Bonus Side Story: Light Learning

... So uh, surprise?

A Tumblr friend of mine made a piece of fanart two months ago for Dianakko week (see here: kodraws tumblr com/post/165584167481/dianakko-week-day-5-spellboundenchanted )that I have since made into my lock screen, and it's been nagging me ever since to do something to include that moment into this fic's "canon" as it were.

So this is a fanfic chapter, inspired by fanart inspired by a fanfic. And that's just swell. It takes place a month and a half ish before the epilogue but like two and a half ish months after ch 14. I thought about making this a chapter of Distractions... but this makes way too many references to the original fic for it to be its own standalone chapter.

A lone spark lit up in the darkness. Though it started as a soft, almost dim ball of light, it continued to grow bigger and brighter until its light rivaled that of the sun.

And that's when Diana woke up, the enchantment she had cast upon herself before going to sleep having done exactly what it was intended to do: wake her up in the middle of the night.

It only took her a moment for her consciousness to fully return to her from sleep's embrace… and while she was reluctant at first to escape it, she quickly broke free from its alluring grasp, knowing full well that another, more blissful embrace would be soon taking its place.

Diana removed her covers from atop her, grabbed her wand from the desk, and jumped off of her bed. She imbued magic into her wand, creating a gentle green glow. With the light illuminating the dark room, Diana turned towards the mirror on her wall and ensured that her uniform wasn't excessively wrinkled and that there was not a single hair out of place.

While perfection was unnecessary, Diana wanted to appear at least somewhat presentable.

She ran a hand down her skirt, straightening out any wrinkles. Thoroughly satisfied, Diana maneuvered around her bed and walked up to her table. She smiled at the calendar, filled with scribbled hearts and even more crosses and x's. However, the most prominent doodle on the calendar was the big red heart encircling today's date.

She reached out and tapped the date with her finger, causing the heart to shine a bright red.

The signal sent, Diana quietly moved towards the exit of her room. It was late after all, and Hannah and Barbara had retired for the night quite a while ago. Diana did not wish to wake them by making any excess sound.

Diana carefully opened door, meticulously controlling her force so that not a single noise was made. When she made the tiniest opening, Diana peeked through it, ensuring no one from the night patrol was outside.

After all, it was past curfew. And sure, this wasn't the first time she'd broken curfew, but that did not mean she wouldn't be taking the necessary precautions.

She squinted, looking for any sign of the familiar green light that signaled a patrol member was passing by.

She'd had enough obstacles over the past months. Getting caught was not something that she would allo-

"Diana?"

Diana jumped at the call of her name and quickly whipped her head towards the voice. She visibly relaxed when she saw that it was Hannah, who was sitting up on her bed.

"My apologies," Diana said, "I had not intended to wake you."

"What's going on?" Barbara mumbled as she shifted towards the door, "Are you going somewhere Diana?"

"There isn't, like, something terrible happening, right Diana?" Hanna asked, her eyes widening and her voice filled with dread.

"No, nothing of the sort," Diana quickly said, her hand waving their worries away. "I simply wished to go for a night stroll."

Hannah and Barbara blinked at Diana slowly, confused at first, their sleep-muddled minds not comprehending what exactly was happening. After all, why would Diana go on a stroll this late?

Then the gears quickly began turning, and they both began to sport a smug grin. Smug grins that quickly revealed to Diana that she had been read quite easily, much to her own embarrassment.

"A night stroll, huh Diana?"

"Y-yes Barbara," Diana stammered, still trying to keep up this excuse.

"So… you're breaking curfew, to go on a stroll?" Hannah innocently asked.

"… Yes."

"I see… then you wouldn't mind if we joined you right?"

"Excuse me?" Diana gasped, her face beginning to pale.

As much as she loved her team, that was the absolute last thing she wanted or needed from them tonight.

"I mean, you wouldn't mind it right?" Barbara asked.

"Yeah, it's just a night stroll right Diana?" Hannah continued.

"… I simply wish to be alone for the night." Diana finished.

"Alone?" Hannah and Barbara echoed.

"Yes. Alone," Diana said, her cheeks aflame.

"… Right, if you say so Diana," Hannah said, tucking herself back into bed. "Have fun on your little 'stroll'"

Diana sighed in relief and smiled, happy that her friends appeared to satisfied with her reasoni-

"Oh, and tell Ak~ko we said hi~," Hannah and Barbara sang together, their voices light and teasing.

