This is basically a sequel to my other Riven/Darcy fic, 'Restless Nights and Revelations', but I guess it's not vital that you read that first since this one is pretty straight forward. Basically, all you need to know is that somewhere in the second season Darcy made a booty call on Riven, which was when he realised his true feelings about Musa and Darcy came to the shocking revelation that she loved Riven.

With my new fic, it's set in the third season which I haven't seen (damn living in the southern hemisphere without pay TV) so I'm not even going to try and fit it into the timeline. The only thing I'm keeping with from the third season is Musa's new hair style. She looks so pretty! She looks more girly which is great because she can still grab a can of kick ass if she needs to. It's so unexpected. Cute but deadly. Like a puppy bomb. I'm not even certain what a puppy bomb is. I hope they're not using real puppies. Okay, I'll stop talking now.

Oh yeah, I own nothing except a very cute cat. Meow!

HIS STRENGTH, HIS WEAKNESS

By tears-in-rain

Chapter One – Blissful Uncertainty

Riven was very much aware of the fact that he was not very good boyfriend material. He knew he was never going to be like the rest of his friends with their romantic, gushy acts of love and public displays of affection. Just the thought of being like that made him want to gag. He was rude, insensitive and selfish. His ego and his ambition made him impossible to deal with at times and he refused to express his feelings too deeply.

Which is why he had absolutely no idea why Musa would want anything to do with him.

Riven pondered the thought as he watched the Princess make her way through the CD shore. She'd flick through the endless racks of CD's, chewing on her lower lip and her eyebrows frowned in deep thought. When she'd come across something that grabbed her attention, she'd pull the disc out and read over the song list. If it took her fancy, she added it to the growing number of CD's she had already decided to purchase. If not, it was returned to the rack to wait for a less selective consumer.

She was adorable, Riven admitted to himself as she rejected yet another CD.

She always looked absolutely stunning, but she never had to resort to those skimpy pieces of material her friends liked to call clothes. He loved the way she could take his breath away by just wearing baggy jeans and some kind of funky top. With a little magical assistance her hair had grown longer over the summer, but she still wore it in her trademark pigtails. Her longer hair made her appear more girly and softer looking, but Riven and his upper arm knew otherwise after the number of times she had slugged him there whenever she thought he needed to be brought back into line. She was like some kind of rose; amazingly beautiful, but she had thorns sharp enough to cut him if she wanted to.

He loved her strength. Hell, he loved her.

And now he had her.

The two of them had been tiptoeing around a relationship for the last two years and finally in Rivens' senior year they had actually started to cross that invisible line between friendship and dating. It wasn't the smoothest transition, no doubt about that. Musa was so shy and he was as stubborn as a mule, but they had eventually reached the stage where they felt comfortable being affectionate to one another.

Well, most of the time.

"How many CD's do you really need?" Riven asked as Musa looked through the assortment she had obtained. Riven had seen Musa's music collection and he didn't think her CD rack back at Alfea could support the five new CD's she planned to buy.

"You're asking the wrong girl that question," Musa replied, not looking up from her CD's. "That would be like asking Stella how many outfits one should have in their wardrobe. You sure you don't want anything here?"

"I'm sure."

"What about this one?" Musa asked, grabbing a CD out of the display at random. Riven took the CD off her and raised one eyebrow as he looked at the front cover.

"'Tunes from the Highland Aisles'?" he read.

"I think you'll like it. It has the nose flute in it. A very difficult instrument to master," Musa said in a surprisingly serious tone, stepping passed him to make her way to the front counter to pay for her purchases and to avoid him seeing her grin. Riven stared at the CD in his hand for a moment, before returning it to where Musa grabbed it from.

Nose flute? She had to kidding, right?

Once Musa had made her contribution to the ever growing mountain of CD's she had in her room, the pair decided they had better be getting home if they wanted to have their homework finished and headed off to where Riven had parked his bike. Tune was off with the other pixies, which Riven was kind of thankful for. He didn't like her reminding everyone just how rude he was, especially since her and Musa had a special bond. One little comment from that pixie could ruin everything.

"You know, Alfea's having formal dinner soon," Musa said softly, not looking up at Riven. "Miss Du Four is putting it on so we can learn how to perform properly at a formal function."

"So like some kind of exam with food?"

