Title: Romancing in NY
Name: Lelu
E-mail: ETLCHSIEH@AOL.com
Chapter: 2
Rating: PG


Subject line:  Romancing in NY Chapter 2 (PG) by Lelu

Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

Okay, I'm back for Chapter 2! No AN's this time. except,
 E-MAIL ME!!! If my story sucks, then I need to know, so
 I'll stop writing this! BTW, I have finished another
 story called Right Here Waiting. It's on Eternal
 Angel's webpage, and hopefully shall be on SMR! It's a
 song fanfiction that deals with the breakup between
 Serena and Darien, so...GO READ IT!


Disclaimers: Copyright 1992 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha/TOEI
 Animation. Sailor Moon, the Sailor Moon characters and
 their respective names and likenesses are a trademark
 of TOEI Animation. (Unfortunately, that means Darien,
 too!)
 
Chapter 2- The Date


	It was around 6:00pm, and Serena had just left
 the office and was now heading home. She took a glance
 at her watch and jumped. "6:25, already!? I'm never 
 gonna make it." To a passerby, she was just a blob of
 yellow, speeding down the streets. As a child, she had
 never really grown out of this habit. Always late for
 class, work, recitals, you name it! She really had
 tried hard to be on time, but it just never really
 quite...worked out! Serena made it home in record time,
 even having enough time to wash and dry her hair.
 Standing in front of her full-length mirror, she
 thought to herself, <<Hmm. What to wear? Maybe this
 outfit?>> It was an ice blue dress that really brought
 out the color of her eyes. Knee-length and sleeveless,
 it not only showed off her curves, but was really was
 the perfect choice to wear. She slipped it on, zipped
 it up in the back, and decided that she needed to wear
 some kind of cover-up on top. She once again looked
 through her walk-in closet and found the perfect item
 of clothing. A pastel pink shrug that completely
 finished her ensemble. She checked herself in the
 mirror, and thought <<perfect! Now, for the make-up>>
 She applied some light foundation, mascara, eyeliner,
 and some light blue eyeshadow. She wanted to go for the
 subtle-yet-noticeable look. Then applied some light
 pink lipstick, she checked herself in the mirror once
 more to see if she had slipped up anywhere. <<Picture
 perfect, Serena! Let's get the show on the road!>> As
 if on cue, the doorbell rang. Panic seized her. <<Oh my
 goodness, what if I overdressed? What if I messed up on
 something? What if...>> Her thoughts were washed away
 when she opened the door. Darien, with his impeccable
 taste, was wearing a black tuxedo, with the bow undone.
 By the stare he was giving her, Serena knew that she
 had picked the right outfit to wear. As Serena's gaze
 left Darien's, she noticed that his bow had not been
 tied correctly.
 
	"Darien," she asked, "Why isn't your bow tied?"

	"Well, Serena, to tell you the truth, I can
 never figure out how to correctly tie it." Darien
 answered this a little shyly.
 
	"If you like, I can tie it for you. I used to
 tie my dad's everyday before he went off to work..."

	"Sure," Darien said. "Tie away."

Serena took a few steps closer to him, so she was only
 inches away. She could smell the cologne that he had
 used. It smelled like roses mixed with some type of
 spice. <<Cinnamon>>. She thought absently. Darien, on
 the other hand, could also smell what type of perfume
 she had used. <<Vanilla. I think that I read somewhere
 before that you can tell, by the type of perfume a lady
 wears, how their attitude and behavior is like. If I
 remember correctly, Vanilla means that she's 
 compassionate, shy at times, but a really good friend.
 At times, although she may seem loud and without a care
 in the world, she holds secrets that one would never
 dream of.>> With that last though, Darien came back to
 reality. Serena had finished knotting his tie and had
 stepped away, putting on her coat.
 
	"Oh, let me do that for you, Serena," Darien had
 said. He took the coat from her hands and helped her
 put it on.

	"Thank you, Darien", Serena said shyly, "Well,
 shall we go?"

	"Yes, but here." Darien withdrew his left hand,
 and like magic, a bouquet of roses was there. Serena
 could have sworn that they weren't there before,
 but...she was busy looking at him and fixing his tie.
 
	"Thank you! They're beautiful." And they were.
 All 12 red roses were unblemished and in full bloom.
 "Let me go put this in a vase and we can be on our
 way!" Serena walked into the kitchen and found a vase
 underneath her sink. She filled it up with water, put
 in the roses, and set it on her kitchen table.
 "Perfect," she said to herself. Walking back to the
 front door, she exclaimed, "Okay, Darien! Let's go!"

