Chapter One
Diana looked at the clock on her nightstand. 3:51. She was laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Sleep was evading her, like it often did.
Two years. It had been exactly two years since it all ended. Since the barrier had come down. Since Gaia had been destroyed. Since Caine had died saving them all.
Tears welled up in Diana's eyes, and began to trickle down her cheeks. Then they began to pour, all the while she was scrubbing angrily at them. It'd been two years, and she still wasn't over Caine. She was mad at herself, furious, even.
Diana's hand found its way to her stomach. Her mind drifted to Gaia. She wondered, for what felt like the millionth time, what would have become of their daughter had she not been possessed by the gaiaphage. Her body shook with her sobs at the thought of a happy family. Caine, Diana, and the baby.
There was a knock on the door, before it opened slightly. A familiar porcelain face peeked in, blue eyes and blonde hair barely visible in the faint light that crept in from the hallway.
"Are you all right?" Astrid asked quietly. Of course, she wasn't expecting her to be all right. Astrid had comforted Diana almost every night since she'd moved in with Sam and Astrid.
Sitting up, Diana gave one last angry scrub at her cheeks. "I'll survive," she answered, her voice thick with unshed tears.
Astrid padded silently across the room and slid into the bed next to Diana, patting her shoulder consolingly. The first time she had done this, Diana had resisted Astrid's comfort, but now she rested her head against the other girl's shoulder, drawing a sense of relief from it. Eventually her tears slowed, and then stopped, and her ragged sobs became infrequent hiccups.
Diana remembered a time she had hated Astrid. She had thought Astrid was too perfect-too pretty and too smart. But that felt like ancient history now. Slowly, after the barrier had come down, Diana and Astrid had grown close. All of the past hatred between them long forgotten.
"It's really been two years, huh?" Astrid finally commented, breaking the silence between them.
"It has. Not like the rest of the world cares." Diana added.
Shrugging, Astrid gave a tired smile. "I'm sure a few scientists are still trying to figure out the anomaly that was the FAYZ." She yawned.
"Go to bed, Astrid. I'll be all right for the rest of the night."
"If you insist." Astrid paused in the door, looking back at Diana. "Good night."
"Yeah, night, Astrid."
Lifting the alarm clock on the nightstand beside her bed, Diana slid a small blade from a pencil sharpener out from under it. Tears slowly fell down her cheeks as she slid up the sleeve of her shirt and dragged the blade repeatedly across her skin until the fresh, shallow cuts produced drops of blood.
Astrid left the light off as she crept quietly into her room, not wanting to wake Sam. She slid in next to him, pulling the covers up.
"You're back." Sam said groggily, pulling Astrid against his warm body. She shivered, and he pressed his lips against her temple.
"I was with-"
"Diana. I know." Sam finished for her. "I'm glad you're back."
Astrid tilted her head up, her lips finding Sam's easily in the dark. Sam held her tighter against him, and Astrid laid her hands against his chest.
"I love you, Sam." She whispered against his lips.
"I love you, too, Astrid." Sam replied, before kissing her softly.
They remained that way until the finally fell asleep.