Every Second (ch2)

EARLY RELEASE FOR MY HIGHER-PLEDGING PATRONS! THANK YOU!!

I had a particular idea for a long time, but it was too complicated to do all on its own, so I just sort of partially-incorporated it into this story. I won't explain too much right off the bat, but just read first and ask questions later, and I think you'll understand. We're just gonna jump right into it.

Set in Years Later AU of course~ They are married by this point.

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

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												Chapter 2. Late At Night

They've been traveling together, Diana and herself, mainly for the sake of the former's research. After all, with her intentions to become the next headmistress of Luna Nova one day, Diana's work never seemed to end.

They had stumbled across a small, peculiar village that seemed somewhat untouched by time. The architecture is old-fashioned, as are the clothes the people wear. The town overall seems a little unkempt, save for the pristine church buildings.

Diana has already muttered her misgivings to Akko about towns that are strictly religious.

"Typically, they do not favor or condone the use of magic," she'd told her in a murmur. "The townsfolk here seem very welcoming, to almost a suspicious degree."

And those very concerns of hers had been what prompted Akko's attempt at reassurance.

"Aw, come on, Diana! They seem like nice people!"

And so, Diana had bitten back the rest of her misgivings so as not to impede on the fun Akko was having.

They meet a group of people dressed in long robes outside one of the churches, all with the same book in their hands, reading passages out loud. Akko greets them with a smile.

"Good afternoon! My partner and I are on a journey gathering research about magic history! Could you tell us if this town has ever encountered magic?"

The men and women gathered before her all look up with narrowed eyes. She gets the feeling most of them might spit at her, until one kind old man silences their grumbles.

"Say, lass. Ye two young ladies wouldn't happen to be... witches, would ye?"

Akko chuckles.

"Ahaha, what, did the hats give it away?"

"Akko." Diana firmly grasps her arm and pulls her back a pace. "It would be best if we leave."

"Oh, but hold on!" the old man says quickly. "Ye wanted to learn about the magic of this town, don't ye? Well, we don't really use magic anymore, but I can give ye the rundown of how it used to be. I'm sure it'll be vital information for yer studies. What say ye?"

Akko bites her lip, then looks back to Diana. Her partner barely shows it, but Akko can discern she's highly anxious about all of this. Akko smiles calmly at her, while addressing the old man.

"Well actually... sorry, sir. But maybe it's best if we get going-"

"Akko!"

Diana's warning cry comes too late. Akko can feel the yank on her sleeve, but something hard slams against the back of her head, and in a split second, everything goes black.

And the next thing she knows, she's in hell.

Or maybe, she'd rather be there than... wherever this is.

Everything is dark. The only light comes from hundreds of candles, held between the hands of faceless, chanting, black-robed figures. She can't make out any of the words they're saying, but they're all around her, muttering, chanting.

Wincing, Akko finds herself on the floor with her hands chained behind her back.

It's then she's able to see the massive pile of sticks, and the large wooden stake towering above herself.

Tightly bound to it with bruising chains, entirely helpless, is Diana.

Akko feels her heart screech to a halt.

"D...Diana...?"

Her voice carries out only a little, but Diana still hears it. Wearily, she lifts her head.

Akko can see the agony in her eyes. Her voice rises up to an outraged scream.

"W-What's going on here-?!"

Her panicked cry interrupts the ritualistic chanting around herself. Frantically, she tries to sit up. But a heavy boot crushes her back down. Cruel, rasping laughter has her leering defiantly up into the wild, beady eyes of that old man.

"Ye wanted to learn this town's history of magic, eh? Well how's about I show ye exactly what we like to do to witches and the like?"

He steps off of Akko and instead turns to the massive stake. Diana watches him with terrified eyes as he approaches, still cradling his candle carefully despite his vicious words.

"Ye know lass," he says, grinning briefly back to the witch on the ground. "Ye were supposed to go first. But yer partner here insisted it be her. So we happily obliged."

Akko shoves herself up by the shoulders, gritting her teeth.

"Let her go!"

The old man turns back to her. Only now does Akko realize he never had a face. Just his beady, crazed eyes are visible in the darkness. She can't see it, but she can hear the maniacal smile in his words.

