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Akko was nervous. That much was certain. She sat at her desk with her journal open to the current day’s page, a single sentence scratched across the surface in mediocre handwriting. She glared at the sentence and it glared right back, and Akko sighed, slumping against her chair in defeat.
“What is it now?” Sucy groaned from her corner of the room, engrossed in a certain sludgy green substance she had been concocting over the course of the past few days.
Akko shuddered, sincerely hoping Sucy wasn’t planning on using her as a guinea pig for this one too—not after last time, which had left her in the infirmary for two consecutive days. Diana had been absolutely beside herself with rage. She’d had an absolute fit going on about rules and regulations and experimenting on fellow students, not to mention the fact that Akko didn’t really need any extra help in being reckless. Akko had almost protested at that, from her bed in the infirmary no less, but the look Diana had shot her convinced her to keep her mouth shut for the time being.
“You’ve been bouncing your leg for ten minutes, and it’s getting annoying,” Sucy grumbled.
“O-oh,” Akko chuckled nervously, stilling her leg and placing her foot firmly on the ground. “Sorry, Sucy. I didn’t know I was bothering you,” she looked down frustratedly at the page again and quieted. No more than ten seconds later did she hear an exasperated sigh from the other side of the room.
“Alright,” said Sucy, and Akko winced as she placed the vial of green sludge rather firmly in the wooden rack that spanned the length of her desk, so firmly in fact that it caused the others to clink against each other in succession. “What is it?” She demanded.
“What...” Akko stammered, “What do you mean?” She glanced around the room, swinging her legs, attempting—and failing miserably—to look nonchalant.
Sucy rolled her eyes, “Don’t act dumb. You already play the part just fine,” she ignored Akko’s indignant protest and continued, “What’s eating you? You’ve been sitting there staring at that book and making a bunch of excessive, not to mention irritating, noise for almost fifteen minutes. And now you’re quiet, which is somehow even worse. So what’s the deal?”
“The… the deal?” Akko asked shakily. Her palms were sweating. “I, uh…” If I tell her, she’s just going to laugh at me. Come on Akko, you can do this! All you have to do is… is ask. Just one question, that’s all. And then she’ll answer, and you’ll know. And Diana wouldn’t tell anyone else, if it ends up being embarrassing. She’s not like that.
During her inner monologue, Akko didn’t notice Sucy sidling up to her desk and peering around her shoulder intrusively at what she had written. Sucy snorted, yanking Akko from her thoughts. Akko scrambled to shut the journal as quickly as possible, but it was too late—her friend had already seen her shame.
“That’s what’s bugging you?” Sucy slinked over to her desk and plunked back down in her seat. “With all your fussing, I figured it’d be something more serious.”
She continued with her work, jotting down notes as she put a few drops of something into the vial with an eye-dropper. The solution bubbled and changed to a bright yellow color, and she swirled it lazily, scribbling another brief string of notes.
“What do you mean… more serious?” Akko looked positively affronted and Sucy cackled, “This is serious!”
“No,” Sucy said between bouts of snickering, “It really isn’t. I think you’re blowing this whole ordeal way out of proportion.”
Akko crossed her arms and grumbled to herself, and Sucy snickered some more. What does Sucy know, anyway? Hmph.
“You don’t have to laugh, you know,” Akko sulked, pouting. “I am aware that I’m already completely in over my head,” she sighed, growing ever more discouraged the more she thought about it. Her pep talk from before seemed almost pathetic in the light of reality—or, what she perceived to be reality, at least.
“What would she see in me, anyway? All I ever do is make mistakes and mess everything up,” Akko gazed sullenly over at the closed notebook and wilted in her chair. “Maybe… maybe it’s best if I don’t say anything at all. Try to… get over it on my own, or something.”
The room grew quiet as Akko brooded silently, and eventually Sucy grew tired of it.
