(MV Sequel)

Hopefully Smash and I will come out with a good title in the near future. This is the sequel to Moonlight Visito(obviously)r. Even though we haven't completed the actual Moonlight Visitor story, I got too excited and wanted to start on this. xD I really hope you all enjoy it. I might be making a few changes to the first chapter a little later, but for now, it stays. Oh, and I would appreciate it if whoever reads it gives me some feedback on how it is, what I need to improve, ect!^^'

Ch. 1 No Perfect Moments..

“Hahaha! Catch me if you can!” Little Serenity laughed as her big brother Josh was chasing her through the different jungle gyms in the large park. “You can’t get away from me for long!” he challenged, even though it looked like he was having some trouble keeping up with her.

It was a beautiful, late August day in Emerald Town. The sun was out shining brightly without a cloud in the sky, and there was a refreshing breeze in the shade that helped with the summer heat. There were a lot of kids and parents out in the park, enjoying themselves as well in the weather.

Not too far off, Mike, Lina and Diana all sat on top of a picnic table under a large gazebo, enjoying the nice weather and watching the two children play in the distance. They didn’t really seem to change, except for Diana’s new wardrobe choice. Feeling a little out of place in her ‘royal’ dress, she gladly went shopping with Lina and Emily to find a new Mobian look for her. So instead of her long Animastrian dress, she wore a small maroon shirt that revealed her tight stomach, a dark purple jacket that she kept the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, black shorts, black fingerless gloves, and long pink and white knee high boots.

All three seemed to be deep in thought as their eyes wandered around the park.

Diana rested her chin in her hands as she watched her niece and nephew play, fondly. It made her so happy to finally spend time with them and get to know them a little more, even though it was just a short time they’d have together. Her thoughts then wandered to the happy reunion she had the night before, when her brother and Rachael finally came back to see her in her new life with Mike and his family. The first thing she did was run and hug her brother so tight, she could feel his breath escape him! She felt silly now when she remembered how much she had cried shortly after that.

’Its strange..I haven’t felt alone once since I decided to stay on this planet..not even for a minute..’ Memories of Gizmo, Smash, Team Garnet, Mike, Lina, and their parents flashed through her mind. ’But when Percy and Rachael showed up..with Joshua, Serenity and Illy, I-I…I felt complete. Like a piece of my heart and soul was back..that I could-’ She cut herself off as a sudden sadness came over her. They weren’t going to stay for long...Now that her brother took her place as ruler of Animas, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to have moments like this too often. Ruling a planet was something that needed much time and effort..it wasn’t something that they could just put off every now and then to have fun and spend time with her..

She looked over at Mike, who wasn’t paying attention to her at the moment. He was looking in another direction, in deep thought of his own.

’I was the one that chose this life though..so I need to stop complaining and enjoy my decision through the bad as well as the good..’ she thought as she smiled lightly at her handsome reason for staying on Mobius.
~
’You know, Percy has been nothing but trouble since he arrived last night..’ Mike thought with a hint of irritation. His thoughts took him back to the night before, remembering Percy and Rachael’s entrance as they just waltzed through his front door in the middle of dinner with Diana and his family.

It took him, Diana and Lina at least 15 minutes to calm his parents down and try to explain that they’re Diana’s brother and sister in law! ’Mom almost had a heart-attack and I thought dad was going to kill Percy!’ He ran his hands down his face as he re lived the stress.

It wasn’t all bad after that. In fact, he hadn’t seen Diana that happy in a long time since her stay. ‘It must’ve made her extremely happy that both our families were getting to know each other..’ He smiled lightly for a moment as he remembered her amazing smile, but soon frowned when his thoughts came back to Percy.

’Then he says he has some big surprise for Diana and that we have to watch Serenity and Joshua for the night because they had to prepare it. He didn’t give any details about anything, just that we would probably be watching the kids for most of today before him and Rachael returned..’

He looked flustered as he tried to think of what this ‘surprise’ for Diana could be. And why they couldn’t at least watch their own children while preparing for this ‘surprise’. ’Whatever it is, I hope we find out soon..all this waiting around is making me anxious!’ he sighed gruffly and let himself fall backwards onto the picnic table, laying on his back with his arms spread out.

The loud thump he made woke the girls from their thoughts, and both turned to look at him with worry. “You okay Mike?” Lina asked before Diana could.

