Behind Closed Doors (ch6)

Unlike the other chapters, this one is directly linked to the one before, after Hannah and Barbara got hurt.

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

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														Chapter 6.

Diana has been keeping a particularly close eye on Hannah and Barbara since the accident that had left them both scarred. She makes certain to help them with everyday tasks that might aggravate their injured hands, such as lifting books or opening doors.

But after the first day, they don't seem to be bothered by their hands, and Diana is very glad for that. Even so, she checks on them whenever she can, and offers assistance whenever she feels she must.

Hannah and Barbara tend to keep their scarred hands interlocked with each other's whenever possible, not to hide the marks, but simply because it feels right. They had received these wounds for each others' sake, after all, and a part of them was secretly glad that they matched.

Two days after the accident occurred, their hands are completely absent of soreness or aches. The only thing different are the markings, but the girls assure Diana she needn't worry herself over that.

Diana trusts they are being honest with her, but still finds it a bit difficult to simply push it all behind herself.

After all, she had witnessed the entire incident. Everyone in the room had, but Diana had rushed up to get directly involved by holding Barbara. It still pains her to remember the anguished wails that had filled the classroom as they'd taken Hannah away.

And besides, they are Diana's teammates, so no one had been affected by the accident quite so strongly or in quite the same way as she had.

So she's sure to keep a watchful eye over the pair of them this evening when they're all getting ready for bed. She watches them each retreat to their separate beds and sit down across from one another, yawning and mumbling. Hannah takes down her hair and shakes her head a little, placing her yellow ribbon on the nightstand between them.

"What a day," she sighs. "I'm ready for bed."

"Totally." Barbara slides her legs underneath the blankets and adjusts herself. "What about you, Diana?"

Diana may have already put on her robe, but they all know that doesn't necessarily mean she's going to sleep.

"I plan to study for a while," she informs them. "I will try to keep the lamplight dim."

"Don't worry about it," Hannah says.

"Yeah. Just make sure you like, actually get some sleep, too."

Diana nods.

"Rest well, you two."

They chorus a response.

"Goodnight, Diana."

With that, the main lights are turned off, and Diana retreats around the corner to where her own private space sits. She'd specifically had her bed and desk be placed away from the others' because she'd known she would be up late many nights studying. Therefore, she'd arranged her space so the light of her lamp wouldn't disturb them.

She taps the lampshade to wake the sprite inside, and requests a dim light from it, then takes a seat and begins reading.

The silence calms her and allows her to focus for about half an hour, but shortly afterward, it begins to rain. Diana doesn't mind the hissing patter of the water against the window panes. In fact, it helps her relax in a different way than the silence does.

It's when the sky begins to rumble with thunder when she gets tense. She knows she won't exactly be able to concentrate on her books with so much noise.

With a sigh, she closes her tome after only having studied for about an hour, and decides she should lie down and try to get some rest. She pushes her chair back quietly and stands, but before she can ask the sprite to extinguish its light, an even brighter flash fills the room.

For a split second, Diana is back in the classroom, watching a stray bolt of lightning shoot down at her teammates-

She quickly shakes herself off as the lightning fades, but another growl of thunder makes her stomach churn. Storms had never used to bother her quite this much before.

Something compels her to check on Hannah and Barbara. Because Diana knows if she is this affected by the storm, they might be even more so.

So she leaves the sprite glowing as it is and uses its golden light to see by as she makes her way back to the more open part of the room. Using the furniture to guide herself, she makes her way to her teammates' beds to check on them.

Hannah is facing Barbara's bed, but Barbara is facing away from her. Diana knows something is amiss right away. They almost always fall asleep facing one another, because they're usually whispering together as they drift off.

Quietly, she approaches the beds, and another flash of lightning allows her to see the girls more clearly. Hannah is relatively still, and quite obviously asleep.

However, Barbara is trembling beneath the blankets, her body curled up defensively.

Diana pauses at her bedside, then calls to her softly as not to startle her.

"Barbara."

The dark-haired girl jolts a little as another blast of thunder hits, but she rolls over slowly to look up.

"D-Diana...?"

Diana sits herself down and offers a hand to Barbara, supporting her back and pulling her into a partial embrace for comfort.

"Are you all right?"

Barbara can't help but cling to her, hiding her face in Diana's shoulder.

"It's just... th-the lightning..."

Diana had suspected as much. She pats Barbara's back gently, offering as much support as possible. Barbara ducks her face when another bolt lights up the room, her voice a trembling rasp.

"It never... used to bother me, b-but..."

"I understand." Diana is the same way now, and she's certain Hannah would be as well if she were awake during the storm. "Would you like me to stay with you, Barbara?"

