Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Life's Choices

Chapter 1

Her blue eyes landed on the framed photograph as she added a few more items to the open suitcase that was lying open on her bed. She dropped the items into the suitcase and picked up the picture. It had been taken almost three months before after Galaxia had been defeated in battle when the Inner Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask had posed with Sailor Moon at the victory party the city of Tokyo had thrown for them. Serena sighed as she sank down onto her bed as she thought more on that fateful night.

Sailor Moon and her group had known each other for four years as they battled side by side against different foes. They had changed the future for the better, but after the battle with the Wiseman, the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask had each received very selective memory loss. Tuxedo Mask no longer knew the true identities of the Sailor Scouts and they, in turn, no longer, knew that Darien Shields was Tuxedo Mask. Serena hadn't learned of his identity again until three months ago, on the night of the victory party. Serena and her best friends, Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina, also known as Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and Sailor Venus, had decided to really celebrate that night. They had all graduated from high school the week before and were planning to attend college in the fall. Sailor Moon had had a bit much to drink when she had stumbled out onto the terrace of the mansion. She hadn't seen Tuxedo Mask watching her from the shadows as she breathed in some cool night air.

"Good evening, my dear Sailor Moon." He said quietly from behind her. Sailor Moon didn't gasp because she wasn't really surprised that he was there.

"Hello, Tuxedo Mask." Sailor Moon replied, sobering up a little bit. Tuxedo Mask approached her slowly. He watched her blue eyes and her blonde hair move as she turned to look at him. She had been in love with him for long time. She knew they had a future together, but she didn't know who he really was now.

"Are you enjoying the party, Sailor Moon?"

"Yes, very much. It kind of feels like it the end of era though. Accordingly to Luna and Artemis, Galaxia should be the last major enemy before Crystal Tokyo. So we are basically free to live normal lives again." Sailor Moon said almost sadly.

"It sounds like you don't want to live just a normal life." Tuxedo Mask countered, picking up on her sadness. "I always thought you wanted to live a normal life more than the rest of the Sailor Scouts." Sailor Moon chuckled at his statement. Even if they didn't know each other's identity, he still did know her pretty well.

"Yes, I know, and that is still true, but I don't really know where to go from here. Do I just let destiny play it's self out or do I give it help?" Sailor Moon asked. Tuxedo Mask was beside her now.

"How do you mean?" He questioned quietly. Sailor Moon laughed at him then. They never talked about their supposed future together and it amused her that he didn't understand that what she was hinting at now. "What is so funny?"

"Nothing, nothing at all." She suddenly fell silent as she saw his intense dark blue eyes watching her closely. She smiled at him shyly then as she felt a rush of love swell up in her heart for him. Tuxedo Mask leaned his head closer to her.

"Are you sure? I could use a good laugh." He said huskily. Sailor Moon looked at him nervously as she watched him lean even closer and brought his lips slowly down to hers. As their lips met, fireworks suddenly seem to go off between them. Tuxedo Mask wrapped his arms around Sailor Moon, pulling her closer. Sailor Moon melted into his embrace as she returned his kiss, which had now become more needing. She wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss as she went. "Sailor Moon…" Tuxedo Mask groaned.

"Don't stop." She whispered, giving him all the permission he needed. He leaped off the terrace and onto the roof of the house, with Sailor Moon in his arms.

Back inside at the party, Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus were looking for their leader.

"Where could she be?" The raven haired beauty fumed.

"Mars, calm down, she has to be around here somewhere." Blonde haired Sailor Venus tried to reassure her friend.

"Just when we think she has finally grown up, she pulls something like this." Sailor Mars grumbled. Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter joined their follow scouts then.

"Have either one of you seen Sailor Moon?" Sailor Venus asked calmly with Mars still grumbling to herself.

"I haven't seen her for a while." Jupiter answered honestly. Mercury was quiet for a few moments as the other three chatted about where their leader might have run off to.

"I don't think we will be seeing her for the rest of the night." Sailor Mercury said quietly, but the three other scouts had heard her. Mercury had just come in from the terrace where she had witnessed Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask venture off into the night. She wasn't about to tell her fellow scouts what she had saw. She thought that Serena finally deserved some happiness.

"What do you mean, Mercury?" Mars asked angrily. "Has she left?"

"What do you know?" Jupiter questioned at the same time.

"I don't know much, I just know she left." Mercury replied innocently.

"How could she just leave without saying anything?" Venus had to question. "That isn't like Sailor Moon at all."

"Yes, it is." Sailor Mars added.

"Mars, she has changed." Mercury scolded lightly.

"We don't just go check on her in the morning?" Venus suggested, trying to break up the discussion. "I am sure she has good reason for leaving so suddenly."

"You might want to wait until the afternoon to check on her." Mercury added quickly. At that statement, all three scouts looked at her suspiciously. Mercury blushed slightly as she didn't like to be the center of attention at any time.

"Mercury! What do you know?" Jupiter exclaimed, who was the tallest of them all, so it seemed like she was towering over Mercury as she asked the question.

"I don't know anything. I just meant she might be still very tired after using the Crystal and all the excitement of the last couple of weeks." Mercury answered quickly, trying to cover up her mistake.

"Oh, well, that makes sense." Jupiter said finally. "I am sorry, Mercury."

"It's all right. Why don't we all get something to drink? It is getter rather warm in here." The scouts all quickly agreed and they all hurried off to the buffet area. Sailor Mercury sighed with silent relief and followed them.