“Look,” she said, ceasing her experiments and turning around toward Akko. “I didn’t mean that it wasn’t serious in that Diana wouldn’t take you seriously. What I meant was that it’s not something you should be worried or nervous about. It’s…” Sucy grimaced, as if the next words out of her mouth brought her immense pain, “You should… talk… to her. Tell Diana how—how you… feel,” she gritted the reluctant words out through near-clenched teeth.
Akko perked up, raising her head from where it had been buried in her arms on her desk, “You really think so? That I should… tell her? Just like that?”
“How else are you supposed to tell her, besides just telling her? I’m not saying it again,” Sucy grumbled, swiveling in her chair and resuming with her experimenting.
Akko smiled to herself. She hadn’t expected anything to come from telling Sucy—not that she had actually told her anything. It was more that Sucy was just being nosy. It was safe to say the last thing Akko had expected was actual encouragement to act on her feelings. The most she had anticipated was maybe a bit of teasing and some sniggering on the side. Sucy… Akko knew she cared, even if she didn’t show it much—and she could be nice sometimes, Akko thought. Even if she was the only one who could tell besides Lotte.
“Okay,” said Akko, pumping her fists in front of her face, “I’m gonna do it.”
“Whatever,” Sucy mumbled from the other side of the room, “Just don’t spontaneously combust the second you see her or anything.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Despite Sucy’s warning, Akko felt like she could spontaneously combust at any moment. There she was, the object of her affections. Standing gracefully by one of the great big windows in the cafeteria hall, making light conversation with Hannah and Barbara it seemed. Diana’s eyes flicked over to meet hers as she noticed her enter the room, and Akko’s heart skipped in her chest.
Stupid heart, she thought crossly, Can’t you behave for just one second?
Their eyes met and Diana smiled warmly at her, and Akko’s face immediately heated up.
Oh man, she thought. She’s so—pretty… I don’t know if I can do this. Akko shook her head, banishing the thought, No—no thinking like that! You’re going to do it. You are going to do this. Just keep walking forward… and don’t—
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Akko’s foot collided with the leg of a chair as someone scooted it backwards as they were standing up from their table, and she pitched forward. She squinted her eyes shut, flailing her arms wildly and letting out a rather embarrassingly loud “Waaaa..!” as she prepared to meet her doom that was the cold, hard and wholly unforgiving floor. But her fate never came—instead she found herself wrapped in a pair of uniform-clad arms. The uniform was rather neatly pressed, Akko noticed, unlike hers which remained unkempt almost daily, and she followed the arm slowly up to a face. A face that was, to Akko’s apparent misfortune, Diana’s.
“Akko,” Diana said, and asked with genuine concern, “Are you alright? That could have been quite the fall.”
“Uh—” Akko’s tongue felt heavy in her mouth as she scrambled out of the embrace, the close proximity doing nothing to calm her racing heart and thoughts. She dusted herself off as she stepped back, although she had yet to become dirtied by the floor. “You’re fine! I-I mean, I’m, I’m fine! You did catch me after all. Thank you, Diana.”
“Of course,” Diana smiled, and Akko nearly whimpered. Why did she have to be so goddamn cute when she smiled?
“You looked rather determined on your way over here,” Diana observed, and a teasing glint sparkled in her eyes, “Were you on a mission?”
“I…” Akko’s previous determination returned with strict vehemence, and she steeled her gaze. “Yes! Yes, I was. I was actually hoping to speak with you,” she glanced at the few people around them who had quieted and started to stare after they had witnessed Akko’s blunder, “Ah—um, that is, privately? Alone.” Wow, way to be subtle, Akko, she thought to herself and grimaced internally.
“Oh,” Diana’s cheeks flushed a light pink, “Of course. Come with me.” She gently took Akko’s arm and guided her through the doors of the Hall and out into the corridor. Most people had already entered the cafeteria, so they were unlikely to be bothered at this time. Diana cleared her throat quietly, “What is it that you wished to speak with me about?”
