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Title:   Intro to Chemistry
Part V:  Results/Conclusions
Author:  Fawkes
Email:   fawkesphoenix@yahoo.com
Rating:  PG
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Ok, you've almost made it, this is the last part!

Standard disclaimers apply.

~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@ 

	As he scrubbed yet another rack full of test tubes, Darien 
couldn't help but feel a bit sad that his experiment was over.  For 
the past six weeks, he had been guaranteed two hours of Serena's time 
every day.  But now, that was all ending.  
	Alone in the lab, he allowed himself a dramatic sigh, and 
leaned in frustration against the sink.  He wouldn't be able to stand 
it- not seeing her every day.  In the new hole in his schedule, what 
would he do?  Most likely sit at home and study, if, that is, he could 
manage to keep his mind off the fact that he was no longer here, was 
no longer with her.
	He had to tell her!  And yet, he just couldn't.  He remembered 
Andrew's words from the night before, when he had called him after 
dropping Serena off.  "If you ask her out, she'll either say yes, or 
she'll say no.  But if you don't, she won't even have a chance to say 
yes.  And I think that's what she would say..."
	But what if Andrew was wrong?  What if she did say no?  He 
wouldn't be able to face her after that.  It wasn't that she would 
laugh at him; in fact, he was sure that she would still be nice, but 
it would be out of pity.  He wanted her face to light up when he 
entered the room, for her to miss him as much as he did her when they 
weren't together.  If he messed things up now, he wouldn't even be 
able to talk to her anymore.
	Such thoughts continued to swim in his head as he pulled out 
some bottles of acid that needed to be neutralized and disposed of.  
Where had he put the sodium hydroxide...
	His train of thought was interrupted by the opening of the 
door.  "Well, if it isn't my *favorite* lab assistant!  And how are 
you today, Miss Tsukino?"
	"Sorry I'm late, Darien."  He instantly noticed the dull 
quality of her voice, as well as her droopy posture.  "I got called 
into my math teacher's office five minutes before school let out, so 
I had to stay after a while."
	"That's ok, Serena, it's no problem.  Is everything ok?"
	Her eyes were fixed on his shoes as she replied.  "What you 
mean is why did I have to talk to my math teacher.  Go ahead and see 
for yourself."  She thrust some papers she had been carrying out 
towards him dejectedly.
	Hesitantly, he took the test and flipped it over.  In bold 
red numbers, circled at the top was...93?  "You got a 93!  Serena, 
that's..."
	"Fooled you!"  A peal of laughter escaped the now delighted 
young girl.  "Miss Setsuna couldn't believe it when she graded it!  
She called me out of gym and everything to congratulate me!  And I 
got a 96 on my physical science test, and even an A on my English 
paper, and ok, so it was just an A-, but I'm still really proud and..."
	She was cut off as Darien crushed her into a bear hug, pulling 
her off her feet and twirling her around the lab.  He set her down, 
and their laughter slowly faded.  "Serena, that's really fantastic!  
Those are grades anyone would be proud of, and you deserved them, too."
	"I never would have gotten them if it hadn't been for you, 
Darien.  I don't know what to say..."  Impulsively, she threw her arms 
around his waist.  "Thanks for helping me out and tutoring me and... 
and for believing in me, even when I didn't believe in myself."
	A surprised Darien happily returned the hug.  "You're welcome, 
Serena."  
	After a moment, the young girl pulled away slowly, blushing 
slightly as she did.  "So, what do we have left to do here?"
	Darien reluctantly released his hold on her shoulders.  "Not 
much, just clean the equipment and put everything away.  It shouldn't 
take too long."
	"That shouldn't be too hard," she replied, as Darien rummaged 
in a cabinet.  "Have these been soaking long enough?  I'll just rinse 
them a few more times..."
	Out of the corner of his eye, Darien saw Serena staring to 
pour a large bottle of concentrated Sulfuric Acid down the sink.  
"No, wait Serena, that needs to be neutralized!"  He desperately 
reached for the bottle in the same instant Serena jerked it back.  
The liquid splashed from the bottle, spilling over her hands and 
splattering onto Darien's lab coat.  She cried out as the acid burned 
her skin.
	Darien reacted instantly, grabbing the girl by the back, 
dragging her to the safety shower, and pulling the cord.  As soon as 