Diana quickly squeaked an "okay" before dashing outside of the room, the sound of giggles the last thing she heard escape her room.

Akko had been up all night with only a dim candlelight illuminating the room.

That was okay though. It was late, and her friends were sleeping.

Akko, however, was way too excited to sleep. Her heart had been racing for hours, and she could barely contain her anticipation, having been bouncing on her bed ever since classes had ended for the day.

It had gotten so bad that Akko needed to grab the thing in her room that could soothe her the most. Something filled with meaning and importance.

The premium Shiny Chariot card.

The card never failed to relax Akko or make her happy whenever she was stressed or sad.

… Unfortunately, the card seemed to have actually had the opposite effect, making Akko even more giddy, the card a perfect reminder of just who exactly she had been waiting to see.

And that was when she saw it out of the corner of her eye: a red spark of light shining off of the calendar Diana had given her a few days ago. A grin broke on her face as she watched a bright red heart form on today's date.

In an instant, Akko leapt off of her bed, grabbed her wand, and bolted out of the room, only making sure to lightly close the door, so as to not wake up her roommates.

Although a nice thought, the gesture was wholly pointless, seeing as her two friends slowly rose up out of their slumber, looking towards the door Akko had just sprinted out of.

"Where does that idiot think she's going?" Sucy muttered.

"Well, you know Akko." Lotte said with a chuckle.

Sucy sighed.

"Should we follow her and make sure she doesn't get herself, and us, in trouble?"

Lotte hummed and shook her head. "I don't think we'll need to," Lotte said, turning towards Sucy. "If she ran out that quickly, she'll probably already be with someone who'll do that for us."

Sucy looked up to Lotte and smiled.

"Figures Akko could get even Diana to break the rules."

Lotte giggled at the thought before wishing Sucy another good night as they both leaned back down onto their beds.

It had been far too long.

It was as if, the very moment after they had realized and accepted the feelings they had for one another and finally became a couple, fate itself had decided to thrust their lives into chaos.

Never mind tutoring. Between Professor Croix's abrupt tenure into the school, the Faerie strike, the journey to unlock the Seven Words of Arcturus, the Wild Hunt, Diana leaving Luna Nova and Akko bringing her back, and, of course, the unlocking of the Grand Triskelion, Akko and Diana barely had enough time to be alone together.

And, given how stressful and tiring all of this was, the time they spent alone was usually spent cuddling with one another, neither witch having much left in terms of energy.

One would think that, after releasing the Grand Triskelion, essentially completing the quest that had, for so long, been a large part in both of their school lives, the both of them would have more time with one another.

Unfortunately, people who thought that had never met the press, and they certainly had never met Wangari or anyone else on the Luna Nova News staff.

It had already been a week since the missile crisis, but Akko and Diana were still the headline of the daily school newspaper. While their privacy in their rooms had been respected - Wangari may have been dedicated to getting the latest and greatest scoop, but she wasn't some sort of criminal -, any moment in the public space of Luna Nova was fair game.

Which made having those promised private tutoring sessions… very complicated.

There wasn't a waking moment outside of their rooms where the both of them weren't swarmed by reporters.

And that was why Akko had hatched this plan:

"If meeting up during the day wouldn't be possible… what about at night? When everyone was asleep!"

Diana admitted the plan could work. It was certainly something that she had never thought of. There was only one problem with it.

"Curfew will have long passed."

Akko groaned, collapsing atop Diana's lap, the back of her hand landing dramatically atop her forehead.

"C'mon Dianaaaa, you've broken curfew before! And we both know you enjoyed it!"

Diana coughed, a faint blush finding a home on her face.

It was certainly true, after all. The first, and only, time she had actually broken curfew, as opposed to work around it via her duties or permission slips, was in fact a very special moment in her life. In both of their lives. It was one she never regretted doing, and one that, if given another chance, she would do all over again.

That being said, there was one, rather important difference.

"Akko…I broke curfew that night so that I could ensure your safe return to your dorm. What you are suggesting we do tomorrow and what I did then are two completely different matters."

"They're not that different… You'll still be 'ensuring my safe return' to my dorm!" Akko protested. "It'll just… you know, be after we spend like a couple of hours together."