Darien walked with Serena down the hallway to the
 elevator. After waiting for a few minutes, the elevator
 arrived and they both stepped into it. Outside, in the
 parking lot, Darien led Serena to his car, but this
 time, instead of it being a red Porsche, it was a
 forest green blazer. Serena quietly mused about this,
 but didn't say anything out loud. Darien, being the
 gentleman that he was, opened the door for her and 
 waited until her feet had settled on the floor before he shut the door. He
walked around the car, opened the
 door, got in, and closed it. He then put his keys into
 the ignition, turned on the car, and pulled out onto
 the road. Serena, desperate to make some type of small
 talk, quietly said, "Thanks again for saving me today.
 I really thought that I was going to be eating
 asphalt."
 
Darien kept his eyes on the road but quickly turned to
 take a look at her. He replied, "It's no problem. It's
 not everyday that beautiful women come flying into my
 arms."
 
Serena blushed again at the thought of being called
 beautiful. "Well, anyway, thanks again. It's really
 nice that you offered to take me out to dinner, too. I
 just hope that it's not a pity case or something." She
 quietly laughed to herself. "I mean, I don't want to be
 taking your time."
 
"Serena," Darien quietly started, "if I didn't want to
 invite you and be in your company, then I wouldn't have
 invited you to eat with me. Try to understand that. I
 like you.  I want to spend time with you, try to get to
 know you better. I only know a few miscellaneous facts
 about you, and I hope that I'll learn a few more before
 this night is over."
  
"Darien, I'm glad. I want to know a little more about
 you, too." <<Like how you afforded to buy 2 cars that
 are like *this!*>>
  
After they had arrived at the Central Park Restaurant,
 the host had taken their coats and a waiter had shown
 them to their table. After looking through the menu and
 ordering what they wanted to eat, for Darien, filet
 mingon, and for Serena, a Caesar Salad, they started
 talking about themselves to each other. Darien found
 out that Serena was an only child who was born in Ohio.
 As a child, Serena had been very bright, but didn't use
 that to her full potential, resulting in many low
 grades, like C's and D's. She had had the same small
 cluster of friends since she was in kindergarten up
 until the last day of high school. These 4 girls, Ami
 Mizuno, Rei Hino, Lita Kino, and Mina Aino, were all
 very close and had remained so until now. Ami, who was
 a successful doctor at John Hopkins, was married and 
 had one child, named Amelia. Rei was a housewife, who
 was married to a famous rock' n' roll guitarist. They
 also had one daughter, whose name was Ashley (AN: Get
 it? ASHES come from fires, hence the name Ashley? Okay,
 nevermind) Lita ran a very successful restaurant down
 in South Carolina and was married to a businessman
 whose name was Ken. They had one son and his name was
 Freddie. Serena had also told Darien that they had
 named their son Freddie because Freddie was the boy who
 had broken up with Lita, and when Ken went to comfort
 her, they both realized that they were meant for each
 other. Although they didn't owe any gratitude towards
 Freddie for breaking Lita's heart, they had just felt
 that Freddie was the right name to give to their son.
 Mina, who was a world-known movie star, was married to
 a man named Andrew, who was a kindergarten teacher
 because he had taken a special liking to children.
 Although they had no children yet, they were planning
 to have one as soon as Mina's movie career had slowed
 down a bit. So far, that had shown no signs of
 happening. Darien had also learned that the reason
 behind Serena's move to New York was because she had
 been offered a full scholarship. You see, after the 2nd
 year of high school, Ami had finally, after much
 persuasion and many, many (Serena had made a face at
 this) lectures, Ami had finally persuaded Serena to, as
 in Ami's words, 'shape up or else!' Ami, who rarely
 ever lost her temper, had really been angry at Serena.
 When Ami got mad, it was really quite scary. One could
 almost swear that they saw ice coming out of her eyes
 when she really lost her temper. Serena, recognizing
 the seriousness in Ami's final lecture, shaped up and
 slowly, *very* slowly, climbed up the ladder until she
 was 2nd best, right after Ami. Everyone, except for
 Serena's 'group', as she called them, was very
 surprised. People knew that Serena had talent, but
 never really thought that she would actually use it.
 After high school, because Serena had scored a 1590 on
 the SAT's, was granted a full scholarship to Harvard.
 Although Serena's original plan was to be a lawyer, she
 soon realized that she couldn't be one, because she
 didn't have the right genes in her to lie (AN: Sorry to
 all the lawyers out there).  She had then seen a
 relative of hers who had applied to be a secretary to
 an outstanding business man, and seeing the salary that
 she had received monthly, Serena had decided to go into
 the secretary business. Because of her background, she 
was instantly accepted to be Mr. Yammati's secretary.
 
