Hey everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to express how much I appreciate you all, and I'm so happy you are enjoying the story. I'm so happy with all the positive reactions and I couldn't thank you enough for helping me through this crazy first fic of mine. You all are amazing!

Chapter 12

The Reasons Why I Love You

"Akko! Come on, pick it up!" Ursula yelled, frustrated at the usually energetic brunette who was now bent over with her hands on her knees, gasping for breath on the hockey field.

Ever since Akko had come back from their week long break from practice, Ursula noticed a distinct lack of motivation from the girl. And the attitude of the captain had done a complete 180, leaving the blue haired coach concerned. But every time she tried to catch up to the brunette after practice, Akko had already gone, leaving as quickly as she could, not even waiting for her friends. Five days of practice and it hadn't gotten any better like she'd hoped it would, and Ursula couldn't let it go on any longer. She blew her whistle loudly, getting all of the girl's attention.

"Bring it in, girls!" Ursula yelled out across the field.

The players gathered around the coach, Amanda standing in the front and Akko standing toward the back. With a sigh, Ursula began talking loudly.

"As you all know, we have our first game of the tournament next week on Friday. I'm regretting my decision of letting you have last week off because it seems some of you have forgotten that on my field, we always give one hundred percent." The coach said coldly, glancing at Akko, who was staring elsewhere. "Next weeks practices leading up to the game are going to be crucial, and I expect much better from you girls. Understand?" She was met with nods and mumbles of 'yes'. "Alright, have a good weekend girls. I'm going to need to see Akko and Amanda before you leave please."

All of the players except for the brunette and the redhead left to gather their things. Ursula waited until everyone was out of earshot before she began speaking.

"I would like to have our strategy meeting at some point in the next couple days. When are you girls free?" When neither girl spoke up immediately, she took off her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes before continuing. "Okay, what happened? Whatever it is, we need to resolve this before next week. I can't have my two best players like…this." She gestured in there direction with her hands.

Amanda glanced sideways at Akko, who remained expressionless, and sighed.

"Diana moved to London to take over the family business." The redhead said tiredly.

"Oh." Ursula said, raising her eyebrows. "I mean, London's not that far away. I'm sure you can vi-"

"Can we not talk about this?" Akko cut her coach off and crossed her arms, puffing out her cheeks out. "I'm free right now for the meeting."

The blue haired woman stared at the brunette in surprise at the tone of her voice before looking to Amanda, who was pinching the bridge of her nose.

"O-okay. Um...Amanda, are you free right now?" Ursula asked the redhead, who nodded in response. "Okay then. Tea at my place then?" When she saw Amanda grimace, she corrected herself. "Tea and coffee at my place then?" She asked with a sly smile.

"Cool." The redhead smiled back.

Akko nodded in agreement before she walked away, heading to where her bag sat on the bleachers. When Amanda began to walk away also, Ursula grabbed her arm to stop her.

"How long has this been going on?" The coach nodded toward the brunette in concern.

"Like, two weeks." The redhead said with a sigh. "I can't seem to get through to to her, she thinks Diana's better off without her. I even went to London to talk to Diana. Apparently she didn't give a shit about what I said." Amanda spat out venomously.

"You went to London?" Ursula asked, surprised.

"Yeah, well, apparently it was pointless. No one has heard from her, not even Hannah or Barbara." The redhead sighed. "I don't know what else to do coach. They're both so damn stubborn. How they got together in the first place is beyond me."

The coach giggled before bringing her hand up to her mouth and clearing her throat. This whole situation seemed all to familiar to Ursula. Memories flooded back to her of when Croix had been accepted to graduate school in a different country when she was done with her studies at Luna Nova. It had taken them years to reconnect after the fight they had, that ended in a very ugly breakup. She didn't want Akko to have to go through that pain, years of heartbreak and regret over something that could have been fixed so easily.

"Well, I'll try to help if I can, Amanda." Ursula patted Amanda on the shoulder. "For now, though, let's head to my place. Do you guys need a ride?"

Just then, they heard the engine of Akko's scooter start up and watched her drive out of the parking lot.

"We're good." Amanda said as she began to walk away. "See you there, coach."

Diana sat at her desk, loudly typing out a reply to what seemed like the hundredth email of the day. After clicking send, she sighed loudly and leaned her elbows on her desk, putting her face in her hands. After a few moments, she looked down at the contract that had been laying on her desk for a week now. She had read and reread it multiple times, along with her lawyer, to try to find anything she could take advantage of, any chink in the armor, but it was iron clad. She was out of ideas and feeling defeated and tired from the terrible sleep she had gotten over the past week. The blonde wished she could see Akko's face, smell her scent, feel her skin against her own. She just wanted Akko in her arms.

Clicking out of her email, Diana opened a search engine and typed in the web address for Akko's hockey team like she had done multiple times since arriving in London. When she just wanted to see Akko. But this time, the website featured a new article about the upcoming summer tournament the team would be playing in. The first game would be the next Friday, and Luna Nova would be hosting. She clicked through a few links, coming to Akko's profile which still displayed the same picture Diana had seen on he first day she met Akko. And to this day, even in the hardest of times, it still made the blonde smile and filled her heart with warmth. As she sat there smiling at her monitor, she heard her office door open. She closed the windows on the screen immediately and turned to see her aunt walking through the door and Diana's assistant, Chloe, closing the door to give them privacy.

"Hello, Diana." Daryl said in her usual disinterested tone.

"Daryl." The blonde said simply and nodded.

The older woman sat in one of the cushioned seat across from Diana and crossed her legs. The younger blonde watched her every move until they were staring at each other in silence. When Daryl did not immediately speak, Diana decided to break the silence.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company today?" The blonde asked cautiously. "I wasn't expecting you."

"Always straight to the point, Diana. You're not going to ask how your dear old aunt is fairing?" The older woman faked a pout.

"You've never been one for pleasantries, Daryl." Diana said flatly. "But if you insist, how are treatments coming along? Any progress?"

