Hi! I'm Lelu, (a.k.a. Lisa) and this is my first try at writing a fanfiction. If anybody out there reads this, I'd really appreciate it if you sent me some feedback. This story is probably going to stink, because this is my first try, but you know what they say! Practice makes perfect! Anyway, this is an alternate reality Serena and Darien story, and I don't think that I'm going to include any of the scouts, unless they appear as one of Serena's bestfriends in the story. Disclaimer: Copyright 1992 Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha/TOEI Animation. Sailor Moon, the Sailor Moon characters and their respective names and likenesses are a trademark of TOEI Animation. (Unfortunately, that means Darien, too!) << denotes thought>> Anyway, without further ado… Romancing in NYC Chapter One- Running into each other Serena Tsukino was running down the streets of New York. People who she passed could hear her muttering, "Late again! How can this be happening? I set the alarm for half an hour early!" Serena was late for work. Her boss had warned, the day before, that if she were late again, she would be fired. As she was running down the streets, she didn't notice the crack in the pavement, and so she tripped. As she close her eyes, bracing herself for the cold pavement, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her and caught her. "Are you in a hurry?" The voice asked. "You should really watch where you are going! You could've really hurt yourself." As Serena looked up, a pair of dark blue eyes met her ocean blue ones. She gasped as she saw how handsome he was. About '6"2, with ebony black hair and dark blue eyes, he was a stunning sight to see. <> Serena, finally finding her voice, said, "Actually, I am late! My boss told me yesterday that if I'm late again, I'm fired! I've got 10 minutes to get to 49th Street!" The man spoke up again. "Well, Miss...." "Serena." "Well, Serena, I don't think you're gonna make it. I could drive you in my car and you could be there, with a couple of minutes to spare." "Well, sir, being that I don't really know you-" "Okay, my name Darien Shields. There, now we know each others name, so we're not strangers." Serena laughed and said, "Well, I suppose you're right. And, if you do turn out to be a bad guy, I have a cell phone in my purse." Darien spoke, "Well, Serena," he said as he ached one eyebrow," Do I look like a bad guy?" Serena quickly retorted, "I don't know, but you look pretty decent." She then immediately started blushing and regretted her words. Darien laughed. "Thanks, Serena. You don't look that bad either." And how true his words were. Serena made a pretty picture. Only the young age of 23, her face was flushed from running, her shoulder-length blond hair curled around her face, and her slim, petite figure heaving from the run, she looked stunning. Already, men passing by would give her a glance, and take another, when realizing how pretty she was. Women would jealously look on as their boyfriends or husbands would steal a glance at this beautiful blond, and feel even more jealous when they registered the handsome young man standing next to her. "So, do you want to leave now?" Darien asked. "Well, I suppose. Let's go!" Grabbing his arm and dragging him to the parked cars, she quickly asked, "Which one is yours?" "The red Porsche." "Okay." After Darien unlocked the doors, Serena quickly jumped in and said, "Let's go! I don't wanna be late!" As they cruised down the streets, they passed many places, like the Russell Hotel, Macy's, and other big name stores. "Serena, you never told me where you worked." "Oh, I didn't? Well, I'm a secretary for the owner of Broadway." Darien quickly glanced at her after she said that. "Really? I know people who work there. It must be a hard job for you to handle. People who work there are usually old. You're very young. You must have been talented to get this job, but I can already see that the people probably fell for your charms." Serena blushed at this. "Well, we're here, Serena. It was nice to meet you." Although neither Darien nor Serena admitted this, they both didn't want the other to leave. "Well, thank you, Darien. It was nice of you to go out of your way to drop me off. " "You're welcome, Serena. I hope I bump into you again. Well, not literally, "Serena laughed at that, remembering how they did meet. "But I do hope that I see you again." "Me, too, Darien. I don't think that you're a bad guy at all." "Thanks, Serena." "Well," Serena said, as she started exiting the car, "See ya around!" Just before she shut the door, Darien called her name. "Serena, wait!" "Yes, Darien?" "Well, um, you see, I was, uh, just wondering if, er, we could meet somewhere for, um, maybe, dinner?" Serena laughed at the little exchange. "Sure, Darien." "Really?" "Really. Name a place and a time and I'll be there." "Well, how about the Central Park Restaurant?" "The Central Park Restaurant?" Serena gasped. "But, that place is so expensive! I mean, you've already impressed me with your kindness, but you don't have to do this!" "Well, I'd like to take you there. All I have to do know is set a time. How about I pick you up, say, seven o'clock? "That's fine. Oh, I have to give you my address. It's 209 on West 49th Street." "Ok, I'll be there. Wait, I never did