Chapter 18
Bonjour
"I don't want to leave you though." Akko sat pouting on her bed as Diana was now re-packing the suitcase that the brunette had haphazardly packed only minutes before.
The blonde had been clutching the bed sheet tightly as she watched her girlfriend throw clothes into the bag without a care until she couldn't take it any longer. She had gotten up and pushed Akko to the side before dumping the contents of the suitcase out. The brunette watched with amusement as Diana began to neatly fold the clothes and set them in the bag.
"Akko, it's just a few days. I thought you'd be chomping at the bit to go to France for your game." The blonde looked up from the shirt she was folding with an arched eyebrow.
"Yeah, well, it'd be better if you we're coming with me." Akko stated softly, looking down sadly at her fidgeting fingers.
Diana couldn't help but smile, her heart filling with warmth at the sight of her pouting girlfriend. She felt the same, she didn't want to be away from Akko for any amount of time, but she couldn't let it show. She felt silly, it would only be a few days. But she had been gone earlier in the week and they only had a few days together, not enough time. Never enough time. Abandoning the clothes for now, Diana climbed onto the bed and pulled Akko down with her until they were both laying down. The blonde laid on her back and the brunette nuzzled into the crook of her neck. Akko slung her arm over Diana's stomach and sighed in content as the blonde ran her fingers through her hair softly.
"You know I'd be there if I could." The blonde cooed softly as she found solace in the warmth of her girlfriend half laying on her. "But I'm buried in paperwork right now."
"I know." Akko sighed again, this time in sadness. "I'm just really going to miss you."
"I'm going to miss you too, love." Diana replied and kissed Akko's forehead, feeling the warmth radiate from the blush on her girlfriend's cheek onto her collarbone at the nickname. The blonde smiled into the brunette's hair, inhaling the scent of the fruity shampoo.
They settled into a comfortable silence, enjoying the quiet sound of each other's relaxed breathing. As Diana continued to run her fingers through brunette locks of hair, Akko began tracing lazy circles into her girlfriend's stomach. They continued like this for a moment until the brunette's fingers traveled up and hit an especially ticklish area on the blonde's ribs, eliciting a very undignified snort from the usually very dignified CEO. Diana's eyes went wide at the sound that had escaped and she brought her hand up quickly to cover her mouth.
"Oh...my..." Akko started, but trailed off as she covered her own mouth to hide her silent laughter.
"No." Diana pointed her finger threateningly and glared at the girl in front of her, who was trying with everything she had, to hold back her amusement. But to the blonde's utter horror, her girlfriend couldn't hold it in.
"Are you...ticklish, my love?" Akko tilted her head, grinning mischievously at Diana as her hand hovered over the very spot that she had discovered before.
"Don't you dare." The blonde said through grit teeth as she unsuccessfully tried to swat her girlfriend's hand away. Akko was too quick, however, and attacked the area with full force.
"Akko st-" Diana tried to voice her defense before snorting once more while she laughed uncontrollably. She flailed wildly, her hands trying to grab the intruding hand, but again Akko evaded capture. The brunette moved her body to straddle Diana's hips and continued her attack with both hands now. With the attention on both sides of her ribs, the blonde's laughter grew louder, and the snorting increased. When she couldn't take it anymore, Diana tried to twist her body and wasn't paying attention to just how close Akko's face was, and her elbow made contact with the brunette's nose.
"Ah!" Akko recoiled and fell to Diana's side, the wrong side, she figured out, as she tumbled off of the bed and onto the floor.
"Oh my god. Akko!" The blonde jumped off of the bed as quickly as she could and knelt next to her girlfriend, hands hovering above Akko as she wasn't sure what to do. She bit her lip, half in worry and half in trying to hold back her laughter at the ridiculous situation.
