Work Text:
It was Valentine's Day at Indiana University. Dorothy opened up the school newspaper. She found Joyce's comic and was surprised. Julia Gray confessed her love to her roommate Doris. And then the two kissed.
Dorothy blushed as she read this. It was…unexpected. It was always obvious that Julia and Doris were stand-ins for her and Joyce. Plus Joyce had this whole romance planned out between her character and some space vampire.
She found Joyce out in the meal hall, spooning her cereal absentmindedly. Dorothy sat next to her. “Good morning Joyce.”
“Morning Dorothy.”
Awareness hung in the air around them until Dorothy broke the silence. “So, I read your comic this morning.”
Joyce's face turned red. “Did you?” She squeaked out.
“I thought you had different plans for Julia?”
“I did. But sometimes when you write for characters… they change from when you first made them. And you realize stuff about your- I mean them. And the plans you had for them in your head just don't… make sense anymore. And maybe you shouldn't fight these changes.”
“...about the characters.”
“Yes. About the characters. Julia and Doris work. They're-they're the most important people in each other's lives. They love each other. I can see that now. It seems silly to fight that.”
Dorothy took Joyce's hand. “I'm tired of fighting changes too.”
Joyce held her hand back; her fingers interlocking with Dorothy's. She turned to face her. Dorothy looked on the verge of tears, like a height had just been removed from her chest. She brought her face closer to Dorothy's and kissed her.