he was sure the water was rinsing her hands, he quickly removed his 
lab coat and made sure the water was hitting him, too, in case the 
acid had gotten on any of his other clothes.
	"How are your hands?"  Concerned, Darien gently drew Serena's 
hands into his own, and raised them to his face for closer inspection.
	"They feel ok.  The acid wasn't on them for long."  She 
started to pull away, but Darien's grip was unrelenting.
	"Sorry, Serena, but chemical spills have to be rinsed for at 
least fifteen minutes, so we're both gonna be here for a while."  
Serena groaned and rolled her eyes.  "Hey, what was that for?"
	She sighed, exasperated.  "It's just that I finally thought I 
had my act together, I finally felt like a reasonably responsible, 
capable person, and then I go and do something completely klutzy like 
this."
	"Serena!"  He laughed, and tilted her chin up so that her eyes 
met with his.  "Nobody's perfect, ya know.  So you spilled something, 
so what?  It's not like that makes you a bad person.  There's never 
going to be a point in time when you'll never do something klutzy, or 
silly, even again.  It's not even a reasonable expectation!  All you 
can do is your best- if you do that, if you really, truly do, then you 
shouldn't beat yourself up about the results." 
	In order to be hit by the water's stream, they had to stand 
quite close together.  As he spoke, she became conscious of his wet 
hair, falling across his face, and the way his soaked shirt clung to 
his broad shoulders and chest.  Feeling slightly dizzy, she tottered 
forward a bit, so that their bodies brushed.  She felt herself turning 
red, but couldn't tear herself away from his vivid blue gaze.  "So you 
don't think I'm ditzy and worthless?"
	Darien screwed his courage to the sticking point.  The time 
had come.  "I think, Serena, that you are the exact opposite of 'ditzy 
and worthless.'  In fact, I can't think of a single person who is 
worth more to me in the entire world."  Serena's jaw almost dropped.  
As he spoke, his hand moved from her chin to stroke along her cheek.  
"I can't tell you how excited I was, when I found out that we were 
going to be in the same lab," he continued, "that I was going to get 
to see you every day."
	"So was I," she whispered quickly.  Encouraged, Darien 
threaded his other arm around her waist, pulling her slightly closer.  
"But I was so afraid, too," she added, "that you'd just think I was a 
complete idiot.  That you, that you wouldn't like me, too."
	"Silly Meatball Head!  People don't fall in love with 
someone's understanding of Einstein's Theory of Relativity, or with 
how fast they can solve definite integrals.  It's for how they make 
you feel."
	"Love?... you mean you... I mean, um, what are you saying, 
Darien?" she sputtered hopefully.
	"What am I saying?  I am saying that I, Darien Mamoru Chiba, 
am in love with you, Serena Usagi Tsukino.  I am saying that it makes 
me feel alive to be near you, and like there's still good in the 
world.  I am saying that I think you are the most wonderful, kind, 
sweet, beautiful person I have ever known.  And I am asking if you 
would give this egotistical jerk a chance, and consider being my 
girlfriend."
	She tried to speak, but no words would come that could convey 
her sheer joy.  Throwing her arms around him, she burrowed into his 
chest.  Finally finding her voice, she managed to squeak out a string 
of excited "yes"-es.
	"Oh, Serena..."  Cupping her chin in one hand, he guided her 
mouth to his own.  His lips were soft and gentle and warm, in contrast 
to the cool water that sprayed around them.  Serena tensed for an 
instant, then relaxed into his secure embrace.  Not wanting to push 
her too far, after a brief moment, Darien lifted his mouth from hers, 
and both were smiling as he rested his forehead against hers.  He 
noticed that a blush still stained her cheeks, and brought a hand up 
to caress it.  "What is it, Serena?"
	She smiled nervously.  "It's just that, well, that was my, my 
first kiss, Darien."
	He smiled and drew her closer.  "I'll bet you never dreamed 
your first kiss would be in the safety shower of a chemistry lab!"
	She laughed.  "Of course not, silly!  What sort of twisted 
girl would think up something like that!"  (AN: Uhhhh...)  "But," 
she went on, "I don't think I would have wanted it any other way."
	"Me neither, Meatball Head, me neither."  And then he bent 
down to deliver Serena's second kiss ever, and it turned out that 
neither minded that they had to remain in the safety shower for 
another fifteen minutes.