The orange cat just rubbed the top of his forehead with his index finger and thumb. “Yeah, just gave myself a headache trying to figure out what Diana’s surprise is.” he explained with a sigh.

Diana sweat dropped. “Yeah, I was actually thinking about that too just now. I wonder what  it could be!” she cried enthusiastically and clasped her hands together with excitement.

“Same here.” Lina added with a giggle. She then turned back to the park to try and keep an eye on Serenity and Josh again. “It must be big if we still have to watch the little ones so late in the day now.”

“Exactly.” Mike muttered, acting as if he were bothered by something.

It was beginning to actually worry him now. He didn’t know why..perhaps he was just over thinking it. But the worst possible things were going through his mind. Like..what if the surprise was something from her home planet that was going to make her want to stay there?..Would she take back everything she said before and go back?

“Hey..” Diana frowned at him, knowing there was something wrong. She laid down next to him on her side and gently stroked his cheek with her gloved hand to try and comfort him.  

Her sudden touch made him flinch a little. “Hmm?” He turned to look at her, a bleak look in his eyes.

“There’s something else bothering you. What is it?” she asked with concern.

This wasn’t the first time she’d seen this look. She’d caught him a few times with the same, pained expression on his face in quiet moments..It was deeply upsetting whenever he’d look at her like that..It was as if he was falling apart slowly and piece by piece on the inside..

Mike could feel her worry filled eyes burn through him when he closed his tightly. ’Stop being such an idiot..’ he cursed himself. ’She chose you over being the Queen of her planet..over living with her people! She wouldn’t just abandon you after all the sacrifices she made just to be by your side.’

After mentally kicking and assuring himself, he reopened his eyes suddenly, holding the hand she used to comfort him in his own now and looked deep into her sapphire eyes lovingly. “Its nothing. I’m alright as long as you’re here..by my side.” he breathed gently, then lightly pressed his lips to the top of her hand.

Diana blushed madly from his tender words and intimate gesture. It was all definitely something she wasn’t used to yet. The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering so wildly, they began to tickle her chest. His half lidded gaze was enough to make her insides melt and her body stiffen from nervousness all at the same time.

Mike lifted himself up with his elbow, and started to lean in slowly to kiss her. The moment was perfect. The atmosphere was just right. All of this was new to him as well, but he seemed able to get over the slight embarrassing moments of engaging romantic moments between them.

Out of respect for her, (and out of some inexperience on his part), he had only tried to kiss her a few times since she surprised him at Gizmo’s house, choosing him over her old life. He was successful once or twice, but there were times when she just wasn’t ready and quickly turned away from embarrassment.
But now, the way she looked at him, the way she was leaning in too, told him that this was going to be another one of those few, perfect moments that was going to be ama-

“Eww will you two just get a room already? Mike you’re such a cheese ball when you’re trying to be sweet! Yuck..Diana how could you go all ga-ga over something so cheesy!” Lina barked in disgust and jumped off the table to distance herself from her love sick brother. It was hard to tell if she was serious or just picking on them, even after her short giggles.

In that instant, Diana’s whole body turned red from embarrassment, and she quickly turned away to sit on the other side of the table to hide her shame.

Mike fell forward and hit his head on the table, shaking from the sudden embarrassment and anger he felt from Lina ruining (again) what could’ve been (another) perfect moment between him and his girlfriend! He jumped off the table angrily and got into his sister’s face, glowering down at her.

“Would you stop with that already? How many times are you going to keep doing this right when Diana and I are about to kiss?! Do you enjoy embarrassing her this much all the time?” he scowled while pointing to poor Diana, who was wobbling back and forth and looked like she was going to faint from how hot the embarrassment was making her body.

Lina just smirked and laughed at his boiling anger. “Oh chill out, Mike. I’m not doing it to embarrass her, its to embarrass you! (Although that’s just a big plus!)“ she whispered the last part, followed by a loud laugh. “I’m your sister. Its my job!” She winked and stuck her tongue out at him before running off to play with Serenity and Joshua to give them their space..and to avoid getting yelled at more by her brother.

Mike fumed at her silently for a moment as he watched her run away. He turned around and was about to help Diana until he heard Lina yell something to him when she was a good ways away.

