Title: Desire Within Two Hearts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Authors: Yes, by two authors! One very well known and fantastic author by the name of.... (Drum roll please) the fantastic, amazing, who should be a professional writer GOLDSTAR!!!! Then there's the puny not very good at all writer me, Kell!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh, come off it Kell, there's a bunch of writers that are way better than I am, including you! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Emails: For Kell: sailorkell@usa.net and for GoldStar: goldstar@eternalmoon.zzn.com Now, if you really want to make us super-dupper happy email both of us! Even if it's the dreaded F word, FLAMES! On second thought you can email GoldStar them! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Oh, thanks Kell, give me all the flames!! Just e-mail them to both of us, or whomever you want to, k? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AN: All right, it's me Kell, and I'm making them short! Thanks Fifi, Tif, SailorHeartache, everybody from SMRFF, Midnight2050, Jlala, my editors, you know who you are!!!! Of course I thank GoldStar, that's a given! Wow, I'm done!! Oh, can't forget Miri or Kelly either!! Also thanks goes to Akira just for being a major good bud!! Now, here's GoldStar! Let's see who has the shorter author notes, shall we? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AN: Ok, I'd like to thank Sftbal1295, my editor and one of my best online friend who keeps arguing with me about Darien, Deedlit7 who inspired me to keep on writing, Freckles, a newly found friend, cknight09, Darien/tuxedo mask, Sailor Tampa, Sailor Swiftheart, Merlinkity, sailormoon1201, and, of course, my *dearest* friend Kell, ha, yeah right, j/p Kell! Also, Recca, James, and Yahiko were my idea while Jerry, Ryan, and Sammy are hers. Recca comes from the anime: Flame of Recca. Yahiko comes from Rurouni Kenshin. Well, I guess mine's longer!! Haha! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Disclaimer: Of course we own Sailor Moon, I would never write about something that's not ours! We're good *obedient * girls! "Don't lie you two". "Little spore, be quiet"! Hehe, we got to chase some brothers!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Also, Rurouni Kenshin nor Flame of Recca belongs to us, ok? Well, gotta chase down Kell's brother and we'll do that while you're reading! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Serena, set the table. Since Stassy is gone, we need you to set the table for dinner. Oh, Recca has his friend, Darien, over for dinner, so set a plate for him too," ordered her brother Jerry, who had blond hair and blue eyes. "Sure thing, Jer," Serena Eddington called back. She entered the kitchen and headed to the cupboard, which held the plates. Well, she couldn't grab 10 plates, especially since it was fine china. Just looking at the fine china, you could tell they weren't poor, but they did live like any family. Even though they had a maid named Stassy, but that was because she was their mother's friend who desperately needed a job. All her 6 brothers, including her parents, lived like a happy, close-knit family. She set the 3 plates on the table, and headed again to the cupboard, picking up 3 more plates. Again, she placed the plates on the table. She repeated this till there were 10 white sparkling china plates with blue roses entwined together for decoration. Now, she needed to get silverware. She went to the silverware drawer, and picked up 10 shiny forks, spoons, and butter knives. Serena knew her manners and she put them exactly where they belonged. 'Ooh, need cups,' she remembered. She went to another cupboard and picked up 4 champagne glasses with clear glass and a shadowed man and woman dancing together. She set them right above the plates, and grabbed 4 more, and repeated the process. She snatched up the last two glasses and placed them exactly where they needed to go. She took the napkins and put them on their plates. 'Ah, done. Time to put the food on.' She went and picked up the steaming pot full of spaghetti and put on her cooking mittens and triumphantly set it on the table. She ran to the counter to get the basket full of garlic bread and plopped it on the dining table. Then, she got the salad and put it on the dishes, decorating it beautifully, finishing them off by carefully putting on the ranch dressing. Then, she got the oranges, apples, and pears and cut them into slices, putting them on a big plate with the same decorations as the smaller ones. She walked out into the large dining room and placed the salad dishes on each place on the dining table. 