AN: A Happy New Year to all of you and I hope your holiday season has gone well. Enjoy this short and please critique as always. Thanks for the support!

-Symbiotic


As the weeks wore on Akko's morning sickness began to slowly subside, thanks in no small part to the deliberate choice of avoiding certain dietary items and smells that set it off and copious amounts of Preggie Pops. In no time at all Akko was back to regaining her constitution and was eating on a regular basis, though Diana still heavily monitored her diet as a precaution to not bring the morning sickness back. Diana was so uncertain about it that she didn't hesitate to give Akko a new Preggie Pop whenever one was finished.

Diana also bought her wife a special type of pillow to lay on whenever they rested in bed or on the couch. She encouraged Akko to rest on it as often as possible so as to take strain off of herself. Diana figured she was doing a massive favor at first, but was greatly surprised when her wife raised a protest. "I don't want to rest anymore," Akko asserted.

"Akko, that's absurd," Diana said. "You have to rest as much as possible."

"But I feel like I'm withering away over here," Akko groaned. "I can't be sitting around eating and drinking water all day. My back is getting all stiff. There's gotta be something more that I can do."

"I assure you that I have everything under control," Diana said as she stroked Akko's hair. "You don't need to worry about anything but your own well being."

"You're really not making this easy on me," Akko pouted with crossed arms. She laid still with the pregnancy pillow between her legs and Diana smiled. Akko was just where she wanted her to be, though Diana admittedly understood where her wife was coming from. Akko was used to being in much better shape than Diana admittedly ever was, not to say she was out of shape. Exerting oneself as a magical entertainer required just as much physical fitness as it did magical skill. Akko was used to working out on a fairly regular basis and now that she was pregnant she hadn't worked out in several weeks per Diana's orders, and Diana was hesitant to change her course of action on the matter.

"How about I figure something out that we can both do together to change things up," Diana said with a smile. "That way you won't feel like you're withering away anymore."

"You mean that?" Akko said with a longing gaze.

"Yes, my dear," Diana said. She bent down and kissed Akko on the head before laying down and wrapping her arms around her. Before Diana knew it she had closed her eyes and fallen asleep next to her wife. She was greeted by the gentle feeling of warmth from Akko's hand caressing her back, and snuggled into her wife's belly as her mind wandered off into dreamland.


A few days later Diana returned home from another stressful day at Luna Nova. She had been teaching her class the art of removing invasive bodies such as splinters and parasites from wounds, using synthetic pig tissue and tape worms, and as per usual some lessons took a lot more practice and time to absorb than others. This lesson was no exception to the rule, and Diana planned to reteach the lesson sometime next week to better help her students grasp the difficult subject. For now she was going to go home and take care of Akko, trying everything in her power to help her wife feel better during this arduous time.

Trouble was the research she promised to for Akko regarding activities that she could do while she was pregnant was never accomplished. Diana didn't necessarily consider it a big deal and simply flew home on her broom through the leyline terminal and decided to walk to her home in Blytonbury. When she arrived there she was greeted with the sound of Japanese pop music, Akko's favorite kind of music, blaring throughout the house and surely annoying the neighbors.

"Akko?" Diana called out. "Akko?" She sighed and walked over to the living room where the source of the loud music was emanating from. There she was greeted with the sight of Akko in a t-shirt and shorts holding a long metal bar in her hands doing one knee squats with a Preggie Pop in her mouth. The sight made Diana get queasy and drop her satchel upon the floor. "Akko!"

"Hmm?" the Japanese woman muttered. Akko stopped doing her squats and picked up the remote to shut the stereo off, looking over at her wife with a smile. "Diana, okaeri!" With that Akko bolted over to Diana and hugged her tightly, making sweat come all over Diana's professor's uniform. Akko looked up at her. "I missed you so much. How was your day?"

"Akko, what are you doing?" Diana muttered in shock. Her face was white as a sheet and beads of her own sweat were falling down her throat. Akko looked at her confused, making Diana grip her wife's shoulders tightly. "Akko, please tell me what you're doing!"

"Diana, you're hurting me!"

Diana sighed and let her shoulders fall and loosened her tight grasp on Akko's shoulders as she tried to calm herself down. "I-I'm sorry," she stuttered. "I don't know what came over me."