	"Anyway,", Serena stated, "Why don't you tell me
 a bit about yourself? I think that you've probably
 listened to me long enough!"
 
	"Seems fair enough. Okay, I was born here, in
 New York. As a child, I was sorta, like, a loner. I had
 few friends, but that was just fine with me. My parents
 had divorced when I was very young, but, to this day,
 they have remained very good friends. My stepmother,
 whose name is Rose, has treated me like I was her very
 own son. Although she and my father have a son of their
 own, they always came to an event which I though was
 important. When I was younger, I used all my time
 studying because I wanted to become a plastic surgeon.
 After a while, I realized that plastic surgery was not
 the job for me. Instead, I went into a different
 business and now that my dad is going to retire soon, I
 will take over his job". <<I hope that I didn't give
 away too much!>>

	At this point, Serena interrupted and innocently
 asked, "Well, what job are you going to take over?"
 
	Darien grew very uncomfortable at this, and
 Serena had noticed. "Well...uh...you see, I'm going to
 become-"

 	"Here you go sir, madam. Your dinner. If 
anything displeases you, please tell us and I shall have
 it taken back to the kitchen." <<and have the cook spit
 in it. Today's been a lousy day.>>

	"Thank you, sir. This looks delicious. I don't
 think that we're going to need anything else, so you
 can just go and rest."

Serena, totally forgetting the question she had asked
 Darien before, much to his relief, exclaimed, "Wow!
 This looks really good. I mean, it's just salad, but
 still!" Darien chuckled. How business-like and
 child-like she can be from one minute to the next.
 Serena, hearing Darien's laugh, looked up and blushed.
 "I'm sorry about that. My friends have always told me
 that I'm way too childish for a person my age." <<What
 a total embarrassment for me!>> Darien, amused,
 replied, "I don't mind at all! I think that it's quite
 cute for a person your age to act that way. It's a
 pleasant thought that some women can loosen up in their
 older years and not always act so...business-like,
 24/7."  Silence then resumed as the two dug hungrily
 into their dinner. A while later, Darien asked Serena,
 "Do you want to try a piece of my fish? It's really
 good, and all you have is a salad." 

Serena thought this over for a few seconds before she
 replied, "Well, okay. As long as you don't mind, that
 is."
 
"Serena, do you remember what I told you before? I don't
 ask someone something unless I really mean it."
 
"Sorry. Anyway, I'd like to try the fish."  Darien then
 put a small piece of the fish onto his fork, and then
 held it right about her waiting mouth.
 
"Darien, I'm waiting."

"You have to say the magic words, first"

"Fine. May I please have a piece of your fish?"

"Hmm...no."

"Darien! Please?" Serena hit him full on with her puppy
 dog look, pouting lips, and big blue eyes pleading. No
 living man on earth could deny her anything when she
 used that look. While Darien was mesmerized by the look
 she gave him, Serena took the opportunity to pluck the
 fork from his hand and eat the fish.

 With a twinkle in her eye and voice, Serena said, "Mmm.
 This is good! Thank you, Darien."

Darien, finally shaken from his reverie, looked at his
 hand, to Serena's hand, to his hand, and yet again to
 hers.

	"Why you little tease! You did that on purpose,
 didn't you?"

Serena gave him her 'innocent look'. "Whatever do you
 mean?"

Darien laughed. "Oh, nevermind. I'll just remember that
 the next time I take you out for dinner, I won't ever
 tease you again."

Serena gasped when she heard his words. <<The next
 time...next time...He'd actually take me out again?
 Wow. Someone up there must have been looking down on me
 this morning>> "Well, Darien, the next time you do take
 me out, I'll come prepared, because you'll probably do
 that again. I'll practice my puppy dog look in the
 mirror when I go home tonight." They both had a laugh
 and went back to eating their dinners. After they had
 both finished their meals, Serena tipped her head to
 the side and said, "Hmm. I think that something's
 missing from this meal."

