Two Minutes to Midnight by bernadette. contact: bunni@comic.com Rating: G This is my first fan fic. This story takes in an alternate universe where there is no Rini or outer scouts or a Crystal Tokyo. There is no crystal or scouts. Just Darien & his princess Serena. This is told in Darien's point of view. Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are not mine and you may not agree with my story line or plot but this isn't your story so you can't really make me change it. Enjoy the story. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> -Two Minutes to Midnight- 2 minutes. 120 seconds. 120 seconds until the world collapses, and I'm stuck here. I sit on a hillside, remembering and contemplating, regretting and wondering. There were so many things I wanted to do. So many things I wanted to see. I am still so young, and my world ends...in two minutes. I look up at the stars. Odd, how the air pollution and my own inner thoughts faded my vision from so many of life's little miracles. The sound of a child laughing gleefully as she rode about like a princess upon her father's broad shoulders. That single flower that grew out of the snow last winter that l accidentally stepped on. I was stupid enough not to consider these. I was immersed in my own thoughts. Getting from Point A to Point B and getting the job done. Neatly or sloppily; well-thought in a matter of weeks or in the wee hours of morning, with an empty cup of coffee and my jumbled masses of thoughts being the only thing accompanying me. I never took time to consider the lives of others. The people I could have helped. The inner joy I could have brought to myself. The things that could have lit up my day, tossed aside in yesterday's garbage. But it is not too late to remedy one thing. I check my watch. 30 seconds. 30 seconds to think all of that? My, how time flies by so fast. 30 seconds, left in the dust, thinking nothing but gibberish that will really help me when I reach my final destination. In the yesterdays gone past, I would have thought 30 seconds of nothing but a hindrace. 30 seconds more until l climbed into bed and slept until tomorrow morning. 30 stupid seconds. And it is only now, I realize how important 30 seconds is. I check my watch again. 45 seconds have gone past. l spent 15 seconds thinking nothing but more gibberish. It is time to remedy one thing. l turn on my side. l turn to her, my lone companion, as silent as still as she will ever be. Things haven't been too good between us for the past few days. Yeah, we get into fights and so-so, but this one had really hurt her bad. She felt as if she was betrayed. I felt as if someone had ripped a hole in my heart. I felt hollow without her. Incomplete. Void. As I looked into her eyes, I took the precious time to actually notice her. I had looked into her eyes many times before, but the fog had always parted us. As close as I had let her get, she was still a million miles away. I noticed her eyes, as if it were the very first time. "Eyes are the windows to the soul," she had once softly reminded me. I had shrugged it off with a usual "Mmm-hmm." But this time, this first and yet last time, I noticed her eyes. They were so...beautiful. So intense. Focused. Piercing. Yet, so kind. Gentle. Understanding. Even a little hesitant and shy. A quick side glance to my watch. A precious minute. 60 more seconds to do what I had to do. "Hey." I said. "Yeah?" she said. It was awful. Terrible. Horrible. I even recoiled in disgust. For the last minute of our lives, this was our last conversation? No. Heck no. I was going to change it. I had made mistakes in the past. Dreadful mistakes. But this last minute, I was going to make it count. "Do you know I love you?" I asked. She looked at me with surprise evident in her eyes. I guess it was the way I said it. In the past, I said it because I felt obliged to. I had to, in a way. I was dull. My voice was rid of all emotions. But this time...well, I guess I said it with force. Sincerity. Maybe even a little passionate. "I-" she started. But I stopped her. "Sssshhh. Don't think. Act." I comforted her quietly. It was something she would have said. I slid closer to her and wrapped my arms around her, letting her head rest on my shoulder. I consoled her quietly, in silent words that spoke volumes. One minute and thirty seconds had passed. We remained in that pose, as the remaining seconds rushed by. I felt our heartbeats join. They pounded as one. And I was ever glad to feel that. A lone man, a street urchin, turned up his radio. I still clung to her. I didn't want to let her go. But in about three seconds, I realized, sooner or later, I must let her go. I had to. She had her own life. She had to spread her wings and fly. I could not hold her back forever. I know guys are sometimes a little shaky about showing their true emotions. But I let my tears flow free and I clutched her tightly. Not yet,I wanted to cry. But it was almost time. An old saying from an old friend popped into my mind. "If good things lasted forever, how would there be any time to appreciate them?" This 'friend' was from a comic strip. I forgot which one, but oh, that saying silenced my doubts and quieted my fears. I finally released her. I let my hands slide from their embrace, but I still looked at her, fire and ice in my eyes. I leaned forward and kissed her. A split second shock-and she leaned into me. I heard the lone man count off the seconds until she spread her wings and flew. "Fly, fly, and never look back," my heart ached. Five... Four... Three... Two... You know that part where time slows down just as a catastrophe is about to happen? Well, I guess that was what happened. To me, at least. Like that scene from the movie "Armageddon" -where Bruce Willis closes his eyes and sees the final flashbacks of his daughter running across a field, but it only lasted for a split second- that was what happened to me. I saw an image of me and her. She had found out I was alive, and we were running- running- and then she leapt into my arms and I held her tight and we kissed our first kiss. I opened my eyes. I wasn't ready. There was pain in my eyes, panic in hers. The last words I heard were from that lone man's radio. I was comforted. I was consoled. I gave her one last squeeze as the final second rung out. I found inner peace, at last. What people have been striving to do for centuries, I found within the last second of my life. "I've got all I've waited for... And I couldn't ask for more." Silence. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> Send any comments, critisism, anything to bunni@comic.com or visit my little cyber world @ http://b-toms.tripod.com and see my sad little world. ps. Don't Copy This Story