No Midnight Mercy ☾ (gxg)

27-grape juice

Eden nervously checked the lasagna in the oven.

Cecilia, after not having stepped into her office in nearly a month and only answering emails and calls on her phone the past three weeks, decided that she was okay to go back to work.

Eden had made her coffee that morning and packed her a lunch and made sure to pack lots of water and sweets to ward off any urges. She texted Cecilia all throughout the day to make sure she was okay, and she decided to prepare a dinner for her to congratulate her for getting through her first day out. She didn't really know what other to make besides her famous lasagna—famous because it was the only dish she knew how to cook.

It was 5:20, and Cecilia had promised to go straight home after 5. She had even driven her car, too, which somehow made Eden even more nervous. It wasn't that she didn't trust Cecilia, but it was the world she didn't trust. Chicago's culture was booze. Liquor stores were planted every corner for anyone's convenience at anytime. Plus, Eden knew that her colleagues were also fond of drinking and was worried they might invite her to go get a drink after work.

The door suddenly opened, and Eden rushed around the corner of the entrance hall and saw Cecilia closing the door. She went up to her, watching her carefully. "Hey, how'd it go?"

Cecilia laughed, her dimple showing as she walked towards the girl with her briefcase in hand, setting it down on the counter. Eden couldn't help inwardly drool over seeing Cecilia dressed up in a suit for the first time in a while, her silky black blazer fitting nicely over her shoulders. "It went amazing," she answered, snaking her arms around Eden and leaning down to give her a kiss.

Eden was relieved to not smell or taste any alcohol on her lips. "Did anyone invite you to drinks?"

The woman sighed and looked up at the ceiling, her wavy chocolatey locks falling behind her shoulders. "They did."

Eden grew nervous, her fingers anxiously taking Cecilia's collar and pinching the fabric. "And what did you say?"

Cecilia looked back down at her with a smirk. "I said if anyone ever brought up alcohol in the office again that they'll be needing to take a visit to the unemployment office."

The blonde grinned and chuckled, sliding her hand over Cecilia's shoulders and nodding. "That's good. I'm proud of you, babe."

The brunette grinned and kissed her again, her attention then being turned away to the smell lingering in the room. She sniffed the air and hummed, looking over at the oven which was lit up. "Mmm, what's that smell?"

"Probably the lowest grade of lasagna that you'll ever eat," Eden said with a blush as Cecilia walked over to the oven and leaned down, looking at the dish on the rack.

"It looks amazing, actually," the woman exclaimed. "That's one of my favorite dishes." She reached over into the fridge and took out a bottle of water. As she sipped, she noticed something in the fridge. Setting her water down on the counter, she reached in and took out a bottle of what looked like red wine.

"Grape juice," Eden quickly pointed out. "Fancy, fizzy grape juice. Is that okay or is it, like, triggering?" Worry grew in the blonde's eyes.

Cecilia smirked and chuckled, shaking her head. "No, babe, I won't be triggered by grape juice. Thank you, I'm sure it will go amazing with the meal."

A knock at the door distracted them. The woman put the grape juice back in the fridge and rounded the corner towards the door. "I'll get it," she told Eden who had just started getting the plates down from the cabinets.

Eden struggled to reach the fancy plates all the way at the top shelf on the upper cabinet, so she hopped up on the counter and stood on her knees on it, reaching the plates much easier. She heard voices talking and wondered if the person at the door was the delivery person bringing the new TV that Cecilia ordered for Eden since she smashed a plate through her other one in an alcoholic withdrawal-induced delirium. She realized that was also why she only had two glass plates left.