That was it. The last academic year for many students of Luna Nova was finally long behind them, and they finally could go on ahead to pursue their respective choices of career – be it something related to magic directly, alchemy, or even going back for another couple years of studying to eventually work at Luna Nova as a teacher – considering many of the current teachers have long thought of retiring by now, this was to be expected.
To some witches, the place was basically their second home. Others couldn't' wait to finally leave and go out into the world on their own… As for our favorite trio? Well, right now, they've had concerns other than their future… So let's not get ahead of ourselves.
"Whew, I can't believe that's it!" – Akko remarked as she almost finished packing her things up. The resulting package, at least before it was magically shrunk, ended up far larger than the combined volume of what Akko arrived with, and now the brunette was trying her darndest to fit that last lousy trinket in.
"You're talking about all the things you've gathered up here, or the end of our academic years?" – Sucy snarked out, sitting on her bed next to a somewhat smaller-sized package, which still contained a lot of things that previously had no business being amongst Sucy's luggage – several well-preserved alchemical ingredients that were hard to get otherwise, vials containing various pre-made potions, and even some books that Sucy smuggled out of the academy library's "Forbidden" section. Admittedly, she gave them quite the security test alright, judging by how several books – some of them being the ones that she stole in her first year in Luna Nova, no less – were found missing only this year and Sucy managed to not only hide them, but also purge the seals on them that would prevent her from smuggling them right out of the academy grounds. What was the point of keeping these books if nobody used them, not even in direst of emergencies, anyway?
"The latter, Suce." – Akko deadpanned back, deciding to sit on the oversized suitcase for good measure. Lotte was already far ahead of the duo, and could have flown over to her destination, the Blytonbury train station, by herself, yet the ginger insisted on staying behind and waiting for Akko and Sucy to catch up with her over at the leyline station. In a way, she wanted them to part ways officially, as a team, even if they did promise to keep in contact every now and again.
Seeing that her luggage didn't threaten to pop and seemed to hold still, Akko took a few steps back and drew her wand out.
"Metamorphie Decremento!" – As Akko blurted the spell out, the package shrunk to the point where it could be safely carried in her pocket. Content with the end result, Akko went on to pick the tennis-ball sized luggage… Only for it to weight her hand down a lot more than she expected.
"You got the size part down, but not the weight. The sight of your pocket being dragged down by something so small will certainly be something to behold." – Sucy cackled as she looked over at Akko lifting the downsized package with both hands and settling it back down before firing off another, silent spell, after which she could pick the package up with little to no effort, and placed it in her pocket. Physical alteration spells were basically Akko's main profile as she went on with her studies, as over the years that passed, she went from merely being able to transform herself or others into animals big and small, to being able to physically alter the composition of certain objects while also being able to reverse the spell with incredible ease – after all, the alterations were only temporary. Sure, she had to take extra studies for the purpose of mastering her control over these spells, but Akko still felt that it was more than worth it. She figured that it would be of best use in her career as a stage magician, as instead of Chariot's former magical light shows, she figured she'd settle for physics-defying tricks instead.
"Say that again, sugar?" – Akko teased as she smirked back at Sucy. She just couldn't ever be sinecerely mad at the mauve-haired witch. A couple years in a romantic relationship made absolute sure of it.
"Alright, then you're carrying my package as well." – The alchemist said back as she handed the Akko her now downsized package, giving out her typical shroom-eating grin. Akko just rolled her eyes, smiling as she and Sucy checked around the dormitory to see if they left anything of importance.
"Alright, uniforms and student wands turned in, none of our personal items left… Yep, we're good to go." – Sucy remarked, looking around the dormitory and firing off a quick spell for good measure as she picked up the one other package she had, containing her now worn-out portable alchemy set with all it's vials, tubes and retorts, including even a flame crystal-powered burner, complete with a few spare "batteries" packed up. Nodding, the mauve-haired Filipina remarked: "Alright, we're good to go."
As the duo walked through the corridors, they bumped into other students still. Some were saying their goodbyes to them, some talked amongst themselves about how these students in particular made quite the impact on the world of magic as a whole, and some took notice of how Sucy held hands with Akko as they went on.
Over the years, their relationship has certainly blossomed, with Sucy and Akko now being heavily romantically involved, to the point where Akko promised to keep in touch with Sucy even during her world tours as a performer. And while Sucy would want to travel around with Akko still, she had already managed to get a particular two-story house in a remote England village all to herself, and repurpose it into an alchemy shop of sorts. At the very least, she hoped that Akko would drop by every now and again, as well as spent her vacations with her.
Then again… Sucy had thought particularly far ahead to her relationship with Akko. And today was going to be a special day for both of them. It was something that needed to be taken care of before they would end up separated…
The Filipina had everything planned out – they would take the route right over the one bridge that she and Akko first met at, and once there, they would ditch Lotte and Sucy would propose to Akko. She had a ring ready, having spent quite a bit of her savings to get it, and now she had to just set the plan into motion.
Sure enough, later on, as the group reunited again and they were nearing the all-too-familiar cobblestone bridge, Sucy took a few steps back and said: "Lotte, you go on ahead without us. This ain't going to take long, so don't worry about us. I just have something I need to take care of."
"Oh…" – Lotte was in on Sucy's plan, even if against the latter's volition, so she nodded and replied: "I'll be at the Leyline Terminal, just don't take too long!"
"Sucy, what is that all about?" – Akko remarked as she turned around. The mauve-haired witch was fumbling around in her pockets, desperately trying to find the small jewelry box used to contain the ring.
