What A Decade Brings

by Onhiro

"In what world would someone like you ever be with a Cavendish?" Thoughtless words spoken carelessly, words that were prompted by one of the worst days in Diana's young life, words that she immediately regretted. Now, ten years later, she plans to apologize to Akko during their ten year reunion. But she is soon drawn into a dastardly plot that threatens all life on Earth!

10. The Passing of a Week

AN: Yay, back to a Saturday posting schedule! I don't think that I'll have any more issue posting on Saturdays, as my major trainings that would conflict with this story SHOULD be over. Much emphasis on the word 'should', of course. That said, this one is actually longer than the previous chapter by like, almost six hundred words, which surprised me. Not as action-packed, I regret to inform you, but we are definitely hurtling towards the battle. Oh boy!

Just so everyone on who's reading this knows, part two of the series, 'A Decade's Drabbles' went live on my AO3 profile, same username. I can take requests for stories that occur within the WADB universe, but I won't post anything that will spoil stuff that hasn't been posted in the main story, yet. That said...tomorrow, I am VERY excited to tell you, I will be posting the third part of the series, 'A Decade After Dark' which is the...ahhhh...rather *adult* stories that fall within the WADB 'verse, and this, too, will be posted on AO3. Bonus points if you guess what the first pairing will be!

The Passing of a Week

It seemed as though passing the combat test were the catalyst, and in its wake everything was put into high gear. Diana quickly found that she scarcely had time to think or even to catch her breath. Her biggest (and almost only) break was shortly after the test when she made the quick flight home, hastily packed, cancelled all her in-person appointments for the week, told Aunt Daryl that she was going to be at Luna Nova on important business, and then made the flight back. Upon returning, she found her attention constantly pulled in a dozen directions at once, with the research teams checking their translations with her understanding of ancient and arcane languages and the combat groups frequently calling Amanda, Akko, and Diana into quick meetings as they suggested minor changes to the established strategies and tactics as they desperately tried to become as efficient as possible. Even the professors and some of the older witches would pull her aside on occasion, asking what she thought about one thing or another. Add on the still ongoing tasks associated with her hospital work, and Diana found every possible moment of the day occupied. It grew bad enough that she discovered that she had needed to order Hannah to remind her to eat, or else she'd work right through meals. Even with the auburn-haired witch sometimes forcibly dragging her away from an impromptu meeting to go to the canteen, Diana would often only scarf down a sandwich or other quick option before being pulled back in to the planning.

They were running out of time.

There was no reason to support the pervasive feeling, no evidence, no hard intelligence on the enemy movements that told them exactly when they would be entering the final battle with Silent Spring. But every member of the group all had the same uneasy feeling: they did not have enough time to fully prepare, to be fully ready for what was coming. And they only had a week at Luna Nova before the group would largely separate, splitting up and waiting for word on the next major gathering. Even this week was having a major impact on the day-to-day operations of Luna Nova, given how many of the professors were key members of the task force, and the combat training took up a great deal of space that disrupted the students' lives, as did the flight training. Having a hundred extra mouths to feed was also putting a strain on the dining services, even with outside funding helping to cover the costs associated thereof.

Seeing the inherent problems associated with having the task force train at Luna Nova had prompted Diana to check some numbers and compare space, and once she was certain that she could do it, she had requested a meeting with the leaders of the group. And now she stood in Holbrooke's office, staring blankly at the nine witch hats on their pedestals, grateful for the moment to just stop moving, a brief moment of relative peace, though she wished she could go to sleep.

Sleep. Ah, that was a dear old friend she missed! The deep sleep she had gotten the night she had made up with Akko was an outlier, and she bit her lip nervously as she wondered if there was a correlation between Lotte returning to Akko's room and Diana moving into Avery's room and the diminished quality of her sleep. Granted, the four days that had passed since that restful sleep had been incredibly chaotic, and she had been going to bed very late and rising very early, but she couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy at how difficult it was proving for her to fall and stay asleep without Akko's presence, even with how tired she was. At least the bloody nightmares have stopped, she grumbled darkly to herself.

