Croix is tired of having Professor Finneran mess with her 'alone time' with Chariot. Hence, she concocts the perfect plan to stop this.
But because it's Croix, the opposite happens.

This chapter takes place after chapter 16. Akko and Diana are 18.


"I'm back." Croix says tired while walking inside their room.

"Welcome back!" she hears Chariot say to her from the bathroom. "Give me a second."

She had just finished giving some extra classes after some of the girls in the main class approached her with the suggestion. At first, Croix had been excited since it meant that her type of magic was becoming relevant and that her future as a professor in Luna Nova was cementing itself.

In fact, Croix had seen the course as a once in a month program that would make the girls practice with the inventions they created in class. But, after somehow finding out about her project, Finneran had instead suggested to have the course be taught every Friday and Saturday.

And naïve Principal Holbrook had believed that Finneran was doing so because she was getting closer to forgiving Croix when in fact she knew the old woman had done it to mess her weekends with Chariot.

"I hate that woman!" she pouts and throws herself, literally, to the bed.

"Who?" the red-head asks still from the bathroom.

"Finneran, who else." Croix huffs and closes her eyes. "She's literally having me teach this course every weekend because she knows those are the days we can go out."

"I don't think those are her intentions." the lilac-haired woman hears the door opening and steps coming her way.

"We both know that old woman is pretty capable." she groans and opens her eyes.

Damn… is all Croix can think when she sees Chariot standing in front of her in a black bra and panties ensemble.

"Well, why should we let her get away with it…" Ursula smirks while getting closer to the older woman who gulps.

"We… We totally shouldn't!" Croix exclaims desperately.

"Indeed." the red-haired woman smiles and waits for Croix to sit on the bed before straddling her lap. "Hi." she smiles sweetly when the inventor blushes.

"Hi…" the other woman stutters because she still couldn't believe how lucky she was of being in a relationship with Chariot.

"Won't you kiss me hello?" Ursula teases her and that's all Croix needs to close the distance between them.

Both moaning and grabbing each other tighter, the lilac-haired inventor desperately kisses and tries to touch every part of Chariot's body. It had been so long since they had done this; the only type of contact having been partying kisses and hugs.

"I've missed you." Croix whispers tenderly to her while separating from Ursula's mouth and catching her breath by kissing her neck and collarbone. "You have no idea how much."

"So have I." Ursula promises her immediately. "But I am happy that your class is popular and that there are so many girls that want to learn from you."

"Char…" the inventor groans and purposely bites her girlfriend's neck. "No more talk about school now."

"Ok, ok." the former performer moans and again finds Croix's lips, this time moving her hands lower and making sure of teasing the older woman's breasts.

"Yes, right there…" Croix moans and uses her own hands to encourage Ursula to grab her tighter.

"There?" Ursula asks her carefully while moving lower and kissing the older woman's breasts after getting her top and bra off.

"Chariot!" is the answer Croix gives her and she knows that's encouragement enough for the younger woman who continues licking and exploring her. "Chariot, Chariot." she continues chanting in complete bliss. "Please don't tease me." she begs when she stops feeling the red-head moving her tongue.

I swear I'm going to kill her… Croix is ready to scream but then hears snoring coming from her chest.

No… It can't be… she opens her eyes and sees Chariot sleeping soundly on her chest, using her breasts as pillows.

"Chariot!" she shrieks and this makes her girlfriend wake up.

"Croix?" Ursula asks momentarily confused but then blushes in embarrassment when she remembers what they were doing.

"You… You fell asleep while having sex with me!" Croix cries and knows that the younger woman is mortified.

"I… I'm sorry." Ursula stutters while trying to grab Croix's hands. "I was just so tired from my lessons and it took you longer to get back that I got sleepy."

"No Char, this cannot happen to us! Not yet!" the older woman screams. "We're not old enough to be falling asleep while having sex!"

"I know!" the red-haired woman says embarrassed. "I don't like this either! But I'm just so tired!"

"Then let's fix this." Croix says determined. "We will not, for any reason, give up sex Chariot."

This makes the younger woman stare worriedly at her girlfriend.

"Come on Char, get dressed and come help me find these ingredients." she is instructed by the inventor. "I need to take out one of my cauldrons and a potion book I got from a traveler."