catch your last name" Darien said. "That's because I didn't give it. It's Tsukino. Serena Tsukino (AN: Bond, James Bond. Heeheehee) "Well, Miss Tsukino, I'll see you at 7. Have a nice day at work! But, I must warn you, we probably will speak again before 7!" He then closed the doors and drove away. Serena felt a rush go through her, she couldn't describe it, but it was so wonderful. She ran inside the building. "You look happy today!" Mandy, a lady on the third floor exclaimed. "Yes, this is was the best morning ever and look! I'm not late!" Mandy laughed and walked away. Serena quickly ran to her desk and got right to work. The phone rang right when she sat down. "Hello?" "Hello, Miss Tsukino. Do you have the papers finished yet?" "I'm right on it, sir. I think that I only have a few more papers to finish." "Okay, but try to have it finished by 12:00. I really need to send those papers out. " "Aye, aye, boss! I'll have them done ASAP." "Thanks, Tsukino, and congratulations on making it to work early today. I'm glad that I don't have to fire you. Although you're rarely on time, you are, nonetheless, one of the best secretaries I've ever had." "Gee, thanks. I think that I'll take that as a compliment. I'll get right on those papers as soon as we're done speaking. Oh, and by the way, I met this man on the way here. A Darien Shields? Does he sound familiar?" In his office, Mr. Yammati, Serena's boss, gave a small chuckle. "Oh, yes. I do think that I've heard his name before. " "Well, not to be nosy, but do you know whether or not he is a nice person? He was the one who got me here on time. We sorta, um, bumped into each other on the way to work." "Yes, he is a nice young man. Now, Tsukino, get on those papers!" Mr. Yammati hung up the phone and gave a little chuckle. 'This should work out quite pleasantly. I knew that my son needed a woman in his life! Serena will be perfect!' At the same time, while Serena was talking to her boss on the phone, Darien was in his car, driving away to work. Although no one would have suspected it, because of his young age (he was only 24), he was the vice-president of Broadway. No one really knew this fact, though, because the people who worked there wanted to keep it a secret, because if other rival companies were to find out that such a young and handsome man was next in line to inherit such big company, his career would be over in a flash. Hardly any people knew that Darien was Mr. Yammati's son. Well, his first son from his first marriage, that is. Although Mr. Yammati had remarried many years ago, and had 2 more children, Darien and Eric, Mr. Yammati's first name, had stayed very close, and Darien's mother and Eric had parted on friendly terms. Darien's thoughts were, ' Okay, 7:00 p.m., Central Park Restaurant. According to her address, Serena lives in a pretty good neighborhood.' Although Serena didn't know this, Darien had a reputation. A reputation that could seriously injure her feelings if she found out about it. Darien was a…well…a womanizer. Well, not exactly a womanizer. He didn't have one-night stands and such. He had a long list of past girlfriends, but it wasn't his fault. Girls were attracted to Darien, not only because of his looks (AN: Oh, god! His looks! ::swoons:: What! Stop looking at me like that! It's not like *you* don't have a crush on him!) but because he had brains. Put those 2 combinations together and you've got the perfect man. Not only did he have these 2 qualities, but his mother had raised him as a perfect gentleman. His manners (as well as his dress) were impeccable. His mother had brought him up with moral ideals and with the proper (AN: And by proper, I mean *proper*) ways to treat a woman. He never took advantages of women in distress, and if they did come onto him, he would try to back out as calmly as possible. Anyway, he was heading towards work (remember?) He felt in a lighter mood somehow. <> Although Darien was the vice- president of Broadway, he worked at a totally different building than his father did, but that was so no one would guess that he was the vice-president. He stepped out of his car, whistling a happy tune, and walked into 'the building.' 'The building,' as it was known, was called this because it really was THE building. All the major companies in the US had some sort of office set up here, whether it was on the 1st floor or the 100th. "Good morning, Mr. Shields!" Rachael, his personal secretary called. "Good morning, Miss Baiduc! How are you today?" Darien responded. "Just fine, sir. I have your papers finished and filed and there's a memo on your desk. A Mr. Yammati called for you today. He seemed a little anxious to speak to you." "Thank you, Rachael. I'll call him as soon as I can." With that, he walked into his spacious office and closed the door shut. <> After Darien had closed the door, he walked over to his chair, sat down, and dialed a number. "Hello. You have reached the President of Broadway's Secretary. I'm Serena, how may I help you?" "Well, Serena, I told you that we'd talk again." At these few words, Serena's eyes flew open. She recognized that deep voice. In fact, she'd probably know it anywhere! "I'm sorry if I'm mistaken, but is this Darien?" Darien gave a little chuckle and replied, "That's what most people call me." << A million thoughts raced by Serena's head. Has he called to cancel? How did he get this number? Why would he be calling here if he didn't want to speak to me?