The brunette was in a crumpled heap on the floor, both hands pressed to her face as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. After a few moments of silence, some noises finally escaped Akko. Diana wasn't sure at first if her girlfriend was crying or laughing. But when she noticed the brunette's shoulders shaking up and down quickly, she let out a sigh of relief. Akko's laughter became less muffled as she slowly uncovered her face and wiped the tears from her eyes before opening them and locking eyes with Diana, who was leaning over her.
"Well, that happened." The brunette said, breathless from her laughter. "I guess I deserved that."
Diana chuckled and leaned back on her heels before holding old a hand for Akko to take. The brunette took the offered hand and sat up, crossing her legs in the process.
"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" The blonde asked, not being able to hide the amusement in her voice. But her expression suddenly changed when she saw red liquid slowly leaking from her girlfriend's nose. "Akko your nose is bl-"
"Hey Akko, do you have any extra..."
Diana and Akko both turned their heads toward the door, seeing Amanda standing frozen in the doorway and looking at the bleeding brunette in shock.
"Holy shit, Cavendish. What did you do?"
"I...i-it was an acc-" Diana started, face full of horror.
"She elbowed me in the face." Akko nasally stated as she was plugging her nose with her fingers all the while smiling in amusement at her girlfriend who was now glaring daggers at her.
"Huh." Amanda nodded slowly. "So what stupid thing did you do this time?"
"Hey!" The brunette said defiantly and making the mistake of letting her nose go. The warm liquid began dripping again and she quickly leaned her head back before plugging it once more. "Can somebody get me a tissue or something?"
Amanda snickered and nodded before turning around and heading to the bathroom before returning a moment later with a box of tissues, which she tossed onto Akko's crossed legs. The brunette hastily felt around with her hand and pulled out the tissue sticking out and covered her nose with it.
"Well, I'm gonna use your shampoo. Just so you know. Not even gonna ask now. The moment's passed." The redhead stated as she left the room and closed the door.
Diana watched as the door closed, thinking for at least the twentieth time since she started dating Akko, that there were far too many people living with her girlfriend, and far too little privacy. She loved being here, she had grown to think of Amanda as that annoying sister to you loved despite how many times they would get under your skin, but being interrupted at embarrassing and inopportune moments had become the norm. And the blonde found herself imagining, not for the first time, her and Akko in their own place. Being alone together, being able to to do whatever they wanted in blissful silence, and a distinct lack of redheads. Although with their track record, Diana would no doubt have a hard time getting work done due to how much she and Akko enjoyed…
"Diana?"
The blonde blinked a few times as Akko was snapping her fingers in front of her face and calling her name. Snapping out of her daydream, she turned to her girlfriend and sighed when she saw a ball of bloody tissue in each of Akko's nostrils. She looked ridiculous.
"That's attractive." Diana said with a smirk.
"I know you think I'm sexy." The brunette replied as she moved to straddle the blonde's thighs, grinning mischievously as her girlfriend recoiled.
"If you bleed on me, I will leave."
"Aww, come on. Aren't you going to kiss it better?" Akko replied, the nasal tone of her voice still present as she wrapped her arms around Diana's neck and leaned closer.
"Does it still hurt?" The blonde asked in concern, or at least what sounded like concern.
"Nah, it's feels okay. Don't worry."
"Good." Diana replied before she brought her hand up and flicked the tip of Akko's nose.
"Ow! Hey, what was that for?" The brunette whined as she gingerly rubbed her nose.
"For selling me out to Amanda. We're even. Now take those things out so I can kiss you."
Akko smiled brightly and ripped the balls of tissue out of her nostrils before leaning in and taking Diana's lips in an eager kiss. It was slow and sweet, both girls putting off the coming goodbyes they were going to have to say soon by losing themselves in one another for just this moment. The blonde reluctantly pulled away after a long moment.
"You need to finish packing." She whispered as if in pain.
"I know." Akko replied in the same tone.
Neither girl moved immediately as they held each other, until a loud knocking came from the door.
"Yo, we're leaving in fifteen, Akko." Amanda voice came from the other side.
"Shit. Okay!" Akko yelled as she clumsily crawled off of her girlfriend's lap and began throwing things once more into her suitcase.
