AN: A short alternate reality. Ummm, nothing to know, past the fact that Serena is in her late teens/early twenties in this one, depending on your interpretation of what she does. (I think I always end up doing that) This is the first time I'm using the NA Dub names (except for two people), so be kind ^^; Not much WAFF in here, just plot, I think. Hope ya like it:) Thankies to the world's greatest Lush… SHANA! Just kidding, you're the best, girl ^_^ * = change in day ***** = change in view Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. "Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice: it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved." -William Jennings Bryan ************************ Destinations Rated G By April Rayne Startear42@aol.com ************************ "Oh, wait!" Serena ran up the stairs, glancing up at the platform ahead. Far, far ahead. She felt the familiar rumble underneath her feet and she halted for a moment. 'Not again! I'm almost there this time!' Her pace hastened as she decided to begin skipping steps to get to her destination. Ever since she moved here, she had been late catching the train. It was driving her nuts. Her boss wasn't too excited about it either. The train whistle sounded, and she flipped, bounding over the stairs to get up there. "Wait!" When she reached the platform, she put her hands on her knees, breathing in and out heavily because of the sudden marathon. She had made it. The train was still there. She grinned. Finally, she had made it. The train began to slowly move out of the station. "Oh NO!" she cried, falling out of her relaxed state to run after it. She began running alongside the train, trying to catch up, but knowing that it was useless. Giving up near the end of the platform, she stood and watched silently as the back of the train disappeared into the distance. Well, time for the usual wait for the next one... which would come in the next half hour or so, if she was lucky. The blond sighed. Dejected, she began to walk back to the middle of the platform, an island separating two tracks. She should have taken the escalator, but she was lazy on that thing, and wanted the exercise. She stared at her dragging feet, worn from the climb up the 'station stairmaster'. That's when it really sunk in. She had missed the train by seconds today, a record. "UGH!" Unwilling to look at the tracks and the people that gave her strange looks, she plopped herself down on a bench next to another waiting train, facing the opposite direction, set for another destination... She leaned back so far that she was practically lying off the bench. She closed her eyes, but something else told her to open them. Her glance was directed towards the tinted windows of the train in front of her. A shadow in the train was... waving at her. Sitting there, probably looking like the laziest person in the world, her eyes widened, and she immediately sat up straight. The person still waved, and she only stared. Who the heck was this guy? Glancing to her sides and not seeing anyone, Serena looked back at the figure inside, and hesitantly bringing her hand up, she waved back, slowly. The train whistle sounded, and his shadow slowly sped by, disappearing as the train left the station. 'That mad dash up the stairs must've done something to my head, 'cause I'm imagining things,' she mumbled to herself as she slid back down on her seat on the bench. Only 28 minutes left until the next train... * This happened every day for the next two weeks. Every day, Serena would get ready early, but because of some strange incident, she would end up late for the train. Then she would sit down on that same bench, slide back, and work on a newspaper puzzle or on her business work. Every day, that same shadow would wave from inside the train. Every day, she would wave back, smiling. * She wondered who this man was. Oh, it was definitely a man. Through the tinted windows, she could just make out a business suit, tie, the works. But his face... she still could not make out any details. Maybe it was a shy suitor? Some amazingly handsome, wonderful man that would one day reveal that he was the one behind the window, always glad to make her smile everyday. Serena shook her head. She was letting her romantic dreams get the better of her. He was probably just some nice elderly man, waving at her because it was just a sweet thing to do. A lot of people were friendly like that. That had to be it. But why Serena then? She didn't really have time to think about it, because that damned train whistle sounded again. She glanced at her watch with disbelief as her feet traveled up the same crazy flight of stairs. She reached the top. Late again. Instead of groaning, or making a futile attempt to catch up with a train that would not stop, she walked over to that same bench. This time, a small boy sat next to her, probably no older than 4. He held on to a small stuffed animal. Sitting down, she looked at him, and smiled. He smiled back, a gap in his front teeth. He was adorable, and had jet black hair and dark eyes. Suddenly, the train whistle sounded, and his attention became riveted on the tinted window in front of him as it began to move. The man waved, and just as Serena was about to wave back, the little boy hugged his stuffed animal closer to him and waved frantically at the man in the window. Suddenly, something dawned on her. Serena had seen little kids around the station around this time in the morning, but they were usually with their parents. Maybe... Maybe this kid was waving to his father. Maybe the mystery man was waving to his child. Serena couldn't believe herself. For the briefest of seconds, she felt... jealous. Jealous of a four year old. She closed her eyes and sighed. Suddenly, she heard a voice saying, "He's gone now, honey. Time to go home.' With that, Serena opened her eyes, and the boy was gone. His mother, or nanny, or whomever, had probably taken him home. Jealous of a four year old. For stealing her special wave. She groaned. 