BE MY GIRLFRIEND
"What's going to happen with you and Diana after we graduate?"
The question, asked by one Amanda O'Neill from across the cafeteria table during lunch, was one that caught Akko Kagari completely off guard. Discussions of the future had been commonplace in their last semester at Luna Nova: careers, families, future education, and life in general outside of the strict confinement of the witching academy. There was a buzz in the air, equal parts excitement and fear, as the day of their graduation loomed at the cusp of summer's birth.
Akko had rocked back on the rear two legs of her chair, thoughtfully chewing a mouthful of potato salad as she stared at the redheaded witch. She had been asked about her graduation plans often (to which Akko would reply with "I don't know," and a shrug), but this was the first time anybody had asked about her relationship and future with Diana.
Akko righted her chair and swallowed, head cocking slightly to the side as she gazed at her friend with curious ruby eyes. "What do you mean?" she asked. She and Diana were as great as ever. In fact, they had a date that night in Blytonbury, one which Diana had expressed quite a bit of excitement about ever since she asked. Akko found it cute that Diana still got excited about their dates even though they'd been together for nearly two years.
"Well, you're always saying she's not your girlfriend," Amanda pointed out. She quirked one red eyebrow as she leveled the brunette witch with sparkling emerald eyes, pulling apart a fluffy roll and dipping it into the brown gravy on her mashed potatoes and taking a bite.
"She's her girlfriend," Sucy mumbled from Akko's side, staring straight ahead as she shoveled her fried mushrooms around her plate. "She's just stupid."
"She's not—" Akko dropped her fork and let a heavy sigh slip through her lips as she frowned at her friends, all of which were now staring at both her and Amanda and the topic of their conversation. "We never talked about labels. We both just found that it was kind of stupid," she said. "Diana said it was a 'modern form of patriarchy and was completely unnecessary in an advanced society'," she added, air-quoting Diana's exact statement from well over a year ago.
Amanda swallowed another bite of bread. "So that means you're technically not exclusive."
"Huh?"
"You heard me. You're not exclusive. So who's to say Diana will still be around when you graduate? What if someone else comes along and sweeps her off her feet and, since you guys 'aren't girlfriends because of patriarchy blahblah stupid excuse', she lets it happen? Or what if she just stops talking to you after she goes back to her estate because she's too busy for you?"
Amanda was staring at her pointedly as she spoke. Akko shifted uncomfortably in her seat, dark eyebrows stitching together in thought.
"Diana wouldn't do that!" Akko exclaimed.
"She's kind of right, actually," Lotte mumbled, looking up from the newest edition of NightFall that she'd already completely read through three times. "At that point it's kind of an open relationship, isn't it? Something similar happened in volume 267 with Gregor and Saria when Gregor—"
Akko was becoming more distressed by the second, squirming beneath the sudden onslaught of questioning and relationship theories that her friends were throwing at her. The very real possibility of losing Diana after graduation had been thrown in her face, which was something she never even considered, and the fear stabbed into her gut like a thousand tiny needles. She had never thought to question the status of their relationship or a possible… end. She and Diana were very much in love and, though they hadn't really discussed a future aside from late-night musings and post-sex pillow talk, she just assumed that Diana would always be there. The other girl had never given her any indication that she wouldn't be.
She turned her gaze down to her half-eaten meal, shoving it away with the loss of her appetite, and asked, "What do I do, then?"
"Easy," Amanda said, shrugging as a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. She slumped back in her chair and bit into her roll, adding through a full mouth, "You ask her to be your girlfriend."
Akko nodded thoughtfully. "Okay. I can do that." She mulled the idea in her mind for a moment before saying, "Wait, how do I do that?"
"You just ask exactly that, idiot. You put your mouth between her legs and you can't ask a simple question like that?" Amanda groaned, rolling her eyes.
"Gross," Jasminka muttered from across the table, nose curling in disgust from over a half-eaten tart that was lifted to her mouth. "Some of us are eating, Amanda."
Sucy choked on a mushroom and turned away, sneering. "I'm officially checking out of this conversation."
But Akko paid no mind to the dirty comment that had come from her friend's mouth. Instead, she was considering exactly how she would ask that question. It was easier said than done—she and Diana had already had that conversation a long time ago and she didn't want to go against Diana's values by tackling the subject again—and so the very idea made her nervous.
Though, they were going on their date in Blytonbury that evening. It was a beautiful summer day and would probably be an even more beautiful summer night. What better way to ask for their relationship to be solidified than after a fun, exclusive evening out on the town?
She felt a familiar grip, soft but firm, on her shoulders. "Good afternoon, darling," Diana said from behind her. Akko hadn't even heard her approaching footsteps. She watched Hannah dash around the table to greet her own girlfriend with a massive hug, Barbara pulling up a seat next to Lotte to launch into yet another conversation about NightFall.