'Any second,' she thought, 'all of my brothers would storm in, smelling the aroma of the food.' She was right. Her brothers loudly stomped up the stairs, and headed to the dining room and they were laughing loudly at some joke. They ran full to the table and flopped in a chair. Ryan had blond hair and bluish- greenish eyes, Sammy had brown hair and blue eyes, Yahiko had brown hair and green eyes, James had brownish-blond hair and blue eyes, and Recca had blond hair with green eyes. Serena had noticed Recca's friend. He had dark, midnight black hair, but what caught her attention was his eyes. You would just notice those eyes right away; they were this wonderful shade of blue. Not the light cornflower blue like she and her brother Jerry had, but this stormy sea-color that was so mysterious, that it delighted her so much, she could feel a bolt of electricity go up her spine. Recca interrupted her train of thought as soon as Serena and their parents came in. "Okay, Mom, Dad," Recca started, "This is Darien," Recca pointed to his dark haired friend sitting across from him. Lauren Eddington had brown hair and blue eyes while her husband, Bryan Eddington had blond hair with green eyes. "Now Dar, the one sitting next to you on your right is my brother Yahiko, and to your left is my little sis, Serena. Now there is Jerry," he introduced pointing to the man sitting to the left of Recca. "Over there," he pointed to his brother, "By the door leading to the porch is Ryan. Then besides Ryan is James. Lastly, this is my brother Sammy. Of course you know my Mom and Dad," he motioned to his parents. Darien answered with a polite quiet, "Hello." Soon, everybody was greeting Darien with a hello, and giving him kind smiles. All of the Eddingtons were curious about Recca's friend, Darien, and decided to play 20 questions. Well, let's make it 200 questions. They asked him about everything from how he knew Recca to if he played tennis to what he decided to be. Again there was laughter from everybody. Serena rose from her chair to get the spaghetti. She walked to the kitchen and picked up the bowl of China, and then, at the same moment Darien rose from his seat. She started walking to the dining room to place the spaghetti bowl, when she suddenly saw Darien. For the first time since she was a little girl, she klutzed out running into Darien. She fell to the ground with the spaghetti flying onto Serena and Darien's clothes along with the spaghetti sticking onto their hair and faces. The worst part was that the china bowl fell to the ground. Serena immediately looked to see if it was all right. "Phew," she whispered. She didn't know what she would do if it broke, but she thanked god when it had only chipped off a little. She suddenly looked into Darien eyes, right then, she knew she could look into his eyes for hours and hours. Darien just gazed right back at her, just as intent. Serena then forced herself to pick up the bowel and the broken piece, carry it to the counter, and wash the bowl. She didn't want to face Darien at the moment because for some reason, she was frightened. She didn't know what she was feeling, but her heart did flips when she looked into his eyes like that, but she knew that now was not the time to think about it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Darien had intended to go to the bathroom, but then Recca's sister, Serena, had dropped the food on him, yet he still had to get that food off him. 'Gosh I'm dirty. Yuck.' He started wiping the food off him, but he couldn't forget when he looked into Serena's eyes. 'Oh, they are beautiful. Heck, Serena is beautiful, but it's wrong, and so wrong to fall for your friend's sister.' He didn't quite know why he liked her so much. Maybe, it was her sweet demeanor, and her looks sure didn't hurt. Well he knew it was time to go home. This just wasn't right for him to stay when he needed to sort through his thoughts. Serena swung her bedroom door open, and lightly walked in. Her bed looked like a paradise to relax and forget about a certain somebody. She plopped right down with her pillows and gigantic stuffed animals. She snuggled up to her big, white bunny, and buried her face into it. She couldn't believe what she had just did. She had spilled food on Darien, and it had to be spaghetti of all things! He must think she was a klutz. Life was not good at the moment for her. She didn't know why she cared so much, but she just did. She immediately took a liking to this guy, but she was sure he didn't like her in that special way. Her thoughts were just a jumble right now. She had never felt anything for a guy, but she definitely felt something for this one. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A few days later ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena had to fill the horses' stalls with clean hay. Since Stassy didn't come home last night, they were still all worried sick for her. But Serena's mind was still on Darien. For once, she wasn't wearing a dress, but pants. She grabbed the pitchfork from the wall it was placed on and headed to the stalls. With a few thrustful (GoldStar: Is that even a word? My spell checker says it isn't.) motions, she was getting all of the old hay out of the stalls. At first, it was a piece of cake, but as time wore on, it became more tiring. She had always hated doing this; it was really boring. Well, she had to do it. As she was thrusting, she spotted a shadow. She raised the pitchfork for self- defense. "Want some help?" he offered. She turned her head around and noticed it was... HIM! She gave a surprised squeal and then covered her mouth with her hand. She couldn't believe he was actually here talking to her. What was she to say? She had no idea. Well, her arms decided the answer for her. They sure were tired, so she put down the pitchfork and handed it to him. She sat down while Darien was busy filling the horse stalls. She blew her bangs out of the way and rested while watching him. 