Work Text:
The ride back to her college’s camp was long and tiresome, but Diana doesn’t mind much, for once she enters her dorm she is immediately hit with that familiarity she’s come to accept and somewhat adore. Only somewhat.
It is exactly as she left it. Her desk is tidy, there are some books she didn’t bother take home - not school related, of course - her pens and pencils and a small stack of papers. It is obvious some sort of sanitation took place at some point during the holidays as there is no dust on them, her desk or her bed. On the other side of the room, that of her roommate’s, things are looking bright as ever. Leona’s desk is clear, save for a small handbag, which probably came with the rest of Leona’s things. She takes note of the suitcases that are placed by the bed. Her roommate is already here, somewhere.
Diana sets her own suitcase at the foot of her bed, then makes her way to the large window in the middle of the wall between the two beds at the far side of the room, and closes the curtains. Although they don’t really obscure much of the light due to their yellow colour - indeed a horrible choice for curtains, but one her roommate convinced her to choose - it still dims it enough to make it tolerable. Gracefully, she takes a seat on her bed and allows herself to relax. She smiles. The warm, orange fairy lights on the wall by Leona’s bed are turned on. She admits, that side looks rather cozy. She does not admit, however, the urge she feels to climb under Leona’s covers and sleep there forever. With a sigh, she lays back and reaches for the switch on her own set of lights.
“I believe it would look good. It would make the room more cozy and warm.”
“I believe it would look like a commercial for home renovations.”
“Yours don’t have to be orange! Could be dark blue, or violet or whatever you like. Your side could be the night to my day.”
“You realise that was… extremely homosexual of you to say.”
“Urgh, fine, Diana. Do as you like.”
Leona helped her set them up. She even offered to paint the night’s sky on her wall.
“How romantic of you.”
“Diana, if you suggest such a thing once more, I will smite you.”
“Who says I would mind?”
“You… are a lost cause.”
They laughed together, both sitting, cross-legged, on Diana’s bed. Leona had playfully pushed Diana away and the latter would forever remember that feeling, as if electricity had run through her when the other woman touched her. Or that other, warm feeling in her stomach when she managed to get the auburn-haired woman flustered - sometimes too much for her own good.
Back to the present, Diana gets up from the bed, looking for a much needed distraction to clear her head from all these thoughts of her roommate who she has terribly missed and-
Her clothes. She should unpack her clothes.
By the time Leona gets back to their dorm, Diana is done with unpacking and is laid in bed for the night, the Sun long gone from the sky. She truly started wondering what the chances of kidnapping within college grounds could be before Leona finally came in. Diana’s arms are on pillow duty as they are under the back of her head and her eyes are closed. Even so, she can tell that the one who entered is in fact Leona, simply by the scent. It reminds her of jasmine and honey, sweet and warm like the middle of spring. That, and Leona cannot keep her mouth shut.
“Diana.” She says, as if it’s an observation. “You are here.”
“Very perceptive of you.”
Leona chuckles and Diana opens her eyes, watching her as she walks to her bed and sits with a long sigh.
“First day at college got you sighing? You are doomed.”
“Give me a break, the holidays were not exactly to my liking.”
“Is that the reason you came back so early?”
Leona’s breath catches in that moment when their eyes meet. She’s still wearing her jacket and sweater, yet she feels bare. She smiles, feigning confidence.
“Of course - ‘and I wanted to see you.’ - why else?”
“Right.”
There is silence for a few moments as Leona takes off the excess clothing, now safe from winter’s bite. Admittedly, the room is rather warm, which is why Leona is confused by Diana wearing a black, long-sleeved top with a ‘V’ shaped neck - which she tries to ignore - along with her usual pair of fleece, plaid, black and white pyjama pants.
“Is your blood not boiling wearing all that? Seriously, it’s so hot in here I wonder how the college pays for it all.”
Diana takes a long look at Leona, taking note of her orange T-shirt and red shorts. She then returns her attention to her phone.
“I doubt you could handle me walking around like so.”
“Diana, I-” Leona makes an annoyed type of noise, her hands coming up in a strangling motion. “You know what,” She turns around and gets under her own sheets, pulling them up only until her mid-section, “goodnight.”
The silver-haired woman risks it and looks at Leona, only to thankfully find her with her back turned. She smiles and it has nothing to do with the sight of Leona finally being near her, peacefully sleeping only but a few feet away - no. She smiles only because she managed to annoy her. The golden child.
“Sweet dreams, Leo.”
As fate would have it, the lack of vision works both ways, and Diana can’t see Leona’s smile before she turns her phone off and goes to sleep herself.
The next morning Leona doesn’t greet her with their usual ‘good morning’ routine, which consists of Leona saying just that and Diana humming and groaning. No, Leona doesn’t utter a word and sports this frown on her face which sets Diana on high alert. However, she decides that if Leona wants to talk to her, she knows she can, so she allows her some space.
