Diana wasn't sure what exactly she and Akko were to each other, but she was almost certain it was not enough to justify being dragged out into the snowy courtyard like this.

If nothing else, very few people were actually left at Luna Nova to see Diana being led by the hand, as if she wasn't sixteen years old and fully capable of walking on her own. With classes cancelled and winter break in full swing, most had taken the opportunity to head home for the holidays. The only ones left were several members of the faculty, and a handful of students who either didn't celebrate the holidays or simply didn't make it home for whatever reason. Being alone for the season suited Diana just fine.

But Akko, with her head full of fun ideas (fun in this case being purely her own definition) had taken this as some grave injustice. So she knocked incessantly on Diana's door and pestered her, until Diana finally put down her book, put on her winter coat, and a pair of gloves (Akko's insistence on them was in itself worrying), and allowed herself to be put out into the cold, empty, campus grounds.

And, as if to add insult to injury, Akko had dragged someone else into whatever her latest scheme was. Amanda O'Neill, looking as aloof as ever, pulled the light jacket tighter around her hoodie as another brisk chill cut through the air. She gave one look to Akko's hand wrapped around Diana's wrist before a smug grin spread up her cheeks. Diana quietly retracted her arm, before asking for the reason why they were all out here. Neither she nor Amanda were particularly impressed with the reason Akko gave.

"Seriously?" Amanda arched a single brow. "You dragged us out here in the cold to build a snowman? Are you eight?"

"Aw come on!" Akko made a grandiose gesture to the blank field of snow in front of them. "It's like, the perfect Christmas thing! Haven't you ever just spent the day building a bunch of snowpeople, just for fun?"

"No." Diana said.

"Well…now's your chance to try it!" Akko insisted. "If you've never had a chance before, don't you think it'd be fun to try something new? It could be exciting, right?"

"No." Amanda said.

"Please?" Akko's eyes were as close to a lost puppy's as a human girl's could get. "You guys just gotta! Just this once! I…I promise not to bug you for the rest of Christmas break! Just do this one thing for me!"

Amanda actually scoffed at that. "Yeah, there's no way you can keep that promise."

"I could too!"

She definitely could not. Not that Diana really wanted her to, of course. But what she really wanted right now was just to curl up with some light novel, drink something hot, and spend the cold day inside without having to worry about anyone else. She glanced back towards the dormitories, biting her lip. But with Akko literally batting her lashes, the choice was pretty quickly out of her hand. Which was, quite honestly, pathetic.

Diana sighed, her breath pooling in a grey cloud before her lips. "Is it really so important to you that we do this?"

Amanda shrugged, already bending down to play with a glob of snow. "Ah, what the hell. Constanze's movie projector's on the fritz anyway. But this isn't gonna be some drawn-out thing where you tell us at the end you just wanted to see us smile, is it?" She asked dismissively. "Because maybe Diana thinks that's cute, but some of us have some self-respect."

Seemingly oblivious to the glare Diana was sending Amanda's way, Akko just shrugged. "I mean…part of it is I heard you two saying you were all alone for Christmas break. So I thought you guys would wanna get together and do something more fun!"

"…Alright." Diana pulled out her wand. "Let's get this done then. It's cold out." She gave a quick flick of the wrist, and by her command the snow lifted from the ground and began to pack itself together. But before it could take on any real shape, it fell apart as Akko snatched her wand away.

"You can't use magic to build a snowman!" Akko said. "That's totally against the spirit of the whole thing, Diana!"

Amanda snorted. "Yeah Diana, what were you thinking? You gotta get your hands dirty like us common folk! Where's your Christmas spirit?"

Diana crossed her arms. "It's not Christmas yet, it's merely winter break." She glanced towards the dorms once more. "And I…prefer to be alone on the holidays."

Akko looked almost saddened by the statement. "But…why would you wanna be by yourself on Christmas? You don't…always spend Christmas alone, do you?"

