Threaded (epilogue)

2-DAY EARLY RELEASE FOR MY HIGH-PLEDGING PATRONS! THANK YOU!

Just a small epilogue. You know Akko's worried sick about her~

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

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															Epilogue

When Diana wakes, she doesn't open her eyes right away.

Her senses trickle back to her one at a time, mainly her sense of touch. She can feel warm blankets around and on top of her, as well as a soft mattress beneath her back.

She tries to shift about a little and discovers she can feel and move everything except for her left arm.

She remembers the tiger lunging at her, the terror that had coursed through her in thick powerful waves as she'd watched it leap, felt its massive weight land on her, felt the air being crushed from her body...

But more than all of that, she remembers what had caused all the pain to stop.

She'd only caught a glimpse of the dragon, as her eyelids had been weighed down by pain and frost, but it had been the most magnificent dragon she'd ever seen. Golden scales had glimmered against the silver snow, majestic wings that covered her view of the sky, burning chestnut-red eyes...

At last Diana manages to open her eyes, not surprised to find herself back at Luna Nova in the infirmary. Turning her head causes a pang, and she finds her left arm wrapped in a cast that's slung over her chest.

The room is quiet, bathed in late afternoon sunlight. She lies there for a moment, getting her bearings until the nurse notices she's conscious and comes to check on her.

"Now then, Miss Cavendish, you have a visitor. Or would you rather rest for a while longer?"

Diana's lips tug upward at the corners.

"That is quite all right. Please send her in."

With a dip of her head, the nurse walks off. Diana can hear muffled voices from around the corner and turns her head expectantly. Akko scurries into view with her hands fiddling behind her back.

"Hi, Diana. I'm glad you're finally awake. How're you feeling?"

"I am just fine, thank you for asking." Diana pushes herself up on her good elbow and tries to slide herself back so she can sit up. Akko hurries forward to help support her, standing the pillow up until Diana can lean back comfortably. With no chairs nearby for her to sit on, Akko takes a seat on the edge of the mattress. Diana offers her thanks with a kind smile.

"And how are you fairing, Akko?"

"Me? I'm totally fine! I was mostly just tired, that's all..." Her eyes travel up over Diana's body, mainly coming to focus on the cast. "How's your arm? Does it still hurt?"

"Not at all."

"W-What about your chest? Can you breathe okay? They were worried you might have some fractured ribs or something..."

Diana pauses and draws in a deep breath. It feels a little sore to do so, but only a little.

"It is nothing to warrant concern, I assure you."

Akko lets out a breath of her own.

"Okay, that's good. I'm glad."

She says as much, but Diana can tell her smile is that of a person who feels guilty. Before Diana can speak up to stop her, Akko continues.

"Sorry. It's kinda my fault you got hurt. If I'd just sent up the flare and not bothered with the flower-"

"Nonsense." Diana reaches out with her right hand to rest it over Akko's in her lap. "Akko, we had been searching for that flower for hours. It was our assignment and the entire reason we were in the Enchanted Forest in the first place. After all we had been through, I am glad you pointed it out so we could finally retrieve it." But then she pauses and looks down at her broken arm once again. Diana can't remember that tidbit in particular and looks curiously up to Akko. "We... did retrieve it, did we not?"

"Yeah." Akko places one of her hands on top of Diana's. "Well, you did. Once you were getting proper treatment Professor Finneran found me and said we passed the assignment. She also said she's sorry this happened. Apparently they didn't think any of those tigers still existed in the Enchanted Forest.

"So in a way this was bad and good, I guess. We sort of re-discovered an endangered species I think." She chuckles a little bit, but the smile fades again all too quickly. "Still... I'm really sorry, Diana."

"You have no reason to apologize." Diana squeezes her hand, coaxing Akko to look up at her. Diana smiles. "All is well, Akko. We shared another incredible experience together, did we not?"

Akko's lips twitch upward just a little bit.

"Yeah. You're right. It was really fun to work with you like that. Somehow I think I enjoyed it a lot more since you were my partner, Diana!" She finally grins again, not really realizing what she's saying.

Diana feels a pink heat rush into her cheeks as her heart skips a beat.

"I... I am glad you feel that way. Nonetheless, we will have to ensure we are more careful next time."

"Yeah, definitely."

Their voices taper off and there's a moment of silence between them. Both witches avoid eye contact and look down into their laps instead, their hands still covering each other's. Diana clears her throat and muses aloud.

"It amuses me how much you had been complaining about the assignment. You had said you would rather be back here practicing your transformation magic. But I assure you, you have little if anything left to work on in that regard."

Akko perks up.

"Really? You think so?"

"I do. Perhaps you were unable to see for yourself, but the form of the dragon you took was simply astounding."

Akko knows Diana didn't mean it as a compliment to Akko's appearance as she is now, but she still ends up blushing anyway.

"Th-Thanks."

Another beat of silence. Her hands are still holding onto Diana's, and Akko believes she can still see a little red thread tied between their fingers.

"Oh! I almost forgot! I brought you something! Gimme a sec, I'll be right back!"

Akko stands and gently slips away from her classmate, then hurries off to the other side of the room, ducking behind the corner again. Diana watches her curiously.

Akko reappears a moment later, holding both hands behind her back and looking down at the floor. She tiptoes closer to the bed, keeping her gaze in Diana's lap rather than her face as she steels herself. She draws in a deep breath, then reveals her gift.

