Silver Linning *Epilogue*
By: Eternal Angel & Chi Chi
Rated G
Happy Holidays!


Softly crying, 
I slowly escape from this hell,
Telling myself not to look behind.

A broken heart,
Left behind,
I knew it was broken before.

Happiness dying,
Was there even happiness in the beginning?
I'm not sure, I forgot what happiness is.

Painful lies,
My soul is numb - stricken by these empty promises,
Battered by your actions.

Standing there,
You ignore me and my tears,
As I say good-bye.

And this time I mean it.

	~~~

	The full moon bathed its silvery light upon its 
mistress as she stood there surrounded by hundreds of 
blooming roses.  It was the very same spot where they 
had first met all those years ago.  Strange how 
something so beautiful as their blossoming love came 
from a horrid beginning.  Though she was extremely happy 
that he was there at the right time, binding each other 
together as friends - and then as something more.  

	Serena opened the locket and allowed it to play 
its enchanting melody, wondering what he could have 
planned for her next.  They had been seeing each other 
so seriously after they found out the truth about their 
past and a little bit of their future.  She felt blessed 
for having such a romantic love.  

	He had told her to hurry home quickly after work 
today, puzzled as she was, she did so to discover a 
beautiful sight on her bed.  A gown laid on it, made 
from what seemed like the finest silk.  Gold and silver 
lined it, as she knew exactly what the dress was.  It 
was the same dress that she wore a millennium ago when 
she had first met him.  A smile curled up her lips as 
she wondered how he had remembered.  

	A note written in silver ink by his perfect 
handwriting (everything about him was perfect to her 
perspective) was placed on her dress telling her to look 
at her dresser.  Indeed, on her dress was a red box, 
which contained a beautiful star locket.  What was so 
important about it was that it was - no, is - *their* 
locket.  It still played the same melody of a thousand 
years ago.  Another note was placed in the box telling 
her to meet him at the gardens later on for a surprise.

	She spent the whole day dressing up and calling 
up the generals and the senshis about what the surprise 
might be.  To her disappointment, they stayed loyal to 
Darien, no matter how much she had threatened them.  She 
sighed impatiently, as she looked around the beautiful 
surrounds, 'Ohh well, I guess I have to wait.'

	A dark figure stood afar, his heart pounding.  
Though the surroundings were beautiful, it was not 
compared to what he was staring at.  There she stood, 
her beautiful golden haired put up in her original 
odangos but the loose hair that usually strung from it 
was curled, making her have a more angelic look.  She 
looked beautiful in the dress, as it flattered her 
nicely, as he reminded himself to thank Setsuna again.

	The sight of her was heavenly, as the moon 
seemed to give out its eternal glow to only her.  She 
glittered in the moonlight, as he was almost frozen by 
the sight of her beauty, wondering how one could be so 
heavenly and serene and not be angel.  

	Taken out of his trance by a voice in his 
telling him to hurry up, he used his Tuxedo Mask skills 
to stealthily crept up to where she was standing and 
grab her waist.  A small surprise jump came from her.  
Taking advantage of the moment, he spun her around and 
sent butterfly kisses up and down her neck.  

	Serena moaned with surprise and looked up to see 
Darien's dark blue eyes, lightened with happiness.  She 
smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck and lessened 
the distance between their lips.  But Darien had other 
things on his mind.  As much as he would love to touch 
those soft, tender lips of hers, there was something he 
had to do.  Darien reached behind his neck and pulled 
