A Meaningless Affair

Chapter 1: Diana

This story takes place after "The Balance".

Diana sighed contently as a cool breeze caressed her skin the moment she stepped out. She and Shayera had left Tartarus several hours ago but the memory of the underworld's scorching heat and rotten stench was still fresher than she would have liked it to be. Luckily Themyscira's wind always had a way of clearing her senses.

When a stronger blast hit her the Amazon shivered but made no attempt to find shelter. Instead, she shifted slightly to lean on a marble pillar as she took in the view of the home she had been denied for so long.

Themyscira was indeed breathtaking. The sun, at its peak, was revealing the island in its full glory and Diana once again marvelled at the rich green and golden colours of plain, hill and forest. This was a sight she had missed terribly during her exile for it was this same landscape that greeted her every morning since her first childhood memories.

In fact, the room she had just exited was her own, or at least the one that used to be her own. When her mother, the queen, had suggested that she and Shayera should wash and change clothing before the banquet that was to be held in their honour Diana had half-expected to be lead to the guest apartments with Shayera. However, to her great delight, not only had she been escorted to her old lodgings, but she had also discovered that everything had been kept exactly as she had left it, a room frozen in time, awaiting its mistress to return.

The princess was just considering making her way to the feast when the familiar sound of dirt being crushed under leather sandals caused her to turn around. Admittedly, she had expected to see a fellow Amazon -perhaps an old friend or tutor- so Diana was surprised to say the least when at first she failed to recognise the girl that stood in front of her.

The young woman was clad in a plain white tunic, which was quite common in Themyscira, while her figure was revealed to be slim and well toned, which was also common in Themyscira. In the end though, her wings were unmistakable.

"Don't laugh!" exclaimed the approaching thanagarian. "My clothes were torn…badly! I had to wear something."

In the meantime, laughing was the last thing on Diana's mind. She had decided long ago that she did not care much for her fellow heroine and as a result she tended to be negatively predisposed towards anything concerning Shayera. Up until now at least.

Indeed, maybe it was the familiar garment, or the light, or Diana was simply too drunk on happiness from being home again, but the other woman was quite a sight. For a few seconds, but no more, the princess could do little else than take in her pouting full lips, the light freckles that lay sprinkled over the delicate bridge of her nose, and of course the dark lashes that framed her brilliant eyes. Those eyes that danced and shimmered with such hunger for life…a mortal's eyes.

"You look fine." She answered. "I am just glad my sisters found something that fit you." The younger warrior still looked slightly uncomfortable but she nodded nonetheless. "Shall we go then?"

This was definitely not how Princess Diana had intended to spend her afternoon. The minute she found herself seated among her sisters once again she knew there was nothing in the world she'd rather do than spend all of her evening catching up with them. They were her family, her real family, and there were just too many things she wanted to share with them. But her mother had been adamant. Shayera had done them a great service fighting in Tartarus a battle that wasn't even hers. The least Diana could do was give her a tour of the island and make her feel welcome.

In vain did she declare how she had missed her own kind. In vain did she protest that she could be in the thanagarian's company any other day - not that she had ever chosen to so far. In the end she had given up and with one final sigh she approached her fellow leaguer and proposed the much discussed tour.

By the time they had returned it was dusk. The trip had not been that unpleasant, to Diana's surprise, for Shayera had kept quiet and as it turned out, she herself had been more than eager to revisit every last corner of her home-island. And now, finally, they were standing in the guestroom which had been assigned to Shayera, moments away from saying goodnight. Then, Diana would be free to do as she pleased, and Shayera would be free to… apparently bleed all over her bed as one of her wounds had reopened.

"The girl that treated my wounds used some herbs I had never seen before." Explained a rather baffled thanagarian. "They must have been really strong. I can't feel a thing."

"You still need to take care of it though." Diana pointed out. "It is on your back, can you…no, of course you can't reach it." Wonder Woman gave yet another sigh. She had already been delayed long enough. There was nothing in five more minutes.

As it turned out the wound wasn't that bad. Diana had studied some medicine herself when she was younger and such light bleedings gave her no trouble. The real problem turned out to be Shayera's skin. It was surprisingly hot to the touch, and although its smoothness was occasionally interrupted by an old battle scar, Diana found herself prolonging her stay in favour of checking up on all of the wounds –or so she told herself.