“Have fun sucking each other’s faces without me around to ruin it!” She made sure to yell it as loud as she could so that everyone in the park would stop and stare.

..And they did. All the parents, all the teenagers, and all the children stared strangely at the young couple, some even laughing, making the embarrassment 100 times worse than before. Mike could feel his face go numb as he awkwardly felt everyone’s eyes on him.

Through the commotion she caused, he swore he could hear Lina’s distant laughter..

The purple rabbit began to feel dizzy when she saw the stares and heard the giggles and laughter from almost everyone in the park. She’d never felt this kind of heart pounding embarrassment before. She just couldn’t take it..

“O-Oh..my….” Diana watched as the world around her went black. She finally fainted from the unbearable embarrassment. Her eyes were spiraling in slow circles as she fell from the top of the picnic table..

“Oh my gosh..Diana!” Mike cried dramatically. He ran to her as fast as he could, and caught her before she hit the ground.

~~

Diana wasn‘t sure what was going on as she slowly came back into consciousness. It felt like she was in a dream, sleeping soundly as the fuzziness kept her eyes closed in a type of sleeping form. She could hear voices as she slowly began to come to her senses.

”Chao, chao chao chao!”

“Its okay Illy..She’s still breathing. Auntie Diana? Auntie Diana you gotta get up now..” she heard the scared, shrill voice of her niece followed by some pokes to her side.

“Wow…I honestly didn’t think what I said would make her pass out like this for so long..I’m sorry Mike..” she heard Lina say. She sounded more amused than sorry.

“You should be..What if I didn’t catch her in time and she cracked her skull open?” She heard Mike argue through his worry. She felt herself move a little as he yelled, realizing she must be in his arms.

“Ugghhhhh..” she groaned, completely coming back to reality and opening her eyes.

“Diana!” Both Mike and Lina cried in relief.

“Chao chao!” Illy flew from Serenity’s arms, straight onto Diana’s chest, hugging her tightly and not letting go anytime soon. Diana smiled sheepishly as she pet the exotic chao, cooing it to try and calm it down. “Shh its alright Illy. I’m fine.”

“Are you sure you’re okay Auntie Diana?..” little Serenity asked, and sat down next to her on the ground. Joshua stood behind his little sister, looking down at his aunt with worried eyes. “Yeah cause that looked pretty bad..you were out cold for almost a half hour.” he added.

Diana’s eyes went wide from shock. “Half hour?” she repeated, dumbfounded.

“Are you okay young lady?” she heard an unfamiliar masculine voice ask her from outside the gazebo. She looked over in confusion, and finally noticed a small crowd of some of the people who were laughing at her earlier, now looking worried behind an old man she thought she saw sitting on one of the benches before her little ‘incident‘. Diana didn’t know how to react from the large company. Were they all legitimately worried about her?

“Yes, she’s fine. Thank you.” Mike answered sheepishly when he saw that Diana’s shy nature was keeping her from answering right away.

“Thank goodness.” A few sighed from relief, then went about their own business.

“If it wasn’t for that young man there, it’d have been much worse. These darn people laughing at you for such an ignorant reason..you pay no mind to them next time!” Said the same old man in disgust that asked if she was alright.

Diana nodded sheepishly at him. ’Next time?’ “Y-Yes sir..Thanks again.”

The man smiled back and tipped his hat to the group before heading off towards the other end of the park.

Diana smiled warmly in his direction, then looked up to smile at Mike who still held her tightly in his arms. “There’s so many nice people on this planet..It really makes me happy that I decided to stay here with you..”

Both Mike and Lina smiled back at her..but out of the corner of her eye she swore she saw Josh and Serenity frown. She was about to turn and apologize for hurting their feelings if she did, until Serenity quickly grabbed her hand.

“Come on, Auntie Diana! You have to come play by the creek with us!” the little girl exclaimed with a big smile before Diana could squeeze out the word ‘sorry‘..

“Chao chao!” Illy spun in circles in the air, leading the way towards the small creek that babbled at the edge of the park.

“Sounds fun Serenity. Let’s go!” Maybe it was just her imagination then..

Diana was about to get up, but Mike stopped her and pulled her closer to him. “Are you sure you’re alright to stand and walk on your own?” he asked, unusually protective.

