'TIS THE SEASON #5: SERENA AND DARIEN
A Sailor Moon Sekkushiaru Roman

by Sailor Mac
	"No, no, no! We need *more* candy canes!"
	"Serena," her mother said, "we've already put so many candy canes on this
tree, it's about to fall over! You've never been this fussy about how the
tree looked before!"
	"Yes, but. . .we've never had a. . .*guest* before."
	Her mother sighed. "Serena. . .you know it's not a done deal. We still
have to talk to your father about this ."
	"But Mom. . .how could he *not* say yes? He knows that Darien has no
family, nobody to spend Christmas with, except me."
	"I know, honey, I know, but. . .your father's feelings about your
relationship with Darien are rather. . .mixed." (And I'm being generous,
Eileen Tsukino thought).
	"Oh, he'll come around when he sees how happy we are together."
	Sammy came up from the rec room, his eyes popping open when he saw the
decorations. "WOW! Who are we expecting, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?"
	"Nope!" said Serena. "Something even better!"
	"Now, Serena," her mother said, "I *told* you that. . ."
	Just then, the door opened and her father came in. His eyes widened at the
sight of the decorations, three times as much as had ever been hung in the
Tsukino household before.
	"Well!" he said. "Merry Christmas!"
	"Merry Christmas to you too, Daddy!" Serena said, jumping up to give him a hug.
	"Uh-oh," her father said. "Something tells me somebody is about to ask for
a very expensive present. . ."
	"Nothing like that!" Serena said. "Daddy. . .we're going to have a visitor
for Christmas."
	"Serena!" her mother said. "You haven't asked permission yet!"
	"Permission for what?" said her father.
	"For Darien to stay with us over Christmas," Serena said. "He has no
family in the world. . .except me."
	Serena was prepared for a bit of reluctance, a small fight. . .what she
wasn't prepared for was what actually happened.
	Ken Tsukino turned white, then red. Then, his temper exploded.
	"Absolutely not!" he shouted. "You're far too young to have a man staying
under the same roof with you!"
	"But. . .but Daddy. . ."
	"No buts! That boy is too old for you as it is! And I *certainly* will not
have him sleeping in our house!"
	Serena burst into tears. "You're mean!" she shouted. "You're horrible!
You've ruined my Christmas!" She ran out of the room and up the stairs,
slamming the door of her bedroom.
* * *
	Darien sat on his living room floor, humming to himself as he wrapped the
last of the packages.
	For the first time since his parents died, he was actually looking forward
to Christmas.
	"My parents will be glad to have you," Serena had said. "There's a couch
in the rec room that folds out into a bed. A double bed. And wait until you
taste my Mom's Christmas dinners. . ."
	This is the time of year when I've always felt most lonely, he thought. It
felt like everyone in the world had someone to celebrate with except me. .
.and now, at last, I have someone. A wonderful, Meatball Head-ed someone.
	She'd promised to call him later with the specifics on when he should come
to their house, so when he heard the phone ring, he knew exactly who it was
without even having to look at the Caller ID. "Hello, Meatball Head!" he
said after picking up the receiver.
	On the other end, he heard only sobs.
	"Serena? What's wrong, darling?"
	"M-m-my fa-fa-father won't let you spend Christmas with us. . ."
	"Oh, honey. . ."
	"He said he didn't want. . .he didn't want. . ." Serena broke out in a
fresh torrent of crying again.
	"Sssh. . .it's all right, baby." But even as he said the words, he felt
something dying inside him. . .his hope for a happy holiday.
	"No, it's not! I wanted to give you the best Christmas you ever had. . ."
	"We can spend a couple of hours together in the afternoon, I'm sure. .
.and if not, we could always do Christmas the day after. . ."
	And meanwhile, he thought, I'll be spending another Christmas Eve all
alone, eating frozen pizza and watching one videotape after another with
the sound turned up high so I don't have to hear the Christmas bells, the
Christmas music. . .
	"Oh, Darien," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry. . ."