"The treatments are an inconvenience, to say the least. But yes, the progress is very slow, but steady." Daryl shrugged and locked eyes with the younger blonde, just now noticing the exhausted state the girl was in. "Oh my, Diana, you look terrible."

"Thank you, Daryl." Diana rolled her eyes. "It's been a rather exhausting few weeks to be honest."

"Oh, yes. I'm sure multiple meetings with your lawyer on top of your already large workload is indeed exhausting."

"How do you know about those meetings?" The young blonde asked suspiciously. "To my knowledge, you've been out of town all week."

"I have my ways, Diana. Did you think I wouldn't be keeping an eye on you?" Daryl arched an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry to inform you, Daryl, but what I do or who I meet with is no longer your concern." Diana said through grit teeth.

"Yes, well, it is the board's concern that the CEO is meeting with her lawyer and looking for loopholes in her contract." The older woman spat out coldly.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Diana leaned forward over her desk as she sneered.

Daryl arched her brow at the younger blonde, and calmly continued.

"Then why don't you enlighten me, Diana?"

"I am not going to abandon the company or my family name." Diana leaned back and took a deep breath. "But I've realized that there are other things, other people who I can not abandon either. I had a life before this, and I will not give it up so easily." She stated calmly, making sure to talk slowly and resolutely.

"This is about her, isn't it." The older woman sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Didn't you take my words to heart at all?"

"I did. And while I appreciate the advice, Daryl, this is my life. And I alone, will choose how to live it."

"I told yo-" Daryl started before being cut off.

"I wasn't done." Diana said icily. "You are correct that it wouldn't be fair to her to compete for my attention. Which is why I will not let that happen. And I refuse to let her think that this job is more important than she is, because it is not."

"If you think you are going to resign, you had better think again" The older woman said venomously.

"No, Daryl. I'm not going to resign." The blonde said calmly. "I am going to make sure that I am the best CEO as I can be, while being the best girlfriend I can be. Because that's what she deserves. That's what everyone here deserves."

"You really are just like your mother aren't you." The older blonde rolled her eyes. "And I assume you've gotten nowhere with that contract of yours."

Diana's proud smile faltered as she looked down at the papers sprawled out on her desk.

"No, unfortunately." The blonde said sadly.

"Diana, do you know why this job is so difficult? Why you have so much work?" Daryl asked flatly.

Diana furrowed her brows in confusion, staying silent so her aunt would continue.

"Well, you see. There was this man, a rather incompetent twit if you ask me, who was the chief operating officer when I officially took over the company. I fired him, and never replaced him. So I was, and now you are, doing the work of two executives."

"You fired the COO and never replaced him?" Diana eyes grew wide. "Daryl, why would you do that?"

"Because everyone I interviewed for the job was severely unqualified." The older woman just shrugged nonchalantly. "I thought you would have figured it out by now."

"Well I apologize. It's been a stressful few weeks for me." Diana said sarcastically, making Daryl smirk. "And the executive sheet I received showed no openings."

"Oh, Diana. No need to get snarky. I know you haven't officially met everyone yet because of scheduling conflicts and my absence. And that sheet hasn't been updated since I took over. Anyway, as I was saying..." Daryl trailed off for a moment, deep in thought. "If you hired someone competent enough for the position, I see no reason why you won't be able to move back and live your...life, as you wish for the time being. As long as you can keep up with your required workload and commitments, of course."

Diana was completely and utterly speechless. She stared at the older woman with her eyes wide and her mouth agape. Was it really that easy? Coming from her aunt, there had to be some sort of catch right? The idea made perfect sense.

"That's it?" The blonde breathed out.

"Well, the idea is quite simple. Making it happen, however, is the difficult part. Obviously you need to find someone suitable, and who knows how long that...could..." Daryl's voice trailed off when she witnessed Diana quickly grab her office phone and press a few quick numbers. "What are you doing?"

Diana ignored her and spoke to someone on the other end of the call.

"Chloe, will you please head down and tell Anna to come to my office immediately? And please cover for her while she's up here." The blonde glanced up to the older woman while she listened. "Okay, thank you." She hung up the phone and returned her attention to her aunt.

"Anna? You can't be serious, Diana." Daryl said in disbelief.

Diana didn't respond. She leaned back in her chair smiling excitedly at her baffled aunt and rocked back and forth like a happy child. She was going home.

Akko and Amanda sat quietly on Ursula's couch, waiting for their coach to make some tea and coffee. The brunette was staring at no where in particular while the redhead was playing a game on her phone.

"Alright girls," Ursula came in holding a tray with two teas and a coffee and set it down on the table in front of the couch. "Let's get this party started." She smiled toward the girls, only getting odd looks in response. "Well okay then." She mumbled before sitting down in the chair kitty corner to the couch and pulling out a notebook.

"Where's the girlfriend?" Amanda asked, looking around the open space.

"Oh she's in the basement working on...something or other." Ursula gestured toward a walkway leading to the stairs to the basement.

The redhead nodded and turned her attention to the notebook now opened on the table in front of the three of them. Akko also scooted to the edge of the couch to get a better look. They talked strategy for an hour or so, the brunette even seemed to lighten up a bit, throwing out suggestions here and there. The blue haired woman even got her to laugh once with a terrible pun, and she was very proud of herself, to say the least. As they were finishing up, they could hear footsteps walking up what was no doubt the wooden steps leading up from the basement.

"Oh, the genius has decided to grace us with her presence." Ursula joked quietly, making the two younger girls smile as they turned to the hallway where Croix would appear.

The lilac haired woman did appear carrying a large box, almost dropping it when she saw Ursula's visitors.

"Oh great. It's Amanda." Croix said flatly.

"Hey. You know you love me shut in." Amanda smirked at the older woman.

"Uh huh." Croix tried to hide a smile creeping onto her lips before turning to the brunette. "Hey, Akko."

"Hey, Croix." Akko flashed a small smile. "What's all that?" She pointed to the large box in Croix's hands.