The purple rabbit gave him a questioning look. “Yes Mike, Its not like I‘m seriously injured or anything..I can walk on my own now.” she tried to assure him, and attempted once more to get up and out of his grasp.

“Well too bad!” he surprised her by playfully hoisting her up, and carrying her bridal style. “I feel like carrying you there.” he added with a grin.

Diana giggled happily, giving in and allowing him to carry her to their destination. She couldn’t help but blush slightly from the close contact

“Hey that looks like fun!” Serenity exclaimed. Without warning, she jumped and climbed on her brother, nearly knocking him to the ground face first.

“Serenity!” Joshua whined with annoyance as she held onto his neck tightly and awkwardly.

“Come on, carry me Joshy. Just like Uncle Mike is doing with Auntie Diana!” she laughed.

Joshua groaned loudly, but did what his sister commanded as he followed the couple heading towards the creek. “You’re such a pain..” he grumbled lowly while she laughed from how much fun she was having.

~
“You’re so weird..” Diana said sheepishly with a tint of red in her cheeks. “If I’m too heavy though, you can put me down.”

“Too heavy?” Mike repeated, dumbfounded. “You’re as light as a feather!” He then started to lift Diana up and down, as if she were some kind of weight. “See? I could carry you all day if I wanted to.”

Once again, he got a giggle out of her. Making her happy and hearing her laughter always made him feel proud and useful. The day she surprised him and everyone else at Gizmo’s house back to her age of 17, felt like a second chance to him. A chance to finally keep her safe and smiling every day..It was all he wished for during the hardship they both went through a few months back when they got kidnapped by her crazy possessed sister.
And also, he didn’t like to think about it that much, but he could still remember the devastation he felt when Lucretia revealed to him and everyone else how old Diana really was. It was strange seeing his beloved Diana 13 years older than he was. It wasn’t just strange..it was downright disturbing. Even after she brought him back to life after he sacrificed himself to defeat the monster inside of her, she was still 13 years older than him..And she was still the queen of her planet..making their future too impossible to even think about..
But all of it was resolved..and the Moon Crystal allowed their future to be possible..giving him the second chance he wanted..

“Hello? Earth to Mike! Are you there? Come in!” he heard his sister yell suddenly, followed by a painful thud to the back of his head.

Feeling left out and ignored, Lina caught up with them and was trying to get Mike’s attention for nearly 10 steps.

“Ow! What do you want Lina?” Mike demanded with annoyance from her rude interruption of his thoughts. He showed no signs of stopping for her, and still treaded on to the creek like Diana wanted. He was still too peeved at his twin from what she caused to happen earlier.

“Are you guys mad at me or something?” Lina whined as she tried to keep up with them.

Mike looked down at Diana, who was looking up at him wearily as she bit her lip and shrugged slightly. She wasn’t mad at Lina for what she did..but she wasn’t very happy with her either. This wasn’t the first time Lina has embarrassed her, after all. Maybe she deserved not being forgiven so easily this time like all the other times.

A small, devious smirk crept across Diana’s lips. In fact..now that she thought about it, maybe Lina deserved a little payback. The more she thought about it, the more devious she looked as a silent plan began to form.

Mike raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she could possibly be thinking. ’Now that’s a look I’ve never seen her have before. Is she actually..plotting some kind of revenge?’ He smirked and chuckled a little, amused at the thought of Diana actually having a bit of a dark side.

“Come on, what’s so funny Mike? Would you two please just talk to me? I’m really sorry about what I did, honest!” Lina cried almost dejectedly, watching Mike as he put Diana down on a large rock in the creek bed. Being ignored was something she really didn’t like..and now that she thought about her actions and what she did to fragile Diana, she felt regretful.

Taking notice of the situation, Josh and Serenity stayed quiet and completely still, watching with wide eyes.

Still ignoring his sister, Mike watched as Diana moved her arms in a slow, rhythmic motion, bending some of the water out of the creek to her will. She was careful to make her movements small, making sure Lina wouldn’t notice them with her back turned.

“I don’t think you’re going to be forgiven so easily this time, Lina. Diana‘s pretty upset with you. Heck, I‘d be upset too if you caused me to faint from embarrassment like that.” Mike disclosed finally, trying to hide a smirk and stifle a laugh as he watched Diana move the puddle of water closer to his twin.

