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Slight Confusion
By Illusive Angel

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Rated: PG
Genre: Alternate Universe (spooky music)

Disclaimer: Little raindrops keep falling on my head, but that doesn't mean that I own Sailor Moon!  
cherrymable@hotmail.com

Dewberry potion
is set for commotion!

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“Excuse me miss!”
“Excuse me miss!”
Two voices exclaimed simultaneously. The flight attendant flicked her head from one side to another, slightly confused as to whom she should answer first. Two different people were calling for her from opposite sides of the aisle and they were both too absorbed in paperwork to even bother to look up. She stood still and clamped her eyes shut. The people on this flight were uncharacteristically rude, she had been on a 9- hour shift and her feet were aching, right down to her little toes. She didn’t care who eventually received her service, but she would just stand there until ‘they’ decided. The people on this business-class flight could be so demanding!

        Serena Abbots clamped her jaw shut and struggled to look past the flight attendant’s navy-blue skirt, in order to see whom else had called out. She had absolutely no time for this!
She was met by an equally annoyed pair of cobalt eyes, which softened upon contact. They melted into amusement and she noted that they belonged to a breathtakingly handsome man.
He gave an apologetic smile.
        The look he was giving her was boyishly sheepish. The navy blue suit he was wearing, brought out the striking contrast of his eyes and could not even attempt to conceal his fantastic physique. Her gaze traveled up to his strong jaw which was moving up and down, he was saying something. She really should be listening.
        Her eyes wandered over to the table sustaining a lap-top and assorted files. He, not unlike herself, was also submerged with an endless amount of paperwork.
        “Uh, Please Ms…?” he questioned softly. Her gaze finally arrested on his, showing slight confusion.
        “Huh? Oh! Abbots. Ms.Abbots,” she managed to croak out.
        “Ms.Abbots, please accept my apology.” He nodded his dark head once and indicated toward the flight attendant with his hand. Serena's eyebrows shot up. What was there to forgive? She had already forgotten.
Her gaze flickered up to the flight attendant, who looked at her with half expectancy, half annoyance.
        “What would you like, miss?” she asked surreptitiously sweet.
        “Just an orange juice thanks.” She sighed tiredly. She resumed her examination of the clientele files she had spread before her and smiled a polite thanks when a small container of orange juice was placed atop scattered papers. Serena barely registered the murmur of complaint from the flight attendant as she trudged away, nonplussed.
She paused her scanning to pick up the juice and began sipping absentmindedly. Resting her head back against the head-rest, she closed her eyes wearily.
        She knew that recently, she had been working her 24 year old body much too hard, but new offers were coming in every singly day. The opportunities were to favorable for her to dismiss.
She considered ordering another juice, but her eyes caught on an additional sheet of paper lying underneath a manila folder. She pulled it from beneath and studied it with great interest. This was not a contract which she had replied to, it was not even one which she knew about! The cream colored file was stapled neatly together sporting the name ‘Jola Industry’. She flicked through it hurriedly and realized that it was a large contract.
        Panic rose in chest, as she brought her hand up to smooth back the hair at her forehead. Where the hell did it come from?! Her mind wandered back to when she had been packing all the documents and never once had she come across this one?
A scream threatened to rise in her throat as her eyes darted wildly again over the sheet, skimming the words with an analytical eye. A little yellow post-it note caught her eye down the bottom and Serena let out the breath which she didn’t even realize that she had been holding in. Deidre, her secretary was going to have some explaining to do.
Now how the heck was she going to reply to all these quotes by the end of the week and also attend all these meetings?
Maybe she needed some coffee?
She looked up and scanned the aisles for a flight attendant and spotted one coming toward her. She raised a hand and waved slightly.
A spurt of turbulence caused her to jolt forward. She gasped. The movement, allowing the juice in her hand the free reign of destroying precious files and her brand new suit.
        The suit which she had slaved over two weeks of wages over.
        The suit which was designer labeled.
        The suit which was going to cost her the approval of tomorrow’s client!
She did the only possible thinkable thing which she could do.

“Shit,” she swore unceremoniously. It had been loud enough, that a few business people had turned speculative eyes on her. Serena didn’t even bother to glance up. Instead she stared at the container in her hand and wished it all different kinds of deaths. The top hadn’t been placed on properly! She was going to have a word or two with that flight attendant.
She sealed her eyes together gently and took a deep breath.
Everything would be fine, every thing would be just fine as lo……
“That’s not very lady-like,” replied a throaty voice.

