As Constanze peered into the Blue Team dormitory, she cast a few curious glances around what she saw of the room. So far, while it did seem like a fairly ordinary dormitory, the decorations did clash quite a bit with the rest of it, looking a tad more… Luxurious? Sure, the beds stayed largely the same, but the usual double bunk bed was replaced by a double one, of all things. Didn't take Constanze long to figure out who this one belonged to. Then there was also a comfy-looking sofa, positioned right in the center of the room, and a small coffee table just near it… Those were definitely not part of the usual décor.
"I see that you've arrived right on time. Now, don't be shy, come on in. " – Diana remarked, currently sitting at the aforementioned couch and gesturing the other girl to come on in. Constanze closed the door behind herself and nervously shuffled over to where her girlfriend was sitting, sitting down just next to her.
"So, would you fancy a cup of tea?" – Diana asked, lifting a teapot that was usually situated on the coffee table up with the same done-several-times silent spell. Constanze quietly nodded and sat there quietly, scanning through the room for a bit longer. Eeyup, the décor was nothing like the Green Team or Red Team dormitory. The place gave off an odd air of luxury, making the navy-haired girl wonder if Diana had to make her fair share of rearrangements upon ending up in this dormitory with Hannah and Barbara.
"How much sugar?" – The blonde asked, interrupting Constanze's little furniture design analysis. The only response the quiet girl managed was just to sign her to not add any sugar and adding "No milk either."
After handing Constanze her cup, Diana asked: "So, how was it going so far?"
Honestly, the German girl was yet to get used to any conversations that required more than just the occasional "yes" or "no" responses from her. And of course, having Diana break the ice so suddenly was not something she was used to. This was, admittedly, one of the few times they were left one on one, aside from the date they were set up on back then.
So her response was a mere "Decent, I guess" before she went back to quietly sipping her rather plain tea. She wasn't really one for sweet tea, or even the idea of adding any milk to it. Heck, she was much more of a coffee person, but declining Diana's offer just seemed rude to Constanze. That… Didn't leave her enjoying the tea all that much, to be honest.
"I'm surprised you've been handling yourself so well in certain topics. Numerology, so far, seems to be practically coming to you naturally. And it's rather ironic that someone who barely says a single word manages to have near-top grades in Magical Linguistics." – Diana decided not to specify the reason why Constanze's grades were "near-top", as she felt that this would probably make the atmosphere a tad more awkward than needed. – "And what about your latest endeavors in techmaturgy? I didn't get to visit your workshop or see you at work often, so…"
Constanze didn't answer, instead pressing a few buttons on her wand-remote. Soon enough, noises of small metallic feet clanging were heard in the corridor before the all-too-familiar Stanbot stumbled right in, rearranging itself into proper position instead of simply getting up.
"I see. So you've been working on upgrading your Stanbot so far?"
Constanze nodded, and pressed a few more buttons, soon making a Stanbot procure something from behind itself.
At first it was just a ball of odd green light, but it soon began… Taking on a shape of sorts. Soon enough, the former ball of light became a green rose with light blue petals, although it seemed more like a polygonal model of a rose rather than a real one.
The result, apparently, was not what Constanze wanted to achieve, so her neutral expression was back to her grumpy one quite soon.
"Not enough processing power yet." – The German girl quipped as the Stanbot went on to hand Diana the aforementioned rose. It wasn't any kind of illusion, either, but it did feel strangely… Ethereal on touch. Like Diana's hands were touching thin air as she held the rose.
"Regardless, I am more than thoroughly impressed. You made your Stanbot capable of conjuring objects. I presume that it uses your silent spells as commands, and performs them by virtue of it's own internal energy reserves, correct?" – Diana placed the rose down onto the table and turned to face Constanze, who quietly nodded, feeling somewhat amazed at the fact that her girlfriend nailed the entirety of it down. Given that the blonde took quite a bit of interest in techmaturgy after she and Constanze got together, it was only fair.
"The object fabrication only works in preset templates, sadly." – Stanbot quipped.
"And it doesn't last." – The little robot's creator added, and as if in confirmation of her words, the fabricated rose dissolved into sparkles. Looking at the few particles that were left behind by the rose, Constanze sighed.
"Still, you did a really good job on this. In fact, I am more than looking forward to your further techmaturgical advancements." – Diana remarked, giving Constanze a light pat on the head. – "Speaking of which, I don't care what most witches might say about your affinity towards this specific school of magic. Despite the incident with Croix, I am fully inclined to believe that techmaturgy does have a place in the modern world of magic as a perfectly valid science."