"Diana!"

She jerked, blinking, looking up at Akko, who had almost shouted her name. "Yes?" she asked, suddenly noticing that the others had arrived and were now staring at her, their expressions ranging from surprised to concerned.

"I called your name like, four times, you alright?" Akko asked, and Diana tried to smile reassuringly…tried and failed, if Akko's expression were any indication.

"My apologies. My mind was elsewhere." She shifted slightly on her feet, hands fidgeting slightly before she clasped them together behind her back. "And we all need to be elsewhere to deal with our various tasks, so I'll keep this brief. I would like to offer Cavendish Manor as a headquarters for the task force after our time here ends."

There was a moment of silence as the others processed her words, Akko's eyes widening while Chariot, who was standing next to her protégé, brought her hand to her chin thoughtfully. Holbrooke and Finnelan glanced at each other, and Amanda merely frowned from where she was standing to the side, back against the wall and arms crossed. At first Diana thought that the American was not happy about her suggestion, but Amanda was the first to speak. "It makes a lot of sense," she grumbled, tone showing her displeasure at the conclusion she had reached. "It was built back in the day when noble manors had to be fortified, right?"

Diana nodded. "We have a wall and moat around the main buildings, and all the buildings are fortified," she said, and then hesitated. "There's also a significant number of wards and protective spells that I can't speak of in detail for security's sake, but a magical assault would be very difficult and costly. A physical assault…well, there's only one bridge across the moat, and it's easily defensible." She gestured out the window. "I've heard time and again that we aren't certain just how powerful Silent Spring is, especially given reports that they've recently been encountered using magitronics. We know that they know that this force exists, so ask yourselves this: if they decide to preemptively strike us, which would be better, for them to attack Cavendish Manor, which is easier to defend, or for them to attack Luna Nova, where there are a lot of underage and undertrained witches?"

Finnelan sighed. "Those are all actually very valid points."

Akko suddenly grinned, perking up. "And she even has that secret hospital thing!"

Everyone with the exception of Diana turned confused expressions on Akko, while Diana just groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Akko, it's a secret hospital for a reason."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's…it's fine. Honestly, I've been thinking of starting a small medical school, though that will have to wait until after all of this is over. But if we do take casualties from here on, it might be easier to have them treated at my manor, dependent on severity of injury. It'll be easier to keep track of everyone. That said, Akko, please don't talk about the other things you saw at the manor, some of them are secret for very good reasons."

Akko grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of her head with a bashful blush. "Right. Sorry."

Holbrooke smiled gently at Akko's flustered state, and then turned motherly eyes on Diana. "This does sound like a good arrangement. I can inform our contact in the government of the change of location. You can expect to start receiving funds to assist you with the added responsibilities, and also…" she paused, peering at Diana with worry, "…Lady Cavendish, might you consider putting your hospital obligations on hold? Frankly speaking, dear, but you are running yourself ragged. How much sleep have you gotten in the past four days?"

Diana blinked, thought for a moment. "REM sleep? Perhaps seven hours."

"Diana!" Akko gasped, and Diana couldn't help the surge of surprise at the naked concern in Akko's voice.

"That's exactly my point, my lady," Holbrooke drove on. "You might become more a liability than an asset at this rate."

Diana hesitated. "But…all the people I'm helping…"

It was Finnelan who spoke now, voice stern but not unkind. "You've already done a great deal, Lady Cavendish. But I imagine that the scenario is now somewhat like triage. You must address the greatest risk with the resources you have. Additionally, your treatments are already out there. Now you are simply dealing with the administrative and contractual obligations, yes?" At Diana's nod, she continued. "Very well, then. I can get you a letter hand signed by Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister, something worded officially, informing whatever bureaucrats get annoyed by your absence that you are currently employed by the Crown on a matter of grave importance and you are thus otherwise unavailable."

Diana couldn't help but be impressed by that, but it also went a ways to impress upon her once again just how serious the situation was. Her Royal Majesty didn't just sign things on a whim.