"Oh. Uh..." The lilac haired woman looked nervously at her girlfriend. "It's just-"

Croix's words were cut off by the sound of cardboard tearing, the box suddenly feather light as all the contents of the box fell out onto the floor in front of her. Ursula gasped in horror as she recognized the things now strewn out on the floor. Akko and Amanda stood up, both chuckling, and began to walk over to help pick everything up before being stopped in their tracks by their coach.

"No!" She shouted a little too loudly as she came to a stop in front of them. "I mean, it's fine girls, you don't have to help." She laughed nervously as she lightly pushed them backward.

"What?" Akko looked at her, confused, before something shiny caught the brunette's eye over the blue haired woman's shoulder. She squinted and saw that the contents on the floor was, what looked like, sports memorabilia. With a bit of quick thinking, she had an idea. "Oh my god what's that?!" She shouted, looking up at the ceiling.

"What?!" Ursula abandoned her distraction of the girls to look up to see what Akko was shouting about. But there was nothing there. And while the blue haired woman was looking up, the brunette managed to deftly sneak past her and was now huddled over the pile of items on the floor. "Akko!" Ursula shrieked, frozen in place.

"Whoa!" Akko said excitedly as she picked up two trophies. After putting those down she picked up a few medals, and then some pictures of a girl's hockey team in Luna Nova uniforms. "Hey, is this your team from back in the day, coach?" The brunette brought one of the pictures closer to her face to get a better look, scanning each girl.

Ursula, who was still standing frozen next to Amanda, looked to Croix with terror on her face. In turn, the lilac haired woman's lips twitched, trying to suppress a smile that she would later regret.

"Wait." Akko's eyes grew wide. "That's Chariot! Did you play with Chariot?" Without waiting for an answer, she scanned the picture again before landing on the young redhead in the picture once more. She put the picture down and picked up a different one, scanning it like she did the last one. And again her eyes found a young Chariot but no Ursula. Furrowing her brows, she scanned the rest of the items on the floor. She picked up a uniform top which had the word 'FRANCE' on the front in bold lettering. The brunette turned it over and sure enough, the name on the back read 'DU NORD'. She quickly threw it down and picked up one of the trophies again and read the plaque with very small lettering. "Chariot du Nord." Akko whispered to herself. It was then that she spotted a very familiar looking picture in a frame, hidden partially under the a ribbon. She reached over and picked it up, the ribbon sliding off to reveal a bikini clad Chariot. The picture was the same as the one Diana had taken off of the wall weeks ago, except this one had something written in the bottom corner.

Croix,

Now you'll never feel lonely…

Chariot

The writing was accompanied by a winking smiling face. Akko stared wide eyed at the words in disbelief. After a few moments she looked up at Croix who was deliberately avoiding her gaze. The brunette stood up and turned around to look at her coach who was overtaken by the furious blush. Akko walked slowly toward Ursula, and when she was close enough, she held the picture up next to the flustered woman's face. The brunette looked back and forth between her coach and the picture a few times before swallowing thickly.

"Chariot?" Akko asked. "You're Chariot du Nord?!" She asked again in a panic, now taking a step back.

"Hold up!" Amanda finally chimed in after watching Akko's realization. She stepped forward and took the picture from the brunette and inspected it. "Holy shit Akko, isn't this the picture above your bed?" The redhead smiled before looking up at their blue haired coach, who was now covering her face with her hands, covering the severe blush that had overtaken it. Amanda's smile then disappeared when she finally made the connection. Her jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide as she looked between the picture and Ursula one more time. "Oh my god."

Croix stood behind them, covering her mouth and silently shaking with laughter at the scene. The two girls continued to stare at their coach in silent shock, waiting for Ursula to lower her hands from her face and say something. They would have to wait for several minutes before the blue haired woman could compose herself enough to finally reply to the question still hanging in the air.

"Y-yes. I am."

Akko's mind began to run a million miles an hour. Her idol was standing right in front of her. Chariot had been her coach for the better part of a year, and she had no idea. The person she had spent her childhood looking up to. The person that had unknowingly got her through the most terrible time in her life. The person who's poster she'd had above her bed since high school. Countless times she had stared up at the poster at night and...she had...she had…

"Akko, are you okay? You look pale." The blue haired woman asked in concern.

The room began to blur for the brunette as she thought about the indecent way she had been looking at at Chariot...at her coach...for years. The information was too much to handle for Akko. The room began to fade as she slowly lost consciousness, her knees buckling underneath her as she fell backward onto the floor in a heap.

"Akko!" Ursula rushed to the brunette's side immediately.

"Well that was...something." Croix stated, looking surprised at the turn of events. "That's not how I pictured it going. Meeting her idol must have been more than her little heart could take."

"I don't think that's why she fainted." Amanda snorted, knowing full well what Akko was thinking when she saw that the bikini picture.

"Will you both stop and help me get her to the couch?" The blue haired woman pinched the bridge of her nose, embarrassment replaced by irritation and concern now.

"Yeah Yeah." The redhead smirked before moving to take Akko's legs while her coach slid her arms beneath the brunette's arms. They lifted and easily transferred the unconscious girl to the couch, laying her down cautiously.

They didn't have to wait long for Akko to wake up. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked up at the three figures standing above her. Her crimson eyes met her coaches for a brief second before they both turned their heads and looked anywhere but at each other, blushes growing on both of their faces.

"So you're...uh...Chariot huh?" The brunette inquired hesitantly as she sat up and swung her legs over the edge of the couch.

"Yes. I used to be, anyway." Ursula sighed as her eyes finally met Akko's. "I'm sorry, Akko. I should have told you sooner."

"No, it's okay. Just...a lot to take in." The brunette let out a long breath. "So why did you suddenly disappear years ago? You were just...gone." Akko asked quietly.

"Well, a lot of politics I guess." Ursula shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "There was a rumor started that I was part of a small group who supposedly cheated in the world cup, paying off referees and what not. I was always in the public spotlight so I was an easy target. Although they never found any evidence, my reputation had been tarnished by the rumors and, well, it got very ugly. I decided it was better for me, and the sport, to bow out and disappear." The blue haired woman hung her head sadly.