her arms down, giving her a reassuring smile at her 
startled look.  He took a step back and gazed down at 
his angel once more before he got down on one knee.  
With a soft flicker of his wrist, a red rose appeared in 
his hand as he handed it to her.  Serena's eyes widened 
at the sudden revelation as he took her hand and gave a 
deep breath. 

	"Serena - Serenity, I love you with all my heart 
and soul.  Love at first sight doesn't explain what 
happened when my eyes graced upon you the first time 
years ago, or even a thousand years ago up on the 
glistering moon," he said, pointing up at the bright 
moon.  "Tonight, I want to hear you make me the happiest 
man in the entire universe.  Serena Tsukino, will you 
become my wife?"  He asked her, as her eyes widen at 
actually hearing the words come out of his mouth.  He 
took out a small red box and opened it, as he took out 
the ring contained in it.  He then slipping a gorgeous 
diamond ring, surrounded by tiny ruby-studded roses, 
onto her slim finger.  "So, Serena, will you?"  He 
looked up to stare intensely into her tear filled eyes, 
patiently waiting for an answer.  

	She was speechless; as she gazed down at the man 
who stole her heart, unshed tears blurring her vision.  
Regaining her voice, she threw herself into his arms and 
kissed him all over, quietly whispering yes over and 
over.  Darien hugged her fiercely, slowly rocking them 
back and forth, as his heart continued to pound with 
happiness.  He pulled her slightly away to look at her 
crystal blue eyes and rosy cheeks.  Darien lowered his 
face towards her to continue what he had earlier 
stopped, but a rustling in the bushes made him stop 
mid-way.  He and Serena looked at each other in 
question.  "Did you hear that?" he whispered.  Serena 
nodded her head, and she looked on curiously as she 
heard the bushes talking.  Darien sent her a telepathic 
message, causing her to giggle.  He quickly covered her 
mouth with his lips to quiet her down, and led her off 
further into the garden.  

	"You guys be quiet!" Raye said as loudly as she 
could without giving themselves away.  "Well if you 
didn't hog up the entire space, we wouldn't be making so 
much noise," Lita retorted.  "You guys, we're going to 
get caught-t-t," Jadeite said in a sing-along voice.  
"THWACK!"  "OW!" Jadeite whined, rubbing his head.  "Be 
quiet!" Malachite exclaimed.  "Has Darien proposed to 
her yet?  My leg is starting to fall asleep," Mina 
complained.  The entire group went into an uproar, some 
complaining about the limited viewing space and others 
about the noise level.   "Um you guys..." Amy said 
quietly, but everyone was too busy arguing to pay 
attention to her.  Narrowing her eyes, "YOU GUYS!" she 
shouted.  Everyone stopped what they were doing and 
looked at the usually calm and quiet senshi of water.  
"Yes, dear?" Zoicite asked.  "Serena and Darien aren't 
there any more!"  "WHAT!" they exclaimed as they all 
stood up and saw that the once occupied area was now 
deserted.  The bickering started up again, over whose 
fault it was, while the others sighed with 
disappointment.  

	"SPLASH!"  Everyone stopped.  The entire group 
was drenched head to toe with cold water, except a 
chuckling senshi of time.  They looked around 
dumbfounded, until they heard a familiar tinkling laugh 
from up above.  Perched on a low branch were Serena and 
Darien, his arms wrapped protectively around her.  In 
her hands was a large bucket of water, which she had 
just poured over them.

	"SERENA!" screamed Raye and Lita, as they 
started climbing up the tree to pull down their giggling 
friend.  But the generals, who had grabbed Darien's leg, 
caused him to fall ungracefully to the ground with 
Serena on top of him, already beat them.  The entire 
group gave each other a glance and with wicked smiles, 
mobbed the couple.  