Then Amanda spoke, narrowed eyes focused on Diana. "Speaking of hospital stuff, there is something that's been bothering me. Diana, you're a medical doctor now, right?"

"I don't have a hospital I'm practicing at, but yes."

"What about your oath?"

Diana blinked, confused by the question. "My oath?"

"Yeah. 'First, do no harm.' Aren't doctors forbidden from fighting?"

Ah, that. "That's not part of any of the oaths that I've taken, including the Hippocratic Oath. That line actually comes from Of the Epidemics, which was also written by Hippocrates. But I understand your concern. It…depends. If I entered into combat to the neglect of patients in need of my care and they died, then I'd likely lose my license. But I'm allowed to defend myself. I'm not entirely certain of how your military does it, but you're probably thinking of how military doctors aren't assigned weapons. I don't know the history of it, but I believe that that was done so that a doctor would concentrate wholly on healing, not on fighting. It's a very complicated subject, and I expect to be brought before a board after this is all over, where they will decide whether I get to keep my license or not."

"Does the thought of that bother you?"

"Not at all!" she retorted hotly, then stopped, pursing her lips as she glanced at Akko, who was watching her with an unreadable expression. "No, not at all," she continued more gently. "I cannot abide the thought of those I care about…my friends fighting and dying while my hands are tied by the fear of losing my medical license. It would be unfortunate if whatever board that decides the case feels that it is necessary to strip me of my license, especially given what we are facing, but it would be well worth the cost."

Amanda shrugged, tossing her hair to the side with a flick of her head. "Fair enough. It's good to know that you'll be fighting with us, and not sitting on the sidelines with your thumb up your a-"

"Amanda O'Neill!" Finnelan snapped, voice cracking through the air like a whip, and Amanda just gave her a wide, cheeky grin, and Finnelan glared at the American for a long moment before she spoke again. "Right, was that all you wanted to discuss, Lady Cavendish?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Very good. If you wouldn't mind staying behind for just a few moments, we can discuss some quick final details. The rest of you may leave."

The others filed out, and thankfully, Professor Finnelan and Headmistress Holbrooke did keep it very short and to the point, namely just getting more hard details about how many she could realistically house and to get her contact information for a representative of the government, who would be following up with her after the weekend. Glad that it hadn't taken very long, Diana left the office and began to head back towards the rooms that the force had been working out of when she suddenly heard Akko's muffled voice. Frowning curiously, she paused, trying to pinpoint where Akko's voice was coming from, and moments later she was standing outside a nearby door that she presumed led to Akko's office. She raised her hand before hesitating, not even certain what she would say if she knocked. 'Hello, Akko, just heard your voice and decided that it was prudent to interrupt your private conversation, hope you don't mind!' Surely that would be well received! She lowered her hand, turned, and began to step away when Akko spoke again, and Diana glanced up at the glass partition above the door that was cracked open, allowing her to hear the Japanese witch's words much more clearly.

"We're running out of time. Have you decided what to do yet?" Akko was asking, and Diana stopped completely, scarcely daring to breath, the thrill of eavesdropping running through her.

A gusty sigh answered Akko. "I don't know, I'm not sure." Ah, it was Amanda in the room with Akko. That made sense.

"Well, how have they been acting around you?"

They? Who were Akko and Amanda talking about?

"Pretty normal, actually. A little bit too normal, if you ask me. It's like…what, did the time we spend together count as nothing?" Amanda said, voice frustrated and almost fearful.

Akko snorted. "Iie. Trust me, Amanda, I seen the way the two of them look at you when they think no one is looking."

Diana frowned, shifting silently closer to the door at that. The two of them? The puzzle pieces started to fall into place, but a bit of her resisted, almost unable to believe what was being insinuated.

"They've been looking?" Amanda asked, hopeful yearning clear to hear in the quiet words that Diana had to strain to catch.

"Oh, yeah! Frankly, I'm surprised Hannah hasn't taken you aside for some, ah, one-on-one training by this point," Akko replied, voice heavy with innuendo.

