Hey everyone! This is Christa-chan here and this is my first fanfic, "Apologizing For Past Mistakes." This is the first time I have ever let anybody else read my works and when your finished reading this, please send me comments about it so I can decide weather or not I should continue to write! My email address is: dewitt@mich.com This fanfic is rated 'G'. And here's the disclaimer: Sailor Moon and all of the characters are owned by Naoko Takeuchi and I am not making "ANY" money off of this thing. Also the songs "The Hardest Thing" and "Still" are beautiful songs owned by 98` and I'm using them because they totally suit this story and have no intention of making money of of them! This is totally for entertainment purposes "ONLY!" Now, since that's over with, ENJOY! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Apologizing For Past Mistakes by: Christa-chan "A dance, my fair princess?" Darien whispered into his love's ear, gently taking her hand. "Of course, my prince," Serena accepted, rising from her chair. No, it wasn't Princess Serena and Prince Darien of the ancient Silver Millennium, or Neo Queen Serenity and Neo King Endymion of the future 30th century Crystal Tokyo. It was the present day lovers, 18 year old Serena Tsukino and 21 year old Darien Chiba. Their love had stood the test of time itself and many others, all passing with flying colors. They had been to one Dark Kingdom and out the other, conquering every evil force that they had met along the way, in only four years! The Negaverse threat had been over two years ago, when Serena was 16. She could finally go back to being a normal teenager like she had longed to be ever since she first discovered she was Sailor Moon, but she knew that that would be impossible and she could never be normal, even if she tried, because she knew what she and Darien were destined to become in many years from now. So, amazingly, she accepted it with a quivering smile and held her chin up high. If you compared her maturity level right now to her when she was fourteen, you would think it was impossible that they could be the same person. Darien had also adjusted to what lay ahead of him. Fighting with, loving, and very soon, marrying his Serena was exactly the kind of future he wanted and wouldn't have changed any events to get there. Well, maybe one.... The dreams he had had when they had been fighting the Black Moon Family, a time where they had learned so much about their future together, was something he wanted to forget, be totally erased from his memory. He hadn't minded learning about his future with Serena, in fact he could barely keep his happiness inside when they had been told by his future self. But it was just the way he had treated her during that time. He had tore her heart and his to pieces, lying to her that he didn't have feelings for her anymore and that he didn't love her anymore, all because of those visions and nightmares his future self had sent him. After they had defeated the Black Moon Family, he had apologized with words that could only have come from his heart and she had understood and forgiven him, but he couldn't help but think to himself sometimes, 'What in my past or current life did I do to deserve my dear Serena?' "Darien?" Serena asked as he absently stared into her sparkling blue eyes. Darien shook his head slightly. Pulling her closer, he murmured, "Yes, my sweet?" "Just checking to see if you were still alive in there. You were staring at me without blinking for a good three minuets!" Serena exclaimed softly. Darien chuckled. "Since when has me staring at you ever caused you to worry?" "When your eyeballs look like they are about to fall out of your sockets, I think that is a cause to be concerned!" Serena told him sarcastically. They had stood in the same position for five minuets, Darien with his strong arms tightly holding her waist and she with her thin muscular arms around his neck. A romantic pose, but her legs hurt after standing in it for so long. Not that she minded... "Come on. They' re just starting the music up. Let's dance!" Darien exclaimed, pulling her into the rush of couples on the wooden dance floor. Serena was surprised, but only for a moment, and her sweet laugh echoed with delight into Darien's ears, causing his heart to soar. "Here's the first song," Serena murmured, laying her head on Darien's chest, making him forget every worry that had come to his mind from the beginning of the party. He gripped her tighter and rested his head on her shoulder. The music played softly across the entire room, quieting the couples. The song that Darien had hoped would bring romance was shattered after hearing the first few lines of it. The words made their way to the center of his soul, making him remember the way he had treated his Serena, his life, his love... "The Hardest Thing" (by 98`) We both know that I shouldn't be here This is wrong And baby it's killing me, it's killin' you Both of us trying to be strong I've got somewhere else to be Promises to keep Someone else who loves me And trusts me fast asleep I've made up my mind There is no turning back She's been good to me And she deserves better that It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do To look you in the eye And tell you I don't love you It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to lie To show no emotion When you start to cry I can't let you see What you mean to me When my hands are tied And my