"A traveler?" Ursula asks worriedly. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" she's starting to think that this may not be a good idea.

"Do you, or don't you, wish to have sex tonight?" Croix asks her simply and Ursula closes her eyes when her feet take her to get the ingredients her girlfriend had asked her.

She knows she should stop Croix. But then again, it had really been a long time since the two of them had sex and she was just as desperate as Croix was.

Basically, she was needy.

Besides, it wasn't like Croix could do something that would get them in trouble.

Right?

LWALWALWA

"Akko, maybe we shouldn't bother them." Diana says to her while following her to Ursula and Croix's room.

"They were the ones that told us to meet for a picnic." Akko reminds her girlfriend. "It's already 2pm and I'm starving Diana. I want to eat." she complains.

This makes Diana chuckle.

"I swear you mostly think with your stomach Akko." the blonde teases her. "Tell me, what if there is a reason Professors Ursula and Croix are running late?"

"A reason?" Akko asks naively and this makes Diana groan.

Seriously…

"You know what I'm trying to imply."

"Maybe I don't." the brunette teases her.

"Cheeky." Diana huffs.

"It's your fault because you will not let me eat until they arrive. Think of me teasing you a part of my sweet revenge." Akko chuckles and checks if someone is around.

When she confirms that no one is there she kisses Diana on the lips.

"Akko!" the blonde huffs embarrassed.

"I couldn't help myself." she apologizes.

"Professor Finneran could have seen us!" Diana reminds her. "And you know what she did last time when she saw us kissing in school halls."

A week of after class cleaning the floors.

"I don't think my knees will ever forget it." Akko whispers while looking around her.

Diana laughs at her girlfriend's antics.

"Seriously Akko…" she smiles tenderly and hugs the brunette tight. "I truly love you."

"I love you too Diana." Akko grabs her hand and pulls her forward. "But I'm really hungry and let's go get those two!"

"Ok, ok." Diana agrees and decides that taking one of the secret halls could be permitted. "Just because you're starving." she warns Akko who nods happily. "Not for you to use them when you try to steal sweets from the kitchen."

"Hai!" the brunette promises her girlfriend before running forward. "You can't catch me!" she screams while moving to the Astronomy Tower. "Last one there has to do the other's homework."

"But that would only benefit you!" the heiress huffs and can hear Akko laughing.

"I know, that's why I do it!" she screams and gets to the older women's room first. "Ha, good thing I made this bet with Diana cause I had a horrible magic arithmetic homework." she chuckles before knocking. "Ursula Sensei? Croix Sensei?"

"I will not do that homework." Diana says from behind her after a couple of seconds go by.

"But you lost the bet."

"You need to be capable of doing your homework alone."

"And you need to learn how to run faster, Diana." Akko says and immediately kisses her on the lips so she doesn't get too upset.

Damn it… Diana thinks with a fond smile.

"Still no answer?" the blonde asks when Akko knocks and calls their professors yet again.

"Maybe they overslept?" Akko starts theorizing but then they both hear noises coming from the room. "Oh, they're up." she says happily and opens the door with the spell Ursula taught her. "Sumimasen…" she enters the room and stops suddenly.

"Akko, don't just stay in the middle of the door." Diana complains when her girlfriend doesn't move. "I also want to get in." she tries to push Akko but the Japanese girl is stronger than her. "Akko!"

"Diana, look." the brunette moves a little to the left and that's when Diana sees what had made her girlfriend stop talking.

Right in front of them there were standing a young Croix and Ursula.

"Ursula, Croix Sensei?!" the Japanese girl finally seems to react, making the two older (well, younger now) women look worriedly at them.

"They don't remember us." Diana whispers to her girlfriend and watches Croix move to cover Ursula.

"What, who are you two?!" Croix asks menacingly while pointing her wand at the two of them.

"Croix!" Ursula admonishes immediately. "Don't point your wand at people you don't know."

"That's precisely why I'm pointing my wand at them." the lilac-haired girl says exasperated.

"But that's rude." the red-haired girl pouts. "This is why people think you're mean."

This makes Akko and Diana chuckle, something that is also noticed by the lilac-haired girl.

"Chariot!" she complains. "Why are you always like this?!"

"We are not here to hurt you." Diana interrupts their argument. "We're here looking for our professors. My name is Diana Cavendish and the girl standing next to me is named Atsuko Kagari."

