Hello! So this chapter is VERY short. Yikes. But it wasn't planned and just kinda happened so here you go. Lol

But hey! Next week is the FINAL chapter y'all! Can you believe it? CAN YOU?! I can't. I'm not sure which day I'm going to be able to post it due to the holidays but it will be up by the end of next week and this crazy fic is going to be over!

Thank you again for your unbelievable support and I love every single one of you! And happy holidays to all you amazing people!

Enjoy and see you next week!

Chapter 27

Past and Future

"Fiance. Fiance. Fiance." Akko repeated animatedly, bouncing on her heels as she scooped a ball of ice cream out of the carton and dropped it into one of the two glass bowls on the counter.

Once the bowls were full, The brunette picked them up and turned to see her fiance smiling at her in loving amusement from the couch, waiting for her return. Akko smiled back sheepishly before walking toward the sofa, stepping over the clothes that were haphazardly thrown onto the floor an hour before in the midst of their passionate display of affection for one another. Neither girl put much effort in getting dressed afterward, both now only wearing a t-shirt and underwear as they settled in to watch Diana's favorite cheesy romantic comedy. Akko had suggested the ice cream to celebrate their engagement, of course. The brunette handed a bowl to the blonde and sat beside her, both girls leaning back into the soft cushions and resting their feet on the coffee table in front of them, legs overlapping each other as they huddled as close together as possible while they ate.

"Atsuko Cavendish. Akko Cavendish. Akko...Kagari-Cavendish?" Akko mumbled, her brows furrowed as she stared up at the television. "Akko Cavendish-Kagari."

"Akko." Diana chuckled in amusement as she listened to her fiance's musings.

"What? This is important stuff, Diana!" The brunette stared back at her in exasperation.

"I think we have a bit of time to figure these things out, love." The blonde replied softly before reaching over and stealing a spoonful of Akko's ice cream, quickly putting it in her mouth before the brunette could protest.

"Hey!" Akko scowled at the ice cream thief next to her, who stuck her tongue out playfully in return. The brunette couldn't help the surprised laugh that had bubbled up at the playful taunt from her always dignified fiance. "Unbelievable." Akko giggled and nudged Diana's arm playfully with her elbow. "I'm starting to think I've been a bad influence on you."

"Mmm." The blonde swallowed a mouthful of ice cream while nodding her head slowly. "The worst influence." She agreed with a smirk, making Akko jut her lip out in a pout.

"Who even are you?" The brunette narrowed her eyes at her fiance as she scooped up the last spoonful of ice cream and put it in her mouth before she leaned forward and set the empty bowl on the coffee table.

"I, my dear," Diana started as she placed her own empty bowl on the table before leaning back, sinking further into the couch and resting her head on Akko's shoulder. "am one who is hopelessly in love with you, and very grateful for your terrible influence. Because I am who I want to be when I'm with you." The blonde said almost absentmindedly as she lifted her hand to inspect her new ring for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour. She closed her eyes and smiled when she felt soft lips leave a lingering kiss on her forehead. She then remembered a question that had been stuck in the back of her mind since Akko had proposed. "Hey Akko?"

"Hmm?"

"If I may ask, how long have you had this ring?"

"Oh. Um..." The brunette rubbed the back of her neck and laughed nervously. "Just a couple...months."

"Months?" Diana sat up quickly to stare at her fiance in surprise.

"Yeah..." Akko's face darkened the slightest bit with a blush before she cleared her throat and trained her gaze on the television once more. "So uh...h-how long have you had my ring for?" She chanced a quick glance to the side at the blonde still looking at her with raised eyebrows.

"Well, I purchased it a week before your graduation, although I had been thinking about purchasing one for quite a bit longer if I'm being honest." Diana took Akko's hand and smiled proudly at the pristine ring. "And then I finally summoned the courage to ask for your parent's blessing."

"You...asked for my parent's blessing?" The brunette mumbled before her eyes widened in some sort of realization. "Oh my god, was I supposed to ask your aunt for her blessing? Is that how it works? I don't know how all of this works, Diana! What if she hates me now? I mean, more than she already does. That would totally summf..."