heart's not free We're not meant to be It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do To turn around and walk away Pretending I don't love you I know that we'll meet again Fate has a place and time So you can get on with your life I've got to be cruel to be kind Like Dr. Zhivago All my love I'll be sending And you will never know 'Cause there can be no happy ending It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do To look you in the eye And tell you I don't love you It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to lie To show no emotion When you start to cry I can't let you see What you mean to me When my hands are tied And my heart's not free We're not meant to be It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do To turn around and walk away Pretending I don't love you Maybe another time, another day As much as I want to,I can't stay I've made up my mind There is no turning back She's been good to me And she deserves better than that It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do To look you in the eye And tell you I don't love you It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to lie To show no emotion When you start to cry I can't let you see What you mean to me When my hands are tied And my heart's not free We're not meant to be It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do To turn around and walk away Pretending I don't love you.... "Darien?!" Serena exclaimed wordily, hearing sobs that were racking from him. She lifted her head off of his chest and stared into his eyes, still thinking of the words of the song. She had long ago forgotten about the way he had treated her. It wasn't important, so the lyrics had no meaning to her. Darien stared at her for another second and managed to choke out, "Serena...please, can we go outside?" Knowing something was definitely wrong, she grabbed his arm and escorted him outdoors. They stepped outside into the crisp December air, walking down a long brick path, with Darien continuing to sob silently. Getting well away from the partiers indoors, Serena sat down on a small marble bench, pulling Darien down with her. He put his head in her lap and she stroked his silky black hair. It took awhile for Darien to regain his composure, but Serena continued to soothe him. 'It's normally the other way around,' Serena thought, 'normally I'm the one that's upset!' After a few minuets, Darien slowly lifted his head from Serena's lap and turned his head away. "Darien, what's wrong?" Serena asked firmly, gripping his hand. She was not going to let this go so easily. He rarely let his sadness show and for him to start crying for no reason totally mystified Serena. Darien pulled her into a tight hug, crying in her golden hair. "I'm...so.. sorry...Serena," he managed to choke out. "For what, darling?" Serena asked, surprised. What did he need to be sorry for? Darien cleared his throat shakily. Before he answered her, he thought, 'How on earth could a song bring out that kind of emotion, especially from me?' "For the way I treated you," he whispered into her ear. "By the way you treated me?" Serena repeated, not understanding. "That song, it reminded me of the way I treated you when I was having those visions..nightmares," He explained, looking into her starry eyes. He released her from his tight embrace and walked away to another bench. Serena followed behind him anxiously. He sat down and put his head in his hands. "I don't deserve you, Serena," He whispered. Serena, recovering from the shock of his statement, yelled, "NO! That's not true!" She took her hands from his face and clasped them in hers. He looked at her, dumbfounded. "Darien, you had no control over those nightmares. You only wanted to protect me, and the method you used was, in your opinion, the only way you could have affectedly kept me safe," She stated firmly. "Forget about those nightmares. They're things in the past and don't help the future, 'our' future. Just think about the things that are going to happen right now!" She was surprised at how well she could give advice. Darien thought over her words for a moment. 'She's right. Forget the past. Right now, Serena's with me, and that's all that matters.' He put his arms around her waist, the memories fading fast. "Thank you, my love," he whispered, smiling. Serena's serious face broke into a huge grin. "Anything to make you happy," she said. Then, thinking for a minuet, the grin took a turn to the wicked side. "Since you are now thinking about the present, what do you want to do, right now?" Darien grinned evilly. "This!" He slammed his mouth into hers, totally covering her lips and he kissed her hungrily. Serena moaned in surprise and closed her eyes. She had expected a kiss, but not like this! Then, her own passion took over and she kissed him back with as much force as he was. He pressed her waist to his stomach and he coaxed her mouth open. When she did, his tongue immediately plummeted inside her mouth as she did the same with his. Her hands were all over his inky black hair. He laid her down on the bench as they continued to kiss. 