"Nice to meet you!" Akko smiles. "You can call me Akko."

"Your professors?" they hear Ursula's voice ask from behind Croix. "Maybe those professors can help us Croix."

"We don't know them, we can't trust them." Croix says firmly.

"But you do know us Croix Sensei." Akko is the one that speaks now. "You both are professors here at Luna Nova."

"Professors?" Croix laughs. "But you two are older than us. Do you mean to tell us that we know more magic than you do?"

"Perhaps at the moment you do not." Diana smiles. "But usually you are more knowledgeable when it comes to magic."

"You see..." Akko smiles warmly. "You two are our mentors and closest friends."

"You're lying to us." the lilac-haired girl says defiantly.

"Croix!" Ursula scolds her.

"It's true Char! This is probably some joke one of the seniors tried to do on you and we can't remember about it."

"So they don't remember a thing about their time as adults." Diana murmurs and does a quick spell to check for traces of magic. "And I can sense both Professor Ursula and Croix's magic."

"Well, then that eliminates any kind of foul play from outside the room." Akko says relived. "Which means that the person who did this must have been Croix-Sensei."

"WHAT?!" they hear the younger version of their mentor shriek. "How dare you accuse me of something I haven't done?!"

"Well, I guess this is not your fault." the brunette explains to her. "But the fault of your older, less mature self. Although that is quite interesting. That you are so serious when our Croix Sensei is so childish."

"Croix is not serious." Ursula informs them with a happy smile. "She's just very bad at first impressions but once you get close to her she's really sweet and warm." she adds to the embarrassment of the lilac-haired girl.

"Oh, so she's like a tsundere!" Akko exclaims happily.

"I am not whatever you just said I am!" Croix says upset. "Besides, you do not simply expect us to believe you when we don't even know you."

"She is right." Diana murmurs. "Akko…" she calls for her girlfriend after having finished her list of spells. "When I went to check the bedroom I found a cauldron along with leftover ingredients."

"So then it really was Croix Sensei's fault."

"Well, she was responsible. In some part." the blonde blushes while taking out a piece of paper from her pocket and giving it to Akko.

Dear Akko and Diana,

By the moment you find this letter, Chariot and I will probably have reverted to our teenage selves.

The reason why this happened is because of a potion Chariot and I made and one in which I (Chariot forced me to emphasize on this) miscalculated the ingredients. Unfortunately, this potion does not have an antidote but rather the effects must wear out by themselves.

In the meantime, please take care of us like we usually have to take care of you two.

Love, Croix and Chariot.

PS, I was not a tsundere Akko.

"Does she think that by guilt-tripping us she'll make us want to help her?" Akko asks amused and remembers that Diana was blushing. "Why were you blushing when you gave me the letter?"

"Because the potion they wanted to make was called 'all night passionate love'." Diana whispers and this makes the brunette laugh loudly.

"This is too much fun!" she smirks. "How shall we tell those two girls that the reason they're this way is because they wanted to have non-stop sex?"

"We cannot tell them." Diana says to her while noticing the way Croix was stepping away from Ursula's touch. "Because those two are not together."

"What?!" Akko shrieks and notices the lilac-haired girl be uncomfortable with Ursula. "Don't tell me we got them in the awkward 'I like you but I can't tell you' stage?" she complains and chuckles when Ursula pretends she has not noticed Croix moving away and again grabs her hand. "Although Ursula Sensei is very persistent. I like that."

Diana smiles softly at the familiar sight in front of her.

Meanwhile, Croix was getting tired of not knowing what was happening. She couldn't attack those two older girls because they had done nothing to either of them and it really seemed that they had some idea of what was occurring.

Hence, her best chance at getting some answers came from them.

But Chariot had been holding her close and that was making her get nervous. And the last thing they needed right now was for her to feel embarrassed and aroused.

"I know what to do." Akko smiles and grabs Diana's hand while heading towards the two girls.

A sight that was not missed by Croix and Ursula.

"In order to prove to you both that we do know you; how about Diana and I tell something you something we know about you?" the brunette smirks.

"That does sound like a good idea." the Cavendish heir compliments her girlfriend.

"I can have good ideas." Akko pouts and this makes Ursula chuckle.

