PICTURE-PERFECT
A Sailor Moon Lemon

by Sailor Mac
	"How do you like it, baby?"
	Serena looked anxiously at Darien as he sampled the contents of the plate
she'd put before him, her first try at really complex cooking. She'd come
such a long way since her first fumbling attempts in the kitchen-while she
still wasn't quite as good a cook as Lita, her confidence had increased a
thousandfold, and she was turning out tasty dishes for both her family and
Darien on a regular basis.
	"Fabulous," he said. "And I'm not just saying that, either, Serena. It's
really, really good. Taste some yourself."
	Serena did so, and beamed with happiness. "Oh, it's even better than I'd
hoped it would come out!"
	He raised his wineglass toward her. "To my Serena, whose cooking is just
as luscious as she is."
	She clinked her own glass of sparkling mineral water against his. "To us."
	It's so wonderful just to spend a quiet, romantic evening together, he
thought. I'm not getting any nasty Negavibes-haven't for a few days, as a
matter of fact. It's an oasis of calm. . .
	She was talking on and on about something funny Mina did, a fight she'd
had with Sammy that morning, a dress she'd seen in a store window that she
had her eye on and couldn't afford. . .He drank in every smile, every
laugh, every change of facial expression.
	Beautiful little Serena, he thought, did I ever know what happiness was
until you came into my life?
	"I think there's one thing missing from this dinner," he said.
	She looked up, concerned. "What?"
	"Mood music."
	"Oh, I'll take care of that." She got up from the table. "You just take it
easy, Muffin, and leave everything to me. . ."
	Serena began to flip through his CDs, knowing exactly what she was looking
for. Start off with a little New Age music, segue into Celine Dion, and
then, to make the mood a bit spicier. . .Enigma's "Sadeness." She stacked
the CDs atop his stereo and switched the sound system on. . .and knocked
one of the discs behind the entertainment center. "Oh, poop," she said,
reaching behind the furniture to retrieve the dropped item. . .
	And then, her hand encountered something that felt like a huge, slim
briefcase. She drew it out. It was a leather portfolio with a handle and a
zipper.
	"Hey, what's this?"
	"What's what?"
	"This." She brought it into the dining room.
	"It's my modeling portfolio."
	"Wicked cool! Oh, we *have* to look at it after dinner!"
	The sight of the thing stirred memories in him. . .memories that weren't
all pleasant. Oh, well, he thought, no harm in having her look at it.
	After the last of the meal was eaten and the dishes were stacked in the
dishwasher, they sat on the living room couch together, steaming mugs of
coffee in their hands.
	"Okay," she said, unzipping the portfolio, "let's see what we have here."
She opened the cover, and her eyes encountered a gaspingly gorgeous picture
of Darien in a three-piece suit, sitting alone in what looked like a
theater balcony. "Oh, wow!" she exclaimed.
	"One of the first ads I posed for," he said. "It was for a department
store's spring catalog."
	She flipped the page, and saw two black-and-white photos of him in cowboy
gear in a barn. The next one was of him in a tennis outfit, pretending to
return a serve.
	"You look so. . .so. . ."
	"Glamorous? Believe me, it's *not* a glamorous profession, Serena. It's a
lot of standing around doing nothing as the photographers and their
assistants fuss and fuss over the setting. It's getting up at 4 in the
morning because you have a shoot at sunrise. And it's having to go without
snacks and treats, and living on salads."
	"Yuk!" she said. "I mean, I like salad, but *all the time. . .*"
	She flipped through more pages. Darien in casual dress, in a
preppy-looking sweater-and-chinos ensemble. . .and yes, there was a picture
of him in a tuxedo. . .
	And then, she came upon a picture that absolutely made her suck in her
breath. He was lying on his stomach on a satin-covered bed, holding a wine
goblet. . .and wearing nothing on top. And he was giving the camera a
seductive look. . .
	"Oh, Muffin. . .this is. . ." Then, she noticed he was looking away from
the book, a funny look on his faceas if the picture triggered a painful
memory. "Darien? What's wrong?"
	"Just something in my past. . ."
	"What is it?" She rubbed his back. "Is it something you want to talk about?"
