Whether Diana realized it or not, it was becoming difficult to breathe.

Perhaps the verbosity of the text could mask things enough, at least for Diana to not have to come to the conclusion of vulnerability, or worse, fear.

What are you afraid of?

Diana attempted to affix her gaze to the book, pushing the thought away and allowing the chillingly logical, medical verses to enter her brain instead. Usually she was good at letting words fill her head instead of feelings, but this time, it proved challenging. Her eyes kept flicking back to Akko and her focus refused to settle.

You don't need to research. You know what it is already.

The words were long and verbose and Diana squinted her eyes to take them all in. Time passed, probably. Though she didn't know how much, since she hadn't looked up from her book. In fact, the text-filled paged remained unturned. Diana had been reading the same sentence over and over again, like a loop, or a broken record. Eyelids lowering, neck drooping; the letters fell apart under her watch, crumbling and falling to the bottom of the page. Leaning forward, her nose pressed to the paper, eyes barely open now, her body slipping- slipping-

Don't make it harder than it needs to be.

"D-Diana?"

Diana looked up and saw double for a moment, everything tilting, spinning, and blurring before her. Shaking her head slightly, she allowed her vision to sharpen again and turned around to find the source of the noise. But her eyes only met Akko's, who was still sitting beside her at the desk, her face knotted with worry: brows furrowing and bright, red eyes darting over her warily

"Akko," Diana's voice was hoarse. "My apologies. That was inconsiderate of me…" Rubbing at her forehead, Diana reluctantly broke her eyes away, fingers adding pressure against the skin.

Akko tilted her head, the apologetic words floating past her ears. All she cared about was the girl next to her, who seemed more pale and drained than she'd been yesterday, as if she was slowly being worn down. Without even thinking about it, she took Diana's hands in her own. The sudden physical contact made her straighten up, hands twitching slightly in Akko's grip.

"Diana, are you okay?" Akko leaned in and Diana could see her gaze sparkling in her peripheral. "We can stop if you're too tired!"

"I'm fine," Diana said, but her softened voice was less than convincing. "There's no need for concern. I didn't sleep well last night, that's all."

Akko's hands still held tightly onto Diana's and she couldn't help but notice that she was becoming acutely aware of how comforting they were beginning to feel. How long had it been since they grabbed one another's hands as a means to encourage each other? It felt like forever ago. Before then, she hardly remembered anyone taking her hands aside from her mother. Familiar gentleness; she found it harder and harder to push away the urge to curl up into that feeling again from such small contact. Those heavy feelings of protection and safety and-

Don't make it harder than it needs to be.

"Well, you're my friend and I'm concerned," Akko's voice broke through the mist around Diana's head. "We can study some other time. You shouldn't overwork yourself!"

"Akko, please…" Diana trailed off, her chest tightening up, holding the rest of her sentence back.

This was going all wrong. Diana was supposed to be helping Akko but, as if part of some cruel joke, she was the one being helped instead. She was the one who wanted to keep Akko away from trouble - away from the monsters and danger that came with magic. The falling sky, the crumbling ruins, the agony of watching her in pain, even in dreams. To think she could've been- No. She didn't want to imagine those scenarios that tore at her heart in the night.

Deep in her reflection, Diana hadn't even felt her teeth slowly digging deep into her bottom lip to keep it from quivering. Nor did she catch her shoulders beginning to shake. What she could feel, however, was the creeping warmth in her eyes. That was unacceptable.

"Diana," Akko's voice brimmed with worry. "Is everything okay?"

No.

"Yes."

Closing her eyes, she staved off the building moisture. Selfish. She was being so selfish, having Akko focused completely on her irrational behavior. Diana found she couldn't regain her composure as easily with Akko in her proximity and her hands quietly warming her up.

But Diana needed to tell her anyway. That's what she wanted. Right? There was no better time than now.

"It's just that-" Diana paused, locking up again. Why did Akko have to look at her that way? Her eyes were so bright and welcoming and kind. She would be burdening her, telling her about her problems like this. They were her issues and she always tried to involve as little people as possible into her personal dilemmas. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything Akko could do about them. Last thing Diana wanted to do was give her something else to worry about with finals coming up.

Yet, another part of her felt the words shaking at her lips, begging to come out, craving that desire to be heard and understood by someone else.

"It's just that…" Diana repeated, giving herself more time to think. "I've had a lot on my mind, that's all."