>> In a rush, she blurted out, "Darien, if you have to cancel the dinner plans, that totally okay. I mean, I'd really understand. Why would you-" Another chuckle came. "Woah! Serena, calm down! I didn't call to cancel, and, yes, dinner plans are still on. I just wanted to talk to your boss, Mr. Yammati. He gave me a call today and I was just returning it." Serena was glad that they were only speaking on the telephone, otherwise, he would have seen a shad of red tint her face. " I'm sorry, Darien. Really I am. It's just that I never get to go out with cute guys- wait! I mean…" Now Serena was totally embarrassed. I mean, she had just called him cute! Now a deep laugh came from the person on the opposite line. "Well, thank you, Serena. I'm glad you think of me that way. To tell you the truth, you're not that bad either." And wow! Watch the pretty tints on Serena's face. I think you can see the rainbow! "Thanks, Darien. I really appreciate that comment. It's not every day that I get compliments from people that I run into on the streets. I guess that I'm just lucky today!" "Well, anyway, before I forget the real meaning of this call, could I please speak to your boss?" "Sure, please hold." Serena put Darien on hold and buzzed Mr. Yammati on the intercom. "Mr. Yammati, a Darien Shields on line 3 for you." Inside his office, Mr. Yammati sat up with a smile. You could call it the 'cat that just killed the canary' smile. "Thank you, Serena. Put him on." "Just one second, sir." Serena then connected the 2 lines and hung up the phone to let the 2 men have some privacy. "Hello, son" "Hi, Dad. You called?" " Yes. So, I hear that you found a certain secretary of mine interesting?" "If you're talking about Serena, yes. I think that she's a very nice person. " "And her beauty does not attract you in the least?", Mr. Yammati retorted. "Well, of course it does, Dad, but brains are also important to me, too." "Ahhh. You're mother did raise you like a perfect gentleman. Anyway, the true nature of this call is that I wanted to know if you wanted to take over my position after I resign." He had said it with such calmness that it had almost slipped by Darien's ears. Almost. "What? You're resigning? When did this decision come to hand? Why didn't you tell me this before?" Darien was shocked. He had thought that his dad, who was only in his 50's, and very fit, wouldn't have resigned until he was 60 or so. "I just decided this last night. I was talking to Rose, you're stepmother, and we both agreed that I'm getting…rather old for this position. It's time for a new person to take over this job. I'm not the young man I used to be, Darien. As one grows older, one longs for the things that you never got to do when you were younger. Travel, see shows, visit family and friends out of the country. My salary will certainly be enough to support Rose and I until we're…gone. I assume that you know that, in my will, ½ of my money will go to you." "Dad, I'm shocked. Really, I am. Now, is this your own decision, or just Rose's?" Although Darien loved his stepmother, after all, she had treated him like one of her own, she was known to be quite… pushy at times. "It's a joint decision. Rose and I want to travel around the world. See places that we've never seen before. Maybe go to Tokyo, China, Paris, and other places like that." "Well, I'd be happy to take President for you, sir, but when do you plan on retiring?" The answer was short and to the point. "As soon as possible. Maybe by next month, if allowed." There was silence on the other end of the phone. It was quiet for so long that Michael (AN: Mr. Yammati's first name, okay, people?) started to wonder if Darien was still alive. "Hello? Darien? Are you still there?" Darien spoke in a calm restrained voice. "Dad, are you sure that you want to leave this job so quickly? I really don't know if I'm ready for this responsibility. And, even if I did become President, Serena might find out who I really am, if this relationship would be lucky to last this long." With a questioning air in his voice, Mr. Yammati quickly asked Darien why he didn't want Serena to know what position he held. "I think that this 'relationship' of ours might actually be heading somewhere. I know that we haven't even gone out on our first date, and that we've only known each other for a few hours, but I really think that this might workout. And, if it does, I want her to fall in love with me. The *real* me. Not the rich businessman, Darien Shields, but the plebian Darien Shields. If she falls in love, I want it to be because she loves *me*. Do you understand what I'm trying to say?" "Yes, son. I know exactly what you're trying to say. That's how it was with your mother and I, except after she found out the truth, she was pretty steamed. She was mad that I had kept this secret from her. She told me that we had no trust in this relationship. If I were you, Darien, I'd tell her right from the start. I don't want you to end up how your mother and I did. Although she did forgive me, it took a lot out of our relationship. The best thing to do would be to tell her the truth, Darien. Tell her the truth."