Leona skips breakfast and goes straight to class, leaving Diana to deal with the rest of their friends by herself. Apart from the annoyance of having to be the one to answer their questions about Leona’s whereabouts and if she’s alright and if something happened, Diana also feels worry start bubbling up in her stomach. For the rest of their classes, she watches Leona from afar. The earlier frown seldom leaves her face, only when someone actually has the guts to approach her. Then, she summons a smile meant to dissuade them from asking her if something is wrong, and if they do ask, then it is to support her claims that everything is fine and it must just be the weather. Diana knows that it is fake. She knows that Leona’s true smile is like the sun. Warm and inviting and beautiful (and blinding, considering how she can’t allow herself to look at it too long or a thunderstorm starts in her chest).
During lunch she comes and sits at their usual table, Diana already there, waiting with her sketchbook in hand. Leona takes a seat across from her and Diana puts away her things in favour of paying attention to her roommate. The silver-haired woman takes a moment to study Leona. She looks perfect, technically. Hair all done, some light make-up, her usual fashion sense and jewelry all in place. But there is that frown which Diana wishes to see gone from her face. She wishes she could brush it away, or erase it like she does with her sketches, but Leona is not a sketch. A work of art, sure, but no sketch. A work of art that decides it is time to break the silence.
“Do you have to go out for your archery training today?”
It’s simple and normal as questions go. If she needs a distraction from whatever is conjuring that dark cloud over her mind, Diana will oblige.
“I will. I must. Each day lost is a week wasted. I just really hope it doesn’t conflict with my art club schedule for the year. That would be unfortunate.”
Leona hums and her eyes look down at the table, her hand supporting her chin as the other draws circles on the surface of the cheap furniture.
‘There she goes again. Thinking.’
“Do you-”
“Leo! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, where have you been?”
Kassandra interrupts Diana’s attempt to ask her roommate about her brooding. She groans, watching Leona shrug, only giving Kassandra a glance to acknowledge her, which doesn’t deter the other’s enthusiasm. She is halfway through bringing her sketchbook back in her lap when Kassandra drops the bomb.
“I asked Thera out!”
Both Leona and Diana are staring at her. Leona speaks, surprise and joy evident in her voice.
“Wow. I mean,” She chuckles and smiles, really smiles this time, “Finally! I couldn’t stand you two pinning each other for another year.” Then she looks at Diana with a certain look in her eyes. Diana swears it’s longing, if not yearning, but she chooses not to focus on it too much and congratulates their friend. Zelos and Sophia join them a few moments later, both excited to hear the news. The scene at the table is lively, but Diana can’t get the mental image of Leona looking at her like that out of her head. What did it mean? Was she really looking at her or was she seeing something that wasn’t there?
Many questions run through her mind and she is reminded of the most important one when she catches Leona sigh deeply when she thinks no one is looking. She offers Diana a weak smile when their eyes meet. Diana wants to ask her what’s wrong, wants to take her hand and hold it and tell her that she will burn all of her roommate’s enemies at the stake if she must, for she is her best friend who has stood by her side through the years, through thick and thin, no matter the opposition. Woe be upon whoever brings that frown on her face. Diana finally swallows all these thoughts and puts them into boxes at the back of her mind for later use and gives Leona a small smile of her own which she hopes looks reassuring. They’d talk later, away from prying eyes.
There aren’t many interactions between them after that. Diana has her training to get ready for and Leona decides it’s a good time to visit town. Diana urges Zelos and Sophia to accompany her and they agree without questioning the reason behind Diana’s worries over her roommate. During her training, Diana’s mind travels. Between Leona missing for most of the day yesterday, coming back to their dorm earlier than usual and lacking her usual patience, as well as whatever is going on today along with the comment about the holidays not going her way, something is definitely off. Leona also hasn’t talked about anything going wrong with any of her other friends, or at least nothing that worries Diana too much. Sure, her music club will have less available time this year due to cuts from the Ministry, but surely Leona has her own piano at home and can practice there. Surely, her parents could probably afford to get her a new one, just for her dorm. And her favourite book series has come to an end. Diana sighs. Her arrow, once again, hits dead-center. The rest of her session goes smoothly, with praises from both coach and classmates and she couldn’t care less. By the time they are free to leave, Diana is already in her dorm room mentally, preparing to face Leona.
Of course, Leona isn’t back by the time Diana reaches their shared room, which is a relief. She takes a long shower and gets comfortable sitting at her desk, bringing up her sketches from earlier. A woman who looks suspiciously similar to Leona, wearing a mastercrafted suit of armour - a symbol looking like the sun on the chest piece and the shield that she’s holding in one hand, even on the hilt of the sword in her other. She’s got her sword raised high, pointing at the sky. A beam of light is coming down from the heavens to meet the edge of her blade. The woman is smiling, pride evident in her roughly sketched features and is confident with her posture atop a large rock - a boulder. Diana thinks of the look Leona gave her earlier during lunch. She wants to draw it, she decides. A smile forms on her lips as she brings the memory forth in her mind’s eye, her hand reaching for her pencil. Soon there are doodles of her roommate on each side of the page and Diana comes to the conclusion that the warrior is indeed Leona, ever as bright as the sun.
