Chapter Text
There were fewer things that annoyed Diana Cavendish more than people who could not keep their eyes off of their phones while out to eat with others. It was one of the little things that drove her crazy. It was so discourteous and inconsiderate. If one was spending time with friends, then their attention should be focused on that—not some foolish piece of technology.
And yet, as Diana sat at the small cafe in Blytonbury with Hannah and Barbara, she had become one of the very people she detested so much. Despite her friends engaging in active conversation, Diana kept finding her eyes flicking to look at the screen of the cell phone she had set on the table.
Several times she had attempted to pick it up and place it in her purse—out of sight, out of mind. However, somehow the device continued to end up back in her hand as she anxiously checked for any missed messages. She had eventually given up her internal battle and settled on leaving the phone screen-up on the table instead. That way, she would notice the second it lit up with the single text message she was so eagerly waiting on.
“I can’t believe it’s seriously been five years already,” Hannah groaned, pulling Diana from her thoughts. “Can time slow down just a little bit? I’m not ready for wrinkles.”
“C’mon, Han. You look fine!” Barbara assured with a wave of her hand. “The teachers are the ones who should be worried about stuff like that.”
“Whatever,” Hannah scoffed, using her fork to push around a tomato that sat on her plate. “Truth be told, I sort of wish I could bail on this reunion thing. I’m not exactly in the mood to socialize with people I haven’t seen in eons.”
“You are aware that nobody’s forcing you to go, aren’t you?” Diana noted, taking a sip of her water, eyeing the black screen of her phone.
“Well, yeah, but... Amanda wants to go. So…” Hannah murmured, her cheeks tinted pink as she twisted a lock of hair around her finger.
Barbara audibly gagged, resulting in her getting a nasty scowl from Hannah. Diana resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Of course O'Neill was the reason Hannah was attending their class reunion at all. The pair had been in an on-again-off-again relationship since graduation—much to the disapproval of herself and Barbara.
Their relationship status depended on the day of the week. Last Diana heard, Hannah was ‘done with Amanda, for real this time’. Though, it seemed as if the tides were turning (again). She had the sinking suspicion that Hannah would be insisting ‘it’s love’ in a mere two weeks.
Diana shifted her attention away from her phone to give Hannah a heavy, disapproving look.
Hannah’s cheeks flushed darker as she bristled. “Don’t look at me like that!”
Diana sighed, rubbing her temple. “I really wish you’d seek out better company.”
“Like who? Akko?” Hannah spat, obviously wishing to shift the topic of conversation as she shoved the tomato in her mouth. “When’s she getting here anyways?”
“Her flight arrives at 2.” Diana reached over, unlocking her phone so that she could see the time. “I’m actually going to the airport from here to pick her up.”
Yes, the very subject of her distraction was none other than Atsuko Kagari herself. To nobody’s surprise, Akko wanted to attend their graduating class’s five year reunion being held at Luna Nova. Her plan was to fly from her home in Chiba and stay at the Cavendish Manor for the two weeks leading up to the reunion.
Not that Diana had any objections to that. She had been the one to suggest that Akko arrive two weeks early. After all, she did miss her girlfriend terribly and wanted nothing more than to spend some in-person quality time together with her. Though, the clock that ticked leading up to Akko’s landing time moved at an agonizingly slow pace.
“You must be getting excited, then,” Barbara noted, leaning on her fist with a smirk. “It’s been a while since you last saw each other, right?”
Diana nodded. “Five months.”
“Christ,” Hannah scoffed. “I dunno how you guys do it. How haven’t you gone crazy yet?”
“I think it’s sort of romantic,” Barbara breathed dreamily, putting a hand to her cheek.
Hannah deadpanned. “I swear to God, if you start talking about Night Fall right now…”
“I-I…” Barbara’s cheeks burned. “I wasn’t going to!”
“We manage,” Diana dismissed, defusing the fight she could sense coming on between the pair. “The distance isn’t as taxing as you may think.” She picked up her glass, taking a sip. “We have many methods of staying in communication.”
As much as it pained Diana to admit it, all of the technology that had been introduced to her life following her years at Luna Nova did have their perks—mainly, being able to communicate with Akko in a variety of different ways, despite being thousands of miles apart. At the very least, it certainly made their incredibly long distance relationship a tad more bearable.
Of course, that didn’t make her miss Akko any less. Even with all of the technology and magic-enhanced items in the world, nothing could quite make up for the lack of physical presence. She often found her heart aching for Akko’s touch, even if she knew quite well that the situation couldn’t be helped. They just needed to make do with what they had.
“Yeah, but it’s still different, you know?” Hannah rolled her eyes. “Seriously, Diana. You should just ask her already.”
Diana cocked a brow. “Ask her what?”
“Hello?” Hannah gawked. “Ask her to marry you!”
Diana’s mind blanked.
“I…” she managed, wondering if she had misheard, “beg your pardon?”
“Why’s that such a surprise?” Hannah squinted at her. “You two have been dating since forever, and you’re obviously not sick of each other yet. Honestly, you’re so in love that it’s kind of gross.”
“Yeah! You can’t say you’ve seriously never thought about marrying Akko,” Barbara chimed in. “You guys are high school sweethearts! You must’ve at least considered it by now, right?”
Ah, so she hadn’t misheard.
“I…” Diana averted her gaze as color rose to her face. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “The thought has crossed my mind, yes.”
“Then ask her already!” Barbara blanched, as though it were obvious. “What are you waiting for?”
“You won’t need to do this stupid long distance thing anymore if you do.” Hannah grinned, putting a hand to her mouth. “Make this trip the trip, you know?”
Diana had certainly thought about marrying Akko. Many times. In fact, she would have gone as far as to say nothing would make her happier than spending every day of the rest of her life with the woman she loved so much. And, yes, they had entertained the idea in jest with one another—several times. And each time they did, just the thought of marriage felt like a dream come true.