"Pretty much," Musa laughed, suddenly very interested in her shoes. "We're supposed to find a date to escort us. I was . . . um . . . I was wondering if you, I dunno, if you wanted to go? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to. I understand. I'll – "

Musa was suddenly cut off by Riven wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her around so she was facing him. Musa felt her pulse quicken and her mouth go dry as he dropped his head so his forehead was resting on hers. His violet eyes fixed on her navy ones and she felt her knees start to go weak.

"I'll only go if I'm your date," he told her firmly, but his eyes were soft and loving.

"Um . . . Y-yeah. I was h-hoping . . . Um, yes," Musa stammered breathlessly. She felt her cheeks start to flush and a rather foolish smile started to spread across her face. He always threw her for a loop when he did something like that.

"Good, 'cause I'd have to eradicate anyone else who tried to 'escort' you," he smirked somewhat smugly, continuing on their way. He did not, however, remove his arm from around her waist. He had discovered rather early on in their relationship how greatly these little displays of affection affected her and although it wasn't exactly the easiest thing from him to do (especially when they were in public) he did love her reaction. Plus, he figured it would discourage her checking out other possible suitors.

He was certain of his feelings for her, but he still didn't understand what she might see in him. That was probably why he had never told her he loved her, despite the fact that he had discovered that particular emotion for her towards the end of his junior year. He still didn't think he was worthy of her so he figured that by keeping his mouth shut he was ultimately he protecting himself from getting hurt. He couldn't stand the thought of her leaving him and he knew he was being selfish to hope that would never happen.

Plus Riven didn't want to put her in any danger.

Although he knew that the Trix Sisters were probably trapped in the Realm of Realix for eternity, it still made him sick to his stomach to think that one day Darcy may get out and come after Musa. Darcy would never let Riven get away from his betrayal against her from choosing Musa over her and she was definitely the type of person who would hold a grudge. When she and her sisters had attacked them at the Resort Realm, Darcy had had every intention to obliterate him and he couldn't drag Musa into that. So, he had thought it best to resist Musa a little bit longer until he felt that the threat that was his ex ebbed somewhat.

However he had been pulled towards Musa by an overpowering force and despite his best intentions he couldn't prevent his and Musa's relationship from flourishing. And if he was perfectly honest with himself, so far he saw no down side to it. She still affected him in so many ways it was ridiculous. His entire body tingled when she wrapped her arms tightly around him from behind as he started up the engine to his levi bike and he got goose-bumps from her hot breath brushing against his neck.

She was amazing. That was all there was to it.

"I actually had a good time this afternoon," Musa admitted as she climbed off the bike when they got to the gates of Alfea. Riven really didn't feel like going inside the school grounds. He always felt uneasy with the way Grisenlda would watch him like a hawk whenever he was at Alfea.

"Oh thanks," Riven huffed sarcastically.

"Oh come on," Musa grinned cheekily. "Going shopping isn't exactly your favourite pass time. So we had our doubts on whether or not you'd be very good company is all."

"We?"

"Me and my girls."

"Figures."

"Didn't you have a good time?"

Riven shrugged in a very indifferent manner. "The company wasn't bad."

Despite his uninterested tone, Musa beamed. She had started to understand Riven's behaviour and knew that what he said was only a fraction of what he really meant. And once she had gotten that straightened out, she had become more confident with their relationship.

"You were more bearable than I had thought too," she teased, tapping her foot softly on his. "I'll catch you later, ay?'

"Yeah, yeah," Riven nodded. Musa turned to leave but Riven swiftly delayed her departure. "You've forgotten something, pixie."

"Fairy," Musa corrected with a hard look but she moved closer to have a look at the bike. "Nope, looks like you were wrong again. I've got everything"

"First of all, I'm not always right, but I'm never wrong. And second, you forgot this," Riven told her, leaning over and pressing his lips against hers. Musa jumped, not really expecting this kind of farewell, but quickly recovered and warmed to it. There was no way she was ever going to get tried of doing this to him.

The sound of someone sniggering reached their ears and whistling and catcalls quickly followed from the rest of the Winx Club. Musa cheeks started to heat up and she felt Riven smirk against her mouth before he pulled her in closer to deepen the kiss. If her friends wanted to taunt them about something like this, he was always at least going to make it worthwhile. Musa was flushed and a bit disheveled when they finally parted and he had almost dropped the bike on his leg in the process of getting as close to her as possible but both were willing to make those sacrifices.