	"No," he said, quickly - too quickly. "It's something I'd rather forget about."
 "Come on, honey, you can tell me anything. . .anything at all."
	He looked at her. The pure love shining from her eyes, that look of
absolute trust. . .maybe, he thought, the best thing for me would be to
unburden myself. . .I can trust her.	
	He took a deep breath. "Okay. . .I'll tell you. It's the story of the
incident that ended my modeling career. . ."
* * *
	"You said this is a special assignment, Susan?" Darien said to Susan
Petrie. The beautiful woman with long, long brown hair was one of the top
photographers in the business, and she'd worked with him extensively.
	"Yes. I want you to pose for an ad for crystal. . .a very unique ad. We're
going to use the old adage that sex sells."
	"For crystal?"
	"You'd be surprised at some of the things that are sold with sexy ads. Now
this is what I want you to do. . ." She led him to the set, which consisted
of a satin-covered bed against a cream-colored wall.
	The sight of it made Darien somewhat uneasy. Relax, he told himself. It's
just another photo shoot with Susan, just like you've done a hundred times
before. . .
	"Take off your shirt," she said. "Lie on your stomach. . .now take the
glass in your hand. . ."
	"Susan," he said, "aren't you working with a crew for this shoot?"
	"No, I don't need one. It's such a simple picture. Now I want you to look
at the camera as if it were the most beautiful woman you ever saw, and you
want to lure her into your bed. . ."
	Oh, Darien knew who he would be thinking of. The girl he saw in his
dreams, who filled his fantasies. He'd never met her, but he knew, just
*knew,* that she was his destiny, that she was the only woman he'd ever
love. . .
	"Ooh, that's *real* nice," Susan said as she began to click. "You must
have some imagination, Darien."
	It's not imagination, he thought. I don't have to call on imagination to
make her appear in my mind. She's always with me, as part of my very being.
She's half of my soul. . .Beautiful princess of my dreams, when, oh when
will we meet face-to-face? I cannot wait to make you a part of my life. . .
	"Let's take a break, shall we?" Susan put down the camera. "Darien, are
you okay? You look kind of lost in your own world."
	"I'm fine."
	"I know that modeling can be a drag," she said, sitting beside him and
rubbing his shoulder (he felt a sudden pang of fear. . .). "I did it myself
once. I understand what you're going through, Darien. But you have to stick
with it, because you have something that no other model does. It's a
quality I can only define as. . .magic."
	She continued to rub his shoulder, moving her hand down to his back. . .
	"Darien. . .have you ever made love to an older woman?"
	Now he was really tense. "No. And I have no plans to."
	"Why? You and I would be very good together. We understand each other. I
could make your career explode, Darien. I could take you places you never
dreamed of being. . .both with your career, and. . ." She suddenly grabbed
his head in her hands and crushed her mouth against his.
	Oh, GODS! he thought. Stop, please stop, this is wrong, this is. . .
	He yanked away from her. "NO!"
	"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you."
	"I'm not afraid! I'm angry! I will NEVER betray her, and how dare you try
to make me!"
	Susan laughed. "Her? Oh, give me a break, Darien. I know you don't have a
girlfriend."
	"I do! I mean, I will. . .I mean. . ."
	"Stop giving me lame excuses! You're just rejecting me, aren't you? You
think I'm not good enough for you!"
	"Susan, it's not that, it's. . .I can't explain."
	"You can't explain because you're just giving me the brush-off! Well,
fine! We'll see what happens to your career now!"
	"Maybe I don't *want* to be a model if it means having to sleep my way to
the top!" he shouted. "Maybe I have a bit more integrity than that!"
	"I am *very* disappointed in you, Darien Chiba."
	"Not as disappointed as I am in you." He grabbed his shirt and stalked out
of the studio. It was the last time he would work as a photographer's
model.
* * *
	"Susan sent me a copy of the picture," he said. "I stuck it in the back of
my portfolio, shoved the whole thing behind my stereo and forgot about it.
I will never, never do that kind of thing again."
	She was quiet for a moment. "The princess of your dreams. . .it was me?"
	"Yes, yes it was. I had visions of you all the time, or rather, you as you
were in the Silver Millennium. My whole life was an obsessive quest to be
reunited with you. I loved you with all my heart before I set eyes on you.
