Summary: Thanks to an accident, Akko is forced to answer Lotte and Sucy's questions.
Continuation of the last thing, they happen at the same time. Again, don't take too seriously lol.
"So Sucy… how should we do this?" Lotte asked, the two witches walking back to their room.
"I have this truth potion I could u-"
"Sucy, no potions." Lotte scolded.
"Whatever you say. It'd go a lot faster my way though." Sucy grinned. "More fun too."
"Maybe we should just ask her if she knows she likes Diana."
"Akko's oblivious. If she wasn't, you wouldn't have to do thi-"
"WAAAH!"
Sucy was interrupted by the sound of Akko scream accompanied by a loud explosion.
"W-w-what was that?!" Lotte panicked.
"Sounded like my guinea pig. And if I had to guess… she found my potion."
The two witches sped straight to their room.
However, before Lotte could open the door, Sucy grabbed Lotte's hand.
"S-Sucy, what're you doing? We need to check if Akko's okay!"
"Before you do that…" Sucy dug through her sleeves, "you might want to put this on."
"…Why do you have a gas mask?" Lotte asked, staring at the gas mask now in her own hands.
"Two actually." Sucy corrected, voice slightly muffled by the mask on her face. "You should put that on, or you'll be affected by the potion too." Once Lotte put on the mask, Sucy opened the door to their room.
The two witches were greeted with a thick, blue fog. Akko was in the center of the room, kneeling on the floor, coughing.
"Akko! Is everything okay?!" Lotte yelled out.
"I don't know about e-everything, but I'm fine!" Akko forced out, fanning the fumes away from her face.
Sucy took this moment to sneak over to the window and open it, letting the fog flow out of the room.
"Akko, what happened?" Lotte ran towards her kneeling roommate.
"I came back and no one was here… so I practiced my dancing for when I become a big star like Shiny Chariot! … But I slipped and hit the table, and I knocked over something that was on Sucy's desk…" Akko trailed off guiltily. "Sorry Sucy."
"Never mind that. How are you feeling Akko?" Sucy asked, almost clinically.
"Eh?" Akko face shot towards Sucy's direction, her eyes widened. Sucy was checking if she was okay? "I-I'm fine. I think. Why? What was that potion supposed to do?!"
"Are you feeling strange at all?"
"I-I don't think so… I'm a little weirded out though," Akko admitted. "Usually you'd be making fun of me or snarking about me being clumsy."
"You're imagining things." Sucy dismissed.
Akko watched as Sucy and Lotte removed the gas masks from their faces as the remnants of the explosion drifted out of the window. She then watched as Sucy whispered something into Lotte's ears.
"Lotte, Akko… potion…" Akko struggled to hear Sucy whisper something.
"Sucy! We can't… that wou… -ong" Lotte shook her arms, seemingly refusing something.
"Han… barb… would k… had… ell… -ana"
Akko then saw Lotte sigh.
"Fine."
"What were you talking about?"
"I was telling Lotte about how that potion might stain some things in the room." Sucy nonchalantly answered. "Actually, Akko, do you have anything you worry might've been stained?"
Akko's eyes widened instantly.
"My cards!" Akko jumped up and ran to her card collection.
She swiftly flipped all the pages until she got to the last page.
"Phew." Akko then took out the card on the last page and smiled up at it. "Not a stain in sight."
Sucy stared at the happy witch with disinterest before her face split into a mischievous grin.
"Why do you care so much about that dumb card?"
"It's not dumb!" Akko shouted suddenly. "It's the premium Shiny Chariot card! Of course I care about it! It was the one I've been looking for forever! It holds a lot of meaning for me."
"Is th-"
"Sucy." Lotte interrupted, sending her a disapproving look. Sucy sighed and shrugged.
"Akko. Do you want to know what that potion was supposed to do?"
"Yeah!" Akko answered promptly. "I wanna know what I'm supposed to be expecting. Like am I going to grow a tail? Animal ears? A mushroom? … I'm not gonna be unable to speak again am I?! I had to beg Diana to help me find a cure last time, and even then it took hours finding all the ingredients. What if the school doesn't have them?! Diana and I would have to search through the for-"
"Don't worry Akko." Lotte assured. "There won't be any weird things happening to you… physically."
"Huh, Lotte, how do you know what it would do?"
"Cause I was going to use it on you, but Lotte told me not to." Sucy clarified. "I wanted to speed up something we were going to talk to you about."
"Talk to me about? What does that have to do with that weird potion?"
"Well… what you broke was a truth potion."
"A what?"
"I didn't think you needed anymore than that."
"But… a truth potion? Why were you planning to use that on me?"
"… Sucy and I have something we need to talk to you about… and she thought it'd make our job easier." Lotta chimed in, repeating what Sucy had said. "I don't think we should talk about it while you're affected though."
Akko looked at Lotte curiously. "Was it something important?"
"Maybe a little… but we can wait until the potion wears off... I don't want you to answer something if you don't want to."