Diana swallowed thickly at that, a blush quickly overtaking her face. They were. They were talking about Hannah and Barbara! Her mind raced at that, remembering the closeness between the three witches their last year at Luna Nova, how sometimes when Barbara went to America after they graduated she had come back almost glowing, blushing and changing the subject when Diana asked her about it, and Diana recalled the one time years ago that she had gone to Hannah about it with some concern. The two hadn't been engaged yet at that point, and it had seemed so out of character, the thought of Barbara cheating on Hannah, but Hannah had laughed happily at Diana's warning, reaching out and patting Diana's hand, blushing prettily as she reassured her, insisting that there wasn't anything untoward going on. Diana had taken her words at face value, and dismissed the issue. But now…

That glowing happiness…it only occurred when Barbara went to the US. And what about those days when Hannah would be more tired than usual, saying that she had accidentally stayed up late chatting with an overseas friend, a dopey smile on her face? Or that time eight years ago when the two witches went to London on very short notice, and now that Diana thought about it, wasn't that when Amanda was in the area for a major broom race? Face fairly flaming now, she brought her hands up to her cheeks. Oh my. The three of them were lovers, and have since separated. And now, Amanda wants to…

"Yeah, well, she hasn't." Those words were almost bitter, and Diana shook her head, focusing once more on the conversation on the other side of the door. "Akko…why didn't they tell me they were engaged?"

"They didn't tell me about it, and besides, you are really difficult to actually get ahold of. Remember how much I complained about that when we were dating?" Akko asked, tone dry, and Diana only just barely managed to stifle her gasp of shock at that revelation. Amanda and Akko used to date? What else didn't she know?! "I don't even know how many of my messages never reached you. I hate to say it, but there's an even chance that they did try to let you know, and the message simply didn't reach you. Listen, Amanda…don't let you not knowing about their engagement be the thing that keeps you apart. After all…"

"After all, we might not get a chance after all of this, I know. Trust me, I've given that a lot of thought, Akko. There…there might not be all three of us around for very long." A long moment of silence after those somber words, and Diana glanced nervously down the hall. Should she leave? She had been there for too long. If she got caught…then Amanda spoke again. "Alright, I'll see what I can do once this week is over. I can get a hotel room in Wedinburgh and go and see them. Now, speaking of a very similar subject, what about you and Lady I'm-Holier-Than-You?" Amanda asked, and Diana truly did freeze this time, not even breathing as her heart began to pound in her chest, almost afraid to hear Akko's answer.

"Amanda, you know I don't want to talk about this!"

"Why not? You keep making me talk about Han and Babs, why can't we talk about Goldilocks?"

"Because at least you had the chance to be with the two of them in the past decade, even if it's been what…five years?"

"Four, and that's beside the point! You keep reminding me that we might not have enough time. What are you going to do if she-?"

"Don't you dare end that sentence, Amanda O'Neill!" Akko snapped. "We talk about Hannah and Barbara because your heart was undecided. I've made my decision, and I stand by it. I am content with the rekindled friendship between Diana and me, and don't want to ask for more right now. I am happy with where we are, understood?"

"Sheesh, fine, I get it. No need to bite my friggen head off," Amanda muttered petulantly.

"With how hard-headed you can be? Anyway, come on, we need to get back. I don't need any more rumors amongst the student body about how Professor Kagari is banging hot witches in her office during lunch break again."

"Wait, again?"

There was the sound of chairs scraping against the floor, and Diana almost panicked, taking a few steps back and away from the door as she fumbled for her wand, just barely managing to get it activated as footsteps on the other side of the door grew louder. "Toriara Faciesse!" she hissed under her breath, and promptly winked out of view just as the doorknob rattled and the old wooden door creaked open, revealing Akko and Amanda. The two of them stepped into the hall, Akko closing and locking the door behind her before turning. Just before she stepped off, however, she stopped, frowning as she looked around her, eyes narrowed, and Diana held her breath, not daring to move at all, in case Akko heard her.