"We have nothing to lose." the red-haired girl tells Croix amused.

"I guess you're right." Croix surrenders. "Ok, fine, I guess you can try."

"Let me go first!" Akko says excitedly and thinks for a while of what she will say. "Ok, I got it!" she stares at Ursula. "Your familiar is a crow and his name is Alcor."

"He is!" Ursula answers excited.

"And, that's not the only one you have." Diana says now to a surprised Ursula. "You also have a bear named Arcas, who was your childhood pet before you made Alcor your familiar."

"In fact, you wanted to make Arcas your familiar at first but Luna Nova has a policy when it comes to big animals. Hence, your parents surprised you a week before classes started with Alcor." Akko adds warmly. "But you knew you would miss Arcas too much so you brought him with you, making him stay near the Fountain of Polaris."

"You're right." the red-hair says softly. "About everything."

This makes Croix stare at the two older witches in complete shock.

Not even she knew about Arcas being here at Luna Nova!

"And Professor Croix." Diana says amused. "What could we even say about her?"

"She loves ramen." Akko adds cheerfully.

"Anyone can know that." Croix stutters.

"Does everyone know that you're quite messy?" Diana asks her cheekily. "And that your laboratory is always a mess?"

Croix blushes.

"Right! Remember that time we had to force her to fix it because there were literally metal parts and boxes of ramen on the floor?"

"Indeed, and if I'm not mistaken, your tidiness is one of the main reasons you get into fights with your teammates?" Diana adds warmly.

"I try to clean things." Croix murmurs embarrassed. "It's just that sometimes I get too excited and I forget."

"We know." Akko says knowingly. "You get so happy when you finish one of your inventions that you immediately want to test it out."

"You do that all the time!" Ursula adds happily. "They do know us Croix!"

"It seems they do." Croix admits embarrassed. "But if you do know us, why can't we remember you?"

"You took a potion and the effect misfired." Akko says simply.

"It wasn't my fault, right?!" Ursula shrieks.

"What potion did we drink? What are the effects? Is there an antidote?! How would you know the answers to these questions?!" Croix panics as well.

"We know what happened because your older versions informed us in a letter written shortly before the potion took effect." Diana tells them calmly. "Unfortunately, the potion does not have an antidote and the effect will pass by itself."

"Do you know the name of the spell?" Ursula asks softly.

Diana and Akko both stare at each other.

"I'm afraid we cannot tell you." Diana says firmly.

"Well that's convenient." Croix says bitterly.

"Croix!" Ursula reprimands her while getting close and holding her friend's hand. "Don't take it out on them." she warns her. "In fact, why don't we calm down and listen to the rest of what they have to say?" she tries to hug Croix but the older girl flinches and separates from her.

This rejection is not missed by Akko and Diana who feel bad for Ursula.

"No Char, this is not alright." she exclaims while pointing at Diana. "Why won't she tell us the name of the potion? She seems like she knows what's going on with us! I demand you to tell us!" she screams at Diana and immediately feels herself being held by the older brunette witch.

"Listen Croix." Akko says firmly to her. "I don't know what it is you're going through right now…" she continues speaking. "But you will not scream at my girlfriend or accuse her of something that isn't true."

"Your… Your girlfriend?" Ursula asks her surprised.

"And…" Akko gets really close to Croix. "Don't think I have forgotten that you told me that the reason you never told Chariot what you feel is because your mother would never accept it." she separates from the lilac-haired girl and notices her staring widely at her.

"Croix?" Ursula asks worriedly and comes to check on her friend who flinches yet again when she feels her touch.

"I, I have to go." Croix whispers before going to the bedroom and locking herself up.

"Akko…" Diana says to her girlfriend and the brunette knows that she's in trouble. "Could you please go with Chariot to get the basket we left outside so we can have our picnic here?"

Nodding in confirmation, Akko gets close to Diana and apologizes to her before going to the bedroom door and also issuing an apology to Croix.

When there's no answer for a couple of minutes, Akko merely apologizes again before turning around to look at Ursula.

"Ok, let's go." the Japanese girl smiles warmly and grabs Ursula's hand before walking out.

"But Croix…" the red-haired says worriedly.

"Don't worry." Akko tells her simply. "I'm sure that Diana will make sure she's alright."