"I want you to though. It'd make an interesting experiment actually." Sucy showed a smile, revealing her sharp teeth.
"Experiment?"
"This potion makes people tell the truth, without them realizing." Sucy explained, an impish look in her eye. "But… can someone aware of the potion's effects resist it? Wanna test it out Akko?"
Akko grinned. Sucy was going to challenge her?
"You bet! I definitely won't answer any questions I don't wanna answer." Akko smiled confidently. She then turned to Lotte. "Feel free to talk to me about whatever."
"You sure?"
"Yes!" Akko answered without any pause, causing Sucy to snicker. "… Okay this might be a little harder than I thought. Actually, what were you going to talk to me about?"
"Before that…" Sucy began, before receiving a glare from Lotte. "What? I need to test the potion's effects... Akko, what'd you do today after class?" Sucy continued neutrally, as she grabbed her pen and notepad.
Instantly, Akko's eyes lit up.
"Well, after you and Lotte went to who knows where, I went to the library to do some of Professor Finnelan's homework. Or try to do. It was really confusing." Akko said, before moving to a pile of books on her desks. "I was stuck staring at it for hours. And it was so boring."
Lotte and Sucy watched as Akko continued the epic of her struggle to figure out the, admittedly excessive, linguistics homework. They also watched as she dug through a mountain of books on her desk.
"Ah, foun- woah!" Akko fell as the books on her desk fell on her. "Ow… oh wait, but look! I finished it!" Akko announced proudly showing Lotte and Sucy a thick collection of worksheets and papers. "Thankfully, Diana stopped by and gave me a lot of help."
"Oh, Diana stopped by?" Lotte asked.
"Yeah, apparently Hannah and Barbara went somewhere too, so she was just spending time in the library. Probably researching something super important. Anyway, she apparently heard me yelling and was planning to scold me about being too loud."
"Akko, you're not supposed to yell in the library!" Lotte scolded.
"I knooow, but you've seen the homework! It made no sense!" Akko yelled, quickly raising both of her arms straight up in the air. "Anyway, while I was staring at the worksheets, she apparently walked up behind me and said, ahem, 'Akko, this is a library. I believe you understand that an environment such as this demands the utmost silence.'," Akko said, arms crossed and eyes closed, doing her best impression of the blonde heiress, causing Lotte to giggle and Sucy to roll her eyes.
"I groaned and slumped in my seat. But then she saw my homework and offered to help." Akko hopped slightly. "I was so glad, I immediately jumped out of my chair and wrapped her in a hug! She was a little stiff, but then she gave me a hug back… It felt really nice. We kind of just stood there for a while."
Akko stilled. For the briefest moment, Akko felt herself back in that moment, remembering every sensation. Diana's soft, wavy hair. Their heartbeats against each other. That way Diana pressed herself just a little closer.
"A-after that!" Akko snapped to attention suddenly, her cheeks lightly dusted in pink, "she sat down next to me and helped me with my homework! She was really nice about it too. And then after that I came here and, you know the rest."
Sucy looked at the clock next to Akko's desk.
"You didn't need to tell us that much detail Akko." Sucy deadpanned.
"What do you mean?"
"That took ten minutes."
"… Huh?! I didn't even notice!" Akko's eyes widened, suddenly turning to the clock.
"Un…ob…ser…vant" Sucy writes out loud.
"Hey!"
"How did you feel while you were answering my question?" Sucy continued, preparing to write in her notes.
"It was weird. It was kind of like I was on autopilot? I wasn't really thinking about what I said, I just… said it. Like the moment I heard a question, words started being said…" Akko tapped her chin, looking up at the ceiling in thought. "Oh! There was this one moment where like, I think I had a flashback to what I was answering… kind of like I was reliving it?"
Sucy looked up from her notepad, an odd grin on her face.
"Explain what you mean."
"I don't see why I have to." Akko huffed and crossed her arms.
Sucy sighed.
"Akko, what did you mean when you said you were 'reliving it'?"
"It was like I was feeling what I felt before." Akko responded succinctly.
The moment Akko finished, she stared blankly at Sucy.
"Okay that was weird... Sucy, how does this potion work again?"
"You can't knowingly lie. You can give false information if you truly feel it's true, but otherwise, no lying. Also, when directly asked a question, you instantly answer it, as completely as you feel is possible."
"And that's why…"
"That's why you ran your mouth earlier. And why you answered that question."
"Oh."
"So Akko…" Sucy began to lead in.
"Wait! Wait wait!" Akko shouted, frantically waving her arms at Sucy. "Lotte! What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Oh uh… Ehehe, uh…" Lotte nervously looked around the room, "We were going to talk to you about Diana."
"Eh? Diana?" Akko stared dumbly at Lotte. "What about Diana?" Akko blinked. "Did something happen to her?! Is she in trouble?!" Akko spun rapidly, trying to gather the things she needed to leave the room. "Why didn't you start off with that? I needa make su-"
"Akko, stop being stupid." Sucy called for Akko's attention. "Diana isn't in any trouble."