'Serena, grow up!' * The train whistle sounded. Serena just smiled, and looking defiantly up the stairs at the platform, yelled, "Ha ha! I'm not gonna stumble over my two left feet to catch up with you!" She was a loon. And damned proud of it. Let the people pass her with suspicious stares. She had renegotiated her schedule with her boss, and now she was free to be late for that train and catch the other one. Serena was now a half hour *early* for the next train. What would possess her to do that, instead of sleeping in for that extra half hour and stumbling over her two left feet for that train? That wave. She tried to convince herself that she needed the sleep, but the whole mystery behind the man in the window would get to her. No, it wasn't really the mystery. It was more of the fact that it was just a simple gesture. Probably not even to her. But it was friendly, and it made her smile and forget about all the negatives for a while. Call it a dream, call it whatever. It made her happy. Serena walked up to the platform, and looked around. Pretty empty again. "Oh, my God!" A little boy, around two, was running straight towards the tracks of the train that had just left, and was teetering dangerously close to the edge of the platform. Without thinking, Serena ran as fast as she could to the little boy and gathered him into her arms, pulling him away from the edge and into the middle of the island. "Oh, my dear little boy!" A woman with long black hair cried, pushing through the small crowd that had gathered. With a grateful look to Serena, she smiled, gathering the boy into her arms and taking the other boy, with the front gap in his teeth, into her arms as well. She scolded him lightly as she hugged them both. "I told you to hold on to his hand!" The crowd dissipated. Standing up, and holding one child in her arm while the other held her hand, she walked up to Serena. "Thank you!" The train whistle sounded. Serena looked up and watched as the figure moved forward. The person only looked out the window, as if apprehensive. There was no wave. "Thank you!" The woman said again, snapping Serena out of her reverie. The woman noticed the sudden change, and followed Serena's gaze. Her violet eyes were worried. "I'm sorry, did you miss your train?" Serena shook her head, smiling. "No, actually, I'm waiting for the next train out east." "That's a half hour from now." The blond smiled slyly to herself. "I like to be ready early." The woman nodded, but her eyes lit up in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry that I've been so rude. My name is Rei," she added, extending her hand. Serena took it in a handshake. "My name is Serena." "I'm really sorry about my sons," she continued, looking at the both of them. "They're pretty adventurous for being so young." They stood there in silence. "If you don't mind my asking, since you're out here early, could I treat you to a cup of coffee as a thank you for taking care of my son? It'll only be for a short while, and you'll still catch the train." Serena wasn't usually the one to deny a chance at food, but she shook her head, "No, thank-" "I insist!" Rei was dead serious. Serena gulped. 'Well, I guess so.' * She stood at the platform again. "Serena! Hi!" Rei called out as she walked towards her, children in tow. Serena smiled. Ever since that cup of coffee, they had hit it off. They had become good friends over the few days that they had known each other. They sat down together on the bench, Rei holding on tightly to her kids. They began to talk about the weather. From that one cup of coffee to the various mornings they would wait together, Serena learned a lot about the trio. Rei, who was naturally very friendly, worked at home, where she was temporarily staying with her brother while her husband was busy working every day. She watched the boys, and went out certain nights to finish up her paperwork in the city. She would wait at night for someone to come home and take care of the kids, and then leave. Serena never wanted to ask about the father. She just felt that if Rei never brought it up, she shouldn't feel obligated to. Serena also learned that they waved to the man in the car. Their father. Rei never said it directly, but the only thing that she mentioned was that her kids loved to come with her in the morning to wave goodbye. She never mentioned goodbye to whom, but who else would the man be waving to but his children? For these past three weeks, they had been standing in the middle of the island, directly behind her. Waving… The train whistle sounded. Suddenly distracted from her conversation with Rei, Serena looked straight ahead of her. ***** He waved. And the people on the bench returned the gesture. He smiled. As the scenery turned from the people on the platform to the passing trees, he would sit back, and just think. He had watched her from inside, since the first time he saw *her* sitting on that bench, tired and beat. She probably didn't know much about him, but he knew about her. She was beautiful, with gold flaxen hair in a unique hairstyle and sparkling blue eyes that shined. He had watched her for the past month. And he would wave, and watch her smile. He originally had been waving to the happy trio standing in the center of the island, directly behind that bench. But she had seen him wave, and something had made her wave back. Maybe she was just being friendly. But since when did a friendly action make him smile the way he did lately? He noticed little things about her as she would arrive on the platform, at