Hey everyone! Hope you're enjoying the story. Thanks so much to everyone who has written me! You're all so sweet! ^_~ Well, I'm about to leave for college in a couple of weeks, so between packing and planning, I'm not going to have any fanfic writing time for a while. So I promise there's no cliffhanger at the end of this chapter. I'm going to kind of end it but make it so that I could continue it if I choose. Write me and let me know if you want more, k?! Take care! >^..^< ----- I Promise--Chapter Three by Aimee "Now you have a choice, Serena. You can either walk out of that door," Darien pointed toward the front door. "Or we can try this again." Serena's voice was small and pathetic. "Try what again?" she mumbled through her tears. "This..." Darien pressed his mouth to hers firmly. Well, this was certainly unexpected. His head had come down before she even registered the movement, his kiss closelipped and hard, and Serena's breath caught in her throat upon contact. Surprised by his actions, she struggled at first, but his arms had moved about her back and pulled her close against him, fiercely demanding a response. Why was he doing this? Was he just trying to make up for their fight? Or could it be possible he truly cared for her? This was, after all, what she'd wanted for so long, so long... Slightly unsure, Serena slowly began to respond to Darien, gently pressing her body against his, allowing herself to relax a bit. The kiss opened up and became warm and soft. His mouth opened against hers, his tongue running along her bottom lip, then along the soft inside of her upper lip. Had they not been so involved in one another, they might have heard the distinct sound of a baby cooing happily in the background. A slight tingle started in the back of Darien's head, a feeling so familiar...so familiar. Then, without due warning, everything in his world came into focus. His eyes were opened, and he saw the truth. Lingering slightly, Darien pulled his lips away from Serena's, but kept her in a close embrace, savoring the first true peaceful moment between them in a long time. She leaned against him, her cheek resting just below his shoulder, and tried to keep from breathing quite so hard. "Why did you do that?" she sniffed quietly when she had gained enough control to speak. She forced herself to look up at him, half expecting to find him wearing a look of discomfort or regret, and found instead two gentle eyes and a slightly amused smile. "Why do you think?" was his reply. "How should I know? Aren't you supposed to hate me?" Serena was surprised to hear his laughter echo through the quiet apartment. "Serena, if you can't get it through your head that I don't dislike you in any way, shape, or form, I'm going to shake you till you rattle." "But..." "Serena..." he cut her off, looking down at her and into her eyes, the amusement in his own gone. "Princess..." he said, tilting his head slightly to one side. "I remember." Serena froze, unable to believe she'd heard him correctly. What? It couldn't be possible, could it? She took a deep breath, her eyes never breaking contact with his own. "Darien," she began calmly. "I swear if you're teasing me, you will die a slow and painful death." His laughter sounded again, and he hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead, her wet eye lids one by one, and then her damp cheeks, and finally moved his mouth to hers, kissing her so tenderly she wanted to cry all over again. The kiss faded after a bit, but the embrace lasted for a while, neither willing to let go of the other. "I thought I would never get you back," she whispered. "Shhh..." he soothed her. "Everything's going to be alright now." The reunion was a sweet one (and quite drawn out...not that they noticed the clock), and somehow the couple found themselves on the floor, Darien leaning against a wall with Serena in his lap, talking quietly and exchanging tender kisses. "Please don't ever leave me like that again, Darien," she told him, running a hand through his silkly hair. "I need you." "I won't, Princess," he assured her. "Not if I can absolutely help it." "Promise?" He smiled, nuzzling her lovingly. "I promise." "Pinkie swear?" "You bet." While they were busy laughing and locking pinkie fingers, Serena caught sight of something quite unexpected. "Darien, look!" "What's wrong?" He turned his head toward the object of her attention, and immediately his eyes widened. "Oh my..." Jordan, who was obviously tired of his toys, was up and walking. Amazed, the couple watched the little boy concentrating intensely with each step. He tottled slowly along until he came to a stop right in front of one of Serena's pigtails. Satisfied with his feat, Jordan plopped down on the ground, picked up the ponytail, and proceeded to eat it. "Unbelievable..." Darien commented, proud of his baby-sitting charge. "OWW!" Serena punched him in the shoulder again. "Know what this means? You owe me ten bucks, Mister! Woo Hoo!" "Aww, man..." he pouted. Their laughter sounded again, and throughout the night as the moon rose over Tokyo. Everything was perfect in Serena's world. She had her prince back, and he loved her. And he had promised her he would never leave her again. And promises couldn't be broken. Could they? ----- Yeah, yeah...I know it was short, but what do you want from me? A novel!? Anyhoo, shall I continue or not? Sent comments and suggestions to sailor_moon89@hotmail.com