Akko was silenced by lips crashing into her own, effectively snuffing out the anxiety that had built up so quickly. The brunette's body seemed to melt in Diana's embrace, making the blonde grin into the kiss before she pulled away and waited until Akko's eyelids fluttered open in a daze.

"Akko, I honestly don't give a damn about what my aunt thinks about us. So please, stop worrying." Diana placed a hand on both sides of the brunette's face in an attempt get her next point across. "I know for a fact that my mother would have loved you. And she would wholeheartedly approve of us getting married."

Akko stared in awe at her fiance's sincere words. The blonde didn't talk about her mother hardly at all, and Akko didn't dare push the subject normally. But the way Diana's voice cracked ever so slightly, the way her tone was meant to be comforting but was tinged with a distinct feeling of sadness made the brunette's heart break slightly. She suddenly felt guilty at the fact that her own parents were going to see their daughter get married, and Diana's parents hadn't even lived long enough to see her get through primary school. Akko wanted so badly to talk to her fiance's mother. To the woman who Diana strove to be like every day, the woman who would be so proud of who her daughter had become.

"Diana..." The brunette hesitated as she pulled the blonde's hands off of her face and held them within her own, earning a confused look from Diana. "How often do you...talk to your mother?" Akko's gaze meeting the blonde's suddenly surprised expression.

"Akko I...I'm afraid I'm not sure what you mean."

"Like do you ever just..." The brunette worried her lip for a moment. "...go to your mother's grave and talk to her?"

Diana bowed her head immediately, her hair falling over her face, blocking her expression from Akko's view. The brunette waited for a reply in silence for a long moment before the blonde ran her fingers through her hair and tucked a stray lock behind her ear as she sighed deeply.

"It's been a while since I've visited her." Diana said softly, still avoiding eye contact with her fiance. Her shoulders slumped as she began to pick absentmindedly at the cushion below her.

"Will you take me there? I'd like to talk to her." Akko's voice was soft, but full of determination.

The blonde stilled for a moment before looking up at her fiance with pained eyes. She had always been somewhat berated by her remaining family when she would want to talk to her mother. They told her it was pointless, that her mother could not hear her. Diana eventually stopped talking when she visited her mother's grave, it being only an occasion to sit in silence and curse whatever higher being it was that took the only person she ever loved away from her.

"...Why?"

"I can't tell you silly." Akko flashed a lopsided smile, hoping to lighten her fiance's mood. "That's between me and your mom." The brunette crossed her arms in playful defiance, making Diana chuckle quietly. "Now there's that smile I fell in love with." Akko cooed softly as she reached up and caressed the blonde's cheek, who in turn leaned into the contact and closed her eyes. "Speaking of moms...should we call mine?" The brunette bounced up in down before leaning over the couch to find her phone that had been discarded somewhere on the floor earlier along with her pants.

"Akko, it's very late." Diana replied as she searched for her own phone.

"Believe me, Diana. She'll be angrier if I didn't wake her up to tell her this."

"But..." The blonde furrowed her brows for a moment until she shrugged and nodded in agreement. "That seems...very plausible."

"Ah ha!" Akko shouted in victory as she found her phone under the coffee table. After crawling back onto the couch, she swiped the screen and the phone lit up. She scrolled through her contacts until she found her mother's number and pressed the call button before turning the speaker on. The girls waited nervously, Diana scooting closer and taking Akko's hand in her own, interlocking their fingers in the process. Finally, just when the pair thought no one would answer, the ringing stopped and quiet murmurs could be heard on the other side.

"Uh...mom?" Akko spoke hesitantly into her phone, flicking a confused glance in Diana's direction.

"Akko! Akko are you alright? Why are you calling so late?"

The brunette winced at the volume of her panicked mother's voice, holding the phone a bit farther away than she had before.

"No! I'm fine mom!" Akko spoke a little louder to stop her mother's frantic ramblings. "Diana and I have some news for you." Silence filled the air for a moment, a rare moment coming from her mother so the brunette took advantage and continued. "We're engaged!"