. .then, when we finally met, when you bounced that test paper off my head,
I was so overwhelmed with emotion that it scared me. I didn't realize at
first that you were my princess. I just knew you were the most amazing
person that I ever met, that you made me feel like no one did before. . ."
	"And it scared the hell out of you," she said, remembering a story he had
told her one rainy Sunday.
	"At first. But when all the pieces fell into place, when I realized that
Serena, Sailor Moon and my Princess were one and the same, I was
overwhelmed with happiness. I'd finally found what I'd been searching for
all my life. . ."
	He pulled her close. "Oh, Darien," she sighed as she snuggled into his
chest. Then, she lifted her head. . .
	"Darien, when did that happen?"
	"Last April. Why?"
	"I remember a day last April, when I was sitting in class, and suddenly, I
got this funny chill. I couldn't explain it. And a thought kept running
through my head that the man I loved was in trouble, and I remember
thinking back, 'What do you mean? I don't even have a boyfriend!' I think.
. .I think I was sensing what was happening to you."
	"Oh, sweetheart. . .I'm sure you were. We have that psychic link that lets
us know when the other one is in danger. . .we've had it since the Silver
Millenium."
	They held each other close, contemplating this. Even before they had met
face-to-face in this lifetime, their minds were meeting and touching, they
were reaching out for each other. . .
	Serena felt overwhelmed with wonder and love. She was also starting to
feel sexy. . .
	She found her lips touching the hollow of his throat, then working upward.
. .			"Darien. . .I think you have a spot of sauce on your neck. . ." She
leaned over, and he felt her tongue sweep all the way up his neck and into
his mouth. He gasped at the assault, pulling her tightly toward him as the
French kiss went on and on. When they finally broke, both were totally
breathless.
	"Wow," he said. "You are something else, Serena. No wonder I love you."
	"Wanna show me how much?" She took his hand and led it to her chest.
	"Why, you little minx." He pulled her closer, kissing her hard and deep,
his hand moving over her clothed breasts. Gathering her up in his arms, he
lifted her from the couch as if she were light a a feather and carried her
toward the bedroom.
	He deposited her on the bed, brought his mouth to hers for another hard
and wet kiss, then pulled away for a second. "I've got another picture to
show you," he whispered. He opened his bureau drawer and took out a photo
of Serena posing on the couch in a silky, sexy nightgown. "Remember this?"
	She giggled. "I 'modeled' for you. That was the night we went home
together after karaoke. . .the first time I. . ." she blushed a bit. . .
"made love to you with my mouth."
	"I keep this picture where I can look at it whenever I want. . .unlike my
modeling portfolio, which I keep hidden away. Because there's nothing
connected to this picture but good memories and love. . ."
	A wicked smile spread across her face. "From the looks of this. . ." she
rested her hand on his crotch. . . "they're *very* good memories."
	"Hmm. Want to make some more memories?" He began to unbutton her blouse.
	"Enough memories to fill a whole photo album," she whispered, before
bringing her lips to his.
	Their mouths clashed, caressed, their tongues teasing and dancing. He
finished undoing her buttons, pushed the fabric off her chest. She rolled
away from him and dropped her garments to the floor, one by one, running
her tongue along her lips as a tantalizing hint of what was to come as she
unbound her "meatballs" and let the long golden waves of hair tumble over
her shoulders. He stripped off his own clothing as well, then they melded
their bodies together, moaning in pleasure at the feel of flesh on flesh.
He kissed her lips again and again, but his mouth was soon hungry for a
different flavor of sweetness. . .He cupped a breast in his hand, rubbing
his thumb over the nipple, getting her ready for his eager lips. When he
lowered his head and began suckling on the hardened tip, she stretched her
whole body and let out a long, low feline purr.
	"Darien," she moaned. "Oh, Darien, that feels good. . .I love you. . ."
	"Mmmm. . ." He sucked hungrily, feeling he would never get enough of the
taste, the texture, of her delicious nipples. He only lifted his head to
sample the delights of the other breast.
	"Baby. . ." she whispered. "Please. . .I want a counting lesson."
