Wow, this turned out way shorter than it should have. Also, I think I'll be writing the month that the chapters take place in from now on, just to avoid confusion. On the other hand, I finished the first draft in record time!
So yeah, a bit of preggy Akko first-trimester moodswings seguing into meh AF fluff.
And of course, the review responses.
GeminiAlchemist: Why yes, the fic I'm waiting for updates on is that particular one you mentioned. My inner maiesiophile is just going out of control with the way it seems to be going.
Not exactly having any plans of uploading on AO3, actually. Partly because DAMN YOU, ROSKOMNADZOR, THE SITE IS GLITCHING UP MORE THAN USUAL FOR ME BECAUSE OF YOU MORONS, partly because I kind of feel like my fics just won't meet up with that site's standards.
He-heh. Yeah, your review is the reason I decided on this particular chapter's premise.
symbiotic: While the main inspiration for this fic was "Sucy's Big Potion Mishap" over on AO3, I guess I could say that your fic may have given me a nudge in the right direction. Guess there's something even Sukko shippers can salvage from Diakko fics, huh?
(Current in-story month: June)
As it turned out, Sucy's potion worked just perfectly, and thus Akko actually ended up bearing the alchemist's child. And sure enough, all the usual problems of early pregnancy followed suit.
While Sucy did manage to help her wife out with morning sickness problems – which was an easy one to solve, as it, strangely enough, most commonly seemed to come up whenever Akko was exposed to any particularly strong smells, so Sucy usually let her off out for a walk while she herself was busy working on potions. – some other things, like cravings and mood swings, were a tad harder to handle.
On one particular Saturday, for example, Akko had actually requested some of the more exotic fruits for dessert instead of the usual fare. And when Sucy came back with these, while Akko seemed to chow down on them like no tomorrow, one fruit in particular was immediately tossed by her at a nearby wall as she shouted out, quote-to-quote, "I can't believe I was craving something that tastes this badly!". Oh well, said fruit was inexpensive anyways.
As for the moodswings problem… Come to think of it, that was in a league of it's own entirely. From Akko lamenting on about how much everything about the pregnancy itself sucks, especially the morning sickness, to the occasional angry outbursts caused by Sucy accidentally saying something wrong at the wrong time, to the brunette actually feeling uncharacteristically cheerful – oh wait, that was part of Akko's usual fare anyway.
As a more specific example, on one particular weekday, something went a little too awry when Sucy attempted to tell Akko to slow down when she was busy snacking on pickled plums – apparently, the brunette still felt hungry even after dinner, so she pretty much reached for the first thing available. Needless to say, this seemed to set off a mood swing in Akko, and…
"Oh, I'm not even one month along, and yet you already call me fat?! Is that what you meant?!" – The asian witch shouted as she slammed both her hands on the table and stood up.
"That's not what I was getting at, Akko!" – Sucy replied, feeling a little unnerved, but it seemed like Akko wasn't listening and was going on about with whatever caused her mood swing.
"I've just about had it up to here-" – Akko gestured to her neck with her hand. – "-with all of this, Manbavaran-Kagari! You-" – Before the pregnant brunette continued her thought any further, she was interrupted by a sudden stomach ache. Clutching her abdominal area, Akko remarked in a still angry but somewhat subdued tone: "Of course, of all the times to get an ache, it just had to be right now!"
Sucy sighed at the whole situation, and briefly wondered just how much more problematic a girl that's pretty much established the "very definition of trouble" title behind herself can get during pregnancy.
"Okay, okay, calm down now." – The alchemist remarked as Akko leaned onto her shoulder and they walked over to the living room. – "I guess it would be best for you to just sit down for the time being."
While Akko was sitting on the living room couch, waiting out the ache, Sucy quietly walked over to her and said: "What I was getting at, bunny, is that I didn't want you to choke on your food. Or, you know, overeat to the point of a bellyache. Hopefully those plums won't come right back out the way they came in."
"Suce, you're not helping." – Seems like the mood swing hadn't dissipated yet. Guess Sucy had to get a little creative with alleviating her wife's hormone-induced anger.
"Alright, what do you say if, when your bellyache stops, we go out for a quick walk around town? Can't fly around on a broom all the time, you know." – Sucy asked, sitting down next to her wife. Akko sighed and remarked: "Actually, the pain seems to be more of a dull one by now instead of an outright sharp. So I'm sure that- Uh-oh."
As Akko ran off to the bathroom and the all-too-familiar retching sounds came from the place, Sucy groaned and wondered just how utterly predictable her wife can be at times.
"Troublesome and predictable. Oh well. "
Quite a bit of time later, the two witches went out for a quiet walk across town. The sun was already setting by now, and thus most of the town's residents just preferred to get back to their houses. Honestly, Sucy felt incredibly glad that she and Akko settled in a quiet, remote suburban area. No car noises, no factory fumes, no dull blocky tall buildings…
"Hey, what's the matter, sugar?"
Goddamit. It's been more than ten years already, and Sucy's still hadn't gotten used to that pet name courtesy of her wife. Partly because she felt like it greatly clashed with her personality, partly because it kind of still made her flustered as all hell.
"Nothing in particular, guinea pig." – The alchemist quietly responded as they continued their quiet walk around town.
Akko didn't ask any further questions. Her trail of thought turned back to her decision about resigning from her position as a magical performer.
Truly, the asian witch wouldn't be sharing such a sweet moment with Sucy right now if she were to continue on with her career. The primary motivation for her magic shows was not money or any sort of career – if anything, she just wanted to make people happy with her performances. And as much as she missed her adoring fans, she had to admit that those millions of smiles couldn't compare to a single genuine, caring smile from Sucy.
Akko certainly wouldn't be starting a proper family with that career getting in the way of her family life, that is for sure.
"Well, I suppose we'd better call it a day and head on home." – Guess it was Sucy's turn to get Akko out of her thoughts. And, as much as the violette wanted to tease her wife about her daydreaming, she figured that maybe it was better for her not to step into a mandrake field all over again.
"Oh, right… Yeah, let's go now."
Having had taken care of their pre-bed routine, the two witches were now quietly lying in their bed, idly chattering. However, at a certain point, Akko must have had another of her mood swings, because one of her questions kind of gave Sucy a bit of a heart chill.
"Suce… Am I really such a big source of trouble?" – The brunette asked in a somewhat sad tone. Luckily for Sucy, she didn't take long to come up with an answer that would be both plausible and wouldn't make her wife worry even more than she already does.
"I can't say much about the "big" part yet – that will be more relevant in a few months, if anything – but no matter how much trouble you seem to cause, I know it's not your fault. If anything, I know that's just the way you are, and I've certainly come to appreciate that little quirk of yours as well." – The violette quietly responded, and pulled her wife closer in for a hug. – "I suggest we don't give it much thought for now."
"I wonder if our kid's going to be as much of a troublemaker as I am, or a calm and collected person like you?" – Akko asked sleepily.
Sucy couldn't help but chuckle at that question. Sure, she always presumed that personality was usually the end result of one's upbringing, and not something genetic, but…
"Can't say for sure, I've had straight C's in Fortune Telling. But I get the feeling that if the latter one were the case, then it would be boring as hell."
All Akko could muster for a response was a sleepy giggle before she drifted off to sleep.
Whew, that was way too short for my taste if ya ask me. I was only able to hit the 1.5K words mark with the author's notes in.