"Look, it's nothing to be concerned about. It's just…" Diana paused. She didn't want to get into all this. Not with Akko, and definitely not with Amanda there to make comments. "…I'll stay out here and help where I can, I suppose."

Akko pouted at the blatant misdirection, but seemed happy enough she agreed to stay. Suppressing a shiver, Diana simply folded her hands in front of her and began awkwardly stepping through the uneven mounds of snow.

The eight year old Diana glided through the crowded halls of the Cavendish manor, her hands folded neatly behind the back of her finely pressed dress. A pleasantly benign smile was plastered across her features, and she gave pleasantly benign nods to the many visitors in her home. Blue-bloods filled the warm ballroom, and dozens upon dozens of conversations filled the air. The holiday gathering at the Cavendish manor had always been a formal affair, one that drew the attention of various lords and ladies across the country, and most would take the opportunity to mingle and refresh generations-old family ties. This year in particular, the manor was bustling and filled to the brim.

The gathering that year went much the same as it would in many of the years that followed. With these traditions, the only thing that ever changed was the details. The same families were always invited, and the only differences in the guest list would later be those choosing not to come as the Cavendish name fell from grace.

The guests greeted the future heiress of the manor with marginally more respect than they greeted the hired help. Diana was much too young to have any prestige that they might benefit from. Her first name was of no importance to any of them, aside from anecdotal trivia. Diana spoke at them, with how-do-you-do's and lovely-to-see-you's, and the only changes in her tone was when she had to try and be heard over the fairly noisy crowd. But of course, if it actually bothered her, her expression didn't show.

This was the first time the holiday gathering would be held at the Cavendish manor without her mother in attendance. And she would not let that fact show on her face.

She smiled, whenever Bernadette's name came up in conversation. She smiled, whenever the legacy her mother had built was thrust upon her. That was simply what she did. But for as much as she had gotten that part down, she had not yet conquered her childish fidgeting. She ended up popping a button off the front of her dress.

Ever the diligent maid, Anna had gently directed her to a corner, as there simply was no place inside to get away from the crowd. Compared to the hall, her aged hands were not nearly as warm as they quickly reaffixed the button to her dress. Diana sniffed, suddenly finding it impossible to maintain her mask. Anna's eyes flicked up to her face.

"Are you well, Lady Diana?"

"I…don't know, Anna…"

Anna was quiet for a moment. "I know it's difficult, but you must manage for a few more hours. We must keep up appearances, after all."

Diana's eyes lingered. It would've been so easy. So easy to take Anna's hand and hold it there. To find some comfort in it. Anna had too much respect for Bernadette to ever act anything like her to her daughter. But perhaps if Diana just asked, just made that first step, she could regain some of that warmth that had been taken from her. Anna was there, and she had promised to always take care of her. No matter how strong Diana promised herself she'd be, she missed the feeling of someone embracing her with genuine love.

But it simply wouldn't be right. Anna was her maid, and she was her mother's daughter. So once Anna finished fixing the button on her dress, Diana allowed her to withdraw her hands and go about her duties. Both of them put smiles on their faces for the sakes of their many guests.

Diana tightened the button on her sleeve as a cold wind ripped through the empty campus, clasping the cuff just a little tighter around her hand. They were fine leather gloves, ones she didn't want to stain with dirty snow without due reason. She stayed back and watched the snowman be built, with her back to the wall. Most of her attention was on Akko and Amanda's conversation. None of her attention was on what they were actually saying.

For as much as Amanda had protested, she still put her back into rolling the biggest ball she could. Whatever earlier complaint she had disappeared, now that she had found ways to be as irreverent in this as she was in all else. She and Akko traded jokes and playfully tossed puffs of snow at one another. They were almost sisterly, in the ways Amanda's crass attitude brought out Akko's boundless joy.

