As Diana knocked on the front door to Akko's house, Akko was giving her that look again. The somewhat concerned, somewhat sympathetic look Akko had been shooting her this entire evening, and pretty much since the two of them agreed on the plan for tonight weeks ago.

"You don't have to worry, Akko." Diana smiled. "I'm not nervous."

Which was just about the biggest lie she had ever said to Akko's face in their four months they had been dating. Oh, she was nervous. Not even just nervous, but gut-wrenchingly so. Tonight, she was going to meet Mr. and Mrs. Kagari. Akko's parents. For the first time. They were going to have a meal for the holidays. Together. With her in attendance. And as a consequence? Gut-wrenching nervousness.

Diana always strived to make good first impressions, but rarely did she ever put much conscious effort into actually doing it. For most of her life, people assumed the very best of her from the word Cavendish. And even the people who looked past that detail usually got caught on her impressive list of accomplishments instead. People knew enough about her to generally like her instinctually. She didn't need to do anything to make a good first impression.

It was a rather haughty way to think, yes. It was also the truth.

But these weren't just any people. These were Akko's parents. And no matter what logical rationale she tried to think under, it was always that detail that kept creeping down her spine and weighing down her gut. She needed to be her best tonight.

As Diana tapped the snow off her boots, Akko gently nudged into her. "You don't need to worry about anything, Diana! I've told them all about you! You'll do great, I just know it!"

That was not as reassuring as Akko thought. It was something of the opposite. When they landed in Japan, Diana had made Akko call ahead and let her parents know they were coming. It was the polite thing to do, after all. More polite than accidentally eavesdropping on Akko's phone call, but Akko spoke very loudly. So she couldn't help but overhear that Akko had been assuring her parents about her girlfriend's qualities.

And the thought of it left Diana fidgeting. What if she wasn't a 'super amazing girlfriend'? What if she wasn't 'the best' and the Kagaris weren't 'gonna love her'? Or worse, what if they simply disliked her? Not even failing to impress them, but outright disappointing them? What if they didn't like the person they met tonight?

What would she do then? Would she have to do something? She would probably have to do something. But she didn't know what that would be. Which made the thought of them not liking her even more gut-wrenching-nervousness inducing.

Akko reached over to squeeze her hand. "Diana, really! I can tell when you're nervous, and you shouldn't be! You got nothing to worry about."

"I…perhaps I'm a little anxious about it…" She swallowed. "Do you think I should've gotten them a present too? Normally I think of these details ahead of time, but-"

"So that present there is for me?"

"…Of course that's what you take away from that." Diana huffed, adjusting the gift under her arm.

It was a small box, finely wrapped in red paper and tied with an intricate green bow. Trying to keep her girlfriend from poking at it on the walk over had been a challenge. The Kagaris mentioned doing a gift exchange tonight, so she might as well do it here alongside them. The gift that Akko had for her, meanwhile, was a bag stuffed with colored tissue paper. It had a cutesy polar bear printed on the side. Diana definitely hadn't asked for anything, so there was no telling what was in it.

…What should she have gotten the Kagaris? Maybe some scented candles? Was that tacky? It seemed tacky. It would've at least shown that she thought of them. Not if it was tacky, but still. Helpful in making a good impression.

"I'm ignoring it because it's silly." Akko said, as her thumb ran across Diana's knuckles. "I know you like to take everything seriously, but you should just relax, okay? Mom probably would've gotten mad if she found out you spent money on something for her anyway. You don't always need to prove yourself."

"…You realize, considering all the things you did last school year alone, that is blatantly hypocritical?"

"Maybe. But the point is, this should be easy for you. You don't need to impress my Mom and Dad. All you need to do is be yourself, because they just want to meet you."

Diana nodded, if only because she was unable to find the words to explain that was entirely the problem.

Though perhaps she was overthinking it. It's not like she's never overthought things when it came to impressing Akko, after all. And considering they were dating now, it all worked out anyway. So she could relax. Maybe it would be fine for them to meet Diana as just herself as opposed to Diana as the competent witch and scholar. Maybe she could-

Nope, never mind. The door was opening and now gut-wrenching nervous again.