"But, it wasn't better for the sport." Akko stood up and put her hand on Ursula's shoulder. "You helped so many people, you gave them hope. You gave me hope." She added softly. "When I was sixteen, my best friend passed away. I was broken. I didn't think I could move on. I quit hockey, well, I quit everything." The brunette rubbed the back of her neck as she laughed sadly. "I was a mess. But you brought me back, Chariot. Your words to all the young girls around the world, telling them to never give up, to always believe in yourself and to rise up in the face of adversity. Your passion for hockey and life in general helped me pick myself up and continue doing what I loved. And I wouldn't be here today without you. So thank you, Chariot." Akko smiled wide for the first time in two weeks, making her idol reach out and pull her in for a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you, Akko." the blue haired woman whispered.

"Wait, so what are we supposed to call you now? Chariot or Ursula?" Amanda chimed in with her eyebrows furrowed. "Like, it'd be weird to call you Chariot now. Unless you dye your hair back to red. That was hot."

"Yeah it was." Croix added with a smirk as she turned to Amanda with her hand held up, the redhead in turn brought her own hand up and gave the lilac haired woman a high five. "Told you, Chariot." Croix flashed a toothy grin at her girlfriend and winked, earning a scowl from the blue haired woman.

"Amanda, I'd like to remind you that I am still your coach, and I control how many sprints you are going to do on Monday at practice." Chariot said with disturbing calmness to her player, making Amanda visibly gulp.

"I think you should."

A determined voice rang out in the awkward silence, making the coach twist around and face the brunette once more.

"You should be Chariot again. Don't let the past affect your future, because we need more Chariots in the world, not less." Akko stated resolutely, making the older woman smile warmly. "You don't have to hide anymore."

Before Chariot could say anything, a ringing noise came from Amanda's pocket. The redhead pulled out her phone and checked it before shoving it back in.

"Well, I hate to cut this little reunion short, but we have dinner waiting for us. And you know how Jas can get if we're too late, Akko." Amanda began walking toward the door.

"Oh, right!" The brunette stood up quickly to follow. "So we'll see you on Monday then coach."

"Hey Akko," Her coach called before Akko could get to the front door. The brunette turned around with her eyebrows raised, urging Chariot to continue. "Thank you."

Akko's face lit up with pride and joy at the words, looking happier than the coach had seen her all week. She gave a small nod before disappearing through the door and closing it behind her.

"Well, that didn't go as horribly as you thought it would, right?" Croix turned to look at her girlfriend and froze. Chariot was glaring daggers and walking slowly toward her. "Right?" The lilac haired woman's voice was an octave higher as she took a step back, but still the blue haired woman's expression didn't change. "Chariot, my love? My whole world? My reason to live?" Croix's attempt to appease Chariot fell on deaf ears as her girlfriend drew near. "Ah shit." The lilac haired woman turned her back and ran as fast as she could down the hallway with an angry Chariot right on her heels. "I'm sorry!" She yelled behind her.

Hannah and Barbara arrived back to their apartment after their usual Sunday morning breakfast together. Ever since they had started here at Luna Nova, it had been tradition to go to their favorite restaurant to have breakfast together. Although they lived together, it was nice for the two of them to get out of the apartment and hang out. Today, however, their experience had been somewhat irritating. They had to wait a long time for their food to be ready, and the check hadn't come for about an hour after they had finished eating. The waiter apologized profusely to the agitated girls, blaming lack of help on the usually busy Sunday morning breakfast rush. They spent the whole drive home complaining to the terrible start to their morning, and deciding that if the food hadn't been so delicious, they might never go back.

Hannah pulled out her keys and unlocked the door to their apartment, letting Barbara walk through first before closing it.

"So what do you want to do today Barb?" The auburn haired girl asked as she set her purse down on the table.

"Hmm...watch a romantic movie and eat ice cream?" Barbara replied, raising her eyebrows and cocking her head to the side.

"We just..." Hannah started before thinking for a moment. "Okay, why not. I'm going to go change."

"Yeah, me too." The black haired girl agreed, following her friend into the hallway toward their rooms. She paused when she saw something peculiar, though. The door to the bedroom that had formerly been Diana's was now open a few inches. She knew that neither of them hadn't even so much as touched the doorknob since their blonde friend left. They hadn't needed any more reason to dwell on the sad situation, so they left the room untouched. "Hey, Hannah? Did you go into Diana's room?"

"No?" Hannah stopped and turned around looking at her friend quizzically. "Why?"

"The door is open!" Barbara squeaked out. "Do you think someone broke in? What if they're hiding in there?"

"Calm down!" Hannah loudly whispered, although her worried tone told the other girl that she was also freaking out a bit. "We'll open the door together on three, okay?"

"Wait!" The black haired girl whispered as she ran down the hall out of sight before returning again almost immediately holding two candlesticks. She gave one to the confused auburn haired girl and held her own up like she was ready to strike.

"Candlesticks?" Hannah raised her eyebrow at her friend.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"Okay fine, let's just do this." The auburn haired girl put her hand on the doorknob. "One, two, three!" She yelled as she pushed the door open and brought her own candlestick up above her head.

The two friends stood in the doorway without moving an inch, looking around the room in shock. The once empty bedroom was now furnished once more with the familiar furniture that had been there since they moved in almost a year ago. It was as if nothing had been moved, everything was in the exact place they had remembered it. The bed, the desk, the dressers were all in place. But the object the two girl's eyes paused on was the over sized chair in the corner which held a blonde figure with her legs crossed and a smirk on her face.

"DIANA!" Hannah and Barbara shouted in shock at the same time.

"You two are terrible at sneaking up on people." Diana said in amusement as she stood up off of the chair and began walking toward her friends.

The two girls crossed the room in a flash and threw their arms around the blonde, who had to regain her balance after almost falling from the force. Diana reciprocated the action, hugging Hannah and Barbara tightly as she reunited with her best friends.