"Like?" Akko pressed, leaning forward. As soon as she saw Diana withdrawing from her, she realized that she was being too aggressive. Akko pulled herself back, looking down at their hands. "Eheh, sorry, that was kinda nosy of me."

"Nothing to apologize about."

"I guess I just always wonder, 'cause you've been keeping to yourself a lot recently. You act really mature and adult-like about everything," Akko said, continuing to look down. "I can't help but hope you're not keeping things bottled up, y'know? Like with your family or school or magic or anything. You can always-" Akko stopped herself, realizing how much weight the sentence had.

You can always be open with me.

"Akko," Diana inhaled sharply, the air was slow as it filled her lungs. Breathing had become an arduous task. "I apologize for any distress I may have caused you with my improper behavior, but I must insist that you refrain from worrying about me."

"No!"

Diana's eyes widened at the sudden interjection. Akko's voice was sharper, her eyes snapped back up to meet hers.

"You can't just tell me not to be worried, I'm your friend!" Akko paused, her eyebrows lowering as her shoulders slowly slumped. "Right?"

"Akko… of course we're friends. Why would you-?"

"I dunno," Akko shook her head. "Ever since we fought the Noir Missile, it's like-" She let go of their hands to run hers through her hair in frustration. Diana felt cold again, a breeze washing over her skin. "It's like- something changed between us, but we just went back to how things used to be anyway. I rarely ever see you or talk to you. And now you're back to pushing things away again! I don't understand. Did I do something?" Akko knew she was saying too much, but couldn't bring herself to stop, the words were flying out of her faster than she had anticipated, like they had been lying in wait, ready to be spoken for a long time.

Diana blinked and opened her mouth to speak, but her tongue was dry and nothing came out. All she could do was stare back at Akko, who appeared to deflate even further as the silence lingered.

"Sorry," Akko said, rubbing her neck. Once again she had to make Diana feel uncomfortable with all her word vomit and conclusions. What was she thinking? Akko doubted she was even thinking at all at this point. "Sorry, that was… I didn't mean…"

Before Diana could respond, Akko stood up from her seat, looking away, fists clenched.

"I knew I would mess this up somehow- I should go."

"Akko, wait."

As Akko turned to leave, Diana bolted to her feet and grabbed her wrist. Akko froze. The two of them stood there, another wave of silence passing. That was when Diana saw it, a tear falling from Akko's downcast eyes and hitting the floor between their feet.

"I don't know what's been going on with me," Akko finally spoke. "Here you are, having trouble, and I make it about me. What am I doing?"

Unthinking, completely unthinking, Diana ran her thumb across Akko's wrist; for what reason, she didn't know. Perhaps a means of comfort or a quiet effort to get Akko to calm her emotions for a minute. Whatever it was, Akko began to tremble, looking down at Diana's hand on her wrist, then back up with watery eyes.

"I'm sorry," Akko managed to say before pulling her hand away and making a beeline for the door.

Diana did not stop her. She did not know why. It was as if Akko's presence had made her thoughts difficult to speak, and instead of knowing what to say, all she could do is stand there uselessly while Akko tore herself apart. Running a hand through her tousled hair, Diana felt a cold, creeping chill up her back and that annoying warmth coming back to her eyes.

Akko had been heartfelt in the past, that was a component of her personality, one that Diana admired greatly. However, this time was different; she had looked so… pained. Had Diana really been keeping that large of a distance from Akko? In her own paranoia about her thoughts, was she unconsciously pushing her dear friend away? Diana didn't want to think that was the truth, but she was too smart to lie to herself. Intrusive thoughts aside, her hesitance had once again made things more problematic for her.

She debated going after Akko, though she feared she would freeze up again and not solve anything. But she couldn't allow Akko to run off all upset. Last time that had happened, Diana had found her freezing in the snow. Diana had to do something. If only her racing thoughts didn't work against her so cruelly.

Diana took a deep breath and hurried out the door.

That was it, that was it, that was it.

The feeling, she had pinpointed it. She had spent days, in the dark, shuffling around in a pile of keys, shoving them in the lock twisting each one to no avail - but this time, there was a click. It clicked. All cylinders. Clockwork. Oiled gears. Thoughts were running faster and faster. Faster than Akko's feet as they seemed to glide over the floor in her sprint. The key was found, but the timing couldn't have been worse.

I want to be closer.

That's what she wanted. It was the click. Inside the box had been the words, but under those words had been another locked box, surrounded by a sea of keys. Was there an end? One question was answered only to bring up several more. Too many for Akko to engage at once. Her feet, however, were easy to engage. So she continued to run away. Because, sometimes, running away was the best course of action: physically and emotionally.