This time Akko held her phone out at arms length as the screaming now coming from the speaker would be enough to shatter her eardrums. The brunette laughed out loud at her mother's reaction, Diana burying her face in the back of Akko's shoulder to stifle her own laughter. They both could hear Akemi shouting at her husband, and although it was muffled at this point, they could pick out phrases like 'my baby!' and 'HARUTO!' and 'it finally happened!'. Growing impatient, Akko began yelling into the phone to recapture her mom's attention. It took a good couple minutes, but the older woman finally calmed down enough that she could hold a conversation once more.

"Oh Akko, I'm so happy for you sweetie!" Akemi exclaimed joyfully.

"Thanks m-" Akko began.

"What took Diana so long?" The woman continued, cutting her daughter off in the process.

"Uh..." The brunette opened and closed her mouth a few times as she watched Diana roll her eyes so hard they were in danger of rolling right out of her head. "Okaasan you can't just ask something like that!" Akko whispered loudly into the phone, chastising her mother.

"Oooh. Is she listening?" Akemi whispered back. "Hello, Diana!" The woman continued at her regular volume, voice sweet and innocent. "We are so happy for you as well, dear. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Akemi." Diana replied flatly, smiling at her fiance who had her face buried in her hand.

"So have you talked about kids yet?" Akemi asked slyly.

"Oh my god! Hanging up now!" Akko yelled in horror before quickly ending the call. She tossed the phone onto the carpet and groaned as she slumped back into the cushions of the couch. "Why is my mom...the way that she is?"

"That...is a good question." Diana said as she softly chuckled and pulled her fiance back up to a sitting position by the arm. "Let's head to bed."

"But I'm not tiiiired." The brunette whined as she let the blonde pull her up off the couch.

Diana smiled mischievously and wrapped Akko up in her arms from behind. She slowly leaned in until her lips ghosted over the brunette's ear.

"Who said anything about sleeping?" The blonde said seductively before nipping at her fiance's earlobe and turned to walk away after feeling Akko shiver in her embrace. Diana grinned to herself as she walked, waiting for the brunette to come out of her daze enough to chase after her. It didn't take long before she heard the brunette moving toward her, moving very quickly toward her. Before she even saw the blur that was Akko, the brunette had hoisted Diana onto her shoulder so quickly that the blonde had absolutely no time to fight back.

"Akko!" Diana managed to get out between snorts of laughter as her fiance carried her down the hallway quickly. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm going to make love to my fiance!" Akko shouted proudly, pumping her fist into the air. She then heard her fiance audibly face palm behind her back.

"You...are such dork."

"I...am your dork."

"Akko do not throw me onto that bed."

"Or what? Hmm?

"Akko..."

"Yeet!"

Two Weeks Later…

Diana stared somberly out the window at the fields of green passing by slowly. The familiar sight burned into her memory by the countless times she had taken this trip before. Today was different, though. Today she had a source of comfort in the girl beside her. The hand she was holding was the anchor holding her in place, preventing her from drifting away into the waves of dark thoughts that threatened to drown her whenever she caught sight of the archway entrance to the cemetery grounds. The feeling of lips placing kisses on her knuckles snapped her back to reality as the car began to slow.

"I think we're here." Akko whispered, sleepy from the long drive.

Diana nodded once and smiled reassuringly at her fiance as the car stopped completely. The driver got out first and opened Diana's door, then Akko's. After thanking him, the pair began walking silently down the stone pathway hand in hand. The walk didn't take very long as the cemetery wasn't overly large and the Cavendish family rested at the very center. The blonde stopped in her tracks when her mother's grave came into view. As she stared at it, Akko looked at her curiously until Diana nodded toward the gravestone. The brunette followed with her gaze until she saw it, the resting place of Bernadette Cavendish. Akko swallowed nervously as she looked back to her fiance and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I'll just be a minute." The brunette raised up onto her tiptoes to kiss Diana softly on the cheek before walking toward the gravestone.

The blonde took a seat on one of the many stone benches placed throughout the cemetery, far enough away from Akko to not intrude, but apparently still close enough to hear her words due to the complete silence surrounding them.

Akko sat cross legged on the grass in front of the simple but elegant marble and read the words etched into it before taking a deep shaky breath. She thought with the amount of times she had visited Olivia's grave that she'd be use to this, but this was Diana's mom. This held a weight much heavier than chatting with an old friend.