"I see the restaurant did as they were supposed to. Although I didn't think they'd keep you as long as they did. I've been sitting here for quite some time."

"What?" Hannah and Barbara said in unison, stepping back.

"That was you?" The auburn looked at the blonde in surprise.

"I may have promised a very generous tip if they gave you terrible service." Diana chuckled. "I'm sorry girls."

"It's fine Diana." Barbara assured her with a wide smile. "But why are you back? What's going on? What about your company? Wait, does Akko know you're back?"

"Barbara, she can't answer your questions if you don't give her time to answer." Hannah tried to calm the excited girl, pulling her back a step and out of the blonde's face.

"It's quite alright Hannah. I will answer all your questions but I have a pressing matter I need to talk to you about first." Diana wrung her hands together nervously as she looked at her two friends. "Akko doesn't know I'm here, but I have a plan and I need your help to make sure things go correctly."

"Okay!" Barbara answered immediately. "What's the plan?"

"Why don't you sit down." The blonde gestured for the girls to sit on her bed, which they did quickly.

Diana took a deep breath and began explaining the plan she had come up with the night before. She knew it had to be perfect, a grand gesture to Akko. Hurting the brunette, while unintentional, had been the worst mistake she had ever made. She had to make sure that Akko knew that she was the most important thing in the world to Diana. She had to make sure that Akko knew how much Diana needed her, and wanted her, and above all else, how much she loved her. She would spend the rest of her life convincing Akko of this if she had to.

The plan was not overly complicated so it only took a few minutes to explain every detail, and when she was finished, Hannah and Barbara sat there silently. The auburn haired girl looked pleasantly surprised, and you could almost see heart eyes on the black haired girl as she put her hands over her heart.

"So?" Diana asked hesitantly. "Is it terrible?"

"Diana, it's so romantic! It's perfect!" Barbara gushed.

"You should wear that suit you had on when Amanda and I visited you. Akko's brain will short circuit when she sees how ho-" Hannah stopped herself, horrified, and cursing internally at how much Amanda had rubbed off on her. "How...uh...beautiful you are."

Diana arched an eyebrow at her blushing friend.

"And I'm sure Lotte and Amanda will help. They're going to be so happy!" The black haired girl added, clapping her hands together happily.

"Yes, we will contact them. And we need to get to the florist before they close." Hannah was counting off on her fingers as she turned around and began walking out of the room with Barbara at her side. "And we'll have to contact..." The girls voices trailed off as they left the room and entered the hallway, leaving a forgotten Diana alone in her room, laughing to herself.

The blonde looked around her room once more, taking in every beautiful inch of it.

"I'm home." She whispered to herself, inhaling deeply and letting the breath go before following her friends.

Monday…

Akko and Amanda sleepily walked up the path from the redhead's car to the Luna Nova hockey field. Now that school was out, their practices were held early in the morning, much to everyone's dismay. As they walked past the bleachers, the field came into view, along with their coach who was setting up cones for whatever drills they would be running that day. But there was something distinctly different about her this morning.

"Akko!" Amanda jabbed her friend with her elbow.

"Hmm?" Akko's sleepy eyes scanned the field until her eyes landed on her coach. No, her eyes landed on Chariot. The brunette smiled brilliantly at the sight of her coach's now red hair flowing in the morning wind.

Every girl coming up over the hill had paused briefly when they caught sight of their coach, eyes growing wide and looking at each other in confusion. After everyone readied themselves for practice, they sat on the bleachers like every other day, waiting for instruction. But today, there wasn't the usual happy chatter. Muted whispers filled the small area, everyone wondering what exactly was going on with their coach. Akko could pick out a few of the words that seemed most prominent, like 'hot' and 'sexy' and others that she wished she had not heard. She had enough trouble knowing that she had a risque poster of her coach in her room and… 'Ugh...not this again!' She screamed internally. 'Stop thinking about that...stop thinking about that!'

"Hello ladies, you may have noticed something a little different about me this morning." Chariot began, eyes flitting around nervously until she met Akko's crimson ones. The brunette was grinning at her, nodding encouragingly. The older woman smiled back and continued. "I won't waste anytime with explanations, but you can all call me Chariot from now on. And if you have any questions, which I'm sure you do, you can ask me after practice. Alright? Let's get on the field."

No one got up immediately, trying to process what their coach had just very quickly rambled on about. Amanda snorted and Akko slapped her forehead at the hurried short speech. They were the first ones to get up and move over to where Chariot waited on the field.

"Smooth coach." Amanda whispered to the older redhead as they approached her.

"So you want to play this game with me today, O'Neill?" Chariot smirked at her player before blowing her whistle. "Thanks to O'Neill here, I've added a suicide sprint to your usual warm up routine. Make sure to thank her later." She yelled loud enough for everyone to hear and then smiled menacingly.

"What?!" Amanda squeaked out, looking around at her now angry, groaning team.

"Come on girls! Chop Chop!" Chariot was having way too much fun with this. She felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her, her secret holding her back from truly being happy. But this morning, now having put the facade aside, she had never felt better.

After what seemed like the longest practice of their lives, Akko and Amanda sat exhausted on the bench next to their bags. They had emptied their water bottles and were now trying to find motivation to stand up on very tired legs.

"What the hell. This is all your fault Akko." Amanda mumbled, slowly standing up.

"What? How is this my fault?" Akko stood up quickly and faced her friend, wincing when she noticed her legs felt like jello.

"You should become Chariot again." The redhead mocked the brunette. "We need more Chariots! False, one Chariot is more than e-fucking-nough. And you are responsible for her return. Therefore, it is your fault." She began walking down the path toward campus.

"Well if you could keep your damn mouth shut!" Akko followed after her. "Wait, where are we going?"

"I need coffee." Amanda grumbled.

"Oh, okay. I could go for some coffee."

The two girls made their way to the cafeteria. Although the regular semester had ended, there was still a good amount of people occupying the tables. Summer classes were still being held, and also a lot of students had decided to stay over summer break. Akko followed Amanda to their favorite little coffee shop with the all too familiar barista waiting behind the counter for them.