The yellow cat looked to Diana, whose back was still turned to her, with a dismal look in her eyes. The rabbit’s silence was only adding to the guilt, making her feel worse by each passing second.

“Diana..” she spoke up finally when the silence was just too much to bear anymore. “I-I really am sorry. I didn’t know that it would all end up with you passing out like that..” she continued with the most sincerity she thought she ever made before.

Meanwhile, Diana and Mike were close to losing it completely as she made the water slither behind Lina and begin to tower over her. Both Serenity and Josh started to giggle slightly, knowing exactly what Diana was going to do.

Lina took a few steps closer to Mike and Diana, twiddling her thumbs as the guilt became even worse when Diana still refused to say anything to at least acknowledge the sincere apology she just made. “Look..I-if there’s anything I could do to make up for it all, I’ll do it. I’ll make it up to you somehow Diana. Just..please don’t stay mad at me..”

Diana turned around on the rock suddenly, smirking as she now faced Lina with her hands held high in the air. “Oh don’t worry about it Lina, I think I can figure out how you can make it up to me.”

Before Lina could smile at her friend and ask how, she felt nearly 3 gallons of freezing water pour onto her from above. It shocked her so much, she didn’t know how to react at first. Her jaw just dropped and hung low, looking disoriented and confused as she felt soaked and uncomfortable under her dripping wet clothes and hair.

Diana, Mike, Serenity and Josh started laughing at her all at once. Even a few people walking by laughed, though they weren’t sure how it happened. As soon as Lina put everything together in her head, she crossed her arms and looked at them all with bitterness. “Yeah, yeah. Ha ha. You may have bested me this time..and we may be even now, but this means war Diana. I hope you know that.” There was a little humor in her tone, mixed with some shame and annoyance from being bested by Diana’s powers. She knew she deserved it from what she did, it was just..unexpected.

With tears in her eyes from laughing so hard, Diana nodded and understood the consequences of what she‘d started. Deep down it made her feel bad for what she did, but it also made her feel good about finally standing up for herself. If you could actually call that standing up for herself…Well at least she wasn’t upset with Lina anymore..that’s what counted, right?

“Hahaha. Don’t pay any attention to her idle threats Diana. She’s just upset she got beat at by her own game!” Mike teased as his laughter calmed down, and surprised Diana with a high five.

“Oh whatever..” Lina said with annoyance, narrowing her eyes at him as she tried to squeeze all the water from her hair in an effort to get dry faster. “Just you wait. You’ll get yours too.” she mumbled. Diana smiled and laughed sheepishly as they continued to argue, almost regretting what she had done.

“That was so awesome!” Josh exclaimed next to her, making her jump and turn away from the fighting twins. “You sure showed her, didn’t you? I think I‘ll do that whenever dad embarrasses me!” he laughed.

Diana sweat dropped. ’Oh no..I’ve become a bad influence..What have I done?’ she slumped, deeply ashamed of herself. “Oh no Josh please don’t-”

“Come on Auntie Diana let’s play now!” Serenity interrupted, almost whining and grabbed her aunts hand, pulling her off the rock and leading her into the creek. “I’ve been wanting to show you how good Illy and I got!”

“Chao chao!” Illy agreed, looking happy from being included.

Diana watched her niece and her former chao with happiness as they showed her their new water bending techniques. ’This is so wonderful..’ she thought, then giggled when Serenity accidentally messed up on her technique and hit Josh with the water. He angrily retaliated after his little sister, making her scream while he chased her down through the water.

Diana suddenly felt water being splashed on her, and turned to see Mike grinning mischievously at her before splashing her again. Squealing from how cold the water was, she tried to dodge his attempts at getting her wet as she splashed back at him.

