CHERISH A Sailor Moon Lemon Written for Valentine's Day '98, but readable anytime. . . by Sailor Mac PROLOGUE: The Silver Millennium Lady Bertis was breathing heavily and sweating as she flew into the office of Queen Serenity. She'd run much further and much faster than her ample form could usually take. But this news was much too important to keep from Her Highness. . . The queen was at her desk, quietly going over some papers. She looked up quizzically as her aide burst into the room as if the Furies were chasing her. "Bertis! What is it?" "It's horrible, my queen, it's simply horrible. You *must* put a stop to it. . ." "Put a stop to what?" "Down by the river. . .your daughter. . .and that. . .that prince from Earth. . ." "Yes, they went off together this morning. I know." "You don't know what they are doing! I saw them. . .they were naked. . .she was lying on her back, and he had his head between her. . .between her. . ." Serenity seemed nonplused. "And was my daughter enjoying it?" "Enjoying it? You could have heard her moaning and shrieking five planets away!" "Well, then, I don't see the problem." "WHAT! You don't see the PROBLEM? This is your DAUGHTER we're talking about here! She's giving herself up to. . ." "She's giving herself to the man she loves, which is a beautiful and natural thing to do. Now you stay out of their business, Bertis, or I will have you removed from my palace! Is that clear?" The other woman left the queen's office in a huff. Serenity stood up and slowly went over to the door, closing it behind her. She was so happy that her daughter had found true love with the prince from Earth. She thought he was a wonderful match for her. Then why did she have these dark fears, these feelings that they would never see their wedding day. . . I have to protect their future, she thought. I have to be sure that no matter what befalls them in this life, they will be together forever. . . She went into Serena's bedroom, where she knew what she would find on the pillow-her daughter's blonde hairs, and the prince's black ones. She knew that he'd been sneaking into the princess' bedchamber late at night. She'd heard their love talk, their whispers, their sighs and moans. And she'd just smiled to herself, pulled up her covers, and gone to sleep. Serenity swept up the precious strands and took them back to her office, where her crystal moon wand was. She twisted the hairs together and wrapped them around the crescent, then held the wand high. "Hear me, all benevolent forces of the universe!" she said. "As their hairs are bound together on my wand, may their hearts be bound together throughout all eternity! No matter what may befall them in this life or the next, may they always find their comfort and love in each other. As I will, so it is, and so it shall be." She lowered the wand, staring out the window, imagining them in each other's arms out there. . . "Be happy always, my children," she whispered. "Be happy." * * * TODAY "Valentine's Day? You mean tomorrow is Valentine's Day? AAAUUGGHH! I forgot!" Serena was trying to keep up with her much-taller friend Lita as they hurried down the street together on their way home from school. "You've never had anyone to do Valentine's Day with before, have you?" Lita asked. "Never. Darien's my first." "Well, take it from me, it's not always what it's cracked up to be. You sit and wait and wait for the romantic phone call, the bouquet of flowers, and they never come. Unless, of course, he remembers at the last minute that it's Valentine's Day, and then you get stuck with the last weeds they had in the flower shop. . ." "Lita! Darien's not like that! It's *me* that's going to end up disappointing *him*! What do I do for him? I haven't got time to learn how to cook any more dinners, and he's already seen my one sexy nightgown-I can't go spend all my allowance on another one!" "Well, I could always lend you one of mine." "HA! Me squeeze these hippo hips into one of your nightgowns? As if!" "Well, you could always go to him wearing nothing but Saran Wrap. . ." "AAAUUGGHH! Lita! Be serious!" "I am being serious!" "There's got to be some money at the bottom of this purse somewhere," said Serena, frantically scrambling around in her bag. "Maybe I can find a store that's having pre-Valentine's Day lingerie clearance sales. . .Hey!" She held up her disguise pen. "Uh-oh," said Lita. "Don't go there, girlfriend." "And why not? I change myself into some gorgeous centerfold model/stripper. I go to his apartment. I put the moves on him. He begs for mercy because he doesn't want to be unfaithful to his girlfriend. . .Then I reveal that it was me all along. And he'll have seen a side of me that he never suspected existed before, and it will drive him mad with passion. . ." "I don't like it," said Lita. "What if he doesn't object to being seduced by another woman?" "Oh, he'll object. You'll see." Lita shook her head. "Good luck, kiddo. For your sake, I hope you're right. . ." * * * Taking a deep breath, Serena pressed the buzzer for Darien's apartment. He buzzed her right in without asking-he was expecting her. That is, she thought, he's expecting plain old everyday Serena. . . She ducked into a corner of the corridor and raised the pen over her head. "Disguise power! Change me into a hot centerfold babe!" She felt the transformation taking place, but wasn't quite sure what was happening. . .When she was done, she yearned for a full-length mirror. She took her compact out of her purse and glimpsed her face, and she