Diana raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" From the moment Akko had cornered her in the library, she knew there was going to be trouble. Akko always brought trouble.

Akko rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "Ok," she said, "I, well, since coming to Luna Nova I've discovered something about myself. Something important! A deep and personal truth!"

"Oh?"

"I really like hugs!"

"I see."

Diana sighed. Why was she wasting her time on this idiot?

"Yeah." Akko shrugged. "Honest Lotte hugs, aggressive Amanda hugs, even low-key Sucy hugs. They're great. I like hugs. I love them."

Diana narrowed her eyes. "And what does this have to do with me?" She made sure to make the question sound as flippant as possible, but already she had a pretty good idea where this was going.

"I was thinking the other day – I was talking to Amanda, and I got to wondering – when was the last time you've gotten a hug? I know it's not any of my business-"

"It most certainly is not," said Diana.

"-but if I had to guess, it's been a while?"

Diana felt her face grow hot. Who did Akko think she was, to even ask such a question? "And what makes you think that?" she asked as coldly as possible.

"Well, you see-" Akko was fidgeting now, she noticed. Good. If she was was insistent on pursuing this line of questioning, she certainly wasn't going to make it easy for her.

"What is it?" she demanded. "Out with it."

"I'm not sure you have any friends?" Akko phrased it as a question, but Diana knew it wasn't. "Don't get me wrong, you have lots of admirers," Akko was quick to add. "Everybody looks up to you. Because you're so pretty and talented and cool. But I don't think you're close to anybody, not really, not even Hannah and Barbara – I've been in your room, you have an actual physical wall separating yourself from them!"

Diana considered this. It was true. Hannah and Barbara hugged each other often, but never her. At most they clung to her when they were scared, like she was some beacon of safety and stability, not a person. Honestly, it was undignified.

"And, well, I thought, well I thought-" Akko was tripping over her words now, "that a hug would do you some good."

Do her good? Ridiculous. This entire conversation was a waste of her time, Diana thought, her mind racing. She had better things to do. More important things to do. And what if people saw? What would they say? She had a reputation to maintain, an image and a family name to uphold. She couldn't be seen being affectionate with the school moron. A hug was impossible, it was out of the question.

But as soon as she had made up her mind, a new thought came ringing through: Wasn't this exactly her problem? Wasn't she too aloft? Akko made friends so easily, showed her affection so easily. So why was it so difficult for her?

Doubts swirled in her mind, and then a third thought appeared: It was only hug. If nobody saw, what was the harm? It didn't mean anything. Everybody did it, why couldn't she? Why shouldn't she?

Diana took a deep breath to clear her head. "Very well," she said. "One hug."

"Er," Akko said, waffling, "are you sure?"

Diana could tell that Akko never actually expected to get this far.

"Yes." she nodded. "Make it quick."

A huge grin broke out over Akko's face. "Ok! Here I go!"

Diana steeled herself as Akko moved in.

She felt a surge of heat and embarrassment as Akko pressed against her. This was much too close for comfort. Her chest felt tight, like she couldn't breathe. But she fought the urge and panic to pull away, and gradually, bit by bit, her anxiety melted away, and warm easiness took its place.

She relaxed her shoulders and Akko tightened her embrace. Slowly, very slowly, she raised her own arms as well, wrapping them around Akko and bringing her even closer. What was this feeling enveloping her? It was comfortable, it felt right. Did it have a name?

It was a comfort hitherto unknown to her.

"Are you ok?" Akko asked.

"Yes," whispered Diana. Her knees felt weak – no, that was wrong – she felt weak all over. Why? She was tired, Diana realized, very tired. Perhaps she'd been tried for a very long time and had just never noticed it before. But now she did. Her breathing slowed, her heart quieted.

Pressed against her, she could almost feel Akko's heartbeat. Almost.

As if in response to some invisible tell or signal, Akko started running her hand up and down Diana's back in soft, soothing motion. She lowered her head, burying her face in Akko's shoulder.

Quite against her own will, Diana let out a tiny, fragile noise, somewhere between a contented sigh and a moan. Instantly she felt the red heat of embarrassment swell up again, but Akko didn't say anything, or stop, and once again the fire faded into a pleasant warmth.

Yes, she was tired. And now, in the arms of this girl who was nothing but a pain, nothing but a headache – all that stress and pressure, all the expectations people had of her – none of it seemed to matter quite so much. It was all ebbing away. Maybe she could rest here, just for a little while. Diana shifted her weight a little towards Akko. She knew Akko could support her.

Somewhere in the distance, a bell rang out for evening classes. Time started again. Akko let her go, and the two girls broke apart.

"Well?" Akko asked, "how was that?"

Diana tugged at her uniform to straighten it. She adjusted her cuffs then her hair, taking her time with both. She cleared her throat and composed herself, slipping back into her icy, perfect persona. "It was- pleasant," she said, with as much mundanity as she could muster.

"Oh, I see..." said Akko, clearly disappointed in her subdued reaction.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have things I must attend to." Diana turned to leave, but something stopped her. She turned back. "But, I-" she started, "I think I'd like to do this again. If that's acceptable to you?"

Akko smiled. "Yes! Absolutely!" She drummed her fingers against her cheek as she considered her schedule. "Um, how about tomorrow, same time, same place?"

"Yes, that would work," said Diana. "And Akko, you won't tell anybody, will you?"

"Not a chance."