’I’m the luckiest girl in the world..’ she thought warmly, and hoped that every day would be just as wonderful as this one.

~~~

The sun was beginning to set in the horizon, turning the sky from blue to bright splashes of pink and orange. Most of the adults and children had left the park already, leaving behind a few groups of teenagers hanging out around the gazebos. Mike, Lina and Diana were sitting at the edge of a large wooden dock built next to the creek, enjoying the soothing sounds the flowing water made. Lina sat to the right, leaning against the side with one leg on and one leg hanging off the edge, while Diana sat in the middle, swinging her legs absentmindedly as Mike sat to her left, fidgeting impatiently for Percy to show up. There was a slight chill in the air now that the sun was going down, so Josh and Serenity sat on the rocks below the dock, out of the cold creek water. The young brown rabbit was nearly tuckered out, laying down with her head in her brother’s lap while he bended some water out of the creek, mindlessly playing with it.

Basically, they all screamed boredom..

“When are mommy and daddy going to get here?..” Serenity whined, breaking the soothing silence.

Joshua sighed. “For the last time Serenity, I don’t know.” he answered with annoyance. That was probably the 7th time she had asked that same question in the last 2 hours. The little girl groaned grumpily, wishing for her parents to hurry up so she could relax and get something to eat.

Mike sighed loudly, causing Diana to turn and look at him with understanding. “That’s a good question I’d like to know the answer of too. Darn that Percy..” he grumbled, only loud enough for her to hear. His mind flashed back to the last words Percy had spoke to them the night before..

”Sorry, but you’ll have to keep Diana and the kids at the park tomorrow until we come get you! I don’t know how long we’ll take, but I can’t risk her finding out what her surprise is!” He smirked, winking at the orange cat.

“Ugghhh that jerk making us wait out here forever without letting us in on what’s going on!..“ Mike clenched his fists out of frustration, feeling as if the last image of Percy was now mocking him.

Diana sweat dropped, realizing now how angry her brother was making him. She put her hand on top of his fist to get his attention, smiling sheepishly at his anger. “I’m really sorry that you and Lina have to wait this long. But Percy didn’t say anything about you two waiting here the whole time..So you can go if its frustrating you so much..” she assured softly, giving him a sad smile.

Lina’s ear twitched from being mentioned. Mike’s frustration melted as soon as he heard everything she had to say, and looked into her eyes with guilt. “Oh, its alright Diana. I’m okay with staying here and waiting with you. I-I’m just getting impatient is all..” he stammered, hoping he didn’t hurt her feelings.

“Yeah, same here. But I still wanna stay too.” Lina added with a wink. “Its not your fault your brother’s taking so long.”

“Yeah..“ Diana smiled, but soon let out a short sigh. “I wonder what this surprise could be..” she pondered to herself, the overwhelming excitement becoming too much for her now.

“Don’t think too hard about it, or you’ll get a splitting headache like I did.” Mike deadpanned as a sharp pain through his head reminded him of why he stopped trying to think about it earlier.

The purple rabbit giggled and pet the top of his head softly. “You poor thing!” she laughed.

It grew silent for a few moments until Lina finally remembered what she wanted to talk about. They had been so busy with Percy and Rachael‘s visit and watching the kids, she’d forgotten all about it until now.

“So Diana, you excited about the Emerald High Open House tomorrow? You haven’t said anything about it since mom told us the date last week.”

Diana could feel her heart racing nervously the moment Lina said ‘Open House’. Of course she was excited about exploring the school and meeting her new teachers..but at the same time, it was terrifying. It was all so new to her..what if she said or did something stupid? What if her teachers didn’t like her? If there was one thing she knew about herself, was her lack of being able to confront and talk to new people. It was a trait her parents said she would eventually grow out of when she was older and became queen, but nothing had happened like her parents wanted in the end..

Diana gulped and nodded slowly, biting her lip from all the thoughts racing through her head. Anxiety was overwhelming her and her breathing increased from her hyperventilation.

Mike raised his eyebrow at her, noticing how quickly her mood changed, and how rapid her breathing became. “Are you alright Diana?” he asked, and carefully put his arm around her waist to sooth how freaked out she was.

Not letting Diana answer Mike, Lina frowned from her previous answer and tilted her head to see what Diana was feeling. “Are you scared?” she asked with understanding.

Diana‘s heart felt like it was in her throat after Lina had hit the mark. “Oh..u-umm well I..” she stammered with embarrassment, not wanting them to think she was a coward.

