Archive of Our Own ^beta

This first day of the new semester had arrived, and the members of the blue team were up and about shortly after 6:30 AM.  As such, they were surprised to hear three soft raps on the door.  It was awfully early for anyone to be knocking calling on any of them, and they simply stared at it in surprise.

Until Diana poked her head around the bookshelf, that is, her shoulders bare but for her bra strap.  “Could one of you answer that, please?” she asked before she disappeared behind the oaken shelf once more.

After sharing a perplexed look with Barbara, Hannah stood from the edge of her bed and finished tying off her sash.  “Sure,” she said as she made her way to the door, hair still lying in gentle waves about her shoulders.  She checked to make sure Barbara was decent before she grabbed the knob and turned it, swinging the door open…to find absolutely no one.

She blinked.  She wasn’t sure who she had been expecting but opening the door to nothing but an empty corridor was definitely strange.  “Hello?” she called down the hall.  She wasn’t surprised to hear nothing in response, but she was a little weirded out.  Who knocks on someone’s door this early in the morning and just disappears?

…Actually, she could think of a few people.

With that new mindset, Hannah scanned the hall for anything out of place, carefully lingering over areas where the shadows seemed to deepen.  But when nothing seemed out of the ordinary, she shook her head and stepped backwards into the room again.

That’s when it caught her eye—a delicate-looking container sitting on the floor just outside their door.

She bent to pick it up, surprised to find it was made of tin, rather than ceramic.  Her fingers traced over the blue roses painted against a white background.  The gold design on the top of the container glittered at her in the light coming from the room behind her.

It was beautiful.

She closed the door to the hall with her foot, turning the small container over in her hand.

And there, sticking out of the back of it was a small tag printed with forget me nots.  And there, in thick letters, was Diana’s name.

“Oh,” Hannah said, looking towards the bookcase.  “Diana, it’s for you.”

“Just a moment.”

Barbara approached, curious now.  “What is it?”

“Some kind of can, I think.”  And really, it took every ounce of willpower not to shake it and see what might be inside.

Thankfully, Diana chose that moment to come around the shelf that separated the room.  She looked around, surprised to find no one else in the room.  “Who was at the door?”

“No one.  But this was sitting on the ground.  It looks like it’s for you.”  Hannah proffered the little can and watched Diana gently take it.

She studied the tag for a moment before the sharp look on her face softened to something Hannah and Barbara were entirely unused to seeing.  Then a smile crept across her face.  “I see,” she said.  “Please, excuse me.”  Without waiting for a response, Diana whirled about, cradling the small can in her palms, and disappeared around the shelf.

Hannah and Barbara looked to one another, both clearly curious, and then snuck to the edges of the bookshelf to peer around it at Diana.

To say they were shocked to see Diana staring so reverently at a tin can was an understatement.  And the light dusting of pink across her cheeks as she eased the top off the container left them wondering who it might be from.  Diana clearly seemed to know.  She smiled when she saw the contents of the can, plucking a small, light-blue star out of it.  She chuckled for a moment before popping it into her mouth and replacing the lid of the container.  Then, in what Hannah and Barbara thought was an uncharacteristic moment, Diana closed her eyes and hugged her arms to herself with a contented sigh.

They scurried away from where they were spying before Diana could spot them.  And once the three of them were ready for the day, they spent the walk to the cafeteria wondering who would have gifted the delicate little can of candy to Diana.

Even the chaos of meeting with the red and green teams at breakfast couldn’t distract them from the mystery of the morning.  And Amanda had tried her darnedest to distract Hannah and Barbara.

Diana, of course, dealt with the ruckus with aplomb, politely making conversation as she worked her way through her breakfast.  She indulged Akko by listening to the hyperactive girl recount the time she spent in Japan over their break, smiling ever-so-softly at her the entire time.

Somewhere in the middle of it all, Hannah noticed a generous pile of star-shaped candies on Akko’s tray, which the others happily picked from.  “Hey,” she said, gaining everyone’s attention.  She pointed to the candies on Akko’s tray, “Where did you get those?”

“What these?  I brought them from home,” Akko told her.  “The Ley Line doesn’t like salinity, so I brought some sugar-based snacks instead.  It’s called Konpeitou.”  She plucked up a red one and offered it to Hannah, “They’re pretty good.  You should try it.  These ones are even flavored!”

It was the wide smile from Akko, and the soft, almost longing look from Diana that finally made everything click for Hannah.  She carefully took the candy from Akko’s hand and set it in her mouth with a small, “Thanks.”  And even as she felt like she was drifting in outer space, she felt happy that her friend was finally opening herself up to someone.