Wedding Crashers

Chapter 29

"We were denied back then.. what difference should an eternity make?" She whispered softly to herself as the doors to the elevator opened.

"More than you think." Came a voice from in front of her. Opening her glistening eyes her breath caught in her throat as she found Darien before her, his hair disheveled as if tossed about by the wind.

"How did you?..." She began to question him.

"The stairs." He replied simply as he took her hand in his and pulled her out of the elevator into the deserted hallway.

"First the fire escape, now the stairs.. don't you know how to use elevators Darien?" Celestyna could feel the smile forming on her lips as he led her towards her front door.

"Now where is the fun in going about it the easy way?" Darien threw over his shoulder, a twinkle in his eyes. As she caught a glimpse of them, it caused her heart to leap.

Stopping at the door, Darien released her hand and lent against the wall as she took her door card out of her pocket and swept it through the card reading lock. At the sound of the click she released a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

Noticing her nervousness Darien chuckled softly under his breath and opened the door for her. "So.. I guess this is where we say good night?"

Turning to face him Celestyna gave him a small smile. "You can come in for a while if you want.. I'm sure everyone else is still at Serena's trying to sort out the whole Luna and Artemis being human thing." She knew the moment she said Serena's name it was a mistake. The laughter seemed to fade from his eyes as he stepped away from the door.

"I think it's best that we say good night now. I've got some thinking to do and it's best..." Reaching up he brushed the back of his hand across her check the small touch caused her to shiver. "That I do it without any distraction."

Backing in to the room Celestyna nodded to him before he turned away and headed back towards the elevator. She couldn't help the grin that twitched at her lips as she stuck her head out the door and called to him, "Sure you don't want to use the fire escape.. or perhaps just jump out the window this time?"

Shaking his head Darien thew a look of mock scolding look over his face before pushing the button on the elevator wall. Celestyna stood there while he waited for the doors to open which was just a matter of seconds. Studying him in those few moments her mind began to reel with questions she couldn't even begin to grasp the answers to. The one resounding the loudest was 'What happens now?' "I guess I'll have to wait and see what he comes up with while he's 'thinking'." She whispered to herself as she watched him disappear into the elevator giving her a small wave before the doors closed in front of him.

Unlike Serena and Seiya, Celestyna had a hard time sleeping that night with the scene in the car and later in the hall way replaying through her mind. She couldn't seem to get the look in his eyes after he remembered their past lives out of her mind. They had something back then, something that could be gotten back. She couldn't think about how Serena would react.. she wouldn't let herself. If everything went right Seiya would be there to comfort Serena, to make her forget the hurt.

The next day dawned finding a sleeping Serena still nestled in Seiya's arms. Having woke up hours before Seiya silently beared the paralyzed feeling in his arm, a small price to pay for having the woman of his dreams laying so close to him, her breath tickling his cheek. As the light crept through the windows he felt her stir a soft noise coming from her parted lips.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." He whispered in her ear before placing a small kiss on her forehead.

Slowly opening her eyes she first looked at him in confusion before understanding dawned in her eyes. "You stayed the entire night?"

Nodding he sat up taking her with him. Arms wrapped around his neck she gave him a curious look. "I'm sure I would have been safe in my own home. You could have gone back to the hotel."

Shaking his head he stood up and carried her towards the stairs. Setting her feet on the ground he suppressed a small groan of annoyance as he felt her arms leave his neck. "I'm sure I wasn't missed last night, and anyways.. I couldn't move from the couch if I wanted to... with your weight it was hard enough to breathe, let alone move."

"Are you saying I'm fat, Seiya Kou?!" Serena ask, exasperation ringing in her voice as she pushed him away from her.

Catching her wrists gently in his hands he pulled her close to him. "Odango.. I'd never call you fat."

Looking up at him her eyes narrowed as she saw the laughter in his own blue eyes. "Now you're laughing at me.. didn't they teach you not to laugh at a woman first thing in the morning?"

Leaning his head down, a serious look in his eyes, he replied, "You're the first woman I've ever been with 'first thing in the morning'."

Blushing at his response Serena looked down at her feet. "Well that's good to know."

Slipping the crook of his finger under her chin he lifted her face up to his and brushed his lips across hers. When he felt her leaning more towards him, he released her wrists and pushed her gently away from him. "If we're going to make a day of it you better go get dressed. I don't know about you but I'm starving."

At the mention of food Serena's stomach rumbled loudly causing them both to laugh. Giving him an impish grin she stood on her tip toes and kissed him quickly on the cheek before turning around to sprint up the stairs.

In her room she quickly dressed, checked her reflection in the mirror to make sure her hair was in place before slipping in the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. Coming down the stairs she almost collided with him.

"I thought that I would use your bathroom to freshen up, that is if you don't mind?" He asked as his hand came to rest on her arm, keeping her from toppling backwards.

Shaking her head Serena pointed towards the guest bathroom. "There's an extra tooth brush and hair brush in there also."

Nodding he dropped his hand from her arm and stepped around her. "I'll just be a moment."

Walking the rest of the way down the stairs she touched her arm where his hand had been a slight blush creeping over her cheeks. 'Feels like I'm back in school again.' She thought to herself a silly grin appearing on her face.