When Leona finally returns to their room, she looks happy. Tired, but happy. Her cheeks have this wonderful shade of pink because of the cold outside and she looks like a giant, brown marshmallow in her puffy coat. The scarf around her neck and the beanie on her head are not helping her case, nevermind the gloves. Leona is also carrying a couple of bags in her hands which she leaves on the floor as she starts slowly wiggling her way out of all that clothing. Diana regards the bags with an amused smirk.
“What did you get?”
Leona tries taking her scarf off at the time of the question. She probably didn’t hear. Diana chuckles and gets up from her desk, making her way to the other woman.
“Hold on, hold on you.” She laughs and grabs Leona’s arms, who obeys and stops. When Diana pulls the scarf back down so she can start unknotting it, she reveals a flustered, somewhat out of breath, Leona. Flustered, because the way her face turns crimson when she sees Diana cannot be from the cold and it definitely is not a blush. “Okay, now we just…”
So focused she is on the scarf that she doesn’t notice Leona’s eyes are locked on her own or how she smiles when Diana’s tongue subconsciously darts out of her lips. Not but a few moments after, she is done and Leona is free from her chains and can move away. Except, she doesn’t.
“Here we are… Done.”
Azure eyes find golden ones, the dim lighting of the room making them all the more beautiful. They stare at each other for one long moment, Diana’s hands on Leona’s shoulder and the latter still flustered and holding her breath. Finally, Diana looks away.
“So what did you get?” She asks and sits on the edge of her bed, ignoring the heat that rises in her body.
Leona blinks. Once, then twice, then three times before the pieces fall into place in her mind.
“What did I… get?” Then another click. “Oh. Yes, of course, I got a couple uhm…” She takes off her jacket and hangs it on the chair by her desk, then makes her way to the bags on the floor, “A few sweaters, a book that looks quite promising-”
“Romance?”
“Action fantasy. Medieval.”
“Of course.”
“And I got-” She reaches into a bag and pulls out of it a smaller one from a jewelry store, “These!”
Leona is smiling brightly and proudly and Diana is curious as the former walks towards her and sits by her side on the bed. There are two small, velvet boxes in the small bag. A dark blue one and another that looks creamy white.
“This is for you.”
Diana tries to find words to deny it but Leona is looking at her with big, hopeful eyes - almost shy - and she has been quiet all day and she also looked worried and now she’s not, so, despite her initial judgement, she accepts the velvet container. She holds it in her hands for a couple of seconds, examining it.
“I was thinking about what I should get you over Christmas and…”
She watches as Diana opens the box and looks at its contents curiously. She reaches for the piece of jewelry and holds it in one hand, leaving the case on the bed. It’s a bracelet with a crescent moon made of silver with two tiny sapphire gems on each side of it that connect to the silver chain holding it all together. Diana’s throat feels tight when she looks up at her roommate.
“Merry Christmas, Diana. I hope you like it, because-”
Leona holds a similar bracelet in her hand, but hers has the sun on it, made of gold and instead of sapphire there’s topaz on its sides of the golden chain.
“Tada!”
“Leo, that’s-”
“If you say homosexual I am going to slap you.”
They both laugh at that, Diana moreso than Leona who is smiling wide at her as she rocks back and forth with her hand over her mouth. There’re also tears in her eyes, which Leona believes are because of joy and happiness. She bites the inside of her cheek as Diana quiets down.
“I would never slap you.”
Diana nods, the last of her laughter dying out. “I know. I meant to say that this is beautiful. And very expensive. I have nothing to give you.”
Leona shrugs with a sheepish smile. “If you promise to wear it, I’ll consider us even. Oh, and a hug.”
“A hug?”
“Yes. I would like to have a hug.”
Diana takes a moment to think about it. She squints and sees it again. That frown, right under the surface. She agrees and wordlessly pulls the other woman close to her, wrapping her arms around Leona’s back as the other rests her chin on her shoulder. Diana doesn’t miss the way Leona nuzzles into the crook of her neck, or the way she sighs when Diana very gently caresses her back.
“What happened over the break?” Diana whispers softly and Leona’s breath catches in her chest. She doesn’t move away from Diana and the latter allows it, her hand still moving in soothing circles on her back.
“Can we not? Not tonight.”
Diana nods.
“Not tonight. I just want to know who I must kill.”
Leona laughs and the tension breaks, as does their hug when she pulls away from the silver-haired woman. After that, she and Diana chat about Leona’s day out and how Zelos helped her with her choice and how Sophia approved. Somewhere down the line, Leona starts yawning during her sentences and after the third time during the same one, they decide it is time to call it a night. The auburn-haired woman changes into her pajamas and gets into bed, once again whining about the temperature and Diana once again teases her for it. They close their lamps, leaving only their fairy lights to illuminate the room and whisper their goodnights.
A few moments before sleep finally overwhelms Diana, she can’t help but think of her sketch with Leona as the sun warrior and her gift to her. She smiles. Perhaps she doesn’t mind being the night to her day.