"Hi Ms. Cavendish...or uh...Bernadette. Not sure which you would have preferred. Heh." Akko laughed nervously as she rubbed the back of her neck and went silent for a long moment as she contemplated on what she would say if the woman were actually standing right here in front of her. "I'm Akko. Akko Kagari. I'm your daughter's fiance." She smiled to herself as she spoke the word. She still couldn't believe just how happy it made her just to say, 'fiance'. "We proposed to each other two weeks ago. Well, Diana proposed first, of course. It was really beautiful. And of course I said yes." Akko began to pick at the blades of grass by her feet. "I said yes because I am so in love with her. I have never met anyone as amazing as Diana. You would be so proud of her." Suddenly the brunette felt tears pooling at the corners of her eyes. "She's so loving, and kind, and patient. She is so patient with me and let me tell you, that is no easy feat." She chuckled quietly at her own joke as a stray tear made it's way down her cheek. After wiping it away quickly, she continued. "And she's so strong. The strongest person I think I've ever known. But sometimes I think she feels like she has to be strong for other people, it's a lot of pressure and it takes a lot out of her but she'd never admit it. But I can see it, ya know?" Akko chanced a glance backward to see Diana sitting on bench facing away from her.

"I know I can't ask you for your blessing, but what I can do is make a promise to you. I promise that I will stand by your daughter's side through everything, and when the time comes that she needs someone to be strong for her, I will be the one to carry her. And she will never have to go through anything alone ever again. You have my word Bernadette. I will do everything in my power to make her happy every day for the rest of our lives, because that's what she deserves. She deserves to be as happy as she makes me. And I don't know if that's possible but..." Akko paused as she got to her feet and brushed her pants off. "I'm going to do my best." She looked back at Diana again before doing an awkward bow at the gravestone. "So it was...good...talking to you? Heh. Bye!"

The brunette waved and walked slowly toward where the blonde sat. As she approached, she noticed the girls head was bowed, her hair covering her facial features. Akko sat next to her and moved the blonde hair out of the way to reveal red eyes and wet cheeks. The brunette's eyes went wide with immediate worry until she saw the smile directed at her.

"Diana?"

"I'm fine, Akko. That was just...that was really beautiful. You are a beautiful person, Atsuko Kagari. I really do hope you never forget that." Diana wiped her wet cheeks once more before laughing softly. "And I blame you for making me an absolute mess." The blonde narrowed her eyes playfully at her smiling fiance.

"Sounds fair." Akko just shrugged, eliciting a playful jab to her ribs from the blonde. She giggled and threw her arm around Diana's neck for a side hug. "Are you ready to go then?"

The blonde nodded and they both stood. Diana looked back at the gravestone as they started walking and felt a twinge of guilt.

"Akko, will…you give me a minute?"

Akko stopped walking and looked at her fiance in confusion, and then to her mother's grave. With a small smile of understanding, she nodded and took a step back, allowing Diana to walk past her. The blonde nervously approached and placed her hand on the cool marble.

"Hello, mother." She said quietly, voicing cracking slightly as her fingers slid across the stone. "So that was her, the love of my life. What do you think?" Diana looked up at Akko, whose gaze was currently focused on a butterfly flying wildly around her. The blonde smiled lovingly at the girl. "Sometimes I have no idea why she chose me, but I will be forever grateful that she did." She looked back down at her mother's name etched in the gravestone and her smile turned sad. "I wish you could have met her. I..." Diana trailed off as the tears began to come back in full force. "I wish you were here with me. I wish you could watch me get married. I...I miss you so much." The blonde wiped furiously at the tears that wouldn't stop now. She let out a quiet sob and closed her eyes tight, begging for the pain to subside. "I love you, mother. I will always love you. You will always be in my heart." She brought a shaky hand to her mouth, fingers pressed against her lips before pressing those same fingers against the stone. The transfer of a kiss between earth and heaven. She paused there for a couple minutes before she gathered the strength to walk away, to leave the past behind her once again in order to walk toward the girl that had become her future.