Diana's eye twitched with every unfolded item being thrown into the bag, before she turned away and decided it was best to ignore what was happening. Suddenly she got an idea to put off having to say goodbye.
"Hey, Akko. Can I drive you to the airport?"
The two girls spent the first part of the drive to the airport in silence. The only sound coming from the radio stations that Akko changed at a frustrating rate. Diana clenched her jaw and took a deep breath when the twentieth station didn't seem to have what the brunette was looking for.
"Is there a particular song you're looking for?" Diana inquired in an irritated tone. Her girlfriend failed to recognize said irritation.
"Nah." Akko simply stated as she again changed the station eliciting a sigh from the blonde. Suddenly the brunette clapped her hands together and yelled. "This! I love this song!" She turned the music up loudly making Diana wince.
"Is the volume necessary?" The blonde yelled over the booming bass.
"Yes!" Akko yelled back as she began to dance animatedly in her seat.
Diana slowed the car and stopped at a red light, glancing at the car to her right. An older couple looked over as they heard the loud bass and both shook their heads in obvious disapproval of the music and the dancing girl in the passenger seat of the black BMW. The blonde shrank just a bit in her own seat, wanting to disappear because of the embarrassment.
"Akko, people are looking at us!" Diana yelled in an attempt to calm her girlfriend, but was only met with a shrug and a smirk as the brunette seemed to dance even crazier now. This left the blonde suspicious that her girlfriend might be trying to embarrass her on purpose.
A black and yellow sports car pulled up on the other side of them. It was full of girls around their own age it seemed. Of the four, two girls were dancing just as animatedly as Akko was, both in the front. The driver was a well built girl with yellow hair, hair that resembled fire in a way. The yellow haired girl looked over with lilac eyes and winked when she noticed the blonde staring at them while they danced. Diana immediately turned her head and looked forward with a blush, but Akko rolled down her window and waved at the girl, much to the blonde's dismay. Now that the window was down, it was apparent that both cars were playing the same song. Diana chanced another glance to her left and saw the other dancing girl in the car's passenger seat, a smaller girl with short dark brown hair and red tips with sparkling silver eyes. She waved back at Akko happily as all three of them began to sing loudly when the chorus started. The blonde's gaze moved to the two girls in the back seat, who were faring about as well as Diana was. The one with unique, but beautiful white flowing hair was pinching the bridge of her nose in annoyance, while the other girl with black hair and a large black bow held a book up over her face, no doubt shielding her face from the world in embarrassment.
The light turned green and with an exaggerated salute in Diana's direction, the yellow haired girl mashed the gas and sped away, the smaller silver eyed girl in the passenger seat was looking back at the embarrassed girls behind her and laughed cheerfully at their expense. The blonde's BMW slowly accelerated as the song ended and Akko turned the volume down as the next song began.
"They seemed fun." The brunette said happily as they watched the black and yellow car disappear in the distance.
"They were...something." Diana replied hesitantly.
"Oh come on Diana, you should have dance with us! Where's the lap dance girl from the other night? You're never gonna see these people again anyway."
"You don't know that."
"Yooou knoow yooou waaant toooo." Akko sang, but when her girlfriend didn't respond, the brunette crossed her arms and huffed. She sat silently for a few moments, devising a plan. When her eyes locked onto Diana's phone, she became curious at what kind of music was on there. She honestly didn't know what kind of music the blonde even enjoyed. She reached out and grabbed Diana's phone and swiped it open.
"What on earth are you doing?" The blonde exclaimed as she tried to grab the phone out of her girlfriend's clutches without running the car off the road.
"Relax, I'm just looking through your music." Akko said as she giggled, now turned away from Diana.
The brunette began scrolling through the huge list of songs, ranging from rock to opera to hip hop to pop. Every genre Akko could imagine was on this phone. But one song stood out among the rest. The brunette's eyes went wide as she turned slowly to face her girlfriend.