'Well, he does have one heck of a body...what am I thinking?! No, no Serena!! He doesn't feel anything for you, he's just helping because he thinks I'll klutz out and kill the horses with the pitchfork. (Editor's Note: LOL!) Well,' she thought, 'I can still always dream.' And she definitely started daydreaming about his thick, black hair and dark pool eyes. Suddenly, she was out of her trance when she heard Recca's voice. "Hey Serena, Darien," greeted Recca, he turned to Darien, "Oh, mom and dad wanted to know if you wanted to go to the ball tonight." "Why are you having a ball?" asked Darien. "Because it's Ryan's birthday today, and you know mom, always wanting to throw a party anyway..." replied Recca, "So Darien, want to come?" "Sure, I guess...I have nothing else to do today anyway," answered Darien. "Great! The party starts at a quarter till 5! Why don't you just go home, I think *your* chore is done already, Darien," remarked Recca, grinning slyly at Serena. Darien looked at the pitchfork, then dropped it. "Hehe, oh yeah, maybe I should get home, see you later Recca!" then, Darien ran out of the barn. Recca looked at Serena. "So, I guess two people are falling for each other. Imagine, my dear sister, Serena and my best friend, Darien, falling for each other. Who would've thought? And here, I thought you didn't like guys. Guess I was wrong," Recca gave a joyous wink to Serena. Serena just looked at Recca heatedly and stormed out of the barnyard. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later in the day ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena was in her room, getting ready for the ball. She had a light pink gown on with white frilly lace around the neckline. Darker pink roses were embedded in the dress, making her eyes even more brilliant. Her long, golden hair (AN: Serena's hair is not as long as it is in the show, try thinking that it ends at her waist) was still down, but she had no idea how to put it. She thought and thought and tried different styles, but they all looked to common or messy for her, so she just decided to leave it down. She put on her shoes and looked at the clock. It was 5 o'clock exactly. People are probably already down there and dancing. 'I should go down.' thought Serena. So, she checked to make sure if everything was all right, and opened her bedroom door. Sure enough, there were people already in their huge ballroom and dancing. Serena could hear the elegant music as it hung through the air and sailed past her ears. She stepped down the stairs and while she was doing that, she heard a hush. When Serena heard the silence, she looked up to see that everyone was staring at her. 'Do I have something in my hair? On my dress?' panicked Serena. Then she heard a booming voice as loud as a trumpet. "Serena, dear! You look fabulous!" exclaimed Mina Livingston. Mina looked like Serena's twin, except for the fact that their eyes were a slightly different color and Mina tied her hair in a bow and she was wearing an orange dress with hearts all over. Behind her walked 3 other young women. Since Mina had broken the silent spell, the room had gotten back into its usual cheeriness. As the 3 women stopped in front of Serena, she recognized them instantly. They were her other friends, Ami Abranko, Rei Fugimoto, and Lita Thomas. Ami had blue short hair and eyes and was wearing a blue gown with teardrops stitched in. Rei had long black hair and purple eyes and was wearing fire designs on her red dress.. Lita had brown wavy hair tied up in a high ponytail with green eyes. She was wearing a green gown with lightning bolts embroidered. "Hi Serena!" chimed Ami. They all waved hello to her. "Hey guys! I didn't think you would be here, but I'm glad you are anyway!" replied Serena. "Yeah well, you know how your mother loves us, especially me because of my wonderful cooking," bragged Lita jokingly. "Yeah right, Lita. Anyway, it's a great place to meet cute guys too. And speaking of cute guys, here comes your brother and another one!" exclaimed Rei, pointing behind Serena. Serena looked behind her and saw Recca and Darien walking towards them. Darien looks so handsome, thought Serena, looking into his eyes. Recca's voice brought her out of her trance of the same man. "Hey Serena. Hey Rei, ladies," he bowed his heads towards Rei, showing obvious attraction. "Anyway, Serena, dad wants to talk to you, he has a...surprise, if you may call it that." Serena looked surprise. She nodded and walked towards her father, walking behind her were her friends, brother, and Darien. When she reached her father, he was talking to a young, handsome man with very dark brown hair and black eyes. "Ah!! Serena! There you are! I have something wonderful to tell you!" exclaimed her father. "What is it father?" asked Serena questionably. Her father winked at her while the young man was busy observing her, which made Serena very uncomfortable. "Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention!" hollered her father. The crowd hushed once more and turned their heads toward their host. "I have a wonderful announcement to make! This young man here, Devon Leininger, a man in the army," pointed her father, "Has asked my daughter's hand, Serena, in marriage! And I have consented!" Everyone started clapping thunderously, while Serena stared into space with shock and fear in her eyes. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AN: Well, folks! That's the end of this chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as we've enjoyed writing it! Well, see you next time! Let's go to Kell now! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AN: Kell here! That's the end and we would like to know what you thought about it! Chapter 2 coming your way to your nearest computer!