Diana felt a tinge of…something, in her heart. Akko's quiet gasps in-between her giggles, her eyebrows shooting up as something struck her imagination, the way she seemed to punctuate her excited sentences by bouncing on her toes. How nice it would be, to be on the receiving end of that affection. Everything felt so warm around her. Diana was sure if she let herself get closer, she wouldn't even feel the icy wind biting at her skin.

But that would require knowing how to get closer. It was just rolling balls of snow, but somehow it seemed intimidating, as if she could do it so wrong Akko might disapprove. Which was ridiculous, but it made sense in her head. It wasn't as if she had much problem just hanging back and pining anyway. Perhaps Diana was biased, but to her, it seemed like a face she could watch for hours and never tire of. Akko did have dreams of performing one day with everyone's eyes on her, so what need was there to stop her habit of just idly drinking in the sight of the girl?

Still, she wanted to do something, both for Akko and for whatever the reason was she wanted them out here. It had been difficult to find two sticks that were evenly proportioned enough with each other to resemble arms, and even the ones Diana had found weren't yet good enough. She snapped little twigs off and brushed away minor blemishes. Hopefully, it would look good on the snowman when it was finished. She looked up at the result thus far, just as Akko was placing the head on top.

She'd never say it out loud, but the snowman was…unsightly. The middle ball was too big for both the bottom and the top, and the whole thing looked rather lopsided. The bottom was full of frozen dirt and dead grass, and the lower she looked the more brown the snow was colored. Not to mention the fact that one of its rock eyes was bigger than the other, and the lack of mouth made its expression look goofy, at best.

But Akko seemed more than happy with the result. She took a step back, hands on her hips, and admired her creation. It was…cute. Amanda made a crack about it, but Akko's pride was unhurt. She just reached into her jacket pocket, pulled out her wand and stuffed it right into the snowman's face, the wooden handle now forming a nose.

Diana couldn't hold back her comment. "Really, Akko? This is no way to treat your wand."

"The lunchroom only had baby carrots." Akko turned to Diana. "You got those sticks for…me, right?"

Diana held them out in offering. "What else would they be for?"

Akko's mitten lingered on her glove just a little longer than was necessary. Diana almost regretted wearing them at all. She almost wanted to hold the mitten there, and squeeze the hand inside.

But of course, Akko took the sticks and turned back to stab them into her snowman's middle. And for good measure, she unwrapped her plaid scarf before tying it beneath the misshapen snowy head, seemingly completing the task she set out to do.

"Hey, so we did it!" Amanda ruffled Akko's hair. "So now will you tell us why you wanted to do this so-?"

"Not yet!" Akko cut her off. "Just hang on! I gotta grab one more thing!"

She darted off towards the dorms, seemingly unaffected by either the cold or fatigue. She would probably end up tracking snow inside as well, which was sure to earn her an earful. Diana found herself quieting a wistful sigh, but she could still see the end result as her breath fogged in front of her.

Amanda glanced at the scarf on the snowman before elbowing Diana with a mischievous smirk. "Kinda makes you wonder how much she's gonna take off. Bet you'd like that, eh?"

Diana pushed the image from her mind before it had the chance to color her cheeks. "She'd catch a cold."

Amanda threw her head back and barked out a boisterous laugh. "Catch a cold, she says! God..." She snickered, clearly finding herself more amusing than anyone else did. "You know she actually likes you, right? Couldn't tell ya why, but to each their own I guess."

Diana squinted at her a long moment before she finally responded. "Do you really have nothing better to do than gossip about my love-life, O'Neill?"

"Wow. Awfully bold of you to call that nothing you got a love-life, isn't it?" Amanda gave an exaggerated shrug, feigning indifference. "But, eh. You clearly got it bad for her. It's honestly embarrassing. I'd almost be surprised she doesn't see it, if we weren't talkin' about Akko."

"…Regardless of those feelings, that sort of thing holds no interest for me in the first place." Diana lied through her teeth. In response, Amanda arched a disbelieving brow.

"What, human relationships?"