She spun her head around and glared at the imbecile who dared to laugh at her predicament. She was going through a mid-life crisis and some moron had the gall to interrupt her inner ramblings. Her lips thinned but eventually gentled when her eyes touched the polite man from before.
Oh well, at least it gave her time to admire more of his profile.
He gave her a resplendent smile and proceeded to reach in his pocket, extracting a crisply folded handkerchief. He leaned over and passed it on to her.
“Here you go,” he offered. Serena blushed and accepted the scrap of material cautiously. The stain would hopefully come out by hand- washing it. She eyed a set of tiny initials which was sewn into the handkerchief and peered at it more closely, curious at the inscription. The navy colored silk which was embroidered with calligraphy, spelt the initials DK. She realized to her horror, that she hadn’t even introduced herself to this stranger. How awfully rude of her?
Her head snapped up and she realized with embarrassment that he had been gazing at her all this time. The blush on her face became even more prominent as she passed over the handkerchief to its owner.
“Serena Abbots,” she introduced herself. He smiled gallantly while pocketing the slightly ‘wet’ material without any qualms. He extended his right hand cordially.
“Darien Klyne, pleased to be of your service anytime you spill any refreshments on yourself.” Serena laughed good-naturedly as she shook the hand he offered firmly. Maybe this plane trip wasn’t going to be so bad after all?

        “So let me get this right. When you were on the track team, you used to hide out behind buildings when they started running and you……ate chocolate?” Darien nodded his dark head enthusiastically as an ebony colored lock of hair, jumped into his eyes. Serena itched to brush it back.
        For the past hour they had been discussing various subjects ranging from worldly issues, right down to really nothing at all. Darien Klyne had turned out to be a pleasant surprise. For not only was he charmingly witty, but he was also devilishly handsome.
Serena gazed at him warmly and nodded absentmindedly. He spoke with ease and seemed so mysteriously open, for a person who seemed so closed. She smiled. She had definitely made a new friend.
        “My friends and I used to have secret stashes all over the school.
It’s a fetish which still lives within me today.” To add conviction to his claim, he uncovered his suit-jacket to reveal a ‘Snickers’ bar nestled safely within a pocket.
Serena gasped with delight, then proceeded to bite her lip as if in deep thought. Her eyebrows shot up in sudden recognition and she bent down to unclasp her leather suitcase. During the time Serena was rummaging frantically, Darien gave her a quizzical look.
        “What, exactly are you doing?” he questioned curiously.
Serena response came out as a muffled reply, nearly impossible to decipher. A small ‘Aha’ was exclaimed as she pulled herself up. She came out triumphant, with a packet of big M&M’s from her suitcase.
Darien's eyes widened with amusement.
        “I see we have a fellow chocoholic,” he chuckled as his eyes crinkled once more.

        Darien grinned contentedly.
He, in all his chocolate munching years, hadn’t eaten as much as he had tonight! She kept pulling irresistible treats from thin air varying from candy coated, peanut crunch to caramel centered.
        He groaned and suppressed the urge to bend and clutch his stomach. Why did he have to think about it now? Even the mere thought of devouring more, made his stomach protest in outrage.
But how could he have said no to her? Any sane man in his position would have complied and probably would have eaten more until he was bursting.
At that moment, he felt like erupting.
        They had split ways a few minutes before, to his own great reluctance. Serena Abbots was gorgeous on the outside and was even more so on the inside. She had look totally unaffected by the amount of confection which she had consumed and he wondered how she kept up her incredibly slim body?
In hopes that he would not make a complete fool of himself and do something ridiculous like barfing right at her feet, he had politely thanked her for the plane trip and departed. He was on the verge of asking her for her phone number, but failed to do so when he felt his stomach turn.
‘I’ve got to go!’ he hurriedly declared. He was on a desperate mission to discover the ‘men’s room.’

Darien had emerged to find that his lone suitcase was the only one which was revolving around the luggage distributor. He picked it up and realized that it was slightly heavier than what he thought he actually packed, maybe he was just hallucinating?
He looked down toward the suitcase, it was definitely his. The same style, the same color.
He shrugged and walked out toward the car depots.

