felt a connection to the blonde beauty. Fifteen Minutes later, Darien left his apartment and walked to his elevator. 'I'll just scope out the roof before she gets there, make sure it isn't a trap.' He thought as he punched the button for the top floor. The elevator opened and he hastily went inside, intent to close it before anyone else tried to get on. He was surprised when he spotted Serena in the elevator with him. Before he could do anything, she hit the stop button and blocked the exit.
"What the hell was that?" Serena asked him angrily.
"Serena." Darien began, attempting to get around her. "Let me off, you can't be here…" He tried to say but was interrupted by the angry blonde.
"Not until you listen to what I have to say!" She began again angrily. "I came all this way to apologize because I actually felt BAD for you, and you brush me off like I'm some…some.." She said before redirecting, "I had to break down and ask REI where you lived. Do you have ANY IDEA what THAT was like?" She asked him incredulously, flinging her jacket down to poke him in his chest.
"Serena." Darien began again but was interrupted, this time by an evil laugh.
"Oh this is just too perfect!" Came the voice of Zoisite in the small confines of the Elevator shaft. The lights flickered and died, causing Serena to gasp at the sudden darkness. "How romantic, now you two can die together!" She finished, her laughter echoing through the elevator until it faded.
"Darien?" Serena asked weakly, suddenly unable to keep her eyes open.
"Serena!" Darien said, feeling around in an attempt to find her. His eyelids were growing heavier with each breath he took. 'She's drugging us.' He thought, trying to hold his breath, but knowing it was too late. He heard a loud thud as Serena finally fainted. He attempted to follow the sound but there was a loud roaring in his ears and he too was overcome, falling just inches from Serena's body.
Serena woke with a start, sitting up and looking around frantically. It was very dark, and VERY cold. She crossed her arms over her chest, rubbing her bare in an attempt to get warm. She saw Darien laying a few feet from her, and crawled over to him. She was half afraid he was dead, but was quickly relieved when she saw that he was breathing. The intense cold making each of their breaths mist out in tiny cloud-like puffs. 'Where are we?' Serena thought, studying her surroundings again. They were in some sort of hallway, maybe inside of a cave or old castle. The walls appeared to be made of stone, with ice frozen in patches along the them and the ceilings. 'Where-ever we are, we can't stay here.' She thought, fighting the sudden urge to close her eyes. 'Why do I feel so weak?' She wondered, dread filling her as she came to the conclusion that they were most likely in the negaverse. She remembered hearing Zoisite's evil voice say something while they were in the elevator, before everything went dark. 'She must have abducted us and left us in their tunnels to die.' Serena thought grimly. She felt a lot weaker than normal, 'The Negative energy must be affecting us, maybe even draining us.' Even if they weren't slowly being drained, they surely would die from the elements. Serena had never felt weather this cold, the thin dress she was praising earlier not doing anything to provide her warmth. She looked around her, hoping to find her denim jacket, but of course it wasn't anywhere near her. She looked back over at Darien with a mixture of feelings as she watched him sleep. The man sure knew what to say to get her extremely angry, but she also couldn't explain the other feelings she had for him. She knew it sounded stupid, but she felt complete just being near him. Even when they were exchanging insults, she felt the pull towards him. She tried not to think about that too much, because she was sure that there was no way he could possibly feel the same way. After the way he talked to her today, he surly hated her; especially after he finds out that she got them captured by the negaverse and they might possibly die here. Another reason she tried not to dwell on her feelings, was because she also felt that same pull with Tuxedo Mask whenever he lifted her in his arms out of harms way. 'If only he were here to save me this time.' She thought as she looked back at Darien. Regardless of what they felt for each other, she had to try and save him. 'I'll try my best to get us out of here!' She thought, standing up and squaring her shoulders in determination as she grabbed her broach from her subspace pocket. She said her transformation, but only glowed briefly, before the light faded to reveal her civilian form still.
