AN: Here is chapter two! Thanks to everyone who reviewed and virtual hugs to anyone who is here after quite a longgggg wait. Y'all are the real MVP's
****side note, the girls are aged up a bit in this story bc I didn't want weird age dating things****
PS brownie points if anyone can guess one of the hidden clues in this chapter.
PPS I translated Kunzite to Kaiden bc ya know, modern names etc but the meaning of Kaiden's name fits too well for who is supposed to be.

A few days went by since Minako's re-encounter with Tiffany. She was glad she had avoided having tea with them, especially after the encounter with the mystery man in Tiffany's life. Minako was sure there was no way he was anything but the father of the sweet child; they had the same hair color and everything.

Rei was the first to notice Minako's general slump. The girls were always hanging out after school at the arcade, and to Rei's surprise, Minako had not bothered Motoki in a few days with her over the top flirting or general antics.

Rei decided to ask her when the other girls were too far away to hear.

"Hey Mina, everything okay?"

"Oh yeah! Just didn't sleep super well, ya know.. I started binging this new drama and I barelyyyy got any sleep"

"Oh which one, tell me! I need a new recommendation after watching the super sappy one Usa made me watch with her.."

Rei was smart enough to drop it for now. She knew Minako would eventually come to them after she had psychoanalyzed everything herself.

The next day, Minako found the button that Tiffany had dropped the day they met. It had slipped into a crevice in her school bag. She thought she'd hold onto it for now since it looked like it might be worth a chunk of change, and definitely so if the car Tiffany's mom had arrived in was any indicator of the family's wealth.
It had been almost two weeks since that day and Minako figured as time went on she would eventually be able to forget... or at least drown out the shock she still felt in her core, the shock that was irrefutable proof of a soulmate connection...

After school, Minako had volunteered to be Usagi's partner in crime as there was a new french patisserie a few minutes away from their school that both girls were dying to try. They arrived and were enraptured at the art in the form of cakes, cookies and even pudding that the store offered. There were some macarons that looked too cute to even eat and those immediately caught Minako's eye as the first thing she'd try. She left Usagi, who was in a world of her own staring down the assortment of crème brûlée.

As Minako was picking out her dozen macarons, she felt a tug on her school dress.

"MINAKO!"

Minako twirled around, quite surprised the small child had gotten past her keen senses and immediately warmed up the instant she recognized Tiffany. Tiffany had already started babbling about how she was so shocked to run into her and Minako could only laugh at the small whirlwind that vaguely reminded her of Usagi.

Minako came out of her thoughts at the tugs from Tiffany, who was looking at her expectantly. She blanked, realizing she had missed her question, "Sorry Tiffany, what was that? I didn't catch your question"

"I was asking if you were here alone? I'm here to pick up a cake, but only me and one of the butlers are here"

"Oh um, yeah my friend is actually here. Look over there, do you see the blonde girl who's drooling while looking at the cakes?"

Tiffany laughed, "yes she looks like she's ready to eat the whole store of cakes"

Minako laughed because on days where Usagi had overspent her magical energy, she had recuperated with way too much food that a normal 17 year old girl would not have the stomach for.

Tiffany was glad to run into Minako, she was such a beautiful girl and she knew there was something special about her but she didn't quite know what it was. Tiffany wanted to keep meeting Minako and eventually become friends. She also had not missed the way Minako had reacted when she had locked eyes with Kaiden, she would definitely find out what Kaiden thought too.

At that moment, the store attendant called out a name and Tiffany jumped and turned around.

"Oh that's our cake! I'm so excited, I hope Papa likes his birthday surprise! This year mama let me pick out the cake!" Tiffany excused herself and went to the cashier. The girl handed over what looked like a credit card and the butler received the cake. Tiffany walked over to Minako and gushed about the cake.

"My dad really loves chocolate but this one is a special dark chocolate surprise! It's his birthday and he said because I've been so good he would leave work early so we could have a birthday dinner! I'm so happy but also we planned a birthday surprise! It's gunna be great!"

Minako looked over kindly at Tiffany and managed to reply, "I hope your Papa has a wonderful birthday"

"Thanks Minako! I hope we run into each other again! I want to show you my pets too! I have a kitten and a horse, oh and my mom and dad just got me sea monkeys too!"

"Sure kiddo, if we run into each other again let's hang out, but for now I think you might be running late, your guardian over there looks like time is running out on your surprise plans"

Tiffany quickly hugged Minako and ran off with a big smile wishing her to be well until next time.

Usagi rejoined her friend then, having witnessed the last bit of their interaction & asked, "Is that the little girl you helped a while back?"

"Yeah, she sorta reminds me of you, don't ya think?"

"If I had silver hair I would probably, no, definitely have looked a lot like her as a baby... she's so cute! Is she your new little friend now?"

"I guess so.. She definitely seems like a lot to handle though but I wouldnt turn her down for a round of ice cream"

Usagi smiled and clung onto her friend, but as they chatted on their way back to their houses, Usagi couldn't forget the almost unnoticeable teary-ness Minako's eyes held as they had left the patissiere.