"Do you actually care, O'Neill?" Diana snapped. "All you've ever done is belittle me about it. What difference could this possibly make to you?"

She half-expected Amanda to do her normal routine of making it personal and starting some petty shouting match that went on until Akko got back. But instead, Amanda's expression softened. "…So I'm guessing Christmas is a raw time for you too then?"

"What…what do you mean?"

"Hey, I actually get that." Amanda zipped up her hoodie just a little tighter to her neck. "You have to have some big meal with all your stuck-up old relatives who think it's still the 50's, and they tell you their nasty opinions on everything and you just gotta sit there and pretend to be someone else. It sucks."

"…I'm sorry. I didn't know." Diana admitted. "I don't have much family left, so I never really…had that problem."

Amanda chuckled mirthlessly. "Yeah well, that's the big reason I don't go home for this crap. No point in hangin' with a family that doesn't actually like the real you. Might as well stay here and do my own thing."

Diana hummed, crossing her arms. Her eyes dropped down to the ground.

There had always been something…distant in Daryl's eyes. Something aloof and utterly unlike the eyes of a family member.

When Diana had been thirteen, she naively decided that since the holidays were about family, it would be the perfect time to bridge that gap between her and her aunt. With the decision she made recently, she hoped a byproduct would be endearing herself to Daryl more. When her aunt heard the news, they could swap stories, share experiences, talk about things they had in common, finally be more of a family.

The annual gathering came to the Cavendish manor, bringing with it the many guests and unfamiliar faces it always did. But Diana scanned the crowd for just one person, finding her in the living room, brownnosing members of wealthier families. She noticed Diana standing there, and rather begrudgingly, broke her attention away to her niece.

Diana smiled warmly. "Hello, Aunt Daryl. I trust you're doing well?"

"Diana." That was all Daryl said. She barely even glanced up from her wine glass. And that had hurt, but Diana still hoped that after this moment perhaps they could be Aunt and Niece in a way they had never been. She was actually excited as she said it aloud.

"I thought I should tell you, I've decided I'll be enrolling at Luna Nova Academy."

Slowly, Daryl lowered her glass. "Luna Nova…?" She muttered. She didn't return the smile, like Diana had hoped. She didn't sound happy for her, like Diana had hoped. "The witch school? You're still insisting on learning witchcraft?"

"I…Of course I am." Her tone caught Diana flatfooted. "It's…it's our legacy. We're descended from Beatrix. Magic was used to build this family. This whole mansion, was it not? And didn't you-?"

"And it failed your mother when it actually counted, didn't it?"

Something in Diana shattered. Daryl hadn't even blinked as she said it. Hadn't even given her a moment's thought. Diana sputtered, shaking her head in disbelief. "B-but Mother…she…a-and you're a witch too, aren't you? How can you…?"

Daryl shrugged, completely indifferent. "Magic's a fine skill to have, but its time has passed. Some of us have enough common sense to realize witchcraft has done nothing to put bread on the table. My sister was not one of them. And if you wish to turn out better than her, I suggest you learn quickly."

"H-how dare…!" Diana would've ranted to defend her mother's honor, only to notice the other guests in the room staring. She had no desire to start a scene in her own home. Not when she had been trying to make a peace offering. "…I see. If that's how you feel."

She turned on her heels, not making eye contact with anyone else. She fought to keep her face neutral, to keep up the appearance of the pleasantly smiling, unaffected young woman that entered the room, as she left it.

Anna stopped her in the hall before she got too far, concern stitched on her features. "Lady Diana…? Are you alright? Do you need me to-?"

"I'm fine."

"…If you…insist, milady."

She was snapped from her thoughts when she finally noticed Amanda with an absolutely devious grin on her face. Diana didn't even bother to uncross her arms.