Diana bent down and planted a gentle kiss on Akko's cheek, the extent of her comfort zone for public affection, and sat down in the chair that Sucy had quickly vacated at Akko's side in favor of Diana.
Akko felt herself blushing furiously as she watched her not-girlfriend set down her tray and start delicately eating her lunch without another word. She looked beautiful and pristine, as always, with her blonde and tea-green hair in perfect waves around a face that had only grown more mature and stunning over the years. Her topaz blue eyes occasionally flicked up to acknowledge the conversation that evolved around them, listening but not speaking.
She didn't want to lose Diana. At all. She knew that the other girl was going back to the Cavendish Estate to wait for the next Venusian eclipse to claim her right as the head of her house. That had gone without question. Akko didn't know if she wanted to go back to Japan—she enjoyed Europe and the culture she had come to know and love—and so she was still in the air regarding where she'd be.
But that had never bothered her. No, she hadn't cared, because there had always been the certainty that Diana would be by her side, but in an instant even that seemed uncertain…
And so Akko decided that needed to be fixed, and quickly. She would ask Diana to be her girlfriend—exclusively and monogamously—during their date that evening.
Diana looked gorgeous.
Not that she ever looked anything but. The 19-year-old witch had bloomed into maturity like a butterfly from a cocoon, not that she had ever been not beautiful, but the years had simply added to it as her features became more defined and less child-like and she moved with the poise and grace of someone far beyond her years. In Akko's mind, she simply flowed.
And that wasn't to say Akko hadn't changed, either, but she had still come into adulthood a lot less gracefully than Diana did. She was still klutzy Akko, who blew up cauldrons in Lukic's class and backfired spells in Badcock's while Diana put everything back into place before the professors noticed her mistakes.
But that night, Diana was wearing a pair of perfectly fitting grey slacks and a white button-up that was unbuttoned enough just to show off the pale expanse of her collarbones and the necklace that Akko had gifted her with that Christmas. Her wavy hair was tied back into a loose ponytail, long and flowing down her back, a few loose strands falling rogue around her temples. Dressing nice was not something that was out of place for Diana, and so Akko hadn't felt bad in her shorts and off-the-shoulder top that she knew was one of the other girl's favorites.
They'd gone to the Last Wednesday Society, mostly because they'd found themselves visiting the familiar café in reminiscence of the time Diana found Akko in the snow. The place had become like a haven to them and they would go and relax into the familiarity of each other over a cup of tea and a pastry or a light meal.
But that night, an awkward silence had worked its way between them like a shadow from some unknown source. Diana had been quiet as she sipped her tea in thought, a fog pulsing across her blue eyes as she gazed across the table at Akko. Conversation was superficial and monosyllabic, but Diana would frequently get this wistful, content smile on her face that made Akko swoon just like she was falling for the other girl all over again. But that was a constant in their relationship. Their love grew through moments like this, through snapshots in time that each would store in that special place in their minds that housed thoughts of the other.
So if Diana was acting differently, or a little less at ease, Akko figured it was because of her. She was nervous. What if Diana said no? What if she still stayed by her belief that relationship labels were unnecessary and then they drifted apart after graduation and eventually never spoke again and Diana found somebody new that wasn't Akko?
She knew her thoughts were ridiculous and irrational, but they spiraled nonetheless.
Following the café, Diana had insisted they go for a walk. Akko had no objections—the night was peaceful and warm, and the small town was bustling with other merry people out enjoying the weather—and so she'd let Diana intertwine their fingers and walked obediently next to her. Diana was quiet, her gaze locked straight ahead, her jaw rolling in thought. Her hand would occasionally tighten and release in Akko's, something that she did unconsciously when she was deep in her own mind, and Akko would have questioned it had she not been having her own internal turmoil.
They strode through the park, the orange glow of lamps lighting the way through the dark, winding paths. Leftover decorations were still wrapped around trees and statues from the Beltane festival, flickering in soft white bulbs through the leaves and gently swaying branches. The fireflies were out, too, and their tiny green lights speckled the night in random bursts.
Diana stopped by the fountain in the middle of the park, one of her favorite places to sit and muse. She and Akko had spent many afternoons there when the weather was agreeable, with Diana content while she read her academic texts and Akko playing Pokémon on the Switch her parents had gifted her for her 18th birthday. It had become a place of respite, a place of comfort, a place where the two of them could lean together in an easy quiet while they did their own thing.
Fairy lights were still draped over the handmade statue of Jennifer and the glow lit the clear water of the gently flowing liquid in sparkling waves. They hit the side of Diana's face, casting a shadow across the sharp edge of her jawbone, making her cobalt eyes shimmer as she stared into the carefully etched marble, into the water that drifted down the sides of the statue a peaceful rhythm. The hand that wasn't holding Akko's was buried deep in the pocket of her slacks, her fingers rolling in time with her jaw.