He gazed out toward the city which was still alive, even at such a late hour. The neon signs of many stores and restaurants were still bright and flaring, indicating that this was not a city which slept early.
The skyline contained scattered stars, which peeked out through the billowy mist. It was a pity that the clouds were covering the twinkling orbs, or else it would have been a beautifully starry night. Somehow they reminded him of a similar pair of blue sparkling eyes which twinkled with mischief.
Darien shook his head with self-regret, he really should have gotten
Serena’s number. Now he would be thinking of a way to obtain her number and when he actually attained it?
He would be asking himself whether or not he would call her?
Serena Abbots, really was something special. Never had he spoken so openly with anyone, upon first meeting them, but it was a little hard not to get along with Serena. She was just open-minded, open-hearted, Serena.
        He frowned slightly, she was a little too friendly. For all she knew, he could have been some…..kidnapper. Not that he was…..but still. That heart of hers was much too trusting and it would definitely get her into trouble one day. He would have to speak to her about it before she did get herself into a tangle………yes.
Darien's thoughts snapped back. God! He was acting like some jealous boyfriend!
He most certainly had to steer his mind away from her.
His eyes focused again out the window and on the whizzing objects flying past. People were scattered about and were walking aimlessly about, whether it be families or couples strolling hand in hand.
His heart wrenched for a slight moment, before he quenched the feeling, which he even loathed to mention.
Here he went again, off on another one of his self-depressing escapades.
Think of happy thoughts, think of happy thoughts.

He wondered where Serena was right now?
Would she probably be staying at the same hotel as he was?
Or would he bump into her sometime?
He frowned with a new thought popping into his head.
What happened if she wasn’t single?
Or worse, married?!
No, he didn’t see any ring on her left hand.
Maybe he was speculating too much.
He leaned back into the car interior and flicked a glance at the tab which he was running, $6.45.
        The cabbie gave him another one of those thoughtful glances he had been throwing at him all night, before quickly averting his eyes, to avoid the icy stare which Darien had bestowed upon him. He shifted nervously in his seat and brought the car to an abrupt stop.
“Uh….uh we’re here sir,” he stuttered nervously.
Darien glanced up at the splendor of the Regency hotel, then at the cabbie tiredly. The thought of a warm bed and a hot cup of coffee beckoned to him and he chucked a slight smile

Did she own Calvin Klein underwear and wear after-shave?
She was still pretty sure that she was female?
        Serena looked down. Hello. Hell yes she was.

She picked up a frosted bottle of perfume….Isseye Miyake?
Obviously, a male who knew how to pick his scents. Her eyes gloomily examined each article of clothing and pieces of toiletry, which were neatly folded and packed.
That was, until she was going to go through them.
        She fingered a deep crimson tie, which slid through her fingers silkily. She hoped and prayed against odds, that once she found this fellow and returned his suitcase, that he would have hers. She blushed guiltily as she came across another piece of crisply folded underwear.
This felt all too personal. She was going through some man’s most trusted articles and he wouldn’t even know about it. Her hand paused over a light-blue business shirt. Should she continue looking? She felt like she was invading his space, the space of a man which she didn’t even know.
Her curiosity won the better of her and she continued to remove the item of clothing from the stack. Besides, she reasoned. It was necessary for her to get her suitcase back.

Serena gawked quirkily at the contents scattered about her hotel room, all containing the contents of a well-groomed male. So far she had been rummaging through and she couldn’t find a single trace of who this person was?
Was she ever going to find this mystery man?
Her hopes almost diminished to nothing, as she approached the bottom of the case. She stood abruptly and gave a cry of frustration, tugging her hair in contempt. She needed files in her suitcase for tomorrow’s conferences!
Serena paced around the room nervously and chewed her lip unconsciously. Maybe she could call the airport and ask if they had seen her suitcase. Yes, that seemed like a logical path.
Serena huffed a breath and strode over to the bedside phone in a matter of seconds. She called the dialing operator with impatiently long fingers flicking over the buttons.
“Hi. Yes, can I please be put through to the Chicago airport, please?”
“Would you hold on a moment, please.” The effeminate voice cut clearly through the phone.
Soothing jazz music began playing in Serena's ear, as she gritted her teeth together in a restless gesture.
She hated call waiting.

        Dang and blast it all to hell!
He didn’t believe that this, of all things, could possibly happen to him! Darien Klyne. It was ludicrous, the mere thought of it had him angry enough to jump the roof!
His large figure was hunched over the tiny fridge, thoughtfully gazing at the contents. Only the sight of a jar of jam greeted him in the near bare cabinet.
The stupid person who forgot to restock the mini-bar fridge was going to pay! He was looking forward to his coffee, too!
What was he going to do now, without his caffeine kick?
Darien groaned grumpily and slammed the door shut, which resulted in a resounding ‘thud’. He glared at the door with contempt, and proceeded to slam it again. There, that should teach them.
He strode over to the elegant leather couch and sat down firmly,
Maybe a few rounds of Jerry Springer would enlighten his mood.
Just to prove that maybe, his life existence wasn’t as sad as he thought.