Diana sighed, bringing her hand up to interlock with Akko's hand, which was still resting dramatically on her forehead.

She did admit, it was rather tempting. She did miss getting to have an exclusive look at Akko's magic after all. Not to mention, Diana wanted to do everything in her power to help Akko grow into the kind of witch she wanted to become, one who could continue spreading the joys of magic around the world.

And… really, past curfew would be the only time she would get for this until the news from the Grand Triskelion had died down… and considering Wangari was only now asking either Akko or Diana about the sudden kiss they shared in the stratosphere atop the Shooting Star… that could take quite a while.

Such was the burden of being the school's "power couple", as Wangari so kindly put it.

Still, she was a Cavendish.

While the whole idea of strictly following tradition and rules had less meaning to her now than it had months ago- dating Akko did have that effect on her- she still acknowledged tradition's and rules' place in her life.

Seeing as she didn't have to break any of them at this point in time, Diana had no intentions of doing so. Sure she wished to continue watching Akko improve, but that would come in time. All she needed was a bit of patience.

"Akko, you know tha-"

"Pleeeeeeeease?" Akko interrupted with a long drawn out plea as she shook both of their hands around frantically.

Diana rolled her eyes and giggled at her girlfriend's silliness.

She then turned downwards to look at her girlfriend's face so that she could continue explaining why they could not just break rules whenever they wished.

It only took her a moment to realize that doing so was a huge error in judgment.

Diana's mind short-circuited when she saw Akko looking up at her with wide, almost teary puppy-dog eyes.

Diana felt her resolve quickly crumbling under the weight of the adorable look her girlfriend was sending her. She knew that if she subjected herself to this any longer, she'd succumb to the pressure.

And so she quickly closed her eyes, blocking off her sight.

Unfortunately, cutting off one sense tended to heighten the others, and when a whimper hit her ears with crystal clarity, Diana resolve very nearly broke.

For some unjustifiable reason, the sound made Diana peek open her eyes just a little bit. Perhaps she fooled herself into thinking she wanted to make sure Akko wasn't actually crying, but they both knew Akko wouldn't actually be crying over something like this.

She opened just a slight crevice through her eyelids, but unfortunately even that was too much.

Akko was looking up at her with those same wide red eyes… only now Akko's lower lip was jutted out, sending Diana the saddest pout she'd ever witnessed.

The sight made her heart clench, and it was all Diana could do to hold onto the slightest bit of her resolve, trying desperately to keep it together.

And then Akko's lip quivered.

"… Fine." Diana groaned in utter defeat, the last bits of her resolve having been crumbled, smashed into dust, and blown away by the fierce cuteness that was Akko Kagari.

Immediately, Akko's eyes brightened up, her pout disappearing, replaced by a face splitting grin.

"Thank you thank you!" Akko cheered, bouncing off of Diana's lap to wrap her in a tight hug. "Thank youuuuuuuuu"

Diana chuckled, resigning herself to her decision and immediately thinking of ways to coordinate the late night rendezvous.

She had already agreed to it. She may as well make the most of it.

As reluctant as she may have been when she had started planning this out with Akko the day prior, Diana could not deny she was excited for the first time she'd get to tutor Akko with another spell in months.

She was already on the field where they had met so many times before. She had just finished casting an enchantment that would pacify the frigid winter wind into a more cool evening breeze until her and Akko were finished for the night.

With nothing else left to do, Diana stood by and tried her best to contain her own elation. Her heart raced with every passing second, just waiting for the moment when Akko would jump up from the bushes and-

"Diana!"

Diana quickly turned towards the voice and was immediately tackled by her girlfriend, who had jumped at her with all of her weight.

"Akko?!" Diana yelped as she fell backwards onto the ground.

"Ehehe, sorry~" Akko giggled against Diana's collar. "I just missed you soooo much!"

Diana melted as the pleasant tune of Akko's happiness surrounded her. It only took a moment to wrap her arms around Akko's waist, finally returning a hug of her own.

They may have only just seen each other earlier in the day… but that didn't make Akko's words any less true.

"And I missed you too," Diana whispered softly.

Nor hers.

"Ahhhhhhh, I'm sooo excited!" Akko cheered, all but vibrating in Diana's arms. "It's been forever since I got to learn a spell from my favorite tutor."