gasped. She looked like a supermodel. . .except supermodels usually weren't that busty! The transformation had dressed her in a black lace catsuit which hugged and showed off every dangerous curve. "Wow!" she said. "Just WOW!" Just then, he opened his door and leaned out into the hall. "Serena?" Getting into character, she strutted down the hall and came to a halt in front of him. "Looking for someone?" she said in her most seductive voice. "My girlfriend." "Honey, what do you need her for when you have me?" She pushed him back into the apartment, closed the door behind them, grabbed him in her arms and crushed her mouth against his. She felt his whole body tense with shock, then start to loosen up and relax. . . On and on and on the kiss went. She was unusually aggressive, pushing her tongue deep into his mouth, letting her teeth nibble on his bottom lip, sucking on his tongue. . .He made a low noise in his throat and pulled her even closer, answering her kiss for kiss, bite for bite. . . Now, she thought. Now he's going to pull away and beg me to stop, he can't be unfaithful to his girlfriend. . . But he didn't. Instead, he ran his tongue along her cheek and up into her ear, making her stir and moan loudly-her ears were always a "hot button" zone. His breath was coming hot and fast, scorching her face and neck. . .She started to get incredibly turned on-but also a bit worried. He brought his lips back to hers again as his hands sought out her lace-covered breasts. She felt him squeeze and pull, and her nipples hardened under his eager touch. . .He brought his head down and began licking her nipple through the fabric. Oh, Gods, this is so wonderful. . .but so horrible, too. . .When is he going to beg me to stop? When is he going to say that he can't be unfaithful to his Serena? But he did no such thing. Instead, he was starting to slide the straps of the catsuit down her arms, baring her breasts for more action. . .He took them in both hands, kneading, caressing. She felt herself responding, her legs spreading, her hips moving up and down, the upper half of her body arching upward, begging him for more. . . He's got to stop soon. . .he's just got to. . .oh, Darien, please don't destroy my faith in you . . . When his lips fastened on her nipple and his hand snaked into her catsuit to find the treasures within, she writhed and moaned-until realization dawned on her. He'd crossed the line between "faithful" and "unfaithful." He wasn't going to stop. He was fully intending to go all the way with another woman. . . With a shriek of revulsion and horror, she pushed him away from her. Bursting into tears, she pulled up the straps of her catsuit, threw herself on the couch, curled into a little ball, and started to cry. "Hey! What's the matter? How come you stopped?" "I don't want to anymore. Lita was right-all men are swine." "There's no need for you to be so upset-Serena." She looked up at him. "You knew it was me all along?" "Sure did. I wouldn't have touched you if I didn't." "But. . .how did you see through my disguise?" "All I have to do is look in the eyes of the woman I love and I'll recognize her, no matter what the rest of her body looks like. You could have transformed yourself into a dumpy midget, I'd still recognize you as my Serena, and I'd still love you." "Darien!" She threw herself into his arms. They held each other as close as they could, feeling their hearts beat as one. My love, my wonderful love, she thought. How could I ever doubt you. . . "Now as fetching as I find all this," he said, "I still prefer my Meatball Head. Let's get that little stick of yours and change you back. . ." He reached down into her purse and retrieved her disguise pen. She resumed her normal form. "Now that's more like it," he said. "Only. . ." "Only what?" "You're wearing far too many clothes now." "I can take care of that easily." Reaching up, she began to unbutton her blouse. It soon fell to the floor, followed by her skirt, stockings, and underwear. With a big sigh, he took her in his arms. "What a vision. . .Gods, I don't think I knew what beauty was until the first time I saw you naked." "Oh, my love. . ." She brought her mouth to his, and their lips caressed each other. When they broke for air, she whispered, "I want to see you, too." Together, they rid him of all those unnecessary scraps of fabric. She pulled him to her, reveling in his bare skin brushing against hers. Warm me with your body. Warm me, and I'll never feel cold again. . . He picked her up. "I think we'll be more comfortable in the bedroom. I want to lie you out on the bed where I can feast my eyes on every inch of you. . .before I devour you." She shuddered with desire, holding him closer. "Oh, yes, devour me. Make me a part of you." "You always have been," he replied. He laid her out gently on the bed, and, as he'd promised, the first thing he'd done was step back and look her over, head to toe. Then, he leaned over her, kissing her lips lightly, almost reverently. Then, the devouring began. He ran his tongue down her neck, down to her breasts, where he picked up where he'd left off before. He circled her nipple, running it over the pink area again and again before bringing his lips where she wanted them most. As his mouth gently tugged on her, she squirmed beneath him, moaning his name again and again. Then he was moving across, repeating the same wonderful thing on her other breast. . .and she began longing for something more, something more. . . She found herself pushing his head down, forcing