And just like that, Akko’s mind drew a blank. Oh, not now! She thought to herself. Say something! Anything!
“I—uhhh, ” Akko began, though her brain was not connecting properly to her mouth. “You look really nice!” Akko winced at her own volume. No, no that’s not what I wanted to say! Well, it was, sort of. But I didn’t want to say that first!
Diana flushed again, the tips of her ears that were barely visible peeking out from under her hair turning red as she did. “I… thank you, Akko. You look nice, as well. Is that what you wanted to talk about?”
Akko shook her head, “No! No, I… I actually wanted to ask you something.” She blushed deeply, clasping her sweaty hands behind her back to keep herself from fidgeting.
“Oh?” Diana prompted.
“Uh, yeah,” Akko continued. “But, it’s ah… a bit awkward? I guess…,” she shrugged, “Sucy told me not to worry, but I’ve been nervous all day and especially right now, and I even made sure not to eat anything this morning before I came to talk to you in case I got sick or something and—”
“Akko,” Diana laughed, “It’s alright. Just tell me, what’s on your mind?”
She was, admittedly, a little worried herself. What reason did Akko have to be so nervous? And… did even the thought of speaking with her about such matters really make her feel sick? Diana sincerely hoped not… She had tried her best to show Akko that she truly wanted to be her friend, and that she cared for her deeply. Perhaps too much, she thought to herself witheringly. I hope she isn’t in any sort of danger.
“I… okay,” Akko breathed deeply, silently psyching herself up.
It’s okay. This is Diana we’re talking to, she’s not going to judge us. She’s shown us that much since the whole noir missile thing. She’s our friend, and she won’t ridicule us for having… feelings. Oh man, I hope not.
Akko tried to quell the panic slowly building in the pit of her stomach, and she continued on before she lost her nerve, “There’s something—I’ve been meaning to tell you, Diana. I…” She trailed off, the worried look on Diana’s face not giving her much as far as confidence went. Still, she carried on.
“I like you,” she admitted, and Diana blinked. “Uh, romantically. And I was wondering if… you… liked me too? In a… romantical… way,” Akko finished, gesturing awkwardly with her hands. Smooth, Akko. Is romantical even a word? Oh man, what am I supposed to say now? This is a disaster… Luckily Diana beat her to it, so she didn’t have to think about it for too long.
“I...” Diana opened and closed her mouth like a fish, utterly dumbfounded. She had been expecting some sort of terrible news, what with how Akko was going on about feeling sick and being so nervous. Diana blushed, averting her gaze as she reflected on Akko’s words. “Akko...” Diana had thought about this moment so many times, but she had always imagined herself confessing. Akko, of course, was never one to follow the plan, and Diana was fully thrown for a loop.
Akko chuckled nervously and interrupted, already hearing the rejection prepared to spill forth from Diana’s lips, “I-I was just—it’s okay, you don’t have to answer. It was, I was…. kidding! Ha, ha…” she brought her right hand up to the back of her neck.
Akko, you are an idiot, she thought to herself.
If she hadn’t been looking literally anywhere but Diana, she would have noticed the crestfallen look on her face.
“I… see,” Diana replied stiffly. “Well, if that’s all then, I really must be going… The cafeteria will be closing up shortly.”
“I—yeah, sure, Diana,” Akko’s brow furrowed. Diana almost seemed… disappointed?
Diana nodded, unable to speak, and steeled her expression before walking away, slipping on a mask of indifference.
Crap, Akko thought, Did I...?
Despite how starving she was at having not eaten all day, Akko found herself without much of an appetite. She decided on an apple and a glass of water, and brought them both to the table where the red and blue teams sat together. They had all begun to sit as a group around the end of the previous school year, and while Hannah and Barbara were still a tad apprehensive toward the turn of events, they acted civil enough. After a while of munching numbly on her apple, Akko felt Sucy nudge her from under the table and she looked up. Everyone was staring at her expectantly—well, everyone except Diana, who was staring down at her plate with a blank expression. Diana had considered taking her dinner to her room, but knew her friends would notice something was amiss if she didn’t eat with them. So she had elected to stay, against her wishes.