"The way I sees it... doesn't matter who goes first. So long as we feed our master the blood of witches, we'll stave off his wrath either way!"

He stops right in front of the pile of sticks surrounding the stake. The chanting of the cult around him becomes louder, more eager.

Akko is petrified as she listens to his mad words.

"No!" she screams. "Let her go! You don't have to do this!"

"Ay, lass," the old man laughs. "I'm afraid it's too late."

And with that, he drops his candle into the pile of sticks.

Immediately, the entire pile catches fire, hungry red flames leaping up towards Diana.

"Noooo!"

Akko shrieks and staggers to her feet. She tries to run, but someone trips her, and she crashes back down to the floor.

She hears Diana screaming in agony. The crackling of the flames and the chanting only grow louder to drown out her cries.

Akko lifts her head and watches as the flames leap higher, searing Diana's boots and catching on her robes. They latch onto the stake and creep up the length of it, searing the ends of her hair and scorching her back.

Akko feels a burning behind her own eyes.

"No! Stop it! Let her go!"

She wishes her tears could douse the fire.

But no one makes an effort to stop this. They all just watch, chant, smile...

Akko doesn't know how, but she manages to move her hand along the small of her back, turning her belt until her fingers brush against the handle of her wand. They hadn't taken it from her. She can still fight.

She first breaks the chains suppressing her wrists, then leaps up to take aim at the flames. The best spell she can think of in that split second is a barrier, which she projects around Diana, keeping the flames at bay.

But although the burning stops temporarily, Akko quickly realizes she's trapped her in the toxic smoke. Diana begins to cough violently, hacking on the deadly black fumes.

But before Akko can create water, the mobs are on top of her.

They grab her, kick her, wrench her wand from her hand. The barrier breaks right before her eyes.

And the flames swallow Diana whole.

Nothing but her last terrified wail remains.

Akko's screams pierce through the chaos, louder than everything else combined.

"Diana-!"

"Akko!"

"Haah-!"

With a gasp, Akko's eyes fly open, and the nightmare vanishes all at once. She's back in her room – their room – and it's warm and quiet

Diana is right here beside her, her blue eyes wide, scared, and brimming with tears.

"Akko..." She swallows thickly, and rests both hands on Akko's shoulders. She tries to keep her voice steady, but it breaks a little. "I-It is all right. You are safe."

Akko can barely breathe. A cold sweat coats her skin now as the last fragments of those horrible images begin to dissipate.

But through it all, Diana never disappears. She's always here. Always...

"D... D-Dianaaa..."

The way her voice stammers, then drags Diana's name – the way a frightened child whines – breaks Diana's heart. A sharp pang jolts through her chest at the sight of her wife like this.

Gently, Diana eases herself down over her, wrapping Akko in her arms, shielding her with her own body. She trails tiny, light kisses across her forehead. The tears she can't stop with her lips, she wipes with her fingertips.

"I am here..." she breathes. "Everything is all right, Akko..."

She can feel her trembling, shuddering like a child lost in a blizzard. Diana presses her weight over her very carefully to keep her still.

Akko lifts her shaking arms and locks them around Diana's back, pulling her down with a fragile desperation. She needs to feel her, needs to know she's all right.

Diana's weight is a grounding pressure against her chest, one that offers a steadier pulse in contrast to Akko's frantic one.

Diana wreathes her fingers through Akko's hair, caresses her cheeks, and kisses her forehead. Over and over again, she whispers and kisses her.

"It is all right... I promise..."

Akko just can't stop crying. She'd been so scared.

It had been one of those nightmares where she'd truly felt every single thing. And when her paranoia kicks in, everything is twice as suffocating.

After a moment, Akko's condition remains worrisome, so Diana opts to try something else.

With great care, as though she were moving a frail newborn, Diana sits up, leans back, and pulls Akko up into her arms.

Akko's so weak from the fright of it all that she can barely sit up, but Diana supports her back dutifully. Lightly, she runs her fingers over Akko's chest and collar to assuage whatever pain she can.

Akko whimpers.

"D-Diana..."