Darien, quickly catching on, replied, "Well, I don't
 think so. Why don't we just get up and go?"
 
Serena pouted again, and said, "But, Darien. I really
 wanted some dessert."
 
Chuckling, Darien replied, "I know that. I just said
 that some I could see you pout again. You know, you're
 really quite good at that."

"Thanks. I only learn from the best. Now, what kind of 
 dessert do I want?" Serena engrossed herself by looking
 into the menu that the waiter had just brought over
 again, and looked over the choices. <<Chocolate mousse?
 Nah. Crème Flambé? Nah. Hmm. A sundae looks pretty
 good. I wonder if Darien would like to share it with
 me...>> "Oh Darien," Serena called with a sing-song
 voice, "I was wondering if you'd like to spilt a sundae
 with me."
 
"Sure, why not? Just as long as we have hot fudge on
 top. I am a total chocolate fanatic."

	"Oh my God! You have to be kidding me. I'm a
 chocoholic, too! My friends always used to tease me
 that I'd get fat with all the chocolate that I ate back
 then."

Darien's eyes roved over her slim petite figure and
 nonchalantly said, "Well, I guess they're wrong."
 Serena ordered the sundae, with the hot fudge and extra
 whipped cream, and as soon as it arrived, they dug in.
 Suddenly, Serena started to giggle. Darien, amused,
 arched one of his eyebrows and said, with a phony
 British accent, "What amuses you so, dearest?"

	"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that you have this
 little speck of (AN: Can you see this coming, folks?)
 whipped cream right above your mouth."

Darien took his napkin and swiped at his mouth. "Is it
 gone yet?"
 
	"No. Let me." Serena stood from her side of the
 table and walked to Darien's, bent over and wiped it
 off. "There you go." She looked up into his eyes as she
 said this. They were now less than 3 inches apart,
 Darien sitting down, and Serena bent over far enough
 that he could smell her light vanilla perfume again.
 Slowly, Serena sat down next to him, never losing eye
 contact and slowly, oh so slowly, they bent forward,
 until their lips were just millimeters apart. "Serena,
 I think that I'm going to kiss you now," Darien 
murmured. "Be my guest," was the last thing both of them
 heard before Darien bent his head down and captured her
 lips in a long, sweet, warm kiss. At first, it was just
 a light kiss, but soon, Darien prodded open her mouth
 with his tongue and slipped it in. Serena, startled,
 pulled back a bit, but Darien's arms had already
 tightened around her back, so she couldn't pull away.
 And she didn't want to, either. The kiss continued for
 a few moments, but both of them, regretfully, had to
 pull back for lack of oxygen. Both, breathing rather
 hard, were lost in their own little world, thinking of
 what might have been if the lack of oxygen had not
 forced them to pull away from the other. Serena blushed
 when she noticed Darien looking at her again, wanting
 another kiss. Hesitantly, Serena reached across the
 table, picked up her spoon and scooped a bit of the
 sundae onto it. "Do you want some?"

	Darien, still lost in his own little world
 (which included Serena and her lips) didn't see her
 holding the sundae in front of him. Nor did he see her
 hand waving in front of his eyes, trying to get his
 attention. <<Now this is interesting>>, Serena thought.
 <<I wonder how to bring him back to life.>> Suddenly, a
 wicked thought entered her mind. <<Oh, I hope he
 doesn't get mad at me for this, but he did say that he
 like women who didn't act business like all the
 time...>> Slowly, Serena reached out her arm and
 grabbed her cup of water. Her ICE COLD glass of water,
 and slowly dribbled it down his back. Darien, noticing
 very faintly, that something cold was dribbling down
 his shirt and into his pants, shook himself out of his
 dreamworld to see Serena, sitting there, with half a
 glass of ice water. <<Hmm>>, he thought,
 absentmindedly, <<Didn't she have a whole glass of
 water before?>> Suddenly, it hit him. "Oh my God,
 Serena", he yelled, jumping up, "What did you do?"
 Suddenly, he noticed everyone in the restaurant staring
 at him. Gaining control of his temper, he sat back down
 and looked at the blonde sitting next to him. Laughing.
 She was actually laughing. At him, none the less. <<I 
 know a way to get back at her, and to gain another kiss
 from this goddess.>> He made his blue eyes become
 midnight blue, and his handsome features become stony.
 Serena noticed this instant change and immediately
 stopped laughing. <<Oh, dear>> she thought, <<he's mad
 at me. I knew that I shouldn't have done that. >>
 "Darien?" she questioned timidly. No response. "Look,
 Darien, I'm really sorry. I only did it because I
 couldn't get your attention. Really, I am sorry.
 Forgive me?"
 
