Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Decided Bride ❯ First Lesson ( Chapter 6 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Chapter 6
~~ First Lesson ~~
Frozen in place, Serena's eyes were locked firmly on his. His grin widened at her obvious shock, "Are you ok?" he asked, a little hesitantly.
She paused for a moment before replying, "Uh, ye-" She cut off her response, realizing she had forgotten to deepen her voice, and quickly adjusted her tone, "I-I mean, yeah, I'm fine." She finished, mentally kicking herself for the slip.
The man released his hold on her arms and looked at Motoki, as did Serenity, with eyes wider than he'd thought possible. Motoki, she could see, was having difficulty trying to hold back laughter, "Tye, this is Darien… Darien, Tye… Darien was hired by my father two days ago to help out around here," Motoki managed to explain -- a huge grin on his face as Serenity turned to face Darien once more.
He held out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Tye," he said as she took his proffered hand. His grip was firm, but not crushing.
She smiled weakly, "The same," she managed to squeak -- and could have sworn his smile had turned into a smirk – but Motoki's words drew her attention away from Darien.
"Darien, I want you to work behind the bar for a while. Tye and I have some…business we need to attend to -- now you can practice what I taught you yesterday. If you need any help, just ask Naru."
Darien continued speaking to her as Motoki moved from behind the counter and Darien took his place.
Serenity watched, still dumbstruck, as Darien began filling mugs with ale. Motoki took her by the arm, dragging her towards the stairs that led to his family's chambers – as her head snapped back towards the stairs.
They reached his room and entered. She walked towards the window as Motoki closed the door behind them. He turned to face her, and could no longer contain himself -- clutching his stomach -- he almost fell to the floor with laughter.
Serenity threw him a quizzical gaze, "What are you laughing about?"
Once Motoki regained his composure, he lifted his eyes to hers, "You should have seen the look on your face. It was priceless!" he cackled, causing another fit of uncontrollable laughter as he struggled to sit down in the chair closest to him.
Serenity felt her cheeks burning up, "What do you mean?" she asked with a mixture of shock and embarrassment.
"You looked as if he were the first male you had ever seen, Usagi. Your eyes doubled in size, and…."Whatever his next words might have been, these were lost in a cascade of laughter.
Serenity sat down at the table across from him, "Hush up, Motoki. I couldn't have looked that bad," she snapped.
"Oh, but yes you did, Usagi, you did!" His laughter subsided, and he regained a semblance of self-control. It was then he could see that her face was a very bright shade of pink.
"Well, I don't have a lot of time, Motoki. So, if you're quite finished making a fool of yourself, could we get on with the reason why I came here?" she asked, acid dripping from her tone.
Serenity's mood didn't affect him in the slightest, for the grin remained shamelessly upon his face, but he nodded his agreement, "All right, all right…let's start, shall we?" Serenity smiled, and the lesson began.
After an hour, they had made absolutely no progress. Motoki sat down and gave an exasperated sigh, "Serenity, there is nothing that I can really teach you. You're not uncomfortable around me enough," he pronounced, exasperation obvious in his tone. Serenity sighed as she too sat down. He was right. He had put his arm around her shoulders, hugged her, danced close with her (although rather clumsily, since it was something he wasn't used to), whispered sweet nothings to her, tried to woo her... but she had no problem being near him as they were so close to begin with. She rubbed her temples with the heels of her hands. How was she going to do this?
There was a soft knock on the door, "Come in," Motoki called out, making sure Serenity was still wearing the hat.
Naru, the pretty waitress with red hair poked her head inside the door, "Motoki, we're going to need your help -- Oh, hello Princess. Motoki, an entourage from Saturn have just arrived and we need to help them settle in. How are you, your Highness?" The girl questioned, turning her attention to the princess. Serenity smiled at the red head.
Motoki ran his hand through his hair and looked back at Serenity, "We can try again later. Come back after hours when it's dark. Maybe it's just the daylight." Serenity nodded and Motoki got up, "Lead the way, Naru." He instructed, as they exited the room, followed by Serenity.
Motoki approached a large group of Saturnians who were waiting at the bar patiently. Serenity had pulled the hood back over her head and moved towards the main exit. She glanced back, trying to catch a glimpse of the raven-haired man she had met only an hour before. She noticed him standing next to Motoki, scribbling furiously upon a stack of papers while Motoki talked to the newcomers.
As if sensing her eyes on him, his head shot up and he looked strait at her. She quickly slipped through the door and walked down the bustling street. Her heart thudding against her chest wildly and her hands gripping her cloak with all the strength she could muster to steady her nerves. It was not until she reached the safety of her own room did she begin to relax, though her heart would not cease its wild dance inside her chest.
She undressed and called for one of the maids. She stood on her balcony in a robe, staring out at the garden as the maid drew a bath for her. The girls would have finished training and going to lunch, following their meeting with Artemis.
Serenity smiled to herself as she thought of the man in the tavern, his hair falling gently over his forehead. His mesmerizing smile, the heat of his hands on her arms, the- she cut the thought off. No, stop it, she chastised herself inwardly. She was going to meet her future husband in a fortnight. She couldn't think about any other man.
She went back inside and dismissed the maid before stepping into the warm water. She resolved not to think of the creature in a non-platonic way. Still, the odd weight at the pit of her stomach refused to leave her, it's just a momentary crush, she thought to herself. It's not like I'm in love with the man, and he has no idea I'm a girl, and wouldn't be interested if he did. She let out a long sigh and sank deeper into the soothing water.

~ Disclaimer ~
I do not own the rights to Sailormoon or any of the characters. That honour belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, and I am simply a lowly author who can use her characters for my plots.
I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you so much to my wonderful Beta's, Loki and ken_shin_ta. You two are irreplaceable, patient, and just plain amazing. You've helped me improve my writing skills, and I am very grateful to you. Thanks!