"Here!"

Diana can't help but gasp softly.

In Akko's hands is a luscious bouquet of colorful flowers.

But not just any flowers.

Clearly, Akko had paid attention earlier in their adventure when Diana had been explaining the meaning of every plant they'd passed by in the forest.

In her bouquet are the large yellow flowers that symbolize well wishes, white flowers for a quick recovery, and smaller orange flowers which symbolize friendship. Akko's face is pink as she holds them all out to her classmate, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"I asked the professors if I could pick them from the gardens and fields on campus. I asked them if I could give you the Summer Sky flower we found too, but they needed that for a potion. But that's okay, because your eyes are an even prettier blue than that anyway!"

Again, she hadn't thought it through before speaking. Akko clamps her mouth shut immediately, feeling her face heat up as she watches Diana's cheeks turn red.

Even so, her classmate reaches out with her good hand for the flowers and Akko quickly places the stems in her fingers.

"Th-This is very kind of you, Akko." She doesn't draw particular attention to Akko's final comment, but that doesn't mean she didn't appreciate it. "They're beautiful."

"I made sure they were all healthy and stuff! I wanted to pick the nicest ones for you. Oh, and here..." She lifts a few of the petals up and draws Diana's gaze to the stems.

They've all been tied together by a small red thread.

"I used this to tie them together. Y-Y'know, there really is something in my culture called the red string of fate. It means-" But Akko shakes her head. "N-Never mind. It was just a coincidence anyway, haha."

Diana's still baffled by the present, still staring at all of the lovely flowers Akko had gathered for her and so thoughtfully arranged. The aroma is pleasant and soothing.

Diana can't keep the smile off her lips. A little cautiously, she looks up to Akko.

"You know, I believe I actually might have heard about that red string in your culture, though I cannot quite recall exactly what it means. Perhaps... once I am discharged, you could refresh my memory? If you want to, that is."

Akko freezes, her eyes widening slowly as she tries to understand what this means. Her heart does a backflip as she meets Diana's sky-blue gaze. She bets her own face is as red as Diana's, if not redder. But her smile is also probably just as genuine.

"S-Sure! I-I can tell you all about it when you're up for it! I-If you want..." Her hands are still on the stems of the flowers, trembling slightly. Diana gently moves her palm to cover the back of Akko's hands in a tender gesture.

"I would like that... very much."

Akko feels like she might explode. She jolts and squeals in the back of her throat, then nods her head vigorously.

"Y-Yeah! Of course!"

Diana closes her eyes and gives her the most resplendent smile.

Akko's so excited she can't hold herself back.

"D-Diana...?" she wheezes. "D-Do you mind... i-if I show you what it means right now? J... Just a little...?"

The request comes as a surprise, but as Diana reopens her eyes, she dips her head.

"Not at all..."

Akko gulps. She hadn't been prepared to do this. She never thought she'd ever get to do this. But with the opportunity now presented she can't pass it up.

Slowly, carefully, she leans closer to Diana, keeping one arm across her stomach and holding her good hand. Akko slips her other arm free, and with great care moves it up to the girl's injured shoulder, resting it lightly there.

Diana closes her eyes, trying to calm her fluttering pulse. Akko does the same as she leans forward, wrapping Diana in a very ginger, very light embrace.

Diana moves her hand and holds onto Akko's wrist, holding her in return in the only way she can like this, keeping the bouquet between them.

Akko nuzzles her face into the side of her classmate's neck and hugs her for a moment. Then, as she's pulling away, she brushes her lips ever-so-softly across Diana's cheek.

If Diana didn't know any better, she might've been uncertain as to whether or not she'd actually felt the contact.

But there's no doubt in her mind or in her heart.

She makes sure to turn her face, just enough to brush her nose against Akko's cheek as she pulls away.

Akko swallows back another yelp as she peeks her eyes open again, worried that she might've made Diana uncomfortable somehow despite her consent.

But quite the contrary, Diana's eyes are as calm and as gorgeous as ever, and the smile remains on her lips in addition to the blush on her cheeks.

Akko eases back, though her hands are still frozen in place on Diana's shoulder and over her arm. She doesn't know what to say now, but she feels she has to say something.

"I... S-So I-I um..."

"Akko." Diana squeezes Akko's hand and guides it to her lips, pressing a small kiss to the back. Akko yelps again, and Diana chuckles. "I would very much like to learn more later."

And by some miracle, Akko snaps out of her trance and takes her cue.

"R-Right! Yeah! Of course!" She wants to stay, but she knows she'll probably actually explode if she doesn't run off her jittery energy now. So with great effort, Akko withdraws her hands and grabs onto her own skirt with them. "W-Well, o-okay then! I-I'll see you later, Diana! I h-hope you feel better soon!"

"Yes. Thank you very much, Akko."

Despite how calm Diana might sound, she feels as though there are a million butterflies flitting about in her chest.

She and Akko make eye contact one last time before the brunette twirls around and half-skips, half-stumbles across the room and out the door.

Diana watches her go, then turns her gaze back to the bouquet.

And among the yellow and orange flowers of well wishes and friendship is a single pink flower, which symbolizes something even more special.

All threaded together at the stems by a little red string.

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A/N: I hadn't planned on making this one romancy but... listen... just a little...