His stony features lessened, somewhat, at this heartfelt
 plea. Then, remembering his plan, he made himself look
 away. "Serena, you really embarrassed me. I don't know
 if I can forgive you." He looked at her. "Unless, of
 course, you can find someway of making me forgive
 you..." Serena quickly caught onto his meaning. "Like 
what, kind sir? A kiss like this, perhaps?" She quickly
 leaned over and landed a peck on his cheek.
 
"I don't think so."
 
"Hmm. The gentleman would like a kiss. Where could I
 place it so he will forgive me for the horrendous crime
 I have done?" Darien could barely hold back his
 laughter, for Serena was speaking in a horrible
 imitation of a British person.  "Perhaps a kiss here?"
 She pecked the corner of his mouth, not quite touching
 it, but still, electricity ran when she touched him.
 "Or maybe, the man will forgive me if I kiss him here."
 She then leaned over and placed her mouth on his. It
 was a short kiss, though, much to his (and hers)
 disappointment. After it ended, Darien pouted and said,
 "Well, I suppose you're forgiven, Serena."

	"You suppose?"

	"Oh, alright. You are forgiven."

	"Yay!" She launched herself into his arms and
 hugged him.
 
	"Serena," he wheezed, "losing the bear hug would
 help me stay alive a little longer."

	"Oops!" Serena backed off. "Sorry!"

Darien signaled for the check. The waiter came and gave
 Darien the bill. Serena, wanting to pay for her half of
 the meal, asked Darien if she could see the bill.
 Darien, ever the gentleman, said, "Serena, my mom
 always told me that no matter what a lady says, you
 must pay for her bill. It's only proper that it's done
 that way." 

	"Well, Darien, I'm glad that you were brought up
 that way, but anytime I go out, whether the bill is
 expensive or inexpensive, I always pay for it."

	"Always?"

	"Always."

	"Well, you know what they say! There's a first
 time for everything! And I will pay for this bill, you
 know why?"

	"Why?"

	"Because of this." With that, he jumped, yes,
 jumped, over Serena and sprinted towards to counter. He
 sauntered back after he had paid the bill, and said,
 smugly, "I told you so."

Serena, her brain still trying to put together what had
 just happened in the past 1.9 seconds, sat there,
 dazed. Darien, worried, questioned, "Um, Serena? Are
 you all right?" Finally, Serena's brain kicked into
 gear and replied, "Uh, yeah. I just never knew that men
 were so competitive. Or they could run so fast when
 they needed to."
 
 Darien laughed. "Well, like they say! You learn
 something new everyday." Darien and Serena put on their
 coats and walked outside, waiting for the valet to get
 the car. When it arrived, they thanked the man and
 walked into the car. It was a relatively silent drive
 to Serena's home. Once outside of her apartment
 complex, she shyly and quickly told Darien, "Thank you,
 again. I had a wonderful time." With that, she opened
 her car door, stepped outside, and firmly shut the
 door. <<On second thought, I could ask him whether or
 not he wanted to go out again. I think I'll do that.>>
 She turned around and opened the car door...to see that
 he was not there?! <<Where did he go?>> Suddenly, a 
 hand on her shoulder gave an answer to a question. She
 was spun around and then, suddenly, without any
 warning, Darien kissed her. (AN: I really don't wanna
 go into describing the kiss because...well...I don't
 want to, but for you readers out there, just...use your
 imagination!) After they broke apart, allowing Darien
 to catch his breath and Serena to figure out what had
 just happened, he spoke. "Ya know, Serena, I had a
 really nice time. I'd like to go out again sometime.
 How about Friday night, at 5? I'll pick you up and we
 can go somewhere. I don't know exactly where, but I'll
 think of someplace nice. What do you think?"
 
	With the saying, 'follow and they will flee, but
 flee and they will follow, Serena coolly answered, "I'd
 like that, Darien. Just give me a call." With that, she
 turned around, unlocked the door, stepped into the
 building, and shut the door.


Ta-da! Stay tuned for Chpt. 3!!!
E-mail me at: ETLCHSIEH@Aol.com