“Huh?” Akko asked, “What?”
“I asked how your test went this morning in Herbology. I know you’ve been studying really hard this week,” Lotte reiterated patiently, having not been heard the first time.
“Oh,” Akko picked absentmindedly at a spot on the table, “It went alright.”
Lotte looked confusedly over at Sucy and she shrugged, also at a loss as to why their normally talkative friend had suddenly decided to clam up. Both Hannah and Barbara glanced at each other as well at Diana’s… mood of sorts. It was characteristic for her to be quiet, but she at least attempted to engage in and listen to the conversations being had, especially if it involved Akko and her academic success. Currently, she was burning two eye-shaped holes into the table.
The group soon finished dinner and headed back to their respective dorms, and as soon as the door to the red team’s room clicked shut, Sucy whirled around on Akko.
“Okay,” she said, “What the hell was that?”
“What was what?” Akko feigned confusion, but Sucy saw right through it.
“Don’t give me that,” she called her out, “Did you talk to her, or didn’t you?”
“Wait,” said Lotte, “Talk to who? What’s going on?”
“Akko decided she was going to tell Diana about her big fat crush on her, and from the looks of things it didn’t go too well. For some reason,” Sucy growled, one-hundred-and-one percent done with this whole thing. Those idiots just need to confess and get it over with so I don’t have to keep dealing with it. I’m sick of playing mediator.
“Oh,” Lotte commented quietly. “Well, um... how did it go?”
Akko scratched the back of her neck, “I mean… I talked to her, sort of,” she shrugged, gazing intently at a very interesting floorboard. She glanced up when she heard a tired sigh, and Sucy looked at her as if to say, And?
“Uh… well,” Akko laughed nervously, “I did tell her, kind of. About, you know. My… feelings, or whatever. And then I,” she grimaced, “I told her—I told her I was… kidding.”
“You what?” Sucy threw her hands into the air, “Are you stupid? Why would you—can’t you tell—oh, my God, you really don’t know, do you?”
“W-well she, she was taking a really long time to reply and she was stumbling over her words and I thought—I thought I had made things like, super awkward. I freaked out, okay! She’s just so… you know, and I… I guess I just panicked,” the rest of Sucy’s words came back to her and she frowned, “Wait, what do you mean? What don’t I know?”
Sucy closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing heavily, “You're both absolutely hopeless, I swear.” She fixed Akko with a serious look, “Diana likes you, you idiot!”
Akko stepped back, “She… what?”
“That’s why I said you had nothing to worry about. She was probably stumbling over her words because you... I don’t know, caught her off guard or something. I don’t know how you don’t notice her staring longingly after you all the time,” Sucy rolled her eyes and mumbled, “It’s pathetic, really.”
“I… she doesn’t… stare at me? Does she?” Akko asked, running a hand over her cheek in thought.
“I’m not talking to you about this,” she snipped, pushing Akko toward the door.
“H-hey, what—what are you—“
“I’m forcing you to deal with this. Now. Before I have to lose any more sleep listening to you rattle off about Diana and her ‘stupid sparkly hair’ or something equally as disgusting. Get out,” Sucy growled. “And go fix it.”
Sucy shoved her out of the room, closing and latching the door behind her. “I’ll unlock it five minutes before curfew,” she spoke through the door, “But you’d better not just sit out there until then. Go,” she said, sighing in relief as she finally heard Akko’s footsteps retreating down the hall.
“Don't you think,” Lotte said quietly, “that was a little harsh?”
“I don’t care,” Sucy growled tiredly, “It needed to be done. And maybe after this, I can finally sleep soundly for once.”
And with that, she collapsed into bed and immediately began to snore, with no intention of waking up to unlock the door when she returned.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Akko groaned, thumping her head against the wood of the door. Sucy had betrayed her. So much for friendship, she thought bitterly.
