Title: Bubble Tea
Genre: Romance/Drama
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I no own
Summary: When Bunny Tsukino learns that she's pregnant with Darien Shields child, she feels that her life is over. A baby wouldn't have been a problem if the father hadn't been a one night stand. Now she's unsure with what her next move should be, and if he would be as supportive as her best friends are. She can't help but wonder when her life became a TV-drama. - AU
A BIG THANK YOU TO MY BETA Princess Moonie of the Moon!
Order 11. Durian Slush with Boba
The results had come out positive, not that Bunny doubted it. Still, she let out a sigh of relief all the same.
Her bags were repacked and she was ready to spend the New Year with her family back down south. Beside her was Darien, who had decided last minute to come along with her. She was planning on telling her family at their traditional New Year's Eve party, and he wanted to be there when she did.
"You really don't have to do this," She told him for what felt like the millionth time. It wasn't that the blond woman didn't appreciate; she just didn't want him there if he only felt like this was his obligation. They had yet to discuss their upcoming parental roles.
His deep blue eyes glanced over at her, "Do you not want me there?"
The truth was they hadn't spoken about anything that had any relevance to their situation. They talked about everything under the sun but their baby.
Oh jeez, just thinking about the little bunny in her oven made Bunny's head spin.
"My cousin is staying with me until the second week of January," She countered instead.
Darien merely shrugged, "I was planning on getting a hotel room anyway."
"You can stay with me."
"Only if you'll have me."
He was too calm and collected about this entire thing. If it were her, she'd be freaking out. Actually, she was freaking out, but for an entirely different reason. This creature growing inside of her was hers; there was already a bond there that Bunny couldn't quite describe.
The handsome man beside her was a stranger, and she'd have to share this precious new life with him. To say she was nervous was inadequate.
"What am I supposed to introduce you as?" The blond asked him as the finished going through JFK's security checkpoints. She had already informed Mina that he was going back with her. Not surprisingly her cousin had been entirely too gun-ho about the idea.
He shrugged and ran a hand through his dark hair, giving it that effortlessly messy look. All-in-all she could have picked a worse looking guy to be the father of her child. With their looks combined their kid was going to be gorgeous when they grew up.
Darien had insisted that he wheel her bag, not caring that it was pink with Minnie Mouse all over it. Slung over her luggage was his army green duffle bag, and the masculine contrast made something inside of Bunny ache.
"You can always say that I'm your boyfriend."
"Who they've never met before?" It wasn't as if she introduced every guy she dated to her parents, she actually tried to avoid it. However, they had met Seiya within the first week of the two of them making it official. She had honestly seen a future with that man, and unfortunately so did her parents. There was just no way for her to come out of this situation not looking like a bad person.
"You could say that I'm the guy who knocked you up," His casual response caused both of them to exchange a look before they shared a laugh. "Hey, it's the truth."
Bunny shook her head, "I'm sure my dad would appreciate that."
They took two seats near a large window facing the runway, their plane had just landed and people were getting off of it.
After a moment of silence she spoke again, "I guess we'll have to settle for boyfriend, since I'm telling them I'm pregnant and all."
They both winced at the p-word. They weren't in denial; it just still hurt to hear out loud.
Darien leaned back into his seat, extending his long legs out before him, "This is all so surreal. Honestly, I never expected something like this to happen to me. I had always thought I would live alone until I'm old and die a cankerous old man. This really dampens my plans."
The casual smile he threw at her made her heart skip a beat.
"Well, you can still die a cankerous old man, but I'm pretty sure your future grandchildren wouldn't appreciate it."
His smile warmed considerably, "Jeez, this is really happening."
Her light blue eyes drank him in before she nodded, a reciprocating smile on her face, "Yes."
They boarded shortly after. Darien managed to convince an older woman to switch seats with him so that he could sit next to his pregnant wife. Bunny had to stifle a snort with how thickly he had laid it on, and was surprised that the woman fell for it. It had to have been because of his dashing good looks.
He took her hand in his halfway during the flight, lacing their fingers together. Bunny gently squeezed his flanges before she leaned her head onto his shoulder.
"Remember when I said that my cousin was picking us up?" She asked him later on, once they were passing baggage claim.
He nodded; his dark blue eyes took in all of the sights around him. OIA was completely different from JFK, and he couldn't help but drink it all in.
Bunny thought of her words carefully, "She's a bit…she can be a bit…Mina is just a little hyper and out of control sometimes."
That was putting it as simply as possible. Mina had enough energy that she put the energizer bunny to shame. And the more excited she got, the worse she was.
Her male companion gave her a smirk, "I'm sure I'll survive."
They made it to the outside pick-up area and she called her cousin to let her know which terminal they would be waiting at.
From her apartment to the airport it was only a fifteen minute drive at most. So when Mina sped into the arriving area, weaving like a mad woman, in just under ten minutes, Bunny nearly had a heart attack.
Her little white hatchback nearly skidded to a halt in front of them and she all but snatched her keys from her cousin's hand as soon as the other blond popped out of the vehicle.