"What?" Diana asked with furrowed eyebrows.
Akko only giggled in response as she connected the phone to the radio and clicked on the chosen song. When laughing came from the speakers, Diana cringed internally.
"Oh God." The blonde face palmed as her girlfriend began singing along.
Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want
"You listen to the Spice Girls!" Akko gleefully shouted and doubled over in laughter before she continued to sing.
I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)
I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah
"It was a phase." Diana groaned loudly as the girl next to her continued to laugh. Akko was apparently no stranger to the song as she knew every word. And although she was sure she was being teased for her younger self's music taste, the blonde couldn't help but smile warmly at the antics of her girlfriend.
"I would have liked to meet the Diana during that phase." Akko smirked as Diana just rolled her eyes at that. The brunette then leaned over as close as she could to the blonde. "I know you know the words."
Diana looked away as the chorus began and sighed. Of course she knew the words. She was ashamed to admit that she knew every single word to this song. She began mouthing the words and bobbing her head when the temptation was too strong. Akko smiled brilliantly when she noticed the change and the blonde pushed her away playfully before she began to actually sing along with the brunette. How did Akko always do this to her? Why was it so easy to lose her inhibitions around this girl? It was as if Akko was the source of an addiction, a drug that allowed her to feel free. She couldn't get enough, and she never never wanted this high to end.
Before she knew it, Diana, CEO of Cavendish Medical, was dancing and laughing with her girlfriend as she drove. It was just the two of them now without a care in the world. In the moments before her favorite part of the song, she took the time to look over at Akko and smiled when she saw the brunette's small pony tail bobbing from side to side as she danced. The blonde took a deep breath when the moment came.
So, here's a story from A to Z
You wanna get with me, you gotta listen carefully
Akko's head turned so fast she could have given herself whiplash and her jaw dropped at the sight of her usually poised and reserved girlfriend rapping along with the freestyle portion of the song without missing as much as a single word.
We got Em in the place who likes it in your face
You got G like MC who likes it on a
Easy V doesn't come for free, she's a real lady
And as for me, ha you'll see.
Diana had noticed her girlfriend staring at her in shock. She might have been a little more animated than usual because of her audience, and decided to wink at the brunette on the last line. Akko giggled uncontrollably as the blonde chuckled and continued to sing.
If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends
Make it last forever, friendship never ends
As the song was nearing the end, neither girl was able to sing through their uncontrollable laughter. Diana had tears forming in her eyes from laughter for the first time in a long, long time. Akko was holding her stomach and gasping for breath as the music died out for just a few seconds before a slow song came through the speakers. She reached out and turned the volume down before speaking.
"It's official, you're as much of a dork as I am."
"I don't believe I'm quite at your level of dork, Akko." Diana smirked.
"Hey!" Akko huffed and crossed her arms in a pout, but couldn't get herself to erase the goofy smile that was now a permanent fixture on her face.
The BMW pulled up to the curb at the airport terminal and stopped. Akko saw a couple of her teammates walking through the doors, and saw more just inside in a big group. Chariot stood with them, clipboard in hand. As excited as she was to go to France, she found herself not wanting to get out of the car. She felt a hand take her own and looked over to see Diana bring the hand to her lips and kiss the knuckles softly. The sensation nearly melted the brunette's heart, the warmth and adoration in the eyes looking back at her made getting out of the car a hundred times harder.
"You're going to be late." Diana said as she pulled Akko's hand away from her lips.
"Yeah, I should probably go." The brunette replied, but she didn't move. Her girlfriend raised an eyebrow at her in amusement before laughing softly.
"You're going to have a great time, Akko. I'll be right here when you get back." Diana gently grabbed Akko's chin and tugged until the brunette was now facing her. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Akko said softly before leaning in placing a chaste kiss on her girlfriend's lips.
"Now go before Chariot yells at me for keeping you."
The brunette giggled and nodded as she opened the door and slid out. She grabbed her bags from the backseat and waved at Diana before walking through the automatic doors into the airport to join her team.