Akko looked up and down the empty hall, sighing as she realized she had nowhere else to go but where she least wanted to be. Or most wanted to, depending on how you saw it.
So, she begrudgingly trudged down the deserted hallway toward Diana’s wing, running through possible confrontations in her head.
Hey, sorry I was being an idiot. Wanna go out sometime?
Diana was likely hurt, Akko figured, if what Sucy had said was true, and she felt the sickening churning of guilt sit heavily in the pit of her stomach. She was so lost in thought over what a complete jerk she had been that by the time she reached Diana’s dorm, she had nothing prepared to say.
Well, she thought. I’m already here, and it’s almost curfew. Might as well just... She raised her hand to knock, hesitating only a moment before she did, softly rapping her knuckles against the door three times.
The bronze handle turned, and it was almost as if Akko were watching things happen in slow motion. The door opened quietly and Diana slowly stepped into view—Akko felt another pang of guilt when she noticed the deep frown etched into Diana’s face.
To Akko’s surprise Diana was still in her uniform, having not changed for bed quite yet, though her tie and vest were both missing and the top two buttons of her white dress shirt were undone. A tantalizing sliver of smooth, pale skin peeked through the open collar and Akko swallowed thickly, her train of thought coming to a screeching halt at the sight of the usually poised and perfectly put together Diana Cavendish slightly unkempt in front of her.
Shit, Akko thought, Shit shit shit.
She heard Diana gasp softly as she opened the door further, surprised at seeing that it was Akko, and her eyes were immediately drawn to her lips. Elegant, soft-looking lips that were currently parted in a delicate gasp.
Screw it, she thought again, and felt herself moving involuntarily forward.
“Akko? Wha-mmph!” Diana was promptly cut off as Akko wound her hands in her shirt collar, almost certainly wrinkling it, and pulled her into a fierce kiss.
Diana caught herself on the doorframe with her right hand, her left releasing its hold on the door handle to grasp blindly at Akko’s shoulder. Her initial shock melted and disappeared as she relaxed, pouring herself into the kiss, eyes fluttering shut as she felt Akko’s lips warm against her own. Akko gasped softly into her mouth, tugging her closer, and Diana felt it in the shiver that ran down her spine as Akko pressed softly against her, in the way their bodies fit so perfectly together it was like she finally felt complete.
She felt it especially in the way Akko groaned as she tilted her head and tugged on her lip with her teeth, the way Akko’s mouth opened so invitingly that Diana almost stopped breathing entirely. She inhaled deeply through her nose and stepped closer, not wanting to separate herself from Akko for one second, not even to breathe.
Akko’s shoulders relaxed as she loosened her grip on Diana’s shirt collar, and she slid her hands up and around her neck to tangle in Diana’s hair.
“I like you,” Akko said breathlessly once she had found the strength to pull herself away, “I’m sorry, I was—” she shook her head fervently, “I freaked out when you didn’t immediately reply and I panicked. I’m sorry.”
“I...” Diana’s chest heaved and she tried to speak, but Akko’s kiss had nearly rendered her speechless. She looked into her eyes, searching for any semblance of doubt or uncertainty but all she found was clarity. This was real, and what Akko felt for her was real. The fact brought a gentle smile to her lips as Akko continued.
“I really do like you, Diana. I have for… for a long time, actually,” Akko blushed, embarrassed, and her hands moved down to rest comfortably at the nape of Diana’s neck. She leaned partially away and took a half step back to put some space between them.
Diana felt her face heat up at Akko’s words and she opened her mouth to reply, already missing the feeling of Akko flush against her, but she was rather rudely interrupted as one of her two roommates—both of whom she had completely forgotten existed—could be heard snickering quietly from somewhere inside the room.
Akko felt Diana tense under her hands as she whipped her head around, “I would politely insist that you two, please, mind your own business,” she hissed.