~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@   

	Andrew didn't look up when he heard the bell to the arcade 
door chime, and not immediately at hearing the mingled laughter of a 
young man and woman that followed.  But it slowly sank into his head 
that there was something very... familiar about these two particular 
laughs.  Lifting his head, much to his surprise, he saw Darien and 
Serena, arms linked together, dripping water on the floor, making their
way across the arcade, completely oblivious to the stares they were 
attracting.  They made their way to the cafe area, and Darien quickly 
took a seat at a booth.  Serena attempted to slide in across from him, 
but he slyly pulled her down next to him, launching another fit of 
giggles from the giddy girl.  
	Grinning himself, Andrew strode over to the booth.  "I shoulda 
known!  And what can I get for you two lovebirds?"  
	Had Darien actually brought a girl to the arcade at any point 
in the past, Andrew would clearly have been cruising for a bruising 
by making this statement.  But Darien just smiled, wrapped his soaking 
wet arm around Serena's shoulders, and replied, "We'd like a hot 
fudge sundae."
	"Make that two hot fudge sundaes!" Serena piped in.
	He smiled down at her dotingly.  "Better yet, how about one 
really big hot fudge sundae with two spoons?"
	"And two cherries!" Serena added, all smiles.
	"Coming right up!"  He returned to the bar to fill the order.  
As he prepared the dessert, four girls approached the counter.  
"Hey there girls!  How's it going?"
	"Andrew, quick!  Wouldja look at that?"  Mina hissed.
	"Yeah, I know!  Isn't it great?"
	"It's about time," Raye added.  "Now maybe Serena'll be able 
to hold a conversation without getting all starry-eyed and distracted 
after twenty seconds."
	"Man, Andrew, that's the biggest sundae I've eve seen!  Is it 
for them?" questioned Lita.
	"Yep, sure is." 
	Amy was regarding the couple curiously.  "But I just don't 
understand!  I always thought Serena and Darien couldn't stand each 
other."
	"Naw, I always knew they had a thing for each other," Andrew 
replied.
	Five shocked heads jerked towards him.
	"What?!?!"
	"You did?"
	"No way!"
	"But how did you know?"
	He grinned back at the perplexed girls.  "I dunno, I just 
always thought they had a lot of chemistry."  And with that, he 
strode across the arcade, bearing the happy couple's desired sundae.

~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@    ~~~~<~~@

THE END.

Ok, first of all, if there are any lab safety fanatics out there, yes, 
when you spill something on yourself, you're supposed to take off all 
your clothes when you get into the safety shower.  I decided to leave 
this out because, well, to put it simply, THIS IS NOT THAT KIND OF FIC!

Muchos Kudos to my Amazing roommate, Sailor Mercury, for thinking up 
the brilliant safety shower hook-up idea.  It may be a little bit... 
different, but I thought it was the greatest idea in a quirky sorta 
way.  I'd also like to thank all the really great authors out there who
inspired me to write my own fic (I'd list them, but there are just way
too many).  

Ok, I REALLY REALLY REALLY want everyone to email me comments, because 
I want my writing to improve.  I know I sometimes feel shy about 
e-mailing an author, but I don't bite, I promise, and I really do 
want to hear what people thought, and ways to make my fics better.  
Some things I was worried about in this fic included: too much Darien/ 
Serena and not enough other scenes, too cheesy/ not cheesy enough, 
not enough conflict to be interesting, and of course things about 
writing style and clarity.  If you have any thoughts on these or 
other areas, please do let me know!

Thanks so much for reading my fic!

Fawkes