"Oh? What about Chariot?" Diana teased without missing a beat. She delighted in seeing the sudden widening of Akko's eyes and the quick flush of Akko's cheeks.

"… That's different," Akko said, quickly hiding her face in the crook of Diana's neck. "She's my favorite teacher."

Diana hummed in amusement, a sound that grew into melodious laughter when she felt Akko pout against her neck.

She really did miss this.

However…

"Akko, we must begin soon," Diana said, interrupting their moment together. "It is rather late after all."

"Okay," Akko said, lifting herself up until her face was inches above Diana's. "I hope we have time for kisses though~"

"Perhaps," Diana smiled, "but first: lessons. We must stay focused."

Diana's heart was soaring, and she was struggling to hide the grin that was constantly threatening to overtake her face.

After all, here she was, presented with a perfect view of one of the most adorable sights she had ever known: Akko bouncing in her seat, the silver shine of the moonlight lighting up every bounce of her hair and intensifying the bright light of Akko's eyes. Akko's smile was so wide, it was a wonder her cheeks were not in pain, and Diana found it hard not to watch Akko's little nose as she moved up and down.

But as adorable as all of this was, Diana had a task to do, and she was going to perform it with the utmost perfection.

She cleared her throat and prepared to begin.

"Akko, are you ready?"

"Ready as ever!"

"Very well," Diana said as she released her wand from the knot in her sash, "then I shall demonstrate tonight's spell. I am sure you don't need another lesson about how this spell works?"

"I dunnoooo" Akko drawled, "will it end the same way the last one did? Cause if it will, I don't think a refresher could hurt~" Akko teased.

Diana's face quickly turned scarlet, and she could just tell Akko was enjoying the way words were beginning to fail her, with only sputters escaping her lips.

Diana had to pause the lesson for a moment to gather her bearings from Akko's teasing. Considering they had literally started a minute ago, Diana realized this might be happening quite often should she not put a stop to it immediately.

Diana took a deep breath, using the time to contemplate a countermeasure.

After a moment, she managed to think of one. It was dire, and Diana was unsure she'd be able to hold herself to it.

However, she knew if they were to get anywhere tonight, it would have to be done.

"Akko," Diana said as she exhaled her breath, "just for that transgression, you shall receive no kisses until you have adequately performed the spell."

"W-What?!" Akko quickly jumped off from her seat on the grass, "You… You can't just do that!"

"I can, and I just did," Diana said, satisfied to see shock written all over Akko's face. "Now shall I continue? Or do you wish to stall?"

"… Fine," Akko mumbled after a long, resigned sigh. She crossed her arms and sat back down with a grumble and a pout.

… The pout made Diana realize how difficult this condition might actually be on her, but she shook it off. After all, she was Akko's tutor.

Not only that, she had spent at least one month tutoring Akko without experiencing the sweet taste of Akko's lips, or the soft warmth of Akko's skin against her own lips. She was sure she could do it again.

"Very well, then I shall demonstrate the spell once more."

Diana took a deep breath, focusing magic into the tip of her wand. It glowed a bright green, and as Diana waved it around, a trail of light followed her every movement.

"Stellaetus"

At the call of the spell, the light separated from her wand and grew into a large orb above her. The orb then exploded in a bright flash, and leaving behind a sea of stars that surrounded both witches, floating and flittering around.

As Diana's magic danced, Akko's arms dropped to her sides, all feelings of frustration and stubbornness melting away. Diana's magic was beautiful, and Akko couldn't help but marvel at its brilliance, even moreso since it had been a while since she had experienced it personally.

Each individual green spark of light moved and swayed around in a slow, rhythmic waltz, one Akko's eyes couldn't help but follow. No matter how Akko had felt before, seeing Diana's magic cast in such a display would always mesmerize her.

"Woooow" Akko breathed out, her eyes sparkling in the glow of Diana's spell as her focus danced between a countless number of shimmering lights.

Diana smiled inwardly, satisfied that she had successfully brought out Akko's child-like love for magic.

"While I don't expect something of this level quite yet, by the end of today, I would like to see you produce something to this effect," Diana said, hoping to similarly bear witness to the brilliance only Akko's magic could encapsulate. However, seeing as this was Akko, Diana needed to clarify one thing, " It is also important to note that, while my spell did conjure a large orb of light, that is wholly unnecessary. The light can directly stream from your wand."