It was only natural she insisted. She had not touched another woman since she had left Paradise Island all those years ago. Then again, this did not explain why she was still with Shayera while plenty of willing women were waiting for her at the same moment.

"Thanks Wonder! I should be fine." Shayera began. "You can go and join your sisters now. I know that's what you really want to do tonight." The smirk on her lips was more than understanding.

But once again Diana did not seem capable of leaving the thanagarian's company. The girl looked so out of place in such foreign clothing and surroundings, not to mention lonely and vulnerable. It was hopeless. She just couldn't leave her alone like this.

"It is alright Shayera. I can take off in a while." Diana hesitated for a second, until she saw a pitcher and some goblets on a nearby table. "We could share some wine if you'd like."

The other woman smiled in agreement. "Had I known Themyscirian rooms came with free alcohol, I would have stayed here years ago."

The stars were shining clear and bright, Themyscira's nocturnal creatures were up and about, and most of the Amazons were asleep. Diana was still with Shayera.

The pitcher of wine had been empty for quite some time and so had their goblets, but they still lay next to each other, on Shayera's bed, talking about the only thing they had in common: battle. Before leaving Thanagar for what would be her last mission, Shayera had seen her own share of warfare and had quite a few tales to tell. Considering her mortality and how vulnerable her life had been on each battlefield, Diana was beginning to look at her in a different way, a better way. She wasn't quite sure how she felt about that.

"It sounds like you had some rather admirable qualities as a soldier Shayera." She commented at the end of another story. "It seems odd that you were capable of such treachery in the end."

The girl's emotions shifted from nostalgia and contentment, to pain and anger, while her eyes reflected it all for the princess to see. She shivered involuntarily; the energy that stirred in the depths of those emerald eyes never failed to captivate her in a way that made her uncomfortable.

After what seemed like an eternity of unbearable silence, Shayera finally stilled her emotions enough to respond. "This is your home Diana so I cannot ask you to…but please be courteous enough to leave."

To call Diana puzzled was an understatement. This weak, dry reply was nothing like the Shayera she knew. It was as if no fight had been left in her at all.

"If you are not going to then I am…" Shayera said and tried to get up, but wine and fatigue were not her allies, and when Diana grabbed her wrist she simply fell back on the bed and lay perfectly still.

"What is wrong with you?" exclaimed the princess. "The Shayera I know always gave as good as she got. What happened to you?"

"You'll never understand. You don't know anything about me. You don't know anything about what I've been through. What I am still going through…" Shayera paused to lock gazes with the Amazon for a few intense seconds. "And you clearly don't want to understand, and that's just fine. But I can't keep playing this game anymore. Find somebody else to be your rival. Just leave me be."

And Diana wanted to. She honestly wanted nothing more than to walk out and be as far away from her as possible, but as she moved to get on her feet she made a terrible mistake. She glanced at Shayera one last time.

There she was, still in that same light tunic which did wonders in revealing all the right places, just enough to tease. Diana's eyes lingered from the woman's toned thighs, to the gentle swell of her breasts, to finally rest on her parted lips, but it was not until Shayera returned her gaze through heavy lidded eyes that she finally leaned in.

The kiss wasn't passionate, but neither was it gentle. It was mostly cautious, for Diana was suddenly extremely aware of exploring some very new and dangerous territory, but there was also enough pressure to demonstrate her usual confidence. In the meantime, Shayera wasn't quite kissing her back, but she wasn't stopping her either. The princess decided to take this as consent and boldly slipped a hand to caress the inside of her thigh, only to feel her own arousal burning fiercely when the younger woman shuddered against her in response. But when eventually Diana broke the kiss and lowered her head to suck on the smooth skin of Shayera's neck, she instantly knew something was off.

The Amazon quickly gazed up only to mentally curse wine. Ironically, the same liquid that had made this entire experience possible was currently being the main reason behind its abrupt ending. Indeed, the winged woman was deeply asleep, and as Diana attempted to leave for her own bedroom she realised that she also was undeniably drunk.

In the end, she had to settle for lying down again. Perhaps it was better this way, she thought as she toyed sleepily with a soft, auburn lock of Shayera's hair. They didn't need any more wounds re-opening.

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