On the way to the Summer Woods

Diana and Akko were having lunch before continuing their flight to the Summer Woods. Diana observed Akko after their descent. It was the first time the Akko flew on her own broom for such a long distance, and Diana couldn't help but wonder if she was pushing herself. The pair sat down under a shady tree and unpacked the lunch boxes Jasminka made for them. Diana stole another glance at her companion.

"Diana, I'm fine. Quit stressing or you won't be able to properly enjoy Jasna's cooking!" Akko giggled while pulling out a sandwich. Akko loved the attention she got from the noble witch, but she wanted Diana to relax. Diana was almost as bad as Professor Ursula when it came down to Akko. She turned and grinned at Diana for added emphasis. She could see Diana's tension melt away and her heart sped up when her smile was returned. Diana's cool blue eyes exuded a warmth that Akko felt throughout her entire being.

"Your flight has improved. You did an excellent job at maintaining both speed and control the entire flight, except for that hiccup with the birds." Diana chuckled.

"I wouldn't call flying into a flock of birds a 'hiccup'," Akko mumbled.

"You need to stay focused when flying, lest you fly into an airplane." Diana jested. "What had you so distracted?"

You did.

Flashback

Akko couldn't stop tracing the beauty's form with her eyes. Diana's serene expression, her smooth shoulders, and of course, that fine—

SQUWAK! Suddenly, Akko had a mouthful of feathers and her ogling session abruptly ended. Diana flew over to her side trying to stifle her laughter to make sure Akko was ok. Seeing she wasn't hurt, Diana suggested that they take a break.

End Flashback

"I was hungry." Akko lied.

"You should have said that earlier. We could have pulled over sooner." Diana quibbled while pulling a missed feather from her friend's hair. She then proceeded to brush some crumbs off Akko's cheek before giving it an affectionate pinch. "And stop inhaling your food! You're going to choke." Akko blushed, Ursula does this kind of stuff all the time, but why does it feel so different when Diana does it?

"S—so, why are we doing collection errands instead of the staff? I'm just curious." Akko stuttered. She hoped that Diana's explanation would give her time to reorient herself. Besides, she was honestly wondering why Luna Nova would send its students out like this without a supervisor. Not that Akko was complaining, having alone time with Diana was a plus for her and she didn't want to be hassled by grumpy, graying witches.

Ever since Luna Nova's finances started to decline, the school needed to cut corners. One of the big changes made was how the Academy acquired resources and ingredients for lessons. The staff had to go and collect the ingredients themselves, which wasn't so bad at first. But as the decline continued, it became increasingly difficult, as well as time-consuming to gather necessary resources. This year was one of the worst, economically speaking. The Professors were, to put it bluntly, old. It was hard for them to gather ingredients in bulk because they couldn't tough it out in the wilderness for more than a day tops, though they tried. Diana started to aid the educators after the Missile Crisis and having the help of young blood made things much easier for the old-timers. The teachers took shifts and Diana always accompanied, no matter who was on duty. Sometimes they went to fascinating locations, like the Summer Woods. Other times, Diana had to trudge through swamps or skulk through caves. Diana was also the one who insisted that she and Akko could go on collection errands without an instructor. For once, the elderly witches agreed eagerly, relieved they didn't have to it themselves.

Akko finished her lunch in the somewhere in the middle of Diana's story but continued to listen intently. There were a couple things that bothered her about her partner's revelations.

"Does that mean some moldy witch dragged you through gross swamps and you had to be bossed around all day?" Akko fumed. She didn't like the idea of Diana spending her weekends so miserably. She works too hard already!

"Akko, they are your mentors," Diana replied. "Also, they didn't drag me anywhere, I volunteered to help." She took Akko's hand, "I know you're worried about me, but I made this decision on my own. As a Cavendish, I must help others in need. Besides, I love Luna Nova, that is why I'm willing to do what I can to help."

Akko couldn't argue with that, she loved Luna Nova too. She intertwined their fingers, anger dissipating. Something still bothered Akko though. How did the Academy get all the ingredients they needed before Diana started helping? If it was so challenging to gather what they needed, how did those geezers—

The sudden realization made Akko's stomach drop.

Feeling Akko tense up, Diana instantly knew something was wrong. "Akko, what's—"

"Ursula…"

With that single utterance, the light mood darkened. Immediately, Diana knew what Akko was thinking. Before she could say anything else, Akko continued.

"Ursula is the youngest instructor at Luna Nova, so the other teachers made her run all sorts of errands. They hounded her constantly and sometimes she would be gone for days on their stupid runs. After she lost her ability to fly...," she turned to face a shocked Diana, "you stepped in and took on all this responsibility. I messed up and you two are the ones who are paying for it…"

Akko withdrew from Diana and balled her fists in her lap. She was hurting two of the most important in her life while living blissfully unaware of how much she botched things up. Ursula, who played the role of not only her mentor but a mother, was cursed because of her. Diana, who already had a mountain of responsibilities, stepped in to fix what Akko had done. Akko thought about all her failed experiments and wasted ingredients that Diana had toiled to get. Tears welled up in her ruby eyes.

Diana didn't know what to say. She carefully avoided mentioning Ursula, but Akko connected the dots. It was heartbreaking to see the usually cheerful witch like this. The witch in front of her was almost identical to the broken girl she found in the snow months ago. "Akko, it's alri—"

"Don't you dare say it's alright!" Akko snapped. "I'm always going on about making people smile and spreading happiness yet, I'm hurting the people closest to me!"

"Akko…look at me." Diana requested gently. When the teary girl refused to meet her eyes, the heiress delicately took Akko's face in her hands, giving the witch no other option but to face Diana. Diana's heart shattered when saw that Akko lost her signature sparkle in her crimson eyes. "Do you ever regret bringing me back to Luna Nova?"

Akko was startled by the sudden question. "No. Never! I would do it all over again if I had to!" There was so much conviction behind those watery rubies, Diana felt a tug at her lips.

"Why did you fight for me?" Diana inquired. Where is she going with this? Thought Akko. "Because you're important to me and you're a person worth fighting for!"

Oh.

Diana smiled as a look of realization crossed Akko's face. "It is the same for Ursula and I. Akko, you never forced us to do anything. We chose to support you, just like you did for us. The people we love are often the first ones to get hurt, not because we intentionally bring them harm, but because they are the ones on the front lines when you are in trouble. They want to be there for you. Ursula doesn't regret saving you, and I will continue to support you whether you want me to or not. Just like how you chased after me." Diana praised, eyes filled with admiration. She wiped away Akko's tears with her thumb, earning a small but sincere smile. The sparkle found its way back into her the red eyes that she adored.

Akko wrapped her arms around Diana's waist, "Thank you," Diana returned the hug and Akko rested her chin on her shoulder. The mood lightened and the girls just enjoyed the presence of one another. "Can we stay like this a little longer?" Akko asked shyly.

"Of course, we can," Diana responded while tracing soothing circles into her companion's back.

Moments passed, neither witch wanting to break the embrace. However, they had an assignment to complete and they reluctantly parted. After they leave the shade of the tree, they would need to focus on their collection errand rather than each other. Akko wanted to prolong this moment, even if it was just for a little while. A grin formed on her face when she found the perfect excuse.

"Hey Diana, are you going to finish that?"

Diana followed Akko's gaze which had landed on a chocolate muffin Diana left to the side. She purposely left the dessert untouched wanting to split it with Akko, knowing how much the girl loved sweets.

"Let's share it," Diana answered with a knowing smile. The two enjoyed the pastry sitting shoulder to shoulder chatting idly, simply relishing this moment between them. Diana and Akko hoped to share even more moments like this in the future.