The early morning sunshine gleamed through the window, waking Serena up. She opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. A rash of memories begin to flood her mind as she woke more completely. Memories of what had occurred the night before. A groan from beside her had her jumping off the bed in fright. She realized then she was wearing no clothing as she saw who she had been lying beside. It was Tuxedo Mask, but he had lost his mask at some point during the night. She was now looking at her long-time enemy, Darien Shields. Recovering quickly from her momentary shock, Serena quickly gathered her clothes and tiptoed out of the bedroom. Hearing Darien moving around in the bedroom, she changed into Sailor Moon again, while trying to decide whether or not she should face him. Before she could make a decision, she heard Darien's voice call out for her.

"Sailor Moon?" He called from the bedroom. As soon as she heard her name, her memories that had been blocked out for the last two years were free again. She gasped softly as she remembered and wondered if Darien now remembered as well. "Sailor Moon, are you still here?" Darien called again.

"Yes, I am out here." Serena replied. After hearing a gush of wind, Tuxedo Mask appeared in the doorway of the bedroom. "Good morning, Tuxedo Mask." She said as calmly as she could, not wanting to give away that she knew anything.

"I am glad you are still here." He said quietly. Serena smiled at him nervously. "Would…would you like some breakfast?" Serena chewed on her lower lip for a second before answering.

"Sure. Do you mind if I cook though?" Darien's eyes widen at her question and then he smiled.

"The famous Sailor Moon knows how to cook?" He chuckled.

"I…I have been learning recently. I have gotten pretty good at it and I like it." Darien bowed slightly and waved his hand towards the kitchen.

"Be my guest. You should find everything you need." Serena nodded her head in thanks and walked towards the kitchen. Once seeing what was available to her, she decided to make homemade buttermilk pancakes and fry some bacon.

Darien followed her into kitchen and sat down on a chair by the table. Serena easily found everything she needed. She had never been in his apartment before, but everything was organized like Darien was. Glancing at him as she began to mix eggs, flour and other ingredients in a bowl, she began to see him in a new light. Even he didn't know who she really was, it seems they might be able to get along if he did. She shook her head at the thought, hardly being able to believe it.

Darien watched closely as she mix the pancakes up, trying to figure out who she really was. The way she was behaving now, he never would have guessed that Sailor Moon was really his beloved Meatball Head. He teased her because he thought she was so cute when she was angry at him. But Serena wasn't mature and graceful as Sailor Moon had become.

"So do you have any other hidden talents?" Darien asked, breaking into Serena's thoughts.

"Such as?" Serena raised a brow at him.

"Like are you the top student at your school or are you a big movie star like Sailor Venus?"

"I am just normal teenage girl who just recently graduated high school with above average marks on my final exams. I am smarter than I let most people think, but other than that, not really." Serena replied as she finished mixing the pancakes and went to the freezer for the bacon.

"Why don't you tell people the truth?"

"Because I still don't like to study." Serena chuckled.

"Are you going to go to college?"

"Yes, I think so. I want to study the arts." She answered, pulling out a frying pan from the cupboard.

"That's good." Darien said absently, suddenly lost in his own thoughts again. Serena continued to cook their breakfast. The bacon was about done by the time Darien spoke again.

"Serenity…" He said softly. Serena stopped short, almost dropping the pan of bacon onto the floor.

"What did you say, Tuxedo Mask?" She asked, trying to calm her shaking hands as she dumped the hot bacon onto a plate.

"What? Oh, nothing, Sailor Moon. I was just thinking." He said, still not looking in her direction. Serena let the pan hit the counter a little too hard in frustration of him lying to her. That made Darien's head snap up. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." She whispered. "I just dropped the pan, is all." Endy, come back to me, please. Serena silently pleaded. Please come back to me, I don't care if you don't know that I am Serena in this time. At least remember our past after what we shared last night. She waited for a moment longer, hoping he would say something, but when he didn't, she just sighed and went back to finishing breakfast. She suddenly wanted to get out of Darien's apartment as fast as she could. A few minutes later, the pancakes were done cooking and Serena served up the two plates and set them on the table. Darien had risen to pour them something to drink.

"Do you like orange juice?" Serena just nodded, sitting down at the table in the chair across from his own. A moment later, he joined her, setting the glasses of orange juice on the table before he sat down. "This looks delicious." He commented as he sat down.

"Thank you." Serena replied in a whisper, trying to hold back the tears that now threatened to fall. She had remembered so much in the last half hour and she didn't have anyone to share it with. Especially, the one person that she now remembered mattered the most to her. Her heart ached for him as they silently ate their breakfast. Darien couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more between himself and the lovely creature sitting across from him now.

"Sailor Moon?" He said, once he found his voice. She looked up at him with the saddest look of hurt and confusion in her eyes, before she quickly masked her features with a smile.

"Yes, Tuxedo Mask?"

"About last night…."

Oh, no. Here it comes. He is going to say he is sorry and doesn't want to see me again. Serena thought bitterly.

"Last night was beautiful." Darien was saying. Serena's eyes widened with her surprise at his statement. "But I don't know where this leaves us now. There is still so much we don't know about each other…"

Serena sighed again as she added the picture to the things in the suitcase. She then rested a hand on her stomach for a moment. Darien still didn't know that his beloved Meathead Head and the mysterious Sailor Moon were one and the same.

"Oh, Darien, I'm sorry we never got to know each other better, but it is time for me to go." Serena closed the suitcase and set it by the other two that were by the day. She then turned to take one last look at her bedroom that was still bathed in moonlight. She was glad that Luna was staying at Mina's that night. She would had tried to stop Serena from leaving. Quietly gathering up her bags, Serena left her parents' house and headed for the airport.

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