	"There's nothing to be sorry about, honey. You tried. That's all you can do."
	"I'll call you again later.  .I'll let you know when we can get together."
	"All right. Talk to you later. . .I love you."
	"I love you, too."
	As he hung up the phone, Darien could feel a couple of tears running down
his cheeks.
* * *
	Eileen Tsukino watched her daughter tear up the stairs, and felt like her
heart was being ripped out.
	She knew her husband wasn't a hundred percent happy about Serena and
Darien's relationship. She knew he'd be reluctant about this Christmas
thing. . .
	But she'd never dreamed he'd get downright nasty about it.
	She turned on her heel to face her husband, who was nonchalantly hanging
his coat up.
	"Kenneth Tsukino, you're a snake."
	"ExCUSE me?"
	"You know how much Darien means to her!"
	"I certainly do. And I don't like it."
	"And why the hell not? You've seen how happy he's made her! Her grades
have improved, she's learned to cook, she cries less often. . ."
	"She's still a baby! She's too young to be going out with a college man!"
	"Well, there's a problem in a nutshell," Eileen said in a small, cold,
hard voice. "You still think she's a baby. She's becoming a woman before
your eyes, and you don't want to see it. Well, I've got news for you,
buster. . .it's time for a reality check!" She stormed out of the room.
* * *
	Ken Tsukino drove toward the shopping center, in search of the bakery
chocolate cream pie he knew both his wife and daughter loved.
	Maybe, he thought, I can make it up to them in some small way. . .
	He couldn't get Eileen's words out of his head. "She's becoming a woman
before your eyes, and you don't want to see it. . ."
	It was killing him to admit it, but. . .she was right.
	Wasn't it just yesterday, he thought, that Serena was a chubby little
thing crawling around the floor? And now, here she was, on the brink of
adulthood. . .
	He wanted that baby back. He'd wanted Serena to stay that baby forever.
But he realized, reluctantly, that feeling that way was selfish. . .that it
was only hurting Serena, and himself.
	It's time, he thought, to let go of that baby, no matter how hard it may
be. Let go of the baby she was. . .and embrace the woman she's becoming.
And that includes admitting that she'll soon leave your side for another
man forever.
	As he pulled into the lot, he saw a familiar figure leaving the
supermarket, a stack of rental tapes under one arm, a grocery bag with a
frozen pizza poking out the top in the other. It was Darien Chiba.
	He got out of his car and approached the boy slowly. Darien seemed to give
him a look of disdain. And who could blame him? Ken Tsukino thought.
	"Good evening, Darien."
	"Hello, Mr. Tsukino."
	"Darien. . .I'd like to have a word with you, man-to-man. There's a coffee
bar attached to the bakery. . ."
	Oh, Gods, Darien thought, is he going to grill me about the specifics of
my relationship with Serena? That's all I need, on top of everything else
that's gone wrong. . .
	"Sure," he said. "Just let me put my stuff in the trunk first. . ."
	When the two men were settled with their cups, all was silent at first.
Then, Mr. Tsukino said, "Darien, I know my relationship with you hasn't
gotten off on the right foot. . ."
	Boy, that's an understatement, Darien thought. "Yes, sir. . .I know."
	"Serena's my little girl. And a father tends to be very protective of his
baby. . .even when, technically, she's not a baby any more."
	"Mr. Tsukino. . .you have nothing to worry about. I'd rather cut off my
right arm than hurt your daughter. She's. . .she's everything in the world
to me."
	"I know. She's everything in the world to me, too." Mr. Tsukino sighed.
"And that's why it's so hard to accept that she's growing up and slipping
away."
	"Serena will never slip completely away from you. She'll be a grown woman,
and she'll be my. . .she'll be married with a family of her own, but she'll
still be your daughter. Nothing can ever take that away."
	Her father sighed again. "I guess having you around drives home the fact
that I'll never have a little girl around the house again."