Deciding to wait for him at the door she slipped on her shoes and grabbed her purse. Moments later she heard the sound of his footsteps as he descended the stairs behind her. Turning around her breath caught in her throat. Every time she saw him was just like the first. With his hair freshly brushed and his clothes wrinkle free it was almost as if he hadn't been on her couch all night.

"Ready?" He asked her as he came to stand beside her, the sound of his voice causing her to look from his chest to his face.

"Yes." She replied softly as she slipped her arm through his and opened the front door.

Back at the Starlights' hotel room Celestyna was still in bed, staring up at the ceiling wondering if last night was just a dream.

She felt the air shift around her and looked towards the window to see Trista standing at the foot of the bed a mysterious smile playing on her lips. "Morning princess."

Arching a brow Celestyna sat up curling her legs underneath her as she propped her back up against the pillows. "You're in a chipper mood." Celestyna mumbled in a sulking tone before a yawn caused her to close her eyes and cover her mouth.

"Aww... did her highness not get her beauty rest last night?" Trista teased as she sat down in the chair beside the bed.

"I couldn't sleep, not after Darien found out about our past together." Celestyna replied in a matter of fact tone causing Trista to come out of the chair and leap on to the bed beside her.

"Spill it, Tyna." Trista commanded the younger woman her eyes alight with curiousity.

"Oh, we're up to nick names now Tris.. whats next.. sleepovers?" Celestyna shot back laughter tinkling in her voice.

With a sigh of exasperation Trista picked up a pillow and threw it in Celestyna's face. "Enough joking princess.. I want to know what happened, how it happened, and what happened afterwards."

Tossing the offending pillow aside Celestyna shrugged. "We were in Darien's car and something happened... First let me tell you what happened in Serena's room." As Celestyna's story unfolded Trista's eyes became wider.

"You mean.. he was yours before Serenity's?" She asked, her voice hushed as if she were afraid some one would over hear.

Nodding Celestyna sighed as she nestled further into the pillows. "When we were in the car he was looking into my eyes and I saw this change in his face. Suddenly my vision of the past was playing through my head but this time 'he' saw it too."

Shaking her head in wonder Trista place a thoughtful hand on her chin. "That's some link you two have if you can share your visions like that. What did he do afterwards?"

Chewing on her lip Celestyna's cheeks tinted pink while she shrugged, "Well he almost kissed me, pushed me away and then came after me."

"What?!" Trista seemed beside herself in astonishment as Celestyna told her of her departure from the car, the scene in the elevator and the somewhat awkward good bye. She left out the part where she asked if he wanted to take the fire escape or jump out the window leaving that to herself.

"So he said he has some thinking to do? That's interesting. I wonder if he's going to call off the wedding now.." Lost in her own thoughts Trista didn't see Celestyna's face begin to pale. The young woman had completely forgot about the postponed wedding.

'How does one go about breaking off an engagement to a woman he's loved for years, fought for, died for.." With Serena and Darien's past between them she felt her heart begin to sink.

Pushing the depressing thoughts away mentally Celestyna plastered a smile on her face. "So what happened at Serena's last night? I didn't hear Seiya come home last night."

Smiling Trista moved back to the chair. "He didn't come home last night. He spent the night on Serena's couch.. with her."

Gasping Celestyna threw off the covers and jumped to her feet. "He did what?!" Hope began to blossom in her chest anew. If Seiya was with Serena last night, although be it asleep, it meant that they were getting closer.

"Yes.. I went downstairs last night after helping Luna get settled and found them asleep on the couch. It was priceless. They were both snoring. I decided to sleep in Serena's room not daring to wake the two of them up."

Laughing with glee Celestyna spun around in a circle. "That's fantastic. It's working Tris it's really working. Seiya will help Serena get over the broken engagement and the future we saw will never happen."

Standing up Trista crossed her arms a serious look in her face. "We can't get our hopes up too soon. Darien could possibly choose to leave your relationship in the past. They've been through a lot together you know."

Stopping in mid-circle Celestyna dropped her arms to her side. "Believe me I've thought about that. I can't help but be envious of their past. It hurts to think how much he has cared for her and how much he still does. But we have a past too. Although I don't know much about it, it still happened." Dropping down on the foot of the bed Celestyna stared out the window.

Trista watched as a sadden expression came into Celestyna's emerald eyes. 'To be so close to getting back the man you loved years ago only to have to fight your own sister for it.. I can't imagine the pain she's going through right now.'

Suddenly the sound of some one knocking on Celestyna's door caused the girls to both look at each other.

"Celestyna..." They heard Taiki's voice calling from the other side, "Someone's here to see you."

Reaching beside her Trista grabbed Celestyna's robe and tossed it at the young girl. "Go see who it is."

Catching the robe, Celestyna nodded and quickly put the robe on before heading towards the door.

End of Chapter 29

SxyLilRockStar So many questions.. you know I can't give you the answers that would ruin it.. heh.. you'll just have to wait and read it. No more coke abuse k? heh

Nitchu Mikata I'm glad you didn't give up hope. Thanks for sticking around.

Lunadoragon .checks pulse.. Of course I'm still alive silly :P

Sailor Sayuri now now don't wail.. it'll be ok ..grin.. thanks for the review