Though still entranced by the brilliantly shining lights surrounding her, one thing in Diana's lecture had caught her attention.

"The large orb thing is 'unnecessary'?"

"Well… yes," Diana answered, "Purely for show."

Akko pondered on this for a moment, before sending Diana a cheeky grin.

For what seemed like the fifth time tonight, Diana's face felt enflamed.

"Then why did you do it?" Akko asked innocently, as if she didn't already know the answer. "You don't seem like the kind of person who would do something unnecessarily."

"Akko…" Diana chided, though it was far too weak to have any sort of lasting impact.

"Was my girlfriend showing off for me?" Akko teased, sauntering towards a flustered Diana… a flustered Diana who refused to answer… seeing as the answer was an obvious yes.

She had simply wanted to see that child-like look of awe on Akko's adorable face. The way Akko's face lit up was always something truly magical in and of itself.

Diana's eyes quickly widened when she noticed the repercussions of her own train of thought.

"Oh! What's thiiiiis?" Akko gasped in delight, crossing her eyes for a moment. "I think I see some glitter on my nose~ Does somebodyyy wanna kiss it and make them go away?"

Diana continued to feel heat rushing into her face, rising up into the tips of her ears, upon hearing Akko's insinuation. After all… the answer was a resounding yes. And as much as it embarrassed her in these circumstances, Diana knew her first instinct would have been to walk up to Akko, cup her face, and kiss the glitter and that smirk off of her adorable, magic-covered, giggling face.

But Diana had to hold herself back. She had just restricted kisses as a reprimand of sorts against Akko's teasing. She would not fall apart at the nearest opportunity… no matter how much she truly wanted to.

Apparently allowing her emotions to run visibly free wasn't the wisest decision while trying to seriously teach Akko. It gave Akko far too much to tease her about so long as she was trying to be focused. And judging by the playful smile on her face, Akko was not going to stop teasing anytime soon either, which would really be an obstacle for progress, seeing how easily flustered Diana was… at least when it came to Akko.

So she did the only other logical thing.

Diana instantly ceased her spell. All the lights faded away, leaving Akko sorely disappointed.

Watching Akko visibly deflate caused Diana much grief, but it was a necessary sacrifice. A grave one, yes, but necessary.

"Dianaaaa, why did you-"

"Akko, we need to focus. And you clearly would not be able to focus whilst that spell was active."

"That's cause it was showing just how unfocused you were!"

"… Akko just hurry up and begin practice," Diana deflected, "Or do you wish to delay your kisses further?"

Akko pouted but listened to her girlfriend, taking a stance with her wand.

Akko was frustrated.

Three hours later, and Akko was nowhere near where she wanted to be, both in regards to the spell and in regards to where she literally was.

In regards to the spell, it was a far cry from what Diana had managed to do. Akko could barely manage to keep the sparkles lit up for any longer than a few seconds… not to mention they always drifted downwards to the ground instead of floating around them.

That being said, there was some progress being made there. At the very least, her magic had stopped exploding in a blinding flash the second she tried to cast the spell, seeing as she had abandoned trying to mimic Diana's earlier showing, at Diana's request of course.

… Speaking of Diana.

Yes. Akko knew she would have to be practicing magic.

Yes, Akko knew she couldn't hug and kiss Diana as much as she could have if she had decided to spend this time alone together cuddling.

She expected that and was okay with that. She wanted to practice magic, and she wanted Diana to be there to help her…

What she wasn't okay with was Diana being out of arm's reach the entire time.

It was their first time working together like this as a couple… Akko thought that maybe there could be some hugs, cuddles, and kisses in between attempts.

But then Diana made that darn condition of no kisses… and she even seemed to take it a step further.

And being so close to her girlfriend without being able to so much as hold her hand was making Akko very very frustrated.

"Stellaetus!" Akko yelled, pouring as much magic into the tip of her wand as she could.

Light flittered from its point, shimmering in the air, and for a moment Akko thought that maybe, just maybe this was it. And then she'd finally get that darn kiss she'd been waiting way too long fo-

And then the lights slowly drifted down towards the ground, dissipating into nothingness.