Darien Klyne, wearing Klein underwear.
Now that was a funny thought. Serena gave a wry smile and looked up to the ornate phone. She was inclined to give Mr.Klyne a call about his Klein underwear.
        Now if only she had his phone number?
She looked back down to the piece of black underwear. She still couldn’t believe that she didn’t pick it up when she was rummaging through his things. Moreover, she couldn’t believe that he labeled his clothes!
        Serena tried time after time, imagining Darien's large figure sitting hunched over a sewing machine. It couldn’t be done.
Although, she did admire an organized man.
Serena tapped her chin gingerly, as she thought back to the conversations she had with him. No, not once did he mention which hotel he was staying at. She sighed heavily and realized that she was probably going to be flicking through the whole list of hotels in the phone book.
She was glad that she had found her ‘mystery man’, but she was also dead tired.
        Serena looked forlornly at the phone book nestled within her hands and sighed, all this for the sake of work.

        Stupid hotels, all of them were stupid! None, absolutely none of the hotels which she rang, had a ‘Darien Klyne’ and she had practically gone through every one! Who was this? Superman under disguise or something? Her eyes looked up, it was possible, but truly unrealistic.
Her finger skimmed down to the last hotel, ‘The Regency’.
How uncanny would it be, if ‘he’ were staying at the exact same hotel as ‘she’ was? Knowing how things have been turning out for her lately, she wouldn’t be surprised.
She dialed for reception avidly, this would be her last hope.

“Good evening, this is ‘The Regency’ hotel, reception speaking. How may I help you?” droned a tired male voice.
        “Hello, I was wondering if there was a Darien Klyne in residence?”
Serena recited for ‘god knows how many times’. She waited anxiously for a reply and waited almost on the edge of her seat.
        “Yes, ma’am there is actually….” Serena bit the inside of her mouth with frustration. “…..he is in room 507.”
Just down the hallway from her room 500, figures.

        He was interrupted from his viewing from an impatient knock at his door. He glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece, 12:00. Who would be wanting to talk to him this late? He shrugged and straightened from his reclining position and strode over to the door. This person had better a good reason for interfering with his ‘Jerry Springer’ show. Some lady was about to whack a boyfriend for cheating on her.
        The person he most least expected to see was standing at his doorstep, looking almost bedraggled and ready to wrestle a panther if it got in her way of direction. He noted that she looked adorably angry, but refrained from stating so, if he prized his bodily parts. He noticed that she was dragging a large object behind her and realised that it was a suitcase. If she wanted to crash in his hotel suite, he would have expected a call. But who was he to complain when a sexy blonde turned up on his doorstep? Moreover, how could he refuse?
        “Serena, what are you doing here? And with a suitcase?” he scratched his head. “We’ve got the same suitcases, did you know that?!”
He looked incredulously at the silver luggage-wheeler.
She looked at him with positively murderous eyes.
        “I know.” She grounded out.
“You wouldn’t believe how hard I’ve been trying to find you! I thought that you were Superman at one stage. I rang every hotel in Manhattan and I find from the very last call, that you are just down the hall from me! Do you know how much I feel like screaming right now?”
        Darien stepped aside to let her in, as the suitcase was trailing behind her. She plopped down on the couch, seemingly spent and he grinned as he sat down beside her.
        “So, what have you been up to? I feel honored that you have gone to such lengths to find me.” He chuckled.
        “I’ve got your suitcase, and hopefully, you have mine.” She explained.
        “Aaah, so that’s why. I thought mine felt a little heavy when I took it off the luggage thing.” Darien mused. “You look like you’ve gone through hell and back. How about some coffee?” Serena smirked. She did feel like hell, but didn’t care how she looked at the current moment. She was just glad that she had found Darien, and besides, he didn’t seem too concerned with how she appeared.
        “Gee, you sure know how to compliment a girl. I certainly feel like a million bucks.” He jumped up from the couch and held out a hand. Serena looked at it confusedly, from his eyes to his hands.
        “But aren’t we having coffee here? I thought that I could sit and you could play the role of host.” She whined. Darien gave an exasperated sigh as he gazed down at the unmoving form.
        “There’s not a single drop of coffee in this room and so we’ll have to go out for it. I’m sorry….” Serena gave an adorable pout but brightened at his next words. “I’ll buy you some cake, too. Chocolate cake.” He prodded. She needed no more urging as she jumped off the couch and sprinted to the door. Darien laughed as he stopped to grab his coat and switch off the lights. As he stepped out the door and offered his arm to Serena, he glimpsed a small hint of mischief in her eyes. He shook the feeling from his mind as they began walking down to the elevator.

        “Darien Klyne, do you really label your Calvin Klein underwear?”

Comments/E-mails ?cherrymable@hotmail.com
That’s all for now
Illusive Angel