	Now *that* was the only thing that he'd want to stop feasting on her
nipples for. "Mmm. . ." he said. "Seems to me you don't need any lessons,
my little minx. You've learned to 'count' quite well."
	"Yes, but. . .I could still use a refresher course."
	"So could I." He rolled on his back, and she positioned herself above him,
her legs straddling his head, her lips kissing his lower stomach, working
her way down. . .She reached his manhood and quickly swirled her tongue
around the head, feeling him shudder in response. He pulled her hips down
toward him, his tongue probing between her soft, sweet folds, licking at
her eagerly, tasting the honey that was beginning to flow faster and
faster. . .Her lips surrounded his manhood, pulling him in, moving in and
out, in and out. . .He flicked his tongue upward, seeking his ultimate
goal, the little nub that would send her to paradise when properly loved
and caressed. Ah, here it was, swollen and hot and just waiting for him. .
.He ran his tongue around it, then began lapping it with eager strokes. Her
mouth tightened around him in response, and she began sucking harder,
moving faster. . .His lips began gently sucking her jewel, and she felt the
hot explosion within her as she flew over the edge of insanity. She
shrieked her pleasure in her throat as her mouth worked harder and harder
on his manhood. . .
	But Darien didn't want to come in her mouth. He had other plans. As her
last spasms faded, he pushed lightly upward on Serena's shoulders,
encouraging her to lift up off him. . .
	"Take a rubber," he said, "and put it on me. Then I'm going to go in you
any way you want and I'm going to make you scream."
	She was in the nighttable drawer quick as a flash, pulling the rubber out
of its foil wrapping and unrolling it in her hand. Somehow, rolling it on
him always seemed so erotic. . .like it were part of the foreplay, not just
a precaution.
	"Sit up," she whispered, "against the headboard." He did so, and she
straddled him, holding a breast out to him as she impaled herself on his
member. He drew the hardened tip into his mouth as she began to move on
him, taking him deeper and deeper, moaning her pleasure as she felt herself
envelop him. "Darien, Darien, my love, my love," she said in a voice that
was halfway between a husky moan and a sigh.
	His tongue flicked at her nipple, again and again, as his fingers stroked
and gently pinched the other one. . .Her movements were driving him near
insanity, he didn't know how much longer he could hold out. . .Then,
suddenly, her body jerked, and his promise to her was fulfilled-she let out
a long, keening scream as hot pleasure roared through her in waves. The
last of his resolve broke, and he was filled with white heat as he released
himself.
	Their lips met in a tender kiss, a reluctant farewell to the beautiful
insanity, before they tumbled to the bed, side-by-side. He didn't want to
pull out of her,he wanted to stay inside her all night, but reluctantly,
he broke the connection and disposed of the condom.
	"My dream princess," he whispered. "The reality of you is so much better
than the visions and fantasies."
	"And you're sexier than you ever looked in any photo," she said. "I love you."
	"I love you too, sweetheart."
	The sight of them curled up together, snuggled close as they fell asleep,
was one that would have warmed even the toughest, hardest heart. You might
say that it was picture perfect.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story is dedicated to Jennifer Wand, a terrific person
and a terrific writer. Few writers can bring the Sailor Moon universe to
life quite as vividly as her. I know you've been through some tough times
lately, Jen - hang on in there, and know that you've always got friends.

Mega-mega thanks, as always, to my pre-reader, dear friend, and MSTing
partner, Mark Berger, another one of the finest Sailor Moon authors out
there; to the creators, builders and maintainers of the Sailor Mac Shrine,
Jeffrey, Sally, and Zero Wizard (the page is located at
http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/bay/8344); and to Artemis and Luna, who have
never failed in their enthusiasm and support for my works.

Thanks, also, to Naoko Takeuchi for sharing her beautiful dreams with the
world, and to DIC for bringing that dream to America. Yes, I know a lot of
people like to bash the dub, but if it wasn't for DIC, most of us would
never even have *heard* of Sailor Moon!

Coming Soon: "Moon and Rose: The World of Romantic Sailor Moon Hentai," a
web page that Mark Berger and I are collaborating on that will include
fanfics and fanfic reviews.