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Diana and Akko were at the Cavendish mansion over winter break. Akko was too excited to sleep, so the moment it was morning, she got up and yanked the curtains open, revealing the sun. Diana sat up, rubbing her eyes.
“Good morning!” Akko exclaimed.
“Good morning, I see you’re as lively as ever,” Diana said.
“I’m just so excited!” Akko exclaimed, jumping up and down.
“I see that, but why?” Diana asked.
“Did you forget what day it is? It’s Christmas!” Akko said.
Diana looked at the calendar and got up.
“It appears it is,” Diana said.
They went downstairs and to their surprise, Daryl, Maril, and Merrill were nowhere to be found.
“Where are your aunt and cousins?” Akko asked.
“No idea,” Diana said, shrugging her shoulders.
They walked into the kitchen and saw a note on the table. Diana picked it up and read it out loud, “Dear Diana, Maril, Merill, and I are going to see the Hanbridges, we will be back soon, don’t be reckless, especially with that girl Akko here. Sincerely, Daryl.”
“Why does she still think of me like that?” Akko asked.
“I mean, she’s not entirely wrong, you are pretty reckless, but she needs to learn that that’s not the only thing about you, and you’ve grown a lot since the last time you came here,” Diana said.
Akko didn’t say anything but smiled as she leaned in to kiss her.
“What was that for?” Diana asked.
“I can’t kiss my girlfriend?” Akko asked back.
“So, that’s what I am to you?” Diana asked.
“Is that not it?” Akko asked, confused.
“Yeah, it is, I’m just kind of afraid to admit it,” Diana said.
“Why?” Akko asked, intrigued.
“I’ve just never been in a relationship before, especially with someone like you,” Diana admitted.
“Well, I’ve never been in a relationship either, but my parents have always to me to go with my heart, so that’s what I’m doing,” Akko said.
“I wish my parents had been around long enough to tell me that too,” Diana said, looking down at her feet.
Suddenly, Akko grabbed Diana’s hands, she looked up at her surprised, but Akko didn’t say anything, she just took her outside in the snow.
“Why did you take me out here for? It’s cold, and neither of us has a jacket,” Diana said, shivering.
“Don’t worry, it won’t be for long, it’s just to give you my Christmas present,” Akko said.
“What is it?” Diana asked.
“You’ll see, now close your eyes,” Akko instructed.
Diana did as she was told and Akko cast a spell, lighting up the mansion with Christmas lights.
“You can open your eyes now,” Akko said.
Diana opened her eyes and immediately dropped to her knees are started crying, covering her face with her hands.
“Why are you crying?” Akko asked.
“Because before my parents died they always used to decorate the mansion for Christmas and always put a tree up, it was my favorite thing to do,” Diana said in between sobs.
“Hey, hey, I’m sorry, how about we put up a tree in their memory,” Akko said.
Diana stood up and wiped her eyes clean of tears.
“Yeah, I would like that,” Diana said with a soft smile.
“Wait, one more thing, where are your parents buried?” Akko asked.
“Why?” Diana asked with an arched eyebrow.
“It’s a surprise, now can you guide me there?” Akko asked.
“Okay, I’ll take you there, follow me,” Diana said, walking ahead.
Akko followed behind her until they reached a little place where two headstones lay.
“Here they are, what did you want to do?” Diana asked.
“Just wait,” Akko said.
Akko cast a spell that showed the ghosts of Diana’s parents.
“How did you even do this?” Diana asked in astonishment.
“I looked at a book you were reading in the library the other day and figured you were trying to cast it, I didn’t even know it would work,” Akko said.
They watched as the two ghosts talked to each other.
“I wonder what they’re talking about,” Diana said.
“My best guess is that they’re talking about you,” Akko said as she nudged her shoulder.
“Thank you Akko,” Diana said as she brought her into a hug.
“You’re welcome, now let’s go back inside,” Akko said.
They walked back into the mansion, into the living room, and started putting up a Christmas tree using a spell. They helped each other put the ornaments and stringing the lights on, but the moment they tried to put the star on top, Daryl walked in.
“What is this? And why is there lights outside?” Daryl asked.
“I just wanted to celebrate Christmas for once, is that so wrong?” Diana asked.
“Do you have any idea why we don’t do this anymore?” Daryl asked.
“Because you’re so caught up in the fact that your sister died that you don’t want to do anything that even remotely reminds you of her!” Diana yelled.
“Can’t you accept the fact that your niece wants to move on?” Akko asked.
“I didn’t expect you to be the one defending her,” Daryl said.
“I hate her so much,” Akko and Diana thought simultaneously.
“Luna Lana,” they both cast.
It trapped Daryl in a rope.
“That’s what you get for trying to trap me in a snake,” Diana said.
“And for saying that I can’t defend her,” Akko said.
“You two are persistent, I’ll give you that,” Daryl said.
“You should know by now that I never give up,” Akko said.
“I can see that, but I will never see how Diana chose you,” Daryl said.
“Can’t you see that I love her!” Diana yelled.
“Love is a strong word, are you really sure that’s what you feel?” Daryl asked.
“I’m completely sure, here, Akko, I wanted to give you this,” Diana said, handing a small present to her.
Akko opened to reveal a Shiny Chariot card.
“Wow! A limited-edition Chariot card, how did you get it?” Akko asked.
“I actually kept 2 Chariot cards, now you have both of them,” Diana admitted.
Daryl’s jaw dropped at this.
“Does that prove how much I care? Because I already do,” Diana said.
“Am I hearing this correctly?” Daryl asked.
“Every single word,” Diana said slowly.
Akko started whispering a plan to piss off Daryl more. To start, they put the star on top of the tree to finish it off, then they grabbed a blanket and turned on the fireplace with a spell. They sat on the couch and cuddled underneath the blanket together. That alone made Daryl fume, but it just made Akko and Diana laugh.
“I guess that did the trick,” Akko said as Daryl walked away.
“Yeah, I guess it did,” Diana said.
They snuggled closer to each other and watched the flames of the fireplace as they reveled in their tiny victory over Daryl.