"Well if it isn't Akko and Amanda. Long time no see ladies." Aaron, the barista, said cheerfully. Lemme guess, the usual?"

"You know us too well." Akko replied happily. "Thanks Aaron."

"No problem."

Aaron turned around and began to get their orders ready as the two girls patiently waited by the register. Akko dug through her bag, looking for the small wallet she usually carried around with her when two coffees and two pastries were set in front of her.

"There you go girls. And it's already been paid for." Aaron smiled at the brunette who was looking back at him in confusion. "And I'm supposed to give you this." He leaned down and pulled something out from underneath the counter. A single red rose with an envelope attached to it by an elegant looking blue ribbon tied into a bow.

"That's...for me?" Akko asked the barista while she hesitantly reached out and grabbed the rose. Aaron only nodded in reply. "Oh...o-okay. Thanks." She said softly, picking up her coffee and pastry before walking toward where Amanda stood.

"What's that for?" The redhead inquired with a half full mouth as she had already bitten into her pastry.

"I'm not sure." The brunette replied absentmindedly as she sat down in a chair at an empty table. After she was able to set her coffee and pastry down, she immediately undid the bow and pulled the ribbon off of the flower and envelope, which she was now able to open. Akko pulled out the letter from within and unfolded it. The writing was a beautiful cursive. After admiring the elegant stationary and the perfect handwriting, she began to read to herself.

This is the place I first laid eyes on you, Atsuko Kagari. You were impossibly cute and I couldn't take my eyes off of you, as you probably noticed. 'I can pay for it' were the very first words I heard you speak, the voice of an angel coming to the aid of a girl who was having a terrible day, and instantly brightening her whole world.

The first reason why I love you, Akko, is the inherent generosity you show to friends and strangers alike.

It's what brought us together after all.

P.S.- Witnessing your legs in those little red shorts nearly killed me, and it would have been a sweet death.

Akko read the letter three times before looking up at Amanda in shock. She then turned in her chair and looked around the cafeteria, hopeful that she'd get a glimpse of that familiar beautiful blonde hair. Her heart was racing at the mere thought of seeing Diana again, being able to look into her beautiful blue eyes...

"She's not here, Akko." The redhead said before casually taking another bite of her pastry.

"What?" The brunette quickly turned back to her friend. "How do you know? Wait, how did you know to bring me here?"

"A little red birdie told me." Amanda shrugged, trying to keep her tone even, but she was secretly squealing inside like a little girl, though she would never admit it. She was told very little by Hannah about why she was supposed to bring Akko here, but the outcome did not disappoint. She would have her best friend back soon, the real one. Not the mopey annoying one.

"Oh." The brunette eyed her friend suspiciously before glancing over the letter again. She smiled and bit her lip. Maybe Diana really did want her in her life. Although she wasn't sure what the flower and letter meant, she would take anything at this point. She missed the blonde dearly and this gave her hope that maybe Diana really did want her in her life. Akko would give anything for that to be true.

Tuesday…

Akko laid on her bed staring at the letter she had gotten the day before, which was already wore out by the amount of times it had been folded and unfolded again. The brunette had probably read it a hundred times in the past twenty four hours. The sound of the door opening snapped her out of her trance and looking up, she found Lotte standing in the opening.

"Hey, Akko. We decided to go to Lucky's bar tonight for dinner, Jasminka doesn't feel like cooking." Lotte said in her usual soft voice. "Are you ready?"

"Since when does Jasminka not feel like cooking? Has that ever happened?" Akko asked with her eyebrows raised.

The orange haired girl only laughed nervously and shrugged before walking away out of view, leaving a very confused brunette girl behind her. But just then, Akko's stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten for a very long time. Two whole hours. So even though bar food wouldn't be her first choice, she decided to go along with her friends. She stood up and folded the worn paper before stuffing it in her pocket and leaving her room.

Upon arriving at their favorite bar, the group of six girls walked inside and headed toward their usual table. Akko and Amanda walked behind the other four talking about the upcoming game. It seemed to be all they could talk about lately now that the brunette was almost back to her excited self. But suddenly the group stopped and Akko ran into the back of Jasminka, nearly falling over backward from the contact.

"What the! Why did you guys stop?"

"I think you should see this, Akko." Sucy's dull voice came from the front of the group.

With her brows furrowed, she squeezed between her friends and came to a stop next to Sucy, now seeing what her purple haired friend was talking about. Her breath hitched when she saw a chair sitting in the middle of the isle in front of the group's usual booth. The chair was in the exact same place as it had been when Diana was sitting on it at Akko's celebration, the same as when the brunette had given the blonde an impromptu lap dance. To this day Akko blushes every time she thinks about it. What had gotten into her that night? She just felt so comfortable with the blonde, even from the beginning.

"Another rose." She whispered to herself. A rose with the same fancy blue ribbon and envelope sat on the chair in the isle.

"Well don't just stand there dummy, go get it." Sucy said, slightly raising her eyebrow at the unmoving brunette.

"Oh. Right." Akko shook her head and walked over to the chair and pick up the rose and letter. She undid the bow and retrieved the letter out of the envelope before beginning to read.

The moment I saw you in this bar, I was mesmerized by your beauty and your confidence. And little did I realize that I would also be spellbound by your charm. I was so envious of your ability to let loose and have fun. Especially when, in this very chair, you gave me something I never thought I would EVER receive. But if it had to happen, I'm very happy I got that lap dance from the girl I would eventually fall in love with.

The second reason why I love you, Akko, is your courage and ability to lose your inhibitions.

You gave me the courage to ask you to dance that night, and you taught me how to not take myself so seriously. You make me happier than I have ever been, Atsuko Kagari, and I will do everything in my power to return the favor.

When Akko was finished reading, she held the letter up to her heart and smiled to the point that her cheeks ached. She made Diana happier than she'd ever been? And Diana was going to try to make her happy? Which means that Akko was going to see her again, and it seemed like it was going to be soon. Akko could barely stand the suspense. Where was all of this going?