"What's up?" Amanda asked as she paused as well.

"Nothing, I just…" Akko said, still peering about her. Then she shook her head and shrugged. "Nothing. Just thought I heard something is all. Probably just the wind outside or something."

Now Amanda was frowning, her expression much darker, hand reaching for her wand. "Think it's Silent Spring?"

Akko laughed, laying her hand on Amanda's forearm, and Diana almost, almost growled at that, jealousy surging at the easy familiarity of the gesture. "No, none of the wards were tripped. Seriously, it was nothing. Now come on, let's go, I'm hungry!"

The two of them moved off, Amanda shaking her head. "Didn't you, like, just eat?"

"So? I'm a growing girl!"

"Akko, you're twenty-eight years old!"

"Yeah, and?"

Their bickering faded as they rounded the corner, and Diana very carefully and quietly made her way in the opposite direction, only dismissing the invisibility spell after she, too, had turned down another hallway. She paused, trying to organize her racing thoughts. Then she sighed, shook her head. She had learned a lot from that conversation, but none of it was actually pertinent to the matter at hand. She'd think about it all later. For now, she had to make her way back to the classrooms. Still, even as she made her roundabout journey, one thought kept running through her head, though Diana couldn't say if it made her happy or not:

Akko was content with their rekindled friendship, and was not interested in anything past that.

She kept running that part of the eavesdropped conversation over and over in her head, trying to analyze every minor nuance to Akko's tone and the words themselves. The one phrase that she didn't quite know how to interpret was when Akko said that she didn't want to ask for anything more right now. What did that mean? It denoted a definite interest in possibly asking for more…but when? Why not now? Was Akko uncertain as to if she wanted to be in a relationship with Diana? Did she want to be friends until her feelings rekindled? Or was it that she was already interested in romance, but didn't want to ask for more for another reason? Diana didn't know, and given that finding out would mean asking Akko directly, it was absolutely certain that she wouldn't be finding out in the near future.

"Oh, Diana, perfect, I was just looking for you!"

The excited words broke Diana out of her circling thoughts, and she looked up to see Lotte approaching her, a look of relief on the Finnish woman's face. "Oh?" she asked as they embraced and exchanged kisses on cheeks.

"Yeah. First, I'd like to apologize for the night of the banquet. It was underhanded of us, but you and Akko really needed to at least talk, and we weren't certain how else to do it."

Diana drew in a deep breath, releasing it slowly, feeling what little resentment she still bore towards Lotte dissipate. "I can't say I was happy at the time, but you are right. We did need to talk, and you helped make it happen, so I suppose I should actually be thanking you. And I must say, it was very well planned and executed."

Lotte grinned, a pleased blush spreading across her cheeks. "Yeah, well, you know us Nightfall fans, we can get all sorts of sneaky when it comes to matters like that. But, I didn't want to try and be real sneaky again, so I figured I'd just come out and talk to you about it. I'm going to be leaving very shortly, Frank has returned from his business trip, so I'm going home. Now, Avery told me that you've, ah, you've not been sleeping well, right?"

Diana quirked a cool eyebrow before nodding. Perhaps she'd have to have a talk with Avery about what was an appropriate topic of conversation and what was not. She did not need her difficulty sleeping to become public knowledge.

"Well, this might be forward, but Akko didn't say anything about you having trouble sleeping the night that you had stayed in our room. So…would you like my room key?"

Diana stared at Lotte, the Finnish witch fidgeting after a minute of silence, but Diana completely floored and not entirely certain how to answer. On the one hand, it would certainly let her put the question of whether or not sleeping in the same room (or bed, as the case may be…) as the brunette witch would result in a good night to rest, but on the other hand…

"Does Akko know about this?" she asked, somehow managing to keep her voice composed.

"No, not yet," Lotte answered with a small wince. "I figured I'd make the offer to you first before we go to Akko about it. Worst case scenario, she wouldn't be comfortable with it, and you would just stay with Avery, right?" she asked, and Diana sighed and nodded. That much was certainly true. "And in any case, I really don't think that Akko would say no, so-"

"Wouldn't say no to what?"