However...
“It’s not that simple, girls,” Diana sighed, putting a finger to her temple. “Things are… complicated.” She shifted her gaze to her cup. “Akko still hasn’t found stable work, my job is demanding, and you know how my family is.” She closed her eyes. “Now just isn’t the right time.”
“It’s never the right time with you, Diana,” Hannah observed flatly. “Just give it some thought, okay? Or do you really wanna keep doing this forever?”
As taxing as long distance could be, and as badly as Diana wanted to spend every day with Akko, the thought of asking her to commit to the lifestyle that the Cavendishes led left a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Akko had made her discomfort surrounding the bells and whistles of noble life more than clear on several occasions.
Her aunt and cousins did little to make Akko feel truly welcomed whenever she visited the Cavendish Manor, to boot. Their blatant disapproval of, well, basically everything about Akko was glaringly obvious—and Diana knew that Akko could sense their distaste, too. They loathed the fact that Akko had no respect for high class etiquette and held even stronger disdain for Akko’s work as a freelancing, performing witch.
Akko had insisted time and time again that how Daryl and the twins felt about her ‘wasn’t a big deal’, but Diana was well aware that even Akko could only take so much mockery. The last thing Diana wanted to do was force that life onto Akko if it made her uncomfortable.
Of course, she didn’t want to continue doing long distance forever—but jumping into something like marriage with all of their current factors at play simply felt as if it would be too much. It would need to be something they discussed further.
The clock on Diana’s phone blinking to read ‘1:30’ caught her attention, and deciding it best to drop the conversation there anyways, she quickly collected her things and rose to her feet.
“I should be going.” Diana reached into her purse, pulling out several paper bills and laying them on the table. “Lunch is on me. I’ll see you both at the reunion.”
Barbara and Hannah exchanged annoyed looks with each other as Diana turned on her heel and made her way to the cafe doors.
Hannah rose from her seat, calling after her, “You’d better buy her a nice ring!”
The airport parking lot was as busy as always. Diana stood outside of her family’s car, scanning the clusters of people moving in and out of the sliding doors. She exhaled, running a hand through her hair.
She wasn’t sure what she was nervous for. She and Akko had done this dozens of times before. And yet, her heart raced like a motor every time those double doors slid open. What Hannah and Barbara had suggested back at the cafe was still gnawing away at her somewhere in the back of her mind.
She had repeatedly tried to rid herself of the thought, but it continuously found ways of snaking itself back into her head. If she did ask, what would Akko say? Would she jump at the opportunity with all of the excitement in the world? Or would she hesitate at the idea of such a jarring change to the life she had grown accustomed to?
There were so many questions and thoughts that ran through Diana’s mind. She knew there was no point in fretting over it right then, but she couldn’t help herself. The seed had been planted and it was beginning to sprout.
But suddenly Diana’s thoughts came to a halt as her heart leapt into her throat. A familiar flash of long brunette hair and shining crimson eyes were rapidly pushing through the ocean of people, bounding toward her. Diana barely had a moment to collect herself as the girl with a smile as bright as the sun leapt at her.
“Diana!” Akko exclaimed, tossing her luggage to the ground as she tackled Diana into a tight bear hug.
Diana gasped, stumbling back to keep her footing. “A-Akko!”
Akko held her tighter, grinning from ear to ear. “Oh man! I missed you so much! You wouldn’t believe how long that plane ride felt! I had half the mind to jump out of the emergency hatch and fly here myself!” she rambled, burying her face into Diana’s neck. “Then I remembered all my luggage was under the plane, so I couldn’t do that! But I just kept thinking about seeing you and that made me super impatient! And now you’re here and I—!”
The weight of being apart for five months came crashing down on Diana all at once. Akko’s embrace was tight, her hair smelled like strawberries, and the skin of her cheek against her neck was warm. Her heart was overwhelmed with a mix of longing, joy, and relief at the same time. Every worry, every stress, and every anxiety that she had vanished in less than a second.
After five long months she was finally with Akko again.
At that moment, she didn’t care who was looking or what they thought. She didn’t care that her family driver sat only a few feet away, watching with an amused smile. She didn’t care that she was interrupting Akko mid-sentence. In a single, swift motion, she cupped Akko’s cheeks in her hands and kissed her.
Akko’s face heated up as she let out a muffled noise of surprise. But it didn’t take long for her to loosen up, and soon, Diana could feel her smiling against her mouth as she returned the kiss. Diana could have melted right there on the spot. A part of herself that she hadn’t even realized was missing felt as if it had finally come back and made her whole again.
Diana liked to believe that the long distance between herself and Akko wasn’t something that she found totally unbearable. Though, during times like these she honestly wondered how she had managed to hold out for five months without Akko there to begin with. Or, what’s more, how she could even consider lasting another five months once this visit was over.
When they finally parted, Akko let out a small giggle and Diana pressed their foreheads together.
“I missed you, as well,” Diana agreed, running her thumbs along Akko’s cheeks. “Immensely.”
The way Akko smiled at her made Diana’s world brighten. Even though Akko had been the one who was away for five grueling months, Diana was left feeling like she was the one who was somewhere she didn’t belong. Her heart ached with every second they spent apart.
All of the late night calls, the exchanged text messages and letters—suddenly none of it felt as though it were enough when she had Akko standing there in front of her. Everything was right. She knew how short the next two weeks would be. The thought of going five more months without Akko once they were over seemed nearly impossible.
With Akko beside her, Diana’s heart was finally at home.
A smile curved its way onto Diana’s lips. Perhaps Hannah and Barabara’s proposition wasn’t entirely ludicrous. Maybe there were things she needed to begin considering.
...