Mrs. Kagari looked a bit younger than she expected. She was rather lean, and not much taller than her daughter. She wore her auburn hair short. She gave a rather melodramatic gasp as she opened the door, followed by an excitable smile that wouldn't look foreign on Akko's face.

Meanwhile, Mr. Kagari was a slightly bigger man around the waist, with a black stubbly beard, glasses, and a pleased expression. He stood a head taller than Diana. He had Akko's red eyes, but they looked much gentler on him. It was hard to say if he was just a calm person or only looked that way in contrast to his family.

They were wearing matching Christmas sweaters. His read "Naughty", hers read "Nice". It was rather cute.

Diana took a deep breath. Perhaps if she put the speech she had been mentally rehearsing all day into action, she could manage this just fine. She held out her hand with a practiced smile. "Hello. It's nice to meet-"

Mr. Kagari, however, cut her off by virtue of pulling into a hug with one arm. Diana might've squeaked. "We were just wondering when you two were gonna get here!" His chuckle was a deep sound that came from the bottom of his belly. "And just look at you! I can't tell ya how excited we are to have you over for dinner."

Diana looked to Akko helplessly. Akko just shrugged, smiling brightly.

It was not, in particular, helpful.

Mrs. Kagari took the moment to step outside and swat her husband on the back. "Yō, for goodness sake, let the poor girl go already. You look ridiculous." She turned to her daughter as her husband thankfully followed her directions. "Did you two get home safe? Stay warm? You look so skinny, Akko. Do they feed you two at that awful school?"

"I'm fine, Mom! We got here just fine! I told you on the phone, you don't need to worry!"

"I'm your mother, it's my job to worry." Mrs. Kagari said. "Now, come on. Introduce us to her already!"

Akko stepped aside, making a grandiose gesture in Diana's direction. And ah, wonderful. Now all the attention was on her again.

Diana cleared her throat and spoke very evenly. "Good evening, Mr. Kagari, Mrs. Kagari. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Mrs. Kagari almost gasped. "She said you were formal, but my goodness!" She gestured to her herself and her husband. "I'm Megumi, and that's Yō. None of this Mr. and Mrs. Kagari business, you hear? You make it sound so stuffy!"

Diana nodded, making a mental note. Don't call them Mr. Kagari and Mrs. Kagari. If it would put them in the Kagari's good graces, she could do that. "If you say so. In any case, my name is Diana Kaga-"

And for one brief moment, the entire world stopped. And then her heart leapt up to her throat. "Cavendish!" Her voice was about an octave higher than usual. "C-Cavendish. My name is Diana Cavendish. I-it's nice…to…meet you..."

It was a struggle to look back up. All three of them were looking at her with various levels of surprise. And if she wasn't blushing before, the way Akko was gaping at her was enough to do it. Anything else she wanted to say died in her throat.

Yō spoke up first, with a fond smile behind his beard. "Well, I didn't know you moved so fast in those European schools. Nice to know you're excited to be here, Diana."

Akko quickly shook her head, trying to stammer out a defense in her girlfriend's stead. Yō just pulled his daughter into a hug, chuckling with no shame. Megumi made a comment about letting the cold air in. Diana occupied herself by glaring down at her feet.

…She hadn't even set foot inside the house.

Diana had decided it to be prudent to simply keep her mouth shut from here on out. It hardly made much difference, considering she already ruined any chance at a good first impression, but it least it kept her from saying any other embarrassing things. So instead of her practiced speech about how lovely it was to meet them and how much she admired their daughter, Diana instead answered their questions when spoken to and not much else. At least no one had brought it up again. Yet.

Megumi led them into the kitchen while Akko put their presents away. "Now, would you like turkey for dinner?"

"That sounds nice." Diana said, rather quietly.

Megumi laughed to herself. "Oh, I don't even know why I'm asking. It's already in the oven."

"Ha."