"H-Huh?" She lifts her face, and there are tears in her eyes. Barbara quickly wipes them away, but they are replaced instantly by fresh ones. "N-No, th-that's okay, Diana. Y-You're probably tired too. You should try to get some rest. I-I'll be fine."

Another roll of thunder, and Barbara's hold on her waist tightens. Diana keeps her close, flashing a glance over her shoulder.

"Perhaps I should wake Hannah," she murmurs. "I presume the two of you will be better off dealing with this together."

"Eh? N-No, it's okay-"

"Barbara." Diana smiles kindly down at her in the darkness. "If Hannah were the one upset like this, would you not like to be there for her?"

"I..."

"Therefore, I am certain she feels the same."

Barbara sighs, shying away from another crack of thunder. She squeezes Diana gently.

"Th-Thanks, Diana."

"Think nothing of it."

Diana holds her until the next flash of lightning has come and gone. It pains her to leave Barbara trembling as she is, but she wastes little time in vacating the bed to go to Hannah's. Diana taps the sleeping girl's shoulder lightly, brushing her loose chestnut hair aside.

"Hannah?"

With a small moan, her teammate stirs and opens her eyes.

"Hmm... Diana? What's the matter? Are you okay?"

"I am just fine," she assures. "However..."

As Hannah sits up, she follows Diana's gaze to the bed nearby, where Barbara has laid down once more, shivering beneath the blankets. Hannah gasps, understanding right away as her senses finally register the storm raging outside. She quickly begins peeling the blankets off herself, but just before she can leave her bed, she pauses and looks back to Diana.

"Thanks. Are you sure you're okay, too?"

"I am fine." Diana dips her head, her voice perfectly calm.

But Hannah doesn't want to take any risks. Just to be safe, she wraps her arms around her teammate in a quick hug anyway. Diana gratefully accepts.

"Thank you, Hannah. Now please..." She nods to Barbara's bed.

Hannah gives her a reassuring wink.

"Leave her to me."

With this, Hannah leaves her own bed, and Diana takes her leave as well, feeling much calmer than she had moments earlier.

Hannah wastes no more time crawling into Barbara's bed with her, wrapping her arms around her from behind. Barbara gasps as the thunder crashes again.

"H-Hannah-?"

"Hey, hey, shhh." Hannah adjusts her hold a little so Barbara may turn around to face her. With a desperate sob, she throws her arms around Hannah and buries her face in her chest. Hannah strokes gently through her hair, rubbing her shoulders slowly. "Take it easy. It's okay, Barbara."

"But... B-But the lightning-"

She yelps and cowers once again as the room fills with light. Hannah tightens her hold on her protectively.

"I know. It's not my favorite thing anymore, either. But it's okay. I promise, Barbara."

She maintains a firm hold on her for a few moments. Hannah rests her chin atop her best friend's head, emitting an air of confidence and the desire to protect.

Barbara huddles close. In contrast to her own pulse, she can hear Hannah's much steadier heartbeat.

They've always beat in unison. In order to achieve that synchronicity again, Barbara takes deep breaths in an effort to calm herself.

Hannah is patient, slowly trailing her hands up and down the other girl's back to help her relax. She waits until Barbara's frantic heartbeat has slowed down to match her own and her shoulders have stopped shaking so much.

By this point the storm is beginning to ease off, the thunder growing quieter and the lighting growing weaker. At last, Barbara lets out a long, shaky sigh.

"Th-Thank you, Hannah..."

"Shh..." Hannah eases back so she can kiss her forehead sweetly. "No thanks necessary. If you needed me, you should've said something! Don't have Diana wake me up next time, you can do it yourself. You can yell for me or just throw yourself on top of me if you need to. Just... don't deal with it alone anymore, okay? Promise me?"

She bores her eyes into Barbara's in the darkness, letting her know she's serious about this. Barbara gives a tiny nod.

"Kay. I promise, Hannah. And what about you?"

"I promise, too. If I ever need you, I'll come get you."

"Okay..."

A smile finally forms on Barbara's lips. She feels much better now in knowing they've come to a mutual agreement.

But it's not a second later when her jaws part in a long yawn. Hannah ruffles her hair and kisses her cheek once again.

"Let's get some sleep."

"Yeah..." Barbara snuggles up close to her again, seeking the comfort of her warmth and the familiarity of her scent. She squeezes her gently around her back, tucking her face beneath the crook of her neck. "Thanks, Hannah. I love you. Goodnight."

"Love you too, Barbara."

Hannah pulls her in and closes her eyes as well.

They press close, feeling their heartbeats overlap perfectly, providing a consistent, steady rhythm to help them both relax.

As the storm rolls away, the two of them fall asleep with ease now that they're together.

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A/N: Not sure if I'll continue revisiting the scars idea in future chapters, but we'll see! The next one is gonna be unrelated though.