Akko let out a loud cry, falling backwards onto the grass. Akko pouted as she looked up to the sky, so full of stars.

Ordinarily, she'd have appreciated the view. The stars were extraordinarily bright tonight… but given her circumstances, that fact in and of itself almost made it feel like the stars themselves were taunting her.

"Akko… being frustrated only makes the spell more difficult to cast," Diana said as she crouched beside Akko.

"But Dianaaa, that's so complicated!" Akko groaned, lying her head down on the grass. "Trying to focus all of my happy emotions into my magic is so haaard!"

"Really?" Diana questioned, looking genuinely confused. "I personally believed it would be rather simple for you." Diana admitted. "After all, your magic is always brimming with your excitement and energy. Like during the Samhain festival. Or your first flight. Or when we unleashed the Grand Triskelion."

Akko sighed.

It was true. Especially considering that was the only way the Shiny Rod would really… work. That being said…

"But Diana! I wasn't even really trying back then…" Akko bemoaned. "It just… sorta…"

"Happened?"

Akko opened her eyes to see Diana looking straight into her eyes. There were a lot of feelings she could pick out. Curiosity. Concern. Love. But beyond all that, Akko could see the glimmer of belief. A belief in her and her magic, one that had not left those eyes ever since she managed to lift her broom off the ground on their second day as tutor and tutee.

"… Yeah," Akko said, turning away from Diana's intense gaze. "Trying to do it on purpose is really…"

"Then try not to think about it."

"What?" Akko sat up from her spot and turned to Diana.

"Well, that may not be the easiest thing to do… I suppose telling you how to power the spell all those months ago may have been an error on my part," Diana sighed, looking down towards the ground. "After all, it was something you always did instinctively… telling you may have caused you to overthink it."

"… It's fine. It was worth it anyway." Akko muttered as she slowly leaned against Diana.

Despite the utter failure of this session, Akko couldn't help the growing smile on her face, finally able to lean onto Diana like this.

She was nice and soft and so very warm.

"… Perhaps… we should pick this up another time?" Diana offered, her face sporting the faintest blush. "It's getting rather… late after all… and I am sure you wished to do more than just... uhm, practice magic all night."

"Yeah, okay. That would be nice." Akko said sleepily. Despite how wonderful it felt being able to rest on Diana again, Akko couldn't ignore the pang in her chest. "… I'm sorry I wasn't able to do it tonight."

"… It is quite alright. It was my fault anyway." Diana said, leaning her head atop Akko's. "I will just need to think of another, more creative way to teach you this spell." Diana chuckled when she heard Akko whine the tiniest bit. "If this helps in anyway Akko… I never once thought about focusing my emotions while performing this spell."

"Hm? You didn't?"

"Not at all," Diana smiled. "Just as you said… it just sort of happened as I thought about other things and what I wanted to do with this spell."

That piqued Akko's curiosity.

With a grumble, Akko lazily lifted her head off of Diana's shoulder and looked right into Diana's shining blue eyes.

"What did you think about?"

Diana's eyes widened.

"What do you me-"

"What were you thinking about when you cast the spell," Akko said, suddenly moving her face closer to Diana's, "and what did you want it to do?"

Diana bit her lip and turned away, thinking back to times she had performed the spell in earnest. The first time many years ago… and all the times she had recently cast it.

"W-Well…" Diana muttered, a subtle heat rising into her cheeks, "when I first cast the spell… I thought of my mother."

"Your mom?" Akko asked, urging Diana to continue.

"Yes… When I first regained my ability to use magic, I knew I wanted to show my mother something spectacular, to show her that my magic had truly returned." Diana said. "But at the time, most of those spells were far too complex and required much more magic than I was capable of utilizing… except for one."

"The Stellaetus."

Diana smiled.

"That is correct… so while I practiced it, I was single mindedly focused on how much I wanted to make my mother smile… and how happy my mother had always made me. From there, it just clicked."

After listening to Diana's short little story, Akko looked at her girlfriend in awe.

At first, Akko imagined a seven year old Diana practicing magic in secret for the sole purpose of making her mother smile and found the thought absurdly cute. But the more Akko thought about what she had just been told, the more she found herself struck speechless by how pure Diana's motivations were… and here she was focused on casting it to get a kiss.