Hearing it sends a rush of fresh tears down Diana's cheeks as well. She wipes her face briefly, then coaxes Akko to open her eyes and look at her.

"I promised you, did I not?"

Akko swallows past the thick lump in her throat, but nods. Diana tenderly kisses the bridge of her nose, then lays them both back down in slightly different positions.

Diana knows all too well that the nightmares they both suffer from often result in the other person meeting a horrible fate.

With Akko's help, Diana herself has managed to make it through all the terrible things her nightmares have shown her. Diana suffers from them more frequently than Akko does. But when it's Akko, she seems to be more deeply affected.

Luckily, by now, Diana knows what she can do to help.

She lies herself down on her back, and coaxes Akko to rest her head on her chest. With one hand, Diana cradles here there, and with the other, she pulls the blankets up over Akko's back to provide a sense of security for her.

"Hush..." she whispers. "I am all right. Listen..."

She hugs Akko's back a little more tightly, though the hand in her hair remains ginger with its motions. Akko curls into her, hugging her wife's sides as she cries into her nightgown. But she does as Diana advises and listens.

Past her own sobs, Akko can make out an unmistakable sound. A pattern, a rhythm, a beat.

Diana's heart thumps beneath her ear – quiet, steady, persistent. It doesn't stop. Even after Akko has fought her sobs away, Diana's pulse remains. She's all right. She's alive.

Akko's jaw trembles, and a weak, broken wail tumbles out. But unlike before, it's not a fearful sound. It is one of relief.

"Diana... Diana..."

"Shhh..."

Diana strokes her fingers repeatedly through Akko's mussed hair, tracing patterns over her shuddering back.

Usually by now, Akko has calmed down. But Diana can tell this nightmare had been worse than all the ones before it, because Akko is still choking on her tears.

Diana believes that, considering the immense distress Akko has been forced to suffer through tonight, the least Diana herself can do is combat it with something of her own.

She's still a little rusty, but she has faith in her voice, even in the middle of the night.

She clears her throat pointedly, and holds Akko a little tighter.

Then, a different sound begins filling the room.

It is a soft, comforting melody, a lullaby hummed by a voice that could compete with angels. It is soothing, serene, almost nostalgic in a sense.

Akko can't help but feel she's heard this song before, and though she can't remember where, she's always loved it.

She can feel the vibrations of Diana's voice in her chest. She can hear the tune of that gentle melody as her voice travels up and down the octaves in a slow, controlled pace. Her breathing is strong and supported, yet somehow airy at the same time. Her heartbeat sets a rhythm, and the song keeps to it perfectly.

Akko doesn't even realize her own tears have finally stopped. She just focuses on Diana.

The fingers in her hair continue threading.

The palm on her back continues tracing.

The pulse beneath her ear continues beating.

The song enveloping the room continues dancing.

Soon, the hum dwindles, and with the next verse, Diana adds in the words. The lyrics are laced with magical phrases, words that paint pictures in the air as she sings.

Awestruck, Akko watches the images play out before her eyes, matching exactly what Diana sings.

She sees blue mermaids swimming with leaping dolphins, golden fairies dancing alongside twirling birds, purple unicorns racing across open planes...

A new rush of fresh emotion overcomes her, gently pushing back the hurtful ones, lapping them away like the waves of the ocean.

Akko has seen magic shows before in her younger years.

But she thinks Diana's song bests even Chariot's performance.

Akko watches and listens until she can't possibly keep her eyes open any longer. She feels one last kiss being planted on her forehead, then settles herself against Diana's chest.

She falls asleep to the hum of her song and the beat of her heart, both mixing perfectly together to create a unique lullaby of their own.

Only when she knows Akko has fallen asleep does Diana finish her song. The magics fade, but the remaining sparkles rain down over them both in a dazzling display of glitter.

Diana lets out a long, peaceful sigh, and hugs her wife closer.

"Rest well, Akko."

And she does.

They both do.

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A/N: I'd originally wanted to make that nightmare situation a real thing in one of my fics, but I never thought of a good enough way to end it, but cutting it off as a nightmare works fine. And since my fics have recently tended to involve Akko comforting Diana, I felt this was a good opportunity to reverse it a bit.