“..Because its alright if you are.” she interrupted. “Its completely understandable. Heck, I’m pretty nervous myself..and I’ve been going to this school for a few years now! I can’t imagine what it must feel like for you..” Lina explained, looking at her friend with newfound sympathy.

Mike suddenly gave her a tight, comforting squeeze. “Yeah..It must be scary. I don’t blame you..” he added sadly, wondering again just how Diana managed to be so strong.

Diana just stared off sadly at nothing, feeling a little better from their kind words, but the anxiety stayed put. “But still..I went on and on about how much I wanted to go, and now I’m just so terrified of what could happen, I almost don’t want to go anymore..I-I think I’m such a coward..“ she said sadly. At least in their eyes, she wasn’t the miserable coward she thought she was..they understood the fear..Then again, maybe it wasn’t was bad as she was making it out to be. She did tend to over think things a lot..

“You know, you should give yourself more credit..” she heard Mike mutter sternly. He looked at her seriously, putting her hands in his. “Diana, there’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of how strong and brave you are. From everything you’ve been through..Your parents getting killed by your evil, possessed sister, Purposely losing your memories to float around in space forever, basically sacrificing yourself so your people could stay safe..Standing up to Mizuchi to save me..fighting Lucretia until the very end and even after everyone told you just how impossible it was to bring her back to her old self, you managed to do so right before she died..proving everyone wrong. Then..” Mike paused, realizing that tears were trying to burn their way out of his eyes as all the memories of how their summer began flooded through his mind.

”..You left behind everything you knew..everybody you loved..to a place where you know so little about..Just to..” he stopped himself there, not wanting to get too emotional.

“Mike..“ She whispered, and looked as though she was going to cry with him if he went any further..So he cleared his throat, and took a deep breath to help him calm down.

“What I’m trying to say is..you’re probably the bravest person I’ve ever met. And I wish you could see yourself the way Lina and I see you.” he finished with a loving smile, making her speechless as she thought about everything he had just told her.

Lina smiled warmly at her, nodding in agreement to everything her brother said. “He’s right Diana..and if at any moment you feel scared at school, just find me or Mike and we’ll help you through it. Just like you helped us through our little ‘adventure’.”

“Th-thank you..” was all Diana managed to say to them both before the tears began to fall uncontrollably. She wrapped her arms around Mike, and cried into his chest, an instant reaction she always seemed to have.
Mike was brought back to the times when she had done this out of sadness..He hadn’t even seen her cry since the day she came back to him..All he could do was smile sadly and run his hands gently through her hair as she let it all out.

’That’s probably the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me..I never really thought I was strong for doing all those things..I-I couldn’t have if I didn’t have everyone there supporting me..My parents, Percy and Rachael, Smash, Gizmo, Lina, Team Garnet..and Mike… Her thoughts went back to when she was lost in the darkness as that terrible monster..When she was all alone, feeling like she lost the battle..She heard Mike’s voice through it all, and it gave her strength. Strength that helped her come back and defeat her sister. And that wasn't even the only time Mike had helped and talked her through something.

’It was him..’ she thought when a realization hit her.

“You’re my strength Mike..” she said in between sobs.

Mike’s eyes went wide..Did he hear her correctly? “What?..” he asked quickly, feeling his heart want to melt if he’d heard her right.

Diana tried to calm herself down, slowing her sobs and sniffling before pulling away from his chest to look up at him. “The reason I could get through all of that..the reason why I’m so strong, is because you are my strength..” she explained with a dark blush covering most of her cheeks.

Oh wow..Mike instantly felt his heart flutter and his insides melt. He wondered if he had the same effect on Diana for a moment, then brought himself back to reality. There was absolutely no possible way he could not kiss her at a time like this..Not after what she had just said and how goofy it made him feel on the inside. He tenderly laid his hands on both of her cheeks, and gazed intimately into her eyes before he started to pull her in for a deep, passionate kiss. He knew he was being somewhat unexpected and forceful, but the way she looked at him and gave in, told him she was rather into the idea. And now, even though he was sure Lina was probably gagging in her mouth a little, he wasn’t going to let anything get in the way of finally getting this one, perfect kiss from the girl he lo-

“Aw Rachael would you look at that? Aren’t they just so adorable with their teenage romance? Emily, Marcus! Hurry so you can see how grown up your little boy is!” Interrupted a teasing, all too familiar voice from behind.