Diana flinched at the curious voice, whirling to see Akko walking towards them, a bag of crisps in her hands. To Diana's relief, Amanda did not seem to be with Akko at the moment. She didn't want to have to deal with the pugnacious American at the moment.

"Oh," Lotte hedged, glancing nervously at Diana, and Diana decided that it was probably best to just get it over with. Like ripping off a bandaid.

"Lotte is leaving tonight, and was offering to give me her key so that I could stay with you," she said coolly, even as it felt like a whole flock of butterflies had taken sudden residence in her stomach.

"Huh. Neat," Akko replied, face surprisingly open and curious as she tilted her head. "You interested?"

Diana glanced at Lotte, Akko's laid back reaction to the suggestion knocking her slightly off guard. "Yes, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother." Then a flicker of almost malicious glee, and she said the next words on an impulse. "It is difficult sleeping in the same room as Avery, she snores, and rather loudly at that." There, that might teach you to talk with others about my sleep patterns!

Akko snorted. "Does she, now?" Then she grinned, the expression carefree. "Sure, you can sleep in my hotel room, it's not a bother." Then she turned her attention on Lotte. "Hey, have you managed to get some of those artifacts in place at your house yet?" Her face grew somber. "You're the keeper of the journal, and if Silent Spring found out, they might stop at nothing to get to you."

Lotte smiled reassuringly. "Yes, and the protections that the journal are under are simple but quite powerful. I'm confident in my ability to keep it safe."

Diana blinked at that. Journal? What journal? Then she realized. Ah, something that she didn't need to know in detail. Very good, then. "I'll leave you two to speak more on this, if necessary. Lotte, Akko," she said with a tilt of her head, and Lotte reached into her pocket, withdrawing a keycard and handed it to Diana. "Thank you, Lotte. Safe travels to you, and if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. You are a friend of the Cavendishes and the Hanbridges."

Lotte smiled gently, hand resting on her pregnant stomach. "Yes, of course. Perhaps after all this is over, we can set up a playdate for Ingrid and Victoria and Henry?" she asked, referring to her daughter and Andrew and Maril's children, respectively.

"That would be lovely."

"Awww, can I come?" Akko asked, nudging Lotte teasingly.

Lotte sighed. "I don't even know if you'll be in country at that point, Akko. Didn't you say that you had something going on in Korea?"

Diana took that as a cue to bow out, and she left the two old friends merrily bickering as she headed back to the classrooms. She still had so much left to do!

Indeed, so much left to do that it seemed like in the blink of an eye the remainder of the day's meetings were ended, dinner had been had, her luggage collected, and there she was, standing in front of room 418 again, hesitating to enter because now she knew precisely was beyond the door.

Don't be a coward, she snapped at herself as she inserted the key card Lotte had given her earlier into its slot, and the lock mechanism flashed green. Taking a deep breath, she opened up the door and entered the room. Her first glance did not immediately reveal Akko, but the room certainly appeared more lived in, dirty laundry littering the floor, the television on some channel showing cartoons, the volume turned down low, and there were some crisp bags and biscuit boxes littering the various tables, with more besides in the trash, and Diana had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. So very like Akko to be so disorganized…

Almost as though she had heard Diana thinking about her, Akko's head and shoulders popped briefly out of the bathroom, the Japanese witch continuing to brush her teeth as she waved at Diana with her free hand and then held up one finger. Be with you in a moment.

Diana nodded, rolling her suitcase next to the one bed that was made as she unzipped her jacket, and Akko popped back into the bathroom. Diana's clothing had been much more relaxed and casual since the reunion, though she did take some pride in the fact that her clothes were much more well-made (and likely much more expensive) than most of the clothes that Amanda had been wearing. Appearance, after all, was very important, as they impacted first impressions a great deal. If Amanda wished to be seen as a ragamuffin, then that was her own choice. Diana would do better.