"Diana… Is she really your girlfriend?" Ursula asks her hopefully.

"Yes." the brunette smiles. "I bet it must be very surprising because of how she is; beautiful and smart."

"It's surprising because she's a girl." the red-haired girl whispers.

"Oh, is it weird for you to see women liking and being with each other?" Akko asks curiously.

"Well, not really." Ursula says softly. "But for people that come from families like the one Croix comes from…" she closes her eyes.

"Do you like Croix?" the brunette asks her.

"I do." Ursula admits simply. "But I know that nothing will come out of it because Croix doesn't see me that way."

"You'll never know until you ask her, right?" Akko smiles.

"But what if she rejects me? What will happen to our friendship then? I'll lose her forever."

"Are you happy with the way your relationship is right now? And would you feel happy if it stayed that way?"

This makes Ursula stare hard at the floor.

"Of course I'm not." she confesses bitterly. "But there's nothing I can do about it because Croix will never go against her mom and her family." she smiles sadly. "Not for me."

"I think…" Akko says to her with an understanding smile. "That people can surprise us in the most unexpected ways. So don't lose hope, Chariot. Have faith in the bond you two have and I'm sure things will work out."

This makes Ursula stare curiously at her.

"Croix and I…" she says to Akko carefully. "Are we close when we get older?"

"If I told you the answer then that would be cheating, wouldn't it?" Akko smiles cheekily and runs away when Ursula tries to hit her.

"Akko!" she laughs and follows the older girl to the gardens.

Having some fun and not worrying about anything was certainly nice.

LWALWALWA

Closing her eyes, Croix can't stop herself from feeling guilty about the way she had treated Chariot.

It wasn't Chariot's fault that she had fallen in love with her.

It wasn't the red-haired girl's fault that she was a coward.

It was hers.

For being scared of her mother's rejection and her position in the family. For not being brave enough to let Chariot know her feelings and instead hurting her in the process.

Because although Croix knew that she couldn't tell Chariot what she felt, she was still selfish enough to want her close.

She was a despicable human being.

"Croix?" the lilac-haired girl hears the blonde girl calling her.

"Go away." she murmurs and reinforces the spell she placed on the door.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible." she hears and opens her eyes in shock when her spell is immediately nullified.

"What?! How?!"

"You created that spell." Diana says simply to her. "And you taught me in one of our lessons how to break it."

"Seems like I kept no secrets with anyone then." she huffs annoyed.

"As an adult you are a very open and honest person, Croix." the blonde sits on the bed.

"That seems so far away of the way I am now."

"People grow, people change with time." Diana smiles. "But before I forget, on behalf of my girlfriend I apologize for the way she acted towards you. It was not right of her."

"Why are you apologizing? She defended you." Croix says surprised.

"She could have done it differently." the blonde tells her. "And knowing Akko, she must have said something very important in order to make you stop fighting, right?"

This makes Croix look away from her.

"She didn't say anything that wasn't the true." the lilac-haired girl admits defeatedly.

"Still, that does not make what she did right and I apologize."

"I don't blame her. She did what she was supposed to do when the person you like is being attacked."

"You were not attacking me." Diana says calmly. "In fact, it's pretty understandable to react the way you did since you don't remember what happened to you."

"Still, I was not being kind to you." Croix adds and the blonde can't deny that. "And for that I'm sorry." she apologizes.

"There is nothing to forgive." Diana promises her kindly. "But what we could do instead is talk for a little while? Until Akko and Chariot come back?"

"Chariot left?!" the lilac-haired girl asks worriedly. "Where is she? Why did she leave?" she asks panicking. "It wasn't because of the way I acted, right?!"

"Don't worry, she just went with Akko to get some food for all of us." the blonde soothes the younger girl. "We were supposed to have a picnic together and that's the reason why we came to this room to get you."

This makes Croix stare curiously at Diana.

"Does that mean that Chariot and I stay here together?" she asks hopefully.

"I don't know." Diana lies a little bit. "Usually you two are together."

"So we're friends then." Croix says dejectedly. "That's good."

"You don't sound very happy about it."

"I… I guess I'm not." the younger girl says chuckling. "Maybe I was just hoping that things would become different once I grew up."

"Different in what way?" Diana asks her curiously.