"Hey, there's our brave captain! Thought you were gonna miss the flight because you wouldn't be able to stop making out with Cavendish."
"Amandaaa!" Akko whined as she approached the team and put her bags down. "We weren't making out."
"Uh huh. Sure." Amanda smirked.
That was when she noticed the knowing looks from all of her teammates who she had not seen since the party. This was going to be a long weekend.
Later that night, Diana sat at her desk buried in a mountain of paperwork. She answered emails, reviewed reports, and signed documents, all the work she'd been putting off since she returned from Germany. After clicking send on yet another email from one of her board members, she leaned back in her chair and tried rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes while letting out a long sigh. She then heard her bedroom door open softly behind her and turned to see Hannah entering the room with a teacup in each hand.
"I thought you could use a little pick me up."
"Yes. Thank you, Hannah. I really appreciate it." Diana said tiredly as she took the teacup and saucer from her friend.
"That bad huh? You sound like about to fall asleep." Hannah smiled and sat down on the blonde's bed with her own tea and crossed her legs.
"The work is not overly complicated, just tedious." Diana took a long sip of her tea and hummed in approval before continuing. "And I'm finding it hard to focus on anything at the moment."
"Anything but Akko you mean?" The auburn haired girl smirked, eyes full of mirth over the top of her cup as she took a sip.
"Actually, yes. She seems to be the only thing on my mind these days."
"Oh." Hannah wasn't expecting such an honest answer. Either Diana was very tired, or she was finally opening up. She hoped it was the latter. "You already miss her that much, huh? You know it hasn't even been a day right?" Hannah joked, trying to keep the mood light.
"Really?" Diana replied flatly with her eyebrows raised. "You've been moping around all day since Amanda left."
Hannah opened her mouth to reply but couldn't find the words. Had it really been that noticeable? In the end, she just sighed before she spoke softly.
"We've got it pretty bad for those dunces don't we."
"Yes. We do." Diana chuckled and took another sip of her tea before silence fell over them for what seemed like a long time.
"Why don't we go to France?" Hannah said suddenly and smiled hopefully at her friend who looked back at her in surprise.
"What?"
"We could surprise them! That's like, your thing right?"
"Hannah," Diana chuckled in exasperation as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm afraid I have too much work to complete. And I doubt we could get there before their game anyway."
"Don't you have a private jet now?" Hannah asked with a tilt of her head.
"...Yes, but-"
"And you have a laptop. You could do your work while we're traveling."
Diana stared at her friend in contemplation as she leaned back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other. She'd be lying if she said she hadn't thought about going to France, especially after the surprisingly sad goodbyes she and Akko had shared at the airport. But it seemed her friend had grown just as attached to Amanda as she was to Akko. Hannah stared back at her, the hopeful expression on her face never faltered.
"What about Barb? We can't just leave her here." Diana wasn't sure why she was pretending to fight this, she had already made up her mind.
"Oh, she's going on a date tomorrow."
"A date?" The blonde's eyebrows shot up. "With who?"
"Jenni-" Hannah slapped her hand over her mouth at the slip up.
"Jennifer?" Diana eyes went wide. "I didn't know she was..." She trailed off and remembered the party, how Barbara couldn't seem to stop gushing about Jennifer. "Why didn't she tell me?"
"I don't think she's particularly comfortable with herself enough yet. She wanted to see how this went before she told you." Hannah shrugged, guilt present in her voice.
"I see. Well, I can wait until she's ready." Diana's thoughtful expression turned into amusement. "And it's a good thing we'll be gone tomorrow to give them a little alone time."
Hannah looked up quickly.
"Does that mean we're going to France?!" She all but screamed.
"Why not?" Diana shrugged nonchalantly.
The auburn haired girl jumped off of the bed and slammed into the blonde in a bone crushing hug, almost tipping the chair over.