"Would you like anything to drink in the meantime, Diana? Soda, juice, water…?"

"I-I'm good. Thank you."

A plan was working in her head. She must've offended the Kagaris. Must have. Even if they didn't think she was too forward or dumb, they definitely did not think she was the smart, capable, 'amazing girlfriend'Akko told them about. But the two interactions people recalled most easily were the first interaction and the most recent one. So if she just made sure to make a graceful exit that left her on their good side, she could still turn this night around in her favor.

And no, she was not thinking about leaving only five minutes after arriving. She was just planning ahead.

The house was smaller than she expected. It was almost funny, how little she actually thought of the class divide between their families before now. She grew up in mansions, where everything was built to be grand, opulent and exclusive. Her family's kitchen was an entire wing away from the living room. The Kagari's little kitchen was only separated from their little living room by a wall with an archway built into it. Open enough that it hardly qualified as a separate room.

Something about the domesticity of it was…not quite intimidating, but definitely foreign to Diana's typical lifestyle. Being so close and exposed to everyone wasn't quite helping her relax.

Megumi, while abundantly kind to her guests, was also not helping her relax, especially with how high-energy the woman seemed to be. She did not seem the type to let her opinions go unheard. Case in point, turning on her husband as he stole a little snack out of her plastic mixing bowl.

"Yō!" Megumi scolded. "You get your fingers out of the stuffing! That is for dinner!"

"Aw, you won't miss that one little piece, Megumi." He reached around her torso. "You probably won't even miss this piece either."

"Oh, would you get!" She swatted at him with her wooden spoon. "Go bother Akko, I'm trying to work here!"

And with a hearty laugh, and a mouthful of stuffing, Yō leaned over to kiss his wife on the cheek. Megumi leaned in to make it easier for him. The way the two did it without even needing to look up made it seem almost instinctual, as if their presence had become second-nature to the other.

As Yō retreated to the living room, Diana picked up a few of the dirty dishes Megumi had been piling up next to her sink and began rinsing them out. Even beyond trying to help out around the house to put herself in the Kagari's better graces, she just really wanted to do something productive.

Only for Megumi to turn on her, arching a brow. "And just what do you think you're doing?"

Diana almost jumped at the fierce tone. "…I thought I would help you prepare-"

"Oh, no no no!" Megumi reached past her to shut off the faucet. "You are a guest in this house! You did not come all this way, from England, to work in my kitchen!"

"R-really, it's no trouble, Mrs. Kagari. Megumi. I-"

"Absolutely not. Especially not on Christmas! That would just be awful of me." With that, she simply took Diana by the shoulders and led her directly out of the kitchen entirely, right back into the living room.

Akko had been talking with her father on the couch, looking at something on his phone. Almost predictably, Diana found herself calming at the sight of her. She still didn't feel great about fixing this, especially since now she wasn't even allowed to help out. But perhaps it wouldn't be so bad, if Akko was here with her to-

Megumi physically sat Diana down on a loveseat adjacent to the couch. "You just sit right down and relax! Make yourself at home." Megumi smiled, before turning to her daughter. "Akko, be a dear and help your mother cook dinner."

Oh, brilliant.

Akko let out a groan. "Aw Moooom…!"

"C'mon, young lady! I need an extra pair of hands in here."

Which now left her alone with the man who raised her girlfriend. From the glance he gave her, he looked like he wanted to say something, but he seemed to be patiently waiting for her to spark up a conversation instead. She…wasn't yet sure if that would be wise. Even beyond her slip of the tongue, it was hard to tell with the man.

Yō gave the impression that a firecracker could go off in his face and he wouldn't even blink, let alone let his smile falter. Yō also gave the impression that exact scenario has happened to him more than once.

He seemed grateful when Diana politely returned his smile. He seemed even more grateful, though the reaction was fleeting, when Diana finally spoke up.

"Your…cat is eating that plant."

Yō put his phone down on his leg, and looked to the window sill. A rather obese looking black cat was currently eating a dead leaf from a small houseplant. Yō tossed a couch cushion in the cat's general direction, missing entirely, but clearly the cat understood the gesture enough to jump down and scamper off.

