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
NO BETA. BEWARE OF ERRORS. (Looking for a beta! Message me if you're interested!)
Order 16. Matcha Green Tea Milk Tea with Boba
Rei pinched the bridge of her nose as she looked over Amy's divorce papers. Craig was asking for alimony. He was stating irreconcilable differences for the reason why he filed. Amy was not going to be pleased. The one thing that Amy did not want was to pay her ex-husband for the next decade.
What put the icing on the proverbial cake was that Craig's lawyer was Jadeite Agnes, heir to the Agnes fortune. The man her father had been trying to push her towards for years. She had been avoiding meeting him for so long now. She hadn't even known that he worked as a lawyer. Rei had always imagined him as a trust fund baby, living off of his inheritance while coasting through life.
Yet he was a lawyer in the same city as Rei. What were the odds? Although it made more sense as to why her father had pushed so hard.
The apprehension Rei felt towards a man she had never met made her feel ridiculous. She was above this!
She carefully peered over the forms for what felt like the hundredth time. Staring at the papers made her sad. She, like Amy, had known Craig since they were in high school. The two had been together for so long that it was difficult to imagine one without the other.
What made it more disheartening was the need for lawyers. Rei knew that Amy had hoped for an easy separation. If it were going to be simple then there would be no need for Rei or Jadeite to be involved.
Which brought Rei's thoughts back in a full circle.
She groaned before cleaning her desk and filing everything away. It was time to go home.
Once she was finished tidying up her phone began to ring. And since she technically not off the clock yet she had to answer.
"This is Rei Hino," she answered briskly. Hoping her clipped tone would hint that it was a Saturday evening and she was ready to go already.
"Ms. Hino I'm glad I caught you before you left for the night," His voice reminded her of silk. It was cool and smooth, causing goosebumps to go up her arms. "My name is Jadeite Agnes, I'm the attorney for Craig Herman."
Of course it would be Jadeite calling her. Because the universe was against her. Murphy's Law and all that jazz.
"How may I help you Mr. Agnes?" Rei asked while tapping her finger on her desk.
Patience had never exactly been her strong point. Rei may have always seemed calm on the surface, but she was always simmering underneath.
"I was wondering if you would be available next Tuesday to discuss what my client is asking from Mrs. Mizuno-Herman," Jadeite continued.
Rei really did not want to meet him. His sexy voice be damned. But she was a professional if nothing else, and she knew that what he was proposing was protocol.
"Of course," Rei grabbed her PDA to input their appointment into it. "I'm available next Tuesday, what time works for you?"
After having everything scheduled Rei hung up the phone, grabbed her bag, and hurried out of the office. The sun was just setting as she walked towards her car. She called Itto after she buckled herself in to ask about grandpa and reminded him that she was going to Bunny's for dinner to meet Darien. She also reminded Itto to not allow grandpa to eat too much sodium, no matter how much the old manbitched and moaned.
She tried to shake the tension out of her shoulders before driving to Bunny's apartment.
Rei picked up a small chocolate cake before making it to Bunny's place.
She tried her best to relax before climbing the stairs that led to where Bunny lived. She was a little late, but Rei could easily blame work on her tardiness.
She was excited and apprehensive on what awaited her on the other side. More so towards herself, she had a notorious temper and she still contemplated castrating the man who impregnated her dear friend. It was a good thing that Rei was mature enough to know that it took two to tango and that Bunny was just as much at fault, had they been younger she would have ripped Darien a new one.
Still, her nerves were on edge. She was never one to back down or be a coward. She took in a deep breath before knocking on the door.
It swung open quickly, revealing a smiling Bunny on the other side.
Rei temporarily lost her breath at the sight of the blond. Bunny was barely out of her first trimester but she glowing.
"Rei!" Bunny greeted her with a tight hug, somehow not squishing the food between them, "cake!"
Her blond hair hit Rei in the face, but it was easily ignored. This had been a common occurrence since they had first met.
"Hey," Rei said in return as they let go of each other and she entered the apartment. Her violet eyes narrowed in on the only male in the room.
Bunny took the box from Rei's hands, "let me introduce you two properly. This is Rei, one of my best friends. And this is Darien, the father to my child."
Darien Shields was not what Rei had expected.
He stood once she entered the room and politely shook her hand with a firm grip. He was taller than both Diamond and Seiya had been, black hair combed neatly back, and had dark blue eyes that seemed to pierce into her. His face was nearly perfectly symmetrical, with high cheek bones, a square jaw, and a full mouth. He wasn't quite pretty, but handsome would not have been the correct word to use.