	When Serena's father said that, Darien got a picture in his head, a quick
flash that lasted less than a second. . .a picture of a little pink-haired
girl. . .
	He heard himself saying, "But someday. . .you *will* have Serena's
children around your house."
	Mr. Tsukino smiled at that thought. "Yes. . .yes, I will. Something to
look forward to."
	"Mr. Tsukino. . .I know you're not crazy about the idea of your daughter
dating someone older. I can't say I blame you. I know a lot of guys my age
who'd be all too willing to take advantage of a young girl like her. But. .
.I'm definitely not one of them. I love your daughter. I love her with all
my heart. I haven't had a family since my parents died when I was six years
old. Serena is my family now."
	"Darien. . .I understand. And I want to make a fresh start with you. I'd
be honored if you'd come spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my
family."
	Darien thought his heart was going to leap out of his chest. He nearly
reached across the table and hugged the older man. Suddenly, it felt like
Christmas again. . .really, truly Christmas.
	"Mr. Tsukino. . .I would absolutely love to."
	The two men shook hands, and Darien left, feeling like he was walking on air.
* * *
	"Serena. . .please go downstairs. Your family's going to think you're sick."
	"I don't care, Luna! Let them think what they want to. I'm not celebrating
Christmas this year."
	"You and Darien will be able to see each other later. It's not as if
you're going away. . ."
	"But Luna. . .you don't understand! This is *Christmas Eve!* And he's
going to be alone. . ."
	"I don't think he'll feel completely alone. Not if he knows you're
thinking of him."
	Just then, Serena's mother opened the door. Luna jumped onto the bed and
curled up like a "normal" cat.
	"Serena?" her mother said. "Come downstairs, honey."
	"I don't feel like it right now."
	"But there's an early Christmas present waiting for you. . ."
	Fine, Serena thought. I'll go downstairs, see what it is, then come back
up. . .
	She walked slowly down the steps with her mother. Then, when she reached
the last couple of stairs, she saw what her present was. . . .and she broke
into a run.
	Darien felt himself nearly knocked across the room when Serena threw
herself at him, and it was the greatest feeling in the world.
	"MUFFIN!" she shouted. "You're here!"
	"Merry Christmas, honey! I'm going to be spending tonight and tomorrow here!"
	"Oh, Darien. . ." She clung to him, happy tears running down her face.
Then, she let go of him, ran to her father, and gave him a hug and a kiss.
"Thank you. . .thank you so much. . ."
	"Merry Christmas, sweetheart," her father whispered, feeling himself
misting over.
	"Come on, Muffin. . .I'll take you downstairs. . .you'll be sleeping in
the rec room, there's a foldout couch. . .and then we'll have dinner. .
.and then we'll have popcorn and watch 'It's a Wonderful Life.' Tsukino
family Christmas Eve tradition! And then, after that, we'll watch more
Christmas videos until we're all ready to pass out. . ." Her voice trailed
off as they disappeared down the basement steps.
	After they disappeared, Eileen Tsukino gave her husband a kiss. "I'm glad
you saw reason, honey."
	"You're right. . .he's made her happier than she's ever been. And who am I
to stand in the way of her happiness?" He gave a wistful sigh. "They're a
cute couple, aren't they?"
	"They remind me of a certain other teenage couple I used to know, a long,
long time ago. . .I think their names were Eileen Hawkes and Ken Tsukino."
	"Whatever happened to them?"
	"They got married and had two beautiful children."
	And hand-in-hand, Serena's parents headed into the kitchen to put the
finishing touches on the family's Christmas preparations.
* * *
	Darien sat on the folded-out couch, looking in his overnight bag to make
doubly sure he'd brought all the packages. He knew that any second, he'd
hear a certain light step on the stairs. . .
	Sure enough, the door of the rec room opened, and a vision in a fluffy
pink bathrobe slipped in, carrying a big shopping bag. She dropped it,
hopped onto the bed beside him, and pulled him into a near-crushing
embrace. He brought his mouth to hers for a searing kiss.