Akko could be heard spitting into the sink, followed by the sound of the tap running and Akko gargled before spitting again. Then she was walking into the main room, drying her mouth with a towel. Speaking of clothing and first impressions, Diana couldn't help the quick glance she ran over Akko's body, clad as it was in the spaghetti strap tank top and short shorts that seemed to be Akko's specialty, one that Diana was not complaining about…and one that she probably never would complain about, for that matter.

Despite the fatigue that was tugging at her, she was still more than happy to engage in small talk with Akko while she readied herself for bed. She was relieved to find that Akko seemed to have maintained a healthy bit of the happy-go-lucky pluckiness that had been her mainstay during their schooling years, one that Diana found to be comfortable, reminding her of years spent more happily, years when she and Akko had been close friends, studying and eating and hanging out with one another. She missed those days when the cares of the world weren't pressing down on their shoulders, weighing them down with dark, grim thoughts of the-

"So, how much of the conversation between Amanda and me did you hear?" Akko asked suddenly, and all of Diana's muscles froze as she looked up with alarm from where she sat, halfway into getting under the covers.

"Come again?" she asked, mouth dry and heart pounding. How did Akko-?

"My conversation with Amanda, just after your little meeting with all the Task Force leaders. How much of it did you hear?" Akko asked again, and Diana stared at her for a long moment, fear dissipating as she realized that Akko didn't look mad, but instead merely curious. But before she answered, she had to ask…

"How did you know?"

Akko grinned, teasingly. "Your perfume. It smells like lilacs, right? I could smell it right outside my door, and since you've been in this room, that exact same smell has been growing stronger."

Diana swallowed nervously. "Very perceptive of you," she muttered, and Akko's face grew grim.

"You have to be, to survive long in my business. If you don't pay attention to what all your senses are telling you, you die pretty quickly," she said, voice completely somber, and Diana suffered from a small case of mental whiplash at just how quickly Akko went from a bouncy, energetic woman who was achingly similar to the girl that Diana had known a decade ago to this world-wearied witch who had darkness in her eyes and grief etched in every line of how she carried herself, serving as a painful reminder to Diana that Akko had seen and likely done terrible things in the time that they had been apart from one another. Diana didn't know this woman…

"True," Diana answered softly, almost absently before she sighed. "To answer your question…long enough to hear that Amanda was in a romantic relationship with Hannah and Barbara," she said, and it was so very weird to actually voice that fact aloud! "That, and she plans to try and possibly rekindle that relationship this weekend."

Akko nodded as she drew her legs up, resting her chin on her knees. "Please don't tell them. That's something Amanda has to do on her own, and if Hannah and Barbara knew, I don't know how they'd react."

Diana hesitated, and then nodded. She wasn't entirely happy about that, but it did make sense, she supposed. "Fine. Hannah is supposed to be helping me for a few hours on Saturday, and she might get suspicious if I cancelled."

Akko grinned mischievously. "That's fine. Given what little I know about the situation, that shouldn't be a problem at all."

"I also heard that you and Amanda used to date." Her voice was coldly unamused, though she did take some amusement at how Akko blanched.

"Oh. Yeah. That," she said with a nervous laugh. "You, uh…you don't have to worry about that. That relationship did not last long at all! Amanda and I both knew what we wanted, and unfortunately neither of us served that role for the other." She sighed, and then shrugged. "I was lonely, she was feeling abandoned and jilted after Hannah and Barbara stopped talking to her, and…well, we tried and it didn't work."

A rather strong flutter of relief at that, one that Diana very carefully did not examine too closely. "I also heard that…that you only wanted to be friends at the moment. That is, with me."

Akko's face closed off, and she stared at Diana for a long, long moment with unreadable crimson eyes. Then she spoke, voice soft. "Yes, that it true." Her eyes closed, and she drew in a deep breath before speaking again, voice soft and almost broken sounding. "Is that…it that okay?"