Darien had wide shoulders with a narrower waist, but he was not skinny. He wasn't like Itto who had the body of a runner, or Andrew who looked like a swimmer, or even Craig who was just plain lanky. Darien was fit but thicker than the other men, he reminded Rei of a football player. He was attractive, almost as if he came straight from the pages of a romance novel. Mr. Sex-On-Legs indeed, neither Bunny nor Mina had not been wrong in their description.
Besides him Bunny seemed waif-like and petite. They were almost the epitome of masculine and feminine. The perfect yin and yang. They made a beautiful couple, and she couldn't help but wonder how their child was going to turn out.
"It's nice to finally meet you, I'm Rei Hino," she gave him her best lawyer smile as their hands parted.
"Darien Shields, it's a pleasure." Even his voice was attractive. It reminded Rei of dark chocolate. He was definitely not what she had envisioned at all.
Bunny beamed at Rei's polite behavior. This wasn't to make it seem that Rei was rude, not at all, but usually she never felt the need to engage others.
Rei returned Bunny's look with a warm smile. In her heart there would always be an extra warm spot for Bunny. She loved the girl as if she were her sister, closer than a sister. They were connected in a way that was difficult to explain, but all Rei wanted was for Bunny to be happy and safe.
"I'm assuming I'm the first one here?" Rei asked with a surprised expression on her face. It wasn't that she were ever tardy, it was that Amy was usually the first one to show up. She checked her phone for the time, she had been ten minutes late. "That's so odd."
"Right?" Bunny laughed, "Amy is late for once! I never thought I'd live to see the day. Please have a seat, are you thirsty or anything?"
"I'd never thought I'd see the day where you acted like a reasonable hostess," Rei teased.
Bunny blew her a raspberry before sitting down on the loveseat. Darien waited until both women were seated before sitting down besides the blond woman.
Rei arched a brow, his manners were an added bonus.
Manners aside, she had gotten a thorough background check done on Mr. Shields a few days ago. She knew that he was a CPA in a major firm in New York City. She knew that he had been orphaned at a young age and was made a ward of the state, and that at sixteen he became a legal adult. Darien Shields had bounced foster home to foster home most of his life, he had won a prestigious scholarship that was hard earned and not easily given away. He was valedictorian in both high school and college. He had come into his inheritance at the age of 24 and now lived comfortably in a loft on the Brooklyn Bay. He had never been married, hardly ever dated, and spent his free time volunteering at soup kitchens or reading to sick children.
To clarify, Rei was not a stalker. After the fallout Bunny had with Diamond she wanted to make sure that Darien would be right for the child. Rei had to grudgingly admit that Darien was not only perfect father material (on paper at least), he also seemed like perfect husband material. She silently hoped that he and Bunny worked out well together.
"So what's for dinner?" Rei couldn't help but ask. She was honestly expecting the answer to be pizza.
"Well, I had made spaghetti for you guys yesterday, but things ended up crazy. Plus I ate it all," Bunny stated out loud, "so Darien made zucchini lasagna."
"You ate all of the spaghetti?" Rei arched a brow, it shouldn't have been surprising. Bunny had a notorious appetite.
"To be fair, she had been craving it for days," Darien said in Bunny's defense.
"So whatever she wants, she gets?" Rei's mouth quirked.
Bunny nodded, "that's right!"
Rei observed how Darien was around Bunny, it was obvious he was in awe of her. Everything Bunny did enthralled him, and Rei couldn't help the lump that was forming in her stomach. She knew that look on Darien's face all too well.
About ten minutes after Rei arrived Amy showed up, looking windswept and barely thrown together.
"You look like you just stepped off of a roller coaster," Bunny commented while giving Amy a once over.
Rei only nodded in agreement.
"I just got off of a twelve hour shift," Amy commented before giving Darien a bright smile and introducing herself. She then began to ask Darien questions, because that was how Amy was. Amy would ask, dissect, and analyze.
Rei quietly observed.
It was then that Mina used the spare key to allow herself and Lita in.
"We're late!" Mina announced, as if everybody there had no clue. She didn't offer an apology, which was typical of her. Mina was unashamed of herself no matter the circumstances. "We were waiting for Lita's bread to finish baking."
True to the statement the smell of freshly baked products began wafting towards the four in the living room.
