Diana sat curled up in a chair next to Daniel's desk, her knees drawn to her chest, chin resting on them. The room was quiet now, but her mind buzzed with thoughts. She had just been downstairs, talking to Carmine—her mom—but it hadn't felt like a normal conversation between parent and child. It couldn't. She had to act like they barely knew each other.
The thought made her heart ache. Pretending that Carmine wasn't her mother, that she didn't know her at all, felt wrong. Hollow. Like something important had been stripped away, leaving her to act like someone else. What really bothered her, though, was how tense she'd been the entire time. Her words had come out stiff, almost robotic, as if she were trying too hard to sound normal. I probably seemed like an idiot, she thought, her stomach twisting with embarrassment.
She sighed quietly, her chin still tucked against her knees, trying to make the awkwardness disappear.
Daniel was sitting at his desk, glancing over at her. His brow furrowed slightly, but his expression was soft, thoughtful. "It must've been weird… seeing our mom but having her not recognize you at all," he said, his voice gentle, almost careful.
Diana blinked, her heart skipping a little at the word our mom, but she nodded, trying to swallow the knot in her throat. "Yeah. It was," she admitted, her voice quieter now.
"I was trying so hard not to act strange… but I think I overdid it." She let out a small, nervous laugh, rubbing her palms against her shins. "I don't know, I just felt too… stiff, I guess."
Daniel smiled faintly, leaning back in his chair. "Well, she didn't seem to notice. You did fine," he reassured her, his tone calm. He turned his chair slightly, facing her more directly. "Besides, it's not like you could've acted any differently. There's no rulebook for this."
Diana smiled weakly at that, appreciating the comfort in his words. Still, the whole thing felt off. She had to pretend in front of Carmine. Mom. And she hated that. But Daniel was right—there was no way around it.
Daniel watched her for another moment, noticing how she slumped a little deeper into the chair. He let out a quiet sigh, then stood up from his desk and stepped over to her.
Without warning, Daniel reached out and gently tugged her hand. "Come here," he said softly, pulling her up out of the chair.
Diana blinked, surprised. "What are you—?"
Before she could finish, Daniel pulled her into a quick, light hug—just long enough to catch her off guard, but not too much. "You're being way too hard on yourself," he muttered.
Diana let out a small, surprised laugh, feeling her body relax just a little. She hadn't expected that. The hug was warm, simple, but somehow it eased the tightness in her chest.
"Better?" Daniel asked as he stepped back, grinning slightly.
Diana shook her head, a real smile tugging at her lips. "Yeah, okay, maybe."
Daniel raised an eyebrow, his grin widening just a little. "Anyway," he started, crossing his arms with a mock serious look, "you didn't even tell me you were coming over. What's up with that?"
Diana blinked, the question catching her off guard. "I—uh, well, I thought… you know, mom said I could come over whenever, so I figured…"
Daniel shook his head in exaggerated disbelief, cutting her off with a teasing tone. "Sure, but a heads-up would've been nice." He smirked. "You know, just in case I wanted to, like, clean my room or something."
Diana rolled her eyes, her earlier tension melting away as she laughed softly. "Right, because it's such a disaster in here," she said, glancing around at the fairly tidy room.
Daniel grinned, enjoying the shift in mood. As Diana laughed, he reached out, meaning to give her a light poke on the shoulder to keep the playful banter going. But just as he moved, Diana turned toward him unexpectedly—and his finger landed somewhere he definitely hadn't intended.
His finger poked right at her chest.
Daniel froze.
Daniel's face went bright red as he stumbled back, looking horrified. "I… I… I'm so sorry!" he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Diana blinked, watching him with a confused frown. "Why?"
Daniel's embarrassment deepened. "What do you mean, why am I—" He hesitated, glancing at her face before quickly looking away. "I… I touched your…" He gestured awkwardly at her chest, then covered his face with one hand, clearly mortified.
Diana looked down, following his gesture, and for a second she just stared blankly. Slowly, realization dawned on her. "Oh…"
Daniel cleared his throat, still unable to look at her. But to his surprise, she didn't seem embarrassed. In fact, she looked strangely… unfazed. "It's fine," she said casually, with a little shrug. "Since I'm technically you, I guess it's kind of like… your body too, right? So you can do whatever you want with it."
She was speaking logically, but her innocent perspective made Daniel's eyes widen in shock. "What??" he spluttered, his face turning an even deeper shade of red.
Realizing how her words might have sounded, Diana's own face finally started to heat up. "Wait, no—I didn't mean it like that!" she stammered, waving her hands as she tried to explain. "I just meant… you know, like… technically… um…" She trailed off, now thoroughly embarrassed.
They both stood there in awkward silence, avoiding each other's gaze. Finally, Daniel managed a small, embarrassed smile. "Well… at least you're not sad anymore," he muttered, scratching the back of his neck.
Diana let out a nervous laugh, grateful for the distraction. "Yeah, I guess not."