"No!" She said as she attempted her transformation again and failed. "This isn't happening!" She cried as she fell to her knees, her previous suspicions being confirmed that they were indeed being drained of energy. She put her broach away and pulled out her communicator. She hoped to God that it worked, but almost cried when it too failed to work as well. 'Calling for Help is out of the question too.' She thought worriedly. She went over to Darien again to gently shake him, and tried not to let the fear set in. They had a shot to escape if she was Sailor Moon, but as plain old Serena, they were more than likely doomed. She shook him a little harder, a small sob escaping her mouth.
"Darien! Please wake up, I don't want to be alone in this place." She finished, her voice shaking slightly. Darien slowly opened his eyes, his brow furrowing as he looked at took in his surroundings.
"Where am I?" He wondered out loud, slowly sitting up, grabbing his aching head. He spotted Serena sitting next to him and almost jumped. She was holding her arms across her chest, shaking almost violently from the cold as she stared at him. He remembered what happened before it quickly dawned on him that his nightmare had come true. He had been captured by the Negaverse, and Serena was taken as well. "Shit!" He said in anger, as he looked around and studied their surroundings. He could already feel it, Zoisite had stolen his rainbow crystals. Instead of killing him, it looked like she decided to let him to freeze to death, along with Serena.
"Look, I know I'm probably the last person you would want to be abducted with and thrown into what feels like is a fucking freezer, but you could hide your displeasure about it a little better." Serena told him, tears filling her eyes again. "I mean…it looks like we are going to die together, we might as well pretend to get along." She finished, wiping the tears from her eyes before they fell. She didn't want him accusing her of being a cry baby on top of everything else. Not to mention, crying was not going to help their situation at all. All it had managed to do was make her fingers even colder as her tears almost instantly froze on them. Darien looked back towards her, his expression softening when he saw the hurt look in her eyes.
"I didn't mean that because I am stuck here with you meatball head, I'm just upset that you are even here at all." He winced, as he saw hurt flash in her eyes again. "That's didn't come out right!" He told her quickly. "I wish you were back in Tokyo, safe and sound…instead of here…freezing to death." He corrected, relieved when she nodded in understanding. "We have to find a way out of here, where ever 'here' is…" He added, slowly getting to his feet and looking around again. The room spun for a second, before it righted. He frowned, before he reached down and helped Serena up as well. "I feel strange." He murmured.
"We're b-being d-drained of-f our energ-g-y." Serena said, her violent shaking affecting her speaking. Without thinking, Darien pulled Serena into his arms, pulling his jacket around her and running his hands over her back in an attempt to help warm her up.
"All the more reason to leave, I'd say." Darien told her with a half smile as he looked down at the trembling blond in his arms. He was surprised at how well she was taking their situation. The normal hysterics she displayed daily, were strangely absent in this life threatening situation. He continued to look at her worriedly, as he wondered if hypothermia was affecting her mind already. "Are you okay Serena?" He asked sincerely.
"As well as I c-can be, considering…" Serena replied, the body heat he was generating underneath his jacket was helping with her trembling already. Darien pulled her further into his embrace, looking around again as he tried to think of what to do. If he was Tuxedo Mask, he would be a whole lot warmer with the tuxedo and cape. Not to mention he could fly them out of here. He also could use it to warm Serena up more, for that flimsy dress she was wearing couldn't be doing anything to keep her warm. 'She might as well be naked.' He thought, before an image of her without clothes on flashed in his mind. 'Not the time, Chiba!' He scolded himself, before concentrating on forming a transformation rose. 'Serena is about to get a shock!' He mused, picturing her expression when she was no longer hugging Darien, but a superhero! He frowned as he looked at his empty hand. 'Normally, it appears right as I think it.' He thought, flicking his hand again and again behind Serena's back. "What are you doing with your arm?" Serena asked him, pulling back enough to look at his face. Darien looked at her for a moment, a new aspect of their situation sinking in. He was tempted to tell her just exactly what he was doing, it wouldn't matter anyway if they were going to die here.