first exasperated and gasping for breath. She never caught that train on time. She was always late. Then she came in, and was more relaxed. He watched as she would read a book, or work on some papers. From what he could see, she was smart, and hardworking. She was wonderful with children. He wished that he could hear her laugh as he watched her sitting and playing games with the children on the bench. And Rei could not stop gushing about her. The same day that Rei's child almost fell into the tracks, he came home to choruses of, 'Serena has a great personality. Serena this, Serena that...' He could take the hint from the glint in her eyes. So this Serena was a superherione too? So, the Prefect Stanger's name was Serena. It was a beautiful name. But for right now, that's all he had of her, behind the tinted window as he went on his way to work. Maybe one day... He ran a hand through his jet-black hair. That was a crazy thought. He wasn't the type to fall for ladies that he barely even knew. A wave would be enough. ***** * Serena looked around the platform, but didn't see Rei or the kids anywhere. Figuring that they would show up soon, she sat down on the bench and took out some of her paperwork, going though the information. The train whistle sounded. She looked up. Like clockwork, there was the shadowed figure again, waving. Looking behind her, she noticed that nobody was there. Her heart jumped a little, against her will. A funny feeling settled in the pit of her stomach, but she ignored it. She waved. At the train rolled out of the station, Rei came out of nowhere and sat beside her, and another handsome man with dark brown hair and turquoise eyes came up behind her, holding the children's hands. "Meet my husband, Yuichirou" Rei began, before Serena could get a word in edgewise. "Finally back from that *long* business trip." She looked up at her husband, and kissed his cheek as he sat down next to her. "It's nice to meet you- You're all Rei talks about lately," he said. Blinking, Serena looked back at the train that had left only seconds ago. A vision of the waving man passed by in her mind. "Your husband? But I thought..." Rei looked at her, violet eyes questioning. "Thought what?" Glancing at the train that had passed, Serena shook her head. "Nothing." She smiled. "It's nice to meet you." * Serena didn't know why she was sitting there that morning. She knew that Rei and the kids weren't going to be there. They were going out on a much needed vacation, Rei had said. Wanting to keep in touch, Rei gave Serena her number and address, and a separate number for the hotel. When Serena had gotten on her train to work yesterday, she looked at the piece of paper and her brows had furrowed. The address for her home was set for three towns away. Why in the world would Rei and her children be going to this train station if there was one right in her own town? So, waiting on the bench, she listened for the familiar train whistle. She wasn't expecting a wave, because the kids weren't here. She had probably hallucinated yesterday when she saw the man waving. After all, Rei's husband had been on the platform, not inside. But nothing made sense. Rei said that he had been on a business trip... That silly little dream of hers was still alive and kicking. The train whistle sounded. Alert and wide awake, she waited for the familiar shadow to pass by. Nothing. Serena was beyond confused, looking at the back of the train as it left. "Excuse me, miss?" Serena turned around, and froze as her eyes came across a handsome man. Tall, with jet-black hair and eyes of midnight blue. Her thoughts flew out the window. "Well, I just missed my train, and I was wondering if I could sit down next to you." "Of, of course," she stammered. She moved her bag to the end of the bench and slid over for him. He sat down, and smiled. She melted. Silence. "Come here often?" he asked, trying to break the silence. "Everyday," she almost sighed, thinking back to what happened when she first started taking the train. "I'm usually here early, on that train that just left," he continued. "With my sister and her kids... My name's Darien," he finished, extending his hand. Serena went to shake his hand, and shook it slowly, a tingle running down her spine at his touch. "My name's-" "Serena, right?" She looked at him wordlessly, eyes wide in shock. They stopped shaking hands, but did not let go. "How did you-?" Another train pulled up, and they listened to it hiss as it came to a stop, but never lost the eye contact. Looking down at Serena, Darien got up. "Well, I guess I have to go," he said, almost sad. "It was really nice to finally meet you, Serena," he nearly whispered, hesitantly letting go of her hand and moving forward. Looking back at her as he boarded the train, he smiled genuinely at her. His eyes told her that they would meet again. She followed his figure, and realized that he was walking into the car that was right in front of the bench. He moved into the window seat in front of Serena and looked at her. She gazed at him, although he was merely a shadow now. It seemed familiar somehow... The train whistle sounded. The train began to move away, slowly. The shadow- Darien waved. Serena looked on, eyes widened in delight and surprise, heart thumping erratically in her chest. Her smile brightened with realization. It made sense now. The children were waving to their uncle. Rei was staying with her brother. That wave yesterday wasn't a hallucination. It was a wave, directly to her. It was *him*. She waved back, smiling. She would certainly see him again. ******************* End 'Destinations' ******************* AN: I wasn't too sure about Rei's kids names, so I just refer to them as her children. Does anyone have any suggestions for names? Feedback, please?