"And all the other times?" Akko muttered.

Diana's face heated up further, and she quickly turned towards the ground in an attempt to hide herself.

Even after all these months, Diana was still shy about speaking about her feelings, about how much she adored being with Akko and especially about how she felt before they started dating: how absurdly obvious the things she did made her crush on Akko seem… and how oblivious the both of them were to the implications of it all.

Right down to her motivations for all the little acts of magic she had staged for Akko.

Diana took a deep breath and mumbled her answer.

"… I simply thought about how wondrous you saw magic… and how much I wished to bring that out in you myself."

Akko's heart skipped a beat.

Sure she always teased Diana about it, but hearing her actually admit that she did everything for the sake of essentially making her smile… Akko couldn't even begin to put to words how happy that made her feel.

And then it hit her.

"Diana?"

"Yes Akko?

"Can I try one more time?"

Diana turned her head curiously.

"… Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Akko said, grunting as she stood up onto her feet. "But uh, this time, you mind standing… riiight in front of me?"

Diana quirked a brow, but listened to Akko. She stood up and moved right in front of Akko.

"Good, thank you." Akko smiled up at her girlfriend.. "Now…"

With one quick motion, Akko brought her arms up and wrapped them around Diana's waist. She then tightened her grip, pressing the both of them against each other.

"A-Akko?" Diana gasped in surprise.

Diana's heart hammered against her chest. She could feel warmth spreading from the point on her collarbone where Akko was nuzzling her head outwards, a significant portion of it finding its way into her face.

"Shhh," Akko whispered, still nuzzling against Diana's chest. "Hold me toooo."

"Ak-Akko, I… I" Diana stammered and stuttered, still thrown off by Akko's sudden affection. "I fail to see how thi-"

"Shhh, just trust me and hold me." Akko muttered.

Diana sighed but relented, wrapping her arms around Akko's waist.

Akko's smile widened.

Being right here like this with Diana, in each other's arms, felt so soft… so warm. Akko took in a deep breath, taking in the relaxing scent of lavender, and sighed blissfully.

Hearing Diana's story made her realize what she was doing wrong… this is what she should have been focused on. This feeling.

Being with Diana made Akko so happy, and she knew she'd likely never be able to show just how much it did.

But, maybe if Akko could show even a fraction of how happy she felt…

Akko loosened her hold around Diana's waist, extending her wand out behind Diana.

"A-Akko?"

Akko looked up into Diana's eyes, her lips still turned up in a soft smile.

"Stellaetus," Akko whispered.

For a moment, nothing happened. It was just the both of them growing lost in each other's gaze.

And then a tiny flicker of blue light came into view, floating between the both of them.

And then another.

And another, until the both of them were practically swarmed by the floating stars.

Diana looked around at the circles of light floating around them. They were all so bright, yet so gentle, and they each radiated warmth not unlike what she felt emanating from the girl wrapped in her arms.

Diana then looked down at her girlfriend, and the sight she saw filled her chest with a fuzzy warmth.

Akko was looking around with awe at the lights she had created. Her eyes were wide, and they shined brightly under the light of her own magic. The smile that was on her face widened as more shimmers and glimmers of light surrounded the both of them.

When Akko turned her attention back to Diana, she couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled in her chest.

It only took a moment for Diana to realize what that meant. Diana crossed her eyes to confirm what she already knew.

It seemed all of the stars had been congregating around her the entire time, if the sparkles on her nose were any indication. A few more looks around herself revealed the stars had attached themselves onto more than just her nose.

Diana turned her attention back on Akko and smiled softly.

"It appears there is glitter all around me Akko." Diana whispered.

Akko giggled.

"There's a lot on your lips too!"

Diana chuckled and shook her head, because of course there would be.

"Is that so?" Diana said playfully.

Akko nodded excitedly.

She then looked up at Diana and gave a smile so bright, it could even put the sun to shame.

"Sooooo, do I get my reward now?"

Diana gazed softly at Akko and raised her left hand to lift Akko's chin towards her.

"Very well," Diana warmly said, "I suppose you have earned it."

The way Akko giggled and bounced on the balls of her feet made Diana's heart do flips, and she was suddenly very glad she'd finally be able to kiss her girlfriend.

Diana closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. Then she leaned forward to press their lips together.

