Alright, quick update!

I really liked this one and figured I'd get it out as soon as possible, though I reposted it to do some drafting and change a few bits around.

I don't know if the last two updates will come as quickly, as I haven't come up with what they'll entail. But I'll be sure to get to them soon.

Feel free to critique as always!

Kind Regards,
Symbiotic


"Come on, Diana! Lets get those reps in!" Akko said while clapping her hands. "You got this I know you can do it!"

Diana huffed as she continued to move her arms up and down, touching the two dumbbells she was holding together as they reached above her head. This was another workout in a six part light impact workout called "Mommy Motions" that Akko had found on the internet. Akko had been doing the exercise for weeks to help carrying their baby girl easier and to better prepare herself for carrying around all the baby gear. Now that Diana was no longer teaching Akko made sure that she was pushed to the utmost by working out as hard as she could before the baby was born. Diana found the exercises tiresome but she was willing to do it to entertain didn't necessarily see how working out with such little time before her daughter was born would make a difference.

Diana watched Akko as she did her reps closely, the brown haired woman holding a stopwatch as the seconds ticked down toward the time when the workout would be done. But before the stopwatch went off and the workout was completed there was a ring from their doorbell.

"She's here?" Akko said. The Japanese woman looked down at her cell phone and smiled wide. "She's here!"

"Already? But I thought she wasn't supposed to arrive for another hour," Diana said. She sighed. "Akko, at least let me go change and take a shower."

"Diana, you know she doesn't care whether you're sweaty or not," Akko said as she walked toward the door. "Now come on! My mom wants to see you."

Diana walked up to the door as Akko opened it wide for their guest. There in the doorway was a 5'5" woman who looked to be in her late fifties. She brown hair and red eyes very similar to Akko wearing a red sweater and blue pants while holding a large brown luggage case. A smile was spread across her face as she set her bag down and reached out to hug Akko tightly. Diana, even in her sweaty and winded state, couldn't help but smile. She didn't expect anything less out of Akko and her mother.

Diana stood back while Akko and her mother greeted each other in Japanese until she took notice of her. "Diana," she said happily. The older woman gently nudged Akko aside and walked into the house. Diana went to step back a little, not wanting to hug her mother in law in such a sweaty state, but the Japanese woman wrapped her up in a tight embrace regardless. "It's so good to see you. How's my favorite daughter in law?"

"I'm well Mrs. Ka..." Diana stopped before she continued on, remembering something important about interacting with Akko's mother. "Reiko. It's great to see you too."

"You remembered!" Reiko said with a giggle and a pat on Diana's back. "I swear when you call Mrs. Kagari you make me sound like Akko's grandmother." She reached over and gave Diana a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so happy for you. I know none of this would've been possible without your work. Your mother would've been so proud."

At Reiko's words Diana felt her eyes sink back into her head and her heart fall in her chest. "My mother," she said quietly.

"Hmm?" Reiko said. "What about your mother?"

Diana quickly composed herself. "Nothing." She reached down and took Reiko's bag. "Here, let me show you to your sleeping arrangements. After that I'm going to take a shower because I smell positively rancid."

Akko and Reiko took turns to laugh at her before she led them back into the house. Once she had gotten Reiko settled Diana went to take a shower. While inside the shower she stood under the hot water and tried to center herself and settle the negative emotions inside her. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't get them to go away.


Reiko intended to stay for a few months until after the baby was born. She helped buy groceries, cook meals, and do other household chores that Akko wasn't able to do, all so Diana could perform essential medical tasks and monitor Akko and the baby's health. She even helped Diana pack up her her large collection of grimoires, tomes, and magical artifacts could be moved safely to the Cavendish manor where her study would be rebuilt. Diana found the gesture incredibly endearing and was thankful for Reiko's presence. Yet something within left her depressed about the whole thing. It wasn't that she was angry at Reiko for coming, even if she did kind of invite herself to stay for as long as she was. It was something different, something Diana didn't really expect.

It finally came to a head when Reiko was making dinner one night. "I do hope I cooked my tonkatsu well," Reiko said as she dished some of the pork cutlets and shredded cabbage along with some homemade karashi sauce. "I rarely get to make this at home now that Mr. Kagari is trying to eat more healthy." The three of them sat down at the table to eat. "I can't wait for my granddaughter to come visit for the first time! Thinking about being a grandma makes me feel so old but it also makes me feel so excited!"