Diana yelped and pulled away yet again from embarrassment, once again leaving Mike puckering all by himself. Almost wishing someone would just put a gun to his head to put him out of his misery, Mike fell backwards onto the hard wood of the dock as he grew limp from sheer hopelessness at ONCE AGAIN not being able to kiss his girlfriend.

“Oh no, Mike honey, are you okay?!” his mother cried and ran to help her little boy when she and her husband made it to the dock.

Lina, Percy and Rachael only laughed at him when he fell, adding onto the frustration that was beginning to turn into boiling anger. Diana only curled herself into a ball, her back turned to everyone on the dock to hide her embarrassment. “Hi brother, Hi Rachael..Hi Mr. Marcus and Ms. Emily..” she greeted only above a whisper.

"Hiya sis. Did you enjoy your time at the park today?" Percy asked, taking a few steps closer so he could hear her better.

“Oh NOW you show up, Percy! Right when we don’t want you here!” Mike snapped finally, allowing his mother’s help to stand and dust himself off. “I swear you, Lina and everyone else have a pact going on to see who can ruin our moments and embarrass Diana and I the best or something!”

Both Marcus and Emily sweat dropped from their son’s irrational anger.

Percy only smirked at him, finding the young cat’s anger quite hilarious like his wife did. “Oh come on Mike, it was only some harmless fun." Rachael mused.

"..Besides, you’ll have plenty of time to kiss my sis later. Right now, its surprise time!” Percy added, and pointed behind him with his thumbs. Diana’s ears perked up at this, and finally showed herself by uncurling herself and joining them all on the dock.

“Mommy! Daddy!” Little Serenity appeared from under the dock with Illy and her brother close behind. She ran straight into her mother’s arms, her grumpiness from earlier completely gone as her mother held her close. “Hi sweetie, did you have fun?” Rachael asked, happy to see her daughter. The little girl nodded. “Uh huh, I did, but we can talk about that later mommy..I wanna see what Auntie Diana’s surprise is!”

Everyone, even Mike chuckled at Serenity’s excitement.

“Shall we then?” Percy asked, motioning Mike, Lina and Diana to follow him and the other adults.

“Oh my gosh this is so exciting!” Lina squealed, unable to hold back her excitement as she joined her parents. Diana followed close behind her, squealing her excitement with Lina as they all followed her brother.

Mike stayed silent and still, watching them all walk away while his anger was dying down from the excitement of wanting to know what this long awaited surprise could be. He was still disappointed though..it really bothered him that a moment as perfect as that had to be ruined. He wondered if he and Diana would ever get another perfect moment like the two that passed by today. It was challenging to get her comfortable enough to kiss him..
With a heavy sigh, he began to head off the dock and towards the others.

“Hey..”

He jumped from how Diana suddenly appeared in front of him. He thought she was 30 paces ahead of him with everybody else.

“Hey.” he stopped walking and smiled at her, trying to hide his feelings of disappointment from her. He didn’t want to make her feel bad about him being upset. He wanted to be happy for her, and show it. Whatever this surprise was, it was going to be big.

Before he could ask what she needed, Diana planted her lips softly on his, and shyly wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen it. His eyes went wide from shock at first, but it didn’t take long for him to get into it too. She was giving him the rare chance to be intimate with her, to show her physically how much he loved her..
He grabbed both of her shoulders gently, taking everything as slow and steady as she was while their lips stayed connected. It was a feeling they weren’t used to and didn’t know how to handle, but at the same time, loved every minute of it.

Finally, they both realized they were running out of air, and pulled away from each other, breathing heavily.

“Wow..” Mike began when his breath finally returned to him. “Where’d that come from? I-I don’t think you’ve ever engaged a kiss like that between us.” he smiled sheepishly, a light blush coloring the white fur on his cheeks.

Diana put her hands behind her back and looked down bashfully. “Umm..well I figured you earned it after everything we’ve been through today.”

The orange cat smiled big, flicking his tail back and forth from how happy she made him.

“Come on you two! What are you waiting for? You’d better hurry before I go see what the surprise is before you!” They heard Lina yell.

They looked over and saw that the group was now a good ways away from them.

“You better not Lina! We‘re coming!” Diana yelled back with a laugh. Before she could start off running towards them, Mike held his hand out to her. “Come on. Let’s go see this surprise already.” he said happily.

She gladly accepted his hand with a smile, and they both started to run as fast as they could to catch up with the group so they could finally see what this big surprise is!

Wow..writing fanfiction by yourself is pretty hard and complicated..to be honest, I don't know how long its going to take me to write the next chapter. I wanna ask for your help Smash but I know you're busy..This is just proving to be more difficult than I thought.^^'