Mina pouted for a millisecond before practically bulldozing her cousin over into a tight hug, "I've missed you so much!"
Bunny tried her best to push the woman off, but couldn't quite manage. "You'll hurt the baby!" She blurted.
Immediately the bubblier blond let go of her, a sheepish smile on her face, "Sorry. It's just been forever since we've seen each other." Her bright blue eyes wandered over to the man who was standing on the curb, and her jaw dropped. "Is this him?"
"You've mentioned me before?" The raven haired man asked curiously.
"Mina, this is Darien. Darien, this is Mina," The shortest person out of the trio introduced.
"Mr. Sex-on-Legs himself," Mina grinned cattily, "It's a pleasure to meet the father of my cousin's child."
The man merely arched a brow at Bunny at the nickname before grinning at the other blond woman. "The pleasure's all mine."
They made short work of entering the car, Mina was kicked into the back seat.
Darien was silent the entire ride from the passenger's seat, but he took in what little of Orlando that he could see before they made it to Bunny's apartment complex. It was a quaint gated community that had a lot of families living in the area.
She parked in her reserved spot and motioned for everyone to get out.
Being the gentleman that he was, the raven haired man took both of their bags and carried them up the three flights of stairs until they reached her specific apartment.
"The place is clean, right?" She asked Mina.
Her cousin nodded, "I've only been here two days! My mess is contained to the guest room."
Luna and Artemis were curled up together on the loveseat when the front door opened; both cats perked up and stared with luminescent eyes.
"Luna!" Bunny cooed. She half expected her old cat to turn her back on her and sulk. Instead the feline hopped off of the couch and moseyed over to her owned, rubbing herself along the blond woman's ankles.
The pregnant woman reached down and picked up her fourteen year old companion, nuzzling her and noticing that the cat had gained some weight in the two weeks that she was away. Lita had been feeding her well.
"Come on in," She grinned at Darien, and noticed how Mina petted Artemis lazily before going into the kitchen.
Her apartment was a little on the small side. Cozy is the word that she would use if asked.
Luna was still nuzzling her and purring happily when the tall man entered across the threshold.
"I can take that stuff to my room," Bunny offered while taking the handle of her bag.
He easily shrugged her off, "I've got it, where's your room?"
After they had eaten and after showers were taken, Darien had offered to take the couch. To which Mina snorted loudly, claiming that the deed had already been done and there was no use to behave chivalrous now. Bunny was inclined to agree with her.
They fit together perfectly, curled on top of each other like Luna and Artemis had been.
Without any real thought, Darien kissed her goodnight. It was a warm press of his mouth against her own, and it left her yearning for more than just a simple smooch.
Unfortunately, fatigue won over lust, and she fell asleep shortly after.
She woke up to her cell phone blaring loudly in the kitchen. Both she and Darien groaned at the annoying sound.
"What time is it?" He asked blurrily. Luna hopped up from wherever she was hiding to lie on his chest. He had a case of extreme bedhead, and he looked more like a child than a grown man. It warmed her heart.
"I dunno." The blond grunted as she rolled out of bed.
Mina had beaten her to the living room. Her bleach blond hair had been thrown up into a sloppy bun and there were still pillow marks on her cheek. It was nine in the morning, which normally wasn't too early, but for some reason lethargy plagued the apartment.
Her caller ID told her that it was her mother. Both she and her cousin groaned before she answered it. The other blond woman meandered into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.
"Hi mom," Bunny greeted, well aware that she sounded groggy, from her peripheral vision she could spot Artemis stretching languidly by the guest room's door.
"I was wondering if you were back in town yet," Her mother's tone suggested that she already knew that her daughter was back in town. She was just being her nosey self. Ikuko Tsukino cleared her throat, "A little birdy told me that you brought a friend back with you."
Someday Bunny was going to figure out who her mother's resources were. She hadn't told anybody except her friends that she had brought Darien back with her. She wondered which one of the girls squealed.
"Yes mama, I brought a guy friend with me. He's very nice, and I like him a lot."
"Another boyfriend so soon," Her mother clucked her tongue, "What about Seiya? He was such a nice boy and—"
"Mama, I'm pregnant," The thirty year old cut her off, there was never any use playing games with her mom. The woman always found the truth out no matter what, and Bunny was tired of keeping it a secret. She may have only been roughly ten weeks along, but she was close enough to her second trimester that it was safe to tell her family.
She could hear her mom's phone drop and waited patiently for the older woman to pick it back up.
"I knew it," Ikuko whispered, "I knew there was an important reason as to why you couldn't spend Christmas with us. Oh, my baby, what have you gotten yourself into?"
Mina nudged a mug off coffee into her cousin's hand and flopped down on the sofa besides her. Artemis jumped onto the bleach blondes lap and the woman petted him softly, her ice blue eyes on the other woman's face.
Bunny let out a wet laugh, "A big mess, obviously. Darien and I are trying to figure it out, but I think we'll be okay. I want you guys to meet him though."
Her mother hummed, "When did this happen? Where did you meet him?"