him to go where she *really* wanted him. But he took his own sweet time moving downward, licking in long zigzags back and forth across her stomach. . . "Darien! Hurry up! Please! I want it. . ." "Ssshh, my sweet. Good things come to those who wait." And he continued to move downward inch by agonizing inch. . . Then, she felt his hot breath against her nether lips, and she jerked her hips upward. Yes, I want that, I want that. . .And then he was kissing her, kissing her lips below with the same love and tenderness as he did her lips above. She thought she was going to shriek with joy. And his tongue was stroking her, stroking her in long, slow, lazy laps. . .Without warning, he thrust it up inside her, hard, and she cried out. In and out he moved it, tasting the sweetness deep within, the sweetness that to him was more intoxicating than wine. . . Both of them were flooded with a sudden flash of memory. They were lying by a babbling brook, under the bright sunlight, so long, long ago, and he was doing the same thing to her that he was doing now. . . Gods, all those centuries without drinking in her honey. . .I felt like I'd been in a desert my whole life the first time I slaked my thirst for her in this lifetime. . . He moved his mouth upward to the hot little gem that was the center of her being. Gently, gently, always keeping in mind how sensitive it was, he took it in his lips and sucked. With a cry, she moved upward, straining against him as he feasted on her. The orgasm was building rapidly within her, and it would take just one little thing to set it off. . .When he thrust his fingers inside her, the dam broke. "I love you. . .I love you!" she cried as she ground herself against him. He stayed with her until her trembling stilled. Then, he came back up to her, kissing her lips ever-so-softly. "I would rather feast on you," he whispered, "than lobster, filet mignon, and caviar." "Oh, baby," she whispered. "You're so good to me. . ." "I'm good to you because I love you. I'll always love you. I feel like there's some silken cord, hundreds of centuries old, binding our souls together. . ." "I feel the same way." She let a hand wander down his body, feeling his strong chest, his washboard stomach. . .and then she came across something *very* intriguing. "Hmmm. Your friend here seems to be standing at full attention, like a solder. . ." "Well, we can't let him get 'at ease,' can we?" He reached over to the bedside table for a condom, which he applied with haste. "Now, then, how are we going to handle this situation? Me on top? You? Or perhaps side-by-side?" "I want you to go as deep inside me as you possibly can." "Then we can do it like this. . ." He pulled her legs up and over his shoulders. "Comfortable?" "Mmmmm. . ." "Then let me fill you, my love. . ." He leaned over and kissed her lips before entering her body. She moaned deeply at the penetration, as she always did. Oh, it was so wonderful to become one flesh, one being with him. . .He was in all the way now, and oh, was he deep. . .she felt like he was penetrating her all the way up to the heart. Then, he was moving, slowly at first, then faster, faster, and he seemed to be going further and further into her with each thrust. . . .Her head was spinning, her mouth was wide open, her breath was coming in rapid gasps. . . "That good, honey?" he said. "Ohh gods yes. . .don't stop. . .please. . .don't. . .ever. . .OOOHHH!!!" She was getting ready to climax, her hot, honeyed walls gripping him, trying to hold him in there forever. . .Then, the whole world flew off its axis, and she screamed his name as her hips pumped frantically, and the hot explosion touched off an answering climax in him. Dazed, spent, he dropped to the bed beside her, holding her close as their breathing and heartbeats slowed, the trembling in their limbs stilled. "Happy Valentine's Day, my love," he whispered. "Happy Valentine's Day. I love you." I don't care if he gives me trinkets or candy, she thought. He gives me his love, and that's enough. . . Then, she felt something drop onto the pillow beside her, and she knew he had indeed given her a love gift, a gift that was so very, very much *him*. A single, long-stemmed red rose. "You are my destiny I can't let go, baby, can't you see Cupid, please take your aim at me! Cherish the thought of always having you here by my side Oh, baby, I cherish the joy you keep bringing into my life Cherish the strength, you've got the power to make me feel good Perish the thought of ever leaving, I never would. . . . Keep bringin' me joy, my boy, I will always cherish you." AUTHOR NOTES: The concluding lyrics are from "Cherish" by Madonna and Patrick Leonard. (These Madonna songs are getting to be a regular feature of my fics. . .maybe we should make her an honorary Scout). Standard Sailor Moon disclaimers apply-these characters ain't mine, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. DEDICATIONS: This fic is dedicated to Jennifer A. Wand. We've never met, in person or online, but her Tuxedo Mask Shrine Web page has been a HUGE source of inspiration to me in my literary efforts. Romantics of all stripes just HAVE to check out her HUGE collection of some of the most gorgeous, romantic, sexy Darien/Serena pics ever published. Her page is at http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/eponine/tux/tuxedo.html I'd also like to dedicate this to Artemis and Luna, who have been absolutely outstanding with their support and encouragement. Couldn't have done it without ya, guys. . .