"Amanda O'Neill, I swear to whatever god you pray to, if you throw that at me…"

Somewhat dejectedly, Amanda lowered the snowball. "Of course you stop spacing out right as I'm about to have some fun." She shrugged. "Anyway, you're sorta right. It doesn't really matter to me what you and Akko do in your free time, but if you two got this thing, there's no point in dancin' around it if you both want it, right?"

"I believe I claimed I had no interest in this."

And Amanda's grin returned. "Ah huh. Next you're gonna say it was the back of my head you've been staring oh so longingly at this entire time."

Diana hugged her arms closer to her chest, shifting on her feet. "Maybe I would prefer admitting everything to Akko, but…I'd rather everything remain the same, than…than to try to build something and risk…ruining it."

Amanda elbowed her. "Listen, you just gotta do what you want. And you do it as soon as you can. I dunno if Akko will ever wise up and get a clue, but you never know when someone else might come to snatch her away. Who knows if you're the only one who thinks she's cute, eh?"

Diana's eyes snapped up. "There's not someone else, is there?" She asked, just a bit too quickly. "Has someone been talking about her like that? Or…or has Akko been talking about someone in particular? Are you speaking hypothetically, or…?"

"O-oh my god…" Amanda snickered into her hand. With a huff, Diana just grimaced, and did what she could to prevent Amanda from noticing it. It was much too cold to deal with this sort of childishness.

They turned as they heard snow crunching under rapid footsteps. Akko had come running back with a ripped up witch hat. She began to reach up, awkwardly trying to place it on top of the much taller snowman. But before she got too far, something else caught her eye.

Akko turned to Diana with a gentle expression. "Hey Diana…I know you didn't totally wanna come, but are you having any fun at all?"

"I assure you, I'm fine."

"You always say that. But are you having fun? I don't want you to go back inside yet, but I don't want you to be grumpy either! You should have a happy break too!"

Diana blinked. She wasn't even sure why the gesture surprised her, but somehow it was enough that she no longer felt the cold December air on her cheeks. "I…y-you don't need to worry about me, Akko."

"I know I don't. But I wanna do it anyway!"

She stood on her toes, trying to get the hat on top of her snowman. But she ended up pushing just a bit too hard. The head rolled right off its shoulders and broke apart, burying the rocks and the wand into the ground. Akko groaned at all her hard work, destroyed before her eyes. "Aw man…I hate when this happens."

Amanda sighed. "Well, no use pouting about it. We gotta make a new head now."

Diana didn't know what did it. Maybe having to suppress her long-suppressed desire another year suddenly grew too exhausting. Maybe Akko really was special enough to her to fight her instincts for. Maybe the only kicker was that it was cold, and she wanted to be warm. She shifted on her feet, swallowed, and finally found the courage to step forward.

"…Would you like me to help?" Diana asked. "At all? I…I realize this isn't a three person job, but perhaps I could-"

"Actually!" Amanda grinned. "Know what? I'm gonna tap out for a minute. Hands are cold."

Akko crossed her arms. "I told you to bring gloves!"

"We both know I play by my own rules! Up to you two then!" As she walked away, she deliberately swatted Diana in the shoulder. When Diana turned to glare, Amanda just winked, and proceeded to nudge her in Akko's direction.

Diana blinked at Akko's expression. Akko was pleased. Of course she would be. Building a snowman was the entire reason she dragged her out here. But just because her beaming expression was expected didn't mean Diana knew how to react to it when actually sent her way. She found herself fidgeting. "Ah…so. What would you say is the best way to do this?"

She held out her hand in offering, not truly expecting it to be anything more than a symbolic gesture. But to her heart's considerable distress, Akko's fuzzy mitten wrapped around her leather glove. Diana found herself just…staring at her. Her rosy cheeks, her twinkling eyes, the few auburn strands of hair that were just out of place. Diana almost wanted to tug at her collar, or at least undo the top button of her jacket.

And then Akko excitedly yanked her down to her knees, already showing her the way to make the perfect snowball.