Chariot sat alone in the coach's office in the lavish locker room of the stadium usually reserved for the French National hockey team, her former team. These quarters held some of the best and worst memories of her entire life. The last time she was in this very room, she was sitting on the other side of the desk, telling her coach that she was quitting the team, quitting the sport all together. She was humiliated and furious and her outburst was heard by anyone in the vicinity. She had hurt a lot of people that day. She was now on the other side of that desk, lost in the memories, and terrified of walking out onto that field and facing the woman who had ruined her career. And who she believed ruined her life until an overly energetic brunette came into her life and convinced her that her life was not over. She was thankful for what Akko did, of course, but becoming Chariot again was one of the scariest things she's ever had to deal with. She looked down at the papers in front of her and tried to lose herself in plays and strategy before she completely broke down.
'Knock knock'
Chariot looked up to the door and saw her fiance poking her head in hesitantly. When the redhead smiled and looked somewhat relieved, the woman entered fully and closed the door behind her.
"Hello, beautiful. How are you feeling?" Croix asked as she sat down in one of the chairs on the other side of the desk.
"I feel like crying. And like I'm going to be sick. Other than that I'm fine." Chariot joked, well, it was true, but she needed to put on a brave face. Of course the lilac haired woman in front of her would see right through mask like she always had a knack for.
"Do you want me to punch her in the face?" Croix's face was completely serious but Chariot couldn't help but laugh and ball up a spare piece of paper to throw at her fiance.
"As much as I'd love to see that, I don't think that would end well for you. But thank you for the offer." The redhead smiled warmly at the woman in front of her. Just having Croix here with her relaxed her immensely. "I wish you could be next to me on the field. I'm not as nervous with you around."
"I'll be on the first row. I may not be on the field with you, but I'll be behind you, supporting you the whole time." Croix reached across the desk and squeezed Chariot's hand in reassurance. "And if that bitch tries anything, I will be the first over the wall to help you kick her ass."
The redhead sighed and bowed her head.
"How do you go from loving and supportive fiance to angry teenager so quickly, Croix?"
"It's a gift. What can I say?" Croix leaned back and winked at Chariot when she looked up, unimpressed. "You'll be fine, Chariot. You have a bunch of great kids behind you. You'll have me behind you."
Chariot smiled again and was about to speak before an alarm sounded from her phone. She picked it up and dismissed the notification and stood up.
"I guess it's time." The redhead said with a deep breath and walked around the desk and enveloped Croix in a hug after she stood up as well. "Thank you, Croix."
"It was nothing, my love. You and your team are going to do great."
After a nod and a quick kiss, Chariot exited the coach's office and made her way to where her team gathered. The redhead smiled when she caught the last half of an inspiring speech from the team captain. Akko always did have a flair for the dramatic, and in many ways reminded her of herself. This girl was going places.
"Alright ladies! Let's go kick some ass, shall we?" Chariot yelled, surprising the team who hadn't known she was standing there. She was met with loud cheers and shuffling of feet as the team began to clear out of the locker room into the hallway leading to the field. The older redhead followed.
Once on the field, the team split up into groups. They did various stretches and warm up drills, simply keeping active until the game started. The referees made their way to the middle of the field and one blew a whistle, urging the coaches and captains to meet as per the rules. Akko and Chariot were the first to arrive and introduced themselves to the referees before noticing a woman and a girl walking up to them, clearly taking their sweet time. The coach of the French team had a smug look on her face as they stopped in front of the group.
"Well well well. I didn't think I'd ever see the day you'd show your face here again, Chariot."
"Hello, Gabriel." Chariot greeted irritably, narrowing her eyes ever so slightly. "So nice to see you again."
"I wish I could say the same." Gabriel waved dismissively and turned her attention to the referees.
Chariot balled her hands into fists at her sides. Akko was confused at the exchange but when she notice her coach go rigid, she put a hand on the older redhead's shoulder and smiled.
"We got you coach. Don't worry." The brunette said confidently.
Chariot relaxed a bit with action, enough that she was able to listen to what they were being told by the officials.