	When they broke apart, he whispered, "Are they all asleep?"
	"Snoring away." She kissed him again, letting her little tongue dart
teasingly in and out of his mouth. When they slowly broke apart, she picked
up her bag. "Okay. . .who goes first?"
	"Why don't we exchange stockings?"
	He pulled out an enormous one with her name on the top in glitter, while
she took two stockings out of her bag.
	"Two?" he said.
	"You'll see," she replied with a giggle.
	Darien pushed his hand into the first stocking and drew out. . .a
chocolate bar. Followed by a bag of chocolate kisses. Followed by a handful
of chocolate coins, some chocolate Santas, a little bag of
chocolate-flavored coffee. . .
	He laughed. "You know what I like, honey." He kissed her.
	She dug into her own stocking and squealed with delight as she pulled out
candy, mini-cookies, a couple of bottles of nail polish with matching
lipsticks, and at the very bottom. . .
	"SAILOR V FOR COLOR GAMEBOY!" she cried, throwing her arms around him.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you. . ."
	"You're welcome, welcome, welcome," he said, returning her embrace. I feel
absolutely joyful, he thought. For the first time in years, I'm joyful on
Christmas Eve!
	She gave him a mischievous smile. "You didn't look in your other stocking."
	He plunged his hand inside, and drew out a handful of foil-wrapped packages.
	"A. . .a stocking filled with condoms?"
	She giggled.
	"Why, you little minx!" He started to tickle her, and she retaliated. They
fell to the bed together, laughing harder and harder as their fingers
sought out each other's "tickle zones". . .then, their hands began seeking
out other places altogether, and their lips came together again, and both
of them let out moans as his hands cupped and stroked her breasts, as she
gently massaged the sensitive skin of his inner thighs. . .
	She rolled away from him, reluctantly, and whispered, "Not yet, Muffin.
We've got other gifts to give each other first. . ."
	He slowly sat up, thinking, I don't know how much longer I can wait, my
love. My body is aching and aching to feel your soft, sweet lips and hands.
. .
	But he reluctantly pulled his other gifts out of his bag and handed them
to her, as she handed other packages to him. She opened the first one and
saw a beautiful, thin gold chain bracelet, from which two charms were
dangling. . .a crescent moon and a rose.
	"Oh, it's so beautiful, Darien!" she said.
	When he opened his first present, he saw that she'd gotten him a shirt
he'd admired in a local department store's window. "Serena. . .how did you
know I wanted this?"
	"Telepathy." And he wondered if she was kidding or not.
	When she opened the second box, it contained a brochure advertising a New
Year's Eve package at a luxury hotel. "Darien. . .what's this?"
	"That's where we're spending New Year's Eve, sweetheart! They had a
charity raffle at my college, and this was the top prize. . .and I won it!"
	She opened the brochure up. "Oh, Darien, look at these rooms! Every one
has a jacuzzi! And this ballroom. . .oh, what am I going to wear to a place
like this?"
	"Just wear what you did to the formal dance. You looked beautiful that
night." He chuckled. "And if all else fails. . .there's always the disguise
pen."
	She laughed and kissed him. "Oh, Muffin, I can't wait for next week!"
	"Me neither, Meatball Head."
	His second package contained a gift certificate to Books Kinokuniya. "Now,
I *know* I can use this!" he said.
	"I know. And now. . ." She handed him a small package. "The finale!"
	He handed her a square box. "And the piece de resistance!"
	When he unwrapped his, he found a gold man's signet ring, which fit him
perfectly. The symbol on it was a crest of some sort. . .Then, in a flash
of insight, he knew exactly what it was.
	"Serena. . .where did you get this? This is the symbol of the Royal Family
of the Earth Kingdom!"
	"I was walking one day near where that Negaverse portal was, the one we
went through to rescue Raye, and I saw this thing shining on the ground. .