Yō nodded victoriously. It was about the meanest expression she had seen on his face. "And stay outta my plants, Majo. Little rodent." Yō must've noticed Diana's look, because he turned to explain. "S'The word for witch. We got her when Akko was first getting into all that magic stuff."

"Ah."

Yō studied her for a moment, (and she tried not to shift around in any obvious way) before he laughed to himself. "Don't let Megumi scare ya. She's just excited. She's been trying to get Akko to get you to come over since before you two were even really dating."

Diana glanced up. "Why is that?"

"Akko was always talking about you whenever she wrote home. Diana this, Diana that. Every letter. Even before she liked you, she liked you." He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "I picked up on it right away. Took Megumi a little while, but once she realized Akko found herself someone special, she was just dying to getcha over here so we could meet you. Two real excitable ladies, those ones."

"Y-yes, well." Diana cleared her throat, clenching her fingers in her lap. "I'm glad to hear that. I hope I can be a pleasant guest then."

Yō waved a hand. "Aww, we're just trying to be good hosts here. I'm sure your parents have much bigger Christmas bashes, right?" Diana took just a second too long to say anything, and Yō's expression softened. "…Oh. I'm sorry. Are they…?"

"Yes." Diana said. "A long time ago."

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to bring up any bad memories." Yō leaned forward on the couch a little more. "Do you got any family taking care of ya right now?"

"I…I have my aunt, but she…" Tried to usurp me and murder your daughter was the honest answer, but likely not the wisest. "…we don't really care for each other." Diana shook her head. "As I said, it was a long time ago. And you don't need to apologize. You didn't know."

Yō nodded sympathetically. "Guess that's why you were so excited to be a Kagari then."

Diana felt the heat rush to her face. "A-again! I…I am so sorry about that." She said, struggling to keep her voice even. "You see, I was just…My…my mind was…I was merely…"

But Yō just took one look at her expression and laughed. "No wonder Akko says you're pretty. Red's her favorite color."

And really. What in the world was she supposed to say to that?

Yō went back to his phone, looking quite satisfied. Was it just lighthearted teasing, or was he genuinely making fun of her? In either case, this really was not the Diana she wanted them to meet. Her eyes wandered around the living room, trying to ignore the flush of her cheeks.

The Christmas tree in the corner, next to the couch, looked like it might've been made of plastic. Just from a glance, and the several ornaments with years written on them, it looked like the Kagaris picked a new ornament every Christmas, without a care if it matched any of the ones already on the tree. Majo, now fully past the cushion being thrown at her, had curled herself up underneath, right next to Diana's present for Akko.

It stuck out as the most beautifully wrapped gift under the tree. Which was due to magic as opposed to any real talent. She did have Anna show her the best way to wrap a present, but Diana just couldn't seem to get it right in the time she had. It was a close call, but having Akko's present look pretty won over having it be hand-wrapped.

The polar bear bag Akko came in with was sat next to the tree, too large to fit underneath. A couple of the other tags were written in Japanese, which the Kagaris, thankfully, didn't seem to use much with each other. Perhaps some of gifts were for neighbors?

Akko's father still tapped away on his phone, but it was clear he was keeping an ear out if Diana chose to spoke up again. She felt a bit rude, being so quiet, but she definitely didn't trust herself to speak right now. But in any case, the silence was broken by Megumi, sounding quite annoyed.

"Yō!" Her shout cut through the entire house. "Come get your daughter!"

Yō just chuckled the chuckle of a man who's heard it a million times. Instead of getting up from his seat, he just smiled towards Diana. "Hear that? She's my daughter now."

Akko came in on her own, chewing on something she, evidently, was not supposed to be eating yet. From the smile on her face, it was doubtful she was that repentant. She skipped over to the loveseat seated herself right on the armrest. "Hi, Diana."

A smile crept up Diana's cheeks. "I'm rather amazed you're stealing food, after that big lunch you had."