"Can you move now? I'd like to sit down." Sucy droned, snapping Akko back to reality.

"Oh! Uh...sorry." The brunette rubbed the back of her neck when she noticed her friends all staring at her. She moved to the side and looked away blushing slightly, missing the uncharacteristic mirthful smile on Sucy's face as she passed. Akko looked once more at the letter before taking worn paper out of her pocket and folded the two together before stuffing them back in. "Alright, food!" The brunette said excitedly, making her friend's look at each other happily before picking up their menus.

Wednesday…

"Ugh! Why do I have to use the barbecue? Do you want our house to burn down?" Akko whined as Jasminka shoved a tray of steak and chicken into her arms. "Why can't Constanze or Amanda do it."

"You are the only person who is currently free, Akko." Jasminka said in her usual happy tone. "And I need someone's help. Will you help me?" The pink haired girl did her best to attempt puppy dog eyes.

"Oh alright." Akko groaned. She could never say no to her friends when they needed help. "I'll be out back I guess." She sighed as she walked toward the back door, opening it awkwardly while trying not to drop the tray she held. Once outside, she turned toward where the barbecue stood in the corner of the patio but stopped immediately, almost dropping her tray at what she saw.

A red rose hung at eye level from a thin string, coming from one of the second floor windows she supposed. The sides of her lips shot up into a brilliant smile as she set the tray down on the table as fast as she could before untying the rose. With shaking hands, she freed the envelope and opened it, taking out the stationary. With a deep breath, she began reading the increasingly familiar handwriting.

In this very spot, you gave me the honor of becoming your girlfriend. Something I had dreamed of time and time again since we first met. Our first date was something that I will remember for as long as I live. And the memory of the dance and the intimate kiss we shared, has been playing over and over in my mind since the moment it happened.

The third reason why I love you, Akko, is that no one has ever made me feel as special as you did that night, to make me feel as loved. You made me feel as though I was the only person in the world you wanted to be with.

And I want to show you, Atsuko Kagari, that you are the only person in this world that I want to be with.

"Oh my god!" Akko squealed to herself giddily as she jumped up and down in joy. "I can't..." She trailed off, looking at the paper with a wide grin. "I just..." She couldn't think straight. She couldn't even finish a complete sentence. The amount of love in her heart was closer to spilling over with each of these letters. She looked back the door leading into the house and sure enough, five heads were visibly sticking out in the opening, obviously spying on her. When they were noticed, they disappeared back into the house and Akko ran after them. "Come on guys!" The brunette whined loudly. "Somebody has to tell me what's going on here!"

Thursday…

Akko, Amanda and Jasminka dragged themselves from the redheads car and into the house after an especially grueling practice. It was just one day until the first game of the tournament, which meant the Thursday's practice had been the longest of the week. Chariot and the team had gone over every play multiple times until everyone executed their roles perfectly. But if one thing could be said about that morning, is that the team was ready, and Akko and Amanda had never been so confident about there chances to win.

"I'm going to go and die now." Akko said tiredly as she dropped her bag by the front door and trudged up the stairs to her bedroom.

"Yeah, okay. Me too." Amanda waved weakly behind her, but instead of going to her room, she flopped down on the couch.

"I'm very hungry." Jasminka said in a pained tone as she made her way to the kitchen.

Akko made it to the top of the stairs and opened her door. She walked in with her eyes half closed, already prepared to fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows. But after she closed the door and took off her flip flops, she noticed a now familiar object laying on her bed. A bright red rose contrasted the black blanket that was haphazardly draped over the bed. She slowly made her way over and picked up the rose, but was surprised that this time, there was two envelopes attached, one reading: 'Read me first.' With a hum, she followed the directions and opened it.

A perfect ending to a perfect night. Skin on skin, your body against mine. I crave you, I crave your touch in every way. Wanting all of you, every second of every day. Giving myself to you, making you mine. If I could, I would stay in bed with you until the end of time.

The fourth reason why I love you, Akko, is you shared the most intimate side of yourself with me. You trusted me enough to do so. And to be honest, it was absolutely the best night of my life.

P.S.- I'm sorry I took down your picture of Chariot. It was a surprise to me, too, that I could be jealous of a picture. So in addition to this letter, I've included something to replace it in the second envelope.

Akko's eyes grew wide at the last sentence. She immediately tossed the letter onto her bed and picked up the other envelope, tearing into it with little care. What she pulled out was something she would have never expected. It was a picture of Diana in light blue lingerie, posing in almost the exact way Chariot had done in hers. If the brunette had been in cartoon world, her eyes would have ventured outside of her head and steam would have forcefully shot out of her ears.

"Oh dear lord." Akko breathed out as she stared at Diana's picture, salivating at the smooth exposed skin and delicate curves of the blonde's body. Her ears and cheeks burned a brighter red with every passing moment. The intimate photo also brought on a familiar warm feeling in her lower belly. She reluctantly put the picture down and took a deep breath and swallowed thickly before noticing another small paper that shared the envelope with the picture. She unfolded it and read.

If you dare show this to anyone, Atsuko Kagari, you will pay dearly.

Akko shivered at the thought of what Diana might do to make someone 'pay dearly'. And there was no way in hell she was ever going to let anyone see this picture. The brunette looked at it once more and smiled proudly. No one else saw this side of the blonde except her. This was for her eyes only. That body, was for her eyes only. She was the luckiest girl in the world.

Friday…

Akko stood at the center of the Luna Nova hockey field, facing a girl from the opposing team. The sun had gone down and the huge lights, set at each corner of the large grassy area, were blaring brightly. Something about playing under the lights gave the brunette a thrill. The atmosphere was different, the crowd seemed to cheer louder, and the game itself changed for her. And after the events of the past week, she was rejuvenated. She was the Akko everyone remembered her to be. The star hockey player, the energetic and unstoppable Atsuko Kagari, and proud captain of the Luna Nova women's hockey team. She was back.