.I picked it up, and I knew immediately that it was yours, that it had
belonged to you during the Silver Millennium. "
	Beryl's henchmen probably stole it from the Earth Palace during the battle
that led to the destruction of Atlantis, Darien thought. He hadn't worn the
ring to that last, fateful dance he had attended at the Moon Palace, not
wanting to be identified as a member of the much-hated Earth Royal Family.
. .
	He put it on the third finger of his left hand, where it would remain
until a wedding band took its place.
	"It's strange, honey. . .I found your last present almost the same way you
found mine. .. Open it."
	She tore off the wrapping, to reveal what looked like a small jewel box.
She flipped the lid open. . .
	As soon as her fingers touched the locket inside, it sprang to life, the
face lighting up, the little moon under the glass revolving, the soft
little tune beginning to play. . .
	Tears sprang to her eyes. She lifted it out, tenderly, cradling it as if
it were a living thing.
	"Darien. . .it's our Star Locket. . .I thought it was lost forever."
	She leaned into him, their arms coming around each other, both of them
touching the locket, their minds filled with the memories of two lifetimes.
Prince Endymion giving Princess Serenity the locket, and her giving it back
to him. . .Tuxedo Mask dropping it down to Sailor Moon in this lifetime. .
.her using it to restore his memory after he'd been brainwashed by Queen
Beryl. . .
	"We'll never lose this locket forever," he whispered. "This locket *is*
our love."
	Still holding onto it like a talisman, they kissed, first sweetly,
tenderly, then letting it get hotter and wetter. Their tongues tangled and
played with each other. . .
	She took her lips from his, kissed his ear, and whispered, "There's still
one more gift for you. Go in the bathroom and get ready for bed. . .you'll
see what it is when you come out."
	He gave her another kiss before going into the little bathroom attached to
the rec room. When he came out, he was wearing nothing but his bathrobe. .
.
	The vision on the bed was wearing even less.
	Serena was lying seductively across the pillows, with a Santa hat on her
head and a large red bow on each breast, and another covering the sweet
secrets between her legs. And that was it.
	"Ooooh," he said. "I think I like this gift most of all."
	"Wanna unwrap it?"
	"There's not much to unwrap, you little minx." He dropped his robe on the
floor and crawled onto the bed next to her, then instantly brought his
mouth crushing down on hers. He brushed the bow away from her left breast,
cupped it in his hand and rubbed his thumb back and forth across the
nipple. She made a low moaning noise in her throat. His tongue sparred and
parried with hers as the other ribbons landed on the floor, and they moved
their bodies into a position where he was rubbing against her, the head of
his manhood brushing back and forth across her jewel. When he took his lips
from hers, both of them groaned.
	He moved down a bit, easing his maleness away from her sweet spot, and his
tongue slid down her neck, on its way down to her breasts. He flicked his
tongue over the right nipple before pulling it in and sucking it, then took
it out of his mouth, rolling his tongue around and around the hardened tip
before beginning to suck again. She cried his name out as she writhed in
pleasure, as his fingers began to explore between her legs while his mouth
switched to the other breast.
	Her breath came in pants as he slipped two fingers deep inside her, then
began moving them in and out, slowly at first, then faster, faster. . .Her
hips moved in time to his stroking, and her head rolled from side to side
as she uttered long, low sounds of desire and pleasure. Oh, Darien, she
thought, that's so, so good. . .oh, baby. . .
	She wanted to share this intense pleasure with him. She slowly eased away
from his hand, his mouth, then rolled him over on his back. She brought her
lips to his again, then began to kiss down to his chest. . .
	"Oh, Serena," he moaned. "Suck my nipples. . .suck them, please. . ."
	"Hmm, you like that, don't you?" she said in her most seductive, teasing
voice. And she let her tongue sweep across his chest, circling around and
around one of his nipples but never quite coming in contact with it. He
moaned in frustration. Finally, she gave him what he wanted, drawing it
into her mouth and sucking hard, and he let out a loud moan, a moan that
only got louder when she grasped his manhood in her hand and started to
stroke it. Then, suddenly, she was gone from his nipple, and she'd moved
down and was drawing his maleness into her sweet, hot little mouth.