“We could, if it wasn’t right outside our open door,” Hannah snickered, “To the room we share.”
Diana could hear Barbara’s muffled giggling as well and flushed crimson. The truth is, they were happy for her—they knew Akko made Diana happy, and being Diana’s closest friends, that was enough for them.
Diana turned her head back around and nudged Akko away from the doorway, whose face was equally as red, and followed her out into the hall, clicking the door shut behind them.
“I…” Akko started, once they were alone, “I was being dumb, and an idiot. And… I genuinely regret that I hurt you in the process.” Akko felt her eyes warm with tears, and she grasped Diana’s hands in her own, “I didn’t mean to hurt you, really, Diana. Or make you believe that my feelings were in any way less than real. Although, that is exactly what I said,” she looked down at her feet sheepishly. “Can—can you forgive me?”
Akko looked up at her with wide, watery eyes and any hurt or resentment Diana might have harbored away inside of her melted away completely.
“Of course I forgive you,” she said sincerely, gently stroking Akko’s cheek with her fingers. “It was just so unexpected, and I had trouble collecting my thoughts enough to… tell you how I felt. How I feel.” Diana tugged Akko closer by the hem of her shirt, “I like you, too,” she admitted in a soft voice, and smiled with a muted brightness, like what the sun might look like through a curtain of water. “In a… romantical way, as you so elegantly put.”
“Well,” Akko hmphed and struggled to fight off her own smile as she pouted deeply, “Can you blame me? With how pretty you always look it’s a wonder I was able to even say anything. It’s like you… sparkle, or something. All the time. It’s infuriating.”
“I—sparkle?” Diana almost snorted, grinning in amusement.
“Uh,” Akko stiffened and tried to explain, “It’s like, when I look at you, you get all… you know, and I… can’t think.”
Diana laughed, her eyes narrowing in mirth as she did.
“See, you’re doing it right now!” Akko groaned in frustration, “Whenever you smile, or laugh or… exist. My eyes get all happy and stupid and all I can see is you.”
Diana blushed, and was overwhelmed with the sudden need to kiss her again. She leaned forward, laughing airily and pressed her smile gently, softly, against Akko’s lips.
“What was that for?” Akko asked, grinning widely as Diana pulled away slowly, “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Because,” Diana answered, “I like you. And because you’re ridiculously charming.”
“Well, I sure hope that you like me,” Akko chuckled, “Or else this would have been really awkward.”
Diana flushed again and cleared her throat. “Yes, well… it’s a good thing we are fond of each other, then.”
“Is that what they’re calling it these days?”
Diana rolled her eyes as Barbara’s muffled voice filtered through the closed door. She sighed and pulled Akko to her, wrapping her arms around her shoulders, and Akko in turn snaked her arms around Diana’s waist. She breathed in the scent of a Diana’s perfume and relaxed against her, sighing contentedly. They stood there for a while, embracing in the quiet of the hall, and Akko felt Diana lean heavily on her shoulders, almost knocking her over.
“Diana?” she asked as she struggled to steady herself, “You okay?”
“Hmm… yes, I’m alright,” she replied sleepily. “I apologize, I didn’t realize how tired I was.”
“Oh,” Akko commented, glancing at the clock hanging above the entrance to Diana’s wing. “You’re right, it is past curfew. You should go and get some rest.”
She began to pull away, but Diana tugged her tighter against her
“Mm, can’t we just stay here?” Diana hummed, laying her head on Akko’s shoulder and turning her face toward her neck. Her breath cascaded over Akko’s skin and she tensed, her face burning with an impressively red blush.
“Uh…” Akko struggled to form words, “I-I mean, I guess we could, but we might get caught…” she trailed off as Diana untangled her arms from around Akko’s shoulders and placed them gently on her hips. She felt Diana sigh against her.