After reassuring her coach, Akko turned her attention to the captain of the other team who was standing in front of her. She was slightly taller than Akko with long blonde hair pulled back in to a ponytail, her bangs held back with a headband. This girl was just staring at her. Staring at her very intensely in fact. The brunette shifted uncomfortably on her feet and looked away, hoping that her disinterest was enough to bore the girl enough to focus her attention on something else. But as she tried to focus on meeting that was happening between their coaches and the refs, she could feel the girl's gaze on her. Was this an intimidation thing? 'Maybe I should just introduce myself and act friendly. Show that I'm not intimidated.' She debated internally as the meeting ended and the referees walked away.
"Good luck, Chariot. You're going to need it." Gabriel said and without a handshake or another word, she turned and walked toward the French team's sideline.
Chariot turned away and mumbled angrily under her breath, leaving Akko and the other team's captain alone in the middle of the field.
"Well that was interesting. Huh?" Akko laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Indeed." The girl spoke for the first time, although Akko doubted the girl was even paying attention to the tension between their coaches at all.
"I'm...uh...Akko. Akko Kagari." The brunette held out her hand for the other girl to take.
The blonde girl in front of her looked down at the hand for just a moment before locking eyes with Akko once more.
"Claudine." She stated simply as she reached out and shook Akko's hand. "It's certainly a pleasure to meet you, Akko. You have quite the reputation."
"A...a reputation?" The brunette asked, voice an octave higher as she noticed the handshake lasting a bit longer than normal.
"Although I can already see that part of that reputation is well deserved," Claudine smirked as she gave Akko's body a once over, making the brunette visibly gulp. "I am looking forward to finding out if the rest is deserved as well."
"Y-yeah, I...uh...yeah. G-good luck." Akko pulled her hand away forcefully and turned around as quickly as she could. It took everything she had to not sprint away from this girl as fast as she could. She made the mistake of looking back as she walked and saw that Claudine was still watching her with that same cocky smile. The brunette jerked her head forward again and walked a little more quickly to the bench.
A sleek black limo slowed to a stop in front of the stadium. The many people walking toward the entrance paused in curiosity, wondering who could possibly be arriving to a hockey game in a limo. A well dress limo driver exited the vehicle and walked around to open the door for the occupants in the back. First an auburn haired girl slid out, followed by a tall blonde.
"I can't believe you convinced me to take a limo." Diana grumbled to her friend as she looked around at all the staring people.
"It was a great idea. Let's go." Hannah linked their arms and led the blonde toward the gate leading into the stadium. She waved and smiled at the people staring at them curiously, loving the attention the limo brought.
They found some open seats down toward the Luna Nova bench and sat, waiting to see the teams come out. Both girls had their phones out, Diana checking emails for work, and Hannah checking one of her social media accounts. The blonde was so wrapped up in replying to an email to notice that someone had sat down right next to her. She pressed send and leaned to the side to put her phone back in her pocket when her shoulder bumped the person next to her.
"Oh! My...apologies." Diana stared at the older Japanese woman next to her. 'Oh god.' She thought when she saw that familiar mischievous smile. "Hello, Mrs. Kagari. This is...a surprise. Akko didn't tell me you'd be here."
"Hello, Diana. Nice to see you again as well." Akemi arched an eyebrow at the blonde.
"Oh. I-I wasn't intending to be rude. O-of course it's very nice to see you again." Diana nervously sputtered out. She internally slapped herself for letting this small woman make her so nervous.
"Oh relax, I'm just teasing you." Akemi chuckled in amusement before continuing. "We weren't sure if we were going to make it so we waited until this morning to tell her. But she did not mention that you would be attending. Are you trying to avoid your future in-laws, Diana?"
The blonde opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to speak. But luckily, or unluckily, Hannah was there next to her listening to this whole conversation and watching her acting like a complete fool.
"Did she just say future in-laws?" The auburn haired girl looked at Diana in complete surprise. "Is there something you need to tell me, Diana?"