"In the way that I would stop being a coward." Croix whispers bitterly.

This makes Diana get closer to her and grab her hand.

"Would you like to share?" she asks the lilac-haired girl softly and feels her squeezing her hand in return.

"Akko told me what I have already known for a while." Croix closes her eyes. "Something that I've been afraid of admitting to myself in fear of it becoming something that I would be incapable of hiding."

"Why would you need to hide it?"

"Because my family wouldn't accept it. My mother would hate me." she then gives Diana a curious look. "Your relationship with Akko… Is it known?"

"Yes, everyone knows we're together." Diana smiles softly. "It's been three years since Akko and I started dating."

"That's a long time." she whispers surprised. "Your last name…" she mutters. "Is Cavendish. You come from one of the nine olde families."

"And your last name comes from the line of the nine olde witches as well." Diana remembers. "Your ancestor was the cousin of Cassandra the Prodigy."

"Yes, Kathleen the Accepting." Croix says angrily. "Although she was called the 'accepting' our family has always been backwards and traditional when it comes to magic."

This makes Diana give her an understanding look.

"With your type of magic, I imagine it must be hard to get your family's approval."

Croix stares surprised at her.

"Of course." she chuckles warmly. "I sometimes forget that you know me very well. But yes, my family has never accepted magitronics. And I've gotten over that." she adds. "But, there are some things that I just can't do."

"Like being in a relationship with another woman?"

"No, not that." Croix closes her eyes. "My family is not concerned with those things."

"Then what?" now Diana is honestly curious.

"Bloodlines." is all the lilac-haired girl tells her and now Diana understands.

"Although I haven't heard much from the Meridies, I think that some members of the Meridies bloodline are very traditional when it comes to maintaining pure bloodlines."

"My family would never accept any relationship that could taint our 'pure' bloodline." Croix says bitterly. "And Chariot, she, she doesn't come from a pure bloodline."

"And I assume Chariot does not know of this?"

"How could I even tell her that the reason I can't be with her is because of her blood." she cries dejectedly. "That my family, no matter what she did, would never accept her over something she cannot control."

Diana gives her a sad smile.

"My family, while they didn't care much about bloodlines, are very particular when it comes to marriages. The goal of the Cavendish is to expand and to continue the family."

"Children. Your relationships are meant to produce children." Croix realizes what the blonde is telling her.

"And last time I check, women cannot have biological children with each other." Diana jokes with her.

"But then how?" Croix asks curiously. "How did your family accept your relationship then?"

"They haven't." Diana admits determined. "But the moment I become the heir that will change. And, although my aunt is the head of the family, she knows that Akko is pretty determined and stubborn." she smirks at that last part remembering the time Akko visited the manor with her.

"But that's because you will become the heir. I, on the other hand, will never gain that control over the family to change things."

"The Croix I know." Diana tells her firmly. "Has never needed others to create the change she has wanted." she then gets close to Croix and grabs her hands tightly. "Don't ever be afraid… Of what others may think of you. Especially when it comes to being with the person you love…" she emphasizes and can see the younger girl staring wide at her.

Nevertheless, before Croix can answer her, they hear someone knocking at the door and almost immediately listen to Akko and Chariot laughing and talking with each other.

"Diana!" Akko screams from the living room. "I'm back!"

Chuckling, the blonde witch stands up from the bed.

"As you can probably hear, my child is back." she jokes before heading towards the door. "I hope that our talked helped you feel a little better."

"It did." Croix smiles softly at her. "Thank you."

"Anytime." Diana promises her warmly. "Will you be coming out to eat?"

"In a second." she tells the older girl and sees her leaving the door and being tackled by the excited brunette.

I will stop being afraid…

LWALWALWA

"Seriously Akko…" Ursula says to her gleefully. "Did you really have to make Professor Finneran think that she had lost her maps?"

"Come on, you had fun as well!" Akko chuckles.

"What if Professor Finneran finds out you were the one moving her maps?"

"What Professor Finneran doesn't know won't hurt me." the brunette says proudly.

"Oh really?" the two witches hear Diana's voice saying from behind them and both turn around to look at the blonde witch carefully.

"Hey Dia!" Akko says happily and goes to hug her girlfriend, who stops her because she can close the distance between them. "Why?" she pouts.