"I met him while on my vacation in Hawaii."
"Ah, before Seiya got into the picture then," The thirty year old could practically see her mother nodding, "Well, you'll have to tell your father—"
"Mama!"
"No, I won't get in the middle of that. We'll see you tomorrow night for the New Year's Eve party. I love you very much and look forward to seeing the both of you." Her mother said her goodbyes and hung up.
"Does Darien's family know?" Mina asked curiously.
"I don't have a family," The man in question's voice made both women jump and turn on the couch to face them.
He was still in his pajama'sas well, Luna perched on his shoulders and nuzzling his face. He made his way to the coffee pot to pour himself a drink, not bothering to put in any cream or sugar in it.
"I'm an orphan," He explained as he settled on the loveseat across from the blond duo. "When I was about eight years old my family and I got into a horrible car accident. The car apparently flipped over the railing on an overpass and fell into a lake. I was jettisoned out of the car as it was freefalling. My parents, on the other hand, didn't make it."
Both women stared at him with wide eyes.
"Are you serious?" Mina asked; shock evident on her pretty face.
The dark haired man shrugged, "I nearly drowned, and due to lack of oxygen to my brain I was in a coma for a while. When I came to I couldn't remember anything other than my name. No one came looking for me, so I was put into foster homes and shuttled around until I was old enough to take care of myself.
I got myself into college and manage to make a somewhat name for myself. Then when I turned twenty-five a lawyer called me out of the blue and informed me of this massive inheritance that was entitled to. Apparently they had been looking for me for years. But to this day I still don't remember anything of my family. "
Tears sprung to Bunny's eyes, "That's so awful." She sniffled, trying to will the waterworks away.
"Oh jeez," Her cousin sighed, "Stop it, Buns."
The leggy bleach blond woman stood and stretched lazily, ignoring the glare her cat gave her at her sudden movements. She took the empty mugs and went into the kitchen to wash them up.
"Just think of it this way," She called over the running water, "You'll be having a family now."
The warm smile that spread across Darien's face caused Bunny's heart to clench.
New Year's Eve at the Tsukino's residence was a big deal. Everyone in the neighborhood tended to make an appearance, and all of their friends and family always showed up. Bunny's parents had been doing the holiday for the last twenty-five years, and she doubted they would stop doing it ever.
Mina rode in the back of the car, wearing a chic peplum sherbet orange colored dress. Her hair was in an intricate up-do and the cream colored heels on her feet made her legs look miles longer than they were. Her jewellery was gold and clunky. Her ice blue eyes were covered with smoke colored shadow, and she looked as if she were a goddess.
Darien was in the passenger's seat, he was in pressed black slacks and a black button up with a white bow tie. The sleeves to this top were already rolled up to his elbows which showed off his silver watch, and his usually tousled hair was combed neatly in a retro fifties' style. He was boyishly handsome, yet somehow still managed to pull off a mysterious vibe.
Bunny was looking for parking. The trio was a little late due to Mina having a sudden hair emergency at the last minute. The thirty year old woman had her hair up in a topknot bun, her bangs framed her face. Her A-line dress was a soft pink with a high boat collar, and like her cousin she wore nude heels which extended her legs. She had pearls in her hair and on her ears. Her makeup was a simple cat-eye and soft pink lipstick; she looked sweet and almost innocent.
They ended up having to park in a neighbor's driveway and walked down the street towards the busy household. There were a few men out around the front of the house smoking cigars and drinking from red Solo cups. They greeted the two women enthusiastically and shook Darien's hand solidly.
Sammy intercepted them at the foyer, "Welcome!" The twenty-seven year old looked already a little tipsy. "It's about time you showed up, Meatball."
"Don't call me that," Bunny half-snapped at him.
Her younger brother gave her a cocky grin. They looked similar, with the same blond hair and nose. Although he had their mother's brown eyes while she had their father's blue ones. "Don't get so offended. Is this the baby-daddy?"
Darien arched a brow at the younger man, "My reputation precedes me."
"Mom told you?"
Sammy snorted, "Duh. She sucks at keeping secrets. Dad doesn't know, but we'll leave that honor to you." He shook the dark haired man's hand and gave a threat about hurting his sister before meandering off to talk so some uncle of theirs.
"Ah, there are my parents," Mina pointed to her mother and father, both of them speaking to another cousin of theirs. "I better go say 'hi'. I've been avoiding them too much already."
"I guess we'll have to find my mom and dad then too," Bunny smiled up at the tall man beside her, "That guy who came and insulted the two of us was my brother, Samuel. He's an okay guy, when he's not a jerk."
"Maybe we should wait to tell your father, at least until after we have everything figured out." Darien suggested as they passed the staircase to the second landing.
The blond woman shook her head, "I'm pretty sure I'll be showing by then."
"Then how about we go to the courthouse and get married?"
She stumbled mid-step and turned to stare at him with wide blue eyes, "What?"
TBC
MLL: Hooray for Bunny and Darien trying to work it out… for the baby's sake. We'll see how well that goes whahahaha. This time it was Darien surprising Bun's.
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