'Nothing could be better than this moment,' Darien thought, dazed, as he continued to kiss his only love. Suddenly, they were both covered a warm glowing light. They both quickly noticed it, but didn't care. They continued their kiss, not wanting to let go. Suddenly, Darien started to feel the light move inside him. He opened his eyes quickly and stared down at himself, but wouldn't let go of Serena. He was.... >glowing? And...changing! Looking at Serena, he noticed similar changes. Her crescent moon siegal appeared on her forehead and began to glow in contrast with the light already around them. Her dress had switched from the evening dress she had been wearing into...Neo Queen Serenity's outfit! A golden tiara appeared on top of her head. His eyes widened as he looked down at his own changes. Serena stared at Darien while they both mysteriously began to change into different outfits. His black tuxedo he had been wearing shifted into...Neo King Endymion's outfit! They both gasped as the light faded and Serena's crescent moon light died down. "What...happened?" They asked at the same time. Suddenly, a voice coming everywhere and nowhere at the same time, answered their questions. "Greetings, King Endymion and Queen Serenity. Are you surprised that you have changed into your future...no, present..forms?" "What?!" They cried, unable to believe their ears. "Serena Tsukino was destined to become Neo Queen Serenity when she turned the age of 18, just as Darien Chiba was destined to become Neo King Endymion when he turned 21. But for your forms to be complete, Endymion needed to conquer his night-mares from the past. Since that has happened, you are now complete. Enjoy the millennia together!" The voice chuckled, then vanished. Serenity and Endymion stood staring at each other for a good five minuets after the voice had left them. Then, they both recovered at the exact same time. "WWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOO!" They cried loudly as Endymion picked Serenity up and spun her around in a circle. They continued to scream in happy hysteria. "We're going to be together for the next thousand years without anyone bothering us!" Serenity cried as Endymion held his love to firmly to him. "Just us, together. Oh, Serenity, I'm so happy!" Endymion exclaimed as happy tears filled his eyes, just as Serenity's tear-filled eyes spilled over. They cried with joy, knowing that all those years of fighting evil as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask had paid off. Finally, they kissed again. After awhile, Serenity whispered to them as she came up for air, "You know, Endymion, we can't go back to the party in these outfits! What are we going to do? Do you know how to shift out of these things?" Endymion grinned wickedly. "I don't know, my love. But I know a place where we can try and figure it out!" Serenity immediately figured out what he came up with and gave a quick and eager, "Okay!" Endymion laughed as he picked Serenity up and held her close to his chest, as they kissed the entire way to his car. He set her down in the passenger seat and immediately jumped into the driver seat. He turned his radio on softly and heard a song that totally reflected both their moods at the moment... Still (by 98`) Love, I see forever in your eyes I can see heaven in your smile And when I hold you close I don't want to let go because deep in my soul I know girl You are the only light I see Your love means everything to me I promise that we'll never part 'Cause you'll always be in my heart If the sun, should refuse to rise And the moon, doesn't hang in the night The tides won't change, seasons rearrange When the world is through I will still love you Girl, you're like an angel from above Sent here to shower me with your love Hold me beneath your wings Tell me all of the things All the hopes and the dreams we can share 'Cause I'll be your shelter from the storm I'll be the fire that keeps you warm I'll be your light in the dark Cause you'll always be here in my heart If the sun, should refuse to rise And the moon, doesn't hang in the night The tides won't change, seasons rearrange When the world is through I will still love you If anything could last forever It's what I feel for you (That's what I feel for you) Oh baby, you touch my heart in ways That words could never say That's why I'll always love you If the sun, should refuse to rise And the moon, doesn't hang in the night The tides won't change, seasons rearrange When the world is through I will still love you... As they sped to his apartment, he kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other around her, and at every red light, he leaned over and they kissed passionately until the light turned green. Serenity thought to herself as they reached his apartment complex, 'This has got to be the only case in history when two people swore at a red light for changing to green too quickly!' When they reached the complex, they set a world record for fastest exit out of a car. Picking his love up in his arms again, he carried her to his apartment, quickly inserted his key, steeped inside, and shut the door. Night one of Neo King Endymion and Neo Queen Serenity's life together had begun... The next morning: The phone in a certain apartment kept ringing and ringing, totally neglected by the sleeping lovers. Instead, the answering machine got it. "Hey, Darien? Where were you and Serena last night? We spent an hour looking for you outside when that light hit and everybody thought you were abducted by aliens or something!" The End ---------------------------------------------------------------------- So, did it suck? Was it good? Should I keep writing? Should I leave my stories on the shelf? Email me P*L*E*A*S*E! That's all for now! Gotta Boggie, Bye!