"Hannah..." The blonde pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head in utter defeat. She wasn't prepared to deal with this today.
"Oh, does that mean you're Akko's parents?" Hannah asked, leaning over to see the older man and woman.
"Yes, Hannah, this is Akemi and Haruto Kagari." Diana introduced them without much enthusiasm.
"And you're future in-" Hannah began, grinning in amusement.
"And," The blonde cut her friend off loudly and turned to Akko's parents. "This is Hannah England, one of my closest friends."
"Ooh, can I be your maid of honor, Diana?" Hannah suddenly squeaked out happily.
"Oh for the love of..." Diana clenched her jaw and breathed deeply through her nose. "No one is getting married, Hannah."
"Yet." Akemi mumbled next to the blonde, making said blonde bury her face in her hands.
"Stop teasing the girl, Akemi." Haruto spoke for the first time since they sat down. Although he was telling his wife to stop, the tone in which he said it gave away that the banter had been entertaining him.
"Oh, here they come!" Hannah said as she tapped Diana on the shoulder.
The blonde uncovered her face and saw the girls in familiar red and white uniforms run onto the field. She was filled with relief that the three people sitting with her now had something else to focus their attention on. Akko was the last player to run onto the field followed by Chariot. Diana's eyes never left her girlfriend as she stretched and warmed up. A referee blew a whistle at midfield and Akko stopped what she was doing and joined Chariot for some sort of meeting. And even from where the four of them sat, Diana could tell that there was tension between the coaches. But what caught the blonde's eye was the player from the other team looking Akko up and down as the coaches talked. Looking at her girlfriend. Diana leaned forward and clenched the seat below her tightly with her fingers. She watch the scene closely. She could see Akko shift on her feet and concluded that the girl was making her uncomfortable. She didn't know if she should be relieved that Akko wasn't liking the attention, or angry that this brash girl was making the brunette uncomfortable. When the referees and coaches dispersed, Diana noticed that Akko was beginning to talk to the girl and held out her hand, and the Diana allowed a small smile to replace to glare. Of course Akko would be kind, she was kind to everyone. Even a rival. But when the girl took the brunette's hand and looked her up and down once more, the glare returned. She wanted to yell something, to jump over the wall and punch that girl in the face.
Suddenly Diana felt an a hand on her shoulder and looked to her left. Akemi was glaring daggers at the girl shaking Akko's hand for too long on the field as well. Diana wasn't sure if the hand on her shoulder was for her comfort or Akemi's. But the blonde knew one thing. She never wanted to be on the other side of that glare. When she looked back to the field, Akko had turned and began to walk away quickly, all the while the blonde on the field watched her go with a smug smile. The nerve of that girl.
Akko quickly walked toward where her team was huddled on the sideline when her eyes wandered up to the large crowd behind their bench. She stopped in her tracks when she saw four familiar faces, two she wasn't expecting. A large smile grew on her face and she waved at them excitedly but only her father waved back. Her smile turned into a frown and she furrowed her brows when she noticed that the three women looked very unhappy. They were all glaring...at her? Why would they…? Akko turned around and saw Claudine walking back to her own sideline, swaying her hips as she went.
"Oooh. Well, shit." She mumbled to herself. She was going to have fun explaining that to her girlfriend later. Her girlfriend. Diana was here. She turned back around and locked eyes with the blonde, who had snapped out of the turmoil she must have been feeling and was now smiling warmly. Akko waved excitedly again and this time, Diana reciprocated. The brunette began walking again and joined the huddle.
After a short meeting, the players all took the field in their positions. Akko and Amanda shared their pregame ritual of the complicated secret handshake and split off. The brunette walked to midfield where Claudine was waiting for her. Of course it'd be her she'd be facing off with. Time to wipe that smug smile off of her face.
"We meet again, miss Kagari." Claudine smirked and nodded to the referee when he placed the ball in front of her and turned back to Akko with an arched brow. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah, let's do this."