"Oh." Akko turned around, hand already twisting the doorknob. "Then what about Diana?"
"W-well… we wanted to know if you liked Diana…"
Akko stared emptily at the two witches sitting across her.
"I mean… I don't hate her. We're friends." Akko answered hesitantly. "This doesn't seem that impor-"
"You're so dense..." Sucy muttered to herself.
"What was that Sucy?!"
"Akko, do you like Diana?" Sucy queried bluntly.
"Of course I like Diana! That's a silly question." Akko asserted, staring at her roommates in disbelief. "We're really good friends now!"
"N-no, Akko." Lotte started. "I mean like how Edgar likes Ar-"
"Shh." Sucy placed a finger on Lotte's lips, signaling her to stop and watch. Sucy had already taken out a recorder Amanda told Constanze to lend them.
"I mean, sure I used to think she was annoying… Prissy… Too perfect for her own good. But I don't think that way now. She's super nice, and can be really sweet when she wants to be. I used to find her lectures annoying, but now I know she was just looking out for me." Akko continued with a smile.
"Sucy, what's going on?" Lotte whispered.
"Akko's going crazy." Sucy chuckled. "More accurately, I think her brain was too stupid to see your question, so her heart's taking over."
"Actually, now that I think about it, she's always looking out for me. She's usually the person who catches me when I'm falling." Akko held her premium card up in the air and twirled while giggling."Not to mention she gave me this when I was feeling down. I'm really lucky that she seems to care so much."
"Did you expect this to happen?"
"No, but that's what makes Akko such a good test subject."
"Sometimes I think she works too hard though. I mean, I get she's Diana Cavendish, but that doesn't mean she has to be working so hard and be so serious all the time right?! She's the same age as us; she should at least be able to have fun and relax. I really like seeing her happy and relaxing. Her eyes shine like perfect blue crystals, and she has the prettiest giggle, even if she tries to hide it behind her hand." Akko sighed dreamily.
"Aww, this is so cute though. It's like I'm reading volume ten of Nightfall."
"I hate seeing her tired or sad. Nothing should ever let that beautiful face of hers frown! That's why whenever we're together, I make sure that I get a good laugh out of her. She always tries to stop herself, but I get to her eventually." Akko grins triumphantly.
"Oh my, It's like she's living volume ten of Nightfall." Lotte squeaked.
"I really like the time we can spend together. It's always so much fun being with her, and I'm always trying to find ways to spend more time with her! Like sneaking off in the middle of the night. Or dropping by while she's researching… I'm sure you two notice me running up to her before and after class right?"
"Everyone sees you Akko." Sucy flatly said.
"I guess you're right. I just love the way she smiles whenever she greets me. It always makes me feel like butterflies are fluttering around in my stomach. Being with her does that too. Seeing her giggle also… Or really just seeing her in gene…ral…"
Akko suddenly came back to her senses. She could feel her heart pumping far more rapidly than before. She could feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
Her face was practically on fire.
Too embarrassed to look at her roommates, Akko shut her eyes.
When she did, she was greeted with an image of the most perfect smile on the most perfect face looking at her with the most perfect icy blue eyes.
None of which did anything to still the butterflies in her stomach, to slow down her heart, or to cool her face.
"S-Sucy? H-how long does this potion last?" Akko stuttered.
"Had you only breathed in a normal dose, it would have worn off by the time you woke up tomorrow. Since, you probably breathed in more…" Sucy shrugged.
"Why? Akko, is something wrong?" Lotte asked.
Akko, finally prepared to hear a question, bit her lip.
She didn't want to say what she knew was about to say… something so obvious, she was embarrassed she hadn't realized it sooner.
At the same time, she also wanted to say it.
She could feel the words on the tip of her tongue. A bubbly feeling in her chest, wanting to erupt.
Not just say it, she wanted to scream it out for everyone to hear.
And now, seeing a vision of those icy blue eyes gazing at her warmly… hearing the echoes of her musical laughter in the back of her mind… She wasn't sure if it was just because of the potion or because she really wanted to scream it out.
That being said, Akko was fully aware that what she was about to say was something she now knew was true, both in mind and heart.
Conflicted between wanting to keep her mouth shut and wanting to shout it to the heavens, Akko settled on a middle ground, giving into the bubby feeling spreading through her.
She spoke just loud enough for her roommates to hear, just loud enough to answer Lotte's question.
"I… think I like Diana."
Lol. Remember how I said Akko's would be shorter? I lied. Also Sucy lied when she said Diana wasn't in "trouble", though Akko showing up would have made it worse.
I legit coulda made this and the last one its own two shot. (or three shot as it were/will be) woops. Anyway, still relieving stress and just trying to have fun and be a bit more silly. Given that, one more of these before I move on to a different idea.
The whispers: "Lotte, Akko took the potion." "Sucy! We can't ask her now. That'd be wrong." "Hannah and Barbara would kill us, since they had to tell Diana."
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