	"OOOOHHHH!!!" Darien cried. "OOOOHHHH!! SERENAAA!" He leaned back, wiping
all rational thought from his mind, allowing himself to surrender to total
pleasure. His hands came down to tangle in her endless expanse of silky
blonde hair as she worked her magic on him. He found himself biting the
inside of his cheek, struggling to maintain control so he wouldn't lose it.
. .he wanted to share the peak of pleasure with her.
	He gently pushed up on her head, and she got the signal. She eased her
mouth away and crawled down the bed to get the stocking of condoms.
Retrieving one, she pulled it out of its wrapping and rolled it on him.
Straddling him, she positioned herself so he was right at her entrance. . .
	"I love you, Darien."
	"Oh, baby. . .I love you so much. . ."
	She pushed downward, and they were one. They threw their arms around each
other as she started to move, feeling him move deep within, then coming
out, his manhood kissing her womanhood again and again. . .she leaned over
a bit to maximize the stimulation. The intensity of the pleasure was
overwhelming. . .it flowed from her womanhood in hot waves and spread
throughout her entire body. "Ooohhhhh. . . ." she moaned. "Yes. . .oh, yes.
. ."
	"Are you close to coming, sweetheart?" he whispered.  "Are you almost
there? Come on, baby, let me help you, let me make you feel real good. . ."
	He positioned her so his mouth could suckle on her breasts as she
continued to pump. When she felt his lips tugging at her, his tongue
brushing over and over on the hardened bud, she let out a wail, and her
whole body shook as pleasure flooded every little cell of her being.
	She sagged against him, shuddering as the last spasms shot through her.
Gently, he eased her onto her back, tenderly kissing her lips, then her
breasts. He brought his thumbs to her nipples, caressing them as he began
to thrust again, and she felt the fires within her stoked into new life.
Her hips began to rise to meet his every thrust. He reveled in the hot
sensations that were building and building, the sensations that were such
sweet, sweet agony. His ears were filled with his Serena's cries of
passion, and it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard.
	Then, he knew he couldn't hold out much longer, and he began to thrust
faster and harder, and she felt the pleasure exploding within her again.
"OOOHHH, DAAARIEN!" she cried as the climax broke, and he answered her cry
with one of his own as his orgasm was upon him.
	He fell down next to her, and they clung to each other, panting and making
soft sounds as the last of their shudders faded away. Their lips met in a
last long, deep kiss.
	"Merry Christmas, my love," she whispered.
	"Merry Christmas, my darling."
	As they snuggled into each other's arms to go to sleep, Darien reached
over to turn on the alarm clock so she could be back in her bedroom before
her parents rose. He ended up turning on the radio instead, and the sound
of soft Christmas carols filled the room. This was the sound that, in the
past, he'd wanted so much to drown out. Now, his heart was singing along
with the choir.
	And with his ears filled with "Joy to the World," his arms filled with
Serena, and a smile on his lips, he fell asleep.	

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Standard Sailor Moon disclaimers apply. These characters
ain't mine, I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

Having Darien give Serena the Star Locket was inspired by "A Winter
Evening," a beautiful story by my honorary "little brother," Mark Berger.
If you haven't read this romantic, sensual story, you owe it to yourself to
do so!

This story is a milestone for me: not only is it the finale of my Christmas
series, but it also marks the one-year anniversary of the publication of my
first story, "Soul of Fire." I never dreamed back then that my stories
would be as successful as they were! A lot of great things have happened to
me over the past year, but by far, the best thing has been making so many
wonderful friends. Love to you all, especially the Lemon Tree crew (Mark,
Sonya, Kenton, Yohann, Galos, Jeffrey, Sally and Mandy). You're the
inspiration! A million thanks also to Artemis and Luna, who have been my
strong supporters since Day One.

And so, Sailor Mac says. . .Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!