"It wasn't that big, and that was hours ago. We were flying all day."

Megumi came in not long after, leveling Akko with a distinctly motherly look. Not the one that was fond and loving. The other motherly look.

"Here." Megumi said, handing Diana a wad of stuffing she had taken from the mixing bowl. "Since everyone else had some."

Akko scratched the side of her head. "Sorry Mom."

Megumi glared. "No you're not, Akko."

"No I'm not."

Diana popped the stuffing into her mouth. It wasn't half-bad. Eating it without a fork was strange though.

Megumi seemed very pleased to see her eating her cooking. "Oh, I still can't believe Akko finally brought her special someone over." She said, excitedly turning to Yō. "You remember back when she was in elementary school? She was just the shyest thing."

Diana sat up as Akko groaned. "…Shy? Akko? I'm…not sure I can believe that."

Yō nodded. "She wouldn't talk to anyone much back then. Always staying in the back of class, playing with her trading cards. She just seemed worried about what the other kids would say."

"Dad…I was like six…"

"I remember having to convince you to show your trading cards for show and tell. Told you you'd probably find lots of other Shiny Chariot fans if you did. And then when I picked up you up, you were just so excited to finally have some friends who knew Shiny Chariot as well as you did."'

"And then she started wearing that Chariot cape to school." Megumi added.

Akko flushed. "Oh, god, Mom! Don't tell her that!"

"Isn't Chariot your teacher now?" Yō asked Akko. "Something about some secret identity? I still don't get that whole story."

Megumi crossed her arms with an air of vindication. "I don't think I even want to know that story. Your school is absolutely ridiculous." She said to this Diana less like a complaint and more like she genuinely expected her to do something about it.

"Luna Nova isn't typically like that." Diana explained. "Last year was…definitely something of an outlier."

"I should hope so! I don't want my little girl's high school experience to be so dangerous. The things she talks about in those letters…!"

So yes. Probably wise not to go into detail about what happened with Akko and Aunt Daryl. First real good decision she had made all evening. Might also not want to bring up the missile. Or the Jennifer Tree. Or the Wagandea tree. Come to think of it, Megumi may have had a point. Though at least most of those weren't actually Luna Nova's fault.

Yō didn't bother to hide his smile. "…you know Diana, Megumi ran me over in high school."

She swatted her husband in the arm again. "Oh you shush!" She turned to Diana, affronted. "It was with a bike! Don't listen to him, he does this whole drawn out story where he makes it sound like I hit him with a minivan. It's awful."

"It's funny." Yō said simply.

"You make me sound so stupid!"

"You did run me over."

"Well, I agreed to marry you, doesn't that make up for it?"

"I thought you said you weren't stupid." Megumi snorted, before the two leaned in to kiss again. Diana couldn't help but find the entire exchange rather cute.

It was clear neither of them had a filter on what they would say to one another, given how unabashed they were with little insults and bickers. It was also clear that despite all of that, they were still very much in love. Perhaps even because of all that. As if all the years of marriage and raising a child and they were only just past the honeymoon phase. Even from the short time Diana's been here, there was love blatant in everything they did together.

It was no wonder these two would raise someone with a heart like Akko's.

Yō turned to Diana. "You got any funny stories you wanna share? I bet we'd love to hear them. You've been awful quiet."

Diana felt a lump in her throat. "I…don't mean to be."

And then Akko reached down to grab Diana's arm. "Uh, hang on just a sec, Mom and Dad! I gotta talk to Diana about something. Be right back!"

Akko had dragged her into the hallway just past the kitchen. It was a rather small, barely enough room for the two of them to stand and face each other. And of course, she had that look on again.

Diana resisted the urge to shift on her feet. "Is everything okay, Akko?"

"Okay, the thing is…" Akko sighed. "…I can't tell if you're 'I'm just thinking about stuff in my own way' brooding or if you're 'I'm feeling down and need a hug but won't say so' brooding."

"Wh…why do you have names for my moods?"

"You're not answering my question."