	~~~

      "So are you nervous?"  "Me? Nervous?  You're 
talking to the guy who laughs in the face of danger, 
battles nega-monsters in a tuxedo, and can balance on a 
lamp post," smirked Darien, (*Chi Chi: ::sigh:: so many 
skills *Usa: Umm... why might we want to balance 
ourselves on a lamp post when some of us are unable to 
balance ourselves on the ground?) as he put the 
finishing touches on his bowtie and picked any invisible 
lint off of his pristine white tuxedo.  Jadeite gave 
Darien the LOOK, causing him to look down dejectedly.  

	"I'm shaking and my heart's pounding... someone 
got a lamp post around here? " he admitted as he brushed 
his hair back with his hand and sighed.  The rest of the 
guys gave him a sympathetic look and led him out of the 
room and to the alter.

	~~~

       "Are you ready Serena?"  "I think so," she 
replied, as Mina put the final touches of her make-up.  
She stood up and felt her stomach churn and then turn 
into knots.  "Ohh.... I don't think I feel so good you 
guys," she said as she slowly sank down back onto the 
chair.  "Are you okay Serena?" Lita said worriedly as 
she felt her forehead.  "You're not trying to back out 
now are you Rena?" Raye said with a smirk.  "Don't worry 
you guys, its probably pre-wedding jitters," Amy said 
wisely.  "And how would you know Ames?  Have you 
secretly gotten married without us knowing?"  Mina said, 
ready to pounce on Amy for the details.  "Aghh...nooo!" 
she shrieked as she ran around the room trying to escape 
from Mina.  "YOU GUYS!"  Everyone stopped and turned to 
look at the forgotten bride-to-be.  "Whoops, 
sorry..hehe."  "Don't worry Princess, we all know you 
and Endymion were meant to be, and in your heart, you 
know it's right too," Raye said kneeling down before 
Serena and taking her hand.  Serena looked down at one 
of her best friends and glanced around the room at the 
rest of them as tears start to form in her eyes.  "NOO, 
don't cry, you're going to ruin your make-up!" Mina 
cried, flailing her arms around wildly.  "Don't worry, I 
wouldn't want to ruin all your hard work," Serena 
sniffled.  All of a sudden the door opened and a head 
popped in.  "Are you ladies ready?" Malachite asked.  
Serena stood nodding yes.  The rest of the girls got up 
and followed her out the door, where the generals were 
waiting to lead them down the aisle.  

	Serena lifted over her veil to cover her face 
and waited outside the close doors.  She heard the 
familiar tune of the wedding march on the violin made 
her smile as the doors opened up to reveal the beautiful 
church hall and the rising guests.  She looked straight 
away, wishing that this veil would leave her alone.  Her 
eyes looked at the jet-black haired man standing 
straight away.  Sweet, sweet Darien.  She couldn't 
believe that they were actually going to get married.  
She ran her eyes over him as she walked down the aisle, 
noting that he looked especially handsome in his white 
tux, not that he didn't look handsome everyday.  

	Darien turned around as the attendants opened 
the door to reveal a beautiful angel... his beautiful 
angel.  He intensely gazed at her, in her beautiful silk 
and satin white gown.  Although the veil covered her 
face, he could see her sparkling blue eyes shine through 
with happiness, that mirrored his own.  The senshi and 
generals all smiled at each as Serena reached the alter 
and took Darien's hand.  The priest proceeded with their 
vows, but everything was a blur to Darien and Serena 
because they were only focused on each other.  Finally, 
the priest announced that the groom could kiss the 
bride.  Anxiously, Darien lifted Serena's veil to reveal 
her beautiful blue eyes and tender lips quietly 
anticipating his own.  Without further hesitation he 
leaned down and wrapped his arms around her waist as he 
gently kissed her.  The kiss deepened as it sealed the 
destinies of the two lovers and the fate of the 
universe. 

	~~~

	Through a candle light dinner, Serena looked at 
the man sitting across from her.  Her heart began to 
beat quickly.  Every time she looked at him, she fell in 
love with him all over again, making it almost 
impossible for her to ever get mad at him.  

	'How am I going to tell him this?'  Serena 
wondered, as their eyes met.  He smiled at her, 
wondering why she had made a candle light dinner for the 
two of them when there really wasn't anything important 
happening today, and she did say she had something 
important to tell him...

	"Rena, what did you have to tell me?"  He asked 
her, as she came nervous about what to tell him.  "Well, 
Darien, ahh, do you remember Rini?"  He nodded, 
recalling his future daughter.  He looked at her, 
wondering what this had to do with anything.  "Well, 
what about seeing her again?"

	"Sure, that'll be great..." he said with a grin 
as she continued on.  "In 7 months."  He stared at her 
not understanding.  'Seven months?  What does she...' 
his brain finally wrapped around what she was trying to 
say.  


	"I'm going to be a..." he passed out before he 
could finish his sentence.  Serena stood up and ran to 
him, in shock.  She stared at him, wondered what she 
could do, and then sighed.  She then went back to her 
seat and continued eating, forgetting the mass of her 
husband that lied unconscious on the floor.

*The End*

Yay it's officially finished!  Despite the fact that I 
didn't get many e-mails, we decided to include an 
epilogue, which I hope you guys like - say a little 
Christmas present from us to you =o)  I hope everyone 
out there has a happy holiday!  And hopefully you'll 
hear from me again =o)

much love,
Chi Chi
 
Hiya!

Wow... It's over... ::tears:: wah!  Ohh... I added the 
last part.  I thought it would be funny!  I mean, I was 
in a wacko mood today... well, not as if I am not 
everyday, but don't jump to conclusions!  Well, e-mail 
is good people!!  Ohh, Lady MH, I'll be waiting for your 
e-mail especially!

Love ya!

Usa-chan

ChibiUsa9@aol.com
Usako9@hotmail.com