"I can't imagine the elation that you must be feeling," Diana said. She poked at her food with her fork. "I look forward to her being able to visit as well."

"Diana, are you feeling okay?" Akko asked. "You've hardly touched your food."

It took Diana a moment to acknowledge what Akko had said. Still she didn't bother looking up at her wife. "I'm fine," she replied. "I believe I've lost my appetite though."

"Hmm?" Akko said confused.

"Is something wrong with the food?" Reiko said, worry coming of off her voice.

"No, it looks and smells delicious." Diana got up from the table and pushed her chair in. "If you'll excuse me I think I'm going to go lay down for a little while." Diana then walked out of the kitchen and made her way up the stairs toward the bedroom of her house.

"Would you like me to keep your plate warm?" Reiko called out as Diana walked up the stairs. Diana didn't bother responding.

She walked to her bedroom and fell on her bed before looking over to her nightstand. There she kept one of her most precious possessions; a photograph of her and her mother, the late Bernadette Cavendish, sitting outside somewhere on the Cavendish grounds. Diana grabbed the photo and looked at it closely, recalling the excited grin on her face as a little girl while her mother gave her her signature gentle smile. She ran her fingers over the photo and sighed. She could still feel all the negative feelings she had inside her at the moment. Nothing was making them go away.

She lay still for a moment until she heard a knock on the door. "Diana? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Akko," Diana replied. "I'll be down in a little bit. There's no need to come in."

Regardless of her request Akko came into the bedroom anyway. Diana sighed again and remained still on the bed but she put the picture down before looking up at her wife. Akko's gaze was inviting and the smile she bore was just like the one her mother had in the photograph. "What's wrong?"

"It's stupid. You don't need to bother yourself with what I'm going through." She went to turn away from Akko and get up but Akko grabbed her shoulder and held her in place. Diana looked back up at her wife. The gentle gaze was replaced with one more determined that demanded answers. She sighed. "I feel so horrible that I'm thinking these things."

"What things, Diana?" Akko said gently, playing with Diana's blonde locks as she sat on the bed.

Diana held her eyes tightly shut and felt tears slip down her face. She couldn't believe how often she was crying during this whole pregnancy. She wasn't supposed to be the emotional wreck. "Akko, forgive me for saying this but... I'm feeling rather envious of you and your family right now."

"What do you mean?" Akko said perplexedly.

"You still have your mother and father, so our baby will have one set of grandparents. But from my family she'll have no one..." She put her head in her wife's belly, feeling . "I feel jealous that you'll be able to provide our daughter with something that nothing, not even magic, will allow me to provide for her. And I feel awful for thinking that."

She sniffled some more while keeping her head in Akko's belly. "You miss her, don't you?" Akko asked.

"Everyday, and only more so because she'll never get to meet her granddaughter," Diana said, wiping the tears from her eyes. "She'll never be there to teach her the virtues and codes of the Cavendish family, to share the tales of Beatrix the Affectionate with her, to take walks around the Cavendish grounds, to teach our daughter her first spells or how to ride a broom or…"

Diana felt Akko's hand go through her hair, humming gently to calm her down. "You know what I think?" Akko said. Diana looked up at her with watery eyes. "I know you miss her and you say she'll never be there to do all those things, but someone else will."

"Who?" Diana asked.

Diana watched as Akko bent over and kissed her on the forehead, sending her blood rushing to her face. "You'll be there, Diana. She'll have you to teach her all those things." Diana looked up at her wife with watery eyes. "And you know what else? I think that's how your mother would've really wanted it," Akko said. "I think she would've wanted you to be the one to teach her all those things, to take part in all those memories. She would've wanted you to teach her all the things she had to learn to be a Cavendish witch." She felt Akko run her hand through her hair again. "I think your mom, wherever she is, knows just as well as I do that you're going to do a great job at all that."

Diana sniffled a little bit more and wiped the last of the tears from her eyes. She sat up on the bed and reached for her wife, enveloping her in a tight hug. As she hugged her wife Diana looked back at the picture of her and her mother and smiled. "I'll make you proud, Mother," she said under her breath. "I promise I'll make you proud."