“You’re right. And I doubt either of us will be able to stay awake the whole night out here. And sleeping on the floor doesn’t sound very appealing,” she shifted, and Akko’s breath hitched when Diana’s lips brushed against her neck. “I’m just so exhausted, and I really don’t feel like putting up with Hannah and Barbara’s teasing tonight. Which I know for a fact will happen the second I step back inside…”
Akko’s blush worsened when she remembered that Diana’s roommates had witnessed the entire thing. It wasn’t that she was ashamed—it was more so that what Akko had said was rather personal, and she hadn’t meant for anyone besides Diana to have heard it
“I mean…” Akko trailed off as she thought of an idea, “You could always just come back with me,” she shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. She felt Diana grip her tighter and rushed to backtrack, “Y-you don’t have to, or anything, it’s not like—I, I was just thinking …”
“That’s dangerous,” Diana smiled against Akko’s skin, nudging her nose into the collar of her shirt and breathing in deeply, taking in Akko’s scent of crisp leaves and wind and rain.
“It—just, if you wanted to. I wasn’t—we don’t have to do anything. I’m… and you’re tired, and I just figured, since everyone else is probably asleep...”
“Okay,” Diana agreed softly, wrapping her arms around Akko’s middle.
“I—okay?” Akko asked, settling her hands on Diana’s waist, leaning her head back to gauge her expression.
“Mm-hm,” Diana nodded sleepily against her.
But she made no move to separate herself from Akko, content to just stand relaxed in her arms.
“Uh. Diana?”
“Mm?” she mumbled, from somewhere under Akko’s chin.
“As much as I’d love to stay like this,” Akko said, placing one of her hands on Diana’s shoulders. “I think my joints would really have it in for me in the morning.”
Diana sighed heavily, reluctantly standing up straight. “Okay,” she said, running a hand down Akko’s arm to take her by the hand. Akko tangled their fingers together and tugged Diana down the hallway and toward her dorm.
Akko felt her hand begin to sweat against the heat of Diana’s palm, and she thought, Oh, man. This is probably really gross. Dang it, hand, stop sweating!
Her hand, of course, didn’t listen. But Diana didn’t pull away either, so Akko chose not to worry about it. She was probably too exhausted to even realize it.
They reached the door to the red team’s room and Akko gingerly turned the knob, slowly cracking the door open so as to not disturb her roommates. That’s weird... Akko thought. Sucy said it would be locked. She shrugged away the thought and stepped inside. They tiptoed their way in, and Akko saw that both Sucy and Lotte were sound asleep in their respective bunks.
“I… forgot we’re still in our uniforms,” Akko observed. “You can borrow a shirt and a pair of my shorts, though. Let me go and pick some out.”
Diana nodded, too tired to form a response. Akko handed her the clothes—a pair of navy blue sleeping shorts and a loose heather grey t-shirt that was soft to the touch—and Diana stepped into the shared bathroom to change.
Once they were both dressed in comfortable sleeping clothes, Akko pulled back the sheets on her bed and climbed in, attempting to slow the rampant beating of her heart with calming breaths. Diana followed after her, pulling the covers over the both of them and settling comfortably against Akko’s side. Her insides were screaming as Diana stretched an arm over her midsection, pulling her flush against her and resting her head on her shoulder. Akko could feel Diana’s breath on her collarbone, and tensed as her legs brushed Diana’s, feeling a blush immediately spread from her head to her toes.
“Akko,” Diana mumbled tiredly, “Relax. And go to sleep.”
“Right,” Akko breathed, relaxing herself as she remembered that this was Diana. She wasn’t expecting anything from her and wasn’t going to try anything. She just wanted to sleep, and that was all.
“Goodnight, Diana,” she whispered, planting a soft kiss on the crown of her head.
Diana smiled against Akko’s skin and whispered, tightening her hold on her, “Good night, Akko.”
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
“Seriously? This wasn’t exactly what I meant when I said for her to go and fix it.” Sucy hissed somewhat loudly, and Lotte shushed her.