"Oh gosh that smells delicious!" Bunny chirped while getting up, "now that everyone is here we can sit down and eat."
"Always thinking with your stomach!" Mina commented.
"Two stomach's now," Lita joked.
"You mean she didn't already have two stomachs?" Rei couldn't help but interject.
"Stop being so mean!" Bunny whined.
"I'll help you set the table," Amy offered. Always the peace maker.
Rei and Darien watched as the other four women made their way into the kitchen and dining area of the apartment.
Darien gave Rei a quiet smile, "I think it's amazing that you guys are still so close after all these years."
Rei nodded while watching her four friends getting everything set up and ready. "Yeah, we're like sisters. We're soul mates, you know? We'll always be together, no matter what happens. Friendships like these are rare to see."
"They are," Darien agreed.
Rei watched him out of the corner of her eye, his dark blue ones were only on Bunny. "So when are you going to tell her that you're in love with her?" She asked quietly.
Darien on the other hand took in a sharp breath.
"Did you not realize?" Rei gave him an incredulous look. How could this brilliant man not know?
"I do now," Darien replied. He moved away from her to make sure that Bunny was treating the food that he had cooked right. Although with Lita there it would be difficult for Bunny to butcher their dinner.
Rei sat down at the table. If one were to ask her outright she'd have to say that she liked Darien and gave her approval. Although she would never admit it unless asked.
It was lunchtime on a Tuesday. Rei's palms were sweating, which made her internally scoff at herself. Why was she so damn nervous? This was Jadeite Agnes, fellow lawyer, and the one who she was against in this divorce. She hadn't had the courage to tell Itto that Jadeite was Craig's lawyer. Rei had deemed it unimportant, although she knew her boyfriend would want to know. It wasn't as if it really mattered. Except that it did.
She had put her hair in a slicked back high ponytail and had worn her best tailored suit with thin stiletto heels. She wore little makeup and the only jewelry she had were diamond studs on her ears. Rei was going for intimidating and fierce. Itto had made the comment that morning that she looked like a dominatrix, which had made Rei laugh at the time. Now she hoped that it meant that she looked like she wouldn't put up with anyone else's bull.
The restaurant was small and quiet, the atmosphere too intimate for work. However the privacy of it all was something that Rei did like, there was no need for everyone to hear their clients' business.
The hostess greeted her with a bright smile that Rei couldn't help but return.
"I was wondering if a Jadeite Agnes was already seated. I'm supposed to meet with him," Rei told her while readjusting her large black purse that was hanging off of her arm.
The hostess nodded, "Yes, he's already seated by the window. Please follow me."
The window faced a lake, which the sun reflected off and offered more lighting to the inside.
Jadeite stood as Rei and the hostess approached. The lighting behind him gave him an etherial glow, making him seem otherworldly. It also gave her a good look at him. He was wearing a very well fitted black suit with a white button up and green tie. His blond hair was wavy but kept neatly combed, despite the tendrils trying desperately to curl around his ears. The tie brought out the green of his eyes, which were a sharp almond shape and rested above high cheekbones. He was taller than Itto, wider built than Itto, more handsome than Itto.
Jadeite was the most beautiful man that Rei had ever laid eyes on.
He caused butterflies to erupt in Rei's stomach, and she was too nervous to speak for fear of stuttering. She had never been tongue tied before.
"Ms. Hino," Jadeite greeted with a pleasant smile that warmed up his features.
Rei felt her knees go weak at the sound of his voice. It was smoother in person. Luckily, she was the daughter of a politician and knew how to wear the perfect poker face. She shook his hand, "hello Mr. Agnes."
The warmth of his palm caused a fire to go up her arm and settle in her chest.
She tried to control her breathing as he helped her into her seat before sitting across from her. The hostess took their beverage orders and left them alone.
Rei swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat and crossed her legs tightly as she felt her body begin to heat up. Never had she ever felt this way about someone she had just met. This heated passion was something that she had never in her life had ever experienced, not even with Itto. And it scared Rei.
TBC
MLL: I'm not a lawyer, I'm not sure if they meet over lunch to discuss clients so apologies if that's incorrect. Confession time – I hate Rei with Itto. There, it's said out loud. Itto is written as this great guy, but I just can't even. Also the description for Darien's body type is based off of Chris Pratt shirtless in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Because damn, I envy Anna Farris lol. Please review, I appreciate you guys!