"I don't even think that qualified as a question." Diana crossed her arms. "Why do you think I'm brooding?"

"Because you're being all quiet and you're making those fake practiced smiles that you do sometimes." Akko said flatly. "Seriously Diana, what's the matter? You're not still mad about what you said at the door, are you?"

Diana sighed, hugging her arms closer. Akko was just about the only person she ever let see her like this. Especially because Akko was really good at reading her moods. She had long since learned trying to hide them from her was a losing battle. "I called myself Diana Kagari." She muttered. "To your parents' faces. That was their first impression of me, Akko."

"Y-yeah, that was sorta surprising!" Akko giggled, the faintest tinge of pink on her cheeks. "I mean, I don't even think you asked me anything about that yet!"

"Don't you start too."

"Come on, Diana." Akko reached up to take her hands from her. "It's not like anyone's making a big deal out of it! Besides you, I mean. You were just nervous, everyone gets it."

Diana glanced away. "I'm not supposed to look nervous, though. I wanted to come in here as my best self, but I looked ridiculous back there. Who knows what your parents think of me now..."

"Know what I think?"

When Diana looked back up, Akko leaned forward to place a short kiss square on her lips. Diana blinked, before a much more genuine smile crept its way onto her face.

"I think you're worried about nothing." Akko squeezed her hand. "Like I said before, they don't wanna meet the most amazing girl ever, or the second best witch of all time, even if you are those things. They're not gonna care if you're all nervous, they just wanna meet you."

Diana mulled over her words, feeling something stirring her chest. Her eyes snapped up to Akko's own. "…Wait, who's the first witch?"

Akko puffed out her chest. "Well, I don't mean to brag, but…"

Diana snorted. "You're intolerable, Akko."

With a light giggle, Akko just pulled her into a comforting hug, muttering something about not even knowing what the word meant. Diana found her fingers playing with Akko's hair as they trailed up her back.

Only for Akko to snap back when Megumi suddenly entered the hallway. "Dinner will be ready in about fifteen minutes."

"Y-yeah!" Akko chuckled sheepishly. "We'll be right there, Mom!"

Megumi pursed her lips, studying the two of them with an inscrutable look. "…Listen, you're a grown up girl, and it's not my business what you two do when you're all alone in that school, but I don't want you starting any nonsense when your mother's in the house, alright?"

Akko's face turned a bright scarlet, all the way up to her ears. Diana was just left confused. What did she mean by nonsense, in this case? Some sort of inside joke between family? It seemed like a euphemism for something.

"Mom!" Akko practically shrieked. "Y-you can't-! You can't just say that!"

"What, you're both at that age. It's my right to be concerned. I'm still your mother."

Akko looked torn between covering her ears and covering her face. "Oh my god! Please stop talking!"

With a somewhat disapproving shake of her head, Megumi went back into the kitchen. Akko finally made a decision and covered her face with her hands, groaning loudly. Diana was still confused, but somehow, less conflicted.

Maybe Akko was right. Diana was worried over nothing. It was doubtful the Kagaris thought she was being overly forward. They probably assumed their relationship was very chaste, and Diana just…slipped up a bit. Which she still didn't like, but it was fixable.

Perhaps dinner would go alright. If she just composed herself a bit better, put on her best face, she could manage to somehow still impress the Kagaris. Or at least convince them the Diana they met at the door was a fluke. How, she still couldn't say, but it helped her feel more confident. She could handle dinner now that she knew what she was doing, couldn't she?

…Wait, when Megumi said nonsense, was she talking about-?

Oh.

Oh.

A.N. I've been trying to write a story about Diana meeting Akko's parents pretty much since my first story back when, and I've never been able to find a good way to do it until now, so there's like three different stories this could be a sequel to. Plus, I wanted to write something for this Diakkomas prompt too, since I don't usually do these things. Couple of ways to read this, I guess.

And because I'm not good at names, they're named after the director of LWA and Akko's voice actress.

Next time, the dinner itself, and of course the gift exchange! I'm sure it'll go just fine.

(Ch 1 of 2, btw)