She could barely get a word in, as the two of them kneeled down in the snow. Akko cheerfully babbled, about everything that came to her head, without a care as to who heard it or what they would think. She was just unashamedly overjoyed, now that Diana was here with her. And her happy expression spread to Diana's face like a wildfire.

As Akko talked, Diana wondered if she was even half as conscious of how close they were right now as she was. "And you've really never built a snowman before? Never ever?"

Diana chuckled, turning over the ball in her hands. "…As I said, I can't recall ever doing it…'Tis the season for trying new things, I suppose."

"That's a much more Christmasy attitude to have!" Akko beamed. "It's not like it's hard, either. You got it down already." Of course, despite that, Akko's hand was still on top of Diana's own. Ostensibly, guiding her along. Diana packed handful after handful of snow onto the ball, occasionally rolling it across the ground, building it bigger and bigger. Satisfied she got a feel for it, Akko turned to gather the rocks and her wand and her hat.

Only then did Diana actually look down at the snowball in her hand. She almost groaned. She couldn't get the perfect shape. It looked more like a misshapen egg than a ball. She kept packing snow on, smoothing it out, doing everything she could to mold it. She rolled it across the ground, in her hands, trying to turn the oblong shape into something more pleasingly spherical. But no matter how much effort she put in, it just would not look right.

Just as she was about to work another large handful into the surface, Akko stopped her hand with another happy smile. "Hang on! That's perfect!"

"…Really?" Diana held the snowball up. "Because it looks a bit-"

Akko just laughed. "Ah, it's snow. It's not even really sticky today, so you're never gonna get it to look right! It just needs to fit the hat!" She took it from Diana's hand (and again she regretted wearing gloves at all) to place it back in its rightful place, before once again affixing the rock and the wand to, almost, complete the snowman. And she stepped right back to Diana's side to admire it.

The oblong head was even smaller than the one Amanda had helped build, making the snowman even more disproportionate. The rock eyes and wooden nose still gave it a goofy expression, and the grass stains were still visible on the bottom.

But now, somehow those things didn't seem to matter anymore. She had been comparing it in her head to the classical image of a stock snowman, three perfect circles on top of one-another with a prim top hat and triangular carrot nose. But this…this looked much better than that, in spite of imperfections. Because of them. It looked…real. And from the prideful expression on Akko's face, it seemed they were finally seeing the same thing.

Akko giggled, gently nudging Diana in the arm. "Honestly I…um, I'm just happy you decided to help me build it after all! I was hoping you would, but…well, what did you think?"

"W-well. I wasn't doing anything but drinking cocoa and reading." Diana scratched her neck. "I…suppose this was much more…fun. Thank you for including me."

Akko bounced on her toes just as her eyes lit up. "Ooh, I could go for some hot cocoa! With marshmallows! Oh, and sprinkles, and maybe even some whipped cream…!"

"That sounds like a lot of sugar."

Amanda, who had taken Diana's place leaning against the wall, let out a loud scoff. "Geez, mom. Any other joys you wanna kill?"

And then Akko practically shoved the witch hat into Diana's hands. "Anyway, since this is your first snowman, you gotta put the hat on!"

"…first?"

Akko ignored her. "C'mon! This is the last touch before he's done!"

With an amused shake of her head, Diana reached up and placed the hat on. She, very carefully, shifted it around a bit to get it on prim and properly, before straightening out the hat's point as best she could. Unsure what inspired her to do it (but not truly caring) Diana stuck a finger into the snowman's face and drew a wide smile just under its nose.

"Aww, you made him smile!" Akko cooed. "Why didn't I think of doing that?"

"I'd say he's finished then." Diana crossed her arms, feeling a soft expression creeping up her cheeks. Almost unconsciously, she found herself leaning closer to Akko. And to her delight, Akko was leaning right back. A part of her almost wanted to attribute it to the cold, only to realize she hadn't even felt the smallest chill this entire time, despite both her gloves and her jeans being soaked through.