The score had been close throughout the game, and right now, with only minutes to play, Akko's team was up by one point. The ball was placed on the ground by the referee in front of her. She took a look around at the stands full of people loudly cheering, scanning the bleachers for a certain blonde haired girl. Akko had hoped Diana would be there, but maybe it was hoping for too much. She wasn't even certain that the blonde had left London. Every time she picked up her phone to call or text Diana, she froze up. What was she supposed to say? She knew the roses meant something. She knew it was going somewhere at some point. But when and where? So Akko decided to be patient and let it take it's course. Instead of seeing the blonde, her eyes found her friends sitting in the front row, even Hannah and Barbara were there to cheer them on. Well, she was sure Hannah was there to cheer Amanda on, but even so, it made her happy to see them. Then her gaze landed on her Chariot, her coach. Rumors had spread quickly throughout the hockey world that Chariot had returned, and Akko had a suspicion that a lot of people showed up tonight just to see it for themselves. There were some signs being held up to prove it, which made the brunette giggle at the obvious embarrassment that donned her coaches face every time she saw one pop up.

"Are you ready?" A deep male voice said loudly to the two girls closest to him.

Akko gave a determined nod before his whistle blew. She knocked the ball back to Amanda and the game of cat and mouse began. The most important thing right now was to not let the other team steal the ball. They were up by a score and just needed to milk the time left. The brunette never liked that strategy, but she was afraid of what Chariot would do if she went against orders. Having Chariot as a coach was awesome, but the woman seemed to have adopted her former attitude along with her former hair color. And she was intimidating. No wonder she was one of the best in the world. Luna Nova easily kept the ball away from the opposing team long enough to ultimately win the game. The horn blew, signifying the end of the game and the crowd roared with joy, along with the girls on the field. The team met at the center of the field taking turns to hug each other before walking over to high five the girls from the opposite team, telling them all 'good game' in the process.

The stands began to empty and the noise faded away, allowing Chariot to call her usual post-game meeting on the field. The girls gathered around the coach who gave her usual praise and breakdown of things they were needing to work on before the next game. But something very different happened this time. Akko's eyebrows rose when she saw Croix out of the corner of her eye. The lilac haired woman was making her way to them with her hand behind her back. When she approached Chariot, she leaned over and whispered something into her ear. The older women turned around for a moment and exchanged something before turning around again, and this time, it was Chariot who had her hand behind her back. Akko and her teammates looked around at each other curiously, no one seeming to know what was going on.

"Well that's it for our meeting." Chariot finished before locking eyes with the brunette. "But I have something for Akko. Come here." The red haired woman gestured for Akko to come closer.

The brunette hesitantly made her way to where her coach stood and looked at her nervously. But Chariot only smiled warmly at her and pulled her hand out from behind her back. She was holding a rose attached to a letter. Akko let out a sigh of relief and happily took the rose out of her coaches hand. Doing the same as she had done all week, she immediately untied the bow and opened the envelope. She looked around a little nervously as her team and coach were all looking at her with mixed reactions of curiosity and happiness. She brought the letter closer to her face and read it silently.

The Luna Nova hockey field will forever hold a special place in my heart. Because this is the place where I fell head over heels in love with you, Akko. Never have I ever felt anything like I did when I was here with you. I never thought I'd meet someone who would completely turn my world upside down, but you did, in the best way possible.

The fifth reason why I love you, Akko, is because you changed me for the better. You brought out a better version of myself, someone I never thought I had inside of me.

Now we could go on and on about the reasons why I love you, because I can think of at least one hundred more, but I'm sure you wouldn't know what do with that many roses. So how about just a dozen more?

Turn around, Akko.

"Turn around?" Akko whispered. Suddenly her eyes grew wide in realization before spinning herself around in a flash.

Standing there in front of her was Diana holding a dozen red roses, grinning widely with her teeth showing. She cocked her head to the side and gave a small wave the shocked brunette. Akko's eyes scanned the blonde, taking in the immaculate suit she wore. She was gorgeous. No, stunning. No, those words couldn't possibly explain how Akko saw the blonde right now. When her eyes finally made their way back up to Diana's, she knew she had been caught staring. The blonde donned a smirk and arched her eyebrow knowingly. But Akko didn't care. Not this time. Diana was a sight for sore eyes, and it had been too long since the brunette was able to see the real thing. Akko rushed forward stopping just inches away from the smirking blonde. Azure eyes stared deeply into crimson ones for a long moment.

Diana opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by the brunette grabbing her tie and pulling her in. Akko took Diana in a deep kiss before letting the tie go and throwing her arms around the blondes neck, to which Diana followed suit, dropping the roses and wrapping her arms around the brunette at the waste, pulling her even closer. Clapping and cheering ensued, as a crowd had gathered around them, but to Akko and Diana, they were the only two people in the world. After a long, intimate kiss, they both pulled back and leaned their foreheads together as they gasped for breath.

"I missed you." Akko whispered, looking into Diana's eyes.

"I missed you too, Akko." Diana replied softly. "I will never put you through that again. I promise." She stared back with apologetic eyes. "I love you so much."

"Not as much as I love you." The brunette flashed her patented goofy smile.

"That's impossible." The blonde chuckled before taking Akko in a much softer kiss this time.

The brunette felt a tap on her shoulder to which she just slapped the hand away and continued kissing Diana. Again a tap on her shoulder came. Annoyed, she reluctantly pulled away from the blonde's lips and looked to the side, finding Amanda standing there.

"What? Can't you see I'm a little busy?" Akko's raised her eyebrows and jerked her head toward the blonde.

That's when she heard a man clear his throat behind her and Amanda pointed nervously. The brunette's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. She recognized that noise. She had heard it countless times before. Akko slowly let go of her girlfriend and turned around.

"Otousan? Okaasan?!" The brunette squeaked out, utterly horrified.

"Who?" Diana whispered as she leaned closer to Amanda.

"Her parents." The redhead replied quietly, making the blonde's breath hitch.

"Oh, shit."