"Now, aren't you glad you didn't forget that?" Riven smirked smugly.

"Oh, I'm sure I could have survived without it if I needed to," Musa told him in an offhanded tone of voice, calmly examining her fingernails in a transparent effort to appear nonchalant.

"Okay, well in that case you can pick it up later if you want," Riven shrugged and suddenly Musa didn't find her fingernails that interesting.

"I think I might just do that," she grinned, giving him a sly look and she was rewarded with one of his rare – but nonetheless totally dreamy – smiles.

"Looking forward to it," he smiled, before raising his voice so that the five fairies hiding on the other side of the gate could hear him. "Bye girls!"

A fresh round of giggling and inaudible whispering erupted from some hidden place behind the walls, before Stella's cheery voice loudly answered, "Bye Riven!"

"Next time don't spend all your money on CD's," Riven ordered Musa, pulling on his helmet. Musa held onto hers, seeing as these trips on Riven's bike were becoming a more and more frequent occurrence.

"Why?"

"So you can afford to buy some new friends," he teased, kicking over the engine and riding off before she could hit him. As Musa watched him ride off, she couldn't suppress the small waves of delight that surged through her body. After two years of waiting, she finally had the man she had always wanted.

After allowing herself one brief moment to truly relish in that fact, Musa turned and headed into Alfea, ready to face her friends and their deluge of questions. And so, with a small, satisfied smile, she walked through Alfea's front gates.

Not far from the gate, hidden amongst the treeline, a pair of golden eyes watched the display before her with a rather surprising level of detachment. She had contemplated this moment for the last few months and had honestly never thought she'd be so removed from the whole thing. Here was the man she both loved and hated with equal passion, doting on that nauseatingly perky Princess. Was there anything more revolting? Yet she had watched the whole scene with something that could only be faintly called morbid interest.

The three Trix Sisters were one of the most dangerous forces in the Magical Universe, both as a group and on an individual level. The youngest of the three, Stormy, was definitely not someone you wanted to be on the bad side of. She was impulsive and hot-blooded, which was at times a bit of a flaw in itself. Icy was the best suited for the role of leader, as she had a brilliant mind and talent for seeing the bigger picture. However her unquenchable desire for domination tended to make her impatient so she had a tendency to try and move things too quickly.

Darcy, on the other hand, was a perfectionist. She was cold-blooded and thorough, which made her all the more deadly. She'd rather take her time observing a problem before rushing into anything. Better to work through everything beforehand than pay for it later. She still thought that the Trix had taken far too long in getting to Alfea with the Army of Decay. If they had arrived earlier, there was a chance Bloom would have gotten there too late. Darcy also believed that, with time, she could have solved the riddle to get the codex from Red Fountain if Icy hadn't tried to force her to try her theory. There was merit to her thinking, though her sisters always seemed to find it too hesitant.

But with her newest plan for bedlam, Darcy had been allowed all the time in the world to observe her scheme from every possible angle. It was the only thing she had on her mind while caged in that godforsaken Realm of Realix. Well, that and getting out of that place. And now that she was free, she was going to stop at nothing to seek her revenge.

Her target; Riven.

And, just for the fun of it, she was going to drag his little princess into the havoc as well. Riven's feelings for Musa had given him the strength to refuse her once, but after months of trying to find the best way to destroy him, Darcy had concluded that those feelings would also be his weakness. And she planned to use that information to her advantage.

Her plans were set, each part checked countless times for any possible flaws and now she was finally ready to put all into only thing she hadn't decided on was whether Riven was going to be her victim or her prize. She knew of his talent and his potential, and she was still unnervingly attached to him, but that didn't mean she was going to overlook his betrayal. Perhaps she would first make him suffer, then swoop in and take him while he was at his lowest. That would satisfy all her desires.

Darcy's eyes narrowed as she watched those loser fairies crowd around Musa to suck every drop of information out of her like vampires. That musical misfit looked so happy Darcy wanted to be sick, but then a malicious sneered spread across her lips as she thought of all the horrible things she had planned for that pathetic princess.

"Enjoy it while you can, fairy, because it's not going to last," Darcy hissed, vanishing into the blackness of the forest.

TBC