And immediately, Diana could see the two paths that she could take, and she froze, not knowing which one was the right choice, which one was the best decision. On one hand, she could say that no, it wasn't okay, that she wanted to pursue something more than just friendship with Akko, but she did not know how Akko would respond. On the other hand, she could agree, say that it was fine, knowing that Akko had made that decision, and yet be left wondering what would have happened if she had chosen to ask for something more. The silence grew deeper with each passing moment…and it was with a bitter curse slung towards her cowardly heart that Diana gave a hesitant nod. "Yes…that's fine, Akko. I would love to stand by your decision. Your…friendship is terribly important to me, and I would do anything to keep it." Including denying my feelings, she bitterly told herself even as she wondered if she had made the right choice as she watched relief and disappointment war across Akko's face, knowing that the same two emotions were roiling within her own heart.

But then Akko nodded, a small smile gracing her features as she sighed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. "Okay." Then the smile grew, both in warmth and in size, and she directed it straight at Diana, meeting her blue eyes with her own crimson orbs. "Thank you, Diana. Should I turn out the light?"

"Yes, please."

With a soft click, the room was bathed in darkness, and despite the emotional turmoil that roiled in her breast, Diana found herself relaxing and growing at ease far quicker than she had since the last time she had shared a room with Akko. Even despite not sharing a bed, hearing Akko's soft breathing and taking in that gentle scent of cherry blossoms did a great deal to let Diana relax. I suppose that answer's that question, Diana mused as she felt the gentle fingers of sleep start to grasp her consciousness. It was Akko's absence that made sleep difficult to come by, these past four days. Interesting…

In the other bed, Akko smirked to herself as Diana fell asleep with a soft, pervasive snore that was decidedly unladylike but thankfully not disruptive. No, if anything, Akko took comfort in the rhythmic sound, even as she rolled her eyes, remembering Diana's slightly catty words earlier in the day. Suuuure, it's Avery who is the one who snores, she thought fondly as she glanced over at Diana's bed. Try pulling the other one, sweetie. With that, she rolled over, snuggled into her pillow (and ignored the small voice that wished that it was Diana and not a pillow), and promptly went to sleep.

Tomorrow the two of them would wake up, both of them more refreshed than they had been in some time. Tender glances would be shared between them throughout the busy day, both taking solace and comfort in what they had, even as they scrambled to finish up with the last minute tasks that never seemed to stop coming. But then the long, eternal day passed by in the blink of an eye, and the hundred witches and warlocks went their separate ways, some heading home on broomstick, others heading towards the closest airports that would take them to the far corners of the globe. Diana noticed the almost hesitant and blushing glances that Amanda kept sending Hannah and Barbara where the two stood slightly apart from the crowd, waiting for Diana to wrap up her quick discussion with Finnelan and Holbrooke, and Diana very carefully didn't say anything as Amanda discretely asked Professor Nelson what the best way to get to Wedinburgh was. If Amanda didn't want to fly with the three of them, she likely had her reasons. She'd leave that well enough alone.

But as she was hoisting her broomstick and luggage and moving to rejoin her former teammates, she heard a breathless voice calling out her name, and she turned to see Akko, dressed in her armored dress and carrying an over-packed suitcase and broom, running towards her. She waited until Akko reached her, smiling gently at how Akko bent over at the waist as she tried to catch her breath. Then Akko looked up, eyes pleading as she asked if it would be okay if she could go with them and stay at Cavendish Manor because her classes were done and it only made sense and it would be best for her to help Diana get things ready if you think about it and-

"Yes, Akko, I'd be more than happy to have you," Diana laughed, and it was with a look of sheer joy that Akko joined them, dishing back the well-natured teasing that Hannah and Barbara shot her way as the four of them made it to the Leyline that would bring them to Glastonbury, and from there it was just the broom ride that was spent with companionable conversation, the four witches talking about this, that, and the other thing, all of them very carefully not talking about Silent Spring and the White Death. There would be time for that in the following days. This, though, was precious. These moments spent in friendship might be in short supply, and they all of them knew it.

After all…time was running out.