Now… was a good time, Akko supposed. She couldn't let herself be distracted by her own fears, and so she took a deep breath and summoned more courage than she'd needed during the Noir Missile Crisis and began speaking without tasting the words first.
"Hey, Diana?"
Diana hummed and turned her gaze to meet Akko's. A light flush had cropped into her cheeks and Akko wondered for a moment if the other girl was hot, even with the light summer breeze that cooled their skin.
"I… I know we talked about the patriarchy and all that other feminist stuff—"
One platinum eyebrow quirked at the statement, but Diana made no move to speak. Her thumb was rolling over the back of Akko's hand in that unconscious way she did when she was nervous. But what did she have to be nervous about? Did she know where Akko was going with this? Had Amanda told her?
"And I know you don't necessarily agree with labels, but…"
Akko squeezed her eyelids shut and swallowed her apprehension, her fingers tightening against Diana's, before she opened her eye again and said, "We're getting ready to graduate and everything is uncertain—well, for me anyway, definitely not for you because you've always known what you're going to do because you're smart and all—but I kind of want to know that this will be there because I love you so much and—"
She was rambling in the usual manner she did when she was nervous. Knock it off, Akko. Focus! Her tongue darted out of her mouth and she licked her lips, leveling her gaze with Diana's very confused expression, and asked:
"But will you maybe be my girlfriend?"
Diana just stared. Blinked.
"If you don't want to—" Akko started, suddenly feeling guilty for adding so much pressure. She should have had faith in Diana, in the love they had for each other, in the solace of their togetherness. But instead she'd let herself be swayed by what Amanda referred to as societal expectations—
Diana let her hand fall from Akko's and brought it to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose between her fingers as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "By the Nine, Akko. We have been together for quite some time now—are you seriously asking me this?"
"I… yes?" The statement was more of a question.
"I should have figured that you would come up with some way to make this moment awkward." Diana let her hand drop, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips as a quiet chuckle left the back of her throat.
"I asked you out tonight for a very specific reason—" Diana began.
"Yeah," Akko said quickly. "It's date night."
"Date night is Thursday," Diana corrected. "Today is Friday. But—"
Akko opened her mouth again, but she felt Diana's index finger on her lips, stopping any words that were about to slip from her very jumbled thoughts.
"For the love of Beatrix, please be quiet for just one moment," Diana said. She let her hand fall, blue eyes flickering with resolve as she scanned Akko's face to make sure she would actually obey the request. Akko nodded weakly, frowning.
"I… know that I once said that labels were unimportant and unnecessary, but… I must say that being with you has changed that. Drastically. We're about to graduate and—" her hand fisted in her pocket, "—and while my future is certain, I am quite a bit more certain about how I feel about you—"
Akko's smile flashed once again. "So you'll be my girlfriend?"
Diana squeezed her eyes shut, sighed, and said, "Akko, you are so stupid," before pulling her hand from her pocket and dropping to one knee. She held out a sparkling diamond ring, modest but intricate in its simple beauty. "Would… you do me the honor of marrying me? I… already asked Okaasan and Otousan for their blessing, and—"
Akko felt a fog sifting through her eyes as she stared down at Diana, at the beautiful blonde witch who had once been her self-proclaimed rival, who had once been a close friend, who was now the person she loved above all others, and felt her jaw go limp. "What?" she heard herself squeak.
Behind Diana's head, fireflies sparked through the scatter of dark trees. The wind rustled the branches, the sounds of laughter from the nearby town filtered through the air. And Diana knelt in front of her, waiting for an answer, her long ponytail gently drifting over one shoulder, the collar of her shirt fluttering in the breeze.
"Are you serious?" Akko whispered. She brought a hand to her mouth to cover up the very obvious fact that her mind had just self-combusted.
Diana's hopeful expression flattened to neutral and she stared up at Akko. "Am I ever not? So, will you marry me, or would you rather settle for being girlfriends?"
"Yes," Akko said quickly, swallowing hard, her breath shallow and hitching in her throat. "Yes to marrying. Not girlfriends. Yes. Please. Yes—"
She was rambling again, and she would have kept doing so but Diana leapt up and wrapped her arms around her neck, pressing warm, soft lips against her own and kissing her hard. Akko melted into it, grinning into Diana's mouth until the other girl broke away, red-faced and smiling in Akko's favorite way, the one that pressed her dimples deep into her cheeks and made her eyes curve with glee.
"Give… give me your hand," Diana stuttered. "No, not that one, silly, the other one."
Akko felt Diana pressing the ring onto its new home… and grinned, because Amanda was going to eat her words when Akko told her later that Diana wasn't her girlfriend, after all,
but her fiancée.
Author's Notes
Merry Christmas!
This is a one-shot that I've had in my mind to take place after The Magic We Share series and I was going to wait on it, but I figured I'd do it for the holidays.