Akko didn't think about where she was running to, she had nowhere in mind she wanted to go. If she had been moving in circles, she wouldn't have noticed that either. At least circles would give her a sense of familiarity, because nothing else in her head felt that way, and she really needed a sense of sameness now.

"Akko?"

Freezing in her tracks, Akko swiveled her head toward the source of the voice.

"Professor Ursula…" Akko sighed, relieved. She wasn't sure how she'd react if it had been Diana again.

"You're in quite the hurry," Professor Ursula said as she approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder. Noticing that Akko averted her gaze this time, which was something she didn't do unless something was troubling her, Ursula crouched down to Akko's level. It was then that she saw the reddening puffiness around her eyes. Her voice lowered. "Akko, is everything alright?"

Akko silently shook her head, still too volatile for words.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Akko shook her head again, paused, then nodded her head.

"Not here," Akko forced herself to say, feeling her voice breaking again.

"Right. Let's go to my office."

Ursula, sensing the urgency, brought her hand gently to Akko's back to guide her as the two of them began walking together. They didn't have to say anything to one another, it was made pretty clear what the source of Akko's mood was, especially after the conversation the two of them had yesterday. So Ursula made sure to walk slowly and smile at Akko when she occasionally looked up from the floor; seeing her pupil so downcast and rejected made her heart ache. It reminded her again, that despite everything they had been through, Akko still had trouble with the intricacies of school and relationships. And, as much as Ursula wanted to give advice, she knew her own past experiences with people and feelings hadn't had the greatest outcome. All she could do for now was lend Akko her full attention, as well as provide a shoulder to cry on.

When they reached Ursula's room, she softly ushered Akko inside, who proceed to slump down in one of the chairs at the desk. As soon as the door was shut, she broke down into a quiet sob, covering her mouth with her hand.

Professor Ursula moved over to sit beside Akko and patted her back.

"It's alright, let it out," Ursula said. She wouldn't press Akko about the issue. If all the girl needed to do was cry about it, she was fine with that, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, she was a bit too familiar with how Akko was behaving now. "And then when you're all done, we'll have some tea." She pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Akko.

Akko nodded, sniffling and dabbing at her eyes with the cloth. They sat together for another minute as Akko finally simmered down, the redness fading from her face a bit, though a tinge of it still lingered on her nose. Taking in a breath, she allowed herself to relax a bit as Ursula got up to prepare a pot of tea for them.

"Is jasmine flower alright?" Ursula asked.

"It's perfect," Akko croaked, fiddling with the handkerchief in her hands.

"Ready to spill?"

"Not yet," Akko smiled sadly and shook her head. "After tea."

Ursula simply nodded, bringing two hot cups of tea over for them. Akko brought hers up to her face, allowing the steam to hit her for a second before looking at the pitiful reflection in the liquid.

A serene, peaceful sense of recognition passed between the two of them as they continued sitting silently, as sad as Akko felt, simply being with her idol and mentor made her feel calmer by the minute. As they slowly drank their tea, and after Akko's face had dried completely, she set down her cup, emitting a low whistle of air between her teeth.

"I said something stupid to Diana."

Ursula gave a faint nod and placed her hand atop of Akko's.

"I highly doubt you said anything Diana would consider stupid."

"No. But I thought it was stupid," Akko grumbled to herself. "I told her I felt like we weren't hanging out as much. I don't know why I had suddenly said that, or why I felt so…" She paused again, fighting the urge to get emotional again.

Ursula gave Akko's hand a reassuring squeeze.

"You don't have to talk about anything that's too upsetting," Ursula said.

"I really freaked Diana out. And the worst part was, that she was obviously going through something. I mean, she looked so tired and her mind seemed to be stuck on something else," Akko leaned back in her chair, whining and covering her face with her hands. "Man, I really blew it. I just had to open my big mouth."

"You seem awfully concerned about what Diana thinks, Akko." Ursula smiled. "I believe I remember having a similar conversation with you last night."

"Yeah, but I feel like it made more sense when I started spilling my thoughts. Like they were a bunch of puzzle pieces and everything started to fit together."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Ursula sat up in her seat.

"I mean," Akko gulped, her breath coming in short. "I think- I think the reason I worry so much about what Diana thinks of me is-"

Akko's admission was cut short by an unexpected (and expected) knock on the door, clipping the thought away.