The navy-haired technician looked up at Diana and smiled back at her as she heard that, being met with a quiet loving smile in return.
"Anyway… What about you?" – Constanze spoke up, seemingly taking the few careful steps towards breaking out of her figurative shell.
"Oh. Well, I can safely say that… Things have gotten a little complicated since last year. The studying I can keep up with, but staying in touch with my other acquaintances is rather… Difficult." – Looking around for a bit, the blonde sighed and added: "Even my roommates are rather distant from me lately. On the off time from studying, they spend more time on dates together with just one another rather than being anywhere near me, and even after those, we don't even get to talk much."
Perhaps that explained the absence of the odd duo from the Blue Team dormitory.
"I don't get to talk much to Akko either, because she's either busy practicing magic – her determination is commendable, I must admit – or spending her time with Sucy. And Sucy… Well, she doesn't want me anywhere near neither her nor Akko. She tends to get a little possessive is all I can say on the matter." – Diana continued, all the while holding her long cooled-down cup of tea.
Constanze figured that this was probably what gave Akko the idea to try and pair them up in the first place. Akko may have not been the brightest person in the Academy, but even she could see Diana's rather evident forlornness while her acquaintances were busy hanging out with each other and acted like she wasn't even around. Diana was by no means an extroverted person, sure, but she certainly wasn't as used to being all by her lonesome as, say, Sucy was. Meanwhile, even though Constanze was all too used to spending most of her time all alone with her mechas, at the same time she couldn't help but admire and respect Diana in a more than just platonic way. The mechanic often felt like Diana was probably the single most open-minded person amongst her fellow students, and that the blonde, unlike anyone other than Constanze's close acquaintances, was rather acceptant of the very concept of techmaturgy and didn't ridicule her hobbies as being something not "witch-like", or invalidate the very school of magic she studied.
Constanze lightly placed her hand on Diana's, which she had currently positioned on the couch, somewhat startling the blonde.
"Oh… Well… I suppose having you by my side is quite nice." – Diana remarked, presuming that this was the reply that Constanze expected. The German girl quietly nodded and leaned closer to Diana, soon getting close enough to the blonde to rub her cheek against her shoulder.
Figuring she might as well return the gesture of affection, the sole heiress pulled the other girl into a hug and looked her in the eyes.
"You know… As much as I admire your personality and enthusiasm in techmaturgy… I have to admit that your looks played no small part in my feelings of affection towards you." – To emphasize her point, Diana leaned just close enough to be mere inches away from a kiss, and quietly remarked: "I really meant it when I called you cute back then."
Before Constanze could even utter anything, she was immediately silenced by a gentle kiss on the lips from the British girl, and allowed herself to just relax and let her do all the work…
Right in time for Diana's roommates to arrive, apparently in the middle of a conversation.
"… and I'm telling you, that series was a failure on every level! Even the ending was just a complete mind-screw with zero explanation, except without any of the genius and subtlety of it's predecessor!" – Hannah remarked, as it seemed that she and Barbara had gotten into a discussion regarding certain anime series. – "Honestly, that's not even getting into how this particular title is basically a sappy romance disguised as a mecha anime, so- Oh." – It didn't take long for the redhead to notice just what was going on in the room.
" "Oh" indeed, Hannah-bee. "Oh" indeed." – Barbara chimed in, seemingly not as surprised by the presence of Constanze within the room.
As for the other couple in the room? Both beet-red in the face, wide-eyed, and staring awkwardly at the two intruders.
"You know, it is nearing curfew already…" – Constanze remarked, blushing like no tomorrow as she ran out of the room, packing her Stanbot back up and running off with it. Honestly, she could have just dismissed the little guy after things got a tad emotional between her and Diana, but she seemingly forgot to do so, and now she had to carry the folded-up robot all the way back to her dormitory room.
As for Diana, she stood up from the couch, cleared her throat, and asked: "I take it you two were having a discussion prior to… All of this, am I correct?"
The duo exchanged a few odd glances and soon just went back over to their usual position at their shared bed, continuing their discussion on how mecha anime these days is just too out there compared to what it was like before, while Diana just sighed and figured she might as well head for the showers early.
Although, she still couldn't help but think that maybe she at least needed to ask Constanze out when she gets the chance.