"What are you getting so upset over?" Akko asked perplexedly.

"Akko, you were exerting yourself unnecessarily," Diana said. "I must ask why you were doing such?"

"You mean me working out?" Akko muttered. Akko looked back over at the Smart TV, which was playing a home workout video she pulled up from the internet. "Diana, it's really no big deal."

"You're supposed to be resting with your pregnancy pillow, not pushing yourself physically the way you just were," Diana said in a worried tone. "Do you realize what could have happened to you and the baby? Our baby?!"

When Diana expected Akko to look at her with an understanding face she instead was greeted by giggles and a gentle hug. "You don't have to worry about us, Silly. Exercise is just as healthy and important for pregnant women as it is for women who aren't pregnant."

"But you could hurt yourself and the baby," Diana said nervously.

Diana felt Akko grab her hands gently and put them around her wife's belly. "Diana, the baby is going to be okay. In fact it's even helpful for the baby if the mother does some exercise. I'm only doing moderate workouts. It's not like I'm doing anything overkill." Akko gestured back over the bar where a water bottle sat on the floor. "Besides, I'm drinking lots of fluids and am taking plenty of breaks between sets."

"But you worry me by just doing things without my knowledge," Diana muttered. She could actually feel herself getting slightly overwhelmed at the moment. "Why wouldn't you just ask me if it was okay to exercise?"

Akko sighed and wrapped up Diana tightly. " I would never do anything that would hurt our baby, Diana. But I can't just sit cooped up in the bedroom on my pillow all day. It was driving me crazy. And that's not healthy for me or the baby."

Diana had a moment of pause. Akko said something she never wanted to hear. Diana was being told that she was doing something wrong, something unhealthy in fact, to her wife. The thought of that made Diana swallow nervously and struggle not to cry. Sensing her impending distress, Akko squeezed her grip around her tightly and encouraged Diana to do the same. Diana returned the gesture in kind and let her emotions go, tears flowing down her face as she thought of how badly she was screwing up, at least in her eyes. The thought of doing something wrong to Akko tore at her gut and made her feel sick.

"I'm so sorry," Diana squeaked. "I'm so sorry for doing that to you, Akko."

"Diana, it's okay," Akko assured. "I know you're stressed out."

"But I'm taking it out on you and that's not right!" Diana cried as she held Akko tightly. "I may be teaching still but I have no right to keep you locked up the way I was. You're right, it was bound to make you go mad. I could and should never do that to you, especially now." Diana felt herself go red in the face as Akko reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes. The gesture was incredibly comforting and one that she didn't want to stop. Quickly though she composed herself and got back into the form she always held herself in. "I'll be sure to let you partake in more physical activity from now on, but please do things less strenuous and in moderation. You're no longer an entertainer, Akko. You don't need to be in peak athletic form as you were back in your performing days."

"But I like being that strong," Akko said. She flexed her arms to show off her muscles. "Come on, tell me you don't want tickets to this gun show? You can't honestly say that now, can you?"

Diana chuckled. "I can't honestly say that. But I do want you to be careful. Not having enough fluids and pushing yourself too hard is very risky for you at this time. So please, ask me if its okay for you to exercise and partake in any strenuous physical activity."

Akko rolled her eyes before Diana saw them glow. "I know what we could do. We could start going on walks together!"

"Hmm?"

"We could go on walks together. That would give me time to get out into some fresh air and get my exercise in without you feeling like I'm pushing myself too hard. Plus it will be good for the baby to get outside and you can unwind from your day. So what do you say?" Akko put her hand out for Diana to shake. "Is it a deal, Diana?"

Diana thought about it and instead of being nervous found herself incredibly relieved. She was greatly surprised that Akko had come up with this quickly of a compromise. "That's a deal," she said with a shake of her hand.

Akko smiled and hugged Diana tightly again. "Good, now get changed. I want to go for a walk before we eat dinner and I want to hear all about your day."

Diana watched as Akko walked away and went to the bathroom, leaving her standing in the living room. Quietly she walked upstairs and went to get changed into a t-shirt and shorts. She was glad Akko had figured something out that would benefit them both.