“Be quiet!” Lotte admonished, “Just let them sleep. You locked her out, remember? You’re lucky that I remembered to unlock the door after you fell asleep!”
“Well maybe,” Sucy countered, “if you had kept it locked, we wouldn’t have to be dealing with this right now. Maybe they would have gone back to Diana’s room, and then it would be her roommates’ problem.”
“It’s not a problem,” said Lotte, “It’s… it’s kind of cute, actually.”
“Cute,” Sucy scoffed. “Of course you would think that. Whatever, I’m leaving for breakfast. You can wake them up if you want, I’m not doing it.”
“If you haven’t woken them by now with all your loud complaining,” Lotte commented.
“You—” Sucy started, but was interrupted when a grumpy, and very sleepy, Akko growled from where she and Diana were wrapped around each other under the heap of blankets on her bunk.
“Will you two quit arguing like an old married couple?” she grumbled from somewhere under a mess of tangled blonde hair. “Diana was exhausted last night, and she really needs the rest. If you guys haven’t woken her up by now.”
Sucy mouthed whipped at Lotte, and Lotte promptly smacked her in the arm as she cackled.
“We’re sorry,” she said quietly and gave Sucy a pointed look, “Aren’t we, Sucy?”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” she said, opening the door and slipping out into the hallway.
Lotte sighed exasperatedly. “I’m going to go and get some breakfast too, alright Akko?” She heard a noncommittal grunt come from somewhere beneath the mound of blankets. “Do you want us to bring you back anything?”
Akko was quiet for a minute before, “Hmm… if they have any french toast bagels left, could you bring us two of those? And some cream cheese, please.”
“Of course,” Lotte smiled.
“Thank you…” Akko trailed off, almost immediately falling back asleep as soon as the door clicked shut.
She probably would have, if Diana hadn’t stirred slightly, raising her head from Akko’s chest and smiling down at her adorably flushed face.
“Good morning,” she whispered, leaning in to place a delicate kiss on Akko’s mouth.
Akko grinned widely, “Good morning.”
The sun filtered in softly through the small window above their desks, and Akko snorted when she saw Diana’s hair.
“What?” Diana asked.
“Your—your hair,” Akko managed between bouts of giggling. “I—I’m sorry I just—” she was overcome by another round of laughter, and Diana glowered at her through the fluffy mess that was her hair.
“What about it?” she demanded.
“It’s—” Akko snorted again before allowing her gaze to soften. “It’s beautiful,” she said quietly, reaching up to tuck a wary strand of tangled hair behind her ear, and Diana blushed prettily.
Akko giggled again, and Diana looked at her, confused. “What is it now?” she asked.
“Your ears turn pink when you blush,” said Akko with a smile, “It’s cute.”
“You’re so ridiculous,” Diana laughed, gazing fondly down at Akko.
“So,” Akko said, wriggling nervously under Diana, “You like me.”
“That I do,” Diana confirmed, running a hand through Akko’s soft brown hair.
“And… and I like you,” she fiddled with the hem of Diana’s—well, it was Akko’s technically—sleepshirt.
“Yes...?”
“So, uh…” Akko stammered, “Do you… do you like… dinner?”
“I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea,” Diana said with a grin.
“Okay,” Akko breathed, “That’s—um… good.”
“It’s a date, then?” Diana leaned forward, brushing her lips against Akko’s as she smiled, and the smile spread all the way to her eyes.
“It’s a date,” Akko agreed.
She lifted her arm, placing a hand on the back of Diana’s neck to tug her gently forward and closed the distance between them once again.
And as she looked up at Diana, at her beautiful wild hair and the pleasant and peaceful expression on her face, Akko felt something somewhere deep in her chest. It wasn’t quite love, but it wasn’t far from it either.
Diana’s smile grew in the sun that streamed through her window, and Akko decided that this was her favorite smile. And she decided, unconsciously, that this was what she wanted to give to her forever. She wanted to give to Diana that smile, this feeling, for as long as she could.
And she did.