Past Lives (Dark/Damien x Reader)

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ-sᴇᴠᴇɴ: ʟᴜɴᴄʜ

"Celine..?"

The woman in question hurriedly stepped over Maya, almost tripping over the clingy creature before bouncing to the door upon the knocking she heard. The macaroni was still in the oven, but luckily was on its last five minutes or so. She still had an oven mitten on her left hand, even as she went to answer the door.

(Y/n) nervously made eye contact with Celine, surprisingly alarmed to see her... smiling?

A very wide smile at that.

It was slightly disconcerting.

"Ah, (Y/n)! It's really nice to see you—"

"Are you okay?"

The question took the onyx-haired girl off-guard. Why wouldn't she be okay? She honestly felt happy for once—was it that strange..? She guessed that a joyful demeanor was unlike her—considering her behavior the last time the attorney visited. She tried to tone down her wide smile, pushing it back to a shy grin.

"Sorry... I'm just really excited to uhm.."

She looked down at Maya, who's beady eyes seemed to light up once she noticed the girl standing in front of the door. The cat approached (Y/n), rubbing her fluffy head against her leg.

"... have some company." She smiled, opening up the door more, "Coming in?"

(Y/n) couldn't help but smile at Cerise. She was a little suspicious—that was no lie. But, she seemed sincere and genuine about her intentions, and she honestly felt welcome for once in her presence.

"How's the macaroni? I'm starving." (Y/n) said as she walked through the door. Celine giggled a little under her breath, taking off the mitten and walking behind the girl into the kitchen. She laid the mitten down on a nearby counter, assuming the same position as (Y/n), who was leaning against a counter across from her.

"It's really close to done. I've been working on its consistency for hours."

"Why are you working so hard to gain my friendship?"

The black-haired girl tensed at her question, but (Y/n) wasn't phased by her observation and only proceeded to pet the loving cat practically climbing on her legs. She rubbed the back of her ear, making the cat twitch slightly from hitting a sweet spot of hers. Celine looked back to the oven, glancing at the timer that was running down before combing her hair back with her hand.

"I want to show you something."

The raven-haired girl led (Y/n) back into the hallway, now standing before the picture of her surrounded by animals of all sizes. She took a breath before glancing over to the attorney.

"For one, I wanted to apologize for how I was when you came over last time."

"Celine, it's really not an issue—"

"It is to me. It's been so long since I've had genuinely kind company, so I was very guarded towards you. I didn't even give you a chance, so I apologize for that. Sincerely, I do." She explained. Another loud exhale came from the guarded woman's lips.

"This picture. This was taken by my fiancee."

(Y/n) whipped her head towards Celine, now paying no mind to the familiar photo on the wall. She had seen it once before, so it was no news to her, but it was taken by her fiancee? Who was her fiancee..?

Even through all the records she had looked through that Celine had given her, there was no evidence of a partner. Even if she hadn't caught it, Ethan should have found something about it by now and at least texted her. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket to check, but just as she suspected, there were no notifications from him. She slipped the device back into her pocket, now giving Celine her full attention.