"No hugs for you until you apologize to Croix for being rude." Diana informs her firmly.

"But I already apologized!" the Japanese witch groans.

"Well, she didn't hear you darling." she hears Croix coming out of the room and sees Akko immediately run towards the lilac-haired girl.

"Croix Sensei, I'm really sorry!" Akko apologizes honestly. "What I said, I didn't have to say it like that." she looks down in embarrassment. "But I couldn't help myself because you were hurting my Diana." she whispers the last part to the amusement of Croix and the embarrassment of Diana.

"That's alright Akko." Croix tells her with a soft smile. "I was out of line as well." she adds while giving Ursula an apologetic look.

"Ok, that makes me happy." Akko smiles and then runs to Diana who huffs but still hugs Akko tight.

"Seriously…" Diana blushes but they all know she's happy. "You're such a child."

"Come on, you love me this way."

"Indeed I do." the blonde tells her simply and this makes Croix feel really envious.

If only she had the same strength to say what she felt to Chariot so freely.

"Char…" she whispers instead while getting close to the red-haired girl. "I… I want to apologize to you too."

"Croix, there's nothing to apologize." Ursula gives her a bright smile.

"No, there is." Croix remains determined. "I was rude to you as well and for that I'm sorry."

"No Croix, I was pushing you too much and that was my bad." the red-haired girl gives her a sad smile. "There are just some things that one cannot force on another." she murmurs dejectedly while moving to the table. "Now, I know I'm not the only one starving."

Things one cannot force on another… Croix thinks worriedly while watching Chariot sit in one of the chairs.

Does… Does this mean that she will stop trying?

That she will move on?

"Yes! Let's eat." Akko says and runs to the table.

Meanwhile, Diana had been staring at Croix and the way she had frozen on her spot. She knew that the words Ursula had said to her were being processed and analyzed; and most probably reaching some terrible conclusions on the lilac-haired girl's mind.

I cannot let her move on. Not when I decided to… Croix thinks desperately and again focuses on Chariot who is laughing at something Akko had said to her.

Chariot had stop laughing that way when she was in Croix's company. She was happy, and she smiled, but not the way she was currently doing with Akko. And Croix, she knew deep inside of her that she was the reason Chariot was feeling down recently.

Because although she was not a genius when it came to things of love and relationship; she was not stupid.

She knew Chariot had been trying to tell her how she felt. But, when she felt the red-haired girl getting too close, she always made an excuse and prevented Chariot from speaking.

She took the coward's way out.

But watching Akko and Diana love and be affectionate with each other had made Croix crave the same thing.

She wanted that kind of relationship with Chariot.

No, she needed it because she needed Chariot in her life.

"Chariot!" Croix screams and immediately earns the attention of the three other witches in the room.

Nervously looking up, Croix is starting to lose her confidence and is close to shutting down. But, Chariot deserved better than that. She deserved to know what she felt for her and that she was not embarrassed of her.

"I like you Chariot!" Croix says bluntly and can see Chariot's shocked face. "That's wrong." she corrects herself. "I don't like you, I think I love you."

Meanwhile, Akko had gotten up from her chair with a soft smile to stand close to Diana, who was staring at the scene with a bemused smile on her face.

"What kind of magic did you do in the 30 minutes Ursula Sensei and I were gone?" Akko asks with a bright smile.

"I just talked to her." Diana simply says and feels Akko hugging her tight.

"I bet that was what Croix-Sensei needed. Someone to hear and advise her." the brunette tells her sweetly. "Seriously Diana, when I think I cannot love you more you do things like this…"

"Now Akko…" the blonde teases her. "Don't try to take the spotlight away from those two." she points to Croix and Ursula who had gotten closer.

"You love me?" Ursula asks softly. "But, I thought you only liked me as a friend."

"I love you." Croix confirms firmly. "And, I've wanted to be more than friends for such a long time."

"You've known how I've felt this whole time." the red-haired says to her and Croix confirms this. "Why now? Is it because we're this way and nothing will happen when the potion's effect is nullified?"

"No!" the older girl promises her vehemently. "It's because this is what I feel and I can no longer hide it!" she gets even closer to Chariot and grabs her hands. "Chariot, ever since you came into my life you've changed things for the better. You've made me happier and kinder. I, I know I wouldn't be the witch I am today without your support."