Even through her shut eyelids, Diana could see the light of Akko's spell growing more and more intense as the both of them pressed closer, deepening the kiss.

And Diana most definitely deepened the kiss, and she would continue doing so until Akko wished to separate. After all, Akko had worked very hard. What kind of girlfriend would she be if she didn't adequately reward her for a job well done?

Besides, Diana would be lying if she said she was not looking forward to this either. Just like Akko, Diana had been growing rather frustrated with the, annoyingly necessary and self-imposed, distance between the both of them. She had simply been better at hiding it.

Now, feeling Akko's lips against her own, Diana couldn't even fathom how she had managed to hold out the entire time. All she knew was that, had she faltered even once in that time, she would not have been able to pull away, leaving their tutoring session entirely forgotten. The warmth and love she felt blooming in her chest as they continued to press against each other were far too comforting, the jolt of electricity that coursed through her veins with each touch of Akko's lips too addicting. Diana found it difficult to think of anything else.

Akko was having similar thoughts, or lack thereof, to be more accurate. From the moment she felt Diana's impossibly soft lips touch hers, Akko had been single-mindedly determined to drink in as much of it as she could. Though she had forgotten it for a bit as she cast the Stellaetus spell, she had waited hours for a chance to kiss her girlfriend, and now that she had that chance, she was going to get as much as Diana was willing to give, resolving to only separate once Diana chose to.

Spurred on by the pleasant feelings of warmth and love both girls felt, coupled with their determination to keep going until the other was ready to stop, Diana and Akko continued to deepen the kiss, not even taking a moment's breath if it meant separating.

They slowly began to feel lightheaded, but they both ignored it, still pressing forward to lose themselves in this kiss. Even when their lungs began to burn, they both just shut their eyes tight to try and bear it to keep themselves connected.

It was only when their lungs absolutely demanded air that they finally did separate, their chests heaving as they gasped for air.

Their faces were flushed, and their hearts were beating wildly against their ribs. Looking at each other, their eyes found themselves still drawn to the other's lips, their own lips still tingling with the sensations of the previous kiss, and they both knew that even that earlier kiss had not been enough.

Yet despite that, a mischievous glint still found itself in Akko's darkened irises.

"Hey… Hey Diana?" Akko panted out through staggered breaths.

"Yes, Yes Akko?" Diana shakily said as she tried to catch her breath.

"That, That was a really stupid plan," Akko said through a strained giggle.

Diana turned her head in confusion, her mind still rather addled by their kiss.

"I'm just saying," Akko continued, her lips curling up into an impish smirk, "if you just let me have my hugs and kisses earlier, I probably would have gotten the hang of the spell quicker."

It took a moment for Diana to register that Akko was teasing her, and when she did, she had to fight to not roll her eyes. Ordinarily, she'd make some retort in her defense, perhaps citing how ridiculously quickly they found themselves lost in their kiss earlier, but said kiss dulled her thoughts enough that a proper retort was difficult to conjure up.

Unable to be bothered to think up a coherent response, Diana decided she would simply allow Akko's claim to go unchallenged. Besides, despite how sure she was that, had she allowed herself Akko's kisses earlier, the entire tutoring session would have been long forgotten, there was some credence in the claim, considering how quickly Akko had managed to successfully cast the spell once they were together.

Still, she couldn't just ignore the fact that Akko was already teasing her. After all, if Akko had somehow already gathered the energy and breath to tease her…

"Akko?"

"Yeah Diana?"

Diana simply cupped Akko's cheeks and smiled.

"Be quiet."

All Akko could do was giggle, her lips switching from a smirk to a happy grin as Diana re-captured them with her own.

Oh, as Akko gets a hang of the spell, she gets better at the whole purposely emoting her spells... and then she becomes a lot more playful with using it (aka everything that happens in Distractions ch 6)

So this was semi written as a 1000 follower thing on tumblr. I'm not terribly sure I captured the same tone as the latter chapters from this fic, but I hope it was enjoyable enough. I'm pretty sure my writing's gotten a bit different since I finished this story up four months ago, so I definitely hope it's fine of me to just add onto it.

So uh, yeah! Thanks for reading! (And just as I said at the end of the epilogue, Thank you for all the support this fic has gotten. It's still really humbling to know people enjoyed reading this fic even after all of this time)