The wedding was simply elegant, trimmed down from the opulence originally asked of Diana's family. Though over the years Akko had managed to perfect the art of tight-lipped smiles and restrained politeness her eyebrows twitched when it was asked that an elaborate show occur when the wedding began and that bursts of fireworks fly into the air when they finished saying their vows.

Diana had been silky, hiding steel, that there must be some sort of compromise to be met when her family wanted this lavishness.

And so a compromise was met, with a wedding dress that fit Akko perfectly. But it was all frills and sashes and tiny buttons and a complex veil that Sucy and Lottie couldn't fasten to her hair no matter how hard they tried. Even magic wouldn't make the veil stay properly.

But Akko wouldn't go out there bare-headed. Lottie made a quick crown of flowers, working with only with her hands and bending flower stems into each other. Sucy slipped in a flower that was dotted like a mushroom, and Akko hugged them both. Sucy pinched her to get free.

One of the non-negotiable requirements of the compromise was that Chariot was to officiate the wedding. Akko walked to her, Sucy and Lottie behind her in their slightly less opulent bridesmaids dresses, and stood beside her. Everyone was waiting for Diana.

Akko took a moment to glance at her beloved teacher. She didn't have the youthful exuberance of performer Chariot or the skittish look of Professor Ursula. There was a tempered, kind look that balanced the energy of her youthful days with the maturity of her teaching days.

Akko's train of thought was broken. Music had filled the air and Diana, in her own more refined dress, was standing at the end of the aisle alone.

Something in Akko's heart pinched. Akko was fine walking with her friends. Diana didn't have such luxury; Hannah and Barbara had offered to do the same, and when that was declined Andrew offered to walk with her. There was a traditional decorum that had to be fulfilled, and if it wasn't she was to go alone.

And now she looked so alone there.

Akko walked towards her, amid the scant murmurs in the crowd, and held out her hand. She smiled widely in the offering, Diana blinked in surprise and then took her hand.

They walked up together. Lottie looked enraptured at the gesture, and Sucy was grinning in a way that would look malicious to anyone that didn't know her. Barbara and Hannah had their hands over their mouths in a twin fashion, covering up their laughter.

Chariot smiled as Akko arrived with a bounce in her step and Diana by her side.

Tradition was resumed when Chariot spoke the wedding vows, and the declaration at the end. Akko went for the kiss first, they slightly bumped their heads together, and there was a tenderness in Diana's eyes when they drew apart, that some things didn't change.

A/N: Originally posted on AO3 on March 22 2019