"Croix…" Chariot says moved.

"And although nothing may come out of this confession, I wanted you to know that I love you because of who you are and that you're the first and last thing I think of." she vows and sees Chariot blush.

So cute…

"Wow, Croix-Sensei has game!" Akko adds amused and this makes the two younger girls remember that they were not alone. "Now you two, don't start being shy in the best part! Besides, Chariot hasn't answered you."

"That's right." Croix continues determined. "Do you… Do you still feel something for me?"

This makes Ursula give her a dashing smile.

But, instead of answering her with her words, she gets close to Croix and confidently grabs her face tenderly.

"This is my answer." Chariot whispers to Croix and afterwards kisses her on the lips.

The moment the two of them kissed, a ray of light came pouring out of them, temporarily blinding Akko and Diana. After a couple of seconds went by and the light finally dissipated, both Akko and Diana noticed that kissing in front of them were now the older versions of Croix and Ursula.

"So cliché!" Akko shrieks happily and this makes the older women separate from each other and stare curiously at the two younger witches.

"Akko?"

"Diana?" they both asks and then look at each other.

"We're back to normal!" Croix exclaims happily. "What time is it?"

"I think almost 5?" Diana is not sure.

"Well, that wasn't so long." she says relieved. "How old were we?"

"Mmm, maybe 15." Akko says. "It was before you got the Shiny Rod."

"I see." Ursula adds softly. "And, did we cause you any troubles?"

"Not at all." Diana promises her.

"Well…" Akko adds and this makes the blonde and red-haired witch give her a knowing look. "Maybe Professor Finneran will think that you were the one responsible of moving her maps…"

"What?!" Ursula shrieks. "Akko, she will kill me!"

"Now that's funny!" Croix laughs and remembers because of Finneran why they even made the potion. "So, did the effects of the potion run out?"

"Not exactly." Diana blushes.

"Oh no, what did we do?" Ursula asks mortified.

"Seriously?" Akko asks cheekily. "You broke the curse with true love's kiss!"

"We did what?" Croix blushes. "We kissed?"

"Yes! You went all Casanova and confessed to Ursula-Sensei your feelings in front of everyone."

"Everyone?!"

"By everyone she means she and me." Diana calms her down.

"You confessed your feelings to me?" Ursula asks Croix shocked. "You mean you'll felt this way since we were kids?"

"Wait, you mean you didn't know?!" Diana and Akko ask completely shocked.

"She never told me."

"I… I couldn't at the time." Croix says softly. "I was too much of a coward to go against my mother and my family."

"And I was too naïve to not realize that Croix's family would never accept me." Ursula adds sadly. "It wasn't until I graduated Luna Nova that I finally realized how complicated the magical community would be."

"But to hear you say that I confessed to Chariot what I felt…" Croix smiles. "It, for some reason, makes me feel so much better."

"Why?"

"Because I can have the satisfaction of knowing that I could finally say the truth to you. That I was capable of following my heart."

"Croix..." Ursula says moved and turns to look at Akko and Diana. "Please tell me I responded her feelings."

"You were the one that kissed her." Diana smirks when both women blush.

"So bold Ursula-Sensei." Akko continues teasing them and winks at Diana.

Diana, knowing what Akko was trying to do, grabs Akko's hands.

"Do you… Do you still feel something for me?" the blonde asks dramatically.

Akko, confidently closes the distance between them and uses her hands to tenderly hold Diana's face.

"This is my answer." she whispers and kisses Diana, moving her wand and making fireworks appear on top of them.

Meanwhile, the two older witches felt mortified with this little 'reenactment' the two younger women were giving them.

"Seriously, is there something those two haven't seen us do?!" Ursula whispers while thinking of how embarrassing this was.

"I think it's great." Croix says happily to her. "That they saw us that way."

"Really, why?"

"Well, because they somehow managed to make us confess to each other what we felt. It means that this connection that we share this same is something that could even be felt by our younger selves."

"We trusted them." Ursula can see what her girlfriend is telling her.

"And based on what I can see." she points to Akko and Diana who are still kissing. "We had fun!"

"Croix!" the red-haired shrieks but also chuckles when Diana uses her wand to end the fireworks because they were too bright.

Seriously… she thinks bemusedly… the thinks I do for those three.