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When Akko was asked what her favourite thing in the entire universe was, she usually had a default answer.
Shiny Chariot.
Growing up, she could spend hours and hours talking about it, never repeating a single fact. Once she opened her mouth, there was no way to stop her. Even at 17, that was still the case. She would start telling Chariot’s story, analyse her entire musical leitmotif, and show pictures of her room when asked if she had any merch.
Shiny Chariot was 90% of her personality while growing up.
Sure, she had other interests, but it would always happen the same way. She would ramble on and on, hard and fast, to the point where it was impossible to keep up. Her friends had tried to slow her down, but it seemed like absolutely nothing would make her stop. Hoping that her attention would wander to something else was futile. Akko had ADHD, but she mostly struggled with a lot of hyperfixations. It was impossible for her to stay focused for more than an hour in class without stimulation, but she could spend hours talking about fanfiction or video games or, of course, Shiny Chariot !
But then… when did that change?
When Akko was asked what she liked best in the whole universe, she used to have a default answer.
So why didn’t her mouth open any more when her eyes seemed to wander to blonde hair and her mind clouded with laughter?
She had tried to push the feeling away, but it was too strong.
Hiding that part of her was useless, so she tried to accept it. It was even more complicated.
Akko had a crush—no, she was hopelessly in love —with Diana. She was in love with her rare smiles and her tender gestures. She was in love with the slight blush and the way the heiress' pale fingers would sometimes tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
She was in love with how Diana would lay her eyes on her, in love with the way she would say her name like it was the most precious thing.
Akko could feel her heart swell just imagining it all. So her gaze slid over to Diana during the meal… just to catch her looking at her. Diana hid her face in the palm of her hand as she looked away. Despite her hair, Akko could see the slight blush on the edges of her ears.
Adorable.
Diana had always sent mixed signals to Akko. Sometimes the Japanese girl was pretty sure she had a chance; sometimes she was pretty sure she had none. Diana didn't seem to respond to her attempts at flirting, taking everything at face value, not realizing that Akko was testing the waters for more than just friendship.
Akko would rather die than say her feelings out loud, too afraid of seeing their friendship destroyed rather than achieving something. If Diana felt the same way, then it would happen naturally.
But Diana was really, really perfect, and Akko could cry about it when, late at night, they would both be lying on a table, their heads in their arms, looking at each other. Akko would notice the way the blonde's lips parted gently, the way her eyes searched her face, the way the freckles dotted her skin.
Not just a little freckle.
A lot, everywhere, going down her neck and back up her forehead.
And Akko would smile.
Sometimes she would hesitate to touch—just a caress—the little stars under her lips. Let her thumb slide there before replacing it with her own lips. Everything could explode, and Akko wouldn't notice a thing.
In fact, when Akko looked at Diana, she didn't notice anything at all.
All she could do was stare at the blonde as she let herself be seen. Now and then, Diana's accent would slip over her lips. Strong. Incomprehensible. Making her voice slightly deeper.
“Whit urr ye thinkin' aboot?” Akko would hear her say.
“Nothing,” she would answer, even if she was thinking about her entire world. Diana would slowly move closer to her, allowing herself a second of intimacy, coming in for a hug.
One night, Akko had watched her fall asleep. She had gently carried Diana—who was surprisingly light—to her bed before pulling the covers up over her. Diana had just turned toward her, eyes half-closed, and let her fingers slide over Akko’s arm.
“Luaidh mo chèile...”
Akko had blushed, not understanding what had been said, but her heart seemed to understand.
When Akko was asked what her favourite thing was in the entire universe, she was used to having a default answer by now.
A silent answer, yet so explicit.
Diana .