"So!" Amanda piped in, shaking Akko's shoulder. "What was the reason you wanted to build this guy so bad? Just really bored with your roommates gone?"

"It's not just that." Akko wiped the snow off her mittens. "This is sorta…a tradition for me! Me and my Dad used to build snowmen every year!" She giggled as a memory struck her. "Ooh, this one year, we tried to build a whole army of them! But we actually ran out of snow after like four of them. And this other year, we made this giant one right on the front door! Mom got so mad at us when she got home!"

Diana's heart swelled, but a question struck her first. "…If I may ask, why didn't you go home for winter break, Akko?"

And suddenly, Akko's bright expression dulled. "Professor Nelson says I'm not allowed to fly home on my own yet, and with tuition and everything Mom and Dad couldn't afford a plane ticket either. So I'm…stuck here. This is the first Christmas I'll be all by myself and…um…"

She trailed off, kicking the snow up. As if she hadn't ever said it out loud before now. Diana cleared her throat. "I…didn't mean to bring it up. I'm sorry I asked."

Akko waved her hand. "Well, it's more…um, I know we're not supposed to have phones here, but…" With a shy smile, she pulled a pink phone out of her back pocket. "I wanted to take a picture to send to my Dad, show him I'm keeping the thing going, you know?"

Amanda smiled. "And you got us involved in your family tradition." She made a show of elbowing Diana. Again. "Bet some people like that."

Akko nodded. "It's not the same thing as doing it at home. But it's not worse, or anything! It's kinda…like its own thing. I'm glad you guys helped me do this." She gestured for the two of them to come over. "So you guys should get into the picture too! It's only fair, since I dragged you guys out for this!"

Diana bit her lip. "...if this is a family tradition, I…wouldn't want to impose. Your parents don't know either of us."

"Don't worry about that! This way, Mom and Dad know I'm not alone, right?" Akko said. "Besides, I kinda want them to meet you someday!" It took Diana a moment to register that last comment was not in any way directed towards Amanda.

Akko fiddled with her phone, trying to find some way to get all four of them into frame. "Now…how am I gonna…?" No matter how far she stretched out her arm, she couldn't seem to get a good angle. Her eyes scanned the empty campus. "Well shoot. Is there anyone else out here who could take our picture…?"

Amanda snatched the phone from Akko's hand. "Here! I'll take the picture of you two. Just be sure to tell your old man that I did way more work than princess here." She shot Diana a look, an expression that fell somewhere between a mocking smirk and an encouraging smile. Diana didn't respond outside of a slow blink. Too stricken by something very…genuine in Amanda's eyes.

"Are you sure you don't wanna be in it, Amanda?" Akko asked. "Because you-"

"Nah, trust me on this, I'd just make the two of you look ugly in comparison!" She winked. "Besides, I'll bet you'll keep this photo around a lot longer."

Amanda had them maneuver around a bit, before she finally found a position for both of them that got all three subjects in frame. Akko threw her arm around Diana and hugged her close to their snowman, and Diana swore her heart skipped a beat. Hesitantly, Diana put her arm around the girl's waist. She doubted she'd even feel it through the puffy jacket, but the moment her hand touched down, Akko squeezed her shoulder. Amanda just laughed to herself. With both of them encouraging her, Diana let loose a bright smile towards the camera.

She was almost surprised by how naturally it seemed to come.

A.N. Been a while since I wrote a one-shot!

...And actually...kept it as a one-shot. But hey! I did it! Progress!

I've always liked toying with Diana's emphasis on her family, especially compared to her relationship dynamics, and this idea seemed perfect for a sweet short story for the holiday season. Maybe not that fluffy, but I like to think it's still sweet. And I thought it'd be fun to throw in short details about Akko and Amanda's families too, even if we don't ever get much on them in canon. (At least, not the ones related by blood anyway)

Also, why doesn't Daryl have a character tag on this site, but Frank and Beatrix do? Did Beatrix even talk? Daryl had like two episodes!