Okay, that did not go to plan. She couldn't have dropped the damn thing on the way over to the bridge, could she?.. Then again, she probably forgot about it during the complete chaos that was Sucy's attempts to help Akko pack up. Considering how nervous she was about the whole thing, this was to be expected.
"I had something important to give to you, but… I guess I must have dropped it back in the dormitory room. I'll be right back." – With that said, Sucy hopped right onto her personal broom and flew over to Luna Nova, leaving Akko to just stand there confusedly for a few moments before the brunette decided to sit down on the bridge railing for the time being, although her patience was quickly waning still…
Where was that damn box?!
Now whereas normally, Sucy was her usual level-headed self, in a situation as tense as this, even she lost her composure as she frantically flipped through the empty drawers, checked under the beds, looked over every single corner… Nope, no results whatsoever. The ring case was as good as gone.
"What am I going to do now? Ugh, now I know how Akko feels whenever she screws things up. But even she never screwed things up that badly! I… Sure, I can just go for a words-only proposal, but it won't be… Nearly as special, is it? Ugh, what am I thinking? It's the thought that counts, right? And still… What little left of my savings spent on it are all down the drain now…" – Sucy groaned as she left the dorm and dejectedly made her way through the corridors. She felt downright awful at the moment. Her entire plan was ruined by a simple mishap. Someone probably took the damn thing and decided to pawn it off later, too…
Just near the exit, however…
"I presume that this particular jewelry box belongs to you?" – A painfully familiar voice remarked from behind Sucy. As she turned around, she noticed Diana, who was holding out the exact jewelry case she looked for.
Without thinking, the mauve-haired witch snatched the ring case right out of the blonde's hands, and shouted: "Where the heck did you find this anyway?!"
"You bumped into Avery in the corridor and didn't seem to notice that something fell right out of your pocket, considering it was kinda hanging loosely from there. I figured you'd notice this quickly enough and would end up running right back for the ring." – The brit calmly replied as Sucy checked both the ring box and the ring proper as to see if it was still intact, even blasting it with a curse detection spell for good measure. – "So, you are going to propose to Akko today?"
"Why would you care? Knowing you, I'm surprised you didn't throw the damn thing away somewhere, or curse it, or-"
"Sucy, we talked this out. You can be a little too possessive for your own good. Why do you always act like this when it's about me and Akko, even though I've long ended up in a relationship with Constanze and have no intent of cheating on her? " – Diana retorted.
That's when Sucy snapped right off.
"Why do I tend to act so jealous? It's quite simple, Jana-" – Sucy very rarely referred to Diana by that particular name, unless she had a particularly personal discussion with her to go through. – "-I care about Akko as a person, and I truly and wholeheartedly love her. She is the only person whom I could open up to safely, without fear of being mocked or getting spat in the face. And for all her flaws, like her occasional ditzy behavior, lack of patience, or impulsiveness, I've come to love her despite all these flaws regardless, because I see that there is more to her than just those – she is determined to achieve her goals, never gives up and tries her best, and even then, she puts her friends and loved ones first regardless, as I know she cares about me just as much as I care for her." – As Sucy continued speaking, her sole visible eye was tearing up. – "She's the first person in several years of my life to actually put up with me and not get scared off by my usual weirdness, she is open-minded, and no matter what else happens, I truly love her. And I want to be with her for the rest of my life, and even more past that if possible." – As the mauve-haired witch spoke, her voice seemed to crack. – "And if there's any reason for my jealousy and distrust, it's not any of my usual possessiveness, Cavendish. I legitimately don't want to lose Akko. It wasn't until I met her that I realized what was missing in my life. As I already said, I truly, honestly love Akko. Which is why I should be off to propose to her right now."
"So that's why we stopped at the bridge moments ago? " – Akko's voice rang from just behind Sucy, startling the mauve-haired witch. She should have probably seen through Diana's unfaltering expression as she continued talking to her.
"A-Akko?!" – Sucy turned around nervously. – "How… Uh… How much exactly did you hear?"
Just now Sucy noticed just how intensely Akko was blushing, which hinted that, at the very least, Akko had to have heard quite a lot about herself. The brunette cleared her throat and replied: "I guess I can say I've heard more than enough, Suce." – Smiling, with tears in her eyes, the brunette practically lunged at Sucy, hugging her as she continued: "And I'm saying "Yes" to your proposal, Sugar."
"I suppose I better leave you two be. Let me know if you need any help with planning out your wedding." – As Diana said that, she headed further down the corridor, leaving a very confused, but rather happy Sucy clutched in Akko's tight embrace.
"I think we certainly got it backwards there, though." – The mauve-haired witch remarked, blushing as she handed Akko the ring box in one hand while wiping her tears with the other. – "I mean, I was at least supposed to give you the ring first, you dummy!"
"Oh… Sorry, it's just… I got a tad too excited." – The asian girl replied, blushing as she opened the small jewelry case.
A rose gold ring with a single ruby. As Akko put the ring onto her right hand and looked over it, she was quick to cast Sucy another loving smile mere moments before hugging her yet again.
"I… Thank you so much, Sucy. You couldn't have picked a more appropriate engagement ring, I'm sure of it." – Akko continued as she held Sucy in a tight embrace still, eliciting another quiet smile from the alchemist.
Even the few students who passed by and wanted to see what the commotion was about couldn't help but utter the occasional "Aww"s, although they were quickly shooed off by the surprisingly calm Sucy, who merely told them to not ruin the moment, without any of her usual death threats. Sucy just couldn't afford to ruin a moment that was probably one of the highest points in her entire life.
Yet she was certain that the wedding proper was going to top that for sure.