"N-nothing." Darien found himself saying, frowning at himself for not just telling her the truth. "Let's see if we can find a way out of here." He suggested. He repositioned Serena so that most of her upper body was underneath his jacket and close to his, and then they began walking down the deserted hallway together.
"Do you know where we are?" Serena asked him, wondering how they were going to get out.
"Not exactly, but I believe we are in the Negaverse." He told her as they came into a fork in the hallway. He turned right and headed into that tunnel, deciding on that direction after he felt a faint ruffle of wind. 'I hate it when I'm right.' Serena thought, before another thought occurred to her.
"What do you know about the Negaverse?" She asked him, confused. She didn't think civilians called it by that name. Darien frowned at her question, unsure how to answer. She must want to really know anything he knew, but the way she had asked almost sounded accusingly.
"Well, the Negaverse is where all of those bad creatures that attack Tokyo come from." He told her, deciding that she wanted information. "That's about all I know about the place." Serena frowned when she realized his misunderstood her question. Before she could say anything, however, they rounded another corner and spotted a faint light in the distance.
"Look!" Serena said excitedly, "That has to be daylight!" They made there way throughout the maze of tunnels, following the steadily growing light. It grew colder with each step and Serena began shaking again as they came to a long corridor with the opening visible. The wind increased as they neared the outside, with more and more snow mixing in with the gusts. They stepped out of the cave and into an almost blizzard, snow stinging their faces and exposed skin. The cold was almost unbearable, but she could feel the draining of her energy stop as soon as they stepped across the mouth of the cave. 'If I can hold out long enough in this cold to get my energy back, I can transform and teleport us out of here.' Serena thought hopefully. They trudged through the thickening snow, their clothing getting soaked through rapidly. After what seemed like an hour of walking, they managed to make it almost a mile away from the cave. Darien stopped, bringing Serena into his arms further as he looked around for some shelter. The sun was setting and he knew that they would not survive being outside through a night. He could feel that his energy was not being drained anymore, but he knew he wasn't strong enough to transform just yet.
"We need to find someplace to stay before the sun sets." Darien told Serena. 'We can rest, and as soon as I can transform, I can fly us out of here.' He thought, relieved when he spotted what looked to be a mountain-like structure in the distance. He ushered Serena towards it, the trip taking nearly ten minutes despite it only 50 yards away. The Mountain wasn't huge and was covered in snow, but it blocked a lot of the snowy wind. He scanned the side of it, spotting an opening a few feet above his head. "Come on!" He said as he took off his jacket, before helping her into it. He placed his hands on her hips and boosted her up towards the ledge. "Grab onto that ledge and see if you can pull yourself up." He told her. Serena easily hauled herself over the edge, and turned to help Darien up. He didn't require it as he easily leaped onto the ledge in two jumps and was standing beside her in seconds. They had to duck down as they entered the mouth of the cave, but were able to stand fully erect once inside. The lack of blasting winds a welcome relief. The cave was dark, round in shape, and no bigger than an office space would be.
"Home sweet home." She joked weakly, finally sitting down. She was feeling nauseated, and her head was pounding. She wasn't shaking anymore, despite being even colder than before with her wet clothing. Darien walked back to Serena and sat down beside her, pulling her onto his lap. She laid her head onto his shoulder, closing her eyes. Darien noticed that she wasn't shaking anymore, and knew from Med-school that it wasn't a good thing.
"Are you okay Serena?" He asked her worriedly, running his arms over her back inside the jacket and trying to warm her up. 'I'm still not strong enough to transform.' He thought, worrying if she would even make it until he was able to save them, or if she could make the flight home. It was surely going to be even colder at altitude.
"Mmmmm…" Was all she said, burrowing further into his arms. "This is better than Tuxedo Mask!" She said dreamily, not realizing what she was saying. Darien's worry intensified, 'She's hallucinating or something,' He thought, 'She's not making any sense.' He ran his hand down over her wet dress, some of it already frozen in places. There was probably only one way that she would make it, him as well. They needed to get out of their wet clothing, and into each others arms for body heat, naked.